FIRST was approached by Moldova's State Insurance and Non-State Pension Funds Supervisory Inspectorate ("Inspectorate") requesting technical assistance to help strengthen insurance supervision in November 2004. The project design document drew on the findings of a scoping trip. The project was consistent with recommendations made by the World Bank's FSAP team.
This project sought to address two issues. First, the Inspectorate was not responsible for the issue of licences for insurers/reinsurers (the Chamber of Licensing was responsible but it was envisaged that this would be passed to the Inspectorate through the new law), and no prudential criteria were exercised in the granting of licenses, so that a 'licence on demand' situation prevailed. The absence of prudential control over entry to the insurance market is potentially disastrous for healthy market growth and for the interest of policyholders. The project thus sought to strengthen the Inspectorate's ability to conduct prudential supervision.
Second, the project addressed motor third-party liability (MTPL) issues. The Inspectorate was tasked with making recommendations for tariff revision. It was not equipped for this task, and neither was the insurance industry well informed on modern insurance management/underwriting approaches for this class of business. The assignment also involved comments on the proposed motor third-party liability law. The comments on the proposed Law included several recommendations for widening the circumstances where compensation should be made.
It was recognized that the Inspectorate had a wide range of technical assistance and capacity building needs. Given constraints in resources and also absorption capacity this tightly focused project addressed its immediate technical assistance needs. Wider needs were likely to be addressed at a later stage. In fact because of legislation delays and the Government's decision to establish a unified regulator for all non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), amongst other reasons, full training needs analysis and subsequent training did not take place.
Legislation and sometimes regulations can take a long time to pass through appropriate channels – up to two years or more in some cases. Technical assistance projects involved in such areas often have a training component for the regulator and the sector (banking, insurance or other sectors) that needs to be based on the new legislation/regulation. Serious consideration needs to be given on this process: timing and even practicality where gaps in time might be very long and by which time personnel changes in the recipients may change substantially.
A careful understanding of approval processes is advisable since sometimes the recipient of technical assistance may need approval from a higher authority (in this case the Ministry of Finance-MOF) before implementation of consultant recommendations. The MOF was not a recipient of the technical assistance and so steps should have been taken to ensure buy-in from the MOF and a channel for consultation opened early on in the assignment.
An often recurrent problem is the regulator's ability to retain staff. Often the problem arises because salary levels in regulators are well below those of the private sector and so once trained the staff can be hired away. The practical effect of this is that donor funded training programs for regulators often fail in their immediate purpose (although if the skills are retained in the sector some benefit is still achieved). Remuneration levels and in-house training capacity are potential answers but often difficult to achieve in practice.
MTPL premiums are often seen as equivalent to a tax by the insured and are unpopular (about 60% of Moldovan drivers were uninsured at the time of this project). Better enforcement procedures facilitates extension of cover but this should be supplemented where possible by a public awareness campaign that illustrates with real case studies that good levels of compensation for injury are available and are paid out (assuming that insurance companies are forced by the regulator to honour claims effectively and promptly).
The comments on the MTPL Law which formed an Appendix to the consultant's main report. Whilst the Law is for Moldova some of the issues in the consultants comments may be useful when reviewing similar laws in other countries.


ANTELOPE WELLS, N.M. – ANTELOPE WELLS, N.M. — Since October 2018, more than 5,000 illegal immigrants have been caught crossing the border in the El Paso Sector. And they came in bunches — with 28 groups of more than 100 people crossing the El Paso Sector in that time. The latest episode came Monday morning, when the Border Patrol apprehended a group of 330 such migrants at the Antelope Wells Port of Entry.
Antelope Wells is a remote area at the very southern part of New Mexico with a vast desert and mountain landscape —reaching freezing temperatures at night with no civilization in sight for miles on end. In fact, Cordero said, the area is more than 90 miles away from civilization. Yet these large groups keep making their way across the border.
"It's so remote—both the American side and the Mexican side that the criminal organization takes advantage of that," El Paso Sector Border Patrol agent Fidel Baca said.
Baca said this is a "win-win" outcome for the smugglers in Mexico because they're not getting arrested and getting money from those seeking asylum, sending migrants specifically to this area because it has "very limited assets" and they can't be identified as easily near a bigger city like El Paso.
Agents provide the migrants with medical attention and separate the family groups from the unaccompanied minors, along with the adult males or females traveling by themselves. They are then driven to the Lordsburg station, a 90-minute drive, where the migrants are processed. Because of the location and the number of migrants coming at a time, Cordero said it can take six to seven hours to get the migrants bused and eventually processed in Lordsburg. The port of entry also doesn't have the space for the surging number of migrants.
Border Patrol agents are there around the clock, and rotate weekly at the Forward Operating Base, living and working out there for a week at a time. The base is about 50 yards from the actual port of entry, in an enclosed, fenced-off area, and is reminiscent of firefighters' quarters — complete with sleeping arrangements, a kitchen, workout facility, and entertainment room so personnel can be ready at a moment's notice.
"They forget that we're human beings," Baca said. "A lot of people, I guess they think that when we graduate the Border Patrol Academy, we get like a big "S" in our chest, feelings go out the window.
Agents use infrared cameras to look for movement in the mountainous landscape across the border in order to determine if people are walking toward their port of entry.
Border Patrol agent Cordero shows the infrared cameras agents use at night to detect movement across the border.
Cordero confirmed this is the area where the 300-plus migrants crossed early Monday.
"When these groups come in, it takes a lot of resources to transport these people," Cordero said.
Cordero said they need more personnel and technology to go hand-in-hand with more walls or barriers, in order to help agents better enforce the law at the border.
Larger groups are also now more common on other remote areas along the border. Family unit arrests at the border are also rising.


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Red hair flows down past his shoulders with a trace of pink in the light of the shop. Together with his gentle smile, his stylish outfit sets the people around him at ease.
Ropa is a seller in the Beauty Shop, selling limited-time clothing and items pertaining to the Style tab in exchange for Pons.
Ropa as he appears in an NPC image that was implemented overseas.
"Ropa" means "clothing" in Spanish.
Ropa's NPC image was never used in the North America server of the game before he was removed.


Taiho Oncology, Inc. has received FDA approval for Lonsurf (trifluridine/tipiracil) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma previously treated with at least two prior lines of chemotherapy.
The approval is based on results from a global, randomized, phase 3 TAGS trial (NCT02500043) evaluating trifluridine/tipiracil plus best supportive care (BSC) versus placebo plus BSC in patients with previously treated advanced gastric cancer or GEJ adenocarcinoma following progression or intolerance to previous lines of standard therapy. TAGS met its primary and secondary endpoints of prolonged overall survival with trifluridine/tipiracil versus placebo, and progression-free survival, safety and tolerability, and quality of life.
Gastric cancer is the fifteenth most common cancer in the U.S. In 2018, there were an estimated 26,240 new cases and 10,800 deaths. There are limited treatment options following the failure of first- and second-line therapies. Metastatic gastric cancer is associated with a five-year survival rate of about 5%.
Trifluridine/tipiracil is a thymidine-based nucleoside analog, trifluridine, and the thymidine phosphorylase (TP) inhibitor, tipiracil, which increases trifluridine exposure by inhibiting its metabolism by TP. Trifluridine is incorporated into DNA, which results in DNA dysfunction and the restraining of cell proliferation.
In patients with metastatic gastric cancer or GEJ, the most common adverse reactions were nausea, decreased appetite, vomiting, infections, and diarrhea.


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Geraldine Roberts
The Angel and the Cad
PaperbackEbook Buy the bookAmazonBlackwell'sBook DepositoryBookshop.orgFoylesWaterstonesWH SmithWordery
At the age of sixteen, Catherine Tylney Long became the wealthiest heiress in England, and the public found their 'angel'. Witty, wealthy and beautiful, Catherine was the most eligible of young ladies and was courted by royalty but, ignoring the warnings of her closest confidantes, she married for love. Her choice of husband was the charming but feckless dandy William Wellesley Pole, nephew of the Duke of Wellington.
The pair excited the public's interest on an unprecedented scale with gossip columns reporting every detail of their magnificent home in Wanstead, where they hosted glittering royal fetes, dinners and parties. But their happiness was short-lived; just a decade later William had frittered away Catherine's inheritance and the couple were forced to flee into exile. As they travelled across Europe, they became embroiled in a series of scandals that shocked the public and culminated in a landmark court case.
Meticulously researched and rich with dazzling detail, The Angel and the Cad is a tale of love and betrayal that twists and turns until the final page.
Books by Geraldine Roberts

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The last trimester of 2014 was such a busy time I neglected blogging. Sounds like the Philadelphia Eagles' former head coach, Andy Reid, repeating to the press he had to do a better job of putting the team in a position to win… Excuses, excuses. It all started in October when my family came from Brazil for a 12-day visit. I could not write a word prior to that, so excited I was to have them here for nearly two weeks, and then I could not write a word again after they left, as the volume of work hit me in November and December, when a new busy season began in the office.
After a while, you start asking yourself why blogging? In a world constantly bombarded by news and novelty, what difference does it make whether I write another post or not? That's mostly laziness talking but I listened to it anyway because it was very convenient. Instead of making an extra effort to write about something, a fact or a person that inspired me, I went on line looking for a Christmas present to send to my parents in Brazil.
It was already mid-November and still I did not have a clue. I just seemed uninspired altogether, just feeling exhausted at the end of the day as another busy season rode on. My dad would love anything related to books, shows/music and movies – he always did. I never run out of ideas to send him presents of that type as I know his taste and how he enjoys exploring new things. And yet, this huge blank slate took over my mind. It was Thanksgiving already. Black Friday. Cyber Monday came and went. I left laptop and tablet alone and turned to the TV, not exactly hoping for enlightenment.
I clicked the remote control again and another ten or twelve channels paraded. Still I could not find something to blog about; no ideas of a good Christmas present for my parents.
I thought of my conversations with Dad when he was here in October and how he even had sent me newspaper articles about Brazil's love affair with the Cuban government – true love never dies – for decades now and some disastrous political events involving the two nations. I was so astonished at what Dad told me I said I planned to blog about it. But honestly, this stubborn South American admiration and reverence for the Cuban tyrant wore me out so thin in the past years I can't find the energy to write about it… Maybe it will be my new year's resolution now that America seems to have stepped on the same boat, inaugurating an era of friendship with that unfortunate island.
I clicked away. There was a rerun of Disney's kiddy sitcom Jessie playing and I thought of how my seven year old nephew laughed at the trials and tribulations of this New York nanny and the four children she cares for (parents always absent). There was also a rerun of Boardwalk Empire going on at some HBO channel (I liked the series very much; they killed the main character and suspended the show, obviously) however, after ten seconds of careful consideration, I decided my parents were not the audience for Nucky Thompson's adventures during probation years. It's very New Jerseyish, too Atlantic-City oriented. I clicked backwards now, having left the HD channels behind me.
Somewhere between channels 20 and 30, a very strong voice and a face I recalled faintly made me stop. I had reached the Public Television area. Watch it at your own risk; they will drive you crazy with five minutes of show followed by fifteen of detailed instructions on how to send them money and how in exchange for your not-so-humble contribution they will forward you either a DVD or a CD for three or four times the price you would pay at retail, Black Friday, Cyber Monday or not. Against all odds and my best judgment, knowing all the risks, I stayed. The singer on my screen had an Irish accent and a fine tenor voice. He was singing Love Thee Dearest, a couple of strophes in Italian – I recognized the words and melody. Actually, I recognized him – Paul Byrom – now considered one of Ireland's most representative tenors and a former member of the Celtic Thunder group whose shows I had watched (suffered through was more likely just because the group was so talented) on PBS.
As soon as Mr. Byrom was done, under a blast of celebratory shouts and clapping hands from the audience, now the entire group entered the stage, in their familiar formation: five guys walking briskly to predefined positions, singing all the time – delivering their performance of Ireland's Call, in dark gray kilt. The audience roars when they go "Shoulder to shoulder we'll answer Ireland's call" and execute a few choreographed movements. It's very compelling. There is not a single drop of Irish blood in my veins and yet I almost have tears in my eyes and feel like ordering a Rosetta Stone set to learn Gaelic in thirty lessons right away.
That was it! I emailed my sister instead. Did our parents know of the Irish group called The Celtic Thunder? No, she answered immediately; she was sure they had never heard of it just as she had not. I was so excited to have found something new and inspiring for them I instantly forgot about Gaelic lessons and went on line searching for the latest album by The Celtic Thunder. I could order the CD but the DVD would be best – I wanted my parents to see how the singers perform on stage, how the audience adores them, and perhaps pick their favorite, choosing among Paul Byrom's powerful tenor voice, Keith Harkin and Ryan Kelly's warm tones, Damian McGinty's young rendition of classics and, my all-time favorite, George Donaldson and his crystal-clear interpretation of Irish and Scottish folk songs, always so touching, so heartfelt.
The choices were, in short, Voyage, Mythology and Heritage, the three shows that displayed my favorite songs. Or I could go with one of their Christmas performances – very appropriate for this time of the year. As I Googled their albums further, one hyperlink stopped me in my tracks. Celtic Thunder's George Donaldson dead at the age of 46.
They had to be kidding. They must have been talking about another George Donaldson – that was in error. Someone hacked Google's entries on Celtic Thunder just for fun. It's curious how our minds come up with ridiculous explanations when we just don't want to see the truth. Mr. Donaldson died of massive heart failure in his house in Glasgow, survived by wife Carolyn and thirteen year old daughter Sarah, in March of 2014, a few days after his birthday. The only Scotsman in the group.
At first I got so saddened by the news I no longer wanted to order the DVD for my parents. Gradually, though, I changed my mind and decided that sending them the disc was my way to make sure Mr. Donaldson's beautiful voice will now have existed for more people in the world, who would be able to admire his talent as well.
Have a healthy and prosperous 2015!


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If you've ever been to a costume part before you'll know just how much fun they can be. Costume Party slots have 3 reels and 3 pay lines with a 5400 coin jackpot. Costume Party slot is one of Rival's horizontal spinning slot games. The aim in this slot game is to properly line up eight different characters body parts to win prizes. Play with coin values as low as one penny up to five dollars per active line. The max wager is $75.
The Costume Party symbols include a variety of eight different characters, with three different parts for each character; the head, the body, and the legs. You must match the proper head, body, and legs of at least one character to win a payout. When a full character is formed by its proper body parts, the game screen changes, and then the character will do his or her personal little dance on a stage.
The Costume Party slots Wild symbol is the Body of an Ape symbol, which will appear between the head and the legs of other characters. In order for the Wild to complete a winning combination, forming one of the eight characters, the head and legs must match. Other characters include a Funky Chicken, a Naughty Nurse, a Cowboy, a Wonder Woman, and a Knight in Shining Armor, an Astronaut, a Wickedly Sexy Witch, and Frankenstein.
The Funky Chicken will payout either 10 or 20 coins, whereas the pretty blonde in a naughty nurse's costume complete with a stethoscope pays out 15 and 30 coins. You'll get 25 or 50 coins for the cowboy, and 40 or 80 coins for Wonder Woman. How about 85 or 170 coins for a Knight in Shining Armor, and 140 coins or 280 coins for the Astronaut. 500 or 1,000 coins follow the Sexy Witch. However, the big pay-out is definitely for finding Frankenstein with wins of 1,800 coins when playing 1 coin, or 3,600 coins when playing 2 coins.


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Previews | A soulful album 46 years in the making
A soulful album 46 years in the making
Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader and alto saxophonist Marshall Allen performs live. (Photo by Ryan Collerd/Ars Nova Workshop.)
More than six decades into a monumental, one-of-a-kind musical odyssey, the Sun Ra Arkestra continues to explore uncharted territory. The legendary jazz collective effortlessly embraces multiple genres, from doo-wop to traditional big-band arrangements to free jazz.
Longtime bandleader and alto saxophonist Marshall Allen has proven himself to be an innovator as well as a torchbearer, and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. On June 13, 2019, the Sun Ra Arkestra will perform at Union Transfer in celebration of Marshall Allen's 95th birthday.
Party like it's 1973
Splitting the bill, renowned Philly jazz pioneers Sounds of Liberation will reunite on stage for the first time since the 1970s. Less well-known outside of jazz circles, Sounds of Liberation was a jazz ensemble and social activist collective with strong ties to the Germantown and Mount Airy neighborhoods (The Sun Ra Arkestra also has deep roots in those neighborhoods.) Sounds of Liberation recorded and self-released a lone album in 1972 that has long been considered a "holy grail" among jazz aficionados, before moving on to other projects.
Now, a long-lost session originally recorded in 1973 is finally seeing the light of day. The album (technically the band's second), soon to be available on CD and vinyl, is simply titled Unreleased. For Sounds of Liberation, the upcoming reunion concert doubles as a record-release party more than 45 years in the making.
"It's a wonderful feeling to hear the music after so many years," says Sounds of Liberation guitarist Monnette Sudler. "You get involved with life and you… forget about the things you did in the past. To hear it with fresh ears, it feels really good." The original band members in attendance will be joined by several newcomers, including Elliot Levin on saxophone and Juan Diego on vibraphone, filling in for the great Byard Lancaster and Khan Jamal, respectively.
Reviving the soul
Brewerytown Beats record store owner Peter "Max" Ochester, who revived the group's Dogtown Records label in collaboration with the band for this release, had a hand in organizing the concert. "This is a celebration of Philly music," he says. "It's going to be a great night filled with positive vibes and legendary performers." Ochester describes Sounds of Liberation's music as "soulful, funky Philly jazz," up-tempo with Latin rhythms, "and all around good."
It's the perfect complement to the Sun Ra Arkestra's interplanetary melodies and virtuoso improvisational interplay.
Experimental avant-jazz drummer-composer Eli Keszler opens.
Ars Nova Workshop presents the Marshall Allen 95th Birthday Celebration & Sounds of Liberation Record Release Celebration, with Sun Ra Arkestra, Sounds of Liberation, and Eli Keszler on Thursday, June 13, 2019, at 8pm at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden. Tickets are $20 general admission and $100 VIP, available online, at the box office, and at Long in the Tooth (2027 Sansom Street).


The controversial new film VAXXED opened recently in Sacramento, the state capitol of California. The film's producer, Del Bigtree, along with other members of the film, decided to stop by and try to talk to some of the California State legislators about the film, which is a documentary about the CDC whistleblower who admits that the CDC hid key data in a study that linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Last year, California became the first state in the U.S. to remove the religious and philosophical exemptions to childhood vaccines as a requirement for attending school. Senator and medical doctor Richard Pan was the sponsor of the bill, and has also received campaign funding from pharmaceutical companies according to public records. Del Bigtree stopped by Senator Pan's office to try and start a conversation regarding vaccine issues, since he was the sponsor of the bill that removed vaccine exemptions last year. As you can see in this video, he literally ran away from him in the capitol building avoiding any discussion on the topic.
The Sacramento Bee is reporting this week what the alternative media has been reporting for months: California State lawmakers supporting bill SB277 to remove all parental exemptions to vaccines have direct financial ties to the makers of vaccines. Pharmaceutical companies and their trade groups gave more than $2 million to current members of the Legislature in 2013-2014, about 2 percent of the total raised, records show. Nine of the top 20 recipients are either legislative leaders or serve on either the Assembly or Senate health committees. Receiving more than $95,000, the top recipient of industry campaign cash is Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat and doctor who is carrying the vaccine bill. In addition, the industry donated more than $500,000 to outside campaign spending groups that helped elect some current members last year. Pharmaceutical companies also spent nearly $3 million more during the 2013-2014 legislative session lobbying the Legislature, the governor, the state pharmacists' board and other agencies, according to state filings.
Wealthy, educated parents in southern California who are in the heart of the entertainment industry, from Malibu to Hollywood, lead the nation in rates of personal belief exemptions for childhood vaccinations among students in some of the wealthiest private schools in the country. However, if SB277 becomes law, that choice will be taken away. Why aren't more entertainment leaders and public figures speaking out against medical tyranny in California? Only Mississippi and West Virginia have no parental exemptions in place for vaccine choice. Has anybody checked the rankings of these two states in children health categories? Do California parents really want to mimic health policies in these two states? Mississippi has the highest childhood vaccination rates in the country, but also lead the country in infant mortality rates, ranking dead last. One high profile California resident has made his position on vaccines known: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Are Silicon Valley billionaires influencing public policy on forced vaccinations?
Dr. Richard Pan of California is the author of one of the most tyrannical bills currently being proposed in the U.S. to take away the right to informed consent for a medical procedure. SB277 is a proposed California bill that would remove all personal belief exemptions to vaccines and prevent children from attending school unless they are fully vaccinated. A hearing on SB277 was held at the State Capital on April 15, 2015. The support was overwhelming opposed to the bill, with only 53 people present supporting the bill, and 743 present opposing it. The Senate Education committee did not take a vote on the bill that day, as several members of the committee had reservations about it. A vote was put off until April 22nd, one week later. At the April 22 meeting, after 13 minutes of discussion, the committee passed the bill by a vote of 7 to 2. What happened? How could the committee pass a bill with so much opposition from their constituents?
California State Senator Dr. Richard Pan is a co-sponsor of a new proposed California bill, SB 277, which seeks to remove the personal belief exemption to vaccinations in California. Who is Dr. Pan? He is an "industry insider" when it comes to the medical industry. He is a teaching faculty member at UC Davis Children's Hospital, and has served in many organizations that set medical policy and funding, such as the American Medical Association, the United Way, Sacramento First 5 Commission, Healthy Kids Healthy Future, Sacramento Health Improvement Project, and others. Dr. Pan was also a supporter of AB 499 which allows minor children as young as 12 years old to be vaccinated with the Gardasil vaccine without the knowledge or consent of their parents.


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Home/EUROPE/Mitsotakis' Greece become a bully in the Mediterranean Sea
EUROPEOPINIONPOLITICS
Peter TaseOctober 15, 2020
Photo: Courtesy of WikiCommons
In his article published in April 2020, at London's Central Banking Magazine, Prof. Dr. Steve H. Hanke [1] argued that: "With the onset of the coronavirus, the world has become engulfed in the largest crisis it has faced since World War II. And, with each crisis – large or small – there is always an overwhelming public outcry for the government to do something. […] The expansions take many forms, but they all result in an increase in the exercise of power by government over society and the economy.
These 'power grabs' often remain long after the crisis has passed. Indeed, each crisis carries with it a ratchet that increases the scope and scale of the state's power." While the global virus disease outbreak is hovering on the horizon, Hanke's assessment has nailed down an attitude that is pervasive among European countries – not only on their domestic monetary – economic policies but also in their foreign affairs – such as Greece governed by corrupt politicians that are violating international maritime laws and extrapolating their military provocations and conducting joint military exercises together with United Arab Emirates' Air Force, as well as French and Italian Armed Forces, in the Turkish maritime space of eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, Greek – UAE tattered agents of influence such as Mr. Malik Ayub Sumbal (a Pakistani journalist) who states in his article that: "…
Erdogan is actively creating a serious divide between Turkey and its western allies. He is dreaming of a revival of the Ottoman era," are doing a tremendous harm to Ankara. In fact obstruction has always come from the EU; Paris and Brussels have caused bad blood and confusion while (H. E.) President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has shown an admirable grade of statecraft and impeccable vision when it comes to ensuring European borders' security, military and intelligence cooperation with key EU Member nations; and his government invested large financial resources towards humanitarian aid (by hosting over four million Syrian, Afghan refugees) and Ankara has strengthened its democratic institutions. Furthermore, on August 20th, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of his country's biggest gas discovery ever, the Sakarya field in the Black Sea that will be operational by 2023. This is another impressive milestone of Ankara that EU's surrogates try to crush and avoid any well-deserved praise.
On August 10th, according to the Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez, the Oruç Reis vessel had left the "Turkishcoastal town of Antalya for a new research area, which lies in seas claimed by Athens and Cairo." Ankara has every right to conduct mineral research on these waters that are illegally contested by the two neighboring countries.
Greece's economic hardships and increasing unemployment levels at home have precipitated into creating an artificial crisis and triggering military incidents with the Republic of Turkey over the operations of Turkish seismic surveying ship, Oruç Reis; these are unprecedented acts that openly violate the sovereign maritime territory of Turkey in Eastern Mediterranean and are nasty efforts that aim to dissuade Ankara from its legitimate rights to conduct oil and natural gas exploration. The Republic of Turkey has every right to conduct oil and natural gas drilling in Eastern Mediterranean, nearby Cyprus as well as assess mineral wealth of its maritime swath stretching from Agathonísi Island all the way to the shores of Rhodes and Kastellorizo islands.
As the European Union is preparing sanctions against Turkey and will discuss further support towards Greece on its upcoming summit on September 24th, we observe once again a double standard policy openly applied by Brussels' EU bureaucrats and Athens is given a blank check from its European allies to expand its territorial claims against Turkey without any vacillation. EU is committing a dangerous precedent in letting Kyriakos Mitsotakis pursue gross violations of international maritime laws and his diplomatic efforts have become a laughing stock in Eurasia.
It comes as no surprise that Greece has been given a special immunity by its European buddies despite of Athens' terrible low scores in the fight against corruption, organized crime, respect for human rights and human trafficking. The political support and biased actions coming from the European Council are devolving Greece's behavior into that of having an axe to grind; therefore, grossly discriminating Ankara's geographic rights to conduct mineral research on its own backyard.
No one could have imagined that Prof. Steve H. Hanke's prediction (meant to portray domestic policies of individual nations) is so relevant and reaches higher dimensions in European politics– leaves one country's borders and causes international conflicts in the Mediterranean – and exacerbates Greece's expansionist aspirations in the Aegean Sea while the rest of Europe is grappling with a serious economic stagnation and irreparable financial burdens. Nonetheless, EU is setting aside other priorities and is politically aiding Athens as the latter upsets the apple cart as Prof. Hanke wrote: "more active government also attracts opportunists [in this case EU's bureaucrats and bankers], who perceive that a national emergency can serve as a useful pretext for achieving their own objectives to permanently entrench and satisfy their special interests." In the long run Greece again will prove its mastery of ransacking EU's coffers and its people will continue to be a couch potato.
[1] Steve H. Hanke is a professor of applied economics and co-director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Peter Tase
Peter Tase is a contributor, freelance journalist and a research scholar of International Affairs, Paraguayan Studies, Middle East Studies and Latin American Affairs, located in the United States. Educated at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government; Tase is the author of "Simultaneous Dictionary in Five Languages: Guarani, English, Italian, Albanian and Spanish" and "El Dr. FEDERICO FRANCO y Su Mandato Presidencial en la Historia del Paraguay." He's a frequent contributor to Foreign Policy News. His personal website is www.petertase.com
Eastern Mediterranean: the rising of new geopolitical paradigms
From secularism to political Islam, Turkish neo-Ottomanism
France's conflicts of interest in anti-Turkish alliance
Erdogan: the modern colonialist
Regional cooperation shattered by nationalism
Analysis: Who really wants a war in Libya?
Iran is assisting Turkey and GNA in Libya: So is the United States
A golden opportunity we're wasting in Belarus: The Minsk energy angle
Israel, Trump and the evangelical vote and the 2020 U.S elections


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Hazel Stewart must serve at least 18 years for double murder
Coleraine woman convicted earlier this month of killing her husband and former lover's wife has been given the minimum term she must serve for her life sentence.
By Susan Ryan Wednesday 16 Mar 2011, 10:45 AM
Mar 16th 2011, 10:45 AM 3,038 Views 0 Comments
Image: Paul Faith/PA Wire
CONVICTED MURDERER HAZEL STEWART has been sentenced to serve a minimum of 18 years after she was found guilty of killing her husband and her former lover's wife earlier this month.
Stewart, 49, had denied murdering Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell in May 1991.
Her former lover Colin Howell had been convicted of the two murders last year and sentenced to serve a minimum of 21 years.
Initially, the deaths were treated as suicide after the bodies were discovered in a fume-filled car. However, Howell, a lay preacher, confessed his involvement in the killings to his church elders in 2009.
The court heard Howell had poisoned both his wife and Trevor Buchanan as they slept in their homes using piped fumes from his car. He then moved the bodies and arranged them in a car to appear as suicide. He said he and his wife had hosted a birthday party for their young son on the same day he killed her.
Stewart's defence team had argued that she was bullied and controlled by Howell. Her trial heard taped police interviews with Stewart in which she claimed she feared for her life after hearing of Howell's plan to kill their spouses. She did not take the stand during her trial.
Today, Stewart was sentenced to serve a minimum of 18 years in prison, the BBC reports.
Susan Ryan
@SusanSRyan
susanryan@thejournal.ie
See more articles by Susan Ryan
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Running Time: 6 hours 5 minutes.
PGN files: Included, light annotations.
In this second instalment of the Double Tuition series, Ginger GM presents The Lazy Najdorf. Hosted by GM Danny Gormally and GM Simon Williams, this 6+ hour DVD aims to teach you one of the most aggressive replies to 1.e4, the Najdorf. The second DVD in the new Double Tuition series, this unique format offers unrivalled expert tuition from two Grandmasters on your favourite openings.
Ginger GM is pleased to welcome back long-time Najdorf aficionado GM Danny Gormally, who provides expert analysis and theoretical knowledge on one of the most popular chess openings of all time. Also on hand is GM Simon Williams, who utilises 20+ years of teaching to ask questions relevant to the casual or club player, ensuring that there is no stone left unturned in helping you learn this aggressive and historically-respected variation of the classic Sicilian Defence, frequently employed by world champions Bobby Fischer and Gary Kasparov.
Rather than bombarding the student with endless theoretical variations to memorise, The Lazy Najdorf aims to teach you the main ideas, concepts, structures, replies etc in an easy-to-remember and simple fashion. Boasting 17 key games with expert Grandmaster analysis, and 7 distinct chapters of sharp theory, this DVD provides the chess student, novice or advanced alike, with everything you need to confidently begin to play this opening or refresh your previous repertoire.


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Visiting Jubilee
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Visting Speaker: Cannon Andrew White
We have the privilege of welcoming Cannon Andrew White today. The Reverend Canon Dr Andrew White currently serves as Ambassador to Jerusalem Middle East Reconciliation International (Jerusalem MERIT) and continues to speak and teach in various contexts as a respected author, lecturer and academic fellow of various leading universities, an Anglican priest and an internationally-renowned global peacemaker. As well as being the president of various organisations, Canon White is the founder of a school in Bethlehem and a primary, middle and senior school for…
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The Inside Story: What does regulated actually mean?
WE RELY ON REGULATED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND EFFECTIVE SERVICES... BUT WHAT DOES 'REGULATED' ACTUALLY MEAN?
Just like an earworm—when you get a song stuck in your head that just won't leave—we've got the recent Globe and Mail investigative report about the regulation of chiropractors in Canada stuck in our head… and stuck big time. Is it trying to tell us something?
As you may recall from our coverage of the Globe's November 1, 2018, article in the December edition of The Inside Story, for over 10 years the College of Chiropractors of Ontario's leadership included vitalist chiropractors.1 Vitalists promote unscientific treatments and treatments outside the chiropractic scope of practice. And the Globe reporters found similar issues with the regulation of chiropractors in other regions of Canada. This got us wondering whether this situation is unique to chiropractors or is Canada's regulatory model possibly putting us all at risk of ineffective, wasteful, and potentially harmful care? We set out to find out in this two-part series…
Not just any health professionals, regulated health professionals
It seems like every other day another news story pops up about a regulated health professional behaving badly. There are cases when someone poses as a regulated health professional without actually having the qualifications. For instance, there is the imposter in British Columbia the media dubbed "Dr. Lipjob," who forged a medical licence so she could inject Botox into duped customers.2 However, for the most part, the concerning stories out there are about regulated health professionals, not posers. They actually have the required credentials and have been approved to practice by a regulatory body. Makes you think, just what
does regulation actually mean in Canada?
Serving and protecting the public
There are differences in each province as to which professions are regulated and how regulation is implemented. However, at the heart of regulating health professionals across Canada is the goal of serving and protecting the public. To achieve this, Canada (for the most part) has a self-regulation model. Much like it sounds, self-regulation means that the health professionals police themselves.
Historically, the self-regulation model emerged in the 19th century based on the ideal of trust; the government and the public trusted that the professionals would self-regulate to act in the interests of citizens, not in their own self-interest.4 As a result, professions were granted the autonomy to manage their own affairs via regulatory bodies. And, in turn, the regulatory bodies (typically called colleges) were charged with the responsibility of upholding the public interest. The same holds true today.
How does self-regulation work?
With the goal of serving and protecting the public, the government's focus is on regulating professions that could put the public at risk if not done by qualified professionals. Accordingly, to become regulated, a health profession must meet the government's "risk of harm" threshold.5 Basically, the profession must show that its duties, activities, and decisions could significantly impact patients' physical or mental health or pose the risk of doing so. Once regulated, although there are regional variations, typically each regulatory body self regulates guided by a provincial act and a profession-specific act to:
Determine the skills fellow members must possess and evaluate credentials
Set standards of practice and ethical conduct for the profession
Ensure that fellow members only undertake activities outlined in the profession's scope of practice
Investigate complaints about members and take disciplinary action as needed
In the 1960s, questions began to arise—if not continue to pick up steam—calling for reform of the self regulation model.6 But first, the proponents…
Proponents of self-regulation
Although there have been rumblings (some louder than others across Canada) about reform, many of the same arguments for the self-regulation model persist that resulted in its initial adoption in the 1800s.7 For example, proponents argue that self-regulation is in the public interest because it:
Establishes high-quality entry standards. This protects the public by preventing those who are unqualified from practising because the required level of qualification is determined by those who know best: the professions themselves.
Ensures high-quality oversight of practice. Following the logic of above, the skills and service quality of health professions is best judged by the professions themselves. For example, the idea that it's not possible for non-surgeons to accurately assess surgeons' very specialized skill set.
Cheaper for government. Self-regulation allows the government to delegate and not have to pony up the resources to handle all the many aspects of regulation. The professionals themselves fund the regulatory bodies through annual registration fees.
Detractors of self-regulation
Harking back to the 1960s, the dominant view challenging the self-regulation model is that "while professional self-regulation has many advantages, professionals cannot be trusted to put the public interest above their own; as a result, there needs to be more government oversight to restrict professionals' excesses."8 Essentially, detractors then—and today— argue that conflict of interest is inherent to the self regulation model, so it does not serve and protect the public. For example, conflict of interest can override public interest in many ways:
Personal self-interest by taking advantage of power imbalance and/or patient vulnerabilities for personal gain as in the case of sexual assaults.
Financial self-interest by establishing barriers to entry, decreasing competition, and creating monopolies.
Political self-interest by having influence due to the profession's size, funding, and/or lobby power. As a researcher explains, "A privileged place in the market is a prize awarded to organized professional groups with connections and status who have managed to convince legislators that they deserve market privileges."9
Also, proponents of self-regulation feel that the remedy for conflict of interest is requirements like board meetings that are open to the public and public representation within the regulatory bodies. However, detractors feel that the public members may not be viewed as equals with input that carries the same weight as the professionals who, in this instance, are supposed to be their peers.
Detractors also feel that the self-regulation model (remember it came about in the 19th century) does not have the necessary flexibility built into it to effectively address today's health issues. Specifically, that the way the health professions are defined in their scopes of practice doesn't reflect the overlapping skill-sets that health professions actually use in practice today. And that it is precisely this overlap—in health care lingo, multidisciplinary skills—that are best-suited to help today's aging population and our high incidence of chronic conditions. What the outdated scopes of practice do is allow the professions to protect their interest or their "turf"—hence turf wars among the professions.
In addition, detractors feel that the mishmash of how self-regulation—and for that matter, how regulation overall is handled across Canada—does not provide the consistency necessary to best serve and protect the public. Some also feel that inconsistencies don't allow qualified professions to easily move across provinces or enable qualified immigrants to enter a profession in a standardized and timely way.
All this has led some researchers to label Canada "the last bastion of unfettered self-regulation in the world."10 So what approach are other countries taking to regulating health professionals?
Oversight that is national and independent is the theme of the day
The United Kingdom and more recently, Australia, have reformed their regulation model by moving away from an emphasis on self-regulation. Now, although the professions have input, they are overseen by independent bodies at the national level.
Prompted by a number of scandals involving regulated health professionals, including inappropriate behaviour even causing death, the U.K.'s regulatory system has undergone significant reform over the last 20 years.11 Although there are nine regulatory bodies, they are not self-regulatory in that they do not function autonomously; there is a national independent body (as in, separate from the government and the regulators) charged with regulating the regulators. Sometimes referred to as a "super-regulator" or a "health watchdog," the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care conducts an annual independent review of each regulator and reports the results to parliament.12 In addition to reviewing how the regulators are performing, it also reviews how each regulator handles discipline. If it feels that the decision reached by the regulator and/or the discipline imposed is insufficient to protect the public, it has the authority to appeal to the courts.
WHICH PROFESSIONS ARE REGULATED?
Similar to Canada, both the U.K. and Australia regulate professions like doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists. Plus, they regulate some that Canada has varied regulation on, such as naturopaths.
There used to be numerous territorial registration boards (called registration rather than regulation) with inconsistencies between regions, like the standards for entering and practicing a profession. Not to mention, Australia also had its share of scandals. To remedy the situation, reform began in 2008 as Australia started shifting away from state and territorial-based regulators to national registration standards overseen by now just 15 national boards.13 However, as in the U.K., these boards are not totally self-regulating. Independent oversight is achieved by having board-member candidates recommended by an independent agency (not connected to the government or the boards). Then to have a candidate approved to join a board, the appointment must be approved by another council made up of health ministers from each state and territory.
And then there is the United States…
The U.S. has some federal oversight for some health professions like doctors who have to meet both state and federal regulation, as well as oversight by health maintenance organizations. However, the U.S. model is not typically considered one to look to for ideas regarding reform. If nothing else, it's exceptionally complicated in a large part due to the many players involved in their overall health care system. To make a long story short, the primary responsibility for the regulation of health professions falls to each state in which the professional practises. State licensing boards issue new licences to professionals who meet the required qualifications and enforce standards of practice, including disciplinary acts.
To self-regulate or not to self-regulate?
So now what? Well, we've got a handle (more or less) on what self-regulation means in Canada. And we've also seen examples of countries that have moved away from an emphasis on self-regulation. Maybe it's time to ask the biggie: With the heart of self-regulation being to serve and protect the public, just how are the regulatory bodies doing?
If we based our answer on the Globe article and the chiropractors' regulatory bodies, we'd say not very good—at all.
But is this incidence of putting the public at risk of unscientific practices the exception or the norm? And, digging deeper, should serving and protecting the public really just be a matter of protecting against harm? Don't we also want to ensure our regulated health professionals actually do good—as in use evidence-based practice to improve health outcomes?
We're sure you are on the edge of your seat (if not, please just humour us). Look for our analysis in part two in the April edition of The Inside Story. Yes, a cliff-hanger—we couldn't resist.
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The first thing that struck me as I walked into the small, intimate venue attached to The Middle East was a large crystal perched on top of a stand near the back of the stage. I was extremely intrigued, and while waiting for pop singer Ella Vos to come onto the stage, I couldn't stop staring at this set piece that seemed out-of-place. When Ella finally appeared in front of the cheering crowd with a soft light on her and a drum placed near the front of the stage. as she started the show off with 'Words I Never Said', a track that appears in two parts in her album of the same name, I felt like I was seeing a physical manifestation of that crystal.
It was her crystal-clear voice, that was a true symbol of the gem. Even with some pretty heavy reverb on her microphone, I was able to pick out many of the lyrics to her songs. In fact, Vos sounded pretty much just like her studio voice, high-pitched but not shrill, restrained but passionate. When she spoke to the crowd she seemed slightly nervous but excited; after her first two songs she sheepishly said that she hoped the audience would dance with her.
The setup of the stage itself was sparse, with just Ella who sang and one other musician who handled guitars, the drum machine, and the rest of the electronic backing track. I was initially worried that the music wouldn't shine with only one person playing all live parts rather than a band, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by the end of the show. The best parts of the set were when Ella got involved in the music by doing more than singing. In the intro to her song, 'Little Brother', she banged on a large drum in the middle of the stage as the lights turned changed to a dark green, creating a fun and mysterious atmosphere.
The set list was fairly predictable, as it can be when you've only released eleven songs publicly. However, the show was still exciting and even seemed to have a kind of story to it. Between songs, recorded interludes would play referring to times of heartbreak, loneliness, and depression. "My friends are doing everything that I want to do. I'm stuck inside", went the spoken interlude before one of the more emotional songs of the night, 'Mother Don't Cry.' I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding into a space of Ella's life that seemed very intimate. The song was one of my, and ended up being one of the audience's favorites. When I heard people singing along, I realized that the intimacy was all a part of the experience.
Sometimes, however, the intimacy seemed a little forced. Near the end of the set, Ella moved to a piano to play a slowed down cover of Britney Spears' 'Toxic.' The gesture was cute, and a few audience members sang along, but the piano cover felt a little off kilter and didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the more emotionally charged music that was being played. Additionally, when singing 'You Don't Know About Me,' a fun anthem that got the biggest reaction from the audience, Ella was a little awkward when trying to turn the microphone towards the audience to sing some parts, the gesture didn't really translate well and not many people sang along.
But these awkward moments are to be expected for a singer that's debuted her first full- length album and is only on her first headlining tour. At the end of the set, after playing a powerful rendition of her single, 'Going Down in Flames,' Ella walked to the piano to play a soft, short ending to her show, the second part of her track, 'Words I Never Said.' After dramatically walking off of the stage to a guitar solo playing in the background, it was immediately clear that the small crowd inside Sonia had become enthralled, they shouted for an encore almost immediately after she left. Ella came back to the stage to play two more songs and a flourishing piano solo, looking beyond happy to see an enthusiastic crowd. In that moment, as I saw her smiling face looking into the audience, I could feel her positive energy, radiating towards me in a crystal clear light.
Rachel is a 5th-year music industry major and self-described pop aficionado and connoisseur of K-pop - she has mediocre taste in just about everything else. If you don't believe this, you should check out her radio show "Keep it Kpop" on Wednesdays at 10 am.


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23 September 2016 News
ESA launch CleanSat initiative to clean up space debris
A dramatisation of space junk/satellites in orbit around Earth. Image: Copyright: Science Photo Library
With a growing population of satellites competing for space around Earth's orbit and with the possibility of mega-constellations adding hundreds if not thousands more satellites to the seemingly already saturated skies, the European Space Agency is launching a Clean Space initiative, tasked with safeguarding terrestrial and space environments from a surge in orbital debris.
"European space suppliers will potentially be manufacturing a large percentage of these satellites, representing a market value of billions of euros," says Luisa Innocenti, who heads the initiative. "We want European industry to be able to benefit from this market growth while still respecting international space debris mitigation regulations, to keep these key orbits safely usable into the future.
The programme, appropriately named CleanSat will, with the aid of leading European satellite manufacturers and subsystem and equipment manufacturers, help to overcome problems such as how to safely de-orbit end-of-life satellites in a reliable manner without a high impact in mass or cost. Getting a satellite to perform a controlled splashdown into an empty stretch of ocean is actually more expensive than it appears, because as much as four times the fuel than is currently carried aboard is needed to set it on the right course. Consequently a much bigger and more expensive satellite, or even a larger class of launcher is often then required.
When satellites do re-enter the atmosphere, CleanSat's aim is to ensure that as much hardware as possible burns up, without threatening anyone on the ground. "Satellite reentry is not a single event but rather a process," explains Tiago Soares of CleanSat. "From observations, we see the main body break apart typically at 70–80 km altitude, after which the insides are scattered. The kind of objects that can survive down to the surface are propellant tanks made from materials with high melting points, such as titanium or stainless steel, along with dense items such as optical instruments and large mechanisms."
Something that Texans Steve and Verona Gutowski are familiar with when they were woken by the impact of what looked like a "dead rhinoceros" just 50 m from their farmhouse 20 years ago. It turned out to be a 250 kg fuel tank from a rocket stage.
ESA therefore want to ensure that future components conform to something known as D4D or 'Design for Demise,' whereby satellite structures and hardware parts burn-up completely on reentry into the atmosphere. Making propellant tanks out of new aluminium alloys for example, could be one way to achieve this.
"However, even redesigned parts will not melt if they are not exposed to the searing heat early enough. This shows the need to adopt an overall approach to D4D, such as opening up the satellite body as early as possible during reentry," added Soares.
D4D is only one of the avenues being investigated within the CleanSat programme and a further 28 building block technologies have already been looked at. Those that warrant the highest priority will be presented to ESA's Council at Ministerial Level later this year in December.
Design for Demise
CleanSat
Clearing space junk from orbit
China's space ambitions fuel defence spending and global innovation
Producing food in space
Space sustainability imperative


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Shang-Chi and the Chamber of Sorcerer's Stones
September 03, 2021 • Shang-Chi
When you look closely, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings completely ripped off Harry Potter. Before burning me at the stake, lay down your torches and pitchforks, and hear me out.
Shang-Chi is exactly what the trailers portrayed it to be: a Marvel Studios joyride with well-choreographed fight scenes, big CGI locations and battles, and Chinese fantasy straight out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. To top it off, it's sprinkled with Disney/Marvel's trademark slapstick comedy and gags. More so than many of the MCU entries, Shang-Chi had a distinctly Disney fingerprint but with enough highspeed flips and kicks to make Daniel Craig jealous.
For what it is, Shang-Chi is an enjoyable fantasy take on the Marvel superheroes. Fans of the MCU's feelgood action-comedies like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, and Captain Marvel will fall in love with Shang-Chi.
It's just that it all felt very familiar. Not just in a young adult, Marvel/Disney action-comedy sort of way. Then it hit me: this is Harry Potter. The heroes, the villains, the locations, and even the moments - they all parallel Harry Potter one after another. Even the title, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is so achingly close to being Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I wager that the sequel's title will be something along the lines of Shang-Chi and the Chamber of Secrets.
The story itself follows the Harry Potter formula. Compare it to Sorcerer's Stone. The child of extraordinary parents, Harry is an underachiever living a boring, ordinary life when he discovers he is a wizard. He is whisked away to a hidden world of magic that is invisible to normal people. Harry learns that his mother sacrificed herself to save him. He then crosses the magical barrier to enter Hogwarts where he learns to hone his skills in order to slay the monsters and protect his family. He even discovers a magic mirror that lets you see your deepest desires, but he has the wisdom to know that can lead to disaster. Meanwhile, the antagonist, Professor Quirrell, learns too late that he was being manipulated by the greater threat all along. Armed with newfound confidence and understanding, Harry returns to the ordinary world wiser and better.
Replace wands for rings and dragon scales, and you basically get the entire plot to Legend of the Ten Rings. Instead of a misleading magic mirror and Voldemort pulling the strings, Marvel has the Dweller in Darkness (which sounds like an antisocial teenager to me) manipulating Xu Wenwu from behind a wall of dragon scales.
Still not convinced? Take a look at the main characters as they undeniably fill the same roles as those from Harry Potter.
The most obvious is Shang-Chi, who is an older Harry Potter with infinitely better fighting skills. He follows the same character trajectory and saves the magical world of Ta Lo, which is essentially Shang-Chi's Hogwarts. Along the way he makes a core group of friends that help him on his journey, and these characters should be very familiar.
Shang-Chi's best friend and ride-or-die companion in his epic journey is Katy, aka Ten Rings' Ron Weasley. Unrefined and hilariously awkward, she is the slapstick comic relief. She stumbles her way through the story on sheer dumb luck, following Harry-Chi to the end. Along the way, she proves herself to be a brave and loyal friend.
Next is Hermione, or as she is known here, Xialing. Unmatched in her skills and intellect, Xialing possesses the knowledge of the magical world that helps guide Shang-Chi on his quest.
Harry and his fellowship would not be complete without the help of their friend, Hagrid. A bit of a buffoon at first glance, Hagrid has a magical bond with animals that comes in handy more often than not on Harry's journey. Who does that sound like? The failed actor himself, Trevor Slattery, and the lovable whatever-that-thing-is, Morris.
It doesn't stop there. Where Harry learned the tools of the trade at Hogwarts, Shang-Chi mastered Kung Fu in the realm of Ta Lo. Who is there to teach Shang-Chi the ways of the Force? His very own Professor Dumbledore, the dear aunt Ying Nan, Ta Lo's boss of bosses apparently.
By the way, did Shang-Chi, Katy, Xialing, and Trevor's path into Ta Lo remind you of anything? No, this wasn't the Hogwarts Express; this was the magic car ride from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets complete with Ron/Katy in the driver's seat. It was all there with the angry bamboo trees standing in for the Whomping Willow. For that matter, the Basilisk and Fawkes the Phoenix from Chamber of Secrets were in Shang-Chi, but this time they were called the Dweller in Darkness and the Great Protector.
The one character who steps furthest from the Harry Potter tropes is the best character in the entire film, Shang-Chi's father, the true Mandarin. Aside from being the villain whose magic Shang-Chi needs to claim as his own, which is similar to Harry and Voldemort's relationship, Xu Wenwu stands out from the rest of the cast. Xu is arguably the most sympathetic and understandable character with the richest backstory of anyone in the film. Here you have a man made immortal and invincible by the Ten Rings, bested only by the love of his life. When she is murdered as retribution for his violent past, sacrificing herself to protect Shang-Chi in the process, Xu mounts a quest to avenge her death. "A blood debt can only be paid in blood," he tells a young Shang-Chi after the child witnesses his father's full wrath. It has a distinct Punisher vibe, and I would love a Disney+ series chronicling his bloody path of vengeance that eventually leads to nowhere.
Like Frank Castle, Xu Wenwu is an ageless warrior with a reason to be angry. When he marches on Ta Lo, he is doing so for an honorable purpose, though his means are questionable. He is mistakenly led to believe that his soulmate, the one person who cracked his heart of stone, is being held captive there. Xu uses his power to rescue her, and no one from Ta Lo takes the time to give him evidence that he's being manipulated.
Don't misunderstand me. I enjoyed Shang-Chi, and the theater erupted in applause and cheers when the credits rolled. Quite frankly, I have never been a fan of the first two Harry Potter movies, so Shang-Chi is a welcome upgrade on Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. That doesn't erase the fact that Marvel Studios didn't just borrow notes from Harry Potter; Shang-Chi outright copied Harry's homework.
Matt Tuck is the author of the novel, Lost Bones of the Dead. He is a professional writer, avid comic collector, former teacher, and an international man of mystery. You can follow him on his Facebook page, The Comic Blog.


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14-Feb-2018 1:19 PM
Beijing Capital airport: 2017 record, but stays #2 to world busiest Atlanta as Beijing Daxing looms
Such is the growth of the China market that accolades become normal. Beijing Capital International Airport announced its 2017 passenger traffic as a record, but Beijing Capital has set a new record every year since 2004.
The airport handled 95.8 million passengers in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 1.4 million, or 1.5% growth. Beijing Capital had double-digit percentage growth until 2011, and then had growth of 5% or so. While this is slowing, it is from a larger base, although the additional 1.4 million passenger figure of 2017 was the slowest in a decade.
Beijing Capital is the world's second largest airport. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson remains the largest, and the only airport to carry over 100 million passengers a year. Atlanta's traffic has declined by 0.3%, so while Beijing Capital has narrowed the gap with Atlanta, it appears unlikely that it will overtake Atlanta.
From 2019 some airlines at Beijing Capital will move to the new international airport, Beijing Daxing. Their existing Beijing Capital slots will only gradually be made available to other airlines. Beijing city's total passengers will increase, but across two airports.
Beijing and Atlanta had one-off events that depressed passenger volumes.
International passengers make up 27% of Beijing Capital's total throughput.
Gap between Beijing Capital and Atlanta narrowed to 8.1 million passengers.
Beijing Capital will not overtake Atlanta this decade.
Beijing Capital reaches 95.8 million passengers
Beijing Capital Airlines ended 2017 with passenger throughput of 95.8 million. This is 1.4 million additional passengers compared to 2016, representing growth of 1.5%.
Beijing Capital International Airport annual passenger traffic (left axis) and percentage growth (right axis): 2007-2017
Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and Beijing Capital International Airport reports.
Beijing Capital's performance was impacted by two one-off events: runway repair works in Apr-2017, and then heavy rain in Aug-2017. As a result, passenger traffic declined significantly in both of those months compared to 2016.
If Beijing Capital had had the same passenger throughput in those two months as in 2016, the airport would have handled a further 1.1 million passengers, for a total of nearly 97 million passengers. More realistically, a normal Apr-2017 with growth (continuing the trend from early 2017) would have pushed Beijing Capital's figures up higher – possibly close to 98 million.
With the exception of Nov-2017, in the second half of the year there was slower growth, likely a combination of slot shortages, earlier growth being absorbed, and then traffic slowing in advance of the important Oct-2017 government meeting that has, in the past, resulted in a slowing of travel.
Beijing Capital International Airport monthly passenger traffic: 2016-2017
2017 was Beijing's slowest year of growth
In terms of net additional passengers and percentage growth, 2017 was Beijing's slowest in recent history. However, this was impacted by the one-off occurrences. Without them, growth would have been higher than in 2013 – the previous slowest year – although still well below the growth of earlier this decade and in the past decade.
This is not the result of a change in demand but rather, a shortage of infrastructure.
Beijing Capital International airport net additional passengers (left axis) and annual percentage growth (right axis): 2007-2017
International share nudges up to 27% at Beijing Capital
International/regional passengers made up 24% of total throughput at Beijing Capital from 2007-2014. In 2015 this went up to 25%, to 26% in 2016, and then 27% in 2017. However, these gains seem small compared to China's "go out" policy for international expansion.
In comparison, 10-12% of passengers at Atlanta airport are international. A decade ago Beijing Capital had 45% more international/regional passengers than Atlanta, but in 2017 it had over 130% more international passengers than Atlanta.
Beijing Capital International airport passenger composition (left axis) and share of international/regional passengers (right axis): 2007-2017
Atlanta traffic impacted by series of one-off events
Atlanta carried 103.9 million passengers in 2017, a drop of 0.3% from 2016's 104.1 million. Atlanta's performance was impacted by a series of one-off events that forced the cancellation of flights: Delta's Apr-2017 operational delays, a hurricane in Sep-2017, and then Atlanta airport's IT outage in Dec-2017.
In two months – Mar-2017 and Aug-2017 – there was strong traffic growth at Atlanta. Without the one-off events, Atlanta would have posted respectable overall growth and set a new record.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport monthly passenger traffic: 2016-2017
Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reports.
Beijing Capital has not overtaken Atlanta
At the start of this decade it was expected that Beijing Capital would overtake Atlanta as the world's busiest airport. However, Atlanta accelerated growth, whereas Beijing Capital's growth was not as high as expected.
From 2007-2010, Atlanta airport handled close to 90 million passengers per annum. From 2011-2014, traffic jumped to 95 million. In 2015 Atlanta crossed the 100 million mark with 101.4 million passengers, which grew to 104.1 million in 2016. At Beijing Capital, the realities of slot and airspace constraints meant that growth slowed.
In 2015 the gap between Beijing Capital and Atlanta widened for the first time in recent history. In 2016 the gap narrowed, placing Beijing Capital as close to Atlanta as at any time before, with a difference of 9.9 million passengers. In 2017 the gap was further narrowed to 8.1 million passengers.
The remaining gap will not be closed in one year. Atlanta's traffic decline in 2017 was a one-off. This somewhat artificially low year will make 2018 an especially strong year, provided there are no setbacks. Beijing Capital will not be able to add enough traffic to make up the difference.
In 2009 and 2010 Beijing Capital added 9 million additional passengers per annum, but this was a one-off due to infrastructure expansion.
Comparison of annual passengers at Atlanta and Beijing Capital and annual difference in passenger numbers: 2007-2017
Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Atlanta and BCIA.
2019 is the start of new – and smart – growth for Beijing Capital, Air China & Star Alliance
Beijing Capital's last year of passenger growth under the status quo is 2018. This year will not be one where Beijing Capital will overtake Atlanta. That eventuality could occur, but it will take until well into the 2020s.
From mid-2019, some airlines at Beijing Capital are expected to begin moving their operations to the new airport Beijing Daxing. This will reduce Beijing Capital's traffic figures. The slots made available from departing airlines will be reallocated, but not all at once. Beijing Capital wants to ensure steady growth over a number of years. (This is healthy and especially beneficial for Air China and its partners, which can have consistent growth rather than scrambling to grab slots.)
See related report: Beijing's second airport at Daxing: risk of unproductive competition, China Eastern the big winner
Beijing Capital will shift to an Air China/Star Alliance-led operation (but not exclusively). More importantly, Beijing Capital and its partners will look past pure volume growth to achieve smart growth: relevant destinations that enhance hub as well as ground practices to improve the experience and reduce minimum connection times.
Beijing Capital is the world's second largest airport. Its next task is to improve hub capability.


Carlos Guedes Soares. Safety and Reliability of Industrial Products, Systems and Structures, CRC Press, 2010.
The SAFERELNET Thematic Network was concerned with providing safe and cost-effective solutions for industrial products, systems, facilities and structures across different industrial sectors.
The scope of the Network was the integrated treatment of the important aspects of design, production, operation of industrial products and systems. The main emphasis was on the use of reliability-based methods for the optimal design of products, production facilities, industrial systems and structures from the point of view of balancing the economic aspects associated with providing predefined safety levels, with the associated costs of maintenance and availability. The approaches included modelling the reliability of systems throughout their lifetime so as to be able to study the impact of new maintenance and repair schemes on system safety, life cycle costs, reliability, serviceability and quality. Methods for the assessment of existing structures and equipment have been addressed as well as approaches and criteria for extending the lifetime of products and industrial systems safety and with adequate levels of reliability and availability.
The Network aimed at improving the coherence of the approaches adopted by the different industries to deal with the above-mentioned problems, in particular as concerns RTD and demonstration activities. It assessed the importance and maturity of the technologies being developed and contributed to the technology transfer among sectors.
This Network, which has a duration of four years, is funded by the GROWTH programme of the European Commission with a budget around 2 Million EURO. The Network organised workshops and produced reports and sectorial overviews, which were disseminated in due course.
In addition to its own activities, the Network established links with international organisations as well as with other type of Networks that are active in similar areas.
The Institute of Structural Mechanics was responsible, in the role of the Workpackage Leader, for WP6 (Assessment and Life Extension of Existing Structures and Industrial Plants). Furthermore, the Institute of Structural Mechanics mainly contributed to Task 5.4 (Bayesian Reassessment of Structures) and Task 10.4 (Strategy in the Building Sector).
Workpackage 6 reviewed and described the theoretical framework for and methods to plan and carry out the cost optimal assessment of existing structures and facilities in consistency with the available information and such that any requirement to the safety of the facility or structure is achieved. An important part of this work package consisted of the assessment and description of how uncertain information may be appropriately modeled as well as how information originating from inspections, measurements, tests and the operational history of the facility or structure may be utilized in order to update this uncertain information. Aspects of acceptability were considered for existing process facilities and structures in co-ordination with the corresponding activities in workpackage 2 and workpackage 5. The work package finally contributes to the framework document on integrated risk assessment.
All these objectives are considered in the main deliverables, prepared by task 6.1 and task 6.2.
Furthermore, three Background Documents are produced.
The new developments of structural reliability methods were reviewed, both the computational methods as well as the applications in specific studies and in code calibrations. Philosophy, objective and procedures for code calibration for traditional and new design concepts were treated, as well as probabilistic codes and reliability based design by direct use of first principles. Further safety objective, risk acceptance and target reliability for structural designs were addressed. Methods for reliability of existing structures, especially reliability updating via Bayesian methods, were also reviewed and developed.
This task was concerned about probabilistic modelling of uncertain information in assessment problems. Physical uncertainties, model uncertainties and statistical uncertainties were considered and treated specifically, however, under the same framework. It was assessed and described how additional and or new information and knowledge may be used to update the models and appropriate calculation procedures were identified. Uncertainty updating was assessed and described.
The task summarised the state-of-the-art and state-of-practice on the applications of safety and reliability approaches in the Building Sector. The objective was to present the industrial problems and key issues that needed to be addressed by the methodology task groups within Work Packages 2 to 9. A benchmark study was produced as well.
The deliverables and background report of workpackage 6 are given below. Further reports and information are available at the SAFERELNET homepage.
C. Bucher, M. Brehm, and H. Bolt. Framework for assessment and life extension of existing structures and industrial plants, In Safety and Reliability of Industrial Products, Systems and Structures (editor Carlos Guedes Soares), pp. 53-62. , CRC Press, 2010.
C. Bucher, H. Bolt, M. Brehm, I. Craifaleanu, M. Ebert, M. Holicky, V. Just, A. Kowalski, O. Kübler, A. Lannoy, M. Macke, P. Maia, J. Markova, O. T. Vardal, T. Vrouwenvelder, and J. Williams. State-of-the-art report on assessment and life extension of existing structures and industrial plants. Main Deliverable SAF-D6-0-BUW-01(15), SAFERELNET TN Work Package 6, 2006.
C. Bucher, H. Bolt, M. Brehm, I. Craifaleanu, M. H. Faber, I. B. Kroon, and G. Sterritt. Document on future needs in "Assessment and life extension of existing structures and industrial plants". Main Deliverable SAF-D6-0-BUW-02(9), SAFERELNET TN Work Package 6, 2006.
C. Bucher, H. Bolt, M. Brehm, M. H. Faber, S. Gollwitzer, C. G. Soares, J. Sörensen, and T. Vrouwenvelder. Framework document on "Assessment and life extension of existing structures and industrial plants". Main Deliverable SAF-D6-0-BUW-03(14), SAFERELNET TN Work Package 6, 2006.
B6.1 - P. Maia. Condition Monitoring and remaining life assessment approach at the EDP Group. Electricidade de Protugal - CPPE Group. SAF-B6-1-BUW-04. Background Document. Workpackage 6 of SAFERELNET. September 2004. www.mar.ist.utl.pt/saferelnet/.
B6.2 - M. Holicky, J. Markova. Reliability of Primary School. Klokner Institute, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic. SAF-B6-1-BUW-05. Background Document. Workpackage 6 of SAFERELNET. September 2004. www.mar.ist.utl.pt/saferelnet/.
B6.3 - D. Lungu, I. Craifaleanu. Seismic Assessment and Retrofitting of Existing Structures in Romania: Background, Programs, Regulatory Basis. National Institute for Building Research - INCERC, Romania. SAF-B6-1-BUW-05. Background Document. Workpackage 6 of SAFERELNET. January 2006. . www.mar.ist.utl.pt/saferelnet/.


text:
Island Imagined
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Title: Plan Shewing the Situation of Plot No. 94 on Lot or Township No. 15
Name: Ball, Jos.
Abstract: Plan of part of Lot 15 (No.74). Shows the situation of Plot No.94, the property of John MacInally. 77 acres. MacInally's plot is shaded green. Map also shows Joseph Gallant's Plot No. 93 to the north and Paul Perry's Plot No. 95 to the south. An unlabelled river or creek is coloured blue. The maps shows an unlabelled road and the Settlement Road, both coloured light brown. Location of a church is shown. Magnetic north arrow shows variation for 1764.
Identifier: 0710
1 map: col.; 17.5 x 27 cm.
Paper map.
The map shows Plot No. 94--John MacInally's parcel of 77 acres--on Lot 15. It is shaded green. Map also shows Joseph Gallant's Plot No. 93 to the north and Paul Perry's Plot No. 95 to the south. An unlabelled river or creek is coloured blue. The maps shows an unlabelled road and the Settlement Road, both coloured light brown. Location of a church is shown. Magnetic north arrow shows variation for 1764.
Topic: Lots
Province: Prince Edward Island
County: Prince
Region/Lot: Lot 15
Use and Reproduction: This material is provided for research, education, and private use only. For all other uses, please contact the Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island. All responsibilities for copyright are the responsibility of the user.
Restrictions on Access: There are no access restrictions on this content.
Physical Location: Public Archives and Records Office
description Plan of part of Lot 15 (No.74). Shows the situation of Plot No.94, the property of John MacInally. 77 acres. MacInally's plot is shaded green. Map also shows Joseph Gallant's Plot No. 93 to the north and Paul Perry's Plot No. 95 to the south. An unlabelled river or creek is coloured blue. The maps shows an unlabelled road and the Settlement Road, both coloured light brown. Location of a church is shown. Magnetic north arrow shows variation for 1764.
type cadastral maps
title Plan Shewing the Situation of Plot No. 94 on Lot or Township No. 15:
contributor Ball, Jos. (Surveyor)
format 1 map: col.; 17.5 x 27 cm.
format manuscript
description The map shows Plot No. 94--John MacInally's parcel of 77 acres--on Lot 15. It is shaded green. Map also shows Joseph Gallant's Plot No. 93 to the north and Paul Perry's Plot No. 95 to the south. An unlabelled river or creek is coloured blue. The maps shows an unlabelled road and the Settlement Road, both coloured light brown. Location of a church is shown. Magnetic north arrow shows variation for 1764.
coverage Canada--Prince--Lot 15
subject Lots
rights This material is provided for research, education, and private use only. For all other uses, please contact the Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island. All responsibilities for copyright are the responsibility of the user.
rights There are no access restrictions on this content.


Set the table a day or two before.
This is from a party that we had last Wednesday night.
Wine station in the foyer.
We toasted baguette slices and covered them with roasted tomatoes and garlic (and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese) and olive salad from the deli section of our grocery (Molly Stone's if you are local).
Howard made his Chesapeake Bay crab cakes with remoulade sauce as the first course. Similar recipe to this.
Each guest got up to get their own plate of food (saves time plating). Howard found this Vietnamese Shaking Beef recipe in the February issue of Food and Wine. Bold choice since he hadn't made it before. It was delicious! He doubled the recipe and served it with Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce.
I made these Carmelitas in the morning to be sure they had plenty of time to cool (you could also make them the night before). We just passed the tray around after I cleared the dinner dishes. Once you make them one time, you will see how easy they are to make…and the house smells great.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8" x 8" pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 60 seconds.
Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and stir.
Put about half of the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and lightly pat it down to make a flat layer.
While it bakes, make the caramel sauce. I've used Kraft caramels before but they are hard to unwrap and I think Werther's tastes better.
In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine the caramels and cream. Heat on high power in 60-second intervals to melt caramels, stirring after each burst. It takes about 4 to 5 minutes total to melt.
Heat until the mixture can be stirred smooth. I've also done this on the stovetop stirring constantly over low heat until smooth. Which works but the microwave is easier.
Remove the pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate. Pour the caramel sauce evenly over the chocolates.
Crumble the reserved oatmeal-brown sugar mixture over the top.
Bake for about 16 to 20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and center is bubbling slightly.
Allow bars to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving, giving the melted caramel time to firm up. After about three hours on the counter, I covered the bars with foil and put them in the refrigerator for one hour so that they were completely cool. Lift the bars out of the pan, remove foil and use a large knife to cut into squares. Sprinkle the bars very lightly with the Kosher or sea salt if desired.
Check out your fellow readers' book recommendations. There are some common elements! There are Amazon links for your convenience.
"Beneath a Scarlet Sky" by Mark Sullivan, which is free on Amazon Prime Reading right now.
Thanks to everyone who gave me their picks last week! I've got a good list now.
I got this vase on sale 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
PS. I DO feel really lucky to have a good man who is also a good cook! I'm keeping him!
I'm going to try out the beef and broccoli recipes. They look delicious!
The carmelitas also look delicious but am avoiding sweets.
I pinned that Carmelita recipe begrudgingly. I am afraid if I make them I will eat them all. You are so lucky that Howard loves to cook can you please clone him!! The table looked beautiful, I know the food was yummy. Who wouldn't love to be a guest at your home?!!
Those Carmelitas look yummy and easy. Nice dinner party!
Where The Crawdads Sing the best book I've read recently.
Lovely post Mary Ann. Lovely dinner party, lovely table, delicious food, I know, I made the SHAKING BEEF from Food & Wine for dinner last night! It was soooo good!! What a coincidence! And your recommended list of books could not have come at a better time as my Well Red (as in Red wine as we do a lot of drinking too) Book Club is still deciding on books for this year. Thank you!
I know…I want Howard to make it again soon!
Everything from your table to dinner and dessert looks amazing! Love your style in everything you do Mary Ann!
Love your attic renovation, Annie!!!
Your husband cooks and has his special recipes? I'll marry him! Look out.
Now if you made those appetizers in LA nobody would eat them because they are Carbs and god forbid eating carbs.
Beautiful dinner and I agree about those cookies, You have to give them away or you would gain 10 pounds.
What a view and beautiful dinner party.
Yes…they are dangerous! Nobody eats carbs here either…but surprisingly the crostinis were all gone. Hope you are feeling better!!!
What a lovely table setting! Thanks for the Carmelitas recipe. I can't have chocolate (migraines), but it brought back great childhood memories.
You could definitely leave out the chocolate, Susie.
Yum ! I'm going to have company for dinner now, just to have an excuse to make those carmelitas !
Lovely meeting you the other day at the Coyuchi event . I always get some good tips by reading your blog . Thank you !
So fun to meet you, Keven!!
Beautiful table to sit at while eating delicious food and enjoying that gorgeous view. How lucky are you that Howard cooks, he's a keeper! Both recipes sound yummy and I'd like to try them. Ive had Carmelitas and if I made them, I would definitely eat them all myself before the company arrived! Thanks for all the great book tips, I think I have just about everyone of them in my wish list, if I haven't already read it.
I thought this month's Food & Wine was a keeper. Nice to know Chef Howard does, too. It will be interesting to see how this Shaking Beef compares to the one I make from The Slanted Door cookbook. Looking forward to that! I agree with you anything with oatmeal is for breakfast and swap out semi-sweet for dark and those bars are almost medicinal.
I like the candlesticks. Can you share the source?
They are sold out at World Market but Target and Pottery Barn and CB2 have similar ones.
This looks like the perfect dinner party! I cannot wait to make this beef for my husband. As for the carmelitias I cannot wait to make them. I agree with you they are like breakfast treats.
Have you ever tried freezing the bars? Just wondering if that works…..Thx! They look delicious!
Yes…you could do that for about a week. That's what I did…then I ate one every day. So tempting.