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Alexander Wilhelm von Brill
Darmstadt, Germany
Tübingen, Germany
Alexander von Brill was a German mathematician who worked in algebraic geometry. He also made mathematical models and was interested in the history of mathematics.
Alexander von Brill was given the name Alexander Wilhelm Brill, the "von" only being added in 1897. His father, Heinrich Konrad Brill (1808-1891), was a the owner of a bookshop and printing business. Heinrich was born in Darmstadt on 21 October 1808, the son of Karl Friederich Brill and Marie Luise Mallinkrott. He married Julie Henriette Simonetta Wiener (1820-1903) and, in 1866, was a co-founder of the Association of German Printers. Julie Henriette Simonetta Wiener was the sister of Christian Wiener who has a biography in this archive. Alexander was the eldest of his parents' six children, having siblings Ludwig Carl Wilhelm Brill (1844-1932), Karl August Christian Brill (1846-1846), Sophie Louise Brill (1847-1935), Adolph Georg Brill (born 1850), and Carl Friedrich Brill (1857-1892). Alexander Brill's school education was in Darmstadt where he attended elementary school and then a Gymnasium.
In 1860 Brill entered the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe where he studied architecture and engineering science. He was taught mathematics by his uncle Christian Wiener, attending his course on descriptive geometry, and by Alfred Clebsch who taught the course on mechanics. Clebsch had been appointed to Karlsruhe in 1858 but, in 1863, he moved from Karlsruhe to the University of Giessen. Brill also moved to Giessen and was again taught by Clebsch. He graduated from Giessen in 1864 with a degree in architecture and gained his qualification to teach mathematics at Gymnasiums. Brill needed to find ways to support himself financially during his studies at both Karlsruhe and Giessen and he did this by taking on duties as a substitute teacher and also by tutoring private pupils. He was awarded his doctorate having written the dissertation Über diejenigen Curven, deren Coordinaten sich als hyperelliptische Functionen eines Parameters darstellen lassen Ⓣ
(On those curves, whose coordinates can be represented as hyperelliptic functions of a parameter)
with Clebsch as his advisor. Remaining in Giessen after his graduation to undertake research, Brill submitted his habilitation thesis in 1867. After the thesis was accepted Brill was appointed a privatdozent in Giessen, a post he held for two years.
Clebsch left Giessen in 1868 when he was appointed to fill the chair at Göttingen that had been held by Bernhard Riemann who had died in 1866. This changed the research environment at Giessen since Clebsch took his entourage of students with him. However, Paul Gordan remained at Giessen and his interests were similar to those of Brill. In 1869 Brill left Giessen to take up an appointment as a full professor at the Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt [7]:-
In 1874 he brought out a series of paper models of second order surfaces. These models were inspired by a model of an elliptic paraboloid made from half-circles which the German-educated mathematician Olaus Henrici of London had sent to a meeting of mathematicians in Göttingen. Brill's models, which represented surfaces by delicately interlaced circles or quadrilaterals, were not as sturdy as wooden or even plaster models, but cost considerably less.
These cardboard models were described by Brill in Carton-Modelle von Flächen zweiter Ordnung, construirt nach Angabe Ⓣ
(Cardboard models of surfaces of the second order, constructed as specified)
(1874). Also in 1874 he published Über die algebraische Functionen und ihre Anwendung in der Geometrie Ⓣ
(On the algebraic functions and their applications in geometry)
, a joint work with Max Noether on properties of algebraic functions which are invariant under birational transformations. Brill had met Max Noether, who was two years younger, when the two were both working at Giessen and they had become good friends. They collaborated in producing an algebraic-geometric approach to the theory of Riemann surfaces. Their joint work was the first systematic use of algebraic techniques, which today form part of commutative algebra, in the study of geometry.
On 15 May 1875, Brill married Anna Johannette Christiane Schleiermacher (born 1848) in Darmstadt. Anna was the daughter of Heinrich August Schleiermacher (1816-1892), the Minister of Finance to the Grand Duke of Hesse, and his wife Johanna Philippina Katharina Auguste Schenck (1820-1859). Alexander and Anna Brill had three sons, Alexander Brill, Eduard Brill (1877-1968) and August Brill. Alexander became President of the Imperial Pay Board, Eduard became an architect, craftsman and Director of a Craft School, and August became a manufacturer. Alexander and Anna Brill also had a daughter Julia who was born in 1883.
Brill held the position in Darmstadt until 1875 when he was appointed as the professor of mathematics at the Technische Hochschule in Munich. There he was joined by Felix Klein in 1875 and the two taught advanced courses to large numbers of excellent students. Brill and Klein both had a great interest in teaching and Brill, like Klein, participated in the movement to reform the teaching of mathematics. It is clear that Brill was much influenced by being a colleague of Klein's for five years and the influence would show up in many different ways throughout Brill's career. Brill taught a remarkably talented collection of students while at the Technische Hochschule in Munich including, for example, Adolf Hurwitz, Walther von Dyck, Karl Rohn, Carl Runge, Max Planck, Luigi Bianchi and Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro. In particular, as he had in Darmstadt, in Munich Brill [1]:-
... was an initiator of the use of models of geometric figures in teaching; many such models were prepared under his guidance.
At Munich a laboratory for the design, production, and pedagogical application of models was set up by Brill and Klein. The construction of mathematical models became part of the work of the mathematical seminar and many students contributed to this work making models in connection with their dissertations. Brill published Mathematische Modelle angefertigt im mathematischen Institut des Königlichen Polytechnikums zu München Ⓣ
(Mathematical models made in the mathematics department of the Royal Polytechnic of Munich)
(1880) and looked for a way to make his production of mathematical models more commercial. To do this he enlisted the help of his elder brother Ludwig Brill who was now running the family printing business in Darmstadt. Ludwig Brill had taken over his father's business in 1877. Von Dyck assisted Klein and Brill in the construction of models such as the tractrix of revolution, geodetic lines on an ellipsoid of revolution, Kummer's surface, Dupin's cyclide, the spherical catenary and twisted cubics. These mathematical models, constructed of silk threads in brass frames, became a major feature of Ludwig Brill's business. By 1890 he was selling 16 series of models, seven of which were the original ones constructed at the Technische Hochschule in Munich under the direction of Brill, Klein and von Dyck. Around this time the firm was taken over by Martin Schilling of Leipzig and by 1911 their catalogue contained about 400 mathematical models inspired by Brill's early work in this area.
The production of mathematical models was part of Brill's efforts in teaching but he also published impressive research papers and books. For example, while at Munich he published Höhere Kurven Ⓣ
(Higher curves)
(1880), Zur Theorie der geodätischen Linie und des geodätischen Dreiecks Ⓣ
(On the theory of geodesic and geodesic triangle)
(1883), and Bestimmung der optischen Wellenfläche aus einem ebenen Centralschnitte derselben Ⓣ
(Determination of the optical wave front of a plane central section)
(1883). Although Klein left Munich in 1880, Brill was to remain there for a few more years, taking up the chair of mathematics in the University of Tübingen in 1884. Brill held this chair until he retired in 1918 at the age of 76, but continued to live and do mathematics in Tübingen after his retirement until his death at age 92.
He contributed to the study of algebraic geometry, trying to bring the rigour of algebra into the study of curves. His work allowed the notion of genus of a curve, introduced by Clebsch, to be extended to singular and non-singular curves. In 1894 he wrote, again in collaboration with Max Noether, Die Entwickelung der Theorie der algebraischen Functionen in älterer und neuerer Zeit Ⓣ
(The development of the theory of algebraic functions in older and more recent times)
which presents an extremely important survey of the development of the theory of algebraic functions. Pogrebyssky, in [1], also notes the importance of:-
... his papers on three-dimensional algebraic curves (1907) and on pseudospherical three-dimensional space (1885), where the impossibility of putting such a space into Euclidean four-dimensional space and the possibility of its being placed in a Euclidean five-dimensional space are proved.
Brill also wrote on determinants, elliptic functions, special curves and surfaces. He wrote articles on the methodology of mathematics and on theoretical mechanics. In 1911 he published the book Vorlesungen zur Entführung in die Mechanik raumerfullender Massen Ⓣ
(Introductory lectures on the mechanics of a continuous medium)
. It is reviewed in [10]:-
This book has a twofold design, to serve as an introduction to the mathematical treatment of the mechanics of a continuous medium, and to employ for that purpose the ideas set forth by Heinrich Hertz in his 'Mechanics'. Much interest has always been felt in various "economic" statements of the laws of nature, and some day an interesting monograph will doubtless fill up the outline sketched by Mach, tracing back the principle that "Nature always acts by the simplest and most perfect means" to the schoolmen if not to Aristotle, setting forth the first triumph of the principle in suggesting to Fermat the famous law of swiftest propagation of light, and not omitting Maupertuis and the "principle of least action." ... Professor Brill sets out the Hertzian system, and illustrates it by examples. It is curious to note that the example chosen of non-holonomous systems, in which the constraints are expressible by a differential equation unintegrable per se, is as simply dealt with by direct application of Newton's second law, which avoids what Professor Brill terms the "delicate considerations and special precautions" necessary in applying Lagrange's equations. The book is divided into four sections, dealing with material particles and rigid bodies, the mechanics of fluids, of elastic solids, and with the electro-magnetic theory of light. It possesses high interest as indicating a sequence in the branches of mathematical physics discussed, for the co-ordination of a student's progress in the working of mathematical machinery, with his progress in familiarity with the physical problems to be treated, is a matter which is far from invariably being well regulated.
In 1912 Brill published Das Relativitätsprinzip. Eine Einführung in die Theorie Ⓣ
(The principle of relativity. An introduction to the theory)
in Jahresbericht der deutschen Mathematiker-Vereinigung. Edwin Bidwell Wilson writes in a review [12]:-
The treatment is mathematical and didactic, without pretense of originality, and directed toward giving a brief account of the kinematics and dynamics of a particle from the point of view of relativity; electromagnetic phenomena and the theory of radiant energy are omitted.
In 1925 he published his lectures on algebraic curves in the book Vorlesungen über ebene algebraische Kurven una algebraische Funktion Ⓣ
(Lectures on algebraic plane curves una algebraic function)
. Arnold Emch writes in a review [5]:-
The book under review embodies in final form the course of lectures which, for many years, Brill has given at the University of Tübingen. As is well known Brill together with Max Noether are the twin-stars of German geometricians who did the important pioneer work concerning the geometry on algebraic curves. One may therefore expect that a treatise on the subject by such a man should contain much that is of value and of fundamental importance for the student of geometry and, in a wider sense, for the mathematician in general. It is true that the lectures are intended for the beginner, i.e., in American terminology, for the first and possibly second year graduate student. In other words, the student will have a fairly good start in algebraic geometry after he has mastered Brill's lectures. ... Brill states that in former years he put more stress upon the projective point of view, while in later years he returned more and more to the standpoint of the first discoverers in this field, of Descartes, Newton, Cramer, Euler, in so far as the graphical or geometric form relations are concerned. What Brill presents is, as one might expect, very penetrating and illuminating. ... Brill, one of the remaining representatives of an important period of geometric development, has given enough of an algebraic, function theoretic treatment of algebraic geometry to stimulate the student for further reading and research in this direction. In this sense the book will be found very profitable and may be highly recommended.
In 1928 Brill published his lectures on theoretical mechanics in the book Vorlesungen über Allgemeine Mechanik Ⓣ
(Lectures on general mechanics)
. Howard Percy Robertson writes in the review [11]:-
This treatment of the dynamics of a particle, rigid bodies, and systems of particles is an outgrowth of Professor Brill's lectures on theoretical mechanics in the Technische Hochschule in Munich and the University of Tübingen. The statics of rigid bodies is discussed only incidentally, and for the mechanics of deformable bodies, with the exception of two sections on the elastic rod, the reader is referred to the author's 'Einführung in die Mechanik raumerfüllender Massen' Ⓣ
(Introduction to the mechanics of a a continuous medium)
(1909). The subject proper, the dynamics of particles and rigid bodies, is built up from first principles in a manner which commends the book to the beginning student of mechanics who has mastered mathematics through advanced calculus. ... Professor Brill's work is to be recommended as an exceptionally well written introduction to dynamics. It is particularly to be commended for the fine balance which it maintains between general principles on the one side and applications to physics, astronomy, and engineering on the other.
In 1930, at age 87 he wrote a book on Kepler's astronomy, Über Kepler's Astronomia nova Ⓣ
(On Kepler's 'Astronomia nova')
Finally let us comment on Brill's personality. Gerhard Betsch writes in his article in [3]:-
All tributes praise Brill's extensive education, his modest elegant style, his goodness and his kindness. He was a strict teacher who demanded much of his students. His major life's work demonstrates a high degree of persistence, energy and discipline. He benefitted from a good physique, but also his strong will and a very regular, modest lifestyle helped to keep him amazingly spry and mentally fit to the last. He followed the professional and scientific careers of his students with a lively sympathy. He was pleased with the numerous signs of kind sentiments and devotion that have been bestowed on him.
Among the honours given to Brill throughout his long life we mention his election to the Reale Accademia dei Lincei, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Scientists Leopoldina, the Reale Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, and the Göttingen Academy of Sciences. He was president of the German Mathematical Society in 1907 and elected an honorary member of the Society in 1927. He was awarded the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Crown (Württemberg) in 1897. He was chairman of the Württemberg Society for the Advancement of Science from 1920 to 1925.
Brill gave his last public lecture on 4 March 1930 when he spoke to the Tübingen Dienstagsgesellschaft about his work on Kepler. He was present at an Academic Ceremony held on 28 July 1932 to celebrate his 90th birthday.
A Poster of Alexander von Brill
J B Pogrebyssky, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York 1970-1990). See THIS LINK.
F Cajori, History of Mathematics (American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 1991).
M M Rückert (ed.), Württembergische Biographien: unter Einbeziehung hohenzollerischer Persönlichkeiten 1 (W Kohlhammer, 2006).
G Betsch, Alexander von Brill (1842-1935), Bausteine zur Tübinger Universitätsgeschichte (1987), 71-90.
A Emch, Review: Vorlesungen über ebene algebraïsche Kurven una algebraïsche Funktion, by A Brill, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 32 (1926), 292-294.
S Finsterwalder, Alexander von Brill. Ein Lebensbild, Mathematische Annalen 112 (1936), 653-663.
P Kidwell, American mathematics viewed objectively: The case of geometric models, in R Callinger (ed.), Vita Mathematica: Historical Research and Integration with Teaching (Cambridge University Press, 1996), 197-208.
E Löffler, Alexander von Brill. Zur 100. Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages, Jber. Deutsch. Math. Verein. 53 (1943), 82-89.
E Löffler, Brill, Alexander Wilhelm von (seit 1897), in Neue Deutsche Biographie 2 (1955), 613.
Review: Vorlesungen zur Entführung in die Mechanik raumerfullender Massen, by A Brill, The Mathematical Gazette 6 (94) (1911), 164-165.
H P Robertson, Review: Vorlesungen uber Allgemeine Mechanik, by A Brill, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 38 (1) (1932), 17.
E B Wilson, Review: Das Relativitàtsprinzip. Eine Einführung in die Theorie, by A Brill, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 19 (1913), 321.
Other websites about Alexander von Brill:
Honours awarded to Alexander von Brill
DVR Honorary Member 1927
Other: 1897 ICM - Zurich
Other: 1904 ICM - Heidelberg
Other: 1912 ICM - Cambridge


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A: The Intel Fortran Compiler is available on 30 day trial as a part of their Parallel Studio XE at https://software.intel.com/en-us/fortran-compilers/choose-download.  Students and teachers can qualify for a free license.

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Laurel, Maryland attorney, Robert V. Clark is now hosting a radio show broadcast from the studios at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. The show entitled "Everyday Law", will feature veteran lawyers, judges and legal-system participants, discussing practical legal knowledge essentail to day to day living.
Topics will include how to avoid being ripped off by "for-profit" schools that promise great jobs and wages but don't deliver, how to make sure that your car or truck crash claim isn't thwarted by unethical doctors and why "freedom" is important, now more than ever.


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Lauren Conrad gives witty retort to potentially embarrassing question about her 'favourite position' on radio interview show
By Daily Mail Reporter
Published: 03:02 EDT, 10 February 2014 | Updated: 20:49 EDT, 10 February 2014
As a newly engaged woman, Lauren Conrad could have been embarrassed when a potentially revealing radio interview from over a year ago resurfaced.
But luckily the savvy former reality star deftly answered a potentially embarrassing question and has nothing to worry about.
During an appearance from October 2012 on Sway Calloway's Sway in the Morning, Conrad, now 28, was asked 'What's your favourite position?
Scroll down for video...
Savvy answer: In a radio interview from October 2012, Lauren Conrad deftly answered reader questions
The random Q&A was the culmination of a fawning seven-minute interview during which the designer-author answered callers' questions and also picked questions from a bag in a segment called 'mystery sack.'
After first plugging her latest two books, a styling guide called Lauren Conrad Beauty and a fiction tome called Starstruck, the interview turned more personal.
One called asked her if she was still in contact with her co-stars from the reality shows Laguna Beach and The Hills, to which she replied yes.
Plugging away: The Hills star was on the show to promote a couple of books she wrote
Then came three questions from the 'mystery sack.'
The first one read 'Have you every slept with a celebrity?' to which she coyly answered 'Yes,' while giggling. She did not elaborate, but she did date actor Kyle Howard for three years.
The next question asked if she had ever had someone of the same sex come on to her.
Think before you speak: The reality star gave thoughtful answer to some pretty awkward questions
'Yes, actually,' she said, adding: 'I think that's a really nice compliment.'
Then came the potentially embarrassing question, which she read aloud, haltingly.
'What is your favourite position,' she read. After a beat, she replied: 'CEO,' eliciting laughter and a high-five from the show's host.
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She said yes: Lauren is engaged to law student William Tell
Lauren became engaged to law student and former rocker William Tell, 34, in October. The couple started dating on Valentine's Day two years ago.
The star has been busy planning her wedding and frequently updates fans on social media.
Since her reality series ended, she has dabbled in writing, acting and has a clothing line, which is carried at Kohl's department stores.
So in love: The couple will celebrate their two year anniversary on Valentine's Day
Romantic: Lauren Conrad shared this sweet picture from her engagement shoot with William Tell and then went shopping
Lauren Conrad answers question about her 'favourite position'

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Economy & Governance
Electric Vehicles and the California Grid
Together with the state's shift toward low-carbon generation of electricity, electrifying transportation is a key pathway for California's clean energy strategy. Electric Vehicles and the California Grid finds that the California grid is well placed to handle rapid growth in plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) but advance planning and smart policy can ease the transition for the state's power system.
California currently has about 369,000 plug-in PEVs. In order to reach Gov. Jerry Brown's goal of 5 million PEVs by 2030, sales need to grow significantly. Also on the horizon: electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, and the prospect of private vehicle ownership being lowered by fleets of electric, self-driving PEVs.
Among the brief's key takeaways:
Energy demand is only modestly increasing as PEV sales surge—the California Energy Commission forecasts that 3.9 million PEVs would add about 15,500 GWh of charging demand, equivalent to just about five percent of California's total 2016 energy load. In a more individual context, a Chevy Bolt driven 50 miles a day uses the same amount of electricity as an air conditioner cooling a 3-bedroom home for just three hours.
Transportation trends towards automation and increased usage of mobility services like ride-hailing could rapidly expand the share of electric vehicles on the road, further increasing electricity demand—the estimated share of total light-duty vehicle miles traveled from ride-hailing vehicles could double from 10 percent to 20 percent between 2018 and 2020, based on projections from ride-hailing companies and if regulators choose to require that these fleets move toward PEVs, this could have significant impacts for infrastructure and charging needs.
The growth of electric vehicles in California will require upgrades to the energy system, but the costs are likely to be low compared to the benefits—according to the California Public Utilities Commission, flexible EV charging can generate resource cost savings of $100-200 million per year for the power system, compared to unmanaged EV charging.
New management strategies can help optimize potential benefits and minimize potential risks of more PEVs needing more electricity, but are challenging to implement—managed charging programs — such as time-of use charging, which shifts charging to off-peak hours — could lessen stress on the grid, lower operating costs, and help integrate intermittent renewable energy. The authors' analysis indicates that if California were to have 5 million PEVs on the road by 2025, the state would be able to reduce renewable energy curtailment by 50%.
Full Report Press Release
The Grid Series:
Transforming the Grid: An Introduction to California's Electric System in the 21st Century
A Regional Power Market for the West: Risks and Benefits
The Growth of Distributed Energy: Implications for California's Grid
The Growth in Community Choice Aggregation: Impacts to California's Grid
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The 2018 California Green Innovation Index is available here!
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Read Koliwe's Latest Research
Koliwe Majama
Digital Rights and Policy Specialist
Zimbabweans are learning to utilise social media to speak about their repressive government and fight for better policies.
This article was commissioned and first published by DW Akademie, as part of the Media and Information Literacy week commemorations.
Media and Information Literacy is essential for citizens to claim their human rights, especially in the digital sphere. Zimbabwean digital rights activist Koliwe Majama explores the barriers against MIL in Africa.
Although comparatively lower than in other parts of the globe, the increase in internet access and technologies in Africa has evolved the telecommunication sector, bringing about marked and significant efficiency in public services, ease in doing business, and diversity and plurality of media platforms and content. However, digital rights activists in the region continue to express concerns about the sincerity of governments in ensuring that citizens have meaningful connectivity and are fully equipped with the necessary skills that will enable them to experience the utilitarian value of the internet.
The importance of media and information literacy (MIL) among citizens in this digitized environment cannot be overstated. With its roots in the Moscow Declaration on Media and Information Literacy, MIL is defined as a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices required to access, analyse, evaluate, use, produce and communicate information and knowledge in creative, legal and ethical ways that respect human rights. UNESCO added knowledge of one's rights online, combating online violence, understanding of the ethics around access and use of information, and the engagement with media and ICTs in the promotion of equality, free expression, intercultural and interreligious dialogue to the competencies. The pillars of MIL make connections between media and information literacy and digital and ICT literacy, bringing digital rights to the fore.
Government backlash against MIL
In today's digitized environment, MIL revolves around use and access to the internet. The internet has opened new channels of communication for socially marginalized and vulnerable groups and empowered people to organize themselves more efficiently while innovating digital services to improve economic growth.
However, the manner in which MIL has revolutionized the media and information sharing among citizens — not only in the exercise of their civic rights, but also in pursuit of good governance and social justice — has resulted in backlash from some governments. In Africa, this backlash is characterized by the control and undermining of the exercise of human rights online. Increasingly, there is an adoption of more stringent laws and policies to regulate and control the use of the internet, trends of censorship and surveillance, and repression of freedom of expression.
Gender, data costs a major barrier
Africa's digital divide also significantly contributes to low media, information and digital literacy among the population. In its two strands as an urban-rural and gender divide, this digital divide is exacerbated mostly by poor and limited infrastructure, high data costs, and lack of access to technologies by socially marginalized and vulnerable groups. Broadband access costs in the region remain extremely high with the average cost for 1GB constituting up to 7.12% of the average salary. This negatively impacts the right to access the internet for the majority, who live below the poverty line. Women make up the majority of the affected populace and — as well as lack of access to technologies — have a lower level of the basic literacy skills needed to engage with online content. Even then, that content is usually in a handful of languages or generally lacks appeal to the group. In a recent study, the World Wide Web Foundation noted that the lack of ICT literacy skills keeps women offline.
Holistic approach needed
Calls have been made to governments and private sector players to develop strategies to increase internet access for digitally excluded communities. For example, the recently revised and adopted African Commission on Human and Peoples' Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa calls for the adoption of laws, policies and other measures for universal, equitable, affordable, and meaningful internet access. Apart from improvement of infrastructure, better pricing of data packages and promotion of local access initiatives, the declaration lists the facilitation of digital literacy skills for inclusive and autonomous use. Overall, this implies the need for a holistic skills development strategy hinged on a better understanding and appreciation of the benefits of the internet in overall development and a clearer focus on the skills required by different sections of society.
For MIL to flourish, the right to freedom of expression, including freedom to seek, receive and impart information should be respected and promoted. This is because freedom of expression remains a fundamental pillar of democracy. Yet in Africa, violations against free expression have extended online, resulting in surveillance and censorship as governments crackdown on, and detain, human rights defenders, journalists and activists. In most instances they cite the provision of national security and stability as justification to deny the sharing of information. Usually, the effect of this targeted clampdown on divergent views and activism results in censorship among ordinary citizens and self-policing on popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. This creates a culture of fear and results in the limited use of social media platforms for engagement in critical national discourse. A recent demonstration of this is the arrest of Zimbabwean journalist, Hopewell Chin'ono and opposition activist, Jacob Ngarivhume in July 2020 for inciting public violence through their Twitter handles.
Africa's digital divide also significantly contributes to low media, information and digital literacy among the population. In its two strands as an urban-rural and gender divide, this digital divide is exacerbated mostly by poor and limited infrastructure, high data costs, and lack of access to technologies by socially marginalized and vulnerable groups. Broadband access costs in the region remain extremely high with theaverage cost for 1GB constituting up to 7.12% of the average salary. This negatively impacts the right to access the internet for the majority, who live below the poverty line. Women make up the majority of the affected populace and — as well as lack of access to technologies — have a lower level of the basic literacy skills needed to engage with online content. Even then, that content is usually in a handful of languages or generally lacks appeal to the group. In a recent study, the World Wide Web Foundation noted that the lack of ICT literacy skills keeps women offline.
MIL thrives in an environment with enabling legislation. However, the contradictions in the procedure and substance of cyber laws in most African countries hinders the benefits of a diverse and plural media, access to information and digital rights. Cyber legislation in Africa has been criticized for its emphasis on security at the expense of the protection and promotion of the rights of its citizens. While citizens should demand these rights, the onus remains on the government to ensure a democratic digital environment.
In an episode of The Breakdown, a program hosted by BBC Africa, Koliwe Majama is featured offering input on the impact of disinformation and misinformation on our understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At this year's Global Media Forum (GMF) 2020 sponsored by DW's Akademie, Koliwe and three other panelists spoke on the increasing importance of media and information literacy as a critical tool in this digital age amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other issues Koliwe highlighted the need for "community networks" in a continent where many African states control which information is made available to the public, and not all countries have economies strong enough to set up a digital infrastructure, leaving young people in danger of believing false reports and rumors that cloud their minds.
Read more expansive coverage on the session on the DW website.
Koliwe Majama was a panelist at a discussion on Media and Information Literacy at the 7th online session of the Global Media Forum.
The panel had a comprehensive discussion on the importance of media and information literacy to curb misinformation and fake news, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In her contribution, Koliwe Majama called attention to the need to equip citizens with media and information literacy so that they will be in a position to identify and evaluate the credibility of media content and distinguish it from misinformation and dis-information; identify potential abusers, technology spies and hackers; and understand privacy implications when using and sharing data with any third parties. Koliwe Majama emphasized the need for an increase in access to information across the African continent to bolster any efforts on media and information literacy, because 'the more people have access to media content and information, the more they become literate about the media and various sources of information.'
Zimbabwe is set to commemorate the International Day for Universal Access to Information on the 28th of September 2020. This comes at a time when the country, alongside the rest of the world, is faced with a health pandemic that has moved citizens' daily communication, education, work, trade, and access to basic services from physical interactions to, mostly, online interactions. The World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic, a few months after the adoption of a revised Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa (the Declaration) at the 65th Ordinary Session of African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) in November 2019. For Africa, the pandemic has merely served as emphasis that internet rights and freedoms are more important now than ever before.
The access to information principles contained in the revised Declaration include principles on proactive and maximum disclosure of information, information management, access to information procedures and the applicable exemptions, oversight mechanisms, whistle-blower protection, and the primacy of access to information laws. However, the highlight of the revision of the Declaration is the enumeration of normative standards for freedom of expression and access to information in a digitised environment. This is done through the inclusion of principles on access to the internet, internet intermediaries and access providers, privacy and the protection of personal information, and communication surveillance.
Increasing access to the internet
Principle 37(2) of the Declaration calls on States to "recognise that universal, equitable, affordable and meaningful access to the internet is necessary for the realisation of freedom of expression [and] access to information." In this regard, the Declaration states that countries must "adopt laws, policies and other measures to promote affordable access to the internet," particularly for children and marginalized groups.
Internet accessibility in Zimbabwe generally remains low, mainly because of limited infrastructure, especially in rural areas, where most Zimbabweans are located. By the end of 2019, the internet penetration rate in rural Zimbabwe stood at only 10 percent, presenting the reality of a stark urban-rural digital divide where the nationwide internet penetration rate stood around 60 percent. In this year's second quarter report, the country's telecommunications regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ), noted a decline in both mobile and internet penetration. This was attributed to the depressed demand in the economy, at both household and industry level, with direct impact of COVID-19 on both the formal and informal sector negatively affecting disposable incomes. Active mobile subscriptions dipped by 6.7 percent from 13,7 million to 12,7 million, while active internet and data subscriptions dropped by 4 percent, resulting in internet penetration reduction from 59.1 percent in the first quarter to 56.7 percent.
While POTRAZ has set up 87 Community Information Centres around the country, geared towards promoting internet access in marginal communities, a long term and sustainable solution is necessary. In its position paper on COVID-19 and its impact on digital rights the pan Africa digital rights initiative, the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition, highlights the importance of a licensing and regulatory framework for community-owned networks. Community networks are decentralised community-built and owned internet connections. They are the most effective way to overcome digital exclusion in areas isolated from the social and economic dynamics of the digital era. The call should, therefore, be for the opening up of equal opportunities for Zimbabweans in underserved areas to access spectrum under a licensing regime with exemption provisions that will lessen administrative processes for small operators, not-for-profit operators, and other actors interested in community networks. This will result in an increase in access to the internet and the advancement of the right to information on the internet in Zimbabwe
Online content regulation
The rights to freedom of expression and access to information are cornerstones of democracy that are key to the enjoyment of other human rights. Their inextricable link lies in the fact that for the ideas expressed to be of value, there is a need for access to verifiable information, which in this case, is usually held by both public and private bodies. Citizens can only hold those in power accountable when they can access information. The signing into law of Zimbabwe's Freedom of Information Act lays a good foundation in setting the procedure for accessing information held by both private and public institutions which is necessary for the exercise or the protection of citizens' rights.
However, Africa is increasingly plagued by both on and offline restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information with incidences of censorship, harassment, and detention of journalists, activists, and human rights defenders as they share critical information or opinions. Control of these traditionally 'problematic' groups has moved from the offline to the online space and now also includes intimidation and harassment of ordinary internet users. Zimbabweans have not been spared of monitoring and controlling of their internet use and access as a means of curtailing the enjoyment and advancement of digital rights. Direct control is demonstrated by the disruption of internet services with the most recent case being in January 2019 under the order of the State Security Minister. Disruption of services demonstrates the extent to which the government is willing to limit online access to information.
Indirect control is evident in the increased deployment of anonymised social media accounts on popular platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, which seek mainly to disrupt critical socio, economic and political conversations and, to an extent, channel out disinformation. A key characteristic of these accounts is that they usually push the agenda of the government and the ruling ZANU-PF by overshadowing dissenting voices to manipulate conversations.
Privacy, surveillance, and data protection
The development of the indirect control and monitoring of online communications is a serious threat, especially when viewed against, remarks made by the Zimbabwe National Army Commander, Edzai Chimonyo at a military graduation earlier in the year, where he announced that the military would start monitoring citizens private communications to 'guard against subversion'. Such remarks have raised concerns about the government's sincerity in drawing a cybersecurity and data protection law for the country.
However, the importance of data protection legislation in Zimbabwe cannot be understated given recent concerns over privacy of citizens' information. These include the lack of clarity and transparency on the 'sophisticated algorithm' to determine distribution of aid during the (coronavirus) pandemic and the High Court challenge by MISA Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association over a police warrant seeking information on mobile phone operator's transactions, which was successfully contested.
Principles 40- 42 of the ACHPR Declaration address the protection of personal information and communication surveillance within the ambit of the right to privacy by establishing a legal framework for the protection of personal information. Principle 42 makes provision for States to ensure that individuals consent to the processing of their personal information is not excessive, is transparent, and in accordance with the purpose for which it was collected. Additionally, individuals must have access to the personal information that is being processed and must be given an opportunity to object to the processing.
The steps taken by the international community and regional bodies to facilitate the full enjoyment of the rights to access to information and freedom of expression, both online and offline, will be bolstered by appropriate data protection and cybersecurity regulations implemented by the government of Zimbabwe. The commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information is both a reminder and an opportunity to further solidify internet rights in Zimbabwe, and around the continent, by implementing and adopting the principles and laws discussed above.
This article was commissioned by MISA Zimbabwe for a special supplement for the International Day for Universal Access to Information published in Zimbabwe's daily newspapers, The Daily News and The NewsDay
Koliwe Majama gave the keynote address on the State of the Internet at the 2020 Hub Unconference, an annual new media and journalism conference hosted by the Magamba Network.
Official HUB UnConference marketing banner featuring Koliwe | PIC: Shoko Festival, Magamba Network
In her address, Koliwe Majama highlights the need for the full adoption and implementation of internet rights and freedoms at a time when most of our interactions have moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic and, simultaneously, our internet penetration rate has decreased due to reasons attributed to the current pandemic. She recommends the full engagement of civil society, governments, the private and public sectors, and other industry experts to mitigate the effects of the current pandemic on internet rights and to further solidify internet rights and freedoms across the board.
Koliwe captured giving her State of Internet in Zimbabwe keynote | PIC: Shoko Festival, Magamba Network
Click here to watch a recording of the presentation. Read the keynote address here.
Zimbabwe's leading civil society groups have petitioned the High Court seeking to block a lower court order requiring Econet Wireless to hand over its subscribers information.
In this research Koliwe and co-researcher, Chenai Chair document the lived realities and effects of Zimababwe's digital ID system among marginalised communities
The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec) Coalition have set 2020 as the year for robust advocacy for an open and free internet as well as the strategic promotion of online human rights in Africa.
AfDec's work is hinged on the promotion of the 13 principles of the African Declaration. The Coalition is a Pan-African initiative aimed at promoting principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation. The Declaration also seeks to enhance online rights on the continent.
At the end 2019, nine Coalition member organisations received grants under the Coalition's Strategic Advocacy Fund to implement activities in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, The Gambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Although the majority of the interventions will be implemented at the national level, they are set to impact the whole continent as they are designed to be adaptable.
While mapping trends of in government controls of the internet in the past decade, an AfDec member, the Collaboration for ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), highlighted the years 2016-2019 as the peak of internet controls on the continent. This was attributed to an increase in internet shutdowns, which came either as total blockades or in most instances, were targeted mostly at popular social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter. In 2019 alone, six countries on the continent – Algeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sudan and Zimbabwe – registered network disruptions.
With the support of a Strategic Advocacy Fund grant, the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) will litigate against internet shutdown cases in Nigerian national courts and at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). The project reinforces two of the Declaration's principles, freedom of expression and internet access and affordability, and seeks to secure a decision that will be applicable across the African continent.
Internet access and use are on the increase. Based on statistics from the International Telecommunications Union, by the end of 2019, Africa recorded an 8.2% increase in internet penetration from 20% in 2015. Mobile internet access accounts for most of this figure. Although mobile internet access continues to grow, the digital gender divide remains a reality as women are 13% less likely to own a mobile phone and 41% less likely to use mobile internet than men.
In addressing this issue, the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), in their grant-funded project, takes a multi-pronged approach to breaking this barrier. Through its activities, the organisation seeks to increase the digital literacy and security of women's organisations, ordinary women and girls and human rights defenders, as well as their knowledge of existing internet policies and regulations that have an impact on their rights and the general achievement of gender equality.
In 2019, African citizens continued to organise and mobilise civic action in the face of rising discontent via social media. There was a four-month nationwide protest in Sudan, popularised on social media as #SudanUprising, calling for Omar al-Bashir to step down after three decades in power. In Algeria's capital city on 1 November 2019, social media was used to fill the streets in protest against the country's 65th independence anniversary. Algerian citizens demanded what they termed a "new independence". Protests in the country had begun in February 2018 and ended in early January 2020. Both Sudan and Algeria experienced protest-related internet disruptions and faced massive government pressure aimed at stopping the citizens from organising online.
In its AfDec project, Cameroonian-based PROTEGE QV will focus on the principle of freedom of assembly and association and the internet, which upholds the right to use the internet and digital technologies in relation to freedom of assembly and association, including through social networks and platforms. The project is a follow-up to research done in 2018 which evaluated the application of the 13 key principles of the African Declaration by the Cameroonian government. The research found that freedom of assembly and association and the internet was the least recognised of the principles. The project will propose recommendations in national-level policy debates on the revision of national laws and regulations.
Media rights activists on the continent also acknowledge social media's increasing vulnerability as it opens up space for alternative opinions and information against a highly censored, controlled and regulated mainstream media. In its continuing work for a free, independent and diverse pluralistic media, the project undertaken with the support of an AfDec grant by the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, "Using the Internet to Promote Free Expression and Information Access in Zimbabwe", will focus on the principles of freedom of expression and the right to information. The project aims to increase awareness of free expression and access to information in the country by making connections in the new media environment with the increase in internet access. The timeliness of the project is marked by current media law reform processes in the country following the gazetting of a new law, the Freedom of Information Bill, in July 2019.
The Coalition is also alive to the need to grow a critical mass that can influence the adoption of policy that upholds digital rights as a means of achieving sustainable development, good governance and social justice on the continent. Four organisations – the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Association des Utilisateurs des TIC (ICT Users Association, ASUTIC) in Senegal, and The Gambia YMCA Computer Training Centre and Digital Studio – will work to identify and equip stakeholders to defend the same.
The YMCA's project targets youth actively involved in advocacy work and community outreach in The Gambia in a digital rights training programme for interventions in the country's transition. AFIC's project will focus on civil society, human rights institutions, and other key stakeholders in the regulation of the internet in Uganda in order to understand and appreciate digital rights with a focus on access to the internet as a fundamental right and freedom. While the civil society interventions will use the African Declaration as a tool to strengthen the capacity of civil society actors in the whole of West Africa, ASUTIC intends to launch a national coalition of human rights organisations, including activists and journalists, for the protection and promotion of online rights. The focus will mainly be on the principles of freedom of expression and information, privacy and personal data protection.
While ASUTIC will work on a national agenda on privacy and personal data protection, the South African public interest advisory firm ALT Advisory will push a more regional intervention. Data privacy and protection has remained on the agenda of the African Internet Governance Forum for over three years, a position set to be maintained following the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
ALT Advisory launched the Data Protection Africa online portal to assist states to adopt clear legal, regulatory and policy frameworks on privacy and personal data protection. The project targets civil societies to advocate for and monitor the rights to privacy and personal data protection; intermediaries in the development of company policies on privacy and data protection; and academic, research and training institutions in the generation of evidence-based research and courses on the theoretical and practical aspects of data protection.
The strategic advocacy activities are part of the Coalition's project "Securing human rights online in Africa through a strong and active 'African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms' network". In 2019 the Coalition finalised a two-year strategy which ends in 2021, whose main objective is to contribute to the development of national and regional internet-related policy frameworks that promote and respect human rights across Africa. While 2020 presents an opportunity for growth in online access, the political terrain in most African countries is riddled with stumbling blocks. As more people demand good governance, democracy and the upholding of human rights, there will be more concerted efforts by some governments to suppress internet access and activism, which makes these activities more crucial than ever.
This article originally appeared on the AfDEC website.
Read here: https://africaninternetrights.org/updates/2020/01/article-836/ (English)
For the French translation of the article visit:
https://www.apc.org/fr/news/plaidoyer-africain-pour-un-internet-robuste-ouvert-et-libre-en-2020%5D
This article was commissioned and first published by DW Akademie, as part of the Media and Information Literacy week commemorations. Media and Information Literacy is essential for citizens to claim their human rights, especially in the digital sphere. Zimbabwean digital rights activist Koliwe Majama explores the barriers against MIL in Africa. Although comparatively lower than in […]
How MIL enables citizens to claim their digital rights 03 Nov 2020
Zimbabwe is set to commemorate the International Day for Universal Access to Information on the 28th of September 2020. This comes at a time when the country, alongside the rest of the world, is faced with a health pandemic that has moved citizens' daily communication, education, work, trade, and access to basic services from physical interactions to, mostly, online interactions.
Solidifying internet rights to increase information access in Zimbabwe 28 Sep 2020
The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec) Coalition have set 2020 as the year for robust advocacy for an open and free internet as well as the strategic promotion of online human rights in Africa. AfDec's work is hinged on the promotion of the 13 principles of the African Declaration. The Coalition is a […]
AfDec to advocate for robust, open and free internet in 2020 17 Jan 2020
As an internet rights activist based in the global South, I often find myself musing over whether, within the African context in particular, access to a safe, free and open internet is possible.
Stockholm Internet Forum: Reflecting on democracy in the digital era, in Africa and beyond 03 Jun 2019
Koliwe Majama was a panelist at a discussion on Media and Information Literacy at the 7th online session of the Global Media Forum. The panel had a comprehensive discussion on the importance of media and information literacy to curb misinformation and fake news, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In her contribution, Koliwe Majama called attention to the need to equip citizens with media and information literacy so that they will be in a position to identify and evaluate the credibility of media content and distinguish it from misinformation and dis-information; identify potential abusers, technology spies and hackers; and understand privacy implications when using and sharing data with any third parties.
Media and Information Literacy panel discussion 2020
Koliwe Majama gave the keynote address on the State of the Internet at the 2020 Hub Unconference, an annual new media and journalism conference hosted by the Magamba Network. In her address, Koliwe Majama highlights the need for the full adoption and implementation of internet rights and freedoms at a time when most of our […]
State of the Internet in Zimbabwe keynote address 2020
IGF 2019 – Network disruptions across borders: a new cyber response 2019
Pushing for Change on Digital Identification Systems 2019 Speaker
What do you do when your government shuts down the internet? How can we as civil society respond to such restrictions? This was the focus of this year's Disco-tech event, organised by Hivos/Digital Defenders Partnership, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, Columbia Global Centers Tunis and other partners on 10 June, the evening before RightsCon 2019. Read the […]
DiscoTech 2019 – Tunis 2019 Speaker
Its important to ask, does Africa have a digitalisation agenda? Who set it? What is the strategy? Who is the gatekeeper? These are the crucial questions APCs Koliwe Majama posed at the start of her keynote lecture, delivered at the Digitalisation in Africa: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Technology, Development and Justice conference at the University of […]
Exploring Africas digitalisation agenda with Koliwe Majama 2018 Keynote
Understanding the Lived Effects of Digital ID (Zimbabwean Case Study) 2020 Researcher Engine Room
Koliwe facilitated a two-day Gender Equality and Inclusion workshop, in December 2019 The workshop was organised by Hivos Southern Africa for its grantees of the Resource of Open Minds grantees project and are based in three Southern African countries Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The main objectives of the workshop included: Shared and documented knowledge of gender […]
Gender Equality & Inclusion Workshop – HIVOS 2019 Facilitator Hivos
Koliwe Majama is the overall organiser for the African School on Internet Governance and is responsible for outreach, partnership building, participant selection, the AfriSIG website, fundraising and overall logistics. She is also the key liaison with participants and assists on the schools strategy and future development.
AfriSig 2019 Organiser African School on Internet Governance
On Dec 3 2018, Koliwe supported by USAID and Counterpart International among many other organisations launched her first research project 'Pitfalls of the internet as a developmental tool' which seeks to show how the internet has become a political weapon to infringe on the rights of marginal sexual and gender communities rather than a developmental […]
Pitfalls of The Internet As A Developmental Tool 2018 Research Koliwe Majama Consultancy
In September 2018, Koliwe attended the 'Digitization in Africa' conference held by the University in Tubingen in Germany to give a talk and share her thoughts on the topic. As part of a number of selected presenters, Koliwe gave an inspirational talk questioning, 'Does Africa have a digitization agenda? Who set it? What is the […]
Digitalization in Africa (SPECIAL) 2018 Report & Paper University of Tubingen
Social media creates new space for activism in Zimba… 2020 Elm Magazine
BBC News Africa: The Breakdown 2020 BBC News
At this year's Global Media Forum (GMF) 2020 sponsored by DW's Akademie, Koliwe and three other panelists spoke on the increasing importance of media and information literacy as a critical tool in this digital age amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other issues Koliwe highlighted the need for "community networks" in a continent where many African […]
GMF digital session: Media and Information Literacy … 2020 DW Akademie
Econet search warrant undermines citizens privacy 2020 BizTech Africa
It has, of necessity, become imperative that women get to the fore of the debate on cyber-security instead of leaving it solely to governments and the financial/business sector as is the case in national and regional governance forums,
Hope for African Women As More Governments Make Laws… 2019 FairPlanet
The increased internet related violence against women is a patriarchal manifestation prevalent across Africa and needs women to stand up according to a cyber expert.
Women Suffering More Internet Violence 2019 Kalabash Media
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Traffic makes its way along Interstate 80 on July 1, 2015 in San Francisco, Calif. AAA is projecting that nearly 42 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more over the Fourth of July weekend, the largest number since 2007.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty
Trump scraps California's right to set its own emissions standards
For many years, the Republican Party touted federalist principles that stressed the importance of state control. The underlying idea is straightforward: the government that's closer to the people will be more responsive to the public's needs and interests.
There are about 1,000 good examples of GOP officials discarding these principles when it suits the party's purposes. As of this morning, there are about 1,001.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday barred California from setting its own vehicle emissions standards, kicking off a battle that is likely to last well beyond the 2020 presidential election.
"The Trump Administration is revoking California's Federal Waiver on emissions in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially SAFER," Trump tweeted Wednesday morning, noting that the move will lead to "older, highly polluting cars" being replaced by "new, extremely environmentally friendly cars."
If you're new to this story, let's review how we got here because it's quite a story.
To address the climate crisis, the Obama administration created tough fuel-efficiency standards for the auto industry, to be phased in gradually. Manufacturers, not surprisingly, weren't thrilled, but there was a broad realization that the policy, in conjunction with a series of related efforts, would make a positive difference.
Then Donald Trump got elected. Last summer, the Republican White House announced plans to roll back the tougher standards, making it easier for the automotive industry to sell less efficient vehicles that pollute more.
The president assumed he was helping the industry at the expense of the environment – a trade-off Trump was happy to make since he rejects climate science anyway. What the White House didn't anticipate was the fact that auto manufacturers concluded that Trump's anti-climate plans went too far. In fact, in early June, most of the industry urged the administration to change course, because its plan would produce "untenable" instability.
Why? Because Trump's plan to gut pollution safeguards was so drastic that many states announced plans to enforce stricter emissions standards on their own. That included California – home to the nation's largest consumer base.
The result was a mess: car manufacturers, which had already begun taking steps to comply with the Obama-era policy, faced the prospect of having to make different vehicles to sell in different parts of the country. Not surprisingly, no one saw that as a sustainable business model.
The White House briefly tried to work out a deal with California, with the intention of creating national standards that everyone could live with. Those talks failed and the administration broke off negotiations with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and his team months ago. To find a solution, some auto manufacturers started dealing with the state directly, and even made real progress.
Today, Trump decided the smart thing to do would be to end all negotiations – deal-making really isn't his thing – and start resolving the problem by eliminating California's ability to have competing standards.
There will be lawsuits. Lots and lots of lawsuits.
One of the angles to this that I find most interesting is the White House's effort to frame the issue as a matter of public safety. The president and his team seem to realize there would be a political problem if they ran around touting a pro-pollution agenda, which is why Trump said in a tweet this morning his agenda would lead to cars that are "substantially SAFER."
The administration has been moving in this direction for a while, including last summer, when officials unveiled what they called the "SAFE (Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient) Vehicles" rule.
As we discussed at the time, we're apparently supposed to believe that more fuel-efficient cars (a) will be lighter, and therefore more dangerous; (b) will encourage people to drive more, increasing the chances of accidents, and (c) will cost more, discouraging people from buying new vehicles, and in the process, encouraging people to stick with older vehicles that have fewer safety features.
From the White House's perspective, this is apparently easier than simply admitting that the president and his team are indifferent to the climate crisis and are desperate to scrap Obama-era safeguards.
So, is there any reason to take the White House's line seriously? Not really, no. Emily Atkin's report is a thorough debunking of the administration's argument, which explained, "In truth, the administration has concocted a tortured, flimsy argument … to scare Americans into believing that the government should scrap its most consequential policy for reducing emissions."
The New York Times' Brad Plumer published a related takedown, which quoted Antonio Bento, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Southern California. "I don't know how they are going to defend this analysis," Bento said. "I just don't think it's correct."
As of today, the White House doesn't appear to care.
The MaddowBlog, Auto Industry , California, Climate, Climate Change, Donald Trump, Global Warming and Green
Wednesday's Campaign Round-Up, 9.18.19


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Have you ever seen an eagle chase an osprey, until the osprey drops a fish it's carrying and the eagle, swooping in below, catches it in mid-air? Or watched a dragonfly emerge from the back of a dull brown bug that just crawled out of a river? These are some of the amazing experiences our guests have had on our fundraising raft supported hikes along the Wild and Scenic Rogue River.
Join KS Wild and American River Touring Association (ARTA) on their 6th annual trip together down the Rogue River Trail. ARTA's friendly, helpful guides will ferry all the heavy stuff in the rafts, and provide us with three delicious, nutritious meals a day. You will always have the option to shorten your hike and spend half the day floating downriver in one of the rafts.
KS Wild will provide you with the nature nerds to point out the amazing plants, geology, and other wonders along the trail, and a pocket guide with map and points of interest, to keep and carry with you.
This trip is always on the last full week of May, Monday through Friday, before Memorial Day.


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Home Javnost rada Izlaganja Intervjui i autorski tekstovi Intervju guvernera dr Radoje Žugića za časopis "Montenegro Business Sector 2018"
Intervju guvernera dr Radoje Žugića za časopis "Montenegro Business Sector 2018"
Within the country there is a high consensus on the need for further fiscal consolidation, in the direction of strengthening financial stability. The way in which appropriate measures will be defined and implemented is the decision of the Government, as well as economic policymakers. For its part, the Central Bank of Montenegro will continue to work on strengthening trust in the overall financial system, with particular emphasis on fostering and maintaining the stability of the banking system.
Radoje Žugić, governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, has rich experience in the financial sector. Here we speak to him about his institution's recommendations when it comes to preserving macroeconomic stability and achieving economic growth.
To what extent do you rely on the previous experience you gained as governor and finance minister when it comes to creating the policies of the central bank today?
The experience I gained while carrying out the duties of the governor and finance minister are really extremely useful and help me to more objectively observe all aspects of current economic issues. The tasks and objectives of both functions are interconnected and mutually conditioned. Specifically, fiscal policy, which is primarily the responsibility of the finance minister, is an important segment of the overall financial situation that impacts directly on the stability of the financial system, which is the responsibility of the governor of the Central Bank.
I see the opportunity to perform both of these extremely responsible functions as a privilege and I try, in a strategic way but also on a daily basis, to implement the experience I have gained in the decisions that are made by the institution which I head, and I do all of that in the function of achieving our primary goal – the growth and development of the economy.
How much is your own assessment in agreement with the IMF's recent assessment of the state of the Montenegrin economy?
The evaluations of the IMF and domestic institutions on the state of our economy, as expressed through basic macroeconomic and fiscal indicators, are largely harmonised.
In addition to the aforementioned, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Montenegro and the IMF have also achieved a high level of harmonisation of stances when it comes to the fiscal and broader economic challenges faced by our country. More specifically, all sides have expressed a need for further fiscal consolidation, in the direction of strengthening financial stability. The way in which appropriate measures will be defined and implemented is the decision of the Government, as well as economic policymakers.
According to the estimates of the Central Bank of Montenegro, the country's GDP will rise by 3.6% this year, instead of the planned four per cent, due – among other things – to the fact that key growth drivers, such as large capital and infrastructure projects, have failed. How much will that impact on Montenegro's overall macroeconomic position?
According to the data of MONSTAT [the Montenegrin Statistical Office], GDP growth of 2.5% was achieved in 2016. During the last year we had a significant rise in imports and a slower pace of realisation of the highway project, and these two factors have led to a slightly lower than expected growth rate. In accordance with that, it is reasonable to expect that intensification in the construction of the highway will have a positive impact on GDP growth in 2017. Furthermore, also contributing to the growth of the economy in 2017 will be the construction of tourism and energy facilities, as well as the stabilisation and restoration of industrial production, and an increase in agricultural production as a function of the reduction in imports.
What are the sources of the greatest risks to Montenegro's economic prosperity in the medium and long term?
Firstly, risks are present in the domain of the fiscal sector, which is reflected in the relatively high levels of the budget deficit and public debt. In the direction of reducing these risks, the Montenegrin Government responded by defining and implementing fiscal consolidation measures, which reduced the levels of these categories in 2016 compared to 2015. Higher budget revenues have been realised in the past year, while, on the other hand, budget expenditure has been reduced through the limiting of public spending. Although the measures taken do provide results, further fiscal adjustments are required in order to further reduce the present risks. To this end, the Government is currently working on the implementation of a credible rehabilitation plan, which is an extremely challenging task, given that it is necessary to implement measures on the revenue side of the budget, taking into account the possible risk of a spill-over effect on companies that are undergoing a quite fragile recovery phase. Simultaneously, special care should also be taken in defining measures on the expenditure side, in order for that not to jeopardise citizens' standard of living.
When it comes to the real sector, the main risk in this area is reflected in an inadequate level of competition, and that is due to poor diversification and the accumulative capacity of the economy. This makes it essential to continue activities aimed at strengthening competitiveness at the micro and macro levels, by improving the business environment, providing financial and institutional support to entrepreneurship, improving labour legislation, implementing structural reforms of the pension, social, health and education systems etc. These activities will result in increased productivity from domestic resources and strengthened competitiveness of the economy.
The third potential risk is represented by a possible slower pace in the implementation of investments. Specifically, any kinds of delays in the implementation of investment projects, be they new ones or those already started, would have a negative impact on the projected economic growth rate, and thus serve to deepen the existing problems of liquidity and solvency of the real sector as a result of the insufficient accumulation of gains.
To what extent can inflows of foreign investments and activities of the domestic private sector contribute to economic growth?
For Montenegro, as a small and open economy, a significant impact of the international environment is achieved through capital flows, or foreign direct investments, the volume of which varies, but it is still significant, accounting for 10 per cent of GDP. Montenegro, thus, represents an attractive location for foreign investors, and this claim is supported by the continuous inflows of foreign direct investment from the country gaining independence in 2006 until today. A strong cycle of investments has currently been launched in Montenegro, primarily in the sectors of tourism, energy, transport, agriculture and infrastructure, which will generate more generous incomes in the near future and, consequently, a lower deficit, and thus more space to support new development projects. Likewise, investment spending also has numerous positive effects on employment and GDP.
On the other hand, it is known that the SME sector is an important element, sometimes even the driving force of every economy, because their operations, through direct and indirect channels, contribute to job creation and generating added value.
The Central Bank of Montenegro has offered a number of recommendations to the Montenegrin Government related to leading economic policy during this year. To what extent do the intentions of the Government concur with your recommendations?
The Central Bank has regularly, for many years, prepared and submitted recommendations to the Government regarding leading economic policy, which relate to four segments, namely: fiscal policy, the financial system and the real sector and statistics.
Our recommendations for 2017 support the incentivising of growth potential and increasing and improving the system's overall stability, while simultaneously clearing up all the vulnerabilities of our economy in a way in which they are set as priorities of the Government's economic policy.
What will be the central bank's key objectives during this year?
The main objective of the Central Bank of Montenegro in 2017 will continue be to strengthening trust in the overall financial system. Towards the achieving of this objective, the CBM will oversee the maintaining of the stability of the financial system by monitoring the state of financial stability and carrying out activities aimed at preventing systemic risk.
With the aim of strengthening the financial system, a particular focus will be placed on promoting and preserving the stability of the banking system. In this context, we will continue to monitor and analyse the situation in the banking system and, if necessary, we will take corrective measures, promote the strengthening of corporate governance and risk management in banks, and continue with the further implementation of internationally accepted standards and principles of operations in this domain.
How have the policies of the central bank to date contributed to Montenegro's economic stability?
Financial stability is a prerequisite for the development of any economy. It makes a system stronger and more resilient to external shocks, which small and, consequently, open economies like Montenegro's are particularly exposed to.
With the aim of preserving and strengthening financial stability, the Central Bank of Montenegro is working continuously to identify potential risks and direct activities towards preserving stability in the banking sector. These activities, apart from controlling the operations of banks present on the Montenegrin market and leading the policy of mandatory reserves, also imply intensive regulatory activity, directed towards improving the existing legal solutions and overcoming problems encountered in practice, as well as working on the harmonising of banking sector regulations with the relevant EU directives and Basel standards.
How would you evaluate the state of the banking sector?
The banking system, as the dominant part of Montenegro's financial system, is relatively stable. Financial risks have been reduced, but are still present at the individual level. The financial result of banks at the aggregate level is positive, while liquidity and solvency have improved and their levels are still well above the mandatory minimum. Compared to a year ago, almost all positions in banks' balance sheets have recorded growth, and that is in terms of: total assets, deposits, loans and capital.
However, banks are still leading a cautious lending policy in the real sector, relying mostly on their own liquid assets. A significant portion of new lending in the past year focused on restructuring and refinancing existing loans, which had a positive impact on the recovery of the economy. Bank deposits exceed the level of approved loans, which is evidenced by the fact that around 85% of deposits are used for the purpose of lending to the economy. Total bank loans and claims recorded a positive trend in 2016, alongside the realisation of a slight increase of 1.27% compared to the previous year. Interest rates continue with their tendency to fall, which began in late 2014.
How would you assess the level of systemic risk in the banking sector, considering the percentage of non-performing loans?
The participation of non-performing loans in total loans has recorded a continuous decline in the last few years, and we expect this trend to continue. However, despite being in decline, this level (10.3% at year's end 2016) is still high, and this very fact is the cause of caution among banks when it comes to approving new loans.
The relatively high level of NPLs and low credit activity still pose certain risks, both for the financial and fiscal systems. I would point out, however, that from the aspect of the Central Bank this issue is more in the focus of the solutions of individual banks than at the level of the system and systemic risk, as was the case in the past.
What is the situation like in the insurance sector and what trends do you expect in this sector?
Stability has been slightly strengthened in the insurance sector, while indicators point to positive growth rates in this sector, though still with the obvious dominance of mandatory forms of insurance. It could be concluded that there is plenty of room for the further development of this sector, which would have positive effects on the stability of the system in the period ahead.
It is essential for incentives to free up the huge growth potential, in order for us to achieve the main goals of economic policy.
Our evaluation is that the growth rate in 2017 will range between 3.3 and 3.8%, with a central projection of 3.6%.
The CBM will oversee the maintaining of the stability of the financial system by monitoring the state of financial stability and carrying out activities aimed at preventing systemic risk.
The banking system, as the dominant part of Montenegro's financial system, is relatively stable.
The main risk in the real sector this area is an inadequate level of competition, and that is due to poor diversification of the economy.


text:
Q: Can't print Node.js data with Angular 6 I'm learning to code and just ran into this issue with Angular 6 which I can't seem to solve.I can't print Node.js data . When i run the server.js file individually , i can get the output data. But when i try to access Node.js backend through Angular 6 ,can't get the output data.
issue.service.ts
import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class IssueService {

  uri = 'http://localhost:4000';

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }

  getIssues() {
    return this.http.get(`${this.uri}/issues`);
  }

  getIssueById(id) {
    return this.http.get(`${this.uri}/issues/${id}`);
  }

  addIssue(title, responsible, description, severity) {
    const issue = {
      title: title,
      responsible: responsible,
      description: description,
      severity: severity
    };
    return this.http.post(`${this.uri}/issues/add`, issue);
  }

  updateIssue(id, title, responsible, description, severity, status) {
    const issue = {
      title: title,
      responsible: responsible,
      description: description,
      severity: severity,
      status: status
    };
    return this.http.post(`${this.uri}/issues/update/${id}`, issue);
  }

  deleteIssue(id) {
    return this.http.get(`${this.uri}/issues/delete/${id}`);
  }
}

list.component.ts
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { IssueService } from '../../issue.service';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-list',
  templateUrl: './list.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./list.component.css']
})
export class ListComponent implements OnInit {

  constructor(private issueService: IssueService) { }

  ngOnInit() {
    this.issueService.getIssues().subscribe((issues) => {
      console.log(issues);
    });
  }

}

server.js
import express from 'express';
import cors from 'cors';
import bodyParser from 'body-parser';
import mongoose from 'mongoose';

import Issue from './models/Issue';

const app = express();
const router = express.Router();

app.use(cors());
app.use(bodyParser.json());

mongoose.connect('mongodb://localhost:27017/issues');

const connection = mongoose.connection;

connection.once('open', () => {
    console.log('MongoDB database connection established successfully!');
});

router.route('/issues').get((req, res) => {
    Issue.find((err, issues) => {
        if (err)
            console.log(err);
        else
            res.json(issues);
    });
});

router.route('/issues/:id').get((req, res) => {
    Issue.findById(req.params.id, (err, issue) => {
        if (err)
            console.log(err);
        else
            res.json(issue);
    });
});

router.route('/issues/add').post((req, res) => {
    let issue = new Issue(req.body);
    issue.save()
        .then(issue => {
            res.status(200).json({'issue': 'Added successfully'});
        })
        .catch(err => {
            res.status(400).send('Failed to create new record');
        });
});

router.route('/issues/update/:id').post((req, res) => {
    Issue.findById(req.params.id, (err, issue) => {
        if (!issue)
            return next(new Error('Could not load document'));
        else {
            issue.title = req.body.title;
            issue.responsible = req.body.responsible;
            issue.description = req.body.description;
            issue.severity = req.body.severity;
            issue.status = req.body.status;

            issue.save().then(issue => {
                res.json('Update done');
            }).catch(err => {
                res.status(400).send('Update failed');
            });
        }
    });
});

router.route('/issues/delete/:id').get((req, res) => {
    Issue.findByIdAndRemove({_id: req.params.id}, (err, issue) => {
        if (err)
            res.json(err);
        else
            res.json('Remove successfully');
    })
})

app.use('/', router);

app.listen(4000, () => console.log('Express server running on port 4000'));

when i tried to access Node.js data through Angular ,i get this error
zone.js:2969 GET http://localhost:4000/issues 0 ()
But when i try to access Node.js data through server side , i get the output results
while executing server.js file on port 4000
please help me to find a solution.
Thanks in advance

A: See Content-Security-Policy.
Add meta-tag to app index.html:
<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy"
    content="default-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' 'unsafe-eval' http://localhost:4000" />

Enable CORS in routes:
app.use('/*', function (req, res, next) {
    res.setHeader('Access-Control-Allow-Credentials', 'true');
    res.setHeader('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*');
    res.setHeader('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', 'Content-Type, Authorization, X-CSRF-Token, X-Requested-With, Accept, Accept-Version, Content-Length, Content-MD5,  Date, X-Api-Version, X-File-Name, X-App-Version');
    res.setHeader('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'POST, GET, OPTIONS, DELETE, PATCH');
    next();
});


text:
Bog Brook Reservoir – zbiornik retencyjny na terenie stanu Nowy Jork oraz hrabstwa Putnam, utworzony na rzece Bog Brook, oddany do użytku w 1892 r. Należy do sieci wodociągowej miasta Nowy Jork.

Powierzchnia zbiornika wynosi , średnia głębia to . Zbiornik mieści  wody.

Ponieważ zbiornik jest jednym z najmniejszych należących do sieci wodociągowej miasta Nowy Jork, jego głównym zadaniem jest przechowywanie wody dla East Branch Reservoir, z którym jest połączony krótkim, podziemnym tunelem.

Przypisy

Sieć wodociągowa miasta Nowy Jork
Zbiorniki retencyjne w stanie Nowy Jork

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Our expertise in solar energy
Combating climate change is an integral part of both our long-term growth strategy and our ambition to get to net-zero emissions for all our businesses by 2050, together with society. To ensure success and meet the growing demand for electricity, we are strengthening our expertise in renewable energies, especially in solar energy, given its many advantages. Clean and abundant by definition, solar energy is also flexible, efficient and competitive.
Asserting our expertise in operating solar farms
TotalEnergies continues to expand across the entire renewable energy value chain based on an integrated approach. We design and finance photovoltaic solar plants, and build and operate them as well. Our renewable power generation capacity more than doubled in 2020, rising to about 7,000 megawatts at the end of the year from 3,000 megawatts in 2019. The growth was led by an acceleration in renewable energy projects in 2020, including over 2,000 megawatts of solar assets in operation in India, more than 5,000 megawatts of solar projects in Spain and an 800-megawatt solar farm in Qatar.
TotalEnergies and Adani, a promising partnership in India
In 2020, Total and Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), Adani Group's renewable energy subsidiary, created a joint venture comprised of 2.3 gigawatts of solar projects in operation, spread over 12 Indian states. With this agreement, TotalEnergies is helping India to achieve its energy transition. In January 2021, Total also announced the acquisition of a 20% interest in AGEL.
Developing distributed solar power generation
Among solar's many advantages is the ability to distribute power generation to as close to consumers as possible. We are supporting this paradigm shift by developing distributed photovoltaic solutions, including rooftop systems for residential, industrial and commercial buildings as well as solar carports. Our SunPower affiliate, for example, is today one of the leading distributed generation companies in the United States, in both the commercial and residential segments. We also install these systems at our own sites. With nearly 1,700 of our service stations equipped with solar panels at end-2020 (target: 5,000), this program has enabled us to develop expertise that can be useful for customers wishing to adopt a multi-site approach in one or more countries.
The Zeeland refinery's moment in the sun
Located in the Netherlands near the city of Middelburg, the Zeeland refinery is 55%-owned by TotalEnergies and 45%-owned by Lukoil. To shrink the site's carbon footprint and reduce its energy bill, we built a solar plant comprising 28,000 photovoltaic panels on an 11.5-hectare land parcel. The 12 megawatts of electricity generated are directly consumed by the refinery.
See the video
Read more on TotalEnergies.com
Our solar projects around the world
Solar and wind: Our ambition in renewable energies
Our presence across the entire electricity value chain
Solar Power at TotalEnergies: Key Facts in Pictures
On the cutting edge of photovoltaic performance
Meet our SunPower affiliate
Our solar projects worldwide
An energy source of the future


Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr have now become an indispensable part of our life. With the advent of 4G networks, increased usage of smartphones and easy availability of Wi-Fi networks, most of us spent ample amount of time posting pictures, updating status and commenting or liking other people's posts.
Believe it or not, using Facebook in an obsessive way can now turn this harmless fun act to acquiring a modern medical phenomenon termed as 'Facebook Addiction'. Sounds scary? well, if you have been using social media incessantly it's time for some reality check. Take a look at these top 10 symptoms that prove you are a Facebook addict.
1. If every morning the first thing you do is leisurely scroll through your Facebook feeds. You even begin to feel a little low, even your profile is devoid of any notifications.
2. At a point of time all through the day for more than 15-20 seconds, you mindlessly scroll the newsfeed.
3. You are always excited about sharing events in your life, big or small, on this social platform. Not only this after making such posts, you repeatedly check the Facebook app on your Smartphone to see how much 'likes' and 'comments' you have earned. The lesser number of 'likes' than you expected, ruins your day.
4. You are always in a mad rush to increase your friend's list. You want to break the record of highest number of friends on Facebook, although it is not going to fetch you any recognition.
5. Everyone who knows you recognizes your skills of Facebook stalking. Whenever your friends need to track someone down on social media, and all they know is the person's first name, you instantly come to their rescue.
6. Sometimes you even make posts simply because you haven't shared something for a while. Not that anybody waits eagerly to see your posts, it's just another symptom of Facebook addiction.
7. You get sadistic pleasure in reading all the comments on someone's post. You read every single comment (for no obvious reason) and if you come across any argument, Eureka! it's like finding a gold mine for you.
8. You have been receiving endless 'wanna do fraandship with me' messages.
9. Nothing is more devastating in your life than hearing the phrase 'no Wi-Fi'. Your world literally shuts down if you cannot be updated with what's happening around social media.
10. Lastly, when your close friends hint you about your Facebook addiction, you always promise them to deactivate your account but that day is still to come.
It is OK to use social media to stay connected but going overboard is big no-no.
If you can relate to any one or more of these symptoms, it's time to step back finally!