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TradeAgriculture
Despite Trade Uncertainty, Many US Farmers to Back Trump in 2020
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, or TPP, the United States signed with 11 other countries in 2016 would have given American farmers more places to market their crops and reduced tariffs on U.S. goods.
The United States failed to ratify the pact in the waning months of the Obama administration, and Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency pledging to withdraw from the accord, arguing it would cost U.S. manufacturing jobs. Trump kept his promise soon after taking office.
Kirkwood, Illinois, farmer Wendell Shauman, who has extensively traveled to China and other parts of the world where U.S. crops are marketed, supported Trump in 2016 — despite wanting the TPP agreement.
"Any time you back out on a trade deal, that's not a precedent I like to see set," Shauman told VOA in an interview in January 2017.
FILE – President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Mexico's then-President Enrique Pena Nieto, left, participate in the USMCA signing ceremony, Nov. 30, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Trade policies
Under President Trump, the United States not only withdrew from the TPP, it also dismantled the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA.
A replacement — the United States, Mexico Canada Trade Agreement, or USMCA — is under review in the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to wage a trade war with one of its biggest crop buyers, China, which imposed tariffs on U.S. corn and soybeans in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
Today, as Shauman heads to his cornfields to harvest much later than usual thanks to extremely wet weather during the planting season, he contemplates how current trade policy might drain his profits. But he still supports President Trump.
"From what I hear on the other side, I'd be happy to support what he's doing versus what they are proposing," Shauman told VOA during a break in harvesting his corn. Much of his ire is directed at the Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Harry Truman talked about the do-nothing Congress. Well, we've got another do-nothing Congress. Anything Trump wants to do, they are against," Shauman said.
Success on the international trade front is a top issue for U.S. farmers, and many want Congress to pass the USMCA soon.
This segment of the American landscape largely supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, but continues to face difficult economic conditions amid increased costs to operate farms and decreasing profits for their crops.
FILE – Corn grows in front of a barn displaying a large Trump sign in rural Ashland, Nebraska, July 24, 2018.
Fearing a Democratic president
While an uncertain trade environment lingers ahead of casting ballots in 2020, Shauman also worries a Democratic president may impose restrictive environmental regulations to the detriment of his farm operations.
He's not alone.
"I was excited to see a Republican take back the White House," Elkhart, Illinois, pork farmer Thomas Titus told VOA. "I love the stance that we are taking."
So does Jim Raben, who farms corn and soybeans in Ridgeway, a town in southern Illinois. "I think he's doing what is right," he told VOA at the 2019 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.
"I think the majority of our people are by far supportive of the president," says Illinois Farm Bureau's Mark Gebhards, who points out that Trump has been able to blunt the impact of tariffs through payments to farmers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Market Facilitation Program." This year it cost taxpayers about $16 billion, on top of roughly $15 billion in 2018.
"We've said all along we want trade, not aid," he told VOA. "We don't want to have to live on hoping that we get another round of market facilitation payments. We really need to find a final way forward — not only the tariffs with China, the UMSCA, Japan, the EU, all these other issues that are out there."
FILE – President Donald Trump speaks at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, an ethanol producer in Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 11, 2019. Trump has repeatedly told U.S. farmers he supports them and in return they largely continue to support him.
Little understanding of agriculture
Yet the lack of substantial trade progress during Trump's first term causes concern among some of his supporters.
"I really feel like he doesn't understand what happens out here in these flyover states [in the middle of the country]," says Colona, Illinois, farmer Megan Dwyer. "He's walking a very thin line in what is happening in the ag[riculture] sector."
Dwyer says the Trump administration's waivers for oil refineries to use corn-based ethanol, the president's tweeting, and his mixed results on trade could affect her vote.
"Some of his comments recently around ag are frustrating to me," she said.
Amid an ongoing impeachment inquiry in the U.S. Congress, a straw poll conducted by Farm Journal Pulse in September showed 76% of 1,138 farmers polled support Trump in 2020, down from 79% in July.
"I think there's a lot of people who are disappointed," Shauman said. "But it comes down to the choice they give us, and right now most farmers … I don't think he's going to lose many."
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1995 - HB 1881 Board for People with Disabilities.
1995 - HB 2056 Individual and Family Support Act.
1995 - HB 2062 Disabled hunters; applicable during firearms deer season.
1995 - HB 2075 Disabled hunters; applicable to black lung disease victims.
1995 - HB 2110 Qualified interpreters for hearing-impaired.
1995 - HB 2213 Board and Department for the Visually Handicapped; members.
1995 - HB 2383 Assistance for a county sheriff disabled in line of duty.
1995 - HB 2603 Parking spaces reserved for certain disabled persons.
1995 - HJ 538 People with disabilities; support services.
1995 - HJ 631 Study; training for service providers of disabled persons.
1995 - HJ 632 Study; medicaid waviers for disabled and mentally ill persons.
1995 - SB 885 Interpreters in criminal proceedings.
1995 - SB 892 Handicapped parking; revo. of license plates, placards if misused.
1995 - SB 919 Transportation of children with disabilities.
1995 - SB 928 Hunting of deer by disabled persons.
1995 - SB 985 Assistive Technology Loan Authority and Fund.
1995 - SJ 326 Study; paratransit.
1996 - HB 273 Abuse and neglect of incapacitated adults; penalty.
1996 - HB 660 Retirement System; employees of Deptartment for Visually Handicapped.
1996 - HB 669 Handicapped parking; fines for illegal use.
1996 - HB 690 Transportation of children with disabilities.
1996 - HB 765 Handicapped parking; use by deaf.
1996 - HB 1092 Identification cards for persons with hearing dogs.
1996 - HB 1108 Parking for the disabled.
1996 - HB 1175 Special license plates; international symbol of access.
1996 - HB 1204 Disabled hunters.
1996 - HB 1551 Driver's licenses; renewal.
1996 - HJ 198 Study; abuse, enforcement, etc., of handicapped parking.
1996 - HJ 240 Study; services for mentally disabled.
1996 - SB 163 Special license plates; international symbol of access.
1996 - SB 323 Jury service; applicable to persons with disabilities.
1996 - SB 339 Identification cards for persons with hearing dogs.
1996 - SB 366 Assistive Technology Loan Authority; members.
1996 - SB 468 Deaf and hard-of-hearing; telecommunications relay.
1996 - SB 469 Technology assistance for deaf and hard-of-hearing.
1996 - SB 522 Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
1996 - SB 533 Transportation of children with disabilities.
1996 - SB 536 Retirement System; employees of Dept. for Visually Handicapped.
1996 - SJ 75 Public schools; urging Congress to ensure safe environments.
1996 - SJ 86 Study; abuse, enforcement, etc., of handicapped parking.
1997 - HB 273 Abuse and neglect of incapacitated adults; penalty.
1997 - HB 1551 Driver's license; renewal contribution to Prevent Blindness Va.
1997 - HB 1996 Representation in suits relating to real property of disabled person.
1997 - HB 2145 Disabled hunters.
1997 - HB 2146 Crossbow hunting by disabled.
1997 - HB 2208 Approval of compromises on behalf of persons under disability.
1997 - HB 2660 Approval of compromises on behalf of persons under disability.
1997 - HB 2728 State agencies, institutions, etc.; disabled employees.
1997 - HB 2806 Programs for impaired practitioners.
1997 - HB 2807 Parking for persons with disabilities.
1997 - HJ 581 Study; infants and toddlers with disabilities.
1997 - SB 323 Jury service; applicable to persons with disabilities.
1997 - SB 808 Handicapped parking.
1997 - SB 845 Parking for persons with disabilities.
1997 - SB 1095 Advisory Commission on Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
1997 - SB 1125 Advisory Commission on Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
1997 - SB 1160 Assistive Technology Device Warranties Act.
1997 - SJ 276 Disability Commission members.
1998 - HB 82 Income tax; deduction for disabled.
1998 - HB 194 Employees with disabilities tax credit.
1998 - HB 566 Compromises on behalf of persons under a disability.
1998 - HB 751 Income tax; tax credit for caregivers.
1998 - HB 812 Workers' compensation; payments to infants or incapacitated persons.
1998 - HB 820 Instruction of blind and visually impaired students.
1998 - HB 858 Visually handicapped.
1998 - HB 916 Hearing Impairment Identification and Monitoring System.
1998 - HB 1093 Disabled hunters.
1998 - HB 1115 Information technology access by individuals who are blind.
1998 - HB 1291 Children with disabilities.
1998 - HJ 15 Commending Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center.


To start, the first thing to do in both safety and security is do a detailed process, hazard and risk analysis of the system. In the case of safety, you should allocate safety functions that will protect against those risks that you have identified and create a safety specification or set of requirements for each of those safety functions that you are going to apply. Once those requirements are in place, the realization phase is similar to other realization efforts, including design and engineering, acceptance testing and installation, and various validation stages. Once the safety system is in place and tested, the next step is to go into an operational mode where the system is maintained, and modifications are made to errors that you may have discovered during the course of normal operation. Then ultimately the system is decommissioned.
Parallel to activities of management of functional safety and assessments, you need to look at the root safety requirements of the system and make sure that they are current. There is also project planning, configuration management and other related activities that are done in the entire project implementation.
There are a series of verification and testing activities that occur throughout the lifecycle. Each phase needs to be tested to make sure that all requirements are met so you can move onto the next phase.
Similar to the safety lifecycle, the cybersecurity lifecycle has an assess phase, analysis phase, implementation phase, and operational phase. There are also several activities involved across all phases. We will focus on the first few stages which involve process/plant design and scope, the definition of your system (zones and conduits), how to do a high-level cyber security risk assessment, and a process hazard analysis.
First start with the cyber security risk assessment itself, which involves being clear about exactly what equipment is involved and what analysis you'll be doing. Then a process hazard analysis can be done as well as a hazard and operational analysis. Later a layer protection analysis can be done on the cyber system. The result is a risk assessment that can identify security level requirements. Now that the requirements are set, you can ask: do the requirements meet the corporate risk criteria? To help answer that question, look at your corporate tolerable risk guidelines that set requirements about damage and losses as a result of cyber attacks and events. This cycle can be performed until you have adequate requirements developed. As an input to the scope, you look at things like corporate site policies and procedures, project-specific requirements, zone and conduit drawings, regulations, and standards.
Detailed cyber security risk assessment inputs include policies and procedures, which are the basis for the Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP). Included are also high level risk assessment results, zone and conduit drawings, and and HAZOP or LOPA inputs that may have been previously executed.
Below is an example of a high-level security risk assessment. On the left is a list of the potential threats including data modification, data theft, denial of service, and introduction of malware into the system. As you proceed through the analysis, identify possible causes associated with the threats. For example, data modification could have been done by third parties, disgruntled employees, or malicious employees. These are obviously of concern to the process control system and the severity, let's say for this example, is identified as a medium consequence.
The whole idea of this exercise – following through with data theft, denial of service, and malware -- is to take a look at those consequences and determine which are the very high and high potential threats that require mitigation. These are the things that you want to work on first. This table identifies means to address those high-level risks and gain insight as to what needs the initial detailed risk assessment.
One of the other key components of risk assessment is basically a snapshot or a clear understanding of the interconnections within your system. To the left is an example of a zone and conduit drawing. As you look at this, you might see some pretty significant problems. Ideally you come up with these as a result of network engineers going around and determining what the interconnection is of the components within your system. In this particular drawing, we have a direct internet connection to the field IO, which is not a good practice. Likewise, we are also bypassing the DMZ by connecting the business site local area network directly to your IO. Also,the contents of the DMZ doesn't seem to be present, so someone at one point decided, in this environment, that the DMZ was a good idea, but didn't build in any equipment to actually perform the functions of the DMZ. So you can see that this particular zoning drawing is covered with all kinds of problems.
Now we want to start leveraging the process hazard analysis and start asking some questions. These questions include: Are HAZOP or LOPA initiating events vulnerable to cyber attack? Are safeguards vulnerable to cyber attack? What are the consequences and associated risks when the system is completely vulnerable? So if your system no longer has these protection layers in place, the system is, in fact, vulnerable.
As you are doing this analysis, there is a methodology to follow, starting with high-level cyber risk assessment. Start by determining the scope, which no longer includes the DMZ or the corporate enterprise. So the zones that we do have for this analysis include the site business LAN, the control room zone, the safety instrumented system (SIS) zone, and the field zone.
In the work process methodology itself we have already created the zone and conduit drawings, so next when you put your team together you want to make sure the information is available to everyone ahead of time. Then you start looping through a process of going zone by zone, looking at each node within a zone, and any threats to that node. For each threat, document the causes and any consequences, identify any countermeasures, and come up with a resolution or mitigation.
Finally, you have to make sure that all of the threats, nodes and zones are evaluated. Out of this entire process, a series of cyber security recommendations is formed. A rule of thumb from the practical SIL selection handbook that can be used in this methodology is the 20/20/20 rule of thumb. For every 20 years of operation, the company should have at least 20 months of realization, and 20 weeks of analysis for building that system. The analysis in this particular rule of thumb is not only for cyber analysis, but also for safety hazard analysis. This shows the kind of effort involved in the cyber-portion of system analysis process.
Consequently, there is a lot of information that comes out of these analyses. You can compile the information in various documents, spreadsheets and databases. Exida happens to have a tool that can assist in this process called PHAx and its counterpart CyberPHAx. PHAx does a consumer safety analysis and CyberPHAx is the tool used for the purposes of this blog. It offers some recommendations to lead you through the process and helps you organize all the information that comes out of the analysis.
Initially you take your zone and conduit drawings and put them into the tool, with each zone and their possible threats. It then lists the causes associated with the threats and the associated consequences of those threats. Then the next step is to go through the threats and identify possible countermeasures. To prevent that disgruntled employee from coming in and causing damage to your system, you can set frequently rotating passwords or you can have multiple authentication. In the case of any third party software which can be introduced to the system, your team can put together an anti virus protection program where your systems are frequently updated. While CyberPHAx helps you organize information, you can certainly go through the process by other means. However, the big picture is that you have to identify all the possible threats, causes, consequences, and countermeasures. Those all go into creating the set of requirements that are a part of your successful system or successful mitigation strategy.
First, you need to have accurate information about your process to begin. Your zone and conduit drawings need to be correct, you need to have a clear understanding of corporate goals, any standards or regulations that your industry needs to listen to and you need to have a technical team that is familiar with these requirements, understand your existing system, and has good, clear knowledge of cyber risk assessment methodologies. Ideally you want a team of more than two people but perhaps less than six people so the team does not get too large and bog things down.
For those of you who are just starting operations, otherwise known as greenfield operations, you have a clean slate and can do these analyses from the start and build your implementations from the beginning. Unfortunately, my guess is that many of you are involved in existing operations and systems and are trying to put together an assessment or cyber strategy and put it onto existing systems. That is a difficult task, but 62443 will provide you with some good guidelines to make that possible.


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Search Travel News Asia for: SIA
Your search for SIA found the following documents (of 52086 documents searched):
Displaying documents 9-16 of 13067, with best matches first:
9. SIA Reports Q1 2010 Profit
SIA Reports Q1 2010 Profit. The SIA Group has reported a net profit of $253 million in April – June 2010. This was a turnaround of $560 million from the loss of $307 million recorded in the same quarter a year ago. Group revenue at $3,466 million grew 20.7% (+$594 million), reflecting the recovery in load factors and yields.
10. SIA Reports Q3 Operating Profit
SIA Reports Q3 Operating Profit. The SIA Group has reported an operating profit of $509 million in the third quarter of the 2010-11 financial year, an increase of $186 million (+58%) over the same quarter last year. Group revenue at $3,841 million grew $423 million (+12%) year-on-year, supported by continued improvement in carriage and yields. On the cost side, Group expenditure ro
11. SIA Signs FHS Contract with Airbus for A340-500 Support
SIA Signs FHS Contract with Airbus for A340-500 Support. Singapore Airlines has signed a 'Flight Hour Services - Tailored Support Package' (FHS-TSP) contract with Airbus to integrate and provide full component support, line and base airframe maintenance, as well as fleet technical management services for SIA's five A340-500 ultra long-haul all business-class aircraft.
12. SIA and CAE to Establish Pilot Training JV in Singapore
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and CAE have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint venture for pilot training in Singapore. The joint venture will initially focus primarily on providing simulator training for Boeing aircraft types, supporting SIA Group airlines and other operators' pilot training needs in the region.
13. SIA Appoints CEO for its New Low Cost Airline
SIA Appoints CEO for its New Low Cost Airline. Singapore Airlines has appointed Campbell Wilson as founding CEO of its still unnamed, no-frills, low cost airline which is set to be launched next year. Mr Wilson, 40, has been with the SIA Group for more than 15 years and has held positions both overseas as well as in head office.
14. SilkAir's Days Numbered; Airline to Merge into SIA
Singapore Airlines' (SIA) regional wing, SilkAir, is to undergo a significant investment programme to upgrade its cabin products as part of a multi-year initiative that will ultimately see it merged into SIA.
15. SIA Holidays launches Free Hotel Room Promotion
SIA Holidays launches Free Hotel Room Promotion. Travellers who purchase SIA Holidays or SilkAir Holidays packages will be able to enjoy one night hotel stay absolutely free, together with a range of goodies such as discounts on entry to a variety of Singapore's leading tourist attractions.
16. SIAEC and Airbus Complete First Cabin Retrofit for Singapore Airlines' A380 Fleet
SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), in collaboration with Airbus Services, recently completed the first of 14 A380 full-cabin retrofits for Singapore Airlines (SIA). The extensive retrofit programme, which was announced in November 2017, sees the cabin products selected for SIA's five recently delivered A380 aircraft installed on the airline's in-service aircraft.
Documents 9-16 of 13067 displayed.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Peer Mehr Ali Shah
Other ancestors
Other ancestors of Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah Sahib (R.A)
Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah Sahib had descended from Syed Taj-ud-din Abdul Razzaq, the middle son of Syedna Ghaus-e-Azam, whose spiritual school (Qadriyah Razzaqiyah) is spread far and wide in the Islamic world. Syed Abdul Razzaq ranked very high among the mashaikh of his time, and was widely known as the Mufti (Expounder of Islamic Law) of Iraq. Despite being the middle son of Syedna Ghaus-e-Azam, the honour of headship and executive leadership of Ghausia Shrine at Baghdad has passed down mostly to members of his family tree. Tradition has it that one of his sons, Syed Jamaal Ullah, who was held very dear by Syedna Ghaus-e-Azam and who also bore a striking resemblance to the latter, was granted eternal life by the special Grace of Allah, and had, as a result, disappeared from the sight of the common people not long after the passing away of Hazrat Ghaus-e-Azam (R.A).
The second son of Hazrat Abdul Razzaq, Syed Abu Saleh, had been officially appointed by the then Khalifa (Caliph) to the high office of Mufti of Iraq. Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah was the descendent of his son, Syed Ali Qadiri Baghdadi, who was a distinguished scholar and was the author of several books.
Syed Taj-ud-din Mehmood, belonging to the fourth generation after Syed Ali Qadiri, was the first to arrive from Baghdad in Bengal, then a province of India, in the 9th Hijrah century. He was accorded a place of honour by the then Muslim ruler of Bengal, Sultan Feroz Shah, who allocated an estate for his Khankah. However, Syed Taj-ud-din returned to Baghdad after a few years' missionary work, leaving behind his son Syed Abil Hayat to carry on his mission in Bengal.
After his demise, Syed Abil Hayat was succeeded by his son, Miran Shah Qadir Qumais who attained fame not only in Bengal but also in other parts of India. On the outbreak of hostilities between the Mughal King Humayun and Sher Shah Suri, Shah Qumais went back to Baghdad, and returned to India when peace had been restored after several years. This time he settled down in Gangoh, where the well-known Shaikh belonging to Chishtia Sabriya school, Abdul Quddus Gangohi, was well-established. Despite his eminent position and his advanced age, however, Shaikh Abdul Quddus personally welcomed Shah Qumais on his arrival in the outskirts of the city. Shaikh Abdul Quddus Gangohi (852-945 A.H) ranks along the leading mashaikh of the Chishtia Sabriya school second in eminence only to the founder of the school himself, Syedna Ala-ud-din Ahmad Sabir (R.A) of Kaliar Sharif, District Saharanpur (India). Many distinguished mashaikh are included among his spiritual legatees.
From Gangoh, Hazrat Qadir Qumais went to Bengal, but finding things not conducive there, he moved to the town of Sadhora then known as Shah Dhora in District Saharanpur (India) and settled down there. He passed away in Bengal, where the then Mughal ruler had sent him on some mission in 992 A.H., but his body was brought back to Sadhora and buried there.
Hazrat Shah Muhammad Fazil Qalandar, a grandson of Hazrat Shah Qumais, carried on the latter's mission with distinction until his demise in 1104 A.H.
Pir Syed Roshan Din Shah (R.A) and Pir Syed Rasul Shah (R.A)
In the 12th generation of Shah Abdul Qadir Qumais, a gentleman named Syed Abdul Rahman Nuri went to the Hijaz for Hajj (the annual Muslim pilgrimage in Makkah), but on his way back was ill and passed away in Basra (Iraq). In accordance with his will, his awrad-o-wazaif (collection of recitations) were buried along with his body. When his sons, Syed Roshan Din Shah and Syed Rasul Shah, learnt about this in Sadhora, they walked all the way to Basra and kept a six-month vigil at the tomb of their father. Miraculously, the books came out of the grave on their own one-day, and taking hold of them, the two brothers went to the Hijaz to perform Hajj. From there they proceeded to Baghdad and Basra, then on to Kabul (Afghanistan), and finally, on the way to their hometown of Sadhora, they decided to take up residence in the village Golra near Rawalpindi (Punjab, India). This happened around the end of the 12thHijra century, when the Mughal throne in Delhi was occupied by Shah Alam II. The province of Bengal had already been conquered by the British, then represented by the East India Company. The period was marked by the anarchy everywhere, with the Sikhs having conquered the Punjab province, and the Englishmen and the Marhattas glancing avidly towards Delhi, with designs to overthrow the once mighty but now weak and emaciated Mughal Empire in India. The region in which Sadhora was situated was plagued by unrest following the third battle of Panipat between the Marhattas and Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1760-61 A.D. which the latter had won. Because of all this, Syed Roshan Din and Syed Rasul Shah preferred not to go on to Sadhora. Instead, they asked their family members and other associates to leave Sadhora and join them in Golra, which they considered a haven of peace and security, and also conducive to their missionary work. Hazrat Syed Roshan Din (R.A) was the great grandfather of Syedna Pir Meher Ali Shah Sahib (R.A).
Hazrat Syed Miran Shah (R.A) and Hazrat Pir Fazl Din Shah (R.A)
The spiritual legacy of Syed Roshan Din (R.A) and Syed Rasul Shah (R.A) passed on to Syed Miran Shah (R.A) and Syed Fazl Din (R.A), the two teen-aged sons of Syed Rasul Shah. The two young men were, therefore, taught and brought up under the care of Sa'in Ali Muhammad alias Miskeen Shah Panipatti, not a member of the august family but the leading Khalifa (spiritual deputy) of Syed Rasul Shah (R.A).
Syed Miran Shah was quite a strict observer of the Shariah, but was at same time ecstatically inclined. Syed Fazl Din (R.A), however, was an eminent scholar and a distinguished spiritual personality. People thronged to him from far and near regardless of their religious or social standing, in search of solace and guidance. His Langer (free kitchen) was well known in the neighbourhood. He was blessed with Kashf (clairvoyance) and Karamat (mini-miracles). Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah (R.A) received his spiritual initiation at the hand of Syed Fazl Din (R.A) and had embarked upon his mission of spiritual guidance about 11 years before the latter's demise. Hazrat Fazl Din remained a celibate all his life, and passed away in 1892-93 (12- Zi'qad, 1311 A.H.) at the age of 108 years. His mausoleum is located at a short distance to the northwest of shrine (Darbar) of Golra Sharif.
Hazrat Syed Nazr Din Shah (alias "Ajji Sahib) (R.A) - Hazrat's father
Syed Nazr Din Shah (R.A), father of Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah (R.A), was the grand son of Syed Roshan Din Shah (R.A) mentioned above. Syed Nazr Din, who later became known as "Ajji Sahib" because of being the father (called 'Ajji' in the local Potohari language) of Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah Sahib, was born in Golra in 1815 (1234-35 A.H). He is known to have been a born Wali (saint), a fact which received providential endorsement through an incident that occurred during his youth.
In his early age, Ajji Sahib used to remain constantly occupied in his studies and in prayers and recitations in the ancestral mosque in Golra. The Sikh section of the village was located close to this mosque. It so happened that an unmarried girl belonging to the local Sikh sub-divisional officer (SDO) was found to be bearing an immorally conceived child. Taking advantage of this situation, a confidante of the SDO, who was bitterly jealous of the increasingly popularity and influence of the newly arrived Syed family, falsely accused the young Ajji Sahib of being responsible for the affair. Without seeking any authentic proof of this baseless charge, the SDO ordered Ajji Sahib to be arrested and burnt alive in the punishment for the crime. When delegations of local and neighbouring Muslims met the SDO to plead the innocence of the pious scion of the highly respected family, the latter agreed to acquit him only if Hazrat Syed Fazl Din, who then headed the Golra Khankah, appeared in person before him to assure him of the young man's innocence. Hazrat Fazl Din Shah, however, refused to do so, and asked the SDO to do whatever he deemed fit, adding that if the boy was really guilty it was better for the family's honour if he was burnt to death. The people of the area decided to meet the situation with force, but the Pir Sahib strictly forbade them to do so. The women of the locality offered ransom to the SDO in the form of their jewellery and ornaments, but the offer was rejected by him.
On the appointed day, a large pyre was prepared under an armed guard to carry out the penalty. On the preceding night, Hazrat Ajji Sahib was honoured by the visit of Syedna Ghaus-e-Azam (R.A) in dream, when the latter exhorted him to take a bath, wear a new dress, and offer a couple of nawafil (supererogatory prayers), before proceeding to the pyre. Ajji Sahib carried out these directions and calmly seated himself on the pyre. Kerosene oil was then poured on the pyre and a burning match applied to it. The pyre, however, failed to catch fire despite repeated efforts. The accusing person then poured more kerosene on the clothes of Ajji Sahib and on his long curly hair. However, even though the pyre did then go ablaze, the fire failed completely to touch Ajji Sahib's body. When the news of this miraculous vindication of innocence was conveyed to the SDO, he ordered the accuser himself to be burnt on the same pyre for bringing a totally false charge against an innocent young man of an honoured family. He also rendered an unqualified apology to Hazrat Fazl Din for his misjudgment of the case. Both the latter and Ajji Sahib himself, however, asked forgiveness for the convicted. In fact Ajji Sahib did not leave the pyre until this demand had been met by the SDO.
Not long after this incident, the Sikh rule in the Punjab came to an end, and the province came under the British rule.
Hazrat Ajji Sahib was married to a lady of a Gilani Syed family descendant from Syedna Ghaus-e-Azam (R.A), which was then settled in the town of Hasan-Abdal, about 25 miles to the north-west of Golra. It was through this union that Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah was born, making him Gilani Syed from the sides of both his parents.
Hazrat Ajji Sahib, who was a disciple of his maternal uncle, Pir Fazl Din Shah (R.A) in the Qadriyah Jaddiyah school, possessed many virtues and praiseworthy traits of character. The foremost of these was his generosity and magnificence, and his concern for the poor, the needy, and the oppressed and down-trodden. He lived long enough to see his distinguished son, Hazrat Meher Ali Shah Sahib, rise to dizzy heights of spiritual eminence. His own circle of beneficiaries and disciples was also quite vast. He passed away at the age of 90 years on 24 Rajab, 1324 A.H. (1905 AD) and was buried adjacent to the mosque at Golra instead of in a separate tomb, in deference to his own wishes. Besides Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah Sahib, who was then 50 years of age, Ajji Sahib left behind two more sons, Syed Mehmood Shah and Wilayat Shah, and a daughter.
Posted by munib at 18:02
Golra Sharif
Early Childhood and education
Period of teaching and instructions
Love of Allah
Pir Mehr Ali shah and Ghaus e Azam
Hazrat Pir Meher Ali Shah and Hazrat Shamsuddin of...
Silsila-e-Chishtia Nizamiyah
Silsila-e-Qadriyah Razzaqiyah Gilania
Qadyani movement an introduction
Founder of Qadianism
Wahi
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text:
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Joint Memorandum to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
发表时间 Time:March 23rd, 2012
林连玉基金 > Statement > Joint Memorandum to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
Joint Memorandum to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on 22 March 2012
Pressing human rights concerns in Malaysia
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned Malaysian civil society organizations welcome your official visit to Malaysia on 21 and 22 March 2012. We believe that your visit to Malaysia is a timely one. In this context, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight to you some of the major human rights concerns in Malaysia.
When Prime Minister Najib Razak took over Malaysia's premiership in 2010, he clearly sought to capture the imagination of an election-expectant public by promising reforms. He undertook to abolish the Internal Security Act 1960 ("ISA"), a law that provides for detention without trial, and three Emergency Ordinances, and to review other laws relating to the freedoms of expression, assembly and association.
However a legacy remains, of policy errors, human rights violations, and indiscriminate abuses of power that has impeded the progress of Malaysia and its public institutions. This has come at great social, economic and political costs to the nation.
The current Prime Minister Najib Razak's promises of reforms, including the repeal of detention-without-trial laws and guarantees of the right to freedoms of expression and assembly, have thus far proven to be mere rhetoric. The recent arrests in November 2011 and detention of 13 more individuals without trial under the ISA have confirmed our suspicions that the government has no serious intention to abolish this practice.
Recently, in 2011, the government, through its majority in Parliament, speedily passed the Peaceful Assembly Bill, which has increased the deprivation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. This new law is expected to further restrict the right to freedom of assembly, which has long been suppressed in Malaysia. In July 2011, for example, more than 1,600 peaceful protestors were arrested during a rally calling for free and fair elections. We anticipate a worsening of the situation after the enactment of the new law.
Abuse of power by the police has continued as seen in the rising statistics with regard to deaths in police custody, police shootings and other forms of violence against the public. The government remains recalcitrant in refusing to implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as recommended by the Royal Police Commission a few years ago.
The plight of refugees has not been alleviated by the government's refusal to distinguish the fundamental differences between a refugee, an asylum seeker and an undocumented migrant. Their protection remains illusory while the Malaysian government drags its feet in ratifying the United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and continues its dismal record in respecting the peremptory norm of non-refoulement.
For the last 55 years since Malaysia's independence, every fundamental liberty enshrined in the Federal Constitution ("FC") has been taken away or amended beyond recognition. In this regard, we the undersigned civil societies and defenders of democratic rights and liberties, wish to bring to your attention the following key human rights concerns, which we hope will be relayed to the Malaysian government during your visit in Malaysia.
1. National Unity and Pluralism
Pluralism, multiculturalism and national unity have been at best superficial. Despite 46 years of Independence, the colonial strategy of 'divide-and-rule' is still maintained. In stark contrast with the Malaysian Prime Minister's role in advocating for the establishment of a Global Movement of Moderates, Malaysia continues to experience increasing levels of racial discrimination, racism, and intolerance related to race and religion. This problem is deeply rooted in numerous government policies and practices. For example, issues of race and religion are intricately linked as the FC defines 'Malay' as being Muslim (Article 160(2), FC). This conflation of race and religion set in place a divisive discourse of Malays (Muslims) and non-Malays (non-Muslims) that continues to be perpetuated by the Government in its play on identity politics. Poorly administered and monitored affirmative action policies of "special privileges" (Article 153, FC) for Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak have fomented national disunity. Some claim that several of their rights have been violated or not promoted. Examples: rights to education, education in their mother tongue, and to freedom of religion especially when a Malay person wants convert out of Islam.
The first commitment to end this is for the government to:-
· Constitute a Race Relations Commission to combat racism and racial discrimination.
· Immediately ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
2. Civil and Political Rights
Malaysia's human rights record has been dismal, due to the arsenal of draconian legislation that the Executive has in its hands. The preconditions necessary for the reversal of this trend include:-
· The abolition of all detention-without-trial laws. These include the Internal Security Act, the Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Preventive Ordinance), and the Dangerous Drugs Act (Special Preventive Measures).
· Ensuring that no new laws that permits detention without trial be enacted in the pretense of national security
· The abolition or amendments of laws and provisions of laws that violate the fundamental freedoms of speech, assembly and association. These include the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses Publications Act, Section 15 and 16 of the University and University Colleges Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Police Act, the Societies Act and the Trade Union Act. In particular, we strongly call for the withdrawal of the newly-passed Peaceful Assembly Act, which severely restricts freedom of peaceful assembly.
· Sign, ratify and implement domestically other key international instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention Against Torture, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
3. Free and Fair Elections
There remains a major problem with Malaysian elections: they have not been conducted fairly or cleanly. Malaysians are well aware of the non-level playing field that characterises our electoral process. As elections approach, we see clearly the Barisan Nasional's (BN) near monopoly and manipulation of the mainstream media, its access to and abuse of federal government facilities and funds, and its possession of huge electoral war chests, which allow the BN component parties to outspend its challengers. Voters have complained that they were denied their right to vote on polling day because their names had been removed from the rolls, or that they had been transferred to other polling stations or districts without their awareness. In the last election there were also allegations that some had not had the opportunity to vote because the stations had not remained open long enough for people to cast their votes.
We urgently call on the government to:
· Ensure fair representation in delineation of parliamentary constituencies – discrepancy in the number of voters in different constituencies should not exceed 15% as existed at the time of Independence.
· Strengthen public institutions involved in the electoral process, including the judiciary, the Election Commission, police, MACC and broadcasting media to ensure their independence and professionalism.
· Clean up the electoral rolls.
· Guarantee automatic voting eligibility from the age of 18 using identity card, and reform postal voting to ensure transparency and to enfranchise Malaysian citizens abroad.
· Ensure a minimum of 21 days for electoral campaigning.
· Prohibit as election offences all unethical practices such as religious or communal appeal, false statements, defamatory or personal attacks, willful distortions, unproven allegations, racist, racial or other forms of intolerant statements against women, minorities and marginalized groups;
· Curb corruption and vote buying by compulsory auditing of all election expenses, campaign financing; full disclosure of sources of financing and expenditure, and setting a limit on campaign expenditure.
· Ensure free and fair access to the media for all parties.
· Invite international election observers as a norm in general elections for greater credibility.
· Use indelible ink to prevent multiple voting.
4. Protect the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples
Despite voting to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous peoples (locally referred to as "Orang Asal") in Malaysia continue to suffer a lack of recognition of their land rights. They are continuously subjected to forced relocation, and forced assimilation policies affecting their cultures and religions. The Declaration's core principle of 'free, prior and informed consent' is not adhered to in development policies affecting them.
· Protect the right of the Orang Asal to self-determination, including the right to own, control and use their traditional lands, territories and resources on their own terms.
· Protect the right of the Orang Asal to sustainable development, access to basic needs and advancement of their traditions and languages.
· Follow through on Malaysia's endorsement of the UNDRIP by introducing policies and instituting legislation that comply with its tenets.
· Enact or amend state laws that recognise and protect the native customary rights of the Orang Asal to their traditional lands and territories.
· Recognise traditional and ancestral land rights of indigenous communities and their right to free, prior, informed consent in decision-making that affect their livelihood and welfare
5. Women
Women make up more than 50% of the Malaysian population, yet many of the rights of women have yet to be realised. Violence against women and sexual harassment at workplaces is increasing. In 1999, a coalition of prominent women's organisations produced a comprehensive list of demands which are still relevant today and we continue to call upon the government to:-
· Implement at least a 30% quota for women's representation in all decision-making bodies of government, the judiciary and political parties in order to encourage greater participation by women in public life and formulate a plan of action and timeline for the realisation of this quota;
· Incorporate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)and its provisions into national law guaranteeing equality of women with men in both public and private spheres of life
· Review and amend all laws and constitutional provisions that discriminate on the basis of gender;
· Confront sexism and prejudice based on gender stereotypes;
· Ensure equal pay for women holding similar posts as men;
· Criminalise all acts of discrimination against women and ensure that effective remedies are available to women whose rights have been violated.
· Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and Practice for country visits.
6. Workers
Despite moving towards the path of an industrialised nation, many fundamental guarantees have not been made available to Mal
aysian workers. There is no minimum wage system across the board for all sectors and workers still face problems forming or joining a trade union. Hence the government should immediately:-
· Legislate a guaranteed minimum wage system for all workers as recommended by the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC).
· Legislate a monthly wage system for plantation workers.
· Recognise the rights of workers to join and form trade unions especially in the electronics sector; Allow for a national union for the electronics sector to be formed.
· Ratify all remaining International Labour Organisation Conventions, in particular C87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948.
· Implement the National Retrenchment Scheme (NRC) to safeguard workers facing retrenchment.
The development of mother-tongue education schools has deteriorated in recent years. The lack of academic freedom and freedom of association and expression in the institutions of higher education has compromised the quality of education in the country. There is an urgent need to:-
· Implement the increase of Chinese and Tamil Schools together with resources and facilities, as promised during the 1999 General Elections; Amend the Education Act 1996 to reflect the national education policy as originally stated in the Education Ordinance 1957 which ensures the development of mother-tongue education for all.
· Abolish the Universities and University Colleges Act to protect academic freedom and freedom of association and expression.
· Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education for a country visit.
8. The Economy and Social Services
Rampant privatisation of public utilities and public projects has resulted in vast amounts of public monies wasted and squandered. Funds from the national pension scheme have been used to bail out crony projects and these remain unaccounted for. Public services have been privatised at the expense of the public while basic social needs of the poor have deteriorated. The government of Malaysia must immediately:-
· Stop the corporatisation of the national healthcare system.
· Stop the practice of forced evictions; Increase the number of low-cost housing and give land titles to existing villages and settlements of urban settlers, plantation workers and new village residents.
· Establish a more transparent, just and consultative system in the allocation and determination of price, for low cost housing for the poor.
9. Sexuality Rights
We are deeply concerned with the situation where religious and political leaders, as well as the media continue to demonise LGBTIQ activists and communities in Malaysia. In addition, LGBTIQ persons are frequently exposed to hate speech, attacks and harassment. We believe that everyone in Malaysia deserves to be free from discrimination, harassment and violence regardless of their sexual orientations and their gender identities. The Government must:
· Fully decriminalise homosexuality and prevent impunity for all kinds of incitement to or direct harassment, threats and other violations against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, intersex and queer persons, as well as ensure that they are treated equally.
· Refrain from hate speech and ensure the right to freedom of expression to all human rights defenders, including those defending the rights of sexual minorities, as provided in Article 19 of the ICCPR.
· Ensure in law and in practice the right to freedom of association for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, intersex and queer persons, and their right to organise themselves to protect and promote their rights, as provided in Article 22 of ICCPR and called for by the UN Human Rights Council (§ 1, resolution 15/21, 30 September 2010, UN Doc.: A/HRC/RES/15/21).
10. Protect Rights of Refugees and Migrant workers
i. Migrant Workers:
Malaysia is one of the primary destination countries for refugee and migrants in Southeast Asia. There are an estimated 2.1 million documented migrant workers in Malaysia and more than 1 million migrants in an irregular situation. The economy of Malaysia is foreign labour dependent – around 25-30 percent of the workforce comprises migrants. Without the labour of migrants, Malaysians would not be able to enjoy the economic recovery and growth it has experienced over the past three decades.
However, the rights of migrants and refugees are still poorly protected in a number of ways. Migrants and refugees continue to face significant barriers to access to health services and are subject to discriminatory policies of mandatory testing and deportation for several treatable diseases as well as pregnancy. Those who suffer from violations of labour and human rights – such as cheating by agents, wrongful arrest and detention, unpaid wages, wrongful dismissal, wrongful deduction of wages, accidents in the workplace, abuse, violence, sexual harassment, and rape – are unable to obtain effective redress through the existing legal system.
ii. Refugees and Asylum seekers
Malaysian immigration law does not provide special protection or procedures for asylum seekers, refugees or trafficked persons nor does it make special provisions for children or women, including pregnant women. As a result, the status of 'refugee' does not exist in Malaysian law and, at least formally, the fact that a person has the recognition of the United Nations High Commissioner fo
r Refugees (UNHCR) does not attract any special rights in Malaysian law. Therefore, refugees and asylum seekers are equally subject to the Immigration Act as other undocumented migrants, such that if they unlawfully enter or remain in Malaysia, they are liable to being imprisoned, whipped, detained and removed.
We urge the government to:
· Signs, ratify and implement the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol, the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children Supplementary to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
· Malaysian government to establish domestic legislation and policies to protect and promote the rights of refugees and asylum seekers who are already in the country and to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol;
· Amend the Immigration Act or enact separate legislation to legalise the status of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.
· Ensure that conditions in police lock-ups, prisons and immigration detention centres are consistent with the 1955 UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the 1985 UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, the 1988 Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, the 1990 Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners and the 1990 UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.
11. Rights of Children
Malaysia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1995. CRC and the recommendations by its Committee have not been effectively implemented especially the National Plan of Action 2005-2010 for Children and the Child Protection Policy.
Malaysia's ratification of the CRC must be reflected in an effective implementation of Malaysia's Child Act. The continued detention of children (including migrant and refugee) who may face whipping and deportation as they deemed to be "illegals" remain great concerns.
Act immediately on the other recommendations of the CRC, including:
· Carefully and regularly evaluating existing disparities in the enjoyment by children of their rights, taking necessary steps to prevent and combat discriminatory disparities against children belonging to vulnerable groups
· Improving the birth registration system of non-Malaysian children
· Taking urgent measures not to detain children for immigration proceedings, unless necessary for their best interests, and then for the shortest time possible
· Ensuring all children have access to health and therapeutic services, and strengthening mechanisms to protect all children from abuse and neglect
· Providing free and formal primary, secondary and other forms of education to all children and access to official exams for those in informal education
Your Excellency, the above are some serious pressing human rights concerns in Malaysia. We thank you in advance for your attention on these issues, and trust that you will have a fruitful visit and productive dialogue with the Malaysian government, with the view of advocating for firm and concrete commitments by the Malaysian government towards human rights and democratic principles, which have been the fundamental pillars of the United Nations..
This memorandum is endorsed by:
1. Anak Muda Sarawak
2. Community Action Network (CAN)
3. Community Development Centre (CDC)
4. Education and Research Association for Consumers Malaysia (ERA Consumer)
5. Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI)
6. Islamic Renaissance Front
7. Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT)
8. Lawyers For Liberty (LFL)
9. LLG Cultural Development Centre
10. Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement ( DEMA )
11. Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility
12. Persatuan kesedaran komuniti, Selangor
13. Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)
14. Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS)
15. Rainbow Genders Society
16. Save Sungai Selangor (SOS)
17. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia
18. Seksualiti Merdeka
19. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
20. Women's Aid Organisation (WAO)
21. Group of Concerned Citizens
22. Semparuthi Iyakkam
23. Council of Temples
24. Academy of Tamil Studies
25. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor
26. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia
27. Pertubuhan Advokasi Masyarakat Terpinggir Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (PAMT)
28. All Women's Action Society (AWAM)
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林连玉精神奖


In November 2014, the Federal Reserve convened the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC). ARRC had two goals: first, to identify alternative reference interest rate that is more firmly based on market transactions; and second, to identify an adoption plan to facilitate the transition from LIBOR. ARRC has identified SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) as the alternative reference interest rate. This blog will focus largely on the second ARRC goal – the adoption plan to transition from LIBOR to SOFR.
On June 22, 2017, ARRC selected SOFR as the preferred reference rate for U.S. dollar contracts. SOFR is a Treasuries repo financing rate and is published by Federal Reserve Bank of New York. SOFR is a risk-free overnight rate, and the historical relationship between SOFR, Fed Funds effective rate and 1-month LIBOR is shown in the graph below. While the history on SOFR is short (starting in April 2018), the relationship between SOFR, LIBOR and Fed Funds is very close. SOFR typically trades close to LIBOR but with higher volatility due to its methodology and the wide dispersion in repo data.
For most community banks, even those that have hundreds of millions of dollars of LIBOR based products, the transition from LIBOR to SOFR will have minimal economic impact arising strictly from the change in the level of interest rates. However, if not properly addressed, the impact could be significant from customer relationship, operational, contractual, and regulatory and supervisory perspective.
Will LIBOR Remain Past 2021?
The ICE Benchmark Administration in Atlanta Georgia (IBA) administers LIBOR and provides updates on the status of LIBOR in light of the transition to SOFR. IBA continues to publish indications that panel banks will remain who will be interested in setting LIBOR past 2021. The IBA is currently in discussions with member banks that may continue to submit LIBOR bids post 2021 and up to 2025 at a minimum. Various money-centered banks have indicated that they may be interested in continuing to set certain LIBOR contracts (most likely 1 and 3-month terms).
But despite the possibility that LIBOR remains a viable reference rate post-2021, large US banks are actively engaged in developing strategies, and contingency plans for LIBOR transition and regional and community banks are taking up this issue next.
LIBOR is referenced by an estimated US $350 trillion of outstanding contracts in maturities ranging from overnight to more than 30 years. The important question for community banks is whether during the transition period, will banks be permitted to retain LIBOR as a reference rate, be required to amend contracts to reference SOFR without economic impact (market, legal and documentation costs), or be allowed to amend the definition of LIBOR through a specific grandfathering protocol. The answer to these questions is still not clear, and however the post-2021 transition unfolds, community banks can and should know any LIBOR exposure that matures after 2021 plus add language today to instruments that are LIBOR based to more easily transition to SOFR, if and when that may be required in the future.
Triggers – when would a community bank want to transition from LIBOR to SOFR. This may occur upon permanent cessation of LIBOR or before such an event.
Amendment or hardwired approach – community banks would develop language in the documentation that would permit fallback to SOFR. In the amendment approach, banks would have the language to provide a mechanism for streamlined amendment of the contract. In the hardwired approach, banks would provide customers with upfront clarity on how a replacement rate will be identified and implemented.
Replacement of benchmark spread – because SOFR is a risk-free rate, and LIBOR is a risk-based rate, a spread adjustment is required. This adjustment will most likely be recommended by a relevant governmental body (such as ARRC). Such language has yet to be published, but it is generally believed that this adjustment will be based on historical mean or median relationship between the two rates (which appears to be approximately 20 to 25bps depending on LIBOR term).
Option A: If the Index becomes unavailable during the applicable term of the contract, banks may designate a substitute index after notifying the customer.
Option B: In the event that the Index is no longer published or is abolished or becomes unascertainable, during the term thereof, bank, if applicable, shall designate a comparable reference rate which shall be deemed to be the Index hereunder.
ARRC and International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. ("ISDA") has been conducting market-wide consultation groups for fallbacks for various contracts; neither body has yet endorsed a protocol to facilitate amendment of legacy contracts. However, such language is expected to be formally endorsed at some point in 2019.
While the transition from LIBOR to SOFR is not yet completely set in stone for every contract. Community banks should include the appropriate language and transition triggers into their loans, deposits and derivative contracts. Right now, big banks, regional, and community banks are still using LIBOR with various fallback provisions. Community banks should expect their regulators to ask if the bank has assessed its exposure to LIBOR transition and if the bank has developed a plan for such a transition.


text:
Rilee Lockhart
04.21.20 / 9:49 pm
Local podcasts adapt to the coronavirus
Lily Roby
The spread of COVID-19 has greatly impacted society, with most jobs transitioning to virtual-only and individuals quarantining within their homes. TV news, internet and social media have become primary sources for information about the global pandemic at hand. However, other forms of media, such as podcasts, are seeing their audience increase as well, as people look to feed their brains while being pressured to isolate.
Hil Hackworth, an Athens local, has been running his one-man podcast, "View from the Hil," since 2015. His podcast can be accessed on both Soundcloud and Apple Podcasts, and it focuses on promoting and displaying the music and art of creators living in Athens and surrounding areas.
Hackworth has had to transition all of his podcasts' interviews to phone-only rather than in-person, but he believes everything else about his creative process is essentially the same because podcast work is already pretty virtual.
"There are so many musicians and artists in this area, it's hard to run out of content ideas," Hackworth said in an email. "My podcast focuses on guests being a central role for the show, so as long as I have a guest lined up who is willing to be interviewed, I always have material."
Others, however, have seen big changes with the spread of the coronavirus. Bob Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, recently began producing his "#ScrippsTalks" podcast, where he tells the stories of OU alumni and students as they transition their operations during the global pandemic.
"It's kind of an oral history," Stewart said. "In a sense, we'll be able to reflect back on it at some point, but it also helps the public — you know, future students, current students, basically the community around the school. What kind of coverage is being provided by alums and students? How is faculty dealing with the changes and so forth?"
In order to produce his podcast, Stewart had to utilize the resources he had at home in isolation, which was essentially just his computer, iPhone, microphone and recorder. Even though he didn't have a recording studio, this in no way deterred him from getting to work at home. Since March 22, 24 podcasts have been produced, which can be accessed through the Twitter hashtag #ScrippsTalks.
"I find that I'm having a pretty creative streak right now with ideas," Stewart said. "It's hard to know exactly why. I think that having a weight like the coronavirus either causes you to go into the fetal position or to reflect more on life and reflect more on what's going on around you. It's had the latter effect."
Stewart believes most media platforms, from podcasts to television to streaming services, will see an increase in audience numbers as the coronavirus' spread pushes the world to isolate. He said people will be sitting around looking for stimulation, and so audiences will be really strong.
Tom Hodson, director of WOUB Public Media and Berman professor of communication in the Scripps College of Communication, can back that claim as co-producer of his podcast, "Spectrum." The podcast started in June 2016, and Hodson has posted 186 episodes since then, publishing conversations with eclectic people, ranging from policymakers and journalists to authors and celebrities.
The podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, the NPR Podcast Directory and numerous other streaming platforms. Hodson said "Spectrum" has received a spike in listeners during the first few months of 2020 when compared to the first few months of 2019. He believes this is because they've covered a lot of issues related to the pandemic.
Hodson admitted that recording podcasts remotely was initially a challenge, but he has worked out an effective way of recording through Zencastr with his co-producer, Adam Rich. In isolation, Hodson is now "brimming over with ideas for upcoming episodes." His podcast is now focusing primarily on issues and topics that large media platforms are not discussing.
"Edison Research (a noted research firm about podcasting) has shown a huge growth in podcasting in 2019 and 2020," Hodson said in an email. "I think that trend will continue. The Edison studies show that most people listen to podcasts while at home, so this is an ideal time for them to tune in. The research also shows a growth in younger listeners (12-18), so with schools out, podcast listening may be an education opportunity."
@thelilyroby
lr158117@ohio.edu
Athens Farmers Market hosts weekly Saturday events


text:
\section{Introduction}

There has been extensive work in recent decades on the definition and
use of the expectation value of a quantum stress tensor operator.
However, the semiclassical theory does not describe the effects of
quantum fluctuations of the stress tensor around its expectation
value.

One way to examine these fluctuations is through the
probability distribution for individual measurements of a smeared stress tensor operator. This
distribution was given recently for Gaussian averaged
stress tensors operators in
two-dimensional flat spacetime~\cite{FFR10:FFRPrague} using analytical methods,
and more recently for averaged stress tensors in
four-dimensional spacetime from calculations of a finite set of
moments. (Throughout our discussion, all quadratic operators
are understood to be normal-ordered with respect to the Minkowski
vacuum state.)

\subsection {Quantum Inequalities}

Quantum inequalities are lower bounds on the  {\it expectation
values} of the smeared energy density operator in arbitrary quantum
states~\cite{F78:FFRPrague},~\cite{F91:FFRPrague},~\cite{FR95:FFRPrague},
~\cite{FR97:FFRPrague},~\cite{Flanagan97:FFRPrague},~\cite{FewsterEveson98:FFRPrague}.
If we sample in time along the worldline of an inertial observer, the quantum inequality takes the form
\begin{equation}
\int_{-\infty}^\infty f(t)\, \langle T_{\mu \nu} u^{\mu} u^{\nu} \rangle \, dt \geq
-\frac{C}{\tau^d} \,,
 \label{eq:QI}
\end{equation}
where $T_{\mu \nu} u^{\mu} u^{\nu}$ is the normal-ordered
energy density operator, which is classically
non-negative, $t$ is the observer's proper time, and $f(t)$
is a sampling function with characteristic width $\tau$.
Here $C$ is a numerical constant, typically small
compared to unity, $d$ is the number of spacetime dimensions,
and we work in units where $c=\hbar=1$.

Although quantum field theory allows negative expectation values of the energy
density, quantum inequalities place strong constraints on the effects of this negative
energy for violating the second law of thermodynamics~\cite{F78:FFRPrague}, maintaining
traversable wormholes~\cite{FR96:FFRPrague} or warpdrive spacetimes~\cite{PF97:FFRPrague}.
The implication of Eq.~(\ref{eq:QI})
is that there is an inverse power relation between the magnitude and duration
of negative energy density.

For a massless scalar field in two-dimensional spacetime,
Flanagan~\cite{Flanagan97:FFRPrague}  has found a
formula for the constant $C$ for a given $f(t)$ which makes Eq.~(\ref{eq:QI})
an optimal inequality. This formula is
\begin{equation}
C = \frac{1}{6 \pi} \, \int^\infty_{-\infty} du \left( \frac{d}{du} \sqrt{g(u)}\right)^2\,,
 \label{eq:Flanagan}
\end{equation}
where  $f(t)=\tau^{-1}g(u)$ and $u=t/\tau$.
In four-dimensional spacetime,
Fewster and  Eveson~\cite{FewsterEveson98:FFRPrague}  have
derived an analogous formula for $C$, but in this case the bound is not
necessarily optimal.

\section{Shifted Gamma Distributions - 2D Case}
\label{sec:SGD}

In two-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, we determined the
probability distribution for individual measurements, in the vacuum state,
of the Gaussian sampled energy density to be
\begin{equation}
\rho =\frac1{\sqrt{\pi}\,\tau} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}
T_{tt}\, {\rm e}^{-t^2/\tau^2} \, dt \,.
\end{equation}
This was achieved by
finding a closed form expression for the generating function of the moments $\langle \rho^n\rangle$
of $\rho$, from which the probability distribution was obtained. The definition of the $n$'th moment
of the distribution of a variable $x$ is given by
 \begin{equation}
a_n = \int x^n \, P(x)\, dx \,.   \label{eq:moment}
\end{equation}

The resulting distribution is conveniently expressed in terms of  the dimensionless variable
$x = \rho \, \tau^2$ and is a shifted Gamma distribution:
\begin{equation}
P(x) =\vartheta(x+x_0)
\frac{\beta^{\alpha}(x+x_0)^{\alpha-1}}{\Gamma(\alpha)}
\exp(-\beta(x+x_0)) \,,
\label{eq:shifted_Gamma}
\end{equation}
with parameters
\begin{equation}
x_0 = \frac{1}{12\pi},\qquad \alpha = \frac{1}{12}, \qquad
\beta = \pi \,.
\end{equation}
Here $x = -x_0$ is the lower bound of the distribution.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=11cm]{2D-prob.pdf}
\end{center}
\label{fig:2Dprob}
\caption{The graph of $P(x)$ vs $x$ of the probability
distribution function for the energy density, $\rho$, of a massless scalar field sampled
in time with a Gaussian of width $\tau$. Here $x = \rho \tau^2$.
The distribution has an integrable singularity at the optimal quantum inequality bound $x=- x_0= -1/12\pi$.}
\end{figure}

The lower bound, $-x_0$, for the probability distribution for energy density
fluctuations in the vacuum is exactly Flanagan's optimum lower bound,
Eq.(~\ref{eq:Flanagan}), on
the Gaussian sampled expectation value. As was argued in
Ref.~\cite{FFR10:FFRPrague},
this is a general feature, giving a deep connection between quantum inequality
bounds and stress tensor probability distributions. The quantum inequality
bound is the lowest eigenvalue of the sampled operator, and is hence
the lowest possible expectation value and the smallest result which
can be found in a measurement. That the probability distribution for
vacuum fluctuations actually extends down to this value is more
subtle and depends upon special properties of the vacuum state, and is implied by
the Reeh-Schlieder theorem.

There is no upper bound on  $P(x)$, as arbitrarily large values of the
energy density can arise in vacuum fluctuations. Nonetheless, for the
massless scalar field, negative values are much more likely; 84\% of
the time, a measurement of the Gaussian averaged energy density will
produce a negative value. However, the positive values found the
remaining 16\% of the time will typically be much larger, and the
average first moment of $P(x)$ will be zero.

Furthermore, the probability distribution for the two-dimensional stress
tensor is uniquely determined by its moments, as a
consequence of the Hamburger moment theorem
~\cite{Simon:FFRPrague}.
This condition is a sufficient, although not necessary, condition
for uniqueness, and is fulfilled by the moments of the shifted Gamma
distribution.

\section{The  4D Case}
\label{sec:4D}

In four dimensions, the
operators $\rho_S$, and $\rho_{EM}$ all have
dimensions of $length^{-4}$. Their probability distributions $P(x)$ are
taken to be functions of the dimensionless variable
\begin{equation}
x = (4\pi \, \tau^2)^2 \, A\,,
\end{equation}
where $A$ is the Lorentzian time average of  $\rho_S$, and $\rho_{EM}$,
where $\rho_S$ and $\rho_{EM}$ are the smeared energy density operators for
the massless scalar field, and electromagnetic fields, respectively.

The distributions were calculated numerically from 65 moments~\cite{FFR12:FFRPrague}
The situation here is less straightforward. In this case, the
moments grow too rapidly to satisfy the Hamburger moment
criterion. Unfortunately, this means that we cannot be guaranteed
of finding  a unique probability distribution $P(x)$ from these moments. These probability
distributions share some of the main characteristics of their two-dimensional counterparts.
They have a lower bound but no upper bound. Our
our techniques allow us to give approximate lower bounds and the
asymptotic forms of the tails of the distributions.

Our estimates for the lower bounds are
\begin{equation}
-x_0(\rho_{EM})   \approx  -0.0472 \qquad
-x_0(\rho_S)   \approx -0.0236\,.
 \label{eq:bounds2}
\end{equation}
These are also estimates of the optimal quantum inequality bounds
for each field. In contrast, the non-optimal bound for $\rho_S$, given by
the method of Fewster and Eveson~\cite{FewsterEveson98:FFRPrague},
is $-x_0(FE) =- 27/128 \approx -0.21$, which is an order of magnitude larger.

It is of interest to note that the magnitudes of the dimensionless lower bounds, given in
Eq.~(\ref{eq:bounds2}) are small compared to unity.
The fact that the
probability distribution has a long positive tail, and must have a unit zeroth
moment and a vanishing first moment, implies that the total probability
of a negative value to be substantial.
The small magnitudes of $x_0(\rho_{S})$
and  $x_0(\rho_{EM})$ imply strong constraints on the magnitude of negative energy which
can arise either as an expectation value in an arbitrary state, or as a fluctuation in the
vacuum. They also imply that an individual measurement of the sampled energy density in the
vacuum state is very likely to yield a negative value.

One can show that the asymptotic behavior of the tail of the probability distribution
is determined by the moments, even if the exact probability distribution is not uniquely
determined. Our fitted tail decreases asymptotically as
\begin{equation}
P_{{\rm fit}} \sim e^{-a x^{1/3} } \,,
\end{equation}
where $a$ is a constant.
We are also able to show that no distribution with the same moments can have a tail
which decreases at a faster rate than ours.

By contrast, the tail of a Boltzmann distribution for thermal fluctuations falls off as
\begin{equation}
P_{{\rm  Boltzmann}} \sim e^{-\beta x} \,,
\end{equation}
where $\beta$ is a constant. Therefore vacuum fluctuations outweigh thermal
fluctuations at high energies.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=12cm]{nPtail-vs-Boltzmann.pdf}
\end{center}
\label{fig:Ptail-vs-Boltzmann}
\caption{The figure shows a comparison of the asymptotic form of the tails of both our fitted
distribution for vacuum fluctuations and for the thermal fluctuations described by the
Boltzmann distribution. At high energies, vacuum fluctuations outweigh thermal fluctuations.}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Application: Black Hole Nucleation}

The fact that the energy density probability distribution has
a long positive tail implies a finite probability for the
nucleation of black holes out of the Minkowski vacuum via
large, though infrequent positive fluctuations (see
Ref~\cite{FFR12:FFRPrague}).
This probability cannot be too large, of course, or it will
conflict with observation. Our estimate of the probability depends only on the
asymptotic form of the tail. (One can use similar arguments to estimate the probability
of ``Boltzmann brains''~\cite{Bbrains:FFRPrague} nucleating out of the vacuum.)

\section{Summary}

We have found that the probability distribution for vacuum fluctuations of the
Gaussian-smeared energy density for a massless scalar field
in two-dimensional spacetime is {\it uniquely}
defined by a shifted gamma distribution. The distribution has a negative lower bound but
no upper bound. It has an integrable singularity (i.e., a ``spike")
at the lower bound. In addition, we find that there is a deep connection between the lower
bound of the distribution and the quantum inequalities. In fact  the lower bound
of the distribution coincides {\it exactly} with the {\it optimal} quantum inequality
bound for a Gaussian sampling function, derived earlier by Flanagan.

The lower bound is
very small in magnitude, but the probability distribution is large in the region between zero
and the lower bound. As a result, rather surprisingly, the
probability of obtaining a negative result in an
individual measurement is $84\%$! Although the negative fluctuations are very frequent,
they are small in magnitude. As a result, one would not expect to see large effects of
negative energy (e.g., violations of the second law, wormholes, warpdrives, etc.)
nucleating out of the vacuum. However, the distribution has a long positive tail, which
guarantees that the frequent but small negative energy density
fluctuations are balanced by the much rarer but larger positive energy fluctuations. Therefore,
the expectation value of the energy density in the Minkowski vacuum state is zero.
It is quite remarkable that the quantum inequalities which are
bounds on the {\it expectation value} of the energy density in
an {\it arbitrary} quantum state, should be so intimately related to the probability
distribution of {\it individual} measurements of the energy density made in the
{\it vacuum} state.

In four dimensions, we find similarities with the two-dimensional  case, in that there is a
lower bound but no upper bound. We are able to give numerical estimates of the lower
bounds, i.e., the optimal bounds, and the asymptotic form of the tails.
The lower bounds are negative with small
magnitudes. However, our methods do not allow us to determine whether there is a
``spike'' at the lower bound, as in two dimensions. Nonetheless, the low magnitudes
of the lower bounds indicate that a significant fraction of the probability must lie in the
negative region. Therefore, as in the two-dimensional case, the probability of obtaining
a negative value in an individual measurement is quite high. The long positive tail
drops off more slowly than that of a Boltzmann distribution, which implies that
vacuum fluctuations dominate over thermal fluctuations at high energies.

Unfortunately, it seems likely that it is not possible to uniquely determine the
four-dimensional distributions from the moments alone, as the latter do not obey
the Hamburger moment condition. Nonetheless, we are able to glean some
information from the moments. For example, we can determine that no distribution
with the same moments as ours can have a tail which decreases faster than ours.
The asymptotic forms of the long positive tail allow us to estimate the probability
of nucleation of (small) black holes and ``Boltzmann brains" out of the vacuum.

Clearly further work can be done on this subject. One topic would be to see what
additional information can be obtained from our calculated four-dimensional
probability distributions, even if they cannot be uniquely determined from their moments.
For example, does the ``spike'' behavior persist in four dimensions as well as in two, and
what is its physical significance? Another would be to determine what  the optimal
quantum inequality bounds actually are.  It would
also be useful to try various sampling functions. Can
the probability distributions and optimal bounds can be obtained by
other methods which do not have the limitation of the ambiguities in the
moment methods? There is more to do to explore the physical content
of stress-tensor fluctuations.

\section{References}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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text:
Aaron S. Allen
Associate Professor of Musicology and Director, Environment & Sustainability Program
Geography, Environment, and Sustainability, UNCG
asallen@uncg.edu
128 Graham Building
https://ges.uncg.edu/person/allen/
Aaron S. Allen, Ph.D., F.A.A.R., is director of the Environment & Sustainability Program and associate professor of music. A native of rural Appalachia, he earned his B.S. (environmental studies) and B.A. (music) at Tulane University Dr. Allen then earned a Ph.D. in music at Harvard University. He was the recipient of the Paul Mellon Rome Prize and spent the 2011-12 academic year at the American Academy in Rome (here is an interview about his time at the AAR). Dr. Allen recently published Current Directions in Ecomusicology(Routledge 2016); here is a short article about it from UNCG Now. Before being appointed the director of Environmental & Sustainability Studies in 2015, Dr. Allen served as UNCG's first Academic Sustainability Coordinator (see this article in UNCG's Campus Weekly). He worked with faculty to increase and improve sustainability throughout UNCG, especially through workshops on how to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. Dr. Allen worked with the Office of Sustainability to bridge academic and operations efforts, created the "Introduction to Sustainability Studies" (ENV 110) and "Sustainable Campus Operations" (ENV 350) courses, established the Sustainability Faculty Fellows Program, and helped to institutionalize the UNCG Green Fund. His environmental leadership began with three years as president of the student environmental organization at Tulane, where he led efforts to institutionalize sustainability. As an nudergraduate, he was twice selected as a Udall Scholar in part for his work to green Tulane, which is chronicled at this site (which also provides his undergraduate honors thesis, "Greening the Campus: Institutional Environmental Change at Tulane University"). Dr. Allen continues to serve on the executive committee of the UNCG Sustainability Council. He is also a member of the board of directors of Population Connection. Dr. Allen co-founded and for five years chaired the Ecocriticism Study Group (ESG) of the American Musicological Society, and he co-founded and chaired the Ecomusicology Special Interest Group(ESIG) of the Society for Ethnomusicology. This website provides more information on ecomusicology (while their joint "Ecomusicologies" conferences are chronicled here). He currently edits the Ecomusicology Review. Dr. Allen's conference presentations on ecomusicology include venues in music scholarship (e.g., the American Musicological Society and the Society for Ethnomusicology), interdisciplinary studies (e.g., 19th-Century Studies Association), and environmental studies (e.g., American Society for Environmental History, Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences); he has given invited lectures at institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia. After completing a dissertation on Beethoven reception in nineteenth-century Italy, Dr. Allen has continued to develop this unusual field of reception studies. He has delivered conference presentations and invited talks and has published papers on the topic. He is slowly working on a book tentatively entitled Fidelio in Italy: Beethoven Reception, Historiography, and the Crisis of 19th-Century Opera. Dr. Allen travels to Italy frequently and offers a unique travel class that combines music and sustainability studies. Aaron is originally from rural West Virginia, and his interests as an outdoorsman, environmentalist, and woodworker result from his time on the family farm, where he recently hand built a solar-powered log cabin with and for his parents.
There are 18 included publications by Aaron S. Allen :
Beethoven and George Thomson: A New Letter Fragment from 1816,? 2008 2714 In his 1956 summary of the correspondence between Ludwig van Beethoven and George Thomson, Donald MacArdle noted parenthetically that Thomson's letter of October 20, 1816, to Beethoven ".. . as it appears in Thomson's Letterbook is apparently incompl...
Bruce Cockburn: Canadian, Christian, Conservationist 2013 71 Since his first album was released in 1970, Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn has produced 30 more, 20 of which have gone gold or platinum. His institutional honors includes 13 Juno awards, seven honorary doctorates, induction into both the C...
Ecomusicologies 2016 105 What is ecomusicology? The question deserves a succinct answer, such as: Environmental studies plus music/sound studies equal ecomusicology. Our conceit, however, is that one plus one equal more than two: There is no one ecomusicology but many ecomus...
Ecomusicology 2013 87 Ecomusicology, or ecocritical musicology, is the study of music, culture, and nature in all the complexities of those terms. Ecomusicology considers musical and sonic issues, both textual and performative, related to ecology and the natural environme...
Ecomusicology between Poetic and Practical 2016 174 Ecomusicology, or 'ecocritical musicology,' is a field that considers the complex relationships between culture, nature, and music/sound. This chapter provides an overview of ecomusicology in four parts. First, I elaborate on that definition and prov...
The Ecomusicology Bibliography via Zotero: A Dynamic and Emerging Scholarly Resource, 2012 1077 The Ecomusicology Bibliography is a unique and unparalleled bibliography of books, articles, newspapers, websites, blogs, and multimedia sources. It is available to anyone with a computer and internet connection by using the free software Zotero, w...
Ecomusicology: Bridging the Sciences, Arts, and Humanities 2012 216 Paul Ehrlich is a key figure in modern environmental studies. In addition to ecological research, Ehrlich is known for his warnings about human overpopulation (Ehrlich, 1968). In the 1970s, he made a well-known wager with economist Julian Simon: Ehrl...
Ecomusicology: Ecocriticism and Musicology. (colloquy). 2011 812 As environmental awareness has become more widespread, an increasing number of musicological works have engaged with this subject. Some of the aims of this new (if not always explicitly named) ecomusicology resonate with concerns expressed in previou...
Ecomusicology: Music, Culture, Nature . . . and Change in Environmental Studies? 2012 681 The five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing. We rely on them daily, professionally, and personally — each can inform our understanding of the world and evoke memories of places and times, both distant and dear. Public policy and science, how...
Greening the Curriculum: Beyond a Short Music History in Ecomusicology 2017 80 Most of the ecomusicology literature deals either with music of and, especially, after the nineteenth century or with music/sound of non-Western cultures. What about the historical music of the Western tradition before the nineteenth century? This ...
Institutional Change and Campus Greening at Tulane University. 2000 1312 A case study of Tulane University that examines the institutional change process is presented in this paper. Agents of change can use the examples and conclusions as a basis for making changes at any institution. The inability for Tulane to make the ...
Prospects and Problems for Ecomusicology in Confronting a Crisis of Culture 2011 120 The environmental crisis is not only the fault of failed engineering, bad science, ecological misunderstanding, poor accounting, and bitter politics. It is also a failure of holistic problem solving, interpersonal relations, ethics, imagination, and ...
Review of Music in Renaissance Cities and Courts, 2003 859 Music and Musicians in Renaissance Cities and Towns. Edited by Fiona Kisby (New York, Cambridge University Press, 2001) 188 pp. $59.95 It is high time that historians and musicologists (a.k.a. "music histori-ans") start sharing ideas in an accessibl...
Review of The Organ as a Mirror of Its Time. 2004 726 The Organ as a Mirror of Its Time is directed at two primary audiences— organists (due to the jargon and detailed organ speciacations) and historians of music, religion, intellectual trends, and technology. The pipe organ is an inherently interdiscip...
Sustainability 2014 53 Term encompassing issues of respectful management of natural resources and corresponding ecologies so that they endure. Unsustainable depletion of resources through excessive use or misuse, habitat destruction, climate change, and associated cultural...
Sustainability and Sound: Ecomusicology Inside and Outside the University 2014 144 Established in 2005, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is a North American organization that empowers institutions to become more sustainable and, in turn, create a more sustainable world through the po...
Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures: An Ecological Perspective (edited by Huib Schippers and Catherine Grant, Oxford University Press, 2016) [book review] 2017 57 In Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures, 14 specialists contribute to a tightly woven book illustrating diverse musical practices from around the world using a theoretical framework regarding the preservation of endangered traditions. The volume is...
Symphonic Pastorals 2012 1863 A popular misunderstanding of the symphony is that the genre is devoid of the meanings conveyed in texted music such as songs and choruses. The idea of the symphony as 'absolute music' – 'abstract' or 'pure' sound, music for its own sake, in contrast...


Hello! Im a open minded person seeking enjoyment in life. I try to beaware of the two edge sword of happiness and sadness just to avoid unnessesary suffering. The highest in life? to destroy ones EGO. How do I obatin this? Through pratice and none attchment(not to be confused with detachment and attchment) Practice accordning to me is done: 1. for a long time 2. consistently 3. with pleasure ------------------ I Practice kundalini and hatha yoga. I Bless and wish clarity upon you dear reader.


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Ai Weiwei outside his studio that is under almost constant surveillance by Chinese authorities.
Ai has ruffled more than a few feathers in the Chinese government over the last decade with his unbridled pursuit of free expression and artistic commentary. Following several run-ins with the authorities, he's been stripped of his passport, unable to leave the country. And so his fawning over the lazy resident felines of his Beijing studio, charting their every move like a proud parent, is part stop-and-smell-the-roses appreciation, part geopolitical necessity. For an internationally in-demand artist physically confined to a relatively minor art market, the ability to communicate and disseminate work over the internet is both a necessity and a godsend.
Last November, the endlessly curious Ai broke through with his most engaging web-based work to date: the stark, ethereal "Moon," a case study in 21st-century web-based collaborations and an alluring hint of what Ai's future may hold. Co-conceived with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, "Moon" combines Eliasson's infatuation with natural phenomena and Ai's penchant for web-based dissemination.
And so, "Moon" was born. The project is a digital platform (located at moonmoonmoonmoon.com) that urges users to stake out a quadrant of real estate on a lunar sphere and "make a mark" using a series of brushes and tools. The soft grey background recalls the squishy lunar regolith awaiting an astronaut's bootprint, and the monochromatic palette maintains a clean simplicity. The site is a digital wall begging for graffiti, and like its celestial namesake, the appeal of "Moon" lies as much in its open possibility as its final form.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an American author, humorist, sculptor, inventor, engineer and a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist. He is best known for his comical inventions such as those below that were syndicated in newspapers around the world.
Merriam-Webster lists Rube Goldberg as an adjective meaning: doing something simple in a very complicated way that is not necessary and this train of thought is what's illustrated above. This imaginative genius is what made Rube famous – creating complex machines to complete the simplest task by way of wacky chain reactions. It has also inspired many to create similar machines and is the motivation behind the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.
This month the release of the book titled: The Art of Rube Goldberg has been released. This book was compiled by Jennifer George, Rube's granddaughter and celebrates Rube's life with cartoons, photos, essays and about 700 color illustrations. Just in time for the holiday season – check it out!
From Tiny Buddha – simple wisdom for complex lives to art installations from Burning Man's 2013 art theme "cargo cult" here are some random inspiring and awe-inspiring artist creations from around the web that you don't see every day. Some include words to live by and others may inspire you to create some artwork of your very own.
Rebekah Waites' giant, decaying replica of a church tipped on its axis like a box trap and featured an LED interior.
Revelers loved climbing on Bryan Tedrick's 25-foot tall steel coyote, whose head rotated a full 360 degrees.


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