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Politico Pro Free From
Europe scrambles for monkeypox vaccine as WHO warns of limited supplies
One vaccine is available for monkeypox; experts say mass vaccination campaign unlikely.
The World Health Organisation headquarters in Geneva. | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
By Helen Collis
May 24, 2022 7:50 pm CET
Countries across Europe have begun vaccinating people against monkeypox as cases rise.
The U.K. has already administered 1,000 doses of the vaccine to high-risk close contacts of cases and health workers caring for people with the virus — and has another 3,500 doses ready to use. France announced on Tuesday it is vaccinating the same groups of people in a bid to contain the outbreak.
With the COVID-19 pandemic rumbling on and the public alert to the potential risks of infectious diseases, there is heightened attention on monkeypox and whether there will be enough vaccine doses for those who need them. Just one vaccine in Europe is available to protect against monkeypox — and countries are already scrambling to buy up doses.
"We are talking to a large number of countries that are putting in procurement requests to us," said Rolf Sass Sørensen, head of investor relations and communications at Bavarian Nordic, the Danish manufacturer of the vaccine, Imvanex. It's currently approved for smallpox in the EU, as well as monkeypox in the U.S. and Canada.
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The European Commission's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and the World Health Organization are also in talks with the company, Sørensen said. HERA is responsible for jointly procuring medical supplies for the EU in a health emergency.
The World Health Organization, while urging countries to boost their surveillance, contact tracing and management of cases, alluded to the negative effects of panic buying of medicines and vaccines when cases are still relatively low in Europe. In the latest figures, the U.K. had identified 70 cases by Tuesday, while there were 67 in the EU reported by Monday.
The good news, according to Sylvie Briand, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the WHO, is that there are approved vaccines and treatments for monkeypox. The bad news is that "they are in extremely limited quantity, and some of them are not yet fully licenced to be put on the market."
"We need to adopt risk-based strategies," Briand said at the World Health Assembly on Tuesday. "Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill here. Apply measures that are commensurate to the level of risk."
She also urged countries to "work together" to ensure equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, based on public health needs.
Not like COVID
Scientists are currently optimistic that countries won't need the mass vaccination campaigns that they delivered in the pandemic; that's because the viruses are very different.
"This is a different situation from COVID," said Stathis Giotis, a lecturer in virology at the University of Essex and senior fellow in virology at Imperial College London.
Monkeypox is a known virus, he said. It's a so-called DNA virus, which doesn't mutate as rapidly as RNA viruses like coronavirus, and there are available vaccines and treatments. In addition, unlike COVID, monkeypox is not spread by asymptomatic patients "making the control of the disease easier."
Many countries that have seen monkeypox outbreaks are recommending that people isolate for 21 days; the U.K. is also advising that high-risk close contacts quarantine for the same amount of time.
"Although authorities need to be alert, there is no evidence at this stage that we need a full-scale immunization program to protect vulnerable groups," said Giotis.
Meanwhile, the current vaccination policy adopted by the U.K. and France — to jab those at high risk of infection following close contact and health care workers caring for these patients — is a reasonable public health measure, experts told a press briefing on Tuesday.
This is "not panic," said Hugh Adler, honorary research fellow at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, but the standard public health response for any infectious disease — and an approach other European countries are replicating. "It's a very sensible thing to do," he told the briefing.
Given that the majority of cases in the U.K. have been among men who have sex with men, the next question for immunization committees would be to consider whether to vaccinate this community, said Jake Dunning, consultant in infectious diseases at London's Royal Free Hospital, and a senior clinical researcher in emerging and high consequence infectious diseases at the University of Oxford.
"The challenge is, you need data to inform that sort of decision," he told the briefing. "You don't want to do something that is unnecessary for multiple reasons, but equally, you don't want to leave it too late so that you missed the boat [to] prevent a lot of infections that hopefully could have been prevented."
Managing vaccine supplies
Bavarian Nordic is confident it can supply the doses needed, albeit if the immediate and acute demand doesn't skyrocket.
"We can produce 8 million doses annually freeze-dried and 40 million doses of liquid frozen [vaccine]," said Sørensen.
He said that all of the vaccines have a minimum of three years of shelf life.
"We have quite large-scale manufacturing opportunities in Denmark … we are able to fulfill quite a very large demand should it be necessary," he said.
Peter Piot, special adviser to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told POLITICO in an email that, apart from in the unlikely event that monkeypox develops into a major epidemic, "I don't think that generalized childhood vaccination against smallpox/monkey pox is justified."
Nonetheless, "there is a need for some stockpiles," he added.
The Danish firm has been approached by numerous companies with manufacturing tie-up offers, but Bavarian Nordic has no immediate plans to out-license its monkeypox manufacturing. "We cannot rule out out-licencing but it's not our focus right now," Sørensen said.
For public health authorities, it's now a waiting game to observe the trajectory of the case numbers.
"Are we just seeing the very tip of the iceberg, or have we already passed the spike in transmission in communities?" asked Briand. "We would encourage you all to increase surveillance."
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Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! ...
Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! - Kursk 1943
Designer Uwe Eickert
Gunter Eickert
Publisher Academy Games, Inc.
Playtime 60-240 mins
Suggested Age 12 and up
286344/conflict-heroes-storms-steel-kursk-1943-third-edit
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/286344/conflict-heroes-storms-steel-kursk-1943-third-edit/forums/63
Storms of Steel! makes you a witness to the greatest tank battle in history! After their stinging defeat at Stalingrad, the Germans mass their best forces for an all-out attack against the growing Soviet bulge at Kursk. The Soviets' network of master spies has caught wind of the German plans, and they are prepared to trap and decimate the best panzer forces the Germans can muster. Storms of Steel covers one of the largest tank battles in history. German Panzer and Anti-Tank hardware had caught up with the Soviets, allowing the Germans to destroy most Soviet tanks from great distances. But the Soviets countered this advantage with mass production of tanks, which were thrown at the Germans in an attempt to overwhelm them.
Storms of Steel! is the second stand-alone title in the best selling Conflict of Heroes series. Each game in the series uses the same core rules system, so it's easy to advance from one game to the next! Conflict of Heroes is a tactical war game of platoon-sized engagements, with each counter representing a squad of infantry, a crewed gun, or a vehicle. The engagements are presented as firefights with different objectives. During a firefight, players use their army's units to fight for these objectives, which are worth victory points (VPs). The player with the most VPs at the end of the game wins.
The rules for Storms of Steel are the same as for Awakening the Bear, but the two games play very differently. In Awakening the Bear, the Germans had to flank and get close to Soviet tanks if they stood any chance of penetrating the heavy T-34 tank armor. But by 1943, at the battle of Kursk, most Soviet tank armor could be penetrated by the Germans at great distances. So the tables are turned and players must employ very different tactics.
All New for the 3rd Edition:
•Featuring the latest 3rd Edition Conflict of Heroes Rules!
•Updated the maps and overlay artwork to be highly detailed and more beautiful than the original!
•All new counters in addition to new versions of the previous counters!
•New box format, with updated tray inserts designed by Game Trayz!
Please note: There was never a second edition released. This release is called Third Edition since it uses same rule-set as Awakening the Bear Third Edition.
David R. Verified Buyer
My Favourite Wargame to Date Storms of Steel Kursk is my new favourite wargame. It's really that good.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I've followed every step to getting the embedded forms to work with mailchimp + webflow. The POST address is correct and pulled from the MC signup forms. When I publish to domain I get an error return and no data has been sent to my mailchimp list.
Looks like you are cross-posting your question. Best to only have it in one place.
That said, without seeing the mailchimp form code for embedding (which has input names and fields required) no one would be able to easily help you. Visiting your read only preview would not give us that.
When I said "form code" I am referring to the HTML code they provide that you would normally put in an embed on webflow or in the body of an html document.
it embedded the html into the post.


Posts with tag: "Best Buddies"
One of the things I love doing as a photographer is helping organizations spread the word about their particular cause. Through the years, I've given my time to photograph various events like the ALS Association's Walk to Defeat ALS, Challenger Miracle Field fundraiser, SEPTA (Special Education Parent Teacher Association) Bowling Fundraiser and most recently the Best Buddies Friendship Walk. I've been honored to provide images, promote awareness and help raise funds to support their worthy causes.
A few weeks ago, I headed to the Total Sports Experience facility in Rochester, NY to document this awesome event. Best Buddies is an organization that aims to enrich the lives of youth and adults with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Their friendship programs are supported by local special events as well as private and corporate contributions. It was a fantastic time with lots of fun, laughter, dancing and celebrating of some truly wonderful people!
Enjoy the images and leave a comment!


Text description provided by the architects. The letter testing exhibition hall is a multi-functional quality testing center for "clothing, food, and accommodation". It is located in the heart of Shenzhen Bay. The public houses were invited to create this minimalist space with black, white, and gray as the main color of science and technology, and tried to use the concept of "home". Create space.
Food, clothing, housing, and living are the elements of the composition of the family. At the same time, they can also cover the business scope of EMTEK. In the design of the telecommunications exhibition hall, the public houses try to create space with the concept of "home". The brand inspection exhibits were displayed in four different "homes", and a "patchwork, house," display space was implanted in the original open and empty office building.
Through a simple architectural language, the public houses create a rich space sequence in which different customers can roam, think, and learn.
Space is the symbol of solidification. Just as design is more imaginative with a variety of explorations, it also has high and low fluctuations. In order to guide visitors into the interior, the house introduces a series of linear walls that fold along the space of the site and extend continuously to separate the inward or outward areas.


"Outcomes of front-line ibrutinib treated CLL patients excluded from la" by Anthony R Mato, Lindsey E Roeker et al.
Outcomes of front-line ibrutinib treated CLL patients excluded from landmark clinical trial.
John M Pagel, Center for Blood Disorders and Stem Cell Transplantation, Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle, WA.
Mato, Anthony R; Roeker, Lindsey E; Allan, John N; Pagel, John M; Brander, Danielle M; Hill, Brian T; Cheson, Bruce D; Furman, Richard R; Lamanna, Nicole; Tam, Constantine S; Handunnetti, Sasanka; Jacobs, Ryan; Lansigan, Frederick; Bhavsar, Erica; Barr, Paul M; Shadman, Mazyar; Skarbnik, Alan P; Goy, Andre; Beach, Douglas F; Svoboda, Jakub; Pu, Jeffrey J; Sehgal, Alison R; Zent, Clive S; Tuncer, Hande H; Schuster, Stephen J; Pickens, Peter V; Shah, Nirav N; Rhodes, Joanna; Ujjani, Chaitra S; and Nabhan, Chadi, "Outcomes of front-line ibrutinib treated CLL patients excluded from landmark clinical trial." (2018). Articles, Abstracts, and Reports. 588.


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VOCAL Technologies > Web Real Time Communications (WebRTC) > WebRTC Enabled VoIP Endpoints
WebRTC Enabled VoIP Endpoints
WebRTC enabled embedded VoIP endpoints incorporate the WebRTC standards to allow direct communication with WebRTC embedded endpoints from web based applications. This enables communications between WebRTC browsers and VoIP endpoints without the need to transcode the media streams. VOCAL's WebRTC enabled libraries allow embedded systems to work in the WebRTC ecosystem. Connect to an WebRTC embedded device using a WebRTC enabled web application. Contact us to discuss your WebRTC application requirements.
VoIP endpoints use ICE, DTLS-SRTP, RTP extensions and WebSockets to enable WebRTC compatibility
WebRTC compatibility requires support for:
Mandatory codec's – OPUS, G.711, H.264, VP8
Multiple extensions to RTP, RTCP, and SDP
DTLS as a keying mechanism for SRTP
ICE, STUN, and TURN as methods for NAT traversal
WebSockets as a transport for call signaling
Codec Support
The WebRTC standards were designed to maintain a certain level of compatibility with existing VoIP endpoints. As such, WebRTC uses many codec's that are standard in various VoIP implementations. This means that most of the codec requirements are met by default and the only mandatory codec to implement in most existing implementations is VP8. These codec's represent only minimum compatibility with the WebRTC standards and a complete solution includes these along with many other codec options.
RTP, RTCP and SDP Extensions
WebRTC extensions improve the quality and performance of real-time communications. Many of these extensions are not commonly found within VoIP endpoints and create a barrier to WebRTC compatibility unless implemented.
RTP extensions support multiple endpoints in a single RTP session and discontinuous transmission.
RTCP extensions include support for multiple simultaneous SSRC values, synchronization information used for lip syncing between audio and video streams, sending and receiving multiple packet types, and control over the bandwidth usage of RTCP as a fraction of RTP bandwidth.
SDP extensions provide the addition of the fingerprint attribute for use with DTLS peer certificate verification, the bundle extension used to combine multiple RTP streams, and the candidate attribute for ICE processing.
SRTP provides a means to encrypt communications between endpoints so that they can only be understood when paired with the correct key. WebRTC defines the use of the DTLS handshake to establish the SRTP keys. DTLS, however, is not common among VoIP applications and must be added if WebRTC compatibility is desired.
ICE, STUN, and TURN for NAT traversal
ICE is required by WebRTC to provide a means for reliable media establishment. Using the protocols defined by STUN and TURN; ICE provides a powerful NAT traversal mechanism that has some use within VoIP endpoints but is completely absent in older implementations.
Web browsers do not allow applications to make direct internet connections over protocols like UDP or TCP to prevent malicious applications from accessing the user's network. WebSockets enables browser based applications to connect to existing HTTP servers and open a connection similar to that of UDP or TCP but with considerations made to prevent attacks by malicious applications.
SIP servers can act as gateways between WebSockets and traditional SIP transports so WebSockets support is not required for basic WebRTC compatibility. However, a complete solution will include WebSockets to support the application specific signaling protocols as well as applications that use SIP.
WebRTC and DTLS-SRTP
VOCAL's software is optimized for performance on DSP and conventional processors from TI, Intel, ADI, ARM and other leading vendors. The libraries include a complete range of ETSI / ITU / IEEE compliant algorithms, in addition to many other standard and proprietary algorithms. Custom solutions are also available.


Using the most advanced and trusted technology makes Downtown Eyes one of the most reputable privately owned optometric practices in Minneapolis, MN. We're wholly committed to taking complete care of our patients and their eyes, which means catering to their needs and personalizing their treatment. There's always an expert eye doctor on hand to take care of you, and our convenient location in the skyway of the US Bancorp Building makes it quick and easy for you to get right back to work after your eye care appointment!
No matter why you come to us, we'll be sure to make an accurate diagnosis in order to develop an effective treatment plan. Additionally, your eye doctor can answer all of your questions and address any concerns you might have. Your complete comfort and satisfaction are two of our highest priorities.
To help reassure our patients that they're receiving top-notch services, we'd like to share a bit about two of our eye care specialists. Dr. Mary Ann Zastrow earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry and focused her rotations on treating/diagnosing ocular diseases, low vision and refractive skills. Dr. Robert Toomey, a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, has more than three decades of experience and is also a member of the Minnesota Optometric Association. Together, our doctors bring their combined expertise and professional passion to serve every patient who walks through the doors of Downtown Eyes.
Interested in learning more about our practice or scheduling an appointment at our downtown location? Give Downtown Eyes a call at (612) 333-EYES (3937), or fill out and submit an online appointment request.


text:
An unhealthy health card
A high-decibel emphasis on economic growth notwithstanding, a multitude of states continues to do poorly on the indicators of social development, especially health.
Posted: Aug 12, 2015 12:24 AM (IST)
Updated : 4 years ago
laxmi@tribune.com
A high-decibel emphasis on economic growth notwithstanding, a multitude of states continues to do poorly on the indicators of social development, especially health. An unhealthy workforce cannot build a healthy economy. Over the past decade, the cost of treatment has seen a double-digit rise, far outpacing average inflation, in both rural and urban India, according to a recently published National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report. Shockingly, government hospitals in even poorer states show abysmally low patient registration. That should not be mistaken for people being healthier. Healthcare awareness programmes are not on governments' agenda, even in better-off states. Only 4 per cent people reported some kind of illness in Chhattisgarh, 5.6 per cent did in Haryana. In contrast in Kerala, a state that has shown sound social parameters, 31 per cent of the population reported illness.
Public health experts are in agreement that out-of-pocket health expenditure is a reason for nearly one-sixth of India's poverty burden. The high cost of healthcare turns many families bankrupt or homeless. Yet, little attention is paid to preventive public health, such as sanitation and waste management, lack of which is the foremost cause of rampant spread of infectious diseases. The country witnessed 253 deaths per one lakh in 2012, the global average is 178. Even Nepal and Bangladesh have shown better healthcare parameters. The NDA government promised a transformation at least in sanitation, but the last one year has shown little change on that front.
The lack of effective state intervention in healthcare is responsible for this ailing picture. The government has to wake up to the fact that while millions have not reported in hospitals when they needed to, reporting of health issues has gone up by only two percentage points in urban India from 2004 to 2014; in rural India it has remained stagnant. Underreporting of illness does not mean good health, it reflects ignorance. At the very minimum, the government in the states and at the Centre should put in place infrastructure of basic minimum health awareness. If political leaders can spend enormous funds and energy at the election time to change minds, then they can surely show the same zeal and competence in making our citizens health-conscious.


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China's Cao Yuan and Xie Siyi perform in the men's 3m synchro springboard final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Saturday, July 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Jin-man Lee)
China wins first 3 diving golds at worlds; Bacon gets silver
GWANGJU, South Korea (AP) — Xie Siyi and Cao Yuan won the men's 3-meter springboard synchro on Saturday to complete a Chinese sweep of all three diving events on the opening day of the world championships. Xie and Cao finished with 439.74 points, well ahead of the second-place pair of Jack Laugher...
Sea rescue: Olympic swimmer Magnini saves tourist in Italy
MILAN (AP) — A swimmer struggling in the sea off Sardinia soon discovered it was his lucky day. Italian news agency ANSA says the male tourist got in trouble Sunday afternoon after his inflatable swan was carried away by the wind. According to a witness, the swimmer's friends alerted a life guard...
FILE - In this April 18, 2012 file photo, Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral attends the inauguration of a new Peacemaker Police Unit (UPP) in Fazendinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The International Olympic Committee said Friday July 5, 2019, that its ethics commission has contacted athletes about vote buying allegations made by jailed former Rio state governor Sergio Cabral. Olympic gold medalists Sergey Bubka and Alexander Popov deny claims made in a Brazilian court they were paid to vote for Rio de Janeiro's winning bid to host the 2016 Summer Games. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, FILE)
Olympic greats Bubka, Popov deny Rio 2016 vote-buying claims
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Olympic gold medalists Sergey Bubka and Alexander Popov have denied claims made in a Brazilian court they were paid to vote for Rio de Janeiro's winning bid to host the 2016 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee said Friday its ethics commission has...
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach delivers a speech during the inauguration of the new IOC headquarter on Sunday, June 23, 2019 in Lausanne ahead of the decision on 2026 Winter Games host. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/Keystone via AP)
IOC lifts suspension on Kuwaiti Olympic body imposed in 2015
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC says it has fully lifted a suspension from Kuwait's Olympic committee, imposed in 2015 when the national government passed a law that compromised the independence of sports bodies. The suspension meant Kuwaitis at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics competed as an...
FILE - In this April 19, 2019, file photo, Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving (11) shoots against Indiana Pacers' Cory Joseph (6) during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Indianapolis. Rarely relevant at the same time on the basketball court, the Knicks and Nets are front and center in the free agency race, two of the teams best positioned to make a splash when the market opens. Both can afford two top players, with hopes of landing not only a Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving, but possibly even both. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
The Latest: AP source: Irving joining Durant with the Nets
The Latest on NBA free agency (all times ET): 1:05 a.m. A person with knowledge of the details says the Brooklyn Nets capped their big day by agreeing to a deal with Kyrie Irving. The point guard left the Boston Celtics to sign on with a Nets team that also got agreements from Kevin Durant and...
Netherlands' Merel Van Dongen celebrates with flag after defeating Italy in the Women's World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Italy and the Netherlands in Valenciennes, France, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Dutch beat Italy 2-0 to make 1st Women's World Cup semifinal
VALENCIENNES, France (AP) — The Oranje procession will roll into a Women's World Cup semifinal for the first time. The parade of fans, covered head to toe in orange, the brass band — and, of course, the free kick specialists on the field. In the sweltering afternoon heat of northeast France, the...
International Olympic Committee, IOC, President Thomas Bach from Germany, left, speaks with Australian IOC member John Coates, right, during the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, June 25, 2019. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
IOC to change process of Olympic bid races, host elections
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Olympics hosted in multiple cities or countries. Bidders pro-actively invited. Candidates recommended with possibly no opponents. Radical changes in how and when Olympic hosts are picked were voted in Wednesday as the International Olympic Committee looks to avoid...
Washington Wizards basketball team introduce Rui Hachimura, the team's first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft during a press conference at Capital One Arena in Washington, Friday, June 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Japan hails Hachimura's NBA selection as new era for sport
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese basketball officials, fans and media hailed the selection of Rui Hachimura in the NBA draft, saying the move will usher in a new era for the sport in Japan. Hachimura became the first player from Japan to get chosen in the first round of the NBA draft, taken with the No. 9...
In this June 19, 2019, photo, photo, Tokyo residents Yuuma Sakai, foreground, takes photos of his wife, Hiroyo, with the Olympic rings set up near New National Stadium in Tokyo. Millions were going to be disappointed starting Thursday when applicants in a ticket lottery, for Japan residents, only, began learning if they landed tickets. The same will be true for residents outside Japan who could experience a similar dejection: too much demand and too few tickets. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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NEW YORK (AP) — A decade after seemingly wrapping up "The Hunger Games," Suzanne Collins is bringing readers back to Panem. A prequel, set 64 years before the beginning of her multimillion-selling trilogy, is coming next year. The novel, currently untitled, is scheduled for release on May 19, 2020...


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It's difficult to calculate the amount of Chinese food in the USA food chain,
but a recent estimate from the Department of Agriculture said that
13 percent of the nation's diet is imported food.
MADE-IN-CHINA FOOD?
Low prices have fueled the rise of big agriculture in China.
"When food gets that cheap, you really wonder
how much of the ingredients are authentic
and how much are some cheaper substitute."
I don't think it's rocket science to assume that a thinking, informed person would not consciously eat food that came from China. I know I sure wouldn't.
When I discovered (a few years ago when casually reading the label) that canned button mushrooms that I thought were grown in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia - 300 miles down the road - came from CHINA I dropped the can as though it were a hot potato. I couldn't believe my eyes, that these mushrooms came from China, and took the can to the cashier and asked her if she was aware. She wasn't either, having assumed that because they were the brand-name "Money's Mushrooms" (a huge and respected mushroom grower here in Canada made famous by a cooking show personality) they would be grown here. I showed her the label and she was shocked.
Since that time I have never bought canned button mushrooms (required for a "Best of Bridge" salad recipe I sometimes make), substituting instead with regular-sized fresh mushrooms (buttons are seldom available).
I have been a food-label reader for many years and try not to buy food imported from anywhere farther than the USA, preferring if at all possible to get food "made in Canada". That has been getting much more difficult these past couple of years and I have stopped eating some foods because of it, for example acorn squash at Thanksgiving which - like many other fresh vegetables and fruit - comes from Mexico. They're having enough problems feeding their own people - let alone ours - and their hygenic standards leave much to be desired.
But even I (a consummate label-reader) was SHOCKED to learn just recently (through the poison-pet-food revelations) that wheat-gluten (from Canadian wheat?) was MADE in China. How could that be? How is it that we in Canada - the supposedly largest wheat growing nation in the world - have anything to do with wheat from CHINA (or any other food for that matter)?
China is a THIRD WORLD country with a population of 1.3 BILLION people, the vast majority of whom live in dire poverty and hunger. China is also the most polluted nation on the planet with no rules and regulations regarding humane treatment of people or animals. Their government is a brutal tyranny made up of communist party members (and their associates) who cavort with capitalists and live like millionaires while "the people" live like slaves and abused animals.
Here in Canada we have a miniscule population of 32 million people stretched over a land so rich in resources and arable land that it could feed the entire world (if its farms weren't being destroyed and bought-up by corporations who genetically modify the crops and then turn them into fuel for machines instead of food for humans).
Now I have recently learned [July 2007] that made-in-China food is EVERYWHERE in North America (as are all their other products) and that even if the label says "made in Canada" it could have come from China.
This infiltration of our food supply by an enemy nation (because China is not our friend, in spite of what corporations and complicit governments would have us believe) is a very dangerous and serious situation.
In "1984" Orwell said that food in "Oceania" (present day England, America, Australia etc) had "strange evil tastes". Now we know what he was talking about. Oh wake us from your nightmare, George. ~ Jackie Jura
'Made in Canada' - via China
A host of unsourced ingredients may lie in what's being sold under homemade banners
by Rebecca Dube, Globe & Mail, Jul 6, 2007
Florence Wood threw out all of her dog's made-in-China biscuits during this spring's melamine scare. Last week, after hearing warnings about unsafe fish and tainted toothpaste imported from China, she decided to purge her own pantry. Goodbye, tinned salmon. So long, mandarin oranges. Farewell, frozen fish. "Anything at all that comes from China that's edible we are not going to eat now," said Ms. Wood, a retired secretary in Lac-des-Îles, Que. She's even nervous about putting leftovers in made-in-China plastic containers.
She's not alone. More consumers are taking a hard look at "Made in China" labels after a string of recalls and publicity over deplorable safety standards in China. But it's nearly impossible to get out of the supermarket without food from China in your cart. The good news is that avoiding products labelled "Made in China" won't crimp your grocery list, unless you really like frozen seafood - including shrimp, pollock, sole, haddock and salmon. The bad news is that food labels don't tell the whole story. A host of Chinese imports are hiding behind "Made in Canada" labels, from the freeze-dried strawberries in your cereal to the wheat gluten in your hamburger buns.
"Made in Canada" simply means that 51 per cent of the production cost was incurred in Canada; the ingredients could come from anywhere, and increasingly they come from China. For example, manufacturers can import apple juice concentrate from China - for about one-fifth the cost of Canadian concentrate - add water to it in Canada, and mark it "Made in Canada."
"We eat food from China every day, we just don't know about it," says Dr. Keith Warriner, an assistant professor of food science at the University of Guelph. Canadians ate $430-million worth of food from China last year, and as China's economic power grows so does its reach into our supermarkets, our kitchens - even our churches. Canada imported $9.5-million worth of communion wafers from China last year, along with $113-million worth of frozen fish fillets and $28-million worth of apple juice.
"A Canadian producer can source its supplies for cents [in China] rather than for dollars here," Dr. Warriner explains. But North American consumers have recently become aware that inexpensive Chinese imports sometimes bear a hidden cost. This spring, thousands of dogs and cats fell ill or died after eating pet food containing wheat gluten from China that was contaminated with melamine. Since then, consumers have been warned about seafood, including shrimp and catfish, that doesn't meet safety standards; contaminated toothpaste and juices, and "Veggie Booty" snack food tainted by salmonella - all from China.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials have insisted their exported food is safe. But this week, Beijing acknowledged that one-fifth of the goods made and sold in China are substandard, and the former head of China's food and drug administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, was recently sentenced to death for accepting bribes.
Canadian officials stand by their policy of testing Chinese food imports on a case-by-case basis when concerns are raised about specific products. Dr. Warriner believes greater scrutiny of imports from China will ultimately come not from governments, but from food companies with valuable brand reputations at stake. "If we started labelling all the individual ingredients, the label would be a book," he says. Dr. Warriner says that he avoids some made-in-China products, such as frozen fish, but that there's "no cause for alarm" about the myriad ingredients from China that fill our bellies daily. Not everyone is so sanguine.
Canada's growing gluttony for Chinese imports is a disaster waiting to happen, says Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers Association of Canada. Other than writing to their MPs or buying only locally grown food, Mr. Cran says, there's not much Canadian consumers can do about it. "Consumers are handicapped because we don't have the information we need on the labels," says Mr. Cran, whose family has sworn off all apple juice, regardless of its country-of-origin label, because so much of it comes from China. Ms. Wood feels similarly skeptical. "We just don't think it's safe," she says. She wishes food labels were more specific. For instance, she has a jar of olives that says "Product of Canada" on it. "Now, we know we don't have olive trees in Canada," Ms. Wood says. "So where does it come from?"
Top Ten Foods in volume Canada imported from China in 2006
(in millions of kilograms)
Mandarins, clementines and similar citrus hybrids, fresh/dried - 33.9
Frozen fish fillets - 24.4
Apple juice - 21.7 (millions of litres)
Pears and quinces, fresh - 13.6
Raw peanuts - 10.6
Frozen shrimps and prawns -10.4
Pasta - 10.3
Mushrooms - 8.9
Other citrus fruits - 8.8
Shrimps and prawns, prepared or preserved - 7.3
Food from China: Can you trust it?
Not even the people monitoring imports can say with certainty
that those goods are safe for consumption
by Matt McKinney, Star Tribune, July 19, 2007
At a computer in a spare Minneapolis office, Shaun Kennedy clicks through screen after screen of import records kept by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He checks America's cocoa supply. Last year, the United States imported millions of dollars worth of the tropical powder from Canada. "Cocoa? From Canada?" he smirks. Kennedy, co-director of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, a Homeland Security agency based at the University of Minnesota, said the cocoa came from elsewhere but was shipped to Canada, processed into chocolate and sent here. Its true origin is not listed.
Today's family meal is a global affair, with a menu of main courses, side dishes and unseen ingredients arriving from the farthest corners of the Earth. But recent scares, including the sickening of two children in Minnesota, are revealing an unsettling truth: Even the experts can't be sure where our food comes from.
And even if some records don't show it, more and more is coming from China, where government authorities have acknowledged that the food chain is rife with fake and sometimes hazardous ingredients.
China is the third-largest supplier of food and animal feed to the United States. It sent $2.3 billion worth of agricultural products to the United States last year, nearly double what was sent three years earlier. The growth of that trade so far this year is a torrid 34 percent, according to the Department of Commerce.
When pet food tainted with melamine found its way to North America three months ago, it not only sickened dogs and cats, but it also woke up U.S. food safety inspectors to the inadequacies of their procedures. They weren't even looking for melamine. Soon, government agencies had turned to Kennedy and the Center for Food Protection for advice. What else should they start looking for? This week, Kennedy will brief a congressional committee on what we know about our food supply. And then it's on to a project to understand how food and drug inspectors can stop dangerous imports before they end up in supermarkets. The stakes are high. Global food trading in 2005 accounted for $699 billion of exports worldwide, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The cocoa record is an example of transshipment, a way for food suppliers to wash away the true origin of their product simply by shipping it through a third country.
Other problems are more obvious. Poisoned seafood. Ginseng extract contaminated with pesticides. Filthy salmon. These were among the issues with 146 Chinese imports that U.S. regulators seized last month at U.S. ports, the most of any one country. But China is not the only problem. U.S. inspectors blocked 141 shipments from India last month and 138 from Mexico, as well as nearly 100 shipments from the Dominican Republic because of pesticide contamination.
And, owing to a shortage of inspectors, most everything else was simply waved through, the agency admits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects less than 1 percent of all imports and tests even less, according to William Hubbard, a former associate director at the agency who now lobbies for more funding and inspections. Critics charge that the FDA, with a budget of $450 million to $500 million, is woefully underfunded. "That's not a lot of money to protect 80 percent of the food supply in the country," said Pat Verduin, chief science officer for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade group. That fact leaves food companies to do much of the policing themselves. They have good reason to do so, said one observer: They're just one bad ingredient away from a ruined reputation.
General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe said the company, which is based in Golden Valley, has a "tremendous investment" in food safety in China, where they began operations in the late 1990s, and among other things, taught farmers there how to grow corn. The No. 2 maker of cereal closely supervises its local vendors and uses surprise third-party audits. "That's just the nature of the beast," said Forsythe.
Cargill, the Minnetonka-based food ingredients giant, began its China business in the early 1970s, making starches, glucose, dextrose, maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup, xanthan gum and DHA, according to company documents. Much of those food ingredients stay there to feed the local economy, said spokesman Mark Klein.
Neither company would give specifics on what they import from China, how much or in what American food those ingredients end up.
For its part, China has fought back to defend its reputation. On Saturday, officials announced it was suspending imports of some U.S. chicken and pork products, including those from major producers such as Cargill and Tyson Foods. The Chinese claim that the products are tainted with chemicals or bacteria.
The rush of things Chinese sweeping into the American diet includes dried grapes, tomato paste, popcorn and ginger. And they're arriving in amounts, depending on the product, that have doubled, quadrupled or grown even more in the past five years. It's difficult to calculate the amount of Chinese food in the U.S. food chain, but a recent estimate from the Department of Agriculture said that 13 percent of the nation's diet is imported food.
China, which accounts for a sixth of the world's population, grows more than a third of the world's fruit and vegetables, a fifth of the world's cereal crops (including rice) and a quarter of the world's fish and crustaceans. It's not just food. China is the world's largest producer of antibiotics, responsible for 80 percent of the world's supply of some forms of penicillin, according to an analyst.
Not surprisingly, low prices have fueled the rise of big agriculture in China. Citric acid sells for 90 cents per kilogram in China today, or just more than a third of the ubiquitous food ingredient's price 12 years ago when it was primarily made in the United States and Europe, according to Leo Hepner, a consultant based in London. "When food gets that cheap, you really wonder how much of the ingredients are authentic and how much are some cheaper substitute," said Jean Kinsey, co-director of the University of Minnesota's Food Science Center.
Perhaps the Chinese would agree. The country's food safety watchdog recently reported that for the first six months of this year, nearly 20 percent of products made for the domestic market were substandard. Chinese regulators have begun to take its domestic food producers to task, making an announcement two weeks ago that it had closed 180 food plants over food safety concerns. And on Tuesday, the country executed the former head of the nation's food and drug agency for taking bribes while approving untested medicines, leading to the deaths of at least 10 people, according to news accounts.
Still, for many U.S. consumers, the alarm bell has been rung. Consumers today get country of origin labels for their seafood, and by October of next year they will learn origins of produce, meat and peanuts, once additional pieces of a 2002 law on food labeling go into effect after years of industry foot-dragging.
Kennedy, of the Center for Food Protection, said he's learning, too. He plans to study transshipments and each country's production records, available through the United Nations, in what's becoming an intensifying search to get a better sense of where our food comes from.
Canada kills apple trees for wine grapes (then imports apples from China) & Canada fruit & vegetable growers extinct (import food from China, Mexico, USA). FinancePost/AP, Jul 15, 2008
China one-child policy makes orphans. MaineSunJournal, Aug 10, 2007
...For many centuries China had been plagued by periodic famines and starvation. Usually, this resulted from poor weather or floods, but in 1959 and 1960, millions of Chinese also starved to death when an attempt by Mao Tse-tung to collectivize farms went awry. Private farm ownership was eliminated, and farm families were forced into thousands of communes. It was a tragic failure. But the repeated shortages of food were also worsened by two simple facts: In China, about 22 percent of the world's people live on 7 percent of the world's arable land. In the late 1970s, Chinese leaders realized that with such a high fertility rate (the average Chinese woman was bearing about six children in her lifetime), the country's population could quickly - and catastrophically - outstrip its ability to produce food. So, in 1979, Chinese leadership embarked on an ambitious program of economic growth and birth control...
CHINA POLLUTION HITS AMERICA
China pollution hitting America (causing weather chaos). WallStreetJournal, Jul 26, 2007
'Made in Canada' - via China. Globe & Mail, July 6, 2007
Food from China: Can you trust it? Star Tribune, Jul 19, 2007
WHERE'S THE BEEF GONNA GO? and CANADA IS CHINADA
WORLD FOOD BANK and WEATHER & FOOD CONTROL
15.Life in Oceania and 9.Keeping Masses Down and 7.Systems of Thought and 6.Super-States


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When I was little our friends up the road used to have the most beautiful croquet set which, much to my annoyance, they would take out only when the sun was shining and they felt like sharing a little joy around the neighbourhood.
Needless to say we didn't see it very often.
How I envied them that luxurious, perfectly-made, beautiful wooden set of childhood joy.
So when Garden Games asked me if I'd like to review one of their items my eyes lit up - at last the Croquet Crown would be mine!
The set arrived last week amid heavy downpours and unfortunately we haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I can still report on what we got and what I think.
The set is stored in a heavy waterproof canvas bag - easy for transporting and storing.
The set is not cheap at £84.99, but everything in it is really well made and set to last a life time. So if you like garden games, can afford it and can count on a little bit of sunshine then I would definitely recommend it.
As for me? I picture Pimms and perfectly behaved children in Grandmas garden next summer..
Disclosure: The Cottage Croquet set was sent to me free of charge to review. All words, images and opinions are my own.


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Logos Can Change, But a Club's Colors Are Forever
Football clubs, organizations with a tremendous amount of money and influence are cautious in changing their logos. When Juventus did it in 2017, the public's rancor, especially their fans, only faded in time. They received criticism from every corner of the footballing world. People who knew design, and those who didn't, and non-fans of the club all had something to say about this seismic. From an oval crest with gold that surrounds the club's name to a minimalist "J"? A lot of people didn't think a club as grand as Juventus deserves such a dressing down in their logo. Years after, people had time to move on and have accepted this new reality. Back then, you would think the club traded Alessandro del Piero to Milan because of the noise it generated.
That isn't something new, as many big clubs take this kind of risk. Nothing as recent as Juve, but from England to Germany, football crests evolve. But, if there's something that will never change, it's the club colors. Doing it is like draining the club of its blood and introducing something so profoundly alien to the club's existence. Fans would revolt, to say the least, if any club decides something so drastic a departure.
Colors Are Forever
Can you imagine if Barca changed their colors? Any combination would've been a sacrilege. They can never change to anything that's white (Real Madrid, Valencia), red (Atletico Madrid), yellow (Villareal), or blue (Espanyol). Barca had their club crest change over their more than 100 years of existence, but never their colors. For them to be called anything but the Blaugrana is like changing the last name of a great family. Not only are they losing tradition, but they risk losing a good chunk of their fans locally or abroad.
Anyway, as a fan, you can choose to represent whatever part of your club's history. You can have customized scarves from online suppliers that have logos from 50 years ago. Retro jerseys are available if there's a past player that you want to be emblazoned on your back. Your options are endless. But, never will any fans represent another color again, and never should a club risk such a move. It just exists in a different reality than what's here and now. It's impossible.
When Loyal Players Change Clubs (and Colors)
Francesco Totti, in anything other than the yellow and red of AS Roma, would've broken any football fan's heart. It just doesn't on him, and he doesn't belong to any other club. Paolo Maldini in Inter colors? It was nearly the reality, but Maldini is a rossonero forever, drenched in Milan's storied red and black. Lionel Messi is on the brink of wearing another club's shirt on his back, but nothing will ever look as good as his number 10 on Barca's kit.
But, loyal players change clubs too. Andy Cole exchanged the black and white of Newcastle for Manchester United's red. Carlos Tevez changed colors but stayed in the same city, from United to City. Nothing stops players from moving, and at times, we appreciate greatness more when seeing it from another perspective.
Diamonds are forever; blood is red forever. Club colors are forever. Some things aren't meant to change. Whether by destiny, tradition, or force, a club's colors stay, unlike Neymar.
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Gap Year: The Hidden Key to Unlocking One's Greater Potential
Clifford Heaney	December 8, 2020


Staying with Above and Beyond is simply that; Above and Beyond. We pride ourselves on providing "Out of this World" customer service and we are available to assist you with your travel needs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All of our vacation rental properties are well-appointed with bed linens, towels, dishes, pots and pans, washer and dryer, paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent and other basic household necessities. Did we mention that our homes are extremely comfortable, professionally cleaned and most include cable television and Wi-Fi? We love pets so we encourage you to bring along your four-legged family members on your vacation since many of our homes permit them on the premises. Vacation rental properties are also an excellent alternative for those seeking short-term housing in the Gallatin Valley. Whether you are looking for a large home in the country with unparalleled mountain views, a Downtown urban oasis for a month or two, or anything in between, we've got you covered.
Find a property that you like and are interested in? Apply for it! Just fill out our super easy rental application and mail to it us or just upload it in our simple file up-loader and we will process yours as soon as possible. Welcome to our Above and Beyond Family!
Proof of renters' insurance will be required within 3 days of signing a lease agreement. If you do not already have renters' insurance, we recommend calling your current insurance provider (ie. Vehicle, life, etc.) to add this service or you may click on the links below to help you get started!
We have received nothing but first class service from Above and Beyond. We appreciate the fact that Above and Beyone strives to meet our needs as owners, as well as keeping our tenants happy.


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Flight Chicago - New York (ORD - LGA) $91+ Flight Atlanta - Newark (ATL - EWR) $99+ Flight Orlando - Newark (MCO - EWR) $105+ Flight Fort Lauderdale - Newark (FLL - EWR) $114+ Flight Fort Lauderdale - New York (FLL - LGA) $127+ Flight Houston - Newark (HOU - EWR) $138+ Flight Houston - Newark (IAH - EWR) $138+ Flight Chicago - New York (ORD - JFK) $140+ Flight Los Angeles - New York (LAX - LGA) $140+ Flight Dallas - New York (DFW - LGA) $153+ Flight Miami - New York (MIA - LGA) $167+ Flight Atlanta - New York (ATL - JFK) $182+ Flight Chicago - Newark (ORD - EWR) $188+ Flight Los Angeles - Newark (LAX - EWR) $191+ Flight Oakland - Newark (OAK - EWR) $193+ Flight Houston - New York (HOU - LGA) $201+ Flight Dallas - Newark (DFW - EWR) $209+ Flight San Francisco - New York (SFO - LGA) $210+ Flight Oakland - New York (OAK - LGA) $213+ Flight Seattle - New York (SEA - JFK) $217+ Flight Los Angeles - New York (LAX - JFK) $231+ Flight San Francisco - Newark (SFO - EWR) $231+ Flight Ontario - New York (ONT - JFK) $237+ Flight San Francisco - New York (SFO - JFK) $237+
On December 13, 2007, jetBlue and Germany-based Lufthansa announced jetBlue's intent to sell 19% of jetBlue to Lufthansa, pending approval from US regulators. Following the acquisition, Lufthansa stated they plan to seek operational cooperation with jetBlue.[30] Lufthansa plans to offer connections to JetBlue flights in Boston, New York (JFK), and Orlando International Airport (no longer a connection).[31]
jetBlue also utilizes various forms of advertising media. They use print, online, and television ads as well as advertisements on popular social media sites including Hulu and YouTube. jetBlue emphasizes a secondary slogan, "If you wouldn't take it on the ground, don't take it in the air" poking fun at competitors with hidden fees, little, or no amenities and what jetBlue considers an unacceptable level of customer service.[97]
In October 2013, jetBlue introduced Mint, a premium cabin service on transcontinental and select Caribbean flights. The service began in 2014, using the Airbus A321-231 aircraft ordered by jetBlue. These planes are outfitted with winglets, as well as with "lie flat" seats, and moveable partitions that can create small suites on the airplane.[56] Called "Mint" by jetBlue, these planes are configured with 16 business-class seats and 143 economy seats, instead of an all-economy configuration of 190 seats.[57]
Our travel experts — from travel writers around the globe to T+L's A-List travel advisors to our own editors — offer their recommendations. Then, we take a look at what places are now at the forefront of the global conversation, whether for new hotels and museums or major international events. In any given year, the cities and countries we recommend as the best places to travel in the world have a lot going on. And of course, we think about those travel destinations that are perennial favorites to determine which ones are reinventing themselves, ensuring there's always something new to explore.
Whether you are planning a quick weekend getaway, family vacation, honeymoon or a road trip, there are many amazing choices in the United States and abroad. If you only have a few days, browse our weekend getaways page for choices near you so that you can take a short drive rather than spend precious vacation time on travel. If you have a long weekend or a full week, consider a trip to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Europe, California and other fun places around the world.
Although the former Soviet republic might seem remote, Uzbekistan once sat at the very center of the world. In the first millennium, no traveler could pass from Asia to Europe without stopping in the Silk Road strongholds of Bukhara and Samarkand, and as a result these cities evolved into rich cultural centers. For intrepid travelers, today's Uzbekistan is a promised land: a Muslim-majority nation that's both safe and affordable, with few tourists and an abundance of well-preserved mosques and harems. And since the death of authoritarian president Islam Karimov last year, the new regime has taken steps toward reform that have given both Uzbeks and the international community reason for optimism. Improving relations with Iran could soon bring a rail link to the Persian Gulf, and in 2016, the Afrosiyob high-speed-train line began connecting the country's major cities. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan should benefit from the so-called Iron Silk Road, or Trans-Asian Railway — a Chinese-funded network of routes knitting together Beijing and Europe — once a segment connecting the country through Kyrgyzstan is completed. Book a customized journey with Exeter International, which specializes in the region. —Heidi Mitchell
Search cheap flights with KAYAK. Search for the cheapest airline tickets for all the top airlines around the world and the top international flight routes. KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to help you find cheap airfare and book a flight that suits you best. Since KAYAK searches many plane tickets sites at once, you can find cheap tickets from cheap airlines quickly.
The Greek highway system has seen several recent upgrades, with a new route making the 2,000-year-old olive trees and lesser-visited ruins of the Peloponnese, the country's southernmost swathe of mainland, more accessible. Completed in late 2016, the new A71 highway from Lefktro to Sparta shaves off two hours of driving time from Athens, and has also connected the Lefktro region to nearby Kalamata Airport, about 90 minutes away. Meanwhile, ports have been expanded at Gytheio and Katakolon — the latter a stopping point for the Viking Star, which launched in 2014. Farming is still integral to the region, and agritourism resorts like Eumelia constantly refresh their food and wellness-themed workshops, in addition to serving local dishes like maniatiki pasta with dry mizithra cheese, and moustokouloura, or cookies made with grape molasses. Goddesses seeking more temple-like accommodations should head to Porto Heli, on the eastern side of the Peloponnese, where everyone is talking about Amanzoe's new Villa 31, a serene space with grandstand views of the surrounding coastline that contains a unique installation by light artist James Turrell. —Adam Harney Graham
jetBlue expanded service to the Caribbean, including to St. Maarten and Puerto Plata commencing January 10, 2008. With these additional destinations, jetBlue serves a total of twelve Caribbean/Atlantic destinations including Aruba; Barbados; Bermuda; Cancún; Nassau; Aguadilla; Ponce; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santiago; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[citation needed]
This year, Buenos Aires becomes a hub for art, sports, and politics: the inaugural Art Basel Cities program, the Youth Olympic Games, and the G20 will all take place in the city, beginning with the multi-year Art Basel initiative. Though the Argentinean capital is already home to an eclectic collection of galleries, Art Basel Cities promises to elevate Buenos Aires' reputation in the global art scene by offering professional support for local artists, as well as lectures and workshops throughout the year to draw art lovers to the city.
Those with a predilection for high-thread-count sheets will soon be able to luxuriate at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, a ritzy boutique property with Carolina charm. In the meantime, discerning visitors can bunk at the swank Westin Poinsett, a historic hotel that was rescued from the wrecking ball in the late '90s, laying the groundwork for Greenville's great Southern revival. —Rachel Tepper Paley
This year is San Antonio's 300th anniversary, and the city is marking the occasion with events, activities, and new infrastructure. Ahead of the festivities, there's been a flurry of development: In the past few months, the botanical gardens completed an expansion; the city's first food hall, the Bottling Department, debuted at the Pearl; and San Antonio's iconic passenger barges got an upgrade, with colorful electric models replacing the old gas-fueled boats. In January, the city will unveil Confluence Park, an expanse of trails and science-focused education facilities near the convergence of San Pedro Creek and the San Antonio River. A commemorative week is planned for early May, with celebrations at each of San Antonio's five missions and the dedication of San Pedro Creek Culture Park, a once-unremarkable drainage ditch that's been transformed into a waterfront promenade with public art and performance spaces. Ruby City, a new David Adjaye–designed art center that will house more than 800 pieces from the Linda Pace Foundation Collection, is expected to be completed at the end of 2018. And boutique stays still in the works — including a Thompson Hotel and the third location of the Saint Hotel — hint that San Antonio's heyday is just beginning. —Devorah Lev-Tov
Following the February 2007 incident in which the airline was forced to cancel nearly 1,700 flights due to winter storms, jetBlue's board of directors replaced founder and Chief Executive Officer David Neeleman with Dave Barger.[21] He had politicked the board, while Neeleman was busy publicly apologizing. Barger's ascendancy caused widespread demoralization in the ranks.[22] He became JetBlue's new Chief Executive Officer on May 10, 2007.[23] Neeleman, the company's founder and largest individual investor, became a nonexecutive chairman as a result of the change.[24]
For many years, analysts had predicted that jetBlue's growth rate would become unsustainable. Despite this, the airline continued to add planes and routes to the fleet at a brisk pace. In addition in 2006, the IAM (International Association of Machinists) attempted to unionize JetBlue's "ramp service workers", in a move that was described by JetBlue's COO Dave Barger as "pretty hypocritical", as the IAM opposed jetBlue's creation when it was founded as New Air in 1998. The union organizing petition was dismissed by the National Mediation Board because fewer than 35 percent of eligible employees supported an election.[citation needed]
Wilderness Adventures: Getting close to nature can be an experience of a lifetime, especially for those of us who spend most of our time working at a desk. There are many cool tours and safaris to go on in the United States that are great for kids and grown-ups alike. See the amazing Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), polar bears, moose and other wildlife on one of the national parks or sign up for a week-long adventure. Find great things to do in the U.S.
Travel to the Danish capital has jumped more than 80 percent in the past decade, thanks in part to René Redzepi's influential Noma restaurant (slated to reopen in its new location in February), as well as Scandinavian Airlines' ongoing flight expansion. Today, Copenhagen is teeming with inspiring places to eat and drink, in addition to a number of sleek new hotels — so much so that the New Nordic food, beverage, and design movement has now spread worldwide. Even before it debuted in July, Restaurant Barr — the beer-centric boîte by Redzepi and chef Thorsten Schmidt that occupies the old Noma plot — was already garnering international attention. Then there's Apollo Bar & Kantine, the recently minted, design-focused restaurant in the Kunsthal Charlottenborg gallery from Frederik Bille Brahe, proprietor of hit café Atelier September. Brothers Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, of Mikkeller and Evil Twin Brewing, respectively, have in the last couple of years introduced the world to experimental Danish craft beer, and their brews can now be sampled at bars and beer halls across Copenhagen and beyond. Stylish new places to stay, such as Hotel Danmark and Sanders, as well as a revamp of the classic, Arne Jacobsen–designed Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, reinforce the reasons the Scandinavian aesthetic is so popular right now. —Kat Odell
^ Jump up to: a b Cuozzo, Steve. "JetBlue Triples Size of its Queens Offices." New York Post. December 24, 2002. Retrieved on January 20, 2010. "74,000 square feet at 118–29 Queens Blvd., also known as Forest Hills Tower" and "Boulevard in Forest Hills – possibly the largest office lease in Queens this year. JetBlue was previously at 80–02 Kew Gardens Rd., across the street."


Watching the grace and effortless-seeming style of a play, it's intriguing to consider the flurry and bustle that happens behind the dark red curtain. For the last few years, Hamburg-born photographer Klaus Frahm has been stripping back Europe's stages to take incredible shots of theatres from the other side. His photographs reveal cascades of seats framed by the structures that house the lights and mechanics of the show.
Klaus sees photography as "revealing something laying under the surface," and Looking from Behind: The Fourth Wall gives us a rare chance to appreciate the scale and grandeur of stages without the furore of people and props. The series first started while Klaus was photographing a theatre for an architect. "At one point the stage was completely empty, so I photographed the audience framed by lamps and structures in front of them. It was later on my way home when I looked at the Polaroid of that scene: the red seats were like an image within an image," Klaus explains.
The contrast between new and old with warm and cold is stark in Klaus' photographs where the comfy velvet seats and subdued lighting feel grandiose in comparison to the surrounding metal structures and robust scaffolds that sit imposingly in the darkness.
While it's the scale of these stages that initially interests viewers, Klaus is keen for people to question the whole concept of the stage and their place in it. "The second step is a play of the viewer's mind. Where they imagine the stage is reality and the audience is the play," he explains.


The Oslo-based oil company Spring Energy has signed a Term Sheet with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB ("SEB") for an expansion of its revolving exploration loan facility from NOK 400 million to NOK 600 million.
The revolving exploration loan facility provides pre-funding of state tax refunds related to Spring Energy's exploration and appraisal expenditures on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The SEB loan facility together with the equity finance commitment of USD 120 million from HitecVision, enables the Company to pursue an ambitious exploration and appraisal driven growth strategy over the next couple of years.
The facility is conditioned upon a final Loan Agreement between SEB and Spring Energy.


The 2014 History of Education Conference was held at Bewley's hotel, Dublin. The hotel was an ideal location for a conference for the society given its interesting history, and many delegates enjoyed discussing the building's history and its original purpose as a Masonic Girls' boarding School.
The conference theme of 'Transnationalism, Gender and Teaching: Perspectives from the History of Education' was variously explored in over 60 conference papers responding to the theme. Delegates came from a wide number of places; beyond those from the UK and the Republic of Ireland, delegates came from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and USA. Whilst papers spanned a variety of time periods, there was a predominant focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Within the conference sub-themes emerged including: travel; religion; social class; non-institutional education; literacy, writing, literature, publishing and painting; Empire, imperialism and imperial oppression; methodologies; transnational movements of thought, culture and practices; power; methods of communication; identity and understanding of the self and the other; identity and the relationship between the individual, the community and the nation. Taken collectively the papers and the discussions left me reflecting on the intersectionality of transnationalism and gender in educational experiences, particularly the individual's understanding of themselves and others. The conference suggested to me that whilst transnational experiences have been and often continue to be gendered, the reflections – on culture, politics and self – envoked by transnational experiences have at times challenged traditional gender roles and behaviours.
The three keynotes took up the conference theme in various ways: Professor Joyce Goodman MBE on 'Becoming Visible: Gender in Transnational Space and Time – Kasuya Yoshi and Girls' Secondary Education; Professor Elizabeth Smyth on 'The world wide web of teaching sisters: building networks beyond classroom walls over space and time' and Professor Dáire Keogh on 'Our Boys: the Christian Brothers and the formation of youth in the 'new Ireland' 1914-44′.
On Friday evening delegates joined Dr Professor J Deeks, President of University College Dublin in celebrating the book launch of Dr Deirdre Raftery and Dr Karin Fischer (Eds.), Educating Ireland: Schooling and Social Change 1700-2000 (2014, Irish Academic Press).
On the Saturday afternoon a well-attended AGM of the History of Education Society reported on the work of society. The AGM featured positive reports on the publications of the society. The society continues to encourage researchers to share their work in the History of Education journal, the History of Education Researcher, in this History of Education Society blog and in A History of Education in 50 Objects webspace.
A highlight of the weekend was the Saturday evening conference dinner in the grand Thomas Prior Hall, where delegates had a three course meal whilst enjoying live Irish music.
With thanks to all the delegates, to the energies all the presenters gave to ensuring the high standard of presentations, to Bewley's hotel, Ballsbridge and their helpful staff and to Dr Deirdre Raftery and to her team for their dedicated hard work in organising such a successful and enjoyable conference.
We are pleased to announce that in 2015 the History of Education Society conference will be hosted by Liverpool Hope University with the theme of 'Science, Technology and Material Culture in History of Education' – 20th-22nd November 2015.


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25th anniversary issue: Old March news from Williston (3/25/10)
• In 1995, actor David Hyde Pierce, who played Niles on the hit sitcom "Frasier," was the celebrity guest at the Stern Center's Oscar Night benefit on March 27. His sister-in-law, Pam Pierce, was chairwoman of the benefit committee.
"It's a good cause," David Hyde Pierce said at the time.
The event raised $8,000 for the nonprofit organization.
• The Snyder Companies received conceptual approval in 1995 for a 174-lot subdivision of James Brennan's property off Mountain View Road. That subdivision went on to become the Brennan Woods neighborhood.
Deb Beckett is sworn in as Williston's town clerk during a ceremony in Kuwait in 2005. Beckett was serving in Kuwait as a member of the Vermont National Guard.
• The Williston/Richmond Rotary Club formed in 1995.
• Ken Bessette Sr., author of the "I Remember When" column in the Williston Whistle, was feted at a party at the paper's offices in 2000 for his 94th birthday.
Bessette's secret to a long and happy life: "Just love everybody!" he said.
• At Town Meeting 2000, residents agreed to vote on future school budgets via Australian ballot. The vote passed 228-166.
Mike Coates, upon walking up to the Thomas Chittenden statue in Montpelier, said, "I swear I saw a tear in his eye."
• In 2005, Deb Beckett was sworn in as town clerk during a ceremony in Kuwait. Beckett, who serves in the Vermont National Guard, had notary Mary Griswold swear her in and faxed the document to Williston Town Hall. Beckett may soon be deployed again, this time to Iraq.
Around Town (3/25/10)
Guest Column (3/25/10)
Architects picked for projects
By Tom GreshamObserver staff A South Burlington architecture firm will partner with a prominent national company to design Williston's new public safety facilities. A building committee overseei
BFA, playoffs up next for girls hoopsters (2/11/10)
Feb. 11, 2010 By Mal Boright Observer correspondent The 15-4 Champlain Valley Union High girls basketball team will close out the regular campaign Thursday night in St. Albans against the rebuilding 7
Everyday Gourmet (4/15/10)
Hip sips April 15, 2010 By Kim Dannies When it comes to cocktails, James Bond and I are definitely on the same page. In "Casino Royale" 007 declares, "I never have more than one drin


Yes. Contributions by anyone who files a Nebraska state income tax return are eligible to receive a Nebraska state income tax deduction for their own contributions of up to $10,000 ($5,000 if married, filing separately).
Nebraska State Treasurer, Trustee, First National Bank of Omaha, Program Manager.
Yes: $50 per account unless the account owner signs up for Automatic Investment Plan or payroll deduction of at least $25 per month.
Yes. The current account maintenance fee is $45 annually, payable at $11.25 quarterly.
Yes. The required minimum contribution is $25, but is waived if the account has Automatic Investment Plan or payroll deduction.
Yes. There is no fee for rolling over an account, however, based on when the account is terminated, the account owner may be assessed a portion of the annual maintenance fee.
Yes. There is a debit card at no additional cost to be used for assets in checking.
There are 5 investment options available. The investment options range from no risk (Bank Savings Option or Checking Investment Option which are both interest bearing and are FDIC insured) to conservative to aggressive with varying levels of risk, based on the risks of their underlying component investments.
Yes. There are no fees to enroll, withdraw, change Investment Options, or to transact online. For the Checking Investment Option, there is no charge to receive a debit card, there are no asset-based fees, but there may be service fees.
Yes. State Income Tax Deduction – If the contributor files Nebraska state income taxes, contributions made into an Enable Savings Plan account by any contributor are eligible for a state income tax deduction of up to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately). Earnings in an Enable account grow free from Nebraska state income tax. Nebraska state income tax deductions claimed in prior years are subject to partial recapture when a non-qualified withdrawal is made.


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Interethnic accord in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a young country of Central Asia, which recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its independence. Despite of such short period of time, with well-constructed policy of the Head of State our country now is considered by the international community as a country seeking to enhance interethnic peace and interfaith harmony. Recent public-opinion polls show that the relationships between ethnic groups in the country are quite friendly. Obviously, it is an achievement of all Kazakhstan people, and especially its two largest ethnic groups — Kazakhs and Russians, which relations have a great influence on the situation in the republic. In addition, it is also a result of our national policy, which was worked out be our Government.
International transportation projects with Kazakhstan's participation
Kazakhstan, being at the joint of international transport corridors, has sufficient transport and logistics network. Thanks to its location, our country is attractive for international community to work out join infrastructure project.
Issyk findings. K. M. Baipakov
Issyk findings gave new impetus to the long dispute of professionals about the origin of art of animal style, his ancestral home.
Issyk Warrior. K. M. Baipakov
He was dressed in richly embroidered with gold clothes. On his head he wore a high (65-70 cm) cone-shaped headdress, entirely decorated with gold plates of different shapes and sizes. The entire front of the headdress was decorated with sculptures of two winged horses with goats' horns, and two pairs of long bird's wings.
Issyk mound: ritual, art and society. K.Akishev
Ideological content of the animal style in art was religious justification of Sakas statehood. To be the state religion was the basic idea of the art. The meaning of Issyk findings for the problem is increasing by the discovery of the monument of writing — a silver cup with the inscription. The fact of the existence of writing in any society is reflected in the high level of social and economic organization of the genesis of the earliest forms of the state.
I remember...My life is memories...
"Mangilik El"- International popular scientific magazine
A million 196 thousand 164 Kazakh people were drafted to the Red Army during the World War II. More than 700 thousand people worked In «Labour Army», mostly they were «special settlers». Every fourth our	citizen participated in the front and in defense industry.
Items of horse harness found in Berel mound . Zainolla Samashev
The term «harness» we use in the sense that it is horse harnesses, for horse riding. It consists of headband, a saddle and its periphery — the breast belt and the girth with the buckle (or without).
Berel bridles horse is traditional and includes side, forehead and muzzle straps, abundantly decorated with a variety of pendants, made in the form zoomorphic images, complemented by floral motifs. Bits are mostly wrought with simple iron, little bronze.
In Search of Salvation. Ziyabek KABULDINOV
Mangilik El - International popular scientific historical magazine
Attempted struggle with bays, forcible policy of nomads' transition to settled life as well as intensive collectivization campaign and meat stocking led to mass reduction of livestock with subsequent famine. Its scale surpassed the leanest years in Kazakhstan, which took place in 1918-1919 and in 1921-1922. This famine carried away almost four million people, the majority of deaths occurred on the territory of the republic.
Immortal feat for the sake of life. Georgy KUMANEV
Among feats of arms of warriors who protected Moscow in 1941, a great feat of 28 Panfilov's guardsmen occupies a special place. On November 16, 1941, near Dubossekovo village in the vicinity of Volokolamsk, a little group of brave soviet soldier stood in the way of more than 50 enemy tanks which had been rushing for Moscow. Defenders did not waver and delayed enemy's breakthrough for 4.5 hours till arrival of our reserve troops. The entire country learned about this feat soon and 28 Panfilov division's guardsmen became a part of the Great Patriotic War history.
Isatay batyr was buried in Sheytsay. Amangeldy Shamgonov
Isatay Taymanov was one of the most outstanding figures of the first half of the 19 century. He was a leader of national liberation movement in Bukey Horde and eastern part of the Junior Zhuz in 1836-1838. However, scientific evidence about the burial place of Isatay Taymanov is still lacking.


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A mass-extinction mystery
Jul 24th 1997 |
IT IS now widely believed that the dinosaurs' world ended not with a whimper, but with a bang—specifically with the impact 65m years ago, in what is now southern Mexico, of an asteroid that released 100m megatonnes of explosive energy. In that explosion and its aftermath (giant waves which swept across North America, huge forest fires, and a blotting-out of the sun that lasted for several years), not just the dinosaurs, but a large number of other species, were exterminated. Search as they might, however, paleontologists have not been able to pin any of the other mass extinctions that litter the fossil record on to similar impacts— which is odd, considering that astronomers reckon collisions as big as the one that wiped out the dinosaurs happen every 10m years or so.
Now the mystery has become a little deeper. In a study published in this week's Nature, Richard Grieve of the Geological Survey of Canada and his colleagues have narrowed down the arrival date of the body that created one of the biggest craters on the surface of the earth. The Popigai structure in Siberia, which is about 100km (60 miles) across, is now known to be 35.7m years old—give or take a couple of hundred thousand.
Unfortunately, this does not actually coincide with a mass extinction (the next one happened at the end of the Eocene epoch, some 2m years later). But it does coincide, within an acceptable margin of error, with the formation of a second big crater on the other side of the world, under what is now Chesapeake Bay, on the east coast of America (the two events could be separated by as much as 200,000 years, or as little as 12 hours).
This leaves paleontologists with a real puzzle. Did the two coincidental impacts manage to trigger the Eocene extinction even though they happened so long before it? And, if so, how?
The late Eocene was a time of climatic cooling, and it is generally agreed that this was the main cause of the extinction that ended it. (Unlike the one that did for the dinosaurs and their brethren, it was a relatively drawn-out affair.) Unfortunately, again, it is difficult to pin the temperature reduction on the Popigai and Chesapeake impacts. They could easily have had a temporary cooling effect, in the same way that the Mexican event did. How that might have been translated into something longer-term, though, is difficult to envisage—especially as there is evidence of a short-lived rise in the average temperature a little while after their arrival.
On the other hand, if those arrivals had no long-term consequences, while the Mexican impact did, what was the difference between them? Perhaps the chemistry of the underlying rocks, and thus what ended up in the atmosphere, was critical. Perhaps the prevailing climate mattered. Or perhaps it is the stability of the ecosystems that exist at the time of an impact which determine whether a mass extinction follows a big collision. On such questions are grant proposals built.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline "A mass-extinction mystery"
Science & technology July 26th 1997
Scientific justice
The earth moves
From the July 26th 1997 edition


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Youth Congress 2011
Ottmaring Seminar 2010
Brazil Congress
BENVENUTI SUL SITO CED
Welcome to Communion and Law
Kassel, 12-14 may 2017
Written by Maria Giovanna Rigatelli
A Christian and a Lawyer?
There is no question mark on the publicity or program for a conference organized in Kassel (Germany) by the Association of Christian Lawyers ("Christ und Jurist") which gathers lawyers, for the most part from Germany, who are from different Christian churches.
The group embodies a common commitment that also leaves room for varying expressions: to discover how to live one's own life of faith, and to be faithful to this commitment also in professional life.
University professors, judges, lawyers, public officials and students gathered to exchange ideas and witness to a set of profound choices. To give just one example, one lawyer left a lucrative practice in order to dedicate his time to serve the legal needs of recent migrants. All participants shared the conviction that judicial chambers and legal officers are excellent places to joyfully live out their faith commitments, even when this means swimming against the tide.
Workshops and presentations during the conference also faced challenging questions such as how to maintain one's own religious identity while at the same time welcoming those who arrive from other parts of the world, perhaps with different perspectives or convictions.
Strong commitments to justice were also evidenced in descriptions of work in East Africa, where various projects help to sustain the work of young lawyers in their defense of poor prisoners who have been unjustly incarcerated.
A representative from Indonesia shared examples of those who risk their lives in the fight for justice, and felt sustained by the group's concern and shared commitment.
Lively conversations, deep relationships and fruitful exchange were the marks of an experience that will not be limited to the conference setting, but that will continue throughout the year, opening new perspectives.
United World Project
working towards a more united world
A permanent international observatory to make all the different fragments of fraternity visible .
It is a way to get to know the different activities done on a global and local scale and be engaged in building a united world.
www.unitedworldproject.org
worthy of consideration
The desire and the search for Justice have been etched onto humanity's conscience from time immemorial; it has been placed into our hearts by God himself.
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Organisers of Boardmasters festival said this year's festival has fewer thefts from tents, less traffic and less people needing to go to hospital, despite a record number of people attending.
Around 50,000 people attended the five day surf and music festival at Watergate Bay, with a record number of attendees watching the international surf competition on Fistral Beach.
"In total 200,000 people came to Newquay for festival with the biggest names in surfing and world-class music acts including Two Door Cinema Club, Jamiroquai and Alt-J," said a spokesman.
"We always encourage festival attendees to explore Newquay and the local area and this year, record numbers attended the hugely popular after parties series held at clubs and bar in Newquay town centre."
As a result 15,000 festivalgoers heading into the town for 12 events which saw the likes of Shy FX, Danny Howard, Solardo and more, provide late night entertainment from Thursday to Sunday.
A car parking re-entry fee was introduced to try and reduce the number of vehicles leaving the site during the five days, and this led to an average of 1,000 vehicles going and returning each day, compared to 3,000 last year.
Organisers said a very low number of people required hospital treatment as a result of the care given by on-site medics.
"Our on-site medics treated a similar number of patients this year compared to 2016. Having the appropriate equipment and facilities on site meant they were able to treat the majority on site."
Three people were taken to hospital for fractures after a crowd surge during Stormzy's performance on Sunday night, with many others requiring treatment at the festival.
And on Wednesday it was announced that a teenager had died of meningitis after symptoms became apparent at the event. .
George Zographou, 18, attended St Brendan's Sixth Form College in Bristol, which saw two cases of meningococcal infection last spring.
Public Health England (PHE) is investigating.
Although there were 150 vehicles stopped during a police operation 20 arrests for drug offences and more than 1,000 nitrous oxide canisters seized, organisers say crime was not as high.
But police commander Ian Drummond-Smith said that although more arrests were made this year, he did not believe that there were more drug dealers at this years' festival.
He said: "I think we arrested about five people last year for drug offences, this year was a lot more.
"We arrested 20 people for drug supply offences, which is really good and we were really pleased with that result.
"I don't think it is necessarily that the amount of people dealing drugs at the festival has increased it was just that we worked together with organisers this year and we were a lot more on top of it.
There was a reported a notable decline in the number of thefts from tents reported, with 46 this year compared to 70 last summer.
He said, "Sadly at festivals of this size there are always some opportunistic thieves but given the size of the crowd, the number of thefts was relatively low".
Other highlights for the organisers include their mission to promote the best that Cornwall has to offer, which saw them put on Cornish language lessons across the entire festival weekend.
"Signage across the site was also posted in both English and Cornish in a bid to give festivalgoers from further afield a true taste of Cornwall."
And they also led a "speedy and successful" clean-up operation.
Boardmasters Green Team and Surfers Against Sewage work throughout the entire weekend to keep the campsite and main arena clean.
"We also had an increased, dedicated team of litter pickers," said the spokesman. "As well as clearing up on site, they also cleaned off-site locations including Porth Beach, Whipsiddery Beach, Trevelgue Road, Treloy Road, Coast Path and Watergate Bay twice a day."
Charities were able to come in on Tuesday and take away tents , sleeping bags and other items that would benefit their work.
This year, it introduced a refundable litter bond of £10 to encourage campers to gather and hand in their litter and keep the campsite as clean as possible. Festivalgoers were fully refunded upon handing in one full bag of waste or recycling.
"Once the campsite was empty, Boardmasters started a 24-hour clean-up operation, tripling the size of its clear up team to speed up the process and also clearing up further afield in the areas surrounding the site.
"In doing this we achieved a notable difference to main camping fields by 8am on Tuesday. We also doubled the number of post-event litter pickers from 100 to 200 for 2017.
"As ever, we will not leave the Cornish coast until we have it spotless and cleaner than when we arrived, and look forward to returning for another brilliant Boardmasters next year."
The aim was to have the bulk waste removed by yesterday (Friday) leaving just a detailed pick up to complete this weekend.


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SDG16
Arab Transitions: Analysing the Post-Arab Spring Context
The Arab Transitions project, funded through the European Commission's FP7 framework, continues to offer valuable insight into the socio-economic and political transformations underway in North Africa, Iraq and Jordan five years on from the Arab Spring. By combining data collected during a comprehensive cross-national survey undertaken during 2014-2015 with additional longitudinal indices, the project has been uniquely positioned to offer analyses that are comparative, contextualised and take a longer view of the Arab uprisings, accounting for both historical and projected trends. Based at the University of Aberdeen, the project has further fostered a transnational collaboration that brings together academics from across Europe and the MENA region, providing research connections that will only become more crucial now that the post-Arab Spring context has emerged.
At an evening event held in UN House Scotland, representatives from the Arab Transitions project presented highlights from their survey findings and offered insight into what might be in store for the Arab world going forwards. The survey data pointed to states- from the 'success story' of Tunisia to the ISIS crisis of Iraq- that continue to face a number of acute social, economic and security pressures to a greater or lesser degree.
The survey also drew attention to the fact that political identities within MENA states, as well as internal political responses to the regional transitions, are far more complex and nuanced than Western states have sometimes been willing to acknowledge. In the West, Middle Eastern and North African societies are often pre-judged as being dominated by religious dynamics, in which religious identities are not only paramount, but further provide the prism through which all other priorities and issues are assessed. While distinct religious identities are present both within and between the MENA states, their citizens' understanding of their political rights and concerns are as multi-faceted as the European understanding, with distinct priority clusters emerging around the themes of society, economics and governance, and problems such as corruption and a lack of jobs and basic services. In fact, the survey demonstrates that demands for economic rights were not only perceived to be the key driver behind the Arab uprisings in 2011, but that weak economic performance continues to be perceived as the major challenge today, more so than internal security and authoritarianism.
These findings have important ramifications for the EU's policy approach to the MENA region, which has too often focused on achieving procedural democracy, whilst arguably trying to anticipate the ways in which religious factors might problematise progress, whether through conflicts with a sectarian dimension, religious persecution and discrimination, and, of course, terrorism. This approach has emphasised the promotion of a 'thin' version of democracy along with economic liberalisation, while downplaying more fundamental economic issues, culminating in a misunderstanding of what drove the Arab uprisings on the one hand; and what the EU's role in the post-Arab Spring context should be on the other. As Dr. Natalia Waechter of the University of Graz commented, "the momentum behind the Arab Spring did not necessarily represent a 'value-shift' between older and younger generations, but rather pointed to how people involved in the movements- old and young- were driven by their frustration with the lack of economic and educational opportunities."
The survey gives weight to the idea that the EU could benefit immensely in terms of credibility if it were to start responding in a more meaningful way to the socio-economic concerns of MENA citizens, for example, by providing economic assistance orientated towards basic service provision, investment, jobs creation and anti-corruption initiatives. The advantages of a more balanced approach are manifold; lengthening the timescale on which democratic progress is to be judged, aligning interests and expectations between European and MENA policy-makers, fostering trust and, most importantly, offering forms of external assistance that would be more welcome within MENA societies themselves.
The Arab Spring appears to be definitively over and yet progress remains elusive. However, the Arab Transitions project, through its survey findings, heightens our awareness of change, continuity and context. The region is experiencing a transition moment and if change is possible, then so too must progress be possible. Reworking the EU's economic support would be a good place to start.