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Tobacco Products Directive – what next?
Complicated? The Ordinary Legislative Procedure
We are approaching make or break time of the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive – the 'first reading' of the proposal is coming up. Here's my take on the process.
What is the overall process? The TPD is following the 'Ordinary Legislative Procedure'. This is a process whereby the European Commission makes a proposal and then the European Parliament (elected MEPs) and European Council (representatives of 28 member state governments) go through a process of amending the Commission proposal and reaching agreement with each other. By the end of the process, Parliament and Council must agree or it doesn't pass. The process has three stages in which views are batted back and forth between the two institutions:
First reading: The Commission submits the legislative proposal to the Council and the European Parliament (EP). Both institutions conduct the first reading – which is without time-limits – and if the Council approves the EP's position at first reading, the legislative act is adopted. We are approaching this stage.
Second reading: If the Council rejects the EP's position, it adopts its own position at first reading and submits it to the EP for a second reading. If the EP approves this position, the legislative act is adopted. In the event of rejection, the dossier may be resumed only on the basis of a new proposal from the Commission. If the EP proposes amendments to the Council's position, the Council's second reading is conducted. If all the amendments are approved, the act is adopted; in the event of rejection, the Conciliation Committee is convened.
Conciliation and third reading: The representatives of the EP, the Council and the Commission have six weeks to reach an agreement and approve the joint text.
This is a simplification – informal negotiation between the readings goes on to try to reach agreement, understand red-lines etc. Want to know more? The formal process is set out in Article 294 of the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union and in this very detailed guide aimed at those directly involved.
What has happened so far? The Commission made its proposal for a revised Tobacco Products Directive on 19 December 2012. On behalf of the European Parliament, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) committee, led by its chosen rapporteur, British socialist Linda McAvan MEP, has scrutinised the Commission proposal. This culminated in a vote in the ENVI committee on 10 July (accompanied by protests from vapers). The outcome of that vote is the report of the ENVI committee, which though dated 24 July has only just been published on the web on Friday 30 August. The report is in the form of a series of amendments to the original Commission proposal that the ENVI committee has voted for. It is also presented with opinions of other committees, many of which take a different view to ENVI on some crucial matters. Meanwhile, the European Council has not been idle… to signal its intent, it has agreed a 'general approach', or its own views of what amendments should be made to the Commission's proposal. The general approach is an informal position designed to move its members towards agreement and to signal its intent so that the European Parliament can start to look for areas of common ground with the Council. The Council adopts its formal position at its first reading later in the year (probably 10th December- see below).
So to summarise, there are now three texts in play: the Commission proposal; the ENVI committee report; and the Council general approach.
What will happen next? The next important stage is that the report of the ENVI committee is debated and voted on by the European Parliament plenary (ie. all MEPs, not just those on the ENVI committee). This is the first reading referred to above. The plenary will take the ENVI report as its starting point and consider what, if any, amendments it wants. It is possible for MEPs to put down amendments to the ENVI report for voting in the plenary – but each amendment needs 40 signatures or the backing of a political group, so it takes some organisation and time to get amendments down. The ENVI report is full of incoherent policy and law so amendments will be critical if it is to have a positive impact on health.
When will first reading in the European Parliament happen? Updated 5 Sept. As of today (5 September) the TPD plenary debate and vote is scheduled for consideration in the week of 8 October in Strasbourg, France. It was important that the date was put back from September to October. We wrote to the Conference of Presidents to explain why. There is a chance that the rapportuer will try to add it to the agenda at the last minute on 9 September. It is a gesture likely to fail.
After that? After the first reading in the EP, it's back to the Council. The EP will emerge from the forthcoming plenary with its position – its preferred version of the directive – with which it can then start discussions with the European Council. The TPD is considered by a 'configuration' of the European Council called the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council. 'Configuration' means it is still acting with the full authority of member state governments, but they typically send appropriate ministers (eg health) instead of prime ministers or presidents. The calendar for the Council meetings in its various configurations is here. This Council configuration meets informally and regularly as an officials working group but formally with ministers present on two occasions in the remainder of 2013 – 15 October and 9-10 December. The agenda for the rest of this year (ie. the Council meetings under the Lithuanian presidency) shows the tobacco directive tentatively scheduled for discussion on 10 December (see 'any other business' on p.44). That would be the Council's first reading…
The Council could agree with everything the EP decided at its first reading at that point (voting on a qualified majority basis) and the directive would become law.
Much more likely is that Council will not entirely agree the EP position. So they will use the time between the EP plenary (updated: currently scheduled on 8 October) and Council first reading (currently scheduled on 10 December) to try to negotiate common ground between the EP and Council. The Council could then adopt its own position at first reading and submit this back to the EP, hoping that they have done enough negotiation for the EP to clear the Council position at the EP's second reading, which could happen early in 2014. The EP currently has six plenary sessions scheduled for 2014, before the European elections 22-25 May 2014.
If EP doesn't agree with Council's position at an EP second reading, it goes back to the Council for its second reading. If still no agreement it goes into the conciliation stage with up to six weeks to find agreement. Given the May 2014 election, they will want to schedule the EP second reading no later than February I guess. [see detailed process] There may be other things that shape the agenda at the end of a parliamentary term too… if anyone has insights let me know.
What about scrutiny in the UK? The UK parliament reserves the right to scrutinise the positions the UK government takes in many European Union negotiations, and House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee and House of Lords EU Sub-Committee F do this for the TPD. There's been a storm over the Minister for Public Health, currently Anna Soubry MP, sidestepping the Commons European scrutiny reserve when she participated in the forming of the Council General Approach on 21 June. This committee was clearly incensed and has said it will return to the issue. I have written to the Chairman Bill Cash with concerns about the incoherence of the directive. Note that the Committee can't veto a government position, but it can call for full Commons debate (more). The UK government would be reluctant to change its mind following Anna Soubry's unscrutinised endorsement of the Council General Approach, but it's not impossible – particularly if there is a debate, or if those charged with supporting business finally wake up and realise the health department is about to snuff out a pro-health disruptive sunrise industry in a thicket of pointless red tape.
Legal action to follow? Almost certainly. There's a lot of posturing politicians lined up behind damaging and poorly judged proposals, and they may well get through the Ordinary Legislative Procedure and be passed into law as a new directive. But the EU legislature cannot just do what it likes. The treaties limit the powers of the EU and require conformity with important principles such as non-discrimination, proportionality, adequate legal base etc. I'm working on a full posting on this, but for now I would direct you to the legal opinion provided by Sir Francis Jacobs QC for ECITA, and the legally orientated briefing by TVECA. The JURI committee opinion found that regulation of e-cigarettes as medicines was without proper legal foundation and proposed a much better amendment (no 65 in its opinion along with 13-15 in the recitals and 74 to create an annex). For snus, JURI also included a sensible amendment for traditional use (no 62, with 29 for the recital) – probably the most we will get.
Conclusion and action. Everything to play for, nothing to lose – keep pressing MPs and MEPs, especially EPP members if you are outside the UK. No pressure is too great – but remember always keep it personalised, polite and on the point. Every politician has grown weary of mass form letter mailings, foaming ranters and conspiracy theorists. Also every MEP is now involved – many have been relying on ENVI colleagues to do the work so far. From now on, their involvement, and their responsibility, is just as important as any ENVI committee member. So keep up the letters to MPs and MEPs (use write to them) and consider writing to Anna Soubry (while you still can).
Note: Many readers are more expert than me on the machinations of the EU – please add insights or corrections in comments or email me directly. Ill update as developments unfold.
Q&A. If you have a question about any of this or anything to do with the TPD, don't keep it to yourself – many others are likely to have the same question… put it down in the comments and I'll try to get you an answer…
Author Clive BatesPosted on 31 August 2013 7 September 2013 Categories Europe, Health, Uncategorized
37 thoughts on "Tobacco Products Directive – what next?"
vapingpoint says:
I think the publishing of the report so late – end of August when the meeting is in the middle of September, is deliberate. A recent experience makes me believe that. We have fought here in our village, for five years to stop a communication pole/mast being erected directly in front of people's houses. On bank holiday Friday, the people in the houses got notifications the mast was going up – and on Tuesday, the day after bank holiday Monday, it was up! It was deliberately planned so no more resistance could occur.
The publishing of the report so close before the meeting is of the same ilk. No time to think or do anything. Weasels!
Oh – not even the middle of September – nine days! That should be fought.
Roger Hall says:
Great informative post Clive – thanks. Considering the time scales that MEPs have and also the lack of knowledge many of them have regarding the finer points would I perhaps be right in surmising that potentially the easiest aspect to write to MEPs and focus on is the legal challenge and in particular the JURI committee amendment. In that it's logical to keep e-cigs as they are as a general product with the existing 21 EU product and safety directives that already cover such products, but any company/suppler/product that wants to make health claims has every right to do so on the understanding that they would then need to obtain medical regulatory approval.
In other words if no health claims are being made, than there is absolutely no need for medical regulation.
Roger – thanks… You are right, the Legal Affairs (JURI) opinion, is very important. JURI says:
Article 18 of the proposal prohibits nicotine-containing products (NCP) such as e-cigarettes containing a certain nicotine level if they are not authorised pursuant to Directive 2001/83/EC (the Medicinal Products Directive). It is, however, quite unclear if these products (which are much less harmful than tobacco products) even fall under the scope of the Medicinal Products Directive.1 For products which do not fall under the Directive, this would effectively constitute a ban. Banning products which are less harmful than tobacco products and which can be a means of smoking cessation is certainly not in line with the public health aims of the proposal.
… and in a footnote:
Article 18 also lacks a valid legal base as it is in no way aimed at improving the conditions for the establishment and functioning of the internal market. Pursuant to the Commission, the provision will allow NCP
to move freely across borders as they would benefit from the mutual ecognition procedure under the Medicinal Products Directive (Impact Assessment, page 8). However, this is already the case without Article 18, as any NCP which qualifies as a medicinal product is already now subject to the Medicinal Products Directive. The only effect Article 18 has is that it prohibits the placing on the market of NCP that are not authorised pursuant to the Medicinal Products Directive.
So they aren't medicines and there is no legal base for regulating them this way. Apart from that, it's fine!
Andy Morrison says:
Thanks again for all your hard work Clive. You provide a glimmer of hope where all we see is corruption at the highest level. Everyone seems to be jumping on the band wagon and the heath and safety mob seem to be closing ranks to make themselves look as if they are looking after our best interests when it is clear to us all that they will in effect be killing us if they get their way.
Angela Harbutt says:
Clive, Excellent post. The incredibly late publication of this document is very disturbing indeed. What is possibly more alarming, if my understanding is correct, is that any amendments that MEPs wish to submit to this complex piece of legislation, have to be submitted by Wed 4th September. Is this your understanding? http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=AGENDA&reference=20130909&secondRef=SIT&language=en#DL127
Definitely 4 Sept 12:00 – on current timetable (at the 'deadline' tab)
Chan says:
Thankyou for all this information, set out so clearly, it is very useful.
I would like to ask what you think regards mentioning the topic of vested interests of those on advisory panels. You mention that politicians are weary of conspiracy theorist views and so I wondered whether you think that is a subject to stay clear of when speaking to my MP, or whether it does have some relevancy and could be brought up safely?
I refer to the article in the Times by Alex Ralph, who detailed the various vested interests of the MHRA advisory panel. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/consumer/article3852342.ece (its behind a paywall, but details the names and interests of the various panel members)
I was going to mention this to my MP, as I thought it may have some bearing, but what do you think? So far the only response I have had from my MP, is a stock letter he forwarded me from Anna Soubry, that I believe is the same letter that many others have received.
I don't think conspiracy theories work unless there is some evidence of wrongdoing – and no one provides it. It's mostly just opinion asserted as fact, or innuendo. Most of the people on MHRA panels etc are pretty highly respected and knowledgable – that why they are hired as consultants. But you have to work hard to show they left their integrity at the door and are acting as paid shills for Big Pharma.
Despite mountains of evidence justifying scepticism, pharma companies still have good reputations (saviours). Of course this is different for tobacco and probably e-cig companies (pushers). So a gross conflict of interest with pharma is overlooked and a slight sign of involvement with tobacco or e-cigs seized on as a cardinal sin. Ricardo Polosa's treatment is a good example.
I do think Alex Ralph's piece is important and the things he raises matter, but I think it is unlikely to change anyone's pre-existing views.
Mostly I think the conflict arise from cultural osmosis – if you work with people it is easy to assimilate their world view and framing biases. There is very little deliberate cash-for-influence – it's all much more subtle and frankly less evil than that – everyone involved believes they are working together to o the right thing.
Yes I absolutely agree with you on that, that any bias is subtle based on general exposure to certain environments, rather than direct, cash incentive type bias. Indeed the choice of those advisors is probably no surprise either, considering that the licensing director of MHRA Dr Ian Hudson (soon to be chief exec) previously worked for the makers of Nicorette himself. These will be the people on hand, no ill intent maybe, yet still unfortunate for the ecig industry, as these people will have it engrained that nicotine is a medicinal product from the offset.
Dr Ian Hudson did state in a letter to the times in response to the article, that they had a hard job finding experts from outside the industry. I imagine it is easier to use people from within existing networks and as you say, that is not evil, but it is maybe a system fault that has led to an unbalanced directive.
But I think they are using the wrong sort of expertise in this case – and that is because this isn't a medicine. But the mindset of those involved regards it as another smoking cessation medication. None of the doctors pronouncing on this have the first idea about innovation in fast moving consumer goods, the views and motivation of consumers in this market, or the business models of the hundreds of ompanies in this industry. No wonder they decided medical regulation is the right thing… What else do they know…?
But it should also be noted that most of those in Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation – who are not doctors – and supposedly have expertise regarding 'real' smokers – are equally convinced they should be regarded as medicines.
They know,but rarely admit to, the failure of their current efforts(the'jewel in the crown'was actually an admission of ineffectiveness). Surely, they cannot all be so economically naive not to have worked out by now what impact this regulation will have in real life?
Someone has an agenda and someone is writing their scripts.
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Zillatron says:
Thanks! I totally agree.
I already posed questions in this direction to Martin Schulz (current president of the EP) on the german platform "abgeordnetenwatch.de". Rough translation (summary):
The ENVI report still isn't published. On the first session day after the summer break it shall be presentet. On the next day it#s supposed to be voted on.
How can the MEP's in the course of on night (the first session ends at 23 o'clock) read a document with several dozen pages, consider the consequences, research the facts, form a wellinformed opinion for the vote?
The initally planned date for the vote was October 8th. It was movesd foreward. While this may be formally correct, don't you agree it's irresponsible?
My main concern is article 18. ENVI voted for CA 57 which regulating the socalled e-cigs as "medicinal products". Despite your fellows from S&D Ms. McAvan and Mr. Groote claiming the contrary, it still is a ban thrugh the back door:
a british vendor asked the MHRA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxeq8OjMxAY
Summary: for his current stock he would need 900 licenses which would cost him about 1.8 billion punds 8roughly 3 billion – not million – euros). Does this strike you as an apprpriate and sensible regulation?
Mr. Groote seems to think that our main concern is the pesky restriction of the sale to the pharmacy. What would the use of lifting this restriction, when there are hardly any product to sell outside?
Will you – as president of the the parliament – take care the the MEPs have a chance to get informed in depth and pose amendments?
And when the report finally appeared I posed a follow-up question:
Today the ENVI report was finally published. It is dated 24 July 2013.
What took so long?
Did the MEPs have it earlier?
Why is there not even a german translation after all this time?
Is there enough time 'til the 4th of September (deadline) for normal people – like MEPs – to process the 320 pages, form a well founded opinion, possibly draft concise amendmendments and coordinate them with at least 40 collegues?
And something the same vein for Mr. Groote (chair man of ENVI):
Yesterday the report was published. But except for english all the major languages are still missing …
Why is it dated "24 July" when it's only published now?
Did all the MEPs have ab opportunity to read it before now?
What are the chances for normal people …
And now some questions about your previous answers:
Why are you suggesting that our main concern would be the sales restriction to pharmacies?
Don't you know exactly that wthe main problem are the required licenses?
I gave a practical example in my question to Martin Schulz.
Which small or medium size business could afford such vast sums of moneyß
Well, if this sounds a bit like "Jeopardy" … abgeordnetnwatch insists on questions … ;)
Rotax says:
Finland has only 13 members of the EU parliament, so I send the same message, personalized thou, to all of them. I impressed my concerns about Big-P's influence about controlling the market and driving ecigs out of that scene.
Letter in Finnish is visible at
http://www.vapers.fi/2013/08/31/kirje-europarlamentaarikoille/
Due to NRT products having been available for so long in chemists etc, quite alot of people mistakenly associate nicotine with medicine. That seems to be a hard barrier to get past, so I was pondering over how to get past that when speaking to my MP.
I was thinking that maybe I should point out to him, that the major difference between NRT and other NCP such as ecigs, is that NRT is a process, not a physical product. Nicotine doesnt cure people of smoking. What the experts say cures people of smoking, is the process of gradual withdrawal from nicotine. It is that gradual withdrawal therapy, that is sold as a quit smoking product. In my mind, that is the distinction between NRT (a medical product) and other NCP( consumer products).
Does that sound right?
I read recently, someone had posted on a forum about a few proposed revisions to the directive, whereby only NCPS sold with medical claims, would require licenses. That sounds like a step in the right direction, but I am not sure whether that was correct information or not?
The distinction I normally draw is that NRT is mostly intended to be used to relieve cravings and withdrawal during an attempt to quit smoking and nicotine completely. E-cigs are an alternative to smoking, a different and much less harmful way to use nicotine, with most of the benefits and few of the costs. NRT manufacturers make claims that these products are effective in quitting smoking and it is only very recently and only in limited cases that NRT is sold for 'nicotine maintenance' or harm reduction.
Dr. Etter said at the workshop at 14:41:48 (transscript page 21) that about 1% of smokers who quit smoking using nicotine gum stay addicted to the gum. About one third of all sales are to them.
But nobody makes a fuzz about them and Dr. Etter sees no reason to, since this is much less harmful.
I like to compare my switching to ecigs to when I switched from drinking coffee to the digestively less harmful green tea. I still get all the coffein I want but avoid the heartburn and other side effects from drinking a lot of coffee.
The information was correct. See the JURI opinion, footnote 2 (page 5) and amendment 65 (page 37)
Jacques Le Houezec says:
Thanks for the update Clive.
As usual clear and very informative!
Cigelectric says:
Great explanation of what lies ahead thanks Clive. Now we all need to put pressure on MEP's to make a reasonable decision.
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Greg Burrows says:
As this is a World Health Organisation, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, proposal (WHO, FCTC) and all EU member states have signed into, the FCTC treaty, the European Union, Tobacco Products Directive, is basically unstoppable, but best of luck.
And also the WHO FCTC treaty is legally binding. (Did anyone vote for them to make our laws, the answer is no)
Here is a Summary from the EPHA.(Link at bottom of page)
"Directive 2001/37/EC1 has been the framework regulating the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products in the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) since 2001. The 2001 Directive(the Tobacco Prodicts Directive) had two established objectives: facilitating the functioning of the internal market in the tobacco products sector and ensuring a high level of public health.
In 2005, the EU ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In 2012, all 27 Member States of the EU had signed and ratified the text, therefore renderingthe provisions of the FCTC applicable to them. The 2001 Tobacco Products Directive was adopted prior to the EU commitment under the FCTC, and therefore, the revision of the Directive presents an opportunity for the EU to bring its main tobacco policy framework in line with its international obligations".
http://www.epha.org/IMG/pdf/EPHA_position_on_the_TPD_May_2013.pdf
Roght, Greg, but FCTC mandatory elements are ONLY the articles in the Convention and the Protocol on Illicit trade of tobacco products. teh guidelines are NOT binding, and these are the only ones addressing the e-cigs.
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The Health and Safety Executive are legally obliged to look at all worldwide data, to make sure that the Health and safety of people under the Health and Safety at work act, is maintained. At the time the smoking ban went through legislation in the UK, the HSE, made this statement in article 9 of OC255/15 in 2006.
9 "The evidential link between individual circumstances of exposure to risk in
exempted premises will be hard to establish. In essence, HSE cannot produce epidemiological evidence to link levels of exposure to SHS to the raised risk of contracting specific diseases and it is therefore difficult to prove health related breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act".
This manipulation of science, has created a scenario where even products (E-Cigs) which do not cause even insignificant harm such as SHS, are evaluated as harmful. how do we put the genie back in the bottle?
I agree Joe that the illicit trade of tobacco products,is mandatory by parties of the FCTC, you also find in article one, on this link that E-Cigs will come under a binding agreement, http://www.who.int/cancer/prevention/tobacco_implementation/fctc/en/index.html
"Protect public health policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry". (See article 30 in the link below)
Ann Soubry did not circumvent protocol, on E-Cigs because she is stupid.
This is the relevant document from the FCTC, note article,s 27,30,33,34.
http://apps.who.int/gb/fctc/PDF/cop5/FCTC_COP5_13-en.pdf
Greg, as I see it the problem stems from the Antismokers' willingness to take the purported risk from the heaviest normal type exposures (such as the EPA's 19% increase over a base rate of about .4% after 30 to 40 years of daily workplace exposure to the very heavy concentrations of workplace smoke in the 1940s through 1970s) and then magnify that risk in people's minds by constantly harping on the idea that "Exposure to…" (i.e. ANY exposure, no time or concentration considerations involved) "… secondhand smoke…" (again, no considerations of concentration) "… increases … " (not "may increase," or "is correlated with an increase" or "is associated with an increase") "…your chances of lung cancer…" (with the base rate of those chances being quite deliberately and specifically left undefined) "…by 19%." (lending an aura of exactitude that in no way reflects the uncertainties of the studies and calculations involved.
Think about it: in reading a story headlined "Beach Ban: Second smoke dangers cited!" you see the statement "Exposure to secondhand smoke increases your chances of lung cancer by 19%" do you think the average person is more likely to walk away with the impression that:
A) that translates into one extra lung cancer for every 40,000 worker-years of exposure to 1960's style workplace smoke levels, a period when even nurse's stations in the center of the ward floors in hospitals were usually surrounded by a blue haze?
B) that if I have dinner in a restaurant where someone is smoking, or walk by a smoker at a doorway or on the street, or even see someone using an electro-fag ten feet away from me on the beach … that I'm "at real risk" of lung cancer to such an extent that I should put real effort into consciously avoiding such exposure?
It's the distortion in thought, furthered by consciously structured and carefully worded propaganda that has fertilized the soil for the current rejection of e-cigs.
Clive, I also have a specific question. Your outline at top notes, "Conciliation and third reading: The representatives of the EP, the Council and the Commission have six weeks to reach an agreement and approve the joint text."
What happens if they don't reach agreement? Is the FCTC then annulled in the UK?
The TPD directive proposal (not FCTC) would fall. The UK would still have to meet its obligations as a party to the FCTC. Running out of time is a possibility for this proposal mainly because of the May election, but its unlikely… They will throw everything into finding agreement – but that might mean contentious issues are dropped or fudged as they get closer to the wire.
Clive, thank you for a fast and informative response!
What happens in a case like the WTO is facing with the US though? In the US case, we are refusing to allow the import of clove cigarettes, theoretically in violation of WTO treaty. If the UK refused to follow certain FCTC mandates would it be a similar sort of situation? Or are FCTC mandates more (or less?) powerful/enforceable than WTO mandates? Any idea?
All this is making JTI's ploom look like the smartest guy in the room.
Maybe… under the current proposal it is certainly easier to bring a reduced risk nicotine product to market if it contains tobacco (Article 17) than if it doesn't (Article 18 – medicine designation). But being defined as a tobacco product brings on a lot of potential difficulty – no flavourings, no additives other than essential, possibly no internet sales, participation in he tracking and tracing regime – and in some countries bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
looks like FCTC are legally enforceable through EU directives, here is a document from 2009 stating the relationship with the FCTC.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ%3AC%3A2009%3A296%3A0004%3A0014%3AEN%3APDF
Thank you Greg. That is certainly a remarkable document. Just looking at the first few items, we can see such things as ETS killing 7,300 adults, with 66% of the victims being smokers. Clearly something needs to be done to protect smokers from breathing in stray wisps of smoke in the air. Unfortunately the document does not cite the actual evidence of these deaths, but I'm sure they must be properly toe-tagged and filling the graveyards, right?
It then goes on to tell us that exposure to secondary smoke is causing children to take up smoking. I'm guessing that's based upon the astounding addictiveness of nicotine. However, the amount of nicotine absorbed from secondary smoke by children is probably less than the amount they absorb from eating pizza, spaghetti sauce, and eggplants. The EU should concentrate on saving our most young and vulnerably by eradicating the deadly nightshade plants entirely: our children will grow to prefer soybeans and not fall into addiction.
And we see ETS is classified as a known human carcinogen. I believe tapwater should also properly be given this classification as it almost universally has traces of such elements as arsenic, chlorine, and other arguably carcinogenic elements: remember… there is no safe level of exposure. Children should be kept safely out of the reach of solar radiation at all times, in dark caves, and fed mushrooms with their soybeans. They'll thank us later.
That's items 4, 5, and 6 dealt with. All I have time for today. Sorry. My bill will be in the mail.
Clive, I've tweeted this however I've just found out that the UK EU scrutiny committee held a meeting on 4th Sept and recommended a debate at the House of Lords sub committee C, which is external affairs and not even Health.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/european-scrutiny-committee/news/meeting-summary-04-september-2013/
No date yet known, but certainly not what one would expect considering the massive health issues at stake and maybe some shenanigans at play here too?
Thanks Roger – I'd heard that they were returning to this, but thought they would recommend a Commons debate and I'm a bit surprised by this outcome. The choice of EU Sub-committee C is peculiar – perhaps they think it is an international trade issues because of the standardised packaging or track and trace issues. No-one has an easy ride in the Lords – they less prone to grandstanding and posturing.
"The choice of EU Sub-committee C is peculiar – perhaps they think it is an international trade issues because of the standardised packaging or track and trace issues."
Or perhaps they have a couple of friends on that committee that they can count on to sway the vote count?
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It was so sweet when Adam said he didn't have enough right now to give Emily the wedding of her dreams, he totally won Andi and Jenn over. That was until we got Emily back on the phone and she was angry at his "lack of money" when he has plenty of money to spend on other things.


As of this writing the bar brawl between Chris Brown and Drake still remains a mystery. Based on a tweet from Chris Brown showing an image of his injury, a melee broke out between him and Drake along with their posse early Thursday morning at W.i.P. nightclub in SoHo. Reports indicate that Chris has been interviewed by police, but the NYPD is keeping mum about the incident.
Unconfirmed reports from witnesses claim that Brown sent over a $2,000 bottle of champagne to Drake's table. In response, Drake sent over a note saying, ""I am f**king the love of your life." Obviously, the note was referring to Brown's ex Rihanna who is currently dating Drake. However, Brown's camp is denying that such incident happened and was not the reason for the fight. As a matter of fact, managers claim that no punches were thrown — just a lot of glass. Soon after, photos of the W.i.P bar with broken glass strewn all over the place makes its round in the web. Police are hoping to get a better perspective of the incident as soon as they are able to secure the club's surveillance video at the time of the incident.
Among those injured during the fight was model Ingrid Gutierrez who sat at Brown's table when it ensued, getting a nasty hit on the head with a bottle that had her bleeding. Her lawyer is currently in the process of acquiring all the necessary evidence to determine the one responsible for the assault. Ingrid is said to have suffered multiple bruises, stitches, and trauma to her face which may require cosmetic surgery.
Aside from Ingrid, NBA star Tony Parker was also there with friends when the melee started and suffered a minor eye injury. Bystanders seem to have sustained more injury considering that Chris Brown just suffered a gash on his chin. Chris' bodyguard did take a bad head wound from the incident.


The average pay for a Radiation Monitor is €62,480 a year and €30 an hour in Finland. The average salary range for a Radiation Monitor is between €44,730 and €76,899. On average, an Associate Degree is the highest level of education for a Radiation Monitor. This compensation analysis is based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in Finland.
Monitors personnel, plant facilities, and work environment to detect radio-active contamination, using radiation detectors and other instruments.
Measures intensity and classifies type of radiation in working areas, using devices, such as beta-gamma survey meter, gamma-background monitor, and alphabeta-gamma counter.
Gets air samples to determine airborne concentration of radioactivity, and assesses monitoring equipment worn by personnel, such as film badges and pocket detection chambers, to measure individual exposure to radiation.


text:
Artist Spotlight: Shotgun Jimmie
The self-taught musician and Canada's indie-rock golden boy, Shotgun Jimmie, began his musical career in high school after tossing one of his teachers a demo. That teacher was Jason Baird, who would eventually become a notable rock musician himself, encouraged young Jimmie to put a band together and the rest is glorious rock 'n roll history.
Shotgun Jimmie spoke with us about starting his first band, growing up in a vibrant DIY music scene, and why he loves Harvest Sun.
What inspired you to start making music?
I was a fan of indie-rock and rock and roll music when I was in high school. I liked music before I liked playing it. I always had a strong connection with music and then at a certain point, I realized that I could do it too.
In school, they get you to play band instruments and stuff like that and you kind of see connections between the things that you're doing in school and the things that you're interested in and so I started to play the guitar. My development as a musician was untrained; I didn't take lessons. I'm self-taught. I didn't start by learning songs. I started by writing songs right out of the gate, which I think is an unusual approach.
So you taught yourself to play. Did you form any bands when you were a kid?
I got a four-track recorder in high school, and I started to make little albums in my parents' basement, cassette albums that had six or seven songs on it. I had a student teacher at my high school in Ajax, Ontario who was finishing his after degree – Jason Baird, he is a Toronto indie-rock musician. He played with Feist for five or six years. He plays in Do Make Say Think and other Toronto bands. He was doing his placement at my high school, and I gave him a demo tape. He encouraged me to put a band together. He said 'this is really cool, but what you should be doing is finding other people and getting them to play these songs with you.'
So I got some friends to play with me. There was a community of bands in Ajax when I was growing up and I guess some of them knew I was a songwriter, but I wasn't playing in any bands. When I decided to put a band together I went around and sort of picked the guys I thought were the most interesting and nice, and I brought them into my thing. Those were my first steps towards putting a band together and having people play my music and creating that relationship with other musicians.
Artist Spotlight: Sweet Alibi
Photo by Jen Squires
As one of Manitoba's biggest folk/roots exports, it's no surprise Sweet Alibi has already had a busy year full of touring and back-to-back festivals just six months into 2018. With notable highlights like playing in Germany and The Netherlands to touring all across our Prairies, Sweet Alibi has had a whirlwind start to the year and definitely show no signs of slowing down.
Guitarist/vocalist, Michelle Anderson, shared their favourite highlights (thus far), their favourite aspects of the local scene and why they love playing festivals like Harvest Sun.
How did Sweet Alibi come about?
Jess [Rae Ayre] and I knew each other from high school and would play music every now and then. Jess knew Amber [Rose] through her drummer of the band she was in at the time. I wanted to start a band with Jess, and Jess suggested Amber be involved. We wrote a song together the first time we met.
What would you say are some of the most notable changes you've seen over the years as you've evolved as a band?
We started off pretty folky, and over the years we've added more electric guitars and pop arrangements to our music.
What were your biggest influences when first starting out in music?
We all had different influences when we first started out. Amber had a lot of country influences. Jess had blues, and I was listening to a lot of Indie music like Feist, Hawksley Workman, Wilco etc.
This has been a busy year for you already. You kicked it off in Europe and continued with several tours. What have been some of your favourite highlights from this year so far?
Europe was definitely a highlight for all of us. It was our first time going over there, and everyone was so amazing, from the audiences to the promoters, and our driver. We felt like rock stars!
Artist Spotlight: Madeleine Roger
You may have known her as one-half of folk/roots duo, Roger Roger, but singer-songwriter Madeleine Roger is out paving her own path and instantly enchanting all listeners with her own collection of songs.
Madeleine spoke with us about the intuitive nature of her songwriting process, her upcoming debut album, Cottonwood, and the value of creating an album with equal gender representation among its crew.
What sparked your interest in music in the first place?
My dad is a musician and a recording engineer/producer and studio owner here in Winnipeg, so growing up we were always around music. I guess throughout the years I was actually more drawn to theatre and musical theater but then near the end of my theatre degree at the University of Winnipeg, I started writing songs and I just completely fell in love with the process. I decided to jump the theatre ship and get on board with the life of a songwriter.
So what part of theatre sparked the idea to start writing songs?
It's funny. I was actually sitting in my theatre class just thinking like 'Man! I really wish that right now I was at home writing songs', and it was as simple as that. My mind was distracted. I was trying to focus on the thing that I had always been in love with, which was theatre, but I was being called in this new direction. It was so strong that I actually just sort of dropped everything in my life and started writing.
Can you go into your song-writing process a bit? Your songs are very story-based, so where does that come from?
There's never been a normal method for me. Every song has been written in a totally different way. I've written songs on buses, on my bicycle, I've written them where I've done all the lyrics first and then the chord progression and the melody has come later. I've written partial songs in a dream and then I wake up and hum the tune into my recording app on my phone and then deconstruct it later and figure out where the song is. For the most part though, when I know that I have this song in the making, there's this moment where I sort of realize what the song is actually about and from there everything just kind of unfolds.
Artist Spotlight: Kakagi
With their new EP, Stay up Late, Winnipeg quartet Kakagi serves moving anecdotal songs that encapsulate both the emotional complexities and simplicities of life in the Great White North.
Bandmates and brothers, Jacob and Max Brodovsky spoke with us about musical influences, the band's growing bond and their unique brand of folk-rock.
Can you go through how you guys got started in music?
Jacob: I've been playing in bands since I was 11 or 12. I've always played guitar. I wanted to play the drums. My parents wouldn't let me, but they let Max, so Max started playing drums. I moved to Toronto when I was 18. I played in a band in Toronto for a while. When I moved home, Max moved home around the same time, and we figured it was time to get together. It kind of fell into place pretty quickly. My good buddy Jesse [Popeski] plays guitar, [Max's] good buddy Jonathan [Corobow] plays bass.
Were you guys from a musical family?
Jacob: Our parents are hilariously not musical. I always resent people whose parents are musical. I feel like they got an unfair leg up. I wish my parents made me practice more.
But did they at least expose you to the music that would have sparked this?
Jacob: Yeah, our dad's a big music guy. We got introduced to good music early and dissuaded from listening to bad music early.
Can you talk a bit more about those influences?
Max: For me, mainly The Band, Neil Young, stuff from that time.
Jacob: That's all stuff our dad introduced us too – like The Allman Brothers Band and The Band. Lyrically, I listen to a lot of Wilco, The Weakerthans, and The Wooden Sky. Influence-wise we get compared to The Weakerthans, Neil Young. We get compared to Death Cab for Cutie. We like to play Canadiana, CBC-friendly kind of stuff.
Artist Spotlight: Double The Trouble
Winnipeg twin fiddlers, Aidan and Luc Wrigley, have been wowing audiences since they were introduced to the instrument at the age of three. Now under the moniker of Double the Trouble, they've gone from learning traditional Métis music to teaming up with their dad to put a modern spin on popular fiddle tracks. The now teenaged duo has spent much of their lives traveling around the country performing a mix of fiddle favourites and their latest original songs.
We sat down with Aidan, Luc and their dad/guitarist Robert about growing up as musicians, their long list of career highlights and how rapper Flo Rida helped sparked the musical bug in the young duo.
You guys have basically been doing music your whole life. What has it been like growing up with that?
Aidan: When we were younger, like at three years old, we were enrolled in fiddling lessons, and I feel like it's made it a lot easier to learn other things, like other music and school, seems to be a lot easier.
Robert, were you into fiddling as well? Is that how they got into it?
Robert: No, but I've been a guitar player for most of my life. I also played the banjo. I've been playing that for about 20 years now. I play a little bit of mandolin as well, but the fiddle came along when my mother-in-law enrolled them in lessons. She's Métis and she wanted them to learn about their Métis culture, and music was a really good way to do that. So, she's the one that got them started.
Can you talk about how you came up with your style because you incorporate a few different instruments?
Luc: We usually play Métis fiddle music, and sometimes we'll sing songs that we'd see on YouTube or in movies.
Robert: If these guys find a song they like we'll usually learn it and then incorporate the two fiddles and the guitar. Sometimes they'll just sing it and I'll play guitar. Other times, if there is a fiddle, we'll try to learn those parts. In the last couple of years, we've added the kick drum. I'll play the kick drum with the guitar just to give it a little something.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


DAFC.net Forum - Off Topic - Say a little prayer..
For the loss of Aretha, great artist and Queen of soul.
Re: Say a little prayer..
She certainly was a bit special. RIP Aretha.
Was it her that sang "Strange Fruit"?
Billie Holiday and Nina Simone were best known for that song, I think. But the world is just a little bit poorer for the loss of the legendary Miss Franklin.
A sad day indeed. RIP.
Her voice touched and gave pleasure to so many people.


Our groovyPost on How to delete your Facebook account has a comment from a groovyReader who wants to increase his privacy a bit by blocking his friends from posting on his Facebook Wall. I thought it was a great question which we haven't covered yet so rather than posting just a quick answer in the comment section, I decided to do a quick groovyPost which covers the steps including screenshots.
Simple once you know where to look. Do you have a facebook question? Post it in our new groovyAnsers Q&A Site and if it's a popular one it just might be featured here on groovyPost!


text:
June 23, 2020 1:57 am AESTDate Time
3Qs at U with Science Sam: Peter Newman on LGBTQ communities and COVID-19
Embedded video for 3Qs at the U with Science Sam: (Ep. 6) Peter Newman on LGBTQ communities and COVID-19
The public health response to the global pandemic has called on everyone to change their lives considerably. But it has had an unequal effect on different communities – including people who are LGBTQ.
In episode five of 3Qs at the U, Samantha Yammine – a University of Toronto alumna, neuroscientist and science communicator better known as Science Sam on social media – speaks with Peter Newman, a professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, about how our "one size fits all" approach to the pandemic risks further marginalizing those who are LGBTQ.
"LGBTQ communities were experiencing a lot of disparities in terms of health and public health before this pandemic ever existed," Newman says. "Telling people certain things about staying at home and avoiding contact with people outside the home is a very different experience … and it's not considered in terms of how might this impact them."
As an example, Newman cites the scenario of a gay man who is living with his partner, but has avoided telling his family about the arrangement because he hasn't come out to them: "Now that they're both stuck at home, how are they going to do that?"
He adds, however, that the LGBTQ community has built up "tremendous strength" in response to decades-long challenges like HIV. "I would venture to say we know how to do pandemics, actually … and the experience of the community is really, really important in terms of how we navigate this one," Newman says.
3Qs at the U is a weekly video series in which Yammine asks a U of T researcher three questions on a timely topic. It's produced by U of T Scarborough interactive digital producer Cory Lawrence.
See a complete list of episodes
Tags:community, covid-19, digital, Family, HIV, Impact, Lawrence, Newman, Professor, public health, Scarborough, science, social media, social work, university, University of Toronto
U.S. President Trump Awards Presidential Commendations to Operation Warp Speed Team
Today, President Donald J. Trump awarded Presidential Commendations to the below individuals in recognition of…
New financial support for UK's fishing businesses that export to EU
Seafood exporters across the UK will receive government funding of up to £23 million, to…
Secretary-General Pololikashvili Nominated to Lead UNWTO for Four More Years
The Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has expressed its continued support for…
Canada takes next step in compensating Canada's dairy farmers
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced today that Agriculture and Agri-Food…
Action to control unprecedented desert locust infestations in the Horn of Africa last year has…
Statement on Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Doses Delivered Today 20 January
Statement attributable to Acting Secretary Christopher Miller: On behalf of Operation Warp Speed, I am…
£148 million to cut drugs crime
Researchers Characterize Shared Pathways in Epilepsy and Autism


Old Bakery & Emporium presents Tenacity, Shadow in Color & Landscapes, an art exhibit that will be powerful and invigorating. There will be no drab winter scenes here.
Anna Lisa Leal paints plants and animals of the southwest in bright pastels to show their solid presence tenacity.
Ann Newman likes to explore and paint simple subjects, letting the visual language shine through.
Chris Davis Cina has a journalistic approach to documenting our environment and the feelings it evokes within her.
Following the opening reception, the exhibit runs through March 2.


text:
Q: Scrollbar on div broken html5 I have just done a quick sample of something I do not understand in html. The scrollbar for the content div is broken, and I don't know why… any ideas?
HTML:
http://pastebin.com/Fj3hJ7vY
Thanks.

A: I dont think its broken, looks like the problem is that you got nothing to scroll due too
<div class="content" style="height: 10000px;">

Try to change the height to a lower value. Try 575px instead.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Request A Licence Link Demonstration Today!
If you want to be confident that your drivers are valid to drive and would like to see Licence Link in action, please complete the form below. Someone from our team will take you through the system with the opportunity to ask any further questions. Find out how Licence Link can benefit your company and request a demo!


1 Gally C, Wissler F, Zahreddine H, Quintin S, Landmann F, Labouesse M (2009). Myosin II regulation during C. elegans embryonic elongation: LET-502/ROCK, MRCK-1 and PAK-1, three kinases with different roles. Development 136:3109-19.
2 Zhang H, Landmann F, Zahreddine H, Rodriguez D, Koch M, Labouesse M (2011). A tension-induced mechanotransduction pathway promotes epithelial morphogenesis. Nature, 471: 99-103.
Its interesting that when you rotate the image at least 180 degrees to see the other side you are able to see cells that are dead (show up as little masses), and when they are being consumed by the cells that were labeled. Since you are able to change your view with z you can see it throught out the cell during its development.


text:
Billie Eilish and Finneas share dapper acoustic version of 'Billie Bossa Nova'
Kate Brayden
Billie Eilish's creative partner Finneas O'Connell was on hand for the laidback performance of 'Billie Bossa Nova'.
Billie Eilish has shared an ambient acoustic version of her Happier Than Ever track 'Billie Bossa Nova', which she performed live with brother and producer Finneas O'Connell.
Directed by Philip Andelman as part of a promotional campaign for Gucci, the video's warm, sepia-tinged lighting matches the song's energy perfectly. O'Connell parallels Billie's relaxed vocals with gentle guitar noodling, giving a calm vibe to the song.
Take a look at the performance below:
Work on Eilish's third album is officially underway, with O'Connell recently saying the pair were "really excited to start working on" their next slew of songs. Finneas confirmed the Grammy winning duo had "interesting skeletons" for songs written, but were "not sure what animals they are".
Happier Than Ever landed back in July, spanning singles 'My Future', 'Therefore I Am', 'Your Power', 'Lost Cause', 'NDA', 'Male Fantasy' and the powerful title track.
Eilish and O'Connell will take the sophomore album on the road next year, having earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and Song of the Year. They'll be playing shows across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe - including a 3Arena Dublin gig.
Meanwhile, Eilish revealed last week that she was diagnosed with Covid-19 earlier in 2021. She also discussed her exposure to abusive pornography as a young child, saying it "destroyed [her] brain".
In other news, Eilish recently appeared on an episode of Saturday Night Live, serving as both a musical guest and host. She performed 'Male Fantasy' and the title track from 'Happier Than Ever', as well as taking part in a host of sketches.
Revisit Hot Press' verdict on Happier Than Ever here.
Ed Sheeran shares acapella rendition of 'Afterglow' from a church
Gemma Hayes announces acoustic UK tour alongside Jamie Lawson & more
PREMIERE: Soda Blonde share stripped back rendition of album track 'Tiny Darkness'
Track of the Day: Laytha - 'Daughter'
Track of the Day: siix sense & R03 - 'lie to me'
Live Report: Conor Marcus on the Hot Press Y&E Series
Boy Scouts announce new album, Wayfinder and share new song
LISTEN: Gavin Murphy shares new single 'Alive'
Daniel Whelan shares new single 'Bastille Day'


text:
namespace StudentExamSystem
{
    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.Linq;
    using System.Text;

    public class Utilities
    {
        public static T[] Subsequence<T>(T[] arr, int startIndex, int count)
        {
            if (arr == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("Array cannot be null");
            }

            if (count < 0)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("Invalid count value.");
            }

            var result = arr.Skip(startIndex).Take(count).ToArray();
            return result;
        }

        public static string ExtractEnding(string str, int count)
        {
            if (count < 0)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("Invalid count value.");
            }

            if (count > str.Length)
            {
                count = str.Length;
            }

            var result = str.Substring(str.Length - count);
            return result;
        }

        public static bool CheckPrime(int number)
        {
            if (number <= 0)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("Number cannot be less or equal to zero.");
            }

            bool isPrime = true;

            for (int divisor = 2; divisor <= Math.Sqrt(number); divisor++)
            {
                if (number % divisor == 0)
                {
                    isPrime = false;
                    break;
                }
            }

            return isPrime;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Posts for Tag: doodle jump
Another great game in the Professor Layton series ... why aren't these on the iPhone?
I've just started playing the latest Professor Layton game for the Nintendo DS - Professor Layton and the Unwound Future . It's a puzzle adventure game where you go through the story exploring your surroundings and solving short brain teasers along the way. Extremely engaging and well written story line mixed with very simple and easy to understand game play (some of the puzzles are hard but there's a good hint system to help you along). The game uses the DS's touch screen well which leads me to wonder, why aren't more games like this popping up on the iPhone? As with all things, I'm sure it's a money thing since most DS games are priced between $20 - $35 versus the iPhones $0.99 to $9.99 range. Still, if Apple wants to seriously market the iPhone, iPod Touch, and possibly the iPad as great gaming devices, they need to move beyond the casual games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds and cultivate more professionally designed games from real game development houses.
For those of you with Nintendo DS's , here's the entire Professor Layton series as released in North America:
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
tags: ipod apple iphone video games ipad ipod touch angry birds doodle jump nintendo nintendo ds professor layton professor layton and the curious village professor layton and the diabolical box professor layton and the unwound future


Fish, supervisor Monty Dell, Belize Martian and Delbert Hinkelman.
Thirteen NSU students take "Alternative Break"
of a campus-appointed search committee.
the house is in very capable hands."
Upon learning of his appointment, Dr.
will be spread over three years.
support enterprise will be in place,"
will be identified to head the office.
hence the creation of IS.
Nev.; and Jennifer Walker, Roslyn.
and supervised by Michelle L.
provided housing for the students.
suit in increased student retention,"
of individual leadership and tal-ent.
implementing all aspects of this plan,"
learning experience to my own com-munity."


I am here again to bring forth a fabulous collection of casual lace purple dresses! Shop the dresses sale online at Dress Shop. Stylish & elegant at a fraction of the price, our sale dresses are available with up 70% off! Select from a wide range of bodycon dresses, backless dresses and deep plunge, strappy dresses. Shop the collection online. Obviously, you cannot ignore the importance of accessories with your dress. In fact, a lady without wearing stylish accessories look nasty and incomplete. Scroll down and choose an awesome outfit for you. Cheers!


The Isabel Marant Étoile collection defines the label's chic Parisian attitude and fuss-free spirit, presenting pieces that blend relaxed tailoring with the designer's signature bohemian vibe. Expect comfortable, care-free silhouettes fused with the label's refined feminine elegance. The devil is on the detail. Check this white and blue cotton checked shirt from Isabel Marant Étoile featuring a button fastening, long sleeves, a button fastening, a chest pocket, a loose fit, a ruffled round collar and pleated style on the back.


text:
En géométrie, le grand icosaèdre tronqué est un polyèdre uniforme non-convexe, indexé sous le nom U55.

Ce polyèdre est la troncature du grand icosaèdre.

Coordonnées cartésiennes
Les coordonnées cartésiennes pour les sommets d'un grand icosaèdre tronqué centré à l'origine sont toutes les permutations paires de

 (±1, 0, ±3/τ)
 (±2, ±1/τ, ±1/τ3)
 (±(1+1/τ2), ±1, ±2/τ)

où τ = (1+√5)/2 est le nombre d'or (quelquefois écrit φ).
En utilisant 1/τ² = 1 − 1/τ, on vérifie que tous les sommets sont sur une sphère, centrée à l'origine, avec le rayon élevé au carré égal à 10−9/τ. L'arête est de longueur 2.

Voir aussi

Liste des polyèdres uniformes

Lien externe

Polyèdre non convexe
Polyèdre uniforme
Polyèdre tronqué

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Since Joey joined the cast of Waitress the Musical, we saw him at the 72ndSt. Station enjoying the music of whom we later learned is called "Maestro." This is the last afternoon Joey shared with him some tunes.
Joey McIntyre in Times Square… And That Time He Was Hit by a Bike?
Watch Joe Mac showing Times Square before another day at Waitress the Musical.
We've been reading about it on Social Media, but now Joey has made it official: his opening night will be on February 4 (not February 5). Check out the videos and photos of the week's rehearsals.
One day before hosting the Mass. Eye and Ear Annual Gala, Joey spent the day in NYC with his family.


From a liability standpoint, if a doctor or NP is going to be lending his/her name and license to a facility as a medical director, he/she can reduce liability by learning the physics of lasers and how to operate them safely in order to effectively supervise laser operators. As an expert witness, Kristin Groop has seen this lack of training come up in laser lawsuits where it was used against the supervising doctor/NP.
The 24 Hour Medical Director course is also available in an online format for those practitioners not working in the state of Arizona.
PREREQUISITE: The 24 Hour Medical Director Course is only available to licensed doctors (MD, DO, and NMD) and nurse practitioners.
MEDICAL DIRECTORS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND! Contact us today at estheticadvisor@gmail.com or call (480) 656-4481!


Title The Heritage of musical instruments : a catalogue of musical instruments in the Museums of Gujarat / editor, S.K. Bhowmik, [Mudrika Jani].
Published Vadodara : Dept. of Museums, Gujarat State, 1990.
Physical description viii, 277 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-268).
Other author Bhowmik, S. K.
Gujarat (India). Dept. of Museums.
Subject Musical instruments -- Catalogs and Collections -- India -- Gujarat.
Museums -- India -- Gujarat -- Catalogs.


text:
Terry's Cafe
Link Leave a comment September 15, 2018 Lifeattheendofafork
Address: 158 Great Suffolk St, London SE1 1PE
Bookings: Walk ins only
Day: Saturday
Meal: Breakfast/lunch
We spent last week in Tuscany. There are many things that the Tuscans understand about la bella vita, but making edible bread certainly isn't one of them. If any Italian tells you differently, then their taste buds have been severely brainwashed.
I was reminded of this fact again this morning, at Terry's Café, on Great Suffolk Street, Borough, as I buttered up some inch-thick bloomer bread. It was soft, fluffy, wholesome, and, vitally (listen up Tuscans!), salted. And butter! Why, oh why, oh why would anyone, anywhere in the world, serve bread without butter? It seems almost perverse. They are one of the great double acts of culinary history, along with lemon and salmon, ketchup and chips, pasta and cheese. To keep them apart seems almost cruel. And yet the Tuscans do.
Never mind, we're back in England now, and all is right. Terry's Café is a grand little place decorated with old black and white photos of cockney market stall owners, bobbies on the beat, and women cheerily helping with the war effort. Union Jacks deck the walls, a photo of the Queen resplendently watches over assembled diners, and china plates commemorate various royal weddings or national anniversaries. In other words, it is a sort of pastiche of 1950s England, a restaurant harking back to a homelier time when Britannia still just about ruled the waves.
It also serves a mean breakfast. I ordered an Austin's BLT Special, which was the aforementioned bloomer bread just about managing to restrain a riot of egg, bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomato and mayonnaise. It was simple, basic, hearty and delicious. As I took bite after bite, I felt myself marching towards a classic Saturday morning food coma, but I was unable to stop myself. The taste was worth the lethargy. This is how a sandwich should be made, the sort of thing that John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, would have wrapped up and taken on a hunting trip, to sustain himself in-between pursuing foxes and spearing stags.
My partner in culinary crime ordered the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (what else?) and proceeded to drown the salmon many times over in lemon juice (there's that combo again!). She reported the salmon fantastic, and the scrambled eggs golden, smooth and delicious, well beaten and well buttered.
Complete with two glasses of very fresh orange juice (which you would have been lucky to get in the real 1950s England) and some thumping breakfast tea, the whole bill comes to less than £30.
Terry's Café is not Michelin type food. It doesn't remotely aspire to be. But there aren't any cafes I've visited in London that do what it does as well as it does it. It's the best of its kind. Which only a cluster of restaurants can claim to be. So if you're a sucker for a bit of wistful nostalgia or a hearty fry-up, or if you're a wandering Tuscan looking to learn how bread should taste, take a trip to Terry's one morning (it closes at 2pm).
Dining in Barcelona
Link 2 Comments August 19, 2018 Lifeattheendofafork
Despite the U.K. deciding to adopt a Mediterranean climate for the duration of the summer, a few weeks ago we decided it was time to head south for our second trip to the continent this year. For four days, we took our gourmet game to Barcelona, the city of wide, imperious avenues, upscale brands, crooked little backstreets, surreal architecture, football and beaches. A trip to Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia presented a building the like of which neither of us had ever seen before: vast, irregular, part gothic, part Walt Disney, clusters of bizarre towers sprouting towards the sky. It's hard to know what to think of it. The cathedral attracts more than 3mn visitors a year, but was described by George Orwell as "one of the most hideous buildings in the world."
But you can't eat La Sagrada Familia, and so it is not a fitting subject for this blog. So on to the restaurants!
Can Ramonet
Address: Calle Maquinista, 17, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Bookings: booked
Day: Friday
Meal: Lunch
A decent seafood restaurant situated down in the Barceloneta district. With the Mediterranean ocean gently lapping at the beach only 200 yards from their kitchen, Can Ramonet serves some very fresh fish, prawns and clams. We ordered a seafood paella, which only came in 2-person portions, which was irritating, because my partner in culinary crime, despite loving both seafood and rice when served separately, refuses to eat even a single morsel when the two are blended in a frying pan. I was therefore left with a vast mound of dark, ocean flavoured rice, full of mussels, clams and squid, and four long prawns perched on top, their black beady eyes glaring malevolently at me. This paella was tasty, but needless to say there was far too much for me to handle.
We also had a plate of ham, some plump, light-as-a-feather croquettes, and some pan con tomate that was so soggy it felt like it too had spent the morning bobbing around in the Mediterranean, before being fished out and given five minutes under a hair dryer. Stop at this restaurant if you're walking past it, but don't travel across the city to eat there.
Txapela
Address: Passeig de Gràcia, 58, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
Day: Monday
Meal: Brunch
A monstrous restaurant on the broad Passeig de Gràcia, a street famous for its high-end fashion shops, and indeed it would have been more pleasant to eat a crocodile skin handbag or a sharp stiletto than anything served up in this dismal spot. The food consisted of ready-made tapas that sat on a glass counter in front of the diners, and we were treated to the unappetising spectacle of flies buzzing around what we were about to eat, the only saving grace being that most of the flies did a few laps of the dishes and then flew off uninterested, probably heading towards the toilets in search of something less disgusting. Despite the food being already prepared, it took twenty minutes to cross the two yards that separated it from our table. There are glaciers that move much faster than that. Meanwhile, a waiter behind the bar managed to break the orange juice presser, and then flounce off in a strop, and so we didn't even get our drinks (although they were included in the first edition of the bill). When the food did arrive, it was tasteless and stale. We paid the bill and then went straight around the corner into a McDonalds, which tasted like the Fat Duck in comparison.
Restaurant 7 Portes
Address: Passeig d'Isabel II, 14, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Rating: 7.5 /10
Our favourite restaurant in Barcelona, where I ate a phenomenal bowl of squid ink paella, which was as black as a lump of coal, and thumping with flavour. I blended it on my plate with a delightfully garlicky aioli sauce, and each mouthful was full bodied, salty, dark and tangy, a mysterious quality to the flavour. I washed it down with five glasses of red wine, so by the time I finished my meal my lips and tongue looked like I'd swallowed a gallon of oil.
My partner in culinary crime, one of the world's great experts in raw fish, enjoyed her tuna tartare, which came with avocado, freshly chopped tomatoes, and a hint of lemon. We also ate some glistening ham, and some crusty, slightly harsh pan con tomate. This is one of Barcelona's oldest restaurants and has a slightly faded, decaying charm. Definitely worth a visit.
Bar jai-ca
Address: Carrer de Ginebra, 13, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Day: Sunday
Cracking little tapas bar just off Port Vell, near the beach. The portions were gargantuan, the prices modest. My only complaint is that our waiter didn't talk us down from ordering six different tapas dishes. My idea of tapas is a small little plate of food that you can polish off in five bites, but that isn't the scale worked to at Bar jai-ca, or many of the restaurants we went to in Barcelona.
We gorged ourselves to the point of ruin on fresh, eating zesty little fried tiny squid, a big plate of ruby red Spanish ham, a bowl of padron peppers, salted and fried. A wonderfully simple Greek salad, the tart little bits of feta cheese, healthy, well-juiced tomatoes and simple vinaigrette, was perfect for a summer's day. I barely touched the tomato bread, taking one bite and immediately seeing that it was, as so many times during our trip, the weakest thing on the menu. There is certainly scope for a quality bakery to be established in Barcelona. By the time our plate of manchego cheese arrived, the waiters had to drag a wooden stool over to accommodate it. If you visit the beach, drop in here for lunch.
Hisop Restaurant
Address: Passatge de Marimon, 9, 08021 Barcelona, Spain
Price: £££
This was our foray into the Michelin-starred world of Spanish restaurants, with Hisop the owner of a star since 2010. We both ordered the 7-course tasting menu. Some of the dishes were very nice, but in general it felt like Hisop was going through the motions of modern Michelin-starredness, with the unusual flavour combinations, the intriguing presentation, the allusions to classic dishes, but with each dish falling slightly short of that mark. There was a verve and a magic missing from the kitchen. Their smoked eggplant with comte cheese and squid sat wet and stodgy on our plates, almost a bit embarrassed of itself.
The final dish, a piquillo red pepper stuffed with white chocolate and vanilla, was inedible, and even good manners couldn't get me through more than one bite of it. My takeaway from the dish was not: "oh what a fascinating combination, why haven't I seen that before?", but rather, "piquillo peppers must never, ever, ever be allowed in the same room at the same time with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. On pain of death."
On the flip-side, a bowl of cold green tomato soup, like a gazpacho, was sharp and delicious, with a triplet of rich, succulent chunks of veal bobbing happily in the middle of it. Some steak with artichokes was nice, whilst a selection of cheeses were laid out from strongest to weakest, a little edible dairy tour of Europe. A decent restaurant (and not too expensive by Michelin standards), but not a highlight to build a trip around.
Headed to Tuscany in the not too distant future, so watch out for that!
Paternoster Chop House
Link 1 Comment August 2, 2018 Lifeattheendofafork
Address: 1, Warwick Court, Paternoster Sq., London EC4M 7DX
Paternoster Chophouse is part of the restaurant empire of Sir Terence Conran, who also sells sofas and salad bowls (think Habitat, BhS, M&S etc.).
It achieved a small amount of notoriety as the venue for the Channel 4 show First Dates, where an eclectic mix of people are paired up and then filmed making toe-curlingly awkward small talk, before deciding at the end of each episode whether they want to meet for a second date or not.
We went there on a random Tuesday evening (it certainly wasn't our first date), and sadly no romantic encounters were being filmed. What was occurring however, was a besuited father taking his three-year-old daughter out for a burger. He fulfilled his paternal duties in the most basic of senses, kitting his daughter out with a range of colouring pencils – which she used on the table – and chatting on the phone whilst watching as she stood on her chair and washed her hands in her glass of water. Extremely romantic for those of us sat directly next to them.
As for the food, it slid somewhere in between adequate and good. Better than a Pizza Express, but worse than a restaurant you would recommend to a friend you wanted to keep. I started off with a chicken liver and port pate, which was the highlight of the meal, sharp and tangy, spreading smoothly over some decent bread.
My partner in culinary crime ate some smoked salmon, with shallots and capers, which she found nice. Although given that you can get nice smoked salmon in most British supermarkets, this is not the highest of culinary hurdles.
It may be one of the driest summers in recent British history, but my main course of chicken Kiev came swimming in so much grease and oil that it could have been used to moisten the whole of the south east of England. It was accompanied by some cauliflower that had a green, unhealthy colour. Perhaps they were feeling sea-sick from bobbing up and down in so much grease.
My partner in culinary crime, a true scavenger of the ocean, ordered the sole for her main course. She liked it. The sauce was buttery, rich and lemony, a smooth accompaniment to a well-cooked fish.
We finished with a Lancashire cheese and two rather sad little Eccles cakes. I'm sure it is a tried and tested combination, but I found the excessively sweet cakes a poor match for the strong, sour cheese. Perhaps the dish was a homage to some of the less successful dates that have featured on the show.
The restaurant is situated in the lovely Paternoster Square, bathed in the beauty of Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St Paul's. I would say that the best thing about this restaurant is the view you get of the cathedral as you walk out of the door. Hey, it's a one in a million view. It's not a one in a million restaurant. No second date for me please.
'O Ver
Address: 44-46 Southwark St, London SE1 1UN
O' ver is a Neapolitan restaurant around the corner from Borough Market. On its menu, it boasts rather bizarrely that in its cooking it uses the unique ingredient of sea water, "extracted from the purest areas of the Mediterranean."
It is hard to believe that every fistful of spaghetti and every ball of dough served in this restaurant are brought to completion with water lugged out of the sea over 1,000 miles away in the Mediterranean. Surely this would require a small team of planes perpetually in motion between Heathrow and Naples International Airport, the pilots only stopping momentarily to mop their brows and take a sip of water (hopefully not also scooped out of the sea), before taxiing off again to get the next barrel of warm, salty acqua.
And why on earth would sourcing your sea water on the other side of Europe make a pizza taste nicer? Are the sweet coastal waters of Devon and Cornwall not sufficient? Never mind. In the ever more saturated eco-system of London restaurants, perhaps the saltier the gimmick the better.
Whatever ingredients they're using, the food at O' Ver is pretty good. Their rosemary 'seawater' focaccia infused with melted parmesan was criminally moreish. The sort of starter that you can feel yourself filling up on with each bite, so you promise not to touch any more until your mains come, only to miserably break the pledge moments later, the bread just too warm, too cheesy, too plump and too nourishing to ignore for more than 30 seconds at a time.
My partner in culinary crime, whose appetite for fish is well flagged on this blog, tore through a red tuna tartare sat on a bed of avocado, dressed with olive oil and a sprinkling of lime juice. I heard no complaints.
I had a lobster linguine, which was a little poor. The lobster, sourced in far off Canada, had travelled a long way to disappoint me in Borough. It was a small little fellow, with a lot of shell and very little meat. It could have done with fattening up a little bit more off the coast of Nova Scotia. The tomato sauce that came with it could have been popped out of jar of Loyd Grossman Pomodoro sauce.
My partner in culinary crime had a pizza with burrata, mozzarella, Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes and basil, with truffle oil drizzled on it. It was a decent pizza, if a little wet and a little limp.
O' Ver has an al fresco dining option, which is not as appealing as it sounds, even in the middle of a very warm London summer, unless you enjoy getting gassed by bus fumes.
O' ver is a steady, solid restaurant, which will appeal to pizza lovers, or those who refuse to eat anything not prepared with Mediterranean seawater. For the general diner, Borough Market has better options, Brindisa, Padella, and El Pastor, to name a few. O' Ver and out.


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Fuscospora truncata (hard beech). Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.
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text:
Amalia Margaryan (also written as Amaliya Margaryan) (; born 10 February 1995) is an Armenian singer, a songwriter, whose musical career started in 2015, when she participated in "X-Factor" Ukraine and "The Voice Russia" contest, which brought her the first recognition. Amalia became more famous for  Armenian audience with participation in Depi Evratesil contest 1st and 2nd seasons (Armenia's Eurovision Song Contest National Selection).

Biography
Amalia (Amaliya) Margaryan was born in 1995, 10 February, in Armenia, Yerevan. She graduated from Yerevan School No. 8 after Alexander Pushkin. In 2012 she entered Yerevan State University Faculty of Law and graduated in 2016. She started singing at the age of three, when she started attending the "Little Singers of Armenia" children's choir, the founder and artistic director of which is Tigran Hekekyan. She sang here for more than 12 years. During this period she entered and graduated from the Sayat-Nova Music School with a piano degree. During her student years, Amalia was convinced that she would never pursue a musical career. However, in her second year, she began attending vocal classes with Maran Karapetyan, with whom she still collaborates.

2015: X-Factor Ukraine and The Voice Russia
In 2015, Amalia decided to take part in the Armenian auditions of the Ukrainian "X-Factor" project. A few months later, she received an unexpected phone call from the project organizers who informed her that she had been selected as a contestant. Amalia overcame the first round, singing Conchita Wurst's song "Rise Like a Phoenix". Her live performance received a lot of positive feedback, moreover, after the video was published on the official YouTube page of the "X-Factor", it gathered millions of views and became the most-watched video of that season. That performance became a turning point for the singer, bringing her the first fame in Ukraine, as well as in Armenia. A few weeks after returning from Kyiv, Amalia decided to take part in "The Voice Russia" project. Successfully qualifying the first round, she made it to the "Blind Audition". During the "Blind audition", Amalia performed Maxim Fadeev's song "Танцы на стёклах". From the four jury members, Basta turned and Amalia picked him as her coach. This performance also received a lot of feedback and gained more than 4 million views on YouTube. During "The Battle" Amalia performed together with another Armenian participant, Sergey Urumyan. Together they performed "Всё в твоих руках" song". From the duo, Basta chose Sergey and Amalia was disqualified from the project.

2017: Depi Evratesil & Eurovision Song Contest 2017
In 2017, the Armenian public television announced national selection of the Armenian contestant to the Eurovision Song Contest – Depi Evratesil. The artists were performing songs by different singers, and the one who overcomes all the stages should have the opportunity to represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Amalia decided to take part in it. Successfully overcoming the first stage, she appeared in singer Hayko's team and reached till the pre-election stage. Although Amalia didn't win the contest, she joined the Armenian delegation as that year's participant – Artsvik's backing vocalist.

2018–present: Depi Evratesil and First Music Video
In 2018 Armenian Public Television again announced the national selection of the Armenian contestant to the Eurovision Song Contest – Depi Evratesil. This time participants had to present their own songs, which in case of winning should have been sung on the Eurovision stage. Amalia decided to take part one more time. This was the first time she performed her own co-authored song "Waiting for the sun" (music & lyrics by Amalia Margaryan & Vahram Yanikyan). She was warmly welcomed by the Armenian and European audience, moreover, she was one of the hot favorites of the year to win the contest. She reached the final stage. After a successful performance in Depi Evratesil, in 2018 Amalia received an offer to take part in the famous Romanian "Cerbul de Aur" competition, which was held in Brașov. During the competition, Amalia performed her co-authored song "Waiting for the Sun" as well as the song "Promit" by the famous Romanian singer Paula Seling. Amalia took the 4th place. In 2018 Amalia was amongst the Armenian jury members f the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 and in 2019 as a member of the Armenian jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.
In May 2019, Amalia performed at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex at a concert dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the great chansonnier Charles Aznavour, where she shared the stage together with world-famous French singers Patrick Fiori, Hélène Ségara, and Slimane and many others. During the concert, Amalia performed Charles Aznavour's song "Cleopatra" (lyrics by Marine Gyulumyan). The song was presented to the audience for the first time and was well warmly welcomed by the audience.  In the fall of 2019, Amalia released her second song, this time with a music video. The authors of the song "Another Chapter" are Amalia Margaryan and Vahram Yanikyan.  The video is directed by Hrant Movsisyan. The cello part of the video is performed by famous Armenian musician Artyom Manukyan. In June 2021  "Welcome to Ethernity" movie by Hrant Movsisyan was released in Armenia. The soundtrack of the movie was written by Amalia Margaryan Franklin Avetisyan. In September 2021 Amalia released her third song "Hear Me" with a music video. The authors of the song are Amalia Margaryan, Vahram Yanikyan. The music video was directed by Hrant Movsisyan. This is the second collaboration with the director after "Another Chapter song". "Hear Me"  is a song about the lack of humanity, the hunger of souls, and people who have no values. The music video of the song was shot in 2020, in Dilijan (Armenia) but the premiere was postponed because of the Pandemic and 44-day Artsakh war. At the end of the year, Amaliya is planning to release her first musical album.

Discography

Singles

Notes and references

External links

 Official website
 Facebook Page
 Instagram Page
 YouTube Channel
 Twitter

1995 births
Living people
Musicians from Yerevan
Armenian pop singers
21st-century Armenian women singers
Armenian women singer-songwriters
Armenian Apostolic Christians


Manpower development is at the core of industrialization which is a cardinal aspect of the present administration's economic recovery agenda. The Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Industrial Training Fund, Sir Jeseph Ntung Ari in this exclusive interview outlines how the fund is equipping its trainees with the necessary skills for productive employment.
Our readers would like to know you, who is Sir Joseph Ari and what were you doing before your present appointment?
I have broad knowledge and professional experience in broadcast journalism, public service at state and federal levels spanning a period of three decades. My career trajectory started with the Plateau Broadcasting Corporation as Reporter/Presenter before my stint with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Lagos as Newscaster. I latter moved to Nigeria Television Authority as a News Editor/Caster.
My service at the at the state level began as Director of Press and Public Affairs to two Governors of Plateau State before my appointment as Sole Administrator and later General Manager of Plateau Publishing Company, (PRC) Jos.
Thereafter, I was appointed the General Manager, Plateau Radio Television Corporation, (PRTVC). My service at the state level capped with my appointment as the permanent secretary in charge of government house administration, a position I held until I joined the federal service as the deputy director in the department of public relations, external affairs and publicity of industrial training fund.
I was at different times director of administration and human resources corporate planning, business training and development; also one – time chair of the fund's training and research committee before my elevation as the director general of the organization.
I hold a postgraduate diploma in journalism, LLB and LLM in law and MBA in business administration. I am a member of Nigeria institute of management; advertising practitioner council of Nigeria (APCON); as well as a fellow of corporate institute of public relation, (NIPR).
What is the core mandate of ITF within the nation's manpower development architecture?
The core mandate of fund as enshrined in its enabling decree No 47 of 1971 (now an act as amended to date) include the following: provide promote and encourage the acquisition of skills in industries and commerce with a view to generating a pool of indigenous trained manpower sufficient to meet the needs of the national economy; provide training for skills in management for technical and entrepreneurship development in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy and monitor adherence; evaluate and certify vocational skills acquired by apprentices, craftsmen and technicians in collaboration with relevant organization and administer the student industrial work experience scheme (IWES).
How far has ITF been able to deliver on its mandate?
goals under quick win for instance ITF have implemented strategies to boost jobs creation, reduction of poverty and wealth creation through agriculture service and construction sectors.
In line with these, the fund has initiated or expanded the following programmes: National industrial skills development programme (NISDP) womens skills empowerment programme (WOSEP), training on wheels, technical skills development programme (TSDP).
The ITF enabling act envisages that it will collaborate with MD as and other private sectors organization at both federals state levels. how has your agency fared in managing these multiple partners and collaborators?
The ITF has entered into several collaborations with MDAs, private enterprises and even foreign concern aimed at accelerating the growth and development of the nation's human resources. Notably among such collaboration include ITF/Nigeria employers consultative association ITF/dangote, ITF/nigerdock,etc. There is also the collaboration between ITF/Federal Ministry of Industrial Cluster Concept Curriculum Development for skills acquisition on the following trades: leather works, general carpentry, textiles and garment, metal work/welding and fabrication, agric/food processing and wood works/furniture making. The ITF/Shell/LNG is for internal capacity building for staff. Some of the foreign collaborations include the ITF/SENAI, Brazil which provided the assistance to establish a skills centre in Jos; ITF/Crown Agents for capacity building (local and overseas) for officers of ITF on effective skills development.
In a nutshell, the credible collaborations available have strengthened us in the discharge of our mandate. Above all, our parent ministry, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment plays a very key role in the successes we have been according thus far. It has been a pillar of support to the ITF.
What have been the challenges faced by ITF over the year?
As a former Director I was aware of the problems on ground on assumption of duty. For me the need to review the vision of the fund in order to actualize the mandate was a major challenges. There is also the lack of confidence on the part of staff and stakeholders. I met on ground staff moral that was at its lowest ebb. The handling of Students' Industrial Work Experience scheme (SIWES) almost tarnished the image of the fund as there was colossal amount of outstanding allowances. For this reason there was loss of confidence on the part of the public institutions on ITF's capacity to handled and supervise the SIWES scheme. Furthermore, training contributors were not willing to remit their contributions as their reimbursement claims are not paid as when due. These have been some of the problems faced by the fund over the years.
To address these problems the management constituted a committee that reviewed the vision of the fund and came up with a plan called ITF Reviewed Vision: Strategies for the actualization of the mandate' This captured quick wins, medium and long term goals. For the seeming lack of confidence, the Fund embarked on advocacy and confidence building visits to several stakeholders including, the media, the organized private sector and other critical stakeholders.
On staff matters, their moral was boosted with the prioritization of their welfare as 2789 staff benefitted from staff development locally while 23 were sent overseas. Housing and vehicle loans were disbursed to the staff under my watch while promotion of exercise has been as at when due. The confidence in SIWES has been rekindled following the massive payment of N3billion Naira in 2016 and 2017 as students and supervisory allowances. 328 institutions of high learning across the federation benefitted from the payments. Federal confidence in the Fund has been regained, while training contributors are now more willing to remit their contributions as reimbursement claims are paid promptly.
Finally, how do you hope to reposition ITF for the future?
For the medium and long term goals, the Fund intends to aggressively tackle the issues of service challenges and infrastructural deficits impinging on the actualization of the Fund's mandate. The Fund intends to establish ISTCs in a few more states of the federation and the FCT. It will also acquire more Mobile Training Units. Become a key enabler for all government initiatives as the relate to skills acquisition, job and wealth creation. Commence online training; fully automate business processes. Expand revenue streams by constructing multipurpose facilities in a few key cities.