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Debate: Graduated response antipiracy laws
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*'''Not enforcing copyright incentivizes piracy innovations.''' [http://www.barrysookman.com/2010/02/01/the-costs-and-benefits-of-graduated-response-in-copyright-enforcement/ Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010]: "if copyright is poorly enforced at the end user level — with free-riding going unpunished — then incentives are given to innovators to help the consumer to free-ride. The longer this signal lasts, the higher the cost of copyright enforcement." *'''Not enforcing copyright incentivizes piracy innovations.''' [http://www.barrysookman.com/2010/02/01/the-costs-and-benefits-of-graduated-response-in-copyright-enforcement/ Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010]: "if copyright is poorly enforced at the end user level — with free-riding going unpunished — then incentives are given to innovators to help the consumer to free-ride. The longer this signal lasts, the higher the cost of copyright enforcement."
+ *'''[[Argument: Graduated response incentivizes copyright enforcement| Graduated response incentivizes copyright enforcement]]'''
*'''Costs of unenforced copyright laws has grown.''' [http://www.barrysookman.com/2010/02/01/the-costs-and-benefits-of-graduated-response-in-copyright-enforcement/ Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010]: "in the phase of the digital roll-out, the benefits of the digitization could temporarily outweigh the costs of not enforcing copyright. But now that digitization is ubiquitous, there is less benefit and much higher cost with not enforcing copyright. Worse, if copyright is poorly enforced at the end user level — with free-riding going unpunished — then incentives are given to innovators to help the consumer to free-ride. The longer this signal lasts, the higher the cost of copyright enforcement." *'''Costs of unenforced copyright laws has grown.''' [http://www.barrysookman.com/2010/02/01/the-costs-and-benefits-of-graduated-response-in-copyright-enforcement/ Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010]: "in the phase of the digital roll-out, the benefits of the digitization could temporarily outweigh the costs of not enforcing copyright. But now that digitization is ubiquitous, there is less benefit and much higher cost with not enforcing copyright. Worse, if copyright is poorly enforced at the end user level — with free-riding going unpunished — then incentives are given to innovators to help the consumer to free-ride. The longer this signal lasts, the higher the cost of copyright enforcement."
Is a "graduated response" to unlawful P2P file sharing justified?
Graduated response, also known as three strikes, is an initiative, adopted in several countries, aimed at addressing the problem of online Copyright infringement.
In response to copyright infringement using peer to peer software, the creative industries reliant on copyright advocate what is known as a "graduated response" which sees consumers disconnected after a number of notification letters warning that they are violating copyright. The content industry has thought to gain the co-operation of internet service providers (ISPs), asking them to provide subscriber information for ISP addresses identified by the content industry as engaged in copyright violations. Consumer rights groups have argued that this approach denies consumers the right to due process and the right to privacy.[1]
Barry Sookman and Dan Glover outline the proposal below in a January 2010 Lawyers Weekly article: "Graduated response, which has been implemented in jurisdictions such as France, Taiwan, and South Korea, and which is in the process of being enacted in the UK and New Zealand, is viewed by many policy makers as a fair and effective means of addressing the problem of online unauthorized file sharing. Although each country has adopted or proposes different balances, the key characteristics of these systems are: (1) rights holders monitor P2P networks for illegal downloading activities; (2) rights holders provide ISPs with convincing proof of infringements being committed by an individual at a given IP address; (3) educational notices are sent through an ISP to the account holder informing him or her of the infringements and of the consequences of continued infringement and informing the user that content can be lawfully acquired online; and (4) if the account holder repeatedly ignores the notices, a tribunal may take deterrent action, with the most severe sanctions reserved for a court."[2]
1. Is a "graduated response" to unlawful P2P file sharing justified? |
3. Users: Is graduated response respectful to users? | | | |
4. Copyright law: Is copyright law worthy of this kind of protection? | | | |
5. Efficacy: Can graduated response help lower piracy? | | | |
6. Write Subquestion here... | | | |
8. Government involvement: Can the government avoid involvement? | | | |
9. Universities: | | | |
10. Pro/con source | | | |
11. See also |
12. External links and resources: |
Users: Is graduated response respectful to users?
Graudates response is the least draconian option. Barry Sookman and Dan Glover. "Graduated response and copyright: an idea that is right for the times." Lawyers Weekly. January 20th, 2010: "Graduated responses systems are not intended to be anti-consumer or heavy handed. To the contrary, user interests and their privacy and procedural rights are respected. Instead of being hauled into court for copyright infringements, users receive multiple notices before any action is taken by rights holders. These notices provide ample opportunities to change consumer behaviour from unauthorized file sharing to purchasing content legally. When proceedings are taken, there are procedural safeguards to ensure that sanctions are only imposed on the real offenders, and that they are proportionate."
Graduated response helps maintain user privacy. Nate Anderson. "IFPI: "Three strikes" efforts hit worldwide home run." ARS Technica. August 19, 2008: "For ISPs, the plan allows them to preserve user privacy (they don't generally turn any information over to the content owners), doesn't involve any filtering, and keeps the ISPs free from government mandates to police their networks."
Graduated response protects creative arts for fans. Graduated response helps protect the creative music and video arts, enabling independent, small, medium, and even large artists, actors, and production studies to make more of the high quality products that fans love.
Graduated response educates fans about copyright/arts. It is important that movie watchers and music fans understand how these industries work, and how copyright laws are essential to their future. Graduated response can be viewed as an educational campaign, as much as a warning and punitive system, for establishing a new respect and cultural appreciation for how these industries and artists make money. Because so many young people don't understand these fundamentals, and take them for granted, such an educational push and cultural shift is very important.
General statements supporting graduated response
Graduated response risks collecting too much data on users. Nate Anderson. "RIAA graduated response plan: Q&A with Cary Sherman." ARS Technica. December 21, 2008: "Does this mean ISPs now have an obligation to engage in enough data retention to reconstruct the activities of subscribers? If so, this will create a cache of data that will imperil our privacy in other ways, as the government and private litigants start demanding access to it."
Targeting sanction to offending user could be difficult. "Graduated response." Open Rights Group: "whole families and shared households of internet users would be cut off from the internet as a result of one person's unlawful activity. Which raises the question, who receives the sanction? The account holder? If so, what if it's not the account holder carrying out the unlawful activity?"
Graduated response does not achieve any greater justice. "Graduation response." Open Rights Group. June 30th, 2008: "If it is not the BPI's intention to replace the current judicial process with a more administrative one that cuts corners, why replace the current judicial process at all? Any new system would surely be the subject of so many appeals that we'd soon arrive back to where we are now anyway (on the hopeful assumption that the interests of justice and fairness would be given due regard). Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights[14] (to which the UK is a party by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998) requires that all citizens be given access to a fair trial in situations where the rights and freedoms of the individual are threatened with sanctions. If the government legislates in this area, there is a serious danger that justice, and access to justice, will be undermined."
Copyright law: Is copyright law worthy of this kind of protection?
Copyrights on creative works must be enforced. Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010: "Copyright infringement is a negative externality. It raises transaction costs and inhibits investment in the creative industries. Avatar would never have been able to attract a 500 million dollar investment if this 3D movie was as easy to freely copy (free-riding) as a standard 2D video. [...] The question is then: how to internalize copyright enforcement? The cost-benefit analysis which needs to be made is not just comparing the cost of enforcing copyright with the "savings" of not enforcing copyright. It is comparing the cost of enforcing copyright with the cost of leaving copyright unenforced. Indeed, in the phase of the digital roll-out, the benefits of the digitization could temporarily outweigh the costs of not enforcing copyright. But now that digitization is ubiquitous, there is less benefit and much higher cost with not enforcing copyright."
Not enforcing copyright incentivizes piracy innovations. Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010: "if copyright is poorly enforced at the end user level — with free-riding going unpunished — then incentives are given to innovators to help the consumer to free-ride. The longer this signal lasts, the higher the cost of copyright enforcement."
Graduated response incentivizes copyright enforcement
Costs of unenforced copyright laws has grown. Barry Sookman. "The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement." Barry Schookman Blog. February 1st, 2010: "in the phase of the digital roll-out, the benefits of the digitization could temporarily outweigh the costs of not enforcing copyright. But now that digitization is ubiquitous, there is less benefit and much higher cost with not enforcing copyright. Worse, if copyright is poorly enforced at the end user level — with free-riding going unpunished — then incentives are given to innovators to help the consumer to free-ride. The longer this signal lasts, the higher the cost of copyright enforcement."
Efficacy: Can graduated response help lower piracy?
Graduated response warnings deter further individual privacy. Susan Butler, a veteran musioc-industry reporter who now manages the publication Music Confidential, reporting on a trial of how graduated response effects user behavior: "The trial revealed that the vast majority of subscribers stopped the activity after receiving notices, says Ciccone. With each subsequent notice, another 50% stopped the activity. Only a relative handful of subscribers continued the activity after receiving notices. These results support the conclusion that a notice program can have a very big impact on piracy. These results were consistent with studies in other countries, added Bloss-Baum."[3]
Infringement will persist, but graduated response helps. Patrick Ross. "ISPs and Graduated Response." Copyright Alliance. March 31st, 2009: "There will always be infringers. In Seattle, I had lunch with some of the anti-DRM speakers. One boasted to me about how active he was in using torrent services to infringe; it was easy, he said, and argued that if technology allows it then it can't really be wrong. But most of us can be persuaded to play by the rules when it no longer seems to be in our interest to break them. The effect of these letters show that."
Write Subquestion here...
Graduated response gives protections needed for investment. Barry Sookman and Dan Glover. "Graduated response and copyright: an idea that is right for the times." Lawyers Weekly. January 20th, 2010: "While graduated response will never eradicate online infringement altogether, it would also give rights holders and ISPs the necessary protection they need to develop innovative business models such as the subscription plans created by European ISPs like Orange and BSkyB, and by mobile providers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson. Bringing together graduated response with these access-based models would give users a safe, affordable and reliable means to get the creative content they desire while fostering innovation, creativity, competition and investment in intellectual property."
Click "edit" and write arguments here
Graduated response is best compromise b/w stakeholders. Barry Sookman and Dan Glover. "Graduated response and copyright: an idea that is right for the times." Lawyers Weekly. January 20th, 2010: "A graduated response system that is proportionate, respectful of privacy, limited to clear cases of infringement, and supervised by the courts or other tribunals, is likely to be a win-win proposition for all stakeholders in Canada as well. It would accomplish the dual goals of reducing online piracy and increasing legitimate sales through consumer education and the knowledge that a deterrent exists if illegal file sharing does not cease."
Government involvement: Can the government avoid involvement?
W/o mandate, not all ISPs will join graduated response. "Graduated response." Open Rights Group: "in order to be workable, a voluntary agreement that encompasses all of the BPI's proposals as they currently stand, would have to involve all existing (and future) ISPs. In reality, this is simply not going to happen unless the government intervenes."
Graduated response does not require govt involvement. Nate Anderson. "IFPI: "Three strikes" efforts hit worldwide home run." ARS Technica. August 19, 2008: "Governments seem to like throwing content owners and ISPs into a room and demanding that they work out some solution (often under threat that the government will simply legislate one otherwise), and graduated response appears to be least objectionable to both parties."
Enforcing a mandated graduated response is unworkable. "Graduated response." Open Rights Group: "the consequences of the government legislating to force the BPI's proposals into effect would be both unwanted and unworkable. The result would be to replace the current judicial process with an administrative one: ISPs could surely not be expected to carry out reviews of such cases on their merits – they would neither be qualified to do so, nor would they have the resources to do so. It is hard to imagine anything other than a rubber-stamping process, by which users would be cut off at the drop of a hat."
Govt involvement in graduated response invites mission creep. David Sohn. "Graduated response: Inviting FCC Mission Creep?" Center for Democracy and Technology. February 24, 2010: "What's wrong with that? It's an invitation to major mission creep. "The FCC's job is to execute and enforce federal communications law. It has no authority and no role in enforcing other laws. Lots of unlawful activity -- from intellectual property infringement to racketeering to securities fraud to deceptive advertising -- may occur over or using communications networks. But that doesn't make it the FCC's job to police such activity. The FCC's focus is, and should remain, promoting the availability of high quality communications capabilities in the United States -- not policing what users do with those capabilities. [...] In addition, the only reason to involve the FCC would be to force the entities the FCC regulates -- communications providers, and in particular ISPs -- to start actively policing I.P. infringement. Having government force ISPs to take on this new role should raise serious red flags."
Universities:
Colleges have used own graduated reponse systems. Barry Sookman and Dan Glover. "Graduated response and copyright: an idea that is right for the times." Lawyers Weekly. January 20th, 2010: "Colleges and universities have really been engaged in their own form of graduated response for many years. If you take a look at what universities have been doing, they have escalating sanctions for people who have been identified as repeat infringers. Something as simple as, for example, at Stanford, where they charge a $100 reconnection fee for somebody who fails to respond to a first notice. Then a second offense is $500 and a third [time] offender has network privileges terminated and to regain access, they have to pay a $1,000 fee. That's a very clear graduated response system. [...] Others will just give a warning the first time, and the second time they might do a temporary disconnect for 24 hours, and a third time they might refer you to the judicial affairs system. Every school has its own variation, but they've really been implementing informal graduated response."
Pro/con source
Barry Sookman and Dan Glover. "Graduated response and copyright: an idea that is right for the times." Lawyers Weekly. January 20th, 2010
Patrick Ross. "ISPs and Graduated Response." Copyright Alliance. March 31st, 2009
Annemarie Bridy. "Graduated Response and the Turn to Private Ordering in Online Copyright Enforcement." University of Idaho College of Law. March 4, 2010
"French Net black-out against "graduated response'." February 28th, 2009
"Graduation response." Open Rights Group. June 30th, 2008
"Three strikes on the move worldwide." DNN. July 15, 2009
David Sohn. "Graduated response: Inviting FCC Mission Creep?" Center for Democracy and Technology. February 24, 2010:
Retrieved from "http://dbp.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Graduated_response_antipiracy_laws"
Categories: Education | Law


All outdoor boots and shoes were made from leather in the 19th century, and as such needed polishing to keep them clean. Until the end of the century, shoes were generally made to measure, and the expense involved in having shoes made meant that they had to be kept in very good condition. When not being worn they were filled with paper to preserve their shape, and linseed oil was often rubbed into the leather to keep it smooth.
This particular brand of shoe-polish has a racially suspect name. 'Nubia' was the name given by early French explorers to the region of north-eastern Africa around the huge Nile valley; 'Nubians' were by definition this area's inhabitant. While the word 'Nubian' clearly has always had racial connotations, by the 19th century some of these connotations were outright racist: Nubian was now a slang word in English meaning 'black slave'.


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Does United States v. Haymond Impact Probation and Post-Release Supervision in North Carolina?
Posted on Jul. 11, 2019, 6:49 pm by Jamie Markham
In United States v. Haymond, 139 S. Ct. 2369 (2019), a divided Supreme Court concluded that a federal statute was unconstitutional to the extent that it exposed the defendant to additional mandatory imprisonment based on a judicial finding that he had violated his supervised release. Does the case have implications for probation and post-release supervision hearings in North Carolina?
In Haymond, the defendant was convicted of possession of child pornography—a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison under federal law—and sentenced to 38 months of imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release. Supervised release is term of community supervision somewhat similar to post-release supervision in North Carolina's state system. While on supervised release, he "encountered trouble," slip op. at 2, when government officers found apparent child pornography on his computer and cellphone and sought revocation of his supervised release.
A judge holding a supervised release violation hearing ordinarily would have discretion to revoke supervised release and order a defendant reimprisoned for a period up to a maximum period set by statute. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3). That period typically would have been two years in Mr. Haymond's case. However, Haymond was subject to a separate supervised release rule that applies to certain sex offenders. That rule, codified in 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k), says a judge must revoke supervised release and must impose additional imprisonment of at least 5 years and up to life for covered supervisees who violate their conditions of release by committing certain enumerated offenses (including possession of child pornography). The finding of violation is made by a judge, not a jury, and by a mere preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt.
And that is what happened in Mr. Haymond's case: a federal district court judge found by a preponderance of the evidence that Haymond violated his supervised release by committing an offense covered under § 3583(k), and thus imposed an additional prison term of 5 years.
On appeal, the Tenth Circuit concluded that § 3583(k) violated the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the extent that it exposed the defendant to a "new and higher mandatory minimum" based solely on facts found by a judge. Slip op. at 4. The Supreme Court granted cert.
Five justices agreed that § 3583(k) is unconstitutional. Justice Gorsuch wrote for a four-justice plurality (himself and Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan), concluding that the mandatory 5-year term triggered by the district judge's preponderance-of-the-evidence finding of violation was functionally indistinguishable from the type of non-jury factfinding triggering a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment at sentencing—a practice deemed unconstitutional in Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013). If the facts in question increase "the legally prescribed range of allowable sentences," then they must, under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
The plurality noted that supervised release is different from traditional probation and parole, in that violations of those forms of supervision expose a defendant only to the prison term already authorized by the jury's initial determination of guilt (or plea). By contrast, under supervised release as governed by § 3583(k), a defendant's mandatory sentence exposure is increased based on a judge-found fact.
Justice Breyer authored an opinion concurring in the judgment—that § 3583(k) is unconstitutional—but without applying Alleyne or any of the Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), line of cases to reach that result. Instead, he wrote that § 3583(k) is really functioning "less like ordinary revocation and more like punishment for a new offense"—to which the jury right would obviously attach. Slip op. at 2 (Breyer, J., concurring). A combination of three factors unique to § 3583(k) informed his thinking: (1) that it applies only when a defendant is found to have committed a discrete set of federal crimes, (2) that revocation is mandatory upon such a finding, and (3) that the period of the revocation is subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. The four-justice plurality and Justice Breyer agreed that the case should be remanded for the lower courts to address the question of the proper remedy for the constitutional infirmity.
As discussed in Justice Alito's dissent, parts of the plurality opinion could leave all federal supervised release proceedings on somewhat shaky constitutional footing. But what impact—if any—might the decision have on North Carolina's various forms of community-based supervision?
Whether in the context of probation, post-release supervision, or parole, we don't have anything quite like § 3583(k). In North Carolina, a defendant's maximum sentence exposure in any context is known at sentencing—whether through the suspended term of imprisonment in a probation case; the extra 9, 12, or 60 months baked into a defendant's maximum sentence that constitute his or her revocation exposure during PRS; or the maximum term of imprisonment remaining at the point of an early parole. No law extends that maximum for any particular type of violation, and our courts have consistently held that the activation of a suspended term of imprisonment is not additional punishment. See, e.g., State v. Sparks, 182 N.C. App. 45, 48 (2007) ("[A] court's determination that probation should be revoked does not constitute a new 'punishment.'"). And no finding of violation triggers a mandatory minimum imposition of any part of the existing sentence. So our revocation law appear sound under the plurality's application of Apprendi-Alleyne concepts.
That said, there is certainly language in the plurality opinion that could signal a broader application of trial rights to the post-conviction revocation context. The opinion begins with the sweeping statement that "[o]nly a jury, acting on proof beyond a reasonable doubt, may take a person's liberty." Slip op. at 1. Taken literally, that might suggest that any revocation proceeding could be viewed as requiring more than proof by a preponderance of the evidence to the judge—or to the judge's "reasonable satisfaction," which is the standard in North Carolina. As noted by the dissent, there is little functional difference between sentence exposure baked into a single maximum sentence and additional exposure tacked on by way of a separate statute.
The type of North Carolina case that strikes me as most likely to feel an impact from Haymond might be one that falls in a "C" or "C/I" cell on the sentencing grid. In those cases, where no active sentence is allowed at sentencing, it could be said that an additional finding of violation is required to enable the defendant's full loss of liberty. It doesn't take much of an extension of the plurality opinion to make the argument that the defendant is therefore entitled to have that finding made by a jury. On the other hand, our approach doesn't really run afoul of any of the three factors identified in Justice Breyer's concurrence—in response to a crime, triggering mandatory revocation, with a mandatory minimum imprisonment period—which really sets the limits of the Court's holding in Haymond.
Category: Sentencing, Uncategorized | Tags: Alleyne v. United States, Apprendi v. New Jersey, blakely v. washington, haymond, post-release supervision, probation, supervised release, United States v. Haymond
8 comments on "Does United States v. Haymond Impact Probation and Post-Release Supervision in North Carolina?"
There was a time when Bob Farb would answer questions for attorneys at the Institute of Government. He did not pontificate or extrapolate decisions, or dicta within opinions, based on theoretical questions. He really just answered your question. Wow.
Wow is right! Excellent summary of the case and possible implications on probation revocations. Thank you for this!!
Anyone can reiterate a higher court's finding. It takes a real understanding of the law to evaluate the impact of that other court's decision on local legal matters. As always, thanks for your thoughtful consideration and evaluation, Jamie. Well done.
Contrary to jmr, above, I find this a perfectly suitable memorandum of a new SCOTUS case on their long-running struggle with these Apprendi-ish constitutional sentencing issues. There is no reason, that I find in reading the opinion, that a black and white answer to whether there are any implications for NC sentencing should be apparent. There is a lot of language in there. Lawyers could make substantive arguments that there are some problems, or they may concede that the opinion really isn't trying to address NC style revocation. I'm struggling to envision Professor Farb offering anything different. One of the most helpful aspects of this service is knowing that the Court is messing with the issue at all. As opposed to just reading everything, which I no longer pretend to do…
Didn't the 4th circuit differentiate NC probationary sentences from the feds, more specifically, post supervision release and the feds supervised release in US v. Simmons? It ruled on possession of gun by felon, but it did analyze probationary sentences, right?
This case shot down the federal statutes that controlled the 5 year man minimum for this particular violation of supervised release. There's not really a NC state equivalent to that but the opinion had to go into trial rights vs. judge found facts – like happens in state rev hearings also.
If comparing to North Carolina procedures, wouldn't it be advantageous to consider whether a 3-month reimprisonment on a Post-Release case is legal considering the 90 days is not credited to the maximum sentence time and essentially tolling the post-release time, therefore adding 90 additional days to a maximum sentence that has already been set by the sentencing judge?
HERBERT EVANS
"THE UNITED STATES PAROLE COMMISSION HAVE BEEN USING FEDERAL CODE REGULATIONS FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE OFFENDERS FOR 77 YEARS, IN VIOLATION OF TH 10TH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. AND A SILENT RECORD OF THERES, IGNORING THE EQUITTABLE STREET TIME CREDIT AMENDMENT ACT OF 2008, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LAW 17-389 S.S. 24-406(C), WHICH AMENDED S.S. 24-406(A) EFFECTIVE DATE MAY 20, 2009. UNDER DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE STATUTE SEE: FRERGUSON V. WAINWRIGHT et. al, no. 1.2011 CVO1218 DOCUMENT 21 (D.D.C. 2012) OPINION BY DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DISTRICT JUDGE / ———AMY BERMAN JACKSON.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This was really fun to create. Buttons are a passion of mine and prior to having kids, whenever we ventured to antique shops I was seeking out the button bins. I have a pretty large stash.
Here, I've used a pair of old shell buttons, mismatched. I've been trying to figure out how to make this something that could hang since most of the ones on Pinterest lay about on tabletops looking charming, but calling for chance to be a pendant or a tree decoration.
I used linen string that I found at Michael's and sandwiched it between the button and the first page. I've not solved the problem completely with this sample as the book dangles open, but if a loop is created at the bottom before feeding through the holes and then exiting out the top, then the string can be looped round the "book" and fed through the loop clasping the book shut. I'll try that next.


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The writing prompt Storms had me a little stumped this week. I don't know of any storm survival stories or storm chasers in my family, nor does anyone have a name that has anything to do with bad weather. But then I remembered my 2nd cousin, twice removed, Elsie Lauretta Metz.
Elsie Metz 1902
Born in Cincinnati on 24 May 1880, Elsie was the second and final child born to John and Isabella (Drescher) Metz. Their son Daniel was born in 1873. Elsie entered the University of Cincinnati (UC) in 1899, one of the 141 entering freshmen at a university of 1,145 students. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1902. She received a teaching fellowship in Modern Languages at the university for the 1903-1904 school year. She would later be awarded a Master of Arts degree from UC.
In December of 1911, 30-year-old Elsie applied for a U.S. passport, which was granted on 3 January 1912. This was in preparation for a 78 day cruise to the Orient aboard the steamship Cincinnati. As a single woman, she traveled with family friends Caroline Moerlein and her son William Moerlein. The Moerleins were part of the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company dynasty. Elsie kept a diary of her adventure, which surfaced a couple years ago and was donated to the Cincinnati History Museum. I was able to scan the pages of the diary before it passed on to the museum.
Cincinnati Enquirer article January 31, 1912
Vanderbilt Hotel
The beginning of the trip had a series of weather-related mishaps. The group first experienced ice and sleet on 28 January as they boarded a train in Cincinnati bound for New York City. There was more sleet when they arrived in New York on 29 January, and the Hudson River was frozen over as they made their way to the Vanderbilt Hotel. Newly opened on 10 January 1912, the hotel was built by Alfred Vanderbilt, great-grandson of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. The sleet of the day turned into a blizzard by that night.
The Cincinnati left New York on 30 January, 1912. Elsie notes that they had "a rough stormy passage to Lisbon", and that her female traveling companion was never able to appear on deck as she had "every disease known." I'm sure that as First Class passengers, they were well taken care of, however. The ongoing storm was so bad that the ship was unable to land at Lisbon on 8 February, arriving the next day instead.
The ship traveled through more storms on its way to Cadiz, Spain. When they were finally able to dock, they found that their arranged trip to Seville was canceled because the railroads were washed away. Elsie records that "Spain suffering from worst floods known in sixty years."
Eventually they made their way to more temperate weather, and she does not mention any other bad weather before returning to New York on 20 May 1912. But, at least at the beginning of the trip, Elsie must have been wondering, what in the world have I gotten myself into?
Denver Post Story
On a side note, Captain Schulke of the Cincinnati reported that at midnight on 14 April he received a call for help from the ill-fated Titanic. While on the way to offer aid, the Captain was told that his help was not needed so he turned his ship back to its original course.
Elsie had many more traveling adventures in her life, including one where she had to get an emergency passport at the US Embassy in Berlin when WWI broke out in 1914 and she needed to get back to America. She died a spinster at the age of 93 on 21 March 1974.
Elsie Metz ~1954
Labels: 52 Ancestors, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, ancestors, blogging, elsie metz, family, family history, genealogy, journey, Metz, ship, storm, travel, writing, writing challenge
Linda Austin said...
Yikes, what an adventure to Europe, and such an interesting tidbit about the Titanic. That's wonderful to have so much story about Elsie and to have seen her diary!
Kim Wolterman said...
Like many of the ancestors I have been researching, I wish I had been able to meet her. She certainly was adventuresome!


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Bicycle Helmets – The Coalition was asked in fall 2013 to review its position in support of mandatory bike helmet legislation. Updates are available on this campaign page.


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Q: find expression not working I would like to convert all powerpoint type files to pdf using the find -exec and unoconv command.
find . -name '*.@(ppt|PPT|pptx|PPTX|pps|PPS|ppsm|PPSM|ppsx|PPSX|pptm|PPTM)' -exec unoconv -v -f pdf '{}' \;

I have done this before, but since I included the extended pattern matching it does not work. I have tried various options but nothing works. I would appreciate if someone can tell me what I am doing wrong. It just doesn't run.

A: find doesn't support extended pattern matching. Assuming you have a find with -iname support (like GNU find), I'd use something like:
find . \( -iname '*.ppt*' -o -iname '*.pps*' \) -exec unoconv -v -f pdf '{}' \;

If you're really worried about that matching files incorrectly, you can use more -o clauses with more restrictive patterns.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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On Monday, January 23rd, during its regular meeting at the Beekman Arms, the Rhinebeck Rotary featured a presentation by Pat Sexton on ENTA – the Education Network for Teachers & Artists – an organization she founded and directs which brings arts-related programs to both the Rhinebeck and Red Hook public schools. Ms. Sexton has lived and worked in Rhinebeck for 25 years and is an arts advocate and teaching artist. In 2014 she was honored, along with Jeanne Fleming, by the Rhinebeck Rotary with its "Service Above Self Award" for her work on Rhinebeck's annual "Sinterklaas" event and other arts projects in the community.
curriculum subjects through an artistic process. Ms. Sexton said that Rhinebeck Rotary's own Joe Phelan, Superintendent of Rhinebeck's schools, encouraged the organization from the outset. "We now offer 12 programs a year to both Rhinebeck and Red Hook schools," Ms. Sexton added.
The Rhinebeck Rotary Club meets on Mondays at 12:15 pm at the Beekman Arms throughout the year. The Rotary is a humanitarian organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of others through local, national, and international service projects. Weekly meetings typically feature speakers covering a wide variety of human-interest topics. Interested guests are welcome to attend. For information on becoming a member, to reserve a speaker's spot at an upcoming meeting, or to attend a meeting to hear a specific speaker, please call Lou Trapani at 845-876-3088, ext. 14.


You might have heard of the 14 stages of love according to the Arabic language, but what you don't know is the recent discovery of a 15th stage... memes.
Romantic and funny love-related memes tend to melt the heart of your loved ones, no kidding. Ready for a good laugh?
"May God join our laundry together."
"If your crush ever hits your car by accident."
"To my dearest... what was her name again?"
"The married ones, when they hear an engaged couple talking about happy marriages."
Her: Who's my love? Tell me... You're the one I love.
"My grandfather taught me to hate women... but after I saw you I hated my grandfather."
"You can keep tagging him in posts featuring Ramadan lanterns, but still, you're never getting a reply!"
"- Why did you get married?
- Because my parents didn't raise me well!"
"They say 'I love you' gives people life. Apparently, they never heard 'Money has been deposited in your bank account'."
"- Do you love her, Khalaf?
- Very much ya Hussein, I sit on the staircase just to hear her say 'excuse me'."
"I love you so much that I want to eat you up!"


text:
Q: Append, Remove, Edit a Dictionary Item from List of Dictionary How do I perform such task in a list of dictionary?
lists = [{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Doe', 'color': 'red'}]

(1) Append an item, {'age': '30'} to the current lists [0].
lists = [{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Doe', 'color': 'red', 'age': '30}]

(2) How do I change the 'lastname' to 'Smith'?
lists = [{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Smith', 'color': 'red', 'age': '30}]

(3) How do I remove the 'color' from the list?
lists = [{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Smith', 'age': '30}]

A: lists = [{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Doe', 'color': 'red'}]

# update value to 30
lists[0]["age"] = 30
print(lists)
# update value to smith
lists[0]["lastname"] = "Smith"
print(lists)
# finally delete using the del statement using the key
del lists[0]["color"]
print(lists)

[{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Doe', 'age': 30, 'color': 'red'}]
[{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Smith', 'age': 30, 'color': 'red'}]
[{'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Smith', 'age': 30}]

A: The same way you would with any other dictionary. lists[0] is a dictionary.
(1) Appending:
lists[0]['age'] = '30'

(2) Modifying
lists[0]['lastname'] = 'Smith'

(3) Deleting
del lists[0]['color']

A: (1) Append an item, {'age': '30'} to the current lists [0].
>>>lists[0]['age']=30
>>>lists
[{'age': 30, 'color': 'red', 'firstname': 'John', 'lastname': 'Doe'}]

(2) How do I change the 'lastname' to 'Smith'?
>>>lists[0]['lastname'] = "Smith"
>>>lists
[{'lastname': 'Smith', 'age': 30, 'color': 'red', 'firstname': 'John'}]

(3) How do I remove the 'color' from the list?
>>>del lists[0]['color'] #or lists[0].pop('color') , This should return `red`
>>>lists
[{'lastname': 'Smith', 'age': 30, 'firstname': 'John'}]


Preference will be given to the applicants with experience in designing, developing, and implementing learning and teaching materials.
Work closely with designers and other developers to create modern responsive websites and applications.
Handle simple layout revise of web project.
At least 2 year experience in solid experience in HTML coding in work environment.
Must have strong knowledge on HTML5, CSS3, JQuery, Bootstrap and Responsive Web Layout.
Skills in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver).
Creative and innovative, quality work with detail-minded.
Prefer to provide online design portfolio.
Involved in both Government and commercial projects - High exposure in state-of-the-art technological platforms and business domains.
Take ownership of call resolution until it is resolved.
Strong communication skills is essential.


Christmas time is a special time of the year, regardless of one's faith. It provides a time to remember people we care about, to travel to see family and friends, and to pause and reflect on years old and new.
There are endless variations on gifts to buy, and it's easy to be sold on buying more. But I don't think we need to.
There is no gift better than a heartfelt hug, and no words are sweeter to hear than "I love you." When you stand by someone through the tough times, you bring them encouragement and strength. When you say "I'm sorry" you wash away distance and pain. When you smile and thank people in your life, be they a friend or a service provider, you create community.
When people stand together they see the common goals we all share: peace, love, health and joy.
Here's to standing by each other, and caring more each day.


MacKay CEO Forums hosts CEO panel breakfast events regularly across the country. These events help successful CEOs, executives, business owners, and board Members connect with and learn from their peers, and stay current with emerging trends.
The theme for our 2019 breakfast series and 1-day EDGE Summit in Vancouver is Inspiring Leadership.
Full-day, high-impact peer learning and networking event on Embracing Innovation & Technology.
Exclusive, invitation-only CEO panel breakfast events.
MacKay CEO Forums has been a great source of shared experience from my peers in the business community. The education topics and coaching expertise are also very valuable benefits of the program.
Meet and exchange ideas with top business leaders from a variety of industries.
Build long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships with successful peers from across Canada.


Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles using microorganisms has received profound interest because of their potential to synthesize nanoparticles of various size, shape and morphology. In the current study, synthesis of silver nanoparticles by a bacterial strain (CS 11) isolated from heavy metal contaminated soil is reported. Molecular identification of the isolate showed it as a strain of Bacillus sp. On treating the bacteria with 1 mM AgNO3, it was found to have the ability to form silver nanoparticles extracellularly at room temperature within 24 h. This was confirmed by the visual observation and UV–Vis absorption at 450 nm. Further characterization of nanoparticles by transmission electron microscopy confirmed the size of silver nanoparticles in 42–92 nm range. Therefore, the current study is a demonstration of an efficient synthesis of stable silver nanoparticle by a Bacillus strain.
Silver nanoparticle Biosynthesis Extracellular Bacillus sp.
V. L. Das and R. Thomas contributed equally to the work.
Nanotechnology involving synthesis and applications of nanomaterials is a rapidly growing field with significant applications in various areas (Duran et al. 2005). The attraction of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is mainly because of its application in therapeutics, biomolecular detection, catalysis and also as antimicrobial agents (Sadhasivam et al. 2010; Shrivastava et al. 2009; Wei et al. 2008; Christopher et al. 2011). Microbial synthesis of nanoparticles is eco-friendly and has significant advantages over other processes since it takes place at relatively ambient temperature and pressure (Gade et al. 2008; Mukherjee et al. 2008; Wei et al. 2012). As the size and shape of nanoparticles can also be controlled in microbial synthesis (Narayanan and Sakthivel 2010), screening of unexplored microorganisms for AgNPs synthesizing property is very important.
Microbial synthesis of metal nanoparticles can take place either intracellularly or extracellularly (Ahmad et al. 2003, 2007; Jain et al. 2011; Kalishwaralal et al. 2010; Pugazhenthiran et al. 2009; Saifuddin et al. 2009). Intracellular synthesis of nanoparticles requires additional steps such as ultrasound treatment or reactions with suitable detergents to release the synthesized nanoparticles (Babu et al. 2009; Kalimuthu et al. 2008). At the same time extracellular biosynthesis is cheap and it requires simpler downstream processing. This favours large-scale production of silver nanoparticles to explore its potential applications. Because of this, many studies were focussed on extracellular methods for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles (Duran et al. 2005). When the culture supernatant of Bacillus megaterium was treated with aqueous solutions of Ag+ ions, within few minutes it formed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) extracellularly (Saravanan et al. 2011). Studies using culture supernatants of bacteria like Pseudomonas proteolytica, Pseudomonas meridiana, Arthrobacter kerguelensis, Bacillus indicus, etc., were also proven its property to form extracellular nanoparticles very effectively (Shivaji et al. 2011). Studies on reduction of Ag+ ions to AgNPs by Staphylococcus aureus also highlight the potential of extracellular method of nanoparticle formation (Nanda and Saravanan 2009).
Long and continuous microbial interactions with various metals can be greatly expected among bacterial isolates from industrialized area. This provides high possibility of identifying interesting microbial strains with nanoparticle forming properties. In the current study, soil microorganisms from industrialized area were screened for its potential to form silver nanoparticles. The selected strain was subjected to identification by molecular methods which resulted in its identification as a Bacillus sp. and very interestingly the isolate was found to have the ability to synthesize silver nanoparticles both intracellularly and extracellularly. The reduction of silver ions was checked by visual inspection as well as by measuring its UV–visible absorption. Further characterization by transmission electron microscopy confirmed the synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles with size range of 42–94 nm.
Soil samples were collected from heavy metal contaminated areas of Cochin, Kerala, India, and were used as the source material for bacterial isolation. The samples were serially diluted in sterile 0.8 % NaCl and then plated onto nutrient agar (Babu and Gunasekaran 2009). The colonies obtained were further subcultured on nutrient agar supplemented with 1 mM concentration of filter-sterilized AgNO3. This was further incubated at room temperature for 48 h and the plates were observed for bacterial growth. The isolated colonies were subcultured and obtained in the form of pure culture and from this one of the strains CS 11 was selected randomly to explore its potential to form silver nanoparticles.
Molecular identification of the isolated strain was carried out by 16S rDNA sequence-based method. Total genomic DNA was isolated from a selected strain for PCR. Quality of the isolated DNA was checked by agarose gel electrophoresis and was further quantified using UV–Vis spectrophotometer (Hitachi U5100). The genomic DNA was then used as template for PCR using the primers 16SF (5′-AgA gTTTgA TCM Tgg CTC-3′) and 16SR (5′-AAg gAggTg WTC CAR CC-3′). The PCR was carried out in a total volume of 50 μL containing 50 ng of genomic DNA, 20 pmol of each primer, 1.25 Units of Taq DNA polymerase, 200 μM of each dNTPs and 1× PCR buffer as components. The PCR was performed for 35 cycles in a Mycycler™ (Bio-Rad, USA) with the initial denaturation for 3 min at 94 °C, cyclic denaturation for 30 s at 94 °C, annealing for 30 s at 58 °C and extension for 2 min at 72 °C with a final extension of 7 min at 72 °C. After the PCR, the reaction products were analysed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The product was then gel purified and was further subjected to sequencing PCR using the Big Dye Terminator Sequence Reaction Ready Mix (Applied Biosystem). After the reaction, product was purified, precipitated and was used for sequence run in the DNA sequencer ABI 310 Genetic Analyser. The sequence data of 16S rDNA thus obtained was further aligned using BioEdit program. This sequence was then used for BLAST analysis. The 16S rDNA sequence of CS 11 was also used for phylogenetic analysis using neighbor-joining method in MEGA5 (Tamura et al. 2011).
For silver nanoparticle biosynthesis studies, the selected bacterial isolate was inoculated in to 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask containing 100 ml sterile nutrient broth. The cultured flasks were incubated in a rotating shaker set at 200 rpm for 48 h at room temperature. After this the culture was centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 10 min. The biomass and supernatant were separated and used separately for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The supernatant was used for studying extracellular production of silver nanoparticles by mixing it with filter-sterilized AgNO3 solution at 1 mM final concentration. At the same time, bacterial biomass was taken for intracellular synthesis. For this approximately 2 g of wet biomass was resuspended in 100 ml of 1 mM aqueous solution of AgNO3 in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask. All the reaction mixtures were incubated on rotating shaker (200 rpm) at room temperature for a period of 72 h in light. Heat-killed samples with AgNO3 were also incubated along with experimental samples as control. Visual observation was conducted periodically to check for the nanoparticle formation. Further characterization was conducted for nanoparticle generated through extracellular methods.
The optical characteristics of the synthesized silver nanoparticles were analysed using UV–Vis spectrophotometer. For this, nanoparticle containing samples were subjected to absorption analysis at 200–700 nm range using UV–Vis spectrophotometer (Hitachi U5100). The silver nanoparticles synthesized by the supernatant were further subjected to TEM analysis. This was used to get an insight into size and morphology of the formed silver nanoparticles. Samples for TEM analysis were prepared on carbon-coated copper TEM grids. The films on the TEM grids were allowed to stand for 2 min, then extra solution was removed and the grid was allowed to dry prior to measurement. TEM measurements were recorded using a JEOL-JEM-1011 instrument at 80 kV.
Among the 11 bacterial isolates (CS 1–CS 11) purified from soil samples, CS 11 was randomly selected for the study and was found to have the ability to form silver nanoparticles as observed by change in colour of the reaction. The selected isolate was further subjected to molecular identification by 16S rDNA sequencing-based method. The sequence data were subjected to BLAST analysis and the result showed its maximum identity of 99 % to various Bacillus sp. mainly Bacillus cereus (Fig. 1). The 16S rDNA sequence of the isolate was submitted to NCBI under the accession number JN835219.
The biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using both biomass and supernatant were separately investigated primarily through the observation of colour change of the experimental samples in the presence of 1 mM AgNO3. A colour change from pale yellow to brown occurred for both bacterial biomass and supernatant within 24 h of incubation in the presence of light and is shown in Fig. 2. The positive result as observed by the formation of brown colour was maintained throughout the 72-h period of observation. At the same time, experimental control containing heat-killed biomass or supernatant with silver nitrate showed no colour change. This suggests the colour change observed in the bacterial biomass and the supernatant samples was due to the formation of silver nanoparticles. Even though the colour change was observed for samples containing both biomass and supernatant, further experiments were continued only for the extracellular samples. This is because of the comparative advantages of extracellular synthesis over intracellular method.
The colour change observed for the extracellular samples were further confirmed by UV–Vis spectral analysis as part of primary confirmation. Silver nanoparticles are known to have an intense absorption peak in UV absorption spectra due to its surface plasmon excitation. For the culture supernatant of CS 11, an absorption peak was observed at 450 nm and is an indication of formation of silver nanoparticles (Fig. 3). In addition, these absorption spectra for the silver nanoparticles were obtained within 24 h. The colour change and UV absorption data analysis thus confirms the reduction of AgNO3 to silver nanoparticles by the culture supernatant of CS 11.
For further confirmation of nanoparticles formed by bacterial supernatant, the samples were subjected to TEM analysis. The result revealed that the silver nanoparticles were generally spherical in shape and in the size range of 42–94 nm (Fig. 4). The size of the nanoparticles can have direct effect on its physico-chemical properties and this can vary among the particles formed by different groups of microorganisms.
The biological agents in the form of microbes are efficient candidates for the synthesis of nanoparticles. These biogenic nanoparticles are cost-effective, simpler to synthesize and the method is greener in approach. Silver nanoparticle had drawn much attention because of their extensive application to new technologies in chemistry, electronics, medicine and biotechnology. In the current study, a bacterial strain isolated from heavy metal contaminated soil samples was found to have resistance to silver nitrate. Very interestingly, the selected Bacillus strain showed the ability to synthesize silver nanoparticles by both extracellular and intracellular synthesis mechanisms. This was observed by the change in colour from pale yellow to brown. Observation on colour change is a method generally used for screening microbial isolates for silver nanoparticle synthesis (Kalimuthu et al. 2008). The excitation of surface plasmon vibration in the silver nanoparticles was considered as the basis for formation of brown colour. Similar observation was previously reported for the supernatant of Bacillus megaterium, where a pale yellow to brown colour was formed due to the reduction of aqueous silver ions to silver nanoparticles (Saravanan et al. 2011). This supports the fact that change in colour as observed in the experiment can be considered as an indication of silver nanoparticles formation. This was further confirmed by UV–Vis spectroscopy which measures the absorption spectra of silver nanoparticles formed due to the collective excitation of conduction electrons in the metal. Thus, methods based on UV–Vis spectroscopy have been shown to be an effective technique for the analysis of nanoparticles (Sastry et al. 1998). UV–Vis spectra of silver nanoparticles synthesized by the selected isolate showed an absorption band at 450 nm by treating the supernatant with AgNO3. Presence of such peak, assigned to a surface plasmon, was also well documented for silver nanoparticles as reported in the case of Neurospora crassa (Longoria et al. 2011).
The mechanism behind the extracellular synthesis of nanoparticles using microbes is not fully known. But it is considered that the enzymes like nitrate reductase secreted by microbes help in the bioreduction of metal ions to metal nanoparticles (Duran et al. 2005). This was reported in Bacillus licheniformis where nitrate reductase secreted by the bacteria was found to be responsible for the reduction of Ag+ to nanoparticles (Kalimuthu et al. 2008). Detailed analysis of TEM data proved that the silver nanoparticles formed were not in direct contact with each other. This can be taken as a proof of good stabilization of the nanoparticles which can be due to the proteins secreted by microorganisms. The size ranges of silver nanoparticles produced by the CS 11 (42–94 nm) fall closer to the size of silver nanoparticles produced by other bacteria (Gurunathan et al. 2009).
In conclusion, this work demonstrates the silver nanoparticles synthesizing property of bacteria isolated from industrialized area. The isolate CS 11 selected in the study was found to have the potential to form silver nanoparticles extracellularly at room temperature within 24 h. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy and confirmed by TEM. The nanoparticles formed by the isolate were found to be stable with size range of 42–92 nm which indicate its potential applications.
The authors gratefully acknowledge School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India, for the help and support for the analysis of samples and also DBT-RGYI (Department of Biotechnology-Rapid Grant Young Investigator) Programme for the instrumentation facility.


text:
Brussels Mission
Embassies of the Eastern Caribbean States and Missions to the European Union
News from/mentioning Caribbean Community
DCRM
Development Cooperation & Resource Mobilisation
ECCAA
News from the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority
ECCB
News from Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
ECLS
Eastern Caribbean Liaison Services
ECSC
News from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
ECTEL
News from the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority
Early Learners Programme
Reading development programme for young learners by the OECS funded by USAID
Geneva Mission
Permanent Delegation of the OECS to the UN Office and other International Organisations in Geneva
Morocco Mission
The Embassies of Eastern Caribbean States to the Kingdom of Morocco
OECS Feature Series
Featured accomplishments of skilled professionals from the OECS Member States on a Quarterly Basis
OECS Yes in Action
This initiative seeks to highlight OECS youth on the path to great achievements within the region and in the Diaspora.
Ocean Governance and Fisheries
OECS News on Pharmaceuticals
Search pressroom.oecs.org
Agriculture Biodiversity Brussels Mission Business CARICOM COVID-19 Climate Change DCRM Disaster Risk Management ECCAA ECCB ECLS ECSC ECTEL Early Learners Programme Economic Development Education Energy Geneva Mission Health International Relations Legal Services Migration Morocco Mission OECS Feature Series OECS Yes in Action Ocean Governance and Fisheries Pharmaceuticals Social Development Sports Statistics Tourism Trade Youth
Dominica National Energy Policy: 100% Renewable by 2030
The Commonwealth of Dominica Holds Stakeholder Consultation on National Energy Policy (NEP)
Monday, December 21, 2020 — ROSEAU, Dominica – An insightful, informative and interactive National Energy Policy (NEP) Stakeholder Consultation was recently held to inform on the role and value of the policy to Dominica; to build an appreciation for the background and process in the development of a draft NEP; to provide an opportunity to obtain feedback and input from stakeholders to assist in finalizing the document and; to confirm the process for integrating feedback prior to submission to Government and outline the process for ongoing technical assistance.
In addressing the large group of participants, Dr. Reginald Thomas, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security highlighted the importance of the NEP which he explained will enable Dominica to transform into a sustainable and vibrant economy.
Dr. Thomas added that energy is a key contributor to the economies of small islands and the NEP is a vehicle for dialogue while seeking to demystify technical aspects and providing Dominicans with a sense of ownership and excitement.
Meanwhile, Glynn Morris, Principal of CADMUS Group commended the contributors to the NEP on a "new way of looking at an energy policy which is world-leading" adding that the energy sector is often approached, first, from the supply side but Dominica's NEP draft is coming from an energy services perspective which focuses on energy needs in Dominica. He further explained that the "demand-pull versus supply-push" proposition makes tangible sense.
Morris walked participants through a detailed presentation on exploring the: Role of energy services, the energy services supply chain, energy flows in Dominica, losses in the provision of energy and the objectives of the policy among other critical areas.
The Technical Assistance Program for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean (TAPSEC) was represented by Program Leader, Simon Zellner who presented an overview of the CARICOM Energy Policy and Regulations Help Desk which aims to provide CARICOM Member States with the required technical support to develop an enabling environment to accelerate the sustainable energy transition.
After the formal presentations, an engaging and lively exchange of suggestions, ideas and input ensued with participants leading to the consensus that Dominica is on the right path with its draft policy and could easily be an example for the rest of the region.
Click here to view the latest CREAD Newsletter!
About the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica - CREAD:
Operating as a statutory government agency, the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD) leads and coordinates strategic initiatives across sectors in the Commonwealth of Dominica with the goal of making the country the world's first climate-resilient nation.
CREAD acts to bolster the ability of the business community, public services, and social sector partners to build strong and resilient communities, develop adaptive infrastructure, accelerate economic growth, strengthen institutional systems, enhance Dominicans' capacity to respond to the local impacts of global climate change, and set an example for the rest of the world on how to respond to the challenges of a changing climate.
Climate Change Energy Social Development
Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD)
info@creadominica.org
creadominica.org
OECS Communications Unit Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
media@oecs.int
@oecscommission
oecs.int
CARILEC - CARICOM Energy Month 2020
About The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Back to www.oecs.int
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has eleven members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
www.oecs.int
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Morne Fortune
Prezly - public relations software


Oooh, I like the new dotty fabric!!
What a fun quilt! I love the pattern and you've chosen such lovely colors!
what lovely dotties -- they just look so happy. you should get better light bulbs to help with your photos -- at Home depot and Lowes they sell the ones marked daylight bulbs and they make a huge difference. I was having a similar problem in my room and now i have light to spare. 2 in the over head, one for the floor lamp and one for the angled light only cost about $12 - 15 bucks and the angled one can serve as a spotlight for projects and picture taking.
How fun for you to be able to see all these new fabrics in person.
Your orbit quilt is looking good.
Enjoy your break, looks like you're off to a good start!
I love your orbit top. :) I saw the mirror ball prints in the shop and thought I might need to find a project to use some of those in. There's such a beautiful range of colors!


It was the kind of game the Baltimore Orioles have played far too many times, usually with unfavorable results.
The Orioles took an early lead against the Boston Red Sox last night. Then, sure enough, Baltimore fell behind in the eighth inning. Given the way the Orioles have played this season — along with their inability to beat Boston at home — the outcome seemed predictable.
This time, however, Miguel Tejada tied the game with an eighth-inning homer. And after Adam Jones doubled in the 10th, Tejada singled with two outs to give the Orioles a 5-4 win.
Baltimore pitchers issued 10 walks and allowed three homers, and the Orioles won anyway.
Tejada had three RBIs, including that clutch homer off Daniel Bard after Baltimore blew a 3-1 lead.
The win improved the Orioles' home record to 2-8 and ended a seven-game skid against Boston at Camden Yards.
"A lot of twists and turns, but what it comes down to is getting the big hit when you need it from a guy who's been there," Trembley said.
J.D. Drew hit two solo homers and Dustin Pedroia homered and drove in two runs for the Red Sox, whose three-game winning streak ended. The defeat left Boston with its first losing April (11-12) since 1996.
The Red Sox went down in order only three times, went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11.
After Jones doubled with one out off Ramon Ramirez (0-1), Nick Markakis was walked intentionally. Hideki Okajima came in to face Matt Wieters, who struck out.
Tejada then grounded a single up the middle off Manny Delcarmen.
Matt Albers (1-3) pitched a perfect 10th for the Orioles, whose 5-18 record is still the worst in the majors.
Boston made it 3-3 in the seventh. Darnell McDonald drew a two-out walk from Jason Berken and went to third on a single by Marco Scutaro. Jim Johnson came in and gave up an RBI single to Pedroia.
Drew connected off Johnson in the eighth, capping his 16th career multi-homer game. Drew came in with two homers and doubled his season total.
Both starting pitchers left with the lead before being betrayed by their bullpens.
Boston's John Lackey allowed three runs, two earned, in seven innings and was pulled with the Red Sox up 4-3.


Most of the work I do with Microsoft software is carried out for clients who have a volume license agreement, so working with OEM copies of Windows Server 2003 R2 over the last week or so has been my first exposure to Windows product activation. After having built and activated a server, then wondering whether blowing it away and starting again would affect the activation status I found Alex Nichol's description of Windows product activation on Windows XP (it's basically he same for Windows Server 2003 R2). I decided not to rebuild the server in the end but Alex's article was a certainly a useful description of how the activation process works and the hardware changes that can affect the validity of the software.


I'll be living in Mexico City; Bogota, Colombia; Medellin, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Cordoba, Argentina; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Prague, Czech Republic; Belgrade, Serbia; Valencia, Spain; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; and will round out 2017 in Kyoto, Japan. Also, per my contract with USC, I will have to fly back to Los Angeles for three check-ins throughout the year which means over 30,000 travel miles.
Many people I've told have asked all about the logistics and then there's the one thing everyone always asks: Why? Why leave a city that you love, a successful in-house design career, graduate school, and a loving relationship of five years to jet set across the globe and live out of a suitcase alongside people you don't know FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR. In which I always respond: why not! Life is precious and altogether too short to not go after your dreams and these once in a lifetime opportunities.
It definitely wasn't an easy decision to temporarily leave behind a life that I built and love in LA, but I am looking forward to challenges that await. To me, life is about going outside of your comfort zone and having new experiences in order to make meaningful changes. The number one reason why I want to travel, work, and live abroad with Remote Year is because it will inevitably force me into uncomfortable and challenging situations that will in return allow me to grow and learn more about myself and others. The beauty of traveling around the world is that it allows you to get a big-picture perspective on things. In my travels, I always felt that by detaching myself from the familiar environment, I was able to gain new perspectives. In spending a month in each city and taking the time to immerse myself in a culture, I will have a greater understanding of the people and their environment. This rewarding year is a way to connect with my fellow human beings in a deeper and more meaningful way. It will teach me about what community is, and why it's important for us humans. I am looking at this experience as an opportunity to adapt to further situations, as well as give me psychological strength.
When something is meant to be, it flows effortlessly.


My day job at Unruly consists of me making cool things and sipping tea.
Occasionally, I get out of my tea cave to refill my mug with hot chocolate and also to do some designy things.
On other days? I just really like drawing odd things and making useless 3-frame .gifs.


Kuro Sumi etc. brand. We import from USA, China, Bangkok etc. country.
Our organization is offering best quality collection of machines for our customers since our incorporation in this domain. We have developed a highly advanced infrastructure unit at our premise that is laced with the upgraded machines and tools. Also we have hired a team of qualified professionals to handle our business operations. Our team consists of young and dynamic personnel who strive hard to achieve the desired goals and objectives. We are able to cater the bulk demands of the offered machines owing to our manufacturing capacity.


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Q: How to use Silverlight spy tool with Selenium WebDriver I have downloaded free version of silverlight spy tool to capture object defitions of silverlight controls. I want to use these definitions into my script which I am executing using selenium web driver.
Could anyone help me on how to capture object definitions so that these can be used in Selenium webdriver framework.

A: Selenium does not interact with Silverlight on its own. You will have to find a library, etc. that will allow you to interface with Silverlight and Selenium together. I found an old post that talks about one such library.
How can automation testing on Silverlight using Selenium be done?


CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (AP) Â? A Wabash College freshman died early Sunday morning after falling from the roof of a campus building.
Wabash spokesman Jim Amidon said 19-year-old Patrick Michael Woehnker (WAH'-ni-ker), of Kendallville, fell from the top of Goodrich Hall, an academic building that was closed at the time.
School officials do not know why he was on the roof or how he got there. The college and Crawfordsville Police are investigating.
Amidon said Woehnker was a member of the college swimming and diving team. He said the freshman also was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.


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Biografia

Giovinezza ed educazione
Nacque, secondogenito dopo Alvise, da Nicolò di Nicolò Foscarini (ramo "di San Stae") e da Eleonora di Marco Loredan (ramo "di San Marcuola).

Un trentennio prima della sua nascita la famiglia paterna era stata investita da due eventi che ne avevano minato il prestigio politico: il bisnonno Alvise era morto in esilio a Mantova per aver ucciso un artigiano che si era invaghito della moglie; il nonno Nicolò era stato assassinato da un altro nobile per futili motivi. Furono però il prozio Sebastiano e il padre Nicolò a risollevare le sorti della casata, favoriti dalle parentele illustri (il futuro doge Carlo Ruzzini era fratello della nonna) e dalle notevoli risorse finanziarie (che permisero a Nicolò di divenire procuratore di San Marco nel 1715).

Se al primogenito Alvise fu assegnato il compito di proseguire la casata attraverso un matrimonio conveniente e di amministrarne il patrimonio, Marco fu destinato alla vita pubblica.

A nove anni entrò nel collegio "San Francesco Saverio" di Bologna, prestigiosa scuola dei nobili retta dai gesuiti; tra l'altro, qui imparò il francese e lo spagnolo. Tornato a Venezia, prima di esordire in politica frequentò molte accademie e in occasione di una riunione recitò il Discorso sulla necessità della storia e della facoltà di ben dire per gli uomini di Repubblica.

Divenne noto per la sua erudizione; è curioso notare come uno dei suoi interessi principali fossero i coralli, tanto che il famoso letterato Gasparo Gozzi, suo frequente ospite, si lamentava del fatto che ogni conversazione, in ogni momento della giornata, dovesse vertere su quell'argomento tanto insolito.

Come tutti gli studiosi della sua epoca, Marco Foscarini ebbe importanti collezioni di libri e manoscritti antichi.
Pur d'arricchire i suoi archivi, forse non disdegnò comportamenti poco consoni ad un gentiluomo; infatti si dice che una volta, durante un'ambasciata a Roma, con l'appoggio del nipote Sebastiano, derubasse un suo ospite, addirittura un cardinale, d'un prezioso manoscritto, sostituendolo con un falso.

Vere o false che fossero queste voci (peraltro il derubare un "concorrente", all'epoca, era visto come cosa normale), genuine furono la sua grande cultura e la sua abilità nell'arte oratoria.

Divenuto procuratore di S. Marco per meriti, si ritirò dalla carriera diplomatica per dedicarsi interamente ai suoi studi e per affinare la sua oratoria in ambito letterario, oltre che politico.

Disponibilità economica
Nel 1745 Pietro Foscarini, d'un ramo minore della sua famiglia, molto ricco e senza eredi, lo nominò suo erede universale, consegnandogli un patrimonio immenso.

Assieme al denaro, il Foscarini trovò al suo fianco anche Elisabetta Corner, vedova di Pietro, che, a detta della malelingue, si prodigò molto a favore di Marco, il quale non si era mai sposato.

Se non è certo che fosse la sua amante, certo è che furono legati per tutta la vita da un sentimento di forte amicizia.
Pur senza assumere nuove importanti cariche, Marco Foscarini adesso, oltre ad esser apprezzato per le sue capacità, aveva anche alle spalle un vasto patrimonio da investire e numerose conoscenze.

Notevoli sono i suoi discorsi, rimasti sino ad oggi. Una volta un suo discorso fu talmente accorato, che solo alla sua conclusione ci si accorse che erano trascorse quasi quattro ore da quando aveva cominciato.

La sua nomea venne rafforzata dal suo ferreo nazionalismo: era detto "Gran Cagnesco" per il fatto d'esser sempre molto serio e di non tollerare critiche verso la Repubblica.

Quest'atteggiamento, in realtà, palesava la sua appartenenza allo schieramento conservatore, che rifiutava le idee dei nobili progressisti, i quali, vedendo lo stato agonizzante della Repubblica Veneta, volevano riformarla.

Dogato e morte
Il 19 maggio 1762 morì il doge Francesco Loredan. In vista delle elezioni per il successore, il Foscarini aveva assunto un atteggiamento più moderato nello scontro tra le due fazioni, ma alla fine risultò l'unico candidato. Grazie alle generose elargizioni ai patrizi "poveri", il 31 maggio fu votato doge quasi all'unanimità.

Già alla fine dell'estate fu colpito da una grave malattia che lo tenne distante dagli impegni politici sino a portarlo alla morte il 31 marzo 1763, dopo appena trecento giorni di governo. Forse per questa ragione venne meno un progetto di riforme che avrebbe dovuto modernizzare la Repubblica. Vero è che il Foscarini fu un conservatore, poco attratto dalle innovazioni dell'illuminismo e ancora ancorato a una visione stazionaria della politica e della storia veneziane. Solo dopo la sua scomparsa, grazie alla regia di Andrea Tron, fu messo in campo un programma di rinnovamento politico.

Fu sepolto nella tomba di famiglia nella chiesa di San Stae.

Nel 1867, dopo l'annessione di Venezia al Regno d'Italia, fu intitolato a suo nome il Liceo di Santa Caterina, nato nel 1807 per volontà napoleonica; la scuola è ancor oggi attiva con il nome di Convitto Nazionale – Liceo Classico "Marco Foscarini".

Note

Voci correlate
 Palazzo Foscarini

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Dogi della Repubblica di Venezia
Foscarini

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


One major change and something that is becoming a major problem is the declining membership. sadly this is as a result of our population becoming older with the inevitable ending. To operate our miniature railway safely we do need good membership support. If you feel you live in our catchment area and would like to offer your support please make contact, we would be pleased to meet you. Membership is not dependent on you having any engineering background, just a love of the outdoors and miniature railways. Anyone becoming a member will benefit from speaking with other members that have between them, a wealth of knowledge to share. Membership Fee's include some personal accident cover and all members are covered under Public Liability Insurance. We meet (weather permitting) every Wednesday evening at the track during the warmer months of the year. When it gets dark and colder we currently meet at the Fordbridge Centre in Ashford town on alternate Thursday evenings. We meet every Sunday morning at the track from around 09-30am until 12-00noon even when not running the railway, again weather permitting especially if outdoor work is needed. These are the times for any repair or maintenance work to be done. So if you are interested please come along and speak with some of our members, a good cuppa and selection of biscuits are always available.
On occasions 'new' members will, after a period of time, be invited to learn how to drive one of our electric locomotives and maybe even a smaller steam powered one. General duties on passenger carrying days include setting up the passenger cars and safety features associated with those. Making sure the track is fully serviceable and secured. One duty we perform is to secure the gates where provided, this is done with the authority of the local council and our Insurers. Members only allowed inside the fencing once this is completed.
Our current membership rate is fixed at £30-00 per year, with discretionary rates for younger members. Our payment year runs from January 1st each year.


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Analysts Are Neutral on These Consumer Goods Stocks: Hasbro (HAS), Under Armour (UA)
Jason Carr- July 13, 2020, 7:47 AM EDT
Analysts fell to the sidelines weighing in on Hasbro (HAS) and Under Armour (UA) with neutral ratings, indicating that the experts are neither bullish nor bearish on the stocks.
Hasbro (HAS)
BMO Capital analyst Gerrick Johnson maintained a Hold rating on Hasbro on July 8 and set a price target of $76.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $74.18.
According to TipRanks.com, Johnson is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 6.0% and a 50.0% success rate. Johnson covers the Consumer Goods sector, focusing on stocks such as Camping World Holdings, Winnebago Industries, and Activision Blizzard.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Hasbro is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $88.50.
In a report issued on July 8, Simeon Siegel from BMO Capital maintained a Hold rating on Under Armour, with a price target of $9.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $8.63, close to its 52-week low of $6.37.
According to TipRanks.com, Siegel is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 4.2% and a 58.6% success rate. Siegel covers the Consumer Goods sector, focusing on stocks such as Lululemon Athletica, Revolve Group, and Stitch Fix.
Under Armour has an analyst consensus of Hold, with a price target consensus of $9.20, which is a 10.8% upside from current levels. In a report issued on July 10, Morgan Stanley also maintained a Hold rating on the stock.
Read More on UA:
Under Armour Stock Could Stay Grounded… For Now
Under Armour Sinks 10% on Weaker Second-Quarter Sales Outlook


Online Gaming Is So Famous, But Why?
This game includes checking out things, playing and completing quests as well as fighting monsters and collect resources. Question Notes: on the web multiplayer games are games which can be played online with numerous players. Countless games and not plenty of time to try out them. After distilling the merits of their turn-based tactical shooter into the purist activities strategy of Frozen Cortex, Mode 7 Games have actually came back toward Synapse series with a view to grow.
Capcom's newest installment in Monster Hunter show brings the action adventure game back again to consoles after living on Nintendo's handhelds in 2015 and 2016. Inform us, in reviews, which games you are most looking forward to in 2018. Bittersweet considering its lukewarm commercial reception, but we must online casino commemorate the fact that this original spin on the conventional multiplayer first-person shooter is now readily available for all to savor.
Never be too reliant on anyone game play technique, because The Phantom Pain will screw you over. Luckily, it is not as boring because it appears, in part thanks to its throwback pixel art visuals and chilled-out gameplay. The primary difference through the PC and console iterations associated with game may be the power to utilize the change's movement controls therefore the option to use the go (that is downright awe-inspiring).
It's an idea that is similar to games like Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering in which you collect cards, build decks, together with duel other players making use of those decks. Marking a departure for BioWare, the overall game developer known for story driven franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Inquisition, comes Anthem, a multiplayer RPG action game.
The catch is that every time you play, the whole game is randomized. Should you want to experience a significant part of games history, Dwarf Fortress is a great start, since it ended up being exhibited during the Museum of contemporary Art in new york back 2013. Not just does the overall game look great, but it's easy to pick-up and compared to some online games the players are overall pretty friendly which makes a pleasant change.
An indie game from Meowza Games, this Animal Crossing-like adventure is bursting with cuteness. Each character has three 'power trees' concentrating on specific mechanics or gameplay style, such as Iron guy's shields or Deadpool's firearms, for example. Deluxe plays actually nicely on change and console means you'll play multiplayer anywhere, on a single console or maybe more.
Real-time method (RTS) games don't come a great deal grander than those within the Total War show, and the latest entrant, Battles KINGDOM, is free-to-play. Multiplayer games are made of player vs player along with co-op games. With a quick enough PC, War Thunder offers visual quality that you don't see all too often in free-to-play games.


We raise capital under the Reg D Exemption. As you are aware the Jobs Act would lift the general solicitation ban allowing us to reach a much greater number of possible investors. When we heard about this change we drastically altered our model believing we would soon be able to market our investment. Lifting the general solicitation ban would take an afternoon to accomplish yet it has been over a year since it was the Jobs Act was signed into law and nothing has come from it. Please give us some indication on when we can expect the general solicitation ban be lifted so that we can plan accordingly. Thank you for your assistance.


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Home/Tax Policy, The Washington Wire, The Washington Wire Archive/The End is Near (of the First Session)
The End is Near (of the First Session)
admin2019-02-06T18:43:58+00:00November 28, 2007|
Congress returns Monday with lots to do and just three weeks to do it. Here' s the list of must-pass items we' ve identified:
AMT Patch
Tax Extenders (Including the S Corporation Charitable Provision)
S-CHIP Reauthorization
All the Spending Bills
Increase Doctor Payments under Medicare
That' s enough to fill two months of session, let alone 21 days, but there' s more. In addition to these items that most observers agree must get done, there is also a long list of priorities that the majority would like to address before they go home for the holidays, including an energy bill, an agriculture bill, and more.
How will it all work out? We don' t have any clever ideas, although our expectation is that, just before Christmas, Congress may pass a large spending package combined with a one-year extension of the AMT patch. Everything else needs to be offset to one degree or another, and coming up with billions in higher taxes and/or spending cuts that the House, Senate, and President all can agree to has proven to be a daunting task. They may find a way, but it' s not going to be easy.
S-Corp Defends Small Exporters
Speaking of tax increases, remember the misguided effort last year to raise taxes on small and closely-held exporters? Well, its back, and this time the goal is to wholly eliminate the last remaining export tax benefit in the tax code.
Two bills were introduced in recent weeks to raise taxes on exporters. First, both the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees introduced technical corrections bills – HR4195 and S2374 – just before the Thanksgiving break that would, among other things, raise the tax rate applied to small exporter dividends from an IC-DISC from 15 to 35 percent!
Second, Ways and Means Chairman Rangel, as part of his big " Mother of All Tax Bills" (HR3970), proposed to completely eliminate all the remaining export provisions under the IC-DISC, raising about $800 million over ten years.
The combination of these two proposals would be to completely eliminate the lone remaining provision designed to help small and closely held exporters compete in foreign markets.
In response, S-Corp Chairman Tom McMahon wrote to Chairmen Baucus and Rangel opposing this provision. His essential point is why, especially now, would Congress choose to raise taxes on American companies creating American jobs by exporting American-made products?
This year, we have allies in high places. Led by Finance Members Maria Cantwell and Gordon Smith, five United States Senators penned a letter this week to Chairman Baucus expressing their opposition to this so-called technical correction. As the senators noted:
U.S. export growth is one of the few bright spots in the current U.S. economy and a critical offset to the on-going problems in the housing and credit markets. Given this environment, we do not believe it is wise for Congress to act unilaterally to increase taxes on U.S. companies that create jobs here in the United States and export their products overseas.
Do you export, or represent companies that do? Then this issue affects you. Send in your comments to the Ways and Means and Finance Committees before the close of business, Monday December 3rd. You can find the submission instructions at:
techcorrections@finance-dem.senate.gov
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/submissions.aspx
S-Corp Payroll Tax Increase Unlikely (This Year)
As S-Corp readers know, Congress has for some time contemplated raising payroll tax levies on S Corporation income. Recent consideration of this idea first popped up in a JCT report back in February, 2005. Most recently, a related version of the tax increase was included in Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel' s " Mother of All Tax Bills" proposal introduced a couple of months ago.
The Rangel proposal would impose payroll taxes (including both Social Security and Medicare taxes) on S corporation earnings where 1) the S corporation is primarily a services company and 2) the earnings are attributed to a shareholder who also works at the firm. The S Corporation Association initially sent a letter last month to the Chairman expressing our historic concerns regarding this proposal.
For the past month, your S-Corp team has been busy meeting with staff in the both the House and the Senate to identify exactly what the latest proposal is – for example, what does "primarily" mean, and where it might next surface?
Our latest intelligence is that, while both the Finance and Ways and Means Committees are taking a hard look at this issue, the provision is unlikely to emerge as part of the year-end omnibus tax package. That' s good news, because it gives us more time to understand the proposal under consideration, educate our membership, and work to ensure that companies currently in full compliance with the law are treated fairly.
On the other hand, no tax increase idea ever dies, so we expect this to be an active issue next year and in the next Congress.


This yoga and hiking retreat is an adventurous one, and will certainly feel as such. Afterwards, you will most definitely feel like you have accomplished something. The Australian Camp itself offers amazing jungle scenery, and you will see the Annapurna mountain range from up close. The range consists of impressive peaks such as Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Machhapuchhre, and Lamjung Himal.The attractions are awesome on this trip.
Dhampus village is on the Annapurna trekking trail and is blessed with majestic views of the Annapurna Himalayan Range. The village is attractive, and it hosts a number of slate-roofed house. The trek is best for those wishing to experience Nepal mountain scenery and ethnic culture within a short time.This trek will provide you lovely villages and mid-hill cultural life experiences. This is a typical family trip as you can hike with your children watched over and supported with a highly experienced yoga teacher. Panchase is one of the most popular short treks available in Nepal.Above all this, just imagine a combination of yoga practices of asanas, breathing techniques, meditation, and reflection of yourself with nature and mountains. Atmashree Yoga Retreat have planned the short yoga capsule and its benefits for the people who wants to trek in high altitude mountains so that they can remain active, conscious, healthy, and not suffer from high altitude sickness during the journey.
Take out your little precious time from your life to fill this natural experience of being refreshed, revitalized, and energized with mountains, lakes, greenery, nature, sounds, and Atmashree Yoga in Pokhara.You will be provided three nights of accommodation on this retreat. You will stay at the Atmashree Yoga Retreat, comfortable guest houses, and lodges during the entire trip.On the first night of the retreat, you will stay at the Atmashree Yoga Retreat, and on the second night, you will stay at Australian Camp & the third night will be spent in Sarangkot.


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Beauty pageants and more
No more minimum height requirement for Miss Universe Philippines 2021 pageant
Miss Universe Philippines organization has finally got rid of its minimum height requirements for this year's competition.
Maria Thattil, Miss Universe Australia 2020 and 69th Miss Universe Top 10 placer, has lauded the national organization for changing its rules.
The age requirement was also adjusted. Although the minimum age is still 18 years old but entrants should be under 28 years old at the time of the national pageant.
Other requirements stayed the same. Entrants must be Filipino citizens and Philippine passport holders, at least a high school graduate and female, who has never been married nor has borne children.
National director Shamcey Supsup-Lee's statement in an interview regarding transgender women became controversial. She said that they will accept transgender applicants as long as they can provide legal proof of being female and have already gone through reassignment surgery.
The organization has yet to announce the final date and venue for Miss Universe Philippines 2021. Applications are open until June 24.
Photos: Miss Universe Philippines / Facebook
70th Miss Universe Miss Universe Miss Universe 2021 Miss Universe Philippines Philippines


The BSR Group is a franchisor operating in the electrical retail industry throughout Australia. The key focus of the Group is in assisting franchisees to maximise their offering to the customer and to provide support to franchisees to enable them to compete in a market which has become progressively more competitive. The Group's objective is to do this with the most comprehensive, all-inclusive service possible.
Garry Thyer (Chairman) - Garry operates Garry Thyer's Betta Home Living and Furniture Superstore, Townsville. He has been involved with Betta for 29 years with more than 35 years experience in the electrical retail industry.
Dominic McClelland (Deputy Chairman) - Dominic has more than 25 years experience in electrical retailing, as owner of Betta stores in Bateman's Bay and Ulladulla, NSW.
Glenn Cain - Glenn operates Able's Betta in Gladesville NSW and Chandlers Betta Home Living, Lismore and Casino NSW. He has 26 years experience in the electrical retail industry including 18 years involvement with the Betta brand.
Bob Ansett - Bob has a wealth of top-level business experience in many areas including management, franchising, selling & customer relations. His strong optimism, combined with his professional skill and extensive knowledge form a valuable resource to the BSR Group.


At Pubcon 2014 in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to catch up with three experts on marketing agencies: James Loomstein of Digital Space Consulting, Adam Proehl of NordicClick, and Joelle Blaikie of Chatter Block.
These experts provide a rare look inside the world of marketing agencies. What tactics are they focusing on right now? What can an aspiring marketing professional do to prepare themselves for working at an agency?
Those are just some of the questions I get their unique insight on in the videos below.
There has been a big shift from the days when marketing agencies used to have hundreds of employees spread out across multiple locations. That's something you don't see anymore.
There has been explosive growth in niche specialization. Brands used to be limited in what they could do to market themselves — there was radio, TV, and print advertising. Now there's thousands of options for what you can do to market yourself online.
If you're aiming for a career in digital advertising, James recommends getting into the fields of math, science, or analytics. Writing and designing are also a valuable skills, but at the end of the day those have to be tied to business goals.
In regards to designing, James says the ability to create a beautiful website was a great skill to have years ago. In the world of big data, even designers need to fundamentally understand where businesses are going and what challenges they are trying to solve.
Before looking for an agency to market your business, first figure out exactly what it is that you're trying to solve. For example, do you want better search engine rankings? Do you want to sell more products or services? Narrow down what your goals are.
There are often legitimate arguments within a business as to whether they should outsource their marketing or do it internally.
If you need high level expertise of the particular field your business is in, it's near impossible to find that kind of expertise in a marketing agency. That's when it would be better to do your marketing internally. If you're trying to solve a short term need that doesn't necessarily require high level subject matter expertise, hire an agency.
Joelle has found that one of the most valuable tactics in marketing right now is really understanding the demographic you're trying to reach.
What is your demographic using to search the web? What kind of content are they looking for? These are good questions to ask when trying to learn more about your demographic.
Joelle gives the example of the demographic she has been working with lately: Moms. What she has learned about this demographic is that they're very social, enjoy connecting with other parents, and spend most of their time online browsing Facebook or Pinterest.
With that insight, Joelle has focused her marketing dollars on the social networks where her demographic spends the most time. She found this kind of focused approach to be much more effective.