2018 brought tremendous changes to the jury selection statutes. These changes provide you with all the language you need to make sure you are permitted to have an effective voir dire that is not arbitrarily limited in time or scope. However, the best way to ensure that you get all of the great protections that Code of Civil Procedure section 222.5 allows you, is to make sure you file a motion in limine so it can be heard at the same time as the other motions in limine and when you start voir dire, you know that you will be given the opportunity to fully question the jurors. All further statutory citations are to the Code of Civil Procedure.
File your motions regarding voir dire as a motion in limine so they can be heard before you start the trial. The Final Status Conference, or whenever the motions in limine are heard, is the time that you want to make sure you have your motions heard to ensure you have effective voir dire. If you have an FSC, make sure you file your Motion in Limine Re: Voir Dire ahead of time. If the court hears the motions on the first day of trial, make sure you have this prepared and ready to go.
During any examination conducted by counsel for the parties, the trial judge shall permit liberal and probing examination calculated to discover bias or prejudice with regard to the circumstances of the particular case before the court.
The trial Judge shall not impose specific unreasonable or arbitrary time limits or establish an inflexible time limit policy for voir dire.
To help facilitate the jury selection process, at the earliest practical time, the judge in a civil trial shall provide the parties with both the alphabetical list and the list of prospective jurors in the order in which they will be called.
You are entitled to submit a jury questionnaire and the court must give you reasonable time to evaluate the responses before oral questioning begins.
A judge shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably refuse to submit reasonable written questionnaires, the contents of which are determined by the court in its sound discretion, when requested by counsel. If a questionnaire is utilized, the parties shall be given a reasonable time to evaluate the responses to the questionnaires before oral questioning begins.
The court may require a prospective juror to complete such additional questionnaires as may be deemed relevant and necessary for assisting in the voir dire process or to ascertain whether a fair cross section of the population is represented as required by law, if such procedures are established by local court rule.
Always ask for a mini-opening in your motion in limine. You are entitled to one and it's a great way to get the jury involved in your case early, before you start questioning them. I cannot stress enough how important the mini-opening is. You get to make a brief statement to the jury about the issues in the case; you should identify the good and the bad. Be up front; that way when you are questioning them, they will know why you are asking the questions you are asking, and it will put them in context so you will get better responses.
Discuss all of these requests with the court as much in advance of voir dire as you can. That way everyone knows the parameters or (non)parameters of the jury selection.
Bringing these issues ahead of time, before voir dire, and having a good discussion with the court about how the voir dire process will proceed, will help the process run much more smoothly for everyone: you, the defense, the court, the jury. This will take a lot of the unknown out of the jury selection for you and ensure you have a clear path to conduct the best voir dire that you can.
General Disqualification: Sections 227(b) and 228: This would apply to a jury who does not have the qualifications to serve as a competent juror. (§ 228a.) This would also apply to someone who has an incapacity so that they are incapable of performing their duties of a jury without prejudice to the substantial rights of the challenging party.
This would be used to challenge someone who does not speak or understand English, or does not do so competently so they could fully perform their duties.
Enmity is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a very deep unfriendly feeling." (2018 Merriam-Webster.) Implied bias means that the court has to consider not just what is said, but how it is said, the tone of voice, the body language. Simply asking a person if they can be "fair and impartial" is not probing whether or not they have an implied bias.
In order to properly determine whether or not a juror has an implied bias, you must be able to provide them the material facts of the case, so you can determine if that person holds an implied bias.
Let the defendants go first; they may have challenges for cause you agree to and you will also get a preview of who they don't want on the jury.
Often, in multi-party cases such as employment cases, defendants try to claim that there are "multiple sides." This, despite the fact that they have provided a joint defense throughout the case. The law is clear; if there are multiple parties, the court should divide the parties into sides, and give the same amount of peremptories to each side. Therefore, there may be two defendants, but they are on the same side. If there are two or more defendants, the judge divides all the parties into sides and each side gets eight peremptory challenges.
In the midst of all the trial preparation, securing your witnesses, and getting your exhibits, sometimes jury selection can be upon you before you had a chance to prepare. However, for this most important part of the trial, you must be focused and ready. If you can, try to go to a jury selection that your assigned judge handles before your FSC; that way you know what particular methods the judge uses. If you are not assigned a judge until the last minute, then go online to see the judge's rules, and call the clerk if possible for some tips on the judge's particular method for proceeding with jury selection. Make sure you prepare your motion in limine addressing all of these issues in advance. Have a good discussion with the court beforehand because once the jury is in the box, the court will want to move quickly.
No matter how much time you have, don't worry, focus on the jurors once they start coming into the courtroom and keep your focus on them at all times during jury selection, whether you are questioning them or the other side is conducting their voir dire. Listen to the jurors; they should be talking more than you. Make the jurors feel comfortable so that they can open up. Take the time and spend the time on this most important part of the trial and you will be way ahead of the game as the trial progresses.
Maryann P. Gallagher owns the Law Offices of Maryann Gallagher, in Los Angeles. She was CAALA's 2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year. She currently serves as an Emeritus Member of CAALA's Board of Governors.


text:
The Third World Mystery Genre
What is a Third World Mystery?
It's a big, big world out there, yet most of the readers in America tend to just read books set in America and England. This leaves a great deal of the world where crime thrives, yet no one reads about it. These mysteries can be anything from cozy to hard-boiled, but they all have a unique culture and diverse characters. Reading about these places is the best way to travel without a passport.
Third World Mystery Characteristics
the books are heavy on characterization because most readers are familiar with people who have these customs and beliefs. So the author has to flesh out these characters to make the readers understand them.
Most of these novels have strong plots where the clues and action stem from the differences in the cultures.
Most of these books have a strong mystery. There are elements of clues and typically a murder that must be solved.
These books can be suspenseful, since many of these countries are more politically unstable than first world countries. Therefore the stakes can be quite high.
There can be strong elements of a thriller. Politics in these countries may not be backed by democracy so police and the government can make for a formidable opponent in getting to the truth.
There's a high level of strangeness because the typical reader is not familiar with the people and customs of third world countries.
The books may have violence; this in large part depends on how the author has approached the subject matter.
There may be action, depending on the type of crime novel being written.
Degree of Thriller, Suspense, Crime, or Mystery in this the Third World Mysteries Subgenre
This subgenre falls mainly in the mystery genre. It's likely to have a puzzle at the middle of the story; however, there can be strong suspense elements in saving the village, region or country from harm and may have thriller elements if the crimes are political. There may be crime elements as well if the book looks at the impact of crime on the people and region.
Third World Mystery isn't for you IF...
like to read about familiar surroundings, don't like travel
Popular Third World Mystery Books
1 Murder in Mesopotamia
By Agatha Christie. Christie's husband was an archaeologist working at Ur. She worked with him and set several of her mysteries against the backdrop of the Middle East.
2 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
By Alexander McCall Smith. Is set in the capital of Botswana in Africa.
3 The Perfect Murder
By H. R. F. Keating. Keating wrote about Inspector Ghote of the Mumbai, India police. This is the first book in the series.
4 Death on the Nile
By Agatha Christie. One of the earliest and one of Christie's best. The setting is a Nile river cruise with a number of bodies.
5 The Gigolo Murder
By Mehmet Murat Somer. Drag queen and also computer consultant, a "nameless" sleuth set in Istanbul, Turkey
6 Silence of the Rains
By Luiz Alfredo Garcia Roza. Writing about a police detective in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
7 The Ways of Evil Men
By Leighton Gage. The seventh and last book in the Silva series, which is set in Brazil.
8 Blood and Fire
By Nick Brownlee. Jake and Jouma are a retired Scotland Yard detective and a police detective who have moved to Mombasa, Kenya.
9 Bangkok 8
By John Burdett. Features Sonchai Jitpleecheep, a police detective in Thailand.
10 Wife of the Gods
By Kwei J. Quartey. Set in Ghana
Crowd Ranked Third World Mystery List
The Ways of Evil Men (Leighton Gage)
Blood and Fire (Nick Brownlee)
Bangkok 8: A Royal Thai Detective...
Wife of the Gods: A Novel (Kwei Qu...)
The Silence of the Rain: An Inspe...
The Gigolo Murder: A Turkish Deli...
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agenc...
The Perfect Murder (H.R.F Keating)
Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poir...
Murder in Mesopotamia: A Hercule ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Rod Laver e Roy Emerson hanno battuto in finale Ken Rosewall e Fred Stolle 6–4, 6–4.

Teste di serie

  John Newcombe /  Tony Roche (semifinali)
  Ken Rosewall /  Fred Stolle (finale)
  Rod Laver /  Roy Emerson (Campioni)
  Raymond Moore /  Marty Riessen (semifinali)
  Andrés Gimeno /  Pancho Gonzales (secondo turno)
  Malcolm Anderson /  Roger Taylor (secondo turno)
  Dick Crealy /  Allan Stone (quarti di finale)
  Terry Addison /  Ray Keldie (quarti di finale)

Tabellone

Finali

Sezione 1

Sezione 2

Collegamenti esterni

Australian Open 1969

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The Reaper: A Time to Plant, a Time to Nurture, a Time to Harvest
By: G W Ash
The Reaper is a recollection of a life filled with abuse, neglect, and violence. It is also filled with dreams of fantasy of life made for lovers and a haven of beauty and fulfillment. The storybook romances are only in the imagination of the writer as she goes through the selection process and makes two very damaging mistakes with the mates she chooses. The third mate is the surprise of her life which she nearly turns away. The years of mistrust and insecurity plague her and prevent her from feeling comfortable with anyone.
The story is based on true facts, and, in some cases, actual dialogue as it was recorded in the writer's journal, shortly after it was delivered. It is divided into three parts: "A Time to Plant," "A Time to Nurture," and "A Time to Harvest." The story is written in third person to make it easier for the writer to recollect the painful memories.
As with most life stories, one memory triggers another. This story contains several flashbacks. It may also not be entirely in the order in which the events occurred.
G W Ash has been telling stories to her children and grandchildren for many years. She was reared in Springville, Utah, as an only child, and since there wasn't a television in their home, her mother would read to her from The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. She delighted in the Disney films at the local theater whenever they came to town. Since she didn't have siblings, her best friend was an old upright piano that her mother purchased for $100. She loved music and became quite proficient, winning several competitions.
She attended Brigham Young University and majored in elementary education. Unfortunately, there were no teaching positions available at that time, so she found employment elsewhere. She married quite young and had five children. They moved around quite a bit, but since settled in Orem, Utah. Her husband is currently a driver for a large trucking company. She is active in her church, holding several positions. Now that her five children are all grown up and have children of their own, she is reminiscing about the stories she used to tell and has been fortunate enough to have this book published.
(2020, Paperback, 62 Pages)
The Reaper: A Time to Plant, a Time to Nurture, a Time to Harvest - eBook
Time - eBook
Times of Deliverance
A Time of Magick
The Untold Story of the Alphabet
Collection of Poetry: And Writings to Inspire Your Life
Journeys of Hope and Reality: A Memoir: Revised Edition
Vietnam in Verse
Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery 1804-1806
The Princess: A Fairy Tale
The Shaman's Daughter (PB)
Sudoku Puzzles for Children
The Boy on the Roof
Arms of the Ozarks


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Ridley Fenix SL 105 Mix Carbon Road Bike is no longer available at Merlin Cycles. However you may find an alternative or updated product below.
PLEASE NOTE: All of our bikes are built to order. This usually takes between 3-8 working days depending on time of year. Image is for illustration purpose only, please see full specification above.


text:
Death of print media leaves spy exposed
Dumb Week
December 29, 2020 by Alex Brault ( @ )
REDACTED – The widespread proliferation of newspapers once guaranteed covert operatives like John Stuggs a portable piece of cover, now agents like him are left with only their smartphones in the field.
"You used to be able to crack open the paper and enjoy a nice day in the park while eavesdropping on enemies of the state. Now everything's moves so damned fast," John said wistfully.
For John, operating his phone on a mission is a logistical challenge. "It's impossible to get this narrow rectangle to cover my whole face," he explained. "I've sprained my neck getting the angle right, I can only feign like I'm taking a selfie for so long.
John believes that prolonged workplace exposure to his phone is having an adverse effect on his health. "I have difficulty sleeping, my brother thinks it's because my job is to violate the rights of activists on behalf of the state, but I think it's all that blue light."
Having a phone constantly at his side has changed the nature of John's globetrotting work. "When I used to undercover at an exotic locale I could kind of do my own thing, maybe pursue an unfulfilling romantic subplot, now my work can reach me all the time, it's like I've got no privacy being a spy."
Changing phones during operations means John frequently loses his contact information. While his exorbitant roaming charges are taxpayer-funded, resolving the issue with payroll is bothersome.
"I miss how it was, you know? back when guys like me could do whatever we wanted with impunity… Now we've got everyone's information on these little devices anyway… Maybe my time has come and gone…"
At press time, a discarded paper rustled in the wind.
See More: spy


Being part of UIF is an identity I have proudly adopted since I joined the GCP. Being on the UIF team offers us great opportunities and flexibility in planning and organising events to understand differences and to promote and appreciate others' cultures. It also allows us to learn about and enhance our capability and creativity.
The whole process involves intercultural communication. Working with a team of people coming from different backgrounds is such an enjoyable experience, as everyone has brilliant and innovative ideas, bringing in what is unique from their own culture. We also organised some events as a cross-team collaboration, such as a seminar on movement and identity with the Ustinov Seminar, Graduate Common Room (GCR), and Durham University Indian Society; and 'Concepts of Home' with Race, Crime, and Justice.
I guess you can't wait to hear more about our events. Our team has put in so much effort in organising a wide range of events. We invited academics for discussions on cultural issues such as migration and identity, engaged people in interactive activities such as the language café and pinning the place(s) where you call home on the world map, and provided career advice for international students in an international career session.
Celebrating world culture is one of our themes this year, for people to learn about and appreciate cultures. We had the Festival of Lights (Diwali) Celebration in which the audience learnt the festival's background, enjoyed Indian dance and music, got henna drawings, and tried authentic Indian sweets. The International Dress Party was another highlight. Everyone was immersed in colours of national dresses, fantastic performances—Indonesian music and dancing, Chinese singing, and Bollywood dancing, and traditional desserts brought by the guests.
You would never forget these events if you were there. But no worries if you missed them, just check out the photos.
We believe that it is equally important for us to know more about the area we are living now, so we have another theme of 'Exploring the North East'. We brought people to a local farm to learn local agriculture and taste some farm produce. A visit to Beamish Museum was a journey back to the everyday life in old North East England.
In addition to embracing differences, I have gained invaluable experiences and friendship, inside and outside of Ustinov. The GCP has created a friendly and inclusive environment to bring various cultures together as a world-in-miniature through all these wonderful events, when we are away from home for studies. Here at Ustinov we feel right at home!


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For instance, the new Subaru Crosstrek offers the Subaru Eyesight suite on alol trim levels. This suite contains features like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control. Furthermore, features like dual rear USB ports and a leather-wrapped steering wheel come standard on Premium models.
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text:
Eid (Noorwegen), gemeente in Sogn og Fjordane
 Empresa de Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Electrónica, Portugese producent van geïntegreerde militaire communicatiesystemen
 Eid-oel-Fitr, feest binnen de islam, ook vaak Suikerfeest genoemd
 Eid-oel-Adha, feest binnen de islam, ook vaak Offerfeest genoemd
 e-ID, Belgische elektronische identiteitskaart
 eID-stelsel, Nederlands systeem voor elektronische identitificatie


text:
By Floor Fleurke
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that the international community has until 2030 to cut human-caused carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in half to maintain a 50% chance of avoiding the worst effects of climate change. By 2050 CO2 emissions will need to reach 'net zero' – where emissions are in balance with removals – to meet this challenge. The urgency is clear: States, organizations and business will need to use every tool at their disposal to achieve these ambitious emission reduction goals. At the EU level climate action is at the heart of the European Green Deal – an package of measures. This includes importantly the European Climate Law that was this week adopted by the Council to enshrine the 2050 climate-neutrality objective into EU law and a 2030 Climate Target Plan to further reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Just like the Paris Agreement (Article 6 of the Paris Agreement explicitly recognizes the possibility for international cooperation through the transfer of emission reductions) and national policies, the EU Climate action framework is an transitional path towards climate net neutrality rather than a response to calls in climate science for a more radical transformation. This means that a lot of the current debate revolves around 'negative emissions' and 'carbon offsets' as a tools for speedy action to avert dangerous climate change.
Carbon offset credits are used to bring a net climate benefit from one entity to another, and the theory goes that as GHGs enter the global atmosphere, it does not matter where exactly they are reduced. These carbon offset projects could also produce so called co-benefits such as social and environmental benefits; improved air or water quality and biodiversity. An offset project needs to be adopted, implemented, monitored and verified to determine the quantity of emission reductions it has generated. Carbon offset credits can be produced by wide range of national and international projects that reduce GHG emissions or increase carbon sequestration. These carbon offset projects can include agriculture. For example, the agricultural sector can enhance the capability of its land to be used as a sink, so that CO2 from the atmosphere is naturally removed and stored in the soil or in above-ground biomass. While the contribution of agriculture to the GDP is relatively small (approximately 1.1% of the EU's GDP), its direct contribution to EU GHG emissions is high, approximately 15% , but is also indirectly responsible for significant additional emissions. Agricultural emissions include those resulting from the growing of crops, the rearing of livestock and the management of soil to maximise production.
The agricultural sector has however long escaped environmental regulation, especially regarding agricultural emissions. Only as of 2021, agricultural GHG emissions have to be balanced under Regulation 2018/841/EU on Emissions from Land Use and Forestry (LULUCF Regulation). However, emissions from livestock are for example not included. Last week, The European Parliament and EU governments agreed on a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). One of the biggest challenges is the alignment of the CAP with the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy and Biodiversity strategy. The problem remains that the CAP is not a climate instrument and there is no GHG-MRV connected to CAP funded projects. This was also the outcome of a recent report of the Court of Auditors : during the 2014-2020 period, the Commission attributed over a quarter of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)'s budget to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It was found that the €100 billion of CAP funds attributed to climate action had little impact on agricultural emissions, which have not changed significantly since 2010. In the new reform for the period 2023-2027 sealed this week a compromise was reached that 25% of the direct payments should be dedicated to eco-schemes that shift farmers toward environmentally friendly methods. However, it is not clear how these eco-schemes are defined and they depend on implementation by member states. The compromise has therefore been received with fierce criticism from the EEB and other NGOs for having too many loopholes and potential for 'greenwashing' EU farm policy.
Meanwhile, the Farm to Fork Strategy establishes that a new EU Carbon Farming Initiative will be launched in 2021, in order to reward climate-friendly farming practices, via the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or through other public or private initiatives linked to carbon markets. Carbon farming refers to the management of carbon pools, flows and GHG fluxes at farm level, with the purpose of mitigating climate change. This involves the management of both land and livestock, all pools of carbon in soils, materials and vegetation plus fluxes of CO2 and CH4, as well as N2O. It includes carbon removal from the atmosphere, avoided GHG emissions and emission reductions from ongoing agricultural practices. The Strategy establishes that the Commission will develop a regulatory framework for carbon credits but this is currently in its infancy and one of the questions is if and how market based approaches like carbon offsets or emission trading can and will be deployed.
Market-based approaches to climate change such as carbon offsets have also raised concerns and criticism. Several studies have identified serious credibility issues with some carbon offset credits due to lacking 'environmental integrity'. For example, studies of the two largest offset programs – the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), both administered by the United Nations under the Kyoto Protocol – established that the majority of their offset credits may not represent valid GHG reductions. It is not easy to measure and ascertain the quality of carbon offset credits. There are several conditions that must be met for the GHG reductions or removals to be real and effective: Carbon offset credits must be additional, meaning they would not have occurred in the absence of a market for offset credits. They should be accurate and overestimated (measurable), not be doubly accounted for and they should be permanent. Effects of CO2 emissions are very long- lasting, and once a GHG reduction or removal is reversed it obviously loses its offset function. Lastly, they should not be the cause for social inequality or other environmental harms.
To oversee that the quality is reached offset programs have been developed, usually by independent non-governmental organization. These programs develop standards that set criteria for the quality of carbon offset credits; third-party verifiers review if these standards are met, and there is a registry for transfer. Assessing the abovementioned quality criteria is however ambiguous and complex, and it is here where much of the debate is being played out, and where science and law meet. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement states that double counting will be avoided through 'robust' accounting methods. Nevertheless, the EU has phased out participation in CDM projects under the EU ETS, and Participants in the EU ETS could only use international credits from CDM and JI towards fulfilling part of their obligations under the EU ETS until 2020. The EU ETS, currently, does not include agricultural emissions nor has it used the potential to acquire allowances from offsets in agriculture, either via avoided emissions or increased sequestration. This is different in other carbon markets, such as those in California, Canada and Australia. Even though most of these offset programs have not yet generated huge volumes of offsets it is clear from the above that their relevance will become more prominent – as was also recently announced by the Biden Administration.
Looking forward to this, the EU already has already a rich experience with monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) under the EU ETS on which it can built for carbon offset projects. It can also learn from the successes and failures of existing protocols of agricultural offsets to identify design elements that can create or reduce barriers to effective mechanisms. For example, the EU can gain from Australian experiences with its extensive methodologies on a range of carbon farming methods since 2011. See our earlier blogpost here and here. California and the provinces of Alberta and Quebec in Canada also offer interesting case studies: all offer the agriculture sector opportunities to sell offset credits and protocols for this are adopted (e.g. for dairy digesters). The programs in these different jurisdictions vary in (economic) design, functioning and compliance – making them interesting to study and compare. Fascinating as well, California's program is linked with Quebec's program since 2014 (and briefly to Ontario's program in 2018) meaning that offsets and allowances can be traded across jurisdictions. In two follow-up blogposts we will zoom in on the experiences with the offset carbon markets for agricultural emissions in California and Canada with a focus on the identified challenges above.
Category: Agriculture, Climate, Emissions abatement, emissions trading, Europe, European Union
This is the first in a series of blogposts on a new project which we, at Tilburg Law School, have embarked on.[1] The projects starts from the recognition that the Paris Climate Agreement goals can only be achieved when greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land use are reduced and the sequestration capacity of these sectors is fully utilized. In most countries around the world, including in the EU, the heart of climate change mitigation policy consists of some form of carbon pricing mechanism. It seems inevitable that agricultural activities have to be included in carbon pricing mechanisms, such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). So far, however, policy makers have been reluctant to do so, partly because of the lack of political will, and partly because of the difficulty of measuring emissions and emission reductions at farm level. With the improvement of measuring technologies and carbon accounting methods, however, the possibility to also regulate agriculture under the EU emissions trading scheme has become within reach.
This project aims to develop a regulatory framework that allows agricultural greenhouse gas emissions to be included in the EU ETS and to be aligned with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This will be achieved through an ex post assessment of novel regulatory approaches in Alberta, California, China, and Australia and through an ex-ante assessment of inclusion of agricultural emissions under the EU ETS, either indirectly, through allowing on farm offsets, or directly, through requiring farmers to surrender allowances. Various models of inclusion of agriculture in the EU ETS will be developed and tested under a traditional ex-ante assessment methodology consisting of focus groups and stakeholder interviews.
The project runs from 2020 until 2023, so our proposals can be included in the first discussions for the post 2030 trading phase. An earlier adoption is not very likely, since inclusion of the agricultural sector in the EU ETS will have a big impact on the system. Changing the rules of the game in the middle of the current trading phase, which runs from 2020 until 2030, is not entirely impossible, but also not advisable due to the disruption of the carbon market it may cause. The European Commission, however, is stepping up its efforts to reduce agricultural GHG emissions through its European Green Deal Policy, which includes a proposal for a European Climate Law and a Farm to Fork Strategy.
The 2020 proposal for a European Climate Law introduces an ambitious overall target for the EU's mitigation policy as it requires the Member States to have emissions and removals of greenhouse gases balanced at the level of the EU at the latest by 2050, and to pursue a new 2030 target of 50 to 55% emission reductions compared to 1990. Although the AFOLU sector is not specifically mentioned in the European Climate Law, it is impossible to achieve such targets without a drastic reduction of emissions from this sector. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the EU 2030 Climate Target Plan, presented in September 2020, does pay ample attention both to agriculture and to land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). The 2030 Climate Target Plan states that new measures are being considered for the 2030-2050 period, including an expansion of the LULUCF Regulation to also cover non-CO2 emissions from agriculture. The European Commission does not mention the option to integrate agricultural emissions into the EU ETS. Instead,
'(o)vertime, the Commission clearly sees merit in the creation of an Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use sector with its own specific policy framework covering all emissions and removals of these sectors and to become the first sector to deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Subsequently, this sector would generate carbon removals to balance remaining emissions in other sectors induced by a robust carbon removal certification system.' [2]
Similarly, in the 2020 Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission is hinting at a new EU carbon farming initiative:
'An example of a new green business model is carbon sequestration by farmers and foresters. Farming practices that remove CO2 from the atmosphere contribute to the climate neutrality objective and should be rewarded, either via the common agricultural policy (CAP) or other public or private initiatives (carbon market). A new EU carbon farming initiative under the Climate Pact will promote this new business model, which provides farmers with a new source of income and helps other sectors to decarbonise the food chain. As announced in the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), the Commission will develop a regulatory framework for certifying carbon removals based on robust and transparent carbon accounting to monitor and verify the authenticity of carbon removals.'[3]
So far, most attention is focused on using the CAP to promote carbon farming. In April 2021, the European Commission published a Technical Guidance Handbook on this. There are, however, a couple of disadvantages connected to the CAP, most of which are caused by the fact that the CAP has not been designed as a climate change instrument. I discussed this in an earlier blogpost. It is important, therefore, to also look into climate change instruments to see whether these can be used to promote carbon farming.
One of the "other public initiatives" for a carbon market mentioned in the Farm to Fork Strategy might very well be integration of agricultural emissions in the EU ETS. In the remainder of this blogpost, I will have a first brief look at what carbon farming as part of the EU ETS might look like.
Two models of integration: direct inclusion in the ETS or through offsets
In the EU, the ETS has gradually expanded to require GHG emitting activities to surrender allowances for the amount of GHGs emitted. Directly requiring farmers to surrender allowances for their emissions under an ETS has not been proposed much and is not a requirement in any of the emissions trading systems around the world. The direct inclusion of farming in an ETS is considered problematic because of the difficulty of measuring emissions and emission reductions at the farm level because of the variety of factors involved (such as the diet of individual animals, tillage intensity, soil composition, weather systems of individual regions, the way in which fertilizer is applied, etc.). In addition, most farms also remove CO2 through sequestration in soils and vegetation. For a small number of farming activities, however, direct inclusion in the ETS seems possible, especially for large scale livestock keeping within closed buildings, such as piggeries. Methane emissions can easily be monitored here, technologies to capture the methane and convert it into biogas exist, thus allowing farmers to choose between buying allowances or investing in such technologies. With the improvement of measuring technologies and carbon accounting methods, however, the possibility to also regulate more forms of agriculture with high GHG emissions may become within grasp.
Most countries that have an ETS, have included agricultural emissions as offsets. This is true for most newly created emissions trading schemes, for example Alberta (2012), California (2014), and China (2018) (Ontario had it, but there, the ETS was revoked in 2018). All of these schemes allow regulated industries to acquire allowances from offsets in agriculture, either avoided emissions or increased sequestration. The latter incentivizes farmers to farm carbon in addition to crops as was also suggested as a policy option for the EU by the Agricultural Markets Task Force. The Canadian province of Alberta, for example, allows farmers to register and implement such projects as conservation cropping, agriculture nitrous oxide emission reduction, changed beef feed, methane reducing dairy production and biogas production from manure. The offsets generated under these projects can then be sold by the farmers to Alberta's industrial emitters that have not met their provincially mandated reduction obligation.
The country with the longest experience in financing farmers for their avoided emissions and increased sequestration is Australia with its Carbon Farming Initiative (2011). Although this formally is not part of an emissions trading system as here the government acquires the offsets rather than regulated industries, the legal rules governing the Australian system are very similar to those in an ETS and can be used as a source of inspiration for a modified EU ETS that includes agricultural emissions. A positive evaluation of the Australian scheme shows that the EU, indeed, can rely on the Australian experiences with its extensive methodologies on a range of carbon farming methods. See our earlier blogpost here and here. These include for example soil carbon sequestration, beef cattle herd management, and beef cattle feed methods. The evaluation does show, though, that the drafting of many rules and regulations is needed, such as rules that require farmers to establish a baseline level of soil carbon, and to monitor, report and verify the amount of CO2 sequestered in the projects allowed under the ETS offsets regime, as well as rules on commitment periods.
Relationship to other policy instruments
In the EU, as of 2021, agricultural GHG emissions will be regulated under Regulation 2018/841/EU on Emissions from Land Use and Forestry (LULUCF Regulation). It requires emissions and removals in land use and forestry sectors, including agricultural land use for arable crops and grassland, to be balanced. This will require some sequestration efforts due to losses occurring under conventional agricultural practices, but this can also be achieved in for instance the forestry sector. Furthermore, emissions from livestock are not included. Integration of agricultural emissions into the EU ETS, either directly or through offsets, will have to be aligned with the LULUCF Regulation.
Alignment with the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will also be necessary. The CAP currently encourages farmers to apply climate-friendly practices and techniques. Both the cross-compliance mechanism, the direct payments and the subsidies for rural development relate partly to taking climate measures. It has generally been accepted in literature, however, that current EU climate and agriculture policies are largely insufficient. A much stronger focus of the CAP on climate change is advocated, for instance in this recent study published by the European Commission.
Several individual countries have introduced or are considering the introduction of domestic carbon taxes or even a meat tax aimed at further reducing GHG emissions, beyond the requirements of current EU instruments. These domestic instruments should also be taken into account when designing a new pricing mechanism for agricultural emissions.
Impact on food security
Research by the World Bank shows that mitigation policies using a global carbon price which does not account for food production implications, will hurt crop and livestock production. To avoid such negative impacts, carbon pricing policies should be developed thoughtfully, and aim for adaptation and food production co-benefits. As discussed in an earlier blogpost, increased resilience and reduced emissions can sometimes go hand-in-hand. It is evident, however, that changes in consumption will be necessary as well. The difficulty of reducing emissions from free roaming cattle and the sheer amount of land needed to grow animal fodder for a world population of around 10 billion in 2050 necessitate dietary changes with households moving away from meat and towards plant based food and seasonal produce, reduced overconsumption of food and reduced food waste. In a great recent article in the new journal Nature Food, Rockström et al. argue that recent modelling analysis suggests 'that it is biophysically possible to feed 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries, and in ways that leave at least 50% of natural ecosystems intact' as long as there is a global shifting towards healthy diets, increased productivity while transitioning to regenerative production practices, and reduced food waste and loss by 50%. Any regulatory approach towards reducing GHG emissions from agriculture has to contribute to this bigger aim to achieve a global food transition.
These are some of the legal and governance issues that need to be dealt with in the development of a regulatory framework to address greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. For a full overview of all issues that need to be considered by law and policy makers, the FAO just published this comprehensive legislative study 'Agriculture and climate change. Law and governance in support of climate smart agriculture and international climate change goals'. In our project, we will be focusing on the EU ETS as a vehicle for reducing agricultural GHG emissions. We will keep you updated here!
[1] This project has received funding from the Netherlands Research Council NWO under grant number 406.18.RB.004.
[2] European Commission, Communication 'Stepping up Europe's 2030 climate ambition. Investing in a climate-neutral future for the benefit of our people', COM(2020) 562, p. 17.
[3] European Commission, Communication 'Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system', COM(2020) 381, p. 5.
Category: Agriculture, Anthropocene, Carbon markets, Climate, Emissions abatement, Europe
Enhancing Soil Carbon Sequestration and Adaptation in Europe's Agricultural Sector: Towards a New Approach under CAP and ETS
Soils contain large quantities of carbon, mainly made up of decomposing plant materials and microbes. The Earth's soils contain around 2500 Gt of carbon, four times more than vegetation.[1] Through soil degradation, much of natural soil carbon stocks has been lost. It has been estimated that the carbon sink capacity of the world's agricultural and degraded soils is 50 to 60% of the historical carbon loss of 42 to 78 Gt of carbon.[2] With around 40% of the world's surface being used for agriculture, it is suggested that these agricultural lands may be used as an important sink for atmospheric carbon.[3] Soil erosion control and soil restoration has an estimated carbon sequestration capacity of between 5 and 15% of global emissions.[4] After peaking, a new equilibrium will be reached and the sequestration potential goes down. It should also be noted that the carbon stored in soils can be easily emitted again with deep tillage and significant soil disturbance.[5]
(Photo: Flickr user Kai C. Schwarzer)
Increasing soil carbon sequestration has a very interesting positive impact on climate change adaptation. Measures aimed at soil carbon sequestration increases the ability of soils to hold moisture and to better withstand wind and water erosion, enriches ecosystem biodiversity, helps cropping systems to better withstand droughts and floods, increases fertility for crops through restoring healthy soil microbial communities, and increases livestock efficiency (sustainable intensification).[6] Other potential positive side-effects of practices aimed at soil carbon sequestration are various environmental benefits, such as avoided use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and improved biodiversity and wildlife.[7]
Examples of soil carbon sequestration practices relevant for Europe are the application of conventional or organic no-till and conservation tillage systems, the use of periodic green fallows, winter cover crops and crop rotations that utilize semi-perennial crops, rotational grazing, decreased grassland management intensity, perennial cropping, nutrient management consisting of compost (crop residue addition) and organic manure, and judicious use of irrigation water.
Research shows that strong top-down policies that are linked with, and fed by, bottom-up initiatives, are needed to achieve the required level of adaptation in the agricultural sector.[8] Holistic strategies have to be adopted that go beyond technical approaches aimed at stimulating autonomous farm-level risk reduction. So far, the EU did not focus much attention on agriculture in its climate change adaptation policy. The EU's Adaptation Strategy refers to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in which adaptation measures have been integrated to a limited extent.[9] An assessment of the soil carbon related adaptation potential of the current CAP, however, shows that this potential is limited. Soil carbon projects can receive funding both under the green direct payments, and under the rural development policy. Whether such projects are actually carried out with CAP funding depends entirely on initiatives by farmers (for green direct payments), or by Member States (for the rural development policy). Unfortunately, there are not many indications that Member States radically focus their Rural Development Programmes (RDP) on climate change, perhaps with the exception of Ireland. The CAP also has several inherent constraints as far as soil carbon sequestration and associated adaptation are concerned, mostly due to the fact that CAP is not linked to the EU climate policy but serves as a separate instrument with a much wider policy goal than combatting climate change. The accounting rules, for example, do not require farm level quantification of the amount of carbon sequestered linked to the payment, so it cannot be assessed whether and in how far an increase in soil carbon levels is real, additional and verifiable. Integrating the CAP more into the EU's climate policy requires rules to be set in place to assure a reliable measuring of the carbon sequestered. Payments, to give another example, are based on the amount of hectares per year of measures under the RDP, not on the amount of CO2 sequestered. This is a consequence of the provision that payments can only cover additional costs and income forgone resulting from the commitments made.[10] Such indirect payments, therefore, do not stimulate farmers to sequester as much carbon as possible. A third example of the CAP's shortcomings with regard to soil carbon sequestration is that projects financed under the CAP are characterized by a relatively short lifespan, 1-5 years for green direct payments, and 5-7 years for projects under a RDP. Under a climate policy, such a lifespan is almost futile, as combatting climate change requires measures that cover decades, if not the entire 21st century. That is why in Australia, carbon sequestration projects are required to run for twenty five or even a hundred years (see blog posts on Australia's carbon farming legislation part 1 and part 2).
Towards an alternative approach: agriculture in the EU ETS
The conclusion that the current EU policy is completely inadequate to stimulate large scale soil carbon sequestration on agricultural land seems inevitable, also when taking into account the broader climate change mitigation policy. The recently presented proposal for a European Regulation on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use and forestry into the EU's 2030 climate framework (LULUCF Regulation) is a good first, yet inadequate, step towards including agriculture's emissions and sequestration potential into the EU's climate policy (see for broader assessment of the climate policy instruments, the paper). That is why an alternative approach needs to be developed. A further stimulus to the adoption of soil carbon projects that currently is not being discussed but that needs to be investigated at European level soon is the inclusion of agriculture in the EU ETS through allowing regulated industries to buy offsets from the agricultural sector, following the examples set by California, Alberta, Australia, and more recently also China.[11] These states show that it is possible to stimulate soil carbon sequestration (and other climate smart agriculture practices and technologies) through the ETS, provided an elaborate regulatory regime has been put in place to ensure integrity. When in place, sectors covered by the ETS will be allowed to finance sequestration projects on farm land, thus paying farmers for their efforts.
The recent report of the Agricultural Markets Task Force, a European Commission expert group, also proposes to incentivise to farm carbon in addition to crops. The Task force, however, proposes to do this through redirecting funds under the CAP after 2020. It is debatable, though, whether this will be a successful strategy given the inherent shortcomings mentioned above. Some of the current constraints can perhaps be repaired, such as the short commitment period, or the provision that payments can only cover additional costs and income forgone. It is highly unlikely, though, that the CAP budget will be big enough to cover an EU wide adoption of carbon farming practices. An evaluation of the Australian carbon farming legislation indicated that government funds will never suffice to roll out an incentive mechanism across all farms in the country and that private funds need to come in, either through a carbon tax or an ETS.[12] The latter seems very suitable for the EU with its well-developed ETS that, hopefully, will pick up speed again after the structural reform takes effect in the fourth trading phase, which runs from 2021 until 2030. Regulation aimed at establishing a finance flow from large industrial emitters to the farming sector, with its capacity to sequester large quantities of carbon on farm land, seems a promising alternative, which is completely in line with the polluter pays principle as laid down in Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
[1] Daniel Kane, Carbon Sequestration Potential on Agricultural Lands: a Review of current Science and Available Practices (Breakthrough Strategies & Solutions, Takoma Park, Md 2015).
[2] Emanuele Lugato et al., 'Potential carbon sequestration of European arable soils estimated by modelling a comprehensive set of management practices', (2015) 20 Global Change Biology 3557.
[3] Pete Smith, 'Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential Globally, in Europe and in the UK: What Have We Learnt in the last 20 Years?' (2012) 18 Global Change Biology 35.
[4] M.G. Rivera-Ferre et al., Re-framing the Climate Change Debate in the Livestock Sector: Mitigation and Adaptation Options, (2016) 7 WIREs Climate Change 869.
[6] P. Smith et al., 'Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)' in: O. Edenhofer et al. (eds.), Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Cambridge University Press 2015), 811, 846 and 847; J.R. Porter et al., 'Food security and food production systems' in: C.B. Field et al. (eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Cambridge University Press 2015), 485, 515 and 518.
[7] Annette Freibauer et al., 'Carbon Sequestration in the Agricultural Soils of Europe' (2004) 122 Geoderma 1.
[8] L. Bizikova et al., Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Agriculture: Processes, Experiences and Lessons Learned from Early Adapters, (2014) 19 Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 411.
[9] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, An EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, COM (2013) 0216 final, 8.
[10] Art. 28(6) Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.
[11] Jonathan Verschuuren, Towards a Regulatory Design for Reducing Emissions from Agriculture: Lessons from Australia's Carbon Farming Initiative, (2017) 7:1 Climate Law 1; Dong Sun et al., Carbon Markets in China: Development and Challenges, (2016) 52:6 Emerging Markets Finance and Trade 1361.
[12] Verschuuren 2017.
This blog is a summary of a paper accepted for presentation at the 3rd European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 'Our Climate Ready Future', Glasgow, 5th-9th June 2017 (ECCA2017). My project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 655565.
Category: Agriculture, Climate, Europe
The EU Regulation of Genetically Modified Organisms in 2015: at the Crossroad of History
By Ji Li (TLS)
The EU authorization of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is the most strange and controversial area in the whole EU law system: the scientists are seriously distrusted by the general public, the authorization procedure is 'unreasonably' paralyzed or delayed, and the authorized GM products are banned by Member States without legitimate reason. But this is not the case in any other field of innovative technology or environmental law, and cannot be explained simply by precautionary principle or political pressure. This conundrum has puzzled the EU policy makers and lawyers for many years, and 2015 is a crucial year of fundamental reform. With the introduction of the opt-out clause, Member States now have freedom to ban GMOs without recourse to scientific evidence. Such a move may also cause negative effects concerning the EU internal market law and its obligations under the WTO law. We are now standing at the crossroad of history.
GMO is defined as "an organism, with the exception of human beings, in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination".[1] The commercial application of GM technology in the agricultural sector can introduce many desirable traits into one single crop, thus has huge economic, health and environmental benefits. At the same time, people are also concerned about its potential environmental and health risks, as well as some ethical and socio-economic issues. Under the current EU law, both GM crops and foods/feeds must go through the authorization procedure before marketing. This involves two stages of decision-making: a scientific assessment about their safety and a political vote about their overall acceptability. However, in the past voting, because Member States were deeply divided in their opinions, there were hardly any qualified majority reached in the authorization procedure. In the end, it is always the Commission makes the decisions, which are based on the scientific reports of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and usually grant the authorizations. This fact (purely science-based decisions, at least on the surface) triggers many Member States' objections and the Council's reactions. As a result, the authorization of GM food/feed is seriously delayed, and the authorization of GM crops is totally paralyzed, which are in violation of the EU law. But the Commission could not do anything about it because the Member States' 'illegal' actions were backed by the Council.[2]
After many years' tough negotiations and some small legal revisions, in March 2015 a fundamental legal reform called 'opt-out clause' was agreed by all Member States and enacted by the Commission.[3] According to this new legislation, on the issue of GMO cultivation, Member States pro- and anti-GMO are finally unleashed from the political disputes and formally part with each other. For anti-GMO countries, they can now ban GM crops even after authorization without any need of scientific evidence. This can be done either by a blanket withdrawal from all the future authorizations (without need of giving any reason) before 3 October 2015, or (after that date) by quoting some 'compelling' socio-economic reasons listed in the legislation in individual case. As a result, 17 out of the 28 Member States have totally opted out on all their territories in this way,[4] while 3 kingdoms of the UK (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, leaving only England to be willing to cultivate GMO) and the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium also declared to be GMO-free.[5] For pro-GMO countries, it is expected that the paralysis in the GMO authorization can be unblocked so that more GM crops can be authorized and cultivated.
However, this move also brings about legal uncertainties and new challenges. First, it is hard to say the opt-out clause is conform to the EU internal market law. It is rather to say that it is an exception to the principle of free movement of goods based upon all Member States' political endorsement.[6] Some Member States and MEPs also would like to opt out for GM food/feed, but such requests were firmly rejected by the European Parliament's Environmental Committee on the grounds of protecting the EU internal market. This shows that the EU policy makers are very aware that the political exception to the internal market rule cannot be too wide. Second, the opt-out clause is also against the EU's obligations under the WTO law, especially after the famous US-EU Biotech case in 2006. There is no way to defend in this respect, people just hope the EU will not be sued by the Unites States (and other GMO-producing countries) for two practical reasons: (1) more GM crops will be cultivated in pro-GMO countries, which will hopefully make up for their losses; (2) the import of GM crops is relatively a small part of business (compared to GM products). Third, whether the principle of proportionality is applicable in the scenario of GMOs is also a big issue. It is uncertain at this moment whether Member States' blanket ban of GM crops (without even giving reasons) would be challenged in the EU courts. Last, the increased cultivation in pro-GMO countries and the total ban in anti-GMO states will expose the sensitive issue of cross-border coordination and the potential liability arising out of GMO 'contamination'.
In sum, the whole EU GMO regulatory framework stands at the crossroad of history and is facing new possibilities and challenges. Instead of one unified procedure, now the EU regulation of GMOs is running on double trajectories. In the coming few years we will witness how this new approach addresses the needs and pressures from inside and outside EU.
[1] Article 2(2), Directive 2001/18/EC.
[2] It is illegal because these Member States do not have scientific evidence to support a prohibition or restriction to the free movement of an authorized goods in the EU internal market.
[3] Directive (EU) 2015/412.
[4] These Member States include: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovennia.
[5] Reuters.com by Barbara Lewis, 'Majority of EU Nations Seek Opt-Out from Growing GM Crops', 2015.10.04, available online at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/04/us-eu-gmo-opt-out-idUSKCN0RY0M320151004#xu0BYp9saiqghPUK.97 (last visited on 2015.11.08).
[6] The Commission indicates that the legal basis of opt-out clause could be Article 2 TFEU, which is a new provision introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. The third sentence of Article 2 (2) TFEU reads: "the Member States shall again exercise their competence to the extent that the Union has decided to cease exercising its competence".
Category: Agriculture, Biodiversity, Europe


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Respectful Disagreement About Sanctioning Russia
I've written two blog entries over the last two weeks (here and here) arguing in favour of the business community imposing sanctions on Russia, in response to Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
I think the reasons in favour of such sanctions are powerful: Putin is a serious and unique threat both to Eastern Europe and to the world as a whole, and it is essential that every possible step be taken both to denounce him and to hobble him. The international community agrees, and the international business community, in general, agrees too.
But not everyone. Some major brands have resisted pulling out, as have some lesser-known ones. And while I disagree with the conclusions arrived at by the persons responsible for those brands, I have to admit that I think the reasons they put forward in defence of their conclusions merit consideration.
Among those reasons:
"We don't want to hurt innocent Russians." Economic sanctions are hurting Russian citizens, including those who hate Putin and who don't support his war. Myself, I think such collateral damage pales in comparison to the loss of life and limb being suffered by the people of Ukraine. But that doesn't mean it's not a good point: innocent people being hurt always matters, even if you think something else matters more.
"We have obligations to our local employees." For some companies, ceasing to do business in Russia might mean as little as turning off a digital tap, so to speak. For some, it means laying off (permanently?) relatively large numbers of people. Again, we might think that this concern is outweighed, but it's still a legitimate concern. We generally want corporations to think of themselves as having obligations of this kind to employees.
"Sanctions won't work." The point here is that we don't (do we?) have good historical evidence that sanctions of this kind work. Putin is effectively a dictator, and he really doesn't have to listen to what the Russian people think, and so squeezing Russians to get them to squeeze Putin is liable to fail. Myself, I'm willing to grasp at options the success of which is unlikely, in the hopes that success is possible. But still, it's a concern worth listening to.
"Sanctions could backfire." The worry here is that if we in the West make life difficult for Russian citizens, then they could start to see us as the enemy — certainly Putin will try to make that case. And if that happens, support for Putin and his war could well go up as a result of sanctions.
That's a few of the reasons. There are others.
On balance, I think the arguments in the other direction are stronger. I think Putin is uniquely dangerous, and we need to use every tool available to us, even those that might not work, and even those that might have unpleasant side-effects.
However — and this is crucial — I don't think that people who disagree with me are bad, and I don't think they are foolish, and I refuse automatically to think less of them.
It doesn't help, of course that the folks making the arguments above are who they are. Some of them are speaking in defence of big companies. The motives of big companies are often thought of as suspect, and so claims of good intentions ("We don't want to hurt innocent Russians!" or "We must support our employees!") tend to get written off as self-serving rationalizations. Then there's the specific case of the Koch brothers, and the companies they own or control. They've announced that they're going to continue doing business in Russia. And the Koch brothers are widely hated by many on the left who think of them as right-wing American plutocrats. (Fewer realize that while the Koch brothers have supported right-wing causes, they've also supported prison reform and immigration reform in the US, and are arguably better categorized as libertarians. Anyway…)
My point is this: The fact that you mistrust, or outright dislike, the people making the argument isn't sufficient grounds for rejecting the argument. That's called an ad hominem attack. Some people's track records, of course, are sufficient to ground a certain mistrust, which can be reason to take a careful look at their arguments, but that's quite different from writing them off out of hand.
We ought, in other words — in this case and in others — to be able to distinguish between points of view we disagree with, on one hand, and points of view that are beyond the pale. Points of view we merely disagree with are ones where we can see and appreciate the other side's reasoning, and where we can understand how they got to their conclusion, even though that conclusion is not the one we reach ourselves, all things considered. Points of view that are beyond the pale are ones in support of which there could be nothing but self-serving rationalization. Putin's purported defence of his attack on the Ukraine is one such view. Any excuse he gives for a violent attack on a peaceful neighbour is so incoherent that it can only be thought of as the result either of disordered thinking, or a smokescreen. But not so for companies, or pundits, that think maybe pulling out of Russia isn't, on balance, the best idea. They have some good reasons on their side, even if, in the end, I think their conclusion is wrong.
Posted in Tech News SubscriptionTagged #Disagreement #Respectful #Russia #Sanctioning
By Kelsey Johnson December 12, 2022 All AWeber accounts come with an easy LinkTree alternative. It's beautiful, customizable, and has your email sign-up form already built in. We hear it again and again from content creators: "I want to reduce the tools I use." So you're in luck: There's a […]
Twitter Blue, a $3 regular monthly subscription support, could be coming soon – TechCrunch
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Smilies has become very important to the Internet and you may notice this, as they are being used almost everywhere – on forums, in chats, even in entertainment articles. They begin as simple text form, like :-) and :-(, but very soon there were thousands of graphic smilies, most commonly referred to as emoticons. But unfortunately, default emoticons can be used only in light templates of JComments, since they are saved as a .gif files and do not support transparency.
But .png files is a solution and since you are using dark template, this may a good time to change this boring .gif default smilies pack, that have not changed since the first release of JComments to a brand new .png one!
After you are done, new emoticons are located at /smilies/ folder.
Now it's time to tell JComments that it actually has to use new smilies instead of the old ones. To do so, go to Components > JComments > Smilies.
Good luck with new emoticons!


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Bahraini mom and boyfriend jailed for torturing child
bahrain January 25, 2023
The Court of Cassation sentenced a Bahraini woman to 10 years in prison for torturing her child with her boyfriend's assistance, causing him a permanent disability estimated at 100%. The pair repeatedly assaulted the child.
His medical reports indicated impaired respiratory and brain function, bruises, epilepsy, and a permanent disability estimated at 100% after suffering incurable blindness. The child became seriously ill while the defendant was with her boyfriend at her apartment.
After turning to the neighbours for help, she called for an ambulance. The medical staff immediately noted that the victim was in critical condition but placed him on medical devices to keep him alive. Police were informed of the child's condition and investigation revealed that he had been assaulted, bruised and wounded in various parts of his body.
The police immediately went to the defendant's house. The defendant denied involvement in the crime, claiming to have been surprised by the victim's cries while she was cooking. On the day of the incident, she claims to have found him in a frantic state, screaming, and the child appeared to suffocate and gasping for breath.
She assumed that the child had swallowed something and tried to extract it from his mouth. The neighbours who were contacted for help urged her to call an ambulance immediately. Both the mother and the boyfriend denied that the child had been subjected to any assault.
Through prosecution investigations and social services hearing testimonies of the victim's sibling, it was found during post-examination that they were subjected to assault, bruises, scratches, and abrasions.
The two children stated that the defendant and her boyfriend repeatedly hit them. They mentioned various forms of torture, including beatings with electric wires, slippers, and burning with cigarettes.
Bahrain hosts International Science and Technology Initiative
GCC growth to slow, but outperform many developed economies
Jojo, Jory and Danny just swam away, without looking back!


Baker Tilly in Swindon has adopted the name RSM, uniting under a single common brand with RSM audit, tax and consulting firms across the world.
The new RSM logo and brand positioning – 'The power of being understood' – will be rolled out in all of the firm's 35 UK locations including Swindon, as well as across the entire RSM network, comprising 37,500 people in 730 offices across more than 110 countries.
To coincide with the rebrand, the UK firm will be launching its new look website at www.rsmuk.com and will be adopting a new Twitter handle @rsmuk.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Baby Nursery Will Probably Look Like This
I hope we see them on Insta soon.
Modsy
As if the nearing arrival of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal baby Sussex wasn't enough to get me excited for this month, the Duke and Duchess are now officially back on Instagram, taking over as @sussexroyal, and I'm ecstatic.
Sure, reading about the two on the news is fun, but there's something about seeing their content on social media with the captions signed "- Harry & Meghan" that makes me feel like I'm part of the family. One can only hope that they'll give us a glimpse of what the soon-to-be royal baby's nursery will look like. Though Meghan has reportedly chosen the design (which makes sense, since the baby can come any day now), details as to what, exactly, the room will look like have been scant.
According to digital design platform Modsy's predictions, Baby Sussex's nursery could turn out one of a few very different ways. Click through the galleries below to see a few design possibilities, each imagined in the style of a royal family member:
Meghan Markle's Design
Modsy shared, "Meghan's nursery style is eclectic minimalist. The pieces have a casual, collected feel and the space is styled with a curated eye. We wanted to pay homage to Meghan's California upbringing and think her design style would emulate a casual and easy aesthetic that feels put together yet effortless."
Prince Harry's Design
"Harry's style mixes the shapes and colors of classic English design with more contemporary pieces and eclectic decor," Modsy said, adding, "We think Harry's version of the nursery would take inspiration from more masculine, British design and nods to his polo days, as well as his known youthful, fun energy. His love for travel is reflected in the design as well."
Queen Elizabeth's Design
Modsy believes Queen Elizabeth's design would take "inspiration from the English countryside. The cottage style in the nursery is sweet and inviting with elegant details." And, of course, there would need to be a Corgi.
Kate Middleton's Design
"Kate's design reflects her fashion sense: Effortlessly tailored and put together, with pieces that will always feel on trend. The design is contemporary with refined touches. Kate's design for Meghan takes a fresh approach to classic, contemporary style." Modsy also shared a fun fact, pointing out that "Kate is incredibly fond of interior decorating and would have gone the extra mile in designing a nursery space for Meghan."
Now, before we go ahead and put and end to the predictions, tell me:
More From The Royal Family
12 Things You Didn't Know About Kensington Palace
An Intruder Entered Buckingham Palace Last Night
A Wildflower Meadow Is Now at Kensington Palace
Alert: Kensington Palace is Hiring an Organizer
The Queen Is Planning Meghan Markle's Birthday
Meghan & Harry Have 20 Guards Around Their Home
Prince Harry's Barbados Villa is For Sale
Kate Middleton's Childhood Vacay Spot Is Magical
Queen Elizabeth Is Looking to Hire a Party Planner
See the First Photos of Meghan and Harry's Baby!
What Would Harry and Meghan's Wedding Be Like?
How Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Spent Christmas
The Royal Baby May Be Raised At Nottingham Cottage
How to Watch Meghan Markle and Harry's Wedding
Predicting The Godparents To Harry & Meghan's Baby


For fans of this blog and of Michael Fisher's art and illustrations, here is an opportunity to actually acquire limited edition and original art work by the creator of Aldo & Me.
Not surprisingly Michael's limited edition 2017 Aldo & Me calendar has sold out. It was an instant sensation and copies went quickly testifying to the underground popularity of this artist's work. No doubt the maestro is already sketching out details for the 2018 version of the Aldo & Me calendar. Stay tuned to this page for further updates.
In the meantime, those who already own an Aldo & Me calendar, and even those who missed out on purchasing one, will be pleased to know that select limited edition illustrations from the 2017 calendar are available for purchase as note cards and postcards. Michael's inimitable and whimsical renditions of west Sonoma County landmarks can now be yours. See the gallery below for the illustrations in their available format of 7×5 inches (17.8×12.7cm) for note cards and 6×4 inches (15.2×10.1cm) for postcards.
For collectors and fans of Michael's three panel palaver, the good news is that his original one-of-a-kind Aldo & Me cartoon panels are also available for purchase directly from the artist. Each three panel composition measures 11×6.5 in (27.5×16.5 cm) and comes backed by black cover stock in a clear archival envelope. With a few exceptions, original Aldo & Me strips, from the beginning (late 2013) to the present, and suitable for framing, can be yours.
Scroll through the archives of the current blog or access the original blog's archives at mongrel4u.wordpress.com for your favorite strip or sequence of strips. Contact Michael [mongrel4u(at sign)sbcglobal(dot)net] for the availability of your must-have Aldo & Me strip as well as pricing and shipping information. At present, each strip sells for a base price of $50US. Get Yours Now!
The gallery below well illustrates the versatility, virtuosity, and imagination of Michael Fisher's art, at times whimsical, surreal, but always entertaining.
For the prolific creator of Aldo & Me, this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. There's much much more where these came from!


Shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, I confess I hadn't heard of this book until the author came to visit Canberra and speak at the National Library of Australia. Although softly-spoken, Madeleine Thien is clearly a passionate and deeply knowledgeable person. She very kindly signed a copy of her book for me and I was very much looking forward to reading it.
"Do Not Say We Have Nothing" by Madeleine Thien is a family saga set in Mao's China. Crossing a generation and a continent, the story is about a young Chinese-Canadian girl Marie and a mysterious girl called Ai-Ming who comes to live with Marie and her mother after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. As Marie learns more about Ai-Ming's family, she grows to understand how they are connected and the lasting impact of the Chinese communist regime on the generations that survived.
This is one of those books where I'm really reluctant to say too much because I really don't want to detract from the whole experience. Although it begins slowly, this book gradually unfurls into an extraordinarily beautiful novel. In fact, if you find you're struggling with it in the beginning, I would strongly recommend that you put on the Goldberg Variations referenced so frequently to better ground yourself in the story. I also found the music better connected me to the characters, especially the beloved trio Zhuli, Sparrow and Kai.
I've read a number of books set around different aspects of Mao's rule and the Cultural Revolution, and some excellent ones are Wolf Totem and The Four Books. This is the first one I have read that I have come away feeling like I now have a deep, nuanced and holistic understanding of the history and trauma of those tumultuous decades in China. This is also the first time I've seen an author pit two generations against one another in quite this way, capturing both how devastating and inspiring the power of the people can be when harnessed.
I think I might just about leave it there, except to say that this is a profound and beautifully written book that warms up to a crescendo ending that will leave you changed forever.


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Global Forest Watch Tracks Deforestation in Real Time – And Helps Fight It Too
© Screenshot Global Forest Watch
This map from GFW shows intact areas of forest, different forest species (green), and areas of high biodiversity (purple).
Global Forest Watch's satellite-based maps provide users with access to data on forests worldwide - and are an important tool in the fight against forest fires and deforestation.
Author Leonie Asendorpf:
Translation Leonie Asendorpf, 01.19.21
In 2019, we lost an area of rainforest the size of a football field every six seconds. This included a total of almost twelve million hectares of trees in the tropics. Almost four million hectares of these were dense rainforests that had grown over centuries. These forests provide a habitat for many animals and plants and act as a crucial global carbon sink. But our forests are not only shrinking due to massive, sometimes illegal deforestation. In recent years, devastating forest fires have also raged due to climate change, such as those we saw in Australia in early 2020.
For a long time, it was only ever possible to work out the scale of tree loss after the fact. With the online platform and interactive maps provided by Global Forest Watch (GFW), activists, NGOs, scientists and governments can access a huge treasure trove of – practically real-time – data on forests worldwide free of charge. This data can be used to monitor and manage forests, stop illegal logging and fires, denounce unsustainable activities, defend land and the resources it contains, source raw materials sustainably, and conduct research for conservation.
From a small network to a global community
The platform was founded in 1997 by the World Resources Institute (WRI). GFW initially started as a network for various NGOs reporting on the state of forests in individual countries. Over the years, the community working on or with the platform grew larger and more international. Then, in 2004, GFW also began working with national governments for the first time, jointly developing online maps of local tree cover.
The data is supplied by satellite missions from NASA, ESA, and more recently, high-resolution imagery from Planet, following a deal with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) and its partners Airbus and Planet by the Norwegian government to provide open access to high-resolution satellite imagery of the tropics. It also incorporates other publicly available information from governments, NGOs, research institutes and companies. The maps are based on various satellite-based geoinformation systems (ArcGIS) from the US software manufacturer ESRI. These map the world's forest resources in near real time.
In 2006, in cooperation with Greenpeace, GCW created the first worldwide map of intact forests. In addition to information on the condition of forests, other information was added, for example on individual raw material supply chains or major forest fires. In 2017, an app was added that allows users to access GFW data and functions offline. Through cooperation with leading financial and commodity companies, "GWF Pro" was launched in 2019. This project aims to help companies manage deforestation risk in their supply chains.
Today, users can view a wide range of information on the platform's interactive maps: for example, current forest fire or deforestation warnings, land use and forest cover, the locations of palm oil factories, CO2 emissions due to deforestation, and areas where there is a high level of biodiversity.
Protection of mangrove forests and localization of palm oil mills
Collected and pooled knowledge provides a good starting point for highlighting political grievances and denouncing them. Through the images of the satellites, numerous committed users of GFW can access information that helps them in their commitment to a more environmentally friendly and less climate-damaging world and a protection of the world's forest resources. For example, Philippine Congresswoman Susan Yap cited data from GWF showing the loss of mangrove forests to argue in the House of Representatives for the protection and reforestation of this tree species. As a result, a mangrove conservation and rehabilitation bill was approved, which includes a ban on any activity that leads to the damage or destruction of mangrove forests.
With the inclusion of and cooperation of large companies, who are increasingly feeling the pressure to carry out more responsible resource extraction, large and significant steps are being taken towards a greener economy, as the example of the Universal Mill List (UML) shows. It was created by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Rainforest Alliance (RA), Proforest and Daemeter to track palm oil supply chains, making it easier for companies to monitor resource extraction. The list identifies a total of 1,815 palm oil mills in a total of 26 countries and displays them with relatively precise location on the platform's maps. With the help of the data collected by the international GFW community, which is now available free of charge, raw material tracing will become much easier. This is because, until now, despite companies increasingly committing to more resource- and environmentally-friendly raw material extraction, tracing individual resources often proved to be very complicated. The UML integrates company data contributed by processors, retailers and consumer goods manufacturers to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and FoodReg. Large companies such as Unilever and Mondelēz International also actively participated in the creation of the list.
The website has many more examples where the map data has become a tool for improved conservation measures. According to the website, the platform is used by thousands of people every day. Since 2014, four million people from all countries around the world are said to have already visited the platform. Partners that financially support GFW include Google and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), among many others. Other partners include Airbus, the University of Cambridge and many other academic and non-profit organizations.
This article is part of the RESET Special Feature "Satellites for Sustainable Development". Click here to explore all of the articles in the series.
This is a translation of an original article that first appeared on RESET's German-language site.
DeforestationGlobal Forest WatchSatellitesSpecial Feature Satellites and Drones
© UNOSAT
UNOSAT: Using Satellites to Map the Future of Humanitarian Aid
The United Nation's satellite analysis programme, UNOSAT, uses geospatial information to develop informed, evidence-based solutions to issues of human security, peace and sustainable development.
© Jacopo
Green City Watch: Using Geospatial Technology to Help Urban Trees Thrive
Green City Watch is working at the intersection of geospatial data and artificial intelligence in a bid to streamline and optimise the way cities care for their green spaces. RESET spoke to co-founder Nadina Galle about their work and to find out how the technologies they're using could change our relationship to nature in the long term.
© ESA/Rosetta/NavCam
European Space Agency Announces Ambitious Earth Observation Expansion
The latest expansion of the Copernicus Earth observation programme is one of the largest and most ambitious yet. But will it come to fruition?
© SkyTruth
SkyTruth: Using the Power of Satellites to Hold Oil, Fracking and Fishing Companies to Account
With a focus on oil spills, natural gas fracking and illegal fishing networks, SkyTruth's work empowers NGOs and members of the public to become environmental watchdogs with a bird's eye view.
© World Bank Photo Collection
Autonomous Drone Deliveries Provide Life-Saving Services During Coronavirus Pandemic
High-tech drones are providing fast, remote medical delivery services in Africa, Europe and the US - transporting medicines, equipment, blood samples, testing devices and more. And in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, they're doubling down on their efforts.
© CNES/ Distribution AIRBUS DS
A Helping Hand From Outer Space: Doctors Without Borders Utilise Satellite Data for Humanitarian Missions
In Austria, the humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders has its own remote sensing and geoinformatics unit, which is helping them optimise and streamline their work in crisis regions. We spoke with Lorenz Wendt, who provides the organisation with satellite imagery and tailormade maps.
© MPIAB_MaxCine
ICARUS: Behavioural Observation of Animals using Mini-Transmitters and Satellites
A satellite-based system for the observation of animals can assist in researching infectious diseases, forecasting natural disasters and protecting species.
© DFKI
Drones and AI Are Teaming Up to Tackle Plastic Pollution in Cambodia
A German research group is using drones in Cambodia to locate and identify plastic waste floating in waterways - helping optimise local efforts to tackle the issue of plastic pollution.