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Streamin' Meemies: Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Ep 4, "Absolute Candor"
I thought we would get into the action in this episode, as we're near to the halfway point of a 10-episode first season. As it turned out, however, Picard had one more stop to make. There was a bit of action at the end--a space battle that revealed a surprise possible extra crew member, which I will get to--but we're not quite there yet.
I've come to the conclusion that this is due to the showrunner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon (who also wrote this episode). Chabon, although he has made forays into genre fiction in recent years (The Yiddish Policeman's Union won the 2008 Hugo Award for best novel), comes from a more literary tradition, and you can see his stamp all over Picard. The pace is slower, the dialogue crisp (I imagine Patrick Stewart is loving the lines he's been getting), and the focus is on characterization and backstory, at least so far.
Obviously in an SFF show there has to be a limit to this, and from the preview to episode 5, it looks like we'll finally be getting some action. However, I think the slower pace has been necessary. We are seeing some huge changes both in the title character and the Star Trek universe. Picard is no longer Starfleet's conscience and golden boy and has, in fact, been booted out on his rear. As an institution, Starfleet itself has turned inward, insular, and more than a little xenophobic, as evidenced by their abandoning the Romulans and their banning of synthetic life after the attack on Mars. Yes, people might say that the Starfleet of years and shows past would never do that...but then, people did say that Donald Trump would never get elected, didn't they? (And England would never vote to leave the European Union...until they did. Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are two nasty sides of the same coin, but since I'm in the US, I will focus on the latter.) And now a spineless, enabling Republican Party is going along with whatever vindictiveness and authoritarianism their lawless figurehead is spewing.
Yeah, it's a clumsy parallel. But if it could happen in this country (and Germany for that matter) it could happen in Starfleet. I appreciate that Picard is showing how it came to pass, both for the title character and the Star Trek universe.
This episode opens with the backstory of Picard and the Romulan boy who becomes the newest crewmember, the vaguely Tolkien-sounding Elnor. (He looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings as well, to the point where I've seen people calling him the Romulan Legolas.) This is another flashback to fourteen years ago, just before the synth rebellion, and Picard is on the planet Vashti supervising the Romulan refugees settling there. He beams down to visit a group of warrior nuns called the Qowat Milat, which is another of those delightful Romulan subcultures we've been discovering. This group, of all women except for the orphan Elnor they have taken in, follows the way of "Absolute Candor" (hence the episode's title), which is stated to be "total communication of emotion without any filter between thought and word." Picard has developed a friendship with Elnor (another surprise, as Captain Jean-Luc wasn't terribly fond of children) and brings him an ancient copy of Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers.We see an intercutting scene of Picard reading the book to the boy and fencing with him, before Raffi calls down to tell him about the Mars attack. Picard leaves, saying "I'll be back soon," which we immediately know is a lie--and Elnor and the Romulans on Vashti are just another group abandoned by Picard and Starfleet in the aftermath.
Fourteen years later, we return to Captain Rios' ship, the now named La Sirena, and the captain reading the same book while a seemingly nervous Agnes chatters to him.
"Space turns out to be super boring. Go figure."
"What were you expecting?"
"Vast quantities of stuff."
Meanwhile, Picard is playing with the hospitality program, which is yet another iteration of Rios, who has reconstructed his room at Chateau Picard. Raffi and Rios enter (and the hologram immediately vanishes as Rios growls, "I can't stand that fucking thing"). Raffi grumps to Rios that "Man can't even take a guilt trip without using a starship," and Picard explains why he wants to hire a Romulan warrior. Of course, things have changed on Vashti in fourteen years: the planet is protected by a complex force shield that only allows transporter egress at predetermined times, because of raiders in an old-style Romulan Warbird haunting the system. When they reach the planet, even Picard's name can't convince them to permit him to beam down, until Rios suggests a bribe.
This works, and Picard beams down. The Romulans clearly aren't happy to see him, although no one says anything (yet). There is a sign saying "Romulans only" at the town tavern. Picard finds his way to the Qowat Milat, where Elnor is all grown up (and he really does look like a dark-haired Legolas). He isn't particularly happy to see Picard either. The head warrior-nun explains they never found a place for him outside the monastary, but he has trained and is one of the finest fighters she has ever seen. Picard explains his situation to Elnor and asks to buy his sword, and Elnor, following the way of Absolute Candor, snaps at Picard that "You only returned because you needed something from me" and storms off.
Meanwhile, Rios' ship picks up the old Warbird closing in, and Raffi tells Picard he has to come back. He returns to town, and in a fit of pique against the "Romulans only" sign, rips it down and tries to get a drink in the tavern. (I'm not sure about this--this seems to be out of character for Picard, who never used to pick fights. However, Sir Patrick Stewart went along with it, so there must be a reason.) At this point, a Romulan who has been watching reveals himself to be a former Romulan senator and adds himself to this list of people who have ripped Picard new ones for abandoning them. Picard protests, rather feebly:
"I did everything I could."
"And then you gave up! You and Starfleet had no understanding of Romulan ingenuity. You took advantage of our weakness."
He then tries to force Picard into a duel, and Picard refuses. At this point the fight is interrupted by Elnor, who informs everyone that he has bound his sword to Picard and orders the former senator to stand down. The man refuses, and Elnor does a twisty midair maneuver and chops the poor guy's head off. This nearly gets him shot by a blaster, until Picard shouts at Raffi to beam him up.
Once they are aboard, Picard reads Elnor the riot act, informing him "That man did not deserve to die," and insisting if he is to hire Elnor's sword, Elnor will only wield it to Picard's orders. Elnor agrees. Agnes asks what is the criteria for a Qowat Milat selling his sword, and we finally find out: their requirement for worthiness is binding their swords to a lost cause.
In a brief return to the subplot aboard the reclaimed Borg cube, Soji is watching past recordings of Ramda talking about the Romulan version of Ragnarok and "the Destroyer" who will bring it about. (After thinking about this, I had the unpleasant notion that this might be a parallel to the organic-life-destroying Red Angel of season 2 of Discovery. I hope not. I've rather had enough of every set of stakes being so high the entire universe might come to an end.) Narek comes to see her, and they have a conversation in a bar aboard the Borg cube, where Soji asks Narek outright if he's Tal Shiar, and he says no. (Of course, we in the audience know he's not lying, that he's Zhat Vash instead, but Soji doesn't.) In a cute scene that makes one wonder if Narek might be developing real feelings for Soji, he takes her to a long slick hallway inside the Borg cube, and they end up sliding down it in their sock feet like a couple of kids. This devolves into a fight, and Soji demands to know: "What are you doing, Narek?"
"Feeding an insatiable curiosity, like you."
Dissatisfied with this answer, Soji leaves.
Later that night Narek is awakened in his quarters by his creepy sister Narissa, who (after needling him about his "robot girl being anatomically correct"), demands to know if he has made progress in revealing the whereabouts of the other synths. (Apparently there are a whole bunch more of Soji's and Dahj's? Shades of Battlestar Galactica and its identical Cylons, perhaps?) Narek protests, "If I press her too hard, it might activate her," and Narissa gives him a week before she reverts to "old fashioned methods," i.e. torture.
Returning to the La Sirena, Picard and his crew are under attack by the Warbird. Rios summons yet another iteration of himself, namely the Emergency Targeting Technician (I think that's what it was called--there's so many I can't remember) named Emmet, who has long hair and speaks only Spanish. (The actor looks like he's having the time of his life playing all these different versions of his character.) There follows an exciting, fast-paced action sequence (and this episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes, so this is very well shot), where the La Sirena is nearly herded into the planet's force field and destroyed, until another small ship swoops in and blasts one of the Warbird's wings away, saving them. In the process, the ship is mortally damaged, and Raffi just manages to lock onto the pilot with the transporter before it disintegrates.
And the pilot is....none other than Seven of Nine (although to be fair, this was given away by Jeri Ryan's "special guest star" slot in the opening credits). Picard, in utter disbelief: "Seven of Nine?"
"You owe me a ship, Picard," she says before she collapses.
So. Things finally seem to be coming together a bit, especially following the previews of next week's episode. About damn time. I just hope things aren't so frantic and fast-paced in the final six episodes that we don't have room to breathe. The mysteries are deepening, the characters and backstory are getting proper attention, and I am thoroughly enjoying this show. It does seem to have found its stride rather quickly, faster than the first season of Discovery if I am being honest. Maybe the powers-that-be need to get Pulitzer Prize-winning authors to run their shows more often.
Labels: star trek, star trek picard, streaming tv, tv reviews


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New Poll Shows Broad Consensus Across North Texas For Wearing Masks
[DALLAS, TEXAS, June 24] – A new poll commissioned by the non-partisan, non-profit group Texas 2036 shows broad support across North Texas for wearing masks to fight COVID-19. Overwhelming numbers of North Texans said they believe wearing masks shows respect for first responders, healthcare workers, friends, and family. Further, more than six out of ten said wearing masks, and social distancing should be required until a vaccine is widely available.
The poll, which surveyed residents in 13 North Texas counties in early June, also confirms that the virus has had a significant impact on employment in the region — highlighting the challenge policymakers face as they weigh pandemic responses against economic struggles.
The percentage of Texans who said they were employed full-time dropped from 60% before the pandemic to 48% this month. Similarly, 40% of respondents said they or someone in their household was working less than they wanted due to the epidemic.
"The biggest takeaway is how do we break the partisan divisiveness and find common solutions," said Tom Luce, founder, and chairman of Texas 2036, which is developing a long-term strategic plan for the state for its bicentennial in the next decade. "This poll demonstrates that there are some common messages that cut across [society], whether you've got health concerns or economic concerns. People have legitimate health concerns and legitimate economic concerns — and the messaging about the reason to wear a mask was very powerful."
The poll also reflects the growing concerns of many North Texans about the speed with which state and local governments are lifting restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Poll respondents were also more likely to say that things are more likely to get worse before they get better: 45% said the worst is yet to come for their community, while 37% said the worst is behind us. By an even wider margin — 50% to 33% — poll respondents said the worst is yet to come for the United States.
Each of those questions broke down along partisan lines, with Democrats and independents more likely than Republicans to say the pandemic is still getting worse.
Importantly, the poll was completed before Texas saw some of its highest numbers of hospitalizations and coronavirus cases. Just on Monday, Governor Greg Abbott said, "COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled."
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted by telephone between May 27 and June 9 by Hudson Pacific. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
To learn more and download a copy of the report, visit https://texas2036.org/majority-of-north-texans-support-wearing-masks/ <https://texas2036.org/majority-of-north-texans-support-wearing-masks/>.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Eradicate and prevent
free phone line
About NABU
Principles of work
History of NABU
Mission and symbols
Investigative jurisdiction
NABU Development Strategy 2021-2023
Civil Oversight Council
Members of NABU's Civil Oversight Council
Regulations on the Civil Oversight Council
Three persons were detained on attempt to bribe NABU and SAPO executives
improper advantage
State Tax Service of Ukraine
Minister of Ecology
On June 12, 2020, the Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) under the procedural guidance of the prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor`s Office (SAPO) detained a group of persons, who tried to give an improper advantage in the amount of USD 5 million to the NABU official and the SAPO Head. Those people were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
On June 13, 2020, at the media briefing, Artem Sytnyk and Nazar Kholodnytsky announced the details about the case. In exchange for the improper advantage, the officials had to terminate the case in which the ex-Minister of Ecology is a suspect. In the fall of 2019, the Prosecutor General's Office sent the case to NABU according to the jurisdiction.
"NABU and SAPO investigate a criminal proceeding, in which the former Minister of Ecology of Ukraine is a suspect.
The investigation is stopped; the official was put on wanted list. We have received data that some persons want to close this case for an improper advantage. The total amount of bribe amounted to USD 6 million: USD 5 million for the executives of anti-corruption agencies for closing the case and USD 1 million for the intermediary for "consulting services," said the SAPO Head Nazar Kholodnytsky.
"The case in which the improper advantage was offered concerns possible involvement of the ex-minister in the embezzlement and further legalization of the stabilization loan funds granted by the National Bank of Ukraine to the PJSC "Real Bank". At the time of committing a crime, the "Real Bank" was controlled by a criminal organization with the involvement of officials in the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych. A number of persons, including the former minister, were given notices of suspicion," said the NABU Director Artem Sytnyk.
According to him, on June 3, 2020, the criminal proceeding as of the facts of attempt to bribe the NABU and SAPO executives was registered. Only 9 days have passed since the moment when the criminal plan became known, until the moment of detentions. The hasty actions of people trying to give a bribe were connected with the approach of the day of birth of Mr. Minister. "According to our data, until this day they planned to reach a final solution - the closure of the proceeding and, as a result, the return of the ex-Minister to Ukraine,'' said Artem Sytnyk.
Among the suspects there are:
First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service of Ukraine (STSU) in Kyiv;
one of the executives of a group of companies affiliated with the former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the times of the President Yanukovych;
former Head of one of the Departments of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, a trustee for the Minister of Ecology.
The official of the STSU, who acted as an intermediary, was given a notice of suspicion of committing a crime under Part 5 Article 27, Part 4 Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The mentioned person, as the investigation found out, received funds from people connected with the former Minister of Ecology. He estimated the decision to close the criminal proceeding at USD 6 million, of which USD 1 million he planned to keep.
On June 13, 2020, two more persons have got notices of suspicion. First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service of Ukraine is suspected of committing a crime under Part 4 Article 369, and former Head of one of the Departments of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine – under Part 5 Article 27, Part 4 Article 369.
During June 14-15, 2020, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose preventive measures in a form of temporary custody with the following amounts of alternative bail:
UAH 84.08 million for the First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service of Ukraine in Kyiv;
UAH 40.36 million for one of the executives of a group of companies affiliated with the former Minister;
UAH 120 million UAH for the former Head of one of the Departments of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine.
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Science Metro
Your Daily Science Source
Australia is so hot right now snakes are seeking refuge in the worst possible places
January 30, 2019 by admin 0 Comments
In Australia, snakes sometimes slither into suburban backyards and homes. When the weather gets warm, they lounge in the sun. When it gets hot, they seek cool places: a wall crevice, under a refrigerator, under a barbecue grill, behind an air-conditioning unit.
When it gets too hot and dry, they seek places with moisture, as some Australians are quickly learning.
Luke Huntley, a snake catcher in Queensland, had to remove snakes from people's bathrooms, as the country experiences a record-setting heat wave.
Last week, he removed a seven-foot python that had slithered into an open door and climbed into the shower not only to escape the heat but also to find water.
Days earlier, he pulled a small tree snake that had coiled in another homeowner's toilet bowl.
(Snake Catcher Nooser/Facebook)
"With the hot days and dry weather, these snakes are trying to hydrate and stay cool just like us," Huntley wrote on his Facebook page.
Also recently, an unsuspecting woman went into a dimly lit bathroom of a Brisbane home, not bothering to look into the toilet bowl. After she sat down, she felt a "tap" on her skin followed by a sharp pain, Helen Richards told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
She looked down and saw a python looking up at her.
As a polar vortex hits the US Midwest, the extreme opposite is happening in Australia.
The heat wave has parched landscapes, triggered damaging wildfires, pushed demand on the power grid to the brink and toppled significant records, Capital Weather Gang's Angela Fritz wrote last week.
Temperatures soared to 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius) on Thursday in Adelaide, South Australia. That's the highest temperature for any capital in Australia, according to Fritz.
In the southeastern corner of the country, overnight temperatures were as high as 96°F (36°C) – the warmest overnight lows for January anywhere in the world.
Australia's climate has warmed by about 2°F (1°C) since 1910, leading to more frequent heat waves and severe drought conditions, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Eight of Australia's top-10 warmest years on record have happened in the past 13 years.
And with warmer weather come more snake sightings. Snake season starts in September, the beginning of spring in Australia. It goes on throughout the summer, from December to February.
Australia has around 140 species of land snakes. As cities and urban development encroach into snake habitats, residents – and their pets – are more likely to encounter snakes, particularly in the spring, University of Melbourne researchers said.
"As it warms up and we get a bit more sun, snakes come out to bask," Timothy Jackson, a research fellow at the university's Australian Venom Research Unit, said in September. "When they're warm enough, they get hungry – they may not have eaten for months."
Snakes, though, are not to be feared.
"This is nothing to be alarmed about, but it does give us an additional reason to pay attention to our surroundings because, as we all know, encounters with snakes don't always end well," Jackson said.
"It's important to understand that this isn't because snakes are out to get us. The last thing a snake wants to see when it's out looking for a feed is a giant primate, dog or cat."
Unfortunately, that has not always held true.
Huntley, the snake catcher, was called a couple of weeks ago to a home where a python ate a house cat.
Angela Fritz contributed to this article.
2019 © The Washington Post
This article was originally published by The Washington Post.
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Home >Tamils: a Trans State Nation > Struggle for Tamil Eelam > Conflict Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka > All Party Representative Committee Farce - 2006/2008 > Sri Lanka Experts Panel Report
Sri Lanka Experts Panel Report
D. B. S. Jeyaraj in Sinhala owned Sri Lanka Sunday Leader
[see also 1. Mad Hatters Tea Party and 2. TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 13:19 GMT "Leaked Expert panel's reports trigger controversy - The 17-member panel of "Legal/Constitutional Experts" tasked by Sri Lanka' president Mahinda Rajapakse to aid the sub committee on Constitutional Reforms to formulate proposals for constitutional changes, in June 2006, failed to agree to produce a single set of recommendations, and instead produced four separate, competing reports which were leaked to the media. The exercise widely believed by the Tamils and noted Think-tanks in Colombo, as a project by Colombo to buy time while engaginng in military offensives in the East, has triggered controversy in ruling circles, as Colombo attempted to distance itself from recommendations in the main reports...]
Many people including this writer were in for a pleasant surprise last week!
The majority of the experts group appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse submitted a 37 page preliminary report to the All Party Representatives Conference (APRC) on Wednesday, December 6. Eleven of the 17 expert panellists comprising six Sinhala, four Tamil and one Muslim had assented to the report with some expressing reservations on certain clauses.
The six experts who did not agree with the majority submitted three separate reports on the same day. Four persons together presented a minority report while two others submitted a dissenting report each. All six were from the majority community.
Meeting with President
The expert panellists were scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday, December 8 and discuss related developments. They had all presented their reports to the APRC Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana on Wednesday and had outlined their respective proposals. The experts will meet APRC members early next month to discuss the various pros and cons of their proposals.
When the All Party Representative Conference was convened and an expert panel appointed to 'advise' the APRC on constitutional reform and devolution many including this writer thought it was a time - buying exercise in futility. The pleasant surprise therefore was that the multi - ethnic majority of the experts panel had formulated a viable package within five months. For that matter even the others have completed their reports.
It is indeed a pity that all 17 experts could not agree on a common report. This however was to be expected because of the expert panel composition. People with extreme, partisan views were in the panel and one reason for this writer's pessimism was the feeling that they would never agree on anything or that in the event of agreement devolution proposals were likely to be severely diluted.
Common majority report
My scepticism has been partially proved right. There was no meeting of the minds in the expert panel. The reason for being pleasantly surprised is that the majority (almost two - thirds) have agreed on a common majority report. Added reasons for happiness is the fact that the 'majority' is multi - ethnic. Furthermore the report itself recommends many positive suggestions that could greatly help resolve the Tamil national question if accepted and implemented.
With the Rajapakse regime waging 'war' against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a big way the political environment of the country began to sour. The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) was charged of 'militarism' and that the political option was being ignored. There was considerable international pressure on Colombo to arrive at an acceptable political formula. It was also emphasised that a 'Southern' or 'Sinhala' or 'Majoritarian' consensus on a political settlement was a pre - requisite for meaningful progress.
President Rajapakse convened an all party representatives conference (APRC) in early July this year. He also appointed a group of eminent persons as a "panel of experts" to advise the APRC on devolution and constitutional reform. The experts panel was required to analyse the situation in depth and formulate a preliminary report to be submitted to the APRC. The APRC was expected to discuss this report in detail and arrive at a final report. Mahinda Rajapakse has gone on record that he would abide by the APRC decision.
Two glaring omissions
When the APRC was convened there were two glaring omissions. The chief opposition United National Party(UNP) did not participate. In the absence of the UNP a 'Sinhala' consensus was impossible. Against the backdrop where inter - party rivalry between the UNP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) had drastically affected ethnic relations in the country , the current absence of the UNP seemed to make the whole APRC an 'optical' exercise. One reason for my own scepticism was this.
The other aspect was the absence of a credible Sri Lankan Tamil voice in the APRC. The APRC was restricted to political party's represented in parliament. This ruled out Anandasangari (TULF), Siddharthan (PLOTE) and T. Sritharan (EPRLF - Nabha group). There were however the 22 MPs of the Tamil National Alliance. In a controversial move President Rajapakse did not 'invite' the TNA for the APRC.
Apparently the President felt that the TNA being an avowed mouthpiece of the LTTE with no independent voice of its own would not be of any use. He also feared that the TNA presence could be a disruptive factor given the acrimony in parliament between the party and other Sinhala nationalist MPs. Rajapakse felt that including the TNA in the APRC at this stage would only obstruct proceedings. He probably hoped to engage the TNA and possibly the LTTE at a later stage.
Absence of TNA
The exclusion of the TNA left the "half - democrat" Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) as the only Sri Lankan Tamil political party in the APRC. The absence of a credible Sri Lankan Tamil presence in the APRC was another reason for my doubting the bona fides of the exercise. I was particularly sorry that the ability and experience of veteran Tamil leader Rajavarothayam Sambandan was not being utilised.
Let it be remembered that among all Sri Lankan parliamentarians the Trincomalee District MP is the only person who has participated in all previous peace talks. But then Rajapakse had a point in doubting whether the TNA would be given a free hand to contribute positively. Besides the LTTE too did not avail itself of this man for peace talks and chose to rely instead on expatriate sycophants.
Tamil point of view
In such a situation the onus was on the expert panel to progressively accommodate the Sri Lankan Tamil point of view in the proposed preliminary report.Given Rajapakse's stance on federalism the envisaged 'solution' had to be maximum devolution within a unitary state. It was within these parameters that the expert panel began its deliberations.There were fits and starts initially.
The expert panel when first constituted had 12 members. Of these 10 were from the majority community with one each from the Tamil and Muslim communities. There were some protests and the International Community (IC) also expressed dissatisfaction at this. So three more Tamil representatives were appointed. With further agitation by the hawks two more were added on later. Thus the expert panel had 17 members. The ethnic breakdown was 12 Sinhala, Four Tamil and One Muslim.
Federal solution
The expert panel deliberations went on regularly. About 70 proposals from the public were criticised in addition to individual contributions by the experts themselves. All decisions arrived in the Govt - LTTE talks including the Oslo declaration of exploring a federal solution, the draft legislation of 2000, proposals arising out of various past attempts to resolve the problem like the Mangala Moonesinghe Commission report etc. were also analysed.
Many constitutions like that of India and other schemes of devolution like that of Spain were also discussed in detail. The panel had a plethora of knowledge and expertise in these spheres.
India's advise to Mahinda
India in particular evinced great interest in the workings of the expert panel. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had personally advised Mahinda on more than one occasion to evolve a southern consensus and the contours of a political settlement before engaging the LTTE in direct talks.There were media reports that India provided a lot of documentation including the Sarkaria commission report on centre - state relations.
The Indian Constitution provides diverse 'models' to any one seeking inspiration. There is the non - contiguous territorial concept of Pondicherry union territory; there is sec 370 which gives special status to Kashmir; there is sec 356 which enables the central government to dissolve a state government in extreme circumstances. Even as experts were engaged in constitution making India maintained effective lines of communication and kept itself informed of progress.
UNP, SLFP memorandum
The expert panel proceedings received a boost with two developments. Constitution making exercise received a boost when the UNP and SLFP signed a memorandum of understanding on resolving the ethnic problem. The UNP declined to enter into constructive dialogue until and unless a draft paper on proposed constitutional reform was made available to the APRC.This was to be the basis of UNP - SLFP discussions and eventual bi - partisan consensus. This made the work of the expert panel crucially important and urgent.
The sense of urgency was further accelerated by Indian pressure. New Delhi prevailed upon Colombo to make proceedings a time - bound exercise instead of letting it meander aimlessly.Ultimately President Rajapakse told Indian officials that the preliminary report would be ready by December 15 this year. This added greater impetus. The expert panel now began meeting almost daily and spending much energy and time because of an expedited deadline.
Cracks widen
The cracks too began widening. There was naturally unanimity on issues such as unity, sovereignity, territorial integrity and limited devolution. The points of divergence were on the extent of devolution, unit of devolution,nature of the state, measures to alleviate minority fears and insecurity etc.
Two broad schools of thought evolved within the expert panel. One was for greater inclusion of the minority community aspirations within a maximum devolution model of a united Lanka. The other school of thought was not prepared to go to such lengths.
Four different reports
The 'majority' school of thought was multi - ethnic in composition while the others were essentally 'Sinhala' but not necessarily Buddhist.At one stage the 'majority' group had 12 members and the other group five members. But one each from both groups had 'differences' and opted to strike out alone. Finally there were four different reports. Eleven members assented to the 'majority' report. Four signed the 'minority' report. The remaining each presented 'dissenting'reports.
The 11 who endorsed the majority report were R.K.W. Goonesekara, Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Asoka Gunawardena, Rohan Perera, Therese Perera, Malkanthy Wickremasinghe, Faiz Mustapha, Nirmala Chandrahasan, K. Vigneswaran, Sivaji Felix and N. Selvakumaran. The four who endorsed the minority report were H.L. de Silva, Gomin Dayasiri. G.H. Peiris and Manohara De Silva. K.H.J. Wijayadasa and M.D.D. Peiris submitted the respective dissenting reports.
The four reports were presented to the APRC Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana on Wednesday. Three of the majority group were abroad, Shivaji Felix, Asoka Gunewardena and Jayampathy Wickramaratne had not affixed their signatures to the 37 page document but their consent as signatories had been duly obtained. Rajah Goonesekara presented the report on behalf of the group and addressed the APRC.
With H.L. de Silva being out of the country Gomin Dayasiri presented the minority report and addressed the conference. The dissenting reports were presented by K.H.J. Wijayadasa and Dharmasiri Peiris who addressed the APRC. Sadly there was no representative of the Sri Lankan Tamils at the APRC on the historic occasion. Former MP S. Thavarajah, the EPDP nominee to the APRC was not present.
Members of the majority group too were not of a single, uniform opinion on all counts. Individual members had different perspectives on different issues. Yet they agreed to a common position on most matters. Where deemed necessary some have noted their reservations on particular issues.
On the prickly issue of a north - eastern unit four different options have been presented. An annexure outlining areas like official language implementation where immediate action is possible has also been added. Some matters like proposed powers to be devolved to centre and periphery have not been completely finalised and are open ended.
Background of participants
The 11 who endorsed the majority report are from diverse backgrounds. Senior lawyer R.K.W. Goonesekara is a former Law Faculty senior lecturer and ex - principal of the Law College. Rajah Goonesekara is a well - known lawyer and is regarded as a close adviser of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Jayampathy Wickramaratne is currently senior adviser to the Constitutional Affairs Ministry of D.E.W. Gunasekera. Wickramaratne played an important role in evolving the draft legislation of 2000. Malkanthy Wickremasinghe is Secretary to the Constitutional Affairs Ministry. She is also the daughter of the Rajarata's K.B. Ratnayake who was fluent in all three languages and widely respected by Tamils.
Therese Perera is the legal draftsman. She was the first woman to be appointed to that post. Her husband Rohan Perera is legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry. He is an internationally recognised legal expert and holds office in many prestigious bodies. Asoka Gunewardena is a former civil servant and currently chairman, Finance Commission.
Faiz Mustapha is an eminent lawyer. This former high commissioner to Britain is acceptable to all Muslim political parties in Sri Lanka. Shivaji Felix another lawyer is the son of former Income Tax Commissioner J.A. Felix. Shivaji has a Ph D and specialised in federalism for his doctorate.
Nirmala Chandrahasan is a lawyer and former acting dean of Colombo Law Faculty. She is the daughter of Former Federal Party stalwart Dr. E.M.V Naganathan and daughter in law of respected Tamil leader S.J.V. Chelvanayagam. K. Vigneswaran is a former MP and general secretary of the newly formed "Ahila Ilankai Thamilar Koottani" party. He was also the secretary of the North - Eastern Provincial Council when Annamalai Varatharaja Perumal was chief minister. N. Selvakumaran is a Colombo Law Faculty professor.
The other six expert panel members who did not subscribe to the majority report are also people of great stature. H.L. de Silva is acknowledged as the most brilliant constitutional lawyer in the country. Gomin Dayasiri and Manohara de Silva are also reputed lawyers. G.H. Peiris is a scholarly professor of geography. K.H.J. Wijayadasa is a retired administrator who was former President Ranasinghe Premadasa's secretary. G.D.D. Peiris is a former cabinet and presidential secretary. He is also chairman of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies.
Inability to finalise report
The inability of the expert panel to finalise a single report evokes memories of the Commission on Devolution appointed by President J.R. Jayewardene in 1979. In that instance the majority of members in the commission headed by Victor Tennekoon submitted one report while the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) nominee Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam presented a dissenting report. When the District Development Council bill was presented in parliament it was found that the greater part of the legislation was derived from Tiruchelvam's dissenting or minority report.
The visible divide in the expert panel also revives memories of the Supreme Court in examining the proposed 13th Amendment legislation in 1987. Five judges voted for and four against in a nine judge bench. All four who voted against were Sinhala while three of those who voted for were members of the Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities. It was the praiseworthy stance of two Sinhala judges that saw the legislation being approved then.
Courageous position
Likewise the commendable and courageous position adopted by six members of the Sinhala community has enabled this 'majority' report to emerge. If these eminent ladies and gentlemen had let their 'ethnic loyalty' overrule their inherent sense of justice and feeling for what was good for the country the results may have been very different. They deserve all the praise and gratitude from peace loving Sri Lankan people.
It is people like these who make the non- Sinhala communities hopeful about the future. They instil confidence particularly among Tamils that there is still a chance for a united, egalitarian and pluralistic Sri Lanka where all communities can live as equals in unity, amity and harmony. I personally salute these people as I know the pressures involved in going against the sentiments propagated by a vociferous section of one's own ethnicity .
Tamils deserve praise
Similiarly those four Tamils who participated in the exercise knowing fully well the dangers involved also deserve praise. In a situation where the dominant entity among Tamils insists on a separate state and nothing else the action of these persons in helping evolve an alternative solution where Tamils could live as equals in a united Sri Lanka is truly courageous. In the tragic past people like Neelan Tiruchelvam and Kethesh Loganathan were killed for these very reasons . Already the pro - Tiger media has begun questioning the credentials of these people. They not only deserve praise but may also require protection.
The majority report by itself cannot achieve anything unless the political parties demonstrate political will. The APRC has representatives from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party , United National Party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna , Jathika Hela Urumaya , Sri Lanka Muslim Congress , National Unity Alliance, Ceylon Workers Congress , Mahajana Eksath Peramuna . Lanka Sama Samaja Party , Communist Party of Sri Lanka, All Ceylon Muslim League, Eelam People's Democratic Party. National Muslim Congress , Up Country People's Front and Western People's Front
Parties such as the JVP, MEP and JHU will protest strongly against meaningful attempts to devolve powers. Hardliners within the SLFP and UNP may also express opposition. With three reports being presented by Sinhala members of the expert panel the hawks have something to latch on to in opposing . President Rajapakse too is in a tricky situation.
The immediate response can only be that of treating all four reports on par. As time progresses the majority report on account of its form, content and the multi - ethnic majority endorsement will be elevated to a Primus Inter Pares situation. The final scheme of constitutional reform has to be an amalgam of all four reports. It is imperative however that the essence of the final product should be based on the majority report. If on the other hand the final report is a diluted version then all will be lost. Sri Lanka will blast its own future.
Though the nominal responsibility of formulating a final version lies with the APRC the question of realpolitik decrees that what counts most is a bi - partisan consensus between the UNP and SLFP. This in turn depends on Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremesinghe. If the two major parties unite in thought and action on this then a wider and meaningful consensus is ensured. The question of how the LTTE will react depends on what the final 'consensus' will be.
This in turn will be predicated on a bi- partisan UNP - SLFP consensus. The 'majority' report has placed the onus on the government and chief opposition. The constitutional reform ball is firmly in the SLFP - UNP court.
Eleven members of the panel of experts appointed by President Rajapakse to "advise" and "assist" the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) presented last Wednesday , a report to the APRC Chairman Tissa Vitharana. Six other members of the panel also presented three other reports to the APRC. With 11 out of 17 endorsing the report concerned, it is viewed as the 'Majority' report. Adding further credence to the report is its acceptable form, progressive content and the fact that it is supported by the multi - ethnic majority of six Sinhala, four Tamil and one Muslim representative. Though the 37 page report is too exhaustive to be re-produced in full some of its salient features are extracted below....
Understanding of the national problem
1:1 The crisis in the Sri Lankan polity has arisen because, although the country is multi-ethnic and multi-religious, the numerically smaller ethnic groups have not had their due share of state power which in their opinion, would have facilitated greater integration.
1:2 This has resulted in the minorities being sidelined and becoming alienated from the Sri Lankan State, as initial efforts to redeem this situation by a power sharing mechanism failed.
1:3 In this context, the goal should be to provide a form of governance that accommodates the different ethnic/religious identities within one country, while maintaining unity in diversity, through constitutional reform and thereby making an attempt to move away from conflict.
1:4 The approach of this group has been to evolve to the maximum extent possible, a form of genuine power-sharing between the different ethnic/religious communities, which is not predicated on any particular model, but which suits our own needs.
1:5 This group has thereby evolved an approach, which is double pronged. i.e. Provincial institutions and local authorities will be set up as institutions of government through which all communities can within the respective areas of authority, exercise power and develop their own areas. All communities will also share power at the centre, thereby integrating them into the body politic and strengthening national integration.
State, sovereignty, people
2:1 This group recommends that the name of the state be "The Republic of Sri Lanka."
2:2 Following from the above, the state shall therefore be described in the constitution as "one, free, sovereign and independent state." The use of distinctive expressions, such as unitary, federal, union of regions/provinces among others, should therefore be avoided and instead reference may be made to the state as consisting of "institutions of the centre and of the provinces which shall exercise power in the manner provided for in the constitution."
2:3 The state shall be obliged to safeguard the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the republic and to preserve and advance a Sri Lankan identity, recognising the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural character of the Sri Lankan society.
2:4 The people of Sri Lanka shall be described in the constitution as being composed of "the constituent peoples of Sri Lanka." The right of every constituent people to develop its own language, to develop and promote its culture and to preserve its history and the right to its due share of state power including the right to due representation in institutions of government shall be recognised without in any way weakening the common Sri Lankan identity. This shall not in any way be construed as authorising or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of the republic.
Safeguards against secession
4:1 There should be in-built mechanisms to discourage secessionist tendencies and to preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.
4:2 A provincial legislature or provincial government shall not, by direct or indirect means, promote or otherwise advocate or attempt to promote or otherwise advocate an initiative towards the separation or secession of any province or part thereof, from the republic.
4:3 Emergency powers of the centre to intervene in the provinces in the event of a 'clear and present' danger to the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state and in cases where the provincial authorities request the intervention of the centre, shall be clearly spelt out in the constitution. Accordingly, the constitution should provide for the following:-
4:3:(a) A declaration of an emergency in a province, where the president is of opinion that the security or public order of the province is threatened by armed insurrection, grave internal disturbances or by any act or omission of the provincial government which presents a clear and present danger to the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the republic. This would empower the president to deploy armed forces or the national police to restore public order and to make regulations in respect of subjects in the national list or in respect of law and order.
4:3:(b) A declaration of emergency in a province, would be done by the president upon being advised by the governor, consequent to advice given to him by the chief minister. This would empower the president to authorise officials of the centre to exercise powers in respect of subjects in the provincial list, and, for the president to make regulations with respect to any matter in the provincial list as may be specified by the governor acting on the advice of the chief minister.
4:3:(c) Where the president is of opinion that a situation has arisen in which a provincial legislature/government is promoting an armed rebellion or insurrection, or is engaging in the intentional violation of specified provisions of the constitution relating to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the republic and that the powers of provincial authorities presents a clear and present danger to the unity and sovereignty of the republic, the president would be empowered to assume all or any functions of the province and in a extreme situation, to dissolve in terms of the constitution the errant provincial legislature. The principles of democracy and equity should be upheld and the constitution held supreme.
4:4 The group recommends that the above acts of the president be subject to judicial control and parliamentary control as well. [ In this connection see also 3:5 above]
4:5 There should also be an obligation on the part of the centre to protect every province against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every province is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution [Vide: Article 355 of the Indian Constitution which provides for such a situation].
Power sharing
5:1: The centre
5:1:(a) We recommend two directly or indirectly elected vice presidents who shall belong to two different communities distinct to that of the president, the term of office of each of the vice presidents being three years.
5:1:(b) It is recommended that at any given time, one of the vice presidents shall be the chairman (non-voting) of the second chamber while the other vice president shall be the chairman of the high posts commission. The chairmanship shall be on the basis of rotation between the two bodies. It is proposed that the High Posts Commission shall replace the present Constitutional Council. The group further recommends periodic review of the composition of this High Posts Commission. Provincial representation in the commission is strongly recommended.
5:1:(c) A second chamber comprising representatives from the provinces would engender in the provinces a strong feeling that they too have a distinct role to play in the national legislature. this would also act as an in-built mechanism against hasty legislation and legislation that may have an adverse effect on the provinces. Such a second chamber is found in almost every country where there is substantial devolution of power. A second chamber of parliament should be considered a unifying mechanism.
5:1:(d) The second chamber would also function as a mechanism to rectify possible imbalances of representation in the Lower House. This institution could also facilitate consensus building amongst interest groups.
5:1:(e) The members of the second chamber shall be elected by the respective provincial legislatures. The election shall be according to the principle of proportional representation with each provincial legislator having one transferable vote. This will facilitate the representation of the different peoples of the province and small political parties. A similar procedure was used for the election of senators under the Soulbury Constitution [Vide section 9(2)].
5:1:(f) In determining the size of the second chamber the group is mindful of the need to maintain a fair balance between the upper and lower houses. The group recommends a ratio of 1:3 between the membership of the Upper House and that of the Lower House. In view of the proposals for the establishment of a second chamber and the proposed extensive devolution, the current number of 225 Members of Parliament is felt to be excessive for the proposed Lower House of Parliament. The group recommends that the membership of the Lower House be limited to 180 members.
5:1:(g) All legislation, with the exception of money bills, may be initiated in the second chamber.
5:1:(h) The group is of the view that the cabinet of ministers should, in principle, reflect the pluralistic character and also be representative of the provinces of Sri Lanka. The group intends making further proposals on this matter in a subsequent report.
5:2 The Provinces
5:2:(a) The group considers that executive power sharing on a proportional basis at the provincial level has its benefits particularly in post-conflict situations. We are however not unmindful that a provincial executive could become breeding ground for corruption when there is no official opposition. As such, the group recommends that such a arrangement as to power sharing be in place for a limited period, provided that mechanisms are built in to ensure transparency and political pluralism.
Unit of devolution
6:1 The group held extensive discussions on the various options and the different aspects of the options.
6:2 We are of the view that a unit of devolution should, as far as practicable, consist of geographically contiguous territory, be conducive to balanced regional development and be designed to enhance administrative efficiency. Differences in endowments are to be expected among units.
6:3 In this context, the group is of the view that that appropriate unit of devolution would be the province.
6:4 We have however noted that factors such as ethnicity and language could not be excluded in all situations and that there may have to be exceptions in order to address security and other concerns of communities. We are of the view that ideally such exceptions should be limited in time and that, ultimately, ethnicity should not be the sole criterion for the establishment of units. This should not, however, preclude special arrangements being put in place to address such concerns.
6:5 The group was of the view that any proposed merger of two or three provinces other than the north and east would not pose any problem if done through referenda in accordance with provisions presently available in the 1978 Constitution and the Provincial Councils Act, No. 42 of 1987.
6:6 The group considered it useful to identify the concerns of communities that may be relevant to the unit/s in the north and east.
6:7 In this context the group identified the following as the main concerns of the Sri Lankan Tamils:-:
6:7:(a) a feeling of exclusion from political power including issues/matters affecting Tamils;
6:7:(b) access to state land; and
6:7:(c) a general feeling of insecurity.
6:8 The group identified the following as being the main concerns of the Muslims of the north and east:-
6:8:(a) fear of ethnic cleansing and the consequent loss of private property in the north and east;
6:8:(b) security; and
6:8:(c) access to state land.
6:9 The following were identified by the group as being the main concerns of the Sinhalese in the north and east:-
6:9:(a) security; and
6:9:(b) apprehension of possible loss of livelihood opportunities resulting from devolution.
6:10: As regards the north-east, the Supreme Court has in its recently delivered judgement held that pre-conditions for the merger, as given in the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils Act, had not been fulfilled. However, the political issue remains and needs to be addressed. As such, the group is of the view that options relating to this issue should be included in this report for consideration by the APRC. The group has therefore identified the following options:
6:10:(A) A single North-East Province with two internally autonomous units to address the concerns of the Muslim and Sinhalese populations.
6.10:(A)(a) In such an arrangement, the Muslim-majority unit will comprise Kalmunai, Sammanthurai and the Pottuvil polling divisions as the base together with non-contiguous Muslim-majority divisional secretary's divisions in the north-east.
6:10:(A)(b) The Sinhala-majority unit will comprise Ampara polling division together with non-contiguous Sinhala-majority divisional secretary's divisions in the north-east.
6:10:(A)(c) Such units shall exercise legislative and executive powers relating to certain subjects and functions devolved by the constitution itself. These would include law and order, (see 6:10:(A)(f) ) education and culture. The modalities of such a process will be addressed in a future report.
6:10:(A)(d) Special arrangements would have to be made in regard to alienation of state land as the bulk of state land available for future expansion lie in Sinhala-majority divisional secretary's divisions.
6:10:(A)(e) Constitutional guarantees, such as double majority, may need to be incorporated to safeguard the interests of the Muslim and Sinhalese minorities.
6:10:(A)(f) While a base unit by itself would not pose many problems, the attachment of enclaves may give rise to practical issues relating to law and order which need examination in depth.
6:10:(B) A separate unit with a Muslim majority and consequent Tamil and Sinhala-majority units in the north-east
6:10:(B)(a) Muslims have been agitating for a fully-fledged unit comprising a base unit (Kalmunai, Sammanthurai and the Pottuvil polling divisions) and non-contiguous Muslim-majority divisional secretary's divisions in the north-east.
6:10:(B)(b) If such a unit is to be established, the question of the Sinhala-majority areas then arises. For such areas, the options are -
6:10:(b)i. to have a non-contiguous Sinhala-majority unit; or
6:10:(b)ii. attaching Sinhala-majority areas to adjoining provinces.
6:10:(B)(c) While a base unit by itself would not pose much problems, the attachment of enclaves may give rise to issues of administration and security among others.
6:10:(B)(d) The remainder would be a non-contiguous Tamil-majority unit. The economic viability of such a unit may arise. Several irrigation schemes which would otherwise have been provincial schemes would become inter-provincial schemes. The water supply to the Trincomalee town would be from outside the province.
6:10:(B)(e) If this option is to be accepted, a re-demarcation of boundaries may have to be considered from the point of view of uniformity and economic viability among other.
6:10:(B)(f) The Tamil and Muslim units would have very little state land for future expansion.
Dr. K. Vigneswaran has expressed certain reservations in this matter.
6:10:(C) North and east to have a common provincial legislature and government for 10 years with a referendum in the east at the end of such period
6:10:(C)(a) The Northern and Eastern Provinces to be merged for a period of 10 years and the wishes of the people of the Eastern Province on the continuation of the merger to be ascertained through a referendum at the end of ten years.� During the interim period, safeguards such as internally autonomous Sinhala and Muslim majority units and double majority may be incorporated in the interests of the Muslim and Sinhalese minorities. Such a ten-year period of working together would offer the different communities a challenging opportunity. A North-East Interim Provincial Legislature and Government could be a model of ethnic harmony and the majority of the people of the east may well want to continue that way.
6:10:(D) The Northern and Eastern Provinces to be separate provinces with an apex council for co-ordination on matters of common interest.
6:10:(D)(a) This proposal was made to the Mangala Moonesinghe Select Committee in 1992. The Apex Assembly would consist of the members of both legislatures to plan common policies and co-ordinate programmes. As the apex assembly was to have neither legislative nor executive powers, the proposal was rejected by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC). However, it is felt that this would secure greater support in the country for a higher degree of devolution to the two provinces. Possible improvements to the original proposal could be examined in this regard.
Dr. K. Vigneswaran has expressed certain reservations on this matter.
Distribution of powers
7:1 For devolution to be meaningful, it is recommended that the majority of the subjects and functions be categorised as belonging to the national sphere or the provincial sphere with a provision for a concurrent list consisting of a minimum of subjects and functions.
7:2 The group recommended that the distribution of powers should be explicit and devoid of ambiguity. The central legislature shall have no legislative power in respect of subjects and functions in the provincial list while provincial legislatures shall not have legislative powers in respect of subjects and functions in the national list. Where a subject or function not found in any list is ancillary to a subject or function already included in the provincial list, such subject or function shall be deemed to be an item in the provincial list. All other subjects and functions not explicitly listed in the three lists shall be deemed to be included in the national list.
7:3 The group also recommends that subjects such as Defence, National Security, Foreign Affairs, Immigration/ Citizenship, Communication, National Transportation, International Commerce/ Trade, Maritime Zones and Shipping and Navigation which are necessary to ensure the sovereignty, territorial integrity and economic unity of Sri Lanka shall be reserved for the centre..
7:4 Where national policy or national standards need to be laid down, it should be done through a participatory process with the involvement of the provinces, culminating in framework legislation passed by parliament. Framework legislation in respect of a devolved subject shall not amount to law applicable on the subject within provinces but provinces would be required to conform to such framework legislation when passing statutes. The group has endeavoured to minimise the subjects and functions in respect of which national policy or national standard may be laid down.
7:5 The group recommends that a province would be required to negotiate with the centre and seek the authority of parliament for the transfer of any subjects or functions in the concurrent list to its own provincial list.
7:6 In view of the historical fact that the Tamil people had been agitating for self-rule over a period of time, and the present conflict have its origins in that agitation, the group recommends that all subjects and functions in the concurrent list be deemed to be subjects and functions of the provincial list of the unit/s of the north-east. This would act as a safeguard against possible intrusions by the centre into areas of provincial competence.
7:7 The above mechanism provides for asymmetry at the beginning but with all provinces having the opportunity to ultimately take over all subjects and functions in the concurrent list, resulting in symmetry.
7:8 The group would make detailed recommendations as the subjects and functions to be included in the national, provincial and concurrent lists at a later stage.


text:
Q: Arduino nano + microSD module + ethernet module does not assign IP address I would like to create a small web server to enable or disable devices via ethernet connection, except that the network module and the SD reader did not seem to work if connected simultaneously.
That is, if I remove the SD reader the Ethernet module starts to work perfectly.
Below I leave the current version of code used for the tests:
#include <SPI.h>
#include <Ethernet.h>
//#include <SD.h>
#include "SdFat.h"

SdFat SD;

#define SS_ETH 10
#define CS_microSD 9

byte mac[] = {
  0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xED
};

IPAddress ip(192, 168, 1, 177);

EthernetServer server(80);

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);

  pinMode(SS_ETH, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(SS_ETH, HIGH);

  Serial.println("Initializing SD card...");

  if (!SD.begin(CS_microSD)) {
    Serial.println("initialization failed!");
  } else {
    Serial.println("initialization done.");
  }

  // start the server
  server.begin();
  Serial.print("server is at ");
  Serial.println(Ethernet.localIP());
}

void loop() {
  // LOOP
}

output produced by the program via serial:
Initializing SD card...
initialization done.
server is at 255.255.255.255

If instead I remove the microSD from the reader and restart the circuit I get:
Initializing SD card...
initialization done.
server is at 0.0.0.0

Hardware:

*

*Arduino Nano

*W5100 ethernet module ( https://www.ebay.it/itm/SHIELD-MINI-W5100-modulo-ETHERNET-per-ARDUINO-ART-CV05/262454631406?hash=item3d1b83dbee:g:ltYAAOSwHsRYE0KC )

*microSD reader ( https://www.ebay.it/itm/Lettore-micro-SD-card-reader-writer-pic-arduino-raspberry-shield-ART-CL06/261625448910?hash=item3cea1789ce:g:tF0AAOSwAYtWOclu )

Wiring diagram

*

*pin 9 -> CS microSD

*pin 10 -> SS Ethernet

*pin 11 -> MOSI

*pin 12 -> MISO

*pin 13 -> SCK

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Update 1:
Thanks to the suggestions of @Juraj I tried to disconnect the MISO pin of the SD reader and the IP assignment was successful.
Furthermore the SD.h library has been replaced with SdFat.h ..
The card reader has an LVC125A level converter as shown in this image: https://e-radionica.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/s/dsc_1819.jpg
Also here is the LVC125A level converter datasheet: https://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/171748/TI/LVC125A.html
UPDATE 2: a hardware modification to the reader is required to solve the problem since the MISO pin remains permanently enabled.
https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=360718.msg2942160#msg2942160

A: As already written in the question I opened the problem was solved by performing this change to the card reader: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=360718.msg2942160#msg2942160
Micro SD readers equipped with LVC125A chips have the MISO output perpetually enabled and disrupting communication with other devices.
I thank one last time @Juraj for his support: without his advice I could never have solved my problem.
Thank you!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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I have known Salome since 2 years and could observe her. In her work of energy healing, Salome is a powerful and strong woman with a big heart. She is aware of people's suffering and brings a loving presence with useful insights for those people. She also brings much joy and aliveness. She is committed in what she does. She stands for what she believes and has the courage of her opinions.
I took classes with Salome in Miami and Weston (FL) from October 2014 to June 2016.
Salome is a powerful healer and gifted intuitive, with a shining and compassionate heart. Her profoundly holding and nurturing energy helps me feel safe in her healing sessions. Her knowledge of psycho-emotional processes allows her to help unpack limiting beliefs and create the space for more fulfillment and aliveness in life. Drawing from her ancestral Amazonian roots, she runs a powerfully tangible healing current that exceeds most healers I have encountered. Salome's work is really quite amazing; it's something you need to experience firsthand. I feel grateful to have encountered her and experienced her sessions — they have certainly changed my life for the better.
Salome Torres does amazing distance healing sessions. Over the years, I've had in person healings (never distance) by other healers I have met along my journey and those were nice to have had and resulted in "baby step" growth for me. They were not as far reaching or in depth as the two recent distance healings I've been blessed to have experienced by this Angel Salome whose name means or is the vibration of "Peace". Personally, my healing seems to continue from those two sessions and I look forward to when the time is right for my next session. Her supportive nature shows the depth of her wisdom. Salome is not just a hobby healer but rather a professional who is highly trained in Brennan Healing Science and she is living her life purpose now. And so, it's clear to me why she is so very effective in tuning in to what is needed.
I've been so amazed, that I decided to give a distance healing by Salome as a gift this past Christmas. I cannot think of a better gift to give because there are few things you can give that have an effect like this for the people in your life that are important to you. I would encourage anyone who has had, or never had a healing in person or distance to contact Salome and book an appointment. I promise you it will be the best decision of your life!
Several months ago, I received a gift for a Distance Energy Healing with Salome. I did not know what to expect, but went ahead and contacted Salome and scheduled an appointment.
Prior to the appointment, she had asked for a list of things I might want to work on and even though I wasn't exactly sure what kinds of things could be dealt with, I went ahead and told her about some physical issues, low energy, and thyroid problems that I had been having. We spoke briefly before the session began and then I was to relax and make sure that I would not be disturbed.
I became very relaxed during the session and could actually feel warmth at different times and different areas. Toward the end, I actually felt a very strong 'jolt', but was still very relaxed and strangely invigorated at the same time. She told me to take my time and call her when I was ready to talk about the session.
I really enjoyed our conversation afterward. She was patient with me and answered all of my questions, explained what she had done as well as some things that she had sensed about me and she was very accurate in her intuition! She also gave me some homework to do to help with some of my issues.
I was amazed at how much better my physical issues were immediately and even better the very next day. I also noticed significant differences while following the directions for the homework that she had given me.
I decided to have another session and ended up having several and each time I was surprised by her insight and knowledge. Among her instructions, she also gave me some recipes to specifically help my thyroid and it definitely seems to help! I have been astounded by the breadth of the healing; I had no idea it could help me in so many ways.
I feel that we have cleared up a lot of my health issues and I was about to embark on some Nutritional Readings with her, but alas 'life' has temporarily gotten in the way. I look forward to my further sessions with her though!
If you are unsure as to trying it out or not; I say, "Jump on in!" Go into it with a positive, relaxed, and open attitude and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Salome and I have been working together for a while. I had the pleasure to receive her hands on healing and also to give her acupuncture treatments.
Salome's hands were amazing, they did the work without even touching me; she was able to know what was happening in my body and which parts needed work just by passing her hands over me. Her clear intention coming from her heart, gave me peace and tranquility, a moment of conscience, a seed of warmth to my soul.
I found Salome to be a great listener and to address the real issue I was struggling with. She is very insightful and compassionate.
It was my first time doing a therapy off this sort. I was a bit doubtful and didn't know what to expect. However, Salome's kindness and commitment was wonderful. I truly enjoyed.


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At the start of the fall 2018 semester, researchers in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology have been awarded more than $1.6 million in funding to support new research projects.
According to Andrew Sears, dean in the College of IST, research funding has increased by 60 percent since 2015.
"Enabling Precise and Automated Insecurity Analysis of Middleware on Mobile Platforms"
Peng Liu, Raymond G. Tronzo M.D. Professor of Cybersecurity, will explore innovative techniques and new tools to improve current vulnerable middleware that runs on more than two billion Android mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The research could lead to more secure and trustworthy computing environments for millions of Android and IoT device users. Liu will work on the project in collaboration with Lannan Luo of the University of South Carolina and Qiang Zeng of Temple University. The research is supported by the National Science Foundation, with an award of $165,495 (the total collaborative budget amount is $500,000).
"U.S. Rwanda Collaborative Research on Data Flows in IoT Applications"
Carleen Maitland, associate professor of information sciences and technology, will lead an International Research Experience for Students (IRES) Site Program conducting research while educating and training 18 graduate students — six per cohort — over three years. In collaboration with Maitland and mentors from the University of Rwanda and Carnegie Mellon Africa, the students will carry out research projects with the goal of making local IoT data available to global data scientists. Through the collaboration, mentors and students complete three projects: (1) designing unmanned aerial vehicle systems to collect, process and distribute image data from refugee gardens; (2) designing device-to-device communication systems with limited access to a power grid to improve crop information on tea estates; and (3) analyzing IoT policies at national and organizational levels to identify trends in Rwandan IoT use, system vulnerabilities and data sharing practices. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation, with an award of $299,870.
"Hands-Free Electronic Health Record Data Entry Initiative"
David Reitter, associate professor of information sciences and technology, will lend his expertise in computational cognition to this project led by Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory. The project will help emergency medical specialists working in fast-paced, high-stakes environments — including war zones — to record data about patients' health statuses and treatments by utilizing speech recognition and natural language processing. The team is developing an augmented-reality headset with software designed to recognize a doctor's or other medical professional's spoken notes, which are transcribed, organized and made part of a patient's electronic medical record. The prime sponsor of the project is the U.S. Army, with partial funding for Reitter's work totaling $92,552.
"Simulating Training Results to Understand Differing Effects of Fidelity on Learning"
Frank Ritter, professor, and Sarah Stager, assistant teaching professor, both at University Park, and Martin K.C. Yeh, assistant professor at Penn State Brandywine, will examine the effect of how simulation fidelity, trainee experience and tasks interact to produce different learning outcomes. The team will also develop training simulations for use by Navy maintainers and will validate and develop requirements for future developers and the acquisition community. The project is funded by Charles River Analytics, Inc. through federal flow from the Office of Naval Research, with an award of $452,003.
"Perceptions of Fairness and Justice in AI Software for Talent Acquisition"
Lynette Yarger, associate professor of information sciences and technology, will explore the development of qualitative instruments and metrics that can be used to measure perceptions of algorithmic fairness and justice in recruiting and hiring decisions that are assisted by artificial intelligence. In the project, the research team will elicit and analyze perceptions of human resources personnel, African American job seekers and AI software designers to inform the design of bias recognition and mitigation procedures and technologies for both humans and the algorithms being used. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation, with an award of $225,054.
"Learning to Discover Structure for 3D vision"
Zihan Zhou, assistant professor of information sciences and technology, strives to significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of 3D vision systems by developing a principled way to discover structure from 2D images. The project plans to build a new data-driven framework for structure discovery, leveraging the availability of massive visual data and recent advances in machine learning techniques. The techniques developed in this project can be applied to a wide spectrum of real-world applications such as 3D reconstruction of manmade environments, virtual and augmented reality and indoor rescue robots. The research is supported by the National Science Foundation, with an award of $449,223.


Search volumes for the term Amazon exploded on Cyber Monday 2013; they were approximately 133% of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2012's volumes put together. The chart below depicts search volumes on a weekly basis, thus the week of November 25th to December 1st 2012 encompasses search volumes for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday whereas the search volume for December 1st to 7th, 2013 encompasses search activity for Cyber Monday 2013 only.
Given that the 2013 search volume for these dates have completed dwarfed that of last year, I would suspect that this sets a very positive tone coming into the holiday season. Amazon's stock price has seen an appreciation of roughly 35% since September 2013 and it shows no signs of cooling off and the search volume definitely confirms this.
The Best Buy search volume trend can be interpreted in a number of ways: The company has out rightly voiced their concerns over their physical storefronts and their increasing irrelevancy. In an attempt to mitigate this, Best Buy has declared a switch towards an online storefront similar to that of Amazon. Thus year over year search volume changes showing positive on Cyber Monday and negative on Black Friday would suggest that their plan to shift to an online marketplace is working. This is not to discount the significant decrease in year over year in search volumes on Black Friday as the company still derives a large chunk of their revenues from a physical location. Again, as a reminder, search volumes are not a 1-1 ratio with sales, but could definitely be treated as a leading indicator of what to expect come next earnings release.
It should also be noted that consumption of goods and services over the web has been growing at a significant pace since the inception of the internet; this transition to online consumption has been supercharged by the advent of mobile devices which should always be considered when reviewing search volume trends.
Walmart search volume saw an increase on Cyber Monday in comparison to the same period last year; this was preceded by Black Friday search volumes greater than the year prior. Walmart share price took a bit of a hit over the past three days but it seems like google trends confirms that this will be short-lived and that the price has more appreciating to do.


TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army is preparing to launch a massive attack in Damascus countryside to take back the strategic town of Adra Al-Amalieh only few hours after the Al-Nusra Front terrorists took control of the town.
The army units are expected to start their large-scale operation in Adra Al-Amalieh in the next few hours, FNA dispatches said Wednesday evening.
The members of the Al-Nusra Front raided Adra Al-Amalieh and killed over 30 civilians after gaining control over the town.
Meantime, the Al-Nusra Front has stationed several snipers along the Damascus-Homs International Highway to prevent the Syrian army from making advances in the area.
Yesterday, the Syrian army won back control over a nearby town in the Damascus countryside and secured the Damascus-Homs highway. The Army troops regained full control of al-Nabk city in Reef Damascus province after heavy fighting with foreign-backed militants.
Al-Alam correspondent who accompanied Syrian Army troops on Monday reported "Syrian soldiers launching an operation stormed al-Nabk city from three directions. Army troops surrounded the region, killing scores of militants and capturing dozens."
Some terrorists fled to neighboring Yabrud district and nearby mountains.
"We have taken up positions on the main square of the city and all the entrances of the city are under our control. We have gunned down many militants. The army soldiers have also captured scores of militants. The rest of them fled," an army officer said.
Several bombs and explosive devices have successfully rendered safe by the army bomb disposal units.
"Armed terrorists have suffered heavy losses in al-Nabk city," another officer said.
Earlier, Syrian Army had secured a strategic highway linking capital Damascus to Northern Syria paving the way for the shipment of chemical weapons for destruction abroad.


text:
Doc Cheatham
Doc Cheatham was without question the greatest 90-year old trumpeter of all time; in fact, no brass player over the age of 80 had ever played with his power, range, confidence, and melodic creativity. Most trumpeters fade while in their 60s due to the physical difficulty of their instrument, but Cheatham did not truly find himself as a soloist until he was nearly 70.
Doc Cheatham's career reaches back to the early '20s, when he played in vaudeville theaters backing such traveling singers as Bessie Smith and Clara Smith. He moved to Chicago, recorded with Ma Rainey (on soprano sax), played with Albert Wynn, subbed for Louis Armstrong (his main idol), and had his own group in 1926. After stints with Wilbur DeParis and Chick Webb, he toured Europe with Sam Wooding. Due to his wide range and pretty tone, Cheatham worked as a non-soloing first trumpeter with McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Cab Calloway throughout the 1930s. He spent time with Teddy Wilson's big band, and was with the commercially successful Eddie Heywood Sextet (backing Billie Holiday on some recordings). In the 1950s, Cheatham alternated between Dixieland (Wilbur DeParis, guest spots with Eddie Condon) and Latin bands (Perez Prado, Herbie Mann). He was with Benny Goodman during 1966-1967, but it was not until the mid-'70s that Cheatham felt truly comfortable as a soloist. Duet sets with pianist Sammy Price launched his new career, and until his death in 1997, he recorded fairly prolifically including dates for Sackville, New York Jazz, Parkwood, Stash, GHB, Columbia, and several European labels. Cheatham was also a charming singer whose half-spoken, half-sung vocals took nothing away from his chance-taking trumpet flights. ~ Scott Yanow
Doc CheathamNicholas Payton
I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
How Deep Is The Ocean?
Doc Cheatham Meets the Swiss Dixie Stompers Plus Two
Live at the Windsor Jazz Series 1981
It's a Good Life
Nonette in Rare Rehearsal
The Fabulous Doc Cheatham
Live at Sweet Basil
Wishing You Were Here
Duets & Solos
Swinging Down in New Orleans
Groove Move
Hey Doc (The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions) [Paris & Toulouse, France 1975]
Fine and Mellow
Billie Holiday with Mal Waldron Allstars
I Left My Baby
Count Basie with All-StarsJimmy Rushing
Dickie's Dream
Count Basie with All-Stars
Wild Jungle (2000 Remaster)
Machito


text:
Staci Olsen, Author/Editor
Freelance Services for Authors
Falling through Stars – Author's Note
July 3, 2022 by staciolsen
The seeds for this story were planted in my childhood. I grew up in Alaska, surrounded by the ancestral lands of the Ahtna Athabascan people. While attending school with Ahtna classmates and working for the village governments after college, my respect for the Ahtna people and their culture grew.
When a village family fell into crisis, my parents chose to foster and then adopt the four children. These four children became my siblings: by choice, by law, and by love. I love them as fiercely as if they were siblings by blood.
My adopted brothers and sisters have a dark past, and I found myself compelled to demonstrate the love I have for them, our childhood homeland, and their people. However, Ahtna Athabascan mythology and history is not mine to tell, because I do not share their heritage.
Instead, I wrote a story about a people that are like the Ahtna people. It is deliberately
inaccurate. The Ahtna are very private about their myths and culture. I considered making the people in my story white to match my own skin color, but to me, white-washing the characters lacked authenticity. To be genuine, the characters in this story had to have brown skin.
This book is a story about people that could have been. It is entirely fiction. I researched the history of the setting to create believable details, but all of the characters and their villages were made up within my own head.
In today's society, authors are discouraged from writing about races with which they do not share a bloodline. Social media mobs have attacked authors who have broken this perceived rule, causing severe damage to what might have been promising careers. With the possibility of this kind of censure hanging over me, one might ask why I wrote this book.
My skin is white. The Native American blood in my veins is so diluted that it hardly counts.
But imagination gives humanity the power of empathy, to learn by observation and education instead of by our own experience. My skin does not have to be brown for me to empathize with marginalized people. It is my hope that people of all skin colors can find beauty within these pages. I hope that my readers can feel the love I feel for my two brothers and my two sisters who do not look like me.
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Designed from the ground up to be powerful yet easy to use, intensiKey meets the needs of a broad range of virtual set compositing tasks including chroma keying, sizing talent appropriately into the virtual set, and adding B source video correctly to monitors.
intensiKey built in chroma keyer let's you bring footage in straight from your camera. Key even difficult footage without getting overly technical with just a few easy to use controls.


text:
Q: Asignar el valor de una columna a un valor infinito Tengo valores infinitos en mi dataframe, pero en vez de sustituir esos valores por Nan, 0 u otro valor, me gustaría que en cada fila ese valor inf, se sustituyese por el valor que tenga en cada fila una columna específica. Pongo un ejemplo:

Jugador
Minutos
Minutos por centro

Andrés
120
42

Juan
80
inf

Ramón
60
inf

Pedro
198
33

¿Con qué código puedo, que al valor inf de Juan se le asigne el valor de sus Minutos (80), y que al valor inf de Ramón se le asigne el de sus minutos (60)?
Es decir, que siempre, que en este dataframe en la columna 'Minutos por centro' o cualquiera otra columna haya un inf, se le asigne el valor de la columna Minutos que tenga cada jugador.
He intentado con df.replace(np.inf, df[df['Minutos']], inplace=True) y de otras maneras pero no consigo solucionarlo.
Muchas gracias

A: Usando df.loc debes seleccionar las filas que necesitas cambiar (para lo cual puedes usar una condición como df["Minutos por centro"]==np.inf) y la columna que quieres cambiar "Minutos por centro", y asignarle el valor deseado, leido de la otra columna.
Es decir:
df.loc[df["Minutos por centro"]==np.inf, "Minutos por centro"] = df.Minutos

resultado:
  Jugador  Minutos  Minutos por centro
0  Andrés      120                42.0
1    Juan       80                80.0
2   Ramón       60                60.0
3   Pedro      198                33.0

Ampliación
Si el dataframe tiene varias columnas que puedan contener infinito, por ejemplo como el siguiente:
  Jugador  Minutos  Minutos por centro  Otra columna  Otra más
0  Andrés      120                42.0           inf      20.0
1    Juan       80                 inf          10.0       inf
2   Ramón       60                 inf           inf       inf
3   Pedro      198                33.0           inf      10.0

y se quieren reemplazar todos los infinitos del dataframe por el valor que aparezca en la columna Minutos, la solución más breve y rápida es utilizar DataFrame.where(), en este caso así:
df = df.where(df!=np.inf, df.Minutos, axis=0)

El resultado sobre el dataframe de ejemplo anterior sería:
  Jugador  Minutos  Minutos por centro  Otra columna  Otra más
0  Andrés      120                42.0         120.0      20.0
1    Juan       80                80.0          10.0      80.0
2   Ramón       60                60.0          60.0      60.0
3   Pedro      198                33.0         198.0      10.0

A: Hola Manuel un gusto en saludar.
Bueno primero definimos el código del del dataframe para verificar mejor las acciones.
en este caso utilicé la definición de infinito (np.inf) como infinito de la biblioteca Numpy
>>>import pandas as pd
>>>import numpy as np
>>>df = pd.DataFrame({'Jugador': ['Andrés', 'Juan',
                  'Ramón','Pedro'],
                  'Minutos': [120,80,60, 198],
                  'Minutos por centro': [42,np.inf,np.inf,33]})

el resultado del frame
>>>df

Jugador Minutos Minutos por centro
0   Andrés  120 42.0
1   Juan    80  inf
2   Ramón   60  inf
3   Pedro   198 33.0

Nótesé, la columna 'Minutos por centro' utilizando un np.inf se define como un float64 y la columna 'Minutos' se define como un int64, lo resalto entre asteriscos (*)
>>>df.dtype

Jugador               object
Minutos               int64
Minutos por centro    float64
dtype: object

Pero para tener las dos columanas con igual dtype convertimos la columna minutos a float64
>>>df['Minutos']=df['Minutos'].astype(np.float64)

Ahora sí estarías las dos columans como float
>>>df.dtypes

Jugador                object
Minutos               float64
Minutos por centro    float64
dtype: object

Ahora el dataframe está definido así
>>>df

Jugador Minutos Minutos por centro
0   Andrés  120.0   42.0
1   Juan    80.0    inf
2   Ramón   60.0    inf
3   Pedro   198.0   33.0

Así como @abulafia definió
>>>df.loc[df["Minutos por centro"]==np.inf, "Minutos por centro"] = df.Minutos

luego de aplicar la solución de @abulafia que da el frame así
Jugador Minutos Minutos por centro
0   Andrés  120 42.0
1   Juan    80  80.0
2   Ramón   60  60.0
3   Pedro   198 33.0

Ahora me tomé la molestia de adecuar los datos para poder hacer la sustitución y agregar un plus si llegas a luego hacer aritmética con los tiempos, donde el método Timedelta es genial
>>>conversionm = pd.Series(df['Minutos'])
>>>conversionmpc =pd.Series(df['Minutos por centro'])

>>>def conver(x):
>>>    return pd.Timedelta(pd.offsets.Minute(x))

>>>conversionm = conversionm.apply(conver)
>>>conversionmpc = conversionmpc.apply(conver)
>>>ndf = pd.concat([df['Jugador'],conversionm,conversionmpc],axis=1)
>>>ndf

Jugador Minutos Minutos por centro
0   Andrés  0 days 02:00:00 0 days 00:42:00
1   Juan    0 days 01:20:00 0 days 01:20:00
2   Ramón   0 days 01:00:00 0 days 01:00:00
3   Pedro   0 days 03:18:00 0 days 00:33:00

Ves que pudieras enriquecer un como el dataframe con el método Timedelta, lo interesnte de esté método es que pudes luego mas fácil mostrar minutos, segundos etc de una manera más facil
y si quisieras de nuevo tenerlo en un formato "números netos"
>>>ndf = pd.concat([df['Jugador'],conversionm.dt.seconds/60,conversionmpc.dt.seconds/60],axis=1)
>>>ndf

Jugador Minutos Minutos por centro
0   Andrés  120.0   42.0
1   Juan    80.0    80.0
2   Ramón   60.0    60.0
3   Pedro   198.0   33.0

Espoero haber contribuido de manera positiva a la solución
saludos


So with a Test match cancelled due to a bad pitch, England are now left twiddling their thumbs. But NWG has been thinking and instead of wasting the day sitting in the dressing room and playing cards, she's come up with a way to allow for a result to be reached. And today.
NWG proposes a sandcastle competition between England and the West Indies to be judged and adjudicated by the Umpires (they should have to earn their money at least).
Or the one with the most turrets wins.
Or the one featuring a cricket field, complete with batting square wins.
Or the one NWG decides she likes the most wins (although wouldn't technically be fair, as she would definitely choose England, but not if Ryan Sidebottom made it).
If only Stanford was interested in sandcastles, he could have come up with a winning prize fund instead of NWG only being able to offer a bottle of beer (still, beggars can't be choosers).
Still, it will keep them busy at least.
It could even be dragged out for five days, with each day becoming more and more intricate. NWG can't help but feel this is really and truly an excellent idea.