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She Bangs the Drums: Eurovision review (part 1)
Thanks to the Eurovision drinking game I was too hung over on Sunday to write anything meaningful about the event until now. Other, more complete analyses can be found here, here, here and here. For what it's worth, the cloudy impressions of the night from the bunker were as follows. Quotes are from the performers themselves, taken from the official website.
"Unfortunately, musical education in Hungary isn't as important as it should be."
They wear black and some red: I'm predicting we'll see lots of dark colours after last year's Night Of The Long White Suits. Let's see, it's a fake Turkish sounding song, with lots of banging on drums like the winning Ukranian song last year. In the middle they zorba around for a while and try to make it look a bit like Riverdance too. Tonight's theme will be cultural appropriation, specifically of imitating recent winners. Are we seeing the end of the Eurovision we know and love, with batshit-insane ideas coming at us left right and centre? We might be entering an era of bland homogeneity: this song is neither good nor bad, in either a good way or a bad way, and I fear we have seen the future of Eurovision.
"Obviously after 'Popstars: The Rivals' I was gutted"
Wow, red outfits and fake Turkish gyrating: there's thinking outside the box! Three minutes later and Laplanders huddled round their candle-powered TV are thinking "Geez, that Holly Valance thing is so over!"
"The rehearsal went alright. We tested the stage and we tested the shoes and both were fine."
The first ballad of the night, sung by the Maltese answer to Casey Donovan; and of course the ballad means we're in for the first Dramatic Key Change of the night. For the DKC she gets excited enough to throw her arms out and slowly wobble from side to side. My god, she has seriously scary talons! Luckily, the ballad was more of an old-school Jennifer Rush dirge than the Celine Dion psychic torture.
"I must admit that we are very disappointed."
A bi-curious lady wearing high heels for the first time in her life totters unsteadily around the shiny glass stage-floor with her Iron Curtain boob job almost falling out of her silver bodice. She is joined by the Carpathian touring production of Stomp banging on oil drums. The song descends into a tuneless mess, not helped by the struggling singer, who spends the last minute or so with her back to the audience pretending to bang on an oil drum. It's hard to sound convincingly passionate when you're standing next to a guy with hubcaps strapped to his feet.
"It's been five days since we last played a gig. Normally we do two a day. We usually have enough explosive equipment for a couple of armies which we use to blow up the stage." If they could invite any other country to join the Eurovision Song Contest, it would be Australia. "Then AC/DC could come over."
Sheer genius: who'd have thought Norwegians had both a dead-on grip of pop culture and a sense of the ridiculous? Every guilty-pleasure rock cliche thrown piled on top of each other, it almost makes up for David Lee Roth leaving Van Halen. The best thing to happen to Eurovision since Alf Poier pogoing around yapping about bunny rabbits and his website in 2003. Should win, but probably won't because rock never does so well at Eurovision. Much better than The Darkness. Of course there is a DKC, and don't you want to pump your fist in the air and shout along?
"It's a Turkish drum and it's my favourite instrument. I love all forms of percussion – it's like a heartbeat." She and her band gave a demonstration of their drumming.
We're told this is the third Turkish Eurovision entry written by this guy and as They Might Be Giants once sang, he's got two songs in him. Still, let's have them banging drums too, that'll make 'em stand out from the crowd! The performers are left twirling around aimlessly in traditional-looking clothes singing "Rimi Limi Ley" or something over and over again ad nauseam, and by the end it sounds like even they're getting jack of it. Anyone willing to bet there'll be a single fake Turkish song next year?
"She's now a big star in Moldova," said Roman. So what are Grandma Boonika's favourite memories of Eurovision? "We don't really watch television in our village," she said.
More chicks banging drums, dammit! Is Sheila E. a superstar in Eastern Europe and if so, has she just died? For a change, this Eurochick is about 110 years old and spends most of the song happily sitting in a rocking chair to one side of the stage, like Yoko Ono on Top of the Pops. Given all the drumming going on tonight it's a bit of a disappointment that she actually stands up at the end and pretends to start banging while looking very pleased with herself, like those Bulgarian singers in the 1980s around the time their fifteen minutes were up. Everyone agrees the band looks like the Red Hot Chili Peppers after a night of exquisitely expensive drugs, and for novelty value they will rob votes from Norway's righteous rock cheese gods, but they will forever be referred to as That Band With The Granny.
"We thought it was important to sing in English because we want people to understand it."
More @&*#$ drumming! At least it's a bloke this time: he hops around in cricles tapping his drum, then every now and then he puts it down, jumps in the air, stops to catch his breath for a bit then picks up the drum and starts over. That's his big dance routine. Is there a Eurovision rule that everyone has to do their own choreography? Everyone zorbas around unconvincingly for a bit in the middle, then goes back to waving their fake violins. This is the first song of the night to use scarves, which worked so well for Turkey in 2003. Here, they do not. Stretching out and spinning multicoloured scarves around the stage is impressive; wrapping yourself up in one at the end is not.
"I'm sure we'll surprise a few people."
First Ricky Martin wannabe of the night. And the first white outfits of the night. At first you think you're safe, until you notice some oil drums sitting up the back of the set. But you reassure yourself it's OK because there's nothing they can hit them with. Then they produce these big white stick things from nowhere and suddenly it's clobbering time again! No wonder this sounds like "She Bangs" run through Babelfish. And they fake-zorba for a while, just to add an extra layer of varnish to this turd. At least Eurovision can still present wildly uncoordinated backing dancers.
Son de Sol are three sisters: Lola, Espe and Sole. They think that Lola is the most responsible one.
Three mad chicks from a TV spinoff of an Almodovar movie gyrate around singing their bosoms out. This unshakeably reminds me of the Globos and I keep expecting to see Bob Downe prance onstage shaking maracas. Or banging a drum. Instead their bouncer ambles up and grunts a few lines, then wanders around cluelessly for the rest of the song. It was all OK but not enough oomph to go off the way it should have. The best I can say is that despite wearing sleeveless dresses there was no San Remo moment.
"I have to admit, I am impressed with the professional behaviour of the director and the crew because they were really straight."
This is the traditional boring-as-shit song they stick somewhere in the middle so you can go stock up on more booze. Apparently she was the runner up on last year's Jewish Pop Idol, so no surprise it's underwhelming. I'll go out on a limb and guess there was a DKC.
I need another drink…
Filed under: Music, Television by Ben.H
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The Lakeland Police Department issued a plea Monday night for help locating Jimmie Fulse, 67, who went missing from his home at 1216 ½ E. Parker St. and may be in the Grove Park/Bartow Road area. He was last seen wearing a red shirt, black pants with a red stripe, and gray shoes. He is 5-foot-4 and weighs about 130 pounds. If you have any information, please call 863.834.6900.
The resignation of Capt. James Williams "is the result of an internal investigation after the employee was alleged to have posted photos and/or videos taken during emergency response incidents to his personal social media accounts," a county spokesman said.


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Our differing backgrounds were recently highlighted by a piece from my colleague [Dan] in which he covered the teardown of a cordless electric chainsaw. It was his line "Now, we'd normally shy away fr.
Those incidents are as follow: May 21 at Ballbusters Paintball, Inc. at 227 Super Drive, West Columbia: Rutland allegedly stole one Yamaha Big Bear all-terrain vehicle, one EZ Go golf cart and one Sti.
When it comes to activism, there are many different grades of activist aside from the few who you may encounter quietly and effectively working for change in their field. There are the self-proclaimed.
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Posted by Mike Miles at Saturday, November 16, 2013 1 comment:
Master Of The Obvious...
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The Butcher Of Benghazi..
Labels: benghazi
Armies of The Ignorant..
Backlash Normal...
A drive-in plays The Ten Commandments in Utah USA 1958
More Interesting Pictures are HERE
The Architects Of Tyranny...
Is ObamaCare Racist?
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YOU Move
Vintage Sci-FI
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The Perils Of Breaking Urinal Etiquette...
Disagreeing With A Tyrant...
Capital One Supports Homophobic Slurs And Child Abusers
From Popwatch:
Again with a homophobic slur?
Once again, Alec Baldwin had a profane public outburst. This time he was chasing and threatening a photographer outside his Manhattan apartment on Thursday. The actor had a few hours earlier won his court battle against accused stalker Genevieve Sabourin (so, naturally, he was in a foul mood). Then a photographer got close to Baldwin's family, as paparazzi tend to do. Baldwin allegedly called him a "c–ksucking f-g."
After TMZ posted a video of the incident, Baldwin vehemently insisted on Twitter that he actually called the photographer a "fathead" — which sounds like one of those words that gets swapped into a TV version of an R-movie that nobody says in real life. TMZ's enhanced audio doesn't clear things up, but "c–ksucking fathead" doesn't really leap to mind.
What's In Your Wallet? Hope It is not a child abusing, violent, out of control credit card.
If Government Breaks It...They Just Make Someone ELSE Buy It...
BLOODSPORT: The Health Insurance Industry Is Now Locked In A Death Struggle With The Democrat Party...
Understand this: the health insurance industry is very much to blame for Obamacare. The health insurance industry happily got naked and jumped into the sack with Obama on his health insurance scheme. They did so thinking that he would leave them a fat, sweaty wad of cash on the night table in the form of forcing everybody in the country to buy their products, and in the process he would make them something akin to a public utility with a pre-ordained profit margin.
Except something happened on the way to conjugal bliss; namely, the president and his minions proved to be a bit flaccid when it came to ... Read the rest HERE
King George III - A Study In Regret....
The Beast Waits Patiently...
May They All Drown...
Is His Mouth Moving?
Teen Jeopardy Champion Gives Hilarious Subtle Insult To Obama
Stolen From: http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/
The Scariest Words Ever Uttered...
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Certain Inalienable Rights...
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Communism Has Two Classes: The Ruling Class And The Ruled...
Now eat your gruel and shut the fuck up.
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Walter E. Williams On The Talisman Of A Moral People....
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It's Time To Put A Face On Obamacare...
More Obama Fun HERE
A Tyrants Dozen...
This stuff is devastating to the cult of warmists:
Elaine Dewar spent several days with Maurice Strong at the UN and concluded in her book The Cloak of Green that, "Strong was using the U.N. as a platform to sell a global environment crisis and the Global Governance Agenda." Strong conjectured about a small group of world leaders who decided the rich countries were "the principle risk to the world." These countries refused to reduce their environmental impact. The leaders decided the only hope for the planet was for collapse of the industrialized nations and it was their responsibility to bring that about. Strong knew what to do. Create a false problem with false science and use bureaucrats to bypass politicians to close industry down and make developed countries pay.
Compare the industrialized nation to an internal combustion engine running on fossil fuel. You can stop the engine in two ways; cut off the fuel supply or plug the exhaust. Cutting off fuel supply is a political minefield. People quickly notice as all prices, especially food, increase. It's easier to show the exhaust is causing irreparable environmental damage. This is why CO2 became the exclusive focus of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Process and method were orchestrated to single out CO2 and show it was causing runaway global warming.
In the 1980s I warned Environment Canada employee Henry Hengeveld that convincing a politician of an idea is a problem. Henry's career involved promoting CO2 as a problem. I explained the bigger problem comes if you convince them and the claim is proved wrong. You either admit your error or hide the truth. Environment Canada and member nations of the IPCC chose to hide or obfuscate the truth.
1. IPCC Definition of Climate Change Was First Major Deception
People were deceived when the IPCC was created. Most believe it's a government commission of inquiry studying all climate change. The actual definition from the United Nations Environment Program (article 1) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) limits them to only human causes.
"a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over considerable time periods."
In another deception, they changed the definition used in the first three Reports (1990, 1995, 2001) in the 2007 Report. It's a footnote in the Summary for Policymakers (SPM).
"Climate change in IPCC usage refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This usage differs from that in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods."
It was not used because Reports are cumulative and to include natural variability required starting over completely.
It is impossible to determine the human contribution to climate change if you don't know or understand natural (non-human) climate change. Professor Murray Salby showed how the human CO2 portion is of no consequence, that variation in natural sources of CO2 explains almost all annual changes. He showed that a 5% variation in these sources is more than the total annual human production.
2. IPCC Infer And Prove Rather than Disprove a Hypothesis
To make the process appear scientific a hypothesis was inferred based on the assumptions that,
• CO2 was a greenhouse gas (GHG) that slowed the escape of heat from the Earth.
• the heat was back-radiated to raise the global temperature.
• if CO2 increased global temperature would rise.
• CO2 would increase because of expanding industrial activity.
• the global temperature rise was inevitable.
To further assure the predetermined outcome the IPCC set out to prove rather than disprove the hypothesis as scientific methodology requires. As Karl Popper said,
It is the rule which says that the other rules of scientific procedure must be designed in such a way that they do not protect any statement in science against falsification.
The consistent and overwhelming pattern of the IPCC reveal misrepresentations of CO2. When an issue was raised by scientists performing their role as skeptics, instead of considering and testing its validity and efficacy the IPCC worked to divert, even creating some false explanations. False answers succeeded because most people didn't know they were false.
3. CO2 Facts Unknown to Most But Problematic to IPCC.
Some basic facts about CO2 are unknown to most people and illustrate the discrepancies and differences between IPCC claims and what science knows.
• Natural levels of Carbon dioxide (CO2) are less than 0.04% of the total atmosphere and 0.4% of the total GHG. It is not the most important greenhouse gas.
• Water vapour is 95 percent of the GHG by volume. It is the most important greenhouse gas by far.
• Methane (CH4) is the other natural GHG demonized by the IPCC. It is only 0.000175 percent of atmospheric gases and 0.036 percent of GHG.
• Figure 1 from ABC news shows the false information. It's achieved by considering a dry atmosphere.
• The percentages troubled the IPCC so they amplified the importance of CO2 by estimating the "contribution" per unit (Figure 2). The range of estimates effectively makes the measures meaningless, unless you have a political agenda. Wikipedia acknowledges "It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes an exact percentage of the greenhouse effect."
Figure 2 (Source Wikipedia)
4. Human CO2 production critical to IPCC objective so they control production of the information.
Here is their explanation.
What is the role of the IPCC in Greenhouse Gas inventories and reporting to the UNFCCC?
A: The IPCC has generated a number of methodology reports on national greenhouse gas inventories with a view to providing internationally acceptable inventory methodologies. The IPCC accepts the responsibility to provide scientific and technical advice on specific questions related to those inventory methods and practices that are contained in these reports, or at the request of the UNFCCC in accordance with established IPCC procedures. The IPCC has set up the Task Force on Inventories (TFI) to run the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Programme (NGGIP) to produce this methodological advice. Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed to use the IPCC Guidelines in reporting to the convention.
How does the IPCC produce its inventory Guidelines? Utilising IPCC procedures, nominated experts from around the world draft the reports that are then extensively reviewed twice before approval by the IPCC. This process ensures that the widest possible range of views are incorporated into the documents.
They control the entire process from methodology, designation of technical advice, establishment of task forces, guidelines for reporting, nomination of experts to produce the reports, to final report approval. The figure they produce is a gross calculation, but it is estimated humans remove 50% of that amount.
Regardless, if you don't know natural sources and variabilities of CO2 you cannot know the human portion. It was claimed the portion in the atmosphere from combustion of fossil fuels was known from the ratio of carbon isotopes C13/C12. Roy Spencer showed this was not the case. In addition, they ignore natural burning of fossil fuels including forest fires, long-burning coal seams and peat; as Hans Erren noted, fossil coal is buried wood.Spencer concluded,
If the C13/C12 relationship during NATURAL inter-annual variability is the same as that found for the trends, how can people claim that the trend signal is MANMADE??
The answer is, it was done to prove the hypothesis and further the deception.
5. Pressure For Urgent Political Action
Early IPCC Reports claimed the length of time CO2 remains in the atmosphere as very long. This implied it would continue as a problem even with immediate cessation of CO2 production. However as Segalstad wrote,
Essenhigh (2009) points out that the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in their first report (Houghton et al., 1990) gives an atmospheric CO2 residence time (lifetime) of 50-200 years [as a "rough estimate"]. This estimate is confusingly given as an adjustment time for a scenario with a given anthropogenic CO2 input, and ignores natural (sea and vegetation) CO2 flux rates. Such estimates are analytically invalid; and they are in conflict with the more correct explanation given elsewhere in the same IPCC report: "This means that on average it takes only a few years before a CO2 molecule in the atmosphere is taken up by plants or dissolved in the ocean".
6. Procedures to Hide Problems with IPCC Science And Heighten Alarmism.
IPCC procedures and mechanisms were established to deceive. IPCC has three Working Groups (WG). WGI produces the Physical Science Basis Report, which proves CO2 is the cause. WGII produces the Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Report that is based on the result of WGI. WGIII produces the Mitigation of Climate Change Report. WGI and WGII accept WGI's claim that warming is inevitable. They state,
Five criteria that should be met by climate scenarios if they are to be useful for impact researchers and policy makers are suggested: Criterion 1: Consistency with global projections. They should be consistent with a broad range of global warming projections based on increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. This range is variously cited as 1.4°C to 5.8°C by 2100, or 1.5°C to 4.5°C for a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration (otherwise known as the "equilibrium climate sensitivity").
They knew few would read or understand the Science Report with its admission of serious limitations. They deliberately delayed its release until after the Summary for Policymakers (SPM). As David Wojick explained,
Glaring omissions are only glaring to experts, so the "policymakers"—including the press and the public—who read the SPM will not realize they are being told only one side of a story. But the scientists who drafted the SPM know the truth, as revealed by the sometimes artful way they conceal it.
What is systematically omitted from the SPM are precisely the uncertainties and positive counter evidence that might negate the human interference theory. Instead of assessing these objections, the Summary confidently asserts just those findings that support its case. In short, this is advocacy, not assessment.
An example of this SPM deception occurred with the 1995 Report. The 1990 Report and the drafted 1995 Science Report said there was no evidence of a human effect. Benjamin Santer, as lead author of Chapter 8, changed the 1995 SPM for Chapter 8 drafted by his fellow authors that said,
"While some of the pattern-base discussed here have claimed detection of a significant climate change, no study to date has positively attributed all or part of climate change observed to man-made causes."
to read,
"The body of statistical evidence in chapter 8, when examined in the context of our physical understanding of the climate system, now points to a discernible human influence on the global climate."
The phrase "discernible human influence" became the headline as planned.
With AR5 (2013) they compounded the deception by releasing the SPM then releasing a correction. They got the headline they wanted. It is the same game as the difference between the exposure of problems in the WGI Science Report and the SPM. Media did not report the corrections, but the IPCC could now claim they detailed the inadequacy of their work. It's not their fault that people don't understand.
7. Climate Sensitivity
Initially it was assumed that constantly increasing atmospheric CO2 created constantly increasing temperature. Then it was determined that the first few parts per million achieved the greenhouse capacity of CO2. Eschenbach graphed the reality
It is like black paint on a window. To block sunlight coming through a window the first coat of black paint achieves most of the reduction. Subsequent coats reduce fractionally less light.
There was immediate disagreement about the amount of climate sensitivity from double and triple atmospheric CO2. Milloy produced a graph comparing three different sensitivity estimates (Figure 4).
The IPCC created a positive feedback to keep temperatures rising. It claims CO2 causes temperature increase that increases evaporation and water vapour amplifies the temperature trend. Lindzen and Choi, discredited this in their 2011 paper which concluded"The results imply that the models are exaggerating climate sensitivity."
Climate sensitivity has declined since and gradually approaches zero. A recent paper bySpencer claims "…climate system is only about half as sensitive to increasing CO2 as previously believed."
8. The Ice Cores Were Critical, But Seriously Flawed.
The major assumption of the inferred IPCC hypothesis says a CO2 increase causes a temperature increase. After publication in 1999 of Petit et al., the Antarctic ice core records appeared as evidence in the 2001 Report (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Antarctic core core record
Four years later research showed the reverse – temperature increase preceded CO2 increase contradicting the hypothesis. It was sidelined with the diversionary claim that the lag was between 80 and 800 years and insignificant. It was so troubling that Al Gore created a deceptive imagery in his movie. Only a few experts noticed.
Actually, temperature changes before CO2 change in every record for any period or duration. Figure 6 shows a shorter record (1958-2009) of the relationship. If CO2 change follows temperature change in every record, why are all computer models programmed with the opposite relationship?
Figure 6; Lag time for short record, 1958 to 2009.
IPCC Needed Low Pre-Industrial CO2 Levels
A pre-industrial CO2 level lower than today was critical to the IPCC hypothesis. It was like the need to eliminate the Medieval Warm Period because it showed the world was not warmer today than ever before.
Ice cores are not the only source of pre-industrial CO2 levels. There are thousands of 19th Century direct measures of atmospheric CO2 that began in 1812. Scientists took precise measurements with calibrated instruments as Ernst Beck thoroughly documented.
In a paper submitted to the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Hearing Professor Zbigniew Jaworowski stated,
"The basis of most of the IPCC conclusions on anthropogenic causes and on projections of climatic change is the assumption of low level of CO2 in the pre-industrial atmosphere. This assumption, based on glaciological studies, is false."[1]
Of equal importance Jaworowski states,
The notion of low pre-industrial CO2 atmospheric level, based on such poor knowledge, became a widely accepted Holy Grail of climate warming models. The modelers ignored the evidence from direct measurements of CO2 in atmospheric air indicating that in 19th century its average concentration was 335 ppmv[11] (Figure 2). In Figure 2 encircled values show a biased selection of data used to demonstrate that in 19th century atmosphere the CO2 level was 292 ppmv[12]. A study of stomatal frequency in fossil leaves from Holocene lake deposits in Denmark, showing that 9400 years ago CO2 atmospheric level was 333 ppmv, and 9600 years ago 348 ppmv, falsify the concept of stabilized and low CO2 air concentration until the advent of industrial revolution [13].
There are other problems with the ice core record. It takes years for air to be trapped in the ice, so what is actually trapped and measured? Meltwater moving through the ice especially when the ice is close to the surface can contaminate the bubble. Bacteria form in the ice, releasing gases even in 500,000-year-old ice at considerable depth. ("Detection, Recovery, Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria in Glacial Ice and Lake Vostok Accretion Ice." Brent C. Christner, 2002 Dissertation. Ohio State University). Pressure of overlying ice, causes a change below 50m and brittle ice becomes plastic and begins to flow. The layers formed with each year of snowfall gradually disappear with increasing compression. It requires a considerable depth of ice over a long period to obtain a single reading at depth. Jaworowski identified the problems with contamination and losses during drilling and core recovery process.
Jaworowski's claim that the modellers ignored the 19th century readings is incorrect. They knew about it because T.R.Wigley introduced information about the 19th century readings to the climate science community in 1983. (Wigley, T.M.L., 1983 "The pre-industrial carbon dioxide level." Climatic Change 5, 315-320). However, he cherry-picked from a wide range, eliminating only high readings and 'creating' the pre-industrial level as approximately 270 ppm. I suggest this is what influenced the modellers because Wigley was working with them as Director of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at East Anglia. He preceded Phil Jones as Director and was the key person directing the machinations revealed by the leaked emails from the CRU.
Wigley was not the first to misuse the 19th century data, but he did reintroduce it to the climate community. Guy Stewart Callendar, a British Steam engineer, pushed the thesis that increasing CO2 was causing warming. He did what Wigley did by selecting only those readings that supported the hypothesis.
There are 90,000 samples from the 19th century and the graph shows those carefully selected by G. S. Callendar to achieve his estimate. It is clear he chose only low readings.
Figure 7. (After Jawaorowski Trend Lines added)
You can see changes that occur in the slope and trend by the selected data compared to the entire record.
Ernst-Georg Beck confirmed Jaworowski's research. An article in Energy and Environment examined the readings in great detail and validated their findings. In his conclusion Beck states
Modern greenhouse hypothesis is based on the work of G.S. Callendar and C.D. Keeling, following S. Arrhenius, as latterly popularized by the IPCC. Review of available literature raise the question if these authors have systematically discarded a large number of valid technical papers and older atmospheric CO2 determinations because they did not fit their hypothesis? Obviously they use only a few carefully selected values from the older literature, invariably choosing results that are consistent with the hypothesis of an induced rise of CO2 in air caused by the burning of fossil fuel.
The pre-industrial level is some 50 ppm higher than the level claimed.
Beck found,
"Since 1812, the CO2 concentration in northern hemispheric air has fluctuated exhibiting three high level maxima around 1825, 1857 and 1942 the latter showing more than 400 ppm."
The challenge for the IPCC was to create a smooth transition from the ice core CO2 levels to the Mauna Loa levels. Beck shows how this was done but also shows how the 19thcentury readings had to be cherry-picked to fit with ice core and Mauna Loa data (Figure 8).
Variability is extremely important because the ice core record shows an exceptionally smooth curve achieved by applying a 70-year smoothing average. Selecting and smoothing is also applied to the Mauna Loa data and all current atmospheric readings, which naturally vary up to 600 ppm in the course of a day. Smoothing done on the scale of the ice core record eliminates a great deal of information. Consider the variability of temperature data for the last 70 years. Statistician William Brigg's says you never, ever, smooth a time-series. Elimination of high readings prior to the smoothing make the losses greater. Beck explains how Charles Keeling established the Mauna Loa readings by using the lowest readings of the afternoon and ignored natural sources. Beck presumes Keeling decided to avoid these low level natural sources by establishing the station at 4000 m up the volcano. As Beck notes
"Mauna Loa does not represent the typical atmospheric CO2on different global locations but is typical only for this volcano at a maritime location in about 4000 m altitude at that latitude. (Beck, 2008, "50 Years of Continuous Measurement of CO2on Mauna Loa"Energy and Environment, Vol. 19, No.7.)
Keeling's son operates Mauna Loa and as Beck notes, "owns the global monopoly of calibration of all CO2measurements." He is a co-author of the IPCC reports, that accept Mauna Loa and all other readings as representative of global levels.
As a climatologist I know it is necessary to obtain as many independent verifications of data as possible. Stomata are small openings on leaves, which vary in size directly with the amount of atmospheric CO2. They underscore effects of smoothing and the artificially low readings of the ice cores. A comparison of a stomata record with the ice core record for a 2000-year period (9000 – 7000 BP) illustrates the issue (Figure 9).
Stomata data show higher readings and variability than the excessively smoothed ice core record. They align quantitatively with the 19th century measurements as Jaworowski and Beck assert. The average level for the ice core record shown is approximately 265 ppm while it is approximately 300 ppm for the stomata record.
The pre-industrial CO2 level was marginally lower than current levels and likely within the error factor. Neither they, nor the present IPCC claims of 400 ppm are high relative to the geologic record. The entire output of computer climate models begins with the assumption that pre-industrial levels were measurably lower. Elimination of this assumption further undermines the claim that the warming in the industrial era period was due to human addition of CO2 to the atmosphere. Combine this with their assumption that CO2 causes temperature increase, when all records show the opposite, it is not surprising IPCC predictions of temperature increase are consistently wrong.
The IPCC deception was premeditated under Maurice Strong's guidance to prove CO2 was causing global warming as pretext for shutting down industrialized nations. They partially achieved their goal as alternate energies and green job economies attest. All this occurred as contradictory evidence mounts because Nature refused to play. CO2 increases as temperatures decline, which according to IPCC science cannot happen. Politicians must deal with facts and abandon all policies based on claims that CO2 is a problem, especially those already causing damage.
Source: The Global Warming Policy Foundation: CCNet 14/10/13
1. [1] "Climate Change: Incorrect information on pre-industrial CO2" Statement written for the Hearing before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation by Professor Zbigniew Jaworowski March 19, 2004
essay by Dr. Tim Ball
Republished from: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/11/13/why-and-how-the-ipcc-demonized-co2-with-manufactured-information/#more-97390
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text:
Tag / Israel
July 18, 2019 July 18, 2019 by Crimson Tazvinzwa
Ilhan Omar Introduces Resolution to Defend Americans' Right to Boycott
Africa, African migrants, Africans, America, American, Congress, Crimson Tazvinzwa, 韩品, 超市, GOP, human rights, Humanity, Humankind, Ilhan Omar, immigration, Impeachment, Islam, Islamophobia, Israel, Jerusalem, Mar-a-Lago, Mogadishu, muslims, Neo-Nazi, Weather
AIWA! NO!, aiwa.press/, Americans, boycott of Nazi Germany, Crimson Tazvinzwa, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Ilhan Omar, Israel, jewish, Jewish state, Nazi Germany, Omar, President Trump, pro-Palestinian Boycott, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Soviet Union, U.S. President Trump, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar
Legislation is unveiled as Omar plans visit to Israel next month, testing Israeli anti-boycott law ■ Text cites boycott of Nazi Germany as example for other boycotts of 'Americans of conscience'//CRIMSON TAZVINZWA
Under fire from U.S. President Trump and ahead of a newly-announced trip to Israel and the West Bank, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has introduced a resolution championing the right to participate in…
Omar, and America wrestle the scourge of a racist President
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar proposed a resolution this week supporting the right to boycott Israel, likening the boycott of the Jewish state to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union
Omar's resolution seeks to push back against U.S. laws banning the boycott of Israel and affirms the right of Americans to organize boycotts of foreign countries if they so wish.
While the resolution doesn't explicitly name Israel or the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, she told media outlets that the resolution concerns the Jewish state.
Israel's Education Minister: Gay Conversion Therapy 'Possible,' Palestinians 'Shouldn't Vote'
AIWA!, AIWA! NO!, aiwa.press/, Benjamin Netanyahu, Crimson Tazvinzwa, Israel, Istanbul, Weather
Israel, Netanyahu, Rafi Peretz
EDUCATION MINISTER PERETZ ENDORSES GAY CONVERSION THERAPY, SAYS 'I ALSO DID IT'//AIWA! NO!/EDUCATION MINISTER PERETZ ENDORSES GAY CONVERSION THERAPY, SAYS 'I ALSO DID IT'//AIWA! NO!/
Israel's new education minister Rafi Peretz said in an interview Saturday that it is "possible" to perform conversion therapy, claiming he has done so in the past.
Netanyahu calls remarks 'unacceptable,' says Israel's schools will accept all students regardless of sexual orientation.
Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi leader Rabbi Rafi Peretz caused a firestorm of protest Saturday night after stating he believes the highly controversial practice of "gay conversion therapy" – trying to change a gay individual's sexual orientation – is effective.
FILE PHOTO: Israel's Education Minister Rafi Peretz arrives to attend the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem June 24, 2019. Menahem Kahana/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/israeli-education-minister-favours-gay–conversion-therapy–11718876
Peretz said that he himself has participated in providing such "treatment" to gay individuals in the past and that his approach is for the person in question "to get to know himself better and then decide" on their sexual orientation.
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The Health Ministry said in 2014 there was no scientific evidence that gay conversion, which includes counseling and even electro-shock therapy, is effective and said it can cause harm to those exposed to it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized his education minister for his remarks, and Peretz was assailed by opposition politicians and NGOs many of whom called on the prime minister to fire him.
The chairman of the Israel Association of Psychiatrists underlined in response to the minister's comments that there is no therapy that can change a person's sexual orientation.
Speaking during an interview with Channel 12 broadcast Saturday night, Peretz was asked about his attitude LGBTs and specifically his opinion on conversion therapy.
"I think that it is possible to convert [someone's sexual orientation]," said the education minister when asked about the issue.
Greenblatt: 'We are aiming for a home run' with the peace plan
"I can tell you that I have deep familiarity on the issue of education, and I have also done it [conversion therapy]."
Asked how he would address an individual who told him he was gay, Peretz said "I would first of all embrace him, then I said let us think, let us learn, let us consider. The goal is that first of all he gets to know himself better and then he can decide."
Peretz also said in his interview that he would continue the funding for the Israel Gay Youth movement (IGY) but that he could block the group from sending representatives to schools and would have to examine its "messaging" before deciding.
Netanyahu issued a statement saying he had personally spoken with Peretz to convey his criticism.
"The remarks of the Minister of Education regarding the LGBT community are unacceptable and do not reflection the position of the government under my leadership," said Netanyahu.
"I spoke to Rabbi Rafi Peretz this evening and made it clear to him that the Israeli educational system will continue to accept all Jewish children whoever they are and without any difference based on sexual orientation."
Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz said in response that homosexual conversion therapy was a dangerous practice "which causes extremely sever circumstances for youths, including suicide," saying that the concept was not only irresponsible but endangered people's lives.
"Rafi Peretz, what are you proud about? That you erased the identity of young men and women? That you caused people to feel that their sexual orientation is a sickness? That they have no place to be who they are and to love who they want?" demanded the Meretz leader.
"You are not fitting to be responsible for the future of our children… I call on Netanyahu to fire Minister Rafi Peretz immediately."
Chairman of the Association of Psychiatrists in Israel Tzvi Fishel said he was "embarrassed and worried" that Israel's education minister not only spoke out in favor of conversion therapy but had participated in it as well.
"As the the Israel Medical Association, the Association of Psychiatrists in Israel, and many other doctors associations in Israel and around the world have determined, there is no therapy that can convert the sexual orientation of any person," said Fishel.
"Conversion therapies that pretend to change sexual orientation have not only be scientifically proven to be ineffective but represent a danger and cause severe damage to the psyche of the individual and feelings of failure which are likely to lead to suicide," saying that Peretz's comments endangered lives.
Blue and White co-leader Yair Lapid said in a brief comment on Twitter that "Until Rafi Peretz undergoes conversion therapy for his benighted and crazy opinions he cannot continue to serve as education minister."
Labor leader Amir Peretz responded that the education minister's statement was inhumane and that everyone should have a right to love, marry and build a family with whomever they choose.
"In the upcoming election, the people of Israel will convert the Education Ministry out of the hands of the extreme Right," Peretz said.
The Israel Gay Youth (IGY) movement, which receives funding from the education ministry, said its staff "were in shock" at the minister's comments but would not be commenting further for the moment.
Peretz later attempted to clarify his controversial statements about gay conversion therapy, saying he did not intend that gay children must be sent to conversion therapy.
"A few clarifications about the interview that was broadcast this evening," Peretz said.
"1. I did not claim that a child must be sent for conversion therapy.
"2. During my years as an educator, I met with students who felt terrible distress about their sexual orientation and chose to use professionals to change their orientation. What I said in the interview came from my personal experiences with those cases.
"3. The education system in Israel under my leadership will continue to accept all children of Israel as they are, regardless of their sexual orientation. That's how I made it clear in the interview."
The comments by Peretz come just a couple days after he had been slammed for comments he made comparing intermarriage to "a second Holocaust."
"We [have] lost six million Jews in this way [due to assimilation] since the Holocaust," he said.
"I absolutely condemn the remarks by the education minister concerning conversion therapy," Justice Minister Amir Ohana said in response to Peretz. Ohana became the first gay minister in the Knesset in June.
"The Likud government, the national-liberal movement won't give her hand to conversion therapy," stated Ohana. "The serious studies in the world of psychology are united around the position that not only can they not 'convert' the sexual orientation – it's dangerous and can cause pain and suffering to youth and even lead them to suicide."
"Education minister, the youth of the entire State of Israel and yes, also of the national-religious sector, are looking to you," added Ohana. "LGBTQ youth commit suicide three times as often as their percentage of the population. This is a matter of saving lives. Your clarification is important, but not sufficient. Learn the subject in depth, and review it."
Gil Hoffman and Maayan Hoffman contributed to this report.
July 9, 2019 July 9, 2019 by Crimson Tazvinzwa
Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party Hires Hillary Clinton Aide Who Said She Shouldn't Publicly 'Call Out Israel'
Anti-semitism, barack obama, Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, Gaza, Hillary Clinton, human rights, Humanity, Humankind, Israeli Spyware, Jerusalem, President Donald Trump, Weather
2019.Amir Cohen / Reuters, anti-Semitic 'dog-whistles' to win election, barack obama, Benny Gantz, Blue and White Party, Hillary Clinton Aide, Israel, Israel April 3, Joel Benenson, Kahol Lavan party, leader of Blue and White party, President Donald Trump, speaks at an election campaign event in Ashkelon
Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, speaks at an election campaign event in Ashkelon, Israel April 3, 2019.Amir Cohen / Reuters
In a debate over inclusion of statement supporting Israel in a draft of Clinton's 'home base talking points,' Joel Benenson said Israel shouldnt' be mentioned 'in public events'
'We shouldn't have Israel at public events,' Clinton campaign manager says in email
Clinton slams Trump as part of Saudi 'cover-up' in Khashoggi killing
Clinton aides accuse Trump campaign of using anti-Semitic 'dog-whistles' to win election
Benny Gantz's Kahol Lavan party has hired a former strategist for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in hopes of strengthening its campaign to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud in the upcoming September 17 election/Allison Kaplan Sommer, HAARETZ
Joel Benenson is a leading Democratic strategist and pollster who served as a senior strategist for Barack Obama's successful presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012, as well as Hillary Clinton's chief strategist in 2016, when she lost to President Donald Trump.
Israel – 'Not MLK, but Malcolm X': Is Jerusalem Having Its Black Lives Matter Moment?
African migrants, African news, Africans, Benjamin Netanyahu, Black Lives Matter, Civil rights, East Africa, Ethiopia, Islam, Islamophobia, Israel, Israeli Spyware, Jerusalem, Malcolm X, MLK, Weather
Black Lives Matter, Ethiopian immigrants, Ethiopian teenager, Israel, Members of the Ethiopian community of Israel, off-duty police officer, Solomon Teka
Both countries are experiencing police violence against black citizens, but experts say there is major difference between African-American and Ethiopian-Israeli communities//Judy Maltz
Jerusalem (CNN) An off-duty police officer was in a playground with his family when he saw two men fighting, according to police accounts, which have been challenged by eye-witnesses. When the officer identified himself, police said the men threw stones at him. Fearing for his life, the officer pulled the trigger, police said. The bullet hit a 19-year-old black man, who later died in hospital.
Worka (R), the father of Solomon Teka, mourns over his body during his funeral.
Anger in the teenager's community erupted after the shooting. In the following two days, protesters torched cars, damaged ambulances and burned tires as the violence spread across the country.
As the investigation began into the circumstances of the shooting, the officer was taken into custody and subsequently released and placed under house arrest. But it was too late to prevent the rioting in which dozens were injured on both sides, and 136 protesters were taken into custody, according to police.
It's the type of violence sparked by perceived racial injustice that we've often seen in cities in the United States.
But this happened in Israel, and the black man who died, Solomon Teka, was Jewish.
Members of the Ethiopian community of Israel face policemen during clashes in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on July 2, 2019.
UK signs post-Brexit free trade deal with South Korea
brexit, Britain, Customs Union, EU, European Union, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, Prime Minister May, United Kingdom, Weather
Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, customer union, Israel, Norway and Iceland, Philip Hammond, south korea, Switzerland and Chile., Trade deall, UK, zero tariffs trade
Zero tariff agreement|
The UK has signed a crucial free trading deal with South Korea – Asia's fourth largest economy – that will be seen as a huge boost to morale in the Brexit camp.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox signed the zero-tariff deal with his South Korean counterpart Yoo Myung-hee in Seoul. It marks the first post-Brexit trade deal the UK has secured in Asia and is broadly in line with the terms of the existing Korea-EU free trade agreement.
Philip Hammond, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, says there is a "clear majority" in Parliament which is against the U.K. leaving the European Union without a deal.
South Korean exports include cars, car parts and electronic equipment and the deal will provide stability to the UK whether or not it leaves the EU with a deal. The UK is South Korea's 19th largest trading partner and second largest among EU members.
The UK and South Korea have signed an in principle free trade agreement (FTA) that seeks to maintain existing trade arrangements post-Brexit.
Ms Yoo said.: "The deal is significant as it eased uncertainties sparked by Brexit, amid the already challenging environment for exports on the escalating trade row between Washington and Beijing."
So far the UK has agreed "continuity" deals with 12 countries and regions, including Israel, Norway and Iceland, Switzerland and Chile.


As a result of the passage of Proposition 1B (Transportation Bond) in November 2006, there is $2 Billion available through the Local Street and Road Improvement Funds to be allocated directly to Cities ($1 Billion) and Counties ($1 Billion) in the State. The recently passed State Budget included a total of $950 million appropriation from the $2 Billion that was included in the transportation bond. Counties will recieve $400 million and Cities will receive $550 million for FY 2007-08. The rest of the $2 billion will be included in future year budgets.
Please see the links to the right for more information including the Local Street and Road Improvement Funds program guidelines for Cities and Counties, estimates for $550 million in allocations to Cities, and estimates for $400 million in allocations to Counties.


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States are looking to jam T-Mobile and Sprint's proposed $26.5 billion merger
A number of states have filed a lawsuit to block the proposed $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
The lawsuitm, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile would be anti-competitive and drive up costs for consumers.
"When it comes to corporate power, bigger isn't always better," said James, in a statement. "The T-Mobile and Sprint merger would not only cause irreparable harm to mobile subscribers nationwide by cutting access to affordable, reliable wireless service for millions of Americans, but would particularly affect lower-income and minority communities here in New York and in urban areas across the country."
T-Mobile and Sprint represent the third and fourth largest carriers in the country behind Verizon Wireless (which owns TechCrunch) and AT&T.
While prices for mobile services have fallen by 28 percent over the last decade, the attorneys general fear that greater consolidation would diminish customer competition.
Sprint and T-Mobile have not yet responded to a request for comment.
In the past, the two companies have argued that their combined networks would enable a faster and better rollout of 5G wireless services — the new high-speed networks that every mobile operator are touting as the next big technological advancement.
Indeed, the U.S. and China are currently in a bit of a race for dominance in 5G connectivity. The competition is at the heart of trade disputes and the blacklisting of China's telecom and technology giant Huawei within the U.S.
Critics contend that the merger would create another mobile behemoth whose prices could prove to be less competitive — and unfair trade-off for increased connectivity in the eyes of lawmakers.
There's another reason why plaintiffs are hoping to halt the merger in its tracks and that's the impact it could have on employment.
The consolidation of Sprint and T-Mobile would undoubtedly shutter hundreds of retail locations and slash service and repair jobs around the country — a primary source of employment for hundreds of Americans.
"CWA applauds the Attorneys General and especially General Letitia James' leadership in taking decisive action today to prevent T-Mobile and Sprint from gaining anti-competitive power at the expense of workers, customers, and communities," added Chris Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), in a statement. "Reducing the number of national wireless carriers from four to three would mean higher prices for consumers, job loss for retail wireless workers, and downward pressure on all wireless workers' wages. The states' action today is a welcome development for American workers and consumers, and a reminder that regulators must take labor market concerns seriously when evaluating mergers."
T-Mobile, a subsidiary of the German telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom, currently has more than 79 million subscribers, while the SoftBank Group-owned Sprint Corp. currently has more than 54 million subscribers.
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Now I've made jam a few times and along the way I have collected some equipment like a large enamel jam pan, a thermometer, various funnels and lots of jam jars. The only problem I have is getting the right setting point, I've found that if I don't rush and take my time to do the wrinkle test at different times during the making process then I can't miss it!
Prep and cooking time; 45 minutes.
Put the strawberries and apple in a saucepan or jam pan, add the sugar and stir it up. Heat the pan on low until the fruits start to get juicy and the sugar becomes wet. Add the elderflower cordial. Now turn up the heat to medium until it becomes a rolling boil, do not stir from this point on. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat after 15 minutes and test a teaspoon on a cold saucer for the wrinkle test (Let the jam cool and then move your finger through the centre of the jam, if it wrinkles and leaves a track then the jam has set and it is ready) Let the jam cool down and then stir in the lemon juice. Transfer to a jam jar and allow to cool in a dark place. Once opened keep refrigerated.
We're picking 20-30 strawberries every couple of days from our allotment but my children are gobbling them up before we even leave the plot! I'm hoping that at some point we will have more or they will get fed up of eating them, as I'd love to try making some jam. Your strawberry and elderflower recipe sounds delicious.
Love your jam recipe. I don't have the space in my garden veg plot for strawberries (and the chooks would get to them somehow anyway, sneaky birds that they are!) but while I still have some elderflower cordial left (it doesn't last long even though I make a good gallon or so!) I must go strawberry picking and make some.
Oh I would love to have chickens but the allotment rules won't let us. You could always go vertical with growing them? Thats the best thing about this time of year, you can always find punnets of english strawberries for as little as £1.00 to make jam with. I'm tempted to buy some to make more jam with because at the rate I'm eating the jam now there won't be any left for winter use!


Dust off those golf clubs, the Penticton Golf and Country Club opens for the season Tuesday, the latest start to the season for the course in at least three decades.
"With this long off season, everyone is really pent up to play, needless to say it's going to be busy [Tuesday]," he added.
The late winter and snow means Tuesday's March 26 opening is more than a month later than the typical February 20 open for the PGCC.
Dow says in 30 years with the club, this is by far, the latest start to the season. The course was still under significant snow well into March, with grounds crews working hard to deal with the rapid melt once winter broke.
As of Monday afternoon, Dow said there was still a handful of tee times for opening day, but things are filling up quickly.
Several other golf courses in the Okanagan, like Nk'Mip in Oliver or Two Eagles in West Kelowna, are already open.


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Pacific Edge
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Rights Offer Component of Pacific Edge's $21.3 Million Offer Completed
Pacific Edge Limited (Pacific Edge) is pleased to advise it has completed the Rights Offer component of its underwritten 1 for 6 rights offer (Offer) of new ordinary shares in Pacific Edge (New Shares), which closed on 8 November 2017.
Approximately 48.5 million New Shares, at a price of NZ$0.32 per New Share, were taken up under the Rights Offer. This represents approximately 72.9% of the New Shares available under the Rights Offer.
In addition, applications totalling approximately NZ$1.47 million have been received from Eligible Shareholders in respect of the Shortfall Bookbuild portion of the Offer (described below). The New Shares taken up by Eligible Shareholders under the Offer are expected to be issued and commence trading on the NZX Main Board on Wednesday 15 November 2017 and will rank equally with existing ordinary shares of Pacific Edge (Shares).
SHORTFALL BOOKBUILD
Approximately 18.1 million New Shares are available in the shortfall bookbuild component of the Offer (Shortfall Bookbuild), which will be conducted tomorrow, Friday 10 November 2017. The additional applications received from Eligible Shareholders will form part of the Shortfall Bookbuild on the terms set out in the Offer Document.
Shareholders who did not take up their full entitlements under the Rights Offer or were ineligible to do so will receive a share of any Premium achieved (being the amount by which the Bookbuild Price exceeds the Issue Price for the New Shares of NZ$0.32 per New Share) in proportion to the Rights which they did not take up. There is no guarantee that the Shortfall Bookbuild will result in a Premium.
Shareholders who have any questions about the Rights Offer or the Shortfall Bookbuild are encouraged to read the Offer Document on the NZX website, www.nzx.com/companies/PEB, and seek financial, investment, or other professional advice from a qualified professional adviser.
Pacific Edge will apply for its Shares to be placed in trading halt on NZX on Friday 10 November 2017 and remain in trading halt until an announcement containing the results of the Shortfall Bookbuild is made, which is expected to occur on Monday 13 November 2017.
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text:
The Fair Food Program Should Be Extended to Mexico
Susan L. Marquis
On 12/18/14 at 10:53 AM EST
A worker harvests tomatoes at the Las Gemelas ranch in Zacoalco de Torres, Mexico February 4, 2013. Alejandro Acosta/Reuters
Opinion Mexico Agriculture Tomatoes
In a recent series in the Los Angeles Times, Richard Marosi provides a firsthand, unvarnished view of the deplorable working and living conditions endured by those who harvest much of America's food. Mexican agriculture provides a significant amount of the produce Americans consume each year, particularly in the winter months, including 50 percent of the fresh tomatoes sold in the United States.
Marosi reports that workers in Mexico often live in rat-infested camps with little or no access to clean water and sanitation. Wage theft is common. Debt is incurred through sky-high prices at company stores and housing. And laborers work long hours under brutal conditions for meager wages.
Many Americans may be shocked to learn that, until recently, these same conditions existed not just in developing countries, but also in the tomato fields of Florida. That was before a transformational program brought together workers, growers and buyers to improve the lives of those who toil in the fields.
A similar approach could offer help to exploited and oppressed Mexican laborers like those profiled in Marosi's series.
Since the 2011 implementation of the Fair Food Program, spearheaded by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Florida tomato worker wages have increased by 50 to 70 percent, conditions in the fields are some of the best in the nation, wage fraud and theft have disappeared and there has not been a single reported instance of sexual assault or modern-day slavery among participating growers.
The Fair Food Program has been supported by some of the same major buyers, notably Whole Foods and Walmart, that also buy Mexican produce. These companies voluntarily abide by the program's code of conduct and buy tomatoes in the United States exclusively from Fair Food Program growers.
Why has this commitment halted at the U.S.-Mexican border?
Most of the major U.S. buyers have "codes of conduct" or "social responsibility guidelines" that should apply to their Mexican producers. But these codes and guidelines have little or no impact without strict reporting and enforcement protocols and consequences for violations.
Confronted with Marosi's findings, Safeway responded that it takes reported violations seriously, pointing to language in its code of conduct that demands workers be provided with a "safe and healthy work environment." But like many other corporate guidelines, the Safeway code relies on suppliers to "self-monitor their compliance."
Walmart conducts periodic audits of working conditions for farm laborers, but these audits are only occasional and announced in advance, enabling growers to prepare for the inspections. Across Mexico, farm workers are at the mercy of growers and there is little opportunity for them to report violations and concerns without fear of retaliation.
The Fair Food Program is very different. A comprehensive approach based on cooperation between workers, growers, and buyers, the program includes 24-hour hot lines, rapid investigation by the Fair Food Standards Council and growers into reported problems, remediation plans to fix violations and market consequences for persistent violations. This has resulted in real change.
Serious worker protection must be about more than brand enhancement through high-visibility, low-effectiveness social responsibility programs. It must be about commitment to safe and humane working conditions and fair pay for the work that is done.
Creating these results has been an ongoing struggle for those companies who believe in the safety and dignity of everyone who participates in their supply chains, quite literally from the ground up. The Fair Food Program has been a leader in using cooperation, visibility, and accountability to meet the needs of workers, growers, and buyers.
Can it be a model for addressing these critical issues in Mexico as well?
Susan L. Marquis is dean of the Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School. This article first appeared on the RAND Corporation website. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan and committed to the public interest.
The Fair Food Program Should Be Extended to Mexico | Opinion
Mexican President Unlikely to be Ousted Amid Protests


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7 Anime You Must Watch if You Love Mayo Chiki!
Anirban Bhattacharya
'Mayo Chiki!' is a fun little romantic harem comedy, set in a high school. The series follows a male character who has a tough body but has a fear of women. This has happened because his mother and sister are wrestling fans and try their moves on him. The series is entertaining and if you are planning to watch something similar, then you can take a look at this special compilation we've come up with. Here's the list of best anime similar to 'Mayo Chiki!' that are our recommendations. You can watch several of these anime like 'Mayo Chiki!' on Netflix, Crunchyroll or Hulu.
7. MM! (2010)
'MM!' is probably one of the first shows that come to mind when thinking about anime giving off similar vibes as to that of 'Mayo Chiki!'. Like 'Mayo Chiki!', the series takes place in a high school and showcases ecchi and fanservice moments. There is also a harem theme in the anime like 'Mayo Chiki!'. The main characters in both the anime have some kind of a problem and there is another character who promises to solve the problem. The series is kind of funny and is worth a watch if you enjoyed 'Mayo Chiki!'.
Taro Sado is a masochist who tries his best to keep this a secret but needs someone to solve his problem. Tatsukichi Hayama, his best friend, is a crossdresser. Tatsukichi motivates him to join the Second Voluntary Club who vow to solve his problem. But can the group solve his problem when each member has their own abnormalities? I mean, there is a member of the club who thinks that she is a god. But it seems that their problems will bring them closer to each other and teach them a lot about acceptance.
6. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! (2010)
'Kaichou wa Maid-sama!' is one of the most popular romantic comedies out there in the anime world. It is a great romcom that uses popular genre tropes smartly, without making it look cliched and boring. The series shares some similarities with 'Mayo Chiki!'. Both shows are romantic comedies. In both the anime, the male character finds out a secret about the female character who wants him to keep his mouth shut. The difference between the two is that 'Mayo Chiki!' dwells a lot in the ecchi and fanservice realm while 'Kaichou wa Maid-sama!' entirely depends on the plot and the characters to make sure that the viewers are entertained.
Seika High School has recently turned co-ed from an all-boys high school. Misaki Ayuzawa, the first female student council president, takes it upon herself to discipline rowdy boys to keep the environment safe for girls. She uses her Aikido techniques to keep the brats in line. But she has a secret too. Due to her family's financial conditions, she works as a maid in a cafe, which Takumi Usui, the most popular guy, finds out. Now, what will he do with the secret?
5. Maria†Holic (2009)
'Maria†Holic' is a funny parody anime which has a total of 12 episodes with each episode being 24 minutes in length. The anime gets a spot on this list because the plot of the anime is the same as that of 'Mayo Chiki!'. The only difference being that the crossdressing part is reversed. Also, while 'Mayo Chiki!' has lots of ecchi and fanservice moments in it, 'Maria†Holic' is much funnier and has little to no such moments. Ame no Kisaki Catholic School is where Kanako Miyamae decides to transfer to. But her aim is not academics related. She just wants to find true love here like her parents. But since Kanako is not good with men she decides to look for a same-sex partner and this is a great since Ame no Kisaki Catholic School is an all-girls school. Kanako finds Mariya Shidou quite fascinating and thinks that she might be her special someone. But turns out Mariya is actually a cross-dressing boy and he asks Kanako to keep his secret to herself otherwise he will tell every one of her intentions. He also makes her his roommate to keep an eye on her.
4. Ouran Koukou Host Club (2006)
'Ouran Koukou Host Club' is one of the most popular romantic comedies out there. It features the theme of reverse-harem. The series shares a few similarities with 'Mayo Chiki!'. Both shows have a similar comedic and romantic feel. They involve a character who acts as a male butler but is actually a female and has trouble with her gender identity.
Haruhi Fujioka is a bright girl who is good at academics. She receives a scholarship to study at the prestigious Ouran High School, which is a place for students coming from the upper class. It is quite rare that someone of Haruhi's financial position or mental ability be seen in this premise. One day, Haruhi stumbles upon a host club where the rich boys entertain the ladies at the academy. Haruhi tries to leave but ends up destroying a costly vase which was around 8 million yen. Of course, she cannot pay this much amount so instead, she has to become an errand boy for the club. But later, due to her androgynous appearance and friendly attitude towards girls, she is made one of the hosts of the host club. Can Haruhi manage all this stuff?
3. Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou (2015)
'Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou' is anime world's gift to guys who love to fantasize about sexy woman-animal hybrids. The show has plenty of sexy, well-endowed female human-animal hybrids. The show gets a spot on this list because it has thematic and story-level similarities with 'Mayo Chiki!'. Both shows are romantic, harem comedies with lots of ecchi and fanservice in them. Both have plenty of sexy female characters too. Though many dismiss 'Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou' as just blatant sexual comedy, it does have a deeper meaning. It showcases how resistant society is to change and how these beautiful and wonderful human-animal hybrids cannot live in human society freely.
The anime takes place in an alternate version of Earth where human-animal hybrids called monsters exist. Japan has become the first country to let these monsters integrate into human society. Human families can be a host to a monster. Kimihito Kurusu's peaceful life turns upside down when a government agent makes a mistake and he ends up having to live with a sexy snake-woman who repeatedly acts in a sexual way with him. This is bad for Kimihito since it is forbidden to have intercourse with a monster. Yes, and as the show progresses, his harem of monsters keep on increasing.
Read More: Anime Like One Piece
2. Toradora! (2008)
If you are a fan of 'Mayo Chiki!', then there's no doubt you will love 'Toradora!'. The series is really fun and entertaining and revolves around romantic relationships and situations among characters in a high school setting. We can match up certain romantic pairs in both the anime. Both the shows are fun romantic comedies and throw a bit of ecchi on the side. But 'Toradora!' is a bit lighter on the ecchi stuff. If you have heard the phrase 'Appearances can be deceiving', then you can aptly apply it to the main characters of 'Toradora!'.
Ryuuji Takasu is a kind-hearted boy in his late teens studying in high school. He loves doing household chores. But his appearance is quite scary and it leads many to believe that he is actually a delinquent. Taiga Aisaka, the female protagonist of the anime, on the other hand, is a sweet looking, with short height. But her personality is actually quite different. She is quick to get angry and is quite feisty. Her nickname is palmtop tiger. These two stumble upon each other and Ryuuji finds out that Taiga has a crush on his friend. Turns out, Ryuuji has a crush on Taiga's friend. Can they help each other out?
Read More: Anime Like Toradora
1. Wagnaria!! (2010)
If you enjoyed 'Mayo Chiki!' a lot and are looking for something with a similar feel but without ecchi or fanservice stuff, then 'Wagnaria!!' is worth a try. Both shows contain a character who is uncomfortable in front of the opposite sex. Both series deal with romance and comedy and focus on multiple characters. The main character has a fear of the opposite gender and has to work with the opposite sex to overcome this feeling.
Souta Takanashi, the male protagonist of the anime, has a love for small and cute stuff. So, when Popura Taneshima, who is short and cute, asks him to join her family restaurant Wagnaria, he has no choice but to agree. The business is in Hokkaido. Though Popura looks young, she is quite old, which is why it annoys her when Souta treats her like a child. Souta cannot afford to be careless about this new job since there are a lot of people who are planning to keep the business strict and flowing. One of them is the floor chief Yachiyo Todoroki who wields a Katana. Other workers in the restaurant are also beyond normal. The anime mainly revolves around this workplace where the characters come together, interact and make sure the viewers have a good time.
Read More: Anime Like Noragami


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our friends on Facebook.
Yet again we're resisting the temptation to swell the coffers of the card companies, but instead will be making a donation to Cancer Research UK.
And if anyones offended by the word Christmas, tough.
Saturday – cold and rainy.
Up and out early, a rare event for us geriatrics. It's cold and rainy. Getting us prepared for our return to Belthorn.
Drive down to Pinnacles National Park.
23 million years ago multiple volcanoes erupted, flowed, and slid to form what would become Pinnacles National Park. What remains is a landscape unlike any other. Travelers journey through grasslands, chaparral, oak woodlands, and canyon bottoms. Hikers enter rare talus caves and emerge to towering rock spires teeming with life: Prairie and Peregrine falcons, Golden eagles, and the inspiring California condor.
Luckily by the time we get there it's stopped raining. I hobble around a short walk and get some photos. Also yet another cap to add to my collection. Oh yes forgot to mention my fall yesterday. Tripped up over a step at Nat and Paul's. Banged my right knee up, smashed the filter on my camera. Luckily my femurs ok and the filter did its job and protected the rest of the camera. Another sign of old age. Now I'm hobbling around with a very bruised knee.
Oh and Wendy's did see a bald eagle yesterday, a sighting was on the overnight news.
Then we drive up to Salinas, our next overnight stop. I finally get to visit the Steinbeck museum, the objective of our Salinas stopover. Not a massive museum but a sort of pilgrimage. Last time we were here, we arrived too late as it was just closing.
In the evening we finally get to try an In / Out Burger.
Yes, we sure live it up. Amazing this place is heaving and next door the MacDonalds is empty. Have a 3 * 3, they sure are good. Better than MacD's.
Predatory bacteria – that eat others of their kind – could be a new weapon in the fight against superbugs, say UK researchers.
Experiments showed a dose of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus acted like a "living antibiotic" to help clear an otherwise lethal infection.
Bdellovibrio is a fast-swimming bacterium that works its way inside other bacteria where it devours its hosts' insides and swells in size.
1 He really is trying to be inclusive, wants the best man for the job and doesn't want to surround himself with "yes" men. Hence Romney.
2 He'll go for the "yes" man option of Guilaney.
3 He's just using the Romney option to show how inclusive and astute he is, but has no intention of selecting him.
To me it is a real measure of the man and if he chooses Romney then it bodes well.
Of course there's always the 4th option. The ideal candidate option. Someone with lots of experience in the job. The fully inclusive option. And who is this missing option, why it's Hilary Clinton.
Sunday – warm and sunny.
Drive up to San Francisco. Our hotel is awesome. Half the cost of our previous SF hotel and restores some faith in Choice hotels. For once a choice hotel with no problems and very luxurious. Just lately we've started to give up on choice hotels, there's always some sort of problem. Started using Best Western and have not been disappointed. But this place is exceptional.
Martha and Bob (home exchangers from San Diego) pick us up at the hotel and take us a tour to the Bay park and then onto the Cliff Inn for dinner. Spectacular sea and sunset views, good food and company. Really good to meet up with them.
View from Cliff Restaurant in San Francisco.
I think this little snippet of useless information really falls under the category of a joke.
Apparently California is still counting the election votes. These are absentee votes. While Hilary may have won the popular vote so far by nearly 2,000,000 votes, Donald won the electoral college votes – the one that matters – by over 60 votes, a big margin. It's a peculiar aspect of the American Electoral College system that you could win the Presidency with only 22% of the popular vote.
1 Reduce the chance of tyranny of the masses.
3 Reduce the risk of voter fraud.
Hey ho it seems like there's an extra special bonus offer on for all jihadis who die this month and not just Black Friday only. Islamic State "caliph" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi reportedly promised four extra Houris (supernatural, large breasted, celestial perpetual virgins designed for sexual purposes)—atop the other 72 promised by prophet Muhammad—to all jihadis who die (are "martyred") fighting the infidel forces.
Wendy with some brandy to help the tablets down.
Had a pleasant stroll down to the local Starbucks, sat out watching the world go by and absorbing caffeine. Late check out of the hotel and then off to the airport to begin our day of hell.
It starts of course with a queue to check-in as they can't be bothered to open yet. Now I can appreciate that the majority of people don't arrive more than 3 hours ahead, but judging by this queue quite a few do. Now with a morsel of common sense and some thought for customer service, they could have just one checkin person on a couple of hours early. Then we have the inevitable misery of the TSA before we mange to escape to the comfort, seclusion and alcohol of an airport lounge.
Food and alcohol selection in the lounge is excellent, so we have our dinner there rather than suffering airline food. I have a lovely bottle of Pomerol. At least when I get on board I can don my eye mask, take a couple of sleeping tablets and hopefully get some sleep with no disturbance. Don't think the sleeping tablets are much good. Do they have a sell by date?
Flights very good. We have exit row seats, so plenty of leg room. Unusual for Virgin the cabin crew are like a bunch of lobotomised autistics. Zero personality. Zero interaction.
Don't I just love TSA stupidity. In just 20 feet, in full sight of all TSA agents and other passengers I've had my boarding pass checked by 3 separate TSA agents. Then I pile everything out of my pockets into my jacket, only to be told I can keep my jacket on. You just can't win against this random stupidity.
Flight lands on time Tuesday morning. Clear immigration in record time despite my fears to the contrary and my automatic passport scan not working.
Pick car up and then the real hell begins. Road closed by the police for some unknown reason, so takes about an hour to escape London. Then there's a 71 minute delay on the M6 South of manchester. Road works for eternity. When will they stop these long stretches of road works? When will they stop so many road works in the same area? How are they allowed to get away with this madness. Time to hand out some brown envelopes or have a Saturday afternoon lion feeding. Try accepting Satnav alternate route to end up driving down pitch black, narrow country lanes. Give that up and resort back to the motorway.
By now I've totally lost it. Smashed my virtual surfboard of life against the virtual skulls of the dimwits responsible for this chaos. Foaming at the mouth. Thankfully you're not allowed to have a gun in this country, otherwise I'd have shot all responsible.
There's just no retribution against this madness. No one is ever made to pay or is accountable. You have to wonder, how many of these journeys could be avoided with remote working? Sadly we have no politicians with a skerrick of common sense, no transport policy, no tax incentives for remote working and worst of all no accountability.
President Obama has long been criticized by national security hawks and a Republican presidential field led by Donald Trump for refusing to say the words "radical Islam". "Islamic terrorist" or "Islamist" to describe threats posed by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State.
That reluctance won't be a problem for the president-elect's national security team, which is flush with nominees who can be expected to employ these terms regularly and face up to the reality of the threat. They acknowledge we are at war.
The shift will test two deeply opposed worldviews on how to defeat jihadi terrorist groups. Mr. Obama argued that the term "radical Islam" plays into the propaganda narrative of the Islamic State and other U.S. enemies, falsely suggesting that the West was at war with the world's 1.7 billion Muslims. Mr. Trump, incoming National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn and many others say the U.S. and its allies can never win the war on terrorism if they fail to honestly call out the enemy by name.
Oh and finally it's discovered, as the rest of the population already knew, that the perp is an Islamic terrorist, Islamist, fundamentalist, muslim or whatever other non PC term you wish to use.


Do You Have an RPA Price Discrimination Claim?
The Robinson-Patman Act protects victims of unlawful price discrimination, whether the victims are consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or even manufacturers in some cases.
The injury has to be direct as distinguished from remote, and the injured person has to be within the target area of the price discrimination activities or someone who the defendant understood would be injured by the discriminatory activities.
The easiest case is a retail store which pays more for goods than its competitor across the street pays at the same time for the same type and quality of goods, both retailers purchasing from the same manufacturer or wholesaler.
Also, competing wholesalers who buy from the same manufacturer should be given the same unit price for their purchases. Failure to give the same price to the competing wholesalers is a violation of the RPA by the selling manufacturer.
A consumer who purchases goods at a higher price from a retailer may also have a claim when the retailer was paying more for the goods than a competing retailer.
Obviously, when a small hardware store pays 33-1/3% more for a wrench set than a major hardware chain, the small hardware store finds itself unable to compete on price, and usually loses a significant amount of business to the major hardware stores which buy most of their inventory at prices substantially lower than the small hardware store pays to the same manufacturer (or wholesaler) for the same goods.
There are defenses which the defendant manufacturer or wholesaler may assert, and these need to be considered, but usually they are not applicable. These defenses are two in number: (i) meeting competition; and (ii) cost justification.
The meeting competition defense applies, for example, when a selling manufacturer learns from one of its customers that the customer is being offered a better price by a competitor of the manufacturer. The selling manufacturer, if it reasonably believes the customer's information, is entitled under the RPA to meet the competitor's price, even though competitor's of the retail customer are being charged a higher price by the selling manufacturer. Manufacturers try to extend this defense to overall pricin g schemes, and usually should not be successful in this effort, because the defense is not designed to permit overall discriminatory pricing schemes, and is intended designed to meet a specific competitive threat which the manufacturer comes across with a single customer.
The other defense is seldom claimed, the defense of cost justification. Most small businesses, when thinking about Robinson-Patman Act claims for the first time, assume that volume discounts are lawful because they seem to be cost justified, in the sense that when one buys large quantities there are obvious savings to the seller (manufacturer or wholesaler), and these savings are passed on to the retailer customer through volume discounts. Although this seems reasonable, it is not the case, generally. The amount of discounts (volume and otherwise) which the superstores or big box retailers are getting from manufacturers is far in excess of any amount which could be justified from a cost savings standpoint, and the manufacturer or wholesaler in defending a Robinson-Patman Act suit does not generally claim cost justification because it cannot justify 100% of the discriminatory discount, and there is little or no advantage in trying to prove that 10 cents of a dollar discount is cost justified. The plaintiff's claim for damages, as will be discussed elsewhere, can be just as much when the unlawful discrimination is 90 cents as when it is $1. The question is how much business the retailer lost by reason of the price discrimination, whatever the amount of such discrimination was.
Thus, in summary, anyone injured by unlawful price discrimination may have a claim for damages, especially a retailer paying more for the same type and quality of goods than a competing superstore or chain, and a wholesaler paying more for the same type and quality of goods than a competing wholesaler. Also, an indirect purchaser (a retailer buying from a wholesaler) would have a claim against the manufacturer when the wholesaler is charged an unlawful discriminatory price, in comparison to the amount charged by the manufacturer to competing wholesalers, or even on direct sales to large superstores.
In instances where there is unlawful price discrimination alleged between a manufacturer's direct sales to superstores and the same manufacturer's sales to wholesalers, the price to superstores can be slightly lower, lawfully, than the price paid to wholesalers by competing retailers, because the superstore is getting a functional discount for assuming the role of a wholesaler to itself, for which the manufacturer is entitled to prove reasonable compensation.
There is another whole world of liability which you should consider, which I have loosely included in the term price discrimination, but technically is known as service discrimination. Thus, when a manufacturer provides advertising allowances and services to a wholesaler or retailer, these promotional allowances or services are required by law to be made functionally or proportionally available to the competing retailers and wholesalers, or the disfavored customer is entitled to recover damages for violation of the Robinson-Patman Act.
It appears that many manufacturers selling to pharmacies, hardware stores, toy and game stores, food stores, home supply stores, book stores, auto parts and supply stores, and certain other consumer-oriented stores are providing unlawful discounts as well as promotional programs and rebates which are not made available to the smaller retailers and wholesalers.
The claim for damages of such disfavored retailers and wholesalers, therefore, is bolstered by the additional unlawful activities of the manufacturer. It seems common that the range of the unlawful price and service discrimination amounts to about 20% to 40% in most cases, which has caused a substantial loss to small retailers in the United States over the past few years.
A plaintiff alleging unlawful price discrimination (or damages from violation of any other antitrust statute) can only go back 4 years for damages dating from the date of the filing of the action. Accordingly, it makes sense to file an action as soon as possible. If the unlawful activity continues (as it probably will), the injured retailer or wholesaler could sue once again, after termination of the first lawsuit.


Some of the future players of women's football in the Philippines may be found in one of the unlikeliest places: a basketball court in Payatas, Quezon City.
In GK Trese, a community within Payatas, shouts, and cheers can be heard where children are playing a game. The teams are a mix of boys and girls, but the only thing that matters here is their skill. Their coach, Englishman Roy Moore, watches them closely and gives out instructions. He sees a bright future ahead, for the players and for the sport.
"In terms of their potential, there's a lot of potential there. Obviously, there are players with the national team," Moore said, adding he's confident the other girls will eventually get a call-up.
Players Hannah, Kim, and Althea are equally optimistic and dream of playing in college and even breaking through to the national team. They're still young, so in the meantime, they're happy to continue honing their skills. Another player, April Joy, already experienced training with the team, and she's raring to give it another go; while Althea's sister, Regine, received a call-up to the U-16 national team.
It was mostly through Moore's work establishing the Fairplay for All Foundation (FFA) that they got their start in the sport. The public school near their houses, like many in the city, does not have a football or futsal program, so it was unlikely that they would have tried playing on their own.
While FFA works to break the poverty cycle through education and safe spaces, it's best known for its grassroots football program for underprivileged children. Moore, who began FFA with Naomi Tomlinson in 2011, saw the rising popularity of the Azkals as an opening to introduce football to the residents and teach them some important values along the way.
FFA eventually produced Payatas FC, a club with teams for boys and girls. Some of the players were selected to play in the 2014 Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The girls team reached the finals, losing to hosts Brazil.
For Moore, a grassroots program with a league for continuing development will play a key role in building momentum and stability for female players. If the girls' performance in the Street Child World Cup is anything to go by, this isn't out of the realm of possibility.
"If you have that investment and development for the women's game, they could really be one of the best, obviously 50 in the world, but top 30, top 20, if the right development's there," Moore explained.
The girls' teams have shown they have the potential to compete against some of the better teams in Asia. In June 2016, the U-14 team came in second to Thailand in the 2016 Asian Football Confederation's Regional Championship. This was the same story in 2014 when the U-14 team won silver in the same tournament, beating teams like Myanmar and Singapore, but losing in the final to Thailand.
One way to continue producing talent is to start youth leagues and give the young players a chance to develop in the future. The usual route for many girls is to get into a school team or a club, play at the college level, and hope for playing time in leagues like the Philippine Football Federation's Women's Invitational Cup.
Leagues, like the GK League, give girls like the Payatas FC kids a chance to work their way towards the proverbial "10,000 hours." FFA, Dream Big Pilipinas, and Gawad Kalinga are working on a girl's league, which they hope to pilot this year or the next, according to Moore.
"Leagues are so much better for development. You've got a weekly game. You know at the end of the week you've got some games, so at the end of the week, the kids really focus on training and will train themselves," Moore said.
One-day tournaments, on the other hand, can be more expensive, especially for less established teams because of the registration fees and transportation costs.
With a better grassroots system in place, leagues like the Women's Invitational Cup can continue player development and open opportunities to join the national team, much like what the National Women's Soccer League did in the United States.
Why bother with women's football?
On December 5, 2010, the men's team pulled off what fans affectionately call "The Miracle of Hanoi," where the Philippines beat AFF Suzuki Cup defending champion Vietnam. That win was credited with causing the resurgence of Philippine football.
Philippine women's football, on the other hand, was seemingly left behind as many neighbors, notably former world champions Japan and Women's World Cup newcomers Thailand, grew more competitive.
A lot of factors come into play: the number of facilities, competition, and, to an extent, culture can all explain the challenges ahead.
Many of the fields are located away from the densely populated areas. Rizal Memorial Stadium and McKinley Hill are two of the more fields for competitions, aside from those located in schools, making it difficult to set up the regular leagues.
Working around this problem means turning to football's cousin, futsal. The indoor variation can be played on basketball courts, so players can turn their local facilities into training grounds. More indoor facilities have also popped up, including Sparta in Mandaluyong and the United Campus Court in Merville, Parañaque.
A futsal league also has the added benefits of being as fast-paced and action-packed as basketball, which draw the crowds. With facilities easier to come by, this also means players can improve their technique for a longer period of time.
So while there is a lot to be proud about in the country's women's game, there's still a lot of work to be done. "You get the grassroots leagues together, the senior leagues will happen with the products of those leagues—the youth leagues—and then you've got the full system of it. You build the pyramid," Moore emphasized.
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