The Toddler Program is a developmentally responsive, dynamic environment where young children are free to investigate and explore their world. They are engaged in age-appropriate works that allow them to learn by doing, develop independence and self-mastery that is just beginning.
In this formative period of developing personalities, independence, trust, focus and problem solving, children are free to explore by using materials that emphasize experimentation and investigation of the natural world. The materials are designed to develop sensory perception as well as motor, language and math skills.
The Toddler Program is a wonderful opportunity for children to comfortably be with children their own age. They learn independence — taking coats and boots off and putting them on, preparing their own snack, choosing their own activity, cleaning up their own spills — and to celebrate the joy and pride in being able to do for themselves.
As they complete daily activities, they are consistently using small and large muscles. Their coordination is being improved as they play (or work as we say in Montessori). In the unhurried Montessori class the children are able to stay with their work until it is completed. Their concentration is able to naturally grow, as they are actively learning through their chosen work. Their work needs to be returned to the shelves so the sense of order these children naturally crave is extended into the classroom.
Above all, toddlers love to be in an environment that is rich in materials that they can touch and explore, where they are surrounded by nurturing adults and engaged in making new friends.
There is a section set up for art activities with Play-Doh, stamps, crayons, markers, paints, scissors, and paste all being present at various times.
Large muscles are exercised on various equipment as well as on "the line." The children learn many fun songs and finger plays here as well. You may even find the toddlers doing yoga.
Although toddler children play mostly parallel with one another, they enjoy the opportunity of being with other children, waiting their turn and, if they choose, sharing their work. As their social skills mature, they are able to interact with their classmates more closely. Some materials are present for refining the senses: awareness of color, length, diameter and shape of geometric puzzle pieces, sound, etc. Through the senses, an introduction to counting and sounds begins toward the end of the school year.
The adults observe and note carefully the needs and capabilities of each child based on their knowledge of child development and the Montessori philosophy so that each child can be stimulated and challenged based upon their readiness.
Requirement: Children must have celebrated their second birthday prior to September 1st of the year for which they are enrolling.
Class times: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for two hours each day.


While I wrote an equation on the chalk board, a paper airplane grazed the back of my head. I didn't turn around to glare at the students -- I knew I'd never catch the culprit in an advanced chemistry class-- smart students have discovered that today's schools won't punish them. These students devote their energies to making a party out of school. They also brush their hair, put on makeup, blow bubbles with blue chewing gum, and sell candy bars during lessons.
I continued explaining the chemical reaction that was producing bubbles in the beakers on the counter before me. Something odd had occurred while my back was turned -- the beaker on the left was supposed to be fizzing faster than the one on the right -- but the reverse was happening, right before my eyes. Teaching does make you question the universe, but I opted for the simpler explanation -- someone had switched the beakers while I was recovering from the paper airplane encounter. I added a sentence to my lecture, "Chemical truths cannot be changed or switched around."
When I was in high school, I fought for lenience. How could it matter if girls wore pants? Or if boys wore mustaches? Why did teachers send students to the principal's office for the most minor infractions, some of which looked like accidents?
So, at first, it pleased me to see students with dyed pink hair, who sported zippers and safety pins in their ears. I enjoyed the wide range of clothes these students wore from high couture to Salvation Army, or even Army surplus.
Then I discovered that this new lenience extended to discipline as well as dress. When I sent a student to the dean's office for refusing to wear safety goggles during lab, I was told to simply give the student an F for the lab. The next day there was a notice in my mailbox from the principal: our school goal was to increase student grade averages.
Morning students stole copies of my tests to give to afternoon students during lunch. Twice I caught the president of the student honor society cheating, and encouraging other students to cheat. He complained to the administration, and I was reprimanded by the Honor Society advisor for "picking on him." The worst thing I did was to catch the daughter of the chairman of the high school fund raising committee cheating.
Because of busing, I was forbidden to assign students to come before school, or to stay after school. And because of split lunch, I couldn't make them give up lunch period, either. I could give them extra homework, but if they didn't do it, all I could do was give them F's, and their parents called me to tell me that their children had to pass chemistry, and the principal told me that advanced students deserve good grades.
One day during lab, I was distracted by the clatter of M&M's rolling across the floor. The next thing I knew, students were crying, "I smell gas." I ordered all students to turn off their bunsen burners. Still the smell of gas spread. I was about to order the room evacuated, when I discovered that the gas jets on the demonstration table had been turned on all the way.
The students had all passed a safety test and knew that leaking gas can cause an explosion strong enough to blow up the end of the school building. The guilty student was suspended for 10 days, but when his parents came in, the suspension was reduced to 5 days. His classmates blamed me for the incident. The dean told the students that I'd been exaggerating when I talked about the explosion possibilities.
understanding and achievement. However, I quit teaching high school chemistry after one semester.
All the students I'd taught before had wanted to learn. The high school students had spent their class time testing me, and I couldn't handle it. New teachers frequently react the way I did, which contributes to the severe teacher shortage.
Schools have been exerting great efforts to be nice to students, and soothe parents of undisciplined children, instead of becoming places that teachers want to work. I would like to see the traditional discipline of just a generation ago reinstituted before the nation suffers, even if it means no more punk hairdos.


As any other typical Bourbon Whiskey, the Jefferson Kentucky straight Bourbon Whiskey is defined by its particularly sweet touch.
This light and tasty Bourbon was named after the third President of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson - a proudly American product.
The aroma of the easy-going Jefferson's Kentucky straight Bourbon Whiskey is soft and fresh. Warm tones of vanilla beans and delicious peaches reminiscent of freshly baked cakes conveys a special harmony of flavor rarely found in Bourbon.
On arrival the mouth is caressed with tastes of tropical citrus fruit and berries add to the flavor sensation. These mild, sweet and elegant facets are located in a perfect balance with the strong vanilla aroma. In addition one also perceives tones of creamy caramel and decadent toffee.
The long finish of the very affordable Jefferson's Kentucky straight Bourbon Whiskey again shows a bakery product orientation. Combined with rich cream and vanilla pods reminiscent of thoughts of crispy toast, a sweet breakfast in sunshine in the heart of the United States. On the way down the velvety smooth deep orange colored Jefferson's Kentucky straight Bourbon Whiskey is pleasantly warm, long-lasting and elegant and will leave you wanting for more. The Whiskey is very attractively packaged and makes a welcomed gift as well as a good looking addition to a Whiskey collection.
The pleasing Jefferson Kentucky straight Bourbon Whiskey is a small batch artisan Whiskey and is the creation of the father and son team Tray and Chet Zoeller. The very approachable Whiskey is currently the flagship whiskey and is produced by Kentucky's McLain and Kyne distillery and is matured in metal warehouses. Small batch means that only about eight to twelve different aged Bourbons are used to blend the final product. The very hot temperatures which are typical for this region are responsible for the most intense flavor of this Bourbon as well as for the recognition value of the attractive aroma. This heat gives you a pleasant intensity especially the taste of vanilla. Jefferson's is made of a mashbill of 30% rye, 60% corn and 10% malted barley. The casks are only lightly charred and the Whiskey is matured for about six to ten years and ensures an easy to drink Whiskey. Ideal starter's Whiskey for beginners and should be served either neat or on the rocks. The Jefferson's also makes a good addition to coke and to an old-fashioned cocktail like a Triple Crown Julep.
In summary, the full-bodied lower-proof Jefferson's Kentucky straight Bourbon Whiskey can be described as a potpourri of conventional components, which are reminiscent of a bakery. Warming moments of peaches, vanilla and toffee make this blended Bourbon something special.


and key members of Congress.
General Rebecca Anne Batts, the corporation's internal watchdog.
unable to make several guarantees about its own work.
on its behalf, according to audit reports and interviews.
"serious ethical concerns," documents show.
"long-running problems .... should serve as a wake-up call to Congress."
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy. We are committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around the world.


The root of both is /path/ – meaning pain – by way of pathos, the emotional appeal. Perhaps pain is the best entry point into another person's world. And perhaps, as recognize and validate the pain others experience, we empower and inspire them to do the same.
Maybe, even as I judge others for the impact their decisions will have on populations whose pain I understand, those very same voters can't see past their own pain. I imagine a flow chart where the next step is always: listen and understand.
I totally agree. We have to listen and recognise each other's pain. I did want to make clear in my post that I understand some people, who have been threatened and marginalised–the 'historically disenfranchised' Dave Chappelle so eloquently referred to on Saturday Night Live–will be too fearful and hurt to consider voters' motives in siding with a man who represents those who've disenfranchised them previously. That's completely understandable!
But I am in a position of relative privilege–not always ease and comfort and luxury–but certainly privilege, and I want to use that privilege to stare into the ugly divide.
Empathy may well be the ultimate form of generosity. I'm hoping to be able to look past my own dismay (to understate it) to work on actually doing something positive about this situation without being angry with or dismissive of others with whom I disagree.
The ultimate form of generosity–I really like that! Best of luck to you as you negotiate through your (carefully understated) dismay. I'd be interested to hear what positive things you find to do!
That old advice: keep your friends close and your enemies closer – maybe that's really about trying to understand how someone else's mind works in order to predict what they might or might not do. As writers we're often obliged to inhabit other people's points of view, whether we agree or not. I've always thought it a good thing to keep an open mind, though that can lead to being indecisive (often considered a bad thing). I can see how people who are certain they're right can sweep others along with them while I'd still be saying, yes but what if?
Yes, there are some issues where I find it hard to take one side, too! Because what if… And I find that when I am reluctant to hear an opposing viewpoint, I have to admit to myself, it's because I fear my mind being unfashionably changed.
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For years, my mornings began with a brisk walk before heading out to teach school. This routine allowed me to enjoy beautiful sunrises, focus my thoughts, and boost my energy for the day. Almost inevitably, as I started down the hill from my home, I passed a group of friends heading up towards me. Marty, Fred, Larry and Ben (not their actual names) had been longtime residents of the neighborhood, and having raised their families, were in various stages of retirement. They met nearly every morning to walk, catch up, and joke around. We usually shared a bit of banter in passing. They would tease me about choosing an easy course, since I was going down the hill, and I would reply that I had chosen the smarter route.
My neighbors' story wonderfully illustrates the reasons we celebrate Walk Maryland Day. Walking has many benefits—it can improve physical and mental health, brings friends together, and serve as transportation. However, have you considered that all of these perks can also be part of a smart money management strategy? Walking can protect both your health and your savings. Here are three ways walking saves money.
If you don't like the idea of walking for exercise, think of walking as medicine. Regular walking provides many health benefits, not just from moving, but also from being outside.
You can walk your way to saving an average of $10,000 in medical expenses. Studies suggest this can happen by taking an extra 2000 steps each day, only about a mile of moderate walking. This helps avoid the weight gain that can make us sick and need additional health care. Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of costly chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, joint and bone problems, and heart disease.
Leave the car at home and walk for short trips.
Drive part of the way to your destination, park the car, and then walk the rest of the distance.
Look into public transportation. If that option is available, walk to the station, or get off one stop early for your destination.
Hiking or walking lets you spend quality time with friends and family, without spending a lot of money on food, drinks, and entertainment. Find a route near your home, or explore one of the many parks, both large and small, across Maryland. You can also hike segments of the Walk MD! Trail, a 500-mile route that winds its way around the state.
Meet a friend at a park or garden for a walk. Scheduling with a friend will make sure you get out and have fun, and parks and gardens offer easy access to free and beautiful walking trails.
Walk Maryland Day is tomorrow, but by being creative, you can celebrate Walk Maryland Day every day. Walk your kids to school, take a walk during your lunch break, or walk between errands. Just start walking—it's good for your health, it's good for your wallet.
All great ideas! As recent empty nesters, we're looking forward to some inexpensive excursions seeing more of MD. Thanks for the link to the parks!
I love exploring new trails as well. So glad you liked the post, thank you!
Thanks for the feedback! Please let us know how it goes! I'm always looking for new trails, myself, so I'd love to hear about your experiences!


This exhilarating, explosive, and heartrending conclusion to the Insignia trilogy brings Tom and his intelligent, passionate, and brave young friends stunning tests and dangerous confrontations and through to an impossible future they could never have predicted.
Tom Raines and his friends are eager to return to the Pentagonal Spire to continue training for the elite Intrasolar Forces, but they soon discover troubling changes: strict new regulations and the revelation that the Spire is under new military control. What begins as an irritating adjustment soon reveals a dangerous shift in reality. Those now in control are aligned with corporate sponsors and their ruthless agendas. And when the military academy begins welcoming new cadets with suspicious neural processors, the first step in a plan with horrifying worldwide ramifications, Tom is desperate to stop it, even if that means keeping secrets from his closest allies.
Source: Info in the About Catalyst was from the press kit from the publicity team.
3 Signed Copies of CATALYST by S.J. Kincaid.


text:
Federal judge blocks Utah immigration law
May 11, 2011 11:54:56 am
[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Utah [official website] on Tuesday blocked the state's controversial immigration law [HB 497 materials; JURIST news archive], less than 24 hours after it took effect. Judge Clark Waddoups issued a temporary restraining order [Salt Lake Tribune report] at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) [advocacy websites] and other plaintiffs that challenged the law [JURIST report] last week. The bill, which has been compared to the Arizona immigration law [SB 1070 materials; JURIST news archive], was signed into law [JURIST report] in March by Governor Gary Herbert [official website] and requires police to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for an alleged felony or serious misdemeanor. The lawsuit claims that the law unconstitutionally interferes with federal powers over immigration enforcement and violates the Fourth Amendment search and seizure provision and the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. A hearing for a preliminary injunction was scheduled for July 14.
Several other state legislatures have also acted recently to implement so-called "Arizona style" immigration laws. Last month, the Indiana House of Representatives [official website] approved legislation [JURIST report] to revoke tax credits from businesses that hire illegal immigrants and require the use of the E-verify System [official website] to check the eligibility status of employees. Also in April, the Georgia General Assembly [official website] approved a bill requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they have probable cause to believe has committed a criminal offense and requiring businesses to use E-Verify to check the immigration status of potential employees. Similar legislation has also been approved in Alabama, Virginia and Oklahoma [JURIST reports]. Arizona's law is currently enjoined, and Governor Jan Brewer has pledged to appeal to the US Supreme Court [JURIST reports].
Kenya court convicts Venezuela diplomat of murder charge 11 years later

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Amazon AU View Similar
Die Hard 6 gets a director with Len Wiseman returning to the franchise
By George Wales published 15 October 15
Bruce Willis may be about to pull on that filthy old singlet for one more adventure, with Deadline reporting that Len Wiseman has entered negotiations with Fox to direct Die Hard 6. Wiseman, who directed the fourth Die Hard film Live Free Or Die Hard, will return alongside producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, with the duo currently searching for a screenwriter for the project.
The plan is to make the new film half prequel and half sequel, with Willis reportedly set to play the present day John McClane, while a new actor plays a younger version of the badass copper. Think of it as The Godfather Part II of the franchise... sort of.
Despite the two most recent Die Hard films receiving steadfastly lukewarm reviews, they both generated more than $300 million worldwide, suggesting that Fox will be pressing ahead with this one for better or worse. Yippie-Kay... Yay?
George Wales
George is GR's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it.
The Gunk review: "In this alien world, the challenges are too routine and familiar"
Don't Look Up review: "A broad, brash, snort-laughter-out-your-nose satire"
Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 6 review: "Finally delivers on the promise of season's primary antagonist"
Best Xbox Series X hard drive, SSD, and memory card solutions in 2022
Best Razer controllers 2022: a rundown of the best Razer pads
The best Xbox One controllers 2022


A couple of days ago I took 19 minutes and 48 seconds out of my day to watch the following video, and I strongly encourage you to do the same!
If you have chosen not to, then maybe you will come back to it one day soon. I hope you do.
In a time when we celebrate every new technology, and at the same time hear messages about turning technology off before it destroys us, I think this TED talk oozed common sense. Sherry Turkle isn't telling us to turn off our technologies, but rather to have a good think about our attitudes toward them and assess where we stand on the continuum of 'lonely'.
I am one of those people for whom technology has been very helpful socially. I suffer from agoraphobia and find new social situations extremely confronting (familiar social situations are just regular strength confronting). Technology has afforded me a safe place to initiate connections with other people. A place where I could edit my responses and learn to mediate those thoughts which all too readily pop out of my mouth before I even know I've thought them in face-to-face communications.
For people like me, with a very faulty communications filter, technology is a godsend.
Even so, Terry's talk got me thinking about my relationship with technology and whether it is affording me better relationships or rather the illusion of better relationships. I think, to a great extend, it is the latter.
I have a very good friend who I would never have met if not for the internet. Ten years ago, last month, she set up a list on yahoo for parents like her. I was a parent like her and on screen we had a lot in common. Not long after finding the list, a group of us met up at a children's play centre (probably ten years ago this week), and from there friendships developed. Some of those friendships still exist, others have gone by the way. The internet was the fertile ground in which a seed was sewn which has changed countless lives.
This friend is my closest friend now, and really the only person from all those thousands (and there have been thousands) of connections I've made on the internet in the past ten years, who I see in person regularly.
Some friendships - when put to the test of real life connection, couldn't hold their ground. Sometimes because of differences which were too great to overcome. Sometimes, sadly, because it's far easier to project a persona in the two dimension world of the screen than it is in the three dimension world of life.
I have learned a lot from test flying friendships on line. I've learned to be more accepting of difference. I've learn that my every opinion is not going to be appreciated. I've learned to try to think before communicating. I've learned that while you can delete stuff you've said online, someone, somewhere has probably already taken a screen shot or copy and pasted your words and they will live forever - and often out of context.
I've learned you can actually feel an emotional connection to a person you've never met and are never likely to meet.
I've learned that some people take their online relationship with people far, far more seriously than their in-person relationship with people and will be more hurt if you delete them from your friends list than if you never ring or visit them, even if you live in the same city.
I worry about my children's experiences of relationships mediated by digitisation. They see each other at school, but if they can't Skype one another, then they're not really friends (yes, I've had this said to me by one of my off-spring). If you aren't on Steam, you don't exist. True story.
There is a safety in digital intimacy that doesn't exist in face-to-face intimacy. A virtual (((((HUGS))))) costs very little, while a real life hug means taking the risk of being given the WTF look. And, you can give a virtual (((((HUGS))))) while thinking, 'Oh, get over it!' because no one can pick up on your conflicting non-verbal messages.
Likewise, you can tweet on about how wonderful your children are, and at the same time scream at them to leave your, the hell, alone and no one will know.
You can update your Facebook status with all the photos of you at a get together with people you only know from the internet, and don't catch up with casually except for the occasion tweeter's dinner, while you cry in your isolation. People will still think your life is one big party and the epitome of success.
Yes, the internet - even with all the predators we hear about constantly - is a safe place to conduct perfect relationships and show off your shiny side, no one need ever know the truth.
That is not to say most people on the net are not genuine. I have met many of the people I've known over the years on the net; many of them are the same in person as they are online, if a little more self-conscious. However, many live double lives and it shows because they do fear intimacy and they do prefer virtual (((((HUGS))))) - they feel safer and happier on the other side of a screen, even if they are lonely.
Like this post, Sif. I didn't get to watch but will try later. Real life is about taking risks and doing the physical hugs too. I don't belittle the benefits of on-line relationships though. They've helped me a lot the past year or so. I think it's just important to be aware of both aspects.
That's it, the net is a tool we can use to grow and to benefit us (especially those of us who feel socially awkward), but in order to use this tool properly and with skill we have to be aware of how it can be dangerous to us as well, socially and psychologically.
) so the net has def helped me this way. I think its only a problem when ppl remain behind a computer screen and lack face to face connections. Someone mentioned to me at a party last night-a gathering of mostly school mums- that it was funny that in my recent status on FB "how did we meet" most of mine are from online! Interesting peoples perceptions, cos that hadn't stuck me as odd at all until she mentioned it.
Jayne, you are particularly good at converting online connections into face-to-face friendships (I wish I was more like you in this way, but I don't seem to have the 'knack'). You seem to find that balance quite well, I think.


With more than 900 technology companies based in New York City, the startup scene in the Big Apple is thriving. To celebrate the most innovative companies in the city we call home, editors from Time Inc. brands — including TIME, FORTUNE, CNNMoney.com, PEOPLE, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, and Real Simple — have scoured NYC's technology scene to identify the ten most promising startups the city has to offer. What follows is a click-through gallery of the startups that made the list.
First, however, we'll take this opportunity to brag about the success of a few past honorees: Stamped, which was selected last year, was Marissa Mayer's first acquisition at Yahoo!; eyewear e-retailer Warby Parker, a 2011 honoree, recently opened a flagship retail store in New York City and is reportedly in talks with Google to bring its hip sensibility to Google Glass; and Fab, another 2012 honoree, now boasts 10 million members and is reportedly valued at $1 billion.
In other words, keep an eye on these companies.


text:
Q: How to access a static member field in a static method in cpp I have the following .h file.
#include <stdint.h>
#include <thread>

namespace MyNamespace
{

class Util
{
public:
    static void SetMainThreadId(std::thread::id threadId);

private:
    static std::thread::id m_mainThreadId;
};

}

And I have the following .cpp file
#include "Util.h"

namespace MyNamespace
{

class Util
{
    static void Util::SetMainThreadId(std::thread::id threadId)
    {
        Util::m_mainThreadId = threadId;
    }
};

}

How come the code above simply doesn't compile? I am trying to assign a static variable inside a static method. What is wrong with this code?

A: It doesn't compile because the modifiers only appear in headers. static should not be in the implementation of the function.
This should work:
void Util::SetMainThreadId(std::thread::id threadId)
{
    m_mainThreadId = threadId;
}

Also note there is no class Util in the cpp. That is also a definition which is already done in the header file. The implementation uses the class name directly in the function declaration: class::func (params)
I recommend you read-up on C++ syntax before attempting any coding. Let alone one that involves a complex topic like threads.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Smugglers rule Benapole train
The Daily Star December 07, 2019
Drugs, other items being smuggled right under the noses of law enforcers
Mohammad Jamil Khan
A valid ticket is not enough to guarantee you a seat on the Benapole Commuter Train. You will have to pay an additional amount to touts if you don't mind standing all the way.
To get a seat you will have to collect a slip from the representatives of a racket, paying them Tk 150-200, before boarding the train. The fare for the three-hour journey between Khulna and Benapole is only Tk 45.
"These people who keep the seats occupied are none but smugglers and nobody dares say a word against them," Shafiqul Alam, a commuter, told this newspaper.
"You have to pay them to grab a seat, or else complete the journey standing," he said.
The train, which run four times a day between Khulna and Benapole via Jashore, is virtually ruled by the smugglers who transport illegal items including yaba and phensedyl on it under the very nose of law enforcers, said passengers and local people.
Some women who act as the mules for the smugglers also keep seats occupied for the passengers who would pay the racket. The seats are their additional source of income, they alleged.
Benapole is the country's busiest land port, through which many travel to and from India every day and goods are also transported in huge quantities.
A JOURNEY BY TRAIN
In an attempt to get a first-hand experience, this correspondent embarked on a journey by the commuter train from Benapole on October 15.
It was 9:10am when the train came and passengers started to get off. Surprisingly, a noticeable number of people remained seated in all the six compartments though it was the first station from where it would start for Khulna.
The reporter managed to squeeze into one of the compartments before the train left the station around 9:35am, after going through a "BGB security check". Noticeably, most of the seats were occupied by women.
This correspondent saw a woman allowed a male passenger to take her seat. When approached, the passenger, Maruf Hassan, a staff of KPCL in Khulna, said he had to pay Tk 150 for the seat.
"I just handed over a small orange paper to the woman that I have collected by paying her associate before boarding the train," said Maruf, a frequent traveller on this train, adding that the slip also specifies the number of persons.
The train reached Navaran station after around 15 minutes. After the journey, it suddenly stopped although the next station was still far away.
Eight to ten women and a man got on the compartment with heavy sacks on their back. One of the women sat beside the correspondent, who had managed a seat by paying Tk 50 to another woman.
Asked what she was carrying in her sacks, one of the women frustratingly responded: "The security is very tight now. We usually bring two or three bottles of phensedyl but we don't have it today. What we got right now is some Horlicks bottles from black market."
Asked about the prices of phensedyl, one of the women said: "If you take it now, it will cost you Tk 800 but if you want it after getting off the train, you will have to pay Tk 1,200 because at stations, I have to pay railway and local police."
A passenger named Nazmul Islam boarded the train from Navaran. Most of the time, he said, he had to stand all the way to Jashore during the one-hour journey.
"They [smugglers] bribe the driver, law enforcers and the ticket checkers," said Nazmul, who runs an export-import business in Jashore. He also alleged that the smugglers manage to stop the train at many points to evade checking by the border guards.
A number of passengers echoed his statement.
"There is a permanent BGB checkpoint at Amrakhali, some three kilometres away from Benapole. The smugglers illegally stop the train to get off before reaching that point," said Habibur Rahman, another regular passenger.
"They throw away their goods through the windows and get back on the train as per their convenience," said a businessman, who runs shops in Benapole Bazar.
"The railway police favour the smugglers as they get payment for each luggage."
The passengers said syndicate members, waiting on the ground, signal to stop the train. Sometimes those on board pull the chain but that doesn't work always.
The train previously ran on the route twice a day. But due to growing number of passengers, the authorities introduced two more trips daily.
A number of passengers said they still prefer the commuter train over bus on the Benapole-Khulna route as it reaches destinations on time and the road is in bad shape.
As the train moves along, a man in police uniform appeared in the compartment. He was seen collecting Tk 20 from the women with sacks. Asked about it, he said: "Mind your own business."
The man was not wearing any nameplate.
Talking with this correspondent, the women said they hide the goods inside seat covers, bathrooms and ceiling of the train.
Sources said, Daulatpur, Gatipara, Teroghar, Sadipur, Sutipur, Putkhali, Goga, Bhulot, Kaiba, Rudrapur, Dhannokhola, Ghiba, Kashipur, and Shalkona are some spots inside India from where the smugglers bring their consignments.
WHAT BGB, RAILWAY SAY
"We routinely check the train every day, sometimes we seize smuggled goods and sometimes we get nothing. We even travel till the next station [Navaran] for security checks," Subedar Abdul Wahab, head of Benapole BOP of Border Guard Bangladesh, told The Daily Star on November 13.
"BGB is doing its best to stop the practice but the smugglers often take the train after Navaran using village streets," he added.
Although the exchange of money became an open secret for all, Feroz Ahmed, assistant superintendent of government railway police, said they had no information of officials taking bribes from smugglers.
"We will take stern action if specific complaint is found against anyone," said Feroz, responsible to oversee the security of Khulna and Jashore railway.
This correspondent also communicated with the train driver. Wishing not to be named, he said, "We do not stop anywhere other than the regular stoppages. But to stop the train, the smugglers sometimes snap the coupling hoses between compartments, which engages the brakes."
Benapole Stationmaster Md Saiduzzaman said there was no connection between the smugglers and his staffers. "If anyone is found involved in such activities, he will be punished."
According to the official database, the BGB seized smuggled goods including Phensedyl worth around Tk 11.25 lakh from the train in October. On July 2 last year, the customs intelligence recovered one tonne of firecrackers from the train after those were smuggled in from India.
[With inputs from our Benapole correspondent Mohsin Milon]
Bangladesh Building China-Backed Exhibit Center in Defiance of Court Rulings
Dhaka air ranks worst again
প্রথম আলোর সম্পাদকসহ ১০ জনের নামে গ্রেপ্তারি পরোয়ানা
NUB lecturer held for remarks on Bangabandhu
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bdchronicle - April 21, 2015
Digital Security Act draft approved, Section 57 repealed
The Bangladesh Chronicle - January 29, 2018


Famed author Charles Dickens knew exactly what he was writing about when he wrote his second novel titled Oliver Twist. Dickens connected events from his horrific childhood to the book itself. This time in history also was a key element in his famous work. Although this story was written well over one hundred and fifty years ago, it continues to make people see life from a different perspective.
...st them while helping them to maintain their dignity. This is probably one of the reasons that Dickens' work is still relevant today.
More than one hundred and fifty years later, people can still make an important connection to Dickens' eye-opening message. On some level everyone is guilty of taking for granted their secure lifestyle and how very good their life actually is. Most of us don 't go to bed hungry or on the street. Some also might not realize that what they have is a gift, until what they have is completely gone. Whatever your station in life, it 's important to understand that we have a shared responsibility to help our brothers and sisters around the world. Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist is an important life lesson to be learned that no matter where you live, poverty is around us and it 's up to us all to do whatever we can to help.


As a result of that panel discussion, and the creation of the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (NCRPCV — now the NPCA) I was put on a panel of RPCVs to find a home for our writing. The panel was made up of Suzy McKee Charnes, Roger Landrum (Nigeria 1961–63), Margaret Pollock (Korea 1978–81) and one or two others, including, as I recall, Bob Cohen (Nigeria 1962–64), and myself.
I began to contact, as did others on the panel, colleges, universities and museums seeking a home for our collection. I can't remember what other institutions volunteered to house our documents, but I convinced Notre Dame University and the Kennedy Library in Boston that our work belonged in their libraries.
Father Ted Hesburgh, then in his last year as President of Notre Dame, wrote that ND would be pleased to have the collection. Hesburgh was a great friend of the agency and his university had trained many Volunteers.
When I contacted the Kennedy Library, RPCV Henry Gwiazda (India 1964–66) was a curator there and he helped to secure the collection for the library. The NCRPCV, then under the leadership of Tim Carroll (Nigeria 1963-65), decided to place the collection in the Kennedy Library.
Recently I emailed the current curator of our Peace Corps Collection, Jaimie Quaglino, at the Kennedy Library about it, her background, and how RPCVs and PCVs can contribute to the Peace Corps Archives. Here's what Jaimie had to say.
Jaimie, how long have you been at the Library and with the Collection?
I have worked as an archivist at the Kennedy Library since 2005 and with the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) Collection since the beginning of this year. Before that, from 2001–2003, I worked part time assisting with archival work at the Kennedy Library while obtaining my double masters degrees in Archives Management and History at Simmons College in Boston, MA. Both my experience working with a variety of collections at the Kennedy Library, as well as my background in American 20th century history, have given me a good foundation to administer the RPCV Collection.
What is the history of the Peace Corps Collection?
The Collection has two major components to it — we collect both the Personal Papers of RPCVs and Oral Histories of RPCVs. The Personal Papers collection was established here about 25 years ago as the result of a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer reunion by the director of the Kennedy Library at that time, Dan Fenn. The Oral Histories have a different story. In 2000, Robert Klein (Ghana 1961–63), a member of Ghana I, who had been conducting interviews with other Ghana I members in order to write his memoir, approached the library with the idea of conducting interviews with RPCVs from all countries, and creating a more formal Oral History Program that could document all RPCV experiences.
Before documents can be accepted into the Collection, we need to know how much material the RPCV has (100 letters in a large box, etc.), the dates of the material, and how the materials specifically relate to their Peace Corps experience in the country in which a volunteer was assigned to. We narrow and focus the materials to document the RPCV experience, while maintaining archival quality documentation. Currently, we collect representative sets (usually limiting them to less than 50) of photographs and slides. We also accept only the original documents rather than photocopies of letters. We request the dates of the RPCV's service, title, and/or a brief description of their duties in the Peace Corps as well.


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21st Century Europe and the Jews | A Series by American Jewish Committee and Tablet Magazine
American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Tablet Magazine came together to host a four-part series titled "21st Century Europe and the Jews," which addressed timely issues related to Jewish life and the protection of democracies in Europe. Thousands of viewers from around the world tuned in to hear from global experts as they explored the most pressing issues in the United Kingdom, Poland, France, and Germany.
Advancing Democracy
Each year, AJC co-sponsors Promoting Tolerance: Advancing Democracy, Building Civil Society, aimed at promoting human rights, civil rights, and an open society. Starting in 2018, the program will be known as Advancing Democracy: Building Civil Society, Celebrating Diversity. It is run jointly by AJC and the German-based Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF).
Africa Advocacy
AJC's Africa Institute routinely joins Africa-related advocacy efforts in domestic and international policymaking forums.
Africa Institute
The AJC Africa Institute connects the American Jewish community with the African continent.
Agnieszka Markiewicz Named Director of AJC Central Europe
Agnieszka Markiewicz has been named the Rubin and Frances Partel Director of the AJC Central Europe Office in Warsaw. Markiewicz, a native of Poland, has been serving as Acting Director since the Warsaw-based office was established earlier this year.
(-) Congressional Testimony (1)


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Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston
Rob O'Dell 23 May 2014
Rightly or wrongly I always tend to measure my enjoyment of a night at the Woodman by the Fidget/Ache formula; i.e. how much of the night I spend fidgeting in my seat and how much I'm aching at the end of the night from sitting on it! Last night, after watching the superb performance from Miranda and Rex I ended up feeling as fresh as a daisy having just enjoyed one of the best nights' entertainment I've had for a good while.
Unusually for the Woodman they opted to do the entire evening totally acoustically and performed in front of the stage to be closer to the audience. All the instruments cut through beautifully and from where I was sat the voices were loud and clear also, but I must admit that for some folks, positioned on the sides or further back, a little amplification of just the voices might have helped.
Having said that, we were treated to a stunning performance from two absolute masters of their craft. Miranda has a beautiful, pure, crystal clear voice and is equally at home performing gutsy, jazzy numbers, wistful ballads or the kind of folk songs that we're more used to at the club. To be honest, I think I would have been thoroughly satisfied if she'd sung her way through the phone book! Rex has not been singing for as long so the lion's share of the vocals was left to Miranda however the few he did sing, he performed excellently and they harmonised beautifully on quite a few numbers.
Instrumentally they are both…..well, brilliant just doesn't do them justice. Rex was listed in the club diary as being a virtuoso mandolin player and if you were there and saw them last night, you can't fail to agree that the accolade is well deserved. He also used his recently re-set-up bouzouki on a few numbers and was obviously having the odd tuning problem with it, but again it sounded fabulous once he started picking. That's the trouble with these cheapo instruments!! (With apologies to Phil Davidson).
Miranda is a simply stunning exponent of the double bass and, as any bass player will tell you, it is nowhere near as easy to sing and play bass as it is to accompany yourself on other instruments, but my goodness, she has really nailed it! During the evening she also picked up her guitar for one number and her ukulele for the encore and proved that she's no slouch on them either.
Highlights of the night for me were, ….well all of it really, but if I had to pick out a few; they opened with their version of the Slaid Cleaves song 'One Good Year', a hauntingly beautiful rendition of this country song and treated quite different to the original version but equally superb. Kate Rusby's 'Old Man Time' and Karine Polwart's 'Only One Way' couldn't be more different, the first a beautiful ballad and the second a really punchy, jazzy song but again both of them were delivered with such confident skilful vocals and playing – breathtaking. Another show-stopper towards the end of the night was 'Me And My Sister The Moon', the second of two songs written for them by a recent club visitor, Boo Hewerdine – the first was 'Window Box'.
I could go on and on (well I suppose I already have, really), but to my taste, it really was a fantastic night and we must, Must, MUST have them back again. Thank you both.
Must just mention that they were ably supported by club regulars Paul & Sue Mathews (Velvet Green), Dick Woodhouse and in the second half John Langford.


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Captive white tigers are of little known lineage. They are held captive around the world, usually for financial purposes.

Mohan and the Rewa strain

Mohan was the founding father of the white tigers of Rewa. He was captured as a cub in 1951 by Maharaja of Rewa, whose hunting party in Bandhavgarh found a tigress with four 9-month-old cubs, one of which was white. All of them were shot except for the white cub. After shooting a white tiger in 1948 the Maharaja of Rewa had resolved to capture one, as his father had done in 1915, at his next opportunity. Water was used to lure the thirsty cub into a cage, after he returned to a kill made by his mother. The white cub mauled a man during the capture process and was clubbed on the head and knocked unconscious. He was not necessarily expected to wake up, and this was his second brush with death. He recovered though, and was housed in the unused palace at Govindgarh in the erstwhile harem courtyard. The Maharaja named him Mohan, which roughly translates as "Enchanter", one of the many names of the Hindu deity Krishna.The name of the Maharaja was Raja Martand Singh.

The white tiger the previous Maharaja had kept in captivity from 1915 to 1920 was also a male, unusually large like most white tigers (Mohan was no exception in this regard), and had a white male sibling still living in the wild. After the captive white tiger's death in 1920 he was mounted and presented to the Emperor King George V, as a token of loyalty.  This specimen is now in the British Museum. The first live white tiger reached England in 1820, and was exhibited at London's Exeter Change menagerie where it was examined by the famous French anatomist Georges Cuvier, who described it in his "Animal Kingdom" as having faint stripes only visible from certain angles of refraction. In 1960 there was a mounted white tiger, with faint reddish brown stripes, in the throne room of the Maharaja of Rewa.

In 1953, Mohan was bred to a normal-coloured wild tigress called Begum ("royal consort"), which produced two male orange cubs on September 7, one of which went to Bombay Zoo.  In 1955 they had a litter of two males and two females on April 10 (which included a male named Sampson and a female named Radha), all normal-coloured. On July 10, 1956 they again had a litter of two males and two females, which included a male named Sultan who went to Ahmedabad Zoo, and a female named Vindhya who went to the Delhi Zoo and was later bred to an unrelated male named Suraj.  Once again, the breeding experiments failed to yield a single white cub.

Mohan was then bred to his daughter Radha (who carried the white gene inherited from her father) with success. The initial litter of four cubs—a male named Raja, and three females named Rani, Mohini, and Sukeshi—were the first white tigers born in captivity, on October 30, 1958. Raja and Rani went to the New Delhi Zoo, and Mohini was bought by the German-American billionaire John Kluge for $10,000, for the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., as a gift to the children of America, in 1960.

The Government of India made a deal with the Maharaja, under the terms of which Raja and Rani would go to the New Delhi Zoo for free. In exchange the Maharaja's white tiger breeding would be subsidized and he would receive a share of their cubs. He wanted Rs 100,000 for them. Technically Sukeshi was also the property of the New Delhi Zoo, and in a sense India had nationalized the captive white tigers of Rewa. The Parliament of India would hear reports on the progress of the white tigers, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and U Nu of Burma participated in public christening ceremonies for white cubs at New Delhi Zoo. Sukeshi remained at Govindgarh Palace, in the harem courtyard where she was born, as a mate for Mohan.

That same year, India imposed a ban on the export of white tigers,  in an effort to preserve a monopoly (as a tourist attraction), possibly because Anglo-Indian naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee recommended that Govindgarh Palace, and its white tiger inhabitants, be made a "national trust", which did not happen. Mohini was only allowed to leave India because US President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened personally with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to ask for the release of the United States government's white tiger. A white sister of Mohini's had been brought to New Delhi the year before to show the President, who was no stranger to white tigers. After the export ban was imposed the Maharaja threatened to release all of his white tigers into the Rewa forest, and so he was given dispensation to sell two more pairs abroad, to offset his costs.

Six zoos acquired white tigers from the Maharaja of Rewa including the Bristol Zoo in England (a brother and sister pair named Champak and Chameli on June 22, 1963, for the equivalent of $10,000 each) and the Crandon Park Zoo (which closed around 1983, and moved out of Crandon Park to the site of the Miami MetroZoo) in Miami acquired a white tigress in 1968. Bristol Zoo's pair, born in 1962, came from another litter of four, all white, but two (one female and one male) did not survive. Years later the Bristol Zoo needed a new breeding male and traded a white female to New Delhi Zoo for a white tiger named Roop, who had been named by U Nu, the Prime Minister of Burma. He was the son of Raja by his own mother and half sister- Radha, born in New Delhi. Radha, and many other tigers from Govindgarh including Sukeshi, were later transferred to New Delhi. Begum went to live at Ahmedabad Zoo and was bred to her son Sultan. They produced twelve cubs in four litters between 1958 and 1961. Bristol Zoo later transferred two male white tigers to Dudley Zoo.

The government of West Bengal bought two white males, named Niladari and Himadri, from the Maharaja for the Alipore Zoological Gardens (Calcutta Zoo), and an orange female named Malini, from the same litter of three born in 1960, accompanied them there. The Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, recovered the purchase price of its white tigers within six months by charging extra to see them. By 1966 the Bombay Zoo had a white tigress named Lakshmi, born in 1964, from the Maharaja. The Calcutta Zoo sold a white tigress named Sefali to Gauhati Zoo and sent a second white tiger there on loan. Circus owner Clyde Beatty also bought a white tiger from the Maharaja in 1960, for $10,000 in a deal facilitated by the Smithsonian National Zoo director T.H. Reed, who had traveled to India to escort Mohini to Washington, which had to be canceled because of the export ban, which made Mohini even more valuable. She was estimated to be worth $28,000. President Tito of Yugoslavia visited New Delhi Zoo and asked for white tigers for Belgrade Zoo, but was refused.  A white tiger named Dalip from New Delhi Zoo represented India in two international expositions in Budapest and Osaka. A white tigress named Nandni, who was born in New Delhi Zoo in 1971, went to Hyderabad Zoo. By 1976 the Lucknow Zoo also had a white tiger which was a gift from New Delhi Zoo. Zoos with white tigers constituted a most exclusive club and the white tigers themselves represented a single extended family. In 1965 or 1966 Terence Walton, a member of the Maharaja of Rewa's staff, was attending a performance of the Ringling Bros. Circus in Madison Square Garden and had a note passed to tiger trainer Charles Baumann, on the Maharaja's stationary, requesting an opportunity to discuss white tigers. He may have hoped to make a sale. Baumann was invited to Rewa, but was not able to go.

Mohan was featured in the National Geographic documentary "Great Zoos Of The World" in 1970.
He died later that year, aged almost 20, and was laid to rest with Hindu rites as the palace staff observed official mourning. He was the last recorded white tiger born in the wild. The last white tiger seen in the wild was shot in 1958 in the Hazaribagh forests of Bihar. There have been rumors of white tigers in Hazaribagh, the Tora forsts of Rewa, and Kanha National Park since 1958, but these were not considered credible by K.S. Sankhala. A photograph of Mohan's stuffed head, in a display case in the private museum of the Maharaja of Rewa in Govindgarh Lake Palace, appears in the National Geographic book "The Year Of The Tiger." Another picture of Mohan's head appears on the official website of the Maharaja of Rewa (MP).

The Maharaja of Rewa turned Mohan's native forest into the Bandhavgarh National Park, because he could not control the poaching. The Maharaja was negotiating the sale of a white male, named Virat, as late as 1976, when he died of enteritis. Virat was a son of Mohan and Sukeshi.

At Bandhavgarh visitors can stay at the White Tiger Lodge, which is the local version of Tiger Tops in Royal Chitwan in Nepal. Pushpraj Singh, the reigning Maharaja of Rewa, has asked students to sign a petition to ask the President of India to return at least two white tigers to Govindgarh Lake Palace, as a tourist attraction.

Mohini Rewa (Enchantress) and Sampson
Mohini, a daughter of Mohan, was officially presented to President Eisenhower by John W. Kluge, in a ceremony at the White House on December 5, 1960, and went to live at the Lion House, in the National Zoo, in Rock Creek Park. A reporter for The New York Times described the meeting of Mohini and President Eisenhower: "The President shied noticeably when the beast roared and leaped in his direction inside the traveling cage drawn up on the White House south driveway. An eloquent "Well!" was the President's only comment for the next few seconds." T.H. Reed, the director of the National Zoo, gave this description of Mohini: "Her stripes were black, shading into brown, but her main coat was eggshell white instead of the normal rufous orange. Exotic coloring and magnificent physique made her a tiger without peer. For a two-year-old kitten she had tremendous growth-almost 190 pounds, three feet tall at the shoulders, and eight feet from nose to tail." White tigers are larger and heavier than regular orange tigers. The average length of a white tiger at birth is 53 cm, compared to 50 cm for a normal orange cub. Shoulder height is 17 cm (normal 12 cm), weight 1.37 kg (normal 1.25 kg). Dalip and Krishna, two white tigers at New Delhi Zoo, weighed 139 kg and 120 kg respectively, at two years of age. Ram and Jim, two normal colored tigers at the same zoo, weighed 106 kg and 119 kg, at the same age. Raja, the white tiger, had a shoulder height of 100 cm, at ten years of age, while Suraj, an orange tiger, had a shoulder height of only 90 cm, at 12 years of age, according to New Delhi Zoo director K.S. Sankhala. Ratna and Vindhya, orange tigresses "from the white race", who carried the white gene as a recessive (both were fathered by Mohan), were higher at the shoulder than average, measuring 87 and 88 cm, compared to a normal orange tigress named Asharfi, who measured 82 cm at the shoulder. White tigers also grow faster than orange tigers. This would have given them an advantage in the wild.

Following Mohini's arrival in New York City from India, with National Zoo director T.H. Reed, she spent one night in the Bronx Zoo. A reception was scheduled at the Explorer's Club, and Mohini was to appear on the children's television show "Wonderama", with big game hunter Ralph S. Scott, who had been instrumental in bringing her to America. Mohini was also scheduled to appear on television in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. On December 7, 1960, a television special was aired titled "White Tiger", which was a film about Mohini's trip from India. (The birth of Mohini's first litter in 1964 was televised in a national special.) Mohini was exhibited for three days in the Philadelphia Zoo, before traveling on to Washington. Her name is the feminine of Mohan, and translates as "Enchantress". She was her father's namesake. She was a great attraction, and the zoo wanted to breed more white tigers. At the time, no more white tigers were being allowed out of India, so Mohini was mated to Sampson, her uncle and half brother, who was sent from Ahmedabad Zoo in 1963. (It seems probable that financial considerations may have also precluded Washington from acquiring a second white tiger as a mate for Mohini.) Sampson was donated to the National Zoo by Ralph S. Scott. Mohini was originally betrothed to an orange Bengal tiger named "Mighty Mo", who was captured in Central India in the forests of the Maharaja of Panna by Ralph S. Scott, and donated to the National Zoo on June 19, 1959. Today there is a Panna National Park. Unfortunately Mohini used to push Mighty Mo around. The original plan was to breed Mohini with an unrelated orange tiger, and then breed her to one or more of her male offspring, in the hope of producing white cubs. That was before Sampson arrived. Sampson fathered the first two of Mohini's four litters, which were born in 1964 and 1966. Mighty Mo and another tiger named "Foa" were given to the Pittsburgh Zoo in August 1966.

After Sampson's death in 1966, at age 11 of kidney failure, Mohini was bred to her son Ramana, who was then the only male white gene carrier available. This resulted in the birth of a white daughter named Rewati on April 13, 1969, and a white son named Moni on February 8, 1970. Moni died of a neurological disorder in 1971 at 16 months. Moni was to have undertaken a fund raising tour for Project Tiger. He was born in a litter of five, which included two white males and three orange females. One was stillborn and the mother crushed the others after three days. When Moni was a cub he was photographed with Mrs. Suharto, the wife of Indonesian President Suharto, when she visited the National Zoo. Rewati had an orange male littermate which died after two days. Ramana was born on July 1, 1964, and had two litter mates: a white male named Rajkumar, who was the first white tiger born in a zoo, and an orange female named Ramani. Both died of feline distemper despite having been vaccinated, at ten months of age. Rajkumar had a particularly nasty disposition. All of Mohini's cubs were named by the Indian Ambassador. At the time of his death, at only ten months of age, Rajkumar already weighed 175 pounds, and could hardly be called a cub. He was first named "Charlie" by one of his keepers, before the Indian Ambassador gave him his official name. The National Zoo planned to trade Rajkumar for a number of other animals. He was equal to ten zebras in value. The Smithsonian Institution stepped in and vetoed the plan, insisting that Rajkumar would remain a permanent resident of Washington, D.C. Rajkumar was the only white tiger fathered by Sampson.

The birth of Mohini's first litter was televised in a national special. Mohini's orange daughter Kesari was born in 1966 with an orange female who was stillborn. It was even suggested, although probably not too seriously, that Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi be asked to bring a white tiger cub for the zoo, when she was scheduled to visit Washington in 1966. After Moni died in 1971 the National Zoo tried to acquire an orange tiger named Ram from Trivandrum Zoo, in southern India, as a mate for Mohini. Ram was her first cousin, a grandson of Mohan, and there was a 50% chance that he carried white genes. 25% of Ram's genes came from Mohan and 25% from Begum. 25% of Mohini's genes were from Begum and 75% from Mohan. Ram was a son of Vindhya and Suraj born on 23 IV 1965 at New Delhi Zoo, the same Ram discussed earlier. Two sisters of Ram, born on February 22, 1967, went to the Romanshorn Zoo in Switzerland. In 1973 an Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) named Poona, who was born at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle in 1962, was sent to Washington on a six-month breeding loan from the Brookfield Zoo and bred to Mohini and Kesari. (Poona would have been regarded as a Bengal tiger for the first two years of his life because the Indo-Chinese subspecies was not recognized until 1968.) Mohini did not conceive. Kesari produced six orange cubs, an extraordinary number, especially for a first litter, but only one survived, a female named Marvina. Kesari handed Marvina over to her keepers and kept the other five. Marvina was mistaken for male, and named Marvin which was changed to Marvina when it was discovered that he was a she. Washington Zoo keeper Art Cooper, who hand reared Marvina, observed that white tigers were the most obstinate cats in the zoo, and said that Marvina had a typical white tiger personality. (Poona also fathered litters by two other tigresses in Brookfield.) In 1974 Marvina, Ramana, and Kesari were sent to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and Rewati and Mohini went to the Brookfield Zoo, to be boarded during renovations in Washington, until 1976.
As a fringe benefit of inbreeding the four cubs were pure-Bengal tigers, and they were the last registered Bengal tigers born in the United States. Ranjit, Bharat, Priya, Peela, and Rewati had inbreeding coefficients of 0.406. Ramana died in 1974 of a kidney infection and became a father for the last time posthumously.

A white half sister of Mohini's, bred from Mohan and Sukishi, born on March 26, 1966, named Gomti and later renamed Princess, lived in the Crandon Park Zoo in Miami for almost three years, before she died of a viral infection at age five in December 1970. She arrived in Miami on January 13, 1968.
Miami mayor Chuck Hall met the 22-month-old 350 lbs. white tigress at the airport and rode with her to the zoo. He wanted to call her Maya, the name suggested by the Maharaja, which translates as Princess. Ralph S. Scott, who paid $35,000 for her and gave her to the Zoological Society of Florida, preferred the name Princess. The Zoological Society of Florida loaned Princess to the Crandon Park Zoo. It was Ralph S. Scott, a famous big game hunter, who suggested to John W. Kluge that he buy a white tiger for the children of America. He had seen the white tigers in Govindgarh Palace while tiger hunting in India. The government of India wanted Princess to be the last white tiger exported from the country. A male white tiger, named Ravi, acquired by Ralph S. Scott for the Crandon Park Zoo died at Kanpur railway station en route from India in 1967. He was a son of Raja and Rani born in New Delhi Zoo, and sold by the Maharaja of Rewa. In 1970 Jimmy Stewart was on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and said that his wife was going to buy a white tiger from the Maharaja of Rewa for the Los Angeles Zoo. Ralph S. Scott was watching and felt as though he was being robbed. He had been trying to get a mate for Princess for years. A bidding war erupted between Scott, Jimmy Stewart, a major league baseball team, a Hollywood producer, and a major European zoo. Scott said of Princess "It is cruel to expect an animal like that to live alone. And you can't mate her with an ordinary tiger-she's so superior...I appealed to the Maharaja from a conservation standpoint and it hit home." Princess and Rajah were to be a "royal couple." The Los Angeles Zoo had already spent $20,000 building a white tiger exhibit. Scott said that he would try and send them a pair of cubs from Princess and Rajah, but Princess died a week before Rajah was scheduled to arrive. Scott hired an Indian taxidermist to stuff Princess, and she was presented to the Museum of Science in Miami in 1972, but she is now in the reception area of the Miami MetroZoo's administration building. Scott paid around $45,000 for Raja, who he thought might still be mated to Mohini, but Rajah never arrived in Crandon Park. Scott was so respected as a tiger hunter that he was asked to deal with man eaters which were terrorizing villages. He was a hunter turned conservationist, and a cat-lover.  Mohini died in 1979. The skins and skulls of Mohini and Moni are in the Smithsonian, but are not on display.

An orange brother of Mohini's named Ramesh lived in the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes (Paris Zoo), and was bred to an unrelated tigress, but none of the offspring survived to reproduce. Ramesh was born in Govindgarh Palace and had an orange female littermate, named Ratna who went to New Delhi Zoo, and a white male littermate named Ramu. They were the fourth and last litter of Mohan and Radha. Ratna was paired with a wild caught male named Jim, at New Delhi Zoo, and produced three litters. Each cub would have had a 50% chance of inheriting the white gene from Ratna. Jim was captured in the Rewa forest, so they thought there was a chance he carried white genes. He had been somebody's pet, but after he ate a cat he was given to New Delhi Zoo. Jim used to appear leaping into his pond, at New Delhi Zoo, in the opening of one of Gerald Durrell's TV shows. Edward Pritchard Gee mentioned, in his book "The Wildlife Of India" (which has a foreword by Jawaharlal Nehru), that Bristol Zoo wanted to acquire one of the cubs of Mohan and Begum, as a mate for one of its white tigers, Champak or Chameli, to lessen the degree of inbreeding, as the US National Zoo had done with Sampson. The Bristol Zoo did acquire one of the daughters of Mohan and Begum. In 1987 Ranjit, Bharat, Priya, and Peela were sold to the International Animal Exchange. Ranjit, Priya, and Peela went to the IAE's facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. The phenomenon of spontaneous ovulation in a tiger was first observed by Devra Kleiman, in one of the white tigresses at the National Zoo, which meant that it was possible to breed tigers by artificial insemination.
Mohini died in 1979 at 20 years of age. Edwards Park wrote in Smithsonian magazine that National Zoo director Ted Reed was "mourning his queen the late Mohini Rewa." Ted Reed said "It's impossible to say how much the zoo owes that cat and her cubs. They drew attention to the facility and made all of our recent improvements so much easier. If she had been human she would have been a movie star."

Tony, Bagheera, and Frosty: A new strain
Tony, born in July 1972 in the Circus Winter Quarters of the Cole Bros. Circus (the Terrell Jacobs farm) in Peru, Indiana, was the founder of many American white tiger lines, especially those used in circuses. His grandfather was a registered Siberian tiger, named Kubla, who was born at the Como Park, Zoo, and Conservatory in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Kubla's parents were born in the wild and believed to be brother and sister. Kubla was bred to a Bengal tigress named Susie, from a west coast zoo, at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She was once co-owned by Clyde Beatty. Between April 10, 1966, and August 3, 1969 Kubla and Susie produced 13 or 14 cubs in 5 or 6 litters. The cubs were widely distributed. One eventually reached Paris, and another went from the Utica Zoo in New York State to Japan. Two of their cubs (Rajah and Sheba II) were bred by Baron Julius Von Uhl, who lived in Peru, Indiana. Julius Von Uhl was born in Budapest and came to America in 1956 from Hungary after the revolution. One of the results of his tiger breeding was Tony, who therefore carried mixed blood He may have been the source of a gene for stripelessness. Kubla was also bred to an Amur tigress named Katrina, who was born at the Rotterdam Zoo, and passed through the hands of two American zoos before joining Kubla and Susie at the Great Plains Zoo. Kubla and Katrina have living pure-Amur descendants which may include a line of white tigers, that are claimed as pure-Amurs, which originated out of Center Hill, Florida. These white tigers are not registered Amur tigers. A tiger trainer named Alan Gold owned a pair of Amur tigers which once produced a stillborn white cub.

In 1972, there were four white tigers in the United States: Mohini and her daughter Rewati in Washington, D.C., Tony, and his first cousin  named Bagheera, a female born on July 8, 1972 in a litter of two white cubs, including a male which did not survive, in the Hawthorn Circus of John F. Cuneo Jr. Bagheera's mother, Sheba III, was a sister of Tony's mother, Sheba II. Bagheera's father was either an Amur tiger, named Ural, who was her preferred mate, and may have been her uncle and a littermate, or younger sibling, of Kubla, born at the Como Zoo; or one of two of her brothers, named Prince and Saber, who were also brothers to Tony's parents.

Most of Sheba III's litters did not include white cubs, but at least 50% of her orange cubs would have been white gene carriers, since they could have inherited the gene from their mother, and if both parents were heterozygotes 66%, or two out of three, of their orange cubs are likely to have been carriers. She had 27 cubs in 9 litters between July 8, 1972, and July 26, 1975, of which only 3 were white, or 11%, not 25% as would be expected if both parents in each mating were heterozygotes.  Prince was castrated before Sheba III conceived another white cub, a male named Frosty, born on February 25, 1975, in a litter which included two orange females and one orange male. It seems odd that a tiger which may have been fathering such valuable cubs (Prince) would have been neutered. Saber was never observed trying to mate, so perhaps Ural did sire one or more of Sheba III's white cubs, which would have been three quarters Siberian had this been the case. It is possible for tigers from the same litter to have different fathers. It's also possible that any or all three tigers-Ural, Prince, and Saber, carried the white gene. Ural was a sad specimen. He was cross eyed, although he was not white. Bagheera and Frosty were both severely cross eyed.

Tony was purchased by John F. Cuneo Jr., owner of the Hawthorn Circus Corp. of Grayslake, Illinois,  in February 1975 for $20,000 in Detroit. Tony's parents, Raja and Sheba, produced two more white cubs at the Baltimore County Fair on June 27, 1976. The cubs were a white male, named "Baltimore County Fair", a white female named "Snowball", and an orange male. National Zoo spokeswoman Sybille Hamlem said: "This could be a real bonus for the breed if the two stay in the United States. The white tigers are no longer found in the wild and there have been genetic problems because of inbreeding. But that's apparently not the case here." Snowball's name was later changed to "Maharani", and all three cubs were sold to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus in Washington, D.C. Maharani died in 1984. Baron Julius Von Uhl had another three white cubs born between June 18 and 19, 1977 at Kingdom's 3 (formerly Lion Country Safari) at Stockbridge, Georgia off I-75 south of Atlanta. Two lived only a short time. The other, named Scarlett O'Hara, died at the Grady Memorial Hospital's animal research clinic in Atlanta, on January 30, 1978, of cardiac arrest resulting from anaesthesia. She was there to undergo surgery to correct crossed eyes. (She was only cross eyed in the right eye, which turned inward toward the nose.) She was still owned by Julius Von Uhl at the time. Tony was sent on breeding loan to the Cincinnati Zoo in 1976, to be bred to Rewati from the US National Zoo. However, Tony and Rewati did not breed, so he was bred to Mohini's orange daughter Kesari instead, resulting in a litter of four white and one orange cub June 27, 1976, the same day that eight-year-old Sheba had her white cubs in Baltimore, Maryland. It is an astounding coincidence that both tigresses gave birth to white cubs on exactly the same day. On that one day America's white tiger population nearly doubled from 8 to 14. Kesari's 1976 litter represented a mixture of the two unrelated strains.

All of the white cubs from Kesari's 1976 litter by Tony were cross-eyed, as were Rewati, Bagheera, and Frosty. The Cincinnati Zoo retained a brother and sister pair from the litter, named Bhim and Sumita, and their orange sister Kamala. Two white males returned to the Hawthorn Circus with Tony as John Cuneo's share from the breeding loan. John Cuneo also asked the Bristol Zoo to trade some white tigers, to diversify the gene pool, but the Bristol Zoo declined, perhaps not wishing to exchange pure-Bengals for mongrels. Tony, Bagheera, and Frosty lived for years with a troop of Hawthorn Circus tigers stationed at Marineland and Game Farm, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Because of selective breeding only a few of the oldest white tigers in the Hawthorn Circus today are cross eyed. Bhim and Sumita became the world record parents of white cubs. In 1976 there were 39 white tigers-7 in New Delhi, 7 in Kolkata, one in Guwahati, one in Lucknow, one in Hyderabad, 8 in Bristol, Cincinnati Zoo had 2, Washington had 5, John Cuneo had 5, and Julius Von Uhl had 2. The Maharaja of Rewa retired from the white tiger business in 1976. He later abdicated in favor of his son so that he could run for the family seat in parliament and became an MP. There is a white tiger cub on the shield of the coat of arms of the Maharajas of Rewa.

Over 70 white tigers have been born at the Cincinnati Zoo, which is no longer in the white tiger business. The Cincinnati Zoo sold white tigers for $60,000 each. Siegfried & Roy bought a litter of three white cubs from the Cincinnati Zoo, which were offspring of Bhim and Sumita, for around $125,000. Prior to 1974 the Cincinnati Zoo wanted to acquire a white tiger, but no zoo would sell at any price. By the 1980s the Cincinnati Zoo was the world's leading purveyor of white tigers. It was a cousin of the Maharaja of Rewa, Lt. Col. Fatesinghrao "Jackie" Gaekwad, the Maharaja of Baroda, who was also the Commissioner of Indian Wildlife and an MP, who suggested to Siegfried and Roy that they acquire white tigers from the Cincinnati Zoo and include them in their act. "Jackie" was also the President of the World Wildlife Fund India.  In the mid 1980s Siegfried & Roy owned 10% of the world's white tigers, and they were escorting two big white tiger cubs, with dark stripes, to their new home in Phantasialand in Brühl, Germany, when the white tigers were briefly stolen with their truck in New York City. The driver stopped for coffee. The white tigers made their debut in Germany at a ceremony attended by the United States Ambassador.

The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, bought Tony's parents and orange sister Obie (born in 1975) in 1978, and bred more white tigers. Kesari also went to live at Omaha Zoo, but did not have any more cubs. Some of Tony's white siblings born in Omaha proved to be sterile. Obie was paired with Ranjit from the National Zoo, and their cubs like those of Tony and Kesari, included non inbred white tigers. A white tiger named Chester, who was a son of Ranjit and Obie, born at the Omaha Zoo, fathered the first test tube tigers, and then became the first white tiger in Australia when he was sent to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. His brother, Panghur Ban, was the National Zoo's last white tiger. A white tiger named Rajiv, a son of Bhim, became the first white tiger in Africa, when he was sent to Pretoria Zoo in exchange for a king cheetah.

In 1983 Rewati was paired with Ika, from Kesari's 1976 litter, at the Columbus Zoo. By this time he was a three legged amputee retired from circus performance, put out to pasture to breed. Ika killed Rewati in the act of mating. Ika was then mated with a white tigress named Taj, who was a grand daughter of his brothers Ranjit and Bhim. Ika was also bred to Taj's orange mother Dolly, a daughter of Bhim and an unrelated orange tigress named Kimanthi, in Columbus. Taj's father, Duke, was a son of Ranjit from an outcross to an unrelated orange tigress. Isson, a white grandson of Kesari and Tony, was also dispatched to Columbus on breeding loan from the Hawthorn Circus, of Grayslake, Illinois, which eventually had 80 white tigers, the largest collection in the world at the time. In 1984 five white tiger cubs were stolen from the Hawthorn Circus in Portland, Oregon, and two died. The tigers were touring with the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. The culprit was a veterinarian who was sentenced to one year in prison and six months in a halfway house. Cincinnati Zoo director Ed Maruska testified in the case that the five white cubs had a dollar value in excess of $5000.

In 1974 a white cub was born in the Racine Zoological Gardens in Wisconsin, from a father-daughter mating. The father, named Bucky, killed the white cub. The mother, named Bonnie, was later bred with an orange littermate of Tony named "Chequila", who belonged to James Witchey of Ravenna, Ohio, who bought him from Dick Hartman of South Lebanon, Ohio, when he was four or five years of age. Chequila proved to be a white gene carrier and fathered at least one white cub in the Racine Zoo in 1980. It is not known whether Bucky, who came from the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana, and his daughter Bonnie, were related to any of the established strains of white tigers, but it is possible that Bucky was another one of the cubs of Kubla and Susie, born in Sioux Falls. By 1987 10% of North American zoo tigers were white.

The Odisha strain
Three white tigers were also born in the Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 1980. Their parents were an orange father–daughter pair called Deepak and Ganga, who were not related to Mohan or any other captive white tiger – one of their wild-caught ancestors would have carried the recessive white gene, and it showed up when Deepak was mated to his daughter. Deepak's sister also turned out to be a white gene carrier. These white tigers are therefore referred to as the Orissa strain, as opposed to the Rewa strain, of white tigers founded by Mohan.

When the surprise birth of three white cubs occurred there was a white tigress already living at the zoo, named Diana, from New Delhi Zoo. One of the three was later bred to her creating another blend of two unrelated strains of white tigers. This lineage resulted in several white tigers in Nandan Kanan Zoo. Today the Nandankanan Zoo has the largest collection of white tigers in India. The Cincinnati Zoo acquired two female white tigers from the Nandan Kanan Zoo, in the hopes of establishing a line of pure-Bengal white tigers in America, but they never got a male, and did not receive authorization from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)'s Species Survival Plan (SSP) to breed them. The Zoo Outreach Organisation used to publish studbooks for white tigers, which were compiled by A.K. Roychoudhury of the Bose Institute in Calcutta, and subsidized by the Humane Society of India. The Columbus Zoo had also hoped to breed pure-Bengal white tigers, but were unable to obtain a white registered Bengal mate for Rewati from India.

There were also surprise births of white tigers in the Asian Circus, in India, to parents not known to have been white gene carriers, or heterozygotes, and not known to have any relationship to any other white tiger strains. There was a female white cub born at Mysore Zoo in 1984, from orange parents, descended from Deepak's sister. The white cub's grandmother Thara came from the Nandankanan Zoo in 1972. Mysore Zoo had a second female white tiger cub from New Delhi Zoo in 1984. On August 29, 1979, a white tigress named Seema was dispatched to Kanpur Zoo to be bred to Badal, a tiger who was a fourth generation descendant of Mohan and Begum. The pair did not breed so it was decided to pair Seema with one of two wild caught, notorious man eaters, either Sheru or Titu, from the Jim Corbett National Park. Seema and Sheru produced a white cub, and for a while it was thought there might be white genes in Corbett's population of tigers, but the cub did not stay white.

There have been other cases of white tiger, white lion, and white panther cubs being born, and then changing to normal color. White tigers which were a mixture of the Rewa and Orissa strains, born at the Nandan Kanan Zoo, were non inbred. A white tiger from out of the Orissa strain found its way to the Western Plains Zoo in Australia. Australia's Dreamworld, on the Gold Coast, wanted to breed this tiger to one of their white tigers from the United States.

See also
 Mainland Asian tiger
 Outbreeding depression

References

Felids and humans
Animals in captivity

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Tiny Shark Interactive recently announced their upcoming open world RPG, Exzore: The Rising, for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Set in the medieval world of Eogaan, the game follows Damien Clive, former commander of the Exzore army unit, as he is emerges from the ashes of his betrayal to seek retribution and regain his honor. Exzore: The Rising features the use of "mechanical gadgets" which give special abilities to the hero and can be used in combat and exploration. The game also features a unique Affinity system, which affects the player's experience and how the story unfolds as the character interacts with the game world and the various factions, as well as an extensive combat system that allows players to mix and match Exzore abilities in a wide variety of combos.
Exzore: The Rising is expected to launch in late 2018. For more information on the game, visit www.exzoretherising.com.


This past Sunday, we started a teaching series that's challenging us to live as Jesus wants even though our culture tries to push us in opposite directions. The pressure of the culture is intense, and sometimes without even realizing it, we become caught in the current of life that pulls us out into the depths of routine and busyness. As this happens, we start making excuses (again, sometimes without even realizing it) that attempt to justify why we aren't doing the things we would really like to be doing.
I came across an article this week that I used to challenge our staff and myself to think about these very things. I normally, write my own content for the blog, but this article was really good, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it with you. Let God use the author's words to challenge you to better follow Jesus AND enjoy all that He has for you! The article below was written by a pastor/leader to other pastors/leaders, but the truth he writes is applicable to all of us. Click on the link below to check it out!


text:
Q: nGModelController.$render not called even after setting value through $setViewValue I recently learned of the ngModelController, and had been experimenting with it. My directive is an input field and on  its keydown, I set the value of the model as ngModelController.$setViewValue. It should call the $render as written in the angular documentation and explained in this blog. But the $render in the code below, is not called. Please suggest.
Plunkr
Angular Code
angular.module('controls',[]);

angular.module('controls')
.controller('Spinner',['$scope',
        function($scope){
            $scope.spinner="";
        }
])
.directive('spinControl',function(){
    return {
        restrict : 'E',
        templateUrl : 'spin.html',
        require : 'ngModel',
        link : function(scope,elem,attrs,ngModelController){
            ngModelController.$render = function() {
                alert('render called');
            };

            elem.on('keyup', function(event){
                ngModelController.$setViewValue(elem.find('input').val());
            });
        }
    };
});

P.S. - I tried to find similar question on SO, but couldn't find it. Guide me to the question if its duplicate.

A: $render is called when the external model value gets changed outside your directive. $setViewValue won't trigger it (because it's assumed that, since your view was what changed, that the needed changes are already rendered).
If you have <spin-control ng-model="spinner"></spin-control>, then try putting this in the Spinner controller:
$timeout(function () {
    $scope.spinner = 'new value';
}, 1000);

(remember to inject $timeout into your controller). 1000 seconds after your controller loads your alert() should show up.


The Wellbridge Jacuzzi is undergoing on and off renovations for the next 6 months. If you are interested in using the Jacuzzi, please call Wellbridge directly at 617.441.0800 to receive the most up to date information regarding its availability.
It's easy to work in working out at Wellbridge Athletic Club, complimentary to all Charles Hotel guests and located inside the hotel. With wellness studio offerings and a country club atmosphere, Wellbridge Athletic offers some of the finest fitness amenities in Cambridge, including an indoor rooftop pool, steam rooms, and a dedicated pilates studio.
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Whether you want to pedal or plank, sculpt or swim, Wellbridge Athletic Club offers an upscale boost to your daily workouts. Jump in for an energizing group fitness workout, lengthen your muscles in the pilates studio, or escape and unwind in the steam room. Then, there's always the state-of-the-art strength and cardio equipment, weight training, indoor rooftop pool, and yoga program.
Find out more about the fitness club's offerings on the Wellbridge Health and Fitness Center website.


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2MATCH URL: https://static.rappler.com/images/20080331_gen_carlos_garcia_1243PAG.jpg
Court 'war' over Garcia plea bargain deal
A Sandiganbayan justice believes his colleagues broke rules when they formed a special division to rule on the Garcia plea bargain deal
Aries Rufo
Published 10:34 AM, April 22, 2013
PLEA BARGAIN. A file photo of retired Maj Gen Carlos Garcia. File photo by Newsbreak
MANILA, Philippines - The lone Sandiganbayan justice who dissented in a decision approving the plea bargain deal between the Ombudsman and retired Maj Gen Carlos Garcia has raised an alleged irregularity in the way his colleagues reached the verdict.
Sources close to the court told Rappler that Associate Justice Oscar Herrera Jr confronted his fellow justices last week about how the 5 justices of the special division that tackled the plea bargain deal were chosen. On this basis, he is considering filing a complaint against them before the Supreme Court, the sources added.
Assoc Justice Oscar Herrera Jr. Image courtesy of www.ustcivillaw.com
On April 10, the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division sustained the validity of Garcia's controversial plea bargain, in exchange for the withdrawal of the plunder and anti-money laundering charges filed against him. In that ruling, the Sandiganbayan also junked with finality the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to set aside the plea bargain.
The 2011 deal allowed Garcia to plead to the lesser offenses of indirectly bribery and facilitating money-laundering. It led to the quick downfall of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who quit in May 2011 before the Senate began her impeachment trial. Previous attempts to remove her for allegedly failing in her duty as Ombudsman failed. (Read: Garcia: How the big fish got away)
Herrera was the lone dissenter in the division's decision. He argued that since the government through the OSG is questioning the deal, it should already be nullified. It was the government, after all, through the Ombudsman, that signed the deal with Garcia in the first place, he added.
He was outvoted. The justices who ruled in Garcia's favor were Associate Justices Samuel R. Martires, Teresita V. Diaz-Baldos, Roland B. Jurado and Alex L. Quiroz. They said the Ombudsman presented weak evidence against Garcia, and the deal at least ensured that government would get something from him. (Read Herrera's dissent below)
Martires, Diaz-Baldoz and Herrera are the regular members of the Second Division. However, when Herrera disagreed then with the division's initial decision backing the plea bargain deal, the court had to form a special division to hear the case. (Sandiganbayan rules state that in case the 3 regular members of a division fail to reach a unanimous decision, a division of 5 shall be constituted.)
Thus, Jurado and Quiroz were brought in to break the impasse.
Here's what happened though.
A judiciary source close to Herrera told Rappler that 5 days after the court issued its final ruling favoring Garcia, Herrera discovered that Jurado and Quiroz were only handpicked by Presiding Justice Villaruz to join the Special Second Division.
Herrera believes this violated the anti-graft-court's internal rule that such designation should have been made through a raffle, the source added. The Sandiganbayan's internal rules state that the Presiding Justice should designate by raffle the two other members of a special division of 5.
Heated en banc
In an April 15 en banc meeting, Herrera raised this point, questioning it as highly irregular, according to the source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source said a heated discussion between Herrera and another justice ensued, almost leading to a fistfight.
Quiroz confirmed in a phone interview that an April 15 en banc meeting was indeed held and that Herrera questioned the division's composition. But he stressed there was only a "polite" exchange of ideas on the matter.
In the en banc meeting, Villaruz explained that he decided to appoint Jurado and Quiroz to the division -- instead of holding a raffle -- since the two were already familiar with the case. Both Jurado and Quiroz were part of the five-man special division that initially deliberated on the bail petition of Garcia, also in the Second Division.
In that bail motion, retired Justice Edilberto Sandoval, who was then the presiding chair, and Quiroz, were outvoted by Diaz-Baldos, Martires and Jurado in the verdict to deny Garcia's temporary liberty. (With the retirement of Sandoval on June 20, 2011, Diaz-Baldos and Martires were joined by Herrera in the Second Division.)
Sought for comment, Presiding Justice Villaruz initially refused to talk about the en banc meeting, citing the sub judice rule. (The sub judice rule bars justices, judges and lawyers from discussing any case that is still under judicial consideration. However, the en banc incident in this case is not the subject of any judicial case or consideration).
Pressed further, Villaruz flatly said that there was a raffle -- in effect denying the information we received. Then he cut short the interview.
But Quiroz himself admitted that no raffle took place. He explained that he and Jurado were appointed by Villaruz because the latter was only following the tradition in the anti-graft court.
Quiroz was referring to a court practice of allowing the Presiding Justice to designate members of a special division. "I respect the view of Justice Herrera but there was a rationale in the action of the Presiding Justice," Quiroz said.
By appointing him and Jurado, Quiroz said Villaruz may have considered the sensitivity and the high-profile status of the case . "We are already familiar with the case. A new justice (chosen by raffle) who is not familiar with a case will have to vigorously study the case again and study all the voluminous documents," he said.
But new court rules no longer allow this tradition in the case of the creation of a special division of 5.
New rules in 2002
The raffle of cases in the Sandiganbayan is a fairly new practice in the court. Until 2002, it was the Presiding Justice who designated a justice on a rotation basis in case of a vacancy in a division. He also designates the members of the special division in case it is called for.
But in October 2002, the anti-graft court adopted its revised internal rules, which included the raffle system as among the procedures in filling up a vacancy or in the distribution, assignment and consolidation of cases, as well as in the appointment of the two justices that will comprise the Special Division of Five.
Rule VIII on the Rendition of Judgment and Final Order states that in case a unanimous vote is not obtained in the division level, "the Presiding Justice shall designate by raffle and on rotation basis two Justices from all the other members of the Sandiganbayan to sit temporarily with them, forming a Special Division of Five Justices…."
The raffle, according to a Sandiganbayan justice, is meant to temper the powers of the presiding justice and prevent him from unduly affecting the resolution of a case. It is also intended to devolve work among the justices. The raffle system is also observed in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
The source close to Herrera told Rappler that the justice was so frustrated with the turn of events that he considered retiring early. Herrera is President Benigno Aquino IIIs third appointee to the anti-graft court. His term expires in 2024 yet.
Herrera initially wanted to file an administrative complaint against his colleagues for supposed violation of the anti-graft court's internal rules, Rappler gathered. But he was advised instead by a colleague to report the matter to the High Tribunal for appropriate action.
Desite the plea bargain deal, Garcia is still in jail in Muntinlupa over his failure to declare to his military bosses that he was a US green card holder while serving the institution. - Rappler.com
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