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Accueil › Publications taguées Killed
Enigma of Yuri Gagarin's death on March 27 – 43 years ago
Posté le mars 27, 2011 de Recce
The cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – the 1st man to have travelled into outer space on his Vostok 1 spacecraft on April 12, 1961 – died on March 27 1968. However, the precise cause of the jet crash remains uncertain.
Colonel Gagarin and his instructor Vladimir Seryogin (as Gagarin, director of the Star City, had to obtain his fighter pilot rating again), flew a MiG-15 Midget that day, and they should not have kept the fuel tanks under their jet. As the spin turned into a deadly crash, it has been suggested since 1986 that the afterburner turbulence of a Sukhoi Su-11 Fishpot-C interceptor aircraft could have caused the MiG-15 to go out of control.
The MiG-15 had first been designed to intercept USAF nuclear-capable B-29s.
Some governmental documents were declassified in 2003. They revealed that in addition to the official investigations, the KGB tried to advance a new line of inquiry. Since then, it has been deemed that the accident could not be due to any conspiracy theory. Though little is certain about this mistery, you can click on the frame below to read further information:
What killed Yury Gagarin: Soviet report's findings
09:30 27/03/2011 On March 27, 1968, news of a terrible tragedy broke: Yury Gagarin, first man into space, had been killed in a plane crash. Although experts continue to debate what caused the crash, they all agree that Gagarin's death was quite bizarre.>>
Other news of the day
Publié dans Aviation, B-29, B1, Clouds, Flight SAFETY, FOD, HISTORY, MiG-15, Misc., NIVEAU 4 OACI / ICAO LEVEL 4 plus PLS 2 / SLP 2, Pilots, READ, RUSSIA, Russian AF, SPACE, Su-9 / Su-11
Tag 1st generation fighters, 2nd generation fighters, Aerospace, AIRCRAFT, AVIATION, B-29, Balloon, Bird strike, Bizarre, Call sign, Chkalovsky, Clouds, Collision, Conditions, Crash, Deadly, Death, Fagot, FIGHTER aircraft, Fishpot, FLIGHT SAFETY, Flock of birds, Fuel tanks, Gurevich, Hero, HISTORY, Inquiry, Instructor, INTERCEPTORS, Investigation, KGB, Killed, Kirzhach, Loops, Meteorology, Midget, MiG-15, MiG-15UTI, MiG15, Mikoyan, Military, Mistery, NEWS, Nosedive, Novosyolovo, PILOTS, PLS 2222, Poor, READ, RUSSIA, Russian, Russian AF, Sounding balloon, Soviet, SPACE, Specifications, Spin, Star City, Strange, Su-11, Su11, Sukhoi, Superfortress, Tailspin, Training flight, Turbulence, Type 29, Visibility, Vladimir Seryogin, Wake, Weather, Weather balloon, Yuri Gagarin, Ю́рий Гага́рин
Deadly blast at Moscow Domodedovo airport
Posté le janvier 24, 2011 de Recce
Russian capital on edge after airport blast kills 35 (WRAPUP 4)
23:25 24/01/2011 Police in Moscow and other Russian cities stepped up security on Monday evening after an attack at the capital's Domodedovo airport killed over 30 people and wounded scores earlier in the day.>>
Explosion at Moscow's Domodedovo airport
19:40 24/01/2011 Over 30 people were killed and at least 130 injured in a suicide bombing that ripped through Domodedovo Airport's international arrivals gate>>
Publié dans American, B2, LISTEN, NIVEAU 5 OACI / ICAO LEVEL 5 plus PLS 3 / SLP 3, Passengers, RUSSIA
Tag Airport, American, Attack, Blast, Bomb, Carousel, Caucasia, CAUCASUS, Ceiling, Consultant, Deadly, Death toll, Domodedovo, Explosion, Infographic, Killed, LISTEN, Moscow, NEWS, PASSENGERS, PLS 3333, RUSSIA, Russian, Suicide bomber, VIDEOS
Flight safety in question after guilty verdict in Concorde crash
On 6 December 2010, Continental Airlines was found criminally responsible for the disaster by a Parisian court and was fined € 200,000 and ordered to pay Air France € 1 million. Continental mechanic John Taylor was given a 15-month suspended sentence, while another airline operative and three French officials were cleared of all charges. The court ruled that the crash resulted from a piece of metal from a Continental jet that was left on the runway; the object punctured a tyre on the Concorde and then ruptured a fuel tank. Another Continental employee, Stanley Ford, was found not guilty. Continental's lawyer, Olivier Metzner, said it would appeal the verdict.
The court also ruled that Continental would have to pay 70% of any compensation claims. As Air France has paid out € 100 million to the families of the victims, Continental could be made to pay its share of that compensation payout. Source – Wikipedia
Publié dans American, C2, Concorde, DC-10 / MD-11, FCL .055, FOD, France, Germany, ICAO levels, Misc., NIVEAU 5 et 6 OACI / ICAO LEVEL 5 and 6 plus PLS 4 / SLP 4, Technicians, USA
Tag Air Disaster, Air France, Air LAW, Airport, American, Casualties, Charge, Charles de Gaulle, Compensation, Concorde, Continental Airlines, Convicted, Court, Crashes, Criminal, DC-10, Death toll, Debris, Discrepancy, Families, FCL .055, Fine, Fire, FLIGHT SAFETY, FOD, Foreign affairs, France, French, Fuel tanks, German, Gonesse, Guilty, ICAO LEVELS - Niveaux OACI, International, Jet, Judge, Judgement, Justice, Killed, Law, Legal, LISTEN, Maintenance, Manslaughter, McDonnell Douglas, Mechanic, Plane crash, PLS 4444, Prosecutor, Puncture, Responsibility, Rule, Rupture, Sentence, Tire, Titanium, Tyre, United States, Verdict, Victims, VIDEOS
Cartoons to promote peace
Posté le décembre 15, 2009 de Recce
Publié dans American, B1, Family, Interviews, Israel, LISTEN, NIVEAU 4 OACI / ICAO LEVEL 4 plus PLS 2 / SLP 2, NIVEAU 5 OACI / ICAO LEVEL 5 plus PLS 3 / SLP 3, Palestine, Peacekeeping, WOMEN
Tag American, Bullet, Cartoon, Child, Children, Confict, Drawing, Exhibition, Families, Family, Foreign affairs, Gaza, Killed, Killing, LISTEN, Middle East, Military, Mother, Negociation, Palestine, Palestinian, Peace, PLS 2222, PLS 3333, Pro, Religion, Religious, Sniper, Soldiers, VIDEOS, Water, West Bank
Kill Obama poll!
Posté le octobre 2, 2009 de
Publié dans ACCENTS, American, AMERICAS, B - Independent user, B1, B2, General English, Internet, LISTEN, Misc., NEWS, NIVEAU 5 OACI / ICAO LEVEL 5 plus PLS 3 / SLP 3, Sc. & Tech., TOEIC, USA
Tag American, Application, Arrested, Blog, Blogger, Content, Coward, Creator, Developer, Facebook, Filter, Health care, Idiotic, Inappropriate, Institutes, Internet, Investigation, Kick, Kill, Killed, LISTEN, Monitor, Obama, PLS 3333, Poll, President, Procedures, Program, Remove, Secret service, should be, Social networks, Stupid, Third party, Twitter, United States, User, VIDEOS, Web, Website


Explore games tagged cannon on itch.io · Upload your games to itch.io to have them show up here.
A two player versus balloon shoot each other up!
Launch Cannon Boy and fly away with this arcade game!
Two crewmen must defend themselves and their vessel against Sea Serpents, the infamous Kraken and Giant Rocks.
Fire the cannon at the right angle and power to get as far as you can!
Can You Orc It ?
Hit monuments with a fireball and melt the nasty snowmen.


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Millennial Conservative
Waking up the millennial generation to the real threat posed by the socialist democrat party!
Obama Quietly Passes myRA Bill Using Cuba Swap as Diversion
By Millennial Conservative on December 18, 2014 • ( 1 Comment )
While everyone sat around gawking at how great this president of ours is because he sanctioned the release of three Cubans jailed in the U.S. in return for Alan Gross, Obama quietly moved forward with one of his promises outlined in last January's State of the Union. In that address he spoke about the difficulty many have with regards to saving for their retirement, and as always devised a way in which the government can take over another industry because we the American people are just too stupid to know what's best for us.
The President said on January 28, 2014,
Let's do more to help Americans save for retirement. Today, most workers don't have a pension. A Social Security check often isn't enough on its own. And while the stock market has doubled over the last five years, that doesn't help folks who don't have 401(k)s. That's why … I will direct the Treasury to create a new way for working Americans to start their own retirement savings: myRA.
We have seen with the "affordable care act" appropriately named Obamacare that when the government takes over an industry it leads to failures on every level, a lack of accountability, and eventually becomes a bureaucratic mess. Remember when we heard "if you like your plan you can keep it?" or "if you like your doctor you can keep him or her?" Yeah, don't we all!! Fast forward to the present day and both of those statements have proven to be complete lies. So what makes anyone think that a government takeover of the retirement industry would in any way be helpful to the American people?
I'm sure everyone remembers the name Jonathan Gruber… You know the guy who was caught on video speaking about the stupidity of the American voter and how they must make laws like Obamacare so complex in their wording that we the dumb voters wouldn't know what we're looking at anyway. Well this moron has ties to the myRA bill as well.
https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/G790p0LcgbI&source=uds
According to the Agenda for Shared Prosperity,
"William Gale, Jonathan Gruber, and Peter Orszag of the Hamilton Project (Gale et al. 2006) have proposed that employers automatically enroll employees in individual accounts, choose appropriate investments, roll funds over when workers leave, and convert lump sums to annuities upon retirement—though workers can opt out of any of these default choices.
The authors also call for converting tax deductions into refundable tax credits. This is the most important but least discussed part of the proposal, probably because it benefits neither the financial industry nor well-off households.
The Hamilton Project plan, if adopted in its entirety, would increase retirement savings and make the system more equitable. But it retains many of the flaws of our current system: workers continue to bear the financial risk of defined-contribution plans and pay high fees to private money managers; participation is not mandatory; employers are not required to extend coverage or make contributions; and workers can continue to access funds for reasons other than retirement."
There you have it!! Jonathan Gruber is part of the gang that is pushing for employers to AUTOMATICALLY ENROLL employees in these individual accounts, choose appropriate investments, roll over funds, and so on. Then he goes on to explain that participation is not mandatory. So which is it? Is it mandatory or isn't it? This is more of the contrived language that Gruber was famous for in the Obamacare law. Their intention is to confuse the shit out of the American voter to the point at which they say screw it and try and believe that the government really does have our best interest in mind.
Along with the brainchild Johnathan Gruber, we also have another moron in the mix with regards to the myRA debacle. Her name is Teresa Ghilarducci who according to Wikipedia, is a labor economist and internationally-recognized expert in retirement security and is the Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Chair of Economic Policy Analysis and director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis in the Department of Economics at The New School's New School for Social Research.
U.S. New and WorldReport calls her a 401(k) foe and the Most Dangerous Woman in America. According to Ghilarducci the government would "spread the wealth" and ensure each and every American who is obligated to pay into the myRA account a return on their investment. So basically the government will invest your money for you in bonds and guarantee a return on that investment. But the only thing she's not telling you is that the government doesn't actually make any money itself. As a result who would invest your money for you?
When you go to an accountant or money manager to decide how to invest your money that individual has a vested interest in seeing that you receive a return on your investment. What is the vested interest for the government to ensure you receive a return on your investment? There is no vested interest because they have your money and if you do not see a return on that investment you have no choice but to live with the consequences. Additionally if the plan fails who will be left on the hook to pull it out of the doldrums, the tax payer. As with any other failed government program or policy, the liability inevitably falls on the American tax payer to provide an out for the federal government.
So while you sit there and watch this pathetic excuse of a president go on TV and make up yet another news headline to hide what is really going on behind the closed doors of the White House, you must keep in mind the famous words of Obama's buddy Rahm Emanual "Never let a crisis go to waste". This is the perfect analogy to everything this president does. Whether it be a true crisis, or made up news headline to draw public attention away from what is really going on, we must all remain cognizant and keep asking the question what is this president really up to?
-Young Conservative
@Steve0423
Facebook.com/WhyTheLeftIsntRight
#tcot #RedNationRising
Gitmo Detainees Released by Obama May be Linked to Pakistani School Shooting
Police Fatally Shoot ARMED Man in St Louis Suberb
carmelo215 says:
I think this is a travesty and american need to wake up or were headed to a Cuba or Russia or even China. When will people see the bigger goal of the SOP
Trump Offers Condolences After Death of Elijah Cummings
Red Flag Laws Are Unconstitutional!!
The Democrats Continued Reluctance to Condemn Antisemitism
The Crisis at Our Southern Border Is A National Emergency
Antisemitism Infiltrates The Democrat Party
Top tags: Donald Trump Parkland Florida

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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export { default as Files } from "./Files";
export * from "./css";

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (1619)
Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
Building career outcomes
English, English as an Additional Language, Literature or English & Literature Extension (Units 3&4, C)
OP 1-6 or ATAR 90+ Guarantee
If you receive an OP of 1-6 or ATAR of 90+ and meet subject prerequisites, you are guaranteed a place in this program.
AUSTRALIA'S TOP CHOICE FOR LAW
When you study law at Griffith, you'll join a law school who are to dedicated to social justice and learn from award-winning teachers and researchers who are challenging the status quo and creating new legal knowledge, models and processes. Griffith is also proud to be the highest ranked Australian University for law in the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities.
You'll learn through hands-on experiences from year one. You'll make connections between law and ethics, legal theory, Indigenous issues, and internationalisation. You'll also develop understandings of law and legal work through courses that cover areas such as crime, contracts, property and corporate law, torts and law theories.
Industry and expert connections
You'll have the opportunity to choose electives based on your interests, plus you may undertake clinical courses that emphasise practical legal skills, insights and experience. These range in subjects from social justice and refugee law to community lawyering and advanced family law.
Graduate outcomes
If you want to become a registered solicitor or barrister, the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) will set you on the right path. Your degree could also pave the way for work as a lawyer in a law firm, a policymaker or law reformer working in the government or community sector, or even as a human rights defender. You'll open up a world of non-legal careers too, including careers in journalism, politics or management.
Griffith law graduates are highly sought after in the industry and broader workforce. For a law degree that prepares you for a varied and challenging career, choose our Bachelor of Laws (Honours).
Tailor your timetable - Even if you study full-time on-campus, you may still be able to customise your degree to suit your needs. From a range of tutorial times to online access to lectures and other course material, we're here to help you fit study in with your work and life commitments.
The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) is offered full-time on-campus at the Gold Coast and Nathan campuses. You may choose to study courses at other campuses if or where the program structure allows.
As a full-time student you will generally attend 10-15 hours of scheduled classes per week throughout the trimester. Classes may be scheduled during the day and early evening throughout the week.
Some law electives are offered at the Gold Coast, Nathan or South Bank campuses. Some law electives are offered online and a few law electives are run in intensive mode including in Trimester 3. Intensive mode means that classes may be compacted over a week or over several weekends. Some law electives are 'clinics' which typically involve work off-campus.
The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) provides the opportunity for optional work-integrated learning through its variety of Clinic courses.
Key employment sectors*
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Public Administration and Safety
Potential job outcomes
Barrister
Policy adviser
Human rights lawyer
Political analyst
*Source: Australian Government Job Outlook.
To be eligible for admission as a solicitor, a person must complete an approved Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree (undertaken approved practical legal training via a practical legal training course or supervised traineeship at a law firm) and be able to satisfy the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board and the Supreme Court of their fitness to practise law.
Queensland Law Society
Canada: Griffith's law degree is accepted for entry into the legal profession in Canada's common law provinces, when accompanied by a Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. You must ensure you complete the five Canadian Law courses to help you prepare for the NCA exams while gaining credit towards your law degree.
Federation of Law Societies of Canada
Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak): Students from Sabah or Sarawak who have a Griffith law degree and wish to return to Sabah or Sarawak to practise law may do so providing they gain admission to practice in an Australian jurisdiction first and then fulfil additional requirements upon their return to Sabah or Sarawak.
Fiji: All Australian law degrees are recognised in Fiji. Graduates must also complete their Practical Legal Training to be admitted to practice law in Fiji.
Papua New Guinea (PNG): All Australian law degrees are recognised in PNG. Graduates that are not citizens of PNG must complete their Practical Legal Training, have three years' post admission experience, and complete three exams on PNG law to be admitted to practice law in PNG.
Brunei: All Australian law degrees are recognised in Brunei. Graduates must also complete their Practical Legal Training to be admitted to practice law in Brunei.
India: Griffith's law degree is recognised for the purposes of admission to legal practice in India.
Please note that different jurisdictions' admission rules and requirements are subject to change. You should carefully examine the relevant legal requirements which are usually available on each jurisdiction's relevant law or bar association's websites.
Program fees for the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (1619)
What year did you commence study? 2022 2021 2020


PETFLIGHT works with families who are relocating to other parts of the world from Toronto, Canada. We provide a personalized and professional service when you entrust your pet to us.
You are assured that our quote is fair, and good for the industry standard 30 days.
to ensure that it's all done correctly.
We now invite you to proceed through the rest of our web site, pressing every bar and button you can find!
Thousands of pets have flown with Petflight, and they continue to arrive at the proper worldwide destinations in good health.
With 100% success, we have done this since early spring of 1994, and we are told, the CFIA, the airlines, and our clients think well of us.
Even if you don't use our service, avoid surprises, and get your veterinarian to read your pets microchip now, check the number against their certificates, and confirm the rabies inoculation hasn't expired.


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La Associazione Internazionale Giardini Botanici Alpini (AIGBA) ( Asociación Internacional de Jardines Botánicos Alpinos) nace en el 1974 con el propósito de la tutela, la conservación y el estudio de la flora alpina internacional; reuniendo y representando los jardines alpinos y a sus responsables.

La asociación asume como su principal objetivo es facilitar a los jardines botánicos en su propósito, con especial atención a los jardines botánicos de los Alpes. El papel de coordinación, promoción e investigación, colabora con varios jardines botánicos y los jardines botánicos, con las instituciones públicas, privadas y universidades. La oficina central se encuentra en el "Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino" (Museo Regional de Ciencias Naturales de Turín) , mientras que la situación de seguridad está indicada por el "Istituto studi alpini internazionale" (Organismo Internacional de Estudios en Los Alpes).

Relación de socios del AIGBA

en Suiza

 Jardín Alpino de Schenige Platte, Schenige Platte, Berna (Suiza)
 Alpinum Schatzalp Davos, Davos (Suiza)
 Jardín Alpino La Linnea, Ginebra
 Jardín Alpino La Rambertia, Montreux
 Jardín Botánico de Saint-Triphon, Saint-Triphon, (Vaud)

en Slovenia

 Jardín Botánico Alpino Juliana, Ljubiana (Slovenia)

en Austria

 Alpengarten Villacher Alpe, Villach (Austria)

en Italia
 Giardino botanico Alpin Florealpe, Champex
 Giardino botanico Carsiana, Sgonico, Trieste
 Giardino botanico e arboreto del Parco nazionale d'Abruzzo, Pescasseroli (AQ)
 Giardino alpino Chanousia, al Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo, La Thuile (AO)
 Giardino alpino Castel Savoia, presso il Castel Savoia, a Gressoney-Saint-Jean (AO)
 Giardino Alpinia, Omegna (VB)
 Giardino alpino Saussurea, sopra Courmayeur (Pavillon du Mont Fréty, nel massiccio del Monte Bianco) (AO)
 Giardino alpino del Cansiglio Giangio Lorenzoni, Vittorio Veneto (TV)
 Giardino botanico Campo Imperatore L'Aquila
 Giardino botanico F. Caldart delle Alpi Orientali, Belluno
 Giardino botanico Caplez (Val Tidone) provincia di Piacenza
 Orto botanico Lorenzo Rota Bergamo
 Giardino botanico M. Tenore Lama dei Peligni (CH)
 Giardino botanico Nuova Gussonea, Catania
 Giardino botanico Pania di Corfino, Castelnuovo Garfagnana (LU)
 Giardino botanico Rea, Torino
 Giardino botanico alpino Bruno Peyronel, Torre Pellice (TO)
 Giardino botanico alpino "Esperia" Modena
 Jardín Botánico Alpino de Pietra Corva, Pavia
 Giardino botanico alpino San Marco, Vicenza
 Giardino botanico alpino Valderia, Valdieri (CN)
 Giardino botanico dei Frignoli, Aulla (MS)
 Giardino Bbotanico delle Alpi Apuane Pietro Pellegrini, Massa
 Giardino botanico montano di Oropa, Biella
 Giardino Bbotanico prealpino R. Tomaselli, Campo dei Fiori, Varese
 Giardino botanico di Valbonella Santa Sofia (FC)
 Gruppo ligure amatori orchidee, Génova
 Orto botanico di Padova, Padova
 Orto botanico forestale dell'Abetone, Abetone (PT)
 Giardino alpino Paradisia, in Valnontey (Cogne) (AO)
 Giardino botanico alpino Rezia Bormio (Sondrio)
 Giardino botanico alpino Le Viotte di Monte Bondone
 Giardino di flora appenninica, Capracotta (IS)
 Orto botanico del Monte Baldo, Ferrara di Monte Baldo (VR)

Notas

Enlaces externos
 Sito di Horti

Alpino

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Lessons From Another Needless Death
By Matt Kelly | October 16, 2019 | 0
America recently had yet another tragedy of a police officer shooting someone in her own home by mistake, in an incident fraught with questions about racism and overzealous policing. Compliance officers should study this case because it offers some important lessons about risk management.
You might already know the story by now. Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old black woman living in Fort Worth, Texas, was playing video games at home with her 8-year-old nephew in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 12. A neighbor called the non-emergency number of the Fort Worth police to report that the doors to Jefferson's home were open and the lights were on, and perhaps officers should do a welfare check.
Fort Worth PD dispatched two officers to the house to investigate what's known as an open structure call — and note the change in language from what the neighbor suggested; that's important. One of the officers who responded was patrolman Aaron Dean, 34 and white. Dean had been a police officer for only six months.
Dean and his colleague parked their patrol car down the street, flashing lights off. They scouted the perimeter of the house. They saw Jefferson's car, parked in her driveway. Dean came to Jefferson's bedroom window, where she and her nephew were playing inside.
As we can see from the bodycam footage Fort Worth police has since released, Dean shouted through the window, "Put your hands up! Show me your hands!" and then immediately fired one shot. Roughly two seconds elapsed from when Dean began shouting to when he fired his gun. The bullet struck Jefferson in the chest and killed her. Police later found that Jefferson had been holding a handgun, which she was properly licensed to own and carry. Her nephew said she picked up the gun when she heard noises outside the house.
That all happened at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday. Dean resigned the following Monday morning before police could interview him as part of an internal investigation. Fort Worth police chief Ed Kraus said he intended to fire Dean that day, but Dean quit first. Dean was charged on one count of murder that afternoon, and was released on $200,000 bail that evening.
Jefferson's shooting happened just days after former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who is white, was convicted of murder for shooting Botham Jean, who was black, in 2018. Jefferson was the sixth person shot and killed by Fort Worth police since June 1.
Failures in Communication
Above all, the Fort Worth police had a failure in communicating the risk. The neighbor, James Smith, called the non-emergency number for the police. He asked for a welfare check, which assumes the resident is home. Typically police will knock on the door, which by definition means the officers are making their presence known.
Yet Dean and his fellow officer were told to respond to an open structure call, and a police call sheet even shows the incident defined as "burglary." That is a categorically different type of issue, where police have much more discretion to park further away, creep onto the premises, not identify themselves, and approach with weapons drawn.
Consider all this at a more abstract level. The neighbor Smith reported the possibility of Situation A (welfare check), where officers normally follow one set of procedures to mitigate one type of risk. But the officers were told to watch for Situation B (open structure), which directs them to follow a different set of procedures to mitigate a different risk.
That's a failure of information and communication. Fort Worth police communicated the wrong issue to Dean and the other officers, so they followed the wrong set of procedures, because they were trying to mitigate a different risk. That's the mistake compliance officers want to avoid.
This isn't just fodder for a compliance post without any steps compliance officers could follow. The COSO Internal Control Framework devotes a whole section to information and communication. Principle 13 states: "The organization obtains or generates and uses relevant, quality information to support the functioning of internal control." That principle then includes a supporting point that's worth quoting in full:
Maintains quality throughout processing: information systems produce information that is timely, current, accurate, complete, accessible, protected, and verifiable and maintained. Information is reviewed to assess its relevance in supporting the internal control components.
Dean's information was not accurate. Because the information wasn't accurate, it couldn't support other internal control components like Dean's training and common sense (or the lack thereof, which we'll explore momentarily). The information system produced information that wasn't accurate. Period.
Failures in Control Environment
We could also consider how the Fort Worth police came up short in its control environment. The control environment is a somewhat hazy concept, but it includes the tone of executive leadership, the organization's culture and ethical values, and the commitment to developing competent employees who believe in those standards of ethics, integrity, and high performance.
Well, circle back to the statistic that Fort Worth police have shot and killed six people in four months. I don't know whether that number actually is high, but it certainly seems so to me. Fort Worth has a population of 895,000. In comparison, New York City is nearly 10 times larger (8.23 million), but has had only seven fatal police shootings all year. Boston, with 695,000 people, has had only two this year.
Moreover, the problem of white police officers shooting black persons for no valid reason has seared itself into public consciousness in recent years. All police departments in large, diverse cities should have been aware of this problem for quite some time. That's especially true in Fort Worth, which watched the Botham Jean tragedy unfold literally next door in Dallas.
Something was wrong in the control environment at the Fort Worth police, because the department was not responding to its environment quickly enough. It was not taking external events into account and translating them into changes in policy, procedure, tone at the top, or personnel.
That's a failure of senior leadership. Even if their hearts were in the right place, their execution of risk assessment and internal control adjustment wasn't.
Failures in the Person
None of this excuses Dean's conduct. On the contrary, it shows how one failure compounded other failures — all leading to tragic result.
I don't know whether Dean is racist. I suspect that like most people, he lapses into implicit bias from time to time, probably without even realizing it. Maybe he saw the figure of someone holding a gun, panicked at the thought of losing his own life, and fired. Maybe he saw the figure of a black person and panicked; where he would have paused for a few precious moments if he'd seen the figure of a white person.
Maybe this will all be determined in the investigations to follow. We should hope so, because Jefferson and her family deserve to know how this awful thing happened. Right now, however, we don't know.
I will simply say that at best, Dean was insufficiently trained for the immensely stressful job that he had. And because of that insufficient training, whatever lapses he had in his thinking — implicit bias or outright racism — became magnified, and increased the chance of him reacting the wrong way to whatever situation confronted him. Then came the bad information from police dispatch, putting Dean in the wrong frame of mind, so his risk assessment was almost destined to be wrong.
Atatiana Jefferson paid the price for those mistakes. We all owe it to her to draw as many lessons as we can from her death, a loss that never should have happened.
Posted in News and tagged corporate culture, risk management


These anecdotes are often heard around the classical music scene, and they hint at some of the improvisational languages within classical music traditions. It's well-documented that improvisation was an essential part of a classical musician's toolkit, through the 18th century. Yet somehow, today, the word "classicist" is sometimes used to describe someone who doesn't improvise.
The state of classical mandolin education today would probably reinforce that misperception. Both the German and Italian educational systems have highly-developed curricula for classical mandolin, but to my knowledge neither has yet devised a systematic approach to teaching improvisation through the classical idiom. The same is true in America: although a uniquely American strain of classical mandolin flourished briefly at the turn of the 20th century, no formalized educational approach has yet been devised to explore this music or its improvisational component. Perhaps as more of this music is recovered, we'll get a better view of the improvisational language of those early American mandolinists.
Notice the lack of ornamentation: the melody is relatively simple and unadorned. This follows the practice of the time, where ornamentations were implied rather than being written in. Notice also the repeat signs – it is unlikely that a simple, unadorned melody would have been played exactly as written once, let alone twice. Players might have worked out the ornamentation, or they might have improvised it – but since we know that Paganini became a great improviser, this short piece serves as a snapshot of his development.
Ornamentation, however, was not the only improvisational language of the day: in an upcoming blog post we'll look at a theme-and-variations approach to improvisation and composition. Later on we'll look at mandolin's potential to join the baroque continuo – the improvised accompaniment of baroque music, performed by what today we might call a "rhythm section." It's not as far-fetched as it sounds: we do have evidence that early fretted instruments participated in the continuo, and read figured bass, the "chord symbols" of the day. Learning to improvise accompaniments in baroque style on mandolin, mandola and mandocello is only a matter of mastering that language.
So how about it, improvising mandolinists? Let's get down to it! As we dig deeper into our instrumental traditions and extend them into the future, we'll find plenty of room for creative improvisation within classical mandolin.


Even with consent, this TCPA consent case got ugly fast.
When the Plaintiff filled out the necessary paperwork to adopt his furry little friend, he provided his phone number on several documents. Soon after, the Plaintiff got a prerecorded message reminding him that he had received a free 30-day gift of the Defendant's pet insurance services. In a class-action suit, he claimed a TCPA violation and moved for summary judgment. Note TCPA Compliance 101: providing your cellphone number on a contract typically means "consent." But that wasn't the case here.
According to the court, that did not happen here. As a result, the Court had to analyze the message to determine if it was an advertisement.
The court determined it was, in fact, an advertisement, referencing a few elements of the message as well as previous cases.
After all was said and done, the Plaintiff was awarded $6,000 for the trouble.
Be careful with mass communication that is not promotional in nature. Non-promotional communication, such as a holiday party invitation, is legal. However, if the business is actively selling memberships or services at the holiday party, there is the potential that it would be considered a promotional communication.
Maintain an internal do-not-call list and remove contacts from marketing communications within 30 days of a request to be removed. The penalty for violating a do-not-call list is up to $500 per violation under the TCPA. The junk fax, cell phone and prerecord call violation is $500 per violation. If a violation is found to be willful, the penalty can be up to $1,500. These fines can be stacked for multiple violations on a single communication, potentially resulting in thousands of dollars per communication.
Follow this topic closely so you can assure you remain in compliance.


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Home » Global spread of three multidrug-resistant lineages of Staphylococcus epidermidis
Global spread of three multidrug-resistant lineages of Staphylococcus epidermidis
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a conspicuous member of the human microbiome, widely present on healthy skin. Here we show that S. epidermidis has also evolved to become a formidable nosocomial pathogen. Using genomics, we reveal that three multidrug-resistant, hospital-adapted lineages of S. epidermidis (two ST2 and one ST23) have emerged in recent decades and spread globally. These lineages are resistant to rifampicin through acquisition of specific rpoB mutations that have become fixed in the populations. Analysis of isolates from 96 institutions in 24 countries identified dual D471E and I527M RpoB substitutions to be the most common cause of rifampicin resistance in S. epidermidis, accounting for 86.6% of mutations. Furthermore, we reveal that the D471E and I527M combination occurs almost exclusively in isolates from the ST2 and ST23 lineages. By breaching lineage-specific DNA methylation restriction modification barriers and then performing site-specific mutagenesis, we show that these rpoBmutations not only confer rifampicin resistance, but also reduce susceptibility to the last-line glycopeptide antibiotics, vancomycin and teicoplanin. Our study has uncovered the previously unrecognized international spread of a near pan-drug-resistant opportunistic pathogen, identifiable by a rifampicin-resistant phenotype. It is possible that hospital practices, such as antibiotic monotherapy utilizing rifampicin-impregnated medical devices, have driven the evolution of this organism, once trivialized as a contaminant, towards potentially incurable infections.
Source: Nature Microbiology
Effective Surveillance Healthy Patients


To increase the number, resilience and success of social entrepreneurs in Europe through the Evoneers' Journey; a process-based innovative pattern-language curriculum we are developing and testing in 8 EU countries. Through trainings, growing networks and an Evoneers' Journey app, entrepreneurs engage with peers all over Europe, share stories and challenges and hand-pick tools to support themselves and their enterprises while being connected through an online peer-to-peer mentoring program.
A crucial need of our time - how to make a living in a way that serves people, planet and local communities. How to build a strong and resilient European social economy? How to increase the success of social enterprises? How to foster meaningful youth employment while creating and sharing societal value? How to connect social entrepreneurs through co-creative, mutually supportive and efficient platforms? How to integrate, value and nourish disadvantaged communities in co-building a new Europe?
A growing transnational network of Social Innovators for Resilient Communities connecting across geographical and social divides for mutual support, learning and inspiration. A refined Evoneers' Journey, a training of facilitators and an app - all enabling a growing circle of grassroots entrepreneurs to access tools to flourish and support the development of a new economy based on the creation and distribution of the goods and services needed for a sustainable future for Europe and its citizens.
Develop an Evoneers' Journey training of facilitators enabling more people to gain new skills and join the Evoneers' network.
Create an Evoneers' Journey app providing a platform for information and playful co-creation, where Evoneers can share stories and projects, get feedback, earn points, crowdfund and add material to a growing library of resources and solutions for social entrepreneurs.
Nascent and established social entrepreneurs, especially young people, minority/refugee communities and other marginalized groups, who want to marry their passion and love for the world with sustainable means of making a living. We encourage, connect, empower and mentor innovative people from all walks of life producing positive change across Europe. The Evoneers' journey and trainings are already available in English, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish.
SIRCle is a highly functional unusual partnership between grassroots entrepreneurs and community builders, social enterprise educators, academic researchers, permaculturists and sustainability consultants from across Europe. Our curriculum is collaborative and open source, adaptable to different needs and based on a pattern-language growing organically as new solutions and pathways are created. Being process-based it empowers people to adapt and connect with the material in their own unique way.
Does our project bring you alive? Would you like to join in? What did we forget or not think about? Who do you think would most benefit from our idea/project? Do you want to partner up? Shall we cooperate/work together?


Elegant 30-meter superyacht ideal for a holiday by the Mediterranean sea.
ASTONDOA 102 GLX is a yacht with a modern and elegant design which offers high speed thanks to its two MTU 16 V of 2000Hp engines.
The space of this incredible yacht is very well used, as it gives the feeling of having more than 30 meters in length thanks to all equipment and areas. Inside it has 5 cabins with a capacity for 10 people and a large lounge. It also has an impressive flybridge with large sunbathing areas and dining.
The five cabins are equipped with TV, bathrooms and A/C. Three of them feature queen size beds while the other two have two single beds each. In addition, the yacht has 4 people service crew on board during your holiday by the waters of Ibiza and Formentera.
- Yacht insurance, mooring and base port suppliess.
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First, we had the FanFest. Now, we collectors can rejoice at the release of Topps' 2018 flagship Baseball card set.
As you certainly know, today marks the official release of Topps Series 1 Baseball, and I've got pics of all the Dodger base cards to share. I also have pics of the known short prints/variations. Check them out below. Go here for a complete checklist.
Of note, there are an extraordinary number of horizontal Dodger cards (9 of 17 cards). Also, both Walker Buehler and Alex Verdugo are included in this base set.
There is also a clear (likely acetate) parallel cards of 100 of the 350 cards in the base set. Only six Dodger cards are a part of this limited set. See that checklist below. They are numbered to only 10 copies each, and can be found in only regular hobby boxes.


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An Icelandic Constitutional Council (Stjórnlagaráð) for the purpose of reviewing the Constitution of the Republic was appointed by a resolution of Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, on 24 March 2011. Elections were held to create a Constitutional Assembly (Stjórnlagaþing) body, but given some electoral flaws, had been ruled null and void by the Supreme Court of Iceland on 25 January 2011, leading the parliament to place most of the winning candidates into a Constitutional Council with similar mission. The question of whether the text of the proposed constitution should form a base for a future constitution was put to a non-binding referendum, where it won the approval of 67% of voters. However, the government's term finished before the reform bill could be passed, and following governments have not acted upon it.

Background

The present Constitution of Iceland was adopted in 1944. Critics of the constitution allege that it 'was drawn up in haste with minimal adjustment of the 1874 constitution as part of Iceland's declaration of independence from Nazi-occupied Denmark'. Furthermore, critics alleged that 2008–11 Icelandic financial crisis exposed the weaknesses of this document, originally intended to be provisional. Following the Kitchenware Revolution, the 2009 Icelandic parliamentary election brought to power a coalition government of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement. This government undertook to create a new constitution, for the first time in Iceland's history reviewing broad areas of the constitution.

The 2009 and 2010 National Assemblies

In 2009, private individuals and civil society groups organised a National Assembly of 1500 people—1200 chosen at random from the national registry and 300 chosen as representatives of companies, institutions and other groups—to discuss the core values on which Icelandic governance should proceed.

The 2009 National Assembly was followed in November 2010 by a government-organised assembly of 950 randomly selected citizens. The citizens chosen randomly were representative of Iceland's gender, geographic, and age makeup. A Constitutional Committee appointed by the Parliament compiled a two-volume report on the opinions generated by the 2010 National Assembly and presented the main conclusions at a press conference following the assembly. It was stated that 97% of the participants thought the format of the meeting was good, 95% thought the meeting went well and 75% considered the execution of the meeting to be exemplary. About 93% of the participants believed that the results of the meeting would benefit the Constituent Assembly in its work on a new constitution. In addition, They reported that the values that the participants considered the most important to base the constitution on were: Equality, human rights, democracy, honesty, justice, respect, freedom and responsibility. The assembly also concluded that the new constitution 'ought to contain certain key provisions concerning, e.g., electoral reform and the ownership of natural resources, for a long time two of the most contentious political issues in Iceland'.

Appointing the Constitutional Assembly

Act on a Constitutional Assembly
The  government passed the Act on a Constitutional Assembly no. 90/2010, legislating a special Constitutional Assembly to revise the Icelandic Constitution of the Republic. The Assembly was to comprise 25 delegates elected by direct personal election. The Assembly had to convene by 15 February 2011 and finish its work no later than 15 April 2011. The revised constitution was to be voted on by the Althingi and then put to a referendum.

The remit was:

The Constitutional Assembly was also empowered to address additional matters beyond "reviewing the Constitution of the Republic".

Election

An election was held for the assembly on 27 November 2010 using STV-PR under the Weighted Inclusive Gregory Method. 522 people stood in the election, more than double the most optimistic estimates.

The voter turnout was 36%. 15 men and 10 women were elected, fulfilling the quota of 40% women required. The elected candidates were:

Election declared null and void by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Iceland ruled the election to the Constitutional Assembly null and void with a decision on 25 January 2011. Six Supreme Court Justices examined complaints about the election process. The Justices were: Garðar Gíslason, Árni Kolbeinsson, Gunnlaugur Claessen, Jón Steinar Gunnlaugsson, Páll Hreinsson and Viðar Már Matthíasson.

The Supreme Court of Iceland received complaints from Óðinn Sigþórsson, Skafti Harðarson and Þorgrímur S. Þorgrímsson. The complaints regarded various faults of the election process, according to the complainants. The Supreme Court of Iceland found five separate faults on the election process, thereof it considered two of them serious faults.
 The ballot papers had bar-codes printed in consecutive numerical order; this was considered a serious fault of the election process and deemed an infringement of laws mandating a secret ballot, which the Court considered "a fundamental provision of the Icelandic Constitution concerning public elections".
 Cardboard dividers had been used in place of election booths, in breach of Icelandic law requiring the use of closed booths for the electorate to cast their vote. The use of cardboard dividers was considered a fault of the election process, "the fact it was possible to glance a voter's ballot paper, which took some time to fill out if all options were exercised, is likely to restrict the right of the voter to exercise his vote freely if someone, whom he is dependent upon, could observe him or if the voter had reason to suspect that this could happen".
 The legal requirement that ballot papers should be folded, before being cast, was not followed. According to the Supreme Court, this rule was intended to "secure the right of the voter to cast his ballot in secret". A majority of the Supreme Court considered this a fault of the election process. Supreme Court Justices Garðar Gíslason and Viðar Már Matthíasson were of a different opinion in regards to this, and did not consider the process unlawful.
 According to the Supreme Court, the ballot boxes did not conform to Icelandic law, since it was not possible to secure them with a lock. Furthermore, the Supreme Court considered the ballot boxes "of a make so that it was possible without much effort to disassemble them and access ballot papers. The make and quality of the ballot boxes was thus conductive to reduce the security and secrecy of the election". This was considered a fault of the election process.
 According to the Supreme Court, the legislative Acts concerning elections mandated that the National Electoral Commission had to draft persons to observe the electoral process. The Supreme Court stated that since there had been doubt as to how to interpret 13–15% of the votes during the election, such observers had been of special importance to guard the rights of the candidates. The Supreme Court considered this a serious fault of the election process.

The Supreme Court referred to the fact that it was the role of the legislature to establish clear and unambiguous rules for the conduct of public elections which take into account the circumstances resulting from their special nature. It was however not lawful for the government to deviate from the clear provisions of the laws concerning elections, because of the number of candidates or because of new procedures thought suitable for electronic tallying of votes.

The Court further pointed to case law supporting its decision. There was precedent for declaring elections null and void when the election process was in breach of law and suited to violate election secrecy. For example, elections in Helgafellssveit regarding the unification of municipalities had been declared null and void because the ballot paper was of such a make that it was possible to see writing though it, even though it was folded. In its reasoning in that case the Supreme Court said:
 The ballot paper does thus not ensure, that the election is secret in accordance to Article 17 of Act no. 8/1986, which is among fundamental provisions in Icelandic law concerning public elections, pursuant to Article 87. and Article 91. of Act no. 80/1987 and Article 31. of the Icelandic Constitution. A fault in this regard is by its very nature conductive to influence the outcome of elections

Another precedent was the election to a Municipal Commission in Geithellnahreppur 25 June 1978, declared null and void because of faults in election secrecy. The ballot papers were of such a make that it was possible to see writing through them when folded. The Supreme Court stated:
 We concur with the District Court decision, that the ballot paper was not of the make that is prescribed by law in Article 50. of Act no. 52/1959, pursuant to Article 1. of Act no. 5/1962, pursuant to Article 1. of Act no. 5/1966 and the principal rule of Article 7., 2. para, of Act no. 5/1962, and does not ensure, that the elections are secret. The provisions of Article 15., 1. para., of Act no. 58/1961, which stipulates, that these elections should be secret, is certainly among the fundamental provisions in Icelandic law concerning public elections.

According to Þorvaldur Gylfason (the most popular candidate in the election) this was 'a bizarre technical complaint about the way the election to the constituent assembly had been conducted'.

After receiving their election certificate (kjörbréf) on 2 December 2010, the elected delegates were informed on 27 January 2011, that the election certificates had been revoked by the National Election Commission. The following day, all of the Commission members tendered their resignation citing the circumstances that had arisen and the harmony necessary for the commission to carry out its functions.

Non-legal opposition was more widespread, and not confined to the Independence Party. The Progressives, who had previously expressed strong support for a new constitution, changed course and joined the opposition to reform. Even within the new governing coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, there were pockets of passive resistance to change as well as among some academics apparently disappointed that they had not been asked to rewrite the constitution.

Parliament appoints the candidates

Parliament began the same day to deliberate whether and how to continue the process. It was decided on 25 February 2011 that the elected assembly members would be appointed by Parliament to a Constitutional Council with basically the same role. A resolution passed which appointed most of the delegates that had been elected. The Parliament voted thus:

All members of Parliament for the Independence Party were against this solution. Six of the seven who abstained were members of the governing coalition.

The assembly's proposals

The constitution draft was finished on 29 July 2011 and presented to parliament on the same day.

The proposals included most of the recommendations of the 2010 National Assembly and were supported unanimously by the Constitutional Assembly itself. Among the more important ones were:
  'one person, one vote' (in the existing system, a candidate 'requires much more votes to be elected as an MP in Reykjavik than in one of the more rural areas').
 a referendum on abolishing the state church (polls indicated 73% would vote in favour of separation of church and state);
 a number of changes to government, including not automatically making the biggest party's leader PM, introducing a ten-year limit for PM terms, and that a vote of no confidence should have to include a proposed replacement PM.
 obliging the state to provide internet access to all citizens;
 introducing a three-term limit for the President;
 allowing 15% of voters to put bills to parliament or call for a referendum on proposed laws;
 restricting government size to ten ministers, and barring ministers from being MPs at the same time; and
 declaring Iceland's natural resources public property.

According to Thorvaldur Gylfason,

 After delivering the bill to parliament, the constitutional council disbanded. The parliament took over, seeking further comments from local lawyers as well as, ultimately, from the Venice Commission. The parliament was encouraged to translate the bill into English so as to be able to solicit foreign expert opinion, but failed to respond. Instead, a translation was arranged and paid for by the Constitutional Society, a private nonprofit organization. This translation made it possible for world-renowned constitutional experts such as Prof. Jon Elster from Columbia University and Prof. Tom Ginsburg from the University of Chicago to express their helpful views of the bill.

Referendum

A non-binding constitutional referendum was held in Iceland on 20 October 2012. It had originally been scheduled to coincide with the presidential election of June 2012 but was delayed due to opposition from the Independence Party and Progressive Party.

Voters were asked whether they approved of six proposals included in the new draft constitution:

 Do you wish the Constitution Council's proposals to form the basis of a new draft Constitution?
 In the new Constitution, do you want natural resources that are not privately owned to be declared national property?
 Would you like to see provisions in the new Constitution on an established (national) church in Iceland?
 Would you like to see a provision in the new Constitution authorising the election of particular individuals to the Althingi more than is the case at present?
 Would you like to see a provision in the new Constitution giving equal weight to votes cast in all parts of the country?
 Would you like to see a provision in the new Constitution stating that a certain proportion of the electorate is able to demand that issues are put to a referendum?

All six questions were approved by voters, including Question 3 which had gone against the Assembly's proposal.

The stalling of the bill before the 2013 parliamentary election

The referendum provided a clear but non-binding guide from the Icelandic electorate to their politicians. To become law, it needed to pass as a motion in the Althingi.

Further deliberation included media commentary from a range of parties, much of it negative. However, Thorvaldur Gylfason notes that these parties had had an opportunity to air their views before the referendum and had not done so, suggesting that 'it seems that the dissenting academics hoped the bill would be rejected in the referendum and thought it unnecessary to discuss it'. The Venice Commission (an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law) also produced a report on the constitution, leading to some alterations.

The bill was now ready to receive a parliamentary vote, and was supported by a majority of MPs. However, partly through filibuster by the opposition, the bill did not come before parliament for a vote before recess was called prior to the 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election. This election was won by opponents to the new constitution, though the constitution was not a major part of their election platform. The bill appears to have been put on ice and its future is uncertain. The judgement of Thorvaldur Gylfason is:

 It is one thing not to hold a promised referendum on a parliamentary bill as was done in the Faroe Islands. It is quite another thing to disrespect the overwhelming result of a constitutional referendum by putting democracy on ice as is now being attempted in Iceland by putting a new constitution already accepted by the voters into the hands of a parliamentary committee chaired by a sworn enemy of constitutional reform as if no referendum had taken place. Parliament is playing with fire. It risks the demotion of Iceland from the club of full-fledged democracies.

More positively, he has elsewhere written that 'As always, however, there will be a new parliament after this one. One day, most probably, the constitutional bill approved by the people of Iceland in the 2012 referendum or a similar one will become the law of the land'.

Further reading
 Jón Ólafsson. "The Constituent Assembly: A study in failure."]
 Hélène Landemore, "Inclusive Constitution Making and Religious Rights: Lessons from the Icelandic Experiment." Journal of Politics, no. 79/3 (July 2017), p. 762-779,
 Hélène Landemore, "When public participation matters: The 2010–2013 Icelandic constitutional process." International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 179–205
 Þorvaldur Gylfason, "Iceland's Ongoing Constitutional Fight", Verfassungsblog, 29.11.2018
 Venice Commission, Opinion of 11.03.2013 on the Draft New Constitution of Iceland
 Ágúst Thór Árnason, Catherine Dupré (eds.). 2020. Icelandic Constitutional Reform: People, Processes, Politics. Routledge.
 KRIA The Icelandic Constitution Archives Collection of primary and secondary sources related to the 2011 constitutional reform.

References

External links
 Official website (English)

2010 in Iceland
Elections in Iceland
Constitutional conventions (political meeting)
Constituent assemblies
Constitution of Iceland
Reform in Iceland
2011 in Iceland
2012 in Iceland
2013 in Iceland
March 2011 events in Europe


text:
'GLOW': Shakira Barrera Taps In For Season 2
By Patrick Hipes
Patrick Hipes
More Stories By Patrick
Norah O'Donnell's 'CBS Evening News' Debut Steady In Viewers, Down In Demo
Lee Gumbs
Shakira Barrera has entered the ring for Netflix's GLOW, the 1980s-set female wrestling comedy that is now shooting its second season. She has joined the cast for the 10-episode Season 2 playing Yolanda aka Yo-Yo, a a Mexican American dancer/stripper and out-and-proud lesbian who joins the team.
In August, Netflix renewed the series created and executive produced by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, and executive produced by Orange Is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan and Tara Herrmann. The first season, set in 1985 Los Angeles, followed Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie), a struggling out-of-work actress who auditions for, trains and eventually makes TV's first women's wrestling show.
Barrera, whose credits include Hulu's East Los High and MTV's Faking It, is repped by Arc Artist Management and Daniel Hoff Agency.
Shakira Barrera


Patrick Sewell is the charismatic managing director of Hull-based Top 50 Indie Sewell on the go, the only UK forecourt operator to have secured a place in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list in the UK, placing it at number one in Yorkshire. It is part of a 140-year-old family business, the Sewell Group, and has strong roots in the community, which it continues to develop with its constant engagement with local charities and initiatives. It recently became one of the first members of the Safe Places scheme, which is designed to help people who feel lost, confused or frightened while they are out and about.
The company prides itself on its great customer service, and constantly evolving forecourt convenience operations. Its strategy is to maintain great partnerships across its network, such as BP, Costa and Subway.
The company has 13 sites and its constant pursuit of excellence has earned it both national and international acclaim, including winning the top accolade of Forecourt Trader of the Year Award in 2009 and 2016, among many awards presented across its network.
Patrick is a keen and active supporter of both the PRA and the ACS, of which he has been chairman since October 2016.


text:
Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil
Mariane A. Nickele*, Wilson Reis Filho, Susete do R.C. Penteado, Elisiane C. de Queiroz, Erich G. Schaitza, Marcio R. Pie
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (journal) › peer-review
Acromyrmex species primarily attack Pinus taeda plantations during the first months after planting, with more intense damage in the first 30 days. We evaluated potential damage by Acromyrmex crassispinus and Acromyrmex subterraneus in 30-day-old P. taeda plantations in southern Brazil by assessing the number of attacked plants and the distance reached by each colony, along with the losses in plant development resulting from different levels of defoliation. Both species were significant pests in newly established pine plantations. A single colony can attack a substantial number of seedlings (up to 453 seedlings). Colonies with larger nests attacked more plants and ranged farther; A. crassispinus reached 59 m and A. subterraneus 87 m. After 10 years, no significant losses in plant development were seen in seedlings defoliated less than 50% at 30 days after planting. But when defoliation of the young plants attained 75%, 100%, and 100%, including the cut of the apical meristem, volume losses reached 32%, 37%, and 43%, respectively. Leaf-cutting ant controls should be carried out in plantations of P. taeda within 30 days of planting to avoid attacks. When seedlings are defoliated more than 75%, they should be replanted to avoid future losses in final wood volume.
https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12400
Acromyrmex
leaf-cutting ants
Pinus taeda
10.1111/afe.12400
Dive into the research topics of 'Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Acromyrmex Agriculture & Biology 100%
ant Earth & Environmental Sciences 78%
Acromyrmex subterraneus Agriculture & Biology 61%
plantation Earth & Environmental Sciences 60%
Formicidae Agriculture & Biology 58%
Pinus taeda Agriculture & Biology 57%
Pinus Agriculture & Biology 56%
pine Earth & Environmental Sciences 56%
Nickele, M. A., Reis Filho, W., Penteado, S. D. R. C., de Queiroz, E. C., Schaitza, E. G., & Pie, M. R. (2021). Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 23(1), 32-40. https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12400
Nickele, Mariane A. ; Reis Filho, Wilson ; Penteado, Susete do R.C. et al. / Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil. In: Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 2021 ; Vol. 23, No. 1. pp. 32-40.
@article{e6516e9440b248658de87584e34b51c7,
title = "Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil",
abstract = "Acromyrmex species primarily attack Pinus taeda plantations during the first months after planting, with more intense damage in the first 30 days. We evaluated potential damage by Acromyrmex crassispinus and Acromyrmex subterraneus in 30-day-old P. taeda plantations in southern Brazil by assessing the number of attacked plants and the distance reached by each colony, along with the losses in plant development resulting from different levels of defoliation. Both species were significant pests in newly established pine plantations. A single colony can attack a substantial number of seedlings (up to 453 seedlings). Colonies with larger nests attacked more plants and ranged farther; A. crassispinus reached 59 m and A. subterraneus 87 m. After 10 years, no significant losses in plant development were seen in seedlings defoliated less than 50% at 30 days after planting. But when defoliation of the young plants attained 75%, 100%, and 100%, including the cut of the apical meristem, volume losses reached 32%, 37%, and 43%, respectively. Leaf-cutting ant controls should be carried out in plantations of P. taeda within 30 days of planting to avoid attacks. When seedlings are defoliated more than 75%, they should be replanted to avoid future losses in final wood volume.",
keywords = "Acromyrmex, forest pests, leaf-cutting ants, Pinus taeda",
author = "Nickele, {Mariane A.} and {Reis Filho}, Wilson and Penteado, {Susete do R.C.} and {de Queiroz}, {Elisiane C.} and Schaitza, {Erich G.} and Pie, {Marcio R.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank the Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) and Funda??o Arauc?ria for the scholarship awarded to Mariane Aparecida Nickele, and Fundo Nacional de Controle de Pragas Florestais (FUNCEMA) for financial support. We also thank Arauco Forest Brasil and WestRock for granting the study area. Funding Information: We thank the Coordena{\c c}{\~a}o de Aperfei{\c c}oamento de Pessoal de N{\'i}vel Superior (CAPES) and Funda{\c c}{\~a}o Arauc{\'a}ria for the scholarship awarded to Mariane Aparecida Nickele, and Fundo Nacional de Controle de Pragas Florestais (FUNCEMA) for financial support. We also thank Arauco Forest Brasil and WestRock for granting the study area. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Royal Entomological Society",
doi = "10.1111/afe.12400",
journal = "Agricultural and Forest Entomology",
Nickele, MA, Reis Filho, W, Penteado, SDRC, de Queiroz, EC, Schaitza, EG & Pie, MR 2021, 'Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil', Agricultural and Forest Entomology, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 32-40. https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12400
Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil. / Nickele, Mariane A.; Reis Filho, Wilson; Penteado, Susete do R.C. et al.
In: Agricultural and Forest Entomology, Vol. 23, No. 1, 11.01.2021, p. 32-40.
T1 - Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil
AU - Nickele, Mariane A.
AU - Reis Filho, Wilson
AU - Penteado, Susete do R.C.
AU - de Queiroz, Elisiane C.
AU - Schaitza, Erich G.
AU - Pie, Marcio R.
N1 - Funding Information: We thank the Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) and Funda??o Arauc?ria for the scholarship awarded to Mariane Aparecida Nickele, and Fundo Nacional de Controle de Pragas Florestais (FUNCEMA) for financial support. We also thank Arauco Forest Brasil and WestRock for granting the study area. Funding Information: We thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação Araucária for the scholarship awarded to Mariane Aparecida Nickele, and Fundo Nacional de Controle de Pragas Florestais (FUNCEMA) for financial support. We also thank Arauco Forest Brasil and WestRock for granting the study area. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Royal Entomological Society
N2 - Acromyrmex species primarily attack Pinus taeda plantations during the first months after planting, with more intense damage in the first 30 days. We evaluated potential damage by Acromyrmex crassispinus and Acromyrmex subterraneus in 30-day-old P. taeda plantations in southern Brazil by assessing the number of attacked plants and the distance reached by each colony, along with the losses in plant development resulting from different levels of defoliation. Both species were significant pests in newly established pine plantations. A single colony can attack a substantial number of seedlings (up to 453 seedlings). Colonies with larger nests attacked more plants and ranged farther; A. crassispinus reached 59 m and A. subterraneus 87 m. After 10 years, no significant losses in plant development were seen in seedlings defoliated less than 50% at 30 days after planting. But when defoliation of the young plants attained 75%, 100%, and 100%, including the cut of the apical meristem, volume losses reached 32%, 37%, and 43%, respectively. Leaf-cutting ant controls should be carried out in plantations of P. taeda within 30 days of planting to avoid attacks. When seedlings are defoliated more than 75%, they should be replanted to avoid future losses in final wood volume.
AB - Acromyrmex species primarily attack Pinus taeda plantations during the first months after planting, with more intense damage in the first 30 days. We evaluated potential damage by Acromyrmex crassispinus and Acromyrmex subterraneus in 30-day-old P. taeda plantations in southern Brazil by assessing the number of attacked plants and the distance reached by each colony, along with the losses in plant development resulting from different levels of defoliation. Both species were significant pests in newly established pine plantations. A single colony can attack a substantial number of seedlings (up to 453 seedlings). Colonies with larger nests attacked more plants and ranged farther; A. crassispinus reached 59 m and A. subterraneus 87 m. After 10 years, no significant losses in plant development were seen in seedlings defoliated less than 50% at 30 days after planting. But when defoliation of the young plants attained 75%, 100%, and 100%, including the cut of the apical meristem, volume losses reached 32%, 37%, and 43%, respectively. Leaf-cutting ant controls should be carried out in plantations of P. taeda within 30 days of planting to avoid attacks. When seedlings are defoliated more than 75%, they should be replanted to avoid future losses in final wood volume.
KW - Acromyrmex
KW - forest pests
KW - leaf-cutting ants
KW - Pinus taeda
U2 - 10.1111/afe.12400
DO - 10.1111/afe.12400
M3 - Article (journal)
JO - Agricultural and Forest Entomology
JF - Agricultural and Forest Entomology
Nickele MA, Reis Filho W, Penteado SDRC, de Queiroz EC, Schaitza EG, Pie MR. Potential damage by Acromyrmex ant species in pine plantations in southern Brazil. Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 2021 Jan 11;23(1):32-40. Epub 2020 Aug 8. doi: 10.1111/afe.12400


The average pay for an Electrical Design Engineer is €68,909 a year and €33 an hour in Finland. The average salary range for an Electrical Design Engineer is between €48,074 and €85,442. On average, a Bachelor's Degree is the highest level of education for an Electrical Design Engineer. This compensation analysis is based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in Finland.
Designs, develops and standardizes electrical solutions through the selection and integration of electrical components, such as digital circuits and analog boards.
Maintains and enhances electrical designs to improve manufacturability, reduce costs, and improve product quality and performance.


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Berea College Country Dancers
Berea College Country Dancers: Home
Written by: Sona Apbasova, '15
Berea College Country Dancers is a college dance group that has been active, though not formally recognized, since approximately the early 1920s. The group gained a firm foundation in the 1930s, during the presidency of William J. Hutchins, when the idea of having an official college dance group came up. At that time, Berea College had a ban on social dancing, because it had been long considered as a social immorality, but this changed when the students and faculty members demanded that the ban be lifted.
As current director of Berea College Country Dancers Dr. Deborah Thompson stated, the demand for the ban on social dancing had started during the progressive recreation movement, when certain people felt that society needed improvement through public education, transportation, hospitals, and playgrounds. President Hutchins decided to make some changes after he saw a performance by the John C. Campbell Folk School folk group in North Carolina. He came up with the idea that Berea College could have a "folk games" club, which he considered a "wholesome alternative to contemporary social dancing." Thus, in 1932, he sent the chair of the Berea College's physical education department, Dr. Oscar Gunkler, to the John C. Campbell Folk School to acquire knowledge on traditional folk dances. Upon his return, Dr. Gunkler founded a Folk Club, which soon became a popular college organization on campus. In addition to dances and performances, the Folk Club performed during the half time of Mountaineer basketball games.
In its early years, the Folk Club did not travel and perform outside of Berea College. In fact, the club participants were advised not to call the club a dancing club, but rather to refer to it as a recreational activity of folk games. However, everything changed in 1938, when a faculty member from the Sociology department - Frank Age Smith - got the permission of the college to organize a group of dancers who would perform outside of Berea and represent Berea College at the Mountain Folk Festival. As the director of the Country Dancers, Smith envisioned it as a group doing recreational and healthy dancing. Thus, initially the dance group was called Berea College Recreation Extension Service. The Recreation Extension Service aimed at increasing "the appreciation of Appalachian cultural heritage through participation in recreational activities based on traditional folk material." Due to his English descent and studies in Denmark, Frank Smith was interested in English and Danish folk dancing traditions as well. Therefore, upon acquiring more knowledge on native Appalachian, English and Danish traditional dances, Smith aimed to create an opportunity for Berea College students to learn all of those folk dancing traditions in one group.
Berea College hosted its first Mountain Folk Festival in spring of 1935 and by 1938, the College became a permanent location for this celebration. During the winter of 1938, the College also hosted the first Christmas Country Dance School, which continues to take place even now during every winter break. By 1940, Frank Smith received the permission from the College Cabinet for the Folk Club to become a formal organization and be called "Country Dancers." During the war years, the group included not only Berea College students, but also the Navy V-12 men. Over the years, the mission and goals of the Country Dancers gradually changed or adapted new principles, becoming more of a social and competitive dance group
In 1958, Ethel Capps succeeded Frank Smith as the next director of the Country Dancers group. Before 1958, the Country Dancers did not have a leader for an entire year, due to Frank Smith's retirement in 1957. Yet, under Capps' supervision from 1958 to 1974 the Country Dancers transformed into world travelers. In 1962, they traveled to Latin America for their first foreign tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department. The following year, the group performed for President John F. Kennedy in Washington D.C. In all, during Capp's administration, the Country Dancer's became known not only throughout the Appalachian region, but also throughout the world.
In 1974, the Country Dancers welcomed Dr. John Ramsay – a Berea alum as their new director. Apart from his leadership in the Country Dancers, Ramsay founded and led Morris, Contra, and an Oh Contraire group, participated in leading the community-wide Adult Folk Dancing for Teachers and Leaders and Berea citizenry, and further strengthened the Danish American Exchange program. He was also the leader of the Berea College Recreation Extension Service, which was terminated upon his retirement and added into the Physical Education Department. Dr. John Ramsay had combination of values, such as teaching, traveling and performing, especially through exchanges with Denmark. For his sabbatical year of 1981-82, he traveled to Denmark "to explore the philosophy and structure of the Danish Folk School ideas." In the fall of 1984, the alumni of the Country Dancers traveled to South Korea with sponsorship by the CIOFF (the International Council of Organizations of Folkloric Festivals) and UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Dr. Ramsay also organized various international dance tours to folk schools and festivals in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, China, Denmark, El Salvador, England, Germany, Luxembourg, Scotland and Sweden throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Under the leadership of Dr. Susan Spalding, Country Dancing was offered as an academic or credit-earning course at the Seabury Center Dance Studio for all students of Berea College, due to the liberal arts program of the college. Dr. Spalding's goal for the Country Dancers and Physical Education Department was to "enhance and extend the dance programs for cooperative activity." During her administration, the Country Dancers was the only official dance group on campus. Yet, soon more dance groups were created as extracurricular activities and as credit courses. The Country Dancers was now lead not only by Dr. Spalding, but also by assistant coaches on Men's and Women's Morris Dances and a Danish American Exchange Representative. Dr. Spalding, like previous leaders of the group, organized various international tours to Denmark, England and even a KIIS (Kentucky Institute for International Studies) based tour to Mexico. Dr. Spalding retired in 2010.
Nowadays, Dr. Deborah Thompson leads the Country Dancers. She is also responsible for the Christmas Country Dance School and Mountain Folk festival. The Country Dancers now gives dancing shoes, a costume bag, a T-shirt and a jacket with a Country Dancers' logo to every student dancer of the group. The group even has its own costumer, who is also a Berea student. Every fall semester, the Country Dancers offer a convocation concert, called Berea Dances, at the Seabury Center, which attracts many new participants.
In 1980, some pictures of Country Dancers were featured in a display created at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Those pictures were mainly from their performance at the White House during Kennedy's administration. Moreover, it had a Country Dancer's costume as an artifact. The Country Dancers were featured in a display section on the former president's personal interests, family life and the atmosphere of the White House during his administration.
In 1986, the Country Dancers, already a 48-year-old student organization, accepted a record number of 42 new members. The director of the group, Dr. John Ramsay, stated that due to the number of students at tryouts he had to 'schedule an additional session to get names and faces together.'
In 1998, during a tour to Denmark, the Country Dancers performed at the Danish royal wedding, which was aired on national television.
Berea College Alumnus. 57:3 Nov-Dec 1986, p.14
The Berea Alumnus, 56:2 Sept. 1985, p 17.
The Berea Alumnus, 50:4 Jan-Feb. 1980, p 20.
Berea College Country Dancers 75th Anniversary 1938-2013 People, Places and States: A History and Time Line. by McIntosh (Ambrose), Peggy L. and Robert Boyce.
Call Number: 793.31 B789b 2013
Publication Date: Berea College Press: Berea, KY, 2013.
Country Dancers in the Digital Archives
Campus Organizations
URL: https://libraryguides.berea.edu/bereacollegecountrydancers
Subjects: Campus Organizations
Tags: appalachian region, dance, extracurricular, sona apbasova


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Season 30 Episode 17 | 1h 23m 4s
Motherland is an absorbingly intimate, vérité look at the busiest maternity hospital in the world, in one of the poorest and most populous countries: the Philippines. Women share their stories with other mothers, their families, doctors and social workers. In a hospital that is literally bursting with life, we witness the miracle/wonder of the human condition.
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Bertha Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, with special support from The Fledgling Fund.
Season 32 Season 31 Season 30 Season 29 Season 28 Season 26 Season 22 Season 17 Season 7 Season 4 Season 2
Parents of a boy on the autism spectrum form a competitive swim team
S30 Ep15 | 1h 22m 51s
StoryCorps Shorts: Driven
Wendell Scott's son remembers his father's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame
S30 Ep7 | 2m 48s
A day in the life of a Greek Coast Guard captain attempting to save thousands of migrants.
Motherland: Family Planning Continued
A nurse tries to convince a resistant teen mother to get an IUD.
Motherland: Trailer
A look at the busiest maternity hospital in the world.
What's it like at the busiest maternity ward in the world?
Filmmaker Ramona Diaz explains what makes Fabella Hospital unique.
Motherland: Unemployed Husbands
As Lea talks with another mother about how her husband doesn't have the 35 cents for ...
Motherland: Fabella Memorial Hospital
The clip provides an initial feel of hospital conditions and introduces Lea.
Motherland: Family Planning
We see a counselor discussing birth control options with a couple of different mothers.
How does an underfunded hospital care for premature babies?
Filmmaker Ramona Diaz on how Kangaroo Mother Care is used in a Filipino maternity ward.
Why is family planning important in the Philippines?
Filmmaker Ramona Diaz discusses the challenges of family planning education.
Motherland: Lerma
As a counterpoint to Lea's story, we meet Lerma, who has had seven children and who has ..
Motherland: Dads
Visiting fathers hold their babies against their bodies, a method for keeping the ...
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Call Her Ganda
Activists pursue justice for a Filipina transgender woman murdered by a U.S. Marine.
S32 Ep3 | 1h 23m 1s
Bill Nye: Science Guy
Bill Nye is on a mission to stop the spread of anti-scientific thinking.
Still Tomorrow
A rural poet becomes a sudden star in China, whose writings ponder life, love and pain.
Survivors presents an intimate portrait of Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak.
Bisbee '17
A town commemorates the 100th anniversary of the deportation of 1,200 immigrant miners.
Roll Red Roll
Roll Red Roll exposes the culture at the root of high school sexual assault in America.
The Gospel of Eureka
A town of Christians and drag queens step into the spotlight to dismantle stereotypes.
Web Junkie
Inside an internet addiction rehab center in Beijing.
Lost Boys of Sudan
Lost Boys of Sudan follows two young Dinka refugees through their first year in America.
S17 Ep12 | 1h 23m
The End of the Nightstick
This startling expose unravels a history of abuse of suspects by the Chicago police.
Only the Young
Three teens in a California town wrestle with questions of love, friendship and the future
S26 Ep4 | 1h 10m
The Workers Cup
In Qatar, migrant workers for the 2022 World Cup compete in their own soccer tournament.
Season 32 highlights women's stories
POV's 32nd season begins with director Nancy Schwartzman's Roll Red Roll on June 17 at 10 p.m. on PBS stations, PBS apps, as well as pov.org and amdoc.org. The season will continue with broadcast premieres airing into October, with pop-out episodes in early 2020.
Watch trailerWatch trailer


Over 650 organisations have registered this year for the 12th edition of the annual Accenture innovation programme regarding the most innovative Dutch products, services and concepts. In the category 'Security' HSD Partners Biocryptology and Cybersprint are nominated in the top 25.
The nominees had to pitch their innovations in front of 108 jury members, including Jaya Baloo (Chief Information Security Officer at KPN) and Annemarie Zielstra (Director Cyber Security & Resilience at TNO). With the Innovation Awards, Accenture aims to give businesses and organisations credit and exposure. The winners will also receive legal, strategic or marketing advice provided by Accenture and partners.
The nominees continue their jouney to the Summer Nights on 4 and 6 September. During these events, the jury of each theme will gather in special locations around the Netherlands to pick the Top 10 contestants per theme. The final winners will be announced during the Accenture Innovation Summit on 2 November 2018.
Read more about the themes and innovations.


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Lockheed backs optical interconnects with Ayar Labs investment
11 Mar Lockheed backs optical interconnects with Ayar Labs investment
Strategic funding intended to help accelerate commercialization of new high-speed photonic links.
Ayar Labs, a Silicon Valley startup with the stated aim of "enabling the next phase of Moore's law through optical connectivity", says it has received strategic investment from the venture wing of the giant US military contractor Lockheed Martin.
Without disclosing the precise amount invested, Ayar said that the additional money will be used to accelerate the commercialization of its patented monolithic in-package optical I/O (MIPO) technology.
Aimed at applications demanding high bandwidth, low latency and power-efficient short reach interconnects, the target markets include artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and digital beam-forming for radar.
DARPA project spin-out
News of the Lockheed support comes after earlier investments by Intel Capital and the chip manufacturer Global Foundries. Ayar also lists Founders Fund and Playground Capital as investors, while last April it secured a $3 million term loan from Silicon Valley Bank.
Set up in 2015, Ayar emerged from a decade-long collaboration between researchers at MIT, UC Berkeley, and Colorado University in Boulder, with funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) via its "POEM" development effort.
Short for "photonically optimized embedded microprocessors", its aim was to demonstrate photonic technologies that could be integrated within embedded microprocessors to provide seamless, energy-efficient, high-capacity communications within and between microprocessors and DRAM memory chips.
The abstract for the DARPA program stated: "It is envisioned that POEM technology will be especially useful to military platforms where extreme performance coupled with low size, weight, and power is a necessity (e.g. UAVs, and satellites)."
Via that program, what became Ayar Labs created technology that is said to overcome power/performance scaling challenges of semiconductors, as well as the interconnect bandwidth bottleneck between devices.
Vertical grating couplers
The company has previously described efforts to commercialize its "TeraPHY" optical I/O chiplets and "SuperNova" multi-wavelength lasers. A technical presentation from last August described the silicon photonics technology that forms the basis of Ayar's approach, combined with evanescent coupling between adjacent waveguides.
TeraPHY also uses vertical grating couplers to get light on and off the chip, and couple it into optical fiber, and micro-ring modulators and detectors to convert data to and from the electrical and optical domains.
According to the same presentation, the compact size of those micro-ring devices, which are monolithically integrated with CMOS transistors, leads to large bandwidth density and high energy efficiency – with clocking, drivers, transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs), and control circuitry all integrated on same chip as the optical devices.
Back in 2015, the POEM development team reported in the journal Nature that they had built an electronic-photonic system on a single chip that integrated more than 70 million transistors and 850 photonic components to provide logic, memory, and interconnect functions.
Since then, the company has used that base technology in a number of engineering demonstrations, delivering a bandwidth density of more than 500 Gb/s per square millimeter of chiplet area.
It means that each TeraPHY chiplet – measuring less than 10 mm by 6 mm – can support ten tiny transceiver elements that couple directly to an optical fiber array, something that the company believes will offer a 1000-fold improvement in interconnect bandwidth density, alongside an order-of-magnitude reduction in power consumption.
The approach also supports the use of in-package optics, which Ayar says will "fundamentally break the traditional bandwidth-distance trade-off and support new high-performance computer architectures".
Moving to market
Late last year the company indicated its move towards production scaling when it hired former Xilinx and Rambus senior engineer Ken Chang as its new senior VP of engineering. CEO Charles Wuischpard said at the time:
"Ken has decades of experience in bringing high speed I/O products to market as well as leading and growing world class engineering organizations. He joins Ayar Labs at a seminal moment as the industry prepares to transition to in-package optical I/O to meet growing workload demands and maintain Moore's law scaling."
Commenting on the new Lockheed support, Wuischpard added: "Working with key system integrators like Lockheed Martin, who really understand the value of our solution and how to design it into future complex systems, is incredibly important. In that sense, we view this relationship as more than funding alone, but as an important long-term working relationship as well."
Chris Moran, executive director and general manager at Lockheed Martin Ventures, said: "We are very excited to add Ayar Labs to our investment portfolio and look forward to working with them and gaining access to their in-package optical interconnect that could provide business and technical value across our business units."
Having publicly unveiled the TeraPHY chiplet technology at last year's Supercomputing 2019 conference, Ayar says it is now working with select semiconductor manufacturers, OEM systems builders, and end users on sampling and co-design partnerships this year.
The technology is also being used in DARPA's "Photonics in Package for Extreme Scalability" (PIPES) development project. Co-packaged with Intel's electronics, the chiplets are being made by Global Foundries.


[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter I initially reached out to the folks at Pearson and Penguin for comment on their recent acquisition of Author Solutions, I received a very short non-response from Erica Glass, the Media Relations Manager at Penguin Group USA.
"What questions are you looking to have answered?" she wrote.
It's not the open and welcoming reply you hope to get from a company's media relations department. Clearly, I am being screened. Otherwise it would have been, "Let me put you in touch with…" or "Sure, what can we tell you?" Even if they needed time to prepare statements, I'd expect something along the lines of, "We are working to get you answers to your questions and will be in touch." However, so far it's been total silence on their part.
Public reaction to the sale has been mixed. Some who watch the publishing industry closely are confused, wondering why any company with a decent reputation would willingly take on Author Solutions. Some are excited, hoping the purchase will give self-publishing* the legitimacy it lacks. Others are taking the news like they've just received word their grandmother willingly contracted an STD.
To me, the most disturbing part of this story isn't that Pearson and Penguin would chance marring their reputations by taking on Author Solutions; it's their insistence that nothing will change. It's like they believe the world will find the same ol', same ol' reassuring rather than appalling. That somehow keeping Kevin Weiss as CEO and giving him a seat on Penguin Group's board will make us all sigh in relief. "Neither company will be laying off employees or executives," writes Jeremy Greenfield, reporting for Digital Book World.
There are other things that bother me. In the official press release, the company states: "[Author Solutions] has approximately 1,600 employees, located primarily in Bloomington, Indiana and Cebu City, the Philippines." Most people will read that and conclude that the majority of Author Solutions employees work in Bloomington, Indiana because it's given first billing and comes immediately after the word "primarily." Not so.
PR people are good at penning fuzzy sentences that are technically true when a linguist parses them, but ultimately deceptive when the public reads them. As an employee has already explained, there are now approximately 1,200 employees in the Philippines, comprising as much as two-thirds of Author Solutions' entire workforce. Call Author Solutions or Penguin out on this fact, and they're likely to show you their palms and shrug. But we said the majority were in Bloomington AND Cebu, you know—collectively.
So, yeah, there are definitely some questions I want Penguin to answer.
*You can put lipstick on a penguin… Author Solutions (and now Penguin) have established themselves as being the leader in "self-publishing." As media reports of the sale have made their way around the internet, it's clear to see reporters are buying this too. Author Solutions imprints are vanity presses.
**Not at all unusual for a corporation, but let's not pretend they've been devoted to creating Hoosier jobs. It's always about the money they don't have to pay.
This does seem to be a confusing move on Pearson's part.
I can't go back and look at the pub date of your post cuz I've been on too long and it's making me feel weird. That post you did the search on made me feel disoriented. Perhaps they did it with that dragon speech rec. software? I have put out no money but for two Getty images and $17 to put a short short in a contest, so I feel any $ I made is gravy. My reviews are all over the map so I classify them as opinion. But now I feel sad, like I have found myself in bad company.
the money they don't have to pay…. misspelling name on royalty checks, returning them to indiana office and then you hear no more about royalties…. stonewalling. i know they own the digital file and i own the copy rights. what i can do is translate my novels in another language and sell to a foreign publisher — copyrights are mine forever.
Sylvia Lapp never would have suspected that when the stranger asked her for directions her entire life was about to change. But when he shows up at the market and rescues her from dealing with the nosy Englischer tourists, the wheels are in motion for more than just directions. In balancing her Amish roots with his Englisch past, Sylvia learns more than she bargained for about the sins of worldliness.