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No further Covid-related deaths as cases drop even further on day hospitality fully re-opens
Micheal McKenna
There have been no further Covid-related deaths reported by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland today (Monday).
That's according to the official dashboard, where the overall total number of deaths recorded by the Department still stands at 2,152.
The Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area accounts for 285 deaths overall. Newry, Mourne and Down District accounts for 166 deaths while Mid-Ulster has registered 206 deaths.
There were a further 53 – down 31 on Friday – positive cases reported in the last 24 hours with two in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon. There were eight in Newry, Mourne and Down and Mid-Ulster District recorded eight – the second highest in NI – in that time.
A total of 1,333 individuals were tested.
There are 29 – down five since Friday – people in hospitals across Northern Ireland as a result of the virus, two of whom are in intensive care units.
Currently, there are four Covid patients in hospitals across the Southern Trust area – two of whom are in Craigavon.
There are currently 17 ICU beds available in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, the Education Minister Peter Weir has welcomed the resumption of all Sure Start services.
The Executive has agreed that all remaining Sure Start parental services can reopen on a face-to-face basis from May 24.
These include services attended by parents/ families such as parenting programmes, ante-natal support, outdoor physical activity and child developmental programmes.
Home based support will also restart, as will support from midwives, health visitors and speech and language therapists.
Peter Weir said: "Covid has created many pressures on families and it is clear that these pressures are having greatest impact where disadvantage already exists.
"Many families have no other family support and attendance at Sure Start groups is their 'lifeline'. That's why I focussed on the full resumption of services. This will allow dedicated Sure Start staff to resume the vital support which families in Sure Start areas depend upon."
Restart arrangements in Sure Start will apply to all targeted Early Years interventions funded by the Department including the Pathway Fund and Toybox project.
The Minister continued: "The full reopening of services will allow Sure Start to provide support to parents whose mental health and wellbeing may have been impacted due to lockdown.
"By providing support to parents, Sure Start in turn enables parents to support the education and health of their children.
"In light of the impact of the pandemic on many families and to help support communities to recover, I have increased the budget for Sure Start in 2021/22 by £2.3million."
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Economists say RBA is too optimistic in expecting rebound this year
This was published 11 months ago
By Colin Brinsden
February 8, 2020 — 2.48pm
Economists believe the Reserve Bank is being far too optimistic in expecting a marked rebound in the Australian economy by the end of the year, and they anticipate the need for a further cut in interest rates in coming months.
The central bank has cut its near-term economic growth forecasts because of the drought, bushfires and the coronavirus outbreak.
AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver says any economic rebound will take longer than the Reserve Bank has forecast. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
But releasing its latest forecasts on Friday, it still expects the economy to rebound to an annual rate of 2.75 per cent by the end of 2020, and to 3 per cent by the end of 2021.
Annual growth was a sluggish 1.7 per cent in the September quarter – the last official reading of the state of the economy.
"While the bushfires and coronavirus mainly pose a short-term threat to growth, a full recovery will likely take longer than the RBA is assuming," AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said in a note to clients on Saturday.
He expects growth to remain closer to 2 per cent this year.
St George Economics economist Nelson Aston expects the Reserve Bank will need to provide further stimulus and cut the cash rate again in coming months "given the current uncertainties".
Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said locking out Chinese tourists to Australia to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will have a "very significant impact".
She said there are 1.4 million Chinese visitors each year, spending about $12 billion.
"It's not just the immediate loss of revenue ... it's those businesses that specialise in dealing with Chinese visitors, which are quite often small," Ms Osmond told ABC television.
"They may very well not survive the next few months without any cash flow."
Josh Frydenberg's much-vaunted 2019-20 budget surplus has dwindled amid the unexpected crises. Credit:
The assessments were further bad news for Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has already seen his much-promised 2019-20 budget surplus dwindling away from the government's response to the bushfires and the coronavirus outbreak.
For the 2019-20 financial year, the Reserve Bank is forecasting economic growth of 2 per cent rather than the 2.25 per cent forecast by the treasurer in his mid-year budget update, released in December.
That update also saw the surplus for 2019-20 cut to $5 billion from a previous forecast of $7.1 billion, even before the devastation from the bushfires played out.
However, Mr Frydenberg rejected "speculation" in a Weekend Australian article that he was imposing an annual $1.4 billion tax rise on the gas industry to replace falling revenue and protect future surpluses.
"The review referred to was announced in November 2018 and will not be back to government until after this year's budget," Mr Frydenberg said in tweets responding to the article. "Therefore speculation is wrong."
Labor frontbencher Mark Butler said the economy was already faltering before the coronavirus and bushfires.
He said the government's boast of a budget surplus was "pretty ambitious", given the constant downgrade to economic growth and wages.
"What is clear is that Australians need a plan to get the economy going," Mr Butler told reporters in Adelaide.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Minority Rights Group > News > Press Releases > Compulsory purchase of Seven Sisters market vital to culture of London's Latin American community, should not go ahead, says MRG
Compulsory purchase of Seven Sisters market vital to culture of London's Latin American community, should not go ahead, says MRG
In an expert statement delivered today at a public enquiry in Haringey, north London, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) said that a compulsory purchase order for the redevelopment of a market vital to the culture of London's Latin American community should not go ahead.
MRG, together with a leading scholar on minority and cultural rights, focused its statement on the minority rights of the Seven Sisters Market Traders, many of whom are of Latin American or Hispanic background, and the impact on those rights of Haringey Council's decision to redevelop the market.
Through detailed analysis, the expert statement concludes that it is clear that the Seven Sisters Market Traders are entitled to the protections afforded to minorities under international law.
In an extract from the statement, Lucy Claridge, MRG's Legal Director, and Alexandra Xanthaki, Professor of Law at Brunel University London, said, '(…) In our view the compulsory purchase order should not be confirmed. It will disproportionately impact the Latin American traders without the provision of measures that will adequately protect the rights of the London Latin American community. (…) This is inconsistent with the UK's obligations (…) towards minorities; in particular the requirements to take measures to (…) provide additional protections in order to protect their minority rights, especially the right to enjoy culture freely.'
The owners of stalls in the Seven Sisters Indoor Market in Tottenham have been involved for over a decade in a legal battle with Haringey Council and multinational developer Grainger, who want to demolish the market and build a modern shopping centre and apartments. The market area currently includes the abandoned former department store Wards Corner, a row of shops, and about 35 Latin American food, cafe and retail stalls, some established three decades ago.
In October 2016 the site was served with a Compulsory Purchase Order by the Council. The traders objected, and the Department for Communities and Local Government subsequently set July 2017 as the date for a public inquiry to determine their fate.
The redevelopment plan contemplates a space for a new indoor market of the same size, and Grainger says it will find a temporary space while work takes place. In a February 2017 visit to the market, stallholders told MRG that moving — albeit temporarily — would be bad for business, and they suspect that inevitable rent hikes will make the new market unfeasible for their modest businesses.
Latin American or Hispanic background accounts for almost 56 percent of those employed in the market. MRG says that commercial centres, such as the market, function as informal cultural hubs for London's Latin American families. We met with Colombian traders, many of whom had been forced to flee the violence in their country and make a new home in the UK, who said that the supportive and nurturing environment of the market had helped them recover from trauma, and provided a sense of belonging.
The legal experts also claim that the Council has not met its obligations to guarantee the right of minorities to effectively participate in the development decisions affecting them. Many of the market traders speak only a basic level of English, yet many of the Spanish translations of the official documents related to the proposed compulsory land acquisition were provided to them after the deadline for public submissions had lapsed.
Demographically, the most up-to-date data on the Latin American community in London is provided by Queen Mary University. Their research estimates 145,000 Latin Americans lived in London in 2013, accounting for 1.7 percent of the capital's population.
Download a copy of the expert statement – HaringeySubmission_190617_FINAL
For more information about the campaign to save the market visit http://www.latincorner.org.uk/ and https://wardscorner.wikispaces.com/
See photos below of MRG's visit to the market in February 2017
Minority Rights Group International is the leading international human rights organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples. We work with more than 150 partners in over 50 countries.
Emma Eastwood – MRG Press Office (London, UK)
M: +44 (0)7989699984
E: emma.eastwood@mrgmail.org
Twitter:@MinorityRights
MRG's Legal Director, Lucy Claridge (L), in a meeting at the market with Mirca Morera of the campaign group Latin Corner UK.
Don Carlos (L) and Fabian, in a meeting with MRG in Fabian's cafe El Manantial.
Fernando in his small shop and bar where market traders and their families get together for impromptu gatherings on Saturday evenings.
Memories of Colombia on the wall in Fabian's cafe.
Many of the market traders' kids come to Wards Corner after school. Parents told MRG that the market serves as an informal creche; everyone looks out for each other, meaning they don't have to fork out for expensive after-school childcare.
An extract from a letter to Haringey Council written by a child whose parents run a stall in the market.
Filed Under: Law, United Kingdom
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I use a ps3404MSO to measure edge positions within a digital data stream with an accuracy of ~50ns and an edge frequency of <5kHz.
I want to identify edge times of many consecutive edges (>10.000).
I know it is possible to calculate the edge times via post processing of the streamed data once it is saved on the PC using any programming language but this is quite cumbersome and time consuming since the high sample rate leads to a very large amount of data to be stored and processed.
Checking the API, I found the triggered Rapid Block Mode to capture consecutive edges (wave forms) in separate memory segments. By keeping the pre- and postrigger number of samples to a minimum, many edges can be recorded. Unfortunately, I could not find any way in the API Programmer's Guide to get the time between consecutive waveforms.
In principle, this information seems to be provided by the function ps3000aGetTriggerInfoBulk (*triggerinfo). The API Programmer's Guide does not detail the information provided in this structure. It points out, though, that this feature is only available on PicoScopes 3207A and 3207B models. This is quite surprising, since I would have considered 34xx devices more capable than 32xx devices.
- Is rapid block mode the best option to capture multiple trigger events from a digital signal or is there another option I have overlooked?
- If rapid block mode is the best option, is it correct, that 34xx devices cannot provide time between consecutive trigger events (correctly stored in separate memory segments)?
All related advice is highly appreciated!
Following, a code example operating the PicoScope in Rapid Block mode, resulting in 1000 edges being recorded and transferred to the PC. Question: How to get the times between the segments in overflow?
Could you please e-mail support@picotech.com and we can then discuss this further.


Origin and antimeric distribution of the femoral nerves in New Zealand rabbits.
The origin and distribution of the femoral nerves in both antimeres were studied in 30 New Zealand rabbits (15 males and 15 females). The specimens were collected after natural death and fixed with 10% formaldehyde solution. In males, the femoral nerve originated from the ventral branches of the fourth, sixth and seventh lumbar spinal nerves in seven animals (46.67%), in two animals (13.33%) from the ventral branches of the fifth and sixth lumbar spinal nerves, in one animal (6.67%) from the ventral branch of the fifth lumbar spinal nerve, in three animals (20%) from the ventral branches of the fifth, sixth and seventh lumbar spinal nerves, in one animal (6.67%) from the ventral branches of the fourth and fifth lumbar spinal nerves, and in one animal (6.67%) from the ventral branches of the fifth and seventh lumbar spinal nerves. In females, the femoral nerve originated from the ventral branches of the fourth, sixth and seventh lumbar spinal nerves in four animals (26.67%), in two cases (13.33%) from the ventral branches of the fifth and sixth lumbar spinal nerves, in one animal (6.67%) from the ventral branch of the fifth lumbar spinal nerve, in three animals (20%) from the ventral branches of the sixth and seventh lumbar spinal nerves, in four animals (26.67%) from the ventral branches of the fifth, sixth and seventh lumbar spinal nerves and in one animal (6.67%) from the ventral branches of the fourth and seventhlumbar spinal nerves. In all animals the femoral nerves were distributed in different branches to the major and minor psoas, femoral quadriceps, sartorius and pectinius muscles.
KEY WORDS: New Zealand rabbits; Femoral nerves; Variation; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Lagomorpha.
MEDEIROS-DO-NASCIMENTO, R.; ALVES-PEREIRA, J. L.; ROCHA-BARBOSA, O.; ABIDU-FIGUEIREDO, M. Origin and antimeric distribution of the femoral nerves in New Zealand rabbits. Int. J. Morphol., 33(2):632-637, 2015.


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Q: How export and re-import a custom process model obtained with inherited model between two different Azure DevOps 2019 cloud environments? I configured a custom process model in a cloud envinroment E1 using inherited model.
Is it possibile to export and re-import this custom process model in another cloud environment E2?
Both E1 and E2 are based on same version of Azure DevOps Services 2019.
And what about migration of data contained in work items of E1? Is there a way to migrate data and relations from work items of E1 to E2?

A: Exporting/importing custom process is not supported in Azure DevOps Services.
However, you can VSTS Process Migrator tool to export/import the inherited  process template between different Azure DevOps Services organizations.
As for migration of work items data, you can use Azure DevOps Migration Tools to migrate Work Items between different Azure DevOps organizations. You can also check out tool vsts-work-item-migrator to migrate work items.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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1. Key Components
The key components of the project are:
· Strengthened systems and capacities for more efficient management of public expenditure in a medium-term frame work of the state Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA).
· Improved management of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) in the state.
· Strengthened systems for procurement in government.
· Support for setting up institutional mechanisms for poverty monitoring and policy analysis.
· Support for strengthening of systems for Monitoring and Evaluation of programmes in planning board and in selected line departments.
The technical appraisal broadly examines the problems / technical issues relating to the current status of Public Expenditure Management (PEM), Poverty Monitoring, working of PSEs, and management of government procurement functions in the state and the support project will provide in these areas.
3. Poverty Monitoring and Policy Analysis
3.1 Poverty and Human Development Status of MP
MP is one of the poorest states of the country with an estimated 37% of the population living in poverty (1999-2000). Incidence of poverty is highest among Scheduled tribes (57%) who constitute approximately 20% of the state population. Poverty has `a regional dimension also with poverty levels being 49.3% in south and 24.8% in the north of the state. While high dependence on agriculture, which has a low productivity due to poor irrigation facilities, and slow growth in tertiary sectors are the proximate causes of poverty and inequities, there is an inadequate analysis of the reasons for growth not translating into equivalent reduction inn poverty. State has also been lagging behind others states in attainment of key MDGs, although some improvement has been made in the area of literacy and school enrolments. Gender inequalities are another major concern with women faring much worse than men on key MDGs. Highlights of the poverty and human development status of the state are given in the following Table 13.
Table 13: Key Poverty and Human Development Indicators for MP
(Highest / Lowest)
Poverty (% below BPL)
South 49.3%
Northern 24.8%
Per capita income
Income Index of 0.632 for Raisen and 0.133 for Jhabua
Health Index 0.74 for Indore and 0.41 for Satna.
% children malnourished (0-3 years age)
Literacy – Male
Education index o.833 for Narsinghpur and 0.471 for Jhabua.
School Enrolment (6-13 years) – Male
(Source: Various, including State HDR Report, 2002)
While, inadequate expenditure on poverty reduction programmes is a key reason for persistent poverty and inequality, insufficient analysis of the data on poverty and inequality and weak linkages between data analysis and policy /programme design also contribute to this.
3.2 Poverty Assessments
Presently, poverty assessments are made on the basis of head count estimates of population living below the official income poverty line that is estimated on the basis of a normative calorie consumption to which an estimated sum is added to take care of non-food expenditure. Of late, human development indices are also being used for assessment of development status. However, even here the poverty dimension is captured on the basis of income estimates. It is now widely accepted that poverty is multi-dimensional with income, social exclusion, opportunities and safety/security being equally important to assess the status of human deprivation and vulnerability (see Appendix 1). At the same time, policy makers have to remain sensitised to the prevailing inequalities in human development outcomes to ensure proper targeting of programmes.
Poverty estimates for MP are based on the NSSO data on consumption expenditure (central schedules) that is collected every 4-5 years. The Directorate of Economics and Statistics within the planning department conducts these surveys. A noteworthy feature is that no analysis is made of the state schedules due to paucity of resources. This data may provide the basis for deriving district level poverty and human development ratios. Several states including Maharashtra and Karnataka have set up systems for analysing state schedules and produced rich analytical reports that are useful guides for the policy makers. The Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES) is a repository of large volumes of other data that can be of immense use if these are analysed timely and findings disseminated.
As yet there are no measures to institutionalize systems for measurement of dimensions of poverty other than income, although sporadic attempts have been made to conduct participatory wealth rankings in two projects (District Poverty Initiatives Project supported by World Bank and MP Rural Livelihoods project supported by DFID). More recently, participatory poverty assessments have been done in 4 municipal corporations by UN-HABITAT. The CSOs in the state are also active in assessment of poverty and vulnerability (for example, Rights to Food Campaign has assessed issues relating to food security in the state) but there are no institutional mechanisms for integrating this knowledge into the government system.
In addition to the surveys conducted by DES, various departments have their own data sets that are vertically aligned and rarely shared. The recently concluded BPL survey for identifying families living below the poverty and human development line has generated yet another set of rich information, which has tried to look at issues of social attainments in addition to income. However, there have been concerns on the process and accuracy of the surevey. Sound systems for identification of the poor are required for targeting of various poverty alleviation programmes to improve their effectiveness. While there are technical hitches to be resolved, there is significant scope to identify the poorest among the BPL families, on the basis of the survey data relating to BPL families.
3.3 Policy Analysis
In the absence of sound systems for monitoring of poverty and of assessment of the vulnerability across regions, socio-economic groups and also for analysing intra-district variations in achievement of human development outcomes, the policy makers are insufficiently informed and this leads to policy changes being made on the basis of anecdotal evidence and personal experiences. The quality of decision making would improve if the policy makers were to be supported with good data on the multi-dimensional nature of poverty and ex-ante analysis of likely poverty and social impacts of policies. Such an analysis will also generate more political buy-in and would encourage higher resource allocations for social sectors.
3.4 Monitoring and Evaluation
A further limitation is the lack of comprehensive monitoring of the implementation of these programmes and / or feedback coming from the field being incorporated into subsequent planning processes. The planning board is weakly staffed and does not have capacity for independent review and evaluation of programmes and policies. Departmental M&E systems are primarily focused on inputs and lack capacities for measurement of impacts or outcomes of policies and programmes. In the absence of such systems, it is not possible to ensure that scarce public resources are utilised effectively and efficiently.
3.5 Project Activities
The programme aims to develop a comprehensive poverty and human development monitoring framework, strengthen the role and capacity of the State Planning Board, build institutional linkages with civil society, disseminate information on these subjects and strengthen capacity for monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes within planning board and selected line departments.
3.5.1 Poverty Monitoring and Policy Analysis support
This will be achieved by setting up of a Poverty Monitoring and Policy Support Unit (PMPSU) in the planning board with the objective to:
· Measure and monitor progress in key areas related to poverty and living standards of the people of the state;
· Improve monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of policies and programmes both within (selected) line departments[1] and the planning board with greater focus on outputs / outcomes and impacts. The unit would also pilot new / participatory techniques.
· Identify institutional and organisational constraints to programme implementation that may have adverse impact on the poor and other vulnerable groups and recommend changes;
· Aid the departments in making better informed policy and programme decisions.
· Keep the public better informed about the progress in achieving key development objectives in the state as well as the constraints to achievements.
· Build capacities in planning and selected line departments in monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes.
Developing partnerships with CSOs and key research / academic institutions engaged in similar activities in the state will be a key feature of this unit.
3.5.2 Organisation of PMPSU
The PMPSU will be set up as a registered society anchored within the planning board. The unit will be headed by Secretary, Planning and it is planned to staff the unit with four experts in the field of Development Economics, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gender and Statistics and survey methods. These experts will be recruited on a contract basis excepting that the expert on Statistics and Survey methods may be taken on deputation from the DES. Support will also be provided to hire consultants for research, analysis and capacity building needs.
A Governing Board headed by the Vice Chairman, Planning Board will provide policy guidance to the unit and ensure that the unit is enabled to coordinate the work relating to data collection, analysis and monitoring and evaluation of the programmes and policies across government. Other members of the Governing Board will be:
· Principal Secretaries / Secretaries of Finance and line departments that are selected for performance budgeting and M&E improvement.
· Two experts from CSO background, two experts associated with reputed academic / research institutions and two chairpersons, Zila Parishad to be nominated by the government.
· If sufficient representation of women is not there, one women member will also be nominated.
· One representative of DFID.
· Secretary, Planning, in-charge of PMPSU, will be the member-secretary of the board.
The board will have full administrative and financial powers over the affairs of the unit which may be delegated to Secretary, Planning or an Executive Committee, chaired by Secretary, Planning with a few members selected from amongst the members on the governing board. Details of the institutional / organisation arrangements for the unit will be finalised during the inception phase and included in the Memorandum of Association / Articles of the Society.
3.5.3 Key Activities of PMPSU
The unit will undertake various activities to fulfil the objectives set out above. The governing board will finalise the work plan keeping in view the priorities of the state and especially those articulated by the departments, and need to dovetailing work of the unit with the work relating to preparation of performance budgets. Given below is an illustrative list of the kind of work that could be taken up by the unit.
· Poverty and Social Monitoring Report: This could be linked to the survey done by NSSO. A baseline report on key indicators may be prepared in 2007 and progress measured against this in later reports. In addition, the unit may build up detailed picture of poverty and social exclusion on the state from available data sources: For example, a great deal has been collected and analysed in large projects like the DPIP. The baseline and later surveys reveal a picture of poverty and human development and the manner it has changed in several districts. The data in the gram sampark website could be analysed in different ways to deepen our understanding of local level poverty and human development and its correlates, especially in gender and environmental terms. The unit could be a repository of such studies, which would need to be updated at regular intervals—say each year, at different levels of disaggregation and on various themes.
· Analysis of state samples collected during NSSO survey: An effort could be made to estimate district level poverty and human development ratios, by pooling the state and central samples of the NSSO surveys. States like Karnataka have done this, and it has been shown that such estimates are robust. This would provide a disaggregated picture of the poverty and human development situation in the state and begin to provide a base for specifically tailored interventions. This could also be done in limited time as the data are readily available. As explained above, the state sample has not been computerised—this may mean a small delay while the task is completed. But it could be done within a year.
· Deriving district level poverty and human development estimates: The Planning Commission, in consultation with the Central Statistical Organisation, has prepared a methodology for the estimation of income at the district level. In the first instance, this could be limited to district product—that is, the commodity producing sectors alone. Information on value added at this level of details will be a useful input into local planning. A software called Indical has been developed in Bangalore, and this has been tried out in Kerala and Chhattisgarh. MP could begin this task by using this software in the DES. District officers could collect the data that has been detailed, while computation could be done by the software, eliminating delays. Once district level preliminary estimates are ready, they could feed into the district level planning process. The DES could vet these estimates and then release them as final estimates. If needed, a workshop on the use of the software could be arranged.
· Further analysis of the BPL survey data: The BPL surveys of the union Department of Rural Development meant to identify the poor have been conducted in MP by the State's Rural Development Department. A significant feature of the BPL Survey 2003 was the wide consultation with a group of civil society organisations, represented by an alliance of CSOs that worked with the state government. All concerned have talked of the value of this exercise that brought so many stakeholders in civil society together with the state government in a positive manner. It would be important to analyse this huge database urgently to inform the various poverty and poverty alleviation programmes of the union and state governments. It is an exercise that could be used to bring together the different stakeholders once again. Details are discussed below.
· Sectoral studies on matters that impact on poverty and human development: The functioning of the PDS, an analysis of NHFS data for the state, nutrition levels across different social groups and so on could be taken up. Qualitative studies, participatory exercises, focus group discussions etc. must be encouraged and facilitated by civil society organisation and the fruits of their work disseminated. These would deepen understanding of the multiple dimensions and complexities of the poverty and human development situation in the state.
· Studies of work and wages in local markets of the state: NSS data on employment are far too aggregated for use in local planning. Study of the structure of wages, gender differentials in wages, number of days of employment available to unskilled people, the kinds of work they do etc. will be most useful for providing indicators of the kind of inputs needed to enhance people's skills, provide local work and thus reduce poverty and human development over time. While poverty and human development has many dimensions, it is worse in cases where people have no work. The link between work, wages and nutrition would be most useful at local levels in framing specific interventions.
· Development of key indicators that measure progress on various dimensions of poverty, vulnerability and human development. These should be disaggregated by gender, socio-economic groups and geography and should be robust enough for tracking progress of government policies regarding poverty reduction. Also, they should combine both qualitative and quantitative measures. These performance indicators should link up with the performance budgeting framework.
· Review and strengthening of Monitoring and Evaluation systems in the Planning and selected line departments. The unit will also pilot use of qualitative and participatory methods for supplementing the quantitative analysis.
· Impact assessment of government's poverty and poverty alleviation programmes: Assessment of impact of various schemes implemented by different departments from the poverty and poverty reduction point of view could be a regular feature of PMPAU's work. This could be taken up based on carefully selected small samples in 6 monthly cycles so that there is regular feedback on impact of schemes.
· Collaborating with other institutions and initiatives: Work done elsewhere, such as the DFID supported work on chronic poverty and human development with the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), could be used in improving both knowledge and management of different programmes in MP. Links with academic institutions such as the IIFM Bhopal and IIM Indore, and colleges across the state should be built up so that informed debate on these issues becomes widespread in the state.
· Review and learning: A system of peer feedback and professional review should be built into the work in an institutionalised manner.
· Capacity building events such as trainings, seminars and workshops may be organised for staff of line departments.
6.0 Project Management Arrangements
The project will operate under the broad oversight of a Project Steering Committee (PSC), chaired by the Chief Secretary. Members will include Principal Secretaries of Finance, Planning, PSE and departments that are included for preparation of performance budgets / M&E improvements. It is anticipated that the PSC will meet six-monthly and give overall steer to the project.
The PSC will be supported by a Project Management Committee (PMC), chaired by Principal Secretary, Finance and include:
· PS / Secretary, Planning
· Secretary, Finance
· Economic Adviser
· Director, DES
· Director Budget
· Representatives of selected line departments
· A representative of DFID
· Commissioner Institutional Finance (convener)
The PMC will be responsible for the overall implementation of the project. It will approve the six-monthly work plans[2] and will review the project progress on a quarterly basis.
There are four key sub-components of the project
· MTEFs
· PSE restructuring
· Poverty Monitoring and Policy Analysis, and
· Other activities relating to improvement in PEM.
These will be implemented / coordinated by following organisational structures:
(a) Task Force on Performance Management: This task Force will coordinate all activities relating to development of Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) for GoMP and Performance budgets in selected departments, and capacity building. Secretary, Finance will chair the task force with equivalent representation from departments selected for preparation of performance budgets. Secretary, Finance, CIF and Director, Budgets will also be members of the task force. The long term consultant selected for supporting the project will service the task force.
(b) Task force on PSEs: The Inter-Departmental Task Force on PSEs will have the task of overseeing: the legal closure of five non-operational PSEs; a strategic diagnostic review of existing PSEs; and the development of a framework for improving the corporate performance of PSEs. The task force will be chaired by Principal Secretary, PSE and GoMP will nominate other departmental representatives (including from Finance) as required.
(c) Poverty Monitoring and Policy Support Unit (PMPSU): This unit will be organised as a registered society under the administrative control of he the Planning Board. Its structure and other details have been provided in para. 3.5.2.
(d) Task force on Procurement and other PEM activities: This task force will be headed by a Secretary level officer in finance department and will have representation of other officers of finance department as required. Representatives of Industries and PwD department will also be included for deliberating on issues relating to procurement of goods and works.
GOMP may set up additional task forces, as required, and may delegate appropriate financial and administrative powers to the PMC and to the task forces to facilitate project implementation.
The Secretary and Commissioner, Institutional Finance will be the nodal officer for the project and will be responsible for day-to-day management and coordination.
[1] The selection will include 6 departments selected for piloting of performance budgeting and departments of Rural and Urban Development.
[2] In the case of PMPSU, its work plan will be approved by the Governing board and PMC willl primarily review the financial progress and ensure that the work of PMPSU is linked with the PEM reforms.


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Ahoskie shooting ruled as a suicide
Bertie audit receives thumbs-up
Published 5:06 pm Tuesday, December 30, 2008
By Thadd White
WINDSOR — Bertie County Commissioners didn't hear anything they didn't expect at their most recent meeting. There, Jeff Best of Pittard, Perry and Crone delivered the annual audit report to the commissioners. The board members had been kept abreast of all financial statements since July under the direction of Pittard, Perry and Crone. Bertie County Manager Zee Lamb has been giving financial statements to the commissioners on a monthly basis. "They have been given more information than they want sometimes," Lamb joked. "You need to familiarize yourself with the statements and keep up with the county's financial condition because you are responsible," Best said. The report revealed a successful year for the county. Best reported that the county only transferred $21,000 in fund balance for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. That was compared to a budgeted transfer of $820,000. Pittard, Perry and Crone gave Bertie County an unqualified report for the Financial Statements, meaning they received the highest possible rating. There were no significant deficiencies identified in the schedule of findings and questioned costs. The same report was issued for Federal Awards and State Awards. In the Financial Statement Findings, only one issue was noted. "The County should reconcile the water revenues and receivables per monthly billings and collections to the General Ledger," the audit said. "The County should also monitor on a monthly basis the allowance accounts." The county's water receivables and revenues on the General Ledger were not matching the monthly reports, thus creating the issue. The county agreed with the findings and implemented a new procedure immediately, according to the report. There were no other significant findings in the report. In other business, the board: * appointed Commissioner J. Wallace Perry and Vice Chairman L.C. Hoggard III to the Golden Leaf grant review committee; * approved minutes from the November 17 meeting; * adopted a resolution authorizing the solicitation of RFPs for an ortho imaging project; and * approved the bond for Register of Deeds Belinda White.
Williamston man arrested on drug charges
Ahoskie welcomes new leader
Multiple firearms seized in arrests


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Make a donationRSSOMCT on FacebookOMCT on TwitterOMCT BlogHomeAbout OMCTActivitiesCATOMCT NetworkOMCT EuropeContacts
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What is the CAT Convention?
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT Convention) is an international human rights treaty, which aims to eradicate the practice of torture in all countries across the world. It represents the most detailed international codification of standards and practices which aim to protect individuals from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The CAT Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1984 as a result of the growing recognition of the continued existence of the global problem of torture and entered into force in June 1987. By April 2014, 155 States were party to the CAT Convention.
What is the CAT Committee?
The Committee Against Torture was established under Article 17 of the CAT Convention. Its role is to monitor and supervise the implementation by States parties of their obligations under the treaty. The CAT Committee operates on a part time basis. From 2015 onwards, the CAT Committee will meet three times per year, for a period of three or four weeks. States are generally obliged to submit their State report every four years.
Who are the CAT Committee members?
The CAT Committee is composed of ten members. Each member is nominated by a State party and elected by secret ballot by the States parties. Each member serves a four-year term and may be re-elected if re-nominated. States parties should ensure that there is an equitable geographic mix of CAT Committee members. Members shall be persons "of high moral standing and recognised competence in the field of human rights". A member serves in his or her personal capacity, rather than as a representative of his or her nominating State.
You can find an up-to-date list on the official website of the UN OHCHR.
What is the State reporting procedure?
The reporting system is the only compulsory monitoring mechanism under the CAT Convention. A State party must submit an initial report within one year of the treaty coming into force for that State. Thereafter, as required by the CAT Convention, the CAT Committee requests reports every four years. At the end of its Concluding Observations, it indicates the date by which the State party examined should submit its next periodic report.
In its initial report, a State party should outline how it implements the rights and obligations set out in the CAT Convention. It should give details of relevant legislation, policies, and practices. It is not sufficient to simply outline legislation without commenting on how, or if, that legislation is enforced. It should also highlight areas where implementation is deficient or problematic.
A State report is a public document, and is available on the treaty bodies' website. This website also details the dates at which future reports are due.
What is the List of Issues (LOIs)?
The CAT Committee will analyse the State report, upon which a list of issues (LOI) will be drafted, generally by the member(s) of the CAT Committee appointed as country rapporteurs or a country report task force, which will then be adopted in plenary in the session ahead of the State party's report. Subsequently, the State party will reply to the LOI in writing and will also send a delegation to Geneva to engage in an interactive constructive dialogue with the CAT Committee at the session in which the report will be examined. The adoption of the LOI, in the session prior to the examination of the State party report, allows, on one hand, for the CAT Committee to ask for the clarification of and update on certain issues and, on the other, provides time and guidance to the State party for the preparation of its discussion with the CAT Committee, taking into account the issues of particular interest outlined by the CAT Committee in the LOI. During the review process, CAT Committee members make use of information originating from other treaty bodies and special procedures from the UN system. They also draw on other sources of information, including information from CSOs, but also from National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and regional human rights mechanisms.
What is the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR)?
In 2007, the CAT Committee initiated a new optional procedure, which consists of the preparation and adoption of list of issues to be transmitted to State parties prior to the submission of their periodic report. This List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR) is a useful tool for preparing more focused and timely reports. The LOIPRs are prepared, adopted and transmitted to the State party concerned at least one year in advance of the due reporting date. States that choose to adopt the procedure and receive the LOPIR do not receive a further list of issues before the consideration of their reports.
What are the Concluding Observations?
Under Article 19 of the CAT Convention, the CAT Committee is mandated to examine reports on the measures taken by State Parties to implement the treaty. At the conclusion of the report examination session, the CAT Committee adopt Concluding Observations on the relevant State party. These include concerns and recommendations that reflect the CAT Committee's position on the status of the treaty's implementation in the respective country. The CAT Committee expert (appointed as the follow-up Special Rapporteur) will then engage in a dialogue with a State on how to effectively implement the recommendations, and addressing subjects of priority concern. Follow-up information is publicly available via the treaty bodies' website.
The Concluding Observations also highlight areas that should be the focus of the next report. Periodic reports do not have to cover every treaty right in the same detail as the initial report, though significant developments between reports must be explained. That is to say, in periodic reports subsequent to its initial report, the State party should focus on issues "raised by the Committee in its previous Concluding Observations, and on significant developments since the previous report".
How can CSOs participate at the different stages of the Reporting Process?
CSO participation is important for providing the CAT Committee members with direct country-specific information from the ground. CSOs may engage by:
Providing written information for the List of Issues (LOI) or List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR). This information must be received by the Secretariat 10 weeks before the session in which the CAT Committee will adopt the LOI and LOIPR.
Providing written information (alternative reports) for the examination of the State party's report. This information must be received by the Secretariat 2 weeks before the examination session.
Orally briefing the CAT Committee members prior to the country examination. Only CSOs that have submitted written information to the CAT Committee for the given State may participate in the CSOs briefing sessions. These one-hour sessions take place prior to the examination of the State party's report, in private and with interpretation. NGOs are expected to coordinate their presentation in order to avoid repeating information and to use their time to highlight and provide updates on the most important issues in the submitted written information.
Providing information for the follow-up to the Concluding Observations.
Under the CAT Committee's Rules and Procedures, NGOs may be invited to submit written information relevant to the Committee's activities. Any NGO may also submit information on its own initiative. ECOSOC accreditation status is not required for the submission of written information or participation in the oral briefings.
How can CSOs register to attend the CAT session?
Participants must submit a completed Conference Registration Form for the attention of Ms. Adele Quist at , with a copy to the secretariat of the CAT at . This should be done no later than two weeks prior to the start of the session so that arrangements can be made for the issuance of the United Nations ground passes to enter United Nations premises.
To receive the ground pass, all applicants are required to bring the signed original of the Conference Registration Form, a valid national passport or government issued photo ID, and appear in person at the security booth of Palais Wilson (52 rue des Pâquis, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland. Office hours are 9:00 to 18:00, Monday through Friday). Please note that applicants must bring their passports (or government issued photo ID) every time they wish to enter UN premises.
For more information, please refer to the CAT information page.
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OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19


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Learning & Innovation
Scottsdale Arts Festival
Canal Convergence
Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation
SUPPORT THE ARTS IN SCOTTSDALE
Art inspires and sustains us. We look to you, our community of arts lovers, for help in this critical moment. Please consider becoming a ONE Member or giving a donation today to support the arts in Scottsdale.
Public Health Notices
About Learning & Innovation
Artist Residencies & Masterclasses
Arts Enrichment
Lessons of the Pandemic
"PIVOT!" and other lessons of the pandemic
A now-all-too-familiar situation: the Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation committee meets to discuss ways to pivot programs in summer 2020. Screenshot: Scottsdale Arts
We are a little more than a year into the pandemic, and it's time to check-in! Like everyone, Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation has spent the last year adapting to meet the needs of our community. We continuously hold ourselves accountable to the name Learning & Innovation, but this year truly put us to the test. The word "pivot" has become both common and cringe-worthy and, while there have been many challenges, the journey has been one of inspiration and discovery with many successes to be celebrated. Here are just a few lessons we have learned along the way:
Choose Your Battles Opportunities
One year ago, the world seemingly came to a halt. The Learning & Innovation team immediately identified what could move forward and what needed to be placed on hold. Close relationships with our partner organizations, school districts, teachers, and program participants were key to understanding the priorities of our community. We discovered that some groups wanted to continue creatively connecting while others needed time to adapt to their new set of circumstances.
Because of our strong relationships with teachers, they trusted us to transform what would usually be in-person residences into virtual programs that would be equal in quality. Teaching artist Dian D'Avanzo uses a Google music app to help students express emotions through rhythm and sound. Screenshot: Scottsdale Arts.
Move Over Geek Squad
Expanding our reach to new audiences through virtual programing was always an ongoing goal, but restrictions on in-person experiences were just the motivations needed to explore virtual platforms and online tools. The summer was a crash course in becoming more tech savvy for all of us. In addition to learning various virtual platforms, we developed a distance learning tech cart that allowed virtual programs to take place most anywhere on the Scottsdale Arts campus, including Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, and the Learning & Innovation studio. These resources made possible many new and redesigned public and education programs.
Our portable distance learning cart is set up to give a virtual tour of the exhibition BEYOND at SMoCA. Photo: Scottsdale Arts
Provide More Ways to Connect, Always!
A surprising outcome, to what at first was a barrier to connecting with our community, was digital and virtual options that will continue long after the pandemic ends. We found these new technologies to be fun, easy to use, and more accessible to our community. While not comprehensive, the following is a list of events and programs that have virtual options developed over the past year and will likely continue for years to come.
Exhibitions: Interactive virtual extensions to our galleries have made exhibitions even more accessible. Don't miss the Center Space gallery's current exhibition, Viewpoints: How We Understand Art, which explores the ways people view art based on their life experience and art education.
Docents-On-Demand: When visiting SMoCA, visitors can hear insights on artwork in the galleries created by our team of trained docents while remaining safely socially distanced. QR codes located on labels next to the artwork provide access to one-minute videos about the piece.
Canal Convergence: Scottsdale Public Art's largest event of the year, Canal Convergence, needed to provide touch points for visitors to attend while remaining socially distanced. Engagement opportunities for visitors, such as artist talks and tours, were adapted using augmented reality (AR). Visitors used their phones to trigger holograms and other animations in real time to engage directly with the works.
This year's Canal Convergence included augmented reality experiences for visitors to learn more about the art and environment of the Scottsdale Waterfront. Photo: Scottsdale Arts
Alli Ortega Empty Bowls: Vista del Camino Food Bank supports our Scottsdale community that is experiencing even greater need this year. On March 31, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., a fundraising event will be held live on Facebook to support Vista del Camino. Each donation will be entered to receive one of five handmade mystery bowls crafted by a local artist.
Wolf Trap On-Demand: This series of asynchronous videos created by Arizona Wolf Trap teaching artists was developed by Diane Hunt-Vanek, director of Arizona Wolf Trap. "This was meaningful way for us to support our educational partners and families seeking fun, creativity, and arts-integrated learning experiences to enjoy," Hunt-Vanek explains.
Sam-I-Am, an Arizona Wolf Trap teaching artist, takes young learners on a musical journey in his Wolf Trap On-Demand video. Screenshot: Scottsdale Arts
Hope Chest: Remembering the Holocaust: This curriculum takes students on an immersive journey through the harrowing boyhood experiences of local Holocaust survivor Oskar Knoblauch. Originally designed as an all-inclusive kit of teaching materials for in-class use, lessons were revised and made available online. Hope Chest kits and online resources will be available in the 2021–22 academic year.
Using the arts in my classroom has benefited my students immensely! Listening to music and analyzing photographs helps all students engage in high-level critical thinking, observation, and inference. Before using Hope Chest and its accompanying arts activities, my students were afraid to share their ideas at the risk of being "wrong." The arts activities increased my students' willingness to participate because they knew there were no right or wrong answers! Hope Chest and the arts expose the students to standards-based skills in a culturally responsive way by meeting students where they are and helping them develop the communication skills and empathy they will need to succeed.
Amanda Wells, 8th grade English language arts and social studies teacher at Coyote Ridge School
Cultural Connections Through the Arts: Professional teaching artists lead classroom residencies to support curriculum through creative exploration of the art form and academic subject. It was uncertain whether these experiences could translate successfully online. Remarkably, not only have sessions been just as successful, but the side-effect of students learning at home is that parents witnessed the impacts these arts experiences had on their students. For the first time, teachers received multiple messages from parents commenting on the positive impacts arts residencies have had on their children.
Visions: This yearlong program that brings together high school art students from across the Valley to work with professional artists also had to be reimagined. Typically, Visions students meet at SMoCA and other cultural destinations. To continue connecting students to each other and inspiring artists, the program shifted from in-person to online learning, providing students access to incredible artists around the world!
Visions students work with artist Nellie King Solomon, who also has an exhibition at SMoCA, in a painting workshop from her studio in California. Screenshot: Scottsdale Arts
These challenging times can easily become overwhelming. Despite the hardships and loss we have seen over the past year, a source of encouragement has been people all over the world who have banded together, even while physically apart, to lift each other's spirits through virtual choirs, balcony serenades, and murals to honor healthcare workers. We will come through this trying time hopefully having a greater appreciation for human interaction. For now, we are developing more ways to connect and have definitely learned to "PIVOT!"
Back to Spark home.
CONNECTIONS: Amplify | Immerse | Inspire
Join in supporting this noble enterprise by selecting a One Membership.
You will find the experiences unparalleled and uplifting, all while you are making a difference!
High-quality exhibitions, programs and events that foster dialogue, promote empathy, invoke wonder and build interpersonal connections.
Join us in making a difference by becoming a Member of Scottsdale Arts today with your ONE Membership.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and Scottsdale Public Art are divisions of Scottsdale Arts. Copyright ©2022 Scottsdale Arts. All rights reserved.
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Corporate GovernanceExecutive CompensationSecurities
Commissioner Jackson takes on non-GAAP comp targets
An op-ed co-authored by SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson (who is reportedly planning to leave the SEC this fall, although he's eligible to stay until the end of 2020) and MIT senior lecturer (and former president of Fidelity) Robert Pozen lambasts the use of non-GAAP targets in determining executive pay, absent more transparent disclosure. The pair argue that, although historically, performance targets were based on GAAP, in recent years, there has been a shift to using non-GAAP pay targets, sometimes involving significant adjustments that can "be used to justify outsize compensation for disappointing results." What's the bottom line? Where comp committees base comp on a different scorecard than GAAP, they argue, the committee should have to explain their decision by reconciling to GAAP in the CD&A. Will the SEC take heed?
Cydney Posner	on April 22, 2019
The op-ed was premised on recent research co-authored by Pozen, which showed "that firms in the S&P 500 announced adjusted earnings that were, on average, 23% higher than GAAP earnings. At the same time, those firms reporting the largest differences between their adjusted and GAAP earnings awarded higher pay packages to their CEOs than predicted by the standard academic model of normal CEO compensation. Yet those firms with the largest differences, on average, experienced lower stock returns and subpar operating performance…." And, the difference between GAAP and non-GAAP adjusted measures can be significant: the op-ed pointed to 36 companies in the S&P 500 that, in 2015, announced non-GAAP earnings more than 100% higher than the GAAP equivalent, and 57 more companies that reported non-GAAP earnings that were 50% to 100% higher than GAAP. What's more, the "compensation committees of almost all those companies used a non-GAAP measure as an important criterion for awarding executive pay."
In the study, the authors noted that, most often, regulators have been concerned that non-GAAP metrics might mislead investors, resulting in mispriced securities. And companies, the study authors observed, typically justify the use of non-GAAP earnings as "(i) a better indicator of economic reality and (ii) better reflective of the factors under their control than GAAP earnings." However, the study found that the evidence supported neither view: the study did not find mispricing as a result of the use of non-GAAP numbers nor did the authors "find non-GAAP earnings to be more informative or permanent than GAAP earnings post-2010 [when the study period commenced]. In summary, intuition and evidence both suggest non-GAAP earnings would neither impede nor facilitate investors' ability to grasp firms' actual financial performance." Overall, the evidence from the study suggested that "large non-GAAP earnings adjustments influence some boards of directors in approving a level of CEO pay that is otherwise not supported by the firm's stock price or GAAP earnings performance." With regard to recommended reforms to address these issues, the study suggested that "the SEC may want to require that compensation committee reports give GAAP metrics 'equal prominence' with non-GAAP metrics, as in earnings press releases. In particular, the SEC might consider requiring compensation committee reports of all public companies to (i) prominently disclose the amount of difference between the non-GAAP criteria used by the committee and the relevant GAAP numbers; and (ii) provide a justification for why the committee chose to use non-GAAP criteria in setting executive compensation."
The authors recognized that sometimes it makes a lot of sense to use non-GAAP performance targets, such as "when one-time charges obscure the underlying health of a business." But when a company issues a press release with non-GAAP numbers, to provide transparency, the company is required to follow a number of strict rules about the presentation (such as the not-more-prominent-than-GAAP rule) and to provide a reconciliation of the non-GAAP number to the comparable GAAP number. But those rules are generally not applicable to disclosure of pay targets in CD&A: "Unfortunately, those requirements do not apply to the reports that compensation committees of corporate boards disclose to investors each year. Thus, committees choosing to use adjustments when deciding on payouts need not explain why an adjusted version of earnings is the right way to determine incentive pay for the company's top managers. This increases the risk that adjustments will be used to justify windfalls to underperforming managers."
The relevant SEC Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation related to non-GAAP financial measures seems to go a bit further in the direction advocated by the authors than does the actual instruction to the CD&A rule:
"Question 108.01 Instruction 5 to Item 402(b) provides that '[d]isclosure of target levels that are non-GAAP financial measures will not be subject to Regulation G and Item 10(e); however, disclosure must be provided as to how the number is calculated from the registrant's audited financial statements.' Does this instruction extend to non-GAAP financial information that does not relate to the disclosure of target levels, but is nevertheless included in Compensation Discussion & Analysis ('CD&A') or other parts of the proxy statement—for example, to explain the relationship between pay and performance?
Answer: No. Instruction 5 to Item 402(b) is limited to CD&A disclosure of target levels that are non-GAAP financial measures. If non-GAAP financial measures are presented in CD&A or in any other part of the proxy statement for any other purpose, such as to explain the relationship between pay and performance or to justify certain levels or amounts of pay, then those non-GAAP financial measures are subject to the requirements of Regulation G and Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K.
In these pay-related circumstances only, the staff will not object if a registrant includes the required GAAP reconciliation and other information in an annex to the proxy statement, provided the registrant includes a prominent cross-reference to such annex. Or, if the non-GAAP financial measures are the same as those included in the Form 10-K that is incorporating by reference the proxy statement's Item 402 disclosure as part of its Part III information, the staff will not object if the registrant complies with Regulation G and Item 10(e) by providing a prominent cross-reference to the pages in the Form 10-K containing the required GAAP reconciliation and other information. [July 8, 2011]"
In light of the pervasiveness of the use of non-GAAP comp targets, the authors advocate changes in these rules and interpretations to aid investors to "easily distinguish between high pay based on good performance and bloated pay justified by accounting gimmicks. That's why we're calling on the SEC to require companies to explain why non-GAAP measures are driving compensation decisions—and quantify any differences between adjusted criteria and GAAP. A few public companies already provide investors with this kind of transparency. Others can too…. It's time for the SEC to help investors understand exactly what performance they're paying for."
Posted in: Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, Securities
Tagged in: executive compensation, non-GAAP pay targets
The "greatest judicial power grab since Marbury v. Madison"? SCOTUS considers Kisor v. Wilkie
Is "stale" a big reason for "male and pale" boards?


Mako Is Open & Full Of Surprises…..
Orlando Attractions Update – Mako is officially open for business at SeaWorld and one of our intrepid friends at The Orlando Sentinel Dewayne Bevil described the experience as 'Breathtaking'.
"Coming down that first hill is a more straight-down feeling, more dramatic than I've ever experienced on a thrill ride. That descent may have prompted some not-family-newspaper-friendly language.
SeaWorld has delivered on its marketing promise with the fastest, tallest, longest coaster in the Orlando market. The ride, manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, is designed as a "hypercoaster," which experts define as having a height of 200 feet, high speed, no inversions and a bundle of air time — the lift out of seats that enthusiasts covet.
Some riders will hold on dearly as Mako, inspired by sharks of the same name, goes through its paces. It's not really a spoiler to share that the coaster goes up and down, up and down, relentlessly. There are nine moments of air time, some of which are created by startling shifts from side to side, SeaWorld designers have said.
It's a long ride. Just when you think it's pulling back into the station, Mako flings passenger back over walkways, pedestrians and the park's central lagoon for bonus air time.
Mako's rail measures 4,760 feet long. The coaster is said to top out at 73 mph, and its first hill is 200 feet high, according to SeaWorld.
Previous Post New Jungle Book Show Debuts At Animal Kingdom… Next Post Cobra's Curse Now Open….


Vote for independents. November is still a ways off, but you can vote every day with your dollars. Buy more from locally owned, independent businesses and less from corporate chains. The well-being of your neighbors and your Valley is at stake.
When you spend $100 at a chain store to buy books, pet supplies, clothes or tools, only $13 stays here. That same $100 spent at local, independent stores generates $45, more than three times as much local economic activity.
Why? Independent businesses create more and better jobs than corporate chains. They hire more employees not only to serve customers but to write ads, buy inventory, and keep the books. Chains house these activities elsewhere, at their headquarters.
Local businesses also buy more of the goods and services they need locally — banking, accounting, printing and supplies — helping other local businesses to prosper. Chains operate on a national or international scale.
Local businesses reinvest their profits locally. Chains instead siphon off profits to expand elsewhere or pay dividends to their shareholders.
Buying from independents keeps more money recirculating within our community to create more business opportunities, more tax revenue and, studies show, more charitable giving.
Once a nation of shopkeepers and small business people, we are fast becoming a nation of sales clerks. The middle class is giving way to more low-wage, chain-store jobs, and government has to step in with food and health care, straining public coffers.
This change goes not just to the economy, but to character. Small businesses were the backbone of each American town and the training grounds for our highly valued entrepreneurial spirit. As Main Streets hollow out and people commute for chain-store jobs and shopping, the web of personal relations frays. The sense of belonging and of responsibility diminishes.
A study of 225 counties across the country, "Big Business and Community Welfare," showed that counties dominated by big businesses had greater income inequality, fewer owner-occupied homes, more worker disability, lower educational outcomes and higher crime than counties with more small businesses — where people are also more likely to vote and to be active in churches, social clubs and civic groups.
Even though large corporations have shaped the political and economic environment to their advantage, and just a few now control almost every economic sector, local communities can rebuild their homegrown economies.
In addition to voting with our pocketbooks, we can press local government to adopt planning policies to support small business.
General Plans can express a commitment to small business and downtown commerce. They can limit the number of chain stores and direct retail development to downtown areas. They can require economic impact reviews to scrutinize the benefits claimed by large commercial developments, which all too often drive locals out of business and cost more in government services than anticipated.
We can also support downtown revitalization efforts and activities that keep Main Streets vibrant. Finally, we can encourage independent retailers to work together to devise "Buy Local" strategies.
Recent tea parties protesting a greater role for government in our lives ignore a critical fact about that original Tea Party in Boston. Colonists boarded the three ships owned by the British East India Tea Co. — dumping more than 90,000 pounds of tea into the harbor — because Parliament had exempted the company from taxes that local tea merchants had to pay.
The American revolutionaries objected to exploitation by distant corporate powers and refused to let lower prices undercut their allegiance to local merchants and local control. Let's not forget what they fought so hard to achieve. Independence is born of independents.
Community Matters explores local topics of public interest. Attorney Joan Hartmann is a founding member of Buellton Is Our Town, and a former employee of the U.S. Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency.


Detail work continues on our Group 44 Inc. Triumph GT6+ as we scramble to get it ready for Amelia Island.
The experts at Nisonger cleaned, lubricated and rebuilt the original Smiths chronometric tachometer. We will finish the dash and instruments this weekend.
To improve cooling--yet keep the car's original appearance--we had Griffin build a perfect duplicate of an original GT6+ radiator. The difference? This unit weighs half as much as the stock piece at 8.75 lbs. Plus, it will better cool the car due to superior cooling tubes and fins--and more of them.
The original Group 44 Inc. pressurized surge tank came with our car. We have cleaned up this stainless steel tank and mounted it in the original position. The rest of our wiring and brake plumbing is also nearly complete. The engine and transmission arrive Wednesday, and we hope to have everything ready to drop the assembly right in.
We entrusted Vintage Racing Services of Stratford, Conn., with the important task of restoring the engine for our Group Inc. 44 GT6+. VRS's main engine man, Harvey Thompson, shown in the slideshow making final adjustments before initial startup on our engine, was there when our car was new. He took a GT6+ to the SCCA Runoffs in 1974 with a Group 44 engine in it. Not only was he able to build the engine exactly the way it would have been built in 1969, but he was able to get us the identical 162 horsepower this engine configuration had when it won the ARRC in 1969.
We will feature a very interesting look at modern versus vintage engines in an upcoming issue of Classic Motorsports, as well as full details concerning how this engine was assembled. In the meantime, the slideshow contains a shot of Peter Vargosko of Valley Auto machine, Inc., balancing the crank to within one tenth of a gram. On these inline-six engines, balancing is the key to longevity.
We even shot a little video of our engine running for the first time.


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Filmography: Vera Farmiga
The Many Saints Of Newark (R)Release Date: October 1, 2021
Cast: Alesandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Ray Liotta, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll
Director: Alan Taylor
Writer: David Chase, Lawrence Konner
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (R)Release Date: June 4, 2021
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Julian Hilliard, Charlene Amoia, Sterling Jerins
Director: Michael Chaves
Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Annabelle Comes Home (R)Release Date: June 26, 2019
Cast: Mckenna Grace, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Iseman, Emily Brobst
Director: Gary Dauberman
Writer: James Wan
Burn Your Maps (PG-13)Release Date: June 21, 2019
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Vera Farmiga, Suraj Sharma, Virginia Madsen, Jason Scott Lee
Director: Jordan Roberts
Writer: Robyn Joy Leff, Jordan Roberts
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG-13)Release Date: May 31, 2019
Cast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins
Director: Michael Dougherty
Writer: Michael Dougherty, ,Zach Shields
Captive State (PG-13)Release Date: March 15, 2019
Cast: John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Colson Baker, Vera Farmiga
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Writer: Erica Beeney
The Front Runner (R)Release Date: November 6, 2018
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Matt Bai & Jay Carson & Jason Reitman
Boundaries (R)Release Date: June 22, 2018
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Plummer, Kristen Schaal, Christopher Lloyd
Director: Shana Feste
Writer: Shana Feste
The Commuter (PG-13)Release Date: January 12, 2018
Cast: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Sam Neill, Elizabeth McGovern
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi
The Conjuring 2 (R)Release Date: June 10, 2016
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O'Connor, Lauren Esposito, Medison Wolfe
Director: James Wan
Writer: Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes
Closer to the Moon (Alice in Tara Tovarasilor) (NR)Release Date: April 17, 2015
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Mark Strong, Harry Lloyd, Christian McKay, Joe Armstrong
Director: Nae Caranfil
Writer: Nae Caranfil
The Judge (2014) (R)Release Date: October 10, 2014
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Robert Downey Jr., Leighton Meester, Ian Nelson, Vincent D'Onofrio
Director: David Dobkin
Writer: Bill Dubuque
At Middleton (R)Release Date: January 31, 2014
Cast: Andy Garcia, Vera Farmiga, Taissa Farmiga, Spencer LoFranco, Peter Riegert
Director: Adam Rodgers
Writer: Glenn German, Adam Rodgers
The Conjuring (R)Release Date: July 19, 2013
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Shanley Caswell
Writer: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes
Goats (R)Release Date: August 10, 2012
Cast: Vera Farmiga, David Duchovny, Keri Russell, Ty Burrell, Justin Kirk
Director: Christopher Neil
Writer: Mark Poirier
Safe House (R)Release Date: February 10, 2012
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shephard
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writer: David Guggenheim
The Vintner's Luck (NR)Release Date: October 14, 2011
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Gaspard Ulliel, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Jérémie Renier, Eric Godon
Director: Niki Caro
Writer: Niki Caro, Elizabeth Knox
Higher Ground (R)Release Date: August 26, 2011
Cast: Donna Murphy, Vera Farmiga, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Bill Irwin
Director: Vera Farmiga
Writer: Carolyn Briggs, Tim Metcalfe
Henry's Crime (R)Release Date: April 8, 2011
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Judy Greer, Peter Stormare
Director: Malcolm Venville
Writer: Sacha Gervasi, David N. White
Source Code (PG-13)Release Date: April 1, 2011
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Russell Peters
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Ben Ripley
Up in the Air (R)Release Date: December 4, 2009
Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton
Writer: Walter Kirn, Jason Reitman
Orphan (R)Release Date: July 24, 2009
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder, Jimmy Bennett
Writer: David Leslie Johnson, Alex Mace
Nothing But the Truth (R)Release Date: December 17, 2008
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Edie Falco, Alan Alda
Director: Rod Lurie
Writer: Rod Lurie
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (PG-13)Release Date: December 5, 2008
Cast: Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Richard Johnson, Sheila Hancock
Director: Mark Herman
Writer: John Boyne, Mark Herman
Quid Pro Quo (R)Release Date: June 13, 2008
Cast: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Ashlie Atkinson, Rachel Black, Dylan Bruno
Director: Carlos Brooks
Writer: Carlos Brooks
Joshua (2007) (R)Release Date: July 6, 2007
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Celia Weston, Dallas Roberts, Michael McKean
Director: George Ratliff
Writer: David Gilbert, George Ratliff
Breaking and Entering (2007) (R)Release Date: February 16, 2007
Cast: Jude Law, Vera Farmiga, Juliette Binoche, Martin Freeman, Ray Winstone
Director: Anthony Minghella
Writer: Anthony Minghella
The Departed (R)Release Date: October 6, 2006
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen
Writer: William Monahan
Running Scared (2006) (R)Release Date: February 24, 2006
Cast: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Chazz Palminteri, Johnny Messner
Director: Wayne Kramer
Writer: Wayne Kramer
Down to the Bone (NR)Release Date: November 25, 2005
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Hugh Dillon, Clint Jordan, Caridad 'La Bruja' De La Luz, Jasper Daniels
Director: Debra Granik
Writer: Debra Granik, Richard Lieske
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) (R)Release Date: July 30, 2004
Cast: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Kimberly Elise, Jon Voight
Director: Jonathan Demme
Iron Jawed Angels (NR)Release Date: February 15, 2004
Cast: Hilary Swank, Margo Martindale, Anjelica Huston, Frances O'Connor, Lois Smith
Director: Katja von Garnier
Writer: Sally Robinson, Eugenia Bostwick
Dummy (2003) (R)Release Date: September 12, 2003
Cast: Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter
Director: Greg Pritikin
Writer: Greg Pritikin
Love in the Time of Money (R)Release Date: January 1, 2002
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Rosario Dawson, Vera Farmiga, Michael Imperioli, Carol Kane
Director: Peter Mattei
Writer: Peter Mattei
The Opportunists (R)Release Date: August 25, 2000
Cast: Christopher Walken, Donal Logue, Peter McDonald, Vera Farmiga, Cyndi Lauper
Director: Myles Connell
Writer: Myles Connell
Bates Motel (NR)Cast: Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, Nicola Peltz
Director: Carlton Cuse
Writer: Kerry Ehrin, Anthony Cipriano
Middleton (R)Cast: Vera Farmiga, Taissa Farmiga, Andy Garcia, Tom Skerritt, Nicholas Braun
Never Forever (R)Cast: Vera Farmiga, Jung-woo Ha, David McInnis, Eric L. Abrams, Clem Cheung
Director: Gina Kim
Writer: GinaKim
Neverwas (PG-13)Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen, Brittany Murphy, Nick Nolte, William Hurt
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Writer: Joshua Michael Stern
Special Correspondents ()Cast: Vera Farmiga, Kelly Macdonald, America Ferrera, Eric Bana, Ricky Gervais
Director: Ricky Gervais
Writer: Ricky Gervais
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The two — a local from Imphal (West) district and an outsider whose identity was yet to be ascertained — were assaulted in two villages around 12 km apart in Kangpokpi district on Tuesday and are being treated at a local hospital.
Two persons were rescued in Manipur after being assaulted in separate incidents by local residents who suspected them to be child-lifters, police said on Wednesday, even as fake news about the two being cannibals was circulated both on social media and sections of mainstream media.
Sections of the media reported that "two people from Assam were arrested in Manipur over charges of cannibalism".
The police said the two appeared to be mentally unsound. "This is completely false news. There is no cannibalism involved. The two appear to be mentally unsound but they are not cannibals," Kangpokpi SP Hemant Pandey told The Indian Express over phone.
A psychiatric test would be conducted on the two on Thursday and they are in preventive custody, the police said. The second person is unable to properly identify himself.
"There is no missing person report of any child in this district for the last three months," Pandey said. He said rumours about child-abductors were doing the rounds in the district for over a month now.


text:
Appearing Saturday Only
Autographs - $100
Professional Photo Op - $100
Best Known for: Doctor Who, Thor: The Dark World
Christopher Eccleston is an English actor. He portrayed the Ninth Doctor in the British television series Doctor Who and Matt Jamison in the American drama series The Leftovers on HBO. He has also appeared on stage and in films such as Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Jude, Elizabeth, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, 28 Days Later, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, and Thor: The Dark World.
Other British television series in which Eccleston has appeared include Our Friends in the North, Cracker, Fortitude, and The Shadow Line. He stars in the 2016 drama The A Word about a young boy with autism, in which he plays the boy's grandfather.


text:
Q: What's the difference between archive and build? Generally, I'll get the ipa packet this way:
Build the project, when it's done, unfold Products directory, select the .app file and right click to choose 'Show in Finder', and the drag the file straight to iTunes, again select the app icon and right click to choose 'Show in Finder', then I get the .ipa file.
Well,there is another way to get .ipa file-Archive.
I'm wondering what is the difference between these two ways to get a .ipa file? Can anyone explain? Thanks advance.

A: You're not able to generate dysm when you go with archive.
Build: The compilation for your source code to execute the project
Archive: As its name says, it is the overall package (.ipa) similar to .apk file (android) with that you can distribute your application.


text:
The Benetton B192 is a Formula One racing car designed by Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Willem Toet and raced by the Benetton team in the 1992 Formula One season.

The car had a delayed start in 1992, being debuted at the Spanish Grand Prix while the team made do with an upgraded version of the B191 for the opening three rounds.

Competition history

The car was quite competitive with Michael Schumacher and Martin Brundle scoring several podiums with it. Schumacher, in his first full F1 season, came of age as a Grand Prix driver when he won the rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix after a clever pit strategy put him in the lead after dropping behind Brundle with a brief off and realizing upon seeing Brundle's tyres that the wets were blistering as the track dried. Brundle came close to a possible victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, chasing race leader Gerhard Berger until a transmission issue ended his bid at winning the race. Schumacher would finish the season third in the standings, Brundle sixth.

The car had a very well-designed, nimble chassis and it made the most of the disadvantages it inherited with the under-powered Ford V8. It did not have the sophisticated driver aids of its rivals, lacking active suspension, ABS, traction control, and a semi-automatic gearbox.

When Martin Brundle drove the B192 again in 2008 at Silverstone, he recalled that although it was slightly tail-happy, it was very comfortable to drive and said of it "...I can live with it, it's great!". It was a substantial improvement over the previous year's car which Brundle described as being "very heavy on the steering", "a real challenge to drive ... and sometimes it felt like a bathtub with a loose wheel".

Benetton finished third in the Constructors' Championship in 1992 after scoring points in every race of the season, with Schumacher finishing third in the Drivers' Championship with 53 points, ahead of reigning world champion Ayrton Senna, who won three races to Schumacher's one but who struggled with retirements.

Legacy

Although not held in awe like some of its more successful contemporaries, the B192 was recognised as a step forward for the Benetton team. Rory Byrne's philosophy of "evolution not revolution" meant that many of this car's features were integrated into the design of Schumacher's title-winning '94 and '95 Benettons.  Schumacher's win at Belgium would also prove to be the last win for a Formula One car using a conventional manual transmission.

Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)

* 11 points scored using the Benetton B191B

References

External links

B192
1992 Formula One season cars

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
namespace sync_api {

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// ReadTransaction member definitions
ReadTransaction::ReadTransaction(const tracked_objects::Location& from_here,
                                 UserShare* share)
    : BaseTransaction(share),
      transaction_(NULL),
      close_transaction_(true) {
  transaction_ = new syncable::ReadTransaction(from_here, GetLookup());
}

ReadTransaction::ReadTransaction(UserShare* share,
                                 syncable::BaseTransaction* trans)
    : BaseTransaction(share),
      transaction_(trans),
      close_transaction_(false) {}

ReadTransaction::~ReadTransaction() {
  if (close_transaction_) {
    delete transaction_;
  }
}

syncable::BaseTransaction* ReadTransaction::GetWrappedTrans() const {
  return transaction_;
}

} // namespace sync_api

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Chinese Police Detain Gay Pride March Organizer
by johansen.jorgen • 22. mai 2013 • 0 Comments
Police in central China have detained the 18-year-old organizer of a gay pride march in a sign of the government's nervousness over a growing civil society movement and demands for stronger individual rights.
The man, identified only by his surname Xiang, was detained following the Friday event in the city of Changsha and ordered to serve 12 days in a detention center for organizing an illegal march, according to a notice on the local police's microblog account.
Changsha newspaper Xiaoxiang Morning News quoted Xiang as saying before the march that he hoped it would make people question discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, and «let more people have a correct understanding of us.»
China requires prior police approval for all marches and street demonstrations and permission is rarely granted. Reports said about 80 people took part in the march along a riverfront park, carrying anti-discrimination banners and a giant rainbow flag, and there was no mention of problems with police at the time.
Xiang's detention underscores the limits the conservative Communist government continues to impose on campaigners as it seeks to contain demands for more free expression and civil rights. Police enjoy broad powers to monitor, harass and detain activists for causes ranging from religious rights to the environment. Those caught in the system have little legal recourse, although some whose cases have raised a public outcry have been released.
Activists find greater room for expression on the Internet, despite heavy censorship, and organizers of the Changsha march maintained a website, rt1069.com. They stated their hope that the march would «write a new chapter in the struggle for equal rights for comrades,» using the Chinese slang term for homosexual.
The march was the second held in Changsha on May 17, International Day Against Homophobia, and was joined by similar events in several other Chinese cities.
Chinese society is increasingly accepting of gays and lesbians, although same-sex partnerships are not recognized and no laws outlaw discrimination against sexual minorities. A law against «hooliganism» used to target gays was eliminated in 1997 and homosexuality removed from the list of mental disorders in 2001.
Chinese Police Detain Gay Pride March Organizer – ABC News.
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text:
Labeotropheus trewavasae es una especie de peces de la familia Cichlidae en el orden Perciformes.

Morfología
Los machos pueden llegar alcanzar los 11,7 cm de longitud total.

Alimentación
Come algas, crustáceos pequeños y gusanos.

Hábitat
Es una especie de clima tropical que vive entre 21 °C-24 °C de temperatura.

Distribución geográfica
Se encuentra en África):  lago Malawi

Referencias

Bibliografía
 Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, núm. 1, vol. 1-3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California, Estados Unidos. 2905. ISBN 0-940228-47-5.

 Maugé, L.A. 1986.  A J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse y D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Bruselas; MRAC, Tervuren, Flandes; y ORSTOM, París, Francia. Vol. 2.

Enlaces externos

  AQUATAB

Haplochromini


Sheriff John Peper was killed in a single-vehicle accident on U.S. 52, four miles north of Lebanon, while responding to the scene of another accident.
He was a passenger of the vehicle driven by a deputy, who was his brother-in-law, when it went out of control on the sleet-covered roadway and flipped over.
Sheriff Peper suffered fatal injuries when he was thrown into the back seat. The deputy suffered only minor injuries and survived.
Sheriff Peper was survived by his wife, sister and three brothers. His wife was appointed sheriff to serve the remainder of his term, becoming the first female sheriff of Boone County and the fourth female to serve as a sheriff in the state of Indiana.
• In 2010, U.S. 52, four miles north of Lebanon in Boone County, was dedicated the Sheriff John H. Peper Highway in his honor.


text:
Can Saving the Planet Become a Workout Fad?
Promoting bug consumption is about targeting a demographic. But CrossFit hasn't birthed an environmental movement just yet.
Getty Images / Sean Gallup
Kastalia Medrano
Greg Sewitz, co-founder of the protein bar company Exo, wants to know if I've heard of CrossFit. He's not asking because he wants to flip tires or get Rhabdomyolysis; he's asking because he thinks the CrossFit people are his company's natural demographic. He thinks the emerging athletic middle class, currently decked out in Impact font, will buy his heavily branded T-shirts once they get pumped about eating bars made of roughly 40 crickets a piece.
The promotional literature for Exo (gluten-free! soy-free! dairy-free! preservative-free!) comes with endorsements and partnerships from Michelin-starred chefs, triathletes, authors of books about trendy diets, and the rapper Nas, who is an investor. The origin story checks all the major boxes: dorm-room startup, core idea that is easy for enough customers and investors to embrace but still controversial enough to be framed as visionary, sleeper-hit Kickstarter campaign. The bars have been favorably reviewed by pretty much every major media outlet since Exo began selling them in March 2014. If a cricket flour product is going to take off in the near future, it's likely going to be this one. But Exo isn't PowerBar just yet.
Each bar contains 10 grams of protein derived from cricket flour. Exo
The two most popular arguments for eating bugs are almost always that they are 1) extremely cost-effective and 2) an excellent, nutrient-dense source of protein.
That said, the third argument is probably the most compelling: cricket farming is imminently more sustainable than cattle farming, which produces 100 times the greenhouse gas and requires 22,000 times the water necessary to get an equivalent amount of product. The general idea, then, is that eating crickets and other bugs helps mitigate a number of massive problems — climate change, malnutrition (in terms of nutrients), and hunger (in terms of poverty), just for starters.
But all those benefits come at a cost money and taste. At $2.99 per bar — on Exo's website, where the company does most of its sales, you can buy a sample pack of five for $15 or 12 of any flavor for $36 — these bugs aren't especially cheap. Exo bars come in five flavors: Peanut Butter and Jelly, Blueberry Vanilla, Apple Cinnamon, Cocoa Nut, and Banana Bread, which range in taste from okay to slightly less than okay. Each flavor contains 10 grams of protein, 23 to 30 grams of carbs, five to seven grams of fiber, and 260 to 300 calories.
How, then, can Exo bars hope to compete with other foods marketed for their protein — say, greek yogurt, a product which has twice the protein, half the calories and a third of the carbs, is cheaper, and doesn't mostly gross people out?
"At this stage, we're mostly targeting early adopters of health and wellness [trends]," Sewitz said. "Fitness people who are pretty well-informed about their diet and the latest in food nutrition."
The CrossFit people matter, in short, because they care more about the nutritional value of the bars, may prove immune to the ick factor, and are invariably hungry for the next thing regardless of whether or not that thing has a carapace. Arguably they've already shown them to be open to unusual eating experiences. Quest protein bars, for instance, offer consumers the sensation of eating a chewy brick. Exo bars feel more organic because they stand out from comparable options like beef jerky, which offers lots of protein and little else. Exo bars give a more complete nutrient profile, in a Soylent kind of way. Bug products tend to be rich in amino acids and proteins; the Exo bar crickets will serve you with more than twice the amount of iron you'd get from an equivalent serving of spinach.
This is why purveyors of cricket flour don't worry too much about taste. If you get that far, you're probably already the kind of person who's fine with it. That's doubly true given that the bars are expensive. It's a boutique product for a specific audience. Cricket product are arguably already there, but trendiness has not ensued. The mass market remains hard to reach even though, in a sense, Exo is similar to Sweetgreen, an expensive, healthy product in its infancy. Maybe bug snacks have to become more artisanal and indulgent before becoming more mass market. Exo may, for the moment, exist in an uncomfortable middle ground.
Exo is working on new flavors and new product lines for 2017. Everything will still be cricket-based; Sewitz said the early informal research they conducted suggested that, as bugs go, people reacted most positively to crickets (as opposed to mealworms). People remain more compelled by the idea of doing pull-ups while being yelled at by a handsome professional, but the one thing may lead into the other. And if it does, the world will get healthier.