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i have just received our passports from the US Consulate, with the approved visa stamped.I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for being there since the very beginning and helping me through out this whole process. Working with you was easy and very quick. Your attention to details and making sure that every document was in proper order and form was instrumental in making sure every document submitted was accepted on the first presentation. I really liked your prompt responses to my emails and answers to all of my questions, which I know I had many throughout the whole process. For me it was really important that I could reach my attorney and could speak to you directly without waiting hours/days for a call back. I'm impressed with the caliber of your work, I really appreciate your help. I highly recommend your firm to my friends and colleagues for future immigration issues. I wish you all the success. Thanks again.
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Deportations reach a new all-time high
The United States deported the largest amount of people in the last year in the nation's history, immigration officials say. John Morton, the director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says the agency deported nearly 400,000 individuals during the fiscal year 2011 that just ended in September.
ICE said about 55 percent of those deported had felony or misdemeanor convictions. More than 1 million undocumented immigrants have been deported since President Obama took office in January 2009.
Officials said the number of deported individuals who had been convicted of crimes was up 89 percent from 2008. But officials could not immediately say how many of those crimes were related to immigration violations.
Among those deported were more than 1,000 people convicted of homicide. Another 5,800 were sexual offenders, and about 80,000 people convicted of drug related crimes or driving under the influence.
Authorities say two-thirds of those deported either recently crossed the border or had done so repeatedly.
"Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities," Morton said in a statement.
"These year-end totals indicate that we are making progress, with more convicted criminals, recent border crossers, egregious immigration law violators and immigration fugitives being removed from the country than ever before," he said.
The Obama administration recently announced that it was suspending deportations while it reviewed each of the roughly 300,000 cases pending and put those involving criminals or people who posed another threat to the public ahead of the line. Those whom it deemed low-risk would be put on hold, or their cases would be closed, administration officials said.
"These priorities," said the ICE website, "include the identification and removal of those that have broken criminal laws, threats to national security, recent border crossers, repeat violators of immigration law and immigration court fugitives."
The administration's announcement about the new deportation policy unleashed criticism by proponents of a tough approach to illegal immigration who said the new policy was a form of amnesty. They argue that everyone whose presence here is unlawful should be deported.
Advocates for more lenient immigration policies have assailed the Obama administration for failing to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, and instead expelling a record number of immigrants.
Many say his actions — which they say run counter to his 2008 campaign pledges to help people find a path to legalization — amount to betrayal.
The Obama administration says it is simply using limited resources in a more efficient way by directing them at the most dangerous immigrants in the country.
This is based on a story by The Associated Press.
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/10/18/us-deportations-reach-new-record/#ixzz1cTD1Rhow
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Tea has been lauded for an array of potential health benefits due to its antioxidants, with the strongest evidence showing its benefits to the heart. In fact, studies have shown that black tea intake leads to a decreased incidence of heart attack, while green tea has been associated with lower cholesterol levels.
Certain teas can also aid in your digestion. Green, chai and peppermint tea are all great options if you're looking to relieve a variety of digestive ailments, such as gas, upset stomach or nausea. Teas containing cinnamon and ginger also provide the same relief, as well.
Tea is a great 0-calorie alternative to water. Plus, it provides many options for flavor. As a result, you're not drinking a ton of empty liquid calories, and you're staying hydrated, as well.
Herbal blends have no caffeine, while traditional teas have less than half of what is found in coffee. This means you can consume it without any effect on your nervous system.
According to www.eatright.org, Japanese researchers in 2010 reported that having at least one cup of green tea per day was associated with significantly decreased odds for tooth loss. This is due to tea's fluoride content. Tea is usually brewed with fluoridated water, and the tea plant naturally accumulates fluoride from the soil.


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Background: Bis(indolyl)methane, indole and their derivatives are known as vital intermediates in the pharmaceutical chemistry and organic synthesis which exhibits a range of physiological properties. Bis(indolyl)methanes are found in cruciferous plants and are well known to promote beneficial estrogen metabolism and induce apoptosis in human cancer cells. Bis(indolyl)methanes have received much attention in recent years. A major source of waste in the (fine) chemicals industry is derived from the widespread use of liquid mineral acids (HF, H2SO4) and a variety of Lewis acids. They cannot be easily recycled and generally end up as waste containing large amounts of inorganic salts. Their widespread replacement by recyclable solid acids such as malic acid, tartaric acid and malonic acid etc., which are naturally occurring, would afford a dramatic reduction in waste. Thus there is need to find out green protocols for the synthesis of bioactive molecules.
Objective: To develop green protocol for the synthesis of bisindolylmethane derivatives.
Methods: Bisindolylmethane derivatives were synthesized in 85-95 % by using ultrasonication technique in presence of malic acid as an organocatalyst in water as a green solvent at ambient reaction condition.
Results: We have demonstrated that malic acid can be used as a benign organocatalyst for organic transformations with high efficacy and excellent reusability.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we have developed ultrasonically assisted malic acid catalyzed metal free green protocol for the bis(indolyl)methanes under homogenous conditions. The notable advantages of this method are the use of water as a green solvent, efficient eco-friendly and inexpensive catalyst, ambient temperature and high reusability of the catalyst. Therefore, this protocol can be a promising alternative to the use of Lewis and mineral acid catalysed organic reactions. Further studies of exploiting the efficiency of naturally occurring acids as a green catalyst in synthesis of various heterocyclic compounds are in progress.
Bis(indolyl)methanes, aldehyde, malic acid, ultrasound, homogenous, reusable organocatalyst.


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Chronicle of Pedro Castillo's Fleeting Self-Coup in Peru
Former president Pedro Castillo during his arrest in Lima, Peru. Photo: EFE | Confidencial
The coup lasted just 88 minutes. What self-destructive drive led the now former president to jump into the abyss?
By IDL Reporters (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – There was a self-coup in 1992 and another self-coup in 2022. Both used the same memorable verb: "Dissolve", for the same purposes, almost in the same order of enunciation.
There the similarities ended. The '92 coup in Peru was prepared for more than a year and a half; that of this week's in less than an hour and a half. That of 1992 mobilized all the Armed Forces and the Police; the one the latest one only mobilized words read from a trembling sheet of paper. The one of 1992 lasted eight years; that of 2022 a little more than 88 minutes. The one in 1992 was a calculated risk; that of 2022 an immediate suicide.
What happened? And above all, why did it happen? What self-destructive drive led former president Pedro Castillo to the blind idea of throwing himself into the abyss?
IDL-Reporteros has tried to reconstruct the sequence of events based on documents and interviews with several people close to the events, some of whom made open statements, while others requested that their names not be used.
Next, the chronicle of implausible events that, however, turned out to be true.
The hours before
Tuesday December 6 was the day before the debate on the vacancy motion presented in Congress against Castillo. The decisive hours of the debate would begin after noon.
In an incessant crescendo, the formal accusations made, the confessions revealed, and the informer accomplices converged in a communication pandemonium, whose evident purpose was to pressure the vote. However, it apparently did not manage to alter a numerical reality. Were there 87 votes or not? The matter was not only verbal and less rambling, but arithmetic. Did they have the votes?
Until the end of Tuesday the 6th, with noise or without noise, the votes against Castillo for vacancy of duty did not add up to 87.
Benji Espinoza, the lawyer for then-President Castillo, spent the entire afternoon of that day preparing his argument.
"Yesterday [Tuesday the 6th] we were in the Palace for six hours, all afternoon," Espinoza told IDL-R, "I arrived around 12:30 and we stayed until six. The President arrived at four. We reviewed details, the jurisprudence. I left the Palace after 6 p.m. […] I had my arguments ready, finishing them."
During those six hours, "at no time was the issue of dissolving the Congress addressed," says Benji Espinoza, "Yesterday I thought the President was convinced that we were doing well in Congress." In fact, adds Espinoza, "last night [Pedro Castillo] signed my appearance before Congress. He accredited me and Jose Palomino as his lawyers".
During the afternoon, the Executive had refined the reinforced defense strategy that was going to be presented on Wednesday the 7th. In addition to the lawyers Espinoza and Palomino, several ministers were going to intervene in the debate. So, Espinoza says, "the ministers Chero, Salas, Sanchez were there, and Landa also arrived."
In all this long process, Benji Espinoza says "I honestly did not notice anything unusual or strange in the president."
On the morning of Wednesday the 7th, Espinoza called Pedro Castillo, "at 9 or 9:30 to make arrangements. I told him that we would meet there, as agreed. There was no consultation.[…] We [Espinoza and Palomino] were going to arrive at 2 [in the afternoon] or a little earlier".
At 11:42 a.m. Castillo announced the self-coup
Message to the nation from President Pedro Castillo
Benji Espinoza, the lawyer who had best coordinated the President's defense, said "everything was a surprise. I am absolutely amazed. I don't know who told him to do what he did. […] The closure of Congress was never raised at any point in our conversations," he stated.
Espinoza did not hesitate about his next step. At 12:36 p.m., he posted on his Twitter account that he had irrevocably resigned from Castillo's defense.
"My resignation is irrevocable. I could not endorse undemocratic conduct."
The self-coup was literal: it hit the person who perpetrated it, Castillo himself.
The resignations cascaded: the first to resign was the Minister of Labor, Alejandro Salas, at 11:59 a.m. Seven minutes later, Foreign Minister César Landa did. The last to resign was the head of MIDIS, Cinthya Lindo, at 2:10 p.m. The penultimate was Defense Minister Gustavo Bobbio, who resigned at 1:59 p.m.
By now, the self-coup had completely deflated.
Every coup d'état needs, if it aspires to success and not suicide, a certain capacity of force, to be applied at key points, with coordinated precision. The lesser the force, the greater the risk of a bloody outcome.
And when there is no force, the outcome is not operative, it's totally inoperative.
Castillo, as would be seen, did not even have his body guards.
But at the moment he gave his message, many people suffered from uncertainty about what forces the president could mobilize, taking into account the draconian measures (curfew, etc.) that Castillo announced.
The day before, on Tuesday the 6th, it was learned that the top Commander of the Army, General EP Walter Cordova, had written a letter of resignation from his position. At seven in the morning on Wednesday the 7th, Cordova visited Castillo in the Palace, along with Defense Minister Bobbio, who entered before him. Each one spent around ten minutes with Castillo. Shortly after 8 a.m., Bobbio signed Cordova's resignation letter.
The Army was left that morning without a general commander. For some, that was an ominous sign when coupled with the self-coup announcement made a few hours later.
The two hours following Castillo's message at 11 in the morning, were, for many, the longest of the year. Various institutions (the National Board of Justice, the Judiciary, the National Prosecutor's Office) spoke out against the coup, but the silence of the Armed Forces and the Police remained.
A statement from the Army, at one in the afternoon, fueled concerns:
There was total immobility. Was this another April 5th (when in 1992 Alberto Fujimori declared his self-coup)?
No, it wasn't a repeat. In fact, the security forces had foreseen the possible conflict scenarios on the day of the debate on the presidential vacancy motion and were prepared to face it.
Soldiers of the law
Days before Wednesday, December 7, the high command of the National Police met with the heads of the Joint Command to weight the situation and action hypotheses.
Cooperation between institutions depends to a large extent on the relationship of trust between their leaders. The head of the Joint Command, General EP Manuel Gómez de la Torre, cultivated a good relationship with the Police during his administration, as demonstrated in the presentation of Operation Patriot, in the VRAEM, a few months ago.
Both the Commander General of the PNP, General PNP Raúl Alfaro, and the Chief of Staff, Police General Vicente Álvarez, maintain a cordial relationship with the Joint Command of the Armed Forces. General Álvarez, in particular, cooperated closely with the Armed Forces for several years in the fight against Sendero Luminoso.
In the meetings, the principles that were going to guide their action became clear: no order that meant fracturing or breaking democratic legality would be obeyed.
This was not new; but continued what the previous head of the Joint Command, General EP Cesar Astudillo, established in 2020.
Shortly after the vacancy of the then President Vizcarra, when the usurping government of Manuel Merino faced mobilizations of increasing intensity, Merino ordered the Armed Forces to intervene to quell the demonstrations.
Astudillo and his officers refused, issuing a statement that marked the character of the Armed Forces of the 21st century and, incidentally, accelerated the fall of the usurping government.
The Joint Command of 2022 obeyed exactly those principles. The high command of the Police as well.
As soon as the content of what Castillo was going to say was known, the Armed Forces and Police commanders met. Police General Alfaro was on medical leave, so General Alvarez assumed his representation as deputy general commander.
At 1:30 in the afternoon, the longest two hours of this year ended, when the Armed Forces and National Police published their joint statement.
It did not have the inspired wording of the 2020 press release, but its meaning was abundantly clear.
The self-coup, already almost deflated, collapsed at that moment. It was born in agony and died two hours later.
Then, General Alvarez learned that Castillo was leaving the Palace in vehicles with his family. Castillo's escort, made up of police officers, received his order to go to the Mexican embassy.
Alvarez then ordered the arrest of the former president. The order was transmitted to Castillo's escort by the head of State Security, Police General Ivan Lizzetti. Pretending to be a security problem, the caravan turned right at the Garcilaso intersection with Av. España and headed to the Prefecture premises (where the Seventh Police Region is located). There General Alvarez was waiting. He informed Castillo that he was under arrest, for the flagrant attempted coup.
That was the end of the coup, the freedom of Castillo and, at the same time, the threat against democracy. Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as President of the Republic, as was appropriate. The far right, which for months sought to restrict her, had to resign themselves to her presidency, for now.
And so ended, in a day of surprising events and unexpected outcomes, the short and turbulent history of Pedro Castillo's presidency. It arose amid the traumas of the coronavirus plague, which aroused both fears and hopes and justified neither one nor the other. Instead, it unleashed a chain of disappointments and growing indignation in the face of rudeness, dishonesty, and incompetence, where the main enemy of his presidency appeared: Castillo himself. He was the author of unprecedented disappointments and with a special talent described by the expression, "to rescue defeat from the very jaws of victory.
Text originally published by IDL-Reporteros
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« The Time Has Come….
Furthermore, Brazil's unemployment rate just went from 6.4% to 6.2%. Residents of SP work as hard and long as New Yorkers, and they have a strong sense of national pride and Brazil's increasing importance in the world.
There are also some growing pains. The internet in SP is slow, even slower than when I was in Peru last summer. Crime and drug use remain major concerns. Driving is arguably more dangerous than in NYC due to SP's aggressive motorcyclists, the presence of whom is largely due to heavy traffic. Public transportation is dismal at best. There are some transit lanes for buses, but the system suffers from delays and the metro does not serve large swaths of the city.
A duplex in Itaim Bibi, where many of the city's nouveau riche are snapping up swanky new apartments.
Although SP generally has good roads, the rest of Brazil suffers from badly insufficient infrastructure, and even here the country's geographical challenges appear daunting. There are only two main highways and one main railway from SP to the coast, each of which descends 800 meters down a steep mountain range. The trip is spectacular, but not if you are a trucker. On the other side is Latin America's largest port, Santos, which already operates at above capacity.
SP's wealthy live in either fortress-like houses or more frequently highly guarded apartment buildings, since the former are seen as more susceptible to robbery (though apartment buildings are more lucrative targets). In general, there is simply less law and order, even in the best parts of the city. Although Brazilians appear less racially prejudiced than Americans, race remains split along class lines. Whites dominate businesses and the upper classes, whereas favela residents are mainly of mixed ethnicity.
Bureaucracy also makes Brazil a very hard place to start a business, even though I have met some Brazilian nationals creating start-ups. Government approval remains the biggest obstacle businesses face.
Finally, the costliness of the real (pronounced "hei-al") has led to some results that might sound odd to Americans. McDonald's, for instance, is viewed as an upscale dining option by many in the middle class, a special place to take one's family once or twice a month (partly because Big Macs cost $6.16). Brazilians also love to visit Florida: for the warmth, for Disneyworld, and for the shopping in Miami, especially the "cheap" clothes. Although these habits might sound like charming oddities, they point to some weaknesses in Brazil's domestic economy that are not so easily circumvented, such as the inability of Brazilian goods to compete at home, let alone abroad.
A fruit/vegetable stand at a market in Guaianases, where the clients are predominately members of the newly-formed lower middle class.
I see no red flags, but a few warning signs. The role of Brazil's national development bank BNDES in major corporate deals is troubling, particularly after the Pão de Açucar/Carrefour/Casino debacle and the less-observed but equally important Sadia/Perdigão merger under Brasil Foods. Credit is too expensive here without government subsidies or access to capital markets, and BNDES seems to be making the problem worse.
In addition, SP is becoming even more expensive than New York. Real estate prices and costs of living have soared in the past two years. Going out at night in SP, especially if you are gentleman, can cost between R$100-150 if you buy dinner and go to a bar, and then at least another R$100 if you decide to go clubbing. The real has lately been called the world's most overvalued currency, yet demand shows little sign of abating. Vacancy rates remain low all across the city, more paulistas than ever are buying cars, and all around you can see new shops, supermarkets, malls, and restaurants. The $64,000 question is not how long will it last; the real question is, when Brazil hits harder times, will the country be ready?
The answer is probably not, though Brazil has some policy tools at its disposal. In the long run, steps like improving infrastructure, bolstering education, and streamlining populist government spending would do a great deal to expand Brazil's capacity to grow without overheating. However, corruption is so rampant here that the government has very little credibility or incentive to take bold measures. Even the stadiums for the World Cup are drastically behind schedule and under-funded; at current rates, they will not be finished until 2038!
Given the importance of football to this country, I am fairly positive Brazil will find a way to get the stadiums ready. But if the larger problems remain unaddressed, Brazil's development will likely include fits and starts, more struggles with inflation, and a potentially drastic correction down the road.
Congratulations on your article! I'm Brazilian and hopefully will get accepted into Stanford.
Obrigado, Daniel! Best of luck with your Stanford app!!
Fala George, gostei bastante do seu artigo. Fico feliz que você esteja aproveitando sua estada em São Paulo e mais feliz pela sua visão otimista.
It was really cool to read your thoughts on another country (and especially Brazil – I love Brazilian music and the language and hope to spend time there sometime soon). I wrote similar posts on my own blog when I was living in Argentina and Uruguay during my year off. But you definitely bring a Stanford (econ, poli sci) lens to it which my posts lacked. Next time I go abroad I'm hoping I'll be able to bring that perspective too!
Chris, thanks a lot for your feedback. Hope you can make it to Brazil in the near future. When you get a chance, could you possibly post a link to your blog? I would love to check out what you wrote while you were abroad.


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Caitlin Owens updated Feb 2, 2018
House ACA stabilization bill takes broader approach than Senate
House and Senate Republicans are increasingly open to the idea of a program that would pump billions of dollars into insurance markets to help stabilize the Affordable Care Act's exchanges. But they'll need to reconcile big differences over how much to spend and how much to leave up to states.
Our thought bubble: Generally, experts are saying the more reinsurance money, the better — if Congress is serious about bringing down premiums in the individual market. But the House bill includes enough state flexibility that this money could end up being used inefficiently, some experts warn.
The Senate bill, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins and Bill Nelson, would essentially expedite the waiver process already in place to create a state reinsurance program. This would help offset the cost of expensive patients.
As introduced, the bill would provide states roughly $5 billion over two years, though Collins has since said she wants to bump the total up to $10.5 billion.
As law professor and ACA supporter Tim Jost pointed out to me, it also passes savings from reduced premium subsidies through to states — thereby enhancing the available funding.
Importantly, this bill would require states to opt in to a reinsurance program.
The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Ryan Costello and has recently gained some high-profile co-sponsors, like Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
It would provide $10 billion a year for three years, a substantially larger amount than Collins-Nelson. It also would temporarily fund the ACA's cost-sharing reduction payments.
States could use this money for a variety of methods intended to reduce premiums — not just reinsurance.
If a state didn't opt into using the money, the funding allocated to that state will be used to set up a reinsurance program by default.
What they're saying:
The fact that the Senate bill relies on states to set up their own programs could be problematic. "Relying on states to develop waivers and their own reinsurance programs or invisible high-risk pools would slow things down and likely result in some parts of the country not getting premium relief," said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Levitt said using the ACA's reinsurance program could be more efficient, just because the structure already exists.
Chris Condeluci, a former GOP Senate aide, said that doing reinsurance through a waiver process could result in states requesting other marketplace changes as well, which would be beneficial.
Health lawyer Nick Bagley warned about the House bill, "if the exchanges aren't working, throwing more money at them will ease some of the pain, but it doesn't actually address any of the underlying problems."
"Some states would likely get creative with the federal money, and not necessarily use it to reduce premiums," Levitt said.
The bottom line: No expert I've spoken with really thinks Collins-Nelson is enough money to stabilize the marketplace after the repeal of the individual mandate. The question is how much money is appropriate, and what other stabilization measures should accompany funding.
Clarification: This story has been updated to note that Collins is now pursuing more reinsurance funding than her bill initially provided for.
Health insurance marketplaces


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UN Women Discussion Papers
The UN Women discussion paper series is a new initiative led by the Research and Data section of UN Women, to provide grounded, fresh and robust perspectives on some of the contemporary challenges to achieving gender equality and women's rights, and offer insights into policy innovations that are making a difference in women's lives. The series is a space for leading feminist researchers to share original, substantive research from different national and regional contexts. Before being published, each paper benefits from an anonymous external peer review process by experts, so that the final product is a high quality and relevant piece of research that contributes to further scholarship in the field.
https://doi.org/10.18356/a8c99d12-en
No. 27 12 Feb 2019 The SDGs and Feminist Movement Building
Gita Sen
This discussion paper views the whys and hows of feminist engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a broader context: the key UN-related processes from the time women began getting involved with them in the 1970s. This contextual...
Click to download PDF - 456.01KB
No. 26 18 Feb 2019 Gender Equality and Poverty are Intrinsically Linked
Rense Nieuwenhuis, Teresa Munzi, Jörg Neugschwender, Heba Omar and Flaviana Palmisano
This discussion paper provides an updated analysis of gendered economic inequality in high- and middle-income countries. A review of the literature demonstrates that such an analysis needs to explicitly recognize that gender, poverty, and (economic)...
No. 25 13 Nov 2018 The Evolution of Marriage and Relationship Recognition in Western Jurisdictions
Nicola Barker
Marriage as both a legal and social institution has long been the subject of critique for its role in the oppression of women. However, the institution has undergone significant change in western jurisdictions, particularly in the last few decades,...
No. 24 19 Sep 2018 Love is Not a Passport to Sweden
Halliki Voolma
This paper investigates how women's right to live free from violence operates in the context of insecure immigration status. It is based on qualitative research addressing intimate partner violence against women with insecure immigration status in...
No. 23 18 Jun 2018 Disrupted Families
Sabine Damir-Geilsdorf and Martina Sabra
By the end of 2016, an estimated 6.5 million Syrian citizens were internally displaced, and more than 4.8 million Syrians had fled to neighbouring countries. While roughly half of all displaced and refugee Syrians are female, around three quarters of...
No. 22 22 Mar 2018 Agrarian Labour and Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa
United Nations Women
This paper traces the restructuring of rural families' agricultural production, the intra-household division of labour, and land usage in the interim between the global oil price rise of 1979 and its precipitous fall by 2015. These decades witnessed...
No. 21 28 Dec 2017 A Contemporary View of 'Family' in International Human Rights Law and Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona
This paper examines the interplay between the obligations related to the 'family' that States have assumed through various human rights treaties adopted over the decades, and the recent commitments undertaken under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable...
No. 20 12 Dec 2017 Does Group Farming Empower Rural Women?
Bina Agarwal
Few programmes for economically empowering rural women in India have focused seriously on farming—the one occupation in which the women have most experience. Hence, two state-level initiatives in the early 2000s stand out, both because they focused...
No. 18 30 Nov 2017 Neither Heroines nor Victims
Giovanna Gioli, Amina Maharjan and Manju Gurung
Circular labour migration is frequently portrayed as a gender-neutral phenomenon. Despite the growing literature on the feminization of migration, scholarly and policy literature is often gender-blind. In Nepal, over the last decade, the share of...
No. 17 15 Oct 2017 Reconfiguring Care Relationships
Bina Fernandez
Migration reconfigures care relationships as people adapt to employment, entitlements and care practices in a new context. While a rich genre of analysis of "global care chains" draws attention to how disadvantaged female migrant care workers from...
No. 16 31 Jul 2017 Gender Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Virginie Comblon, Anne-Sophie Robilliard and François Roubaud
Using micro data from two recent labour force surveys collected in Cameroon and Mali, this paper explores gender differentials in labour market outcomes covering key areas such as occupational segregation, informality, part-time work and gender wage...
No. 15 15 Jul 2017 Gender and Land Dispossession
Michael Levien
This paper seeks to advance our understanding of the gendered implications of rural land dispossession. It does so through a comparative analysis of five cases of dispossession that were driven by different economic purposes in diverse agrarian...
No. 14 18 Jul 2016 Investing in Gender-Equal Sustainable Development
Isha Ray
This work develops an agenda for investing in sustainable development, with particular emphasis on local priorities, poverty alleviation and gender equality. Sustainable development can take many different pathways, even within the dominant...
No. 13 04 Jul 2016 Gender Equality and Sustainable Development: A Pathways Approach
The challenges of building pathways to sustainability and enhancing gender equality are both urgent. This work explores why they must be addressed together, and how this might be done. It puts forward a 'gendered pathways approach', as a conceptual...
No. 11 20 Mar 2016 Financing for Gender Equality in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals
This publication identifies a series of macro-level tools to create a supportive environment and generate the resources to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to gender equality. A key argument is that financing for gender equality...
No. 10 16 Mar 2016 Delivering Development Justice?
Tessa Khan
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes a goal to achieve gender equality for all women and girls and a re-commitment to governments' human rights obligations. At the same time, governments have agreed to a range of strategies for...
No. 9 26 Feb 2016 Trade Liberalization, Social Policy Development and Labour Market Outcomes of Chinese Women and Men in the Decade After China's Accession to the World Trade Organization
Xiao-Yuan Dong, Shi Li and Sui Yang
How trade liberalization affects women's position in the labour market and what role public policy should play to make the process work better for women are among some of the most debated issues in academic communities and in policy-making arenas....
No. 8 17 Feb 2016 The Indian Labour Market
Govindan Raveendran
This work provides an in-depth analysis of trends in labour outcomes of women in India based on employment-unemployment surveys. The publication brings out the gender differentials that exist in the employment status of women and men despite the...
Click to download PDF - 1,018.25KB
No. 7 30 Sep 2015 Are Governments Catching Up?
Merike Blofield and Juliana Martínez Franzoni
This publication examines government policies toward the crucial nexus of work-family reconciliation, focusing on employment-based leaves and early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. It starts by discussing the socio-economic context in...
No. 5 30 Sep 2015 Economic Growth and Social Reproduction
Elissa Braunstein
This work develops a set of regimes that link structures of economic growth with those of social reproduction. These regimes are then linked to groups of countries organized by economic structure and level of development to evaluate the macroeconomic...
The SDGs and Feminist Movement Building
Gender Equality and Poverty are Intrinsically Linked
The Evolution of Marriage and Relationship Recognition in Western Jurisdictions
Love is Not a Passport to Sweden
Disrupted Families
Agrarian Labour and Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa
A Contemporary View of 'Family' in International Human Rights Law and Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Does Group Farming Empower Rural Women?
Neither Heroines nor Victims
Reconfiguring Care Relationships
Gender Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Gender and Land Dispossession
Investing in Gender-Equal Sustainable Development
Gender Equality and Sustainable Development: A Pathways Approach
Financing for Gender Equality in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals
Delivering Development Justice?
Trade Liberalization, Social Policy Development and Labour Market Outcomes of Chinese Women and Men in the Decade After China's Accession to the World Trade Organization
The Indian Labour Market
Are Governments Catching Up?
Economic Growth and Social Reproduction
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/collection/a8c99d12-en


text:
/* ========================================================
 * ServletPropetyHelper.java
 *
 * Author:      kenmchugh
 * Created:     Mar 13, 2011, 4:21:43 PM
 *
 * Description
 * --------------------------------------------------------
 * General Class Description.
 *
 * Change Log
 * --------------------------------------------------------
 * Init.Date        Ref.            Description
 * --------------------------------------------------------
 *
 * ===================================================== */

package Goliath.Web.Servlets;

import Goliath.Applications.Application;
import Goliath.Collections.PropertySet;
import Goliath.Constants.XMLFormatType;
import Goliath.XML.XMLFormatter;
import javax.xml.stream.XMLStreamReader;
import javax.xml.stream.XMLStreamWriter;

/**
 * Class Description.
 * For example:
 * <pre>
 *      Example usage
 * </pre>
 *
 * @see         Related Class
 * @version     1.0 Mar 13, 2011
 * @author      kenmchugh
**/
public class ServletConfigXMLFormatter extends Goliath.XML.XMLFormatter<ServletConfig>
{
    @Override
    public Class supports()
    {
        return ServletConfig.class;
    }

    @Override
    protected boolean allowContent(ServletConfig toObject, XMLFormatType toFormatType)
    {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    protected void onWriteContent(XMLStreamWriter toStream, ServletConfig toObject, XMLFormatType toFormatType)
    {
        if (toObject == null)
        {
            return;
        }

        try
        {
            toStream.writeStartElement("url-pattern");
            toStream.writeCharacters(toObject.getServletContext().getURLPattern());
            toStream.writeEndElement();
        }
        catch (Throwable ex)
        {
            Application.getInstance().log(ex);
        }

        if (toObject.getInitParameterNames() != null)
        {
            // Write any other parameters that exist
            for (String lcString : toObject.getInitParameterNames())
            {
                Object loValue = toObject.getInitParameter(lcString);
                if (loValue != null)
                {
                    try
                    {
                        toStream.writeStartElement(lcString);
                        if (Goliath.DynamicCode.Java.isPrimitive(loValue) && toFormatType == XMLFormatType.TYPED())
                        {
                            toStream.writeAttribute("type", loValue.getClass().getName());
                        }

                        XMLFormatter.appendToXMLStream(loValue, toFormatType, toStream, null);

                        toStream.writeEndElement();
                    }
                    catch (Throwable ex)
                    {
                        Application.getInstance().log(ex);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    @Override
    protected void onStartedElement(XMLStreamReader toReader, String tcNodeName, PropertySet toAttributes, Object toObject, XMLFormatType toFormatType)
    {
        if (tcNodeName.equalsIgnoreCase("url-pattern"))
        {
            try
            {
                String lcKey = toReader.getElementText();
                ((ServletConfig)toObject).setServletContext(lcKey);
            }
            catch (Throwable ex)
            {
                Application.getInstance().log(ex);
            }
        }
        else
        {
            iterateToNextPosition(toReader);
            Object loValue = fromXMLReader(toReader, toFormatType, null);

            // TODO: Check if we are able to use the Generic type for toObject rather than specifing the Object class
            ((ServletConfig)toObject).setParameter(tcNodeName, loValue);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Beijing, Jan 4 (PTI) China has developed a massive bomb, said to be the country's answer to the US-built 'Mother of All Bombs', the most powerful non-nuclear weapon, official media reported on Friday.
China's defence industry giant NORINCO for the first time showcased the aerial bomb, the country's largest non-nuclear bomb, state-run Global Times reported.
It is dubbed as the Chinese version of the "Mother of All Bombs" due to its huge destruction potential that is claimed to be only second to nuclear weapons, the daily said.


text:
Nonlinear Distortion Measurements:
One of the methods of Nonlinear Distortion Measurements consists of simultaneously applying two sinusoidal voltages of different frequencies to the amplifier input and observing the sum, difference and various combination frequencies that are produced by the non-linearity of the amplifier. This method of Nonlinear Distortion Measurements is called the intermodulation method.
The two signals may be combined under many different conditions, but two cases are important.
In the first case, a low frequency test signal and a high frequency test signal of somewhat smaller amplitude are simultaneously applied to the amplifier. If Nonlinear Distortion Measurements and its effects are present, then the amplification that the high frequency component f2 experiences will vary at the frequency f1 of the low frequency signal, as shown in Fig. 16.6.
Hence the signal of frequency f2 in the amplifier output is modulated at the low frequency f1. The amount of distortion is then expressed in terms of the modulation experienced by the high frequency wave, according to the relation
m1 = degree of modulation that the output component of frequency f2 experiences at frequency f1
m2 = corresponding modulation of f2 at a frequency 2f1.
This particular method of employing two signals to determine Nonlinear Distortion Measurements is widely used in AF systems. It is commonly referred to as the SMPTE intermodulation method, since it has been standardised by the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE).
(An alternative method of explaining this situation is to consider that the non-linear action of the amplifier produces sum and difference frequencies, (f1 + f2) and (f1 — f2) respectively. These frequency components, together with f2, can be thought of as representing the side bands and a carrier respectively, thus forming a wave of carrier frequency f2 modulated at frequency f1. If the Nonlinear Distortion Measurements is also sufficient to produce second order combination frequencies f2 + 2f1, the modulation envelope then contains a component that is the second harmonic of f1. The modulation envelope is then not sinusoidal.)
The block diagram for the setup of determining intermodulation by the SMPTE method is shown in Fig. 16.7.
The system consists of two signal generators, generating frequencies f1 and f2 respectively, and combining these two outputs from the signal generators. The combining systems may take any of a number of forms, such as a transformer with centre tapped primary, or two amplifier active devices with separate inputs but common output load impedance. (Alternatively, it is possible to use a two frequency signal generator specially designed for intermodulation test.)
The network N1 separates the high frequency (f2) and its side bands from other frequency components that may be present in the amplifier output. Voltmeter V1 measure the amplitude of the resulting modulated wave, i.e. it measures the carrier amplitude E2.
The modulation envelope is determined by rectifying (detecting) the modulation wave, separating the modulation frequency component of the envelope by a low pass filter N2, and determining the amplitude of the modulation component by voltmeter V2. The dotted block indicates a system for measuring the characteristics of a modulated wave. Calibration can be carried out by applying known voltages of frequencies f1 and f2 to terminals a and b.
In such a measuring system, shown in Fig. 16.7, the normal practice is to make the low frequency test signal at least four times as large as the high frequency test signal applied to the system. The low frequency used is about 50 — 100 Hz, while the high frequency is typically about 5 kHz or more.
The low pass filter N2, must have a sufficient band width to pass second order side bands, that is, a cutoff frequency greater than 2f1. Band pass filter N1 must have a corresponding band width greater than 4f1.
The voltmeter V1 used must be an average-reading type and voltmeter V2 must be a square law device. An average reading meter, such as a copper oxide rectifier instrument gives sufficiently accurate results for ordinary requirements. In no case should voltmeter V2 be a peak reading meter.
The value of the intermodulation distortion determined by the SMPTE method depends basically on the non-linearity met by the low frequency test signal, because this signal is much larger under standard test conditions. The observed intermodulation distortion is largely dependent on the value of the high frequency f2, but depends at least slightly on the value of f1.
Microwave Frequency Measurement Techniques
Resonant Coaxial Wavemeter
Simple Cylindrical Cavity Wavemeter
RF UHF field strength meter circuit
Audio Amplifier Frequency Response
Modulation Frequency Definition
Radio Frequency Modulation
Sensitivity Measurement Definition
Measuring Amplitude Modulation
Selectivity Measurement Receiver


Many recording engineers start out as musicians. Singer Malverde, standing, rehearses with engineer Eric J. Dubowsky, playing guitar.
It requires a unique set of skills to be a successful recording engineer. You need to be part musician and part computer geek. You need to have a trained ear for the subtleties of sound, a mastery of tons of complex analog and digital equipment and the ability to use technology to achieve specific creative results.
Not surprisingly, most recording engineers are musicians themselves. Many were once aspiring musicians who realized that their true love was being in the studio, working behind the scenes to help other artists make the most out of their recordings.
The most desired skill in a recording engineer is a sense of balance. Pretty much everything a recording engineer does during and after a recording session has to do with attaining balance. The drums can't be too loud. The vocals can't be too soft. What's the point of having a 10-piece string section if they're lost in the mix?
A good ear for balance is useless unless you know how to use the tools to achieve it. An experienced recording engineer feels like the control board is an extension of himself. Legendary recording engineers could grab ten faders for ten different tracks and push them into balance simultaneously [source: YouTube].
Nowadays, with powerful digital audio packages like Pro Tools, there's a temptation to use every trick in the book on every track. A good recording engineer not only knows how to balance the levels in a recording session, but how to balance the use of effects and compression available through a nearly endless variety of software plug-ins and virtual instruments. There is, after all, such a thing as being overproduced.
A recording engineer must be intimately familiar with all of the equipment in the studio and how each piece of equipment affects the sound of the recorded audio. He must be an expert on different types of microphones -- compressor, dynamic, ribbon, et cetera -- as well as every type of electric guitar, amplifier and microphone pre-amp. If the drummer says he wants the cymbals to sound sweeter, then the engineer must know to hang a ribbon microphone from the ceiling [source: YouTube].
A recording engineer needs a strong work ethic and an incredible attention to detail. Recording sessions don't always conform to a nine-to-five schedule. It's not uncommon for recording engineers to undertake marathon recording sessions that last several days straight. No matter the working conditions, the engineer is expected to capture the best recordings possible and keep everything running smoothly.
A good recording engineer also must learn to work fast. The engineer must never be an obstacle to the creative process. If an artist gets a new idea for a vocal and the engineer isn't ready to record, then people are going to get frustrated. Even though an engineer's work can be incredibly complicated -- juggling several different crucial tasks at once -- it should never be the focus of the recording session. The focus should always be on the client.
Which brings up the final, and perhaps most essential skill of the recording engineer: communication. Recording engineers have the difficult job of working with recording artists, who each have their own communication style. The recording engineer must learn when to speak up and when to shut up. He must gauge the personality and mood of the artist to know when to make suggestions and when to let it rest. A good recording engineer will establish himself early as a helpful partner in the process, not a referee pointing out mistakes.
So how exactly do you break into this exciting career? Keep reading to find out.


After the European Union (EU) decision to label Israeli goods produced in the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Foreign Ministry to suspend contacts with the EU over the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Netanyahu has ordered the holding of "a reassessment of the involvement of EU bodies in everything that is connected to the diplomatic process with the Palestinians", a ministry statement said Sunday.
"Until completion of the reassessment, the Prime Minister has ordered a suspension of diplomatic contacts with the EU and its representatives in this matter," the ministry added.
At the same time, Israel's bilateral relations with EU individual states over the Israel-Palestine peace process will continue, Emmanuel Nahshon, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said, according to Haaretz. However the Israeli newspaper stated that neither the timing of this decision nor its scope or difference from previous measures is clear at the moment.
After the EU had announced its decision, Ynet News reported in a video Netanyahu speaking that "The European Union should be ashamed," "the European Union has decided to label only Israel, and we are not prepared to accept the fact that Europe is labeling the side that is being attacked by terrorism," he added.
Immediately after the EU demanded the labeling of West Bank goods, the EU ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and informed of the suspension of diplomatic dialogue in several European forums, according to RT.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin also canceled his visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels scheduled for December 2.
The EU does not recognize Israeli control over the territories seized during the Six-Day war in 1967 – West Bank, East Jerusalem as well as the Golan Heights – disregarding their current status under Israeli law. The new law requires the labeling of products made in these territories as "products of the West Bank (Palestinian products)", "product of Gaza" or "product of Palestine." Enforcing the law is to fall under the authority of individual EU member states.


text:
Crete TOURnet: Home Crete Guide Churches in Crete Frescoes
The donor of Agios Georgios Church in Kato Floria
The frescoes of the Byzantine churches of Crete have undergone years of neglect and abuse from human and natural elements. The churches were allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair that their roofs and walls have not only leaked, damaging the frescoes, but have completely collapsed in in some cases. The years of occupation took their toll also, and many eyes have been gouged out by Turkish bullets or knives, followed by wholescale destruction during the Second World War. The natural decline of the paintings over the years (a thousand in some cases) is also to be expected. However, even taking into consideration all these factors, there is still a great deal of pleasure for anyone who tracks down these frescoes throughout Crete, as some of the remaining ones are among the most beautiful to be seen anywhere in the world. The natural surroundings of the small chapels only enhances their beauty when one understands the philosophy of Byzantium that no place was to be neglected in honouring God.
The Byzantine church painter was very much influenced by cultural factors, especially after the Ecumenical Council of 787 A. D. The decision had been taken that Christ could be painted in the churches because He had, after all, taken a human form to save Mankind. The characters in the frescoes have the appearances of the emperors and courtiers--bearded, wearing fabulous jewelled robes and holding ornate jewelled religious articles. This is all in keeping with the philosophy that the saints were the courtiers of God, and therefore, in depicting them thus, the painters were honouring God.
Another cultural belief that is apparent in the frescoes is the theme of torment or mutilation. It was considered far more honourable in Byzantine culture to mutilate prisoners than to kill them and frescoes depicting the torturous punishment of the damned beside sensitive nativity scenes were quite acceptable.
There are very few frescoes from the first Byzantine period remaining. An exception is in the church of Agios Nikolaos in Agios Nikolaos, Mirabelo, Lassithi, where under the present frescoes, other frescoes showing geometric patterns, traditional in churches painted during the Iconoclast period when pictures in churches were forbidden, have been found.
Many of the basilicas are from the first Byzantine period but few show even traces of frescoes. Therefore most of the frescoes the visitor will see are of the second Byzantine period, that is after 936 A.D. and most are from an even later period, the fourteenth century.
During the Venetian occupation the Venetians did not bother the Greek churches and although the Cretans did not have the money to build magnificent structures they did embellish the insides of their chapels with rich frescoes. The quality of these frescoes greatly improved after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Many of the scholars and artists took refuge in Crete where they developed the Cretan School of painting, characterized by a blend of Renaissance and Byzantine art techniques, the result being more humanistic features in the frescoes, such as expression of emotion and character in the faces and the clothing was contoured to the body rather that falling straight. The gestures were much more detailed and expressive. The themes of the frescoes did not change greatly, except that the scenes now became framed in a bright red colour.
The Byzantine painter was governed by rules that applied to much larger churches, that is churches with a dome and large wall space for painting. The church itself was a symbol of the universe with heaven and earth being governed by the Almighty (the Pantocrator). In large churches the Pantocrator is in the dome but in the smaller chapels he looks down from the conch (the small section above and behind the altar). The Pantocrator has many different appearances as he views the universe. He may be severe, compassionate, awesome or indifferent. Below him in the apse are the saints and evangelists and occasionally the Virgin Mary seen between heaven and earth in her position as interceder.
In the upper part of the church, starting on the Pantocrator's left and going across the vaulted ceiling criss-cross fashion to the back (west end) of the church and ending on the right of the Pantocrator, were scenes of Christ's life and the saints'. During the first Byzantine period these frescoes represented the main festivals of the church, arranged chronologically as to their timing in the calendar year as opposed to historical time. In the second Byzantine period these themes expanded to include the major events of Christ's life interspersed with scenes of the life of the saint to whom the church was dedicated.
The west wall (opposite the Pantocrator) was reserved for Crucifixion scenes and, later of the Second Coming, scenes from hell and the Raising of the Dead from the sea.
The lower part of the church traditionally had full length frescoes of the saints and sometimes the military saints (Agios Georgios and Agios Dimitrios).
Later additions to the rear wall were the donor of the church and his family, usually represented with a model of the church in his hands, other saints, a narrative tableau and occasionally medallions with saints' heads.
Some of the themes that are still easily recognizable in the Byzantine churches of Crete are:
1. Punishment of the Damned is not hard to recognize as they usually involve grotesque scenes of torture and, as mentioned, are on the back wall.
2. Lazarus rising from the dead is recognized by the bound figure of Lazarus in an upright coffin, giving the appearance that he is standing.
3. The Nativity, characterized by the presence of an animal (ox or ass), a cradle and child and the reclining Virgin Mary.
4. The Last Supper.
5. Christ's Baptism, characterized by Christ in the river Jordan surrounded by fish and the impressive figure of John the Baptist.
6. The Dormition of the Virgin depicts Mary lying serene and beautiful in death surrounded by saints with Christ behind her, cradling her soul (a baby) in his arms.
7. The donor and his family can be recognized as they are on the back wall and do not have a halo, as do not any other lay people represented.
8. Haloed Saints (on the lower part of the church) are usually flat two-dimensional characters that face forwards with dangling feet, as if they are floating. These saints are always fabulously dressed being as they were thought of as courtiers of God.
9. The Crucifixion. The early Byzantine frescoes represented Christ as a spiritual figure, whereas the later frescoes shows a suffering Christ and an agonising Mary.
Many of the frescoes' painters are unknown and although some frescoes may be signed, little is known about the painters themselves. An exception to this is Ioannis Pagomenos, who painted many churches in the Chania prefecture. He is buried in the chapel of Agios Nikolaos in Maza and is known to be one of the more humanitarian painters of this era. Many of his works can be appreciated in the Selino area (southeast of Chania). Another known painter is Manuel Fokas who painted in the Pediada area of Iraklion.
Photos of Frescoes:
A fresco depicting hell, in Agios Ioannis Church in Axos
The fresco of Agios Nikolaos by Ioannis Pagomenos in Agios Nikolaos Church, Moni
A fresco in Agios Georgios Church in Koustogerako (graffiti dated 1507)
A fresco (dated 1455) by Emmanuel and Ioannis Fokas, Agios Konstantinos Church, Avdou
A fresco in the Panagia Church, Drakonero
The donors of Michael Archangelos Church, Kavalariana
Christ washing the Apostles' feet fresco in the Panagia Church in Kamariotis
The Dormition of the Virgin Mary fresco in Agios Ioannis Church, Deliana
The rear wall of the Panagia Church in Agia Paraskevi
The Last Supper fresco in the Panagia, Smiles
The Last Supper fresco in Agios Georgios Church, Vathiako
The Christ's Baptism fresco in the Panagia Church in Lambiotes
The 14C Crucifixion fresco, Agios Antonios Church, Avdou
The Nativity fresco in Agios Ioannis Theologos Church in Margarites
The frescoed arch in the Panagia Church in Demblohori, Mourne
A fresco of John the Baptist in Agios Ioannis Church, Axos