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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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New Bulls Please
Young, free, single and in search of romance? The National Trust has a job for you. Bad news: you must be a rare White Park bull
By countryfile
September 22nd, 2016 at 11:23 am
After 1,000 years on the National Trust estate at Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire, a herd of rare white park cattle is in danger of extinction unless a new young bull and cows can be bought in to keep the bloodline alive.
National Trust Wales urgently needs to raise £36,000 to buy the new animals before the existing 13-strong herd becomes too old to breed. The animals are characterized by pure white coats, black noses and ears. There are fewer than 750 breeding females left in the world.
Wyn Davies, a local dairy farmer, has been caring for the herd for the past 18 years. He's passionate about making sure their heritage and legendary status are protected at Dinefwr.
Wyn said: "After 4 years of distinguished service, the current bull, Strelley Bendigo, has maximized his potential within the herd. A new male needs to enter the herd to preserve the bloodline and make sure the bulls bred on the land are true to species."
Dairy farmer Wyn Davies (right) looks after the White Park cattle at Dinefwr. Rhodri Thomas (left) will take over the herd in the next few years
Richard Broad, field officer at the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) said: "The RBST fully support the maintenance and future development of the herd of White Park cattle at Dinefwr. Based in the homeland of the breed in west Wales, the campaign is a beacon of hope for all rare breeds."
White Park cattle also be found at the Chillingham Estate in Northumberland and a handful of other sites around the UK.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Tag Archive for: Legal Schnauzer
Leura Canary Strikes Again: Alabama Bingo Arrests
October 4, 2010 /in Bush Administration, Department of Justice, Law, Obama Administration /by bmaz
The DOJ has just announced significant arrests in the long simmering Alabama Bingo case. This is huge news that will shake Alabama politics to the bone like nothing has since the Governor Don Siegelman persecution. From the official DOJ Press Release:
Eleven individuals, including four current Alabama state legislators, three lobbyists, two business owners and one of their employees, and an employee of the Alabama legislature have been charged for their roles in a conspiracy to offer to and to bribe legislators for their votes and influence on proposed legislation, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division.
The defendants are charged in an indictment returned by a grand jury on Oct. 1, 2010, in Montgomery, Ala., which was unsealed today. Various defendants are charged with a variety of criminal offenses, including conspiracy, federal program bribery, extortion, money laundering, honest services mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and making a false statement. They will make initial appearances today in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama before U.S. Magistrate Judge Terry F. Moorer.
"Today, charges were unsealed against 11 legislators, businessmen, lobbyists and associates who, together, are alleged to have formed a corrupt network whose aim was to buy and sell votes in the Alabama legislature in order to directly benefit the business interests of two defendants, Milton McGregor and Ronald Gilley," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "The people of Alabama, like all our citizens, deserve to have representatives who act in the public's interest, not for their own personal financial gain. Vote-buying, like the kind alleged in this indictment, corrodes the public's faith in our democratic institutions and cannot go unpunished."
So, this is pretty interesting timing for this big prosecutorial move, no? It sure is. From today's report from the excellent Roger Shuler at Legal Schnauzer, who practices in the area and has covered this case from the outset:
The U.S. Justice Department is spinning today's actions as a legitimate probe focused on corruption connected to gambling legislation. But our sources have been saying for weeks that it is designed to affect the November elections. Polls show Republican Robert Bentley already leading Democrat Ron Sparks in the race for governor, and the arrests could help the GOP take over one or both houses of the Alabama Legislature, a long-stated goal of outgoing governor Bob Riley.
Means and Ross are Democrats, Pruett is a Republican, and Smith is an Independent. That appears to be a relatively bipartisan target list. But there is little doubt that Canary and her prosecutors went after Democrats and others who oppose Gov. Riley and his efforts to shut down gaming in Alabama.
So far, there is no word of an indictment on Sparks. But what does all of this say about the Obama administration? It already had a dreadful record on justice issues. And yet it backs a process where neither Gov. Riley nor any of his conservative backers who opposed gambling were apparently even investigated. We've seen no sign of a probe into the $13 million in Mississippi gaming money that reportedly was spent to help get Riley elected in 2002. Canary seems to have focused only on pro-gambling individuals, who tend to be Democrats or Riley critics.
What is this "investigation" all about? It looks like a thinly veiled effort to pay back Riley's Mississippi gaming supporters–who reportedly laundered money through Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, and Ralph Reed–by shutting down competition in Alabama.
Yes, very interesting timing indeed. It was not enough that DOJ, Canary and Morris used the specter of investigation to influence an earlier legislative vote on the bingo issue (see here and here), there is now Read more →
https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png 0 0 bmaz https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png bmaz2010-10-04 11:14:472010-10-04 11:14:47Leura Canary Strikes Again: Alabama Bingo Arrests
DOJ PIN Head Steps Into More Malfeasance Poo
April 6, 2010 /48 Comments/in Bingo, Bush Administration, Department of Justice, Law, Obama Administration /by emptywheel
Central to the prosecutorial misconduct directly resulting in the criminal charges against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens being dismissed was Brenda Morris, the Principal Deputy Chief of the DOJ Public Integrity Section (PIN). The misconduct was so egregious, and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) so infirm, the trial judge, Emmet Sullivan, appointed a special court investigator to handle a criminal contempt probe.
Has the DOJ itself taken any action in light of the heinous conduct? No, of course not, they never do at the Roach Motel that is the OPR. Instead, the DOJ banished Morris to the Atlanta USA office apparently still as some kind of functioning authority in the Public Integrity (PIN) section. The DOJ is nothing if not consistent, whether under Bush or Obama.
Morris has promptly inserted herself into another high charged political mess, and done so with questionable ethics and curious basis for involvement. From Joe Palazzolo at Main Justice:
Brenda Morris, a veteran trial lawyer in the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section, was among a group of federal law enforcement officials who met with Alabama legislators on April 1 to inform them of the probe, which is related to a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would legalize electronic bingo.
The investigation has inflamed tensions between state Democrats and Republican-appointed U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, who prosecuted former Gov. Don Siegelman (D) and whose husband has close ties to Republican Gov. Bob Riley, who strongly opposes the amendment. Canary's office and the Public Integrity Section are jointly investigating bingo proponents' quest for votes in support of the amendment, which the Senate passed on March 30.
The state House of Representatives has yet to vote. Alabama Democrats sent a letter to the Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, charging that the "unprecedented" disclosure of the investigation was meant to have a "chilling effect" on state legislators who otherwise might have voted for the amendment.
Here, from the Alabama Press Register, are a few quotes from local Alabama legal experts familiar with the facts and history:
Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney now in private practice in Birmingham, called the private meeting a "virtually unprecedented" break from standard FBI procedures.
"I can't think of a legitimate law enforcement purpose to do something like this," said Jones, who represents members of the Alabama Democratic Caucus.
"I have never, in all my years of practicing law, heard of an event like what happened (on Thursday)" said Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. "It was stunning to me."
Former U.S. Attorney William Kimbrough of Mobile said he'd seen nothing like it in a legal career that spans nearly five decades.
So what in the world was Brenda Morris doing smack dab in the middle of such a contentious political mess and how could the Obama/Holder DOJ think it appropriate? The answer is hard to fathom. Morris was supposed to have been tasked to the Atlanta US Attorney's office as a litigation attorney while she is being investigated by the court for criminal contempt from her last case. You really have to wonder who is running the asylum at DOJ Main to think that there could ever be positive optics from Morris being involved in anything politically contentious.
You also have to wonder how exactly it is the Obama Administration has seen fit to leave Leura Canary, the Karl Rove acolyte who persecuted Don Siegelman, in office as the US Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. Local blogs are not amused; from Legal Schnauzer:
According to press reports, representatives from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama played a key role in Thursday's meeting. Bush appointee Leura Canary, who oversaw the prosecution of former Democratic governor and Bob Riley opponent Don Siegelman, remains in the charge of that office. Alabama's two Republican U.S. Senators, Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, have scuttled various Obama nominees for the position, and the White House, so far, has chosen not to fight for the two candidates (Michel Nicrosi and Joseph Van Heest) favored by Democrats.
Canary's lingering presence in office almost certainly is driving the bingo investigation. Angela Tobon, an FBI special agent in Mobile, Alabama, told The Birmingham News that the Public Integrity Section (PIN) of the Justice Department is leading the inquiry. Tobon refused to elaborate when contacted by a reporter from the Montgomery Advertiser.
Does that mean Leura Canary was able to take advantage of a leaderless organization, contacting "loyal Bushies" still embedded in the Justice Department to help get PIN involved in a bogus Alabama operation?
It sure looks that way.
I honestly do not know enough to make the call on the underlying electronic bingo investigation, but the locals sure look to be raising a lot of very good questions about how it is being used to manipulate the local political landscape. Irrespective of the merits of the underlying investigation, leaving tainted authorities, of questionable ethics, like Leura Canary and Brenda Morris to be the face of this unusual and politically charged matter is simply inexcusable.
https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png 0 0 emptywheel https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png emptywheel2010-04-06 05:41:542010-04-06 05:41:54DOJ PIN Head Steps Into More Malfeasance Poo


Stacking together two major life events – a divorce and the sale of a multi-million-dollar business – can be a recipe for major headaches and complex interacting consequences. In the recent Minnesota Gill case, a business sale during a divorce revealed a potential loophole through which an owner-executive tried to avoid sharing assets with a soon-to-be ex-spouse – but the state supreme court blocked the maneuver.
On October 24, 2018, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision requiring an ex-husband to split the proceeds of an "earn-out" provision with his ex-wife, notwithstanding that the contract granting the earn-out was signed after the valuation date in the marital dissolution case. The earn-out was part of the purchase agreement for a valuable company.
All property acquired during the marriage is subject to division between the ex-spouses.
Property acquired by a spouse after the valuation date in the dissolution is not subject to division between the ex-spouses.
In Gill v. Gill, the spouses had acquired an indirect ownership interest in a company, Talenti, during the marriage. Stephen Gill, the husband, became the CEO of Talenti. Talenti was owned directly by a holding company, David Goliath Group LLC, and the Gills owned 80 percent of another holding company, Wyndmere LLC, which owned about 39 percent of David Goliath.
Income and property acquired after the valuation date is not subject to division.
Stephen petitioned to dissolve the Gills' marriage. The valuation date was set as September 5, 2014. On December 2, 2014, David Goliath and all its assets were sold to Unilever. The terms of the sale provided an immediate cash payment of $180 million from Unilever, but also required Unilever to pay the former owners two additional amounts in the future, "earn-out" payments which would be based on Talenti's future sales after one year and after two years. The total of these earn-out payments could range from $0 to $170 million, depending on Talenti's performance.
Stephen claimed the earn-out payments were non-marital property, since they would result from the performance of Talenti during the years following the valuation date in the dissolution. He argued these earn-out payments were essentially compensation for his future work as CEO. Gretchen Gill argued on the contrary that the payments were marital property, since they resulted from the sale of the marital interest in Talenti.
Gill speaks to whether a payment right that straddles the line of the valuation date is marital property or not.
The Supreme Court's opinion, from the vantage of a non-participant in the case, seems clearly correct. The earn-out was part of the package given in exchange for the ownership of Talenti. Therefore, the earn-out constituted property acquired in exchange for marital property, which is indisputably also marital property. It is true that the future labors of Talenti's CEO would affect the amount of the earn-out; that is inherent in the nature of an earn-out. But shareholders are supposed to benefit from the labors of a company's CEO, so it is neither surprising nor remarkable that the compensation received by the shareholders for selling their interest in the company could depend upon the CEO's performance. The CEO is separately compensated according to his own employment agreement with the company – in Stephen Gill's case, a salary of more than $362,000 per year. Stephen's salary, to be earned after the valuation date, was non-marital property. But the earn-out was a contract right received in exchange for surrendering the marital property of the shares of Talenti, not a form of employment compensation. As the Supreme Court pointed out, the other former owners of David Goliath, who were not married to Stephen, would benefit from the earn-out. Stephen had no claim to the share of the earn-out that belonged to the other former owners, so it would not make sense to characterize the earn-out as employment compensation to Stephen. Also, there was no necessary connection between Stephen's job as CEO and his benefit from the earn-out. If Stephen had not been CEO, he would still have been entitled to the earn-out. And if Stephen had been CEO but not one of the owners of Talenti, the earn-out would still have benefited the individuals who did own Talenti, even though the amount of the earn-out depended in part on Stephen's performance as CEO.
Considering the issue from the perspective of potential manipulation in future cases strengthens the conclusion that the Supreme Court got it right. If the Gill earn-out had been treated as non-marital property, Gill would have created an incentive for divorcing CEOs to sell their companies on terms of sale which depressed the price paid up front in exchange for increasing the amount paid as an earn-out. The CEO spouse would have been given a tool to transfer money from the non-CEO spouse into his own pocket, through an unnecessary loophole in the law defining marital property. That outcome does not seem desirable or fair.
When a dissolution proceeding involves ownership of business interests, the stakes riding on the distinction between marital and non-marital property can rise dramatically. Going forward, the Gill decision may become an important authority for attorneys framing arguments about the marital or non-marital nature of assets that straddle the temporal line of the valuation date.
 See Nardini v. Nardini, 414 N.W.2d 184, 192 (Minn. 1987).
 In a dissolution, the trial court establishes a "valuation date," see Minn. Stat. § 518.58 subd. 1, which is the day as of which the couple's property is valued and divided. The process of valuing and dividing the property may take months or years, but the valuation date eliminates the problem of a moving target. In rough terms, no matter what happens after the valuation date or when the division is finalized, the property is divided as if the division actually happened on the valuation date. Therefore, events after the valuation date ordinarily do not affect the valuation and division. Property acquired by one spouse after the valuation date is presumptively treated as non-marital property of that spouse, not subject to division, and income earned after the valuation date is also not subject to division.
 Gill, no. A16-1421, sl. op. at 15.
 See Minn. Stat. § 518.58.


Did you know Henry's Hard Sparkling Water has only 88 calories?
Ripple Street will be selecting 350 people to host a Kickoff to Summer Party and they will receive a free party pack.
This event is only open to residents of the following states: CT, DE, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, and VT.


10 acres of old farm land recently grown over with young pines and white birches. This land can be cleared again much easier than hardwoods acreage. This parcel takes in the western hook of Eagle Hill Rd., just west of Barneys Lake Road above Little Fawn Road. This would make a nice summer cottage site with just the removal of some of the trees, or a small farm for a couple or family by clearing most of the 10 acres. It is really priced to sell at the lowest price for 10 acres any place on the Island right now.
It is a HOT BUY and won't last long. PRICE FIRM SOLD!!!! $19,900.


Allow me to start honesty. I actually stumbled on this project while parousing the various media outlets I read to stay up on things. What actually caught my attention was the cover art. The shot was dope, and the subject matter was lit. I usually go with my gut on things like that, and my gut didn't disappoint.
Lately we have become accustom to let's say "other" types of music crossing our path. So this was a refreshing surprise compared to the A-typical radio type music we are accustomed to dominating the media publications. Now we're not saying the sound doesn't have its pop appeal. Its just so (for lack of a better word) different. Original yet nostalgic, and not just nostalgic for the older listener. Hxlt is defenitely a voice for the youth with a taste for a more retro aesthetic. Like 80's night meets Sonic Youth, with a hip hop twist if thats a fair analogy. I guess I should admit Im a huge Sonic Youth fan (which I seriously am by the way), and I love Steely Dan too. There I feel so much better admitting a few of my guilty pleasures.
I spend alot of time hunting for new and obscure music, but Hxlt isn't really to obscure. So how did he stay off my radar? How did this talented artist stay unnoticed by me? I can only say that I wasn't on my note I guess, but this new project makes me wanna check out his whole catalog. With a sound thats got such a multi genre appeal, he has the potential to make quit the mark in music. There were a couple tracks that I had to listen to a couple times before I really "got it," but once I did the project actually came accross as a complete body of work. I like that he takes a new approach on familiar subjects like relationships and life. I found the project very relatable but yet very innovative.
All together the project jams, but songs like Reaper, Together, and Rock n Roll do stand out. Songs like those will make their way to my turn up playlist but when the mood is right I'll jam the project front to back. Either way its defenitely a good listen. If for nothing else, but a break from what has become the standard in mainstream music.


text:
Q: How to add variable to a href I want to do something like this
var myname = req.session.name;              <------- dynamic

But this does not work. So how do I properly pass in a dynamic variable to href?  does not work either

A: Actually there's no way to add a js variable strictly inside DOM. I would suggest you to apply an id attribute to that a element, refer to it and apply given variable as a new href attribute.

var elem = document.getElementById('a'),
    myname = 'req.session.name';   //used it as a string, just for test cases
    elem.href += myname;

    console.log(elem.href);
Link

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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We know that growing a global community of change agents is our best chance to accelerate a transition to a sustainable future. Want to know more?
Sera Thompson
Social Innovator, New Leaf Social Innovation
Sera is a social innovator and master facilitator whose work is focused on building capacity for participatory leadership and creating movement around complex issues. Her work creatively engages a diversity of players and stakeholders in finding shared clarity and timely actions.
Sera began her career in the complex field of environmental consulting, juggling the needs of diverse stakeholders balancing economic, ecological and social sustainability. Since that time she has successfully led change with dozens of organisations on four continents in the public sector, academia, non-profit and corporate sectors.
Based on the underpinnings of the Lewis Method of Deep Democracy, Sera's teaching at the School of System Change covers the theory and practice of managing up, managing down and managing across within complex organisations. The tools of Deep Democracy are providing what many leaders lack in their toolkit: a straightforward approach to balancing the need for collaboration and the need for efficient decision-making, and preventing or addressing conflict. This training increases leaders' capacity to succeed in turbulent times by offering practical tools for working with differences in a group and turning destructive conflict into creative tension.
"In today's world, engaging in work grounded in a systems thinking lens is essential. I love connecting with the students and faculty to share stories, questions and approaches to our most challenging issues."
Author: Joe Derry Hall
Mabel C. L. Mungomba
Mabel is CEO of Belcomm Limited, a Marketing and Brand building agency, and UPSTART Skills Bank which focuses on training and consultancy in Organization Development, Strategic Planning, Enterprise development, Leadership, Change Management and assisting progressive organizations design strategic plans and tailor made development programs for their staff.
Constança Belchior
Constança is a facilitator and designer of collaboration and innovation processes for sustainability and regenerative development. She belongs to a collective dedicated to transformative change - in teams, organisations and fields of action - grounded on an integral and living systems approach.
Jonathan Munro
Jonathan is Associate Director for Criminal Justice & Care Navigation for Rethink Mental Illness, a national mental health charity in the UK. He has over 20 years of experience working in Health and Justice environments, having worked in both operational and strategic roles.
Malik Gul
Malik is Director of the Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network based in south London, which addresses the structural inequalities and systemic racism that leads to discrimination, poverty and hardship, by unlocking the capabilities of frontline community groups and their members to be the agents of change within their own neighbourhoods and constituencies.
Louisa Hooper
Louisa Hooper, Senior Programme Manager, leads on the UK Branch's Environment theme at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, currently focusing on initiatives to promote the value of the ocean. She has previously worked in publishing, communications and education (including in rural Japan) and is a writer in her spare time.
Rinku Sen
Rinku Sen, Executive Director of Narrative Initiative, is a writer and social justice strategist. She is formerly the Executive Director of Race Forward and was Publisher of their award-winning news site Colorlines.
Glenda Eoyang
Glenda Eoyang works with public and private organizations to help them thrive in the face of overwhelming complexity and uncertainty. She is a pioneer in the applications of complexity science to human systems, and she founded the field of human systems dynamics (HSD) in 2001.
Charmagne Campbell-Patton
As a Blue Marble Evaluator, Charmagne supports organizations and initiatives working to transform systems to promote equity and sustainability.
Myrna Lewis
Myrna is CEO and heads up Professional Services training and supervising Deep Democracy Instructors. She is responsible for innovation and ongoing development of Lewis Deep Democracy. She consults internationally to the private and public sectors specializing in interventions and transformation in complex and challenging situations.
Martin Kalungu-Banda
Martin is an author and specialist in leadership and organisation development. He is co-faculty of the Presencing Institute, Visiting Fellow of the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, and Research Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).


Most of us will be setting – or already ditching – New Year's Resolutions at this time of year. Here are three tips to achieving your goals in 2016.
So you don't have your dream job, man, or house yet, but you're hardly gonna be a miserable git until you get them, are you? In fact, being miserable is preventing you from attracting the things you want! Instead, accept that this is where you are right now, this is what you have to do right now. So, do it willingly and to the best of your ability. Give your full attention to whatever you have to do. Focus on the task at hand with 100% of your senses, your being, and your effort. And know that when you exude presence and peace like this, your energetic vibration changes. Attracting what you want is much easier and quicker when you accept what is.
I've watched mum hand wash the dishes three times a day (after breakfast, lunch and dinner), day in and day out, amounting to thousands upon thousands of what to me seems like the most boring, tedious, time waster of a task. Still, she refuses to get a dishwasher. "Do you enjoy washing dishes?" I asked once. "I enjoy whatever I have to do" she replied. You don't have to wait for something more "important" or "desirable" to come into your life before you can finally enjoy what you do and be happy. Avoid unnecessary frustration, disappointment and negativity by infusing joy into everything you do, whether it's washing the dishes, making a sales call, or write a report.
Accept what the present moment requires you to do, enjoy what you (have to) do, and add a goal or objective to the mix. Now you've in your hands a cocktail packed with incredible energetic creational vibes and the potential for amazingness. The key is to stay present, focused, and enthusiastic about where you are now and what you're doing now, as opposed to getting caught up in the future, as this often results in unnecessary stress and frustration.
Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle was "on the money" when he advised we don't set goals that are ego powered inflated images of ourselves, as there's a big chance of disappointment. So, for example, instead of wanting to be a bestselling author, aim to share learnings that will benefit not just you but everyone and everything on the planet. Instead of wanting to make millions with your product or service, focus on how many others it will serve and bless. Instead of wanting to achieve the hottest body around for the purpose of boosting your own ego or having everyone envy you, aim to share your newly found healthy approach with as many people as possible.
When your goals are for the welfare and betterment of all, as opposed to just your own gain, it's easier to be more acceptant of the present moment, to enjoy the present moment more, to be more possessed by God (enthusiastic).
When you set goals like this, you're not attached to the outcome of your actions. Whether you succeed or fail is irrelevant, because this is not about success or failure, this is about happiness.
← Will new state flood plans work?


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Brazil's anti-political mood looms large over elections
'They are all the same. Liars ... we've been disillusioned so many times before'
Tue, Sep 11, 2018, 06:00
Tom Hennigan in São Paulo
Supporters of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attend a vigil outside the Federal Police Superintendence in Curitiba, Brazil. Photograph: Rodolfo Buhrer/Reuters
On a cold winter's evening most workers commuting out of São Paulo's Faria Lima business district show no interest in the few canvassers trying to drum up support for some of the more than 8,000 candidates running in Brazil's congressional elections.
Every four years voters are asked to choose a new president and the contest typically stirs up fierce passions in a country where many people say they are loath to think about politics.
But this focus on the presidential race tends to obscure another simultaneous contest with huge implications for the future of Latin America's largest nation, that for congress. Local worker Daniel Rozoni says he has no idea which congressional candidate he will vote for next month and, like an astonishing 79 per cent of Brazilians, according to one survey, says he cannot remember which one he voted for four years ago.
"They are all the same. Liars. Some of them might be honest but I cannot be bothered working out which ones because we've been disillusioned so many times before," he says.
Such disdain for congressional elections is partly explained by their opacity. Brazil's use of the confusing open-list system combined with ideologically incoherent coalitions and some of the biggest electoral districts in any western democracy – São Paulo state alone constitutes one constituency in which 33 million voters must elect 70 deputies – have all but broken any organic link between citizens and their legislators.
Formally charged
This is just as well for legislators. According to the Latinobarômetro polling organisation 89 per cent of Brazilians have little or no confidence in them. Much of this is due to the widespread perception that congress is systematically corrupt. Of the outgoing legislature, about half of its members have been investigated or formally charged with crimes.
Among those confident of re-election are several dozen deputies and senators caught up in Brazil's high-profile corruption investigations that have had such an impact on the presidential race, having landed the favourite, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (above), in jail. File photograph: Eraldo Peres/AP
Despite these levels of rejection the opacity of the electoral system means 402 of 513 members of the lower house are up for re-election, while of the 54 senate seats in play 32 will be disputed by incumbents. And analysts warn that despite the anti-political mood gripping the presidential contest, congress will likely see a return of familiar faces, family names and deeply entrenched political clans.
Revolutionary biopic's success a sign of Brazil's coarsening debate
Police suspected of revenge massacre in slum on the outskirts of Rio
Deforestation in Amazon at highest level in 15 years
"The tendency is for a lower level of renovation than usual in congress despite a latent desire by our population for a much more significant change," says Antônio Augusto de Queiroz, of the Inter-union Parliamentary Advisory Department, a labour organisation that monitors congress.
Among those confident of re-election are several dozen deputies and senators caught up in the country's high-profile corruption investigations that have had such an impact on the presidential race, having landed the favourite, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in jail and dragging down the chances of the establishment candidate, Geraldo Alckmin.
Knife attack: Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro grimaces after being stabbed in the stomach on Thursday last week. Photograph: Raysa Leite/AFP
This anti-political mood has been capitalised on by the far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, who was leading opinion polls when he was dramatically stabbed at a campaign rally on Thursday.
In reality what happens is not a renovation of congress but rather a recycling of power
This congressional obduracy owes much to the skilful way outgoing legislators, fearing the anti-incumbency mood, passed a series of supposed reforms last year that in reality were designed to tilt the electoral contest even further in favour of incumbents, most notably by capturing the majority of public financing for campaigns.
"The advantages of those seeking re-election over outsiders are therefore hugely significant," says Queiroz. Even many of the new faces that do get into the new congress will in fact be part of the same political class voters have such disdain for, coming over from executive roles or being promoted from state assemblies or simply inheriting a seat in one of the family fiefdoms that litter Brazil's political landscape.
"In reality what happens is not a renovation of congress but rather a recycling of power," notes Queiroz.
Four hundred new laws is a lot when you consider each one will regulate some area of public policy or national life
As well as frustrating the desire of Brazilians for political change, the likelihood of little congressional rejuvenation also has important ramifications for the eventual winner of the presidential contest, given the ability of the outgoing congress not only to frustrate the chief executive's programme but, as it demonstrated in 2016 with Dilma Rousseff, even remove them from office.
Buying support
The incoming president will have to negotiate with one of the most fragmented legislatures in the world, stuffed with operators skilled at extracting federal funding and jobs for their networks in return for support of the presidential programme.
"This has an impact on the quality of a government's management capacity because a president needs to form coalitions in order to get proposals made on the campaign trail through congress. The more parties you have the higher the cost in building these coalitions," says Fabio Vasconcellos, a researcher with the Congress in Numbers project at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
With the new president inheriting a fiscal crisis their ability to buy support in congress will likely be severely circumscribed, which could boost the body's growing sense of autonomy and confidence despite the public's distrust.
Though few Brazilian voters know who they are, the outgoing deputies passed more than 400 laws in four years, a quantitative and qualitative improvement over its immediate predecessors.
"There is an improvement in the work being done at the committee level," says Vasconcellos. "Four hundred new laws is a lot when you consider each one will regulate some area of public policy or national life."
Daniel Rozoni
Fabio Vasconcellos
Getulio Vargas Foundation
Latinobarometro
Bolsonaro-Trump connection threatens Brazilian elections
Lula's return shows challenges faced by Brazil's left in taking fight to Bolsonaro
Brazil's local elections are set to test Bolsonaro's appeal
Bolsonaro embroiled in abortion row over 10-year-old rape victim
Brazil prosecutors charge journalist Glenn Greenwald with hacking
Bossy, chain-smoking mother in drag a counterpoint to Bolsonaro's stormtroopers
Brazil judge orders release of ex-president Lula from prison
Brazil's highest court now mired in unfolding political crisis
Brazil's crusading anti-graft minister caught in eye of political storm
Inside the Munster abuse case: Children could not hug and woke up screaming, foster parents say
Ashling Murphy killing: Worst outcome of this sad time would be to make men the bad guys
Spanish clinic's planned slaughter of beagles draws fierce response 16:18
At least 20 killed in Saudi-led air strikes on rebels in Yemen 16:13
4 Varadkar wants to set March 31st as 'deadline to end almost all legal restrictions'


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News Nationworld
Trump whipped up public emotion over Otto Warmbier's death. Now it's boomeranging back on him.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference following the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi on Feb. 28, 2019.
(SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
David NakamuraWashington Post
President Donald Trump's decision to make Otto Warmbier the public face of his pressure campaign on North Korea aimed to convince the American public that, beyond the existential but abstract threat of its nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Un's brutal regime posed a more tangible danger to the United States.
By highlighting Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student who died days after his release from 17 months in captivity, Trump married his "fire and fury" war rhetoric with an emotional appeal over the grief of a single family.
Yet after the collapse of nuclear negotiations with North Korea in Hanoi last week, Trump is facing an unforeseen backlash as the public's emotion has boomeranged back on him. At a news conference, Trump said he raised Warmbier's death with Kim but took the dictator "at his word" that he did not know of the mistreatment and felt "very badly" about it.
The Warmbier family's rebuke of Trump on Friday in a sharply worded statement opened a damaging fissure at a time when the administration is scrambling to salvage the bilateral talks and put the president's primary foreign policy initiative back on track. Having once relied on the Warmbiers to bestow moral authority on his risky North Korea strategy, Trump has lost a crucial partnership at the worst time, as the general public relates to the renewed pain of a family that feels betrayed by the president.
Victor Cha, who served as a high-ranking Asia policy official in the George W. Bush administration, said Bush also demonized North Korea on human rights and, like Trump, met with defectors.
"But the difference is he was consistent; he stuck with it no matter what," Cha said of Bush's tough rhetoric. "The big difference is that once Trump sated his short-term needs, and after he met with Kim, he never talked about it again. It just goes to show there was no principle behind it. It was tactical and short-term."
To Trump's supporters, his attention on the Warmbier case is evidence of a president who has eschewed broader human rights goals abroad to focus on his efforts on freeing individual Americans - from China, Egypt and North Korea. In May, Trump met three other Americans released from North Korea on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in the dark of night for a dramatic welcome shown live on cable television.
But his critics see a president whose transactional nature has limits in the more complicated world of geopolitics - and on an interpersonal level with a grieving family.
Fred and Cindy Warmbier, Otto's parents, initially were thrilled by Trump's attention. Otto had been detained in December 2015, accused by North Korean authorities of stealing a propaganda poster during an organized tour of the country. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in a trial the family called a farce in which he was forced to confess to bogus charges.
Warmbier's parents had grown frustrated with the Obama administration for not securing their son's release, although former officials said in interviews Saturday that they faced a virtual news blackout for more than six months as Pyongyang cut off communications.
The parents of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died after being detained for 17 months in North Korea, on Friday directly blamed leader Kim Jong Un for their son's death a day after President Donald Trump said he believed Kim's account that he was not responsible.
"We have been...
The family "wanted a more assertive public posture. Our view was that was not the best way to get him out. There was no real consensus," said a former Obama administration official who worked on Warmbier's case and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. "It was something that was widely debated - how public should we be, how in-your-face? There are informed views on both sides."
This former official said the tensions between Washington and Pyongyang made negotiating almost impossible, even for the United States' protecting power, Sweden, which attempted to intervene because the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.
Trump has boasted repeatedly of freeing Warmbier, including in a tweet Friday when he wrote: "Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch."
But experts said Kim likely released Warmbier because his condition had deteriorated and the North Korean leader did not want the American to die in custody. The circumstances around what caused Warmbier's injuries - the family said he was tortured, while the Kim regime said he suffered from botulism - remain shrouded in mystery.
Trump quickly forged a bond with the family, as he has with so-called "angel families" of Americans killed by undocumented immigrants. The president appeared with the angel families at campaign events in 2016, brought them to the Oval Office and featured them in his State of the Union addresses.
The president called the Warmbiers several times, as did Vice President Mike Pence, whose personal lawyer also represents the family. Trump cited Warmbier's death in speeches to the U.N. General Assembly, the South Korean National Assembly and his 2018 State of the Union.
Fred and Cindy Warmbier were seated in the House chamber as guests of first lady Melania Trump as the president told their son's story. They wept as Trump pledged to "honor Otto's memory with American resolve." It was one of the most emotionally resonant moments of the speech.
Jim O'Brien, who served as special envoy for hostage affairs in the Obama administration, said he often advocated for more prominently raising public awareness of American citizens who were detained by terrorist groups. But in an interview, O'Brien called Trump's use of the Warmbiers "exploitative" because the president did not follow through in forcefully pressing Kim to take responsibility and make concessions.
"The shameful element about what Trump did was not ask for records about Otto so the family would know what happened and ask for guarantees that future Americans who are detained get consular access right away," O'Brien said. "The short attention span of Trump, who uses this kid and his family and then has no idea about any follow-through, is why this seems so callous."
Since Trump's first summit with Kim in Singapore in June, the president has not spoken of human rights. Last week, he referred to Kim as "my friend" and called him a "real leader."
Trump's gamble that establishing a personal rapport with Kim would lead to a breakthrough at the negotiating table was incompatible with his prior strategy of developing a bond with the Warmbiers. In December, the family won a $500 million legal judgment in federal court against North Korea for Otto's torture and killing.
Trump has tried to fend off criticism by saying on Twitter "I love Otto" and mentioned him again in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.
"It was not wrong to make Otto a central part of your strategy," O'Brien said. "But the amount of publicity was careless and unnecessarily grandiose. And the failure to follow through, especially as he sat alone with Kim, is what makes it seem callous and myopic."
First published by The Washington Post
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Pictures: Williamsburg-area photos from readers
Copyright © 2019, The Virginia Gazette
Otto Warmbier


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Protests In Sudan's Capital Against Military Coup
By Albert L in Breaking News, News, Politics October 26, 2021
Sudan's military announced early on Monday that it was dissolving the government overseeing the nation's transition to democracy following the 2019 ouster of autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir, detaining civilian leaders of the government including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdouk.
In a televised address, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander in chief of Sudan's armed forces and former transitional government leader, claimed that political infighting had necessitated the declaration of a state of emergency and the formation of a technocratic government. In the broadcast, he claimed that the move was necessary to "rectify the revolution's course", saying that elections will be held in July 2023.
The reportedly moment of arrest of #Sudan's minister of industry and trade Ibrahim El Sheikh السودان# pic.twitter.com/3B7CgXJMz7
— Isma'il Kushkush (@ikushkush) October 25, 2021
The Sudanese information ministry, still loyal to the civilian government, has stated that military personnel blocked roads and bridges leading into the capital of Khartoum early on Monday, alongside a cut of internet service across Sudan. The ministry also says that soldiers have stormed the headquarters of Sudan's state broadcaster in the capital's twin city of Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum.
Internet monitor NetBlocks confirmed the internet blockage, saying that connectivity had dropped to 24% of normal traffic, in what it described as "the country's most severe blackout since the 2019 massacres". While connectivity in Khartoum appears to have been at least partially restored as of writing, it is unclear whether this is a temporary anomaly.
Update: Internet service remains cut in #Sudan hours after the detention of Sudan's transitional leadership and reports of a military coup.
Network data show connectivity flatlining at 24% in the country's most severe blackout since the 2019 massacres.
📰https://t.co/uVVZKchH5S pic.twitter.com/PDLnN15Zhd
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) October 25, 2021
Civilians in Khartoum and Omdurman took to the streets in response to news of the detention of civilian leaders, with the restoration of internet access allowing for footage of protests against the coup to be uploaded on social media. Protesters gathering outside the headquarters of Sudan's military are reported to have been fired upon with live ammunition, with at least two killed and 80 injured according to initial reports from medics.
The coup has met with international condemnation, with the United States' Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, warning that the "utterly unacceptable" move would put American assistance to the country at risk. European Union foreign policy head Josep Borrell and the United Kingdom's Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Robert Fairweather have also described the coup as a "betrayal" of the revolution, the transition to democracy and the Sudanese people.
موكب شارع الاربعين امام الارتكاز #لا_للانقلاب_العسكري #الردة_مستحيلة pic.twitter.com/lKoDZCo8ot
— مرتااح™ (@haasn_ibrahim) October 25, 2021
A protest against the coup on Omdurman's 40th Street.
The coup comes a week after pro-military protesters held a sit-in outside the presidential palace in Khartoum, calling for a military takeover. While nationwide counterprotests attracted significantly larger crowds, the sit-in was suspected by pro-democracy activists to have been an attempt to legitimize a coup attempt, suspicions which now appear to have been proven correct.
Tags: Coup, military coup, Sudan
Turkey and South Korea Sign a Declaration of Intent for Altay Tank Engine
New RAND Report Asses China-Russia Cooperation


Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto ruled that reputed gangster Giuseppe Destefano is free to pop the question when he has completed his 50-month sentence for extortion sometime in 2017 depending on credit for good behavior.
Destefano, of Staten Island, wrote a letter to the judge explaining that his devoted fiancé is required to fork over a deposit soon to the swanky Nanina's in the Park catering hall for their Dec. 31, 2017 wedding day.
The government also opposed granting the request so far in advance.


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C's edge out Simonstown
Submitted by brian on April 21, 2017 - 6:05am
B League Div. 4. Sat 15th April
Seneschalstown 1-12 Simonstown 1-11
Seneschalstown gained their second win in their B League Div. 4 with a hard-earned win over a very strong Simonstown team on Saturday evening last.
Played in ideal conditions both teams served up a good brand of running football with some great scores from both sides with scores from Shane Clarke, David Gordon (two), Eddie Meade and Ross Howard in the first half keeping the Seneschalstown lads in touch and trailing by one point at the break, with the half time score at Seneschalstown 0 – 06 Simonstown 1 - 04
Pointless in Moynalvey
Submitted by brian on April 9, 2017 - 9:00pm
Meath A League Division 1 Round 5
Moynalvey 3-15 Seneschalstown 0-08
Trailing by three points at half time Seneschalstown looked as though they were in with a solid shout of picking up their first win of this year's League but in the end, like a stag at the end of a hunt, they tired noticeably with a lack of outfield options on the bench, and were picked off rather easily by a rampant Moynalvey side.
1st point of the season picked up
Submitted by brian on March 28, 2017 - 7:05pm
A League Division 1 Round 4
It looked for a long time that Seneschalstown were going to pick up their first win of the season on Sunday when with eleven minutes to go they held a five point lead but in the end, they were lucky to come away with a point as following a sixty ninth minute free to equalise they coughed up a last gasp scoring chance to the visiting Blackhall Gaels only for their wing forward to pull his shot wide at the near post.
Five of the best for U-16 Girls
Submitted by brian on February 26, 2017 - 10:47pm
U-16 Girls Division 2 Championship Round 2
Seneschalstown 5-05 Rathkenny 0-05
After monsoon conditions on Sunday morning the rainbow came out over Fr. Tully Park in the afternoon and the U-16 Girls continue their mightily impressive start to their championship with a comfortable victory in the end over their victors from the U-15 shield final last season Rathkenny.
1 point defeat in Dunboyne
U-14 Girls Division 1
Seneschalstown 05 - 06 to Dunboyne 04 - 10
A cold Friday afternoon in Dunboyne saw the Seneschalstown girls take to the field in their opening game in the Division 1, U-14 Spring League against a typically strong Dunboyne side who already had 1 win under their belt. After a valiant effort, the Seneschalstown girls just ran out of time losing by a single point.
Brilliant start to the year for the U-16 Girls
U-16 Division 2 Championship Round 1
Seneschalstown's U-16 Ladies got their Division 2 campaign off to a perfect start on Sunday against a strong and determined Oldcastle side with both sides serving up a thriller for the crowd in Gilson Park with no less than 13 goals between them!!
First half blitz secures final spot
Submitted by brian on September 20, 2016 - 4:04pm
Meath U-17 Division 2 League Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 6-16 Drumconrath/Meath Hill 1-09
A place in the U-17 Division 2 Final was secured for Seneschalstown on Monday evening in Donore following a victory which was far more comfortable than could have been envisaged prior to the throw in. These two sides have a history of close encounters and another was to be expected on Monday but in the end it was the Boynesiders who came out on top by a wide margin.
A comeback for the ages in Donore
Meath U-15 Division 2A League Round 1
Seneschalstown 4-13 Wolfe Tones 4-11
Time runs out on fightback
Submitted by brian on September 12, 2016 - 9:08am
Meath U-13 Division 2 Round 2
St. Cuthbert's 2-11 Seneschalstown 3-07
A fine second half comeback from five points behind at the break of play just came up short for Seneschalstown's U-13's on Saturday afternoon in Sean Newman Park.
Having gotten off to a slow start in terms of scoring the team found their shooting boots in the second half with substitutes Daragh Cantwell being very influential. Kearney showed his scoring prowess as he racked up a goal and two points while Cathal Darby set up a grandstand finish as he netted with three minutes remaining.
March 24th 2016 Seneschalstown GFC Notes
Submitted by brian on March 24, 2016 - 10:21pm
The Senior team fell to a third defeat in four League games on Saturday evening when losing to Simonstown Gaels in Simonstown by 1-08 to 0-07.
Best for the team were Cormac Noonan, Damien Sheridan and Adam Carey.
Seneschalstown: Shane Corbally, Niall Hickey, Cormac Noonan, Sean McCabe, Niall McCabe, James Byrne, David Matthews (0-01), Damien Sheridan, John Smith, Adam Gleeson, James Meade, Adam Carey, Stephen Finnegan, Brian Sheridan (0-02, 0-01 Free), Bryan Clarke (0-04, 0-02 Frees, 0-01 '45).
New Pitch
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, those living locally and those not so locally we are delighted to announce that we have so far raised half of our €350,000 target for developing our new sand based All Weather pitch. The contributions which our generous supporters have given us towards this fundraising drive is greatly appreciated.
Saturday sees the Seniors play their fourth League game of the season when they take on Simonstown Gaels in Simonstown at 18:00.
Round 3 of the League saw us have to forfeit home advantage for the second time in the League this season last Saturday when they ended up travelling to take on Skryne. The concession of three goals in the first nine minutes proved too high a hurdle to jump despite racking up a fine tally of sixteen points over the hour.
One notable feature of the game was the return to action of Adam Gleeson who played his first game for the club since the 2014 Junior B Championship Final following a sabbatical from the game in 2015.


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Natia Seskuria
Commentary, 4 July 2019
Leadership Centre, RUSI International, Russia, Georgia, Global Security Issues, Law and Ethics
Spontaneous anti-Russia demonstrations in Georgia are evidence of the country's Western orientation and Russia's declining soft power in the region.
Thousands of Georgians recently came out onto the streets of Tbilisi, the capital, to denounce the visit of a Russian parliamentary delegation at the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, held at the Georgian Parliament building. It was the presence of the Russian Communist MP, Sergei Gavrilov, that provoked the protest; many ordinary Georgians felt insulted by the presence of a representative of an occupier country in the Georgian Parliament. The fact that the Russian MP addressed participants of the forum from the speaker's chair sparked a wave of demonstrations which, although initially peaceful, were then followed by an attempt to storm the Parliament building, which was responded to by the police using rubber bullets and tear gas. The incident left at least 240 people injured, including demonstrators and police officers. The mass dissatisfaction resulted in the Russian delegation fleeing the country and the resignation of the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze.
While Russian troops occupy 20% of Georgian territories and are present in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia enclaves, the anger of Georgians is understandable. Although the August war of 2008 lasted just five days, the fighting is far from over. The Kremlin has repeatedly used various military and non-military means to exercise pressure on Tbilisi. Still, the Russians have clearly underestimated the power of Georgian civil society and its resistance to even the deployment of supposed religious affinity arguments. The Kremlin has long been using Orthodox Christianity as its propaganda tool to advance its interests by seeking to persuade vulnerable segments of society to believe that it's preferable to stick to Orthodox neighbours rather than allow membership in the Euro-Atlantic community to supposedly destroy 'traditional values'. Yet, the large presence of Georgian youth during the protests has shown that there can be no alternatives regarding Georgia's foreign policy orientation.
Street rallies also demonstrated the fatigue of traditional party politics, as a large majority of self-mobilised youth expressed their distrust towards both the opposition forces and the ruling party in Georgia. Following the demands of the protesters, the ruling party accepted to switch to a proportional electoral system, which will allow smaller and new political parties to be represented in the Parliament. Consequently, both sides of the political spectrum need to reconsider their policies in order to win the support of young minds. The overwhelming majority of the population has spoken and the message clearly expressed fundamental support for Western values and a desire to burn the bridges that lead to the Kremlin.
Yet, Russia's strategy towards its Western-oriented neighbour in the aftermath of the Gavrilov case could become more creative and resourceful. It is clear that Kremlin-backed rhetoric is relatively easily identified and no longer scares ordinary Georgians. Having a lengthy experience of dealing with Russian propaganda and asymmetric warfare, Georgian society has become more resilient. The continued attempt to promote the idea of Georgian neutrality in international affairs is a clear example of this failed rhetoric. Time after time, the Kremlin revives the narrative of Georgia's neutrality by advocating this idea as an only option for the country to become truly independent and find peaceful resolution to ongoing conflicts. Yet despite these efforts, the concept of 'neutrality' has almost become a secret word for being 'pro-Kremlin' inside Georgia; the vast majority of Georgians realise that a non-aligned Georgia means voluntarily rejecting Western support and becoming subordinated by Russia.
Gavrilov's eviction from the country was a public humiliation for Putin's regime, as it clearly showed the limits of Russia's soft power in Georgia. The Kremlin was quick to denounce the events in Tbilisi as 'Russophobic hysteria', claiming that radicals took over Parliament.
Still, Georgians sent a powerful message to the world, demonstrating that it is up to them and not Putin to decide the country's foreign policy direction. In response to the political turmoil, the Kremlin used its 'Russophobia' allegations to exert economic pressure on Georgia, justify a ban on flights and call on Russian tourists to return home immediately. Moscow has also hinted at the prospect of imposing an embargo on Georgian wine purchases; Russia has previously banned the import of Georgian wine between 2006 and 2013. Since the eruption of anti-Kremlin protests in Tbilisi, Russia's consumer protection agency has already stopped eight Georgian wine companies from importing wine to Russia.
Targeting the tourism industry is a well-known weapon in the Kremlin's arsenal. Following the downing of the Russian Su-24 in 2015, Moscow banned all charter flights operating between Russia and Turkey. The travel ban hit the Turkish economy hard, with Turkey's tourism revenue declining from $12.6 billion to $9 billion. The economic pressure led to an apology by the Turkish president followed by restoration of bilateral ties and lifting of sanctions. Russia may expect a similar outcome in Georgia.
Undoubtedly, Georgia faces tough times, as Russia is one of the largest tourist nations visiting Georgia; last year alone, 1.4 million Russian tourists visited the country. Unlike Russia, Georgia has never imposed a visa regime on Russian citizens and has always welcomed tourists. The immediate effect of Russian sanctions will be challenging for Georgia's economy to overcome, yet, from a long-term perspective, Russia may be doing a favour to Georgia by incentivising it to diversify both its tourism and its wine exports towards Western and Asian markets.
Yet there is no turning back for Georgia. The protests have clearly demonstrated that Georgia has a resilient civil society with strong Western values. Most importantly, no political party willing to flirt with the Kremlin stands a chance to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Georgians.
Natia Seskuria is an Associate Fellow at RUSI and a Lecturer in Russian Politics at the University of Georgia.
BANNER IMAGE: The Parliament of Georgia, Tbilisi, 2016. Courtesy of Seif Sallam/Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-2.0
The views expressed in this Commentary are the author's, and do not represent those of RUSI or any other institution.
Natia Seskuria is an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and serves at the Ministry of Defence of... read more
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The Iran Deal: the 25-year Road from Vienna
Commentary, 16 July 2015
Shashank Joshi
The Iranian nuclear deal agreed in Vienna may be one of the most important post-Cold War diplomatic accords. But it is important to understand how it evolves over the coming decades.
Tags: Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iran, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Middle East and North Africa
A Democratic Licence to Operate: Report of the Independent Surveillance Review
Whitehall Reports, 13 July 2015
Panel of the Independent Surveillance Review
As national security and public safety compete with the realities of digital society, the Independent Surveillance Review suggests a new licence to operate for the security and law-enforcement services
Tags: Whitehall Reports, National Security Studies, UK, Intelligence, Law and Ethics
Should the UK bomb Daesh in Syria?
Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is toying with the idea of asking Parliament for permission to expand Britain's campaign of airstrikes from Iraq into Syria. His impulse should be tempered with a sense of strategy.
Tags: Air Power and Technology, Global Strategy and Commitments, International Security Studies, Iraq, UK Defence Policy, Syria, UK, Global Security Issues, UK Defence, Europe, Middle East and North Africa
Factors Contributing to the Trident Decision
Commentary, 2 August 2006
The controversy surrounding the UK's nuclear deterrent continues with the publication in June 2006 of the House of Commons Defence Committee's report The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: the Strategic Context. The report is published amidst fresh debate ignited by Chancellor Gordon Brown's recent statement that the UK will stay strong in its commitment to...
Tags: Defence Policy, Global Security Issues, Maritime Forces, Europe
China's Dangerous Energy Nexus
RUSI Newsbrief, 3 April 2006
Over energy security, the United States and China are starting to find themselves bound into a cycle of mutual distrust.
Tags: RUSI Newsbrief, Global Security Issues
China's Energy Security: What is the Right Fuel Mix?
RUSI Newsbrief, 30 March 2006
What is good news for energy security may well be very bad news in terms of CO2 emissions and the environment.
Iran: Internal Indecision Continues
RUSI Newsbrief, 30 January 2006
Iran's competing power groups can offer restraint and caution that is not present in areas of President Ahmadinejad's direct control


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Our Mother of Perpetual Help
About OMPH Church
Redemptorist Priests
Church Contacts
CYO Athletic Association
OMPH School
About OMPH Church OMPH School
Home > About OMPH Church > History
Our Parish History
In 1914, the Redemptorists were looking for a favorable site to establish a convalescent home for senior priests of the Order. They were also looking for a central home for missionaries who would preach the Redemptorists' unique style of parish missions throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The Redemptorists were very impressed with the Ephrata area of Lancaster County. They purchased the large, 80-acre Willson Estate (formerly known as Clare Point Stock Farm) on Pine Street, which had been a national center for horse breeding and racing.
The estate had been owned by Thomas A. Willson who died in 1910, and it contained a half-mile race track, which Horse World magazine praised as "probably the best and most expensive in the United States."
First Mass
The first Mass was offered in what was formerly the Willson family dining room the day after the estate was purchased (August 6, 1914). Only 13 Catholics were present, none of which lived in Ephrata. At the time, there were only five Catholic families in the area, and only one Catholic family lived in Ephrata itself.
The Redemptorists converted the Willson Mansion into a preparatory training school for young men desirous of becoming brothers. The school was named St. Gerard's Hall in honor of St. Gerard Majella who was a contemporary of Redemptorist founder St. Alphonsus Liguori. A new mission residence, built in 1924, was named St. Clement's Mission House, in honor of St. Clement Hofbauer, the second founder of the congregation who brought the dream of the Redemptorists to America. The community chapel in this building was the parish church until 1940.
Today this is used primarily as a private chapel for the Redemptorist community. After much growth and planning, a stone church was built on the corner of Pine Street and Church Avenue. It was dedicated in 1940 and named in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. In this church, 200 people could be seated at each Mass. A large community room in the basement was perfect for parish activities.
A parish school was erected in 1956, staffed by the Bernardine Sisters of Saint Francis. These sisters continue to bless our parish today. In 1976, a Parish Center was built to accommodate the ever-growing population of Catholic families in the area. In it were a large gymnasium, the parish office, and a kindergarten classroom. Each Sunday families gathered in the Parish Center to celebrate Mass. But in January 1994, the accumulation of snow and ice on the roof caused our Parish Center to collapse. Miraculously, no one was in the Parish Center at the time, and no one was hurt.
OMPH Church & School Today
After a spirited debate on whether the event was a sign from God to build a church, a larger gym, or expand the school, it was decided that it was wisest to do all three! With the united support of parishioners, a new church, offices, meeting rooms, gymnasium, and expanded school were built.
These were then dedicated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in December 1995 by Bishop Nicholas Dattilo. The old stone church was renamed the Bernardine Center, and it is now used for meetings and other parish activities. Today our parish serves approximately 1,200 families in the Ephrata community, bringing them closer to Christ.
Where Faith, Families, and Community Come Together
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church
320 Church Avenue, Ephrata, PA 17522
Email - perpetualhelp@dejazzd.com
Church Office hours are 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Mon - Fri
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic School
330 Church Ave., Ephrata, PA 17522
School hours are 8:00 am – 2:45 pm / School year office hours are 7:30 am – 3:15 pm
Summer office hours are 8:00 am – 11:00 am Tues, Wed, and Thurs
©2020 Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Website by WebTek Web Design
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reorg.ccsd.net
SOT Training and Resources
How to Form SOTs
How SOTs Function
Consensus Building
SOT Agendas and Minutes
A positive school climate and culture is a crucial element of successful schools that cultivate student success. It's at the heart and soul of education – it compels students, families, staff, and the larger community to embrace their school and want to be a part of making it great. Let's begin by defining what exactly school climate and culture are:
School climate can best be explained as the overall "feel" that you get when you walk into a school building. When a student, staff member, or community member walks into a school, what can they sense? The school's instructional and physical environments, along with the attitudes of staff and students, all contribute to overall the school climate.
School culture is the collective behaviors, beliefs, and values of the school community.
Education researcher Steve Gruenert provides a helpful way to think about the difference between climate and culture. He compares culture to an organization's "collective personality" and climate to its collective attitude. The two concepts are clearly intertwined, but knowing how they are similar and different is useful for understanding how they impact each other and how they can be addressed.
Administrators, staff, students, and families are working hard every day to create positive climate and culture in schools across the Clark County School District.
Each of the stories below will take you inside a school where climate and culture is prioritized throughout the building. As you learn about the processes and tools these schools use to develop climate and culture, think about what approaches might be useful to consider at your school. Be sure to check back here as well, as this section will be continually updated with new stories.
In addition to the features below, a longer, more comprehensive training video on climate and culture along with facilitation materials can be accessed here, if you feel that your School Organizational Team could benefit from a more in-depth training.
Diskin Elementary School
Kitty Ward Elementary School
Kesterson Elementary School (coming soon)
Rundle Elementary School (coming soon)
Indian Springs K-12 School (coming soon)
Canarelli Middle School
Del Webb Middle School (coming soon)
Garrett Junior High School (coming soon)
Las Vegas High School (coming soon)
Coronado High School (coming soon)