The latest attempt to use the Supreme Court to eviscerate a key liberal constituency seems like a thoroughly partisan operation.
Free speech has no fiercer advocate than Professor Eugene Volokh of the University of California at Los Angeles. As a teacher of First Amendment law, director of a First Amendment amicus brief clinic, and a founder of the libertarian-leaning Volokh Conspiracy blog, Volokh lets almost no free-speech sparrow fall anywhere in the U.S. without weighing in, usually against government and in favor of free speech objectors. Supreme Court justices have cited his opinions six times. From personal experience, I know him to be merciless when he deems a fellow academic insufficiently militant in defense of speech values.
So when Volokh weighs in before the Supreme Court in opposition to a free-speech claim, that fact should spur a careful look on all sides. Last month, Volokh filed an amicus brief in Janus v. American Federation of State County, and Municipal Employees, the pending First Amendment challenge to "agency fee" agreements between government and public-employee unions. Volokh's brief, in support of the union, argues that the fees are fully constitutional—that, in fact, the First Amendment simply doesn't apply to this case.
Alas, there seems little chance that the justices will heed the Volokh-Baude brief; since 2011, Justice Samuel Alito has been on a mission to take down public employee unions. He seemed to be on the verge of victory in 2016, with a case called Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The death of Justice Antonin Scalia, it seems likely, deprived Alito of his fifth vote, and resulted in a 4-4 decision affirming the fees. Scalia's replacement, Neil Gorsuch, seems likely to be the fifth anti-union vote.
The issue in Janus is this: federal law allows (but does not require) state governments to recognize state employees to form unions; it allows (but does not require) states to bargain collectively with those unions; it allows (but does not require) states to permit workers to choose a union as the "exclusive representative" for "bargaining units" of employees such as teachers, correctional officers, or child-protective service workers. Under federal law, a public-employee union contract can't require the workers to join the union; but an "exclusive representative" must represent all workers in a bargaining unit, members or not. Workers who don't wish to join may (if the state so decides) be required to pay an "agency fee," designed to compensate the union for the expenses of representation—not just bargaining for a contract but often administering grievance, health, training, and other programs.
Under a 1977 case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, a union cannot use fees for political, lobbying, or litigation activities that go beyond the scope of representation. To allow the union to spend such monies, the court held, would violate objectors' First Amendment rights against "compelled" speech; on the other hand, compelling the union to represent workers who paid it nothing would encourage "free riders"—and undermine the state's lawful choice to use collective bargaining to ensure harmonious relations with its workers.
As examples, the professors cite caselaw permitting the government to fund pre-natal clinics but refuse to fund clinics that perform or advocate abortions; allowing the government to enact requirements that National Endowment for the Arts grants take into consideration "general standards of decency"; and allowing states to issue special license plates honoring some civic and recreational groups while refusing to issue them for groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Governments, under the First Amendment, are allowed to engage in "government speech" on behalf of, say, health and safety, school vaccination, and patriotism—and need not refund tax dollars to taxpayers who object because they favor sickness and accidents, vaccine-free lifestyles, or treason.
Stripped of Abood's unfounded First Amendment concerns, this is an easy case. The government has determined that collective bargaining is the best way to negotiate contracts and settle disputes with public employees. The government would undisputedly be free to establish a public collective bargaining agent, or to pay a private one directly from the public fisc. That it has chosen instead to pay its employees and then require them to hire the collective bargaining agent does not change the constitutional analysis.
The effects of a loss for the union respondents in Janus will be felt in every state that allows collective bargaining. They will include a loss of negotiating power for the unions, benefits and protections for the workers—and, not coincidentally, effectiveness for the Democratic Party. Janus seems like a thoroughly partisan operation.
Not mentioned in the professors' brief is this: if Abood is overturned, anti-union activists will next surely target "exclusive bargaining" contracts in the private sector as well. At present, their argument is that public employment contracts are "inherently political" because they are contracts with government. But any second-year big law associate could write a brief describing the "political" nature of private union contracts. Indeed, Justice Felix Frankfurter, writing in 1961, elegantly made that argument for them: "The notion that economic and political concerns are separable is pre-Victorian," he wrote.
Frankfurter was dissenting in a 1962 case called International Association of Machinists v. Street. That case is the source of Abood's premise that "agency fees" or union dues raise a First Amendment issue.
Expect to hear a lot more "fine spun" arguments about Street if Abood goes down, and to read about the breathless discovery that private union contracts are also "political speech" that must be blocked by the all-new First Amendment.


text:
Global China Pulse
Gwadar Port and Free Zone
Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan
Written by Hong Zhang.
China's financial and technical support has enabled Pakistan to develop Gwadar's deep-sea port, a decades-long aspiration of the country's political elites. Nowadays, Gwadar is considered the lynchpin of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, and China is investing a great amount of resources into the local infrastructure and development. However, these efforts continue to face severe challenges due to the tension between Balochistan and Pakistan's federal government, as well as the local socio-economic conditions. The strategic location of Gwadar also means that it is under intense scrutiny by China's and Pakistan's geopolitical rivals.
Project Impacts
Key Sources
Chinese Name: 瓜达尔港
Location: Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan
Type of project: Logistics; Industrial
Project developers: Since 2013, China Overseas Port Holding Company, affiliated with China Communication Construction Corporation, Ltd. (CCCC)
Main contractors: China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is the main contractor for the Gwadar Free Zone (start-up zone)
Known Financiers: Phase 1 (2002–2006): foreign aid grants from the Chinese government and loans from the Export–Import Bank of China; Phase 2 (2013–): China Development Bank
Estimated Cost: Phase 1: 248 million USD; phase 2: Unknown
Project Status: Operational
Since discovering its potential to become a deep-sea port in the 1950s, Pakistan has sought to develop Gwadar into the country's third major port. In 1958, Pakistan acquired Gwadar from Oman, which had controlled this enclave located on Pakistan's southwestern coast for over two centuries. However, actual development of the port did not come to fruition until the early 2000s, when then president Pervez Musharaf (in power from 2001 to 2008) secured Chinese assistance for its construction. Through a combination of grant, interest-free loan, concessional loan, and export buyer's credit, China provided 198 million USD of financing, while the Pakistani government financed the remaining 50 million USD. This initial phase of port construction was contracted to China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), a state-owned enterprise (SOE). Talking about the importance of Gwadar, the company cited its potential to serve as an alternative route to the Malacca Strait for China's energy transport, given the location's proximity to the Strait of Hormuz. The port was inaugurated in 2007.
Despite the expectation that Chinese companies would be involved in the operation of the port, no enterprise from China participated in the bidding organised by the Pakistani government in 2006 to select an operator. Subsequently, a consortium led by the Singaporean port operator PSA International was selected and granted a 40-year concession for the operation of the port. However, this consortium was unable to develop the port due to the Pakistani government's failure to transfer the agreed land from the Pakistani navy's possession to the developers.
Meanwhile, in 2010 it was reported that some unspecified Chinese parties had shown interest in building more berths for the port if it was given the right to operate it. In 2012, PSA quit the contract, which was then transferred to China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) in February the following year. COPHC inherited exactly the same terms as the PSA contract, which meant that COPHC was to invest its own funds to build the port and an associated free zone, then transfer back the fixed assets to the Gwadar Port Authority at the end of a 40-year concession period. The fact that COPHC does not provide any information about its background, other than saying that its parent company is based in Hong Kong, raises many questions about its identity. However, available evidence strongly suggests that it is related to China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC), the parent company of CHEC, which built the first phase of the port. Zhang Baozhong, the Chairman and General Manager of COPHC, was a vice general manager of CCCC's Overseas Department at least until 2015. When the Vice President of CCCC visited Pakistan in 2018, for example, representatives of COPHC briefed him as one of CCCC's subsidiaries.A few months after the Chinese company reentered the scene in Gwadar, in May 2013, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Pakistan and proposed to build a China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The corridor has been conceived as linking China's Xinjiang province all the way down to Gwadar to reach the Indian Ocean. A special Joint Working Group dedicated to Gwadar was established under the Joint Cooperation Committee for CPEC. A number of projects have been proposed under the CPEC framework, financed by Chinese government aid (grant, interest-free loan, or concessional loan) or Chinese company investments. COPHC and fellow subsidiaries of the CCCC are the contractors of all but one project. In April 2016, COPHC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Development Bank, which pledged to support the development of the Gwadar Port and Free Zone.
Table 1 Official CPEC Projects in Gwadar
Project Name Estimated Cost (million USD) Details Status (as of January 2021)
Gwadar East-Bay Expressway 168 Financed by Chinese government interest-free loan. Contracted to CCCC Under construction
New Gwadar International Airport 230 Financed by Chinese government grant. Contracted to CCCC Under construction
Construction of breakwaters 123 Financed by of Chinese government concessional loan and grant. Contracted to COPHC Under construction
Dredging of berthing areas & channels 27 Financed by Chinese government concessional loan. Contracted to COPHC Under construction
Development of Free Zone 32 Invested and operated by COPHC. 1st phase completed and inaugurated in January 2018
Pak China Friendship Hospital 100 Financed by Chinese government grant. Contracted to Gansu Construction Investment Holdings Group, a Chinese SOE under Gansu Province Under construction
Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute at Gwadar 10 Financed by Chinese government grant. Under construction
Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan 4 Contracted to CCCC-FHDI Engineering Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CCCC. Completed
300MW Imported Coal-Based Power Project 542 Co-invested by CCCC Industrial Investment Holding Company, a subsidiary of CCCC, and Tianjin Energy Investment Group, a Chinese SOE under Tianjin Municipality Under construction
Source: CPEC official website
In addition to the above, a number of other facilities have been constructed with donations from Chinese state-affiliated entities, including an emergency facility built with donations from the Red Cross Society of China, a middle school funded by China Foundation for Peace and Development and built by CCCC-FHDI. The intensity of China's investment of resources in Gwadar reflects CPEC's status as a showcase in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the strategic importance attached to Gwadar.
Despite the density of projects in the area, the development of Gwadar's port, which is supposed to be the cornerstone of local economic growth, appears to be slow. Under COPHC's management, the port received the first commercial containerised cargo shipment in May 2015 (carried by another Chinese state-owned shipping company). In November 2016, the Pakistani and Chinese governments co-organised a trade convoy that carried 160 containers from Xinjiang all the way down to Gwadar. By showcasing the connectivity between Xinjiang and Gwadar and the port's handling capacity, the purpose of this military-escorted convoy was to 'dampen some of the "despondency" that was beginning to surround the project'. In January 2020, Gwadar port started to handle transshipment for Afghanistan, and Pakistan is also looking to provide transshipment for other Central Asian countries. But according to shipping tracking databases, only a handful of ships visited Gwadar Port in 2020 and in January 2021, and Pakistani officials had to urge businesses to make use of Gwadar. Analysts have thus questioned the wisdom of such a strategy to target regional transshipment rather than the local economy to drive Gwadar's growth. The feasibility of using Gwadar to transport energy through pipelines to China is also in doubt due to the technical difficulties.
In addition to the port, COPHC is also developing a 923-hectare Free Zone in Gwadar for manufacturing, trading, and service activities, which will enjoy 23 years of tax holiday and land lease of up to 99 years. The company's plan is to develop the whole zone by 2030 in four phases, and a start-up zone of 25 hectares was already completed in 2018. At the inauguration, the company announced that the zone already received investment of 474 million USD from 30 companies. But at an August 2020 event, COPHC's Zhang Baozhong said that four Chinese companies had set up factories in the zone, and 12 other companies had registered. It emerged in early 2021 that the slow progress in the development of the Free Zone was partly due to the fact that some of the land remained in the possession of the Pakistani Navy, who was slow to vacate it despite the urging of the federal government.
While the port and the Free Zone are relatively secluded from the local residents, the Gwadar Smart City Master Plan, drafted by the Chinese company CCCC-FDHI, a subsidiary of CCCC, will guide the city's development and reshape the local life. It envisions a great transformation of what now is a small fishing town with a population of 90,000 into an economic hub of South Asia with 2 million residents by 2050. The plan also proposes multi-billion USD investment into new power plants, water desalination plants, skyscrapers, and a man-made island. It was approved by the Balochistan provincial government in September 2019, after a long delay. However, after media reports drew attention to the man-made Island, the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) announced that it would be dropped from the Master Plan. The federal government approved the plan in December 2020.
However, such a prospect feels surreal in light of the situation on the ground. Gwadar currently suffers from severe power and water shortage. Due to its remote location, Gwadar's power network is separate from the national grid and has to import the bulk of its electricity from neighboring Iran. Unstable supplies have led to long hours of load shedding, a cause of frequent protests. The 300MW power plant planned as an 'early harvest' project under the CPEC has yet to be completed, partly due to the delay of the provincial government to issue the necessary permissions. But even if built, the power plant feeding on imported coal is hardly a sustainable solution. COPHC generates its own electricity for the port and the Free Zone, giving the projects a relatively stable power supply that remains a luxury for the ordinary residents in Gwadar. However, the company's application in November 2020 to build an 8.75MW diesel-fired power plant suggests that even the port and the Free Zone are facing shortages.Another major roadblock for the Free Zone was that Pakistan's tax authority initially refused to grant some of the tax exemptions for COPHC and the companies operating within the zone that were promised in the concession agreement. The issue had been lingering for years, until October 2019, when Pakistan's cabinet approved an extraordinary legislative change specially for Gwadar to receive the tax exemptions. It was pushed through ahead of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China, at a time when there was growing anxiety about the lack of progress in CPEC projects since the Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) government came into power in 2018. In June 2020, it emerged that a 40-year tax holiday instead of 23 years would be granted to COPHC and the other companies, and conflicting information concerning the exact agreement between COPHC and the Pakistani government was presented in the legislative process.
Gwadar, Pakistan. Credit (CC): NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Socio-political conflicts: Due to the long-existing tension between Balochistan and Pakistan's federal government, China's involvement in Gwadar's development is also viewed with suspicion by some locals, who see China as colluding with the federal government to marginalise the Balochs in their own land. Terrorist attacks targeting Chinese nationals have resulted in dozens of deaths of both Chinese and Pakistanis, including an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi in 2018. A heavy military presence was installed in Gwadar to protect the Chinese personnel, who have not been able to mingle with the local residents.
Unmet basic local needs: In strong contrast to the heavy investment into mega infrastructure projects, Gwadar's residents continue to suffer from power and water shortages. This has caused frustration among the local population, with anger largely targeting the federal government for its perceived inattention.
Exclusionary decision-making: Local stakeholders were excluded from the negotiation of the contract between the Chinese government, company, and Pakistani government, as well as from discussion of the policies regarding the CPEC. This has added to the distrust between Balochistan and the Pakistani federal government.
There is long-standing tension between Balochistan, the province where Gwadar is located, and Pakistan's federal government. Many in the province feel that the federal government, dominated by the Punjabi ethnic group, has exploited their rich natural resources for the development of other regions while neglecting their needs. Such tension has resulted in armed insurrections in the past, to which the federal government responded with heavy-handed crackdowns. A number of armed insurgency groups from Balochistan remain active nowadays. In such a context, the federal government's historical attempts to develop Gwadar have been viewed with suspicion in the province, with many fearing that this would lead to the marginalisation of the Baloch ethnic group in their own homeland.
As China became involved in Gwadar, the insurgency groups have also begun targeting Chinese personnel. In 2004, during the construction of the first phase of the port, three Chinese engineers from CHEC died in a car bombing. In 2006, another three Chinese engineers were shot dead in a different project site in Balochistan. An attack targeting Chinese workers in 2007 killed 24 Pakistanis instead. With all these incidents in mind, when the CPEC was launched, security was China's top concern and the Pakistani navy created a 400-strong special task force to protect Gwadar. Chinese personnel are heavily guarded within their compound, with little interaction with the local community. But even so, in May 2019, a luxury hotel in Gwadar only a few kilometres from the Free Zone was stormed by gunmen, resulting in the deaths of at least five Pakistanis.
The secrecy with which the Gwadar concession was negotiated between the Chinese company and the Pakistani government did not inspire confidence. When the concession was awarded to COPHC in 2013, the Balochistan provincial government already voiced concern that they were not consulted in this process. A prominent Baloch politician even argued that the concession violated Pakistan's constitution. The nature of the agreement was also later called into question. As is typical of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, the Chinese company will receive the majority of revenue from the project during the concession period (91% of the revenues generated from the Gwadar port and 85% of the Free Zone). Although this information had already been made public before, it came into the spotlight in November 2017 when raised in a Senate meeting. This was at a time when many doubts were being raised about the lack of transparency in the CPEC Long-Term Plan. Both the Pakistani government and Chinese state media responded to defend the revenue-sharing arrangement, justifying it with the amount of investment the Chinese company has to put in to make Gwadar viable.
Since the initial phase, China's involvement in the development of Gwadar has caused suspicions about its potential military use of the port, especially in India and the United States. Such suspicions continue to exist, despite the denial from both Chinese and Pakistani officials. In return, the Pakistani military has accused India of actively working to sabotage Gwadar's development. Such geopolitical tensions have added to the security concerns on the project site.
The stark contrast between Gwadar's supposed importance for the CPEC and the lack of basic services in the city has upset the local population. One of the most pressing local challenges is water, as Gwadar faces a deficit of 4 million gallons a day due to extended droughts in recent years. Early on, the CPEC had included plans to provide 'necessary facilities of fresh water treatment, water supply and distribution' financed by grants from the Chinese government. However, this item later disappeared from the CPEC official page for Gwadar. As of June 2020, the Pakistani government's promise to build large desalination plants for Gwadar was yet to be fulfilled, as the federal government had cut the budget for public investment. For its part, COPHC built a smaller desalination plant in January 2018, and signed an agreement in May 2018 with the local government to provide 300,000 gallons of fresh water a day to the local communities. In a 2020 interview, COPHC's chairman Zhang Baozhong said that the agreement has been amended to increase the water supply to 1.5 million gallons per day, but it is not clear whether this amount of water has been delivered.
There is also concern among the local fishing population that they may not be able to benefit from the modern economy that the Gwadar port and Free Zone promise. Even though the Gwadar Port Authority and the Chinese company are building a vocational training institute in Gwadar to train the youth, the local fishermen worry that they may not make as much money for waged labour as what they did fishing. Some of the newly constructed road infrastructure already limited access of fishing boats to the sea, causing protests by the local population. As of June 2020, the Gwadar Port Authority's promise to build facilities for the fishermen to remedy the situation had not been met.
The local population's distrust of the government also emerged in a controversy that occurred in late 2020 regarding a project to fence off Gwadar city, supposedly as a security measure against terrorist attacks. It quickly sparked strong resistance by the local population, with many fearing that the fence would hinder their free movement and split their community. Faced with a backlash, the Balochistan provincial government halted the fencing project soon thereafter. While reports citing official sources say that the fence had been envisioned in the Gwadar Smart City Master Plan, this is disputed by some influential commentators. Although evidence in this regard is lacking, many speculated that the fencing project was requested and even financed by the Chinese.
With the Gwadar Master Plan projecting the need of tens of thousands of new homes in the coming decades, many Pakistanis have rushed to buy land in Gwadar with the expectation of appreciation. As land prices have been skyrocketing, many housing schemes turned out to be scams.
In November 2021, thousands came out to protest in Gwadar, including women, students, and sympathetic urbanites from nearby towns, a scale of protest rarely seen in Balochistan. Their expressed grievances included threatened livelihood of the local fishing population due to deep-sea trawling by predatory fleets from both Pakistan and abroad—including China—as well as excessive checkpoints associated with CPEC security, shortage of water and electricity, lack of health care facilities and educational and employment opportunities. While the protests did not directly target the CPEC, they demonstrated its failure to improve the living conditions of the local population, contrary to the promises. In response to questions about China's responsibility in the situation, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian categorically denied, in a press conference on 30 November, any fishing activities by Chinese trawlers in the surrounding waters of Gwadar port, calling such reports 'fake news'. The protests caught attention from global media because of their implications for the BRI. The protests ended after 32 days as the Chief Minister of Balochistan signed a deal in December 2021 with the local community leaders promising to address their grievances, including banning illegal fishing in the area.
In-depth Sources
Academic Articles:
Akhtar, Nasreen. 2017. 'Balochistan Conflict: Internal and International Dynamics.' Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS) 37, no. 1: 190–202.
Khan, Adeel. 2009. 'Renewed Ethnonationalist Insurgency in Balochistan, Pakistan: The Militarized State And Continuing Economic Deprivation.' Asian Survey 49, no. 6: 1071–91.
Media Investigations:
Ahmed, Maqbool. 2017. 'CPEC: Hopes and Fears as China Comes to Gwadar.' Herald Magazine, 9 March. Link.
Ebrahim, Zofeen. 2017. 'What's Happening at Pakistan's Gwadar Port?' China Dialogue, 16 June. Link.
Hao, Zhou 郝洲. 2017. '瓜达尔港曲折起航 [Gwadar Port Sails In Twists and Turns].' 财经 [Caijing], 5 May. Link.
Suleman, Mariyam. 2020. 'How CPEC Left Behind the People of Gwadar.' The Diplomat, 30 June. Link.
Research Reports:
Aamir, Adnan. 2019. 'The Balochistan Insurgency and the Threat to Chinese Interests in Pakistan.' Jamestown Foundation website, 15 February 15. Link.
Baloch, Kiyya and Akbar Notezai. 2022. 'The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Hits Bottom in Balochistan.' China Brief 22(2), 28 January. Link.
Iftikhar, Muhammad Naveed, Liou Xie, Komal Shakeel, Sohaib Jamali, Maira Khan, Khawer Hayat Cheema, and Misha Shahid. 2019. 'The Institutional and Urban Design of Gwadar City.' The International Growth Centre website. Link.
Jamali, Hafeez Ahmed. 2013. 'The Anxiety of Development: Megaprojects and the Politics of Place in Gwadar, Pakistan.' Crossroads Asia Working Papers, University of Bonn. Link.
Kardon, Isaac B., Conor M. Kennedy, and Peter A. Dutton. 2020. 'Gwadar: China's Potential Strategic Strongpoint in Pakistan.' China Maritime Report no. 7, China Maritime Studies Institute, US Naval War College. Link.
Rafiq, Arif. 2017. 'The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Barriers and Impact.' United States Institute of Peace website. Link.
Rafiq, Arif. 2020. 'Regional Transit Trade Isn't Enough to Drive Pakistan's Gwadar Port.' Middle East Institute website, 14 October. Link.
Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies and Caijing. 2016. '中巴经济走廊实地调研报告 [Field Research Report of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor].' Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, 20 December. Link.
Sial, Safdar. 2019. 'CPEC in Balochistan: Local Concerns and Implications.' Research Paper, Pak Institute for Peace Studies, 29 August. Link.
Updates & Corrections
5 February 2022: Updated to reflect the protests in Gwadar in November and December 2021.
Updated on 5 February 2022.
Hong Zhang is a China Public Policy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Her research interests include China's political economy, international development cooperation and foreign aid, and the global expansion of Chinese state-owned enterprises.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package org.platanios.tensorflow.api.ops

import org.platanios.tensorflow.api.implicits.helpers.{OutputStructure, OutputToDataType, OutputToTensor, TensorToOutput}
import org.platanios.tensorflow.api.tensors.Tensor
import org.platanios.tensorflow.jni.{ScalaCallbacksRegistry => NativeCallbacksRegistry, TensorFlow => NativeLibrary}

/** Contains functions for constructing ops related to Scala callback functions.
  *
  * @author Emmanouil Antonios Platanios
  */
trait Callback {
  /** $OpDocCallbackCallback
    *
    * @group CallbackOps
    * @param  function       Scala function to use for the callback op.
    * @param  input          Input for the created op.
    * @param  outputDataType Data types of the Scala function outputs.
    * @param  stateful       If `true`, the function should be considered stateful. If a function is stateless, when
    *                        given the same input it will return the same output and have no observable side effects.
    *                        Optimizations such as common subexpression elimination are only performed on stateless
    *                        operations.
    * @param  name           Name for the created op.
    * @return Created op output.
    */
  def callback[IT: OutputStructure, IV, OT, OV, OD](
      function: IV => OV,
      input: IT,
      outputDataType: OD,
      stateful: Boolean = true,
      name: String = "Callback"
  )(implicit
      evOutputToTensorI: OutputToTensor.Aux[IT, IV],
      evTensorToOutputO: TensorToOutput.Aux[OV, OT],
      evOutputToDataType: OutputToDataType.Aux[OT, OD]
  ): OT = {
    val id = NativeCallbacksRegistry.register(inputs => {
      val inputTensors = inputs.map(Tensor.fromNativeHandle[Any]).toSeq
      val outputs = function(evOutputToTensorI.decodeTensor(input, inputTensors)._1)
      val outputTensors = evTensorToOutputO.tensorStructure.tensors(outputs)
      outputTensors.map(_.nativeHandle).toArray
    })
    // We tie the registered function's lifetime with the current graph. That is, when the current graph is destroyed,
    // we should also deregister its callback functions.
    var graph = Op.currentGraph
    // If the callback function was declared inside a function graph, then its lifetime should be bound to that of the
    // outer graph instead.
    while (graph.isInstanceOf[FunctionGraph])
      graph = graph.asInstanceOf[FunctionGraph].outerGraph
    // When the graph is destroyed, all callback functions used in the graph are de-registered from the native callbacks
    // registry.
    graph.addCleanupFunction(() => NativeCallbacksRegistry.deregister(id))
    val builder = {
      if (stateful) {
        Op.Builder[Seq[Output[Any]], Seq[Output[Any]]](
          opType = "JVMCallback",
          name = name,
          input = OutputStructure[IT].outputs(input))
      } else {
        Op.Builder[Seq[Output[Any]], Seq[Output[Any]]](
          opType = "JVMCallbackStateless",
          name = name,
          input = OutputStructure[IT].outputs(input))
      }
    }
    val currentJvmPointer = NativeLibrary.currentJvmPointer
    builder.setAttribute("id", id)
    builder.setAttribute("jvm_pointer_upper", (currentJvmPointer >> 32).toInt)
    builder.setAttribute("jvm_pointer_lower", ((currentJvmPointer << 32) >> 32).toInt)
    builder.setAttribute("Tout", evOutputToDataType.dataTypeStructure.dataTypes(outputDataType).toArray)
    evOutputToDataType.decodeOutput(outputDataType, builder.build().output)._1
  }
}

/** Contains helpers for dealing with callbacks. */
object Callback extends Callback {
  /** @define OpDocCallbackCallback
    *  The `callback` op wraps a Scala function and uses it as a TensorFlow op.
    *
    *  Given a Scala function `function`, which takes an arbitrary structure of tensors as its input and returns another
    *  arbitrary structure of tensors as its output, the op wraps this function as an op in a TensorFlow graph. The
    *  following snippet constructs a simple TensorFlow graph that invokes the imperative `Tensor.sinh` function as an
    *  op in the graph:
    *
    *  {{{
    *    def customFunction(x: Tensor): Tensor = x.sinh
    *
    *    val input = tf.placeholder(FLOAT32)
    *    val output = tf.callback(customFunction, input, FLOAT32)
    *  }}}
    *
    *  '''NOTE:''' The `callback` op has the following known limitations:
    *  - The body of the Scala function (i.e. `function`) will not be serialized in a `GraphDef`. Therefore, you should
    *    not use this op if you need to serialize your model and restore it in a different environment.
    *  - The op must be able to access the JVM instance that the Scala program that constructed it was running on. This
    *    can be important if you are using distributed TensorFlow.
    *
    *  '''NOTE:''' The input and output tensors of the callback functions are not guaranteed to be copies. In some cases
    *  their underlying memory will be shared with the corresponding TensorFlow session tensors. In-place modification
    *  or storing of the inputs or return values in Scala data structures without explicit copies can have
    *  non-deterministic consequences.
    */
  private[ops] trait Documentation
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
I.D. standards prove confusing in Cincinnati
CNN's Beth Elliott
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/04/art.cincy1104.ap.jpg caption="A voter in Cincinnati sits while filling out his ballot because all of the official voting stations were full."]
CINCINNATI, Ohio (CNN) - Some judges at polling precincts in Ohio were issuing provisional ballots in error because they were confused about whether state drivers' licenses with outdated addresses could be used as proof of identification, Hamilton County Board of Elections Director Sally Krisel confirmed Tuesday.
"They are nervous, so they have them vote by provisional ballot," Krisel said of the judges who were not aware of an Ohio law that mandates that drivers' licenses can be used as proof of identification and address, even if the address does not match the voter's current address.
Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Community Outreach coordinator Kim Bartlett says the same thing is occurring in her county.
"If I move, I'm not required to get a new drivers license with a new address, she explained Tuesday. "Licenses are good for four years, even if they don't have a valid address, its still considered valid proof of ID."
Both the Hamilton County and Cuyahoga County Board of Elections say they were engaged in outreach efforts throughout election day to explain the rules on provisional ballots to confused poll workers.
Ohio State University law professor said he had also heard some complaints about voters being forced to use the provisional ballot but it was too early to tell if this was a systematic, statewide problem.
Filed under: Ohio • Voter Problems


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Browse: Home » Nari Mangala (Tiger Wedding). Marrying the soul of the Tiger
July 29, 2010 Dushyant
The groom(seated left) is Coluvanda(Koluvanda) Cariappa. Engraving by Captain Robert Belford Cummins.
A Tiger Wedding in Coorg, India
From: The Illustrated London News
The small province of Coorg, in Southern India, is situated among the mountains that separate Mysore from the Malabar coast to the west. Its late Rajah, being of cruel and treacherous misrule, was deposed in 1834, and the Coorgs, being put to the vote, unanimously desired to become complete subjects of the British Government. In 1852, the deposed Rajah visited England, accompanied by his daughter Gauramma, and paid his former enemies the compliment of seeking for her an English and Christian education. In June 30, 1852, she was baptized, the Queen herself standing sponsor, and giving her the name 'Victoria.' The Princess Victorian Gauramma, who was a constant visitor to her Majesty at Osborne and Windsor, eventually married an English officer of the name of Campbell. She died in 1864; her tyrant father lies buried in the Kensal-green Cemetery.
A good description of Coorg will be found in 'Eastern Experiences,' by Mr. Lewin Bowring, late Resident or Governor of Mysore. The natives are distinguished for their fine appearance and warlike temper. They are skillful hunters, being trained for this from infancy; at the birth of a boy, the first thing done is to place a little bow and arrow in his hands, and to fire a gun outside the house, thus initiating his career as a huntsman and warrior.
In the accompanying illustration there is abundance of music, feasting, torchlight, and dancers; and the owner of the mansion is brought in with triumph to graces the festival.
A curious ceremony takes place when a tiger has been shot by a Coorg man. Tigers are not numerous in the country, and this ceremony has only occurred twice within the past four years. On the last occasion, March 9 of this year, the successful huntsman was Mr. Colovanda(Koluvanda) Carriapah(Cariappa), Head Sheristadar of the Mercara Talook. In this ceremony the man is wedded to the soul of the dead tiger.
As shown in the Illustration, he is seated under a canopy in full warrior costume. On each side are placed his weapons and the household emblems of plenty, vessels of rice and milk, and burning lamps, analogous to the Masonic corn, wine and oil. So he sits, receiving the homage and congratulations of his relatives and friends. Each scatters a few grains of rice over his head, and gives him a sip of milk from a brass vessel resembling a teapot, and makes an offering in money, varying in value according to the means of the donor. The hero of the day is afterwards carried in triumph round the tiger, which is suspended to a high bamboo grame in the garden. The officers and ladies of the regiment stationed at Mercara, who reside in the late Rajah's palace, were specially invited to attend.
Mr. Carriapah is a native Coorg gentleman of high merit and distinction. He wears the gold Coorg medal, which was presented by the British Government to his father, for suppressing an insurrection in South Canara. Our correspondent would further testify to Mr. Carriapah's unvarying support of English education among the Coorgs. A wealthy and influential man, he spares neither time nor money in this cause, and has, at his sole expense, erected schools for Coorg girls as well as boys, and has on several occasions received the thanks of the Government of India, as well as of the local Government of Mysore and Coorg.
We are indebted to Captain Belford Cummins, of the Staff Corps at Mercara, for the sketch we have engraved.
Update: We had mentioned the groom as Coravanda in the post. We have received an email stating that the groom was Coluvanda and not Coravanda. We have fact-checked and updated accordingly.


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Idiopathic Theatre's Cutting Edge Tears!
April 2, 2012 by PJV Contributor Leave a Comment
The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium's motto is The IRC: We Bring Good Nothingness to Life. The IRC was founded in 2006 by Tina Brock to bring preserve and present classic and lesser-known works from a collection of authors whose plays share certain basic traits — a group loosely-defined as the "Theater of the Absurd" and includes authors Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, and Edward Albee among others. Their emphasis is on physical productions shared in an intimate setting that that impact audiences by exteriorizing existential anxiety.
More after the jump.
Although their permanent home is at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, they held their annual fundraiser at L'Etage, (624 South 6th Street), an intimate space on the second floor of the popular creperie Beau Monde in Queen Village. The 70 minute show, "For Crying Out Loud: Revenge of the Raw Onion!" included seventeen satirical pieces from The Onion: America's s Finest News Source which ranged from funny to side-splittingly funny. There was no intermission, but one was too busy laughing at the fine performances to notice.
Highlights include the opening monologue performed by John D'Alonzo, called "Well, It Looks Like My Work Here Has Been Successfully Avoided," which was an hysterical satire of ways to avoid office work. Jane Moore's monologue, "Are Your Cats Old Enough to Learn About Jesus?" was by far one of the funniest bits of the evening. Even the rare occasion when an actor called "line" added to the raw pleasure of the evening which had the audience in stitches.
IRC is a reminder that one can produce fine theater by sticking to the basics: good writing, top-notch actors, clear direction. Their next show, in September 2012, as part of Philadelphia Live Arts and Fringe Festival, will be a production of Polish playwright Witold Gombrowicz's provocative and ingenious Ivona: Princess of Burgundia (1935)), the magical story of a pompous Royal Court where everyone is consumed by his or her own importance. This is a creative, thought-provoking theatre company worth supporting.
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: idiopathic theatre, l'etage, philadelphia live arts and fringe festival, the onion, theatre of the absurd, tina brock, walnut street theatre


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Current Gen
First Impressions: Gears Of War ...
The "Coloring Book" Mixtape Is ...
Video Games Current Gen
First Impressions: Gears Of War 4 Beta
Nerd in Residence
The multiplayer version of the original Gears of War ushered in innovative gameplay mechanics, like the modern cover system, that are still commonplace in most 3rd person shooters and action games today. There are few moments in gaming that come close to matching the satisfaction of getting a chainsaw kill in the multiplayer mode of 2006's Gears of War on Xbox 360. However, after spending close to a week playing the recent Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta on the Xbox One it's difficult for me to come up with anything that would qualify as groundbreaking in the latest iteration of the 10-year-old franchise.
The recent beta didn't include any gameplay from the new campaign that'll be available when Gears 4 is released in October of this year. This is fitting considering that while Gears has always shipped with an impressively robust campaign, most casual and hardcore fans of the series are more anxious to find out about how multiplayer in the new Gears compares to previous iterations.
In terms of speed, Gears 4 is in tune with Gears 3, with the pace slowed down just a notch, which allows for more of the tactical chess matches that were common in the original Gears, but were lost in the shuffle of the frenzied, multiplayer, shotgun rolling wars of the matches of Gears 2. The Gears 4 beta included fan-favorite game modes Team Deathmatch and Co-Op Team Deathmatch, but the clear standout of the beta was the new game mode — Dodgeball. While weapon balance received only modest adjustments to weapon fire modes and DPS of some previously OP weapons such as the Snub Pistol, this new game mode is where Gears 4 does the best job of separating itself from its predecessors.
Players familiar with Execution and Warzone from previous games will be comfortable with the lack of respawns, but what proves to be an interesting gameplay mechanic in Dodgeball is that if a team scores a kill while a teammate is dead, their dead teammate is then allowed to respawn after a short 5-second respawn timer. It reminded me a lot of Destiny's Trials of Osiris in that a team with only a single player remaining can easily alter the momentum of what appears to be a lost game simply by playing smart, getting 1 kill and pulling back until 1 of their teammates respawns. This new game mode is refreshing and allows for tug of war gameplay until 1 team is finally completely dismantled.
Outside of the addition of Dodgeball and the previously mentioned weapon balance changes much of Gears remains the same; sadly this also holds true for the visuals. Although the game's environments are varied and colorful as opposed to the drab greys, browns, and blacks of earlier entries in the series, they just aren't impressive. After a great kill, I'd lose immersion in the game world due to character models that looked like they were imported from one of the earlier Gears entries on Xbox 360, and as shown in screenshots found out in the wild, it looks like anyone who's ever drawn in Microsoft paint is qualified to work on the game's blood splatter particles. To be fair I have to note that my impressions of the game's graphics are based solely on this early beta and the full game isn't to be released until October of this year, which gives the developers behind Gears 4, The Coalition, 5 months to improve the game's graphics.
After sinking hours into the beta, it's easy for me to argue that Gears has been surpassed by other multiplayer shooters. Even in its own genre of 3rd person shooters, Tom Clancy's The Division is more innovative and both a more technically and graphically impressive game. With Gears 4's outdated graphics and stale gameplay mechanics, does it warrant a purchase this Fall? With FPS behemoths Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare being released only a month after Gears 4, will it be able to sustain an active player base?
The multiplayer beta has me hesitant to give up $59.99 when the game is released on October 11th. I turned off my console after finishing my last game of the beta feeling underwhelmed and a bit like I may have just outgrown the Gears franchise. I and many other gamers will continue playing the other well-polished and innovate multiplayer shooters currently out and purchase those, like Blizzard's Overwatch, which are nearing release. For diehard Gears of War fans this new installment is shaping up to deliver everything fans have loved about the original series and add enough variation with the new weapon balances and game mode mechanics to have them swap out their copies of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
You can catch Steve streaming gameplay on Twitch and YouTube
Steve Daniels
Great commentary. Enjoyed this writer's style. Will come back from more of his work!


Updated on 28 January 2018.
Petra Majdič (born 22 December 1979 in Ljubljana) is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon (30 km race) in Trondheim in 2009.  She is the first Slovenian cross-country skier to win the World Cup race, the first to get a medal at the World Championships and the first to get an Olympic medal. With 20 wins, Majdič is the second-most successful sprinter in FIS Cross-Country World Cup history and with 24 wins in total she's the fourth-most successful World Cup competitor of all time.
She first appeared in World Cup on 9 January 1999 in Nové Město, where she ended 10 km classic as 69th. In 2000, she won her first point in Falun with 30th place in 10 km freestyle. She showed talent for sprint events a year later in Asiago, where she earned her first podium for a 3rd-place finish in 1.5 km freestyle sprint. But real breakthrough came late for Majdič; after achieving two more podium finishes in 2002, she struggled for four years to make a major progress. Cross-country skiing was a marginal sport in Slovenia at that time and she was often frustrated about her training conditions and especially about her skis. As a skier from outside the World Cup elite and from a low-ranked country, she was unable to get the same quality skis as her competitors. The only way forward was even more hard work, as only top results could provide her with a chance to get equal terms with others. Her first victory came at the end of successful 2006 season in 1 km classic sprint of Drammen. First win, 3rd place in 45 km classic marathon of Mora and 9th place overall put Majdič in the spotlight for the first time, after so many years of hard work and little payback. She was recognized as the best female athlete in Slovenia and in the 2007 season she was finally able to compete on top skis and with an excellent support team, including a new coach and ski service team. She won three races and grabbed three more podium finishes to end season as 4th overall, 2nd in sprint and 8th in distance. Additionally, she earned a silver in the individual sprint at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. In the 2008 season, Majdič won her first World Cup title for sprints. In the 2009 season, she profiled herself as a serial winner, winning first four sprints of the season and eight sprints all together, but modified World Cup Finale rules prevented her from winning the World Cup overall. She won her second World Cup title for sprints, however, with a record 879 points and a record 409 points margin ahead of second-placed Arianna Follis.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Petra Majdič .
↑ Archived February 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine .
↑ "Olympic notebook: Slovenian Majdic skied to bronze with 4 broken ribs". Goerie.com, 2010-02-20. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
↑ Archived March 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine .
↑ Epstein, David, "The Truth About Pain: It's in Your Head", Sports Illustrated , 8 August 2011, pp. 58–66.
↑ "Bjoergen wins 1st gold in cross-country sprint". Sify.com. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "STA: OLYMPICS: President Decorates Olympic Medalist Majdic". Sta.si. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "Majdic to be honoured by Slovenia for her Olympic exploits". Monsters and Critics. 2010-02-19. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Videos, Photos, News". Vancouver2010.com. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "Ko Chuck Norris ne zmore več, Petra Majdič vztraja!". Delo.si. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "Cross-Country Skier Majdic Gets Women's Magazine Award". Slovenian Press Agency. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
↑ Eurosport. "Majdic claims sprint crown in Stockholm – Yahoo! Eurosport". Uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "Pri Majdičevi je bil adrenalin včasih že na meji kolapsa :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija". Rtvslo.si. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "World Cup Finale: A Victory Lap for Bjørgen « NordicXplained". Nordicxplained.wordpress.com. 2011-03-20. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
↑ "Athlete : MAJDIC Petra". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 28 January 2018.


You are here: Home / News / Dredg on Fuel TV tomorrow!
Dredg on Fuel TV tomorrow!
Dredg's appearance on Fuel TV's "The Daily Habit" is on tomorrow (Friday, Sept 18). Check your local listings for channels and air times.


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John Cloake
The Society can trace its origins to a talk on the history of Richmond given by John Cloake to The Richmond Society on 25 February 1975. It resulted in the setting up of the History and Archaeology Section of The Richmond Society, launched in April 1975 under John Cloake's chairmanship. The archaeologists subsequently broke away to form the Richmond Archaeological Society. In 1985 the Richmond Society's History Section also became an organisation in its own right as the Richmond Local History Society.
John Cloake, our first Chairman, and later our first President, was a guiding force in the Society's development. In December 2003 he gave a talk to the Society on Forty Years of Richmond History, charting the development of his own enthusiasm for history and, since his arrival in Richmond 40 years previously, his interest in the local history of Richmond. His talk also encompassed the history of the Richmond Local History Society.
Christopher May
We lost John Cloake in 2014 and also, later that year, Christopher May, our then-Chairman and editor of our annual journal, Richmond History. A full appreciation of the contribution of Chris May to the work of the Society appeared in Richmond History 36, published in May 2015.
Norman Radley
Norman Radley, our Chairman from 1995 to 2003, and later one our Vice-Presidents, died in September 2015, a few days after celebrating his 94th birthday. An appreciation of Norman Radley appeared in Richmond History 37, published in May 2016.
David Blomfield
David Blomfield, the Society's President from 2014 to 2016, died on 12 July 2016, the day after his 82nd birthday. He was our Chairman from 2003 to 2013 and edited Richmond History from 1994 to 2001.
David Blomfield 1934-2016
David at the 2015 Richmond May Fair
We are very sorry to tell you that our President, Dr David Blomfield, has died after a short but very severe illness. David, the Society's chairman for ten years and a former editor of our journal, Richmond History, spent his 82nd birthday at home, surrounded by his extended family. He died the next day, Tuesday 12 July.
David was a distinguished local historian, whose books Kew Past, The Story of Kew and (with the late Christopher May) Kew at War 1939-1945, broke new ground in recording what had happened in Kew in its recent past as well as in previous centuries. By telling it in a compelling manner, he made the fascinating story of Kew accessible to everyone and encouraged its residents and visitors alike to take an active interest in their own local history.
David's area of interest and expertise was not confined to Kew. Only three months ago, he gave a very well researched and received talk at our meeting on 11 April on the history of Richmond's Star and Garter Home. You can listen to his talk on our Soundcloud page. None of us knew then that he was ill and he himself was not sure of the extent of his illness. And we did not know that this would be his last public appearance at the Society, apart from a brief visit to our stall at the Richmond May Fair.
David was editor of our journal, Richmond History, from 1994 until 2001 and chaired the Society for ten years from 2003 to 2013. After stepping down as Chairman, David – who was elected President at the 2015 Annual General Meeting – continued to be a very active member of the Society's committee and, with Len Chave, spearheaded our publications programme. When Chris May, his successor as Chairman and Editor of Richmond History, passed away suddenly in November 2014, David rolled up his sleeves and resumed, temporarily, the role of journal editor. David continued to take a keen interest in our publications work, even in the latter stages of his illness when, at great effort, he made the time to hand over the Society's affairs with considerable thought and thoroughness.
My colleagues and I on the Society's committee are very shocked by this turn of events, coming so soon after the Society has also lost John Cloake, Chris May and Norman Radley. We will miss David's wise counsel and his encouragement to all of us in our roles. But we recognise how indebted we all are to David for the outstanding contribution he has made to the Society's success and for the exemplary leadership he has demonstrated, as chairman, as president and as publisher. We now feel empowered to carry on with the Society's work on a path that he has set and to develop his vision still further.
Our immediate thoughts are with David's wife Caroline, and with his children James, Melanie and Rupert and their families to whom we convey the Society's sincere condolences.
Chairman, Richmond Local History Society
** UPDATE, 16 July: Following a private family funeral in the morning, there will be a celebration of David's life (for which formal black attire is not expected) on Tuesday 26 July at 3pm at the Barn Church, Atwood Avenue, Kew TW9 4HF, and afterwards at Priory Park Tennis Club, TW9 3BZ. Priory Park is at the end of Forest Road, Kew.
*** DAVID BLOMFIELD – a profile by Harriet Grace (written in 2009 and published in issue 25 (November 2009) of The Link, the magazine of the Kew parishes of St Luke's and the Barn. Reproduced with permission)
I first met David Blomfield when I was eleven and he was a charming, very good-looking undergraduate at Oxford. He was a friend of my sister and my parents were giving a dance. I was too young to attend but at lunch on the day I was placed next to him, and what I remember is that he talked to me and listened. When he could have ignored me, he made me feel special. If I had known, and understood what it meant, that he'd got an exhibition to read Classics (Mods and Greats) at Hertford College, and that before that he'd done his National Service for two years in the early fifties, most of it in Germany in a barracks next to Belsen, I would have been too shy to open my mouth. Now over fifty years later he's still as good-looking and I can see that his quiet, caring generosity has underpinned all that he has done.
The youngest of three brothers and the son of an army officer, David was the only one go to Oxford. After Oxford he joined the Readers Digest as Editor for the Condensed Books series and had a successful career at the Digest for nearly thirty years. It was there he met Caroline. They married, moved to Kew in 1965 and soon became involved in the community, church and local government.
David says that it was the education of their three children at Queen's that made him realise the importance of representation and involvement at a local level. Kew had a community and he wanted to invest in it. He fought to change the rules at Queen's School to permit parental governors, and subsequently became a governor of Queen's, Darrell Infant and Junior, Gainsborough Secondary School and Windham Nursery school. In the late 1960s he and Caroline helped Pat Lewis set up the Barn Nursery School in the new church hall, and for four years Caroline ran a satellite nursery in Gloucester Road. Education led to local politics. He'd always been a Liberal supporter, but what interested him was a smaller population – the "politics of the parish pump" – where it was possible to identify with the people and the problems, and do something about it. He was a councillor from 1971 to 1978, and from 1979 to 1986, and during this period the council had more powers than at present, which made it important and rewarding work.
At the end of the 1980s David left the Reader's Digest and became a freelance editor, and Caroline opened Kew Bookshop. David was church warden at the Barn during Tim Beaumont's time and when Nick Darby took over, David chaired the committee responsible for converting the west end of the Barn Church, an operation which required a sensitive architect and a willing congregation. The work was completed in 2002 and has meant that the church is now used by the community every day of the week. He has also been responsible for chairing the building of the Orange Tree Theatre and the conversion of St Luke's House, plus numerous other community projects, which led, in 2000, to the award of an MBE.
Throughout all these activities runs David's passion for local history. When Kew Bookshop opened in 1989 it needed a book about Kew's local history so Caroline challenged David and since then he has written three books: Story of Kew, Kew Past, and very recently Kew At War. He completed a PhD in 2007, his thesis being on the Boatmen on the Kew stretch of the Thames.
A church-goer all his life David talks about a "pilgrimage of faith" where he is always exploring. A truly modest, clever and deep-thinking http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/weight-loss/ man, he has been supported throughout by Caroline. They have lived, worked and contributed to life in Kew for over forty years. Without exaggeration they have changed its landscape for the better.
Christopher May 1943-2014
Christopher May at the 2014 Kew Fayre
Christopher May, who was our Chairman and also Editor of our journal, Richmond History, died on 11 November 2014.
This sad news came as a shock, even to those who knew he had been battling with a virulent form of leukaemia since February. In the week before he died he turned down further invasive treatment that could offer him a few more weeks of life. He died at home, as he wanted, with his family around him and his affairs in order.
There was a full obituary of Chris in the 2015 issue of Richmond History, giving due attention to his great contribution to Richmond local history. The following tribute is based on the address at his funeral given by his close friend and fellow historian David Blomfield.
"Chris died on Armistice Day. It is an easy date to remember, and fits him better than many might think. Chris was never required to serve in the forces, but he was a warrior who fought stubbornly for every cause he espoused.
"He was born in 1943. He came from a family of doctors. At the age of seven he was packed off as a boarder to a private preparatory school. He then went to Haileybury. In spite of – perhaps because of – this privileged education, he developed decidedly left-wing ideals. Chris was not interested in party politics, but throughout his life he battled against injustices of every kind. Perhaps it was significant that when he was appointed head boy at Haileybury the appointment lasted only a few weeks. He simply refused to carry out any beatings.
"In 1962 he went to Peterhouse College, Cambridge, where he studied Anthropology. He then, with a MSc in Politics at the LSE, began a bewildering and possibly record-breaking series of post-graduate studies.
"In 1971 he married Manjeet Gill, from a Sikh family that had survived the Japanese occupation of Malaya in WW2. With Manjeet in Kew he brought up her two sons Anil and Ravi, both of whom are now doctors – in the May family tradition.
"Meanwhile, Chris, being Chris, just went on studying. There was an MA from Cambridge, followed by another from Birkbeck. This was in Second Language Learning and Teaching, and the key to his future career. He was then at Holland Park Comprehensive where he fought – and won – a battle with his employers over the teaching of the children of the Vietnamese Boat People. This in turn led to his appointment in 1989 to the staff of the European School in Italy, where he would spend the next 17 years teaching students, nearly all of whom used English as a second language. Chris himself would become bilingual in both the Italian language and its culture.
"By now he had completed yet another MA. This was in Early Modern History, which reflected a new interest that he had acquired in the local history of Richmond. By 1986 he had joined Richmond Local History Society's committee and had already contributed articles to the journal. When he returned from Italy he was welcomed with sighs of relief and the posts of journal editor and chair of the Society.
"For the Society Chris published under the wry, self-deprecating, nom de plume of Edward Casaubon. Casaubon was famous in George Elliot's Middlemarch for his inability to publish his research, but Chris was to contradict this image: he sometimes came perilously close to missing deadlines, because he was for ever finding fascinating facts that demanded his further attention. His articles and talks were always polished, witty and wise. There was always too a touch of humour, even of mischief.
"Chris will be fondly remembered by Richmond historians for the brilliance of his talks, the breadth of the articles he wrote for our local history journal Richmond History and the encouragement he offered over many years to other contributors, but he will also be remembered by a wider public. With the publication in 2009 of Kew at War, his unique research on the US cartographers and the Italian 'co-operators' who camped in Kew in World War II commanded the attention of a transatlantic and a European-wide audience. It put Richmond's local history on the worldwide map, just where Chris knew that it belonged."
John Cloake 1924-2014
John Cloake with HM The Queen at the opening of the Museum of Richmond in 1988
John Cloake, who died on 9 July 2014, was President, and the first chairman, of the Richmond Local History Society. He was also the founder of the Museum of Richmond and first Chair of its Board of Trustees.
John Cloake, whose career was in the diplomatic service, came to Richmond in 1962. He became an active member of the Richmond Society and established its local history section, which in 1985 became the Richmond Local History Society. As well as contributing regularly to the Society's annual journal Richmond History (including, posthumously, the May 2015 issue), he wrote several books on local history topics, including Richmond Past: A Visual History of Richmond, Kew, Petersham and Ham and The Palaces and Parks of Richmond and Kew.
John Cloake was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1988, and awarded an Honorary DLitt. from Kingston University in 2004.
You can also read here:
Valerie Boyes' tribute to John Cloake, published on the Museum of Richmond website
a tribute to him in the Richmond and Twickenham Times (18 July)
the text of his talk, Forty Years of Richmond History, given in December 2003 to a packed audience at the Richmond Local History Society, marking his (then) 40 years of research into the history of Richmond.
Norman Radley 1921-2015
Norman Radley, who was then our Chairman, in October 2002
Norman Radley, a former Chairman of the Society and one of our Vice-Presidents, died on Wednesday 16 September 2015, a few days after celebrating his 94th birthday. His funeral, a humanist cremation ceremony and a celebration of his life, was held on 9 October and his family would like to thank all of the Society's members who came to it
Norman succeeded Iris Bolton as the Society's Chairman and was elected at our AGM in May 1995. He served eight years as our Chairman, retiring at the AGM in May 2003, when he was succeeded by David Blomfield. During his Chairmanship two major events were celebrated – the 500th anniversary of the naming of Richmond Palace (when the Society organised a sell-out talk given by Simon Thurley) and, in 2003, the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
On taking over as Chairman, he wrote in our September 1995 newsletter:
"My association with Richmond began fifty six years ago when I was a student at Borough Road College, Isleworth. My ambition to live and work in this vicinity was realised in 1954 when I was appointed to teach history at the now defunct Gainsborough Road School so thirty-two of my forty-five years in the teaching profession have been spent in Richmond. Having fallen under Richmond's historical and geographical spell all those years ago, one of my main aims in the teaching of history was to promote social and local aspects and to open doors for my students to discover for themselves the fascination of our local heritage."
Norman completed his teaching practice at Gainsborough School, Richmond and returned in 1953 to teach history and drama there. When the school closed in the 1970s and its site was developed into housing, Norman moved to Shene School (now Richmond Park Academy). He took to Shene School a memorial plaque commemorating those from Gainsborough School (known before the war as Richmond Central School) who had given their lives in the Second World War.
Norman Radley in September 2015
In 1991 Norman wrote Borough Secondary Schools: Richmond Upon Thames Ex-Surrey side: a short history.
On his retirement from teaching Norman became a Richmond Voluntary Guide and then their Chairman. He researched and wrote for The Richmond Society of Voluntary Guides the popular Ghosts, Murder and Mayhem in Richmond, which was published in 2001. He gave various talks, including "Royalty in Richmond" and "Royal Mistresses".
Norman had "a true passion for borough history" as this Richmond and Twickenham Times article, published on 3 December 2004, explains.
Norman made a significant contribution to the Society's work and will be very much missed. After retiring as Chairman he continued to support the Society by regularly attending meetings and Committee meetings and was elected Vice-President of the Society in May 2004.
Our late President, John Cloake, who died in July 2014, addressed a packed audience at the Richmond Local History Society on 8 December 2003, marking his 40 years of research into the history of Richmond. Read the text of his talk, Forty Years of Richmond History.


Our Japanese maple tree features lush green or burgundy seven-fingered leaves and a stunning natural wood stem. Commonly referred to as Japanese acer or acer palmatum, this stunning artificial tree is a unique, low maintenance addition to your home or office.
Our artificial Japanese maple tree arrives in a small black pot measuring 15cm (d) by 17cm (h). We recommend replanting this into a larger, more decorative planter to add stability as well as improve the look of the tree. Read our full how to pot an artificial tree here.
Japanese maple trees are indigenous to forested areas in China and surrounding areas. The tree can reach heights of up to 10m (although you'll be waiting a lifetime).
Cultivating a natural Japanese maple tree can be tiresome. They take several years to grow and are vulnerable to a number of common UK diseases as well as weather conditions including heavy rain, drought, frost and general cold weather. Fortunately, our artificial Japanese maple tree is 180cm straight out of the box, has a fantastically detailed leaves, full canopy and a beautiful natural wood stem.


At the heart of halakhah is the unchangeable 613 mitzvot that G-d gave to the Jewish people in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).
Some of the mitzvot overlap; for example, it is a positive commandment to rest on Shabbat and a negative commandment not to do work on Shabbat.
Mitzvot d'rabbanan are considered to be as binding as Torah laws, but there are differences in the way we apply laws that are d'oraita and laws that are d'rabbanan (see below).
Ethics · 613 Mitzvot · Customs · Midrash Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006.
Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה;, commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all.
Because of this potential for confusion, a number of Conservative rabbis have proposed renaming the movement, and outside of the United States of America it is known as Masorti Judaism (Hebrew for "Traditional").
They believe that the Torah is true, that it has come down to us intact and unchanged.
They believe that the Torah contains 613 mitzvot binding upon Jews but not upon non-Jews.
The 1990 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) performed by the Council of Jewish Federations found that 7% of the Jews in America identify themselves as Orthodox.
In practice there is no one definitive list that explicates the 613 laws.
The differences come about because in some places the Torah lists related laws together, so it is difficult to know whether one is dealing with a single law, which lists several cases, or several separate laws; Other "commandments" in the Torah are restricted as one-time acts, and would not be considered as "mitzvot".
As such, he gave Isaac's son Jacob the title Israel, and dedicated his children to be his nation.
He sent Jacob and his children to Egypt, and after they had been enslaved, he sent Moses to redeem them from slavery, take them to Mount Sinai, give them the Torah which is comprised of 613 commandments, and take them to the land of Israel.
Because the Jews would sin, he set aside the children of Aaron to be priests, and gave them a temple where they could bring offerings to assist in the atonement for their sins.


The Merchant Shipping Directorate would like to remind ship-owners, ship operators, managers, masters, owners' representatives and recognised organisations that the global 0.50% m/m limit for sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships established by Regulation 14.1.3 of MARPOL Annex VI shall enter into force on 1 January 2020, as affirmed through IMO Resolution MEPC.280 (70). This Regulation limits sulphur in fuel oil to 0.50% (except for ships using 'equivalent' compliance mechanisms) when operating outside of designated Emission Control Areas.
To read the complete Technical Notice MARPOL.8, click here.


Outside balcony areas on the 2nd and 3rd floors are available for building occupants. Please do not use these as smoking areas.
Break rooms located in rooms 230M and 330M are shared spaces. The refrigerators and microwaves are for your shared use. Users are responsible for cleaning up spills, removing spoiled food, etc.
There is no designated break room on the 1st floor, but a microwave for shared use is available on the counter located outside the conference room.
The office is located in 130A. The office phone number is 744-4154.
Newton's Café, located in the first floor lobby, is open weekdays from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. Café hours are adjusted between semesters and during university holidays. Menu includes light fare of grab-to-go breakfast and lunch dining options including coffees, beverages, baked goods, sandwiches and salads. Menu changes and pricing vary due to popularity, cost and seasonality of food items.
Several informal collaboration areas are located around the building. These are shared spaces and some are in close proximity to graduate student desk areas. Please be respectful of those around the areas. Furniture in the collaboration areas should not be moved to other areas of the building or placed in laboratories. White boards are available in most of the areas.
Use of the conference room located at 130J/K should be scheduled by emailing HBRC-operations@okstate.edu. The room can be used as a large conference room or can be divided into two smaller rooms. Rooms are equipped with screens and projectors. If you reconfigure the room, please be sure to return it to the conference room set-up, properly shut down projectors and retract the screens. Conference room users are responsible for cleaning (wiping up spills on tables, setting trash outside the door, etc.) the conference room after use.
Trash will be removed from the building daily starting about 6 pm. Custodial staff will not enter laboratory areas; trash (in plastic bags) should be placed in the hallway outside office and lab doors for pickup. Custodial Services is responsible for cleaning restrooms and public spaces. If custodial services are required in the lab, please make arrangements through Building Operations and Control.
Deliveries of large items can be made to the building. The loading dock for Physical Sciences also serves the HBRC. Please coordinate any large deliveries or deliveries requiring signature releases with Building Operations and Control.
Passenger elevators are located in the public lobby of the building. These elevators require a card swipe before they will move from the 1st floor. Please do not use the passenger elevators when moving chemicals, gas cylinders, samples, equipment, etc. A large freight elevator is located in the northeast hallway inside the secure area.
A shared flammable/acid storage facility is located in 150F. Acid storage is in 150FA; flammable storage is available in 150FB and 150FC. Any stored items must be in the proper cabinets (not on the floor or on top of cabinets), items must be in proper storage containers, and must be properly labeled (labeling should include the "lab owner" of the material). These are active storage facilities only and should not be used for hazardous waste. The room is accessible via a card reader.
The upholstered furniture in collaboration areas should remain in those areas. Upholstered furniture should not be moved to the balconies or into laboratories. Chairs located in the conference room should remain in the conference room.
Graduate students may select their desk space; student areas include locking space for personal items. Students should occupy a single desk area. These are office areas and should not be used for kitchenettes. Effort should be made to maintain professional looking office areas.
Tack surfaces and dry-erase white boards have been provided in hallways and in collaboration spaces throughout the building. These are shared spaces for building occupants to use. No other boards should be hung in hallways (see "Room Modification" note below for information regarding hanging items in offices or lab area).
Art displayed in the building is part of a permanent collection and represent winners of the annual art competition that is part of Research Week.
Flaked ice machines for shared laboratory use are available in rooms 150H and 240. Ice from these machines is intended for laboratory use only.
IT issues for computers, computer controlled equipment, etc. remain the responsibility of departmental IT professionals. IT issues having to do with building connections, WiFi, etc. should be reported to Building Operations and Control.
Office and laboratory keys may be obtained by contacting Building Operations and Control.
Keys should be returned to Building Operations and Control when permanently vacating office, laboratory or graduate student areas.
Laboratory doors should be kept closed at all times. HVAC systems are balanced with the doors closed and open doors leads to inefficient heating and cooling of the building.
An HBRC listserv has been established to facilitate building-wide communication for Building Operations and Control. Lab directors are automatically added to the listserv. Additions or corrections may be requested by emailing the Office of the Vice President for Research (HBRC-operations@okstate.edu).
Mail delivery will continue to be in home departments. A mailbox for outgoing mail is located near Newton's Café. Mail is picked up once a day between 4 pm and 5 pm.
Offices for faculty and post-docs are assigned by the Office of the Vice President for Research. A limited number of two-person post-doc offices are available. Some post-docs may not have assigned office space and will have to use desk space in the graduate student areas.
Office windows into the interior of the building should not be blocked or covered in any way. Mechanical shade curtains on the exterior windows may be used at the discretion of the office occupant.
The public space of the HBRC (pass-through from Monroe to the Physical Sciences Building and café area) is open from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday. The building's exterior doors will be locked at daily at 5:30 pm, on weekends and university holidays and will require card access to gain entry.
Exterior doors and security area doors are alarmed. Doors propped open will trigger alarms.
The HBRC was not constructed using traditional framing methods. Shelving or wall-hung cabinets should not be added to walls without consulting Building Operations and Control.
Temporary access for short term visitors (less than one month) who will be working in an HBRC laboratory should be requested by the laboratory director via an email to HBRC-operations@okstate.edu. A temporary activity card must be picked up and returned to the Key Shop by the visitor or lab director.
Card access is processed by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Card access to secure areas of the building (including passenger elevators) must be requested by the laboratory director (faculty member). Individuals for whom access is granted must have a valid OSU ID card. If laboratory personnel leave the research group laboratory directors should advise the Office of the Vice President for Research (HBRC-operations@okstate.edu) so access can be terminated for those individuals.
A video display is in the elevator lobby. The monitor can be used to highlight activities occurring in the building and will showcase the labs housed in the HBRC. Information included on the display is coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Research.


If you are the owner of a Henry vacuum cleaner or Hako vacuum cleaner, then you will know good it really is and how efficiently it performs all the cleaning operations for your home. The following article presents some Shop Vac Reviews on how you can care for these vacuum cleaners to ensure that they have a long life.
The first thing that you should take some care about is to regularly keep checking the wheels of your Henry Vacuum cleaner or Hako vacuum cleaner . If the wheels get loose or wobbly they could damage the vacuum cleaner. You should look to replace the wheels straightaway otherwise they will end up getting more damaged. The second thing that you should take care of when dealing with the Hako vacuum cleaner or the Henry vacuum cleaner is the power cable. The power cable has to go through a very tough life routine as it is continuously abused and battered for its entire life time. From being dropped to thrown and getting dragged around furniture and other items, you will be doing yourself and your vacuum cleaner a big favor if you keep checking for damage to the power cable at regular intervals. You will need to replace or repair the Henry vacuum cleaner power cable if it is wearing out or getting frayed. When you talk about the Hako vacuum cleaner power cable, it is better to replace the entire cable than just cutting off specific damaged parts as there is probable damage across the entire length of the wire.If your Hako vacuum cleaner is not providing the same suction power as it provided some time backFree Reprint Articles, there are chances that the filter might have gotten clogged by dust particles or might have been damaged after regular use. Therefore it is a good idea to replace to filter of your Henry Vacuum cleaner to enhance its performance efficiency. You should also check for any damage along the length of the hose. The hose is perhaps one of the most important parts of the Henry Vacuum cleaner and if the hose gets blocked the entire vacuum cleaner can stop functioning properly. The blockage in the hose needs to be taken care of as soon as possible to ensure smooth operation of the Hako vacuum cleaner.
When using the Hako vacuum cleaner you should make sure that you are using the right kind of accessories and tools for a particular job. There are different attachments and nozzles for different jobs and there is no point in making a nozzle fit in somewhere that it has not been designed to go. Using the wrong kinds of tools will most probably end up damaging your Henry vacuum cleaner. There are different tools for different applications like commercial or residential. If your vacuum cleaner gets damaged in any way you won't have to spend all that money on buying a new one. The good news is that vacuum cleaners have easily available spare parts that can be replaced with the faulty ones.


text:
Why Hire Women On Career Breaks
What do employers say
Why Implement Flexible Work Arrangements
Diversity Advocates
Reasons to Come Back
Career Comeback Stories
Upcoming & Past Programmes
14 Aug 2015 12:00:00 AM
Ong Su Yin
Interview with Ong Su Yin, Client Account Staffing & Operation Lead at Accenture Malaysia
Suyin started her career in Accenture in 1994 as an Analyst in the Talent & Organisation practice. After twelve years, life-changing events compelled her to take a career break in 2006 after she had worked her way up to Senior Manager level.
In search of work-life balance
Suyin joined Accenture as an experienced analyst, working her way up to become a senior manager over 12 years. While her career advanced, Suyin's personal life also went through a number of transformations – she got married then gave birth to her first child in 2002. Basking in her new role as a wife and mother, she looked for ways to balance work and family.
At that time, Accenture in Kuala Lumpur did not have flexible working arrangements yet nor extended leave for new mothers. However, Suyin felt that she needed to spend more time at home after giving birth and so requested for a four-month extended maternity leave from the Country Managing Director. He was quite good as he listened to the rationale and approved this. This actually set the path for many new mothers in Accenture as there were many who followed suit after this. Today, this is a fairly common practice that is available to Accenture women.
Upon her return to work, Suyin faced the nearly impossible challenge of balancing her career as a senior manager and her new personal responsibilities. She relates an incident that required her to juggle three tasks at the same time:
"I had to go to the immigration bureau to renew my passport."
"Whilst waiting for the passport to be completed (because it was a long wait), I had to attend to a teleconference with the clients in the nursing room."
"All these while breastfeeding my baby as things were not going too well at the project then."
To top it all, her role entailed a fair amount of travel, something she had always loved doing. However, the scenario and priorities changed drastically with a little one to look after.
"That year was tough but I managed to juggle things around. However, when I gave birth to our second child in 2004, I knew I needed to take a break. I still tried to balance work and family."
In 2006, when her second child was two years old, she finally decided to take a career break.
"It was a tough decision because I loved my work. But for me, being hands-on in bringing up my children was a priority."
During her years away from Accenture, Suyin's desire to continue sharpening her skills led her to venture into entrepreneurship. In 2007, she established a learning centre which operated for two years. During this period, she worked as a learning coach for several training centres, Accenture being one of her clients.
On the birth of her third child in 2008 and with the demands of a growing family, Suyin once again decided to take a year from employment, fully dedicating her time to being a mother of three kids over the following years.
Return to Accenture
Despite having left Accenture in 2004, Suyin managed to stay connected with her colleagues. When a senior role as an Asia Pacific Client Resourcing Liaison for a Business Human Resources account opened in the company in 2009, she was referred by a former colleague through the Accenture Alumni Referral Programme and became a top choice for the position because of her deep understanding of the account's portfolios and business dynamics.
Five years after, Suyin continues to work in the same capacity as the Client Account Staffing & Operation Lead, collaborating with project leads and Human Resources partners to lead staffing requirements. Her work involves the gamut from planning to sourcing and arranging for employee trainings as required by the client.
Although the work offers great flexibility on most days, it still presents a different set of challenges on occasion. Because the role requires her to deal with colleagues from other countries as far as the United Kingdom and United States, Suyin leverages a lot on online tools to interact with her virtual team. She also adjusts her work schedule from time to time to be able to talk to her colleagues live through teleconferences.
On the whole, however, Suyin describes her transition as smooth and she received the full support of her colleagues and family.
I saw the offer as a great opportunity because of my familiarity with the output-oriented role. The best part of it was it allowed me to work from home on a part-time basis.
Sharing her experience
In hindsight, Suyin was glad that she maintained her professional network. Knowing that there are countless women who go through the same dilemma, as a mother and career woman like her, she advises them to "look out for what other companies are offering in terms of support for women employees. This is especially important to help them balance their work and personal commitments."
"Make the best out of the work arrangement that the company offers. If the company doesn't have it yet, pluck up your courage to go and ask or suggest your boss for it. You will never know whether you will get it. But it is better to try and know that you tried your best. If the current company can't offer you for whatever reason (sometimes it will also depend on the company's business situation), you can always look for another one like Accenture."
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text:
On Tuesday, July 2, while driving our 17-year-old daughter to the airport we were involved in a car accident on the Princes Highway in Kogarah Bay. Thankfully we were all okay. Thanks to our son, our daughter made her international flight. We just wanted to thank all those involved who helped us. A traumatic situation was made better by the professionalism of all involved. The police from St George local area, the fire brigade, our ambulance officers, Lucy, Kate, Andrew and Nelly, our tow truck driver Bill from Ramsgate Towing. Also the gentleman who stopped as a witness and gave a statement, to the nurse who stopped and called out if we needed assistance, to the people who came out of their houses and also offered assistance, to the staff of St George Emergency - thank you all. It was an accident and we are thankful that no one was seriously hurt. I hope that Andrew and Darcy in the other car and truck are okay, everyone was shaken. We live in a great society and are so blessed to have services like this to assist us in our hour of need. Thank you everyone you did a fantastic job. Sarah, Andy, Conor and Ellen Soffe Jannali To the lovely man from Jannali who drove all the way to my house from Kareela shops to return the purse that had fallen out of my bag in the car park, thank you! It was so lovely of you to return it to me in person safe and sound before I'd even noticed it was missing. You saved me a lot of heartache! I hope someone does something equally as kind for you in return. Holly, Gymea Bay Thank you to the kind young man at Hurstville station who helped me with my pram after I dropped one of my shopping bags on the platform while trying to get my pram and toddler onto the train. Angela, Carlton leaderletters@theleader.com.au
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/pLj4pq4ybq6tTvnKybAXAX/7bec0eb3-c3b6-4ce3-957f-fa1de0d18e15.jpg/r0_377_3000_2072_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
July 8 2019 - 3:00PM
'We live in a great society'
On Tuesday, July 2, while driving our 17-year-old daughter to the airport we were involved in a car accident on the Princes Highway in Kogarah Bay.
Thankfully we were all okay. Thanks to our son, our daughter made her international flight.
We just wanted to thank all those involved who helped us. A traumatic situation was made better by the professionalism of all involved. The police from St George local area, the fire brigade, our ambulance officers, Lucy, Kate, Andrew and Nelly, our tow truck driver Bill from Ramsgate Towing.
Also the gentleman who stopped as a witness and gave a statement, to the nurse who stopped and called out if we needed assistance, to the people who came out of their houses and also offered assistance, to the staff of St George Emergency - thank you all.
It was an accident and we are thankful that no one was seriously hurt.
I hope that Andrew and Darcy in the other car and truck are okay, everyone was shaken.
We live in a great society and are so blessed to have services like this to assist us in our hour of need. Thank you everyone you did a fantastic job.
Sarah, Andy, Conor and Ellen Soffe Jannali
Purse was delivered home
To the lovely man from Jannali who drove all the way to my house from Kareela shops to return the purse that had fallen out of my bag in the car park, thank you! It was so lovely of you to return it to me in person safe and sound before I'd even noticed it was missing. You saved me a lot of heartache! I hope someone does something equally as kind for you in return.
Holly, Gymea Bay
Platform peril averted
Thank you to the kind young man at Hurstville station who helped me with my pram after I dropped one of my shopping bags on the platform while trying to get my pram and toddler onto the train.
Angela, Carlton
Send in your kind acts
leaderletters@theleader.com.au


I'd heard about ASML while I was studying applied physics on HBO (bachelor) level. They had sent a couple of speakers to talk at my school, and I was fascinated by the company. Its high-tech nature and the challenges of the work it does, how chips are made - I find it all so interesting. Silicon chips are fundamental to the modern world, and I wanted to work on something important.
ASML had a number of positions available. After looking at the options, I had an interview for the position of test engineer. I got the job via an external agency and have been here about 8 months now.
ASML's systems are some of the most complicated in the world. Hence they have to go through a very thorough testing and qualification process to ensure they work as specified before we ship them to customers. The systems use a beam of light to transfer a pattern onto a silicon chip. The shorter the wavelength, the smaller the features they can print and the more advanced the chips they can make. ASML's latest systems use 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. And it's my job to test the subsystems that generate this light.
The sources work by firing a laser onto a drop of liquid tin. So, for example, we have to make sure the laser hits the droplet in just the right way and with the right timing to maximize the EUV output. We're expected to troubleshoot any problems we find, which could mean adjusting a setting or replacing a component. I enjoy that challenge: the sources are complicated and you really have to figure out where the problem is. But we can always call on support if the problem is too difficult.
I'm what they call a "5 shift worker". That means I work for six days and then have four days off. That pattern can be a bit strange at first, but now I'm very happy with it. It's nice to have that longer spell off, and sometimes you're off during the week so you can do things that would be harder to do at the weekend like going to the bank or dental appointments.
As a flex employee, I work through an agency. I think that's a good option if you want to work at ASML. If one agency can't arrange an interview, then go to another one. Once you're here, there is the potential to be taken on as a permanent employee. And there are lots of possibilities to grow. I'm not sure yet what my career goals are for the coming years. But as a test engineer, you see how the machines work with your own eyes. I know people from my position have moved on to become team leads, 1st-line support and install engineers travelling the world.


Paddy Manning is a reporter with Background Briefing on ABC RN. He is an author, essayist and investigative journalist. He has worked at the Sydney Morning Herald, been a columnist at the Australian Financial Review and finance correspondent at Crikey.
His most recent book Born to Rule (MUP) is a biography of Malcolm Turnbull. On Background Briefing, Paddy brings a unique broadcast style to the show, with a focus on politics, economics and science.