Doing a 6 week 16,000km lap around Australia. Just about to reach the halfway point in the ride and have achieved a personal 'milestone' of 100,000kms on my trusty 2011 Street Glide. Absolutely reliable stock standard engine/exhaust-wise, with creature confort ergonomic changes like heated hand grips, forward mounted floor boards and the fabulous Revo-A shocks that make all the difference to the ride on the back of beyond roads in the top end and northwest coast. Loving this wide brown land we live in!
Wow. Now thats a great roadtrip. More pics of your travels please. Watch out for the wildlife.
I'd be interested to know any tips you can offer about undertaking a large journey like this. Things such as tools and spares to carry, road conditions, accommodation etc.
Will put together some ideas in due course and post it.
me too.............love to know how ypu carry all your stuff . Like do you camp it or motel it on the way around .
I take it that you are doing it by yourself . Is this by choice and if so how do you find it being on your own so to speak .
Great effort Matt, hope the last half of the trip is just as much fun for you.
Good on ya Matt …. Living the Dream !!!!!
If you feel inclined ,,, May want to post up your location where you think your rest day may be ,, you might get some members that live near by, and buy you a drink, or two, and may have some local knowledge that may be of help !!!!!
Good luck, and ride safe …. Cheers ….
More pics and stories, if/when you get time. Plenty of us on here would be jealous.
Let us know if you need a place to stay or a feed in Adelaide mate.
G'Day Mattt, wow 16 000 km trip that's a trip you can tell your grandchildren about. The longest trip I have done so far is 6 000km over a two week period with lots of sight seeing. I couldn't agree more with you on 'loving this wide brown land we live in', except that it's not all brown. Please put more pictures up for us to enjoy and maybe even get some of us inspired to go on our own trips. Thanks for posting, made me reminisce about some of my trips that I have done.
thanks matt,excellent pics,hope the trip is going well.cheers.
Nice photos, thanks for posting.
Be doing a bit of the Gregory dev rd next week myself.
With the 5 or 6 thousand km service interval for oil and filter, how did you guys manage the maintenance side ?
Thank you matt, your picture quality, brings each place alive!!
if you have not read it, you should look for a book called, " Around Australia the hard way" a good read.
2011 Street Glide service interval is 8000km. Put new tyres on in Canberra and had Canberra HD give her a good check over at the same time.
I have stuck with the HD branded Dunlops because I get great mileage and grip from them. Always 20-22000km per set, and I've done Canberra to Townsville twice, Canberra to Uluru, Canberra to Margaret River, Canberra to Tassie, and a loop from Canberra through NSW-SA-Vic.(When people ask how I get that great mileage from tyres I tell them that I'm 62 not 22!). With 9500kms on them now I'm positive they'll still be good until I get home with 16,000kms on them (albeit a little more square on the profile).
96k service fell due in Townsville. Sun City HD did a great job, and once again gave it an extra close inspection knowing that I was on my way to Perth. I've used them before. They offer a free loaner for the day too! Highly recommended dealership. It's around 8000km to Perth the route we are taking and Perth HD will do the 104k service there.


text:
A Blog by Jonathan Low
How Retailers Track Millions of Online Shoppers Every Day
You thought, perhaps, with all the money involved, that they would leave such interactions to chance? JL
Jonah Bromwich and Jessica Testa report in the New York Times:
Most people have become resigned to companies tracking them online, collecting their searches and analyzing their browsing. But visualization, and Pixar-like avatars, drive home the sheer amount of personal information available to brands every minute. A customer-service agent may click on your avatar and see your IP address, location, your name, and any of your past purchases. A customer doesn't need to be a registered user of the website for these details to be available. They'll see the words you type before you press "send."(And it) does keep a record of customers' past sentiments.
For months you've been casing a Gucci shoulder bag online, adding it to your virtual cart, only to close the tab before buying it. One weekend, lounging in your pajamas, you decide to go for it, and back you go to the Gucci website.
In an office building on the waterfront in Jersey City, N.J., a yellow cartoon figure roughly the shape of a bowling pin — that's you! — appears on a customer service agent's computer screen.
Your avatar joins a cluster of identically shaped avatars in this Gucci call center: green, blue, and yellow creatures, all with gleaming googly eyes and their country's flag pinned on their torsos. Some, but not all, have hair.
The screen is displaying technology from Powerfront. Through its flagship product, Inside, businesses — most of them luxury brands — can see, chat with and track online shoppers. The program allows Powerfront's clients to treat shoppers as if they were in a bricks-and-mortar store.
Powerfront said it processes the information of about 20 million unique customers from 400 clients every 24 hours.
Most people have become resigned to companies tracking them online, collecting their searches and analyzing their browsing. But Powerfront's visualization, and its Pixar-like avatars, drive home the sheer amount of personal information available to brands every minute.
A customer-service agent may click on your colorful little avatar and see your IP address, location, sometimes your name, and any of your past purchases: the on-trend fur-lined velvet mules you bought in 2016, or the gold double-G belt you gave your sister for her birthday this year. A customer doesn't need to be a registered user of the Gucci website for these details to be available.
If you're chatting with the representative, they'll also see the words you type before you press "send."
All of this, Powerfront said, allows brands to provide the kind of service that luxury customers deserve, even if customers don't fully realize that's what's happening.
"It is one thing to think, 'O.K., somehow my clicks are being recorded somewhere,'" said Christine Bannan, a consumer protection lawyer at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "But to think of an individual sales rep watching all of your clicks, I think it will resonate with people that this sort of tracking is so prevalent and what it really means. It makes it less abstract."
'Like She's Gold'
Traditionally, when online customer-service representatives look at their computer screens, they see data, said Hadar Paz, the chief executive of Powerfront, in a phone interview. Charts. Graphs. The flood of information about their customers was often presented in aggregate or without context.
"They're all sitting in the dark," Mr. Paz said. "They don't even see the customer."
Powerfront, which was founded in 2001, used to be like that, too. Then, in 2015, it released the first version of Inside. Neiman Marcus started using the software in April, 2016; Sephora became a client about five months ago.
Gucci signed on in October 2017. One recent morning Mr. Paz remotely peered into the brand's web store, where an agent was assisting a customer in Westwego, La., with questions about sizing. The yellow avatar had sleepy eyes and chopped auburn hair and was labeled "hesitant."
Its shopping cart had been sitting idle for 23 minutes. In it was a pair of children's black rubber slides, priced at $160. Also visible in the customer's browsing history: a baby bomber jacket, $890, viewed in October.
"You've got to look out for these people," Mr. Paz said, referring to another customer, this one at the Neiman Marcus site. According to that avatar's profile, the customer had spent thousands of dollars in recent months on dresses from Alexander Wang and Dolce & Gabbana and Stella McCartney sneakers. "This is a whole different game than normal mainstream retail. You want to look out for her like she's gold."
That Neiman Marcus customer had chatted with agents 15 times this year. Each time, he or she saw only a small box offering the option to "chat with an expert" — not the bustling animated storefront displayed on the other end of the transaction.
These experts aren't bots. Mr. Paz said he believes wealthy customers would find the notion of speaking to a bot "offensive."
"You can't have a bot selling a $3,500 bag," he said. Customers "want a red carpet service, they want to be looked after. A luxury customer doesn't like to be thrown to a bot."
Purchasing is emotional, so Powerfront also measures how shoppers are feeling during their chats with customer-service agents. Through an analysis of their words, the movement of their cursors and other "personalized data," the platform creates profiles of shoppers' moods.
Powerfront call this "sentiment." When shoppers-as-avatars become frustrated, their brows furrow and smoke pours from their ears.
"They're supercute," Mr. Paz said.
A Supercute God's Eye View
Being watched and doted on by salespeople has long been part of the luxury shopping experience. Privacy experts acknowledge there is a value in adding a human touch to digital transactions.
Nonverbal communication — rolled eyes and harsh tones — get lost online. Powerfront tries to compensate for that.
"We've removed so many social cues from online conversation that I can actually see the benefit of trying to add that back in," said Jennifer King, the director of consumer privacy at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.
But Dr. King said things that would concern her include: storing emotional profiles of shoppers; selling insights reaped from customer data; or selling that data itself.
Powerfront does keep a record of customers' past sentiments. And the company has access to an extraordinary amount of information. It not only knows when consumers are buying blouses, but also their favorite styles and fits.
It has a God's eye view of how consumers interact with many luxury brands.
But for now, Mr. Paz said, Powerfront is not interested in operating a data farm.
"We know there is a lot of play, there is a big play with data," he said. "We're not blind to it." For now, Mr. Paz said, the data would stay in the hands of only the brands using Inside, and not be used or sold by Powerfront.
"At the moment we are not using this," he said.
Savvi Buys Houses said...
As a Partner and Co-Founder of Predictiv and PredictivAsia, Jon specializes in management performance and organizational effectiveness for both domestic and international clients. He is an editor and author whose works include Invisible Advantage: How Intangilbles are Driving Business Performance.
jon@thelowdownblog.com
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BREAKING: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Husband "Violently Assaulted" After Break-in
Paul Pelosi, the husband of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was violently attacked in their California home early this morning.
The suspect who broke into the home is in custody, but the motive for the assault is unclear.
The 82-year-old, Mr. Pelosi, was taken to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Mrs. Pelosi was not at the San Francisco home at the time the incident occurred.
According to the Associated Press, Mr. Pelosi "suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body and was being treated by doctors for bruising, severe swelling and other injuries."
The FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police are working with the San Francisco police department to investigate the crime.
Special agents with the USCP's California Field Office "quickly arrived on scene, while a team of investigators from the Department's Threat Assessment Section was simultaneously dispatched from the East Coast to assist the FBI and the San Francisco Police with a joint investigation."
Capitol Police say they're now assisting the FBI and SF local PD in investigating Paul Pelosi attack. https://t.co/6L9bLK7tsF
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) October 28, 2022
The spokesperson for the Speaker of the House, Drew Hammill said "Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi."
"The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation. The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time."
According to law enforcement sources speaking to the media, the attacker is a male who allegedly used a hammer in the attack. The police have not confirmed this, however.
Two sources say that the intruder entered the home from the back.
With Nancy Pelosi being away from the residence, there was no security detail at the home.
This is not the first incident to take place at the couple's home. Last year, the home was reportedly vandalized with graffiti. A vandal spray painted "Cancel rent" on the outside of the couple's home.
Whether this incident can be considered political violence or not is yet to be determined, but it shines a light on a growing problem in the country.
The number of threats against sitting members of Congress has increased in recent years. The Capitol Police, consequently, have had to launch thousands of investigations costing the American taxpayers.
New funding has had to be added to the department's budget for security for the lawmakers at their homes and in Washington, D.C. The number of threat investigations spiked nearly 150% from 2017 to 2021.
According to data from the Capitol Police, they have investigated nearly 10,000 threats in 2021 alone.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine said, "There's been a sea change in that we now see this constant escalation and erosion of any boundaries of what is acceptable behavior, and it has crossed over into actual violence."
It's unfortunate that the nation's lawmakers have to take extreme precautions to shield themselves from political violence.


text:
Fighting To Make It Every Week: Restaurants Before and After Coronavirus
What innovations will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic? On this episode, host Billy Shore reconnects with noted DC chef Erik Bruner-Yang (Maketto, Brothers and Sisters, ABC PONY, Spoken English) on helping the community. "This has been a wake-up call for me. I've always been wading in the water of being a public servant and [I'm] finally jumping into it," says Bruner-Yang. He recently launched a crowdfunding plan called The Power of 10 that keeps restaurant workers employed while providing free meals to those in need.
"I've spent the last 15 years of my life working and building up this neighborhood that we live in, and when this passes, that could all be gone… We can make a difference and leverage the resources we have just to try to keep our communities intact," he observes. His four restaurants have had to downsize from 225 employees to about 30. "Food security issues have existed long before this pandemic – the pandemic only highlights how bad it is."
Listen to this informative discussion about one small business owner's innovative plan to help workers and communities.
Chef/Owner
Erik Bruner-Yang kicked off his hospitality career as general manager of Sticky Rice, a sushi restaurant in Washington DC. Around this time, he developed a deeper appreciation for Taiwanese cuisine. In 2011, he opened Toki Underground, a ramen shop that won Eater DC's "Best New Restaurant" the same year. Bruner-Yang has since opened several other DC establishments, including Maketto. All Bruner-Yang concepts are housed under the group Foreign National. He is also the creator of Power of 10 Initiative, launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to address loss of jobs and food insecurity caused by the pandemic.


Woke up to the biggest snow storm this year. I had a league curling game in the afternoon. Took Kingston transit ( the bus) to the Curling Club. skip was back, and we managed to pull off a win. We won on the last-8th end.
I did not run today.
Wednesday, Jan 13. Very cold.
Decided not to run - too cold.


As part of $23 M in District-wide improvements. MLA Designed a new theater and competition pool with diving well. The existing pool was converted into a new gymnastics space which returns the Middle School gym back to dedicated P.E. use. The new event entry provides a strong identity for Becker Students and the community as well as natural light into the lobby and adjacent Cafeteria.
All images and content is the intellectual property of MLA Architects and their respective creators.


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Home Tech News Report: over 75% of people in six Southeast Asian countries now have access to the internet and a majority of them have shopped online at least once (Saheli Roy Choudhury/CNBC)
Report: over 75% of people in six Southeast Asian countries now have access to the internet and a majority of them have shopped online at least once (Saheli Roy Choudhury/CNBC)
uzair Jan 09, 2023 0 Comments
Report: over 75% of people in six Southeast Asian countries now have access to the internet and a majority of them have shopped online at least once — – More than 75% of the population in six major Southeast Asian countries have access to the internet and a majority of them have shopped online …
Upsolver, which offers low-code SQL tools for cloud data analytics, raises $25M Series B, adds free tools for smaller workloads and says revenue tripled in 2020 (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)
Chinese AR startup Rokid raises a $160M Series C, following a $100M raise in 2018, bringing its total funding to $378M (Rita Liao/TechCrunch)
UK-based Modulr, an API payments infrastructure provider that lets businesses "to automate and embed payments", raises a $108M Series C led by General Atlantic (Omar Faridi/Crowdfund Insider)
The FCC notifies Congress that service providers requested ~$5.6B to replace Huawei and ZTE equipment in US networks, up from the FCC's $1.8B estimate in 2020 (Mitchell Clark/The Verge)
Roku Q4: revenue of $865.3M vs. $894M est., up 33% YoY, 60.1M active accounts, up 17% YoY, 19.5B streaming hours, up 15% YoY, stock down 7%+ on weak guidance (Jordan Novet/CNBC)
Popcorn Time, an open source streaming service for pirated content launched in 2014, has shut down; in 2015, Netflix warned investors about Popcorn Time (Priya Anand/Bloomberg)
About the Author: uzair


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Famagusta Ecocity Project
Home A Brief History About the Project Documentary TEAM FAQs PRESS Sponsors Contact Us
HomeA Brief HistoryAbout the ProjectDocumentaryTEAMFAQsPRESSSponsorsContact Us
Waking Famagusta teaser
We are a team of mainly Cypriots and Famagustians from both sides of the divide who aim to promote a sustainable city for the benefit of the whole island.
The Cyprus Problem
You can find all the ingredients of violence in the last 50 years of Cypriot history: Divide and rule tactics, car bombs, bullets in the back, interrogation and torture, mass graves, UN troops, meddling foreign states, a coup, an invasion, occupation, and enough propaganda for another century of hostility. Any account of the Cyprus Problem will offend many, whether they are Brits, Greeks, Turks, Greek-Cypriots or Turkish-Cypriots, and if one is honest and unflinching about the facts, all will take offense.
Cyprus became independent in the 1960's after the Greek Cypriot underground group EOKA waged a five-year guerrilla war against Britain, the colonial master. But EOKA wanted union with Greece, not independence. In short, they wanted to be Greeks, not Cypriots. Turkish nationalism grew as a counterpart to the Greek variety, and the underground group TMT formed to pursue the partition of the island between Greece and Turkey. Violence ensued, and the UN arrives with a peacekeeping force.
Violence continued with both sides suffering atrocities perpetrated by extremists on each side, while the Turkish Cypriot minority withdrew into enclaves.
In 1974, the dictatorship in Greece staged a coup to annex Cyprus to Greece. Turkey then invaded, claiming its right as a guarantor power to intervene and restore constitutional order, and ended up occupying the northern third of the island, killing thousands in the process. Greek Cypriots living in the north were forcibly displaced to the south, while Turkish Cypriots in the south were moved to the north. The Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash later unilaterally declared the north to be The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which remains recognized only by Turkey. To this day, the Turkish troops have not left, and the island remains divided.
A Brief History of Famagusta & the Varosha District
A view of pre-invasion Famagusta Beach looking south.
Famagusta Beach looking north.
Varosha Before 1974
During the conflict of 1974, a six square kilometer district of Famagusta known as Varosha, was fenced off from the rest of the island by barbed wire. Famagusta itself is the setting for Shakespeare's Othello and is one of the island's most important harbors, tourist destinations, and center of culture, trade and commerce.
To this day, Varosha remains surrounded by barbed wire. Once known as the jewel of the Eastern Mediterranean where people like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton summered, it is now a ghost city; a place of captivity; an abandoned and derelict area in the divided region of Famagusta; a pawn in a political struggle that has yet to be resolved.
The rest of Famagusta is inhabited by Turkish-Cypriots who were either originally there before the Greek-Cypriot community left or who were displaced from other parts of the island. There are also Turkish migrants from mainland Turkey who live in their own separate neighborhoods. The entire Famagusta region, which like Cyprus has in its history a long list of invaders, continues to retain the status of a fragmented community.
Varosha Today
Our connection to this place
Emily Markides, mother of Famagusta Ecocity Project founder Vasia Markides, was born and raised in Varosha, and like all of its Greek-Cypriot inhabitants, retains a certain nostalgia and longing for her hometown that will move anyone who has the chance to hear her story. She, like many other Famagusta refugees, has never recovered from its loss. It remains like an open wound for those who left their belongings, their homes and their communities one day thinking they would return the next.
A handful of photos are the only physical record that remains of Emily's childhood in Famagusta.
Emily Markides (right) as a child.
This is the wedding of Emily's mother and father and is the only photo that shows the family home in the background.
Emily's obsession with her hometown infiltrated Vasia's psyche so deeply that it launched her career as a filmmaker. In 2008, Vasia made a documentary short called Hidden in the Sand about the city and the larger Cyprus problem that has kept it in captivity. As both the filmmaker and a participant in the story, Vasia examines the fate of this city in captivity and her family's connection to it.
All of the work that Emily has done in launching eco-peace communities both in Maine and Cyprus, has been inspired by Famagusta and her dream to see it revitalized as Europe's model ecocity. The idea stuck and in 2013 Vasia decided to finally pursue a longer, more elaborate film on the subject. Emily, Vasia and her husband Armando, began meeting others who immediately saw the potential of this idea.
These extraordinary individuals quickly became a team ready to help make this ecocity happen. The idea started catching fire and The Famagusta Ecocity Project was born, and a documentary production with it.
Any reopening of the nearly 44-year old militarily occupied ghost town of Varosha, a district of historic Famagusta on the Eastern coast of Cyprus, presents a unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and rebuild for a better future. Yet it comes with significant risks. Without careful planning, it could become just another unsustainable development in an already crowded Mediterranean tourism market, while cementing Famagusta as the second divided city in Cyprus.
Rebuilding Varosha in the context of a model ecopolis promotes peaceful coexistence amongst all of Famagusta's inhabitants while embracing the latest ecocity technologies and turning Famagusta into a center for peace and sustainability within a troubled region. The project ultimately aims to turn all of Famagusta into Europe's model Ecocity. This is a multi-track approach to environmental sustainability, economic prosperity and peace building. Those involved are local and international architects, permaculture designers, economists, business owners, urban planners, engineers, horticulturists, historians, artists, filmmakers, conflict mediation specialists and much more.
Our aim is to prepare the communities for the implementation of the Famagusta Ecocity into a thriving cultural, economic and environmental hub. This takes much planning a preparation ahead of time before the area opens up again to human habitation, and after 40 years of separation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, the road is certainly a bumpy one.
In addition to completing an architectural design studio, which brings five sets of ecocity ideas to the communities, we are working on a documentary film that will both tell the story of the city and show why it is the perfect laboratory for an ecocity to be born.
2014 Kickstarter Campaign Video
Waking Famagusta
Feature length documentary currently in post-production.
Waking Famagusta provides a historic snapshot of one of the most conflict-ridden regions in Europe revealed through a mother-daughter story of ancestral awakening and the birth of an international urban reclamation movement. In 2003, Vasia Markides, captivated by her mother's stories of her birthplace, Famagusta, Cyprus and encouraged by Turkey's recently loosened restrictions on checkpoints in the occupied country, decided to venture to her maternal ancestral land – a journey that would prove to be life-changing. The film follows Vasia's fixation with Famagusta and her mother's dream to create a plan for peace and sustainability for the troubled region.
If the island is reunited, Famagustians will be given the right to return home. When this happens, they will confront one of the largest reconstruction challenges Europe has seen since the end of World War II.
Click here to see more details about what we have achieved.
Vasia Markides
Director of Waking Famagusta and Co-Founder/Director of The Famagusta Ecocity Project; A painter originally, Vasia completed her first documentary short in 2008. Hidden in the Sand is a chronicle of her mother's hometown under Turkish occupation, which is now off limits within the six square kilometer fenced off abandoned district of Varosha. Hidden in the Sand has screened in venues and festivals across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Germany, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, France and Portugal. As a video producer, Vasia has worked with clients such as Oxfam America, Global Nomads Group and other human rights organizations. After launching the Famagusta Ecocity Project and directing a documentary about the effort, her team's work gained worldwide media attention (CNN, BBC, Associated Press, Huffington Post, National Geographic, Boston Globe, ABC News, U.S. News & World Report, and TedX Limassol). In addition to working on her personal projects, she freelances as a filmmaker and video producer in Maine, New York City, and Cyprus.
Fiona Mullen
Fiona Mullen has been providing independent economic analysis to an international audience for over 20 years. She founded Sapienta Economics Ltd in 2006 and is the author of the monthly Sapienta Country Analysis Cyprus. She has written extensively on the economics of a Cyprus settlement, including several publications co-authored with Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots for the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Mullen was economy adviser to the United Nations good offices mission from 2008 to early 2016 and author of the Cyprus reports for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) from 2002 to 2015. Before living in Cyprus Mullen was Director of the EIU's flagship Country Reports. In 2017 she co-founded Facilitas Advisory, a media communications and government relations advisory firm.
Ceren Boğaç
Dr. Boğaç was born in Famagusta on 1979. She has a Master in Architecture and a Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology from Eastern Mediterranean University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of architecture at EMU. Her specific areas of expertise are architectural psychology, environmental meaning, environmental design and place attachment studies. She has publications in environmental meaning and place attachment studies both at the national and international level. Between 2010-2011, she received a scholarship from the European Commission and completed research about 'Intercultural dialogue and active learning in design studio' at the Academy of Art Design and Architecture in Prague/ Czech Republic. She has also been involved in many EU funded civil society projects based on human rights and is a board member of the INTBAU Cyprus Chapter. Besides her academic works, she has many awarded and published short stories in Turkish.
Nektarios Christodoulou
Nektarios Christodoulou is an Urban Planner and a PhD Grant Holder at the University of Cyprus. He graduated first in his class from the Department of Planning and Regional Development at the University of Thessaly, (2010) and then continued for postgraduate studies at the University of Cambridge where he obtained an MPhil in Planning Growth and Regeneration (2011). He has participated in numerous urban projects in Cyprus and he is currently working on his PhD thesis entitled "Planning in Contested Cities: The case of Famagusta''.
Emily Markides
Famagusta native; Professor of Permaculture and Building Sustainable communities; Doctoral degree in Counselor Education (University of Maine). Emily's areas of special interest are the creation of sustainable and EcoPeace communities, spirituality, and permaculture design which melds ecology, agriculture and human settlement. She wrote her dissertation on Complementary Energetic Practices: An Exploration into the World of Maine Women Healers. She has written articles on "Creating a Stable World Peace," "From Poetry to Community Building," and "Energetic Healing and its Correspondence to Eastern Orthodox Spirituality." The ideals that have inspired her work over the years, in terms of both theory and praxis, have been in the area of institution building. She has pursued those ideals in Cyprus by becoming the founder of a Women's Studies Center/Peace Center and the International Eco-Peace Village (IEV). She served as a Commonwealth Peace Consultant in Cyprus. She also helped to launch a new program in Peace Studies at the University of Maine and served as its first Interim Director from 1988-91. Since 2004 she has founded and served as President of ESTIA, The International EcoPeace Community (www.estiamaine.org). Emily is committed to issues of personal, social and global change, spirituality, peace and ecological sustainability.
Roger Kelly
Architect, Energy Assessor and Sustainability Consultant. Studied at the Polytechnic of Central London, worked in the Housing Association sector and taught sustainable architecture in the UK and Cyprus before becoming Director of the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales (UK), the International Eco.peace Village in Cyprus and Energy Solutions in London. More recently taught architectural contexts and environmental technology at the Hull School of Architecture (UK).
Armando Garma
Armando is the Co-founder of the Famagusta Ecocity Project; Architect, Educator, and Visual Artist who is preoccupied with the environment and the construction of energy conscious infrastructure. His work as an architect focuses on renovation, restoration, adaptive reuse and the socially responsible use of resources. When he isn't being an architect, he is a video producer and motion graphics creator.
Christina Elia
Christina Elia is a Greek-Cypriot Architect. She has obtained a BA (Hons) in Architecture from the University of Brighton, UK and a MSc in Architecture and Sustainability from KU Leuven (LUCA) University in Belgium. Her master thesis focused on ecological architecture and urban sustainability; "The Transformation from a Highway to a Sustainable Urban District". After her graduation she was part of a team working on the architectural competition for the medical school building facilities of University of Cyprus. She is currently working as an architect in Larnaca.
Q. What is the Famagusta Ecocity?
The Famagusta Ecocity is our vision for an integrated, sustainable, and environmentally responsible Famagusta that promotes peaceful coexistence amongst all of its inhabitants and embraces the latest environmental and urban technologies. What started out as a plan to revive Varosha, the captive ghost district of Famagusta, grew into something much more integrated with the needs of the island. In our vision, the Famagusta Ecocity will be a centre for peace and sustainability within a troubled region and a magnet for high-quality trade, commerce, tourism and investment.
Q: How will you put this vision into practice?
We will put this into practice through The Famagusta Ecocity Project, which has the following elements:
1) January 2014: Design Studio: An architectural design studio run by the renowned MIT Professor Jan Wampler, with input from 15 of his own students, Cypriot students and Cypriot stakeholders from both communities, as well as specialists from other disciplines. The design studio was hosted by the Famagusta Municipality Cultural Centre in Deryneia, adjacent to the UN-monitored buffer zone overlooking the ghost city of Varosha. The design studio was a major success which contributed to ongoing local dialogue on the vision for an integrated, post-settlement, Famagusta. The studio offered outlines of different proposals, which the local stakeholders can draw information from as guides in the future development of the city.
2) Spring presentation 2014: A conference in the spring of 2014 that presented the ideas of the design studio and what the next step of those ideas could be.
3) Ongoing: Documentary: A film that will document the design studio at work, workshops with stakeholders and specialists, interviews with current and former inhabitants of Famagusta, and inhabitants of eco-villages around the world, while also preparing the ground in both communities to find the strength and resolve to crack a decades-long conflict using a fresh idea. Our aim is that the documentary can also provide a blueprint for other towns to use in preparing their own communities for a more stable and lasting future.
4) Ongoing: Online databank: A free and open online resource to serve as a repository of all prior publicly available research and studies on Famagusta, in order to enable present and future teams of specialists to draw on the best research and ideas to date.
5) Ongoing: Outreach: We are spearheading a local and international informational and educational campaign via individual meetings and a wide variety of media, including the documentary film and social and traditional media.
6) Ongoing: From Vision to Reality: Our aim is to showcase for public and private investors the feasibility of a successful reconstruction of Varosha and the wider Famagusta as a state of the art environmental showcase providing economic independence for both communities while acting as a magnet for sound investment and high-quality tourism, and peaceful co-existence.
Q. Will the ecocity be funded by taxpayers' money? Isn't that a luxury?
How to finance an integrated Famagusta Ecocity is one of the questions we shall examine during the design studio. Broadly speaking, we envisage a virtuous circle in which visionary ideas, solid planning and productive cooperation attracts not only private investors but also official sector E.U. funding as well as companies who want to showcase their latest eco-friendly technologies.
Q. Who is on your planning team?
Vasia Markides (Cypriot filmmaker); Ceren Boğaç (Cypriot / Famagustian academic architect); Armando Garma-Fernandez (Architect, Animator & Filmmaker); Fiona Mullen (economist specializing in the Cyprus economy including post-settlement); Nektarios Christodoulou (Cypriot / Urban Planner); Emily Markides (permaculture adjunct professor; Famagusta native; the vision's originator).
Q. How are you funding this?
Primarily through private donations. For the documentary, we raised $17,000 in private donations and $34,000 from our crowd-funded Kickstarter campaign, 10% of which goes to Kickstarter. Documentaries that pay their staff regular salaries typically cost $300,000 – 1 million, so we are starting this on a shoestring and we are still campaigning for more funds. For the architectural design studio, we have raised $20,000 through private donations to cover travel, accommodation and costs on the ground. We have also received a pledge for a small donation from an EU-based NGO (non-governmental organization). This money will be used to cover costs such as equipment, travel, services, etc. All spending will be fully accounted for.
Q: Are you saying Varosha should be returned in advance of a settlement?
The Famagusta Ecocity Project is keen to ensure as wide support as possible support for the project from stakeholders in both communities. For that reason we are not taking a position either way on when Varosha should be returned. We are only preparing for what could happen if it is returned.
Q: Are you related to the Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative?
One of our team members was also a core team member of The Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative (BFI), which is a separate organization. We are grateful to BFI for providing us with information and logistical support. Owing to significant overlap in the ultimate objectives and in the stakeholder-centric processes adopted by all organizations, the Famagusta Ecocity Project and the Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative are mutually supportive of each other's efforts.
Q: Are you going to interfere with my property rights?
The design studio will proceed on the premise that property rights will be fully respected, and that no property owner will feel that they might eventually be forced to demolish their property as a result of designs made by someone else. We are only presenting ideas and information; we are not trying to impose a way of life on anyone.
Q: Are you forcing an outsider's plan on us?
The Famagusta Ecocity Project has made a public commitment from the outset that no proposal will be put forward that does not carry widespread bicommunal support among the immediate stakeholders. Ultimately it is all about involving stakeholders and Cypriots in designing a well-planned integrated Famagusta. In the end, Cypriots will decide how that happens.
Q: Do you have political support for your project?
Both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot municipalities of Famagusta have publicly expressed their support for citizen initiatives regarding the future revitalization of Famagusta. Government officials in various departments and at various levels have also privately expressed their support and encouragement to the proposition that a vision for the reconstruction of Famagusta, garnering widespread bicommunal stakeholder support, ought to be in place in advance of a comprehensive settlement, as this would prepare the ground for a successful "Day After" and be a good omen for the implementation of any agreed political solution to the Cyprus problem.
Q: What media coverage have you had to date?
Go to our Press Page by clicking here.
The Full Team
Vasia Markides - Filmmaker, Director/Producer, Artist
Ceren Boğaç - Professor Architecture and Environmental Psychologist
Fiona Mullen - Economist
Nektarios Christodoulou - Urban Planner
Armando Garma Fernandez - Architect, Animator, Filmmaker
Christina Elia Architect - Architect
Emily Markides - Peace, Sustainability & Permaculture
Jan Wampler - Distinguished MIT Professor of Architecture, renowned designer of sustainable communities worldwide
Michael Loizidis - Environmental & Chemical Engineer, Director, Founder of Akti & Isotech
Bernard Amadei - Founder of Engineers without Borders, Professor of Engineering at the University of Colorado (Boulder)
Here is some of the international press coverage that the Famagusta Ecocity Project has received since its inception.
Varosha: The abandoned tourist resort - BBC MAGAZINE
Welcome to Varosha, the Mediterranean's best kept secret. Miles of sand where it's just you and nature. Dozens of grand hotels where you'll have the pick of the rooms.
How a ghost town embodies the Cypriot divide - Aljazeera
As political negotiations continue, one group is pushing to revitalise the long-abandoned district of Varosha.
Can eco-city plans bring Cypriot ghost town back to life? - CNN
One Square Meter explores the leading architectural designs, city plans and demand for property investment in emerging markets.
Audio interview.
My Dream of Reviving a Ghost City - BBC Outlook (audio interview)
Vasia Markides grew up with her Greek Cypriot mother's stories of Varosha which was once the booming tourist resort of Famagusta, but it has now been fenced off from the world for nearly 40 years. Vasia has launched a campaign to bring Varosha back to life, and to make the whole area into an eco-city. Ceren Boğaç, a Turkish Cypriot from Famagusta, grew up next to Varosha, and shares Vasia's dream.
(AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)
Giving Cypriot Ghost Town Ecological Rebirth - AP/San Diego Union-Tribune
The grass-roots project — the brainchild of Greek Cypriot-American Vasia Markides — aims to transform the ghost town into a model eco-city, preserve local character, generate revenue for the debt-ridden country and provide a forward-thinking example of planning in a drought-prone country plagued by overdevelopment.
Nearly 100 participants to launch the Famagusta Ecocity Project - Cyprus Mail
CLOSE to 100 participants will take part in the five-day Famagusta Ecocity Project Design Studio launching on Thursday to draft a range of design proposals for turning the ghost town of Varosha and the wider Famagusta area into a model reunited ecocity, fit for the 21st century.
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OC GOP Opposes SB 277 (Pan) – Schoolchildren Vaccination Bill
Posted by Chris Nguyen on June 16, 2015
Last night, the Republican Party of Orange County voted to approve a resolution opposing SB 277, the bill by Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) on vaccination of schoolchildren.
Proposed by OC GOP Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Whitacre, the resolution passed after a short discussion with many SB 277 opponents in the audience.
OC GOP Chairman Fred Whitaker opened the discussion on the resolution by speaking about individual liberty, the overreach of government, and how many Democrats were re-registering as Republicans in light of SB 277.
OC GOP Second Vice Chair Mary Young spoke against the resolution, speaking of her experience as a young woman personally witnessing the effects of polio, with people being disabled and people needing to use iron lungs to breath. She expressed her fear about the return of polio.
OC GOP Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Whitacre, the resolution's author, echoed Chairman Whitaker's points about the overreach of government and how many Democrats were re-registering as Republicans in light of SB 277. Whitacre also spoke of individual liberty and the rights of parents.
OC GOP Secretary Peggy Huang was not present but instructed her alternate to vote against the resolution and to read a statement about the efficacy of vaccines and the declaration by Autism Speaks that vaccines are not linked to autism. There were murmurs objecting to those statements from the SB 277 opponents who were in attendance at the meeting.
OC GOP Central Committee Member Robert Hammond spoke in favor of the resolution, noting his 14 years of experience as a public school teacher. Neither he nor any of his colleagues had a single unvaccinated student in any of their classes. He spoke of how he and other teachers would go into the community to encourage vaccinations and how every parent with an unvaccinated child in the community would choose to vaccinate their children when the teachers educated them on the issue. Hammond explained that while he strongly supports vaccination, his opposition to SB 277 is on the basis that vaccination should be a personal responsibility, not coerced by the government.
The resolution passed by a voice vote.
Last week, the Assembly Health Committee approved SB 277 on a party-line vote of 12-6-1, with Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood) not voting.
On May 14, the Senate passed SB 277 on a near-party-line vote of 25-11-3, with Republicans Anthony Cannella (D-Stanislaus County) and Jeff Stone (R-Riverside) in favor, Democrats Connie Levya (D-Chino) and Richard Roth (D-Riverside) against, and no votes recorded for Senators Tom Berryhill (R-Tuolumne County), Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), and Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove).
On April 28, SB 277 was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote of 5-1-1, with Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) not voting.
On April 22, the Senate Education Committee approved SB 277 on a 7-2 vote with Senator Andy Vidak (R-Kings County) joining six Democrats in favor of the bill while Senators Connie Leyva (D-Chino) and Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster) were in opposition.
On April 8, SB 277 was approved by the Senate Health Committee on a 6-2-1 vote, with Senator Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove) joining five Democrats in favor, Senators Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama County) and Richard Roth (D-Riverside) in opposition, and no vote recorded for Senator Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina).
The full text of the OC GOP resolution reads:
A RESOLUTION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ORANGE COUNTY
AFFIRMING ITS SUPPORT OF PARENT/INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND URGING ALL MEMBERS
OF THE CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY TO OPPOSE SENATE BILL 277 (PAN)
Whereas, the Republican Party of Orange County affirms its strong support of the Republican Party Platform – that the rights of parents are sacrosanct with regard to their children and believes in restraining government that would encroach upon those rights;
Whereas, the Republican Party of Orange County understands the United States Constitution and the California Constitution were established to protect individual freedoms and the rights of the minority;
Whereas, it is embedded in both Constitutions that citizens have a right to practice their personal beliefs freely without discrimination from the state and be afforded due process;
Whereas, we uphold the rights of parents to be informed first, and then consent to medical treatment for their children free of coercion, manipulation or fear of governmental intrusion;
Whereas, the current voluntary vaccination program is already proven effective at protecting Californians against life threatening complications and death associated with vaccine preventable illnesses;
Whereas, there is no medically defined epidemic in or near California that warrants such legislation from the Democratic controlled California State Senate and State Assembly and Republicans do not believe in adding to laws and regulations when enforcement of current laws and regulations are sufficient;
Whereas, the language of SB 277 gives the government unlimited power to add vaccines to the currently mandated school entry immunization battery without hearing or oversight, and removes the right of parental objection based upon sincerely held religious beliefs, and personal beliefs; now,
Therefore, be it Resolved, that the Republican Party of Orange County:
opposes SB 277 in its entirety;
calls on all Members of the California Assembly – especially Republicans – to strongly oppose SB 277;
affirms its staunch support of California parental rights to make decisions as to what is best for their children – especially consent to medical treatment for those children, without fear of reprisal or backlash; and
invites disaffected registered California Democrats and their families to abandon the Party that has abandoned them and re-register as Republicans just as dozens did at the recent Democratic Party State Convention; since the Republican Party is traditionally and demonstrably committed to defending parental and individual rights.
This entry was posted on June 16, 2015 at 7:35 AM	and is filed under Republican Central Committee, State Assembly, State Senate. Tagged: Fred Whitaker, Mary Young, Peggy Huang, Richard Pan, Robert Hammond, SB 277, Tim Whitacre. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
103 Responses to "OC GOP Opposes SB 277 (Pan) – Schoolchildren Vaccination Bill"
James bonovich said
THANK YOU! From a once life long democrat that is now a registered republican
Christopher Corres said
Thank you for taking a stand against medical tyranny!
Melissa Dodd said
You are brave wonderful American heroes¥¥¥ thank you! I love you ¥
Kameron Krause said
I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, but this new breed of totalitarian communist Democrats scares the hell out of me. And I cannot stand the way this state that I am a native of and have lived for nearly 46 years has gone from first in jobs and education to worst under the if we can call it Democrat LEADERSHIP (eye roll). Im at the point of wanting to move and I never ever thought Id say that. Its very very sad to me but Im seriously considering it if things don't change and these lunatics don't stop trying to take away my constitutional rights, like medical freedoms and the 2nd amendment. Its outrageous and Ive had just about enough of it. Id like to live in a state with open carry and Im looking into it currently.
I have been thinking the same exact thing. And I am neither Democrat or Republican. And while I don't agree with a lot of stances of Republicans, on this we agree. And I appreciate them taking a stance for freedom.
Disappointed in the ones who voted against the resolution. :(
stephanie said
Thank you for your stance against medical tyranny. As an EX lifelong democrat, thank you republicans!! Also, I have great disappointment for those who voted against the measure, ALL medical procedures should be a matter of choice and informed consent. All medical procedures have risks, therefore you should have a choice. Besides, once a child has a reaction who takes care of that child?? Not society. Not the government. Not elected officials. Parents do!! So it should be the parents choice! In a time when 1 in 6 children have a learning disability; 1 in 9 have asthma; 1 in 10 have ADD/ADHD; 1 in 50 have autism and 1 in 2 adults will have cancer in their lifetime, I can honestly say that there is something wrong with our healthcare, environment and food. All of which is regulated by our government. Clearly they do not know what is best!
Rachel Goldsby said
Beyond the obvious violation of parental rights and choice-SB277 does nothing to address the fact that NO child is a guinea pig and vaccines treat children as such. There is no way of knowing for most folks, how they will react to a vaccine. The people who wrote SB277 don't take into account that no child should have to be injured (on ANY level) to prove they "deserve" a medical exemption. (which are nearly impossible to obtain) I find this absurd. Severe vaccine reactions are certainly NOT 1 in a million. I appreciate the Republican Party for standing up for the rights of loving parents that choose a holistic and healthier approach to healthcare. Thank you.
TS said
Thank you for taking a stand in favor of parental rights! Mothers and Fathers of Califonia will not forget this when election time rolls around.
Danielle stone said
This resolution speaks volumes to those of us who are fighting this act government over reach. The Democratic Party has slammed it's door in the faces of allegiant supporters and we will proudly rally behind anyone who so valiantly defends the rights of parent's to maintain informed medical consent. SB277 is a deal breaker for former democrats and we are pulling our forces, spreading the word, and eagerly joining the Republican party. We are excited to vote more Republicans in office. Let's make California a red state!
Thank you from all of us.
Amanda Artz-Zerbini said
Thank you for putting parental rights above big PHARM AND governmental control. It is this reason that I have switched parties to republican. May your organization inspire other conservative groups statewide and across the USA.
Kimberley McRae DeLozier said
THANK YOU to the OC GOP for showing some common sense and protecting parental rights and medical freedom! Shame on you, Mary Young and Peggy Huang–your opposition to parental rights and medical freedom will NOT go unnoticed at the polls.
Jennifer Sambito said
Jennifer Pugh said
Thank you for taking a stand for parental rights! No parent should be forced to vaccinate as long as there are potentially very harmful side effects!
Sarah said
Thank you! I will now be a Republican, as you voted to keep parents rights! Will also do my best to vote out those who voted for SB277!!
Heather Wartanyan said
I am very pleased and thank you deeply for standing up for my religious beliefs. And standing for the rights of our children and of the parents of California. Your courage will be blessed.
Lord Bless you,
Mom for Vaccinefreedom said
As a lifelong Democrat, I am disgusted by my party's choice to enforce medical tyranny. I am also certain they will be losing countless members, including myself. Thank you for standing up for parental rights!!
Shona Tavitian said
Thank you for protecting our freedoms!!!!
Maggie Pulley said
Thank you for this sensible resolution! It is so upsetting that politicians in this state believe they can ake away the rights of parents, when it comes to such an important issue. Where there is risk there should always be choice!
Stacey Detrich said
I just want to say that this is, "The United States of America, the land of the free. If this law passes what will be next that you force us to do. I personally spread the vaccines out. Common sense tells you given a baby seven shots at one time is not a good idea knowing all the chemicals in them. I'm glad all the names of the politicans are listed here so I know who to not for vote on the future.
Anna Everson said
Thank you so much! So proud to be living in Orange County, where apparently, there are many enlightened thinking people who are standing up to do what is right and save our freedom! God bless you all!
Alixandra Mullins said
Thankyou! As someone who just ditched the democratic party after voting straight democrat for over ten years, this is refreshing to see that the Republicans understand this issue!
Leah said
Thank you to the Republicans. This is truly standing up for our freedom. I hope all other Republicans across the state and across the country follow suit! I will be registering Republican!
Alicia Malouff said
Michelle Boyle said
Thank you for recognizing the sanctity of parental rights and personal choice. Thank you for having common sense in recognizing that there is no epidemic or medical emergency, and for taking a stand against tyranny. Though I am not much of a fan of the two-party system in general, your action certainly opens my mind the Republican Party in a new way.
Julie Dohrman said
Thank you for passing a reasonable and sensible resolution. Everyone wants to keep their children safe but not everyone believes giving soo many vaccines in such a short time frame is reasonable. SB277 does not allow a slowerand/or delayed schedule to be given based on each individual child, and on on that principal alone, SB277 should never pass. AB2109 is working. CA has a very high vaccination rate and we don't need to fix what isn't broke by being strong armed by governement with an "or else" tactic. A very small percent are generally choosing to delay (not refuse) one or two vaccines based on their child, for example, the Hep B at birth vaccine. Hep B is passed by sexual activity and drug use, so many parents don't believe newborn babies need it at that time. Later, yes, just not at birth. Thank you for being the critical thinking party with common sensability. We appreciate you!
Nora Daly said
Thanking u from the bottom of our hearts for standing up for our rights and taking a stand on this. God Bless U!!!!!
Amanda K said
My husband, my children, and my children's future children thank all of you who voted to protect our constitutional and parental rights!
SB said
Thank you for opposing this tyrannical bill. I will be very sad indeed should this bill pass and freedom be thrown to the wayside. Freedom of choice and informed consent matter!
Megan said
This has made me the most proud I have ever been to be a registered republican since age 18. Thank you for standing on the side of liberty.
Jill Marie Hoel said
THANK YOU! This is why I am a life long Republican. Our great country was created as a Republic by our forefathers to protect the rights of the individual. People often forget this (I tell people to recite the pledge….and to the Republic for which it stands). The whole point of this is to not let our government get TOO BIG and have TOO MUCH CONTROL over the people. Where as a Democracy is majority rule. Sometimes the "village" is crazy and you don't want them having control over your child. Parental rights need to be protected. Any Republican that wants to support SB277, needs to be reminded of what being a Republican is…. They are suppose to protect our individual rights, or they are not a Republican. Regardless of where anyone stands on vaccines, you don't want to allow the government to have control over your medical care and your body. By force and against our will are not words that should describe America. That will set a bad precedence for even further government control. We need to stop any such bills that steps on our human rights and remove the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 that protects vaccine manufacturers from liability. They have no incentive to make vaccines safe if there are no consequences when a child is injured. There are risks associated with any vaccine and thus there needs to be a choice. Individual preservative free vaccines should be available for those children on an alternative vaccine schedule. Titer testing prior to any booster should also be offered, to prevent over-vaccination on children already immune. Big Pharma lobbyists should not be at our Senate meetings pulling the strings on paid for puppets. We are suppose to have a Government of the people, by the people not controlling the people. Thank you again.
Tarah said
Thank you for standing up for the people against medical tyranny!
emma goodman said
Thank you for opposing this horrible Bill! A true threat to our civil liberties and medical responsibilities!
Thank you for protecting our freedoms and upholding the constitution and hearing our hearts.
June said
A huge THANK YOU to the OC GOP for protecting parental rights and medical freedom! Mary Young and Peggy Huang–your opposition to preserving our freedoms will follow you to the polls.
Wendy said
Thank you for supporting our human rights. ALL medical procedures should be a matter of choice and informed consent. All medical procedures have risks, therefore we need to have a choice.
Gina said
Thank you for protecting our freedom, standing up for parental rights, and understanding that private/public school should be for ALL children in California and voting NO on SB277. So proud to be a Republican!
Tricia wilkinson said
Thank you for protecting our children and parental rights!
Bronwyn Leslie said
My husband and I are reregistering as Republicans after being life- long Democrats. I am urging our local Republican Party to support parental rights and medical ethics. We are excited about the variety in the Republican presidential field and for the first time are looking at those candidates. We will support the ones who are also supportive of family and choice. I am also actively working to recall Democrats and welcome anyone who wishes to contact me about how we can turn California away from this dangerous precedent. This bill is indicitive of a pervasive attitude in the Democratic Party that goes against everything our country stands for. We are excited to join you. Thank you for standing up for all Californian children and families.
themagiconions said
Thank you for supporting parental rights. My children are A students who love school. Thank you for supporting their right to go to school and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. It's unfathomable to me that, in this great country, their education is in jeopardy. Thank you for officially opposing this unconstitutional, discriminatory bill that denies religious freedom.
RebeccaHeinemann said
Thank you for supporting parents rights and opposing SB277. This bill is a slippery slope. My very healthy child is partially vaccinated and would not be allowed to attend public school under this bill. I am proud to be a Republican. Thank you!
Oxana said
Thank you so much for standing up for our parental rights and voicing the opinion of thousands of Californians!
Jennifer Woodlief said
i am currently re registered as a republican over this issue. Thank you.
radar said
thank you – for letting parents rights continue in this great state
Allie said
Thank you for standing for individual and parental rights.
Kara Willis said
Thank you for standing up to protect our rights to personal and medical freedom. This Bill is a Bad Bill on so many levels.
abroadwiththreekids said
I agree with the stance of the OCGOP and thank them for standing up for personal liberty, medical autonomy, parental rights, and informed consent. While vaccines have been effective and necessary in our society, SB277 is overreaching and unnecessary. It would deny entrance to public school for children whose parents have opted out of even one dose or one vaccine on the current schedule (there are currently 49 doses of 17 vaccines on the schedule before kindergarten entrance – one is for a sexually transmitted disease given at birth, 2 more are for non-communicable diseases). For those concerned with a return of polio, it's important to note that our current vaccine policy has worked and is working. There is no public health threat or outbreak, and California has all time high vaccination rates at or above the national average. Doctors must be allowed to work with their patients on an individual basis with regards to vaccination decisions. I feel so strongly in the OCGOP's position on this matter that I am now a converted voter for the Republican Party.
John Pelletier, DO said
Thank you so much for your support. United we stand…
Sharon Varnes said
This is great! Now if San Diego county GOP would step up and do the same! This is not rocket science..this law is inconstitutional!
Laura Rosano Runyeon said
Thank you. I've been a lifelong Democrat and will be switching to the Republican party. My 22 year old son is vaccine injured. My 11 year son is partially vaccinated and I'm terrified he will suffer the same consequence of his older brother if he receives more vaccines. I'm a single mother who cannot homeschool because of financial reasons. Again, Thank You!!
adrienne moore said
Thank you so very much for having the greater sanity and sense to oppose SB 277. It is egregious, a breach of US law and ethics and violates both our Consitution and the Nuremburg Code. You have gained many supporters from your stance taken on this issue.
Nicole said
As lifelong Republicans we thank you very much for standing up for our freedom to choose. Stay strong and we appreciate you!! This bill is so scary.
As I lifelong Republican I am embarrassed that you spat in the face of science and reason to oppose this bill. Vaccines save lives and prevent disease. There are lots of things that impose on our individual freedoms because they protect everyone else (no smoking in buildings comes to mind). Let's use rational thought, and fact based decisions instead of letting fear control our actions.
Jessica LaNier said
THANK YOU for fighting for our children's health and future!!!
Rachel said
Thank you for standing up for parental rights. And for opposing this unconstitutional bill that will cause parents to have to choose between doing something they don't think is right for their children, and giving them an education that they deserve.
kristine said
Thank you deeply for standing up for our religious freedoms and our parental rights. I am very concerned that elected officials would even attempt to take these away. I think this has awoken many Californians and we will pay more attention to who we elect in office! For me It will be the party who upholds their oath to follow the constitution and preserv
be our liberty and freedom! Thank you again and God Bless!
David Arthur said
Thank you for helping people be heard on this matter. Vaccine injury is real. All medical procedures carry risk and where there is risk of injury, there HAS to be choice. That is our right as parents. If we allow this bill to pass, we give away our right to medical freedom. In my opinion, from researching vaccines and finding that vaccine injuries happen more than people are being told, I have found that the only 'immunity' given, is to the pharmaceutical companies from having Any responsibility for their own products. There are serious issues with our medical system. It is a system where people of all ages get sicker and sicker, while doctors, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies rake in the profits. My children are not to be used as labrats. We take health Very serious in our home and that means researching Everything that goes into our bodies.
Democrats lost many voters on this. Mine and many others that I know about.
Leslie said
I got tears in my eyes when this vote went through. It's the first time in months that I felt like elected officials cared about me and my family. Thank you for standing up for parental rights. I am a proud republican.
Lisa P said
I am leaving the democratic party because of SB 277 and look forward to being a proud republican. Thank you for supporting my parental rights.
Michael C said
Your vote proved that you can firmly believe in vaccines yet still be against over-reaching government. Like it was said the night of the vote: "If ain't broke, don't fix it." Thank you for your support.
Allyson said
Thank you for taking a stand on parental rights and medical freedom!
Thank you from a lifelong democrat…turned Republican. My eyes are now open due to the tyranny democrats are trying to enforce. NO on SB277. Keep parental rights entact
EVU said
Thank you for standing firm and protecting our parental rights.
Lisa said
Thank you for standing up for our rights and freedoms! Finally some "HOPE"!
Christine S. said
Thank you for standing up for parental rights! Proud to be a Republican today.
Andrea Mortier said
Well done, we need more courageous, intelligent & curious people just like you guys representing the people of Cali!
Elisa marfise said
Thank you for upholding the constitution and our rights as parents.
Deniece Young said
Thankyou for opposing the SB277 this has been a terrifying experience as a born and raised Californian, My family stands ready to move our Business and home. if this does pass state law. Ive seen so many families hurt from the vaccine schedule, it needs to be revisited, Everyone loves their doctors and loves modern medicine, that said, we know our children best, and know what their immunine systems can or cant handle, and to force / mandate toxins into the body when kids are not well is wrong. there are way too many documented cases. it has been discovered that a infant is born with more than 250 toxins in the umbilical cord, then as soon as babies are born they receive their first dosage? we need more studies / more test. Our world is so ill from Food problems and this will make us even more sick. Thankyou again, please impress upon your other politicians we have a ways to go, and I urge you to pass this forward by a Pediatrician Dr Michelle Perro paediatrician talks leaky gut, NCGS, toxicity & children https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbhnIVcKLQ8&feature=share
Deniece
also please consider this has very much to do with taking away our Freedoms as well.
cindy sharp said
I have a new faith in Republicans.. thank good ness we still have a 2 party system~! You have my vote! Please continue to honor our children our home our planet!
c said
Thank you! I typically vote democratic but I will be reconsidering as I believe this country is supposed to be the land of freedom.
Jacqueline said
Thank you for upholding our God given parent right to make medical decisions for our children, because they are ours not theirs! For decades we have trusted without question the CDC and FDA. We assumed they were approving only what was 'safe' to put in our bodies. Today 1 in 2 children are diagnosed with a chronic disease and they are not only asking us to keep trusting them but to force what they say science says is safe. Our sick kids don't need science to tell us anything! 36 vaccines by kindergarten, 200 in the pipeline and they can add what ever they want??? NO on SB277
Lisa P. said
Thank you for defending our Republic and our liberty. I have been a life long democrat but can no longer stand with a party who governs by cohesion. I am changing my political party and am proud to call myself a Republican.
Tim Lundeen said
Thank you for supporting our rights and freedoms!
Cindy Olofsson said
Thank you from another life-long democrat. Jumping ship come election time!
Natasha McLean said
THANK YOU for standing up for everyone's rights. From a former democrat, home child care owner, nonvaxxing single mama.
Chelsea said
Thank you!!! Let's stand up for our freedoms! Medical choice should not be a right that is taken away from us.
Bernie Sanders is a great person. He has been an Independent for 30 yrs and is only running as a Dem as to not split the vote. He is the only candidate not taking donations from corporations because he thinks it leads to corruption. This guy is awesome and I think if you see what he has to say you'll be delighted. Another thing to think about and please bring this up to others who think voting Republican would be better, it won't. Most Republicans and an increasing amount of Dems are bought off by billionaires and corporations. Hence the vote of SB-277. We need to get money out of politics and Bernie wants this soo bad for America. If a Republican gets in the White House we are screwed. In the near future 3-4 Supreme Court Justices will be replaced and if a Republican is in control will put in all conservative right wingers that want to strip us of all our civil liberties because the corporations paid for them to get in and they are bribed and beholden to them, not us. Again hence SB-277. People need to wake up and fast for the 2016 elections. We are no longer a Democracy but an Oligarchy. We need everyone to start to have a real conversation about this before we do lose our rights.
polly said
The democratic party needs to take a national stand against witholding rights to public school for unvaccinated children.
The republicans as well.
And then support labeling gmos so parents can choos on that too.
Caroline Morgan said
My mother got polio from the vaccine. My 2nd daughter has permanent neurological damage from the MMR vaccine she received as a child. This issue is of utmost importance to me. We will NEVER again vaccinate. Thank you.
Michelle Alexandria said
No on sb277
P said
Where there is Risk – THERE MUST BE CHOICE!! thank you Pam from Arkansas
clarkvent said
Senator Pan and his Democratic enablers are a disgrace to the nation, and are spitting in the face of those heroic ancestors of ours who gave it all for the freedoms they so willingly sell to the drug companies in exchange for control.
Megan Arce said
Thank you for protecting parents' rights and standing up against this obvious act of government overreach into our personal lives!
homewithangels said
Thank you for taking a firm stand against medical tyranny! I was a lifelong Democrat who recently re-registered Republican due to this bill. We may not agree on all things, but I am immensely grateful for your brave opposition to SB277 and will stand behind the Republican Party.
– Former CA National Guardswoman who served during the Gulf Crisis, RN, MSW and mother of a vaccine injured child and a deceased child) unable to obtain a medical exemption).
E. Travis said
Thank you for standing up for what's just. My family fought and died for the Constitutional right of Faith and Freedom, both of which SB277 tramples on. With all the amendments this bill is now so watered down it has failed it's intention even before it has made it into law. Now we are left with the few healthy children that will no longer be allowed to go to school (their constitutional right) because of pure ego and greed. While our leaders sit in Sacramento voting for rights and giving more money for children who aren't citizens. ALL children deserve these rights not just the homeless, illegal and disabled. Give SB2109 some air to catch fire, pass laws that require pharmaceutical companies to be responsible for their products, then maybe they will make a product everyone wants. Bottom line you can not force consent, and unless the government is going to take on the responsibility of this medical procedure and unless the government can prove that this watered down version can demonstrate it's compelling State interest, California is going to be in for years of legal woes draining resources that we simply don't have. Let our kids go to school. Thank you again for fighting the good fight.
Lisa Griffin said
Deep thank you for standing up against forced medical procedures and the threat to informed consent!
Bianca Amann said
Thank you for taking a stand against #SB277. I hope you all will take the same stance on #SB792. These are both bad bills with endless implementation problems and untold costs. I believe that neither bill will accomplish what it's designed to do. Since this issue is so important to the make up of my classroom and my teaching career, it is my primary voting issue. I will now vote (and I always vote) for the candidate that supports parents rights for education, medicine and health. Unless parents have the freedom to push back on the medical and educational fields, they will not have options. Laws need to support them to do this. They need free market and choice to support schools to offer evolving programming for their children (including the arts). They need this same support to force vaccine manufactures (that currently have no liability for hot lots or the rare vaccine damage) to innovate, improve their preservation methods, and offer choice for single vaccinations versus cocktails. Early childhood immunizations and schedules vary around the world. This medicine is not yet in art form. Parents conscious, educated choices will force that progression if given the opportunity. We all want safe and effective vaccines that work for everyone. I believe the free market approach will support this to happen. If California can push back on this Merck Pharmaceutical bill, Merck will get the message loud and clear that they need to do better.
Kathy and Ken Lindner said
THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you for helping to protect our constitutional rights and stand up to Big Pharma greed and corruption.Thank you!
Jill said
Thank you republicans! Thank you for taking a stand against an over reaching government, and for supporting us parents who know what is best for their children.
Bridgett C. said
Thank you!! From our family for understanding the importance of individuals rights to their own choices and sticking up for our freedoms and making decisions that support what America stands for.
Sylvia said
Thank you for standing up for the rights of parents and children alike.
Researcher said
Thank you! Am planning to switch from democrat to republican because of this issue. And in case any of you legislators are actually reading this, I'd like to point out that the reason iron lungs are no longer in use is NOT because of polio vaccines, but because iron lungs have been replaced by the modern ventilators. There are far more ventilators in use today than iron lungs ever were. in 1959, there were 1,200 iron lungs in the US: http://amhistory.si.edu/polio/howpolio/ironlung.htm
In 2010, there were 62,188 full-feature ventilators PLUS an additional 98,738 non-full-feature ventilators in the US: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21149215
No disrespect intended towards Mary Young, but someone should please show her this information.
Britt G. said
Thank you for standing up for parental and constitutional rights! SB277 is a clear attack on the poor, many of whom may not be able to afford for one parent to stay home to teach children. Mandated vaccinations through coercion do not constitute informed consent.
Eileen said
Civil Rights Movement of the 21st century. Thank you for being on the right side of history OCGOP
Listening to the people….thank you!
Could Governor Brown Veto SB 277 Due to Missing Religious Exemption? « OC Political said
[…] OC GOP Opposes SB 277 (Pan) – Schoolchildren Vaccination Bill […]
Information is power, so education will be of the utmost importance in this struggle for medical liberty! Obamacare was the first step toward medical tyranny, and through "Epic" all of our medical history will be available and vulnerable to hackers. So, the question is what's next? If you're diagnosed with high blood pressure or high cholesterol, will the patient be penalized if they refuse the medication, and choose a holistic route?
This is a very good read!
Pushing the Medical Envelope
http://www.ageofautism.com/2015/06/pushing-the-medical-envelope-part-one-.html#more
Brenda said
Thank you for restoring hope. This is the worst sort of wasteful and unnecessary legislation. Medical decisions belong with parents. Please continue to work against state mandated medical decisions .
Joan said
Thank you for supporting medical freedom and our Constitution! SB277 is about stripping Californians of their right to choose medical procedures for their own children!! A group of legislators choosing medical procedures for thousands and thousands of children is not leadership, it's malpractice! Thank you again.
Gary Ogden said
Pan, Allen, and Queen Hannah-Beth Jackson are the best recruiting tools the California Republicans have had in recent memory. I switched my registration from Dem. to NPP after the Senate vote (I've attended all the hearings), but will only be voting for Republicans for the state legislature in the future. I was very proud of my assembly member, Jim Patterson.
CWS said
As a lifelong, libertarian-leaning Republican, I'm completely disgusted that hysteria, misinformation, and those with vested interests (chiros/"Big Alterna", etc.) have won out over science and rationality. How sad that the Republican party is, cynically, aligning itself with the anti-vax movement, which has absolutely nothing to do with liberty but everything to do with ignorance and lack of respect for the most vulnerable in our society. I'm in a community where all three of the elementary schools now lack herd immunity because of this insanity. Thank you to Mary Young and Peggy Huang for sticking to their principles and voting against the resolution. What's next, OC GOP? A campaign against laws requiring child seats in cars?
@CWS, knock your socks off and get all the vaccinas that you want, that's your right and CHOICE!
Dr Mark Geier M.D. discusses aspects of the flu vaccine – Family Chiropractic Centre


text:
Oigawa Railway and Museum
The Oigawa Railway is a private electric line that runs a scenic daily steam service on the southern part of its line from Kanaya to Senzu. There is a small musuem at the station at Shin-Kanaya. North of Senzu is the Ikawa Line, worked by diesels and electric rack locomotives, a former logging railway.
JR Tokaido line station Kanaya.
The following locomotives are on display and in use:
C10-8, C11-227, C12-164, C56-44, 1275, Izumo 1, electric locos E101, E102, E103.
In addition there are a shop and cafe at Shin-Kanaya.
Japanese Railway Society report with pictures
Railway website (Japanese)


…The fire churned, a thousand tongues of yellow and orange licking against each other and stretching into sooty wisps of blackened air. The tongues changed to waves on a molten sea and the sea's frothing sprayed outward and thickened into the copper wings of a hellfire beast. When the inferno reached full wingspan, an image emerged from the center of the canopy and immediately gained substance.
Raphere sucked in hot air through her nostrils as she squinted against the brilliance.
The white wanders and Dark Lords have had almost countless life cycles. They return to Continue to remember their pasts and to mourn the passing of what used to be their land–their world. Each time, they are born to mortals, and so, take on the physical characteristics of their mortal parents, but they can recognize each other through remembrance. They can also recognize the mortal-minded who have no recollection of earlier lives. Also the ancient magic-welders do not switch genders, with the exception of a few.