In a democracy, after judiciary, media is perhaps the only institution that is supposed to be neutral. The duty of a journalist is to report the events in the country in an impartial manner, regardless of their personal opinions. However, in India which happens to be the world's largest democracy; the journalists, time and again lobby for political parties which are in accordance to their own personal interests. This has recently occurred over the social media platform over the AAP-Congress alliance talks.
Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi openly came out on Twitter, urging Arvind Kejriwal to ally with Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Congress president offered to give up 4 seats out of the 7 Delhi seats to AAP, in order to ensure that BJP does not come to power. He even accused Kejriwal for making a "U turn" where alliance talks are concerned.
In this regard, along with the grand old party urging Arvind Kejriwal to ally with them, there is another set of enthusiastic Congress worshippers who seek this. This group of people consists of the so-called 'impartial' journalists. The number of senior journalists who have come out on Twitter, urging and pointing merits of the alliance is alarming. The list boasts some prominent journalists who hold positions of influence.
One of the prominent names featured is that of Nikhil Wagle. He is a journalist in Maharashtra and has had extensive experience in media since the past 40 years. However, being married to Meena Karnik, who is the media cell convener of AAP, has led to his journalistic ethics going down the drain and his reporting being highly biased.
Tufail Ahmad is an international journalist of Indian origin who is currently serving as the director of Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in Washington, D.C. Moreover, he often writes for FirstPost and The New Indian Express. Indulging in such biased tweets, clearly advocating the alliance of two political parties, going against another doesn't suit his prominent status.
Saba Naqvi is unanimously regarded as one of the best political analysts of India. She has authored books on Arvind Kejriwal and BJP and writes columns in leading national dailies and websites. Moreover, she is also an election analyst and a known political commentator. Even though she holds such high acclamations, she is in her clear biased opinion urging Arvind Kejriwal to "stoop and conquer".
Ashutosh is the co-founder of satyahindi.com, a political platform that wants to convey the truth. He has ironically diverged away from his own ideology of clear unbiased truth and is stating personal biased opinions. Being a former AAP leader, he obviously isn't free from his political affiliations. Ashutosh is clearly advising and urging Arvind Kejriwal to ally with Congress as that is the best possible way to defeat BJP.
These journalists have long held personal political opinions but now they aren't even being subtle about it. Having no regard to at least appear to be impartial, the journalists are openly preaching and advocating certain political parties. These journalists are often regarded as experts in the field, and hence hold immense influence on the people. On the basis of this perceived influence alone, the journalists hold a responsibility to stick solely to neutral reporting, and not pass biased opinions.
A decade ago, India had witnessed the Radia Tapes controversy which had revealed names of a few prominent journalists such as Barkha Dutt, Navika Kumar, Vir Sanghvi, Shankar Aiyar, M.K. Venu and Prabhu Chawla in which these media persons had been used to influence the decision to appoint A. Raja as telecom minister, who was involved in the 2G spectrum scam. The controversy had shaken the country to the core with the clear biased intentions of the journalists coming out. Now, right before the elections, we face a similar situation of prominent journalists being anything but neutral.


Check your stockings, the SOI 21 Christmas newsletter is here! Check out Bill or Joshua's update below.
Bill, Loved your letter. We have been praying on Tuesday morning for the prayer table as well as your other out reaches and it is good to hear first hand from the students. We pray for you every Tuesday morning! Jean Coleman, for all the group who pray On a personal note: Charles and I had a wonderful time of celebration with David, Vicki and the girls this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. First time together for Christmas in thirteen years. The girls had no memory of Christmas in America so we tried to cram thirteen into one. It was so good.


The NGA occupies an interesting position in today's retail supermarket landscape. The independent supermarket retailer is at a dangerous intersection with two choices. One path takes the independent closer toward extinction. The other, more likely direction, finds a new breed of independent supermarket owner. This new breed of independent grocery retailer may not only survive but will likely thrive.
This new approach to retail grocery is one where the grocer has accepted a different role with the customer than his elders sought.
The grocery retailer "Back In The Day" had to learn how to both buy and sell. Cooperative advertising dollars classified by many as the "other income column" placed an artificial safety net beneath many of the grocery retailers spends.
Over time, beginning with P&G, the CPG community reduced these advertising, or street monies, or in some cases eliminated them entirely.
I remember years ago when "buying hours" were still popular. Listening to brokers discuss whether their street monies this week would help the retailer purchase a boat or a Harley.
"Clearly Something Was Wrong With The Cooperative Advertising System In Place To Induce The Advertising Spend"
So now, today's independent grocery retailer must recognize selling is the new path to success. The education of how to sell, and through what items and services, can be supported through educational programs. Some of these programs are available through the NGA.
Conference offerings nationally through the NGA bring grocery retailers together. In addition to the NGA meetings, shows & offerings, the retailer can collaborate with executives in the same environment. This retailer collaboration helps the grocery retailer develop the confidence necessary to succeed.
Independents have always recognized service as the shortfall of the big box retailer. Never has this been more important to the grocery retailer than today.
"Big Box Retailers Lack Customer Service"
The super retailers like Walmart & Costco are cutting out their price match policies. Oh, and try to find someone to ask even the simplest of questions. So here we are in the retail superpower- but try to find what you might need on your own.
Have the big box retailers already seen their best days? Perhaps. Keep in mind the world is asking for more convenient retail "right sized" locations. This is contrary to the platform the "Big Box Retailer" has come to rely on. Remember that big box is loaded with vendor funded items. The very vendor funded monies the independent no longer sees.
So What Does All Of This Mean For The NGA?
Education, Organization, Programs, Preferred Vendors, Conventions and Forums Designed To Encourage Independant Retailers!
With the NGA, the independent retailer has an organization that understands what this new generation of grocer faces. Is it possible we could now see a new generation of NGA?
Could The NGA Offer The Retailer More?
Of course, but based on a balanced array of offerings the NGA, at the very least, gives the independent grocer a fighting chance. If nothing else, the NGA helps us all believe the independent grocer will not cease to exist. If as retailers we believe we can....we will.
"The NGA Believes We Can & So We Will"


When will be The Real Housewives of New York City next episode air date? Is The Real Housewives of New York City renewed or cancelled? Where to countdown The Real Housewives of New York City air dates? Is The Real Housewives of New York City worth watching?
The Real Housewives of New York City will feature an elite and powerful set of New York socialites as they juggle their careers and home lives with busy calendars packed with charity fund-raising galas, the social whirl of the Hamptons, and interviews for elite private schools. These driven and ambitious women show everyone what it takes to make it in the upper echelon of society, where money and status are an essential way of life.
Bethenny hosts a holiday gift exchange party where the hot topic of discussion is a trip to the Berkshires. During a walk with Sonja, Dorinda gives her some disappointing news. Luann introduces her new boyfriend to Dorinda and Jules at an intimate couples dinner. In the Berkshires, the women discover Ramona shares a past with Luann's man. As Bethenny arrives, the revelation that Luann is living with and "mentoring" Sonja leads to a major confrontation with Luann.
The Real Housewives of New York City next episode air date provides TVMaze for you.
EpisoDate.com is your TV show guide to Countdown The Real Housewives of New York City Episode Air Dates and to stay in touch with The Real Housewives of New York City next episode Air Date and your others favorite TV Shows. Add the shows you like to a "Watchlist" and let the site take it from there.


CLINTON --- The Holmes Community College Lady Bulldogs advanced to tomorrow night's Region XXIII Tournament semi-finals after picking up an 87-68 win over the LSU-Eunice Bengals tonight at Mississippi College.
With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 18-8 overall. Holmes will play the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Lady Wolves tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. You can watch the game live on holmesccmedia.com or listen on breezynew.com.
LSUE held an 8-5 lead with 6:36 left in the first period. The Lady Bulldogs held a 22-18 lead with 1:30 left in the first when Aneisha Evans hit a three-pointer. Holmes led 24-22 at the end of the first period.
Holmes led 30-27 with 6:55 left in the second period before LSUE retook the lead at 35-33 with 3:11 left in the second. The game was tied at 37 at halftime. Evans led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points in the first half while Kamelia Lacy had eight. The game was tied at 37 at halftime.
Lacy's free throws with 4:48 left in the third brought Holmes within two at 48-46 before Jonjay'Nay Spivey tied the game at 48. Evans then hit two back-to-back buckets to put Holmes up 54-51 with 2:47 left in the third. Tyaira Wilson and Vaquela Pimpton each hit a bucket within the last minute of the third to put Holmes up 60-55 after three period.
Holmes led 65-55 with 8:40 left in the game. Lacy hit a three-pointer with 6:20 left in the game to put Holmes up 70-58. Jalisia Lipsey then completed a three-point play with 5:45 left to put Holmes up 75-60. Lacy's two free throws made the score, 83-63, with 3:40 left to play. Holmes' biggest lead of the game came in the next minute at 85-63.
Evans and Lacy each finished with 22 points while Tyaira Wilson finished with nine. Wilson led in rebounds with nine while Nina Carpenter and Brittany Webster each had seven rebounds.
The Lady Bulldogs shot 43.9 percent from the floor, 30.8 percent from the three-point line and 69.4 percent from the free-throw line while LSUE shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent from the three-point line and 60 percent from the free-throw line.


text:
D.L. STEWART: Sometimes a song is just a song
In the current atmosphere, no man in his right mind would make light of sexual misconduct. Nor should we. Still, it's tough to ignore the "Baby, It's Cold Outside" controversy that has been raging for years … even though I didn't know it had been raging for years until last week.
Until then, the only thing I ever thought about "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is that it was playful musical banter performed by really old people in even older movies. Since it was written in 1944, the call and response song been performed by duets ranging from Bing Crosby and Doris Day to Idina Menzel and Michael Buble. It's probably only a matter of time until there's a version by Kanye West and Taylor Swift.
But now I'm woke. Because last week USA Today published a point-counterpoint featuring two columnists debating whether the 73-year-old song shares the blame for today's seemingly endless flood of sexual misconduct stories.
"Is this the year we finally retire 'Baby, It's Cold Outside?,'" demanded Mary Nahorniak, the deputy managing editor for digital at USA Today. "In 2017, America woke up to the systemic sexual predation that pervades every corner of society, but some of our Christmas carols are stuck in the past. … In particular, the drumbeat against 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' is getting too loud to ignore."
But before I could race home and burn all my "Baby, It's Cold Outside" 78s, I read the counterpoint:
"Every year at Christmastime these days, as sure as fake antlers and Aunt Ruby's fluorescent-cherry fruitcake, the feminists are out denouncing Frank Loesser's 1940s seasonal-seduction duet 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' as 'rapey,'" declared Charlotte Allen, a columnist for First Things magazine.
"As cheerless as Scrooge wondering why there are no workhouses, the sexual-assault sisterhood reads sinister subtexts into (Frank) Loesser's lyrics every Yuletide. 'Say, what's in this drink?' That's all about roofies, the date-rape drug. 'I ought to say no, no, no.' That's women being socialized by the patriarchy to be nice when they really want to get away. 'I've got to get home — 'Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there.' That's him wearing her down into unwanted sex.
"I can't decide whether these Grinch-ettes of rape culture have tin ears, tin eyes, tin brains, or all three. Have any of them ever heard the song sung?"
There are, I suppose, men like Matt Lauer and Harvey Weinsten whose sexual attitudes were influenced by hearing Dinah Shore sing "I really must go" and Bing Crosby crooning "But baby it's cold outside." If I were pointing fingers, though, they probably would be aimed at more recent songs with titles such as "Date Rape," "Nookie" and "Me So Horny."
But, as the headline above Ms. Allen's, rebuttal noted, she thinks it's time to "Chill out, culture police, on 'Baby It's Cold Outside.'"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
OSA Publishing > Optical Materials Express > Volume 1 > Issue 2 > Page 201
5 mm thick periodically poled Rb-doped KTP for high energy optical parametric frequency conversion
Andrius Zukauskas, Nicky Thilmann, Valdas Pasiskevicius, Fredrik Laurell, and Carlota Canalias
Andrius Zukauskas,* Nicky Thilmann, Valdas Pasiskevicius, Fredrik Laurell, and Carlota Canalias
Department of Applied Physics, Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
*Corresponding author: az@laserphysics.kth.se
A Zukauskas
N Thilmann
V Pasiskevicius
F Laurell
C Canalias
Andrius Zukauskas, Nicky Thilmann, Valdas Pasiskevicius, Fredrik Laurell, and Carlota Canalias, "5 mm thick periodically poled Rb-doped KTP for high energy optical parametric frequency conversion," Opt. Mater. Express 1, 201-206 (2011)
Fabrication of submicrometer quasi-phase-matched devices in KTP and RKTP [Invited] (OME)
High-energy quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillation in a 3-mm-thick periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 device (OL)
High energy quasi-phase matched
optical parametric oscillation
using Mg-doped congruent LiTaO3 crystal (OE)
Nonlinear Optical Materials
Antireflection coatings
Nanosecond pulses
Phase matching
Ferroelectrics (160.2260)
Nonlinear optics, parametric processes (190.4410)
Revised Manuscript: May 13, 2011
Manuscript Accepted: May 13, 2011
Optical Materials Express Advances in Optical Materials (2011)
2. Experiments and results
A 5 mm thick periodically poled bulk Rb-doped KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal with a period of 38.86 µm was fabricated by electric field poling. Chemical etching and optical evaluation show a high quality of the periodic ferroelectric domain structure through the whole crystal aperture. The fabricated quasi-phase matching (QPM) device was used in an optical parametric oscillator pumped at 1064 nm with 12 ns pulses at 100 Hz repetition rate to generate 60 mJ parametric radiation with a conversion efficiency of 50%.
©2011 Optical Society of America
Nanosecond pulses with energies on the order of 100 mJ and tunable in the 1.5 – 3.4 µm region are of interest for applications such as spectroscopy [1], remote sensing [2], biology and medicine [3], and material processing [4]. Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) pumped by well-established, efficient lasers operating at 1 µm probably offer the simplest and most reliable way to generate such pulses. Quasi-phase matched (QPM) nonlinear materials in high energy OPOs provide definite advantages, such as noncritical phase matching for any chosen signal-idler pair, a large acceptance angle and the possibility to use the highest nonlinear coefficient available in the material. These advantages of QPM can be achieved in the ferroelectric oxide crystals KTiOPO4 (KTP), LiNbO3 (LN) and LiTaO3 (LT) structured by using the electric field poling technique. Due to the noncritical interaction in QPM media the parametric gain scales simply as a square of the crystal length, so that the relative differences in effective nonlinearities in different QPM materials can be easily compensated for by choosing an appropriate crystal length. Therefore, for obtaining high energies from nanosecond OPOs there are only two characteristics which are important, namely, the area of the optical aperture and the homogeneity of the QPM grating in the whole crystal volume.
Fabricating large aperture periodically poled crystals in any of the above-mentioned materials is challenging due to, first, the increasingly high electric field required for polarization-switching; and second, the difficulty of propagating the domain grating through the whole crystal thickness. Furthermore, in thick samples even a small domain broadening can lead to merging of the domains, overall resulting in a spatially inhomogeneous QPM grating. Periodically poled Mg-doped congruent LiNbO3 (PPMgLN) and Mg-doped congruent LiTaO3 (PPMgLT) with thicknesses of up to 5 mm along the polar axis have been recently reported [5,6]. In these materials the decrease of the coercive field with increasing temperature was employed in order to limit the electric-field magnitude required for the ferroelectric domain inversion. However, the periodic domain structures obtained, especially those demonstrated in PPMgLT, are still limited in homogeneity due to duty cycle variations, domain broadening and domain merging throughout the crystal thickness.
KTP is considered to be one of the best materials for frequency conversion in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions because of its good mechanical and thermal properties (the thermal conductivity is about twice as high as in LiNbO3), as well as a high nonlinearity and a high damage threshold. Those properties together with a wide transparency range (0.35-4.5 μm) [7], make it a good material choice for 1-μm-pumped high energy and high average power QPM-OPO applications. High output energy and good beam quality OPOs can also be employed in cascaded schemes reaching further into the mid-infrared [8]. Electric field periodically poled KTP (PPKTP) crystals with a thickness up to 1 mm [9], can be obtained with good reproducibility, making this the standard thickness for commercially available PPKTP crystals [10]. Unfortunately, such limited apertures can ensure only relatively low energy output.
Periodically poled structures in KTP and isomorphic RbTiOAsO4 (RTA) crystals with a thickness of up to 3 mm have been reported previously [11,12]. RTA has a substantially lower ionic conductivity than KTP which is beneficial for large aperture poling, however this material is not readily available from commercial vendors. In flux-grown KTP the high ionic conductivity, the inhomogeneous stoichiometry over a single wafer and a poor wafer-to-wafer consistency makes large-aperture poling a complicated process even for 3-mm thick samples.
In this work we demonstrate that the above-mentioned limitations of KTP can be overcome by employing Rb-doped KTP. Consistent periodic poling of this material over a crystal thickness of 5 mm has been achieved. These crystals were employed in a 1064 nm pumped OPO to demonstrate pump-power limited generation of 2.1 µm pulses with an energy of 60 mJ and an average power of 6 W. It was confirmed that the ferroelectric domain grating is uniform throughout the whole crystal aperture which guarantees an efficient OPO output with negligible beam distortion or spectral variations.
A substantially reduced ionic conductivity and an improved material homogeneity due to doping with Rb allow domain inversion with higher precision in large bulk Rb-doped KTP (RKTP) crystals [13]. The RKTP crystals are grown from a flux melt containing 1.4 mol% Rb. The resulting Rb concentration in the crystals is less than 1% [14], suggesting that the linear and nonlinear optical properties of this material are very similar to those of undoped flux-grown KTP. However, the ionic conductivity of RKTP is 2-orders of magnitude lower than that of KTP [15], while its coercive field is 3.7 kV/mm. In addition, substantially lower induced absorption [16] makes RKTP an ideal candidate for high-energy OPO applications.
Periodic poling was done on 5 mm thick commercially supplied single domain c-cut flux-grown RKTP crystals of dimensions 12 x 7 x 5 mm3 (a, b and c crystallographic axes respectively). A periodic metal-photoresist pattern with a duty cycle of 50% was created on the c- faces of the crystals using standard photolithography. A period of Λ = 38.86 μm was chosen for frequency conversion of 1064 nm to 2128 nm at room temperature. The crystals were contacted to an external electric circuit using liquid electrodes. Due to the relatively long grating period and large crystal thickness we chose to work in the low poling-field regime [17]. The crystals were periodically poled at room temperature by applying 5 ms long square electric field pulses of magnitude 3.2 kV/mm. The best samples were obtained applying two pulses. The size of the created ferroelectric domain grating in our periodically poled crystals was 8 x 4 x 5 mm3 along a, b and c crystallographic axes respectively, set by the available photolithographic mask.
The obtained domain structure, revealed on the polar faces by selective chemical etching, for a typical periodically poled RKTP (PPRKTP) crystal is shown in Fig. 1 . The duty cycle is close to 50% on the patterned face and approximately 57% on the unpatterned face of the crystal. This indicates that the created ferroelectric domain grating is of high quality and homogeneous throughout the whole crystal aperture. The low domain broadening obtained with these samples is attributed to the approximately two orders of magnitude lower ionic conductivity compared to ordinary flux-grown KTP. Furthermore, RKTP was found to be more homogeneous in material quality than KTP, and we believe this is a reason for the better yield and more consistent poling result obtained.
Fig. 1 Ferroelectric domain structure after chemical etching on the former patterned (a) and unpatterned (b) faces of 5 mm thick PPRKTP crystal.
In order to optically evaluate the domain grating quality, we placed one of our uncoated PPRKTP crystals in a linear OPO cavity pumped by Nd:YAG laser emitting 6.5 ns pulses at 20 Hz repetition rate. The domain grating period was designed for close-to-degeneracy parametric frequency conversion of 1064 nm radiation at room temperature, giving signal and idler wavelengths close to 2.1 μm. The fundamental beam polarized parallel to the crystal z axis was collimated to 250 μm radius (1/e2 intensity) spot size and launched along the x axis of the crystal. We used two plane dielectric mirrors. The input coupler was highly reflective (R>99%) at 2.1 μm, while the output coupler had a 50% reflectivity at the same wavelength. Both mirrors transmitted the pump light. The signal and idler radiation was separated from the fundamental wavelength by dielectric mirrors, highly reflective at 2.1 μm and transmitting the pump light. The crystal temperature was stabilized to 44 °C using a thermoelectric element. The OPO cavity length was 30 mm and the OPO pump threshold was reached at pump energy of 1.4 mJ. The OPO was pumped at energy 4 times above threshold while the crystal was translated in the OPO cavity in two directions perpendicular to the pump beam. The position of the crystal was changed in steps of 500 μm and the OPO output was recorded at each point. In total the scan consisted of 80 measurements and the whole aperture area of 4 x 5 mm2 was recorded. The OPO output energy distribution is more or less constant over the whole aperture, as shown in Fig. 2 .
Fig. 2 OPO output energy distribution in yz plane of the PPRKTP crystal.
The drop in output energy towards the edges of the scanned area is an artifact due to parts of the pump beam being outside the ferroelectric domain grating. From this measurement we conclude that we have a uniform, high quality ferroelectric domain grating of 4 x 5 mm2 in the bulk of the crystal.
To evaluate the high-energy performance of our large aperture PPRKTP sample the OPO setup was then pumped by a seeded diode-pumped, single-longitudinal mode Nd:YAG laser and amplifier system providing 1064 nm pulses of 12 ns pulse length at 100 Hz repetition rate with a maximum output energy of 130 mJ. To extract more energy the OPO output coupler was changed to one with 30% reflectivity at 2.1 μm. The OPO cavity length was also reduced to 20 mm, while the temperature was set and controlled just above room temperature. The z-polarized pump was expanded and collimated into a beam with a ~2 mm radius and then launched along the crystal x-axis. A wave-plate/polarizer combination was used to adjust the pump power. Figure 3 shows the pump depletion and the combined signal and idler efficiency as a function of pump energy.
Fig. 3 OPO output energy, conversion efficiency and pump depletion for different pump energies inside the crystal.
A combined OPO signal and idler output energy of 60 mJ was reached at the maximum pump energy in the crystal of 120 mJ, corresponding to incident pump energy of 130 mJ (1.03 J/cm2). The OPO output energy was limited by the maximum available pump energy. Nanosecond PPKTP OPOs generating at 2.1 µm can be operated reliably at higher fluencies of at least up to 2 J/cm2 [18]. In our case this fluence would correspond to a peak pump intensity of about 170 MW/cm2 and hence the pump energy could be safely increased up to 250 mJ. Accordingly we expect that with higher pump energy and appropriate coatings on the PPRKTP OPO output energies exceeding 100 mJ can be achieved.
We studied the temperature tuning properties of the OPO by changing the crystal temperature between 10 – 70 °C. The signal and idler wavelengths were deduced by measuring the wavelength of the generated sum-frequency waves between pump and signal or idler with a spectrum analyzer (ANDO AQ-6315A).
Figure 4 shows the experimental data together with the theoretical tuning curves based on the Sellmeier equations for KTP derived by Fradkin et al. [19] including temperature correction proposed by Emanueli and Arie [20], and temperature-corrected Sellmeier equations by Kato and Takaoka [21]. The discrepancy between measured and theoretical temperature tuning curves may be explained by the fact that neither of the Sellmeier equations were derived at this wavelength span.
Fig. 4 Temperature tuning of signal and idler waves. The squares represent the experimental data, with error bars as large as the square size. The tuning curves based on Sellmeier equations by Fradkin et al. are shown as solid lines, and by Kato and Takaoka – as dashed lines.
To investigate the spectral properties of the OPO at degeneracy the crystal temperature was set to 50 °C and an OPO output spectrum was recorded, as shown in Fig. 5 .
Fig. 5 OPO output spectrum at degeneracy, the crystal temperature set to 50 °C.
The measurement was done using a spectrometer (Jobin Yvon iHR 550) with a PbSe detector. The output is centered at ~2.1 µm with a FWHM of 80 nm. Two side peaks with a distance in frequency of ~16 THz to each other can be seen too. The frequency of 8 THz corresponds to the lowest-frequency infrared-active TO phonon mode in KTP [22]. Therefore we attribute these peaks to four-wave mixing, assisted by intra-cavity stimulated Raman scattering [23], and followed by amplification of the sidebands by the second order parametric process. Narrowing down the intra-cavity gain, e.g. using a volume Bragg grating [18], will effectively remove the gain from this process.
In conclusion we have demonstrated a high-energy QPM-OPO based on an uncoated PPRKTP crystal with a QPM grating volume of 8 x 4 x 5 mm3 (a, b and c axis, respectively) and a period of Λ = 38.86 μm. Chemical etching on the polar faces and optical evaluation showed that the domain grating in PPRKTP is homogeneous and of high quality. The OPO generated 60 mJ of combined signal and idler output energy, corresponding to 6 W of average power with a conversion efficiency of 50% at room temperature. We did not observe any kind of optical damage during the experiments, and the OPO output was only limited by the maximum available pump energy. With higher pump energy and appropriate anti-reflective coatings considerably higher OPO output energy can be expected.
This work has been in part funded by EC FP7 project MIRSURG under Grant No. 224042. The authors also thank the Linneus Centre ADOPT, the Swedish Research Council (VR), Göran Gustaffson Foundation, and the K. A. Wallenberg Foundation for financial support.
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18. M. Henriksson, M. Tiihonen, V. Pasiskevicius, and F. Laurell, "Mid-infrared ZGP OPO pumped by near-degenerate narrowband type-I PPKTP parametric oscillator," Appl. Phys. B 88(1), 37–41 (2007). [CrossRef]
19. K. Fradkin, A. Arie, A. Skliar, and G. Rosenman, "Tunable midinfrared source by difference frequency generation in bulk periodically poled KTiOPO4," Appl. Phys. Lett. 74(7), 914–916 (1999). [CrossRef]
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A. K. Y. Ngai, S. T. Persijn, M. M. J. W. Van Herpen, S. M. Cristescu, and F. J. M. Harren, "Photoaccoustic spectroscopy using continuous wave optical parametric oscillators", in Mid-Infrared Coherent Sources and Applications, M. Ebrahim-Zadeh, I. T. Sorokina, eds. (Springer, 2008).
P. Geiser, U. Willer, and W. Schade, "Picosecond Mid-Infrared LIDAR System," in Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), Baltimore, MD, May (2005), paper JThI.
V. A. Serebryakov, E. V. Boiko, N. N. Petrishchev, and A. V. Yan, "Medical applications of mid-IR lasers. Problems and prospects," J. Opt. Technol. 77(1), 6–17 (2010).
S. T. Yang, M. J. Matthews, S. Elhadj, D. Cooke, G. M. Guss, V. G. Draggoo, and P. J. Wegner, "Comparing the use of mid-infrared versus far-infrared lasers for mitigating damage growth on fused silica," Appl. Opt. 49(14), 2606–2616 (2010).
H. Ishizuki and T. Taira, "High-energy quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillation in a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 device with a 5 mm x 5 mm aperture," Opt. Lett. 30(21), 2918–2920 (2005).
H. Ishizuki and T. Taira, "High energy quasi-phase matched optical parametric oscillation using Mg-doped congruent LiTaO(3) crystal," Opt. Express 18(1), 253–258 (2010).
G. Hansson, H. Karlsson, S. Wang, and F. Laurell, "Transmission measurements in KTP and isomorphic compounds," Appl. Opt. 39(27), 5058–5069 (2000).
M. Henriksson, L. Sjöqvist, V. Pasiskevicius, and F. Laurell, "Mode spectrum of multi-longitudinal mode pumped near-degenerate OPOs with volume Bragg grating output couplers," Opt. Express 17(20), 17582–17589 (2009).
H. Karlsson and F. Laurell, "Electric field poling of flux grown KTiOPO4," Appl. Phys. Lett. 71(24), 3474–3476 (1997).
Raicol Crystals Ltd, http://www.raicol.com .
H. Karlsson, M. Olson, G. Arvidsson, F. Laurell, U. Bäder, A. Borsutzky, R. Wallenstein, S. Wickström, and M. Gustafsson, "Nanosecond optical parametric oscillator based on large-aperture periodically poled RbTiOAsO(4).," Opt. Lett. 24(5), 330–332 (1999).
M. Peltz, U. Bäder, A. Borsutzky, R. Wallenstein, J. Hellström, H. Karlsson, V. Pasiskevicius, and F. Laurell, "Optical parametric oscillators for high pulse energy and high average power operation based on large aperture periodically poled KTP and RTA," Appl. Phys. B 73(7), 663–670 (2001).
Q. Jiang, P. A. Thomas, K. B. Hutton, and R. C. C. Ward, "Rb-doped potassium titanyl phosphate for periodic ferroelectric domain inversion," J. Appl. Phys. 92(5), 2717–2723 (2002).
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S. Wang, V. Pasiskevicius, and F. Laurell, "High efficiency frequency converters with periodically poled Rb-doped KTiOPO4," Opt. Mater. 30(4), 594–599 (2007).
A. Zukauskas, V. Pasiskevicius, F. Laurell, C. Canalias, M. Safinas, and A. Michailovas, "High-Performance Periodically Poled Rb-doped KTP For Frequency Conversion in Blue/Green region," in Europhoton2010, Europhysics Conference Abstract Volume 34C, ISBN 2–914771–64–9, Hamburg, Germany, 29 August – 3 September 2010, Paper No. FrA4.
C. Canalias, S. Wang, V. Pasiskevicius, and F. Laurell, "Nucleation and growth of periodic domains during electric field poling in flux-grown KTiOPO4 observed by atomic force microscopy," Appl. Phys. Lett. 88(3), 032905 (2006).
M. Henriksson, M. Tiihonen, V. Pasiskevicius, and F. Laurell, "Mid-infrared ZGP OPO pumped by near-degenerate narrowband type-I PPKTP parametric oscillator," Appl. Phys. B 88(1), 37–41 (2007).
K. Fradkin, A. Arie, A. Skliar, and G. Rosenman, "Tunable midinfrared source by difference frequency generation in bulk periodically poled KTiOPO4," Appl. Phys. Lett. 74(7), 914–916 (1999).
S. Emanueli and A. Arie, "Temperature-dependent dispersion equations for KTiOPO4 and KTiOAsO4.," Appl. Opt. 42(33), 6661–6665 (2003).
K. Kato and E. Takaoka, "Sellmeier and thermo-optic dispersion formulas for KTP," Appl. Opt. 41(24), 5040–5044 (2002).
V. Pasiskevicius, C. Canalias, and F. Laurell, "Highly efficient stimulated Raman scattering of picosecond pulses in KTiOPO4," Appl. Phys. Lett. 88(4), 041110 (2006).
V. Pasiskevicius, A. Fragemann, F. Laurell, R. Butkus, V. Smilgevicius, and A. Piskarskas, "Enhanced stimulated Raman scattering in optical parametric oscillators from periodically poled KTiOPO4," Appl. Phys. Lett. 82(3), 325–327 (2003).
Arie, A.
Arvidsson, G.
Bäder, U.
Boiko, E. V.
Borsutzky, A.
Butkus, R.
Canalias, C.
Cooke, D.
Draggoo, V. G.
Elhadj, S.
Emanueli, S.
Fradkin, K.
Fragemann, A.
Guss, G. M.
Gustafsson, M.
Hansson, G.
Hellström, J.
Henriksson, M.
Hutton, K. B.
Ishizuki, H.
Jiang, Q.
Karlsson, H.
Kato, K.
Laurell, F.
Matthews, M. J.
Olson, M.
Pasiskevicius, V.
Peltz, M.
Petrishchev, N. N.
Piskarskas, A.
Rosenman, G.
Serebryakov, V. A.
Sjöqvist, L.
Skliar, A.
Smilgevicius, V.
Taira, T.
Takaoka, E.
Thomas, P. A.
Tiihonen, M.
Wallenstein, R.
Wang, S.
Ward, R. C. C.
Wegner, P. J.
Wickström, S.
Yan, A. V.
Yang, S. T.
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Appl. Phys. B (2)
J. Appl. Phys. (1)
J. Opt. Technol. (1)
Opt. Mater. (1)


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Europa Technologies extends coverage map services for the mobile telecom industry
Europa Technologies has today announced an additional offering for the mobile telecom industry to provide accurate and up-to-date coverage information. This builds on the recently announced services – Network Insight Pro and Global Coverage Analyzer – and extends the alliance with American Roamer, the curator of the world's largest wireless coverage database.
CellMaps® is a comprehensive platform for the development of fully customised coverage map solutions. It supports both domestic and international coverage and a wide range of mobile voice/data telecommunication technologies. While the existing Network Insight Pro service provides a simple, out-of-the-box solution, applications based on CellMaps can be designed from scratch to meet demanding and exacting customer requirements, including support for cross-border roaming coverage.
Multiple maps can be deployed to reflect additional technologies, show different patterns to subscribers on varying service packages or to offer support staff internal-only views of proprietary information. Retail store locations or any other points of interest can also be represented.
Coverage map solutions based on the CellMaps platform are easy to integrate into a service provider's web site. Once implemented, the service operates in a virtually maintenance free mode with regular coverage map updates handled automatically. The full coverage map catalogue is reviewed quarterly.
The CellMaps platform supports a number of base maps including Europa Technologies' own global data product range. This includes support for a variety of languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Russian and Hebrew.
"We are delighted to offer the CellMaps platform as a complement to our Network Insight Pro service", said Warren Vick, Founder and Director of Europa Technologies. "Our support for the CellMaps platform underlines our strong partnership with American Roamer and affirms our united position as industry leaders in coverage mapping."
For more information on the Europa Technologies portfolio of telecom products and services visit https://www.europa.uk.com/industries/telecommunications/
About Europa Technologies
Europa Technologies is an award-winning specialist in digital maps and associated services for a wide variety of market sectors and applications. Our resources allow organisations with international interests to better understand their customers, assets and markets, in a geographic context, to gain a competitive or strategic advantage. Mapping products and services from Europa Technologies are used by many Fortune Global 500 companies and several missions of the United Nations. The company has global licence agreements with a number of leading Internet-based service providers including Google. Through deployment via Google Earth and Google Maps alone, our world data products have been seen by over 700 million people, approximately 1 in 10 of the world's entire population.
For further information on coverage map services, please visit www.europa.uk.com
About American Roamer
American Roamer is the global source for spatial network intelligence. The company helps clients acquire and retain customers, make sound business decisions and execute with a solid information base with comprehensive, interactive information about coverage patterns, spectrums, network configurations and licensing data. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., American Roamer's clients range from Fortune 100 companies to small rural businesses – all dependent upon the company's 20+ years of experience serving as an unbiased information source for the mobile and network ecosystem.
For more information, visit www.europa.uk.com, follow us on Twitter at @europatech or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/europa-technologies
Please direct media enquiries to our Marketing & Communications Manager
(Contact Details)
Filed Under: Coverage Maps, Press


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The cultural contribution of Cardamomo Tablao Flamenco was recognised in 2014 when it was included by the City Council of Madrid in the "Cultural Heritage of the City of Madrid" in the Centre district for "its special characteristics and singularity" (BOAM, 13 November 2014).
At the tablao of Cardamomo dancing and singing are entwined with passion, springing forth from the deepest core of flamenco. Thus the emotional expression of our artists becomes an intensely personal and unforgettable experience for the spectator.
A meeting point for the best flamenco artists and scholars, the Cardamomo tablao has become a symbol of the love of this art and recognised by flamenco greats such as Joaquín Cortés, Enrique Morente, Estrella Morente, Jorge Pardo, Antonio Carmona, Ramón El Portugués, Tomatito and Raimundo Amador among others.
Ever since it was founded in 1994, at this tablao in Madrid it has been usual to find promising young talent who thought of Cardamomo as their "rehearsal room" for their new musical curiosities, and later they come back as acclaimed professionals.
As a result of these years of intense artistic activity committed to offering the public this art in the purest, most authentic form, the Cardamomo flamenco tablao programmes live performances every day with a different flamenco group each month.
The universal relevance of flamenco was recognised by UNESCO in 2010, inscribing it onto the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".
In this regard, and forever, flamenco is expressed in blood and flesh, passion, full of life and emotion at the Madrileño tablao Cardamomo; it's language of the heart in true flesh that raises its voice and wakes up the flesh and soul of the world.
The cultural contribution of Cardamomo Tablao Flamenco was recognised in 2014 when it was categorised by the City Council of Madrid as "Cultural Heritage of the City of Madrid" in the Centre district for "its special characteristics and singularity" (BOAM, 13 November 2014).
At the Cardamomo tablao dancing and singing are entwined with passion, emerging from the deepest core of flamenco.
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At its meeting on September 24, 2015, the IASB discussed an analysis of the existing definitions and other related requirements in IAS 32, Financial Instruments: Presentation. It also discussed possible approaches for improvements to the existing definitions and other related requirements in IAS 32 that the staff intend to develop further as the project progresses.
No decisions were made. The IASB will continue its discussion at a future meeting.


Punakha, the religious and political centre of Old Bhutan is home to beautiful Dzongs, temples, and monasteries.
The city can be considered a gallery of wonderful and formidable structures reflective of the genius, creativity, and diligence of their architects.
Punakha Dzong prominently standing on top of a ridge at the confluence of Po Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers echoes its clarion call for tourists to peek into its incredible interior made centuries ago and admire the dual use of the edifice for government functions and monastic habitation in a harmonious fashion. Be mesmerised by the profound spirituality of nuns in Songchen Dorji Nunnery. Join in their chants and prayers at dusk when the horizon is clothed in a golden blaze. Savour their tea amidst the rhythmic humming of insects and the melodic sounds of nocturnal birds. Witness the Bhutanese's love towards endangered animals at the Jigme Dorji National park, wherein you can also witness the rare sight of a snow leopard interacting with the Bengal tiger. The Punakha experience is a valuable immersion in the history, culture, and religion of Bhutan. Laudable is the effort of the current government to protect the environment and natural resources of the nation- an advocacy that can save the future generation.
By plane, one can land at Paro Airport, the only international airport in Bhutan. A taxi can then be chartered to Punakha at a quoted price which is mostly non-negotiable. It will take 3 hours to reach Punakha.
Shared taxis can also be availed at Thimphu with the route ending at Kuruthang, a few kilometres from Punakha. Bus travel is uncommon and is most often fully booked.
A helicopter can also be chartered but the cost is exorbitant. Most of the roads are not 2 lanes so travel in inclement weather and with intermittent road repairs will take longer than usual. A tour package with a vehicle is ideal.
The currency used in Punakha is Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN). Visitors with U.S. Dollars can change their money to local currency at the Paro Airport or at Thimphu. There are a few establishments that accept credit cards in Paro and in Thimphu but in the countryside, it is better to carry and use BTN.
The best time to visit Punakha is during the winter months of December to February when the days are cool and sunny. This season is a boon to wildlife photographers to see various avian species.
Spring season is ideal for trekking and sightseeing. The freshly green vegetation of the countryside and the marvelous sight of diversified flora are abundant. This season starts on March and ends in May. Festivals abound at this time of the year.
June to August are monsoon months. At this time Bhutan receives more rainfall more than its neighbouring countries. Visiting sacred sites is the best thing to do. Trekking and other adventurous activities should not be a priority.
Autumn is in the months of September to November. This is a time for cool breezes and crisp blue skies. The influx of tourist is experienced during this season. Majestic snowcapped-mountains, green valleys, and clear rivers can be a perfect subject for photographers.
Visiting different sites in Punakha can be done on foot. Taxis are available for those who want to travel out of town but still keep within the valley.
The food in Punakha is dominantly Bhutanese cuisine and it is almost primarily chilli-based. Ema Datshi (chillies and cheese) is considered the sifter. If one has not tasted this, then chances are, his holiday in Bhutan is incomplete. Jasha Maroo is diced chicken slices mixed with chilli and tempered by tomatoes, onions, coriander leaves, and ginger. Phaksa Paa is made of pork that's boiled to soften and mixed with radish ginger and chilli powder. Dumpling is also common in Bhutan and is locally known as Momos — which are steamed buns stuffed with pork or beef, cheese, and chilli, making it similar to Indian and Chinese cuisine. These dishes are best partnered with red or white rice and wine and tea as beverages.


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Закат с деревьями — картина русского художника Архипа Куинджи, написанная между 1876 и 1890 годами. Картина является частью собрания Ростовского областного музея изобразительных искусств.

Несколько печальный закат прописан густой краской. К этому времени также относятся несколько произведений Куинджи, как бы сконцентрировавших его элегическое мировосприятие. Густой фиолетовый цвет задавлен светлым жёлтым или оранжевым. Эти необычайно красивые и естественные цветосочетания соответствуют реальной природе солнечного освещения. Художника можно считать наиболее значительным после Айвазовского «солнцепоклонником».

И. Н. Крамской писал:

Ссылки

Картины Архипа Куинджи
Пейзажи русских художников XIX века
Деревья в живописи

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Bethany Scott, 26, of Middletown, wants to be released from Butler County Jail because of her pregnancy. She is accused of robbing a CVS store earlier this year.
Pregnant Middletown woman in jail after CVS robbery wants released
BUTLER COUNTY —
A judge would not reduce bond for a pregnant Middletown woman jailed on charges of robbing a CVS pharmacy in January, despite the woman's fears regarding her high-risk pregnancy.
Bethany Scott, 26, of the 200 block of Woodlawn Ave, requested her $200,000 bond be reduced and she be released on her own recognizance. She is charged with robbery, aggravated possession of drugs and theft of drugs, all felonies, in connection with the Jan. 30 robbery of the pharmacy at 820 S. Breiel Blvd.
Scott told Butler County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer McElfresh on Monday that jail staff say they do not know whether she will get to the hospital in time for delivery.
RELATED: Woman to pharmacist: 'Give me all the Percocets and no one will get hurt'
McElfresh, following a short hearing, declined to reduce Scott's bond noting the seriousness of the charges against her, which carry the potential of 25 years in prison if found guilty.
Last month, defense attorney Kathleen Batliner, filed the motion on Scott's behalf noting she could live with her parents in Franklin if released.
"Defendant had severe pre-eclampsia with her previous two pregnancies, so she is at risk for this medical issue with her current pregnancy. Defendant requires several prenatal checkups to ensure the safety and health of her and her baby because of this condition," Batliner said in the motion. "Because defendant is not receiving the necessary medical checkups, the health of her and her baby are at stake."
Download the free Journal-News app, Butler County's #1 source for local news
Butler County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer testified Monday the jail has six to eight pregnant inmates at any given time and they are experienced with providing care.
A paramedic is on duty at all times, and inmates also see nurses and a doctor. Dwyer said Scott was taken to Atrium Medical Center on Friday for a doctor visit, and her blood pressure and other vitals are being monitored daily.
"Especially with the heroin epidemic, we are pretty much used to handling pregnancies in the jail," Dwyer said.
Scott, wearing an orange jump suit and handcuffed also took the stand.
"One time I was having pains and they called a medic … and it took them about 25 minutes to get there," Scott said.
ANOTHER ROBBERY FOR PILLS: The same CVS was robbed last week
She also told the judge the half of the women in her jail pod had a MRSA staph infection.
Butler County Assistant Prosecutor John Heinkel asked her how she knew that 30 to 40 people in her pod had infections, Scott said it was her observations from the bandages they had on.
Dwyer told this news outlet today that like any other facility that houses 1,000 people, they do deal with the treatment of all types of illness, but to his knowledge there is not an outbreak of MRSA in the jail.
Scott also sent at letter to Judge Jennifer McElfresh asking for her release so that she could spend time with her sons, ages 5 and 1.
"I completely understand there are consequences for my actions, there is so much more to the (whole) thing (than) what what's being said. I was in a bad controlling relationship with my kids' father for almost seven years. I stayed for my babies, and now I realize it was the worst decision of my life," Scott wrote in the letter.
Batliner argued there is concern for Scott's life and that of her baby if she stays in jail.
"She has been told they may not have enough time to get her out," Batliner said, added there is also a concern about the cleanliness of the jail after Scott has a C-section.
Heinkel pointed out the seriousness of the crimes Scott is charged with, noting a search of her residence after the robbery turned up 1,600 Perocet pills and a large amount of cash.
"Two thousand pills were taken … there is a concern that she has access to those missing pills," Heinkel said.
In denying the motion, McElfresh said she did not find Scott's testimony credible and said it was revealed Scott continued to use Percocet and Xanax prior to and during her pregnancy.


The trapping of hydrogen at a variety of sites in multiphase transformation–induced plasticity (TRIP) steels has been characterised using thermal desorption spectroscopy and the results have been modelled using diffusion theory. It is discovered that austenite serves as a reversible trapping site which is more potent than grain boundaries or dislocations in ferrite. Plastic deformation which leads to the partial martensitic transformation of the austenite results in an alteration in the trapping condition of the inherited hydrogen. It is demonstrated that these phenomena can be incorporated into a mathematical model which permits the desorption of hydrogen to be predicted quantitatively as a function of, for example, the heating rate, phase fractions, and phase transformation. An interesting outcome is that the mechanical degradation of the steel by hydrogen is more pronounced in TRIP steel containing austenite which is relatively less stable to martensitic transformation during deformation. This is because the phase transformation causes a reduction in the trap binding energy, thus enhancing the apparent mobility of the hydrogen.


text:
Little WALTER - The Singles As & Bs 1952-1960
JASMCD3015-6
Little Walter was without a doubt the most influential blues harmonica player of the 20th Century, and here for the first time in one collection are the A & B sides of every single he released from his debut in 1952 to 1960.
Chock full of iconic hits, which have been recorded countless times since by beat and blues groups from the 1960s until today, like: 'Juke', 'My Babe' and 'Boom, Boom Out Go The Lights'.
These recordings from Little Walter along with a handful of other artists undoubtedly helped to reshape popular music during the 1960s.
Fully detailed liner notes chart his entire career and his influences. This is a must have for fans of the great blues harpist or just blues fans in general!
1. JUKE
2. CAN'T HOLD OUT MUCH LONGER
4. SAD HOURS
5. DON'T HAVE TO HUNT NO MORE
6. TONIGHT WITH A FOOL
7. OFF THE WALL
8. TELL ME MAMA
9. BLUES WITH A FEELING
10. QUARTER TO TWELVE
11. LIGHTS OUT
12. YOU'RE SO FINE
13. ROCKER
14. OH BABY
15. YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF
18. MELLOW DOWN EASY
19. MY BABE
21. ROLLER COASTER
22. I GOT TO GO
24. I HATE TO SEE YOU GO
2. IT AIN'T RIGHT
3. ONE MORE CHANCE WITH YOU
5. TEENAGE BEAT
6. JUST A FEELING
7. IT'S TOO LATE BROTHER
10. EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY
11. BOOM BOOM OUT GO THE LIGHTS
12. TEMPERATURE
13. THE TODDLE
14. CONFESSIN THE BLUES
17. MY BABY'S SWEETER
18. CRAZY MIXED UP WORLD
19. EVERYTHING GONNA BE ALRIGHT
20. BACK TRACK
21. ME AND PINEY BROWN
22. BREAK IT UP
23. AH'W BABY
24. I'VE HAD MY FUN
26. BLUE MIDNIGHT
Reference JASMCD3015-6
Roy MILTON & His Solid...
Earl KING - Let The Good...
Jimmy NOLEN - Strollin'...
Doctor ROSS - Boogie...
Eddie 'Cleanhead' VINSON -...
Sonny Boy WILLIAMSON -...
Alexis KORNER'S BLUES...
T-Bone WALKER - Get These...
Floyd DIXON - Hey...


Pierce & Mandell attorney Lena Finnerty recently won summary judgment for the firm's architect client in a case involving a slip and fall at a local federal government facility.
The firm represented an international architectural firm in a case involving a federal government employee who fell in the indoor "winter garden" of her employer's large facility. Plaintiff alleged that she fell on pea stones that had migrated from the garden area onto the walking paths. The allegation against the firm's client was that it was negligent in designing the winter garden by including pea stones as a feature.
The basis for the summary judgment motion was that plaintiff did not offer an expert witness to testify that designing the winter garden using pea stones violated the standard of care.
Pierce & Mandell is well known for defending every type of product liability, personal injury and construction defect case.


text:
17-2051 Civil Engineers
Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems. Includes architectural, structural, traffic, ocean, and geo-technical engineers. Excludes "Hydrologists" (19-2043).
Hourly Wage $26.04 $31.86 $40.75 $52.85 $66.40
Annual Wage (2) $54,150 $66,260 $84,770 $109,930 $138,110
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 161,800 11.41 $44.65 $92,880
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 32,200 1.47 $41.10 $85,480
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 30,500 0.56 $44.31 $92,170
Nonresidential Building Construction 20,850 2.67 $42.42 $88,230
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 2,530 2.27 $45.14 $93,890
Land Subdivision 520 1.30 $39.16 $81,450
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing (8) (8) $71.86 $149,460
Scientific Research and Development Services 1,720 0.27 $59.70 $124,170
Oil and Gas Extraction 360 0.27 $57.06 $118,690
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing 400 0.10 $56.38 $117,270
Waste Treatment and Disposal 210 0.22 $53.69 $111,680
California 42,900 2.57 1.23 $51.78 $107,710
Texas 27,000 2.27 1.08 $48.25 $100,370
Pennsylvania 12,060 2.09 0.99 $42.26 $87,890
Colorado 9,480 3.71 1.77 $42.76 $88,950
Alaska 1,150 3.62 1.73 $59.02 $122,760
Washington 10,910 3.42 1.63 $44.29 $92,110
New Jersey 7,500 1.87 0.89 $49.12 $102,170
District of Columbia 1,150 1.63 0.78 $47.92 $99,680
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 11,370 1.70 0.81 $48.47 $100,820
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 10,030 3.42 1.63 $55.45 $115,330
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 8,060 1.82 0.87 $52.11 $108,400
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 7,490 2.04 0.98 $44.69 $92,960
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 7,290 2.78 1.33 $44.09 $91,700
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 6,480 4.49 2.14 $43.23 $89,910
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 5,570 3.45 1.64 $50.18 $104,370
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 5,400 3.28 1.56 $45.15 $93,910
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 4,800 4.21 2.01 $54.37 $113,090
Walla Walla, WA 290 11.45 5.46 $45.57 $94,790
Carson City, NV 240 8.48 4.05 $34.26 $71,260
Olympia-Tumwater, WA 730 6.65 3.17 $38.73 $80,550
Bismarck, ND 440 6.08 2.90 $40.04 $83,280
Yuba City, CA 240 5.66 2.70 $51.13 $106,340
Ames, IA 230 5.32 2.54 $39.30 $81,750
Trenton, NJ 1,190 5.17 2.46 $44.63 $92,840
Fairbanks, AK 190 5.07 2.42 (8) (8)
Cheyenne, WY 220 4.95 2.36 $36.76 $76,460
Raleigh, NC 2,980 4.91 2.34 $39.90 $82,990


The MetalCloak 8" TJ/LJ/YJ Overline Tube Fender Flare gives you maximum tire clearance with that traditional "flat fender" appeal.
Note: You MUST have MetalCloak Overline Tube Fenders (YJ/TJ/LJ) to mount this flare. The flare only mounts on the MetalCloak Overline Tube Fender.
A 15° Object Deflection Angle, no other tube flare comes close.


This blog is primarily about quilting & sewing but also incorporates a bit about my journey to a healthy lifestyle and my family. All of it will include a healthy bit of sarcasm, mostly at myself, but really, none one is safe!
I've been a part of what?
WQW Absolutely love it now that would sit just nice on my bed lol.
Nice! Is that polka dot fabric the back?
Not one I remember seeing. Love it though, it's very pretty.
Very pretty. And I'm loving the polka dot backing.
Progress. A little at at time.


text:
BIT, Russia, Territory, Ukraine
Ongoing Territorial Challenges in Crimea Cases: Putting Everest v. Russia in Context
Mykhailo Soldatenko (Asters)/ November 5, 2018 November 3, 2018 /Leave a comment
After the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, the new local "authorities" have taken a number of privately and state-owned assets in the peninsula. Ukrainian companies have commenced at least eight investment arbitrations against the Russian Federation under the Russia-Ukraine BIT (the "BIT"), seeking compensation for the lost property in Crimea.1) NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine et al. (its 6 subsidiaries) v. Russia, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2017-16 (commenced in 2016); Oschadbank v. Russia, UNCITRAL (commenced in 2016); Aeroport Belbek LLC and Mr. Igor Valerievich Kolomoisky v. Russia, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2015-07 (commenced in 2015); Stabil et al. v. Russia, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2015-35 (commenced in 2015); Everest Estate LLC et al. v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-36, Award, 2 May 2018; Privatbank and Finilon v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-21 (commenced in 2015); PJSC Ukrnafta v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-34 (commenced in 2015); Lugzor and others v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-29, (commenced in 2015). Two other companies – DTEK and Ukrenergo – notified Russia about the future arbitrations, see here and here. A number of tribunals have already found jurisdiction in Crimea cases. Only some of the reasoning behind these decisions is publicly available. Even where available, the relevant information is unfortunately second-hand, see here and here.
On 2 May 2018, the first final award was issued in one of the "Crimea cases." The investors in Everest Estate LLC etl. v. The Russian Federation, were awarded 150 million USD for the expropriation of several hotels and real estate properties.2) Everest Estate LLC et al. v. The Russian Federation, PCA Case No. 2015-36, Award, 2 May 2018, see 'RUSSIA HELD LIABLE IN CONFIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXPROPRIATION…', Investment Arbitration Reporter. A number of other decisions are expected in the near future.
The Russian Federation has recently filed a challenge to the Everest awards at the seat of arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. At the same time, the Swiss Federal Tribunal dismissed Russia`s challenge of jurisdiction in two other Crimea cases Stabil and Ukrnafta seated in Geneva.3) 'Crimea awards upheld in Switzerland', Global Arbitration Review, 16 October 2018.
In this post, we will address some difficult jurisdictional hurdles of the post-annexation investment protection, which Russia may be bringing up in The Hague after the failure in Switzerland. Namely, whether Crimea is Russian territory within the meaning of the BIT and whether the BIT covers investments made in Ukraine before the annexation.
Russia – Ukraine BIT's application to a de facto state territory
The Crimea cases involve a unique jurisdictional issue of the BIT's territorial scope. Namely, whether occupied Crimea is now a Russian territory within the meaning of the BIT. De jure Russian sovereignty over the peninsula has been widely rebutted,4) For example, Territorial Integrity of Ukraine, UNG Res 68/262, 27 March 2014. however, even Ukraine agrees that Crimea is under de facto Russian control.5) Ukraine in its third-party submission confirmed the relevant fact before the tribunal. See 'FULL JURISDICTIONAL REASONING COMES TO LIGHT IN CRIMEA-RELATED BIT ARBITRATION VS. RUSSIA', Investment Arbitration Reporter, 9 November 2017. So what is the status of de facto controlled territory under the BIT? The answer will very much affect whether the Ukrainian investors or the Russian Federation prevail on the Dutch set-aside proceedings.
The BIT's substantive protections are expressly limited to the Contracting State's territories.6) BIT, Article 1 (1): "Investments" shall denote all kinds of property and intellectual values, which are being invested by the investor of one Contracting Party on the territory of the other Contracting Party in conformity with the latter's legislation". Article 1(4) of the BIT defines territory as "the territory of [the Contracting State], and also their respective exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, as defined in conformity with international law". The question for the set-aside court will therefore be whether the definition includes a territory under state de facto control and whether the phrase "in accordance with international law" only relates to the Contracting State's EEZ and continental shelf or whether it also defines the territory.
A number of the arbitral tribunals have already decided that Crimea is Russian territory within the meaning of the BIT, regardless of whether the Russian control is legal or not. Relying on the VCLT,7) VCLT, Article 31 (1) ("A treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose"). each of the Tribunals in the known Crimea cases to date have construed the ordinary meaning of "territory" as covering de jure and de facto territory under state effective control. The Ukrnafta and Stabil tribunals, referred to English, Ukrainian and Russian legal dictionaries, which defined the term "territory" without the sovereignty criteria.8) 'FURTHER RUSSIA INVESTMENT TREATY DECISIONS UNCOVERED, OFFERING BROADER WINDOW INTO ARBITRATORS' APPROACHES TO CRIMEA CONTROVERSY', Investment Arbitration Reporter, 17 November 2017. Also, the Tribunals reportedly cited the default rule under Article 29 of the VCLT, which provides that treaties apply to state's "entire territory" without any qualifications.9)Id. Moreover, the Tribunals noted that over the text of the BIT the term "territory" is closely connected to the states' ability to legislate, and only the Russian Federation now legislates in Crimea.10) See Russian Federal Constitutional Law On Admitting to the Russian Federation the Republic of Crimea and Establishing within the Russian Federation the New Constituent Entities of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Federal Importance Sevastopol dated March 21, 2014. The Tribunals further noted that it would be contrary to the BIT's object and purpose to leave investments in Crimea without any legal protection under the BIT. Finally, the Tribunals invoked the good faith principle to assert that Russia cannot "blow hot and cold" by claiming territorial control over Crimea and at the same time deny the applicability of the BIT.
In Everest v. Russia, the Tribunal reportedly avoided detailed interpretation of the term "territory" and did not explain the meaning of the qualifier "in accordance with international law" at all.11) 'FULL JURISDICTIONAL REASONING COMES TO LIGHT IN CRIMEA-RELATED BIT ARBITRATION VS. RUSSIA', Investment Arbitration Reporter, 9 November 2017. The Tribunal found it persuasive that the BIT was applicable to Crimea upon its entry into force, irrespective of whether the investors would have qualified at the time, and it should remain applicable after Russia got control over Crimea. It remains to be seen whether this difference in reasoning from the Ukrnafta and Stabil awards will play a role in The Hague.
The Russian Federation, which did not participate in the arbitrations, may choose to push the set-aside court on the territorial question. Without denying its allegedly "sovereign rights" over Crimea, Russia may argue that the Tribunal was required to address the legality issue mindful that without a positive answer to this question the jurisdiction cannot be established. In this context, it may challenge the tribunals' mandate under the BIT to touch territorial disputes between states.
It is likely that the set-aside court will have to deal with the qualifier "in accordance with international law" in light of the Russia's potential argument that it defines the territory as well. At least the Ukrainian version of the BIT allows the phrase to be susceptible to a double meaning. Namely, the phrase may relate only to the EEZ and the continental shelf or to the territory as well.12) A reputable Ukrainian linguist, Olexander Avramenko, confirmed to us that at least in the Ukrainian language the phrase is susceptible to the double meaning (last contacted, 29 July 2018).
In light of this textual ambiguity, other factors for interpretation may take a greater relevance including the object and purpose and context of the BIT. For example, the BIT`s object and purpose likely suggests that the investments shall not be left without the BIT`s protection. At the same time, the proposition that at the time of the treaty conclusion the parties potentially did not mean to encompass a de facto control scenario may have some relevance. Also, Russia might argue that legality is a default criterion for a state territory under international law, which prohibits illegal acquisition of a state territory.13) For example, the Charter of the United Nations, Article 1(4): "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state". At a minimum, it remains to be seen whether reliance on de facto control is enough for review of the jurisdictional award by set-aside court in the Netherlands.
Timing of the investments under the BIT
The Ukrainian investments in the Crimean cases were made before the Russian Federation's de facto control of Crimea. Articles 1(1) and 12 of the BIT requires that investments shall be made by a national of the Contracting Party on the territory of another Contracting Party. Consequently, the question is whether the Ukrainian investments shall be initially made into the Russian "territory" to be covered by the BIT.
In Ukrnafta and Stabil cases, the Tribunals noted that the only temporal requirement is contained in Article 12 of the BIT, namely that the investments shall be made after January 1, 1992.14) BIT, article 12: "This Agreement shall apply to all investments carried out by the investors of one Contracting Party on the territory of the other Contracting Party, as of January 1, 1992.". Both Tribunals noted that the text does not require that the investments shall be made to the Contracting State from the beginning and reasoned that the wording of Article 1(1) evinces geographical rather than temporal criteria for investments.
In Everest v. Russia, the Tribunal similarly concluded that the text of the BIT does not suggest that the Contracting Parties intended to limit its application to investments made within the host state territory ab initio. The arbitrators opined that finding otherwise would unreasonably exclude from the treaty protection a number of investments and would contradict the BIT's object and purpose. In support of this proposition, the Tribunal cited, inter alia, PacRim v. El Salvador, where the Tribunal found that the investor was not required to have proper nationality ab initio as long as it possessed it prior to the state breach. (Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador, ICSID Case No. ARB/09/12, Decision on Jurisdiction, 1 June 2012)
Nevertheless, the set-aside court will need to grapple with the text of the BIT itself. Both the Ukrainian and the Russian versions of Article 1 (1) of the BIT contains a phrase "are being invested" in the present tense, while defining the term "investments". At the same time, Article 12 on the temporal scope uses the phrase "carried out" in the past tense. Thus, the Russian Federation will likely argue that the past tense of Article 12 (Application of the Agreement) indicates a requirement that investments shall be initially made into the Russian territory. Russia might also say that a change of control over the territory cannot be understood as an act of investment making into Russia under the BIT. Consequently, it might add that the active investors' conduct is required in this regard, for example, reregistration of the companies under the Russian law.
The Ukrainian investors face thorny jurisdictional challenges before the set-aside courts. They were able to protect the jurisdictional awards in Switzerland. However, the majority of the Crimea cases are seated in The Hague, and consequently the Dutch setting aside proceedings are essential. Success at the seat is often an important prerequisite for effective enforcement of the awards against a resisting state. The fate of the Crimea awards primarily depends on the local courts' attitudes and approaches to interpretation of the Russia – Ukraine BITs' provisions under the VCLT.
The submission is made in my personal capacity. The views contained in this article are not necessarily the views of Asters or its clients. Many thanks to Patrick W. Pearsall, Chair of Public International Law at Jenner & Block LLP for his valuable comments and suggestions.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine et al. (its 6 subsidiaries) v. Russia, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2017-16 (commenced in 2016); Oschadbank v. Russia, UNCITRAL (commenced in 2016); Aeroport Belbek LLC and Mr. Igor Valerievich Kolomoisky v. Russia, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2015-07 (commenced in 2015); Stabil et al. v. Russia, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2015-35 (commenced in 2015); Everest Estate LLC et al. v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-36, Award, 2 May 2018; Privatbank and Finilon v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-21 (commenced in 2015); PJSC Ukrnafta v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-34 (commenced in 2015); Lugzor and others v. Russia, PCA Case No. 2015-29, (commenced in 2015). Two other companies – DTEK and Ukrenergo – notified Russia about the future arbitrations, see here and here.
Everest Estate LLC et al. v. The Russian Federation, PCA Case No. 2015-36, Award, 2 May 2018, see 'RUSSIA HELD LIABLE IN CONFIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXPROPRIATION…', Investment Arbitration Reporter.
'Crimea awards upheld in Switzerland', Global Arbitration Review, 16 October 2018.
For example, Territorial Integrity of Ukraine, UNG Res 68/262, 27 March 2014.
Ukraine in its third-party submission confirmed the relevant fact before the tribunal. See 'FULL JURISDICTIONAL REASONING COMES TO LIGHT IN CRIMEA-RELATED BIT ARBITRATION VS. RUSSIA', Investment Arbitration Reporter, 9 November 2017.
BIT, Article 1 (1): "Investments" shall denote all kinds of property and intellectual values, which are being invested by the investor of one Contracting Party on the territory of the other Contracting Party in conformity with the latter's legislation".
VCLT, Article 31 (1) ("A treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose").
'FURTHER RUSSIA INVESTMENT TREATY DECISIONS UNCOVERED, OFFERING BROADER WINDOW INTO ARBITRATORS' APPROACHES TO CRIMEA CONTROVERSY', Investment Arbitration Reporter, 17 November 2017.
See Russian Federal Constitutional Law On Admitting to the Russian Federation the Republic of Crimea and Establishing within the Russian Federation the New Constituent Entities of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Federal Importance Sevastopol dated March 21, 2014.
'FULL JURISDICTIONAL REASONING COMES TO LIGHT IN CRIMEA-RELATED BIT ARBITRATION VS. RUSSIA', Investment Arbitration Reporter, 9 November 2017.
A reputable Ukrainian linguist, Olexander Avramenko, confirmed to us that at least in the Ukrainian language the phrase is susceptible to the double meaning (last contacted, 29 July 2018).
For example, the Charter of the United Nations, Article 1(4): "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state".
BIT, article 12: "This Agreement shall apply to all investments carried out by the investors of one Contracting Party on the territory of the other Contracting Party, as of January 1, 1992.".
Singapore High Court Upholds Multi-Million Dollar ICC Award Relating To A Power Plant Project In Guatemala
Maximilian Clasmeier (White & Case LLP)/ November 6, 2018 November 13, 2018
The Ethical Paradox Put to Play by Guerilla Tacticians
Alban Dautaj (Stockholm University)/ November 4, 2018 November 3, 2018


Genuine and authentic connections underpin your success on LinkedIn. They can make or break your journey to achieve the results you seek. There might come a time though when you realise that your connection strategy may not have been the right one and that maybe it's time to clean up your connections.
The ones that you don't really want to be connected to are the sort of connections you cannot talk to, you may not know in real life or wouldn't necessarily want to be seen out with – you know, the prats, idiots and people you may have accepted by mistake.
LinkedIn is all about the good people that you know and I mean the ones that you can talk to (in real life, over a coffee, on the telephone and more) and the ones that you know what they do.
Just think of LinkedIn as a really big room of people you know because in many ways it is! It is not just about a profile (though you can check how good yours is here), but about your connections, the people that your connections know, and about being able to talk to them.
Not many people realise (and It is always fascinating to see the reaction on a training course or at a conference when I mention this) that a) you can remove connections and b) LinkedIn doesn't notify the connection that you are removing them as long as you follow the instructions below (don't worry, LinkedIn won't send them a note telling them you've unfriended them or don't 'love' them anymore!).
It is a really simple process, assuming you're using LinkedIn on a PC or Mac then simply hit 'My Network' in the top menu and then hit the number of connections on the left (if you're really efficient/lazy you can hit this link).
If you're on the mobile app you can still do it, just select the two heads together (My Network equivalent on mobile) then hit the number of connections.
This is one of those moments on a course when everyone sits forward and pays attention.
To remove a connection all you need to do is to look down the list (by default this is sorted by your most recent connections) to find the person you are after, or type their name in the search box (top right on the PC / Mac), and then when you click the three grey dots (highlighted with an arrow below) you have the option to remove.
Now at this point can I please mention to not look at someone's profile first, never a good thing to do to look them in the eye, as they will most likely see that you looked at them and then might (just might) wonder if you were connected before!
When I ask on one of our courses about this aspect, everyone immediately identifies one person (or even hundreds) that fit into the 'I don't really know them', competitor, ranter, was a mistake, bombards me with spam or ex-partners (!!) category and eagerly removes them, normally with an associated grin – I am repeatedly told it's very liberating and cathartic.
Now go and remove all those people you don't really know, the ones that limit your success with the biggest source of free referrals you can find.
How Good Are You at These Five Valuable Digital Skills?