text:
Dear world, I miss you - 13 things I love about travelling
A confession, of sorts: a year ago, I returned to Australia after 18 months of no-fixed-address travelling and I haven't used my passport since. I'm ok with that from a "no impact" standpoint, but as a travel writer used to constant motion, it feels more than strange.
I hardly recognise myself
when I'm not travelling
This is the longest I've not-travelled in about 15 years. I've been grounded by choice, satisfying a yearning for a home, and I haven't been completely stationary: I've relocated from Australia's largest city to northern NSW, I've explored my new surroundings a little and I've had a few trips within Australia.
Sometimes it's good to "stop"
(in Russian)
Still, I don't feel quite myself.
"You've got itchy feet," a friend said to me the other day. "You need to get away."
She's only partly right. I do need to get away, but I'm not just hankering for new sights or a different culture.
I miss the "me" I am when I'm travelling, and I miss the travelling state of mind. I miss having my world view changed on a regular basis, being tossed around in a sea of new experiences, disappearing into a new place.
But a funny thing has been happening over the past year: by not-travelling, I've remembered what I most love about travel. That in its purest form it is not an escape from life, but a diving head-first into it. Being in a new place can wake us up to the world beyond our work-life balancing act, and clarify our place in it. At the same time, I believe you can take the spirit of travel with you wherever you go - even when that's nowhere at all.
Like riding a bike,
you never forget how
to travel
Travel is just life in a different place, after all. And just as in life, it's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you do it. The joy of travel is less about where you go and more about how you feel when you're there.
You don't even have to wait until you get there. Travelling a lot, and not having a family to come home to, I've often felt more "at home" when away. Transience can be oddly comforting. Nothing lasts forever; when you understand that, hotel rooms and departure lounges aren't so different from our homes and driveways.
Still, not-travelling for so long, I've noticed my travel self getting restless. I love much about my new home town, not least the ability to converse and watch movies in my own language and understand the road signs. But a large part of me – the travelling me – is lying dormant, wondering what to do with the skills it has honed over the years.
So fellow travel-lovers, this post is for you. It's an ode to travel with a twist, an invitation to reflect on what you love about travel and invite that into your life, wherever you are.
Because very few of us can be constant-travellers, and even the most nomadic among us come home eventually – even if it's not to the place we set out from – if only to regroup, repack and plan the next episode of life's adventure.
I give you: 13 things to love about travel, even when you're at home:
Simple me in a canoe in Canada
1. Freedom. Feeling free isn't the exclusive domain of the traveller, but being physically "away" makes it easier to shrug off everything familiar and relax into a simpler version of ourselves. And when we're at home, there are moments of freedom in even the busiest schedule; the trick is to catch them as they whiz by.
2. A sense of possibility. Whenever I board a plane headed for anywhere, I feel as if I'm stepping out of my small life and into the big world again. In a new place, new things can happen. Particularly when you have time on your hands, which can happen more often when you're away. For wherever plans are not tightly woven, the light of chance shines through. We can allow that in our home lives too, in the so-called real world. Try this: just for a day, accept whatever happens, trust life, expect nothing - and see how that feels.
Morning view, the Philippines
3. Simplicity. My favourite trips involve stripping life back to its essentials. This is one way travel can liberate us, by reminding us how little we really need. You don't need to carry your own pack or paddle a kayak; there's simplicity in a hotel where daily logistics are taken care of (no cooking, no cleaning!), leaving you free to experience each day.
4. Offline time. Part of travel's simplicity comes from being out of touch and offline. Sure, free WiFi on the road can be useful, but spending too much time recording or sharing our experiences can make us miss the real thing unfolding right before us. The best thing about unplugging while away is that you have the perfect alibi for not keeping up with news, others' views and emails. "Oh, I missed that, must have been away..."
5. Time to think. Thinking and writing go together for me; when I have time to think, ideas land on me like butterflies, ready to be written down. Travel gives you the gift of do-nothing time, cleverly disguised as, say, waiting for a bus. Even if you don't want to write or create, do-nothing time can be a blessed relief for over-stimulated minds and hearts.
Fun in the sun in the Philippines
6. Interacting with strangers. This one has a basis in science: behavioural researchers have found that interacting with people we don't know - say on the subway - makes us happier (here's a story about it in The New York Times).
And when do we talk most to strangers? When we travel. We ask directions, we chat to people we don't know at cafes, we converse with guides. In fact, we don't even have to talk. A smile is worth a thousand words. And so much is communicated, in all cultures, without words. This is one thing I loved about living in Japan, feeling understood and learning to understand others before I'd learned a word of Japanese. We can do this at home too. Smile at the barista making your latte, or the deckhand on the ferry, connect with those around you. We're all in this together.
Man with mountain (Dhalagiri), Nepal
7. More outdoor time. Even when we're city-hopping on our travels, we're generally doing more walking than we do when we're at home, at our desks (except, of course, on those long-haul flights when all we do is sit...). Add a little cycle touring or trekking and you get the bonus of uplifting landscapes.
8. Learning. As a writer, it's my job to learn as much as I can about the places I visit, while I'm there. New words, new people, new ways of doing things - almost any kind of travel offers up new experiences of all kinds. Of course, advanced souls don't need new vistas, they can learn anywhere - without opening a book or Googling. As Marcel Proust famously said, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Fallen flower, Switzerland
9. Embracing ordinary. When you're far from the familiar, even a simple trip to the supermarket is a small adventure (another thing I learned in Japan). It's not all about the place; when we're away we often have a more open attitude, innocent and interested. We pay attention to details. What if we could do that anywhere, anytime?
10. Taking pictures. Walking around with my camera - rather than just whipping out my iPhone when I see something interesting - always gets me in a travel frame of mind, reminding me to notice light and details and everyday beauty all around us.
11. Feeling empowered. Real, unchaperoned travel throws us in the deep end every day. You have to quickly figure out how things work, how much things are worth in different currencies, where to stay and eat, which subway line will take you where you want to go. Decisions, challenges, small victories. Dealing with them all is a great confidence booster.
Mongolian woman who welcomed
my friends and me into her ger
12. A sense of wonder and humanity. Boil it all down, and this is really why most of us travel: to remember that, despite what the 24-hour news cycle might tell us, the world is an amazing and mostly friendly place. Travel can restore our trust in life and other people. Interact with animals and you get to escape our humancentric world. They don't have to be wild elephants or whale sharks. As Eckart Tolle once said: "I have lived with several Zen masters – all of them cats."
So there you have it, my ode to travel, written from my virtual armchair - which is soon to take off. That's #13: Anticipation. It's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to the Maldives for a work trip. And I can't wait.
Australia's outback heart: 10 ways to "do" Uluru
I just spent almost a week in the beating heart of the Australian continent, a long-overdue return after my first too-brief visit eight years ago. And although I've been back home four days now, part of me is still out there, standing on the red earth under a wide blue sky, getting up in the dark to watch the sunrise, feeling the powerful pull of Uluru.
Iron-oxide walls and blue Uluru sky
Because, expansive as Central Australia is, Uluru is the magnetic epicentre of this place. Even when you've been there, seen that, it draws you in, impossible to resist.
It's so much more than a red rock in the desert. It's massive, for one thing, rising 348m from the ground (it's higher than the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the Statue of Liberty stacked on top) and extending 5-6 KILOMETRES deep into that red earth. It's ancient: because it was tilted almost 90 degrees after its formation, one side of it is 100 million years older than the other. It's surprising: Uluru might look brick-smooth from afar, but up close it has caves and canyons, pools and pockmarks, and its sandstone skin is flaky and oxidised (its real colour is grey, not rust-red).
Most importantly, it's indescribably significant and sacred to the Anangu people who have lived in and cared for this land for more than 30,000 years.
Touching Uluru
The first tourists took days to travel to Uluru from Alice Springs, 445km to the east, in the 1950s. Today you can fly to Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, aka Yulara, a village of low-rise hotels and apartments situated a respectful 20-minute drive from Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and there are now more than 65 ways to experience it.
But Uluru is not a place to be busy. So this "top 10" is really a list of suggestions, highlights from my recent trip that I hope will inspire you to go - or go back.
Because no matter how often you visit, how long you stay or how much (or little) you do while you're there, you can't help but be affected by the magic of Uluru. So, a few ideas:
Base walking (not jumping)
1. Walk around it. The Uluru Base Walk is a classic for good reason. This 12km track that encircles the rock is desert-flat, takes you close enough to touch it (I loved being able to put my bare hands on Uluru's sun-warmed hide) and gives you time (3-4 hours) to just be there. When I did it with AAT Kings, we even did some silent walking.
You can do the walk independently if you have your own vehicle, or catch the Uluru Express from Voyages Ayers Rock Resort.
Biking 'round the rock
2. Ride (around) the rock. The afternoon I spent riding a rental bike along part of the Uluru Base Walk (a new experience in the national park) with a couple of friends was one of my favourite things on this trip. It's a peaceful, easy way to see Uluru, I loved not having to wear a helmet and being able to just look up at Uluru's red flanks as I rode, and Outback Cycling's bikes have fat tyres so they don't get bogged in the red sand.
Nothing beats an outback sunrise
3. See an Uluru sunrise. Or three. Yep, I saw three Uluru sunrises, each one worth getting up at 5am for. My favourite was Desert Awakenings run by Voyages: a short drive in a 4WD vehicle to an ancient, sacred sand dune (the Anangu give Voyages privileged access), where you tuck into a bush breakfast of damper with golden syrup, plunger coffee and bacon-and-egg rolls hot off the fire, while the sky brightens and your guide talks about everything from Anangu culture to bush botany. Priceless.
Tali Wiru dinner under the stars
4. Dine under the stars. At the other end of the day, there's the Tali Wiru ("beautiful dune") dining experience. This was probably THE highlight of my stay: sunset views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta from the same sacred dune I'd been on for sunrise (see #3 above), a five-star dinner under the stars (the chefs work out of a corrugated shed), lanterns hung in the trees and Anangu stories by the fire with hot chocolate (or cognac). There's also the Sounds of Silence in a different location; more people, but also beautiful.
Lanterns in the trees at Tali Wiru
5. Listen & learn. As well as silence, there's much to listen to in the outback -- zebra finches at waterholes, the wind in the desert oaks -- and much to learn. All guides working in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park go through rigorous training, particularly in terms of what they can and can't tell visitors about Anangu culture, and doing a few tours really adds another dimension to your stay. Not only that but the stories the Anangu have chosen to share with us have built-in lessons (about respect, not climbing Uluru, living on the land), which feels incredibly generous and welcoming.
6. Dot-paint. You'll see Anangu women sitting on the ground painting outside Maruku Arts at the Uluru Cultural Centre in the national park, and in the town square at Yulara. Photographing them isn't allowed, so I have no pics to show how serene and focused they look, but you can join them for morning or afternoon dot-painting workshops run by Voyages. Building cultural bridges through art.
Traditional dancers come
out with the stars at Uluru
7. Star-gaze. With no light pollution and low humidity, the Australian outback is one of the best places in the world to see stars. Star talks are included in the Tali Wiru and Sounds of Silence dinner experiences, including Anangu perspectives on the constellations; I learned, for instance, that the Pleiades are part of a songline that crosses the entire continent from east to west. (Wow.) Or do an Outback Sky Journeys night tour in Yulara, or talk to the resident astronomers at the Outback Pioneer Hotel.
Kulata cafe, Yulara
8. Go slow. Yulara might be a resort-village, but there's real life here too, making it a great place to just hang out, especially in the afternoons. Maybe have lunch and an iced coffee at Kulata Academy Café, staffed by trainees of Ayers Rock Resort's National Indigenous Training Academy.
Or wander the beautiful new Windtjiri museum and art gallery, which opened in June. The "town square" has free bush yarns, an arts market and traditional dances. You might even see, as I did, a few Anangu kids doing handstands on the grass under the river red gums. And the nearby Imalung lookout is a beautiful spot for a sunset view of Uluru, minus the crowds.
Obligatory Uluru selfie
9. Take a selfie. This must be the most-taken photograph in the park: tourist with Uluru. But it's hard to resist. Go on, you know you want to.
10. See Kata Tjuta. It's easy for Uluru to steal the show, but Kata Tjuta is ruggedly special too, a lost world of 36 domes (its name means "many heads"), the highest even higher than Uluru (548m). I did the three-hour Valley of the Winds walk, which takes you through a culturally sensitive area, so I'm refraining from posting pics. Guess you'll just have to go there and see it with your own eyes...
Big thanks to Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia who hosted me at the beautiful Sails inthe Desert Hotel (part of Voyages Ayers Rock Resort), Tourism NT and tour operators AAT Kings, SEIT Outback Australia and Outback Cycling.
Dear world, I miss you - 13 things I love about tr...


The weather outside is getting frightful, and now is the time to prepare your home for the long winter ahead. Winterizing your house now will protect it from harsh conditions and freezing temperatures, and when spring arrives you won't need to worry about repairing any winter damage. Note, home winterization should not be confused with "house wizardization" in which a wizard must be called to be rid of pesky house elfs who drop cakes on visiting relatives. However, concerning winterizing your home, follow these ways to prepare and you should be all set for hot cocoa and that warm fireplace!
You should hire a professional to inspect your furnace and clean its ducts. Replace the filter, and mark your calendar so you'll remember to replace the filter again on a monthly basis. Be careful to remove flammable items that may be near the furnace. If a hot water radiator heats your home, bleed out the valves by opening them until water appears.
If you'll be using a fireplace this winter, hire a chimney sweep to clean it and remove built-up soot. Check for and repair any damage to the mortar, and place a screen at the top of the chimney to keep animals out. Check to make sure the fireplace damper works properly, and keep it closed when you're not using the fireplace so cold air doesn't get in your home. Stock up on firewood, and keep it in a dry space.
Prevent cold air from entering your home by weatherstripping your doors. Also, caulk your windows if necessary to keep cold air out. If there is any cracked glass, replace it. Now is the time to remove your summer screens and install storm windows.
Insulate any exposed plumbing or pipes that run through unheated areas. Turn off your air conditioner's shut-off valve, and locate your water main just in case you need to turn it off. Don't turn your heat off when you leave home on vacation; leave it at 55 degrees. Remember to drain your garden hoses.
Inspect your roof, and replace any shingles or tiles that are broken or worn. You should clean out your gutters by using a hose to flush out dirt and debris. You may want to put extra insulation in your attic.
Put away or cover all of your patio furniture, potted plants, grills, and other outside items. Wood or brick patios and decks, along with your driveway, should be sealed. Check the trees around your property and trim them. Look for and remove tree limbs that could fall onto your roof or nearby power lines.
If you have a lawnmower, remove the gas from it. If you have a snow blower, make sure it is working properly, and get it fixed if needed. Repair or replace any worn or poorly-working snow shovels and rakes. You should also stock up with several bags of salt for melting snow.
Prepare now for potential emergency situations. Make sure that you're stocked up on bottled water, nonperishable food, flashlights, extra batteries, and blankets. You should also have a first-aid kit and a battery-operated radio. Check that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.
Following this simple advice now will keep your home in good shape throughout the winter and prevent a lot of headaches later.


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Business / Tech
Basketball robot Cue3 and B. League's Alvark Tokyo join Olympic effort to teach students math
by Kazuaki Nagata
Online: Jun 28, 2019
In an unusual combination of disciplines, a basketball-shooting robot created by Japan's leading automaker helped students at a Tokyo elementary school on Friday to learn math.
The physically active math lesson was joined by professional players from the B. League's Alvark Tokyo basketball team as well as Cue3, a humanoid robot made by one of the team's major sponsors, Toyota Motor Corp. The special class was part of Tokyo 2020 Math Drill, a learning program that incorporates 55 official sports from the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics into math classes to provide fun learning opportunities.
Sixth-graders at Fuchu Elementary School No. 10 in the city of Fuchu were divided into groups of 13 to 17 students. Each student shot the ball once and calculated the success rates for each group, making it an exercise in using fractions. The group that scored highest got to compete against players Daiki Tanaka and Joji Takeuchi. The players shot 3-pointers while the students were allowed to shoot 2-pointers.
Wearing a red uniform, the 204-centimeter Cue3 joined the student teams in two separate sessions to help improve their success rate. The robot went 10 for 10.
"I was really surprised by the accuracy of Cue3," said one student after the lesson.
The robot uses a time-of-flight camera that measures the distance between itself and surrounding objects by laser to pinpoint the location of the hoop. Its computer also "learns" from ball trajectory data and adjusts its shooting strength independently.
Cue3 was developed by young Toyota engineers as a voluntary project. It later became an official company project to promote basketball and the Nagoya-based automaker after video clips of the robot in action created a buzz on social media.
The robot is registered as an official member of Alvark Tokyo. The third-generation Cue3, with a longer shooting range that allows it to shoot from midcourt, was unveiled in April.
Tokyo, basketball, olympics, education, robots, schools, math, offbeat, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, B. League, Alvark Tokyo, Fuchu

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


时光匆匆流逝,转瞬间,我们已经走过第十个设计历程。令人激动的是,一路走来,我们已经实现了好多设计想法!如今,我们将它们收集在一起,集合成了一本Super Nature作品集。这本书收录了我们的各种有趣的新媒体作品,比如大家熟悉的"风行者", "ME/迷"等等。但是,Super Nature不仅仅喜欢创作有着强烈科技感的新媒体作品。 在这本作品集里,你还可以看到许多平面设计作品,摄影作品,甚至与互动结合的产品设计。风格抑或清新,抑或可爱,也有些很酷,有些很美,还有些体现了热爱自然,保护环境的内涵。除了我们的许多设计成果,作品集里还收录了一部分我们的生活与工作的画面噢,也就是我们的every perfect day! 也许不久后,有兴趣的朋友们就能在国外各大艺术与设计书店看到我们这本名为"Invisible Nature"的书出售,现在先在大马,新加坡,香港设计书局有售! Time passed so fast. Transitorily, we are in our 10th years on design journey. What's so exciting is that we've already achieved so many great ideas all along the way! Now, we've collected them together into a Super Nature portfolio book! This book includes many our new media works, such as "The Windcatcher" and "ME in Wonderland". However, Super Nature is not only good at creating new media works that seems closely connected with hi-tech. In this book, you can also see a lot of works in the field of graphic design, photography and even product design using interactive concept. The style varies from fresh and clean to cute, as well as cool and beauty. There are also works that conveys the spirit of love for the nature and protection for the environment. Except for the so many design, the portfolio also shows some of the moment of our working time and daily life, which is exactly our every perfect day! Maybe before long, people who are interested in the book can find it in the international bookstore.First batch in store now at Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong.


text:
Surick Sentenced To Five Years In Prison
Published: January 19, 2023 05:21 pm EST
Former trainer Nick Surick was sentenced to 62 months in prison Thursday (Jan. 19) in federal district court in New York.
"The sentencing of former U.S. Trotting Association member Nick Surick is an inflection point but not a conclusion in an important and revealing series of racing prosecutions," said USTA President Russell Williams. "The USTA will be monitoring Surick and other defendants to make sure that they are not participating in our sport surreptitiously. There is no place for those who cheat the sport of harness racing, its participants, and, most importantly, the horses."
"We applaud the diligent efforts of the prosecutors and investigators, whom the USTA has been assisting for several years now. It is vital that we, as an industry, never relax our vigilance," added Williams.
According to a Thoroughbred Daily News story, "Standardbred trainer Nick Surick, who has admitted to doping his own horses as well as assisting Jorge Navarro in that trainer's own doping scheme, was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison Thursday by U. S. Dictrict Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in United States District Court, Southern District of New York in lower Manhattan.
"'I consider your conduct to be very serious,'" Vyskocil told Surick at the sentencing. "'By giving horses performance-enhancing drugs, you endangered the horses, and the other horses they raced against, as well as the jockeys and drivers. You're supposed to be caring for horses that you trained, yet you risked their lives and impugned the integrity of the sport in which you made your livelihood.'"
(USTA)
Nick Surick


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ACLU and Allies Cite Trump's Immigration Policies in Objecting to Cleveland's Participation in Program to End Violent Crime
June 15, 2019 June 14, 2019 Anthony Gockowski
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio and allied organizations don't want Cleveland to participate in a federal program to crack down on violent crime because of the Trump administration's policies.
On June 3, Attorney General William Barr announced that Cleveland and nine other cities would be joining the National Public Safety Partnership, which U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said will "provide additional training and technical support to law enforcement in Cleveland."
"These resources will improve our collective ability to analyze crime trends and direct resources as needed, including enhancements to our current ongoing efforts focused on firearms, carjackings, armed robberies and other crimes of violence," Herdman said in a press release.
Barr said that the National Public Safety Partnership is "a successful program that directs federal law enforcement resources to the cities where they can have the greatest impact."
"Several participating cities have already seen dramatic reductions in violent crime over the past two years," he added.
In a June 12 letter, the ACLU wrote to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson asking him to reconsider his city's participation in the program.
"We write to you today concerned about the recent announcement that Cleveland will be one of 10 additional cities nationwide to partner with the U.S. Department of Justice to address violent crime. While we support city officials attempts to protect individuals from crime and improve safety in our communities, recent changes in programming and priorities by the DOJ leave us skeptical that this partnership will benefit Cleveland residents," states the letter.
"Over the past two years, the DOJ has initiated a number of alarming changes," it continues, citing the Trump administration's "enforced immigration policies that targeted people of color and instilled fear in many communities, making victims and witnesses less likely to come forward."
The letter also objects to the DOJ's efforts to pursue "harsh penalties for drug possession and use," its "investment in private prisons," and its attempts to pull "the plug on investigations into traumatic fatal police shootings."
"These policies represent a step back to enforcement-heavy approaches that have failed to stop crime and protect our communities, and lead to overpopulated jails," the letter concludes.
In addition to the ACLU of Ohio, the letter was signed by Cleveland's chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, the InterReligious Task Force on Central America, the Cleveland chapter of the NAACP, the National Lawyers Guild, the Ohio Immigration Alliance, and the Ohio Student Association.
Battleground States, News, Ohio, The MidwestACLU, CAIR, Cleveland, DoJ, Donald Trump, Immigration, Mayor Frank Jackson, Ohio, POTUS, William Barr
A Progressive Cincinnati Councilwoman and Ohio's Governor Are Both Against Cincinnati's New Marijuana Law
Commentary: A Conservative Resistance?


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By Matt Hinton Sep 8, 2006, 9:37am EDT
Share All sharing options for: Found!
The British take on American football link SMQ was searching for in his last post is here, from The Guardian:
Gridiron war games rule...Gaudy, vulgar, contrived, melodramatic, overhyped and regularly punctuated with gratuitous violence - what's not to like about American football?
You may have surmised the sophisticated wit of backhanded compliments from the English expat author, Stephen Wells, who's ripped the vulgar American game before and makes odd references to things like "America's football dead." But he does also admit, seemingly in earnest:
At its crudest, American football is British Bulldog with a ball. It's the olde medieval village-versus-village English football - a riot with a pigskin - reasserting itself, like an ancient bloodstain oozing through a nice new carpet. But it's also the most intellectual of all team sports. Soccer can be taught to chimps. American football is complicated to the point of dementia.
You want to know why American football has made me its bitch? It's because it's so relentlessly, jubilantly and definitively futuristic. Baseball is a boring old fart wallowing in nostalgia. Football runs around like a ADD-afflicted special-needs kid with the key to the drug cupboard, wearing tights, a cape and goggles, screaming gleefully as he pretends to be a superhero-astronaut. Like Japanese manga, Snakes On A Plane, Art Brut's We're in a Band, and Apocalypse Now - American football is so intensely and inherently existential that it's all but beyond aesthetic criticism.
Since the 1960s, American football has been the once and forever future sport. When the NFL guys saw the Nasa guys using those cool hands-free head-mikes, they immediately nicked them. From the astronaut style helmets to the shiny metallic-blue sheen of the Dallas Cowboys' super-futuristic play-pants, American football is modernism incarnate - forever relentlessly updating the Kennedyesque can-do, gung-ho, woof-woof, early 1960s version of the coming Space Age.
Are there political reasons to hate the game? Hell yeah. But none of them strong enough to survive contact with the visceral thrill of watching a car crash without the car. Steve Volk is a left-leaning journalist at the left-leaning Philadelphia Weekly newspaper. At a recent pre-season game between the Eagles and his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, he watched a particularly savage (but perfectly legal) tackle and had a moment of crisis. A "What am I doing? Why the hell am I watching this?" episode. "I get them occasionally. This one lasted about 30 seconds."
And then, of course, there's the war.
SMQ presumes the "political reasons to hate the game" are metaphorical and related in very large part to the surrounding hoopla, fireworks, frequently insulting fans, and ludicrous pomp such as was on display before Thursday night's professional opener, intended to draw "fans" who don't really like football so much into watching the commercials and getting an eyeful of the maximum possible number of logos (the latter tactic is not necessarily an American innovation). Or perhaps he finds distasteful the un-spontaneous, showy individual celebrations. In such cases, SMQ reminds Lord Wells to hate the playa, not the game.
On the topic of celebrations, ones even snobby Brits could possibly appreciate, SMQ recalls his favorite celebration, from about three years ago, when a Wisconsin player (possibly Erasmus James) was so overjoyed after getting a sack he got up off the ground and bear hugged a nearby ref. Even the official started laughing as the player apologized. Nothing contrived about that, at least.


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India: Kashmiri Activist Held Under Abusive Law
End Crackdown on Civil Society; Ensure Accountability for Security Force Abuses
Indian authorities have detained the prominent Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez under an abusive counterterrorism law that is increasingly used against activists and critics of the government, six human rights groups said today. The Indian government should immediately end violations of the rights to liberty and a fair trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and uphold domestic and international human rights law obligations.
The groups are Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.
On November 22, 2021, officials of the National Investigation Agency, India's federal counterterrorism agency, raided Parvez's home and office, seized several electronic devices and documents, and arrested him on allegations of terrorism funding, being a member of a terrorist organization, criminal conspiracy, and waging war against the state. The action against Parvez was apparently politically motivated.
Parvez, 44, is the program coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and the chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. He has documented cases of enforced disappearances and investigated unmarked graves in Kashmir, and as a result, the Indian authorities have repeatedly targeted him for his human rights work.
He was detained for over two months in 2016 and blocked from traveling to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. He was among those targeted in counterterrorism raids in October 2020 when several nongovernmental organizations, activists, and a newspaper faced investigations for their work or for being outspoken about government abuses.
Parvez's arbitrary arrest and detention is the latest in a long list of human rights violations by Indian authorities against civil society groups, human rights activists, and media outlets in Jammu and Kashmir. The authorities have not ensured accountability for extrajudicial killings and other grave abuses by security forces in Kashmir but have instead arrested those who speak out for justice and human rights. Journalists and activists have expressed fear that they can be summoned or arrested at any time. Over 40 people have been placed on lists instructing immigration authorities to stop them from traveling abroad, a news report said.
Parvez's arrest comes amid a growing nationwide crackdown by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on civil society groups and media, and particularly in Jammu and Kashmir since the government revoked the state's special autonomous status in August 2019 and split it into two federally governed territories.
The authorities are increasingly using the counterterrorism law against activists, journalists, peaceful protesters, and critics to silence dissent. The law contains a vague and overbroad definition of terrorism that encompasses a wide range of nonviolent political activity, including political protest by minority populations and civil society groups. In 2019, the government further amended the law, granting officials the authority to designate an individual as a "terrorist" without charge or a trial.
In October 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights raised concerns over the mounting use of the law against human rights defenders and peaceful protesters and urged the authorities to release people arrested "for simply exercising basic human rights that India is obligated to protect."
Since August 2019, the Indian authorities have clamped down on media freedom in Kashmir. The authorities have shut down the internet more often than anywhere else in the world. The majority of the shutdowns are in Kashmir, and are aimed at silencing protests and also curbing access to information and violating fundamental rights including freedom of speech and association.
Journalists in Kashmir face increasing harassment by the authorities, including raids and arrests on terrorism charges. In September, the police raided the homes of four Kashmiri journalists and confiscated their phones and laptops. In June, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention expressed concerns over "alleged arbitrary detention and intimidation of journalists covering the situation in Jammu and Kashmir."
Since 2019, the security forces have been implicated in numerous abuses while enforcing restrictions on movement including routine harassment and ill-treatment at checkpoints, arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings. On November 15, four people were killed in an alleged gunfight with security forces in Srinagar's Hyderpora area and the police hurriedly buried their bodies. The families of two victims said they were businessmen and were used by the police as "human shields." When the families protested the killings, the police arrested them and temporarily detained several. After widespread protests, including by two former chief ministers, the police exhumed the two bodies and handed them over to their families, and the administration ordered a magisterial inquiry into the deaths.
Earlier in November, police arrested an activist and politician, Talib Hussain, for publicly questioning the security forces' killing of a Kashmiri man in October. The authorities did not investigate Hussain's allegations, but instead accused him of "promoting enmity between different groups" and "spreading rumors or fake news."
In March, five UN expert mandates wrote to the Indian government seeking information about the detention of a Kashmiri politician, Waheed Para; the alleged custodial killing of a shopkeeper, Irfan Ahmad Dar; and the enforced disappearance of Naseer Ahmad Wani, a resident of Shopian district. They raised concerns about "the repressive measures and broader pattern of systematic infringements of fundamental rights used against the local population, as well as of intimidations, searches and confiscations committed by national security agents."
In December 2020, security forces killed two men and a teenager in the outskirts of Srinagar, claiming they were militants. The families disputed the claims, and the teenager's father said he was a secondary school student. In February, the police reportedly filed a criminal case, including under the counterterrorism law, against the teenager's father, who had demanded his son's body and sought an investigation into the killing.
There has been no accountability for security force abuses, in part because of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which gives the security forces effective immunity from prosecution. Since the law came into force in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, the Indian government has not granted permission to prosecute any security force personnel in civilian courts. Rights groups have long documented that the law has become a tool of state abuse, oppression, and discrimination, and called for its repeal. Affected residents, activists, government-appointed committees, politicians, and UN human rights bodies have also criticized the law.
As India's crackdown on human rights has unfolded, its international partners, including the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia remain reluctant to publicly denounce Indian government abuses, let alone take measures to address them. This unwillingness to criticize heightening abuses raises concerns that the government will feel emboldened to take further repressive measures.
The Indian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Parvez and others arrested in politically motivated cases and drop all charges against them, the groups said. The government should also amend the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act to bring it in line with international human rights law and standards and pending its amendment, it should stop using it to target human rights defenders, critics of the government, and others exercising their basic human rights.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on India, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/asia/india
In London, Meenakshi Ganguly (English, Bengali, Hindi): +91-9820-036032 (mobile); or Email: gangulm@hrw.org. Twitter: @mg2411
In Kathmandu, Mandira Sharma, Senior International Legal Advisor, International Commission of Jurists, (English, Nepali) Tel: +977 9851048475, Email: mandira.sharma@icj.org.
In Geneva, Iolanda Jaquemet, Director of Communications, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), (English): +41-795-394-1 06 (mobile); or Email: ij@omct.org
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The 2016 Conference on Western Literature, Linguistics, and TEFL, organized by the National Ilan University Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, will explore the critical role of multidisciplinary innovations within the academic community toward the goal of sustainable growth for human societies. Scholars, specialists, practitioners, and graduate students are invited to submit papers on multidisciplinary trends in academic research pertaining to the fields of Western literary studies, linguistics, and foreign language teaching & learning.
Time for Presentation: 20 minutes for oral presentation and 10 minutes for Q & A.
Please follow the MLA style requirements for works in literary studies, and APA for research in the fields of linguistics and TEFL.
Typeface : Time New Roman for English or 標楷體 for Chinese.
Abstract submissions received no later than November 30, 2016 will undergo an anonymous review process.
Abstracts of no longer than 300 words (English) or 300 characters (Chinese) should be submitted as MSWord attachments to: [2016niuconference@gmail.com].
Please indicate "Abstract Submission + Presenter's Name" in the email message heading.
Upon notification of acceptance, full paper submissions to the above email address should be sent no later than April 1, 2016. Full papers should not exceed 10 pages length, including all tables, graphics, references, etc.


According to an article on agroberichtenbuitenland.nl, every fourth kilo of raspberries worldwide is coming from Serbia. Besides Chile and Poland, Serbia is globally the most important player in raspberry production.
When it comes to blueberries, Serbia has the w indow of opportunities to export blueberries to the western European market in the production gap that exists between Spain and Poland. The strawberry production is significant as well, but the main export markets are the Russian Federation and Gulf countries.
The Agriculture department of the Dutch Embassy in Serbia has selected the soft fruit sector as the priority sector in bilateral cooperation of the two countries. With the planting material coming from the Netherlands, this nation is very willing to share its knowledge with Serbian growers in order to achieve the best production results and create new business opportunities.


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Pamela J. Picard
In That Minute
Rory married Allan right out of college. She met him in her English Literature class and liked him the most of all the boys who sat on the side of the lecture hall in a bunch. They were never loud or heckled, rather they said nothing all semester, except for Allan who was clearly a reader. In class she found herself writing the titles of the books he mentioned on her palm in black ink to look up later.
He was average height with his hair cropped into a boy's eighties haircut, falling in the front just so over one eye. He smiled at her, and then grimaced to the sun sitting in the courtyard that day when he asked her out for bagels and coffee after class. She liked his voice, which went lower when he asked a question, and he lived in the apartment complex with the good parties.
They were married in his aunt's backyard, which was big enough for friends and family. It rained in the morning but gave way in the afternoon and everyone thought the small, but vibrant, rainbow was a good sign for a new couple.
The twins came quick, two girls identical to the other, two beds, two book reports, two college tuitions and two people to tell of the divorce. One knew and the other had no idea, they said, which was undoubtedly a lie, as they told each other everything.
The house would be sold, what was at first a quaint rambling old farmhouse house had become an oversized suit for Rory, ill fitting. Over the last few years the house was only a place to put a lifetime collected, as the girls were away at college and Allan had moved in with his girlfriend. It was now simply a dumping ground and a place to do laundry.
Allan and Rory ended in slow minimal steps. Rory never referred to it as a breakup but more of a breaking away. She always felt he knew about her preference for women, although nowadays he denied it. He was never a distracted man, like some of her other friend's husbands, separate from the world and his own thoughts, so she felt strongly he saw it coming.
Girlfriends for Rory came and went, Janet was the longest relationship but her living in London made the logistics too tricky. It came to the point when the getting there was too much work and not worth the being there. It was hard for Rory to admit this, but over time it was true.
Rory was not used to being alone this much, even though Allan had his own life for years now, and the girls on their way to womanhood, there had always been a certain volume to her life that she was used to. Now, the silence sometimes gave her headaches.
The new coffee shop on the corner was noisy enough to think and was a good place to read the book she uncovered in one of the back closets, in the same box with the crochet Mona Lisa her Aunt Ruth made for her one Christmas. The book was an instruction how-to change your life in less than a minute, a remnant undoubtedly from Allan's self-help phase. It was a welcome break from the critiques she needed to write for her photography students. She was getting tired of calling their work observational, her go-to comment when she had nothing else to say.
The woman Rory saw at the café on occasion was at her usual table in the corner. She nibbled on her pastry holding her fingers to her lips, a gesture Rory imagined undoubtedly aided her in thinking. Watching the woman's fingers Rory noticed a small italic A tattooed on her index finger. Rory looked at the tattoo and imagined her, this stranger, sitting sweaty in some far-off land while an obese man branded ink on her finger in a dirty tent in a marketplace. She looked adventurous.
Rory came out of this make-believe, centering back to the reality of people around her, and considered a minute had passed, and in that time, she could have changed her life.
She could have walked over to this woman and said hello, asked about her tattoo, or made light conversation about seeing each other before. Perhaps this stranger also worked at the university and was new to town, Rory could offer to show her around or take her to the new faculty picnic.
Another minute passed, and she thought about all the other minutes when she wanted to tell Allan, but it seemed hard, and then impossible. She thought about the girl in high school who held her hand under the blanket at the footfall game, and the way they promised later in the bathroom to never tell anyone. And they never did. A promise that took less than a minute.
She thought about the minute that separated the birth of her girls, and the way she panted and swore, as the doctor and Allan said all the wrong words at that moment hoping to be encouraging, and then two perfect little pink people entered the world.
Fixated on the stranger's tattoo, and the way her finger continually made their way to her lip, Rory hid her face back in her book, using it as camouflage for her gaze. Rory then found the courage to smile at the woman, and waved hello, subtlety just lifting one palm high enough for the stranger to see. And in that minute, the stranger waved back.
© Pamela J. Picard
Pamela J. Picard works as a television producer and media director in Boston. She has an MA from Emerson College in Media and Visual Arts. Her short stories have been published in MOON Magazine and Down in the Dirt. She has won three New England Press Awards for her work as a journalist. She is currently writing a number of short stories and a novel. Twitter @pamjpicard


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Hedge Funds-News-Tech
Why Billionaire Chase Coleman Has Just Acquired a Big Stake in Sunrun
Published on April 20, 2018 at 11:32 am by Alexandr Oleinic in Hedge Funds,News,Tech
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In a recent 13G filing, billionaire Chase Coleman's Tiger Global Management disclosed a new position in Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN), a small-cap residential solar installer. According to the filing, at the end of March, Tiger Global Management acquired 8.41 million shares of the company, which represent 7.8%. The stake makes Tiger Global one of the largest institutional shareholders of Sunrun, only behind FMR LLC and VC firm Foundation capital, which hold 16.02 million shares and 8.87 million shares. As a side note, on our website you can follow the hedge funds you like and receive real-time alerts when they disclose changes in their holdings via 13D or 13G filings. Just sign up and add your favorite hedge funds or companies to your follow list to start receiving email alerts.
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The filing caught our attention, because Tiger Global is not really the fund to invest in solar, even though Chase Coleman is known for his tech investing prowess. We looked back and saw that Tiger Global hasn't invested in solar companies in almost a decade. During the fourth quarter of 2008, Tiger Global was one of the top buyers of solar stocks, having acquired stakes in JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:YGE) and boosting the stake in LDK Solar. However, during the first quarter of 2009, all solar holdings from Tiger Global's portfolio were closed. Between 2010 and 2011, Tiger Global also held shares of Power One (acquired in 2013 by ABB).
Tiger Global didn't disclose publicly why it has invested in Sunrun or whether the position is going to stay in the fund's equity portfolio for a long time, but we have decided to take a closer look at the company nonetheless in order to figure out some rationale behind the move, or at least make some guesses about it.
Copyright: lassedesignen / 123RF Stock Photo
Let's start with the industry. In the last couple of years, the solar industry has been a paradox of sorts. In 2016, the US saw 15 Gigawatts of solar capacity installed, a record. At the same time, the largest bankruptcy of that year was Sunedison, which filed for Chapter 11 after months of struggle as debt-fueled acquisitions proved unsustainable. SolarCity went from being one of the hottest stocks in the industry to requiring help from Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). Between 2011 and 2014, over 100 solar companies in Europe and the US declared bankruptcy, shut down or acquired. Some of the top companies like First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), or Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) also saw their stock prices plunge between 2015 and 2016.
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There are several reasons why solar companies got in trouble. The main problem was actually that the solar industry became a victim of its own success. The popularity of solar panels created a high growth industry with many companies wanting a slice. Many companies started to chase this growth, often sacrificing returns in the process. At the same time, solar projects require high costs, getting more projects require companies to expand the number of their employees, build new factories to manufacture panels. When companies tried to outbid each other by offering lower price per kWh, they obtained very little profit.
Another reason concerns residential solar installers. For years, people had been investing money into installing solar panels on their roofs or near their houses in order to save costs and even make money through feeding the excess electricity back into the grid. Between 2011 and 2017, installations of rooftop solar panels surged by over 800%, according to some estimates However, the popularity of rooftop panels was not appreciated by utility companies, who, armed with lobbyists, launched campaigns in state capitals against rooftop solar installations. Utilities considered that it was unfair that households were allowed to sell excess electricity at retail price (a practice known as net metering), because it raised prices for households that couldn't afford or didn't want solar panels. The campaigns were pretty successful with many states deciding to phase out net metering. Other states introduced higher fees that eliminate the incentives households get in the form of lower electricity bills.
In this way, in 2017, there were 10.6 GW of new capacity installed in the US, down by 30% from 2016 and there are currently over 53 GW of total capacity installed, according to SEIA. Residential installations fell by 16% last year to a total of 2,227 megawatts installed in 2017.
Looking ahead, the US solar industry is expected to continue to grow and total capacity is expected to double by 2023. The recently-introduced tariffs of 30% on imported photovoltaic panels is expected to slow down this growth to some degree, but there are some factors to consider. First, the tariff is on panels, which represent just a fraction of the total cost of solar installation process. A big part of the cost are expenses associated with marketing, labor, permitting, which are carried by installers. While the tariffs will help US manufacturers, the cost of higher panels will be transferred to installers and households, although it is expected to be incremental.
Which brings us to Sunrun. Sunrun last year became the largest residential solar installer in the US, surpassing Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s SolarCity and Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR) and outliving Sungevity and Verengo Solar, which went bankrupt, and NRG Home, which exited the solar business (all three were among the top players on the market). In the fourth quarter, the company installed 85 MW, up by 10% on the year and slightly lower than the company's guidance of 87 MW. SolarCity installed 87 MW, but it includes commercial and industrial systems in addition to residential. For the full 2017, Sunrun reported 323 MW in new capacity, up by 15% compared to 2016 and this year it expects to add another 15%. In March, Bloomberg reported that Sunrun was seeking to get $500 million in financing for new installations.
Among the hedge funds in our database, Sunrun saw 10 funds long its stock at the end of 2017, down by four over the quarter, but higher than 14 funds that held shares at the end of 2016. Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR) is less popular with just six funds holding shares as of the end of last year. In Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) there were 38 funds, but it's mostly because of its core car manufacturing business. Overall, Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) is the fifth most popular solar stock among the hedge funds we track, behind First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), Solaredge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG), TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP), and Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ).
Looking at the consensus sentiment among hedge funds towards individual companies is an important metric, because stocks that see more bullish investors among smart money tend to perform better than their peers. Our investment strategy focuses on consensus picks among 100 best-performing hedge funds and it has returned over 74% since May 2014, beating the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 20 percentage points. You can take a closer look at our strategy and see the latest picks by accessing our newsletters free of charge for 14 days.
There are several reasons to like Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN), aside from its leading market position. The company saw its revenue grow by 37% to $231.43 million last year and it had a net income of $1.15 per diluted share, up from $0.87 a year earlier. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) became cash flow positive last year and if the company continues to grow its installation capacity it should generate cash flow even higher.
In addition, last year Sunrun reached an unlevered net present value of $1.22 per watt, the highest in company's history. The net present value of a project is the difference between the project value and the creation cost and can show the value of future income from solar installations. Even if the tariffs raise the costs, the company still expects the net present value to stay above $1.0 per watt this year and is likely to grow as Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) will explore new ways to cut costs.
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) might face headwinds as it tries to maintain its leadership position on the US residential solar market. Last year it managed to gain market share because both SolarCity and Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR) sacrificed growth to improve profitability. Vivint expects this year to become cash flow positive as well and to return to growth. Therefore, Sunrun might face tougher competition, which might affect its ability to grow at 15% per year.
To diversify its business, Sunrun has launched BrightBox, a battery system that can store and power houses in case of outages or during dark hours. As households lose the incentive of net metering, solar-plus-storage is expected to grow faster and become an important part of the industry. Sunrun started offering BrightBox systems with Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s Powerwall batteries in 2016, but after Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) bought SolarCity, it moved to LG Chem batteries. BrightBox system is currently available in six US states.
To sum up, Sunrun's stock has potential to grow further as the company has growth on its side and other markets to tap into, such as expanding its battery business and exploring the energy grid services market that solar companies are just starting to explore.
Disclosure: none
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Australian FM Insists No Amnesty for Guilty of MH17 Crash
© REUTERS / Antonio Bronic
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201502131018229152/
Australian Foreign Minister Bishop insisted, however, that those who had downed the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 last summer be brought to justice.
© Sputnik / Masha Ross
Eurocontrol Denies Warning Kiev of Airspace Threats Prior to MH17 Crash
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop hailed the "breakthrough" ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, but remains hopeful that the MH17 attackers would eventually face justice.
Bishop welcomed news of the ceasefire, agreed on Thursday by leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.
She insisted, however, that those who had downed the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 last summer be brought to justice.
She said Australia would seek clarification from Ukraine but believed the deal would have "no impact on the ability to bring the perpetrators of the downing of MH17 to justice".
© RIA Novosti . Mikhail Klimentyev
Final Report on MH17 Crash Expected by Second Half of 2015, Dutch PM Says
The European Union as well expects that the amnesty in Ukraine agreed upon in Minsk will not apply to those responsible for the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
"When it comes to the tragedy of the MH17, the European Union has made it extremely clear what needs to happen. We've called for international investigation, for security and full access to the crash site for all facts to be ascertained. And this remains to be the case and the responsible, of course, must be brought to justice," the EU foreign policy chief's spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, said at a press briefing.
The text of the Minsk accords finalized on Thursday includes, among other things, a pledge not to seek punishment for "events that took place in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine".
The area is where the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was brought down in July 2014, killing all 298 people on board, including 27 Australians.
Boeing MH-17 Airliner Crash Documentary Believed to Be Screened Saturday
Malaysia Plane 'Accident' Announcement Sparks Protests
investigation, MH17 Crash, Julie Bishop, Australia, Ukraine


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Conversations with Old Boys: Sean Foden
3 Sep 2020 | Conversations
"WBHS taught me that there are no limits, I would have never dreamed of contributing to sustainable development at a global level," Climate Change and Environmental Consultant and Class of 2011 Old Boy Sean Foden
"WBHS taught me that there are no limits to what you can achieve if you put in the work."
These are the words of the Class of 2011's Sean Foden.
Sean is a Climate Change and Environmental Consultant at C4 EcoSolutions.
In partnership with UN agencies and the public and private sectors, his work focuses on leading and developing donor-funded climate change adaptation and mitigation projects for developing countries and small island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean, Asian and African regions.
Through this work, Sean has contributed directly to leveraging more than 60 million US dollars from the Green Climate Fund and public sector combined for climate action.
Sean holds a bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Sciences from Stellenbosch University.
He has previously worked as an Assistant Writer of the Year 5 Teacher's Guide for Social Science published by MacMillan Publisher.
His love of sport saw him working as a Sports Coach at both Westville Senior Primary and on a part-time basis at Laerskool De Hoop Primary while completing his studies at Stellenbosch University.
"I've always been passionate about sports and the outdoors, so most of my involvement in school activities was on the sports field," Sean says.
Rugby and cricket were his favourites and he also took part in athletics and swimming in his earlier years at WBHS.
One lesson Sean learned while at Westville is hard work.
He says, "It sounds cliché, but I learned very quickly that hard work pays."
Sean says that because his interests as a teenager revolved around sport; he learned a lot of his earlier life lessons on the sports field.
"During that interview before starting in Grade 8, Mr Miller asked about my interests and I mentioned how I was determined to be in the top sports teams at WBHS," Sean recalls.
Sean says, coming from a smaller primary school, Mr Miller warned him that there would be nearly 200 people in his grade and that it was likely Sean wouldn't make it without putting in the effort.
"Mr Miller told me WBHS would always go out of its way to provide you with opportunities, but the responsibility was yours to take them," Sean says, "and I told him I would."
"And it paid off," Sean explains.
He says, "since then, I have continued to apply that same thinking in my personal and professional life — always trying to be the person who works the hardest."
"Being a student at WBHS gave me some of the best memories of my life," Sean says.
For him it comes down to the lasting friendships, the comradery and the moments representing the school on the sports field.
"Pulling on the WBHS rugby jersey and continuing the proud traditions of the school. Ringing the Solitaire Bell," Sean says these were all incredible memories.
Thinking back to choosing Westville Sean says, "It really came down to two schools: Westville or Kearsney."
On paper, Sean explains, "both were an option because of their reputation for being pretty solid institutions, academically and from a sports point of view (you'll notice a trend)".
Sean says he visited Westville for the Open Day and walked around the school, met some of the teachers and other prospective students.
"I got a good feeling from the school. It felt like a family. Like I belonged. I didn't go to the Kearsney Open Day," Sean says.
"You don't have to look far to see the outputs of the "damn fine institution" that is WBHS," Sean says about the school.
Speaking specifically about the Foundation he says, "I personally benefited from amazing support from Old Boys when I was at WBHS,"
He cites the example of the multi-purpose centre which, "was built the year or so before I joined and we benefited greatly from that,"
Sean adds, "I think we should all be trying our best within our means to continue providing future members of the WBHS family with the same opportunities."
He says, "the WBHS environment had a huge impact on my development and where I am today. That growth is attributable in part to the generous contributions from Old Boys and I'd like to see that continue."
Sean says 2020 is the first year that he is able to make a real contribution and he is keen to see the foundation continue expanding in the coming years.
According to Sean, the school was instrumental in encouraging him to think and dream big.
"I guess it is through excellent teaching and academic mentorship. I benefited greatly from the support of the school and the encouragement to continue growing as a person." Sean says.
Sean adds, "I think, it's the attitude and values that were instilled in each of us. Respect, character and integrity are a few of the main ones that have helped shape my attitude and work ethic."
Finally, Sean says, "WBHS taught me that there are no limits to what you can achieve if you put in the work."
"Nearly ten years ago I would have never dreamed of collaborating with national governments and international organisations like the United Nations to contribute to sustainable development at a global level," the Climate Change and Environmental Consultant says.
Sean says, "WBHS set the groundwork that facilitated my development into who I am today."
"Keep supporting and creating that space for excellence," Sean says to parents and sponsors, "I am so grateful to have benefited from the support of the school sponsors and I would hope to see others continuing to benefit from that support as well."
Sean says, "my message to current learners is a simple one: make the most of every moment."
"WBHS is a place of excellence and I think it's important to highlight just how influential the school was and will be for so many of us that have rung that Bell." Sean says.
He says, "I read so many articles about the incredible things fellow Old Boys are doing and it makes me really proud to be part of that family."
Sean believes "WBHS can be a truly amazing place if you make it so, and I think it's important that the school's excellent work and track record are recognised around the world."


text:
Stati Uniti d'America
 Fairbury – città della Contea di Livingston, Illinois
 Fairbury – comune capoluogo della Contea di Jefferson, Nebraska

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Advertise, Advertise . . . .
The contemporary world values and accepts only achievers. Achievers are those who have learned what perfection is. Perfection, today, means doing everything exactly as the commercial, and political, world has prescribed. Those branded as non-achievers are the not so ready to take on the world of contemporary expectation. They can appear to be sentimental fools or people of a past generation who have not been able to keep up with the speeding times.
To an extent advertising is alright, but when it leads to duping the buyers with second rate stuff, there is something unethical about it. Quality is going down the drain and this is being accepted by one and all from top to bottom. We are getting too used to judging a book by its cover. The call of the day is sell, sell, sell; sell at any cost. The marketplace is at the center of a universe that spins around trying to live up to the market's needs.
There is a humorous story in my new story collection, Intriguing Women, called "The English World". This story demonstrates this commercial phenomenon. I sincerely ask you to read this and see how the market is the God of our times.
The best example is Bollywood, the same formula repeats itself. Every movie is the same yet the ones with bigger stars gets advertised the best, and normally does a good business.
This creates an industry that is static in its continued evolution, and is rapidly losing ground with the self respecting movie goers.
Advertising is an important aspect of every day transactions, but you are right it should not dupe people .let the quality of the product have some say into the matter.
But I think the reason for this unnecessary focus on advertising, is because of the number of products being launched is too much and the attention span of the majority of the consumers is very small. Majority rules.
I think this applies on the individuals too. These are my two cents on the matter.


text:
Accedo Launches Initiative to Build a Sustainable Marketplace for Media
INSIGHTS PRESS RELEASE, NEWS /
Stockholm, Sweden, 23rd August 2022 – Global video solutions provider, Accedo, has launched a new sustainability initiative, aimed at supporting its customers in their journey towards building more sustainable video businesses. The company will work with service and technology providers globally to define industry standards for delivering sustainable video services, and drive experiments to accelerate and achieve sustainable transformation across the video industry.
As part of the new initiative, Accedo will have created a sustainable marketplace for media by 2025, where video service providers will be able to make buying decisions not only based on product features, but also on sustainable KPIs such as carbon impact, audience influence, and community impact. The marketplace will serve as a driving force for how to tackle the direct environmental and social impact of the media industry, and will help the industry do its part in reaching the global 2030 SDG objectives.
Bleuenn Le Goffic, VP Strategy and Business Development, Accedo, commented: "The video industry is having a huge influence, both on society and on the environment. I firmly believe that sustainable business transformation is one of the biggest and most exciting business challenges we face as an industry. I am convinced that we need to push ourselves and our partners in bold experimentation, expanding on the value we bring to our customers and to their audience. Technology and Monetization are not enough, it's vital that we progress in a sustainable way."
Earlier this year, Accedo joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a framework that drives ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling organizations to set science-based emissions reduction targets. By joining SBTi, the company has committed to the Net-Zero Standard and to setting a robust emissions reduction target at the pace and scale required by climate science. Accedo also joined the United Nations Global Compact, with a focus on the gender equality agenda.
Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo, added: "Video touches consumers everywhere, and video technology vendors have a unique possibility of supporting a global sustainability agenda. In order to do our part at Accedo, we are constantly pushing boundaries for how to be more sustainable as a company. We believe that it is time for technology and solution providers to do their part and we're inviting everyone to contribute to the next generation of sustainable video services."
Accedo will be exhibiting on booth 5.D65 at IBC from 9-12th September and will use the presence of media leaders and providers to learn and discuss the industry sustainable agenda to shape next year's action plan. Bleuenn Le Goffic, VP Strategy and Business Development, will also be joining a panel on the Content Everywhere Stage to address Environmental sustainability and the cloud's contribution to tackling climate change. Catch the session at 14:00 on Friday 9th September.
Find out more about Accedo at IBC and book a meeting.
CONTACT ACCEDO


With a total population of only 25 to 28 individuals, the Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is the world's rarest ape and one of the world's rarest mammals.
Also known as the Hainan black-crested gibbon, the species is restricted to just 0.77 sq mi (2 sq km), as reported in 2017, within the Bawangling National Nature Reserve on the western side of Hainan Island in the South China Sea—a decrease from 5.4-6.18 sq mi (14-16 sq km) reported in 2014.
Hainan gibbons were once distributed across half the country of China, according to governmental records that date back to the 17th century. They had long vanished from the mainland by the late 1950s, but their population on Hainan Island still numbered over two thousand individuals. Human activity—specifically, destruction of habitat and hunting—is to blame for the precipitous drop in the total population over the half-century that followed.
Ninety-five percent of Hainan gibbon's original habitat of lowland, tropical primary forest has been destroyed. Today, these enigmatic primates occupy only a small patch of remnant rainforest, which continues to shrink. With the continued destruction of lowland forest, where trees are 32.8 ft (10 m) or taller, Hainan gibbons have been forced to take up residence in less-suitable mountainous forest, where elevations range from 328.08 to 5905.51 ft (100-1800 m).
Hainan gibbons weigh between 12.78 and 22.03 lb (5.8-10 kg). The average weight for males is about 14.57 lb (6.61 kg); average weight for females is about 14.47 lb (6.563 kg).
They are slender primates, with long arms and legs. The average head-to-body length in males is about 1.61 ft (49.16 cm); average head-to-body length in females is about 1.59 ft (48.46 cm).
Considered a lesser ape, and characteristic of all apes, the Hainan gibbon (like all gibbons) lacks a tail.
Due to the rarity of this species, lifespan of Hainan gibbons has not been reported. Gibbons, however, tend to live longer than most other primates.
With a plush-toy resemblance, adult male and female Hainan gibbons are cloaked in different color fur coats (a condition known in scientific jargon as "sexual dichromatism"). Males are completely black except for white or buff cheeks that accent the faces of some individuals. They sport a distinct crest (think of a punk rocker's mohawk) on the crown of their head. Females are golden or buff, with a black patch on the crown of their head that tapers to the nape of the neck. Golden-yellow cheek whiskers accent their black muzzle, which is outlined by a narrow ring of white facial fur.
Young Hainan gibbon offspring—both male and female—have fur coats similar in color to that of adult females. As they mature, the males develop their all-black fur coat.
Hainan gibbons are almost exclusively frugivorous, a fancy way of saying that they eat mostly fruits. They have a penchant for figs and also enjoy lychee fruits. Young leaves, seeds, flowers, and the rare insect snack supplement their diet. Their original primary forest habitat once provided them with more than six species of edible plants. Today, this habitat has been overtaken by pulp paper and rubber plantations.
The species' low population makes group size difficult to ascertain. Fluctuation in habitat, due to severe degradation, adds to this difficulty. A study reported in 2000 puts group size at 4 to 8 individuals, occupying a home range of 0.39 sq mi (1 sq km) to 1.93 sq mi (5 sq km), with an average of 1.39 sq mi (3.6 sq km).
Hainan gibbon families are typically composed of an alpha male, two mature females, and their offspring. Young gibbons leave their social group and disperse into the forest, but on Hainan Island they rarely form new groups. Some males have been reported to live solitarily.
The species is arboreal, meaning these primates spend all their time in trees. Like other gibbon species, the bodies of Hainan gibbons are specialized for living in the forest canopy. Their most common form of locomotion is "brachiation," whereby they propel themselves forward from branch to branch using their forearms. Hainan gibbons have also been observed leaping, walking, and climbing; they have never been observed on the ground.
Hainan gibbons are active during daylight hours, making them a "diurnal species." Foraging, feeding, grooming, and playing occupy this time; they pause midday for a nap. At sunset, they get ready for bed.
Selecting a tree for overnight sleeping is not a happenstance activity of gibbons; rather, it is an example of anti-predator behavior. By selecting the tallest and straightest trees, attacks from terrestrial (ground) predators are better thwarted. To further ensure a safe night's sleep, gibbons have devised an alarm system to warn them of potential predators; they sleep on branches with lots of twigs. As a predator approaches, the twigs snap beneath its feet, alerting the sleeping gibbons and giving them a chance to escape.
Researchers studying the eastern black-crested gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), a close relative of the Hainan gibbon, have reported on the above anti-predator behavior. Because of the closeness of the two species, researchers conjecture that the Hainan gibbon likely exhibits the same behavior as its lesser ape "cousin," the eastern black-crested gibbon.
A species survey of Hainan Island recorded seven species of carnivorous eagles and hawks. Researchers have reported two unsuccessful hawk attacks, lasting about 15 minutes, on Hainan gibbons. Humans are the species' foremost predator.
The song notes of Hainan gibbon duets are specific enough to deter interbreeding with the other six "singing" gibbon species who share the Nomascus genus.
At one time, the Hainan gibbon was considered a subspecies of the eastern black-crested gibbon from Hòa Bình and Cao Bằng provinces of Vietnam and Jingxi County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. But after reviewing molecular data, including morphology (the branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants), along with song note differences, scientists classified the Hainan gibbon as a distinct species.
Most gibbon species reach sexual maturity at between 6 and 9 years old. It's possible that Hainan gibbons mature earlier. In one instance, scientists observed a 5-1/2-year-old male driven from his group by other members, a forced exile likely led by the group's alpha male. Scientists speculate that this banishment may have had more to do with limited resources necessary for the group's survival than with the young male attaining sexual maturity and needing a kick in the bottom to get him to strike out on his own.
A group's alpha male enjoys polygynous relationships with the females in his group; that is, he gets to mate with each of them. Multiple copulations may occur during a single day. It is the female who initiates sexual encounters, sashaying toward the male while rhythmically moving her head and limbs, or she may hang from a tree branch and expose her chest to get a male's attention. During the act itself, she elicits soft grunts. According to scientists who've studied gibbon behavior, Hainan gibbons are one of only three gibbon species in which the female makes vocalizations during mating. Perhaps a little too obsessed with finding a reason for a female's coital grunting, scientists have postulated that the species' social polygyny might be a factor. Or, scientists stretch, her grunting could be an ovulation announcement to the other female(s) in the group—a way of telling them to back off, that she has first "dibs" on the male.
Not all sexually mature females engage in copulation, however—leaving scientists scratching their heads at the "chasteness" of these females. One plausible explanation is that the females are closely related to the remaining male individuals, so they choose not to mate with them.
At the other end of the chastity belt are those sexually mature females who engage in copulation post-conception, rare behavior in nonhuman female primates, causing further head scratching among scientists.
The species' small family size and bonded relationships to one another are thought to be a reproductive adaption to their decreased natural habitat. A female's two-year birth interval, shorter than other gibbon species, is thought to be a reproductive adaptation linked to her bonded relationship with the male. But the female's tendency to give birth to only two offspring during her reproductive lifetime is a somber qualifier.
After a gestation period of 20-24 weeks, a female Hainan gibbon gives birth to a single offspring. Births occur during the blooming season on Hainan Island, when fruits are plentiful.
Infant Hainan gibbons are dependent on their mothers for their first 1.5 year of life; they remain with their families through the juvenile stage. A weaning period is not reported in the species; however, it is known that lactation depletes a great amount of energy from nursing gibbon mothers.
Hainan gibbons use song to communicate with one another. Each day, usually beginning at dawn, male and female Hainan gibbon pairs engage in a duet known as a "morning call." They also engage in song duets for bonding and mating.
Males take the lead singing, a distinct role reversal from other gibbon species that emphasize the female voice.
Female Hainan gibbons emit a single loud noise known as a "great call." Except for their coital grunting, the great call has been previously reported as the only song in their catalogue. But during a survey conducted in October 2016, a female reportedly responded to her male counterpart's "dragging" call with her own "laugh-like" call.
Male Hainan gibbons have been reported to have at least three distinct calls in their song catalogue. Nature has fitted them with a laryngeal sac that allows them to sing elaborate notes.
(0:00-0:25: male gibbon's call; 0:25-0:32: female gibbon's call).
All family members, except infants, elicit alarm calls when a potential predator is detected. Short alarm calls serve as a warning to group members. Long, variable-frequency alarm calls may inspire group members to mob a predator.
The Hainan gibbon is considered an "umbrella species" of Hainan Island. This distinction means that the species serves as an environmental marker for the health and stability of the island's overall ecosystem. Alterations or disruptions in the island's ecosystem that negatively impact the Hainan gibbon are indicative of negative impact on other species as well.
The Hainan gibbon is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), appearing on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It has the ignoble distinction of being the world's most Critically Endangered primate (IUCN, 2008, 2016) and appears on the 2017 listing of "Primates in Peril – World's Top 25 Most Endangered Species." Human activity through habitat destruction, encroachment, and hunting threaten the Hainan gibbon's survival.
Developing rubber and commercial logging industries, the construction of roads, a human population boom (between 1950 and 2003), and a subsequent increase in human settlements have all contributed to wiping out the Hainan gibbon's original lowland rainforest habitat. This willful destruction of habitat has also resulted in a split of gibbon populations, isolating them from one another and hindering successful reproduction in the species. A significant decline in genetic diversity (many of the remaining individuals are closely related to one another) also jeopardizes the species' viability.
Although the current rate of habitat loss has greatly diminished from decades of reckless disregard for the species' survival and for the biodiversity of the island, the damage has been done—and the Hainan gibbon sits on the edge of extinction.
Historically, Hainan gibbons have been hunted and killed, and their bones were then traded on the black market to be used in "traditional medicines"—none of which have been proven valid. Mass hunts between 1960 and 1980 led to the deaths of approximately 100 gibbons. These rare apes have also been killed for their meat.
The low income of Hainan citizens has fueled the illegal pet trade. Female gibbons fetch as much as $300 (U.S. currency). Mother gibbons are shot and killed and their babies are stolen. Alternatively, if a young mother is the intended kidnap victim, her baby is left to die.
The Hainan gibbon is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international agreement between governments whose goal is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. However, as is often the case with endangered species, laws created to protect them are largely ignored and difficult to enforce. Illegal logging operations and poaching of the Hainan gibbon serve as examples.
In response to the critically endangered status of the Hainan gibbon, the Chinese government enacted a ban on all types of forestry in or around the Bawangling Nature Reserve.
Kadoorie Conservation China (a department of the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden), along with Fauna and Flora International and other international conservation organizations, collaborated to launch The Hainan Gibbon Action Plan in 2003, when the population of Hainan gibbons had fallen to just 13 individuals.
The initial focus of this action plan was on population surveys, reforestation, and teaching nature reserve staff to accurately monitor the Hainan gibbon population. In 2005, The Hainan Gibbon Action Plan was updated to focus on several reparative actions: dissuading illegal loggers by increasing and better equipping enforcement patrols; reverting plantations back into habitable forests by planting specific plant species that the gibbons require for their survival; and educating local residents of the importance of saving the Hainan gibbon from extinction.
Fauna and Flora International and Greenpeace have been working to raise public awareness and for full support of the Hainan Gibbon Action Plan, which has been hampered by underfunding and a lack of coordination of participating members. Greenpeace has called on the Chinese government to better enforce anti-poaching and logging laws.
Alternative conservation efforts have included remote sensing and geographic information systems (GPS) to determine suitable Hainan gibbon habitat. Call playback—playing gibbon calls to attract and locate solitary Hainan gibbons—has also been implemented, with a small measure of success. Scientists caution that call playback can potentially stress the gibbons and thus should be used sparingly, in key locations, for short periods of time, only when attempting to detect gibbon presence.
The notion of captive breeding programs has been discarded as unwise and possibly perilous to the viability of the remaining individuals. Likewise, relocating Hainan gibbons to alternative habitat has been discarded as a foolhardy endeavor fraught with risk. Capturing the gibbons to relocate them would subject them to great stress. And without support from authorities and local citizens, a relocated Hainan gibbon population would be threatened by hunting or deforestation—the same forces that caused their initial demise.
Nevertheless, conservationists maintain a guarded optimism. Until June 2015, the total Hainan gibbon population was thought to be 25 individuals living in three separate social groups. Then scientists discovered a fourth group comprised of a mating pair and their young baby, bumping the total population number up to 28. The total number of breeding females (as of August 2016) is thought to be six.
The October 2016 survey conducted by Kadoorie Conservation China and staff members from local nature reserves counted 26 Hainan gibbons.
A top priority, conservationists assert, must be to reconnect areas of fragmented forest and isolated Hainan gibbon populations in Bawangling Nature Reserve. And the way to reconnect fragmented forest is to plant trees—a lot of trees. Of course, trees do not grow overnight. In the interim, conservationists suggest constructing artificial canopy bridges to encourage the gibbons to move between forest patches.
Not to be overlooked, if the Hainan gibbon is to be saved, is the importance of a close and cooperative collaboration between Bawangling Nature Reserve staff, who understand the local politics and logistics of working in Hainan, and international organizations with experience in saving extremely threatened species.
Bryant, J.V., Brulé, A., Wong, M.H.G. et al. "Detection of a New Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) Group Using Acoustic Call Playback." Int J Primatol (2016) 37: 534. Accessed February 25, 2018, at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-016-9919-8.
Cressey, Daniel. "Time Running out for Rarest Primate." Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 8 Apr. 2014. Accessed February 13, 2018, at www.nature.com/news/time-running-out-for-rarest-primate-1.15009.
Deng, Huaiqing; Gao, Kai; Zhou, Jiang. "Non-specific alarm calls trigger mobbing behavior in Hainan gibbons (Nomascus hainanus." Scientific Reports. September 30, 2016. Accessed February 15, 2018, at http://www.nature.com/articles/srep34471.
Geissmann, T. & Bleisch, W. 2008. Nomascus hainanus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T41643A10526461. Accessed February 20, 2018, at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41643/0.
Gregoire, R. 2014. "Nomascus hainanus," Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 11, 2018, at http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Nomascus_hainanus/.
Turvey, Sam. "Can the world's rarest mammal, the Hainan gibbon, be brought back from the brink?" August 2016. Accessed February 25, 2018, at http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2004995/can-worlds-rarest-mammal-hainan-gibbon-be-brought.
Zhou Jiang. Nomascus, hainanus. © All the World's Primates. N Rowe, M Myers, eds. (alltheworldsprimates.org). Downloaded February 10, 2018.
Zoological Society of London. Hope for World's Rarest Ape as New Population Discovered. Accessed February 20, 2018, at link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-016-9919-8.