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What now for those in same-sex marriage limbo?
Tim Evans, and Tony Cook
A flurry of legal action in late June briefly legalized same-sex marriages in Indiana before a federal appeals court ordered the weddings to stop.
With a final decision on the constitutionality of the state law that bans gay marriage potentially a year or longer away, many questions swirl around the status of couples who were wed in those three days and others who obtained licenses but were not married before the appeals court order was issued.
Here is a quick look at some of the issues.
Question: What is the status of marriages conducted from about noon on June 25 until the appeals court issued its stay Friday evening?
Answer: It depends on whom you ask.
Becoming legally married in Indiana is, in effect, a three-step process. First, a marriage license must be obtained. Then a marriage ceremony must be performed by an officiant such as a clergy member, judge or certain municipal officials such as the clerk. The couple must then return their license — signed by the officiant — to the clerk to be recorded.
Ken Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which brought one of the lawsuits challenging the law, said he considers those marriages legal and valid.
"Our position is that these couples were legally married at the time," he said, "and that they are legally married now."
The Marion County clerk's office also says, based on guidance from its attorneys, that it is obligated to recognize and record marriage licenses of couples who were wed before the stay. The exact cutoff is not clear but likely was around 7 p.m. Friday, when the stay was issued.
The attorney general's office, in a statement Tuesday, said it is unclear:
"We have not concluded, nor suggested that county clerks conclude, that any same-sex marriage licenses issued or same-sex marriages solemnized between June 25 and June 27 are void or invalid, regardless of whether they have been solemnized or recorded.
"The validity is undetermined and such issues might have to be determined by a court later."
Q: What about marriage licenses that were issued before the stay to couples who did not wed before the stay?
A: Here's what the attorney general's office had to say: "For situations where a marriage license was obtained from the county clerk before the stay order was issued but the signed marriage license is returned to the clerk after the stay, then the guidance is that clerks should respect the 7th Circuit's stay order and refrain from further processing or recording solemnized duplicate same-sex marriage certificates."
Likewise, the guidance is that county clerks, judges and other officials who solemnize marriages should refrain from performing any additional marriages of same-sex couples — even if a license were issued during the three-day window before the stay — until there is a conclusive ruling in the appeal.
Q: So what happens to my license if I didn't get married in time?
A: From the attorney general: County clerks have the discretion to issue refunds of the marriage license fees that applicants paid, on request. Applicants may wish to have clerks hold the licenses and solemnized certificates pending resolution of the appeal. The guidance is that clerks follow their normal refund practice if a refund is requested.
Q: Is anyone going to recognize our marriage while this is being sorted out in the courts?
A: Based on what has happened in other states where similar bans were overturned, then placed on hold during appeals, you are likely to receive federal recognition, which should affect things such as Social Security name changes and beneficiaries, and federal income taxes.
State officials now consider the old law back in effect, which does not recognize same-sex marriages performed in Indiana or other states where they are legal. That means you won't be eligible for state marriage benefits, such as joint filing of state income taxes. The stay also could affect things like two-parent adoptions and birth and death certificates.
Q: What about getting my new spouse covered on my company's insurance plan?
A: That is probably going to be a case-by-case decision, depending on your employer and insurance company.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state's largest private insurer, issued guidance to employers that said same-sex spouses are eligible to be added to a subscriber's policy. "However, due to federal law we believe that employers may determine, based on the terms of their group health plans, whether to recognize same-sex spouses. Anthem will follow their directive accordingly," the statement said.
Tony Felts, an Anthem spokesman, said the statement applied to self-insured plans, which make up about two-thirds of Anthem's accounts.
Federal rules require fully insured plans to treat same-sex spouses the same as opposite-sex spouses, he said.
Mike Moffatt of the Indianapolis office of Littler Mendelson, the nation's largest employment and labor law firm, said that came as a surprise to him.
"I've not seen or read anything that would support that conclusion," he said. "To me, it's a gray area."
He is advising clients that provide spousal benefits to include same-sex spouses.
"Employers need to look at it as a cost-benefit analysis rather than a legal issue," he said. "How many employees would this impact for an employer? My guess is very few. Then you ask, what's it going to cost to add a couple people to my medical plan versus the cost of litigation in an area that's gray and that I may lose?"
Call Star reporter Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.


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No Tolerance for Intolerance
By Tom Piatak
Yesterday there was supposed to have been a debate at Christ Church College in Oxford between two British writers whose work I have enjoyed, Tim Stanley and Brendan O'Neill. The topic was to have been whether the abortion culture harms Britain. Stanley was going to argue that the abortion culture harms Britain, though he was not going to argue that abortion should be made illegal in Britain. Stanley has published his prepared remarks at The Catholic Herald, and they are quite mild. Indeed, there is, unfortunately, little prospect that British law will again give the unborn the legal protection they enjoyed until Parliament passed the Abortion Act in 1967.
But the debate did not take place, because Christ Church bowed to the demands of the Oxford University Student Women's Campaign and cancelled it. This seems shocking, given the long history of robust debate at Oxford, but it is actually merely one in a long line of depressing examples of the self-professed devotees of "tolerance" using their power to give effect to Marcuse's dictum that "tolerance" does not extend to those who dissent from the demands of contemporary leftism. Abortion is now so sacred in some quarters that its morality or even its efficacy may not be questioned, even when its legality is assured.
This is the ground on which the culture war increasingly will be fought. Although the media likes to portray the right as the aggressor in the culture war, the reality is different. It was the left, nor the right, that sought to overturn long-established legal strictures that reflected and reinforced Christian morality; conservatives were content to leave things as they were. Now that the left has achieved great success in overturning those legal strictures, many on the left now want to prevent any public expression of the moral beliefs that animated the laws they have overturned. Those of us who continue to subscribe to the old morality may be allowed to whisper our beliefs in our homes and in our churches—though the mayor of Houston did briefly seek to subpoena the sermons of pastors who opposed the city's opening public restrooms to both sexes in the name of "transgender rights"—but those who shape our culture don't want that whisper to grow too loud, as Tim Stanley just found it out.
Tom Piatak
Thomas Piatak is a contributing editor to Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. He writes from Cleveland, Ohio.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home » Reflections of Arthasastra and its relevance in the 21st Century
Reflections of Arthasastra and its relevance in the 21st Century
09-Jul-2019 to 10-Jul-2019
National Seminar
REFLECTIONS ON ARTHASASTRA AND ITS RELEVANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
(9-10 July 2019)
Arthasastra is the science which provides the means of acquisition and protection of the earth. Artha has been regarded as one of the three goals of human existence, the other two being dharma and kama. Arthasastra has two main objectives. Firstly, it seeks to show how the ruler should protect his territory. This protection refers principally to the administration of the State. Secondly, it shows how a territory should be acquired. This acquisition refers principally to the conquest of a territory from others. Arthasastra is the science of dealing with state affairs in the internal as well as external sphere or it is the science of statecraft.
The content of Arthasastra includes; Book one, on Science of Politics, deals mainly with the training of the prince for arduous duties of ruler ship. It also discusses the question of the appointment of ministers and other officers necessary for the administration of a state. This prepares the ground for the establishment of a benevolent monarchy. The main sutra is "In the happiness of the subjects lies the happiness of the king and in what is beneficial to the subjects his own benefit. What is dear to himself is not beneficial to the king, but what is dear to the subjects is beneficial (to him)". Book two, is on The Activity of the Heads of Departments: this deals with the activities of various state departments and internal administration of a state. Book three, is Concerning Judges: This book deals with the administration of justice and lays down the duties of the judges and the law. Book four, examines The Suppression of Criminals: and it deals with the maintenance of law and order and punishments for various criminal offences. Book five is on Secret Conduct, Book six is on The Circle (of Kings) as the Basis: This deals with the circle of kings (mandala) and its seven constituents/prakrits (the king, the minister, the country, the fortified city, the treasury, the army and the ally). Book seven, is on The Six Measures of Foreign Policy: This deals with the use of the six measures that can be adopted by a state in its relations with foreign states (peace/treaty, war/injury, staying quiet/remaining indifferent, marching/ augmenting of power, seeking shelter/submitting to another and dual policy/restoring to peace (with one) and war (with another). Book eight, is concerning Topic of Calamities of the Constituent, Book nine, The Activity of the King about to March, Book ten, Concerning War: Book eleven, Policy towards Oligarchies, Book twelve, Concerning the Weaker King, Book thirteen, Means of Taking a Fort, Book fourteen, Concerning Secret Practices, and Book fifteen, The Method of Science or tantra.
Kautilya's Arthasastra, composed around 321 BCE is the oldest and most exhaustive treatise on statecraft and on issues of diplomacy, war, peace, intelligence, security, and political economy. L.N. Rangarajan, a diplomat whose work on the Arthasastra has argued that in so far as the nature of human beings remained the same and states behaved in the manner as they always have done, Kautilya was relevant. Similarly, K M Panikkar highlighted the relevance of Kautilya's rules of conduct in diplomatic relations and his doctrine of Sama-dana-behda-danda (conciliation, gifts, rupture and force). Some of Kautilya's classical and enduring maxims are: "What produces unfavourable results is bad policy: that is a policy to be judged by the results it produces, and diplomacy is not concerned with ideals but with achieving practical results for the state" Another quotation by Kautilya which has a universal appeal is, "When the advantages to be derived from peace and war are equal one should prefer peace for disadvantages such as loss of power and wealth are ever attendant upon war. Similarly, if the advantage to be derived from neutrality and war are equal, one should prefer neutrality".
Relevance of Arthasastra
The importance of the ideas and the ways of thinking that the Arthasastra reveals is useful because in many ways the present world is similar to the world that Kautilya worked and built the Mauryan Empire to its greatness. Kautilya's Arthasastra was pitched to teach with the various intricacies of governance and politics to the ruler. The text also reveals ideas of a 'welfare state', in which the state controlled and contributed to all aspects of daily life, ensuring equality and fairness in distribution of the resources, benefits and wealth. Kautilay's premise was that it was in the ruler's self-interest to be generous to the people, provide employment, build roads, harbours and parks and to address the grievances of the people promptly.
Kautilya, was the Indian political philosopher, statesman, who helped Chandragupta Maurya to establish the first unified state in Indian History in fourth century B.C. His work Arthsastra lays the conceptual foundation for making India the first welfare state. He advocates welfare in all spheres. He did not talk only about human welfare but even paid attention to animal welfare also. He states, "In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare lays his welfare. He shall not consider as good as only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects". He advocates the protection of livelihood of weaker section, consumer protection and even the welfare of prisoners also. The King's dharma is to be just, fair and liberal in protecting his people. His attitude to his people should be like attitude of a father towards his children. Kautilya defined the ideal ruler as one "who is ever active in promoting the welfare of the people and who endears himself by enriching the public and doing good to them."
Again, in the present day world, the challenges to national security are no different from the challenges that annoyed the Mauryan Empire in 300 BC. The nontraditional threats to security of the nation states emanates from the non-state actors can be effectively addressed only with the support of the people. Thus in order to ensure national security people also have to work in tandem with the security agencies by sharing information about the terror network. This idea has been well incorporated in the coastal security scheme, as it considers the fishers as the 'eyes' and 'ears' of coastal the security matrix.
The organizers of this two day National Seminar consider that there are many discussions/publications on the wisdom lies in the ancient text, Arthasastra. However, a holistic perspective on Arthasastra is yet to be undertaken. Thus the main objective of the Seminar is to bring experts from all areas, including, Political Science, Economics, Commerce, Public Administration, Defence, Security Studies, and Philosophy to reflect on ideas ingrained in Arthasastra and to explore into its relevance in the 21st century. Though there are revolutionary changes in science and technology, there is no commensurate change visible in basic human nature. Therefore, many challenges in the field of social, economic, political and security are no different from the challenges that exasperated the Mauryan Empire. We earnestly hope that solution to many of our present day problems in the political, economic, social and security sphere, are well exposed in this ancient text.
The suggested broad Sub-themes for the Seminar
Arthasastra - a treatise on state craft
The doctrine of Mandala
Welfare state concept in Arthasastra
Foreign Policy and Foreign Relations
Internal Security and External Security including Maritime Security
Science of Economics and Commerce
Taxation system and public welfare
Art of Government and Good Governance
A limited number of participants will be invited for the National Seminar. Those interested in participating should send (by email) an abstract (500 words) of the proposed paper along with their brief bio of 200 words to:
Professor (Dr) Suresh Rangarajan
(Professor & Hon. Director, V K Krishna Menon Study Centre for International Relations, Department of Political Science, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)
Email sureshrajan1994@yahoo.co.in
Ms. Ritika Sharma
Academic Resource Officer,
Indian Institute of Advanced Study,
Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla- 171005
Tel: 0177-2831385;
Email: aro@iias.ac.in
The last date for submission of abstract (500 words) is 26th May, 2019 till midnight. The Institute intends to send invitation letters to selected participants by the second week of June, 2019. It is the policy of the Institute to publish the papers not proceedings of the seminars it organizes. Hence, all invited participants will be expected to submit complete papers (English or Hindi), hitherto unpublished and original, with citations in place, along with a reference section, to the Academic Resource Officer, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla– 171005 by 20th June, 2019. IIAS, Shimla, will be glad to extend its hospitality during the seminar period and is willing to reimburse, if required, rail or air travel expenses from the place of current residence in India, or the port of arrival in India, and back.
Important dates and details
Last date of Abstract Submission – 26 May 2019
Last date of Full paper Submission – 20 June 2019
Date & Venue of National Seminar – 09 & 10 July 2019, IIAS, Shimla .


As part of a national effort, CCH joined with ACLU of Illinois and National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty to deliver letters to Illinois municipalities, challenging 22 panhandling ordinances. From Chicago to Carbondale, 15 municipalities across Illinois have panhandling ordinances that are unconstitutional and must be repealed.
The Fair Access to Employment (FATE) bill (HB 5341), advocated by the CCH Reentry Project and partners in the Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI), became effective immediately upon signing by Gov. Bruce Rauner on August 10. The law states that judges cannot consider a person's fines, fees or outstanding financial obligations when reviewing a petition to seal a criminal record.
Nick Jefferson joined our staff as Associate Director of Organizing, Strategic Campaigns. Nick joins Director of Organizing Wayne Richard and Associate Director of Organizing Jim Picchetti in overseeing what will be a 9-member organizing staff. Nick comes to CCH from Communities United, where he organized renters living in foreclosed properties to fight back against unfair evictions. That effort contributed to the passage of the Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance in 2013.
Produced by Florida-based sock business, My Soxy Feet, these speciality "Run Chicago" are perfect for Chicago-area runners. Plus, 10% of the proceeds from sales of these moisture-wicking, cushioned socks will benefit the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. They are great for running, walking, tennis, cycling, hiking, and more. The socks are now available on the My Soxy Feet website and at Runners High 'n Tri in Arlington Heights.
CCH has released its 2018 Facts Behind the Faces. The downloadable 4-page fact sheet paints a picture of homelessness at the national, state, and city level. Facts Behind the Faces examines many components of homelessness, from healthcare to student homelessness to racial inequality. The fact sheet calls attention to the urgent need for policy reforms and funding that would assist those people who are most vulnerable in our communities.
In earning a renewed 4-star rating, CCH was given its first perfect scores from Charity Navigator. CCH earned 100% scores from the charity watchdog, both for its financial health and its accountability and transparency practices, in a report issued last month.
A small-business review organization, Business.org, has since included CCH in its listing of the top charity in every state.


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Creativity Creative Pursuits Code Computerlove
Why Code Computerlove's Louis Georgiou has collected 1,500+ Transformers | Creative Pursuits
By Katie Deighton | Senior Reporter
February 8, 2018 | 2 min read
Louis Georgiou, Code Computerlove's co-founder and managing director, is a self-proclaimed obsessive character – a trait no better illustrated than by his collection of more than 1,500 Transformers figurines.
In the latest episode of Creative Pursuits, The Drum hears how Georgiou – who launched the digital agency in 1999 – began collecting the plastic figurines when looking to buy a Christmas present for his son.
He began displaying his unboxed favourites on his desk at the Manchester shop but when his habit worsened, and he moved on to amassing collectible boxed Transformers, he managed to fill the office and its storage spaces as the number of figurines reached the four-figure mark.
"It was only when I'd literally filled my house about a year ago that I realised I think it's time it came to a stop," he said.
Years of collecting and an addiction to eBay are not in vain, however, as next month will see Georgiou apply to become a Guinness World Record holder for the most Transformers collected.
"I do know that I get quite obsessed with things, and with the Transformers it's about the collecting but also the design, the illustrations, the artwork, the packaging, the clever engineering behind them and the clever transformations," he said. "It's very similar to how I got into the industry to begin with – I started with a passion for design and an obsession with coding and engineering.
"The trait that got me where I am in the industry is what also got me interested in Transformers."
Other episodes in the series
Why Wunderman's Ian Haworth goes cold water swimming at 6am every day | Creative Pursuits
Introducing Creative Pursuits, The Drum's new video series uncovering the weird and wonderful hobbies undertaken by the industry's marketing matter. First up is Wunderman executive creative director Ian Haworth, who rises with the lark six days a week to swim in Hyde Park's Serpentine lake.
Why Iris's Lolly Morris doodles pictures of strangers' selfies | Creative Pursuits
In the second episode of Creative Pursuits, The Drum asks why Iris' design director Lolly Morris has created the alter ego of Stalker Doodle – an anonymous Instagram artist that recreates strangers' selfies in Post-It note form.
Why Saatchi & Saatchi's Mia Silverman collects KitKat wrappers | Creative Pursuits
When she's not creating work in her role as art director at Saatchi & Saatchi, Mia Silverman enjoys football, drawing and painting. But her most unusual hobby is adding to her 13-year-old collection of KitKat wrappers.
Why McCann's Dom Butler co-founded a feminist Christmas tree angel brand | Creative Pursuits
Women To Look Up To, the side project of McCann London creative Dom Butler, marries modern feminist idols with the traditional festive tradition of placing an angel on top of the Christmas tree.
Why Now's Sarah Levitt makes alcoholic candyfloss | Creative Pursuits
A trip to Japan inspired Now's associate creative director to create her own brand of candyfloss – infused with alcohol in true Soho style. Sarah Levitt tells the story of Sweet Mother Fluffer in the latest episode of Creative Pursuits.
Why DigitasLBi's Matthew Jacobson practises the art of magic | Creative Pursuits
By day, Matthew Jacobson is the global executive design director of DigitasLBi. By night, he transforms into his magical alter-ego, with tricks and illusions he's practiced since he was seven years old.
Why LinkedIn's Jason Miller spends his nights photographing rock stars | Creative Pursuits
Not content with simply heading up content and social at LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Solutions, Jason Miller spends his evenings photographing the most rock 'n' roll of bands and musicians – and editing pictures into the early hours of the morning.
Why TMW Unlimited's Jennifer Cownie reads tarot cards | Creative Pursuits
Jennifer Cownie may have the word 'strategic' in her job title, yet outside of work it's empathy and emotion that drive her creative pursuit of tarot card reading.
More from Creativity


Jaroslav Halak was incredible in the series and the Caps couldn't find ways to beat him on a consistent basis. Especially over the final three games of the series… The Canadiens move on to face the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ok, so maybe that "Incredible Hulk" reference doesn't play very well with Halak's name, but it has been bouncing around my mind for days and I figured that tonight was as a good a time to use it as any! Especially when you consider the fact that he bounced back from being pulled in game 3 and benched in game 4 to allow only 3 goals on the last 134 shots that he faced in the series.
That performance combined with the fact that the Capitals never seemed to make any adjustments to their game plan has Halak and the Canadiens coming to Pittsburgh for a date with the Penguins and the Caps heading home early for a third year in a row. The Capitals never seemed to get enough traffic in front of Halak, nor did they get the puck moving east and west in front of him to create openings.
Their power play, which was lethal all season long, looked disjointed against the Canadiens as well. It just didn't seem that the five players on the ice were working together at any given point. It was more like a night at the improv with each player sort of doing his own thing and hoping for a rebound or bounce.
It really seemed as if Jacques Martin out-coached Bruce Boudreau as well. Boudreau never found a way to get Alex Ovechkin away from Hal Gill and Josh Gorges, especially in the final three games. They teamed to play against Ovechkin often and separated to cover him on multiple shifts. You could see the frustration growing in the Ovechkin. At times it might have caused him to try and do to much on his own.
Overall, the Canadiens found ways to defensively shut down the Capitals attack… though they still allowed 134 shots over the final three games, most of them were wide open and Halak was able to get a great look at them. His defense did an amazing job in front of him, blocking another 41 shots tonight, which proved to be a recipe for success.
This has got to be a horrible moment for Washington's fans. I know I experienced the pain of Caps Nation first had as I was making my way out of the Verizon Center last year following the Penguins game 7 victory. I was in town to cover the game and parked at one of the train stations on the Red Line. Being a fan myself and having felt the pain of defeat, my heart went out to that group. It stinks to have your season end at any point without a championship… even more so when it is in a situation in which you let a 3-1 lead slip away.
The Capitals time will come, but I really think that they still need a big defenseman and to solidify the goaltending situation. I have been chirping about the fact that they needed a Chris Pronger type since the big rear guard was dealt to the Flyers. That player could have made a difference in holding a team like Montreal off of the board. It is also worth noting that they could have gone after the same Hal Gill that was so effective against them in this series.
Musical goaltenders has also got to end. Either Semyon Varlamov is the guy or you stick with Jose Theodore through the series. Until those issues are addressed this situation will be a possibility.
I will be back with a preview of the Penguins/Canadiens series tomorrow, as well as a look at the rest of round two!


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← Idyllic welfare island
கல் தோன்றி மண் தோன்றாத காலம் →
Sri Lanka calls for Tamils to return
Daniel Flitton
SRI LANKA has offered Immigration Minister Chris Bowen an escape for Tamil refugees branded a threat by security agencies and locked in indefinite detention in Australia – saying they are needed back home.
"Help is required in Sri Lanka now," the country's top envoy to Australia, Thisara Samarasinghe, told The Age.
"Those who have got a negative assessment, please come back to Sri Lanka. Even if you have been sent out from the place, you will be treated justifiably and fairly and you will be permitted to meet up with your families. Of course, law of the land will prevail."
Admiral Samarasinghe said he spoke to Mr Bowen several months ago about the impasse created by the several dozen Tamils who fled Sri Lanka's bloody civil war and were recognised as refugees, only to be deemed a threat by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
He reiterated the offer to bring them home in a telephone conversation last month ahead of a visit by Mr Bowen to Colombo.
The Tamils – who make up the majority of the 47 refugees given an adverse assessment by ASIO – have been refused a visa for release into the Australian community. They are not permitted to see the evidence against them and are effectively barred from appeal.
But the offer of return is cold comfort to Australia, which would be breaking its international obligations under the refugee convention to send them back to Sri Lanka.
Rachel Ball, from the Human Rights Law Centre, said any diplomatic assurance was meaningless after a person was found to be a refugee, with Sri Lanka already found not able to provide protection.
Mr Bowen's office also made clear yesterday the government would not be pursuing Admiral Samarasinghe's offer.
But the legal limbo created by the ASIO ruling has taken a toll on those in detention.
A spate of suicide attempts among those black-banned by ASIO have occurred in the past month, including by two Tamil men in a detention centre in Melbourne's north and a third who threatened to take his own life before being restrained.
Admiral Samarasinghe said the option to return them home should not be ruled out given Sri Lanka had "rehabilitated" nearly 11,000 people said to be former Tamil Tiger fighters.
"This is a record that no country in the world can match," he said. "That is the extra mile that the Sri Lankan government is going in reconciliation, but the West doesn't unfortunately appreciate that and give any credit."
He said Sri Lanka was now free of suicide bombings, unemployment was low and the economy was growing, with the country aiming to become the "jewel of Asia".
Admiral Samarasinghe also dismissed the controversy surrounding his appointment as high commissioner to Australia last year, with protests by local Tamil groups over his war record as a naval commander. "I was credited for rescuing the civilians from terrorists," he said.
– Meanwhile, federal police said a boat carrying 63 passengers had been intercepted at the Cocos Islands. It is the first boat to arrive at the islands in at least two years and comes as the number of people seeking asylum in Australia continues to surge.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/sri-lanka-calls-for-tamils-to-return-20120516-1yrbf.html#ixzz1v4envB1a
1 Response to Sri Lanka calls for Tamils to return
jehan சொல்கிறார்:
What about abductions and killings. It does not matter who is doing it. Still srilanka is a dangerous destination


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Ian Bailey
You are here: / Movies / News /
Anton Yelchin, 1989 – 2016
Anton Yelchin, born March 11th, 1989 in Leningrad, Russia, died suddenly early Sunday morning in a car accident at his house in California.
Jun 20, 2016 roob.la/54391
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Anton Yelchin, famous for his portrayal of Pavel Chekov in JJ Abrams Star Trek (2009), has died.
Yelchin was killed early Sunday morning after being pinned by his own car. After missing a pre-arranged rehearsal, Yelchin's friends became concerned. When they were unable to contact the actor, they went to his San Fernando Valley home and discovered his body.
Jennifer Allen, Yelchin's publicist, has confirmed the actor's death and said his family had requested privacy.
He was born in the city of Leningrad, in the former Soviet Union, to Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin on March 11th, 1989. Figure skaters, they were leading figures in the Leningrad Ice Ballet for 15 years. They received refugee status from the United States Department of State in 1989, when Yelchin was six months old. Although never a natural figure skater himself, he nevertheless pursued artistic interests. For a time, he played guitar in the Punk Rock band The Hammerheads. His first role came when he was just 9, in independent film A Man is Mostly Water.
As well as Star Trek, Yelchin appeared in its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Alpha Dog (2007), Terminator Salvation (2009) and Green Room (2015) with fellow Star Trek alumnus Sir Patrick Stewart. Although primarily a film actor, many of Yelchin's earliest roles were in television, such as ER (2000). He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's Taken (2002) alongside Dakota Fanning. Yelchin's next film, Star Trek Beyond, is expected to be released in the UK July 22, 2016.
News of Yelchin's death was greeted with a wave of grief. John Cho, who plays helmsmen Hikaru Sulu in the rebooted series, tweeted: "I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist – curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins."
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin
March 11th, 1989 – June 19th, 2016
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Everything You Wanted to Know About IT Chapter 2
Review: The Wall (2017)
Review: Origin Wars (2016)
Video: Venom – Teaser Trailer
Robert De Niro's quite the comedian
Review: Mea Culpa (2014)
Comment author:
James Parker @brokenthoughts
Very sad news indeed. Loved him in Terminator Salvation and the two Trek films!
Sam Hall @s4mh4ll
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Demonic (2021) review: Blomkamp puts a virtual spin on the exorcist sub-genre
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Wow. Something is still happening here on identi.ca !! I wish some of my old people's were still hanging out over here. Still better than twitter. Still more open than G+, and Facepalm.
Plus the fact that identi.ca is one of the servers of the federated Pump.io network.
voted for "Yes. ItC will be used "internally", €'ll be a foreign currency, like $, with the exchange rate determined by the market"
Hilton Garcia Fernandes, Tupulpo, ClaudioM likes this.
Hilton Garcia Fernandes, James Robertson, Mauro Panigada shared this.
C++11 has nice features, but C++ is a monster(and behind!). Provocatively I'd prefer Ada 2005, Fortran 2008,Obj-C 2.0... Erlang.


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Liza Tarbuck
Last updated 09 January 2020
Captain Kaliko: The Infinite Quest
Lysette Barclay: Plague of the Daleks[BF]
Self: Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor[Factual]
(this image appears for illustrative purposes only and no attempt is made to supersede any copyright attributed to it)
Born: Saturday 21st November 1964 (age: 56)
Liza Tarbuck is an English actress, television and radio presenter, and daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.
She trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA graduating in 1986 alongside Clive Owen, Rebecca Pidgeon, Serena Harragin and Mark Womack
Her first big break came in the late 1980s with a starring role in the long-running Granada Television comedy series Watching, in which she played a character called Pamela, opposite Emma Wray. Tarbuck then appeared as Angie in the 1988 Falklands War drama Tumbledown, which also starred Colin Firth, Paul Rhys and David Calder. In 2001, she took the title role in Linda Green, which ran for two series, ending in 2002.
In more recent times, she has guest starred on the Ricky Gervais comedy Extras, and has appeared in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries as DI Fiona Knight. In 2004, Tarbuck appeared in Series 6 of the long-running BBC One comedy,French & Saunders, as a fictionalized version of herself, where she had the role of Producer for "Saunders & French Productions" with Christopher Hague-Moody. In 2005, Tarbuck appeared as Mrs. Jellyby in the BBC One Serial Bleak House.[1] And in 2006, She appeared in episode six of the sitcom, Saxondale, as a full-figured rock chick.
In 2007, she lent her voice to the animated Doctor Who adventure, The Infinite Quest. 2007 also saw her starring in the ITV1 comedy drama 'Bonkers'.
In 2009 Tarbuck starred as Staff Nurse Tina in her first role in a feature film, The Be All and End All, alongside Eugene Byrne, Josh Bolt, Connor McIntyre, Neve McIntosh, Suzanne Collins and Laura Swift.


The Federal Reserve said industrial production — which includes output at factories, mines and utilities — increased 0.1% in July after climbing 1% in June. Factory production rose 0.3%, led by expanded output by automakers. But production slid 0.3% at mines and 0.5% at utilities.
The July reading for industrial production fell short of economists' expectations. But it still is up 4.2% from a year earlier. Despite the drop last month, mining has surged 12.9% since July 2017.
American industry has looked relatively healthy despite trade conflicts with China, Europe and Canada, and a rising dollar that makes U.S. products more expensive abroad. Helped by tax cuts, the U.S. economy grew at a 4.1% pace from April through June, fastest since 2014. Employers are hiring, and unemployment is 3.9%, close to a 50-year low.


Born in Heraklion, Crete, as the daughter of George Plato and Antigone Astrinaki, Lena grew up in Athens. Her father, George Plato was the first known composer and pianist at the National Opera House. Not surprisingly Lena started playing piano at a young age and later studied at the Conservatory of Athens. She became a professional pianist on her eighteenth, and in 1963 won the First Prize of the Competition Kaiti Papaioannou. She left with a scholarship to study abroad, first at the Academy in Vienna and then in Berlin, where she came into contact with rock, jazz and Eastern music.
She returned to Greece during the dictatorship and worked with Hercules Triantafyllides and his band DNA. Along with her then husband, the composer Dimitris Marangopoulos, she began working with the Third Schedule of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, where she met Manos Hadjidakis, who was then director of the group. He helped Lena in the production of her first show called 'Lilipoupoli'.


Manufacturing, workshops, and shop uniquely for the pleasure of chocolate! Facing the Romanesque church in the Small town of Foussais-Payré.
Manufacture and sale of chocolate, biscuit and cake.
Educational animations around the chocolate and other cakes.


I've been following slimming world for 5mths now & 6 1/2 lb from target... Over the past 3wks only lost 2lbs and think I need to switch things up abit foodwise.
Any meal ideas ?.. FYI- I hate potatoes & don't eat much pasta (about once a month). I normally use cauliflower rice instead of real rice too.
Syn Value of Pure Soya dairy free spread??


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zimbabwe, sudan, and the drc – enter ban ki-moon
As the new Secretary General of the UN completes his very <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6304043.stm
">first official Africa tour, crises loom across the continent. Ban Ki-moon called on the DRC to make a pact for democracy and the AU to be unified on the conflict in Darfur. With the DRC still working to emerge from its long civil war, Ki-moon noted the successful elections last year. The DRC currently holds the largest deployment of UN troops anywhere in the world and the UN says it is committed to creating greater security of the region.
Ki-moon also spoke to the AU about keeping unified in the face of the Darfur crisis. With the potential of Sudan becoming chair of the AU there is worry for the conflict to fall from the priority list. Ki-moon condemned the recent bombings of villages in Darfur and called on Africa's leaders to join together for peace as they did before to bring peace to Burundi and Sierra Leone. Ki-moon met with President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan at the AU summit and urged him to commit to a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force for Darfur. "I… am deeply concerned about the continuing violence and the suffering of the civilians there. This time we need action and to make real progress," Ki-moon said. Four years of violence and genocide has killed over 400,000 people and has displaced over 2 million people. "Together, we must work to end the violence and scorched-earth policies adopted by various parties, including militias, as well as the bombings which are still a terrifying feature of life in Darfur," he told the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ki-moon also announced that he planned to convene in March a working group on Africa and the MDGs, "a coalition of the willing" of African stakeholders and international organizations and donors, to accelerate progress on the goals, which also seek to reduce maternal and infant mortality and provide access to health care and education. He noted that many African countries have made remarkable progress, but there remains a lot to be done.
As the well-publicized conflicts in Africa continue to recieve support, a mostly unheard of crisis grows. The name of this crisis is Zimbabwe or more specifically Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe since 1980 and recently his term was extended for years. Mugabe has mis-managed economic policy and thrown out human rights. Hyperinflation and negative growth are a few of the problems which he attributes to Western sanctions and the legacy of white minoritiey rule. Reported in the news Zimbabwe is facing a massive food crisis. The government has refused aid agencies support and again combats calls of mis-management with the idea of an international plot to remove him from power.
The effects of the food crisis among many Zimbabwean issues is yet to be seen, however maybe we will not witness such tragedy. This July the popular band, Dispatch, will be reuniting for a cause. That cause is Zimbabwe. Their benefit concert has been sold out, a new date added, and again sold out. The proceeds are to be used to fight disease, famine, and social injustice. After reading that I inquired as to where exactly donations will be made, since funds in the government's hands will not necessarily be used for good. "We are in the process of figuring out some existing NGO's that are doing great work there–and some other projects we'd like to support. Once identified, we will make a post about them to the public!," was the response I recieved. I was very pleased to get such a response from a well-known band working to make a difference in Africa. Supporting existing programs and projects that are working effectively will creat the most good. Check out the Dispatch Zimbabwe Team site, I think there are some remaining tickets for the concert this summer at Madison Square Garden.
Here at Michigan State University there is a push within the Student Assembly to revoke an honorary doctorate degree in law, which was presented to Mugabe when he spoke at MSU. The bill written in the Student Assembly will be voted on next week and after that will be referred on to the Administration. The international plot to overthrow continues. All jokes aside, the efforts of Dispatch should be commended and the pressure on Mugabe intensified as his people face certain death from his inactions.
2007/01/30 2011/04/15 Alex B. HillAfrica, African Union, Ban Ki-moon, Darfur, Dispatch, DRC, Michigan State University, Robert Mugabe, Sudan, UN, Zimbabwe
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Helo!Good text.Tank you.Congratulations.
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The rumors are true: tomorrow is Turkey Day. And unfortunately, that means that the most frenzied and panic-inducing shopping date on the calendar is soon to follow — Black Friday.
It's easy to tune out Black Friday in theory, but the reality is that we all eventually need to replace a flat screen TV or invest in that next-gen console. Ultimately, whatever is on your list may never again be as affordable as it will be during those 24 hours of slashed prices and steep competition. So, to those stepping into the Black Friday fray, we want to wish you the best of luck… and direct your attention to Johnnie Walker Black Label.
Sure, Black Friday, Black Label — it's something of a linguistic lay-up. But there are a multitude of reasons why we recommend Black Label to those wishing to toast a particularly successful shopping day, or simply kick back after returning from the Black Friday barricades.
For starters, Johnnie Walker Black Label might be understood as the polar opposite of Black Friday. Whereas the shopping holiday is characterized by rushed decisions and impulse buys, Johnnie Walker Black Label is the result of a slow, deliberate process that can't be sped-up.
The single malt and single grain whiskies used to make Johnnie Walker Black Label are sourced from all over Scotland and aged for a minimum of 12 years. For perspective, that means the very youngest whisky in its blend was aging back when the iPhone 3GS was the Black Friday big ticket-item.
However, unlike the trend-driven bargains that dominate Black Friday, Johnnie Walker Black Label is masterfully blended so that its taste profile remains consistent from year to year. It was never intended to be an "it" product for a limited window of time, but rather a dependable pleasure that can be returned to again and again.
In fact, sitting down with a glass of Johnnie Walker Black Label and contemplating how it looks, smells, and tastes is an excellent way to enjoy a dram during the craze of the holiday season. So, grab your favorite glass, block off at least a half hour of your time, and find a favorite place to sit and discover the flavor journey of Johnnie Walker Black Label.
To begin, simply contemplate its color: would you consider it to be copper, caramel, bronze, or something different? If you're still switching through color possibilities in your head, it might be useful to hold the glass over a piece of blank white paper, which provides something of a blank canvas against which to consider the whisky's true hue.
Afterward, contemplate the whisky's aromatics. It's easier to sense its olfactory possibilities if the whisky has been poured into a traditional tasting glass, with a bulbous bottom and tapered mouth designed to help direct aromatics to the nose. A rocks glass will get the job done as well. To obtain a proper sniff, position your nose by the rim of the glass, but be careful not to tip it over the edge — doing so would place your nostrils too close to the alcohol, risking nasal burnout. Vitally, you should also leave your mouth open, which will improve your perception of the aromas.
Once these factors are met, take a good sniff and think about what your senses are receiving. Sometimes it starts with a single note, which may lead to similar associations and begin a thread of interwoven aromatics. While everyone's sense of smell — and memories associated with smell — will make the experience different, some of the most commonly picked up notes in Johnnie Walker Black Label are rich and tropical dark fruits with touches of sweet vanilla.
While we certainly understand the inclination to get right at the whisky, you never want to rush the experience of sussing out its aromatics. What you taste on the palate is often influenced by your olfactory observations beforehand, so you'll want to pause and explore those aromatic threads to see how they shape the whisky's flavor on the palate.
Start with a small, single sip to season the palate. Afterward, go for another sip that can coat all parts of the mouth, including the tongue and the roof. You'll encounter different flavors and textures depending on what parts of the palate the whisky is touching (and at what time), but classic Johnnie Walker Black Label flavors include rich vanilla from aging in oak and creamy toffee, courtesy of its grains.
Finally, the finish delivers a wisp of smooth, warming smoke that's worthy of contemplation. Of course, it doesn't really matter where you're enjoying the transportive qualities of Johnnie Walker Black Label, or on what day. What's important is that you put in the time to slow down, contemplate, and fully enjoy the whisky.
This article is sponsored by Johnnie Walker.
Johnnie Walker Black Label: The Obvious Yet Ultimate Black Friday Toast | VinePair
https://vinepair.com/articles/black-label-black-friday/
wbs_cat Spirit, wbs_type Scotch, wbs_brand Johnnie Walker, black friday, holidays, scotch
How to Drink Irish Whiskey, According to an Irish Bartender | VinePair
https://vinepair.com/articles/bartender-irish-whiskey-advice/
Tim McKirdy
advice_etiquette
wbs_cat Spirit, wbs_type Irish Whiskey, advice, bartender, Irish Whiskey


Bamberry is an enterprise which opens up new opportunities to develop businesses and people.
We deliver a talented, diverse and community inclusive service to organisations in London and throughout the UK.
We work with private, public and third sector organisations in education, housing, digital, regeneration, HR, social care, policy, planning, and finance and introduce services and people to bridge gaps in service and move projects forward.
At Bamberry, our consultants have over 20 years' experience in interim and permanent resourcing, and in providing expert consultants who deliver successful outcomes on defined projects, and work with organisations to bring about positive outcomes for local communities.
Founder Karen Berry LLB began an early career in law and has 20 years experience in executive resourcing for technical professionals and senior specialists in both the private and public sector, and 4 years' not for profit sector working with vulnerable groups to improve life outcomes, helping individuals to reach their full potential.
Working with a diverse set of clients throughout her career, from large public sector organisations, FTSE100 companies and not for profits, Karen's vision is to create a business that is able to change lives and incorporate social value in every day business.
Karen is also co-founder of Aspiring for Children, a training company which works with professionals to drive change and improve educational outcomes for vulnerable children and young people: www.aspiringforchildren.co.uk.
Bamberry's service is a fully confidential and we have an absolute commitment to quality of service monitored internally through our own audit procedures, as well as by adhering to codes of practice drawn up by UK bodies.


Veritas - There is a best benefits offering for every employer.
Veritas is the firm for organizations who refuse to accept the status quo—from the employee benefits industry or from their employee benefits partner. The firm for employers who want to take control of their benefits through strategic planning and innovative solutions. The firm for organizations who want a partner they can trust and rely on. Veritas leverages our Expertise and Rigor, Partnership and Service, and Passion in order to help organizations determine what their optimal benefits offering is and implement and manage it effectively.
Check out some of the ways Veritas has helped clients successfully overcome difficult employee benefits challenges.
From thinking strategically about benefits to innovative funding options like group medical captives, explore the latest insights from Veritas experts.
Veritas has merged with OneDigital, the nation's largest company focused exclusively on employee benefits and HR.
Veritas has the expertise and rigor to give you control over your employee benefits. We ensure that your plans are designed appropriately based on your objectives, structured in the most cost-effective manner possible, fully in compliance, and delivered effectively.
We partner with you, giving you peace of mind that you will have the resources and support to manage benefits effectively and to help employees better understand and appreciate the benefits you offer. Broker, agent, consultant. At Veritas, we prefer partner.
We are passionate about doing the right thing. You can trust that we will always put your interests first and deliver what we promise. How passionate are we about doing the right thing for our clients? So passionate that we chose to name our firm Veritas, which is Latin for truth.


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Movies/Documentaries
Freelance Music and Entertainment Writer
BeginnerGuitarHQ's Guide To Playing Like Mark Tremonti (THE FOURTH WALL COMES DOWN)!
By MD | April 23, 2020
A while ago, November to be exact, I reviewed Alter Bridge's last record Walk The Sky (you can see that here). It's fun for sure to write reviews of new LPs and EPs, concerts and music-related books, films, documentaries and the like, but for those who don't play music or are just starting out it can be hard to grasp the technical aspects of the music and really be able to appreciate it for what it's worth. Being a musician as well as a writer, I tend to describe songs that I listen to on records with language that is more known to musicians or is attuned to what I hear or even what visuals the select song elicits in my head. I realize that some of that may not be immediately comprehensible to the average listener, so I try not to get too lost in musical jargon or any sort of rabbit hole when I write these pieces up.
Thankfully, the Internet is a vast landscape of information, and there's sites out there and people running them that can not only explain these types of things better and simpler than I can but show said people how to do these things for themselves. A site called BeginnerGuitarHQ in fact published an article specifically called "How To Play Guitar Like Mark Tremonti- Gear, Technique, Tone, Tips" a while ago, showing newcomer guitarists how to replicate the sound of the guitarist from Alter Bridge, the subject of my November review. Besides giving Tremonti his props for his unique approach, their article seamlessly covers all the basics of his style in easily understandable language, making it seem assuring and encouraging to a novice player reading that they can achieve much of the same skill and finesse by applying themselves with the steps listed at their disposal.
Everything from the scales, tone, solos and unconventional tunings Tremonti uses are laid out flat for any player to grasp on BeginnerGuitarHQ's profile, in both words and demonstrative tabs. I'm not going to say too much more about it as it's your job from here to click on the link above, check out the article and everything in it for yourself, apply it to your playing if you're a fan of Tremonti or any of his projects and give the site some generous traffic while you're doing it. Thanks for reading this and thank you for reading their article right after this, and as always stay tuned for more!
Posted in Promotions
Meshuggah- Immutable Review
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Unlimited Love Review
Scorpions- Rock Believer Review
The Devils of Loudun- Escaping Eternity Review
© 2019 - 2020 Matt Derraugh Freelance Music & Entertainment Writer


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Q: How to reatain Values of list like we do for strings and int using shared preference? I have one listView in my app, which i is use to list the differnt strings by dynamically adding the strings to ArrayList and using that in list view. I have declared this as below
public static     List<String> myList = new ArrayList<String>();
this helps me in retaining the values of list even after exiting app, but i cant be able to retain it after i force close the app or cell boots off and on. Is there any way to store this list as we do in shared preference for strings and int?

A: Couple of methods.
1) Store the entire list as a Single String (delimiter separated) and split it when you read it back (depends on what kind of strings, because if you have delimiters inside the string, you're screwed, although you could use some kinda encoding (Base64))
2) Store them as separate variables "Key0" is the first element, "Key1" is the second...etc You get the idea...Remember to flush the Keys each time you save though.
3) Don't use Shared Preference, instead use a private file and write the entire ArrayList Object (It's serializable.) using a ObjectOutputStream
Cheers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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de Vaudémont, mort en 1242 fut comte de Vaudémont de 1188 à 1242. Il était fils de , comte de Vaudémont, et de Gertrude de Joinville.

Il épouse en 1189 Hedwige de Reynel, dame de Gondrecourt, fille de Wiard, seigneur de Reynel, et d'Émeline de Gondrecourt, et a :
  († 1244), comte de Vaudémont ;
 Geoffroy, seigneur de Gondrecourt ;
 Gérard ;
 Gauthier, probablement mort avant 1235 ;
 Thiébaud, chanoine à Toul ;
 Comtesse ;
 une fille, nonne à Etanches.

Au début de son règne, il est surtout connu par des donations en faveur d'abbayes. En 1202, un traité de paix entre le duc de Lorraine  et le comte de Bar . Vingt-cinq ans plus tôt,  et son frère  s'étaient opposés pour la succession de Lorraine, ce qui avait conduit à un partage du duché. Sans enfant, il avait désigné pour lui succéder son neveu , le fils de . Pour obtenir le soutien du comte de Bar, il lui céda par le traité de 1202, la suzeraineté du comté de Vaudémont. C'est ainsi qu'en 1205, à la mort de ,  devint le vassal du comte de Bar.

Cela ne l'empécha pas de suivre sa propre politique. C'est ainsi que lors du conflit qui opposa Érard de Brienne à  à propos de la succession du comté de Champagne, il prit parti pour Erard alors que le comte de Bar choisi Thibaut.

Il teste le jour de la Pentecôte 1235 (ce testament est un des documents les plus précis sur l'étendue du comté de Vaudémont) et partage ainsi ses possessions :
 à Hugues, il laisse la plus grande partie du domaine patrimonial, soit le comté de Vaudémont et les terres de Châtel-sur-Moselle, de Vitry et de Vandéléville,
 à Geoffroy, il laisse, une partie de l'héritage maternel, soit principalement la terre de Gondrécourt,
 à Gérard, le reste de l'héritage maternel, soit Urufle, Saint Christophe, Chenièvre et Ary, ainsi que quelques terres relevant du comté de Bourgogne.

Source

Hugues Vaudémont 02
Hugues 02
Décès en 1242

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Chief Primary Care Officer appointed to new Integrated Care Board
Home » Chief Primary Care Officer appointed to new Integrated Care Board
Nicky Poulain has been appointed as the Chief Primary Care Officer for the new NHS Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, when it is established on 1 July 2022.
After working as a nurse, midwife and community specialist practitioner in London, Nicky was the Associate Dean for Primary Education in Hertfordshire and Barnet between 1999 and 2003. Nicky has also held several director roles across the NHS in Hertfordshire, before moving to Luton CCG in 2014. Following the creation of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes CCG in April 2021, Nicky has been the Director of Primary Care.
Speaking about her appointment Nicky said:
"I am delighted to be appointed as the Integrated Care Board's new Chief Primary Care Officer, which will allow my colleagues and I to work with primary care teams locally in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes to review and redesign services with our partners to meet the needs of our communities. Key to that work will be understanding and acting upon the views and expectations of residents.
"I am passionate about true collaboration and strive for an integrated and personalised health and social care system for the local population. With this in mind, my main focus is always on patient outcomes and improving the wellbeing of patients and their families."
Confirming the appointment, Felicity Cox, Chief Executive Designate for Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board said:
"The Chief Primary Care Officer is a very important role for the Integrated Care Board, as it helps to ensure that local GPs and their teams have a voice at the heart of decisions made both locally and across our system as a whole. This is why I am delighted that Nicky will be joining the team.
"The next 10 years represents a major challenge as we not only recover services following the Pandemic, but also design them going forward around the needs of our population in ways that help health inequalities to be tackled. There is an opportunity for us to think differently about how we deliver health and care, in particular primary care, which makes Nicky's experience invaluable."
Following Royal Assent of the Health and Care Act, 2022 in April this year, the Integrated Care Board will be established as a legal entity on 1 July 2022.


An art-making camp practicing drawing, painting, and mixed media taught by local celebrity artist Susan Wickstrand. Personal imagery will be generated along with introductory projects to ignite the imagination of the students. Professional demonstrations in encaustic, mixed media and painting will be presented to students daily. No experience required. All levels of proficiency encouraged to register. Ten students per week. Materials provided.
Students will be introduced to a variety of methods and techniques required to build both functional and sculptural ceramic works. Hand building, wheel throwing, and glazing will be practiced. Step by step instruction is provided. Firing cost, glazes, and one 25lbs. of clay are provided. No outside clay or glazes allowed. Open to all proficiency levels. No experience required. 12 students per week.


PanaPesca products are developed to eliminate waste and uncertainty.
Our price is your cost.
Consistent performance ensures superior value.
Applying the Science of Quality enables us to capture the authentic flavor of peak freshness, assuring consistent performance.
Consistent performance is your advantage.
Our responsive sales force and global sourcing network make us uniquely positioned to take customer-driven needs directly to the source.


Please complete the form below if you are interested in the Three Trees Center For Change Certification Program. Once you complete the form we will contact you to schedule an initial phone consultation. It is our goal that by the end of the initial phone consultation you will be able to determine how you can use the Stop Drop Think model to improve community safety and decrease offender recidivism where you live and work.


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Tahirih Updates
Tahirih Policy Director Named "Agent of Change"
Focus Area Filter: Policy Advocacy
This article was originally published on August 03, 2008.
Jeanne Smoot, Tahirih Director of Public Policy, received the 2008 Agent of Change Award from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance.
The award recognizes Smoot for her outstanding efforts toward providing "both the foundation for advocacy and skilled advocacy on legal and policy issues related to the rights and protection of immigrant women who are victims of sexual and domestic violence."
Smoot is a graduate of Harvard University Law School and Harvard-Radcliffe College, and she obtained a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. As the director of Tahirih's public policy team, she fights to reduce vulnerabilities of immigrant women and girls and to empower them as survivors.
MORE Tahirih Updates
New Report: U.S. Government Plays Critical Role in the Elimination of Child Marriage
New Report Compares Impact of Compromise Legislation To End Child Marriage in the U.S.
In Time to Lead: The Federal Government's Role in Ending Child Marriage in the United States, Tahirih highlights the critical role of the federal government in our fight to end child marriage here at home.
In Comparing Compromises: Varying Impacts of Laws that Limit, But Do Not End Child Marriage, Tahirih analyzes data from states that have recently passed a reform to limit child marriage.
"I hope my story is helpful to someone else…and can inspire many women to be stronger. We need to help young women identify toxic relationships, so that there are fewer Camilas that go through such difficult things, let alone have our children suffer."
When I was 15 years old, I left my parents' home in Mexico. I was sexually abused by my stepfather, and I thought I would be safer moving out with […]


Sergeant Rick Haase is in charge of all traffic functions and investigations of the Wayne Police Department, including vehicle and bike patrol, traffic enforcement, special event traffic control, traffic accident investigations, and parking enforcement. Sergeant Haase is also responsible for tracking all officers traffic stop reporting tally sheets. Sergeant Haase also serves as the firearm instructor for Wayne Police Department.
Sergeant Brian Swanson is in charge of all criminal investigations for the Wayne Police Department. Sergeant Swanson is also in charge of tracking continuing education training hours for all department law enforcement officials. Sergeant Swanson also serves as the defensive tactics and Taser instructor for the Wayne Police Department.


Over the past few years, a number of technological advances have greatly improved the efficiency of air curtains. Air curtains are installed above a doorway, sending a continual stream of air in order to separate the external and internal environments. Not only does this regulate the temperature inside the building, but it also helps to keep out unwanted bugs and contaminants.
Once used solely for industrial shipping doors, air curtains are now being used across a variety of food and retail businesses. A recent article on ACHR News explains how improved technology has led to a rise in the number - and type - of businesses embracing this energy-saving device.
In the past, air curtains used electric heating coils which disrupted the air flow and volume, cutting efficiency by up to 40%. Also, electric heaters were often mounted at the inlet screen – where the air is drawn into the curtain. This meant that the air curtain enclosure became heated, causing up to a 5% heat loss through the unit.
Nowadays, Venturi-style heaters feature a hemispherical electric element, mounted at the blower inlets. This means that the heat is drawn naturally into the blower, so that the airstream achieves nearly 100% of its aerodynamic potential.
Certain processes and environments can create hazardous dust, gases and fumes – for example, petroleum refineries, chemical facilities and food processing factories.
Custom-built HL-rated air curtains were once used in these cases; but they were custom-manufactured, meaning that they were expensive for business owners to install. Thankfully, air curtain manufacturers can now offer them as a standard product, meaning that they cost far less and are more readily available.
Whereas air curtains for doorways wider than 12ft once had to be custom-made, or made from units bolted together, new manufacturing advancements mean that length has now also become standardised.
With industrial doorways often spanning 12-16ft in width, it is now possible to get a standard catalogue item of up to 16ft. This makes the curtains cheaper, easier to install and more efficient.


314 Davenport Condos is a new per-construction Condo project located at 314 Davenport Road. Developed by Cityzen Development Group and Greybrook Realty Partners. 314 Davenport Condos is a 27-storey multi-use residential tower designed by BBB Architects.
Walk Score of 95 out of 100.
Transit score of 99 out of 100.
This location is in the Annex neighborhood in Toronto.
Walking distance to the Royal Ontario Museum.


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Livescore - All football - soccer results in one place. Realtime.
These are the games being played right now. Join other fans and support your team during real-live broadcasting! Who is going to win?
local timezone (GMT-12:00) (GMT-11:00) (GMT-10:00) (GMT-9:00) (GMT-8:00) (GMT-7:00) (GMT-6:00) (GMT-5:00) (GMT-4:00) (GMT-3:00) (GMT-2:00) (GMT-1:00) (GMT) (GMT+1:00) (GMT+2:00) (GMT+3:00) (GMT+4:00) (GMT+5:00) (GMT+5:30) (GMT+6:00) (GMT+7:00) (GMT+8:00) (GMT+9:00) (GMT+10:00) (GMT+11:00) (GMT+12:00)
International - African Nations Championship Grp. A
17:00 16' Cameroon 1:1 Mali
16:30 45' Kortrijk 0:1 St.Truiden
17:00 17' APOEL Nicosia 1:0 Apollon Limassol
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Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman - Archive
NOTICE: This is the archived website of former Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman. These pages are being preserved by the State of Connecticut for historical purposes.
Current: LT. GOVERNOR WYMAN RECEIVES ARNOLD MARKLE AWARD FOR SERVICE TO CONNECTICUT
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WEDNESDAY: LT. GOVERNOR WYMAN RECEIVES ARNOLD MARKLE AWARD FOR SERVICE TO CONNECTICUT
(HARTFORD, CT) - On Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman will receive the Arnold Markle Award for her service to the state at the 23 rd annual Arnold Markle Symposium in New Haven. The day-long conference is sponsored by the Henry C. Lee Institute for Forensic Science and the State Department on Aging and addresses crimes against the elderly.
WHO : Lt. Governor Wyman
WHAT : Arnold Markle Award for Service
WHEN : Wednesday, October 29, 2014; 8:30 a.m.
WHERE : University of New Haven, Dodd's Hall, Bucknall Theater, 300 Boston Post Rd, West Haven
Juliet Manalan
Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman
860.913.7528 (m)
Juliet.Manalan@ct.gov
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@LGWyman
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LtGovWyman


text:
LikesBOOM
What Are Social Media Influencers and Why Do You Need Them?
Recently, the term "influencer marketing" has gone viral. Considered to be one of the primary marketing strategies in today's social media scenarios, influencers are being hired on a massive scale to promote brands and drive sales. To begin with, the impact of influencers and influencer marketing wasn't so obvious. As more people joined social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, it gave a boost to bloggers and influencers who started developing a strong fan base and following.
Instagram, among all platforms, has the highest engagement rate, with 3.2%, compared to 1.5% on other social media platforms. This engagement is also driven by the content produced by influencers.
How Do You Define Influencers?
Influencers are like mini-celebrities that literally have an "influence" on people. Every influencer has a specific language and niche within which they are instantly recognized. You can find influencers in all kinds of disciplines today, such as travel or fashion bloggers, journalists, photographers, and public speakers.
As more people joined social media over the past five to six years and started following people who give fashion, travel, fitness, makeup, and life advice, the term "influencer" was born. Marketers around the globe realized this impact that influencers had on their followers, which coined the term "influencer marketing."
They started including it in their marketing plans instead of using the old-school, self-promotional strategies. The year 2017 alone witnessed 86% of marketers hiring influencers to promote their brand and drive more sales. The following three years saw a whopping 1,500% rise in the research for influencer marketing.
The world of Instagram has more than 500,000 influencers of all scales today.
What Are the Benefits of Hiring Influencers?
Massive Fan Following
Unless you plan on hiring micro-influencers, who have fewer followers than mega-influencers or world-famous celebrities, you have the major benefit of getting a massive number of potential customers. You will fetch a good number of followers, even if just a small percentage of viewers decide to follow your brand. If your products are promising, followers are bound to buy something at some point, turning it into an advantage in the long run. The fans also rely on influencers' suggestions. For instance, a study revealed that 33% of the Gen Z population who followed certain influencers relied on their decision to purchase a product.
People Trust Their Word
Since people follow these influencers because of their expert opinions and professional advice, they tend to trust everything they say. They somehow establish a friendly rapport with their fans that's informal and trustworthy. More than half of the influencers are authentic and stay true to their words, which is applauded by their followers.
A lot of them are also considered to be role models for having established their own identity without depending on nepotism. Marketers take advantage of this trust, as well as the relationship between influencers and their followers, and pay influencers to promote their products. They depend on the fact that any information provided by these influencers is going to be received positively by their followers, which can lead to higher sales.
This type of indirect marketing also gives the consumers a chance to indulge in new products without facing the pressure to buy it, making it a nuanced marketing strategy that has a higher chance of success. Even though consumers are aware of the content being a sponsored endorsement, they still find the advice to be dependable and honest.
Highly Engaged Target Audience
Depending on the niche of certain influencers and their style, they can come with a highly engaged audience. Their followers take their advice and follow them for a reason. If your products or services are targeted to a certain group, you need to list the influencers you wish to collaborate with. For instance, if your company focuses on manufacturing skin products, you need to target the makeup and beauty bloggers within your area or country. In this case, your target audience will probably be the female population within an age range of 18 to 35 years old. This tactic will not only help you in reaching a major target audience but also in creating engagement, which can be very beneficial for your brand.
A great example of a brand that has solely relied on influencer marketing recently, without producing any commercials, is Daniel Wellington. The brand, which is a leading name in its discipline of designing watches, had to take this risk to understand better sales patterns and receive feedback from the audience.
Creative Way of Advertising Your Products
With so much content produced all over the platform every day, followers can get easily bored when they see repetitive posts. Even though it may look easy, it's highly challenging to keep your audience entertained with every post. There are many creative minds out there who put a lot of effort into creating excellent content, which can make the platform get saturated at some point. You can often find yourself brainstorming to be able to produce fresh content and failing to come up with new ideas.
That's when hiring influencers can help you. Influencers have their own style of producing content that is favored by their followers. They can promote your products in their own style and manner. This gives a different edge to your marketing, and your followers get to view fresh content, ultimately resulting in more engagement from old and new followers.
A Great Return on Investment
It takes a lot of effort, time, and money to produce content that can engage your audience. Influencers provide small brands and companies with great ROI, even with a fixed budget. Initially, it might seem expensive to pay hefty paychecks and give away freebies during contests held by your hired influencers. But as we discussed the impact of influencers on their followers, we can anticipate and calculate the ROI accordingly.
According to stats and numbers, you can expect to earn an average of $6.50 on every $1 spent, making it almost six times more beneficial. To have a successful return on investment, you just need to make a definite plan, determine your objectives, and set appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs). Also, it's important to define your main goal behind every campaign. Whether you need to boost engagement and increase your likes, shares, and comments, or you need to generate more sales, targeting influencers, and setting relevant strategies will help you tremendously.
Defining Micro and Nano-Influencers
As the name suggests, micro- and nano-influencers are those who have a small number of followers compared to the bigger celebrities. However, they still have a major engagement with their followers. Basically, these have 100,000 followers or less. With one-third of the channels belonging to micro-influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers, and only 1% being mega-influencers with more than 5 million followers, you can compare their relative and significant impact on the audience and benefit from it.
There's a marginal difference between the terms micro- and nano-influencers. The former has a follower count from 10,000 to 100,000, and the latter from 1,000 to 10,000. Micro-influencers have a better say and are driven to create content that hits the target, compared to nano-influencers. However, we're going to talk about both groups in a collective sense, given their high rate of engagement.
There are so many influencers on Instagram that selecting and hiring a particular bunch can get nerve-racking. Within this population, we'd recommend hiring micro-influencers and nano-influencers, rather than the major bloggers or Instagram celebrities, due to a number of reasons.
Here are some aspects of hiring micro-influencers for your marketing campaigns:
👉 Depending on their reach and number of followers, small-scale micro-influencers are either willing to exchange free products or demand a certain amount of money to promote your products. You need to target these influencers smartly depending on their fan base and demands, and most importantly, according to your budget.
👉 One great thing about micro-influencers is that they are usually quite open and genuine about their opinions. They obviously create amazing content; that's the very reason behind their popularity. Compared to mega-influencers, these people are more connected to their audience. That's because they can easily respond to every comment and private message, making people feel heard and important.
👉 According to statistics, they have a higher engagement and audience reach than bloggers who have more than 100,000 followers. In fact, it is twice or more than the other groups. This gives your brand the benefit of reaching a wider audience with an even higher engagement rate (coined as ER). According to a study conducted by HypeAuditor in January 2019 about the engagement rate within that year, it was found that influencers who had more than one million followers had an average engagement rate of 1.97%; those with 100,000 to one million followers had a 2.05% ER; 20,000 to 100,000 had a 2.15% ER; 5,000 to 20,000 had a 2.43% ER; 1,000 to 5,000 had a 5.60% ER. You can compare the impact of micro- and nano-influencers on the major bloggers by using this data.
👉 Micro-influencers tend to put more effort and time into creating quality content. They discover unseen aspects of your product and create content that's more specific to your category. Not only are their ads creative and unique, but you can also get a lot of notable feedback from their followers. Unlike the content posted on major channels where the feedback from customers often gets lost, the minor channels can give you access to every comment, private message, and insight from your potential customers.
👉 They rely on you, too. As we've mentioned before, a lot of micro-influencers agree to promote your brand and products only for a free supply of your products, instead of paychecks. This collaboration is helpful for both parties. They get to create new content, gather engagement, and receive free products. You, on the other hand, will benefit by saving a major amount of funding within your budget. Basically, they are cost-effective.
👉 Lastly, there is more reach and content creation with groups of micro-bloggers compared to major influencers. Instead of hiring just one or two mega-influencers who take up half of your budget plus the free products, you can target groups of micro-bloggers who will demand less money and generate more content.
Instagram has 52% of bloggers who have 1,000 to 5,000 followers; 33.4% from 5,000 to 20,000; 8.2% from 20,000 to 100,000; 6% from 100,000 to 1 million, and only 0.3% of bloggers who have more than 1 million followers. This also increases your chances of running a few successful campaigns rather than one ineffective campaign with a single mega-influencer. Also, this results in more personalization and better targeting of the niche audience.
Influencer marketing is so prominent in this day and age that there are more and more rising influencers within various disciplines, trying their best to gain a solid following, going for collaborations that matter. This is also giving influencer marketing a major boost, which doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon.
Advertising Your Business through Instagram Ads
The Influencer Marketing Process
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text:
namespace MyStik.TimeTable.Data.Migrations
{
    using System.CodeDom.Compiler;
    using System.Data.Entity.Migrations;
    using System.Data.Entity.Migrations.Infrastructure;
    using System.Resources;

    [GeneratedCode("EntityFramework.Migrations", "6.1.3-40302")]
    public sealed partial class ChangeLogs : IMigrationMetadata
    {
        private readonly ResourceManager Resources = new ResourceManager(typeof(ChangeLogs));

        string IMigrationMetadata.Id
        {
            get { return "201510251754102_ChangeLogs"; }
        }

        string IMigrationMetadata.Source
        {
            get { return Resources.GetString("Source"); }
        }

        string IMigrationMetadata.Target
        {
            get { return Resources.GetString("Target"); }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How could I expand this equation How could I expand this equation (0.837 + x^0.5 + x)^4.870
Neither
Expand[(0.837 + x^0.5 + x)^4.870]

nor
Series[(0.837 + x^0.5 + x)^4.870, {x, 0, 6}]

work.

A: It very strongly depends upon the answer to the question, why do you want to make the expansion and what is the range of x? For this reason in addition to the answer of Artes in the comment above you might think of the following approach for 0<x<1. This makes a fit of your function to a cubic polynomial:
    lst = Table[{x, (0.837 + x^0.5 + x)^4.870}, {x, 0, 1, 0.01}];
ft = Fit[lst, {x, x^2, x^3}, x];
Show[{
  ListPlot[lst, PlotStyle -> Blue],
  Plot[ft, {x, 0, 1}, PlotStyle -> Red]
  }]

That is how the fit looks like:

The blue points is your function and the red line is the fit. If this is a satisfactory coincidence, your expansion (or better to say, your approximation) is:
    ft

(*  26.173 x + 20.6356 x^2 + 113.437 x^3  *)


text:
Indefinite Solitary Confinement in New York's Prisons Is Finally Put to the Test
A Sweeping Reform Bill and a Handwritten Legal Complaint Offer Hope to Men Trapped in Isolation for Decades
By Joshua Manson | June 3, 2019
This article was published in collaboration with The Appeal.
On the eve of Election Day 1994, Patrick Proctor and three other men escaped from the close supervision unit at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in upstate New York. It was the first escape in the prison's eight-year history.
They did not get far. State police initiated a manhunt spanning 25 miles in every direction and deployed 140 law enforcement officials, two helicopters, and seven police dogs to find the four men. They found Proctor after just a few hours, badly injured and limping along a local highway. They recaptured the rest of the men, also injured, by that afternoon.
Corrections officials punished Proctor for the escape, giving him 10 years in disciplinary segregation—23-hour-a-day solitary confinement. Proctor, who was serving 32 and a half years to life for second-degree murder, did his stretch in solitary, earning time off for good behavior, and expected to rejoin the general population on Dec. 8, 2003.
Instead, prison officials handed Proctor a notice informing him that he would remain in isolation, pending a formal hearing. This time, he would be in administrative segregation, or "ad seg"—solitary confinement used to isolate people whom corrections departments consider risks to the "safety and security" of the facility.
In the hearing 11 days later, officials pointed to Proctor's now years-old attempted escape and early misbehavior in disciplinary segregation (which he disputed vigorously). Then they affirmed Proctor's placement in administrative segregation, where he would remain indefinitely.
Trapped in isolation
Administrative segregation is the least regulated and least visible form of isolation in New York prisons. Unlike their peers in disciplinary segregation, those in administrative segregation have no defined end to their time in solitary. Their fate is entirely up to the corrections department.
According to the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), there are currently 18 people in administrative segregation, along with more than 2,300 in disciplinary segregation. The actual number may be somewhat higher, since individuals have reported having their segregation classifications flipped from administrative to disciplinary and back again, without them ever leaving isolation.
Even at a time of reform, Proctor and his peers in administrative segregation are being left behind. Recent solitary restrictions in New York cap disciplinary segregation for most first-time rule violations at three months, and reduce longer solitary stints, but they entirely exclude people held in administrative segregation.
Yet there are signs of hope in New York for those in indefinite solitary confinement. Proctor and others have challenged some corrections department policies and procedures that keep them trapped in isolation, and have so far seen varying degrees of success. And a sweeping reform bill, which is close to passage in both houses of the state legislature, would mandate a path back to general population for everyone in solitary—including the long-forgotten long-termers in administrative segregation.
A solitary challenge
Proctor's lawsuit began with a complaint he drafted and filed himself from his solitary cell in 2009. He argued that his indefinite isolation violated his 14th Amendment right to due process, which requires prisons to conduct regular reviews when placing or keeping someone in solitary. But according to Proctor, his reviews were so biased that they should not even count as such. Instead, he argued, they were "sham, perfunctory," and "not meaningful."
In October 2015, a federal district court dismissed Proctor's claim. But when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the lower court's decision in 2017, it found that Proctor had a case to answer.
Proctor's legal team deposed corrections officials and used internal corrections documents to show that his placement in administrative segregation was based on his past actions, and not—as is the alleged purpose of such segregation—on his current or potential future behavior. One official told Proctor's lawyers that his current behavior "plays no role in the decision whether or not to maintain him in ad seg," and that his isolation was justified by his "criminal history alone." Prison paperwork showed that officials interpreted Proctor's "positive behavior" toward staff as an effort to "mask his resistance to authority," an assertion the court called "bizarre and unsupported." Asked to explain these and other circular justifications, a member of the review panel gave a frank response: "That's a little weird, isn't it … I can't explain that."
The court found that Proctor's reviews may not have been meaningful enough to constitute due process. It was the first federal ruling to declare that, in administrative segregation reviews, simply going through the motions is not enough. The court then outlined a set of minimum standards for any acceptable review, stipulating that reviewers must "consider new relevant evidence as it becomes available" and must "ensure that Ad Seg is used as neither a form of punishment nor a pretext for indefinite confinement." Timothy Gilman, one of Proctor's attorneys, said the requirements reaffirmed that reviews must be meaningful, and that "rubber-stamp formalities are not enough" to keep a person confined in solitary for years or decades.
In January, facing the prospect of a trial, the corrections department agreed to settle the case. Gilman wrote in an email that he and Proctor hope the agreement, which is not yet final, will "meaningfully change Proctor's conditions in the short term, as well as provide him a good path forward and out of administrative segregation." They also hope that the appeals court's ruling in the case will "help ensure that due process is satisfied for others going forward, or that at least relief will be available where that process is lacking."
Court challenges continue
Imhotep H'shaka, a man currently housed at Attica Correctional Facility in Western New York, has already cited Proctor's case in his own lawsuit. H'shaka completed a stint in disciplinary segregation in 2010, after allegedly assaulting prison staff. Like Proctor, he was immediately moved to administrative segregation and has remained there since.
In reviewing a motion filed by H'shaka, the Second Circuit cited its own findings in Proctor's case, including the tenet that the corrections department "may not use Ad Seg as a charade in the name of prison security to mask indefinite punishment for past transgressions." The court made a point of describing the extreme conditions endured by people in administrative segregation in New York's prisons: "For the last 22 years, [H'Shaka] has been alone in a nine by eleven cell for 23 hours a day, 365 days a year. … He goes outside for just one hour a day, where he is put in another nine by eleven cage, this one made of chain fencing. There is nothing in the cage but a concrete floor."
H'shaka, too, has been offered a settlement, where he would be placed in a "non-general population secure confinement area"—theoretically a less-restrictive environment—and eventually made eligible for a transition program out of administrative segregation.
Despite the heartening court developments in Proctor's and H'shaka's cases, individual settlements are unlikely to effect real, systemic change—and may actually be designed to block it. Sean Ryan, who escaped with Proctor in 1994 (and from Rikers Island 15 years earlier), has been in administrative segregation for more than 24 years despite his own pro se lawsuit against prison officials. In a letter to Solitary Watch, he said that modest settlements like Proctor's and H'shaka's are "part of DOCCS' deliberate Ad. Seg. litigation strategy … to make meaningless changes so that it appears to the courts that they have good intentions of letting people out." By settling cases as they arise, the corrections department has so far been able to stave off a class action challenge that could require a broader policy change.
A vindictive punishment
On paper, indefinite isolation is meant to incapacitate those who present an ongoing threat. But prison officials have often wielded their most damaging weapon against those who—like Proctor—have attempted to escape in the past, regardless of their current status or recent behavior. Amy Fettig, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, has noted that prisons routinely respond to escapes "with humiliation and extreme vengeance," and often hold former escapees in isolation for years or decades "no matter what their behavior has been in the interim"—leaving them with no possible path out of solitary.
William "Billy" Blake has spent what may be the longest amount of time in continuous isolation in New York. Despite having no violent infractions in more than 15 years, Blake is now in his 32nd year of solitary confinement. He, too, was placed there after a failed escape attempt, in which he shot and killed one Onondaga County sheriff's deputy and wounded another. Although prison officials gave him reason to feel optimistic in September 2017, he remains confined and has been told that he will "likely remain [there] for the foreseeable future."
In a widely read essay titled "A Sentence Worse Than Death," Blake described feeling "boredom and loneliness to such a degree that it seemed to be a physical thing inside, so thick it felt like it was choking me, trying to squeeze the sanity from my mind, the spirit from my soul, and the life from my body."
Hope in HALT
The best hope for Blake, Ryan, H'Shaka, and others still in administrative segregation lies with the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, a comprehensive reform bill that would effectively end the kind of prolonged and indefinite solitary they have endured in New York.
The bill mandates that anyone separated from the general prison population for more than 15 consecutive days be transferred to a residential rehabilitation unit—a high-security setting where they would receive seven hours out of their cells for psychological treatment, programming, and recreation. The bill would also guarantee fairer and more effective periodic reviews.
The bill passed in the New York State Assembly in 2018, but did not have enough votes to pass in the State Senate. This year it does. But it still faces fierce opposition from the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, the powerful correctional officers union. Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to indicate his support, instead proposing a far weaker set of solitary reforms that, once again, does not apply to individuals in administrative segregation. Lacking support from the governor, legislative leaders have yet to bring the HALT Act to the floor for a vote.
But advocates involved in the #HALTsolitary campaign are holding out for passage of the legislation in undiluted form and have pointed to the long-termers in administrative segregation as proof of the bill's urgency. If the bill fails to pass before the legislative session ends this month, its political momentum may fade, leaving those in administrative segregation to suffer through another year—or longer—of torture in New York prisons.
Tyrrell Muhammad of the Correctional Association of New York, a campaign leader who himself spent years in solitary confinement, said that for such egregious conditions to end, "people have to get involved. People have to become upset. People have to show [that they are] not going to tolerate this under my watch, in my name."
This entry was posted in Features, News and tagged Ad Seg, administrative segregation, Andrew Cuomo, escape, HALT Solitary Confinement Act, lawsuits, Legislation, New York, New York Civil Liberties Union, Retaliation. Bookmark the permalink.