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Human and Animal Heath • Braz. arch. biol. technol. 45 (2) • June 2002 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-89132002000200006 copy
Frequency-dependence of mating success in Poeciliopsis monacha (Pisces, Cyprinodontiformes) reproductive complex, Sonora, Mexico
Neuza Rejane Wille Lima
Carlos Roberto S. F. Bizerril
A diversity of all-female fishes of the genus Poeciliopsis coexists with their sexual ancestor species in streams of western Mexico. All-females are hybrids that depend on the sperm of paternal species to reproduce. Rare-female advantage is one of several hypotheses that attempt to explain how the diversity of all-female biotypes is maintained within the Poeciliopsis reproductive complexes. According to this hypothesis, the uncommon all-female biotype has a mating advantage over the common ones and has been maintained by a dynamic equilibrium process. In the P. monacha reproductive complex at Arroyo de los Platanos the density of two all-female biotypes (P. 2monacha-lucida I and II) varies across pools. The objective of this study was to analyse fecundity and mating success of females from this arroyo to test the hypothesis. Female mating success was inversely correlated to their density, supporting this hypothesis.
All-females; mating success; Poeciliopsis monacha; rare-female advantage
Uma diversidade de fêmeas unissexuadas do gênero Poeciliopsis coexiste com seus ancestrais sexuados em riachos do oeste mexicano. Fêmeas unissexuadas são híbridos que dependem do esperma da espécie parental paternal para se reproduzir. Várias hipóteses, incluindo a vantagem da fêmea rara, procuram explicar como a diversidade do biótipos unissexuados é mantida nos complexos reprodutivos de Poeciliopsis. A hipótese propõem que os biótipos unissexuados menos frequentes tenham vantagem de cruzamento sobre os biótipos mais frequentes e que existe um equilíbrio dinâmico regulando tal processo. No complexo reprodutivo de P. monacha localizado no Arroyo de los Platanos, a densidade de dois biótipos unissexuados (P. 2monacha-lucida I e II) variam entre as piscinas formadas. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a fecundidade e o sucesso de cruzamento das fêmea deste riacho para testar a hipótese. O sucesso de cruzamento das fêmeas foi inversamente correlacionado a sua densidade, dando suporte a hipótese levantada.
Poeciliopsis monacha (Pisces, Cyprinodontiformes) Reproductive Complex, Sonora, Mexico
Neuza Rejane Wille Lima1** Author for correspondence and Carlos Roberto S. F. Bizerril2
1 Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF); Laboratório de Genética Evolutiva de Peixes. 2 Universidade do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO); Laboratório de Avaliação Ambiental
Key words: All-females, mating success, Poeciliopsis monacha, rare-female advantage
Natural all-female biotypes (unisexual forms) are rare among vertebrates and usually involve several ecological restrictions (Vrijenhoek et al., 1989). Unlike truly parthenogenetic lizards, all-female biotypes of fishes, salamanders, and frogs require sperm by males of a closely related sexual species to reproduce. Such sexual parasitism implies a strong competition for sperm, food, and space among members of reproductive complexes (Schenck & Vrijenhoek, 1986; Schenck & Vrijenhoek, 1989; Vrijenhoek et al., 1989; Weeks et al., 1992).
A paradoxical coexistence among all-female biotypes and the sexual species exists because the sexual parasite cannot escape or completely replace their host (Schultz, 1967; Vrijenhoek, 1979; Schultz, 1982; Schultz, 1989). The replacement of the sexual species by all-female biotypes would result in the demise of the latter. However reproductive complexes seem to be temporally stable (Stenseth et al., 1985) where sexual species and several all-female biotypes that often successfully co-exist even though strong competition for resources such as sperm, food and space (Schultz, 1969; Vrijenhoek, 1979; Vrijenhoek, 1984a; Vrijenhoek, 1984b; Schenck & Vrijenhoek 1989; Weeks et al.,1992; Lima et al., 1996).
Reproductive complexes of fishes in the genus Poeciliopsis have been intensively studied to understand how the paradoxical coexistence between sexual and all-female biotypes is possible and to identify mechanisms that might sustain a diversity of all-females biotypes (Moore, 1984; Schultz, 1989; Vrijenhoek, 1993).
Basically, one resource partitioning hypothesis (frozen-niche variation) and two behavioural regulation hypotheses (sperm-limited and rare female advantage) attempted to explain the paradoxical coexistence in Poeciliopsis complexes (Moore & Mckay, 1971; Vrijenhoek 1984a; Keegan-Rogers & Schultz 1988).
The frozen niche-variation hypothesis proposes that ecologically different all-female biotypes have independent hybrid origins from sexual ancestors that possessed genetic variability for traits affecting niche breadth (Vrijenhoek 1984a; Weeks et al. 1992; Lima & Vrijenhoek, 1996; Lima, 1998).
Moore & Mckay (1971) developed the sperm-limitation hypothesis based on male sexual behaviour in the Poeciliopsis lucida reproductive complex.
Reproduction of all-females P. monacha-lucida is sperm-limited, because P. lucida males strongly prefer conspecific sexual females as mates (Mckay, 1971). Within the P. lucida reproductive complex, inseminations of all-female biotypes appear to be a function of the proportion of sexual males in the population (Moore & Mckay, 1971; Moore, 1976; Moore, 1984). Solitary males prefer conspecific sexual females, but when males are common they establish dominance hierarchies and only subordinate males mate with all-females (Mckay, 1971).
Males of P. lucida typically approach females with a series of snout-genital contacts, a form of behaviour that might have to do with species identification (Kennett, 1979). The ability of all-female specimens to mimic the genital patterns of P. lucida females appears to be an important mechanism to compete for sperm (Lima et al., 1996).
Keegan-Rogers & Schultz (1988) observed that males of P. lucida can discriminate against females of the most common all-female biotype and mate with all-females of the rare or novel forms. Therefore they proposed that rare-female advantage might facilitate the natural coexistence of sexual species and all-female biotypes, promoting a diversity of unisexual forms via a dynamic equilibrium.
Rare-female advantage has given rise to frequency-dependent sexual selection when females compete for mates (Mugglenton, 1979; O'Donald & Mugglenton, 1979). Some field samples in the P. lucida reproductive complex, seems to supportthis prediction (Schultz, 1982).
The P. monacha complex at Arroyo de los Platanos seems to be a natural model for testing the rare-female advantage hypothesis. In this place, the frequency of two sperm-dependent biotypes of P. monacha (P. 2monacha- lucida electromorphs I and II) varies greatly across numerous interconnected small pools in the Arroyo de los Platanos and tributaries (Vrijenhoek, 1979). The purpose of the study was to analyse the reproductive performance of females and to test whether uncommon all-female biotypes have a mating advantage over the common ones.
Poeciliopsis is a viviparous fish that stores sperm from multiple inseminations in the folds lining the ovary and gonoduct and has two or three broods at different stages of development within their ovaries (superfetation). Number of embryos reflects the amount of sperm (Turner, 1937; Thibault & Schultz, 1978). Reproduction in the species P. monacha and P. lucida is biparental and involves conventional Mendelian processes (Leslie, 1982). Two different reproductive modes arose as P. monacha x P. lucida hybrids - hybridogenesis and gynogenesis (Schultz, 1967; Schultz, 1969; Cimino, 1972a; Cimino, 1972b). Only gynogenetic all-female biotypes were analysed in the present study. Gynogenesis is an asexual mode restricted to triploid all-females like P. 2monacha-lucida and P. monacha-2lucida (Schultz, 1967). The triploid gynogens, P. monacha-2lucida and P. 2monacha-lucida produces triploid ova. P. monacha-2lucida, relies on P. lucida males for insemination, whereas P. 2monacha-lucida depends on P. monacha males (Schultz, 1989).
Fish were collected with a minnow seine (2 mm mesh) from four natural rock pools in the Arroyo de los Platanos (Río del Fuerte, Sonora, Mexico) in late April, 1987. Natural populations of Poeciliopsis of Mexico typically reproduce from February throughout the summer to late October without any siginicant variation (Thibault & Schultz 1978). Samples were collected in four pools: Log, Sandal, First, and Jaguari, pursuing one transect from up to down stream. A map of the area is provided in Vrijenhoek et al. (1992). Immediately following capture, specimens were frozen on dry-ice and subsequently stored at -70°C. These samples were previously analysed by Lively et al. (1990) and constituent species and clones were identified by electrophoresis of eye tissue extracts. Four enzyme loci [Ldh-1, Pgd-6, Idh-2, and Ck-3 (= Mp-3)] were used to completely discriminate among the components (strains) of P. monacha reproductive complex (Vrijenhoek, 1979). To simplify, the following code was adopted: P. 2monacha-lucida electromorph I = MML/I ; P. 2monacha-lucida electromorph II = MML/II; P. monacha = MM. Only mature females (containing at least one mature egg or one embryo) were examined in the present study.
Ovarian contents from 618 females preserved in 70% ethanol were analysed. Standard lengths were measured as the distance between the tip of the snout and the caudal peduncle. Size and number of mature eggs and the number of embryos were quantified to assess variance in reproductive investment and mating success. Eggs bigger then 1,5 mm diameter and presenting yellow and opac colour are classify as mature (Quattro & Vrijenhoek, 1989; Quattro & Weeks, 1991.In total, the size of 1,110 mature eggs of P. monacha, 377 of MML/I and 206 of MML/II were measured. The diameter of Poeciliopsis eggs predicts their energy content (Quattro & Weeks, 1991). The maximum and minimum diameters (dmax. and dmin.) of each egg were measured to ±0.01 mm using a dissecting microscope and ocular micrometer. The average between these two measurements (daver = (dmax. + dmin.)/2) was calculated to assess mean diameter of mature eggs of each specimen.
Fecundity was estimated as the total number of mature eggs plus developing embryos. The presence and quantity of embryos were used to estimate mating success. Mating success among strains was evaluated by assessing the frequency of pregnant females (containing one or more embryos) in each population (Mckay, 1971). Because the number of embryos per strain seems to depend on the amount of sperm (Thibault & Schultz 1978) and frequency of pregnant females does not account for the difference in standard lengths and fecundity among and within strains (Lima et al., 1996) we also analysed mating success within strains (MSw) as the number of embryos in each female, removing the effects of standard length and the difference in fecundity, following statistical methodology used by Lima et al. (1996).
All analyses were performed using the General Linear Models, Frequency, and Univariate procedures of the SAS statistical package (SAS, 1985). Results of all traits were natural-log transformed and data did not significantly deviate from a normal distribution. Analyses of variance (Type III) of standard length and diameters of mature eggs were performed using pools as covariate.
The relationship between standard lengths and fecundity and between fecundity and embryos were significant (P £ 0,05). Analyses of variance (ANOVA) of fecundity were performed using standard length and pools as covariates and of the number of mature eggs using standard length, fecundity, and pools as covariates.The differences in size and fecundity among the strains were removed via regression. Number of embryos size and fecundity adjusted was used as mating success estimate (MSw) (Lima et al., 1996). ANOVA was performed on diameter of eggs, fecundity size-removed, and mating success to identify the source of variation, using pools as covariate. The least square means of mating success were correlated with the female frequencies across pools using Spearman correlation analysis.
In total, 618 females were analysed and classified as immature (without eggs and smaller then 16 mm, (Thibault & Schultz 1978). Only mature females were analysed to test the hyphothesis. The number of MM specimens was larger than the number of specimens of MML/I and MML/II together (Table 1). Populations from First and Sandal pools contained similar proportions of the strains MML/I and MML/II. On other hand, the number of MML/I specimens in the Jaguari pool was lower than the number of MM or MML/II specimens. A different situation was observed in Log pool, where specimens of MML/II were rare in relation to the specimens of MM or MML/I.
The means of egg sizes were not significantly different among pools. Fecundity significantly varied among pools (F3,510= 5.46; P = 0.0011). Means of fecundity and of number of embryos for the strain MM collected at Log pool were higher than for the other three pools due to the body sizes (Table 2). For the strains MML/I and MML/II, the means of fecundity were higher in Jaguari pool, reflecting the body size of specimens.
(Table 3)
The overall analysis showed that means size of females significantly varied among pools (F3,510= 7.33; P = 0.0001). Females of the strain MM collected in Log pool were significantly larger than the others two strains. The largest specimens of MML/I and MML/II were collected in Jaguari pool. Number of embryos significantly varied among pools (F3, 510= 14.54; P= 0.0001).
On average, mating success of MM females was smaller than all-females. The least-square means of egg diameter were significantly different among strains (F2, 510= 4.25, P= 0.015). The least-square means of fecundity size-removed were also significantly different among strains (F2, 510= 33.58, P= 0.001).
The results of mating success were significantly different between MM and MML/I (MSw: F2, 510 = 5.37, P = 0.004) because the large (LsMSw) was affected by the geographic variation when using pools as covariates (F4, 11 = 0.40, P = 0.801). The relation between the two mating success estimates (MSa and LsMSw) and the frequency of females of each strain per pool (FQ) were performed to test the rare-female advantage hypothesis (Figure 1 and 2).
Fishes from the study area commonly exhibit black spot disease, an infection by trematode larvae (Uvulifer sp.) which form externally visible cysts after burrowing into the body wall (Lively, et al. 1990). Parasite load can be related to the variance in reproductive success of animals (Minchella & Lovede 1981; Hamilton, 1982; Hamilton & Zuk, 1982; Anderson & May, 1985; Minchella, 1985; Kennedy et al., 1987; Fryer et al. 1990). However Weeks (1996) showed that fecundity of females were not affected by parasite load.
Significant variances on size of eggs and fecundity were observed among strains. The differences between females of P. monacha and the two all-female biotypes of P. 2monacha-lucida for these traits were expected (Schultz, 1969; Thibault & Schultz, 1978; Schultz 1982). The hybrids between females of P. monacha and males of P. lucida (i.e., P. 2monacha-lucida (MML), P. monacha-lucida (ML), and P. monacha-2lucida (MLL) exhibited a gradient on reproductive investment that seems to be closely related to parental genomic dosage grade (P. monacha vs. P. lucida). Although parental genomic dosage grade account for some of the life-history variation among all-females some differences in reproductive success might take place between biotypes that have the same dosage (i.e., MML/I vs. MML/II) because of their genetic differences (Vrijenhoek, 1984a; Vrijenhoek, 1984b).
Such differences may be one of the mechanisms that maintain the coexistence between the closely related all-females biotypes.
Competitive modes involving resource partitioning and the plasticity of life history, morphological traits and behavioural patterns might circumvent rivalry among members of reproductive complexes. These strategies have been the best explanation for the paradoxical coexistence among sexual and all-female biotypes (Balsano et al., 1981; Vrijenhoek, 1984a; Balsano et al., 1985; Lima et al. 1996; Lima & Vrijenhoek 1996; Lima 1998).
The present result is the first suitable evidence supporting the hypothesis that rare-female advantage operates in natural populations of Poeciliopsis. An uncommon all-female biotype presented more embryos than the common biotype of next generation. Thus, the rare-female advantage for mates might advance a frequency-dependence diversity of all-female biotypes in both P. monacha (the present study) and P. lucida reproductive complexes (Keegan-Rogers & Schultz 1988).
The effects of frequency-dependence in sexual selection should generate a dynamic equilibrium among all-female strains preventing extinction of rare clones of all-females, favouring newly arrived clonal forms, and promoting coexistence of multiple clones (Keegan-Rogers & Schultz 1988).
Results obtained in laboratory from Poeciliopsis lucida and it sperm-dependent all-female biotypes (P. monacha-lucida) suggested that the rare-female advantage operates in the reproductive complex of Poeciliopsis and that such sexual behaviour regulates community structure (Schultz, 1982; Keegan-Rogers & Schultz, 1988). However, the results from field collection and it might significantly contribute to the recruitment of next generation. Thus, the rare-female advantage for mates might advance a frequency-dependence diversity of all-female biotypes in both P. monacha (the present study) and P. lucida reproductive complexes (Keegan-Rogers & Schultz 1988).
Results obtained in laboratory from Poeciliopsis lucida and it sperm-dependent all-female biotypes (P. monacha-lucida) suggested that the rare-female advantage operates in the reproductive complex of Poeciliopsis and that such sexual behaviour regulates community structure (Schultz, 1982; Keegan-Rogers & Schultz, 1988). However, the results from field collection from El Cajon, Mexico pointed out as a natural test of this hypothesis (Schultz, 1982) was inappropriate to test the rare-female advantage hypothesis.
Some all-female biotype strains could not be separated from each other. Strains of P. monacha-lucida (ML) analysed by Schultz (1982) had to be lumped together because at El Cajon they can be identified only by tissue graft analyses (Angus & Schultz, 1979; Angus & Schultz, 1979). Moreover, the results reported by Schultz (1982) diverged for the relation between frequency of females and their mating success within the two populations collected.
The mating success of P. monacha females was also affected by the rare-female sexual selection. Thus, reproductive success of both sexual and all-females of P. monacha reproductive complex may primarily depend on fecundity and on the probability of acquiring sperm. Therefore, all-females could replace a coexistent sexual population because it must bear the cost of producing males. Although a numerical dominance of P. monacha females over all-female biotypes suggested that reproductive success of sexual females seems to be related to factors other than sexual selection.
Thus, rare-female advantage may promote a diversity of all-female biotypes in the P. monacha reproductive complex. However, rare-female advantage cannot explain coexistence between sexual and all-female biotypes because females of P. monacha were also involved in such type of sexual selection. Perhaps a fixed percentage of all-female biotype is maintained at each location as a consequence of two components. First, the sexual selection that favours rare female phenotypes. Second, by the competition that reduces the abundance of the less adapted phenotypes. However such mechanism is not necessarily involved in P. lucida reproductive complex because males seems to prefer their conspecific as mate (Mckay, 19971; Moore & Mckay, 1971).
Thus, the combination between resource availability and niche partitioning appear to be the principal factor that regulates the abundance of P. monacha species and its coexistence with all-female biotypes (Moore 1984; Vrijenhoek 1979; Vrijenhoek 1984a; Vrijenhoek 1984b; Vrijenhoek 1993).
Resource partitioning has been advanced to account for coexistence among sexual species and all-female biotypes in reproductive complex of the genus Poeciliopsis and Poecilia (Balzano et al., 1989). Although a variety sexual behaviours seems to be important to produce different forms of coexistence and a variety competition strategies within each reproductive complex.
Several examples have been shown how sexual behaviour displayed by both male and female are different among distinct reproductive complexes. The results of the present study strongly suggested that rare-females advantage operated in P. monacha reproductive complex. Males of this species might not be as good as P. lucida males in discriminating between all-female biotypes and conspecific females. Male dominance hierarchies observed in P. lucida reproductive consequence of two components. First, the sexual selection that favours rare female phenotypes. Second, by the competition that reduces the abundance of the less adapted phenotypes. However such mechanism is not necessarily involved in P. lucida reproductive complex because males seems to prefer their conspecific as mate (Mckay, 19971; Moore & Mckay, 1971).
Several examples have been shown how sexual behaviour displayed by both male and female are different among distinct reproductive complexes. The results of the present study strongly suggested that rare-females advantage operated in P. monacha reproductive complex. Males of this species might not be as good as P. lucida males in discriminating between all-female biotypes and conspecific females. Male dominance hierarchies observed in P. lucida reproductive complex restrict assess of subordinate males to conspecific females, promoting an equilibrium dynamic among all-females (Mckay, 19971; Moore & Mckay, 1971).
Female mate competition can be as important as male choice within reproductive complexes. Active female mate choice seems to be involved in some reproductive complexes. For example, female agonistic behaviour against other females and even against males seems also involved in sexual behaviour in P. lucida as well as in P. mexicana reproductive complexes (Keegan-Rogers & Schultz 1988, Balsano et al. 1985, Schlupp et al. 1991). P. latipinna females compete for sperm swimming between P. formosa and male P. latipinna males. Agonistic behaviour such as butting, biting and chasing from P. latipinna females against P. formosa increased in the absence of P. latipinna males (Foran & Ryan 1994).
Females of P. latipinna are also able to copy mate choice behaviour of all-females of P. formosa (SCHLUPP et al. 1994). Such intriguing sexual behaviour is another mode of female mate choice that might explain why the energy and time invested in all-females of Poecilia might not be a total loss for males. Theoretically, males that engage with heterospecific females increase their mating success with conspecific females. However this kind of advantage might not be gained by Poeciliopsis males, because besides agonistic behaviour active mate choice seems not to be involved by P. lucida or by P. monacha females (Mckay, 1971, Moore & Mckay, 1971, Keegan-Rogers & Schultz 1988).
In conclusion, rare-female advantage might be responsible for the coexistence among members of P. monacha complex and seems to regulate population densities. Because mating success of P. monacha females were affected by such sexual behaviour strategy the partitioning of resources might to be the major process that accounts for the maintenance of coexistence among all-female biotypes P.2 monacha-lucida and their sexual host. Sexual behaviour of males and females should differently affect the social structure and the mechanisms responsible for coexistence in reproductive complexes. Identification of payoff for males and females is fundamental to understanding the evolution of reproductive modes within members of reproductive complexes to verify how sexual selection affected all-female biotypes. Comparative studies of secondary sexual characteristics and sexual behaviour strategies would be valuable for a comprehensive picture of similarity and differences among reproductive complexes of Poeciliidae.
We express our deepest gratitude to Robert C. Vrijenhoek who provided the strains to developed the analysis, to Richard Trout and Carol J. Kobak for their suggestions on statistical analyses. NRW Lima also gratefully acknowledge fellowship support from the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq-PROC. 352085/96-7).
Received: June 19, 2000;
Revised: November 07, 2000;
Accepted: August 28, 2001.
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Vrijenhoek., R. C. (1984b), The evolution of clonal diversity in Poeciliopsis In - Evolutionary genetics of fishes. Turner, B. J. (ed.). Plenum Press, New York. pp. 399-429.
Vrijenhoek., R. C. (1993), The origin and evolution of clones versus the maintenance of sex in Poeciliopsis J. J. Hered, 84, 388-395.
Vrijenhoek, R. C.; Dawley, R. M.; Cole, C. J. and Bogart, J. P. (1989), A list of known unisexual vertebrates. In - Evolution and ecology of unisexual vertebrates. Dawley, R. M. and Bogart, J. P. (eds.). New York State Museum Bulletin. Bulletin 466. Albany, New York. USA. pp. 19-23.
Vrijenhoek., R. C.; Pfeiler, E. P. and Wetherington, J. D. (1992), Balancing selection in a desert stream-dwelling fish, Poeciliopsis manacha Evolution, 46, 1642-1657.
Weeks, S. C.; Gaggiotti, O. E.; Spindler, K. P. and Vrijenhoek, R. C. (1992), Feeding behavior in sexual and clonal strains of Poeciliopsis Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol, 30, 1-6.
Weeks, S. C. (1996), A reevaluation of the Reed Queen model for the maintenance of Sex in clonal-sexual fish complex (Poecillidae: Poeciliopsis). Can. Jour. Fish. Aqua. Sci,53, 1157-1164.
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Includes One or Two 8"x10" Prints of your choice, matted to 11"x14".
*Price varies depending upon which package you choose.
Also available as a high resolution digital edition eBook.
"Meditations in Monochrome" is another welcome work from one of the country's preeminent landscape photographers, William Neill. The images range from macro to large landscapes, each one evocative and crafted by a master photographer."
Bill is a friend and a superb landscape photographer. He has long been known for his wonderful and thoughtful color nature photography. He takes a journey into classic black-and-white nature photography with his new book, Meditations in Monochrome. Yet this is not a retro, back-to-Ansel sort of photography. Meditations in Monochrome truly does offer a new look at nature through Bill's discerning eye now turned to black-and-white. This is a beautiful book to go through and use for your own meditations on nature.
"Bill Neill has explored B&W as a way of expanding his creative vision. He's no novice to monochromes, either - his essay in the book explains it all, and the pictures are exquisite! The light is absolutely luminous in many pictures. Bill's monochromes prove that, under all the seduction that color provides in a picture, there still has to be strong composition, design and contrast for an image to work."
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I am excited to announce the publication of my new book, Meditations in Monochrome. Due to popular demand following the release of the Digital Edition, we have created a hardbound version! The images were made from both my 4x5 view camera, and from digital capture with high resolution Canon cameras. Exposure dates range from 1982 to very recent imagery exposed in 2009. The book design and images are mostly the same as the Digital Edition except for seven newly added images. On each page, I have noted which camera was used. This book is a true coffee table collectible Edition and I will be happy to sign it for you!
The book includes 55 images beautifully reproduced and bound on 80 pound coated matte premium paper. The book dimensions are 13 x 11 inches. I am very pleased with the quality of the reproductions. The book is available as part of a deluxe edition package only. An original print made on high quality inkjet paper, matted and mounted on archival museum board, will be included with the purchase of the Meditations in Monochrome book.
I am making ten prints available from which you can choose. You will be able to select from one the images below. We are also offering you the option to select two prints to purchase. See the Purchase links below. Each print will be initialed by me. The prints will be printed on my Canon IPF 6100 on high quality paper using highly archival Lucia pigment inks. The image size is approximately 8x10 inches mounted and overmatted to 11 x 14 inches on archival museum board. The book includes an essay that I've written that discusses how I came to create this body of work and the process of creating the images.
To purchase this Deluxe Edition book, just click on the "Buy Now" PayPal link below for a secure and easy e-shopping transaction, using either a PayPal account (if you have one) or a credit card if you prefer. The drop down menu allows you to select the title of the print or prints you wish to have included with the book. Should you have any questions, please contact us and we will be glad to help you. You can use the contact form found here.
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Presentation of the Charter in response to the Educational Emergency of Fondazione Reggio Children
Live from the Centro Internazionale Loris Malaguzzi in Reggio Emilia the launch event with guests, national and international speakers
According to the survey of Istituto Piepoli, for 3 out of 4 Italians there is an educational emergency in our country. For 44% of the Italian population, the relationship with families and social services needs to be improved.
It was presented Monday, 7 November in an event at the Centro Internazionale Loris Malaguzzi in Reggio Emilia the Charter "Quality Education, a global challenge" drafted by Fondazione Reggio Children and adopted as its Charter of Values.
The Charter therefore affirms the fundamental role of quality education, not only 0-6 but 0-99 years, as a response to the, not only educational, emergency in Italy and in the world.
Emergencies due to various causes: health such as the pandemic, political, social, economic, food, climate, war.
Carla Rinaldi, President of the FRC: "We need a cultural change: the first step is to recognise childhood as a matter of political and social rights".
Carla Rinaldi, President of the Fondazione Reggio Children, presented the Charter illustrating the key values and goals of the educational manifesto.
"Thanks to the educational experience of Reggio Emilia and the projects that Fondazione Reggio Children has carried out with many partners, we have set our values in this Charter.
A contribution to the debate on the theme of quality education and to recognize childhood as a protagonist in society - she explained - Today the Charter begins its journey with this first initiative to promote cultural change: the recognition that childhood deserves, as a political and social subject. A childhood which has rights and potential to respect and listen to. This childhood is a culture that cannot be missed, a quality of the human being that remains all his life. Education is the answer, especially in the many emergencies that primarily impact children. Childhood culture and quality education would help all societies to live better, in Italy and worldwide ".
The event, moderated by Davide Nitrosi, deputy director of the QN-National Newspaper, saw the presentation by the Italian population survey "Childhood Culture, Quality Education, Educational Emergency" created by Istituto Piepoli for the occasion on behalf of the Reggio Children Foundation offering many food for thought.
Gigliuto: for Italians education is a collective process but children are not yet considered "citizens"
"Italians have a "widespread" view of children's education," explained Livio Gigliuto, Vice-President of istituto Piepoli. "A collective path with blurred boundaries, in which every moment is an opportunity for learning, entrusted to an integrated work of school, family and social services, with an increasingly significant role of "others", from grandparents to sport, from scouts to parishes. While it surprises the modern approach to education, still many of our fellow citizens cannot see a citizen in a child".
Vecchi: a collective mobilisation is needed to spread a stronger child culture in the country
"The initiative of the Charter is absolutely centred and contemporary," said Luca Vecchi, Mayor of Reggio Emilia, Anci Welfare delegate, Anci Emilia-Romagna president, after an institutional mission in Mozambique, where "building a school means giving hundreds of children not only an educational opportunity, but also a lifeline, saving lives". "Talking in Reggio Emilia about how to help spread a culture of childhood is a fact of great relevance", continued Vecchi, recalling the "collective mobilization" that took place in the post-war city for the construction of the first kindergartens. "In addition to nests and schools, the PNRR, which with the Governo Draghi has made available 2 billion euros for nests, - continued the mayor Vecchi - we must work to spread a stronger culture of childhood. On the one hand, we need a political will that decides to put the right to the education of children first, because it considers the education of children the fundamental pivot of an idea of society, on the other hand it serves the awareness and collective mobilization. Investing in childhood also means investing in a new political season of expansion of social rights now that major global emergencies are landing on local dimensions with new inequalities".
Sassatelli , Manodori: "Having tools to deal with change is a challenge for the near future"
"The world is changing quickly, and today's children and youth will face a reality that will no longer be today" said Romano Sassatelli, President of the Manodori-Acri Foundation, which has supported numerous projects through the School Poverty Fund for Children.
"Having tools to deal with change is a challenge for the near future." "Nobody excluded" reads a report presented to the European Parliament and this is the goal of our work, which is a common commitment, an intent that involves all forces in the field. For years we have been working on the educational front, together with the other realities of the territory of Reggio Emilia, and we are particularly pleased to have been able to collaborate in the birth of the Charter on education that we hope will be put in place by all our educational community".
Rodriguez, Enel Cuore: "Education is key to making future generations the protagonists of a more inclusive, sustainable and equitable society"
Filippo Rodriguez, Enel Cuore Managing Director stated in his speech: The participation of Enel Cuore in a moment of discussion on the Italian education and training system was for us a source of both great satisfaction and pride, as well as a further opportunity to reaffirm the common purpose and objectives that unites our non-profit organization and Fondazione Reggio Children, with which I want to congratulate on the realization of the Charter on Quality Education presented today".
"Enel Cuore believes that education is key to making future generations the protagonists of a more inclusive, sustainable and equitable society – continued Filippo Rodriguez - This was also the reason why 7 years ago we launched together with Fondazione Reggio Children the project Fare Scuola: a virtuous initiative that in recent years has allowed to give new life to the school spaces of many – often peripheral - Italian cities transforming them into places of renewed sociality and learning, so as to offer children a quality and innovative educational model".
Saulini, Save The Children: "Educational poverty is already manifested in the first thousand days for children in disadvantaged families, nests are a tool to strengthen resilience"
Arianna Saulini, Advocacy Manager Italy – Europe, Save The Children spoke on the Educational Poverty Index and the relationship between 0-6 quality education and child resilience. "Educational poverty, that is the impossibility for children to learn, experiment, develop and flourish freely skills, talents and aspirations that we now know is crucial to development, is determined even before entering primary school, already from the first years of life – said Arianna Saulini.
We support the initiative of this Charter because a quality education from early childhood offers, from our point of view, the opportunity to offer children a factor of resilience especially if they come from a disadvantaged socio-economic context. In fact, we believe that nests are one of the tools to combat inequalities and educational poverty and for this reason we hope that they can become a universal right and no longer a service on individual demand. Having attended a quality nest is an essential protective factor for educational resilience which helps to emancipate children from situations of social and economic hardship (+39% probability)".
Gothson: "The Charter, a tool for alliances and participation to unite local and international thinking, democracy and education"
Harold Gothson, Board Member of the Reggio Children Foundation, one of the founders of the Reggio Emilia Institute in Sweden and the draftsmen of the Charter, recalled the profound link that exists between democracy and education and the relationship with emergencies such as increasing nomadism, the climate and health crisis, stressing the need for a new declaration of "interdependence" between the beings of the planet, of "a new ecological and democratic citizenship". "Today Reggio Emilia is the right place to launch a Charter that connects local and international thinking - he said - that looks at important issues such as the presence of so many children in the world without school or in poor schools. This Charter, which comes out of the extraordinary experience of the schools of Reggio Emilia and the projects of Fondazione Reggio Children, is a hope to become a tool to expand from 0-6 to 0-99 years and needs participation, research, civic action, alliances, as a political platform to act, to create actions together".
Delrio: "Quality education is above all a political challenge for people to be more conscious citizens"
Senator Graziano Delrio welcomed the scientific committee of the Fondazione Reggio Children and introduced James Heckman, Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000. "Education is also and above all a political challenge. - said Delrio - Heckman speaks of education also as an economic fact but especially as a political fact. From the experiences of Reggio Emilia, as from the experiences that the Nobel Prize describes, we see how to cooperate doing things together is more productive than competing, not only in learning. This kind of education is a great resource for the community. Not because it generates people of power and success in the strict sense, but because it generates people more aware of being citizens, more able to fulfil their duties, as well as bearers of rights, able to be unselfish, to know the other as subjectivity, less racist, less scared of the other. Therefore, this founds the community, it founds civil life. Returning to the man who wants to live in the relationship, who recognizes that it is born in the relationship. The Charter draws this scenario: not a world of opposing powers, but another world where citizens are not customers, children are not pieces of marble to be shaped, but we can build a piece of a more human future of our society".
Curioni: "Reggio Approach a democratic approach to education, heritage of all children in the world"
Raffaella Curioni, Councillor for Education, Knowledge and University City of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, concluded the event recalling the need to "restart from fragility, rebuild more open communities". "From the data we have seen today - she continued - there is not so much awareness of the urgency of continuing to work in the direction of a childhood culture and quality education so the Charter will be an important tool to promote these goals. We put this emergency upon us. We have a role of great responsibility because the Reggio Approach is a heritage of children in the world who have known it. From the schools of Reggio Emilia to the suburbs of Mozambique, where the power of school, of educational play, of learning together is also manifested where there are barefoot children together with their parents, operators, the educational community that is created around them, The Reggio Approach is a democratic approach to education".
Nobel Prize James Heckman: "Quality early childhood education programs make those children adults more autonomous and capable; they show the benefits even on the second generations, daughters of the children who attended them; a euro invested on a child is an advantage for the company because it makes 13%".
Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, member of the Scientific Committee of the Fondazione Reggio Children, who for 10-15 years has been visiting and has carried out research in Reggio Emilia on the Reggio Approach and includes among its studies the research and formulation of important theories on the social and economic benefits of quality education for early childhood.
Listen again and Share
You can listen to the full event and speeches on Fondazione Reggio Children's Facebook page and YouTube Channel
For any information, comments, shares, contributions to the Charter, please contact participate@frchildren.org
20221107 CS POST EVENTO EDUCAZIONE DI QUALITA' - Fondazione Reggio Children.pdf 07 November 2022 ‐ pdf, 312.68 KB
EDQ_Lancio Carta 7.11.22_CARTELLA STAMPA.zip 08 November 2022 ‐ zip, 2.40 MB
Last modified: 26 January 2023
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Young Italians shock with first World Tour gold at Samsun
Samsun, Turkey, July 29, 2018 – Thirteen seems to be the lucky number for Carolina Ferraris and Francesca Michieletto. Seeded 13th, the young Italians progressed from Thursday's qualification matches into the main draw rounds and all the way to victory in the women's final on Sunday. Ferraris, who turned 19 on Saturday, and her 20-year-old teammate have only played once on the World Tour before, finishing fifth at Miguel Pereira 2018.
The second place on the podium was for the tournament's top seeds, Eva Freiberger and Valerie Teufl of Austria. For both of these well-seasoned players, the two fifth-place finishes from after they teamed up in early July, at Porec and at Daegu, had been the best results so far on the World Tour.
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Samsun
Fifth-seeded Swedes Camilla Nilsson and Sofia Ogren claimed the bronze medals at Samsun. For either of these 34-year-old players this was the first ever podium placement on the World Tour.
The women's podium at Samsun
The gold medal match between the Italians and the Austrians was a 54-minute battle. Ferraris and Michieletto won the first set by the narrowest of margins, but in the second Freiberger and Teufl did just the same, levelling the match. In the decider, the young Italians kept cooler when it mattered the most and celebrated a 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-11) victory.
"I am so happy that we won the gold medal. It feels amazing! We did not expect this result. Many thanks to all those who have been supporting us! It was an amazing experience to play in front of the Turkish fans," said Michieletto.
The bronze medal match was also decided in a tie-breaker. Ninth-seeded Nicole Dostalova and Anna Komarkova of the Czech Republic won the first set by a wide margin, but Nilsson and Ogren reacted by winning the second by an even wider margin. Riding their momentum, the Swedes went on to win the crucial set to rejoice with the bronze after a 2-1 (15-21, 21-12, 15-10) win.
Earlier, in the two semifinals, both the Austrian and the Italian pairs took revenge for the losses they had suffered to the same opponents in the pool phase of the main draw. Ferraris and Michieletto came back from a set down against Nilsson and Ogren to turn the course of their semifinal towards a 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-12) win. Freiberger and Teufl were more emphatic in their 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) shutout of Dostalova and Komarkova.


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Potomac Wind Energy has expanded its reach to Puerto Rico. Please use the contact page to request information about windmills "molinos" in Puerto Rico.
YOUR PWE INSTALLATION PICTURES HERE!
U.S Botanical Garden, Washington, D.C.


text:
Why U&O
Almost daily, a new study or report confirms what we already know: LGBTQ people of color start out at a disadvantage and fall farther behind as we progress in our lives and careers- irrespective of education, acumen, ambition, and/or class. In addition to homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia, we confront huge racial gaps in employment, advancement, income, wealth, social mobility, housing, representation, and investment that continue to widen, and worsen.
Urban+Out (urban-and-out) is a social impact organization founded in 2011 to address the critical need for more community- and capacity- building spaces, opportunities, and resources for diverse LGBTQ professionals of color. Since then we have engaged 1,000 individuals, held 30+ events in 7 markets, and worked with two dozen partners.
Urban+Out was launched in the aftermath of the Great Recession, which exacerbated already deep inequities in American life. Those gaps remain. Almost daily, a new study or report confirms what we already know: LGBTQ people of color start out at a disadvantage and fall farther behind as we progress in our lives and careers- irrespective of education, acumen, ambition, and/or class. Huge racial gaps in employment, advancement, income, wealth, social mobility, housing, representation, and investment continue to widen, and worsen. Some of us have made progress, but throughout our history incremental individual access has masked- and perpetuated- institutional barriers to opportunity and equity.
LGBTQ professionals of color start out behind white peers, and are falling farther behind, with few pathways to leadership.
Most Black and Brown college graduates end up in non-college jobs. The racial wage gap continues to expand while the black unemployment rate has remained twice that of whites for 50 years, irrespective of booms and busts. Latinx households are worth less than 1/10 of whites ones. Millions of queer and trans workers can be fired for their sexual orientation or gender identity and existing protections are under threat. And despite the 'model-minority' myth, Asian-Americans workers fared worse than other groups of color during the recession, and among all racial groups, the least likely to be promoted into leadership.
Lack of access to information, networks, pipelines, role models and mentors, and best practices means dismal representation in workspaces, and crises of diversity in leadership- in all sectors.
Issues of representation in some industries are well-known, but lack of diversity prevails in every sector, from finance and tech to philanthropy and the arts. Just 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are people of color, but so too are only 10% of nonprofit CEOs. While tech's issues are universally debated and diversity has actually lost ground at the big banks, the leadership of nonprofits, which serve mostly people of color, remains overwhelmingly white. And yes, this is the reality in mainstream LGBTQ spaces as well.
Similar barriers limit leadership and entrepreneurship within our communities.
In an economy where almost all net job growth comes from startups, there is scant access to capital for entrepreneurs of color; as little as 1% of venture capital ends up black hands. While the vast majority of nonprofits remain overwhelmingly white in staff and leadership, some of the most vital work for LGBTQ people of color is being done by those organizations founded and led by LGBTQ people of color. They are almost universally under-resourced, under-funded, and under-staffed, with little access to funding of scale, best practices, professional development, and board recruitment.
The challenges facing LGBTQ communities of color are complex and there are many ways of confront them. Ours is to build LGBTQPOC leadership, at all levels, from information and mentorship for youth, to networks and pipelines for professionals, to best practices and capacity for entrepreneurs and organizations.
95 Linden Blvd. Ste 22A
info@urbanandout.net
Welcome to Urban&Out!


text:
Showing posts with label Global swoop nets huge haul of fake drugs: Interpol. Show all posts
Police and customs officers from 81 countries have seized 2.4 million doses of counterfeit medicine sold over the Internet during a one-week operation, international police body Interpol said Thursday. Fifty-five people were arrested during the September 20-27 operation, codenamed Pangea 4, and more than 13,000 websites closed down, Interpol said. More than 100,000 illegal doses were seized in France, over half of which were for supposed to be for treating male erection problems, France's medical security agency that took part in the operation, AFSSAPS, said. The operation was carried out for the fourth successive year in an effort to inform the public about the risks of buying medicines online. "Interpol's member countries and partners have shown through the success of Operation Pangea IV the Internet is not an anonymous safe haven for criminals trafficking illicit medicines," said Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble. The agency said it had targeted Internet service providers, online payment companies and delivery companies during the operation, in order that the whole supply chain of fake drugs be broken down. "We cannot halt the illicit online supply of medicines without a consistent, constant and collective international effort involving all sectors," said Aline Plancon, head of Interpol's fake drugs department. "The operation itself was only made possible thanks to a combined effort involving the 165 different participating agencies sharing and exchanging live information via Interpol's headquarters in Lyon," she said. Interpol has also posted messages on Internet video sharing sites warning punters "Don't Be Your Own Killer" by buying unlicensed pharmaceuticals.


Stockholm-based Swedish biotech firm Affibody has promoted Ulf Boberg to CEO. Dr Boberg, who joined the firm in January 2006 as senior vice-president for development, replaces acting CEO Dr Carl-Johan Dalsgaard, who will remain a non-executive board member. Dr Boberg's 18 years' experience in the industry include several leading and financial roles, most recently as CEO of Global Genomics AB. Other positions include: senior VP and head of the development division of Astra Pain Control; investment manager of LinkMed AB; and head of Medical Research at Gambro.


Signature cotton drill skirt in washed juniper green, detailed with contrasting cream stitching throughout. Fitted through the hips, this mid-length skirt features a sewn-in wrap panel in front. Finished with an exposed zipper closure in back. Unlined. Color: Juniper. 100% Cotton. Made in Italy.


Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Butter a 25 cm round cake tin.
Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until very light and fluffy. With the motor running, add the egg yolks, one at a time, until all are incorporated.
Whisk the lemon juice with the ricotta until light and airy. Fold into the cake batter.
Tip the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer into the cake. It should come out clean when cooked through.
Remove the cake from the oven and turn it out onto a cake rack to cool. It will remain nice and moist for a few days.


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The EU's Secret Plan for a Catastrophic Grexit
The top-secret plan had been filed away in 2012, the previous time Greece had teetered on the edge of default. It was code-named "Croatia's Accession to the European Union" to disguise that it was a doomsday scenario for the country farther south. Any hint it even existed would have sent Greece deeper into crisis, spooked financial markets, and shaken confidence in the euro itself. Then in early June 2015 a fresh round of default negotiations seemed to be at an impasse. Not till negotiations ended on July 13, 2015, did the EU and Greece agree to a third bailout. In the meantime, the EU's preparations for catastrophe continued, as detailed in this excerpt adapted from Viktoria Dendrinou and Eleni Varvitsioti's book, The Last Bluff.
A small team of 10 EU economists and lawyers huddled on the 15th floor of the Charlemagne building, the European Commission's economic headquarters in Brussels, and dusted off the old Plan B in case negotiations failed and Greece defaulted. The reasons for secrecy remained the same as 2012. But the plan had to be renamed because Croatia had since joined the EU. Thus, the 157-page "Albania Contingency Analysis & Plan, Sovereign Default 2015" was all about what to do to minimize the economic and humanitarian catastrophe should Greece be forced out of the EU and the euro zone.
The second chapter, Managing Exit, looked at the stark costs of a Grexit. At that point, Greece owed €342 billion ($387 billion in current dollars) to the European Financial Stability Facility, the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank, and other euro zone governments and banks. A table calculated in detail each euro zone country's exposure. In the case of Italy, that amounted to €63 billion, or 4.1% of its gross domestic product. For Germany, the sum was far greater. At €92.8 billion, or 3.4% of its GDP, the sum was the highest in absolute terms. But Slovenia had the biggest exposure as a percentage of its economy—at €1.7 billion, it amounted to 6.7% of its GDP.
Pivotal to the sequence from a government default to a Grexit was the complete reliance of Greek banks at that point to Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA)—approved by the ECB and extended to them by the Bank of Greece. To get these cash loans, banks had to put up collateral, mainly bonds guaranteed by the Greek state. Plan B assumed that once Greece defaulted to a creditor such as the ECB, it would be impossible for the governing council of the ECB to continue to accept Greek government bonds as adequate collateral, and the ECB would need to call back the ELA it had given to the country's banks. This would quickly trigger a series of events whereby the illiquid banks would almost immediately become insolvent and collapse. The only way to avoid that would be to find liquidity elsewhere. But being in the euro zone meant Greek banks didn't have the same options as in an independent monetary system. They would be stuck without liquidity because that could come only from the euro system—which by that point would have shut them out. This meant that the country would be left with just one option to prevent its banks from collapsing. The Bank of Greece would have to provide liquidity in a new currency—essentially exiting the euro zone.
This wouldn't require printing new money right away. The practical part could be dealt with within hours, only requiring the central bank to change its information technology systems so it could convert the euros in bank accounts to its new currency. In a matter of hours, the Bank of Greece could convert everything. Contracts under Greek law would become redenominated, and civil servants and pensioners would have to be paid in the new currency, while taxes would have to be paid in it as well. The new drachma would depreciate against the euro instantaneously. For the currency change to become reality, "Greece will need to introduce new legislation," the document said, "swapping euros under Greek law to the new drachma." The currency would become the sole legal tender, and all euro deposits would have to be swapped to it, too.
But that wasn't the only implication of a currency switch. "If Greece left the euro zone, clearly the first thing that would happen would be that the new currency would have no credibility," an official involved in the discussions says. "No one would want to hold that currency, so you would soon enter into a spiral of devaluation." This meant the currency would keep losing its value against the euro, a fall that would feed inflation and in turn further currency weakness, making imports more expensive. This would have major implications for Greek debt, as it still would be denominated in euros. A likely immediate depreciation of 50% against the euro would instantly boost the debt-to-GDP ratio, which in June 2015 stood at 180%. The ratio would immediately double to 360% and very soon to 500%, given the impact on the economy. This meant a "very significant debt restructuring would be necessary," the plan said.
The paradox was that the only sure thing about a Grexit would be that the country would immediately need another bailout. It felt almost absurd, going through all this trouble to avoid a bailout, only to enter a situation where another one would be needed. "That's the irony of the whole thing," another one of the officials involved says. "No matter where you looked, there would have been a bailout. Maybe not instantly, because the government would say no, but very soon the reality would force them. It would be the only way to stabilize the currency and get a grip on inflation."
Whereas the electronic switch to a new currency could happen within hours, converting to a new physical currency would be much more complicated. The change would pose major logistical challenges, especially given the severely limited capacity of the Greek administration.
A multicolored bar chart in the Plan B outlined the time needed for different types of currency to be made available after the currency switch. For the first two weeks after Grexit was triggered, no physical notes would be available, and economic and financial activity would halt completely. From Week 2 and up to four months, central bank emergency checks could be used for transactions, while for the next four to eight months provisional emergency banknotes could be used. The introduction of new paper notes would be possible only after at least eight to nine months had passed.
Plans for the provision of emergency banknotes were rife with technical issues. One option the members of the contingency team considered was to use existing euros and punch holes in them, branding them "new euros" for a while until a system that could print the new currency was set up. But ATMs most likely wouldn't be able to accept these new euros because of their different texture. Another idea would be to use existing banknotes and stamp them, differentiating them from standard euros. But that would still not guarantee that ATMs would be able to tell the difference between a new euro note and an old one, since the security features would remain the same. Besides being impractical, any plans for punching holes or overprinting would imply a de facto devaluation of the euro, according to the plan. Also, this "would have a negative impact in the global reputation of euro and the trustworthiness of the currency," the plan said.
The physical production of the emergency notes probably wouldn't be a major issue. Euro-printing operations were spread across member states; in 2015 Greece printed 10-euro notes in its national mint in the Chalandri suburb in northeastern Athens. Ironically, Greece's capacity to print euros could facilitate its switch to a new currency, as the euro plates could be easily adjusted and the spare supplies of paper, paint, and security materials at the mint could be used to print emergency banknotes until the new setup was up and running.
Another factor complicating the switch to a national currency and the estimates of how long the transition would take was the high amount of cash circulating in the economy. Fearing imminent closures, many Greeks withdrew their money from the banks, stuffing it under their mattresses, in plant pots, or safety deposit boxes. So the first few weeks probably would be manageable, officials who worked on the plan thought. By late June, cash circulation had reached around €50 billion—equivalent to more than a third of total deposits and five times the average circulation in the euro area. This would mean it would take time for the new currency to fully circulate because Greeks would resist converting their euros to the less valuable new notes.
A final concern, especially for the ECB team, was what would happen if Greece unilaterally decided to use the remaining supplies in its mint and print more euros. Officials involved in the talks say this was extremely unlikely, because it would amount to counterfeiting and fall under criminal law. The political fallout of such a decision would be huge; it probably would sever Greece's ties with any institution that could help it during such a difficult time. Even if the Greek government took the risk, the implications it would have in terms of the euro's circulation would be insignificant, officials working on the plan concluded.
In any case, the ECB had already mapped out some key steps to guarantee that the government wouldn't use excess unfinished stocks of euros at the Bank of Greece. First, a special security inspection team would go to Greece to check the accuracy of the reported numbers by "conducting sampling at the 16 branches of the Bank of Greece where the excess is held." Then, the ECB security accreditation that's necessary for the Bank of Greece to produce banknotes would be suspended. The third step foresaw the ECB instructing manufacturers to stop supplying Greece with stock necessary to produce new notes, while Step 4 included sending a special ECB inspection team to identify and secure the materials on site as well as materials produced in house, such as printing plates, for immediate destruction at the Bank of Greece printing works. Any excess stock would be repatriated to the rest of the euro zone.
As the Plan B team was mapping out the legal, financial, and technical details, a separate team at the European Commission's Secretariat-General worked on humanitarian aid. A default almost certainly would push many people below the poverty line and render them unable to cover their basic needs, including food and housing, causing a crisis not seen in Europe since the Second World War. Letting an EU member endure such suffering was inconceivable, especially as another crisis was brewing. Migration was further stressing Greece, with the government struggling to manage the influx of refugees from war-torn regions.
Officials began by crunching some basic numbers. Given the severity of the situation that Greece would face in the event of a euro zone exit, they calculated that about 20% of the population—about 2 million people—would immediately face acute needs. This meant that the commission needed to create a safety net that would cover food, medical provisions, and even clothing. There were discussions about how to ensure that hospitals would continue to operate without having shortages of drugs. Another consideration was the possibility of fuel shortages. Even if the EU could ensure that fuel would be provided, arrangements had to be made to make sure that Greeks could pay for it.
Since the EU had no provisions for humanitarian aid to one of its members, a way had to be found by which Greece could receive such funds, while nongovernmental organizations on the ground could help with basic needs. The officials soon realized that a minor change in EU legislation could enable Greece to use a pot of money from the bloc's structural and investment funds. The mechanism for such aid was found, and the issue resolved.
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek


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Crystal meth worth nearly AUD$100 million found on Thai cargo ship in Sydney
May 17, 2021 by thethaiger.com
Drugs worth nearly A$100 million dollars have been found hidden in heaters and barbecues on a Thai cargo ship docked in Sydney. It's understood the drugs were discovered inside electric barbecue grills and water heaters. 9News reports that the Thai vessel was intercepted by police officers at Sydney's Port Botany, with the authorities searching 62 large cardboard boxes after inconsistencies were noted in the consignment information. Officers found over 300 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice), with an estimated street value of AUD$94.5 million. The Organised Crime division of New South Wales Police is now investigating, alongside Federal Police and the New South Wales Crime Commission. SOURCE: 9NEWS Get more from The Thaiger FREE APP: ANDROID or iOS | HAVE YOUR SAY FORUM | … [Read more...] about Crystal meth worth nearly AUD$100 million found on Thai cargo ship in Sydney
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U.S. charges Belarus officials with aircraft piracy over diverted Ryanair flight
January 21, 2022 by www.thestar.com.my
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Four Belarusian government officials have been charged in the United States with aircraft piracy for diverting a Ryanair flight last May to arrest a dissident Belarusian journalist who was on board, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. The charges announced by the U.S. Department of Justice escalate the global uproar over the May 23, 2021, forced landing in Minsk of the Ryanair flight and detention of the journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend. Belarus already has faced a wave of sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, from the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada over the diverted flight, which U.S. authorities said was targeted by a false bomb threat. Four U.S. citizens were among the approximately 132 passengers and crew members aboard the flight, prosecutors said. The defendants were charged in a one-count indictment alleging conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy on a plane where a U.S. national was aboard, … [Read more...] about U.S. charges Belarus officials with aircraft piracy over diverted Ryanair flight
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Xavi Has Not Improved FC Barcelona, Which Will Finish The Season Without A Trophy
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Thursday night's defeat to Athletic Club in Bilbao was a bitter pill to swallow for FC Barcelona and their head coach Xavi Hernandez. "We're experiencing some tough days but there's nothing to it but to work hard and believe in the project," it was said, after the 3-2 Copa del Rey last 16 loss in extra time. "We have to pick ourselves up from the Supercopa defeat and this one. [They were] two tough defeats but we have to think about LaLiga and the Europa League," he demanded. But while Barca are way off the pace in Spanish top flight, some 17 points behind bitter rivals and leaders Real Madrid who knocked them out of the Spanish Supercup semi-final in Saudi Arabia last week, the best they can hope for is fourth place and qualifying for the Champions League next term. Left with only its inferior alternative the Europa League to win, Barca face third placed Serie A challengers Napoli in the last 32 in under a month and look … [Read more...] about Xavi Has Not Improved FC Barcelona, Which Will Finish The Season Without A Trophy
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Minnesota Vikings Have The Roster To Attract A Top Coach, But Key Decision At Quarterback Looms
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Just a few weeks ago, there was a common thought around the NFL that head coaching openings would not be plentiful at the conclusion of the 2021 season. It seemed likely that the Vikings, Chicago Bears and the Denver Broncos would be in the market for a new head coach, and the Jacksonville Jaguars clearly needed a new leader after firing Urban Meyer late in the season. However, instead of a foursome of openings, there are eight as the divisional playoffs are about to hit full flight. The Giants fired Joe Judge, the Dolphins got rid of Brian Flores, the Texans canned David Culley and the Raiders have not given their head coaching position to interim boss Rich Bisaccia yet. When there are four head coaching openings, teams have a much better chance of finding and hiring the right man for the job. But when there's an eight-pack of vacancies, reeling in the ideal head coach is much more challenging. First a team has to find … [Read more...] about Minnesota Vikings Have The Roster To Attract A Top Coach, But Key Decision At Quarterback Looms
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Why Macklemore Transformed A New-Found Love Of Golf Into A Lifestyle Brand
March 1, 2021 by www.forbes.com
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It started in a fairway bunker in Hawaii. It was the day after Thanksgiving in 2018 and rap artist Macklemore was enjoying some down time with his family, manager Ben Secord and some of his closest friends. Located behind the house they were renting was a golf course. After some incessant pestering, Macklemore was finally peer pressured into playing his first round of golf. While he didn't share his friend's enthusiasm, his plan was to get through the first nine holes before finding a viable excuse to leave. After hitting a house on his first shot, and hacking his way through a foreign Hawaiian course, he then found himself in a sand trap. Frustrated and ready to leave, he grabbed a 5-iron. He swung and connected pure to the amazement of both himself and his friends. He remembers the crisp sound, the feeling and flight of that shot, because it relaxed him. All the frustration that had been building to that moment were left … [Read more...] about Why Macklemore Transformed A New-Found Love Of Golf Into A Lifestyle Brand
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Thai Airways restructuring plan approved by creditors
The restructuring plan to tackle Thai Airways International's more than 300 billion baht debt, one of Thailand's most high profile bankruptcy cases, was approved by the airline's creditors, its legal advisor told Reuters reporters this afternoon. The plan was approved by 90% of the creditors. It will be reviewed by the Central Bankruptcy Court on May 28. In a previous report, the head of Thailand's Finance Ministry, the airline's largest shareholder, said they support the plan. Last year, Thai Airways filed for bankruptcy protection and debt restructuring when the airline had a record loss of 141 billion baht (following a decade of massive losses). Several people from the airline were accused of mismanagement and corruption that led to the massive losses. The national carrier was heavily criticised for its decision back in 2004 to purchase 10 Airbus A340 aircraft for 100 billion baht. The costs for maintenance and fuel for the wide-bodied passenger jets were high and led … [Read more...] about Thai Airways restructuring plan approved by creditors
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Win or don't eat: the Philippines' poverty-driven, world-beating pool stars
November 26, 2019 by sports.inquirer.net
In this photo taken on November 7, 2019, Filipino Efren "The Magician" Reyes (C), a multiple world champion, prepares to play pool at a billiard hall in Manila. Pool isn't just a game in the Philippines but a way to make a living, driving a fiercely competitive scene that has produced some of the world's top players. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP) Pool isn't just a game in the Philippines but a way to make a living, driving a fiercely competitive scene that has produced some of the world's top players. The game played in dirt-floor pool halls with bumpy tables in thousands of little towns has provided an escape route from the grinding poverty endured by millions. Though competition is ferocious from places like Taiwan and China, the Philippines is today the only country with a man and woman shooter in the top five of the World Pool-Billiard Association rankings. "If you miss that shot, you might not eat," said Ted Lerner, a US-born journalist who has made a life in the … [Read more...] about Win or don't eat: the Philippines' poverty-driven, world-beating pool stars
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Budget 2022: What's in store for Indian Railways?
January 21, 2022 by www.moneycontrol.com
Indian Railways. Representative image. Expanding Vande Bharat train sets, innovating new wagons, including one specifically targeted at carrying lightweight cargo from small businesses and promotion of new technologies like Hypeloop are among the expectations of Indian Railways from the budget for the next financial year, said two government officials aware of the matter. There may be a broad statement around the transporter's plans to reduce its carbon footprint on the roadmap to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions, said a third official with knowledge of the matter. The final form of the Railways-related announcements in the upcoming budget is still taking shape, he added. One of the officials quoted above said on condition of anonymity that although passenger revenue has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in capital expenditure is expected so that Railways could serve both passengers and freight customers better. He declined to comment on the size of … [Read more...] about Budget 2022: What's in store for Indian Railways?
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What She Saw Last Night by MJ Cross - Guest Post
I'm absolutely delighted to share a guest post from one of my very favourite authors Mason Cross, although here he's appearing as his alter ego MJ Cross. His new book, the standalone crime thriller What She Saw Last Night, is one of my most anticipated books of the year and it's published this coming Thursday. Some of the major scenes in the book are set on The Caledonian Sleeper, and in today's guest piece we find out the inspiration behind that decision. But first, as usual, a little bit about the book.
No one will believe ... WHAT SHE SAW LAST NIGHT.
Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on the ten hour journey through the night.
In her search for her cabin, Jenny helps a panicked woman with a young girl she assumes to be her daughter. Then she finds her compartment and falls straight to sleep.
Waking in the night, Jenny discovers the woman dead in her cabin ... but there's no sign of the little girl. The train company have no record of a child being booked on the train, and CCTV shows the dead woman boarding alone.
The police don't believe Jenny, and soon she tries to put the incident out of her head and tells herself that everyone else is right: she must have imagined the little girl.
But deep down, she knows that isn't the truth.
What She Saw Last Night will be published by Orion on 18th April 2019. You can pre order it now from Waterstones and Amazon.
You can read an edited extract from the second chapter of What She Saw Last Night here.
And now I'm delighted to hand over to my guest MJ Cross, for today's post:
I've always loved reading and watching thrillers set on trains – from The 39 Steps, Murder on the Orient Express, From Russia With Love, right up to Girl on the Train, there's something very appealing about a train-set mystery.
I had already dipped my toe in the Train Mystery subgenre with The Time to Kill, part of which takes place aboard the Empire Builder train from Seattle to Chicago, but when I read an article about the planned launch of the new Caledonian Sleeper train, I got the idea for a standalone mystery that opens aboard the train. It opens with a woman discovering a dead body, and realising a young child she saw last night is missing… except that all the evidence says there never was a child.
The Caledonian Sleeper is one of only two sleeper services in the UK, and it connects one of the world's biggest cities to the sparsely populated and rural Scottish Highlands. We think of Britain as pretty small in comparison to America or mainland Europe, but if you go north and south, there's a lot of ground to cover. I was sure somebody would have had the idea to set a book on this particular sleeper train before me, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't seem to have been done.
That juxtaposition between the bustle of London and the wide open spaces of the Highlands was a big appeal for me. I love both areas. I'm definitely a city guy at heart, so I'm always at home in London, but sometimes it's nice to be the only person for miles around. The sheer scale of the Highlands, the beauty of the landscape, gives you such a fantastic canvas. It's similar to why I write about America, that sense of enormous space and isolation.
I had always wanted to travel on a night train, and the book gave me a great excuse to take the trip a few times for research. The people at Caledonian Sleeper were really helpful, answering all of my obscure questions and even giving me a tour of one of the trains.
The old sleeper carriages that they're phasing out date from the 1980s, which means there's no wifi, no air conditioning, and very importantly, no onboard CCTV cameras. And, of course, the other bonus for a crime writer is when you get far enough north, you lose phone signal too.
I really enjoyed starting with a completely blank slate on this book, and particularly getting to create an entirely new hero. Jenny, the protagonist of What She Saw Last Night, is an interesting character, because she's not an action hero, nor is she an unbalanced, unreliable narrator. She's a normal person flung into an extraordinary situation, and has to come up with a way to deal with it.
So, there you go! A wee bit about the forthcoming What She Saw Last Night and how some of it came to be set in a train.
MJ Cross is a British novelist. Writing as Mason Cross his debut novel The Killing Season was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year 2015. His second novel, The Samaritan, also featuring his inimitable lead character Carter Blake, was selected as a Richard & Judy Book Club pick. Mason has written a number of short stories, including A Living, which was shortlisted for the Quick Reads 'Get Britain Reading' Award and 'Expiry Date', published in Ellery Queen. He lives near Glasgow with his wife and three children.
Mason's most recent Carter Blake novel, Presumed Dead, was longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize 2018, and is available to buy now.
To sign up for the Mason Cross Readers Club for updates and exclusive giveaways, go to www.masoncross.net/readers-club
Find out more at www.masoncross.net
You can find an edited extract from Chapter 2 here and a fab wee Q&A with Mason here. My review of What She Saw Last Night will be up on Thursday, publication day.
If you would like to be notified when I share a new blog post, please sign up to follow in the top right on the screen.
See you all soon. x
This sounds brilliant. It's going on my list right now xx
Great pot.
Suze Reviews... 15 April 2019 at 13:34
Great news! It is brilliant - I will be sharing an extract tomorrow and my review on Thursday, with hopefully a Q&A thrown in on Wednesday!
Suze x
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