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Another Whitehall failure: no officials responsible, fluid facts and doubtful ethics. Plus ça change? →
Large suppliers still dominate government IT
In 2012, the then Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, lamented the high costs of government IT and spoke of an "oligopoly" of large suppliers. He suggested things would change.
"… contracts were consistently awarded to a limited number of very large suppliers on long-term exclusive contracts.
"As a result there was inadequate competition and an abdication of control. The concept of having one supplier, aggregated supply, increased project risk and removed competitive tension.
"The Government repeatedly found itself paying large amounts for systems that were delivered late, over budget and which often did not fully meet the original policy requirement. If indeed, they were delivered at all. There are plenty of well-documented disasters – such as DH's now terminated National programme for IT.
"Ultimately, the last Government lost control of IT – it outsourced not only delivery, but its entire strategy and ability to shape the future of our public services.
"At the same time smaller, more innovative and efficient suppliers were finding themselves locked out of the supply of services to Government because of what was described by Parliament as a powerful "oligopoly" of large suppliers.
"Procurements took so long only the big companies could absorb the cost – which they naturally passed on to us.
"All in all, we had an approach that was bad for users, bad for the taxpayer and bad for growth."
Public sector IT spending was up to £20bn a year, he said, adding that "public sector productivity was actually declining". He outlined how things were changing.
What has happened since?
A report published today by the National Audit "Digital Transformation in Government" raises a question of how much has changed.
Efforts to boost the SME share of government IT business "have had some impact", says the National Audit Office, but it adds that "most government procurement with digital and technology suppliers continues to be with large organisations".
"In 2015-16, 94% of such spending was with large enterprises, a fall of less than one percentage point since 2012-13."
Today's NAO report is mainly about the Cabinet Office's Government Digital Service – GDS. It points out GDS's strengths and weaknesses but in general does not give any advice on the sensitive point of whether it should have more or less influence on government IT.
On digital transformation, it says that the work of the NAO shows that attempts to transform government have had mixed success.
"Many public services appear increasingly unsustainable. Those responsible for major programmes have continued to exhibit over-optimism and make slow progress towards their objectives."
It adds,
"Digital transformation has a mixed track record across government. It has not yet provided a level of change that will allow government to further reduce costs while still meeting people's needs.
"GDS has also struggled to demonstrate the value of its own flagship initiatives such as Verify, or to set out clear priorities between departmental and cross-government objectives.
"GDS's renewed approach aims to address many of these concerns as it expands and develops into a more established part of government. But there continues to be a risk that GDS is trying to cover too broad a remit with unclear accountabilities.
"To achieve value for money and support transformation across government, GDS needs to be clear about its role and strike a balance between robust assurance and a more consultative approach."
The National Audit Office report is strong on facts and quality of research but avoids the big question of how GDS can bring about change when the top brass in departments prefer autonomy to what they see as GDS's interference.
GDS's existence goes to the heart of how the civil service runs. It is one part of the civil service trying to bring about change in other parts of the civil service.
And the evidence so far is that the civil service doesn't like change.
The NAO report disappoints because it doesn't address how government IT is to change if departments are to continue to run empires unchallenged by GDS or the heads of the civil service. Sir Humphrey is still king.
GDS scrutinises departmental IT spending – spending applications are reviewed by a team of eight people within GDS's Standards Assurance team – but, much to Sir Humphrey's delight, GDS's influence seems to be waning.
When Jack Straw was Justice secretary, he told MPs in 2007 that when he abandoned projects there was a fuss at first and soon nobody noticed the project did not exist.
"There is always the option to abandon things. I did that in the Foreign Office with much complaint that the world might end.
"What happened was that we saved a lot of money and no one ever noticed the fact that that scheme did not exist…it is very frustrating that so many people, including the private sector, are taken in by snake oil salesmen from IT contractor who are not necessarily very competent and make a lot of money out of these things. I am pretty intolerant of this."
How much has changed? Outsiders including Jack Straw and Francis Maude, together with insiders such as Chris Chant have pointed to the need for major changes in the way departments manage huge IT budgets and there have been some improvements: HMRC's is breaking up its monolithic "Aspire" contract, citizens may notice that it is possible now to renew passports and driving licences online and GDS has had an impact in making departments think hard about whether they really need to spend the amounts they do on major IT contracts.
But major change in the costs of government IT seems not just a long way off but unattainable while the dominance of Sir Humphrey remains unchallenged.
Digital Transformation in Government – NAO report
This entry was posted in Campaign4Change, capacity building, G-Cloud, GDS, Government digital Service, Government IT, HMRC, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, Institute for Government, IT-enabled projects and waste, Major Projects Authority, National Audit Office, procurement and tagged agile, Cabinet Office, Efficiency and Reform Group, Francis Maude. Bookmark the permalink.
6 responses to "Large suppliers still dominate government IT"
zrpradyer | March 30, 2017 at 19:34 | Reply
If I can quote what a world-weary American murder detective said – people do evil because they want to and because we let them.
As a tribute to this wise man, we can say – people are incompetent (or negligent, or apathetic, or fraudulent) because they want to be, and because we let them.
I always seem to be lecturing people that they should try to take as much responsibility for their institutions and for democracy as they can. It is dangerous to demonstrate naivety or innocence or apathy because others will, whether consciously or unconsciously, take power from us and use it for their own purposes.
I've probably bored you in the past by suggesting that the large computer companies employ experienced, focused salesmen, whereas our government institutions have bureaucrats with a different psychology when purchasing computer systems. And, of course, the private companies have to make profits and are accountable to shareholders, whereas the bureaucrat is playing with taxpayers' money and is accountable to other bureaucrats.
If that doesn't suggest an imbalance in the balance of power, then it becomes even more unbalanced if our government institutions 'give away' their managerial responsibilities as well. It's horribly, obviously that basic.
Yet again, I get the impression that those within our government institutions live on a different planet to the rest of us.
Thanks for your excellent efforts, Tony.
ukcampaign4change | March 30, 2017 at 22:54 | Reply
Thank you Zara – thoughtful comments, as always. The officials, if they were arguing in their defence, would probably say they have to contract out to the large suppliers because they don't have the skills internally, as so much of their IT has been outsourced.
But it's within government's power to change pay structures to make it easier for the civil service to attract talented people; and GDS announced in September 2016 that it is to take over the digital academy launched by the Department for Work & Pensions. It aims to train 3,000 civil servants a year. If that's achieved, it will make it less likely that Whitehall will rely on large IT suppliers in future – unless of course permanent secretaries would rather take the easy option of continuing to contract out to large suppliers in the expectation that they can blame those suppliers when things go wrong, though of course the reality is that the suppliers' lawyers are far better equipped to blame government when a contract goes awry than vice-versa. Tony Collins
zrpradyer | March 30, 2017 at 23:05 |
Thank you for replying and the extra information.
I do get upset because there are good people being sacrificed of at least being blocked while government slowly begins to address problems that could have been solved many years ago.
ukcampaign4change | March 31, 2017 at 14:25 |
Thank you Zara
Tim Morton | March 30, 2017 at 09:01 | Reply
only one point GDS is Government Digital Service not Data Service
Great blog as usual though
Thank you for the correction – and your comment. I am grateful. Tony Collins


YouTube seems to have fixed it so that when AdBlock is enabled, one can not access the "skip ad" option button. I can get this back by disabling AdBlock via the Safari > Preferences panel, but going in and out of that is a pain if I am switching between windows. Unless I am missing something and you already have this implemented, I recommend having an option that appears in the menu bar to quickly and temporarily disable AdBlock and then re-endable it as I navigate various windows and sites. Better yet would be to Figure out what Google is doing at YouTube to prevent its ads from hiding the "skip ad" button automatically.
Provide a link to a video where you're seeing an ad you're unable to skip.
Going to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA4VdiyzQ-I&ab_channel=DroneCampsRC on YouTube (as well as many other places) with AdBlock tuned on, starts out with a video commercial that can not be disabled. Reloading the URL doesn't help. In my case, I must watch a 2 minute 33 second "Toys R Us" commercial before the YouTube content starts. If I disable AdBlock, then reload the YouTube URL, I am now offered the option to click away the commercial after only a few seconds, as a "Skip ad" button appears in the lower right hand corner of the YouTube video window.
YouTube (Google) is apparently able to detect AdBlock and then hide the "Skip ad" button to force me to watch the commercial in its entirety if I have AdBlock enabled.
Let's try a couple of things, OK?
I tried everything that you suggested below, but nothing had any effect on the ads being thrown up by You Tube. Only disabling Ad Block provides access to the "Skip Ad" button. I have attached two screen shots, the first one shows the same point (4 seconds into the ad that precedes the actual You Tube video content). Note that the ad begin served up with Ad Block ON, does not afford the option to click out of the ad. The ad with Ad Block OFF, allows a click-away button that times out in about 5 seconds.
Please report this to the EasyList maintainers. You can find the contact info in our Knowledge Base. You'll need to click the New Topic button on the Report unblocked content page.
Thanks! Please let us know if you don't hear back from them within a few days.


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St. Denis Cemetery
Parish Support & Administration
About our Liturgical Ministries
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The Church of Saint Denis
Bishop of Paris, and martyr. Born in Italy, nothing is definitely known of the time or place, or of his early life. His feast is kept on the 9th of October. He is usually represented with his head in his hands because, according to the legend, after his execution the corpse rose again and carried the head for some distance. That, however, while still very young he was distinguished for his virtuous life, knowledge of sacred things, and firm faith, is proved by the fact that Pope Fabian (236-250) sent him with some other missionary bishops to Gaul on a difficult mission. The Church of Gaul had suffered terribly under the persecution of the Emperor Decius and the new messengers of Faith were to endeavour to restore it to its former flourishing condition. Denis with his inseparable companions, the priest Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius, arrived in the neighbourhood of the present city of Paris and settled on the island in the Seine. The earliest document giving an account of his labours and of his martyrdom (Passio SS. Dionsyii, Rustici et Eleutherii), dating from the end of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century and wrongly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, is interwoven with much legend, from which, however, the following facts can be gleaned.
On the island in the Seine, Denis built a church and provided for a regular solemnization of the Divine service. His fearless and indefatigable preaching of the Gospel led to countless conversions. This aroused the envy, anger and hatred of the heathen priests. They incited the populace against the strangers and importuned the governor Fescenninus Sisinnius to put a stop by force to the new teaching. Denis with his two companions were seized and as they persevered in their faith were beheaded (about 275) after many tortures. Later accounts give a detailed description of the confessors' sufferings. They were scourged, imprisoned, racked, thrown to wild beasts, burnt at the stake, and finally beheaded. Gregory of Tours simply states: "Beatus Dionysius Parisiorum episcopus diversis pro Christi nomine adfectus poenis praesentem vitam gladio immente finivit" (Hist. Franc. I, 30). Their bodies were rescued from the River Seine, the bodies of the three holy martyrs received an honourable burial through the efforts of a pious matron named Catulla and a small shrine was erected over their graves. Later a chapel built over their tomb later became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis. This was later on replaced by a beautiful basilica (egregium templum) which Venantius celebrated in verse (Carm. I, ii).
St. Denis was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (feast 8-8). During the Middle Ages, especially in France and Germany these saints were credited with particularly efficacious intercessory power. All had/have also individual feast days. Their special powers of intercession are connected with incidents in their stories. For example, St. Denis is shown with his head in his hands; therefore, he is invoked against diabolic possession, headache, rabies, frenzy, and strife
We are an open Church in the Roman Catholic tradition: Opening our hearts in worship, opening our minds for discipleship, opening our eyes, ears, and hands in service and fellowship, and reaching out to all.
Church of Saint Denis
602 Beekman Road
Hopewell Junction, NY
e-mail the Rectory

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Car Dealer Says Applicant Turned Down Job To Stay On Unemployment
Pa. Reports More Than $4M In Unemployment Fraud
Updated: 4:28 AM EDT May 1, 2009
A system many have said is already broken is also being abused. Click To Comment The state had to borrow $500 million from the federal government for unemployment benefits and yet some people continue to get the assistance even though they could be working.At Lancaster Nissan there were five job openings recently, three of the positions were filled. But managers at the dealership were also filled with frustration after several applicants were offered jobs but turned them down.One man was a former car salesman who told manager Rob Allen he didn't want to lose his unemployment benefits by actually working."We offered him a job here, and he turned it down and said he'd rather stay on unemployment," said Allen. "Well, to me that's an abuse of the unemployment system."The state Department of Labor and Industry agrees. It said unemployment benefits end if the employee declines suitable employment -- in other words, any type of work the employee can perform. The state considers the employee's health and physical fitness, the distance to the job, prior experience and earnings.Millions Of Dollars Lost To Benefits Fraud Labor and Industry said less than 1 percent of people abuse unemployment benefits. But the state estimates it has lost nearly $4 million in benefits fraud already this year.Allen said as far as suitable work is concerned, he can teach practically anyone to sell cars.The Department of Labor and Industry said it is up to the employer to file a fraud complaint, but Allen said that is easier said than done."We can't police everybody," said Allen.To file a fraud complaint, call the state unemployment compensation fraud hotline at 1-800-692-7469.Complaints can also be reported online here.
LANCASTER, Pa. —
A system many have said is already broken is also being abused.
The state had to borrow $500 million from the federal government for unemployment benefits and yet some people continue to get the assistance even though they could be working.
At Lancaster Nissan there were five job openings recently, three of the positions were filled. But managers at the dealership were also filled with frustration after several applicants were offered jobs but turned them down.
One man was a former car salesman who told manager Rob Allen he didn't want to lose his unemployment benefits by actually working.
"We offered him a job here, and he turned it down and said he'd rather stay on unemployment," said Allen. "Well, to me that's an abuse of the unemployment system."
The state Department of Labor and Industry agrees. It said unemployment benefits end if the employee declines suitable employment -- in other words, any type of work the employee can perform. The state considers the employee's health and physical fitness, the distance to the job, prior experience and earnings.
Millions Of Dollars Lost To Benefits Fraud
Labor and Industry said less than 1 percent of people abuse unemployment benefits. But the state estimates it has lost nearly $4 million in benefits fraud already this year.
Allen said as far as suitable work is concerned, he can teach practically anyone to sell cars.
The Department of Labor and Industry said it is up to the employer to file a fraud complaint, but Allen said that is easier said than done.
"We can't police everybody," said Allen.
To file a fraud complaint, call the state unemployment compensation fraud hotline at 1-800-692-7469.
Complaints can also be reported online here.


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The farm my uncle works on had drilled two fields of wheat on Wednesday and the pigeons had found it over the last day or so.
We arrived about 9am to a still day with a few pigeons flighting around but no flight line to speak of. Made the decision to set up under a row of leylandi that a number lifted out of when we arrived. Out came the hide, whirly and 6 frozen birds on cradles.
Everything was quiet for the first 45mins then groups of 6-10 start to float over the decoys from behind the trees. Shot 10 or so over the next hour, had a tidy up and made a slight adjustment to the pattern with a few more fresh birds added to it. Traffic then picked up with birds coming in from all directions committing to the pattern and whirly in small groups. It carried on like this until about 1.30pm when there was a noticeable slowing down in the traffic. A brief scout up and down the trees established that the pigeons had taken to feeding on the adjacent field and the far end of the field we were in.
we could have split up to keep them moving but this was a social occasion as much as anything. I have a young family and we haven't shared a hide for 10 years or more. It reminded me of being a kid again when we used to share one regularly, a great way to catch and up enjoy shooting in each other's company. Hide etiquette wasn't forgotten, safety is paramount, although more than one bird got a double dose from the 20s!
Stuck it out until 2.30, we picked up 88 for 194 shots, really great way to spend a Saturday, a decent bag for the game dealer was a bonus.
Well done, sounds like you had some good sport.
Perfect day, Shooting with family is good fun.
The point is, that a big field needs more than 1 set-up. If you were on that drilling by Andrews Field, (the leylandi suggest it) 2 teams could have had a game of ping-pong, like I did.
Another local! Sounds like you had a good day too. Yes we were at the top of the airfield. We considered splitting up but it was as much about the social aspect as the sport.
They were on that field again on Monday, as I headed for the airport. Maybe you have another chance??
Thanks. I'll take another look on Saturday.
Good report on a great outing!


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Everybody tries to be rich, you can also try but there is no guarantee that you can be rich. Nobody can tell you how you can be rich. They would use the strategy for themselves if they knew it. I will tell you that what I have experienced in real life.
People will come to you with numerous suggestions. Try to be cautious. Otherwise, you could end up being poor instead of becoming rich.
The people who become super-rich have got luck on their side. If you look at the top of Forbes list, you would probably not find anyone who is very intelligent and educated. You need luck like winning a Jackpot to be very rich.
Nobody knows which thing will blow, which will be a flop. I write answers here. The answers, I use a lot of research get few views whereas the answers, I don't expect any view become popular.
This is not only my case or yours. Nobody knows, what things bring success and wealth.
You can increase your wealth if the method of making money is suitable for your qualifications, wealth and personality.
It is difficult to be rich if you are poor. If you are rich, it is easier to be richer.
The most popular way to become rich is speculating in the stock market. If you want to do that you need to have a sound economy and the nerves. If don't have those, you should think other options.
People may suggest you earn money online. Those are empty talks. There are millions of people like you and I trying to make money online. You make some money, but your probability is not that high.
I would not suggest you risk anything to become rich. Maybe you lose all that you have by trying to be rich.
I would rather advise you to improve your communication and negotiation skills. You can train you to be more likable. You need to know how to negotiate.
If you can do that, you will be able to make more money.


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Provision of advice on the restructuring of the operations of one of Greece's most renowned restaurants through the commercialization of its IP rights


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Understanding Every Word
The most challenging part of my recent trip to Greece was visiting the Dorothy Snot Preschool and not sharing a language with the kids. It wasn't the children's challenge, they couldn't have cared less, but mine. If there's any single thing I'm certain of, it's my ability to engage children, but until I dropped to my knees in the school's courtyard to bring myself face-to-face with the kids, I'd not been aware of how reliant I'd become on doing that through chattering.
Robbed of my go-to move, I was thrown back upon non-verbal communication. With the youngest kids, of course, this wasn't so hard. They're still working on the rudiments of language themselves, and much of my communication, even with English-speaking toddlers is non-verbal, so it didn't take me long to figure out a few simple, repetitive games we could do together, like passing a ball back and forth through a hanging tire, to get things going, to develop some trust. No, my real challenge was with the oldest kids, the 5-year-olds, the ones who chatter as much as I do.
The kids had been anticipating my visit, and none more so than the kindergarten class, crowding around me, full of questions and comments that were all, literally, Greek to me. It feels awful, frankly, to leave children hanging like that, not knowing how or even whether to respond. I got on my knees with them as well, smiling, responding to their physical touch with touch of my own, turning to one of the teachers for help translating when a child was particularly insistent that she or he be heard.
I'd been a child in Greece some 40 years before, arriving with limited Greek language skills, much like this return visit. Back then I'd managed communication, cobbling together a common language of words and gestures with the children I met there, but I felt out of practice there in the midst of these kids who were excited to engage with me. I didn't want to let them down. I'd worn my cape for that first visit, the one you see me wearing at the top of this blog, so I started by offering it to the kids, asking through pantomime who wanted a turn to wear it. The bolder children took me up on it, taking turns racing around the space with the red cape trailing behind them, growing a bit wild in their play, tugging at the cape, wrestling one another in their excitement. I was winding them up, which is not in and of itself a horrible thing, but it's not really communication.
As we played this game, my ear began to pick out familiar Greek words like, "yes," "no," "tomorrow," "go," "strawberry," words I'd not needed in four decades. At one point I began to just shout them out randomly as they came to me and the kids shouted them back, language without communication, a step in the right direction perhaps, but one that didn't really lead us anywhere, other than to perhaps cement the growing opinion among the kids that Teacher Tom was, at least, silly.
At one point, a teacher brought out a large sheet of paper and some markers. I don't know if she meant it for me or not, but I saw my opportunity. Soon we were gathered around the paper, drawing. This is a universal language. It no longer mattered what we were saying as we pushed up against one another, huddling up, sharing a blank space, filling it up with our lines and figures and colors. It was through drawing with the children like this that I began to become something more than a silly man in a red cape. It was in this process that we first began to become friends.
Over the course of the next few days we found other ways to communicate. We ate together several times. I learned to say, "I don't like that," which is an important phrase for every adult to have when working with young children. The highlight for me, then, was telling a story, in English, to the kindergarteners. It was a plan the teachers and I had cooked up, a sort of challenge. I would tell the story, then the kids would tell us what they thought the story was about. It was a test of the new language we'd developed together over the preceding three days. I used lots of hand, body, and voice gestures. I was thrilled that they laughed at all the same places the kids do back home. Occasionally, one of them would shout out an English word to me that they recognized: "Butterfly!" "Bear!" At the end of the story, they wanted to hear it again, which was an incredible honor.
Upon the second telling, then, the kids discussed what they thought the story was all about, and sure enough, they nailed it. That evening, I met the parents of one of the boys. They told me he'd come home enthused, boasting to them that Teacher Tom had told them a story in English and that he'd understood every word.
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Home › Latest Articles › Economy › 5 Major Announcements Made By The Pakatan Government… And What They Mean To You
5 Major Announcements Made By The Pakatan Government… And What They Mean To You
Written by Iris Lee
The month of May has been an eventful month (to say the least) for Malaysians. After ruling the country for 61 years, Barisan Nasional lost the general election for the first time, making way for the new government under Pakatan Harapan.
The chairman of the winning coalition, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was a Prime Minister for 22 years under Barisan Nasional between 1981 and 2003, once again leads the country.
There were a number of things promised by Pakatan Harapan in their manifesto during the campaigning period. In less than a month, some of these items have been checked off the list.
Here are 5 things announced and/or implemented thus far, and how they can have an impact on our finances:
1. Zero-rate GST and re-instate SST
One of the many downfalls of the previous government was the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) back in 2015. Before the 14th General Election, Pakatan Harapan, the then-opposition party, vowed to abolish GST in the first 100 days of administration, to alleviate the financial burden of the people.
They made good on their promise on May 16, 2018, when the Finance Ministry announced that GST will be zero-rated for all items and services in Malaysia starting from June 1.
This means consumers will be able to make their purchases without the additional 6%. Many consumers are rejoicing at the announcement, however, to replace some of the revenue from GST, the Sales and Services Tax (SST) will be reinstated in September.
The three months tax holiday will see a spike in spending in the country, especially on luxury and big-ticket items, such as renovation, jewellery, and even cars.
So, will prices of items be cheaper when GST is replaced by SST? There is no "yes" or "no" answer to this question because it depends on the SST rate imposed by the government (it has yet to be announced) and also the type of product or service.
Some of the products that will likely see a decrease in pricing are vehicles, banking services, computers, laptops, iPads, mobile phones, men's watches and cosmetics, as these were tax-free before GST.
According to Honda, the price of a Honda City S (Standard) post-June 1 will be RM4,282 cheaper than with GST. The overall reduction in prices for Honda vehicles will range from RM4,088 to RM18,072 in Peninsular Malaysia. For those who are shopping for a car, the period between June and September will be the best time to make your purchase.
However, items that will likely see an increase in prices are items such as electrical appliances including television sets, refrigerators, air-conditioners, consumer items such as soft drinks and imported fruits, as well as goods like diapers, sanitary pads, and furniture.
Items that were exempted from GST will remain exempted. These items include private healthcare, private education, and sale or lease of residential properties.
2. Stabilise oil prices
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently announced that the government will retain the current price of RON95 and diesel at the pumps, but the price of the premium RON97 petrol will be subject to a float system from June 7 onwards.
At present, RON95 is priced at RM2.20 per litre while diesel is priced at RM2.18 per litre. The premium RON97 is priced at RM2.47 per litre. These retail fuel prices have remained unchanged since before the 14th General Election, despite crude oil prices rising to US$75.39 (RM299.98) per barrel.
The decision is in line with the Pakatan's manifesto of reintroducing fuel subsidies to targeted groups. The subsidy will be targeted at those with cars smaller than 1,300cc and motorbikes smaller than 125cc. Further details of the subsidy have not been announced at the time of writing.
3. EPF savings for housewives
Topping the priority list of the newly sworn-in Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women and Family Development, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution for housewives.
This is one of the promises made in the Pakatan Harapan election manifesto.
Dr Wan Azizah proposed an EPF contribution for homemakers to comprise 2% of the husband's EPF contribution and RM50 from government funds. She reassured the breadwinner that the 2% will be taken from the current 11% contribution, and not on top of it.
The details will be ironed out and announced after her discussion with the EPF officers.
Here's how it might work for a homemaker who is eligible for the scheme:
Breadwinner's current salary: RM5,000
Total EPF contribution (11%) RM550
Breadwinner Homemaker
EPF savings a month RM539 RM11
Government's monthly contribution - RM50
Total savings a month RM539 RM61
Assuming that the breadwinner's salary increases at 5% per annum, here are the estimated total EPF savings for the homemaker.
Monthly salary
Total contribution
Homemaker's contribution
Government's contribution
EPF savings
1 RM5,000.00 RM6,600.00 RM132.00 RM600.00 RM775.92
2 RM5,250.00 RM6,930.00 RM138.60 RM600.00 RM1,605.39
10 RM7,756.64 RM10,238.77 RM204.78 RM600.00 RM10,649.03
* Assuming EPF's annual dividend rate at 6%
Based on the assumptions above, the total estimated EPF savings for a homemaker is at RM10,649.03. Of course, the full details of the mechanism have not been decided or announced, the above calculations and example are just for illustration purposes.
However, according to the latest report by The Star, after discussion with the top management of EPF and Social Security Organisation (Socso), they found that there are legal provisions that do not allow the implementation of such a scheme. More discussions will be held to find a workaround.
4. World Cup to be aired for free on TV1
Football lovers will have more to celebrate this year as the Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo announced that Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) will be airing 41 World Cup matches for free.
Although the government has allocated RM40 million to broadcast 41 of the total 64 World Cup football matches, the total cost only amounts to RM30 million. Sufficient private sponsorship has been obtained to cover the total cost, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Pay TV will likely take a hit from this announcement, although Pay TV like Astro will be broadcasting all 64 matches live, in high definition. RTM, which is categorised under the Free-to-air category will be broadcasting 41 matches, where 27 will be shown live and 14 will be delayed telecasts.
Astro currently charges RM87 per month onwards for its sports package.
5. The scrapping of HSR and MRT3
In 2009, when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the prime minister, the Economic Transformation Programme was released, and it described the high-speed rail connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as a high-impact project.
However, when Mahathir took over the government, he announced the scrapping of the RM110 billion HSR project within the first month. The reason? To curb government spending and reduce the nation's RM1 trillion debt burden.
According to the former Prime Minister in his Facebook post, the project is expected to create RM650 billion in gross national income and create 110,000 job opportunities, which could expand to 442,000 jobs by 2069.
Another project that bites the dust is the MRT3 or Circle Line, which is reported to cost between RM40 billion and RM45 billion.
The MRT1 connects Sungai Buloh and Kajang, the MRT2, which is now under construction, runs from Sungai Buloh to Serdang and Putrajaya, and the MRT3 was planned as a loop line to integrate the lines, with most of its stations underground.
The line, which was planned to run around the periphery of Kuala Lumpur city centre, would have included Ampang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Jalan Bukit Bintang, the Tun Razak Exchange, Bandar Malaysia, KL Eco City, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Mont' Kiara and Sentul.
Although the project is scrapped, for now, MRT Corp CEO Datuk Shahril Mokhtar stressed it still needed to be carried out later as it was "critical to close the loop."
The scrapping of both projects would likely affect properties and developments in the affected areas. This will directly affect developers, property investors and buyers who have already bought properties close to the proposed stations of both HSR and MRT3.
According to the Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) branch chairman Datuk Steve Chong Yoon On, interest in properties near the planned HSR station sites might cool down, but he did not expect prices to drop drastically.
Goh Bok Yen, director of MAG Technical and Development Consultant Sdn Bhd., said with the cancellation of MRT3, there will be a need for alternatives, such as an increased bus or coach services, to connect the missing links of the existing public transportation system.
With new announcements made almost every day by the new government, it may be hard to keep track of what's new and their impact on the people. With the recent changes, one thing is for sure, whatever changes made by the new government, the people will hold the leaders accountable.
What have we missed out that you would like to see us include in this list? Comment to let us know!
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PREAKNESS WINNER HAS THIRD WORK TOWARD A COMEBACK FOR McCARTHY
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By HRI Foreign Staff — It was a victory that shocked the world back in May as a spry young colt named Rombauer sprinted down the home stretch and captured his first major victory. This year's Triple Crown was shrouded in controversy after the odds on favorite, Medina Spirit, failed a drug test prior to the race. Perhaps it was a fitting end to the race that nobody wanted to see Medina Spirit win. It was also the coming out party for Rombauer who instantly received national fame for his stunning come from behind victory. But what is next for the three-year old colt from Paris, Kentucky?
The Start of It all for Trainer Mike McCarthy
While Rombauer was a long shot to win the Preakness, perhaps his odds should have been lower. Earlier this year the colt made his three-year old debut at the El Camino Real Derby, a race that is held on a synthetic surface to allow races in all types of weather. In what would now seem like foreshadowing of his famed run a few months later, Rombauer started the race slow but made a late charge into the final stretch, edging out Javanica by a neck. It was an impressive debut for Rombauer especially when you consider that it was a remarkably deep field of 14 experienced horses.
As a two-year-old, Rombauer exhibited the same tendencies, with a come from behind victory at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile race. Rombauer entered the race as a long-shot to win with 26 to 1 odds. It is these types of long-shot wins that sports bettors remember, so in retrospect, it should have come as no surprise to anyone that Rombauer performed in the same manner that he did as a two-year-old. One has to understand that bookmakers will continue to hang long odds on a horse that exhibits these patterns since sports bettors will instinctually continue to bet on these performances hoping for a larger payout. Perhaps Rombauer is just one of those horses that performs better as a major underdog in a race, and once his odds to win get lower, bettors will move on to other horses. Given Rombauer's successes this past year, he just might be a horse that sees the odds in his favor more often than not moving forward.
In some ways, Rombauer's victory at the Preakness this year was a shot in the arm that the sport desperately needed. The fact that Medina Spirit was still allowed to race did not sit well with fans or bettors. Midnight Bourbon's second place finish was inches away from giving legendary trainer Steve Asmussen his first win at the Preakness since 2009. A third place finish was not what Medina Spirit envisioned after capturing the Kentucky Derby earlier in the month, but some were surprised the horse was allowed to race at all. The most disappointing finish in this year's Preakness Stakes certainly goes to Bob Baffert's other horse, Concert Tour, which entered the race with the third highest odds to win. Concert Tour finished second to last and failed to capture Baffert his first Preakness win since 2018 when Justify took home the purse.
It is a gentle reminder as to why horse racing is such a popular sport to bet on around the world. Any horse can win any race at any time, and long-shot bets can strike frequently, as Rombauer is certainly evidence of. It is one of the most widely represented sports to bet on at online sportsbooks in all parts of the world. Of all of these sites, Twinspires Racebook is one of the best sites for horse racing bets. Twinspires Racebook is actually owned by a company called Churchill Downs. If that name is familiar to you, it might be because Churchill Downs is also the racecourse at which the Kentucky Derby takes place each year. With some of the best odds in the industry as well as mobile app integration, Twinspires Racebook is a clear leader in the online pari-mutuel betting market.
Just weeks after the Preakness Stakes, the third leg of the triple crown was held at Belmont Park in New York. Heading into the Belmont Stakes, the horse racing world knew we would not have a triple crown winner in 2021. We would also not see Medina Spirit in competition as the state of New York had yet to lift its racing ban for Baffert after the horse's positive test following the Kentucky Derby. This opened the stage for Rombauer to potentially win another jewel in the triple crown, with Midnight Bourbon also not competing in the race. Rombauer was given pre-race odds of 3 to 1, which was unfamiliar territory for the colt who was used to being a longshot in races.
Rombauer ended up coming in third place at the Belmont, trailing Hot Rod Charlie and the odds on favorite to win, Essential Quality. The third place finish capped off a strong season for Rombauer, who emerged from relative obscurity to become a name to watch heading into next season. How Rombauer rebounds from his first season success is up to trainer Michael McCarthy who put the colt on a strict rest regiment this past summer. After a busy season on the track, Rombauer received some much needed rest and is now ready to ramp his training back up in time for the 2022 season.
Rombauer has been steadily increasing his workload and completed his third workout since coming back from his extended time off. His third run was at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, where he ran a half-mile length in 49.60 seconds, a respectable time for a colt that has spent most of the past few months on the sidelines. McCarthy and Rombauer's owners John and Diane Fradkin have high expectations for the horse but know to keep those expectations in check as well. Not every horse can expect to challenge for a triple crown every year, but it seems like Rombauer already has all of the makings of a champion.
Kentucky Derby, Santa Anita, TRIPLE CROWN, PREAKNESS WINNER, EL CAMINO REAL DERBY, MIKE MC CARTHY, MEDINA SPIRIT, MIDNIGHT BOURBON, HOT ROD CHARLIE, ROMBAUER, DIANE FRADKIN
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LinkedIn for BlackBerry 2.0 available | BlackBerry Blast!
LinkedIn for BlackBerry has been updated to version 2.0 and is now available in the BlackBerry App World. The new version works on all BlackBerrys running OS 6.
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When we look at the Gospels, we see that Jesus is hardly ever angry. The only thing that makes Him angry is hypocrisy. We see this continually in His discussions with the religious leaders. Many of them are concerned only with appearances. They do not respond to Jesus' calls to conversion.
Everything we do during this special time—the fasting, the sacrifices, the times of prayer and reflection—is to help us change, to be people who love as Jesus calls us to love. He wants us to be loving, compassionate, humble, and generous, especially with our forgiveness.
During Lent—and maybe during the rest of the year—we can begin each day with a question: How can I love God and my neighbor more today?


PRESS RELEASE – New York, NY – August 25, 2016 – Securities and corporate law firm Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has represented Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company applying proprietary technologies to produce novel therapies for infectious diseases, in a private placement of preferred stock and warrants resulting in total gross proceeds of $15,216,241.
Maxim Merchant Capital, a division of Maxim Group LLC, acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering. The Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP team was led by Partner Jeff Fessler, Avital Even-Shoshan, Evan Berger and Nazia Khan.


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text:
Whittier Narrows Dam is a 56-foot (17 m) tall earth dam on the San Gabriel River and the smaller, parallel Rio Hondo. The dam is located, as the name implies, at the Whittier Narrows. It provides water conservation storage and is also the central element of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) flood control system. Its reservoir has a capacity of .

The Whittier Narrows are a natural gap in the hills that form the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California. Both the Rio Hondo, a tributary of the Los Angeles River, and the San Gabriel River flow through this gap and are impounded by the reservoir. The Pomona Freeway (CA-60) passes through the reservoir flood control basin and the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) passes along the eastern boundary of the basin.

In September 2017, the United States Army Corps of Engineers officials warned local residents that the dam no longer met the agency's 'tolerable-risk' guidelines and could fail in the event of a very large, very rare storm, similar to exceptionally intense California storms which occurred between December 1861 and January 1862, a so-called ARkStorm

Authorization for the project construction is contained in the Flood Control Act of 18 August 1941 (PL 77-228) and the initial funds for construction were provided in the 1949 Appropriations Bill. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of the dam in 1957.

Flood control

The purpose of the project is to collect runoff from the uncontrolled drainage areas upstream along with releases into the San Gabriel River from the Santa Fe Dam.

The Rio Hondo outlet has four main outlet passages plus a small diversion passage. The San Gabriel outlet has nine large gates installed on top of a spillway. Dimensions are furnished in the table below.

The "stand-by" position of the gates on the Rio Hondo outlet is wide open. On the San Gabriel side one gate is normally open about .5 ft (15 cm) with the remaining gates closed. The reservoir is normally empty, and a "crossover weir" within the reservoir keeps the flows from the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River separated. The natural flow to each river therefore normally passes through the dam unhindered.

During the initial stages of a flood event, the gates on the Rio Hondo side are partially closed to build a water conservation pool. As long as the pool on the Rio Hondo side of the reservoir is below elevation 201.6 ft (61.4 m) NGVD29, releases are made to accommodate the capacity of the spreading grounds downstream along the Rio Hondo. The spreading grounds are operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to recharge the groundwater basin. Flow reaches the spreading grounds either directly by way of the diversion passage or from a diversion structure in the Rio Hondo downstream of the dam. Both the diversion passage direct from the dam and the diversion structure in the Rio Hondo are operated by the county.

When the water conservation pool on the Rio Hondo side of the reservoir is exceeded, the releases to the Rio Hondo are increased to match inflow until either the capacity of the Rio Hondo or the Los Angeles River downstream are reached. If the water conservation pool on either side of the reservoir is exceeded, discharges on the San Gabriel side can be increased to approximately 5000 ft³/s (142 m³/s).

The San Gabriel outlet has automatic spillway gates. When the pool in the reservoir exceeds flood control storage these gates will begin to open automatically. The top of the flood control storage pool is at elevation 228.5 ft (69.6 m) NGVD.

The capacity of the Rio Hondo downstream from Whittier Narrows Dam is approximately 36,500 ft³/s (1,034 m³/s). The  capacity of the Los Angeles River downstream of its confluence with the Rio Hondo is approximately 127,000 ft³/s (3,596 m³/s), and the capacity of the San Gabriel River downstream of the dam is approximately 13,000 ft³/s (371 m³/s).

See also
 List of dams and reservoirs in California
 Whittier Narrows

References

External links

Dams in Los Angeles County, California
Geography of the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel River (California)
Montebello, California
United States Army Corps of Engineers dams
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
Dams completed in 1957
1957 establishments in California

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Christmas' entry into America is a unique time in history because; Christmas coming to America stirred a lot of troubles in the beginning as it did in England.
1. It reminded them of England and the old-world customs, which they were trying to escape.
2. They did not consider the holiday a truly religious day. These Christian Puritans knew that December the 25th was not selected as the birthdate of Christ until several centuries after his death.
3. The Christmas holiday usually included drinking, feasting, and playing games – all things the Puritans frowned upon.
The ban was eventually revoked in 1681 by an English-appointed governor, Sir Edmund Andros. But although the ban was lifted, the majority of the colonist still abstained from the Christmas celebration.
In the beginning, Christmas did not find a lot of favor with many of the new colonists. And after the colonies gained their independence; all things coming from England fell out of favor in America, including Christmas. As a matter of fact, on December the 25th, 1789, the United States Congress sat in session and continued to stay open on Christmas Day for most of the following 67 years. Christmas for the most part was an unfavorable holiday in the newly founded America.
At the dawning of the 19th century (1800s), enough Christmas loving English folk had filled America and Christmas was now widely accepted and popular in America.
Also at the time of America's enormous acceptance of Christmas, America had its own national calendar, and it was time to populate it with special days of events. Christmas would become a part of the American calendar; but it purposed not be the carnival Christmas of old England. Nor would it be particularly religious. As shall be shown, America would invent its very own Christmas and in the process, reinvent it for the entire world.
By the 1820s the Industrial Revolution had transformed New York from a backwater town into the central city for American commerce. Great wealth came to a few in these years while moderate living came to the newly founded middle class. But the Industrial Revolution had also created a class of unemployed and unconnected people whose very existence threaten the cozy class of New York' moderate middle society. This was never more clearly seen than at Christmas time.
Christmas had started to become a very popular holiday in America. But just like in old England in years past, the Christmas season to New York society's outcast had become a time of carnival, drunkardness and rioting. And every year Christmas was becoming increasing misusing in New York and cities like New York.
In the year 1828, the New York City' Council for the very first time instituted a professional police force for the city as a direct result of a savage Christmas season riot known to us in history as the "Eggnog Riot" which occurred in 1826.
One of the upper class elite of New York: Washington Irving, an American bestselling novelist at the time, used his expertise to write a novel titled "Bracebridge Hall": a propaganda book that had become extremely popular, full of stories about Christmas at an imaginary English manor home.
In this bestselling work of Washington Irving, the different classes mingled effortlessly together as squires welcomed friendly and grateful peasant into their homes, feeding them and showing them gracious hospitality. The idea here was to bring forth a book that paints a picture of classes (upper, middle and lower) that were not at odds with one another during the Christmas holiday season. Washington Erving' book was America' first attempt at using propaganda in turning the Christmas holiday into something it had never been before: not religious and not rebellious, but rather, a day of humanity and brotherhood on all levels and classes.
If Charles Dickens book "A Christmas Carol" showed us anything, it showed us that the unfortunate should not be ignored at Christmas time.


Gambling report is important not just to the authorities but also for the people of any place to enable them to know the effects of gambling. From the beginning gambling happens to be topic of debate since it is not decided whether or not gambling is actually beneficial or harmful to the society. When gambling appeared to be done privately or on small degree in that case not a soul needed gambling report however with the time period and opening of way too many gambling http://bettzone.com websites the requirement of gambling report grew to be essential to understand the actual merits and demerits of it.
Other than a couple of places gambling is carried out in each and every place possibly for fun or even for making heavy money.
Gambling report factors in the forms of gambling and the effects of gambling on a society.
Laws with regard to gambling and so on. to ensure that people can easily comprehend all facets of gambling before starting a game or making it their habit.
The web based gambling sites have increased the actual rate of gambling activity worldwide. There was a the time when gambling appeared to be regarded as time pass involving adult generation. However gambling report demonstrates that these days gambling has become a preferred enjoyment activity associated with the young age bracket and college and university students are becoming more and more involved in it. Problem gambling has become common among the youths.
Online Gambling Report that addresses the subjects associated with online gambling and is published after every six months. This addresses the types of games offered on the net, gambling data of different nations, security offered by websites, their particular advertising strategies, transferring of funds etc.
International gambling report addresses comprehensive quantitative and qualitative examination on the state of gambling in the different parts of globe. It provides the concept of gambling markets, their particular dimensions and their input in the economy in the area they may be established.
The other may be the mobile gambling review. The mobile gambling or mGambling is carried out over the devices that have mobile access such as laptop computers, cell phone etc. Mobile gambling is hassle-free for operators to contact their particular customers. The mobile gambling is creating it's place in the gambling marketplace. The mobile gambling report considers the type of application, growth drivers, transaction processing, the mGambling market in different regions, the software used as well as the size of mobile gambling in various locations.
Gambling report is necessary to understand the extent of various kinds of gambling in the society. The gambling report can give the precise measures of betting in a particular community like the number people playing several game titles, income as well as expenses of different games, popularity of any game, risk on playing almost any game etc. The gambling report also gives the gambling data of the location which helps to know the actual proportion of involvement of folks in a particular game.


text:
Libyan people: 'What we need now is free speech and free thought'
Gaddafi's whereabouts remain a mystery but in Tripoli, the masses want two things: retribution and democracy
Luke Harding in Tripoli
Fri 26 Aug 2011 15.40 EDT First published on Fri 26 Aug 2011 15.40 EDT
On Monday, Libyans celebrated the fall of Tripoli to the rebels and the end of the Gaddafi era. But after Friday prayers in Tripoli, the people held their first political march - many said they wanted a Westminster-style democracy. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/AP
The mood was festive. The crowd included women in hijabs wearing rebel shawls, an elderly man in a dapper suit and a group of traffic policemen sporting their white, colonial-style uniforms. After Friday prayers several hundred people poured out on to the marble steps of the Jamal Abdul Nasser mosque, Tripoli's biggest.
And then the chanting began. First: "God is great." Next: "Death to Gaddafi." Then: "All Libyans are brothers." Then, once more: "Death to Gaddafi." A rebel fighter shinned up an elegant art deco lamppost; he began wafting a large red, green, and black flag. It felt like a cathartic moment – the first Friday since the dramatic fall of Tripoli on Sunday, and the first in a Libya without Muammar Gaddafi. Meanwhile, Gaddafi's whereabouts remain a mystery.
After 10 minutes, the people moved off. They spilled into Algeria Square – with its glorious Italianate post office and neat palm tree roundabout. Tentatively at first, they kept going, marching and crying slogans down a shady avenue of shuttered tea shops.
This was new Libya's first political march – something that only a few days ago would have been unthinkable, and would have been broken up with beatings and bullets.
Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) gave its first press conference in Tripoli on Thursday evening. It was a chaotic late-night affair; so far nobody has had much of a chance to sketch out a new political system. On Friday, however, the marchers agreed that after 42 years of dictatorship and iron-fisted personalist rule the country should become a European-style democracy.
"I want to live in a democratic country. It's the most important thing for me and my children," Naser al-Shahawi said, emerging from the mosque. "This is what the people want. We also want an Islamic country. But I don't think that democracy is an enemy of Islam."
The 48-year-old international lawyer said he wasn't greatly impressed by the NTC – pointing out that several of its leaders "had been with Gaddafi".
Who, then, did he think could be Libya's new prime minister? "Maybe me," he replied. "Now is the first time that anybody can be prime minister, or president." Then he admitted: "I have never voted in my life."
Shahawi, who had spent a year and half living in Cardiff, said he was studying for a PhD in international law. Asked what should happen to Gaddafi when justice eventually caught up with him, he was brutally succinct.
"He should die," he said, then insisted that the former dictator should be tried inside the country, rather than extradited to the international criminal court, where a heap of indictments await.
A group of fighters then expressed their feelings in verbal form: "Fuck you Gaddafi," they shouted.
In the central Tripoli district of Souk al-Jummah, a group of young rebels said, unprompted, said they wanted Westminster-style democracy. "We want the same kind that you have in the UK," Sami Jamhur said.
Jamhur had been a taxi driver but had been forced to sell his vehicle to make ends meet. Here, he was manning a citizens' checkpoint at Swalim Street, perched on his bike and holding an AK-47 assault rifle.
"I want to travel to London. I'm fed up with Libya," he explained, but then said he was enthusiastic about Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the NTC and front-runner to be Libya's new leader. "He's a good man. A lot of people like Jibril." But there was also a recognition that it could be a hard task to introduce democratic ideas to many ordinary Libyans. For most, the only widely-available political text has been the Green Book – Gaddafi's bizarre anti-parliamentary treatise.
"People are ready for democracy. But we don't have money. We don't speak English very well. Gaddafi deliberately kept us ignorant," Jamhur added.
When, then, should elections in Libya take place? "Next spring," Jamhur suggested.
He conceded that it would be difficult to build a new Libyan state with Gaddafi still on the run, and that the deposed despot could cast a shadow over any new electoral process. People's lives would also have to improve, he said. "I don't have a car. I don't have money. I don't live in the Marriott. Gaddafi had all those things."
Over at Tripoli's Mitiga hospital, doctors were remarkably upbeat about Libya's prospects.
Dr Salem Sagher pointed out that the "chaps" manning improvised checkpoints across the capital had so far behaved well – a good sign for the country's nascent democracy.
He said that Libya's entire mental world had been turned upside down in just a few days. "If you'd asked me two weeks ago what I thought about Gaddafi I wouldn't have answered. In fact I've been expecting this for 30 years," he said.
His colleague Dr Ali Mansouri said that the last time he voted was in 1964 or 1965, as a young man, living in a constitutional monarchy.
Gaddafi ousted its head of state, King Idris, four or five years later, and there hasn't been an election since, he explained. "What we need now is free speech and free thought."
Did he think Jibril was the man who might deliver this? "He's a good person, a moderate guy," he replied.
But didn't all revolutions go wrong, beginning in excitement and ending in disillusionment? "At the moment I feel enormous happiness. This is shared by all Libyans," Sagher said.
Most of Tripoli's streets remain deserted. But there were a few promising signs on Friday that normal life is slowly returning after a week of fighting and mayhem.
A few shops reopened, mostly in Tripoli's suburbs, and there were queues at the tills – but orderly ones.
The city is now festooned with new, anti-Gaddafi graffiti, some in English. One reads: "Game over Gerdafei."
Opposition militia from cities outside Tripoli such as Misrata remained camped in the capital. But the fighters' claim that this six-month conflict can be wrapped up in the next few days, as the last loyalists realise that Libya has permanently changed and now has a democratic future.
"I think four-five-seven days it will all be over," Abdul Salam said. Perhaps.
A degree of normality has returned to Tripoli, with more people and traffic on the streets. However, most of the capital city's services are still not functioning.
Rubbish is piled everywhere, there is no running water, and a treacherously erratic power supply. Electricity returned to the capital two days ago – only to conk out again on Friday afternoon. No one seems to know when it might be turned back on.
The water has not worked for the past four days; water tankers have been delivering emergency supplies to some residential areas.
A few shops have reopened; it's possible to buy soft drinks and a few dry supplies. But there are no markets, and certainly no meat.
There is no petrol on sale in Tripoli – hence the lack of traffic, but it is available in other parts of the country such as the western mountains, and imported from Tunisia.
The local mobile phone network Libyana, works only sometimes.
In areas away from the fighting the security situation remains stable, with citizens' checkpoints made up of local rebels set up every few hundred metres.
The first traffic policemen were spotted on Tripoli's streets on Friday – a hopeful sign.
Arab and Middle East unrest
Rebels accuse Gaddafi troops of using civilians as human shields
They say that loyalist fighters have seized farms near Gaddafi's home town of Sirte and are holding civilians as hostages
Evidence emerges of Gaddafi's bloody revenge in final hours of war
Sites of civilian massacres are reported across Tripoli where prisoners were killed only minutes before rebel troops arrived
Gaddafi offers to negotiate with Libya rebels over transfer of power
Ousted dictator ready to enter talks, his spokesman says, but National Transitional Council insists he must surrender first
Gaddafi forces using human shields, Libya rebels claim
Opposition forces say advance on Sirte halted over concern for safety of civilian hostages being held along coastal highway
Libya may refuse to extradite Yvonne Fletcher murder suspect
Libya war leaves Tripoli short of water and cash, but residents say: 'We'll cope'
Libya's new leaders prepare to restore basic needs of war-torn country
The short life and cruel death of Libyan freedom fighter Izz al-Arab Matar


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Tag Archive for Stephanie Drew Segal
Stephanie Segal pleads No Contest in last year's Agoura Hills death of cyclist James Laing
December 22, 2011 / bikinginla / 3 comments
Jim Laing, photo courtesy of his sister Peggy Laing-Krause
It looks like the Laing family may get closure for Christmas.
I heard from a reliable source Wednesday afternoon that Stephanie Segal has entered a plea of No Contest to both counts in the drunken hit-and-run death of cyclist James Laing in Agoura Hills last year.
That means she is not admitting guilt in the case, but won't fight the charges, and will accept the court's judgment in the case.
The judge has already indicated that he intends to impose a sentence of at least nine years in state prison, with formal sentencing to take place in late January of next year.
Laing was riding on in the bike lane on Agoura Hills Road on the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd of last year, when he was run down from behind by Segal's car and died at the scene. She fled the scene, and was followed by witnesses to a nearby parking lot, where she was arrested with a blood alcohol content of .26 — over three times the legal limit.
She almost immediately entered a rehab facility, where she spent much of the past year, whether in a genuine attempt to get help, or a callous — and failed — attempt to get leniency from the court.
By all accounts, Segal has refused to take any responsibility for getting drunk and climbing behind the wheel, let alone needlessly taking the life of an innocent human being.
I'm told that her testimony — against the advice of both the court and her own attorney — in the preliminary hearing was contradictory and confusing, backpedalling repeatedly as she attempted to shift the blame and explain away her actions.
Her attorney seemed to be making the case that she hadn't attempted to flee, but merely continued driving until reaching a safe place to stop.
Laing's sister Carolyn also reports that she tried to blame Laing for kicking her Mercedes Benz, which appears to have been a last-ditch effort to push away from her car in a failed attempt to save his own life.
In other words, he saw it coming. And there was nothing he could do.
Somehow, kicking a car in self defense seems to pale when compared to the drunken murder of another person. But Segal still doesn't seem to get that.
By all accounts, she came off as arrogant and argumentative during her ill-advised testimony; I suspect her attorney strongly advised her to plead guilty to the charges to avoid digging herself in any deeper.
As one person put it to me, failure to do so after her dramatic failure on the stand probably would have been legal malpractice.
Of course, she's not likely to spend the full term behind bars. The current prison overcrowding problems mean she's likely to be released long before the nine years are up. And as a non-violent offender, she may even do her time in county jail.
But I wouldn't count on getting time off for good behavior, either.
We can only hope that she'll finally grasp the consequences of her actions as she sits in her cell, for however long that may end up being.
But at least the loved ones Jim Laing left behind can finally end this year with the light of a very long and tragic tunnel firmly in sight.
Update: An anonymous comment below indicates that Segal will be required to spend at least 85% of her sentence behind bars due to the nature and severity of her crime, and that the sentencing will take place on January 26th in the Malibu courthouse.
Category: Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: Agoura Hills, bicycling, bicycling fatality, hit-and-run, James Laing, Stephanie Drew Segal
Legal update: DUI driver arraigned for injuring Adam Rybicki, Valencia sentencing today
May 25, 2011 / bikinginla / 5 comments
These days, it seems like there are as many court cases involving cyclists than there are riders on the streets.
Fortunately, cyclist/attorney Dj Wheels has done his usual great job of keeping us up to date with the latest legal proceedings — including charges against the under-aged, allegedly intoxicated driver who ran down who hit Adam Rybicki head on, and Thursday's sentencing for Marco Antonio Valencia, convicted in the hit-and-run DUI death of Joseph Novotny.
Editor's Note: While Dj Wheels provided updates on these cases, any commentary or information beyond the actual status of the cases are mine. So blame me, not him.
Jaclyn Andrea Garcia: Charges were filed May 19th at the Torrance Courthouse for the DUI collision that critically injured cyclist Adam Rybicki this past April. The Supervising Judge recused all the judges there from hearing the case, with no public explanation for his actions; however, rumor has it that Garcia's mother is a court reporter in Torrance, which would explain the recusal.
As a result, arraignment was held Tuesday in Department 5 of the Inglewood Courthouse, Case #YA081126. Garcia's attorney, George Bird, entered a plea of not guilty to all four counts:
1) CVC 23153(a) – DUI w/ injury
2) CVC 23153(b) – DUI w/ BAC over .08 and injury
Bird also informed the court on the record that his client has voluntarily surrendered her driver's license, entered into a three-month alcohol program, voluntarily attended 18 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and has begun electronic alcohol monitoring with the SCRAM device made famous by Hollywood's favorite outlaw.
Too bad it's just a little too late.
Had Garcia sobered up a few months earlier, Adam Rybicki might not be in a coma right now, the victim of a 20-year old woman still drunk and behind the wheel at 7:15 in the morning.
And you can bet that none of the actions Garcia took in surrendering her license or entering rehab were her idea; it was no doubt ordered by her attorney in an attempt to show remorse and get his client released with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
After all, it's worked for any number of Hollywood celebrities, whose first stop after hitting the tabloids is usually a stint in luxury rehab.
And by all accounts, Garcia's high-priced attorney knows what he's doing. Maybe if Dr. Thompson's attorney had ordered him straight into rehab, he might be a free man today.
Let's hope that the court takes this case seriously, and doesn't let yet another driver buy her way out of taking responsibility.
Speaking of the infamous Good Doctor:
Dr. Christopher Thompson: The date for oral arguments has been continued upon the court's own motion in the appeal of Dr. Thompson's conviction for intentionally injuring two cyclists in Mandeville Canyon by slamming on his brakes in front of them. The new date is now 6/29/11.
Marco Antonio Valencia: Valenica was convicted last month in the hit-and run DUI death of cyclist Joseph Novotny. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for today (Thursday) at the San Fernando Court; he faces up to 24 year to life in prison.
Shawn Fields: Fields is charged with the hit-and-run DUI death of 17-year old cyclist Danny Marin in Pacoima last October. Fields reportedly told investigators that he thought he might have hit something, because he remembered seeing sparkly dust flying over him — from the windshield shattered by Marin's body. Pretrial/Trial Setting Conference is scheduled for 6/22.
Patrick Roraff & Brett Morin: Roraff and Morin are charged with causing the death of rising pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado in April of last year. The two were allegedly street racing when Roraff lost control and slammed into Alvarado, who was riding on the opposite shoulder. Pretrial conference is scheduled for 7/7.
Stephanie Drew Segal: Segal is charged with the hit-and-run DUI death of cyclist James Laing in Agoura last year (notice a theme here?). She allegedly plowed into Laing after leaving a local wine tasting room, and entered into a rehab facility after her arrest. Preliminary setting is scheduled for 6/28; Wheels notes that the docket says the DA has been ordered to have victims present, which is unusual for this type of hearing.
Renato Demartino: Demartino is charged with the hit-and-run death of 22-year old cyclist Marco Acuapan, who died in April, four months after he was allegedly hit by Demartino's car while riding in a bike lane in Tustin. A pretrial conference scheduled for 6/1.
Danae Marie Miller: Miller is charged with the death of world-class triathlete Amine Britel; she was allegedly drunk and texting when she rear-ended Britel, who was riding in a marked bike lane. Pretrial conference scheduled for 7/15.
Captain John David Hines: Hines, a Long Beach Fire Captain, is accused of plowing into cyclist Jeffrey Gordon, then fleeing the scene, despite legal, and professional, obligations to stop and render aid. He had allegedly been drinking for hours in a local bar before getting behind the wheel, and had a BAC of .24 at the time of his arrest — three times the legal limit. And once again, he reportedly checked into rehab right after his arrest. Pretrial conference scheduled for 6/17.
Satnam Singh: Singh is charged with killing 20-year old college student Nick Haverland in yet another hit-and-run DUI — this time, in a hit-and-run rampage involving three separate collisions in a matter of minutes that left five people injured and Haverland dead. Pretrial conference scheduled for 6/14; Singh remains in custody with the Ventura County Sheriff.
Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: Adam Rybicki, Amine Britel, Brett Marin, Danae Marie Miller, Danny Marin, Dr. Christopher Thompson, Jaclyn Andrea Garcia, James Laing, Jeffrey Gordon, John David Hines, Jorge Alvarado, Joseph Novotny, Marco Acuapan, Marco Antonio Valencia, Nick Haverland, Patrick Roraff, Renato Demartino, Satnam Singh, Shawn Fields, Stephanie Drew Segal


text:
Q: How to group multiple dependency in same line - Gradle In the following example, I have 3 dependencies with the same group and the same version. I want to group these three dependencies in one line.
compile group: 'org.apache.ws.commons.axiom', name: 'axiom-api', version: '1.2.7'
compile group: 'org.apache.ws.commons.axiom', name: 'axiom-dom', version: '1.2.7'
compile group: 'org.apache.ws.commons.axiom', name: 'axiom-impl', version: '1.2.7'

Expected like below
group("axiom-api", "axiom-dom", "axiom-impl", :under=>"org.apache.ws.commons.axiom", :version=>"1.2.7")

Is it possible in gradle?

A: Well it's actually more lines in total, but if this (same group, same version and multiple artifacts) is a repeating pattern, it might still be handy:
def groupDependencies ( group, names, version ) {
  def deps = []
  names.each { it ->
    deps += [group: group, name: it, version: version]
  }

  return deps
}

dependencies {
  compile(groupDependencies('org.apache.ws.commons.axiom', ['axiom-api', 'axiom-dom', 'axiom-impl'], '1.2.7'))
}

A: This is an example where you can add different artifacts each with a different version.
def groupDependencies (group, artifact) {
    def dependencies = []

    artifact.each { it ->
        dependencies += [group: group, name: it["name"], version: it["version"]]
    }

    return dependencies
}

dependencies {
    implementation(groupDependencies("org.apache.commons", [
            [name: "commons-lang3", version: "3.12.0"],
            [name: "commons-collections4", version: "4.4"],
            [name: "commons-compress", version: "1.21"]
    ]))
}

And this other is for when the group and the name is the same (you can use them both on the same file):
def groupDependencies (artifact) {
    def dependencies = []

    artifact.each { it ->
        dependencies += [group: it["name"], name: it["name"], version: it["version"]]
    }

    return dependencies
}

dependencies {
    implementation(groupDependencies([
            [name: "commons-cli", version: "1.5.0"],
            [name: "commons-io", version: "2.11.0"]
    ]))
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Badger Box Program Will Continue
Fighting hunger isn't a seasonal issue, but this is the time of year that many people pay more attention to food insecurity in our communities. Sherrie Tussler, the Executive Director of Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee shares more about the urban farm they use to produce fresh foods, as well as an update on Badger Boxes, the partnership between Hunger Task Force and Wisconsin farmers that came about during the pandemic.
When the pandemic hit, it was quickly realized that most local food pantries simply couldn't handle the large volume of food that was being donated from suppliers that had no place to go with what once would have been destined for store shelves or restaurants. Hunger Task Force snapped into action and began working with a food distribution company that not only had the resources and space to take on the challenge, but also worked with Wisconsin farmers and producers. The blueprint for Badger Box worked so well, they were able to expand their service area beyond Milwaukee to serve those in need statewide. With a recent allocation of $5 million dollars from the state, Tussler says that Badger Box distribution will be able to continue at least until May of 2023.
The Badger Box program isn't the only innovative way that Hunger Task Force is working to feed people. When the Milwaukee county correctional work farm program ended, an opportunity was created. Hunger Task Force took on the challenge and started growing fruits and vegetables. With 6 employees, most being young women, and the help of many volunteers, this year the land produced over 600,000 pounds of food that was distributed to those in need.
The Badger Box program and the farm provide more than just food, Tussler says, they provide food with dignity. She says that having healthy food that is high quality means so much to the recipients. With canned food drives during the holidays she says remember to think about the over all health of the items you're donating. Low sodium canned vegetables, low sugar cereal options and even infant formula are much needed and very appreciated items that are in high demand.
Source: Mid-West Farm Report
www.midwestfarmreport.com/2022/12/14/badger-box-program-will-continue/
Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee's Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin's anti-hunger leader. The organization provides healthy and nutritious food to hungry children, families and seniors in the community absolutely free of charge. Hunger Task Force was founded in 1974 by a local advocacy group who then formed Milwaukee's first food bank. Today, Hunger Task Force is 100% supported by the community and provides a safety net of emergency food with dignity to a network of 75 food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Through legislative analysis, education and community organizing, Hunger Task Force continues to advocate for anti-hunger policy at the local, state and federal level.


text:
En allmän definition av internetdemokrati är att använda Internet och annan informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) av demokratiska ideal och styrelseformer genom att "Internets informationsflöde, förstärkt av ständigt ökande rain-data, ständigt förändrar människors kunskaper av offentliga angelägenheter och mer allmänt de politiska relationerna mellan människor inom och mellan samhällen." I många fall används sociala media, såsom Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress och Blogspot, mycket för att främja demokratin.

En uppfattning av akademiska forskare och observatörer är att Internet har en formad politik i ett globalt och universellt fenomen som hjälper till att göra konsumenterna (det vill säga medborgarna) mer aktiva "handlare" av politiska budskap och "varor". Dock är värdet av att Internet verkligen förbättrar demokratiska processer hårt debatterat. Många forskare och populära observatörer tror att Internet bara tillför en ytterligare väg för etablerade makter såsom mediala moguler, större chefer i multinationella företag och andra rika personer, att påverka medborgare eftersom de "äger" Internet och påverkar dess användning.

Vissa individer trodde att internetdemokrati hade hotats i USA med införandet av HR 3261, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), i USA:s representanthus. En Huffington Post-skribent noterade att det bästa sättet att främja demokratin, inklusive att hålla yttrandefrihet tillåtet, är genom att besegra Stop Online Piracy Act. Det är viktigt att notera att SOPA sköts upp på obestämd tid efter att stora protester uppstod, bland annat genom att många populära webbplatser som engelskspråkiga Wikipedia, lanserade en webbplatsmörkläggning den 18 januari 2012. I Indien har en liknande situation noterades i slutet av 2011, då Indiens kommunikations- och IT-minister Kapil Sibal föreslog att stötande innehåll skall vara privat "förhandsgranskat" innan det är tillåtet på Internet utan regler för "redressal". Dock citerar senare nyhetsrapporter Sibal som sade att det inte skulle finnas några som helst begränsningar för användning av Internet.

Källor

Demokrati
Demokrati


text:
João Pinheiro Chagas GCSE (Rio de Janeiro, 1 de setembro de 1863 – Lisboa, 28 de maio de 1925), mais conhecido por João Chagas, foi um jornalista, escritor, diplomata e político português, tendo sido o primeiro presidente do Ministério (atual primeiro-ministro) da I República Portuguesa.<ref>[http://www.arqnet.pt/dicionario/pchagasjoao.html "João Chagas" no Portugal - Dicionário Histórico].</ref>

Jornalista, escritor, crítico literário, político, diplomata e conspirador, João Chagas foi, acima de tudo, um republicano liberal, ideal que abraçou até à morte e que, por diversas vezes, lhe custou a prisão e o degredo. Deixou uma das obras mais importantes, e por isso mesmo mais injustamente esquecida, do jornalismo político, de ideias e de doutrinação democrática publicadas em Portugal, sendo autor de alguns dos textos basilares para a compreensão do processo formativo, evolução e parâmetros ideológicos do republicanismo português.

Biografia
João Pinheiro Chagas, nasceu no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil no dia 1 de Setembro de 1863, filho de João Pinheiro Chagas, um emigrante português tio de Manuel Joaquim Pinheiro Chagas, e de sua mulher Maria Amélia Rosa Pereira, filha de António Gonçalves Pereira e de sua mulher Zelita Rosa Pereira.

Estudou em Lisboa, rumando ao 16 anos para o Porto. Com 20 anos começa a colaborar com O Primeiro de Janeiro e regressando a Lisboa começa a publicar nos jornais Tempo, Correio da Manhã e O Dia.

Por ocasião do ultimato britânico de 1890, adere ao Partido Republicano Português, sendo no ano seguinte implicado na Revolta de 31 de Janeiro de 1891. Foi degredado para Angola, fugiu para o Brasil, e continuou a lutar pela causa republicana.

Fez parte da Maçonaria, tendo sido iniciado em 1896 na loja Luís de Camões, com o nome simbólico de Armand Carrel.

Chagas viria a fundar em Lisboa A Marselhesa (1897-1898) e a ser director de O País (1898), A Lanterna (1899) ou Batalha (1900). Entre outros exemplos de colaboração em publicações periódicas, citem-se os títulos O Berro (1896) e Branco e Negro (1896-1898) e A Paródia de Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1900-1907).

Tendo sido um dos mais activos oponentes da ditadura de João Franco, entre 1906 e 1908, com o triunfo da República, em 1910, João Chagas foi nomeado representante diplomático português em Paris, cargo do qual acabou por se demitir, em duas ocasiões, por discordar do modelo político seguido pelos governantes.

Foi Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros Interino entre 3 de setembro de 1911 e 12 de outubro de 1911 (interino) e duas vezes Primeiro Ministro (chefe de governo), a primeira das quais de 3 de setembro a 12 de novembro de 1911.

 Tentativa de assassínio
Em 1915, na sequência da Revolta de 14 de Maio de 1915, o senador João José de Freitas decidiu eliminar João Pinheiro Chagas, então indigitado para substituir o general Pimenta de Castro na presidência do Governo. Na estação da Barquinha, nos arredores do Entroncamento, na noite de 16 para 17 de Maio entrou na carruagem onde viajava o potencial chefe do novo governo acompanhado pela esposa e desferiu cinco tiros de pistola, três dos quais atingiram João Pinheiro Chagas de raspão na cabeça e arrancaram-lhe um olho. O senador transmontano foi, entretanto, dominado pelo Dr. Paulo José Falcão que viajava com Chagas. Entregue à Guarda Nacional Republicana, que entretanto acorrera, João de Freitas, ainda tentou fugir e pegar, de novo, na pistola. Mas acabou por ser atacado por populares, sendo abatido pela GNR com um tiro de carabina. Segundo o periódico evolucionista A Vanguarda do dia imediato, o linchamento de João José de Freitas foi um lento martírio, já que até fel lhe deram a beber antes de o matarem.

 Falecimento
João Chagas faleceu aos 61 anos, vítima de aortite, a 28 de maio de 1925, no Hotel Avenida Palace, freguesia de Santa Justa, nos Restauradores, em Lisboa. Encontra-se sepultado no Cemitério do Alto de São João, na mesma cidade.

 Homenagens
João Chagas recebeu a Grã-Cruz da Antiga, Nobilíssima e Esclarecida Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada, do Mérito Científico, Literário e Artístico a 20 de Março de 1919.

 Fontes
 Vasco Pereira, A Vida de João Chagas - de degredado de 1.ª classe a Primeiro-Ministro'', com texto introdutório de João Medina, Lisboa, 2005.

Ver também
 Lista de primeiros-ministros de Portugal

Ligações externas
 João Chagas no Portugal-Dicionário Histórico em arqnet.pt
 João Chagas em arqnet.pt
 Fotografia de João Chagas em eastman.org
 Amadeu Carvalho Homem, O Renitente Degredo de João Chagas em lagosdarepublica.wikidot.com

Naturais da cidade do Rio de Janeiro
Portugueses nascidos no estrangeiro
Republicanos de Portugal
Escritores de Portugal
Jornalistas de Portugal
Ministros do Interior de Portugal
Ministros dos Negócios Estrangeiros de Portugal
Primeiros-ministros da Primeira República Portuguesa
Grã-Cruzes da Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada
Maçons de Portugal
Maçons do século XIX
Maçons do século XX


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