text:
Q: Save images to photo library ONLY if they are taken by camera and not if chosen from photo library I have a photo picker in my app that asks the user if they want to take a picture or choose one from the photo library. Upon completion of their choice I set an image view to their chosen image and I want to save the image they just set only if it was taken from the camera and not if it was just an edited version of a photo they already have. The last method listed here is the one in which I wish to save the photo.
- (IBAction)startPicker:(id)sender {

    if ([UIImagePickerController isSourceTypeAvailable:UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera]) {
        UIActionSheet *picChoice = [[UIActionSheet alloc] initWithTitle:nil delegate:self cancelButtonTitle:@"Cancel" destructiveButtonTitle:nil otherButtonTitles:@"Camera", @"Photo Library", nil];
        [picChoice showFromRect:[(UIButton *)sender frame] inView:self.view animated:YES];
    } else {
        UIActionSheet *picChoice = [[UIActionSheet alloc] initWithTitle:nil delegate:self cancelButtonTitle:@"Cancel" destructiveButtonTitle:nil otherButtonTitles:@"Photo Library", nil];
        [picChoice showFromRect:[(UIButton *)sender frame] inView:self.view animated:YES];
    }
}

- (void)actionSheet:(UIActionSheet *)actionSheet clickedButtonAtIndex:(NSInteger)buttonIndex {

    UIImagePickerController *imagePicker = [[UIImagePickerController alloc] init];
    imagePicker.delegate = self;
    imagePicker.allowsEditing = YES;

    if ([[actionSheet buttonTitleAtIndex:buttonIndex] isEqualToString:@"Camera"]) {
    imagePicker.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera;
    } else if ([[actionSheet buttonTitleAtIndex:buttonIndex] isEqualToString:@"Photo Library"]) {
    imagePicker.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypePhotoLibrary;
    } else {
        return;
    }
    [self presentViewController:imagePicker animated:YES completion:^{

    }];
}

- (void)imagePickerController:(UIImagePickerController *)picker didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo:(NSDictionary *)info {

UIImage *editedImage = [info objectForKey:UIImagePickerControllerEditedImage];

ALAssetsLibrary* library = [[ALAssetsLibrary alloc] init];
[library writeImageToSavedPhotosAlbum:editedImage.CGImage orientation:(ALAssetOrientation)editedImage.imageOrientation completionBlock:^(NSURL *assetURL, NSError *error )
 {
     NSLog(@"IMAGE SAVED TO PHOTO ALBUM");
     [library assetForURL:assetURL resultBlock:^(ALAsset *asset )
      {
          NSLog(@"we have our ALAsset!");
      }
             failureBlock:^(NSError *error )
      {
          NSLog(@"Error loading asset");
      }];
 }];

A: Simply check the sourceType:
if (picker.sourceType == UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera) {
    // save to library
}

Do this in your imagePickerController:didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo: method.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I am the Balabusta next door in the Rosh Hashanah issue of the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller magazine. I had one recipe that I had to share that they couldn't fit and here it is, so easy and delicious.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a glass baking pan with parchment paper to prevent the sauce from burning.
Place fish, skin-side down, in the prepared pan.
In a small bowl, combine oil, honey, and soy sauce. Pour over fish and turn the skin-side up, to keep the moisture in.


text:
package org.kuali.mobility.people.controllers;

import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Locale;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Properties;

import javax.annotation.Resource;
import javax.servlet.ServletOutputStream;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpSession;

import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
import org.kuali.mobility.campus.entity.Campus;
import org.kuali.mobility.campus.service.CampusService;
import org.kuali.mobility.people.entity.Group;
import org.kuali.mobility.people.entity.Person;
import org.kuali.mobility.people.entity.SearchCriteria;
import org.kuali.mobility.people.entity.SearchResult;
import org.kuali.mobility.people.service.DirectoryService;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Qualifier;
import org.springframework.context.MessageSource;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.validation.BindingResult;
import org.springframework.validation.Errors;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ModelAttribute;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMethod;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.LocaleResolver;

/**
 * Controller for the people tool
 *
 * @author Kuali Mobility Team (mobility.collab@kuali.org)
 */
@Controller
@RequestMapping("/people")
public class PeopleController {

	/**
	 * A reference to a logger
	 */
	private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(PeopleController.class);

	private static final String PEOPLE_SEARCH_RESULT = "People.Search.Results";
	private static final String PEOPLE_SEARCH_UNIQUE_RESULT = "People.Search.UniqueResult";
	private static final String PEOPLE_USERNAME_HASHES = "People.UserNames.Hashes";
	private static final String PEOPLE_SEARCH_RESULTS_PERSON = "People.Search.Results.Person";
	private static final String PEOPLE_SEARCH_CRITERIA = "People.Search.Criteria";
	private static final String GROUP_DISTINGUISHED_NAME_HASHES = "Group.distinguishedName.Hashes";
	private static final String GROUP_SEARCH_RESULTS = "Group.Search.Results";
	private static final String GROUP_DETAILS_MEMBERS = "Group.Details.Members";
	private static final String GROUP_SEARCH_RESULTS_GROUP = "Group.Search.Results.Group";

	/**
	 * Map of status types
	 */
	private static final Map<String, String> statusTypes = new LinkedHashMap<String, String>();

	static {
		statusTypes.put("Any", "Any Status");
		statusTypes.put("Student", "Student");
		statusTypes.put("Faculty", "Faculty");
		statusTypes.put("Employee", "Employee");
	}

	/**
	 * A reference to the DirectoryService
	 */
	@Autowired
	@Qualifier("directoryService")
	private DirectoryService peopleService;

	/**
	 * A reference to the Directory properties
	 */
	@Autowired
	@Qualifier("directoryProperties")
	private Properties directoryProperties;

	/**
	 * A reference to the CampusService.
	 */
	@Autowired
	private CampusService campusService;

	@Resource(name = "kmeProperties")
	private Properties kmeProperties;

	/**
	 * A reference to the Spring Message source
	 */
	@Resource(name = "messageSource")
	private MessageSource messageSource;

	/**
	 * A reference to the Spring Locale Resolver
	 */
	@Resource(name = "localeResolver")
	private LocaleResolver localeResolver;

	/**
	 * Default page
	 */
	@RequestMapping(method = RequestMethod.GET)
	public String index(Model uiModel, HttpServletRequest request) {
		String viewName = null;
		SearchCriteria s = new SearchCriteria();
		uiModel.addAttribute("search", s);
		// removeFromCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_RESULT);
		// request.setAttribute("watermark",
		// "[Keyword] or [Last, First] or [First Last]");
		uiModel.addAttribute("locations", getCampusNames());
		uiModel.addAttribute("statusTypes", getStatusTypes(request));

		uiModel.addAttribute("basicSearchDiv", "div1");
		uiModel.addAttribute("advancedSearchDiv", "div2");

		uiModel.addAttribute("enableAdvancedSearchToggle", isAdvancedSearchEnabled());
		if ("3".equalsIgnoreCase(getKmeProperties().getProperty("kme.uiVersion", "classic"))) {
			//viewName = "people/index";
			viewName = "ui3/people/index";
		} else {
			viewName = "people/index";
		}
		return viewName;
	}

	@RequestMapping(method = RequestMethod.POST)
	public String postSimpleSearch(Model uiModel,
								   @ModelAttribute("search") SearchCriteria search,
								   BindingResult result,
								   HttpServletRequest request) {

		uiModel.addAttribute("locations", getCampusNames());
		uiModel.addAttribute("statusTypes", getStatusTypes(request));

		String searchTypeString = request.getParameter("searchtype");
		if (searchTypeString.equals("BasicSearch")) {
			uiModel.addAttribute("basicSearchDiv", "div1");
			uiModel.addAttribute("advancedSearchDiv", "div2");
		}
		if (searchTypeString.equals("AdvancedSearch")) {
			uiModel.addAttribute("advancedSearchDiv", "div1");
			uiModel.addAttribute("basicSearchDiv", "div2");
		}
		if (validateSimpleSearch(search, result, request)) {
			SearchResult results = getPeopleService().findEntries(search);
			// LOG.debug("people POST size: " + people.size());
			if (results != null) {
				Map<String, String> userNameHashes = new HashMap<String, String>();
				removeFromCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_UNIQUE_RESULT);
				for (Person p : results.getPeople()) {
					if (p.getUserName() != null) {
						// LOG.debug("p.getHashedUserName() " +
						// p.getHashedUserName());
						userNameHashes.put(p.getHashedUserName(), p.getUserName());
					}
					if (p.getUserName() != null
							&& search != null
							&& search.getSearchText() != null
							&& p.getUserName().trim().equals(search.getSearchText().trim())) {
						putInCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_UNIQUE_RESULT, p);
					}
				}

				request.getSession().setAttribute(PEOPLE_USERNAME_HASHES, userNameHashes);
				putInCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_RESULT, results.getPeople());
				putInCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_CRITERIA, search);

				Map<String, String> groupDNHashes = new HashMap<String, String>();
				for (Group g : results.getGroups()) {
					if (g.getDisplayName() != null) {
						LOG.debug("g.getHashedDN() " + g.getHashedDN());
						groupDNHashes.put(g.getHashedDN(), g.getDN());
					}
				}
				request.getSession().setAttribute(GROUP_DISTINGUISHED_NAME_HASHES, groupDNHashes);
				// LOG.debug("group POST size: " + group.size());
				putInCache(request.getSession(), GROUP_SEARCH_RESULTS, results.getGroups());
				request.setAttribute("watermark", getLocalisedMessage("people.searchWatermark", request));
			}
			return "people/index";
		} else {
			return "people/index";
		}
	}

	@RequestMapping(value = "/advanced", method = RequestMethod.GET)
	public String viewSearchForm(Model uiModel, HttpServletRequest request) {
		SearchCriteria s = new SearchCriteria();
		s.setStatus("Any");
		uiModel.addAttribute("search", s);
		uiModel.addAttribute("locations", getCampusNames());
		uiModel.addAttribute("statusTypes", getStatusTypes(request));

		return "people/form";
	}

	@RequestMapping(value = "/advanced", method = RequestMethod.POST)
	public String postSearchForm(Model uiModel,
								 @ModelAttribute("search") SearchCriteria search,
								 BindingResult result,
								 HttpServletRequest request) {

		if (validateAdvancedSearch(search, result, request)) {
			SearchResult results = getPeopleService().findEntries(search);

			Map<String, String> userNameHashes = new HashMap<String, String>();
			for (Person p : results.getPeople()) {
				userNameHashes.put(p.getHashedUserName(), p.getUserName());
			}
			request.getSession().setAttribute(PEOPLE_USERNAME_HASHES, userNameHashes);
			putInCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_RESULT, results.getPeople());

			return "people/list";
		} else {
			uiModel.addAttribute("statusTypes", getStatusTypes(request));
			uiModel.addAttribute("locations", getCampusNames());
			return "people/form";
		}
	}

	@RequestMapping(value = "/{userNameHash}", method = RequestMethod.GET)
	public String getUserDetails(Model uiModel,
								 HttpServletRequest request,
								 @PathVariable("userNameHash") String userNameHash) {

		Map<String, Object> details = new HashMap<String, Object>();
		Person p = getPeopleService().personLookup(userNameHash);
		details.put("person", p);
		details.put("loggedIn", false);
		putInCache(request.getSession(), PEOPLE_SEARCH_RESULTS_PERSON, details);
		uiModel.addAttribute("person", p);
		return "people/details";
	}

	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
	@RequestMapping(value = "/group/{hashedDN}", method = RequestMethod.GET)
	public String getGroupDetails(Model uiModel,
								  HttpServletRequest request,
								  @PathVariable("hashedDN") String hashedDisplayName) {

		Map<String, Object> details = new HashMap<String, Object>();

		// Map<String, String> GroupNameHashes = (Map<String, String>)
		// request.getSession().getAttribute(GROUP_DISTINGUISHED_NAME_HASHES);
		Group g = null;
		// if (hashedDisplayName != null) {
		// String groupName = GroupNameHashes.get(hashedDisplayName);
		// LOG.debug("group:" + hashedDisplayName + "groupname:" + groupName);
		String groupName = hashedDisplayName;
		g = getPeopleService().groupLookup(groupName);
		/*
		 * if(g != null) LOG.debug("group detail " + g.getDisplayName());
		 */
		// }
		details.put("group", g);
		details.put("loggedIn", false);

		uiModel.addAttribute("group", g);
		uiModel.addAttribute("groupName", groupName);
		putInCache(request.getSession(), GROUP_SEARCH_RESULTS_GROUP, details);

		return "people/groupdetails";
	}

	/**
	 * adding groupmembers and owners page begin
	 */
	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
	@RequestMapping(value = "/group/groupmembers/{hashedDN}", method = RequestMethod.GET)
	public String getGroupMembers(Model uiModel, HttpServletRequest request,
								  @PathVariable("hashedDN") String hashedDisplayName) {
		Map<String, Object> members = new HashMap<String, Object>();
		// Map<String, String> GroupNameHashes = (Map<String, String>)
		// request.getSession().getAttribute(GROUP_DISTINGUISHED_NAME_HASHES);
		Group g = null;
		// if (hashedDisplayName != null) {
		// String groupName = GroupNameHashes.get(hashedDisplayName);
		// LOG.debug("group:" + hashedDisplayName + "groupname:" + groupName);
		String groupName = hashedDisplayName;
		g = getPeopleService().groupLookup(groupName);
		/*
		 * if(g != null) LOG.debug("group detail " + g.getDiplayName());
		 */
		// }
		members.put("group", g);
		members.put("loggedIn", false);
		uiModel.addAttribute("group", g);
		uiModel.addAttribute("groupName", groupName);
		putInCache(request.getSession(), GROUP_DETAILS_MEMBERS, members);
		return "people/groupmembers";
	}

	/**
	 * adding groupmembers and owners page end
	 */
	@RequestMapping(value = "/image/{hash}", method = RequestMethod.GET)
	public void getImage(@PathVariable("hash") String imageKeyHash,
						 Model uiModel, HttpServletRequest request,
						 HttpServletResponse response) throws Exception {
		byte[] byteArray = (byte[]) request.getSession().getAttribute(
				"People.Image.Email." + imageKeyHash);
		if (byteArray != null) {
			ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream(
					byteArray.length);
			baos.write(byteArray);
			if (baos != null) {
				ServletOutputStream sos = null;
				try {
					response.setContentLength(baos.size());
					sos = response.getOutputStream();
					baos.writeTo(sos);
					sos.flush();
				} catch (Exception e) {
					LOG.error("error creating image file", e);
				} finally {
					try {
						baos.close();
						sos.close();
					} catch (Exception e1) {
						LOG.error("error closing output stream", e1);
					}
				}
			}
		}
	}

	/**
	 * beginning of ui3
	 */
	@RequestMapping(value = "/templates/{key}")
	public String getAngularTemplates(
			@PathVariable("key") String key,
			HttpServletRequest request,
			Model uiModel) {
		return "ui3/people/templates/" + key;
	}

	@RequestMapping(value = "/js/people.js")
	public String getJavaScript(Model uiModel) {
		uiModel.addAttribute("locations", getCampusNames());
		uiModel.addAttribute("enableAdvancedSearchToggle", isAdvancedSearchEnabled());
		return "ui3/people/js/people";
	}

	/**
	 * end of ui3
	 */

	/**
	 * Validates a simple search's seach criteria
	 *
	 * @param search
	 * @param result
	 * @param request
	 * @return
	 */
	private boolean validateSimpleSearch(SearchCriteria search, BindingResult result, HttpServletRequest request) {
		boolean hasErrors = false;
		// Errors errors = ((Errors) result);
		if ((search.getSearchText() == null || search.getSearchText().trim().isEmpty())) {
			// errors.rejectValue("searchText", "",
			// "You must provide at least one letter to search.");
			request.setAttribute("watermark", getLocalisedMessage("people.simpleSearchErrorWatermark", request));
			hasErrors = true;
		}
		return !hasErrors;
	}

	/**
	 * Validates an advanced searche's criteria
	 *
	 * @param search
	 * @param result
	 * @return
	 */
	private boolean validateAdvancedSearch(SearchCriteria search, BindingResult result, HttpServletRequest request) {
		boolean hasErrors = false;
		Errors errors = ((Errors) result);
		if ((search.getLastName() == null || search.getLastName().trim().isEmpty())
				&& (search.getFirstName() == null || search.getFirstName().trim().isEmpty())
				&& (search.getUserName() == null || search.getUserName().trim().isEmpty())) {
			errors.rejectValue(
					"lastName",
					"",
					getLocalisedMessage("people.advancedSearchError", request));
			hasErrors = true;
		}
		return !hasErrors;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets the reference to the DirectoryService.
	 *
	 * @param peopleService Rreference to the DirectoryService.
	 */
	public void setPeopleService(DirectoryService peopleService) {
		this.peopleService = peopleService;
	}

	/**
	 * Puts an object in the user's session cache
	 *
	 * @param session
	 * @param key
	 * @param item
	 */
	private void putInCache(HttpSession session, String key, Object item) {
		session.setAttribute(key, item);
	}

	/**
	 * Gets an object from the user's session cache.
	 *
	 * @param session
	 * @param key
	 * @return
	 */
	private Object getFromCache(HttpSession session, String key) {
		return session.getAttribute(key);
	}

	/**
	 * Removes an object from the user's session cache
	 *
	 * @param session
	 * @param key
	 */
	private void removeFromCache(HttpSession session, String key) {
		session.removeAttribute(key);
	}

	/**
	 * Gets a list of a available campus names
	 *
	 * @return
	 */
	private List<String> getCampusNames() {
		List<Campus> campusses = this.campusService.getCampuses();
		List<String> names = new ArrayList<String>(campusses.size());
		for (Campus campus : campusses) {
			names.add(campus.getName());
		}
		return names;
	}

	/**
	 * Gets a map of session types
	 *
	 * @return
	 */
	private Map<String, String> getStatusTypes(HttpServletRequest request) {
		Map<String, String> statusNames = new LinkedHashMap<String, String>();
		statusNames.put("Any", getLocalisedMessage("people.status.any", request));
		statusNames.put("Student", getLocalisedMessage("people.status.student", request));
		statusNames.put("Faculty", getLocalisedMessage("people.status.faculty", request));
		statusNames.put("Employee", getLocalisedMessage("people.status.employee", request));
		return statusNames;
	}

	/**
	 * Gets the reference to the Directory Service's properties
	 *
	 * @return the directoryProperties Reference to the Directory Service's properties
	 */
	public Properties getDirectoryProperties() {
		return directoryProperties;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets the reference to the Directory Service's properties.
	 *
	 * @param directoryProperties the directoryProperties to set
	 */
	public void setDirectoryProperties(Properties directoryProperties) {
		this.directoryProperties = directoryProperties;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets the reference to the CampusService.
	 *
	 * @param campusService Reference to the CampusService.
	 */
	public void setCampusService(CampusService campusService) {
		this.campusService = campusService;
	}

	/**
	 * Gets the reference to the DirectoryService.
	 *
	 * @return the peopleService Reference to the DirectoryService.
	 */
	public DirectoryService getPeopleService() {
		return peopleService;
	}

	/**
	 * Returns true if advanced search is enabled
	 *
	 * @return True if the advanced search option should be available
	 */
	private boolean isAdvancedSearchEnabled() {
		return Boolean.parseBoolean(getDirectoryProperties().getProperty("people.enableAdvancedSearchToggle", "true"));
	}

	/**
	 * Gets a localised message
	 *
	 * @param key     Key of the message to get
	 * @param request The http request for the current user to render for
	 * @param args    Arguments for the message
	 * @return A localised string
	 */
	private String getLocalisedMessage(String key, HttpServletRequest request, String... args) {
		Locale locale = this.localeResolver.resolveLocale(request);
		return messageSource.getMessage(key, args, locale);
	}

	public Properties getKmeProperties() {
		return kmeProperties;
	}

	public void setKmeProperties(Properties kmeProperties) {
		this.kmeProperties = kmeProperties;
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Build and Rebuild the Mushroom Kingdom.
For the first time ever, anyone can create 2D Mario levels using Wii U GamePad controller.
Making courses is easy. Players use the GamePad touch screen to easily drag and drop elements they want in their levels. Place blocks, pipes, lifts and enemies anywhere and play through the level. Want a Goomba to wear a Piranha Plant on its head, build a tower 10 Goombas tall or make a Piranha Plant fly by giving it wings?
Players can instantly playtest and edit their creations on the fly. If something isn't working, go back into edit mode immediately by tapping a button and make tweaks until everything is just right.
With the tap of an icon, users can even switch the visual style between a classic 8-bit Super Mario Bros. look and the HD world of New Super Mario Bros. U in the E3 version.


HONOLULU, HAWAII—September 27, 2016 - Retired State Senator and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Malama Solomon has joined the ranks of native Hawaiian and community leaders endorsing Keliʻi Akina, Ph.D., for OHA Trustee-at-Large in the November 8th general election. Akina is running against long-term incumbent Haunani Apoliona. These endorsements come as Dr. Akina continues to voice opposition to the wasteful spending by veteran OHA trustees on federal recognition, which has diverted millions of dollars from housing, jobs, education, and health-care for Hawaiians.
Solomon, who sat on the first OHA board of trustees, stated, "I'm supporting Keliʻi Akina for Trustee-at-Large… because, OHA, we definitely need a change in our leadership!" A video of Solomon's full comments, made at a public gathering near her residence on the Big Island, may be viewed at http://www.keliiakina.com/position_hawaiian_issues.
Dr. Akina's positions on the issues may be found at www.keliiAKINA.com.


text:
FactoryGirl.define do
  factory :chargeback do
    hourly_price 99.99
  end
end


Variety is the spice of railway study and, herein, we find great changes in land form and consequent outgoing traffic. Even the railway companies vary. Thus we have variety in locomotives and rolling stock, together with a big range of architecture and signalling.


Experts at the Brain Injury Research Center of Mount Sinai regularly publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals, text books, and as manuscripts. The following is a list of select publications.
Tsaousides T, Spielman L, Kajankova M, Guetta G, Gordon W, Dams-O'Connor K. Improving Emotion Regulation Following Web-Based Group Intervention for Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2017 Sep/Oct;32(5):354-365.
Wilson L, Stewart W, Dams-O'Connor K, Diaz-Arrastia R, Horton L, Menon DK, Polinder S. The chronic and evolving consequences of traumatic brain injury. Lancet Neurology. 2017 Jul;48(7):1802-1809.
Tran J, Dams-O'Connor K, Eapen B, Hammond F, McCarthy M, Tang X, Nakase-Richardson R. Rehospitalization in the First year following Veteran and Service Member TBI: A VA TBI Model Systems Study. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2017 Jul/Aug;32(4):264-270. PMID: 28195958.
Rubenstein R, Chang B, Yue JK, Chiu A, Winkler EA, Puccio AM, Diaz-Arrastia R, Yuh EL, Mukherjee P, Valadka AB, Gordon WA, Okonkwo DO, Davies P, Agarwal S, Lin F, Sarkis G, Yadikar H, Yang Z, Manley GT, Wang KKW; and the TRACK-TBI Investigators, Cooper SR, Dams-O'Connor K, Borrasso AJ, Inoue T, Maas AIR, Menon DK, Schnyer DM, Vassar MJ. Comparing Plasma Phospho Tau, Total Tau, and Phospho Tau-Total Tau Ratio as Acute and Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury Biomarkers. JAMA Neurology. 2017 July 24. PMID: 28738126.
Kowalski RG, Haarbauer-Krupa JK, Bell JM, Corrigan JD, Hammond FM, Torbey MT, Hofmann MC, Dams-O'Connor K, Miller AC, Whiteneck GG. Acute Ischemic Stroke After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Incidence and Impact on Outcome. Stroke. 2017 Jul;48(7):1802-1809. PMID: 28611087.
Dams-O'Connor K, Tsao JW. Functional Decline 5 Years After Blast Traumatic Brain Injury: Sounding the Alarm for a Wave of Disability? JAMA Neurology. 2017 July 1;74(7):763-764. PMID: 28459965.
Dams-O'Connor K, Pretz CP, Mellick D, Dreer LE, Hammond FM, Hoffman J, Landau A, Zafonte R. Rehospitalization over 10 years among survivors of TBI: A National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2017 May/Jun;32(3):147-157. PMID: 28476056.
Kumar RG, Juengst SB, Wang Z, Dams-O'Connor K, Dikmen SS, O'Neil-Pirozzi TM, Dahdah MN, Hammond FM, Felix ER, Arenth PM, Wagner AK. Epidemiology of Comorbid Conditions Among Adults 50 Years and Older With Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2017 January 5. PMID: 28060201.
Crane, P. K., Gibbons, L., Dams-O'Connor, K., Trittschuh, E., Leverenz, J. B., Keene, D., Sonnen, J., Montine, T. J., Bennet, D. A., Leurgans, S., Schneider, J. A., Larson, E. B. (2016). "Association of Traumatic Brain Injury With Late-Life Neurodegenerative Conditions and Neuropathologic Findings." JAMA Neurology.
Dams-O'Connor, K.,Gibbons, L.E., Landau, A., Larson E. B., Crane, P. K. (2016). "Health Problems Precede Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Adults." Journal of American Geriatric Society 64(4): 844-848.
McKee, A. C., Cairns, N. J., Dickson, D. W., Folkerth, R. D., Keene, C. D., Litvan, I., Perl, D. P., Stein, T. D., Vonsattel, J. P., Stewart, W., Tripodis, Y., Crary J. F., Bieniek, K. F., Dams-O'Connor, K., Alvarez, V. E., Gordon, W. A.; TBI CTE Group (2016). "The first NINDS/NIBIB consensus meeting to define neuropathological criteria for the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy." Acta Neuropathology 131(1): 75-86.
Silverberg, N. D., Crane, P. K., Dams-O'Connor, K., Holdnack, J., Ivins, B. J., Lange, R. T., Manley, G. T., McCrea, M., Iverson, G. L. (2016). "Developing a Cognition Endpoint for Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Trials." Journal of Neurotrauma.
Gordon, W. A., Cantor, J., Dams-O'Connor, K., Tsaousides, T. (2015). "Long-term social integration and community support." Handbook of Clinical Neurology 127: 423-431.
Dams-O'Connor, K., Pretz, C., Billah, T., Hammond, F. M., Harrison-Felix, C. (2015). "Global Outcome Trajectories After TBI Among Survivors and Nonsurvivors: A National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study." Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 30(4): E1-10.
Ashman, T., Cantor, J. B., Tsaousides, T., Spielman, L., Gordon, W. A.(2014). "Comparison of cognitive behavioral therapy and supportive psychotherapy for the treatment of depression following traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial." Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 29(6): 467-478.
Cantor, J., Ashman, T., Dams-O'Connor, K., Dijkers, M. P., Gordon, W. A., Spielman, L., Tsaousides, T., Allen, H., Nguyen, M., Oswald, J. (2014). "Evaluation of the short-term executive plus intervention for executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial with minimization." Archive of Phys Med Rehabil 95(1): 1-9.e3.
Corrigan, J. D., Kreider, S., Cuthbert, J., Whyte, J., Dams-O'Connor, K., Faul, M., Harrison-Felix, C., Whitneck, G., Pretz, C. R. (2014). "Components of traumatic brain injury severity indices." Journal of Neurotrauma 31(11): 1000-1007.
Dams-O'Connor, K., Cantor, J. B., Brown, M., Dijkers, M. P., Spielman, L., Gordon, W.A. (2014). "Screening for traumatic brain injury: findings and public health implications." Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 29(6): 479-489.
Gordon, W. A., Ashman, T.A., Brown, M., Dams-O'Connor, K., Dijkers, M.P. (2014). "Remembering Joshua B. Cantor, PhD." Journal ofHead Trauma Rehabil 29(6): 465-466.
Lu, W., Cantor, J., Aurora, R. N., Nguyen, M., Ashman, T., Spielman, L., Ambrose, A., Krellman, J. W., Gordon, W. (2014). "Variability of respiration and sleep during polysomnography in individuals with TBI." NeuroRehabilitation 35(2): 245-251.
Tsaousides, T., D'Antonio, E., Varbanova, V., Spielman, L. (2014). "Delivering group treatment via videoconference to individuals with traumatic brain injury: a feasibility study." Neuropsychol Rehabil 24(5): 784-803.


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October 23, 2018admin0 Comments
RULES FOR CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
Momentum Black Caucus (MBC) was formed in order to re-invigorate Black political mobilisation, contribute to the progressive political agenda, and align with the progressive Labour movement and the Momentum project.
Black is a positive and inclusive term encompassing African, Asian and Caribbean people in the UK discriminated against as a result of their colour.
As a grassroots political movement, Momentum Black Caucus will focus on broadening local and national Black political engagement in the belief that the diversity of Britain's population must reflect a much greater influence over the political decisions that directly affect our lives.
Consequently, the principle objective of Momentum Black Caucus is the mobilising, organising and creating of a sustainable Black political movement to secure the election of a progressive Labour Party in order to bring about real transformative change and delivery of the Black Agenda.
General Principles:
Momentum Black Caucus (MBC) is a Black led organisation that seeks to promote a Black Agenda through having influence and support within the Peoples Momentum movement, who in turn seek to have influence on the agenda of the Labour Party.
As part of the outreach that MBC is doing within Black communities, we shall encourage as many Black people as possible to attend ordinary MBC meetings.
Membership of MBC is open to any individual who self-defines as Black (within the definition outlined in the Introduction above) and who is not a member of any organisation that stands candidates at elections in opposition to the Labour Party.
These standing orders are the minimum expected of MBC members. All members must accept the rules and standing orders of Momentum Black Caucus and comply with them as a condition of membership.
In order to be eligible to stand for any representative role at any level within MBC, an individual must be a fully paid up member of Momentum and [once the process is available] of Momentum Black Caucus and whose membership is in full compliance.
This eligibility criteria shall also apply to any individual co-opted onto any representative body within MBC.
Every Individual holding an officer role within Momentum Black Caucus shall be expected to have a full understanding of these standing orders.
Regions and branches are encouraged to secure the greatest possible degree of co-operation and consultation within the work that they do.
These standing orders are the minimum expected of MBC Regions, branches and the National Committee and their members. All members must accept the rules and standing orders of this group and where allegations are made of a breach of these standing orders by any individual, action shall be taken in accordance with the relevant clauses of MBC's Disciplinary Procedures, and disciplinary action may be taken within the relevant guidance.
MBC will work constructively aiming to deliver real improvements in the economic, social and environmental conditions of the communities and people we represent
MBC meetings will be run at all times in an effective and comradely fashion, to maximise participation in meetings by all members.
Harassment or intimidation of members for any reason or on the basis of gender, age, sexuality, race, colour, ethnicity or disability is unacceptable conduct and will be subject to disciplinary action.
No region or branch shall adopt standing orders that differ from these, without prior submitting those standing orders for a full review by the national committee.
Throughout this document, where is says the MBC National Committee, this shall be read as the MBC National steering group, until the Steering Group is superseded by the National Committee.
Wherever in this document the role of General Secretary is mentioned, the role within the branches and regions will be performed by the Procedures Secretary.
Notice of Meeting and Quorum:
The MBC National Committee [like MBC regions and MBC branches] shall meet at regular intervals, at least four times a year. The date, time and place of the meetings should be placed online, and otherwise communicated to members.
. Notice of meetings shall be given seven days in advance. The agenda and papers, prepared by the General Secretary (or their nominated representative), should be sent three working days before the meeting.
Items for consideration should be received in writing by the General Secretary (or their nominated representative) not less than seven days before the meeting. The General Secretary will prepare the agenda after considering the items with the Chair and Vice Chairs. If an item tabled for consideration in the proper fashion is not on the agenda for the next meeting, the attendees may vote by majority to determine that the item will be considered at that meeting.
The quorum for every meeting shall be 6 (or a number equivalent to 50% of the committee's membership plus 1 whichever is the greater). If within half an hour of the time appointed for the meeting to commence, a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be dissolved,
If at anytime during a meeting, the numbers present and seated falls beneath the quorum, the meeting shall be suspended for up to 15 minutes; no decisions shall be made until a quorum is returned. If a quorum is not present after 15 minutes, the meeting shall be dissolved.
The National Committee [Steering Group] and its Officers:
The ultimate objective is for all national officers of Momentum Black Caucus to be elected through a One-member-One-Vote (OMOV) process by the full MBC membership. Consequently, we will need to have a clear membership process in place to achieve this. We expect that the first of these elections to be held prior to our AGM in March / April 2017.
Officers of the Momentum Black Caucus National Committee (Steering Group) shall be as follows:
Two Vice-Chairs (at least one of which shall be a woman)
Deputy General Secretary
There shall be gender balance amongst the aforementioned core officers of the committee
In addition, the following posts shall be elected.
Women's Officer
TU Liaison Officer
Media & Information Officer
Youth Officer
Membership Officer
Equalities Officer
There shall be gender balance amongst the aforementioned supplementary officers of the committee.
In addition, each fully constituted region shall elect two nominees to be members of the National Committee. At least one member of each regional delegation shall be a woman.
Whilst the exact number of members on the MBC National Committee will vary as new Regions are constituted, the total number should not exceed 33.
After each Annual General Meeting, the National Committee shall appoint an Executive Committee from within its membership. The membership of the Executive Committee shall consist of:
Four additional members appointed by the National Committee
There shall be gender balance amongst the Executive Committee.
Officers of the Momentum Black Caucus Regional Committees (Steering Groups) shall be as follow
Procedures Secretary
Minutes Secretary
In addition, each fully constituted branch shall elect (up to) three nominees to be members of the Regional Committee. At least one member of each branch delegation shall be a woman.
The National Committee – or any regional committee – may co-opt individuals with specific skills to serve for a term up to the next AGM elections, with the condition that such co-option is agreed by two-thirds (2/3) of the relevant committee in a secret ballot. Co-optees will have full speaking and voting rights.
Agenda and order of Business:
The General Secretary (Procedures Secretary or their nominated representative), shall be responsible for receiving and disseminating all papers, including correspondence.
The General Secretary (Procedures Secretary or their nominated representative), shall consult with the Chair and Vice Chairs prior to drafting the agenda.
The agenda of an ordinary meeting would usually include the following items:
Minutes of the previous meeting and matters arising
Officers' reports
Reports from branches and regions
Motions (if any)
Political Discussion (15 minutes)
Date of the next meeting
The General Secretary (Minutes Secretary or their nominated representative) shall be responsible for the taking of minutes at meetings; in their absence, another member of the committee chosen at the meeting will do so. Draft minutes should be made available seven days from the date of the meeting.
Conduct of Business:
Meetings will close no more than 2½ hours from the notified starting time, unless two-thirds of members present support an extension for a maximum of 30 minutes.
The Chair shall be responsible for the conduct of the meeting. Members may only speak when called by the Chair. The Chair shall have discretion on whether to allow a member to speak more than once on any agenda item.
The Chair shall have the same speaking and voting rights as any other member. In addition, the Chair may intervene during or at the conclusion of any discussion, to clarify the issues decided and/or to sum up the discussion.
A member who wishes to raise a point of order (which must be confined to the manner in which the meeting is being conducted) should say "point of order" and hold his/her hand up until called by the Chair. Subject to that exception, members should not interrupt another speaker.
Emergency business may be accepted by the majority of the meeting on the recommendation of the Chair who will interpret the term 'emergency' in a bona fide manner. The Chair should invite no more than two speakers each in favour and against the proposal to accept an emergency resolution and then proceed to the vote.
Recommendations relating to each item of business will be moved and seconded before discussion. The mover will normally be allowed up to five minutes. No other speakers will normally be allowed more than three minutes, unless agreed by the meeting to be ''further heard' for a specified period. Speakers will address the Chair and only speak once on each item, except by permission of the Chair, providing that the mover of a motion or an amendment may reply to the discussion without introducing new matter for debate; such reply will close the discussion.
The Chair is responsible for ensuring that the meeting is conducted in a comradely, fair, efficient and effective manner, and has discretion to ensure that whilst proper consideration is given to each item and issue, that repetition of arguments is avoided.
Amendments to any recommendation may be moved and seconded, but shall also be handed to the secretary (or their nominated minute-taker) in writing.
The ruling of the Chair on any question relating to the conduct of the meeting shall be final unless a challenge to the Chair is raised and seconded; such a challenge shall then be put to the meeting without further discussion and shall only be carried with the support of two-thirds of the members present.
Any procedural motion of 'next business', 'that the vote be taken' 'to adjourn', 'no-confidence in the Chair' shall be moved, seconded and put to the vote without discussion; after such a vote the Chair need not accept a further procedural motion for a period of 15 minutes.
Voting shall be by a show of hands except where these standing orders provide for a ballot vote or where the meeting decides otherwise. In the event of there being an equality of votes on any matter decided by a show of hands, the Chair may give a casting vote. If the Chair does not wish to give a casting vote, the motion is not carried. If there is equality of votes on any matter decided by ballot, the meeting shall re-ballot given that only those who took part in the original vote shall be eligible to vote again. In the event of an equality of votes again, the motion shall not be carried, or the candidate to be elected shall be elected by the drawing of lots.
Every ballot contested within the meeting for an elected representative role within the MBC, shall be by secret ballot.
There shall be no smoking or consumption of alcohol allowed at any MBC meeting. This shall also include e-cigarettes.
Save as provided herein, the business of the Steering Group shall be conducted in accordance with the normal rules of debates as laid down by Walter Citrine in the ABC of Chairmanship.
SOCIAL MEDIA PROTOCOL
Momentum Black Caucus
Social Media & Communications Protocol:
Only those people who are authorised to use MBC's social media profiles should do so. No person who does not have that necessary authorisation should at any time pass off their views as being the considered or agreed view of Momentum Black Caucus
Official social media accounts should never be used to share or spread inappropriate content. All official social media content should be fact-checked, be accurate, be transparent and show the organisation in the best possible light.
All MBC members must be aware of how their own personal use of social media reflects upon them, and also upon the organisation.
Whilst minutes of MBC meetings are publicly available, the content of those meetings and the nature of the discussions within them are confidential, and should not be shared on social media.
Members should not use social media to attack, or denigrate other members of MBC, nor should officers take to social media to criticise decisions that they disagree with that were taken in a meeting at which they were present.
RULES FOR ADDRESSING ISSUES OF DISCIPLINE AND COMPLAINTS
Disciplinary Code of Conduct:
Momentum Black Caucus is determined to hold all members to the same high standard of behaviour, irrespective of their rank or role.
Under this Disciplinary Code, a member may be charged with:
Being a party to any fraud on the organisation or any misappropriation or misuse of its funds or property;
Knowingly, recklessly or in bad faith providing or disseminating false or misleading information relating to any member or any other aspect of the organisation's activities;
Inciting, espousing or practising discrimination or intolerance amongst members on grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation;
Bringing about injury (including psychological injury) through using intimidatory behaviour that discredits the organisation or harms any member of it;
Obtaining membership of the organisation by false statement material to their admission into the organisation or any evasion in that regard;
Bringing the organisation into disrepute.
Any complaint shall be submitted in writing to either the General Secretary or one of the Vice-Chairs of MBC.
It shall be the role of the [designated] vice-Chair to undertake / oversee an investigation into the complaint within seven working days of its receipt, and in the first instance to report back to the Executive Committee to decide whether the complaint has sufficient merit to warrant Disciplinary proceedings.
Once the [designated] vice-Chair has presented their report to the Executive Committee, they should withdraw from the meeting so that the Executive Committee could then determine whether a charge or charges should be heard by a Disciplinary Sub-Committee.
The Executive Committee may suspend a member charged under this Disciplinary Code of Conduct from holding any office or representing the organisation in any capacity pending an outcome to the complaint. A member shall be given written notice (or, if the member was informed verbally, confirmation in writing) of any such suspension as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Disciplinary Hearings shall be organised and conducted under directions issued by the Executive Committee. These directions ensure that the process is fair and conducted in accordance with the principles of natural justice.
The Disciplinary Sub-Committee shall consist of three members drawn from the membership of the MBC National Committee; the Sub-Committee membership should be determined by the members of the Executive Committee; the Sub-Committee membership should not include more than one member of the Executive Committee [who would be ineligible to Chair said Sub-Committee].
The [designated] vice-Chair who conducted the investigation would present the case to the Disciplinary Sub-Committee. Evidence and witnesses may be called. The Subject of the complaint would similarly be entitled to call witnesses and present evidence.
The Disciplinary Sub-Committee would then render its decision as to the outcome of the complaint. A simple majority amongst the sub-committee is sufficient. If the complaint is upheld, the range of disciplinary sanctions shall be as follows:
Censure;
Withdrawal of credentials to represent the organisation;
Suspension of membership;
Removal from office;
Barring from holding office and
Expulsion,
Except that a determination of expulsion is only available if the Disciplinary Sub-Committee has unanimously found the complaint to be upheld.
Any appeal to the decision of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee should be made in writing to the General Secretary or the [other] Vice-Chair within 10 days of the determination.
The appeal would be heard by the Disciplinary Appeals Panel. The Disciplinary Appeals Panel would consist of 3 members. Ordinarily this would consist of the [other] Vice Chair (who would Chair the Panel), another member of the Executive Committee and a member of the National Committee. All must be members who did not sit on the Disciplinary Sub-Committee.
The principle objective of the Disciplinary Appeals Panel is not to re-hear the case, but to decide whether the original decision of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee was perverse (wrong), illogical, unreasonable, unfair or unsafe. Or alternatively, can be safely upheld.
The decision of the Disciplinary Appeals Panel must then be ratified by the MBC National Committee within one month. The decision of the MBC National Committee is final.
If the subject, or victim of any such complaint is a member of the MBC National Committee, they would be ineligible to play any role whatsoever in the process.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


– Kenyan Olympic Committee president and former Olympic silver medalist Paul Tergat speaking after Asbel Kiprop's recent EPO positive.
Triple jump experts, how do you explain the huge gains by American record holder Tori Franklin who has PRd by 4 + feet?
American Marathoning officially is a sunk ship..? Our top men in 2018 are nearly getting beat by elite women.
When is it time to hang up your running shoes?
Is Nike protecting Galen Rupp?
How can you piss off all distance runners with one phrase?
Gene Dykes-how does he recover so fast???
Why is rap music so popular and when will it die?
LRC Matt Centrowitz Wins 1500, So Does Gregorek, Berian Struggles, Ce'Aira Brown Keeps Rolling: 2018 USATF Distance Recap Centro was only 5th in the 800, but he bounced back nicely in the 1500 for the win.
Sydney McLaughlin Smashes NCAA 400H Record With 52.75 To Win SECs By More Than 3 Seconds McLaughlin dropped a ridiculous .85 seconds off her PR/world junior record she set two weeks ago. Not only that, but she's now the 9th fastest all-time. Kentucky's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn also had a big day, winning the 100H in 12.40, just .01 off Brianna Rollins' collegiate record.
Grant Holloway Has Huge SEC Meet With #2 All-Time 13.15 In The 110H It was the fastest collegiate mark since 1979. Holloway also won the long jump and ran legs on Florida's 3rd place 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.
Alabama Goes 1-3 In SEC Men's 10,000 As Vincent Kiprop Wins In 29:16 Other distance action: Miss. State's Rhianwedd Price-Weimer beating out Karissa Schweizer in the 1,500 (4:18.79), Texas A&M dominating the 800s with Sammy Watson (2:03.37) and Jazmine Fray (2:03.55) going 1-2 and Devin Dixon winning (1:46.76). Schweizer won the 5,000 in 15:58 and Vincent Kiprop competed the 5k/10k double with a 13:48.49 victory.
Sam Prakel And Sprinter Cravon Gillsepie Lead Oregon Men To A 12th Consecutive PAC-12 Track Title Prakel won the 1,500 in 3:40.20 over Grant Fisher (3:41.97) and Sean McGorty (3:43.19). and was 3rd in the 800 while Gillespie won the 100 in a wind-aided 10.05 and was runner-up in the 200.
USC Women Claims First PAC-12 Title Since 1996 They beat out Oregon by 14 points.
Oregon Women Get Distance Wins From Sabrina Southerland (2:02.18) ANd Jessica Hull (4:21.65) Stanford's Elise Cranny won the 5,000.
Minnesota Takes Women's Big 10 Title Michigan's Claire Borchers won he steeple in 9:58).
Ohio State Men Win Big Ten Champs Penn State's Isaiah Harris highlighted the distance action with a 1:45.31 win in the 800.
Kansas State Women Repeat As Big 12 Champions Oklahoma's Sarah Scott won the steeple in 9:59.53 in a close race with West Virginia's Amy Cashin (10:00.040).
Texas Tech Men Win Big 12 Champs They had a comfortable 48 point win over Texas.
Hosts Miami Women Win ACC Championships As It Comes Down To The Last Event They beat out Virginia Tech by just by 6 points. VT's Rachel Pocratsky dominated the mid-d races with a double win in the 1500 (4:10.03) and 800 (2:03.36).
FSU Men Beat Out Syracuse By Eight Points To Take ACC Title Virginia Tech was just another three points back in third.
Depth: Syracuse Take Six Of The Top Seven Spots In The Men's 5000 Justyn Knight lead the way with 13:58 to get the win.
Virginia Tech Goes 1-2 In Men's 1500 With Vincent Ciattei (3:46.37) And Diego Zarate (3:46.52) Justyn Knight was a not very distant 4th in 3:46.96.
LRC The Week That Was: NCAA Conference Madness, All Hail The SEC, A 15 Year Old Runs 1:47 And The Hotel 4 X 100 The quality of the NCAA track and field action in the year 2018 is insane. It's so good that collegiate superstars like Michael Saruni (1:43 PR), Grant Fisher (NCAA 5k champ), Justyn Knight (NCAA XC & more) and Karissa Schweizer (NCAA XC & more) all suffered losses at their conference championships last week.
Tori Franklin Crushes US Triple Jump Record With 14.84m; PRs Five Times In Incredible Series At Guadeloupe International Meet Franklin broke the 14.71m record set by Georgia's Keturah Orji.
Video Of High School Hotel Relay Race Before Texas State Meet Goes Viral With More Than 1.2 Million Views Three relay teams on three different floors of the hotel. Worth a watch.
Katelyn Tuohy Sets High School 3,200m Record With 9:47.88 At The Loucks Games Her time converts to a 9:51.29 two-mile which is the #2 all-time behind Mary Cain's 9:38.68 indoor time.
*MB: Tuohy goes 9:47.88 for new 3200m record!
*MB: Tuohy disappointed with nat record?!?!
Max Burgin Runs Age-15 World Record With 1:47.50 It was also a British under-17 record.


The CRU temperature record run by Phil Jones is fraudulent. The case for this is shown clearly below.
In 1923, the glaciers of Glacier National Park in Montana were rapidly disappearing and predicted to be gone by 1950.
By 1940, the Arctic had warmed six degrees, and sea ice had dramatically declined in thickness.
By 1947, a ten degree rise in Arctic temperature was reported, and scientists were worried about sea level rise drowning seaports.
By 1952, the glaciers of both Norway and Alaska had lost half their mass. This tells us that the warming was universal across the Arctic.
The glaciers of Glacier National Park in Montana were still rapidly disappearing.
Glaciers in the Alps disappeared during the first half of the century.
However, a dramatic turnaround occurred, and by 1961 there was unanimous consensus for global cooling.
In 1976, all of the glaciers in northern Norway were expanding. The climate had cooled dramatically.
In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences generated a graph of Northern Hemisphere land surface temperatures which accurately showed the warmth before 1940, followed by half a degree cooling. This graph made sense based on the behavior of the ice across the Northern Hemisphere and Arctic.
Here is where the problem comes in. The current CRU graph for Northern Hemisphere land surfaces makes no sense. It shows glaciers melting rapidly during a very cold period, and glaciers growing during a warmer period. The sharp cooling after 1940 has been nearly erased.
The CRU temperatures are nonsense.
The next graph shows how CRU generated their fraudulent graph. They cooled pre-1960 temperatures by about half a degree.
The CRU fraud is much worse than that, however. Not only did they dramatically cool pre-1960 temperatures, but they dramatically warmed post-1980 temperatures relative to satellite Northern Hemisphere land temperatures (UAH V6) – to create a completely fake hockey stick of warming.
The 1975 National Academy of Sciences data, combined with the recent satellite data, shows us that there has been little net warming since the 1930's. The hockey stick is a total fabrication by government scientists. Climategate E-mails confirm that this manipulation of data was the scientists' intent, and that they intended to cover up their activities..
Evidence is overwhelming that global warming/climate change is the biggest fraud in history.
How much of this is confirmation bias and how much is fraud? Are these people actual scientists or are they political scientists?
Glaciers don't lie–you can depend on them to reflect what is happening with the climate that drives them. Would sure be nice if you could say the same thing about CRU.
All the newspaper articles you cite are part of the public journalistic record. How come you are doing all this work, and journalists — those whose profession it is — are not?
Are they just lazy? Indoctrinated by their left-wing liberal education and so disinclined to look into such matters? Incurious?
Do you know of a single journalist who is doing similar work to yours?
This issue would make a good doctoral thesis for someone.
Perhaps those who chose journalism discovered that their careers would be better enhanced were they to conform to certain standards, much like their counterparts in academe. As has often been said, those who pay the piper call the tune.


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BLITHE SPIRIT OPENS SATURDAY, MAY 5th!
If ghostly visitations, wacky mediums and matrimonial hijinks are your cup of tea, then Noel Coward's high-spirited comedy, "Blithe Spirit" is the play you need to see! Running May 5, 6, 10, 12, & 13 at the Rex Theatre in Galax, "Blithe Spirit" is full of humor, witty repartee and special effects. "Blithe Spirit" is a classic comedy offering up fussy, cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine, re-married but haunted (literally) by the ghost of his late first wife, the clever and insistent Elvira who is called up by a visiting "happy medium," one Madame Arcati along with a host of other marvelous character.
Performance Dates for "Blithe Spirit" are May 5, 6, 10, 12 & 13 with Thursday & Saturday shows at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $8 for Seniors and Students. Advance tickets are available on-line at www.artsculturalcouncil.org/the-arts-shop/ and at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts.
One Night Only – Andrew McKnight in Concert at the 1908 Courthouse in Independence, VA
The Arts Council is thrilled and honored to present a very special concert with celebrated folk musician, Andrew McKnight at the Historic 1908 Courthouse in Independence on Friday, March 9th at 7pm. Andrew is an award-winning folk/Americana musician whose musical journey has traced nearly a million miles of blue highways, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim and enthusiastic fans for his captivating performances and seven recordings. Andrew's powerful and entertaining show is like one-man theatre, delivered with warmth and down-home comfort. His finely crafted songs are woven together with humorous stories and poetic drama, while the musical soundscape traverses influences from Appalachia, tasteful slide and jazzy blues, feisty anthems, rustic folk, and even a little fancy flatpicking on a Carter Family tune. While his skillful guitar work provides a tasteful foundation, the touches of native American cedar flute, resonator guitar, djembe (African hand drum) and even mandolin add delightful and mesmerizing embellishments to the show. Admission to the Concert is FREE OF CHARGE – with donations gratefully accepted at the door.
Radford University's Dr. Robert Trent in Concert – Sunday, February 11th at 3pm
ROBERT TRENT to PLAY at the NEXT WINTER CONCERT
The Arts Council is thrilled to welcome Radford University's Professor of Music/Guitar & Renaissance Lute Studies, for the next Winter Concert on February 11th at 3pm at the Historic 1908 Courthouse in Independence. As always, there will be a small coffee and dessert reception for the audience and musicians after the performance. Admission to the Concert is FREE OF CHARGE – with donations gratefully accepted at the door.
Dr. Trent has spent over two decades as a Full Professor of Music (Guitar and Renaissance Lute studies) at Radford University where he is in his 17th year as director of Radford University's Annual International Guitar Festival. Many of his students are Robert Trent has performed on the continents of North and South America and in Europe on modern guitar, Renaissance lute, and historic instruments of the nineteenth-century in particular the 10-string Scherzer and authentic 19thc. guitar. A first prize winner in numerous National and International competitions including; the Webb National Guitar Competition, the Masterworks Young Artist Competition (all instruments) and the chamber music prize at the International Competition "Arturo Toscanini" in Italy in Period Instrumental performance.
Future concerts in the series include:
UNCSA VIOLIN & CELLO Sunday, Feb. 25 at 3pm
UNCSA DVORAK VIOLA QUINTET Sunday, April 29 at 3pm
The Friday, December 8th NEW RIVER BELL ENSEMBLE Holiday Concert at the Historic 1908 Courthouse has been moved to SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10th at 2:30pm.
The Handbell Concert will be followed by the Radford University Piano Concert at 3:30pm. Admission to both events is free. Donations accepted at the door
BELLS at the 1908 Courthouse – Independence, VA
The Forecast for Saturday? Gorgeous Quilts Under Sunny Skies
We hope to see you at Matthew's Living History Farm Museum on Saturday, September 9th for our annual Outdoor Quilt Show! There will be live music, fiber arts demonstrators, food and vendors of all kinds! Come see the glorious quilts under blue skies from 10am – 3pm! Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted!
Quilts are welcome to be entered for judging up until 10am the morning of the show and we still have room for vendors as of Wednesday, September 6th.
EMPTY BOWLS – August 12th in Independence
Celebrating seven years of giving back to our community, the Arts Council is once again proud to partner with the Independence Farmers Market sponsor an Empty Bowls event at the Independence VFW, located at 115 Klondike Road. The event starts at 4pm and for a suggested donation of $10, attendees will dine on delicious bowls of gazpacho, fruit, Italian wedding and a chicken soup with homemade bread and a dessert all made by the master foodies of the Independence Farmers Market lead by the amazing Chef Jen Cavey. The 1908 Courthouse Jammers will be performing throughout the evening.
HILLSVILLE EMPTY BOWLS is Thursday, March 30th!
DON'T FORGET! THURSDAY is EMPTY BOWLS DAY
in Hillsville at the First United Methodist Church (225 Fulcher Street)
Thursday is going to be Wet & Windy. Get warmed up at EMPTY BOWLS!
Your $10 donation gets you a hearty bowl of Shoney's Made from Scratch Potato or Cabbage & Beef Soup, a roll and a homemade dessert! All proceeds benefit the Carroll County Ministerial Association Food Pantry. Special musical guests are Bill & Maggie Anderson!
We also do take out orders! Call 276-266-5829 starting at 10am to place your take-out order!
Do you work in an office or a salon or store? Why not order take-out on Thursday, March 30th for the whole crew?
Doctor's or Lawyer's Office? Your staff deserves a bowl of soup and a great home-made dessert!
UNCSA PIANO & STRINGS – What to do in case of SNOW!
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WEATHER WILL BRING THIS WEEKEND… BUT FOR NOW, THE UNCSA PIANO & STRINGS CONCERT ON SUNDAY, MARCH 12TH IS STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
If the weather turns frightful and you're not sure if the concert is still on for Sunday, March 12th at 3pm, check out our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/artsculturalcouncil/ for updates on Sunday morning after 11:30am. Otherwise, we do hope to see you at the Historic 1908 Courthouse in Independence this Sunday, March 12th at 3pm for another fantastic concert from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts!
The string quartet from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts consists of Yasha Borodetsky, Sarah Harrigan, Benjamin Kugler, and Eli Kaynor. The quartet enjoys playing together in the Winston-Salem area and will be performing works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
As always, concert admission is free of charge, but donations are gratefully accepted. There will be a meet the artists reception following the concert. We hope to see you there!


Jeepers. It's time to put down that cigarette, take a (deep) breath of semi-fresh air, and read up on these latest smoking statistics in China.
The World Health Organisation has found in a survey that over half of China's men are smokers and 2.4% of China's females, totalling 301 million adult smokers in China. Hardly surprising when you can pick up a pack of smokes for around 5RMB.
Whilst 301million is a lot, we do have to take in to account the population of China, and the fact that 301 million is down on the previously quoted 350 million. Harder to swallow is that less than 25% were aware of the health risks of smoking – lung cancer, emphysema – and less than one-sixth were planning to quit!
Also, whilst the survey reports 49 million less smokers, a spokesperson from the World Health Organisation cautioned that the survey only interviewed smokers aged 15 and over. Guess there's more cases of toddlers lighting up like pros than we originally thought.
The WHO's China rep, Michael O'Leary, was quoted as saying that the high prevalence of tobacco consumption in China deserves the same level of concern and attention as a SARS outbreak or a H1N1 outbreak.
So why the lack of concern? Commenters on the Wall Street Journal may provide a clue: one commenter wrote that he does not consider a man to be a real man if he does not smoke. Another commenter felt forced to smoke out of politeness. If cultural mores are still in place that still exalt the cigarette, then 'No Smoking'signs and smoking laws (with no teeth) aren't going to be enough to cure their dying populace.
On a final note; apparently 70% of non-smokers are affected by passive smoking in their average week. What we want to know; where do the 3 in 10 people not affected by others smoke spend their typical week and how do we get there?!


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COVID-19: Kenya's positivity rate at 8.9% after 624 new cases, 8 deaths recorded
By Muia Joseph For Citizen Digital Published on: January 15, 2022 07:09 (EAT)
Of the cases, 560 are Kenyans while 64 are foreigners.
330 are males and 294 are females, while the youngest is a four-month-old child and the oldest is 97 years.
Total confirmed positive cases are now 317,324 while cumulative tests so far conducted are at 3,143,862.
The Ministry of Health on Saturday announced that 624 people tested positive for COVID-19 from a sample size of 7,045 tested in the last 24 hours, marking a positivity rate of 8.9 per cent.
Of the cases, 560 are Kenyans while 64 are foreigners; 330 are males and 294 are females, while the youngest is a four-month-old child and the oldest is 97 years.
The cases were distributed across various counties as follows: Nairobi 216, Siaya 64, Nakuru 48, Kiambu 34, Mombasa 29, Nyeri 27, Bungoma 18, Meru 18, Uasin Gishu 13, Busia 12, Kilifi 12, Nyamira 10, Kajiado 9, Murang'a 9, Nyandarua 9, Isiolo 7, Kakamega 7, Makueni 7, Marsabit 7, Kericho 6, Kirinyaga 6, Kisumu 6 and Turkana 6.
More cases were recorded in; Laikipia 4, West Pokot 4, Baringo 3, Kitui 3, Machakos 3, Nandi 3, Tharaka Nithi 3, Trans Nzoia 3, Elgeyo Marakwet 2, Garissa 2, Homa Bay 2, Kisii 2, Kwale 2, Samburu 2, Bomet 1, Embu 1, Lamu 1, Migori 1, Narok 1 and Vihiga 1.
The ministry said 1,144 patients have recovered from the disease; 929 from the Home-Based Isolation and Care program while 215 were discharged from various health facilities countrywide. Total recoveries rose to 281,343.
Six patients are reported to have succumbed to the coronavirus disease, all of them being late deaths reported after conducting facility record audits in the month of January 2022. This pushes the cumulative fatalities to 5,488.
"A total of 1,059 patients are currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 13,993 are under the Home-Based Isolation and Care program," said Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe in a statement to newsrooms.
"43 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 41 of them on ventilatory support while four of them are on supplemental oxygen. Another 220 patients are on supplemental oxygen and 215 of them are in the general wards. 5 patients are in the High Dependency Unit (HDU)."
The CS said a total of 11,067,257 vaccines had been administered across the country as of January 14, 2022. Of these, 6,193,498 are partially vaccinated while those fully vaccinated are 4,756,375.
Kagwe further added that another 28,951 are doses administered to those between 15 to 18 years while 88,433 are booster doses.
"The proportion of adults fully vaccinated was 17.5%. The government is working towards vaccinating a targeted population of 27,246,033," he said.


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Veterans in Blue - Col. Arthur Fiedler
Photo By Staff Sgt. Jordan Castelan | Col. Arthur Fiedler (Ret.) knew he wanted to be an aviator in 1930, at the age of...... read more read more
Photo By Staff Sgt. Jordan Castelan | Col. Arthur Fiedler (Ret.) knew he wanted to be an aviator in 1930, at the age of seven, when a military family moved in down the block. By the age of 10, Fiedler declared to his parents that one day he would be a fighter pilot. On Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese Imperial Forces attacked Pearl Harbor, thrusting America into WWII. Fiedler enlisted five months later. Fiedler completed his training and in early June, 1944, arrived in the European theater where he would pilot a P-51 Mustang. Fiedler would score six aerial kills before what would become a temporary separation from the military in early 1945. Between 1966 and 1970 Fiedler flew more than 1,000 C-130 sorties over Vietnam before retiring in 1975 as a Colonel. During his career, Fiedler was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster and the Air Medal with 21 oak leaf clusters. see less | View Image Page
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On Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese Imperial Forces attacked Pearl Harbor, thrusting America into WWII. Fiedler enlisted five months later.
Fiedler completed his training and in early June, 1944, arrived in the European theater where he would pilot a P-51 Mustang.
Fiedler would score six aerial kills before what would become a temporary separation from the military in early 1945.
Between 1966 and 1970 Fiedler flew more than 1,000 C-130 sorties over Vietnam before retiring in 1975 as a Colonel. During his career, Fiedler was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster and the Air Medal with 21 oak leaf clusters.
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Tag Archives: Canadian politics
Environment, Politics, Vegan, Vegetarian
Wayne Easter and Meat Politics
August 2, 2016 canadianveggie	Leave a comment
As evidence continues to mount that eating meat and dairy is not only detrimental to the planet but also to human health, politicians in Canada are stubbornly committed to supporting the animal agriculture industry.
Take the recent tweets of Wayne Easter, MP for Malpeque, PEI & member of Liberal Government of Canada, who proudly tweeted about his meeting with cattle lobbyists.
Good meeting with Minister MacAulay & PEI Cattle Producers. Agriculture is a great way to stimulate the economy. pic.twitter.com/89txlSQVgc
— Wayne Easter (@WayneEaster) July 27, 2016
we talked about how livestock contributes to the economy, creating jobs, utilizes land, & provides healthy food
When he was questioned about the environmental and health impacts of animal agriculture, he responded with: "have a T-bone steak. It will make you feel better".
https://twitter.com/WayneEaster/status/758744760068648960
Which offended many people and as the outrage mounted he tried the "I'm not racist, I have black friends" defence.
No problem with veganism. In fact I have many friends w that approach. No need at all for the individual to attack producers
Before claiming that it was hard working farmers and their families that were being attacked, which is ridiculous as all of the replies to his tweets were respectful and focussed on public policy.
Camille. Policy I'm open but 4individuals 2 attack farmers who sweat blood & tears 2support their families is unacceptable
Unfortunately the questions that Canadians were asking still remain unanswered. I wonder if anyone in the Liberal Government can explain:
Why we subsidize animal agriculture when it is increasingly obvious it is not healthy for humans or the planet?
Why does the Canada food guide still have sections "Milk and Alternatives" and "Meat and Alternatives". If it was based on the best science, it would look like the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, which has a section for "Healthy Protein" and it recommends limiting milk consumption.
How will Canada meet its climate change commitments made in Paris (to limit global warming to 1.5 C) without reducing the amount of animal products that Canada produces and consumes?
agricultureanimal agricutlureCanadian politicscdnpoliclimate changefood guideliberalLiberal PartyLiberal Party of CanadaPEIWayne Easter
Blackout Speakout
June 4, 2012 canadianveggie	1 Comment
bill c-38Blkmrkbudget billc-38canadaCanadian politicscdnpoliConservative Partyomnibusstephen harper
Environment, Politics
How the NDP Found its Green Mojo
May 20, 2012 canadianveggie	1 Comment
The NDP has always had strong environmental credentials, but in the past decade it has sat back and let other parties lead the charge. Although Jack Layton was a committed environmentalist, it often felt that environmental issues took a back seat to health care, education, and pensions during his leadership, and it was painful to watch the NDP oppose carbon taxes in BC and federally. As a result, people like me sometimes voted for the Green Party. But that's changing.
The BC NDP now supports the carbon tax, and, more importantly, promises to use some of the proceeds to improve public transit. They've also strongly opposed the Enbridge pipeline to Kitimat, arguing not only against the environmental costs but the economic risks of the project to BC.
Federally, Thomas Mulcair has started pushing sustainable development in a big way, arguing that polluting industries need to internalize the costs of dumping pollution into the air, water, and land, including the oil sands. The 'polluter pays' principle. He's also making an economic argument for protecting the environment.
I think it's a smart strategy. Up until now, the debate has always pitted the environment against the economy. And when push comes to shove, the economy always wins. However, Mulcair is arguing that our zeal to export raw resources is harming other sectors of the economy, like manufacturing – the so called Dutch Disease. By framing sustainable development as an economic issue instead of a environmental one, Mulcair is creating a sharp contrast to the Conservative budget, which focuses on destroying the environment for economic gain.
And it looks like the Conservatives are scared. The last 3 polls have all shown the NDP in the lead, but the economy is the Conservative trump card. If Mulcair can convince Canadians that the Conservative's approach to the environment is in fact harming the economy outside of the oil patch, the NDP lead will continue to grow. This interview with Mulcair explains his ideas in his own words. It's worth watching, and I'd embed the video but CTV's video player sucks.
Continue reading How the NDP Found its Green Mojo →
canadaCanadian politicscdnpoliDutch DiseaseElizabeth MayenbridgeGreen Partyndpoil sandspipelinepolluter payspollutionsustainable developmenttar sandsThomas Mulcair
NDP Leadership Candidates – The Bald, Beard, & Brains
January 29, 2012 canadianveggie	Leave a comment
I'm still trying to decide who to vote for in the NDP leadership race. I didn't know much about the candidates before, so I've been watching the debates and following the blogosphere. My criteria for leader – charisma, inspiration, and the ability to defeat Stephen Harper. Here's who's impressed me the most.
1. The Bald – Nathan Cullen
More than any of the other candidates, Nathan Cullen thrives in debates. Why isn't he on tv more? He's exciting, knowledgeable, and funny. Electoral reform and the environment (whoot!) are his top priorities, and he's been a strong opponent of the Northern Gateway pipeline. Lastly, he wants to beat Stephen Harper so bad he's willing to consider joint nominations with the Greens and Liberals in some ridings. Most progressives I know would applaud him for this, but within some NDP circles the idea is kryptonite. I was a bit skeptical at first (as a voter I like having choice), but the plan has merits.
Strengths: Environmentalist, amazing debater, and willing to be bold.
2. The Beard – Thomas Mulcair
More than any of the candidates, Mulcair looks like he should be Prime Minister. It's the way he speaks. He's normally calm and reasoned, but he can also be extremely passionate. His environmental credentials are top-notch, but he is often questioned about his commitment to the NDP because he comes from the Quebec Liberal Party. Personally, I think the NDP needs to widen its base and Mulcair is a good example of that. The real question is can the NDP transition from a great mustache to a great beard?
Strengths: Environmentalist, articulate in both languages, and passionate.
3. The Brains – Brian Topp
Brian Topp is considered the brains behind the NDP's breakthrough in the past few years. He's a smart guy and he's reasonably charismatic, especially if you compare him to Stephen Harper. On a policy front, his priorities are fairer taxes and increasing funding to social services. The left-wing side of the NDP love him, and he's received the most high-profile endorsements. His youtube channel is full of slick videos and celebrity endorsements, but he doesn't excite me as much as Cullen or Mulcair.
Strengths: Smart and progressive.
If you want to get a better sense of the candidates, the debates are online. Here's a collection of short youtube clips starting with a funny one from 22 Minutes.
Continue reading NDP Leadership Candidates – The Bald, Beard, & Brains →
Brian ToppcanadaCanadian politicscdnpoliCullenMulcairNathan Cullenndpndp leadershipndpldrnew democratic partyNPDThomas MulcairTom MulcairTopp


Does the Release of the Cuban Five Prove the U.S. Failed to Destroy Cuba After Decades of Trying? | Democracy Now!
directs the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. He is the co-author of the book, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana.
president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-author of the book Who Killed Che?: How the CIA Got Away with Murder with Michael Steven Smith.
As a new chapter in U.S.-Cuban relations begins, we host a roundtable discussion about the prisoners released as part of the new deal. Cuba freed USAID contractor Alan Gross and a former Cuban intelligence officer who who worked secretly for the CIA, and the United States released the remaining members of the Cuban Five: Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero and Ramón Labañino. We speak with attorney Martin Garbus of the Cuban Five legal team and broadcast an excerpt from our 2013 interview with the first freed member of the Cuban Five, René González, who describes why he came to the United States to investigate militant Cuban exile groups. We also discuss the significance of the new relationship between the two countries. "Our government has been trying to destroy the Cuban Revolution since day one … and essentially this is an admission that it didn't succeed," says guest Michael Ratner, co-author of "Who Killed Che?: How the CIA Got Away with Murder." We are also joined by Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive, who met twice with Gross while he was detained.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman, on this historic day after the announcement of both President Obama as well as President Raúl Castro on the beginning of normalizations of relations between the United States and Cuba. But not everyone was happy. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida blasted President Obama's new Cuba policy, calling it a, quote, "concession to a tyranny." Rubio is Cuban-American. This is part of what he said.
These changes will lead to legitimacy for a government that shamelessly, continuously abuses human rights, but it will not lead to assistance for those whose rights are being abused. It is just another concession to a tyranny by the Obama administration, rather than a defense of every universal and inalienable right that our country was founded on and stands for.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Florida Senator—that was Florida Senator Rubio.
We are joined right now by a roundtable of people. In Havana, Peter Kornbluh is with us, head of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive. In Washington, D.C., Robert Muse is with us, who is a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, an expert relating to U.S. laws with Cuba. Michael Ratner, the president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights. And we're joined by Martin Garbus, who is part of the Cuban Five legal team. Time magazine calls him one of the best trial lawyers in the United States, while the National Law Journal has named him one of the country's top 10 litigators. Your response to what has taken place this week?
MARTIN GARBUS: I mean, it's extraordinary. It's marvelous. I saw Gerardo about three weeks ago in jail.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, Gerardo is one of the three remaining Cuban Five.
MARTIN GARBUS: Gerardo Hernández, who had a double life sentence. And it's hard to believe he ever would have gotten out under the American legal system. He was unjustly convicted, as you mentioned before. And it's just extraordinary to—I was looking at a guy over the last many years who—an extraordinary human being who was languishing in a jail, sometimes under solitary confinement. And the idea that he's now out, will be able to build a family with he and his wife, is just wonderful.
AMY GOODMAN: Peter Kornbluh, what was it like when the three remaining jailed members of the Cuban Five arrived in Havana?
PETER KORNBLUH: Well, it certainly was a big moment for quite a few Cubans. Raúl Castro, in his presentation on television yesterday at noon, really led with the story that the counterterrorism heroes, as they're called here in Cuba, were coming home, that Cuba had released a Cuban CIA asset in return and also an American citizen, Alan Gross. And that was essentially his beginning. The normalization of relations with the United States kind of came second, and I wouldn't say it was secondary, but certainly was burying the lede, if you will.
And for Cubans, of course, there's been this campaign here in Cuba, also in the United States and around the world, a solidarity campaign, which Martin has been such a part of, to free these last remaining agents. And just like any other country that I think has people abroad in prison who have represented the government, these men have been away from their families for 16 years. The television last night was filled with images of them reuniting with their families, meeting with Raúl Castro, going to see their old friends. So, it certainly was an important event for Cuba. Certainly, it was. A lot of images on the television, a lot of discussion in the press.
AMY GOODMAN: Before we go to one of the—the first of the Cuban Five who were released, René González, who I interviewed when he returned to Cuba, Martin Garbus, if you could talk about these five men, convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in the United States, and yet they said they were here, yes, spying, but spying on violent anti-Cuba groups?
MARTIN GARBUS: They were here working with the United States government to try and stop the right-wing groups in Florida from continuing to invade Cuba, through the—sending arms down to Cuba, from flying over the island, and from actually killing people on the island. There was an explosion at a hotel, and many people were killed. So they were working with the cooperation of the American government.
Let me just say one thing before I get into that. There's a lawyer whose name hasn't been mentioned—Lenny Weinglass—who you know very well. And before me, Lenny worked for 10 years on the Cuban Five case, one of the great American lawyers. And whatever the result here is, he certainly is owed something for it, at least an acknowledgment.
AMY GOODMAN: He died a few years ago.
MARTIN GARBUS: He died a few years ago. Wonderful lawyer.
And then, after Elián González in Florida, and at the same time as you had the Bush-Gore vote in Florida, it became necessary to find someone to blame for some killings which occurred in 1996. My client was ultimately arrested and then convicted. He was arrested three-and-a-half years, for allegedly the killings, after the incident occurred, although the American government had all this information for some three-and-a-half years prior to that. And then, ultimately, he's charged. And the first time there's a conviction, the appellate court reverses the conviction, because the jury was unfairly composed of people hostile to the Cuban government. And—excuse me.
AMY GOODMAN: You said that they worked with the U.S. government. Explain.
MARTIN GARBUS: They worked with the U.S. government. They were turning information over to the U.S. government of terrorist activities done by the right wing. And that information was being spread, and there was in fact meetings in Havana between the American government and representatives of the Wasp group who were exchanging information.
AMY GOODMAN: —who was just released yesterday, but he said that that spy for the U.S. had helped give them information that led to the imprisonment of the Cuban Five.
MARTIN GARBUS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to turn for a moment to René González, to this Democracy Now! exclusive. He was the first of the men to be freed, the Cuban Five, in October 2011, returned to Cuba last year. He joined us on Democracy Now! from Havana, Cuba. And I began by asking him why he did come to the United States to investigate militant Cuban exile groups.
AMY GOODMAN: That was René González. He has been now living back in Cuba for a few years, one of the Cuban Five. Now all five are back in Cuba. Less is well known in this country, or certainly in the last 24 hours there's almost no real discussion of who these men are, much more attention paid to Alan Gross, who was the USAID subcontractor who went down to Cuba and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He served five of those years and was released yesterday. Martin Garbus?
MARTIN GARBUS: Pardon me. Alan Gross was a USAID employee. He was sent down with satellite equipment, consistently. He made about six trips down there, sometimes using other people to send equipment. And the equipment was used to break—to allow people on the island to directly communicate with the United States so that the Cuban security networks or the Cuban Internet lines would not pick it up. So it was the setting up of a spy operation within Cuba.
He was supported, because he was Jewish, by Jewish groups. He originally claimed that he was down there working on behalf of Jewish groups to spread information to other Jewish groups in Miami. He ultimately admitted that that wasn't true. He ultimately sued the American government for sending him down there without warning him specifically about what was going to happen to him. So there's very little question any longer that he was sent down by the government. He said he was sent down by the government; the government admitted it. And in America, he's portrayed as something other than that, but that portrayal is wrong.
AMY GOODMAN: Peter Kornbluh, you met with Alan Gross in prison in Cuba, is that right?
PETER KORNBLUH: Yes, I met with Alan Gross twice over a one-year period for a total of seven hours. He was in a military hospital, a wing of a military hospital that had been converted to a prison. We talked a lot about what he was doing, what he was feeling. He became very angry at his own government for abandoning him here for all these years. It is clear, for the last year, through back channel means, the Obama White House has been negotiating to get him out. My sense of talking to him was that his mental state was so fragile that he might actually go on a hunger strike and die, attempt some type of suicide escape plan and be hurt or killed, or attack a guard.
And all of that would have—anything that happened to him here in a Cuban military prison would have certainly compromised any possibility of the Obama administration moving forward, as it did yesterday, on completely changing—reversing course 180 percent the history of U.S.-Cuban relations, burying the perpetual antagonism of the past and moving forward to a normal relation in the future. So, getting Alan Gross out through this prisoner exchange was extremely important. It really was the first step. And what we saw yesterday is the Obama White House deciding to do an entire package all at the same time, not doing one step at a time to change U.S.-Cuban relations, but getting Alan Gross out, returning the Cuban spies to Cuba, and then essentially ending, to the degree that the president can, the hostility and the aggression in U.S. policy towards Cuba.
AMY GOODMAN: Upon returning home from five years of imprisonment in Cuba, USAID subcontractor Alan Gross addressed reporters in Washington, D.C.
ALAN GROSS: What a blessing it is to be a citizen of this country. And thank you, President Obama, for everything that you have done today and leading up to today. … But ultimately—ultimately, the decision to arrange—to arrange for and secure my release was made in the Oval Office. To President Obama and the NSC staff, thank you.
In my last letter to President Obama, I wrote that despite my five-year tenure in captivity, I would not want to trade places with him, and I certainly wouldn't want to trade places with him on this glorious day. Five years of isolation notwithstanding, I did not need daily briefings to be cognizant of what are undoubtedly incredible challenges facing our nation and the global community.
I also feel compelled to share with you my utmost respect for and fondness of the people of Cuba. In no way are they responsible for the ordeal to which my family and I have been subjected. To me, Cubanos—or at least most of them—are incredibly kind, generous and talented. It pains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments' mutually belligerent policies. Five-and-a-half decades of history show us that such belligerence inhibits better judgment. Two wrongs never make a right. I truly hope that we can now get beyond these mutually belligerent policies. And I was very happy to hear what the president had to say today.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Alan Gross speaking in his lawyers' offices yesterday in Washington, D.C. We're also joined by Michael Ratner, the president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who co-authored two books on Cuba, one, Who Killed Che?: How the CIA Got Away with Murder, and, as well, another book on the FBI and Che Guevara. Michael, actually, technically, it wasn't a prisoner exchange between Alan Gross and the three remaining members of the Cuban Five. Cuba released Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds?
MICHAEL RATNER: Right. And in Raúl's speech, he was very clear on that. He said, "Under our legal system, what we have done is decide to release Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds." He was not part of the exchange. The exchange was, as Marty has pointed out, for the three Cuban Five members remaining in prison, for freeing this man named Trujillo, who you mentioned, who was the agent that the Cubans had jailed, as well as perhaps what we understand is 53 other, what the U.S. refers to as, political prisoners in Cuba. So, that was the exchange. But Alan Gross was let out on humanitarian grounds. As a broader picture, I mean, you know, when I heard the news first about the Cuban Five, I was just—I almost wept, because that, to me, was the most personal story of outrage.
AMY GOODMAN: They had been held for 15 years, more than.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let's actually go back. It was—it started under President Eisenhower in the last few weeks of his administration, the overall embargo against Cuba, that was then just intensified by President Kennedy. This has gone through 10 presidents.
MICHAEL RATNER: Yes, intensified by President Kennedy, but our listeners should not forget—and many of them were not alive when it happened, unlike Marty and myself—the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, when the U.S. actually tried to overthrow the government of Cuba by landing on the beach in what we call in English the Bay of Pigs. And they failed. And thousands of people were taken prisoners by the Cubans. And after that is when things got very, very—I mean, they were serious then, but at that point, then the embargo was imposed, starting through 1962, with full force. But military actions, terrorism, that just continued up until, as we pointed out, even with Alan Gross and AID still going in there to undermine the government, both physically, like that, as well as economically, which—that we've seen now with the embargo. So, this is really a major, major victory.
Now, the other points I think that are important in Obama's speech and, of course, Raúl's speech, as well—Raúl, as you said, started with the Cuban Five, which shows how important that case was. But in Obama's talk, he talks about diplomatic relations, which we'll see, and then he talks about the embargo and starting to loosen up some aspects of the embargo, giving us a little wider travel, but of course not opening travel fully, which he could do immediately. He could allow you and I to just get on a plane tomorrow as tourists, Amy, and go to Cuba. He didn't do that. He could do a lot more on the embargo. In fact, with licensing, he can probably undercut the embargo completely, almost completely. But he said in that speech, "Well, I have to work with Congress to do it." In fact, he doesn't. So, in fact, he has still a lot to calibrate with regard to Cuba to continue to put pressure on Cuba through ways, or not ways, of lifting the embargo.
And, you know, you ask yourself, why did this happen now? That's one of the questions I think I'd like to hear other people talk about, because I'm not sure. I mean, part of it, of course, is the change in Latin America, and he referred to that. You have progressive, left-of-center and even leftist governments in many countries in Latin America, and Cuba is no longer isolated the way it was in the early '60s, when you had military dictatorships. And maybe to get along in that region, they had to do that. What he also said is, "Well, our policy doesn't work. It didn't work." And, of course, what he claims the policy was, was to bring democracy to Cuba. In fact, it was to destroy the Communist revolution in Cuba, so it couldn't be an example. So now, perhaps, he's buying into the idea if we flood more money into Cuba, maybe we'll be able to subvert the fundamental values of the revolution.
AMY GOODMAN: You mentioned blowing up an airliner. I want to go to that, to the late Saul Landau's film, Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up, about U.S. support for violent anti-Castro militants. This excerpt details in part how Cuban exiles like Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch teamed up in 1976 to bomb a Cuban airliner—something that they deny now. This is that moment that the Cubana Airlines, with 73 passengers on board, is hit.
CUBANA AIRLINES PILOT: Cubana 455.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Cubana 455, [inaudible].
CUBANA AIRLINES PILOT: We have had explosion. We are descending immediately. We have a fire on board.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Cubana 455, are you returning to the field?
CUBANA AIRLINES PILOT: This is Cubana 455. We are requesting immediately, immediately landing. Close the door! Close the door!
FLIGHT RECORDER: The time is 17:27.
CUBANA AIRLINES PILOT: It's getting worse! Crash landing into the sea!
CBS EVENING NEWS: This is the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.
WALTER CRONKITE: Good evening. Nine days ago, a Cuban passenger jet en route from Barbados to Havana crashed into the sea following an onboard explosion. Seventy-three persons, 57 of them Cuban, were killed.
AMY GOODMAN: That was an excerpt of the film, Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up. We're going to go to break, then come back to this discussion on this day after the historic announcement of the beginning of normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States. Stay with us.
NEXTCan Obama Lift the Embargo on Cuba Without Congress in Effort to Normalize U.S.-Cuba Relations?


House Resolutions sending mixed messages about the role of women in economic and political life.
Karen Ehrens of Bismarck has been named the 2018 Woman of the Year by the North Dakota Women's Network (NDWN) for her long-time advocacy in the fight to end hunger. A banquet will be held on Friday, September 21, at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center, 1400 Interchange Ave, Bismarck at 6 pm to celebrate Ehrens and her impactful work.
Please join the North Dakota Women's Network on Saturday, October 21st, 2017 in Fargo for our Annual Training and Woman of the Year Celebration!
Ready to Run™ is a bi-partisan program for women who want to run for office, seek higher office, work on a campaign, get appointed to office, or learn more about the political system. Ready to Run™ is your one-stop training on running for office or getting involved in public life. You will learn from prominent elected and appointed leaders, campaign consultants, party officials, and policy experts.
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They haven't gone home yet. See the latest from the 2017 legislative session.
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