Rosemary Bechler: Many appeals on behalf of the Palestinian cause often invoke international law and human rights - so far to no avail. On your visits to Palestine, do you encounter frustration with this approach?
John Strawson: I do, frequently. One of the saddest comments I ever received was during the siege of Ramallah in 2000, from a colleague of mine who had taught human rights. She wrote to say that she now realised that this had been a wasted investment of her student years, and that there was no such thing.
Who has rights within international law? This issue tends to be steeped in mythology. International law, after all, does not spring fully formed out of world-court justice: it is created by the nation- states of the international community, led by governments who are not very nice.
Where, for example, did a key right for the Palestinians - the right of self-determination - come from? It came because people fought for it and broke the law in order to get it. Since 1917, the international community has said (following the League of Nations mandate, line 22) that the Palestinians are not "the Palestinians", but the existing "non-Jewish communities". In that mandate the international community recognised the right of the Jews to reconstitute their historic home in Palestine, and that was the framework for policy right up to 1947 when the United Nations partitioned Palestine. The UN's founding charter is very clear on the fact that its obligations take precedence over those of any other international obligation. One assumes therefore that this must be quite lawful, whether or not you see it as unjust.
All too often, I'm afraid, the assumptions of supporters of Palestine that the law is "on their side" must be tempered by the reality of international law. Take, for example, the decision of the International Court of Justice declaring the separation wall illegal. It is a wonderful judgment - but read it closely, and you will find that it refers to the pre-1967 borders of Israel, including west Jerusalem, as "the territory of Israel itself". Now, until 2004, Jerusalem had always been regarded as a territory whose status had yet to be determined. That is why only two small states ever had embassies there, and why the British embassy is in Tel Aviv. This court decision actually altered that international legal understanding for the first time. Now west Jerusalem is part of "the territory of Israel itself".
International law is a far more complicated story than people think. Moreover, you can never assume that it is on the side of justice or human rights. It is often imagined there was a golden age of human rights in law at some time in the past; people routinely talk about "an unprecedented attack on human rights".
But look back a century or more, and it becomes clear that "human rights" is a very new idea. Governments have always seized power and used administrative detention in various situations. The awful truth is that every time the Israelis blow up a "terrorist's" house in Palestine, they do it under British emergency law. When the Israelis build settlements, they justify them via interpretations of the British use of Ottoman law during the period of the mandate. And so it goes on.
People ask: is international law, law? But I ask, is it international? Actually, international law is only determined by a small number of states and legal systems, basically the common law and the civil-law systems. Even under Iran's Islamic system, the court structure is based on the French.
Several key questions - what would be an international system, who is the international community, what are international values - have not yet been posed. In the meantime, we irrationally exclude certain things and include others.
In our time, however, we are seeing the emergence of a new call for a universal language of rights. We cannot expect these laws to somehow be "out there and established", but we can try and ensure that the defence of this language creates a new agenda for politics.
Rosemary Bechler: How did you first become involved in Palestinian destinies?
John Strawson: I'm a reader in law at the University of East London (UEL). For over ten years I have worked with the Birzeit Institute of Law, through a consortium of European universities which support the institute. This was the first attempt to teach postgraduate legal studies in Palestine - a sensitive project because there is no settled legal system in Palestine. You couldn't rush to teach contract law or criminal law, because the legal system in Palestine was a consequence of several layers of occupation - Ottoman, British, Israeli, Jordanian, Egyptian. Therefore it was necessary to start from scratch to get lawyers and legal academics to think about what kind of legal system they wanted. This was in effect setting about creating a Palestinian state, but from a quite different perspective from that normally chosen by nation-builders.
When the idea was first mooted there were only two law professors. The university rejected the project out of hand. After a brief visit to the law centre in 1993 just before the Oslo process was finalised, I went back with some colleagues of mine, to explore possible links between the University of East London and Birzeit University. I took my boss, the dean of the UEA law school and the dean of economics to meet the dynamic new director, Camille Manseau, just appointed at Birzeit from the Sorbonne. He was living in a friend's flat and only had a laptop computer, but he was somehow managing to fund the construction of an entire building through grants from the World Bank and Usaid and all sorts of other organisations.
Unfortunately, you can make a lot more money being a lawyer than you could ever earn as an academic. Academic salaries in Palestine as in the rest of the Arab world are extremely low, so persuading even Palestinians to go back and teach was difficult enough. How was Camille Manseau going to get started? He realised that we had to grow our own professors, by choosing and selecting the best students, and procuring European grant-funding for them to do their PhDs.
This is what we have done. The first two Palestinian professors at the Birzeit Institute of Law started their careers on the masters' programme a decade ago. In each case they went to Belgium to do doctorates, and returned to teach at the institute. There is a three-storey building with a very fine library and the first-ever legal database in Arabic. It has a masters programme with twenty to thirty students every year, and a new undergraduate programme with 110 students in their first year.
It was a wonderful development plan to be part of. The occupation was reinstated during this time, and there were many other obstacles. But Palestinians are impressively good at building institutions in conditions that would defeat most people.
This is what is so frustrating about the rather condescending views you can find in the "international community" about how Palestinians "need to learn how to build democracy". Actually they are very good at pluralism, and very good at building institutions. Because they have had to deal with occupation, Palestinians - a bit like South Africans with their marvellous constitution - appreciate the issues of democracy in a way that many do not. In 1996, the Palestinians held the most democratic elections ever seen in the Arab world. These were a threat no doubt to despots such as Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and the Saudis. Despite the very difficult conditions, huge numbers turned out to vote. Arafat was challenged. An amazing assembly was elected, with the highest level of academic qualifications in the world. 78% had BAs, 50% masters degrees, over 10% had PhDs.
I went there to teach. I was given a part of a course called the history of law in Palestine, and asked to teach on the British period. I knew a lot about British colonialism from India and about Islamic law from the 18th century onwards. My students, simply by being who and where they were, urged me to think about what was going on in Palestine at that time. I began to write articles for them since there was no literature on this, and they made me think through some very challenging questions.
Rosemary Bechler: Your own research must have taken on a new relevance in these circumstances, because it was already influenced, I believe, by the work of Edward Said?
John Strawson: Much of my academic work for the last fifteen years has been involved in trying to apply Edward Said's concept of orientalism to the field of law. Said wrote in Orientalism about the "symbolic orientalism" of Sir William Jones's legal work in India. I began to look at what actually took place in legal thought and legal texts as a consequence of colonialism and specifically, how the "other" was constituted and how other legal systems were viewed during the British engagement there.
In a contemporary context, it became very clear that this unfortunate stereotyping had kept much of its its grip, both at the level of law and of policy-making in general.
Take for example the building of the wall, and the way in which the Sharon government carried out his disengagement policy in Gaza. In both cases it was essential that the middle east, Arabs, and Islam in particular, were constructed as irredeemably backward, fixed, homogenous, wedded to violence, and incapable of democracy or human rights unless everyone becomes a westerner.
The wall is saying this very strongly: the people on the other side are barbarians. "We" can't come to an administrative agreement with "them" because deep inside themselves is this inability to stick to an agreement, because their culture is so different. It seems to me very tragic, but also very important to grasp that this division does still inform policy. I am talking here about ingrained Israeli attitudes, but these are linked to a wider international discourse. The "other" is always at the very least strange, and only addressed across a gap which it is difficult to bridge.
"They will exploit the tolerance and democracy of Israel first to turn it into 'a state for all its citizens', as demanded by the extreme nationalist wing of the Israel's Arabs and extremist leftwing Jewish Israelis. Then they will push for a bi-national state and then, demography and attrition will lead to a state with a Muslim majority and a Jewish minority. This would not necessarily mean kicking out all the Jews. But it would mean the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. This I believe is their vision."
"They are products of a culture in which to tell a lie...creates no dissonance. They don't suffer from the problem of telling lies that exists in Judeo-Christian culture. Truth is seen as an irrelevant category. There is only that which serves your purpose and that which doesn't. They see themselves as emissaries of a national movement for whom everything is permissible. There is no such thing as 'truth'."
For Ehud Barak, the Palestinians are not negotiating in good faith. They have a secret plan and in any event their culture leads them systematically to lie.
When asked why - given his determinist and frankly racist views - he is bothering to discuss with Palestinians at all, Barak suggests that perhaps Yasser Arafat (at the time the Palestinians' representative) "would rise to the occasion". If this is meant to be Barak setting a test for Arafat, one has to add that it is a test Barak knows will be failed. Indeed the more Barak's analysis of the failure of Camp David is one considered, the stranger it appears that he wanted to engage in any negotiations at all. The Camp David process seems to have been aimed at unmasking Arafat and showing the world that no solution was possible.
Indeed according to Barak, the intifada sparked by Ariel Sharon's visit to the al-Aqsa mosque area (or Temple Mount) in September 2000 had been "pre-planned, pre-prepared. I don't mean that Arafat knew that on a certain day in September", it would begin, "but it was definitely on the level of planning, of a grand plan." In short, Barak portrays Arafat as devious, untruthful and with a hidden terrorist plan - the typical orientalist other.
This campaign to ensure that the world understood who was responsible for the failure of the talks and how that was linked to the second intifada was fairly effective. The final breakdown of the process was confirmed as the Taba talks collapsed and President Clinton left the White House in January 2001. Within a month Ehud Barak had been replaced by Ariel Sharon as Israeli prime minister.
If anyone had engaged in pre-planning, it was Ariel Sharon. Yet while Sharon was opposed to the entire Oslo accords, he was nonetheless to stick to his predecessor's account of Arafat's failings. Sharon turned almost immediately to complete the process of sidelining Arafat. It is this process that was given a new international context with 11 September 2001. At once, "Islamic terrorism" became the main enemy of the United States and the Sharon government seized the opportunity to link Palestinian violence, and Arafat's alleged leadership of it, to the war against terrorism.
This is why it is so regrettable when people from the west who visit Palestine to offer what they imagine is solidarity on their return say that they can "almost understand" what (for example) drives suicide- bombers to commit their terrible acts. You have to be so careful: making out that there is an "understandable" tracking between the oppression of Muslims and the acts of these extremists - who then become representative of the entire Muslim community - just compounds the confusion around the oriental other.
The European left in general, having realised that there was some problem with a unilinear, progressivist line of thinking, now overcompensates and accepts any attack on western mores as legitimate. Any Muslim who uses violence and says that they are doing this because they are Muslim, is now a "jihadi", drawing upon the Islamic military doctrine of jihad. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, there is a military conception of jihad, but it is highly regulated, both in terms of who can initiate it and who it can be used against.
The Iraqis who, for example, bombed hotels in Amman in November 2005 were not committing "an Islamic act": they were killing civilians - which is quite clearly proscribed in Islamic international law dating back over a thousand years. This law is very clear about what target is impermissible in and of itself: you can't poison wells; you can't destroy fruit trees; you can't attack civilians; you can't attack children. So, when the left in the west says, you have to deal with these people with reference to what they believe in - Islam - it does so without having any knowledge of Islam. It is a terrible arrogance - that claim that you know what Islam is and you don't have to study it! In fact Islamic legal studies at Islamic universities take a long time. It takes a minimum of ten years; in some places, such as Najaf University, fifteen years. The idea that a group of gangsters can simply "declare jihad" is like saying that the mafia represents the whole of Italian culture!
Rosemary Bechler: Are you still convinced that the solution must lie in the recognition of a Palestinian state with its own constitution and legal system?
John Strawson: One of the effects of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination was to popularise the idea of the creation of a Palestinian state in the United States for the first time. We may not be as near the creation of such a state as one would want; nevertheless there have been important developments, including the disengagement from Gaza. It is important: it creates a precedent.
Frustratingly, since 1967 the Israelis have had it in their power to do what the international community attempted in 1947, which was to create a two-state solution to the situation in Palestine. The terrible thing is that instead of withdrawing from the Palestinian territories, the West Bank and Gaza and east Jerusalem, they insisted on the occupied territories being a bargaining chip, and this is obviously deeply problematic. It's morally problematic for the people living there; it's legally problematic; and as it turns out, it has proved to be a great disaster for the security of Israel.
The Israelis, had they chosen the alternative route in 1967 or shortly afterwards, could have effectively neutered the kind of Arab nationalism that had a rather irredentist view regarding the existence of Israel. They simply missed a great opportunity. It was the Israeli statesman Abba Eban who said that the Palestinians "never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity". In fact, and with catastrophic results, both sides have behaved in almost exactly the same way.
In their national narratives, both Palestinians and Israelis have from the very beginning and for far too long tried to argue that the other side is not legitimate. You cannot resolve a conflict if you do not regard the aspirations of the other side as in some way legitimate. One of the problems of the whole anti-Zionist stance which is so strong amongst the left in the west is that it has encouraged a view in Palestine and amongst Palestinians outside Palestine that there is a degree of support for the idea that Israel is illegitimate. It encourages the idea that maybe it is possible to reverse the process.
Spreading the idea that there will be some amazing transformation whereby Israel will cease to exist or to be a Zionist state - such ideas are barriers to any kind of solution. The only solution can be one that both parties want to come to: and it is ridiculous sitting in London or California saying: "It should be one state". Fine, but only if the two parties want to live together in one state.
If what people want is a Palestinian state, it will not be the one most Palestinians would have wanted in 1947, or the one most Palestinians want in 2008. It may well be much smaller. The problem for the Palestinian leadership is to decide what you are going to do with these crumbs. There are two ways the Palestinians can respond to the current situation, in particular the Israelis' disengagement from Gaza. The first is to say: "Basically this mean the occupation is not over, because the Israelis are still in charge of our security." From a legal point of view, this is absolutely the case; Gaza remains fenced in, even if the surge across the Egyptian border is a process that alters the current coordinates in as yet unforeseeable ways. The second response would be to echo what the PLO said in its Algiers declaration in 1988: "In any area of Palestine that is liberated we will begin to create our state." It seems to me that as long as we argue for open borders, then if the Palestinians return to this policy something can begin to be created. That is also true for the West Bank. As the PLO first imagined, I think the Palestinian state will come about through accretion - not through a one-fell-swoop agreement.
Neither side is going to sign what Bill Clinton wanted in 2000 - an end-of-conflict agreement. The Israelis can't do it because they are worried about terrorism and the Palestinians can't do it because of the refugees. Both have absolutely legitimate concerns. So it will be a step-by-step process, and that does mean addressing the problem of all the extremists on both sides who don't want this process to take place.
John Strawson: It is true that there is a major breakdown of the authority of the Palestinian national body absolutely everywhere, including the West Bank. In this respect, the way in which the Palestinians have been treated since the Oslo process was even worse than before. What the Oslo process did by dividing the West Bank into segments was that it created a new way of running the occupation in which for the first time pass laws were introduced to control movement from one part to another. This begins to look like South Africa, and in my view there is a great deal in common with the apartheid regime and its pass laws. There is no question that there is a high degree of racial discrimination in Israel, and that the occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem was based on very colonial notions of "the other".
After that came a new stage in this process thanks to a conscious policy by the Ariel Sharon government - "politicide", as Baruch Kimmerling has called it: that is, the attempt to undermine and destroy the Palestinian Authority as a legitimate representative of the people, and as an organiser.
Sharon was one of the first Israeli leaders to recognise that having signed the agreement in 1995, a de facto Palestinian state was being created. He knew very well that the way the Israeli state was created in the 1920s had little to do with what the early Zionist movement wanted, but nevertheless, the movement took the opportunity to set up institutions which might slowly grow into something else in time. From the early Jewish Agency you create a Knesset, an assembly, and an executive; you begin to create the Histadrut (trade-union organisation), and then a defence force. By 1947, you had in fact created the basic institutions of a new state. This process is quite well-known in Zionist history. I think this is what Sharon feared would emerge from the Palestinian Authority.
The good thing about the Palestinian Authority, as Sharon saw it, was that it was pretty miniscule. But the downside was that it was being created at all. Part of his policy was directed at weakening this state-building. He very successfully set about creating chaos in the occupied territories. In September 2000, when the second intifada began, the Israelis' first response was to destroy every police station in Palestine with F-16s. That meant not just destroying the ability of the police to organise themselves, but destroying fiscal records, prison records, and prisons themselves. The Israelis then prevented any rearming, at a time when there were a lot of arms in the possession of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Here was an apparent contradiction in Sharon's policy. How was the Palestinian Authority to crack down on the terrorists if it didn't have the means to do so?
Rosemary Bechler: What is the way forward in legal terms? Is there a need for "truth and reconciliation process" to be set in place?
John Strawson: Idealised notions of justice are highly problematic. Most demands for justice turn out to mean justice for one side or the other, which traps the debate in a binary opposition. We have to be more modest, and look at the world as it is. It has not been set up for justice. It is one of the great myths to say otherwise.
If law was based on justice, we would be doing something quite different. Why else would we have to change the legislation on slavery, racism, or equal pay? Obviously law is built on injustice.
So, all you can do is begin developing a process relevant to everyone. This is where the truth-and-reconciliation procedure is relevant to Palestine. In one sense, the attempt to create it in this generation will inevitably fail: no one will sit next to the person who sent the fatal letter-bomb to her mother and listen through all the stages of the hearing until a decision is reached, as (in South Africa) Gillian Slovo had to do. During this long moment, what dominates is the state of "the injustice of it all".
Nevertheless, there is an urgent need to move away from the legal narratives on both sides that aspire to the property of "total correctness". The problem is not that the two sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are so different, but that they are the same - or at least, works exactly the same way on both sides. about the same things. The retaliatory argument; not accepting responsibility for events or decisions; ascribing all blame to the other - the parallels are striking.
One of the challenges is to move beyond this kind of discourse by evolving what might be called "relational histories". This is only recently starting to become possible. What has existed hitherto on either side is both sectarian and essentialist. So Zionism is "essentially" militaristic, or expansionist or racist; or the Palestinians are "essentially" violent, irridentist and liars to boot. There is very little in between these two accounts. What I hope might begin to take place is some kind of contract between academics, to evolve a more relational history.
The assumption that it is very important to allocate legal responsibility is also a very big problem for the left. There are profound difficulties with a legalistic concept of justice. I share the huge sense of frustration about what the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians. But so do many Israelis: including prominent journalists, academics and human-rights activists as well as everyday citizens. Both Palestine and Israel are far more pluralistic than outsiders often imagine. Moreover, as in all societies, it is very important to make a distinction between the people and the government.
This is why I like reading Edward Said. He is inconsistent. He jumps about and mixes things together and asset-strips from different theorists in ways which they would not recognise. In the 1960s and 1970s, he began writing about the middle east from a rather traditional Palestinian and pan-Arabist perspective; gradually, as he gets into the subject more he becomes more aware, that in his perspective from the United States, with Jews as colleagues for example, everything is far more complex. From the 1980s he writes constantly about how the Palestinians are going to have to come to a reckoning with the fact that Israel exists and is not going to go away. In a sense therefore the question is no longer, justice.
A new generation will always be able to look at familiar realities in a different way. This is as true of the middle east as anywhere. The Palestinians living in the refugee camps in Lebanon who were born and brought up many years after 1948 are never going to go to that house in the village that they have a picture of, or open the door in Haifa with that key. That will not take place.
What then are we achieving when we "resolve conflicts"? I remember being on a visit to Johannesburg during that historic period in South Africa, watching on television a scene where Nelson Mandela was voting. I suddenly realised how "banal" the whole thing was. All this struggle, all those deaths and horror so that people could go and vote! It wasn't ending in a great revolutionary drama but in people queuing up and voting. What came after was always going to be very messy; social apartheid and economic problems still exist; it will take a hugely long time for the fundamentals of life qualitatively to improve. But what an achievement!
When Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, the international community imposed a financial boycott on the Palestinian Authority on the grounds that it was run by terrorists. This policy could not have been more calculated to undermine attempts to build the rule of law in Palestine. While Hamas has carried out lethal, immoral and illegal attacks against Israeli civilians it is too simplistic to depict the organisation as just a "terrorist" one.
The Hamas electoral alliance won the elections because it campaigned on a programme of clean and efficient government. It did not ask the electors to support terrorism or violence. It won because most of its activities since it was founded in the late 1980s have been political campaigning, social projects and religious education.
Hamas is a complex movement, and its victory did not turn the 135,000 employees of the authority into terrorists. Yet it is the salaries of civil servants, teachers and the police that went unpaid as a result of the international boycott. This squeeze on Palestine has just increased the trends - the Mecca agreement, the Annapolis conference, the Paris donors' deal, and the agreement of Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate notwithstanding - towards corruption, organised crime and political extremism. It also gives the impression that support for democracy in its supposed western heartlands is just skin-deep - and that the Palestinians voted for the "wrong" side.
The way forward is for the international community to support the plan for a Palestinian state in the occupied territories and for a mutually agreed just solution to the refugee question. However, that means engaging with the main Palestinian political forces, not trying to isolate them. The current Gaza crisis makes this choice clearer than ever.


Rappers give away turkeys, perform benefit concerts to help those in need.
How do rappers make amends for any hip-hop sins they've committed throughout the year? Well, a number of them stock up on good karma by doing good for the 'hood around holiday time.
This year, Jay-Z is making sure that Santa brings more diamonds rather than lumps of coal come Christmas by holding a special Thanksgiving benefit concert on Thursday at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. In previous years, Jigga and crew have handed out donations in their old neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, but this year, Jay and his partner, Dame Dash, have partnered with the New York City Mission Society to raise funds for underprivileged city kids with a sold-out concert featuring performances by Jay, Beanie Sigel, Freeway and other Roc-A-Fella artists. Monies raised will also go toward the rapper's new Jay-Z Scholarship Fund.
As has been a tradition for the past five years, Yonkers native DMX is paying his doggy dues by hosting the Thanksgiving Dinner With DMX with his music family the Ruff Ryders at the Nepperham Community Center in Yonkers, New York. Four hundred lucky community members will be treated to a soul-food dinner, catered by Harlem eatery Copeland's, as well as a gift giveaway and a special performance by DMX and other Ruff Ryders artists. DMX will also launch his Mary Ella Foundation, named after his late grandmother. The foundation with give out $500 scholarships to high school and college students and donate computers and clothing to the Nepperham Community Center.
After recently receiving honors from their home state, the Nappy Roots are making sure that they stay in Kentucky's good graces. On Thursday, the group will fly home in time to serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless at the Wayside Christian Mission House in Louisville. They will then follow up that good deed with another one — a performance for their local fans.
While Thanksgiving Day in the Cash Money camp will be spent promoting Baby's new album, The Birdman, on Monday, the label gave away 2000 turkey dinners for its Fourth Annual Cash Money Turkey Giveaway in New Orleans. The charity, held in honor of Baby and Slim's parents and their eponymous fund, the Johnnie and Gladys Williams Foundation, gave out a package containing a 25-pound turkey with side dishes of green beans, cranberry sauce, cake mix, dinner rolls, dressing and soda. According to Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh, the crew feels it's only right to "pay the love forward."


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The Energy Access Practitioner Network Celebrates its 3rd Anniversary; Hon. Eng. Minister Irene Muloni, Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda, delivers keynote address on the occasion.
Celebration Highlights The Power Of Innovation, Knowledge Sharing, And Partnership, Builds Momentum To Achieve Universal Energy Access By 2030.
On the occasion of the third anniversary of the launch of the United Nations Foundation's Energy Access Practitioner Network, more than 100 members of the network and other invited guests met today in Kampala, together with event co-sponsor WWF, to showcase the work of the off-grid clean energy sector to deliver the ecosystem of solutions and services needed to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030, one of the global goals of the UN's Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
Uganda, one of Sustainable Energy for All's 14 African priority countries still faces challenges in providing access to energy for its entire population. Some 28 million Ugandans do not have the benefits of the electricity that powers homes, supports education, undergirds delivery of health care services, and supports economic development across commercial, agricultural and industrial sectors.
"Hosting our third anniversary celebrations in Uganda helps to highlight the work being done by so many great organizations within the Energy Access Practitioner Network to deliver energy services effectively, affordably and sustainably to households and communities around the world," said Richenda Van Leeuwen, Executive Director, Energy Access, UN Foundation. "The gathering also serves as a reminder of the challenges to effectively scaling energy access solutions and the resources required to help achieve the global goal of universal energy access by 2030," said Van Leeuwen.
Currently with more than 1,700 members in 191 countries, the Energy Access Practitioner Network includes a wide range of energy enterprises from start-ups to large corporations, as well as NGOs, investors and researchers. The network's approach is technology-agnostic in focusing on the delivery of off-grid and micro-grid energy solutions and services, and includes a range of approaches – from small-scale solar lanterns requiring less than a watt of power, to household-scale solar home systems, from biogas digesters to large community-level solar-wind-diesel hybrid micro-grids.
Energy Access Practitioner Network member companies outlined the ways in which the Network has helped their businesses. SolarNow has installed more than 4,800 solar systems in Uganda, using a unique franchise model to address distribution challenges in Uganda and broadly in the East African region.
"One of the great things about working in the clean energy sector, addressing the needs of off-grid customers, is that practitioners are still willing to share information with others, as they realize everyone benefits from the growth of the sector. The Energy Access Practitioner Network offers an effective platform for the sharing of such information," said Willem Nolens, Managing Director, SolarNow.
Network member Solar Sister has recruited, trained and mentored women entrepreneurs in Uganda, as well as Nigeria and Tanzania, who have, in turn, provided energy services for more than 115,000 people.
"The Energy Access Practitioner Network is an important partner in our efforts to advocate for gender-inclusive solutions across both the demand and supply side of the energy access value chain. It is a unique platform bringing together energy access practitioners worldwide to share best practices and to help us transition from an era of energy poverty to energy prosperity," said Neha Misra, Chief Collaboration Officer, Solar Sister.
As it celebrates its third anniversary, the Network announced several initiatives designed to help achieve universal energy access through innovation, knowledge sharing, and partnerships:
The Network announced its partnership in 'Beyond the Grid', an innovative program for decentralized energy under President Barack Obama's Power Africa initiative that will help to channel USD 1 billion to off-grid and small-scale solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, delivering electricity to an estimated 20 million households.
Working with the World Health Organization and UN Women, the Network is leading the first of several phases of an ambitious project to electrify health clinics and reduce maternal and child mortality in five priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa – including Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
The Network has launched its first country affiliate, Sustainable Energy Network Ghana (SENG), hosted through network member KITE, which now has some 120 members delivering off-grid energy services across the country.
A second country affiliate, the Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN), will be launched in India later this year in partnership with 9 other founding organizations.
In a first-of-its-kind global survey released by the Network – Investment Directory 2013 – a range of opportunities were highlighted to fund off-grid energy access, and some $250 million in immediate investment and funding opportunities were showcased from among the network membership.
Energy solutions provided by members of the Network help electrify hospitals in hard-to-reach rural areas, improving maternal mortality outcomes; light up schools and improve educational outcomes for children; light up opportunity through clean reliable energy for households and communities; and – together – help make the difference in countries like Uganda in the effort to reach the goal of "Sustainable Energy for All."
For more information, visit www.energyaccess.org and www.se4all.org.
Mahalakshmi Mahadevan
Email: mmahadevan@unfoundation.org
Phone: +1-202 864 5159
THE ENERGY ACCESS PRACTITIONER NETWORK:
As a part of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, the United Nations Foundation's Energy Access Practitioner Network promotes universal access to modern energy services. With more than 1,700 members, the Network focuses on decentralized low-carbon household and community-level electrification. It supports innovative financial and business models in predominantly market-based applications that also help address development issues related to income generation, health, agriculture, education, small business, and telecommunications.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Recognizing that it is part of society and local communities, the Lintec Group is engaged in various initiatives to contribute to society while ensuring harmonious co-existence with society.
The Lintec Group carries out contribution activities in various communities. In Japan, the group performs the following kinds of activities, some of which are highlighted on these two pages.
*AED: a medical device designed to return a heart undergoing ventricular fibrillation to its normal condition by applying an electric shock.
In fiscal 2017, we provided support for education, including donations for university scholarship. Development of future generations will be another focus.
The Lintec Group has been making relief donations as an ongoing activity to support recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake. In fiscal 2017, as in the previous year, Lintec raised funds for Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture, which has signed a cooperation agreement with Itabashi City, where Lintec's Head Office is located. The Company matched the donation made by its employees. The funds were used to purchase and install sports facilities and equipment on local elementary and junior high school grounds. Lintec's Head Office also hosted a Fukushima Foods & Product Fair to support the recovery of Fukushima by economic activities. The company will continue various forms of reconstruction support activities in the future.
In October 2017, Lintec held its seventh Lintec Fureai Concert at the Itabashi Culture Hall, inviting persons with disabilities and their helpers living in Tokyo's Itabashi City, as well as people from neighboring areas. A total of about 500 people, including Lintec employees, participated in the concert. The concert program included a hand bell performance and dance incorporating sign language by children of members of Itabashi "Hohoemi-no-Kai", an association of parents of children with Down syndrome; a chorus by "Harmony Korine" from the Daito Bunka University a cappella club; and a jazz band session. We will continue to value opportunities to communicate with local residents.
The Lintec Group carries out community-based social contribution activities in locations where it operates. In November 2017, Lintec (Thailand) Co., Ltd. carried out its first mangrove planting on Bangpu Beach in Samut Prakan Province. A total of 144 persons, including employees and their families, planted 750 mangrove seedlings and learned the importance of environmental conservation. As a corporate group trusted by local communities, we will continue to carry out activities around the globe.
Lintec Advanced Technologies (Taiwan), Inc.
Lintec Advanced Technologies (Taiwan), Inc. carried out its first tree planting in February 2017. Our employees planted trees with elderly people from a local residential care home and held a post-planting party. The activity provided us with an opportunity to spend time in a good and meaningful way and to recognize the importance of forest conservation in addressing global warming. We will continue to conduct environmental conservation activities.


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Home Edu Business News Aakash Educational Services Appoints Soumya Kanti Purkayastha as Chief Business Officer (CBO)
Edu Business News
Aakash Educational Services Appoints Soumya Kanti Purkayastha as Chief Business Officer (CBO)
As CBO, Soumya will be responsible for enabling an end-to-end transformation of the Classroom based and Distance Learning businesses at Aakash
New Delhi: In line with the Company's continued efforts to strengthen and professionalize its management for achieving accelerated growth and business excellence, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), the national leader in test preparatory services, has appointed Mr. Soumya Kanti Purkayastha as Chief Business Officer (CBO).
A Business leader with 30 years of experience spread over India, Middle East and Africa, Soumya has worked across many industries and sectors. He has been focused in the field of Education and Training for the last 20 years especially in the area of Technology aided Learning. An alumnus of the prestigious IIM-Ahmedabad, Soumya has also done his Executive Education from the Harvard Business School.
At Aakash he will be responsible for enabling an end-to-end transformation of the Classroom based and Distance Learning business at Aakash. Soumya will also be working towards fulfilling the organization's vision of transforming the learning process across the test preparation spectrum, through the use of innovative methodologies as well as identifying new markets and opportunities.
Commenting on the appointment of Soumya Kanti Purkayastha, Mr Aakash Chaudhry, Co-Promoter & CEO at Aakash Educational Services Ltd. and Founder & Trustee at Plaksha University, said, "We are happy to have Soumya on board. As Aakash Educational Services grows, we will greatly benefit from his experience and expertise in the education sector. We are certain that his rich experience will go a long way in contributing to the growth of the company."
Soumya has a strong and established expertise in developing new product market scenarios. He brings with him leadership experience managing multimillion-dollar businesses across domains and regions. He also has considerable experience in designing and launching of new product market scenarios and start-up operations.
Elated with his appointment, Mr Soumya Kanti Purkayastha, CBO, AESL said: "Having been associated with the Education sector since the last 20 years, I continue to be very excited by the prospects in the sector and now having joined Aakash Educational Services, I now can assist parents in fulfilling their dreams about their children and help the children in reaching their full potential."
Prior to joining Aakash, Soumya has previously worked with Berkeley HealthEDU, Educomp Solutions, Educomp Global, Edulearn, Wizlearn, Eicher among other companies.
Previous articleAmazon announces the third edition of KDP Pen to Publish Contest
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Marico Innovation Foundation Unveils the 7 Sutras of Innovation for Indian Entrepreneurs
5G Financing: Unbundle services, say TRAI Chairman – Dr R S Sharma
Asian Development Bank team holds discussion with road safety nodal officers
India's first affordable solution for pure and safe drinking water launched in the city
Ecole Intuit Lab Opens Admissions in Kolkata for 2020


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Panayótis Karatzás (), né le , à Athènes, en Grèce, est un ancien joueur grec de basket-ball. Il évolue durant sa carrière au poste de pivot.

Biographie

Palmarès
  Champion d'Europe 1987
 Champion de Grèce 1993, 1994
 Coupe de Grèce 1994

Références

Liens externes

Naissance en juin 1965
Naissance à Athènes
Joueur international grec de basket-ball
Joueur de l'Olympiakos (basket-ball)
Joueur du Pagrati Athènes BC
Champion d'Europe de basket-ball

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
ASEAN defense chiefs fail to agree on South China Sea statement
By Yeganeh Torbati, Trinna Leong
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Disagreement between the United States and China over how to address rival claims in the South China Sea marred a gathering of Southeast Asian defense officials on Wednesday, with a joint statement scrapped after ministers failed to agree on its wording.
From L-R: Japan's Minister of Defence Gen Nakatani, Myanmar's Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sein Win, Laos' Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sengnouane Sayalat, Malaysia's Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, New Zealand's Minister of Defence Gerry Brownlee, Phillippines's Secretary of Defence Voltaire T. Gazmin, South Korea's Minister of Defence Han Min Koo, Russia's Deputy MInister of Defence Anatoly Antonov and Singapore's Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen pose for a photograph at the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 4, 2015. REUTERS/Goh Seng Chong
The United States and its allies had pressed for a mention of disputes in the South China Sea in the statement while a senior U.S. defense official said China had lobbied members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to avoid any reference.
"The decision was made by ASEAN because there is no consensus, so no joint declaration is signed," Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference.
The forum included defense ministers from the 10 ASEAN members and counterparts from countries such as the Australia, China, India, Japan and the United States.
It came just a week after a U.S. warship challenged territorial limits around one of China's man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago with a so-called freedom-of-navigation patrol.
The patrol prompted China's naval chief to warn his U.S. counterpart that a minor incident could spark war if the United States did not stop "provocative acts".
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.
China objects to what it sees as outside interference in the disputes.
The United States says it takes no position on the claims but it and allies such as the Philippines have been alarmed by increasingly assertive Chinese action including island-building on disputed reefs.
China says don't 'hype up' freedom of navigation in South China Sea
China's defense minister Chang Wanquan told U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday that China's "people and military will not stand for any infringements of China's sovereignty and relevant interests."
On Wednesday, Chang said freedom of navigation should not be "hyped up" or used as an excuse for provocation.
Carter said the inability of the Southeast Asian ministers to agree on a statement reflected their concern about China's activity in the sea.
"Obviously, they weren't able to reach consensus and that reflects I think the level of concern that was reflected in the conversation about activities in the South China Sea," Carter told a news conference.
He said China's reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea was a major issue in his bilateral talks this week and China's President Xi Jinping should stick to his word when he denies militarization of the sea.
"The presence of US naval vessels in the South China Sea is not new, that's been going on for decades. What's new is dredging and reclamation and militarization," Carter said.
TRADING BLAME
Conference host Malaysia had planned to release a statement at the end of the two-day forum but a senior U.S. defense official said China had scuppered that.
"The Chinese lobbied to keep any reference to the South China Sea out of the final joint declaration," said the official who declined to be identified.
"Understandably a number of ASEAN countries felt that was inappropriate. It reflects the divide China's reclamation and militarization ... has caused," said the official, adding that no statement was better than one that dodged mention of China's activity.
China's Defence Ministry, however, blamed "certain countries" outside Southeast Asia, a pointed reference to the United States and Japan.
They "tried to forcefully stuff in content to the joint declaration", and the responsibility for failing to come up with a joint statement was completely with those countries, the ministry said in a microblog post.
A copy of remarks by Hishammuddin, which appeared to have been issued to media by mistake and then retracted, stated that ASEAN sought a "peaceful resolution to the disputes ... collisions in open seas and skies must be avoided at all costs".
The ministers' meeting, first held in 2006, is a platform to promote regional peace and stability.
Leaders of the countries attending meet again at ASEAN and East Asia summits this month and Hishammuddin said those talks would give more opportunities to resolve differences.
Carter and Hishammuddin are due to cruise on the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday, a U.S. defense official said, for a voyage bound to keep tension over the rival claims in the spotlight. There was no information about where the U.S. warship would sail but it has been on patrol in the South China Sea.
"The Teddy Roosevelt's presence there and our visit is a symbol of our commitment to a rebalance and the importance of the Asia Pacific to the United States," Carter said.
Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan and Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Manuel Mogato in Manila; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Robert Birsel


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HVAC fire reported at Turlock Walmart
Sabra Stafford
Updated: Dec. 8, 2017, 10:02 a.m.
A fire inside a heating and air conditioning vent was discovered Thursday morning at the Turlock Walmart and prompted an evacuation of the store.
Around 8 a.m. Thursday the Turlock Fire Department was dispatched to the Walmart at 2111 Fulkerth Rd. for a report of a potential structure fire at the store.
The first firefighters to arrive at the scene found light smoke coming from HVAC vents inside the store.
"Due to the size of the building and the number of HVAC units with potential involvement, multiple crews were needed to rapidly determine the source of the smoke," Turlock Fire spokesman Kevin Tidwell said in a news release.
Crews were able to track the smoke to a small fire burning in an HVAC unit on the roof of the store.
"The fire was quickly extinguished and overhauled and Walmart management staff worked closely with Turlock Fire crews to ensure the store was safe and suitable to reopen for business," Tidwell said.
The entire operation left the store closed for about two hours.
There were no injuries reported from the incident.
The Turlock Fire Department responded to the incident with three engine trucks, the squad truck and a battalion chief. Turlock Rural Fire Department provided city coverage during the incident.


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CELRL
CELRL members' recent submission: Vulnerable Workers Bill
Centre members Dr Tess Hardy and Associate Professor Joo-Cheong Tham made a submission to Parliament of Victoria into the Vulnerable Workers Bill.
Read the submission here.
Joo-Cheong Tham is an Associate Professor at the Melbourne Law School and Director of the Electoral Regulation Research Network, an initiative sponsored by the New South Wales Electoral Commission, Victorian Electoral Commission and the Melbourne Law School. His publications include Money and Politics: The Democracy We Can't Afford; and The Funding of Political Parties: Where Now?. He has written four reports on political finance laws for the New South Wales Electoral Commission. Joo-Cheong regularly gives evidence to parliamentary inquiries into political funding and his opinion pieces in this area have been published in The Age, Australian Financial Review, Guardian and Sydney Morning Herald.
Tess Hardy is a Lecturer in the Melbourne Law School and a member of the CELRL. Tess' published work deals mostly with the enforcement of employment regulation, and the respective regulatory roles played by government labour inspectorates and non-state actors, such as unions, employer associations and lead firms


text:
The Good Life Series
Home > Gear > Motoring > Rolls-Royce's electric reign begins with the ultra-luxe 'Spectre'
Rolls-Royce's electric reign begins with the ultra-luxe 'Spectre'
Mikhail Gomes
Features Editor, Lifestyle Asia India & Contributor - Augustman
Running purely electric by 2030, Rolls-Royce debuts the 2023 Spectre, their first all-electric ultra-luxury coupe featuring the widest grille in RR history. Here's all about it.
During this festive season in India, there's one sparkle that really caught our eye – The 2023 Rolls-Royce Spectre. This massive, maximalist yet conscious chariot of pure opulence is the spiritual successor to the Phantom coupe and their very first electric car in 116 years of luxury automaking. However, this isn't exactly true. In 1900, before Charles Stewart Rolls came to build gasoline-running luxury cruisers, he created an electric car. Predicting this inevitable electric future, he said "The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged". Well, a little more than a century and a quarter later (2030), his company dedicatedly sells nothing but electric-powered motorcars. But while we're still in 2022, this journey takes to fruition with the Spectre, an 18-foot-long, dual-motor luxuriant that truly embraces the beauty of perfected noiselessness and bows to no one. Here's all about it.
In form, it's a crisper take of the quintessential RR coupe, but in functionality, unlike any before. It stretches 18 feet long, and seven feet wide, 126-inch long wheelbase and weighs 6559 pounds. Sure, with all the electrification happening in silence, it's also the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. Interestingly, to achieve this, RR didn't even have to do much, it isn't exceptionally smooth, downsized, or boasts a new silhouette. It's just clean and classier. The signature Pantheon grille is wider than ever and now backlit, and this will be an accent for all electric Rollies.
Inside, the Rolls-Royce Spectre retains the Phantom coupe's zenith-grade luxury but also comes with a growing list of options and bespoke feats including Starlight doors. Much like the cosmic-illuminating skyroof, the door too now features 4796 stars.
Finally, let's talk about its biggest advancement, the power department. Considering previous RRs offered hefty V12s with their luxury motorcars, you may be expecting a beefy English electric motor and a jaw-dropping horsepower figure. However, RR has other plans for the Spectre. With sensibility and consciousness being key themes of the car, they've refrained from the rat race of chasing obnoxiously high horsepower figures and focused more on practicality. With the two motors producing a combined 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, you can expect the Spectre to zoom from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. With 2.5 million test miles on the clock, it offers a top speed of a modest 155 mph and a range of 260 miles on a single charge.
With deliveries beginning next year, Rolls-Royce predicts Spectre base pricing will sit somewhere between the Cullinan ($351,250) and Phantom ($460,000). I'd say $400,000 should be an apt guess.
Stay tuned to Lifestyle Asia India's Instagram, Twitter, Facebook for more motoring updates.
All images: Courtesy Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce electric cars futuristic EV
A watch aficionado, Mikhail also enjoys learning about fine whiskies, and one day hopes to establish his own menswear label. At Lifestyle Asia India, he writes on watches, menswear, auto and tech.
Bentley to BMW: Luxury cars driven by India's legendary businessmen
Maruti Suzuki's Jimny is the much-awaited off-roader for adventure junkies
BMW unveils car that can change colour
Behold, the all-electric Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4Matic+ arrives in India
Follow our daily snapshots at @lifestyleasiaindia
ARCHITECTURE+DESIGN


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MiniRoos
Our Bid
Bid Champions
The FIFA Women's World Cup™
Bidding Process
#GetOnside
Football in Australia
Limitless Future
Australia to bid for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™
Australia will bid to host the world's largest and most prestigious women's sporting event – the FIFA Women's World Cup - in 2023.
The announcement was made by the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP and Football Federation Australia (FFA) Chairman Steven Lowy AM in the Great Hall at Parliament House, Canberra with the support of the Federal Minster for Sport, The Hon Greg Hunt MP and The Federal Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash.
The Australian Federal Government also announced that they will provide FFA with financial support in the form of initial funding to the value of $1 million with the balance of $4m to be granted following fulfillment of designated criteria and milestones.
Speaking at the announcement, FFA Chairman Steven Lowy was excited by the prospect of Australia once again hosting a major FIFA tournament. The most recent FIFA Women's World Cup, in Canada in 2015, saw a total match attendance of 1.35 million and a global television audience of 764 million with more than 80 million viewers in China and more than 60 million viewers in the United States.
"This is the largest, most prestigious and most competitive contest in a women's sport globally," said Mr Lowy. "We want to win the right to host it and then win the tournament itself."
The Matildas, who are currently ranked 8th in the world and have been ranked as high as 5th, would have a real chance of winning the coveted trophy on home soil.
"The benefits to Australia are many and varied with major economic impact to the wider community and, most importantly, a massive increase in exposure and investment in Women's Football.
"A FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia would inspire a whole new generation of girls and women to take up the biggest participation sport in Australia, for many with the dream of winning the World Cup on home soil."
"I would like to personally thank the Prime Minister and his Parliamentary colleagues for their support thus far. Once FIFA officially announces the bidding process, we intend to make a compelling argument for Australia to be granted hosting rights for this prestigious event.
"We know that this will be a challenging process, but we believe that we have the expertise and world class facilities to host a fantastic tournament," concluded Lowy.
The FIFA Women's World Cup is the ultimate competition in women's football and is held every four years. The last tournament was held in Canada in 2015 and the next will be held in 2019 in France.
The 2023 tournament would see 24 teams compete over 52 matches, hosted across a number of locations.
Australia launches distinctive logo for 2023 Bid to host the FIFA Women's World Cup
Football Federation Australia?s campaign to host the next FIFA Women?s World Cup in 2023 has taken another step forward following the release of Australia?s official Bid Mark. Australia?s Bid Mark, which will be used nationally and internationally to promote Australia?s Bid t
Matildas crowned as Australia's most-loved team
Following their FIFA Women?s World Cup 2019TM campaign in France, the Matildas have received unparalleled levels of support, being ranked as Australia?s most-loved sporting team according to the BenchMark Emotional Connection study, conducted by True North Research. The positi
Get to Know: Community Bid Champion – Julie Porter (QLD)
Julie Porter still has it. When the weekend comes around in football season, you will find 55-year-old Julie ? the oldest player in her competition ? lacing up her boots to get on the park long after many have moved to the sidelines. As with many Australians, Porter?s
Club Spotlight: Peninsula Power FC (QLD)
In the shadows of the grandstand, Craig Feuer...egel proudly looks out as mothers walk out alongside their daughters ahead of a Sunday afternoon kick off at AJ Kelly Park. It is Peninsula Power?s annual Mother?s Day celebration,...ging mothers and daughters who play a
The Matildas challenge Australia to #GetOnside by singing iconic song during France campaign
In a video released by Football Federation Australia, the Matildas are asking Australians to #GetOnside for the nation?s 2023 Bid by singing Waltzing Matilda during their upcoming FIFA Women?s World CupTM games in France this month. ... With millions of fans watching


Remember to use comfortable beachwear, swimsuit biodegradable sunscreen sandals, a hat, cash or credit card (VISA, Master Card or American Express) for shopping and gratuities.
Participants under 18 years old must be accompanied, directly supervised and cared for by a responsible adult companion, parent(s), or legal guardian at all times.
Legal drinking age in Mexico is 18 years old. Minors will not be served alcohol, even with parental consent.
Unassisted use of sailboats will be subject to approval by Tour Operator. Guests will need to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary for their own safe and responsible use.
The floating park is not allowed for guests afraid of heights, people under the influence of alcohol or while impaired by medications, pregnant and nursing women, guests with medical conditions such as: heart conditions, back, neck, joint or muscular injuries, or guests with special needs or medical prevention.
Some beach services and attractions may be subject to age, height and/or weight requirements/restrictions.
Have a blast with family & friends at Playa Mia Grand Beach Park and stay as long as you want at Cozumel´s most popular beach location, and twenty more complimentary attractions, from relaxing amenities to thrilling activities for all tastes and ages.
Sunbathe on the white-sand beach, splash into the pools, watch your relentless little pirates shoot the water cannons aboard the pirate ship at "Buccaneers´ Bay" kids pool. Come all the way down the challenging 200-foot long Twin Twister Water Slides or endure the 500-foot length Adventure Floating Park. Dare for kayaks, Hobie cats or pedal boats; treat yourself with any of the complimentary comforts, games or beach toys!
With this day pass shore excursion "The fun never ends!"


Live Q&A Training Session via Ustream - Tonight!
Coach Seiji will host a live, online open question and answer session on Racer X Virtual Trainer at 7 p.m., CST tonight (Thursday, July 28th) via Ustream. Just go to Ustream to take advantage of this free, one hour online video chat session to get your training, health and wellness questions answered by the frequent Racer X Virtual Trainer contributor, Coach Seiji.
First, find the show. Either click on this link or go to www.ustream.com and at the very top of the page in the search menu, search for "Racer X Virtual Trainer".
To submit a question, on the right hand side of the screen you will see a chat room and social screen. In order to ask a question you have to be a member of Ustream. Sign up is very quick and easy.
Once you are signed in, you can ask questions either in the Chat Room or Social Screen.
You will be able to hear Coach Seiji and he will be able to see your questions.
Sit back, listen and learn from one of the greatest minds in the motocross industry!
B.S. in Kinesiology, American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer and Registered Massage Therapist. 20+ years of cycling and successful competition experience both on and off road. 14+ year experience in training and coaching endurance and outdoor athletes.
Seiji trains and coaches several pro and elite level motocross athletes as well as part time competitors with real jobs and families trying to achieve their potential. Seiji has also worked with several elite level bicycle road racers, mountain bike racers, and triathletes (including several national champions). Current MX athletes include Andrew Short and Hunter Hewitt.
Seiji races motocross himself in the Novice and 40+ classes aboard his Yamaha YZ250F. He also rides woods and deserts aboard his Yamaha WR 450F. He has taken several extended forays into Baja. Seiji loves all forms of dirt biking equally and has totally immersed himself in the sport since being reintroduced to dirt bikes at the prime age of 34!


text:
Home News LGA analysis: COVID-19 council funding gap widens to £7.4 billion
LGA analysis: COVID-19 council funding gap widens to £7.4 billion
SkemNews
The Local Government Association is calling for the Government to urgently bring forward details of its comprehensive plan to ensure the financial sustainability of councils this year and next.
Survey shows that, between March and June, councils have incurred £4.8 billion of extra cost pressures and income losses as a result of the COVID19 pandemic.
The estimated financial challenge councils face as a result of the pandemic will reach £10.9 billion.
The Government has provided £3.2 billion of emergency funding to councils and CCGs have provided funding of £300 million which has helped meet some of the pressures so far – leaving councils facing a funding gap of £7.4 billion.
As it holds its virtual Annual Conference, the Local Government Association is calling for the Government to urgently bring forward details of its comprehensive plan to ensure the financial sustainability of councils this year and next.
Local communities have rightly looked to their council for leadership during this crisis and they have delivered. Councils continue to work tirelessly to create new services to support vulnerable people, have helped most rough sleepers off the streets and into safe accommodation, and kept most normal services running like kerbside waste and recycling collections.
They are doing an amazing job but are facing increased cost and demand pressures as a result, at the same time as seeing a significant drop in income.
In order to provide the most robust evidence to government on the financial challenges they face, councils have been completing detailed monthly returns to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
New LGA analysis of June's returns – completed by every council in England and published as the LGA holds its first-ever virtual Annual Conference – sets out the scale of the cost pressures and income losses councils are facing as they lead communities through the COVID-19 crisis and look ahead to a national recovery.
The Government has indicated it is working on a comprehensive plan to address the ongoing financial challenges councils face this financial year. The LGA is urging the Government to ensure it address three key elements of the pressures facing councils:
All additional costs councils are set to incur result of the pandemic must be met in full (forecast to be £4.4 billion this financial year).
A guarantee that councils will be compensated for all lost income from fees and charges and other sources (forecast to be £2.8 billion this financial year).
A third of the financial challenge facing councils is lost tax income (£3.7 billion in council tax and business rates). The Government will need to provide a solution to cover councils for losses of local taxation which will hit councils' council tax and business rates collection funds next year.
Without this, the LGA is warning that councils will have to take measures in anticipation of future funding shortfalls. This could mean in-year cuts to vital local services that are supporting communities through this crisis and crucial to the national recovery.
The scale of the economic, environmental and community challenges that we will face as a result of the pandemic cannot be under-estimated.
The LGA's new discussion paper – Re-thinking Local – sets out how, with the right funding and powers, councils can grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not just recover from this crisis but to go further and address the stark inequalities the virus has exposed, develop a green recovery, address skills gaps and rebuild the economy so that it benefits everyone.
Cllr James Jamieson, LGA Chairman, said:
"Councils are leading local communities through the coronavirus crisis. They continue to work all day and night to protect the most vulnerable, support local businesses and try and keep normal services running.
"As this new analysis shows, they continue to face unsustainable finance pressures. Not only do councils need to be fully funded to help our communities beat this virus now but also to help support the nation as we look towards the next phase.
"Councils have a legal duty to balance their budgets each year. Further funding and flexibilities are now urgent if councils are to have the certainty they need to avoid taking steps, such as in-year cuts to local services, to cope with funding shortfalls. We are already starting to see this being borne out in towns halls of all political colours across the country.
"The Government has shown a firm commitment to fully understanding the financial pressures councils are facing as a result of COVID-19 and we are pleased it is working on a comprehensive plan to address these this financial year. We urge the Government to bring forward details as soon as possible."
widens
Previous articleWigan Athletic in Administration
Next articleRestrictions on using recycling centres due to ease
Investigation into the housing of rough sleepers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Covid pandemic could lead to tens of thousands more liver disease cases in 2021, warns charity
Councils' core funding per resident to be lower next year than 2015-16, despite real-term council tax increases of 16%


10. Your salary is not your source but a seed for changing your destiny.
8. Decide today to not settle for less than His best...tomorrow.
7. One way to get high blood pressure is to spend your time worrying about something you can do nothing about. Pray instead.
6. What makes a person successful is their ability to never give up on a dream…even, if at first, they fail to succeed.
4. What you affirm. . .you confirm. What you confess. . .you will possess.
3. Three kinds of wealth. Financial wealth is what you have. Personal wealth is who you are. Spiritual wealth is what you do with what you've got.
2. If you're not an elephant…why are you working for peanuts? You're worth more than that. Believe it...Expect It.


You'll find details here for organizing a quick configuration of aiScaler for your Magento site. You can deploy these files on your own server or use an instance of aiScaler on the AWS network. In either case, you do not need to move your site or change your configuration. Please keep in mind that we also provide two free hours of installation and optimization support as well as professional services for general architecture.
The configuration file makes use of pattern matching and cookie detection for detecting which parts of the site contain personalized content for the user and thus can't be cached. In some cases, an aicache0ttlcookie is sent to the client (see the 0ttl_urldirectives in the configuration file). This is necessary since some of the features don't set their corresponding cookie immediately and thus we need an "early warning" system.
This general configuration will get you rolling quickly. We strongly recommend doing some advanced optimization to maximize the cache hit ratio. Let us know if we can help.


text:
title: "OpenTitan Continuous Integration"
---

All changes to the OpenTitan source code are tested thoroughly in a continuous integration system.
Tests run automatically when changes are proposed for inclusion by submitting a pull request, and on the `master` branch after changes are merged.
This ensures that the OpenTitan source code meets certain quality criteria at all points in time, as defined by the tests which are executed.

Read on to learn more about the types of tests, and the infrastructure that runs these tests.

## How to report CI problems

If you detect CI failures which look like they might not be related to the tested code, but the test infrastructure, please file an [issue on GitHub](https://github.com/lowRISC/opentitan/issues).
In urgent cases also reach out on Slack and send an email to lowRISC IT at [internal-tech@lowrisc.org](mailto:internal-tech@lowrisc.org).
Note that lowRISC is based in the UK and most active during European business hours.

## Overview

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Download the SVG from Google Draw, open it in Inkscape once and save it without changes to add width/height information to the image.
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![CI Overview](continuous_integration_overview.svg)

OpenTitan uses [Azure Pipelines](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/services/devops/pipelines/) as continuous integration provider: test jobs are described in an Azure Pipelines-specific way, and then executed on compute resources, some of which are provided by Azure Pipelines, and others of which are provided by lowRISC.

Two things are special in the way OpenTitan does continuous integration: private CI, and testing on FPGA boards.

"Private CI" is a term we use for a subset of test jobs which require tighter access control.
The primary use case for private CI are tests using proprietary EDA tools, where the license agreement prevents us from testing arbitrary code with it, from showing the configuration or the output in public, etc.
We run such test jobs in a separate environment where only OpenTitan project members have access.
The test result (pass/fail) is still shared publicly to enable outside contributors to at least get some feedback if their pull request passed our tests.

To test OpenTitan (both the hardware and the software) on FPGAs we have various FPGA boards connected to a machine at lowRISC.
Azure Pipelines is configured to schedule test jobs on this machine when FPGA testing is required.
The results and logs of these test runs are shown publicly.

## Azure Pipelines projects

OpenTitan CI uses two Azure DevOps projects (which Azure Pipelines is a part of):

* https://dev.azure.com/lowrisc/opentitan/ for public CI.
* https://dev.azure.com/lowrisc/opentitan-private/ for private CI.

## Test descriptions

All tests are described in a Azure Pipelines-specific YAML syntax.
`$REPO_TOP/azure-pipelines.yml` is the main configuration file for all public CI jobs.
The private CI jobs are described in a separate private repository, [lowrisc/opentitan-private-ci](https://github.com/lowRISC/opentitan-private-ci), to keep the job descriptions internal for legal reasons.

The [YAML schema](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/yaml-schema) is part of the Azure Pipelines documentation.

## Compute resources: agent pools and agents

Each test in the YAML file also specifies which type of compute resource it wants to run on.
Identical compute resources are grouped into *agent pools*, and an individual compute resource is called an *agent*.

For OpenTitan, we have the following agent pools available, which can also be seen in the [Azure Pipelines UI](https://dev.azure.com/lowrisc/opentitan/_settings/agentqueues):
* The *Azure Pipelines* pool is a Microsoft-provided pool of VMs which are free of charge for us.
  They are described in more detail in the [Azure Pipelines documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/hosted).
* The *ci-public* pool has a lowRISC-specific setup with tools such as Xilinx Vivado installed, but has no access to tools with special license restrictions.
* The *ci-eda* pool has proprietary EDA tools installed and access to the respective licenses.
* The *FPGA* pool currently consists of a single machine with our FPGA boards connected to it.

All pools except for the *Azure Pipelines* pool are managed by lowRISC IT.

All agents provide ephemeral test environments: the test environment is initialized at the start of a test job and completely destroyed at the end.
This is achieved by running tests in Docker containers which are recreated after each run.
The base image used for all lowRISC-hosted agent pools is available [as lowrisc/container-ci-eda on DockerHub](https://hub.docker.com/r/lowrisc/container-ci-eda).
(The build rules/Dockerfile for this image are lowRISC-internal.)

lowRISC-provided agents run in a Kubernetes cluster on Google Cloud (GCP), where we also define the resources allocated for the individual agents.
The agent pools are static in size, i.e. the number of agents doesn't increase and decrease depending on the number of scheduled jobs.

## Job scheduling, build triggers and status reporting

Builds are triggered by GitHub, which sends notifications to Azure Pipelines on a range of events, e.g. the creation of new pull requests, the merge of code into a branch, etc.

The Azure Pipelines scheduler consumes these events and compares them with the configured pipeline triggers in the `azure-pipelines.yml` file.
It then processes the pipeline description and adds test jobs to the respective agent pool queues, taking test dependencies into account.

After the agent has completed a test job it reports back the result to the Azure Pipelines scheduler, which makes this information (build artifacts and logs) available to users through the web UI.

Azure Pipelines also reports the test status back to GitHub, where it is displayed below a pull request, as marks next to commits, and in various other places.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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2021 Happy Holidays from PK Network!
Wishing everyone an upbeat holiday movie ending to their 2021. Here's our annual video card. Have a Happy and Healthy 2022!
Launching a New Online Security Product
In January 2021, Mediacom Business launched a new web security product, Advanced Data Security, which protects businesses against cyberattacks, malware, and other malicious threats. PK Network provided a campaign including TV spots, digital ads, social media content, print, direct mail and radio to help make the launch a success. TV Spot Direct Mail Banner Ads…
PK Network Brings Duck TV Presence to the U.S.
DuckTV is an educational and entertaining channel for children aged 3 and under. The channel launched in 2007 and is available in over 150 countries worldwide. Only 1.4% of DuckTV's content has talking characters, making DuckTV appealing to children of all nationalities and ethnicities. DuckTV is still relatively unknown to the US market and is…
Bringing a Virtual Experience to the Pioneers
PK Network were proud to have been involved in one of the hottest (even though we shot part of it in chilly Wyoming) award galas of the year for our pro bono client Cable TV Pioneers. From filming the award show hosts in picturesque Jackson Hole, Wyoming, designing and producing all the collateral, champagne gift…
Advertising is Important – Now More Than Ever
Staying relevant during COVID-19 is a smart move for your brand, using campaign advertising. PK Network's b2b campaign for Mediacom Business celebrated its client's accomplishments, while generating awareness of the value of its essential broadband services. See how PK Network addressed the COVID-19 crisis with digital, print, and video advertising. Radio Spot Click Here TV…
30 Years of Holiday Greetings
Over the years we've always enjoyed sending holiday greetings to all of our friends, clients, vendors, and staff. Here's a look at some of our favorites over the past 30 years! 1989 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Happy Holidays from all of us at…
The Fine Art Of Direct Mail Promotion
Chelsea Restoration specializes in the restoration and conservation of fine paintings. From their NYC studio they use their years of expertise to carefully restore works by artists including Picasso, Magritte, Matisse, Renoir, and Norman Rockwell. Working with some of the best galleries and museums in the world, they do amazing work and we were excited…
Pioneer Inductees Shine Bright In NOLA
This year the 53rd Annual Cable TV Pioneers Banquet was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ceremony was attended by over 500 guests and featured 25 new Pioneers inductees, who have made significant contributions to the cable industry. PK Network was proud to be the official Graphics Sponsor for the event. As Graphics Sponsor, we…
Columbus Day Kicks With ACF Fiorentina
The PK team was out in full force at this year's Columbus Day Parade in New York City. Hanging out with our favorite Italian soccer team, and client, ACF Fiorentina, we took media video, photos, and even designed the float. All in all, not a bad day at "the office."
ACF Fiorentina comes to NYC
When Italian Serie A soccer team, ACF Fiorentina, came to NYC to unveil their 2019-20 uniforms, play an exhibition game vs Benfica at Red Bull Arena, and to promote the team in the USA, PK Network was excited to be part of the action. Working closely with ACF Fiorentina and their new owner, Rocco Commisso,…
PK NETWORK
11 East 47th Street | 4th Floor
©2022 PK Network Communications. All Rights Reserved.


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Fly.com predicts tough time for new travel search sites post-Google entry
Air metasearch engine Fly.com is warning travel search startups that the marketplace will be a more challenging sector following approval of Google's acquisition of ITA Software.
While some might consider this is bit of an understatement, Fly.com believes there is still room for metasearch providers that have put the effort into developing technology and relationships to produce stellar airfare search results.
Those with an existing audience and an ability to work with partner sites (such as Travelzoo, its parent company) to capture more traffic to operate valuable services for consumers, despite the "major impact" expected as a result of Google entering the industry.
Fly.com UK general manager Aaron Ritoper admits many consumers "will use a Google flight search out of convenience", but there will still be room for companies with "great content and a fantastic audience".
"For new players starting out, flight meta search will definitely be more challenging," he predicts.
Ironically, Fly.com is an ITA Software customer in the US, but has opted for a range of providers (including Amadeus, where Ritoper previously worked) and direct relationships with airlines for its UK and Germany sites ("each market requires different data sources").
Ritoper says it has no plans to change ITA as a service provider ("good cooperation between the two companies") and is forging ahead with plans to add hotels to the site some time during 2011.
Other countries are likely to get the Fly.com treatment "relatively soon", he says, with France and Spain the most likely candidates.


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Река́лова (також Рікалова) — річка в Україні, права притока Базавлука, притоки Дніпра (басейн Чорного моря). Довжина 14 км. Площа водозбірного басейну 130 км². Похил річки 4,2 м/км. Долина трапецієподібна.

Живиться за рахунок атмосферних опадів. Льодостав нестійкий (з грудня до початку березня). Використовується на сільськогосподарські потреби. Споруджено ставки.

Бере початок на півночі від села Червоний Орлик та на північному сході від селища Милорадівка. Перші 9-10 кілометрів тече із південного заходу на північний схід, згодом за Скелюваткою повертає на південний захід. Тече територією Криничанського району Дніпропетровської області, через села Новомилорадівка, Покровка, Скелюватка, Потоки, Надія. Впадає до Базавлука в селі Болтишка.

Література
 «Каталог річок України» . — К. : Видавництво АН УРСР, 1957. — С. 125. — (№ 2164).
 «Ресурсы поверхностных вод СССР». — Ленинград, 1967.

Притоки Базавлука
Річки Дніпропетровської області
Річки Кам'янського району
Малі річки України


text:
Home Hardware and Gadgets Wearable and Smartwatch Apple Watch Series 5 is official: price, features and all the details
Apple Watch Series 5 is official: price, features and all the details
By Kamal Saini -
Apple has announced a new version of the Apple Watch on its iPhone 11 keynote. The Apple Watch Series 5 now has an always-on display and many more enhancements. Learn everything worth knowing about the new Apple Watch.
Apple has presented the now fifth edition of its smart Apple Watch at its iPhone keynote in Cupertino. The Apple Watch Series 5 is available in two sizes: 40 and 44 millimeters. One of the biggest innovations of the watch is an always-on display. So the dial of the clock is constantly visible, so you need to activate the screen of the smartwatch so no more arm movement. The battery life should not suffer from this.
Here are all the details on specifications, availability and prices
Apple Watch Series 5: This is new
Like the previous edition, the new smartwatch also comes in two sizes, that is with a 40mm or 44mm case, and with optional LTE data connectivity. For the first time, a model with an aluminum case also arrives.
The specification that last year was very successful on Watch 4, or the ability to perform an ECG in real time, was obviously also maintained on the new generation. Indeed, Apple has emphasized how constant attention has enabled Apple Watch to be transformed into a real help tool for controlling the parameters of one's health.
watchOS 6 brings numerous innovations
Among the main innovations of the new Watch 5 there are certainly those already announced with WatchOS 6, or the possibility of controlling environmental noise but also of keeping track of one's own menstrual cycle (needless to say, it is a feature dedicated to women).
The display of the new smartwatch is a Retina equipped with LTPO technology that allows to obtain (finally) always-on functionality, without impacting the device's energy autonomy. Therefore, Watch Face visible at all times and batteries that last all day. For the occasion, all the major watch faces have been optimized to offer the best even on always-on displays.
Price and Availability of the Apple Watch Series 5
The Apple Watch Series 5 can be ordered now, it will be released on September 20th. The price: 399 US dollars – for the same price brought the manufacturer from Cupertino and the Apple Watch Series 4 in the trade.
In addition to the Apple Watch Series 5: That was still on the Apple Keynote
In addition to the Apple Watch Series 5, the US group has presented other products. Including three new iPhone 11 series, a new iPad and new streaming services.
Previous articleNew 10.2-inch iPad: price and details of the seventh generation
Next articleiPhone 11, 11 Pro and Pro Max: New Apple smartphones price, specification and comparison
Kamal Saini
Kamal S. has been Journalist and Writer for Business, Hardware and Gadgets at Revyuh.com since 2018. He deals with B2b, Funding, Blockchain, Law, IT security, privacy, surveillance, digital self-defense and network policy. As part of his studies of political science, sociology and law, he researched the impact of technology on human coexistence. Email: kamal (at) revyuh (dot) com
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Is your business prepared for the zombie apocalypse?
The BBC is today reporting that Leicester City Council has been forced to admit it is unprepared for an attack by hordes of flesh-eating zombies following a Freedom of Information request.
According to the Beeb, the council's information governance head Lynn Wyeth said she was "unaware" of any contingency plans to deal with a zombie invasion in the East Midlands.
Wyeth added that existing elements of the council's emergency plan could be pressed into service should the worst happen.
Of course, in the event that the dead did rise from the grave, you could expect to see an immediate impact on UK Plc as terrified employees barricaded themselves into their homes to wait out the zombie apocalypse.
The cost to the economy could run into the billions, a spokesman from the FPB would say.
The past few weeks have seen a number of increasingly severe zombie attacks following the release of a seemingly unstoppable virus from a secret laboratory. As the government declares martial law and the Royal Family are evacuated to New Zealand, Daftcon, the leading provider of video and remote working solutions to UK firms, is encouraging businesses to ensure that they enable workers to continue to do their jobs remotely. Equipping them in this way will enable organisations to avoid the risk of productivity being impacted, loss of earnings and giving competitors the upper hand.
Jeff Quoteable, Product Director of Video and IP at Daftcon said: "Today's disruption serves as yet another reminder that businesses need to put contingency plans in place to deal with unforeseen events. If workers are trapped in their homes by the ravenous minions of the damned and are unable to travel to meetings or to the office, the effects on project deadlines and productivity can be considerable.
"Yet this can often be avoided, by employing remote collaboration tools, such as videoconferencing, teleconferencing and desktop sharing, which allow workers to meet up virtually and avoid the possibility of infection from zombified colleagues. Workers that are barricaded in airports or stations could even continue to work by securely connecting to a Virtual Private Network over Wi-Fi."
"Companies that already use remote collaboration tools on a daily basis will be well aware of the cost and time savings that can be generated by meeting virtually. Significant reductions can be made to the amount of time that staff spend travelling to and from meetings, and the cost of flights and train tickets can also be cut. All businesses face unexpected disruption like this from time to time, yet while it may be impossible to predict the next big event that will impact your business, that does not mean that you cannot prepare for it in advance."
Daftcon is opening up its demonstration telepresence suites in London, Reading and Manchester to customers stranded by the zombie hordes.
"Daftcon wants to give stranded customers the ability to continue mission-critical business and visual collaboration is a very good way to work around the travel restrictions because HD-quality face-to-face meetings can continue to take place," said Quoteable.
Customers interested in taking up this special offer should be sure to equip themselves with rudimentary weaponry and supplies of tinned food. To avoid military curfew restrictions you are also advised to travel at night.


Holy smokes. What was the question they were answering? It seems to be "Describe the various ways in which you expect the world to be a dystopia by 2000." Although the young man af 4:05 nailed it about the animals, and I was glad to see by the end at least a couple of them were looking forward to more harmonious relationships between peoples of different ethnic and social backgrounds.
Couldn't agree more... and evidenced by us all getting on... Nigerian Dave, Indian DETSCHS, Peruvian you, English me... and the multitudes of others who occasionally contribute to the comments section.
I used to joke back when I was a teen that I was racist cause I thought black people were awesome and I would assume you were cool if you were black.
All of thes kids grew up in abject poverty and tiny houses by today's standards. In terms of financials and way of life the world has vastly improved beyond their wildest expectations. Did they imagine that every human being would have a complex computer that fit in their pocket and allowed them to communicate with anyone on Earth across vast distances for free?..... Don't listen to the political hacks who tell you how bad your life is. The world is doing just fine. Life is much better off today than it was for these kids, half of whom probably died in war.


I baked some cupcakes. So light and fluffy, lemony, intensely delicious, originally vegan. I used a great recipe from 'Veganomicon' by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
They contain lots of lemon juice and zest and vanilla. I used macadamia oil instead of butter. The batter was runny, but the lemon, bicarb soda, milk (I semi de-veganised it) and baking powder sort of did their chemical thing and it all set firm, but light, with a nice translucent crumb.
No one would believe they had no egg inside. 'What's the frosting?', I hear you ask. Cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest.


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Tolko and Pinnacle Renewable Energy partner on another pellet project
A new era is about to launch at Tolko's High Level Lumber division as Tolko and Pinnacle Renewable Energy once again partner to deliver a state-of-the-art pellet plant that will reduce our carbon footprint and bring economic, employment, and other spinoff benefits to the community. Construction on the project,
Wildfire Smoke Impacting Northwestern Ontario
Across Northwestern Ontario, smoke from wildfires is impacting the region. The smoke from fires in the Red Lake District are drifting across the province. There are air quality alerts in effect for the Kenora region, Red Lake, Sandy Lake, Pikangikum, Ear Falls, Pickle Lake, Sioux Lookout and down into Thunder
Emerald ash borer confirmed in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec. This finding is outside of the current regulated areas for EAB in Canada. After assessing the situation and evaluating the risk of EAB spreading to the adjacent territories, CFIA decided to expand
Plans to save threatened B.C. caribou on hold as NDP mends fences
CBC NEWS/CNW — Premier John Horgan's New Democrats continue to face widespread criticism in northeast British Columbia over the government's attempts to introduce plans to save threatened caribou herds. Political friends and foes say deep concerns remain about plans to save jobs and the caribou, calling last month's introduction of
New Great Lakes Protection Agreement
TORONTO — Ontario is protecting what matters most by addressing threats to Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem health to safeguard this vital resource and habitat, as committed to in the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan. "Our Great Lakes are the foundation of Ontario's economic prosperity and wellbeing, but they are increasingly facing
Boat Harbour closure looms, premier hopeful
CBC News — Premier Stephen McNeil says he has "a responsibility to look at all possibilities" if the company that operates the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County, N.S., can present an environmentally-sustainable plan for a new treatment facility. Legislation passed by McNeil's government in 2015 says the effluent treatment lagoons
NB forest sector avoids extra duties
CBC News — New Brunswick forest companies will not be hit with extra duties from the United States because of low property taxes charged on privately owned timberland in the province. In a decision released last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce ruled New Brunswick assesses forest properties for taxes


1 May 2018 – Local town centres could be given a new lease of life through new 'Renewal Deals' and a Challenge Fund, according to a new report published by the Committee for Sydney.
Town centres across Sydney that are struggling as jobs move into major centres like Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, must be made vibrant, economically viable locations if Sydney is to deliver on a '30-minute city' where everyone can access services and jobs within 30 minutes of their house.
To achieve this, the Committee is calling for the establishment of 'Town Centre Renewal Deals', a smaller version of the City Deal recently announced in Western Sydney, which would act as a partnership between State Government, the Greater Sydney Commission, Local Governments and major private sector stakeholders in individual town centres.
Local Governments would be able to bid for a new NSW Government 'Town Centre Renewal Challenge Fund', which would provide funding and statutory support to local authorities and communities that can demonstrate their commitment to renewal. The fund would undertake a competitive process to identify town centres where Local Government and community have a vision for achieving best practice renewal and permit a variety of town centre growth investments including affordable housing, infrastructure funding, business investment and joint venture projects.
A diversity of people – working, living and playing in the town centre.
Local jobs and businesses, including start-ups and diverse industries.
A vibrant night-time economy and cultural options.
Key social infrastructure including schools, libraries, health facilities, leisure facilities, child play spaces, and public open space.
The report's recommendations are the findings of a Town Centre Renewal Taskforce, coordinated by the Committee for Sydney and represented by over twenty-five organisations from the public and private sectors. The Taskforce was established to create new ideas for making town centres more economically dynamic and environmental appealing, whilst also being more pedestrian-friendly and centred on public transport accessibility.
The Chair of the Taskforce is Kerry Robinson, General Manager of Blacktown City Council and Deputy Chair is Dominic Sullivan, PAYCE Director.
That special purpose Town Centre Delivery Vehicles be established to drive the redevelopment of individual town centres.
That baseline data across a range of indicators is captured for use in ongoing evaluation and analysis.
"Our local town centres are the heart of our local communities. A growing Sydney means we need to refocus our efforts in renewing older town centres as productive, efficient, dynamic and people-centric places. The proposed Renewal Deals are a recognition of the collaboration required between communities, all levels of Government and the private sector in realising our aspirations for exciting and diverse local town centres.


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Q: If $X$ is a nontrivial random variable, then $\left|\operatorname E\left[e^{{\rm i}Xy_n}\right]\right|<1$ for some $y_n\xrightarrow{n\to\infty}0$ Let $X$ be a nontrivial real-valued random variable on a probability space $(\Omega,\mathcal A,\operatorname P)$. Why can we find a sequence $(y_n)_{n\in\mathbb N}\subseteq\mathbb R$ with $$0<\left|\operatorname E\left[e^{{\rm i}Xy_n}\right]\right|<1\tag1\;\;\;\text{for all }n\in\mathbb N$$ and $y_n\xrightarrow{n\to\infty}0$?
We've clearly got $$0<\left|\operatorname E\left[e^{{\rm i}Xy_n}\right]\right|\le\operatorname E\left[\left|e^{{\rm i}Xy_n}\right|\right]=1\tag2\;\;\;\text{for all }y\in\mathbb R.$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange