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Media Matters: April 7, 2003
April 07, 2003 00:00 GMT
7 April 2003, Volume 3, Number 13
CPJ REPORTS 500 CASES OF REPRESSION IN 120 COUNTRIES IN 2002. The number of journalists behind bars rose sharply in 2002, while heightened awareness of journalist safety and a decline in the number of global conflicts last year contributed to a decrease in the number of journalists killed, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported in its annual "Attacks on the Press" on 26 March (see "End Note" below). The report documents some 500 cases of media repression in 120 countries, including assassinations, assaults, imprisonments, censorship, and legal harassment. Although the number of journalists behind bars rose in 2002, there were some positive episodes. In Russia, imprisoned military journalist Grigorii Pasko was released in January before completing his full term "for good behavior." The entire text of the report will be available on 31 March at http://www.cpj.org. CC
AL-JAZEERA BARRED FROM NASDAQ. The Nasdaq stock exchange in New York has rejected accreditation applications from business correspondents Ammar Shankari and Ramzi Shiber, who work for the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, the CPJ reported on 26 March. The two journalists applied for accreditation after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) pulled their press accreditations on 25 March, claiming it wanted to reduce the number of journalists on the exchange floor and to give priority to financial networks and their reporters. The Al-Jazeera journalists were the only reporters expelled from the NYSE. A Nasdaq spokeswoman confirmed that the journalists' applications were denied, but would not provide further comment. The "Los Angeles Times" quoted Nasdaq spokesman Scott Peterson on 25 March as saying that "in light of Al-Jazeera's recent conduct during the war, in which they have broadcast footage of U.S. POWs in alleged violation of the Geneva Convention, they are not welcome to broadcast from our facility at this time." The spokeswoman told CPJ that she could neither "confirm nor deny" Peterson's statement. In a 30 March editorial, "The New York Times" labeled the Nasdaq decision "repugnant," pointing out that "Al-Jazeera is the only independent broadcasting voice in the Arab world, watched by 35 million people." CC
FBI INVESTIGATES HACKER ATTACK ON AL-JAZEERA SITE. The FBI has initiated an investigation into a hacker attack on the website of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television (http://english.aljazeera.net), pressetext.Europe reported on 28 March, citing the BBC. Hackers had apparently used a fake entry in the name service to direct traffic from the site to another website. Visitors who tried to log onto the site saw U.S. flags bearing the message "Let Freedom Ring," and visitors to the Arabic website were redirected to a pornographic website. The station has called the incident an attack on the freedom of the press. While the Arabic site has gone up again, the relaunch of the regular English portal will be delayed until April, the BBC reported. CC
KABUL ADMINISTRATION 'INCENSED' BY TREATMENT OF JOURNALISTS IN HERAT... Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Abdul Hamid Mobarez said on 26 March that the Afghan Transitional Administration is "incensed by the way in which newsmen are treated in Herat" and demanded that authorities in that province allow reporters to "resume their work," "The Kabul Times" reported. Mobarez said laws guaranteeing press freedoms in Afghanistan are in full force, and he urged Herat Province Governor Ismail Khan to "revise his attitude and restore freedom atmosphere in the ancient city of Herat." Alluding to reports that Ismail Khan has targeted journalists critical of his administration, Mobarez asked why other officials should be immune from criticism when Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai, for instance, accepts it. Mobarez was responding to reports of the assault and detention -- allegedly on Ismail Khan's orders -- of a reporter for RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on 19 March, "The Kabul Times" reported. Ismail Khan has labeled as "traitors" Radio Free Afghanistan reporter Ahmad Behzad and correspondents who have supported him, "The Kabul Times" reported. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March)
...WITH SENTIMENTS ECHOED BY INFORMATION AND CULTURE MINISTER. Information and Culture Minister Sayyed Makhdum Rahin expressed concern over the Behzad case and the ensuing protests of other journalists, Radio Afghanistan reported on 27 March. Rahin said he is in contact with authorities in Herat Province to ensure that journalists are free to carry out their work. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March)
HISTORIC BOOKS RECEIVE A HELPING HAND. In order to save Afghanistan's historic literature, New York University has began a program to digitize all books and pamphlets printed in that country from 1871 to 1930 in what is called the Afghanistan Digital Library project, "The New York Times" reported on 29 March. Most of Afghanistan's surviving historic documents are scattered in private hands or in libraries around the globe. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 1 April)
PARLIAMENT SHELVES DEBATE ON MEDIA BILL. At the request of the Armenian government, the parliamentary leadership on 31 March postponed until 15 April a scheduled debate on a controversial media bill, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau and Noyan Tapan reported. No reason was given for the postponement. Meanwhile, some journalists congregated outside the parliament building on 31 March to protest the bill, criticizing it as "undemocratic" and accusing the Armenian leadership of seeking to restrict freedom of speech. The bill requires media outlets to disclose their sources of funding and empowers courts to demand that journalists reveal their sources of information. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April)
KRISHNA BOOKS TO BE DESTROYED AS RELIGION OFFICIAL DENIES CENSORSHIP. Twenty thousand copies of a Hare Krishna booklet imported into Azerbaijan in 1996 and held by customs since that time have been earmarked for destruction by the State Committee for Relations with Religious Organizations (SCRRC), Forum 18 News Service reported on 28 March. SCRRC Chairman Rafik Aliyev has recently denied that religious literature is censored in Azerbaijan. CC
FORMER PREMIER SUES JOURNALIST. On 26 March, former Premier Viktor Orban filed a lawsuit against journalist Laszlo Juszt, "Nepszabadsag" reported. The suit was filed one week after a court ruled against Juszt in a lawsuit brought by FIDESZ Deputy Chairman Laszlo Kover that obliged Juszt to issue an apology for having claimed that the FIDESZ official used pejorative terms in reference to Jews. In the same article, published in the daily "Nepszava" in October 2002, Juszt alleged that Orban has also used anti-Semitic language in public. The former premier's lawyers said the allegation has no basis, offends his dignity, and could damage Orban's reputation. Juszt's lawyer said the claim is based on facts and noted that Hungarian courts have yet to admonish anyone for using anti-Semitic language. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March)
BBC CAMERAMAN KILLED IN IRAQ. Kaveh Golestan, an Iranian freelance cameraman on assignment for the BBC, was killed on 2 April in northern Iraq after stepping on a landmine, the CPJ reported. Golestan accidentally detonated the mine when he exited his car near the town of Kifri, John Morrissey of the BBC's foreign desk told CPJ. The cameraman was part of a four-member BBC crew that included Tehran bureau chief Jim Muir, producer Stuart Hughes, and a translator. Hughes' foot was injured, and he was later treated by U.S. military medics. Golestan, who was also a well-known still photographer, often worked with the BBC out of its Tehran bureau. Golestan is at least the third journalist killed since the military operation in Iraq began on 19 March. Last week, a fourth journalist died in northern Iraq after falling off a hotel roof in an apparent accident. CC
CPJ MEETS WITH U.S. CENTCOM IN TV-TARGETING INQUIRY... As part of its ongoing inquiry into the 25 March bombing of Iraqi State Television, CPJ representatives met on 2 April with the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Doha, Qatar, the CPJ reported on 2 April. CENTCOM informed CPJ that the United States carried out the attack because "the same transmitting equipment being used for radio and television reports is being used for command and control; any time [the Iraqi military] wants to give orders, they transmit via the broadcast signal." CENTCOM alleged that "radio and TV transmitters are being used to give command and control for things like antiaircraft batteries." The CPJ is continuing its investigation into the incident and has asked for a full explanation from U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. CC
...AND INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION PETITIONED TO INVESTIGATE AS WELL. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on 2 April called on the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission to investigate the U.S.-led coalition's bombing of Iraqi State Television as a possible violation of international humanitarian law. The RSF request is the first time the commission has been petitioned since it was set up in 1991 under the First Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions with a mandate to investigate any alleged major violation of international humanitarian law. RSF called on the Berne-based commission to seek consent from all sides to investigate the bombing of Iraqi television headquarters and the Iraqi Information Ministry building on 25, 29, and 30-31 March. Although no one was reported injured, the ground floor of the ministry was badly damaged. CC
FOUR MISSING JOURNALISTS ARRIVE IN JORDAN... Four journalists -- freelance photographer Molly Bingham; Johan Rydeng Spanner, a freelance photographer with the Danish daily "Jyllands Posten"; and correspondent Matthew McAllester and photographer Moises Saman, both with "Newsday" -- who were missing in Iraq since 24 March have been released and sent to Jordan, the CPJ reported on 1 April. The CPJ was unable to learn where the journalists were held for eight days. CC
...AS TWO OTHERS MISSING, FEARED DEAD. The International Press Institute (IPI) on 3 April expressed concern that the U.S.-led coalition is not conducting inquiries into the circumstances of two Independent Television News (ITN) journalists who disappeared on 22 March. According to IPI, the ITN crew was traveling in two jeeps marked "TV" on 22 March when they came under heavy fire near Basra. ITN reporter Terry Lloyd was killed in the incident. Cameraman Daniel Demoustier was injured, but managed to escape. French cameraman Frederic Nerac and Lebanese interpreter Hussein Othman, who were traveling with the ITN team, are missing and are feared dead. After the attack, Demoustier said the ITN crew realized they were driving toward Iraqi lines, turned back, and allegedly were fired upon by coalition tanks. The U.K. Defense Ministry and CENTCOM subsequently announced plans to conduct inquiries into the disappearance of the two journalists. An official inquiry into Lloyd's death has been concluded, although without a determination on responsibility for his death. The IPI called on the United States and Great Britain to carry out a complete investigation of this incident and to make their findings public as soon as possible. CC
TWO IRANIAN JOURNALISTS RELEASED FROM IRAQI DETENTION... Two Iranian journalists -- television producer Ali Montazeri and cameraman Abdel Reza Abbasi -- who were reportedly detained by plainclothes Iraqi officers have been released and are en route to Tehran, said Salwa Khazem of the Dubai Business Channel, for which the journalists were working, the CPJ reported on 26 March. The journalists were detained earlier this week after arriving in Iraq from Iran by boat, Khazem said. Sultan Sulieman, an editor for Al-Hayat-LBC in Beirut, for which the journalists were also on assignment, told the CPJ that soldiers in civilian clothing detained the journalists, who were filming on Iraq's Al-Faw Peninsula. CC
...AND TWO REPORTERS ARRESTED BY IRAQI AUTHORITIES... The Iraqi authorities have placed Australian reporter Peter Wilson and photographer John Feder under house arrest at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad for alleged passport violations, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported on 2 April. Both reporters have had their satellite phones confiscated and are prohibited from filing stories. CC
...WHILE ANOTHER WANTS TO RETURN TO IRAQ. The IFJ on 2 April called on the Iraqi government to allow Australian journalist Ian McPhedran to return to Iraq following his expulsion from Baghdad. McPhedran said he was told by officials he had "broken the rules" and must pack his bags, pay his bills, and leave the country. Reportedly, McPhedran has already left Iraq. CC
COALITION ASKED TO INVESTIGATE ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on 31 March accused U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq of showing "contempt" for journalists covering the war in Iraq. The RSF called on coalition authorities to conduct an internal investigation into the treatment of the press and to publicize the results. Four non-embedded journalists -- two Israelis, Dan Scemama and Boaz Bismuth, and two Portuguese, Luis Castro and Victor Silva -- accused U.S. military police of giving them "the worst 48 hours in our lives" after arresting them on 25 March while they were sleeping near a U.S. unit between the towns of Karbala and Najaf. Although they were carrying press cards, they were allegedly threatened, mistreated, and held in a jeep for 36 hours without being able to communicate with their news organizations or their families. CC
CENTCOM BRIEFING FOCUSES ON COALITION BROADCASTS TO IRAQI PEOPLE. A U.S. CENTCOM briefing on 1 April in Doha, Qatar, focused on the delivery of coalition information to the Iraqi people through television and radio broadcasts. Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, deputy director of operations at CENTCOM, told reporters that the United States has been conducting radio broadcasts into Iraq 24 hours a day since around 17 February on five frequencies. The United States is also operating a television station. British forces, he noted, have recently launched radio broadcasts in southern Iraq. "Recent captures of enemy prisoners of war say that the broadcasts are readily accessible and they are also very popular," Brooks added. In addition to the radio and television broadcasts, CENTCOM is continuing with its leaflet campaign, adjusting messages to the Iraqi people as warranted, Brooks said. Asked why the broadcasts have not led to high-ranking military defections, Brooks replied, "The regime is still present in many areas, and it is the regime and the brutality of the regime that keeps many people from taking the steps that they would like to take." He added, "This is a very high-risk proposition for military leaders who would decide they're not going to fight for the regime, or civilians that would rise up against the regime." ("RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April)
KUWAITI PAPER REPORTS IRAQ PLACING TRANSMITTERS IN HOLY SITES. Iraq has placed television transmitters in the shrine of the Musa Kadhim (Seventh Imam of Shia Muslims) in Khadimayn, near Baghdad, IRNA reported on 27 March, quoting the Kuwaiti daily "Al-Ray al-Amm." The Kuwaiti paper claimed Baghdad is trying to provoke U.S. and U.K. forces to attack the shrine and thus enrage Iraq's Shia population. The report added that the transmitters allegedly placed in the shrine were made in Germany and imported via Syria. It is not clear from the report whether the transmitters in question were imported prior to the outbreak of the current conflict on 20 March. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March)
COURT CONVICTS TWO IN NEWSPAPER ARSON CASE... Almaty's Medeu Raion Court has sentenced two unemployed men to three years' imprisonment for their role in setting fire to the offices of the independent newspaper "Delovoe obozrenie respublika" in March 2002, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 26 March. Meierbek Uristinbekov and Muhitdin AbduAliyev must also pay court costs and compensation to Muratbek Ketebaev, a founder of the consulting firm that published the newspaper. The court asserted that the arsonists were paid to set the fire by "a person resembling Ketebaev." A separate case has been opened against the alleged contractor of the arson attack. The international human rights community and foreign observers of the media scene in Kazakhstan have pointed to the "Delovoe obozrenie respublika" case as evidence of the harassment of the country's independent and opposition media, implying that the authorities might have been involved in the attack. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March)
...BUT PUBLISHER AND EDITOR WILL APPEAL RULING... Ketebaev and "Delovoe obozrenie respublika" Editor Irina Petrushova plan to appeal the court's decision, the CPJ reported on 28 March. They do not believe that Uristinbekov and AbduAliyev are responsible for the crime. Petrushova was the recipient of the CPJ's 2002 International Press Freedom Award. CC
...AND PAPER HAS LONG HISTORY OF HARASSMENT. Editor Petrushova has since changed the name of "Delovoe obozrenie respublika" to "Assandi Times" after a court order for the closure of her newspaper, the CPJ reported. The weekly "Delovoe obozrenie respublika" and Petrushova have long been subjected to politically motivated harassment, including receipt of an anonymously sent funeral wreath in March 2002. Two months later, a few days before the paper's firebombing, a decapitated dog's corpse was found at the office. In July 2002, the Almaty Interdistrict Economic Court ordered the liquidation of the firm PR-Konsalting, which publishes the newspaper. The court found that PR-Konsalting had continued to publish the paper despite an 10 April court ruling that suspended it for allegedly violating administrative regulations such as failing to display the date the paper was registered and its registration number. CC
PRESIDENT ASSESSES PRESS FREEDOM. Speaking to the first session of the Public Council on the Mass Media on 31 March, Nursultan Nazarbaev warned that freedom of speech does not mean a lack of control, or convey the right to damage reputations, or free the media from their responsibility to society, khabar.kz reported. Listing Kazakhstan's achievements in guaranteeing freedom of speech, Nazarbaev included the recent law on the mass media, the abolition of censorship and of the state monopoly in the media, tax breaks for broadcast and print media, and the distribution of government procurement orders to both state and private media. The president asserted that 80 percent of Kazakhstan's media are independent and asked that the media work in partnership with government officials. He expressed the hope that disputes between the state and the media can be dealt with in a civilized way. The country's independent journalists would likely disagree with much, if not all, of Nazarbaev's assessment, seeing it as justification for restrictive government policies and harassment of critical journalists. The council was set up in December, and it comprises government officials, representatives of the mass media, and parliamentarians. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 1 April)
TEMPORARY MEDIA COMMISSIONER WILL NOT ISSUE NEW BROADCAST LICENSES. Kosova's temporary media commissioner announced on 28 March that no new broadcast licenses will be issued until a new body, the Independent Media Commission, has been established, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported in a press release. The independent institution of the temporary media commissioner was established on 17 June 2000. It acts as the regulatory agency for broadcast media and is responsible for the implementation of a temporary licensing regime. CC
HIZB UT-TAHRIR LITERATURE FOUND IN NORTH. Quoting Kyrgyzstan's National Security Service, the pro-government daily "Vechernii Bishkek" has reported that leaflets produced by the banned Muslim extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir were recently distributed in the major towns of Issyk-Kul Oblast in northern Kyrgyzstan, according to centrasia.ru on 2 April. More than 100 leaflets were handed in to the security service in Cholpon-Ata, the major resort on Lake Issyk-Kul, alone. Five young people were reportedly detained on suspicion of having been involved in distribution of the leaflets, but were released when nothing was found during searches of their homes. Despite the efforts of the authorities, Hizb ut-Tahrir has apparently gained many adherents, and its literature appears regularly in southern Kyrgyzstan, usually seen as the most pious part of the country. In August 2002, the National Security Service said Hizb ut-Tahrir had extended its activities to northern Kyrgyzstan, launching a recruitment drive in Chu, Issyk-Kul, and Naryn oblasts. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April)
CD-PIRACY RATE REMAINS HIGH. During a visit to Latvia on 19 and 20 March, Universal Music International Vice President Thomas Hedstrom claimed that Latvia has the highest level of music piracy of the 10 EU candidate countries, BNS reported. Although official data show that pirated music comprises some 70 percent of the retail music market, Hedstrom said the actual percentage might even reach 90 percent. He suggested that Latvia should follow Estonia's example and stiffen penalties for traders in pirated music, as well as set punishments for purchasers. ("RFE/RL Baltic States Report," 31 March)
GOVERNMENT EXPANDS TAX ON BOOKS. Despite objections from Finance Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, the government decided on 17 March that to place a 5 percent value-added tax (VAT) on the purchase of textbooks, science literature, children's books, and first editions of translations from foreign languages as of 1 January 2004, LETA reported. These books are currently exempt from VAT, but there is an 18 percent VAT on the purchase of other books. Dombrovskis had called for the imposition of a 9 percent VAT. ("RFE/RL Baltic States Report," 31 March)
FREE (HATE) SPEECH? The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has agreed to continue investigating the appeal by Danute Balsyte-Lideikiene for an alleged violation of her right to free speech, BNS reported on 19 March. Lideikiene claims that a Vilnius court decision to fine her 1,000 litas ($250) and to confiscate all copies of the 2000 Calendar of Lithuania that she compiled and published violated her right of free speech. The Vilnius court ruled that comments and statements in the calendar reflect a radical nationalist ideology and contain anti-Semitic phrases. ("RFE/RL Baltic States Report," 31 March)
JOURNALIST'S BODY IDENTIFIED. The remains of journalist Iosif Costina, who disappeared in June last year, have been identified by Costina's dentist, who was able to recognize dental work he performed on Costina some time before he vanished, Mediafax reported on 26 March. Costina's remains were found last week near a railway track in a village in the vicinity of Timisoara. Some tranquilizers were also found near the body, and media have speculated that they were planted there in an attempt to make it look as though Costina committed suicide. Costina was an active participant in the 1989 Timisoara uprising, was active in attempts to publicly identify former Securitate informers, and was working on a book on the Timisoara underworld. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March)
ANTI-U.S. RATINGS GAME? No Russian media outlets support the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, "The Moscow Times" reported on 2 April. The more popular outlets -- such as the dailies "Moskovskii komsomolets," "Komsomolskaya pravda," and television stations ORT and RTR -- are most explicit in their anti-U.S. statements, while other media outlets attempt to provide more balanced coverage. According to RFE/RL's Russian Service television analyst Anna Kachkaeva, the media are turning the war into a ratings game. RTR beat its competitors by being the first to report the 20 March start of air strikes, while the next day ORT began around-the-clock war coverage. A few days later, "The Moscow Times" reported, television channels upped their rhetoric. For example, ORT several times used the term "occupation forces" to describe the U.S. and British troops. Although NTV and TVS provide heavy coverage of global antiwar protests, they still attempt to deliver more balanced coverage, in Kachkaeva's view. Newspapers have few reporters in the war zone and rely on Moscow-based journalists for news and opinion pieces that are generally long on sympathy for the Iraqis and short on "triumphal statements uttered by U.S. and British generals," according to "The Moscow Times." CC
RUSSIAN EXPERTS ANALYZE WASHINGTON'S FAILURE TO WIN THE INFORMATION WAR. Participants in a roundtable discussion of the military campaign in Iraq broadcast on Russia's ORT on 26 March concluded that the United States has so far failed to win the "information war" against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in part because Iraqi spokespeople have learned from their mistakes during the 1991 Gulf War. In addition, Iraq has enjoyed both covert and overt media and public support from Germany, France, Russia, and China, noted Major General Aleksandr Sharavin, director of the Moscow Institute of Military and Political Analysis. Moreover, political scientist Aleksandr Tsypko said the official line of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has come under strong partisan criticism from U.S. media outlets that he alleged are sympathetic to the Democratic Party. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March)
RUSSIA RESPONDS SHARPLY TO U.S. ACCUSATIONS OF POOR PRESS-FREEDOM RECORD. The Media Ministry on 1 April denounced an annual report by the U.S. State Department that criticizes Russia for its human rights record and, particularly, for violations of press freedom, newsru.com and RIA-Novosti reported on 2 April. "The Media Ministry sarcastically receives efforts by the U.S. foreign-policy agency to present Russia as a country without a free press," the ministry's press release said. "The statements of American officials claiming that there are limitations of the rights and freedom of [Russian] citizens to access information have a particular piquantness against the background of the ongoing military operation of American forces in Iraq. Concerning the behavior of U.S. spokespeople in explaining the military conflict, we have all been witnesses to the biased distribution of information and to violations of the rights of journalists leading to the delusion of the American people." ("RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April)
SPAM BECOMES TOOL IN CAMPAIGN BATTLES. The latest in dirty tricks being used by political operatives is spam, or unwanted and unsolicited electronic mail, polit.ru reported on 27 March. According to the website, the latest example of this occurred on 26 March when an e-mail purporting to be from Yabloko Duma Deputy Sergei Mitrokhin was widely distributed. Mitrokhin's staff denied that he sent the message and described it as an attempt to discredit him in the eyes of the Internet community. Unified Russia has also been a target. A large number of Runet users received a large e-mail in the name of the pro-Kremlin party. According to "Vedomosti," tens of thousands of Internet users received an e-mail informing them about a drive to recruit new members for Unified Russia that included a false address for the sender. The party's Moscow office said the party had nothing to do with the e-mail and that it is taking all possible measures to identify the "provocateurs." ("RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March)
SUCCESSOR PUBLICATION TO 'NOVYE IZVESTIYA' TO APPEAR IN MAY. Many of the staff of the now-defunct newspaper "Novye izvestiya" will work at a new daily called "Rezonans" that will appear in May, "Gazeta" reported on 31 March. The last issue of "Novye izvestiya" appeared at the end of February, and the new publication will have a new editor in chief, Valerii Yakov, and a new sponsor, the Alyans group, which is headed by Musa Bazhaev. Yakov was deputy editor of "Novye izvestiya." Former Editor in Chief Igor Golembiovskii will become the head of a new publishing group called Mediapressa, which is owned by Yakov Soskin. Valerii Yakov told "Gazeta" the affair has ended with each party getting what it wanted and that the journalists have only fond memories of former "Novye izvestiya" owner Boris Berezovskii. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April)
CONTROVERSIAL RELIGIOUS SCHOOL TEXTBOOK UPHELD BY COURT. A Moscow district court on 24 March upheld an earlier decision by Moscow prosecutors, who twice refused to bring charges of inciting ethnic strife against the editor and publisher of the textbook "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture," the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) reported on 30 March. The textbook, which is recommended for use in Russian public schools by a joint panel of experts from the Education Ministry and the Russian Orthodox Church, argues that Jesus died because Jews were seeking "earthly well-being and power over other peoples" rather than spiritual values, according to JTA. The textbook authors have indicated that a second edition will take into account the views of human rights activists. Other religious leaders -- most notably Muslims -- have also voiced opposition to the introduction of the study of Orthodox Christianity into the curriculum of public schools. The textbook on Russian Orthodoxy was introduced last year in some Russian schools as part of a course on religious culture for sixth-graders. Although schools may choose whether to adopt the course, those that do are allowed to require students to take it. A document from the Education Ministry that outlined the basic elements of the course -- and opened the door to the controversial textbook -- was made public last fall. The Russian Orthodox Church is the only nonstate organization that has prepared its own textbook for use in public schools, the JTA noted. CC
IRAN DONATES 1,000 BOOKS TO KAZAN UNIVERSITY. The cultural representation of the Iranian Embassy in Russia on 26 March presented 1,000 Persian books to the Institute of Oriental Studies at Kazan State University, TatarInform reported the same day. ("RFE/RL Tatar Weekly," 28 March)
PROSECUTOR IN JOURNALIST'S SLAYING CASE SUSPENDED. Sinisa Simic, the public prosecutor responsible for the stalled investigation into the April 1999 killing of daily "Dnevni Telegraf" Editor in Chief Slavko Curuvija, has been temporarily suspended from his duties, the CPJ reported on 26 March, citing local press reports. Parliamentary speaker Natasa Micic, who also acts as Serbian president, ordered Simic's suspension on 21 March as part of a government crackdown on judges and prosecutors with suspected links to members of the powerful Zemun mafia clan that allegedly orchestrated the 12 March assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Simic was suspended two days after police arrested Deputy Public Prosecutor Milan Sarajlic. After Sarajlic's detention, Interior Ministry officials reported that he had confessed to being on the payroll of the Zemun mafia clan and allegedly had been obstructing inquiries into various killings, including the slaying of Curuvija. Rajko Danilovic, a lawyer representing the Curuvija family, told the CPJ on 26 March that "Simic was suspended because he wasn't careful enough in his supervision of Sarajlic." CC
MEDIA OUTLETS LINKED TO ASSASSINATION PLOT? Unidentified Serbian police sources told AP in Belgrade on 1 April that they are "closing in" on Milorad Lukovic "Legija," the former leader of the elite Red Berets unit and the prime suspect in organizing the 12 March assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic. Police noted the assassination "clearly points to a conspiracy led by war criminals and war profiteers...all from the ranks of [former President Slobodan] Milosevic's regime." Elsewhere, the government pledged to investigate charges that some media outlets might have had links to police, security, or criminal elements involved in the killing, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 1 April)
ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN. Turkmenistan, which on 19 March suspended daily two-hour retransmissions of Russia's ORT, resumed them after a six-day break, AP reported on 25 March. No explanation was offered either about why they were taken off the air or about why they were restored. Russian programming offers almost the only information about the war in Iraq -- or foreign news in general -- available to Turkmen citizens. Last week, Turkmen mass media offered extensive coverage of the Norouz holiday, which spanned 20-22 March according to a presidential decree. Programming featured with folk dancing and song festivals, but very little about the military operation in the Persian Gulf. ("RFE/RL Central Asia Report," 28 March)
PRESIDENT WANTS TESTS OF 'SIMPLY NONEXISTENT' MELNYCHENKO TAPES. President Leonid Kuchma told journalists in Kyiv on 26 March that the secret audio recordings allegedly made in his office by his former bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko should be examined in Ukraine and in accordance with Ukrainian laws, UNIAN reported. At the same time, Kuchma stressed that the Melnychenko tapes are "simply nonexistent," adding that now this topic is of interest only for the "Ukrayinska pravda" website and the politicians who gravitate to it. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March)
MARTIAL MEDIA MATTERS. Authorities in Uzbekistan have made sure that only pro-U.S. views about the military operation in Iraq -- which Tashkent shares -- are being expressed in the country's mass media. Other views, such as statements issued by Russia, China, France, and Germany, are simply not broadcast or published in Uzbekistan, and there has been no coverage of global antiwar protests. Foreign Minister Sodyq Safaev is said recently to have summoned the editors of major media outlets and instructed them not to report on the war from a pro-Russian point of view. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March)
GRANTS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS
IFJ LAUNCHES 2003 EUROPE PRIZE. On 18 March, The IFJ launched on 18 March its "Europe Prize: Journalism for a Changing World," the first truly Europe-wide prize entirely organized and judged by journalists, according to an IFJ press release. The Europe Prize seeks to promote excellence in journalism and foster wider awareness of the contribution that Europe makes to global social, environmental, and economic issues. The 2003 edition -- cofunded by the Network of European Foundations' European Drug Policy Fund -- will be awarded for reports on social, economic, and political impact of drug policy in Europe. See http://www.ifj.org for more details. CC
FELLOWSHIPS FOR THREATENED SCHOLARS. The Institute of International Education (IIE), the Open Society Institute, and the Scholars at Risk Network invite applications for 2003-04 academic-year fellowships from IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund, which supports scholars who are threatened with human rights violations. Academics, researchers, and independent scholars from any country, field, or discipline can qualify. Up to 25 fellowships will be awarded for 2003-04. Applications should be submitted no later than 23 April. See http://scholarsatrisk.uchicago.edu. CC
JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP IN CANADA. The organization Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) announced on 27 March its second annual Donner/CJFE Journalist-at-Risk Fellowship. CJFE, Massey College, and the Donner Foundation offer the fellowship for the 2003-04 academic year. It covers expenses for a foreign journalist to spend eight months at Massey College of the University of Toronto. Deadline for applications is 25 April. For more, contact Joel Ruimy at cjfe@cjfe.org. CC
INTERNET FREE-EXPRESSION CONFERENCE. Press freedom on the Internet is under threat and could be further weakened by proposals being considered for the World Summit on the Information Society in December, says the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC). In response, the WPFC is holding a conference in New York in June to rally support against such proposals. The WPFC is inviting journalists, media executives, lawyers, information service providers, and public-policy makers to the conference where a joint statement opposing any restrictions on Internet press freedom will be issued. For more, see http://www.wpfc.org. CC
CIS MEDIA CONFERENCE. Journalists and media experts from Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia will take part in a 9-10 April conference in Kyiv on the media situation in the former Soviet countries. The European Institute for the Media will hold the conference with the Independent Association of Broadcasters of Ukraine and the Ukraine branch of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. For more, contact eim@carrier.kiev.ua. CC
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM CONFERENCE IN DENMARK. The second international conference on investigative journalism and computer-assisted reporting is scheduled for 1-4 May in Copenhagen, Denmark. Conference organizers plan to form the first global network of investigative reporting associations. Journalists from 43 countries will study cross-border journalism, convergence and journalism investigations, and the latest methods of investigative reporting. Speakers from 35 countries have confirmed participation. See http://www.dicar.org/global2003. CC
CPJ REPORT CONDEMNS INCREASE IN NUMBER OF IMPRISONED JOURNALISTS, BUT NOTES FEWER KILLED IN 2002
By Antoine Blua
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on 26 March released its annual report on threats to press freedom around the world. According to the media watchdog, the number of imprisoned journalists rose sharply in 2002, while a decline in the number of global conflicts last year contributed to a decrease in the number of journalists killed.
In January 2002, a court in China sentenced journalist Jiang Weiping to eight years in prison. Jiang was arrested in December 2000 after writing a series of articles for the Hong Kong monthly "Qianshao" (Frontline) about corruption in northeast China. Although U.S. government and United Nations officials have demanded Jiang's release, there has been no progress in his case. Jiang is one of 39 journalists now imprisoned in China, making it the world's leading jailer of journalists for the fourth year in a row.
Jiang's case is one of hundreds highlighted in the CPJ annual report on the world's changing press freedom landscape. "Attacks on the Press in 2002" documents some 500 cases of media repression in 120 countries last year, including assassinations, assaults, imprisonments, censorship, and legal harassment.
Alex Lupis is the Europe and Central Asia coordinator at the CPJ, a New York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide. He said the CPJ report notes three general trends. First, the number of journalists imprisoned in retaliation for their work rose sharply for the second year in a row. "There were 136 journalists in jail at the end of 2002, which is a 15 percent increase from 2001, and a shocking 68 percent increase since the end of 2000, when only 81 journalists were imprisoned," Lupis said. "China is the world's leading jailer of journalists for the fourth year in a row now. They arrested five more journalists over the past year, and by the end of 2002 had some 39 journalists behind bars."
Secondly, the report found that 19 journalists were killed worldwide in 2002 as a direct result of their work, a sharp decrease from 2001, when 37 were killed. Lupis points out last year's figure is the lowest since the CPJ began tracking such deaths in 1985. According to a press release, a decline in the number of global conflicts last year contributed to the decrease. "Most of the journalists killed in 2002 were not covering conflicts, but were instead killed in retaliation for reporting on sensitive political issues, like government corruption in countries like Colombia, the Philippines, Russia, and Pakistan," Lupis said.
Third, Lupis noted, government officials are increasingly invoking "national security" concerns to legitimize new restrictions on the press and limit access to conflicts. The most prominent example was Russia's clampdown on the press following the disastrous Moscow theater hostage crisis in October. More than 120 hostages died after Russian forces used an opiate-based gas to incapacitate the Chechen fighters who had taken over the theater. Since then, Lupis stressed, the Kremlin has maintained a "very aggressive" policy of managing and restraining independent journalists.
Soria Blatman is the specialist for Europe of the Paris-based press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). She noted that the greatest limitations on press freedom in Europe in 2002 occurred in Russia. "We saw, for example, after the hostage-taking episode in Moscow, that Russian media have been punished for their coverage of this episode and, generally speaking, for all matters regarding Chechnya," Blatman said.
Broadly speaking, the trend in the former Soviet republics is negative and getting worse, Lupis maintains. This trend, he added, does not only materialize in government obstruction of media activities, but also in government unwillingness to punish individuals who retaliated against journalists. "Turkmenistan remains a horrible place [for journalists]," Lupis said. "We have no reports of any independent journalism there. Belarus, of course, [also] remains a horrible place. Several journalists were imprisoned last year in retaliation for criticizing President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. And, of course, press freedom conditions in Kazakhstan deteriorated significantly because of a state-sponsored campaign to intimidate journalists who criticized the government." In Uzbekistan, Lupis said, the government has maintained a firm grip on media outlets, although censorship was officially abolished in May 2002.
A report on European media freedom that was presented at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in January mentions instances of violence and murder against reporters in Armenia, Georgia, and Macedonia. Legal harassment in the form of defamation lawsuits or very high fines is also mentioned as a threat to the existence of a free media in countries such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.
The PACE report calls the number of journalists attacked or murdered in Russia and Ukraine "alarming." Tytti Isohookana-Asunmaa is the PACE rapporteur on freedom of expression in the media in Europe. "In some Eastern and Central European countries, there are difficulties with physical violence, because we know that, for instance, in Russia and in Ukraine, journalists have been killed...and some other [forms of] harassment happen constantly," Isohookana-Asunmaa said.
Although the number of journalists in prison rose in 2002, Lupis points out that there were some positive trends in press freedom, mostly in Central Europe. He says these came about largely as a result of efforts by regional governments to join organizations such as NATO and the European Union. "In Slovakia last year, they suspended parts of their criminal defamation laws," Lupis said. "In the Czech Republic [last] summer, there was an assassination attempt against a journalist, and the police responded quite strongly, which really stands in contrast to how the police have responded to such situations in the Balkans and in the former Soviet Union."
In July, Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov granted the Asia Plus news agency a broadcasting license, which it had been seeking for years. Lupis also characterizes that move as positive.
Antoine Blua is a Prague-based RFE/RL correspondent.
RFE/RL Archives


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Train stabbing suspect may use 'mental disease' defense
Originally published February 23, 2019 at 7:00 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An attorney for the man accused of fatally stabbing two men on a Portland light-rail train may use an insanity defense.
KGW-TV reports in documents filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Jeremy Christian's lawyer Greg Scholl writes he "intends to rely on the defense of mental disease or defect at the time of the charged conduct."
Authorities say Christian stabbed three people aboard a MAX train in May 2017 after they tried to intervene as Christian spewed anti-Muslim threats at two black teenage girls.
Scholl says Christian lacked the capacity to form the intent to commit his crimes. Scholl says Christian was also "suffering from an extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of the incident.
Christian has pleaded not guilty to the 15-count indictment that includes two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche.
Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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'Fort Hare's Alice Campus Clinic languishes without medication'
The campus clinic at the University of Fort Hare in Alice has received no medicines since the end of April this year, the dispensary is nearly bare, and there has not been a doctor since 2016, the Democratic Alliance (DA) claims.
"Students are forced to walk to town and queue for hours at the Victoria Gateway Clinic, or at the War Memorial Clinic, to be treated or collect chronic medication, causing them to miss out on critical lectures. This directly impacts on the academic success of students and the overall success of the university," said Jane Cowley (MPL), the DA's Eastern Cape Shadow MEC for Health.
"The external clinics are also taking strain as they have been equipped to deal with the influx of thousands of students that queue for medical attention.
"The university-run clinic is small, staffed by a clinic manager and three professional nurses, down from six nurses in the late nineties, when there were half the number of students."
Cowley said that the ongoing staff shortages and almost complete absence of medicines, despite an MOU with the Department of Health, has resulted in important wellness programmes, such as HIV and diabetes, grinding to a halt.
"The issues have been raised with the administration and the Dean of Students by both clinic staff and the Student Representative Council, but to date nothing been done," she added.
"The Dean of Students, Malinge Gqeba, has given his assurances that the paperwork has been completed for both the supply of medication and for the employment of a new doctor, and the arrival of both is imminent; promises the students say they have heard before."
Cowley also said that "the university 'ambulance' has become a delivery van, with no medical or emergency equipment on board and no qualified Emergency Medical Services professional staffed to drive it".
"This situation is simply unacceptable. The health and well-being of students on campus is a major contributor to their academic and social success, although the administration on campus clearly does not seem to think so.
"I have scheduled a meeting with Vice Chancellor, Sakhela Buhlungu, to discuss the issues facing the clinic and the wellness of students on campus," she added.
"Every person has the right to access adequate medical care and we will be monitoring the situation on the Alice campus closely to ensure that in issues of wellness, no student is left behind."
Prevent getting stuck in the middle of nowhere this holiday season


FPGA-SPICE is a simulation-based tool dedicated to accurate power estimation of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)1.
FPGA-SPICE is an extension to the Verilog-To-Routing (VTR) tool suite2 and is tightly integrated into the Versatile Placement and Routing (VPR) tool.
FPGA-SPICE aims at generating SPICE netlists of a wide range of FPGA architectures, enabling accurate power analysis.
The software flow used by FPGA-SPICE is shown below in Fig. 1.
The architectural description language of VPR3 is extended to provide rich transistor-level modeling parameters for FPGA modules.
FPGA-SPICE can automatically generate fine-grain elementary circuits, such as multiplexers and LUTs, but also support user-defined SPICE netlists of FPGA modules.
In order to follow the trend of emerging technologies, FPGA-SPICE also supports innovative architectures, such as RRAM-based circuit designs4.
FPGA-SPICE manages the simulation complexity, by offering three levels of simulations with different simulation time / accuracy tradeoffs.
Please click here to download. You will access a short on-line survey; after answering the questions you will be able to download the FPGA-SPICE package.
Please contact Mr. Xifan Tang for any questions you might have about FPGA-SPICE, at xifan dot tang at epfl dot ch.
 X. Tang et al., FPGA-SPICE: A Simulation-based Power Estimation Framework for FPGAs, ICCD 2015.
 J. Rose et al., The VTR Project: Architecture and CAD for FPGAs from Verilog to Routing, FPGA, 2012, pp. 77-86.
 J. Luu et al., Architecture Description and Packing for Logic Blocks with Hierarchy, Modes and Complex Interconnect, FPGA, pp. 227-236, 2011.
 X. Tang et al., A High-Performance Low-Power Near-Vt RRAM-based FPGA, FPT, pp. 207-214, 2014.


When you're in the performance trap you start defining yourself in terms of your own performance in the Christian life. This session will teach you to counsel in a way that helps your counselees come to depend more deeply on Christ rather than their own performance?
The focus of counseling must be to lead counselees into deeper relationship with Christ, not just to dispense biblical principles. They need to taste his goodness so that they are ruined for anything else. This session will help counselors teach their counselees to savor Christ.


Do Your Company's Customers Know Your Y2K Status?
Mainframe TN3270(e): How Do Various Solutions Stack up?
Microsoft Bets the Farm on Windows 2000: Will You Gamble Your Enterprise?
Are Management Frameworks Back on Top?
Pack up Your Troubles in a Cisco Deal, and Smile, Smile, Smile!
FTP: A Tool for Mainframe Environments?


TO DELIVER THE ULTIMATE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TO ALL OUR CLIENTS.
Brian is the business and project manager at the "nerve center" of our operation who by virtue of being in the UK, is able to connect with both the East and the West time-zones in any given 24 hour period.
Agung and Lex are both based in Southeast Asia, (Indonesia and Philippines respectively) and provide animation and graphic design skills that are out of this world.
Karen and Jeff are both based in the USA and their silky smooth voices, professionally recorded in high end studios, bring life to the bulk of our videos.
What this all means is when you work with us, you are dealing with a LEAN and EFFICIENT Machine that will create value for your business, at a fraction of the cost. We have no excess overheads, no excess employees and we create no waste . As a result, we are able to offer you really competitive rates that no-one can beat . We're proud of that.
But…don't take our word for it – Get a Quote today!
We only use the very latest technology and follow all new trends in our video production. When it comes to Creativity Products, we believe nothing beats the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of creative applications. That's what we use.


Featuring cocktail reception, dinner, raffles, silent and live auctions.
Auction co-chairs Lisa Dundas & David Roettgers and Christine Fenske-Eben & Eric Eben, invite you to an evening of celebration on Saturday, April 27th. Recognize the work St. Joan Antida High School (SJA) is doing today to prepare young women to transform tomorrow. SJA's not-to-miss event of the year will raise vital funding to support scholarships, academic programs, and critical operating needs of the school.
Parking: Valet parking will be available at SJA's Ogden Street entrance.
Entrance: SJA west doors, located on Ogden St.
Tickets are now available for sale online!
For information on purchasing a table of 8, 10 or 12 or sponsorship opportunities, contact Becca Surges at rsurges@saintjoanantida.org or at (414) 274-4710.
The Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida and the St. Joan Antida High School Board of Directors are pleased to announce the selection of Cecelia Gore as the recipient of the 2019 Trailblazer in Women's Leadership Award.
Cecelia Gore is a senior-level executive with extensive experience leading community/external affairs and foundation and sports philanthropy. She currently leads the Brewers Community Foundation, the charitable arm of the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, as Executive Director. Gore maintains operational excellence, consistently advising on innovative strategies which support efforts to achieve recognition as a strong corporate citizen, and engages in key initiatives that support the community.
Gore previously represented one of the largest and most active independent foundations in the history of Greater Milwaukee philanthropy, the Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation, where she led grant making and managed board relations. She has served as a board member and committee chair for numerous nonprofit organizations. Currently, Gore serves as a director for C. G. Schmidt, a family owned/private construction company, as well as Froedtert Hospital, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Sojourner Family Peace Center, Milwaukee Film, and Alverno College.
Campaign. Gore earned her BA and MBA from Alverno College and resides in Milwaukee, WI with her husband, Randy Bryant.
St Joan Antida High School's 26th Annual Auction: Women Learning. Women Leading is fast approaching. As the school's largest fundraiser, this event is expected to raise more than $215,000 for our students. It takes many hands to pull off an event like this, and we need your help to make it a successful evening.
Volunteers are needed on Saturday, April 27th, 3:30 PM to 9:30 PM. All volunteers will receive dinner and training.
Please RSVP using the form below or contact Carolyn Spath at cspath@saintjoanantida.org or by phone at (414) 274-4728.
We invite you to partner in our mission by supporting our 26th Annual Auction being held on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at St. Joan Antida High School. From a globally recognized college-preparatory curriculum to Milwaukee's only engineering program for young women, SJA continues to push the boundaries for our students. Whether you are interested in sponsoring the event, or prefer to donate an item for our silent auction, please consider making a gift today!
Suggested silent auction items can be found on our Amazon and Kohl's wish lists.
With your support, young women at SJA are discovering their potential today, so they can become the leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for your consideration of this request. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our team directly, at (414) 274-4728 or via email at cspath@saintjoanantida.org. Our young women are counting on your support.


Austin Avenue Flats is the finest full service apartment homes that are designed and operated to be a worry-free environment and meet the many facets of life. You will experience our "Best of Class" luxury living designed for today's busy living.
Situated in the Central Business District of downtown Waco, Texas, the Mary Avenue District is considered to be the premiere location for living and entertainment in Waco, and McLennan County. The Mary Avenue District, with boundaries at the Brazos River to the North, 11th Street to the South, I-35 to the East, and Waco Drive to the West is home to multiple businesses, living and entertainment uses that create a district where people eat, sleep, play and work.


Your Hilarious, I love your Profile.
ALWAYSBEFELIX has no current links.
Sunshine I want to know everything you're willing to tell me. I want to celebrate with you when you're happy and pull you out when you're sad. I want someone who will share their true feelings with me, and be open and honest, no matter what.


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Not all those who wander are lost. In the case of the Keenes, it is a way of life. Their journey from the US to Europe to Asia and back sparked a dream to impact the lives of kids and a vision to do so in a sustainable manner. Kyle and Sarah loved being outside of their comfort zone, both personally and professionally, but were surprised by how inaccessible pediatric therapy was in most communities they lived in. Utilizing Kyle's passion for entrepreneurship and Sarah's expertise in pediatric occupational therapy, they launched Project Play Therapy in 2016, in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee determined to fill that gap. The husband and wife team plugged away learning, advocating, and building their village. In 2017, the Keenes facilitated the acquisition of another pediatric practice owned by a local speech and language therapy legend, Helen Duhon.
The timing was right and this acquisition allowed Project Play to spread its wings from serving primarily clinic based kids to local school districts as well. Project Play grew rapidly over the course of the next few years and established itself in Middle Tennessee as a leader in pediatric therapy.
Kyle & Sarah are so proud of the resilience and adaptability Project Play has demonstrated over the years, much like the kids and families they serve. They have a big vision; believing that all children can reach their fullest potential….until they meet that, they will keep trying.
Our Mission, Vision & Impact
Our job is to help others see and celebrate each child's unique gifts. We open doors by fostering opportunities for growth and independence…through play.
Our MissionGrowth and Independence - Through Play!
Our vision guides us each day as we serve your child, support your family, and seek to grow our impact across the community.
Our VisionWe Believe All Children Can Reach Thair Fullest Potential
We serve 3000+ families each month, we are partnered with over 150 schools and our 170+ Project Play team members are helping us grow and impact more families in Tennessee.
Our ImpactOur Village is Growing
We Love Our Village
We put people first. It's not just about results, it's about relationships.
We Find Joy in the Hustle
We embrace the daily grind and dedication needed to spark sustainable impact.
We Change the Game
Our team of experts quarterback innovative solutions and challenge the status quo.
We Accept no Limits
We believe a growth mindset redefines what's possible for children, families, and professionals.
We Believe All Children Can Reach Their Fullest Potential


text:
package me.panavtec.threaddecoratedview.views.qualifiers;

import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

@Target(ElementType.TYPE) @Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
public @interface ThreadDecoratedView {
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Season Match games - Save the seasons and the kingdom on Zylom!
Challenge yourself with the Season Match games, unique combinations of 3-in-a-row and hidden object gameplay! Rescue the seasons and make sure it won't remain winter all year round, and save your brothers and sisters from the evil witch crow. If you want a relaxing game, you can choose to play without a time limit, but if you're in for some action, you can choose for the option to finish each level within a certain time frame.
Whatever you choose, the Season Match games will definitely challenge and entertain you for several hours. Levels alternate between exciting 3-in-a-row boards, where you have to click on groups of 3 or more of the same items, and puzzling hidden object scenes, where you have to search for cleverly hidden items. Different power-ups can help you in your quest, so make sure to use them carefully. Can you save the seasons and the kingdom? Prove your skills in the Season Match series!
Ring in the New Year by saving it in Season Match 3 - Curse of the Witch Crow Deluxe, a beautiful sequel in a magical world.
Save a magical kingdom in Season Match 2 Deluxe, an original combination of challenging three-in-a row puzzles and hidden object fun!
There are no reviews yet. Be the first to write a review about Season Match!


text:
Mergers and
Sale of a Business
Acquisition of a Business
Our TeamMark_Groulx2023-01-19T14:21:54+00:00
Your M&A Advisors:
Your Advisor for Selling or Buying a Canadian Business
Mark Groulx,
BComm, MBA – President
Mark is the President and founder of AIM Group Canada Ltd. He manages, supervises and oversees all aspects of the firm's transactions from origination through preparation, structuring, negotiation and closing.
Previously Mark had an extensive background in corporate and investment banking. Before founding AIM in 1990, Mark spent four years in London, England, where he was an investment banker at two sister firms, Orion Royal Bank and Libra Bank, both owned by Royal Bank of Canada. In these positions he marketed corporate finance products to U.S. corporations and European banks.
Prior to working in the U.K., Mark spent the first five years of his career as a corporate banker in Canada, with Bank of America and The First National Bank of Chicago.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and subsequently earned an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Andrea Poptsis,
HBA, MBA – Advisor
Andrea is an accomplished executive with extensive corporate finance experience. She has worked with numerous businesses for over 20 years both within the organizations as a senior finance and operations leader as well as a third party transaction Advisor.
She has worked on several M&A transactions with AIM Group where she has served as an advisor for over 15 years. Andrea has worked on numerous mergers & acquisition, restructuring and strategy projects both as an advisor and in-house.
Formerly, Andrea has held a number of senior positions with leading corporations in Canada and the UK including Pink Tartan/Tevrow+Chase, Virgin, Bell Canada, Pink Tartan and the Ontario Public Service.
Andrea holds an HBA from Ivey Business School and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Tim Weichel,
BA, MBA – Advisor
Tim Weichel brings extensive senior level leadership experience in Mid-Market Merger and Acquisitions to AIM Group Canada. His 35 years of experience include having been President of Carlton Cards and President of Canadian chocolate icon Laura Secord. Tim also served as Vice President of Regional Operations and as Vice President of Business Development for Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc.
His role at Laura Secord was to prepare the business for divestiture, and to create and deliver management presentations to prospective financial and strategic purchasers of the business. He was successful in selling the business to a private equity firm at an enhanced multiple. At Van Houtte, he was involved in the sale of the business from its publicly traded status to a private equity firm, and subsequently from private equity back to a publicly traded firm. While at Van Houtte, Tim was also responsible for six tuck-in acquisitions, and two non-core business divestitures.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Commerce and Finance from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Business Administration degree from York University.
Ruby Lougheed Yawney,
CPA, CA, Hons. BBA – Business Development
Ruby is an experienced business development professional focused on managing relationships with new and existing clients. She is passionate about helping clients achieve their objectives by providing strategic advice at critical stages of their business cycle.
She has an extensive and varied background in finance which includes public accounting, business operations, controller positions, financial planning and portfolio management. Most recently, she worked as the Director of Business Development for a financial advisory firm. Ruby spent most of her career as a trusted advisor to families with leading wealth management firms such as Manulife Securities and Berkshire Securities. She started her career as an accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co. and subsequently worked with numerous family-owned businesses.
Ruby holds a Hons. BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a CPA, CA.
Ricky Yang,
B.Comm – Director
Ricky joined AIM as an analyst in April 2017 and is responsible for research, analysis, financial modelling and due diligence to support all of the firm's mandates.
Prior to AIM, Ricky worked at a mid-market private equity fund where he performed competitive and financial evaluation of acquisition opportunities in numerous industries including consumer goods, energy, software and technology.
Ricky holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Specialist in Finance & Economics from the University of Toronto and is a CFA Charterholder.
Please do not hesitate to contact us. Learn more about the firm or the services we offer.
Mark Groulx, President
AIM Group Canada Ltd.
t | (416) 364-8464
e | mail@aimgc.ca
COPYRIGHT © 2017-2020 AIM GROUP CANADA LTD., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


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Therapeutic Boarding Schools Troubled Teens Illinois
Home Therapeutic Boarding Schools Troubled Teens Therapeutic Boarding Schools Troubled Teens Illinois
Therapeutic Boarding Schools for troubled teens living inIllinois that serve both boys and girls are a popular treatment option among parents whose troubled teen is currently spiraling out of control.
If you are a parent of a boy or girl living in Illinois who is in need of immediate therapeutic intervention, please consider the services of WinGate Wilderness Therapy. For immediate assistance, contact 1-800-560-1599 and speak with our Admissions Director. We are here to guide you through the enrollment process and answer any questions you may have for us.
As it turns out, and to further continue this treatment's ever-rising trend, therapeutic boarding schools are also among the most popular choices among parents from Illinois who are searching for therapeutic interventions that will save and restore the life of their child.
Why Wilderness Therapy is a Better Alternative to Traditional Therapeutic Boarding Schools in Illinois
Luckily for middle to upper-middle-class families from Illinois, who can't boast luxury to have quite of made it to the upper echelon of today's highest income tax bracket, WinGate is a much more cost-effective treatment option that also provides troubled teens with similar academic services one would expect to find at a therapeutic boarding school. What's more, after learning about how wilderness therapy works, parents who come to us are happily surprised to learn that wilderness programs like WinGate, are also all around more effective - in addition to being more cost effective and significantly shorter in duration than that of their more traditional, contemporary, indoor facility counterparts. (Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?)
Are you struggling with a child who is constantly arguing even to the point of violence over the computer? Maybe experiencing repetitive stress injuries due to excess gaming use. Her game play has increased and spends too much time online researching game related items. Does she admit that playing helps improve her mood and she's often irritable otherwise? These are all symptoms of problematic computer gaming.
All young people are oppositional from time to time, particularly when they're tired, hungry or emotionally upset. They might argue or talk back. Your kid might even be disrespectful to you. But, some of them are more oppositional than normal. These kids might be diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder.
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The Real Healing Power Of The Wilderness
Help In A Crisis There's a psychological element involved with at-risk youth that requires them to seek outward assistance beyond the ability of parents or...
Combating Depression with Wilderness Therapy
About 15 million people every year suffer from depression in the United States. It is one of the most complex psychological issues anyone can face and affects all...
What to Expect out of a Wilderness Therapy Program
There are many reasons young adults seek the help of a wilderness therapy program. Often, they are dealing with emotional and mental health...
How To Recognize And Overcome Your Technology Addiction
As with any addiction, often it takes a friend or family member to recognize the problem first. With the world becoming more and more connected technically, it is...
Brain's Normal Functioning Affected By Cocaine and...
Many troubled teens and troubled young adults fall into a pattern of substance abuse, but when it comes to cocaine and amphetamines, not much thought is given to...
You're Teen Son Or Daughter Is Restless - Signs They...
It's possible that your restless teen son or daughter may suffer from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). What is ADHD? It's a combination of...
Removing the Mental Health Stigma: Its Okay to Not Be Okay
Years ago, teens and young adults who were identified as having mental health problems meant that they inevitably suffered some level of shame or humiliation....
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The 2016 Haunt Awards: Things Are Heating Up!
The Haunt Awards are in memory of Cris Shortt and all the haunters we've lost this year.
You could say that this was a warm haunt season. Temperatures sometimes got as high as 90 degrees. Our season didn't start off well. On our way up to Land of Illusion in Middletown, Ohio, we drove over a massive tire retread which destroyed the radiator and caused $2,800 worth of damage to the car. We had to be towed home and we were only a few minutes from the haunt. The tow truck driver was a little off kilter and drove like a mad man. The first couple of weeks, it rained like cats and dogs at just about every area we drove to. I shouldn't be surprised by all this bad luck since it is City Blood's 13th year online.
We toured a few haunts we had never been to before including The Haunted Loft, Stillwell Manor and The Haunted Orchard. The Haunted Loft in Fortville, Indiana reminded me of some haunts I went to when I was young child. It featured homemade props and creative sets. The cold storage morgue actually looked frozen. Their haunt Piney Acres Corn Maze had a great cast of characters and some interesting scenes. It was the first time I was forced to put a worm in my mouth at a haunt.
The Haunted Orchard in Wooster, Ohio is an old school haunt at heart and does a good job with incorporating their backstory into scenes. It was our first time at Stillwell Manor in Anderson, Indiana and we were most impressed by their flagship attraction Stillwell Manor Haunted House. I'm still recovering from that intense Rat Attack. The other two attractions are Isabell's Beyond and Tantibus which means nightmare in Latin. Isabell's Beyond featured a very unique seance scene with a few surprises we weren't expecting. Tantibus has loads of potential and it featured some bone chilling scenes. The clown ball pit was a blast.
There was lots of breaking haunt news. The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory in Akron, Ohio was purchased by John Eslich, owner of the Factory of Terror in Canton, Ohio. It's going to be interesting to see what changes are made. Both The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory had actors that used more dialogue and they were more up close and personal compared to previous seasons.
The property that was home to Springboro Haunted Hayride and Black Bog in Lebanon, Ohio was unfortunately sold. Owner Bill Danishek bought back his family's company DK Bicycles in the fall and he'll be unable to run the haunts. We will really miss visiting Bull Run Farm every haunt season. Springboro Haunted Hayride has been around since 1989 and it's going to be a big adjustment for families who've made it fall tradition every year.
USS Nightmare in Newport, Kentucky improved their audio by incorporating sound clips and old fashioned music that accompanied some scenes. They also focused more on the dark history of the boat by adding new artifacts and an incredible Crash Simulator. It actually felt like the boat was rocking back and fourth. Dead Acres in Pataskala, Ohio made some notable changes as well. Their new walk through airplane known as Hoochie Airlines was wild to say the least.
The Mayhem Mansion in Morning View, Kentucky was once again a very intense haunt. Their biggest change was how interactive many of the scenes were. I was forced to arrange books in alphabetical order in the library and scrub the floors in the bedroom scene. The entrance and exit was also different. The entrance is now near the ticket booth and the exit is through the window. The Devil's Attic in Louisville, Kentucky featured a few new scenes that focused on movies like 2012's Maniac and urban legends like Bloody Mary. This is a haunt that does an amazing job with making horror movies seem real and adding their own twist.
Asylum Haunted Scream Park in Louisville, Kentucky delivered the scares once again and featured a very unique side attraction. Their new mobile haunted house was pretty cool and Zombie City had a brand new storyline that captivated audiences. Literally, a Haunted House at Culbertson Mansion in New Albany, Indiana is always one of our favorite charity haunts. Every season they have a new theme and the entire haunt is a blast. This season they focused on Fears and Phobias. My favorite scene was the monster hiding in the bedroom waiting to grab an innocent little girl. This is a haunt with some very unique characters.
The Dent Schoolhouse was incredible and featured some brand new rooms that we weren't expecting. The large demonic toys in the playroom was quite frightening and the new sacred temple was creepy beyond words. The Queen City Slaughter Yard was remodeled. It's a seamless transition after you exit The Dent Schoolhouse. You no longer had to wait in line.
The ScareAtorium in Columbus, Ohio introduced some brand new Escape Rooms. Now they have a total of four three minute Escape Rooms which are Cut-Throat Cabin, RIP's Boxcar, Lyncon Laboratory and 13 Coffin Maze. There were some amazing new effects inside Rip's 3D Funhouse. The UV Light Tunnel is the first ever in the United States. The Northland Asylum was insane and it had more detail than ever before.
Haunts like Face Your Fears Hotel of Terror in Springfield, Ohio and Land of Illusion were great as usual. I can't get over how creepy Face Your Fears' building is. Land of Illusion continues to be a great value with all they have to offer in the way of attractions, concerts, concessions and more. Sandyland Acres Haunted Hayride in Petersburg, Kentucky introduced new scenes and some of the actors were quite intense. Jason Voorhees hit the wagon with a machete and it was inches from my arm. You could say that I jumped. Their haunt Farmers Revenge is entertaining and creepy.
Fright Manor in Indianapolis, Indiana is an all around fun experience. Many would consider it an old school haunt and they would be right. Zombie Alley returned this season and it was pretty fun. It could be a little nerve wrecking at times as I tried to find the next flesh eater and survive the zombie apocalypse. Hanna Haunted Acres in Indianapolis, Indiana didn't make many drastic changes, but their dark maze called Hooded was more intense compared to previous years. We liked how they used water and flame effects even through we couldn't see anything. The actors were more hands on and it was somewhat scary.
Kings Island Halloween Haunt in Mason, Ohio introduced a few new attractions including Field of Screams which was more or less a linear corn maze. I have to say that Blackout was better even though they have glow in the dark arrows pointing you in the right direction. The 7th Street Haunt in Louisville, Kentucky is a great place to get the socks scared off of you. Ft. Harmony's Revenge and The Experiment are 2 quality attractions. One is old school that focuses more on theatrics while the other has high tech props and detailed set design. The queue line actors at The 7th Street Haunt are great especially Nana. She wants to show you her BIG D. Who can forget Charlie who has a sick obsession with Reeba McEntire. We bumped into him once again at Ft. Harmony's Revenge.
Fear Fair in Seymour, Indiana was amazing. The amount of changes they made is staggering and the over the top set design should be admired. Fear Fair really brought their A game and was able to create a frightful experience I won't soon forget. Haunted Bourbon Street was very realistic and the new cavern with an elevator ride was pretty thrilling. This is definitely a world class haunt.
The Haunted Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky was the most intense haunt we toured in 2016. It's one of the few haunts where I get a little nervous before I enter. It's no holds barred and the actors take no prisoners. Hell, I even got the side of my face licked by a sick and demented freak while I waited in line. They definitely delivered the scares this season. The final haunt we toured was Nightmare Manor in Middletown, Ohio. It was a last minute decision, but I'm happy to say that it was a positive experience. This is an old school haunt with some pretty neat ideas. The chained up werewolf caught me by surprise and we are definitely looking forward to what they bring in 2017.
We at City Blood would like to sincerely thank all the haunts that we toured this season. We hope that everyone had a great year and we're looking forward to 2017. We had a ghoulishly good time touring haunts all over Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and we'll see you soon.
The wait is finally over. Here is City Blood's 2016 Haunt Awards. Let's begin with the best haunt we toured all season. Drum roll please.
Fear Fair is one of the best haunts you're going to experience. The attention to detail and the crazy cast of characters is truly appreciated. Some of the sets are massive including a war torn city featuring a killer Slayer Beast and an electrifying Tesla Coil. The above ground New Orleans cemetery features concrete tombs and zombies that will take a bite out of you. Your journey through fear begins with a tour of an old cavern with poor air quality. The only way to escape is by riding a malfunctioning elevator that takes you straight to HELL!
Much of the haunt has been overhauled and there are very few horror movie scenes that still remain. The Walking Dead Downtown Atlanta is awe inspiring and actually resembles a city that's been taken over by ravenous flesh eaters. Fear Fair brings New Orleans to life with its foggy swamp full of crocodiles and its realistic reenactment of haunted Bourbon Street. There's not enough I can say about Fear Fair. This haunt is full of detailed scenes and great props. It's a very underrated haunt that many people haven't had the chance to tour. It's one of the most impressive haunts we visit and it's a thrill ride from beginning to end. We congratulate Fear Fair in Seymour, Indiana for becoming City Blood's 2016 Haunt of the Year.
Only haunts we toured in 2016 are considered for awards. This was a fun and frightening season.


After months of talk and planning, Jerry and I are finally transferring to live in Iloilo City next week. Jerry is now on school holidays until mid-june (yes, that's 3 whole months).
I'm stressed. Really stressed and not myself. So I've decided to take a break from blogging, Facebook and neXtDRAFT until Sunday, 15 April.
Thanks to everyone for your love, support, for reading my posts and following my work. I'm sure my writing (and wellbeing) will be all the better for the break.
Took a whole 24 hours off in the city last Thursday without Jerry. Felt pretty good actually.
Thanks Cindy, we had a lovely day on Tuesday on the islands. Jerry and I really needed the break and I feel quite refreshed.
Thanks R. You also. M.
Thanks K, feeling better already. M.


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Yield vs. Return: What's the Difference? - FOX21- Entertaining Delmarva One Click at a Time
Yield vs. Return: What's the Difference?
People often use yield and return interchangeably, referring to what you'll earn from a fixed investment. However, there are some important differences to note for yield vs return. Learn the basics of these two important concepts, plus some key differences to consider when looking at each of them.
Yield vs Return Basics
The yield of an investment is income it earns. An investment usually expresses its yield as a percentage. For example, the interest or dividends a security produces over a certain period of time can be its yield. The yield of an investment uses the investment's face value, or what an investor originally paid for a stock. Also, yield factors in an investment's liquidity, or its current market value.
An investment's return, however, is the dollar amount an investment earns or loses over time. An investment's return also accounts for dividends earned, interest earned, and capital gains.
Yield isn't as predictable as return. However sometimes investors can anticipate yield, depending on the security and its predictability.
It's easy to see how an investor might confuse yield and return. After all, both refer to the income earned on an investment. But there are several distinctions between the two. Yield refers to income earned on an investment, while its return references what an investor gained or lost on that investment. Yield expresses itself as a percentage, while the return is a dollar amount.
An investment's yield is a more forward-looking assessment. As a result, it represents what an investor stands to gain (or lose) on that investment. Yield takes into account current market value and face value but does not factor in capital gains. Meanwhile, its percentage is typically an annual percentage rate (APR). As with any investment, the higher the risk, the higher the potential yield.
Alternately, an investment's return focuses on the dollar amount of what an investment has earned in the past. Return focuses on paid dividends, or annual payments made to stock owners or investors by the company. It also looks at capital gains, which is the increase in the value of an asset. Capital gains can both be short and long-term.
Do not confuse yield with rate of return. Both are percentages that anticipate an investment's expected return over time. However, rate of return takes into account capital gains and yield does not.
Bond Yield
Yield can also be a means of expressing a bond's future earning power. But it requires more than just calculating an investment's earnings. That's where a bond's current yield and coupon yield come into play.
A bond's current yield divides a bond's total income by its market price. Current yield (CY) is a percentage that fluctuates based on market conditions. The coupon yield of a bond is the amount of interest a bond earns. Institutions issue bonds with a predetermined coupon yield. The market doesn't affect coupon yield. Meanwhile, a bond's yield to maturity also determines its earnings. That's the amount an investor stands to earn on a bond should they hold it to maturity.
Both yield and return refer to what an investor might earn on a fixed investment. People often confuse the terms, but there are a few important distinctions between the two. The more forward-thinking of the two concepts, yield expresses itself in a percentage form. Also, it refers to the income earned on an investment over time. Return, however, focuses on an investment's past earning and expresses itself in a dollar amount.
Be careful not to confuse yield with rate of return. Both are percentages that express what an investor stands to earn on a particular security, but rate of return takes into account capital gains and yield does not.
If you're not sure how to diversify your portfolio, a financial advisor may be able to help. Finding the right financial advisor that fits your needs doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you're ready to meet local advisors who will help you achieve your financial goals, start now.
Do you know how much investment risk you can tolerate? How much will your investment grow over time? Will capital gains taxes take a chunk out of your earnings? How will inflation affect your overall returns? SmartAsset's investing guide can help you with these initial questions and give you a foundation for working with a professional.
Retirement investment can be tricky. You may not know what you'll need to retire. You may have no idea what your 401(k) will be worth once you stop working. Meanwhile, you may need to figure out how large a role Social Security will play in your retirement plans. If any of those questions or others are haunting your retirement planning, SmartAsset's retirement guide may provide some answers.
Photo credit: iStock.com/domoskanonos, iStock.com/gece33, iStock.com/Dmytro Varavin
The post Yield vs. Return: What's the Difference? appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.


When converting to Islam, the questions about one's new faith seem endless.
"How often do I pray, Where can I pray? When do I fast? When can I make up fasts missed?
What the question boils down to is not understanding why there is a need to follow the Prophet's traditions when we have the Quran. This is a very good question and shows that the new convert is thinking and studying.
The answer to this profound question can be found in the Quran itself.
Allah answers the question of the Sunnah directly and in many places in the Quran.
Allah tells us that following the Quran is to follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), or the Sunnah.
Say: if you love Allah, follow me and Allah will love you (3:31).
So if we are to follow the Quran that would also include following the Sunnah.
As we see in the Quran, if we love Allah, wish to follow the Quran and its message, we must follow the Sunnah. But what does that mean?
"The Sunnah is everything besides the Quran that came from God's Messenger. It explains and provides details for the laws found in the Quran. It also provides examples of the practical application of these laws.
Sunnah literally means the path or the way. The Arabic word hadith is very similar to Sunnah, but not identical. A hadith is a narration about the life of the Prophet Muhammad or what he approved – as opposed to his life itself, which is the Sunnah. Both the Quran and Sunnah are essential; one cannot practice Islam without consulting both of them – as the Quran tells us.
The further away we get from the time of the Prophet, it seems that there are more misconceptions about what the Quran is telling us.
We see it in groups that twist its meaning to gain political ends. We see groups who wish to twist it to demonize Islam. And we see those who innocently misread its text. The way we view any text will differ from person to person depending on our level of understanding and the context from which we approach the text.
Even the Quran was understood differently by different companions of the Prophet, despite its clarity and having been revealed in seven different dialects for the utmost ease of discernment. But when we look to the companions, we see that they themselves referred to the Sunnah of the Prophet when questions of interpretation arose.
It was, therefore, the Prophet's job to explain the Quran to his followers by his actions as well as his statements." said Dr. Bilal Philips.
If Allah had willed He would have only sent a book(s) to guide mankind and not sent it through a messenger. But Allah didn't only send down a book. Allah sent the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Allah informed Prophet Muhammad (and all prophets) of the divine revelation and appointed him to convey it, explain it, and live it as an example to humankind.
It is in the human nature to want to follow the example of others. To understand this, one has only to look at how teenagers emulate actors and musicians. This natural inclination to emulate is a part of our nature so that we will follow the example of those who were the best of humankind in the eyes of Allah.
The answer to "why follow the Sunnah" is found directly in the Quran and built in to our very nature.


text:
Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search
Scoop  Parliament
National to speed up the court process
Tuesday, 26 November 2019, 12:50 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party
National is today proposing performance measures for District and High Courts to ensure justice is served faster, National's Courts spokesperson Chris Penk says.
"The overwhelming complaint we hear about the justice system is how long it takes to get things done. Even paying a fine can take days. Data from the Ministry of Justice shows since the Government took office it's taking 46.5 per cent longer to get through cases in the District Court than under National. Those delays put additional stress on victims of crime who want to move on.
"We believe there is room to trial performance measures in District and High Courts to speed things up. We also want to ensure sexual violence cases are dealt with within 12 months. These are similar to performance measures the previous National Government used to improve access to treatment and screening at District Health Boards.
"We'd also like to see Justices of the Peace used more for minor offences and traffic cases to free up judges' time, and courts used at night and on weekends. Most courts sit for four hours a day. Where there is legitimate need, and where the court can sit, we would extend those hours to ensure people don't have to wait months for their cases to be heard.
"We're doing the work in Opposition so we're ready to hit the ground running in 2020. National is the party of law and order. We put victims at the heart of everything we do and we want to see a courts system that delivers justice faster and more effectively."
https://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1911/Law_and_Order_Discussion_Document.pdf
Find more from New Zealand National Party on InfoPages.


Born in 1951, Onoda, Yamaguchi. Like most Japanese, Moriyama began playing in University after his friends invited him. After graduation, he studied in America for half a year. While in San Francisco, he played mahjong with other Japanese expats.
In 1981, the 29 year old Moriyama won his first title, the 9th Oui. During this year, he worked with Takeo Kojima, Nada Asataro and Mashiyoshi Ara to create the JPML. He became president of JPML in 2013 after Asataro Nada, who had been president for 30 years, stepped down. He has stopped playing in JPML's Houousen league but still participates in tournaments and TV leagues.
His tenacity and style that stresses the importance of hand yaku have caused the media to call him "Fierce Leader" (闘将) and "teyaku artist".
Moriyama was one of the instigators for the first World Riichi championshp. He has participated in tournaments in America and Europe and even held a study session in Paris. At the 4th European Riichi Championship he joked that since he has attended the 1st and 4th ERC, the next one he'll attend will be the 7th. The joke was not translated, causing Moriyama to believe Europeans did not understand suji.


There are various reasons that make people to participate in fishing activities in the US. Always when you are participating in the fishing activity to make it enjoyable you need to be with your family and friends. So that you get to have fun with your fishing skills you will have to make sure that you are finding the right location where you will exercise your skills. If you are in the US you can enjoy fishing when you visit the following locations.
The first location is the Venice, Louisiana and it is considered to be the best when it comes to fishing in this country. It doesn't matter whether you are doing an inshore or an offshore fishing as you will get to enjoy the adventure of fishing wide varieties of fish. The location is popular in yellowfin tuna fishing and you will have to make sure that you are having the right skills that will contribute towards you having successful fishing.
If you want to fish striped bass and bluefish you will consider the Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Besides, it is imperative that you be aware that there are other species that are in this location. In order for you to fish successful, you will have to know where the species that you want to fish are concentrated and also have the right fishing gears.
Also, you can opt to choose Kentucky Lake, Kentucky/Tennessee as is the best location in fishing. From this location, there is a man-made lake called Kentucky lake where you can find freshwater fish species.
There is also Green River, Utah where you can get to find fly fishing and also you will get to know that there are other species. Another location is the Lake Fork Reservoir, Texas as you will get a large number of fish species such as bream, black and white perch and many more.
Another popular location is the Kobuk River, Alaska where you will get to enjoy fishing different varieties of species. When you want to catch smallmouth, spotted and largemouth bass you will have to consider choosing the Table Rock Lake, Missouri.
There is also Thousand Islands, New York as it is well known in special species such as muskies. In order for you to successfully make your fishing in this location you need to have the required baits and also the right skills.
If you are fond of freshwater fish you have to select the Lake Saint Clair, Michigan. Here you can use the tubes bouncing and even the drift fishing method. Additionally, if you want to have fun and enjoy fishing, you need to make sure that you are choosing Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama as it is another location where you can find best species of fish.


i heard that the group of students i'd be getting this year would be unusually difficult. more than one person had referred to them as a "hot mess." when i walked into my classroom in september, i knew that things could potentially spiral out of control before i could do anything about it.
well, it hasn't been that bad. even the rowdy groups of boys i have in my classes have been good to work with so far. there are the crazy days when it seems like the only thing i can do to maintain order in class is to start kicking people out, but there are also the magical days when my lesson plans run smoothly, kids engage the new stuff, and most everyone is interested in the learning. the drama-free days are amazing.
but even when things are running smoothly, i always have a nagging feeling that my job is in a very literal sense, impossible. as a school, this is our first year launching an AP-for-all program, meaning every junior and senior, regardless of learning disability or language barrier, takes ap language & composition or ap literature. in theory, the idea is awesome. there's something special about trying to hold every single one of our students to the highest standards, and something kinda pure and noble about giving every one of our students access to a rigorous curriculum. but in practice, it's brutal. i mean, it is really hard. on the days when i've literally had to work with certain kids on writing complete sentences, i've felt pretty defeated.
i find it helpful to try and stay naive about what i think we as a school can accomplish, and to use that as motivation to keep persisting forward. i know i need to get better at classroom management. and once i get that down, i need to be smarter and more creative with how i deliver instruction. i need to figure out how i can continue to challenge my student who is already a published novelist (no joke), and build up all the other students who struggle to write coherent paragraphs. and then along the way, i want to make sure all my students know regardless of how they act in class or how much they struggle with the content, i've got their backs.
i'm going for the cool, indie bookstore look in my classroom. we use a particular (and pretty popular) educational model that makes it necessary to have a little lecture area in our classrooms, and unfortunately, i have exactly 6 seats for my 30+ students in the meeting area. ah well.
my desk. my goal is to keep it clear all year. i can look up at the tiananmen square poster to get myself psyched up to fight the man, or look behind me at the prodigal son on the days i screw up badly. and if i don't want to think about whatever it is i should be thinking about, i look up at the husky football poster and think about the next game.