The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere is a romantic tale of how a true American patriot conveyed one of the most mission critical messages in our nation's history! Just think how much easier it would have been if the Founding Fathers would've had unified communications!
Your business deserves nothing but the best to deliver YOUR mission critical information. Its time to get rid of that old office phone service… Time for the big upgrade that won't cost you a fortune, but will surely help you make one..
Auto-Attendant: an automated system with professionally recorded prompts directing callers to their desired contacts, freeing up manpower in your business for other tasks.
Built in Call Center: this option gives your office call center functionality where call queues can be professionally recorded to inform callers in the queue. Features a call center admin portal for management of agents on site or off.
Mobility: native iOS app (android app coming soon) available at no extra charge for receiving calls on your mobile when your extension is called or for making calls from your mobile identifying your business & business number on the caller ID of the person you've called.
Conference calling: hold audio call conferences with multiple people and locations.
And many other features you'd expect to find in a much more expensive office phone system.
When do we know if it's time for our office to switch?
Tell America about this deal!
Tech Support at Consumers Resource, Inc.
This is the official account of Consumers Resource, Inc.A retailer, combining tech products and services as well as health products for residential and business consumers.
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Lancaster students could 'get something back' amid rent strike talks
"We are trying to balance giving students something back; around £10m in rent repayments in the last six months, whilst avoiding such severe cutbacks that students return to a much diminished university."
Dominic Moffitt
(Image: Ian Taylor)
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University bosses in Lancaster could reach an agreement with striking students.
Lancaster University has held talks with students who are currently partaking in a rent strike after Boris Johnson urged students to remain at home instead of returning to their institutions.
Student action group Lancaster Rent Strike previously slammed the university for delivering 'false promises' after the UK entered a third countrywide lockdown in January.
The university has told LancsLive that they will look to "give something back" to the students but would have to balance that with the £10m in rent repayments they have already made since the summer.
Lancaster University will also look to invest in mental health services to support students in lockdown.
A university spokesperson said: "The health and well-being of our students is our priority and we welcome the opportunity to engage and listen to their views.
"We are investing in mental health support and the student hardship fund. Lancaster's counselling, mental health and well-being team are providing new services and extra appointment slots to make accessing support easier for students.
"Practitioners make contact with any urgent cases on the same day and now offer new 'one-off' appointments bookable a day in advance.
"Students can also access 24-hour online support.
"We have aimed to provide students with flexibility, taking into account the different situations they face, and offer the best academic, accommodation and campus experience we can within changing government guidance and regulations.
"We are trying to balance giving students something back; around £10m in rent repayments in the last six months, whilst avoiding such severe cutbacks that students return to a much diminished university.
"The meeting was useful in hearing our students' views about what they perceived to be the priorities in these areas of support."
Lancaster University is planning for all scenarios
The rent strike began on January 5 when students wrote an open letter to vice chancellor Professor Andy Schofield demanding 50 per cent reduction in student rent accommodation.
The letter also called for a full rent waiver for those unable to access their rooms, improvement to mental health student support and a 'guarantee' that students would not face repercussions for participating in the strike.
The demands were made the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a third nationwide lockdown and told university students to remain.
Lancaster University could lose its funding if it does not adopt IHRA's definition of antisemitism.
One organiser of Lancaster Rent Strike, Sam Hope, described the group as a bunch of "angry students" after speaking to LancsLive in early January.
"We think it is unfair that people are paying thousands of pounds for services they can't use," he said.
"We have a set of demands we we feel the University should carry out, in order to push for these demands; students will withhold their rent.
"The services the University are meant to be providing are no longer available; the cost of putting on those services is no longer a burden for them."
21-year-old Mr Hope, who is undergoing a politics postgraduate degree at Lancaster, confirmed that "further action" could be taken if demands were not met.
He told LancsLive that 'occupation' was being discussed.
Lancashire farm makes £50,000 in pandemic by offering Zoom calls with goats
Stranger's kind-hearted gesture in Tesco store leaves pregnant mum full of gratitude
You can sign up for free daily updates with the LancsLive newsletter here.
For the latest news and breaking news visit the LancsLive website.
Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
DWPDWP changes from April will see millions get up to £1,500-a-month due to tax-free income boostPeople claiming certain benefits could potentially see their income increase to over £1,500 per month
World's oldest person recommends staying away from certain people in life
"I am old, very old, but not an idiot."
PrestonAlleged killers had 'chocolate milkshake' poured onto hands to remove blood after Lee Dawson stabbed to death, court hearsCCTV appears to show several people rooting through bins following the incident in Preston in June 2022
Flybe airline collapses as passengers told 'do not go to the airport'
People with flights booked for today are being urged not to travel to the airport
Mum encouraged partner to flog guns in Aldi carpark to fund luxurious lifestyle and cosmetic dental treatment
Fiona Crooks shouted "we're f***ed here" as she learned officers had stormed her address after buying a gun in Lancaster
Gran 'crying in pain' thanks kind strangers who came to her rescue after 'dangerous fall'
"There are some really kind people- some people will just walk all over you, they would just walk past you in a situation like this, it's like they don't have the time to help someone."
CCTV appeal after teenage boy slashed in face while out riding his bike in terrifying robbery
Officers believe those in the images may be able to help their investigation into the incident
Ellie Williams fundraiser 'done everything he can' to recover £22k after 'grooming gang' lie
Mr Yerrell, a Conservative councillor from Essex, said he started the crowdfunder in good faith because Williams's story "filled me with sadness to think that a young girl could have been through such a terrible ordeal".
Killer dad set up fundraiser for baby son weeks after shaking him to death
Oliver Mailey, 26, shook the little boy on at least two separate occasions while he was looking after him alone in November 2021

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


: : I need a copy of a DHCR opinion entitled In Matter of Greenwich Village Brokers, Inc.  Docket No. LL-410089-RO.  Does anyone have a suggestion regarding where I might be able to get a copy in very short order?
: If you think it was contested: it should be attached to the Article 78 lawsuit in Supreme Court.
: Did you call DHCR?


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15 Minutes With Baroness von Sketch Show's Jennifer Whalen
By Courtney Shea, Reader's Digest CanadaUpdated: Jan. 29, 2019
Baroness von Sketch Show's Jennifer Whalen talks women in comedy, dresses with pockets and taking on edgy material.
Photo: CBC
In Conversation With Jennifer Whalen of CBC's Baroness von Sketch Show
Reader's Digest Canada: Your show is a sketch-comedy series starring four female comedians over 40—a double rarity. Given our cultural obsession with youth, how big of a deal is this?
Jennifer Whalen: It's huge. For a woman, you have this idea when you're young that you can be whatever you want. But then puberty hits and you realize that a lot of your value is tied to what you look like. As you get older, that calms down, but then you don't have a place in our society anymore. It's such a waste. The minute I hit 40, I was just a smarter, better version of myself. There's also the fact that some men don't see women as fully human, and here's a show where women are fully realized people with their own agendas. I think that's important.
What does each of the Baronesses bring to the group that's unique?
We all come with a slightly different point of view: Meredith is a single mom; Aurora has a partner and an eight-year-old; Carolyn is living the fabulous queer life; and I have a partner and a stepson. It's like a band where we each play our own instrument, but then when we come together, the sound is greater than our individual parts.
What's an example of a sketch that is "so Jenn"?
There's one based on how I had gone out and bought a bunch of new summer dresses. Any time someone would compliment me, I would say, "Thanks. And it's got pockets." One of our writers wrote something about that and then, later, I was out shopping with Aurora and I actually said the line. She was like, "You know you just did a sketch about that."
Have you always been funny? Did you grow up making everyone around you laugh?
At home, yes, but I was very shy at school. I was never the class clown. I was the kid who sat next to that kid and got them to say something that would get them a big laugh and then get them in trouble and moved to another seat. I used a rotating cast of kids so my teachers never realized it was me. (Wish you could master the art of telling a joke? Check out these tips on how to be a funnier person.)
The last couple of years have been doozies in terms of depressing headlines. Does something like a Trump presidency or all the #MeToo stories make it easier or harder to be funny?
I would say that it just informs what we talk about—because of a movement like #MeToo, we can touch on difficult things. In Season 3, we had a sketch that Meredith wrote about the backlog of untested rape kits, which was an issue written about in The Globe and Mail. That's a tricky topic to make funny, but because we're all having those conversations, it gives us permission to go there.
Vogue called the Baronesses the "best thing to come out of Canada since Ryan Gosling." How did that feel?
That was pretty exciting. Ryan, if you're reading this, come and do the show. We have this sketch called "Middle-Aged Lady Make-Out Pile." How can you say no?
The Baroness von Sketch Show airs on CBC.
Can't get enough Canadian humour? Don't miss our chats with Dan Levy, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Rick Mercer.
Originally Published: January 29, 2019
Originally Published in Reader's Digest Canada
Is Oak Island Cursed?
11 Reasons British Citizens Don't Want Prince Charles to Be King


If you've ever wanted to visit South America, today would probably be a very good day to check the airfare prices.
There seems to be a few unusually good prices to some South American destinations from Toronto today, on a variety of airlines (mainly involving Air Canada, LAN, and Aeromexico).
It can tough to decide between Peru and Chile, but I may have to give the nod to Chile.
Chile rarely goes on sale (usually $1200+ from Toronto), and there's many great months to visit. November & December for the Patagonia area (summer in the southern hemisphere).
And late September to mid November for Santiago (spring time).
All of which fall in line with the months available for this deal.
If you go with Peru, you may wish to focus on September or October. It's not as much fun to climb Machu Picchu in November & December when the rainy season begins.
Alternatively, you can fly into Lima (LIM) and out of Cusco (CUZ) for $678 to $702 including taxes.
How: Search on Kayak, click through to Expedia for booking.
Heads up: Some flight combinations change price from $678 to $702 when you get to Expedia. Each day has numerous flight combinations, so try various ones when you get to Kayak.
An amazing price to Chile, considering the typical bottom price is usually around $1200. Chile pretty much never goes on sale.
Heads up: When you get to Kayak, there will be a lot of different flight choices. Some of them involve overnight stays, so watch for that. Often, there are faster flight choices for only $20-$30 more than the first one displayed.
If you adjust the 'Flight Leg' slider on the left hand side of Kayak down to 15 hours, you may find some very fast flights for just $783 on certain date combinations.
Other than a mistake fare in 2011, I believe this is the lowest I've ever seen Toronto - Buenos Aires go. The flights are in and out of Buenos Aires AEP city airport (as opposed to EZE, the international airport).
When: Available dates seem really limited. I'm mostly finding them in late August, September, and late October 2015.
Multi-City Deal: Toronto to Santiago, Chile and then to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then back to Toronto - $853 for all 3 flights!
It looks like Air Canada is now offering some amazing multi-city deals, where you can visit Argentina *and* Chile for just $855 after taxes, including the flight between Buenos Aires and Chile. I've definitely never seen anything like this before.
How: search on Google Flights and click through to Air Canada to book.
Heads Up: In most cases, you can either do Chile first. or Argentina first. The flights between Toronto and Chile are non-stop. Between Toronto and Argentina, they have 1 stop.
(these example searches are for a 2 week trip, spending one week in Argentina and one week in Chile. It is possible to find longer trips by mixing and matching the departure/return dates from the various examples below.
For example, if you modify the dates on Google Flights to Nov 05 to Nov 11 to Nov 25 it will work as well).
toronto, yyz, flight deals, air canada, buenos aires, argentina, south america, santiago, chile, scl, lima, lim, aep, aeromexico and lan.
6 Responses to "South America Deals: Toronto to Peru or Chile or Argentina - $667 to $766 roundtrip including taxes"
Just booked! YYZ to LIM Aug 28-Nov 24, $665!!! Amazing price. Thank you so much.
Thanks, for sharing the awesome deal. I booked to BA Argentina! I always wanted to go, and with that a really good price, I couldn't resist.
No problem! I think Argentina might still be at the top of my list, as far as favorite trips go. So many great things to see and do in Argentina.
Big THANK YOU Chris for your awesome hard work!!!!


Here in the USA, the government shutdown is over for now and the state of emergency has not yet been declared. Stay tuned to future episodes, when we find out what happens next in America's rapid transition to an openly fascist state.
Hundreds of thousands of government workers and millions of contract workers are trying to put their lives back together. It turns out so many of them had no means to cope with missing one paycheck, despite being more or less gainfully employed, often because they're spending so much on housing that they can barely afford to keep roofs over their heads when they're not being furloughed, and they have negative savings – otherwise known as perpetually maxed out, high-interest credit card debt. They are part of the growing class of Americans who no longer measure desperation by lack of savings or even by massive credit card debt, but by the point when you can no longer pay the minimum because you missed one paycheck.
The stories of high-interest credit card debt, late fees, medical needs put off or ignored, unpaid bills, not knowing what lies around the corner, that point where you decide it's OK to see if folks out there in a less difficult situation might be willing to help out a bit, the fear that someone will then expose you as a fraud and a freeloader, they're all so familiar.
I have personally never had what I thought might be a stable job, and I've never been furloughed from such a job either. But for most of my adult life I've been one of many, many people working in an industry that has been in a state of perpetual collapse.
I know most people don't conceptualize music as a business, or as a job, but it is, or at least used to be. The business they used to call the music industry was altogether five times bigger when I started working as a musician than it is now.
The feeling of working in a perpetually collapsing industry is a lot like playing the classic video game, Frogger, where you're leaping from one sinking log to another sinking log, hopefully departing one log before it sinks, and landing on another before it does the same. It's a process of constantly trying to figure out how to stay afloat now that the whole scenario has changed again.
Amid so many other collapsing industries, from steel mills to newspapers to big box stores, it's easy to overlook professions as marginal to begin with as songwriters, recording artists, or touring musicians. But I promise that the collapse of these professions has been across the board – left to right, top to bottom.
The fact that everybody else's industries are collapsing at more or less the same time as mine is one reason this industrial collapse is an easy one to miss. Another reason is that everybody has been simultaneously transfixed by the same evolving technologies that have inundated us all with the very stuff that very few people can make a living producing anymore – journalism, books, movies, music, etc.
Occasionally people look up from their phones, or have a moment to think about those other than themselves who are failing to make ends meet, and, kind of like peeking out from your tent after an all-night thunderstorm at a festival, you emerge to see that half of the tents that had been set up are now floating in mud.
From the time radio began up until the Reagan-Clinton deregulation of the airwaves that started immediately after Reagan took power in 1981, there were all kinds of opportunities for local artists to develop a local following, to get exposure, to work in the industry. Deregulation meant the sudden loss of thousands of local radio jobs throughout the country, with the impact of the loss of those jobs on independent music incalculable. This is what paved the way for Clearchannel, and the full spectrum dominance of the culture factories in New York, LA and Nashville.
As the phenomenon of downloading and streaming music online took off globally around the turn of the millennium, it was a great time for new people to hear your music from all kinds of corners of the world, without leaving home. But in many places such as the US their cost of living was rising fast but earnings were not, and with that combination of factors, they weren't leaving home. And when they did, they weren't buying CDs or t-shirts.
The fact that crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter started up when they did was no coincidence. These weren't new concepts. They became popular when they did primarily because of good timing. That is, at the time they started up, many people were now sufficiently desperate to start begging.
I first started crowdfunding recording projects in 2011, when so many other people did. I didn't use one of the new crowdfunding platforms, but that's also when they were all getting popular. If a musician is going to spend $12,000 in a studio making an album that no one is going to buy, it's going to take a very long time before the $20 a month in revenue the album might generate from streaming will cover that expense.
It was only two years after Kickstarter kicked off and we all started crowdfunding album projects that it began to sink in to me that not only could I not afford to record albums without crowdfunding them, but I couldn't afford to pay the rent either, without making some drastic lifestyle changes such as finding an entirely different line of work, or touring 12 months a year and abandoning my children, because the loss of CD sales alone meant losing around 40% of my annual income. (It didn't help that in the meantime, my rent had also doubled. In this experience I was also in very good company.) I'm sure it was not coincidental that Patreon was becoming popular around the time that I set up my own version of their subscription model on my own website. The desperate evolution of my own career clearly was mirrored by many other careers following the same treacherous, avalanche-prone mountain path. In the dark. With bears.
The business model of creating free content and then asking people to voluntarily support you in your endeavor to pay the rent while you continue to create and give away free content online is a weird, ethereal way to go about one's life, I can tell you that. And it doesn't work as well as selling albums used to. But soon all of what I'm talking about here will seem mysterious to all of the other songwriters and bands putting music up online for free and making a few bucks a month from Spotify, who never were in a position to entertain dreams of selling thousands of CDs on tours around the world every year and supporting themselves in the process, as I did for most of my adult life.
That, in a nutshell, is the story of my own industrial collapse. What's yours?


Engineered for training, and bag works. These MMA gloves are bigger than regular competition MMA gloves and can also be used in boxing instead of traditional training gloves or boxing mitts. Designed with our softer density protection, we were able to combine both worlds to perfection. With improved hand and fingers movement, the gloves are ideal for grappling techniques and takedowns.


Wheiza Kim lives in the woods near the ocean where the wind drifts around. While relaxing, she can hear the whistle of the wind from the ocean and the woods around her house. The wind tells her stories about the unknown world of distance. With a low-pitched whistling sound, the woods convey the way that human lives are beautiful but also painful and how everything in the world is transient. Kim says "My intention is to decipher 'the message of the universe delivered by the wind' which has been engraved in wood grains like some secret codes and then visualize it".


text:
This is a list of roads designated N8. The entries are sorted in alphabetical order by country name.

 N8 (Bangladesh)
 N8 road (Belgium), a road connecting Brussels and Koksijde
 N8 road (France)
 N8 road (Ireland)
 N8 road (Luxembourg)
 N8 road (Netherlands)
 N8 road (South Africa), a road connecting Upington, Kimberley, Bloemfontein and the Lesotho border
 N8 road (Switzerland)
 Nebraska Highway 8, a state highway in the U.S. state of Nebraska

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I really like this version of Gingerbread cookies because they still have that flavor but are not hard.
You can go to our new website for this yummy recipe at Inspired by Familia!
Yummy, thanks for sharing at Bacon Time.
I'm so going to make these! I absolutely love gingerbread cookies and agree that they are better nice and soft like this. Thank you so much for sharing this yummy recipe with us at Inspiration Friday!
Thanks ladies! Hope you enjoy them!


The old Annecy's 330P4 building pics has been updated by someone's request. I finished it about 4 years ago and then goes to secondhand market with the double price. Can't believe it!
At the beginnig of month I always have a call from the editor of ModelGraphix magazine and then talk him about the content of next article, the date of deadline.


text:
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/2017/06/01/we-still-dont-know-why-juvenile-crime-peaked-fell-but-lets-stop-doing-dumb-things/)
We Still Don't Know Why Juvenile Crime Peaked, Fell, But Let's Stop Doing Dumb Things
By Judge Steven Teske | June 1, 2017
More on Ideas and Opinions
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It's one thing to talk about and describe trends in juvenile justice, but it's an entirely different creature when trying to explain why they occur.
After juvenile crime peaked in the '90s, the trend has been fewer kids locked up than at any time in nearly 20 years, including violent crime at a 30-year low. This massive drop has spurred much discussion generating some pretty interesting theories, none of which by themselves can take credit for this drop.
So if none alone can take credit, we are left with either a "perfect storm" scenario or we're asking the wrong question. Instead of asking why crime went down, maybe we should be asking why it went up.
A glance at the crime rates during this period looks like an 8.9 spike on a seismograph. But like all earthquakes, what spikes on the seismograph must level off when the quake ends and all returns to normal. What if the spike in crime that reached an all-time high in the mid-'90s was a "crimequake"? It struck without warning, peaked and returned to normalcy like any quake.
Still, I doubt we will ever find the epicenter of this crimequake because there are just as many reasons given for the quake's origin as for its end. Like those given for its end, none of the origin theories by themselves can take credit for its demise.
If we can't explain why the crimequake occurred, maybe we should shift our attention to what we did in response to the crimequake. Our fear that a wave of "superpredator" kids would unleash carnage never seen before led us down a path to enact laws to increase the frequency and duration of incarceration by treating them as adults.
But the wave never came and the crimequake ended, but the incarceration didn't. It's not easy to explain why we are quick to change laws we think will fix a problem, but slow to fix the law that not only failed to fix the problem but made matters worse.
Jeffrey Butts at John Jay College of Criminal Justice made a similar observation, commenting that it's not the why (crime increased), but the what (should we do if it returns).
The "why" and the "what" are like apples and oranges — no matter how much crime increases in the future, there are some things we just don't do to kids.
There are certain truths about what not to do to kids that were once self-evident, but today are universally evident. Jerome Miller acted on what was self-evident when he shuttered the training schools of Massachusetts because they were more harmful than helpful, and today the empirical studies have validated his actions.
For more information about EVIDENCED-BASED PRACTICES, go to JJIE Resource Hub | EVIDENCED-BASED PRACTICES
If we can't explain why crime spiked and suddenly dropped, we should consider what we did wrong and why, and use that information to enact policies and practices that will withstand a future crimequake so we don't do more harm to kids.
And this can't happen unless we acknowledge that our reaction to the fallacious outcry of a wave of superpredator kids was a monumental disaster. Not just because the wave never came, but because increasing incarceration had little to nothing to do with reducing the crime rate.
In looking back at that superpredator scare moment, it created a slippery slope from which legislators slipped and slid in their sausage-making process, sending many kids to adult prisons in hopes of incapacitating them before they could wreak havoc on our communities.
The slippery slope argument insists that if event X has occurred, therefore event Y will inevitably happen. The failure to understand event X is what puts folks on that slippery slope. When we don't ask why before acting, we risk making hasty generalizations that lead to faulty problem-solving.
The solutions are typically found in the problem. If we fail to analyze the problem, we will likely slide down the slippery slope into an abyss of unintended consequences that compounds the original problem.
The assumption that the rise in juvenile crimes in the '90s was a sign that a wave of violent crime was coming our way set in motion the "either/or fallacy" — We either lock these kids up or there will be killing, raping and pillaging in our communities.
The hardliners, who rigidly support increasing the severity of punishment (prison) for kids and increasing its duration, believe incarceration will not only reduce crime by removing scary kids from the community, but will deter future crime.
They seized this opportunity to push for tougher sentencing by clamoring that either we incarcerate more kids or Armageddon is upon us. It didn't matter that no one could explain why crime went up, and it didn't matter that treating kids like adults would make matters worse.
I know that hindsight is 20/20, but there are some things that are a matter of common sense, which often escapes us when fear abounds. The thought of kids hanging out and having a conversation weighing the pros and cons of committing a crime is so naïve it would be great fodder for a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
Assuming for a silly moment that kids contemplate consequences, it would likely go down like this:
Two kids are hanging out at the street corner and a third walks up displaying a gun and says, "Hey man, let's go hit a lick."
Kid number one excitedly shouts, "Yeah man, let's jack-roll someone."
The second one says, "Hey man, we need to think about this." (I hope you're rolling your eyes at this point.)
"Think about what?" says the one holding the gun. "We got ourselves a gun. It's easy money."
The second one retorts, "I read in the newspaper [another eye-roller] that juvies will be DOCed in the big house with adults for at least 10 years, and no parole."
"No s–t," says the kid toting the gun.
"No s–t," he replies with sarcasm.
Waving his gun with a grin, the kid quips, "I guess we better not get caught."
And they high-five and walk off to hit a lick for some easy money.
Assuming for another eye-rolling moment that kids know the law, are hardliners so naïve that they believe kids care?
Studies conducted on adult felons reveal they have a poor understanding of crime and punishment laws. So imagine the depths of ignorance among kids.
During my 18 years on the bench, every kid I had to inform that he would be treated as an adult, and if convicted would spend a minimum of 10 years in an adult prison, reacted like a deer caught in headlights and then the tears followed.
But worse than being naïve is being ignorant. Hardliners enjoy informing the rest of us that incarceration WAS responsible for the dramatic decline in crimes.
But researchers can't point to anything in particular to explain the dramatic drop in crime, and that includes incarceration. Notwithstanding Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton's assertion in a lecture that incarceration was responsible for about 35 percent of the decline in crime, researchers have insisted that incarceration was responsible for only a 5 percent reduction in crime. To this day its impact has had a zero effect in crime reduction.
I can't say for sure where the senator got his "35 percent" figure. But if I were a betting man, I would put my money on the economist and "Freakonomics" co-author Steven Levitts, who reported in 2004 that the increase in incarceration was responsible for over one-third of the reduction in crime.
However, Levitts later acknowledged that his 2004 findings could have been affected "… by the wide divergence in the frequency and severity of offending across criminals," and therefore this could result in a "… sharply declining marginal benefits of incarceration."
In other words, the "more incarceration equals less crime" theory subscribed to by hardliners is a bust when it hits a point of diminishing returns. That's when widening the net of incarceration catches those less culpable in spreading crime, and it no longer yields the intended results.
The irony in pitching more incarceration is that it risks the very thing we don't want — another crimequake.
I wonder if the recent uptick in crime in some major urban centers may in part be caused by the criminogenic effect of prisons on the millions of nonviolent, low-risk offenders incarcerated alongside violent/high-risk offenders over the years — a phenomena I refer to as hyper-recidivism.
Be careful who you incarcerate, you may not like what comes out.
The criminogenic effect on kids is real because studies show that kids treated as adults are more likely to reoffend than youth treated in the juvenile justice system.
If the tremors of crime today are any indication of a crimequake tomorrow, it's best we hang onto what we know works to avoid slipping down the slope into that abyss.
Steven Teske is chief judge of the Juvenile Court of Clayton County, Ga., and vice chairman of the Governor's Office For Children and Families. He is a past president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges and has been appointed by the governor to the Children & Youth Coordinating Council, DJJ Judicial Advisory Council, Commission on Family Violence, and the Governor's Office for Children and Families.
About Judge Steven Teske
Steven Teske is the chief judge of the Juvenile Court of Clayton County, Ga., is the national chair of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and won the 2018 leadership prize from the Juvenile Law Center. He served two terms on the Federal Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice, is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and has testified before Congress numerous times on juvenile justice reform. He is ex-president of the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges.
More by Steven
One thought on "We Still Don't Know Why Juvenile Crime Peaked, Fell, But Let's Stop Doing Dumb Things"
Rick Nevin on June 12, 2017 at 10:56 pm said:
JJIE reported more than 3 years ago on why juvenile arrests have fallen to record lows. The answer is lead poisoning prevention. See http://jjie.org/2014/05/19/analysis-is-lead-exposure-the-secret-to-the-rapid-rise-and-fantastic-fall-of-the-juvenile-crime-rate/
The same pattern has been documented around the world and across centuries. See http://www.ricknevin.com/delinquency.html
The impact of lead exposure trends is the only crime theory that explains both the rise and the fall in crime rates, in the USA and around the world.


Off-roading, in a way, is the last bastion of the un-smart car. While pavement gearheads have long embraced modern things like ABS, traction control, adaptive suspensions and computer-controlled differentials, your average off-road rig is about as digital as a shovel. Enthusiasts like it that way—there's a reason why the Jeep Wrangler, with its four-wheel-drive system operated by a stick, is ubiquitous in the world of 4x4s.
The all-new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor takes a different approach. With its twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 and drive mode selector controlling where it sends its torque, the Raptor steers the modern sports car paradigm off the tarmac and into the dunes. Think of it as an off-road Nissan GT-R—a truck that, like today's high-end performance coupes, offers unprecedented performance by doing most of the thinking for you.
The sports car ethos goes to the Raptor's very bones. It's stiffer (via high-strength steel reinforcement to the heavy-duty frame) and lighter (aluminum bodywork shaves up to 500 lbs. from the previous model). A steering wheel rocker switch calls up six different drive modes: Normal, Sport, Weather, Mud/Sand, Baja, and Rock Crawl.
On the street, Normal lives up to the name, activating the truck's stop-start fuel saver and shifting the 10-speed auto to keep the revs polite. We need speak of this no more. Dial up Sport, and the throttle response sharpens, the shift points rise, the electric-assist steering firms up, and this desert-bashing truck becomes a genuine hoot on the pavement. The EcoBoost engine delivers its 450 horses and 510 lb-ft of torque from way down low on the tach, with only an eye-blink of turbo lag. Measured by my well-calibrated posterior, I'd estimate the thing can do 0-60 in the low-to-mid six-second range, making decent, stereo-enhanced noises in the process.
On the mountain roads of Borrego Springs, California, the Raptor dismantled most of my expectations of how a lifted, big-tired 4x4 should handle. There's body roll, sure, and despite all that "military-grade" aluminum bodywork, you still feel the heft of the thing. But thanks to the Raptor's added track width and excellent grip from the astoundingly quiet 315/70R17 BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2s, the mountain run was entertaining, not terrifying.
Credit goes to the tires, with a brand-new tread design and compound chosen specifically for the Raptor. But the real magic here is the dampers. Fox Racing Shox provides the three-inch diameter internal-bypass units, firm at the extremes of their travel and soft in the middle, the better to absorb high-speed off-road hits without wallowing on the street. Like any truck, the Raptor's rear axle judders a little on well-worn pavement, and pushed to the inadvisable limit this truck will murder its outside-front tire in understeer. But the rest of the time it's admirably well-controlled. Adjust your internal gyros, and the body motion becomes fun, the nose rearing on acceleration like a sloshy old muscle car.
But you don't buy this thing for the highway slog (or, at least, you shouldn't). Ford has spent a ton of time convincing us that this is the all-around performance truck, the one vehicle that's just at home rock crawling as it is blasting full speed through the desert.
Key in this are the six Terrain Modes. Normal and Sport keep the combination 4WD/AWD transfer case in two-wheel drive. Weather engages 4Auto, which acts like a car's all-wheel drive system, apportioning torque to the axle with grip. Mud/Sand selects 4High, which locks the transfer case, engages the electronic rear diff locker, and softens the steering effort. Baja uses 4High and keeps the turbos spinning with higher shift points—and dedicated anti-lag programming like you find in the Ford GT. Rock Crawl shifts the t-case into 4Low and locks the rear diff. Each mode features unique throttle response mapping and traction/stability control settings, and you can still use the 4x4 rotary switch and locker and traction control on/off switches to fine-tune.
"In the prior-gen Raptor, a lot of people weren't using the right settings, or they didn't know how to use the right settings," Jamal Hameedi, Chief Engineer at Ford Performance, told me. "Now, all you have to do is choose the terrain that you're in. You don't have to touch the 4x4 switch, it will do everything for you, and put you in the optimum setting."
It's uncanny. Clicking into Baja mode for a high-speed blast through the desert kept the engine at a steady 3500rpm boil. The 10-speed transmission downshifted aggressively under braking, but never hunted for gears as we rocketed across washes at highway speeds. The suspension swallowed up long undulations and spine-rattling whoops without pitching or bottoming out; the truck never invoked stability control or ABS, no matter how much countersteer or full-lock braking I tossed at it, as long as it didn't seem like I was out of control.
Street dweebs won't comprehend what an accomplishment this is, but anyone who's fought with a modern 4x4's digital nannies will immediately understand.
The same was true in Mud/Sand mode, where the locked rear and optional Torsen front differential helped the big brute claw its way up a loose, shifting dune with aplomb. Softer throttle response kept the truck from digging foxholes, while the increased steering assist saved my forearms. And on a rough, technical rock path at the other end of the park, Rock Crawl mode let the Raptor grunt its way over keg-size boulders, no sweat. In low range, the 10-speed transmission is a joy—whether you're grunting along in 3rd gear at 6mph or 6th gear at 15, it keeps the engine right around 2500rpm, perfect for delivering torque when needed without bringing an unexpected wallop of twin-turbo horsepower to throw you off your line.
Paddle shifters? It's got 'em. Leave them be. With driveline-preserving programming that delays all but the most mellow downshift and kills boost if you bounce off the 6000 rpm redline, shifting for yourself is a confusing hindrance. And in the rocks and sand, the trans knows exactly what it's doing, always. It'll hold a gear to redline, downshift three cogs, or keep the revs right in the fat part of the powerband, all with psychic precision. Believe me: Unless you're a tractor-trailer driver, your brain isn't used to shuffling through this many gears. Leave it to the truck and you won't get lost.
And that's the whole thing with the Raptor: For a novice, as long as you're not asking it to do something impossible for a truck with its dimensions—especially its breakover angle, 21.8 degrees with the four-door cab, 22.9 degrees with the shorter SuperCab—it'll do it better if you get out of its way. Trust the dial, and you won't find yourself scrambling to shift to 4Hi when you top out in 4Lo, or puzzling over whether you should lock the diff, or wrestling with stability control halfway through a mud pit.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Part of the joy of off-roading has always been its indifference to posers. Any punk with money can slap a longarm kit and giant gnarly tires on a truck, but putting that stuff to work off-road takes genuine skill. With a truck as smart as the Raptor, some of that skill requirement dissipates.
When the first generation of super-smart performance cars came out—the GT-Rs and all-wheel-drive 911 Turbos and the like—some of us crowed about how the cars made chumps look like heroes on the racetrack. I'm not so sure the same won't happen for the new Raptor. It's a foolish complaint, criticizing a specialized, high-performance vehicle for being too good at its intended task.
But most off-roaders are pretty stuck in their ways. Just look at their rigs. And anything that can help make off-roading more accessible can't necessarily be all bad. Breeding a new generation of off road enthusiasts is just what we need. And if the Raptor can help, we're all for it.


"HOW is a trip through the lens of a first-class observer. Dov Seidman captures the life lessons that impact how we should think and respond in today's world. HOW's clarity and common sense make it a must read for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere."
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"HOW is a radically different and compelling approach to competing in business today. We're all aware of the implications of operating in a transparent, wired, global marketplace. Dov Seidman crystallizes how we need to think and act to win in this new world."
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"This book is the ultimate guidebook for successful living. Its truths are simple but stunningly powerful."
"We do business on every continent. Everywhere we go, Dov Seidman's message rings equally true. HOW provides valuable insight for anyone who believes their company culture and core values can determine their ultimate success."
"Dov Seidman captures the power that Ray Kroc instilled in us at McDonald's from the day he opened his first restaurant in 1955 – a culture based on values puts the customer first. In today's world, focusing on the HOW is critical to accelerating momentum. HOW is required reading for anyone seeking enduring success in business or life."


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Home Articles Singapore Cruises Are Back! – A Passenger Interview
Singapore Cruises Are Back! – A Passenger Interview
Singapore cruises have restarted, and we have full details from a passenger point of view.
With the seemingly never-ending stream of cruise cancellations and difficult-to-bear cruise news, it's hard to believe cruising has safely resumed in several parts of the globe. This month, the list of countries to resume cruise operations has grown to include the island nation of Singapore. First, Dream Cruise's World Dream, and now Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas have set off on successful port-free "cruises to nowhere" at extremely reduced capacities.
What are these Singapore cruises like?
We had the opportunity to interview a guest who recently returned from a Singapore Cruise on Dream Cruise's "World Dream", which left Marina Bay Cruise Center for a 3-day, 2-night Singapore cruise to "nowhere". These cruises, for the time being are open only to residents of Singapore. Dream Cruises parent company was one of the first cruise companies to outline & publish their health and safety protocols in April, 2020.
We asked Singapore-based Muhammad R. who runs the Instagram account SaxOfTheSeas to share his experience & photographs – from masks to food protocols and what it felt like to cruise amidst the pandemic. Thank you Muhammad for taking the time to share this detailed information with our readers!
What prompted you to take this Singapore cruise?
Frankly speaking, it was an impromptu decision because I normally would not have considered Dream Cruises (I'm loyal to Royal). I say impromptu because my original plan was to make use of the then Singapore – Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble (ATB) arrangement that was due to start on November 22 – though unfortunately this was put on hold for at least two weeks at the decision of both governments due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong last week. Not wanting to waste the vacation leaves that I had already applied for weeks prior, I thought that going on the cruise to nowhere on World Dream at that same time period would be a fitting replacement for a vacation.
How long was this Singapore cruise?
3 days 2 nights. World Dream left the Marina Bay Cruise Center (MBCC) at [9:00]PM on November 25, and was back by November 27 at [9:00]AM. Though, in reality, we set sail 15 minutes earlier at [8:45]PM – not that I'm complaining, of course!
Were there any port stops on your Singapore cruise?
No, there weren't any port stops on the cruise. One of the requirements for these cruises to nowhere is that they're really to nowhere, given the current ongoing border restrictions. It is a government requirement, and so Royal Caribbean International will also have to adhere to this rule.
Have you ever cruised with this cruise line before?
No, this sailing was my first time with Dream Cruises!
What was the process of getting on and off the ship?
During the purchase process of the sailing, you will be told that the cost of a COVID-19 swab test will be included in the price. During online checking in, you will be assigned a time slot that you need to report to the Cruise Center for the swab test (mine was [4:30]PM – [4:45]PM). Some passengers were assigned as early as [9:00]AM, for the purpose of social distancing and crowd management. For these early slots, after they are done with their swab tests, they are to leave the Cruise Center on shuttle buses to a nearby shopping mall while waiting for check in to open.
For me, I arrived at MBCC slightly before my test slot, and was told to drop off my bags first at the baggage drop counter (this was as usual in normal times). Afterwards, I was told to head to the third floor of the MBCC's parking garage, which has been converted to a COVID-19 swab testing site. Upon reaching the first waiting area, guests had to scan a QR code on their mobile phones to fill in a short health declaration form. After that, we were to head over to the registration counter for the test, and we were given seven stickers bearing our personal details for our sample collection.
This was followed by the test proper, which was conducted at multiple booths by medical staff (a nasal swab test). After this, guests were directed to separately assigned waiting zones where we were to wait for our test results. Although it was announced to guests that the results would probably take about an hour to process, it actually took about 15 minutes – probably because I was in the tail end of the swab test time slots.
Once a negative result had been obtained, we were to proceed with the usual check in procedures. The only difference this time is that guests were each given a Singapore government issued bluetooth token called a MICE pod, for the purpose of safe management measures adherence and contact tracing, in the event of a COVID-19 case onboard. Guests are to carry their MICE pods with them wherever they go out of their staterooms during the cruise.
How was the COVID testing experience?
As far as the COVID-19 swab test experience goes, I found it to be quite ticklish, and actually couldn't stop myself from laughing in response! I should mention that the specific test that was administered is an Antigen Rapid Test (ART), where the swab goes halfway up your nasal cavity. Medical staff would twist the swab in each nostril for about five seconds – and you're done!
As for disembarkation, the cruise line had guests do so deck by deck in order to adhere to safe distancing measures. Guests were to wait in their staterooms, until an announcement was made over the PA system for that deck, while stateroom attendants would come by each stateroom to knock on doors to let guests know that it's their turn to leave the ship.
Were you COVID tested more than once?
Yes, the second one would be after we have arrived back at MBCC. This was held at the baggage claim area after immigration. The only difference with this arrival swab test was that guests do not need to wait around for their results, and are free to leave the Cruise Center immediately. Although, should they be tested positive at this stage, they would be contacted separately for a more accurate Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test to be done – the more invasive kind.
What was the cruise line's policy if someone were to test positive prior to the cruise? Did the cruise line communicate that to you?
Should someone be tested positive prior to the cruise, they and their cruise companions will be denied boarding. In such a public health risk case, these guests will be extended the Dream Cruises' Future Cruise Credits for their future cruise enjoyment. And yes, this was spelled out quite clearly by the cruise line. In fact, a four-page World Dream COVID-19 supplementary terms and conditions handout was given to all guests at the time when they reported for their swab test.
Were masks required on the ship?
Absolutely! Just as how it was mandatory in public spaces back on dry land in Singapore, guests can only remove their masks when they are having their meals or drinks at the various locations for such activities, when they are swimming at the pools, when they are engaging in strenuous sports activities, or when they are back in the safety of their own staterooms.
How crowded was your Singapore cruise?
World Dream has a full capacity of 3,000+ guests, but I'd estimate the final number during my sailing to be about 1,000. Again, this is in accordance with Singapore government regulations for businesses to have a cap of half their capacity – be it restaurants, hotels, et cetera.
What type of stateroom did you have? Were you able to choose your stateroom or the cruise line choose it for you?
As there was an ongoing promotion by one of the banks in Singapore, I had a free upgrade to a Balcony Deluxe stateroom for the price of a normal Balcony stateroom, which was about US$261 for my sailing date. Unfortunately, I was not given a choice to choose a specific stateroom. Do note that Inside and Outside staterooms were not open for bookings – only Balconies and Suites (or Palaces, as Dream Cruises calls it).
Tell us about the dining experience. Was it different for you than past cruises? Was there a buffet and if so what was it like?
There wasn't much difference with the usual cruise experiences, with the exception of the buffet. Although it was still open, it was no longer self-service and staff members would serve guests instead, though the food was still what you would normally expect from a typical buffet, with more Chinese and Malay selections to cater to local guests. The bars also had to stop alcohol sales between [10:30]PM and [7:00]AM (in line with the local restrictions in Singapore), but otherwise the experience was much the same.
A minor complaint from the first night was that the restaurants and buffet closed pretty early (around [8:30]PM), which is probably the normal closing time, but considering the longer boarding process, I think a later closing time on Day 1 would have been less rushed.
I didn't have the opportunity to try the main dining rooms for lunch or dinner, but these looked like they would be similar to the Main Dining Room experience on other lines. World Dream has two dining rooms, one serving a typical American/European set dinner and one serving a Chinese menu, to keep guests happy no matter which they prefer. A downside compared to cruises on other lines is that in the MDR, you can't order as much as you like, and have to stick to just one appetizer/main/dessert each. Breakfast in the MDR was typical, with pancakes, cereal, eggs and so on.
I got to try a couple of specialty restaurants. One was a Japanese restaurant (Umi Uma) where I had some sushi and sashimi. This was decent, though nothing particularly special. The other was Dream Cruises' signature Chinese restaurant (Silk Road), which is open to Palace (Suite) guests only for lunch, but everyone for dinner. This was a really good one, on par with the better specialty restaurants on Royal and other lines, especially for Chinese food. One difference with other lines' specialty restaurants is that pricing tends to be a-la-carte instead of a single cover charge.
This was quite variable, we noted the steakhouse prices were way above what you'd have on other lines (US$70 for a set dinner or US$25 just for individual dishes), but the Asian food such as Silk Road was on par with or cheaper than on other lines (the set dinner at Silk Road was around US$35 for 5 items, while the sushi and sashimi set us back around US$20)
What precautions were the staff taking in regards to health and safety?
Staff were masked across the ship, and were out and about to enforce safe distancing measures. In particular, guests had to scan their stateroom cards as they entered each zone (such as restaurants, shops or the pool deck), and also have their temperature taken. The pools and jacuzzis were also available in hour-long slots and prior reservations had to be made at a counter on Deck 16. This is because masks weren't possible in those areas, so the number of guests had to be tightly controlled, so it was quite understandable.
What should future cruise travelers expect from the cruise experience and how did this Singapore cruise feel "different" to you?
I think it felt mostly the same as any other cruise. If anything, most of the "differences" were more to cater to the Singapore cruise crowd than any differences because of the pandemic. However, the main thing was that it was much less crowded in the restaurants, buffet, pool deck and all, which made it feel quite different. In a way, I kind of missed the regular hustle and bustle of a pool deck filled with people enjoying their vacation, but the lack of queues was a plus too.
What surprised you the most about this cruise?
I was surprised about how normal the whole thing felt, to be honest. Other than the boarding procedure and the lack of people, it felt the same as any regular cruise. In addition, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ship and the Dream Cruise experience, since they're a relatively new line and the reputation of their sister company (Star Cruise) isn't very good in Singapore.
I understand you're cruising with Royal Caribbean soon. Is that a short cruise and are there any port stops?
This will be a short 2 night cruise as well, with no port stops. However, I've also got a three-night cruise coming up later in the month as well as a four-night early next year (though all without any port stops whatsoever). Looking forward in particular to the four-night cruise in a Star-class loft suite, with the full Royal Suite class experience!
What else would you like our viewers to know about your Singapore cruise experience?
Whenever cruising starts in your area, go ahead, keep an open mind about the various restrictions and policies, stay safe, and enjoy the cruise!
Thank you Muhammad! Welcome home! For more photos and Instagram Stories, follow SaxOfTheSeas over on the Gram!
Are you onboard?
Would you consider a Singapore cruise? Are you ready to cruise in this new era? We certainly have our concerns, but when the time is right, we can't wait to be back on the high seas! Come say hi and share your thoughts on the topic with us via direct message on Facebook or Instagram!
Interested in more about Singapore?
Check out our Singapore Mini Vlog.
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Thanks so much for reading! We hope you've enjoyed this article and we'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to direct message us on Instagram or Facebook with your thoughts, or just check in to see what we are up to on those platforms. We have lots of fun, and different content available.
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Big thanksios to ModCloth for making me blogger of the moment and naming this dress after me!
I had loads of fun working on my favorite items from modcloth (I think you can see its all typically me, I just love "windows" shopping) and ~although I'm always struggling with telling and writing stuffs about myself and totally should have left the freakin' smiley's alone~ the questions & answers.
gefeliciteerd! hoe tof als er zo'n leuke jurk naar je wordt vernoemd! en modcloth is echt een geweldige webwinkel!
Congrats :)…and you look wonderful!
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This outfit is very lovely: it's amazing how well the socks over knee suit you!
congratulations, you deserve it! you have a dress in your name now omg that's so fabulous!
Congrats! You totally deserved it!
I love the idea of the big socks and the slouchy boots.
a dress with your name wow !!
Congratulations. I love Mod Cloth and how honored you must feel that they named a dress after you. A great accomplishment from blogging. Thanks you for sharing your fabulous photos.
Dress is great and I love how you matched it with the socks and boots 🙂 Lovely!
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love the boots with the grey knee high!
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The dress was made for you!
You have always been one of my favorite bloggers. Every time I come back to your blog I am inspired and excited. I love that you're one of the few bloggers who actually smile in your pictures.
your sweet smile completes every of your gorgeous outfits!
congrats! what a wonderful dress 🙂 i love the color and the design!
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The satchel, the colour of the photos… awesome!
congrats! your a perfect fit for modcloth! love the outfit and that bag!
Congrats! I can understand why they picked you. 🙂 I like your blog very much too! Love this outfit. That dress in combination with the knee socks is très chic!
Hi darling! Congrats a lot for being the blogger of the moment! I really like your blog since I started mine and you really deserve it!
btw, I love so much your socks and the bag is fantastic!
love the combo socks + boots! So cool! Nice dress too!
I've read the Q&A, really nice to know a bit more about a blogger. I like your blog because it's so inspirational. I love the colors you use in your clothes, those are the ones I like most.
The dress is gorgeous and I love everything about this outfit!
Grey looks so good on you!
i love the gray and beige so much! this is one of my fave looks ever!
congrats!!!…definately see your style in the dress!
Congrats. i love your outfit. That bag is stunning.
Hi, I just uploaded my blog! Take a look!
OMG Those socks with those shoes, that is so revolutionary.
love your blog u have such a great sense of style!!!!
I LOVE this look, so goorgeous!
WoW! That suits you perfectly! Gorgeous!
this outfit is so cool, i like it so much !!!
the pictures is soooooooooo beautifull!
nice dress and the bag is amazing I am looking for similar, where did you find it?
hey bebe!i will order it.definitely.now.its fab.just like u.
hope you are fiine, you definitely look like you would be.
little one and us are grrreat, he is the best thing ever.
Jolie robe, j'adore ton look.
Stunning. Are those socks or tights?


www.careerairforce.nic.in WANT TO BE A COMBAT PILOT? WANT TO FLY FOR INDIA? This is the Official Indian Air Force 3D Air Combat Mobile Game. Live the life of an Indian Air Force Combat Pilot and Fly for India! ONE OF THE MOST REALISTIC AIR COMBAT MOBILE GAMES! 'Guardians' is the most realistic and graphic rich mobile air combat game, which breaks the cliche by bringing the first Campaign based air combat game play on the mobile platform. It also sets new benchmark in graphic and game play optimization techniques and has the most elaborate collection of flying missions ever seen on a mobile platform. THE GAME! 'Guardians' puts the player in the hot seat as an Indian Air Force Combat Pilot and takes you through one training and ten combat missions. The player learns to fly the SU 30 high performance jet and subsequently flies as a Mi 17 pilot. While the training mission teaches the player the basics of flying training, the two operational missions lay down the foundation for the story in which war clouds are hanging over India and Zaruzia, a country planning to wage war on India. The eight subsequent missions will see a full fledged air war between Zaruzia and India and will feature all operational mission profiles as flown by the IAF and feature the SU 30, M2000, Tejas, Phalcon AWACS, C130, Mi 17, Mi 35 and ALH Dhruv aircraft. ARMAMENT - Phase One (present) - Guns, Rockets Phase Two (eighth October) - Missiles, LGBs etc THE MISSIONS - Training - On SU30 MKI. Follow simple instructions and land the aircraft to earn your wing. Mission One - Anti Piracy - SU 30MKI Mission Two - Search & rescue - Mi 17V5 Mission Three - Combat Rescue and Night Vision Combat - C130J Mission Four - Base Defence - Mirage2000 Mission Five - High Value Asset Protection - Phalcon/SU30MKI/M2000/Tejas Mission Six - Tanking Ops - IL78MD/ M2000 Mission Seven - Counter Air - SU30MKI/M2000/Tejas Mission Eight - Anti Tank - Mi35/ ALH Mission Nine - Precision Strikes - SU30MKI/M2000/Tejas Mission Ten - Defending a major city of India - SU30MKI MULTIPLAYER - Air to Air combat (Upto six Players) CONTROLS! - Motion Sensors and Touch Based. Default Motion Sensor selected. - For best user experience, calibrate your device (from the pause menu), holding it upright or at 45' angle. AWARDS! The player achieves campaign ribbons and gallantry awards as he progresses across various missions. FLYING MODES! Arcade mode is available for the first three missions, while a cockpit simulation mode will be added for the remaining eight missions releasing as part of phase two on 08 Oct 14. FEATURES! - Very Realistic Mission Profiles - Highly detailed aircraft models and other assets - Featuring fighters, transport and helicopter aircraft of the IAF - Easy to learn training mission for new flyers - Ten Operational Missions featuring various IAF roles - Advanced air combat depictions with modern air to air and air to ground weapons - Uncluttered Head Up Display optimized to display relevant information - Aircraft Skin changes in phase two - Multiplayer in phase two - Optimized for low to medium end smartphones - First mobile game to be officially based on the Indian Air Force GAME RELEASE VERSIONS! Present version - One Training Mission, Two Combat Missions Next Version (08 October 14) - Eight Added Combat Missions THE MISSION! Play the Game. Join the Mission! JAI HIND!
The game is pretty good but it is crashing at the second last mission.... Feeling sad 😢 any one else experiencing the same issue?
IT'S FANTASTIC!!! It is a good game I like it very much but there is just one thing I dislike. It's the turn option; whenever I put the camera in cockpit mode it always changes from yaw to roll. That's just a little thing though I can deal with it, that's why the plane gets seriously hard to handle, but I just switch it then it's fine Thank you so much producer!
Awesome 🙆 game.. Please add multiplayer option like Android. It is more appreciable So please I request you for that.


This elegant Italian-styled Villa overlooks the serene red tile roofs of Malaga Cove toward an expansive Queen's Necklace coastline and city lights view. Enjoy white-capped waves breaking on the beach by day and the sparkling lights of Los Angeles and the South Bay at night. Classic Architecture combined with the highest quality construction and old world artisan finishes create the ambience of a private sanctuary along the Mediterranean Coast. Although private, this home also lends itself to entertaining on a grand scale. On the main level, the spacious Foyer, Living Room, Dining Room and Family Room all enjoy French doors leading to the terrace that extends the width of the home. A gourmet Kitchen with center island and Viking appliances appeals to the most discriminating cook. Up one level finds the dramatic Master suite with private balcony, additional ensuite Bedrooms and an open Office. The level below the main living area is complete with a plush Media Room. Extensive storage has been incorporated into the design and a high-level security system completes this executive home. The grounds have been landscaped for low maintenance and enhanced with extensive lighting and a heated lap pool. An elevator provides easy access to all levels.


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Maruti Suzuki Celerio CNG Gets Finally Launched!
Home News MV Agusta F3 800 to come in early 2014
MV Agusta F3 800 to come in early 2014
May 19, 2013 | Yatharth Singh Chauhan
Coming our way in early 2014 is a big bore, 800cc version of MV Agusta F3 675. MV Agusta has already announced that the development work for the upcoming model is going on in full swing and the upcoming bike is currently undergoing final testing.
Powering the upcoming MV Agusta will be an inline-three cylinder engine that will be heavily inspired by the motor that powers the Brutale and Rivale. It is being said that the new MV Agusta F3 800 will borrow its chassis from the current F3 and this will help the bike maker to reduce the development time and cost for the new model.
The bike will have a max power output of 140bhp and will be locking horns with the Ducati 848 and Suzuki GSX-R750. The interesting bit here is that Ducati might launch a new Panigale-inspired middleweight sportsbike to replace the 848, much before the F3 800 is launched. It would be then really interesting to see if the new F3 would be a potent rival to the new Ducati.
The new F3 800, in all probability, will come with bike maker's MVICS electronics package and is also expected to come with ride-by-wire, ABS and multiple power modes.
The upcoming MV Agusta F3 800 is expected to come with a sticker price that will be in the vicinity of £11,000.
Volkswagen Tiguan And Skoda Kushaq Get A Feature Deletion


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Spooky Grows Up – How Adult Halloween Spending Has Evolved
Although it has its origins in the UK, the Celtic 'All Hallows' Evening' has, for generations, been far less celebrated in the UK than the likes of the U.S. or Latin America. In fact, until relatively recently, the UK only really recognised Halloween as an...
Turning up the South African heat with the latest Nando's Music Exchange documentary
Late last year Nando's filmed the third instalment of their Music Exchange documentary series with UK based DJ Chloe Robinson aka Barely Legal and South African rapper Dope Saint Jude. Barely Legal travelled to Cape Town to explore the sights and sounds that defined Dope...
The Romantic Return of the Nando's Churrasco Burger
Have you ever had a relationship end before you were ready? Did you ever wish you could meet one last time? For Nando's Churrasco Burger fans this fantasy became a reality - right in time for Valentine's Day. When the Churrasco Burger was removed from the...
How to stay entertained throughout your January hibernation
The general consensus is that 2016 was 'a bad thing' – 2017 has started off quite well but it is cold, we've got no money after Christmas and no one is drinking alcohol. All of these things point to hibernation being a brilliant option for the...
Here Comes The Sun-set Burger
To celebrate the launch of the Nando's Sunset Burger, we stationed ourselves at five restaurants around the UK to host lucky fans and their friends who had won the opportunity to sample the new food before its official launch. Around the world, there's a tradition of...
A rewarding year so far…
The dread of a weekend trip to IKEA is enough to send shivers down the spine, but when that trip's needed to buy new office shelving to house a growing award collection we'll make an exception (well, that and the mini-Daim bars). We're fortunate at PrettyGreen...
Summertime… and the living was easy Summer is over, meteorogically speaking. If the Met Office are the ones to trust then summer (like the other three seasons in the year) is made up of the three clean months of June, July and August, to coincide with...
5 Key Challenges Facing The Comms Industry
We thought we'd post an extract from an interview Strings did for The Drum where he spoke about the Agency, but also the challenges he saw for the PR & Communications industry as a whole: To my mind, there are 5 main challenges facing PR and...
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Q: Block Size and inode size in a filesystem I am going through the book , "Practical Filesystem design " by "Dominic Giampaolo" .
The two important concepts are

*

*Block : The smallest readable or writable unit of memory for a filesystem .

*Inode : Inode , is , an area, which stores the data about a file , stores the data about where the blocks composing  a file are stored .
The author states about the simplicity introduced by storing  a few block addresses directly in i-node . Then he mentions about tradeoff that is faced between "the size of the i-node" and how much data the i-node map .
As such he mentions that the size of the i-node works best when it is an even divisor of the block size  .
How to reason out the above statement ? Any calculations to support this ?

A: Since all read/write operations operate at the block-level, then having your inodes block-aligned and occupying entire blocks ensures that your reads/writes are not wasteful.
If a block is 4096 bytes, but an inode is just 4000 bytes, then either:
1. our inodes are block-aligned: we're not very efficient since we always waste 96 bytes of every block.
2. our inodes are not block-aligned: we're not very efficient since when we want to read an inode, we often need to read two blocks - and none of them will be 100% occupied by inode data.
We remain efficient when:
1. The size of an inode equals to the size of a block (1:1 ratio)
2. The size of an inode is an exact multiple of the size of a block (1:n ratio)
3. The size of a block is an exact multiple of the size of an inode  (n:1 ratio)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


On February 9, at 19:57 an emergency call was received to "911" service that a car accident had occurred near the bridge on Arteni-Aragatsavan roadway: there were casualties, the rescuers' help was needed.
It turned out that "VAZ-2109" and "Opel" cars had collided on the 1st km of Arteni-Aragatsavan roadway.
Before the rescuers arrived at the scene the driver and passenger of "VAZ-2109" car had been taken to the medical centers of Talin and Armavir towns. According to doctors the casualties were in serious condition.
The ambulance workers rendered necessary medical aid to the driver of "Opel" car: there was no need for hospitalization.


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Envisioning safer cities with artificial intelligence
Researchers simulate structure risks of cities and regions
Visualization of the wind field of Hurricane Laura, 2020.
Over the past several decades, artificial intelligence has advanced tremendously, and today it promises new opportunities for more accurate healthcare, enhanced national security and more effective education, researchers say. But what about civil engineering and city planning? How do increased computing power and machine learning help create safer, more sustainable and resilient infrastructure?
U.S. National Science Foundation-funded researchers at the Computational Modeling and Simulation Center, or SimCenter, have developed a suite of tools called BRAILS -- short for Building Recognition using AI at Large-Scale -- that can automatically identify characteristics of buildings in a city and detect the risks a city's structures would face in the event of an earthquake, hurricane or tsunami.
SimCenter is part of the NSF-funded Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure program and serves as a computational modeling and simulation center for natural hazards engineering researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Charles Wang, the lead developer of BRAILS, says the project grew out of a need to "quickly and reliably characterize the structures in a city. We want to simulate the impact of hazards on all the buildings in a region, but we don't have a description of the building attributes."
For example, he says, "in the San Francisco Bay area, there are millions of buildings. Using AI, we are able to get the needed information. We can train neural network models to infer building information from images and other sources of data."
To train the BRAILS modules and run the simulations, the researchers used supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center -- notably Frontera, the fastest academic supercomputer in the world, and Maverick 2, a GPU-based system designed for deep learning.
"Frontera is a leadership computing resource that serves science and engineering research for the nation," says Manish Parashar, director of NSF's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure. "We are excited about the new computational methods and techniques Frontera is enabling to transform how engineering discoveries are being made to make our lives safer."
The SimCenter recently released BRAILS version 2.0, which includes modules to predict a larger spectrum of building characteristics. These include occupancy class, roof type, foundation elevation, year built, number of floors, and whether a building has a "soft-story" -- a civil engineering term for structures that include ground floors with large openings like storefronts that may be more prone to collapse during an earthquake.
"Given the importance of regional simulations and the need for large inventory data to execute these, machine learning is really the only option for making progress," says SimCenter co-director Sanjay Govindjee. "It is exciting to see civil engineers learning these new technologies and applying them to real-world problems."


This past Saturday night at Bellator 214, Ryan Bader needed only 35 seconds to knock out the legend Fedor Emelianenko and win the Bellator World Heavyweight Grand Prix. In the process Bader also became Bellator's new heavyweight champion, as he was awarded the vacant title for winning the tournament. That's in addition to his Bellator light heavyweight championship. Bader is now Bellator's version of Daniel Cormier -- the "Champ-Champ" -- and the only one in the history of the promotion.
When asked at the post-fight press conference about the next fight for Bader, Bellator President Scott Coker said the promotion hasn't decided, only that Bellator would let Bader move between the two weight classes as long as he doesn't hold them up. That's different than what the UFC did, when they forced McGregor to vacate his featherweight title when he beat Eddie Alvarez and won the lightweight belt, and also for Cormier, who was forced to give up the light heavyweight belt when Jon Jones returned. Bader, it seems, will be afforded the rare opportunity to defend his belts in two different weight classes, provided of course that's what he wants to do.
First things first, though. Bellator's contract with Bader is up, so he'll have to sign a new contract with the promotion. Normally it would be interesting to see what his free agency would be like, but Coker mentioned Bellator had a champion's clause in Bader's current deal, making the odds of him leaving the promotion slim. The UFC let go of Bader before, and it's unlikely the promotion would be interested in him now. He is most likely going to re-sign with Bellator for huge money, and he'll likely be very happy in his role as arguably the new face of the promotion.
The decision of whether Bader's next fight will be at heavyweight or light heavyweight is up to him, but there will be big fights available for him in both weight classes. If he wants to stay at heavyweight -- which I believe is the right move, as he looks incredible at this weight class -- then his next opponent will be the winner of the Vitaly Minakov vs. Cheick Kongo rematch. It's likely Minakov wins that fight, and a fight between him and Bader is very intriguing. If Bader goes back to light heavyweight next, he could potentially rematch Tito Ortiz, face Chael Sonnen in a money fight, or take on top contender Vadim Nemkov, who is coming off of a breakthrough win over Phil Davis. All of these fights are good options for Bader, but the choice will be up to him and his agent.
But regardless of who he fights next, Ryan Bader is in a great spot. After falling short of ever fighting for a title in the UFC, Bader is now making more money in Bellator and having way more success. He's turned himself from a gatekeeper in the UFC into arguably the best fighter in Bellator, and now he's winning fights in two different weight classes. He is a terrific fighter, and the UFC is going to regret ever letting him go, as Bellator has been reaping the benefits of Dana White's error for quite some time. Now we will wait and see what Bader and Bellator decide is the next move. But whether it's at 265 lbs or 205 lbs, it's going to be a big fight, as Bader has quickly turned into a must-watch MMA fighter.


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Q: Rails 3 gem usage I installed this gem in my Gemfile https://github.com/peter-murach/github#readme. I am trying to call 'github = Github.new' in a controller's method but I get this error:
uninitialized constant ApplicationsController::Github

if I require 'github_api' I get this
cannot load such file -- github_api

How and where do I call gem's methods?


The contemporary deepening of democracy and general ethos of pluralization is throwing forth new subterranean political subjectivities and transformative spaces in various jurisdictions that are putting severe strains on official minority discourses. In the last few decades the theoretical domain of minority rights or multiculturalism has been increasingly problematized by the 'internal minorities' or 'minorities-within-minorities' problematique. In the Indian context the term 'minority' is often treated as coeval with the 'Muslim' community and the hegemonic minority rights regime—a complex of concepts, identity, institutions, policy, politics—has been increasingly deconstructed by the emergent Pasmanda Muslim counterdiscourse. The ideologues of the Pasmanda movement, a movement of subordinated caste Indian Muslims, have employed caste analytics to reveal the contingency of the Muslim-Minority space and resist the hegemony of high caste Ashraf Muslims thereby complicating the majority-minority (Hindu-Muslim) duopoly and destabilizing other related conceptual assemblages. I argue that the discursive ruptures inaugurated by the Pasmanda counterdiscourse poses tremendous conceptual and political challenges to the minority rights regime and its discursive field of secularism, cultural rights or reforms. Breaking away from the political templates of community articulations, the movement rather than claiming space of 'yet another minority' or 'minority within minority', calls forth new assemblages of political solidarities, discursive ruptures and social critiques thereby opening up the extant imagination of minority space in India in various productive ways. In my view, the emerging social and political condition that informs the democratic striving of the Pasmanda movement may tentatively be termed as 'post-minority'.
Khalid Anis Ansari is director, Dr. Ambedkar Centre for Exclusion Studies & Transformative Action (ACESTA), Glocal University, India. He broadly works in the field of social and cultural theory and takes keen interest in both grassroots organizing and scholarly interventions to publicize the history of resistance movements, particularly the social and political aspirations of subordinated caste Pasmanda Muslims. He was awarded the HIVOS PhD Fellowship—Pluralism Knowledge Programme (2010-2013) for his doctoral work on caste movements among Indian Muslims with the University of Humanistic Studies (UvH), Utrecht, the Netherlands.


NEW YORK, June 2, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) will confer more than 4,200 associate degrees during morning and afternoon Commencement ceremonies at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, on June 3, 2016.
The morning ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. and the afternoon ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m. Each ceremony will feature remarks by members of BMCC's administration and speeches by the 2016 BMCC valedictorians Alex Guarino and Teri Talbot.
BMCC offers associate degree programs in more than 30 disciplines, ranging from engineering to theatre and from computer science to criminal justice. This year's graduates include Nathanael Alexander, first Art Foundations graduate; Alexander Grinberg, first History graduate; and Nicole Lesko, first Animation and Motion Graphics graduate.
The morning Commencement Valedictorian is Alex Guarino, a Business Administration major with a cumulative GPA of 4.0. Alex was born and raised in a small Italian village and spent a semester at BMCC studying abroad in China. He is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, President of the Out-in-Two Scholarship Club and a college tutor who has participated in Meals on Wheels, read English books to children, coached soccer to a group of 19 children, and started a website helping Italians find jobs and accommodations. He plans to attend Columbia University in Fall 2016, where he will pursue a major in economics and a minor in Asian studies.
BMCC President Antonio Pérez will present the 2016 BMCC President's Medal to Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. during the morning ceremony. Dina Powell, head of Goldman Sachs' Impact Investing business and President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, will be accepting the medal.
Lloyd Blankfein is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He joined the J. Aron Currency and Commodities Division of Goldman Sachs in 1982. Lloyd was named partner in 1988, co-head of the J. Aron Division in 1994 and co-head of the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division as of its formation in 1997. He served as the firm's president and chief operating officer from December 2003 through June 2006 prior to assuming his current position. FULL BIO.
Dina Powell leads Goldman Sachs' Impact Investing business and the Environmental Markets Group, which creates market-based opportunities and solutions to drive sustainable economic development and environmental progress. She is also president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation overseeing the firm's strategic programs to drive economic growth and opportunity. Dina joined Goldman Sachs as a managing director in 2007, was named partner in 2010 and serves as a member of the Partnership Committee. FULL BIO.
About Goldman Sachs: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.
About Goldman Sachs Gives: Goldman Sachs Gives is committed to fostering innovative ideas, solving economic and social issues, and enabling progress in underserved communities globally. Since 2010, Goldman Sachs Gives has supported need-based scholarships at more than 200 colleges and universities globally and is one of the largest private supporters of such aid in higher education.
The afternoon Commencement Valedictorian is Teri Talbot, a Liberal Arts major with a cumulative GPA of 4.0. She was born and raised in Los Angeles but was unable to complete her high school degree. Years later, she completed her high school education and enrolled at BMCC. Teri is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and volunteers at Universal Bookstore in Brooklyn. In addition, she proofreads translations for people in her community, where English is their second language. She plans to attend Columbia University in Fall 2016, and eventually pursue a law degree.
During the afternoon Commencement, President Pérez will be present the President's Medal to American Express and Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, American Express Company. Richard Brown, Vice President of Philanthropy, American Express Company will be accepting the medal on the company's behalf.
Richard Brown oversees the company's global giving programs under the company's historic preservation and leadership giving themes, which includes the National Treasurers program with National Trust for Historic Preservation and the World Monument Fund's Watch, as well as the American Express Leadership Academy. Additionally, Mr. Brown was a key presenter of the first-ever White House Forum on Nonprofit Leadership and plays a lead role with the Presidio Institute in the development of an on-line leadership development portal for nonprofit leaders. FULL BIO.
About American Express: American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.
Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, Plenti rewards program, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, corporate card, business travel and corporate responsibility.
About American Express: Developing New Leaders for Tomorrow: One of American Express' three philanthropic platforms is Developing New Leaders for Tomorrow. Under this giving initiative, which recognizes the significance of strong leadership in the nonprofit and social purpose sectors, American Express makes grants focused on training high potential emerging leaders to tackle important issues in the 21st century. More than 16,000 emerging nonprofit and social sector leaders worldwide have benefitted from American Express leadership programs, including the American Express Leadership Academy among others. Launched in 2008, the American Express Leadership Academy addresses the growing deficit of leadership talent in the nonprofit sector by bringing together emerging leaders from a diverse set of nonprofit, social sector and non-governmental organizations. For leadership journey stories and additional resources, visit http://leaderstories.org/.
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) and enrolls over 27,000 degree-seeking and 11,000 continuing education students a year, awarding associate degrees in more than 30 fields. BMCC ranks #4 among community colleges nationwide in granting associate degrees to minority students, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Visit: http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu.


text:
Särkijärvi är en sjö i Finland. Den ligger i kommunen Tammela i landskapet Egentliga Tavastland, i den södra delen av landet,  km nordväst om huvudstaden Helsingfors. Särkijärvi ligger  meter över havet. Arean är  kvadratkilometer och strandlinjen är  kilometer lång. Sjön   Den ligger vid sjön Heinäjärvi. Den högsta punkten i närheten är Saarnakivi,  meter över havet,  km nordost om Särkijärvi. I omgivningarna runt Särkijärvi växer i huvudsak barrskog. Den sträcker sig 1,6 kilometer i nord-sydlig riktning, och 1,4 kilometer i öst-västlig riktning.

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Insjöar i Finland större än 1 kvadratkilometer
Insjöar i Tammela


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Net neutrality in the context of the new pandemic
Cristina Crețu | 13/04/2020 13/04/2020
Cristina Crețu
Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures concerning open internet access and amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services and Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union ("Net Neutrality Regulation") has as a main scope to safeguard equal and non-discriminatory treatment of traffic in the provision of internet access services and related end-users' rights. Therefore, the Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") are prohibited from blocking or slowing down the internet traffic, except if the traffic management measure is needed to:
(i) comply with a legal order;
(ii) ensure network integrity and security;
(iii) manage congestion, provided that equivalent categories of traffic are treated equally.
2. Traffic management measures in times of SARS-CoV-2
The social distancing measures introduced to contain the spread of and fight against the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, known as SARS-CoV-2, had as a result an increased demand for Internet capacity, be it for teleworking, e-learning or entertainment purposes. But such increase in demand can put the internet networks under the strain in the near future.
Based on the Government Emergency Ordinance 1/1999 regarding the state of siege and the state of emergency, during the state of emergency, the companies providing public utility services in the field of communications are obliged to ensure continuous supply to the population with such services. It is true that the wording of the legal text reflects a reality that was valid in 1999, when for example, electronic communication services were qualified as public utility services. However, in these exceptional times who can argue that ensuring that people can continue to communicate between themselves is not a matter of public interest and utility.
Because communication plays an important part these days for individuals, businesses, public authorities, the European Commission and the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications ("BEREC") have set up a special reporting mechanism to monitor the internet traffic situation in each Member State to be able to respond to any capacity issues that might arise due to the high demand for internet services.
As mentioned above, the Net Neutrality Regulation prohibits operators from blocking, slowing down or prioritising traffic. However, in exceptional circumstances, such as the ones we are living today, the internet services providers might find themselves in the situation to apply exceptional traffic management measures to prevent impending network congestion and to mitigate the effects of the such.
The first information gathering exercise performed by BEREC showed that although the traffic on fixed and on mobile networks has increased in this period, for the moment, no major congestion issues have occurred, with the exception of some local and temporary difficulties that have been observed and mitigated. An update to BEREC's reporting document on the internet traffic situation in each Member State shows that the ISPs continue to cope with the situation, but are paying close attention to any change that might occur in the network[1].
But the situation might change rapidly and the ISPs, in order to maintain the internet services operational, might be obliged to apply exceptional traffic management measures. Such measures must be in line with the provisions of the Net Neutrality Regulation and must be taken under the condition that equivalent categories of traffic are treated equally.
Also, because it is an exception from the general prohibition stated in the Net Neutrality Regulation, the ISPs will need to interpret the possibility to take exceptional traffic management measures in a restrictively manner. According to BEREC, in such situation, the ISPs should consider the following:
(i) to objectively assess that the levels of traffic are very high compared to a similar reference period, and that absent the envisaged measures users would be negatively affected by the congestion;
(ii) if the exceptional congestion is caused, for example, by multiple technical failures, unexpected changes in routing of traffic not under the ISP's control, or large increases in network traffic linked to the current pandemic crisis or other emergency situations beyond the control of ISPs;
(iii) the implemented exceptional traffic management measures are proportionate to the problem observed and guarantee access to Internet to all users, are limited in time to the strict necessary and ensure that equivalent categories of traffic are treated equally.
Moreover, the European Commission and BEREC call on ISPs to closely cooperate with the national regulatory authorities ("NRAs") and to inform the same, in a timely manner, on the taken traffic management measures in order to ensure the necessary transparency and to allow for such measures to be monitored for compliance with the Net Neutrality Regulation.
How these traffic management measures will be implemented in practice and how the cooperation between ISPs and NRAs will work remain to be seen. These exceptional times will require exceptional measures, especially when it comes to ensuring that the internet access services continue to be operational. It is for the ISPs, alongside the European Commission, BEREC and the NRAs to find the proper solutions to continue to have a functional and open internet.
[1] For more information see: https://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/reports/9250-berec-summary-report-on-the-status-of-internet-capacity-in-light-of-covid-19-crisis
Cristina Crețu, Senior Privacy & Technology Consultant MPR PARTNERS | MARAVELA POPESCU & ROMAN
The EU Commission presents next steps in the setting up of the joint cyber unit (0)
The CJEU delivers its judgement in Case C‑392/19 adding to the jurisprudence on web linking (0)
The Cybersecurity Competence Centre starts to take shape – Regulation adopted by the Council of the EU (0)
MPR PARTNERS | MARAVELA POPESCU & ASOCIAȚII Cristina Crețu
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RLWeek April 6-12, 2020: Government Emergency Ordinance on the use of documents in electronic form at the level of public authorities and institutions. Some support measures settled from European funds, approved in the context of COVID-19. Implementing rules of the GEO on the Program for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises – IMM INVEST ROMANIA
About strategic businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic