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Home/News/City of Orlando Apologizes for Newsletter Bashing Independence Day Celebrations
City of Orlando Apologizes for Newsletter Bashing Independence Day Celebrations
Following backlash the City of Orlando received for its Fourth of July newsletter message in which it questioned why people would want to celebrate the nation's Independence Day, the city has released an apology.
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In Friday's edition of Orlando's City News newsletter, its original proclamation read, "A lot of people probably don't want to celebrate our nation right now, and we can't blame them. When there is so much division, hate and unrest, why on earth would you want to have a party celebrating any of it?"
The statement continued, "But in all seriousness, you know in your heart, Fourth of July fireworks are amazing, especially when you are standing in 90 degree heat, 100 percent humidity, next to 100,000 of your closest friends. In that moment, something takes over and we all become united in an inexplicable bond. Yes, America is in strife right now, but you know what…we already bought the fireworks."
The segment of the newsletter was an advertisement for Fireworks at the Fountain 2022, held in Downtown Orlando on the Fourth.
The statement from the city received backlash from the public as well as from Governor Ron DeSantis' office, with his press secretary Christina Pushaw writing, "Yikes. City of Orlando, is this your official position on our country and on 4th of July?"
Yikes. City of Orlando, is this your official position on our country and on 4th of July? @citybeautiful pic.twitter.com/DJBfaJBGxC
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 3, 2022
The city's Fraternal Order of Police lodge called the newsletter's comments "inflammatory" and in "poor taste."
We do not share the same views as the City of Orlando and find their comments in inflammatory and in poor taste. #cityoforlando pic.twitter.com/TESZXNJh8z
— FOP Lodge 25 Orlando (@FOP25) July 2, 2022
The Florida GOP slammed the city's statement on Twitter as well, calling it an "affront to the brave men and women who sacrificed it all to protect the freedoms and individual liberty we enjoy today."
It is an affront to the brave men and women who sacrificed it all to protect the freedoms and individual liberty we enjoy today. We live in the greatest nation in the world and it's a shame some of Orlando's leaders don't understand that. pic.twitter.com/dL5gc8necP
— Florida GOP (@FloridaGOP) July 4, 2022
In response to backlash across social media regarding their post, the city issued an apology, stating that the city "sincerely regrets the negative impact our words have had on some in our community."
A statement from the City of Orlando pic.twitter.com/CbCcOOCATz
— City of Orlando is Prepared for Hurricane Season (@citybeautiful) July 2, 2022
Pushaw responded to the apology on Twitter, stating, "this is what happens when you elect Democrats…. They do not have the same view of America as we do."
Democrat elected official shares negative sentiments about 4th of July, does not think that the City of Orlando should have issued even a tepid apology to those who love America and were offended. pic.twitter.com/V1sRliTjkY
Pushaw also slammed a response made by Florida House Rep. Anna Eskamani, who had said that the newsletter "captured the tone of how many Americans (and Orlandoans) are feeling right now."
"Democrat elected official shares negative sentiments about 4th of July, does not think that the City of Orlando should have issued even a tepid apology to those who love America and were offended," wrote Pushaw.
This article was originally published at The Post Millennial.
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Dutch fisherman protested Tuesday outside parliament in a last-ditch attempt to avert a European Union ban on the practice of using electric shocks to stun fish before scooping them up in nets.
The Dutch fishermen argue that the technique, known as electric pulse fishing, is environmentally friendly because it allows trawlers to use far less diesel and doesn't damage the seabed. Opponents call it industrial fishing that is wiping out fish stocks.
He "is the only one who can help us by talking to (French President Emmanuel) Macron" before the meeting in Strasbourg, Bakker said.
Nearly 80 of the Dutch fleet's 137 trawlers are equipped for pulse fishing. The pulse trawlers caught 75 percent of the total catch of sole in 2016, according to figures released by the country's fishing groups.
"There is much controversy about the environmental impact of the electric pulses which needs to be further assessed by independent scientific bodies," marine environmental group Seas At Risk said in a statement.
"Commercial fishers were coming to me and saying, 'this is like fishing in a graveyard,'" Percy said.
Carola Schouten, the Dutch minister for agriculture, nature and fisheries, said in Parliament that "it doesn't look good" for pulse fishers, but defended the method.
"It is sustainable. It is good for the seabed. It is good to counter overfishing and it generates fewer emissions. And the fishers can earn a good living," Schouten told lawmakers in parliament as the protesting fishers looked on from the public gallery.


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Paris Dispatches
Chicago Dispatches
Maids for sale on the Lebanese market
by Admin-ImmigrationHere&There | Feb 18, 2020 | Feature Stories, Paris Dispatches | 0 comments
We stopped the car at an anonymous-looking building just outside Beirut that nearly disappeared behind an enormous yellow billboard. A blue drawing covers half the space of the ad. It pictures an Asian woman in an apron shyly proffering a tray of tea. Her look is submissive, the message eloquent. Even to customers who cannot read Arabic.
Inside, the manager of the company, the Manco Group, is all business, seated in front of an empty desk. A brisk offer of coffee to the visitors, then, she plunges into a sales pitch. "From my experience, Ethiopian is the best," she says. "Sri Lankans run away after two days and Filipinas are too expensive."
The harshness of the declaration sounds strange to an outsider's ears, but we try not to look surprised. After all, in Lebanon, buying a maid is as common as buying a car. And just like cars, maids are imported.
Business is booming in Lebanon for companies that recruit foreign women to work as maids, housekeepers and nannies. In this country, ruined by 30 years of civil war and a never-ending political crisis, running an agency has become a safe and easy way to make money.
In five years, the number of such employment agencies has nearly doubled from 250 to 418. This tiny Middle Eastern nation of only four million people has an estimated 120,000 maids, most of them from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Africa. According to The Daily Star, a Lebanese newspaper, one out of every 16 individuals in Lebanon is a foreign maid.
These women are part of a massive global industry that moves manpower from poor developing countries around the world to richer, or in some cases, marginally less poor nations, where they care for children and clean houses.
Workers are exported and imported by means of a sophisticated network of job agencies across the world. Each Lebanese agency has its counterpart in the country of origin of the migrants. One furnishes the maid; the other, the employer. But the business is largely unregulated, notwithstanding that the products being marketed are human beings.
Foreign workers rarely have anyone to defend their interests, ensure that they are paid or protect them from abuses. There is little incentive. Employment agency profit margins can be as high as 50 percent in Beirut, for instance, and the workers' home countries often live off the millions of dollars they send back in remittances.
The worldwide demand for cheap labor appears to be increasing, meaning that more and more developing countries are eager to encourage people to leave their homes and families for uncertain jobs abroad.
What is especially odd in Lebanon is that even war and political violence have not dampened the demand. For many families, a foreign maid is a status symbol – although that does not protect these young women from being abused, hit and cheated. Beirut employment agencies promote them as merchandise or, in extreme case, as pets. They offer advice about which nationalities are supposedly docile, easy to maintain or "harder to break."
Don't let her out
At Manco Group, we presented ourselves as a couple looking for a maid. The saleswoman handed out a blue plastic binder. It was a catalogue with some 40 descriptions of the merchandise. Each page has two photographs of a young woman and her personal details, including name, city of origin, age, date of birth, height, religion, languages spoken, family situation and professional experience. Most of the girls come from Ethiopia. Some of them are married and have children. A few have come before to work as maid in Lebanon.
The agency offered us plenty of advice. One example: confine and lock the maid in the apartment when leaving.
"If you allow her to go out, she will meet run-aways or marry a Syrian man," the woman said. By restricting the maid's freedom of movement, the family is told, it can protect its investment.
The claim is that the agencies advise this to keep the maid from bad influences. But experts on foreign labor said the end result is that foreign workers are treated as prisoners.
"This form of imprisonment has become part of the normative expectations of the employment relationship," said Nayla Moukarbel, a sociologist who wrote a thesis about Sri Lankan maids in Lebanon.
The sales pitch continues:
"You'd rather choose someone who has no former professional experience," the woman advises.
Don't they work better if they already know what to do? we asked.
"Maybe, but if the girl has been a maid here, she'll be harder to break. If she is new, you will teach her exactly what you want. You'll train her exactly the way you want."
The maid industry matures
The woman knows what she is talking about. Lebanon has a long history of domestic employment. Before the civil war, families employed local and foreign Arab women. The term Kurdiyeh, which became a euphemism for "domestic worker," comes from the 1920s, when Kurdish refugee women worked as maids in Lebanon. During the same period, there were also foreign women from Syria, Palestine and Egypt, along with Lebanese Shia from the eastern rural area of Baalbek.
Usually, girls entered the household at the age of 10 and left as women when it was time for them to get married. Their parents would visit sometimes to collect their wages. The family of the domestic worker was known to the employing family and a duty of care and honor remained an important obligation.
Because of the political tensions during the civil war among the Syrians, Palestinians and Lebanese, families stopped employing Arabs in their homes. The Egyptian government also stopped the emigration of their female nationals to Lebanon. The demand in the local labor market opened up for Asian workers.
By the time the first recruitment agency in Beirut opened its door to Asian migrants in 1978, a significant number of Sri Lankans as well as Filipinas had already entered the Gulf states following the oil boom. After the hostilities ceased, the number of work permits issued to Asian workers in Lebanon more than doubled between 1993 and 1999, going from 16,500 to 40,000, according to the Ministry of Labor.
At the same time, the industry of importing maids matured. Because it was largely unregulated during the 1980s and the 1990s, agencies imported groups of girls and then placed each of them with an employer. "Such a practice was very close to trafficking and the Lebanese government finally took measures," explained Moukarbel.
Since 1998, each maid has to be "sponsored" to enter the country. She must register when she arrives at the airport. Her name and address, as well as those of her sponsor, are now computerized. The maid comes with a three-month visa, pre-arranged by the Lebanese agency, which includes the name of the employer written in her passport. The passport is taken from her at the airport and given to the employer.
The agency usually receives around $1,500 from the employer to arrange the maid's trip. This sum includes the price of the plane ticket plus such charges as notary costs and medical fees. Agencies pay $700 for insurance and other expenses. That amounts to an immediate profit, or finder's fee, of $700 for each maid they place. In a country where the median wage is about $300, that is a sizable payment.
During the first three-month visa, the agency remains responsible for the woman. If there is anything wrong, the employer is allowed to bring her back and ask for a new maid. When this "guarantee" period is over, the employer becomes responsible. Legally, the agency is not concerned anymore until the end of the contract.
If a maid runs away, the employer generally goes to the police station to register a complaint.
"Acting so, the sponsor is no more responsible for the worker. She becomes an illegal migrant," explained Habib Zakhoul, a Lebanese lawyer specializing in defending maids against former employers. "Some employers used to call the agency but this one has no ability to find back the run-away. Now, sponsors are informed that they just have to go to the police."
A contract in name only
The contract signed by the employer and the maid at the agency is left vague. Salary typically depends on the nationality of the maid. An Ethiopian goes for $150, a Sri Lankan for $200, and a Filipina for $450. Filipinas are considered by Lebanese to be the most prestigious – intelligent, educated and able to speak English. The family commits to paying and feeding her. Such details as working hours and days off are not mentioned in the agreement.
For Zakhoul, "a contract is only ink on paper." At Manco Group, the woman in charge confirmed: "It is just a signature; it is not obligatory."
The length of contracts varies between one and three years maximum. By law, employers are obliged to provide domestic workers with insurance that covers medical, disability, accident, burial and repatriation costs. They also must renew their papers each year and pay the taxes required. Some unscrupulous employers don't. In those cases, maids become illegal and cannot depart for home.
The countries of origin tried to impose certain regulations. The Philippines, for instance, established an explicit policy to supervise its nationals. Before coming, Filipinas must participate in "pre-departure orientation seminars." In Lebanon, licensed agencies are required to use the embassy's "master employment contract for domestic helpers." But some offer a subterfuge to prospective employers to avoid it. "I can get you a Filipina for US$ 200 by importing her from Syria or Dubai," the woman of Manco Group proudly explained.
In 2000, a standard "contract of employment for domestic helpers from Sri Lanka in the Middle East" was also introduced in Lebanon. It says that "the employer must treat his employee with equity and humanity. No violence can be exerted on the employee."
Patterns of abuse
When abuses occur, the confiscation of the maid's passport comes first. Reports of confinement, the withholding of payment and food, limitations on communication with the outside world and the suspension of days off are quite common. It is hard to prove physical violence and sexual abuse inside households, but reports in the local press about maids being hit, burned and sometimes raped are frequent.
Ann is a young Filipina who has been living in Lebanon for three years. We met at a Starbucks with her friends, all of them Filipinos. Drinking orange juice, Ann told how her first employer tried to rape her.
"During the seminar I attended in the Philippines, they taught me how to clean the house, wash clothes but I was not prepared to reality," she said. After the "mister" tried to abuse her, he brought her back to the agency. The agent sold her to another employer.
"It was worth (it)," she recdalled. "The madame always beat me with a wood spatula. She was crazy."
Ann said she ran run away by jumping from the balcony. Wearing just pajamas in the cold November night, she walked the streets, crying.
That is where Joy, a former maid who is also from the Philippines, found her. "I knew what to do because I faced a similar situation," Joy said.
When she arrived in Lebanon in 1999, Joy worked seven months as a maid but said her employer gave her "no salary, no food, nothing at all." Her mother, who settled in Lebanon 28 years ago, helped her. Now it is Joy who is trying to return the favor by helping other frightened and desperate foreign women.
Because they belong to the first wave of migrants who came to work as domestics in Lebanon, Filipinos now form a structured community. There are many free-lancers among them. As foreign workers, they are the most respected.
But other maids in Lebanon have no one from their own community to turn to for help when their employers abuse them. Some come to see Father Martin McDermott, a 75-year-old Jesuit priest who settled in Lebanon 30 years ago. He has become notorious for defending maids. His blue eyes shining with indignation, he told us sordid stories about maids who were raped ande impregnated. Some committed suicide.
Even if Lebanese don't like to hear about it, the abuses are well known. "Lebanese women are a little nervous," confessed the manager of Richka, an employment agency in Beirut. The "madame" is the one who manages the maid on a daily basis. "With you," he comforted us, "there will be no problem. You're a Westerner. You'll treat her as a human being."
No doubt, agencies are aware of mistreatments. "Problems of sexual harassment are frequent, he related. "Sometimes, those who're doing it are important persons like generals or politicians. If I denounce them, they can use their influence to close the agency. Plus, it's delicate to tell the madame that her husband is cheating on her with the maid."
Violence may even take place inside the agency. According to Nayla Moukarbel, some companies keep an informal "after sales service." It happens that the employer threatens the woman that she will be returned to the agency where she will be taught "a lesson." If they are returned, "the agent threatens or beats the girl and asks her to say 'sorry' to the madame."
The boom continues
The business of importing and selling maid is prospering because it is highly profitable. "If you want to be rich, get an agency," Father McDemottt said, pointing out that 80 agencies opened in 2007 in Beirut alone.
And the boom continues. "We are 418, but it is still not enough," the manager of Richka said.
Because of political tensions in Lebanon, traditional Asian migrants prefer to go to the Gulf states, where they are better paid. But as long as there is demand, there will be supply. This is one reason Lebanese agencies are now recruiting girls from Africa. As domestic workers, they belong to the last wave of migrants, coming from Ethiopia or Nepal.
The business is also profitable for the exporting countries. The Philippines and Sri Lanka have pursued active policies for overseas employment as a way to alleviate unemployment and generate foreign income.
"For countries with serious trade deficits, remittances from migrants abroad can be significant", Moukarbel explained. Though the data on Lebanon is not available, the sociologist noted, the 1.2 million Sri Lankans working abroad sent back to their country $1.5 billion in 2005.
That is one reason why exporting countries are embarrassed to pressure the Lebanese government and why their embassies or consulates remain helpless in Lebanon. "It's complex to act against agencies here," M. Amanul Farooq, the ambassador of Sri Lanka, said. "Three agencies have been blacklisted in Colombo as well as their counterparts in Lebanon. It raises problems because the 4,000 women who went through these agencies became illegal and can not go back. Agencies are supposed to pay for their plane tickets."
Some 50 women who ran away from their employers are now living in the Sri Lankan embassy, in Hazmieh. When we talked with the ambassador, we asked to meet them. A few came down, looking sad and miserable. Ranging in age from 17 to 36 years old, they were from poor areas of Sri Lanka, and, most of them were married with children. Their English, as well as Arabic, was poor. "Madame beat me… not paid… I run away," they said and repeated. Their names: Sanda, Sangilimuttu, Galagedanage, Renuka, Kumari.
Kumari is 24. She is beautiful and speaks passable English. When we met, she said her madame was a "nice school teacher."
"Once you go back to Sri Lanka, I'll pay you," she told Kumari. But when the woman brought her back to the airport, she gave her maid $500 in cash and forgot to give her her passport. That is why Kumari arrived at the embassy. "She is very innocent," commented the translator with an air of resignation, and "she asked me what is dollar."
They are only three employees of the embassy responsible for calling agencies and families. Most of the time, they are facing Kafka-esque situations. One employer said he lost the passport. One does not want to pay. Another has not answered the phone, and the agent said he won't cooperate because he is not responsible.
The maids in the embassy are discarded products that nobody wants anymore. Most have not been paid, and had been beaten and escaped. Now, they are nobody's business. They have no passport, no money and only think about one thing – going back home. They will stay in Lebanon for months before being allowed to return to their families and children. In limbo, they wait.
And every day, more women, just like them, arrive.
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Of course, just as any other Page Template, you are able to make changes to the Page structure if necessary. Check out our Block Managements article for further information.
Below is a short, general video explaining the overall page structure for Fiji 2. Please consider this video just as a sample, as it cannot relate to all themes.


We are social animals – "team animals".
The research is clear that it's not just preferable for us human beings to have good team skills, it's biological!
Yet it's exceptionally rare for modern human work organizations to be win-win, mutually supportive "caring teams." Even though many modern work environments (especially in the United States) talk a lot about "team work" and building effective teams, rarely do the best work teams approach the kind of win-win, mutually supportive, "caring teams" that we envision.
Most human organizational patterns before the advent of agriculture and settled living were win-win, mutually supportive/interdependent, "caring groups" of less than 100 to 150 individuals. This is still true of the few remaining hunter-gatherer/forager cultures in the world.
Check out at least 3 of our titles to get a good idea of the kinds of projects we're developing — most of our title write-ups are in the form of a preliminary proposal for one website/book concept, often with spinoff ideas. The main purpose for our website is to pitch our "team learning business" ideas to potential teammates.
If you're not a potential team mate for any of our projects, but you know someone you think might be, please refer us to the person or company and let us use you as a reference.
We will pay a referral fee if the person you refer does enter into a team contract with LGIBooks for any of our projects. Contact us using the form below.


Over the next few sections, I'm going to walk you through a few key steps to optimize your new feedback management & roadmapping process.
But long term, as you grow and scale, this will not be a fun way to spend your evenings and weekends. And not only that, it's not helping anyone - not your customers, not your team, not even your product!
You need to allow plenty of time for your other customers, team members, & prospects (via sales) to have their say before spending this much time and attention on a request. Otherwise, how do you know the value of each request?
One product request doesn't = product demand.
In the next section, I'll show you how to triage like a pro.


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The Grand Reveal of Espanola Way
Tuesday, June 6, 5:30pm-8pm – El Paseo Hotel on Espanola Way, 419 A Espanola Way, Miami Beach
Scott Robins Companies, Infinity Real Estate Group, Trust Hospitality and Travel Massive celebrated the grand opening of El Paseo Hotel, a legendary property comprised of seven, three-story villas on Miami Beach's most historic destination, Espanola Way. The opening celebration was hosted in conjunction with the grand reveal of Espanola Way to debut the completion of the $2.5 million restoration project organized by the City of Miami Beach to reclaim the picturesque and pedestrian-only street's place in history. Locals and travelers joined Espanola Way's ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Philip Levine, followed by a celebratory block-party. Guests enjoyed street-side live performances and entertainment, complimentary cocktails and light bites served by Espanola Way Restaurants and Toast Vodka. Guests were also be able to explore the European-style restaurants and fine retail businesses surrounding El Paseo Hotel.
El Paseo Hotel, known for its soulful Spanish-French colonial style in the heart of South Beach, features elements of Spanish, Moroccan, Italian, and French architecture, including tile roofs, rounded archways and charming balconies. The new boutique property is reopening after a $7 million renovation, welcoming business and leisure travelers alike to an oasis of Mediterranean revival style, just steps away from famed Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road. Thoughtfully designed to evoke a picturesque Spanish village with large overhangs, thick stucco walls and glazed tile-painted signs, the cozy Espanola Way celebrates its rich past today as a must-stop destination to shop, eat, drink and people watch amongst an international crowd.
A post shared by SoFlaNights.com (@soflanights) on Jun 6, 2017 at 4:34pm PDT
In: Dining & Nightlife, Grand Opening, In the Spotlight, Miami Beach
Tagged: 06/06/17, El Paseo Hotel, Española Way, Grand Opening, Miami Beach, Toast Vodka


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Upper House concerns on delaying results for Provincial Council members
Upper house members of the parliament have expressed their concerns on delaying the results for the election provincial council members they have demanded both Independent Election Commission IEC and Independent Election Complain Commission IECC officials to release their results as soon as they can.
They have also condemned the missile attacks being fired from the other side of the Duran line and demanded the USA Government after the mutual security agreement signed in between Kabul and US Ambassador in Kabul to exert pressures on Pakistan to stop fire missiles into Afghanistan territory.
Upper house deputy Rafiullah GulAfghan said," everyone is waiting to hear the results we know what issues going on in both commissions they compete each other."
Meanwhile the Kunar security officials have stated that 75 missiles hit some of the districts in their province last night.
ISAF Troops Attacked In Kabul, 1 Killed, 4 Injured
Election Videos
ELECTION97: CHALLENGES IN UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Changes to Be Made in Electoral Reformation Committee System: Ghani
(Last Updated On: June 27, 2015)
President Mohammad Asharf Ghani has decided to reform the Electoral Reformation committee.
A member of the following committee said that the number of the members from 9 will be deducted and new face will be added in the committee as the member.
Member of the reformation Electoral committee Aziz Rafiee said," there is no news from the activities of the following committee,there is possible changes to be made, I hope to see the new changes made within the committee as soon as possible."
Earlier President Ghani had promised two weeks ago that Electoral Reformation Committee to begin its activities in this week, but his words weren't interpreted practically.
Head of the Election Transparent Foundation in Afghanistan Naim Ayubzada said," there is still a deadlock, President Ghani is trying to appoint new faces within the committee as the new members."
Mp Abdul Qadir Zazai said," there is still disagreement in between the two leaders of the National Unity Government,the following issue has caused that the Electoral Reformation Committee could begin its activities."
Efforts made to have the Presidential palace and CEO offices both have expressed nothing about the issue.
Reported by Nasrat Parsa
Afghans Won't Attend Election with Current Election System: Experts
(Last Updated On: April 5, 2015)
A number of the Election experts and members of the Wolesi Jirga in the Afghanistan Presidential Election anniversary day have said," this day is the most defamed day in the political history of the world."
They have believed that the outcome of the presidential Election is no completed cabinet, ongoing arguments on special Electoral reformation committee.
Afghan Nation have casted their votes for their favorite presidential candidate last year as the same day it seemed that Afghans weren't ready to elect their president for the first round of the Presidential Election that means none of the candidates earned 50+1 votes, the Election went to its second round and into a deep phase of arguments, it made the US secretary of state to play the role of trouble shooter in between the two leaders of the National Unity Government, and it was decided that all the votes of Afghans should be audited and reviewed once again.
Head of the Independent Election Commission IEC Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani announced that Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the President of Afghanistan and Dr, Abdullah Abdullah as the chief of executive.
Afghan lawmaker Ramazan Bashardost has declared the presidential Election full of cheating, frauds, it's the very first country in the world that its Nation do not understand the numbers of votes for their own president.
After all auditing process and mediation of US secretary of state John Kerry the Presidential election arguments continued, in the long run after the mediation of the Afghanistan former president Hamid Karzia and some other Jihadi leaders the National Unity Government agreement was signed, the following agreement indicated important below issues the second person in the National Unity Government will be as the chief executive, holding of the National Assembly (Loya Jirga) after two years, reformation of the Afghanistan constitution, and establishing of the electoral special committee.
The Afghanistan former president Hamid Karzai said," Afghan Nation have been capable to establish the National Unity Government NUG."
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has sworn as the Afghan President on 29th of September 2014 after that the president signed the decree for appointing the chief of executive and its deputies, they have all done swearing ceremony and after some days they began to work officially.
Head of the Election Watch Afghanistan EWA Jandad Ispinghar said," we see the outcomes of the presidential Election, its has been seven months by now the NUG cabinet doesn't get completed, there is serious issues ongoing over the establishing of the special Electoral reformation committee, Parliament can't decide, all Governors are working as the acting."
Reformation of the Election system has been the important part of the political agreement made on NUG, Though the committee has been established, still existed issues in between the two leaders of the National Unity Government has caused them not be capable to begin its working.
Head of the Fair and Free Election foundation FEFA Yusuf Rashid said," The vision of the both leaders are contrary on reformation of the Election system,both team have their own agendas but they have yet to achieve any conclusion on appointing the members of the special electoral committee."
Afghan experts have warned if the current Election system doesn't get reformed, Afghan Nation will not cast their votes and participate in the Election process.
Reported by Hameed Sideqee


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Aldo Baerten
Aldo Baerten is Principal Flutist at the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (Antwerp Symphony Orchestra as from 2017), conducted by Edo de Waart, Philippe Herreweghe and Martyn Brabbins.
He is Professor for flute at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp, at the Hogeschool der Kunsten Utrecht (NL) and gives masterclasses on 4 continents, in such distinguished schools as the Royal Academy London. Aldo Baerten is former Professor for flute at the Sydney Conservatory, and during the 2015/16 academic year at the Münster Musikhochschule Germany. As from October 2016 he will be teaching at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.
He is a regular guest at the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, I Fiamminghi, European Union Opera, Arctic Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra..
During his studies at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, with Prof. Peter-Lukas Graf (Musikhochschule Basel), where he obtained the Diploma as a Soloist and with Philippe Boucly (R.Strauss-Konservatorium München), he became Prize-winner in competitions such as "Maria Canals" (Barcelona 2001), Vienna (2004), Axion Classics, Quantz, and the National Instrumentcompetition of Belgium.
He received the Alex de Vries-prize, the SABAM-award, and the Caecilia-prize of the Belgian music-press.
Aldo Baerten played as a soloist with eminent orchestras as the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester, RSO Basel, National Orchestra of Belgium, Walloon Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Las Vegas and Kansas City Symphony, Samaai Sinfonietta under the baton of D. Stern, V. Czarniecki, P. Rundel, G. Octors, Z. Nagy, T. Yuasa, S. Byess, E. Aadland, R.Wilson, S.Mäkkilä, ...
He is a regular guest at festivals around the world, together with famous musicians such as J.van Dam, Martin Helmchen, Severin Von Eckardstein, Martin Spangenberg, Niek de Groot, StorioniTrio, Michel Strauss, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Hervé Joulain, Kandinsky-trio, Jana Bouskova, Dietrich Henschel, Tatjana Masurenko, jazz pianist Jef Neve....
Aldo Baerten has recorded extensively on Cypres, Phaedra, ECM, Pentatone ,PMP and Principal Chairs.
His recording of Schubert's Introduction, Theme and Variations on Trockne Blumen (Die schöne Müllerin) with pianist Martin Helmchen was nominated for the BBC Music Prize of best chamber-music recording of the year 2010.
From 1989 until 1993 he was Principal Flutist with Claudio Abbado's Orchestra of the E.U, where he has played under conductors such as B. Haitink, V. Ashkenazy, V. Neumann, J. Conlon and J. Tate. He was also chosen as Principal of the Schleswigholstein Festival Orchestra (Sir G.Solti) and the World Youth Orchestra.
Aldo Baerten was the Principal Flutist of the Belgian Chamber Orchestra and the MDR-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig.
His yearly summerclass International Flute Seminar Bruges is a highlight for professionals and amateurs.
Aldo Baerten is a regular Jury-Member of the International Flutonicon Flute Competition, Axion Classics, Lyons-music-competition, NFA Young Artists Competition, Yamaha Music Foundation and Biwako (Japan).
His students occupy positions in orchestras and conservatories in Belgium and abroad.
Lieven Goossens, assistant
Website: www.aldobaerten.com
Subjects: Flute
aldo.baerten@ap.be


text:
Michael Mammay
NarratorR.C. Bray
FictionAdventureCrime & ThrillersThrillersSci-fi & FantasyScience Fiction
A seasoned military officer uncovers a deadly conspiracy on a distant, war-torn planet…
War heroes aren't usually called out of semi-retirement and sent to the far reaches of the galaxy for a routine investigation. So when Colonel Carl Butler answers the call from an old and powerful friend, he knows it's something big—and he's not being told the whole story. A high councilor's son has gone MIA out of Cappa Base, the space station orbiting a battle-ravaged planet. The young lieutenant had been wounded and evacuated—but there's no record of him having ever arrived at hospital command.
The colonel quickly finds Cappa Base to be a labyrinth of dead ends and sabotage: the hospital commander stonewalls him, the Special Ops leader won't come off the planet, witnesses go missing, radar data disappears, and that's before he encounters the alien enemy. Butler has no choice but to drop down onto a hostile planet—because someone is using the war zone as a cover. The answers are there—Butler just has to make it back alive…


text:
Home / News / Workers begin nationwide strike July 3
Workers begin nationwide strike July 3
by Ceejay in News
Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) will begin a nationwide strike on Wednesday, July 3, after the expiration of a two-week strike ultimatum issued by the union on June 13 over non-payment of stevedoring contractors.
Mr Abdul-Waheed Adeyanju, the President-General of MWUN made this known in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday.
According to him, the leadership of the union has directed that members of the union shall withdraw services throughout the nation's seaports effective from 06.00 hours on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.
Adeyamju said that the two-week notice issued on this subject lapsed on Friday, June 28, saying that there was no indication that the issue was being addressed.
He said that the union had given the International Oil Companies (IOCs) two weeks' notice concerning the matter.
The News Agency of Nigeria NAN (NAN) reports that the union gave a two-week ultimatum on June 13 pleading with the Federal Government to urge IOCs to pay government-appointed stevedoring contractor monies being owed.
Adeyanju had urged the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport to look into the issue so that dockworkers could be paid their salaries and wages.
He said that failure to pay government-appointed stevedoring contractors for jobs done had made it impossible for their workers to be paid salaries.
According to him, the situation had led to untimely death of members.
"Dear stakeholders, we want to use this medium to intimate you and the Federal Government of the non-payment of the stevedoring wages to dockworkers by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria.
"On June 1, 2018, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) appointed stevedoring contractors to provide stevedoring services at various off-shore jetties and on-shore locations to the International Oil Companies and other operators.
"It will be necessary to inform you that NPA had held several meetings with these operators to grant access to the government-appointed stevedoring contractors, process their invoices, and effect payment,'' Adeyanju said.
According to him, unfortunately, the operators refused to comply with NPA's directive one year after the stevedoring contractors were appointed.
"We commend the managing director and management of NPA for the efforts they had made to compel the IOCs to engage the services of appointed stevedores and registered dockworkers in their stevedoring operations.
"A stakeholders' meeting was held on Feb. 28, 2018 organised by NPA in Lagos to sensitise IOCs, jetty owners, and terminal owners,'' Adeyanju said.
NAN reports that the NPA management made it clear that in line with Section 27 OF NIMASA Act, 2007 only government-appointed stevedores and registered dockworkers are empowered by law to solely handle, discharge and embark on loading operations at the ports, jetties and oil platforms.
Adeyanju wondered why the IOCs refused to cooperate with the newly-appointed stevedoring contractors since the modus operandi remained the same.
The union boss said that while dockworkers were awaiting the payment of their wages, they could no longer meet their family obligations like payment of house rents, children's school fees and hospital bills, among others.
Adeyanju said, "We can no longer continue to watch our members die prematurely because of the attitude of the IOCs.''
- DailyPost
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It's Just Mobolaji | Music & Entertainment: It's Just Mobolaji: On Facebook!
It's Just Mobolaji: On Facebook!
It's Just Mobolaji is getting bigger and better - now on Facebook!
I've finally decided to get a Facebook 'like' page for my blog and even though I don't exactly know how to use it yet, I can say that I'm still making progress - making this blog a nationwide blog!
So, therefore when next you're on Facebook make sure you stop by my page and 'like' it.
Much appreciated! Thank you for supporting the movement!


The bipartisan bill promoting whistleblower protections for individuals reporting antitrust violations, the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act ("CAARA"), is back in the Senate.
The law is co-sponsored by Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). On November 2nd, S. 807 advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the next step would be a vote by the Senate. Two years ago, the bill was adopted by the Senate unanimously but did not receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The law amends the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 to provide covered individuals compensatory damages (reinstatement, backpay and special damages including litigation costs, expert witness fees and reasonable attorney's fees) through a lawsuit.
The bill requires an individual who is discharged or otherwise discriminated against in violation of the law to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor within 180 days of the date on which the violation occurs. If the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final decision within 180 days, and other conditions are met, the claimant can bring an action in the appropriate district court of the United States. This procedure mimics the procedure of some other employment law statutes.
The law protects reports of what a covered individual reasonable believes to be criminal antitrust conduct in violation of Section 1 or Section 3 of the Sherman Act made to a member of Congress or a federal regulatory or law enforcement agency. The law also covers various acts related to assisting a Federal Government investigation or proceeding, including testifying in it or otherwise assisting.
The law does not provide protections to individuals that planned and initiated a violation of the antitrust laws, another criminal law in conjunction with the violation of the antitrust law, or an obstruction or attempted obstruction of an investigation by the Department of Justice.
One thing that the law does not do is offer rewards to antitrust whistleblowers. In the past, whistleblower protections have in some instances been a precursor to subsequent adoption of a whistleblower reward program. Most recently, the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act, adopted as part of the FAST Act, was preceded by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).
We'll continue to post updates to the progress on CAARA as we find them.


If you live near the sea, make frequent trips to the beach, or are planning an island holiday this summer, chances are you're getting more out of it than just enjoyment. It has long been thought sea frolicking has many health benefits.
Historically, doctors would recommend their patients go to the seaside to improve various "diseases of the glands", including scurvy, jaundice, leprosy and glandular consumption, which was the name for glandular fever at the time.
Ocean water differs from river water in that it has significantly higher amounts of minerals, including sodium, chloride, sulphate, magnesium and calcium. This is why it's highly useful for skin conditions such as psoriasis.
Ocean swimming also has benefits for eczema, another immune-mediated condition.
She says because seawater is cleansing and mimics the body's own fluids in the lining of the airways, it doesn't irritate them.
Exercising in natural environments has been shown to have greater benefits for mental health than exercising elsewhere. This is because it combines the benefits of exercise with the restorative effects of being in nature. Swimming in the ocean is the same.
It can help provide a distraction from life, giving a sense of mindfulness, which is a state in which one is aware of one's surroundings in a meditative sort of fashion.
Cold-water swimming activates temperature receptors under the skin that release hormones such as endorphins, adrenalin and cortisol. These have therapeutic benefits for musculoskeletal conditions - such as fibromyalgia, which is a condition with chronic pain and tenderness all over the body - and skin discomfort.
Depending on the temperature, swimming in colder waters will use up more calories to preserve body temperature - although the overall effect on fat mass is controversial.
Frequent exposure to cold water has also been shown to increase the body's immunity.
Overall, it's a wise idea to make ocean swimming a health habit.


Bartlett's mayor and city board are making changes to the city's zoning ordinance, affecting people who rent out all or part of their homes to guests via Airbnb or other vacation/short-term arrangements.
The board had the second reading of the amended ordinance at the June 26 board meeting. The third and final reading and the public hearing will be on July 10.
The ordinance modifies the definition of "dwelling unit," adds definitions for "short-term rental unit" and "transient guest," identifies zoning districts in which short-term rentals are permitted and adds a new Section 30, establishing regulations for short-term rentals.
The ordinance states that it is designed to provide guidelines for safe and reasonable operation of short-term rentals and to protect the quality of life and investments of citizens from transient occupancy in residential zones. It imposes minimum safety requirements and provides for the collection of applicable taxes, including the occupancy privilege tax.
Approved the highest-rated proposal for citywide pest control services from Nu Era Pest Control, beginning July 1.
Approved the proposal from UniFirst for yearly Public Works uniform service.
Accepted the lowest bid from Herbi Systems for the city's annual lawn treatment services. The bid totaled $18,860.23.
Accepted the lower bid from Gibson Paving for paving several park walking trails. The total cost will be $300,580. The work includes asphalt paving of eight-foot-wide paths of 1,100 feet at Byrd Park; 4,800 feet at Kirby Lake; 3,300 feet at Yale Road Park (plus 300 feet by 11 feet around the play area); 300 feet across the dam at Davies Park; 4,600 feet around the perimeter of the recreation center, school and ballfields at Appling Park East (plus about 700 feet by six feet on the south side of the ballfields); 3,300 feet around the perimeter of Appling Lake at Appling Park West; and 300 feet at Greenleaf Cove Trail.
Accepted the lowest bid from Sunbelt Fire for one fire pumper truck at a cost of $524,297.
Accepted the lowest bids from the following contractors for annual transportation projects: Citywide asphalt pavement, by Lehman-Roberts; and asphalt picked up at plant, by Standard Construction and Lehman-Roberts.
lb. for sodium hexametaphosphate, Ideal at $0.628/lb. for sodium fluorosilicate and DPC at $0.383/lb. for chlorine.
Approved a survey and design proposal from Carlson Consulting Engineers Inc. to widen the west side of Appling Road from Brother to Southern Way. The bid was for $68,000 plus a contingency amount of $10,000. This work is in conjunction with the new Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Facility.
Passed a resolution that authorizes issuance and payment of interest-bearing general obligation capital outlay notes, Series 2018. The amount is not to exceed $1,355,000.
Passed a resolution approving the contract award for Fletcher Creek bank stabilization, Phase 2. The lowest and most responsive bidder was Enscor LLC of Arlington in the amount of $296,771.80 plus a contingency amount of $40,000.
Had the first reading of an ordinance to rezone from RS-10 to OR-1 some property on the north side of Yale Road at U.S. 70. The public hearing will be July 24.
Accepted the treasurer's report for May 2018.
Accepted the Planning Commission's report for June 2018.


Are you inundated with Back to the Future Day marketing? Yeah, us too. We've sorted through the majority of it to put together a "best-of" for you because some of it is legitimately good!
Rarely is a movie as old as Back to the Future this suddenly relevant on a specific date "in the future." Especially a sequel that Gene Siskel called "Disappointing" when it came out in 1989. Whether it's a great piece of marketing by Universal, or a groundswell of support by fanboys and girls there are some heavy hitters getting in on the gaffes today. If you don't feel like celebraing BTTF Day yourself, check out some of our favorite celebrations from around the Interweb!
First of all, why is this happening?
Since you're the geek in your friend group and family you know that someone is going to ask you to explain this to them eventually. Today is the furthest date in the future that Marty and Doc traveled, and it seemed impossibly far in the future when I first saw the movie. Here's a clip if you don't remember BTTF2 that well. The movie included hoverboards, flying cars, virtual/augmented reality goggles, video conferencing, powered clothing, and shoes that lace themselves up.
Google "accidentally leaked" a "confidential pdf" today that details their progress and future plans for time-traveling vehicles.
Initial tests performed with control watches under intense scrutiny have been successful with over 3,306 years traveled across test flights.
Unsafe travel with Flux can have serious repercussions on future events, up to and including erasure from existence. To understand causes of post-future disruption all tests were performed double-blind in which two or more users travel to the same spacetime to make specific interventions (or none). Present observers were positioned to evaluate any changes and abort travel if necessary.
It may not be the highest production video of all time, but that took a little manpower to get a working flux capacitor in a car. But, without a date/time readout and a gps I have a feeling you'll have a lot of people wondering where and when they are.
There's a pretty hype video on the Steam Store, too. I need to check that game out still, it looks awesome, and the DeLorean fits perfectly with the subject matter. Plus, check out the sweet destruction animation!
And the rides are free between 11am and 5pm today. I wonder how long the wait will be? And I wonder if the drivers are willing to hit 88 MPH on the city streets?
Don't forget that the world economy will collapse in just a few years time. Get ready for some killer game shows!


text:
"Truth Be Told" Conference Moderated by CCLP Senior Fellow Geneva Overholser
The following is a press release from Baruch College:
NEW YORK, NY – February 10, 2014 – In a media landscape marred by false equivalency, have we lost sight of the existence and value of facts? How are facts identified and tested in medicine, business, law and journalism, and what can we all learn about information quality?
These were just a few of the questions that were discussed during the dynamic conference, "Truth Be Told: A Cross-Disciplinary Exploration of Finding Facts" hosted on January 30, 2014 by Baruch College and The Harnisch Foundation.
More than 170 students and professionals in the fields of law, business, media and medicine attended the panel discussion to analyze and explore the separation of fact from fiction. The discussion was moderated by Geneva Overholser, Senior Fellow, Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, USC Annenberg, who also co-directed the conference with Geanne Perlman Rosenberg, Baruch Professor and Director of the Harnisch Journalism Projects.
The panelists encompassed a group of experts who offered the audience a closer look on how each of them qualify the truth in their professional lives. Jane Aiken, Associate Dean for Experiential Education and Professor of Law at Georgetown; Margaret Sullivan, Public Editor, The New York Times; Harold E. Varmus, M.D., former Director, National Cancer Institute and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1989; and Amy Whitaker, Full-time Faculty, Art Business, Sotheby's Institute of Arts, kept the audience engaged with their insightful anecdotes and analysis of their professions' tools for finding the truth and consideration of how the media covered the U.S. government shutdown and the national debt ceiling crisis.
"How do we find and verify facts?" asked Rosenberg during her opening remarks. "Journalism requires locating reliable sources, detecting and screening out spin, hype and falsehoods and unearthing newsworthy, accurate information. But law, science and business also have their own strategies and their own methods for finding facts that might make a difference between (in science) being informed by high-quality research or duped by junk science; or in law between a fair outcome in a trial and a miscarriage of justice; or in the art business between buying a valuable work of art and the possibility of buying something that's worthless or even a forgery. With the internet we all, whether we are journalists or regardless of our profession, we all have a role of in identifying facts and publishing and sharing information; and we all have access to almost limitless information of all qualities from millions of sources." I'm hoping this cross-disciplinary conversation with this amazing panel, guided by the legendary and incredible journalist and leader in journalism Geneva Overholser, will help to shed light on a variety of approaches for finding and verifying facts so we can all be more discerning consumers of and contributors to the information we all share, so we all can better informed for our own benefit and for the benefit of society."
Each panelist briefly explained how their professions seek to find and qualify the truth, and separate fact from fiction.
Varmus said in his field of cancer research, the quest to find the truth is especially onerous because outcomes affect human health.
"Our goal is to get things right. People like to make discoveries," Varmus said. "They like to be correct. The risk of not being correct is very high, reputationally and every other way; especially for those who do medical research. They don't want to make mistakes that lead to things that adversely affect of health of human beings."
He noted several types of mistakes that sometimes occur when scientists are seeking the truth in their research: Fabrication, Falsification and Plagiarism (FFP); Inadequate tools and equipment to conduct research; Faulty reasoning and making claims based on associations rather than cause and affect; and Sloppiness or taking shortcuts in order to complete the research before other competing researchers.
Aiken presented the methods in which lawyers seek to find the truth. The challenges differ, but the methods of deconstructing the evidence and probabilities to find the truth, still apply in law as they do in science.
"In the law we think of finding truth as the exercise of an adversarial process, where one side presents facts and the other side presents facts and the fact-finder, being a jury or a judge, decides what is [actually] the truth," Aiken said. The trial process is covered by rules and rules of evidence. The purpose for having rules of evidence is that the reason, "we find truth is because by finding truth we define justice."
Whitaker presented three stories focused on business and finance using the recent listing of Twitter in the New York Stock Exchange, customer service involving a cancellation of an air flight, and the purchase of art. She concluded by saying that the search for the truth puts individuals in "an interesting nexus of the qualitative and the quantitative" manner of finding the truth.
"You are really dealing with stories and numbers," Whitaker said. "Numbers always look true. They look accurate by their nature, but in any complicated finance equation there is usually a piece of one number that is made up that's based on a story. You can say that it is based on an evidence-based argument, but it's based on a story and it's also based on probability."
Sullivan said journalism is an "inexact science" and said competition and finding credible sources in the digital age poses new challenges in reporting the truth.
"The equation has gotten considerably more difficult, because in the digital age we are putting out information just as quickly as we possibly can, and accuracy is definitely taking a beating," Sullivan said. "Journalism has been called, 'the first rough draft of history.' These days it's getting more and more challenging to be right at first, because there is so much competitive pressure."
After setting the stage by showing three news clips featuring the coverage of the debt ceiling and reading media excerpts that included the critique titled, "Shutdown Coverage Fails Americans," written by Dan Froomkin in Al Jazeera America, Overholser led the discussion that focused on false equivalency in the media. Each panelist, applying the guidelines they use in each of their professions to find the truth, presented recommendations and observations on how the media can better report complicated matters to ensure that the public understands all sides.
Sullivan quoted the article, "The Endless Battle Over Judicial Nominees," written by David Leonhardt of The New York Times and said, "One of the easiest sentences for a political journalist to write is some version of 'Both sides do it.' And one of the easier arguments for an advocate to make is a version of "Only the other side does it.' "We love that conflict (you know). Let's put a guy here and a guy (over) here and have them sort of duke it out. But that doesn't really get to the truth very successfully."
Whitaker said the need to have both sides represented in the media coverage of the debt ceiling interferes with the more important conversation that accepts multiple viewpoints from more people.
She said the current false equivalency coverage, "allows for tremendous failures of imagination about future outcomes. Here, what we are really talking about," Whitaker says referring to the video clips shown, "is one side's view of a political process and another side's view of the acceptability of a political process, but what we should be talking about is what will actually happen if we default on the Sovereign currency. And I think generally it takes work to imagine the future."
"If you are trying to create equivalent sides of the argument, they should allow for more conversation about the merits of the debt ceiling coverage itself so more people in the population at large could have participated in it," Whitaker added.
As the conversation continued, other observations focused on media's selectivity of the news that is reported and what the audience chooses to absorb based on their own views and discrimination.
Aiken, who said she mostly gets her news from The New York Times, compared media coverage to litigation cases presented in court. She said many law cases are settled out of court and are never brought to the court room, because both parties settled outside. Aiken said the same thing happens in media when stories that are not viewed as important don't see the pages of newspapers, because it was decided that those stories would not capture the interest of readers. "If it's not sexy, it's not interesting to the general public," Aiken said.
Sullivan added, "You have an American public which is tuned in to its own version of reality. If you are a liberal, you are watching and listening to liberals talk; and if you're conservative you're tuned in to particular TV shows and reading particular publications. And there is, I think, less and less the ability to cross over and hear the other side or the various sides to imagine different possibilities because you are essentially getting your beliefs confirmed over and over."
The "Truth Be Told" conference was also available through Web stream and audience members asked questions via Twitter or in-person. One of the questions asked via Twitter was: "How will wearable technologies impact the future of journalism, truth telling and eye-witness testimony in law and journalism?"
Aiken, responded by saying, "I think it does have a huge impact. The ready access to information that people have [sometimes] maybe not good information, but ready information to check any fact that you're proposing."
Aiken, a professor of law at Georgetown, concluded by saying, "If content is ubiquitous, which essentially it is with all this ready access, then our job is to teach people how to evaluate content, and that seems to be the critical piece of teaching these days.
Aiken said content is not the main concern. It's whether someone has an ability to know how to learn and how to distinguish between fact and fiction.
This event was made possible by the generous support of The Harnisch Foundation, and is a part of The Harnisch Journalism Projects, which include strategic interventions, educational programs, research and experimentation that aim to advance high-quality journalism, support press freedom and foster an informed, actively engaged public.


text:
Talks 42
Playlists 6
Blog posts 54
TEDx events 14
7 talks on the wonder of 3D printing
From ordering movie tickets to booking a dentist appointment, mobile and web apps have made the tasks of daily life easier. But there are some things that an app can't do. Standing in line at the pharmacy is one of them. In today's talk, Lee Cronin asks: "Could we make a really cool universal chemistry set? In essence, could we app chemistry?" ...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/02/07/7-talks-on-the-wonder-of-3d-printing
3D printing a better socket for prosthetic limbs
A persistent sight in David Sengeh's childhood, growing up in Sierra Leone: amputees. Losing a limb was an all-too-common fact in the civil-war-torn region. But the aftermath was almost worse, Sengeh saw, as he watched family members and friends struggle with ill-fitting, uncomfortable prosthetics that hurt too much to wear. Here, the 201...
https://ideas.ted.com/today-the-bionic-woman-can-just-go-ahead-and-print-her-own-parts
How 3D printing will turn us all (back) into makers: Avi Reichental at TED2014
3D printing pioneer Avi Reichental is nostalgic for a time he never quite experienced -- a time of hyper-local, made-to-order, personalized craftsmanship. While the industrial revolution did a lot to advance humanity, says Reichental, it eradicated local manufacturing that people like his grandfather, a cobbler, excelled in. It atrophied socie...
https://blog.ted.com/2014/03/19/how-3d-printing-will-turn-us-all-back-into-makers-avi-reichental-at-ted2014
See self-assembly and 4D printing in action
A part on the outside of a spaceship that morphs, rather than requiring an astronaut to perform a risky maneuver. Plumbing pipes able to bend and flex based on the needs of the water flowing through them. Furniture that assembles itself, no screwdriver required. Buildings with the ability to repair themselves when something goes awry. Thes...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/04/04/see-self-assembly-and-4d-printing-in-action
A very cool new video: A brief introduction to 4D printing
It's not often that you see a designer throw their creation on the ground and break it to smithereens. But that's exactly what TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits does in the video above. Why? Because he works in the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT. When the pieces break apart, they quickly re-assemble themselves, as if the film were playing in reverse. In...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/12/18/a-brief-introduction-to-4d-printing
A 3D printed future: 10 surprising things we could see printed soon
It is the dawn of the era of 3D printing. From artificial prosthetics to very real human kidneys to filigree skull sculptures -- the number and variety of applications for this technology are growing, layer by printed layer. Combine this with the decreasing cost of owning a printer, as well as the cheaper cost of manufacturing in general, an...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/07/29/a-3d-printed-future-10-surprising-things-we-could-see-printed-soon
Building connections -- between toys ...
Here's something else fun to do with a 3D printer: Designers at Free Art and Technology have created an open-source template to connect all the different building blocks you used as a kid: Legos, Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs and more (and maybe in the future: littleBits, from today's TEDTalk...). It's a fascinating project, both for the exciting...
https://blog.ted.com/2012/03/29/building-connections-between-toys
Welcome to 4D printing: A Q&A with Skylar Tibbits at TED2013
We've all heard of 3D printing. But what the heck is 4D printing? During TED Senior Fellow's Skylar Tibbits' talk at TED University on Thursday, he unveiled the concept -- 3D printed objects that seamlessly continue to expand, fold and harden into different forms (see video below). The talk has gotten a lot of attention. We spoke to Skylar a...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/03/01/welcome-to-4d-printing-a-qa-with-skylar-tibbits-at-ted2013
News of the light and sweet
A powerful bitter sweet As race continues to dominate the news, it seems like perfect timing for artist Kara Walker's latest piece, her first large-scale installation, housed in the shell of the old Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Shown above, the piece has a grand title: At the behest of Creative Time Kara E. Walker has conf...
https://ideas.ted.com/news-of-the-light-and-sweet
How drinking affects your microbes, how teachers can learn grit, the future of love and much more
By Olivia Cucinotta and Emily McManus Here, a look at just a few members of the TED community making headlines this week. Rob Knight's American Gut project released its latest results this week, with data from the microbiomes (i.e., the microbial world inside each human body) of 3,238 participants so far. Some interesting facts they've c...
https://blog.ted.com/2014/07/11/how-drinking-affects-your-microbes-and-other-ted-community-news
A photograph by Paul Nicklen shows the tragedy of extinction, and more news from TED speakers
The past few weeks have brimmed over with TED-related news. Here, some highlights: This is what extinction looks like. Photographer Paul Nicklen shocked the world with footage of a starving polar bear that he and members of his conservation group SeaLegacy captured in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. "It rips your heart out of your chest," Ni...
https://blog.ted.com/2017/12/21/a-photograph-by-paul-nicklen-shows-the-tragedy-of-extinction-and-more-news-from-ted-speakers
Video: Opening titles for Tech Impact, Session 11 of TEDGlobal 2013
Eero Johannes Pitkänen introduces session 11 of TEDGlobal 2013 with a perfect synthesis of visual and sound effects. To a tinny metal drum-beat, colored Tetris blocks bounce up and down and in and out of shapes as each chord of sound has its impact. Describing himself as a "designer/illustrator during the day, musician during the night," ...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/06/14/video-opening-titles-for-tech-impact-session-11-of-tedglobal-2013
An ambitious plan to explore our oceans, and more news from TED speakers
[embed]https://www.ted.com/talks/ray_dalio_how_to_build_a_company_where_the_best_ideas_win[/embed] The past few weeks have brimmed over with TED-related news. Below, some highlights. Exploring the ocean like never before. A school of ocean-loving TED speakers have teamed up to launch OceanX, an international initiative dedicated to di...
https://blog.ted.com/2018/06/15/an-ambitious-plan-to-explore-our-oceans-and-more-news-from-ted-speakers
Creating a world of abundance: Peter Diamandis at TED2012
Photo: James Duncan Davidson Chris Anderson comes on stage to acknowledge that the TED stage is more often the domain of the techno-optimist than the doomer. So, in somewhat stark contrast with Paul Guilding, the founder, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, Peter Diamandis now takes the stage. Diamandis starts off his talk wi...
https://blog.ted.com/2012/02/28/creating-a-world-of-abundance-peter-diamandis-at-ted2012
The future unfolding: Fellows Friday with Skylar Tibbits
Skylar Tibbits makes things that assemble themselves, with potential large-scale applications from self-adjusting water pipes to self-assembling structures in space. At his recently founded Self-Assembly Lab at MIT, he's pioneering 4D printing -- using smart materials to make objects that change shape and evolve. Here, he explains how 4D print...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/04/12/the-future-unfolding-fellows-friday-with-skylar-tibbits
In short: A powerful spoken word reflection on bullying, the history of Bill Cosby's sweaters
Here, some staff picks of smart, funny, bizarre and cool stuff on the interwebs this week: In case you haven't seen it yet, To This Day is a beautiful collaborative project that combines spoken word poetry and a flurry of eclectic animations to raise awareness about bullying. Watch seven TED Talks on the wonder of 3D printing. The f...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/02/21/in-short-a-powerful-spoken-word-reflection-on-bullying-the-history-of-bill-cosbys-sweaters
In Short: Journalist 'duped' by Asma al-Assad, a library opens a 'maker center'
Some great reads from around the internet today: Journalist Joan Juliet Buck tells the story behind her infamous Vogue puff piece on Asma al-Assad (above), saying that the First Lady of Syria "duped" her. Buck now writes of al-Assad's husband, "I didn't know I was going to meet a murderer. There was no way of knowing that Assad, the meek...
https://blog.ted.com/2012/07/30/in-short-journalist-duped-by-asma-al-assad-a-library-opens-a-maker-center
Sketches of a TED event, by a storyboard artist
Nesta Morgan is a storyboard artist. And while in the audience at a TED Salon in London in May, she found herself so inspired by several speakers that she took to sketching them -- and their ideas -- as they spoke. Above, see Nesta's sketch of today's TEDTalk, "Pam Warhurst: How we can eat our landscapes." "I particularly enjoyed Pam's t...
https://blog.ted.com/2012/08/09/sketches-of-a-ted-event-by-a-storyboard-artist
Altair at TED2018: In the "Age of Amazement," simulation drives innovation
In a corner of the Vancouver Convention Center -- set against a beautiful backdrop of Vancouver Harbour and the mountains of the North Shore, and right between a comfy simulcast lounge and a pop-up coffee and espresso shop -- it's hard to miss an eye-catching vintage red car. It's the anchor of Altair's exhibit gallery, showing off the possi...
https://blog.ted.com/2018/04/13/altair-at-ted2018-in-the-age-of-amazement-simulation-drives-innovation
Barack Obama's 2013 State of the Union: Talks for deeper thinking on the issues
President Barack Obama ended his 2013 State of the Union address just minutes ago saying, "We are citizens. It's a word that doesn't just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we're made … Well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the ...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/02/12/barack-obamas-2013-state-of-the-union-talks-for-deeper-thinking-on-the-issues
Opening Gambit: A recap of the talks in Session 1 at TED2015
"It takes courage to uncover the truth," says Chris Anderson, opening the first session of TED2015, Opening Gambit. "The speakers this week -- their courage and brilliance are going to rewire your brain. This dare thing is not just for them -- it's for all of us." These six speakers set the tone for Truth & Dare: The mega-challenge of...
https://blog.ted.com/2015/03/16/opening-gambit-session-1-at-ted2015
A voyage to our closest star, the surprising paradox of an elephant's brain, and rethinking college rankings
As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. A 4.37-lightyear starshot. Humanity has sent people to the moon and rovers to Mars. It might be about time we embark on interstellar travel. Russian philanthropist Yuri Milner, along with board member Stephen Hawking, unveiled a plan on Tuesday to sen...
https://blog.ted.com/2016/04/14/a-voyage-to-our-closest-star-the-surprising-paradox-of-an-elephants-brain-and-rethinking-college-rankings
Biohacker meets Willy Wonka: Lucy McRae on the making of the incredible edible music video for Architecture in Helsinki
TED Fellow Lucy McRae (watch her TED Talk) is a body architect -- an artist who explores how technology and the body may someday meet and merge. Her latest project is a fantastical and frothy music video for "Dream a Little Crazy" by Australian band Architecture in Helsinki. Watch the mouth-watering video above, and then read all about how Mc...
https://blog.ted.com/2014/02/14/lucy-mcrae-on-the-making-of-the-music-video-for-architecture-in-helsinki
X Marks the Spot: A flashmob in Yemen, absurdist art in Kentucky and edible sugar sculptures in California
In his TED Talk, "The shared experience of absurdity," Charlie Todd shared the hilarity he creates for his fellow New Yorkers through flashmobs like the No Pants Subway Ride. The flashmob idea has, of course, spread widely. In the video above, watch one coordinated by the organizers of TEDxAden, a spontaneous musical performance in the elevat...
https://blog.ted.com/2014/01/17/x-marks-the-spot-january-17-2014
"If I don't ask, I won't get": A recap of "I heart design," All-Stars Session 4 at TED2014
By Liz Jacobs and Helen Walters It's often said that good design is invisible design — it makes things easy and delightful without us realizing it. But as host Chee Pearlman reminds us at the top of the session, we're here to honor the "D" in "TED." From the artistic to the architectural to the auditory, the eight speakers in this All-Sta...
https://blog.ted.com/2014/03/19/if-i-dont-ask-i-wont-get-a-recap-of-i-heart-design-all-stars-session-4-at-ted2014
In short: The true story of Kid President, the danger of Dr. Oz
Here, some staff picks of smart, funny, bizarre and cool stuff on the interwebs from this (and last) week: The true story of Kid President: Watch this behind-the-scenes video of everyone's favorite new politician. [YouTube] And make sure to watch his pep talk, posted on TED last week. Don't miss Specter's talk on science denial. Ali...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/02/09/in-short-the-true-story-of-kid-president-the-danger-of-dr-oz
Tinker Make Do: Session 2 at TEDGlobal2012
Click above to watch the session-opening animation. The extraordinary rise of virtual tools for collaboration and invention have given rise to a new form of creativity: making physical things. From the maker community to hobbyists to open-sourced machined blueprints, there has been a huge movement toward taking the ethos of the open, sharab...
https://blog.ted.com/2012/06/26/tinker-make-do-session-2-at-tedglobal2012
The world's best creative director: Nature
What's that too-often quoted aphorism? "Good artists copy; great artists steal"? In this nuanced conversation, biologist and founder of Biomimicry 3.8 Janine Benyus speaks with Tim Brown, chief executive of IDEO, to discuss what's really interesting about borrowing. Tim Brown: As a creative person, I've always believed that I can't be creativ...
https://ideas.ted.com/nature-knows-best-a-biologist-and-a-designer-take-creative-direction-from-the-earths-operating-system
Machines might actually be better than humans at creativity. So … what's left for us to do?
But some jobs -- and industries -- will still require a human touch. Technology researchers Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson have a guess as to which ones. A surprising report published this spring projects that 30 percent of current jobs in the UK might be replaced by automation in the next 15 years. That number is 21 percent in Japan, 35 p...
https://ideas.ted.com/machines-might-actually-be-better-than-humans-at-creativity-so-whats-left-for-us-to-do
2013: The Year in Ideas
In 2013, TED published more than 250 talks, each with an idea worth spreading. And yet, certain ideas seemed to resonate throughout the year, as if speakers at different events were singing parts of the same choral symphony. As 2013 draws to a close, here is a look at some of the big ideas we parsed this year. Consider it the rousing finale ...
https://blog.ted.com/2013/12/19/2013-the-year-in-ideas
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