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Lawmaker Pushes For Marijuana Legalization In Kenya
A Kenyan lawmaker is introducing legislation to legalize marijuana nationwide.
Member of Parliament Kenneth Okoth wrote a letter to the National Assembly speaker on Friday, requesting help to prepare the legislation so that it can be published.
The bill would decriminalize cannabis possession and use, clear criminal records of those with prior cannabis-related convictions, enact a legal and regulated commercial sales program and impose "progressive taxation measures" in order to "boost economic independence of Kenya and promote job creation."
It's high time Kenya dealt with the question of #marijuana like we do for miraa, tobacco, and alcohol#DecriminalizeIt #LegalizeIt #RegulateIt #TaxIt #HarmReduction #PettyOffences @YoungMPsKenya @HumanRightsMPs @KEWOPA @ICJKenya @lawsocietykenya @shecyclesnbi @DavidNdii @gathara pic.twitter.com/6ISnxjt2gS
— Kenneth Okoth, MP Kibra (@okothkenneth) September 21, 2018
Currently, marijuana (or "bhang," as it's locally known) is illegal in Kenya—as it is in most of Africa.
Another provision of the draft legislation concerns "research and policy development." Okoth wants the country to conduct studies on the medical, industrial, textile and recreational applications of cannabis. And that research would have a "focus on the preservation of intellectual property rights for Kenyan research and natural heritage, knowledge, and our indigenous plant assets," according to the letter.
Kenya Gazette special issue "..Act of Parliament to decriminalize the growth and use of Marijuana.." pic.twitter.com/gXFNx8ehbC
— The African Voice (@teddyeugene) September 21, 2018
"It's high time Kenya dealt with the question of marijuana like we do for tobacco, miraa, and alcohol," Okoth wrote on Facebook.
"Legalize, regulate, tax. Protect children, eliminate drug cartels, reduce cost of keeping petty offenders in jail. Promote research for medical purposes and protect our indigenous knowledge and plants before foreign companies steal and patent it all."
Okoth's push for legalization in Kenya comes days after South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that individuals can grow and use marijuana for personal purposes. The court determined that prohibition violated a person's right to privacy, effectively legalizing cannabis in the country.
It'll take a while for Okoth's bill to move forward. The legislation will need cabinet approval, then it must be published so that all interested parties can review the proposal before it enters into parliamentary debates. Whether Okoth's fellow lawmakers will embrace the legislation is yet to be seen.
Don't Legalize Marijuana, UN Drug Enforcement Board Warns Countries
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.
Bipartisan Lawmakers Tell DEA To Let Researchers Study Marijuana From Dispensaries
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers from the House and Senate sent a letter to the Justice Department on Friday, requesting a policy change allowing researchers to access marijuana from state-legal dispensaries to improve studies on the plant's benefits and risks.
The letter, led by Rep. Harley Rouda (D-CA) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), cites feedback from federal health agencies, which have said that existing restrictions on cannabis have inhibited research. One problem in particular is that there's only one federally authorized manufacturer of research-grade marijuana.
While the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said that it is in the process of approving additional manufacturers, it's been more than three years since they first announced that applications for more growers would be accepted and, more recently, the agency said it would have to develop alternative rules to approve proposals that have been submitted.
"At the same time, the status quo does not address a barrier to research raised by both [the National Institutes of Health] and [the Food and Drug Administration]," the lawmakers wrote in the new letter. That barrier is a ban on researchers being able to obtain marijuana from dispensaries.
"Both agencies recommended that researchers should be able to obtain cannabis from state-legal sources," the letter states.
Today, @SenBrianSchatz and I sent a bipartisan letter to AG Barr, urging the DEA to amend current policies to improve research on cannabis.
It's time to bring our drug research policies into the 21st century.https://t.co/bfpPUhUvQf
— Rep. Harley Rouda (@RepHarley) December 6, 2019
Further, the lawmakers said that there are "problems in industry development of licensed drugs with data from products obtained from third-parties, such as the University of Mississippi."
"In many states, cannabis law and regulations already provide for licensing of industrial manufacturing activities, and products are available for medical use in those states, but not for research leading to FDA licensure," they wrote.
"There is a need for a greater diversity of cannabis products so that research on benefits and risks reflects the realities of what consumers and patients are using. NIH and FDA have strongly recommended streamlining the process for conducting research and product development activities with cannabis and other Schedule I substances, and that the DEA take action to assure that interpretations of processes and policies are universally applied in local DEA jurisdictions."
The lack of chemical diversity in the federal government's cannabis supply has been repeatedly pointed out. One study found that the research-grade cannabis is more similar to hemp than marijuana in commercial markets.
To resolve the research issues, the coalition made two recommendations: 1) to amend internal policy "so as to allow researchers with Schedule I licenses to obtain cannabis-derived products from state authorized dispensaries for research purposes" and 2) issue guidance clarifying that hemp researchers do not need a DEA license to obtain and study hemp because it was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
The letter requests a response from DEA by December 20.
A total of 21 members of Congress signed the letter, including Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO), along with Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA) Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Joe Kennedy (D-MA).
"Our nation's cannabis research laws are archaic," Rouda said in a press release. "Forty-seven states have legalized some form of cannabis consumption—we must ensure our federal agencies and other licensed institutions can comprehensively study the benefits and risks of cannabis products."
"I thank Senator Schatz, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, for joining me to make this common-sense request," he said. "It's time to bring our drug research policies into the 21st century."
Attorney General William Barr received a similar letter from lawmakers about the need to expand the number of federally authorized marijuana cultivators in April.
Read the lawmakers' full letter on expanding marijuana research below:
FINAL Letter to DOJ Re. Can… by Marijuana Moment on Scribd
People Are Skipping Sleep Aids In Favor of Marijuana, Study Reports
Oregon Activists Begin Signature Gathering For 2020 Drug Decriminalization Initiative
Oregon activists have begun collecting signatures for a statewide initiative to decriminalize possession of all drugs.
Three months after petitioners quietly submitted the proposed ballot measure—titled the "Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act" (DATRA)—the signature gathering process has started, with organizers deployed to Portland to raise support.
A long road lies before the activists, who need to collect 112,020 valid signatures from voters in order to qualify for the 2020 ballot. Funding and polling will decide whether they mount a full push for the decriminalization measure in the months to come.
To that end, their efforts are being helped by David Bronner, CEO of the soap company Dr. Bronner's, who told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that he will be investing $250,000 in the decriminalization campaign. An additional $500,000 will go to a separate Oregon initiative to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic purposes.
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which backed Oregon's successful marijuana legalization initiative in 2014, is also supporting this new effort to make low-level drug possession an infraction punishable by a $100 fine with no jail time, rather than a misdemeanor. It remains to be seen how involved in the campaign DPA will be, however.
Peter Zuckerman, a chief petitioner for the decriminalization initiative, told OregonLive on Thursday that it's not guaranteed that the campaign will proceed and that much rides on how much money the group can raise, whether there's public support for the reform move and how staff recruitment comes together.
He said the main thrust of the measure is to take a "health-based approach to drug addiction rather than a criminal justice-based approach."
The proposal caught the attention of Oregon's teachers' union, which said that it supports decriminalizing drug possession but wrote in a comment submitted to the secretary of state in October that it was not taking an official position because it's concerned about another provision that would shift cannabis tax revenue away from schools.
DATRA would make it so most of that revenue would be used to fund addiction treatment programs.
At the same time that activists are collecting signatures and weighing whether to move ahead with the broad decriminalization initiative, another advocacy group is pushing for a measure to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use, allowing individuals to receive treatment with the psychedelic fungus at licensed health facilities. The group launched its signature drive in September.
Advocates in Portland are also hoping to advance a local measure to decriminalize psilocybin and other psychedelics such as ayahuasca and ibogaine.
Bronner wrote in a blog post that the decriminalization and therapeutic psilocybin legalization campaigns are "already coordinating closely and conserving resources on the statewide signature drive."
He told Marijuana Moment that "we see this as the perfect one two punch in Oregon, legalizing psilocybin therapy that has so much promise for treating drug addiction, at the same time Oregon shifts to a treatment not jail approach."
"And 100 percent confident it's coming together," he said.
All of this comes amid a national movement to decriminalize psychedelics, with activists in almost 100 cities across the U.S. considering pushing for reduced penalties for substances such as psilocybin and ayahuasca. Decriminalize Nature, which is aiding in and tracking these efforts, is also receiving donations from Bronner, he said.
Decriminalization is also gaining traction on the national stage, with two presidential candidates—South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)—voicing support for the policy change. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, another candidate, recently said that he's open to broad decriminalization, while entrepreneur Andrew Yang backs decriminalizing opioids.
Scientist Talks Benefits Of Psychedelics At Federal Health Agency Event
North Dakota Activists Submit Measure To Legalize Marijuana In 2020
North Dakota activists submitted a measure to legalize marijuana for adult use to state officials on Thursday, an organizer confirmed to Marijuana Moment.
Legalize ND, the group behind the proposed statutory initiative, delivered the measure to the secretary of state's office. It's expected to be validated within days, after which point petitions will be distributed to collect signatures in support of qualifying for the 2020 ballot.
It's been about a year since organizers began working on the measure, which would allow adults 21 and older to possess and purchase cannabis for personal use. The proposal is more narrowly tailored than a legalization initiative from the same organization that voters rejected in 2018, however.
The previous version didn't include any restrictions on cultivation or possession, and it didn't involve a licensing scheme. By contrast, the new measure would prohibit home cultivation, limit possession to two ounces, impose a 10 percent excise tax and establish a regulatory body to approve licenses for marijuana businesses.
"One of the largest complaints from last time was the mantra of 'poorly written,'" Legalize ND's David Owen told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview. "They targeted the lack of legal experience from our team and they targeted a lack of 'qualified lawyers' to be drafting language that would go into the state's statutory law."
But he said he's confident the campaign will be successful this time around, in part because they spent months drafting the language with the North Dakota Legislative Council.
Asked what he'd say to voters still on the fence about legalization, Owen replied that it would depend on what their initial concerns were:
"If it's a concern over home grow, well it's simple, we don't have that anymore. If it's a concern of people having too much, we have a reasonable possession limit now—in their eyes, I still think possession limits are fundamentally arbitrary, but they wanted a possession limit so we have that now. If people go, 'well what about the quality of the language?' I can point to how it's literally written by Legislative Council, so either every attorney who works for the state of North Dakota is incompetent or this is well written."
In order to qualify for next year's ballot, the group must collect 13,452 valid signatures from voters before July 6, 2020.
"I think the most important thing isn't what it would do, but what it would stop from happening," Owen told local radio station KFGO on Wednesday. "We currently have a system where people are unable to find a job because of a criminal record, we have a system where people are continuing to get marijuana charges and lose their housing, we have families being separated because of parents losing custody over their children for marijuana charges. That all stops when this is legalized."
Listen to Owen's radio interview about the new marijuana ballot measure below:
Internal polling that received outside funding, which Owen said cannot be publicly released because of the wishes of the donor, shows the initiative is "slightly ahead" among voters.
In an earlier interview with Marijuana Moment in February, Owen said that it's "very probable that we can do it" this time around, but much of that depended on the extent to which opposition campaigns are involved and how much funding outside groups are able to offer.
Currently, North Dakota has a medical cannabis program, and the governor signed legislation in May decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession.
Marijuana Summit Will Give Virginia Governor 'More Tools' To Back Legalization, Attorney General Says
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.


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subset: commoncrawl


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According to VegNews, Washington, DC has the biggest Veggie eating population at 8.3 percent, the biggest percentage of any city in the United States. And this Saturday, the nation's capital will be offering a FREE outdoor festival with the very best of everything VEGGIE in D.C.!
When: this Saturday, 24th September 2011, 11am to 6pm
Where: George Washington University at the Univ. Yard, 2000 blk of H St., NW, DC
Price: FREE
Organized by: Compassion Over Killing and the Vegetarian Society of D.C.
Scheduled Talks include: The Latest in Clinical Nutrition, The Meat Crisis and Gas Prices and The Meat of the Matter: how our diet impacts the planet (details here)
Exhibitors: food and commercial vendors, as well as non-profit organizations (details here)
For more information: http://dcvegfest.com/


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. . . 9/11 memoir, or is it? "The innocuous premise establishes There's a Road to Everywhere Except Where You Came From, Bryan Charles's atypical survivor memoir, is the classic struggle of a fledgling writer pursuing his dreams to New York City, and rife are the pains that accompany that pivotal confrontation with one's future life of work. But there's something more devastating in the memoir, told almost incidentally, in terse, and at times white-knuckle prose." Read my full review in the latest Rain Taxi, available here.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Not Just Another . . .
Posted by Unknown at 11:23 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: biography, book reviews, Bryan Charles, criticism
Thursday, December 1, 2011
James Salter's Aesthetic Economy
Rodin, supposedly at wits end with the inquisitive Rilke, sent his young charge to the Jardin des Plantes to observe the animals there, expecting him to do so with such intensity until he'd be compelled to do nothing else but write. This is the romantic story behind the poems, anyway. At some point in a writer's career, perhaps they can't help but see and draw inspiration from less exotic animals. This might be the case for James Salter, whose short story collections (Dusk and other stories, and Last Night) embody sharp psychological observation translated into sleight of hand prose. To relate more clearly to Rilke, Salter evokes an aesthetic frisson that is hermetic like poetry. If ever there is an example of the sheer power of selective detail for compelling storytelling, Salter has embodied it.
Salter paints with a vivid yet economical palette and daubs in such broad strokes that his work betrays one of the secrets of short fiction: that what is left out is possibly more important than what is left in. This is the modernist approach to the short story that is a close cousin to minimalism. It's not about the writer conveying a tidy story exactly; an initial disorientation and groundlessness forces the reader into acclimatization. The reader is on familiar ground, trying to establish the narrative's priorities. Attentiveness rewards. The onus is on the reader to construct from what is there, and to ask the questions implicit in any good story. It is novelistic portraiture in as few words as possible. The omniscient narration suggests a sheen of artifice, since none of the actors in the frame of the story should be so clinically observant. It's an aestheticizing of reality: the image becomes an ideal perspective on what it is portraying.
Form-wise, the stories disrupt convenient beginning, middle and end, or the multi-part rising action, denouement and satisfying conclusion. The reader gets a sense of looking in on the quotidian, however unusual, and different, that specific quotidian is--interloping. And therein is an artful photographic quality: capturing in a frame what has so far been unseen. Offering the authoritative take, in words that strike with the assurance of a shot bolt, is one of Salter's uncanny gifts.
Salter abhors the grand statement--though his short stories' brevity achieves a cumulative stylistic effect. He is a craftsman adding pieces to a formidable oeuvre. Salter's is such a carefully wrought body of work that the writer's engagement and commitment to each word, seems essential.
The stories seem to take place just after the war, or preceding it, in that romanticized time as so many writers of his generation have established, a rarified time of civilian life in gritty urban settings. The wide, sun-filled allees of a country village, or soot grimed cathedrals and diesel fogged streets. As in "Dirt" (from Dusk), a farm town in the Midwest:
"Billy lived near the Catholic church, in a room on the ground floor. It had a metal shower. He slept without sheets, in the morning he drank milk from the carton. He was going out with a girl name Alma who was a waitress at Daly's. She had legs with hard calves. She didn't say much, her complaisance drove him crazy [...]"
Reading these set pieces--what isn't left out, essentially--is to become aware of their nostalgic weight.
This is as good as any example of lyricism from the hands of a master. It's somewhere between the baroque prose of Nabokov, and the terseness of Hemingway--and Salter is an adept student of Papa with regard to tone. Ultimately, for Salter, melodrama is left unexposed; there is no prurient pay-off. In the tragi-comic story "Last Night," (from Last Night) the protagonist begins fantasizing about life to come with his young mistress, the morning after he has administered euthanizing drugs to his ailing wife (note: I'm keeping with Salter's dialogue formatting, hence the dashes):
They sat at the table drinking coffee. They were complicit, not long risen, and not regarding one another too closely. Walter was admiring her, however. Without makeup she was even more appealing. Her long hair was not combed. She seemed very approachable. There were calls that would have to be made, but he was not thinking of them. It was still too early. He was thinking past this day. Mornings to come. At first he hardly heard the sound behind him. It was a footstep and then, slowly, another--Susanna turned white--as Marit came unsteadily down the stairs. The makeup on her face was stale, and her dark lipstick showed fissures. He stared in disbelief.
--Something went wrong, she said.
--Are you all right? he asked foolishly.
--No, you must have done it wrong.
--Oh, God, Walter murmured.
Just when the reader expects a clever turn, they are delivered the devastation of the wife's apparent resurrection. The stories' effects are cumulative as these self-assured characters maintain their dignity in the face of infidelity, accident, abandonment, or shame. Salter conveys their reactions to calamitous reversal with equanimity.
His writing is the art of understatement. The reader finds herself immersed, hanging on the words at service to themselves, to the point. Unadorned:
"If he was not great, he was following the path of greatness which is the same as disaster."
"Great faces cannot be explained."
"Her face was like a series of photographs, some of which ought to have been thrown away."
They are characters on a stage:
"It was one of those evenings like the beginning of a marvelous performance in which everyone somehow had a role."
"She moved with a kind of negligent grace, like a dancer whose career is ended."
These are blunt, uncompromising and dispassionate assessments. An accounting of the writer emptying his pockets on the table, and the reader catching a glimpse of something they don't expect to see.
Posted by Unknown at 3:16 PM 4 comments: Links to this post
Labels: book reviews, Fiction, Hemingway, James Salter, Nabokov, Rilke, short stories
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What's the best way to kill a Vampire in Pakistan?
First, invite him in. Pour him a cup of tea and settle him down on the living room couch. Make sure all kids, pets and men are hidden away safely. Because, we all know that tall, dark and handsome Vampires always interact with women.
Next, go to the kitchen. Wear your 'Bite the Cook' apron (because you want to seduce the Vampire into sucking you dry). Take out that prime cut of chicken (because everyone likes chicken) you had placed in the cold box. Throw it on the grill and let it cook. Steam some veggies, but its doubtful the Vampire will eat them (because nobody like vegetables). Finally, whip up a creamy sauce, some mashed 'taters and present the steak to your undead guest on a (preferably silver) platter.
Wait, did I say steak? I meant stake! We all loathe those who say then, when they should say than and their when they should say there. Those who meat-up when they should be meeting-up. Then, there are those who do not know the difference between a cooked hunk of meat and a metal/wooden post which is pointed at one end.
We youngsters of the Twilight/Teen Wolf/True Blood age commonly know a stake as a Vampire-hunting weapon, then why does the Pakistani youth insist on slaughtering Vampires with high-quality chicken undercuts (because everyone likes chicken)?
I thought this gross confusion of suitable Vampire-killing weapons with edible masterpieces was because of my peers not reading enough English books and not watching enough English movies.
But then, they've all watched and read the Twilight Saga…
I blame it on the Vampires!


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Web Design and Integration
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[For the record at year's end, I will briefly insert the following list of some of my updated book publications, published this year or now awaiting publication. For me the year also marked the reissue of my old magazine New Wilderness Letter through Jacket2 and the archiving of more performances on PennSound & Charlie Morrow's Mister Bowler Radio. A more comprehensive list of books, magazine publications, & interviews between 2009 & 2011 previously appeared here & here on Poems and Poetics.]
Eye of Witness: A Jerome Rothenberg Reader, edited with Heriberto Yepez, Black Widow Press
A Seneca Journal, revised & expanded, Nine Point Publishing, Maine
15 Antiphonals: for Haroldo de Campos, sine wave peak, Edinburgh, U.K.
A Poem of Miracles, Word Palace Press, San Luis Obispo, California
Seven poems from Shaking the Pumpkin, designed & printed by Marlies Louwes, Drukwerk in de Marge, Netherlands
Pologne/1931 (excerpts), translation into French by Jean Portante, Editions Caractères, Paris
Paraíso de Poetas, reprint & expansion of Un cruel Nirvana, Editorial Arte y Literatura, Cuba
El Trabajo del sueño y otros poemas, translation into Spanish by Mercedes Roffé, Hilos Editora, Buenos Aires
Mistici, hoti si nebuni (Mystics, Thieves & Madmen), translation into Romanian by Raluca & Chris Tanasescu [MARGENTO], Casa de Editura Max Blecher, Bucharest
"A Further Witness, for Anselm Hollo," multicolor printing by Ken Angel, New York
An Oracle for Delfi, translation into Greek by Yossif Venturi, Poeticanet (online), Athens, Greece
Shaking the Pumpkin, reissued by Station Hill Press of Barrytown, New York.
Barbaric Vast & Wild: A Gathering of Outside & Subterranean Poetry from Origins to Present, Black Widow Press
Khurbn, translation into French by Rachel Ertel, Editions Caractères, Paris
50 Caprichos après Goya, translation into French by Jean Portante, for the series "L'Extrème contemporain" edited by Michel Deguy, Editions Belin, Paris


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Your gift to the annual fund provides financial resources that reach, inspire, and strengthen the potential and purpose of every child of the King. When individual gifts are combined together for the annual fund, the LASE community collectively joins together around a common purpose to ensure that each child in Lutheran schools develops a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior while growing academically, physically, and socially.Click Here to Donate through a Gift to the Annual Fund
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I'd say it was a pretty masterful job all round, wouldn't you? I mean, it's positively breathtaking: the Supreme Court, COMELEC, Congress, the party-lists and computerized balloting, not to mention the warlords, the military and the police? Erap no longer the lone administration spoiler with Manny Villar (among others) now apparently in tow as well? Yes, indeed -- I'd have to say the Palace had all its bases covered. No doubt about it: a pretty thorough rigging all round.
I know I've been somewhat scarce of late. It started out with a laborious (if ultimately ineffectual) attempt to make sense of COMELEC's party-list inclusions and exclusions, as well as the Supreme Court's decision not to require public officials to relinquish their current positions if they hoped to run for elective posts in 2010. By the time the Ampatuan massacre had taken place, I was in a quiet state of rage. The overweening arrogance and sense of impunity with which Andal Ampatuan, Jr and his people comported themselves, COMELEC's cavalier decision to make Shariff Aguak the site of the provincial capitol (where Toto Mangudadatu would have had to file his candidacy but which happened to be in Ampatuan territory, despite the well-publicized rift between the two clans), and the AFP's decision not to escort the Mangudadatu convoy deeply troubled me, particularly in view of what it all implied about the central government's role in the entire massacre. And what of those arms caches found in the properties of the Ampatuans, clearly bearing DND markings?
In the aftermath, as lurid and gory details began to emerge in swift and unabashed succession, a forensic anthropologist's nightmare would ensue, in large part due to the poor handling and contamination of the victims' remains and the massacre site itself: http://pcij.org/stories/report-of-the-humanitarian-and-fact-finding-mission-to-maguindanao/
Worse, the charge of rebellion in the context of martial law suggested that the offences were bailable and the perpetrators could still be granted amnesty. It was no wonder, then, that as of March of this year, the Philippines had already ranked sixth in the Global Impunity Index (http://cpj.org/reports/2009/03/getting-away-with-murder-2009.php); immediately after the massacre, of course, the country quickly became the "worst on record" for journalists worldwide: http://cpj.org/2009/11/maguindanao-death-toll-worst-for-press-in-recent-h.php. So, apart from Senators Biazon and Gordon, why were not more Senators and Congressmen calling for an investigation into the source/s of the arms caches that had suddenly been "discovered" in Maguindanao?
By the time COMELEC had announced that Grace Padaca, Ed Panlilio, Brig Gen Danny Lim and Danton Remoto had been disqualified, the burning question needed to be asked: could it be that all these institutions were in GMA's pocket? Where does a nation turn to when its leaders, lawmakers, judiciary and law enforcement personnel routinely flout -- rather than uphold -- the rule of law? Were there anthropological underpinnings to this culture of impunity or was it purely a function of economic scarcity?
You can well understand why the sheer scale of this Lernaean Hydra (http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/LernaeanHydra.html) had left me at an utter loss. To many, of course, much of this was nothing new: indeed, a cursory sweep of recent history indicated that the most egregious offenses have tended to be swept under the rug altogether: US abandonment of the Philippines during the Japanese occupation; MacArthur and the "collaborators" hailed as heroes (indeed, with Manuel Roxas eventually becoming President); Cory not pursuing Marcos and his henchmen for the ill-gotten wealth and human rights violations; FVR remaining remarkably quiet about Danding; and GMA pardoning Erap despite his precedent-setting conviction. As my buddy Mac mournfully observed one evening: "These are the big-time cases, Lil — no wonder the little guys are so sure they can get away with murder: they can. The precedents are set."
Surreal in the extreme, you will agree, to be listening to a congressional debate about martial law led by Enrile, of all people, the guy whose fake ambush had been the initial excuse for Marcos' declaration. Not to mention all the coup attempts he backed against Cory, indirectly stunting the country's economic recovery. Hadn't he even been charged with rebellion at one point? I suppose one could argue that this qualified him as an expert of sorts…
But what exactly was going on here, I had to wonder? Could the Constitution be part of the problem? Should more of these crimes be considered statutory? From where I sit, it would appear that the higher courts tend to be constantly clogged with cases that could effectively be addressed in the lower courts. USAID goes on to suggest that it is not only the backlog of cases in the courts but the fact that legal personnel are grossly underpaid that explains the nature of this corruption trap:
It would also seem to be the case that there is a shortage of lawyers, at least those who are willing to practice in trial courts.
Philippine law
Now I am certainly no lawyer but I have spent some time struggling with various bills and legal systems in an attempt to understand our various options in the Ampatuan case. I am also blessed enough to have friends who happen to be lawyers and who have remained remarkably patient with me despite my repeated badgering… But I should add that I don't have free and easy access to any international lawyers (both of the ones I know happen to be in the Hague at the moment and are swamped with the Milosevic case) so I have had to extrapolate on my own. I would argue, however, that the law is not rocket science, after all, and should be accessible to any citizen with enough concern and commitment, so here's my take…
This piece was largely inspired by an increasing sense of inquietude at the thought that the perpetrators (apart from Andal, Jr, who was charged before the establishment of martial law and therefore with far more binding crimes than "rebellion", unlike Andal, Sr, the actual mastermind of the operation) might eventually be granted amnesty. Of course, they would be charged with crimes punishable under the Constitution, the Revised Penal Code and other criminal laws. But the Revised Penal Code defines rebellion as "rising publicly and taking arms against the Government for the purpose of removing allegiance from said Government the territory of the Republic of the Philippines or any part thereof…or depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives." As it is, rebellion is notoriously difficult to prove, but it can certainly be argued that it has variously been committed by: a.) specific Muslim separatists attempting to secede; b.) certain communist rebels attempting to violently overthrow the government; and c.) a handful of soldier rebels trying to unseat the Philippine president. But by Gloria's primary allies in Maguindanao, to whom she remains eternally indebted for those large-scale election "victories" in 2004 and 2007? Hardly.
Unfortunately, bail remains a matter of right for non-capital offenses, although there is good reason to believe that Judge Solis-Reyes may refuse to grant it simply in deference to public outrage. Whether she is safer if the perpetrators remain incarcerated or if they are eventually freed is a matter of opinion, of course. There is after all a fairly sizeable Ampatuan army still out there able to carry out the family's bidding either way…
I am told that amnesty remains unlikely, however. For instance, we can grant "amnesty" to insurgents who lay down their arms or rogue members of the military who decide to go back into the government fold. But the perpetrators have already been charged, so that does not appear to be an option (unless the charges are thrown out altogether because of the ultimately unconstitutional establishment of martial law). On the other hand, what may very well happen (and this is something we need to remain vigilant about) is a presidential pardon after the convictions have been made. This would not happen during this presidency but in the next one, since such trials tend to take an inordinately long time, as many of you know. All the more reason why we need to be wary of Gibo Teodoro, who has brilliantly tried to distance himself from the arms caches and private armies that burgeoned wildly in Maguindanao under his watch at the DND. Similarly, highly placed (and very reliable sources) have informed me that Villar is a GMA spoiler, and that he plans to push for charter change as soon as he gets into office. GMA, once again the invisible hand, plans to sit as Prime Minister if and when this happens. Like any good businesswoman, she has simply placed her bets on several horses at the same time, so as to ensure victory no matter what.
I would therefore be interested in hearing what the remaining candidates –- Noynoy and Bro Eddie, in particular –- have to say about how they plan to make these perpetrators accountable. A lackadaisical pandering to popularity and big money, which would entail a presidential pardon, is non-negotiable, at least in so far as my personal vote is concerned. The massacre is simply far too gruesome and unprecedented to remain unpunished.
Hope for the future
GMA recently signed Republic Act 9851, which is widely regarded as a milestone for human rights:
Of course, "with a reported 1,013 extra-judicial killings, 202 enforced disappearances, 223 political prisoners, and 1,036 incidences of torture since 2001, the Arroyo regime's record rivals that of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and has drawn sharp criticism from the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Karapatan national human rights alliance group." Oplan Bantay Laya alone, the government's anti-insurgency programme, has already led to the loss of hundreds of human lives. How the government will deal with the issue of command responsibility over crimes against humanity (such as the Ampatuan massacre), which is specified in the law, remains to be seen.
There have been a number of other initiatives as well, although many have yet to be passed into law. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago recently presented Senate Bill Number (SBN) 1861 in the Senate (An Act Defining and Penalizing Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law and Other Serious International Crimes, Adopting Corresponding Principles of Criminal Responsibility Applying Universal Jurisdiction): http://www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/63375665%21.pdf
SBN 2669, which has yet to be approved as well, further aims to define and penalize crimes against international humanitarian law: the bill consolidates Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago's bill with SBN 1446 by Senator Richard Gordon, SBN 583 by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, SBN 1542 by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and SBN 2589 by Senator Manny Villar. The counterpart bills in the Lower House include HBN 1748 by Representative Roilo Golez, HBN 2591 by Representative Simeon Datumanong and HBN 3002 by Representative Rufus Rodriguez.
So: the legislative efforts at the national level are apparently there. But the point is that the new law (RA 9851), at least in spirit and intent, will theoretically protect the rights and security of innocent civilians who are exposed to internal armed conflicts (that is, if the executive branch and its generals are ready to enforce the law against themselves). There's the rub, see...
International options
In fact, we've had a pretty weak record internationally when it comes to international human rights and humanitarian law. Now Leila de Lima, whom I respect greatly (although I would argue that her energies are best spent not on unnecessary worry about Andal, Jr having been bonked on the head by an overly animated journalist), has said that, if this case is not adequately resolved by Philippine courts, the Commission on Human Rights will not hesitate to present it to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. I could not make sense of the reference simply because the ICJ deals with conflicts between states, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) deal with conflicts within them. Clearly, this is an intra-state issue and not an inter-state one, in which case the appropriate body would be the ICC.
The Philippines has signed the Rome Statute to the ICC but regrettably has not ratified it. To his credit, Erap did sign the treaty but, when GMA came into power in 2001, she did not give the Senate the opportunity to ratify it. Her government reportedly did not want to become a member because of fears that allegations of human rights violations might be made against them in international tribunals. But the even more compelling reason, of course, has to do with our symbiotic ties to the US. More specifically, the American Servicemen Protection Act stipulates that countries that have become members of the ICC will no longer receive US military aid. In addition, any government that detains an American soldier and files a case against him/her before the ICC has to be prepared for the fact that the US will undertake military action to free its soldier. Clearly this is about currying favor in order to obtain US aid, on the one hand, just as it demonstrates the masterful strategies the US tends to deploy in matters of bilateral "exchange," on the other.
The only other international option for now appears to be the UN Human Rights Council, specifically the International Protocol to the International Covenant to Civil and Political Rights: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/procedure.htm
While it arguably has limited enforcement mechanisms, several countries have already amended their laws as a result of decisions made by the Committee. In a number of cases, prisoners have been released and compensation paid to victims of human rights violations. In 1990, the Committee instituted a mechanism to assist it in monitoring more closely whether states parties have given effect to its final decisions, and it has been encouraging to note that they have been largely cooperative.
Of course, the Covenant requires that domestic remedies be first exhausted. In this case, therefore, the Philippines would have the obligation to prosecute the perpetrators of the massacre to begin with. If the convictions are deemed inadequate, any injured parties (survivors, relatives of loved ones) would have the right to present their case before the international body. Karen Vertido, a victim of an alleged rape in 1996, for example, eventually chose to present her case to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) after the presiding judge in the Philippines decided to acquit her attacker. While the case remains pending for now, it will eventually be resolved, reminding us that this is an option available to ordinary citizens all over the world. Technically, a strong case could be made not for genocide or state-sponsored violence, but for designating the Ampatuan massacre as a crime against humanity.
Additional recommendations:
1.) An examination of the massacre case files suggests that there had been systemic favoritism towards the Ampatuans and government mishandling throughout. Indeed, had so many journalists not fallen – had the victims "merely" been Muslims, say -- the public outcry might not have been quite as vociferous. Education and training programmes for trial court judges and government personnel (specifically for victims of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, dealing with threats from the accused and cultural impartiality in general) are therefore clearly necessary. A monitoring system for trial court decisions in cases of rido and human rights atrocities should also be established to ensure their compliance with human rights conventions. Data on the number of such cases filed in prosecution offices and the courts should also be compiled and analyzed. It is further recommended that victims be provided with the right to appeal in cases of acquittal that are anchored on discriminatory grounds.
2.) Training of medical, police and military personnel is equally critical because valuable forensic evidence in this case was lost or mishandled due to a lack of technical skill. Funds will have to be allocated for providing this training since effective forensics work is at the forefront of the battle against impunity. The conditions that would allow the enforcement of the law -- its enabling environment, as it were -- are not yet entirely in place. While additional laws could and should be passed, it is clear that we have a serious law enforcement problem as well.
3.) The material conditions in the criminal justice system are as important, if not more so, than the mere promulgation of laws. The salaries of legal, military and medical personnel should therefore be commensurate with the type of work they routinely put in every day: otherwise, they may simply resort to corruption in order to survive. As they (trial lawyers in particular) are at the front lines of law enforcement, they should be considered to be a priority. Establishing such a system is crucial so that human rights cannot be arbitrarily ignored in cases where the government does not support the victim. Examining the process of implementating laws is even more important, in many ways, than solely monitoring legislation itself.
4.) To what can the backlog in the courts be attributed? Could more cases be turned over to the lower courts? I would be grateful for some feedback here…
5.) Education is equally vital, and the reassessment of school curricula and textbooks in terms of violence and respect for human rights may be necessary. In Muslim areas, tolerance for the realities of rido should be re-examined, just as stereotypes about Muslims in mainstream texts should be carefully scrutinized as well. How are Muslims represented in these different contexts and what alternatives to rido are presented? Do they take into account indigenous cultures, on the one hand, and international mechanisms for conflict negotiation, on the other? Rido between two pro-government Muslim clans, on the one hand, and between an insurgent group like Abu Sayyaf and a pro-government group (whether Muslim or Christian), on the other, will also have to be clearly distinguished in these texts and in public perception itself.
6.) The Mindanao civil society statement is fairly comprehensive, and addresses such issues as the disarmament of the CVOs, the total disbanding of the private armies of all political clans, and the call for government to uphold the constitutional provisions that ban private armed groups: http://durianpost.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/mindanao-civil-society-statement-on-the-ampatuan-massacre/
7.) Truth and reconciliation commissions have gone a long way in healing post-conflict societies like Rwanda, El Salvador and South Africa. They could theoretically have a profound impact on Philippine society because they can potentially open the national dialogue on impunity: http://www.ictj.org/en/news/coverage/article/3305.html
8.) Zero tolerance for bribery at all levels of society -- whether they are being made or accepted by lawmakers, the judiciary, government employees, candidates for public office, or members of the military and police. Media watchdogs, as well as NGOs such as Transparency International, need to highlight such exchanges as and when they happen so the public can make its own assessments. For its part, the public needs to resist the temptation to accept bribes and to choose candidates that are merely entertaining and appealing for superficial reasons. Candidates that are known for their corruption and lack of respect for human rights, however attractive, should be regarded with wariness because they are likely to recommit these self-same crimes in future contexts.
9.) Ideally, zero tolerance for impunity should be the hallmark of the next administration. Failing this, however, it is up to civil society to peacefully demonstrate in public rallies or in petitions and in the blogosphere, etc, to make sure their voices are heard. At a certain point, the government will have to take the sheer numbers into account and respond accordingly.
The Filipino-American contribution
10.) It should be noted that the US would prefer to push for charter change because 100% foreign ownership of Philippine companies is in its interests, as opposed to the mere 40% the current Constitution allows. The US military is also primarily Republican and will no doubt support the candidate who is pro-VFA. Put rather bluntly, the potential exchange of funds from the former to the latter could be fairly sizeable indeed.
In view of the global economic crisis, the US, China and others are obviously looking for resources all over the world as well. It should be noted that the metallic deposits in Mindanao include lead, zinc, ore, iron, copper, chromite, magnetite and gold; in fact, gold mined in the region accounts for nearly half of the national gold reserves. Mindanao also has significant oil and natural gas reserves. It therefore comes as no surprise that foreign companies have had their eye on it for some time. The fact that conflict is being fomented so as to spur the US-led global arms trade is a remote (if somewhat unthinkable) possibility. Either way, the Philippines in general, and Mindanao in particular, are strategically and geopolitically critical for the US in terms of such concerns as global terrorism (Abu Sayyaf/MILF at home, Jemah Islamiyah next door, and links to Wahabi Islam in the Middle East, a region that can be directly accessed by unpatrolled waterways in the Philippines) and the threat of China in the region, for example.
So it would make sense if the US candidate of choice were Gibo, not on the merits of his person but because of where he stands ideologically in reference to the US. But since Gibo is heavily implicated in the arms caches and private armies in Maguindanao and elsewhere, and since he has supported GMA throughout (never having once criticized her), the issue is no longer about parliamentary change but about GMA's ambitions, which we cannot allow to flourish. Fil-Am groups in the US have petitioned for $2b of the $33b in military aid to the Philippines to be tied to human rights. But since we do require arms for our own geopolitical and internal security, perhaps it might make more sense to request that all aid be tied to human rights. In other words, could we make an acceptable human rights record a prerequisite for US aid in general, whether military or otherwise?
11.) Instead of direct aid alone, perhaps the US could loan equipment to the Philippine military with a maintenance agreement (i.e., the US could maintain the inventory, audit and maintenance contract, for example). This way, the Philippines would get the equipment but would be unable to sell it on the black market. This is an urgent concern because many of the arms used by warlords, as well as by the MILF and Abu Sayyaf, are often sold on the black market by rogue members of the Philippine military (as may well be the case with the Ampatuans). The Philippines could then pay a small maintenance cost and in turn would get continued upgrades in terms of equipment and technology.
12.) An independent investigation into the massacre is urgently needed, in view of the very real possibilities of a whitewash, as Rep Howard Berman's recent US Congressional bill has demanded: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.CON.RES.218:
13.) Independent monitors on the ground before and during the upcoming elections will also be critical to minimize widespread cheating. Fil-Ams and the international community as a whole should continue to press for this.
14.) While the Philippines greatly appreciates the support provided by the US and other countries after typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, what is really needed in the long-term is the transfer of technology and know-how to the country. Helping us develop cutting-edge innovations and technologies -- through education, training and technology transfer -- would make us more genuinely competitive in the global market. This technology will naturally have to take into account the realities of the tropics and the specificities of Philippine conditions.
For instance, the former Subic base could be used as an investment conduit for the US and foreign private sector with a preference for small-medium green-tech solution projects (manufacturing and research, etc), targeting specific regions with additional livelihood programmes. This would allow the Philippines to leap-frog industrialization and make the regions more autonomous from the main power corporations currently supplying the entire country.
A final word. Fareed Zakaria would describe the Philippines to be an "illiberal democracy." As he points out, the bedrock on which democracy is built -- constitutional liberalism or the rule of law as the centrepiece of social organization itself — is far more foundationally important than voting and mere elections. We do, in fact, have a fairly decent Constitution and set of laws (although some revisions would not be unwelcome) but are ultimately weak in matters of enforcement. This is because dictatorship, impunity and corruption have tended to supersede the rule of law.
We cannot have the kind of economic development Zakaria deems necessary for the lessening of human rights violations if our leaders keep pocketing the spoils. As he so aptly put it in "The Future of Freedom": "Modern democracies will face difficult new challenges -- fighting terrorism, adjusting to globalization, adapting to an aging society – and they will have to make their system work much better than it currently does. That means making democratic decision-making effective, reintegrating constitutional liberalism into the practice of democracy, rebuilding broken political institutions and civic associations. Perhaps most difficult of all, it requires that those with immense power in our societies embrace their responsibilities, lead and set standards that are not only legal, but moral. Without this inner stuffing, democracy will become an empty shell, not simply inadequate but potentially dangerous, bringing with it the erosion of liberty, the manipulation of freedom, and the decay of common life."
It is high time we chose leaders who would not allow democracy to become yet another empty shell, who have the inner stuffing to choose what is ethical over what is lucrative, and who would frown upon impunity as a crime against the ancestors who built our nation, the history that forged our consciousness and humanity as a whole.
Image: Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, 1490s, parcel-gilt bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/arts/scultpureplastic/sculpture/bigphotos/A/hercules.jpg


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Chaparral is being threatened by too much fire
"The ecological subsections surrounding the San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara metropolitan areas are among the most negatively departed in the state... In these areas, extensive landscapes characterized originally by dense native shrublands have been converted to degraded, open stands of native shrubs and exotic annual grasses and forbs, which are easily reignited. These fire-mediated changes in vegetation lead to higher rates of erosion, increased exotic species invasion, and higher fire hazard as grass fuels replace shrubs."Safford, H.D. and K.M. Van de Water. 2014. Using Fire Return Interval Departure (FRID) Analysis to Map Spatial and Temporal Changes in Fire Frequency on National Forest Lands in California. USDA. PSW-RP-266.
Samples of research refutingthe Fire Mosaic Hypothesis:
"Early studies characterizing differences in fire size north and south of the United States border invoked fire suppression as the primary explanation for these patterns (Minnich 1983, Minnich and Chou 1997). However, recent analyses show no evidence that 20th-century fire suppression has diminished fire activity on these landscapes."The fire regime in this region is dominated by human-caused ignitions, and fire suppression has played a critical role in preventing the ever increasing anthropogenic ignitions from driving the system wildly outside the historical fire return interval. Because the net result has been relatively little change in overall fire regimes, there has not been fuel accumulation in excess of the historical range of variability, and as a result, fuel accumulation or changes in fuel continuity do not explain wildfire patterns."Keeley, J.E, G.H. Aplet, N.L. Christensen, S.C. Conard, E.A. Johnson, P.N. Omi, D.L. Peterson, T.W. Swetnam. 2009. Ecological foundations for fire management in North American forest and shrubland ecosystems. Gen. Tech. Report PNW-GTR-779. Portland, OR: USDA, USFS PNW Research Station. 92 p.Another important paper concluded,
"Despite overwhelming evidence that fire frequency is continuing to increase in coastal southern California (Keeley et al. 1999, Moritz et al. 2004, NPS 2004), the current fire-management program subscribes to the paradigm that fire suppression has led to fewer, larger fires, and that landscape-scale prescribed fire should be used to create a fine-scaled age mosaic. Considering the results of our simulations, we believe that adding more fire to the landscape through broad-scale prescribed burning may have negative ecological effects. Instead, our results are consistent with recent recommendations from the U.S. National Park Service to change the fire management program to focus fuel-reduction efforts and prescribed fire on strategic locations such as the wildland–urban interface (NPS 2004)."Syphard A.D., Franklin J., Keeley J.E. 2006. Simulating the effects of frequent fire on southern California coastal shrublands. Ecological Applications 16: 1744-1756.
Lastly, here are two classic papers discussing the importance of examining all variables and not ignoring contrary data:


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Do you work in an office and sit for a long period of time? Do you have low back pain and stretches targeting low back pain just don't seem to do the job? Your muscles are constantly playing a tug of war. A weak or underused gluteal muscle caused muscle imbalance as your spinal muscle is trying to compensate the burden from a tilted pelvis.
Here are 7 easy stretches you can do own your own to fight the tight glutes:
1. High Lunge
Exhale and step your right foot back beside the left. Repeat the above instructions.
2. High Lunge Variation
Remain high lunge position and put your feet against the wall to stretch deeper
3. Side Seated Angle Pose
Spread the legs out as wide as comfortable. Twist from the waist to face the right leg. As you exhale, walk both hands towards the right foot and reach the forehead to the knee.
4. Pigeon Pose
Start from all fours (on hands and knees), bring your right knee forward and place it more or less behind your right wrist. Place your ankle somewhere in front of your left hip.
5. Hip Rotation Stretch
Get into a 90/90 neutral back position, place your hand behind the bent leg and draw your knees toward your chest.
6. Bound Angle Pose
Bend your knees, pull your heels toward your pelvis, then drop your knees out to the sides and press the soles of your feet together. Bring your heels as close to your pelvis as you comfortably can
7. Deep Squat Stretch
Squat with your feet as close together as possible. Separate your thighs slightly wider than your torso. Lean your torso forward and fit it snugly between your thighs.


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Takeaways from Buyer Trends Panel
Last week I participated on a panel of agents from around North America at Keller Williams' Family Reunion convention in Dallas. Represented were an agent team from Ottawa, Ontario that closed over 300 transactions last year among nine agents. Also on the panel were agents from Nashville and Chicago whose teams closed between 50-100 each last […]Read More >>


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Without thorough asset documentation, you really don't know what condition your cars, trucks or equipment are in when they get rented out. If you don't know what condition they're really in, you can never pinpoint when and where damage occurred.
It's a common problem we hear, and one that can definitely be solved by digitizing your asset condition reviews.
Why Your Team Isn't Doing Thorough Reviews
As much as you might wish your team were doing detailed documentation of every nook and cranny of your cars, trucks or equipment, the truth is this isn't always the case. Generally, we see two likely culprits:
- Inefficient Recording Devices: Companies still using paper forms to record an asset's condition aren't giving their employees a detailed way of recording any existing nicks or scrapes. It's no surprise then that employees aren't compelled to be diligent in their reviews.
- No Tool To Check Up On Them: It's impossible to coach your team on doing more accurate reviews if there's no way to see how well (or not well!) they're doing reviews in the first place. For those using paper forms, this is especially the case since it's hard to pour through tons of paper records and know if those tiny hashmarks are accurate or not.
How To See What Your Team Is Really Recording
If you're digitizing your asset documentation, you'll have a repository of transactions you can look at. In the case of Record360, you can actually see which user submitted a particular transaction.
We also let you see how many videos or images were captured during that transaction. For instance, anyone who has employees doing reviews should expect at least one video or image. Yet take a look at this view of two transactions:
By identifying that a particular user is saving transactions with zero videos or images, you can see right off the bat that there's an opportunity to review these transactions and speak more with that particular employee. Maybe there's a good reason for this lack of visual records…or maybe there isn't.
This can also be a good time to look within an employee's transactions and see what kind of images or videos are being taken. Are they recording all angles of the vehicle or equipment? Are they always including a video walk around? Are they notating where new damage has occurred?
Doing these periodic spot checks will ensure that all of your employees are onboard with doing thorough reviews, and will let you know when it's time to coach an employee on how to do better documentation. Learn more at http://www.record360.com.


text: The Huron-Kinloss Ice Cream Trail™ is a FUN-FILLED photo scavenger hunt for the whole family which takes participants to ice cream stops along the trail past beaches, unique shops, golf courses, parks, trails, splash pads and a pool. Many adventures await you as you follow the Ice Cream Trail™ throughout Huron-Kinloss! Do it all in a one-day trip or spread your adventure out over the summer. Stop for lunch or a break at one of the eateries in Point Clark, Ripley and Lucknow or pack a picnic and enjoy our beautiful beaches and parks. Top it all off with an ice cream for dessert and don't forget your bathing suit!


text: 42 Electronics Curriculum and parts kit for learning electronics, robotics, and Python programming. There is one level available now, and 3 more coming out over the next year. Price is pretty reasonable, and the writers appear to be a homeschooling family! Read more about 42 ElectronicsLog in or register to post comments


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om lite
I was talking recently with my husband about my meditation practice and how I'm finding it a bit frustrating at the moment. Is it really going anywhere? What's the point anyway? Each morning I get up, light a candle, wrap myself in a blanket and sit diligently on my cushion. But nothing much seems to happen and my mind still wanders everywhere and anywhere. I'm starting to wonder: should I just have that extra half an hour tucked up in bed instead?


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I put this outfit on yesterday morning while preparing to go to Costco. I put on a number of various tops over the tunic trying to find something that looked good and covered my arms. Alas, nothing worked and I was getting a bit despondent about the outfit. I caught myself quickly and realized the real problem, I liked the outfit without anything else, I just didn't like my arms.
I would like to say that I didn't like my arms showing but again that would be wrong, the real truth is that while I like my arms while I am in guy mode, in girl mode I feel like my arms make me look like the Incredible Hulk. Which is utterly irrational, I know, but it is an unshakable feeling.
While debating my dilemma I sought Jules' opinion. She thought the outfit looked great and I didn't need to add anything else. Which is when I hit her with the zinger about my giant man arms. She gave me a roll of the eyes and told me to get the tape measure. We then proceeded to measure each of arms at the bicep. Our arms were straight down, the way most people would see them if we are out and about. My bicep measured about 12.5 inches around. Her was 14 inches around.
I then explained to her, jokingly, that people would come at me with pitchforks and torches if they saw my arms. We laughed and I had to shut the heck up about having big arms. Thanks wifey :)
At Costco that day by myself, Jules had a lunch date with a friend, I walked around like anything other time, except for that my arms were out. And do you know what happened? Absolutely nothing!! Well I got my stuff, checked out, was asked several times "Ma'am would you like help loading that?" (I was buying flooring.) Which I declined. I walked to my truck, and began loading my stuff.
It was about then that I realized another big mistake I had made that day. Silly me, I need to start accepting peoples offer's of assistance. I shook my head at my own ridiculous preconceived notions yet again. Silly me!!
I need to learn that my brain comes up with thoughts/actions/beliefs for others that just aren't true. Nobody is going to pitchfork me for having my arms out, in fact the vast majority of people, if they even look at me at all, will forget about ever seeing me oh about 5 minutes after I am gone. When people offer help, they actually would like to help.
The truth is that when I think I know what someone else is thinking about me, it is really only what my brain can come up, thus it is me that thinks these things, not others. I don't need to be afraid of others, I need to be suspicious of my own voices in my own head.
The older I get the more I am learning to listen to myself and I understand that my voices are often assholes. I am on a mission to ferret out the assholes that hide within my thoughts.
Hmm.. too deep? Sorry, this is supposed to be a fashion blog, I know right!!
Love you
Listen to yourself
And if you don't like what you hear
Change it
You can do it
I believe in you...
in me...
in all of us....


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Construction a boost to city
Unemployment rate at 3.2 percent
EDWARDSVILLE – The city of Edwardsville has seen a decrease in its unemployment rate.
With nearly $300 million in new construction projects in the area, the city's unemployment rate now stands at 3.2 percent as of January of 2018, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Economic and Community Development Director Walt Williams said with numerous construction projects in the works, he expects continued growth in the Edwardsville area.
"Naturally, I expect to see continued growth in our employment as well as our investment. I see growth in regards to the professional positions as well as retail positions," Williams said.
Some of the biggest construction projects currently in the works include World Wide Technology's twin buildings in the Gateway Commerce Center, each spanning a million square feet. WWT will invest more than $100 million in the new facilities over a 10-year lease and will bring in 500 new jobs to the area over the next few years.
Williams said WWT's investment wasn't initially anticipated, but the city is enthusiastic about the new development.
"We were in conversation with (WWT) for the last three or four years and we knew that they had challenges at their current location," Williams said. "We worked with them and we're happy that they ultimately decided to stay and expand in Edwardsville."
Other projects in the works include the $30 million Cleveland-based Richland Residential's nine-story building that will be located on New Poag Road, Gori Properties LLC's five-story office headquarters at the site of the old public safety facility on North Main Street, Fireside Financial's $28 million six-story building to be located on Route 157, and many others.
Williams said with several local businesses investing in the area, it's always likely outside investors will follow.
"Something the mayor has always said is whenever you get local investors to invest locally, it makes it easier for outside (investors) to invest," Williams said. "Local investors are stepping up to the plate – Mr. Randy Gori, Fireside Financial, they are local here, they are investing in our community as well as Contegra (Construction), the Edwardsville company. Now we're seeing outside (investors) such as World Wide Technology, such as the new hotel Marriott Towneplace (Suites). These are all outside (investors) who are investing in our community, which is great."
Edwardsville's unemployment rate as of January in 2017 was 4.4 percent.
Williams said he anticipates that the unemployment rate may come down even further as new businesses arise.
"Last January of 2017 was 4.4 percent and throughout the year it declined to what we are at now. So we're pretty happy with that and that's on top of a lot of our companies, especially in the warehouse district, wrapped up their hiring in October, November, December and January. So we're pretty excited about that," Williams said. "More than likely, it will come down even further."
Other construction projects breaking ground this year include 22,000 square feet of retail space on Plum Street, 8,000 square feet of retail space at 1501 Weber Drive, including Kyoto Steakhouse of Japan and 5,000 square feet of office space at 201 South Main Street. Also, the Edwardsville Target and the Montclaire Shopping Center are each undergoing $2 million renovations and reconstructions.
To learn more about the city's ongoing projects, visit the city's website at www.cityofedwardsville.com.


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Signature move: his dribbles
Full name: Diego Armando Maradona
Date of birth: 30 October 1960
Place of birth: Lan?s, Buenos Aires province, Argentina
Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position: Attacking Midfielder/Second Striker
Clubs: Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona,
Napoli, Sevilla, Newell?s Old Boys
Number: 10
Diego Maradona
Maradona was a player who could dribble very well, as well as taking free kicks and giving assists. Some of his famous goals/dribbles were at the 1986 Fifa World Cup against England and Belgium. He made the Goal of the Century against England in the quarter finals. He is also famous because of his 'Hand of God' goal against England by scoring with his hand. He is wideley seen as one of the best football players ever togethere with Brazilian football player Pele.
Biography of Maradona
Maradona?s youth
Diego Armando Maradona was born on 30 Ocotber 1960 in Lanus Argentina. At age 10 while playing at his neighborhood club Estrella Roja he was scouted for Argentinos Juniors. He played in the youth of Argentinos and made his debut for the first team at age 15 He played 5 years for Argentinos after he went to Boca Juniors in 1981. He had impressive dribbles and scored amazing goals, he won the primera divison with Boca Juniors that year and earned a transfer to European topclub FC Barcelona.
In 2 seasons at Barcelona Maradona scored 38 goals in 58 matches again scoring amazing goals. In a match against Athletic de Bilbao Maradona was victim of hard tackles on him. Athletic's Andoni Goikoetxea made a terrible offense on Maradona, Maradona got injured but he came back later that year scoring 2 goals in a match againt Sevilla. In the final of the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao 1984 Maradona gets tackled again, this time Maradona gets angry and kicks a player of Bilbao causing a fight to start. Barcelona loses the match with 1-0 and it will be Maradona's last match for Barcelona. He leaves Camp Nou in 1984 signing a contract at Napoli.
Maradona signs for Napoli for a transfer record of ?6.9m it will be the best period of Maradona. At Napoli Maradona leads the club to its first championship in the Serie A in 1986/1987 and repeats this at 1989/1990. In 1989 Napoli wins the UEFA Cup Maradona scores a goal in the 2-1 vicotry against VfB Stuttgart.
World Cup 1986
At the 1986 Fifa World Cup Argentina gets World Champion. Maradona had a great influence in the victory scoring 5 goals and making 5 assists. One of the most famous matches is against England in the quarter final. Six minutes into the second half with a score of 0-0 Maradona gets the ball, he passes some defenders and gives a pass to one of his teammates an England defender tries to clear the ball but miscues and the ball gets high into the penalty area. Then Maradona comes and touches the ball with his left hand over goalkeeper Peter Shilton, the ball gets into the goal and the referee allows the goal. After the match Maradona said it was''The hand of god''. Four minutes after this goal Maradona scores another goal, this time after an amazing dribble passing five defenders. In 2002 the goal was voted `Goal of the Century?. Argentina won with 2-1 against England and reached the semi-finals in which they defeated Belgium with 2-0 and both goals from Maradona. Argentina won the final of the tournament against
West Germany with 3-2. Maradona won the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament.
Football tricks videos
Maradona scores a beautiful goal against England in the quarter-final of World Cup 1986.


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Our PPA Solar Process
Greenzu's Simple Process for
Giving You Solar
At Greenzu, we pride ourselves in making the journey to solar as simple and hassle-free as possible. We follow a simple, step-by-step procedure to evaluate your building's suitability for solar and design and install a solar system on your building at no cost to you! Here's how the Greenzu solar process works:
Site Inspection and Analysis:
After filling out our simple application form, a Greenzu representative will contact you to get more information about your building, your energy use patterns, and schedule a site visit. A solar specialist will then visit your property to conduct an evaluation of your building's suitability for solar, determining access to sunlight, available space, and structural readiness.
Solar System Design:
After approval, a solar specialist will use the information gathered during the site visit to develop a solar system design customized for your building. The solar design will indicate the maximum solar capacity for your building, including how much of your building's electricity it will be able to offset.
PPA Signed:
Sign up to start the installation phase of the solar process.
System Installation:
Greenzu will schedule an appointment to begin installation of your solar system. This will involve installation of the racking system, mounting the modules, connecting the modules to the solar inverter, and hooking it up to start providing energy for your building.
Utility Connection:
We work with the utility to get your system connected to the grid. Once the lights come on, you start saving money and shrinking your carbon footprint.
Find out More about Greenzu's Solar Process
Ready to get started? Contact Greenzu today to find out just how easy it is to have solar installed on your building at no cost to you!


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We're returning to the Crossroads for an evening of all acoustic music.
We are being joined by our friends in Statik Silence, Gathering After Ashes and Moises Christopher.
This entry was posted on February 1, 2013. It was filed under Tour and was tagged with "dead fish handshake", crewman number six, crossroads, dfh, gathering after ashes, moises christopher, ross sandler, statik silence, tour.
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Theme: Modularity Lite by Graph Paper Press.


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Food Safety Division
Overview of Food Safety Division
The constitution of Ghana provides the Ghanaian the right to health and safety. This right is protected through the regulatory work of state institutions such as the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
Part Seven of the Public Health Act, 2012, Act 851 mandates the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to protect the Ghanaian public through the regulation of food, drugs, household chemical substances, cosmetics and medical devices.
Unsafe food at best will be unpleasant but in the worst case, it could lead to hospitalization or death.
The loss of human capital and productivity through the consumption of unsafe food is therefore a critical regulatory issue.
The Food Safety Division (FSD) executes the Food and Drugs Authority's (FDA) mandate to protect public health and safety through the regulation of the food service industry, the control of meat production as well as assuring the safety of genetically modified organisms for food, feed and processing. It also provides technical support to the food industry to promote the production of safe and quality food through the application of contemporary food safety management systems.
The FSD therefore comprises of the Animal Products and Biosafety Department (APBD), the Food Safety Management Department (FSMD) and the Food Industrial Support Services Department (FISSD).
Animal Products and Bio safety Department
The Animal Products and Biosafety Department as per the Public Health Act, 2012, Act 851 has the responsibility to execute the FDA's mandate of assuring the safety of animal products and feed through the regulation of slaughtering facilities and operations, storage of frozen animal products, processing of meat, transportation of meat and meat products and processing of feed for fish poultry and livestock.
The Department is also responsible for assuring the safety of genetically modified organisms for food, feed and processing through risk assessment.
The APBD executes its mandate via three (3) units as follows; Animal Products Unit, Feed Safety Unit and the Biosafety Unit.Read More
Food Industrial Support Services Department (FISSD)
The Food Industrial Support Services Department (FISSD) has been established to provide technical support to the food industry through training of industry players in best practices that will ensure and promote the production of safe and quality food products throughout the food supply chain. This is envisaged to reduce the incidence of the production of unsafe and poor quality food with its attending socio-economic burden on consumers, the food industry and international trade.
The Department collates information on industry needs and identifies deficiencies which serve as inputs for the adaption of strategies to address these needs. The food industry is assisted in this regard to implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System etc. A monitoring mechanism is also put in place through Internal Audit Schemes developed by the Department to ensure continuous application of the principles of food safety and quality management.
Food Safety Management Department
The Food Safety Management Department develops Food Safety Guidelines to guide the Out-of
"Home Service Operations such as Restaurants, Food Joints, Street Vended Foods and Catering Facilities. The Department inspects and registers these facilities and also introduces Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Food Safety Management System to them.
The Department also conducts Consumer Awareness Campaign and Education Programmes on Food Safety Issues and manages the Food Alert System, INFOSAN for exchange of Food Safety alert notification.
The Department also collects and maintains data on food borne illnesses for consideration in Public Health Strategic Plan.
The Department has two units, the Food Service Establishment Inspections Unit and the Public Education and Food borne Disease Surveillance Unit.


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Carrot seed oil is extracted from dried seeds of wild carrot plant. This oil is extracted by steam distillation. The carrot seed oil is viscous and it has yellowish, brown color. This oil is used in medicines to heal wound, …Read More »
Home / Tag Archives: Carrot Seed Oil Benefits


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Ambassador Richard Holbrooke will be remembered more for his epic achievement in brokering an end to the war in Bosnia, than for the frustration of his final mission in the conflict theater designated "Afghanistan-Pakistan" in Washington. As the Administration completes its scheduled review of Afghanistan strategy this week, officials are struggling to put an optimistic face on a grim reality: nine years after invading Afghanistan and despite the best efforts of Holbrooke and countless American diplomats, aid officials and soldiers the U.S. is spinning its wheels in a country that styles itself as "the graveyard of empires." The Taliban insurgency is growing; the Karzai government is so riddled with corruption that it alienates the civilian population in the war zone; and Pakistan simply refuses to close down the sanctuaries on its soil from which the Afghan insurgency is waged.
None of this was any personal failing on Ambassador Holbrooke's part. The hard-charging diplomatic style that allowed him to bully Balkan warlords into an imperfect and yet indispensable Dayton peace accord was of little use in the Afghanistan-Pakistan conundrum. The difference, fundamentally, is a question of American power in the Balkans in 1995, compared with American power in the Hindu Kush in 2010. In 1995, the bombs were already falling as Holbrooke held Slobodan Milosevic's feet to the fire, warning him that he was on a path to obliteration, while at the same time offering him an off-ramp he eventually accepted for fear of the getting on the wrong side of the lone superpower finally flexing its muscles in the Balkans. But when it came to sweating Pakistan into doing more to close down the Afghan Taliban or badgering President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption in his government, Holbrooke made little headway. Whether he bellowed at them or spoke softly and sympathetically, Karzai and the Pakistanis made their decisions based on their own interests, which are not always the same as America's. And both parties know that the U.S. has precious little alternative but to work with them. Washington has played the military card in the Afghan theater, and it has failed to prevail. The upbeat assessments of General David Petraeus notwithstanding, neither Karzai nor the Pakistanis believe the U.S. can win the war in Afghanistan. Nor is it in a position to take action against them or replace them with more pliable alternatives.
Sure, Holbrooke's abrasive style antagonized Karzai and ruffled feathers in Islamabad. The Washington Post's David Ignatius writes that President Obama had planned to remove Holbrooke as envoy, but was persuaded by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to leave him in place. But the problems the U.S. is facing in Afghanistan and Pakistan are not those of personality or personnel, and the differences between Washington and its putative allies in the Af-Pak theater are not about politesse and diplomatic ritual. Karzai and the Pakistanis make cold balance-of-power calculations based on their own interests, which are not always the same as Washington's no matter how many American envoys try to persuade them otherwise. They don't believe America will win the longest war in its history, and that guides their own power plays and reluctance to implement U.S. strategy.
Holbrooke, the quintessential realist, had in fact become one of the Administration officials most willing to publicly discuss the limits of what could be achieved by force in Afghanistan. While he vigorously opposed any precipitous retreat or capitulation, by last summer he had begun publicly advocating for some form of political settlement with the Taliban, based on U.S. "red lines," like forbidding sanctuary to al-Qaeda.
"Let me be clear on one thing, everybody understands that this war will not end in a clear-cut military victory. It's not going to end on the deck of a battleship like World War II, or Dayton, Ohio, like the Bosnian war," Holbrooke told reporters last July. "It's going to have some different ending from that, some form of political settlements are necessary; you can't have a settlement with al-Qaeda, you can't talk to them, you can't negotiate with them, it's out of the question. But it is possible to talk to Taliban leaders."
The Administration has, of course, been haltingly moving in that direction, with plenty of caveats and while remaining committed to a military escalation aimed at pummeling the Taliban to accept a negotiated outcome more favorable to U.S. goals. A negotiated solution with the Taliban is hardly a controversial proposition in Kabul or Islamabad, and recent opinion polls found that three-quarters of Afghanistan's citizenry seek the same and 55% want foreign troops to leave the country as soon as possible. Still, even getting to a glass-half-full outcome of the sort Holbrooke orchestrated at Dayton may yet take years, and is far from certain. Getting there would have been helped by Holbrooke's legendary diplomatic acumen although it may be that more of the cajoling of the unconvinced for which he was so famous will have to be done not in Kabul or Islamabad, but in Washington.


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Buying a gun online is perfectly legal. All firearms transaction are completed through an FFL dealer. If you buy a firearm from us and want to pick it up in our shop you will complete an ATF Form 4473 and Back Ground check at that time. If you are not local to us then you will need to have the firearm shipped to a licensed FFL dealer in your area who will process the 4473 and Back Ground check when you go to pick up your new firearm. We are happy to help you locate a transfer dealer to receive the firearm on your behalf.
Mossberg 935, Semi-automatic Shotgun, 12 Gauge, 3.5" Chamber, 28" Barrel, Black Matte Finish, Synthetic Stock, 5Rd 81000
Regular Price: $665.00
Special Price $553.27


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client testimonialsdon't just take our word for it...
John has been a valuable resource and presenter for several SCORE workshops on the subjects of website design and social media marketing. His up-to-the-minute knowledge of and expertise in these fast-moving fields provide tremendous benefit to area entrepreneurs in SCORE's effort to support small business owners. His generosity in donating his time for these SCORE-sponsored workshops is truly appreciated.
I highly recommend that any company or individual in need of immediate attention for most any digital project to seek the advice and then allow NewEra the opportunity to professionally and expertly provide the solution.
The Bill Marsh Auto Group has been working with the team of John and Emily Petrovich and their company NewEra Social Marketing since the summer of 2013. We had an immediate need for graphic design work which Emily promptly and professionally provided. Additionally, we had been discussing how NewEra could help Bill Marsh in the area of social marketing.
Fast forward to present state and our relationship has developed into absolute expertise in the proper use and promotion of our social media pages. So intuitive and smart are their strategies with these tools that both myself and our mass media director have come to the conclusion that everything we do on social needs to run through John and Emily. Because of the strong customer engagement by properly managed pages, we have quadrupled our paid investment on social media.
John and Emily seem to be the quintessential business (and life) partners. Both are oh-so savvy with most all things internet. They are WordPress gurus having used the platform to convert many hard-coded html single event pages we were managing. They run a successful blog for one of the owners of the Bill Marsh Auto Group, Bill Marsh Jr. They create and upload the content for seven primary Bill Marsh websites. Emily has mastered the art of making 'the car the star' on all the front-page's of our website properties. Then, we run very successful monthly direct mail and email marketing campaigns which are also designed by NewEra. Once again, the creative portion of these efforts is a key component to our success.
Every Monday, we have a meeting with NewEra that includes myself, the mass media director, and the owner. We rely on NewEra's internet prowess for advice on many different matters. Community causes, online charity funding and online reputation to name a few.
We're happy to recommend NewEra for website development, graphic design, content writing and social media support. We hired the NewEra team to help create our digital presence in preparation to campaign for Saginaw County Sheriff. They effectively communicated with us every step of the way and were highly responsive to our needs. I was so impressed with their professionalism, knowledge and responsiveness.
If you are looking for a digital marketing company that does what they say they will and stands behind their work, then contact NewEra.
Ready to connect?
John Petrovich and NewEra Social Marketing have been such champions of the Chamber and such allies to us as social media has taken shape as a viable marketing tool in the business community. It is a comfort to know that when one of my 1600 members needs assistance or is in need of social marketing I can make one call and know that John will assist them with whatever they need. As a founding member of CHAMP, which stands for Chamber Advantage Marketing Program, NewEra has participated in events such our Chamber University and Chamber Rising Professionals programs, all of which were well attended by members interested in hearing where the marketing world will be headed in 2012.
As a staff member of The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, I am very pleased with partnerships that we have had with NewEra and will gladly continue to refer them to our members and other businesses in our community.


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Update my wedding date
Keep your profile wedding date
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Jodi was such a great photographer - she took so many wonderful snaps, without us even realising she was there half the time! She fitted in seamlessly into our day and has a lovely bubbly personality. She really captured the spirit of our wedding.
5 stars! You MUST have Jodi as your wedding photographer and if you have already booked her then you are in for one hell of a treat!
Jodi is professional, punctual and had our photos to us within a week!! Lots of other wedding photographers fit the bill above but what they can't have is Jodi's calm charismatic manner.
My husband and I hate having our photo taken but Jodi made us feel so comfortable that we had such a laugh and absolutely LOVED the experience. She has so much vivacious energy that she puts into capturing your wedding day that each photo is so alive; we will reminisce about our wedding day for years to come and that is all down to Jodi. A million thank yous aren't enough!
Jodi, you are one wonderfully talented human being!! ?
My prices start at £850 for a mid week package but hop over to my page for more information http://www.jodihanaganphotography.com/Prices
Anything can be tailored to your specific needs so do contact me for more information and a chat for a bespoke quote.
Contact me via my website firstname.lastname@example.com or 07786 924049
I offer Wedding Photography both in the UK and abroad, Lifestyle Portrait photography for Couples, family's. I also specialise in Lifestyle photography for Elite Athletes.
If you have a Unique and Artisan business requiring images for your website, catalogue or social media do not hesitate to give me a call for a quote tailored to your individual needs.
This will depend on the package you require and more detailed information can be found at http://www.jodihanaganphotography.com/Prices
All my packages can be tailored for your specific needs
As soon as you have booked your Venue. I can Book up very quickly in the Summer Months as it is such a popular time for Weddings
Absolutely happy to travel both in the UK and abroad just contact me with more information and I can provide a tailored quote for your needs. Contact me via my website at email@example.com or via my mobile 07786 924049
As above this will depend on how far and how many days I will be required for so please just give me a call on 07786 924049 or contact me via firstname.lastname@example.com
I have a natural and Creative style with a light and bright Fine Art Style look to them.
Professional Canon Camera equipment including the best Canon L series Lenses
Yes I have a Website offering online Client Galleries which are password protected for your friends and family. Professional prints amongst other products can be purchased directly through the website
Usually within two weeks of your Wedding Day
No I choose the best high resolution images to edit and the amount of images you receive will depend on your package and whether you have chosen to have an additional photographer on your day.
I have a second photographer that would be a fantastic addition to your day should think be required at an additional cost.
I would always endeavour in the case of an Emergency to try and make sure your day could be covered but this cannot be guaranteed.
Usually per event with additional hours added on should this be required
Yes if necessary and pre arranged
From an additional £150 per hour
Either by direct Bank Transfer for personal Cheque
I aim to blend seamlessly into your day, to capture the moments naturally without interrupting the natural flow of your special day.
Our trusted network of suppliers and venues we have worked with
Jodi Hanagan Photography details have been saved to your shortlist.


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Youth Campaign Continues
Simon Peter Aziabah from Ghana sends this report regarding his follow-up to UNANIMA's STOP THE DEMAND youth workshop last May.
The campaign was with youth in Kandiga, Navrongo, Ghana. Objectives included to discourage the youth from human trafficking especially on the demand side, and to discuss the effects of human trafficking on the victims and society as a whole.
The youth were informed about what might be required of them if they were trafficked: hawking, bar or restaurant attendance, cleaning or washing of dishes in chop bars and worse of all prostitution. All of these have the potential to destroy their education and even their future and also might inflict great health hazards on them…
Although they are potential victims of human trafficking, they are also potential traffickers or demanders for trafficked victims, for traffickers and users were once just like them.
…They were also advised to avoid anything which could lead to the trafficking of women and children such as exploiting prostitutes or using under-aged children as waiters and waitresses…
Click here to download Simon Peter's full report.


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Vertrauensvoll sicher.
With a BAYERWALD aluminum entry door, convincing with its excellent thermal insulation properties, this is no longer a problem!
There is hardly any material being so substantial, durable and persistent on the one hand and exclusively elegant and multifaceted on the other as aluminum is. Entry doors made of aluminum are almost indestructible yet absolutely easy-care. Due to their construction, these doors ensure best heat protection - even with hard weather conditions.
With its high-quality and easy-care surface, combined with BAYERWALD's tough security criteria, a aluminum door represents a masterpiece of design and engineering.
Technische Infos / Ausführungen:
Einseitig (außen) flügelüberdeckend
Beidseitig (außen + innen) flügelüberdeckend