text:
- Review
- Open Access
Cancer screening recommendations: an international comparison of high income countries
- Mark H. Ebell1Email authorView ORCID ID profile,
- Thuy Nhu Thai2 and
- Kyle J. Royalty3
© The Author(s). 2018
- Received: 17 August 2017
- Accepted: 12 January 2018
- Published: 2 March 2018
Recommendations regarding cancer screening vary from country to country, and may also vary within countries depending on the organization making the recommendations. The goal of this study was to summarize the cancer screening recommendations from the 21 countries with the highest per capita spending on healthcare.
Main body
Cancer screening guidelines were identified for each country based on a review of the medical literature, internet searches, and contact with key informants in most countries. The highest level recommendation was identified for each country, in the order of national recommendation, cancer society recommendation, or medical specialty society recommendation. Breast cancer screening recommendations were generally consistent across countries, most commonly recommending mammography biennially from ages 50 to 69 or 70 years. In the USA, specialty societies generally offered more intensive screening recommendations. All countries also recommend cervical cancer screening, although there is some heterogeneity regarding the test (cytology or HPV or both) and the age of initiation and screening interval. Most countries recommend colorectal cancer screening using fecal immunochemical (FIT) testing, while only seven countries recommend general or selective screening for prostate cancer, and a similar number explicitly recommend against screening for prostate cancer. Screening for lung and skin cancer is only recommended by a few countries. Greater per capita healthcare expenditures are not associated with greater screening intensity, with the possible exception of prostate cancer.
Guidelines for cancer screening differ between countries, with areas of commonality but also clear differences. Recommendations have important commonalities for well-established cancer screening programs such as breast and cervical cancer, with greater variation between countries regarding prostate, colorectal, lung, and skin cancer screening. Ideally, recommendations should be made by a professionally diverse, independent panel of experts that make evidence-based recommendations regarding screening based on the benefits, harms, and available resources in that country's context.
- Cancer screening
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Overdiagnosis
- Healthcare economics
- Lung cancer
- Skin cancer
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide [1], with 8.8 million cancer deaths in 2015 [1], and over 14 million new cancer cases diagnosed in 2012 [2]. About 30% of cancer deaths occurred in high-income countries [1]. Cancer screening programs have the potential to reduce cancer-specific and possibly all-cause mortality [3, 4]. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has concluded that there is at least adequate evidence of a net benefit for screening for lung, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers [5–8], and screening programs for cancer are widespread in other high resource countries [3, 4, 9–11]. For example, of over 31 million women eligible for breast cancer screening in European countries, 79% were invited to screen and 49% were screened [3]. Breast cancer mortality has decreased in the USA from 31.4 to 20.5 deaths per 100,000 women between 1975 and 2014, with similar trends in Europe, an effect attributable to both screening and improved treatment [12].
Cancer screening programs have largely been implemented in high-income countries with greater available resources [9, 13, 14]. However, there is considerable variation in terms of screening methods, starting age, stopping age, and screening interval between countries [3, 4, 9]. For example, the USPSTF recommends that adults aged 50 to 75 years should be screened for colorectal cancer with one of seven tests or combinations of tests (including colonoscopy), [8] while the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care does not recommend colonoscopy as a screening test [15]. In Europe, even after the European Union recommendations in 2003, the implementation of the Council recommendations differs between countries [3]. We hypothesize that countries spending more on healthcare per capita will have more intensive cancer screening recommendations, screening for more cancers over a longer age range, and at a shorter screening interval (Appendix).
In the current report, we will review and compare cancer screening recommendations implemented in 21 high resource countries that in 2015 spent at least $3000 per capita on healthcare. We will review national recommendations where available, or the most relevant other guidelines for that country where national or federal recommendations such as those of the USPSTF do not exist. The cancers addressed will include breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate, skin, and lung cancer. As a point of comparison with US national guidelines from the USPSTF, we include relevant specialty society guidelines from the American College of Radiology, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and others.
The goal of the study was to compare cancer screening recommendations in countries with comparable levels of healthcare spending, and to try to understand the relationship between healthcare spending and the intensity of screening recommendations. Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was chosen as the initial qualification for inclusion in the study to ensure that the countries compared were similar economically. It was then decided that total health expenditure per capita was the most relevant statistic to national cancer screening recommendations. Therefore, the 35 OECD member countries were rank ordered according to total healthcare expenditure per capita using data from 2015. From this ranked list, all countries that spent over USD3000 per capita on health that year were included (n = 21) [16].
The next step was to determine which national organization's cancer screening guidelines would be chosen as that country's national recommendations. First, colleagues of the authors in each country of the study were consulted as local content experts. This was supplemented by searches of the internet where necessary. Once the national recommendations were determined for each country, the data were abstracted in tandem by two members of the research team, consulting with the project leader (Dr. Ebell) to resolve any discrepancies.
To create a uniform grading scheme, each screening test for each type of cancer was graded as recommended (which includes both strongly recommended and recommended), recommended selectively, recommended against, or insufficient evidence, corresponding to the categories used by the US Preventive Services Task Force. After analysis of each country's national screening recommendations, the data were organized into tables. Finally, screening intensity was defined for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer as the total number of lifetime screening tests recommended for an average risk person.
Organizations making screening recommendations, by country
Organization Name
Type of organization
United States
United States Preventive Services Task Force
National guideline committee
United States
American Cancer Society
Cancer society
United States
American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Specialty society
United States
American College of Radiology
Specialty society
United States
American Urological Association
Specialty society
Ministry of Health
National guideline committee
League Against Cancer
Cancer society
Cancer Registry of Norway
Cancer society
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
National guideline committee
Federal Joint Committee
National guideline committee
National Board of Health and Welfare
National guideline committee
National Screening Service
National guideline committee
Austrian Cancer Aid Society
Cancer society
National Board of Health
National guideline committee
Foundation Against Cancer
Cancer society
Canadian Task Force for Preventive Health Care
National guideline committee
Australian Government Department of Health
National guideline committee
National Cancer Institute
National guideline committee
National Cancer Center
National guideline committee
Icelandic Cancer Society
Cancer society
United Kingdom
United Kingdom National Screening Committee
National guideline committee
Cancer Society of Finland
Cancer society
New Zealand
Ministry of Health
National guideline committee
National Screening Observatory
National guideline committee
Cancer Strategy of National Health System
National guideline committee
Breast cancer screening
Cervical cancer screening
Colorectal cancer screening
Prostate cancer screening
Skin cancer screening
Most countries included did not make a recommendation regarding skin cancer screening. Only the USA, Germany, Austria, and France address skin cancer screening. The latter three recommend screening, while the USPSTF has determined that there is insufficient evidence to recommend visual skin examination by a physician. Germany recommends that such examination take place every 2 years beginning at age 35, and France provides seven questions for general practitioners to ask their patients in order to assess risk. Uniquely, Austria recommends self-examination and recommends doing so twice a year (before and after the summer months). None of the countries recommending screening provide an age to stop screening.
Lung cancer screening
Among 21 selected countries, only 5 countries have recommendations regarding lung cancer screening (USA, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, and Australia). Australia and the United Kingdom recommend against lung cancer screening. Both the USPSTF and the Canadian Task Force recommend low-dose computed tomography (CT) for smokers with at least 30 pack-year smoking history and who smoke or quit smoking less than 15 years. However, the USPSTF recommends screening for the age range 55 to 80 years, while the Canadian Task Force recommends screening for a narrower age range from 55 to 74 years, with a screening interval of 1 to 3 years. In contrast to the USA and Canada, Japan recommends chest radiography to screen for lung cancer starting at age 40 years, but concludes that there is insufficient evidence for low-dose CT. Japan does not recommend a stopping age or screening interval. Several European countries have screening trials underway, so these recommendations may change when those results are available [18, 19].
Association between healthcare expenditures and screening intensity
We have summarized national screening recommendations for the 21 countries with the highest total healthcare expenditure per capita. These countries were selected because they are likely to have adequate resources for a cancer screening program of some kind; comparison with less well-resourced settings would be unfair and would be less likely to reflect the differences in values, priorities, and the assessment of evidence that we are interested in. As physicians and researchers in the USA, we are especially interested in how our recommendations compare with other countries, and what we can learn from them.
In comparing recommendations, we are not making value judgements or endorsing a single "correct" answer regarding age at initiation, screening interval, or age at cessation of screening. These decisions likely reflect differences between countries and organizations regarding how benefits and harms are valued and balanced at a societal level, the type of evidence considered, the availability of resources and infrastructure for screening (for example, adequate trained medical personnel to perform colonoscopy), whether and how cost is considered, and different standards for assembling, evaluating, and interpreting a complex evidence base. For example, does the body making a recommendation consider only randomized controlled trials with cancer-specific mortality as the outcome, or does it also consider observational data and modeling studies? [20] Does the panel consider outcomes beyond mortality, such as disease progression, cost, stage shifts, or quality of life? Is cost explicitly considered or is the decision made solely on the balance of potential benefits and harms?
Note that in our discussion below, we consider the USPSTF to represent the US national screening recommendation, although recommendations from USA specialty and cancer societies are also presented. Also, when we use the term "more aggressive" or "more conservative" to describe screening recommendations, we refer to recommendations with a broader age range and/or a more frequent interval vs a narrower age range and/or a less frequent interval. Finally, a review of the process used by each country or organization to develop and update guidelines is beyond the scope of this article.
There was considerable homogeneity regarding screening recommendations for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and to some extent, colorectal cancer. A starting age for routine mammography of 50 years was recommended by 16 of 21 countries; all countries but one recommended a biennial interval, and 14 recommended a stopping age of 69 or 70 years. Similarly, most countries recommended cervical cancer screening beginning between 21 and 30 years of age (depending on whether or not testing for human papillomavirus was employed), and most recommended a stopping age between 65 and 70 years. Similarly, most countries recommended that colorectal cancer screening begin at age 50 or 55 years and stop by 75 years. Finally, there is a general consensus against screening for lung cancer and melanoma, with only the USA, Japan, and Canada recommending lung cancer screening and only Germany, Austria, and France recommend some approach to screening for skin cancer.
The approach to screening for cervical cancer is evolving, with some countries still recommending cytology only, some recommending HPV testing or co-testing, and some giving clinicians the option of choosing the favored approach. Four countries (Iceland, UK, Sweden, and Finland) do not recommend screening for colorectal cancer until age 60, compared to start ages between 40 and 50 years for most other countries. The recommended test for colorectal cancer screening also varies. FIT was most widely recommended, while the USPSTF offered seven different options, and Germany and Austria recommended FIT for younger patients followed by a series of colonoscopies. There is considerable heterogeneity regarding prostate cancer screening: seven countries recommend screening for prostate cancer in some form, while eight explicitly recommend against it. This is likely due to variation in how guideline panels assess the potential benefits and harms.
Variation by country and type of organization
For prostate cancer screening, of the seven countries with a recommendation to screen or screen selectively for prostate cancer, five were from the top half of the selected countries based on per capita health expenditures. Four of the five countries with the shortest interval for colorectal cancer screening (Iceland, UK, Finland, and New Zealand) are among the six lowest spending countries. However, there was no apparent association between per capita health expenditures and the intensity of screening for breast and cervical cancer.
Other than within the USA, there was no clear difference in terms of the intensity of screening recommendations coming from national guideline committees, cancer societies or leagues, and specialty societies. In the USA, the recommendations regarding mammography from the American Cancer Society, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and American College of Radiology were the only ones identified that recommended annual screening and also had longer screening intervals for patients at average risk. The American College of Radiology was the only body that recommended annual mammography starting at age 40 years, with no specified stopping age. On the other hand, there is considerable similarity regarding colorectal cancer screening between the USPSTF, ACS, and specialty society guidelines.
Prostate cancer screening recommendations are now similar between the USPSTF draft recommendation of 2017 and the American Urology Association, and recommendations regarding cervical cancer screening between the USPSTF, ACS, and ACOG are nearly identical. Assuming that they are based on the best available evidence, this kind of "harmonization" between guidelines from different groups within a country sends a clear, unified message to patients and physicians. In the absence of such harmonization, confusion may reign and physicians may do what feels right or what is requested by patients rather than what is supported by the best evidence. Due to medicolegal concerns, some physicians may feel compelled to practice based on the most aggressive set of recommendations or based on patient request. This is especially true in the USA context, where "failure to diagnose" is the most common reason for a malpractice lawsuit [21].
Guidelines for cancer screening differ between countries, with areas of commonality but also clear differences. Per capita healthcare spending among wealthy countries appears to have relatively little impact on recommendations; differences are more likely to stem from variation in how benefit and harm are evaluated, and which evidence is considered. Intellectual and financial conflicts of interest inherent to professional societies may contribute to more aggressive recommendations for breast cancer screening from these groups in the USA. A greater intensity of screening may alter the balance of benefits and harms by increasing the likelihood of direct harms of the screening test, as well as the serious harms associated with overdiagnosis [22]. In some cases, where specialty societies have adopted more rigorous methods, their recommendations have become more conservative, as when the American Urologic Association moved from a consensus to an evidence-based process [23]. Of course, one could also argue that national bodies like the USPSTF or Canadian Task Force are overly conservative since they rely largely on randomized trials and modeling for their recommendations. And, even groups using similarly rigorous methods may reach different conclusions, with USA and Canadian recommendations for colorectal cancer screening a good example.
In conclusion, we encourage the formation of independent panels of experts in each country, modeled after the USPSTF, Canadian Task Force, and the UK National Screening Committee. These panels should make independent, evidence-based recommendations regarding screening that assess the benefits, harms, and available resources in that country's context. Consistent with IOM recommendations, the panels should include primary care physicians, patients, methodologic experts and relevant subspecialists, recommendations should be regularly updated, and panel members should be free of financial and intellectual conflict of interest to the greatest extent possible [24].
Dr. Roland Grad (Magill University, Montreal, Canada) and Dr. Kenneth W. Lin (Georgetown University, Washington, DC) provided feedback and comments on a final draft of the manuscript.
This project was unfunded.
Availability of data and materials
Not applicable
Authors' contributions
MHE conceptualized and led the project. TNT and KJR abstracted the data and created the tables, and also wrote the first drafts of the "Introduction," "Methods," and "Results" sections. These were edited by MHE, who also reviewed the data abstraction for accuracy and wrote the "Discussion" section. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable
Consent for publication
Not applicable
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Authors' Affiliations
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Philip Connard, CVO, RA, (born Southport, 24 March 1875, died Twickenham 8 December 1958) was a British painter. Connard rose from humble origins to become an eminent artist in oils and watercolours whose commissions brought him royal recognition.
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. Spotted a problem? Let us know.Read full Wikipedia entry
exhibited 1933

subset: commoncrawl


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Getting your school Wifi infratructure right is really important. A good solution will work quietly in the background and extend your school network. A bad solution will frustrate your staff and students and bring users knocking on your door. (more…)
School laptop trolley
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How to make the transition from being an IT Technician to an IT Network Manager?
So how do you make the transition from being an IT Technician to an IT Network Manager? How do you go from being the person with the Spiderman t-shirt with an office in the storeroom to the manager who gets to go to meetings with coffee and jam scones?
I worked in education for thirteen years and enjoyed my time as an IT Technician and Network Manager. In my experience there were a number of keys which helped me transition between the two roles. Two of these keys were education and training.
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School minibus booking
A number of schools use Freeperiod to book their school minibuses to ensure students get to where they need to get to safely.
I worked in a school which used sheets of paper to manage booking their minibuses. Trips were often cancelled as the PE Department had once again gone off with one of the school minibuses. I'm not blaming PE Departments. I imagine they are just the biggest users of school minibuses.
The Good and Bad School IT Technician
The Good School IT Technician;
- Understands their primary role as an IT Technician is to help students and staff.
- Thinks of a broken computer as a child who can't do their work.
The Bad School IT Technician;
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One simple way to improve your school's ICT Strategy
When I worked in education my school were kind enough to send me to the Bett Show. My attendance at Bett had a massive impact on my school's IT Strategy.
While at the Bett Show I attended a seminar about the BECTA ICT Award. I came back to school and told the ICT Strategy Group about this new award and we decided to apply. The application process helped us to understand our current good practices and identify some of our shortcomings.
We went on to become one of the first schools in Northern Ireland to receive the award. The real win for the school was the process we had gone through and the positive changes we had implemented as a result.
I have attended Bett as both a visitor and an exhibitor of Freeperiod. I would wholeheartedly recommend that you send one of your teachers or technicians to this annual event. It may just breathe a little life into your school's IT Strategy.
Why we don't integrate with Capita SIMS
A few people have called me and asked if our Freeperiod room booking system integrates with Capita SIMS.
Freeperiod schools using SIMS export their timetables from SIMS to a spreadsheet at the beginning of the year and then email us the spreadsheet. We then import the timetables into Freeperiod within one working day. It will be another year before we hear from the school again. The whole process is quick and easy.
So no, we don't fully integrate with SIMS but then again we don't need to. We have avoided this integration to keep Freeperiod simple and cost effective. It's worked for our first million bookings and I'm confident it will work for our next million.


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An agreement with technological platforms that seek to enhance his portfolio of complementary products to improve the conversion. Partnership of technological integration on external platforms, formation in sales and presales, and technical certification.
Cooperation compromise with companies specialized on the transformation and digital consultancy for including our technology to be part of his value proposition. Partnership program: formation in sales and presales, and technical certification.
A collaboration agreement to prescribe our solutions and services. Our Partnership program with formation in sales and presales supplies the capacity of selling innovative solutions to their customers.


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The Sports Club started as part of an initiative by Management Solutions to promote and facilitate the practice of sports among its employees by organizing internal championships and sponsoring participation in outside competitions.
Internal Championships
Management Solutions frequently organizes internal championships between the professionals of the Firm. The sports chosen so far (indoor soccer, paddle tennis, basketball, volleyball, squash) are proposed by the professionals themselves, since this activity is intended for their enjoyment.
Outside competitions
The Firm promotes the participation of its professionals in outside and inter-company competitions in which Management Solutions employees play against other professional firms, either individually or in groups. Thanks to the Sports Club, a great number of Management Solutions professionals have participated in inter-company races (some of them for solidarity purposes), corporate games (like in the Olympic games, with several disciplines) or indoor soccer and 7-a-side leagues, etc.
Related LinksNews archive: Sports Club
Management Solutions held its first Internal Golf Tournament at Golf Santander last Sunday, aimed at employees and their families and with 40 participating players
Management Solutions Chile's Sports Club organized a new edition of their Mixed Soccer championship with over 40 Management Solutions professionals participating
43 professionals participated in a Corporate Run held in Madrid on December 16th
Close to 80 professionals from the Firm participated in Management Solutions' First Seven-A-Side Soccer Marathon held at the Boadilla del Monte Financial City sports facilities in Spain
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Casey Anthony wins defamation case
Chalk up another court victory for Casey Anthony.
The Orlando-area mother, who was acquitted in 2011 of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, this week was cleared of defaming a former nanny, who claimed Anthony had destroyed her reputation by suggesting she might be responsible for Caylee Anthony's 2008 disappearance.
In a 20-page ruling, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May threw out allegations former nanny Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez made against Casey Anthony, who has long been rumored to be living in Palm Beach County.
At issue was a statement Anthony made in a jail conversation with her mother that was repeated to the media. The statement the "girl down in Kissimmee" even if joined with the word "babysitter" didn't implicate Fernandez-Gonzalez, May ruled.
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The allegations were heard by May because Anthony filed for bankruptcy in 2013, claiming she is roughly $800,000 in debt and wanted to start over. If successful, Fernandez-Gonzalez would have been able to ask that any damages she was awarded could not be erased in bankruptcy court.
In the decision, May ruled that because he found no defamation occurred Anthony could discharge Fernandez-Gonalez's claims as part of the bankruptcy.
Since her acquittal, that was greeted by public outrage after the closely-watched televised trial, Anthony has scored other court wins. While she was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer, an appeals court in 2013 overturned two of the convictions.


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|photo: Doeke Oostra
1st Polish
Armoured Division
Ewid Rank Born Unit Regiment Date of death Today buried Grave
HADAS Maksymilian 51614 strz. 25.10.1907 Wilhelmsberg, Germany 1. Pol.Dyw.Panc. 9. B.S. 3.2.1946 Haselünne, Germany in Polish section of Roman Catholic Cemetery at Dörpen, Germany P. 13 [About this cemetery] [Campaign 1st Polish Armoured Division] HOME ABBREVIATIONS ALPHABET


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This portable DVD player is quite a unique one being equipped with USB ports and SD ports. The player is capable of playback in a number of formats including MP4, AVI, JPG and MP3. This allows you to not only enjoy movies but also your favorite music while on the go.
It has a good battery life of up to two hours so you can easily enjoy an entire movie right through once it is fully charged prior to your journey. With a screen that swivels you can easily adjust the screen for your viewing pleasure.
The DVD is quite versatile giving you the opportunity to connect it to an external device so you can view your movie or images on a larger screen from the DVD player.
You can do this thanks to the RCA inputs and outputs found on the portable DVD player. Your purchase of this DVD player also comes with a remote so that you can operate the device easily and conveniently.
This 9 inch portable DVD player from Pyle features a TFT LCD screen offering screen rotation. The 9 inch screen is around average size for portable DVD players and allows enough screen for proper and pleasurable viewing. The player can play a number of formats and is compatible with NTSC and PAL.
The design of the DVD player makes it lightweight and portable and very compact. It can be considered a two in one device allowing you to use it as a DVD player and also a portable CD player as well.
It conveniently folds away to be stored easily and safely and to make travel more convenient. It features a top loading tray and has button controls in the center. It includes the charging cable and adapter and is UL listed for your safety.
- UL Listed
- DVD player and CD player
- Convenient for travel
- 9 inch screen
- TFT LCD screen
- Lightweight
- Portable
- Compact
- Charging cable and adapter included
- Plays a variety of formats for images, music and videos
- Easy to use
- Remote control included with purchase
- Affordable
- Great value for money
- Multi lingual support
- Anti-shock feature
- Sound output is on the lower end when compared to others on the market
With your purchase of the Pyle 9 inch portable DVD player you not only get the playing unit. You also get a wireless remote control along with headphones, the power or charging adapter, an AUX cable, a car charger to use in your cigarette lighter and a travel bag. This really makes for a nice little kit and it is sold at a really affordable price.
The unit is very portable due to its lightweight and compact design while having the ability to provide you with great image and video quality thanks to its Hi-Res widescreen display. With a top loading tray you can easily load your DVD's and CD's. The built battery is rechargeable and features dual full range speakers for clear sound.
While the unit can play media from DVD's and CD's it can also play media from your SD cards as well as from a USB flash drive too. The unit is compatible with a large amount of digital media file types including video, image and audio so you can enjoy all your favorite ones with this device.
The screen can swivel at various angles to give you a fully adjustable display screen for your viewing comfort and convenience.
The unit can be controlled quiet easily from its top button control center where you can conveniently adjust all its settings. You can also use the remote control as well. The unit comes with multi language support so you can set the language to your needs. There are also a number of picture configuration settings preset on the device for your pleasure.
This portable DVD is among the most affordable at its size. It comes with a carrying case and remote and chargers that can be used at home as well as in your vehicle. With all that comes with your purchase the DVD player is really a great item and provides you with exceptional value for money.
It has a high battery life so you can enjoy its use for hours of entertainment. It doesn't have the best image or video quality but for the money it is a very capable device and you will enjoy its efficacy and ease of use. With multiple region capabilities you can take this on even international trips and still have it to entertain you while on the go.
This portable 9 inch DVD player from Pyle is a great little DVD player. It has the capability to provide you with a maximum of two hours of entertainment on the go. The DVD player is quite simple yet effective.
It comes with a built in rechargeable battery and supports a lot of different file formats so you can use it to play your movies, view your pictures and even to listen to music. There are a number of connection options for the device and you can play media not only from DVD's or CD's but also from memory cards and more.


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Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila
DPWH Contact Numbers:
+632 304-3000 or +632 304-3370 (Trunkline), 165-02 (Hotline)
Monitoring and Information Service: +632 304-3365
Planning Service: +632 304-3195
Administrative and Manpower Management Service: +632 304-3254
Comptrollership & Financial Management Service: +632 304-3242
Internal Audit Service: +632 304-3237
Legal Service: +632 304-3238
Public Information Division: +632 304-3280
Central Procurement Office: +632 304-3291
Personnel Division: +632 304-3330
Accounting Division: +632 304-3447
Budget Division: +632 304-3223
Cash Division: +632 304-3246
DPWH Website:
To Submit your Feedback online:
Have something to say?
One Response to DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS (DPWH)
Flooding in public roads specially in Manila is a grave Problem of the motorist and the gov,t (DPWH) coz of trash clogging on Drainage (canal. Try to make some Experiment like making canal at the Center of the roads (Island) coz this part of the road is not accessible to pedestrian and residents who throw trash everywhere on the streets. You can choose a place frequently flooded during rainy season or during typhoon as an experimental area.


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This is featuring Sarah, who is one of the most fashionable people I've had the pleasure of coming across. One of Sarah's greatest passions besides fashion, of course, is music. She explains that by music, suddenly, we find something that can relate to our problems and emotions to help us through them. Sarah also loves doing make up, influenced by her sister, who is a make up artist. Her tips on make up are practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect.
Onto her outfit, we have a unique pair of open toed booties. She has on some great flowing wide leg pants and a long sleeve shirt, which matches her shoes very well. Sarah is rocking a white tote bag, and on her wrist we find a beautiful and bright bracelet. Her outfit is composed of many simple things; however, her beauty in simplicity truly stands out. Sarah teaches us today that a keen seen of fashion doesn't require a lot of flashy things to make it interesting.
Make this outfit: booties, pants, shirt, bracelet, bag (Recreated to best match on online retail)


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Marshmallows for hot drinks
While the standard marshmallows are cooked to be large and sturdy on their own, the ones for hot drinks should be creamy and melting easily. Try my recipe, although similar to the basic one, to enjoy beautiful and tasty hot drinks marshmallows! :-)
Whole-grain bread rolls
There are not many things that can beat the whole grain bread, unless it's 8 delicious little whole grain breadrolls ;-) These are perfect for breakfast, and you can easily prepare and bake them in one evening, for e.g. Sunday breakfast! :-)
My fool-proof recipe will be a great fun, and a good addition to your baking arsenal.
Oh my, that is one of my most favorite recipes — who doesn't love these spongy, almost weightless little cubes of sweetness?! With my super simple recipe you will (quite literally) whip up some of them in no time!
When you make your own pasta, you will always end up with some scraps, even more if you make ravioli. You can easily recycle this leftover pasta to make maltagliati, meaning "poorly cut" in Italian, which was traditionally meant as food for the poor. We are way past that, and today you can enjoy rich texture and amazing flavor of your pasta without the social stigma ;-)
Simple chicken teriyaki bento
This recipe is very easy and fast to cook, because it requires ready-made teriyaki sauce. Still, it's a really tasty alternative to sausages and pork, and chicken made in teriyaki style is juicy, tender and full of aroma! It also takes just few minutes, because the meat is first fried quickly, and then glazed with sauce. Fast food like a boss ;-)


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Texas Hold 'Em Poker
The Philips Phile Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament to benefit The Mustard Seed of Central Florida, attracted local celebrities. Held in August at the Orlando Science Center, the event hosted by Jim Philips of Real Radio 104.1's The Philips Phile, drew a crowd for a night of poker, casino games, raffles and a silent auction.
courtesy of The Mustard Seed
Copyright © 2019, Orlando Sentinel


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PhD Research
As part of the PhD research I am investigating the creation, standardization and formalization of models of Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC). Additionally, I am investigating the integration of delegation, user groups and hierarchical concepts into these models.
Updates about the progress of my PhD research will be posted here as they happen.
Publications Arising to Date
Daniel Servos and Sylvia L. Osborn. HGAA: An Architecture to Support Hierarchical Group and Attribute-Based Access Control. Proceedings of the Third ACM Workshop on Attribute-Based Access Control, 1-12 (March 21, 2018). DOI: 10.1145/3180457.3180459. Presentation Slides (PDF)
Daniel Servos and Sylvia L. Osborn. Current Research and Open Problems in Attribute-Based Access Control. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR) 49, 4, Article 65 (January 2017), 45 pages. DOI: 10.1145/3007204
Daniel Servos and Sylvia L. Osborn. Strategies for Incorporating Delegation into Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC). The 9th International Symposium on Foundations & Practice of Security FPS'2016. (October 24, 2016). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-51966-1_21. Presentation Slides (PDF)
Daniel Servos and Sylvia L. Osborn. HGABAC: Towards a Formal Model of Hierarchical Attribute-Based Access Control. The 7th International Symposium on Foundations & Practice of Security FPS'2014. (November 5, 2014). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17040-4_12. Presentation Slides (PDF)


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John W. Howell treats us to a delightfully lazy time with his three furry kids sunning themselves in the backyard. Please enjoy!
"Hey, Twiggy. What's up?"
"Hi, Dad. I'm thinking of joining Lucy and Bailey in the yard."
"Go ahead. Nothing should stop you."
"Well, except for that scary looking bird out there."
"Oh for heaven's sake, Twiggy. That's just a harmless blackbird."
"I've been reading about birds of prey, and at my level, one has to be careful."
"Go to Lucy. She'll take care of you."
"Don't you worry, Twiggy. That bird can't hurt you."
"I feel pretty good right here."
"Just let him try something. He'll have to answer to me."
"So what is Bailey doing over there?"
"She is having one of her beauty sun baths."
"Beauty sun Baths?"
"Yup. she lays in the sun and believes it helps her skin tone."
"You and I lay in the sun."
"But you and I know it doesn't do a thing."
"I like the warm though."
"Yeah, that is nice."
View original post 100 more words


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Living the Si life
By David Hennessy
His father was a pioneer of the ska movement. Now, Si Cranstoun is making his own mark in the music business with an album due for release that has already earned the backing from BBC and Chris Evans in particular who was impressed with the singer-songwriter that he invited Si to perform live in studio.
Although he has been writing and performing since he was a teenager, 38-year-old Si who has family in Cork has been delighted to see success coming his way just last year when he landed a record deal with music giants Warner.
"I can't actually (believe it)," the musician who busked on the streets of Croydon for years tells The Irish World. "It really is a dream come true and a dream come true very late on for me because I've been doing this for twenty odd years. I was banging on the doors pretty much consistently for the first ten years and then my knocks got slightly fainter, sort of got a bit: 'Are they ever going to open?'"
Someone else may have got disheartened but not Si who carried on performing simply for his love of it: "I don't really do it because I need people saying I'm good at it, I just do it because I really enjoy doing it. To be honest, I wasn't that good at it to start with. I was pretty rubbish but I still could do it as a hobby. I think with anything you do in life, you don't necessarily have to start out and be that good at it. You've always got that wonderful advantage of just having a natural draw to do it consistently and continually and that helps you to improve at it. It's almost effortlessly really that it does when you're enjoying what you do.
"Thank goodness that I did because I'm now in a situation I've been battling and hoping for and it's wonderful and I do feel very lucky and privileged to be where I'm at."
Growing up as the son of Bill Cranstoun was so prominent in the scene in bygone years, Si grew up in a very musical house. He would later play in bands and duos with his brother Tyber. Si remembers how he found his parents' passion: "My dad was a pioneer promoter of ska, they call it Jamaican rock 'n' roll. He left a lot of his records around the house for me as a kid to be able to just discover and play. My parents were groovy, they weren't like, 'don't touch that', 'leave that alone'. They would just leave their stuff lying around and they were pretty chilled out. I freely had these wonderful old songs to grow up listening to. I guess that was kind of the beginning of it for me and I guess that helped me to craft an identity as a singer in later years."
Without knowing it at the time, Si was being exposed to all styles of music, some dating back to the forties or fifties, and educating himself: ""I didn't know what I was listening to but I loved it. I guess as an artist, I've been influenced by it all, it all seems to come out when I'm writing stuff. I suppose it's because as a kid I was a sponge soaking this all up."
There is a great irony in such a retro and vintage style performer calling his debut album Modern Life: "We do live in these times but I guess we're forever looking over our shoulders at the sounds of the past. Even now, that Blurred Lines record just sounds like Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up. It's just the same sound."
Si's grandfather came from Cork and Si recently got to play Ireland as support to The Overtones, performing at Cork Opera House, Dublin's Olympia and Belfast's Ulster Hall: "I would love to get back out there. I picked up a lot of fans supporting The Overtones, had a lot of people asking when I'm coming back.
"I've also been out fishing on the river Shannon. We went on a boating holiday when we were kids, my dad took us to Ireland and we all went on a fishing trip and caught loads of bream. My dad managed to actually get the boat stuck in the middle of the river Shannon and we had to be dragged off of it with ropes by some, I'm sure they were travellers, I seem to remember they were sort of interesting characters who were living on the riverbank and we managed to get them to pull out boat. Happy memories of Ireland, it was great to be back there this year."
When Si's mother recently looked into the family tree, Si found out he had a war hero for an ancestor. During the battle of Ypres, William Cranstoun helped save a wounded officer who had fallen from his horse. William even gave him medical attention while the German shells were falling around them both believing they were going to be hit at any second.
Gunner Cranstoun was awarded the Victory Medal for his efforts in what was dubbed one of the worst battles of the First World War, He also held the Mons Star and general service medal for bravery.
"It was amazing that we found this out only just recently. He actually won three different medals, he fought in the Boer War during the early 1900s and in 1914 and 1917 in France during World War One. He won medals for bravery, in 1914 he won the standard British War Medal, in 1919 he won the Victory Medal so he was a bit of hero, my great-grandad. I'm just gutted I didn't get to meet him."
Si Cranstoun's album Modern Life is out on October 3.
For more information, go to http://www.sicranstoun.com/


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Contact Us
Book your first appointment today
Working Hours
Monday – Friday
08:00 a.m – 05:00 p.m
08:00 a.m – 04:00 p.m
Contact Info
We are conveniently located at 1002 Hay Street, Perth WA 6000.
- If travelling by road, you may park in the QV1 building car park accessing from Murray Street. You cannot enter this car park via Hay Street as it is one-way traffic only.
- Alternatively, Elder Street Car Park is on the corner of Elder Street and Murray Street, and Wilson Car Park is off Murray Street
- If travelling by bus (exit at the new Perth Bus Station) or travelling by train (exit at the Perth Underground), then take the Red CAT from William Street Stop number 11 right outside the HBF branch. Continue on the Red CAT bus for 3 stops and get off at Stop number 14 QV1 Tower.
Continue to walk west along Hay Street towards the Mitchell Freeway. Aria Dental is on the right hand side just before the bridge at 1002 Hay Street. View the CAT bus map here.
- If on foot, Aria Dental is a short 5-10 minute walk from the corner of William Street and Hay Street.
Request a Call Back
After you submit the form, one of our team will contact you within 24 hours. If you need immediate help, please call us on (08) 9226 2135.
To speed up your check-in process you may print out the medical history form and complete before or when you arrive for your first appointment.
Your appointment time is set aside for you alone. We ask that you notify us at least 24 hours in advance if you cannot attend your scheduled appointment to allow us to offer the time to another patient.
Unless other arrangements have been made, payment is required at each appointment. We have HICAPS for direct billing of your health insurer. We also accept cash, credit card and EFTPOS payment.


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Click the news page to view the full story.
More than 200 pregnant red deer have been released from a farm near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.
Milk prices in Northern Ireland could be about to drop to 12 pence per litre forcing a warning that if farmers do not cut their supply they could go out of business.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) has voiced disappointment that the sheep sector in England is being hit again by inflexibility at the Rural Payment Agency (RPA).
The Scottish Tenant Farmers' Association (STFA) last night reacted angrily to the latest Scottish Government figures on agricultural tenanted land that revealed an average rise of three per cent in farm rents in the past year.
Richard Yates, chairman of the Shropshire branch of the NFU, said he backed the national body's stance that it felt farmers' best interests would be served by staying part of the union.
Farming families and much of Devon and Cornwall's rural communities have been abandoned by the police according to retired senior police officer Bob Spencer after he visited communities on Dartmoor during his campaign to become the next police and crime commissioner for the region.


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Through the gospels, we see Jesus portrayed as a servant. Unlike the Religious leaders of His day, Jesus went out of His way to meet with sinners. He ate with them and called them to follow Him. He spoke to the people the world had rejected and touched the unclean. Jesus had compassion on both their spiritual and physical condition. On more than one occasion, as He taught them, He was so moved that they were hungry and he decided to feed them.
One of the most vivid accounts of Jesus servant attitude is found in John 13:1-17. Just before Jesus ate the last supper with His disciples, He did the most remarkable thing – He washed their feet.
The disciples were completely flabbergasted. So much so that Peter even tried to resist being washed by his master. How could a master wash the feet of a servant? It was totally incompatible with their culture. Yet, Jesus was leading by example. He was modelling the importance of servant leadership. He wanted his disciples to know that leadership was all about service. The Apostle Paul probably understood it better than anyone else. Look at how he summarised the servant leadership of Jesus:
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. – Philippians 2:5-8 (MSG)
We are charged to think of ourselves the way Christ did. He was God in the flesh, yet He chose to take the status of a servant. So often we live the complete opposite. We think more of ourselves than we ought and expect others to do the same. Jesus knew who He was. He was all-powerful. He spoke creation into being, yet He bowed down to wash the dirty feet of his disciples. Oh, how the world would be different if we demonstrated the same attitude.
- What is your view on serving God? Is it something you enjoy or feel pressed to do?
- Do you desire to serve others or to be served?
Father in heaven; help me to have the mind that was in your son Jesus Christ that I might not consider myself too good to serve. Help me to stay humble and put on the heart of a servant. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Do you want to study the Old Testament with me in 2018?
If so, why not to sign up to receive future devotions directly by email. It's totally free, just enter your detail below and starting tomorrow you will receive a devotional each day directly by email.


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Breezewax released the first side of his new album Press Play, with the second coming in a month (19/11). I should've waited to show you the whole album at once but the beats are really good, so here you go. I will update the article when Side B is out.
Breezewax - Press Play [Side A]
in Jazz-Hop


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HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. -- Anthony DiLascio became the first member of the Hasbrouck Heights recreation track and field team to qualify for the USA Track and Field Regional Youth Track Championships.
DiLascio finished fifth in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
He will go on to compete in the 2016 Region 2 Junior Olympics July 7-10,at Widener University in Chester, PA, against runners from New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
If he places in the top 5, DiLascio will qualify for the national meet in Sacramento, California.
Hasbrouck Heights Recreation track coaches are Jim Ryan, Alex Quinn, Jenn Nass and Tom Hughes.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.


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|Semester Courses
Last Day to ADD/DROP a course:
Requires: Add/Drop form, teacher approval, parent
approval, and space availability ( not all requests occur
due to availability of courses ).
ADD: Students are responsible to make up all work
assigned from the 1st day of class. It is the student's
responsibility to meet with the teacher regarding
makeup work.
DROP: The course and grade are not recorded on the
*All students who withdraw from a course after the
final Add/Drop date, August 22, 2018, may receive a
No Credit (NC) mark on their transcript.
| August 22, 2018*
Last Day to Add/Drop
|Not Applicable
Last Day for Level-Change (Example: AP,
Advanced, or Honors to College Prep):
Requires: Add/Drop form, teacher approval, and
parent approval.
**All students who withdraw from an AP,
Advanced, or Honors course after the final
Add/Drop date, September 5, 2018 and/or January
14, 2019, may receive a No Credit (NC) mark on
their transcript.
| September 5, 2018**
Last Day for
| January 14, 2019**
Last Day for
|Jennifer Teames
Last Name A - D Counselor
Julie Casler
Last Name E - K Counselor
Last Name L - Q Counselor
Last Name R - Z Counselor
College & Career Center
School Psychologist
Speech Pathologist
Speech Pathologist


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Connect with your Social Network
Connect with your Social Network
Facing the constraints and challenges of the legal system when charged with a criminal offense can be very overwhelming. There is often much uncertainty about the process and about your future.
I am Minneapolis Criminal Lawyer Judith A. Samson, and I have served clients in the Twin Cities and Western Suburbs for years. I have become known for my aggressive and effective litigation skills as well as for my individual approach to representing clients. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact my Twin Cities law office.
Whether you have been arrested on a criminal misdemeanor, gross-misdemeanor or felony charge, including but not limited to assault, theft, drugs, DWI, I will bring over 20 years of legal experience to helping you resolve your concerns. I am able to provide dedicated advocacy for clients facing any and all criminal charges.
I work closely with clients, offering comprehensive and informative criminal defense representation that will help you fully understand the charges against you. I will:
1. Carefully explain the options available to you
2.Set realistic expectations for an outcome
3. Develop and apply creative defense strategies
4. Protect your constitutional rights
From charges of drunk driving, theft crimes, drug crimes or violating a restraining order to assault crimes or strangulation, I will fight vigorously to defend your best interests and help you achieve a favorable verdict, dismissal, or reduction in the charges against you. We handle a variety of Minnesota DWI or DUI charges including driving under the influence of a prescription, test refusal, driving with a BAC over .08, criminal vehicular operation.
The negative consequences of a DWI charge can affect all areas of your life. Including, employment, driving privileges, vehicle forfeiture and many other devastating repercussions. Please contact Judith Samson to explore all of your options before it is too late.
Contact me today and schedule a free initial consultation with a skilled Minnesota criminal defense attorney. I offer convenient offsite consultations and am available 24 hours a day.
Minneapolis Criminal Attorney
Founded in 1999, the law office of Judith A. Samson, Attorney at Law, offers compassionate and personal representation to clients while defending them against criminal charges representing clients throughout Minnesota. I am criminal law attorney, Judith Samson. I have a thorough understanding of criminal procedures and laws in Minnesota and how to effectively maneuver clients through the legal system. I work closely with my clients to ensure they understand the charges and the options so that they are able to make informed decisions regarding their future. I believe in focusing my attention on my clients' needs and working to protect their future.
To schedule a free initial consultation with a skilled criminal law attorney, contact me today.
Respected Minneapolis Criminal Lawyer
Through my years of serving the Minnesota / Twin Cities communities, I have established respectful relationships with local prosecutors, judges, and colleagues. Additionally, I have earned credibility within the legal community. The interconnection that my criminal law firm offers is a benefit to my clients because it is often a major component of effective resolution.
Convenient Client Centered Practice
My criminal law practice accommodates the various needs of clients. I recognize that the sudden need for an experienced lawyer does not always arise during standard business hours. Therefore, my phone is answered 24 hours a day. Due to constraints of the legal system, you may not be available to travel to my office. Therefore, I will meet with you offsite. I understand that hiring a criminal defense lawyer is an important decision and you need to be certain that the attorney you hire will aggressively protect your rights. Therefore, I offer a free initial consultation so that you may become comfortable with my services and trust in the passionate advocacy that I can provide.
To schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced criminal lawyer, contact my Minneapolis law office today.


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Boston Technical Writer
Blogging: Electronic Products Magazine
IEEE Globalspec
White Paper NXP Electronics
Writer for the Arrow Electronics Catalog
Lithium Ion Batteries
Technical Manual
Blogging: Digital Signage
Methuen Carpet Cleaners
Information Week
Software Articles
Scope Junction
GM Volt
Receivables Factoring
White Paper Writer for NXP
Here are White Papers that I ghostwrote for Nexperia, formerly NXP. My supervisor at EETech, https://eetech.com, can verify my authorship. You can contact me at:
Dealing with floating inputs in digital systems
Voltage translation devices


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This year PA is Ready! received a record 29 proposals for a total requested amount of $712,837, significantly more proposals than we were able to fund. The Grantmaking Committee met in May and June to evaluate all proposals and award $321,660, the amount available in our pooled fund. We are pleased to announce our 2018-2019 PA is Ready! grantees!
This year, we welcome 6 new partners to PA is Ready!:
- Free Migration Project
- Project Libertad
- Immigrant Rights Action Group of Doylestown
- Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh
- Jewish Family & Community Services
- Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA)
2018-2019 Enforcement Resistance Grant Recipients (63% of the pooled fund) will implement a coordinated, community-based response to increased immigration enforcement in their communities and conduct public case-based campaigns in collaboration with a Strategic Legal Partner.
- Casa San Jose
- Church World Service-Lancaster
- Movement of Immigrant Leaders of Pennsylvania (MILPA)
- VietLead
- Asian Americans United (AAU)
- Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA)
2018-2019 Strategic Legal Partners will provide legal support for public case-based campaigns in collaboration with an Enforcement Resistance Grant recipient.
- Friends of Farmworkers
- Nationalities Service Center
- Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
- Free Migration Project
2018-2019 Collaborative Project-Based Grant Recipients (37% of the pooled fund) will implement community-led, collaborative projects to increase access to needed services in immigrant communities.
- Immigrant Rights Action Group of Doylestown & HIAS PA
- International Service Center & Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
- Project Libertad & HIAS PA
- Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh & Jewish Family & Community Services
- Coalition of African and Caribbean Communities (AFRICOM) & Nationalities Service Center
- Ceiba & Esperanza Immigration Legal Services
- Juntos & Nationalities Service Center
To comply with reporting requirements from local and national funders, all PA is Ready! grantee organizations must complete a midyear report by January 5, 2019, and an end-of-the-year report by July 5, 2019. PA is Ready! grantees are required to attend a webinar in July after grants are awarded to explain all reporting requirements and what information grantees should be tracking as they implement their projects. The required webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, July 11th from 3-4 pm via Zoom. Please register here to confirm your attendance and receive the information necessary to join the webinar.


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Washington, DC, March 24, 2014 – Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has won the infamous Rosemary Award for worst open government performance in 2013, according to the citation published today by the National Security Archive at www.nsarchive.org. Despite heavy competition, Clapper's "No, sir" lie to Senator Ron Wyden's question: "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" sealed his receipt of the dubious achievement award, which cites the vastly excessive secrecy of the entire U.S. surveillance establishment.
The Rosemary Award citation leads with what Clapper later called the "least untruthful" answer possible to congressional questions about the secret bulk collection of Americans' phone call data. It further cites other Clapper claims later proved false, such as his 2012 statement that "we don't hold data on U.S. citizens." But the Award also recognizes Clapper's fellow secrecy fetishists and enablers, including:
- Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the NSA, for multiple Rose Mary Woods-type stretches, such as (1) claimingis zero; (2) his 2009 declaration to the wiretap court that multiple NSA violations of the court's orders arose from differences over "terminology," an explanation which the chief judge said "strains credulity;"The Snowden Affair), along with public statements by other top NSA officials now known to be untrue (see "Remarks of Rajesh De," NSA General Counsel, Document 53 in The Snowden Affair). that the secret bulk collection prevented 54 terrorist plots against the U.S. when the actual number, according to the congressionally-established Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) investigation (pp. 145-153), and (3) public statements by the NSA about its programs that had to be taken down from its website for inaccuracies (see Documents 78, 85, 87 in
- Robert Mueller, former FBI director, for suggesting (as have Gen. Alexander and many others) that the secret bulk collection program might have been able to prevent the 9/11 attacks, when the 9/11 Commission found explicitly the problem was not lack of data points, but failing to connect the many dots the intelligence community already had about the would-be hijackers living in San Diego.
- The National Security Division lawyers at the Justice Department, for misleading their own Solicitor General (Donald Verrilli) who then misled (inadvertently) the U.S. Supreme Court over whether Justice let defendants know that bulk collection had contributed to their prosecutions.
- The same National Security Division lawyers who swore under oath in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for a key wiretap court opinion that the entire text of the opinion was appropriately classified Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (release of which would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to U.S. national security). Only after the Edward Snowden leaks and the embarrassed governmental declassification of the opinion did we find that one key part of the opinion's text simply reproduced the actual language of the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the only "grave damage" was to the government's false claims.
Director of the NSA General Keith Alexander who submitted multiple entries for the Rosemary Award. (Photo credit: National Security Agency)
- President Obama for his repeated misrepresentations about the bulk collection program (calling the wiretap court "transparent" and saying "all of Congress" knew "exactly how this program works") while in effect acknowledging the public value of the Edward Snowden leaks by ordering the long-overdue declassification of key documents about the NSA's activities, and investigations both by a special panel and by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
Charlie Rose and President Obama. (Photo credit: Charlie Rose)
Clapper worked so hard for that award.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Anadolu Agency reports a bombing targeted 3 Iraqi MPs. 3 bodyguards were killed in the bombing with another four wounded; however MPs Raad al-Dahlaki, Mohamed al-Khaldi and Abd al-Jabouri all three survived. All are members of Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi's Motahedoum coaltion. All three had planned to run in the upcoming elections; however, in a sign of the state of Iraq, surviving an assassination attempt doesn't mean you've now survived the last obstacle.
They were luckier than others today. National Iraqi News Agency reports Ghaidaa Hussein Khader was shot dead in Mosul (she belonged to the Alfadheelah Party).
But while Iraq is set to hold parliamentary elections on April 30th, that may not happen. Despite the assurances Sarbast Mustafa (head of the Independent High Electoral Commission's board) offered to All Iraq News yesterday that elections would take palce and be held "in every area in Iraq" and that "It is difficult to set a new mechanism to postpone the next elections in any area of Iraq including Anbar," those statements are now in doubt.
Today, AFP reports, "All of Iraq's election commissioners presented their resignations to parliament Tuesday in a collective protest over political and judicial 'interference' in upcoming legislative polls, sources have said." What sort of interference? An attempt to strip them of their powers via a little noticed clause in a bill Nouri's Cabinet wrote and Parliament passed into law. BBC explains:
A clause approved last year allows for the exclusion of candidates considered not "of good reputation".
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who is seeking a third term, has been accused of using the law to prevent his political enemies from standing.
Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com) provides context, "IHEC's complaints roughly mirror those of the last election, that the Maliki government is trying to use the electoral law's ban on candidates of "ill repute" to ban potential rivals en masse." AFP's Prashant Rao Tweets:
Five weeks before legislative polls, Iraq's election commission has resigned. This country is astounding.
Al Mada reports that the Dawa Party was specifically accused of exploiting the judiciary to settle scores with political rivals. Dawa, for those who don't know, is Nouri's political party, State of Law is his coalition. Al Mada notes that the commission felt wrongly accused of bowing to Nouri's wishes to dismiss his political opponents, especially when the decisions were coming from the Baghdad judiciary.
In a statement the IHEC posted to their website, they insist the move was due to a need to protect the IHEC's integrity and that they await the approval of their resignations. Raheem Salman and Robin Pomeroy (Reuters) observe, "IHEC's sudden move further complicates the outlook for a vote already clouded by violence across the country where Sunni Islamist militants have regained momentum over the past year."
Staying with this topic, let's drop back to Friday's snapshot:
The editorial board of Arab News argues voting should be postponed and they recap some of the events since the 2010 parliamentary elections including this from December 2011:
[. . ] Al-Maliki began the effective demolition of the National Unity government he headed by having an arrest warrant issued for Vice-President Tareq Al-Hashimi, a Sunni. Hashimi was accused of involvement in death squads. Helped by Kurds, he fled the country, only to be tried in his absence and found guilty.
Al-Maliki pretended at the time that the prosecution was important because no one should be able to escape punishment for past crimes. But this argument was fatally weakened by the presence in his government of Shiite politicians who were equally suspected of involvement in the inter-communal violence that had threatened to tear the country apart. Besides, however terrible the crimes committed by all parties in Iraq, the country's future could only be ensured by reconciliation. Iraq desperately needed to put its dark past behind and look to a brighter and more prosperous future.
Unfortunately Al-Maliki hardly tried to convince skeptical Sunni politicians and voters that the prosecution of Hashimi was not motivated by the fact that the vice-president was a Sunni. That this was indeed the reality has since become even more apparent as Shia legislators have moved to exclude former and serving Sunni politicians, including former Finance Minister Rafie Al-Issawi from standing in next month's elections. Former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a Shiite, and leader of the National Iraqi Alliance, has himself warned that in the light of these moves against Sunni politicians, as well as the deteriorating security situation in the country, the vote cannot go ahead.
How did Rafea al-Isawi and others get banned? Niqash attempts to explain it:
The Independent High Electoral Commission, or IHEC, the authority that is supposed to prepare Iraq for elections and run electoral procedures, such as voter registration and the actual voting, recently decided to ban a number of politicians from competing in the elections. These were independent Shiite Muslim MP, Sabah al-Saedi, Shiite Muslim MP, Jawad al-Shuhaili, who is aligned with the Sadrist bloc, MP Haider al-Mulla from the mostly-Sunni Muslim Iraqiya bloc, MP Rafea al-Isawi, also a Sunni Muslim from the Iraqiya bloc and one of the country's most senior Sunni Muslim politicians as well as a former MP, Mithal al-Alousi, who made headlines in 2004 as one of the first Iraqi politicians to visit Israel and who previously headed the de-Baathification commission.IHEC says the reason for the ban on these politicians is because they have violated the rule about good conduct. However there are clearly some problems with this clause – many local legal and constitutional experts have already said that it is too general and that it could be used in myriad ways by the unscrupulous.
Iraqi lawyer Munir Haddad, who is perhaps best known outside the country for his time as a judge, presiding over the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, told NIQASH: "Iraqi MPs should have been more careful when they voted on this article. It's not clearly formulated enough."
"This paragraph is very general and it can be interpreted any way a person wants," adds judge Abdul-Raheem al- Ukaili, who formerly worked with Iraq's Commission on Integrity. "Unfortunately IHEC has interpreted this paragraph in an arbitrary way and it has been used against politicians who are well known for opposing the government."
Indeed it seemed to many that the "bad behaviour" these MPs had undertaken simply involved publicly criticizing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or his allies.
"Politicians who speak about corruption in the government are now people with bad reputations," one of the banned MPs, al-Alousi, complained to NIQASH. "There is a deliberate plan to silence al-Maliki's opponents and to ruin democracy in Iraq. We are going to file a lawsuit at the Supreme Federal Court to defend our rights and we hope this court won't bow to political pressure," he argued.
At some point, IHEC is going to have to be asked about the Niqash report. AFP reports:
Several candidates have been barred in recent weeks on the grounds of alleged ties to now executed dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party.
But a greater source of frustration for the IHEC board has been the exclusion of scores of hopefuls on the basis of what critics say is a vague provision in Iraq's electoral law that requires that parliamentary hopefuls be "of good reputation".
Those barred, who include former finance minister Rafa al-Essawi, a Maliki opponent, have no obvious avenue of appeal against the judicial panel's decision.
So was the IHEC a fall guy or were they going along? Niqash's report was important last week, today's actions only made it more important.
Maliki may be the primary reason for the radicalization of the Sunnis and growing sectarian reflexes, but the Anbar standoff is not likely to weaken him electorally. Indeed, renewed violence over the last three months, the absence of Sunni unity (some tribes are even calling for a boycott of the elections), and the fragmentation of the Shia political landscape (Moqtada al-Sadr announced his withdrawal from politics in February) all create favorable conditions for another term for Maliki. This will be even more the case if the elections are marked by low turnout from the Sunnis because of their disillusionment with the transition. In a context of security vacuum, Maliki depicts himself as the only viable and legitimate leader for the country, the "strong man" that Iraqis need.
Nouri's State of Law underperformed in the 2013 provincial elections. Which is a nice way of saying that, as with the 2010 parliamentary elections, they lost. Among those who did well in the 2013 elections? Many were surprised by how well two young leaders ran their parties -- Ammar al-Hakim (Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq) and cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
The two are Shi'ite. The two are rivals of Nouri al-Maliki's. There's also Nouri original blood rival, the man Nouri loathes but must pretend to respect: Ibrahim al-Jafaari.
That's the man who should have remained prime minister.
Following December 2005 elections, the Parliament wanted to have al-Jafaari as prime minister for a second term. The US government said no. The public reason was that Iraq was too new to have incumbents hold several terms, it might create a new Saddam Hussein. Instead, the US government insisted that Nouri be named prime minister (the safe reason given in whispers to some journalists was that Nouri didn't have his own militia, the real reason was the psyche profile the CIA did on Nouri -- paranoid and pliable). Ibrahiam al-Jafarri is a Shi'ite, a powerful one, and he remains in charge of Iraq's National Alliance coalition.
Ayad Allawi is a Shi'ite. He has stood with mixed coalitions. The previous mentioned stand with Shi'ite coalitions.
While you might leave Allawi out of the mix (despite the fact that his winning Iraqiya in 2010 also received Shi'ite votes), you can't leave Hakim, Moqtada and Ibarhiam out of the mix.
They are very powerful Shi'ite leaders of Shi'ite coalitions.
And there members have not flocked to Nouri. Not in the 2009 provincial elections, not in the 2010 parliamentary elections, not in the 2013 provinical elections.
So what crazy pill did you take that led you to believe this election would be different?
Nouri's actions frustrate and worry me and I'm an American in the United States. Try to grasp what they do to the Shi'ites who don't support him.
It's not just Sunni opinion that's hardening against Nouri.
Shi'ites see the continued violence, actually the violence that increased when Nouri got a second term. They see the nonsense of his "I have a four billion dollar weapons deal with Russia!" followed by "No, I don't! It's corrupt but it is not due to my son who set up a sweet side deal during negotiations!" They see the lights out, the lack of drinking water, the lack of jobs, they see all of this.
And they don't rally around Nouri.
That's especially true of the National Reform Trend which is damn well aware that Parliament was blocked from naming their own Ibrahim to lead the country in 2006.
Shi'ites are not a monolithic group but there's always some simpleton or racist in the press or speaking to it which attempts to portray Shi'ites as such. Despite acknowledging Shi'ite divisions, Myriam Benraad dismisses it when it comes to voting.
The National Reform Trend will not be voting for Nouri. Ammar al-Hakim's group also won't be voting for Nouri. They stuck with his late father Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and, in the fall of 2009, many decided to stick with Ammar as the new leader. As the 2010 elections demonstrated, some chose to leave. But that had actually been evident in the 2009 provincial elections and may have resulted from Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's inability to provide direct oversight of the party and politicians due to his illness (he'd die in the fall of 2009 from cancer). Frances Romero (Time magazine) noted Septemeber 4, 2009, "Ammar al-Hakim was confirmed as the Iranian-backed SIIC's next leader this week and will begin his work promoting Shi'ite policies throughout the country." That only gave him six months to take on the leadership tasks and steer the political party before parliamentary elections were held.
His 2013 wins and post-election wins suggest the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq may see their best parliamentary election performance since the 2005 elections.
His supporters are not Nouri's supporters. This was even more evident in July of last year when he joined with Moqtada in publicly calling for Nouri al-Maliki to resign.
Moqtada al-Sadr announced his political retirement February 15th. February 18th, he delivered a speech -- CounterPunch posted the speech in full -- emphasizing his decision. February 26th, NINA noted the rumors that Moqtada left Iraq, "The sources noted in a press statement that Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr left today's afternoon the city of Najaf heading to the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to complete his religious studies and stay away from the political scene as he officially announced for all Iraqis." Yet March 14th, Moqtada returned to Iraq.
Why did Moqtada return?
We covered this in the March 14th snapshot:
Background. Nouri's big mouth ended up tanking his own two-day conference. For those who missed it, Nouri's fat mouth was flapping last Saturday insulting many as he spoke to France24. France 24's Mark Perelman interviewed (link is text and video) Nouri for a half hour broadcast which aired Saturday. In the interview, Nouri's well noted paranoia was on full display as he repeatedly declared, in the very first two minutes, his alleged 'victory' over those attempting to turn Iraq and Syria into one country ("there are goals to create a one state," "create a state -- one part in Syria and one part in Iraq"). He continued to gab and began accusing other countries of supporting terrorism (he was supposedly going to reveal proof of his gossip in the conference but, as usual, his fat mouth made empty promises). He also insulted Moqtada.
And let's note what the US and western press didn't, what happened on Saturday March 15th. Moqtada returned to Iraq because of Nouri's insults and to lead the protest against them.
That's Dar Addustour.
That's Alsumaria.
That's Al Mada.
See the turnout? Does it appear Moqtada's faded?
No, it does not.
It's curious that an 'analysis' of the elections would miss the above especially when the analyst takes the time to note the France24 interview but avoid the remarks about Moqtada.
In fact, here's Myriam Benraad's 'analysis' of Moqtada's impact in full, "[. . .] and the fragmentation of the Shia political landscape (Moqtada al-Sadr announced his withdrawal from politics in February) all create favorable conditions for another term for Maliki."
How can you be so stupid? She's so stupid she must require someone to follow her around reminding her to breathe.
Not only is there what we've charted above, there's more -- in Nouri's Iraq, there always is. NINA reports conflict between Nouri's forces and Sadr followers in Sadr City. A witness tells the news agency, "A group of followers of the Sadrist movement entered into a verbal altercation with the federal police force in the Sadrain checkpoint at the entrance to the area, which led the police to shoot fire in the air to disperse the group. The region has been shut down by the police and helicopters flight in low level has been seen over the area." These Sadrists are voters for Nouri al-Maliki? No, they're not. That's even more the case in the Sadr strong-hold of Basra.
No where in her 'analysis' is anything as fundamental as this by Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com):
The previous election saw the Sunni-dominated Iraqiya Party win the largest plurality, with Maliki's State of Law faction eventually retaining power in a "power-sharing" deal imposed on them by the US. Maliki reneged on virtually all power-sharing, and retains the position of Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Interior Minister, and Chief of Staff for the military.
Maybe next time, Carnegie should just ask Jason Ditz to write the analysis?
FYI, I'm being kind by assuming she's dumb. She might be another lie, another whore, another Quil Lawrence. It's much kinder just to assume she's stupid. And, no, Quil, we haven't forgotten you or what you did. Next month, we again acknowledge your role in corrupting democracy in Iraq.
Violence continues across Iraq. National Iraqi News Agency reports an armed battle "between Taji and Tarmiya" left 4 Iraqi soldiers dead and fifteen more injured, the Ministry of the Interior announced they killed 2 suspects in Baiji, 1 police officer was shot dead in Tikrit, Joint Special Operations Command announced they killed suspect Abdul-Jabbar Majid in Samarra, a Baquba bombing left 1 woman and 1 child dead (and three more people injured), an attack "on a civilian car on the road to the Hanarh resort in Arbil" left 2 women dead and three people injured, 1 corpse was discovered northwest Baghdad ("handcuffed with gunshot wounds in his head"), 1 federal police member was shot dead and one soldier left injured at "the entrance to the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Mosul," an an Ein al-Ijel Village attack left 5 Iraqi soldiers, a Ramadi battle left 1 police officer dead, a Balad Ruz bombing left three people injured, an attack on a Jalawla military checkpoint left two Iraqi soldiers injured, an al-Muthanna Bridge truck bombing left ten people injured (and the update on the bridge bombing is 6 dead and twenty-nine injured), and last night a Sensal Village battle left 1 rebel dead.
In addition, Nouri's continued assault on Anbar continues. His shelling of residential neighborhoods in Fallujah today has left 6 civilians dead and ten injured (the injured include two children).
Throughout the assault, which began December 30th, Nouri's shelling of Falluja has killed and wounded many.
But not one word from the US State Dept despite the fact that these are War Crimes.
Yesterday, we noted the Saturday incident in which a Peshmerga (Kurdish military) shot dead Mohamed Bedewi who had worked for years for the US propaganda outlet Radio Free Iraq (which is to Voice of America what Phyllis was to The Mary Tyler Moore Show). We noted how the US government and Nouri al-Maliki were engaging in dangerous behaviors and statements intent upon creating a crisis in Iraq. IANS reports today:
The Kurdish regional government Tuesday accused the central government in Iraq of stirring up political trouble with the Kurds by politically exploiting the killing four days ago of an Iraqi journalist by a Kurdish officer in Baghdad.
"It's regrettable that the Iraqi prime minister used strange and inconvenient words like "blood for blood" after the incident, which is outside law, state governance and the culture of coexistence and democracy," said the office of Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), in a statement.
Middle East Monitor points out that the US government has insisted upon calling the death a "murder." Rudaw reports:
The Kurdistan Region Presidency has warned of attempts by Iraqi leaders, among them Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to take the death of journalist Muhammad Bidaiwi out of its judicial context and using it to settle political scores with the Kurds.
"It's regrettable that the Iraqi prime minister used the strange and ugly phrase of "blood for blood" after the incident," said the office of President Massoud Barzani in a statement. "This is outside the law, governance and the culture of co-existence and democracy."
The statement expressed condolences to the family of Bidaiwi, an Iraqi academic and journalist who was shot dead by a Kurdish presidential guard in Baghdad on Saturday.
All Iraq News quotes MP Latif Mutafa ("member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee") stating, "The
Yesterday, the House Veterans Affairs Committee issued the following:
HVAC Webpage To Track How VA Stonewalls the Press
Mar 24, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Chairman Jeff Miller launched VA Honesty Project, a new web component of Veterans.House.Gov designed to highlight the Department of Veterans Affairs' lack of transparency with the press, and by extension the public. View the page here.
Because the Department of Veterans Affairs is a taxpayer funded organization, it has a responsibility to fully explain itself to the press and the public. Unfortunately, in many cases, VA is failing in this responsibility, as department officials – including 54 full-time public affairs employees – routinely ignore media inquiries.
VA Honesty Project documents nearly 70 recent instances in which VA has failed to respond to reporters' requests for information or refused to answer specific questions. The department's apparent disregard for the press has become an object of reporters' scorn, leading some to openly accuse VA of "thumbing their nose at us" and others to write entire articles focusing on VA's stonewalling tactics. VA Honesty Project will be continually updated with new examples of VA refusing to respond to the press as they arise.
Following the launch of VA Honesty Project, Chairman Miller issued the following statement.
"With 54 full-time public affairs employees, VA's media avoidance strategy can't be anything other than intentional. What's worse, the tactic leaves the impression that department leaders think the same taxpayers who fund the department don't deserve an explanation of VA's conduct. VA Honesty Project is dedicated to showing America's veterans, American taxpayers and department leaders how VA's media avoidance strategy is doing the public an extreme disservice while damaging VA's reputation in the process. By keeping a running record of VA's attempts to stonewall the press, we hope to convince the department to put a renewed focus on being responsive and transparent with the media so America's veterans and taxpayers can get the answers they deserve." – Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
VA Honesty Project documents nearly 70 recent instances in which VA has failed to respond to reporters' requests for information or refused to answer specific questions. The department's apparent disregard for the press has become an object of reporters' scorn, leading some to openly accuse VA of "thumbing their nose at us" and others to write entire articles focusing on VA's stonewalling tactics. VA Honesty Project will be continually updated with new examples of VA refusing to respond to the press as they arise.
Following the launch of VA Honesty Project, Chairman Miller issued the following statement.
"With 54 full-time public affairs employees, VA's media avoidance strategy can't be anything other than intentional. What's worse, the tactic leaves the impression that department leaders think the same taxpayers who fund the department don't deserve an explanation of VA's conduct. VA Honesty Project is dedicated to showing America's veterans, American taxpayers and department leaders how VA's media avoidance strategy is doing the public an extreme disservice while damaging VA's reputation in the process. By keeping a running record of VA's attempts to stonewall the press, we hope to convince the department to put a renewed focus on being responsive and transparent with the media so America's veterans and taxpayers can get the answers they deserve." – Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
anadolu agency
mustafa habib
al mada


text:
Apple has sold all of its current inventory of the iPad to early-adopting pre-order customers.
Anyone wanting to get their hands on the company's game-changing device will now have to wait until April 12th, nine painfully long days after the intitial launch.
The US online Apple Store has now pegged back delivery dates, despite announcing that every brick and mortar (or should that be tinted glass and brushed aluminium) Apple Store and Most Best Buy outlets will have stocks of the gadget on April 3rd.
The Cupertino company has also stopped taking orders for launch-day pick-ups from its own stores.
If every other launch in the company's history is anything to go by, the stores will be beset by frantic Macolytes camping out days before the doors open on iPad Day. And if number crunching anal lister have got the maths right, many of them will be going home empty handed and very disappointed.
Europe might eventually get a few iPads but Apple can't be arsed to work out when.
Apple has also sneakily added the iPad camera connection Kit to the list of available accessories. The kit comprises two small dongles with the now-familiar 30-pin connectors at one end, and either a USB port or SD card slot at the other for $29.