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Croatia wins approval for EU membership in mid-2013
Issued on: Modified:
Croatia won approval from Brussels on Friday to join the European Union in mid-2013, a move hailed by Croatian President Ivo Josipovic (pictured) as opening "a new page in our history". Zagreb will gain official approval at an EU summit in June.
AFP - Croatia took a giant step towards European Union membership Friday, winning a green light from Brussels to join in mid-2013, a move raising hopes for other Balkan nations knocking at the EU's door.
"Today is a historic day for Croatia and the European Union," said Jose-Manuel Barroso, head of the EU executive, on announcing that Zagreb had finally made sufficient progress on meeting stringent conditions required to join the bloc.
"I would like to congratulate the people of Croatia," the European Commission president added. "Joining the EU family of nations is first and foremost your success!"
After six years of tough talks to become the EU's 28th member, Barroso recommended closing the final four of 35 legal chapters that aspiring members must negotiate to gain EU entry -- political, economic, social and judicial reforms to bring a nation to the cusp of EU standards.
"This paves the way for Croatia to join the EU as the 28th member state as of 1 July 2013," he added.
The next step will be for EU leaders to offer their official rubber stamp at a summit June 23-24.
Croatia will be only the second former Yugoslav republic to join the EU after Slovenia in 2004, but the first that suffered the full force of the brutal wars that ravaged the Balkans in the 1990s.
Criticised for failing to tackle corruption, reform its judiciary, and bring Balkan war criminals to book, Croatia will be "closely monitored" in its continued eforts in those areas via six-monthly reports until accession, cautioned Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele.
"We are confident that Croatia has reached a critical mass," Fuele said. "But reforms need to be continued, commitments need to be monitored."
In a statement, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor pledged her government would continue with reforms.
The announcement from the EU executive came shortly before the Balkan nation celebrates 20 years of independence from Yugolsavia and 16 years after the bloody inter-ethnic war that ensued.
Hailing the news even before it happened, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told AFP in an interview it marked "a big day for Croatia as it opens a new page in our history."
Much of the negotiations in the last months stumbled over judicial reforms and cooperation with the UN war crimes court, but Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Zagreb had leapt ahead even in that sensitive area.
"The last stumbling block was the judiciary," she said. "I didn't believe last year that Croatians could do it. But in one year's time they completely reformed their judiciary and made it irreversible.
After Serbia inched closer to its dreams of EU membership by bringing in fugitive war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic last month while entering into dialogue with Kosovo, Croatia's progress will raise hopes of EU entry across the Balkans.
"I know from talks with many European leaders that they expect Croatia to serve as a bridge to help southeastern European countries become EU members," Josipovic said.
"Europe will not be complete until all southeastern European countries are in it."
The EU's Fuele expressed hopes that Croatia's success would be "a strong impetus for enlargement in that region," noting that Macedonia might be offered a start to accession negotiations later this year.
And Barroso too hoped Croatia's upcoming integration would inspire others in the Balkans "to reinvigorate their reform efforts and to deliver to the benefit of their people."
But Europe's taste for new entrants is on the decline, soured by the global financial crisis as well as by complaints that Bulgaria and Romania were allowed to join before being properly ready.
The government in Zagreb has touted huge financial benefits from membership, calculating that Croatia will be able to draw some 3.5 billion euros ($5 billion) from EU structural funds.
Economic experts expect entry will also boost investors' optimism, pushing growth in the country of 4.4 million whose economy is still in recession.
But many ordinary Croats do not share the enthusiasm.
Polls still show 44.6 percent support EU membership, but the opponents, on 41.8 percent, are gaining ground.
The country is due to hold a binding referendum on EU accession within a month of the treaty being signed.
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A panel of legal scholars gathered at NYU Law's 18th Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Dialogue to discuss criminal justice in Taiwan today, and in particular, the question of whether Taiwan may be setting an example for China. The Gelatt Dialogue was established in memory of the former NYU law professor and avid Asian law scholar.
Jerome Cohen, professor of law and co-director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute (USALI), kicked off the session with a brief introduction. Margaret Lewis '03, professor at Seton Hall Law School, focused on Taiwan's abolition of its practice of reeducation through labor in 2009. A former U.S.-ALI research fellow who recently finished working on a book with Cohen, Lewis also gave an overview of how Taiwan transitioned in the past 10 years from a continental-style, inquisitorial justice system to a modified adversarial, U.S.-style system.
Yu-Jen Lu, a USALI research scholar and a judge on the Taiwan Taipei District Court, spoke in detail about reforms in Taiwan over the past 10 years that have raised the prosecutorial burden of proof, enacted cross-examination rules, and expanded defendants' right to a lawyer. Shih-Kuo Liu, a prosecutor in Taiwan's Banciao District Prosecutors Office and also a USALI research scholar, discussed the challenges of introducing common law elements into Taiwan's continental-style civil law system. He described an experiment in two district courts in Taiwan in which five jurors deliberated and issued non-binding advisory decisions in felony cases.
Philip Alston, John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, gave a first-hand account of an external review that Taiwan commissioned of its human rights performance; he, along with Cohen, were part of the 10-member independent group of experts who evaluated Taiwan's record. Alston praised the voluntary initiative and discussed the group's recommendations. "If you're really going to make a difference, progress has to be gradual," said Alston, who is also faculty director and co-chair of NYU Law's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. "What's important is setting institutions and procedures in place so they can make gradual changes."
Closing up the discussion, Yu-Jie Chen, a JSD candidate at the Law School and research fellow at USALI, noted that Taiwan had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and discussed what China could learn from Taiwan. The 18th Annual Gelatt Dialogues also included another panel that focused on criminal justice in China and featured Ira Belkin, USALI executive director, Frank Upham, Wilf Family Professor of Property Law and USALI co-director, and Chen Guangcheng, the prominent Chinese activist who is currently an author in residence at USALI.
Posted on May 1, 2013

subset: commoncrawl


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Music Player:qleek by Johanna Hartzheim
Johanna Hartzheim Shows The Qleek Music Player
Johanna Hartzheim, the author of the awarded design Music Player:Qleek by Johanna Hartzheim says, Qleek is a beautiful way to play, share and collect online music. It features your favorite songs and artists in your living room, your office or your store. Each Qleek is a link to a playlist or an artist. It is automatically synced with most online music services and plays instantly by placing it on its player. We love to think of Qleek as a new Medium for new Media.
Music Player:qleek by Johanna Hartzheim Images:
End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to Digital Artists Magazine homepage.
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Lobster Boat Successfully Blockades 40,000 Ton Coal Shipment
"No coal was unloaded at Brayton point today. Now enjoying a great portuguese dinner in fall river with amazing friends." - @Oharjo, via twitter
That's the tweet of one satisfied environmental activist.
In a classic David and Goliath move, Jay O'Hara had moored a tiny lobster boat called the Henry David T. at the unloading dock of Brayton Point Power Station in New England yesterday morning. O'Hara and his co-captain Ken Ward, operating under the moniker of Coal Is Stupid, were aiming to draw attention to Brayton Point's status as the single largest emitter of CO2 in New England, and the fact that the 40,000 tons of coal that were now forced to sit idle on the 690 foot long freighter called the Energy Enterprise were removed from Appalachia using the controversial practice of mountaintop removal.Here's how O'Hara described the action on the Coal Is Stupid website:
"I choose to place my body between the exploding mountain tops of Appalachia and the burning fires of our consumption and greed as a witness to the new way of being in the world that we know is possible."
Like the activists who occupied power station cooling towers for a week, or the renegade activist who single handedly shut down a 500MW power plant in England, O'Hara and Ward are insistent that non-violent direct action is a legitimate response to inaction on and, in many cases, deliberate obstruction of, the transition to a clean energy economy.
As of last night, no coal had been offloaded at Brayton Point since yesterday morning, and no charges were brought against the activists. Meanwhile at least one local resident told the Boston Globe that they were in full support of the activists' stance against Brayton Point:
"Hate that place. Hate that boat," said Bruce Correia, 52, staring across the water at the power plant, the freighter, and the mountains of coal sitting uncovered on the shore.
"All that coal, on a windy day like this, we'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be black," he said. "They have to power-wash houses. We get free car washes."
Watch this space for an update.


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Drum Sander Versus Wide Belt
Forum Responses
From contributor B
I have to firmly disagree with Contributor A. I have a drum sander and I do not know what "ripples" he is referring to. I have never experienced this. I have also used wide belt sanders and all things considered I really like my drum sander and it performs all that I ask it to do. When I use it all the way to 220 grit, the surface is flat and beautiful, even on highly figured woods. I also feel that it takes no longer to replace the belt on my sander than a wide belt. I will say that the finish on a wide belt can be better if it is properly tuned, but at what expense and size? My drum sander takes up considerably less room. Drum sanders are not planers though and many folks try to use them as such and always walk away disappointed. It is strictly a finish tool. Also many of the wide belts require more electricity than some shops have to offer. If money is no option and you have electricity to spare by all means buy the wide belt but I would give the drum sander a close look.
From contributor C
Try the Timesaver Speedsander with the 10hp. I had a drum sander before that and I found the wide belt beats it hands down. I do have to say that the drum sander I had was a 24" Grizzly so I don't know if the upper end drum sander are just as good. For a little more than the upper-end drum sanders you can have a 37" wide belt.
From contributor D
I have a drum sander. It is better then nothing but it is very slow. If you have the money and the need, get a widebelt.
I did some shopping and most widebelts are made in China, Timesavers included. I was leaning towards an SCMI. Don't forget the dust removal requirements for either.
From contributor E
To Contributor B: What brand drum are you running? I am looking at the Oliver 24" oscillating drum sander.
From contributor B
To Contributor E: I have the Performax 22/44 plus. I have not used the Oliver 24.
From Contributor G
To the original questioner: I've had both sanders. I would choose the widebelt 1,000 times over. I would say the biggest advantage is changing grits. I can change a belt from 80 to 120 or 150 in around 30 seconds and change back to a 36g if I need to in the same amount of time. It took me at least 15 minutes to change the paper on the drum sander, and yes they do run very slow, and mine was very prone to blowing fuses. The platen is another huge advantage as mentioned before. The Timesaver speedsander is considerably less money than the traditional widebelts and in my opinion would be a much better investment.
From Contributor H
If you go the drum sander route you have to get a drum sander with a large and heavy drum that oscillates and lots of cast iron frame. Otherwise, go with the belt sanders. I have used the Performax sanders and they work OK except they are too slow and changing belts is tedious. The belts in finer grits also clog up too fast. I think it's due to their small drum diameters. I have a shop built drum sander with a 12" diameter drum. It works well but a wide belt sander is still the way to travel.
As for the ripples, I agree with Contributor A. I once sanded a Bubinga table top on a DMC 3 head sander. I thought the results were beautiful until I put a coat of oil/varnish on it and then you can see the ripples if the lighting is just right.
From Contributor A
Been in the business for 35 years as a wood machinist, furniture maker and technician and if you run a panel through a widebelt with a without a platen you will clearly see the ripples I referred to. Best comparison is to planer marks. The platen is what separates the quality of a drum sander to a widebelt. Visit someone with a widebelt and see for yourself. I'm sure there is some shop near you that has one. You would learn a lot in just a few minutes.
From Contributor J
The easiest way to explain this is - drum sander bad, widebelt sander good! A drum sander is what you buy when you can't afford a widebelt, and I think I spent more time changing the paper on it than sanding.
From the original questioner
I want to thank all of you for your input! It's always nice to get more than one opinion, and the Woodweb certainly came through!
From Contributor A
A drum has a small contact point similar to a planer hence the ripples. A widebelt with the platen has a contact point of 1" to 2" and the sandpaper oscillates back and forth which minimizes lines from the sandpaper grit thus giving a surface that allows one to go right to finishing.
From Contributor K
It's possible the ripples being talked about are what typically called chatter marks. Usually caused by the belt splice on a widebelt, and can be then removed by platen. Washed belts will quite often swell 1 to 2 thousandths at the splice. Correct type of splice and/or dry cleaning of belts can eliminate problem. I personally have never used a drum sander.
From Contributor L
My drum sander leaves ripples. They are a type of snipe, very hard to eliminate. Never use the drum sander for anything but thin strips since I got a stroke sander. The stroke sander is amazing, but takes some practice. I just finished sanding a 48" round solid walnut table top. I started with 60 grit across the grain then went to 100 with grain and I am very happy with the results.
From Contributor K
While I know nothing about a drum sander, on a wide belt these marks are called chatter marks. They can be of equal distance apart if caused by swollen splice or incorrect splice, slippage in drive, or out of round drum. Other marks made, such as from hold-down slippage, will not be consistent. Sometimes marks from drive conveyor also will not be consistent. Measure the distance between the marks (using a crayon to mark piece from end to end will help display marks). There's nothing worse than a sander not doing as it should and having to sand out defect it leaves.
From Contributor E
To Contributor L: Have you used your homemade stroke for any raised panel doors? I am spending way too much time with a RO. I've been looking at the new Oliver oscillating drum sander. I do have an old Mattison stroke sander, but I'm not sure I want to give up that much floor space. I am looking for your comments on the stroke for finishing doors and panels. What grits are you using? Also what size belt are you running? I may have some extras.
From Contributor L
I had to take out a bank of tool shelves to fit the stroke sander against the wall, with enough space so a 52" table top can be sanded one half at a time. Then I built cupboards and drawers under it. I'm very happy about how much this machine has sped up my production on all kinds of sanding tasks. It takes a little practice at first, but less aggravation than a drum sander. Hardly any setup time! No, I haven't done any rail and stile doors yet, but I will be soon. I would start with 100 grit to level any proud joints and switch to 150 maybe. 60 grit is great for leveling solid table tops. I even have 36 grit, but 60 is aggressive enough so far. I'd still use my orbital just before finishing. My belt is 264" x 6". Polyester cloth backing is the best. Bear in mind that my machine is slower than most at 1850 fpm. Typically they run at 3000 - 4000 fpm. Since it is home-made I was worried about it flying apart! However it is solid and I'm happy enough with its performance. It's a block of steel with a handle, cork under graphite bottom.
From Contributor M
It sounds like the wide belt may be the way to go for my situation from what I've read in the forums. Does anyone know much about the Timesavers SpeedSander? It appears to be not too big and not too small and it rolls too. Is it less expensive than non-moveable models and is it as effective? I have not been able to find a good spec sheet on the web.
From Contributor C
We have the Speedsander in our shop and like any machine it takes just getting use to. I would get the 10hp 3ph as you will need all of that to sand. We use it for anything we can. For our doors we send them through with 100grit and then 150 with the platen. For belts we use Klingspor and get the belt that has the material remove at the seam.
The comments below were added after this Forum discussion was archived as a Knowledge Base article (add your comment).
Comment from contributor S:
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Fiona Crouch shares a knitting pattern for her 'Snuggle Bear' fidget toy, designed to reduce anxiety for people with dementia who are feeling restless.
People living with dementia sometimes become restless or develop fidgeting behaviours as the condition develops. In some cases, fidget toys or twiddlemuffs can be a helpful way to relax the person or give them something to do with their hands.
Snuggle Bear is a fidget toy that can ease restlessness for people living with dementia. Fiona Crouch, a lifelong knitter whose mother-in-law had dementia, designed 'Snuggle Bear' as a sensory toy for people young and old. She describes the bear as 'a companion, someone to chat to and a distraction from anxiety, fear or pain.'
Read her story below, alongside a knitting pattern so you can make your own 'Snuggle Bear' fidget toy.
Fiona's story
Fiona Crouch, who designed the Snuggle Bear I first started knitting when I was around six years old—my auntie still has my first piece on the original knitting needles! I have continued to craft, on and off, all my life.
The inspiration for the snuggle bear came after I attended a study day where Suzanne Zeedyk was the keynote speaker. She uses the metaphor of sabre tooth tigers and teddy bears to illustrate her theories of attachment and anxiety. The next day the idea Snuggle Bear hit me!
It combines the best bits of a fidget spinner-type toy and the comforting reassurance of your favourite cuddly toy – something to do or distract and something to love. The bear fits over your fingers and nestles in your hand, so fine motor skills aren't needed to keep him there. As he has a face, Snuggle Bear has a personality and can help engage his owner.
Dementia has touched the lives of my family and friends. My mother-in-law, Wendy, was a great knitter. Sadly, she died of a dementia-related illness in September 2017. She used to make knitted toys for children in the local hospital. I like to think that she would have loved snuggle bear too.
How to make a Snuggle Bear fidget toy
For fiddlers, twiddlers and anyone who needs a special friend. Snuggle Bear can be made in an evening and loved forever.
- 4mm knitting needles
- Small amount of DK yarn
- Black yarn for eyes and nose
- Sewing needle
- Small amount of toy stuffing
Skills Required
- Cast on/off
- Garter stitch
- Simple button holes
- Increase
Snuggle Bear will grip your fingers, making it easy to hold and play.
(Head and Body)
- Cast on 12 stitches
- Knit 12 rows
- Knit 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, bring yarn forward, knit to last 5 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, bring yarn forward and knit to end of row (making simple buttonholes)
- Knit 1 row (to finish buttonhole structures)
- Knit 12 rows- legs next!
- (Working on first 6 stitches only, slip remaining 6 stitches onto a stitch holder)
- Knit 6 rows
- Increase into every other stitch (9 stitches)
- Knit 5 rows
- To finish legs break yarn and sew through loops to make feet
- Repeat with remaining 6 stitches to make other leg
- Cast on 24 stitches
- Knit 6 rows
- Cast off
To make up
- Sew arms along long seam using whip stitch and put to one side
- Sew legs up to body (as shown in bottom leg in above photo – this one piece makes the head, body and legs)
- Sew body (seam is at back) up to buttonholes
- Thread arms through the buttonholes and sew ends together
- Secure arms in place by stitching an arm onto each buttonhole
- Lightly stuff body (a plump tummy looks fab!) - leave legs unstuffed
- Continue sewing up to top of head and stuff lightly
- Sew along top of head, making ears by sewing triangles in corners (see diagram below)
- Embroider eyes and nose/mouth using black yarn
- Ta da!! You have your Snuggle Bear
A finished Snuggle Bear ready to meet its new owner
Next steps
- Find out more about common restless behaviours, and see tips for how to relax someone who experiences them
- Prefer to buy a fiddle toy instead? Check out the range of sensory stimulation products in our shop.
71 commentsAdd your own
What a lovely idea Fiona. Well done. I have passed on the pattern to a few friends who have knitted the traditional fidgets.
Cute little bear! My father-in-law has just got his memory tested. No very brilliant results...but worse of all was when he was told to write a sentence. He tried. When he said "I can't" he was asked, why. "Becouse of rheuma in my hands". He couldn't hold a pen.
How about these bears, are rheumatic Alzheimer-patients able to cuddle them? Should it be a little bigger for them?
Hi Mari, thanks for your comment and sorry to hear about your father-in-law's recent experience.
It's a little hard to say as different people will find different objects more comforting than others. The good thing about this design is that it fits over a finger so it doesn't need to be gripped, but something bigger may be appropriate. We do sell some sensory stimulation products in our shop which may be helpful depending on your father-in-law's needs: https://shop.alzheimers.org.uk/daily-living-aids/Sensory%20stimulation
Hope this is useful, and please let us know if you need any other support.
If you take a tennis ball and score a small x in the top and the bottom then push a pen/pencil/paint brush through it, it is much easier for a dementia resident with fine motor skill issues to be able to write/paint.
Hi, is there a crochet pattern for this?
Hi Debbie, we don't have a crochet pattern at the moment unfortunately. We may be able to share a version in the future or a similar design so will let you know! Thanks
Has a crochet pattern ever been designed for this please?
Thank you for such a cute and easy pattern! I modified it to make a construction worker and a cat. I also plan to make Wonder Woman , a ballerina and Harry Potter. Pictures can be found on Ravelry.
Can you post the link to find these pictures on Ravelry please.
Would really appreciate it if you can give me the link where i can find your modificationd i am from south africa and would like to make them have done teddy and elf and the people just live them
I am not the poster, but here is a link to her project on ravelry.
Hello, is there a place to donate knitted bears to?
aged care facilities would appreciate some I'm sure that's so kind of you.
Dear Ami
I am the manager of Longacre nursing home in Worthing West Sussex
and would gladly accept any donations of knitted Fidgets, what i kind suggestion.
Thank you
Hello Ami,
I am the Volunteer Coordinator for Heartland Hospice of Orange in California and would gladly accept any donations. I have been looking for something like this for our patients and know they would absolutely love them! Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you, Shannon
Hi Ami, we are a care home in Kingstanding, Birmingham, B44, some of our residents would love a donation of these x please contact us-Thank you- Sarah and the team
Hi have you got a phone number my name is Tracey and l will make some l live in kingshurst so lm not too far away
Hi I visit care homes with my owls (Hawkwise Falconry).
I would love to leave an owl shaped version of this as a momento of my visit.
Would anybody have a pattern or be willing to donate some please?
We have a knitting group and would like to make a range of items as some are more experienced than others. Are other patterns available for twiddle mats, cannula sleeves etc. so we could make a variety.
Hi l make twiddle muff on a knitting loom if anybody's interested l make any colours
I am looking for any donation of knitted items for ladies and gentlemen with dimentia.
Just been on your site and reading about the knitted items for people with dimentia. I work in a care home and would love any donation of these due to a number of residents having dimentia.
I've just made a crocheted version - if you look at the flat knitted version it's quite straightforward to work out. Start with 13 chains and then sc 12 across. Ch 1 and turn each row. Use ch2 and sk 2sc to make the arm holes then do 1 sc into each ch on the next row.
I'll tweet pictures to Alzheimers Society to show you.
Emma, that's great. And I'm assuming the arms and legs are simply done in amigurumi style.
How do I get to this site for the crochet version. I am starting to try and make different things like this to donate. I'm not sure if I can get back to this site for your answer could you please email it to me...
Hi i just made a couple of your bears do you no if their is somewere in Fergus Ont Canada that need stuff like this
Thank you for the bear pattern
I knitted one last night then when I visited the home where my mum was to show them they immediately thanked me as they had one resident who would adore it. I watched the pleasure it gave and will be knitting more for them to pass on.
Any other ideas you have would be greatly appreciated. I've already knitted twiddle muffs and fidget elves. I would love to find anything else that would benefit Alzheimer's and Dementia sufferers.
Going to introduce this at local knit and natter group in our library
Thank you for the invaluable work you do.
Id love to help with this but i only crochet :( hopefully there will be a pattern soon 🤞🏻
We would love them Our twiddle bits are very well used
Im in no way at all a knitter, i wouldn't even know where to start, is there somewhere i could buy one or donate some money and get one for my Nan who has dimentia?! Thank you so much in advance x
Hi Amy - I would be happy to send a knitted fidget with my compliments for your precious Nan just let me know where to post it to. Warm regards x
Hi I am a nurse, deputy manager of 49 beds we care for people living with dementia disease, we use fiddle muffs but love the knitted cats etc , I would be interested in purchasing some please xx thank you xx
Hi Vanessa - where do you live? Most knitting groups will donate items you shouldn't need to purchase them.
What a great idea. I'm going to have a go at knitting a couple. My mum has Alzheimer's and often fiddles with tissues- we find them everywhere! Going to see if this works for her. Thanks
It's appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy.
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or suggestions. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article.
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your blog regularly. Your story-telling style is awesome,
keep it up! I have been surfing online more than 3 hours nowadays, yet I by no means discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours.
It is beautiful price sufficient for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you probably did,
the net shall be a lot more helpful than ever before.
I currently have 10 twiddle muffs knitted and I am looking for someone or a home that needs them. I live in Chippenham, Wiltshire. I love the snuggle bears and will have a go at knitting them now.
Hi Lucy, I manage a care home in Bexleyheath Kent. We would love some of your twiddle muffs and would of course be more than willing to pay any postage costs. Please let me know if this is ok and I will provide contact details 😊 many thanks Gina
Hi Gina
Yes, of course, which carehome are you in Bexleyheath, shall I just send a couple to see if they are what you need? Lucy
Hi Gina,
Yes I can send some, can you let me know which care home and I can look up address, thanks
Is it possible to have instructions for the twiddle muff p!ease,
Hi Carole
I can't copy the link onto here. But if you are on the internet and put in a search on google for "twiddle muffs Ashford and St. Peter's hospital" it's the first listing that comes up a PDF that you will be able to print. Let me know if you can't find it.
Hi Lucy. I work on medical ward in Salford royal and would be interested to receive some of these if they are still available. Please contact me if you're able. Thanks Shannen.
Hi Shannen
Do you still need Twiddlemuffs?
I have just seen a Twiddle bear and as a part of a Church group Knitters can see this as a new project for those who want a choice of patterns .I can see the bear holding a small Easter egg .Thank you .
I would definitely like a crochet pattern. I know several ladies that would like to do these. We make prayer shawls for our church. Thank you for your generosity in sharing the pattern.
Thank you Fiona, I'm going to try to make some as I belong to Stockport Neighbourhood Crafters and we make twiddle muffs and mats for various places. This could be something else we make too.
Thank you for the pattern . I am going to make some. X
Found the comments really useful. Have started knitting a muff, just need to attach the bits and pieces. It took me some time! These little bears are ideal, also on the TV last night knitters are crocheting/knitting blanket squares so patients can find their own bed and also keep the blankets once they leave. (Maidstone hospital, hopefully other hospitals will follow. I am going to suggest this to my local knit and natter group.
Hi I've just made my first little bear, so quick to do! I also make Twiddlemuffs and have some work colleagues joining in. We are based in Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire, could you please let me know the nearest places in need for these to be donated.


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By Paul Dion, STL
There is a question that has been presented on a couple of serious Catholic blogs that the editors of ParishWorld.net fits into the spirit of this week's readings, Acts, chapter 2, verses 14 to 41 and the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 1 to 10.
The question addresses the state of mind of people who come to the Catholic Faith from other religions or from no religion at all. It is also related to the saying that we have all heard often, "There's nothing like a convert!"
It is rather true in many ways. It seems that converts are better catechized than cradle Catholics, they appear to know more of the details of our Catholicism than we do and they seem to be better "adjusted" to the ways and dictates of the Church than we are.
So the question is, "Are Converts Happier than Cradle Catholics?" Since there is no "right" answer to this, only conjecture, ParishWorld.net leaves it up to the readers to share and learn from the answers that you may have developed over the years about this question.
If you wish to see what some other Catholics have said about this, you may click here for a few opinions from the Deacon's Blog.
So let us know what you think.


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That's right folks... the pride of Portland is going straight into Intelligentsia's backyard.
Who wins?
We do.
That's right... you know that this means Intelli is going to step it up. Their coffee will get better, their green will get better, their roasting will get better... And you have to know that Stumptown is going to be bringing their A game.
I'm so incredibly envious. The coffee lovers in Chicago are going to have it so good! Damn.
Things to ponder:
- Will Intelli Chicago be able to keep their best employees?
- Will Stumptown's indy punk rock vibe sell in the midwest?
- Will Intelli open in Portland?
- Will Stumptown go for a beer and wine license?
- Will Intelli try to better leverage Ecco now?
- Will Stumptown be Stumptown without bike messengers?
- Who will Alinea use?
Break out the popcorn.


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Up until a few years ago, I didn't know this day was commemorated. My knowledge of FASD was limited to a very basic understanding, coupled with the information I gleaned from the very few books my local library had on the subject that I'd picked up out of sheer interest alone. I found it to be equal parts intriguing, terrifying, and devastating, but, for the most part, I didn't think of it often. I didn't have a need to.
Until I did.
This is the face of joy personified. This is the face of unconditional love. This is the girl who greets her baby brother with a hug and a kiss, then takes him by the hand to help him as he tries to walk. This is the girl who sneaks berries from the freezer for herself and her older sister, putting her sister's on the blue plate because she knows it's her favorite. Her laugh, her energy, her heart combine to make her into one of the most incredible people I've ever known.
She is a light in our family that radiates happiness, goodness, mercy, and immovable faith. To know her is to love her and she is so very loved.
Most do not know know she was exposed to alcohol in the womb. As a result of the brain damage sustained from this prenatal exposure, she falls on the fetal alcohol spectrum.
An individual's symptoms will vary, but those on the spectrum typically struggle with poor memory, sensory issues, impulsive behavior, poor judgement, delayed speech, delayed motor skills, and learning disabilities. Sometimes facial characteristics are present, but not always. Our daughter does not show any physical characteristics. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is an umbrella term, covering some of the most common birth defects, affecting at least 10 in 1,000 births. They are 100% preventable.
We haven't freely shared this for a few reasons. I've hesitated, in part, because I've not wanted judgement passed on her birth mother. The simple fact is, no woman would knowingly drink alcohol while pregnant in an attempt to harm their unborn child. Some women are unaware they are in the early stages of pregnancy. Some women are unaware of the effects drinking alcohol may have. There is no place for judgement or blame.
Secondly, it, quite frankly, isn't anyone's business. It is our reality, though. Her reality. And there is zero shame in it. That reason alone is enough to speak out.
While it in no way defines her, it is a part of her. The struggles and challenges that come with FASD are becoming more apparent as she gets older, even at almost two-years-old. It is, at times, heartbreaking. She deserves the support of those who will be compassionate and understanding towards her needs, especially when those needs aren't immediately noticeable.
Think for a moment how easy it is to identify a person with a physical disability. They might limp or use a wheelchair. They might be deaf or blind. You notice this and you help when you see a need arise.
It's different with invisible, neurological disabilities. Because my sweet child, and others affected, look typical on the outside, and are even of normal intelligence, it's more difficult to notice a need and help out. Often, they are thought to have a behavioral problem, or simply be acting out, when the truth of the matter is, their behavior is the result of a permanent brain injury and no more in their control than a paraplegic's inability to walk.
Those with FASD need things repeated. They need to be reminded several times because they often lack the ability to commit things to memory. They need patience because, although they might do something every day for ten days straight, they might not remember how to do it on the eleventh. Abstract concepts like time and money are difficult to grasp. Concrete language is critical.
Perhaps most important of all, is compassion. Depending on the severity, a person with FASD is completely aware that they aren't "getting something," though they can't quite place what it is. Imagine the intense frustration one would go through, daily, because things are simply harder for them and no one understands.
I plan to share more about this in the future: more research, strategies, and information. I plan to share our journey here and there as we live it: the struggles, challenges, and triumphs.
My goal in sharing this is to normalize FASD, for my daughter and for others. After all, it is our normal. My hope is that you would extend compassion to those who might seem different from you. We could all do with a little more understanding.


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Lambda Chi Bros,
Our Bro, Steve Klein (EpSig 853) is currently fighting a very aggressive form of prostate cancer. He is doing well, but after surgery last year is now undergoing daily radiation treatment. I have registered a team for Movember, which is a group that grows mustaches in the month of November each year to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer and other diseases. It's a fun way to support a serious cause and there are a number of Movember festivities in LA and worldwide.
I'd encourage all Bros to join the team "Klein's Journey" or at least donate to the cause. Do it for Steve, for yourself, and for all the other men who have faced or are likely to face this disease. The information is below. Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think may support the cause.
Mike Pappas
To join the Klein's Journey Movember team or to donate or start your own team go to https://www.movember.com/us/register/details/team_id/321058.
As more people become Citizens of Movember, more lives will be impacted. You can grow a moustache as a Mo Bro, or join as a Mo Sista to show your support and help recruit other Mo growers to the team.
Once registered, Movember will send you all the information you need to start raising awareness and funds for men's health as part of my Movember team.
If you'd like to find out more about the programs funded by Movember, please visit http://us.movember.com/about.
Please join me at https://www.movember.com/us/register/details/team_id/321058.
OK, Old Bro's, I'm throwin' down a challenge ..... it's time to rally behind one of our own !! I encourage ALL of you to join Mike's team in support of Steve, lose your razorblades for the month of November, donate generously to this cause, and show once again how a bunch of Old Bro's can make an impact !!
EpSig 700


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To achieve Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is growing and diversifying its economy: the industrial and manufacturing sectors in particular has the ambition to drive this diversification. The development and growth of the industrial and manufacturing industry is being catalyzed by attractive ecosystem consisting of industrial cities, well-developed infrastructure, high quality utility supplies, and a well-established logistics network.
Facts & Figures
Industrial and Manufacturing Value Proposition
The food processing industry in KSA is established and well-positioned to grow at a considerable pace over the forthcoming years. Domestic, regional and international demands for Saudi food products has been increasing year on year, with seafood, dates and halal foods leading the way. The Kingdom is famed for its authentic Makkah/Medinah Halal food products and has the potential to turn the SAR 4.9 trillion (US$1.3 trillion) global Halal market in its favor. This sector also benefits from a well-developed ecosystem that is ready to meet the high standards and growing demands of the expanding marketplace. Investors should feel confident about the Saudi food processing sector given its established excellence and lucrative prospects.
Large and growing local and regional market
Saudi Arabia's Food and Beverage (F&B) market is the largest and most attractive of the Middle East. Valued at SAR 169 billion (US$45 billion) and growing at a rate of 6% over the next 5 years, this market is showing no signs of slowing.
Growth is being driven by the expanding population and an increase in the number of Hajj & Umrah visitors. In 2016, the Saudi food industry accounted for a sizeable 12% of GDP, highlighting its importance as a leading KSA sector. The average household is reported to spend 18% of total expenditure on F&B, which is a domestic demand that amounts to 60% of total consumption in the GCC. In 2015, imports exceeded SAR 41.25 billion (US$11 billion), which raises the prospect of significant import-substitution opportunities for Saudi F&B producers to serve the untapped local demand for dairy, meat and fruit products. Furthermore, F&B players in Saudi have easy access to growing and under-supplied markets in the GCC and MENA regions, such as the SAR 3.75 billion (US$1 billion) dairy export market.
Made in Makkah/Medinah authenticity advantage in Halal food production
Saudi Arabia is the motherland of Islam and home of the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, positioning it as uniquely qualified to lead the global Halal food market. KSA enforces rigorous Halal food standards, ensuring the optimum quality and authenticity for this market. The global Halal food market size is currently SAR 4.9 trillion (US$1.3 trillion) and is expected to grow at around 12% per annum, presenting attractive export opportunities for KSA-based producers baring the "Made in Makkah/ Madinah" authenticity advantage.
KSA's Halal market is forecast to significantly grow from its current size of SAR 22.5 billion (US$6 billion) due to substantial increases in the number of Hajj & Umrah visitors (From 20m today to 50m in 2030) coupled with the increased adoption of Halal in all types of food.
Abundance in dates & fisheries with great export potential
Saudi Arabia is naturally endowed with a wealth in dates and fisheries, making it a natural market for exports.
- Dates
Saudi dates enjoy a unique advantage over competitors as KSA's nutrient rich soil allows for the cultivation of Ajwa Madinah and Mabroum Sukari dates, leading to fantastic opportunities to produce large quantities of high quality and unique varieties of dates.
The world's annual date harvest is estimated at more than 6 million tons, with the Kingdom producing more than 1.1 million tons per annum. This places Saudi Arabia among the top 3 global producers of dates with an 18% market share. The Kingdom's 25m+ date palms cover 157,000 hectares of national land, growing over 300 types of dates. Production rates are steadily increasing at a time when global demand has also picked up the pace.
- Fisheries
Saudi Arabia is now committed to unlocking the aquaculture industry and is on track to be the first country in the world to have national level Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification. Ambitious targets have been set to increase the production of fish via aquaculture from 38,000 tons in 2016 to 530,000 tons in 2030. To enable this ramp-up, KSA aims to seek support from the private sector and to invest SAR 1.3 billion (USD$ 345 million) in infrastructure, R&D and marketing support. In essence, there is enormous potential for KSA to become a leading exporter of fish through it abundance in fish stocks and the exciting advancements of the aquaculture sector.
Shrimps, mackerels and crabs make up the majority of this demand and KSA's own inhabitants are showing an increase in appetite for seafood. Domestic consumption is expected to grow by 8% per annum until 2030, which translates to a significant increase from 310 tons to 865 tons. This is driven by 2% CAGR population growth and an increase of 5% CAGR per capita consumption growth. Significant increases in demand have therefore raised the need for alternative and sustainable forms of fish farming.
A wide range of opportunities await the fisheries market to export high-quality seafood products to countries that envy the rich waters of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. Saudi Arabia's waters are naturally endowed with 5 million tons of fish capacity. KSA is an approved exporter of seafood to the EU and has the potential to ramp-up its large production capabilities and exploit the insatiable demands of the export market.
Well-developed ecosystem
Saudi Arabia has an established F&B industry that benefits from state of the art technologies and highly advanced packaging, storage and distribution networks. The sector is also recognized for its home-grown rich pool of talent with over 100,000 employees that are continuing to climb in numbers. Cold chain facilities are advanced and extensive, handling an increasing supply of goods requiring cold storage.
In tandem with the freight forwarding, warehousing and 3PL segments, the cold chain logistics segment has also seen significant growth in recent years. It grew at 4% CAGR from SAR 2.9 billion (USD $ 0.78 billion) in 2010 to SAR 3.56 billion (USD $ 0.95 billion) in 2015 and is expected to reach SAR 6.1 billion ($1.64 billion) by 2020. This will be attributable to the active participation by the pharmaceutical industry and the increasing demand for fresh/processed fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy. Saudi Arabia's Almarai is the world's largest integrated dairy company with over 22k employees and is listed by Forbes Magazine as a globally innovative business. Similarly, Al-Rabie is a dominant juice manufacturer in MENA with acclaimed notoriety and a thriving export market.
Investors should also note that the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) have set high standards for KSA businesses to align with global best practices and to commit to Vision 2030 objectives that "ensure development & food security".
The KSA construction sector is booming due to the multiple development projects that are taking place throughout the Kingdom. This is driving an urgent and growing need for building materials to satisfy construction demands, leading to record breaking consumption rates of cement, ceramics, stone and glass.
While the majority of building materials are imported today, Saudi Arabia is committed to exploiting the untapped potential of substituting imports with locally produced goods. Businesses that take on ventures to service the KSA building material sector can also look forward to capitalizing on export potential to growing GCC markets.
Large market with growing demand for Building Material
Saudi Arabia has a growing demand for building materials that is primarily being driven by the dynamics of the construction sector. Total spending over the past five years exceeded SAR 1.12 trillion (US $ 300 billion) and in 2017 spending hit an unprecedented SAR 270 billion (US $ 72 billion).
Saudi Arabia's rigorous construction programs makes it the leading consumer of building materials in the region. The cement market alone has reached SAR 30 billion (US $ 7.9 billion), accounting for 53 million tons in 2016 and 1.5% of total world consumption. KSA also has a healthy appetite for ceramics, with a SAR 5.6 billion (US $ 1.5 billion) local demand primarily driven by the need for tiles (70%) and sanitary ware (20%). The KSA stones market is valued at SAR 3.75 billion (US $ 1.0 billion), whilst the glass market size is worth SAR 1.875 billion (US $ 0.5 billion).
Moreover, the market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 7%, reaching a value of SAR 700 billion (US $ 186 billion) by 2030. Large-scale projects are the biggest drivers of demand growth in the building material industry, with NEOM city, the Red Sea project and Vision 2030's goal of building one million new residential units over the next five years being top of the list.
With the above in mind, KSA's growing demand for building materials cannot be overstated.
Untapped potential to substitute imports of Building Material
Saudi Arabia is currently importing massive amounts of building materials to satisfy its large-scale construction program. Despite the Kingdom's heavy reliance on imports, there exists considerable potential for import substitution for a wide range of building material.
For example, in 2016, marble made up a 90% import share of local demand, with total expenditure reaching SAR 1.2 billion (US $ 320 million). Although Marble deposits are abundant in KSA, the natural stone is mostly imported due to the lack of local resources. Furthermore, in 2016 Tiles also had a high share of imports as a percentage of local demand (70%), with total local expenditure of SAR 4.12 billion (US $1.1 billon)
With demand set to continuously increase, KSA is preparing to release the untapped potential of its local resources and is welcoming proposals from accomplished investors interested in facilitating this process
Significant export potential to neighboring growing markets
In 2017, the GCC construction market reached SAR 600 billion (US $ 160 billion) and is expected to grow at a rate of 10% over the next five years. With its strategic location, close proximity to neighboring countries and world-class infrastructure, players in Saudi Arabia have the opportunity to tap into the large and growing GCC construction market.
In 2016, Saudi Arabian businesses exported large quantities of ceramics and glass within the GCC, amounting to SAR 262 million (US $ 70 million) worth of ceramics and SAR 500 million (USD 133 million) worth and glass.
As the Kingdom begins to exploit the untapped potential of its domestic building material resources, significant export potential exists to satisfy the growing demand from neighboring markets.
Well-established ecosystem for the sector
The KSA building material sector benefits from a well-developed ecosystem comprising of a sweeping transportation network, a robust financing system, innovative R&D teams and a strong pool of talent. The Kingdom's ports and roads are well-developed and subject to significant improvement programs, allowing for the seamless transportation of building materials within KSA and throughout regional markets. In terms of financing, investors seeking to build cement production facilities already have access to loans of up to 75% with repayment plans of up to 20 years. In terms of R&D and innovation, KSA's leading universities have established strong research centers with an active focus on building materials, such as the Center of Excellence for Concrete Research and Testing at KSU and the Center for Engineering Research at KFUPM. Furthermore, some private sector players have established several research centers to boost the development of sector.
Saudi Arabia is embarking on the most ambitious infrastructure transformation in its history, signaling a revolution for the Kingdom's industrial sectors. Demand for equipment and spare parts is set to go through the roof, with an anticipated expenditure of SAR 1 trillion (US $270 billion) to be spent on domestic industrial equipment by 2030. KSA is naturally considering how its localized industries could benefit from this demand and has endowed initiatives that promote the procurement of locally produced products. The government is offering support to investors that invoke significant cost advantages to businesses setting up their manufacturing base in KSA. Furthermore, the increasing demand for industrial equipment and spare parts throughout the MENA region sets the stage for lucrative opportunities to businesses that establish themselves in the Kingdom.
Whether your specialty is in defense, energy, renewables, water, petrochemicals or any of the other sectors servicing infrastructure, Saudi Arabia is ready to assist with turning ideas into reality.
Fast-growing demand for all industrial equipment driven by economic and industrial growth
Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest markets for industrial equipment and is currently valued at SAR 56 billion (US $ 15 billion). Local demand for industrial equipment is set to experience massive growth, with KSA anticipating to spend approximately SAR 1 trillion (USD 270 billion) on industrial equipment between now and 2030.
Demand is being driven by KSA's Vision 2030 program that seeks to develop its non-oil sectors and effectively bring about an industrial revolution. For example:
- The establishment of the renewable sector of capacity to reach 9.5 GW by 2023 will lead to substantial increase in the demand for many groups of industrial equipment (e.g., generators, transformers, pumps, valves)
- Similarly, significant growth plans in desalination (annual growth of 8%) and reuse water production will lead to substantial increase in demand for water related equipment (e.g., filters, sludge thickeners)
Significant localization opportunities to boost demand for local products
Saudi Arabia currently imports 80% of its local demand for industrial equipment and machinery, valued at SAR 64 billion (US $ 17 billion). This sizeable demand offers significant potential for import substitution, leading the government and other market players to introduce local content initiatives that promote the procurement of locally produced products, thus significantly increasing demand for locally produced industrial equipment.
Driven by innovative programs, Saudi Arabia is set to leverage its considerable buying power across major state-owned enterprises to support local production. Significant initiatives include those led by SEC, SWCC, SABIC, the Ministry of Defense (AFED) and Aramco (IKTVA). For instance:
- IKTVA: 'In-Kingdom Total Value Add' program and is Saudi Aramco's flagship localization initiative. IKTVA is designed to drive domestic value creation with the aim of achieving 70% localization of all spending on goods and services and enabling the export of 30% of Saudi energy sector products by 2021.
- Nusaned: SABIC's groundbreaking initiative that aims to raise the level of localization of industrial technologies, services and products to 72% by 2025.
- Saline Water Conversion Corporation's (SWCC) localization program is tasked with increasing local content by 1% per annum (currently at 6%) and auditing suppliers for compliance with localization measures.
Financial & non-financial support by the government for investors
Several entities and support programs have been put in place by the government to encourage investments in the sector within KSA.
The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) is one of the authorities that have been set up by the government to support investors. SIDF provides financial and advisory services that are needed to support the growth and development of localization. SIDF has supported hundreds of industrial joint ventures and provided more than SAR 52 billion (US $ 14 billion) in soft loans, of up to 75% of project financing, since its inception in 2016.
The Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) has been set up by the government to oversee the development of industrial cities. MODON is to ensure that industrial cities develop integrated infrastructure and services that are of the highest global standards and specifications. Furthermore, MODON is to create special industrial zones offering cheap rates for land (from USD 0.26 per m2) across 35+ cities.
Furthermore, KSA provides several advantages with respect to import duties and utility costs.
- Import duties
- Refund to importers/ exporters of raw material imports that are processed in Saudi Arabia and re-exported as more finished products
- Exemption on authorized imports for industrial establishments (e.g., materials, equipment, machinery)
- Low utility costs
- Power at SAR 0.18 per kWh ($ 0.048 per kWh) for industrial sector
- Water at SAR 1.8 – SAR 5 per cubic meter (US $ 0.5- US $ 1.35 per cubic meter) - based on volume
- Natural gas at SAR 4.6 per MMBTU (US $ 1.25 per MMBTU)
- Ethane at 6.5 per MMBTU (US $ 1.75 per MMBTU)
Attractive export opportunities to MENA and GCC region with government support
Demand for industrial equipment and spare parts from neighboring MENA and GCC countries is increasing substantially. Saudi Arabian players have the opportunity to serve this expanding market and capitalize from this demand:
- Regional markets have noticeably increased their oilfield services and equipment (OFSE) expenditure to pay for pumps, ESPs and turbines. GCC and MENA countries requirement for OFSE is expected to grow at 6% per annum to reach SAR 147 billion (USD 39.4 billion) by 2020.
- Electricity demand from the region is similarly expected to grow at 7% per annum to reach 417 TWh in 2020. This will have the effect of increasing demand for certain equipment such as batteries, transformers and switchgears.
- Spending on water and wastewater infrastructure is expected to grow at 11% per annum to reach SAR 18 billion (USD 4.9 billion) by 2020, increasing the demand for membranes, compressors and pipes.
- Petrochemical capacity is expected to grow at 5% per annum to reach 135 Mtpa in 2020, which will increase the demand for cracking tubes, chillers and dryers.
Manufacturers benefit greatly from the Kingdom's geographic proximity to the MENA region as it represents an export market with huge potential.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest spenders on defense, allocating a substantial portion of its total expenditure to this sector. Vision 2030 outlines a clear intention to continue investing in defense but with a goal of localizing 50% of its military spending, creating more job opportunities and enhancing the capacity of the Saudi economy. Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) has been established as the main contractor for the government and is embarking on long-term joint ventures that will facilitate this process. Great progress is being made through partnerships that are fostering the domestic based defense ecosystem, opening up opportunities with multiple international players to share high capabilities and advanced knowledge across all segments of defense. In short, the Kingdom is positioning itself to be a military power that will maintain security and stability for its people.
One of the world's biggest spenders on defense
The defense and security market in Saudi Arabia is among the most lucrative in the world. 2017 saw the Kingdom spend approximately SAR 225 billion (US $ 60 billion) on its military, which equates to 28% of its total budget and places it 4th in the world in terms of defense spending. Military expenditure includes SAR 10.2 billion (US $ 2.7 billion) for building advanced systems and capacities, SAR 3.5 billion (USD 933 million) for military education/colleges and SAR 26.5 billion (US $ 7.1 billion) for military medical services. Defense expenditure is expected to increase by 7.5% CAGR in the next couple of years to reach SAR 300 billion (US $ 80.8 Billion) by 2022.
Today, security is a key national objective primarily concerning KSA departments of homeland security, counter-terrorism and cybersecurity. Homeland security is expected to record a CAGR of 5% over the next 5 years and to increase from around SAR 97 billion (US $ 25.8 billion) in 2017 to around SAR 125 billion (US $ 33.3 billion) by 2022. Cybersecurity has also become a top defense agenda, which is a market with an annual growth rate of 14.5% that is expected to grow to more than SAR 13 billion (US $ 3.5 billion) by 2019.
Market assurance through well-established governance
The KSA government has taken significant steps to support its military industrial complex and has a strong ambition to develop the defense sector further. In May 2017, SAMI was established to become the main defense contractor for the government, to become an offset partner for foreign defense companies and to support the localization of the industry. SAMI intends to establish long-term joint ventures with a range of international and domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
By partnering with both local and international companies across its four business areas, SAMI aims to manufacture products and provide services for air systems, land systems, weapons and missiles (including ammunition) as well as defense electronics inside the Kingdom.
In August 2017, General Authority of Military Industries (GAMI) was established with the role ranging from the management of procurement for the Saudi military to managing defense industrial R&D and the transfer of technology.
Commitment to localize the defense industry
In accordance with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has set ambitious targets of localizing its total of military equipment from the current 2% level to 50% by 2030, which will naturally create an exciting market for investors.
The Kingdom has already started developing part of the sector's value chain, such as spare parts, armored vehicles and basic ammunition. In recent years, localization efforts have been on-going through multiple joint ventures (JV) and partnerships between top foreign companies and local players. For instance:
- BAE systems has created over 5,000 high-skilled jobs and capabilities in Saudi over the past decade.
- In 2015, Boeing, SAEI and Alsalam Aircraft Company established a JV to open Saudi Rotorcraft Support Center in-country helicopter MRO facility.
- In 2015, Lockheed Martin opened an in-country sensor maintenance facility in partnership with Saudi based Advanced Electronics Company.
- In 2016, Sikorsky and TAQNIA Aeronautics signed a deal for the in-country final assembly of S-70 Black Hawk helicopters.
Yet, the ambition is to expand to higher value and more complex equipment (e.g., as military aircraft manufacturing), hence GAMI was established to oversee the localization of the sector. GAMI will promote co-production, licensing and knowledge transfer by creating partnerships between foreign defense companies and local players.
R&D and partnerships fostering the ecosystem
A strong ecosystem is being developed in KSA defense through R&D, partnerships and private sector participation. SAMI has committed to invest over SAR 6 billion (US $ 1.6 billion) in R&D and aims to create over 40,000 jobs by 2030. GAMI has been mandated to manage and allocate R&D funds in defense and to set-up additional R&D centers.
In 2017, Lockheed Martin partnered with KACST to provide on-the-job training in advanced manufacturing. Also, in 2017, Raytheon and SAMI announced strategic partnership focused on creating indigenous defense, aerospace and security capabilities in the Kingdom.
Maximum Potential Investment
The aquaculture sector is the fastest growing food production sector in the world. By 2030 it will be the source of two-thirds of the fish we consume, according to estimates. Consequently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the process of greatly developing this sector by taking advantage of the many comparative advantages available. This, in turn, will contribute to achieving the objectives of this sector.
All the factors that produce many types of high quality seafood are available thanks to perfect environmental and climatic conditions. The investment in aquaculture is a logical step due to the growing need in local markets and the continuous demand in international markets. Therefore, the Government of Saudi Arabia has committed itself to developing this sector to its maximum potential. This commitment includes investing in infrastructure, research and development, marketing as well as supporting the sector with SR 1.3 billion.
Saudi Arabia is working to meet the highest standards in the aquaculture industry and build a sector of abundant potential. Investment opportunities are now available and will continue to be available with the addition of 15 new sites along the Red Sea. These new sites have recently been identified as the most suitable for aquaculture.
Ideal environmental and climatic conditions
Saudi Arabia has the right locations to produce high quality seafood along its 2400km western coastline on the Red Sea.
Aquaculture requirements are ideal in the Red Sea due to the available environmental and climatic factors that contribute to the sustainability of this industry. The most important factors being water purity, suitable water salinity, low waves and others.
Additionally, the accessible depths are suitable for the use of floating marine cage systems ranging from 20 to 50 meters in depth which facilitates the operation and maintenance of fisheries. Also, the variation of coastal temperatures from 18°C in the north to 30°C in the south allows the production of different species of fish. All these factors confirm that the Red Sea coastlines of Saudi Arabia possess the appropriate environment and climate for aquaculture on a global scale.
Local Market Growth and Great Export Potential
The local seafood market is booming in Saudi Arabia and consumption is expected to grow annually by 8% until 2030. Population growth is expected to increase fish consumption in the Kingdom to reach 555,000 tonnes by 2030.
Declining growth in natural fisheries and the introduction of more stringent import regulations paves the way for aquaculture in the Kingdom to become the main source of seafood for the local market.
In addition to meeting the growing demand for local consumption, Saudi Arabia is strategically located making it a source of seafood and allowing it to cater to the needs of GCC markets as well as European and Asian markets.
Government commitment to grow the sector to its full potential
Saudi Vision for 2030 aims to establish safe and strategic food reserves through the development of the aquaculture industry. In line with this vision, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has launched a special program to raise the aquaculture sector's production of seafood to 600,000 tonnes by 2030. This program is allocated SR 1.3 billion that are dedicated to achieving the objectives of this sector through investments in infrastructure, research and development programs and marketing campaigns. Saudi Arabia's adoption of strict product safety regulations and leading quality assurance programs have resulted in the Kingdom becoming renowned for its high-quality, safe marine products. This has contributed to the rehabilitation of cultivated marine products in Saudi Arabia in order to adhere to all standards required by importing markets.
Lucrative Opportunities Await Investors
With 2,400 km of coastline on the Red Sea, value chain opportunities for fisheries are expanding. Investors will now benefit from various initiatives within the aquaculture sector in the Kingdom. These include: investment in the establishment of feed mills, hatcheries, fisheries and packaging and product processing plants.
After a thorough survey of the Red Sea coastline, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture identified 15 additional sites. These sites are considered suitable for aquaculture projects as they conform to the standards adopted by the Ministry which are based on best international standards. This promotes investor confidence in the industry.
Industrial and Manufacturing Opportunities
Precision machining workshop for downhole equipment & tools
Industrial and Manufacturing
Deadline Open to starting the project as soon as possible
Manufacturing of coiled tubing strings
Industrial and Manufacturing
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Production of drill pipes
Industrial and Manufacturing
Deadline Open to starting the project as soon as possible
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Investment Highlights - Winter 2020
In this fourth edition of "Investment Highlights" brought to you by Invest
• Saudi Arabia sees sharp uptick in the number of new international companies,
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J. DESMOND O'DUFFY, M.B., B.Ch.; RAYMOND V. RANDALL, M.D.; COLLIN S. MacCARTY, M.D.
Of 100 acromegalic patients, 35 had carpal-tunnel syndrome. All but 1 of the 35 had active acromegaly, as judged by clinical and laboratory methods. Of the 100 patients, 63 had active acromegaly, 17 had inactive acromegaly, and 20 had acromegaly that was of indeterminate activity. Statistical analysis showed that carpal-tunnel syndrome in acromegaly denotes ongoing pituitary overactivity (P < 0.001). In every patient in whom pituitary treatment was successful, whether by irradiation (three of nine) or surgery (five of six), the syndrome was abolished completely. Although failure to correct hypersomatotropism usually led to continuation of this syndrome, the latter sometimes cleared despite residual pituitary overactivity. Therefore, whereas carpal-tunnel syndrome in acromegaly is a useful indicator of active disease, its disappearance does not necessarily indicate that growth hormone output has returned to normal.
O'DUFFY JD, RANDALL RV, MacCARTY CS. Median Neuropathy (Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome) in Acromegaly: A Sign of Endocrine Overactivity. Ann Intern Med. 1973;78:379–383. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-78-3-379
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1973;78(3):379-383.
Endocrine and Metabolism, Neurology, Pituitary Disorders.
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International Union of Operating Engineers
Local 57 Rhode Island
The IUOE Local 57 Health & Welfare Fund has retained Swift MD to roll out an all new convenience to active participants of the Health Fund. As of December 1, 2018, if you are enrolled on the active health plan, you and your dependents can talk to a doctor 24/7 by phone or videoconference at no cost. There are no co-pays or consult fees. Please click on "Telemedicine" on the right hand side of this page for more information!
As a member of Local 57, you may be covered by a variety of benefit plans, including the Health & Welfare, Pension, Annuity and Legal Services Trust Funds.
The Funds Office administers benefits on behalf of union members pursuant to the terms of the Collective Bargained Agreement. We work closely with the Board of Trustees, legal councils and professional advisors to ensure that all employee benefits are managed in accordance with state and federal law. If you have any questions about the Trust Funds or your specific benefit package, please feel free to contact the Funds Office during normal business hours or by using the form below.
Board of Trustees
Note - name and email are required for us to contact you, but please provide as much information as possible so that we can better serve you.


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Attracting Shooter to Your Gun Range
Beat the Slump
Every business experiences times that are much slower than others. This is due to things such as the time of year and weather. Owners of a gun range will see a dip in visitors during the fall and winter season as the cold weather will keep shooters inside. How do you combat the weather? There are several tactics you can take from seasonal promotions to adding new elements to your range.
Enticing Shooters to the Range
Seasonal promotions are a wonderful way to get people in the door. Offer a special deal, such as a Christmas only deal during the month of December or a two for one in February to attract couples for Valentine's Day. Offer group deals as well as it will be a draw for a group of shooters. Promotions make it more enticing to people when they feel they are getting a better deal for their money.
Holding a First Shot Seminar at your range will also attract new participants to your range and create returning customers. Members of the National Shooting Sports Foundation qualify for a $3,000 cooperative advertising when they host a First Shot Seminar.
Alternatively, you can attract experienced shooters by hosting more advanced competitions such as a 3 Gun Competition. You do not have to stick to one form of competition either. You can hold individual competitions for handguns, rifles, and shotguns, each with their own criteria for shooting. As with the First Shooter Seminar, look into available sponsorships.
Another reason you may have seen a decline in customers has to do with the state of your range. Many gun ranges are either in or outdoors and let their equipment become old. A simple renovation with new targets and a paint job can do wonders for your business. If you have an indoor range, consider an outdoor one as it could draw in a crowd when the weather is nice. Do not forget to have an assortment of guns and rifles for customers to rent.
Steel Shooting Targets
If you are looking to replace your outdoor targets or expand to the outdoors, invest in nothing but the best with steel shooting targets. At Rogue Shooting Targets, we ensure ours are high-quality so your range maintains its spectacular reputation for excellence. For additional information about our products, visit our site.


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One of the frequent insults hurled at Autocad is that it is not an intelligent program.
Problems with Xrefs
I have tried to steer my drafting life clear of xrefs, for the reason that when I'm gone, some IT Preventer
of Information technology will rename the main network drive or someone else will rename directories. All this will cause blank drawings to appear! Having said that, maybe the idea of "relative paths" is a good approach. Of course, if you have the files all in the same directory, then this is not a problem.
Say you have an item, say a magnet box, and this is to be placed in a layout, then the only
way to keep any automatic updating is to use the Xref mechanism in Autocad. This means that the item being
xreffed in needs to be "pure", that is, it has to be just a 3d model and no more.
This then means that you cannot have things like section planes in that model, or any other extras like 2D sketches.
Organizing your Assembly to go into a Layout Drawing
Yes, you can organise your magnet box drawing to be a series of layout tabs for each of the parts.
There are problems with this approach though: You have to have all your parts with distinct layer
names so that you can use freezing and thawing on a per viewport basis, and while this is possible,
setting it all up seems time consuming.
I have devised a layering system that copes with multi-level layouts. It makes layers like:
....and so on. This seems to work well, and is heavily reliant on lisp routines to make it go.
The advantage is that there is a structure to the layer naming.
To tie this all in with the layer names you have to create for the above system is also a pain.
This can be got around by calling layers names like MAGNET BOX LID LEVEL 1, and when the xref turns up in the layout, then the lisp line becomes (command "-layer" "t" "*LEVEL 1*" "") ie it uses the * as wild cards.
Any Other Options?
One that might deserve some consideration, is to have a "pure" model, in which every item is on layer 0, so that when it arrives in the xref, it picks up the layer it is to be, and appears in the correct colours for that layer. Simple.
To enable parts drawings, this pure model would have all the individual parts (each a separate drawing file)
xreffed into it.
The nice thing about this system is that you could have a separate assembly drawing of the magnet box, and
any sub-assemblies could be easily arranged. In the assembly drawing you can go ahead and do sections.
OK, so what is the downside? A great pile of autocad drawing files is what you would end up with, instead
of one drawing with heaps of layout tabs on it. Coping with printing out a drawing set is probably not as
bad as it seems, as you can use saved sheet sets to deal with this. Your drawing register then becomes
a large clerical pain to fill out, that is if you decide to go down that route. To avoid this bureaucracy,
an alternative to listing them in a separate register could be to maybe keep them in a directory,
labelled say "150905 Magnet Box". In the drawing register, all you need is one entry:"150905 - Magnet Box".
Only the "pure" model, with a file name of 150905.dwg would appear in the main directory.


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Between the heat and the drought, it doesn't take much to start a devastating fire.
In the last few days, we've seen it happen quite a few times.
One simple spark can ignite hundreds of acres, threatening homes, property and livestock.
We know it's dangerous to throw cigarettes out the window, but even throwing a bottle out is dangerous, as well as pulling over onto grass just to change a tire.
Anyone can unintentionally start a massive wildfire.
Payne County officials said the sparks from a muffler dragging from a vehicle may have caused Monday's fires near Stillwater.
Pottawatomie County officials said Sunday's fire near Earlsboro was caused by someone burning trash in trash cans.
Last September, Logan County authorities blamed a lawnmower for starting a fire.
"It's accidental and nobody intends to (start a fire), but we're going to see that a lot here in the next few days," State Fire Marshal Robert Doke said.
Most of central, western and northern Oklahoma is under high fire danger.
"It's just extremely dangerous," he said. "All it takes is a spark on dry vegetation and you're going to have a fire."
He said many fires start when people pull off a road onto dry grass, which ignites from a hot undercarriage.
Broken glass from a bottle can act like a magnifying glass.
If you work outdoors...
"Grinding sparks will set grass on fire, easy as throwing a match out there," Lee Steeds said, at L&L Welding.
Steeds and his son try to work inside these days.
When he's outside, he recommends watering down work areas in advance and having someone else watch out for sparks.
He hasn't forgotten one accident that happened while working at his house.
"It didn't take but five or 10 seconds and I looked around and half my backyard was burning," he recalled.
He recommends keeping a fire extinguisher handy when working outside.
Doke said another hidden danger is chains hanging from trailer hitches, which can also cause sparks while traveling down the road.
If the wind is blowing, one spark can get out of control in a hurry.
The Oklahoma Insurance Department urges everyone to make a home inventory checklist.
It will make an insurance claim settlement easier and faster.
Get more information on an inventory checklist here.


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WHM Blog
Armistice Day in Wilmette, 1918
By Patrick, Nov 10th, 2018
Father Edward J. Vattmann was a retired U.S. Army chaplain who lived at 1733 Lake Avenue in Wilmette. Active in local affairs, he was a familiar and well-loved figure around the village. His close friend, Theodore Roosevelt, was known to pay a visit to him at that house on occasion. During World War I, Father Vattmann came out of retirement to serve at Fort Sheridan.
Kate Ranshaw, museum volunteer
By Patrick, Feb 21st, 2018
Today was our last day to enjoy the company and the enormous help of one of our favorite people in the world: Kate Ranshaw, who has been volunteering with the Historical Museum since 2012.
Groovy Threads
By Patrick, Jan 26th, 2016
A guest blog post by Jane Textor, the Museum's Costume Curator:
Our current exhibit on the 1960s gave me the opportunity to display one of my favorite pieces housed here at the museum; a dress made of paper! It has vivid colors, a psychedelic print, and it was worn right here in Wilmette.
Woman's Club of Wilmette
By Patrick, Feb 18th, 2015
For 100 years and more, the Woman's Club of Wilmette at Tenth and Greenleaf has been a center of community life. On February 17, 2015, our village sustained a terrible loss when fire destroyed much of that historic and still vital building. The clubhouse, with its distinctive facing of Lannon limestone from Wisconsin, was built in 1929, incorporating a smaller building erected in 1912.
That's a lot of snow
By Patrick, Jan 6th, 2015
The earliest Wilmette blizzard for which we have good records hit the village on Saturday, January 5, 1918, and even old-timers couldn't remember a worse one. Snow fell for thirty continuous hours, as powerful winds whipped up huge eight-foot snowdrifts that blanketed the whole community. All traffic shut down, and most people had no choice but to stay home. An emergency call went out for me


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One reason we all love cycling is that it allows us to get places faster than walking, while still enjoying the scenery. Let's face it, Britain at its most beautiful in Summer is hard to beat, the greenery, the rivers, canals, lakes, hills, mountains and country roads. Britain has also made it pretty easy to get about by bike, with
Category Archives: Know More About Electric Bikes
Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Bikes
Q – Who are electric bikes for? A – Electric bikes are for everyone who can ride a bike, they let you go further than you usually could on a pedal bicycle, and let you cycle up hills that you would otherwise struggle with. The most frequent buyers of electric bikes are people over 40 wanting to enjoy cycling again,
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Bike?
One of the main benefits of an electric bike is that they are a great alternative to using cars and public transport to commute around town. If you've not owned an electric bike before you may be concerned about the cost of charging the battery, whether the electricity used will be as expensive as fueling a car or getting a
Why Buy an Electric Bike?
At All Seasons we like to remember the days when we used to have fun as kids, racing through our neighbourhoods with our friends, doing wheelies, getting to the top of the hill then free-wheeling down with our legs out! Cycling was freedom, we could get further faster, and leave behind our neighbourhood. We could meet up with our friends


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Special Educational Needs - Frequently Asked Questions
See below for the SEN FAQ's. If your question is not listed below feel free to come
and ask the school's SEN Co-ordinator, Miss Ross.
What do I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?
Firstly, speak to your child's class teacher to discuss their progress and/or any barriers to learning. If further support is needed, the teacher will liaise with the SENCo in school. You can also arrange a meeting with the SENCo to discuss the next steps.
How will school support my child?
Every child is different, so the level or types of support given will be dependent upon the individual child's needs. As well as identifying children to access small group interventions and booster groups, the class teacher will adapt their own class practises to accommodate the child initially, before seeking advice and support from the SENCo and/or Head teacher.
If necessary, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP) will be drawn up by the class teacher and SENCo, to provide specific targets for your child to work on. These targets will be reviewed and monitored regularly to ensure progression is achievable for each child.
If a child requires significant support to access the mainstream curriculum, school may applying for extra funding for adaptations to the building, curriculum and staffing, as necessary.
How will the curriculum be matched to my child's needs?
Again, as the needs of each child are so varied, support will be given as appropriate to the child's needs.
This may come in the form of one of the following:
an Individual Education Plan (IEP)
Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP)/Action plan/Positive Handling Plan
Differentiation of work within class
small group intervention or booster groups for Core subjects (Literacy/Numeracy)
use of specific resources or adaptations to the equipment used
support from teaching assistants within class
extra, personalised support from staff (1:1)
How will I know how well my child is doing and how will you help me support my child's learning?
Each year, we hold three Parent's Evening for all families in school. You can arrange to meet with your child's teacher to discuss their progress at these meetings. You can also arrange to meet with the SENCo on these evenings, if you wish to discuss your child's needs and/or provision.
As well as this, teachers are always willing to meet parents/carers at other times throughout the year. We also have additional parent/carer meetings for children who have been identified as needing extra support in order to meet their end of year targets.
If you
child has an IEP or IBP, you will be provided with a copy of it and are welcome to contribute to the setting of the targets on this document, if you would like to.
Children with a Statement of Special Education Needs or Education Health and Care Plan will also have a formal Annual Review, wherein all parties working with the child (including parents/carers) will be invited to attend and to discuss the child's progress and on-going needs.
What specialist services and expertise are available or accessed by the school?
As well as the general expertise of school staff, our SENCo and Pastoral staff are trained to work with children who have specific Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties; several members of staff are trained to use Makaton, a form of signing for communication used by some children in the school; some staff have significant experience of working with children with Autism, Downs Syndrome and Dyslexia, among other SEN.
We are also able to call upon a wide range of external services to gain advice and support for individuals or groups of children within school. These services include (and are not exclusive to):
An on-site Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT)
Educational Psychologist
SENST and SENIT– Special Educational Needs Support/Inclusion Team (specialist teachers and behaviour support)
Occupational Therapist
Cluster counselling (Play Therapy, general counselling)
Local Inclusion Leader (LIL) – behaviour support for our cluster of schools
STARS – specialist Autism service
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Team (DAHIT)
School nurse
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
Down Syndrome Training & Support Service
The Donkey Sanctuary, Eccup
What training are the staff supporting children with SEN having/had?
In addition to the aforementioned training, all staff in school have had general training and awareness-raising sessions in specific areas of SEN as part of their Continuous Professional Development (CPD). This can take place during staff training (INSET) days and in weekly staff meetings. All staff, including lunch time supervisors, have been trained in Team Teach – a positive handling course, in order to effectively, and safely, manage any difficult situations with children within school.
How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom?
All children are given the opportunities to partake in extra-curricular activities and trips. Every effort will be made to ensure that children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are supported by whatever means necessary to join in and enjoy these activities.
How accessible is the school?
We have aimed to ensure that St. Matthew's school building is accessible to all, regardless of ability. Ramps have been built in to provide easy access for wheelchair users to the main entrance and rear entrances of the building, along with dedicated disabled parking space in the staff car park.
The new Nature Trail area in the KS2 playground has a wheelchair-friendly path snaking through the woodland. A ramp leading to this path has been constructed, allowing further access for wheelchair users (or those who find steps uneasy to climb) to fully explore the KS2 playground.
Our school is partly built on two storeys, and has three staircases. Unfortunately, there is no space for a lift to be built in, so the upper floors would remain out of reach for a wheelchair user. If the need arose, classes could be re-ordered, so that pupils or staff with physical disabilities would not need to use the staircases.
Please contact school if you require any further information about our accessibility.
How are the school resources allocated and matched to children's SEN?
The school is funded on a national formula per pupil. All schools are expected to find the first £6,000 from within the school's budget to support children and young people with SEN who are on the school's Inclusion/SEN register. The school can apply for a 'top-up', based on strict criteria, if it is felt that a child's needs are above that which can be provided through the £6,000. The school uses the funds to put appropriate support in place to meet the specific needs of a child. The look of this support will depend upon the child's individual needs.
How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?
Initially, each class teacher is responsible for providing in-class support for the pupils in their class. If further support is required, the teacher will liaise with the SENCo and Head teacher during Pupil Progress Meetings (where each child's progress is tracked and monitored). The SENCo and/or Pastoral Team will be responsible (under the Head teacher's guidance) for seeking external support for children, if required.
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The World Cup plays on. Come watch every game right here at the oasis. We have a great food menu as well as amazing drink prices on drinks. We would be proud to host you and your group!
Also, don't forget that Thursday is WING NIGHT (430pm-midnight) and we also have Karaoke from 830pm to 1215am! Be part of it all, the whole time enjoying our $10 pitchers of Bud & Bud Light all day, everyday!
You just can't lose when you party with us! Come on down!


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Categories // Disease Area
A detailed analysis of randomized screening trials, carried out by investigators at King's College London and the University of Strathclyde (both UK), has suggested that the use of unconventional statistical analyses could mean that the benefits of screening mammography were overestimated in initial studies. Their review appeared online this week in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, adding to the discussion promoted by a Harvard University (MA, USA) study earlier in the week, which indicated widespread overdiagnosis of breast cancer in the US upon screening.
Randomized trials carried out in Sweden beginning in the 1960s and 1970s initially concluded that widespread mammography screening for breast cancer could reduce disease-related mortality by 20–25%, as it facilitates earlier detection of the disease. Since 2002, population screening or breast cancer has been accompanied by monitoring of the rates of advanced breast cancer under WHO recommendations. If screening is successfully detecting breast cancer at an earlier stage, it would be expected that rates of advanced breast cancer should decline, indicating that mammography screening is contributing effectively to reducing breast cancer mortality.
"Contrary to expectations, numerous studies in North America, Europe and Australia have shown that the rates of advanced breast cancer have not declined in countries where most women regularly attend mammography screening," observed Philippe Autier, lead author from University of Strathclyde. He also described how: "other studies have shown that declines in breast cancer mortality were the same in countries that implemented mammography screening end of the 1980s as those that did so ten to twenty years later. The absence of differences in mortality reductions could not be explained by differences in access to modern therapies."
Noting that these results deviated from those seen in colorectal and cervical screening, for which evidence clearly indicates a decrease in the occurrence of advanced cancers in the populations, the team carried out a review of all randomized cancer screening trials. Investigating screening studies for breast, colorectal, cervical, prostate and lung cancers, they determined that if the Swedish breast screening trials had utilized similar statistical methods to the other trials investigated, the reductions in risk of breast cancer death owing to screening would have been lower – potentially <10%.
"The reduction seen in the mortality from breast cancer in many countries is one of the major contributions to Cancer Control in recent times," noted Peter Boyle of the University of Strathclyde. "Many factors have contributed to this success, including earlier presentation and better diagnosis, as well as major improvements in the organization of care (multidisciplinary teams) to specific improvements in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy/endocrine therapy. Currently, assessment of the impact of mammographic screening programmes cannot be made without taking advances in breast cancer treatment into account."
The authors suggest that these findings could have implications for policy-makers in middle-income countries, potentially influencing decisions about priorities for cancer screening efforts.
Source: King's College London press release ')
Updated 19 December, 2018