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There is No Mistaking Fall in Park City
Fall is officially here. But if you are in Park City this week, you don't need an announcement: all you have to do is open your eyes. No matter where you look, fall colors greet you. Coming from Northern California where colors constituted a few liquid amber trees, the change here is quite a shock. In fact, the other day I literally almost ran off the road looking at the trees.
For the safety of drivers in the area, my loyal companion Ginger, yellow lab, age 5, and I set out to thoroughly soak in the colors on some hiking trails around Park City. Well, to be honest she was actually more interested in the smells and sticks. Here's what we did:
The Rail Trail – super easy to get to, a mellow hike and colors galore. Brenda, at the Gazebo hair salon (who has this amazing view) told me the best place to park in their lot at Prospector Square or across the street and pick up the trailhead there. The mountain is all colors – yellow from the aspen trees and bright reds mixed in with ambers from the shrubs. It's probably going to look even better by the time this blog posts since the aspens will have turned by then.
Spiro Trail above Park City Municipal Golf Course at Silver Star complex. We walked through what seemed like a sea of pink leaves on the trail. I'd never seen anything like it in my life.
Even though the trail says it is for uphill mountain bikers only, there were quite a few that rode downhill and who could blame them? On either side of the trail were pink and red colors -stunningly beautiful. I kept Ginger on a short leash as quite a few bikes flew past us.
Guardsman's Pass – just above Deer Valley and the Montage on highway 224. We planned on a hike but it was chilly and windy at the top of the trailhead so we got out, took some photos and enjoyed the beauty but wimped out on the hiking part. We drove instead (carefully with no rubber necking) over Guardsman's pass toward Midway. We stopped a few times in order to get out and walk through bright yellow aspen groves. Ginger enjoyed finding sticks and dropping them in front of me to throw for her.
There were quite a few families with photographers on the right side of the road in an aspen grove. So we parked and got out to check it out and follow their lead. When I got home and looked at the simple amateur photos we took, I can see why they picked the spot. Check out the one of Ginger and me with her anticipating the throw.
If you want to try your hand at the photography, the spot was on the right side of Guardsman's road going towards Midway -there is a sign that reads "Wasatch Golf Course 6 miles – Wasatch Campground 5 miles." When you see the sign, park and take the trail to the left through the meadow. The photographers were shooting in aspen grove there on the right side of the trail. If you go this weekend, I'll bet it is even better. I am sure any grove will have the same effect but hey, if the pros are shooting at that spot there must be a reason!
Last year, I was out of town in early fall and missed the full effect of the foliage change so this is officially my rookie year and I am loving it. I wonder if old time Park City residents take this for granted similar to Southern California residents who live a short drive from the beach and never go. A friend of mine lives in near Manhattan Beach and has never swum in the ocean! I certainly hope I never take the beauty for granted living in a mountain paradise.
The only thing more exciting than the changing of colors is what it brings– winter and with it the snow fall and of, course, opening day of Deer Valley Resort. I have my pass, did you get yours yet?
For more beautiful fall colors, fellow blogger JF Lanvers, put together a video of DV's gorgeous neon green and yellow aspens and brilliant red and orange leaves.


text:
ICL Project
International Constitutional Law (ICL)
Das Fallrecht (DFR)
Rechtsphilosophie (RPhil)
Verfassungsgeschichte (VerfG)
Project Information
Key System
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Czech Republic
Hong Kong
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North Korea
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> Old Constitution (1973)
{ Adopted on: 26 May 1973 }
{ Effective since: 6 Dec 1973 }
{ ICL Document Status: 6 Dec 1973 }
{ Official Title: Constitution of the State of Bahrain }
{ Editor's Note:
The raw text of this document has been kindly provided to ICL by
Ass. Prof. Abdulhadi Khalaf
, Dept. of Sociology, University of Lund, Sweden, in Sep 1998. We have kept the (unusual) alphabetical paragraph numbering, but added (normal) numerical paragraph numbers where they were missing. We also added article titles for better identification of the sections in the table of contents. Please note that this constitution has been superceded by the
New Constitution of 2002
. }
Part One The State
Article 1 [Islamic State]
(a) Bahrain is an Arab Islamic State, independent and fully sovereign, and its people are part of the Arab nation. Neither its sovereignty nor any part of its territory shall be relinquished.
(b) The rule of Bahrain shall be hereditary, the succession to which shall be transmitted from His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa to his eldest son and then to the eldest son of this eldest son and so forth, generation after generation, unless during his lifetime, the Amir appoints one of his sons other than the eldest as his successor, in accordance with the provisions of the Decree of Succession provided for in the next clause.
(c) All rules of succession shall be regulated by a special Amiri decree which shall be of a constitutional nature and thus shall not be amended except in accordance with Article
of this Constitution.
(d) The system of government in Bahrain is democratic, under which sovereignty lies with the people, the source of all powers. Sovereignty shall be exercised in the manner specified in this Constitution.
(e) The citizens shall have the right to participate in the public affairs of the State and enjoy political rights, beginning with the right to vote, in accordance with this Constitution and the conditions and procedures set forth in the law.
(f) This Constitution shall not be amended except in part and in the manner provided for therein, and no amendment thereto shall be proposed before the expiry of five years from the effective date of its commencement.
Article 2 [Sharia]
Islam shall be the religion of the State, Islamic Sharia a main source of legislation, and Arabic the official language.
Article 3 [Flag, Anthem]
The law shall specify the State's flag, emblem, insignia, medals, orders and national anthem.
Part Two Fundamental Constituents of Society
Article 4 [State Principles]
Justice underlies the system of government. Co-operation and mutual understanding are firm bonds among citizens. Liberty, equality, security, tranquillity, education, social solidarity and equal opportunities for citizens are the pillars of society guaranteed by the State.
Article 5 [Family]
(a) The family is the corner-stone of society and its strength lies in religion, morality and patriotism. The law shall preserve its legal integrity and strengthen its bonds and values, and shall protect motherhood and childhood within the family. The law shall also protect the young and defend them against exploitation and moral, physical and spiritual neglect. The State shall take particular care of the physical, mental and moral growth of youth.
(b) The State shall ensure the accomplishment of necessary social security for citizens in old age, sickness, inability to work, orphanhood, widowhood or unemployment. The State shall also provide them with services of social insurance and medical care, and strive to protect them from ignorance, fear and poverty.
Article 6 [Arab Heritage]
The State shall preserve the Arab and Islamic heritage, it shall participate in the furtherance of human civilization, and it shall strive to strengthen ties with the Muslim countries and to bring to fruition the aspirations of the Arab Nation for unity and advancement.
Article 7 [Sciences and Education]
(a) The State shall patronize the sciences, literature and the arts, and shall encourage research. It shall ensure educational and cultural services of citizens. Primary education shall be compulsory and free in accordance with the law. The law shall lay down the necessary plan to eliminate illiteracy.
(b) The law shall regulate the various aspects of religious education and attention also be given to the strengthening of the citizen's personality and pride in his Arab Nationalism.
(c) Individuals and bodies may establish private schools under the supervision of the State and in accordance with the law.
(d) Inviolability of the educational institutions shall be guaranteed by the State.
Article 8 [Health]
(a) Every citizen shall have the right to health welfare. The State shall care for public health and ensure means of prevention and treatment by establishing various kinds of hospitals and provide medical facilities.
(b) Individuals and bodies may establish hospitals, clinics or infirmaries under the supervision of the State and in accordance with the law.
Article 9 [Property, Work]
(a) Property, capital and work, in accordance with the principles of Islamic justice, shall be fundamental constituents of the social structure of the State and the national wealth. They are all individual rights with a social function regulated by the law.
(b) Public property shall be inviolable and its protection shall be the duty of every citizen.
(c) Private property shall be well protected. No one shall be prevented from disposing of his property except within the limits of the law. No property shall be expropriated except in the public interest, in accordance with the law and provided that just compensation is paid.
(d) General confiscation of property shall be prohibited. Confiscation of private property as a penalty may not be inflicted except by a court judgement and in the circumstances specified by the law.
(e) The law shall regulate, on an economic basis with due regard being given to social justice, the relationship between landlords and tenants.
(f) The State shall strive to provide housing for citizens with limited income.
(g) The State shall make the necessary arrangements to ensure the utilization of arable land in a productive manner, and shall endeavour to raise the standard of farmers. The law shall specify the means whereby assistance and ownership of land are granted to small farmers.
Article 10 [Economy]
(a) The national economy shall be based on social justice. It shall be founded on fair co-operation between public and private sectors. Its aim shall be economic development within a well conceived plan and achievement of prosperity for citizens, all within the limits of law.
(b) The State shall strive for the attainment of Arab economic unity.
Article 11 [Natural Resources]
All natural resources shall be the property of the state. It shall ensure their preservation and proper utilization, due regard being given to the requirements of the State's security and national economy.
Article 12 [Solidarity, Duties]
The State shall ensure the solidarity of society in shouldering burdens resulting from disasters and natural calamities, and shall provide compensation for damages or injuries suffered by people as a result of a war or as a result of performing their military duties.
Article 13 [Work]
(a) Work shall be the duty of every citizen necessitated by personal dignity and public good. Every citizen shall have the right to work and to choose his type of work in accordance with public order and moral standards.
(b) The State shall ensure that work is made available to the citizens and that its terms are equitable.
(c) No forced labour shall be imposed on anyone except in circumstances specified by the law for national emergency and with just remuneration, or as an implementation of a judicial decision.
(d) Relations between employers and employees shall be regulated by the law on an economic basis, due regard being given to the principles of social justice.
Article 14 [Savings, Credit]
The State shall encourage co-operation and saving, and supervise the regulation of credit.
Article 15 [Taxes, Duties, Offices]
(a) Taxes and public imports shall be based on the principles of social justice, and the payment thereof shall be duty in accordance with the law.
(b) Citizens shall have equal opportunities to hold public offices in accordance with the conditions specified by the law.
Part Three Public Rights and Duties
Article 17 [Citizenship]
(a) Citizenship shall be defined by the law, and no person enjoying citizenship by origin may be deprived of it except in cases of high treason and dual nationality and in accordance with the conditions specified by the law.
(b) Citizenship may not be withdrawn from a naturalised citizen except within the limits of the law.
(c) No citizen shall be deported from Bahrain, nor shall he be denied re-entry.
Article 18 [Human Dignity]
People are equal in human dignity, and citizens shall be equal in public rights and duties before the law, without discrimination as to race, origin, language, religion or belief.
Article 19 [Personal Liberty]
(a) Personal liberty is guaranteed in accordance with the law.
(b) No person shall be arrested, detained, imprisoned, searched or compelled to reside in a specified place, nor shall the residence of any person or his liberty to choose his place of residence or his liberty of movement be restricted, except in accordance with the law and under the supervision of the judicial authorities.
(c) No detention or imprisonment shall be imposed in places other than those specified in prison laws. In these places health and social welfare shall be observed, and they shall be subject to the supervision of the judicial authorities.
(d) No person shall be subjected to physical or mental torture, enticement or degrading treatment, and the law shall provide the penalty for these acts.
Any statement or confession shall be null and void if it is proved to have been made under duress or enticement or degrading treatment of threat thereof.
Article 20 [Penalty]
(a) No crime or penalty may be established except by virtue of law, and no penalty may be imposed except for offences committed after the relevant law has come
(b) Penalty is personal.
(c) An accused person shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty in a legal trial in which the necessary guarantees for the exercise of his right of defence in all the stages of investigation and trial are ensured in accordance with the law.
(d) No physical or moral injury shall be inflicted on an accused person.
(e) A council for the defence of any person accused of a felony shall be appointed with the approval of the accused.
(f) The right to trial shall be guaranteed in accordance with the law.
Article 21 [Asylum]
Extradition of political refugees is prohibited.
Article 22 [Conscience, Religion]
Freedom of conscience is absolute. The State shall guarantee the inviolability of places of worship and the freedom to perform religious rites and to hold religious processions and meetings in accordance with the customs observed in the country.
Article 23 [Expression, Science]
Freedom of speech and freedom to carry out scientific research shall be guaranteed. Every person shall have the right to express and propagate his opinion in words or in writing or by any other means, in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified by the law.
Article 24 [Press]
Freedom of the press, printing and publication shall be guaranteed in accordance with the conditions and procedure specified by the law.
Article 25 [Home]
Places of residence shall be inviolable. They may not be entered or searched without the permission of their occupants except in the circumstances and manner specified by the law.
Article 26 [Communication]
Freedom of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications and the secrecy thereof shall be guaranteed. No communications shall be censored nor the contents thereof revealed except in cases of necessity prescribed by the law and in accordance with the procedures and guarantees stated therein.
Article 27 [Associations, Trade Unions]
Freedom to form associations and trade unions on a national basis and for lawful objectives and by peaceful means shall be guaranteed in accordance with the conditions and procedures prescribed by the law. No one shall be compelled to join or remain in any association or union.
Article 28 [Assembly]
(a) Individuals shall have the right of private assembly without permission or prior notification, and no member of the security forces may attend such private meetings.
(b) Public meetings, processions and gatherings shall be permitted in accordance with the conditions and procedures prescribed by the law, provided that their purpose and means are peaceful and not contrary to morale.
Article 29 [Petition]
Any individual can address the public authorities in writing and with his signature. Only duly constituted organizations and corporate bodies shall have the right to address the public authorities collectively.
Article 30 [Military Service]
(a) Peace shall be the objective of the State, and the safety of the country shall be part of the safety of the Great Arab Homeland, and defending it shall be the duty of every citizen. Military service is an honour for the citizens and regulated by law.
(b) The State alone shall establish armed forces and public security bodies. Duties of this kind shall be entrusted only to citizens except in cases of dire necessity and in the manner regulated by the law.
(c) Full or partial mobilization of forces shall be regulated by the law.
Article 31 [Restrictions]
Public rights and liberties laid down in this Constitution shall neither be regulated nor defined except by a law, or in accordance therewith. Such regulation or definition shall not affect the essence of the right or liberty.
Part Four Powers
[Chapter 0 General Provision]
Article 32 [System of Government]
(a) The system of government shall be based on the principle of separation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers, functioning in co-operation with each other in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. None of the three powers may relinquish all or part of its competence prescribed in this Constitution. However, legislative authorization, limited for a certain period and in respect of a specified matter or matters, may be made, and shall be practised in accordance with the law of authorization and the condition thereof.
(b) Legislative power shall be vested in the Amir and the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution; and the Executive power shall be vested in the Amir, the Cabinet and the Ministers. Judicial decrees shall be passed in the name of the Amir, all in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
Chapter I The Amir
Article 33 [Head of State, Government]
(a) The Amir is the Head of the State, his person shall be immune and inviolable, and he shall exercise his powers through his Ministers who shall collectively report to him on the general policy of the Government, and each Minister shall be responsible for the affairs of his Ministry.
(b) The Amir shall, after the traditional consultations, appoint the Prime Minister or relieve him of office by an Amiri decree. The Amir shall also appoint Ministers or relieve them of office by an Amiri decree, upon the recommendations of the Prime Minister.
(c) Ministers shall not be appointed from amongst the members of the National Assembly in the first legislative term, but they may be appointed from amongst the members of the National Assembly or others with effect from the second legislative term. Ministers appointed from amongst outsiders shall become ex officio members of the National Assembly. The total number of ministers shall not exceed 14.
(d) The Cabinet shall be reconstituted in the manner set out in this article at the beginning of every legislative term of the National Assembly.
(e) The Amir shall be the Supreme Commander of the Defence Force.
(f) The Amir shall confer Orders of Honour in accordance with the law.
(g) Currency shall be minted in the name of the Amir in accordance with the law.
(h) The Amir shall protect the legality of the government and the supremacy of law, and shall take the following oath at a special sitting of the National Assembly:
"I swear by Almighty God to respect the Constitution and the laws of the State, to defend the liberties, interests and properties of the people, and to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of the country"
(i) The Amir shall have an annual privy purse to be determined by a special Amiri decree. The privy purse may not be revised throughout the reign of the Amir, and shall thereafter be fixed by the law.
Article 34 [Deputy]
(a) In the event of his absence outside the country and the inability of the Heir Apparent to act as deputy for him, the Amir shall appoint by an Amiri Order a deputy who shall exercise his powers during his absence. The said Amiri Order may include a specified arrangement for the exercise of powers on behalf of the Amir, or a limitation on their scope.
(b) The provisions of item (b) of Article
of this Constitution shall apply to the Amir's deputy. If the Amir's deputy is a Minister or a member of the National Assembly he shall not take part in the functions of his Ministry or the National Assembly during the period he is acting as deputy for the Amir.
(c) Before assuming his powers, the Amir's deputy shall take the oath set forth in the previous article, with the following phrase added thereto: "and be loyal to the Amir". The oath shall be taken in the National Assembly if it is in session, otherwise it shall be taken before the Amir. The oath by the Heir Apparent shall be taken only once even if he acts as a deputy for the Amir more than once.
Article 35 [Legislation]
(a) The Amir shall have the right to initiate laws, and he alone shall ratify and promulgate the laws.
(b) A bill shall be considered to have been ratified and shall be promulgated by the Amir if a period of thirty days from the date of its submission by the National Assembly to the Amir has expired without the Amir returning it to the National Assembly for re-consideration.
(c) If, within the period prescribed in the preceding clause the Amir returns the bill, by a decree stating the grounds therefor, to the National Assembly for re-consideration, then it shall be decided whether such re-consideration should take place during the same or the next session.
(d) If the Assembly re-confirms the bill by a majority vote of its members, the Amir shall ratify and promulgate the bill within one month from the date of the re- confirmation.
Article 36 [War]
(a) Offensive war is unlawful. The declaration of defensive war shall be made by an Amiri decree which shall be referred to the National Assembly immediately after the declaration has been made, for decision.
(b) Martial law shall be proclaimed only by law, unless otherwise dictated by urgent necessity to be by a decree giving the justification therefor, provided that the matter shall be referred to the National Assembly within two weeks for decision. In all cases the period of martial law shall not exceed three months, but this period may be renewed in whole or in part once or more, provided that approval by a majority vote of the members constituting the National Assembly has been obtained. If the proclamation or renewal of martial law takes place during the period in which the National Assembly is dissolved, the matter shall be referred to the new Assembly at its first meeting.
Article 37 [Treaties]
(1) The Amir shall conclude treaties by decree and shall transmit them immediately to the National Assembly with the appropriate statement. A treaty shall have the force of law after it has been signed, ratified and published in the Official Gazette.
(2) However, treaties of peace and alliance; treaties concerning the territory of the State, its natural resources or sovereign rights or public or private rights of citizens; treaties of commerce, navigation and residence; and treaties which entail additional expenditure not provided for in the budget of the State, or which involve amendment to the laws of Bahrain, shall come into effect only when made by a law.
(3) In no case may treaties include secret provisions contradicting those declared.
Article 38 [Decrees]
(1) Should necessity arise for urgent measures to be taken while the National Assembly is not in session or is dissolved, the Amir may issue decrees in respect thereof which shall have the force of law, provided that they shall not be contrary to the Constitution or the appropriations included in the budget law.
(2) Such decrees shall be referred to the National Assembly within fifteen days following their issue if the Assembly is in session. If it is dissolved or its legislative term has expired such decrees shall be referred to the next Assembly at its first meeting. If they are not thus referred they shall retroactively cease to have the force of a law without the necessity of any decision to that effect. If they are referred and the Assembly does not confirm them, they shall also retroactively cease to have the force of law, unless the Assembly approves their validity for the preceding period or settles in some other way the effects arising therefrom.
Article 39 [Administrative Decrees]
(a) The Amir shall by decrees, issue the regulations necessary for the execution of laws without amending or suspending such laws or making any exemption from their execution. A law may describe a less formal instrument than a decree for the issue of the regulations necessary for its execution.
(b) The Amir shall, by decrees, issue regulations for public order and health, and regulations necessary for the organization of public services and administration, not conflicting with any law.
Article 40 [Officers]
The Amir shall appoint and remove civil and military officials and diplomatic representatives to foreign countries and international organizations in accordance with the law and in the manner prescribed therein. He shall also accept credentials of the representatives of foreign countries and organizations.
Article 41 [Pardon]
The Amir may, by decree grant a pardon or commute a sentence. However, amnesty shall not be granted except by a law and then only in respect of offences committed prior to the proposal of the amnesty.
Chapter II Legislative Power
Article 42 [National Assembly]
No law may be promulgated unless it has been passed by the National Assembly and ratified by the Amir.
Article 43 [Composition]
The National Assembly shall be composed of:
(a) Thirty members elected directly by universal suffrage and secret ballot, in accordance with the provisions of the electoral law. The number of these members shall be increased to forty with effect from the elections for the second legislative term. Electoral constituencies shall be determined by the law.
(b) The Ministers by virtue of their portfolios.
Article 44 [Eligibility]
A member of the National Assembly must:
(a) have been registered in one of the electoral rolls, not be suspended from exercising his right to vote, and be a Bahraini citizen by origin.
(b) be not less than thirty-full calendar years of age on the day of election.
(c) be able to read and write Arabic well.
Article 45 [Term]
(1) The term of the National Assembly shall be four calendar years commencing from the date of its first meeting. Elections for the new Assembly shall take place within two months preceding the expiry of the said term, due regard being given to the provisions of Article
of this Constitution.
(2) Members whose term of office expires may be re-elected. The term of the National Assembly may not be extended except for necessity in time of war and by a law passed by two-third majority of the members constituting the Assembly.
Article 46 [Vacancies]
If, for any reason, a seat in the National Assembly becomes vacant before the end of the term, the vacancy shall be filled by election within two months from the date on which the Assembly declares the vacancy. The term of the new member shall last until the end of that of his predecessor. If the vacancy occurs within six months immediately prior to the expiry of the legislative term of the Assembly no successor shall be elected.
Article 47 [Sessions]
The National Assembly shall have an annual session of not less than eight months. The said session may not be prorogued before the budget has been approved.
Article 48 [Initial Session]
The Assembly shall start its ordinary session during the month of October of every year upon a convocation by the Amir. If the decree of convocation is not issued before the first of the said month, the time for the meeting shall be deemed 9 a.m. on the third Saturday of that month. If such a day happens to be an official holiday, the Assembly shall meet in the morning of the first day following the holiday.
Article 49 [Special Sessions]
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding two Articles, the Amir shall summon the National Assembly to hold its first meeting within two weeks from the end of the general election. If the decree of convocation is not issued within the said period, the Assembly shall be deemed to have been convoked for the morning of the day immediately following these two weeks, due regard being given to the provision of the second paragraph of the preceding Article. If the date of the meeting of the Assembly falls after the annual date mentioned in Article
of the Constitution, the duration of the session specified in Article
herein shall be reduced by the difference between the said two dates.
Article 50 [Extraordinary Sessions]
(1) The National Assembly shall, by decree, be called to an extraordinary session if the Amir deems it necessary, or upon the request of the majority of the members of the Assembly.
(2) In an extraordinary session, the Assembly may not consider matters other than those for which it has been convened except with the consent of the Government.
Article 51 [Announcement]
The Amir shall announce the prorogation of ordinary and extraordinary sessions, by a decree.
Article 52 [Time and Place]
Every meeting held by the National Assembly at a time or place other than that assigned for its meeting shall be invalid, and resolutions passed thereat shall be null and void.
Article 53 [Oath of Office]
Before assuming their duties in the Assembly or its committees, members of the National Assembly, including the Ministers, shall take the following oath in a public sitting:
"I swear by Almighty God to be faithful to the Country and to the Amir, to respect the Constitution and the laws of the State, to defend the liberties, interests and properties of the people and to discharge my duties honestly and truthfully"
Article 54 [Speaker]
(1) The National Assembly shall elect at its first sitting and for the duration of its term a speaker, Deputy Speaker and a Secretary from amongst its members. If any office becomes vacant the Assembly shall elect a successor for the remainder of its term.
(2) In all cases election shall be by an absolute majority vote of the members present. If this majority vote is not attained in the first ballot, another election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes. If more than one candidate receives an equal number of votes in the second place, all such candidates shall participate in the second ballot. In this case the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes shall be elected. If there is a tie in this last ballot, the choice shall be by lot.
(3) The Prime Minister shall preside over the first sitting until the Speaker has been elected.
Article 55 [Committees]
The Assembly shall form, within the first week of its annual session, the committees necessary for its functions. These committees may discharge their duties during the recess of the Assembly with a view to submitting their recommendations to it when it meets.
Article 56 [Publicity]
Sittings of the National Assembly shall be public. However, they may be held in camera upon the request of the Government, the Speaker of the Assembly or ten of its members. The debate on such request shall be held in camera.
Article 57 [Election Disputes]
The Supreme Civil Court of Appeal shall be the competent authority to deal with election disputes of the National Assembly, but this competence may be transferred to any higher court which may be set up by law.
Article 58 [Resignations]
The National Assembly shall be the competent authority to accept resignation of its members, and no resignation shall be considered final except from the time the Assembly has decided to accept it.
Article 59 [Quorum]
(1) For a meeting of the National Assembly to be valid, more than half of its members must be present. Resolutions shall be passed by an absolute majority of the members present, except in cases where a special majority is required.
(2) When the votes are equally divided, the motion shall be deemed rejected.
Article 60 [Program]
Immediately upon its formation, every Cabinet shall present its program to the National Assembly, and the Assembly may make comments with regard to such a program.
Article 61 [Opening Speech]
(1) The Amir shall open the annual session of the National Assembly whereupon he shall deliver an Amiri Speech reviewing the state of affairs of the country and the most important public matters which happened during the preceding year, and outlining the projects and reforms the Government plans to undertake during the coming year.
(2) The Amir may depute the Prime Minister to open the Assembly or to deliver the Amiri Speech.
Article 62 [Responding Speech]
The National Assembly shall choose, from amongst its members, a committee to draft the reply to the Amiri Speech which will embody the comments and wishes of the Assembly. After the reply has been approved by the Assembly, it shall be submitted to the Amir.
Article 63 [Representation]
(1) (a) A member of the National Assembly represents the entire people. He shall safeguard the public interest and shall not be subject to any authority in the discharge of his duties in the Assembly or in its committees.
(b) A member of the National Assembly shall be free to express any views or opinions in the Assembly or in its committees, and under no circumstances shall he be held liable in respect thereof.
(c) Except in cases of flagrante delicto, no measures of detention, investigation, search, arrest, imprisonment or any other penal measure may be taken against a member while the Assembly is in session without the authorization of the Assembly. If the National Assembly is not in session, authorization shall be obtained from the Speaker of the Assembly.
(2) If the Assembly does not give a decision regarding a request for authorization within one month from the date of its receipt, permission shall be deemed to have been granted.
(3) The Assembly shall be notified of any measure that may be taken during its session in accordance with the foregoing paragraph. The Assembly shall always, at its first meeting, be notified of any measure taken against any of its members during its annual recess.
Article 64 [Adjournment]
The Amir may, by a decree, adjourn the meeting of the National Assembly for a period not exceeding one month. Adjournment may be repeated during the same session with the consent of the Assembly, and then once only. The period of adjournment shall not be counted in computing the duration of the session provided for in Article
of this Constitution.
Article 65 [Dissolution]
(1) The Amir may dissolve the National Assembly by a decree in which the reasons for dissolution shall be indicated.
(2) However, dissolutions of the Assembly may not be repeated for the same reason.
(3) In the event of dissolution, elections for the new Assembly shall be held within a period not exceeding two months from the date of dissolution.
(4) If the elections are not held within the said period, the dissolved Assembly shall be restored to its full constitutional authority and shall meet immediately as if the dissolution had not taken place. The Assembly shall then continue functioning until a new Assembly is elected.
Article 66 [Questions]
Every member of the National Assembly may put to the Prime Minister and to Ministers, questions with a view to clarifying matters falling within their competence. The questioner alone shall have the right to comment once on the answer, and if the Minister adds something new then the right of the member shall be renewed.
Article 67 [Interpellations]
(1) Every member of the National Assembly may address to the Prime Minister and to Ministers interpellations with regard to matters falling within their competence.
(2) The debate on such interpellations shall not take place until at least eight days have elapsed after its presentation, unless the Minister concerned agrees to hold the debate earlier.
(3) An interpellation may lead to the vote of confidence being put to the Assembly in accordance with the provisions of Articles
of this Constitution.
Article 68 [Ministerial Reports]
(1) (a) Every Minister shall report to the National Assembly on the affairs of his Ministry.
(b) The question of confidence in a Minister may not be raised except upon his request or upon demand signed by ten members following a debate on an interpellation addressed to him. The Assembly may not make its decision upon such a request before the lapse of seven days from the presentation thereof.
(c) If the Assembly passes a vote of no confidence against a Minister he shall be considered to have resigned his office as from the date of the vote of no confidence and shall submit his formal resignation immediately.
(2) Withdrawal of confidence from a Minister shall be by a majority vote of the members constituting the National Assembly excluding Ministers.
(3) In all cases Ministers shall not participate in the vote of confidence.
Article 69 [Questions of Confidence]
(a) The question of confidence in the Prime Minister shall not be raised before the National Assembly, unless out of necessity, he holds a portfolio with the premierships, and then he may be questioned about the affairs of such portfolio like any other minister.
(b) If two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly decide, in the manner specified in Article 68 of this Constitution, that they cannot co-operate with the Prime Minister, the matter shall be submitted to the Amir for settlement. The Amir may either relieve the Prime Minister of office and appoint a new Cabinet or dissolve the National Assembly. If the Assembly is dissolved and the office of the said Prime Minister is renewed but the new Assembly decide by a majority vote of the members constituting the National Assembly that it cannot co-operate with the said Prime Minister, he shall be considered to have resigned his office as from the date of the decision of the Assembly in this respect and a new Cabinet shall be formed.
Article 70 [Vacancy of Prime Minister's Office]
If, for any reason, the Prime Minister vacates his office he shall continue to discharge the urgent business thereof until his successor is appointed.
Article 71 [Initiative]
A member of the National Assembly shall have the right to initiate bills. A bill initiated by a member and rejected by the Assembly may not be re-introduced during the same session except with the approval of the Government.
Article 72 [Discussion]
(1) Upon a request signed by at least five members, any subject of general interest may be put to the National Assembly for discussion with a view to securing clarification of the Government's policy and to exchange views thereon.
(2) All other members shall also have the right to participate in the discussion.
Article 73 [Wishes]
The National Assembly shall express its wishes to the Government regarding public matters. If the Government cannot comply with these wishes, it shall state to the Assembly the reasons therefor. The Assembly may comment once on the Government's statement.
Article 74 [Committees of Enquiry]
The National Assembly shall at all times have the right to set up committees of enquiry or to depute one or more of its members to investigate any matter within the assembly's competence as prescribed in the Constitution. Ministers and all Government officials must produce testimonials, documents and statements requested from them.
Article 75 [Committee for Petitions]
(1) The Assembly shall set up, among its annual standing committees, a special committee to deal with petitions and complaints submitted to the Assembly by citizens. The committee shall seek explanation thereon from the competent authorities and shall inform the person concerned of the result.
(2) A member of the National Assembly shall not interfere with the work of either the Judicial or the Executive Power.
Article 76 [Ministerial Right to Speak]
The Prime Minister and Ministers shall be given the floor whenever they ask for it. They may call for assistance upon any senior officials or depute them to speak on their behalf. The Assembly may ask for a Minister to be present whenever a matter relating to his Minister is under discussion. The Cabinet shall be represented in the sittings of the Assembly by the Prime Minister and by some Ministers.
Article 77 [Law of Procedure]
(a) The law shall prescribe the procedure of the National Assembly and its committees and the rules pertaining to discussion, voting, questions, interpellation and all other functions prescribed in the Constitution. The law shall also prescribe the sanctions to be imposed on any member who violates order or absents himself from the meetings of the Assembly or the committees without good cause or legitimate reason.
(b) The National Assembly may make necessary regulations complementary to the law referred to in the preceding clause.
Article 78 [Order]
The maintenance of order in the National Assembly shall be the responsibility of its Speaker. The Assembly shall have a special guard under the authority of the Speaker of the Assembly. No other armed force may enter the Assembly or be stationed close to its gate unless so required by the Speaker.
Article 79 [Remuneration]
Remuneration of the members of the National Assembly shall be fixed by a law. In the event of a revision of the said remuneration, such revision shall not take effect until the next legislative term.
Article 80 [Incompatibilities]
(1) Membership of the National Assembly shall be incompatible with public office except in the case of Ministers. In such cases, the right to the remuneration for membership and the right to the salary of the portfolio shall not be combined.
(2) The law shall specify other cases of incompatibility.
Article 81 [Economic Incompatibilities]
(1) During his term, a member of the National Assembly shall not be appointed to the board of directors of a company, nor shall he participate in concessions granted by the Government for by public bodies, except in those cases prescribed by the law.
(2) Further, during the said term he shall not buy or rent any property of the State nor shall he let, sell or barter any of his property to the State, except by public auction or tender, or in compliance with the system of compulsory acquisition.
Article 82 [Decorations]
During their term, members of the National Assembly with the exception of Ministers may not be awarded decorations.
Chapter III Executive Power
Section I The Cabinet
Article 83 [Eligibility]
(a) A Minister shall satisfy the qualifications laid down in Article
of this Constitution. All Provisions regarding Ministers shall apply to the Prime Minister unless otherwise stated.
(b) Remuneration of the Prime Minister and Ministers shall be determined by law.
Article 84 [Oath of Office]
Before assuming office, the Prime Minister and Ministers shall take before the Amir the oath specified in Article
of this Constitution.
Article 85 [Powers]
(a) The Cabinet shall have control over the departments of the State. It shall formulate the general policy of the Government, pursue its execution and supervise the functioning of the Government departments.
(b) The Amir shall preside over the meetings of the Cabinet which he attends.
(c) The Prime Minister shall supervise the functions and procedures of the Cabinet. He shall be responsible for the implementation of the Cabinet's decisions and the co-ordination among the various ministries, and to ensure that their functions are integrated.
(d) The relinquishment of the position of the Prime Minister for any reason shall involve the relinquishment of all ministerial positions by the Ministers.
(e) Deliberations of the Cabinet shall be secret. Resolutions shall be passed only when the majority of its members are present and with the approval of the majority of those present. In case of an equal division of votes, the side on which the Prime Minister has voted shall prevail. Unless they resign, the minority shall abide by the opinion of the majority. Resolutions of the Cabinet shall be submitted to the Amir for ratification in cases where the issue of a decree is required.
Article 86 [Policy, Directives, Incompatibilities]
(a) Every Minister shall supervise the affairs of his Ministry and shall execute therein the general policy of the Government. He shall also formulate directives for the Ministry and supervise their execution.
(b) While in office, a Minister shall not hold any other public office or practice, even indirectly, any extragovernmental profession or undertake any industrial, commercial or financial business. He shall not participate in any concession granted by the Government or by public bodies or emulate the ministerial post with membership of the board of directors of any company, except as a representative of the Government and without remuneration. Further, during the same period, a Minister shall not buy or take on hire any property of the State even by public auction, nor shall he let, sell or barter any of his property to the State.
Article 87 [Supervision of Self-Government]
(a) The law shall regulate general and municipal self-government bodies in such a way as to ensure their independence under the direction and supervision of the State.
(b) The State shall direct bodies of public interest in such a way that they conform to the general policy of the State and the benefit of the citizens.
Section II Financial Affairs
Article 88 [Taxation]
(a) No general tax may be established, amended or abolished except by law. No-one may be exempted, wholly or partially, from the payment of such taxes except in the cases specified by the law. No-one may be required to pay any other tax, fee or imposition except within the limits of the law.
(b) The law shall prescribe rules for the collection of taxes, fees and other forms of public funds and the procedure for their expenditure.
(c) The law shall lay down rules for the protection of State properties, their administration, the conditions of their disposal, and the limits within which any of these properties may be relinquished.
Article 89 [Public Loans]
(a) Public loans shall be contracted by law. The State may grant or guarantee a loan by a law, or within the limits of the funds appropriated for this purpose in the budget.
(b) Local bodies such as municipalities or public bodies may grant, borrow or guarantee loans in accordance with their own regulations.
Article 90 [Budget]
(a) The fiscal year shall be fixed by a law.
(b) The Government shall draw up the annual budget, comprising the revenue and expenditure of the State, and submit it to the National Assembly for examination and approval, at least two months before the end of each current fiscal year.
(c) The budget shall be discussed in the National Assembly part by part. None of the public revenues may be allocated for a specific purpose except by a law.
(d) The budget shall be issued by a law.
(e) If the budget law has not been promulgated before the beginning of the fiscal year, the preceding budget shall be applied until the new one is issued, and revenues shall be collected and disbursements made in accordance with the law in force at the end of the preceding year.
However, if the National Assembly has approved one or more parts of the new budget, they shall be put into effect.
(f) In no case shall the maximum estimates of expenditure, included in the budget law or the laws amending it, be exceeded.
Article 91 [Expenditure]
Any expenditure not included in the budget, or in excess of the budget appropriations, as well as the transfer of any funds from one part of the budget to another, shall be effected by a law.
Article 92 [Funds]
(a) Funds for more than one fiscal year may be appropriated by a law if the nature of the expenditure so requires. In this case, each annual successive budget shall include the funds allocated for that year in the way established by the said law.
(b) An extraordinary budget valid for more than one fiscal year may be drawn up separately for the expenditure referred to in the preceding item.
Article 93 [New Taxes]
The budget law may not include any provision for establishing a new tax, increasing an existing law, or evading the issue of a law on a matter in respect of which this Constitution provides that its regulation shall be by a law.
Article 94 [Account]
The final account of the financial affairs of the State for the preceding year shall be submitted to the National Assembly within the five months following the end of the fiscal year. The ratification of the final account shall be by a decision of the National Assembly, together with its comments.
Article 95 [Law on Budget Procedures]
The law shall prescribe the provisions of both the independent and the supplementary general budgets and the final accounts thereof to which the provisions regarding the budget of the State and the final account thereof shall be applied. The law shall also prescribe the provisions of the budget and the final accounts thereof of the municipalities and the public bodies.
Article 96 [Draft of Budget]
Together with the draft annual budget, the Government shall submit to the National Assembly a statement on the financial and economic position of the State and arrangements made to implement the appropriation of the budget in effect and the effect thereof on the new draft budget.
Article 97 [Auditing]
A financial control and audit commission shall be established by a law, which shall ensure its independence. The commission shall be attached to the National Assembly and shall assist the Government and the National Assembly in controlling the collection of the State revenues and the disbursement of its expenditures within the limits of the budget. The commission shall submit to both the Government and the National Assembly an annual report on its activities and its observations.
Article 98 [Concessions, Monopolies]
(a) No concession for exploitation of either a natural resource or a public service may be granted except by a law and for a limited period. In this respect the preparatory measures shall facilitate the operations of prospecting and exploration and ensure publicity and competition.
(b) No monopoly shall be granted except by a law for a limited period.
Article 99 [Currency, Banking, Standards]
The law shall regulate currency and banking and determine standards, weights and measures.
Article 100 [Salaries]
The law shall regulate salaries, pensions, compensation, subsidies and gratuities which are a charge on the State treasury.
Chapter IV Judicial Power
Article 101 [Independence]
(a) The honour of the judiciary and the integrity and impartiality of judges are the bases of rule and a guarantee of rights and liberties.
(b) In the administration of justice judges shall not be subject to any authority. No interference whatsoever shall be allowed in the conduct of justice. The law shall guarantee the independence of the judiciary and shall state the guarantees and provisions relating to the judges.
(c) The law shall specify the rules for public prosecution, rendering of legal opinions, drafting of legislation and representation of the State before the courts and before those who are engaged in these matters.
(d) The law shall regulate the legal profession.
Article 102 [Courts]
(a) The law shall regulate the various kinds and degrees of courts and specify their functions and jurisdictions.
(b) The jurisdiction of courts martial shall be restricted to military crimes committed by members of the armed and security forces and shall not extend to others except during the time of martial law and within the limits determined by law.
(c) Sittings of the courts shall be public save in exceptional cases prescribed by the law.
(d) A Supreme Council of the judiciary shall be formed by a law which shall supervise the functions of the Courts and the offices relating thereto.
The law shall specify the jurisdiction of the said Council over the functional affairs of both the judiciary and the public prosecution.
Article 103 [Constitutional Jurisdiction]
(1) The law shall specify the judicial body competent to decide upon disputes relating to the constitutionality of laws and regulations and shall determine its jurisdiction and procedure.
(2) The law shall ensure the right of both the Government and interested parties to challenge the constitutionality of laws and regulations before the said body.
(3) If the said body decides that a law or a regulation is unconstitutional it shall be considered null and void.
[Part Five] General and Final Provisions
Article 104 [Amendments]
(a) Notwithstanding the provision of Article
of this Constitution, for an amendment to be made to any provision of this Constitution, it is stipulated that it shall be passed by a majority vote of two-thirds of the members constituting the Assembly and ratified by the Amir.
(b) If a proposed amendment to the Constitution is rejected, it shall not be put forward again before the lapse of one year from the time of its rejection.
(c) Under no circumstances shall the principle of the hereditary rule of Bahrain, the principle of liberty and equality set forth in this Constitution, as well as Article
thereof, be proposed for amendment.
(d) The powers of the Amir, specified in this Constitution, may not be proposed for amendment when a Deputy Amir is acting for him.
Article 105 [Former Treaties and Laws]
(a) The application of this Constitution shall not affect treaties and conventions previously concluded by Bahrain with other States and international organizations.
(b) All provisions of laws, decrees, regulations, orders and decision in effect upon the coming of this Constitution into force, shall continue to be applicable unless amended or repealed in accordance with the procedure prescribed in this Constitution, provided that they are not contrary to any of its provisions.
Article 106 [Official Gazette]
Laws shall be published in the Official Gazette within two weeks of their promulgation and shall come into effect one month after their publication. The latter period may be extended or reduced for any law by a special provision included in it.
Article 107 [Coming Into Force]
Laws shall apply to that which takes place after the date of their coming into force, and thus shall have no effect in respect of that which has taken place before such date. However, in other penal matters, a law may, with the approval of a majority vote of the members constituting the National Assembly, prescribe otherwise.
Article 108 [Martial Law]
No provision of this Constitution may be suspended except when martial law is in force and within the limits specified by the law. Under no circumstances shall the meetings of the National Assembly be suspended, nor shall the immunities of its members be interfered with, during such period.
Article 109 [Promulgation of the Constitution]
This Constitution shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force as from the date of the meeting of the National Assembly which shall be not later than the Sixteenth Day of December, 1973.
{ Signed by: Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Amir of the State of Bahrain }
For methodology see:
Comparing Constitutions and International Constitutional Law
© 1994 - 27.6.2020 / For corrections please contact
A. Tschentscher
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
A Bolt from the Blue: A Small Company Grows as Exports ExpandMay 17, 2012
Doug Barry is an International Trade Specialist in the Trade Information Center, part of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service
Stress Indicators is a Maryland manufacturing company with six employees. Much of the raw materials for the product as well as the final bolt are made in the U.S. and sold worldwide. This year, production is expected to increase from 25,000 per year to 75,000, with additional increases expected next year. The company credits the U.S. Commercial Service of the International Trade Administration with providing help needed to go global. Company president Charles H Popenoe, III shared his story with Doug Barry of the Trade Information Center.
Barry: How did you get into this business and how did this business start?
Popenoe: My father, also named Charles Popenoe, worked for National Institute of Standards and Technology as a scientist. And in his spare time, as a hobby, he was an inventor. He still is an inventor. And he invented the SmartBolt and patented it.
Barry: How did he do it? Did he invent the SmartBolt in his garage or his basement?
Popenoe: Yes. Garage and basement
Barry: And he just tinkered around, and there it is?
Popenoe: Well, he saw an article in Popular Science about a bolt with a little glass window that breaks when you tighten it to the proper tension. And so he said, well, that's neat, but I can come up with a better idea than that. And he worked and worked and actually took 10 or 15 years to develop it.
Barry: How are the bolts used and by whom?
Popenoe: The applications are numerous. But we've had one in particular that's caught on, and it's really caught on worldwide. It's our most successful application. It's used for electrical connections. And basically you're joining conducting bars and they're carrying current, and they've got to be tight, or else you get heat buildup and potential of arc and other issues. It's easy for inspection as well, because you can just look at the bolt and know that it's properly tightened because of the color of the indicator in the head without touching these high-current-carrying bars.
Barry: When did you start selling outside the United States?
Popenoe: We were really just focusing on the U.S. We got a few inquiries from overseas. And one that we cultivated was with a Turkish company. It was 2009 when we got our first big order from them. And at that point, the people we were working with suggested that I talk to the Baltimore Export Assistance Center (of the Department of Commerce) to help us get started in our exporting program.
Barry: And have there been sales to additional countries since the sales to Turkey?
Popenoe: Yes. Our sales to Turkey are ongoing, so we've been able to keep that customer happy. But we're also selling to Taiwan. We have a new agreement with a company in Australia to sell throughout Southeast Asia. We're selling to South Africa, Japan, Korea, and the list goes on really. We have a good Internet presence and website, and we're strong on search terms like "tension-indicating bolts," "torque-indicating bolts." And we get a lot of interest from overseas from our website. We develop these leads right here in (Maryland) usually by email and we don't have to travel. I'm actually going to Istanbul next month to visit my Turkish customer. They've become a very important part of our business so it's about time I visited them.
Barry: What other kinds of help have you received from government?
Popenoe: One of the outputs of our work with the Export Assistance Center was being able to create a business plan to submit to the state of Maryland for an Export Maryland grant, which helps pay for some of our international sales efforts. And that actually led to a U.S. Department of Commerce trade mission to Brazil that we did the following year. So it's really been a series of services and they've all helped, really.
Barry: And a written export plan obviously was helpful to you. What are the main components of the plan?
Popenoe: Well, it's really identifying our market. But I think one of the key things is the recognition that SmartBolts is an outstanding product for export – because it's high value, its unique; it's the kind of thing that can be used in almost any industrial nation. And so the foundation of our plan is that we have a very good product for export and that we have to treat the international market very seriously if we want to grow.
Barry: Intellectual Property Protection. It took your dad 10 years to develop it so this would hard to reverse-engineer it in short order.
Popenoe: It is patented. And we have a series of patents, some internationally. But mostly we're protecting it based on the fact that we're the only ones that know how to make it, and it's not trivial to manufacture, and we're trying to stay ahead of the competition. But at the same time, we know that the challenge is there. And then we have to keep developing new products to stay ahead of those who would copy it.
Barry: What percentage of your business is international?
Popenoe: Well, last year about 50 percent of our sales was international. So it's very significant. It may even be greater than that this year.
Barry: Good. And what advice would you have to other U.S. companies that are considering expanding internationally or getting into it for the first time?
Popenoe: Well, I think your local Export Assistance Center has a lot of resources to help companies determine whether they're a good candidate for exporting. And I think that's where I would start, because that will point companies in the right direction to see where they should go from there. The networking opportunities are also great. And so at this point we're a fledgling exporter. But, you know, in the future I certainly hope to be a model and assist others in the same path.
Barry: Export sales as 50 percent of total revenue hardly fits with "fledgling," but I admire your understatement and your modesty. Are you publicly traded?
Popenoe: No, that's not likely. We're still a small company–but we're growing.


text:
"The world is a much more hopeful place because of the work and life of Lester Brown. World on the Edge should be read by everyone who wants to see a better life for their children, which is just about everybody." —Ted Glick, Policy Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Chapter 12. Accelerating the Transition: NGOs and Individuals
Few areas of human activity have been so dominated by NGOs as the environmental movement. Broadly speaking, NGOs evolve to fill gaps left by government and the business sector. Literally thousands of such groups have been formed in both industrial and developing societies. Most NGOs are public interest groups as opposed to special interest groups.
Environmental groups are sometimes local, single-issue organizations with a handful of members. Others are full-spectrum groups that are global in their membership and orientation. Membership may vary from a handful of people to several million. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), for example, with a worldwide membership that climbed from 570,000 in 1985 to 5.2 million in 1995, has an influence on environmental policy that exceeds that of many governments. Environmental groups play a major educational role through their press releases, magazines, newsletters, Web sites, and electronic mailing lists. When coalitions mobilize to focus on a single issue, they can become a formidable political force.30
Using the Internet to mobilize political support for environmental actions is a valuable new asset in the effort to build an eco-economy. Thousands of environmental NGOs have Web sites and electronic mailing lists that provide information on key issues. Concerned individuals can develop their own electronic mailing lists, distributing environmental information to hundreds, if not thousands, of friends and associates. Research by environmental groups provides information to guide environmental activists. The Worldwatch Institute, founded in 1974 in Washington, D.C., was the first such global environmental research group, followed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 1982, also in Washington, and the Wuppertal Institute in Germany. Research by these and other groups underpinned much of the discussion at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The annual State of the World report launched by Worldwatch in 1984 was designed to fill the gap in the series of U.N. annual reports. For example, the World Health Organization produces The State of the World's Health, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization publishes The State of Food and Agriculture, and the U.N. Population Fund, The State of the World's Population. But until UNEP launched a comprehensive Global Environmental Outlook report, the United Nations had failed to produce a regular state of the environment report. As evidence of the hunger for environmental information, Worldwatch Institute's annual State of the World report has been translated into more than 30 languages.
The World Resources Institute is anchoring a worldwide collaborative effort on a "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment." This project, in which WRI has involved the World Bank, UNEP, and the U.N. Development Programme, is by far the most ambitious, detailed assessment of global ecosystems ever undertaken. Involving major scientific bodies and hundreds of scientists, this project is designed to provide information on the present and likely future condition of the world's ecosystems to guide future ecosystem management.31
At the other end of the environmental spectrum is Greenpeace, an activist organization. It shares the same goals as the research institutes, but whereas they rely on analysis and information to bring about change, Greenpeace relies primarily on political confrontation and media events that can rally public opinion. Even the threat of a boycott of a company product can induce changes in corporate policy. This was perhaps most dramatically displayed in 1996, when Shell was planning to dispose of a wornout oil rig, the Brent Spar, by simply dumping it in the North Sea. Greenpeace's attack on Shell over this plan took the form of a boycott of service stations in Germany. In the face of declining gasoline sales, Shell acquiesced and developed another means of disposal.32
NGOs have greatly strengthened their role at the international level as a result of advances in communication, including the fax machine, e-mail, and the cell phone. In 1998, for example, governments of 29 of the more affluent countries entered into closed-door negotiations on a multilateral agreement on investment. NGOs mounted a worldwide challenge to this secretive process and aroused so much public concern that they were able to bring it to a halt. The groups that objected to these negotiations were concerned that this agreement on investment would lead to a downward spiral in both environmental standards and wages—in the words of one analyst, "a race to the cellar."33
In late 1999, the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was founded in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, convened a meeting in Seattle to develop the agenda for a new round of trade talks—the Millennium Round. Although only a few years old, the WTO had gained a reputation for recognizing only bottom-line economic issues. It seemed more or less oblivious to environmental and social issues affected by trade policy decisions. In virtually every case involving conflicts between trade expansion and environmental protection, the WTO had ruled in favor of trade expansion.34
The WTO had set off alarm bells for those in environmental groups, in organized labor, and in developing countries, which often came out on the wrong end of trade liberalization negotiations. The Seattle meeting was attended by some 5,000 delegates and political leaders, including environment and trade ministers, from more than 150 countries. But there were also 50,000 protesters who used civil disobedience to disrupt transportation and the convening and progress of the talks. The U.S. National Guard intervened, using tear gas and arresting hundreds of protesters in a response reminiscent of anti-war demonstrations of the early 1970s. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed. Fifty square blocks in downtown Seattle were set aside as a "no protest zone."35
In the end, the talks collapsed largely because of public criticism of the failure to consider environment and poverty adequately. WTO officials were in a state of shock and may never be the same again. Nor should they be. If they were not aware of environmental and social issues before the protests in Seattle, they are now. Most U.N. agencies, the World Bank, and national governments now recognize that NGOs are stakeholders, that they often represent societal interests even more effectively than do elected politicians, who are sometimes corrupted by the political process. NGOs have acquired experience, expertise, and skill in analyzing issues and in confronting governments that they believe are behaving irresponsibly. They are now treated less as mere critics on the sidelines and more as partners in negotiations and in developing agendas for international conferences.
From time to time, a government or group of governments sides with NGOs on an issue. In 1997, for example, Taiwan announced a plan to dispose of nuclear waste in North Korea. Unwilling or unable to dispose of it within its boundaries, the government was taking advantage of the abysmal poverty in North Korea to buy a place to dump the waste from nuclear power plants. The government of South Korea and the powerful Korean Federation of Environmental Movement combined forces in opposition to this plan. In the end, they succeeded.36
In 1997, a loose array of some 400 NGOs and the Canadian government launched an effort to ban the use of landmines. Although the United States was opposed to the effort, the NGOs mobilized enough public opinion to get the signatures of 122 governments on the landmine-banning treaty. By now, 117 countries have ratified the accord, which went into force on 1 March 1999. New communications technologies played a central role in mobilizing worldwide political support in support of the ban.37
Individuals also play an important role in the global environmental movement. Indeed, Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring, is widely credited with being the founder of the modern environmental movement. Her book, which dealt with the use of pesticides, such as DDT, that were threatening bird populations, filled a gap because the U.S. government was not responding to this threat.
Ted Turner, founder of CNN, set the standard for individual philanthropy when in 1997 he announced his gift of $1 billion to the United Nations to support work on population stabilization, environmental protection, and the provision of health care. He created the UN Foundation to serve as a vehicle through which the resources could be transferred. Turner could have waited, leaving a bequest to set up the foundation after his death. But given the urgency of the situation, he argued that billionaires needed to respond now to the world's most pressing problems before they spin out of control, becoming unmanageable. It is quite likely that Turner's initiative affected Bill Gates of Microsoft and other newly minted billionaires. Gates himself has now set up the world's largest foundation and is allocating sums of money that dwarf the resources of many governments in an effort to improve health and stabilize population in developing countries.38
At the grassroots level, Wangari Maathai, who has organized women in Kenya to plant trees, serves as a model for environmentalists everywhere. She wants to reforest Kenya and restore its environmental health. Because she often challenges corrupt political leaders, she has been beaten and threatened numerous times. Similarly, Chico Mendes organized rubber tappers in the Amazon who depend on the trees for their livelihoods. They opposed the large ranchers who wanted to convert these forested regions to rangeland. Although Mendes paid the ultimate price when he was gunned down by killers hired by the ranchers, the movement he started continues.39
NGOs and individuals have been instrumental in bringing about many basic changes, playing a leading role in bringing the growth of nuclear power to a halt, in raising public awareness of climate change, and in putting water scarcity on the global agenda. The challenge to environmental groups now is to broaden their agendas so they can promote a shared vision of an eco-economy and can work together to make it a reality.
30. WWF membership growth from Curtis Runyan, "Action on the Front Lines," World Watch, November/December 1999, p. 14.
31. World Resources Institute, World Resources 2000-2001 (Washington, DC: 2001).
32. Greenpeace and Brent Spar in P.J. Simmons, "Learning to Live with NGOs," Foreign Policy, fall 1998, p. 90.
33. Runyan, op. cit. note 30.
34. "A WTO Primer," Time, 5 December 2000.
35. Richard Lacayo, "Rage Against the Machine," Time, 13 December 1999.
36. Choi Yul, Director General of Korean Federation of Environmental Movement, discussion with author, 3 June 1997.
37. From International Campaign to Ban Landmines, www.icbl.org, updated as of 17 July 2001.
38. David Rhode, "Ted Turner Plans a $1 Billion Gift for U.N. Agencies," New York Times, 19 September 1997; John Donnelly, "Bill Gates, Caregiver: The Microsoft Founder is Spending Billions to Provide Health Services to the World's Poor," Boston Globe, 24 December 2000.
39. Elissa Sonnenberg, "Environmental Hero: Wangari Maathai," Environmental News Network, 25 September 2000; Andrew Revkin, The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest (New York: Plume, 1994).
Copyright © 2001 Earth Policy Institute


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Though would-be mobile carrier LightSquared says it still wants to find a solution to interference with GPS, its options are limited, industry observers said on Wednesday.
Following a recommendation from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed indefinitely suspending LightSquared's authorization to operate a land-based network. It also called for cancelling a conditional waiver that would have let the carrier sell access to its satellite and LTE (Long-Term Evolution) networks separately. That waiver is conditioned on interference issues being resolved first.
The FCC's response came after months of charges and countercharges between LightSquared and backers of GPS, including the Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration. In the end, it was critical federal agencies, more than the GPS equipment makers and industries that use the navigation technology, that probably drove the FCC to take the firm position it did, analysts said.
"In the spectrum world, GPS was too big to fail," said Maury Mechanick, an attorney at White & Case and a former executive of satellite provider Comsat.
While LightSquared and some advocates of greater broadband competition decried the possibility of shelving a project that could have brought a fast mobile network to 260 million U.S. residents, GPS supporters praised the FCC's decision.
"The FCC has acted appropriately by declaring that its non-interference condition has not been satisfied and that LightSquared will not be permitted to move forward with its proposal to build a nationwide high-powered terrestrial network in the mobile satellite band," the Coalition to Save Our GPS, a frequent LightSquared critic, said in a statement on Tuesday.
LightSquared and Philip Falcone, whose Harbinger Capital funds the fledgling carrier, both slammed the FCC proposals while holding out hope for a solution that would let the network go forward. In a statement released late Wednesday, Falcone said the federal government had ordered LightSquared to build a US$14 billion network and then blocked it from doing so. He said this decision was a political one driven by special interest groups and called for "rational public policy" to keep the plan alive.
However, there may not be much LightSquared or Falcone can do to reverse the tide. The FCC's decision came after extensive testing ordered by the NTIA last year, which concluded that a majority of consumer navigation devices would be negatively affected by LightSquared's network. The testers also concluded that interference would affect aviation receivers, though they found that GPS in cellphones wasn't affected.
Those tests might form the basis of a LightSquared strategy to win back its network dream, Mechanick at White & Case said.
To reverse the FCC's decision, LightSquared might challenge it in a U.S. Court of Appeals on the grounds that the agency reached its conclusion on the basis of a flawed testing process. The company has already laid some of the groundwork for such an appeal through formal complaints about the process, such as a petition for an investigation into conflicts of interest by members of the agency that oversaw the tests.
However, this would be a long shot, Mechanick said. Even if the court sided with LightSquared, the issue would go back to the FCC while the interference issue still hung over the company. Revising the testing process and conducting new tests could take a year or two, during which time LightSquared might not be able to survive financially, he said.
LightSquared also has tried to lay the blame for its network woes on the GPS vendors, saying they knowingly made receivers that scanned for GPS signals in the adjacent band, making themselves vulnerable to interference. But it probably isn't possible to translate this argument into a legal complaint, Mechanick said. Though anyone using a transmitter in an unauthorized way can be held liable for interference, one simply receiving signals outside the proper band typically can't, according to Mechanick.
In addition to its frequencies in the band adjacent to GPS, LightSquared also has rights to some spectrum in other bands that it could use for terrestrial services, according to Tolaga Research analyst Phil Marshall. However, this spectrum, in the 1.4GHz, 1.6GHz and 2GHz bands, is probably too fragmented to support a mobile broadband service, he said.
"They've got bits and pieces, but it's very hard to see that they can do anything with it," Marshall said.
LightSquared claims more than 30 wholesale customers, but those allies may peel off to use other networks with more solid prospects, Marshall said. One already has: FreedomPop, the startup formed by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom that would offer free mobile broadband to some subscribers, announced on Wednesday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Clearwire.
Sprint Nextel, which last year signed a 15-year deal to host LightSquared's service on its new network in return for cash and credits to use some of LightSquared's capacity, has granted the company two deadline extensions to achieve FCC approval. "Sprint has been supportive of LightSquared's business plans and efforts to resolve interference issues expediently," the carrier said Wednesday.
However, Sprint could easily walk away from LightSquared with no great loss to its LTE capacity plan, Marshall said. Sprint is better off relying more heavily on Clearwire, of which it is the major shareholder, he said. "I don't think it's a major blow for them."
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com


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…Except that I'm totally going to comment because I can't shut up. If you weren't reading here a year and a half ago you are totally not going to understand this but I can't really explain it because I sort of implied that I wouldn't talk about it anymore, but there is no fucking way that I can't post this, so let me just say that 1) I love Nathan Fillion and no one should fuck with him or even mention this to him because I think it makes him sad and even God cries when Captain Mal is sad, and 2) celebrities holding random, bizarre things for the joy of being silly automatically soaks up oil spills and makes kitten's eyes extra shiny.
And so, without further ado, a 51st-century rogue time agent (slash) Doctor's companion just being fucking awesome:
The man manages to make everything look sexy. I'm pretty sure he impregnated that spool just by holding it.
PS. Special thanks to the fantastic John Barrowman and to my sweet friend Maria.
PPS. This doesn't count as a real post. I'll post something real in a minute after you've had a second to fist-pump with glee and/or be extremely confused.


text: [Jacob] wanted to play some sega games on his PC and felt like the experience just wasn't complete while using the keyboard for input. He had an old MadCatz controller laying around, which could have probably been connected fairly simply, but he really wanted it to be wireless. A wireless keyboard was sacrificed, and the wireless genesis controller was born. To make it, he disassembled the keyboard to take the controller chip out. After tracing out and soldering switches to the leads, he installed it in his genesis controller.


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Music Case is a free practice app that helps you to understand the progress you are making over time, increasing your motivation to keep learning.
Our new Percussion Syllabus is designed to offer a flexible approach to percussion assessment. There are exams at Grades 1-8 in Snare Drum, Timpani and Tuned Percussion as individual, standalone subjects. We also offer a Percussion (Combined) exam at Grades 1-8 to allow candidates to demonstrate their skills in all three subjects.
Percussion exams consist of three pieces, studies or scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and aural tests. Total marks in all individual Practical exams are 150. 100 marks are required to achieve a Pass, 120 to pass with Merit and 130 marks to pass with Distinction.
Select a grade using the links below to view the syllabus and supporting materials for that grade.
Percussion from 2020, Grades 1 to 8
Grades: Percussion
Other assessments
Other Assessments
Other Assessments
Books for Grades 1 to 5 including exam pieces and studies.
Book for Grades 6–8 for Timpani and Snare Drum.
Book for Grades 6–8 including exam pieces across all Percussion subjects.
Books for Grades 1–5 and 6–8 for Tuned Percussion.
Books for Grades 1–5 and 6–8 across all Percussion subjects.
Supporting apps
Music Case
Aural Trainer
Aural Trainer features interactive challenges to develop your aural skills and make aural practice more engaging.
Music Theory Trainer
Music Theory Trainer helps bring music theory to life with fun and engaging challenges at Grades 1–5.


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I have been following Stipple for a while now and with today's big announcement tied to Facebook support launched the platform to the forefront of my mind to support social content & publishing strategies. What is Stipple? If you have not heard about the service, Stipple allows you to embed interactive hotspots into an image to create additional connections directly within the image. Today's announcement is key for those who manage owned properties as now Stipple supports direct publishing support via Facebook a feature that has been missing to date.
Now it is possible to add a data driven overlay to an image that can create connections directly from the newsfeed that allow users to take action. Whether it is to drive to a branded destination such as the brands Facebook brand page or .com, create a quick path to purchase opportunity by linking the image to an e-commerce based product, embed a link to videos that relate to the image, or create additional connections as outlined below.
Today's announcement is a huge addition for those of us who manage Facebook brand properties. Combine this with my recent discussions associated with visual storytelling to drive engagement and you can create a rich experience that can immediately extend the reach of a static image.
With a majority of engagement happening directly from the newsfeed, adding a rich content overlay to images can optimize associations related to the content. The combinations and support possibilities are endless. Whether it's supporting branded content, promotion, acquisition, etc… the flexibility to tag and append content to an image is a great way to maximize story creation and connection throughout an integrated approach across channels.
In November of 2012, Stipple rolled out the ability to support Twitter publishing. From a single Tweet you can surface videos, photos, etc.. in-stream vs pushing to another destination. Adding a rich content overlay through this media is a great way to extend static images, or link to terms & conditions for a Twitter driven promotion, etc…
I first noticed a Stipple execution by IKEA and I immediately saw the potential. The ability to claim attribution, but also create a centralized experience with various access points is something that create additional value for online retailers. I immediately started to tout the benefits to this approach, but there were limitations to social sharing until today. Now with the additional support for Facebook & Twitter, the value of this platform increases exponentially for those who drive owned asset creation & publication.
It's one thing to publish and push content out, but having the ability to measure the engagement and reach of each individual image and the interactions that Stipple creates is another advantage to leveraging this platform. As you can see below, Stipple allows the tracking of engagement and reach so image interactions can be applied into the current KPI's associated with your publishing strategy.
I would definitely recommend evaluating Stipple and the potential impact to your publishing strategy.
Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360


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The U.S. Army Research Office has just thrown some money the way of 4D printing—but what, exactly, is all the fuss about? This beautiful video goes a long way to showing us why the technology is so exciting.
The title '4D printing' is fairly slippery, but we had a stab at pinning down the concept recently:
In essence, the "fourth dimension" represents change—4D printing simply refers to printers that create objects that can transform over time and, in some cases, self-assemble.
This video, by Kinematics, give a flavor of what that can mean in reality. In its own words:
Kinematics is a system for 4D printing that creates complex, foldable forms composed of articulated modules. The system provides a way to turn any three-dimensional shape into a flexible structure using 3D printing.
The main advantage, as the video shows, is that shapes can be squashed right down into their smallest arrangement and 3D printed economically. Then, the structures can fold out into gorgeous, long, flowing arrangements.
These things really do look stunning. How well this will all work in practice, however? Well, that remains to be seen. [Kinematics via Boing Boing]