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Good news for those heading to see Another Honest Jon's Chop Up in Dublin and Cork (Cork now sold out) on November 1st and 28th October respectively – Shangaan Electro have been added to the bill.
The current confirmed lineup for the gigs is:
Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Flea, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Phil Cohran, Fatou Diawara, Theo Parrish, M.anifest., Cheick Tidiane Seck and Shangaan Electro.
Actress cannot make it.
Choice Cuts have also launched their Rhythm Weekender featuring Modeselektor, Cut Chemist, Hypnotic Brass, Plaid, Entroducing Live!, jacques Greene, Moths and more.
Read about my day trip into Shangaan Electro.
Buy tickets here.
Listen to clips of Shangaan Electro as remixed by Theo Parrish Oni Ayhun, Peverelist, Villalobos, Ernestus.


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Editors note: This blog was written by our friends at Luggage Free, one of the leaders in door-to-door luggage, ski, bike and golf club shipping.
Vacation stress can make your vacation go from something you enjoy to something you need a vacation to recover from. Learn how to reduce vacation stress now!
Make Your Vacation More Enjoyable by Cutting Down the Stress
Have you ever felt like you needed a few days just to recover from your vacation after it's over? Doesn't it strike you as odd that you need to plan in some down time when you should be returning refreshed and ready to get back to the routine of things?
While there are a number of reasons for this, a major factor is the stress levels that are usually involved in an extended trip away from your home. Here are some ways to reduce the stress of your trip.
While the specific ideas may vary, the overarching theme is this: simplify. Here's how you can do that.
Research the Electrical System in Your Destination Country
Few things are more frustrating than packing a bevy of electronics—hair dryers, laptops, curling irons, and even cell phones—only to discover that the electrical system in your destination country is incompatible with the things you brought.
For example, in Europe the electrical appliances run on 220 volts, while in the U.S., they run on 110. This means if you try to plug your laptop in over in Europe, you could end up with some very unsatisfactory results.
Something like this has an easy fix, assuming you know about it and plan ahead. You can get adaptors to use while you're abroad. Rather than discovering you need an adaptor at 3 A.M. in your hotel room, a few minutes of research before you leave can let you address the issue beforehand.
Of course, this is just one example. Wherever your destination, do a little bit of research in advance to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Skip the Customs Lines and Don't Play Roulette with the Airlines
Airlines are notorious for losing luggage — and, it seems that the more important the luggage, the more likely it is to arrive late (or not at all). On top of this, taking too many bags through customs can be quite taxing, to say the least.
You can skip all this hassle by using a service such as Luggage Free. These services take your luggage and ship it directly to your destination. You get to skip the hassle of going through customs and the worry that the airlines will send your luggage to the wrong country.
By following these tips — and by preparing with an eye towards simplifying your experience — you can free up the time and energy spent on problems and instead focus on your vacation. Enjoy!

subset: commoncrawl


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CBC News
April 26, 2011
Toronto's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee is now dealing with one of the major issues that propelled Rob Ford into the mayor's office — garbage collection.
The committee is hearing from people and groups who mostly oppose the mayor's plan to privatize garbage collection west of Yonge Street.
In the summer of 2009 Toronto's municipal workers went on strike - with the most visible sign being the heaps of garbage in the city.
In his 2010 election campaign Ford promised to privatize garbage collection.
But because of collective agreements with municipal workers, to start with he'll only be able to privatize collection west of Yonge Street and east of Etobicoke, where trash pick-up is already contracted out.
On Tuesday the committee heard from environmentalists, city workers, union representatives and ordinary citizens — most of whom do not want to see the city privatize trash collection.
A recent staff report said privatizing collection could save $8-million annually by eliminating 300 temporary positions and associated capital costs.
The private contract is estimated to be worth $20 million per year over the next seven years. There are also projections that the cost could jump to $270 million based on current budget figures.
If the decision is made to approve the move, Ford wants a committee made up of city staff to select the winning trash collection bid. Some city councillors say such an action would set a dangerous precedent. They want full council — not a staff committee — to approve such an important decision.
As Originally Published: Toronto talks privatizing trash


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Dissent in the Shambhala Community
July 30, 2009
Article in The Coast, Volume 17, Number 10 (July 30 – August 5, 2009)
The Coast, Halifax's what's-happening-around-town free weekly, just published a short article on Radio Free Shambhala. In paper it was titled Sham. dissent (probably for width reasons), while on the web it's Dissent in the Shambhala Community.
Here's the text of the article.
Dissent in the Shambhala community
New website Radio Free Shambhala illuminates a disagreement over the relationship between Buddhism and Shambhala.
An unusually public display of dissent and controversy among the Halifax-based Shambhala community is playing out on a provocative website that questions the present leadership direction of the organization.
RadioFreeShambhala.org was started about a year ago, says Mark Szpakowski, a web developer who came up with the idea for the site with fellow Shambhalan Ed Michalik. "It came about because there wasn't a venue for discussion, and there were a whole lot of topics that some people thought weren't being talked about at all," explains Szpakowski.
The heart of the issue is a disagreement over the relationship between Buddhism and Shambhala.
"Shambhala" is a collection of teachings from Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a charismatic Buddhist scholar who, at the age of 20, fled Tibet as Chinese armies were moving into that country in 1959. Trungpa went on to become the leading figure bringing Tibetan meditation practices to the west, and became established among the 1960s counterculture—Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, for example, taught at Trungpa's Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
In 1986, Trungpa moved his operation to Halifax, and many of his supporters followed him here, establishing the local Shambhala community.
Trungpa died the following year, and after a mostly behind-the-scenes power struggle lasting two years, his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, took control of the organization.
"Many people who are devoted to Trungpa Rinpoche and who don't consider the Sakyong to be their teacher don't feel welcomed by the community, and they're afraid to speak up," comments dissident Andrew Safer on the Radio Free Shambhala site.
"Chögyam Trungpa had done the Buddhist thing, and he was an absolute master of them, and took a very rigorous approach to that," explains Szpakowski. "But he saw that for the next long period of time, what the world needs is some kind of relationship that brings the sacred and the secular together.
"There was a whole stream of teachings that were presented that were independent of Buddhism, which were the Shambhala teachings, even though of course Chögyam Trungpa obviously came from Tibet and he himself was a Tibetan Buddhist."
Trungpa taught that anyone at all, from any religion, or an atheist, could use Shambhala practices. And, in fact, many of Trungpa's followers don't consider themselves Buddhist; Michalik, for example, describes himself as a devout Roman Catholic.
But, say commenters on the Radio Free Shambhala site, Sakyong Mipham has insisted on re-asserting the traditional Tibetan Buddhist lineages, and generally bringing religion back into the organization.
That kernel of disagreement has widened into broader disagreements, including over organizational finances.
The Shambhala organization did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this article. —Tim Bousquet
Deception, Corruption and Truth
July 21, 2009
Commentary by Suzanne Duarte
Hell is the truth realized too late. ~ E.O. Wilson, Harvard biologist
It is said that when a great teacher passes, as Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche did in 1987, his or her students each carry particular teachings from that teacher that they then have the responsibility to bring to fruition in their lives. This is how lineage is carried on. I received many transmissions from Trungpa Rinpoche, but after he died several specific aspects of his teachings rose to consciousness, bringing an urgent sense of my obligation to fulfill them. These pieces came as little energetic packets of information—or 'medicine'—about my 'mission' that had his stamp on them. I don't know how else to explain it. These 'messages' usually came to me while I was on retreat and they shaped the path that would subsequently unfold in my life.
Two of the 'messages' I received (on two separate retreats) had to do with two dharmic values that the Vidyadhara embodied, which were reinforced in me by his example. Those values are consideration and concern for future generations and the importance of being truthful, which are related with each other. After receiving these messages after he died, I began to understand that our personal adherence to the truth – or honesty – in the present is essential for the sanity and wellbeing of future generations, and thus for the continuity of the dharma. That neither truth nor concern about future generations is a value that is widely held or respected in mainstream Western societies has become increasingly apparent to me since the Vidyadhara died, which has served to sharpen my focus on the importance of these values.
The Vidyadhara and his Kagyu and Nyingma lineages had a great deal of foresight and always acted on behalf of future beings. This was the force behind the Rimé movement in the 19th century, which helped to preserve sacred teachings in Tibet for future generations. Trungpa Rinpoche expressed his concern about the future in the Sadhana of Mahamudra and in his Shambhala teachings. I was already concerned about our collective future before I met Rinpoche in 1972, but when I found myself reciting the Sadhana of Mahamudra the first time I walked into a Dharmadhatu (aka Shambhala Center), that clinched it for me. That shared concern for the future was the main reason I became his student and it fueled my devotion to him.
Trungpa Rinpoche went to great lengths to make sure his students understood that we are the beneficiaries of the work and sacrifices of many generations of dharma practitioners and teachers whose explicit intention was to benefit future generations of human beings. In the summer of 1976 or 1977, at a Naropa Institute lecture at the Sacred Heart school auditorium, I heard Trungpa Rinpoche describe his 500-year vision of how the dharma could be kept alive through the Dark Age of materialism, and thus enable future generations to maintain awakened mind in difficult circumstances. He called this vision Enlightened Society, which is elaborated in his Shambhala teachings on warriorship. He founded Shambhala Training in the late 1970s specifically to build the foundations for an enlightened society.
In 2000, when George W. Bush showed up on the American horizon, the truth aspect of the Vidyadhara's teachings – his consistent directive to adhere fearlessly to the truth, both within ourselves and with each other – began to echo recurrently in my mind. Surrendering to the truth – even when bitter – and integrating the wisdom offered is the spiritual practice that enables the path to unfold. After all, when we enter the stream of Buddhadharma by taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, we vow to free ourselves from delusion, acknowledging that ignorance and delusion cause suffering for ourselves and others. The cure for delusion is to face the truth, the facts of reality.
As Trungpa Rinpoche said in "Just the Facts":
Dharma literally means "truth" or "norm." It is a particular way of thinking, a way of viewing the world, which is not a concept but experience. This particular truth is very painful truth — usually truths are. It rings with the sound of reality, which comes too close to home. We become completely embarrassed when we begin to hear the truth. It is wrong to think that the truth is going to sound fantastic and beautiful, like a flute solo. The truth is actually like a thunderbolt. It wakes you up and makes you think twice whether you should stay in the rain or move into the house. Provocative. . . .
Sacredness doesn't come in the form of religion, as a savior notion. The sacredness is the truthfulness. . . . At this point, believing in miracles is an obstacle. There is great room, on the other hand, for our minds to open, give [in] and face facts. Literally to face the facts: the facts of reality, the facts of pain, the facts of boredom.
Our world, this particular world, our Dharma, our truth, needs to be acknowledged and needs immense surrendering—not just a one-shot deal. Without this first Dharma, understanding the truth and our relationship to the truth, we could not go further.
Trungpa Rinpoche himself was fearlessly honest and up-front, and he had an unnerving, cosmic sense of humor. He abhorred deception and pretense, deplored cowardice, and was compassionately precise in exposing it – a characteristic that discomforted many students. Someone once said that the role of the spiritual friend is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. This was exemplified by Trungpa Rinpoche.
His emphasis on truth as sacred dharma confirmed my intuitive conviction that lies and deception are corrosive. Lies and deception create fragmentation, confusion, and degradation. Cleaving to truth gives us strength, backbone, and is essential for maintaining integrity and sanity, whereas lying fragments our integrity and therefore weakens us. Deception also sows corruption in our social milieu, like a virus in the collective psyche. Truth sets things right and restores sanity, at least for a little while, until the virus of corruption erupts again.
During George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 2000, the pretence and deception were so transparent that I could not understand how so many people could fall for it. Bush's election was 'dodgy,' to say the least, but he got in, and the fact that so many people were so easily deceived did not bode well for the future. Indeed, a virus of corruption erupted during the Bush II administration, and that virus seemed to spread to other countries due to the American political and economic hegemony that existed when Bush took office – as if the world said, "If they do it in American, it must be okay."
I cite the example of the Bush II years to illustrate the relationship between deception, corruption and collective suffering, which is the converse of the relationship between truth (dharma) and the wellbeing of future generations. Although the corruption in the Bush administration may not have exceeded by orders of magnitude that of other corrupt American administrations, it was nevertheless a dramatic example of the old adage that "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
In any case, my conviction in the value of honesty and my visceral antipathy towards deception kept my attention riveted to the shenanigans of the second Bush administration. There seemed to be no end to the lies, hypocrisy, secretiveness, cover-ups, disinformation, denial and distortion of scientific findings (e.g., global warming!), intrigues, scandals, fraud, subterfuge, and evasion that came out of that administration or were permitted by it.
It seems significant that the Bush II years were marked by numerous scandals in the United States, beginning in October 2001 with the Enron scandal – the largest corporate scandal in American history, which involved Bush's good friend Ken Lay. And just before Bush left office, another gigantic scandal erupted in December 2008 with revelations of the $65 billion fraud case against Bernard Madoff – "the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person," which has had devastating effects on many sangha people. We can't blame all of this on Mr. Bush, but a culture of deception and corruption did proliferate during his administration, and now we can watch (and experience) the ripening of the karma as the United States and the global economy suffer the economic consequences.
On July 12, 2009, an article in The Independent reported on the "State of the Future," the largest single report to look at the future of the planet. Entitled "The planet's future: Climate change 'will cause civilisation to collapse,'" the article says:
The impact of the global recession is a key theme, with researchers warning that global clean energy, food availability, poverty and the growth of democracy around the world are at "risk of getting worse due to the recession." The report adds: "Too many greedy and deceitful decisions led to a world recession and demonstrated the international interdependence of economics and ethics."
Although the future has been looking better for most of the world over the past 20 years, the global recession has lowered the State of the Future Index for the next 10 years. Half the world could face violence and unrest due to severe unemployment combined with scarce water, food and energy supplies and the cumulative effects of climate change.
This report vividly illustrates the effects of deception and corruption. "Too many greedy and deceitful decisions" lead to collective suffering in the future because deception and corruption are entropic. They create disorder and degradation, ruptures in the fabric of reality, and are therefore, by definition, unsustainable. It doesn't matter how many people buy into the deception and participate in the corruption, there is no safety in numbers. Rationalizing that 'everybody does it' provides no cover. The rotten karma will still ripen. And the more widespread the deception and corruption are, the more people get hurt. In the case of climate change, for example – which the Bush administration denied for 8 years, delaying action to mitigate the effects – the collective suffering could go on for centuries.
But what does all this have to do with the dharma and why talk about this on RFS? Corruption can and does occur on a spiritual level as well as in the political economy. Spiritual corruption begins when we depart from the truth, the dharma. When we deceive ourselves, we inevitably deceive others, which starts the degenerative cycle of corruption.
In fact, the Vidyadhara said that deception creates samsara (cyclic existence and suffering due to ignorance and delusion):
With tremendous deception, we create samsara — pain and misery for the whole world, including ourselves – but we still come off as if we were innocent. We call ourselves ladies and gentlemen, and we say, "I never commit any sins or create any problems. I'm just a regular old person, blah blah blah." That snowballing of deception and the type of existence our deception creates are shocking.
You might ask, "If everybody is involved with that particular scheme or project, then who sees the problem at all? Couldn't everybody just join in so that we don't have to see each other that way? Then we could just appreciate ourselves and our snowballing neuroses, and there would be no reference point whatsoever outside of that." Fortunately — or maybe unfortunately — we have one person who saw that there was a problem. That person was known as Buddha.
(From "Introduction" to The Truth Of Suffering And The Path Of Liberation, edited by Judith Lief, Shambhala Publications 2009.)
No matter how many people believe a lie, it's still a lie, and it still creates samsara, corruption, karma, and suffering – a setting sun world. The lie has to be exposed. To be permissive of deception is to collude with it and corrupt ourselves. This is the Buddha's painful and embarrassing truth that "comes too close to home." But, since it's the Buddha's truth, there is still good news: recognizing deception and corruption and realizing the truth releases the energy that has been locked up in evasion, and that is the energy we use to liberate ourselves and walk the path of dharma.
Allegiance with the truth, no matter the cost, enables us to remain in integrity, connected with reality, one with the dharma. We have to look beneath the deceptive surface of 'normality' to glean the truth of things as they are – whether about ourselves or about our world. Being open to seeing the truth, rather than shying away from it, arouses our creative energy, raises our lungta, and turns the poison of delusion into medicine – insight. Of course, it is certainly best to catch deception before we become involved in corruption, for then we might think we have too much to lose by facing the truth – which is the ultimate deception that creates samsara.
As the Vidyadhara said, surrendering to the truth isn't a one-shot deal. It is a continuous process of unmasking ourselves, cutting through deception, through spiritual materialism and all the other tricks of ego that are reinforced by our conditioning in the setting-sun world. Our wisdom co-emerges with our confusion when we are willing to catch ourselves in deception and surrender to the truth.
The energy of truth uplifts us and takes us forward in a dharmic direction, the direction of enlightened society. Enlightened Society is our hope for the future of humanity and of the dharma, and that hope resides in being honest and truthful with ourselves and each other.
On Differing Views and Paths
July 16, 2009
Interview with Richard Reoch, by Andrew Safer
On-line discussions on the Radio Free Shambhala web site and various listservs have been pointing out that there are students of Trungpa Rinpoche who are continuing along the path he set out for them, and who don't feel welcome within the current-day Shambhala community. It no longer feels like "home" to them. Sometimes they are disparaged by community members who cite their "lack of loyalty" to the current Sakyong.
Andrew Safer of Radio Free Shambhala recently had the opportunity to ask Richard Reoch, President of Shambhala, to comment on this state of affairs.
Radio Free Shambhala: As you know, there has been tension and disagreement between some of Trungpa Rinpoche's senior students and some of the students of the Sakyong, regarding changes to the practice path and differences of view. Many of these senior students do not feel that there is room for them within the Shambhala mandala.
Richard Reoch: It's true that some of the long-term students of the Vidyadhara feel like they're not supported. I and others have been in conversation with some of the long-term acharyas to see what is the practice support that is needed that would continue to nurture their path, and not make them feel excluded.
RFS: Sometimes the samaya of these senior students has been questioned.
Richard Reoch: That's not what I feel Shambhala vision is about. I do not believe we should be commenting on or having the presumption to comment on another practitioner's samaya. We all have a common, deep karmic connection. Probably most of us can't even fathom it. We are all in this extraordinary lineage stream. We have a deep shared vision, at least about what Shambhala means, in an archetypal sense, in our subconscious.
To regard someone who is maintaining samaya within the Shambhala lineage as a dissenter is a mistaken view. It is not helpful to comment on the legitimacy of another person's practice of samaya. Perhaps this happens because we don't have the ground for the perpetuation of lineage in this culture. If you think several generations ahead, are we going to say that the students of the next Sakyong are dissenters because they're following the teachings of Mipham? This is a fundamental misunderstanding of lineage.
One problem with the transplantation of egoless devotion from a culture like Tibet to a culture like we have in the West is we don't have a tradition of lineage in modern form. We don't have the cultural roots to support that. We are all grappling with how to understand this profound teaching.
I try to use the office I hold (as President), and the authority that goes with it to deal with this issue. When members of our community are described as "border tribes"—when they write me or meet with me—I devote a lot of time and try to learn from them. I think there has been a kind of polarization in which extreme language is used. We genuinely have to go deeper, beneath this level of argument, to find the commonality. I'm definitely doing that, person to person.
Maybe now that the current orientation of the path is getting clearer, we need to have a conversation with the senior acharyas about precisely what could be the support that can be provided for people who started on a particular element of the path of Shambhala and that needs to continue and be supported?
Five Sakyongs down the road, there will be people who say "I make a personal connection by reading the works of the Vidyadhara." Others will day "How fortunate it was for Shambhala that Mipham the Great reincarnated as the Sakyong." Eventually, it's not just about tolerating differences; it's about appreciating the incredible richness that's available in our kingdom.
RFS: The real question is: how are the teaching stream and legacy of Trungpa Rinpoche going to continue?
Richard Reoch: I've been in discussions with Carolyn Gimian since the beginning of the Chögyam Trungpa Legacy Project about the importance of that initiative. The analogy we have used is that the Legacy Project is like a presidential library, so things don't end up moldering and being lost. I've had some initial conversations with some of the longer-term students and acharyas about how to create an identifiable and helpful framework so no one is seen as being on one track or the other, or as renegades which is antithetical to the long-term survival of the lineage.
RFS: Many people who are devoted to Trungpa Rinpoche and who don't consider the Sakyong to be their teacher don't feel welcomed by the community, and they're afraid to speak up.
Richard Reoch: One of the earliest statements issued by the Mandala Governing Council created after the first Shambhala Congress was a statement on the commitment to openness. I asked members of that council to list the issues that people are afraid to speak up about. We seemed to have inherited an incredible atmosphere of fear, and I did not understand that. I had no idea the extent to which this community was traumatized. When I asked what issues were not being addressed, people were afraid to name the issues. I think we all realized, 'Wow, we can't even talk about what we can't talk about!' Opening up that discussion was like Glasnost and Perestroika in Shambhala.
I talked to Larry Mermelstein, and asked, "Is there anything we can do to reduce this climate of fear?" Some people were experiencing this fear in a very palpable way. If we can't create a social framework in which we understand that people will have different points of view, then all the notions of fearlessness and openheartedness—everything we're so proud of about the Shambhala inheritance—absolutely won't take root. We can't build an enlightened society on a basis of fear.
Wherever I go, I invite people to talk to me about this so I can find out more about it. Sometimes, because someone has said something extremely abusive, we feel like we're going to lose membership. There are people hiding out, as if they're the old Chi Kung masters at the height of the Cultural Revolution hoping they're not noticed by the Red Guards. It's a slow process of personal conversation, trying to address these tendencies of people persecuting each other.
When Radio Free Shambhala was established, people contacted me as if this was the end of the world. "No, just think ahead," I said. "If we think about the new golden age of Shambhala, there will be countless Web sites and social networking opportunities where people express their experience of the dharma and of different teachers, including what others might disagree with. If there's one thing that prevents establishing the kingdom of Shambhala, it's called fascism, and I'm not having anything to do with that."
The Net of Speech
July 7, 2009
Here's some of what is being said and discussed on the world wide web, that may be of interest to RFS readers. We will periodically share links to other web sites, weblogs and networks.
Not all these sites offer opportunities for commenting, so feel free to speak up here.
Before, during, and after feeling this freedom, however… please rest your mind – in whatever your best expression of practice is – and continue to share that!
The listings below are in no particular order.
Shambhala Times: Shambhala Vision, Forward Vision
Lisa Johnston describes the Shambhala Vision Campaign. Bill Karelis requests financial transparency of the Sakyong's Foundation.
Shambhala Times Nourishing the Third Jewel: A Letter from our Guest Editors
Mary Whetsell and Debbie Coats write on sangha and community: Susan Szpakowski and Suzanne (?) respond.
Church of Shambhala Vajradhara Maitreya Sangha
Remember the kid tulku in the movie Little Buddha? This is he.
Shambhala Times: Scorpion Seal Opens
"lifting a mist that has been hanging over the terma for decades."
Gomde Danmark Sangha: East-West, West-East by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche comments on the recent Is Tibetan Buddhism working in the West article.
Gesar Mukpo's Tulku trailer.


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The publication of the draft National Environment Policy (NEP) is a useful exercise irrespective of Government's intentions, which, to put it mildly, are not always clear.
Government's intense rhetoric coupled with action motivated primarily by the need to overcome threats of EU infringement proceedings is not the best way to move forward in environmental issues. Labour would certainly be no better. Past experience indicates that Labour are on the same wavelength as the PN even though their policies on a number of issues are not yet spelt out, in public at least.
In April 2010 Ernst & Young had concluded a Public Attitudes Survey on environmental issues commissioned by MEPA. The analysis of the results, available on the MEPA website makes interesting reading.
Of central importance are the conclusions relative to the inter-relationship between the environment and the economy: 69% of respondents held that the environment was as important as the economy, 23% held that the environment was more important than the economy whilst only 8% held that the economy is of over-riding importance.
Air quality, waste management and land use top the list of the environmental concerns of the Maltese. In fact these are the most worrying issues, though certainly not the only ones.
The draft NEP collects in one document a detailed list of government's environmental responsibilities, primarily resulting from the EU environmental acquis. There are also some areas covered by the draft NEP in respect of which the EU has no role. Government has erroneously described these as an indication of its determination to go beyond EU requirements.
A logical and down to earth reaction to the draft NEP is that we have been there before. A National Sustainable Development Strategy approved by Cabinet in late 2007 had approved practically a similar (although less detailed) document. It even had some specific targets all of which have been ignored by the Cabinet Minister who was responsible for their implementation: the Honourable Lawrence Gonzi whose portfolio of political responsibilities included and still includes Sustainable Development .
Is it ethical, I ask, for the Prime Minister to approve a strategy (through Cabinet) with specific targets, ignore them, abolish the Commission which drew up the strategy and then re-present substantially the same strategy and proposals in a different form? Would you believe him if he now says that he is serious about implementation of strategies and proposals originally proposed in 2007 but ignored by the government which he has led uninterruptedly since 2004? Speaking for myself I don't believe one word of what he says on the subject.
The National Sustainable Development Strategy identified various targets. Most were undated, but some basic ones had a specific timeframe by which they had to be delivered.
Among the specific targets which Dr Gonzi as Prime Minister first approved but subsequently ignored are the following :
- By 2008 draw up a strategy to enhance the use of economic instruments (eco-taxation strategy),
- By 2008 put in place a permanent structure appropriately staffed and funded to monitor and review the implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development,
- Within 18 months of the adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development (that is by mid-2009) Ministries had to prepare their action plans on the implementation of the strategy in their portfolio of responsibilities,
- By 2010 draw up an integrated Spatial Development Plan to take forward the Sustainable Development Strategy, with the participation of major stakeholders.
None of the above targets have been met.
Among the general targets approved in 2007 (4 years ago), before the re-election of Dr Gonzi as Prime Minister he had promised :
- the drawing up and implementation of a policy addressing the issue of light pollution,
- the drawing up and implementation of a dust-control policy,
- a nationwide public footpath policy which delineates paths that the public can use,
- promotion of a culture of Corporate Social Responsibility by major firms,
- enhancing enforcement and monitoring to reduce the destabilising effects on society of construction and quarrying activities.
None of the above targets have been addressed.
All the above nine proposals and many others originally forming part of the National Sustainable Development Strategy have re-surfaced in the draft NEP after being ignored for a number of years. Dr Gonzi's proposals have a habit of hopping from one policy document to the other.
This is not a serious way of doing politics. Those who like Dr Gonzi proposed strategies and failed to implement them should have the decency of explaining why they failed in their mission. Instead of doing so Dr Gonzi organised a media circus at Xrobb l-Għaġin to explain to the media the "greening of his government". Unfortunately no record is available of any of the journalists present taking him to task for trying to hide his failures.
Notwithstanding the above some benefit will surely arise out of the debate on the draft NEP: even if we have been there before and discussed it not once, not twice but many times over without any tangible result to date. The public's sensitivity to environmental issues is on the rise. Its environmental awareness is increasing rapidly. Just 18 months before a general election I do not think that anyone can be deceived anymore on green issues.
Like the PL before it the PN in government has had its chance to deliver and failed.
Carmel Cacopardo
Published in the Independent n Sunday – Environment Supplement
October 2, 2011


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Altec Lansing Speaker BoomJacket 2, IMW579-SBLUE, Superman Blue, Refurbished
- Certified IP67 rating, to withstand all elements.
- Built-in smartphone charger to power up your phone without disrupting music flow
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- Speaks the name of contact when a call is received and enables Siri for IOS devices
No Video
Our policy lasts 30 days. If 30 days have gone by since your purchase, unfortunately we can't offer you a refund or exchange.
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In a special meeting, and returning from a morning of debates on the issue, The Flagler County Commission voted 3-2 late Monday afternoon to cut its funding for Carver Gym from $117,000 this year to $90,000 next year. The vote included a recommendation to reduce funding to $60,000 the following year, and to $30,000 by 2013, essentially reducing to a nominal amount the county's involvement in keeping open the gym it has owned for the past five years and leased from the school board since 1980.
Commissioner Alan Peterson, Milissa Holland and Barbara Revels approved the plan, leaving the door open to further amendments. Revels volunteered to be–and was named–the commission's delegate to meet with Bunnell city officials, the school board and community groups interested in keeping the gym open, and looking for constructive solutions.
Click On:
- Crunch Time for Carver Gym: County Will Keep It Open, But Debates How
- Black Community Will Protest Against Ceding Carver Gym Either to Bunnell or to Other Clubs
- Boys & Girls Club Is Quitting Carver Gym
- Maneuvers Over Carver Gym Reopen Wounds Flagler Claims to be Mending
- Bunnell's Crain-Brady Leads Half-Secretive Meeting of 4 Gov't Agencies on Carver Gym
- School Board: Closing Carver Gym Not an Option; How Bunnell Killed Carver Housing
- A Confused but Adamant Bunnell Commission Wants Carver Gym to Stay Open
- How Race and Deception Are Cleaving the Fate of Bunnell's Carver Gym
"That's not what was told us when we left this afternoon, and to go back and vote on it after we left—that's not going to fly. That's a bad way of doing business. It really is," Chris Borgmann, one of the leading activists looking to keep the gym under the county's authority (without a cut in funding), said Monday evening. He'd led the commission's morning meeting after discussions had left him under the impression that there was no majority to cut funding this year. "For $90,000, where are they going to cut $30,000? Are they going to cut out all the phones? Are they going to cut out the Internet?" Borgamnn said. "They just opened up another can of worms. We'll keep fighting."
County Administrator Craig Coffey said Bunnell could agree to mow the grass, pick up the gym's Internet costs, defray the costs of water and sewer, and have the community pick up some of the costs. "there's some savings around the fringe. I don't know if it's $30,000," Coffey said. "You're looking in the area of between $5,000 and $15,000 on that, if I tried to guess, short of someone saying 'I'll throw in a little cash.'"
Listen to the Discussion and the 3-2 Vote on Carver Gym[media id=78 width=250 height=100]
Bunnell is interested in taking ownership of the gym, possibly to house its police department there as well as run programs in the gym. But after a morning of discussions that included talks with Bunnell City Manager Armando Martinez, Revels said she was not comfortable with turning over the gym to Bunnell without verifiable assurances that the city would preserve the gym as a destination for children in the South Bunnell neighborhoods–the county's most ragged, and racially segregated, neighborhoods, in a city that has done little to pay attention to those neighborhoods. Bunnell successfully resisted using federally owned land around Carver Gym, for example, to build more housing for the neighborhood's poor.
"I don't want to see the gym close no matter what. I don't want that to be the message to the community," Revels said in the discussion leading up to the vote.
Holland agreed to the extent that, with so much movement to keep the gym open, she wants to see more actual movement to do something with it–and for those interested in keeping it open to match their words with action, and money. "I want to put the scare tactic in it," Holland said. "I understand that there needs to be some programming out there. But I also don't believe that the county should be continuing in the path" it's been in.
Hanns' who favored keeping the gym open at current funding levels, said the commission's decision to keep whittling funds may change "when we hear from Bunnell and the school board." But the school board has already made clear that while it would house some adult education programming there, it was not ready to pitch in money. And Bunnell, even when it spoke of taking ownership of the gym, wanted the county to keep paying a share of the gym's costs.
Revels' volunteering to be the commission's representative on the issue in coming weeks and months is in contrast to Bunnell City Commissioner Jenny Crain-Brady's similar decision, with some differences. Revels volunteered and got the commission's blessing, her stated intention being to speak with all concerned. Crain-Brady took unilateral action, without the city commission's formal agreement, and called a semi-secret meeting where representatives from the school board, the county commission, the county housing authority and the Boys & Girls Club only were invited. The meeting sent the wrong message to the South Bunnell community, which felt excluded by the same city government it suspects most of exclusion. Soon after that meeting, the Boys & Girls Club decided to leave Carver Gym, where it had had a program for 11 years. Revels' approach to community outreach had more inclusive overtones.
[Note: this is a developing story. More soon. For a run-down on the commission's earlier discussion on Carver Gym, this morning, click here.]


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Growing in an environmentally conscious and sustainable way
De Zuidplas is a gerbera nursery that is known for growing a wide range of large-flowered gerberas in no fewer than 70 different colours. However, there is more that De Zuidplas is renowned for; the nursery has spent over 40 years developing its growing methods and entrepreneurship and making them ever more environmentally conscious and sustainable. For example, the nursery obtains its CO2 obtained from waste sourced from the Botlek industrial region, uses non-chemical herbicides, and reuses its own water instead of disposing of waste water.
Sustainable, market-oriented and societally responsible entrepreneurship
Nurseries in the Netherlands are required to comply with a growing number of governmental regulations. The MPS Group helps horticulturalists realise their ambitions of working in ways that respect people and nature alike. The group awards certificates that improve the visibility, measurability and demonstrability of quality and sustainability within the industry.
Growing collective increases the sustainability levels of the Oostland area
De Zuidplas values sustainability very highly. By engaging in collaborations with initiatives and companies, as well as with growers in the area, we are able to create a tight-knit collective of sustainable entrepreneurship. Sustainable growing is about more than just environmentally friendly growing; it also has to do with societally and employee-oriented entrepreneurship.
"In our business operations, we take care to consider our immediate surroundings, our employees and the environment."
"Contributing to a better environment and living space for both plants and humans through clever partnerships, tools and innovations."
"Greenhouses in the Westland and Oostland areas are supplied with pure CO2 from the Botlek industrial region."
"At the end of the line, a sustainable way of growing our flowers is more beneficial for all parties involved, from the employees to the suppliers and consumers. Moreover, it makes for future-proof entrepreneurship."Win a tour at Nursery de Zuidplas!
CO2 is sourced directly from the Botlek industrial region
Nurseries are still associated with extreme pollution all too often, even though this notion has long since been outdated. New technologies and developments are rapidly increasing the sustainability of the industry. De Zuidplas utilises CO2 from the Botlek industrial region to generate its heat and energy.
Residual waste is converted to energy to power greenhouses
De Zuidplas will soon be sourcing not just pure CO2 from the Botlek industrial region, but heat as well. This heat will be stored in a large buffer tank on site. Currently, said waste water still flows into the sea, but this will soon be changing.
Sustainable entrepreneurship is the future
Quality, service, and sustainability are indispensable elements of the overall production process within the chain. These core tenets shape the workplace, company policy, greenhouses and transport. Circular and sustainable entrepreneurship are the future, including in our industry.
Dealing responsibly with our nursery's (waste) water
The nursery's waste water flow is extremely minimal and its waste water processes are constantly being optimised and made increasingly sustainable. Waste water used to be disposed of via the sewers, but these days, it is converted into 100% reusable feed water for the flowers. The water is stored and cleaned via UV radiation and heating in silos outside of the greenhouses.


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Hogmanay celebrations to return to beloved Moray venue for first time in half a century
by David Mackay, Press and Journal
Hogmanay celebrations will return to a treasured Moray town centre venue for the first time in half a century.
Findhorn Bay Arts is hosting the shindig at Forres Town Hall with a wealth of traditional music acts taking part.
The venue used to be the home of Hogmanay for the local community but has not hosted such a party since the 1960s.
Now revellers are being invited to dress up with "dazzle and sparkle" from the era of the last celebration held at the town hall in order to bring in 2019.
Kresanna Aigner, director of Findhorn Bay Arts, explained that the recent takeover of the venue by the Forres Area Community Trust from the council had inspired the decision to revive the events.
She said: "The hall is in the hands of the community now which has made it possible to open it again for Hogmanay.
"We had such a successful festival this year that it just felt like the right time to resurrect the parties at the town hall.
"We've got people from six to 86-years-old coming. It's a real mix but we want to help bring people together."
Tickets for the event are nearly sold out with proceeds being put towards supporting creative activities in the local area.
Crowds are also expected to gather at the foot of Dufftown's clock tower to bring in the bells, while sharing drams and shortbread.
In Aberdeen, meanwhile, ABBA tribute band Thank You For The Music will be one of the top attractions.
They will be joined on stage on Schoolhill by local musicians Rachael Bisset and Scott Mellis and the Celtic rock band Gleadhraich, with the fun beginning at 9pm.
Marie Boulton, the city council's culture spokeswoman, said: "There is always a great atmosphere in the city centre on Hogmanay.
"Our free street party is an excellent way to bring in the bells."


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iTattooDesigns is looking for new artists! Many of the artists you see on our website began their career of designing tattoos through our 'artist program' web page. You DO NOT need to have any previous experience, you just need to have the talent and will to draw designs!
What you need to do is really simple. Just contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com with the following information:
1. Mention you want to be an artist.
2. Attach 5-7 copies of your artwork (JPEG format, 72 dpi).
3. Your contact information: name, address, phone number and any other detail you want to add.
That's it! It's that easy...
We are looking for high quality, clean, interesting, creative and professional designs.
We would like you to be original and creative. You can send us anything you want (angels, butterflies, dragons, aliens, stars, flowers...). It doesn't really matter what you send us, because we want to see if you are talented enough to be one of our artists. You can browse our website to get some ideas.
Once we receive your artwork, someone will check it and decide if it matches our demands.We will NEVER do anything with your artwork you haven't agreed to.
Don't call us, we will call you!.
We receive many submissions daily, so it may take some time for us to respond.
Be assured that we respond to every e-mail we receive, even if we decide not to continue working with you. If we decide your artwork matches our demands, we will contact you with all the details you need, so we can get things started.
Once we have decided we want you to join our artist program, we will send you all the details you need (including commission rates). Be sure our commission rates are very good compared to other tattoo websites.
1. Don't forget your contact information such as: name, address, phone number and any other detail you want to add.
2. Feel free to ask any questions you want.
3. If you were not accepted, you can always send us new artwork.


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Myanmar Festivals and Events
The Myanmar calendar subscribes to both the solar and lunar months, thus requiring an intercalary 30-day 13th month every second or third year. Therefore, the full moon days may change from one month to another in the usual calendar. The Myanmar months and the respective festivals are as follows.
Independence Day
When: 4th January
Place: All over the country
To commemorate the Independence in 1948
Kachin Manaw Festival
When: 10th January
Place: Myitkyina, Kachin State
The Manaw festival is the celebration of the New Year, victory in battles, reunion of the Kachin tribes etc.
Kayin (Karen) New Year
When: 1st day of the month of Pyatho (last week of December or first week of January)
Place: Across Kayin State, in Yangon and at townships where Kayin are the majority.
Naga New Year
When: 14th – 16th January
Place: In the Naga Hills, on the border with India and Myanmar. The festival rotates between three major townships in the Naga Hills.
The festival is meant to celebrate the successful completion of the harvest, with participants sharing their experiences from the previous year and planning for the next one. Participants wish for good health, wealth, happiness, good climate and good crops for the coming year.
Ananda Pagoda festival
When: First week of January (Dates to be confirmed)
Place: Ananda Pagoda, Bagan
A typical Buddhist pagoda festival which takes place one week preceding the full moon of Pyatho to full moon day (January). The villagers from around Bagan come to the festival with bullock carts, horse carts and camp there as long as the festival goes on. Many visitors are attracted to this yearly event.
Shan State Day
When: 7th February
Place: Across Shan State, in Yangon and among Shan ethnics who stay on Thailand's northwestern border.
The holiday commemorates the unification of several Shan principalities into a single Shan State on February 7, 1947.
Union Day
When: 12th February
Place: All over the country
To commemorate the signing of the Pinlon Agreement between the various ethnic groups of Myanmar to demand Independence in 1947
Kyaikkauk Pagoda Festival
When: Full Moon day of Tabodwe (February)
Place: Thanlyin (Syriam)
Chin National Day
When: 20th February
Place: Mindat (Southern Chin State) and Haka (Northern Chin State)
To commemorate the National Day, to preserve and maintain Chin culture, language, literature and identity among the family of nations.
Lahu New Year Festival
When: Normally coincides with the Chinese New Year
Place: Kyaing Tong, Eastern Shan State
Typical Lahu ethnic New Year Festival
Kakku Pagoda Festival
When: Full Moon Day of Tabaung (March)
Place: Kakku Pagoda near Taunggyi, Southern Shan State
The best time to visit this place is to get there before dawn of the full moon day of Tabaung where the Pa-O people in all their finery come with gaily decorated trays bearing morning food offerings.
Shwe U Min Pagoda Festival
When: Full Moon day of Tabaung (March)
Place: Pindaya Township, Southern Shan State
Pindaya Shwe Oo Min cave Pagoda festival is held on and around full moon day of Tabaung, starting seven days before the full moon day. During the festival time, thousands of devotees come from villages around Pindaya.
Shwedagon Pagoda Tabaung Festival
When: Full Moon day of Tabaung (March)
Place: Yangon
This is a significant Festival of Shwedagon Pagoda because it was on the Full Moon Day of Tabaung that King Okkalapa and the two brothers enshrined the sacred hair relics of Buddha in the Shwedagon. On the days of festival, the stairways and platform of Shwedagon are thronged by endless streams of devotees from dawn till midnight.
Thingyan Festival & Myanmar New Year
When: 13th – 17th April
Place: All over the country
A Myanmar New Year Festival where water is thrown on everyone. It is believed that water symbolizes the washing away of the previous year's bad luck and sins. On New Year's Day, 17th of April, people celebrate by freeing captive fish, birds and cows as acts of merit, by cleaning the floors of the pagodas and monasteries, and paying obeisance to parents, aged peoples and teachers.
Gon Shan New Year
When: Coincides with Myanmar New Year
Place: Kyaing Tong, Eastern Shan State
Unique festival of Gon Shan ethnics. On the Second day of the eve of the New Year the auspicious drum is taken from its place. Then a representative of the Zar people who by traditions is allowed to wear the clothes of Sankarm (Sakra) will follow on a horse behind the drum. The people lining the procession route will sprinkle scented water on the procession for good luck.
Kason Full moon Day
When: Full moon day of Kason (May)
Place: All over the country at all prominent pagodas and monasteries.
As the month of Kason is at the middle of the hot reason, the earth is dry and people pour water at the Maha-Bodhi (Bo tree) where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, to make sure it does not die of drought during the hot summer. This has become an integral part of Myanmar culture and on every full-moon day of Kason, the Buddhist people would march in a grand procession to the Maha-Bodhi tree to pour scented water.
Pakokku Thiho Shin Pagoda Festival
When: 8th waxing day of Nayon to 10th waning day of Nayon (June)
Place: Pakokku Township (near Bagan)
A typical Buddhist festival in upper Myanmar with traditional plays, nat pwes and puppet shows. Local specialties such as thanakha logs, jaggery, a-nyar longyis (sarong), cotton fabric and wool blankets are sold in the festival.
Waso Chin Lone Festival
When: Around 2nd week of June through 1st week of July
Place: Mandalay (near Mahamuni Pagoda)
Chin Lone (Cane Ball) tournament held in Mandalay. Cane ball players from all over the country participate to this festival. One can enjoy several ways of playing Chin Lone and competition by either team or individuals together with traditional orchestra (Saing Waing) that provides musical accompaniment to the games and entertaining the audience.
Waso Full moon Day
When: Full moon day of Waso (July)
Place: At all Buddhist monasteries and pagodas
Start of the Buddhist Lent. The festival commemorates the time when the Buddha gave his first sermon to the five monks. Donation ceremonies of new robes and other temporal requirements to the monks all over the country at major pagodas, monasteries and even at homes.
Taungbyone Nat Festival
When: Full moon Day of Wagaung (start from end July until mid August)
Place: Taungbyone village near Mandalay
This is the most famous and impressive Nat or Spirits Festival in Myanmar. Hundreds of mediums and thousands of pilgrims come once a year to Taung Byone.
Yadana Gu Nat festival
When: 1st to 8th Waning of Wagaung (start in the last week of August and end up in the first week of September)
Place: Amarapura, Mandalay
Known as "Mother of Taungbyone" festival. Most enjoyable because of the rowing boat trip to the site. The festival is held annually in honor of Popa Medaw, Mewanna (mother of the two spirit brothers) who when coming back from Taungbyone Festival, on her way back to Mt. Popa, halted at the Yadanagu as her transit- camp.
Manuha Pagoda Festival
When: Full moon day of Tawthalin (September)
Place: Bagan
During the festival, the Myinkaba Villagers march in parade with representation of the Jataka tales of the lives of Buddha. Most of the young villagers would take part in the roles of the king, queens and other characters. The festival is for two days.
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival
When: Full moon Day of Thadingyut (October)
Place: Inle Lake, Southern Shan State
The festival is the biggest and most important occasion in the Shan State. Four Buddha Images are taken around the lake on a gilded barge pulled by hundreds of the unique "leg-rowers" in long canoes in front. Throughout the festival rowing competitions are held, which makes for a wonderfully visual spectacle.
Elephant Dance Festival
When: Full moon day of Thadingyut (October)
Place: Kyaukse township near Mandalay
It is a dance that requires precise rhythm and timing in order for the elephant dancers to maintain unity inside the elephant figure. People from far and near come to visit Kyaukse and watch the elephant dance.
Hot Air Balloon Festival
When: One week before and until the Full moon Day of Tazaungmone (November)
Place: Taunggyi (Southern Shan State)
The hot-air balloons are made up of hand-made paper beautifully designed with colorful fireworks and firecrackers. It is an ancient tradition. Traditionally this balloon raising ceremony is to pay homage to Sulamuni Pagoda in heaven by sending up lighted hot air balloons.
Tazaungdine Lights Festival & Weaving Competition
When: Full moon day of Tazaugmone (November)
Place: All over the country
All houses are lighted up to pay homage to Lord Buddha who comes down to the abode of humans after sending Buddhist Lent in Heaven. Holy robes are woven during the night of full moon day eve to offer to the Buddha images before dawn and many weaving competitions are held at major pagodas.
Christmas Day
When: 25th December
Place: Celebrated by Christians all over the country
Akha New Year Festival
When: The date is fixed according to the Akha calendar.
Place: Kyaing Tong Township, Eastern Shan State
9000 Lights and 9000 flowers Offering
When: Normally celebrated on the 31st of December, but may vary
Place: Golden Rock (Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda), Kyaikhto Township


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by Alison Trautwein
(Hammonton, New Jersey)
When I found out u were gone
I cried and cried and cried
I cant think about life without you in it
I cant wait for the day when we will be together again
I miss you and I will cry till someday when I see you again
Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Missing You Poems.


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Professor Samantha Mannion, Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program, presented at the annual International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) this month. Mannion's presentation U.S. Enforcement of FISA in Non-Extradition Nations, examines innovative ways in which law enforcement can work with foreign nations to provide intelligence information to the U.S. regarding non-extradited suspects facing criminal charges.
"There are creative ways to get cooperation without flexing muscle." Mannion said. "Our goal should be to de-politicize negotiations with foreign governments."
For any criminal case against a foreign suspect or foreign-national to be legally valid under U.S. law, a judicial officer must determine that there is sufficient evidence to sustain the charge(s) not only under U.S. law, but also under the laws of any applicable treaty with the country in question. If no treaty exists, the U.S. has limited to no jurisdiction over the individual, even if there is probable cause to believe the suspect has committed crimes against the U.S. Conversely, FISA only allows the U.S. jurisdiction over American citizens conducting un-American activities from within the U.S. Because of the complex relationship the U.S. has with some nations, Mannion says employing new strategies is "urgent."
"Because we rely on foreign governments to get information on suspects and criminals, many refuse to cooperate with us based on hostility, real or perceived, from the U.S." Mannion said. "This plan aims to offer compensation to those governments whether it be financial, technological or law enforcement help to get their cooperation."
Mannion presented to a crowd of over 100 international law enforcement personnel and dignitaries as part of several ICITAP breakout sessions. Some of the breakout sessions included mock-up scenarios and table top exercises. This year's conference was held in Madrid, Spain.
"It was good to see the functions of other nations and compare investigation strategies." Mannion said. "We also want to let the rest of the world know what we're doing in terms of drug trafficking, terrorism and human rights issues among other topics."
Established by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 1986, ICITAP works with foreign governments to develop professional and transparent law institutions that protect human rights, combat corruption and reduce the threat of transnational crime and terrorism. For more information on ICITAP, visit https://www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap


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California has truly opened the floodgates. And we're not talking about Governor Jerry Brown's recent announcement regarding the end of the drought emergency — but the growing wave of self-driving cars washing over the Golden State.
In April, a decision by the Department of Motor Vehicles to grant Apple an autonomous vehicle testing permit allowed the company to use California's public highways for testing self-driving technology. Apple wasted no time in taking advantage: Just a couple weeks later, a white Lexus RX450h SUV was seen exiting an Apple facility decked out with sensors, per an eyewitness who provided photographic evidence to Bloomberg. Sensors on the vehicle reportedly included "Velodyne Lidar Inc.'s top-of-the-range 64-channel lidar, at least two radar, and a series of cameras."
Nine months after first receiving its permit, Apple is expanding its operations. The company now boasts 27 vehicles in its autonomous fleet, which should help Apple chase down the competition (namely Waymo and Lyft, which are making great strides in the self-driving space). Since last July, Apple has registered 24 additional Lexus SUVs in California, though this is still nothing compared to Waymo's fleet of 600 minivans in Phoenix.
Last April marked the first time Apple was given a permit for its autonomous cars. Soon, its hardware lineup could be decidedly larger than the laptops and iPhones to which we've become so accustomed. The permit initially allowed Apple to test three 2015 Lexus sport-utility vehicles (the number has clearly since increased), all of which were be retrofitted with the necessary hardware and software that would allow them to operate without a driver. The permit also required human operators to be present whenever the cars are on the road.
While Apple has been consistently cagey about its plans to delve into self-driving territory — which may or may not be code-named Project Titan — the company penned a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2016 offering its support for autonomous technology. And the iEmpire refined its epistolary skills again in a letter made public on April 28, this time to the California DMV. In the letter, Apple called upon the state to toughen its policy on testing self-driving cars, especially in connection with disengagements, thereby requiring companies to turn over more public data that could help Apple gain ground on competitors.
The company also asked for more clarity around requirements for the use of safety drivers during autonomous testing and loosened requirements concerning the sorts of cars that can be used during trials. Apple also revealed some of its own plans around self-driving tech, noting that it's "investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation."
Apple noted further that it was looking forward to working alongside California and other players in the self-driving space "so that rapid technology development may be realized while ensuring the safety of the traveling public."
It seems like we will soon be seeing Apple cars on the road. "I'm not sure they know what their play will be, but they do sense there's an opportunity and they can bring value to it," Ben Bajarin, an analyst with technology-research firm Creative Strategies, told the Wall Street Journal. "The question is: How big is this commitment? And how much money are they throwing at this commitment? It's hard to know where this lands on their priority list."
Update: Apple has expanded its fleet of self-driving cars in California.
Editors' Recommendations
- Waymo taps the brakes on its autonomous-trucking project
- Apple's rumored car could cost the same as a Tesla Model S
- A weird thing just happened with a fleet of autonomous cars
- How a big blue van from 1986 paved the way for self-driving cars
- We now know what the self-driving Apple Car might look like


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Most parents hear their children say at one point, "I hate school." As education is their main job, and likely their key source of stress, it is not unusual for teens to express their dislike of school. But problems come up when that dislike goes from the occasional complaint to constant comments on how bad school is and escalate to truancy.
Sometimes it takes the right kind of school—like a therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens—to help teens break out of their hatred for schools. Before you reach that point, you may want to consider the 6 reasons why your teen may hate their school, and how you can fix it.
1. Grades Are Already Low
When a teen has already been struggling in school, it can be very discouraging that they have to plod through school almost every day. Also, often if there is one subject a teen is having a hard time with, their other classes are impacted negatively.
As an adult, you likely know that there are ways your teen can recover from poor grades, whether it's doing make-up assignments to retaking the class during the summer. But your teen may not understand that there are options that can help them recover.
2. Friction Between Teen And Teacher
Another reason why a teen may say they hate school is due to a teacher. Sometimes, it can be due to the teacher being a tougher grader than the teen is used to, or there may be other issues that are less obvious.
Talk to your teen about why they dislike their teacher. It may be sourced in an off-hand comment the teacher made, or the teacher may be actively picking on your teen. Once you have heard your teen's side of the story, contact the teacher to set up the meeting. Do your best to be non-confrontational and be prepared to find out that your teen may have lied and there is another cause behind the friction between your teenager and their teacher.
3. Undiagnosed Learning Disability
For teens with undiagnosed learning disabilities, trying to learn the way that neurotypical students learn can be nearly impossible. These issues can cover a range, from Auditory Processing Disorder to dyslexia. As your average public school teachers often aren't trained to recognize learning disabilities, they may not make the proper accommodations for your child.
Even when a teen gets their learning disability diagnosed, it is often a struggle to enforce the need for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for the child. As many school districts lack the funding to provide the assistance needed, a teen can be left to struggle and continue to hate school.
If your local school district isn't up to helping your child, you may want to consider a boarding school for teens. At a specialized school, your teen can work with professionals who are trained to work with teenagers who have a variety of specific learning needs.
4. Unbearable Bullying Situation At School
An unbearable bullying situation at school can cause your teen to hate going to school. Unfortunately, bullying is still quite common, and not all educators and administrators take it seriously. Even if they do take it seriously, it may just make your teen's bullies more circumspect in front of authority figures. If you suspect your teen is being bullied, don't be afraid to ask them outright.
Keep in mind that cyberbullying is common as well, and although it mainly happens outside of school hours, it can lead to isolation, confrontation, and embarrassment in the classroom environment.
However, some teens can be ashamed of being bullied and refuse to be a tattletale. You can email your teen's teachers to inquire if they have seen any signs of bullying and see what they have to say. Also, be sure your teen knows that you are there for them and willing to do what it takes to help them, whether it means changing schools or another course of action.
5. Too Many Responsibilities
Sometimes parents forget that their children can become burned out with too much on their plates. With 8 hours of school, sports, music lessons, and other commitments, some teens are far busier than any adult without any downtime to unwind and simply relax.
If your teen constantly complains of being tired and hating school, sit them down and have a serious talk about their schedule. By empowering your teen with the ability to take some control over their schedule, they are far likelier to be happy with their remaining commitments.
6. Struggling With Mental Health Issues
Teens are under immense pressure, constantly being told that by eighteen years old, they need to choose the college and major that will lead to their future careers. Add romantic relationships, peer pressure, and developing bodies, and you have a pressure cooker of intense feelings. Essentially, in their minds, their entire future needs to be laid out by the time they are eighteen.
Parents know that it isn't true, but that stressful message is what teens are often told over and over at school, making teens resent school as the stressful place it has become. This high level of stress can trigger mental health issues ranging from severe anxiety, depression, to issues like difficulty with emotional regulation.
Being supportive and providing access to therapy can be incredibly beneficial, as teens can learn tools to help support their mental health.
So, the next time that your teen tells you that they hate school try to engage them in a conversation and find out why your teenager hates going to school. Their real answers may surprise you and give you the ability to help your child succeed.


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Would you like to hunt? Then download the game and start the hunt for ducks on your android device!
"Duck hunting" - is a fun game with simple controls and fun graphics. Shoot the ducks tapping on the screen. Shoot as many ducks within the time limit. Your faithful dog will help you!
If you have comments or suggestions on the game - e-mail us!
Happy hunting!
Good app, great value.
Good app, great value.


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Now Watch Live Streaming of Pakistan Super League on PSL App
HBL introduces a Mobile application for cricket lovers especially for PSL lovers. The only app that updates you with live match streaming, scores, results, news, and exclusive content. Moreover you can also create your dream team to play Fantasy League and win exciting prizes.
Now Watch Live Streaming of Pakistan Super League on PSL App
Now watch live streaming,scores, results, news and make your own team with HBL PSL app. Home page of the app has following three useful tabs
- Watch Live: Live video streaming of all matches so you don't miss a single moment of PSL action.
- Match Zone: Live score, ball by ball commentary, complete scorecard, full match coverage, latest results, schedule and points table.
- Fantasy League: Sign up and create your dream team, manage your playing XI, earn points as your selected players performs and win exciting prizes.
Here are some more interesting features of the app.
- Match reports and analysis for all matches
- Latest news on off ground events and behind the scenes coverage
- Team and Players profiles and statistics
- PSL Shop so you can buy official merchandise for Pakistan Super League
The app is available on Google Play Store for android users. you can download the app from this link PSL App


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The SI2010 was developed by switch-it and is regarding to its mounting-measures compatible with the Hartmann-series 107 and 164. It stands out due to its precise switching-system as well as to its high vibration- and shock-resistance. The SI2010 is deliverable with two different types of housings and optionally with different standard-levers. Exits for strands and cables are selectively available to the left, to the right or to the bottom. Alternatively are 6,3 x 8,0 mm faston terminals possible. Into the mounting-holes are brass-bushings additionally embedded to ensure an optimal tightening torque.
You have any questions concerning our products? Don't hesitate to contact us:


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Global Village
Global Village Program (GV) is a program where Habitat for Humanity sends volunteer abroad to build decent, affordable shelter alongside members of the community, work with a family to help them build a home, strengthen their community and enrich both their lives and your own. During your vacation, learn about substandard housing, community development challenges and Habitat's ministry and mission to help eradicate them. The funds you raise help build decent shelter in the country you visit and support the Global Village program.
Global Village in Thailand
Thailand is one of the first GV destinations. Since 1999 Habitat for Humanity Thailand (HFHT) has hosted more than 100 GV teams, including youth and adult teams, church teams, corporate teams and JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) teams from Japan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Europe, Australia and the U.S.A.
The first affiliate of Thailand to host Global Village teams was Udon Thani, the first HFHT affiliate. Following that, we began to get more and more teams coming to Thailand. The next affiliate that hosted GV teams was Chiangmai, Lampang which hosted their first GV team in November 2002 and Nakhon Ratchasrima (Korat), hosted its first GV team in June 2003 and first builder team to Khao Lak Site in the south of Thailand in March 2005.
HFHT Global Village Hosting Factors
Hosting Capacity: Presently, HFHT has 7 HRCs or regional offices which are located throughout the country, HRC-North, South, Central and Northeast.
Hosing Months: Teams are hosted year- round
Team Size : The minimum team size is 15 people; while the maximum team size that can be hosted at all affiliates is 25 people.
How to join Global Village Program?
If you're interested to join Habitat for Humanity's Global Village Program in Thailand and ready to get your hands dirty on the work site, meet the families whose housing situation you are improving, experience the country like an insider and do it all alongside a team of like-minded volunteers. No experience is required! Please contact your local Habitat for Humanity. See where your local Habitat for Humanity office is http://www.habitat.org/where-we-build


text: (585) magazine - November 2019 November 1, 2019 Site Staff FacebookPinterestTwitterLinkedin Merrily on highballDrinks that make party season easy The fake shopping mallI'm the Medley Centre, Damnit! is arguably Rochester's funniest Twitter account. And no, we aren't revealing who's behind it. Cooler than coolCristallino Ice elevates the cocktail Breaking breadOne group of friends maintains a decades-long tradition How sweet it isPaula Stadtmiller and Philip Duquette on thirty years of baking cakes together The Blue GardeniaHow Mad Dog Sullivan whacked Johnny Flowers at the Blue Gardenia The East Avenue Grocery RunWiping out hunger one step at a time Fruit on the vineThe Mazza family on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania is making a name in the beverage industry


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Monday, January 11, 2010
A magical place...
21 comments:
I agree - just beautiful! LeighReplyDelete
Oh wow...I love the cut out paper hearts..adorable.ReplyDelete
Kellie, these pics are stunning! They are so similar to my wedding inspiration files ...Yes I am already married, but we got married in Vegas and I never had a 'proper wedding', so I still like to dream...;) This would be a perfect wedding! All those little details that go together to make the bigger picture. I love those sugar / glitter? dipped cherries and the beautiful mix of flowers. What a fabulous post - TxReplyDelete
Great tonal work - lovely.ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing, jules :)
Gorgeous in every way!ReplyDelete
Lovely photos. It so perfect!ReplyDelete
magical indeed! Would be lovely to design an elegant tea party using this for inspiration. And I love the rectangular "outdoor room" that is formed!ReplyDelete
Oh I agree,gorgeous!ReplyDelete
i love the plates!!! a magical party!!! hope you had a gorgeous Christmas!!!ReplyDelete
Great bouquets and ideas for a table set up for a spring lunch in the garden... :)ReplyDelete
How gorgeous - I especially like the last photo with the jewels and flowers, so pretty!ReplyDelete
All of the colors and textures...just too gorgeous for words!ReplyDelete
wow. stunning.ReplyDelete
Ooh, how gorgeous! And are those raspberries? Very creative.ReplyDelete
Gorgeous images and a beautiful use of such pretty flowers. I like how they've added the pomegranates for an extra hit of colour.ReplyDelete
I am impressed by the picture of flowers on your blog. It looks awesome. Keep it up the good work.ReplyDelete
I adore it.. gorgeous.ReplyDelete
Truly magical I love every shot!ReplyDelete
Kellie I have to agree with you, totally magical - such exquisite detailing, colours nad ambience - wonderful post thx 4 sharing!ReplyDelete
Vintage Rose Studio
Love it! So perfect!ReplyDelete
This flower post simply makes me happy!ReplyDelete


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A few weeks ago, as the tide of the coronavirus pandemic began crashing down on Western countries, a provocative news story broke through the clamor and went viral in dozens of outlets. The strange headlines stated that the terrorist group Islamic State had issued a travel warning urging its fighters to avoid going to Europe due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Citing a "full-page infographic" posted on a newsletter associated with the group, ISIS had allegedly told its members "to put trust in God and seek refuge in Him from illnesses," prudently advising them to wash their hands and stay out of areas where the disease had spread.
Under normal circumstances, even absent a global pandemic, an obscure message published in the foreign-language newsletter of a militant group should be unlikely to gain much traction in a fierce global attention economy. But ISIS has always been catnip for journalists.
If you're trying to grow a political movement or even just keep it alive, attention is your oxygen.
From Politico to The Independent to the New York Daily News, the odd news about ISIS responding to the coronavirus was picked up and amplified across the world. It would not be hard to imagine that tens of millions of people saw the story — making it an impressive return on investment for an infographic that likely cost nothing to make.
If you're trying to grow a political movement, or even just keep it alive, attention is your oxygen. And, for some time now, the media has been acting as a ventilator: amplifying the most obscure and ridiculous ISIS propaganda in what genuinely seems like an attempt to wish it back into prominence. This hunger for the notoriety the group provided is an advantage that ISIS supporters seem to have learned to capitalize on, producing content to keep its public image alive even as most of its members have been killed and its real-world power mostly destroyed.
Writing in The Atlantic as far back as 2017, Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, noted the group's skill at turning the media's hunger for infamy into a weapon. "For ISIS, provided it's on the propagandists' terms and conveys the group's purported strength and omnipresence, any coverage is good coverage," Winter wrote. "In that sense, ISIS terrorism doesn't end when a bomb detonates. Rather, it continues for hours, days, and weeks after, living on through the media."
During the period when ISIS actually was setting off bombs and carrying out attacks in Western cities, the group was able to win attention for its cause through what other long-ago terrorists and anarchists called "propaganda of the deed." At its peak, there was genuine newsworthiness in ISIS's novel use of highly produced visuals to promote themselves. Over the past few years, however, journalists have had to go out of their way to gin up propaganda for the group as its attacks become increasingly pathetic, and its actual organization reduced to an insurgency in the borderlands of Iraq and Syria.
As the actual ISIS has gone further into decline, news outlets in search of clicks — usually, but not always, tabloids — have had to dive deeper and deeper into the online dumpster heap to find provocations from the group's supporters.
It's not clear what effect distributing ISIS's messages for it is having, but in the past we have seen people take inspiration from published material about the group. In the summer of 2016, after killing 49 people in an Orlando nightclub, Florida resident Omar Mateen called 911 and claimed that the attack had been a response to the death of "Abu Waheeb," an ISIS commander who had become famous in the tabloid media after being mocked for looking like a rotisserie shawarma. No evidence has ever surfaced that Mateen had any actual contact with the group other than reading about it in the press.
Time has apparently not diminished ISIS's media appeal. Last fall, the British media provided weeks of wall-to-wall coverage to a teenage ISIS captive held in Syria, even publishing exclusive stories providing readers with her opinions on recent negotiations over Brexit.
There's a related phenomenon that should be familiar to many Americans: the 2016 election campaign of Donald Trump. As should be painfully familiar to everyone by now, the current president had never played any role in politics before his campaign. His entire campaign, admittedly an entertaining one, was dismissed by many at the time as a publicity stunt. The news media however could not get enough of him, giving copious airtime to broadcasting Trump's provocations even as they became increasingly serious and making him perhaps the most-discussed person in the country.
In 2016, ex-CBS executive Les Moonves boasted that Trump's campaign "may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS." The news media rewarded him well for being such a good showman. During the course of the election cycle, Trump was estimated to have received a staggering $5 billion in free media coverage. One cannot say that the media itself got Trump elected, but, given its role in keeping him front and center before the public for months and months, the media helped Trump achieve one of the most valuable goals of any political movement: keeping people's attention.
Even as president, there is still a debate raging as to whether his daily updates on the coronavirus pandemic should be gifted with live, primetime news coverage. It's a question worth keeping in mind when considering whose voices to elevate on a subject of global importance, whether we're talking about irresponsible officeholders hawking untested coronavirus cures or supporters of a terrorist group trying to keep its cause alive by telling people to wash their hands.
"When you have millions of public voices as we have today because of digital connectivity, then attention becomes the most valuable thing you can garner," said Martin Gurri, a former CIA media analyst and author of "The Revolt of the Public." "It's even more important than money because, in the end, if you can keep getting attention, you'll probably wind up not just with money but with power as well."