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January 1 to December 31, 2016
In accordance with the NJC By-Laws, the undersigned submit this annual report regarding the performance and the administration of the Disability Insurance Plan during the period of January 1 to December 31, 2016.
Monique Paquin
Employer Side Members
Dan Couture, Canada Revenue Agency
Claude Houde, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Catherine Monette, Treasury Board Secretariat
Sandi Wright, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Bargaining Agent Side Members
Sandra Guttmann, Association of Justice Counsel
James Infantino, Public Service Alliance of Canada
John Staric, Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Tony Tilley, Public Service Alliance of Canada
The Disability Insurance Plan Board of Management (the "Board") is pleased to provide this report on the administration of the Public Service Disability Insurance Plan (the "DI Plan"), its financial performance and the activities of the Board for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2016.
Plan Overview
The DI Plan provides income replacement for Plan members during periods of long-term disability for up to 70% of insured earnings. Employees who meet the criteria of total disability to perform the duties of their regular employment become eligible for long-term DI benefits at the expiration of the longer of paid sick leave or the 13 week elimination period for the DI Plan. Employees receive income replacement payments as well as disability case management and rehabilitation services from the plan insurer, Sun Life Financial. These payments are offset by payments that employees may be eligible for from other disability benefit programs.
The DI Plan is a group insurance policy underwritten and administered by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
As of the end of 2016 the DI Plan had $2.197B in claims reserves, 218,000 Plan members (up from 217,700 members at the end of 2015), and 11,343 members on benefits. Total benefits paid out by the Plan during the 2016 year amounted to $307.9M, compared to $305.8M in 2015.
The overall result of the 2016 financial experience for the Plan at year end was positive, with an in-year gain of $9.8M. At December 31, 2016, the balances in the Claims Fluctuation Reserve (CFR) and the Surplus Account were $89.3M and $220.6M respectively for a total Plan Surplus of $309.9M. This compares to a $300.1M total Plan Surplus at December 31, 2015. The CFR, a fund that is used to cover emerging in-year deficits, was fully funded at the maximum of 25% of annual premiums.
The premium income increased slightly from a total of $356.1M in 2015 to $357.1M in 2016.
The disability incidence rate decreased from 12.3 approved claims per thousand plan members in 2015 to 10.6 in 2016. The rate of termination of approved claims in payment slightly decreased from 2.30 terminated claims per 10 claims in payment in 2015 to 2.29 terminated claims in 2016.
Overall, the financial experience in 2016 can be summarized as a somewhat good but uncommon financial year in part due to the need for a special IBNR to account for claims expected but not yet received due to the complications of the implementation of Phoenix. Some factors which contributed to this year's result are the decrease in the claims incidence, the relatively good termination experience, combined with good earned rate and plan credited rate on the plan assets (including the surplus), and finally a low inflation environment which has kept the COLA relatively low again this year. All of these have contributed to generate a modest in-year plan gain.
In accordance with the premium guidelines, the actual surplus level was at the end of 2016 at an acceptable level, between the target and the maximum. However, the full impact of the implementation of Phoenix, the new public service compensation system, and the outcome of recent collective bargaining on benefit payments has yet to be ascertained. As such, the Board of Management accepted the recommendation from the Sun Life actuarial analysis that there be no change to the premium rate for 2017. The Board of Management, in its role of overseeing the sound financial management of the Plan, will continue as always to monitor the trends in plan experience in the coming year, keeping a watchful eye on the Plan's financial position going forward.
In addition to its accountability to oversee the financial results of the Plan, the Board continued during the year to work actively with the Plan Administrator (Sun Life) and the Plan Sponsor (Treasury Board Secretariat) to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the administration of the Plan. Some to the key activities in this area are outlined below.
The Board was briefed by Sun Life at its January meeting on the results of the annual claimant survey conducted during 2015. The overall positive satisfaction rate (scoring 8 or higher on a scale of 10) of plan members surveyed on their claim experience was 67%, compared to 71% in 2014, and 65% in 2013. As in recent years, the highest ratings received were for "actively involved in establishing return to work goals" and "knowledge of the case manager"; while the lowest ratings continue to be regarding the application process and instructions around claim submission. Sun Life is working in conjunction with TBS toward improving claims forms, member communication, decisions turnaround time, as well as providing additional training for case managers. These measures are expected to improve the plan members' experience with the claims process.
The Board requested and received presentations from Sun Life on several topics. These included the Learning and Development Program for its Abilities Case Managers, the adjudication process surrounding claims related to substance abuse, the Claims Decisions Quality Assurance Program, the use of surveillance in claims adjudication, and improvements to the Attending Physician Statements.
Additionally, the Board received a highly informative presentation from a Sun Life Senior Mental Health Consultant (SMHC) on the role and impact of this new function on the adjudication of claims. SMHCs are highly-trained, experienced, registered Psychologists located throughout Canada and their role is to coach the regional disability management team; optimize the duration of complex mental health claims; support better workplace mental health; ensure high quality case management; and to contribute to the ongoing development of the Case Management Team. SMHC's provide input on return to work planning and accommodations, provide education and training on mental health illnesses and rehabilitation, and ensure that Abilities Case Managers have the skills and knowledge necessary to communicate effectively with Plan members regarding their condition.
Continuing its ongoing dialogue with the Plan Administrator, the Board expressed concerns to Sun Life regarding its recent practice of charging fees to plan members for copies of their claim files. Sun Life representatives explained that this practice was implemented as a result of an internal review which uncovered inconsistencies in that regard across Sun Life's entire block of business. However, after further review, Sun Life will no longer charge such fees to members going forward.
Board Membership
The Board met seven (7) times during the period covered by this report, devoting much of its time to hearing appeal cases and overseeing the administration and financial experience of the DI Plan.
Over the course of the year there were several changes to the Board of Management's membership. Catherine Monette, Treasury Board Secretariat, replaced William Leffler at the beginning of the year; Sandra Guttmann, Association of Justice Counsel, left the Board mid-June; and Sandi Wright, Public Service and Procurement Canada, was appointed in October 2016. Lastly, Monique Paquin was appointed as Chairperson in October 2016, replacing Paul Burkholder, who served as Chair with dedication for 4 years.
The members of the Board at the end of the 2016 reporting period were:
- Monique Paquin, Chair;
- Dan Couture, Canada Revenue Agency;
- Claude Houde, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development;
- James Infantino, Public Service Alliance of Canada;
- Catherine Monette, Treasury Board Secretariat;
- John Staric, Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada;
- Tony Tilley, Public Service Alliance of Canada; and
- Sandi Wright, Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Financial and Administrative Oversight
The Board held its annual meeting in June 2016 with the Plan insurer to review the year-end financial results for 2015 and to receive updates on the status of the Plan. Highlights are presented in the following charts.
The Board reviewed the premium rating analysis at its November meeting. This timing allows for factoring into the analysis, Sun Life's fall update of the Reserves Basis and for considering more substantial current year plan experience. In addition, this new approach supports timely implementation of any required premium rate adjustment recommendation.
Summary of Annual Financial Results
Premium Income
Interest Income
Paid Claims*
Total Plan Expenditures*
In-year gain/loss
* Total plan expenditures are calculated as paid claims, expenses and premium taxes, as well as the change in the claims reserves held at the beginning of the year as compared to the end of the year. (Note: The paid claims amount column is included in the total Plan expenditures column. The In-year gain/loss equals the Premium and Interest Income minus the Total Plan Expenditures.)
Claims Experience
The 2016 annual report prepared by the Plan insurer includes a broad overview of Plan claims data. During the 2016 calendar year there were 3,099 notified claims, a decrease of 632 or 16.9%; and 2,314 claims approved, a decrease of 364 or 13.6%. The number of claims declined during the year also decreased by 282 or 27.8% and the number of claims terminated (closed) during the year declined by 57 or 2.1%.
The statistical information for this year reflects the significant decrease (between 500 and 600 claims) in the number of notified claims in 2016, as compared to what was typically seen in recent years. Issues caused by the centralization of compensation services to Miramichi and the new Phoenix pay system resulted in delays in the receipt of fully and correctly completed claims to Sun Life. Solutions are being pursued to improve this, and the Board is closely monitoring this situation and the work of all stakeholders in resolving these anomalies.
Claims Statistics
Number of claims notified during the year
Number of claims approved during the year
Number of declined claims during the year
Number of terminated claims during the year
Total number of approved claims at year-end
Total number of pending claims at year-end
Distribution of Causes of Disability for Approval Year 2016
Cause of Disability
Per Cent
Mental Health Conditions
Neoplastics (Cancer)
Spine / Sacro-Iliac
Mental health conditions continued to be the most frequent causes of new disability claims approved in 2016. This continues to be the experience across other Canadian disability plans.
The distribution of causes of disability for all new claims approved in 2016 is shown in the chart above. As noted above, the most frequent cause of new approved claims were mental health conditions (49.0% of the total), as it was in 2015. The actual number of newly approved claims for this cause of disability decreased slightly from 1,311 in 2015 to 1,133 this year. Of the appeal files before the Board, 58% involved cases where mental health conditions were claimed as the primary cause of disability.
For the first time since 2013, there was an increase in neoplastic diagnoses (cancer), from 11.2% in 2015 to 13.5%.
Appeal Cases
The Board's terms of reference include the duty to examine appeals against claims declined by the Plan insurer, making recommendations to the Plan insurer on these and in certain circumstances providing advice to the employer on practices related to disability management in departments and agencies.
The Board reviewed a total of 24 new appeal cases in 2016. The Board disagreed with Sun Life's decision to deny benefits in 1 of those cases and found no reason to disagree with Sun Life in 23 cases.
The Board acknowledges the large number of appeals in the queue for examination. In this regard, the Board is exploring approaches with Sun Life to manage these volumes, including adding additional meetings to hear appeals.
Board Member Training
In order to build on their expertise and to stay abreast of current information and trends in the disability field, members of the Board of Management regularly participate in conferences and learning sessions held by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP).
Two (2) members participated in the Canadian Public Sector Pensions and Benefits Conference and (1) one member participated in the 49th Annual IFEBP Canadian Employee Benefits Conference. Given the importance of the Board's duties and good governance practices, reasonable investment in Board member skill and knowledge development will continue as an on-going priority.
Financial Reporting
The Board has reviewed the monthly and annual reports received from Sun Life and it has found that the current format continues to serve its needs and purposes.
Plan Governance
The Board of Management continues to focus on good governance in its responsibilities to oversee the administration of the DI Plan.
Over the course of 2016, the Board of Management has been very engaged with the insurer on topics and issues of interest. In the coming year, this mutually beneficial and helpful engagement will continue to be welcomed by both the Board and the insurer.
Workplan For 2017
In the coming year, the Board plans to address the following key areas through a variety of activities:
- Monitor and advise on DI Plan finances and operations;
- Monitor trends in claims processing and engage with the Plan Administrator on issues of concern to the Board;
- Review appeal processes to ensure timeliness of hearing appeals cases;
- Monitor the impact of the implementation of Phoenix, the new compensation system, on claim processing;
- Provide learning and development opportunities to Board members;
- Provide feedback, based on appeal case reviews, to TBS and other stakeholders on opportunities for improvement of the in enabling employees to return to work following absences due to disability; and
- Continue to monitor the results of the Plan Member survey with a view to improving services for Plan Members and explore new survey methodology.
The Board would again like to thank Dr. Raymond Aubin for providing expert medical advice during the review of appeals.
Finally, the Board would also like to express its appreciation to Sun Life for its commitment and collaboration in working with the Board. A number of constructive initiatives were undertaken over the year in the interests of supporting and communicating with Plan members and providing the Board with the knowledge and information it needed to fulfil its duties.


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Monday, January 09, 2006
Wild-Card Weekend Winners and Losers
Washington 17, Tampa Bay 10
Why Washington Won: Defense. It's not hard to understand why Washington gave defensive coordinator Gregg Williams a three-year contract extension to keep him out of this offseason's game of "Who Wants to be an NFL Head Coach?" The Redskins' D shut down Tampa's running game and forced inexperienced QB Chris Simms into making key mistakes.
Why Tampa Lost: Turnovers. When young QBs try to force the game, they often throw crushing interceptions, and Simms was no exception. I don't blame him for losing the whole game, because asking him to win it at this point was a little much, and he gave it his all, but experience counts for a lot in the playoffs.
New England 28, Jacksonville 3
Why New England won: Perfection. This team does not make mental or physical mistakes in the playoffs. You have to play a perfect game to beat them. The Patriots don't do anything that fancy on either side of the ball, but they do all the basic things extremely well, and they know what it takes to win. They are going to be very difficult to beat this year once again.
Why Jacksonville lost: Overrated. There's a reason why this team was a wild card, and why they lost twice to Indianapolis; they've got a talented defense and a promising young QB, but they are too inconsistent to be considered contenders yet at this level.
Carolina 23, New York Giants 0
Why Carolina Won: Defense. Just a crushing, dominating defensive scheme. The Giants couldn't run the ball at all Sunday, which put the game into Eli Manning's trembling hands. Game over.
Why New York Lost: Eli Manning. Four interceptions and one fumble. That says it all. You can't turn the ball over in the playoffs and expect to win the game. Eli looked like the rookie (in essence) that he is.
Pittsburgh 31, Cincinnati 17
Why Pittsburgh Won: Experience. Bill Cowher's been coaching the same team for 14 years for a good reason. When they were down 10-0 early and 17-7 before the half, no one in black and gold panicked. They continued to mix the power running game with timely, well-placed passes from Ben R., and their defense covered the Bengals' receivers so well that Jon Kitna was forced to run around like Fran Tarkenton in his career-ending game against Cleveland (the one where they finally broke his leg). Indy better find their mojo, and quick, 'cause the Steelers are coming to play.
Why Cincinnati Lost: Carson Palmer's knee. The Bengals had so much momentum going early, losing Palmer took a lot of the life out of the team. I'm not saying they would have won if he hadn't been injured, but it gave Pittsburgh both a physical and psychological advantage. Their own playoff inexperience also hurt; once the Steelers overtook them for the lead, they didn't know how to respond because they hadn't been here before. Experience counts for a lot in the NFL playoffs. We'll see that experience even more clearly this weekend.
2 comments:
- TUCK! said...
Two observations from this weekend:
Eli: FOX is breaking to commercial, and Joe Buck (rhymes with, well, you know) says: "Eli Manning has two interceptions and almost completes a pass." In most (non-Manning) circumstances, wouldn't they NOT go out of their way to minimize the underachieving performance (ie "Two interceptions AND an incomplete pass..") Why this coddling of Younger Manning? I mean, they even came out and said "Archie Manning never had a chance to play in a playoff game in his career..." and still, we're worshipping at the throne of He Who Would Dis San Diego"...I continue to remain perplexed.
(And I said it once, I'll say it again. "Grback.")
2) Steelers would have beated Palmer, the way they were playing. That's the Pittsburgh MO (for all of you who were busy this season)(I dunno, waiting to see Michael Vick recognize a teammate?): hang in tight in the first half, and come out hard in the second. You can see it game-by-game (and against the Patsies and the Indianapolis Mannings, they just didn't have a good second half.)
You are right about one thing: The Colts better sleep in the film room this week...if only so that Peyton can learn to spell "Polamalu"...
(NOTE: The toons at hockeybuzz are actually a decent batch this week. Be sure to tune (toon?) in...)
- Sandman said...
After Sunday, calling Eli "Grbac" is an insult to Elvis. I think he actually won a playoff game or two for Kansas City.
If I'm Dungy, I'm playing ball control blitzkreig from the opening gun—try to gain 6-8 yards on every play out of the no-huddle but refrain from the big strike. This way you keep their defense on the field and you protect your defense from getting beat up with the Pittsburgh running game.
I think Shanahan matches wits very well with Belichick.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Smart move by this Hiroshima spicy tsukemen place to relocate upstairs and turn itself into more an izakaya featuring Kyushu fare rather than just doing ramen. From Hakata Hanamidori (chicken) to Hiroshima oysters and not to mention all the relatively rare Kagoshima shochu, it was indeed a best kept secret and is making LG to consider hard in creating a new 'hole-in-the-wall' izakaya award just for it. Originally designed to be one of those popular 'standing bars' found in Japan these days, the owner probably had to put back some chairs to fit the local crowd but in any case the ambience is still perfect with friendly staff and even live Japanese TV programmes. Open till 2 am, this is certainly a great addition to the CWB night scene.


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NORTH DALLAS -- Hanukkah, Judaism's festival of lights,or "Eight Crazy Nights" according to noted Jew Adam Sandler, begins Sunday at sundown.
To kick off the holidays, Congregation Toras Chaim hosted a Hanukkah party for the children of the congregation Sunday, put on by the congregation's Boy Scout Troop.
"Hannukkah is a celebration of being able to freely practice your religion and freedom of expression," says Rabbi Yaakov Rich. "In today's international climate of terrorism, what we appreciate about the United States is the ability to practice our religion with openness and with joy."


text:
Sometimes I think life would be easier if I just went all the way with my ex-boyfriends, but of course, the guilt and shame and regret would have killed me.
I'm like the awesome gift with shiny silver wrapping paper that's still under the Christmas tree, unopened and waiting.
Jesus I'm nearly 23, and I'm kind of dying a little over here. I'm not desperate, but definitely just wondering when the pieces will fall into place.
You are good, You always have been,
You are good, You always will be,
How I love Your sanctuary…
You are beautiful.


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Cathy and Grant have been together for 7 years!! Grant proposed to Cathy at the Height of the Land Tower at Prince Albert National Park last summer. This was the perfect spot for a proposal as they both love nature and adventure.
When I first met the duo, they had just returned from a road trip through Washington State and Oregon. I was really excited to hear some stories from their travels. Just as I imagined their trip sounded like a blast. Their faces lit up when talking about exploring new terrain together. It's quite obvious that these two were meant to be together. I am so thrilled to be joining such a fun, loving couple on their wedding day!!


text:
You are going to visit some days Athens, but are you also keen on knowing some other parts of Greece? Not a problem at all! You can stay in this historical and beautiful city and make day trips to some hidden paradises!
My suggestions are:
- Corinthos Mountain Area
- Nafplio
- Hydra
- Delphi
- Sounion
Corinthos Mountain Area
This is a mountainous area that you won't believe that it is so close to Athens! You have to rent a car and after 2 hours driving you will reach in the mountainous part of Corinthos, which is full of firs and oaks forests and lakes, rivers and beautiful hidden traditional villages! You should definitely visit Ano Sinikia, Mesi Sinikia and Kato Sinikia, where you enjoy panoramic views of the Corinthian Gulf! Don't forget to stop at the village Goura, where the beautiful square and the church of the Archangels dominate the place from 1880! And of course, an absolute highlight of this trip is the small artificial lake that was created in 1997 and is surrounded by a mixed forest of fir, oak and pine! There is a narrow strip of land which "invades" in the lake and leads to the church of Saint Fanourios – which is in the middle the lake! After this walk, you should also ascend to the Monastery of St. George. which very close and has a magnificent view!
How to go on your own: You just rent the car and follow this route!
Travel on a tour: This is not a trip that many tourists follow, but many Greeks do. So, you won't find any tours for this day trip.
Nafplio is another excellent choice for a day trip from Athens and many Athenians drive till there as it is just 1.5 hours away from the city and it was the 1st capital of Greece after the 1821 revolution!! Many claims that are a more beautiful version of old Athens! The old part of the town is just beautiful with alleys and amazing neo-classical buildings which give a special atmosphere to the city. You will definitely walk to Akronafplia, one of two castles of Nafplio. Palamidi is the other castle with breathtaking views to the town and to the small barren island Bourtzi. You get to Palamidi castle by car or if you are adventurous walking up the 999 steps!
So, take your camera, leave your watch at the car and walk towards Akronafplia, which is the oldest part of the town. From there, follow the idyllic pedestrian Arvanitias path that surrounds the rock of Akronafplia, where the view is impressive and the whole landscape scenic.
Restored mansions are everywhere in the old town of Nafplio and you should spend some time just walking around. The main pedestrian street of Vasileos Konstantinou has become a reference point and leads to Syntagma Square, which is strongly reminiscent of an Italian piazza.
There is the Archaeological Museum, the parliament which housed the first parliament of the independent Greek state and the Old Mosque.
How to go on your own: I strongly recommend to rent a car and go on your own.
For many people, Greece means Greek Islands, so my next suggestion will be an island very close to Piraeus, which is the main port next to Athens city. There are 5 islands, Aigina, Agistri, Poros, Spetses and Hydra that are called Argosaronikos and their proximity to the capital make them ideal for day trips from Athens. But I am going to suggest Hydra island, which is one of the most scenic and atmospheric islands and ideal for romantic weekends or day trips! The architectural structure of Hydra has remained the same till the early 19th century!
The port is the heart of the island and … the only village!
As soon as you arrive at the island wander around the alleys and beautiful traditional houses and boutiques hotels. This ideal for those that love walking, as this is the only way of going anyway. No cars are allowed on the island!!! You can choose various walking routes, like starting from the port to the Historical Archive and the Port Authority or to Kiafa and the mansions of Kountourioti and from there, along with the coast to the cave, the Mills and Kamini! The point of interest are also the churches: the Monastery of the Assumption οf the Holy Mary and the churches of St. John the Faster with 18th-century frescoes and Saint Constantine of Hydra. I am afraid that you should expect incredible beaches, but some decent ones like Mpisti and Agios Nikolaos, where you go by taxi boat. Τhe quickest way to go to Hydra is by flying dolphins (1.5 hours from Piraeus) or by car, which is a 2.45′ drive from Athens to Metohi and then with a taxi boat, you arrive at Hydra.
How to go on your own: From Piraeus to Hydra you can take the ferry or the dolphin. Check here for the timetables and prices.
You have probably already heard about Delphi, which was famous in ancient Greece thanks to the oracle of the (ancient) city of Delphi and it continues nowadays to attract visitors from all over the world! Even it is quite far for a day trip – around 2.30′ drive from Athens, I strongly recommend it. So, coming from Athens you will pass the beautiful Greek village Arachova, where you make a quick stop, for coffee or lunch. Fifteen minutes after Arachova you will arrive at the archaeological site of Delphi.
The main road split the site into two different parts. One, above the road, is the largest one. Start your tour from the so-called "Sacred Road", which was exactly the same route followed by the ancient pilgrims and has adorned with numerous buildings and offerings (the treasure of Sikyonion, Siphnian of Megara, the Athenians and many many others).
There you will find the Omphalos of the earth. According to the mythology, god Zeus released two eagles at opposite ends of the world and ordered them to fly across the earth to meet at its centre. The eagles followed his command and the met at the and at Delphi, where Zeus threw a stone as a sign of humanity. As this stone is placed at the centre of the earth, it was called the omphalos stone, the meaning of omphalos being 'navel'.
Then, you reached at Temple of Apollo, where according to tradition the priestess Pythia muttered words incomprehensible to mere mortals. These words are then interpreted by the priests of the sanctuary in a common language and delivered to those who had requested them. But, the oracles were always open to interpretation and often signified dual and opposing meanings!
Continuing your walk at the site you will find the ancient theatre and then follow a steep path you will get to the stadium. The archaeological walk ends at the museum, which presents the most famous discoveries of archaeological research.
The second part which is below the road is the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, where you will find a group of temples and treasuries and also the famous Tholos of Delphi.
The modern town of Delphi extends further to the ancient, but it hasn't kept any particular architectural character.
How to go on your own: The journey it is around 2 hours and you can check the route here.
Sounion temple
Last I left the most accessible and short trip from Athens, the archaeological site of Sounion. Personally, I think it is the best choice if you have a limited time and you want to visit a magical place, especially if the weather is good. It is located in the southernmost of the Attica region and it's around 1.15′ drive from Athens, but take into the account that sometimes there is traffic! At Cape Sounion, the Athenians had built at the rocky and steep hill a sanctuary surrounded by a wall. The sanctuary included temples dedicated to the gods of the city and the main temple was dedicated to Poseidon, god of the sea and it was built in ca. 440 BC. I recommend to visit Sounion Temple, at afternoon, have a visit at the temple and a quick dive at the small beach below it! The feeling of the place is amaing. Also, there some taverns where you can have ouzo and eat fresh fish! Don't forget to watch the amazing sunset from the temple! Probably, the 2nd best sunset in Greece after Santorini's!!
Sounion cape is responsible, according to mythology, that Aegean sea – the part of Mediterranean Sea that is located between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey – took this name! Theseus – a Greek hero in Greek mythology- defeated the Minotaur in Crete island, but he and his pilots forgot to raise the white sail as they returned to Attica and Athens. King of Athens Aegeus – his fathers – saw the black sail as the ship approached, and thought that Theseus had been killed on Crete. In his grief, Aegeus threw himself from the Acropolis and died.
You can find more information about the archaeological site here.
How to go on your own: Easy, rent a car and use this route.
If you are interested in visiting one of the above places, but you prefer to go with a tour agency, just contact us and we can recommend you some good choices!


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Who says the only games I review should be in Alpha or Beta?!?!? Well technically, statistics say I have a better probability of reaching a wider audience, but I say "MEH!".
To Kick off reviewing older games, I want to take a look at what is probably one of my all time Favorite games. STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl.
Thankfully this is not entirely from left field as Shane Van Dyke, one of the minds behind Paranormal Activity, helped write Chernobyl Diaries, coming out later this year… (I included the trailer at the bottom of this review.)
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl was released in 2007 by THQ and GSC World Publishing. A good quick overview of the game is Skyrim Meets Modern Warfare 3. No Icons yet, but I give this one: 5/5 bullets!
Basically you are a dude, no name, no memory, just some scars, a PDA and no idea what the hell you are doing in the Zone, let alone what bacon might taste like. The story revolves around the idea that you need to find whoever stranded you in the slightly, to massively irradiated wastes surrounding the Chernobyl reactor in Ukraine. Now time for some revealing background information!
The name sake of the game is a 1979 Russian film, here is the Trailer:[youtube:http://youtu.be/GM_GOpfEQUw%5D
The major theme of both the movie and the game is that if you can get into the center of "the Zone" you will find a device that grants wishes. The movie, which was released before the 1986 Nuclear Disaster, takes place in a "Zone" where the normal laws of physics are not always the boss.
In the case of the game STALKER, "the Zone" refers to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the nuclear power plant, in Chernobyl. The center of the Zone, just happens to be located somewhere inside the irradiated plant. And now for the games trailer:[youtube:http://youtu.be/yYgnFrh_5UM%5D
Enough about the story, I don't want to spoil it for you, let's talk about how the game works. Much like any modern RPG game, you wake up, get a quest, complete the quest, find out more about the story, and unlock more quests. There isn't a "leveling" system to the game, but you do get ranked against all the other STALKERS in the persistent AI world, and the more "experienced" you get the better money you earn and the better equipment you have access too.
They just threw away that pesky "experience point and level bar" thing that makes a nice GUI cluttered. And then quickly tossed out the rest of the idea of leveling, and gave you cooler guns the deeper you get!
Also like most open-world style RPGS, you can go pretty much anywhere within each "Zone" anytime you like, as long as you make sure to pick your way around the hazards the maps have to offer. When you reach the edge of the "Zone" you either move to the next one, die as radiation melts all your important bits at once, or run into barbed wire.
You also contend with a complex inventory system, which shows what armor you are wearing, your primary weapon and side arm, and all that random crap you have felt the need to shove into your back-pack. Everything in the game has weight though, so at about the time you have 500 rounds of ammo, a shotgun, 9 handguns, and 47 health kits, you can't move, but you make an awesome target!
The AI is good, for 2007, as far as the "Smart" enemies are concerned. 90% of the game you spend in conflict with one of the Zones major factions, so you are battling other STALKERS, the Military, Bandits, or other rival factions as you strive to remember what you had for breakfast. Flanking and cover are important as just a few hits will kill you, and a major hit causes you to bleed to death slowly, unless you get some first aid. The enemy use tactic to flank and trap you, and sometime you can walk right into an ambush.
But two can play that game, if you start shooting a guy, duck behind some bushes, and creep to the far side of the camp, the altered bad guys are still firing at your last known position. Trust me, this type of flanking is needed early in the game… when all you have is a sausage, a sawed-off shotgun that hold only two shells, and a pistol that Lenin threw away when he was 5.
As for the rest of the enemies? Well zombies are stupid, you can train them into natural world hazards, and the other mutants that are scattered around the world are pretty much re-skinned "attack dogs" who mindlessly attack you until you or they die.
Their are a few higher tiered mutants. One of which is a telepathic nightmare man, that uses the powers of your video card to convince you that you are in the 60s and having a really bad LSD trip, until you remind him that guns don't kill people, you do. But seeing as how the pharmacy in the Zone is out of hangover meds, you get the "morning after" feeling of a Roger Waters designed flash bang for a few second. Then their is the Vampire Mutant..
You know your standard Cthulhu stand-in, that can turn invisible, run WAY faster than you can, and eat your face off with his magical and tender RAZOR FACE TENTACLES! But still mutants are mutants, and pretty much straight line at you until you are dead, although they do a good job avoiding the natural hazards of the world.
So by this time the Elephant in the Room has grown two heads(That's a radiation joke…). I keep mentioning these "world hazards" and here is the quick run-down: OMGWTFRADIATION has taken the laws of Physics and smashed them around Tony Starks living room because lets face it, they are "puny gods".
Scattered around all the maps are hazards from your common "my eyes are bleeding" pockets of gamma radiation, to other fun things like geysers of radioactive flame, dust devils that can tear your arms off, and well I won't "spoil" the surprise… (In this case the "surprise" is any number of things that melt your face)
However their is a Golden Lining on those radioactive shit-storms… Each Anomaly, this is the cute little word used in game to describe these near invisible instagib traps, produce artifacts. These artifacts can be used to boost your in game abilities, or if you are like me and like your character resembling a shambling Sherman Tank, you can just sell them all to buy more guns.
For a game released in 2007 the graphics are pretty damn good, the grass moves in the wind, the sun sets and rises, you even get some cool God Beams during twilight, and assuming your computer can handle it the shadows move naturally. The skins are interesting, and the guns look damn good, for beat-up casts offs in a post-apocalyptic setting.
The RPG elements of the game ends with quest giving, and weapon/armor upgrading, the rest of the game is pure FPS. Balancing your weapons for each fire-fight becomes old quick, and you really learn what style you play best fast.
Sniping is almost non-existent in the game, sure you might snipe 2-3 guys, but then the other 30 are all over you, cause guess what? They have the same shitty, beat-up guns you do, and hey you can't remember what you had for breakfast so Marine Sniper School is out of the question. It is refreshing that the game manages to balance all its weapons without having a some ungodly sniper weapon that ends each fight before it starts.
The world is persistent, factions fight, territory lines change, and mutants wipe out whole towns even if you aren't around to see it. Which sometimes means your quest is just gone, but there is always another mission! I have played through the first game a couple dozen times, and never have I completed everything.
So whats the TL:DR? Skyrim with Guns. One last movie trailer…[youtube:http://youtu.be/P2qEtw7–3I%5D
Liked the review? Want to see more? Be sure to mention it all in the comments! Also be sure to check out STALKER: Clear Sky and STALKER: Call of Pripyat.
Related articles
- In the Zone of Alienation: Tarkovsky as Video Game (nybooks.com)
- 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2' development shuts down as dev launches new MMO FPS (examiner.com)
- Disaster Tourism: My Day In Nuclear Ruins (theglobalmail.org)


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State Senator Buzz Thomas is at it again. He is so desperately trying to support a asanine governor who thinks she has an urban plan for Detroit.
There is NO plan for Detroit. Period. The person that he is supporting does not even have a Urban plan for ANY urban community in Michigan.
Senator Thomas has attempted to answer my question of what has Gov. Granholm has done for Detroit.
He states the following from this week's Michigan Front Page newspaper:
The other action the governor has not participated in is immediatedly cutting funds to Detroit to solve budget problems.
This governor has cut revenue sharing from Detroit. This is a fact and even the Michigan Citizen reported that the Detroit City Council was looking into suing the State of Michigan to get back their portion of revenue sharing.
He also says:
Because of this, having Granholm as governor has been a refershing change.
Senator Thomas is NOT looking at the facts:
- Currently, the Michigan ranks 50th in employment growth, 49th in business tax climate, 49th in income growth. (Bureau of Labor Statistics; Tax Foundation; Forbes Magazine).
- Since Jennifer Granholm has been governor, Michigan has lost nearly 100,000 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Since Governor Granholm introduced her "Jobs Today, Jobs Tomorrow Plan", Michigan has lost nearly 40,000 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- In 2005, Michigan was the only state in the United States that was not hit by a hurricane to report a net job loss (Escanaba Daily Press, 2/8/06).
- Overall hiring of college graduates in the State of Michigan will decrease by 43%. The rest of the country will see a 6% increase. (Collegiate Employment Research Institute, 2005-2006 Recruiting Trends Survey)
- Michigan's unemployment rate is 7.1%, this is the nation's highest and is 50% above the national average (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Michigan's median income has dropped below the national average for the first time ever (Detroit News, 8/30/06).
- In 2005 89,473 Michigan citizens filed for bankruptcy. This represented an all-time high in filings. (Detroit Free Press, 9/18/05; United States Bankruptcy Court)
- From February 2004 to February 2006, the rate of home foreclosures in Michigan doubled to a rate that is 2 ½ times higher than the national average. (Muskegon Chronicle, 2/27/06)
- Michigan's foreclosure rate is now the 6th highest in the nation (Detroit News, 9/13/06).
- Including Washington DC, Michigan ranks 51st in the nation in home values. (CNN Money, 12/1/05)
- Detroit is the 2nd most impoverished city in the United States (Detroit Free Press, 8/30/2006).
So what is he talking about?
He goes on to say:
She has proposed sweeping changes to the insurance system in Michigan and I am proud to say that many of the suggestions came from close consultation with me and other members of the Detroit delegation.
There has not been any changes to insurance for that we are subsidizing for the rest of the State of Michigan in insurance rates. While he has proposed a bill to cut 20% in insurance we are still using our cousin's address in Battle Creek.
He goes on:
Gov. Granholm's economic plan is to fund more high-techand cutting edge projects throughout Michigan, and Detroit has benfitted from her economic plan.
What the hell is he talking about? Did he know the following?
Since Granholm introduced the "Jobs Today, Jobs Tomorrow Plan", Michigan has lost nearly 40,000 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
· Since Granholm became governor, the state of Michigan has seen an increase in unemployment and has lost 84,200 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
· Since Granholm became governor, the state of Illinois has seen a decrease in unemployment and has gained 104,900 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
· Since Granholm became governor, the state of Pennsylvania has seen a decrease in unemployment and has gained 139,300 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
· Michigan now ranks 51st in job creation, being the ONLY STATE including Washington D.C., to lose jobs in the past year (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
To add on:
- The educational level in Detroit is at a 6th grade level.
- 10% of Detroiters only have a 4-year college degree.
- 4% of Detroiters only have a graduate dgree.
- 0.2% only have a doctorate degree.
- 47% of Detroiters are functionally illerate.
- Detroit leads the country in STDs.
- The unemploymet rate in Detroit is 8%.
He also goes on to say the following:
Detroit Public Schools have benefitted by not being the target of budget cuts and by knowing that they will have their fair share or funding from Lansing. Imagine planning the school year when you lose millions of dollars in the middle of the year because the State of Michigan might arbitrarily cut your funding. That is no longer a concern for Detroit schools.
This is a weak and pitiful position to protect Governor Granholm. His homegilr, Gov. Granholm said this in a TV ad recently:
But here's what I won't do. I won't cut health care or schools, or make you pay more in taxes so that wealthy corporations can pay less."
It is a well known fact that Granholm was the first governor in over two decades to cut K-12 funding and has made cuts to higher education as well. All of this while proposing over $2 billion in tax increases.
- As one of the first acts as governor, Granholm slashed K-12 funding by 3.8% (MIRS Capitol Capsule, 1/15/03).
- During Governor Granholm's tenure, funding for all 15 of Michigan's public universities has been cut. (House Fiscal Agency, 2006)
- Governor Granholm has cut Michigan universities by $150 million. (Higher Education Budgets, 2003-2006).
- During Granholm's tenure, Michigan colleges and universities increased tuition by nearly 50%. Last year alone, tuition in Michigan increased 12%, the third highest increase in the United States. (College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2005, 11/18/05; Detroit Free Press, 7/27/06).
- Since being governor, Jennifer Granholm has increased fees and taxes on drivers licenses, vehicle registration renewals, business permits and cigarette and liquor sales (Executive Budgets, 2004-2007; Michigan Legislature Public Acts, 2003-2006).
- Since Jennifer Granholm has been governor, she has VETOED 14 pieces of legislation that would have cut taxes for Michigan citizens and businesses (Michigan legislature, Public Act Tables, 2003-2006).
Governor Granholm promised to reduce class sizes, but today, class sizes in Michigan are larger than when they where when Granholm took office (Blueprint for Michigan pg.4, 9/02; Taxpayer Network 50 State Comparisons, 2002 and 2005).
Senator Thomas ends by saying:
Why would we want a change?
Because we have a governor who has lied, manipulated and deceived people on her pitiful and woeful record.
She claims DeVos has no health care plan. Hey BuzZ, can ANYONE in the Democratic Party answer the following:
- The governor first announced the Michigan First Health Care Plan in her 2006 State of the State Address. Three years AFTER taking office. Despite the intrigue of legislative leaders who have asked for more details on the plan, none have come forth to date. (Gongwer 1/27/06)
- Even Governor Granholm has said that at best, The Michigan First Health Care Plan will not be in effect until April of 2007. How does that help laid-off workers now? (Office of the Governor Press Release, 9/15/06).
- Financing the entire plan is dependent upon $600 million that Michigan would receive in federal money. There is no guarantee that this money will be granted to the state and the governor has been anything but forthcoming about the specifics of the negotiations. (MIRS Capitol Capsule, 5/11/06)
- The other $400 million of the plan is supposed to come from the state, but Granholm has given no ideas as to where the $400 million to fund the program. (Bay City Times, 5/10/06)
- Even though legislative approval is necessary to implement the plan, no legislation has been introduced from the governor's office (Detroit News, 10/23/06).
- Even though federal approval of a waiver is necessary to implement the plan, no waiver request has been submitted to the federal government from the governor's office (Detroit News,10/23/06).
Buzz, your friend Granholm is so damn pitiful that she did not even have to common decency and respect to give Scott Bowen a phone call to let him know what was going with the AG nominations on AFTER she asked him to STEP down from a judgeship in Grand Rapids to run for Attorney General on HER behalf. Granholm sold him up the river. She did not even say I'm sorry for putting you through that hard work, stress and dedication. Not one single phone call. She left him to hang and dry and he made an public ass out of himself all across Michigan with billboards on every Interstate.
And she will sell you up the river too if you're not careful.
Remember, Granholm sold Benton Harbor, another Black community, up the river when the city burned for three whole days due to racial violence. She did NOTHING.
And I still have yet to hear from ANY Democratic precinct delegate, the Granholm team, MDP Network or Young Dems or union person on what Granholm has done for Detroit.
Sen. Thomas, come on over and support someone who will get the job done for us.


text:
About twenty minutes before closing, we had a customer sign in to see one of our reps regarding what she referred to as "money missing" from her account. This is sadly a rather regular occurrence at [ghostbank] – usually due to someone stealing account information through various means. She went in with one of our reps and I went back to doing my thing.
After a few minutes I noticed the rep was calling up our supervisor (my phone is the switchboard so I can tell who is calling where) and after a few minutes walked over to her office. There was some discussion and the supervisor went with the rep to her office. More discussion, a little louder this time. The customer marches over to the courtesy phone in our lobby and starts dialing. The supervisor went back to her office after stopping by my desk – she told me to let her know when the police arrived.
Okay – having the police show up at your workplace is never a good sign, especially if you work in a bank.
About five minutes before closing, two patrol officers arrived – they spoke first with the boss and then with the customer, whom they escorted out of our office.I got the story from my supervisor later, and it was a humdinger.
The customer was claiming that five hundred and eighty-eight million dollars had been taken from her account. We had no record of that amount ever existing in her account and she had no record of it as well – we were to take her word for it, I guess. She insisted the money had been stolen and wanted to file a police report since we were "not helping" her like we were supposed to. I'm not really sure if she wanted to file a report about the fictitious money or the fact that we didn't hand over half a billion dollars on her say-so, but either way it wasn't going to happen. She actually called the police – who gave her a stern talking-to and walked her off the property, since by that time she was becoming belligerent.
Based on what I heard and my own experiences, one of three things happened:
- She was attempting to con [ghostbank] out of $588 million (if that's the case, kudos on the chromium cojones, lady.)
- She was taken in by some sort of con, probably a Nigerian scam, where she sent a sum to someone and they were supposed to send a huge amount of money to her in return.
- She was delusional or some other flavor of crazy.
My money is on option 2; sadly people still fall for these things even though there has been multiple reports on the 'net and more traditional media regarding these scams. I guess some people still haven't learned TANSTAAFL.*
*An acronym found often in Heinlein stories, There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch


text:
I know, I know, the blog has been languishing (for the few that actually have been faithful to check it out. That is about to change. Spring Break was crazy fun and busy and stressful here in Rome but we saw God do some HUGE things. So over the next couple days, I will be posting stories from that. In the meantime, here are two worthwhile articles to check out:
Cobain and Biggie: How We Misjudge Music - Thoughtful article on music... I especially likes the conclusion; "The only difference is that we have invented new rules for what's "cool" (this year it seems to be putting odd, "progressive" sounds in your songs and ignoring traditional songwriting structure). I wonder what albums that we'll listen to in 15 years and realize that they weren't everything we built them up to be."
Staring into the Abyss: An article that is actually quite frightening. This article synthesizes some of Nietzsche's key ideas on a way that a simple guy like me can understand. Highly recommend checking this out


text:
Friday, May 21, 2010
What's in Ed's iPod?
I know you people are sitting in your cramped, 4x6 cubicles, pecking mindlessly away on your computer, trying to finish that stupid spread-sheet your boss wants yesterday, as your four-eyed, lecherous office manager who wears a tie with a short-sleeved shirt that's one size too small, looks accusingly in your direction. And you're asking yourself, "Man, where did my hopes and dreams go and who did I piss off to end up here? Life is too short for this! If it weren't for the misery, hopelessness, and despair, I'd have no companions at all. I need a distraction from all this. I wonder what Ed's listening to that'll help me out?"
Well, life's not as hard as all that but, it can be soul-sucking from time to time. So, here's my current play-list featuring some old and new from the alternative side:
Sonic Youth
Modest Mouse
The Cure
Silversun Pickups
The Killers
If you check these bands out and put some of their stuff on you iPod, I'm sure things will start to look up for you. Thanks for asking.
Labels: music
5 comments:
Ed, I know you're only slightly younger than I, and I've never even heard of any of those.
You're trying to make some of us feel very old.
- Fri May 21, 12:00:00 PM CDT
Bill, go to the "Notes" section of my FB page and you'll see my "25 things about myself" list. One of those reads something like, "My musical tastes did not get mired in my youth" or something. I've always been an alternative guy.
- Fri May 21, 12:30:00 PM CDT
Ed, when I saw the "Georgia Bulldogs" thing on there I started gagging and had to get out.
I like Steely Dan, too, of course.
- Fri May 21, 05:14:00 PM CDT
- Ed said...
OK Bill, let's see your 25 Things list. I'm sure I can find some fodder for jokes too. You're not a fan of the dogs? Blaspheme!
- Sat May 22, 08:01:00 AM CDT
Go Jackets!
- Sat May 22, 11:33:00 AM CDT
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Empowering youth through young representatives
Tunisia doesn't have any national youth council while most of MENA countries have one, and 45% of the population is under 25 years old. Thus, none of youth associations or young council get legitimacy to participate to decisions making process.
Starting with creating a National Observatory for Youth, in order to gain legitimacy and notoriety, based on the existing governorate scale councils run by the Search For Common Ground NGO, the Observatory will be launching first publications and throw events and forum to gather youth, get recognized and known among young people and decisions making stakeholders. As soon as its power and importance will be recognized, it could be launched as a Youth Council itself.
The IOM, with several partners and donors, will aim to gather a strong structure which will be ready to be presented to the next government (most probably elected in coming December 2014), and implement a youth consultative and representative council which will be able to bring governorates recommendations and requests to the National Institutions.
The IOM Tunisia is currently working on the concept note and meeting with Search For Common Grounds in order to see their interest in collaborating. We will be then writing a concept note and establish clearly our goals in order to go fundraising and start gathering youth.
This project will be presented at the Rhodes Youth Forum 2014 as well as at the World Youth Council 2014 in Sri Lanka.


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The Department of Defense confirmed early Friday that seven U.S. service members were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq. The Pentagon said the craft was operating as a medevac and was not involved in a combat mission. Military investigators are trying to determine the cause of the crash, which happened near the Syrian border in a town known for insurgent activity. No further details were available.
*STOP WASTING TIME – READ LBN: Distraction is bull-shit. Learn about the news and the world around you. Focus on growing. Influencers in all 50 of the United States and 26 foreign countries trust LBN to deliver fearlessly independent news and information daily. Now you can invite you friends, family, and associates to sign up and receive (if they've got the guts) by going to www.LBNElert.com
*Britain Hints at Tougher Blow Against Russia: Stripping Tycoons' Assets:
As she probes for Russia's vulnerabilities during a week of deepening crisis, Prime Minister Theresa May does not have to look far. Within a few blocks of No. 10 Downing Street, she could find opulent homes owned by members of President Vladimir V. Putin's inner circle. A short walk from Mrs. May's office is an apartment registered to a company owned by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor I. Shuvalov, with a value estimated at $16 million. Roman Abramovich, a former member of the Russian Parliament and a longtime Putin associate, lives opposite Kensington Palace, in a house whose value has been estimated at $163 million. The rupture between Russia and the United Kingdom deepened on Thursday, eleven days after a former Russian spy was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent in a sleepy town in southwest England.In a rare joint statement, the United States, Germany and France condemned the attack, calling it the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War II. And in Washington, the Trump administration announced new sanctions against 19 people and five organizations implicated in cyberattacks.
*North Korea 'Surprised' Trump Wants to Meet, Says Ex-Diplomat
We've all been there—you make vague plans with someone to be polite, then they unexpectedly accept and you actually have to go through with it. The man who led U.S. diplomatic efforts in North Korea until this year has said Kim Jong Un's officials were "surprised" when Donald Trump accepted their proposal of a summit in the next few months. "To be frank with you, I think they were a little bit surprised that Washington, President Trump, readily accepted," Ambassador Joseph Yun, who stepped down last month, told CNN, adding: "They thought it would take a little time." However, Yun said he was pleased when Trump announced last week that he would meet with Kim. "I'm very supportive of [Trump's] decision to engage at the highest levels—that is a great outcome," said the former ambassador. Meanwhile, new satellite imagery examined by Western experts has revealed new activity in North Korea's nuclear reactors, though it's unknown if the activity is related to generating power or the country's weapons program.
*Report: CBS Sets Date for Stormy Daniels '60 Minutes' Interview
CBS News tentatively plans to air its 60 Minutes interview with porn star Stormy Daniels on March 25, The Washington Post reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The network has not offered any comment on whether it has received legal threats from President Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, who was previously reported to have been trying to silence Daniels with a restraining order. Daniels, who is fighting to void a nondisclosure agreement so she can spill her story of an alleged affair with Trump, could face a penalty of $1 million each time she defies the agreement, which Cohen admitted to arranging with her just before the 2016 presidential election. The agreement was also reportedly signed by a lawyer for the Trump Organization, despite White House claims the president was not aware of the settlement.
*Cyberattacks Put Russian Fingers on the Switch at Power Plants, U.S. Says:
The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of engineering a series of cyberattacks that targeted American and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems, and could have sabotaged or shut power plants off at will. United States officials and private security firms saw the attacks as a signal by Moscow that it could disrupt the West's critical facilities in the event of a conflict. They said the strikes accelerated in late 2015, at the same time the Russian interference in the American election was underway. The attackers had compromised some operators in North America and Europe by spring 2017, after President Trump was inaugurated. In the following months, according to a Department of Homeland Security report issued on Thursday, Russian hackers made their way to machines with access to critical control systems at power plants that were not identified. The hackers never went so far as to sabotage or shut down the computer systems that guide the operations of the plants.
*Russia Adds Americans to Black List in Revenge for Sanctions
Russia has hit back at the U.S. for slapping new sanctions on Russians accused of election meddling by adding more Americans to its "black list," its foreign minister said. "From the very beginning, we use the principle of parity on the number of people included in sanction lists. So we will expand our 'black list' with another group of Americans," Sergei Ryabkov said Friday. Although Ryabkov didn't specify the number of Americans added to the black list, the U.S. sanctions implicated 19 Russians, which the retaliatory sanctions are expected to match. Reuters reported Ryabkov didn't rule out making further sanctions against the U.S. in response what is considered to be the strongest action by the Trump administration against Russia so far. "Those politicians are playing with fire by destroying Russian-American relationship because simultaneously they shake global stability," Ryabkov added.
*LBN-SEE IT:…John F. Kelly, center, the White House chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, are on thin ice with the president, having angered him by privately saying "no" too often.
*Danny Boyle to Write Next James Bond Movie
Director Danny Boyle has confirmed that he will be writing the next film in the James Bond franchise, and he plans to give the movie's female characters a "modern" twist. "We are working on a script right now," Boyle told Page Six, adding that he is collaborating with John Hodge. Asked whether the #MeToo and Time's Up movements would influence his portrayal of women in the film, Boyle said the script would be written in "real time." "You acknowledge the legacy of the world [of Bond] and you write in the world—but you also write in the modern world as well," he told Page Six. No timeline was given for the project, but the Trust producer said work would get underway on the film closer to the end of the year.
*LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER: ***The mood in the courtroom was hopeful when Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy last September. The company's lawyer, in the first hearing, played a clip of the retailer's famous jingle "I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid" and vowed to restore the company's place in the hearts of millions of American families. The reality is that Toys "R" Us, which announced on Thursday that it would shutter or sell all of its stores in the United States, never had much chance at a turnaround. For over a decade, Toys "R" Us had been drowning in $5 billion of debt, which its private equity backers had saddled it with. With debt payments siphoning off cash every year, Toys "R" Us could not properly invest in its worn-out suburban stores or outdated website. Sales plummeted, as Amazon captured more children's desires — and their parents' wallets — for Star Wars Legos and Paw Patrol recycling trucks.
*DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that LBN is read daily in 26 foreign countries daily? Did you? Did you? —– China, India, Russia, Brazil, Germany, France, Israel, Korea, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Cuba, Sweden, Australia, South Africa and more.
"Without Notes" with Dr. Srini Pillay – Episode 3: Unlocking Power of the Unfocused Mind — https://youtu.be/LQeEleHOqyA
*LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: ***Sienna Miller has signed with WME, as has writer Ira Madison III. ***Insecure's Jay Ellis has signed with UTA, Rise and Hansen Jacobson. ***Last Man in Aleppo's Feras Feyyad has signed with Black Box Management. ***GLOW star Betty Gilpin has signed with Anonymous Content. ***Tyrese Gibson has signed with Joanne Horowitz Management.
*LBN-R.I.P.: ***Tom Benson, a self-made billionaire who owned the N.F.L.'s Saints and the N.B.A.'s Pelicans in a four-decade reign over an often turbulent pro sports scene in his native New Orleans, died on Thursday in Jefferson, La. He was 90. The Saints announced his death, at Ochsner Medical Center, on their website. He had been hospitalized since Feb. 16 with the flu. ***Ed Charles, the heart and soul of the Miracle Mets of 1969, died on Thursday at his home in East Elmhurst, Queens. He was 84. His daughter-in-law, Tomika Charles, confirmed the death, saying he had been ill for several years.
*LBN-VIDEO LINK: Chris Rock – Gun Control – https://youtu.be/Db0Y4qIZ4PA
U.S. Department of Transportation: Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America's roadways. In 2014 alone, 3,129 were killed in distracted driving crashes. The U.S. Department of Transportation is leading the effort to stop texting and cell phone use behind the wheel. Since 2009, we have held two national distracted driving summits, banned texting and cell phone use for commercial drivers, encouraged states to adopt tough laws, and launched several campaigns to raise public awareness about the issue. Distraction.gov is your resource for learning more about distracted driving. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep America's roadways safe.
*LBN-COMMENTARY by Roni Caryn Rabin: There are several theories about what leads to canker sores, those painful ulcers that form inside the mouth, on the tongue or inside the cheek or lips, though medical experts say they don't know the precise cause. They are distinct from cold sores, which form on the outer lip and are caused by infections with the herpes simplex virus. Anyone can get a canker sore, though they occur more often in teens and young adults and may be more common in people with underlying medical conditions that cause inflammation or weaken the immune system. "It's just one of those things where the exact cause has yet to be determined," said Dr. Sally Cram, a dentist and spokeswoman for the American Dental Association. Among the possible culprits are viruses, bacterial infections, food allergies, poor nutrition, a weakened immune system, an injury or trauma to the mouth and stress. Hereditary factors may also play a role.
*LBN-COMMENTARY by Jesse Green: If ever there were a time to be drunk in the theater, this is it. And the good news is that "Escape to Margaritaville," the Jimmy Buffett jukebox musical that opened on Thursday, makes getting sloshed on Broadway easier than ever. The lobby at the Marquis Theater has been kitted out as an island-style thatched-hut alcohol fueling station, complete with margaritas for $12 (on the rocks) or $16 (frozen), as well as bottle openers, koozies and other drink-oriented paraphernalia. The bad news is that you still have to see the show. Or at least that was bad news for me, stone cold sober and with enough functioning brain cells to recall the past glory of musicals. If my twentysomething nephew liked "Escape to Margaritaville" better than I did, perhaps that's because he had two drinks and no historical horror.
*LBN-COMMENTARY by David Brooks: Every election cycle we say that so and so is fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party, or the soul of the Republican Party. And, of course, most of the time it's not true. Most of the time the fight is over whether the party in question should go to the left or the right on some policy issue, which is important but not really a matter of a party's soul. But this year it actually is true. The crucial issue of this election cycle is whether the Democratic Party will retain its soul — remain an institution committed to the basic democratic norms — respect for truth, personal integrity, the capacity for deliberation and compromise, loyalty to nation above party or tribe. These fundamental issues are on the table because Donald Trump put them there. Trump is a revolutionary figure not because he changed the G.O.P.'s position on trade or international engagement. He's morally revolutionary.
*LBN-OVERHEARD: ***Vanessa Haydon Trump, the wife of President Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., filed for divorce on Thursday afternoon in a Manhattan court. Ms. Trump, 40, is seeking an uncontested divorce to end her 12-year marriage with the president's son. Mr. Trump, 40, the eldest of five children from President Trump's three marriages, met his wife, a former model, when his father introduced them at a 2003 fashion show. They married in 2005 at Mar-a-Lago, the family's club in Palm Beach, Fla. They have five children.
LBN E-Lert Edited By Dan Gaylord


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Poincare Conjecture Proven?
News from China reports that two Chinese mathematicians, Zhu Xiping and Cao Huaidong, have proven the Thurston Geometrization Conjecture and by implication the Poincare Conjecture. Proving the Poincare Conjecture has been one of the most difficult mathematical problems since Henri Poincare first proposed it in 1904.
From The Epoch Times:
In the June issue of the U.S.-based Asian Journal of Mathematics, the two scientists published a 334-page paper, "A Complete Proof of the Poincaré and Geometrization Conjectures - application of the Hamilton-Perelman theory of the Ricci flow."
The Poincaré Conjecture, first stated by French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904, is that, in topology, if in a closed three-dimensional space, any closed curves can shrink to a point, this space is topologically equivalent to the three-dimensional sphere. Like the Riemann Hypothesis, the Hodge Conjecture and the Yang-Mills Existence and Mass Gap, the Poincaré Conjecture has been rated as one of the seven "Millennium Prize problems"for proofs of which the Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts was offering prizes of US$1,000,000 each, in May 2000.
By the end of the 1970s, U.S. mathematician William P. Thurston had produced partial proof of Poincaré Conjecture on geometric structure, and was awarded the Fields Prize for the achievement. Fellow American Richard Hamilton completed the majority of the program and the geometrization conjecture. In 2003, Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman made key new contributions.
Utilizing the Hamilton-Perelman theory of Ricci flow, Zhu and Cao have successfully provided the complete proof of the Poincaré Conjecture in the paper.
The paper must survive the scrutiny of the mathematics community for two years before the Clay Math prize is awarded.
The problem is near and dear to my heart since I had the opportunity to study it for a little while in college. In 2003, when Perelman's papers were published on the Internet, I tried to learn a little bit about the state of the art. As you can readily imagine, I didn't make much progress with that endeavor. However, it was fun trying.
As far as I can tell from the news, no imminent breakthroughs are on the horizon for the Riemann Hypothesis. But you never know whether a brilliant mind is working in secrecy and about to crack the nut.


text:
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Recursion is the process a treatment goes by when on the list of methods from the treatment will involve invoking the procedure by itself. A course of action that goes via recursion is alleged to get 'recursive'.
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text:
The 50-member committee mandated to draft Egypt's constitution is determined to usher in a new, liberal era, writes Gamal Essam El-Din
The Committee of Fifty responsible for writing the final draft of Egypt's new constitution held a plenary meeting yesterday to review its first week on the job.
Initial reports suggest the 2012 constitution drafted under Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood-led regime by an Islamist-dominated constituent assembly will be radically changed and that the new constitution will be liberal, stress social justice and ensure the effective separation of powers.
"The main lesson of the 30 June Revolution which removed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi from power," said Amr Moussa, chairman of the committee and a former presidential candidate, "is that politics and religion do not mix."
"If you want to engage in politics then you can get a licence for a political party but if you want to play religion then you can get a licence to preach and then go to the mosque."
Moussa confirmed that the new constitution will place a ban on the formation of religious parties. "Religiously motivated political parties only harm society by fanning sectarian strife and tarring their political opponents as infidels and non-believers."
Moussa opened fire on the regime of Mohamed Morsi, taking him to task for sowing the seeds of political and sectarian strife and turning Sinai into fertile recruiting ground for militant jihadists.
"Egypt's population will reach 100 million in a few years. They cannot be left mired in a world lacking liberal and democratic freedoms. Egypt can get over its political crisis and become a flourishing country if we opt to join the modern world and espouse the universal principles of democracy," Moussa told a group of lawyers on Tuesday.
Committee spokesperson Mohamed Salmawy said the constitutional decree issued by interim President Adli Mansour leaves the door open for the 50-member committee to revise and amend all articles of the constitution drafted by Islamists in 2012. As a result, said Salmawy, Egypt will have a new and modern constitution compatible with international conventions on freedoms and rights. He added that "even the preamble will be changed to state that the new constitution is inspired by the liberal ideals of the 25 January and 30 June revolutions."
Salmawy added that Salah Fadl, professor of law at Ain Shams University, and Mahmoud Al-Rabie, a professor of political science at the American University in Cairo, had been selected to write the constitution's preamble. He also indicated that followers of different religions rather than just adherents of Islam, Christianity and Judaism will be given the right to freely exercise their rites.
"The more the constitution's articles are comprehensive, liberal and inclusive of all religions and sects the more it will be in line with international human rights and democracy benchmarks," said Salmawy. He added that "the constitution-drafting committee will do its best to reach a consensus formula which could maintain Islam as the official religion of the state but at the same time ensure freedom for followers of all world religions."
Salmawy's comments followed the decision of Bassam Al-Zarka, the Salafist Nour Party's sole representative on the committee, to withdraw from a sub-committee meeting on Monday. Al-Zarka had proposed that Article 2 of the constitution be amended to state that "Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation in Egypt" rather than the current formulation which reads "the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation in Egypt". Al-Zarka argued that the change would reflect a strong belief in Islamic Sharia and the Islamic identity of Egypt and open the door for the elimination of controversial Article 219 which introduced an interpretation of the Islamic Sharia principles that many liberals and moderates say is dangerously restrictive.
When his proposal was rejected Al-Zarka left the sub-committee, saying that "we are in a battle between Islam and secularism", insisting he could not "continue attending a committee bent on ridding the constitution of all Islamic identity articles".
Nour Party Chairman Younis Makhioun clarified the situation. "Al-Zarka's withdrawal from the sub-committee does not mean that he will boycott all the meetings of the 50-member committee," said Makhioun.
Civilian political parties have accused the Nour Party of doing its best to disrupt the committee's work.
"Al-Zarka's withdrawal was an attempt to tarnish the image of non-Islamist members of the committee and portray them as enemies of Islam," said Hussein Abdel-Razek, a senior member of the Tagammu Party. He told Al-Ahram Weekly that "the Nour Party played an enormous role in Islamising Egypt's 2012 constitution and will not easily give up".
Wafd Party head Al-Sayed Al-Badawi argued that "the highly-esteemed Sunni institution of Al-Azhar must be left to give the final say on whether Islamic identity articles be kept in place or not."
Hoda Al-Sadda, a professor of literature and chairman of the Liberties and Rights sub-committee, has said members have reached initial agreement on significant changes to 12 of the 39 articles under review. "We have decided to include articles to incriminate all forms of torture and discrimination," she told reporters. According to Al-Sadda, there is also a consensus that civilians should not appear before military tribunals.
Mohamed Abdel-Salam, chairman of the Basic Components Committee and legal advisor to the sheikh of Al-Azhar, said Al-Zarka's objections had not dissuaded the committee from amending the first article of the constitution to read that Egypt is "a civilian independent state" rather than "a sovereign independent state". Abdel-Salam insists the change is a progressive step affirming that Egypt is a civilian rather than religious state.
Abdel-Salam further revealed the sub-committee had voted in favour keeping Article 3 in place. It states that "the principles of Egyptian Christians' and Jews' religious laws will be the main source in regulating personal status, matters pertaining to their religion and the selection of their spiritual leaders".
Al-Ahram political analyst Amr Al-Shobaki, chairman of the governance system subcommittee, said members were reviewing 37 articles. He confirmed that while "a mixed presidential-parliamentary system will be maintained" the sub-committee would eliminate articles consolidating presidential power that were left over from the 1971 constitution and which Islamists had retained "because the Muslim Brotherhood was preparing itself to stay in power for many years and had no interest in undermining the dictatorial position of the president".
Salmawy stressed that "a major challenge facing the 50-member committee is to devise a system in which the president is effectively accountable and shares powers with parliament."
"The 50-member committee is determined to finish the second stage of Egypt's post-30 June political roadmap within 60 days," Salmawy told the Weekly. "We began on 8 September and have 60 work days — with the week-long holiday of Eid Al-Adha excluded — to finish our job. We hope to send the outside world the message that Egypt is moving steadily towards the liberal democracy prescribed by the political roadmap."
Efforts aimed at reaching consensus among all factions on the 30 June political road gathered momentum this week. After a five-hour meeting with interim President Mansour on 15 September political factions, including the Nour Party, agreed that "the political roadmap should be completed on time, with the new constitution to be put to a national referendum by December." Mansour issued a decree this week forming a seven-member judicial electoral commission to supervise the anticipated referendum and parliamentary polls.
The meeting also agreed that there can be no "reconciliation with those who resorted to violence or have blood on their hands". This, says Democratic Peace Party Chairman Ahmed Al-Fadali, means "any attempt to reintegrate the Muslim Brotherhood into political life is almost certainly doomed."
In the continuing crackdown on the Brotherhood security forces arrested the group's media spokesman Gehad Al-Haddad on Tuesday. (see Special p.11)


text:
The Pains of being pure at heart
A pretty melo-dramatic band name.
And when I arrive at song four I already feel like I heard this song before on the very same album. There is not much variation in between songs, and I do not really bother listening to the lyrics. They're not really worth listening to.
All reasons why I should not like this album, but something, something about this album just makes me like it.
This album summarized into one sentence: Robert Smith from the Cure (Stay Alive) suddenly starts wearing colorful shirts and convinces the Jesus & The Mary Chain (Contender) to join him on a crusade to make the world care-free.
And every morning when I select this album on my mp3 in the train on my way to work, they succeed. Thanks Robert Smith and Jesus & the Mary Chain!


text:
Rescued By Love
About the book
: Captain Cameron Compton is content with his job as a firefighter and coaching a youth lacrosse team. He doesn't need or want anything else in his life. Then a tall blonde schoolteacher parks her Jeep illegally in front of a fire hydrant, and one of his crew soaks it with water. Repentant but un-intimidated, she fires back at him, and he's pulled in by her spunk.
Sage Turner has wished her entire life that she could shrink to a normal-sized woman. She hides her insecurities pretty well, but when she falls for a hot firefighter, she's certain she'll never be good enough.
Stranded together at her cabin, sparks start to fly, and Sage barely suppresses the urge to kick him out in a snowstorm.
A fire and a moose attack should bring them together, but instead, they might sever any hope of being rescued from the flames or loneliness.
My review
: Wow, this is such a fun book! I really loved the whole premise of this one. Cam is firefighter just going about his own business, but he constantly has the women that he's working to save throwing themselves at him. And sometimes it makes him uncomfortable and even a little bit hard to do his job.
And then he meets Sage. I love the scene where they meet! Sage has gone in to the store to get her mom some tights. But there was no where to park, so she left her jeep in front of the fire hydrant. And, of course, there's a fire in the building. Sage exits the store with the rest of the shoppers only to find one of the firefighters soaking her open jeep with the water from the hydrant. And then he has the nerve to hit on her. That's when she spots Cam. Sage knows that there's no way the hot firefighter would ever want to go out with her, the Amazon schoolteacher who is a bit of a rule breaker with her bright red jeep.
This really is a fun story. I loved the feel of it, I felt just like I was in the mountains of Park City with Sage. Wind blowing through our hair as we cruised around in her jeep.
And the whole firefighter falls in love thing is really fun! I want to read each and every one of these novellas. They are perfect for an afternoon escape! They're clean and fun and just romantic!
I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Purchase link
Cami Checketts
Clean Romance
Park City Firefighter Romance


text: DJ Phantom bookends the show with Madball's Across Your Face live from WFMU on Ball of Destruction and Damned from Legacy and then sprinkles in some Terror, Flock of Seagulls and Scorpions. My Father aka Jack aka JRT OG comes on to discuss caddying in 1960, why we are not going to see Bridget Jones Baby, Why Storks are awful, why we are not seeing the Magnificent 7 and how nothing has changed and everything comes full circle. Pats Roll, Sox Roll, Hillary is a robot and we have the documents. Barry Macguire rages with Eve of Destruction up top. Episode 153 and I wish you could have seen my Mom giving my Dad advice on how to be on the podcast.


text: I have felt like a broken record latley. & I'm not just saying that. I feel rusty. I feel like I've been played & replayed. I even feel at times I've been skipped over & skipped over things myself. My body aches, my mind is tired & I just keep on going….as so many people… Continue reading Wrestle.


text:
Punjab News Express/Swati WaliaCHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has underlined the importance of revival of existing industries in the new industrial policy, which should focus on promoting a `business first' philosophy.Addressing a meeting to discuss the state's new draft industrial policy, the Chief Minister emphasized on the need for a mindset change in the government, with focus on facilitation. Industry and business houses should be treated as partners and not be subjected to suspicion, he said.The new policy should focus on revival of industry, with preference to existing industries, said the Chief Minister, adding that the state should extend all possible help to industries and businesses, especially to MSMEs, to develop and expand.The discussion also centred on the need for infrastructure development to facilitate business and it was proposed to set up a Punjab State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation for this purpose, according to a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).Besides upgradation of the power sector, the policy would look at the development of four industrial parks and 10 industrial estates as part of the policy, which will be focused on enhancing ease of doing business in Punjab.Identifying the services sector as a key priority in the proposed policy, the Chief Minister said his government was targeting a total investment of Rs 5 lakh crore in five years around the seven core strategic pillars of growth. These pillars have been identified as Infrastructure, Power, MSME, Startup and Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Ease Of Doing Business and Investment Promotion, and Fiscal Incentive. The policy, being prepared to synergise with the central government industrial policy, would envisage one anchor unit for all the priority sectors. Promotion of entrepreneurial business would be a key focus area of the policy, said the Chief Minister, adding that the thrust should be on facilitating the development of 1000 start-ups to enable economic growth and employment generation in the state. It is proposed to set up 50 entrepreneurship skill development centres in colleges to encourage and motivate youth to go in for self-employment.According to the spokesperson, establishment of common facility centres and seamless online services, backed by re-engineering of processes, were discussed in detail at the meeting. In response to a query from the Chief Minister regarding seamless integration of the core services required to facilitate business, officials suggested that a single technology platform be developed for listing of the requirements of all the departments, which should have a common look and feel. It was pointed out that with two lakh services capable of being handled on one portal, the integration of the services could be easily achieved.As per the discussion, the state is keen to focus on manufacturing in Textile and Apparel, Cycle and Cycle Parts, Automobiles and Auto components, Light Engineering, Leather and Sports Goods, Petro-Chemicals, Secondary Steel, NRSE Equipment, Agri and Food Processing, Electronics, Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace and Defence. In the services sector, the focus will be on IT and ITES, Life Sciences, Logistics, Tourism and Hospitality, Entertainment and Film Industry, Healthcare, Education Services, Retail and Reality.The meeting was attended, among others, by Cabinet Ministers Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Badal, Rana Gurjit Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi, besides Media Advisor to CM, Raveen Thukral, Chief Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Principal Secretary Finance Anirudh Tewari, Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Vinni Mahajan, Financial Commissioner Taxation Anurag Aggarwal, Financial Commissioner Development MP Singh, Principal Secretary Power A Venu Prasad, Principal Secretary Technical Education G Vajralingam, Principal Secretary Local Government Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary Labour Sanjay Kumar, Secretary Industries and Commerce Rakesh Verma and Director Industries DPS Kharbanda.
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5th Gill Commission interim report finds 41 cases to be false
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Punjab Government issues notification regarding Section 4 of PLPA 1990 for 15 Kandi area villages
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