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Lillianna Sirmon, a student at Gaston Christian School, received the Mackie Grant.
Christopher Belk, a senior at North Lincoln High School, received one of the foundation�s Higher Education Scholarships.
Amy Giebel, an arts major from Clover, S.C., is the recipient of the Higher Education Grant.
BOX(Use photo of Cindy and her daughter with this)
Dr. Cynthia Jean Furr was a professor at Winthrop University and the minister of music at Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church.
�To me, she was just �Cindy� my sister who I loved more than anything else in this world,� said Sharon Furr. �Cindy was beautiful, talented, a giver to so many and a true mentor and friend to every child she ever taught. Cindy loved being a mommie and loved Mackie (McAllister Grier Furr Price) more than life itself. They both had the unbelievable ability to light up the world.
�Cindy�s passions were teaching, singing and children,� her sister said. �Cindy saw everyone as beautiful and having such potential. She was a dreamer and had the wonderful talent of making one strive for things unattainable, things only dreamed of, things one would be remembered for � forever.�
On April 4, 2009, Cindy and Mackie were on their way to church when they were killed.
�Cindy and the baby were my life,� said Sharon Furr. �May Cindy and Mackie�s light continue to shine in the lives of others.�
From staff reports
Some local students are beneficiaries of scholarships and grants from the CindyMackie Foundation. Last week, representatives of the foundation, created to fulfill ambitions and provide opportunities in the fields of English, literature and arts, made their way across the Carolinas making presentations that totaled $22,000.
The foundation was created to honor the memory of Cynthia Furr and her 2-year-old daughter who were killed in a car wreck in 2009. Since its formation, more than $50,000 in scholarships and grants have been awarded.
Among those chosen were:
Lillianna Sirmon, age 9, from Gaston Christian School, is the newest Mackie Grant recipient. She is a music lover, singer, dancer and student with a love of reading. In addition, she has a compassionate heart and genuinely cares for others. She recently demonstrated this by her Locks of Love donation in honor of a 2-year-old friend suffering from cancer. Her monetary award will be used to attend music and dance camps this summer.
Christopher Belk, one of the foundation�s Higher Education Scholarship recipients, is a senior at North Lincoln High School. He has been accepted into the Anderson University School of Music. Belk was chosen for his achievements in band, chorus, theatre and individual musical pursuits. Chris participates in bluegrass guitar competitions and is the assistant worship leader at his church, along with leading music at various youth groups and countrywide rallies.
Amy Giebel, an arts major from Clover, is the recipient of the Higher Education Grant. She completed her associate of arts degree in fine arts at Central Piedmont Community College last fall and is currently working toward her master�s degree at Winthrop University. She is an artist and single mother to a daughter in kindergarten.
Other recipients of Higher Education Scholarships included special education major Brittany Boswell, of Hollywood, S.C., and Katherine Ware, an art education major from Charlotte.
The foundation also made a special presentation to Melinda Abercrombie, a teacher the Chester Academy of Teaching and Learning. She had written the foundation asking for some books to start a school library. She was surprised when Sharon Furr, the sister of the late Cynthia Furr, presented the school with a $14,000 check and a lot more. There will be furniture, electronics, even a stage and book shelving built, and artists will be involved. The center will be named The Cindy Mackie Foundation Literacy and Performing Arts Center.
�How could anyone walk into a literacy and performing arts center that is named for Cindy and the baby and not feel something wonderful when they step inside,� asked Sharon Furr. �As a professor and music instructor, Cynthia Furr was always an inspiration to her students and the hope is now, with this new center, their legacy will continue and inspire.�
Cynthia Furr joined the Winthrop University community in 2002, primarily training and working with student interns who wanted to teach English in secondary schools. At first, she worked in the Richard W. Riley College of Education, but eventually moved to the Department of English in 2004, where she also taught writing and British literature.


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NRCS in Virginia offers easement programs to eligible organizations and landowners to conserve working agricultural lands, wetlands, grasslands and forestlands.
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) provides financial and technical assistance to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands and their related benefits.
Learn more about ACEP.
The Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) protected, restored, and enhanced grassland, including rangeland, pastureland, shrubland, and certain other lands.
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The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) protected, restored and enhanced wetlands. It had the goal of achieving the greatest wetland functions and optimum wildlife habitat on every acre enrolled in it.
The Agricultural Act of 2014 repeals these programs but does not affect the validity or terms of any existing FRPP, GRP, or WRP contract, agreement or easement entered into prior to the date of enactment on February 7, 2014 or any associated payments required to be made in connection with an existing FRPP, GRP, or WRP contract, agreement or easement.
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subset: commoncrawl


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LED Light
Short Description:
Model NO:TL-LT-042
Product Detail
factory view
Product Tags
LED Truck light
- Voltage:12V
- Light color:red
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Red wire to Positive , Black wire is Ground wire , Green wire to brake
Factory View:
1. Lead Time / Delivery time of mass production
Normally our lead time is 20-35 days.
2.Can you provide free samples? Sample deliver Time?
Yes, one or two free samples are available and you are willing to pay for the air freight
3.MOQ policy
As for the trailer hitch series, there is no MOQ. And of course price will be different
according to different quantity. The MOQ for car bike carrier is 1*20' container.
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We ship small batches by air, and large orders by containers.
7. Can we have our logo on products?
Yes, any item can be with a Logo


text:
Monday, December 3, 2012
BC New Democrats hold wide lead in first projection
An analysis of the projection results themselves can be read at The Globe and Mail here. Rather than go over the results a second time, I will explain some of the projection's new features.
A complete explanation of every aspect of how the projection and forecasting models work can be found here. For the most part, the basic methodology has not changed so the bulk of that explanation is covering what I have already described in detail before. In this post, I'll go over the features that have not been presented in past elections.
With this new model, I wanted to tackle a few problems but also take a somewhat different approach to how projections are presented. The most important problem is how to bridge the gap between what the polls show and what the election results end up being. The amount of data available in Canadian elections is relatively low, especially compared to the United States and particularly at the tail end of a campaign. It is common for the final polls of a campaign to be conducted days before the actual vote, leaving a big gap between the last information available and the time that people cast their ballot.
The projection now makes two calls. The first, which is what I call the projection itself, is the best estimate of a likely outcome if an election were held on the last day that the most recent poll was in the field. In the case of British Columbia, that is Angus-Reid's poll of November 21. The projection, then, is the best estimate of the outcome of an election held November 21.
In order to measure the degree of error that can be expected in the polling, high and low projection ranges are tallied. This is determined by applying the margin of error for the estimated "sample" of the projection itself. This sample is measured by comparing the weights and sample sizes of other polls to the most highly weighted poll in the projection. For example, let us assume that a projection has three polls in the database. All three have a sample of 1,000 people. One poll is rated at half the weight of the most highly rated poll, while the third poll is weighted at one-fourth of the most highly rated poll. The estimated "sample" of the projection would then be considered to be 1,750 people (1,000 people from the first poll, 500 from the half-weight poll, and 250 from the quarter-weight poll). That 1,750 sample is then used to determine the margin of error for each party, which changes according to the support a party holds. An easy demonstration of this is that a party with 2.5% support has a different margin of error than a party with 25%. If the margin of error in the poll is 3.1%, the range of results for the small party can't be as low as -0.6%.
By calculating the margin of error attributed to the projection's "sample", that is used to determine the likely ranges of the projection itself. Theoretically, this range is based on the assumption that the polls have accurately reflected the mood of the electorate, within their respective margins of error.
The current projection is heavily skewed towards Angus-Reid's last poll, since the amount of data is rather thin. This makes the "sample" of the projection relatively small, not much larger than the 800 people surveyed in that poll. For that reason, the high and low vote projections are rather wide. If more polls were available, that margin would be narrower. The high and low seat projection is based on these high and low vote projection ranges. Accordingly, that range narrows once more polls are available.
The second call made by the model is what I refer to as the forecast. Having a background in History, I am partial to the idea that the past can tell us a lot about the future. The forecasting model is based entirely on this premise.
In addition to the projection, the model also gives the plausible high and low results each party might be able to manage by election day, tentatively scheduled for May 14, 2013. Unless the polls begin fluctuating wildly, the margin will narrow as Election Day approaches.
The ranges are determined by measuring the degree of polling volatility in the past, with the period examined being equal to the amount of time before the next election. For example, the next election is scheduled for 174 days from the date of the projection, so the ranges are determined by the difference between the highest and lowest poll result for each party over the last 174 days. This is a measure of what kind of change in support is plausible based on how much that support has changed in the past. Of course, what is plausible does not equal what is possible - in theory, a party can get anywhere from 0% to 100% of the vote. That a party at 5% could win 75% of the vote six months from now is possible, and vice versa. It is not plausible, however, if that 5% has varied by only three points in the previous six months of polling.
This forecasting also cannot take into account completely exceptional events, but it is a best estimate of the plausibility of a party gaining or losing a certain amount of support.
The forecast will be continually updated as a measure of what should be expected, based on current information. Accordingly, it will change and the forecasts now may not overlap with the forecasts one month from the election. It is, instead, a best guess of what to expect based on what we know now.
In the same way that the seat projection model gives a range of likely outcomes based on the vote projection, the seat forecasting model gives a likely range of outcomes based on the vote forecast. These, of course, vary wide as the election date is far away. They give the range of plausible outcomes for the next election based on the information available to us right now.
Note that the seat forecast is not the same kind of assessment as the seat projection in terms of what seats are at play. Currently, the Conservatives are given a high forecast of 23 seats and the Greens of six seats. This does not mean that we should expect the Conservatives and Greens to win this many seats. In the case of the Conservatives, it means that if the party does end up at 25.8% support (their forecasted high, which would almost certainly mean the B.C. Liberals have dropped considerably), they could win as many as 23 seats. In the case of the Greens, it means that if the party ends up at 16% support (their forecasted high) they would be in play in as many as six seats. The one is dependent on the other. The Greens are not going to be at play in six seats at 7% support or even the high projected result of 8.7% support in the first projection. The model considers that they are at play in no seats at current polling levels.
One new feature added to the model is the probability that a call made by the seat projection model will be correct. This is based on an analysis of the seat projection model's performance in the eight elections that it has made projections for individual ridings. This probability is determined by the margin the projection model estimates the winner will win by. The following chart tracks how the projection has performed in the past, based on the projected winning margin in each riding.
If the riding projection shows that a party leading in a riding by 12 points has a 73% chance of winning, that means that based on past performance the model will be right about 73% of the time when it chooses a winner by a margin of 12 points. It does not mean that there is a 73% chance that the projection for every party in the riding will be correct, or that the trailing party has a 27% chance of winning (a third place party could win as well). It is referring to the odds that the party projected to win will win.
Another new feature of the model is the ability to calculate the probability of a party winning the next election as of the date of the projection.
This is also based on the performance of the projection model in the past. In short, it determines the probability that the amount of error in the seat projection will be less than the margin between the leading party and other parties. A margin as large as the one of 40 seats between the Liberals and NDP in the current projection has been overcome in only 2.4% of cases. That means that if this was the final projection call before the election, the NDP would have a 97.6% chance of winning it. This takes into account the potential for an Alberta-sized error, but calling a winner by 40 seats would be right virtually all of the time.
However, this is not a forecast of the future. It is the confidence that can be placed on a call if the election were held the day of the projection. Forecasting the probability of a future event is an entirely different matter.
The greater challenge lies in being able to predict the probability that a party will win an election at a future date based on current information. The seat forecast shows what range of outcomes are plausible, but not which are most likely to occur.
After analyzing almost 6,000 pieces of data from polls conducted in over 20 federal and provincial elections since 2004, I have been able to determine the probability that the margin between any two parties can be overcome in a given period of time. As this analysis was based on the difference between polls and final outcomes, it takes into account both the past amount of error in the polls as well as the degree of real change that has occurred in voting intentions.
Using this model suggests how likely it is for the B.C. Liberals to overcome a 19-point deficit six months from the election, based on how often this sort of shift has taken place in the past. In this case, this sort of margin has been overcome in the six months prior to an election only 4.3% of the time, giving the NDP a 95.7% chance of winning the popular vote in May 2013 based on the polling of November 2012.
The calculations do take into account the role played by third parties and other parties, when they have a significant level of support. When the margin between the leading party and third or other parties is very large, the model assumes a (nearly) 0% chance that they could win. When three or more parties are a factor, the probability is calculated accordingly.
Calculating the probability of a party winning a future event should be very familiar to readers of Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight blog. In his excellent book, The Signal and the Noise, Silver includes a chart showcasing the probability of a Senate candidate winning an election based on their polling on a given date. This gave me the opportunity to check my math, as it were. Here is a comparison of FiveThirtyEight's probability ratings to the ones that are employed by ThreeHundredEight:
This calculation is based solely on the probability of a party winning the popular vote. In U.S. Senate races, that is also what determines who wins the election. That is not the case in Canada, where a party can win the most seats with fewer votes. The amount of variables at play to determine the winner of the most seats based on popular support in polls months before an election is, of course, enormous. But generally speaking, the party with the most votes will win the most seats, so while the probability of a party winning the popular vote may not necessarily determine their probability of winning the election, it is a close enough proxy. This is particularly the case in British Columbia, where neither the Liberals nor the NDP appear to have an intrinsic advantage in vote efficiency.
The projection will be updated continuously as the next vote approaches, with the forecast probabilities changing as new information becomes available. The B.C. model has been launched six months from the start date as it is the only upcoming election actually scheduled. Nova Scotia will be heading to the polls at some point soon, and that province's model will launch in the first half of next year if an election isn't already called. Ontario and Quebec could be heading back to the polls potentially even earlier than British Columbia, and this model will be tweaked accordingly and applied to those campaigns. But as B.C. is the only province we know is having an election in the next six months, the site will focus on that province's politics.
It should be an interesting campaign. The odds heavily favour the New Democrats, as a swing of 19 points even six months before an election is very rare. Much of the Liberals' hope lies with their ability to put the Conservatives back in their place. They aren't in much danger of being overcome by the Conservatives anymore, but at 12.8% the party makes it impossible for the Liberals to beat the New Democrats. Christy Clark will need to get those disaffected Liberals back into the fold if she is to have any hope of staying on as Premier.
30 comments:
Even though 538 had a bad result when Nate tried to forecast the British election, I think that you would have had an extremely good and close result.ReplyDelete
As long as the Conservatives of any stripe don't win it works for me !ReplyDelete
Éric, if you don't mind my asking, where did you find the details for that Mustel poll conducted back in September (namely the polling dates)? I've been wanting to include it in the polling table of the 2013 BC Election Wiki page but all I've been able to uncover is the general tracking graph on Mustel's website, which doesn't indicate the exact field dates. Do you have a link to a page that provides the details by any chance?ReplyDelete
The BCLibs seemed to collapse after the HST fiasco but it is hard, although I favour the NDP, to believe that is/was enough to almost destroy the Liberals. What other factors created this mess for the Libs?ReplyDeleteReplies
They had a brief resurgence after Clark was elected leader (were even briefly ahead of the NDP), suggesting that there was some willingness on the part of voters to forgive them for the HST, but then they plummeted again starting around the fall of 2011, I suppose following their embarrassing defeat in the HST referendum. That's also when Clark badly waffled on her original pledge to hold a premature general election to "legitimize" her Premiership, ultimately backtracking on it, and I think that's when voters began to turn on her. The BC Liberals have not managed to recover since.Delete
- Derek Andrew03 December, 2012 14:25
I agree with Dom. Clark's reneging on her promise to call an early election signifies the beginning of her problems.Delete
Premiers are monarchs in all but name so to have one in office for 2 plus years without an electoral mandate borders on tyranny.
To be more exact, it would seem the BC Libs initially got their "resurgence" bounce right after Campbell's resignation, not after Clark's ensuing election as leader. However, they did hit a high point (in all polling since the 2009 election) of 43% in an Angus Reid poll from 16-17 March 2011, the first one conducted after her leadership victory and swearing in as Premier:Delete
I agree with Derek. A premier running the province for such a long period of time with the only say-so from the public being the Vancouver-Point Grey by-election is dodgy from a democratic stand-point. If the Liberals had won even one more seat in Ontario last time out, we'd be looking at a similar situation now.Delete
- pinkobme03 December, 2012 17:27
While I agree with all your points above, there's another reason the Libs have taken this nose dive. They've simply run their course. BC is a wonderful place. Jobs are up, the economy is up, corporate profits are up. But so are such things as cost of living, child poverty, the provincial debt. BCers have had enough and want to let the other guy give it a try -- for awhile.Delete
There have also been revaltions of massive corruption, plus Christy Clark has turned out to be totally incompetent, plus just the accumulated grievances after 12 years in power.ReplyDeleteReplies
- Dirty Dix04 December, 2012 13:53
What revelations of massive corruption? Nothing has been proven in Court. The Basi-Virk case was dismissed with costs going to the defendants!Delete
Frankly, if we are going to throw around corruption allegations willy-nilly everyone should be reminded of the corruption, fraud and obstruction of justice the NDP frequented while in office. The current NDP leader, falsified documents in order to instigate a cover-up and obstruct the course of justice.
Whatever one's opinion of NDP policies the fact remains Dix had an ethical lapse some years ago. He committed ethically questionable if not immoral, corrupt and illegal acts to frustrate investigators, obstruct justice to protect his job and boss. He falsified Government documents, then lied about it. Are these the actions of a man who has the best interests of British Columbians at heart?
Then we have the fudgeit-budgets, fast ferries, Nanaimo Commonwealth bingo scandal.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!
Oh Lordy !!ReplyDelete
The Duchess Of Cambridge is pregnant !!
We can look forward to 9 months+ of baby babble !!Replies
What's the matter? Not a fan of the data?Delete
I really like the new model, except one part sticks out as a concern to me:ReplyDelete
"The ranges are determined by measuring the degree of polling volatility in the past, with the period examined being equal to the amount of time before the next election."
Is there not more volatility once the writ has been dropped? I feel like you need to add an "election" volatility bonus to account for this extra potential for movement once an election is called. I'm not quite sure the best way to calculate such a number though.
Thanks for all the work you put into constantly improving the model Eric. I appreciate your dedication to ironing out kinks and trying to get to the best possible result. Hopefully, with the new model and the new way of presenting it, people will treat it less like an exact prognostication and will rather realize that it is a probabilistic statment. Of course Nate Silver got treated as producing an exact prognostication. I don't know why people are so bad even understanding the basic concept of probability.ReplyDelete
- Charles Harrison03 December, 2012 15:38
Regional breakdown?ReplyDelete
I love the changes you've made to the model here Eric.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks! Me too. I've been pretty excited to launch the model, and it will be really fun if Ontario and Quebec go in the spring as well.Delete
- Charles Harrison04 December, 2012 14:50
It sure would!Delete
For certain values of "fun" as a political partisan living in Toronto, there have been so many elections that I am pretty much tapped out, donation- and volunteering-wise. We've had a municipal election, a provincial election, a federal general election and a federal by-election (even though I don't live in T-D). We are staring a mayoral by-election and a provincial election in the face. If both happen, I may have a miny breakdown.Delete
- Jonny Quest04 December, 2012 21:18
Today's new BC Ipsos-Reid poll:ReplyDelete
Liberal - 35% (+3%)
Green - 7% (+1%)
- Jonny Quest04 December, 2012 21:21
Here's the Ipsos-Reid poll link:ReplyDelete
Thanks, got it. Update tomorrow.ReplyDelete
I wonder if pollsters look at 308 and check to see if their results are outliers or not.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous05 December, 2012 10:42
Wondering what weight, if any, you give to the recent federal by-election result on the Island?ReplyDelete
The federal by-election Green vote was significantly higher than what provincial polls are showing: Can anything be read into that? Is there anything to gain by comparing federal party polling (NDP & Green in particular) to provincial party polling results?
Or is the only information worthy of consideration comparing the results to your model and learning how to refine your model?
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"Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" by Ben Fountain (2012) – 307 pages
No other novel I have read captures the way things are in the United States in the 2000s better than "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk". This over-the-top black comedy grabbed me on the first page and didn't let go until the last.
What better place to honor the soldier heroes of the Iraq War than Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team, America's team and the epicenter of well-to-do Iraq War boosters? Many prosperous supporters of the Iraq War, all the doctors, dentists, and corporate executives with their wives, including sometimes President George W and Laura Bush congregate here on Sundays to watch their Cowboys play. It becomes immediately apparent that there is a huge gap between the rich and affluent Dallas football fans and the dirt-poor soldiers who had little choice but to become soldiers and go to fight in Iraq. Ben Fountain has found the ideal plot to point out the many absurdities that exist between all those comfortable moneyed supporters of the war and the soldiers who were actually out there fighting in the war.
Billy Lynn is one of the troops in the 2004 battle of Al-Ansakar Canal in Iraq which the embedded Fox News camera crew caught live and showed continually on their network to support the war. Then the George W. Bush administration sends the 8 soldiers of Lynn's Bravo Company on a two-week Victory Tour of the United States ending at Texas Stadium for Dallas' Thanksgiving Day game. After that it's back to Iraq for Bravo Company.
Deal maker Albert accompanies the soldiers, and he is always trying to sell the Bravo Company story to Hollywood as a movie. Hilary Swank is officially interested in their story and is floating the idea of playing both Billy and his Sergeant in the movie.
Meanwhile at the football game, a picture of Bravo Company is put up on the Jumbotron screen every few minutes between advertisements for Ram trucks. Some of the fans come up to the soldiers to greet and thank them during the interminable delays between football plays. The soldiers in Bravo Company wander off frequently to get more booze against their Sergeant's orders.
"They (the fans) want autographs. They want cell phone snaps. They say thank you over and over and with growing fervor, they know they are being good when they thank the troops and their eyes shimmer with love for themselves and this tangible proof of their goodness. One woman bursts into tears, so shattering is their gratitude."
And then there is halftime as only Texans can do it. Hundreds of cheerleaders, at least six high school marching bands, drill teams in formation, Destiny's Child with Beyonce performing, the Bravo soldiers onstage, fireworks. A couple of the soldiers in Bravo Company are spooked by all the noise and confusion.
It is not a very sophisticated literary theory, but it just seems to me that an author's enthusiasm for their own story rubs off on the readers. The writing in "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" is so energetic and lively it draws you in. Ben Fountain has a knack for finding the perfect metaphor or simile. He describes a pastor who is continually texting Bible passages to Billy as "a used-car salesman in sheep's clothing." Then there is Cowboys corporate executive Josh with "every hair, every thread, every crease and pleat in place, as if he's sheathed in a varnish of pussy-boy perfection."
One of the blurbs used to sell "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" is from Karl Marlantes, author of the great Vietnam War novel, "Matterhorn" who says "The 'Catch 22' of the Iraq War". No, it does not approach 'Catch 22', but it is a good wicked start to unraveling what happened to the United States with the Iraq War.


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End-of-life notice: American Legal Ethics Library
As of March 1, 2013, the Legal Information Institute is no longer maintaining the information in the American Legal Ethics Library. It is no longer possible for us to maintain it at a level of completeness and accuracy given its staffing needs. It is very possible that we will revive it at a future time. At this point, it is in need of a complete technological renovation and reworking of the "correspondent firm" model which successfully sustained it for many years.
Many people have contributed time and effort to the project over the years, and we would like to thank them. In particular, Roger Cramton and Peter Martin not only conceived ALEL but gave much of their own labor to it. We are also grateful to Brad Wendel for his editorial contributions, to Brian Toohey and all at Jones Day for their efforts, and to all of our correspondents and contributors. Thank you.
We regret any inconvenience.
Some portions of the collection may already be severely out of date, so please be cautious in your use of this material.
Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct
Commentary - Rule 5.1
[1] Subsections (a) and (b) refer to lawyers who have supervisory authority over the professional work of a firm or legal department of a government agency.
[2] This includes members of a partnership and the shareholders in a law firm organized as a professional corporation; lawyers having supervisory authority in the law department of an enterprise or government agency; and lawyers who have intermediate managerial responsibilities in a firm.
[3] The measures required to fulfill the responsibility prescribed in subsections (a) and (b) can depend on the firm's structure and the nature of its practice. In a small firm, informal supervision and occasional admonition ordinarily might be sufficient. In a large firm, or in practice situations in which intensely difficult ethical problems frequently arise, more elaborate procedures may be necessary. Some firms, for example, have a procedure whereby junior lawyers can make confidential referral of ethical problems directly to a designated senior partner or special committee. See Rule 5.2. Firms, whether large or small, may also rely on continuing legal education in professional ethics. In any event, the ethical atmosphere of a firm can influence the conduct of all its members and a lawyer having authority over the work of another may not assume that the subordinate lawyer will inevitably conform to the Rules.
[4] Subsection (c)(1) expresses a general principle of responsibility for acts of another. See also Rule 8.4(a).
[5] Subsection (c) (2) defines the duty of a lawyer having direct supervisory authority over performance of specific legal work by another lawyer. Whether a lawyer has such supervisory authority in particular circumstances is a question of fact. Partners of a private firm have at least indirect responsibility for all work being done by the firm, while a partner in charge of a particular matter ordinarily has direct authority over other firm lawyers engaged in the matter. Appropriate remedial action by a partner would depend on the immediacy of the partner's involvement and the seriousness of the misconduct. The supervisor is required to intervene to prevent avoidable consequences of misconduct if the supervisor knows that the misconduct occurred. Thus, if a supervising lawyer knows that a subordinate misrepresented a matter to an opposing party in negotiation, the supervisor as well as the subordinate has a duty to correct the resulting misapprehension.
[6] Professional misconduct by a lawyer under supervision could reveal a violation of subsection (b) on the part of the supervisory lawyer even though it does not entail a violation of subsection (c) because there was no direction, ratification or knowledge of the violation.
[7] Apart from this Rule and Rule 8.4(a), a lawyer does not have disciplinary liability for the conduct of a partner, associate or subordinate. Whether a lawyer may be liable civilly or criminally for another lawyer's conduct is a question of law beyond the scope of these rules.


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Nicole,BIG CONGRATS!
Yes,trust me ,there is no day without worry about something-first it's beta #,then u/s,then bleeding,then triple test,then first movements(too little,some days no movement/going crazy,then too much),then active/not so active...and much much more...And we probably didn't even think about all these worries when were first time PG...So,yeah,it's plenty of worries head!But try think positive every time when you have a nervous breakdown and don't try on every bad situation that happened to others-there are plenty bad stuff out there,but also a lot of happy endings
Lyly,I hope everything will clear up on your u/s on Monday and your baby looks good.We didn't do baby's room yet too,but moved furniture and ready to paint probably this weekend.I'm washing baby's clothes(got tons from my friend-we are all dressed up to one year!I did not put even one thing in the registry)) and organizing everything in a drawers(you never know!)Finally picked out a stroller(Uppa baby Vista),but haven't bought yet.
My shower on May 30th and at work on May 17th.I hope I can be there


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Commodore Boardroom
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Size (square feet): 532
With permanent conference table and executive seating, our Commodore Boardroom is the perfect choice for board meetings and retreats when you desire luxury and attention to detail. All meeting facilities at The Inn on Biltmore Estate feature advanced lighting, audiovisual capabilities, and high-speed Internet access. Seats 12.
- Conference: 12
Setup Shapes
- Conference


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THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Arnold Palmer curled in the 25-foot putt on the 18th hole, raised his right hand and acknowledged the massive, cheering gallery with a thumbs-up sign and his trademark smile.
Jack Nicklaus gave Palmer a hard handshake. Gary Player offered a pat on the back, a fitting end to a memorable day for the golf greats.
The Insperity Championship began in 2004 as the Administaff Small Business Classic.
Nicklaus, Palmer, Player made up a threesome in a nostalgic, 18-hole exhibition round Saturday in conjunction with the second round of the Champions Tour's Insperity Championship.
Thousands lined the fairways at the Woodlands Country Club and several Champions Tour players joined the gallery to catch a rare glimpse of golf's "Big 3" playing together.
"We enjoyed it," Nicklaus said. "We didn't make any bogeys, we made a few birdies and we hit a few nice shots and had a great time. And that's what this was all about."
Lee Trevino played in the threesome ahead in the nine-man scramble. Miller Barber, Don January, David Graham, Gene Littler and Dave Stockton also participated.
But most of the estimated crowd of 40,000 came to see the Big 3, who hit the ceremonial opening tee shots together at the Masters for the first time this year.
This day was different, and even competitive. Naturally, Nicklaus, Palmer and Player took home the biggest trophy, shooting 11 under par.
"We didn't make it too serious," Palmer said, "but we didn't want to come in second, either."
Before the round, Trevino lamented that he wasn't sure when the group would get to play together again. But Nicklaus, who said he hadn't played in public for six or seven years, said afterward that he was open to the idea.
"I'd do it again," Nicklaus said. "I just don't play golf. I actually hit the ball pretty decently today. I putted very well, and I wouldn't have expected that."
The event seemed to be a huge success, with young and old fans eagerly snapping photos and lining up for autographs between every hole. They were treated not only to entertaining, up-close banter with the players, but also some solid golf.
The 76-year-old Player, who says he routinely shoots six or seven shots below his age, dropped his approach to the par-4 11th hole within 2 feet, setting up one of the group's 11 birdies.
"We birdied the living daylights out of this golf course," Player said. "The quality of golf was like when we were young."
Palmer tapped in the short putt before Player and Nicklaus reached the green, and Palmer bent down and rolled the ball down a hill to Player's feet, drawing laughter from the crowd.
"We've got to hit it closer, guys!" Palmer said, as the players boarded carts and headed for the next tee.
Just as they arrived, Trevino ripped a drive down the middle of the 12th fairway, drawing applause. The chatty Trevino turned to the crowd, raised his driver and cracked, "I may auction this off when we're finished!"
There were also reminders of the days when the men ruled the game.
Driver in hand, Nicklaus walked up to the tee box on the par-5 13th hole and turned to the gallery.
"How long is this hole?" Nicklaus asked.
"Five hundred yards," someone answered.
"Driver, wedge, Jack!" someone else said.
"Ah, those were the good ol' days," Nicklaus said, before hitting a drive down the right side of the fairway.
Palmer, who retired from competitive golf during the Champions Tour event here in 2006, had his share of good shots and capped the day with the long birdie putt.
"I was so happy to see him do that," Player said. "He got a little taste of what he did when he was young."
Houston resident Steve Elkington, Ben Crenshaw, Andy Bean and Peter Jacobsen were among the former pros who joined the gallery to catch a peek at the game's greats back in their element.
"I love to see them," Crenshaw said. "We can't thank them enough. They've done it all for us. I have been so fortunate to have spent so much time with them, not only playing, but being together. They've been a great part of my professional life."Crenshaw hopes this isn't the last time he sees them play together. Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and Trevino all seemed enthusiastic about doing it again, too.
"We had a blast today," Nicklaus said.


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The Indian construction sector is in an imbroglio and the emergency alarm has been buzzing for a while now. But is anyone listening?The sector today is facing a severe financial crisis, which is fast becoming existential. The fact that this has happened in the middle of ambitious targets, and not owing to lack of projects on offer, clearly indicates that the fundamentals governing infrastructure projects have not been sound. Thus, a thorough review and corrective measures are urgently required.
Over the years, rapid urbanisation and strong population growth have rendered India´s current infrastructure inadequate. The result: A huge funding gap for infra finance today. Also, the country compares poorly on the infrastructure pillar, ranking only 87th out of 148 countries according to a recent report on Global ompetitiveness. To address this gap, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan has earmarked close to $1 trillion to be spent on infrastructure. ´However, the plan envisioned only half of this to come from the public sector,´ says DK Vyas, CEO, Srei BNP Paribas. ´The private sector thus has to play a pivotal role, but is plagued by its own share of challenges.´ Nonetheless, the present day is not completely gloomy. Green shoots are evident, signalled by an uptick in the macroeconomic environment and greater emphasis by the government on infrastructure development. New project announcements are gaining traction and, as reported, the total value of tenders has increased by 62 per cent year-on-year. The government is emphatic about reviving stalled projects, which have declined to 6.6 per cent of GDP in June 2015 compared to 8.4 per cent in March 2014.
All considered, the success of the sector is of paramount importance. It contributes about 8 per cent of the GDP, and is one of the largest generators of employment. Considering that 15 million jobs need to be created each year for the next 20 years, the construction sector will play a key role in this area. Also, its success is also vital for every programme announced by the government (see box on page XX). However, issues related to banking and financing, claims and contracts don´t seem to be getting resolved. While factors like locking funds, delaying judgments, delay in project completion owing to delay in deliverables from the project owner´s end, and others, have been discouraging contractors; there seems to be lack of trust between the government and industry stakeholders. There is a real mess hindering the success of the sector - it needs to be cleaned up.
Current affairs
At present, from an infrastructure perspective as well as projects from related sectors, there are a huge number of stalled projects. Several reasons have led to this situation.
Contracting companies are in deep financial trouble and are on the verge of closure; they have to borrow to pay interest. Land acquisition is another area that affects many of these projects. And subsequently, cumulative effects of multiple issues - financing, environment clearances and others - have stalled projects.
For his part, Siddharth Singh, Secretary-General, Construction Federation of India, holds the Government responsible for the current state of affairs. B Manohar, COO-Head Construction, Lanco Infratech, adds, ´There is a lack of government reforms in contracting methodology across various departments, and each department follows its own agenda.´ And A Ranga Raju, Managing Director, NCC Ltd, shares, ´In the recent past, many leading industry players suffered and are in recovery phase. More investment in the country´s infrastructure is definitely required.´ The industry also expresses that government spending is not happening at the desired level.
But there is no single solution as projects have been stalled for a while, says Arvind Mahajan, Head of Energy, Infrastructure, Healthcare & Government Practice, KPMG. ´Projects that have taken off four to five months ago have been facing issues for two to three years now,´ he points out. And there is a large basic stock of stalled projects that, if cleared, would add significant points to the GDP.
Claims and contracts
Today, contractors are plagued with several contract-related issues. One major issue is non-standardised contracts with various unfair clauses, which include, for example, unconditional bank guarantee encashment and interest on advance payments, provisions for both retention and performance bank guarantees, etc.
´In India, the formulation of construction contracts is pathetic and mostly one-sided,´ says N Kalyanaraman, Joint CEO-Realty and Social Infra, Feedback Infra. ´They are client-oriented, often too heavy on the constructors. It is not uncommon that the contracts are improperly drafted with vague provisions, sometimes even conflicting conditions. This leads to claims and counter claims from either side.´
Further, in the current scenario, there are severe delays in claims settlement or payment across different government employers. According to a recent survey, claims awarded by arbitrators are normally challenged in court by the employer (~6.5 years to settle; 85 per cent of claims raised currently pending (as per analysis from data received from top six EPC companies, for claims related to WIP projects, or projects completed in last three years). What´s more, reports suggest that the government owes Rs 1 lakh crore to the industry by way of various claims. Even if this is overstated and we discount 50 per cent, there is still Rs 50,000 crore of contractor money stuck. A robust system needs to be built to clear that. Here Gurjeet Singh Johar, Chairman, C&C Constructions Ltd, says,´Today, we have claims as old as 14-15 years. How do you survive in a situation like that?´ EPC companies today have a multitude of disputes, most of which consume the time and money of all parties to the contract. Atul Punj, Chairman, Punj Lloyd Group, and Chairman, CII National Committee on Construction, offers four points for quick government action, as these can get the economy moving and take India many notches up in ´ease of doing business´:
To this, Johar adds, ´The most primary requirement is liquidity of equity in the system, which can be achieved by settling claims. What is due to us should be paid because that´s the only way we can survive.´ Supporting this is Praveen Sood, Group CFO, Hindustan Construction Company Ltd: ´If required, a bank guarantee will be given; so one en-cashes the guarantee and takes the money out in case final order is different. This is where we are putting all our efforts.´
Now, through the Arbitration Act, the government is trying to introduce a timeframe within which the case has to be closed with the arbitrator being made accountable if the case is not settled within a given time.
Question of capital
Money, as always, remains a problem. The infrastructure sector has a major volume of jobs and crores worth of government-based projects. Thus, banks can lend them money in the form of funds and non-funds. ´But they have looked at funds from the interest angle,´ says Manohar. ´Initially, banks encouraged contractors to spend money on contracts. But as contractors did not get the desired returns, not even for the interest rate required, banks are now afraid to give loans to the contractor, and that is why the industry is struggling.´ (Read ´Lenders´ Block´ on page XX) Johar suggests raising equity, though this could be expensive. Meanwhile, Sood avers, ´First, we need to start behaving like a contractor. Aggressively bidding to bag a contract, and putting its own money to complete the contract, as client don´t pay on time, needs to come to an end. The government must follow the contract, and everything including land as per the contract should be provided.
Also, whenever debt is due, pursue it hard contractually and legally.´ Getting working capital could be a major task for the industry. As Raju says, ´Many players are resolving issues resulting from exposure to high leverage.´ However, he believes financial institutions are playing a decisive role in controlling overexposure to financial risk in the market.´
On the other hand, Sood maintains that the construction industry does not require working capital as long as it behaves like contractors. ´Contractors do not put money into the project, but works around the client´s money,´ he reasons. ´On bagging a contract, we would get at least 5 per cent to 10 per cent advance money by giving guarantees. All payments are received normally on a monthly basis to us. So, if one works in a proper manner, working capital is not required.´
However, the problem started when projects started witnessing delays. Land acquisition has been a major problem. The contractor would be fully mobilised, yet the work would come to a halt. To get the work going, the contractor would have to put in his own money - and that´s where the problem starts.
Securing loans
Securing loans at lower interest rates would certainly ease the financial pressure. ´Lower interest rates are always welcome because infrastructure projects are so capital-intensive in nature,´ says Raju. RBI has already taken policy initiatives to lower interest rates and this will help the construction industry. However, Sood says, ´As long as a project is happening in time, an interest of 10-12 per cent can be serviced. But when the project gets stalled, 10 per cent becomes a big deal.´ He suggests interest rates should come down by a straight 2 per cent. ´In big economies like China, the US and Europe, funding is made available to infrastructure projects at a rate of not more than 2 per cent and that too for more than 15 to 20 years. In India, we still apply commercial rate, commercial norms, etc, and get funding at 10-12 per cent for not more than 10 to 12 years.´
Raju adds, ´Commercial banks in India generally do not fund projects beyond a 10-year tenure, which needs to be extended up to 15 years in deserving cases.´ Now, the government has approved some takeout schemes by which the loan can be for a longer period. ´In take off funding, after five years, you approach a new banker to take over,´ explains Sood. ´You also have the 5/25 scheme, according to which the loan for an infrastructure project can be refinanced and can be extended for typically 20-25 years.´
The report card
While money, contracts and clearances continue to bedevil the industry, let´s see which sectors are stalled and which ones continue to show potential. Today, sectors in a limbo include hydropower, which has come to a halt in the past five years with no capacity addition. While there is much talk of smart cities, at present, there is not much construction or any other activity on the ground. Airports too have been stalled; but there is hope on the horizon with the new aviation policies. Also, in the past 10 years, no large projects have come up in the metal or steel segment or engineering manufacturing, either from the government or the private sector.
However, amid the dark clouds, the road sector shines through like a silver lining. Here, the authorities are trying a new business model called the hybrid model to offload some risk (like traffic risk and resulting cash-flow stress) from developers and contractors. Recently, the highways sector received a big regulatory boost with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clearing amendments to the model concession agreement (MCA) for awarding projects on a BOT basis. These measures will help restore the confidence of developers as well as financiers and other entities. And this is the kind of momentum required across sectors.
´We are seeing good traction in both oil and gas and infrastructure space,´ says Punj, spelling out the positives.
´Public-sector units are planning expansion of refineries and new pipelines. In the infrastructure space, the government has already unfolded its plans for 20,000 km of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), its flagship road-building programme, which envisages the development of existing National Highways into world-class roads in different phases with a total investment of $45 billion over the next three years. Moreover, the government is also trying to ease business by providing fiscal incentives and right of way (RoW) for project land is being made available to concessionaires free from all encumbrances, while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is providing capital grant up to 40 per cent of project cost to enhance viability on a case-to-case basis.´ A senior NHAI spokesperson says, ´In the past two to three years, kilometres awarded have been about 1,116 km or 1,350 km and some 3,056 km. At present, we have awarded around 2,330 km. So, the capacity available in the market for project execution is quite good. And, the road sector is highly labour intensive. So the government should accept EPC as the ideal mode of award. Otherwise, at the look of it, the Central Government has been talking about having many road projects.´
Raju tells us that recent announcements on smart cities and water supply projects across the country are ´welcomed by the industry,´ while Kalyanaraman says, ´The sectors that are in momentum, though slowing down recently, are housing, commercial and core infrastructure, particularly highways.´ And in Mahajan´s view, the railways hold a lot of promise. ´Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is doing a fair amount of activity to push on the railways front,´ he says. ´There is a lot expected, especially in station development.´
United we stand
All considered, a united approach is the best way ahead for all stakeholders to convert this positive momentum into actual gains. It took about 15 years for the software market to grow and become a success in India, with NASSCOM playing a key role in uniting the sector. Can the construction industry take a cue from this? For his part, Johar says the industry being united is a far cry because the environment or the situation of every company is different, and now it´s a question of survival. However, Mahajan believes various parties will have to unite to resolve issues. While this might not be a workable solution for all projects, he believes that a mechanism needs to be created for the top 50-100 stalled projects, ´where bankers, promoters and the government come together to view them.´
Moving ahead, bodies like Project Monitoring Group (PMG) and the Construction Federation of India (CFI) can also play a key role in resolution.
´PMG does not clear any projects,´ says Dr VP Joy, Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat and Head, Project Monitoring Group (PMG). ´It has been facilitating the resolution of issues by various ministries or state governments. So far, for central ministries, out of 668 projects considered by PMG, 313 projects have been fully resolved and in 83 projects, no further action or intervention is required from PMG. Thus, at present, 275 projects with 533 issues are under the consideration of PMG. Most of the resolved projects belong to sectors like power, steel, roads, railways, coal and civil aviation, and most have a significant construction component.´
Sood weighs in here, saying, ´Any advisory body will not serve the purpose unless it is given complete authority.´
And Punj adds, ´Today, the industry stands together on platforms such as the CII National Committee on Construction, through which it collectively seeks support from the government.´
Going forward, Mahajan is positive, provided the sector moves in the right direction and the right framework is in place. ´Five to 10 years down the line, the hope is to have a world-class construction and infrastructure industry,´ he envisions. Johar is quick to add a disclaimer: ´Provided there is enough business, and no money held up!´
Given the mammoth construction opportunity in the country - and all problems being addressed - what then is the execution strength that India needs? Well, a guesstimate would be 25-30 contracting companies of the size of L&T. That said, read on for our proposed 16 action points for the government to pave the way ahead.
Quick Bytes
Construction sector contributes to 8% of India´s GDP.
Stalled projects: Declined to 6.6% of GDP in June 2015 compared to 8.4% in March 2014.
Major issues are related to banking and financing, claimsand contracts.
Quality infrastructure is critical for the competitiveness of govt programmes.
Lenders´ Block
Banks and financing institutions have been exercising caution in financing owing to their experiences over the past few years. In the recent past, it has been challenging for developers to achieve financial closure and contractors have been struggling with funding their working capital requirements.
´The rising proportion of non-performing assets (NPAs) (as reported, upwards of 4.5 per cent of their total advances) has led to higher provisioning and reduced capital availability for almost all banks, particularly the PSU banks,´ says Mukund Gajanan Sapre, Executive Director, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd. ´In the case of PPPs, where the toll model is being adopted, banks have shown less interest compared to annuity or assured revenue models.´
Financiers have been getting increasingly averse to fund projects owing to sectoral caps being achieved and overall exposure limit restraint to individual group companies. Banks are also avoiding further lending of the sanctioned debt till assurances are given on the project work front availability (which is in the obligation of the project proponent) and till the borrowing company details its cash generation plan to fund the loan's interest and principal repayment.
DK Vyas, CEO, Srei BNP Paribas, agrees that ´availability and ease of funding´ are the biggest challenges faced by the industry. He adds that it has also been tough for the traditional banking segment to lend to this industry ´on account of asset liability mismatches as infrastructure development involves long gestation periods.´ All considered, the past couple of years have been testing for the industry, leading to deteriorating asset quality and rising stressed assets, further impeding the growth of finance to this segment.
Current approach towards lending
Banking and NBFC segments are still burdened with the stressed asset of this sector. Vyas says, ´The infrastructure sector contributed to about 30 per cent of the total stressed advanced of all scheduled commercial banks as on December 2014. To add to this, the credit quality of the companies in this sector has also taken a beating in the past couple of years and there is visible stress on the balance sheets in terms of high leverages.´
However, Sapre says, ´Issues in the earlier concessions and contracts that were hindering the flow of funds to the sector have now been addressed.´ He adds that the advent of new concession models such as hybrid annuity, where the revenue risk lies with the client, will find better acceptance among the lenders. It accounts for interest fluctuation and accords due recognition to the bidder's total project cost assessment while funding 40 per cent of the project cost over the construction period; this reduces the extensive dependence on banks and financial institutions. Adding to the factors that have seen more willingness by the banks, he says, ´The plug-´n´-play model is being adopted by clients in projects recently bid out where almost 100 per cent work front will be provided.´
As soon as these innovations and improvements are brought to the fore by project proponents, banks and financial institutes are likely to shed their cautious approach.
Restructuring and refinancing
Last year, RBI allowed lenders to restructure existing loans above Rs 500 crore to infrastructure and core industries´ projects. Also, banks and financial institutions were given an option to periodically refinance such loans.
´While the move to restructure loans is welcome, we need to take care of the growing menace of stressed assets, especially infrastructure assets,´ says Vyas. In stressed infrastructure assets, promoters run out of resources, are unable to manage the risks or are unable to come up with the right capital structure. In such cases, ´a change in management or partner should be the ideal approach to revive an infrastructure project,´ he suggests.
Also, as reported, many companies are lining up to avail the 5/25 scheme extended by RBI. To this, Sapre says, ´The model provides restructuring of principal and does not cater to the interest burden.´ Hence, despite the option, overall enthusiasm from developers and banks is not visible.
Further, the Government is considering the option of allowing banks to take over projects from the borrowers and try to turn them around. ´Attempting a turnaround of such stalled projects is always a better alternative than one-time selling of NPAs to asset reconstruction companies at sharp discounts,´ believes Vyas. ´With some smart restructuring and re-engineering, both financial and technical, such projects can be resurrected and generate steady revenue over the years.´
Hence, the focus should be on how quickly the asset or project can be revived. ´However,´ Vyas says, ´àwhile banks are good at lending, expecting them to take over management of stressed infrastructure projects and then revive them may be expecting too much from them.´ Here, he sees a huge untapped opportunity for investors with the right expertise to step in and take control of such assets.
Addressing fund needs
Recently, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das announced that RBI will draft a paper on liberalising certain external commercial borrowing (ECB) norms. The liberalised ECB norms are expected to put pressure on banks to cut interest rates. Vyas terms this move a ´masterstroke´. He avers, ´With ECB to be allowed for purchasing or financing domestically produced infrastructure equipment, purchase of domestically produced second-hand capital goods for providing loan finance and financing infrastructure SPVs, infrastructure finance will certainly get a shot in the arm.´
At present, RBI is in the process of collecting industry feedback on these guidelines. Once notified, asset finance companies (AFCs) and infrastructure finance companies (IFCs) will emerge as important players. Vyas adds, ´NBFCs will serve as a crucial conduit of credit to the vast number of contractors in the construction and transportation sectors.´
Also, issues such as land acquisition, clearances and other approvals, if sorted out, can lead to lenders gaining more confidence in the bankability of projects. Hence, Sapre points out to the need for ´timely and sincere fulfilment of project obligations´ to increase the chances of lending. He adds, ´Time-bound addressing of disputes and claims of developers and contractors will also lead to adequate fund availability.´ Additionally, in the proposed hybrid annuity model for PPP roads, the successful bidder's project cost is considered to override the authority project cost, which aptly addresses the termination issue and project cost related issues that bankers earlier had.
Sapre believes this provision, if included in other PPP projects too, will aid in resuming the fund flow to the sector.
Major Contributor to Government Programmes
The construction sector directly contributes to 8 per cent (approximately `4 trillion*) of India´s GDP. Further, the sector generates growth in other sectors through 1.8-2x multiplier effect: backward-construction materials (steel, cement, etc); forward-manufacturing, real estate, etc. What´s more, the sector is among India´s largest direct employers (approx 10 per cent of the total workforce, 46 million people), and generates indirect employment in other sectors.
That said, while the construction sector is an essential part of the economy, it will also contribute to the success of every government programme.
Make in India: Almost all sectors rely on good infrastructure (high-quality transport network, uninterrupted power, industrial clusters, etc) and quality infrastructure is critical for the competitiveness of the Make in India sectors.
Almost all sectors chosen in the Make in India programme rely on availability of good quality infrastructure as a key enabler:
- High quality transportation network (roads, railways and ports)
- Uninterrupted power supply; Industrial parks or clusters
- Easy access to raw materials.
|Infra quality score
(Higher is better)
|Manufacturing cost index
(Lower is better)
All sectors except Tourism & Hospitality and IT & BPM
Source: World Economic Forum competitiveness report 2014-15; Consulting report on manufacturing competitiveness (August 2014).
Digital India and Smart Cities: Development of supporting infrastructure (100 smart cities, seven greenfield electronics manufacturing clusters, etc)
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Waste management and public health facilities to be built across the country as part of the Clean India Initiative.
à and various other initiatives such as growth of SMEs and strengthening India´s infrastructure (power, freight, etc).
*Real GDP at factor cost (2004-2005 prices) as of 2014
16 Action Points for the Government
CW proposes 16 recommendations as voiced by the construction and infrastructure sector for the government:
1. Infrastructure should be included in the priority sector with prescription of funding limits for the sector.
2. Considering that the average time for dispute resolution is seven years, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act must be amended to put a cap on the time, fees and appeals process, which will free up a huge chunk of money stuck in disputes with the owner, in arbitration, and in the courts. Pending the amendments, owners should release payments due to contractors against bank guarantees (BGs) for all cases in courts. The government or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) should encourage this process. If there is a dispute, a timeframe should be designed and it should be settled within that timeframe.
3. Disputes arising during the course of project activities should be settled through effective dispute resolution boards set up for each project in a time-bound manner. As noted by a World Bank study, arbitration had upheld DRB recommendations in 92 per cent of cases in India and the same was confirmed in 90 per cent of the cases by the courts.
4. In case a matter has to be taken to arbitration or the courts, a provision must be made that the party will implement the award and pay the awarded sum to the other party before the arbitrators can hear the appeal.
5. Employers should be mandated to settle claims awarded by arbitrators on a fast track. At present, there is no deterrent for the authorities from entering into arbitration instead of taking the onus and settling disputes at their end itself. This should be introduced and may see fewer cases going into arbitration and litigation.
6. NHAI, NHPC, NTPC and other government implementing agencies should pay the backlog they owe to the infrastructure industry at various levels. NHAI itself owes about Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 crore to construction companies. NHPC owes about Rs 10,000-15,000 crore. This amounts to almost Rs 50,000 crore in construction deficit from two agencies alone.
7. A credible mechanism is required (for instance, by entering into a supplementary agreement detailing new terms at the time of extension of time) to deal with delays not attributable to contractors that will be fair to both parties, which will determine the additional cost during the approval of extension of time itself.
8. The contract document needs to be fair. One-sided documents may appear to aggressively protect public interests but actually give rise to endless disputes and delays, which actually result in far greater national losses. Globally accepted templates for fair contract documents for awarding large infrastructure projects are available through FIDIC. A standard bidding document on a similar basis should be adopted by the Government of India. This step alone could eliminate a large number of problems.
9. Contract terms should be standardised along the lines of INCOTERMS, which specify each clause with a clear-cut legal definition acceptable internationally by all courts and tribunals.
10. Funds of infrastructure companies are locked and have remained unpaid owing to litigations forced upon the contractor by employers. Owing to this, many infrastructure companies have incurred losses and are left with no alternative for survival, but to apply for corporate debt restructuring (CDR). Certain employees are now issuing tenders that contain clauses of restriction against bidder/s who had applied or entered CDR in the past two financial years from participating in the bid. In the interest of public work, healthy competition and giving impetus to infrastructure companies in CDR, such onerous restrictive clauses should be omitted in future tenders.
11. The banking sector should adopt uniform rules of demand guarantees (URDG) to prevent unfair encashment of BGs.
12. The release of retention monies with BGs as security could help mitigate the liquidity crunch faced by the industry.
13. The new external commercial borrowings (ECB) guidelines should be quickly notified and a formal mechanism established to revive stressed assets in the infrastructure sector. That would automatically address the woes of the players in the construction sector.
14. The cost-escalation formula has to be very clear. It has to depend on the market radar, not the RBI index.
15. The regulatory regime over extraction of minerals - earth, sand, stone; the most basic elements for any construction - should be simplified. The approval of building plans should be taken as state approval for obtaining all materials required for the structure without any further approvals by any other authority.
16. Problems plaguing the construction and infrastructure sector must be addressed on a war footing by bringing all stakeholders together. The government should start by focusing on, say, the largest 100 projects.
Shriyal Sethumadhavan
To share your views on this article, write in at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Top German Police Officer: 'Anyone On The Internet Has Left The Private Sphere'
from the you-first dept
The Internet as a mass medium is still relatively young, so it's no surprise that its function in society and in our daily lives is still being defined. One important question concerns the nature of our actions online: to what extent are they public? Here's one rather extreme view, expressed by Jürgen Maurer, vice-president of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, as reported by Der Spiegel (original in German):
Anyone on the Internet has left the private sphere, and finds themselves in a kind of public sphere.
That's no mere detail, of course: actions that are perfectly acceptable in the private sphere may not be in public, and vice versa, so it's crucially important to know where you are at a given time. For example, there are many things you might get up to in the privacy of your own home that would not be allowed in public. Similarly, it's generally regarded as OK for the police to keep an eye on what happens in public places, but their interest in people's bedrooms most certainly wouldn't be.
Since Maurer seems to believe that anything you do online, however personal and intimate, takes place in "a kind of public sphere," perhaps he'd like to follow that through, and start posting all his Internet activity online for the public to enjoy. Or maybe his idea of the public sphere online really just means "a place where the police don't need to get a warrant to spy on people...."
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Filed Under: germany, privacy, public space


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NRA unleashes lobbyists
The NRA kept its dozen in-house lobbyists on lockdown in the first month after the Newtown massacre, but no more. The group is moving back onto Capitol Hill in force, not shying away from its take-no-prisoners message: no new gun laws.
( Also on POLITICO: New York enacts guns law)
Story Continued Below
But as President Barack Obama prepares to release his gun-control proposals Wednesday, lawmakers can expect to hear a new argument alongside the NRA's longtime case — about the right to bear arms and the sanctity of the Second Amendment.
Its friends in the gun manufacturing lobby are relying on union workers to make a more practical argument — that guns are about jobs.
( PHOTOS: Politicians speak out on gun control)
Nearly 40 union workers for the Remington Arms Factory in New York, where the AR-15 Bushmaster rifle used in the Newtown shooting is manufactured, protested New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new gun law at the state capitol in Albany. They're expected to make a similar case in Washington.
Considering the early jockeying—even before his plan is on the table – President Obama shouldn't expect Congress to take up his call to act lightly.
Vice President Joe Biden has said the administration is reviewing 19 different possible executive orders – a nod to the fact that the White House knows they can't muster the vote in Congress for legislation. And even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has been cool to a central provision expected to show up in Obama's plan – a renewal of the ban on assault weapons.
The NRA has a veritable army of lobbying muscle, including high profile firms like Forbes-Tate and the C2 Group on the Democratic side and GOP heavyweights like Crossroads Strategies, SNR Denton and Shockey Scofield Solutions. They also retain top-flight in-house K Streeters like Chris Cox and James Baker.
( PHOTOS: Stars call for gun control)
NRA consultants and in-house staff have been ordered to avoid the press in an effort to control their message. An NRA spokesman did not respond to several requests for comment. A source familiar with the group's plan said that in-house lobbyists and some contract lobbyists had been tasked with bringing their message up to Capitol Hill.
Gun Owners of America's Erich Pratt has also been up on the Hill. The group, which also favors getting rid of "gun-free zones," has been lobbying lawmakers to come out in favor of the stance, according to Pratt.
( Also on POLITICO: High cost of the NRA's extremism)
Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, is taking a different tack. His group, along with more than 80 others, are engaging in Gun Appreciation Day Jan. 19. The move is an aggressive attempt to mobilize thousands at the grassroots level.


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Report: U.N. must work harder to reduce corruption
Transparency International says the United Nations must work harder to reduce corruption.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Transparency International said in a report Wednesday that the United Nations has failed to make tackling corruption in U.N. peacekeeping operations a priority, leading to cases of bribery, fraud, theft and exploitation of natural resources and resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars.
The anti-corruption watchdog urged the U.N. and its 193 member states to adopt new policies, rules and regulations that enable peacekeeping missions to help reduce corruption in countries in conflict and emerging from it — and to prevent and eliminate malfeasance by peacekeepers.
The report cites examples dating back to 2000 when peacekeepers in Sierra Leone were alleged to be smuggling diamonds, many previously reported.
"It's as if there are two quite different beasts," said Mark Pyman, program director for Transparency International UK's Defense and Security Program.
There is external corruption in the host nation which is "likely to be endemic" and where greater efforts are needed to keep it from becoming embedded, he said, and there is corruption within the peacekeeping force which needs stronger oversight than the U.N. has today.
U.N. Undersecretary-General for Management Yukio Takasu said before the report's release that the U.N. monitors abuse of power, illegalities and corruption, and it has very tight financial controls and inspectors in peacekeeping operations.
U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said later that the report has just come out "and we're studying it and we'll have some reaction once we've completed that study."
Pyman told a news conference launching the report that the current study was triggered by the fact that it was only after nine years of international military involvement in Afghanistan, by U.S.-led NATO forces, that "even modest international action" was taken against widespread corruption in the country.
He also cited corruption in Congo, Kosovo and Liberia and U.N. peacekeeping operations in those countries.
The report identifies 28 peacekeeping "corruption risks" — from failing to include corruption in the mandate of a peacekeeping mission and conducting operations in a corrupt environment to skimming salaries of peacekeepers, sexual exploitation and procurement abuses.
In the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, which has almost 21,000 uniformed personnel, for example, Pyman said tackling corruption should be included in the mandate authorized by the U.N. Security Council, a senior U.N. official should be put in charge of ensuring the "integrity" of the mission, and several investigators should be part of the mission to probe allegations of corruption.
"Because there are a lot of resources involved, because there is a lot of pressure to deliver quickly because of the situation on the ground, the risks of corruption are very high," Transparency International's chair Huguette Labelle said. "This is where … it is so important to be able to introduce in the whole system of peacekeeping measures to prevent corruption, to detect it."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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BERLIN – The Cannery Village workforce housing project should be under construction by the end of June if all goes well.
Frank Gunion, president of the Berlin Community Development Corporation, said he would know more about the next step at the end of next week when he expects a decision from the state on a necessary community development block grant.
"One thing's that hanging fire is the continuation of the block grant or not," said Gunion. "If the block grant is reaffirmed once again, we should be ready to draw a grading permit from the town within the month."
Supporters have been working on the workforce housing project for four years.
Previous plans made last fall to dig the first shovel of dirt over the winter stalled over funding issues.
The Cannery Village workforce housing project is attempting to knit together support from several different sources to create a small community of green, affordable houses for local residents who cannot afford the high property costs in northern Worcester County.
One consequence of the multiple partners and supporters for the Cannery Village project is limits on funding, which require that work begin by the end of June.
"Other grants we have are keyed into June 28. We have to start by then," Gunion said.
The workforce housing project has done the proper due diligence, from stormwater to wetlands plans, as well as the necessary engineering. However, the town of Berlin still needs to give final approval to the project.
The most optimistic date for completion of the first 10 homes, the first phase, is probably late fall, Gunion guessed.
Bureaucracy has at times held the project back, with seven different government agencies involved. Gunion put that down in part to the new approach of the workforce housing initiative, which is using a pioneering public-private partnership to pursue the Cannery Village community.
"It's a new way of doing this project. It's the only way they're going to happen," said Gunion.
For-profit projects cannot afford to sell green houses at an reasonable price. High-end prices are the norm for that type of residence.
"There is very little workforce housing being built or for sale," said Gunion.


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Sunday March 16th, 2008
Toledo Botanical Garden Conference Center
5-6 PM - Stables Room - Beer Tasting with Lloyd Adelphia
Everything you ever wanted to know about beer.... but didn't know what to ask. There will be beer tasting and valuable information on how to make your own. This is a members only event, but you are welcome to bring guests.
6-8 PM - Terrace Room - Irish / Green Pot Luck
Please bring a dish to share that is green and/or Irish for the potluck, and bring your own beverage.
R.S.V.P. if you are planning on attending and what you might be bringing to share: Mary Weiss 419- 842-0005, firstname.lastname@example.com


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Lunch & Learn: Safe Computing Practices
October 03, 2013
Like the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure…
Our next Lunch & Learn has been scheduled for Friday, October 11 from noon-1 PM in Gittis 213.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness month. Come learn about safe computing practices and how you can protect yourself and Penn data. It is everyone's responsibility. We will cover all facets from desktop to mobile to securing your home machine.
Lunch will be served.
Water will be provided.
Please bring your own cup or alternate drink.


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Attention A T users. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. 1. Please switch auto forms mode to off. 2. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). 3. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links.
Contact Us
VA » Health Care » Polytrauma/TBI System of Care » External Link Disclaimer
Polytrauma/TBI System of Care
External Link Disclaimer
You are now leaving the Department of Veterans Affairs Website
VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website.
The page will be redirected to the link you selected in 20 seconds, or you can click on the OK link to go there now.OK


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Democrats may chip at Republican majority but seem unlikely to win control of the House
WASHINGTON (AP) � Democrats and Republicans are spending millions of dollars and airing thousands of TV commercials as they battle for the House's 435 seats.
But the Election Day result is likely to look familiar.
Democrats may erode the GOP majority slightly but they seem unlikely to gain the 25 additional seats they need to take control of the chamber.
Republicans have a money advantage and are using it to link Democratic candidates to President Barack Obama's economic stimulus and health care laws.
Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to dismantle Medicare and use the savings to pay for tax cuts for the rich.
Both sides are trying to figure out the impact GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's recent campaign struggles will have on House races. So far that seems limited.


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Orem Owlz GM Resigns
Orem Owlz general manager Zachary Fraser has announced that effective immediately he is resigning from his position. The reason given was "personal and family health issues."
As the season has progressed, it has become more and more apparent that the time that I need to dedicate to these issues and to maintain the dedication and quality of work that I expect of myself and my employees is not possible. If I have learned anything in four years with Tom Kotchman it is that your health and happiness and that your family's health and happiness are the two most important things. Baseball must take a back seat for the time being.
I recorded an interview on July with Zach. Click Here to listen.
No word on who will run the Owlz for the remainder of the season. Next in line would be assistant general manager Sarah Hansen, which might make her the only female GM currently in the affiliated minor leagues. Details when available.


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Silver matte finish moonstone ring
Silver matte finish moonstone ring
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Metallic Silver Matt Finish
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Selling through Discovered creates more income for artisans. They can set the price they want to receive for the products themselves. By cutting out all middlemen, artisans receive at least 20% more for their products. This is what we call fairer trade.
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We love handmade. We also feel strongly about preserving the world we live in. That's why we work with our partners & artisans to stimulate using local materials and natural resources, and paying special attention to packaging & shipping.
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I love the look of the leather 4 pocket sling bag, but although I only occasionally use it when going out, it is already ripping at the handle. The bag is small, so not much fits inside. I managed to put in my wallet, a small pocket camera and my sunglasses. Maybe this was to heavy, but I feel like a hand bag should be able to handle this. Otherwise, what's the use?
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Iditri is an initiative drawn and inspired from personal and creative experiences. We aim to make available Bold and Sassy Accessory styles designed by young Indi...