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Friday, October 22, 2010
Agence France-Presse
French Unions: We Won't Pay For 'Failures of Global Finance'
French Police, Strikers Clash Ahead of Pension Vote
PARIS – French riot police tear-gassed workers trying to block a fuel depot and broke up a picket at a key refinery serving Paris on Friday, hours before the Senate votes on fiercely-contested pension reforms.
Police used tear gas to repel 200 demonstrators trying to block a fuel depot before dawn near the southern city of Toulouse as part of protests against President Nicolas Sarkozy's bid to hike retirement age to 62, unions said.
Police moved in a few hours later to clear the entrance to Grandpuits refinery, which serves the Paris region, after an emergency decree ordered strikers there back to work. Three people were injured, unions said.
Fuel distribution firms warned that their plans to resupply filling stations would take longer than planned, but the government insisted that as yet it has no plans to introduce petrol rationing.
Turmoil continued around the country, as students staged another day of protests, workers stepped up fuel depot pickets and unions called two more days of mass strikes and street rallies for next week and the week after.
Hundreds of riot squad officers stood by in Lyon to try to prevent a repeat of Thursday's violence that saw security forces fire water cannon and fight running battles with rampaging youths in the east-central city.
Transport Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said fuel shortages had eased but one in five petrol stations was still without supplies as many families prepared to go on holiday when schools shut Friday for a mid-term break.
For two months France has been in the grip of a wave of protests against Sarkozy's bid to raise retirement age from 60 and the age at which retirees can get full pension payments from 65 to 67.
The protests have become the biggest battle of the right-wing president's mandate and he has staked his credibility on a reform he says is essential to reduce France's public deficit.
The bill has been moving through parliament and Labour Minister Eric Woerth said it would be approved in a Senate vote "in the coming hours", clearing the last major hurdle, which means it could become law as early as next week.
"The law is the law, so the protests, the discontent, the concern ... should end the moment the law is voted," he told France 2 television.
But unions, who say the reforms unfairly penalise workers for the failures of global finance, showed no sign of easing their campaign to bring Sarkozy, whose poll ratings are at an all-time low, to the negotiating table.
On Thursday, at the end of another day of clashes between youths and police in cities across France, unions called for workers to join two new days of nationwide demonstrations next Thursday and on November 6.
"Strengthened by the support of workers, the young and a majority of the population ... the labour organisations have decided to continue and to broaden the mobilisation," the main labour groups said in a joint statement.
More than a million people took to the streets on Tuesday, the sixth day of nationwide action since early September.
An opinion poll published Friday by the BVA institute and broadcast by Canal Plus television, showed that most French voters back the strikes, by a margin of 69 percent to 29 -- but 52 percent oppose the blockade of refineries.
Charles Foulard, head of the powerful CGT union in the refinery sector, insisted the goal of the blockade was not to "paralyse the country" but was "a cry for help to the government to open negotiations."
France's 12 oil refineries have been disrupted by the strikes.
Transport Minister Borloo said the police operation at Grandpuits was not designed to restart refining but to gain access to fuel already stocked there.
In Marseille civil defence troops have been sent in to clear rubbish from the streets of the Mediterranean port where garbage collectors are on strike, and in Toulouse intensified workers are blocking access to dumps.
Rubbish was starting to pile up in some areas of Paris too due to strike action by garbage collectors.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
French Unions: We Won't Pay For 'Failures of Global Finance'
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Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial (mini)
- Types:
- White Sparkling
- Capacity:
- Alcohol content:
- 12,0º
- Winery:
- Champagne Moet & Chandon
- Country:
- France
- A.O.C. Champagne
- Varieties:
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
- Allergens:
- Contains sulfites
Have you tasted this product?
Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial (mini)
INFORMATION OF INTEREST Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial (mini)
Colour: Straw yellow with greenish hues, brilliant, fine and constant bubbles.
Aroma: The nose is straight, clean aroma, flawless, and with a considerable intensity. Aromas of ripe white fruit (pear), cakes, light smoked and aniseed.
Taste: Fresh and fruity on the palate, savoury, it has reminisces of apricot and light citrus notes. Slightly fruition his finish with a pleasant feeling dry.
It will be perfect if we take with appetizers, lightly processed fish (grilled, oven), crustaceans, shellfish (steamed or grilled), and to celebrate the best endings of meals with desserts not too sweet (cake with fresh fruit, Santiagos cake).
Moët et Chandon belongs to Louis Vuitton Moet Henessy group. Is the most consumed Champagne brand in France and the world, well ahead of its closest competitor. It also owns a vineyard of 500 hectares in production and, at the same time, a mythic name of Champagne, the monk Dom Perignon.
Since the late nineteenth century, has adapted to the new era with the creation of a pilot center and graft in 1895, a remarkable development in the research sector in the 80s and the most technologically advanced wineries by now. What is the cause of success? A regular quality from crop basics, the brut imperial, to the proud "Dom Perignon"

subset: commoncrawl


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Fred Trotter's Health of the Source talk is summary of the Open Source Healthcare movement, both its history and its newest directions.
The first few minutes of the talk is fast and furious history lesson and introduction to Health Informatics generally. You will get a short lesson on "What is VA VistA?" from the person who wrote the original article . In order to understand VistA you need to know how Healthcare Informatics is different from other IT. But once you do understand the fundamentals of Healthcare Informatics, including a whole 30 seconds on health ontologies, you will see why VistA must be what it is. This grasshopper is important… because unless you understand VistA you are doomed to repeat it# .
The history of the Open Source healthcare movement provides context and helpful bias for the rest of the talk, which focuses on the Open Source Healthcare movement of today.
You will learn about Mirth, CONNECT and what the coming NHIN will mean (big hint, its like a new Healthcare Internet and if you are smart, you might be the guy who invents the equivalent of Amazon and ebay for that new network)
You will learn about new competitors to VistA; Open Source EHR applications like OpenMRS, OpenEMR, Tolven and ClearHealth. You will learn which companies are taking VistA to the next level.
You will hear the latest and greatest regarding Invido X, the leading Open Source PHR.
You will hear how Open Source is revolutionizing Clinical Trails (OpenClinica) and Health Data warehousing and research (CABig…) How Open Source is being used in public health and disaster response.
This talk is designed to introduce you to a whole new culture. You will not just get a laundry list of important FOSS projects in healthcare, but the context of why each project is important to the movement as a whole. Moreover, you will learn why Open Source is the only thing that can address the requirements of a modern healthcare system.
Listen to a podcast interview with Fred Trotter on how open source and health IT are working together
Fred Trotter is the leading consultant and advocate for Free/Libre and Open Source (FOSS) Health Software. In recognition of his role within the Open Source Health Informatics community, Trotter was the only Open Source representative invited by the NCVHS to testify on the definition of 'meaningful use'.
Trotter has contributed code to FreeMed, OpenEMR is the current project manager of MirrorMed and the original author of FreeB, the worlds first GPL medical billing engine. In 2004 Fred Trotter received the LinuxMedNews achievement award for work on FreeB. Fred Trotter manages the Open Source EHR review project with the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), Open Source Working Group (oswg). Fred is also a member of WorldVistA.
Fred Trotter is a recognized expert in Free and Open Source medical software and security systems. He has spoken on those subjects at the SCALE DOHCS conference, Retail Healthcare conference, LinuxWorld, and DefCon. He has been quoted in multiple articles on Health Information Technology in several print and online journals, including WIRED, zdnet, Government Health IT, Modern Healthcare Online, Linux Journal, Free Software Magazine and LinuxMedNews.
Trotter has a B.S in Computer Science, a B.A in psychology and a B.A in philosophy from Trinity University. Trotter minored in Business Administration, Cognitive Science, and Management Information Systems. Before working directly on health software, Trotter passed the CISSP certification and consulted for VeriSign on HIPAA security for major hospitals and health institutions. Trotter was originally trained on information security at the Air Force Information Warfare Center.
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clovis, NM
There are no stowed away accuses of Pre-settlementfundingcom. Gave that you decide to ask for and are authorize for case sponsoring, going before truly submitting to financing you'll be given a clear and clear charge timetable indigent upon your solitary case, so you'll know accurately what sum you'll owe should just your case settles inside a specified time period. Everything is ahead of time and in plain, clear, tongue.
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Available mailing locations by zipcodes - clovis
Select your zipcode or nearest zipcode93611


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Stevens Alumnus Launches Startup to Help People Fight Speeding Tickets
If you need to fight a speeding ticket, Stevens alumnus Pratik Joshi is your guy. He is a co-founder of LegalJacket.com, a startup dedicated to helping Hudson County citizens find an attorney to represent them in court. The free website enables people to enter basic information about their speeding ticket anonymously and receive price estimates for representation from local attorneys.
Joshi, who graduated in December 2012 with his M.S. in Computer Science and who is currently balancing running the startup with other commitments, collaborated with Shawn Jaison, a Rutgers graduate, and Kushal Sanghvi and Satyan Soni, two childhood friends from India, to launch LegalJacket.com this year.
Using the programming skills he learned during his master's degree study at Stevens, Joshi was instrumental in creating the company's distinctive algorithm which, based on information entered in by the user, determines the complexity of a potential court case and calculates a price.
"The accuracy of the algorithm is the most important and unique feature of our company," said Joshi.
In addition to creating the logic, Joshi also helped to design the website and look after its technical details.
"Stevens played a vital role for me," he said. "It helped me to be innovative and improved my creative thinking abilities. The coursework also helped me enhance my technical skills, which made designing our website easy."
Now that LegalJacket.com has launched, Joshi works as an administrator to make sure full functionality is in place for both users and lawyers. He also markets LegalJacket.com to new customers through social media advertising, especially Facebook, which he has found to be very cost effective.
"We've had great results so far," Joshi said.
Joshi said one of the most difficult parts of the entrepreneurial process was learning about local laws, since neither Joshi nor his partners have a legal background. The team read law books and interviewed attorneys until they fully understood the process of finding an attorney to help you fight a speeding ticket.
Most of LegalJacket.com's lawyer customers, who have to pay to become members, have come from word of mouth referrals, and the team is looking to contract more.
"This ensures the high quality of our attorneys, one of our most important priorities," Joshi said.
So far, Joshi said LegalJacket.com, which has kept its expenses very low, is turning a profit.
"The company is doing great," he said. "We've had a lot of unique visitors come to the site."
Eventually, the team plans to expand LegalJacket.com beyond Hudson County to other areas of New Jersey. They also hope to offer their attorney-matching and cost estimation services for legal issues beyond speeding tickets, such as other traffic violations or personal injury cases.
Learn more at www.LegalJacket.com.


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BALTIMORE – UMBC outscored visiting Mercer, 7-0, in the third quarter and the Retrievers went on to defeat the Bears, 15-6, at UMBC Stadium.
Five Retrievers posted three or more points – led by four points on two goals and two assists by sophomore midfielder Jack Gannon (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North). Attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) was the lone UMBC player to tally three goals and the senior continues to lead the squad with 13 scores in five games.
UMBC won its third game in the last four outings and improved to 3-2 on the season, while Mercer slipped to 2-3.
With the host Retrievers holding a narrow 4-2 halftime edge, Gannon scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season in a span of 2:30 in the first five minutes of the third quarter. UMBC would add five more goals in the period – all by different scorers – and held Mercer scoreless for over 27 minutes until they stopped the surge on a goal 35 seconds in the fourth quarter.
UMBC outshot Mercer, 16-1, in the third period, and 49-28 for the contest. Red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Connor Gordon (Bourne, Mass./Tabor Academy) made 10 saves and allowed six goals in 54:14 of work. Gordon, who entered play sixth in the nation with 13.5 saves per game, has 10 or more saves in all five outings in 2014. Mercer sophomore netminder Mike Nugent amassed 14 saves against a season-high total of shots by the Retrievers.
Mercer attackmen James Tautkus and Zack Ward led the visitors with three goals each.
Gregoire got the scoring underway for UMBC with an unassisted score just 1:41 into the contest. The Retrievers led, 3-1, after 15 minutes, but the pace slowed in the second quarter as the teams went scoreless for the final 10:45 of the stanza.
Senior midfielder Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St. Paul's), junior midfielder Ty Kashur (Manassas, Va./CCBC-Essex) and freshman attackman Grant Searfoss(Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) all tallied two goals and an assist for the Retrievers.
UMBC entered the game averaging 15 turnovers per contest, but suffered only eight give-aways in the game, with just four occurring in the first 45 minutes. The Retrievers cleared successfully 15-of-16 times in the contest.
UMBC hits the road for three consecutive games, beginning with a March 15 contest at High Point.
Notes: UMBC went 3-1 on the homestand…. Gannon now has six goals and four assists in his last three games… Searfoss played in just his second game of the season and scored his first three collegiate points versus the Bears… The 15 goals scored by UMBC was a season high… Gregoire now has nine career hat tricks, including three in his last four games.


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There's various research showing how priors such as the minimum variance portfolio turn out to be a surprisingly effective shrinkage target in portfolio construction.
The sell point of these priors is they do not require a return estimate. Therefore these shrinkage targets add ballast to otherwise noisy return estimates fed into "error-maximizing" optimizers.
There are several candidate priors for shrinkage targets that do not require an expected returns term: i) minimum variance portfolio, ii) minimum risk, iii) equal risk , and iv) equal weight portfolio.
Is there out-of-sample research on the return-risk performance of these portfolios for S&P 500 or other indices? Perhaps there is another prior that I have not considered.


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How to get the new Facebook 'Timeline' now
Can't wait for Facebook to roll out "Timeline," the magazine-style makeover of profiles?
You too can be an early adopter. Just pretend you are a developer.
But warns TechCrunch's Greg Kumparak: The reason that Facebook has not yet turned on "Timeline" for all of its users is that it's not quite ready for prime time. So expect some bugs. Also, your friends won't be able to see the new design. And if you sign into your Facebook account from a different computer, your profile may go back to the old design.
1. Go to the Facebook developers page.
2. Click on the "Apps" button and give the app permission to access your information.
3. You will now find yourself on a page that gives you the option to "create new app." Click on that button.
4. Here you will enter an "app display name" and an "app namesake."
5. Read the "platform privacy policy" and check the box to agree to it. Click continue.
6. Click the "open graph" button on the left side.
7. Type in an action such as "watch" and "TV show" and click "get started."
8. Keep saving changes until you are done.
9. Wait a few minutes and then head to the Facebook home page. You will see a message to enable "Timeline."
Photos: The many faces of Facebook
-- Jessica Guynn
Image: Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch


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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian semi-official news agency says a court has lifted a ban on the Reuters news agency, allowing it to restart its operations in Iran.
The Saturday report by ISNA quotes deputy culture minister Mohammad Jafar Mohammad Zadeh as saying the court's verdict has been delivered to Reuters's lawyer.
The news agency was banned by Iranian authorities over publishing a report on martial arts training of Iranian women in April 2012.
By The Associated Press
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.


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Good Clarinet Rental
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or Cancel
MUSIC SHOWCASE: Unlimited Rental Plan permits you to rent on a month-to-month basis with option to purchase (call for details).
1. This instrument may be rented for an indefinite period of time so long as the conditions of this contract are met. The monthly rental amount will not be prorated.
2. FAILURE TO REDELIVER HIRED OR LEASED PERSONAL PROPERTY. Whoever, after hiring or leasing any personal property or equipment under an agreement to redeliver the same to the person letting such personal property or equipment or his or her agent at the termination of the period for which it was let, shall, without the consent of such person or persons knowingly abandon or refuse to redeliver the personal property or equipment as agreed, shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, unless the value of the personal property or equipment is of a value of $300 or more; in that event the violation constitutes a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Failure to return rental property or equipment upon expiration of the rental period and failure to pay all amounts due (including costs for damage to the property or equipment) are evidence of abandonment or refusal to redeliver the property, punishable in accordance with section 812.155, Florida Statutes.
3. The instrument may be returned and this agreement cancelled so long as rental installments are current. Renter is responsible for returning the instrument to Music Showcase. Do not leave the instrument at school or with a band director or a Music Showcase representative without proper advance authorization from Music Showcase. Renter acknowledges that he/she is totally responsible for the condition of the instrument and agrees to pay for any damage beyond normal wear, tear, and depreciation. All original accessories such as mouthpieces, drumpads, sticks, stands, bows, etc. must be returned with the instrument or the renter must purchase new accessories.
4. Renter agrees to notify Music Showcase of any change of residence address, phone number, or school attendance by the student (user of instrument) within 10 (ten) days of any such change and agrees not to dispose of or remove above instrument from HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (or the county you will select in the next step) without written permission from Music Showcase.
5. The instrument remains the sole property of Music Showcase while being rented or purchased. Should the Renter default on any two consecutive monthly payments, Music Showcase may charge the full price of the instrument (less rental fees paid) to his/her valid credit card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Discover), or may take possession of the instrument with or without legal process on or off school premises, wherever found. Should Music Showcase execute the latter option, past due rental fees may be charged to Renters valid credit card or his/her account may be turned over to collections. Renter agrees to be responsible for the payment of costs and attorney fees incurred by Music Showcase in seeking instrument possession.
6. Music Showcase has the right to terminate this contract at any time.
7. All RENTAL FEES are non-refundable and non-transferrable and a portion is only transferable if the contract stays active and instruments are exchanged consecutively during that period. In the event the file is forced to collections, any original deposit becomes non-refundable as well.
Should my account become 10 (ten) days delinquent, I authorize Music Showcase to charge the monthly rent plus $10.00 late fee to my valid credit card account. In the event that any of these payments are declined by the card issuer, the entire balance is due upon demand, or the instrument must be returned to Music Showcase. If my account is delinquent and my credit card declined on more than one occasion, I understand a cash deposit will be required and collection charges added.
Customer agrees payment will be charged to the credit card each month. Autopay is only available for Mastercard, Visa, and Discover credit cards. (American Express cannot be processed for Autopay.)
The Maintenance Agreement covers repair on instruments to keep the instrument in proper playing condition; however, it does not include the replacement of missing parts (posts, crowns, barrels, etc.), mouthpieces, reeds, ligatures, caps, oils, cleaning materials, neck straps, strings, rosin, drum sticks, drum heads and practice pads. It does NOT cover malicious damage or broken body section. (Labor costs to transfer keys is covered but the price of the body section is NOT COVERED.) Any body damage, i.e., cracks in violin, damage from shoulder rests, bent flute bodies, major dents in brass and woodwind instruments, broken necks on stringed instruments, etc., are NOT COVERED under the Maintenance Agreement. Additionally, this agreement does not cover the theft or loss of a rented instrument.
I understand that attempts at self-repair of this instrument will void my maintenance agreement. For example, pulling mouthpieces, gluing parts, etc.
Clarifications and Amendments to original contract with Music Showcase, Inc.:
1. Music Showcase's rental program is a rent to own with no obligation to purchase. Upon returning the instrument, customer is obligated to pay outstanding rental fees and/or damage to the instrument not covered under the repair and replacement.
2. Customer can purchase the rental instrument at any time. Please contact the account manager about an early pay discount.
3. You can exchange the instrument you're renting at any time for another model or step-up model instrument. Half of the rental fees from a previous (consecutively exchanged) instrument can be applied towards the purchase of your final instrument. Money generated from sales tax or repair and replacement do not apply.
4. Rental fees are not refundable or prorated. Please do not pay in advance if you are uncertain that your child will be continuing. If you are returning the instrument, it must be returned on or before your due date. For example, if your due date is July 1st, we must receive the instrument on or before July 1st in order to not incur additional rental fees.
5. Customer understands they must keep all information with Music Showcase current. This information will be kept confidential at all times and only be given to necessary parties who directly handle your account. This includes, but is not limited to address, phone number, work information, reference phone number, credit card number, and child's school.
6. Delinquency routine performed by Music Showcase Collection Department: Should a customer default on their rental payment by 10 days, the credit card number on file will be charged the rental payment due plus late fees. Should the card not process for the amount due, collection proceedings will begin and a new card number or cash deposit will be required to continue renting. Should the customer become over 30 days delinquent, account will be red flagged and customer has 15 days to make payment on account and return the instrument, update the credit card information and continue renting or make payment on account and return the instrument. After the 15 days, customer understands that Music Showcase will make every effort to repossess its instrument by all legal rights on or off school premises or from the customer's home. Please understand should this happen, customer will be turned over to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) for theft of a rented instrument and the crime will be processed as a felony due to the value of the instrument exceeding $300.00. Also understand, should a customer's mail be returned with no forwarding information and should Music Showcase have no working phone numbers or credit card numbers on file at any point during the rental, the instrument will immediately be repossessed and/or turned over to the HCSO for prosecution.
7. Theft, loss, negligence and irresponsibleness is not covered under the maintenance agreement. Tips for care: Do not leave instrument in a hot car. Do not store music in any instrument's case, it will damage the instruments, even if you think the book fits. For violins and violas, do not store shoulder rests in case on top of the instrument, it will damage the wood and crack the violin or viola.
8. Online Rentals: Please reference diagram of instrument that will be emailed within 7 days to you. This diagram reflects the condition of the instrument along with any markings or blemishes. The instrument should be returned in like condition as it was rented.
Important: You must choose one of the following billing options (select below add to cart button).
Remember that allowing your account to become delinquent constitutes felony theft of the instrument.
* required fields


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"Why doesn't somebody do something about that?" How often have you heard (or asked) that question -- particularly about an issue in Tarzana?
Well, now you and your neighbors have that opportunity. The Tarzana Neighborhood Council is certified by the City Charter to represent the community as a recognized part of the greater government of Los Angeles.
1. To promote public participation in city governance and decision making processes, to make government more responsive to local needs and requests, and to create more opportunities to build partnerships with government to address local needs and requests.
2. To monitor the delivery of city services and city government responses to problems and requests from Tarzana stakeholders.
3. To foster a sense of community for all people within Tarzana to express ideas and opinions about their neighborhoods and their government.
4. To be an advocate for Tarzana to government and private agencies.
5. To be a forum for discussion and review of community issues and projects.
6. To serve as an advisory board to city government.
7. To take any actions that are permitted by law.
Web Design by The Web Corner


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8. A Tango with Monsanto
Once a year the 1001 Club invites its members to the exclusive Panda Ball. One dines and discusses the future of the world in select company. Is the Club just a sentimental relict of the founding era with no significance for current WWF policy, as Rob Soutter tried to convince me in our meeting at WWF headquarters in Gland, Switzerland? If it really is just a harmless group of aging nature-loving aristocrats, why are their gatherings as secretive as the Cosa Nostra? Why do members pay a 25,000-dollar initiation fee? What unseen bonds exist amongst the elite 1001?
I knew that if I could get a look at the secret membership list it would help shed light on these matters. It wasn't easy, but after several months of patient research I finally held two editions of the mystery list in my hand -- one from 1978, the other from 1987. Both of them came from the estate of British journalist Kevin Dowling, whose early film about the African misadventures of the WWF was never aired. The two lists can now be found on the Internet.
Title page of the membership list of the club, "The 1001"
Extract of the membership list of the club "The 1001"
The cover page of the membership list reads simply: The 1001 Members. Some of the names I was seeing for the first time, but most of them sounded familiar, because they were prominent amongst the world's political and financial elite. They included: billionaire Muslim spiritual leader Karim Aga Khan IV; Fiat boss Giovanni Agnelli; Lord Astor of Hever (president of The Times of London); Henry Ford II; Stephen Bechtel (Bechtel Group, USA); Berthold Beitz (Krupp); Martine Cartier-Bresson; Joseph Cullman III (CEO Philip Morris); Charles de Chambrun; H.R.H. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; Sir Eric Drake (General Director of British Petroleum); Friedrich Karl Flick (Germany); Manuel Fraga-Iribarne (Franco's Minister of Information); C. Gerald Goldsmith; Ferdinand H.M. Grapperhaus (Dutch Undersecretary); Max Grundig (Germany); beer baron Alfred Heineken; Lukas Hoffmann (Hoffmann-La Roche); Lord John King (British Airways); Daniel K. Ludwig (USA); Sheikh Salim Bin Laden (elder brother of Osama Bin Laden); John H. Loudon (CEO Shell); Daniel K. Ludwig; Robert McNamara (Vietnam-era US Secretary of Defense); Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller (shipping magnate); Queen Juliana of the Netherlands; Keshub Mahindra (India); Harry Oppenheimer (Anglo American Corporation); David Rockefeller (Chase Manhattan Bank); Agha Hasan Abedi (President of BCCI Bank); Tibor Rosenbaum (Banque de Credit International, Geneva); Baron Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (France); Juan Antonio Samaranch (Spain); Peter von Siemens (Germany); Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (Switzerland); Dr. Joachim Zahn (Daimler Benz).
The 1001 Club membership lists available included a remarkably large share of South Africans. In addition to Anton Rupert, owner of Rothmans International and Cartier, a few dozen other leading lights of the apartheid regime -- almost all of them were former or present members of the white-supremacist group Broederbund. The only black African to have found his way into the elite white brotherhood was the Dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko.
Most club members were previous or present top dogs in the oil or mining industries, banking or shipping. Conversation at the Panda Ball presumably does not revolve solely around endangered tigers, elephants and songbirds; talk also surely turns to topics such as business prospects in the energy and food sectors. Most club members have directly influenced the political and economic history of their home countries -- leaving a large ecological footprint behind in their wake.
Membership Number 572
The name behind the 1001 Club membership number 572, Jose Martinez de Hoz, is probably unknown to most. Based in Buenos Aires, Martinez de Hoz is an Argentine oligarch with blood on his hands. He owns over a million hectares of land, is a wild game hunter and founding member of the Argentine WWF, which is called Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA). [48] But most Argentines don't think of Martinez de Hoz as an animal lover: his biggest claim to fame is serving as Minister of the Economy during the military dictatorship of Videla.
Unfortunately I was not able to meet Jose Martinez de Hoz in person, because in the summer of 2010 he had been arrested for crimes against humanity -- after twenty years of living unchallenged, escaping justice. At this writing he was under house arrest. His attorney conveyed the message that his client did not wish to accept visitors. There is a photograph of Martinez de Hoz shortly before his arrest: a gaunt old man on his way home with a baker's bag in his hand. Hard to believe that the sensitive-looking geriatric with the friendly smile had been the number two man in a brutal and bloody military dictatorship that had ordered the killing of around 30,000 of its own citizens, most of them men and women in the bloom of youth.
As Minister of the Economy, Martinez de Hoz had concerned himself with the "modernization" of the Argentine economy, opening the country to the global market and for foreign investors. He was a man with outstanding international contacts, which his membership in the exclusive WWF club no doubt helped him to cultivate. Even after being confined under house arrest to his luxury residence in the Kavanagh high-rise apartment house Martinez de Hoz was still allowed to pursue his business activities undisturbed. Like all wealthy Argentines, he too had invested a lot of money in soy, the foremost plant-based energy crop in the age of the "green economy". And Jose Martinez de Hoz is not alone: other top functionaries of the Argentine WWF have also harvested the dubious fruits of Argentina's transformation into a soy republic.
On the flight from Washington D.C. to Buenos Aires we flew over northern Argentina at dawn. From above, the green landscape looked like the region's famous Pampa. In fact, the vast deforested expanses beneath us were industrial soy fields. The 1,500-kilometer flight from Salta in the north to Buenos Aires meant 1,500 kilometers of soy monoculture. A full one half of Argentina's arable land is now covered with the "green gold" -- genetically modified soy from GMO giant Monsanto. The soy monoculture has spread to neighboring countries Brazil and Paraguay like a galloping cancerous growth.
Biofuel from soy for Europe and the USA is eating away the farmland of the people in the Southern Hemisphere -- with the ruthless if indirect support of the WWF. Below us small crop duster planes flew across the seemingly endless fields: they were spraying the Monsanto herbicide Roundup, a substance Monsanto chemists had developed from Agent Orange, the notorious, highly toxic defoliant used by the USA in Vietnam to strip the Viet Cong of their lush forest cover.
The Soy Dictatorship
The huge jacaranda trees on the Plaza San Martin had dropped millions of blossoms. Over the purple petal carpet walked the man we had come to meet: Jorge Rulli, known in Argentina for his relentless opposition to the country's soy policies. He looked up squinting, his hand protecting his eyes from the blazing sun. Rulli scanned the high-rise that housed his former archenemy Jose Martinez de Hoz.
The battles Jorge Rulli has fought in his life had left their mark: a thick bull's neck, a short crop of unruly snow-white hair covering a massive skull and continuing on uninterrupted to form a bristly beard. His weathered features had dug their way deep into his face; torture had left him blind in one eye. In 1967, while Che Guevara was forming his guerrilla unit in the Bolivian jungle, Jorge Rulli had been arrested in Argentina for the first time and ferociously mistreated in custody. His interrogators wanted to know what his mentor Che Guevara was planning for Argentina. The charismatic revolutionary leader had, in fact, considered returning to Argentina after Bolivia to ignite the fire of social revolution in his homeland. But events took a different turn than planned, with a brutal response from the old oligarchy: in the 1970s military dictators seized power throughout South America. It was the beginning of a dark era.
Jorge Rulli was arrested for a second time and brought to a secret prison where he was held and tortured for a year, during which time his wife and children didn't know whether he was dead or alive. Later he had been sentenced to five years in prison. Yet Jorge Rulli told us he did not wish to exact vengeance on Martinez de Hoz: "He is one of the key figures responsible for the dictatorship, but it's too late to make him pay for his crimes. Now he's sitting up there, a lonely old man locked up with his wife -- that's punishment enough."
Jorge laughed at his own grim joke and pointed at the glass facade on the opposite side of the square, home to the Argentine branch of Monsanto. According to Jorge Rulli the US-based multinational was now the "secret government of Argentina". He compared it in complete earnest to the military dictatorship: "The monoculture enforced by Monsanto is just as terrible as the military dictatorship. It is destroying my country down to the very roots. Argentina is now the world's biggest open-air laboratory for genetic engineering."
In 1996 the Argentine government became the first in South America to revoke the prohibition against genetically modified (GM) crops, and proceeded to permit more than half of the country's farmlands to be transformed into a soy wasteland. Argentina is now the world's largest supplier of soybean oil. The majority of it goes to the refineries that make biodiesel for the European market; the rest goes into feed concentrate for intensive livestock farming in the USA, China and Europe. Argentina's political class wants to use soy to help rapidly industrialize the country and thus payoff national debt. A 35 percent share of the profits from soybean biodiesel flows into government coffers in the form of export duty.
Despite impressive growth figures Rulli did not see the soy model as a success. "The chemicals are destroying the arable soil, the smallholders are being driven out, food supplies have become scarce and expensive. Argentina can no longer even produce enough meat for its own population. But that doesn't bother the government, because the income from the soy export duty is so high that they can use it to support the subsistence of the hundreds of thousands of Argentines who have fled the countryside for the slums of the cities."
Jorge Rulli
I wanted to know what position the WWF took on Argentina's genetic agricultural revolution. After all, the massive expansion of soy production had exacted a sacrifice not only of farmland for food crops but vast forest areas as well. According to data from the forestry authorities, since 1914 close to half of Argentina's Chaco Province forest had been chopped down. [49] From 2003 on, the tempo of the destruction had accelerated as the soy industry initiated its great leap forward. Continuous satellite surveillance conducted by the conservationist organization Guyra has shown: in May 2012 the deforestation rate was 710 hectares a day. The Argentine WWF has raised resistance, using a study to make its case for classifying 49 percent of the remaining Chaco as "especially valuable" habitat subject to strict protection measures. But that was not enough to reconcile WWF critic Jorge Rulli with the organization: by defining 49 percent of the forest as "especially worthy of protection" the WWF was accepting in principle that the rest would be overrun by agribusiness: "In Argentina the FVSA (Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina) is not a nature conservancy organization in a literal sense. It and Monsanto are two arms of the same body. Monsanto created the agricultural model that is now predominant in our country -- and the FVSA/ WWF Argentina is making every effort to make it socially acceptable. It says: GM soy isn't so bad; it can even be produced 'sustainably.'"
Sizing me up, Jorge Rulli sensed that I still had my doubts. He suggested I get in touch with the father of the Argentine "soy miracle". "He doesn't actually give interviews, but as a German your chances with him are pretty good."
A Patriarch's Dialogue
Dr. Hector Laurence
Dr. Hector Laurence did, in fact, agree without hesitation to a meeting. Laurence is the godfather of the Argentine model: a long-time player in the soy business, in 2005 he also became president of the IFAMA (International Food and Agribusiness Association). For many years he had also been the South America representative for two foreign GMO firms: Morgan Seeds and Pioneer, a subsidiary of the chemicals giant DuPont. During the same period, from 1998 to 2008, he was president of the Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina. In 1988 the FVSA had become an associate member of the WWF.
I met with Dr. Laurence in his office, which was discreetly decorated in subdued shades of colonial blue. The building was on the upscale Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the best addresses in Buenos Aires. The scion of an English immigrant family, Dr. Laurence was a gentleman from top to toe. Although he and his nemesis Jorge Rulli were almost the same age, Hector Laurence appeared younger. That might have been due to his carefully parted gray-free hair, or to his country club outfit: blue blazer, gray flannel trousers, the pungent smell of a musky deodorant. The steely gaze of his blue eyes and each of his vigorous-yet-controlled gestures clearly communicated that he belonged to the Argentine elite. "Diplomatic waffle" was not his thing, said Dr. Laurence. "You Europeans must be told straight out that you are quite backward in some areas, especially when it comes to modern technologies. You have become the victims of leftwing hysterics who denounce genetic engineering as the work of the devil -- instead of listening to science."
I tried to maintain a neutral expression as I posed the key question of my visit: what did the WWF think about the fact that the soil of Argentina was now drenched with Monsanto's herbicide? Hadn't recent laboratory testing by Argentine pharmacologist Prof. Carrasco determined that Roundup damaged human genetic material? Dr. Laurence furrowed his statesmanlike brow and pondered for a moment before answering in English: "Those experiments are pseudo-scientific propaganda. If you invite me to drink a glass of Roundup or to smell it for a couple of hours directly -- no, I would say, this can hurt me, of course. But on the other hand, like anything if you use a new product -- and I don't have any relationship with Monsanto, I want to be very clear on that -- if you talk about the risks of technology, in terms of accidents or illnesses, we should then eliminate planes and eliminate cars."
He looked at me for a few seconds in amusement, waiting to see how I would react to his clever comparison. I held my tongue, so he continued, switching back to Spanish: "The romantics pine for the old Pampa. That's ridiculous. We soy entrepreneurs are farmers too, when it comes down to it; the land is our most important capital. We care for it and safeguard it. Anyone can invest in soy. We no longer need farmers to have agriculture. That has boosted Argentina's efficiency enormously. the Pampa is experiencing a veritable agricultural revolution."
Dr. Laurence related with pride how he had founded the National Genetic Technology Commission to familiarize the population with the blessings of this technology. In backward Argentina you had to promote progress a bit, because Monsanto had done "bad PR work, so that many people thought that genetic engineering would lead to babies being born with fish heads and similar nonsense. We have to help Monsanto to market its products more credibly."
He had felt personally called upon to "reconcile" industry with nature. To this end, in 2003 Dr. Laurence had extended invitations to the Forum of the 100 Million, a round table dedicated to the development of the soy industry. He personally had headed both the delegation of the conservationists and that of the business interests -- a dialogue with himself? Dr. Laurence responded to my ironic remark with good humor: "There were a few other people there as well, including the best scientists in our country. I knew both sides of the coin, so I was the right man to reach a compromise." The forum agreed to approve the planting in Argentina of 100 million tons of soy and maize crops for energy generation.
I reminded the master of dialogue that the industrial cultivation of genetically engineered crops was eliminating vast areas of forest and conventional farmland. At this, deep worry lines creased Dr. Laurence's forehead -- it seemed a struggle was raging between the naturalist and the entrepreneur within him: "Cut-throat competition is unavoidable in a free-market economy. That's why a few secondary forests had to be sacrificed to achieve our ambitious target of 100 million. But arable land is affected more than forests. Some products have experienced losses: sorghum, livestock farming, sunflowers and wheat."
For Monsanto the endorsement of the "new green revolution" by Fundacion Vida Silvestre was heaven sent -- after years of fighting for moral support for its genetic interventions into nature. With the backing of an Argentinian bishop, Monsanto had attempted to prompt the Pope to put in a good word for genetic engineering. Nothing doing: the Church remained firm. The WWF was the port of last resort. After all, it too had moral authority in society-at-large -- when the WWF talked, people listened. Dr. Laurence summed up with pride: "With the help of the WWF" Argentina was now "a green world power." The 100 million ton goal was achieved in 2010. But that, said Laurence, was just the beginning: "We're going to double the target to 200 million." WWF International, too, he added, had now come out in support of genetic engineering "thanks to our pioneering work in Argentina".
At the end of this highly instructive conversation I asked Dr. Laurence what he thought of WWF Argentina founder Dr. Martinez de Hoz: "I know and value him; a great man who served his nation. He is wrongly under house arrest. Like so many defendants from the era of the military government, he has done nothing wrong, I swear to that."
Still reeling from the revisionist history lesson, I fired a final shot: would Dr. Laurence succeed Martinez de Hoz as a member of the WWF 1001 Club? I believe I caught a sheepish grin flitting across the tanned face before me: "I still haven't been asked, but it may happen yet." With such extensive service to his country it would, of course, be a rude injustice to deny him the ascent to the ranks of WWF nobility.
On the Soy Highway
The next morning I drove to the village of Marcos Paz, west of Buenos Aires. The invincible rebel-with-a-cause Jorge Rulli had created an island of peace and tranquility there. He and his family live in an old farmhouse and have transformed the rest of the land into a Garden of Eden of lush, rambling vegetable patches and flower beds. He used seeds gathered on his travels. In the modern supermarkets, said Jorge Rulli, you could only buy big brand name, imported "standardized food". The old traditional village markets used to have a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables: "It's all over with the variety. The globalization of the food industry has led to a dramatic impoverishment of the human diet."
We had a long, uncomfortable drive ahead of us, going north on the "soy highway". The temperature rose by the hour as we approached the equator. To the left and right the soy fields stretched across vast desolate areas like huge brown cloths. We made a stop at a village called Tuyuti, where we met the last remaining farmer still at work: breeding polo ponies for export to the rich Gulf States. The other farms lay in ruins.
At last count there were 1,000 "abandoned" villages in Argentina. When the majority of farmers sell up for good money to the soy companies, the villagers all end up leaving. 61 percent of the area now covered by soy fields in Argentina used to be pastures where cattle grazed, or farmland with crops of wheat, sorghum, potatoes, maize, sunflowers, rice, barley, beans and cotton. Over 400,000 farmers have already given up on agriculture and migrated to the cities. In Tuyuti the only teacher in the village school had only a dozen children left in her class; it used to be four times that.
At the sight of the dilapidated schoolhouse, rage welled up in Jorge's heart: "With the decline of the villages the culture of the Pampa has disappeared. People are abandoning the countryside because they have no work here anymore. Those who remain risk being poisoned to death. Roundup is the drug of the Argentine economy."
Roundup: brand advertising
We spotted the first crop-duster in the distance. Called a Mosquito, it left a huge toxic cloud trailing behind: Roundup from Monsanto. The poisonous substance drizzled down onto the fields where the still small soy plants fought grasses, herbs and weeds for space. The next day, all the plants were brown and dead, except for the soy. It had survived thanks to a special gene built in to resist the toxic herbicide.
"The Root of All Microcephaly Begins With a Seed From Monsanto"
by Tara Carreon, working from background ("label gmo") by email@example.com
-- Alarm Spreads in Brazil Over a Virus and a Surge in Malformed Infants, by Simon Romero
Buyers of Monsanto seed are obliged to purchase the companion herbicide Roundup to go with it. "This 'package deal'," says Jorge Rulli, "makes the farmers dependent on Monsanto. At the end of the day, the Roundup Ready model means total corporate control of agricultural production. Apart from that, Roundup contaminates the ground water and the rivers. Amphibians have died off in our rivers. When they start using that poison even the rats and snakes flee to the cities. We are on the precipice of an ecological collapse, but the WWF tells us, in effect: everything's fine; soy is good; you can plant soy sustainably."
We continued on our road trip across the green-brown monotony of the soy landscape until we reached the port city of Rosario on the shores of the broad, brown Parana River. Every day hundreds of transport trucks full of soy arrive from all corners of the country at the harbor. From there the freight is shipped off to Europe -- or it lands in one of the new refineries that line the riverbanks. They hungrily swallow up the soybeans and discharge them again in the form of biodiesel. Rosario is the heart that pumps the green oil into the bloodstream of the global economy.
Aided by billions in subventions, the European feed-in obligation for biofuels has created an artificial global biofuel market; by the year 2020, according to the EU directive, 10 percent of the fuel in Europe's vehicles must be plant-based. The USA has a similar provision. Arable land is in short supply in Europe, and thus very costly, so biofuel production has been farmed out to the Southern Hemisphere.
The booming biofuel industry has invested billions and given rise to brand new business alliances: automakers such as VW and Toyota are to be found in new consortiums with energy companies BP and Shell, as well as agribusinesses such as Monsanto, Cargill, ADM and Dreyfus. In the age of the "green economy" energy and agribusinesses are fusing. 95 percent of the diesel oil produced in Argentina goes to Europe. The ugly word "bioimperialism" is making the rounds in Latin America, Asia and Africa -- wherever vast areas have been devoted to fuel crops. The global north is solving its energy problems at the expense of the global south.
Soy Leftists
In earlier, simpler days Jorge Rulli could blame all the evils of the world on the rightwing oligarchs. Nowadays things are a bit more complicated. After all, the presidents and politicians who have pushed the soy model through in South America have mainly been leftwing: "Even Lula in Brazil joined in, although genetic engineering was prohibited in his country. Monsanto smuggled the genetically modified seed out of Argentina over the borders to Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil and gave it away to the farmers in these neighboring countries."
This was to be expected of Monsanto, said Rulli, but the leftwing governments could have said no. Instead they had played the doorman, ushering Monsanto in: "After they were defeated, the left could have rebounded by becoming an ecological left; instead, they humbly conformed. The chief ideologists of the soy model weren't reactionaries, they were leftists. 40 years ago they were making homemade bombs, which provided a pretense for the putsch, and now they're the loyal servants of Monsanto. History certainly turns some strange somersaults."
Gustavo Grobocopatel, for example, is now one of Argentina's biggest soy barons. He used to be a card-carrying Communist and a welcome guest in the Soviet Union. Hector Huergo was once the chief ideologist of the Trotskyite Party. Nowadays he's editor-in-chief of the agricultural supplement to Argentina's biggest newspaper Clarin and has transformed himself into the ideological mastermind of the soy revolution: "He used to demand agricultural reform and the expropriation of large estate holders; now he's leading the corporate counterrevolution in the countryside."
"Despite the fact that Stalin deliberately helped bring Hitler and the Nazis to power, despite the Nazi-Communist alliance of 1939-41 under the Hitler-Stalin Pact, despite Mussolini's close ties to Moscow, despite the deep affinity between Nazi-fascists and communists demonstrated repeatedly in many countries by mass exchanges of membership between political organizations of the two persuasions, the average American still sees communism and Nazism-fascism as polar opposites.
-- Project Democracy's Program -- The Fascist Corporate State, by Webster Griffin Tarpley[/quote]
Jorge Rulli still keeps in touch with his old comrade: "I ran into Hector at a discussion meeting and asked him if he wasn't ashamed to be transforming Argentina into a new colony whose only role is to supply the powerful countries in the north with biofuel. He laughed at me and said: 'My dear Jorge, you're stuck in a 70s mentality.' I stayed nice and friendly and said: 'Okay, our opinions on the economic model differ, but at least admit that we're losing all our biodiversity.' He grinned at me: 'Biodiversity? That can be recreated in the laboratory.' He's become a cynical champagne socialist who's embedded himself in government and is living there like bee in clover. Sometimes I even wish we had the military dictatorship back -- at least you knew who were the good guys and who were the bad."
In Monsanto's Close Embrace
400 kilometers farther to the west we stopped our rattling Peugeot just outside the small town of Laboulaye, because in the otherwise uninhabited landscape we had come across a human being: Fabricio Castillos. The soy farmer was busy repairing his broken-down crop-spraying vehicle. As it turned out, he was an independent small business owner with 130 hectares of land -- and a contract to supply one of the biggest soy companies in Argentina, Gustavo Grobocopatel, which pays the current global market price for the soybeans. The farmer alone carries the production risks: "When I first started it all worked great. For the first few years Monsanto gave us the seeds for virtually nothing. In the meantime the prices have risen drastically. The herbicide Roundup is really expensive. We have to keep spraying more and more because the weeds have become resistant. This year I used twice as much Roundup as I did five years ago. It doesn't pay anymore."
I asked a naive question: why he didn't just switch to conventional soy, which was also still sought after on the global market? The farmer shook his head: "I'm surrounded by genetically modified soy. It would immediately contaminate my seeds. Besides, Monsanto has already bought up most of the seed companies in Argentina. You have to travel far and wide to find conventional seed."
The "green gold" was driving the farmer into bankruptcy. If soy production proved uneconomic, wouldn't it just do away with itself? The farmer had to laugh: "Unfortunately not. With my 130 hectares I can no longer make any profit; someone with 500 hectares can still make a living, but at some point you'll need 5,000 hectares. Soon the whole country will belong to just a few investment companies," said the last of the Mohicans and started off in his sprayer. Time is money.
From Laboulaye we drove almost 1,000 kilometers northwards without stopping. We saw no intact forest areas along the way, only endless fields of soy and maize monocultures. Where were the "high value" forests the WWF claims to have saved through its constructive dialogue with industry? Jorge Rulli didn't know either: "The forests that have been spared are mainly up in the mountains, so they're of no interest to industrial agriculture. The FVSA/WWF Argentina appears to be satisfied with the existing national parks. What's even worse: they're not really doing anything to stop the destruction of the forests in favor of the soy industry." As he spoke these words he fished a big stack of paper out of his briefcase: the minutes of the meeting of the Forum of the 100 Million.
"Someone" had passed the minutes on to him. The document proves that the WWF had actively participated in choosing which forest areas would be approved for destruction. At the September 2004 meeting of the Forum, WWF representative Juan Rodrigo Walsh reported on the achievements of his working group, the Initiative for Forest Conversion, headed by himself. From the beginning the goal of the Forum had been to transform 5 to 12 million hectares into land suitable for the "sustainable" production of grain and oil fruit. The minutes of the forum meeting from Sept. 9th 2004 read: "Juan Rodrigo Walsh reported on the progress made by the Initiative for Forest Conversion, which he coordinates in Argentina and Paraguay with the support of the WWF via the FVSA (WWF Argentina). He described the methods and steps being taken in this dialogue-led process. He concentrated in his report on the subject of sustainability -- on a worldwide scale." [50]
The sacrifice of the forest apparently posed no problem for Dr. Laurence, head of the FVSA/WWF Argentina at the time. Because, according to him, thanks to the soy fields, the Pampa was "greener now than before". Furthermore, to combat soil erosion many agribusinesses were even leaving untouched green strips between the huge monoculture fields: "Those are green corridors, which allow animals to move freely over a wide area in search of mating partners. Thus biodiversity is maintained."


text: The Fellowships bring exceptional early career physicists to Perimeter for periods of three months to a year. They will enable Fellows to pursue their research within Perimeter's stimulating environment and to interact closely with other members of Perimeter's research community. Perimeter Director Neil Turok commented, "International Women's Day provides the perfect occasion to announce our first Emmy Noether Fellows. Both are stellar young physicists with superb technical skills who have made significant discoveries in their research to date. We hope that their Emmy Noether Fellowships will help them to fulfill their exceptional promise." Turok delivered the announcement at "Women and Physics: Past, Present, and Future," a conference held at Perimeter highlighting important contributions women have made to physics and exploring challenges and opportunities for women in physics at various stages of their careers. The Fellowships are named for Amalie Emmy Noether, an influential 20th century German mathematician known for her ground-breaking contributions to theoretical physics as well as abstract algebra. Noether was described by Albert Einstein as "the most important woman in the history of mathematics." Claudia de Rham is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Case Western Reserve University. She is a cosmologist working on very early universe cosmology and dark energy. Her recent work includes giving the graviton a mass. This has led to new developments in theories which modify gravity at large distances and could play a crucial role in understanding the nature of dark energy and tackling the cosmological constant problem. Prior to her appointment at Case Western, de Rham was an assistant professor at Geneva University, a joint postdoctoral researcher at Perimeter Institute and McMaster University, and a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University. She obtained her PhD in 2005 from the University of Cambridge. Sara Pasquetti is a Lecturer in Physics at the University of Surrey. Her research interests lie at the interface between physics and mathematics. In particular, Pasquetti is interested in the relation between gauge theories, conformal field theory (CFT), and geometry. In recent years, she has combined supersymmetric localization and topological string methods to develop new tools for the study of supersymmetric gauge theories in various dimensions, in the presence of defect operators and CFT correlators. Prior to joining the University of Surrey, Pasquetti was a Marie Curie Fellow at Queen Mary University of London (2010-12), a Fellow in the Theory Division at CERN (2008-10), and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Neuchatel (2007-08). She obtained her PhD from the University of Parma in 2007.


text:
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text:
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam has postponed his 15-city U.S. solo tour because of nerve damage in his right arm.
The damage stems from a back injury he suffered earlier this year. Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis says Vedder worked aggressively with doctors and physical therapists for the last eight weeks to repair the damage, but he is not well enough to play. Curtis says the singer is frustrated, but remains positive that he will be better this summer.
The tour dates will be rescheduled for November and December, except for the Jazz Fest performance. Tickets will be honored for the rescheduled dates, and refunds will be available upon request through the point-of-purchase.
Copyright AP - Associated Press


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Photo Gallery | Sacramento's Step 1 Dance and Fitness Studio Celebrates 25 Years of Excellence
by Margaret Gidding, freelance writer
Twenty-five years ago, November 1987, Pepper Von and Mary Wright opened the doors to Step 1 Dance and Fitness Studio at 1920 T Street in Sacramento. With no prior experience running their own business, they jumped in with both feet, hit the ground running, and have never looked back. As co-owners, Pepper and Mary have the perfect blend of skills, know-how, intuition, and heart to have created and sustained a studio that combined dance and fitness. They are innovative pioneers of the dance and fitness world, and the studio continues to thrive under their direction, growing and changing with the industry.
The Beginning
In 1986, Pepper was teaching dance classes at Sacramento City College. The college struggled to accommodate the interest and attendance Pepper's classes generated. Mary danced in Pepper's dance company and took classes from him. She had been a nursing home administrator for 10 years when the hospital was sold and none of the management staff were retained under the new ownership. The timing seemed right; Pepper and Mary joined forces and started planning to open their own studio. At that time, no other facility offered both fitness and dance. When Pepper and Mary talked about offering both, reactions from peers were skeptical. But their intuition and vision could not be swayed. It would be a huge career change for Mary and a big risk. They would rely on Pepper's name and reputation, which was well established in Sacramento by that time.
In 1987, after thorough research and preparation, they were ready to bring their plans to fruition. Mary explained how difficult it was at that time to find someone to lease to them, neither with experience in running their own business. Finally, with Pepper's name in the dance and fitness world and Mary's administrative skills, they came across the location and landlord that launched the legacy that continues today. The doors opened; three full-sized studios offering ballet, tap, funk, and jazz. Students from City College followed them to the new location and classes were full. Pepper attributed the success to "the perfect combination of a brilliant administrator behind the scenes and an outgoing force as the face of the studio."
Philosophy and Evolution
Pepper and Mary's philosophy for the studio has not changed in the 25 years they've been in business: strive to be a positive contributing factor in the community and offer a quality place to train, a place for families. The makeup of the studio has always been and continues to be multi-dimensional and multi-cultural, an aspect that has continued throughout the years. The business is built and sustained on relationships.
Mary says she works just as hard today as 25 years ago. She's willing to listen to suggestions, try new things, and be flexible. "You just never know which direction the fitness world will go next; it's very temporary; something else is always right around the corner."
It wasn't always smooth sailing. They have weathered some tough times. They learned and grew the business together. When Pepper and two other top trainers won the fitness aerobics championship in the early 1990s, the three, under contract, traveled the world for a year, leaving a gaping hole at the studio. Mary, through her own determination and skill, kept the studio going. She worked all over town to make ends meet during that period. Mary has always come up with creative ways to see them through tough economic times.
The studio initially opened to adults, but it wasn't long before children's dance lessons were added. The children's program continued to evolve over the years and the studio has been offering competitive dancing for more than 10 years now. Two recitals a year are held including a full two-hour program for all of the groups over seven years of age, and an hour show for the under-seven age groups.
Currently for competition, there is a jazz company with 32 dancers at four different levels, three hip hop companies, one tap company and for the first time this year, students will be competing in ballet.
There are people who got their start at Step 1 whose names should be familiar to anyone interested in the dance world. For example, the dance crew, Jabbawockeez, who were the winners of the second season of America's Best Dance Crew in 2008. Three of the original members began dancing during high school at Step 1. And then there are Jeri and Monique Slaughter. They both live in Los Angeles and work for Christina Aguilera. However students define success, Step 1 supports them.
Mary paused to remember the wording to a quote that embodies her passion for the art of dancing-- "It takes an athlete to dance, but it takes an artist to be a dancer."
"There are so many benefits for the children through dance. College programs have grown to offer more in the dance realm. Step 1 trains its students to that level so they are technically strong enough," she said.
Mary proudly points out that Step 1 has the most diverse children, both in ethnicity and shape. "Any child that wants to put forth the effort and is enjoying it will find a warm and safe learning environment at Step 1," she adds. "Through the competitions, the students make friends from all over the world and make connections with industry choreographers."
Step 1's goals for the children are to help them develop a passion for the dance art form and to build their self-confidence, offering a positive social environment while teaching them skills.
For the adults who attend fitness and dance classes, they leave feeling better than when they came in. Step 1 provides a positive experience that helps people in their day-to-day lives.
Pepper reflects that some of the students at Step 1 are now third generation – the original student is now a grandmother bringing her grandchild in for lessons, while simultaneously taking a Fierce Funk or Zumba class in another room. There is something for everyone.
Expressions of Gratitude
Pepper says he and Mary "are grateful and thankful to all of the participants and families during these 25 years for giving them the opportunity to touch and change their lives, and letting them be part of their journey; for trusting their families to them; and maintaining the integrity of the extended family bloodline of the studio."
Mary expresses their gratitude for the years of support in thoughtful reflection:
"The children, parents, guardians are all thought of as family here. We get to know them very well and are genuinely interested in their lives. We want to be a support system. They care about us and we care about them. We want the children to become respectful people and a positive part of society as they grow up. Because of all of the people and experiences over the past 25 years, my personal growth has been huge. There is a caring aspect here. We love and care about them and they have impacted our lives over the years. We all feel that."
More Than Just a Studio
As a dancer, fitness trainer, and international educator, to name a few of his many titles, Pepper has always traveled vigorously. He slowed down for some years and stayed closer to home while his daughters grew up, but is now back on the road almost as much as he is in the studio.
To Pepper, the studio is "his home base" – a place to come back to and create; it's what sustains him while on the road; it grounds him; the friendships he has formed here feed him. At the studio, he can really teach people, investing in them and watching them grow over time.
There are many venues worldwide that have gotten some part of their education or experience from Step 1. Many studios in Sacramento also received something from Step 1, such as training, experience, or guidance that helped them launch their own endeavors.
When Pepper is traveling and runs across former students who are successfully pursuing their dreams, he says he feels like a proud parent. Whatever their form of success, he feels great pride in knowing he, Mary, and the studio had a part in raising a person with integrity, a quality human being contributing to society in a positive way.
Pepper, stepping into his polished and positive motivational speaking role, summarizes in three words what he calls "Step 1's presence with intent: 1) educate related to dance, fitness, and life; 2) encourage through inspiration and motivation instilling moral integrity, and 3) support students on whatever road they choose as part of the Step 1 family."
Mary's love of the studio is reflected in her comment, "There's never been a day that I've not wanted to come to the studio – the people; the environment; this is not a job; it's a part of me." You can find her there any day of the week.
The saying, "Home is where the heart is," for Pepper and Mary, brings them to the Step 1 Dance and Fitness Studio. They both refer to it as home base and have both invested so much more than their physical and administrative skills – they invested themselves, heart and soul.
This studio is Pepper and Mary's legacy. And what a legacy it is. Congratulations to Pepper and Mary for having achieved so much through their joint endeavor that started 25 years ago.
25 Year Celebratory Open House - Step 1 Dance and Fitness Studio, Sunday, November 18, 2012, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., 1920 T Street, Sacramento
Dance Company demonstrations throughout the day; Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new studio at 2 p.m.
Visit the website for more information, www.step1danceandfitness.com
Source: Margaret Gidding, freelance writer


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With the recent economic downturn-and its impact in the region- as well as partially improved social protection systems in the region, UNDP estimates that about 1.5 million more men and women will back-slide into poverty by the end of this year. They will join the 1.7 million people in the region who already fell back into poverty in 2014 —for the the first time in a decade— according to UNDP estimates.
This new upcoming report shows that what determines people to move out of poverty (good quality education and employment) is different from what "slides them back into poverty" (existence of social safety nets and household assets).
UNDP is focusing on how to build "resilience", or the ability to absorb external shocks—financial crisis or natural disasters—without major social and economic setbacks. This is particularly important for the region's 200 million vulnerable people: those who are neither "poor", living below a US$4/day poverty line, and have been unable to move to middle class status (over US$10 /day). Initial estimations put 30 million people in risk of sliding into poverty or vulnerability
In this context the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean at UNDP is preparing its 2016 Regional Human Development Report, which will also include policy recommendations that reflect the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the new global development agenda, with the Sustainable Development Goals, which was approved in September 2015 during the UN General Assembly session in New York.
This virtual space has the aspiration to become a discussion platform where written and audiovisual materials prepared by UNDP and citizensand citizens from the region can be shared, commented, discussed and serve as elements for learning and exchange.
This third Human Development Report for Latin America and the Caribbean is an editorially independent publication commissioned by UNDP. This report is being prepared with financial support from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID, in Spanish). Over 20 regional authorities take part in the report's Advisory Board including Ministers, Senators, academics and the current leaders of the region's major multilateral organizations.
26 April, 2016 - Demographic change in Asia and the Pacific is happening at a rate the world has never seen. An explosion in the working age population and a fall in birth rates that took a century in Europe are happening here in just 30 years.
If countries do not start planning for this demographic change, they will miss out on a unique opportunity to boost growth and investments for the future, says the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest Regional Human Development Report. They also risk a surge in youth frustration, exacerbating instability and conflict.
The report, entitled "Shaping the Future: How Changing Demographics Can Power Human Development", notes that Asia-Pacific countries now have more working-aged people and fewer dependents than at any point in history, providing a springboard for growth. Region-wide, 68 percent of people are of working age and only 32 percent are dependents.
"When countries have a greater share of people who can work, save and pay taxes, they have the potential to transform their economies and power investments in healthcare, education and other building blocks of future prosperity," said Thangavel Palanivel, lead author of the report.
The report calls for immediate responses and outlines "9 Actions for Sustainable Development". These are concrete policies tailored to the demographic profile of individual countries.
For states with a large working-aged population, UNDP is calling for the creation of decent jobs to match the growing workforce, equal employment for women, and ways to turn savings into investments inside the region."Growth, employment and migration in the west are inextricably linked to what happens in the east," said Haoliang Xu. "The sun rises here, but its effects are soon felt on the other side of the world."
There is no one solution for every country, but the region's diversity provides room for south-south cooperation. Governments need to share experiences on long-term fiscal planning, including the sustainable use of tax revenue. Cooperation can also encourage safe migration from younger to older countries within the region and reduce the desperate flight of migrants to Europe.
"With 50 years of expertise and offices in 24 countries in Asia-Pacific, UNDP is ideally placed to help implement the '9 Actions for Sustainable Development'," said Haoliang Xu. "We can facilitate partnerships combining domestic, international, public and private funding and expertise on youth, ageing, migration, social protection, climate change and disaster risk management, governance, urbanization and technology transfer. Please Click here to read the Japanese version
National Human Development Report 2016 tackles the topic of informal work - a pressing topic that affects not only economy but all segments of society. Every third person in Montenegro is fully or partly informally hired which puts them at risk of poor social and health protection. The report is offering focused perspectives and analysis of national circumstances and strategies for reducing the scale of informal economy and advancing human development. The aim of the report is to bring together the human development facts, influence national policy and mobilize various sectors of economy and segments of society. It introduces the human development concept into national policy dialogue on informal employment—not only through relevant indicators and policy recommendations, but also through the country-led and country-owned process of consultation, research and report writing.
NHDR on informal economy results in a set of policy options on how to reduce the volume of informal economy in Montenegro with the specific focus on informal employment. In other words, the report's aim is to support the transition to formal economy. A set of adequate policies and ways to overcome the barriers to formalization were identified, while at the same time taking into account the most common limitations for the transition to formal economy.
This National Human Development Report (NHDR) of Mongolia -the sixth in the se-ries – focuses on youth. Through the me-dium of the human development approach, it analyses the opportunities, choices and challenges facing young people in Mongo-lia today. This approach places people at the centre of development. It concentrates on enlarging people's opportunities and choic-es to live long, healthy and productive lives.
A key overriding message of this report is the contribution of youth to building a better tomorrow in Mongolia. This contri-bution depends largely on the capabilities and opportunities open to youth in making choices. Young people are the shapers and leaders of our global future.1 Like young people elsewhere, Mongolia's youth pos-sess the potential to become the drivers of change and play a significant role in the na-tion's future. They are the first generation in the country to have spent most of their lives under a democratic form of government. This has been crucial to their outlook and their experience.
At more than one million, youth aged 15–34 years represent the largest demographic group in Mongolia, accounting for 34.9 percent of the resident population in 2015 and a significant share of the people of work-ing age. Even by 2040, when the country's population is expected to reach 4 million, an estimated 29 percent will be in the 15–34 age-group.
The annual growth in gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) of Mongolia increased to 6.7 percent in 2005–2010 and then accelerat-ed to 12.2 percent in 2010–2014. However, according to the World Bank, the growth in GDP is projected to have slowed to 2.3 percent in 2015 and to 0.8 percent in 2016 because of a sharp contraction in mining production and despite a gradual recovery in non-mining sectors.2 Nearly one person in five is living below the poverty line, and the regional disparities within the country are visible. Nonetheless, Mongolia has made substantial progress in the human develop-ment index (HDI) at the national level and is placed in the high human development category. Over the past two decades, Mon-golia has evolved into "a vibrant multiparty democracy with a booming economy", and it is now "at the threshold of a major trans-formation driven by the exploitation of its vast mineral resources".
To what extent are youth in Mongolia ben-efiting from the economic growth, the pro-gress in social development and the other opportunities? What challenges are they facing in making the choice to "achieve outcomes that they value and have rea-son to value"? What policies are in place to address these challenges? What can be done by stakeholders to include youth in the country's growth and development? These are some of the questions motivat-ing this NHDR, which analyses the issues around four pillars of human development important to youth: developing capabilities, expanding employment opportunities, empowering youth, and enhancing human security.


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Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labradornyo͞o´fənlənd, nyo͞ofənlănd´; lăb´rədôr˝ [key], province (2001 pop. 512,930), 156,185 sq mi (404,519 sq km), E Canada. The province consists of the island of Newfoundland and adjacent islands (2001 pop. 485,066), 43,359 sq mi (112,300 sq km), and the mainland area of Labrador and adjacent islands (2001 pop. 27,864), 112,826 sq mi (292,219 sq km).
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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Canadian Political Geography


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Kettlebell Training contains 95 exercises for strength and weight loss. It is an easy to use guide that will help you set goals and select exercises to create a workout plan or follow the sample programs of sport specific routines such as football, soccer, mixed martial arts or tennis. The book contains step by step instructions with detailed photos.
Author Steve Cotter a Kettlebell expert has trained elite athletes, Navy Seals and U.S Marines.
'Steve Cotter taught me the basics of Kettlebell lifting at a time I didn't have any clue about Kettlebells. They have become a staple in my program and my athletes programs ever since' Sean Skahan-Strength training and conditioning coach, Anaheim Ducks.
I enjoyed incorporating this book with its exercises into my fitness routine, I enjoyed mixing and matching the exercises to suit my training and no doubt have become fitter because of it. Anne


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This Texan goes all Kristen Bell on us after receiving a great big hug from a King Penguin at Sea World in San Antonio. The visit was a part of a special behind-the-scenes penguin encounter her husband (behind the camera) got her for her birthday. From the look on her face, it's worth it.
She got emotional with the aquatic bird–who's apparently extra-affectionate since he's looking for a mate–saying "Awww, you're the best penguin EVER!"


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The Order: 1886™ introduces players to a unique vision of Victorian-Era London where Man uses advanced technology to battle a powerful and ancient foe. As Galahad, a member of an elite order of Knights, join a centuries-old war against a powerful threat that will determine the course of history forever in this intense third-person action-adventure shooter, available exclusively on the PlayStation®4 system.
Wield cutting-edge weapons and gadgets like the Arc Gun, Thermite Rifle, and Monocular, as you struggle to maintain peace and order amidst the growing civil unrest and Half-breed threat against humankind.
Full performance capture for characters and scenes, combined with seamless transitions between action and story sequences, work together to bring the rich narrative, rife with conspiracy and intrigue, to life.


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Dover (/ˈdoʊvər/) is the capital and second-largest city[4] in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, DE Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain. It was named by William Penn of Dover in Kent, England. As of 2010, the city had a population of 36,047.[5]
First recorded in its Latinised form of Portus Dubris, the name derives from the Brythonic word for waters (dwfr in Middle Welsh). The same element is present in the towns French (Douvres) and Modern Welsh (Dofr) forms. The city is named after Dover, Kent in England.
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