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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Tuesday announced a slew of measures, including stronger disclosure pacts with foreign countries, to curb tax crimes potentially worth about $1 trillion in the latest move by a government trying to boost its image.
But Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's five-point strategy was unlikely to pacify the opposition which has mounted a frontal attack on a government dogged by multi-billion dollar corruption scams and a growing feeling it has failed to curb graft.
Mukherjee's call to arms is not the first time government officials have tried to clamp down on corruption. But little has emerged from those investigations and convictions of high officials or politicians for graft remain negligible.
What has turned out to be a lightning rod for political protests now is a potential $39 billion fraud in awarding of telecoms licences in 2008, a row that has caused a political deadlock in the country with the opposition refusing to allow the December parliament session to function.
Mukherjee told a press conference that the steps would help track and repatriate illicit funds or "black money" stashed away abroad, a move many see as a public relations measure to boost government image ahead of key state elections over the next year.
While the government stands accused of tolerating corruption, the country's Supreme Court has chatised Singh's coalition for failing to unearth illicit funds kept in Swiss banks and other tax havens. Singh has had to also defend himself in court against allegations of inaction in the telecoms case.
Among the measures announced by Mukherjee was modifying double taxation avoidance pacts with as many as 74 countries to "broaden the scope" of exchange of information, including those related to banking.
Eight Indian tax units were being set up abroad and staff at foreign tax division boosted. He also announced a panel to look into the possibility of granting amnesty to offenders who pay up.
"So far there are no reliable estimates of black money both inside and outside the country," Mukherjee said, adding an interim task force in 2009 found illicit funds to range between $500 billion and what is now the size of India's economy of $1.4 trillion.
He said the authorities had discovered cases of tax evasion on $3.3 billion in the last 18 months and stronger enforcement had resulted in higher tax receipts.
Singh is already under pressure from an opposition demand for a joint parliamentary probe into a $39 billion telecoms scam, leading to the sacking of Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja.
The scandal has deadlocked politics in Asia's third-largest economy, and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said it could block the February session of parliament as well, in which the budget is due to be debated, if the joint parliamentary committee does not investigate the case.
BJP rejected Mukherjee's prescription to fight graft.
"It shows the government is reluctant to show any meaningful effort ... because if the names are (out in the) open, this government may have some problems," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar
Prasad told reporters.
Corruption may cost India between 1-2 percent of its GDP each year.
India is the world's ninth most corrupt country, with 54 percent of the population paying a bribe in the last 12 months, according to a report by Transparency International.
(Editing by Alistair Scrutton)


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The Division I state individual tennis tournament is down to the final 16 and there are plenty of area players still in the hunt.
In girls singles action on Friday, Mountain Pointe's Mae Maiefski defeated Sneha Ray of North Canyon, 6-3, 6-2. She will take on Alex Miller of Mountain Ridge, an unexpected opponent on Saturday in the Round of 16 at the Phoenix Tennis Center, as she won by default against No. 1 seed Courtney Amos of Tucson Salpointe.
Desert Vista's Kathryn Hunnucitt lost 6-0, 6-1 to No. 2 Erica Medlin of Gilbert Mesquite. They were doubles partners in USTA play.
In the boys singles tournament, Mountain Pointe's Samuel Wang won by default over Alex Williams of Chandler and faces Boulder Creek's Mark Webb.
Mountain Pointe's Nathan Keso lost 6-2, 6-4 to No. 8 Grant Link of Boulder Creek and Desert Vista's Bryan Wong fell 6-1, 6-1 to Desert Mountain's fourth-seeded C.J. Krimball.
In the boys doubles tournament, Mark Karlsrud and Monty Roth beat Moore and McCannn of Red Mountain in three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Desert Vista's Karl Leclerc and Mohammad Saleem defeated Hamilton's tandem of Yuwen and Vargas, 6-4, 6-4.
Desert Vista's Daniel Chen and Connor Whigham lost 6-3, 6-1 No. 7 Kevin Morris and Callum Richman of Horizon.
Saturday's action will include two rounds to get down to Monday's semifinals and finals.

subset: commoncrawl


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Boisbriand, Quebec (Canada), March 2, 1999 - Teknor Industrial Computers, Inc. today in coordinated launches at the Embedded Systems East Conference in Chicago, IL. and at the Computer Telephony Expo Spring 99 in Los Angeles, CA., announced the availability of the full-featured PCI-943 PICMG-compliant industrial single board computer using Intels P6 architecture processor in the familiar Single Edge Contact Cartridge package (SECC). Featuring Teknors innovative rugged FlexMount mounting bracket (patent pending), the PCI-943 SBC is a powerful, slot-saving board with excellent shock, vibration and thermal characteristics. It supports a flush 64-bit Pentium II or Pentium III SECC processor, 512 KB L2 pipelined burst cache, high performance PCI Ultra DMA/33 IDE, Ultra Fast/Wide SCSI 3, and 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet controllers. A 64-bit AGP SVGA CRT controller with 2 MB of SDRAM memory is optional.
"Coupling this leading edge industrial CPU technology with Teknors acknowledged excellent service and technical support, affirms our commitment to our customers needs for technology, quality and time-to-market advantage for their product plans and strategies." stated Robert Dubi, President and General Manager at Teknor.
The PCI-943 board uses the Intel 440BX with 100 MHz system bus, to deliver outstanding memory and I/O (Concurrent PCI) performance. System throughput is maximized with simultaneous CPU, PCI and AGP bus activities. It includes multi-transaction timing, enhanced write performance, a passive release mechanism and support for PCI 2.1 compliant delayed transactions. The PCI peripherals and Ethernet controllers are on the PCI Bus at Level 0. Superior reliability and data integrity are due to high level integration, support for Error Checking and Correction memory using up to 512 MB standard 100 MHz SDRAM/RSDRAM DIMMs. Also onboard are Universal Serial Bus and serial/parallel ports, and a floppy interface.
"By combining onboard IDE, SCSI, Ethernet and video controllers, with judicial placement of the memory DIMM sockets, and flush-mounting the Pentium II or Pentium III processor, weve provided our customers a very slot- and cost-efficient high-performance SBC," stated Dennis Aldridge, VP Marketing.
The enhanced Award Elite BIOS, in bootable Flash memory, supports serial/parallel port remap / disable, keyboard disable, remote operation/monitoring (VT100 serial port console redirection), and Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface. In addition to ISA bus mastering, the PCI-943 supports 5 PCI bus masters, PCI-to-PCI bridging, and has internal high ISA bus drive capability. Other features include a hardware monitor (voltage, temperature, fan speed, and user-defined I/Os), hardware remote reset from serial port console redirection on serial port on VT100 mode, software controlled two-stage watchdog timer, power fail circuit, and a two year warranty.
The PCI-943 PCI/ISA industrial SBC is the preferred choice for 32-bit embedded application developers addressing high-bandwidth, data-/telecommunication, Computer/Internet Telephony, medical, scientific, imaging, military, aerospace, industrial control/monitoring and data acquisition markets.
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UN: all settlers must leave West Bank or face International Criminal Court
For background see Israel only country ever to refuse UN's universal human rights check
In this posting: 1) Reuters – the UPR findings; 2) Noam Sheizaf on why this UN report is different; 3) UK consul-general to Jerusalem makes public his concern about settlements; 4) Britain's FCO issues its update on the oPt, one of its 28 'countries of concern' under its Human Rights and Democracy programme.
January 28, 2013: Two caravans form a new Israeli settler outpost on land belonging to the Palestinian West Bank village of Jayyous. The caravans were put there last week and are already connected to the water lines of the nearby settlement of Zufit. Photo by Activestills. See item 2, +972
UN rights inquiry says Israel must remove settlers
By Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters
January 31, 2013
GENEVA – U.N. human rights investigators called on Israel on Thursday to halt settlement expansion and withdraw all half a million Jewish settlers from the occupied West Bank, saying that its practices could be subject to prosecution as possible war crimes.
A three-member U.N. panel said private companies should stop working in the settlements if their work adversely affected the human rights of Palestinians, and urged member states to ensure companies respected human rights.
"Israel must cease settlement activities and provide adequate, prompt and effective remedy to the victims of violations of human rights," Christine Chanet, a French judge who led the U.N. inquiry, told a news conference.
The settlements contravened the Fourth Geneva Convention forbidding the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territory and could amount to war crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the United Nations report said.
"To transfer its own population into an occupied territory is prohibited because it is an obstacle to the exercise of the right to self-determination," Chanet said.
All U.N. member states must comply with their duty under international law on the settlements, she said. "We have highlighted states' responsibility because the facts we denounce are known. The problem is nobody is doing anything about it."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reacted to the inquiry's findings by repeating his position that "all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law," according to a statement.
In December, the Palestinians accused Israel in a letter to the United Nations of planning to commit what they said were additional war crimes by expanding Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood, and said Israel must be held accountable.
Israel has not cooperated with the probe set up by the Human Rights Council last March to examine the impact of settlements in the territory, including East Jerusalem. Israel says the forum has an inherent bias against it and defends its settlement policy by citing historical and biblical links to the West Bank.
Israel's foreign ministry swiftly rejected the report as "counterproductive and unfortunate." Palestinians welcomed the report, saying it vindicated their struggle against Israel.
"The only way to resolve all pending issues between Israel and the Palestinians, including the settlements issue, is through direct negotiations without pre-conditions. Counterproductive measures – such as the report before us, will only hamper efforts to find a sustainable solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict," Israel's Yigal Palmor said.
But Hanan Ashrawi, a senior PLO official, told Reuters in Ramallah: "This is incredible. We are extremely heartened by this principled and candid assessment of Israeli violations."
The independent U.N. investigators interviewed more than 50 people who came to Jordan in November to testify about confiscated land, damage to their livelihoods including olive trees, and violence by Jewish settlers, according to the report.
"The mission believes that the motivation behind this violence and the intimidation against the Palestinians as well as their properties is to drive the local populations away from their lands and allow the settlements to expand," it said.
About 250 settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been established since the 1967 Middle East war and they hold an estimated 520,000 settlers, according to the U.N. report. The settlements impede Palestinian access to water and farmland.
The settlements were "leading to a creeping annexation that prevents the establishment of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination," it said.
Chanet said firms working in the territories must uphold human rights. France's Veolia, which built Jerusalem's light rail linking the western side of the city to the eastern side annexed by Israel after the 1967 war, won a case brought against it in a Nanterre court, whose ruling that it had not violated the Geneva Conventions is now on appeal, she said.
After the General Assembly upgraded the Palestinians' status at the world body, Israel said it would build 3,000 additional settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – areas Palestinians want for a future state, along with the Gaza Strip.
"I think that maybe it will help in the negotiation just to see that now, and especially when Palestine has been recognized as a state, things might change. Maybe, we hope. And now there is a new government in Israel," Chanet said.
"So things are moving. So we hope that our report will be in the middle of this movement."
Additional reporting by Ori Lewis in Jerusalem and Noah Browning in Ramallah
UN Human Rights Council: Settlement issue could end up in the International Criminal Court
Unprecedented report calls for UN Member States "to assume their responsibilities in their relationship to a State breaching peremptory norms of international law."
By Noam Sheizaf, +972
January 31, 2013
The United Nations Human Rights Council has published its fact finding mission's report on the settlements. The report concludes that Israeli settlements are constructed for the benefits of Jews only through a system of ethnic segregation and military law, and are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territory by the occupying force. According to the report:
Israel must, in compliance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, cease all settlement activities without preconditions. It must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers from the OPT.
Israel is a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention but has concluded that it does not apply to the territories occupied from Jordan and Egypt in 1967, since both countries abandoned any claims to this land. Israel considers the territories "disputed" (a position taken recently by the Levi Commission, which called upon Israel to legalized all outposts built on Palestinian land) However, even the Israeli narrative doesn't explain ethnic segregation in the West Bank, military law and the absence of human or political rights for the non-Jewish civilian population in the West Bank.
There are two important articles in the HRC report which go beyond the usual condemnations of the settlements that have been issued for decades by the international community. First, the Human Rights Council calls upon other nations, agencies and companies to break ties with the settlement project – a step which might open the door for sanctions against settlement products or for the enforcement of relevant articles in trade agreements with Israel, for example by the European Union.
116. The Mission calls upon all Member States to comply with their obligations under international law and to assume their responsibilities in their relationship to a State breaching peremptory norms of international law – specifically not to recogniזe an unlawful situation resulting from Israel's violations. 117. Private companies must assess the human rights impact of their activities and take all necessary steps – including by terminating their business interests in the settlements – to ensure they are not adversely impacting the human rights of the Palestinian People in conformity with international law as well as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Mission calls upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements respect human rights throughout their operations.
The report also explicitly suggests that the Palestinians could sue Israelis in the International Criminal Court could deal with the issue of the settlement. A press release on the Human Rights Council site states:
The report states that Israel is committing serious breaches of its obligations under the right to self-determination and under humanitarian law. The report also concludes that the Rome Statute establishes the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over the transfer of populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Israel has refused to cooperate with the fact-finding mission. The United States has warned the Palestinians in the past not to take Israel to the International Criminal Court, as part of its tradition of preventing any punitive action in response to human rights violations by Israel in the occupied territories. The United States was the only country that voted against the fact finding mission on the settlements.
Israel has been rapidly increasing settlement activities since the Oslo Accords, especially in the last decade. According to the Jerusalem-based NGO Ir Amim, 2012 has been a record year in settlement construction in East Jerusalem. On the eve of the Oslo Accords, there were approximately 107,00 thousands settlers in the West Bank and Gaza, and 115,000 in East Jerusalem. by 2001 these numbers grew to 200,000 in the West Bank and Gaza and 167,000 in East Jerusalem. In 2011 there were 189,000 settlers in and around East Jerusalem, and 324,000 settlers in the West Bank, bringing the total numbers of Jewish settlers to over half a million. There are 127 settlements in the West Bank alone, as well as dozens of Jewish "outposts." The UN report calls Israel's settlement activities "creeping annexation."
UK consul visits Hebron, condemns settlements
By Ma'an news,
January 29/31, 2013
HEBRON — UK consul-general to Jerusalem Sir Vincent Fean met Wednesday with Hebron's governor Kamil Hmeid Tuesday and expressed concerns about Israeli settlement expansion.
Fean said the Palestinian Authority had the right to control its territory and expressed concern over Israeli settlements and land confiscation "which could foil the two-state solution."
British officials "should visit Hebron regularly to get updates from the governor about the current situation in Hebron and report to the UK government, especially about H2 and east Yatta areas," Fean said.
Fean noted reports that the newly appointed US secretary of state, John Kerry, was considering a visit to the region in the hopes of restarting the Middle East peace process.
Also Tuesday, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the outcome of Israel's parliamentary elections "opens doors" toward peace with the Palestinians.
Referring to the possible inclusion of center-left parties in Benjamin Netanyahu's next government, she said the elections improved the climate for resuming the peace process.
"I actually think this election opens doors, not nails them shut," Clinton told an online forum in response to a question from a student in Beirut. She said a "significant percentage of the Israeli electorate" chose a "different path" internally as well as toward their neighbors.
"What rests at the core of the problem is great mistrust" on both sides, said the outgoing secretary of state. "Somehow we have to look for ways to give the Palestinian people the path to peace, prosperity and statehood they deserve" as well as security for Israelis, Clinton said.
"I know that President Obama (and) my successor, soon-to-be Secretary of State John Kerry, will pursue this, will look for every possible opening."
Quarterly Updates: Occupied Palestinian Territories
By FCO, Human Rights and Democracy: Countries of Concern
Latest update: 31 December 2012
Violence in Gaza and southern Israel
November saw a severe escalation of violence in Gaza and southern and central Israel. Between 14 and 21 November, 1,506 rockets were fired by Gazan militant groups towards Israel, of which 58 struck urban areas in Israel killing six Israelis, including two children. Some 420 rockets which were heading for urban areas were intercepted by the Iron Dome Missile System. 1,500 IDF strikes from air and sea in Gaza killed 158 Palestinians, including 43 children. UN figures also reported 1,269 people wounded in Gaza and 244 in Israel. In Gaza, 298 buildings were destroyed and 8000 buildings were damaged, including a significant amount of public infrastructure. 80 houses were destroyed in Israel
During the conflict, FCO Minister for North Africa and the Middle East, Alistair Burt visited Kiryat Malachi in Israel, where a family of three had been killed by a rocket attack, and met members of the community affected by rocket fire from Gaza. He also spoke to a member of the Dalou family in Gaza, of whom 11 members had been killed in a single Israeli airstrike, and offered his condolences to President Abbas for the loss of innocent civilian life during their meeting on 20 November. On 15 November the Foreign Secretary released a statement and called on those involved "to avoid any action which risks civilian casualties or escalates the crisis".
The violence has resulted in a number of humanitarian needs, including a worsening of the already precarious humanitarian situation in Gaza. Before the recent outbreak of hostilities, 80% of households in Gaza relied on humanitarian assistance and 44% of the population were food insecure. Fuel, water and sanitation have been serious problems for some time and there are now critical shortages of essential drugs and medical disposables. A UN Initial Rapid Assessment identified a number of additional emergency needs as a result of the conflict, including health, infrastructure and psycho-social care. The psychological impact of the violence on both Israeli and Gazan citizens, particularly children, is a particular concern. In addition the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) assessed that 10,000 individuals living in north and north-east Gaza were displaced during the violence with an estimated 350-700 unable to return due to houses being destroyed or partially destroyed as of 26 November.
On 11 December, International Development Minister, Alan Duncan visited Gaza City to observe the impact of the airstrikes firsthand and announced an additional £1.25m in aid to be channelled through the Red Cross to address the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza affected by the conflict
Settlement Construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank
The UK Government was concerned about developments relating to Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank over the reporting period. On 30 November, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced that he would advance the next stage of the planning process for the area of West Bank land known as 'E1', thereby building illegally on the last remaining open space of land East of Jerusalem. Announcements were also made to progress plans for the future construction of 3000 additional illegal settlement units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Further settlement plans were advanced in East Jerusalem neighbourhoods including in Ramot Shlomo (17 December) and in Givat Hamatos (19 December).
In reaction to these announcements, the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the UK's position that "Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and undermine trust between the parties". Commenting on the most recent announcements, the Foreign Secretary said that "this decisionconstitutes a serious provocation and an obstacle to peace. If implemented, it would make a negotiated two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, very difficult to achieve."
The construction of a new settlement in 'E1' would, if implemented, have a severe impact on freedom of movement, limiting the ability of Palestinians to move easily along the length of the West Bank. This would have an impact on the economic development, transport links and the ability of the Palestinian Authority to deliver services to its citizens. Of particular concern is the impact settlement construction in E1 would have on the area's 2300 Palestinian Bedouins, who would very likely be displaced if the plans were to be implemented.
Law and order in the West Bank
Appropriate policing of protests remains an issue. The last quarter has seen an increase in the number of Palestinians wounded by live IDF fire during protests in the OPTs. This has included the death of off-duty Palestinian Police Officer, Rushdi Tamimi in Nabi Saleh and the deaths in Hebron of Hamdi Al-Falah on 19 November. Internal investigations into all of these deaths have been opened but findings have not yet been published. On 6 December, British Consul General, Sir Vincent Fean visited the family of Rushdi Tamimi to hear about the situation in Nabi Saleh and to offer the British Government's condolences for Mr Tamimi's death. The village was also visited by FCO Minister, Alistair Burt, on 10 January 2012.
The capacity of Palestinian forces to police the areas under their control has been undermined by the Israeli decision to freeze the transfer of Palestinian customs revenue. This has created a severe financial crisis within the Palestinian Authority, delaying the payment of government salaries, including to the Palestinian Security Forces and civil police. While the UK remained committed to helping train the Palestinian Security Forces to administer law and order, such work risked being undermined by Israeli decisions. The British Ambassador in Tel Aviv has made our concerns clear to the Government of Israel
The UK Government remained concerned about incidents of incitement which work against the creation of a culture of peace. A number of inflammatory statements were made during the last three monthsby Hamas leaders, denying Israel's right to exist. The UK welcomed Palestinian President Abbas' public rejection of these statements and acceptance of the State of Israel within 1967 borders and European Foreign Ministers at the Foreign Affairs Council on 10 December reiterated the EU's commitment to opposing those who embrace and promote violence as a way to achieve political goals.
The British Consulate General are investigating reports of a song alleged to have been played on PA radio praising suicide bombings in Israel on 1 December.
FCO Minister Burt has condemned incitement on a number of occasions, reiterating that "the UK is against any comments that could stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect." We call on both parties to refrain from statements which legitimise violence and take steps to develop a culture of peace and coexistence where differences are resolved solely through negotiations.
Incursions into Area A
Over the last three months, there have been a number of recorded instances of Israeli inclusions into Area A including Israeli patrols through 'H1', an area of Hebron under Palestinian control. This creates increased tension with the Palestinian Security Forces and can spark civil disturbances. Israeli military incursions into Area A (the 16% of the West Bank under full Palestinian sovereignty, according to the Oslo Accords) undermines the Palestinian Authority and the success of internationally-backed Palestinian state building efforts.
The fact that several civil society organisations were targeted during some of these raids is of particular concern. On 11 December the IDF raided offices of three NGO's with which the EU and some Member States have implemented projects: Addameer, the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC) and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO). The IDF have said that the raids were carried out to track down members of the Palestinian Liberation Front, though no further information has been made available. A statement released by the European Union on 17 December highlighted that "incursions by Israeli forces into Palestinian cities where the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords assumes the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order, put in jeopardy the internationally recognized success of Palestinian institution building efforts. The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah see Palestinian civil society as an essential partner in the shared project of democratic state building."
Quarter three update: 30 September 2012
The UK Government remains concerned about the firing of rockets from Gaza. The last three months saw 48 rockets and 12 mortar shells fired at Israel from Gaza in 40 separate attacks to date according to the Israeli military. While the attacks have achieved several direct hits, the real effect is felt psychologically with over a million citizens in southern Israel threatened, and many cases of post traumatic stress disorder observed among local communities due to frequent air raid sirens.
The use of the death penalty in Gaza is a cruel and inhuman punishment that is strongly opposed by the UK Government and our European Union Partners. The issuing of two death sentences on 12 September by the de facto Hamas Authority was condemned by all 27 EU Member States who further called for an absolute ban on the use of such punishment in the future. We welcome President Abbas's moratorium on the use of the death penalty in the West Bank, but continue to urge that the death penalty is abolished in its entirety in both Gaza and the West Bank.
The UK continues to have serious concerns over the demolition of Palestinian structures in the South Hebron Hills, as in other parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The vulnerable communities in the South Hebron Hills have been under threat from nearby Israeli settlement expansion and the designation of parts of their land as live firing zones. The UK Consul General, Sir Vincent Fean, led an EU delegation to the area, joining Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to "show their concerns over the humanitarian impact and political implications of the recent demolition orders" (EU statement, 8 August 2012).
At the heart of the current problem lies the Israeli permit system in Area C. In many cases the Palestinians own the land that they currently live on, but do not have building permits for construction. Attempts to get the land zoned for building through the Israeli Authorities have mostly failed to date – UN OCHA state that only 1% of Area C has been granted permits for Palestinian building. The UK Government has supported these communities by the provision of emergency relief (through the UN Humanitarian Relief Fund) and by working with organisations that apply for planning permission from the Israeli Authorities on behalf of vulnerable communities. We continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli Government and lobby for a substantive change in the way the planning system is operated in Area C.
The last three months has seen planned and actual expansion in Israeli settlements in both Jerusalem and the West Bank. This has included announcements of new construction in Har Homa (South of Jerusalem) which was condemned by FCO Minister Alistair Burt who highlighted that "systematic settlement construction has a profound impact on the possibility of a two state solution". The evacuation of the illegal Israeli outpost of Migron was welcome, but the construction of houses for the residents in a nearby settlement will effectively moves settlers from one settlement to another, with no overall impact on the settlement footprint in the West Bank. Commenting on the relocation, Minister Burt said that by "entrenching illegal settlements in the West Bank, as we believe this agreement does, Israel risks sending the wrong message about its commitment to the goal of a two-state solution".
Further attempts to expand settlements in and around the Old City of Jerusalem included settlers taking over one house in the Ras Al Amoud neighbourhood in East Jerusalem and the temporary occupation of a house in the Old City. The UK has continued to press for these negative changes on the ground to be reversed by the Israeli Authorities and has provided a diplomatic presence at Court hearings and during evictions: in one instance British diplomats were able to assist a Palestinian family regain access to their home in the Old City, working closely with lawyers from a Jerusalem based NGO.
The proposed visit of the then Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, to Ramallah in July led to a small scale demonstration near the Presidential Palace. This was suppressed by the Palestinian Police, who used excessive force to remove the protesters from the streets. Along with the arrest of some of the demonstrators, a number of journalists were detained and equipment confiscated. The handling of the protests was condemned by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas who invited some of those arrested to meet with him to discuss their concerns. The UK also raised concerns about the conduct of the police with the President's Office and the Ministry of Justice. The Palestinian Ministry of Interior opened an investigation into what went wrong, and we continue to encourage the PA to absorb the lessons of this incident.
Starting in August, demonstrations took place across the West Bank protesting against price increases and static wages. The economic situation has placed an additional strain on poorer families with the price of basic foodstuffs and fuel increasing significantly. The vulnerable fiscal position of the Palestinian Authority has led to multiple delays in paying wages for public sector workers who make up a significant percentage of the Palestinian workforce, further exacerbating the problem. This led to widespread protests in major towns and cities across the West Bank accompanied by strikes and isolated incidents of violence from protestors against official buildings. These were handled effectively and professionally by the Palestinian Authority Police Force who respected the rights of freedom of speech and of assembly, allowing the protests to proceed, and intervening only when public and private property were at risk. The UK will continue to assist in the training of the Palestinian Security Forces: respect for human rights is a central tenet of the work that the British Government is undertaking.
Quarter two update: 30 June 2012
17 – 21 June 2012 witnessed a spike in violence in and around Gaza, with Palestinian militants firing rockets into Southern Israel and Israeli air strikes into Gaza. At least seven Palestinians were killed and nine Israelis were injured. Commenting on the violence, FCO Minister Alistair Burt said: "I am deeply concerned about this week's escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. I condemn the indiscriminate rocket fire into southern Israel, as I do all acts of terrorism. The UK urges all parties to exercise restraint and prevent civilian casualties and loss of life".
We continue to raise concerns about the policing of demonstrations in the West Bank. During the last three months there were continued reports of the firing of high-velocity tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) suspended one soldier who fired live rounds towards stone-throwing Palestinian protestors in the village of Nabu Saleh on 1 June, and an IDF officer was suspended after he was filmed assaulting a Danish protestor in the face with his rifle butt on 15 April. Prime Minister Netanyahu was quick to condemn the incident, saying "this kind of behaviour does not represent IDF soldiers or officers, and is not acceptable in the IDF or in the State of Israel."
The UK Government remains concerned about the levels of settler violence in the West Bank. Two recent shootings of Palestinians by the same settler group mark a worrying trend of using live ammunition. Both incidents occurred during confrontations between Palestinian villagers and armed settler protection squads. Footage was published which appears to show settlers shooting at stone-throwing Palestinian protestors, unchallenged by the Israeli authorities in attendance. The Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, issued a statement on 22 June in which he condemned arson and vandalism against a mosque in the West Bank town of Jala on 18 June as a "deplorable and deliberately provocative act" and part of a worrying trend of violence by extremist Israeli settlers, including the two recent shootings. He welcomed Prime Minister Netanyahu's strong condemnation of the incident, and the commitment of the Israeli authorities to bring the criminals responsible to justice and called on them to do so in all such cases occurring the areas under Israeli control.
Many of our human rights concerns continue to be rooted in the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. A positive move made by the Israeli Government to block legislation seeking to legalise outposts was compromised by the Government of Israel's decision to move settlers from the illegal outpost of Ulpana to the nearby settlement of Beit El. The Foreign Secretary condemned this decision, reflecting the British's Government's view that both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law and damage the prospects for peace. In addition, the announcement by the Israeli authorities of plans to build 800 new houses in the settlement of Har Homa, in the crucial border area between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, has made the prospect of a final status agreement, including a continuous West Bank including East Jerusalem, harder to achieve.
Highlighting the detrimental impact of these announcements, the Foreign Secretary urged "the Israeli government to desist from further settlement announcements, to revoke previous announcements and to remove – not legalise – illegal outposts from across the West Bank, as required under international law and in fulfilment of Israel's obligations under the Roadmap".
Quarter One Update: 31 March 2012
The UK has continued to lobby for the protection of human rights in the OPTs including the right to property and the need for Israel to adhere to international obligations in respect of settlement building and evacuating outposts. In particular, we pressed the Israeli Government publicly and privately to dismantle the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron without further delay.
On 11 March settlers from the West Bank outpost in Migron signed an agreement with the Israeli government. The deal would have allowed Migron settlers to have until 30 November 2015 to build new homes in Givat Ha-Yekev, creating new settlement buildings just two kilometres from the current illegal outpost. However, on 25 March, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected this deal on the Migron outpost, ruling that it must be evacuated by 1 August.
Another issue of concern is Palestinian access to water springs in the West Bank, which has increasingly come under threat by settler activity. These sources of water are vital for life for communities not connected to the water network. The UN reported that 56 springs have been the subject of access restrictions, with 30 found to be under full settler control. The majority of these springs (84%) are on privately owned Palestinian land. This takeover of a vital resource has had serious consequences for communities whose lives depend on agriculture. The springs are also used for domestic consumption, making it increasingly difficult to maintain Palestinian communities in Area C (the 63% of West Bank under full Israeli control). To ameliorate this situation, the UK has funded the International Peace and Cooperation Centre (IPCC) to help communities apply for planning permission for infrastructure projects. The UK is also funding a project working with Palestinians and Israelis to improve cooperation on water issues to the benefit of both parties.
The UK also continues to have concerns about the policing of protests in the OPTs. The recent deaths of two demonstrators at Qalandiya (near Ramallah) and Erez checkpoints, the latter during Palestinian 'Land Day', are part of a worrying trend of heavy-handed policing. Tear gas canisters are still being fired directly at protesters in contradiction of the IDF's own rules of engagement. After the tragic death of Mustapha Tamimi in 2011, the UK has continued to call for restraint when policing protests. To monitor this, UK diplomatic staff continue to observe demonstrations first hand and raise these matters with the government of Israel.
We also remain concerned about the failure of Palestinian security forces to comply with the decisions of the justice sector, particularly those High Court decisions ordering the release of detainees belonging to different Palestinian security forces. There is also a need for an inspection system for prisons and detention facilities to ensure that security forces refer all detainees to the proper courts. To help raise standards, the UK funds both the British Support Team and the European Union Police Mission Co-ordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support (EUPOL COPPS) to provide training and assistance to ensure that the Palestinian justice and security sector reaches the required standard. This work has been complemented by an additional project run by the UK Ministry of Justice in this area.


text:
This Day In Music History
January 21st
1965 – The Byrds record "Mr. Tambourine Man." Well, not really. The only actual Byrd who performs on the record is lead guitarist/singer Jim McGuinn. Session men replace the rest of the band.
1978 – The soundtrack album 'Saturday Night Fever' started a 24 week run at No.1 on the US album charts, it went on to sell over 30 million copies world wide, making it the best selling soundtrack album of all time.
1984 – Jackie Wilson dies. He had been hospitalized ever since suffering a stroke onstage in New Jersey in 1975. The No. 1 single in the United States is Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
2006 – A plane carrying Bon Jovi skids off the runway at Hamilton International Airport in Canada. Fortunately for hair metal, no one is injured.


text: Hi, This might be a tip for people trying to compile the GLFW package bundled with SOE on Windows. I had to because I slightly modified the GLFW source code. The SOE readme.txt says: "For Win32 users, you'll need MinGW environment to compile GLFW. If "make win32-mgw" is unable to execute compile.bat propperly, use "compile.bat mgw". Please also make sure that your MinGW path should come before the GHC's gcc-lib path in the PATH environment." However, the readme.html file has the following note: Do not use the MSYS shell for compiling GLFW, because the supplied batch file "compile.bat" will only work under a Windows command prompt (or MS-DOS prompt). To get it working, I basically needed to modify my PATH environment variable so that it contains the MSYS bin folder (in my case C:\app\msys\1.0\bin), and then run "COMPILE.bat make mgw" file using the Windows command prompt (CMD.EXE) instead of the MSYS unix shell emulator... Cheers, Peter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.haskell.org/pipermail/haskell-cafe/attachments/20071217/299e4087/attachment.htm


text:
AN ICONIC jacket worn by Prince in the 1984 film Purple Rain will be auctioned in Los Angeles in June, auction house Profiles in History has revealed.
"It's definitely the most important piece of screen-worn Prince clothing that's ever come up for auction," Profiles in History president Joe Maddalena said.
"This is the first time ever for something like this, and it might be the only time because the rest of the costumes may be in his personal wardrobe."
The famously private singer gave the jacket to a makeup artist at the end of the shoot, auction house spokesman Jeff Hare told AFP.
It has an asking price of up to $US8000 ($A10,500), but is likely to fetch more at the June 29 sale.
Prince wore the black and white jacket with leather sleeves in a famous scene, as he picks up his co-star Apollonia Kotero on a motorcycle.
They ride to a lake, where he convinces her to strip off her tight leather jumpsuit and jump in the cold water.


text:
Does God Exist? The theist says
He does, but what is meant by "God"?
Belief has different forms and ways
And "theist" is a false façade—
The problem with the answer is—
Which god? The question won't define.
It serves as a projective quiz
We each fill in the blank with "mine".
While theists think a god exists
Which god that is, they can't agree.
These gods can fill up endless lists
Still none of them's the god for me.
"Agreement" seems a specious word
When treating many gods as one
Agreement? No. The thought's absurd…
And as for me, I'll stick with "none".
Today's verse is inspired by a (presumably) well-intentioned but (demonstrably) poorly executed opinion piece at the Iowa State Daily. I'd have commented there (and thus never have had reason to write the verse), but they won't accept contributions unless a real-world name is attached. I've spent 5 years cultivating a pseudonym; my real name would be meaningless to them (yeah, my pseud is probably meaningless to them, but they can at least follow a trail of breadcrumbs and read here). Anyway, the piece jumps off the rails in the first three sentences:
Does God exist?
Theists believe yes. Atheists believe no.
And moves from there to equate the two sides as equally making a claim of belief.
What a difference one letter can make. What if the author had asked "Does a god exist?" With that indefinite article, the false consensus of "theists" is punctured. "Theists" is an artificial group, a strange bedfellows assortment of traditional others, competitors, and enemies, but united by not being atheists. Not by "believing in God", as polytheists are theists too, as are a good many people who would not identify their particular god as the capitalized "God". My goodness, the first commandment would not be necessary if all gods were one God.
And atheists are not those who don't believe in God; they are those who don't believe in a god. They are the privative, none-of-the-above belief category. It is not a belief, it is the "none for me, thanks" drink preference. It's the "I don't run" answer to "what's your distance?"
The problems (and there are many) in the rest of the piece all fall from this initial improper stance. When you take your first compass reading, get it right; the rest of your journey depends on it.


text:
Do you ever get hit on even looking a mess?
Posted by Anonymous + Show Post
Yesterday I went and got my nails and eyebrows done. My hair was in a messy pony tail, I had a comfy PJ pants and dh work shirt. I went into the Safeway and got hit on 3 times. I was like wtf do you see how I look? I told them sorry and kept going my merry way. I thought it was strange. Wouldn't a guy want to hit on a women who has on nice clothes, hair done and makeup on. And yes the guys were cute. If I was single I would of gotten the numbers lol.
Posted by Anonymous on May. 24, 2013 at 8:29 AM
Replies (11-20):
by Anonymous 3 on May. 24, 2013 at 8:41 AM
I was headed to the mountains for a hike and on the way there, while in sweats, hair up, no makeup, got hit on. Then on the way back, all sweaty and gross from the hike, got hit on and then honked at by a construction worker...one of those good looking construction workers luckily lol. Good job still turning those heads, mama! Shows you've got natural beauty!!!
by Bronze Member on May. 24, 2013 at 8:42 AM
Yes, I have. I was going throught a KFC drive thru. Hair in a bun, no make up, wearing sweats and a t shirt. The guy at the window handed me my stuff and blurted out " you're so pretty" then he got a look of shock on his face and said" can I say that?! Oh yeah I can"
Yeah, often. It can be pretty annoying
Posted on CafeMom Mobile
I did with a plastic bag on my head, it started raining, makes me think how desperate guys ate
by Platinum Member on May. 24, 2013 at 8:44 AM
Yes. I think it's because some men are more attracted to natural beauty.
Posted on CafeMom Mobile
by Silver Member on May. 24, 2013 at 8:45 AM
It's so awkward. I've had that happen to me a lot when I looked a mess. It's always shocked me and it's left me scratching my head. I guess it's true that saying that people wear rose colored glasses............... LOL
by Platinum Member on May. 24, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Yes. I get hit on more at the gym than any where else.
This is what I look like at the gym, no make up, hair in a ponytail or messy bun and usually sweaty.
Add your quick reply below:
You must be a member to reply to this post.


text:
A Royal Navy minehunter has set sail for a four-month Nato mission in the Mediterranean.
HMS Cattistock left Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, this morning for the international operation to protect sea routes from the threat of underwater mines as well as to take part in joint training exercises.
Lieutenant Commander Stephen Higham, HMS Cattistock's commanding officer, said: ''We are well prepared and looking forward to working alongside our Nato allies in the Mediterranean.
''This deployment is a great opportunity for the ship to learn from shared experiences, contribute to regional security and showcase the Royal Navy's skill as the world's leading experts in mine warfare.''


text:
I stayed in the Hotel Mira in Vila do Bispo in June 2012. It was quite a nice hotel. It was clean and comfortable. The amenities in the room were quite good as well.
The location is very tranquil and calm. We decided to stay there instead of Sagres because the village has much more charm then Sagres.
What I do not like is that the hotel charges for the hammam the pool etc.
In all other hotels I was in it is included in the room rate.
Nice hotel in which to stay in this lovely city.
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Hotels.com, Booking.com, TripOnline SA, Travelocity, Hotwire, Orbitz and Cheap Tickets so you can book your Hotel Mira Sagres reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Hotel Mira Sagres Portugal/Vila Do Bispo, Algarve


text:
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You are here > Home > Baseball Newsstand > Baseball Primer Newsblog > Discussion
Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Friday, August 05, 2011
Hudson : Baseball Player's Miraculous Comeback
One of my favourite players writing about his comeback.
I know all the games you play
Honkie Kong Posted: August 05, 2011 at 03:34 PM | 29 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: athletics, braves
Reader Comments and Retorts
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.1. Rally Posted: August 05, 2011 at 07:45 PM (#3893548)
Tim Hudson, for those who don't care to RTFA.2. valuearbitrageur Posted: August 06, 2011 at 07:30 AM (#3894118)
From a fan's perspective, you're not too worried. It's just TJ surgery. He'll be back in a year, good as new. It's certainly a different perspective when you're the one going through that surgery and rehab.
So glad God heard Tim's prayers and used modern surgical techniques to fix his arm. Still not sure why God gave my mother-in -law cancer and made her die a horrendously drawn out death, but I'm sure that despite being the nicest person I ever met and being beloved by everyone who knew her, that she deserved it in a way only an omnipotent god could know.3. Marty Winn Posted: August 08, 2011 at 03:52 PM (#3895394)
How often do you thank God for the mercy He shows? All men are fallen (even the best of them). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All deserve instant and eternal death. God though, is patient, giving most opportunity for repentance. We have become presumptuous though and expect His unearned mercy. We are shocked when someone gets judgment. That you are shocked is evidence of the widespread mercy the Lord shows. Repent yourself before your time, for no man knows the day or the hour.4. You Know Nothing JT Snow (YR) Posted: August 08, 2011 at 04:01 PM (#3895398)
The key to good trolling is subtlety.5. You Know Nothing JT Snow (YR) Posted: August 08, 2011 at 04:09 PM (#3895402)
Still not sure why God gave my mother-in -law cancer and made her die a horrendously drawn out death,
Oh, I can answer that one.
You see, 6000 years ago a woman made out of a man's rib got conned by a talking snake with legs and ate a magic fruit. This displeased The Almighty and he damned all of this woman's offspring to suffer and die. Worse yet, even after they suffered and died they would still suffer forever! But then The Almighty figured He could give a chance to get out of the postmortem eternal suffering if you just sucked up to Him enough (although the rest of the misery while you were alive still held true). The end.
"That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any day of the week; at least you can play chicken with him and know he'll stick to the rules."7. Crispix reaches boiling point with lackluster play Posted: August 08, 2011 at 04:21 PM (#3895411)
— Mike Carey
Worst six-comment thread ever?8. SoSH U at work Posted: August 08, 2011 at 04:25 PM (#3895412)
Worst six-comment thread ever?
AROM tried to avoid taking it down the crapper.
Popcorn time!10. Benji Gil Gamesh VII - The Opt-Out Awakens Posted: August 08, 2011 at 04:51 PM (#3895440)
We are shocked when someone gets judgment.So...you're saying VA's mother-in-law's painful and drawn-out death from cancer was judgment from god? That can't be what you're saying.
Sure, why not? All men die. It's the just and required punishment for sin. In many cases God mercifully withholds judgment until after a long life. In this case it was a less long life. Does this mean she was a particularly grievously sinner? No. It just means that God's mercy on her did not hold out as long as it has for others. As the supreme authority you get to make these types of decisions without running it past humanity to see if they approve. The cure for all of this though has been provided in the gospel which is freely offered to all who will humble themselves before God, repent, admit they are sinful, they can not atone for their own sins, request that Christ's work on the cross be used as payment for sins rather than your own eternity of punishment, and commit to follow Jesus as Lord, as He truly is. So death can be a homecoming, a joyful event. For most of the world it is not. I'm sorry for the loss of your mother in law but I hope it serves as a tool to save you from punishment.12. You Know Nothing JT Snow (YR) Posted: August 08, 2011 at 07:15 PM (#3895545)
The key to good trolling is subtlety.13. Randy Jones Posted: August 08, 2011 at 07:24 PM (#3895553)
How often do you thank God for the mercy He shows? All men are fallen (even the best of them). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All deserve instant and eternal death. God though, is patient, giving most opportunity for repentance. We have become presumptuous though and expect His unearned mercy. We are shocked when someone gets judgment. That you are shocked is evidence of the widespread mercy the Lord shows. Repent yourself before your time, for no man knows the day or the hour.
Anyone who actually believes this statement has mental health issues and should seek professional help.
George Carlin probably had the best take on religion.
I'm sorry for the loss of your mother in law but I hope it serves as a tool to save you from punishment.
That's some new theology.
He's not trolling, Montero. He actually believes this silliness.16. flournoy Posted: August 08, 2011 at 07:52 PM (#3895583)
If I were omnipotent, I would probably be arbitrary, cruel, and unpredictable with my actions for my own amusement, so at least there is some plausibility there.17. Ben Broussard Ramjet Posted: August 08, 2011 at 08:53 PM (#3895639)
Christ's work on the cross be used as payment for sins
I don't think that's how morality works, you know.
It should be noted that Marty is offering some decidedly whacked stuff here.19. dr. scott Posted: August 08, 2011 at 09:37 PM (#3895658)
It doesn't matter whether you believe in God or not, whether you identify within a religion or not, whether you engage in spiritual practices or not, I think we can all agree that
a) all people have committed immoral acts / have sinned
b) ???
c) all people deserve to die
is bugfuck insane.
This has become something of a commonplace is fundamentalist protestant theology, based on a tendentious reading of Romans 6.23 ("the wages of sin is death"). Romans is a complicated letter, but in chapter 6, Paul is arguing to his Gentile congregation that although he is telling them they are not bound by Jewish Law, they are nonetheless bound to moral practice, and that although they don't have to, for instance, keep the laws of Jewish table practice, they must refrain from visiting prostitutes or like. He (somewhat beautifully) connects this plea for Gentiles to be moral but not be Jewish to his theological argument - that Christ has, by his death, enabled the admittance of Gentiles into the community which will reap the promises of the God of Israel, through grace. The eternal life which is stored away for those people who have received the promises of God, is now available to Gentiles through grace. Paul's community has already accepted this "death/life" dichotomy in related to the eternal life made available through the death of Christ. Here he draws a connection between that belief, which they share, and his exhortation to moral action, but against the requirement that they follow all of the Jewish law.
Drawing the conclusion from that argument that all people, having sinned, deserve death, is wacky.
Deserve is an odd word there. Does it even matter if we deserve something that we will all get, no matter what we do? I assume the argument is "do we deserve any particular suffering while alive?"20. spike Posted: August 08, 2011 at 09:43 PM (#3895660)
"Deserve has got nothing ta do with it."21. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: August 08, 2011 at 09:44 PM (#3895661)
a) all people have committed immoral acts / have sinned22. Ben Broussard Ramjet Posted: August 08, 2011 at 09:54 PM (#3895666)
b) ???
c) all people deserve to die
21 wins. Thread over.23. Rally Posted: August 08, 2011 at 09:56 PM (#3895668)
#21, awesome.24. Dale Sams Posted: August 08, 2011 at 10:05 PM (#3895670)
Seriously though, I can't get too worked up over that 3 part statement. A) only way you can deny that everyone has sinned is to deny the concept of sin itself. As for c, well we all are going to die sooner or later. Do we deserve it? I think yes, because I can't agree with the opposite- we do not deserve to live forever. Part B is profound, I will say nothing to that.
Basically, my response is "yeah, so what?" instead of getting worked up about it.
You all are aware that the implemented idea today of fair/human rights is pretty much 50 years old at most and relegated to maybe half of the population of a single species on this planet.25. Dr. Vaux Posted: August 08, 2011 at 10:40 PM (#3895702)
Human beings are biological organisms, so regardless of what exists or doesn't exist in a spiritual realm, the things that happen to biological organisms here in the physical realm are going to happen to human beings. There's no reason why it would have anything to do with their morality or with God. If there is a God, He is concerned with how we live, not with how or when we die.26. carpenoctem Posted: August 08, 2011 at 10:52 PM (#3895713)
Obviously Tim Hudson is referring to the Gods of Baseball. They don't do the divine judgment stuff, just BABIP.27. Rollie Fingers' moustache Posted: August 08, 2011 at 10:59 PM (#3895722)
This God person sounds like a dick.28. smileyy Posted: August 08, 2011 at 11:18 PM (#3895736)
I would probably be arbitrary, cruel, and unpredictable with my actions for my own amusement
Thus, the penguin as proof of the existence of God.
Well, I like penguins.
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text:
'Babies dying due to lack of routine scans'
Expert in foetal abnormalities says State is lagging behind rest of the world when it comes to offering routine checks
Ireland is one of the worst countries in Europe and "way behind the rest of the world" when it comes to scanning for foetal abnormalities, according to one of the national experts on the subject, Professor Fergal Malone.
Around 1,500 cases of foetal abnormalities are identified in Ireland each year.
Prof Malone, who heads the obstetrics department at the Rotunda Hospital, was speaking in the wake of a survey which showed that only 13 of the country's 20 pregnancy centres routinely screen for conditions such as Down Syndrome or heart defects.
This means that a majority of Irish children with foetal abnormalities are not born into "an optimal setting", and problems that could be easily dealt with if the correct specialists were on hand escalate into emergencies.
The problem lies with the division of medical specialists who are involved in the care of infants inside and outside the womb. "Obstetrics and paediatric services in Ireland are quite divorced from each other," explains Prof Malone.
"In many other countries around the world if you deliver a baby and it has a heart defect, it's no problem, there is a cardiologist on site. In Ireland you can deliver a baby at 2am in Letterkenny Hospital and it has a heart defect and all of a sudden you have to call the Air Corps to fly the baby down to Crumlin."
This has resulted in the deaths of babies, and it will continue to do so, says Prof Malone. "It's a real tragedy. You have an otherwise healthy baby dying because it doesn't get the right care. We are completely deficient in this regard compared to other countries. It doesn't matter where you go: Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, routine scanning for foetal abnormalities is done in almost 100 per cent of pregnancies.
"For example, I have regularly seen Polish mothers and they can't believe how it's done here. They are amazed that you have to be persistent, to ask, and in some cases to pay for these scans. And these scans are not new, they've been around a long time."
This is an economic issue for parents as much as it is for hospitals. Prof Malone said we have a "de facto two-tier system" with babies born with serious medical conditions to parents who can afford to pay privately for scans tending to do much better than those born to poorer parents, who have not sought a scan.
Many expectant mothers in Ireland do not understand that there is a difference between the routine scans that are done at eight or 10 weeks -- indicating only whether the child has a heartbeat or not -- and detailed scans which can identify a range of conditions. This is why parents are often surprised in the delivery room when a foetal abnormality is identified.
The failure to offer scans across the board is principally to do with funding. Unlike screening for cervical or breast cancer there is no ring-fenced budget in Ireland for screening for foetal abnormalities.
Prof Malone said that in previous years there may have been suggestions that Irish people were "more moral or religious" than parents from other countries. This, in turn, resulted in some hesitancy on the part of doctors to suggest screening because of sensitivity around issues to do with abortion. This, he said, is no longer the case: "We have found that Irish patients want to be scanned as much as patients from anywhere."
Dr Peter McParland, director of the National Maternity Hospital, was recently quoted as saying that scans are "not about terminations" but Prof Malone said this depends on the case. What parents do with the information they get changes, depending on the foetal abnormality identified.
"In general we have found 70-80 per cent with certain foetal abnormalities will choose to travel to the UK for an abortion", he said.
"There are others, however, for which patients tend to continue with their pregnancy. With heart defects the majority tend to continue on with their pregnancy. Most prenatally diagnosed cases of Edwards Syndrome (a lethal chromosome-related condition) also continue on. Probably the majority of patients who have a prenatally diagnosed Down Syndrome do choose to travel to the UK to terminate. We find that parents take a nuanced view, depending on the implications for them and their families."
The solution for parents, who are concerned that they need a scan, is "to be empowered to ask the right questions," said Prof Malone. "Patients have to be their own advocates. If there is seen to be a demand or an awareness then you may see hospital managers look again at how they could make more of an effort to streamline resources towards scanning."
Irish Independent


text:
Does you child wet the bed?(2 Posts)
AnnabelCLCH Mon 27-Feb-12 12:49:06
AnnabelCLCH Mon 13-Feb-12 12:14:06
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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Starting a Lawn Care Business' started by Hometown Lawn Care, Jul 10, 2003.
Where can I get Licenced for Pesticied Applications and other ---- like weed chemicals....
go to your local county agent and ask for the material for pesticide licensing. In louisiana, they will give you a few books to read.


text:
This past Monday, January 4th, the Counseling Department hosted 12 recent MHS graduates for an Alumni Panel designed especially for current 12th graders to provide information about their college experience so far, and to answer questions from current seniors about what to expect at when they transition to college.
Kudos to our two counseling interns Mr. Ryan Sacco (MHS Class of 2010) and Ms. Rachel Lubets for organizing and coordinating the alumni visits, which took place in all senior English classrooms. We also want to thank the graduates that returned and graciously used their vacation time to come to MHS for the panels:
Alyssa Abbott
Kate Cable-Murphy
Stephanie Crovo
Janelle Donahue
Jack Eccles
Anna Garafolo
Leah Markt
Julia McDermott
Allie Morra
Francesca Rizzo
Zeke Vainer
Abraham Zimmerman
The alumni visit went very well, and is something we will do again next year.
Thank you to everyone involved.
John Buxton
MHS Guidance


text: These were pulled from a 1998 Fender MIM Jazz Bass. The Bass was a rarer Jazz with one Piece Scratch Plate. I was told that the '98's with one piece guards were a joint effort build with USA and Mexico. Screws and hardware in pics included. How about $39 Shipped OBO? {} {}


text:
Edit Article
wikiHow to Restore Health for Malnourished Kids
Many children around the globe are facing malnourishment or starvation. This is how to restore health for them
1Re-introduce food slowly. Don't give them a big feast all at once, this causes red blood cells not to be able to carry oxygen, and suffocate. Give them food that is high in nutrients first, slowly progressing to more balanced meals.
2Give them high nutrition food. Foods with lots of essential vitamins and nutrients will help restore strength in muscles and bones.
3Give them water and other liquids. Things like milk, juice, and water is essential for re-strengthening children. They help keep down food and give more nutrients than just in the food.
4Give them three meals a day. This will ensure that they will keep their strength and not become malnourished again. Make sure they et their food, not pick at it.
5Feed them on a daily basis. This will also ensure they won't become malnourished again. Feed three times a day, seven days a week.
Community Q&A
Ask a Question
200 characters leftSubmit
- Never force a kid to eat if they don't want to.
- If a child is malnourished, never, never give them a lot of food or very rich food right away. Their bodies may have grown used to a poor diet and need to be slowly reintroduced to richer food. A sudden rich diet may leave their bodies unable to process and digest it and may even kill them.
Sources and Citations
- Mark Manary, pediatrician at St. Louis Children`s Hospital
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
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Categories: Child Nutrition
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Takayama spring festival
Hi there,
I was thinking about going to the Takayama spring festival in April, but then I realized that all the hotels and hostels are already full booked!! I also looked for hotels nearby in Furukawa and Gero but it's all the same.
Do you have any suggestions of where to stay instead? Somewhere with good train connections to Takayama using JR.
Hi there!
Perhaps you can consider Kanazawa on the west coast at the foot of the Noto peninsular? It's a really great city in it's own right, and is only 2.5 hours by train to Takayama.
Hope this helps!
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text: Hi, I have a few issues somewhere between my bass and my headphones. I'd like to use the Xenyx mixer as a kind of headphone amp. But i'm not sure how to connect my bass&pedalboard to that thing and get a somewhat acceptable sound out of it: My first try was just connecting the last effect (in my case that was a Ditto looper) to the instrument in of the mixer. That resulted in massive jumps in volume when activating the looper... Next try: i put a boost pedal on unity gain at the end of my pedalboard. This sounds quite good. The volume issues with the looper disappear in this configuration Ok, so my thought was that i maybe just need some buffer between my pedalboard and the mixer. So i ordered a MOOER Micro DI. Now i have new problems: When i connect the DI via xlr to the mixer, my low-end is lost. Almost no bass frequencies at all. It works better if i connect with an instrument cable instead of the xlr. Activating the speaker sim on the Mooer DI almost doubles the volume... I guess all this can somehow be explained with impedance issues. But i really didn't expect this. Is the cheap Behringer mixer the source of my problems? Will i experience similar problems when i connect to a "real" mixer in a gig situation? Any ideas? Jens


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ManPoll Results: What Do You Drink Most?
Last week we asked Gear Patrol readers what they drank most. 192 of you voted and we wanted to share the results.
By and large 'Anything That Comes In A Six Pack' (a la Beer) won with 28% of the votes. Not that we're surprised – we are, after all, men. But a surprising 6% of you voted for 'Drinks with Fruit and Umbrellas'. We're all for unique, but no shame indeed. 14% of our voters went for the liquid gold, that is, Scotch. 11% for whiskey – the same for wine, 10% for Gin and 10% for molotov cocktail fuel, and 9% for Kentucky's finest.
So, if you feel compelled, tell us (comment or write) what your favorite drinks or brands are? Gear Patrol's listening.


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Legal Question in Family Law in California
My divorce became final in September 2009. In early 2010 I had some personal items stole from a storage facility. At the time of the theft I was living in the family home and the homeowners insurance policy was in my and my ex-husbands name. Because we were both on the policy at the time of the theft, the settlement check came in both my and my ex-husbands names. I have asked him if he will sign the check if I forward it to him, however, he has not responded. Because he has behaved in a passive agressive manner for some time, I do not believ he will sign the check without a hassle. What series of steps should I take to insure that if I have to take him to court I will have a good chance of him being required to cover my costs?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If you have an attorney, your attorney should start out with a letter. Then if he fails to respond, the attorney would seek attorney's fees as sanctions for having to file an Order to Show Cause.
I suggest that you read your family law judgment carefully, and make sure that you have a complete understanding of insurance claims and requirements for the parties to cooperate with each other regarding the judgment.
If you don't have an attorney, I would still send him a letter first, so that you get your request in writing.