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On August 28, President Bashar al-Assad approved a new media law that purportedly upholds freedom of expression and bans the arrest of journalists. Yet less than a week later, on Saturday, a Syrian journalist and contributor to the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat was arrested, CPJ reported. Just two days before the endorsement of the law, Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat was brutally attacked by masked assailants. A close look at the legislation, Decree No. 108, suggests the Assad regime is simply paying lip service to reform.
Local journalists say there is nothing really "new" about the media law and that it merely dresses up the regime's long-standing repressive tactics. "I don't trust anything they say," said Karim al-Afnan, a Syrian freelance journalist. "They have arrested several of our journalists without rhyme or reason."
The Syrian decree outlines what can be seen as "positive" press freedom clauses, such as the lack of a "monopoly on the media" and the "right to access of information about public affairs," and bans "the arrest, questioning, or searching of journalists." And yet the legislation contains several anti-press clauses, including barring the media from publishing content that affects "national unity and national security," incites sectarian strife or "hate crimes," or harms state symbols. The law also forbids the publication of any information about the armed forces. It holds editors-in-chief, journalists, and even spokespeople accountable for actions that constitute a violation of the law and imposes fines on them of up to one million Syrian pounds (US$21,000).
Article 3 of the new measure says the law "upholds freedom of expression guaranteed in the Syrian constitution" and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Syria has ratified. But Article 4 goes on to say that the media must "respect this freedom of expression" by "practicing it with awareness and responsibility" and does not clarify the statement's meaning. The Islamic Republic of Iran's press law contains similar language, and Iran is tied with China for the highest number of imprisoned journalists in the world, according to CPJ research.
The measure also calls for the establishment of an independent body to "monitor media freedom." The creation of such a "monitoring" body indicates less of an effort by the Syrian authorities to encourage a free press but more of a conscious attempt to mask repressive tactics as press freedoms.
The new media law comes amid a brutal, ongoing clampdown on anti-regime protesters. Avaaz, the U.K.-based global nonprofit campaigning organization, estimates the number of disappeared people in Syria to be close to 3,000 since the beginning of the uprising. Several local and international human rights groups estimate that thousands of people have been arrested. According to the United Nations, 2,200 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March.


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A few weeks ago, we were on board the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas for the inaugural Caribbean sailing and naming ceremony. We stayed in the balcony cabin 14146 forward of deck 14. Below you will find videos of our balcony cabins as well as a few of the suites found onboard the Harmony of the Seas. Harmony of the Seas Balcony Cabin 14146 Video Tour We thought the … [Read More...]
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The nuclear disaster at Fukushima was a horrible tragedy for all involved, and like its precursor Chernobyl, it left behind a hollow husk surrounding it. Photographer Donald Weber, who also documented that most famous nuclear aftermath in Ukraine, travelled to the Fukushima buffer zone, to capture what he could. VICE went with him, and made this haunting little mini-documentary out of the footage.
The results of the trip are about what you'd think, except about twice as haunting. There are post-apocalyptic scenes of empty streets, eeriely abandonded houses, and even a corpse. Given the recent admission that the whole thing was avoidable, it's interesting—and depressing— to take a look at what the aftermath looks like. [VICE via The High Definite]


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Principal Proposed Natural Treatments
Other Proposed Natural Treatments
- Acupuncture
- Balneotherapy (Spa Therapy)
- Boswellia
- Bromelain
- Cat's Claw
- Curcumin (Turmeric)
- Deer Velvet
- Devil's Claw
- Folate
- Food Allergen Avoidance
- Gamma-Linolenic Acid (GLA)
- Glucosamine
- Krill Oil
- Magnet Therapy
- Olive Oil
- Relaxation Therapies
- Rose Hips
- Tripterygium wilfordii
- Vegan Diet
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin E
- Zinc
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in the general family of lupus . For reasons that are not understood, in rheumatoid arthritis the immune system goes awry and begins attacking innocent tissues, especially cartilage in the joints. Various joints become red, hot, and swollen under the onslaught. The pattern of inflammation is usually symmetrical, occurring on both sides of the body. Other symptoms include inflammation of the eyes, nodules or lumps under the skin, and a general feeling of malaise.
Rheumatoid arthritis is more common in women than in men and typically begins between the ages of 35 and 60. The diagnosis is made by matching the pattern of symptoms with certain characteristic laboratory results.
Medical treatment consists mainly of two categories of drugs: anti-inflammatory drugs in the ibuprofen family (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs) and drugs that may be able to put rheumatoid arthritis into full or partial remission, the so-called disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis but do not change the overall progression of the disease, whereas the DMARDs seem to affect the disease itself. A good analogy might be the various options available to "treat" a house "suffering" from a severe termite infestation. You could remove heavy furniture, tiptoe about instead of holding public dances, and put large beams under the joists. However, none of these methods would do anything to stop the gradual destruction of your house. These methods are like NSAIDs and other supportive techniques in that they treat only the symptoms.
A more definitive approach would be to hire an exterminator and kill the termites. In medical terms, this would be described as a disease-modifying treatment. Because medical treatments for chronic diseases are seldom as completely effective as this example, a closer analogy might be spraying a chemical that slows the spread of termites but does not stop them.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the drugs believed to alter the course of the disease (to slow it down or stop it) include antimalarials (hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine), sulfasalazine, TNF inhibitors (etanercept, infliximab, and adalimumab), interleukin-1 receptor antagonists, leflunomide methotrexate, gold compounds, D-penicillamine, and cytotoxic agents (azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, and cyclosporine). They are unrelated to one another but work somewhat similarly in practice.
Unfortunately, most of the drugs in this category can cause severe side effects. Because of this toxicity, for years a so-called pyramid approach was taken with people with rheumatoid arthritis. Physicians started with NSAIDs to help with the pain and inflammation, and progressed to successively stronger and more toxic medications only when the basic treatments failed. Natural treatments such as those described here might also be useful in early stages.
However, over the last few years, research has found that severe joint damage occurs very early in rheumatoid arthritis. This evidence has caused many authorities to suggest early, aggressive treatment with disease-modifying drugs to prevent joint damage. Nonetheless, this approach has not been universally adopted, and some physicians still prescribe NSAIDs for early stages of rheumatoid arthritis. The treatments described here may be reasonable alternative options.
Principal Proposed Natural Treatments
Rheumatoid arthritis is a difficult disease, and no alternative approach solves it easily. Even if you choose to use alternative methods, you should maintain regular visits to a rheumatologist to watch for serious complications. Finally, keep in mind that medical treatment may be able to slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. It is not likely that any of the alternative options have the same power.
Fish Oil
Fish oil is the only natural treatment for rheumatoid arthritis with significant documentation. According to the results of at least 13 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies involving a total of over 500 participants, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids can significantly reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. 1,2 In addition, at least one small study suggests that it may help rheumatoid arthritis patients lower their dose of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (eg, ibuprofen). 84
However, unlike some of the standard treatments, fish oil has not been shown to slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. It has been suggested that omega-3 supplementation is more effective when omega-6 intake (particularly arachidonic acid) is kept low, as occurs with a vegetarian diet. 67 The benefits of fish oil may also be enhanced by simultaneous use of olive oil. 74 A badly designed human study hints that a relative of fish oil, krill oil , might be helpful as well. 79
For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full Fish Oil article.
Flaxseed oil has been offered as a more palatable substitute for fish oil, but it does not seem to work. 8
Other Proposed Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Boswellia serrata is a shrub-like tree that grows in the dry hills of the Indian subcontinent. It is the source of a resin called salai guggal, which has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine, the traditional medicine of the region. It is very similar to a resin from a related tree, Boswellia carteri , which is also known as frankincense. Both substances have been used historically for arthritis.
Recent research has identified boswellic acids as the likely active ingredients in boswellia. In animal studies, boswellic acids have shown anti-inflammatory effects, but their mechanism of action seems to be quite different from that of standard anti-inflammatory medications. 10-13
An issue of Phytomedicine that was devoted to boswellia briefly reviewed previously unpublished studies on the herb. 14 A pair of placebo-controlled trials involving a total of 81 people with rheumatoid arthritis found significant reductions in swelling and pain over the course of 3 months. Furthermore, a comparative study of 60 participants over 6 months found the boswellia extract relieved symptoms about as well as oral gold therapy. However, keep in mind that while gold shots can induce remission in rheumatoid arthritis, we have no evidence that boswellia can do the same.
Another double-blind study found no difference between boswellia and placebo. 15 The bottom line is that we need more research to know for sure whether boswellia is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full Boswellia article.
Devil's Claw
The herb devil's claw may be beneficial in rheumatoid arthritis. One double-blind study followed 89 people with rheumatoid arthritis for 2 months. The group given devil's claw showed a significant decrease in pain intensity and an improvement in mobility. 16
Another double-blind study of 50 people with various types of arthritis showed that 10 days of treatment with devil's claw provided significant pain relief. 17
For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full Devil's Claw article.
Other Herbs and Supplements
Glucosamine is best known as a proposed treatment for osteoarthritis. However, it might be helpful for RA as well. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 51 people with RA found that glucosamine at a dose of 1,500 mg daily significantly improved symptoms. 77 It did not, however, alter measures of inflammation as determined through blood tests.
Some evidence, including small double-blind trials, additionally support the use of the following herbs and supplements for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis:
- Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) found in evening primrose oil and borage oil 30-33,94
- Cat's claw ( Uncaria tomentosa ) 68
- Rose hip powder 88
- Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii (either applied topically or taken orally) 25,56,69,94
Note : Tripterygium wilfordii is believed to be unsafe for pregnant or nursing women, and may present risks in other groups as well. 26,27,75
Highly preliminary evidence suggests potential benefits with the following herbs and supplements: methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) , 40yucca , 28 and a mixture of poplar, ash, and goldenrod . 29
Vitamin E may reduce pain in rheumatoid arthritis, but it does not seem to reduce inflammation. 37,54,55 Some evidence suggests that adding vitamin E, or vitamin E plus other antioxidants, to standard rheumatoid arthritis therapy might improve results. 39 However, an extremely large randomized trial involving over 39,000 women found that taking 600 IU of vitamin E every other day did not reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. 87
Individuals taking the drug methotrexate for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis may benefit by taking folate supplements. Folate appears to reduce methotrexate side effects, including mouth sores, nausea, and liver inflammation. 57-59 In addition, folate supplements may help reverse a more subtle methotrexate side-effect: a rise in blood levels of homocysteine . 60,61 Elevated levels of homocysteine are thought to increase risk of heart-disease.
The following treatments are also sometimes proposed as effective for rheumatoid arthritis, but there is as yet little to no scientific evidence for or against their use: adrenal extract , beta-carotene , betaine hydrochloride , boron , burdock , cayenne , chamomile , copper , feverfew , folate , ginger , L-histidine , horsetail , magnesium , manganese , molybdenum, pantothenic acid , D-phenylalanine , perilla frutescens , pregnenolone , proteolytic enzymes , sea cucumber, and vitamin C .
Current evidence regarding green lipped mussel for rheumatoid arthritis is more negative than positive. 62-66
One study failed to find vitamin B6 at a dose of 50 mg daily helpful for rheumatoid arthritis, despite a general B6 deficiency seen in people with this condition. 76
Zinc supplements have been evaluated as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, but overall the study results have not been encouraging. 34,35,49-53 Other treatments that have as yet generally failed to prove effective in small double-blind trials include selenium , collagen, 46,47-50probiotics , 72white willow , 73 and an Ayurvedic herbal mixture containing extracts of ashwagandha , boswellia , ginger , and turmeric . 45 Two studies commonly cited as evidence that turmeric alone is useful for rheumatoid arthritis actually fail to provide any meaningful supporting evidence. 20,21
A 6-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 168 people with rheumatoid arthritis failed to find that elk velvet antler enhanced the effectiveness of conventional treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. 83
Other Alternative Therapies
Adopting a vegan (pure vegetarian) diet might help mild rheumatoid arthritis, although the supporting evidence is weak. 41,42
Identifying and avoiding food allergens has also been tried, 43 but one controlled trial found no clear evidence of benefit with a low saturated fat, hypoallergenic diet. 44
Balneotherapy (hot baths) , 78relaxation therapy , 80-82 and magnet therapy70 have shown a bit of promise for rheumatoid arthritis.
Two separate groups of researchers conducting detailed reviews of 8 randomized controlled trials found some beneficial effects of acupuncture for rheumatoid arthritis, but were unconvinced that it was more beneficial than sham acupuncture or other standard treatments. 85,86 Another review of 11 randomized trials did not find that mediation, progressive muscle relaxation, static magnetic therapy, acupuncture or tai chi relieved pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The 11 trials included a total of 607 patients. 95
Homeopathy has also been evaluated for rheumatoid arthritis with no consistent evidence of beneficial effect. 89-93
Herbs and Supplements to Use Only With Caution
Various herbs and supplements may interact adversely with drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. For more information on this potential risk, see the individual drug article in the Drug Interactions section of this database.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: EBSCO CAM Review Board
- Review Date: 12/2015 -
- Update Date: 12/15/2015 -


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The Holy Grail of Mobile Layout
January 30, 2011
The Holy Grail of Mobile Layout
The perfect mobile layout should allow the presence of a navbar, a content area and maybe a footer toolbar. This layout should resize with orientation changes such that the bottom toolbar is always at the bottom and the content area resizes its width and height to fit the new dimensions. This is tough because, first off, there is not fixed positioning, and secondly, there is no single finger scrolling in Webkit for CSS defined scrolling regions.
So, the first big mistake, one that everyone and their brother recommends, is not to use the meta tag viewport settings of device width and device height. Instead, just use the initial scale, maximum scale and user scalability:
<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
The reason is that no matter what you set the width and height to with CSS, Webkit insists on thinking the document should have the height and width from when the document first loaded. This happens even if you use a CSS value of "width: 100%". Switching from portrait to landscape, you'll see that your layout fails to fill the width of the landscape screen:
As you can see with the landscape orientation the layout fails to fill the available width of the device. This app has its root elements' widths set to 100% and a meta tag of:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; height=device-height; initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
Removing the device width and height from the meta tag will give us the fluid layout we seek:
<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
With the above change, when switching this document loaded in portrait orientation to landscape mode orientation we get a resized document the way we would like:
OK, so we have a navbar on the top, but what if we want a toolbar on the bottom? No problem. We can accomplish that with a few adjustments. To fix the toolbar to the bottom we'll use absolute positioning. One thing to remember about this layout technique, if you are going to have navbars or toolbars, you'll need to adjust the height of the content so that it fits the space left over by the bars. I do this using a class or class on the content section. A navbar or toolbar has a default height of 45 pixels, so you'd want to position your content that distance from a navbar or toolbar. To make this work, we're going to have to use absolute positioning on the content section and on any bottom toolbar. One thing rather frustrating about using absolute positioning on block elements is that it causes them to collapse to what their content is, even with they have a width of 100%. We can get around this by setting the appropriate side to 0 pixels. For a bottom toolbar this could be something like this:
.toolbar.bottom { height: 45px; position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; }
With the above measurement, we have a toolbar that is 45px high fixed to the bottom and stretching from side to side. This toolbar will maintain these dimensions and placement even with an orientation change. We'll need to do something similar for the content area. Like I said, we'll need to use absolute positioning and account for any space taken up by a nav or toolbar. I use classes to do this, such as "withNavbar", or "withNavbar withBottomToolbar", or "withBottomToolbar". The CSS for these classes would be something like this:
/* Definition for content area that fills the screen: */ #content { position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; } #content.withNavbar { top: 45px; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; } #content.withBottomToolbar { top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 45px; left: 0; } #content.withNavbar.withBottomToolbar { top: 45px; right: 0; bottom: 45px; left: 0; }
We also need to make sure that the document's content doesn't bleed down below the bottom toolbar. We do this by wrapping the entire document in a div. I give it an id of #main:

The Title

Item One

Item Two

Item Three

Item Four

Item Five

Item Six

Item Seven

Item Eight

Edit

Save

The styles for the div#main would be:
#main { width: 100%; display: -webkit-box; margin: 0 0 0 0; padding: 0; height: 100%; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; }
Although the above arrangement solves the layout problems for mobile interfaces with automatic adjustment with orientation changes, it presents a new problem. That's the problem of making the data in the content area reachable by the user. You'll need to add a way for the user to scroll just that area. Normally the whole document would scroll with the browser, with the result that the top part would scroll out of view. Since we've fixed the toolbar to the bottom and have the height of the content area control by absolute position affecting its top, right, bottom and left, we need to provide a way to enable scrolling. Actually we could do this very simply using the CSS overflow property: #content { overflow-y: auto; }. However, on mobile Webkit this requires a two finger gesture. Most users would not expect this. They'll use a single finger and think that the content is not scrollable.

 .........
This gives you a basic mobile Web interface with a top navbar, a bottom toolbar and a content area with scroll that resizes quickly with orientation change.
Since publishing this article, I've created a framework for creating mobile Web apps. It uses many of the techniques explored in my blog posts. You can learn more about the framework by visiting ChocolateChip-UI.com. There are demos you can try in your desktop browser or on your mobile device.


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Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, 2nd Edition, provides a developer-level introduction along with the more advanced and useful features of JavaScript.
The last part of the book is focused on advanced topics, including performance/memory optimization, best practices, and a look at where JavaScript is going in the future.
This book is aimed at three groups of readers:
In addition, familiarity with the following related technologies is a strong indicator that this book is for you:
This book is not aimed at beginners who lack a basic computer science background or those looking to add some simple user interactions to web sites. These readers should instead refer to Wrox's Beginning JavaScript, 3rd Edition (Wiley, 2007).
This book covers:


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Although we have tried our best to narrow down what lights fit which make and model the data is only compiled by information provided to us over the years. Please compare the pictures of the lights to the lights on your vehicle before purchasing, if your not sure then please feel free to call us or email us a picture of your light along with your make model and year of vehicle and we can update our data to include your caravan/motorhome.
Hella White 60mm ReflectorHella White 60mm Reflector Learn MoreExcl. Tax: £2.07 Incl. Tax: £2.49


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Noriyuki Shimizu founded Name. in 2011 under the alias 'I am', completing a perfectly frank sentence reflecting the curatorially direct and starkly defined basics of his menswear label. With a degree from Tokyo's Bunka Fashion School of Design, Shimizu pairs his prestigious industry training with a more academic reference, Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". Quoting the cultural critic's essay as the brand's mantra, Name. strives to "deconstruct and reconstruct" garments, reinterpreting the fundamentals of visual design. A metamorphosis of classic tailoring is witnessed in the dropped shoulders of oversized sweatshirts, dramatic wide-legged trousers, and panelled denim. Corduroy and poplin textures meet an earth tone palette which is occasionally interrupted by pops of neon, graphic patterns, and leather motorcycle jackets. Distressed knits, unfinished hemlines, and asymmetric constructions showcase that, above all, Name. emanates a distinctly non-conforming attitude.
There are currently no products available for Name..
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Your chance to meet the 'mob' who are very inquisitive and spritely. Work with our keeper preparing enrichment toys before going in to feed them. They are excitable, but their nosy nature means they'll come and say hello. At the moment this experience is for over 16's only. An hour long experience with the park's family favourite – simples.
- Baby changing facilities
- Coach parties accepted
- Credit cards accepted (no fee)
- Disabled toilets
- Education/study area
- Facilities for groups
- Facilities for educational visits
- Gift shop
- On-site catering
- On-site light refreshments
- Picnic site
- Regional Tourist Board Member
- Welcome Host
- Accepts groups
- Children welcome
Outdoor play area and new covered outdoor picnic area. Heated indoor play area. Café serves meals throughout the day. New reptile house.
Richard Robinson
Coalbeck Farm,
Take A66 to Keswick roundabout. A591 towards Carlisle the brown/white tourist signs. Public transport on the Osprey bus and signposted off A66 west of Bassenthwaite lake A595.
: 20 miles from Penrith station
Self-Assessed Accessibility Details
- Designated parking for guests with disabilities
- Within 50 metres approx. of entrance
- The surface of the car park and pathway leading to entrance:
- is gravel
- Drop-off point for guests outside entrance
- The route from the parking area to the entrance:
- Is flat (i.e. without steps)
Public Areas
- Level access (no steps/thresholds) or access by ramp or lift:
- From the entrance to reception / ticket area
- To a specially adapted public toilet suitable for wheelchair users
- To the gift shop
- Good contrast between the floor and walls
- Contrast markings on clear surfaces such as glass doors
- Baby changing facilities
- Visitor information available in large print (14pt and over)
- Service dogs are NOT allowed:
- Seating available for visitors with limited mobility
- Clear signage
- Effective lighting for visually impaired visitors
- Good colour/tonal contrast for visually impaired visitors
- Routes/pathways suitable for wheelchair users or visitors with limited mobility
- Displays at suitable height for wheelchair users / children
- Audible alarm system
- Entrance is well lit
- Level access (no steps/thresholds) or access by ramp or lift to cafeteria
- Good contrast between the floor and walls
- Menus available in large print (14pt and over)
- Restaurant / cafe provide meals for visitors with special dietary requirements:
- Sugar free (diabetic)
- Gluten free (coeliacs)
- Lactose free (dairy free)
- Low potassium
- Low sodium
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Seating suitable for wheelchair users, ie moveable and good height for person sitting in a wheelchair
- High chairs for children
- Children's menu


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Thursday, April 03, 2008
Signs of impending traffic chaos
I just noticed these signs the other day.
These two were at the bottom end of Market Street, but there are others higher up, all the way to Union Street.
17 comments:
- Nikon said...
At least you can take the train ;-) Looks like a long summer!
- Wednesday, April 02, 2008 11:46:00 pm
- Jaycee in Alberta said...
Oh no, that's sure to cause some major congestion in an already traffic choked Hyde!
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 12:26:00 am
- Janet said...
It's nice of them to let you know how long the work will take.
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 1:25:00 am
- Stacey Olson said...
And how fast do people drive by these signs?
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 1:46:00 am
- Troop 1309 said...
Hope you can avoid that area for awhile!
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 2:25:00 am
- Ken said...
Over here we know when winter is over when the construction signs appear.
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 2:32:00 am
- alicesg said...
The two sign boards looked same to me except for the dates and one more sentence. I guess it only take a local to understand the difference. I have a quiz in my post today, you might like to view them. :)
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 6:37:00 am
- Maria Verivaki said...
at least you get signs warning you that something's happening.
in hania, we find out when we wake up and try and drive on it...
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 8:54:00 am
- imac said...
Oh Dear, thats bad.
We had this for 3 months at the traffic lights cross roads on the way to work.
at least 20 min wait.
Finished a few weeks ago, now they have started on 1 of the roads leading off, so we begin again ---
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 9:56:00 am
- KAZ said...
Are two signs the equivalent of shouting in a very loud voice?
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 10:15:00 am
- maz said...
it weird how you can walk past stuff and not notice a thing lol love the way u got the photo
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 1:43:00 pm
- Denton said...
Two signs on the same subject with different dates. Very confusing (smile).
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 5:21:00 pm
We know they are not sorry at all. That the work is not going to finish on time and no one will be responsible for all the problems. I read your connection problems on your Ackworth-born blog. Why is these things become so difficult in the UK?
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 6:58:00 pm
- Jane Hards Photography said...
Good to see the council of hyde giving you all fair warning. Worrying that none of them can count though. Well spotted.
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 7:19:00 pm
- stromsjo said...
Same story everywhere, I suppose. We know it means trouble. They know. And it does.
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 8:12:00 pm
- Destitute Rebel said...
In Pakistan we have huge traffic problems, year round construction without prior notices, Good luck with your traffic woes.
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 9:47:00 pm
- marley said...
What happens to the traffic in the week before the one way system comes into operation? Is it a free-for-all?!
- Thursday, April 03, 2008 10:03:00 pm
In most cases, clicking on the photograph will reveal a larger-sized image.


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Air Richelieu, formerly known as the Montreal Flying Club , has been a flight training center since 1928. Training pilots from all over the world, our expertise is to provide quality education in a sate-of-the art modern environment.
Copyright © 2019 Air Richelieu. All rights reserved. Site by Kika
Copyright © 2020 Air Richelieu. All rights reserved. Site by Kika.
5800 Rte de l´ Aéroport,
Saint-Hubert, Québec
1 450 445 4444


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December 6, 2012, 4:21 pm
The Denver County Jail offered inmates a Christmas dinner and entertainment in 1911
Christmas Eve at the Denver County Jail was festive in 1911.
Besides providing a large dinner, Warden Riordan arranged vaudeville entertainment.
Over 20 acts were scheduled. A few of the acts were performed by prisoners who danced, sang the latest songs and told jokes.
The others were from outside. Miss Mattie McIntyre gave a whistling solo. Music by both Steamboat Bill and Alexander's Ragtime Band was a hit.
Gould and Hamilton performed a skit called "Those Two Clever boys." Del Adelphia was billed as "Magician Extraordinary," and Mike Geary's performance featured "songs and witty sayings."


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Ever since he began driving taxis a few years ago, Mohammed Chowdhury has started his 5 p.m. shift the same way, steering off the Brooklyn Bridge to lower Manhattan's Water Street in search of his first fare. Upon finding a passenger, he would coast up the FDR Drive usually to an Upper East Side destination. It was an easy $20 to start the night.
People used to go "crazy" trying to catch a cab in the financial district, Chowdhury said, gliding through light, rush-hour traffic a few weeks ago. But now that more than 13,000 finance jobs have been lost and another 18,000 are expected to disappear before Wall Street revives, things feel different.
The routes are less predictable, and the passengers are harder to find, Chowdhury said. "Every time I start working from there, I don't see that many people. It's really hard to find a passenger," he said. "This financial crisis is like a chain system. If the passengers lose their jobs now, they don't take cabs that much, or if they do maybe they do once in a week. Now we're losing those passengers, so ... we're making less money."
In other words, the effects of the turmoil on Wall Street extend far beyond investment bankers. As the recession's effects deepen and spread many people will turn to the city for help. But given the government's own strained circumstances, how much can - and should it do?
The Falling Dominos
In looking at the current economic turmoil, the New York City comptroller's office has focused on the financial sector's "multiplier effect," the process by which one job lost on Wall Street leads to an estimated one and a half lost jobs elsewhere in the city. As firms dismiss staff, they "don't require as much in terms of support, like from an outside legal counsel or from a consultant, or in terms of office supplies," said Marcia Van Wagner, deputy comptroller for the budget. Less business for the supporting industries sparks additional layoffs, all linked in a chain through their own multiplier effects. Moreover, said Van Wagner, as people lose income, "they're not spending their money in restaurants, they're not going out and buying their new apartment, they have to fire the babysitter."
The economic downturn is national - earlier this month, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed that the country was in a recession and the U.S. Department of Labor announced an overwhelming 533,000 jobs lost in November. Although New York's economy initially seemed immune, expanding while the nation's began to contract, a report released last week by the Fiscal Policy Institute showed that the city is catching up. Initial unemployment filings for the 12 weeks ending November 21 increased almost 42 percent over the same period last year. The institute predicts an unemployment rate between 8.5 and 9 percent in 2009 and Comptroller William Thompson announced Thursday that job losses could reach 170,000 by late 2010. For its part, the city's Office of Management and Budget expects a loss of 147,000 jobs.
New York suffers from a "double whammy" given the weight of the securities industry in the local economy, said Van Wagner. "The finance sector has such a disproportionate impact. There may be some other [city] sector that has unusually high wages but they're just not anywhere near as big as the finance sector," she said. According to a 2007 osc.state.ny.us/osdc/rpt5-2008.pdf report by the New York State comptroller, the securities industry accounts for 23 percent of the city's wages and 9 percent of its tax revenue.
Wall Street employs only 5 per cent of the city's workers, and the Office of Management and Budget expects it will absorb only 31,000, or roughly one fifth, of the city's layoffs. But the generous year-end bonuses and lavish spending that accompanied the boom have faded, affecting businesses throughout the city and weakening city tax revenues. In short, it has taken little time for the fallout to trickle down to people like Mohammed Chowdhury.
Trickle Down
Taxi rides in October, the latest month for which data is available, averaged approximately 425,000 per day, including weekends, a level that Commissioner Matthew W. Daus of the Taxi and Limousine Commission characterized as "consistent" with previous levels. And while the commission did not have data readily available, it dismissed the idea that there has been a significant change in the duration of the average ride.
Nonetheless, Chowdhury maintains that passengers are scarcer than they were last year and that trips are not as long. He said he has also had customers short the fare. "I ask them, 'What happened?'" he said. "'They say, 'I don't have enough money, is that OK?' Forget about the tips! ... They're giving me $3 less [than the fare.]" In total, Chowdhury estimates that he is earning roughly $100 less per weeknight this winter than he did in 2007. Weekend business remains fairly stable, he said: "Lots of kids going out, they don't care if they don't have a job, they still going to the bar."
With less income, Chowdhury and his fellow drivers are cutting back on the same luxuries that other New Yorkers are eschewing, such as eating out. "Most of the yellow cab drivers, they used to sit down, take their sweet time eating and gossiping, because they make enough money," he said. "Now I think they work more, and they bring their food from home."
The trend is widespread. According to Nina and Tim Zagat, creators of the restaurant guide, one third of respondents to their most recent survey are eating out less, and one fifth say they're ordering less alcohol and fewer appetizers and desserts. Restaurant openings in New York City fell from 163 last year to 119 this year.
The Zagats believe that the nation's restaurant industry will prove resilient, though, as they wrote in an October Wall Street Journal op-ed. One reason for optimism is the emergence of what they call BATH, or Better Alternatives to Home, establishments. These are "modestly priced eateries," including "noodle shops and myriad ethnic places," that can be a more efficient choice than home-cooked meals, they wrote. But even some of those restaurants are feeling the effects of the downturn, if one, Tribeca's renowned Pakistan Tea House, is any indication.
The restaurant offers combination plates of South Asian fare, including fresh-baked bread, for less than $10. Its lunch crowd is dominated by businesspeople, while the late shift hosts the restaurant's taxi-driver clientele, for whom the kitchen concocts an extra-spicy chicken curry. Business during both shifts is slower this year than last. "Before, at lunchtime, after 12, it used to be really good, the line was outside the door on the sidewalk," said 18-year old Umar Irshad, whose father owns the Tea House. "Now, it's not like that."
Although drivers still stop by, they order less, Irshad said. "They buy a tea, or a samosa. They won't take a whole plate," he said. To try to increase business, Irshad has begun making deliveries on his own and passing out business cards to friends from school. While business remains slow, Irshad insists that his family would take money from their own pockets to keep employees on the payroll.
Not all employers can promise the same. Irshad said he has overheard business people at the Tea House lamenting being fired and taxi drivers wishing they could find different work. Job insecurity has become a recurrent theme in headlines and water-cooler talk around the city: the production company that fell short of its projected budget, the writing workshop whose recently laid-off participants needed to pay the class fee in installments, the non-profit that might close its doors entirely.
Chowdhury worries that job losses in other sectors might lead to an over-supply of taxi drivers, as people look for new, or additional, sources of employment. "Before, they don't have enough drivers, they're looking for the drivers," he said. "Now, the garage has enough drivers, more than enough." His fears of heightened competition may be well founded. According to Commissioner Daus, 23.9 percent more licenses were issued between August and November of this year than during the same period in 2007.
Safety Nets
While workers in the finance industry may have felt the recession's effects first, they also are more likely to be able to weather the downturn. According to the state comptroller's report, the average securities-industry salary in 2006 was $339,310, while the city estimates that roughly 44 percent of New Yorkers live below 150 percent of the poverty line (or a little more than $39,000 for a family of four). Many of those caught in the wake of the crisis have had to turn to charities and other safety nets.
Unfortunately, a decrease in donations and corporate giving has constricted the budgets of many of the city's charitable organizations, causing safety nets to wear thin. (See Gotham Gazette's slide show, "Feeling the Pinch Despite the Season.") City Harvest, which collects unwanted food from New York's restaurants and redistributes it to emergency food providers, is experiencing a $315,000, or 9 percent, shortfall in its annual budget. But demand for its services is growing. "Not only are we a charity affected by financial downturn, but we're also trying to help the people who are affected by the financial downturn," said City Harvest's vice president of operations, Jennifer McLean.
According to a survey that City Harvest conducted this fall, 75 percent of responding emergency food providers said that they were serving first-time clients, and 60 percent said that their clients were traveling farther to receive emergency food. At the Mobile Market in the South Bronx, one of two sites where City Harvest distributes produce directly to individuals, McLean estimates that demand has increased by 20 percent since August. "Ever since mid-summer, all of a sudden the numbers just started climbing at every single market," she said. "We're not giving away anything that's super tantalizing, like a finished good," she continued. "They're lining up for cabbage! ...They're lining up for carrots! And they're getting there at six in the morning!"
Looking to the City
The city has taken some steps to address the problem. In October, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced 18 initiatives to ameliorate the crisis, including providing $1.3 million in frozen vegetables for the city's emergency food providers. "We can't eliminate the burden many will feel and we can't act as a substitute for failing or missing federal assistance in every case, but by creating real jobs and providing targeted assistance to small businesses, homeowners and vulnerable New Yorkers, we can provide meaningful help to those who need it most," Bloomberg stated in a press release.
City Hall plans to use federal and state funds to support the initiatives, which include investing in local infrastructure to create 25,000 jobs, expanding the city's loan guarantee program to 400 small businesses and non-profits, enhancing job training and placement services, and funding the acquisition of up to 115 foreclosed properties to develop more than 250 affordable homes.
Advocacy organizations like the New York City Coalition Against Hunger praised the plan. In particular they applauded proposals to expand the city's in-classroom breakfast program and to ease the food stamp application process for eligible seniors.
Some advocates, though, think the city should be doing more. "Though Bloomberg's initiatives will help some struggling New Yorkers, we call on the city to support the very poor by fighting for raising welfare benefit and affordable housing," said Veda Myers, hunger and food stamp coordinator at Hunger Action Network of New York State, in an email.
On the other hand, some critics worry the city is spending money it does not have. An editorial in the New York Post faulted the mayor's plan for "shoveling out the cash like Halloween candy." It warned that the initiative would make it harder to "convince the public that the city's money spigot is dry."
Certainly, it may become increasingly difficult for the city to provide assistance. The Office of Management and Budget predicts that the tax revenues collected in 2009 and 2010 will fall shy of the amount collected in 2008 by $2.6 and $3.1 billion, respectively. As a result, the city faces having to cut billions in spending. In September, the mayor ordered that city agencies cut their 2009 and 2010 annual budgets by 2.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively. And last week he called for an additional 7 percent reduction in spending for the 2010 fiscal year, to begin July 1, 2009. Bloomberg has promised that the city's quality of life will not suffer as a result, but Van Wagner warned that sweeping budget cuts would inevitably lead to the deterioration of public services, such as policing and education.
Fiscal constraints presumably also preclude the city from taking sweeping steps to help the newly unemployed or underemployed, and could cause the city to cut programs aimed at helping low income New Yorkers.
City Harvest's McClean remains concerned about the future. "At what rate are people going to have to start needing help?" she wondered, adding that she didn't think New York had felt the full effect of the crisis yet. "That's my biggest concern," she continued, "where's it going to stop and will we have enough to do something meaningful about it?"
Nevertheless, Van Wagner believes the city is doing it's best. "You can quibble about particulars, but generally, under these circumstances, what do you do? You have to cut spending and you have to find ways to raise revenue. Given a problem of this scale, one or the other really isn't going to do the trick. You really have to have a multi-faceted approach to get the situation under control."
In the meantime, the city problems continue to affect lives even beyond its and the nation's borders. According to Chowdhury, the most significant reduction in his expenditures is the amount he sends home to his family in Bangladesh. "I used to send them every month like $600. Now I'm sending them like $300, $320" he said. "Maybe before they used to eat better, now they have to cut back, they have to eat something different because I cannot afford it." According to the World Bank, the global flow of remittances to developing countries began to slow in the third quarter of 2008, and is expected to decelerate further in 2009.
But while funds may be limited, sympathy is not. "They're very used to taking a cab, going to the Upper East Side," said Chowdhury of his passengers. "Now I feel bad for them because they have to go to the subway and fight with other people, standing up."


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32 Series: This Machine Will Produce For You!
The 3230DT and 3200 are TRUE combination machines, which means their utilization rates go up simply because they are well suited for both geotechnical and environmental work.
The versatility of the 32 Series machines lies within the 4-function CB6 Combo Head ... the performance master for these rigs. There's rotation for augering, mud and wet rotary, and rock coring work, and a patented hydraulic head clamp for safely and quickly pulling 1.25- to 6.0 in. rods while maintaining an open ID for downhole work. There's a percussion hammer for direct push work, like driving 6-in. casing for monitoring well installation, and an automatic drop hammer that hydraulically swings out over the hole.
EnviroTek in Tampa, FL, uses a 3230DT to run high-speed wireline tooling at a Florida mining site.
There's a side-shift feature for moving the head so you can work the inside diameter of the rod without moving the drill mast.
What about torque? These machines have plenty of it! There's low-end torque for hollow stem applications and plenty of high end speed for rock coring and air and mud rotary.
And don't forget the control panel ... it's adjustable, easy-to-use, and well planned. You can separately adjust weight on bit, rotation speed, and pump flow for excellent operator control in the field.
The most noticeable option on these machines is the 23-ft. telescoping mast and dual winches. They take the work out of setting monitoring wells or utilizing splitspoon samplers while tripping 20-ft. sections of rods at a time.
There's 800 rpm for coring bedrock. There are drilling controls to do rock coring. Do you need 20 feet of rock coring done at 20 locations? This machine is perfect! And remember there's a percussion hammer to set up to 6-in. casing.
There are way too many features, options and applications possible that make the 32 Series machines too powerful and too versatile to not take a second look at them.
When You Come to Geoprobe® You Don't Just Look!
"After seeing the 3230DT in person, in action, pictures and specs alone cannot describe the power and versatility of this machine until you are hands-on and experience it! The 3230DT can handle all of your drilling and direct push needs."
Shawn Mathers, Operations Manager
Mathers Environmental Drilling
Houston, TX
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Portable Hydraulic Rod Clamp
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Probing Times Spring 2015
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Probing Times Spring 2015
Bridge Over Rubbled Water
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Probing Times Spring 2015
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Probing Times Spring 2015
Switch to Sonic? No Way!
The Geoprobe® sonic rig has really done some incredible things" Robert said. "Everywhere we've gone it's really impressed everyone...
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Probing Times Fall 2016
Indexing Rack for 10-Foot Sonic Tooling
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Probing Times Fall 2016
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Probing Times Fall 2016
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Spring Assisted Swivel Pull Cap
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Never underestimate the capability of the 7822DT! Every day, customers become aware of applications they can offer their clients based on the power...
Probing Times Fall 2016
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Probing Times Fall 2016
7822DT Uses Air Rotary for Geothermal Loop Installation
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Brothers Find Employees and Geoprobe® Valuable to Grow Business
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GeoTek Hawaii Helps Introduce Ground Freezing Technology to Paradise
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Probing Times Fall 2016
Limited Head Space for 7822DT
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Probing Times Fall 2016
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54TR Mounting Options
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Probing Times Fall 2016
MIP Logging Used to Investigate Site Contaminated by Mixture of VOCs
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Geoprobe® DI Team Posts HPT Logging Services Specification
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Riverbed Characterization on Aa River in Belgium
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The 4-Twenty Project
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How the Mechanical Bladder Pump Works
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text:
The CrypTool Portal
The CrypTool Portal raises awareness and interest in encryption techniques for everyone.
All learning programs in the CrypTool project are open source and available for free. The CrypTool project develops the world most-widespread free e-learning programs in the area of cryptography and cryptoanalysis.
The CrypTool Portal consists of e-learning software (CT1, CT2, JCT, CTO) and an additional website:
E-Learning Software:
- CrypTool 1 (CT1) was the first version of CrypTool. It was released in 1998 and allows to experiment with different cryptographic algorithms. CT1 runs under Windows. CT1 has two successors: CT2 and JCT.
- CrypTool 2 (CT2) supports visual programming and execution of cascades of cryptographic procedures. CT2 also runs under Windows.
- JCrypTool (JCT) is platform-independent and runs under Linux, Mac and Windows.
- CrypTool-Online (CTO) was released in spring 2009. This tool allows to try out different algorithms in a browser / smartphone.
Additional website
- Another subproject is the international crypto cipher challenge "MTC3" offering cryptographic riddles of different levels.


text:
|Community Taba : Local Voices for a Global Vision
8th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
Building on the success of previous "dialogue spaces", on March 18th, the Equator Initiative began hosting the Community Taba in Curitiba, Brazil. The Taba invited grassroots environmental leaders from around the world to establish a collaborative, flexible use space at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity (COP8). Once assembled, the participants were backstopped by an array of networked resources which will maximize the impact of their ideas on COP8 outcomes, foster new partnerships, and provide an opportunity to develop and refine their conservation frameworks. The Community Taba ran for the duration of the COP, ending on March 31st.
The Taba demonstrated, in the heart of COP8, that community members, working in partnership with local governments, local and national NGOs, and international organizations, are increasingly taking action to meet their basic needs while preserving the biological resources on which not only their own, but everyone's future survival depends.


text:
Husqvarna is dedicated to serving our customers to the best of our ability.
If you are inquiring about an issue with your Husqvarna product, please have your model number, serial number and purchase date ready when speaking to a customer service representative.
Don't let bad equipment get in your way. Husqvarna parts and accessories will get the job done effectively, securely with expected results.
Your personal selections from our range of products.


text:
Special Report: Poland's roads to ruin
Christian Lowe and Dagmara Leszkowicz, 24 October 2013.
POLAND (Reuters) - When Poland started handing out billions of euros worth of contracts for a wave of road-building five years ago, everyone was meant to benefit.
Poland would bring its decrepit transport system into the 21st century, European construction firms would win contracts at a time of recession, and the European Union, whose cash helped fund the work, could point to how it was helping.
Poland got its roads, for the most part. But in many other ways the enterprise, one of the biggest construction projects in Europe, went seriously wrong. Several contractors are in legal battles to recover billions of euros they say Poland owes them. Dozens of Polish companies are in bankruptcy, and multinational firms have blamed losses on the Polish contracts turning sour. Six European governments have complained to Poland about the way their companies have been treated. The European Commission is investigating what went wrong.
Here's the twist: This is not so much a story of corruption as of cost-cutting zeal. Poland stuck to its budget and the prices agreed in its contracts. That was the problem. In an industry where firms routinely bid as low as possible and costs routinely overrun, Poland frequently refused to budge on cost. In its drive to keep costs down, it also ignored warnings - including some from independent engineers hired by the state - that designs and plans needed to be changed.
The drive to economize was repeated on dozens of projects, industry groups and construction company executives say, and left many involved in the projects struggling. One of the biggest losers was Alpine Holding GmbH, the Austrian unit of Spanish group FCC, which entered bankruptcy proceedings in June, becoming Austria's biggest corporate collapse since World War Two.
A project that should have been a bonanza for Europe has turned into "a slaughter house for Polish and European firms," Jaroslaw Duszewski, a former Alpine executive, wrote to the head of the Polish state roads agency in June this year. A spokesman for FCC declined to comment.
Five other firms have told Reuters they are still in dispute with the road agency over payment: Austria's Strabag, the Polish unit of Germany's Bilfinger, Ireland's SIAC, a joint venture of Ireland's Sisk and Roadbridge called SRB, and Budimex, a Polish unit of Spain's Ferrovial. All but one said they had filed suits against the state road agency which were unresolved. Bilfinger's subsidiary said it was seeking to resolve the dispute out of court.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has defended his officials, and said Poland will not bow to foreign pressure. His office referred reporters to the transport ministry, which defended the agency, saying it had acted within the terms of its agreements with contractors.
The problems relate to contracts awarded from 2008, when Lech Witecki, a former state auditor, was appointed as head of the road agency, known by its Polish acronym GDDKiA. Witecki was put in the job with a brief to get the best possible value just as European Union spending on Polish roads was about to reach an all-time peak. Roads were part of a 37.56 billion euro ($51.37 billion), seven-year EU infrastructure program for Poland - the European Union's biggest ever development program in a single member state.
Witecki followed standard industry practice: His agency would announce a tender for a road project and contractors would bid. Usually, the winner would be the firm that offered to build the road for the lowest price.
But in two crucial aspects, Poland's system differed from the way contracts are run in the rest of Europe, said Frank Kehlenbach, director of industry lobby group European International Contractors. First, executives from several construction firms have said, the Polish agency would in many cases not clarify project details when asked. That left companies with a choice: Take a risk and bid on incomplete information, or walk away.
"In Germany or other European countries you say: 'I have a request for clarification.' Then you have a meeting and it is clarified for all tenderers," said Kehlenbach, who has worked for the organization since 1997. "In Poland ... they say: 'If you have a problem with the tender documents, do not submit the bid.'" The transport ministry said companies which believe they have inadequate information can appeal to an independent adjudicating body, but it had no sign any company had done that.
Secondly, when contractors who had begun work encountered unforeseen problems - World War Two bombs on the site, say, or a design flaw - and needed to adjust the project costs, the agency would consistently reject any change, say executives with construction firms who have dealt with the GDDKiA. Normally when a problem arises, Kehlenbach said, the contractor and client sit down together and clarify the cost. But the Polish authorities did not negotiate on such matters, and instead referred contractors to the courts.
"I have never experienced anything like what happens in Poland," he said.
Jan Biliszczuk, a Polish engineer working as a consultant for Alpine on one project, told a site meeting in May 2013 that the dynamic between contractors and the road agency was "a game of Russian roulette over project costs." GDDKiA regularly withheld payment on the grounds contractors were not delivering, and made several firms forfeit the multi-million euro bonds they had lodged as a guarantee, according to GDDKiA's own records.
Witecki told Reuters his agency did show flexibility on contracts, approving modifications in many cases, but only when this was justified. He said he and his officials acted in line with Polish law, and only tried to enforce the contracts which the contractors themselves had signed. He said he had delivered thousands of kilometers of good quality highways, and provided good value for taxpayers.
An unfinished motorway bridge at Mszana, near Poland's border with the Czech Republic, stands as one example of the road agency's tough approach.
When the design for the bridge was being drawn up, it was intended to be a bold architectural statement fitting for a newly-confident Poland. The ravine the bridge had to span isn't wide, or especially deep. In fact the brook at the bottom of it is only about four meters across - the length of a small family car.
But there were problems from the start.
Most modern motorway suspension bridges are made up of concrete slabs supported on two sides by wire cables hung from towers. This one had towers and a set of wire cables running down the middle of the roadway only.
The man hired by GDDKiA to design it, Stefan Jendrzejek, has a long track record of building road bridges in Poland. He believed that the bridge could withstand the additional stresses resulting from the unusual design, but there would be little margin for error.
In 2007, Alpine Bau, the construction arm of Austria's Alpine Holding, won a tender to build the bridge and a stretch of the A1 motorway either side of it. The company had already completed high-profile construction projects in Poland, and in 2009 would be picked to build the country's new national soccer stadium.
On the motorway contract, Alpine said it could not proceed unless the road agency changed the project design; GDDKiA said Alpine was not fulfilling its obligations, and the contract was torn up in 2009. It was put up for tender again a year later and Alpine Bau won it again, in August 2010 - a week after the government agency had written to ask the firm to clarify if its price included all the work on the project, including the bridge.
From then on, more than 300 pages of official documents exchanged between the agency and the builder record how the project descended into recriminations between Witecki's road agency and the contractor.
According to the documents, which Reuters has seen, three highly qualified engineers who were or had been employed by the agency said the design of the bridge was unproven and too ambitious. But the agency disagreed with most of them. It took the view that the contractor was raising problems with the design to excuse its failures and inflate costs, the documents show.
By late 2011, the bridge was taking shape. But Alpine's engineers discovered that a section of the concrete span had crumbled at the point where some supporting cables were anchored.
One expert the agency had hired, Professor Kazimierz Flaga, proposed adding extra ribs to strengthen the concrete span - advice which the agency did not follow, the documents show. Flaga declined to comment for this article.
The road agency said in a statement to Reuters in July this year: "GDDKiA follows expert advice arising from in-depth analyses."
In a document written this year and seen by Reuters, Jendrzejek wrote that his concept was sound. He did not respond to a request for comment.
By early 2012, cracks had appeared in one of the concrete sections on the underside of the bridge. The regional construction inspectorate stepped in and ordered a halt to the work. The inspectors demanded fixes.
In July 2012, Flaga and three other engineers wrote to the road agency to say they had reservations about the proposed fixes. They were still concerned the bridge would not be strong enough. The road agency rejected the alternatives they suggested and disputed the content of the letter.
Witecki told Reuters the principal reason for the problems with the contract was not the design of the bridge but mistakes by Alpine. He said the price it offered to carry out the contract was unrealistically low.
Despite the disputes, on July 20, 2012 Alpine Bau signed a contract with GDDKiA to carry out corrective work and complete the bridge. According to Duszewski, the former Alpine Bau executive, the company was by this stage trapped: If it refused to sign the new contract it would not receive the millions of euros it was owed for work already done.
Problems soon resurfaced: Alpine Bau complained about missing plans and components.
Things were taking a toll on Alpine Bau financially. From the early days of the contract, GDDKiA withheld interim payments to the firm. The transport ministry said it withheld payments in line with the contract, which stipulates payments can only be made when work in the schedule is completed.
In June 2012 the road agency also called in a bond worth more than 13 million euros that Alpine Bau had lodged with a bank as security in case it failed to meet the terms of the contract. Then in February this year it wrote to the bank, saying it wanted to call another bond, also worth about 13 million euros. A few days later, it wrote to the bank again, asking it to postpone - a process it repeated six times, before it finally claimed the cash in May this year.
That, said Duszewski, the former Alpine Bau executive, felt like a tactic to keep the company under constant financial pressure. He said it was "like a gun to the head."
GDDKiA said in a statement to Reuters it had postponed calling in the cash to show "good faith" while there was a chance of reaching an agreement.
On May 14, Alpine Bau announced it was pulling out, claiming the GDDKiA's decision to call the bond was proof the agency was not interested in a constructive solution, which the agency disputes. The following month, Alpine Bau entered insolvency proceedings. A week later, the parent group, Alpine Holding GmbH, followed suit.
In its statement, GDDKiA said it had shown flexibility with Alpine Bau, for example paying its sub-contractors directly when it was having financial problems, and bringing forward payments to Alpine. It said it worked successfully with many contractors, but the onus was on them to make sure that they bid realistically and carried out the work responsibly.
In July, an alliance of Polish construction industry lobby groups wrote to the Polish government accusing the road agency of using its power to wreck contractors.
"The state is responsible for the bankruptcy of hundreds of construction companies and for the army of thousands of unemployed Poles who until recently were employed by the construction industry," the letter said.
In June the ambassadors to Poland of Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal wrote a letter of complaint to deputy prime minister Janusz Piechocinski. The letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said the government should intervene "to avoid negative implications to the image of Poland's business environment." The value of claims against the roads agency lodged by contractors with Polish courts stands at about 2.35 billion euros, according to the letter.
Shirin Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the European Commission in Brussels, said it was looking into whether the contracts were managed in line with EU procurement rules. The Commission has not given details of the investigation, but diplomats say it is linked to contractors' complaints about the road agency.
On a weekday afternoon in August, the only sign of construction work at the still-unfinished Mszana bridge was a lone man in a high-visibility jacket pacing around, and a forklift truck that delivered a water tank. The motorway between Poland and the Czech Republic is blocked at the bridge, forcing vehicles to make a detour, squeezing through narrow country roads. ($1 = 0.7312 euros)
(Additional reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez in Madrid, Georgina Prodhan in Vienna, Jack Watling in London and Adrian Krajewski in Warsaw; Edited by Simon Robinson and Sara Ledwith).
Originally published by Reuters on 23 October 2013.
Jack Merlin Watling
Jack is a journalist and historian. He formerly worked as planning editor at NewsFixed, and has contributed to Foreign Policy, Reuters, the Guardian, Vice, the Herald Group and the New Statesman.
June 2018