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Dear Reader,
We are pleased to inform you that our Hidden Gem stock of April 2016 - Stylam Industries Ltd (BSE Code: 526951) which was released on 8th May'16 has given absolute returns of 90% to our Hidden Gems members within period of 2 months. Our team suggested Buy on Stylam Industries Ltd at price of Rs. 217.80 on 08 May'16 with a target price of Rs. 430. We are glad to inform our readers that stock is near to our target price in matter of 2 months, Stylam Industries stock made its 52 week high of Rs. 422.50 today and currently trading at Rs. 414 giving as on date returns of 90% to our Hidden Gems members in period of 2 months.
Stylam Industries has good consistent profit growth of 25.2% over 5 years, growth prospects of the company look bright considering robust demand of laminates globally and the company doubling its capacity with recent capacity expansion.
Below is the summary of Stylam Industries Ltd shared by our team under Hidden Gem stock of April'16 released on 08th May 2016.
Note: This report is shared only for the purpose of information and not an investment advice. Kindly carry out your own due diligence in case of investment in Stylam Industries.
1. Company Background:
Stylam Industries Limited (Stylam) manufactures high pressure laminates for home and industry use, under the brand name 'STYLAM'. It offers decorative, compact industrial, fire retardant, fabric based, post forming, cabinet liner and metal laminates. These products constitute basic interior building materials responsible for residential and commercial space attractiveness, safety and security.
Stylam Industries Limited (Stylam) manufactures high pressure laminates for home and industry use, under the brand name 'STYLAM'. It offers decorative, compact industrial, fire retardant, fabric based, post forming, cabinet liner and metal laminates. These products constitute basic interior building materials responsible for residential and commercial space attractiveness, safety and security.
Company is the pioneer in up-bringing the decorative laminates in India. Company's capability to provide end-to-end high quality decorative laminate designs has helped company to consistently innovate and create value-added products for its clients.
Stylam was set up by late Mr. N R Aggarwal in 1991, by the name of Golden Laminate Pvt Limited. Later in 1995, company got listed on BSE as a public limited company. The company changed its name from Golden Laminates Ltd. to Stylam Industries Ltd. in January 2010.
Stylam is promoted by Jagdish Gupta and Satish Gupta. Jagdish Gupta is the managing director and Satish Gupta, executive director, manages production and marketing operations of the company. Stylam headquarter is at Chandigarh and the company has its manufacturing facility in Panchkula (Haryana).
Stylam manufactures high pressure decorative environmental friendly laminates. The organization specializes in manufacturing premium quality wide array of laminates and adhesives. Over the years, Stylam has developed products that have become benchmark in the laminate and adhesive industry. Stylam become foremost manufacturing company of high pressure laminates, adhesives, exterior cladding, exterior flooring and door skins throughout PAN India and across the globe.
Stylam today has state-of-the-art manufacturing plant of laminate and adhesive at Panchkula near to Chandigarh with installed capacity of around 7 million (60 lakhs) sheets per annum. The company has witnessed remarkable growth from past 25 years of excellence in producing high quality laminates.
Stylam is well equipped with advanced technology machines with latest sophisticated moulds of various finishes from France & Germany to assure maximum production of laminates in minimum time. The back sanding of the laminates is done by the ITALIAN IMEAS Machine, one of the best manufacturers of sanding machines in the world.
Product Range
Stylam decorative laminates: These are suitable for a wide range of applications in both home furniture and professional environment like wooden claddings/lining of walls and columns, lift linings, doors, shelves, vanity units, table tops, work‐tops, office partitions, counters, cubicles, store fittings, desks, storage units etc. Stylam decorative laminates are available in wide range of colours in Solids and Woodgrains designs and in many evergreen and new texture finishes and are available in 5 different sizes to cater to varying needs.
Stylam Metallic (metal foil) laminates: These laminates provide a modern decorative and innovative appeal to interiors. Stylam Metallic laminates have bright and reflective surface aspects which render the ambience a modern and sleek look. These laminates are ideal for use in the hospitality, interior design, gaming, entertainment, retail, display and furniture industries.
Stylam Compact laminates: These are formulated with inner core of celluloid fibres impregnated with special thermosetting resins. These resins and the special heat and pressure cycles impart properties of a solid, load bearing hard laminate, which is resistant to wide range of atmospheric and chemical agents for use in internal and external atmospheric conditions. High values of flexural strength and tensile strength ensures that these laminates are suitable for saw cutting, drilling, machining and punching as per requirement.
Stylam Exterior laminates: These laminates are manufactured by European technique to withstand adverse action of atmospheric Ultra Violet Rays and to withstand exterior atmospheric effects with minimum fading of colours.
Adhesives: Company has developed adhesives with decades of understanding and expertise in the furnishing industry. Company offers highly specialized range of adhesives suited for decorative laminates, wood and other industrial uses. Laminates and wood are extremely versatile mediums. Therefore, only specialized and high quality adhesives will ensure their application.
Stylam has recently launched the pre-laminated particle boards on wood base. They are laminated on both surfaces with imported design paper by short cycle lamination. The products are known for color-fastness and being eco-friendly and conforming to the above standards.
Globally Renowned Quality Credentials
The company has ISO 9001:2008, FSC, Greenguard and many more environmental related credentials for manufacturing laminates and adhesives. Today, Stylam has a strong brand presence in all over India and around the world. Stylam is recoginized as Star Export House from the Govt. of India; company exports to more than 80 countries across globe including important markets - USA, Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe, Russia and Africa
i) Greenguard – By using Greenguard certified laminates, one can substantially reduce or eliminate the negative effect of toxic emissions on the nature and the health of occupants and habitants. This ensures superior indoor air quality and increased work productivity of staff in case of commercial establishments as it is healthier for the people living in it.
ii) FSC - The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world's forests. As part of its corporate responsibility towards sustainable forest development, Stylam is among the very few laminates manufacturer who has been awarded the FSC certification by Rain Forest Alliance, Indonesia.
iii) CE - Stylam Industries Limited has achieved pioneer European CE Certification for both Internal and External application Compact laminates range by ITC Inc., Czech Republic and has fulfilled all the requirements as applicable as per the harmonized standard EN 438-7:2005. Stylam is the first laminate manufacturer in India and among very few in the world to be awarded this coveted certification.
iv) Green Label - The Singapore Green Labelling Scheme Secretariat has granted Stylam Industries Limited the right to use the Singapore Green Label for Stylam High Pressure Laminates for environmentally improved low emission low toxicity.
v) ISO 9001:2008 - Stylam Industries Limited being awarded the latest ISO 9001:2008 certification for the complete range of laminates manufactured from certification agency accredited with reputed certification agency JAS-ANZ.
vi) ISO 14001 - World's most recognized environmental management certification standard. Environmental management system certification, ISO 14001, basically requires the organization to monitor and manage its impact on the environment.
vii) OHSAS 18001 - Includes Policy and commitment, Hazard identification, risk assessment & risk controls, Legal requirements, Objectives and Programs, Organization and personnel, Training, Communication and Consultation, Documentation and records, Operational Controls, Emergency Readiness, Measurement and monitoring, Accident and incident investigation, corrective and preventive action, Audit and Review, and Application and Relevance in the Industry.
viii) BIS - Stylam Industries has achieved ISI certification as per IS:2016-1995 from Bureau of Indian Standards for its thin laminates range of 0.8 mm and 1.0 mm thickness.
ix) Biocote – Stylam Industries HPL laminate has achieved the Biocote minimum antibacterial performance requirement of 95% "Reduction against the initial for E.Coli and MRSA" according to ISO 22196: 2011 (certificate of antibacterial) analysis.
x) EXOVA - This determines the performance if product subject to its specifications. The test is performed in according to a specified procedure for measuring the lateral spread of flame along the surface of a product oriented in vertical position.
Understanding Laminates as a Product
Laminates, also known as Sunmica, is commonly used for furniture fabrication purpose. Because of excellent durability, these Laminates can be used as substitutes to veneer, melamine, paints, varnish and furniture foil.
Laminates are broadly classified into 2 types - High Pressure Laminates (HPL) and Low Pressure Laminate (LPL), the actual difference in these 2 type of laminates is mainly due to the manufacturing process that goes into developing these products.
HPL is manufactured under pressures of 70 to 100 bars and temperatures of 270 to 320 degrees Fahrenheit using adhesives. On the other hand LPL is developed under pressures of 20 to 30 bars and temperatures of 330 to 375 Fahrenheit with no adhesives.
The main difference between the two products is the price & durability. LPL is available for much cheaper prices than HPL. On the other hand, high pressure products score high on durability as compared to LPL.
Materials used for developing HPL and LPL include impregnating layers of Kraft paper. It can be defined as a cardboard or firm paper. The paper is generally impregnated with melamine resins to create a laminate. After that, the product is merged with a decorative film layer. The final straw is to attach it to a wooden substrate. The bases widely used include fiberboard or particle boards. Thus, the final product is on the table for use. These products are widely used for designing furniture, walls, floors, countertops, kitchen tops and much more.
Types based on Usage - Based on the final or intended use of the product, the laminates are of two types viz. Decorative and Industrial. For decorative laminates the look and feel are the important aspects as they are commonly used to decorate and protect wooden furniture, while for industrial laminates the focus is more on having a surface that has higher strength, higher resistance to scratches and wear and tear, and which is very durable. Industrial use products such as circuit boards are made using industrial laminate materials.
The High Pressure Laminates (HPL) drives the market mainly due to three key features:
- Design & Style Trends – New colours and patterns representing style and panache must continue to hit the market. These products must also score high on longevity and usability.
- Global Accessibility – Many companies are looking to target the international markets by developing unique collection of product range for Europe, Asia and North America.
- Technology – Various companies that produce High Pressure Laminates are now looking to implement various technologies to create products where solid colours coordinate with patterns to provide a better end product.
Rebounding construction activity, high credit availability, increased interest in home decor and interior improvement options, and a surge in demand for non-residential upgrades, will provide ample opportunities for decorative laminates industry to grow by leaps and bounds. High Pressure Laminates are put to use for churning out a large variety of building components such as cabinets, countertops, store fixtures and wall panels. The enhancement of this industry and continuous evolution and implementation of these products will always open doors for sales growth amongst the people that consider value for money. In addition, laminate manufacturers continue to focus on improved textures and printing techniques that rival the aesthetics of solid wood, natural stone and other materials, but at a lower cost.
The growth of laminate industry is mainly driven by increasing demand from housing market and growing significance of new construction industry. The Indian real estate market is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. The housing sector alone contributes 5-6 per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In construction, after cement, plywood laminate and steel related products are essential part right from initial brick to final stage of furnishing; the demand for these products is directly related to the growth of infrastructure and real estate sector, the demand for company's products is expected to remain buoyant.
In the period FY08-20, the market size of this sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2 per cent. Retail, hospitality and commercial real estate are also growing significantly, providing the much-needed infrastructure for India's growing needs.
Laminates have become an indispensable part of big and evolving segment in housing sector, it is widely used in furniture, modular kitchen as well as in flooring. The increasing demand of better interiors are major triggers for demand of laminates.
The domestic laminates industry is highly fragmented with majority of sector comprising unorganized players leads to pricing pressure for the players in the industry. However, the implementation of goods and service tax (GST) in the near future will provide an impetus to organized players in the laminate industry. In the exports segment, demand has been stable on account of shift from the wood based panel products to engineered panel like MDF and particle board.
India is the one of the largest exporters of the laminates in the world. Players with the establish track record of delivering quality products in the export markets, including Stylam have been consistently able to register growth in turnover over the years despite the global slowdown though the prospects of the company will be primarily driver by the demand from the real estate sector and its ability to manage currency fluctuations.
2. Recent Developments:
i) Stylam Industries wins Power Brand Rising Star Award 2016 – 11th Apr 2016
India is the one of the largest exporters of the laminates in the world. Players with the establish track record of delivering quality products in the export markets, including Stylam have been consistently able to register growth in turnover over the years despite the global slowdown though the prospects of the company will be primarily driver by the demand from the real estate sector and its ability to manage currency fluctuations.
2. Recent Developments:
i) Stylam Industries wins Power Brand Rising Star Award 2016 – 11th Apr 2016
Planman Media – a journalism, through its 'Power Brand Rising Stars' platform recognizes promising brands that have shown sustained growth over the past and have been able to create a huge impact etching a strong impression to 'elevate' and capture the imagination of a resurgent India.
Given the unmatched capabilities and competitiveness of Stylam Industries Ltd. amidst decorative laminate & adhesive industry, the organization was selected for the Power Brands Rising Star Award 2016 on account of its superior Brand Equity assessed through research on Brand Image & Perception, Brand Performance, Brand Loyalty, Brand Awareness and Brand Association. The award was conferred at a scintillating ceremony held in the Capital, New Delhi presided over by Dr. Najma A. Heptullah Hon'ble Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Sh. Syed Shahnawaz Hussain with others of India Inc. in attendance.
ii) Stylam Ind emerges as a leading exporter of laminates in Italy – 31st Jan 2016
Stylam Industries has emerged as country prominent exporter of laminates in Italy. The demand of products of company in Italy is on rise due to their astonish designs and quality. Stylam is specialist in manufacturing avant-garde premium quality wide array of laminates, exterior cladding, exterior flooring and adhesives. The company is also a leader in manufacturing high quality environment-friendly decorative laminates in India.
Stylam has established itself as a strong Indian player with great significance on exports. Being a star export house of laminates and having realized the demands of international markets, company has expertise in understanding the global design requirement and fulfilling them respectively. Company has developed products that have become benchmark in the laminate industry. At present, Stylam laminate has a strong brand presence in more than 80 countries and company intent to take this number to 100 plus countries in this fiscal year.
Moreover, Stylam has a committed R&D division which takes constant steps to evolve with global markets. The company has been investing heavily in the R&D.
Recently, the company has also introduced anti bacteria and chemical resistant laminates in the country. The company has a passionate group of workforce who travel round the world to develop and innovate with laminates designs with global suitability.
iii) Development of New Building at Panchkula IT Park, Haryana – 2nd Sept 2015
To put all the inventiveness measures under one roof, this includes development of new designs, finding of new vendors, to study product dynamics and to explore market for export and domestic business; at their separate location at Panchkula Technology Park, Haryana. The construction of building having built-up areas of 20697.200 sq. mtrs is almost complete.
The company has planned to lease out portion of constructed building to other players for commercial office space and for service sector businesses. The building will be operational before the close of this financial year.
iv) Stylam Industries embarks on Expansion Plan – 8th Jun 2015
The company is putting up an 8,000-tonne hydraulic press of 6 x 14 feet, and three 4 x 8 feet production lines, which would be the first of its kind in terms of technology and innovation in the world of laminates. As per management, this environment-friendly and energy conservation know-how will result in less carbon emission and less power consumption.
After this expansion, Stylam's production capacity will increase by 6 million (60 lakh) sheets a year. The automated cutting edge technology will boost the quality of products and increase efficiency with less human intervention. This will help company to extend its outreach in the Indian market with the aim of growing the domestic business along with exports as the total production will increase to match the demand on both fronts.
The new hydraulic press would be fully operational by this year and this will make Stylam one of the largest manufacturers of laminates in Asia. The company is one of the world's top exporters, with a major presence in European markets.
3. Financial Performance:
Stylam Industries standalone net profit rises 7.35% in the December 2015 quarter
Net profit of Stylam Industries rose 7.35% to Rs 2.92 crore in the quarter ended December 2015 as against Rs 2.72 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2014. Sales rose 7.67% to Rs 58.09 crore in the quarter ended December 2015 as against Rs 53.95 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2014.
Stylam Industries standalone net profit rises 13.30% in the September 2015 quarter
Net profit of Stylam Industries rose 13.30% to Rs 2.64 crore in the quarter ended September 2015 as against Rs 2.33 crore during the previous quarter ended September 2014. Sales rose 17.26% to Rs 60.25 crore in the quarter ended September 2015 as against Rs 51.38 crore during the previous quarter ended September 2014.
With growing demand of HPL (High Pressure Laminates) globally, Stylam achieved revenue of Rs. 178 crores from exports in FY 14-15, which is 78.25% of its total revenue. This is expected to increase significantly as company plans to increase its exports to almost 100 countries in this fiscal year.
As company has doubled its capacity recently, we believe company will post decent growth sales and profits in coming quarters.
4. Peer Group Comparison:
On valuation parameters, we find Stylam Industries trading at significant discount compared to other listed players in the Industry. Moreover, important financials like OPM (operating profit margin) and ROE (return on equity) of Stylam are better compared to Greenlam Industries. Also once recent capacity expansion is completed, Stylam Industries Laminate capacity will be at par with Greenlam Industries
5. Key Concerns & Risks:
i) Competition from Unorganized Players – The domestic laminates industry is highly fragmented with majority of sector comprising unorganized players though there has been increasing shift in consumer preference from unbranded to branded goods. Competition from both organised as well as unorganised players leads to pricing pressure for the players, hence impacting margins of the company.
ii) Delay in GST Implementation – Implementation of GST will be a positive for Stylam as it would bring in a shift of consumers from the unorganised to organised space with a reduction in the price differential, going ahead. GST will address inefficiencies in the current tax system. However, any delay in implementation of GST could impact Stylam, as it would be difficult for company to gain market share in domestic market.
6. Saral Gyan Recommendation: (as on 08 May'16)
i) With recent expansion, Stylam production capacity will get almost doubled to 13 million sheets from existing capacity of 7 million (70 lakh) sheets per annum. As per management, the automated cutting edge technology implementation will boost the quality of products and increase efficiency with less human intervention. This will help company to extend its outreach in the Indian market with the aim of growing the domestic business along with exports as the total production will increase to match the demand on both fronts. The company currently exports to more than 80 countries and plans to expand its reach to 100 countries in this fiscal year
ii) Stylam is investing heavily on R&D to stay ahead on the innovation curve in the global Laminate Industry to develop with global markets. The company has showcases its products in major exhibitions in strategically important markets. Company is exporting its products in European and Southeast Asian countries. More than 80% of the products are being exported to more than 80 countries around the world, along with exports to 20 countries in Europe which is testimony to best in class quality products manufactured by the company. Moreover, Stylam enjoys strong reputation for its products with globally renowned quality credentials.
iii) Stylam continues to explore markets to understand product dynamics for exports and domestic business. The company has developed HPL exterior grade premium flooring product, under the brand name of 'Walkon'. The company is the first to manufacture this product in India. Beside this, the company has enhanced production of Exterior Cladding which is marketed under the brand 'Fascia'. Moreover, the interior grade laminates for premium and standard grades are marketed under brand name 'Violam' and 'Wakalam' respectively. Company is aiming for healthy growth which will be achieved through an appropriate mix of international and domestic business. The Company is also trying to add a new product segment in Laminates which will help to penetrate into newer markets
iv) In last 5 years, OPM increased from 5.37% to 10.96% and company managed to sustain OPM above 10% in 2015 which is good indication about operating efficiency of the company. Company also managed to bring Debt to Equity ratio below 2 from 2.38 in FY13. However with recent expansion, debt may be high on books for this fiscal but can be managed with strong cash flows from operations. Working Capital Days also reduced from 140 days to almost 100 days which is another positive.
v) Apart from Laminate business, Stylam has also set up a new building having built up areas of 2.23 Lacs square foot at Panchkula IT Park, Haryana. Company has planned to lease out the major portion of this built up areas to other players for commercial office space and for service sector business which will boost company's revenue growth and profitability going forward.
v) Apart from Laminate business, Stylam has also set up a new building having built up areas of 2.23 Lacs square foot at Panchkula IT Park, Haryana. Company has planned to lease out the major portion of this built up areas to other players for commercial office space and for service sector business which will boost company's revenue growth and profitability going forward.
vi) As of Mar'16, promoter's shareholding in the company is at 58.83% out of which promoters have pledged 10 lakhs shares i.e. 23.23% of their holding since Dec 2011. In Public shareholding, 4.86% stake of Stylam is held by Mr. Manav Gupta, who is the son of Mr. Satish Gupta. Hence, promoters total in direct holding in the company is at 63.69%. Institution shareholding is negligible at 0.91%.
vii) In view of continuous expansion and investment strategies, company has not paid dividend to its shareholders during last 5 years. The last dividend paid by the company was in 2010, since then Stylam is retaining its profits to continuously increase its capacity. With significant expansion, the company has achieved revenue CAGR of 27.3% and profit CAGR of 25.2% during last 5 years. As company has taken aggressive expansion by doubling its capacity with outlay of almost 45 crores recently, we expect company may continue retaining its profit in near future.
viii) As per our estimates, Stylam Industries can deliver PAT of 13.75 crores for full financial year 2016-17, annualized EPS of Rs 18.80 with forward P/E ratio of 11.6X for FY16-17. Company's valuation looks discounted compared to peer group companies on account of better financials. With completion of recent capacity expansion and increase in value added products, we believe company will continue to deliver strong revenue growth and profitability going forward.
ix) On equity of Rs. 7.32 crore, the estimated annualized EPS for FY 16-17 works out to Rs. 18.80 and the Book Value per share is Rs. 71.55. At current market price of Rs. 217.80, stock price to book value is 3.04.
Considering high earning visibility and attractive valuations of the company compared to other peer companies, growing demand of decorative laminates globally and company's plan to extend its outreach to domestic market along with exports with recent capacity expansion, Saral Gyan team recommends "Buy" on Stylam Industries Ltd at current market price of Rs. 217.80 for target of Rs. 430 over a period of 12 to 24 months.
Considering high earning visibility and attractive valuations of the company compared to other peer companies, growing demand of decorative laminates globally and company's plan to extend its outreach to domestic market along with exports with recent capacity expansion, Saral Gyan team recommends "Buy" on Stylam Industries Ltd at current market price of Rs. 217.80 for target of Rs. 430 over a period of 12 to 24 months.
Buying Strategy:
- 75% at current market price of 217.80
- 25% at price range of 190-195 (in case of correction in stock price in near term)
Portfolio Allocation: 3% of your equity portfolio
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Wish you happy & safe Investing.
Team - Saral Gyan


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Welcome to the course
Welcome to 'Innovation: The Food Industry'. Over the next two weeks you're going to be exploring innovation in the particular context of the food industry.
We've created this course in partnership with Marks & Spencer, who, like us here at the University of Leeds, firmly believe that innovation is at the heart of progress in business.
This course is just one of a series designed by the University of Leeds for school-based learners and their teachers. As this is an open course, we also welcome other learners: as you will have seen from the welcome area, we have a diverse cohort signed up. However, it is important to recognize that this course, and the content and activities within it, has been specifically designed to help those studying at school or college make the transition to studying at university or the work place.
It is anticipated that it will take around two hours to complete the tasks during the week. This includes watching the videos, joining discussions, reading articles and completing any exercises. If you have more time, we have also provided some links to additional reading and resources.
We have provided a course map to help you navigate your journey through the course: click on the image to access, or you can download the map from the Downloads section below.
In the first week you'll consider and discuss with your fellow learners what innovations have influenced the food industry. We then introduce some of the drivers and challenges faced by innovators. This is illustrated by a case study from Marks & Spencer, showing how innovation is driven to bring consumers new and better products.
In week two we move on to look at crowdsourcing and open innovation. You'll have the opportunity to be part of a crowdsourcing activity to try and find an innovative solution to a food related 'wicked problem'.
We then move from food to drink: we consider technology and innovation, with a case study from the University of Leeds looking at innovation in brewing.
There's plenty to keep you busy and interested, and we really hope you enjoy the course and the activities that we've planned.
Have your say:
Please use the comments to share your reasons for joining this course. Please also let us know where you are from; this course is open to learners world-wide.
Take some time to read the posts from other learners. If you come across someone with similar interests to you, you may choose to 'follow' them; you can then filter the discussions to only view the comments from those you are following. This can help to make discussions easier to manage.
Next steps
Before moving on we would like to extend our thanks to the staff from the M&S Company Archive and Head Office who have been instrumental in helping to design and develop this course. Please note that these course materials and videos were first prepared in 2014.
When you are ready to move on, click 'Mark as complete'. You can monitor your progress through the course by selecting 'Progress' at the top of the page. This will show you the steps you have completed.
© University of Leeds

subset: commoncrawl


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Info about the Grossology Museum Tour. Inside!
The Science of Really Gross Things
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SAMJ: South African Medical Journal
versão On-line ISSN 2078-5135
versão impressa ISSN 0256-9574
SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. vol.102 no.8 Cape Town Ago. 2012
Teenage pregnancies/HIV prevention doctors help fill official hiatus
A young former Chris Hani/Baragwanath Hospital intern, troubled by a high patient load of pregnant teenagers, many with complications, has begun conducting 'shock therapy' school workshops across Johannesburg, aimed at reducing long-term emotional and physical harm.
Dr Kalli Spencer, 27, now a surgical medical officer at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, teamed up with an NGO and other young colleagues rotating through the surgical and obstetrics and gynaecology departments at his hospital to heighten prevention awareness. In their spare time and working with the 'Just-1-Teenager' NGO and the local education department, they've helped fill a pregnancy awareness gap in successful HIV behaviour-change campaigns (Love Life, Soul City and Khomanani) - and address the social stigma which the often patient-unfriendly public health system aggravates.1 Spencer, the Junior Doctors Association of South Africa's (JUDASAs), project co-ordinator and marketing director, says a quarter of all the patients he treated at the obstetrics and gynaecology unit in Chris Hani/Bara were pregnant teenagers.
Those that stuck in his memory were the 16-year-olds with previous C-sections, a 17-year-old whose baby died in the ICU (congenital heart deformity) and a 22-year-old with an ectopic pregnancy who died in his arms (with boyfriend in tow), before they could get her to Chris Hani/Bara. 'They're just not emotionally and physically mature enough to deal with this ... and that's not to mention the numerous cases of kwashiorkor babies (mothers unable to afford to feed or ignorant of appropriate nutrition), and those preggie because of sugar daddies,' he added.
'Connecting the dots' -junior doctor
The initial vehicle for Spencer's response was the national health department's Pregnancy Awareness Week in February 2010. 'I think as doctors we don't make enough time to reflect on what we can do to change things. If it wasn't for that pregnancy awareness campaign I don't think I would have connected the dots. Then at JUDASA, the subject of what we could do came up - so I took a team to the Rand Girls High School in Parktown.' By the time of going to press Spencer's current team had completed half-day workshops at nearly a dozen schools, including several in Pimville, Soweto. The interactive workshop (tailored to primary and secondary schools) includes a PowerPoint presentation on normal sexual development (and what can go wrong) before moving onto the worst complications of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (and long-term complications), HIV complications and abortion, but 'focusing mainly on abstinence and touching on contraception if they were to consider it'. 'Contraception is excluded from the workshop at Catholic schools where pupils' questions have centred on "what is a climax or orgasm?" and "what is Viagra?" ... the parents don't realise what their little angels actually know. You can look at the faces in the audience and see who knows what's going on and the innocent faces registering shock - they're the ones you make the impact on,' he says. Asked to elaborate on the 'shock therapy' presentation, Spencer said it began with ectopic pregnancies, moving on to abortion (depicting the actual manual aspiration device at work), a picture of a fetus with a woman pointing a gun at it, plus other slides on congenital deformities, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), ulcers, discharges and a detailed depiction of 'how expensive babies actually are'. He told teenagers that the depictions were 'rare complications . but I ask them, "how do you know you are not the one person they happen to?"' Spencer said his campaign was anything but religiously inspired; 'I'm a doer, responding to my experience of what's going on the ground, not some higher political or policy echelon.'
Health Dept endorses schools HIV testing hiatus
The Department of Basic Education earlier this year discontinued HIV testing at schools (and thus any attendant pregnancy awareness education) - vital to behaviour change before 'learners' enter a more sexually active, age-differentiated and far higher HIV prevalence societal pool. Confronted by an influential youth activist organisation, Yezingane, over the lack of psycho-social support, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga backed down, placing herself at odds with the HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Directorate in the health department. After several urgent phone calls and meetings, the two government departments, with input from National Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, agreed to continue the suspension of testing until the implementation of the pre-national-health-insurance-integrated school health programme. This nurse-led programme is intended to be far more co-ordinated, with full consultation of school bodies, NGOs, parents, learners and referral networks prior to inception - but the 6 - 12-month testing hiatus could prove costly in the HIV infection battle.
Dr Thobile Mbengashe, Chief Director of HIV/AIDS and STIs in the national Department of Health told Izindaba that interventions from awareness bodies like LoveLife, Khomanani and Soul City would continue while the health department still provided free termination of pregnancy services to girls and women in their first trimesters. However, 'protecting and providing something (awareness) that is relevant and topical and not detrimental to the psyches of young people,' was crucial -and for this wider consultation was 'essential'. When pressed, he estimated that this would take 'not more than a year, perhaps between 6 and 8 months ... it's hard to say'.
Qualified warning
Both he and Dr Gustaaf Wolvaardt, CEO of the Foundation for Professional Development, warned against a 'shock therapy' approach, adding that, while potentially effective, sexuality and sexual health were equally vital components of development. Said Mbengashe, 'You don't want to dramatise or traumatise people and make it into a horrible thing. Any programme should also go through due process (of consultation) - and make sure we're doing no harm.'
Wolvaardt described Spencer and his fellow doctors' initiative as 'absolutely great - a small group of dedicated people can change the world. You just have to see what Pieter Dirk-Uys (the comedian) has done at schools. Obviously these guys are seeing where the gap is in the big focus on preventing HIV/AIDS. In a survey we did in Tshwane, half the kids admitted they were sexually active and only half were cognitively aware that they were practising unsafe sex,' he emphasised. However getting the opinion of children and the organisations that represented them, not to mention teacher and parent bodies was necessary. 'Our experience is that this school thing is a buzz saw. You stick your hand in and it'll get cut off. South Africa is a very conservative society, across cultures. These well-intentioned young doctors need to consult experts in the field before somebody goes hysterical and a good programme gets into trouble,' he added.
Teenage pregnancy data
Surveys of mainstream (government and private) schools show there are more than 45 000 teenage pregnancies in any one year. A LoveLife survey conducted by the Reproductive Health Research Unit in 2003 indicated that the rate of teenage pregnancies in South Africa had not diminished despite wide-ranging initiatives to improve reproductive health counselling and related services. A 1998 South African Demographic and Health Survey revealed that about 2.4% of the adolescent girls canvassed had fallen pregnant by the age of 15, with 35% of the sample reporting a pregnancy by the age of 19. The Department of Health's figures (1990 survey) estimated the teenage pregnancy rate to be 330/1 000 under the age of 19 (USA rate 52/1 000). Among blacks, the proportion of births resulting from teenage pregnancies was reported to have risen from 12.4% in 1984 to 15.5% in 1991. One probe demonstrates that young women, the fathers (18 - 22 years old), and their parents are 'locked into a silence of fear and shame, preventing them from providing mutual support and from accessing available services'. Sexual and reproductive health and educational services for young people were also subject to 'moral paralysis, rendering them equivocal in their dealings with teenage mothers and fathers, and leading young parents to experience these services as distant and inaccessible,' it added. 2
Spencer's spark and passion also led to him starting a circumcision clinic at the Helen Joseph Hospital during his community service year - fulfilling a long-standing wish of many busy full-time colleagues. He used his JUDASA portfolio experience to market and promote circumcision at schools, colleges, technikons and various vehicle-licensing departments. Supported by the Centre for HIV/AIDS and Prevention Studies (CHAPS), a private NGO funded by the World Health Organization, and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Spencer has personally done 1 000 circumcisions, working at various CHAPS clinics across Soweto. Eighteen months down the line, the Helen Joseph Clinic, linked to the HIV-management NGO 'Right to Care,' has a comprehensive service that conducts rapid HIV tests (circumcision done if CD4 count is greater than 200 and antiretroviral therapy added from CD4 count of 350 upwards, plus TB prevention treatment - INH for post-contact).
'Just-1-Teenager' - how it began
Spencer told Izindaba that his long-term goal is to set up a public sector men's health clinic where he could use a captive audience to address issues like intimate partner violence and sexual health. The 'Just-1-Teenager' NGO he worked with was established over a decade ago by qualified midwife, Sister Burgie Ireland, after her 14-year old-daughter (now 31) fell pregnant and chose to have her child while completing her education. Ireland's programme gets teenagers to understand and appreciate the benefits of delaying sexual debut, addresses abusive behaviour (many pupils come from dysfunctional homes where rape, violence, and alcohol and drug abuse are a daily part of their lives) and encourages open discussion. 'Teachers stay (discreetly in the background) during presentations and parents are invited to a parents' evening beforehand where we encourage them to openly discuss sexuality with their kids. We also prepare a full report for the principal and life orientation teacher (which includes feedback from confidential questionnaires),' she explained. Young, dynamic and motivated doctors 'telling kids not to let it happen to them' were an invaluable resource, she added.
Protective effect of knowledge
A proud Ireland told Izindaba that her granddaughter, now 16, recently argued so effectively, openly and knowledgably in a school debate on abortion that she was pulled from the anti-abortion debating side and put on the judging panel. Besides talking about the lack of pre- and post-abortion counselling and the misuse of abortion as a family planning tool, her trump card was simply to ask, 'What if my mother had aborted me?' she said. She said questionnaires completed by children her NGO spoke to at Johannesburg schools revealed that 70% actually wanted HIV testing at schools, not to mention pregnancy information.
Chris Bateman
1. Teenage pregnancy is South Africa -with a specific focus on school-going learners http://www.info.gov.za/view/ DownloadFileAction?id=122470. [ Links ]
2. Richter LM, Norris SA, Ginsburg C. The silent truth of teenage pregnancies - Birth to Twenty cohort's next generation. S Afr Med J 2006;96(2):122. [ Links ]


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|Assistant Coach
|Second Year Asst.; Third Year at SCU
|Aberdeen, S.D.
|Previous College:
|Northern State University, 2008
Follow Kyle Schwan on Twitter!
Entering his second year in 2013-14, Kyle Schwan joined Kerry Keating's staff in 2012 as the Bronco basketball team's Director of Basketball Operations and was promoted to Assistant Coach in June, 2013. Schwan saw the Broncos post 24+ victories for the second time in three years in 2012-13. Collecting a 26-12 record, the Broncos won the College Basketball Invitational post-season tournament after winning the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2011.
The Broncos final RPI was No. 68 and record-wise, they claimed the biggest turnaround in Division I basketball this year. The 26 wins were just one shy of the school record set by the 1968-69 team who collected 27 wins.
Santa Clara won 26 games in 2012-13 after winning 21 regular season games for the first time in almost 20 years on the Mission campus. Santa Clara collected two first-team All-WCC members in 2013 in Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster, the second-all-time leading scorer in West Coast Conference history. In addition to their success on the court, all five seniors are on tap to graduate in June as well.
All told the Broncos combined to break 22 school and WCC records in 2012-13. Foster broke the all-time WCC record for threes made, finishing tied for fourth in Division I history with 431. In addition to winning the CBI and finishing fourth in the WCC, the Broncos broke eight individual career records and five individual season records. As a team the Broncos broke eight season records as well. They also led the West Coast Conference in two team categories and two individual categories overall and two team categories and three individual categories in league games.
Prior to joining the Bronco staff, Schwan worked as an administrative assistant at Arizona State University under head coach Herb Sendek for two years. While at ASU he assisted with all daily logistics, including team travel and camps.
A native of Aberdeen, S.D., Schwan worked at Northern Illinois University in 2009-10 as the video coordinator.
Schwan, 29, played college basketball in his home state. Schwan was a member of the legendary coach Don Meyer's program at Northern State University for six seasons (two redshirt years due to injury). Schwan was with the Wolves for Coach Meyer's 800th career win and then his 903rd record-breaking career win. He led the Wolves in assists his senior year. He graduated from Northern State University in 2008 with Bachelor's Degree in History and a minor in Coaching. He also worked on his Master's degree in Educational Studies while playing his final two years at NSU.
A three-time All-Conference pick in basketball and First Team All-State in 2003 at Roncalli High School, he averaged 23 ppg while guiding his team to 2002 District and Region championships. He was also a member of the student council, mentors, National Honor Society and Academic All-State selection.
He has worked many camps at Northern State with Coach Meyer.
He is married to the former Kayla Zimmerman of Hotchkiss, Colo., who works as a registered nurse.


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Many of the competing teams sidestepped an expanded batch of city data unveiled Saturday on the website by the mayor, saying it wasn't comprehensive or they didn't have enough time to work with it.
One goal of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's weekend "hackathon" was to have computer coding experts quickly create new apps that would help engage residents and businesses with reams of online information on city government and operations.
But the two-day marathon highlighted both the possibilities and the limits of such high-profile tech events to deliver quick advances for government bureaucracies pursuing digital-age transparency.
Many of the competing teams, including the grand prize winner, sidestepped an expanded batch of city data unveiled Saturday on the website by the mayor, saying it wasn't comprehensive or they didn't have enough time to work with it.
Peter Marx, Garcetti's chief innovation technology officer, welcomed the criticism as "exactly the sort of feedback" the city was seeking. "If we didn't hear anything, we'd be worried," he said.
In October, Garcetti unveiled a government performance website intended to make City Hall more responsive and accountable. It drew criticism from experts in part because it relied heavily on bar graphs summarizing information and not rich, detailed data sets.
The additional information released over the weekend was part of an effort to remedy that. It included data on crime, car crashes, street lights, business licenses, stray animals, graffiti clean-up and more.
At the hackathon, the second-place entry used newly available water usage data to make an app to report waste. It was one of just a few of the 21 teams that presented their applications Sunday that used the latest data.
Zach Latta, whose team won first place for its app that connects homeless shelters with volunteer groups and restaurants, said there weren't enough data sets available related to homelessness, and the ones that were available weren't comprehensive enough for what his team needed. They instead relied on crowd-sourcing data to build their app.
Other participants said that with more time they might have been able to better use the city data.
Marx said the city will continue to add to and refine its data. The difficulties encountered over the weekend, he said, were the "inevitable collision between us as a city government grappling with this idea of open data and at the same time working with folks on the outside. In the government world, this is pretty extraordinarily fast-moving."
©2014 the Los Angeles Times


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Large cyclone leaves at least 9 dead in India
Cyclone Phailin made landfall in India Saturday. Twice the size of Tropical Storm Sandy and as strong as Hurricane Katrina, it has the potential to cause major damage. VPC
NEW DELHI — A gigantic cyclone, one of the strongest ever to hit the Bay of Bengal, pounded India's eastern cost with heavy winds and rain Saturday, as nearly a million people fled the region.
More than 18 hours after the storm — the strongest to hit India in more than a decade — made landfall in eastern Orissa state, officials said they knew of only nine fatalities, most of them people killed by falling branches or collapsing buildings in the rains ahead of the cyclone.
The final death toll will almost certainly climb, and parts of the cyclone-battered coast remain isolated by downed communication links and blocked roads.
Hundreds of trees were uprooted before the eye of the storm even made landfall early evening local time and flights, trains and shipping operations were canceled and power shut down in six districts in the coastal area.
The India Meteorological Department said the cyclone made landfall near Gopalpur, India, with sustained winds of 124 mph — equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.
Cyclone Phailin caused one of the largest evacuation operations in Indian history, with 870,000 people moved to higher ground in the coastal state of Orissa.
Electricity had been cut off in the entire state of Odisha as a precaution, said Indian navy retired commodore A.K Patnaik, in Bhubaneshwar, who was reached by phone before he shut it down to conserve power.
Satellite images showed the cyclone filling nearly the entire Bay of Bengal, an area larger than France that has seen the majority of the world's worst recorded storms, including a 1999 cyclone that killed 10,000.
"If it's not a record, it's really, really close," University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy told the Associated Press. "You really don't get storms stronger than this anywhere in the world ever."
The storm slowed significantly overnight, with some areas reporting little more than breezy drizzles by midday Sunday, but meteorologists said parts of the region would face heavy rains and winds for the next 24 hours.
"Its intensity is still strong, but after crossing the coast it has weakened considerably," Sharat Sahu, a top official with the Indian Meteorological Dept. in Orissa, told reporters.
To compare it to killer U.S. storms, McNoldy said Phailin is nearly the size of Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,200 people in 2005 and caused devastating flooding in New Orleans, but also has the wind power of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which packed 165 mph winds at landfall in Miami.
"The storm has the potential to cause huge damage," L.S. Rathore, director-general of the Indian Meteorlogical Department told reporters.
In Behrampur, about 7 miles inland from where the eye of the cyclone struck, there were reports of only three deaths early Sunday morning.
"We have stopped all cargo operations," Paradip Port Trust Chairman Sudhanshu Shekhara Mishra told the Press Trust of India, a local news agency. "We have set up control rooms and are ready with a contingency plan. We have cleared all vessels. People have been evacuated from low-lying areas."
The state has created 800 shelters as government workers and volunteers put together food packages for relief camps.
"I don't want people to panic," said Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha told PTI, calling for everyone to do their part in helping relief operations.
Still, some didn't want to leave their mud-and-thatch homes, particularly vulnerable to the storm.
"We will get over the storm," said Seetha Reddy, a fisher in Gopalpur who was reluctant to leave her house but was forced by the police to shift to a shelter, told the Hindustan Times.
More than 100,000 people from the low-lying areas of neighboring Andhra Pradesh state had been evacuated. The sea has already pushed inland as much as 130 feet in parts of that state, officials said.
Some locals were at a loss.
"I wanted to go back (home), but I have no money," Dinga Ram, a laborer working at the port and who is from a state hundreds of miles north of it, told the Hindustan Times. "I do not know what to do."
Contributing: Associated Press


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Part of investing involves identifying a good CEO who knows how to maximize shareholder value.
And Jim Cramer says this guy is good - real good.
The Mad Money host was talking about Bob Iger, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
"While I am a total numbers guy, I also believe there is a CEO quotient that always has to be considered," said the Mad Money host. "I apply that CEO quotient to the price-to-earnings multiple. And Iger has about the highest faith to stock price ratio I know."


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21 July 2017
"Every master is bound, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his vessel, her crew and passengers, to render assistance to everybody, even though an enemy, found at sea in danger of being lost."
(Brussels Convention on assistance at sea, adopted in 1910)
Lampedusa in October 2013
Dear friends,
In October 2013, a boat filled with African migrants caught fire and sank off the coast of the island of Lampedusa. Hundreds of people drowned. Cecilia Malmstrom, at the time the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, came to the island and told media:
"I will never forget the sight of 280 coffins today. I will bear that with me for the rest of my life. We need to do everything we can, to prevent tragedies such as this one … the restrictive approach has proven its limits. We need to move towards openness, solidarity, sharing of responsibility, and a true European response."
Malmstrom explained that she would push for partnerships with migrants' home countries, an increase in legal immigration quotas, as well as tougher measures to fight smugglers.
More than 800 die in one shipwreck - April 2015
Four years and more than 12,000 deaths by drowning in the Central Mediterranean later -– four times the number of victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland – the EU is no closer to a workable strategy.
There are no partnerships with migrants' home countries that make sense or have an impact; there is no coherent system for legal migration to replace irregular migration; efforts to fight smugglers appear helpless, even pathetic at times. Desperation over this deadly policy failure fuels a desperate debate, with increasingly desperate proposals. How many thousands more will drown before a more effective approach is embraced?
The Rome Plan
In February 2017, we presented the outline of a concrete policy proposal, to address both the short-term humanitarian disaster and the medium-term challenge of replacing the dysfunctional Dublin with a workable European system. We called it the Malta Plan, hoping that the Maltese EU presidency would see a breakthrough along these lines. We argued for a common Mediterranean proposal on border and asylum policy by Italy, Greece and Malta.
Since then we presented these ideas to policy makers in Rome and Athens, The Hague and Berlin, Stockholm and Vienna. We renamed it the Rome Plan, since most will depend on decisions and debates in Italy, the country at the centre of the Mediterranean migration crisis today.
We argue for a realistic approach to returns, and for respect of four core principles:
Ø no refoulement (no push-backs);
Ø no Nauru (no discouragment of asylum requests by treating asylum seekers who arrive badly);
Ø zero tolerance for people drowning (no deterrence through limiting rescue operations); and
Ø no fortress Europe.
The richest continent in the world has an interest to support the refugee convention and the right to asylum, and to take a leading role in resettling those in need of protection. It is equally imperative, however, to discourage those without protection needs from embarking on the murderous Russian roulette in dinghies off the Libyan coast. The key is to reconcile the interests of those who defend the right to protection and those who insist on control: to bring together refugee and human rights groups with interior and justice ministers and show that one cannot work without the other. Discouraging irregular arrivals, while respecting core principles, is not only a response to the legitimate expectations of voters in European democracies. It is a moral, life-saving alternative to the current inaction.
So how can the EU reduce the number of arrivals – and deaths – in the Central Mediterranean? The basic idea, summed up in a recent article in Refugees Deeply, relies on efforts to process asylum applications quickly and fairly and on the ability to return those whose claims are rejected to their home countries without delay.
Day X for returns
No country in the EU is good at returning those whose asylum claims are rejected. Returning people to a third country is very hard. It is (rightly) legally demanding and countries of origin have little incentive to cooperate in taking back their citizens.
What is needed is fixing a "day X" – a date from which countries of origin commit to take back without delay all of their nationals who have arrived in Italy and do not get protection. The impact of such a policy would be a sharp fall in arrivals. Nigerians were the largest group of arrivals in Italy in 2016. The majority would be unlikely to risk their lives going through the Sahara, Libya and the Central Mediterranean – spending heavily on smugglers – if the probability of being returned to Nigeria within a few weeks of arrival in Italy were 80 percent.
Ensuring that Nigeria, Senegal and other countries take back their nationals who do not qualify for protection after an agreed date should be the chief priority in talks between the EU and African countries of origin – similar to the commitment Turkey made to take back without delay people who arrive in Greece after 20 March 2016.
This contrasts with present efforts to sign readmission agreements. African countries are wary of agreements under which they would have to take back an unlimited number of their citizens who arrived in the EU in the past. Specific "take-back" agreements are needed between the EU and African countries of origin that focus only on those who arrive in Italy after these agreements enter into force. These agreements must offer incentives, such as access to annual quotas for legal migration, including via scholarships and work visas. Such agreements would have no direct impact on current remittance flows.
Is this not what the EU already offers West African countries? No, alas, it is not. The attention and resources of the EU are largely focused on transit countries, to try to help authorities to catch and trap people in Libya or Niger. Countries of origin have not received meaningful offers from the EU. Vague promises of legal access were made at EU-Africa summits in recent years (see the Valletta summit on migration in November 2015) only to disappear again in the Commission reports on cooperation in early 2017. In March this year a senior Nigerian official noted that Nigeria is "committed to the fight against the smuggling of migrants," but that Nigerian measures would not be enough without Europe assuming part of the responsibility:
"If you don't create the opportunity for regular migration, criminal groups will provide those opportunities."
The EU needs to apply central lessons from the Aegean in 2016: without incentives, countries will not cooperate. And incentives must be real, not notional.
Caribbean lessons – the US-Cuba statement
What is needed is a short, simple statement of mutual commitments with African countries of origin, similar to the two U.S.-Cuba statements of 1994 and 1995.
On 13 July 1994, a group of Cubans hijacked a 115-year old tugboat and headed to Florida. Cuban police rammed the boat and thirty-seven people drowned. More hijackings to get to the US followed. On 11 August 1994, Cuban president Fidel Castro announced that the Cuban police would no longer stop those attempting to leave the island unless they were hijackers. He blamed US migration policy: "the fewer visas [the US] granted for legal travel, the more illegal entries occurred." Within days, thousands of Cubans got on small boats, rafts, even cars outfitted with pontoons. The balsero crisis (balsero means raft) had started. The reaction in the US was panic. The governor of Florida urged the US government to deny the rafters entry. The US Coast Guard intercepted them at sea. It was not possible to push them back – the rafts were barely afloat. It was also impossible to return them without the consent of the Cuban government.
On 19 August 1994, U.S. president Bill Clinton announced that the goals of the US government were saving lives, reviewing asylum cases and detaining all migrants without asylum claims at the American naval base on the edge of Cuba, Guantanamo. Those rescued would be kept at Guantanamo until a third country accepted them. They would not be allowed to enter the US.
The policy was a complete failure. On 18 August, the day before Clinton's announcement, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 535 rafters at sea. On 23 August, five days later, 3,253 were picked up. Guantanamo filled up quickly. Tensions were rising. No countries volunteered to help the US. Panama agreed to take a few people for a limited time. Spain volunteered to admit 72. It quickly became clear that without cooperation from Cuba the US could not solve this crisis.
On 22 August 1994, the US under-secretary of State announced that the American government was "prepared to discuss legal emigration with the Cuban government". Soon secret talks between the two governments began – mediated by Jimmy Carter, Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Cuba had clear ideas about what it wanted, and where it felt cheated. In 1984 US president Reagan had promised Cubans 20,000 immigrant visas per year. This was never implemented. Fidel Castro complained that the US "should have granted 160,000 visas [in the eight years since the agreement], but only granted 11,222."
On 9 September 1994, the two governments issued a one-page joint statement. The US committed to:
"ensure that total legal migration to the United States from Cuba will be a minimum of 20,000 Cubans each year, not including immediate relatives of United States citizens."
Cuba committed to:
"take effective measures in every way it possibly can to prevent unsafe departures using mainly persuasive methods"
Both agreed:
"…that the voluntary return of Cuban nationals who arrived in the United States or in safe havens outside the United States on or after August 19, 1994, will continue to be arranged through diplomatic channels."
A visa "lottery" was introduced to fill the annual quota. To be eligible for the lottery, the applicant had to be between 18 and 55 years old and meet "at least two of the three basic qualifications for this program (high school education, three or more years' work experience, relatives living in the United States)." Those awarded a visa through the lottery would be allowed to bring their families with them.
The number of people crossing the sea fell dramatically following the agreement. On 10 September the Coast Guard rescued 1,004. On 12 September 283. On 14 September 17. And on 18 September none.
US-Cuba: Joint Statement on Refugees – September 1994
However, the 1994 statement left the problem of Guantanamo unresolved, where few wished to return to Cuba. The U.S. naval base had become a detention centre holding 21,000 Cuban rafters. Commanders reported "mass frustration, violence, and even suicides." Some were "injecting diesel fuel into their veins … in hopes of being transported to the United States for hospital care." Morton Halperin, the president's special assistant who had first come up with the detention policy in the National Security Council, argued that the only way to admit the Guantanamo rafters to the US was if there was a simultaneous announcement that "from now on we send people back to Cuba." (William LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh, Back channel to Cuba. The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana, University of North Carolina Press, 2015, p. 297.)
On 2 May 1995, a second US- Cuba Joint Statement was issued. The U.S. agreed to let all those detained in Guantanamo into the US. It also announced that from then on Cuban rafters would be directly returned to Cuba, though asylum claims would be reviewed before anyone was returned:
"Cubans interdicted at sea would no longer be taken to safe haven at Guantanamo Bay but would be returned to Cuba where they could apply for entry into the United States through legal channels at the U.S. Interests Section. In discussing this announcement, the Attorney General stated that measures would be taken to ensure that persons who claimed a genuine need for protection, which they believed could not be satisfied by applying at the U.S. Interests Section, would be examined before their return to Cuba."
US-Cuba, Joint Statement on Migration – May 1995
The two statements worked. Both Cuba and the US complied with their commitments.
Cubans intercepted at sea by US Coast Guard
US visas granted to Cubans
To reduce suffering and deaths in the Central Mediterranean and to restore a sense of control the EU needs similar agreements – Legal Access and Return Statements (LARS) – with African countries of origin as soon as possible. These have to be accompanied by a quick and fair status determination process in Italy, if necessary, with the deployment of asylum officials from other member states.
An EU Special Representative for the Mediterranean
In search of a European risk taker who gets things done
There has been a strong response in media across Europe to the ESI Rome Plan. An article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on 4 July, discussing the crisis off the coast of Africa, concluded that the Rome Plan would likely be controversial, but "that it could work." An editorial in Süddeutsche Zeitung on 12 July writes about our proposal:
"In the long run, this could be the only solution that would leave something of a basic right of which Europeans are very proud: the right to asylum."
A front-page article in the weekly Die Zeit argued on the same day (12 July):
"Better that acting in moral panic is coolly searching for a plan offering something of real interest to states like Nigeria and at the same time meeting Europe's interest in a reduction of refugee numbers, less deaths in the Mediterranean, and a decent asylum procedure. The think tank European Stability Initiative has put forward a proposal which is as clever as it is feasible: the 'Rome Plan'".
Think tanks, civil society, human rights groups and media have a role to play in public policy. In the end, however, it is only elected politicians and public institutions who decide and change policy, and assume the political risk – of working on solutions.
In early 2016 there were leaders in the EU who took this risk, and worked on a statement with Turkey for the Aegean: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and Dutch Labour Party leader Diederick Samsom. The statement on 18 March that resulted was controversial and unpopular. It also brought immediate results; in May and June 2017 no asylum seeker died in the Aegean.
This is why EU leaders should appoint a former prime minister as Special Representative for the Mediterranean refugee crisis, based in Rome with a small team, tasked to work on Legal Access and Return agreements with countries of origin, mobilising solidarity with Italy when it comes to reception, asylum processing and relocation.
These are political tasks, risky, certain to court controversy, and requires someone with courage. With stakes rising – for the future of asylum, Schengen, the refugee convention and pro-European politics – the EU Mediterranean policy must not be left to improvisation. It needs a person focused on nothing else for a few months, to save lives and rescue EU asylum policy.
From Russia with threats
It has been a dramatic first half of the year for the Council of Europe, foreshadowing an even more dramatic confrontation in the autumn. More on this in a new ESI briefing paper:
ESI Briefing Note: From Russia with threats – The PACE summer session and a dramatic turn (13 July 2017)
Background: www.esiweb.org/caviardiplomacy
The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held between 26 and 30 June in Strasbourg, began with a focus on corruption allegations linked to Azerbaijan, and ended with an unexpected escalation on the part of Russia.
On the eve of the June session the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, GRECO, published a devastating assessment of the assembly's current rules and procedures, which it noted, were weak, contradictory and until now not enforced. On the first day of the session, the assembly sent a powerful signal that it was determined to change this, approving the appointment of three respected judges to lead an independent external investigation into the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the Council of Europe. On the second day, the assembly adopted procedures that allow it to dismiss its president and other senior elected officials, including for violations of the assembly code of conduct. Following this, members of the assembly launched a motion to remove Pedro Agramunt, the current president. On the final day of the session 158 members tabled a motion to ensure that a vote on Agramunt's dismissal will be on the agenda at the October session.
Then the Russian government struck back. On Friday afternoon, after most members of PACE had left Strasbourg, the Russian foreign ministry announced that it would not pay its mandatory contribution to the 2017 budget of the Council of Europe. It blamed PACE, and the decisions taken during the June session:
"… The situation in PACE has only been deteriorating: a frenzied campaign is being run to persecute parliamentarians who wish to normalize interaction with Russia in the framework of the Council of Europe as early as possible."
Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma, presented the June PACE session as a succession of disasters:
"The June PACE session turned into the triumph of antidemocrats and Russophobes. Each day was marked by double standards and decisions contrary to the common sense."
How will PACE respond? It cannot step back from its inquiry into corruption allegations. It will not revoke its new rules on votes of no-confidence. It cannot leave in place Pedro Agramunt, who has lost the confidence of all political groups, including his own European People's Party (EPP). And it cannot give in to open and blatant Russian blackmail to weaken its own rules. In all of these positions, PACE should be backed up by the Committee of Ministers (the member states) of the Council of Europe.
This latest escalation raises a fundamental question. Could it be that a Council of Europe that investigates corruption, restores its credibility and returns to its core mission of defending human rights is not an institution the Kremlin wants Russia to be a member of? Could the end of caviar diplomacy mark the end of the membership of European autocracies in a club of democracies? Could the most serious outcome of a serious corruption investigation be the exit of the Council of Europe's largest member state?
The curtain has been raised; the battle lines are clear. How it ends the second half of the year will show.
Many best regards,
Gerald Knaus


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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sleep-deprived surgeons don't make any more mistakes than usual during gallbladder operations, a new study suggests.
Whether doctors had been up doing emergency surgery the previous night did not affect a patient's risk of having complications during or after the procedure.
Danielle Nash said the findings should be "reassuring" for patients.
"Even if they have a surgeon who may be working long hours or is tired, they shouldn't be worried that he isn't capable of performing the surgery to the best of his ability," Nash told Reuters Health.
She worked on the study at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in London, Ontario, Canada.
Previous studies had come to mixed conclusions on whether surgeon fatigue plays a role in how well an operation goes.
For their study, the researchers looked at records from non-emergency gallbladder surgeries performed by 331 surgeons at 102 community hospitals in Ontario.
Based on surgeons' billing for emergency procedures, they found 2,078 instances when the doctor had operated the night before a planned gallbladder removal.
For each of those surgeries, the researchers picked four others - 8,312 total cases - when a surgeon didn't operate the night before.
Regardless of whether doctors were up working the previous night, they had to make larger cuts than originally planned during about 2 percent of gallbladder surgeries.
Patients heal more slowly and have to stay in the hospital longer after those so-called open surgeries. So surgeons try to avoid making bigger incisions unless there's a problem, Nash said.
During just under 1 percent of surgeries by both sleep-deprived and non-sleep-deprived surgeons, patients suffered an injury that could have been caused by the doctor - like a punctured bowel or blood vessel.
Deaths were rare in both groups. Five or fewer patients died within a month of surgery when surgeons had operated the night before and seven when they had not, Nash and her colleagues report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Like any other person, surgeons are going to feel better and do better when they are well-rested, said Dr. Jordan Weinberg, who was not involved in the study.
But, he said, "We're trained from the get-go to be able to function to the best of our abilities under duress," including while low on sleep.
Weinberg, from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, has studied surgeon performance after overnight shifts.
Concern about long shifts and lack of sleep led the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to introduce restrictions on work hours for doctors-in-training in 2003 and again in 2011.
However, those restrictions have been controversial.
"The training now really emphasizes rest and breaks from duty, but in the real world, when you go into practice, those regulations don't exist," Weinberg told Reuters Health.
It's often not possible to provide timely care and have no doctors working overtime, he said.
For patients, Weinberg said there is nothing wrong with asking surgeons if they are rested for an elective procedure.
"In an ideal world, as a patient you obviously would want and expect your surgeon to be well-rested and in tip-top shape to perform your surgery," he said.
"If you came in for your elective surgery one morning and discovered that your surgeon had been in all night doing a complex case, it would be reasonable to say, 'I want to schedule this for another day.''
But that's not always easy to do, Weinberg added. Patients have already taken time off from work, and hospitals have already booked time in the operating room.
In an editorial published with the study, Dr. Michael J. Zinner from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Dr. Julie Ann Fresichlag from Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Medical Institute said surgeons should assess for themselves how tired they are before a procedure.
"It's something to be aware of as a patient," Weinberg said. But, "I don't think it should be a great cause for concern."
SOURCE: bit.ly/MvXYT6 Journal of the American Medical Association, online November 5, 2013.


text: Sijun Forums :: View topic - Pating QuestionS!!! Log in to check your private messages Sijun Forums Forum Index >> Digital Art Discussion View previous topic :: View next topic Author Topic : "Pating QuestionS!!!" Sp0ok3yjunior memberMember #Joined: 19 Jun 2000Posts: 20Location: Vancouver,BC ,Canada Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2001 10:04 am Hello haPPy 2k1 Yo!! i wanna start painting but not on a wacom or photoshop!. i mean on real cavas with real brushes. My problem is that i don't know what kinda paint is the best to buy? what paint makes a painting look more realistic more alive with colors? Oh yeah what kind of brushes should i buy well in general what materials should i buy to start painting? oils paints? water color? what? please help me with advise thank you lates Frankie Jr. Back to top SlicermemberMember #Joined: 03 Mar 2000Posts: 187Location: Sala, Sweden Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2001 10:30 am http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/ They have some tutorial on what you should get to start painting. Look there first. Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Sijun Forums Forum Index -> Digital Art Discussion All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Digital Art----------------Digital Art DiscussionWork in ProgressGallery/Finished Work Miscellaneous----------------Random MusingsArchive : Sep99 - Dec00 You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group


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Southwest Wake: Community
Community Notes: April 20
Volunteer at The Cary
The Cary theater is looking for volunteer ushers who are at least 17 years old. The theater is at 122 E. Chatham St., Cary. For details or an application, call 919-462-2051 or go to thecary.townofcary.org.
Veterans Vendor Fair
The Cary VFW Ladies Auxiliary is looking for artists and crafters to participate in the Veterans Vendor Fair on Saturday, July 12. For details, email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Rex Healthcare seeks golf tournament volunteers
Volunteer at this year's Rex Hospital Open from Monday, May 19, through Sunday, May 25, at Wakefield Plantation, 2201 Wakefield Plantation Drive, Raleigh. The event will require more than 500 volunteers. For details, contact volunteer coordinator Patty Nogle at 937-478-0101 or email@example.com or go to www.rexhospitalopen.com.
Fit Family Challenge
Coca-Cola, Carolina Parent and CVS/pharmacy's Fit Family Challenge will continue through Monday, June 9. Families compete for prizes by collecting "points" for activities. For details and registration, go to www.carolinaparent.com/fitfamilychallenge.
Night Out in Nature
Children can take part in hikes, nature activities, crafts and s'mores around a campfire from 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 25, at the Stevens Nature Center at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, 2616 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary. To register for $19 for residents or $24 for non-residents, call 919-387-5980.
Eco-Explorers Exploration: Reptiles
Staff at the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve will teach children ages 7-10 about reptiles from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Stevens Nature Center, 2616 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary. To register for $12 for residents or $16 for non-residents, call 919-387-5980.
Explore the Greenways
All ages and skill levels can explore Cary's greenways from 2-3 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at Thomas Brooks Park, 9008 Green Level Church Road, Cary. The event is free, but registration is required. To register, go to bit.ly/1hy6LP3. For details, go to www.fitandable.net.
Nearly New consignment sale
The Nearly New kids' clothes and more consignment sale will be from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 1, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, May 2, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at High House Crossing, 2791 N.C. 55, Cary. Admission is free. For details, go to www.nearlynewkidsclothes.com.
National Day of Prayer
Fuquay-Varina will host a National Day of Prayer service at noon Thursday, May 1, at Town Hall, 401 Old Honeycutt Road.
Morrisville CERT Basic Training Class
The Morrisville Community Emergency Response Team will hold a Basic Training Class for residents who want to get involved in the program. Class sessions are from 6:30-10 p.m. Thursday, May 1, 6-10 p.m. Friday, May 2, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3, and 2:30-5 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at Fire Station #1, 200 Town Hall Drive. For details or registration, contact Shandy Padgett at 919-463-6122 or email@example.com.
Relay for Life barbecue fundraiser
The Fuquay-Varina Relay for Life team will host its barbecue fundraiser from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at Town Hall, 401 Old Honeycutt Road. Barbecue lunch costs $8. To pre-order for $8 per pound and free delivery with an order of 10 or more, call Teresa at 919-567-3907 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Cary Night Out
Meet local safety officials at Cary Night Out from 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the intersection of Academy Street and Dry Avenue in Cary. There will be live entertainment, refreshments and activities for kids and adults.
Rock Your World
RallyPoint Sport Grill will host the Rock Your World benefit concert from 6-11 p.m. Friday, May 2, at 837 Bass Pro Lane, Cary. The free concert with Sidewinder, Band of Brothers and Davis Messina Band will raise money for the Hope For Haiti Foundation and Dew4Him Ministries. For details, go to www.rockyourworldraleigh.com.
Sequins and Spurs Gala
The ninth annual Sequins and Spurs Gala fundraiser for nonprofit Horse and Buddy will be at 6 p.m. Friday, May 2, in the Grand Ballroom at Prestonwood Country Club, 300 Prestonwood Parkway, Cary. Tickets cost $100 at www.horseandbuddy.org/gala.htm.
Neighborhood yard sale
The Scotts Mill neighborhood will host a yard sale from 7-11 a.m. Saturday, May 3, in the parking lot of the pool and playground at 201 Scotts Ridge Trail, Apex. Several homes throughout the neighborhood will also host yard sales.
Holly Springs Farmers Market
The Holly Springs Farmers Market grand opening for the new season will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3, in downtown Holly Springs.
Purple Cloth 5K and Kid's Dash
The third annual Purple Cloth 5K and Kid's Dash, organized by Genesis United Methodist Church in Cary to raise money for the community-service programs of Dorcas Ministries, will be on Saturday, May 3, at Fred G. Bond Metro Park, 801 High House Road, Cary. Last year's three-mile run for all ages raised $3,500. There will be a bounce house for kids, food, awards, a raffle and an award for the best purple outfit.
For details, go to www.purplecloth5k.com. Registration for the 5K costs $25; the Kid's Dash costs $5. Register in person at Genesis United Methodist Church, 850 High House Road, Cary. To register online, search for "purple cloth" at sportoften.com.
Celebrate Cary
A celebration of Cary's community will be from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Koka Booth Amphitheatre, 8003 Regency Parkway, Cary. There will be live music, free activities for kids and athletic events. Admission is free. This event is organized by the town of Cary, Koka Booth Amphitheatre, the Cary Community Foundation and Fit & Able Productions.
The Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel will host the fifth annual Herbfest from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center, 119 Ambassador Loop, Cary. Vendors will sell food, gardening supplies and cooking supplies. There will be a silent auction, information about gardening from the Wake County Extension master gardeners and kids' activities with Cary Teen Council volunteers. Butterflies will be released at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Admission is free. For details, go to www.friendsofpagewalker.org.
Roaring Twenties Benefit Party
UnVined Wine Bar will host the Roaring Twenties Benefit Party from 5-9 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at 201 W. Chatham St., Cary. There will be live jazz music, hors d'oeuvres, drawings and more. Tickets cost $30. The event will raise money for the Alliance of AIDS Services – Carolina. For details, go to www.unvinedcary.com.
Spring Craft Fair
The Western Wake Farmers' Market's Spring Craft Fair will be from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 10, at 1225 Morrisville Carpenter Road, Cary. The regular market will be open and the event will feature local artisans and crafters. For more information, go to www.westernwakefarmersmarket.org.
Teen Day Fuquay
Fuquay-Varina police will host Teen Day Fuquay from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the Fuquay-Varina Community Center, 820 S. Main St., Fuquay-Varina. Teenage drivers will learn about driving safely with food, prizes, live music and a chance to test their skills. For details, go to www.teendayfuquay.com.
Compost bin sale
The town of Cary will offer compost bins for $45 to residents through Thursday, May 15, at www.townofcary.org. The town will also host free workshops that include tours of the Compost Education Center, a guide book and three bags of compost. Here's the schedule of workshops:
• 10-11 a.m., 2-3 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. Thursday, May 8.
• 11 a.m. to noon and 3-4 p.m. Friday, May 9.
• 8-9 a.m., 10:30-11:30 a.m. and 1-2 p.m. Saturday, May 10.
For details and registration, go to bit.ly/1e7TzFk.
Relay for Life
The Relay for Life of Southern Wake County to raise awareness about cancer and raise money for the American Cancer Society will start at 5 p.m. Friday, May 16, and end with a closing ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, at South Park, 900 S. Main St., Fuquay-Varina. For details, go to www.relayforlife.org/southwakenc.
East Meets West
The East Meets West festival will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 17, on Town Hall Drive in downtown Morrisville. Admission is free. A Fifth of Blues will perform on the West stage; Bollywood, Indian folk and Asian dance groups and performers will perform on the East stage. Food, beer and wine will be sold. For details, go to www.eastmeetswestmorrisville.org.
Relay for Life
Relay for Life of Cary, Apex and Morrisville will be from 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, to 10 a.m. Sunday, May 18, at Davis Drive Park, 1610 Davis Drive, Cary. For details, call 919-362-9186 or go to www.camrelay.org.
Healthy Homes Series
Cary-based nonprofit Fit & Able Productions' Healthy Homes Series will include discussions on the third Tuesday of each month from 9:30-11 a.m. in the Maple Room of the Bond Park Community Center at Fred G. Bond Metro Park, 150 Metro Park Drive, Cary. For details, email firstname.lastname@example.com. Here's the upcoming schedule of topics:
• May: Emergency preparedness
• June: Summer safety for kids of all ages


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