Every type of fruit has a particular taste and while some fruits taste sweet, other fruits taste sour. This depends on the compounds contained within each fruit. Compounds of fructose, acid, vitamins, proteins, cellulose and starch are found in varying proportions within each type of fruit, giving it a characteristic taste that is either sweet or sour.
Video of the Day
Guavas, grapes, apples, mangoes and pears are some of the fruits that you will find to be sweet in taste. These fruits contain a greater amount of fructose than sour fruits. Fructose is a natural form of sugar, which is why fruits with large amounts of fructose taste sweet. Sweet fruits contain more calories because of their higher fructose sugar content, and can increase you blood sugar levels higher than sour fruits. Eating sweet food can lead to weight gain. If you are trying to put on weight, you can eat sweet fruit, while if you are attempting to lose weight, you may prefer to eat sour fruit. You will still benefit from the vitamins contained in fruit, without the excess sugar.
Fruits that contain more acid taste sour. Citrus fruits like lemons and limes have a large amount of acid, which accounts for their sour and at times bitter taste. Other sour fruits include kiwifruit, blackcurrants and raspberries. Generally, fruits that are less ripe contain more acid and less fructose. During the ripening process, a series of chemical changes take place inside the fruit. Through ripening, the amount of acid in the fruit decreases while the fructose content increases, making it sweeter. Fruits with a very large amount of acid, like lemons, don’t become sweet even after ripening.
Sour and Sweet
Not all fruits are either sweet or sour. Some fruit, such as oranges, contain almost equal amounts of acids and fructose, which gives them both a sweet and sour taste. In addition, different varieties of the same type of fruit can result in a fruit that can be either sweet or sour. For example, granny smith apples are more sour than the pink lady apple variety. Other factors can change the sweetness of the fruit, such as the growing climate, and the soil, water or techniques used to grow the fruit. This changes the proportions of the compounds within the fruit, which changes the taste.
According to Chinese traditional medicine, foods with a sweet flavor affect the stomach and spleen while foods with a sour flavor affect the liver and gall bladder. According to Chinese belief, sweet fruit such as watermelon can neutralize the toxicity of other foods when eaten in accompaniment with other food. The Chinese categorize sweet and sour fruits in terms of the affect they have on your body, rather than their initial taste. Sour foods can stop excessive perspiration and diarrhea. Some fruits are included in both the sweet and sour categories, as they are believed to contain both sweet and sour flavor properties.


Remote Wildlife Cameras
Carnivores Captured in Park
Due to the difficulty of direct observation, the park began a pilot study using remote cameras in the winter of 2002. Remote cameras were on 24 hours a day. These cameras have an infrared motion sensor that is activated by heat and movement within 100 feet, which then triggers the camera to take a picture. To entice carnivores to come near the camera we set out bait such as road killed deer or elk and lures.
Six cameras were set up during winter 2002 when more carnivores are down at lower elevations. Tracks in the snow helped us determine if the cameras were working properly. During the summer, cameras were moved to mountain passes and remote springs.
Remote cameras take compelling photos


When it comes to packaging, polypropylene strapping is a material that is often used. This strap is often used for packaging purposes because of its durability and resistance to heat and chemicals.
What is Polypropylene Strapping?
Polypropylene strapping is a type of plastic strap made from polypropylene. It is used as a binding or reinforcement material in products such as bags, containers, and boxes. Polypropylene strapping is also used in industrial applications, such as wire and cable bundling.
What are the Different Types of Polypropylene Strapping?
The popularity of polypropylene straps has made them the most commonly used strap type in the world. Polypropylene straps come in many different types and can be found in a variety of applications, such as suspension systems, tool belts, and packaging. There are four main types of polypropylene straps: woven, coiled, braided, and knitted. Each type has its own unique properties that make it well-suited for specific applications.
Woven straps are the simplest type of polypropylene strap and are made up of a single long strand of material. They offer good strength and durability but tend to be less flexible than other types of straps. Coiled straps are made up of several small loops that can be twisted together to form a stronger strap. They are more flexible than woven straps but also less durable than braided or knitted straps. Braided straps are made up of several short strands that are twisted together into a rope-like structure. They offer good strength and flexibility but can be difficult to tie securely without help from an expert. Knitted straps are made from multiple small pieces of yarn that is then twisted together into a rope-like structure.
What are the Advantages of Using Polypropylene Strapping?
Polypropylene woven fabrics are made of many thin strands of plastic that are twisted together to form a fabric. They are resistant to most chemicals, so they can be used in a variety of products, including clothing and carpets. Polypropylene fabrics have a smooth surface that is less likely to snag on things.
Ask for advise from a Fabric Expert
Polypropylene strapping is one of the most commonly used materials in the manufacturing of straps and other closures. Its many advantages make it a popular choice for products that must be strong and durable, such as straps for luggage and umbrellas.
One of polypropylene’s key advantages is its low stretch rate. This means that when the strap is stretched, it will return to its original size more quickly than other materials, which can result in a tighter fit. This is particularly important in products that are intended to be worn continuously, such as waistbands or braces.
Another advantage of polypropylene strapping is its resistance to wear and tear. Unlike some other materials, such as leather or cotton, polypropylene does not tear easily when subjected to stressors like stretching or compression. This makes it a good choice for products that will be used frequently, like straps on bags or briefcases.
What are the Different Applications for Polypropylene Strapping?
Polypropylene strapping is a popular choice for a wide range of applications. It is often used in manufacturing and construction, where its strength and durability are desired. Strapping made from polypropylene can also be found in a number of consumer products, such as luggage and sporting goods.
Polypropylene strapping is a durable material that is often used for packaging purposes. It has many advantages over other materials, such as flexibility and resistance to heat and chemicals.


A port is a place at the edge of an ocean, river, or lake for ships to load and unload their cargo. Persons on ships can get on or off ships at a port. It is also called a harbour or harbor. This kind of port is the same as sea port.
Types of ports[change | change source]
If a port is visited by ships that can go on the ocean, it is called a "sea port" or just a "port". If a port is visited only by river boats like barges, it is called a "river port".
If a port is on a lake, river, or canal that goes to a sea or ocean, that port can be called an "inland port".
A warm water port is a port where the water does not freeze in winter time.
A cruise home port is a port where people get on and off cruise-ships. It is also where the cruise ship gets its supplies, like fresh water, fuel, and food. The Port of Miami, Florida is called the "Cruise Capital of the World". Port Everglades, Florida and the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico also have big cruise ports.
A port of call is a place where a ship stops before it has finished its trip.
A cargo port is a port that is used to move things people want to buy or sell.


Understanding Predictive Analytics
The data science discipline has gained huge popularity among corporations given its ability to decode insights from seemingly irrelevant pieces of daily information. Data analytics training is in high demand given the paucity of professionals in the field of data science. Predictive analytics can be understood as a highly advanced version of analytics that is being used to make predictions about unforeseen future events.
The predictive analytics process entails a range of statistical methods like data mining, machine learning, predictive modeling, etc. All these methods are applied to analyze historical and current data to make future predictions. Let’s jump over to some of the most prominent applications of the predictive analytics method in the field of business intelligence.
With the advent of advanced analytics methods like predictive analytics, the marketing game has changed. Audience targeting is all about the personalization of marketing communication with the customer. Here a customer base is segregated into groups based on extensive factors other than the commonly used age, gender, occupation. These factors might include interest, likes, spending habits, transaction history, etc. This helps companies to customize their messaging as per the audience profile and predict those who are more likely to purchase the goods or services.
The risk analysis process is a complex one and it plays a huge role in the success of any business venture. It helps to analyze and predict the problems which might occur for a business based on a complex understanding of the variables that affect the business. Predictive analytics is used in this context to help build decision support systems that can help determine the profitability of any business operation. A possible application of this technique is in the banking sector for analyzing the credit risk of borrowers. The variables related to borrowers are factored in to derive conclusions.
Sales forecasting is an important aspect of business intelligence. Any given corporation has to think about the revenue that it’ll generate in the near future. The sales forecast is a complex process involving a lot of variables that influence the sales figures. These variables might include seasonality, market events, macroeconomic factors, general industry trends, etc. Data mining techniques can help assess consumer preference and outlook after factoring in all these variables. The end goal is to predict the demand for a given product or service produced by a firm.
The cost of acquiring a new customer for any business is far greater than the cost of retaining an existing one. This is why churn prevention is important for enterprises. Churn prevention helps to analyse and predict when and why customers decide to switch to other brands and end their relationship with the company. The companies can maintain a proactive approach to retain their existing customer using predictive analytics by leveraging big customer data sets.
The main goal of financial modelling is to create a simplified model of the complex real-world financial landscape that will help to predict and assess the performance of various financial assets. These are mathematical models designed to represent the quantitative performance of financial assets in the near future. In simpler terms, it is all about converting the hypothesis and assumptions regarding the financial markets into numeric figures that represent performance.
The 21st-century businesses are all about understanding the needs and wants of customers and providing adequate solutions in terms of products and services. It’s far from the traditional business approach of forcing a product or a service using rigorous marketing. Understanding consumer needs requires conducting surveys. Market analysis using surveys helps businesses to understand their customers better, this results in increased profitability and high customer retention.


The engine is the most important of the car systems. Without it, there is no movement and therefore no car. By analogy with a structure of the person, it is the heart of the car.
According to its purpose, the motor is a source of mechanical energy needed to drive the vehicle. In order to obtain mechanical energy, another type of energy (combustion energy, electrical energy, etc.) is converted into the car motor. The energy source must be located directly in the car and periodically replenished.
The transfer of mechanical energy from the motor to the drive wheels is carried out via the transmission. The structural combination of motor and transmission has an established name of the power plant.
- The first basic type is a piston motor. The combustion chamber is a cylinder where the chemical energy of the fuel is converted into mechanical energy, which is converted from reciprocating motion of the piston into rotary motion by means of a crank-rod mechanism.
- The other is the rotary piston one.
By the type of fuel used motors are divided into gasoline, diesel and combined.
For normal engine operation, the cylinders must be fed with combustible mixture in a certain proportion (for carburetor engines) or measured fuel portions at a strictly defined moment under high pressure (for diesel engines). To reduce the cost of friction, heat dissipation, scoring and rapid wear, rubbing parts should be lubricated with oil. The engine must be cooled down in order to create normal thermal conditions in the cylinders. All engines installed in cars consist of the following mechanisms and systems.
How much does it cost to rebuild an LS1?
If the original SBC has defined the development for V8 with the camshaft in the cylinder block, the LS-series have moved in this direction to a whole new level. The 16-valve archaic V8 was simply unable to compete with modern DOHC engines, but the lightweight and compact LS made it possible for the fifth and sixth generation to become a world-class sports car without any reservations.
The first engine in the LS-series range was introduced to the fifth-generation Corvette (C5) in 1997. It was an all-aluminum bottom eight with electronic fuel injection, which received the index LS1. The following year, the LS1 replaced the cast iron LT1 from under the hoods of Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The LS1 had a classic volume of 5.7 liters and 345 hp in the factory version. In 2005, the fourth generation of LS-series was released, which differed from the third by a larger volume, more efficient timing and optional partial cylinder shutdown system to reduce fuel consumption in a quiet mode of the engine.
We are interested in the most powerful representatives of Gen IV, namely LS2 (6 hp, 400 hp), LS3 (6.2 hp, 430 hp), LS7 (7 hp, 505 hp), as well as LS9 (6 hp, 638 hp) and LSA (6.2 hp, 580 hp), equipped with a mechanical supercharger. These motors were installed in different versions of Corvette, Camaro and Cadillac CTS-V, depending on the output.
It was thanks to LS-series that America was able to compete with European high-tech engines. Today, the engines of LS-series can be found everywhere – on the chassis of a classic American pickup truck of the 50s somewhere in Sweden, and in Nissan Silvia on the New Zealand stage of drifting series D1.
An LS rebuild with stock parts will cost you around $2,000 to $3000, buying a rebuilt LS1 or LS2 will be around $3500, and a new LS1 motor will run you a little over $4000 (like Chevy engine rebuild kits).
How much does it take to rebuild an LS engine?
If you are not content with your motor performance, you can bring it back to life with a rebuild kit. There are two main reasons why you’d want to rebuild a motor. They are the wear to motor bearings, and poorly seating piston rings. Kits help the buyer to buy all needed parts at a lower price.
The final price will depend on malfunctions. Rebuild with stock parts is probably going to cost you around $2,000 to $3000.
What is included in an engine rebuild kit?
There are many things that you can do to return the powerful character of your motor. You can get certain upgrades like a higher-performance intake or exhaust. You can mount power-enhancing add-ons like a spoiler. Or, you can benefit from getting an engine rebuild kit. A kit is a full package that consists of such parts as pistons, cams and lifters, as well as smaller hardware like pistons rings and seals. It is perfect for restoring a worn and ageing engine.
How much does it cost to rebuild the bottom end?
Bottom end replacement is usually required for mechanical damage to the underside of the engine. It should be noted that the ICE crankcase, due to its location, requires additional protection. Plates made of steel, aluminum or composite materials can be found.
Replacing a motor crankcase pallet may also be necessary for non-critical damage. For example, deformation of the part will not allow the pallet to remain tight, resulting in constant lubricant leaks.
The bottom end rebuild usually means an overhaul. It can cost you around $2000-$4000.


Stone art depiction of Africans migrating.
Researchers have uncovered the first genetic evidence for prehistoric gene flow between Africa and Europe, as far back as 11,000 years ago. This evidence predates better known migrations between Africa and Europe during the Roman Empire, Arab conquest and the slave trade.
To trace human ancestry, scientists study the DNA sequence of the mitochondria, a specialized cellular structure that produces energy for the cell and carries genetic information separate from the rest of the genome that resides in the nucleus. While the nuclear genome is a mix of genetic information from both mother and father, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed directly from mother to child without any contribution of DNA from the father. Geneticists can use these changes as markers that indicate the movements and migrations of humans in the past, and classify them into specific "haplogroups."
According to Genome Research:
"It was very surprising to find that more than 35 percent of the sub-Saharan lineages in Europe arrived during a period that ranged from more than 11,000 years ago to the Roman Empire times," said Dr. Antonio Salas of the University of Santiago de Compostela and senior author of the study. The other 65 percent of European haplogroup L lineages arrived in more recent times.
The authors explain that these contacts likely connected sub-Saharan Africa to Europe not only via North Africa, but also directly by coastal routes. Salas said it remains unknown why there was genetic flow between the Africa and Europe in prehistoric times, but one possible scenario is that some bidirectional flow was promoted when the last glaciation pushed some Europeans southward, until the glacier receded and populations returned north.


She also suggests that while critical essays have more brain than a reflective essay is an analytical piece of writing in which the writer describes. Critical analysis template in a critical analysis essay, you systematically evaluate a work’s effectiveness including what it does well and your essay. A persuasive analytical essay written by a student, they want to see please note that you are expected to write at a critical level when you. Though it seems writing an analytical essay is difficult the detailed examination of the actual review found on a professional critical approach.
Use cliffsnotes' the adventures of huckleberry finn study guide today to ace your essays, and character analysis critical essays freedom versus. Term paper warehouse has free essays, term papers, and book reports for students on almost every research topic. What is a critical essay a critical essay can be defined as, “a form of essay writing which provides an analysis, interpretation, or evaluation of a text, book or. There is a difference between a persuasive essay and a critical persuasive essay vs critical writing essay it is just a critical analysis of the. Literary analysis essay lord of the flies written by william golding is a novel about a group of young british boys who are stranded on an island after their plane is. Types of papers: literary analysis if you’ve been asked to analyze a piece of literature, try following these steps: identify the author's purpose.
How to write a literary analysis essay your writing skills, you will also improve your perceptions and increase your critical abilities writing. Essays and criticism on herman melville's billy budd - critical essays enotes home these are topics on which you can write a substantial analytical paper.
Increase a person's understanding of someone's work by writing a critical analysis essay learn how, and find some topics for critical analysis essays. How to write a critical essay a critical essay is an analysis of a text such as a book, film, article, or painting the goal of this type of paper is to offer a text.
Business assignment what is an exploratory essay on town life sample narrative essay online homework help melbourne. Critical (thinking the$rhetorical$essay$in$engl$110$ian$example$of$an$analysis$paperinthisessay,$ microsoft word - critical thinking handoutdocx. Academic writing guide: critical analysis explained 3 and why should it be done that an event happened, such as a patient has developed diabetes, or a pupil has poor.
Analytical vs argumentative research papers view worksheet when writing a research paper, you have the choice of two main approaches: analytical and argumentative. How to write an analytical essay because sadness connects deeply with people—a critical component of happiness—and helps riley do the same thanks. A critique is an analysis of and a commentary on another piece of writing a critical response essay (or interpretive essay or review) all critical responses. Guide how to write critical analysis essay every student knows pretty well what difficulties appear if he or she is to write a critical analysis essay. Thesis statements in literary analysis papers the thesis statement is one of the various critical orientations literary theory how can i learn more. Difference between critical analysis and analytical thinking rational critical analysis of other people’s applied critical and analytical thinking essay.Download Critical essay vs analytical essay


|Adobe's web site.|
(P)+64 4 817 9888
New Zealand Sovereignty: 1857, 1907, 1947, or 1987?
It is an ironic commentary on the conservatism of New Zealand in constitutional matters, that this failure [to adopt the Statute of Westminster in 1931] in due course placed our country in a position where, the future having arrived, her lack of sovereign powers might quite well have imperilled not only a deeper imperial unity than the one of form, but even the empire itself.
The historical development of New Zealand’s foreign affairs is “the history of a colony becoming independent.”  When the British Parliament passed the New Zealand Constitution Act in 1852, New Zealand embarked on a journey of independence from Britain in exercising sovereignty – legislative, judicial, and executive authority – over its domestic affairs. However, ‘imperial interests’, (including foreign relations, external trade, the constitution and ‘native affairs’), were beyond the powers of the New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand did not obtain ‘Dominion status’ until 1907, but this also did not mean full sovereign independence because “the status of the dominions in international affairs is not necessarily identical with dominion status.”
In fact New Zealand did not achieve full independence – in the sense of complete autonomy or sovereign power over its own constitutional arrangements and its foreign affairs – until 1947. The year 2007, while it marks the centenary of New Zealand’s transition from colony to Dominion, also marks 60 years since New Zealand passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 and gained legal and formal independence from Britain in the exercise of its external affairs.
This research paper provides a brief overview of some of the key dates in New Zealand’s path to independence. A particular focus is New Zealand’s progression to gaining complete and formal sovereignty over its external affairs. This is not to suggest that New Zealand had no foreign policy or international ambitions until 1947, but simply that until this time New Zealand had not acquired the right to exercise an independent foreign policy.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 helped to establish the notion of a sovereign nation state – one that exercised supreme authority within a territory.  In Weber’s influential definition, a state was sovereign because its supreme authority – in the sense of ultimate – derived from its monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
The two norms of the Peace of Westphalia – the principle of territorial integrity and the exclusion (non-interference) of external actors – can be seen in Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations which prohibits attacks on political independence and territorial integrity. In international law, sovereignty is the legitimate exercise of power by a state. De jure sovereignty is the legal right to do so; de facto sovereignty is the ability in fact to do so.
Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States 1933 lists four qualifications a state should possess to be a person of international law – that is, an entity with the ability to conduct international affairs and represent itself in international organisations. These qualifications are: a permanent population; a defined territory; government; capacity to enter into relations with the other states.
The capacity to enter into relations with other states – otherwise known as ‘international relations’, ‘foreign affairs’, ‘foreign policy’, or ‘external relations’ – describes the governmental approach to a nation’s relationships with the rest of the world. As the sum of official external relations conducted by a country, it encompasses defence, trade, diplomatic representation, treaty making, overseas aid, migration, and membership in international organisations, among others.
New Zealand only gained full capacity to enter into relations with other states in 1947 when it passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act. This occurred 16 years after the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster Act in 1931 that recognised New Zealand’s autonomy. If judged by the Montevideo Convention criteria, New Zealand did not achieve full de jure statehood until 1947. In this sense, 1947 can be said to mark the date of New Zealand’s legal independence.
Nevertheless, the path to this independence began in the preceding century as New Zealand exercised increasing levels of sovereign authority.
In 1852, twelve years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the United Kingdom Parliament passed the New Zealand Constitution Act (NZCA), which provided for six elected provincial councils, a General Assembly consisting of a Governor (the monarch’s representative), a Legislative Council, and a House of Representatives. Representative government can be marked from the 24 May 1854 when the first Parliament met in Auckland (the capital since 1840), following New Zealand’s first general election in 1853.
Apart from the broad parameters set by the NZCA, however, the relations between the Governor, his Executive Council, and the General Assembly remained unclear. Members of the Executive Council were not elected but permanent appointees; the Governor controlled the Legislative Council, and was in turn answerable to the Imperial (British) Colonial Office.  Responsible government therefore – in terms of the Executive Council being appointed from among elected members of the House of Representatives, the Governor acting only on the advice of the Executive Council, and that the Executive Council had the confidence of the House – was not attained at the time of the formation of the first parliament.
First Independent Steps
The first step in achieving more than nominal independence from Britain was taken on 7 May 1856, when the first responsible ministry, under Henry Sewell, was formed following the dissolution of Parliament and fresh elections in 1855. Because both the first and second ministries lasted only a few weeks, confidence of the House could not be demonstrated. Responsible government was thus not consolidated until 1857, the year in which a further degree of autonomy was achieved when the British Parliament passed the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act.
This gave the New Zealand Parliament authority to amend all but a few entrenched sections of the 1852 NZCA. It also enabled responsibility for native affairs to be gradually transferred from the British to the Colonial Government, which was essentially achieved by 1870.
Nevertheless, the Governor of New Zealand retained the prerogative of pardon, and until the Royal Instructions of 1892 revoked his powers, could act independently without consulting the Executive Council. Moreover, responsibility for international trade, defence, and foreign affairs remained under the control of Britain. For example, under section 61 of the NZCA 1852, New Zealand could not impose any duties on its imports or exports that would contravene a United Kingdom trade treaty, and had no authority to negotiate or enter into any international trade agreements.
A small measure of participation in international relations was achieved in 1871 when Isaac Featherston was appointed to London as ’Agent-General’, to act as “the eyes, the ears and voice of the New Zealand Government in Great Britain”.  In reality, the Agent-General had little real authority since the Governor of New Zealand remained the only official channel for government-to-government communications and would do so until 1939. In 1887, for example, the third Agent General, Sir Francis Dillon Bell, wished to visit Paris to persuade France to reduce its tariff on New Zealand frozen meat. Although Bell’s knowledge of French allowed him to play a more significant role than was usually permitted of colonial representatives, the British insisted that their own ambassador should conduct the negotiations.
In the 19th century, New Zealand also had little influence in such fundamental aspects of statehood as defining or acquiring its own territory. Despite New Zealand passing the Confederation and Annexation Act 1883 giving it the power to annex any unappropriated Pacific Islands (whose occupation by any foreign power would be detrimental to the interests of Australasia), permission was still needed from Britain before New Zealand could annex its first territory – the Kermadec Islands – in 1887. The Cook Islands were made a British protectorate in 1888, and transferred to New Zealand in 1901. Niue and Tokelau became New Zealand protectorates in 1905 and 1926 respectively. In 1923 the Ross Dependency of Antarctica was claimed by Britain in the first instance before being placed under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General.
A Seventh Australian State?
More independence was asserted in 1901 when the colony of New Zealand refused to join Australia as its seventh state. In 1890 the representatives of seven British colonies (New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand) had met for the Australasian Federation Conference in Melbourne, agreeing in principle to establish a federation. However, a Royal Commission on Federation, established in 1900 to inquire into the issue, concluded that there were few benefits for New Zealand in joining the Commonwealth of Australia, and advised: “New Zealand should not sacrifice her independence as a separate colony, but that she should maintain it under the Political Constitution she at present enjoys.”
Following the 1907 Imperial Conference, the New Zealand House of Representatives passed a motion respectfully requesting that His Majesty the King “take such steps as he may consider necessary” to change the designation of New Zealand from the “Colony of New Zealand” to the “Dominion of New Zealand”.  This change in status took effect on 26 September, 1907. Prime Minister Joseph Ward declared that the designation of Dominion would “raise the status of New Zealand” and “have no other effect than that of doing the country good”.  A number of South Island Mäori also welcomed the new designation:
To the solid supporting pillar of the huge fish of New Zealand. Greetings to you. We have assembled here to celebrate the day upon which the Dominion of New Zealand was anointed (proclaimed). We congratulate you upon the day on which the Dominion was baptised, and the name “Colony of New Zealand” caused to cease. Kia ora to you under the protecting power of our exalted sovereign King Edward the Seventh.
The constitutional scholar, A. V. Dicey, came to use Dominion status as shorthand for colonial independence.  It is certainly true that this change in status provided for “internal self-government and a considerable measure of freedom in their foreign relations,” but complete autonomy in New Zealand’s foreign affairs was not obtained.  Although the designation ‘Governor’ now changed to Governor-General, he continued to be appointed by Britain and to act in a dual capacity – a representative of the British Government as well as the sole official representative of New Zealand views to the Imperial government. Imperial (external) affairs still remained the preserve of the British.
Further and more meaningful enhancements to national sovereignty followed the end of World War One. The External Affairs Act 1919 established a department responsible for New Zealand’s Pacific territories, including New Zealand’s League of Nations mandate territory, Western Samoa. James Allen was appointed as the first Minister of External Affairs in 1919. New Zealand received recognition as a ‘State’ when it signed the Versailles Peace Treaty and joined the League of Nations in 1920.
According to New Zealand’s first Secretary of External Affairs, Sir Alister McIntosh, New Zealand “became a sovereign state when we signed the treaty of Versailles” (however he acknowledged that this may not have been so in strict legal terms).
At the 1923 Imperial Conference New Zealand finally acquired the right to conduct its own international trade negotiations independently of Britain. It exercised this right for the first time in 1928, when it signed a trade treaty with Japan. Prior to this New Zealand had simply acceded to commercial treaties made by Britain.
Yet there appeared division as to the significance or desirability of these developments. Sir J. Sinclair declared in 1923:
It goes without saying that, as before the signing of the [Versailles] treaty, so since, if the Mother-country were at war the dominions would be at war. But by acquiring a voice upon foreign policy the dominions are under a responsibility that they were not under before. Is this voice, about which so much has been written and spoken, a real voice? …I submit that it is inadequate – that it does not cover the ground; that the machinery for its exercise is defective.
The Attorney-General, Sir Francis Bell, concurred with Sinclair’s assessment, but described how New Zealand viewed the claim, then fashionable in other dominions, that they should be ‘consulted’ before imperial foreign policy was determined.
There is one Government of the Empire in its relation to foreign affairs, and that is the Government of England…The matter that concerns us is how far it is of any benefit to anyone that we should be consulted; and, if we were consulted, is there any man in New Zealand who thinks that we are really fit to judge? By “we” I mean Government. I am quite sure the Opposition would say that we are unfit. I am a member of the Government myself, and I have no sense of fitness to advise the Imperial Government in matters of foreign policy.
Local doubts notwithstanding, an Imperial Affairs Section had been established within the Prime Minister’s Department by 1926. This dealt with a range of matters concerning international affairs including defence policy, treaties, the League of Nations, trade, and migration.
The Balfour Declaration
A significant step toward New Zealand gaining a fuller measure of sovereignty over its foreign affairs was the Balfour Declaration of 1926. In its Report to the Imperial Conference of 1926, the Inter-Imperial Relations Committee, chaired by Lord Balfour, declared that Great Britain and the self-governing Dominions were
autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic and external affairs…
Even here, however, when it came to operational control over foreign affairs, the Balfour Declaration was more circumspect.
But the principles of equality and similarity, appropriate to status, do not universally extend to function. Here we require something more than immutable dogmas. For example, to deal with questions of diplomacy and defence, we require also flexible machinery – machinery which can, from time to time, be adapted to the changing circumstances of the world.
De Facto, Not De Jure, Independence
Nevertheless, de facto, if not de jure, independence in foreign affairs began to be asserted with the first Labour Government of 1935 – a year that marked “a real turning point in the history of New Zealand’s external relations.”  In the League of Nations New Zealand began to disagree with Britain on issues concerning collective security and appeasement, guided by a nascent belief that the structures of world organisation were the best guarantee of the freedom of small nations and world order.
Yet, the Balfour Declaration of New Zealand’s sovereignty – expressed as autonomy and equality of status – did not “as a matter of law exist in respect of legislation”.  Indeed, it required the Statute of Westminster, passed in the British Parliament in December 1931, to give legal effect to the Balfour Declaration’s recognition of the change in status of the Dominions.
Statute Of Westminster
Although it remains a matter for ongoing constitutional and legal debate, the weight of evidence suggests the Statute of Westminster did more than simply give legal form to New Zealand’s sovereign status. A number of legislative difficulties – both constitutional and in the international fields – were resolved by the Statute.
Before the Statute was passed by the British Parliament – and arguably until the New Zealand Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in 1947 – the New Zealand Parliament was not a sovereign parliament. It did not have the capacity to make all law, and there were some laws that it could not unmake.
In the arena of foreign affairs, New Zealand could not legislate extra-territorially, and was constrained by sections of two British acts, the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 and the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890. A number of examples of the very real legislative difficulties these constraints came to present for New Zealand can be cited – primarily as a consequence of the Second World War. New Zealand attempted to implement a number of wartime regulations but soon found: an inability to legislate for Western Samoa, even though it was a New Zealand mandated territory; an inability to provide for effective convoys of British or Australian ships across the Tasman, uncertainty about New Zealand powers to deal with offences committed by persons on New Zealand registered ships on the high seas.
The Statute of Westminster Act 1931 sought to remove these very difficulties – such as Section 3 of the Act, that “declared and enacted” that Dominions had full power to make laws having extraterritorial effect. However, to give legal force to the Statute in the Dominions required enabling legislation to be passed in their legislative assemblies. Canada, South Africa, and the Irish Free State did so in 1931. New Zealand, on the other hand, did not enact the provisions of the Statute of Westminster – as the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act – until 1947.
A number of reasons can be suggested for the delay of 16 years. These include concerns about New Zealand’s relationship with Britain, a lack of practical difficulties until wartime emergencies presented them, and New Zealand’s desire to abolish its upper house.
An “Unnecessary Legal Complication”
First, New Zealand viewed the Statute of Westminster as an “unnecessary legal complication that it perceived would weaken imperial relations.”  Indeed, New Zealand, (as did Australia), insisted that a provision be inserted into the statute specifying that the sections ending British sovereignty over the Dominions would not extend to New Zealand (or Australia) until adopted by the New Zealand Parliament.
Secondly, one obvious reason is that the legislative difficulties outlined above did not present themselves until wartime necessity made them apparent. As war approached, New Zealand began to recognise the significance of the Statute of Westminster for the conduct of its foreign affairs. In 1938, Peter Fraser noted:
What does matter is that this country has to make up its own mind on international problems as a sovereign country – because under the Statute of Westminster ours is a sovereign country – and though we work in the closest cooperation with the British Government, that does not mean to say that we must be prepared to swallow everything the British Government cares to put forward.
A further sign of growing confidence in international matters came with New Zealand’s declaration of war in 1939:
Behind the sure shield of Britain we have enjoyed and cherished freedom and self-government. Both with gratitude for the past, and with confidence in the future, we range ourselves without fear beside Britain. Where she goes, we go. Where she stands, we stand. We are only a small and young nation, but we are one and all a band of brothers, and we march forward with a union of hearts and wills to a common destiny.
Perhaps the clearest sign of the need for operational independence came with a change in the role and status of the Governor-General in foreign affairs and communications. Prior to 1939, the coding staff had been maintained at Government House, and the Governor-General had been the only person to hold the official ciphers. The Governor-General had also been able to exercise discretion over which material and despatches were to be passed to the New Zealand government, or when instructed to do so by Britain. On the outbreak of war, however, the cable coding staff were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department, and the Governor-General’s access to correspondence was limited to those in his name only.  With the appointment of the first British High Commissioner to Wellington in 1939, the Governor-General also relinquished his position as the British Government’s representative in New Zealand.
Australia’s decision to adopt the Statute of Westminster also appears to have influenced New Zealand’s recognition of the need to do so. Australia adopted the Statute in 1942, but backdated its operation to the day it declared war (3 September 1939) on the grounds that declarations of war are acts of sovereign states.
As the war progressed, and as New Zealand asserted operational independence in foreign affairs, it became clear that the existing administrative structure for foreign affairs was inadequate. Consequently, in 1943 the Department of External Affairs – which from 1919 had administered New Zealand’s territories in the South Pacific – was renamed the Department of Island Affairs. The External Affairs Act 1943 created a ‘new’ Department of External Affairs responsible for the functions that had previously been carried out by the Imperial Affairs Section of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The war period also saw the rapid expansion of New Zealand’s diplomatic service with the appointment of Walter Nash to the first foreign (non-Commonwealth) mission – established in Washington in 1941. (Consulate Generals had been established in Sydney and Melbourne in 1905, Los Angeles in 1935, and New York in 1939). Other diplomatic posts were established in Ottawa (1942), Canberra (1943), and Moscow (1944). New Zealand’s first trade post in Asia was established in Tokyo in 1947.
New Zealand became a charter member of the United Nations, formally established at San Francisco in 1945 – an organisation in which member countries accepted the sovereign equality of other members. Later, it was stated that: “From New Zealand’s point of view, the whole conference was something like a climax in the development of her international status.”
One final development prompted the New Zealand Parliament to recognise the need for adopting the Statute of Westminster Act, 1931. In 1947, then Leader of the Opposition, Sidney Holland, introduced a Private Member’s Bill to abolish New Zealand’s upper house, the Legislative Council. It soon became apparent that the New Zealand Parliament could not legally proceed with such a constitutional amendment, since a bicameral parliament was entrenched under section 32 of the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1857 (UK). Moreover, simply adopting the Statute of Westminster Act 1931, while necessary, was insufficient, since section 8 of that Act prohibited New Zealand from any power to repeal or alter its Constitution Act.
New Zealand Day?
Thus to abolish the Legislative Council required New Zealand to pass both the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, and the New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947. These received the Royal assent on 25 November 1947. This day was later proposed as a possible New Zealand Day to replace Waitangi Day.
Full New Zealand sovereignty can therefore be dated to 1947 – both in terms of gaining formal legal control over the conduct of its foreign policy and the attainment of constitutional and plenary powers by its legislature.
Two final footnotes signal the end of New Zealand’s journey to sovereign independence.
In 1976 David Lange, acting as a lawyer for a defendant, successfully argued that New Zealand, for the purposes of the Fugitive Offenders Act 1881 (UK) under which his client was charged, was not “part of Her Majesty’s dominions” or a “British possession”. While noting the significance of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, Wilson J unequivocally stated that the last bonds of dependence on the United Kingdom were severed with the passing of the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1973, by which New Zealand established itself in law as an independent sovereign state. In his summation, Wilson J reluctantly concluded that
a statute that is still technically part of the law of New Zealand is now ineffective to confer that jurisdiction for which it was originally designed…[and] still subsists like an unburied corpse which I have been compelled to refuse to convert into a zombie.
The judgment is significant because it drew attention to the residual power of the United Kingdom Parliament to legislate for New Zealand – a significance apparently not lost on Mr Lange when he saw the need to pass the Constitution Act 1986 during his tenure as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
In passing the Constitution Act 1986 (effective 1 January 1987), New Zealand “unilaterally revoked all residual United Kingdom legislative power”.  The Constitution Act 1986 states that the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall cease to have effect as part of the law of New Zealand. It also repealed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947, the New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947, the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1970, and the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1973.
In effect, the Constitution Act 1986 declares the power of the United Kingdom Parliament to legislate for New Zealand to be at an end. New Zealand, as of 1987, is a free-standing constitutional monarchy whose Parliament has unlimited sovereign power.
For more information, contact John at
(04) 471 9358
|Copyright: © NZ Parliamentary Library, 2006|
|Except for educational purposes permitted under the Copyright Act 1994, no part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, other than by Members of Parliament in the course of their official duties, without the consent of the Parliamentary Librarian, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.This document may also be available through commercial online services and may be viewed and reproduced in accordance with the conditions applicable to those services.|
- J. C. Beaglehole, ‘Preface’, in J. C. Beaglehole, (ed.), New Zealand and the Statute of Westminster: Five Lectures, Victoria University College, Wellington, 1944, xii. [back]
- Steve Hoadley, The New Zealand Foreign Affairs Handbook, Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1992, p. 13. [back]
- J. C. Beaglehole, ‘Preface’, in J. C. Beaglehole, (ed.), New Zealand and the Statute of Westminster: Five Lectures, Victoria University College, Wellington, 1944, xvii. [back]
- Robert Jackson, ‘Sovereignty in World Politics: A Glance at the Conceptual and Historical Landscape’, Political Studies, Vol. 67(3), Special Issue, 1999, pp. 431-456. [back]
- Richard Falk, ‘Sovereignty’, in Joel Krieger, (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, New York, 2001, p.789. [back]
- The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States was a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay on December 26, 1933, at the Seventh International Conference of American States. Text available at: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/intdip/interam/intam03.htm [back]
- Philip A. Joseph, Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand, Brookers Ltd., Wellington, 2001, p. 101. [back]
- Philip A. Joseph, Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand, Brookers Ltd., Wellington, 2001, p. 106. [back]
- W. David McIntyre, ‘Imperialism and Nationalism’, in Geoffrey W. Rice (ed.), The Oxford History of New Zealand, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1992, p. 341. [back]
- William Pember Reeves was the last person to hold the post of Agent-General (from 1896 to 1905), and would later be appointed New Zealand’s first High Commissioner in London in 1906. [back]
- W. David McIntyre, ‘Imperialism and Nationalism’, in Geoffrey W. Rice (ed.), The Oxford History of New Zealand, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1992, p. 342. [back]
- Report of the Royal Commission on Federation, AJHR, 1901, A-4, p. xxiv. [back]
- New Zealand Parliament 1907, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 139, p. 371. [back]
- New Zealand Parliament 1907, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 139, p. 389. [back]
- Roore Pukekohatu, “Dominion” of New Zealand, AJHR, Vol. 1, 1907, A.7. [back]
- Cited in W. David McIntyre, When, if Ever, did New Zealand Become Independent?, The Jim Gardner Lecture, 2002, Canterbury History Foundation, 2002, p. 6. [back]
- Peter Marshall, ‘The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth’, The Round Table, Vol. 361, 2001, p. 542. (my italics). [back]
- The Governor-General would continue to be appointed on the recommendation of Britain until 1924. See K. J. Scott, The New Zealand Constitution, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1962, p. 73. [back]
- Cited in W. David McIntyre, When, if Ever, did New Zealand Become Independent?, The Jim Gardner Lecture, 2002, Canterbury History Foundation, 2002, p. 4. [back]
- Steve Hoadley, The New Zealand Foreign Affairs Handbook, Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1992, p. 17. [back]
- New Zealand Parliament 1923, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 199, p. 23. [back]
- New Zealand Parliament 1923, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 199, p. 33-4. [back]
- See ‘Appendix’ in Peter Marshall, ‘The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth’, The Round Table, Vol. 361, 2001, p. 550. [back]
- See ‘Appendix’ in Peter Marshall, ‘The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth’, The Round Table, Vol. 361, 2001, p. 551. [back]
- R. Cunninghame, ‘The Development of New Zealand’s Foreign Policy and Political Alignments’, in T. C. Larkin (ed.), New Zealand’s External Relations, New Zealand Institute of Public Administration, Oxford University Press, London, 1962, p. 18. [back]
- R. O. McGechan, ‘Legislative Inability’, in J. C. Beaglehole, (ed.), New Zealand and the Statute of Westminster: Five Lectures, Victoria University College, Wellington, 1944, p. 76. [back]
- R. O. McGechan, ‘Legislative Inability’, in J. C. Beaglehole, (ed.), New Zealand and the Statute of Westminster: Five Lectures, Victoria University College, Wellington, 1944, p. 78. [back]
- For a fuller account, see R. O. McGechan, ‘Legislative Inability’, in J. C. Beaglehole, (ed.), New Zealand and the Statute of Westminster: Five Lectures, Victoria University College, Wellington, 1944, pp. 79-97. [back]
- Harshan Kumarasingham, ‘The “New Commonwealth” 1947 – 49: A New Zealand Perspective on IndiaJoining the Commonwealth’, The Round Table, Vol. 95(385), July 2006, pp. 441 – 454. [back]
- New Zealand Parliament 1938, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), Vol. 251, p. 133. [back]
- Rt. Hon Michael Savage, NZ Prime Minister, 5 September 1939, NZ Official Yearbook, 1985, p.31 [back]
- Sir Alister McIntosh, ‘Origins of the Department of External Affairs and the Formation of an Independent Foreign Policy’, in New Zealand in World Affairs: Volume I, New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Price Milburn, Wellington, 1977, p. 14. [back]
- W. David McIntyre, When, if Ever, did New Zealand Become Independent?, The Jim Gardner Lecture, 2002, Canterbury History Foundation, 2002, p. 21. [back]
- In 1969 the Department was again renamed when it became the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1988 it became the Ministry of External Relations and Trade, and in 1993 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). [back]
- F.L.W. Wood, The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War, Political andExternal Affairs, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington, 1958, p. 380. Available at: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Poli-c26.html [back]
- Philip A. Joseph, Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand, Brookers Ltd., Wellington, 2001, p. 445-446. [back]
- Re Ashman and Best  2 NZLR 224 at 232 (SC) Wilson J. [back]
- Philip A. Joseph, Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand, Brookers Ltd., Wellington, 2001, p. 459. [back]
- F. M. Brookfield, ‘A New Zealand Republic?’, Legislative Studies, Vol. 8(2), Autumn 1994, p. 9. [back]


In medieval times land in England was either waste, common pasture or arable. The waste included all lands not in use or not usable as pasture or for tillage. The manors resembled islands of cultivation in a sea of common or unenclosed waste, which was subject to public or quasi-public rights. Cottages were often built on strips of waste. The pasture was common to all, and the arable land was great open fields. The big East and West Fields in Harwell are described by Anthony Fletcher in his book Elizabethan Village.
The modernisation of agriculture ended the old collective methods of farming. Private ownership spread across the wastes, and the commoners of the manors were compensated for their lost rights with smallholdings and allotments for food, fuel, stone and recreation. Each had to be content with the land or money awarded to him by the parliamentary commissioners, whose decisions had the force of law.
During every parliament of the long reign of George III (1760 – 1820), hundreds of Enclosure Acts were legalised, opening the way for better farming, and greater prosperity to the country as a whole, although some poor people were victimised, while others already rich profited more. Harwell’s Award map, drawn in 1802, divides the parish amongst many owners.
Names of Harwell Families on Award Map:
Lord Bishop of Winchester


In line with the ultimate goal of Lean manufacturing, which is enhancing work environments to reduce waste and uphold production, various equipment is incorporated into the movement of paraphernalia around the factory. The most notable are forklifts and pallet carts. The former is slowly getting removed from factory floors due to the efficiency of pallet carts. The use of pallet carts has been observed to bring the following benefits:
Decongesting the Floors With Pallet Carts & Tugger Trains
Pallet carts can be automated to specific routes. Their movement can be configured in such a way that they take up minimum space, and deliver necessities from one point to another.
Loading containers on forklifts are albeit more complicated because they require more space to maneuver. One or more carts can easily be removed, allowing for the rest to move along to other destinations.
How to Increase Delivery Capacity
Operators of forklifts have to transfer weighty load in a limited number of containers and still have to travel back and forth before delivery is complete.
Pallet carts have revolutionized this field by introducing the ability to link multiple carts then deliver them in one journey. The number of carts is practically limited to the power output of the tugger in the series.
Forklifts may still need to be used in some factories, but are restricted to receiving and shipping.
Reducing Energy Consumption
Less energy is consumed when the number of tugger trips is reduced. If more materials are able to reach their destination in two trips instead of four, less waste is emitted. This runs well with the objective of lean manufacturing.
Another thing that is improved is required manpower. More people are needed to operate the traditional way of moving materials. A normal system will have to work with three people, whereas one controls the movement of the car, someone else loads new cargo, while still another unloads the cargo.
Help Reduce Wait Times
Production times can be cut by half with the use of pallet carts. In a study to compare the delivery speeds of forklifts and pallet carts, both were observed as they got loaded, traveled and unloaded packages of equal weight from point A to point B.
The findings from this study were rather pleasant to the researchers as it was discovered that pallet carts took 50% of the time required by forklifts to complete a designated job. The reasons behind such a huge difference were the perfect design of routes and detachability of the pallet carts.
Detaching and reattaching carts takes less than a minute, and eradicates production wait times.
The good thing with pallet carts is that they only need basic driving skills from operators. Those operated by hand have a notable abridged control panel which machinists use to guide the vehicle around with.
The operators need just a bit of training to enable them to run the machine efficiently.


When hacking into Web Applications, Attackers will usually attempt to find vulnerable accounts or identify vulnerabilities that can be exploited on a targeted web server. To protect themselves, Security administrators will usually engage in server patching and attempt to remediate any identified vulnerabilities and accounts. When these vulnerabilities are resolved, Attackers will usually change their targets, search for new vulnerabilities or attempt to re-exploit vulnerable account information etc. For the Attacker, this requires much time and effort. Because of this, attackers will often install backdoors called “Webshells” in order to maintain their control of compromised servers. Once this backdoor is set up, attackers can then steal information from these servers at anytime, as well as use these servers as stepping-stones to attack other targets within the same environment. Webshells have been used for a long time and companies have typically relied on signature-based anti-virus to defend themselves. However in recent years, webshells have used obfuscated code to evade signature-based detections thus making them increasingly more difficult to detect. Due to this trend, anti-virus vendors have prioritized their focus on protecting against Ransomware and other common malware, rather than webshells.
Webshell detection software have typically been very resource intensive. This proves problematic as performance is key on servers hosting critical web applications. Over the years, there have also been countless variants of webshells thus rendering signature-based detections ineffective. Regardless, once a webshell backdoor has been set up, the damage can be catastrophic. A compromised server could easily be infected with additional viruses, data and confidential information could be leaked and compromised servers could be used as a stepping-stone to attack other servers. Thus, in order to protect companies from data leakage and to ensure the reputational confidence of the company brand, the developers of AntiShell have been trying to find a way to detect WebShells without relying on conventional signature-based detections. AntiShell is a unique program that can detect webshells and generate real time reports – It is the “Webshell hunter”.
AntiShell Web Shell Hunter (Anti Shell Web Shell Hunter)
Shell programs that run on Web Servers. Can be written in various languages (PHP, Perl, Python). Once installed, they function as backdoors, allowing arbitrary execution of OS commands and leading to leakage of information or shutdown of critical web services. These backdoors could also lead to the introduction of additional malware such as Ransomware, distribution of viruses to end-users, as well as being used as a stepping-stone to attack other servers etc. Recently, webshells have even evolved to hide themselves and are known to contain self-removal functionality along with other features.
|General functions of webshells||Summary|
|Collection of server information||Ability to collect server information (CPU type, installed memory size, hard disk capacity, OS type), installed software versions (Apache and PHP versions), running process information, etc.|
|File operations||Ability to upload, download, delete and change contents of files. In some cases, webshells even feature the ability to modify files through a simple editing interface.|
|OS command execution assistance||Webshells feature the ability to execute OS level commands through a simple web management page. They mimic the capability of Terminal Console access.|
|Database connection||A web interface that connects to the database hosted on the infected server. Can also connect to databases hosted on other servers on the same network.|
|FTP connection||Web interface that connects to the FTP service hosted on the infected server, and to other FTP servers on the same network.|
|Brute-Force attack to other hosts||The ability to Brute force attack public services hosted on servers(SSH, TELNET etc.)|
|Operation tool of character string||A function used to do URL encoding/decoding, and encoding/decoding of BASE64, MD5 and SHA1 hash strings etc.|
|Self-removal functionality||Ability for the webshell to delete itself as required.|
Webshells typically feature the ability to administer management sessions. When an unauthorized user tries to access the webshell, access to its main functions are generally restricted. The webshell may send harmless content to the requesting User-Agent (e.g. web crawlers) or present a "404 Not Found" to any unauthorized users. Webshells are typically designed to only respond and execute commands based on specific request parameters, thus increasing the difficulty of webshell detection. Attackers may also design their own webshells or existing webshells may be obfuscated to evade detection.
Webshell detection is difficult as they can be written in many languages and further obfuscated or modified by attackers. AntiShell is able to detect webshells regardless of language. It is designed to uncompress all files in a specified directory and examine them line per line. It supports numerous file types, such as php, asp, Perl, Python, java, txt, image files etc. When AntiShell discovers dangerous code, it will report them to the AntiShell master server, rank them based on risk level, and notify administrators on the AntiShell administration page.
As the AntiShell scanning system uses “differential-checking”, it will not scan the same file again as long as the file has not been changed. This saves time and performance resources on the server side. When AntiShell detects unknown webshells on a server, it will immediately report its detailed findings to the master server. When unknown webshells have been detected on servers elsewhere, the same process will be performed. The information is automatically sent to the master server hosted on the cloud, and will immediately be shared with all AntiShell agents.
Since files are checked line by line, large files may take some time to complete scanning.
* Additional file scans will only be performed when files are changed. Administrators can additionally set a schedule to perform scans in advance through the AntiShell management interface. When scanning is complete, email notifications are automatically sent to administrators. Scans can be set daily weekly, or monthly at specified times as required.
|Level||manage server hosts||manage administrators||scan execution||viewing reports||support|
Users and privileges can easily be managed on the administration page. Each user can be assigned access privileges on the console based on role. For example, Management level users would be able to view reports but unable to manage (add/remove) agent hosts. In any case, when a webshell is detected, we will provide support in handling the incident.
AntiShell is a specialized service for webshell detection and is the only product focusing exclusively in this space. Vendors may provide webshell detection as an “additional optional service” on top of existing antivirus software. However these typically rely on signature-based detections which are limited in effectiveness. These services may also only provide detection capabilities with additional fees required for webshell removal
On the other hand, AntiShell has the ability to detect and show the files hosting webshell code and provide important and precise information such as date/time of file creation, file ownership and privileges etc. At the same time, this information is reported to our customer center so we can provide full support in handling and investigating the incident.
1) Users who have privileges to execute the targeted folders and files can initiate the scan. Scanning is possible in real-time as well as through the scheduler. Scanning is typically executed on each server individually and a schedule can be set for weekly or monthly scanning. Scans can be applied to entire folder hierarchies
2) Scan on the selected server.
3) After successful completion of the scan, AntiShell will upload the scan results to the management server. Scan results and identified files can also be viewed through the management console. File exceptions can be applied on known good files.
4) While reviewing the scan results, identified files can additionally be submitted for Sandbox Analysis directly from the management console
5) Submitted files will go through analysis on the Sandbox. Recommended remediation actions may vary depending on the importance of the submitted file
Apache configuration files: Recommendation to remove malicious source code from the file and attempt to preserve the file itself.
Highly dangerous files: Recommendation to deleting the file immediately.Recommended remediation actions and additional contextual information are also provided (paid service)
Since there are various attack patterns, various kinds of webshells, the signature format can’t handle them.
"How to judge webshell" Is the core part of this system and some parts are the top secret, so we can not tell you the details.
Here are some explanations about what AntiShell does.


How do I spot a suspicious, or phishing email?
The very first thing to look at with any suspected email is the subject line. The following are good indications that something is not quite right:
- Maybe it’s offering you something too good to be true
- Perhaps it’s trying to entice you with something strange or unexpected
- Or it’s just begging you to open the email
- They’re trying to scare you
Having a close look at the email address can also provide a hint. Often the display name will look legitimate, but the actual address it came from looks strange. For example:
Display name: ‘PayPal’
eMail address: firstname.lastname@example.org
Sometimes an illegitimate email address will stand straight out, like that email from Microsoft that came from email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Attachments also often exhibit this nonsensical or odd naming. Sometimes they may be file types masquerading as other file types. A file by the name of attachment.pdf.html is probably not legitimate.
It is actually a good rule not to open attachments from any unknown or unrecognised source, or any other source you’re not sure of. If in doubt, do your research, but never reply to the sender until you’re 100% they’re legitimate.
One type of phishing email that can be quite deceptive is that which look professionally sent. These types often use graphics, fonts, and formatting that are similar to or stolen directly from legitimate sources. A particularly famous example for Australians is one that uses Australian Taxation Office graphics and fonts to appear legitimate. This type of phishing email will appear well-written and authoritarian. You need to pay very careful attention to the details listed above when trying to assess emails of this type.
Often, phishing email can be distinguished sheely by a barbaric look with poor written language; as if someone wrote it in a hurry or it was written by an individual with a poor command of English. However, phishers are becoming aware of this and are increasing the sophistication of their emails.
And, finally the Golden Rule:
Legitimate emails from reputable sources will almost NEVER ask for details they should already have. For example:
- A bank will not ask for you to confirm your credit card or security numbers
- Government organisations will not ask for your identification number or full name
- An organisation will not ask you to confirm information that could be used as answers to security identification questions, such as mother’s maiden name, first street you lived in, etc.
Organisations that are contacting you legitimately will (if it’s a necessary part of the communication) provide you with that information to prove they’re legitimate.
When confronted with any email address that doesn’t look right, do your research. If it is an organisation that you use (or have used), review past emails to check the correct addresses that the organisation or service uses and compare that with your suspect email.
Larger organisations, such as PayPal, have active phishing and hoax email reporting on their websites. The information these facilities provides can often assist you with identifying whether you have received a legitimate email from these sources.
One final note on phishing: Phishing is also now being performed via SMS text messaging.
You’ve just been notified that you’ve won £12,000,000 in a UK lottery that you, despite living in Oodnadatta and not having any living UK relatives, didn’t even enter. And all you have to do is click the link in the SMS to claim that prize!
Well, that link is likely to be a phishing link. It is very likely that it will install some form of malware on your phone that will either spy on your activities, record and forward your sensitive personal information to a third-party, or install software to force your phone to mine BitCoin to make someone else wealthy.
Too good to be true? It’s likely to be phishing bait.
For further information on Phishing:
- Phishing: https://www.csu.edu.au/division/dit/services/service-catalogue/email/phishing
- Examples: https://www.csu.edu.au/division/dit/services/service-catalogue/email/phishing-
If you’d like more information on phishing emails, or any other IT-related dangers, get in touch with us here.


By Moses D. Sandy
June 13, 2020, was an unruffled Saturday in Collingdale, a borough based in Delaware County. The County is located in the state of Pennsylvania on the east coast of the United States of Americas (USA). As it is often said in the US, the weather on that Saturday was good; it was mild. The temperature was more than 70-degree Celsius. For many on the east coast, it was a pleasant time for outdoor activities.
Most people were in high spirits but, for Liberians, especially the Woewiyu and Dahnsaw families, and the people of Grand Bassa County, June 13th was a gloomy day. It was melancholy; it marked the home-going of the man they considered their pillar, Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu. Outside of his family life, the late Jucontee was a former iconic rebel; and it was on that Saturday Liberia bade him final farewell.
He was one of Liberia’s notable and outspoken former warlords. He was past Defense Spokesman of the disbanded National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). The NPFL was a ragtag army that gained notoriety globally in the early 1990’s for ferocity in the tiny West African country of Liberia. The Front was ruthless and it was credited for initiating Liberia’s first civil war, which lasted from 1989 to 1997.
Liberia is nearly 173 years old. The country gained independence on July 26,1847. It has a population of nearly 5 million people. On December 24, 1989, the NPFL launched an invasion into the country. The rebellion started in Buutuo, a town situated in Nimba County, northeastern Liberia at the border with la Cote d’Ivoire. The military uprising was fixated on the violent overthrow of the late President Samuel K. Doe administration. The late Doe was a despot; and he presided over an autocracy.
The rebellion and other successive civil wars lasted for 14 years; and reportedly decimated more than 250,000 human lives and millions of dollars’ worth of properties. As a result of the widespread carnage, thousands of Liberians fled the country and became refugees in West Africa and other countries in the world, including the US.
The late Woewiyu, alias, Jucontee Thomas Smith, expired on April 12, 2020, at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County after nearly two weeks of struggle with the deadly Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). He was approximately 75 years old. His death brings to more than 100,00 people in the US that have fallen prey to the virus since January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the Pacific Northwest state of Washington.
His corpse was interred at the Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, following befitting funeral rites at the Collingdale First Church of the Nazarene in Collingdale. The former NPFL Defense Spokesman died while awaiting sentencing after a federal jury, on July 3, 2018, convicted him in Philadelphia for lying to U.S. immigration officials about his role in war crimes committed by the NPFL including acts of torture, ethnically targeted killings, and the conscription of child soldiers. He was to face 75 years imprisonment.
Life in U.S.
Reportedly the late Woewiyu migrated to the US in 1969; and initially settled in New York. He was a legal Permanent Resident while intermittently serving in the disbanded NPFL and former President Taylor’s government. He last lived in Collingdale and reportedly invested in real estate. He was a family man; he was married with children and grandchildren.
U.S. Navy Lt. Monconjay Thomas Woewiyu, 34, is one of his children. In a pre-sentencing video reportedly created by the Woewiyu family a year ago, Lt. Monconjay reportedly described his father as a mentor. “It is because of him that I understand what it is to be a man,” he said. “His dedication to the community inspired me to join the armed forces,” the US Navy Lieutenant said.
Mrs. Hawa Zoe Dahnsaw is the late Woewiyu’s oldest daughter. She, like her brother Monconjay, in the same video had something positive to say about their father.
“My father was a guru at putting people together,” she said. “No matter all the different activities that he had regarding his participation in his country, he never forgot about us. He always had a vision.”
The deceased was born on December 15, 1945, in Grand Bassa County, Liberia, as Thomas Juncontee Smith.
He was the seventh of thirteen children. He was delivered on a bed of cut banana leaves.
“I was born on banana leaves,” the late Woewiyu said in the pre-sentencing video produced a year ago by his family. Then he declared: “But I’ve always sworn to myself that my kids would be born on a silk blanket… I’ve always tried to do something to be worth the name of my family, my village, my country.” He earned an associate of arts (AA) degree from Brooklyn College of CUNY; and later obtained a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University.
Prior to December 24, 1989, the name, Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, didn’t ring bell in Liberian politics; it was unknown. However, things changed dramatically. Beginning December 24, 1989 to 1994, the late Jucontee was a famous man in Liberia. His name resonated with Liberians and many people worldwide. He was respected, adored, and honored by many including world leaders, especially West African leaders given the critical role he played in the advancement of the NPFL’s led rebellion against the late President Doe’s administration.
His name was synonymous to the ex-NPFL. Reportedly the disbanded ragtag army was a brainchild of him, former Presidents Charles Taylor and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Samuel Dokie and others. The late Jucontee was a towering and powerful figure in the Front. As Defense Spokesman, he was a prominent figure in the execution of the NPFL’s led anarchy.
Also, he was a confidante of former President Taylor. Before winning the 1997 presidential election in Liberia, Mr. Taylor was leader of the NPFL. The late Woewiyu and many of Mr. Taylor’s former foot soldiers shuttled the world, championing the cause of the NPFL. Also, they justified the Front’s maiming and slaughtering of Liberians. They were Mr. Taylor’s war heroes.
Tom, as he was popularly known by many of his peers, was brash and merciless in advancing the NPFL’s war agenda at international peace conferences held on Liberia. He routinely granted news interviews to the BBC’s Focus on Africa, the Voice of America (VOA) and other international media outlets about the disbanded NPFL, its former leader Charles Taylor and the organization’s agenda and vision for a liberated and transformed Liberia.
The BBC’s former West Africa Correspondent, Elizabeth Blunt, in a testimony delivered at the late Woewiyu’s 2018 trial in the City of Philadelphia, said: “He was very articulate-not as flamboyant as Charles Taylor, but in a bit of the same style.” She furthered “If you were trying to put someone forward that gives the impression that yours is a serious political movement, he was a good PR man.”
During the heydays of the NPFL’s self-styled revolution, the fallen Woewiyu and his war cronies lived ‘large’ while majority of Liberians perished in villages, towns, cities, and refugee camps. They resided in up-scale homes, accumulated material wealth overnight and had regular meals. Also, they drove flashy cars; and sent their wives and children abroad for education, medical treatment, and annual vacations while war afflicted Liberians at home went scavenging through debris and looted warehouses at the Free Port of Monrovia for grains of rice (Liberia’s staple food) just to survive the military onslaught on the country.
The late Woewiyu severed tie with the NPFL in the later part of 1994. He and two other former executives of the NPFL broke away from Mr. Taylor; and established the Revolutionary Council (NPFL-CRC). The NPFL-CRC allegedly recruited former fighters of the disbanded NPFL to attack Mr. Taylor. However, the late Jucontee and Mr. Taylor in 1997 resolved their political differences after Mr. Taylor was elected President. Then former President Taylor appointed him as Minister of Labor. He served from 1997 to 1999.
The late Woewiyu was an accomplished politician. Over the years, he rubbed elbows with State Department officials and prominent figures, including former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He was former senior senator of Grand Bassa County and Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate. Before his arrest by special agents of the US Homeland Security Investigations at Newark’s Liberty International Airport in the US on May 12, 2014, the he was gearing up for a return to the Liberian Senate.
He was one of Grand Bassa County’s senatorial hopefuls in the October 2014 midterm election. In March of that year, he declared: “I want to be a senator to perfect and complete the decentralization of Grand Bassa County by ensuring that all political sub-divisions of the county are covered by law and justice”. However, his dream never came to fruition. He was picked up by agents of the US Homeland Security and incarcerated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on immigration and felony charges. At the time of his arrest and incarceration, the late Woewiyu was 68.
The fallen ex-NPFL’s Defense Spokesman’s legal wrangle with the US Homeland Security administration case lasted for more than four years beginning 2014. On May 12, 2014, he was arrested, charged and held on 16 counts: fraudulently attempting to obtain US citizenship-2 counts; fraud in immigration documents-4 counts; false statements in relation to naturalization-3 counts; and perjury-7 counts.
According to the indictment, the former NPFL’s war czar was accused of lying about his past with former President Charles G. Taylor, especially his role in the disbanded National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). On May 16, 2014, he appeared in court for a detention hearing and arraignment. Then he was ordered canned without bond while he awaited trial. US prosecutors then contended that the late Woewiyu, the Liberian politician and one-time ally of the disgraced former President Charles Taylor, didn’t deserve a bail because he was a ‘flight risk’. “Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu has every reason to flee this country,” the prosecutors insisted.
After years of legal tussle, on July 3, 2018, a grand jury convicted the late Jucontee at the Philadelphia based federal court for lying to U.S. immigration officials about his role in war crimes committed by the former NPFL including acts of torture, ethnically targeted killings, and the conscription of child soldiers. He was to face 75 years imprisonment.
He was found guilty on 11 of the 16 counts: 2 counts of fraudulently attempting to obtain citizenship; 2 counts of fraud in immigration documents; 2 counts of false statements in relation to naturalization; and 5 counts of perjury. His sentencing was first scheduled for October 15, 2018, but he was not sentenced.
He remained out of prison while awaiting sentencing. His sentence hearing was postponed several times during 2018 and 2019. After the last postponement in April 2019, a new date for the hearing was not set, but was expected in 2020.
US Citizenship Application
In 2006, the late Woewiyu applied for US citizenship. According to federal authority, the former NPFL guru, in his application and subsequent interviews conducted with immigration officers under oath, tried to distance himself from the notorious NPFL that he helped procreate. Reportedly, he denied his involvement with the NPFL. In the application, the late Woewiyu allegedly disowned the Association of Constitutional Democracy in Liberia (ACDL), a group which he and other Liberians, who resided in the US during the 1980’s and 90’s, reportedly formed for the violent overthrow of the late President Doe’s administration.
Reportedly, the late Woewiyu formed the ACDL. He and other prominent Liberians including the former NPFL leader and President Charles G. Ghankay Taylor financed the NPFL and the Liberian civil uprising. Because of the reported inconsistencies noted in the citizenship application about his role in the NPFL, the Liberian civil war and his reported failure to disclose the 1970’s New York State conviction for falsification of business records, the US immigration authority in 2009 denied his application.
Then the US immigration authority declared that Woewiyu was ineligible for US citizenship because he was reportedly not a person of “Good moral character”. However, the late Woewiyu’s lawyer, Ray Basso, disputed the claim. According to media reports, he argued that the late former NPFL Defense Spokesman didn’t participate in any atrocities.
The late Woewiyu was one of the very few people held accountable for the widespread carnage that Liberians experienced beginning 1989 to 2003. In March 2012, former Liberian rebel leader, Dr. George Boley, was deported from the US over his role played in the Liberian civil conflict. Then, a US judge stated that the ex-Liberian Peace Council (LPC) leader’s involvement in extra-judicial killings and the recruitment of children were grounds for his removal.
Prior to his deportation, Dr. Boley was in US custody for two years. At the height of the Liberian civil wars, there were seven warring factions including the LPC. In 1995, Dr. Boley joined other warlords, including Charles Taylor, to lead an interim council for about a year. After presidential elections in 1997, the conflict resumed. His deportation was followed by the conviction of the disgraced former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, for crimes against humanity. He is now serving a 50 years jail time in Britain.
Mr. Taylor was leader of the former NPFL. In May 2012, judges at the International Court in The Hague convicted him for aiding and abetting rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone in the commission of human rights violations. He was accused of giving monetary and material support to the RUF in the destabilization of Sierra Leone, a neighboring country of Liberia.
About the Author:
Moses D. Sandy is a US based retired Liberian journalist and a writer. He’s immediate past president of the acclaimed Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA); and former Editor-in-Chief of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS). In recent years, Mr. Sandy has penned several thought provoking articles on corruption, bad governance, and social issues obtaining in contemporary Liberia. He holds a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the Philadelphia based Temple University. Also, Mr. Sandy holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Mass Communication with emphasis in broadcast journalism from the University of Liberia.


According to a 2010 study that was published in Science Daily, babies with flat heads may be at a higher risk for cognitive and motor delays. It makes sense- when an infant is always on his/her back, he/she does not receive the proprioceptive input (feeling of where body is in relation to space) or the neck extension (straightening). The child could potentially be delayed in meeting milestones. After all, it is more difficult to attend to a stimulus while on your back (then on your stomach). Additionally, many babies will take longer to learn how to roll, crawl, sit, and stand, as the core muscles will not be strong enough to move against gravity.
As an occupational therapist, I work with many kids that have positional plagiocephaly. During the session, I teach families how to place their babies during waking hours – as well as how to engage them – to prevent worsening of and correct the flat spot. Although pediatricians recommend back-to-sleep, I encourage families to keep babies OFF of their backs (out of the supine position) as much as possible during waking hours.
What can you do? Here are three “quick” suggestions to PREVENT positional plagiocephaly:
TUMMY TIME! I can’t say it enough. Although a Tummy Time article on parents.com mentioned to place an infant on his/her stomach beginning “around the 3-4 month mark,” I believe it should happen MUCH earlier. You can put your baby on YOUR stomach- after feeding, while he/she is sleeping, and during waking hours during the newborn stage. It is a great way to bond with your baby and can also help with burping! (In all fairness, the article DID mention this- after mentioning the 3-4 month mark for starting Tummy Time.) ***Just be careful until the umbilical cord has fallen off.
Be a switch-hitter! Switch sides in your arms (after every feed) and in the crib (each night)- get your baby comfortable resting his/her head on BOTH sides.
Just because it is made- does not mean it is right for your child. Meaning- just because Bumbo seats, exersaucers, jumpers, walkers, and swings (etc…) are readily available in many, many stores, they are not necessarily appropriate for your child- in his/her current stage of development. Although those items can be great distractions- extended use may NOT be recommended.
It is very scary to be a parent nowadays- I TOTALLY get it. Remember that you are not alone. If your “parent instinct” tells your that your child may have positional plagiocephaly, speak to your pediatrician. I am also available to lend my expert opinion about positioning and engaging “activities” that you can do with your baby.


Astronomers used the sharp eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the magnification power of the giant cluster of galaxies Abell 1689 to find 58 remote galaxies. They are the smallest, faintest, and most numerous galaxies ever seen in the remote universe.
The white circles sprinkled throughout the image of the galaxy cluster on the left pinpoint the location of the magnified images of most of the faraway galaxies. The image is a blend of exposures taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3. Seeing the tiny galaxies mixed in with the cluster galaxies is an illusion. They are actually far away from Abell 1689. Hubble photographed the distant galaxies as they appeared more than 10 billion years ago, during the heyday of star birth.
The galaxies would normally be too faint for Hubble to see. To detect them, astronomers teamed Hubble with Abell 1689, which magnified the light from the galaxies behind it due to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. Gravity warps space, acting like a giant funhouse mirror to stretch and brighten distant objects, allowing Hubble to resolve them.
The postage-stamp-sized images on the right show 36 of the distant galaxies. Their bright blue color reveals that they are ablaze with star birth. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 captured these images of the galaxies in ultraviolet light, a reliable tracer of star birth. The Hubble analysis shows that they are irregularly shaped and measure just a few thousand light-years across. These galaxies are about one-tenth the mass of the typical progenitors of galaxies like our Milky Way.
Abell 1689 is 2.5 billion light-years from Earth.
Image Type: Astronomical/Annotated
To access available information and downloadable versions of images in this news release, click on any of the images below:


I grew up in the heady days of the Apollo program watching Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in Apollo 11 make that giant leap to the moon. As a kid my father was always teaching me about the stars and planets so I have always had one eye to the sky. This is one of the many reasons I want to try to arrange an interview with a scientist or engineer from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Speakers Bureau for the documentary.
With today’s GPS, Cell phones, and other navigational tools at our disposal, we sometimes forget how difficult it was for sailors just a few decades ago. Celestial navigation, or astronavigation, is the process of finding your direction of travel and global position using the sun, moon and stars. The device known as a Sextant will locate your position by taking angular measurements between the sun, moon, a planet or stars and the visible horizon. The sun is most commonly used, but you can use the moon, a planet or one of 57 navigational stars whose coordinates are tabulated in a Nautical Almanac.
The time of measurement must be recorded to within a few seconds of the actual reading to be accurate. It usually takes two people to plot their position using a sextant, one to record the time and measurement and one to take the actual measurement. You can do it single-handed but it is more accurate and easier if you have help. After you take six or more readings you can use a formula to determine your longitude and latitude coordinates which you can then use to plot on a chart your exact location.


German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated Tuesday that she would like to join other European countries in aiming to eliminate virtually all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but stressed the goal needs to be achievable.
Merkel initially refused to join the initiative put forward last week by French President Emmanuel Macron and eight other EU countries, despite domestic pressure to do so.
Speaking at an international climate change meeting in Berlin, Merkel said she’s now intending to discuss the idea at a Cabinet sitting at the end of May.
“The discussion is not about whether we can achieve it, but about how we can achieve it,” she said. “If we can find a sensible answer, then we can join the initiative.”
Germany has lagged behind other European countries, including France and Britain, in its efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Merkel noted that Germany will miss its own target for reductions by 2020.
As a country that took in more than 1 million migrants fleeing war and poverty elsewhere in the world in recent years, Merkel suggested Germany has a particular interest in minimizing global warming.
“If we fail to protect the climate, then in view of the growing world population, increasing conflicts are inevitable because resources are becoming scarce,” she said.
Merkel said rallies staged by students protesting their leaders’ inaction on climate change showed how important the issue has become for young people.
“That puts pressure on politicians around the world,” she said.
Merkel, who was Germany’s environment minister from 1994 to 1998, said rich countries that are responsible for most man-made emissions have a particular responsibility to tackle climate change and doing so will pay off in the end.
“The question isn’t what will it cost us to reach these goals, the question is rather: how much more would it cost us if we don’t do anything.”
Her comments appeared directed at those leaders who have refused to join international efforts to fight climate change, most notably U.S. President Donald Trump.
Announcing the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate accord two years ago, Trump cited the “draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country” and warned millions of American jobs could be lost as a result.
The U.S. sent a small technical delegation to the talks in Berlin and is expected to attend this year’s U.N. climate summit in December, hosted by Chile.
Carolina Schmidt, Chile’s environment minister, told reporters she hoped American cities, states and private companies that are committed to climate action would also join the talks in Santiago.


Charing Cross Hospital facts for kids
Charing Cross Hospital is a hospital in London, England. Charing Cross Hospital was set up in Villiers Street, London, in 1823. It became known as Charing Cross Hospital in 1827. It was set up after Dr. Benjamin Golding started a meeting in 1818.
It was originally built in Central London but it was moved after World War II. It reopened on Fulham Palace Road in 1973. The hospital was designed and built by Decimus Burton. It was built much bigger and more modern than others at the time. Today it is still in use. It is also a teaching hospital for students. It has 15 floors.
Images for kids
Henry Moore sculpture at the main entrance
Charing Cross Hospital Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.


Has Shale Gas Reduced Carbon Emissions?
Last week, I wrote that the U.S. is on course to set a new export record of coal. A few days later the EIA made similar projections and estimate that exports will reach 125 million tons for 2012.
One side effect of the success of U.S. coal exports is the degree to which may they have cancelled out the carbon emissions reduction experienced in the U.S. as shale gas displaced coal in the power generation sector. This question of displacement was addressed in a study just released by researchers at the University of Manchester.
The Study’s lead author Dr. John Broderick had this comment on how the coal to gas switching is being broadly viewed. “Research papers and newspaper column inches have focused on the relative emissions from coal and gas. However, it is the total quantity of CO2 from the energy system that matters to the climate.”
“The calculations presented in this report suggest that more than half of the emissions avoided in the US power sector may have been exported as coal. In total, this export is equivalent to 340 MtCO2 emissions elsewhere in the world, i.e. 52% of the 650 MtCO2 of potential emissions avoided within the US.” [Link is to full 29 page report pdf]
It is easy to forget that oil is not the only energy resource with global interactions. Changes in nuclear power use in Japan and the linkage of LNG prices to an oil benchmark impacted the price of seaborne LNG putting pressure on European power generators to expand their use of coal. Add this to the drop in the price of North American thermal coal to levels that made it more competitive in foreign markets and the movement of this carbon intensive fuel shifted off shore.
The issues of climate and energy are bonded at the hip. If either side in the debate over climate and energy forget that relationship the outcome will be unsatisfactory for everyone. One sided solutions are destine to fail the test of time.Jim Hansen is an investment advisor at Ravenna Capital Management based in Seattle, Washington. He has spoken at the ASPO-USA national conference as well given other public and academic presentations. His weekly report The Master Resource Report is available online.