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I haven't always felt this way, but auctions are pretty sweet. How often does someone have to grab that sleeper from you just because of the vagaries of the snake draft before you start thinking about auctions anyway? How great is it to decide a player is worth something, plus or minus, and then go toe to toe with someone that has a similar evaluation of that player? It's an exciting process, and it really makes you put your player valuation money where your mouth is.
Adding keeper functionality to an auction league just makes even more sense. As I migrated from snake to auction in my fantasy preferences, I've also migrated to keeper leagues. Aren't we trying to play at being GMs here? In a way, we must be approximating the thrill of running a team, and a keeper auction league is probably the closest you can get without hitting the sim leagues – which are cool, but I'd rather leave defense out. It's just so tough to evaluate.
In any case, as the title indicates, my personal fantasy baseball trends have led me to ottoneu, the new fantasy game at FanGraphs. I hope you enjoy the game as much as I will. Let's play another "Trade Tree" game, shall we? This seemed popular the first time around. It's pretty sweet that all of these trades would show up on the respective player pages in your league, and it does a good job of illustrating how ottoneu game play goes.
For a free year (one team) of ottoneu fantasy, argue who got the most value for their Dan Haren in ottoneu one, the flagship league of the game.
We hoped you liked reading Evolution of Fantasy; Win A Team! by Eno Sarris!
Team 2 got the best caluew. Adam Jones at $19 has little value but can be waived or shopped depending on team need.
Shin-Soo Choo on the other hand at $5 becomes a building block for the team. He is an elite and durable (over 140 gp last 2 years) outfielder in this format with great obp numbers, and will also contribute in the 3 other fantasy categories.
This must have been a salary dump by the team trading Haren, since the hr/9 category makes him less valuable in this format. |
and creator at The Everyday Home.
for living a simple life.
Thank you to Pamela for having me as her guest.
1) What is my decorating style?
the years, and one day I hope to figure out an exact name for it.
English Country and a love of Charles Faudre?
You get The Everyday Home.
I have always said I need at least 5 homes, one for every style I love.
word sounded so raw and uncertain.
My favorite room is definitely our Kitchen.
a large agriculture farm in NC.
moved in. All DIY projects.
You can take the tour of my home HERE.
2) How did you find your style?
My style has been greatly influenced by our travels.
blessed to enjoy 3-years abroad in Europe.
more than anywhere we have ever lived.
had stockpiled, and then he turned it into a literal work of art.
during my travels thru England.
3 - What has been your most treasured find of your home?
an unknown storage center and then shipped all over the world.
and discovered a group of manila envelopes.
assorted baby pics and travel pics which I thought I had lost.
have made in my home in a long time.
4- What tips do I have for creating a beautiful home?
This is a tough one for me, actually.
I could give you the boxed answer like "let your style grow organically"
and "utilize magazines and blogs, etc, to help you discover your style."
with someone else's style is that it is never quite your own.
everyone else collecting - particularly trendy things.
feathers in black polka-dot vases, then by golly go for it.
offer creativity at all levels and share the best of what we offer.
My style has evolved over the last 30 years.
I look back at pictures 15-20 years ago and cringe.
Don't be afraid to let your home evolve as your life does.
your family. Not someone else's home.
Thank you again for letting me share this with you.
Most of all - I wish you blessings.
Thank you Barb for sharing pieces of your home with us today! It is always fun to look back thru the years and see how our homes have changed. You have turned your into a stunner!
Love this home!!! Definitely click the link to take the home tour. Full of beautiful treasures and ideas! Thanks for sharing such a lovely place!
Oh I so enjoyed Barb's words of wisdom and the pics of her gorgeous home. I love her style, it's updated and trendy, but very unique and "her."
I am going to give her a visit now too. I love this featured share, Pamela. I hate to ever miss it, one of my fav reads. Thank you for sharing Barb with us today!!
I so look forward to this feature every Sunday morning with my coffee. Today I was not disappointed. Luv Barb's style. Her collected look speaks to me. Always stunning. Thanks ladies.
What a great feature! It's great advice, "Just collect what you love". That approach is working well for me.
I had a moment when I read that you found your baby pictures. How wonderful!
Wow a treat to get a glimpse inside. I will be hopping over for another look. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Pamela! I love Barb's no nonsense approach to decorating and her thoughts on finding your own style. I have to check out her blog...her home is beautiful!
Barb was a great choice to feature. Love her home. So gorgeous. That antique bed made into a bench WOW! Love that piece. Simply beautiful.
Barb, you are SO right about not trying to make someone else's style your own. I did that as a young woman and ended up regretting it. I LOVE the choices I have made for our home now. This was a great post. I, too, have wondered about how some bloggers always have PERFECT rooms etc. Now I realize, nothing is perfect.
What a beautiful home, every room is just gorgous .Oh my, choosing a bed from the dozens of vintage beds and having him turn them in to art, how special that would bet? Barb's bench is just stunning! Great tour. thank you!
Love Barb's style and beautiful home...great feature Pamela!!
Love the story about finding the photos. How wonderful! I remember seeing the bench on your blog a while back and love it! Bless you for being a great military family!
Hannah, I love your kitchen. Especially the blue painted brink and server hanging on the wall -- a girl after my own heart. |
Published: July 20, 2012 at 01:42 p.m.
This is one of those days where there are no words. A day where everything football related feels trivial.
The shooting tragedy at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colo. especially hits home in nearby Denver.
"Our deepest, most heartfelt condolences go out to the victims of this horrific tragedy in our community," the team said in a statement on Friday.
We send our thoughts and condolences out to the victims and their families. A number of Broncos players also expressed their thoughts over Twitter. |
Taqele Naiyaravoro will join Glasgow Warriors following his international commitments, contrary to reports in the Australian media, his agent has stated.
Fiji-born Naiyaravoro signed a three-year deal to join the Pro12 champions.
But the 23-year-old wing's inclusion in the Wallabies' Rugby Championship squad fuelled speculation he may back out of his contract.
"He's definitely coming to Glasgow to honour his commitments, at least for the first year," said Tyran Smith.
A move away from Australia would rule Naiyaravoro, who is moving to Scotland from Sydney's Waratahs franchise, out of international contention.
The Australian Rugby Union's policy is to pick only those overseas players boasting a minimum of 60 caps and seven years of Australian Super Rugby representation.
"There's a bit of a personal family thing - he's had another baby and his wife was finding it hard for personal reasons," Smith told BBC Scotland.
"She needed his support and moving away was a big decision, but he's honouring his first commitment, then we'll go from there.
"He's been a little bit naive. I've heard all the reports and I've been in contact regularly with him clarifying."
Naiyaravoro was not included overnight in Australia coach Michael Cheika's matchday squad for their opening Rugby Championship game against South Africa.
France-based Matt Giteau, the 92-cap 32-year-old centre, has earned a recall for the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on Saturday. |
An alternative to the form_helper. This integrates with the FUEL Validator Object nicely to display errors with form elements.
The Form.php class is required if a form object is not passed in the initialization process.
Sets the validator object on the form object.
Creates the opening form element.
Creates the opening form element as a multipart.
Creates the close form element as a multipart.
Creates the opening fieldset element.
Creates the close fieldset element.
A helper method to prepare string for textarea... taken from Kohana.
Checks a checkbox or radio.
Sets disabled attribute of a form element.
Sets read only attribute of a form element.
Creates the id attribute for the field and label. |
Our attorneys help people who have suffered a vaccine injury and may be eligible to recover under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). This type of injury occurs when a person experiences an adverse reaction after receiving a vaccine.
Our experienced attorneys handle vaccine injury claims from all 50 states and can provide you with a free consultation and initial evaluation of your claim. |
/** @externs */
/** @typedef {{
* styleElement: function(!HTMLElement),
* styleSubtree: function(!HTMLElement, Object<string, string>=),
* prepareTemplate: function(!HTMLTemplateElement, string, string=),
* prepareTemplateStyles: function(!HTMLTemplateElement, string, string=),
* prepareTemplateDom: function(!HTMLTemplateElement, string),
* styleDocument: function(Object<string, string>=),
* flushCustomStyles: function(),
* getComputedStyleValue: function(!Element, string): string,
* ScopingShim: (Object|undefined),
* ApplyShim: (Object|undefined),
* CustomStyleInterface: (Object|undefined),
* nativeCss: boolean,
* nativeShadow: boolean,
* }}
*/
let ShadyCSSInterface; //eslint-disable-line no-unused-vars
/**
* @typedef {{
* shimcssproperties: (boolean | undefined),
* shimshadow: (boolean | undefined)
* }}
*/
let ShadyCSSOptions; //eslint-disable-line no-unused-vars
/** @type {(ShadyCSSInterface | ShadyCSSOptions | undefined)} */
window.ShadyCSS;
|
Selling the topic "Encryption" to professionals is a bit like the topic "insurance". Some want it out of fear (which I do not find to be a good motivation for anything in life), some need it by law (like the German health care).
With our crypted.co Outlook encryption Plugin we have developed a tool specifically for professionals, who have to prove that they follow the new GDPR in Europe and (older) HIPAA in the US regulations without creating a hassle when they need to send a message to customers.
They major pain with email encryption is the fragmentation of the market and the lack of a standard.
That lack comes from complexity – especially if you are aware of free encryption solutions like PGP. You have to install software on both sides, exchange keys and establish a trusted channel. That makes no sense for a single Outlook email you need to send to a recipient.
I had my yearly check-up done last week and got my results in a ZIP file from the doctor via email. Password protected.
The message said: "use your birth year, 4 digits, to decrypt"… well, not the best way since my birth year is visible on facebook or LinkedIn, but at least they tried.
Now that process is exactly the little step we want to ease for professionals, who by law have to save their data encrypted and transfer that data to customers in an encrypted message.
I will now email our outlook plugin to my doctor and ask them to test it.
Maybe not such a public key as my birth year! But if you create a standard password for your your message to the recipient that is not instantly visible to the public (first 3 letters of your health insurance company, lower case – could be a good idea in Germany or the first 3 digits of your SSN in the States), the whole thing is one click simple and major security is established!
Can you tell me what the level of the encryption is?
eg: Sesame. AES 256 ? |
Mr. Vassanelli brings extensive industry knowledge and success in growing businesses from established business services (while CFO of ConvergeOne) to media start ups (during his time as CEO and President of MV3 Ltd). He brings comprehensive experience in change management, having successfully managed the integration of Equiniti and Xafinity to form Equiniti Group (a $510m+ revenue UK BPO firm). He also led the turnaround of the $1.5bn EMEA region of Marsh (a portfolio company of Marsh & McLennan) ahead of becoming the Marsh EMEA CFO. Mr. Vassanelli previous strategic, operational and financial roles spanning private equity, consulting and banking across multiple industries, will bring invaluable insight and knowledge to the iEnergizer Board. Mr. Vassanelli sits on the audit, remuneration and nomination committees of the Company.
Mr. Aggarwal is a first generation entrepreneur founder of iEnergizer. He has promoted and managed several successful businesses in various territories including Barker Shoes Limited in the UK. Mr. Aggarwal is primarily responsible for strategic business development, strategy and overall growth for the company.
Mr. Madan is a business development and marketing professional with over 30 years of experience in retail and customer services industry. As a CFO of iEnergizer Ltd, Mr. Madan contributes to all aspects of strategic business development and decision-making. Previously he has held senior positions in the media, publishing, and retail sectors, overseeing public and press relations as well as internal communications and has a long track record operational, marketing and, relationship success.
Mr. de Putron is a financial services professional with over 18 years experience in the fiduciary industry in both Guernsey and Bermuda. He is the managing director of Jupiter Trustees Limited, a Guernsey based independent fiduciary firm and a director of Capita Registrars (Guernsey) Limited. Previously he has worked at fiduciary companies in both Guernsey and Bermuda including Rothschild, Bank of Bermuda and HSBC. Mr. de Putron has a business economics degree from the University of Wales and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Mr. de Putron sits on the audit, remuneration and nomination committees of the Company.
Mr. De La Rue is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accounts (ACCA) and a financial services professional with over 20 years experience in the accounting and fiduciary industries in Guernsey. He is a director of Jupiter Trustees Limited, a Guernsey based independent fiduciary firm, and a director of Capita Registrars (Guernsey) Limited. |
Little kids just woke up early in the morning , their parents had left the nest. And there came down from the branches on his strong spider web of evil and dragged all three kids in the refuge . Kids become sad and very much want to get into a comfortable home. Help them to unravel and get into the nests of the same color as the kids themselves . Save the kids at each level and get a nice medal. |
We're so determined to make your experience at our hotel a charm, that we'd love to provide you with a courtesy airport shuttle if you book with us!
As a businessman, who travels all year long I can say that this hotel has everything that a man like me may need.
When me and my family were touring the Midwest last summer, we planned to stay in Indianapolis for a while.
I've been to a lot of Rustbelt's hotels in the last few years and this one is definitely one of the best ones..
Enjoy your stay while on a business trip or traveling leisure, with all the amenities and comforts which our hotel's single rooms have. This always includes a TV, shower and a free Internet access….
This is the ultimate double room, enhanced with 2 king sized beds, a flat TV, and a spacious area, which will be more than enough for a company of two… Additionally, the room features an option to have either a double-sized bed or two single beds.
Ideal for families of 3 or even 4 people, this room is spacious and comfortable enough for both you and your children to have fun, relax or simply sleep over while traveling… It will make your stay even more pleasant!
for More than 3 Days and Get a 15% Discount!
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What is check in/check out time?
Absolutely. In fact, our WiFi is one of the fastest in the city centre… On top of that, it is completely Free of charge!
Do you have conference hall?
Usually the check in is at 3 PM and check out is at 12 noon… But our hotel has an extended itinerary!
Previously working as a manager for Kempinski, Waldorf Astoria and NYC's Plaza hotels, John knows how to do his job. He's the most charming problem solver in the hotel industry! |
Whether you are going for sophistication, modern, or quirky, we have the perfect variety of socks selections for you, so get your suits ready and polish your look with Peper Harow London socks.
These days you often hear, "things aren't built to last anymore.", or some variation of that and while it's true for most things, it isn't true for everything and also depends on the type of quality you're willing to invest in.
Many of us have spent years buying the cheapest pairs of socks we could find because socks aren't fashion... right? Wrong. We discuss our reasoning here.
No matter your beliefs about men's fashion, first impressions are everything. Here are 5 tips on setting a great impression, no matter the occasion.
Socks should be neutral. Socks that don't match trousers, by definition, are not neutral, they're a contrast; whether you planned it or not. However, to avoid a serious wardrobe faux-pas there are some good, simple guidelines for matching your socks to your outfit. |
« A new approach in Mexico?
More drug-free antics »
Drug war violence
At The National Interest: Re-Framing Drug Violence
If there's a fire in your kitchen, the temptation is to throw water on it—but not if it's a grease fire. In a similar vein, the U.S. government's get-tough approach to drugs is counterproductive. […]
Like putting out a grease fire with water, employing the tools of war against the social phenomenon of drugs has been wholly destructive. […]
Accountability for drug violence must be laid at the feet not only of ruthless drug cartels but also of American analysts and officials too obtuse or self-serving to see the failure of their policies.
An effective analogy.
However, I think my own analogy may be a bit more apt:
"Some days it feels like I'm watching a house on fire. And one idiot wants to put it out with a machine gun. The other one wants to use grenades. And I'm standing there with a bucket of water and they look at me like I'm crazy."
November 16th, 2011 by Pete | Permalink
24 comments to Drug war violence
If I recall correctly, I don't think it was the drugs that declared war, but rather it was the other way around.
Matthew Meyer
Here in Redding, CA, they're throwing grease on the fire. Really it's not much of a fire, but they're trying to make it one.
Last night the City Council, acting on a flawed reading of the Pack / Long Beach decision, adopted an emergency measure that is supposed to make all the dispensaries in the city close.
The area around here is rural, and cultivation and dispensaries are being severely restricted or banned in numerous localities in this part of the state. If they succeed in this it will really suck for a lot of people, some of them very sick.
(Fortunately, people are fighting back, as in the Butte county referendum signature drive that succeeded in freezing an ordinance there that would have banned grows on <.5 acre lots in the county.)
Local Prohibs are just loving the feds' push, making lotsa faux-conservative hay. Lotsa "what about the children"?
Some locals are sticking up, but I'd really appreciate some special love from the people on Pete's couch. Check the article and comments:
http://www.redding.com/news/2011/nov/15/medical-marijuana-businesses-banned-redding/?comments_id=930436
Can we invent a DrugWarRant Flash-Mob?
MalcsSantaArrangement
Sure thing Matthew! I'll be there in about 30 mins to kick a few teeth out.
I still haven't been able to figure out what Article 3 Section 3.5 subsection (c) means. It seems to say something specific but the way so many California authorities act it forces me to conclude that I just don't understand the English language.
ARTICLE 3 STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SEC. 3.5. An administrative agency, including an administrative
agency created by the Constitution or an initiative statute, has no
(a) To declare a statute unenforceable, or refuse to enforce a
statute, on the basis of it being unconstitutional unless an
appellate court has made a determination that such statute is
unconstitutional;
(b) To declare a statute unconstitutional;
(c) To declare a statute unenforceable, or to refuse to enforce a
statute on the basis that federal law or federal regulations prohibit
the enforcement of such statute unless an appellate court has made a
determination that the enforcement of such statute is prohibited by
federal law or federal regulations.
I think any analogy should note that the prohibs started the fire and their attempts to fight it aren't just ineffectual, they're actively fueling the fire.
I mean, forget water. How about just taking it easy with the gasoline ?
I prefer carbon dioxide fire suppression systems. All fires require oxygen so none of that is it an electrical fire, a chemical fire, a burning bush fire, or just a regular old standard issue fire fire nonsense to muddle the issue, and who the heck doesn't already have at least a few carbon dioxide tanks laying around the house?
Billy Joel "We Didn't Start The Fire"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g&ob=av2e
He said "Thalidomide", hehehe.
Avoid commercials on Vevo videos with a simple reload.
SpatialOrientation
The drug war is flawed public policy. Half of what we spend on law enforcement, the courts and the prisons is drug related. Nothing productive has been achieved from the drug war in the past forty years, further evidence that prohibition and criminal penalties don't deter drug use. Rather, they create black markets where disputes are settled with guns instead of by courts – not to mention militarizing the police and criminalizing people who engage in non-violent consensual transactions. It is time to end the epic failure known as the war on drugs. More commentary and coverage at http://SpatialOrientation.com/tag/drug-war
The article touches on a theme that all of us probably know all too well:
The people in the Federal Government with the duty and authority to clean up all the corruption are the very same people benefitting from all the corruption.
There simply is no way to convince/coerce/force the employees in our Federal Government to do the right thing. Like leaving an alcoholic alone in the ABC store overnight, we have allowed the power-junkies to have unsupervised, unabated, uncontrolled access to the power.
Now they won't give it back. What to do?
How about if we ask Marie Antoinette?
Mmm, cake. White with vanilla bean frosting for me please.
Damn you, now I must have some cake. Off to check the pantry, be right back.
claygooding
Mr Cain has come out of the closet,,,smelling of marijuana smoke!
Herman Cain Says Medical Marijuana Regulation Should Be Left To The States
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/herman-cain-says-medical-marijuana-regulation-should-be-left-to-the-states_n_1097657.html
Cain just threw what was left of his campaign in the GOP trash can,,or could this bring the debate to the next meeting of the mega minds in their candidates next debate.
Rick Perry said his foreign aid budget would "start at 0." Well gosh Mr. Perry, that's where most people start counting.
I think Ron Paul is hypnotizing these guys. But he really does look pretty darn good in a Speedo for a man of his advanced age.
Yeah, he's just stealing Ron Paul's position on the war on drugs (and Perry on his foreign aid position), but the only one of the candidates who can actually back his positions up (with proof that he's held those positions for 30 years) is Ron Paul. All the rest are just saying what they hope the voters want to hear,; not one of those other candidates actually holds to any principles.
Pete, is this a site you're affiliated with? Didn't know your content was syndicated.
http://cannabis.hawaiinewsdaily.com/2011/11/16/drug-war-violence/
They just re-run my articles. It's not really syndicated. They've asked me in the past and I have agreed, because I generally have no problem with people distributing my work as long as there's a link. Right now, though, there's no easy link back to this site, so I'm contacting them about that.
I just stumbled on the answer to one of the most vexing questions I'm sure that most of us share. The question goes without saying.
The answer to 1984 is 1776.
I heard it here. If you think you might enjoy watching Sims verbally abusing the TSA I highly recommend this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UajULx-mkYE
"Traveler wearing Speedo at Airport talks about TSA (Trained Slavery Acclimation)"
I'm stealing that one, too.
well… since it's close enough to veterans day… let's remember that there have been military US fatalities in the Latin American Drug War This from my letter-to-the-editor Sept 2000, Bergen (NJ) Record – http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1434/a03.html :
In July 1999, five American soldiers died while on interdiction duty over the skies of Colombia. The pilot, Capt. Jennifer Odom, and her crew, Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Moore, Pfc. Bruce Cluff, Capt. Jose Santiago, and Pfc. Ray Krueger, all died when their plane, a high-tech DeHavilland RC-7, crashed or was shot down in southern Colombia.
Interestingly enough, Capt. Odom's commander in Colombia was Col. James Hiett. Hiett and his wife were involved with smuggling cocaine and laundering drug money and were arrested five months after the crash.
While Capt. Odom's name has been often mentioned I think her crew was named only once outside my lte.
And a couple more veteran fatalities in the WOD:
Cops Execute US Marine On Porch Steps In Delaware
US AZ: Complex Drug Probe Triggered SWAT Raid
The Arizona story on Jose Guerena is recent and his wife has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. In my mind the Guerena shooting is as newsworthy as the shooting of Rep Gabby Giffords. In many senses it is more newsworthy. The SWAT team fired over 70 rounds… from the doorway.
There is much to gnash teeth on in the drug war. The violence tho'… will be a deal breaker. Beyond the community of dpr, who knows who the hell Jennifer Odom was? And the same with all those names – Zeke and Katherine Johnston and Peter McW and Patrick Dorismond, et al – that the sado-moralists are responsible for yet unwilling to own.
The violence disgusts me beyond the sheer stupidity of building a massive, powerful and heavily armed bureaucracy to enforce laws based on common racist bullshit.
Babies, pets, grandparents… all are fair game/collateral damage…
This… this feeling when contemplating the darkest corners of the WO(s)D cannot be softened… but it can be ended.
ThudsRus
"Furthermore, if there is more than one resident in the house or flat who wishes to grow their own cannabis, they may grow 4 plants EACH, so long as they each care for their own plants."
http://pr.cannazine.co.uk/201111171520/green/eco-news/uk-cultivator-growing-cannabis-legalised-in-switzerland.html
Well it looks like Harry J was right, heroin is a gateway drug to cannabis.
So do the Know Nothing prohibitionists trumpet the fact that 4 is less than 5 or what?
What, do I look like 17th century French Royalty to you DC?
I recall reading sometime long ago that her signature line lost something in the translation, and "cake" was actually some kind of bakery byproduct that was discarded as unsaleable. The more accurate translation would have been "Let them dumpster dive."
Well, Mr. Cain's got the babes mad, but Ron Paul has them strung out and begging for it. I don't know, it must have been the Speedo. You know how they say that everything's bigger in Texas. You know, he just might make a go of this thing after all.
http://pinups4ronpaul.com/
What self respecting he man wouldn't want to own at least one of these T-shirts?
http://www.zazzle.com/talent_scout_pin_ups_4_ron_paul_shirt-235598235787362558?rf=238145480802522686
Uh,I believe the cake was found to have maggots,and I can't wear a speedo anymore. Since I lost all that weight it looks like a pair of underwear stuck to a fence post. |
The minor in public health is an introduction to the field of global public health, which entails options and policies within the domestic and international context. Its purpose is to provide a Christian liberal arts perspective to understanding the domains of public health, which facilitate the well-being of communities and populations in a holistic and sustainable way. The minor follows the guidelines of the "Undergraduate Public Health Learning Outcomes" published by the Association of Schools of Public Health. The minor has a common core for all students and is then structured from elective courses to best complement the student's major.
*Recommended for biology majors and other non-INCL majors.
**Recommended for INCL majors and other non-biology majors. |
|}
De Spoorlijn Boisleux - Cambrai was een Franse spoorlijn van Boisleux-au-Mont naar Cambrai. De lijn was 46 km lang.
Geschiedenis
De lijn werd aangelegd door de Compagnie du chemin de fer de Marquion à Cambrai en in drie gedeeltes geopend, van Boisleux tot Inchy in 1878, van Inchy naar Marquion in 1880 en van Marquion naar Cambrai in 1899. Reizigersverkeer werd gestaakt in 1962, tegelijk met het goederenvervoer tussen Boiusleux en Boyelles. tussen Boyelles en Marquion was er nog goederenvervoer tot 1969, van Marquion naar Cambrai tot 1964.
Aansluitingen
In de volgende plaatsen is of was er een aansluiting op de volgende spoorlijnen:
Boisleux
RFN 272 000, spoorlijn Paris-Nord en Lille
Quéant
lijn tussen Frémicourt en Quéant
Marquion
lijn tussen Marquion en Aubencheul-au-Bac
Cambrai
RFN 250 306, raccordement van Cambrai-sud
RFN 250 311, raccordement van Cambrai-nord
RFN 250 000, spoorlijn tussen Busigny en Somain
RFN 259 000, spoorlijn tussen Saint-Just-en-Chaussée en Douai
RFN 260 100, stedelijke aansluiting van Cambrai-Ville
Boisleux - Cambrai
Boisleux - Cambrai |
Director Martin Scorsese praises HBO after working with the network on Boardwalk Empire.
Martin Scorsese has praised cable network HBO, the home of his new gangster series Boardwalk Empire.
The director told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour that he is a fan of the network's programming.
"A number of the episodes, in so many of their series, they're thoughtful, intelligent [and] brilliantly put together," he said. "It's a new opportunity for storytelling. It's very different from television of the past."
Boardwalk Empire will star Steve Buscemi as Enouch 'Nucky' Thompson, a 'rum-runner' in prohibition-era Atlantic City. Oscar winner Scorsese admitted that he had long been interested in directing for television.
"I've been tempted over the years to be involved with one of them, because of the nature of the long form," he explained.
Scorsese will executive produce the series and has also directed the pilot episode.
Boardwalk Empire - created by former Sopranos writer Terrence Winter - will premiere on September 19th on HBO.
Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger for HBO show? |
University of South Wales: Research Methods for Business Students, Managers and Entrepreneur is a ground-breaking, media-rich iBooks Textbook to help students and businesses. It is the first such publication in its field which is enhanced by audio and video content, and is available to download for free from the iBooks Store, where it was featured at launch as a 'New & Noteworthy' item. This animation explains what is meant by 'dispersion' and 'standard deviation' in relation to the quantitative analysis of research data. |
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UF Digital Collections
Florida Digital Newspaper Library
Digital Library of the Caribbean.
The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) hosts more than 300 outstanding digital collections, containing over 15 million pages, covering over 78 thousand subjects in rare books, manuscripts, antique maps, children's literature, newspapers, theses and dissertations, data sets, photographs, oral histories, and more for permanent access and preservation. Through UFDC, users have free and Open Access to full unique and rare materials held by the University of Florida and partner institutions.
The UF Libraries encourage and support faculty collaboration on digital collections and digital scholarship.
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Collections
The Arts Collection Group includes collections of arts, from performing arts to graphical arts to comics and also includes architecture and landscape design as well as the psychology in art collection. Arts Collections
The Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature in the Department of Special Collections at the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries contains more than 130,000 books and periodicals published in the United States and Great Britain from the mid-1600s to present day. The Library also has manuscript collections, original artwork, and assorted ephemera such as board games, puzzles, and toys. The Baldwin Library is known for comparative editions of books, with special emphasis on Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrim's Progress, Aesop's Fables, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Library also has the largest collection of Early American Juvenile Imprints of any academic institution in the United States. Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature
The Book Arts Digital Collection draws from the holdings in the Harold and Mary Jean Hanson Rare Book Collection in the UF Libraries' Special Collections. Book Arts
The Center for the Humanities & the Public Sphere Digital Collection includes materials from events, research, and teaching. Center for the Humanities & the Public Sphere
Materials from the Center for Study of Race and Race Relations. Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations
The Harold and Mary Jean Hanson Rare Book Collection illustrates the emergence of literary, cultural, and scientific movements from the late Middle Ages to the present day. It contains over 60,000 books, prints, ephemera, and other items spanning the range of written and printed production around the world. Its holdings enrich the educational experiences of undergraduates and advance research in the humanities around the world. To see a more detailed description of the collection and its content areas, visit https://rarebooks.uflib.ufl.edu/ The Harold and Mary Jean Hanson Rare Book Collection
History and heritage collections include the history of Florida, the historical role that Florida has played in the greater history of the U.S., and the general history of the United States. History and Heritage Collections
The literature collections include great literature and children's literature as well as general literary studies collections. Literature Collections
The Oral History Collections comprise the digital holdings of both the Matheson Museum (Gainesville, Florida) and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. Together, the Collections document life in Gainesville, across Florida, the Caribbean and other locales. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP)
Science and Technology Collections
The 'Food and Agricultural Sciences' General Collections holds general resources about agriculture, crops, farming, food science, and natural resources (e.g. climate, water, and soil conditions) related to agriculture. A mainstay of the collection is the publications of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Sub-collections include Florida Historical Agriculture and Rural Life, International Farming Systems, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Survey publications of Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Food and Agricultural Sciences
The 'University of Florida Herbarium Specimen Collections' provides digital images for selected specimens from the Florida Museum of Natural History / University of Florida Herbarium. Herbarium Collections
The sciences collections includes natural and earth sciences, herbarium collections, wetlands research, as well as food and agricultural sciences and sciences and technologies. Sciences Collections
Map Collections
Historical aerial photographs dramatically document changes in Florida's land use. The initial Aerial Photography: Florida collection was funded by two Florida Library Service and Technology Assistant grants from the Florida Department of State. Aerial Photography: Florida
Map and imagery collections includes maps of Florida and the world, both historic and contemporary, as well as aerial photographs of Florida. Map and Imagery Collections
Newspaper Collections
The Caribbean Newspaper Collection in dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean newspapers, gazettes, and other research materials on newsprint currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Caribbean Newspapers, dLOC
The Digital Aerospace Collection is an ongoing project to house, organize and preserve contemporary and historic material pertaining to NASA operations in Florida and around the country, as well as non-NASA content from both U.S. and International publishers. The history of Florida has been inextricably linked to NASA since the Launch Operations Center was opened in the early 1960s. Digital Aerospace Collection
The Digital Military Collection is an ongoing project to house, organize and preserve contemporary and historic military books, newspapers, periodicals, video and audio content. Digital Military Collection
Expatriate newspapers Expatriate Newspapers
The Florida Digital Newspaper Library, hosted by the University of Florida Libraries, provides access to the news and history of Florida. Florida Digital Newspaper Library
The Ralph Lowenstein Historical Jewish Newspapers Collection includes a range of periodicals representing over 300 titles from almost thirty countries, offering a glimpse into the Jewish press worldwide throughout the twentieth century. It illustrates a multitude of Jewish political, cultural, and economic voices and the religious, literary, and mundane interests of Jewish readers in various countries. The collection is not representative of the period's Jewish news publications; nevertheless, it introduces readers to the main trends of Jewish journalism in Europe, North and South America, and in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. Also included here is a digital sub-collection, the Price Library of Judaica Anniversary Collection, which was created as part of a pilot digitization project. Judaica Newspapers
The University of Florida's Digital LGBTQIA+ Collection consists of varied materials including bulletins, journals, magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, photographs and assorted ephemera published by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) organizations supporting the State of Florida's LGBTQIA+ community. LGBTQIA Collection
The National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress, is a long-term effort to provide permanent, free access to historic newspapers selected and digitized by NEH-funded awardees in the United States. This program was created to build upon the United States Newspaper Program (USNP), another NEH & Library of Congress sponsored program geared toward locating, cataloging, and preserving microfilm newspapers published in the U.S. from the 18th Century to present. The NDNP extends the usefulness of the USNP digitized assets by incorporating newspapers published from 1690-1963 into a national digital newspaper resource, Chronicling America, where the digitized pages are made available. Through this resource over 15 million newspaper pages have been made available thus far. The University of Florida was one of the original NDNP awardees in 2005 when the program first started. Approximately 100,000 page US Caribbean & Ethnic Florida Digital Newspaper Project
Florida Collections
The 'Florida History and Heritage Collections' document Florida arts, culture, history, and society. Florida History & Heritage Collections
Florida Law currently holds the Journal of the Florida House of Reprentatives and a Florida Water Law collection. Planned additions include the Laws of the Florida Territory and the Early Florida Constitutions, as well as a variety of general texts on Florida laws, the legislative process, and government. Florida Law Collections
Added automatically Florida Museum of Natural History
Historic and contemporary photographs visually document Florida and the University of Florida. This collaborative collection was created with content from several schools within the University of Florida, the Matheson Historical Center Collection, SWFLN, and many other smaller archives, libraries, and museums. Florida Photograph Collections
The Historic St. Augustine collection contains primary source material including historic interpretation notes, architectural sketches, drawings, archaeological field reports, maps and photographs related to properties in the historic district. The majority of the material comes from the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB) block and lot files which were created with the intention to provide historical information and guide HSAPB administrators in the development and management of the colonial town and properties. The files were maintained and augmented over the years by each successive Preservation Board and housed within the Government House Library. These materials will be of particular interest to those in architecture, museum studies, historic preservation and restoration, as well as to those interested in the history of St. Augustine. Historic St. Augustine
These collection groups tell the stories of the people that lived in Florida and the cities they built. Living in Florida: Its Cities and People
Digital collection of materials relating Michael V. Gannon, the noted historian, radio commentator, former priest, and emeritus professor of the University of Florida. Michael Gannon Digital Collection
World Collections
African Studies Collections support the past, ongoing, and future needs of the University of Florida's Center for African Studies, among the most active and highly regarded such teaching and research centers in the United States. African Studies Collections
This collection is comprised of Albert Huet's WWI diary and other artifacts related to his time in the French army. Albert Huet's WWI Documents
This digital collection draws from the Asian Studies Collections at the University of Florida, and includes rare resources on Chinese Art History. Asian Collections
The recent thawing of U.S./Cuba relations is a watershed moment and provides a unique opportunity for strategic collaborations involving the Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí(BNJM). The University of Florida (UF Libraries) has expanded its historical collaboration with Cuban institutions by signing an agreement with the BNJM to create broad and deep open access to digital collections of Cuban Heritage materials. Under the 2016 agreement, the University of Florida and the Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí have identified four major projects for the development and exchange of digital content from and about Cuba. Cuban Collections
The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Digital Library of the Caribbean
European History Resources comprises resources digitized from the University of Florida's special and circulating collections pertaining to the history and cultures of Europe. The bulk of materials collected here document France and the Unit. European Collections
The Jewish Diaspora Collection (JDoC) is a collaborative and cooperative digital library designed to preserve and provide wide access to Jewish heritage materials from Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. Modelled on the Digital Library of the Caribbean, JDoC provides a host site and portal for digitized versions of hidden and/or endangered Jewish cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Jewish Diaspora Collection
The South American Collections relect deep intellectual coverage of South America in the University of Florida Libraries. For decades the Libraries have acquired books, journals, newspapers, maps and other materials in print and computer based formats covering all countries and cultures of the region. These holdings are primarily housed in the University's Latin American Collection, but also include important resources in the other units of the UF Libraries, such as the Science Library, Map & Imagery Library, the Art Library, and the Legal Information Center. Researchers can study a wide range of diverse topics including Southern Cone literature and politics, Andean indigenous societies, Brazil's creative expressions, and South America's vast natural resources. Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas are also very well represented. South American Collections
The World Studies collections includes area studies outside of the United States, Florida, and the Caribbean. World Studies Collections
University of Florida and Endowed Collections
Exhibits from the University of Florida and Partners
The General Manuscripts & Archives Collection contains selected materials from UF's Manuscripts & Archives that are not in their own discrete digital collection. General Manuscripts & Archives
The Institutional Repository at the University of Florida is a collection of the University of Florida community's research, news, outreach, and educational materials. Institutional Repository at the University of Florida (IR@UF)
Panama and the Canal is a rich collection of resources relating to the Panama Canal, the Canal Zone, and the Republic of Panama. The collection primarily includes materials from the University of Florida's Panama Canal Museum Collection, Latin American & Caribbean Collection, Map & Imagery Library, and government documents of the Panama Canal Commission and its predecessor agencies that are held in the Panama Canal Center of Excellence at UF. Panama and the Canal
This collection holds materials from and related to former US Senator George A. Smathers, who was designated a Great Floridian by the State of Florida in 1994. Papers of George A. Smathers
The Papers of Governor C. Farris Bryant cover the years 1942 to 1977, with an emphasis on the Florida Legislative, gubernatorial elections in 1956 and 1960, and his career in the Federal Office of Emergency Planning. Papers of Governor C. Farris Bryant
Collection to house teacher resources, primarily lesson plans. Teacher Resources Collection
The Health Science Center Archives is a unit associated with and containing historical materials from the six colleges in the Health Science Center as well as the Health Center administrative unit, the Vice President for Health Affairs, and the Health Center Library. The materials in these collections help describe the history of founding of the Center in the 1940s and 1950s and its opening in 1956. The collections include administrative records, copies of oral histories from founding members of UF Health Science Archives Photograph Collections
The University of Florida Archives supports topical research on the history of the University. It is the custodian of the University's historically significant public records including the administrative files of its past presidents. The Archives also collects the papers and records of individuals and organizations associated with the University and maintains files of yearbooks, student publications, and official University documents. University Archives
The US Federal Document Digital Collections houses federal documents. US Federal Document Digital Collections
Women in Development collects research on societal structures in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. These materials reflect the impact of women in rural and urban settings. They discuss issues of education, economic growth and legal rights among other topics. Women in Development
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Q: Running executables on nfs with "./" command I have a small cluster system running on Centos 7. I've setup nfs and pbs pro to run jobs on parallel. While everything was working smoothly, I guessed, at some point, I messed up something. Thus, some of the nodes stopped running jobs and started giving errors such as "permission denied" for the executables. Executable file is located inside the nfs directory. I tried to run the executable specifically on that problematic node. But it does not run with "./executable_file" command. However, it can be executed with "bash executable_file" command. Other slave nodes can execute the file with "./" and "bash" command without any issue. So, I assume this may be the reason my jobs are failing on that specific node. Would appreciate it if someone tell me how to set up/mount nfs with running executables with "./" .
A: When I checked the /etc/mtab file, I noticed "noexec" inside it. I removed mtab file and then unmount and remounted NFS directory. As a last step, /etc/fstab is updated with "exec" and mounted again with mount-a without restarting the node.
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In voting the way they did, the pragmatic Scots showed they appreciate the practical value of multiple political identities in our ever-more-globalized world. And it's it says a lot about Canada that the U.K. is now looking at a more federal model to redefine itself.
In the end, it wasn't the cliffhanger many observers had predicted. Scotland firmly rejected national independence in a historic referendum Thursday that broke voter participation records, with some precincts reporting 100 per cent turnout.
Despite the enthusiasm of the Yes side and a moribund campaign by the No camp, Scots chose to remain part of the United Kingdom by a vote of 55.3 per cent to 44.7 per cent. It was a far more decisive margin than Quebec's squeaker in 1995, where sovereignists came within about a percentage point of dismantling Canada.
The Scottish result offers clear messages that should echo in Catalonia, Flanders and indeed Quebec, where there are active independence movements.
In deciding to remain part of the United Kingdom, Scots embraced the pragmatic value of multiple identities in a global world. They are Scots, aye, but also Brits and Europeans. Whether they voted Yes or No, Scots possess a strong national identity that is not compromised as part of a larger political union.
The vote shows a majority of Scots see clear advantages in the benefits of open trade, labour mobility and a strong currency — as long as they can govern their own affairs at home. Far from absorbing "fearmongering" from the No forces about economic uncertainty or "caving" in face of the threat that using the British Pound would not be guaranteed in the case of a Yes vote, they made a practical calculation.
In a modern, interconnected world, people are the sum of their various parts. They can identify with more than one group, culture, religion or nationality at the same time. This is the beauty of the modern, democratic nation-state, no matter how tantalizing the dream of severing ties and striking out alone.
Of course, this balance between heart and head, core identities and global citizenship, is only reached when all aspects of the whole are satisfied. Scotland's referendum came 307 years after it joined the United Kingdom, but 15 years after its own parliament, Holyrood, was re-established.
The referendum result, though, should not be read as a vote in favour of the status quo. The 11th-hour promises of politicians in Westminster to devolve maximum powers to Scotland will likely set off similar demands from Wales and Northern Ireland. A long period of exploring new, more decentralized models is likely on the horizon for the United Kingdom.
Scots also showed that their independence drive was not an ethnic project reserved solely for those with Scottish roots. Scotland, with only 4 per cent of its population composed of minority groups, is not a diverse country in comparison to Canada. Whether because of or in spite of this, a high number of immigrants, adherents of different religions and members of cultural communities took up the cause.
Ethnic nationalism was not an undercurrent of Scotland's independence campaign, as it was in Quebec in 1995. So long as Quebec's sovereignty movement remains rooted in identity politics — like the Parti Québécois's repugnant Charter of Values, resoundingly rejected by voters during last spring's general election — it is likely to broaden its appeal. Support for Quebec sovereignty is at its lowest point in 40 years, with extensive polling showing young people in particular have abandoned the cause.
But the one lesson from Scotland that must be disheartening for those asking their compatriots to take a leap of faith in Spain, Belgium or Canada is just how hard it is to achieve independence — even amid seemingly "winning conditions." States that don't force people to choose between their various identities inspire stronger allegiance than some realize and prove resilient in the face of challenges. |
The Premeditated "Tigray-Genocide" Cyber Warfare against Ethiopia in the Age of Social Media –
Addis Ababa, August 23, 2022 (Walta)– A team of scientists and data analysts at GETFACTet investigated social media data to find the origin and trending of the hashtag that popularized the Tigray genocide narrative worldwide, which has been playing a key part in the international community's response to Ethiopia, including US foreign policy.
The data that revealed a piece of shocking information indicates that non-military actors outside Ethiopia were coordinating the #TigaryGenocide cyber campaign linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) military command preplanned military attack or "pre-emptive strike" on the Ethiopian military base.
According to the findings, on the night of Nov 3rd and Nov 4th, 2020, 17 accounts were created, and the first "#TigrayGenocide" tweet began on Tuesday at 19:46 from one of these accounts. This is considered the genesis of the "#TigrayGenocide" hashtag, and it was never used before this day.
This shows that the "#TigrayGenocide" was launched before and during the attack on thousands of Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) stationed in Tigray, many of whom were massacred by TPLF forces while they slept. "#TigrayGenocide" was already launched and circulating the international social media hubs long before Ethiopian forces responded to the attack by the TPLF that started the war and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Upon closer examination of the numbers, approximately 184 additional accounts were created, with a total of 201 accounts being created nearly the same day on Nov 4th, 2020, pushing the "#TigrayGenocide" worldwide. This is the most significant number of accounts created to propagate the genocide narrative within a single day (Figure 1, see the spike on Nov 4th).
On Nov 5th, 2020, 156 additional new accounts were created, with a cumulative of 357 that started "#TigrayGenocide" tweet. Between Nov 5th – Nov 30th of 2020, nearly 1633 cumulative new accounts opened and reached 75,581 "#TigrayGenocide" tweets (this does not include retweets, replays, or likes),see Figure 3.
After Nov 5th, 2020, daily new account creation declined by more than 80 percent, while the #TigrayGencoide retweets sharply increased. This indicates the first 201 accounts created on Nov 3rd and 4th, 2020, were the ones driving the genocide hashtag for the consecutive months following the beginning of the conflict.
Figure 1. The number of newly created accounts per day that start twitting "#TigrayGenocide" versus date.
Figure 2. New accounts created accounts (accumulated with time) that start twitting "#TigrayGenocide" versus date.
Figure 3. Cumulative "#TigrayGenocide" tweet versus date.
While the "TigrayGenocide" hashtag retweets increased exponentially, there was no communication (internet or phone) between Nov 4th to Nov 30th from the Tigray region to the outside world. This raises an important question – if there was no communication in Nov with Tigray, then who are the eyewitnesses to the alleged "genocide," and who is reporting to the world?
Another eyebrow-raising fact about the "#TigrayGenocide" campaign is that the hashtag is circulating without providing specific incidents that include the number of victims, location, date, and time of the alleged genocidal act. This loose use of the term 'genocide' without confirmed evidence made this serious term a broad statement.
As we looked at these accounts deeper, we uncovered a large percentage of the accounts tweeting "#TigrayGenocide" for the first two months were outside Ethiopia and concentrated in specific locations such as Melbourne-Australia, Colorado-USA, Enschede-Netherland, and Islington-London.
As time progressed between January – February 2021, the same hashtag was trending with 50,000 retweets per day. A coordinated effort from non-Ethiopian individuals from Tanzania and Kenya, with more than a million account followers, were tweeting this hashtag, giving it an international social media voice.
The fact that #TigrayGenocide began on the night of Nov 3-4th during the TPLF attack and electric blackout, even before the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) response, clearly shows that non-military actors outside Ethiopia were coordinating a #TigrayGenocide cyber attack with military action in Tigray. This campaign was designed to distract the international community and shape the public perception away from the actual aggression of the TPLF.
These factual reasons raise important alarming bells for those genuinely concerned with preventing genocides and conflicts. The intentional, premeditated, and well-coordinated use of these accounts to propagate an unconfirmed narrative of genocide should also be a call to action for international lawyers and policymakers seeking to curb the misuse of the media to create conditions that advance narratives of fear and hatred, which escalate conflicts to ultimately cause the deaths and dislocation of millions based on falsehoods.
(Source:-Get fact) |
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Should you need to make any changes to your Shore Tours, changes and cancellations can be made prior to your cruise, up until 3 days before the cruise departure, and if paid for, a full refund will be provided back to your card. Please note that it is not possible to cancel a shore tour booking in Cruise Control. To cancel a shore tour please call 13 24 94 (AU) or 0800 780 716 (NZ). You can also cancel or make changes to your Shore Tour bookings once you get onboard. Please check with the Shore Tours Desk onboard for cancellation deadlines (usually 48 hours before the tour). If you cancel your tour onboard before the cancellation deadline, a refund will be provided as a credit to your onboard account. Please note that if you cancel your tour after the cancellation deadline, or if you fail to join the tour, you will not be entitled to a refund. |
The Village of Cuyahoga Heights has a number of special programs and services for our Senior citizens. If you are 55 years old or older, you qualify. Please call Senior Citizen President, Noel Centa at (216) 509-5278 if you have any questions or comments.
The monthly Village Newsletter now has a Senior Corner update on upcoming events. We hope all of you, 55 and older, will consider joining our group and participating. Just give us a try. Come to one of our meetings and see how nice it is to socialize with your neighbors!
The Senior Citizens meet the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM in the Village Hall Auditorium. The second Tuesday of the month is their regular business meeting and the fourth Tuesday of the month is their social night.
Cuyahoga Heights Service Department will deliver meals to the elderly and disabled residents of the Village, which are prepared by the school. Please call the Service Department at 216-641-3505 for this service.
Cuyahoga Heights sponsors a Health Watch Program through the Fire Department for Seniors 60 years or older. The program co-pays for an alarm that is worn around the neck of the resident to activate in case of an emergency. Contact the Fire Department for more information.
The Village operates a well visit clinic with a registered nurse. Residents 60 years and older are eligible for certain blood work at no charge once a year. The Clinic is located in the Village Hall and is open by appointment only from March through October.
Please call JoAnn Socausky, R.N. at 216-401-1039 to schedule an appointment.
Flu shots for seniors over 60 years and those medically in need are paid for by the Village and provided once a year in the fall. Information is available in the September Village Newsletter.
SeniorGuidance.org provides comprehensive resources on various senior living options, including: assisted living facilities, senior living communities, nursing homes, independent living communities, continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) and all other long term senior care options, including memory care such as Alzheimer's or Dementia. Their website discusses all services available for seniors living in Ohio, outlines helpful state programs for seniors and allows them to find assisted living facilities in every city, village, township and county in Ohio. |
Metal tile is an alternative to a conventional tile, shingle or shake roof system. Metal tile is generally stone coated and shaped to resemble either a tile or a wood shake profile. Many people have seen a metal tile roof and do not realize that it is not a concrete tile or a wood shake. They tend to last longer and are warranted for up to 150 mph winds. The manufacturers give a 50 year or limited lifetime warranty on these types of roofs. They come in many colors and special order colors can be requested.
Metal tile roofs are lightweight and can be installed on a building that is not "strong enough" for a tile roof. They generally come in four foot panels that are installed with or without battens on the roof. Metal tile roofs have been around for many years only now are they becoming more popular to use. A lot of homeowners and business owners have switched to metal tile after the Hurricanes in the last few years, because they have proven to be better at handling the strong winds produced by the large storms.
After Hurricane Charley the Association in Punta Gorda Isle decided to allow metal into the area. Many of the Homeowners there went with Metal tile to better protect from another storm, should one happen to go that way again.
Metal tile can be installed on residential as well as commercial roofs and is commonly used on mansards for town homes. Many associations that have gone with metal tile are very pleased with the look, the lack of maintenance they have to perform and with the performance of the roofing system. There are several manufacturers of metal tile and most of them have the same profiles, while they offer their own version of each color. |
package org.java8api;
public class MenuItem {
String label;
String url;
public MenuItem(String label, String url) {
this.label = label;
this.url = url;
}
public String getLabel() {
return label;
}
public void setLabel(String label) {
this.label = label;
}
public String getUrl() {
return url;
}
public void setUrl(String url) {
this.url = url;
}
@Override
public String toString() {
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
builder.append("{ label : '").append(label).append("' }");
return builder.toString();
}
} |
Mike Bost & Dave Reichert
Compare the voting records of Mike Bost and Dave Reichert in 2017-18.
Mike Bost
Represented Illinois's 12th Congressional District. This is his 2nd term in the House.
Dave Reichert
Represented Washington's 8th Congressional District. This is his 7th term in the House.
Mike Bost and Dave Reichert are from the same party and agreed on 94 percent of votes in the 115th Congress (2017-18).
Feb. 15, 2018 — ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017
Nov. 30, 2017 — Ensuring a Qualified Civil Service Act
Nov. 30, 2017 — Minnesota's Economic Rights in the Superior National Forest Act
July 18, 2017 — Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017
Feb. 16, 2017 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule of the Department of the Interior relating to "Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska"
Feb. 3, 2017 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule of the Bureau of Land Management relating to "Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation"
Feb. 1, 2017 — Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule
Sept. 6, 2018 — DeGette of Colorado Part B Amendment No. 2
July 18, 2018 — Lamborn of Colorado Amendment No. 49
June 8, 2018 — Meadows of North Carolina Part B Amendment No. 15
June 7, 2018 — Tsongas of Massachusetts Part B Amendment No. 13
May 17, 2018 — Young of Alaska Part C Amendment No. 14
Agreed to by a margin of 1 vote.
Feb. 15, 2018 — Langevin of Rhode Island Part A Amendment No. 2
Sept. 13, 2017 — Courtney of Connecticut Amendment No. 164
Sept. 13, 2017 — Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico Amendment No. 160
Sept. 8, 2017 — Pearce of New Mexico Amendment No. 63
Sept. 7, 2017 — Young of Alaska Amendment No. 43
Sept. 7, 2017 — Ellison of Minnesota Amendment No. 38
Sept. 6, 2017 — Smith of Missouri Part B Amendment No. 56
July 26, 2017 — Esty of Connecticut Amendment No. 44
July 26, 2017 — Norcross of New Jersey Amendment No. 39
July 26, 2017 — Castor of Florida Amendment No. 38
July 19, 2017 — Engel of New York Part B Amendment No. 1
July 18, 2017 — Castor of Florida Amendment No. 1 |
12 Coast Guard members face charges in Alaska drug probe
By AP Member
Wed., Feb. 27, 2019timer1 min. read
KODIAK, Alaska - The U.S. Coast Guard has initiated criminal proceedings against 12 service members following an investigation into possible drug activity on Alaska's Kodiak Island.
The agency removed several members in Kodiak from duty last fall as investigators examined allegations of members using illegal drugs, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.
Six more members were disciplined in nonjudicial punishment proceedings, and they are "being processed for separation," the agency said in a statement.
The nonjudicial process does not result in criminal convictions, but could lead to punishments ranging from loss of pay to suspension, said Lt. Cmdr. Raymond Reichl, external affairs officer for the 17th Coast Guard District.
The investigation has not ended yet, so additional members could be charged or considered for nonjudicial punishment, the agency said. The criminal proceedings will occur under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The Coast Guard has not released the names of the service members facing criminal charges.
"The Coast Guard treats all allegations of illicit drug activity seriously," said Capt. Melissa Rivera, chief of staff for the Coast Guard district. "Drug use is prohibited, is a violation of both Coast Guard policy and federal law, and is in direct contradiction of our core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty."
The agency did not disclose what prompted the investigation. Reichl said in October that investigators received an "indicator," and the scope of the probe was expanded after "more and more details unraveled."
The probe involved members from a variety of units, Reichl previously said.
The members targeted by the investigation were removed from duty status, meaning they were not allowed to participate in security watches, aircraft or boat duties, and other routine activities.
Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com |
Protecting Websites from Shared Code
New browser software can protect websites from software vulnerabilities.
Erica Naonearchive page
The ease with which websites can share code is both a blessing and a curse for today's Internet. It allows for powerful Web applications that pull a wide variety of data and services together. But it also puts a site at the mercy of code written by third parties–code that may have security vulnerabilities, or may prove problematic in combination with the rest of what's offered by a site.
A new browser extension would allow developers to use third-party code without worrying about the vulnerabilities that such code might open up. A pair of researchers described this extension, called ConScript, in a talk given this week at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in Oakland, CA.
Modern websites can be "a little disturbing if we look under the hood," says Leo Meyerovich, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who was involved with the work. To demonstrate, he showed how the local business review site Yelp also runs JavaScript from Facebook, Google Analytics, and a company called Scorecard Research.
In many cases, Meyerovich says, this is a "benign but buggy situation." When a problem does arise, he says, it's often hard to see clearly who's to blame–the service running the third-party code, or the code itself. This also makes it hard to fix problems.
With ConScript, the researchers hope to sidestep this issue by giving developers and site owners an easier way to control what third-party code on their sites can do.
ConScript requires adding a relatively small amount of code to the browser (about 1,000 lines). This code then examines JavaScript commands that are being processed by the browser. It will inject extra code that prevents the JavaScript from attempting tasks that the user has configured it to block.
Ben Livshits, a researcher from Microsoft Research who was also involved with the work, notes that ConScript provides a way for developers and browser manufacturers to advance the ways that sites use JavaScript without compromising security in the process. The system is designed to be flexible, reliable, and lightweight way to enforce good security practices.
ConScript knows what behavior to enforce based on a set of policies chosen by the owner of a website. For example, a site owner might set the system so that untrusted code is never allowed to introduce pop-ups or direct the user to other websites. The researchers designed Conscript so that the owner of a website can choose these policies in several ways–by writing policies themselves, by choosing policies from a library of possibilities, or by generating them automatically based on analysis of the code of the website.
One advantage of ConScript's design, Meyerovich says, is that it should allow developers to use older code without having to alter it, even if it contains known security vulnerabilities. This is important not only for new websites but also to allow users to safely access existing websites that aren't being kept up-to-date. If the policies are well-designed and carefully selected, the researchers say, they shouldn't interfere with any of a site's intended functionality.
The researchers tested their system with several popular Web services, including Google Maps, MSN, Gmail, Live Desktop, and Google Calendar. They found that they were able to deploy their system without significantly slowing down these sites, a big concern for any system designed to protect against untrusted code.
Engin Kirda, a professor of computer science at Institute Eurecom in France, says that ConScript "is a very useful system. If it really gets integrated into the browser and people start using it, it will make the Internet much safer."
Meyerovich says it would be technically straightforward to create ConScript extensions for all major browsers. However, he admits that that establishing ConScript as a standard, so that all browser makers actually do this, could prove complicated.
by Erica Naone |
Far Cry 5 announced
On June 1, 2017 by Aaron Meehan
Far Cry fans rejoice as Ubisoft has finally officially announced Far Cry 5, almost three months after I leaked its existence.
Far Cry 5 will see players head to Hope County, Montana the home of a fanatical doomsday cult known as Eden's Gate. Your job in Far Cry 5 is to stand up to cult leader Joseph Seed, and his siblings, the Heralds, to spark the fires of resistance and liberate the besieged community. Below is Far Cry 5's announcement trailer.
Ubisoft has also released a collection of meet the character and "Welcome to Hope County" videos.
For those wondering about features, here are some of the gameplay features listed on the game's PlayStation store page.
FIGHT AGAINST A DEADLY CULT – Free Hope County in solo or two-player co-op. Recruit Guns and Fangs for hire to help defeat the cult.
A WORLD THAT HITS BACK – Wreak havoc on the cult and its members but beware of the wrath of Joseph Seed and his followers.
CARVE YOUR OWN PATH – Build your character and choose your adventure in the largest customizable Far Cry game ever!
DYNAMIC TOYS – Take control of iconic muscle cars, ATV's, planes and a lot more to engage the cult forces in epic fights.
For more information on Far Cry 5, visit https://far-cry.ubisoft.com/game/en-us/home/index.aspx.
Far Cry 5 will be available February 27, 2018, for Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Far Cry 5, Ubisoft |
"Dear Fat People" – What Would You Do to Go Viral?
How cool would it be to go viral? How cool would it be to turn into a temporary mini celebrity and then all of a sudden get invited onto The Ellen Show? Whether it's a little kid singing Bruno Mars, a girl accidentally burning her hair off while doing a curling iron tutorial, or Alex from Target, something can blow up overnight and the next thing you know, your video's got 1 million views on YouTube.
Now, the 3 cases I presented above are all pretty funny or cute and it simply makes you smile. However, what about on the other end of the spectrum – when you go viral for outrageous and offensive reasons?
I mentioned in class that a YouTube personality, Nicole Arbour, has recently uploaded a video entitled "Dear Fat People." I'll provide you with some of the things she said in her video in case you don't have time to watch the video or just can't stand to watch it.
So…are you getting a little uncomfortable? Irritated? Upset? I'm guessing that's how most people felt after watching this video. Nicole Arbour has raised some pretty controversial statements, and because body image has long been a sensitive topic, how can a video trash talking positive body images not cause strong reactions?
As you can see here: this video has had over 6.5 million views so far, and I'm sure people will continue to talk about it for a while. Not only has the video been viewed many times on YouTube, Nicole Arbour also appeared on The View, which undoubtedly gave her more attention. So she's done it…she's gone viral! But did she go too far? Nicole Arbour mentioned that she knew people would be very offended by her video. In fact, that's one of the first things she says in her video. So maybe she was more or less expecting the video to blow up and so begins her rise to fame. Except…would you want to be known as the one who calls people who are overweight lazy and smelly and fat shames them for the entire video?
The video has led to many emotional responses in the forms blog posts, video responses on YouTube, etc. The comment section in "Dear Fat People" has been disabled, but she released another video entitled "Most Offensive Video EVER" responding to other people's responses. This video has gained 2 million views and numerous comments – which I find strange as to why she left the comment section in this video enabled. Before she changes her mind to disable comments, let's take a look at some of the top comments.
Pretty harsh comments there. In addition, Nicole Arbour was fired from her gig in the film Don't Talk to Irene as a result of her video.
Does this sound like a bit of a familiar story? Like we've heard it somewhere else before? Well, last week we took a look at Jon Ronson's TedTalk about online shaming and what happens when it spirals out of control as in the case of Justine Sacco, whose life was changed forever after she shared on Twitter what she thought was a harmless tweet. While she thought it was no big deal, the rest of the world really took charge in condemning her and were openly expressing their distaste and hatred towards her.
Nicole Arbour seems to be in a pretty similar position right now. However, the harsh responses haven't stopped her from making other videos on YouTube. She's not too popular with the mass majority right now, but will she face a similar fate to Justine Sacco as the online backlash continues? Or will people realize that while she is fat shaming, they are also online shaming her?
Everyone has opinions, and Nicole Arbour reasonably has her own and has the right to express them. However, I don't think she should've made the video with the intention of becoming (in)famous. She knew that it would offend people, yet, she uploaded it anyway. While she has the right to express her own opinions, her video was publicized in an aggressive tone and uses "comedy" to argue her case and make it ok to publicly ridicule people who are overweight, as well as the body positive concept.
I won't go on to share my thoughts, but let's just hope this doesn't get any worse. Maybe Nicole Arbour will come up with better, non-offensive content for her YouTube, and maybe the audience will cut her some slack before it turns into another Justine Sacco mishap. While I would love to meet Ellen, in the end, going viral is definitely not worth getting fired from a job and having the rest of the world turn on you.
Great post. I think that you bring up some very valuable points. Was she a "Youtube Celebrity" or at all popular on Youtube before she posted this video? I feel like she had to have had some following or it would not have spread this rapidly. I think that she is definitely free to express her opinion, however I am very curious how this will effect her future. Just think, most of the time the first thing employers do is Google an applicant. Imagine googling her name and that video masked with many media articles covering the controversy popping up first on Google… Yikes! I would not want to be in her position while applying for a job!
Wow this was a very interesting post. Its crazy to see what people are willing to do to become "famous", even if it means being hated at the same time. Personally, i think Nicole is wrong for posting videos like this. Yes, she is absolutely entitled to her own opinion but i really doubt many people are that interested in what you think. She got famous because she was so harsh to a group of people that really did nothing to deserve it. I personally would never do anything of this magnitude to become famous or to gain attention. Everyone has a story and you never know if you're going to hit that one nerve that puts them over the edge. I really enjoyed this post and all of the references you used. Overall, i think Nicole's video is completely unnecessary and this is a video that shouldn't have gone viral.
I'm glad you covered this video. A few weeks ago when it went viral, my newsfeed was covered with YouTube thumbnails. In this day and age, it's not surprising to see people become "instant celebrities" from an Instagram photo, a tweet, a Facebook status, a Vine, or, in this case, a YouTube video. In some ways, I feel like there is such a strong desire to get those 5 seconds of fame because sometimes, it just seems TOO easy. In this case, Arbour used her already steady position as a YouTube personality to an extreme. She was well aware of the possible consequences, yet took the risk anyway to get attention. Was the amount of negative attention really worth it to her? Probably. Especially since she proceeded to make a video response to all the comments that she got towards her original fat shaming video. This is just one of the many videos that really challenge us to rethink the power of social media and how it can go very, very wrong.
A friend of mine showed me this video just last week and I was astonished as to the flip side of viral videos gone wrong. If there's anything I have learned from social media it's that anything and everything can be deemed offensive. However posts such as "Dear Fat People" are just blatantly controversial and offensive. This brings up an interesting point mentioned in another blog, and that is whether any publicity is still good publicity. Yes PR agents and the Hollywood scene will always claim bad publicity is still good publicity. Yet to what extent are you willing to go to reach your 5 seconds of fame when that includes being denied any future job position due to the negative image you've drawn to yourself. Whether or not Nicole Arbour learned from her mistake after being fired from "Don't Talk to Irene", no one knows. However this serves as an excellent example for social media users and how important it is to sensor and monitor your use of free expression.
While I agree Nicole Arbour could reasonably have expected the negative backlash, I'm not sure if this is a strong case for self-censorship so much as a cautionary tale about the meanness of online crowds—and the problem appears to be Youtube's. One structural flaw with the platform is that it creates the illusion of a conversation. Meanwhile, the comments it produces are often quite one-side. Were Arbour reasonably able to respond to every comment, a balance debate might start up, but Arbour's views are effectively crystalized in the video medium. And with that, her stance is unmovable. As a result, the feedback she's getting on the video is incredibly reactionary, rather than constructive.
Loved your post. However, I don't think this case was as "innocent" (I'm sure there's a better word for this context but I'm having a hard time finding one) as say Justine Sacco. She was known before this Youtube video and should have known many people would be watching her, regardless of the topic being controversial. Maybe it was to keep herself relevant?
I think the online community needs to begin to take some responsibility for stuff like this going viral. Just because we've been provided a platform for everyone to voice their own opinion, doesn't mean they're actually worthy of a response. The internet can be a very dark place and I would like to see the us begin to remedy this by not passing along blatantly offensive content clearly looking for shock value to assist in developing their pseudo celebrity. I don't believe this will happen any time soon, but I hope the fun/lighter stuff like the most recent Viral Fish Guys from Boston (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9lnQyGWXLc) have more presence than the negative content.
Interesting post. I hadn't seen this. Seems to be bit different than Sacco, as hers was (presumably) unintentional. This seems a bit more deliberately engineered for a reaction.
unfortunate that people use the internet for this, but isn't it still better to have a place to share your feelings (right or wrong) than not? |
Home Metaverse
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Metaverse Stocks to Buy: Neal Stephenson, who coined the term "metaverse" in 1992, had an uncanny knack for foreseeing how technology would advance beyond the realm of fiction. What he didn't expect was for his science fiction idea to empathize with people & attract the interest of companies & investors all over the world.
Stock market heavyweights are increasingly investing in the rapidly expanding metaverse. Now that metaverse stocks have become a major talking point on Wall Street, they are being closely watched by a large number of investors.
If you are curious about this investment option & are considering adding metaverse stocks to your investment portfolio, these 7 Best Metaverse Stocks picks will help get you started.
What Are the Best Metaverse Stocks To Buy?
It can be difficult to keep track of the many metaverse stocks that are gaining attention in the financial world at the moment. Here are seven metaverse stocks you could profit from in 2023:
Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
Nvidia (NVDA)
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO)
Unity Software Inc. (U)
Roblox Corp. (RBLX)
Coinbase Global Inc (Coin)
First & foremost among the best metaverse stocks to buy is, of course, Meta Platforms – the company that first truly popularised the term in 2021 & signaled its utter devotion to the concept by changing its name the same year.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, has long been an advocate for the concept, & he invested $2 billion to purchase virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR in 2014. In 2014, Zuckerberg made a jubilant Facebook post about the purchase: "Our goal is to make Oculus useful for a wide variety of uses beyond just video games.
Just by donning some goggles, you could be transported to a front-row seat at a game, a classroom filled with students & teachers from around the world, or a face-to-face consultation with your doctor." Long-term investors should be well compensated if Meta earns even a fraction of all the commerce conducted via the metaverse.
Those returns will simply require faith & delayed gratification, as the company's metaverse-focused Reality Labs segment lost $10.2 billion in 2021 & $5.8 billion in the first half of 2022.
No matter whether it's a Dodge, Ferrari, or Rolls-Royce Phantom, four tyres are a necessity for every vehicle. And those tyres come from a small group of companies that all do pretty well financially.
To a similar extent, Nvidia provides graphics processing units (GPUs) that will be required by virtually all devices used in or contributing to the creation of the metaverse.
Gamers & crypto miners, for instance, were responsible for 514% of the increase in share price during the pandemic. And now that prices have leveled off, maybe now is the time to buy before institutional demand increases for this metaverse stock.
Microsoft grew into an industry powerhouse because of its widespread use in personal computers, video games, & cloud computing. It now seeks to broaden its influence into the metaverse.
With this goal in mind, Microsoft has teamed up with virtual reality platform developer Meta Platforms (META 2.17%) to provide VR experiences through the Microsoft Teams product. Mesh, a brand-new product from Meta, will link the company's Teams app with Oculus headsets to create fully immersive environments.
Microsoft also made efforts to incorporate the metaverse into other platforms, such as video games. Microsoft hopes to break into the metaverse of video games by acquiring Activision Blizzard & expanding its Xbox ecosystem.
The firm has the financial wherewithal to make such expenditures. When the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023 ended, it reported having more than $107 billion in cash on hand. The latest quarterly free cash flow of about $17 billion suggests that these investments can continue.
Its stock lost roughly a quarter of its value in the past year due to the bear market. The result was a P/E ratio of less than 27, which is close to the company's lowest valuation since early 2020. As a result of this drop in valuation, this technology mainstay may now be available at a discount.
Read More – What Kind of Implications Does the Metaverse Have on Our Future?
CEO of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive poked fun at Meta in late 2021, saying, "We're the biggest company in the metaverse [because] we're already there." He was referring to the massive success of the online anarchy simulator "Grand Theft Auto V."
But it's clear he isn't dismissing the growth of the metaverse. A lot of people think Take-Two is getting ready to launch a full-scale "invasion" of the metaverse because it has reported doing exceptionally well & turning revenue into thousands of new hires.
Take-Two is unrivaled when it comes to in-app purchases, so this business move is sure to pay off. Although it has yet to fully capitalize on metaverse NFTs, the company is still making $2.5 million per day off of a game it released in 2013.
Zynga, which was just acquired by Take-Two for $12.7 billion, is the only company I can think of that could monetize gaming in the metaverse more quickly.
Those aforementioned metaverse companies offer opportunities to invest in metaverse hardware, but Unity gives you a chance to bet on the software side of things, where all the action is.
Across mobile, PC & console platforms, Unity has established itself as the de facto standard for developing 3D video games because of its ability to facilitate the creation of the fundamental rules that govern virtual worlds.
The company plans to take a sizable chunk of the metaverse market & claims 5 billion monthly downloads of Unity-based apps. In an effort to recruit the next generation of developers, Unity provides free training sessions on augmented reality, immersive digital worlds & how to build in virtual reality.
The stock price as of December 2 was $40.94, which is a significant decrease from the IPO price of $52. Revenue is projected to increase by 20% in 2022 & by 30% in 2023, according to market watchers.
Roblox (the game), which is owned by Roblox Corp, makes $3 million daily from the Apple App Store. To put that in perspective, $45 billion, or 27.2% of the total mobile gaming industry's revenue, flows through that one game.
Who's to say that Roblox won't lose all its users overnight, long before the metaverse is complete? After all, mobile game popularity is a fickle beast. Roblox's addictive, user-created content is what sets it apart from other metaverse stocks, in our opinion.
It's a platform that lets you make your own video games & it looks like the lovechild of LEGO Star Wars & Instagram. In addition, Roblox hosts a thriving digital market where digital purses fetch prices in the thousands of US dollars.
So even if Roblox's meteoric rise in popularity levels off, Roblox Corp. has the resources & know-how to capitalize on its fifty million strong user base of highly valuable millennial consumers.
No "best metaverse stocks" list is complete without including Coinbase. Investors will continue to guess which cryptocurrencies will come out on top as the metaverse draws near & the demand for metaverse-ready cryptocurrencies increases.
In reality, none of the top cryptos of today are likely to find work in the metaverse. Furthermore, Bitcoin's chances of survival in the metaverse are probably lower than those of its demise.
However, this will not prevent the ensuing hysteria as people rush to buy cryptocurrency amid the rumors. Who exactly gains the most during a gold rush? Whichever company is responsible for selling shovels.
After the initial buying frenzy subsided, I became less optimistic about COIN's long-term potential. My prediction is that once Meta, Microsoft & Apple unveil their own proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies made specifically for the metaverse, the price of Bitcoin will plummet.
As usual, dragging the share price of Coinbase down with it. Just like any savvy speculator would, I'd stock up on bargains, cash out when the going got good & leave town before the place went up in flames.
Read More – What is the Procedure for Creating a Metaverse Avatar?
Exploring the Pros and Cons of the Metaverse Future: Opportunities and Threats to Society
When Brain-Computer Interface Technology Meets the Metaverse! |
Home » airmen » Leo K. Shchukin. Biography. Fighting. Awards. Ranks. A photo.
Leo K. Shchukin. Biography. Fighting. Awards. Ranks. A photo.
Leo was born in Noginsk 29.10.1923, in the family servant. His family moved to Krasnodar, where Schukin began studying at the high school. In 1939 he joined the Young Communist League and, together with their peers enrolled in Krasnodar flying club.
Lev Shchukin in June 1941 graduated school (10 classes), and training at the flying club, immediately apply to the Odessa Pilot School, which successfully went without health restrictions, despite the fact that a few months before had been ill with pneumonia strong . This momentous event occurred at the end of summer, when World War II was raging in full.
His studies at the aviation school lasted until the beginning of 1944 because Odessa pilot school, with the approach of the front, was evacuated to Kyrgyzstan, Frunze.
He celebrated the end of the war, along with friends, not realizing that his fate is preparing for a new war, in a completely different part of the globe. In August, the 1945 Schukin in the famous 18-th "Vitebsk" Guards Regiment of the 1-Squadron as a senior pilot, having the rank of "lieutenant". So he began his service as a part of the battle, in which he served until 1952 city
In the middle of 1952, like many of his comrades, he was sent to Korea. His first meeting with the enemy took place only on the 11th flight, it happened at the end of May. The 1st squadron of the regiment flew out to cover the bridge. In the area of Andun, they met at an altitude of 9000 m with 8 F-86 "Saber". The battle did not last long and was ended in vain, as soon the Sabers withdrew from the battle and flew southward. In that battle, Lev did not even have time to open fire on the enemy.
Shchukin knocked 17 aircraft, including 15 personally. in Group. His fighting plaque was 99 hours. Leo has been awarded with various orders and received a star hero.
After arriving home, Captain Schukin entered the Air Force Academy in Monino. After graduation Major Shchukin sent, to Belarus, where he served until 1977 city
Before 1975 of Leo K. flew on fighter jets, and then he was forbidden to fly for eye diseases. Shchukin served as commander of the regiment, and then became a senior inspector of the Air Force of his district. Leo colonel retired.
After his discharge he worked as a teacher in Minsk at the Institute of National Economy.
HST-Engineering Troop. Specifications. A photo.
Kotlas Airport
Airport Timmins Victor Power
Russian radar station in Cuba with a range of more than 3 thousand kilometers, will cover the entire territory of the United States
Russia has deployed its MiG-31 fighters to Novaya Zemlya, preparing to meet the American fleet in the Arctic
Belarusian media reported about the accident at the Ostrovets NPP - no radiation release
Iraq switched to operation of Russian T-90 tanks instead of American "Abrams"
Iran launched a large-scale launch of cruise and ballistic missiles amid the emergence of the United States at its borders
Syrian army took control of even more territory in Idlib
Baranets told frightening details of the NATO military landing on a Russian ship in the Mediterranean
Erdogan confirmed the purchase of the second set of S-400 complexes from Russia
Russian military outsmarted NATO - Alliance is now in serious problems due to US actions
Russian military aircraft appeared in the conflict zone of Kurds and Turks |
package io.airlift.concurrent;
import com.google.common.base.Throwables;
import com.google.common.util.concurrent.FutureCallback;
import com.google.common.util.concurrent.Futures;
import com.google.common.util.concurrent.ListenableFuture;
import com.google.common.util.concurrent.SettableFuture;
import java.util.Optional;
import java.util.concurrent.CancellationException;
import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
import java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.Future;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkArgument;
import static com.google.common.collect.Iterables.isEmpty;
import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
public final class MoreFutures
{
private MoreFutures() { }
/**
* Returns a future that can not be completed or canceled.
*/
public static <V> CompletableFuture<V> unmodifiableFuture(CompletableFuture<V> future)
{
requireNonNull(future, "future is null");
UnmodifiableCompletableFuture<V> unmodifiableFuture = new UnmodifiableCompletableFuture<>();
future.whenComplete((value, exception) -> {
if (exception != null) {
unmodifiableFuture.internalCompleteExceptionally(exception);
}
else {
unmodifiableFuture.internalComplete(value);
}
});
return unmodifiableFuture;
}
/**
* Returns a failed future containing the specified throwable.
*/
public static <V> CompletableFuture<V> failedFuture(Throwable throwable)
{
requireNonNull(throwable, "throwable is null");
CompletableFuture<V> future = new CompletableFuture<>();
future.completeExceptionally(throwable);
return future;
}
/**
* Waits for the value from the future. If the future is failed, the exception
* is thrown directly if unchecked or wrapped in a RuntimeException. If the
* thread is interrupted, the thread interruption flag is set and the original
* InterruptedException is wrapped in a RuntimeException and thrown.
*/
public static <V> V getFutureValue(Future<V> future)
{
return getFutureValue(future, RuntimeException.class);
}
/**
* Waits for the value from the future. If the future is failed, the exception
* is thrown directly if it is an instance of the specified exception type or
* unchecked, or it is wrapped in a RuntimeException. If the thread is
* interrupted, the thread interruption flag is set and the original
* InterruptedException is wrapped in a RuntimeException and thrown.
*/
public static <V, E extends Exception> V getFutureValue(Future<V> future, Class<E> exceptionType)
throws E
{
requireNonNull(future, "future is null");
requireNonNull(exceptionType, "exceptionType is null");
try {
return future.get();
}
catch (InterruptedException e) {
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
throw new RuntimeException("interrupted", e);
}
catch (ExecutionException e) {
Throwable cause = e.getCause() == null ? e : e.getCause();
Throwables.propagateIfInstanceOf(cause, exceptionType);
throw Throwables.propagate(cause);
}
}
/**
* Waits for the the value from the future for the specified time. If the future
* value is null, an empty Optional is still returned, and in this case the caller
* must check the future directly for the null value. If the future is failed,
* the exception is thrown directly if unchecked or wrapped in a RuntimeException.
* If the thread is interrupted, the thread interruption flag is set and the original
* InterruptedException is wrapped in a RuntimeException and thrown.
*/
public static <V> Optional<V> tryGetFutureValue(Future<V> future, int timeout, TimeUnit timeUnit)
{
return tryGetFutureValue(future, timeout, timeUnit, RuntimeException.class);
}
/**
* Waits for the the value from the future for the specified time. If the future
* value is null, an empty Optional is still returned, and in this case the caller
* must check the future directly for the null value. If the future is failed,
* the exception is thrown directly if it is an instance of the specified exception
* type or unchecked, or it is wrapped in a RuntimeException. If the thread is
* interrupted, the thread interruption flag is set and the original
* InterruptedException is wrapped in a RuntimeException and thrown.
*/
public static <V, E extends Exception> Optional<V> tryGetFutureValue(Future<V> future, int timeout, TimeUnit timeUnit, Class<E> exceptionType)
throws E
{
requireNonNull(future, "future is null");
checkArgument(timeout >= 0, "timeout is negative");
requireNonNull(timeUnit, "timeUnit is null");
requireNonNull(exceptionType, "exceptionType is null");
try {
return Optional.ofNullable(future.get(timeout, timeUnit));
}
catch (InterruptedException e) {
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
throw new RuntimeException("interrupted", e);
}
catch (ExecutionException e) {
Throwable cause = e.getCause() == null ? e : e.getCause();
Throwables.propagateIfInstanceOf(cause, exceptionType);
throw Throwables.propagate(cause);
}
catch (TimeoutException expected) {
// expected
}
return Optional.empty();
}
/**
* Creates a future that completes when the first future completes either normally
* or exceptionally. Cancellation of the future does not propagate to the supplied
* futures.
*/
public static <V> CompletableFuture<V> firstCompletedFuture(Iterable<? extends CompletionStage<? extends V>> futures)
{
requireNonNull(futures, "futures is null");
checkArgument(!isEmpty(futures), "futures is empty");
CompletableFuture<V> future = new CompletableFuture<>();
for (CompletionStage<? extends V> stage : futures) {
stage.whenComplete((value, exception) -> {
if (exception != null) {
future.completeExceptionally(exception);
}
else {
future.complete(value);
}
});
}
return future;
}
/**
* Converts a ListenableFuture to a CompletableFuture. Cancellation of the
* CompletableFuture will be propagated to the ListenableFuture.
*/
public static <V> CompletableFuture<V> toCompletableFuture(ListenableFuture<V> listenableFuture)
{
requireNonNull(listenableFuture, "listenableFuture is null");
CompletableFuture<V> future = new CompletableFuture<>();
future.exceptionally(throwable -> {
if (throwable instanceof CancellationException) {
listenableFuture.cancel(true);
}
return null;
});
Futures.addCallback(listenableFuture, new FutureCallback<V>()
{
@Override
public void onSuccess(V result)
{
future.complete(result);
}
@Override
public void onFailure(Throwable t)
{
future.completeExceptionally(t);
}
});
return future;
}
/**
* Converts a CompletableFuture to a ListenableFuture. Cancellation of the
* ListenableFuture will be propagated to the CompletableFuture.
*/
public static <V> ListenableFuture<V> toListenableFuture(CompletableFuture<V> completableFuture)
{
requireNonNull(completableFuture, "completableFuture is null");
SettableFuture<V> future = SettableFuture.create();
Futures.addCallback(future, new FutureCallback<V>()
{
@Override
public void onSuccess(V result)
{
}
@Override
public void onFailure(Throwable throwable)
{
if (throwable instanceof CancellationException) {
completableFuture.cancel(true);
}
}
});
completableFuture.whenComplete((value, exception) -> {
if (exception != null) {
future.setException(exception);
}
else {
future.set(value);
}
});
return future;
}
private static class UnmodifiableCompletableFuture<V>
extends CompletableFuture<V>
{
void internalComplete(V value)
{
super.complete(value);
}
void internalCompleteExceptionally(Throwable ex)
{
super.completeExceptionally(ex);
}
@Override
public boolean cancel(boolean mayInterruptIfRunning)
{
// ignore cancellation
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean complete(V value)
{
throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
}
@Override
public boolean completeExceptionally(Throwable ex)
{
throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
}
@Override
public void obtrudeValue(V value)
{
throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
}
@Override
public void obtrudeException(Throwable ex)
{
throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
}
}
}
|
package org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.ClearFaultsCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.CloseToteGateCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.DriveHeadingCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.DriveToLocationCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.ExtendToteEjectorCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.FallbackDriveCommandGroup;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.LowPowerRaiseToteLifterCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.LowerContainerHookCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.LowerToteLifterCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.NormalDriveCommandGroup;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.OpenToteGateCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.RaiseContainerHookCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.RaiseToteLifterCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.ResetGyroCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.ResetHeadingSetpointCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.RetractToteEjectorCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.RotateToCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.SetEncodersEnabledCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.SetGyroEnabledCommand;
import org.usfirst.frc.team2084.CMonster2015.commands.SetHeadingCommand;
import edu.wpi.first.wpilibj.Joystick;
import edu.wpi.first.wpilibj.buttons.JoystickButton;
import edu.wpi.first.wpilibj.smartdashboard.SmartDashboard;
/**
* This class is the glue that binds the controls on the physical operator
* interface to the commands and command groups that allow control of the robot.
*/
public class OI {
// BEGIN AUTOGENERATED CODE, SOURCE=ROBOTBUILDER ID=DECLARATIONS
public JoystickButton normalDriveButton;
public JoystickButton fallbackDriveButton;
public JoystickButton resetGyroButton;
public JoystickButton extendToteEjectorButton;
public JoystickButton retractToteEjectorButton;
public Joystick driveJoystick;
public JoystickButton raiseToteLifterButton;
public JoystickButton lowerToteLifterButton;
public JoystickButton raiseContainerHookButton;
public JoystickButton lowerContainerHookButton;
public JoystickButton closeToteGateButton;
public JoystickButton openToteGateButton;
public Joystick secondaryJoystick;
// END AUTOGENERATED CODE, SOURCE=ROBOTBUILDER ID=DECLARATIONS
public OI() {
// BEGIN AUTOGENERATED CODE, SOURCE=ROBOTBUILDER ID=CONSTRUCTORS
secondaryJoystick = new Joystick(1);
openToteGateButton = new JoystickButton(secondaryJoystick, 2);
openToteGateButton.whenPressed(new OpenToteGateCommand());
closeToteGateButton = new JoystickButton(secondaryJoystick, 4);
closeToteGateButton.whenPressed(new CloseToteGateCommand());
lowerContainerHookButton = new JoystickButton(secondaryJoystick, 8);
lowerContainerHookButton.whileHeld(new LowerContainerHookCommand());
raiseContainerHookButton = new JoystickButton(secondaryJoystick, 6);
raiseContainerHookButton.whileHeld(new RaiseContainerHookCommand());
lowerToteLifterButton = new JoystickButton(secondaryJoystick, 7);
lowerToteLifterButton.whenPressed(new LowerToteLifterCommand());
raiseToteLifterButton = new JoystickButton(secondaryJoystick, 5);
raiseToteLifterButton.whenPressed(new RaiseToteLifterCommand());
driveJoystick = new Joystick(0);
retractToteEjectorButton = new JoystickButton(driveJoystick, 5);
retractToteEjectorButton.whileHeld(new RetractToteEjectorCommand());
extendToteEjectorButton = new JoystickButton(driveJoystick, 6);
extendToteEjectorButton.whileHeld(new ExtendToteEjectorCommand());
resetGyroButton = new JoystickButton(driveJoystick, 12);
resetGyroButton.whenPressed(new ResetGyroCommand());
fallbackDriveButton = new JoystickButton(driveJoystick, 10);
fallbackDriveButton.whenPressed(new FallbackDriveCommandGroup());
normalDriveButton = new JoystickButton(driveJoystick, 9);
normalDriveButton.whenPressed(new NormalDriveCommandGroup());
// SmartDashboard Buttons
SmartDashboard.putData("Rotate To Command", new RotateToCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Drive Heading Command", new DriveHeadingCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Drive To Location Command", new DriveToLocationCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Low Power Raise Tote Lifter Command",
new LowPowerRaiseToteLifterCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Clear Faults Command", new ClearFaultsCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Set Gyro Enabled Command", new SetGyroEnabledCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Set Encoders Enabled Command", new SetEncodersEnabledCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Reset Gyro Command", new ResetGyroCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Set Heading Command", new SetHeadingCommand());
SmartDashboard.putData("Reset Heading Setpoint Command", new ResetHeadingSetpointCommand());
// END AUTOGENERATED CODE, SOURCE=ROBOTBUILDER ID=CONSTRUCTORS
}
// BEGIN AUTOGENERATED CODE, SOURCE=ROBOTBUILDER ID=FUNCTIONS
public Joystick getDriveJoystick() {
return driveJoystick;
}
public Joystick getSecondaryJoystick() {
return secondaryJoystick;
}
// END AUTOGENERATED CODE, SOURCE=ROBOTBUILDER ID=FUNCTIONS
}
|
// Copyright 2017 The Nomulus Authors. All Rights Reserved.
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
package google.registry.flows;
import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
import static com.google.common.truth.Truth8.assertThat;
import static google.registry.testing.CertificateSamples.SAMPLE_CERT;
import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.loadRegistrar;
import static google.registry.testing.DatabaseHelper.persistResource;
import static google.registry.util.DateTimeUtils.START_OF_TIME;
import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSortedMap;
import google.registry.flows.TlsCredentials.BadRegistrarIpAddressException;
import google.registry.flows.TlsCredentials.MissingRegistrarCertificateException;
import google.registry.flows.TlsCredentials.RegistrarCertificateNotConfiguredException;
import google.registry.flows.certs.CertificateChecker;
import google.registry.model.registrar.Registrar;
import google.registry.testing.AppEngineExtension;
import google.registry.testing.FakeClock;
import google.registry.util.CidrAddressBlock;
import google.registry.util.ProxyHttpHeaders;
import java.util.Optional;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import org.joda.time.DateTime;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.RegisterExtension;
/** Unit tests for {@link TlsCredentials}. */
final class TlsCredentialsTest {
@RegisterExtension
final AppEngineExtension appEngine = AppEngineExtension.builder().withCloudSql().build();
protected final FakeClock clock = new FakeClock();
private final CertificateChecker certificateChecker =
new CertificateChecker(
ImmutableSortedMap.of(START_OF_TIME, 825, DateTime.parse("2020-09-01T00:00:00Z"), 398),
30,
15,
2048,
ImmutableSet.of("secp256r1", "secp384r1"),
clock);
@Test
void testProvideClientCertificateHash() {
HttpServletRequest req = mock(HttpServletRequest.class);
when(req.getHeader(ProxyHttpHeaders.CERTIFICATE_HASH)).thenReturn("data");
assertThat(TlsCredentials.EppTlsModule.provideClientCertificateHash(req)).hasValue("data");
}
@Test
void testClientCertificateAndHash_missing() {
TlsCredentials tls =
new TlsCredentials(true, Optional.empty(), Optional.of("192.168.1.1"), certificateChecker);
persistResource(
loadRegistrar("TheRegistrar")
.asBuilder()
.setClientCertificate(SAMPLE_CERT, clock.nowUtc())
.build());
assertThrows(
MissingRegistrarCertificateException.class,
() -> tls.validateCertificateHash(Registrar.loadByRegistrarId("TheRegistrar").get()));
}
@Test
void test_missingIpAddress_doesntAllowAccess() {
TlsCredentials tls =
new TlsCredentials(
false, Optional.of("certHash"), Optional.of("127.0.0.1"), certificateChecker);
persistResource(
loadRegistrar("TheRegistrar")
.asBuilder()
.setClientCertificate(SAMPLE_CERT, clock.nowUtc())
.setIpAddressAllowList(ImmutableSet.of(CidrAddressBlock.create("3.5.8.13")))
.build());
BadRegistrarIpAddressException thrown =
assertThrows(
BadRegistrarIpAddressException.class,
() -> tls.validate(Registrar.loadByRegistrarId("TheRegistrar").get(), "password"));
assertThat(thrown)
.hasMessageThat()
.isEqualTo("Registrar IP address 127.0.0.1 is not in stored allow list");
}
@Test
void testClientCertificate_notConfigured() {
TlsCredentials tls =
new TlsCredentials(
true, Optional.of("hash"), Optional.of("192.168.1.1"), certificateChecker);
persistResource(loadRegistrar("TheRegistrar").asBuilder().build());
assertThrows(
RegistrarCertificateNotConfiguredException.class,
() -> tls.validateCertificateHash(Registrar.loadByRegistrarId("TheRegistrar").get()));
}
@Test
void test_validateCertificateHash_canBeConfiguredToBypassCerts() throws Exception {
TlsCredentials tls =
new TlsCredentials(
false, Optional.of("certHash"), Optional.of("192.168.1.1"), certificateChecker);
persistResource(
loadRegistrar("TheRegistrar")
.asBuilder()
.setClientCertificate(null, clock.nowUtc())
.setFailoverClientCertificate(null, clock.nowUtc())
.build());
// This would throw a RegistrarCertificateNotConfiguredException if cert hashes wren't bypassed.
tls.validateCertificateHash(Registrar.loadByRegistrarId("TheRegistrar").get());
}
}
|
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Biomedical risk factors are bodily states that contribute to the development of chronic disease. These states can be caused by a range of factors including: genetic, socioeconomic, psychological and behavioural, or a combination of these. Biomedical factors contribute to the risk of developing serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Biomedical risk factors may also be influenced by behavioural risk factors—for example, physical inactivity and poor diet can adversely affect blood pressure and blood cholesterol. For more information on these in older Australians, see Behavioural risk factors.
Behavioural and biomedical risk factors tend to increase each other's effects when they occur together in an individual . Overall, older Australians experience a higher prevalence of biomedical risk factors than younger Australians, and these generally increase with age. This snapshot focuses on 3 biomedical risk factors that have direct and specific risks for health. These risk factors may be able to be modified by undertaking sufficient physical activity and eating a healthy diet.
Blood pressure is the force that is exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries (Box 1). When high blood pressure is controlled by medication, the risk of disease is reduced, although not to the levels seen in unaffected people .
Box 1: What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure—also known as hypertension—is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases including stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease and chronic kidney disease . Blood pressure is measured by the level of systolic pressure (pressure in the arteries when the heart beats, pumping blood into the arteries) and diastolic pressure (pressure in the arteries when the heart is relaxed between beats), expressed as millimetres of mercury (mmHg). Blood pressure varies between individuals; as such, there are a number of different factors a medical practitioner will consider when diagnosing high blood pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or more as high .
The methodology of determining the proportion of people with high blood pressure can differ between surveys. For example, while the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2014–15 National Health Survey (NHS) uses data based on measured blood pressure, people who might otherwise have high blood pressure but are managing their condition with blood pressure medications are not included.
The proportion of adults with high blood pressure increases with age. Based on data from the ABS 2014–15 NHS, 1 in 2 people (47%) aged 75 and over had measured high blood pressure (42% for men and 51% for women) compared with 42% among people aged 65–74 (Figure 1).
In Indigenous people blood pressure also increases with age, however, the prevelance of high blood pressure for Indigenous people is higher than for non-Indigenous people in younger age groups—based on the ABS 2011–13 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, the greatest disparity between prevalence was for the 35–44 age group (1.6 times as high for Indigenous people). For Indigenous people aged 55 and over the proportion with high blood pressure (36%) was similar to that of non-Indigenous people (38%) .
Blood lipids are fats in the blood and include cholesterol (a fatty substance that is an essential part of cell walls and is produced in the liver) and triglycerides (fat in the blood that assists in transporting and supplying metabolic energy throughout the body) . Dyslipidaemia—abnormal levels of blood lipids—is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and for some types of stroke. Abnormal levels of blood lipids have previously been linked to atherosclerotic damage to arteries and heart disease .
People aged 65 and over (32%) in 2011–12 had a total cholesterol level that was considered high.
People aged 65 and over (22%) had low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol in their blood.
People aged 65 and over (30%) had high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
People aged 65 and over had high levels of triglycerides (some people have more than one type of dyslipidaemia) .
Impaired glucose regulation is a characteristic of pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, although not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. There are two measures of impaired glucose regulation—impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (Box 2). Both IGT and IFG are pre-diabetic states associated with insulin resistance—where cells fail to respond normally to insulin—which leads to high levels of blood sugar. Both of IGT and IFG are risk factors for type 2 diabetes, and are associated with a greater risk of heart disease. .
Box 2: How is impaired glucose regulation measured?
To test glucose tolerance, people fast for 8–12 hours and are given a glucose drink and their blood sugar levels are measured before and 2 hours after drinking.
People are diagnosed with IGT if they have blood glucose levels between 7.8 and 11.0 mmol/L 2 hours after the test (levels above this are classified as diabetes).
People are diagnosed with IFG if their blood glucose levels are between 6.1 mmol/L and 6.9 mmol/L after fasting (levels above this are classified as diabetes) .
The ABS 2011–12 AHS measured data on IFG, however, IGT was not measured and is not available for reporting in this snapshot.
For more information on diabetes in older Australians, see Diabetes.
Based on data from the ABS 2011–12 AHS, IFG is more prevalent among older Australians, with 7% of people aged 65–74, and 8% of people aged 75 and over having the condition. Overall, 7% of older Australians had IFG. A further 13% had fasting blood glucose levels that classified them as having diabetes (IFG of 7.0mmol/L or above) .
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2016. National Health Survey: First Results, 2014–15. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 18 January 2017.
ABS 2013. Australian Health Survey: Biomedical Results for Chronic Diseases, 2011–12. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 05 January 2017.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2016. Abnormal blood lipids. Risk factor prevalence. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 31 October 2016.
AIHW 2016. High blood pressure. Risk factor prevalence—Table 7. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 31 october 2016.
AIHW 2016. Impaired fasting glucose. Risk factor prevalence. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 31 October 2016.
AIHW 2015. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease—Australian facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Cardiovascular, diabetes and chronic kidney disease series no. 5. Cat. No. CDK 5. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2016. Australia's health 2016. Australia's health series no. 15. Cat. no. AUS 199. Canberra: AIHW.
High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia (HBPRCA) 2016. Frequently asked questions. Viewed 31 October 2016. |
The OzAsia Festival will showcase innovative and youthful performance art from across Asia. Hiroaki Umeda's split flow and Holistic Strata. Credit Ryuichi Marui Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media
The OzAsia Festival is young and confident – here are the shows to watch
September 19, 2016 3.58pm EDT
William Peterson, Flinders University
William Peterson
Senior Lecturer in Drama, Flinders University
William Peterson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Flinders University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.
The formal launch of the OzAsia Festival's visual arts program at the Adelaide Festival Centre earlier this month involved an encounter with the unexpected.
In the adjoining gallery, instead of the usual well-heeled patrons and donors clinking wine glasses and devouring finger food, I saw men, women, and even children tossing off their shoes and jumping into Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda's immersive, pixelating video environment.
Hiroaki Umeda's shows split flow and Holistic Strata pair dancers and digital projections. Ryuichi Maruo/ Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media
As projections of patterns swirled above, below and around them, two boys squealed with delight while seeming to bounce off the walls. A well-dressed woman improvised Isadora Duncan-inflected interpretive dance moves, their collective choreographies captured on mobile phones by friends and family members.
It was clear then that this Adelaide festival, now in its tenth year, was going to push the accepted boundaries of expression – not just for artists, but for audience members as well.
Australia's only integrated annual arts festival focusing on Asian work runs this year from 17 September to 2 October, with its centrepiece, the performing arts programming, commencing on 21 September.
The second year of Festival Director Joseph Mitchell's tenure offers nothing for the armchair traveller expecting the kind of generic Balinese dance one might encounter poolside at a resort. Instead, Adelaide will host a youthful and wide-ranging collection of contemporary visual arts and performance events from Asia and around the world.
The starting point seems to be that there is no line between "us" and "them," and that contemporary Asian and Asian-influenced performance has its own confident sense of what it means to be modern that is both different from and enmeshed with the West.
Indeed, this festival reflects how in an interconnected world, the so-called "glo-cal," which fuses the global with the local, is in fact the natural order behind virtually all artistic creation.
The result is likely to be a dynamic and joyful conversation about Australia's location in Asia. This festival celebrates both our region, and the many people and cultures who have found a home in Australia.
Bringing in the young
Korean six-piece band SIU2 mixes sanxian, zheng, piano, bass guitar and drums. Supplied
This year's festival seeks to further the event's footprint by offering an expanded range of free events underwritten by a federal Catalyst grant.
Hong Kong's super cool six piece fusion band SIU2, Korea's wildly energetic and virtuosic psychedelic folk rock Danpyunsun and the Sailors, and the retro-hip Cambodia Space Project will be among the many must-see acts performing along the riverfront behind the Adelaide Festival Centre between 21 September and 1 October.
More importantly, it seems clear that this ambitious and expensive side-program is being pitched to the same youthful audience that underpins the vast Adelaide Fringe Festival. Like the Fringe, cool stuff will be happening in one place over a set period of time, with Asian street food available from the Good Fortune Market, an enterprise put together by the team that came up with the Fringe Festival's wildly popular Croquet Club.
Though film and visual arts programs contribute meaningfully to the festival, it's the performance program that draws in the largest number of audience members.
The big, family friendly opening night Moon Lantern Festival has in past years been troubled by the notoriously fickle mid September Adelaide weather, where arctic-like conditions have occasionally disrupted the festive mood. Not so this year as skies cleared for the lantern parade, and a long, steady stream of giant colourful, hand crafted paper lanterns gently lit up the night sky.
Moon Lantern Festival. Simone Romaniuk
Festival highlights this year are likely to include Hong Kong's City Contemporary Dance Company's As If to Nothing, and Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda's Split Flow and Holistic Strata, a high-octane, occasionally frantic interplay between the human form and an environment of moving projections, punctuated by electronic beats and low bass frequencies.
Cambodia's low-tech, ingenious and transformative Phare Circus will perform in a tent outside the Festival Centre, while Malaysia's Terryandthecuz will literally take audience members hostage.
Their work Skᴉn recreates the experience of refugees trapped in shipping containers, in highly differentiated, unpredictable journeys toward unknown destinations. The promotional materials for Skᴉn, ominously, advise audience members to dress warmly and carry valid identification.
The low-tech and high-energy Phare Circus. Supplied
The signature Gumby-like movement style developed by Japan's Toshiki Okada and the Chelfitsch Theatre Company will be paired with a dramatic text interrogating Japan's love of what is arguably America's most significant cultural import, baseball, in God Bless Baseball. Meanwhile, the Theatre Company Mumbai will talk back to Shakespeare's text in their energetic, highly physical staging of Twelfth Night.
In the weeks just prior to the festival, Mitchell came to speak to my students at Flinders University. He made it clear that he was courting their demographic, suggesting that many of the elements that drew them to the Fringe every year would be present at OzAsia.
The expanded use of social media and special events aimed at building a youth audience, coupled with a free Asian indie music festival, good eats, and a performance program that places contemporary Asian work centre stage, may well do the trick.
OzAsia
Festivals can no longer focus solely on their recurring, physical events. AAP Image/Bella Ann Townes
Crowded house: how to keep festivals relevant in an oversaturated market
Experimental electronic music took centre stage during the Unsound component of the Adelaide Festival program. Piotr Jakubowicz, Adelaide Festival of Arts
Unsound Adelaide 2015 played it safe on experimental music
What's not to like? Danny Lawson/PA
Edinburgh festivals: how they became the world's biggest arts event
So cold it's hot … The Winter Feast crowd fan the flames at Dark MOFO 2014. MONA/Rémi Chauvin Image Courtesy MONA Museum of Old and New Art,
Where the dark gets in: why Dark Mofo lightens a crowded calendar |
Ten Lords A-Leaping
By C C Benison
publisher: Doubleday Canada
A skydiving routine for charity goes horribly awry, leaving a wealthy lord dead and his household at odds over whether it was a tragic accident . . . or cold-blooded murder at twenty thousand feet. To fundraise for the parish in bucolic Thornford Regis, Father Tom Christmas skydives, plummeting for charity. While his landing is bumpy, it's nothing compared to that of Hector, Earl of Fairhaven, who leaps from twenty thousand feet with disastrous results. Some residents of the town, including every member of the Earl's household, however, believe that those results were not accidental, and soon Tom Christmas is investigating a crime that will take him into the secrets of his own past, and in for a very hard landing of his own. |
The definition of elegance by OLIVIER ROUSTEINGInterview of Olivier Rousteing : To be yourself. In fact, I find it so much less elegant when someone tries to be cool when they're not. And I find that actually, what bores me the most is that everyone today no longer looks to be elegant, but looks to be cool, it's a much deeper contradiction, that people want to be cool. And I think that being cool is just so short-lived, what I'm doing for Balmain is something that's timeless, being cool lasts one or two months… in the past it would have lasted a year, but now it lasts 2 months, then even #4days. Everything goes so quickly and this obsession with what's cool or not isn't right or logical, in contrast being elegant means to me, be yourself. I think that someone can be elegant, like women, what I mean is, you can be just as elegant in a short dress as in a black suit, but you shouldn't force it in either one or the other. For me elegance is more of an attitude rather than a garment. |
Members (MPPs)
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Standing Committee on General Government
Committee Transcript 2013-May-06 (PDF)
G010 - Mon 6 May 2013 / Lun 6 mai 2013
COMITÉ PERMANENT DES AFFAIRES GOUVERNEMENTALES
Monday 6 May 2013 Lundi 6 mai 2013
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE REVIEW
MR. RON VAN KLEEF
MR. BICK DHALIWAL
MR. JASMINDER SINGH
CANADIAN ACADEMY
OF PSYCHOLOGISTS
IN DISABILITY ASSESSMENT
ONTARIO PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AUTO INSURANCE
EXPERT PANEL,
ONTARIO REHAB ALLIANCE
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
The committee met at 1404 in room 228.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): We'll call to order the Standing Committee on General Government. We'll just have a small break so we can change the Chair.
Come on over, Rick.
Mr. Rick Bartolucci: Okay. Do we need a motion or anything?
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): No.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Okay, good afternoon, everybody. Let's get started. We have one, two, three, four, five deputants. Just a reminder that they have 10 minutes, and then we each have 10 minutes for questions. We do not have to use our 10 minutes if we don't want to use our 10 minutes.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): We'll move forward with our first deputant, which is Ron Van Kleef. Is Ron here? Ron, come forward, please. Welcome to the committee.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Thank you.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Go ahead.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Thank you for allowing me to make an oral presentation today. I represent the Hamilton area. I'm the president for Hamilton Cab Co. in Hamilton. Also, we have roughly half of the taxis on our fleet, which represents 200 of the 425 of them that represent Hamilton.
I'm here today because of an extreme situation that has occurred this year in January. Of the 425 taxis in Hamilton, there was no notice of renewal, of non-renewal given. So, as we currently are now, as renewals come up during the course of this year, there are non-renewals happening as we speak. All renewals are different between each party.
I'll give a little history on myself. I've been in this industry since I was a young boy raised in Hamilton. I'm now the president of the company and worked from the ground roots up to where I am now, and that's driving a cab, dispatching, managing and hiring and firing drivers.
We employ 500 people in Hamilton that rely on this business. I also sit on a lot of committees in Hamilton and represent a lot of other areas as well. This is a great concern to us in the area, as the investment of many of the people that have invested for purchasing taxis, employing themselves and employing drivers—they collateralized houses to purchase vehicles or taxi plates and operating a business. Now the informed renewal packages they're getting from the insurances is only one entity, which is a Facility. I know that we're all aware of what that is; Facility is the end-of-the-road type of insurance. A lot of these drivers have been renewed at $16,000 to $20,000 per year, whereas last year they were $5,000 to $6,000.
We get explained that the reason being—a lot of them are coming to me because they sublet the plates through our company or a dispatch company, and they won't be able to afford it, so it's going to put them out of business. A lot of them haven't renewed. Some of them are hanging on to see if something does happen. I've never seen anything like this in the history that I've been in this business. There's always been a solution, but unfortunately there are no insurance companies that are writing our area; they've all pulled out of the market. For what reason? I don't know.
I have a claims history that was given to me for all the vehicles in the area, because we only operate out of Hamilton; we're specific to the insurance in Hamilton only—the jurisdiction—as Toronto is, or Oakville or Brampton or whoever. So, our area, for some reason, and Brampton, has been targeted for non-renewal.
Officially, I haven't got a reason why. I've looked at the claims history and seen that there are a lot of injury reserves put aside, a lot of claims—I'm being told that it's fraudulent claims of benefits of accidents, because none of the vehicle coverage, the actual physical damage of the vehicles, is being submitted. A lot of these drivers pay out-of-pocket not to put it through the insurance. So a lot of the claims that are coming through are either third party or passengers in the vehicle.
One of the other things that they've mentioned too was the insurance company saying that Hamilton has a high risk of low-income people on subsidy, disabled, riders with no personal insurance.
The way that the no-fault works, as you know, if you're a client in the cab, if the client that's in a vehicle has no insurance, it goes to the driver's insurance. What the insurance company is saying is, there are too many of these types of people with no personal insurance, because if you or I are in a taxi and get into an accident, our insurance would kick in for coverage for ourselves. But, unfortunately, they're saying that the Hamilton area—and I do believe some parts of Toronto and Brampton are also facing the same challenges.
These are an unknown, why this is happening. All we get is that they've put reserves aside, and when I look at the claims, they're putting reserves aside for three quarters of a million dollars for whatever reason. It's not explained. It's a big situation in the area that we're trying to face and deal with. I don't know what road—I've met with some of my MPPs in the area and discussed the situation, and that's why I'm here today. It was recommended that I come and speak.
I'll give you an example of an operator. We do have a current operator—he's been in the business for 30 years. He owns his own taxi plate. He drives. He's never been in an accident, never put a claim in. I do not understand why that would happen, why he would not be renewed; and he's being told that it's $16,000 to $20,000 when he's the only driver, has a mortgage, has a family. He's one of many others.
I do believe there's a lot of fraudulent cases going on, and it hasn't been defined or actually laid out as to what they are. I know in the current personal industry, you're dealing with, as far as the cutbacks, 10% to 15% on regular people's insurance. I don't understand why other people are punished for a minority group when the majority of the claims are maybe an isolated few. I'm not sure how insurance companies rationalize their reserves. They put them aside and then they say that there are too high claims, and I don't know how they do that. I don't know how they can say that that is allocated for the future.
These are many of the unknowns that we're faced with, and there's nothing we can do at this point except to voice our opinions. It's critical. We've got a lot of people. We might be parking a lot of vehicles on the road. There might be half the fleet parked within the next six months. If we don't do something now, it's going to be a bad situation in our city.
I believe that Brampton and Toronto are also facing some similar challenges, and we need to deal with that ASAP. But I don't understand how insurance companies are not—it's almost like they don't touch it, don't touch the area, and it's very concerning as to how that can be. I think that's where—we don't understand that.
As I said, a lot of lawyers, fraudulent claims are going on, and I think that's the nature the insurance company is facing, that every person is putting in a claim, and it causes a lot of outlay for the insurance companies, probably for lawyers' costs to represent their party, the person that's insured for a claim. It could be a minor claim; it could be anything, but it's cost, and I do know that there is cost to that. As far as that part of it, we're pretty much sitting there in the city not sure how to deal with it. We're hoping that the government steps in and tries to change or find out why this is happening.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): You have two minutes left.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Two minutes? Thank you.
I'm not sure how far we go with this or how much the insurance companies will listen. I know that they are governed through our province and I hope that you report back and say that we need to deal with this ASAP, because a lot of people's livelihoods depend on this. When you're dealing with 500 employees, drivers and their families, it's a tough thing to deal with, and I can appreciate that.
I am here today to try to inform you, to give you some information. If there's anything else you would need, I can put it in the format of a letter of all concerns that I can forward off to everybody here at the committee, with relevant information. I think that's about it for now.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): All right. Thank you very much for a very, very insightful presentation.
We'll start off with the Progressive Conservatives, and then we'll move to the NDP and then to the Liberals. In the next round, we'll move to the NDP, the Liberals and then the PCs, all right?
Ms. Laurie Scott: Sure.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Okay. Laurie?
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. Thank you very much for appearing here. I was just trying to get some clarification from my riding, which is Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, because we did have a phone call, and I don't know if it was limo services or cab insurance. Do you know if there are limo services that are not being able to get insurance either?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No. I have a limousine company as well—separate. I have no issues with that at this present moment, but that could be something down the road that we're facing. I haven't heard anything. Again, we have a good record. If you're operating a good business, then you should be rewarded for operating a good business.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Have you ever phoned the insurance companies or the Insurance Bureau of Canada to ask why?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: They won't talk to us, because it's your broker. We can only talk to a broker. We can't deal directly with insurance companies.
Ms. Laurie Scott: And did you talk to the broker? Was there any—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes, and he's facing the same challenges. He just says, "I can't. There's no market." So when there's no market, you go to Facility insurance, and Facility is for the worst. It doesn't matter if it's business or a private person; you have to go to Facility. If you have a bad record on your own personal insurance—if you can't get an insurance company to insure you because of your record—you go to Facility, and it could be a $15,000 premium.
Ms. Laurie Scott: But this is for your company, not individual drivers, right?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: This is for our taxi driver, yes—the guy who writes the policy for the actual taxi plate.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. You don't know of any other places in the GTA or Hamilton area?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Hamilton-specific—nobody is writing Hamilton.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Nobody's writing at all?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No.
Ms. Laurie Scott: So what exactly are you doing? Are you going without? Are you paying these bills? Or should I ask that question—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: They're renewing on a hope—of a six-month policy in the interim—that things will change.
Ms. Laurie Scott: So they're actually signing a six-month—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: They're signing a six-month renewal based on the hope that there's something being done about this. That's what we're facing here.
Ms. Laurie Scott: I'm glad you came forward today, because I heard some inklings, and then it kind of went quiet, so I didn't know what had happened.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention. We'll follow up. Do you think the ministry is aware?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: We sent a letter—we had a letter sent to—where is it?
Ms. Laurie Scott: There has been no response, though, from whoever—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: FSCO—
Ms. Laurie Scott: FSCO, yes.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: —to fsco.gov.on.ca—to the CEO.
Ms. Laurie Scott: And there has been no response yet?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: We've had no response.
Ms. Laurie Scott: And how long ago was that, that you sent the letter?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: That was February 1.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. Do you mind sharing a copy of that with us?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes, I can do that.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay, all right. I'll pass it over to my colleague.
Mr. Todd Smith: Thanks again, Ron. Obviously, this is a huge ordeal for a business owner like yourself, to have to face this kind of a challenge.
When you have heard that fraud may be the root cause of what's driving up the costs for your individual taxi drivers in this case—I'm just curious to get your thoughts on what the government and the NDP have teamed up to do here in our latest budget, which is to drive insurance rates down by 15%. When you talk about the increases that you've talked about, and the inability, I guess, in the first place to get insurance, is this going to solve your problem in any way?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Jeez, I can't answer that, I don't think. I just don't understand how you can punish the whole industry for a minority group of people—whoever is operating the vehicles—who do have the claims against them, and for whatever reason—it may be legit; I don't know. I'll give you an example of someone who has driven for 30 years—and the same for everybody here who has personal insurance. Why should everybody else be jacked up for being a good customer and having no claims?
That's why I don't understand how they can shut off the whole industry of Hamilton, let's say, as an example. The ones that are chronic: Yes, you deal with those ones. But the ones that are good: Why are you punishing that person? It's not fair. So I don't understand the insurance companies' whole thinking on that.
I've dealt with insurance for 30 years, so I've been through this. In the late 1980s, I think, we had the same situation, but it got resolved.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Ron, we're going to ask for a copy of that letter, and Sylvie's going to get it run off for the committee right away. Thanks. Sorry for interrupting, Todd.
Mr. Todd Smith: No problem.
How many claims would there be in a year for your taxi company?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I have the claims history here with me, but it doesn't explain—and that's the problem with it. It's very vague. It's just numbers at the bottom, saying "loss ratios, reserves put aside." There are no names, no nothing. It's just more of a general list, an Excel spreadsheet-type thing, but it doesn't really explain what they are. Most of them are third party claims for benefits and disability claims.
That's why I was trying to explain that there's no physical of the vehicle. There's no payout at all on a lot of these claims. It's more of the benefits and the ongoing forecasts—the reserves that they put aside. The insurance company puts aside a reserve, so if you get in an accident, they're saying, "Okay, $250,000 is put aside for that person," hoping that will take care of it in the next five to 10 years, but what they do is, they have two or three or four of those claims, and they'll keep them as a thing against the actual record of your claims history. That's why they're saying there's a risk. Hamilton seems to have a higher risk than everybody else. I don't know what the explanation is.
Mr. Todd Smith: I represent a riding which covers the Belleville area. There are a number of cab companies in the Belleville area, and I can tell you that some of the companies don't hire drivers that are under the age of 25 because of the high costs to insure those drivers. Would that have any impact on the drivers that you have working for you, or is it just an across-the-board—it doesn't matter what your driving record is; you're not getting insurance.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No, 25 is the limit for insurance. The same insurance companies that insure Belleville insure Kingston and Ottawa. Those companies will insure those other markets, but Hamilton? No, and that's why it's disturbing. It's just like, how can you just pick Hamilton and say "no," when the same insurance company—I have a letter here from Aviva, their letter to you guys in the government, April 4, 2013, trying to change the industry—their industry, the insurance industry. That's something I could add as well, on the record.
Mr. Todd Smith: But you did mention fraud, and fraud has come up in your conversations with insurers.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes.
Mr. Todd Smith: Do you not think it would make more sense, instead of putting out an across-the-board 15% rate reduction, then, to try and root out the cause when it comes to fraud?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I don't know.
Mr. Todd Smith: If that's what's responsible for getting you in the predicament you're in, if it's fraud, wouldn't it make more sense to follow the guidelines of the anti-fraud task force and try and—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: It should. I don't know how much—and it doesn't analyze here. It doesn't separate what fraud is—the portion of the liability claims that are third party for injury. A lot of them are customers, too; there are a lot of fraudulent claims that come through our ridership. It's at a point now where, "Okay, you can't get in the cab unless you've got personal insurance," because that's how it resorts. If you're in an accident and you're in the cab—say you went out on a Friday night or something and you need to take a cab home. If I got in an accident, my personal would take care of me, whereas they're saying that Hamilton has a high ratio of welfare, social assistance, disabled, low-income, ODSP-type customers in that area, and it's almost like it's a monopoly of insurance companies getting together and saying, "Don't write in Hamilton." That's the perception I'm getting and the feedback I'm getting.
Mr. Todd Smith: Because one of the things we've heard about during testimony here in front of this committee, is that if they bring in this across-the-board 15% reduction in auto insurance rates, it's actually going to drive competitors out of the province and it's going to make it more difficult for companies like yours to acquire auto insurance.
Back to what we're talking about here, this proposal by the government and the NDP for across-the-board rate decreases for auto insurance: It's going to have a negative impact on small businesses like yours. I understand the situation that you're in; obviously, you're scratching your head trying to figure out what to do next, but coming here is a good first step, and thanks for coming in here. Thanks, Chair.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thanks very much, Todd. All right. We're going to move to the NDP now. Ron, representing the NDP is Jagmeet Singh.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Okay.
The Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Jagmeet?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for being here, Mr. Van Kleef. Just to touch on a couple of points and just perhaps to clarify some of the things that Mr. Smith, my colleague over here from the PCs, was indicating: One of the things that I think you might find—I want to hear your response to this. The IBC's facts and figures on this and the industry figures on this are that, across the province of Ontario, 80% of people with personal automobile insurance never make a claim in their lives. The vast majority of people never actually make a claim, and there's only 20% of people—the average in the province—who actually make a claim in the first place.
Knowing that the vast majority of people never make a claim ever, that only 20% of people actually make a claim—and, so far, the only numbers that we have in terms of fraud are based on the Auditor General's report. He represents the entire province and does great work in auditing. He attributes fraud to be about 10% to 15% of the total cost.
So if 20% of people actually make a claim, and fraud is only 10% to 15%—you indicated that it's a minority. The numbers show that it's a very, very small, small minority of people. Does it make any sense to you, then, given the fact that the majority of people don't make the claims and that the fraud is a small percentage, that that's being used as an excuse for why rates are—they're not covering you in Hamilton?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I would say so, because when you're looking at personal insurance, it's different than a transport carrier like ourselves, as a commercial vehicle, because we're carrying people.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Exactly.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: So you can't compare that. It's a different—I guess it's like apples and oranges. You've got different situations there, and you're dealing with reserves and a lot of the—they put the reserves aside for the industry, and they usually go high.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And just talking about that, actually, one of the things that's getting mixed up a bit is that there's personal automobile insurance—not for a commercial purpose—and then there's commercial insurance. Those two things are obviously different. Your company deals with the commercial side. Is that right?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Correct.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So just to understand the situation and how dire it is in Hamilton, what I understand is that the exact same person, the same driver, with the same claims record and the same driving record, was being charged something around $5,000 to $7,000 previously, and then in one year's time, that same person is now being asked to renew for $16,000, $17,000, almost $20,000. Is that the situation?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So it's not a case that there has been an increase in terms of what you know as the president of your company, that over one year's time there has been a significant increase in claims or your drivers all of a sudden have become dangerous drivers. That hasn't happened in one year's time, has it?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No, and that's why I looked at the history of these claims that was presented to me from the insurance broker. It's all of Hamilton. It's a combination of the last two or three years.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And it doesn't show that there's this big spike or this big increase in terms of the claims in your industry?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No. Also, there's an at-fault chart. The at-fault chart says how many accidents are at fault or not at fault, and the majority are not at fault.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: The majority of your cars—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes, they're not at fault. There's the odd one or two that are the ones that are creating concern—the reserves.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So not only is there not an increase in terms of the claims, from what you're seeing in your reports, but in fact there's not even any increase in at-faults in terms of your drivers?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And just to kind of understand what this means to an actual employee, one of your employees—you have 500 employees in your particular company. Is that correct?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes, at our company, and probably the same in the other one.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: In total, how many drivers do you think there are—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Some 800 to 1,000.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Some 800 to 1,000.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Part-time, full-time—mostly full-time, because there are day and night drivers, so there are two shifts.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Sure. So let's talk about a full-time driver. If a full-time driver has to renew their insurance at somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000, what does that mean in terms of their—I mean, we all know that's a high amount. That must be, obviously, a serious issue.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yeah.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Paint the picture for us: How serious is that? I mean, would that person be able to continue to be a taxi driver?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Probably not. When you're looking at the insurance cost jumping from $5,000 to $20,000, it's a significant amount of money a year—and not only that but the fuel costs, the repair costs. So when you're looking at it, they're saying, "We can't afford to operate." When they're taking food out of their mouth to put it in the insurance, they're not able to survive, so they just stop.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: They just stop?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes. They can't do it.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: They just can't do it. So in terms of your opinion, if nothing changes and if things continue to go in the direction that they're headed right now, where the rates are so high, what do you predict in terms of the 800 to 1,000 taxi drivers in Hamilton? What's going to happen to them?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Each driver will have to pay a little bit more money.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And do you think there will be a drop in terms of how many taxi drivers are actually going to operate in Hamilton?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes, half.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: You think half of them won't—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: We won't have drivers.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. What's the impact on that in terms of Hamilton in general? What would the impact be, in your opinion, in terms of keeping—
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Some 400 or 500.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And then in terms of the actual city itself, I'm assuming that's going to be a big problem: being able to find a taxi, being able to get around in the city. Do you have any sense of how much of an impact that would have on the city itself, not having half of the taxi drivers basically being able to provide those services?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: And you'd be servicing 50% of your customers. You wouldn't be able to do it, because you need the vehicles—a lot of seniors, a lot of hospitals. We transport the disabled community a lot as well. So you're looking at all aspects of the citizens of Hamilton. It's going to affect everybody. And the other thing, too: drinking and driving. You won't be able to get a cab at night. People are going to start driving their cars—Burlington has a tough time as well.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: That's a good point.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: The people will be driving home who can't get a cab. So now you're going to be fighting the "Well, I couldn't get a cab, so that's why I drove home drunk."
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: And I know this because I see—we know what goes on at night. Friday or Saturday nights are one of the busiest nights. When you're trying to promote people to take a taxi home, you're now cutting yourself short there because you've only got half the vehicles anymore, and you may be lucky to get one.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. One of the other things you brought up—and I had something that I've actually been raising. In some of the areas where insurance companies are claiming or they're trying to say or they're suggesting that there are high claims costs, there are also, they're indicating, people who are—for whatever the reasons may be, but either they're on disability or they're low income or they're on social assistance. There seems to be a suggestion that those people cost them more, even though they're not necessarily a dangerous driver and anything inherently wrong with them. They just happen to be less well off, and that has been something that has come up to you. How does that come up?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: It's being told to me through the industry. Brokers have approached me, saying that the reason is because of the high percentage of risk. Insurance companies don't want to risk.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So the risk isn't necessarily that they're dangerous as in risky drivers, but they're risky in the sense that they're just not well off and they're poor.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: It's a risky investment.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Interesting.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Yes. That's what it's about. It's a risky investment, so why invest there?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: How would you feel knowing, in terms of the policies, that insurance companies aren't allowed to base someone's insurance rates based on their income level? That's actually something that's prohibited. You're not allowed to use someone's income level to set their insurance rates. To me, it sounds like they're doing the same thing, basically, in a roundabout way.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I would think so.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Less than two minutes, Jagmeet.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. So far, this is impacting taxi drivers specifically, and you think that this might happen to limousine drivers as well, but you don't know yet.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I haven't heard anything yet. But that's about it; it could. It's transportation, right?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And I know something similar has happened to London as well. London taxi drivers are also, almost all of them, put into Facility as well. Are you familiar with that or aware of that?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And so far in Brampton and in the GTA, has there been any impact, as far as you know, with the commercial vehicle insurance for those taxi drivers?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I don't know of any there.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: I know Brampton has its own situation going there.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. I guess maybe a couple of seconds left. Anything else you'd like to add in your couple of seconds?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No. I'm good.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. Thank you so much.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thank you. We'll go over to the Liberals. Any questions?
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a couple, and then my colleague here has a couple. Thank you for being here. I just have a couple of questions because at the beginning of your presentation, I had trouble understanding, because there's noise outside here. You said you actually own these cabs, or are you operating the dispatching system?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Our cab company does the dispatching, so it's the brokerage. So when you call, we're the ones who facilitate the call, put it in dispatch mode and send it to the vehicle. All the taxis in Hamilton—the 425 taxis in Hamilton—are owned by a combination of us as shareholders, as well as many private people who own their own. So they may operate their own cab, one person; two cars, they may operate as well, or they own 10, or maybe 30. It's a combination of a lot of types of operators.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. You indicated that a lot of the drivers, when they do have an accident, take care of the vehicle repairs themselves, and it's not given back to the insurance company. But is there a trail of a record, say with a police report? A reporting centre report? With these people claiming, is there anybody doing a correlation that they're making a claim of a real accident that took place?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: By law, they're supposed to. I don't know, because we don't directly deal—the operator will deal with the insurance company directly. We're not like a middleman or a front-runner on the policy itself. I made a presentation to a couple of insurance companies and they're looking at it now: that we would govern the insurance under our umbrella as a company. But yeah, they should be putting a claim in, but there's no physical damage to their own vehicle because there's a third party involved, which could be a person or another passenger or a driver involved. You always report the claim.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: But this insurance company that's carrying most of the policies—I'm hoping through the broker. Has the broker tried to work with the insurance company and get any kind of statistical data as to where these claims are, who the claims are? Was it a legit accident?
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Nothing of the sort?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: We don't have any communication with the insurance company. We provide commercial general liability for our customer over and above the $2 million auto, as per the insurance requirements of the bylaw. So we provide company insurance over and above; if there are any claims that go above that, it's a commercial—CGL, it's called.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. My colleague here.
Mr. Vic Dhillon: Thank you very much for appearing today. I just want to clarify: Are all drivers being forced to go on Facility? Is it all of them?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: All of them.
Mr. Vic Dhillon: Everyone has to pay $15,000 to $20,000?
Mr. Vic Dhillon: Which is really unfair. Myself and some of my colleagues have started to ask questions. Insurance is regulated provincially. Taxis are licensed through the city, and the city has an obligation to taxicab owners/drivers, and the drivers have an obligation to the city. Taxis are a very important service, as you mentioned, for WSIB clients, for patients who have to go to the hospital, and many, many other segments of the population who rely on this service for their daily living.
Have you brought this to the attention of the city? I'm not deflecting the fault to the city, but they are a major stakeholder with respect to this whole issue. Is the city aware of what's happening? Because they're the ones that have the responsibility, just like transit, of ensuring that there is another option for people who don't have their own vehicles or are unable to use their own vehicles.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: The city of Hamilton actually voted at a council meeting; it's public record. They sent a letter to the province regarding the concerns and are supportive of—
Mr. Vic Dhillon: Do you know when that was?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: It might have been a couple of months ago? Maybe a month and a half, two months ago? It's on public record; the city of Hamilton voted unanimously to put a support letter of concern to the province and helping understand what's happening in Hamilton.
Mr. Vic Dhillon: Were you part of the delegation?
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: No. It was the actual city council. The city of Hamilton actually forwarded that letter to the province regarding the situation that we're dealing with.
Mr. Vic Dhillon: Yeah, okay. I just want to say, in the end, I do have a long history and relationship with the taxicab and limo industry. I'll tell you straight up: This is totally unacceptable, especially hearing that just because people who may not have the means, as some people living in another area—I feel this may be just crossing the discrimination line. We plan to look into this and see what solutions we can come up with. So thank you very much for appearing before the committee.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Thanks.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Ron, thanks very much for your presentation and for asking the questions and, in a very, very real way, providing us some information that some of us didn't know before. It will be very, very useful. Thank you so much.
Mr. Ron Van Kleef: Thank you very much.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Our next deputants will be Jasminder Singh and Bick Dhaliwal. Both are going to come to the mike, but I think Bick is going to be doing the speaking.
So, Jasminder and Bick, welcome, and we look forward to your presentations.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Thank you, and good afternoon to all the committee members and the Chair.
Again, I'm going to say hello and good afternoon to the committee members, the Chairperson and all the dignitaries. My name is Bick Dhaliwal. First of all, I really appreciate the opportunity to speak before you on behalf of Brampton and west-end residents.
As we all know, the auto industry has become a focal issue for all drivers, regardless of which industry they belong to, but mainly the taxi drivers are being penalized much more than other sector industries.
The Liberal government has recently promised to reduce auto insurance premiums by 15%. We believe this is a step in the right direction, but we also feel that it is too little and too late.
Of all the provinces, Ontario is by far the most costly place to buy car insurance. A recent study by the Fraser Institute found that Ontarians pay, on average, double the premium annually for auto insurance compared to Quebeckers and other provinces.
Committee members and Chairperson, there are a few communities in Ontario, such as Brampton, London and Hamilton, that have been targeted with unfair insurance hikes compared to other municipalities. The insurance companies have discriminately raised their premiums by postal codes. That, we feel, is equivalent to racial profiling. That is not only an unethical practice by any standards but also discriminatory and a very impractical approach.
As I became aware of such facts, I conducted some research that indicated that 80% of people have clean records and never make a claim, which leaves us with 20% of the population that file claims. Out of that 20% of the population, let's suppose that 10% of them are legitimate claimants, so that leaves us with 10% or under whom we can consider as fraudulent claimants, yet those 90% of people—decent, hard-working individuals who work day and night to support their families—are being penalized for the actions of a few. This shows that this system is not working properly. This is not a fair system and we should be holding those people accountable, not the 90% of the people who live their lives honestly and in a hard-working manner.
I believe the system has to be analyzed and it has to be changed. The insurance industry is a private venture that does not share its profits yet seek the shelter of government for their unprotected and loose ends. The insurance industry should not hold 90% of the people as scapegoats.
I feel that the Financial Services Commission of Ontario has to take measurable steps to address these issues with the insurance industry. I urge the commission not to act as a rubber stamp in favour of insurance companies, but for the public which has voted them into power.
Committee members and the Chairperson, many of the west-end residents I'm speaking on behalf of today are taxi drivers who make their ends meet very tightly due to high insurance premiums. As you may be aware, taxi drivers in London and Hamilton are paying up to $20,000 insurance premiums. That is up from $7,000 over a year. How would you expect those families to survive? What is the rationale for doubling the premium? There is no rationale. The insurance companies are on the loose and there's no one seemingly who would like to handle them.
Taxi drivers in Peel and the west end also feel they will be suffering the same consequences soon. Please, I urge all the political parties to show their concern, sympathy and empathy for the hard-working taxi drivers by lowering their insurance premiums.
Since 2006 to the present, the provincial government has dramatically trimmed accident benefits, and insurance premiums have continued to skyrocket. Insurance companies may rightly blame fraudulent claims as justification for higher premiums, but as a business entity, they should regard this as theft and not penalize the 90% of the decent customers.
There was some suggestion that from the fraud reduction, the insurance companies would be able to reduce premiums. I would like to end my speech by asking the panel: Do you really expect the insurance companies to voluntarily pass savings made from fraud reduction right along to the consumers? It's like the oil companies passing along savings when the market price for crude falls. I think not. That's not going to happen.
Therefore, let's all be rational and be logical. We should hold insurance companies accountable for their actions for raising unnecessary premiums. Thank you for your time.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Bick, thank you very much for your presentation. We're going to ask Jagmeet to start his 10 minutes. Thank you, Jasminder and Bick. Jagmeet, go ahead.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Thank you so much for being here today, and thank you for your presentation. I just want to start off with general questions about Brampton and then move on to the taxi industry. You indicated that it seems to you like there are certain areas that are being discriminated against, because the rates are higher. Why do you feel like it's discrimination?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, clearly we have evidence. Postal codes in Brampton are being targeted. I have friends, taxi drivers, and when they call insurance brokers from all different companies, when that postal code was given to them, there was a much higher quoted premium. Then, if the same person—same status, age, record—called from another postal code, their premium was much lower. Even maybe half a block away, if they moved to Caledon, it's 30% lower than Brampton. Totally, I consider this to be unjust.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Unjust. Just as an everyday citizen and a taxi driver, the idea to you, doesn't it strike you—I mean, it strikes me as unfair, but just tell me your reaction: the idea that you, the same driver, live in Brampton and, like you said, if you move a couple a couple of blocks away into Caledon, because Brampton and Caledon are touching—the fact that if you move into Caledon, just a little bit away from where you live, a couple of kilometres away, all of a sudden you will see your rates go down by a lot. Does that make sense to you as a system? Does that seem fair to you?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Like I said, it's totally unfair. What that is causing is people to move out of Brampton. This is sort of a pressure migration happening. What that will lead to is that there will be lesser services in the area where we live. It's the same problem that Hamilton and London are facing. The Brampton residents and ill people and people who cannot service themselves will have a problem.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. So let's actually talk a little bit about the taxi industry specifically. We've seen and we've heard today from Hamilton—we know that the rates have gone up for taxi drivers in Hamilton, skyrocketed, and are extremely high. Basically, a lot of people are not going to be able to continue to be taxi drivers. Also, I've heard some stories that it's happening in London as well, that the rates have gone up. Have the rates gone up now in Brampton significantly, or is it a concern that they might start to increase?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, it's a concern for all the taxi drivers, because they see that it can happen in London and Hamilton, and there's a fear among the community. It's a great fear that it may come to them. We're trying to take proactive measures, and that's why we're here today: to let the government know that that is our concern.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. Just talking about—I mean, the word gets tossed around a lot; people talk about fraud a lot. As a party, we believe that of course we want to get rid of any fraudulent activity. One of the things that you touched on today a little bit, and it has always struck me—I'm concerned about what the consumer thinks about this. In any other industry, if you are a shop owner and you're experiencing a lot of losses in your shop, if you're a Walmart or a big store like this, I would never imagine ever that a Walmart or a Home Depot or a local store would say, "We're having a lot of shoplifting. Let's go to the government and ask the government to fix this problem for us. Let's ask the government to get rid of the shoplifting because we're losing too much money."
I never understood how the insurance companies had the gall to suggest that someone else has to fix the problem, that they couldn't hire loss prevention people themselves, that they couldn't have investigators do it themselves. They're a multi-billion-dollar industry; why don't they just deal with the issues themselves? I don't understand. As a taxi driver and just as a Brampton resident, what's your response to that?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, that's so rightly said. Again, like I mentioned in my presentation, the insurance companies are a private venture, and they're profitable companies. They should be able to guard their loose ends and they should be able to curb any fraudulent activities. That is their job. They should not come to the shelter of the government if they have any leaks in their insurance system. I don't think they can hold the whole public or the government responsible for that. If a store owner, say, has a theft, their employees are stealing something, it is the store owner's obligation and his duty to protect his business. They don't go out to ask the public for help or increase the value of the merchandise.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Talking again about the claims: That's something that's very readily available in the Auditor General's report, talking about the number of people that make a claim and the percentage of fraud. A number that used to get tossed around was $1 billion. Today, I see, Aviva has increased that to $1.6 billion annually; that's what they're saying that fraud is. Basically, the overall industry is $9 billion to $10 billion. That's their cost. Either way you look at it, whether it's $1 billion or $1.6 billion, fraud is just one small portion of the costs. Just as an average citizen, have you seen—the industry is saving about $2 billion annually because our benefits have gone down, so the amount of money that the insurance companies pay out to us has gone down by a lot. And that's gone down for over two years, our stats are saying, and IBC agrees with this; the insurance bureau says, "Yes, we agree. We're saving about $2 billion annually. We're not paying out that much money." But people's rates haven't gone down.
As a consumer, do you feel skeptical, or are you doubtful that if we do anything else to reduce their costs, that's actually going to result in savings for us? If we've already seen the insurance companies save so much money but they haven't brought our rates down—I mean, as a consumer, what's your opinion? Are you skeptical that if we do any further reductions for them, they'll actually pass on those savings to us?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, definitely, I'm very skeptical about that, because we feel that regardless of how much reduction in fraud or how much money the insurance company is saving, it is not coming to the pockets of the consumers at all. It will go into their deep pockets and they will use that to lobby the government to make laws in their benefit, so as consumers we will still be losing. It's a vicious circle, but I think the consumers will be always penalized for that and I have no trust in it right now.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And just in closing—
The Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Two minutes.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Two minutes? And just in closing, I guess, if you could talk about maybe a couple of questions: What do you think needs to happen on the commercial side for taxi drivers? I guess this also applies to other commercial drivers, but right now, it looks like taxi drivers are the ones that might be impacted sooner. There might be an impact down the road for truck drivers and other commercial vehicles. But what needs to be done, in your opinion, to make sure that people can continue to be taxi drivers and limousine drivers so that the industry isn't hard hit? What can we do to make sure that—because right now, the prospects look pretty bad. What needs to be done?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, I believe, as everyone on the committee knows, that driving a taxi is not a lazy job. It's a long-hour job, and the remuneration is not as much as you would expect. To make ends meet is really hard, with the high gas prices and insurance escalating every time. Basically, what I feel is, as the insurance prices keep going up, they'll be forcefully driven out of the industry. I don't know if the city has any backup plan or if the government has any backup plan in order to service the public, but I believe, with the escalating insurance premiums each year, the taxi industry is in danger.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. Thank you.
The Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thank you very much. We'll move over to the Liberals. Bas?
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Thank you very much for being here.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Thank you.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: You opened by providing us a lot of statistics about 80% of the drivers out there never have a claim, 20% have a claim, and maybe 50% of those are problematic or claims that are fraudulent. But you do believe there are people out there who are making claims. Am I correct?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, of course, yes. That's part of the nature of the industry.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. Do you believe those claims are very significant in the years prior to 2010?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, significant in which way? If it is cost-wise or—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Cost-wise; the value of the claims that were being made against the general insurance industry.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, it could be considered significant, because I don't have the stats before me to look at for each claimant. But I still believe the number of drivers and cars—comparatively, if you match and if you try to compare it, I still believe it's not that significant, according to the premiums that they're charging.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay, but let me ask you a simple question, then. If there is a claim against the industry, where should that claim cost fall on? Should it be picked up by the industry, or should it be picked up by somebody else?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Of course it should be picked up by the insurance company, because they are in the business to provide protection. That's what they get the premiums for.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: That is part of their business, the nature of their business.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: And do you realize that automobile insurance is mandatory in Ontario?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I understand it's mandatory.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: And it doesn't compare to my friend's example of Walmart?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, you know, again, why it's mandatory is because the insurance companies made sure that it became mandatory, because that's how they generate revenues.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: The Ontario government makes it mandatory—
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Yes.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: —and this is why the government is involved with the industry. It's nowhere comparable to my friend's example that if Walmart has a lot of stolen goods, they would come to the government for help. We don't control Walmart.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I understand that, but—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: We don't make Walmart mandatory in any way or form.
Mr. Mike Colle: Oh, God forbid.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: And God forbid, my friend says.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: If I could answer your question: Basically, like I said in the beginning, who is controlling who? According to the report I have in front of me, I have facts that support basically the insurance companies are controlling FSCO, the government body, by lobbying. In your suggestion, insurance is not a private entity like Walmart, but yet they have the power to control government legislation that would support in their favour.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: You're just speculating that, because there's no proof to it. Do you have proof?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, I have the reports that I printed—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: No, if you have proof, I'd like to have it. But if you're looking at something that is speculative, I'm not interested.
I'll carry on here. So you do believe that the claims that are being made against the industry—those expenses should remain within the industry. If the industry believes, and those that are involved in it, like FSCO, have enough evidence that it's fraud, do you have an idea how the government should work with the industry to deal with the fraud?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, if it's fraud, there should be an act. There's a government agency that we use in every other sector that—if there's a fraud, there should be repercussions, legal repercussions. Their licence should be taken away. There should be legal implications, not an increase in the rates of the 90% of the people who have nothing to do with it. If somebody commits a crime, they should be held responsible, not the rest of the public.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: But if we don't have enough evidence to fine them, what else would you suggest the government do?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: If the insurance company doesn't have enough evidence to do it, then who's going to provide them the evidence? It's their job to hire people, private investigators, or conduct their own—design a plan so they can do it. I mean, that's what they've got premiums for.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. If you disagree with the current model of insurance companies setting their rates, which is your concern that Brampton is high, and London and Hamilton—and I can tell you that my own neighbourhood of Scarborough is also high—should the people in Thunder Bay or North Bay be paying for the fact that the folks in your area and in my area and in Hamilton and in London have more claims than the people in North Bay?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: No. They should be on an individual basis. Who—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Sorry, it should be what?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: The insurance premiums should be based on the individual's record, not on the postal code, not on the community, not—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: When you say "individual location," I don't understand.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Okay. When a particular person in Brampton or North Bay makes a claim, he can affect his or her insurance premium. Not everybody who lives in that neighbourhood—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: No, but hold on. If you hit me and I have injury and I make a claim, my policy should not go up.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: No. I didn't say your policy should go up.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. So it's the person who had the accident?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: That's right.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Just that one person?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Just that one person.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Do you realize that if the insurance industry was to operate that way, then that one person would never get insurance again?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: That is something that insurance companies and the government legislation have to decide, how they're going to handle that. I'm just here as a citizen who has questions. The system is not working properly, and it has to be designed—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: I understand that, but I'm trying to show you the fault in your own process. Insurance, as it's designed, is that we all pool our resources to look after each other.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. That's the whole premise of insurance.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Right.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: It's a pooling of resources. So if you have an accident against me and I make a claim, it's not intended that just your policy go up; some of that has to be dealt with as part of the pool.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Okay.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. How you design the pool is an issue.
The second issue is, if everything was perfect, without the fraud, we wouldn't have a problem. So I'm asking you: How do you deal with the fraud? Did you come here with an idea of how the government should deal with the fraud?
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): We have two minutes left, Bas.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I think that is the government's job to investigate and root out the problem—like you said, if the root cause is the fraud. Like any other criminal acts, the public doesn't say, "Okay. This guy commits a crime. This is how we should punish him." There's a system that is set up, and that is government's job, not mine.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. Do you accept the two steps that the government took in 2010—and there's probably a whole lot more to do, and that is what is being done right now. In 2010, we allowed individual policyholders to make a choice of what benefits they have. My colleague across is telling you that since 2010, the insurance industry has had a huge savings and he wants those savings passed on, which none of us argue about. What we're arguing about is how we continue to deal with the fraud. The moves we made in 2010 are the first step. We're now looking at the second set of steps, which has been outlined, that we would take in the next little while. Would you agree that since 2010 the government has been going in the right direction?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Yes, the government has gone in the right direction—
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Thank you.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: —but also, there's—
Interjections.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Yes. The government is doing the right steps, but at the same time, they are not controlling the escalation of premiums by the insurance companies. The government is doing the legislation things, but insurance is still rising on the people. You just saw a presentation on Hamilton. This happened just in this year.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thanks, Bas. We'll move over to the PCs and Todd.
Mr. Todd Smith: Thanks, Chair, and thanks, gentlemen, for coming in and answering our questions here this afternoon.
You're both taxi drivers?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: No, he's a taxi driver. I represent the taxi association.
Mr. Todd Smith: Okay. How much liability coverage do you need on your taxicab?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Minimum $1 million to $2 million.
Mr. Todd Smith: One million to $2 million?
Mr. Todd Smith: Has this increased over the years, over the last couple of years?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: The liability?
Mr. Todd Smith: Yes.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: No.
Mr. Todd Smith: Why has that not increased?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I'm sorry?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: That is something you have to ask the insurance company.
Mr. Todd Smith: But obviously, there have been more claims in the Brampton area, right? There has been an increase in the number of claims in that area.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: That's what we've heard, but I haven't seen any stats or any numbers—how many, in what area and how much they were paid out. That information is not available.
Mr. Todd Smith: I know that in the meetings that we've had, the payouts have been much more in that area.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Yes, I heard that, but I don't have the figures.
Mr. Todd Smith: So payouts are very much more in that area.
I guess the other question we need to get to is—you know, we've been talking a lot about taxi drivers and taxicabs here so far today—taxis are considered commercial vehicles?
Mr. Todd Smith: So this insurance deduction that we've seen proposed here by the two parties is aimed at personal vehicles, right? It's not aimed at commercial vehicles?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Exactly.
Mr. Todd Smith: So what we're discussing in the Legislature at this time isn't going to affect taxi drivers at all?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: It's not going to affect it, but like I said, going to the Facility insurance like they did in Milton and London—that is the fear that has been around the community, and they feel, if it comes to that, it's going to have a drastic effect on the community as a whole.
Mr. Todd Smith: Right. I'm really curious, and I don't know if you can answer this or not, why Brampton, obviously, and that area has been the hot spot as far as the conversation goes on increased insurance rates.
Mr. Todd Smith: Why have we not experienced the same kind of increases, or the same problems, I guess, for taxi drivers in Brampton that we've seen in Hamilton and London? Is there any reason why they're not able to get insurance in Hamilton and London but you're still able to get insurance in Brampton? I'm curious as to why, if Brampton is the epicentre of this whole problem and where the insurance rates are the highest, have we seen the situation unfold in the way it has to our southwest?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I think we are talking about two different things right now. As for the private insurance, Brampton has it much higher than any other municipalities. What happened in London and Hamilton, that was a taxi issue, and now we're talking two different things.
So when we talk about the private insurance, Brampton residents are charged much more premium because of just being in Brampton, and if they give the same information over the phone to the broker, using a different postal code, their insurance even comes down, 30% to 50% down, which is totally unfair—just because of the postal code.
The second one you mentioned was the taxi industry. The taxi industry in the Brampton area are in fear that what happened in London and in Burlington could happen to them. So those are the two separate issues there.
Mr. Todd Smith: And I think what we may find out is that there would be more accidents involving taxicabs or more claims involving taxicabs in those areas than there are in Brampton. Would that be a logical conclusion?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Well, again, that's something that I cannot predict, how people drive in one city versus how they drive in the other or as a whole. Those stats are not there, and this is all just speculation, and I don't really want to make any comments on the speculation.
Mr. Todd Smith: Fair enough. You mentioned the Fraser report when you started off, right?
Mr. Todd Smith: Do you happen to recall what the two biggest cost drivers were in the Fraser report when it comes to auto insurance?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I don't remember if I had the opportunity to print it out, but if you could—
Mr. Todd Smith: I believe fraud and bureaucracy were the two biggest drivers of—
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Exactly, yes, they could very well be, and I mentioned that in the beginning of my speech also.
But there has to be a common denominator. We cannot just use one—like a fearmongering kind of thing, just use the word "fraud" and increase everybody's insurance premiums. It has to be justifiable, it has to be open, and it has to be debated and analyzed and changed. So I believe there has to be more openness in the concept from the insurance company, and all we hear is just the word "fraudulent"; "fraudulent," but there aren't any proper figures, how much they're generating and how much they're paying out. That will really open a lot of unanswered questions.
Mr. Todd Smith: I actually hail from New Brunswick, and they had a similar problem in New Brunswick a number of years ago. They had large increases when the territories changed in New Brunswick a number of years ago. Their solution in New Brunswick was to actually allow more territories, and that seemed to level out the increases across the territories. Do you think that's a viable solution for the province to consider or for the GTA to consider, for that matter?
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: I agree with that as long as the insurance—the main purpose of our being here today is to have consumers get some relief from the pressure that they're feeling right now. So creating a territory or any other alternative that would give them relief would be viable.
Mr. Todd Smith: Insurance is a risk-based type of enterprise, right? The insurance companies are obviously feeling that, because most of the claims and the expensive claims are coming from your part of the province, that's why the insurance is so high there. I don't think we can dispute that fact. I've actually seen a map of the province where it shows where most of the dollars are paid out, and it happens to be in that northern part of the GTA.
So I can tell you, being a representative from eastern Ontario, where it's probably the safest place to drive in the province, that the insurance rates are much lower and they would like to keep them that way, obviously, in the eastern part of the province. North of Toronto, it's more expensive. It has been told to me—and you mentioned the Fraser report off the top—that the biggest reasons that exist are the fraud that exists in that area.
We've seen in other jurisdictions—and I mentioned what they did in New Brunswick but also in the state of New Jersey, where they came down hard on fraud in that state, and it has made a huge difference in New Jersey.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Yeah. Well, I agree with what you're saying and with the Fraser report, but I also feel that the word "fraud" has been overused in this industry just so they can charge more premiums. I think there has to be in-depth research that has to be conducted so that the facts can be heard. We should not speculate on the words when the insurance companies say there's fraud, but as long as we as consumers know what those figures are so we can be at least justified. Even if the insurance premiums do go up, we should know why they went up.
Mr. Todd Smith: Thanks.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thank you very much, Mr. Dhaliwal. Mr. Singh, thanks very much for your presentation and for answering the questions in such a frank and open way. Thank you so much.
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal: Thank you so much.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): The next presentation is from the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment. Brian Levitt is the president.
Brian, welcome.
Dr. Brian Levitt: Thank you. I'm just going to take a moment to set up the PowerPoint.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): No problem.
Okay. Are we ready, Brian?
Welcome, Brian.
Dr. Brian Levitt: Thank you. Thank you, first of all, for having the time to hear from us today. I'll be starting with just basically explaining who we are, whom we represent and why we're speaking with you.
I'm Dr. Brian Levitt. I'm the president of the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment. I'm a clinical and rehabilitation psychologist, and I'm here as the president of the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment.
To my left is Dr. Ron Kaplan. He's a clinical and rehabilitation neuropsychologist and is here as a consultant. He's a founding member of CAPDA, which is the organization that I'm representing today.
CAPDA members are senior psychologists. We specialize in disability assessment. In particular, we have many members with unique expertise in carrying out catastrophic impairment assessment, and that's what I'll be focusing on today.
Many of us were on the FSCO roster of CAT assessors; two owned and operated one of the seven CAT DACs. We have members who have served on the minister's committee on the DAC system; the recent expert panel; various committees to review DAC guidelines; and various HCAI committees. We have given many courses and lectures on catastrophic impairment to doctors and lawyers.
I have published the only scientific papers on catastrophic impairment in Ontario, and of course I'm happy to provide you with copies. I'm also happy to try to explain my understanding of this confusing and complex area.
There's a recent IBC advertisement just outside Queen's Park; I noticed today coming up it's still out there, actually, in front of the Frost building. One of the things that it says is: "Define catastrophic injury based on medical science—not on lawyers' arguments." We agree.
This just came out a couple of days ago, from the Canadian Underwriter: IBC's president and CEO "noted that the government's proposal to have further consultations on the catastrophic impairment definition [is] unnecessary, since it's already been studied extensively." We disagree.
There is a lot of misinformation; I cannot address it all in 10 minutes, but I welcome your questions.
The expert panel's approach to recommendations for mental and behavioural impairments was flawed and incomplete. The expert panel did not have the resources to examine the issue, for example, of combining mental and behavioural impairments with physical impairments, and they said so; this is in their report.
The catastrophic impairment definitions have not been studied extensively enough. The government is looking for something reliable; we understand that, and we also would want something reliable as scientists. The expert panel made some proposals that are more reliable, but they did this only by using criteria that result in more false negatives—in other words, raising the bar so high that a lot of people who should be considered catastrophic are left out in order to make it easier to determine catastrophic. As I say, in other words, they sacrificed the needs of a small group of seriously impaired patients to achieve greater reliability. As scientists, we think that reliability begins with method, not by changing definitions. You have to start with method; if you just change definitions, you're still leaving method out. So you're still going to have an unsound foundation.
This is an essential point and a significant flaw in the approach that was taken by the expert panel. You don't have to make a definition more restrictive and exclude a small group of people in great need in order to achieve reliability. A standard method is what's needed to achieve reliability. This is how we work as scientists; if we all have a standard method that we all follow, then our results are more reliable. It's the foundation of what we do.
This was the case under the former DAC system; and with the dissolution of the DACs, assessors have no common guidelines for their method. It's the Wild, Wild West. Methodological guidelines should be written into the SABS CAT definitions to reinforce them for all assessors to follow.
Luckily, the AMA guides' fourth edition is already written into the SABS as a part of the definitions. The guides provide a rich method; it is very detailed and robust. We are asking that it be required to be used by being more explicit about this in the SABS definitions—that assessors actually use the guidelines that are written in the AMA guides.
Regarding SABS definition (e), the combination of impairments resulting in 55% whole-person impairment, the proposal to disallow inclusion of impairments due to mental and behavioural disorders is discriminatory; I don't know any other way to put that—it just is. It is also contrary to research and science regarding the compounded impact of coexisting physical and mental and behavioural disorders.
The fourth edition of the AMA guides, chapter 4, table 3, should be applied to quantify impairments due to mental and behavioural disorders, to be combined with other impairments for a whole-person impairment rating. The combining method used in the guides discounts impairments that are combined so that the total impairment rating can never be greater than death. I'm not sure if this is a point that's well understood in the public, but the idea in the guides is that you have an impairment percentage for each kind of impairment; if you have multiple impairments, if you don't have a way of discounting them, you could exceed 100%, which is more than death. Whenever you combine multiple impairments, there's a discounting method, so each impairment actually has a lower impairment rating than it would have on its own. This is, as I say, a convenient mathematical fiction, but it does not represent the actual increased impairment burden when a patient has more than one impairment of any kind. Any consideration of combining should not allow further discounting of mental and behavioural impairments, because the combining method already discounts multiple impairments. That's the nature of how the guides approach this.
Regarding SABS definition (f), which is impairments due to mental and behavioural disorders, the indicia as proposed by the expert panel are essentially useless. They are also arbitrary, and they are harmful. While the indicia proposed by the expert panel are more objective, they're not in line with reality. This is a point that I really hope to underscore. These days, a huge number of people are managed at home or are hidden because of cultural factors, family factors and the ongoing stigma of mental illness. In other words, having indicia about hospitalization means you're going to be missing that portion of the population that is not being hospitalized for all these reasons.
The expert panel also proposes a GAF of 40 or less. The GAF is a part of how we diagnose in psychology and psychiatry. This is the equivalent of precluding all functioning. It's a very strict, high bar. By contrast, the loss of a limb, which is considered to be a catastrophic impairment, can be expected to significantly impede useful functioning but not preclude all functioning.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Two minutes, Doctor.
Dr. Brian Levitt: Further, those with persistent mental disorders may never recover and may need ongoing care and treatment supports to prevent further deterioration. By contrast, amputees with proper treatment and new prostheses may return to almost normal functioning.
Also, there's no clinical or research basis to shift from the AMA guides to a GAF model. The GAF has long been a fixture of the DSM, but DSM-5 will no longer use it. Also, in Canada and the US, the way we'll be diagnosing in health care, we'll be relying on the ICD, the International Classification of Diseases, and moving away from DSM and GAF.
Chapter 14 of the guides provides a robust method for an assessment with explicit directions to arrive at valid and reliable determinations of impairments resulting from mental and behavioural disorders. Retaining and reinforcing the method used in chapter 14 by writing it into the SABS definitions addresses concerns regarding reliability.
Finally, regarding SABS (d), brain impairment, the proposed removal of the Glasgow coma scale without any replacement for early identification is very problematic. Scientific evidence documents the higher needs of patients with brain injuries in the early post-injury phase, when it may not be possible to predict ultimate outcome using measures of current function. The GCS was put into the SABS because it is available in almost every medical file. It allows an insurer to make a quick determination if a patient has a cat brain injury. It's cost-effective.
Cat myths: Please ask me about these. I'm happy to talk about any of them.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): That's where we're going to have to cut you off. Your 10 minutes are up. Maybe we can capture the rest of your presentation while you're answering questions. All right? We'll turn it over to the Liberals, who will go first.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: I just have something very simple, because you've just baffled me with a lot of medical terms. Do you see in the system that the government develops that, whatever we put in policy, procedure or law, there will be a certain percentage of the population who are victims of an accident that must proceed through a court and let a judge decide on all these medical factors?
Dr. Brian Levitt: Absolutely.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay, so you agree with that process. In defining these major injuries, our goal really is not to capture everybody in it. Would you agree with me?
Dr. Brian Levitt: I understand, yes.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay, thank you. Mr. Chair, I'm finished.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Great. Any other questions? All right, we'll go over to the Progressive Conservatives. Laurie.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Thank you very much for coming today and presenting to us. It was pretty high-level for those not in the medical profession. I just wanted to know: Do you want to finish off some of your slides? I'll let you do that, and then I have a couple of questions.
Dr. Brian Levitt: I'd appreciate that if I could—
Ms. Laurie Scott: If you don't mind putting it in kind of more language that we might understand. I have a bit of a nursing background, and you've certainly worried me in what you presented.
Dr. Brian Levitt: Excellent, thank you. I'll be very brief with it; it's just a list of common misunderstandings about catastrophic. The next eight or so slides are just the common myths about catastrophics.
Ms. Laurie Scott: That's fine, okay.
Dr. Brian Levitt: One myth is that anyone with chronic pain can be declared catastrophic now, and the floodgates have opened; that's a myth. Combining physical with mental behavioural impairments opens the floodgates; that's also a myth.
Mental disorders are subjective and easily faked; that's a myth. The chapter on mental and behavioural disorders is less reliable than the other chapters in the guides; that is also a myth. All mental disorders are temporary; not true. The GAF is a good replacement for the methodology and classification system in chapter 14 of the guides; not true, that is a myth. Mental disorders produce less disability and less burden on the person in care systems than physical disorders; also not true. Mental disorders don't have much impact on physical disorders; that is a myth. Mental disorders should be discounted if they're combined with physical impairments; that is untrue.
The SABS catastrophic impairment definitions are numerical equivalents; that's a myth. And psychologists do not assess, diagnose and treat patients with severe mental illnesses. Of course we do; that is a myth. Psychologists are not qualified to do catastrophic impairment assessments and sign OCF-19s; that's also a myth. Of course, we are qualified to do so.
Ms. Laurie Scott: So I guess I'm quite worried about the fact that we have this new definition of "catastrophic." I think that's what occurring, but you—
Dr. Brian Levitt: It's being proposed.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Yes, it's being proposed. You certainly don't agree with it, from my—
Dr. Brian Levitt: I have significant disagreements with the expert panel proposals, yes.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. The expert panel has obviously said, "We didn't have funds to do some of the comparisons or assessments."
Dr. Brian Levitt: Correct.
Ms. Laurie Scott: So why would they remove the Glasgow scale, and why would they move to a GAF model? The AMA, I'm taking it, is what you would prefer was used. You can elaborate on any of those points that I've just said.
Dr. Brian Levitt: I see what you're saying. The GCS actually refers to a different definition in the SABS about brain injury. The moving towards a GAF has to do, in general, with mental and behavioural disorders. There were proposals by the expert panel to move away from the guides that we have long used and have a pretty robust method for doing assessments for coming up with impairment determinations and trying to come up with something. As I was saying, the indicia—
Ms. Laurie Scott: So indicators, is that what—
Dr. Brian Levitt: Indicators, yes: So someone should have had psychiatric hospitalizations, someone should have certain medications, that sort of thing. It simply doesn't happen all that much, because of cultural and family factors etc. So you're leaving out a very important sector of a small group of people who are severely impaired by setting up indicators that don't mirror reality.
Then setting up a GAF—the issue with a GAF—there are a number of issues. One of them, though, is that the GAF is simply a measure; it's not a method. The AMA guides provide a very detailed, rich method in chapter 14 for doing an assessment of mental and behavioural disorders and then for being very transparent about how you make your impairment ratings, how you lay it all out. The GAF has nothing to do with that; it's just one simple measure. So if you move from the AMA guides to the GAF, you're actually losing reliability; you have no method.
Ms. Laurie Scott: We're in this room, and some have medical backgrounds and some don't. We're in this political position, and there has been a recommendation for the new definition of "catastrophic." Yet you've presented a very different point of view. What is one in our position to try and do? Have you presented an alternative definition for "catastrophic"?
Dr. Brian Levitt: Thank you for that question; I do appreciate that. I think what I'm arguing for is that the definitions, as they are, I believe, can be improved in terms of reliability by including in the definitions a reliable method to follow. The guideline should be in there about how you follow these definitions, because if you simply change the definitions, you still don't have the foundation of a consistent method that everyone uses. You can keep changing the definitions and changing them, but the problem is, these were changed—I think the philosophy was, and I'll put it in very kind of—
Ms. Laurie Scott: Layman's terms.
Dr. Brian Levitt: —gross terms, very blunt terms. It's very easy to go to a cemetery and for everyone to say, "Yup, they're all dead." That's reliable. You walk up, and you see all the graves. Everyone's dead. So you can set your definition so strictly that of course it's reliable, but you're going to be leaving out an important small group of people who should be deemed catastrophic in order to get the treatment needs. Instead of changing the definition and making the bar so high so as to make it reliable—as scientists, the place we always start is our method for how we go about assessing people. If we all have a method that we all have to follow by law, that's the foundation of it. Changing your definitions without having a foundation is not going to help. That's my basic argument.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. That's fair enough. I think you could argue that you can actually speed up this process if there was proper methodology in place for people with catastrophic injuries.
Dr. Brian Levitt: I think part of what would happen, if there was proper methodology that everyone followed, there should be less disputes because we're using a common method.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Right.
Dr. Brian Levitt: So the dispute resolution system would be helped by that.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay.
Dr. Brian Levitt: That's exactly what I'm saying.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. Very good. Thank you very much for coming today.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thanks very much. We'll now move to the NDP. Jagmeet.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Thank you so much. I want to take some brief time just to go through and kind of summarize some of the ideas here. One of the things I want to be clear on: There was an expert panel that tried to come up with a new definition, and some of the problems with that new definition—one is, the expert panel itself was flawed. If you could quickly and briefly provide one clear example why that expert panel was flawed.
Dr. Brian Levitt: The most basic example of how it was flawed is that the expert panel followed what we call a Delphi method. However, they didn't follow the Delphi method the way the Delphi method should be followed. The idea with the Delphi method is that you're supposed to have a big enough number of people so when you have disagreements, if a large enough amount of people agree, you can say you have consensus. The expert panel was eight people. They're covering a wide range of issues that you can't represent with just eight people. Six out of eight is considered consensus. So if two people disagree, the expert panel's findings are still issued as a consensus.
The problem is, for example—and I'm talking about just mental and behavioural impairments today—there was only one practising psychologist on the panel. So six people could say, "Oh, yes, this is a great idea for mental and behavioural impairments." The psychologist could disagree and the expert panel's findings are a consensus that that definition is all right. It's a very significant flaw, and it kind of gets brushed over.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And just to put that into more context, essentially anything that dealt with mental or behavioural issues, the one key expert in that area—there was only one individual, and if you needed six people for consensus, that one person's viewpoint could be marginalized all the time.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And there's no surprise, then, in the definition that there is greater emphasis placed on the physical injuries leading to a definition of impairment or catastrophic impairment, but there's much less emphasis placed on mental or behavioural illnesses. Is that correct?
Dr. Brian Levitt: I think even more so than that, what I would say is that because of that imbalance in the panel, you actually see discrimination with respect to mental and behavioural impairments.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So, to put that bluntly, people with mental or behavioural issues or impairments were essentially not considered to be serious impairments.
Dr. Brian Levitt: Unfortunately, because I think the composition of the panel did not represent those experts who would understand those issues well enough.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. I think you touched on this point very well, but just to go back to it again: If the goal is to create a more reliable way of measuring who is catastrophically impaired or not, to create that reliability, you can create that by having a method of assessing someone; and making the method more reliable would create a more reliable result as opposed to making the definition more strict or less strict. That's not the way to get a more reliable result.
Dr. Brian Levitt: Exactly. That's the scientific method. If we all have an agreed-upon method to follow, reliability means that we both do the same thing, so we're likely to come to similar conclusions. So you have to have a common method.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And just talking on the combining of factors, what went on in this, the way the new definition is proposed, is the combining factors and the discount. So, essentially, if you have two serious impairments and you're combining a mental issue and a physical issue, first of all, you are not allowed—the new definition is not encouraging the combining of those two factors. Is that correct?
Dr. Brian Levitt: What I understand is, the expert panel didn't have time to consider combining.
Dr. Brian Levitt: So that there's nothing to even look at from the expert panel.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Because the reason why this is being raised is that, in fact, if you have a mental impairment with a physical impairment, both of those issues would be exacerbated, both your mental impairment as well as your physical impairment, if you have both of them.
Dr. Brian Levitt: That's right. I can tell you, as a practising clinician, what we see is that when people have both physical and mental/behavioural disorders, it's harder to treat both.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And just on this issue of the GAF scoring, if you lose a limb, technically, in terms of your functioning in society, you are still able to function at a pretty decent level in some circumstances. Losing an arm or losing a hand: you would still be able to function at a quite high level. Whereas if you had a significant mental impairment, you may not be able to function whatsoever in society, but that would result in a lower score than someone who lost a limb.
Dr. Brian Levitt: That's what I'm concerned about in terms of the expert panel's recommendations; exactly.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So that someone who actually can return to somewhat of a normal life would be perhaps deemed catastrophic, and maybe rightly so, but someone who couldn't get back to a normal life whatsoever but didn't suffer a significant physical loss like a loss of limb—that person, though they were functioning at quite a low level, would not be considered to be catastrophically impaired.
Dr. Brian Levitt: That's exactly right.
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: I have a question.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Sure.
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: You had said that the scientific findings of how they're going to determine catastrophic have—determined by the panel. You mentioned that it was because of time, that you didn't have enough time to go beyond that procedure.
Dr. Brian Levitt: My understanding, from what they issued, is that they didn't have the resources, which I figure would be—
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Funding?
Dr. Brian Levitt: —time and funding, in order to go into that.
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Okay. So they haven't done a thorough investigation or a comprehensive look at the definition of catastrophic. Wouldn't that be even worse, to change a definition and having to fix that mistake later? How do you feel about the fact that if they do proceed—has the government done its due diligence in actually getting it right?
Dr. Brian Levitt: In my opinion, the government wouldn't be doing its due diligence. You're restating basically what I was saying in terms of, if you change the definition without having looked at it thoroughly and without understanding that method has to be a foundation, you're going to end up with a mess on your hands.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And how many people were we impacting in the first place? How many people were we impacting in terms of the number of people who are actually deemed catastrophically injured and what's the cost associated with that to provide any basis for even reducing that number or the argument that—I'm suggesting it's already such a small number of people that there's no basis to make that number even smaller.
Dr. Brian Levitt: From my understanding, it's probably about 1% of accident victims. So it's already a very small group of people, but then, these definitions—as a psychologist, I see them unfairly discriminating against those with mental and behavioural impairments, a very small group.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: And one of the points you had mentioned, just to clarify, when you indicated that for the mental side that the requirements are so high—one of the things you talked about was that for someone to be deemed mentally impaired enough to meet the definition of catastrophically impaired, some of the requirements were that they would be institutionalized and be on specific medications.
Two issues: One is, someone could be significantly mentally impaired but not actually be institutionalized. Folks who don't have access to an institution, to get into an institution in the first place, would be mentally impaired but not able to get into an institution, would not be covered.
You also talked about cultural barriers, that if you're part of a particular community that—well, in many communities, mental illness is stigmatized and they wouldn't want their loved one or their family member to actually go to an institution, though they might qualify as someone who should be institutionalized. Because they're not institutionalized because of cultural barriers, they wouldn't be recognized as someone who is catastrophically impaired. Am I understanding what you're saying?
Dr. Brian Levitt: That's exactly right. I can't say it any better than that.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Two minutes, Jagmeet.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. Unless my colleague has more questions, is there anything else that you feel has not been covered that you would like a couple of minutes to cover?
Dr. Ron Kaplan: I'm Dr. Kaplan. Let me just address the question about the numbers and the costs. We know that HCAI is not collecting data on the number of individuals with catastrophic impairment. So we're always relying on somewhat informal data about the number of people applying for catastrophic impairment and being determined catastrophic impairment. Of course, we don't know about the value of the benefits they receive or the settlements they receive, so we're always in the dark.
We should remember that catastrophic impairment—when an insurer accepts that you have a catastrophic impairment, no money changes hands. The insurer is simply saying that your entitlement to apply for further benefits has changed. So if you can demonstrate that you need attendant care, you now have access to attendant care at the quantum that's appropriate for your needs. If you've run out of the basic policy level, you can now apply for further treatment dollars, but it doesn't mean that you're automatically going to spend the limit of $1 million plus $1 million over your lifetime at all. The system has that second control that nothing is provided unless it's shown to be reasonable and necessary, and the insurers are able to get their own insurer examinations to determine if an application for either attendant care or treatment is necessary. So catastrophic impairment determination allows a person to apply for further benefits; it allows nothing further.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: That's very, very useful. Thank you.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Doctors Levitt and Kaplan, thank you very much for a very insightful presentation. Have a wonderful day.
Mr. Mike Colle: Mr. Chairman, a point of order. Just to make sure that we're keeping track of the acronyms—I think we're up to about 87 now: DACs, AMAs, WPI, SABS, cats, GCS. The researcher is still doing it? Thank you.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Right. Okay.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Our next presenter is from the Ontario Psychological Association Auto Insurance Task Force: Amber Smith. Amber? Perfect.
Dr. Amber Smith: Thank you. And I have with me Dr. Faith Kaplan.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Great. Welcome.
Dr. Amber Smith: Thank you. We're both members of the OPA task force.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Amber, go ahead.
Dr. Amber Smith: Thanks. We wanted to start by reminding you all of the purpose of accident benefits under the SABS, the statutory accident benefits schedule: to provide timely access to funding for services. Of course, impairment and benefits include psychological and rehab benefits, and are meant to reintegrate the person into their family, the rest of society and the labour market, and to reduce disability due to those impairments. That's the starting point for everything.
Psychologists are independent and autonomous regulated health care providers. We're trained from the bachelor's to the doctoral level in normal and abnormal mental health. We're experts in scientific methods applied to health and behaviour, and we're experts in measurements. We provide scientifically valid and reliable methods for assessing impairments; cost-effective, empirically validated, evidence-based treatments; and gold-standard interventions for depression, anxiety, brain injury and chronic pain.
In Ontario, we see patients with traumatic injuries under WSIB auto victim services and private health plans. We're employed in specialty clinics and hospital programs for chronic pain, depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, cognitive impairments and brain injuries, but we cannot bill OHIP directly. We are not available under OHIP.
Why fund psychologists under auto? Car accidents are the single biggest cause of civilian post-traumatic stress and brain injuries. Psychologists provide the most effective treatments for PTSD, and we're the only profession able to measure and diagnose cognitive impairments due to brain injury. For accident victims, we assess and treat PTSD, depression, chronic pain, traumatic grief and brain injuries. We help people get back to school and work, and we assess and measure disability.
We tend to be involved with the most seriously injured and vulnerable patients. We work with those high-needs victims with brain injuries and psych disorders. We are critical to help them prevent disability. Historically, it's only about 2% to 4% of services in Ontario—med rehab—that are to psychologists, so we see a very select proportion of very vulnerable people.
As you know, mental health is extremely misunderstood. Services are historically underfunded. We have studies across the country that tell us this time and time again, and auto is no different.
This is a very large slide with a lot of information referring to something that just came out from the Canadian Psychological Association that talks about the severe gap in the ability of patients to receive psychological services that are evidence-based, scientifically valid and the gold standard, but patients can't reach them, and from the FSCO website talking about how many goods and services required to rehabilitate people are not available under OHIP. You'll get the slides and we can provide this if you'd like it.
Auto accident victims' injuries are invisible, an easy target for stigma, misunderstanding and discrimination, and they have high rates of disability.
The OPA has evidence-based guidelines for assessment and treatment services that are billable under auto insurance, developed by over 20 psychologists in the province, that were published in an international peer-reviewed journal.
The OPA auto task force committee—Faith Kaplan is co-chair—and the HCAI anti-fraud committee participated in the professional identity tracker. Many of our members really enjoyed that and gave feedback on how to make that product better for the anti-fraud initiative. We're currently developing joint guidelines for IE assessments—that's insurer examination—and MIG determinations with our colleagues in CAPDA.
Interjection: That's minor injuries.
Dr. Amber Smith: Minor injury, I see. MIG, minor injury; my apologies.
When we presented to the standing committee last year, we presented our concerns that the 2010 reforms were resulting in harm to legitimately injured people with brain injuries and psychological impairments. When we presented to finance and economic affairs in July, we presented data indicating that the reforms had resulted in significant improvements to cost control for the insurance industry, for which we were very glad. However, we also presented data from reputable clinics outside the GTA that indicated approvals for recommended assessment and treatment services had decreased significantly since the reforms.
Here's one of those slides. You can see the difference. This is in a very, very high-quality ethical clinic that sees a lot of very brain-injured and vulnerable people. You can see those approval rates have changed significantly from 2010 to 2012.
Here's another slide where you can see the difference from 2008-09 to August 31, 2010, and then on the bottom, after September 1. You can see the reduction in the approval rates and the increase in the denial rates. These are very ethical, high-quality clinics outside the GTA, not committing fraud, following standard guidelines.
As a result, we indicated our concern about disputes, disability, increasing tort and BI costs, more mediation and arbitrations, and increased cost to the public systems. We also said that we were very concerned about what was happening with our patients: more frustration, more assessments, less treatment, delays without resolving disputes and more problems for our injured patients.
In August, we were very pleased to present to the anti-fraud task force. We told them how many of their recommendations were consistent with what the OPA had been recommending for years. We love quantifying. We love putting numbers to things. This was all good and we were really pleased to be a part of it.
We recommended to them that they assess the successes that had been achieved by the 2010 reforms before enacting more intrusive and costly additional regulation, making sure that they protected patient privacy and due process in any investigations of fraud—and that we would like to be a part of any implementation, discussion and planning.
Today, we want to follow up with you to provide an update on what we're hearing from our members about assessment and treatment. AB costs continue to be down from what we see. Fraud initiatives come into effect next month—that's awesome. Approvals for reputable assessment and treatment services, unfortunately, continue to be down. What are the effects on insurance examinations? What's happening with minor injuries? And what does this mean for our patients?
We polled members whom we knew to be active in auto insurance and whose practices we knew to be reputable. We got replies from these different locations. All reported referrals to their IE practices down 50% to 90% since 2010, and most were reviewing fewer excessive applications. Outside the GTA, they never really saw that many excessive, over-the-top applications to begin with, but inside the GTA, they said that there was a really significant reduction in the applications they were seeing. I got more last night that was consistent with this. So IE referrals seem to be down, bad applications seem to be down, but all respondents indicated that they're being asked more questions in each referral, especially in the GTA. Outside the GTA, the numbers were increasing, but it wasn't so bad; inside the GTA, up to 32 questions in one referral—and they're being asked to answer more questions for lower fees. They were forced into flat-fee agreements with the IE vendors. Sometimes they have to work for free to get the job done in a high-quality way.
We also heard reports about off-loading to the hospital systems, some people waiting over a year to be seen by psychology within the hospital system, ER visits increasing and wait-lists growing.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Two minutes, Amber.
Dr. Amber Smith: Okay. In Hamilton, they're looking at studying it and quantifying it because they're seeing it at St. Joe's and Joe Brant.
Excessive applications inside the GTA appear to have decreased—more cost pressures, more off-loading, more people accessing our fractured mental health system that can't handle the increase. Psychologists are doing more for less. There's more competition in the marketplace. Consolidation of IE companies has made people hyper-vigilant, I think, about costs and fraud. Approved plans are being trimmed. The minor-injury cap seems to be creating effective gatekeeping, but now people are having difficulty figuring out who's in and who's out.
Our traumatized patients are having to go through an extra in-person examination to reveal all their trauma memories before they can even be seen to be treated. This is a significant problem. If a physician diagnoses PTSD, refers to me for assessment and treatment of PTSD, my screening indicates PTSD and then they're sent to a person they will never see again to disclose all their traumatic memories before they can even see me at all.
If someone follows guidelines and appropriate method, they should be able to have a paper review if you need to—some other process—without having to be seen by an in-person IE. It's an additional cost and an additional barrier.
So now we see that there's a system-wide focus on rehab providers as being too fraudulent or too costly and every patient as being fraudulent. No one is neutral. It's creating a dual burden on patients of both presumption of fraud and micromanaging of costs. We have shorter plans, more partial approvals. It means less proper, effective momentum toward improvement. It's really difficult for our patients, and they're very vulnerable already.
The result is choppy, watered-down care. We hate to see this small percentage of vulnerable injured people injured further by a system that prejudges them to be fakes and liars and continually questions their need for more. We are hoping for more sophisticated targeted approaches to fraud.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): All right. Thanks very much, Amber. You should thank the PC caucus because they've given some of their time so that you could finish.
Dr. Amber Smith: Thank you. I did time it, but I—you know.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Laurie?
Ms. Laurie Scott: It's actually a very complicated topic, so you did quite well. Did you want to add anything more to finish up? Because you can, I mean—
Dr. Amber Smith: Really, mostly what I wanted to convey is that we understand the difficult position that you're in, and we want to provide you with valid, reliable data, not just impressions and anecdotes from around the province. We want to provide you with good data about that small proportion of people whom we see. We recognize that it's a small proportion, but they are extremely vulnerable, and they create high costs. So we want to be able to provide good data so you can create sound, realistic policy that will help them.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. I appreciate that. I just wondered, when you were saying about the PTSD—that's post-traumatic stress disorder, right?
Dr. Amber Smith: Yes.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Do you want to follow through an assessment that person would do, just to give us an example? Just because I think people just need to hear what kind of assessment they're going through now, and maybe add on what you'd like to see it changed to.
Dr. Amber Smith: Well, if this wasn't for auto insurance, I could start with what the troubling event was in the person's life, ask them about the event that may or may not have been traumatic for them, ask them to fill in some scales, speak to someone who perhaps knew them well and could tell me what they saw.
PTSD is a disorder of avoidance. One of the key features is that they do not want to talk about, think about, look at, hear anything related to what created the trauma in the first place. So it's a very difficult interview, a very difficult assessment to do. You have to ask very specific questions or the main response is going to be "nothing's wrong," when really they're very impaired.
Under auto insurance, we also have to get at the issue of whether they had anything before the accident that we're not supposed to treat. Was this entirely due to the accident, and is it something that's actually impairing their function that, therefore, needs to be rehabilitated? So we have an extra layer of adjudication we have to do in our assessments.
We also like to speak with the family physician, get some medical files, make sure we understand the person's history. We have to do a far more robust investigation and assessment than we would in just a general mental health clinic because of the adjudicated piece—
Interjection.
Dr. Amber Smith: And about treatment: Treatment can be protracted. It's very difficult. There has to be a series of graded exposures to the traumatic memory. When you have something like chronic pain in there on top, the pain actually acts as a trigger for the traumatic memory, so it makes it more difficult to treat. Then, if you have depressive amotivation—lack of motivation—on top, it makes them even less likely to want to do this. So treatment when you have that and then a brain injury on top is beautiful.
But treatment for these patients can be very challenging. So when you have this chopped-up care, it's really not ideal.
Ms. Laurie Scott: So, really, you're discriminated against if you have post-traumatic stress disorder due to an auto accident—
Ms. Laurie Scott: —which is what the previous group was trying to point out.
Dr. Amber Smith: If you have a sprain or a strain, and perhaps you have something more physical that someone can see, it might be easier to determine that you don't have a minor injury. If you have post-traumatic stress disorder, you're being subjected to this extra level of a whole other in-person examination before you even get to see someone who will treat you, and you have to expose all your traumatic memories to this person. It's really not good for the patients.
Ms. Laurie Scott: No. So would you—we as a party are trying to present some alternatives to the auto insurance industry, but would independent peer-to-peer assessments help alleviate the number of assessments that occur, do you think? You're a professional in the business.
Dr. Amber Smith: I'd want to know more about what you're proposing. It sounds like it could. One of the things that our members from the field indicated is that paper reviews have all but disappeared, and it does seem like—you know, the example I gave of a physician in our community who diagnosed PTSD, referred to our clinic, and our screening suggested indicators of PTSD. It seems that if one of my colleagues was able to review that paperwork indicating that, then it should be fundable, that we should be able to assess that person properly, as opposed to having them go to an in-person assessment, and the higher burden and higher costs associated with that transaction.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. That's, I think, what we're proposing, roughly, without—
Dr. Amber Smith: A paper review, a peer review sort of thing, yes.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Yes, so you don't have to waste time and find other people and—
Dr. Amber Smith: Right, or maybe an in-house consultant, something like that.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Definitely something needs to change. Do you think we're all talking about 1% of the population that fit into this, or—
Dr. Amber Smith: Well, we only see 2% to 4% of all injured people.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. What else do you think would speed this process up, so that people get assessed more quickly but also get treated more quickly, as opposed to being caught in this mess of mediation?
Dr. Amber Smith: I think there really ought to be a way to be able to say that if you're following the standards that are set in our assessment and treatment guidelines, and you have the screening indicators, which, again, are in the guidelines, that even if you want to subject it to a peer review, a paper review, that really ought to be good enough. The patient shouldn't have to prove themselves and expose themselves in that way and create that higher level of burden and disability. I think more paper reviews—if people, again, are following the method—should be reasonable.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: I had one thought, just in response to that: We do have a number of different weights on our system. To the extent that the anti-fraud measures give everybody a higher level of comfort that we are dealing with legitimate providers and people who are legitimately injured, it may be that some of this atmosphere of generalized distress drops away—
Dr. Amber Smith: That would be nice.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: —and that those who are legitimate providers and genuinely injured folks will be able to move forward in a more positive, constructive, collaborative way if we have more targeted approaches to fraud.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: So we're very, very supportive of the anti-fraud measures, and think that rather than trying to stifle everybody, if we can focus very vigorously on those that are committing fraud, it may free up and encourage a greater kind of collaboration on the other side.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Okay. I agree.
Mr. Jim McDonell: Just a small one: We seem to have two levels, and a lot of your energy is going into proving—not that they're not needing attention, but that they actually got hurt in the accident. And these are—
Dr. Amber Smith: I'm sorry, I can't hear you completely.
Mr. Jim McDonell: Oh, I'm sorry. Part of what you're trying to do here is prove that somebody was—not that they need some psychiatric help, but the fact that they actually got hurt in an accident which caused the requirement for the help. I would take it that these are illnesses that require—no matter where you get hurt, they need attention. So it seems like our health care system is failing us by not really treating people where it is actually confirmed that they need help. We're spending time trying to figure out whether they got hurt, and whether or not the health system would pay for it. Is that right? And really, the question should be: If they need help, they need help, period.
Dr. Amber Smith: Right now, unfortunately, for mental health we don't have a very cohesive system anywhere at all. Auto is only one example of where people with mental health problems aren't being picked up.
Mr. Jim McDonell: So overall—
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thanks very much. We'll go over to the NDP. Teresa?
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: I have a question with regard to the mental health piece that we're talking about right now. You talked about that someone can have mental health as a result of an accident and develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or that people have a pre-existing mental health and that could escalate it further.
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: How does the pre-existing mental health piece fit into the new catastrophic definition? Is it taken into consideration at all?
Dr. Amber Smith: I do assessment and treatment. I will defer—do you want to answer that? I will defer to my disability assessor colleague for that.
Dr. Brian Levitt: It's a great question. You're asking basically about causation, so if there are pre-existing issues, how do we look at that in catastrophic? That's actually part of what's considered in the AMA guides, that we're supposed to look at a history; we're supposed to look at the impact of an accident. As long as the accident plays a significant role, the way the catastrophic impairment has been discussed, the way we look at it, we go ahead and we make a determination with respect to catastrophic as long as the accident plays a significant enough role. Someone may have a pre-accident vulnerability; the issue is, if the accident hadn't happened, would they be where they are now? Does that answer your question?
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Yes, thank you.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So, just to understand—you can stay there too. The microphone will work there, yes. You can all just stay there together.
Dr. Amber Smith: Actually, it's the same criteria that has to be used even when proposing the most basic assessment or treatment plan. I don't want to speak on catastrophic because I don't do it, but the criteria for any access to any benefit under auto is that.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: What I'm understanding from the overall—you've kind of painted a picture of what's going on in terms of pre-2010 and post-2010. Much the same way the NDP talks about a balanced approach to balancing the budget, I'm understanding now that we should also look at a balanced approach in dealing with fraud as well so that it doesn't negatively impact those people who are being treated. One of the things I'm noticing, if I understand this trend, is that the approval rates for treatments are going down, the denial rates are going up, and the approval rates for partial approvals are going up. So people are getting partially approved at a higher rate but not fully approved. So what's basically going on is that if you look at the landscape of the treatment—and tell me if I'm understanding this right—the landscape of the treatment is that we're getting less full treatment plans and more denials, so people aren't getting the quality of treatment that they should be getting.
Dr. Amber Smith: Yes, that's true. Also, there's a pressure on proposing psychologists to propose shorter plans in hopes that they're more likely to be funded, because adjusters are also very aware of cost. So from the adjusters, the proposers, the IE assessors, everybody is kind of nickel-and-diming the care, and it ends up with this choppy, watered-down care. I really think everyone is trying their best. I'm only speaking about, of course, the most ethical providers. Everybody wants to do well. The adjusters I speak to want to fund legitimate treatment. The IE assessors are trying their best to look after—everyone wants the system to function for the patient, but we're ending up in this system where everything is partially approved and smaller and shorter. It makes it very difficult to have any momentum in rehabilitating someone.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So just as feedback—I mean, what you're doing is providing feedback so that on the ground level, in primary care and on the front lines of providing this care and treatment for people, this is what you're noticing, that the direction that we're headed in is this choppy and not full, expansive treatment. That's something we should keep in mind when we're moving forward with recommendations to improve the auto care system.
Dr. Amber Smith: And bear in mind, of course, we see this very small proportion of people. I don't know and can't speak to the 95% that we don't see. For these very injured, vulnerable people, this small percentage, that's what's happening, and it's not effective care for them.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. Can you comment on just specifically—you talked on this briefly, but just maybe the MIGs and the impact on treatment in terms of psychological treatment, as well as the new cap; before it was $100,000 and now it's reduced to $50,000. What has been your experience with the impact on treatment for the patients that you deal with?
Dr. Amber Smith: For the minor injury cap, what we're seeing is that it seems to be holding in plenty of people. There are some questions about how to determine who's in and who's out. So many of our colleagues are getting those assessments to determine whether someone has a psychological condition that should take them out of the minor injury cap or not. We had been seeing some terrible misapplications of that minor injury cap for people with frank brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. I've been seeing a little less of that over the past year; most of our colleagues who are doing the IE work are obviously taking people out of the minor injury cap.
The concern is really the process the patient has to engage in when it really is quite obvious that they were misplaced and didn't have minor injuries. They shouldn't have to go through this big—sometimes it's multiple IEs for every injury that they've sustained, so they have to see a physical assessor, an OT; it's like a catastrophic assessment for minor injury determination.
The $100,000, the reduction—well, patients are running out. Our patients are running out; they just are. They're running out.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And just let's touch on this idea that there are some folks, maybe a majority of folks, who are placed into the MIG, the minor injury guideline, that may be appropriately placed there, but for the folks that aren't supposed to be there, the process to get out of there, I guess, to put it that way, is very onerous and very difficult. Your feedback is that there needs to be a better mechanism for the small percentage of folks that maybe are misappropriately put into that category. For them to get out of it, there have to be some easier steps, because otherwise it's very difficult. Is that what I'm understanding?
Dr. Amber Smith: Yes, and I have to think it's awfully costly when it goes through three IE assessments just to get up to the $50,000 level and the indicators are all right there.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And just with the IE issue, the independent examination, my colleague brought up a good point. I think it's a good system, but one of the proposals has been that peer-to-peer reviews of—
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Sure. So maybe I'll just ask, instead of putting my opinion forward: What are some concrete ways that we can—do you see problems with the independent examiners, the system that currently exists, and what are some suggestions to make it better?
Dr. Amber Smith: There's an awful lot of variability, and one of the things OPA and CAPDA are doing is to develop joint guidelines, again, on assessment methods so that we have an agreed-upon set of methods that will clear that up.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. And what about the idea of having actual practitioners, people who are actually treating psychologists, be involved in the independent examinations, as opposed to strictly examiners?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: That's what I think as well. All right.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thank you very much. Mike?
Mr. Mike Colle: Just briefly, who pays you?
Dr. Amber Smith: Oh. Who pays me to do—
Mr. Mike Colle: Do your work.
Dr. Amber Smith: To do the assessment and treatment? Various insurance providers. In this case, we're talking about the auto patients: auto insurers.
Mr. Mike Colle: Yes. So that's part of a private health care system.
Dr. Amber Smith: Yes. I manage a busy private clinic, and so we see—it's a bit like American health care. We see WSIB, auto, veterans, private, out-of-pocket.
Mr. Mike Colle: So how many millions of dollars a year do insurance companies pay out to private health care for people that have psychological impairments? Do you have any idea?
Dr. Faith Kaplan: I think there's a bit of subtlety when you say, "Who pays us?" though, just to step back a bit. It's actually the insured person's benefits.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: And the insured person then seeks treatment. A proposal is developed. If they consent to it, it then goes to their insurer to see if the insurer will agree to give them the funding to pay for those services.
Mr. Mike Colle: But the insurance company cuts you a cheque.
Dr. Amber Smith: If the insured person requests it. The insured person has to come to us and request to use their accident benefits in this way.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: When we last saw about amounts of costs that were going to psychological services, and this is off the top of my head and I will look it up and get it for you, I think it was around between 2% and 4% of the amount spent overall on ABs that went to psychological services.
Mr. Mike Colle: It's a small portion, yes. If research can get the various costs of this private health care system that includes all private health care providers that are under the umbrella of insurance.
Also, you made a point here about the fact that, as insurance-funded services shrink, the hospital wait-lists grow and the ER visits increase. How do you quantify that, or where are you getting that information?
Dr. Amber Smith: That was a quote from a hospital psychologist in London.
Mr. Mike Colle: That was a hospital psychologist in London who said that. Could you give us his name?
Dr. Amber Smith: I will ask.
Mr. Mike Colle: If you could forward that, please.
Dr. Amber Smith: Okay.
Mr. Mike Colle: What's the difference between the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment and the Ontario Psychological Association? Are you in—I'm not quite sure—CAPDA and—
Dr. Amber Smith: OPA. CAPDA is a federal organization, and it focuses on assessment of disability. We're a provincial organization and we cover the gamut. We do assessment and treatment. The disability assessors don't necessarily do assessment and treatment.
Mr. Mike Colle: So they just do assessments?
Dr. Faith Kaplan: Some of the members do treatment.
Dr. Amber Smith: Some of the members do treatment, but the organization is about disability—
Dr. Amber Smith: Yes. The organization is about assessment.
Mr. Mike Colle: They do assessments and you do everything. Like, you do the treatments?
Dr. Amber Smith: Well, some of our—we can have some of the same membership, but that organization is about doing disability assessments. Ours is a fraternal organization, open to all psychologists.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: And many of the psychologists in the Ontario Psychological Association are not involved in the auto sector. Many are in education, corrections, industrial psychology. A wide range of roles that psychologists have in our communities are all part of that one fraternal organization.
Mr. Mike Colle: And what do you get paid per assessment by the insurance company?
Dr. Amber Smith: Which kind of assessment? There are many different—
Mr. Mike Colle: When you're trying to assess a patient to see if they are basically injured—
Dr. Amber Smith: Every assessment under auto insurance is capped at $2,000, and we also have—
Mr. Mike Colle: So for every assessment done, a psychologist would get $2,000?
Dr. Faith Kaplan: No. There is something called a professional services guideline that sets an hourly fee for psychologists, as well as for other health professionals. In addition to the professional services guideline, an assessment fee cap was introduced in the more recent regulations.
What we have are assessment and treatment guidelines, and I'd be very happy to share them with you, that outline—answering your question about what are the different tasks you need to do when you're undertaking an assessment—and, in outlining those tasks, talk about reasonable ranges of time that are required to do each of those tasks. Then, depending on how much time you need and that professional hourly fee—
Dr. Amber Smith: And how complicated the patient is.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: —you get a number of hours. And then even if it's going to take, say, 16 hours, you still cannot charge that full amount, because there's a cap that limits it.
For a number of patients—say where we were talking about the pre-existing factors—that's where those assessments are likely to be more complicated and take longer to do.
Mr. Mike Colle: Who pays for those assessments?
Dr. Faith Kaplan: Again, the services are paid for when they're approved, and only approved services are paid by the insurer.
Mr. Mike Colle: The insurer pays for the assessments, and then that patient—do they get any assessment from the public health sector, or is it just the private health sector?
Dr. Faith Kaplan: Again, many of the patients who are being referred to us by their family doctors are patients for whom there are not timely services available through the public health sector, and that's why they're being referred to us.
Mr. Mike Colle: Do they get any assessments from the public health provider?
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Two minutes, Mike.
Dr. Amber Smith: That's very difficult to answer. There aren't very many services available in the public system.
Mr. Mike Colle: So the only service really available to people in auto insurance is private health care. Right?
Dr. Amber Smith: It's not the only. It's very fractured.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: But some of our patients, say, may be seeing—in Hamilton, there are these family health teams, many of whom will have a social worker or a psychosocial counsellor as part of their staffing. We find it very interesting that many of our patients will have seen one of those counsellors as sort of the first resort that the family physician—
Mr. Mike Colle: But they don't get paid by the insurance company?
Dr. Faith Kaplan: No.
Mr. Mike Colle: Okay.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: And when that counsellor feels that there's something more significant that requires more specialized care, they will refer them.
Dr. Amber Smith: Then they refer to us.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: That's one example where somebody will have gotten some services first that were not paid by the auto insurer.
Mr. Mike Colle: Yes, okay. Thank you. But just to make sure, what I was asking for is the cost of this private health care system that we have here in Ontario and the scope of it—
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): He made a note of it already.
Mr. Andrew McNaught: So you want it broken down by specialty—
Mr. Mike Colle: I know it's going to be difficult, because they gave a helpful percentage, but just to—I don't know where we get that, from the insurance companies or whatever, just to see what the cost of this private health care system is in Ontario.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Great. Thanks very much.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: I guess part of what we're discussing really is, where do no-fault benefits for medical and rehabilitation fit into our overall health care system?
Mr. Mike Colle: Yes. I just think most people don't realize we have two health systems here in Ontario, and especially, very accentuated, in the auto sector. They think it's a public health care system, but when it comes to auto, there's a mammoth private health care system.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Ms. Kaplan, Ms. Smith, thank you very much. Your time is up.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: Could I just add one detail to that public-private mix?
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Sure.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: It's even a bit more complicated, because people often have private extended health care benefits.
Dr. Amber Smith: Actually, they have to be accessed first.
Dr. Faith Kaplan: Separate from auto, right. And so, if we're seeing somebody, the first payer we bill is their private extended health benefits—
Dr. Amber Smith: That has to be exhausted.
Mr. Mike Colle: Before—
Dr. Faith Kaplan: Before auto.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Great. Thank you very much for the presentation and for the clarification. Thank you.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): All right. Our last group is the expert panel of the Ontario Rehab Alliance. We welcome Patricia Howell, Rhona Feldt-Stein and Tracy Milner.
Patricia, are you doing the presentation? Okay. Welcome.
Ms. Patricia Howell: Good afternoon.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Good afternoon. Go ahead.
Ms. Patricia Howell: My name is Patricia Howell and I am here with Rhona Feldt-Stein and Tracy Milner. We are therapists with extensive experience working with auto insurance victims. We are here today representing a 25-member panel comprised of experts in the fields of rehabilitation, neurology, psychiatry and neuropsychology, clinicians from both the public and the private sectors, and not-for-profit groups that support accident victims across Ontario.
In 2011, our group prepared a detailed, evidence-based analysis of the FSCO cat panel report. We agreed that the catastrophic definition could be improved in some areas; however, the definition proposed by the FSCO expert panel had serious flaws: scientifically, clinically and practically. Our group worked diligently to propose evidence-based revisions that would help resolve these issues. When the superintendent's report was released, we were dismayed to see that our feedback was largely ignored, and new barriers to care were added. During these hearings and at the multi-stakeholder round table that was recently held, groups representing accident victims and the clinicians who work with them have been speaking out with one voice against these changes.
We were so pleased to hear in last week's budget announcement that the government is proposing that a committee take time for further study and consultation on the cat definition before any changes are made, as well as a committee to look at the impact of the reforms so far. The Ontario Rehab Alliance and our expert panel are committed to being part of this process.
We appreciate this opportunity today to briefly outline our concerns with the proposed cat changes. We will also present some new data that demonstrates the devastating impact the September 2010 cuts have had on the estimated 12,000 Ontarians who sustain a serious non-cat injury every year.
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein: Our concerns with the cat changes fall into three areas: the process, the specific criteria proposed, and the impacts these changes have on the most seriously injured.
Regarding the process, six out of eight members of the FSCO panel are academics and researchers with little to no clinical experience with auto insurance victims, and are therefore not able to connect to the real-world implications of their recommendations. Half have been consultants to IBC, introducing potential bias. In addition, they used the Delphi method to develop consensus, a method which was previously discussed today.
Our second concern relates to the specific changes proposed. We do not support removing well-validated and widely used assessment tools such as the GCS before the new tools have been proven clinically relevant, valid and reliable—
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Excuse me just for a second. Sorry to break it up, but for Hansard purposes, could you identify yourself?
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein: Okay, sorry. I'm Rhona Feldt-Stein.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thank you so much.
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein: You're welcome—as well as disallowing the combination of mental and physical impairments.
We do not support arbitrarily setting thresholds that are far too difficult to reach, especially given that there is no evidence to indicate that the estimated 1% of victims who are deemed catastrophic under the current definition are accessing benefits inappropriately. It is very important to understand that even if deemed cat, claimants only receive services and supports if they are proven to be reasonable and necessary.
We do not support setting thresholds that are not consistent for all disability groups. For example, under the proposed definition, people with a single limb amputation or paraplegia would be deemed cat, but those with psychiatric conditions or brain injuries who are dependent on others, unable to work or go to school, and have devastating social and behavioural problems would not qualify.
We do not support introducing criteria that are discriminatory based upon age or where someone lives. For example, in the proposed definition, a child with a brain injury who happens to live near one of the five level-1 trauma centres in Ontario could be deemed cat, based on positive imaging, while another child with the same imaging who happens to be seen in another hospital would not qualify.
We also do not support mandating that family doctors sign treatment plans where evidence shows that they lack the qualifications and time to do this, especially given that the trend is to download responsibilities from our overworked family doctors, not the other way around. For victims who have a family doctor, they would have to see their doctor about every two weeks, which we know is not reasonable. For the 600,000 who do not have a family doctor, that means no access to care.
If proposed changes are implemented as recommended, it is estimated that the number of people deemed cat would be cut in half. The following are some examples of people who would no longer qualify:
—the bright child who is gifted in sports and music, who sustains a serious brain injury, who after six months still needs help with her basic self-care for dressing and feeding, and who, by one year, although able to return to school, is unable to focus, remember or learn in class, and, due to regular behavioural outbursts, has lost all of her friends and cannot participate in individual, let alone team, sports; and
—the accountant who is in coma for several weeks, by six months still has excruciating headaches, weakness and incoordination, and who has such significant cognitive problems that he needs an attendant in the home every day, and by one year is only able to attempt working in a sheltered workshop, supervised, perhaps doing assembly line work, and only part-time.
Ms. Tracy Milner: I'm Tracy Milner, and we'd like to now discuss the impact of the 2010 reforms on those with serious non-catastrophic injuries.
The insurance industry's rationale for the cuts of the serious non-catastrophic benefits in 2010 was that costs were skyrocketing because of the widespread abuse and fraud across all injury groups. We now know that fraud happens primarily in the minor-injury group and is more criminal than opportunistic in nature. These issues are being well addressed with the introduction of the minor injury guideline and the activities of the anti-fraud task force, while now insurers are now experiencing record profitability.
Indeed, those with serious non-catastrophic injuries were innocent victims of the war on fraud. A survey of Ontario's health care providers to be released by the Ontario Rehab Alliance this week reveals the devastating impact of the 2010 cuts. The survey found that only 17% of the serious non-catastrophic victims are currently attaining their rehabilitation goals before their funding runs out, as compared to 57% prior to September 2010.
As these funds are depleted for non-catastrophic victims before they are better, their providers are referring them to the public system in record numbers, up from 15% to 62%. Without rehabilitation, these individuals no longer have a chance to return to productive work or school, and will likely go on to secondary mental health complications and become a burden on the health care and social system. The long-term cost to society far outweighs the initial cost of what the rehabilitation would have been.
It is noted that the FSCO expert panel did recognize that those that would eventually be deemed catastrophic would go on waiting for years prior to their designation, and they proposed an interim catastrophic category. However, this would only add more complexity, costs and delays to the system. Instead, we recommend that we need to raise the serious non-catastrophic benefits back up to an appropriate level.
Ms. Patricia Howell: In summary, we are advocating for the following: that the proposed changes to the cat definition not be implemented at this time; that the serious non-cat benefits be returned to the pre-September 2010 levels; and that a multi-stakeholder committee should be struck, with at least a two-year mandate, to provide comprehensive and sound recommendations regarding both cat and non-cat categories. Given how much more complex these injuries are, as compared to the MIG, for which the committee was given two years to come up with the recommendations, we also recommend separate subcommittees of experts for each impairment area—for example, one subcommittee with expertise in traumatic brain injury, another one for spinal cord—just because, really, they're such specialized fields. If you want to use the Delphi method, you need a consistent, homogeneous type of group, and we found that that worked well with our panel.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thanks very much for your great presentation. We'll start off now with the NDP. Jagmeet?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Sure. Thank you so much. Thank you very much for attending today and presenting. To begin, can you comment on this suggestion that with the current changes to the care provided, or the coverage that consumers get, in the auto insurance package, there's going to be a shift now from the insurance companies paying for this treatment, and the burden's going to shift from that care to the public, and there will be an increased burden or strain on an already burdened public system, with respect to some of these folks who aren't going to be covered. Can you respond to that? Do you agree with this comment, and what's your response?
Ms. Patricia Howell: I can respond on that. Our survey found that, basically, if you look at the clients coming to us, if the funds run out in six months to a year, and it's a child with a brain injury, in the past our data is showing that almost all of those are very severely disabled still at the end, when the funds have run out. Our data is showing—and we're not really surprised—that people are trying to get them help, so they're referring them back into the public system. The problem is getting help. There aren't a lot of services out there, so that's another issue.
Certainly, I think when the data comes out—this is a survey of our members. We have providers across Ontario; 85 of our member companies—we had about 130 responses, and they were saying that 62% of individuals were referred back into the public system. I'm sure that when we see public funding numbers coming out, we're going to be seeing wait-lists going up etc. in the public system.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So that covers that shift to the public system. It's already burdened, and there will be increased wait-lists and increased issues.
Ms. Patricia Howell: And it basically can't absorb them; that's the problem. There aren't services out there for them.
Ms. Tracy Milner: And I'll just add that when you shift care to a system that was perhaps unprepared to take on this care, and you have wait-lists, then you're going to have patients who are not receiving treatment. What we know, as health providers, is that the severity and the refractory nature of the disability become much more difficult to treat the longer that you wait. Early intervention is key to minimize disability.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So if I understand what you're saying, if we don't treat these illnesses or these injuries early on, they can actually result in higher costs down the road, because the illness itself can get worse, or the injury itself will get worse, and it actually would cost more to treat it or to deal with it in the long run, then.
Ms. Tracy Milner: And not just whatever the initial injury was itself, but also all the secondary complications that come from inability to work and the mental health issues that arise from that.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So you've touched on this, but perhaps you could tell me the impact to folks who have been deemed to fall within the minor injury guideline. As front-line care providers, what has been your experience, what have you seen and how is that impacting folks who are being put into this category? What's your feedback on that?
Ms. Tracy Milner: I would say that primarily our practice works with people who have been most seriously injured. What has been surprising to us, even in our space and the types of people that we treat, is that a number of them with brain injuries or fractures are still being captured by or being told to go through the minor injury guideline. I believe the Auditor General's report, when it was released, had indicated that the minor injury guideline was actually capturing 80% of people in it, and later on in the report it said that 60% of claimants had mild injuries. So that was a bit confusing to me, in terms of looking at what that gap was, and perhaps an over-capturing of what the actual needs were.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So one of the suggestions that has come up, kind of in line with what you've just said, is that if the vast majority of people are being funnelled into the minor injury guideline—and perhaps many of them are fairly in that category—
Ms. Tracy Milner: And appropriately, yes.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: —appropriately in that category—for the small percentage of folks who are not, or who are inappropriately put into that category, there should be some mechanism for them to appeal that decision to get out of that category and get the proper care that they do require. For that small percentage of folks, do you agree with that, that there should be a mechanism?
Ms. Tracy Milner: Absolutely, and the key is quickly, because we know that, again, we're promoting or we're exacerbating disability the longer we wait.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. Turning to the proposed catastrophic injury changes, you've talked about some of the concerns and some of the issues and what changes you do support and you don't support. One suggestion that has come up a couple of times, and you might have heard about it today, is that instead of revisiting the definition of what is catastrophic impairment, instead of revisiting the actual definition, put more emphasis on the actual methods or methodology to reach a conclusion—that that would result in more reliable results. Do you support that assertion or that idea?
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein: Yes.
Ms. Patricia Howell: I think our expert panel, when we look at the—when the FSCO panel first came out, we were only given three or four weeks. If you imagine top neuropsychologists together, physiatrists, these are very difficult people to get time with. We had their input and we did do a consultation. We looked at each of the tests that were looked at and we suggested which tests needed to be validated. They weren't a valid test. You can't possibly suggest replacing the current test with a test that hasn't been proven to be a valid and reliable tool. For example, the KOSCHI, which is the tool they were using for children with brain injury, they've revised the actual cut-off point. They made up a new definition. They clearly said that this test needs to be revalidated. That's kind of the approach we took.
Where I think this discussion around the methodology has come up is largely around the combining of the mental and physical. What's coming out, especially from psychologists and physiatrists who are doing those assessments, is that there's really no clear methodology being used out there by assessors since the DAC.
So I think they go together. They're two points. There might be new tools that might be good, promising new tools, but you shouldn't take the ones that we're using away until they're proven valid. Even practical tools: Some of the tools they recommended are more designed for a hospital setting. They're not really to look at function in the community—or they're not available, that no one is doing those tests or no one knows how to do those tests.
So I think, really, all of those fit together is why we're recommending you take a step back and get experts together to really take a systemic look at what changes should happen.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. I'm going to rattle off a couple of quick points, and maybe you can give me some support on that or disagreement if you don't.
One of the issues with the expert panel has been the Delphi method and the way it was set up, based on the number of people on that expert panel as well as the specific type of people in terms of their specialties. Specifically, what I'm talking about is the fact that there's only one psychologist expert on the panel, that the Delphi method used would basically marginalize that individual's opinion, and there could be a consensus decision without having any input from the one psychologist on the panel. That was a severe problem with the expert panel. Do you agree with that?
Interjection: Absolutely.
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein: There was also only one pediatrician on the panel.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: So again, when it comes to young people and young people's issues, they would also be disproportionally marginalized or silenced, given that method and given the fact that there was only one person on the panel.
Ms. Patricia Howell: Yes.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Okay. With respect to the idea that there's already a small percentage of people who are captured by the catastrophic definition: There is no suggestion or proof or evidence that there is a significant need to reduce the population of people who are captured. There's already so few people captured that further reducing that—there's no, I guess, empirical data to support that. Do you agree with that suggestion?
Ms. Tracy Milner: I can't underscore enough, when you say that 1% is the number of people being captured as catastrophic, that we're already doing a good job figuring out who is the most vulnerable and severely injured.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: Fair point. That's good.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Great. Thank you very much. We'll move to the Liberals. Anybody?
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Thank you very much for being here. I just want to go back: If I heard what you were saying, the current definition, you would not use it but go back to what was there before 2010?
Ms. Patricia Howell: No. There are two steps. In September 2010, they revised the benefit package for this year's non-cat, and they cut it from $100,000 in med rehab plus assessment costs, which we know can be expensive because it's a medico-legal system. They also cut—they made other changes, caregiving etc., so that that's not available.
That's what we're disagreeing with, and we're saying that is the larger group. About 10% to 20% of injuries fall into that serious non-cat. Before September 2010, that $100,000 used to last about two years. It depends on the severity of the injury, but on average, someone with, say, a brain injury, it would last about two years. At about the two-year mark, they can start to do a cat assessment and then it can take sometimes another two or three or four years till that goes through the whole system of courts and someone is finally deemed cat. So even before, there was a gap till you got that $1 million and you could get back into rehab again.
What we're finding now, since September 2010, with $50,000, clients are running out as early as six months. So if you think of working with a teenager with a head injury and you're trying to get them back to school, you've just got them back—they might have started one day a week and been gradually working to go longer, and what's happened is that when they're just sort of in the prime part of their rehab, they're running out of funds. That's the September 2010 piece that we're saying we really should—we are so glad to see the government now wanting to look at the impact of those reforms.
I think we all understand now that that was kind of a blanket cut to everybody across the board just to save money at the time, because costs were escalating. I think now people are kind of realizing that fraud isn't really a broad thing that's happening across all—everyone's trying to take advantage. They're now realizing that there are some criminals out there and we need to go after them; and also, that the fake injuries tend to be not so much—people don't fake brain injury; it's very hard to do. They can fake other areas. It's more in the minor injuries that get exaggerated, so we're asking that we revisit those cuts to the $50,000.
The second piece is the proposed new definition that was proposed just last year by the FSCO panel, and that we're disagreeing with.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: How do you suggest we go about finding the new definition?
Ms. Patricia Howell: How do we—I'm sorry? Can you repeat your question?
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Would you recommend a process towards getting to that new definition? Because most of you expressed dissatisfaction with the expert panel and what they arrived at. What would be a method that the government can use?
Ms. Tracy Milner: I think there are two pieces here. One is, do we need to alter the definition at all, given we're already capturing that 1% of people, and knowing that there's a second-tier system already in place that looks at whether or not it's reasonable or necessary for them to have the benefits to which they have access?
The second piece is that if we are going to look at the definition, then it needs to be a multidisciplinary, collaborative, well-founded scientific approach to looking at what the definition is. It looks at impairment but also at what the functional impact is for those people and who requires the most treatment and how. That's going to require more people, more time, and the right people.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Do you believe that if we improve the assessment process for the further services that some of these people need that it will help some of them? Because I understand from some people that the assessment process to go beyond the $50,000 has been delayed; it's jammed up with the arbitrators. If that process was focused on improving it, would it benefit some of your patients?
Ms. Patricia Howell: Yes. I think there are two things happening. One, there aren't enough funds, so even if we've got a wonderful adjuster who—and many adjusters have more experience and they understand the conditions and they're easier to work with. Others have no experience at all in that category and they don't understand and they deny everything. So one factor is having enough. Even if we have the most supportive adjuster, who is approving treatment appropriately, we're still running out of funds too soon. So there are two pieces.
Other adjusters, even with $50,000, it's constantly starting and stopping, because they're denying and you have to stop until the IE's done and you have to wait two months. So you've been working with someone for two months, your next treatment plan is rejected, you've got to wait for the IE to come in. They don't get any help for another two months, they've regressed and you're going back in. There are constant stops and starts, and that's just not good rehab.
Mr. Bas Balkissoon: Okay. Thank you.
The Acting Chair (Mr. Rick Bartolucci): Thanks very much, Bas. We'll move to the Progressive Conservatives. Laurie?
Ms. Laurie Scott: Thank you very much for appearing. I think you've been appearing before. I'm getting to see some familiar faces.
Just to follow up on Mr. Balkissoon's comments, is there a jurisdiction that actually provides either a definition or some type of similar category for catastrophic injuries, other provinces, areas in the States, that do a better job of treating so-called catastrophic injuries? It's okay if you don't know one, but I just thought I'd ask, since we're having all these discussions.
Ms. Tracy Milner: I mean, certainly, the AMA guide—
Ms. Laurie Scott: The American Medical Association.
Ms. Tracy Milner: Exactly—is used in the United States and in other places and so forth. I think with any system, there's always the challenges and the benefits to it, so if you're looking at what the system needs to be going forward, then I think it's about looking at it collaboratively now, based on the best information that we have to date.
Ms. Laurie Scott: So you're happy that they're going to have a relook at the "catastrophic" definition that was proposed. What happens to the people that are stuck in this grey area right now since 2010 until we're relooking at the catastrophic definition? Do you have some guidance? Because I have heard these stories continuously, and it is not correct, the treatment they're getting. How do we help those people who are in that grey area till we sort out a better catastrophic definition?
Ms. Tracy Milner: Well—
Ms. Laurie Scott: Or methodology. It doesn't have to be a definition.
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein: I think, first of all, we have to look at—you know, they need more money. I'll give you an example of a young child who was catastrophically hurt in a car accident at the age of six weeks, and their difficulties didn't start showing until he was three years, but by the time he was four, when a lot of his academic skills and development was just progressing, he ran out of money. And we knew that this child was potentially going to be catastrophic, but where his GCS, where the cut-off was, was just a hair on one side or the other, and he ran out of money at four years of age.
Ms. Patricia Howell: And that was when there was $100,000 plus assessment costs, so we're just seeing this happening across the board now. I mean, there are some individuals who have injuries where $50,000 or $100,000 is enough. There are just so many that are not.
Ms. Laurie Scott: I'm going to hand you over to our insurance guru here.
Mr. Jeff Yurek: I'm not a guru yet. I've got about 24 years more to go.
Anyway, my question, this change to the cat definition—I do have some questions and problems with the proposed changes that I'd like to see fixed before the government brings it out. Because I think you're right: There are going to be a lot of problems in the system—there already are a lot of problems in the system. Because the main thing—I think the catastrophic definition and the rest of the insurance product should be developing treatment to the victims of accidents and making sure—
Ms. Patricia Howell: I'm sorry, I'm having a bit of trouble hearing you.
Mr. Jeff Yurek: I'm sorry. Last time I was here, they make me move the mike because I was just shouting.
The product itself should be looking after those injured in the accidents. That's what its primary focus should be, and we need to ensure that any changes don't further deteriorate the product, but at the same time also try to make it an affordable product so that people actually buy it and are not without insurance at all.
For rural Ontario in particular, mandating that doctors sign treatment plans—and maybe you can talk about this—there's a whole section of the western side of my riding which had lost three or four family doctors. People don't have a family doctor, and the family doctor who is working has 3,100, 3,500 different patients. Do you not think that's going to burden the system and make treatment plans longer, let alone find a doctor to sign off on it? Or do you think there are other avenues we could take?
Ms. Patricia Howell: The issue of having family doctors as gatekeepers came up when they were looking at the 2010 cuts, and it was discussed at length and it was removed. The FSCO panel, the expert panel, did not recommend it. The only person that put it back into the system was the superintendent. Our panel and the Ontario Rehab Alliance were really dismayed to see that, because not only did he suggest it for the interim cat, which is that amount of money that they were suggesting might be allocated to carry you to cat, he also suggested it should be for all catastrophic claims for the rest of their lives. That means that every time someone needs a new cane or they need occupational therapy or they need any service renewed—because we have to renew our plans every few months—you'd have to go and visit your family doctor and get the doctor to sign off. We estimated that that would represent about 12,000 family doctor visits a year. Taking it on a personal basis, an individual would probably have to go to see their doctor up to 30 times a year to get something signed. So, that's about every two weeks. There's no way that's practical.
The second piece is that we're seeing legislation introduced by this government to download responsibilities from family doctors—they are overworked—with pharmacists being able to inject etc. It's just against all of the trends in health care that a doctor has to oversee a physiotherapist prescribing a cane, for example. That's well within their practice.
The last piece is that family doctors get almost no training on rehabilitation during their medical training. They're trained on medical, not rehab. That's why there are specialists in rehabilitation medicine etc., that are the ones that we work with in terms of getting medical input with our clients. So, absolutely, we do not support it. We think it's just going to add a huge barrier to care to the very vulnerable, those that even are deemed catastrophic.
Mr. Jeff Yurek: It seems a step backwards considering nurses and pharmacists are getting an expanding scope of practice that maybe we should look at including other health care professionals, and that's good.
Mr. Jeff Yurek: I have heard, and I don't know if you've heard anything on it, that some of the insurance companies are kind of not on board with the catastrophic change now that it has been changed by FSCO and changed from the original form. Have you heard any of that at all, thereabouts? No? Okay.
Ms. Patricia Howell: Do you mean, are they using the new definition?
Mr. Jeff Yurek: No, no, that they're not really favourable of the changes that occurred because it has been modified from the original document that was presented from committee.
Ms. Patricia Howell: No. I'm not aware.
Mr. Jeff Yurek: No? Okay.
The other question I also would like some comment on is the combination of mental and physical impairments. In my practice at the pharmacy I see quite a bit how—not including the mental aspect of injury—it can actually exclude people because the effects that that has on someone who has gone through a traumatic experience or let alone a brain injury of some sort, and it's hard to pinpoint and diagnose. Maybe you can just elaborate more on your thoughts.
Ms. Tracy Milner: I would say that the trend in health care—best practices, the World Health Organization and so forth—is to look at people holistically, and to look at the ability to separate cognition from emotional health from behaviour and from physical impairment; they all intertwine. So to try and take this person and literally chop them up into pieces and say, "Well, no, let's look at each of these in isolation," really isn't what we see affects the person's ability to function. It really is the person's ability to function that has all of the effects on health care, on mental health, on whether they work, on whether they take care of their kids, whether they have functioning relationships, whether or not they're able to go to school and learn and so forth. It's only when you see that in a holistic, comprehensive view that you can actually understand how to treat. So, then, to separate it and say that it doesn't exist that way, that chronic pain doesn't affect it, that psychological, mental and behavioural can't be combined with physical, it just seems not evidence-based.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Thank you very much. We're at the end of questioning—
Interjection: You've changed.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Yes, we did.
Thank you very much for being here, and thanks a lot for your presentation.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Members of the committee, before we adjourn there are a couple of business items I need to go through with the committee. We had requested, as a committee, for OSFI to be here, and GISA. Unfortunately, OSFI cannot be here at our next meeting but GISA can be. I know committee members said they wanted both organizations on the same date, so I'm in your hands—what would you like to do? Mr. Colle, I think this was your concern. Only one group has confirmed they can be here.
Mr. Mike Colle: It would be helpful. I mean, this is going to go on for quite a while, so there's no hurry. When they can both be here, get them both here. I think it's helpful. Mr. Yurek, I think, mentioned that they wanted OSFI here too. I don't think there's a time frame here, right?
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Okay, so those were the only two groups we have, and we have a third person asking to attend committee. So, then, our next meeting will just be the third person, and we would have to contact them. Mr. Singh?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: My suggestion to the committee, depending on everyone's input on this, is that if we have GISA confirmed for sure, we might as well get the person confirmed and nail them down tomorrow—not literally; figuratively. We can hear from them tomorrow, and then, whenever OFSI is available, we'll hear from them as well.
I'm just concerned that if we have to wait for both of them to be available on the same date, it might put it off to sometime very far in the future. If we have somebody confirmed for sure tomorrow or on Wednesday, we might as well hear from them and then, certainly, make time for the other folks. That's just my suggestion; I think that makes the most sense.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Mr. Yurek, you have some input?
Mr. Jeff Yurek: Since you asked, yes. I appreciate where Mr. Singh is coming from, but I think you get a better bang for your buck if you have both GISA and OFSI on the same day, so that we can use one off the other—whichever one goes in order, but—
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Okay.
Mr. Mike Colle: We'll have a—what do you call those? One of those runoffs, or head-to-head—
Mr. Jeff Yurek: Yes, head-to-head.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Then on May 8—
Mr. Jeff Yurek: Do they have a date when they can come?
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): We were trying for May 8, so on May 8, we don't have any deputants except one person requesting; they were not scheduled. Would you like to cancel May 8 and then try to get all three on the same date?
Mr. Rick Bartolucci: Yes, move them so that we can maximize our time as well—
Mr. Jeff Yurek: Sure.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Okay. All right. Then we would have to schedule it after May 15.
Now, I have another item: Your subcommittee had agreed that the committee meet on Wednesday, May 15 for the purpose of considering Bill 11, An Act to amend the Ambulance Act with respect to air ambulance services, but they never outlined the business of the committee for the day. Do you want to meet on the 15th, just to discuss what you want to do, or would you prefer to have a subcommittee meeting quickly and give the Clerk instructions? The 15th is not too far away; it's a week and a half.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: I would suggest a subcommittee meeting for that. That doesn't sound like something that a full committee needs to meet on.
Mr. Rick Bartolucci: That's reasonable.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Do I have the agreement of all? Okay. We will call a subcommittee meeting quickly, possibly tomorrow, for those on the subcommittee.
The Clerk has just brought it to my attention that because of the aggregates act, most of our dates are scheduled. The next meeting to bring GISA and OFSI together would be after the summer break.
Mr. Mike Colle: We could have a special summer session for GISA.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Unless we ask the House leaders to meet. We're already meeting in a constit week, I believe.
Ms. Laurie Scott: They could agree to or not, but it's too late to change Bill 11 to Wednesday, right? Because we don't even know who we want to call.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Well, we haven't called anybody. Unless you all agree to cancel the ambulance act and deal with the insurance and finish it, and we'll do the ambulance later.
Ms. Laurie Scott: That sounds like a subcommittee call, because there's no way you can get the ambulance act for this Wednesday, right?
Ms. Laurie Scott: We're sitting dead right before Wednesday now.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): That's right, so I need some suggestions. Mr. Singh?
Mr. Jagmeet Singh: I'm going to come back to my initial suggestion, then. If we're not going to be able to hear from either of them until into June, I think we should at least hear from one of them this Wednesday. We'll get the one independent person who wants to give his deputation and GISA. We get two of them—
Mr. Mike Colle: They've got to have equal time. We've got to have them both here together. It's not fair to either one of them to—
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): If you listen to one now, the next one will be in September. This is the problem, unless you cancel the ambulance and you change one of the dates for the aggregates report writing that we agreed to already as a subcommittee and committee. We have some technical problems because there are too many items in front of us.
Ms. Laurie Scott: I think we should just go back to subcommittee and see what we can figure out. I mean, we estimated how many days we'd need for aggregate report writing, but we haven't even got the materials from research to see how long that's going to take, so it's very hard to figure this out.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Let me just put it to you, and then we'll agree: So, we'll cancel Wednesday coming—
Ms. Laurie Scott: Sounds like it.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): —and the subcommittee will meet as quickly as we can to decide on all of the business of the committee, including the rest of the insurance and the rest of the aggregates.
Interjections: Yes.
The Chair (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Okay. We'll call a subcommittee meeting, if we can, tomorrow, maybe after question period, or early afternoon, after 3 o'clock.
What we'll try to do is get the subcommittee members so you can notify. We'll try to do it tomorrow or Wednesday, the regular time, when the committee meets. I think Wednesday might be the best. Okay? Agreed.
The committee adjourned at 1655.
Monday 6 May 2013
Automobile insurance review G-147
Mr. Ron Van Kleef G-147
Mr. Bick Dhaliwal; Mr. Jasminder Singh G-153
Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment G-158
Dr. Brian Levitt
Dr. Ron Kaplan
Ontario Psychological Association Auto Insurance Task Force G-163
Dr. Amber Smith
Dr. Faith Kaplan
Expert panel, Ontario Rehab Alliance G-169
Ms. Patricia Howell
Ms. Rhona Feldt-Stein
Ms. Tracy Milner
Committee business G-175
Chair / Président
Mr. Bas Balkissoon (Scarborough–Rouge River L)
Vice-Chair / Vice-Présidente
Mrs. Donna H. Cansfield (Etobicoke Centre / Etobicoke-Centre L)
Mr. Rick Bartolucci (Sudbury L)
Ms. Sarah Campbell (Kenora–Rainy River ND)
Mr. Mike Colle (Eglinton–Lawrence L)
Mr. Rosario Marchese (Trinity–Spadina ND)
Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock PC)
Mr. Todd Smith (Prince Edward–Hastings PC)
Mr. Jeff Yurek (Elgin–Middlesex–London PC)
Substitutions / Membres remplaçants
Ms. Teresa Armstrong (London–Fanshawe ND)
Mr. Vic Dhillon (Brampton West / Brampton-Ouest L)
Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Bramalea–Gore–Malton ND)
Also taking part / Autres participants et participantes
Mr. Jim McDonell (Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry PC)
Clerk pro tem / Greffier par intérim
Mr. Trevor Day
Staff / Personnel
Mr. Andrew McNaught, research officer,
Legislative Research Service
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CIARA YOU CAN GET IT LYRICS"
Tonight, you may get this phone.
So long, long, long, long, long, long.
.. but I see it again.
All Ciara - You Can Get It lyrics are property and © copyright of their respective owners.
All You Can Get It lyrics provided for educational purposes only. |
Alzheimer's research: Aerobic exercise can protect brain, improve mental agility
By Joe Rojas-Burke, The Oregonian
Benjamin Brink/The OregonianFrank Himmel, 81, works out for heart health in a cardiac rehabilitation program at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. A new study shows that aerobic training also helps the brain's mental agility.
There is no proven way to prevent Alzheimer's disease, but a new Seattle-area study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that regular exercise can protect the brain -- and even improve cognitive performance -- in older adults showing signs of mental decline.
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System tested the effects of aerobic training in a clinical trial with 33 women and men diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, often a prelude to Alzheimer's disease.
Twenty-three of the volunteers, selected randomly, began an intense program of aerobic exercise, spending 45 to 60 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike four days a week. The remaining 10, the study's control group, spent the same amount of time performing non-aerobic stretching and balance exercises. After six months, the aerobic exercisers showed significant gains in mental agility, while the non-aerobic group showed continuing decline in tests of thinking speed, fluency with words and ability to multi-task.
While it remains unknown whether fitness training can prevent Alzheimer's, many scientists firmly believe it is more likely to help than existing pharmaceuticals or supplements, which have failed to show preventive effects in clinical trials.
"We know some level of exercise is critical, we just don't know how much is needed," said Laura Baker, a research scientist at the Puget Sound VA, assistant professor at UW, and lead author of
published Monday in Archives of Neurology.
Previous studies have linked exercise and brain resilience, but much of the evidence has been circumstantial or based on animal rather than human experiments. The Seattle study, funded by the Alzheimer's Association and the Department of Veterans Affairs, is one of the first randomized clinical trials showing that exercise is a source of brain protection, said Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, director of the Layton Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Oregon Health & Science University, who was not involved in the study.
"The bottom line is, movement and activity does really seem to be good for your brain," Kaye said. The challenge now, he said, "is to understand, at a scientific level, what elements of activity really do enhance brain function, and what level, what dose of activity is needed."
Kaye said he and other researchers, including Baker's group in Seattle, are planning a larger, longer clinical trial. By following volunteers for years instead of months, Kaye said it might be possible to learn whether exercise can prevent full-blown Alzheimer's disease. Researchers expect to apply for federal funding this year.
Scientists don't fully understand
how Alzheimer's disease wipes out memory
, scrambles the ability to think and erodes personality. Nerve cells die and the brain shrivels as the disease advances. The damage seems to begin with the clustering of protein fragments, called amyloid plaques, among brain cells. Larger, tangled strands of another protein soon appear inside brain cells. Generally, the more plaques and tangles, the more severe the symptoms of dementia.
Because lifestyle factors seem to lower the risk, some researchers suspect that physical fitness, overall health and mental stimulation provide a buffer, or reserve, that allows the brain to withstand more damage and still function normally. Strong social connections also seem to help, perhaps by ameliorating stress.
It's clear that uncontrolled high blood pressure and diabetes contribute to the loss of brain cells. High blood pressure destroys small blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to brain cells. Diabetes, in which the body loses control of energy metabolism, worsens blood pressure and artery damage.
Aerobic exercise probably protects the brain in several ways, Baker said. It builds heart and artery resilience, which boosts blood flow to the brain. Exercise keeps energy metabolism stable, preventing and even reversing diabetes. Exercise also relieves stress, preventing damaging chain-reactions unleashed by the build-up of stress hormones.
Dr. Michael Mega, a neurologist and neuroscientist with the Providence Brain Institute in Portland, said the Seattle study fits with the emerging view that heart health and brain health go hand in hand.
"All of the things that cause your heart to stop working well -- sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking -- are also the risk factors that come right underneath advanced age as factors increasing risk for Alzheimer's disease," Mega said.
Mega found one result jarring in the new study: exercise didn't improve performance on memory tests. In a previous study, a moderate exercise program -- brisk walking -- improved memory after one year in Dutch women and men with mild cognitive impairment. Kaye said memory gains may take longer than six months to emerge or require a different type or intensity of exercise than used in the Seattle study.
For reasons that remain unclear, aerobic training helped women's mental agility substantially more than it helped men's. "It might be that this was the perfect dose of exercise for women but not men," said Baker, the study author.
But people who aren't exercising regularly shouldn't wait for more scientific data to get going, Baker said. "Don't worry about the intensity. You can start by walking 20 minutes a day," she said.
"Just get moving. You don't need to join a gym or hire a personal trainer."
Joe Rojas-Burke |
Kwesi Appiah missed training on Friday. It is not known why. We only named six substitutes for yesterday's game, and it is believed Appiah was meant to be the seventh. The club has yet to comment on his absence, or that of any other senior members of the squad that could have been on the bench at Oxford.
There was an incident at full-time yesterday involving the Oxford manager. He was apparently unhappy that kit-man Robin Bedford did not shake his hand at some point in the afternoon, and waited to confront Robin once our players had finished applauding the away support. Our players intervened and the Oxford manager quickly stood down. The incident occured long after the Oxford squad, and all match officials, had retired to the changing rooms.
Yesterday's away attendance of 1,301 was our largest of the season. It is only the second time we have taken more than a thousand fans to an away game this campaign – the other being Charlton on 15 December (1,048). Oxford were not expecting such a high turnout and experienced some issues with seating, but their stewards dealt well with any problems.
The Wimbledon Fans Show is on Love Sport Radio at 8pm this evening. Nick Draper will be on the show, which returns to its regular hour slot. Tweet your questions to @lovesportradio or call in on 020 8 70 20 558.
Email notifications for this update remain available. Email [email protected] with the subject line, "Daily Update Notification" and you will be contacted as soon as the update is published. We will continue the update until the end of the season, except for Saturdays and bank holidays. As always, any comments, suggestions, or criticisms are welcome: please comment below or email the above address.
ON THIS DAY – 2002. The last away game of the old Wimbledon FC ends in a 1-0 defeat at Wolves, with one-time Dons target Nathan Blake scoring the winner midway through the first half. The game is remembered by Wimbledon fans for what happened at full-time as Kris Stewart – who would later become the inaugural AFC Wimbledon Chairman – took to the Molineux pitch to present Wolves midfielder Kevin Cooper with the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association Player of the Year award. Cooper had been sold just six weeks earlier, much to the ire of all Dons fans. |
Q: PHP insert into mysql database with dates I would like to be able to add children into a database, which are connected to their parents (who has a member id MID). I believe that the error lies within the date format (atleast that's what I believe), I have also tried to use strtotime($dob), however this didn't change anything.
$name = htmlspecialchars($_GET['Name']);
$dob = $_GET['DOB'];
$newDOB = date("Y-m-d", $dob);
$mid = $_GET['mid'];
if(isset($_GET['Name'], $_GET['DOB'], $_GET['mid']))
$alert = true;
if(!empty($name) && !empty($newDOB) && !empty($mid))
add_family_member($mid, $newDOB, $name);
The function that adds the member:
function add_family_member($mid, $dob, $name)
{
global $con;
$sql = "INSERT INTO Children(MID, DOB, Name) VALUES(?, ?, ?)";
$stmt = $con->prepare($sql);
if($stmt)
{
$b = $stmt->bind_param("iss", $mid, $dob, $name);
if($b)
{
$e = $stmt->execute();
if($e)
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
A: function add_family_member($mid, $dob, $name)
{
global $con;
$sql = "INSERT INTO Children(MID, DOB, Name) VALUES(:mid, :dob, :name)";
$stmt = $con->prepare($sql);
if($stmt)
{
return $stmt->execute(array(
'mid' => $mid,
'dob' => $dob,
'name' => $name
));
}
return false;
}
see http://www.php.net/manual/en/pdostatement.execute.php for more examples
A: Try...
function add_family_member($mid, $dob, $name)
{
global $con;
$sql = "INSERT INTO Children(MID, DOB, Name) VALUES(:mid, :dob, :name)";
$stmt = $con->prepare($sql);
$stmt->bindParam(':mid', $mid);
$stmt->bindParam(':dob', $dob);
$stmt->bindParam(':name', $name);
if ($stmt->execute()) {
return true;
}
return false;
}
|
Our parts page has many of the common parts that our customers are asking about -- frames, engines, tanks, fenders, wheels, tires, and electronics.
Thought about Building a Kit Bike?
Due to the large number of questions we've fielded from customers wanting either to build a bike or have us build one for them, we're currently investigating the quality and availability of various bike kits.
Here at the shop, we're concentrating on kits from Ultima Motorcycles.
These kits are made up of quality parts and come with pretty well every nut, bolt, and wire you need to build a complete bike. The Ultima engines have been around for a number of years and are one of the industries best kept secrets - their price is excellent, the offer tons of horsepower, and have a complete 12 month warrentee!
We'll attempt to keep this page updated with the latest kit availability.
Our first kit, a "Black Cloud" chopper from Ultima, is currently on the lift. Unassembled, this kit retails at $24,000 CAD and comes complete with pretty well every nut, bolt, and connector you'll need to build a complete bike.
We ordered the default Black Cloud kit but substituted "Bayonet I" rims, pulley, and discs for the standard billet "Maltese" setup. It comes with an Ultima 113 ci El Bruto motor, a 5 speed US made Transmission, 8" over forks, under-the-trans softail swingarm, 5" stretched chopper tank, side mount license plate, and shorty shot-gun pipes.
The pictures here show off some of the parts that are included in the Black Cloud chopper kit from Ultima. Each kit is checked to insure that all parts have been received that that they're in good shape.
The Black Cloud is pretty well done. The engine has been fired up and runs VERY WELL with the stock "Big Growl" 2" shotgun pipes that come with it. It's got lots of power and lots of looks!
STEP 1 The first thing that's done with the kit is to ensure that all the parts are present. This takes a bit of time since there are several shipments that comprise the kit and it doesn't all come on the same day.
Parts are checked for marks, and dents and returned to the manufacturer if necessary.
STEP 2 The second bit of work involved getting pieces to fit together well.
and, of course, assorted wrenches and sockets.
STEP 3 The last bunch of hours spent on the bike have been centered around doing the custom sheet metal work.
Some sculpting work still needs to be done to the bars and the front fender. Check back with this page to keep up-to-date on the progress that's been made on this kit. If you'd like to see it for yourself, stop by the shop during our normal business hours.
A couple of shots of a stock Black Cloud kit that's been completed with single colour paint. |
WarSeer > Wargaming > Games Workshop > Warhammer: 40,000 > 40K Background > Commander Farsight - Chaos?
View Full Version : Commander Farsight - Chaos?
In the Tau Codex, Commander Farsight is a renegade commander who left the Tau Empire and the teachings of the Ethereals to found the Farsight Enclaves. He has become a mercenary, selling his and the services of his forces to any customer willing to pay in raw materials. On Arthas Moloch the Ethereal leading the expedition "dissapeared". Is it that the Dawn Blade is a Chaos artefact that corrupted Farsight, for Arthas Moloch was once an Alpha Legion held planet? Is Farsight an unwitting servant of Chaos and an agent within the Tau?
there's probably 50 threads on this topic.
Necron/C'tan seems to be the most widely accepted, but this has been discussed to death in a million other threads.
I have actually thought about this quite a bit, I actually think what happened is Farsight either had a moment of clarity and realized that the Ethereals were more self-serving than thinking about the "Greater Good" or maybe had some ulterior motives for their actions.
Or maybe he was away from the pheromones that the Ethereals use to keep the population in check long enough for his head to clear and he see the bigger picture.
Whatever the reason GW can do some really creative and fun things with this idea so hopefully they will expand on it.
It's Anaris, the Dawn Blade that Vaul forged.
-Necron connection (suggestion of tombworld, look of the Dawn Blade.
Doesn't the blade ignore both Armour and Inv. save, like C'Tan and Warscythe?
It's Anaris, the Dawn Blade that Vaul forged.So the blade that probably never even existed and was a metaphore for the Talisman of Vaul battlestation, somehow survived 60 millions of years, Exterminatus, an Alpha Legion Chaos infestation, Space Marine purge and ended up in hands of some random Tau in form of a khopesh too big for a human or Eldar to wield even in 2 hands, when it was clearly wielded by Eldanesh, who was nothing but Eldar in form? Not to say that the consequences of the blade's recovery seem to be exactly contrary to the Eldar goals regarding Tau? (ie. the downfall of Tau'va in the Enclaves when it seems the doctrine was created and manipulated by Eldar to protect the Tau).
Is there a reason its called the Dawn Blade given?
Because having a sword (shaped like an archaic wraith lord blade. LOOK AT IT!) with a name so similar to an eldar weapon of great power is odd.
He's under the influence of the old ones, because the entire tau race are. The ethereals unwittingly serve Cegorach, its not hard to imagine Khaine or Vaul have taken the heart of a commander. I think that the way farsight fights is more eldar than khornate. If he was at the beck of Khorne his units would be a bit more chaotic and a little less undersupplied tau as per normal. They'd have axes and swords and hack at their enemies instead of shooting them with star stuff. Also he has a shield. What kind of Beserker uses a shield?
I think Necron is most likely, with Eldar/Old Ones/Eldar Gods being a possibility. They don't seem very Chaos-y though. |
Review / Series
Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
October 28, 2021 October 27, 2021 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment
Faefever
Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Series or Standalone: Fever
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
CW: Rape
This book. THIS BOOK. I was already in love with this series before reading this book, but Faefever made me OBSESSED.
In terms of a plot summary, I feel like I can say very little without spoiling major plot points in the series. Suffice to say, Mac is continuing to search for her sister's killer while also trying to track down the powerful magical book, the Sinsar Dubh. The stakes get raised as Samhain quickly approaches since the boundaries between the Fae and human realm are the weakest that night.
That's all I'm going on the plot to say as I truly believe it's best to go into this without knowing anything. Take my word for it that the plot in this book is fantastic. Moning takes you on a ride with the story in this book and I seriously could not put it down. From the first page to the end, I was fully engrossed in the story. It felt like all the previous books were building to this point as we come to a major climax in the series.
And THAT ENDING! Oh my god, I was speechless and a big old ball of emotions. The stakes are massively ratcheted up in this book as Mac and Barrons are racing against the clock to prevent the walls of the Unseelie prison from coming down, allowing the bad Faeries free reign over the human world. Moning takes you on a roller coaster of emotions at the end of the book, and I felt like I was experiencing the same emotions Mac was. The writing takes you on the journey with Mac and puts you there in the moment. And the ending is going to have significant consequences for the next book.
Outside of how unique the story was, I genuinely love the worldbuilding in this book. Moning expands on the world she's already built, bringing in more lore on the Sidhe-seers, the Seelie and Unseelie and Druids. It's such a richly complicated world that Moning's built, yet because her writing is so strong, it's easy for the reader to understand and become immersed in the story.
Mac also continues to go on a major journey in this book. The Mac in this book resembles nothing of the superficial, grieving girl we meet at the beginning of book one, Darkfever. So much has happened to Mac since then, and her character growth is fantastic. I loved seeing Mac coming into her own as I felt this was the first book where she started to own her power and take a lead role in her own narrative. So many people have wanted to use her skills for various reasons, but Mac starts to see her value and doesn't want to be a pawn in the game anymore.
This book also brings more characters into the story than just Mac and Barrons. We get to know Dani, a powerful and cocky young sidhe-seer with the power to move incredibly fast, who becomes a bigger player in future books. Rowena, the leader of the sidhe-seers, gets fleshed out a lot more and we see her being set up as another antagonist and a potential thorn in Mac's side. I feel like Mac is picking up enemies left and right by this point as she has the Lord Master after her, a bunch of Unseelie faeries, the Sinsar Dubh, which keeps possessing people and sending them on a murderous rampage, and now Rowena isn't her biggest fan.
We also get to meet Christian, a college student from a powerful druid family, who we'll be seeing a lot more of. I enjoyed him and thought he was an excellent addition to the story. V'lane is still kicking around, and Mac's feelings towards him are conflicted. While I was reading, I wasn't sure if I should trust him or not, but he's been helpful.
I'll also say I loved the chemistry between Barrons and Mac in this book. I continue to ship the two of them getting together so hard. I lived for the scenes between them, especially as it is so hard to get a read on Barrons true emotions. There is an attraction between them, but it's hard to know if it goes deeper as Barrons is so mysterious. Speaking of Barrons, I want to know who he is so bad! I feel like we're slowly peeling back the layers of Barrons, but with every reveal we get, I have more questions or the information contradicts my guesses on who he might be. He's got to be one of my favorite characters in a book despite how standoffish he is.
This book truly changes the game with the overarching series plot. I honestly don't know how people who read these when they originally came could stand the wait between books as I needed to dive into the next book immediately!
I genuinely don't think I can do justice to just how good this book is. It helped solidify the Fever series as a new favorite, and I'm going to start pushing this series on everyone I know as it's just so dang good. If you're looking for a series with an incredibly rich world that will take you on a journey, look no further than the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.
5 Stars, book review, Delacorte Press, Faefever, Fever, Review
Review: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
October 2021 Reading Recap |
Aiptasia mimosa is een zeeanemonensoort uit de familie Aiptasiidae. De anemoon komt uit het geslacht Aiptasia. Aiptasia mimosa werd in 1864 voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Duchassaing & Michelotti.
Zeeanemonen |
A carpenter from Nazareth
Prizing the Bible from the hand of Christianity
A two-fold message for a divided nation
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?"
(Jeremiah 13:23)
They had always been a divided nation. Dual-personality had a deep heritage, rooted somewhere in the distant past. They were obsessed with twins. Pairings featured heavily in their sacred writings: Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Ephraim and Manasseh. Then, a kingdom split in two, north and south, Judah and Israel. And where there was more than one, favouritism was never far away: "Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated." And where there was favouritism, inevitably there was jealousy.
Israel was a terrifying, vicious little nation, capable of great slaughter. They had no compunction leaving behind a defeated city strewn with assorted dead, young and old, women and children. They were perfectly capable of using their sacred ritual of circumcision to torture and humiliate the enemy. They would say, "God is with us, take it up with him."
Their God was a jealous God because they were a jealous people. Their God was wrathful because they were, full of self-righteous indignation. The love Israel had for their neighbour reflected the love they had for themselves.
It would stand to reason that there were two ideologies: Messianic hope, and/or Law Covenant. On the one hand, God would provide a Saviour who could guarantee unity between God and man; on the other hand, there were a set of legal requirements which, if met, would guarantee unity between God and man. Both amounted to the same thing, ultimately - a broken relationship with God. A psychological breakdown.
For hundreds of years it was the Messianic hope that held sway. Legend told of God's choosing. The nation's success was understood to be because their God had installed their king, the anointed one. First David, and then Solomon, establishing Judah as the divinely appointed ruling family. God was said to have made an agreement with David ensuring that the rulership would remain within his house. The northern kingdom's demise could only be because their kingship was not the divinely chosen lineage.
A prophet's faith destroyed
Jeremiah was probably the pivot on which things turned. So sure was he of the Messianic hope that he was willing to go out on a limb and attempt what no-one else had done. He would predict the future. He placed all his expectations on a young king by the name of Josiah. He specifically named him, and inserted him into a historical text claiming to identify him 300 years in advance. When an Egyptian arrow brought that hope to an end, Jeremiah was devastated. He had made a false prophet of himself. However, it wasn't beyond him to implicate God in his falsehood: "Oh LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived."
The experience shattered his faith in a Messiah and he turned instead to the laws of Moses. To a great extent he had already tied the anointed ruler's success with his adherence to the Law, but now he was willing to overthrow the covenant with the house of David in favour of the Law Covenant. Judah's disastrous situation was because they had not kept the covenant of Moses. In the revised history, the curse of ending up back in Egypt from whence they had come, was foretold and fulfilled. So it was that they ended up in Egypt. Surely God must have warned that this would be the result because this was the result.
So the divide was wrought. Although the possibility of a rightful ruler was never entirely written off, Messianic hope all but died away. The emphasis was placed on cleaving to the law to win God's approval. The end of the Judean kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the nation's exile at the hand of Babylon, gave this interpretation the stamp of authenticity.
The holy writings collected together over the following few centuries were a masterpiece of manipulation. They married the two ideologies of Messianic hope and lawkeeping. Moses became a beacon of Messianic divine appointment, and it was he who had provided the peoples with their Law Covenant. The thrust was emphatically one-sided.
Inevitably it didn't succeed. By the first century, things had become decidedly ugly. Division persisted, and had become even worse. Now there was rich and poor, the haves and the have-nots, the righteous and the "sinners" - those who kept the law scrupulously, and those who did not. Stuff all that unrest into the powder-keg of a country occupied by an ungodly Roman army, and something reactionary was bound to take place.
A two-fold message
In this prevailing atmosphere, an unremarkable young man made a spiritual breakthrough. He had an awakening; a moment of enlightenment; a revelation. He experienced it personally, and he knew it to be true. With two key phrases he was able to satisfy for himself the misunderstanding that existed within the Israelite people.
"The kingdom of God is near." It had always been near. It was not some far-off, distant hope to be waited for patiently, only to have expectations dashed. They looked at Solomon's reign - hundreds of years between the promise to Abraham and the arrival of Judean rule. King Josiah foretold 300 years in advance. The kingdom was none of this sort. It was near, it always had been, if only you knew where to look. It wasn't coming with a "visible display", as they had always imagined, for it was "within you". That is how near it was. You could stretch forward and seize it. He even suggested what was required to reach out and grab that kingdom: Repentance and forgiveness. An inner journey, a determination to understand and let go. A need to sacrifice the old self and allow a place for the new - the real you. This was the pathway to being reunited with God. It would lead to recognising the second truth:
"Your sins have been forgiven." This meant that there was no need for a set of intensive laws to determine and maintain a clean standing with God. There never had been. For each and every individual, God understood what they were going through: "The very hairs of your head are numbered." And with that understanding came forgiveness. The only challenge remaining was to learn to forgive yourself. No wonder the religious leaders were incensed. How could this presumptuous man be telling prostitutes and tax-collecters that their sins were forgiven?
"Can the leopard change his spots?"
For one reason or another his appeal was cut short by an untimely death. It proved to be enough to ignite something slumbering. Word got about, and it caught on. Small pockets of hopefuls grabbed on to the rumours - "Could this be the Christ?" The application of selected scriptural verses threw wood onto the fire and before too long the country was ablaze with Messianic fervour. However, their new Messiah still had not delivered what they expected him to. There was no sign even of the kind of peace supposedly enjoyed by Israel during the reign of King Solomon. Visible or invisible, someone had not yet delivered on the promise, or met their side of the agreement.
In spite of this wrinkle, Christians quickly adopted religious traditions from their forebears: ritual prayer, psalm-singing, meetings. If they could not meet in the synagogue they would meet elsewhere. Soon there was a hierarchy. Their invisible leader needed some sort of visible manifestation, and eventually this too would exist unchallenged. Animal sacrifice was gradually replaced with the once-for-all-time sacrifice of the Messiah's life, which itself became a daily ritual as the "body of Christ" was held aloft as a reminder for all to see. The Israel of God was being meticulously preserved.
Proselytising was easily rebranded as evangelizing, but it amounted to the same thing - come over to this side, but if you don't embrace it, you won't be accepted. It only needed a charismatic figure to go into existing Jewish communities and persude the Messiah-hopefuls that their Christ had come. Eventually, Christianity was able to spread abroad the way it did because at its heart it was Israelite, fully capable of conquering and slaying and saying, "God is with us!" They calculated their history in the same way, by looking back and claiming that none of it could have been possible without God's spirit.
"Your sins have been forgiven" had all but been forgotten by the end of the first century. Whatever Jesus had said to counteract the labeling of people as "sinners", had faded away. The word "sinner" had been replaced by the likes of "ungodly" and "antichrist".
Christianity's desire to paper over man's broken condition with a one-size-fits-all Saviour puts them in the same position as the Pharisees to whom Jesus said, "You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."
"Few are the ones finding it."
In my imagination, I like to think that those closest to him actually got the point. Perhaps the reason we know nothing about the majority of the "apostles" is that they took to heart what this humble carpenter had said. They experienced it for themselves, and they went off and lived quiet and happy lives, occasionally shaking their heads in sadness and disbelief at the mistaken fervour that was rapidly spreading abroad.
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Here's taking a look at the best camera phones expected to be launched in the coming months.
With the world's biggest smartphone makers, Samsung, Apple and Huawei, looking to take a lead over each other, 2019 promises to be an exciting year for the smartphone industry.
Despite being touted as the 'year of flexible displays', this race for supremacy is once again likely to be decided by the core specs of the devices on offer as well as their ability to take well-detailed pictures.
While the former may not really throw up clear winners, the latter is expected to be the differentiator that separates one brilliant phone from the other.
At a time when the market is still transitioning towards three, even four camera lens setups, rumors suggest Nokia has decided to bring to the table a flagship device with as many as five cameras at the back.
Expected to be made official on February 24, the Nokia 9 will also bring with it the PureView display technology apart from the penta-camera setup.
Reports also suggest that the Nokia 9 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, paired with up to 8GB of RAM. Keeping the lights on will be a big 4,150mAh battery.
China's biggest smartphone maker, Huawei, had a pretty impressive 2018. The smartphone maker churned out some really impressive phones such as the P20 Pro this year.
Now in 2019, we expect it to follow up and bring to the market another innovative phone in the P30.
Leaked renders of the device show it could come with four rear cameras, including a 10x optical zoom as well as a water drop notch in the front.
In terms of the core specs, the Huawei P30 Pro is expected to run the company's first 7nm SoC: Kirin 980 paired with up to 8GB RAM.
Though there hasn't been any official announcement yet, we expect the phone to be launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2019 and make its way to India in the coming months.
2019 marks the 10th anniversary of Samsung stepping into the smartphone business and as such, the South-Korean smartphone maker is expected to make a statement by making some dramatic changes to its flagship smartphones.
And the camera department is one of the areas where some serious changes could be seen in the upcoming Galaxy S10.
While the Galaxy S9+ saw an upgrade in the form of a secondary telephoto shooter being added on the back to enable the phone to click shallow depth-of-field portraits, the S10 could get up to three lenses on the back, along with two front cameras for better selfies.
Apart from this, the phone is expected to be powered by Snapdragon's new 855 SoC in the US, and be available with an equivalent Exynos chipset in the rest of the world.
In terms of the display, rumours point to the phone being available in three different sizes. While the S10 Lite is said to measure about 5.8-inches, the S10 is expected to come with a 6.1-inch panel and the Plus variant going all the way up to 6.4-inches.
Away from the flagship segment, we can also expect some really good camera gear on mid-range and budget segment phones.
One of these phones is the Redmi Note 7 Pro.
The device is expected to be launched in India in the coming weeks and should bring with it a new design scheme, improved internals and vastly better cameras.
The Redmi should come with a 6.3-inch full-HD+ LTPS display with screen resolution of 1080x2340 pixels and aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The phone will be powered by Snapdragon's premium budget chipset 675 – or even Snapdragon 710.
However, as has been already teased by Xiaomi, the biggest upgrade would be seen in the cameras on the phone. At the back, the phone is expected to come with a dual camera system on the back – 13+5 Megapixel – but at the front, the Redmi Note 7 Pro could bring with it 48MP camera but that is said to use Sony IMX 586 sensor.
If the rumours come true, the Redmi Note 7 would automatically become one of the better camera phones in the market. |
Today I was buying some cheese from a nut and cheese shop. As I entered the shop, a young teenager burst into laughter. He was in training and goofing around. I didn't mind as it was late in the day and a bit of humor is always good. I tasted a cheese sample as he explained, "This one is cheese with a story." I asked, "What story?"
"I don't know; I guess when you bite into it your taste buds explode, and you will think of a story to tell."
I laughed, "So do you have a story for me?"
I am always welcoming of guests, a dreamer, a wisher and I have some magical cheese at my house. Even without guests, one thing I can guarantee is that in this house we sit around a table twice a day and tell stories. Make sure you light a candle from time to time but never forget to take the time to spin some tales. |
Steven Spielberg's update of the novel by H.G. Wells devotes a lot of time, money and star power to this oft-told tale, (remember the 1953 version starring Gene Barry?) most memorably brought to life by Orson Wells in his famous radio broadcast of 1938. That version sent people shrieking into the streets; this one doesn't even come close to inspiring that kind of reaction.
Spielberg's oeuvre represents some of the most commercially successful and artistically frustrating films of the last few decades. Along side the enormously popular pieces like Jaws, E.T and Close Encounters of the Third Kind can be found expensive disappointments such as Always, 1941 and Artificial Intelligence: AI. Brilliant at visualization, (will any director ever duplicate the power of the Normandy invasion Spielberg delivered in Saving Private Ryan?) and possessed of a unique ability to fathom what the public will find fascinating, Spielberg often revisits old themes, mining them anew in his prodigious output. As a result his films, while often relentlessly middle-brow, are always slickly done and rarely uninteresting.
It's quite a surprise then, to discover that the director's typical flair abandons him here; despite a fitfully interesting opening sequence, the movie never builds the kind of dramatic tension Spielberg and Hollywood icon Tom Cruise obviously intended. While not exactly dull, this two hour depiction of a space ship invasion from outer space lacks the excitement, zest and wide-eyed wonder of Spielberg films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Catch Me If You Can.
Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a divorced longshoreman on the New Jersey docks who's among the first to experience what aliens have to offer earthlings. He rounds up his sullen teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and precocious young daughter Rachel, (Dakota Fanning) steals a car and heads for Boston to seek refuge with his ex-wife's parents. The journey includes a car-jacking, near drowning in an overturned river ferry and a seemingly endless sojourn in a root cellar with a demented civil servant named Harlan Ogilvy, (Tim Robbins) who alternates between verbally threading the invaders and haranguing Ray about what strategy the human race will have to pursue in order to survive. By the time they do battle in the dark recesses of their self-chosen dungeon, the audience has long since lost interest in anything any of the characters has to say.
Filled with repetitious special effects and shots that linger well past the point of maximum tension, Worlds limps to a finish in the leaf-strewn streets of Boston's back-bay, Ray's nuclear family finally re-united while Morgan Freeman's voice-over explains how earthly microbes made it possible for the good guys to win.
Despite some early tension generated by the initial invasion, Worlds soon lapses into a narrative torpor that juxtaposes segments depicting Ray's difficulties in communicating with his children and scenes of three-legged mechanical killing machines reminiscent of the hardware George Lukas has employed to much better effect in his Star Wars saga. (Inconsistencies abound; the aliens seem intent on capturing large numbers of humans to feed on, but spend an inordinate amount of time and energy inexplicably killing and discarding lots more of them. They relentlessly seek Ray and his daughter for no apparent strategic reason other than that they're the film's stars.) Josh Friedman's script attempts to weld a soap opera of family alienation onto a straight-forward plot about the destruction of the planet; the resulting miss-match assures that neither thread of the storyline compliments or reinforces the other.
Cruise, who can do cocky/nasty with the best of them, (Magnolia, Collateral, The Color of Money) doesn't fare nearly as well when he's required to display something approaching credible parental sensitivity; in arguing with his rebellious son and consoling his distraught daughter, the actor just doesn't convey the what the screenplay calls for -- a believable human being. Instead, the audience has to settle for a movie star's awkward impersonation of a father in crisis.
With its sappy family reunion fadeout and curiously ominous verbal epilogue, War of the Worlds limps into film history as one of the most eagerly awaited non-events of recent memory. |
sakura wars: so long, my love review
The "Cutting-edge mech combat" is almost non-existent; there are only 8 "fights" in the entire game which are short, shallow and unsatisfying. The first and most common requires you to select one of three possible responses; pick the best one and you'll charm the ladies – pick the worst and you'll turn them off. Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2010. The social interaction portions are long, excruciatingly boring and stupid, as well as having almost no logic to what choices are "correct." Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, See all details for Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. As it goes, your uncle is the main protagonist of the original Sakura Taisen series. Also, there's English and Japanese audio tracks. I have played Sakura Taisen 1-4 on the Dreamcast, but didn't play part 5 when released since I didn't own a modded PS2. When the battle ends, you'll be sent right back into chatterbox mode, where the characters talk about nothing and expect the player to participate with the hope of earning the affection of a lovely anime lady. Sexual Themes, Language, Fantasy Violence, The Best Black Friday Sales and Deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and Dell (Updated), Spider-Man: Miles Morales Names a Street After Chadwick Boseman, Updated: The Best Black Friday Sales and Deals from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Saved by the Bell Reboot: Spoiler-Free Review, Animal Crossing: New Horizons Winter Update Brings Turkey Day and Toy Day, PlayStation Plus Games for December 2020 Announced. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love could have been that game. For Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love on the PlayStation 2, GameFAQs has 7 guides and walkthroughs, 98 cheat codes and secrets, 6 reviews, 17 critic reviews, and 3 save games. The series has spawned a plethora of sequels, side stories, novels, anime adaptations, and even live stage shows. The voice-overs are as bad as what the characters are saying; if you can think of the worst anime you have ever watched, Sakura Wars is probably worse. In fact, it had the potential be more than filler; it had a real shot at creating a new kind of strategic entertainment. Summary: Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love combines the epic battles of an RPG with the character interaction and development of a sim game in the free-roaming environment of 1920s New York City. This page works best with JavaScript. It might actually make you want to endure the never-ending story just to experience the battles. If you've ever played through the awful portions of a game just to get to the good stuff, then you know exactly what to expect from Sakura Wars. At this time, you will be engaged in battles that are deep, compelling, and challenging. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love review One for lovers of '20s New York, Mechs, and Broadway musicals By Nick_Ellis 24 March 2010 Comments Sakura Wars is overwhelmingly popular in Japan. In fact, it had the potential be more than filler; it had a real shot at creating a new kind of strategic entertainment. Player Reviews. The Pikmins and Advance Wars of the world only come around every five or 10 years. That shot is seriously damaged – though not completely ruined – by the game Sakura Wars wants to be versus the game it should be. But those battles only make up a very small portion of the game. I lost count) of ludicrous dialogue before the first battle is even introduced. You can't, however. ), all designed to impress the ladies. It's that silly development desire that will kill the experience for most players, because the part they're going to enjoy the most is the part they're going to experience the least. The battle are few and far between and there's lots and lots of dialogue. Another involves pushing the analog sticks in various directions (quarter-circles, half-circles, full circles, up/down, etc. After all, Sakura Wars physically forces the player to endure several minutes (20? But it is insanely addictive. It wants to tell a story fit for a romantic comedy: lots of girls, one heroic guy, and the added ability to persuade the lovely ladies in that guy's direction. First released in Japan on July 7, 2005 on the Playstation 2; it was the first game in the series to be released in North America. Almost 14 years after Sakura Taisen was released on the Sega Saturn, the beloved Japanese series finally makes it stateside with Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. However, there is great concern players may never get to that point. May 14, 2010 7:11pm. The bar is divided into chunks; attack once or walk a few feet in any direction and one chunk will be eliminated. Will they be prepared for the rest? For many, that will be one hour too long, regardless of the rewards at stake.
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Last week was the first of our meals as part of our project with the social work students at University of Brighton to investigate if there's a way in which we can meaningfully involve people with lived experience of having support to help teach students, outside of the usual classroom settings of universities. The format is 6 people with learning disabilities and 6 social work students. They share dinner together and we see how the conversation flows.
We decided to quite literally make a meal of it as it occurred to us that mealtimes are much more sociable ways to share in conversation with people, a table is also a much more equal thing to meet around so there isn't such a power imbalance.
We will be evaluating the project fully at the end to find out how this approach could perhaps be used more with social work students at the university. I also thought it would also be interesting to reflect on the topics of discussion at our first meal, and I've also attempted (not too scientifically) to weight the discussions to show where most of the conversation seemed to gravitate in terms of topics.
We captured these topics by simply asking all the diners to complete a blank menu and try and sum up the main topics of discussion over the evening.
Courses we're attending; colleges, university and apprenticeships.
The different jobs we do, have done.
Our favourite films, skiving off school, and illnesses.
Our favourite comedy shows, where we like eating out, video games, football, partying, yoga, dancing, swimming, clubbing, gigs and booze.
Issues such as the loss of the Independent Living Fund, supported housing, Positive Behaviour Support and whether carers or personal assistants are best.
Staging protests, speaking out and David Cameron!
This chart shows where most of the conversation was concentrated, around ourselves, our sense of identity and how we like to spend our leisure time. That's not to say it was all just fun conversation and some pretty deep topics were discussed along the way. Interestingly none of the discussions were specifically about social work practice. But they were a lot about life and what's important to everyone.
'Seat dancing' – this has been perfected by Andrew and he has a style of sitting down dancing that is very contagious, and I often find myself channelling his style of dancing in the office.
So that's our first week done. It's a lovely group of diners too and we're all looking forward to seeing what tomorrow evening brings. I have a feeling Donald Trump may be on the menu by the end, but then again we never know what is going to get talked about. |
Web apps and websites of all kinds have dramatically improved thanks to frameworks that incorporate strong grid principles like bootstrap, foundation, skeleton, etc.
Responsive web design brings a new appreciation of the grid's role in digital experiences. No longer can designers and developers build for a single screen. The multi-device landscape forces the creator to think in terms of dynamic grid systems instead of fixed width.
Digital design is still in its adolescence and grid usage is still young. Designers and developers should look to the past to bring digital design into the future. It has been over 500 years since the printing press was invented and nearly 300 since the industrial revolution. The grid has been through many design movements, approaches, and refinements. Despite this history, the grid is still in its infancy in interaction design.
Below are the different elements that compose a grid. Some of the terminology has been adopted by the digital design community and some has not. There are obvious reasons why some terms from print media shouldn't be incorporated into interaction design, but these terms should be considered as we build our new interactive vernacular.
Columns are the vertical sections of a grid. The more columns in the grid the greater its flexibility.
Rows are the horizontal sections of a grid. They are often omitted in web design. Grids with rows and columns are called modular grids.
Modules are units of space that are created by the intersection of rows and columns.
Regions are groupings of columns, rows, or modules that form an element of a composition.
Columns and rows are divided by gutters. The tighter the gutter, the more visual tension is created. Grids with wide gutters produce calming layouts because the elements of the composition have less tension between them.
Margins are the space outside of the grid columns and rows. Not to be confused with padding, which is the space within rows and columns.
Flowlines are typically used to break up sections of a composition. They create natural stopping and starting places in the design.
A marker is the area that secondary content is placed. Books commonly house chapter titles, page numbers, etc. in the marker area.
The hierarchical grid is an intuitively constructed grid that focuses on the proportions of the elements in the design. This type of grid is often used when the content isn't standardized and repetitive.
The manuscript grid is the oldest type of grid used in print media. It typically presents itself as a standardized rectangle that contains the content on a page or screen.
The column grid is by far the most used grid in web design because the width of a screen is finite, unlike the height, which can go on forever if the user has the ability to scroll. Most column grids used on the web are 12 columns, but that shouldn't stop designers and developers from exploring alternatives.
The modular grid is devised by overlapping rows and column that form modules. The modular grid is the most complex type of grid. It should be used when vertical and horizontal space are of equal concerns. This type of grid is becoming more popular in digital media with the onset of wearable devices that rely on 'cards' to communicate.
Note: Thank to Andrew for contributing to our blog with this article. |
package factom
import (
"encoding/hex"
"encoding/json"
)
// RawData is a simple hex encoded byte string
type RawData struct {
Data string `json:"data"`
}
func (r *RawData) GetDataBytes() ([]byte, error) {
return hex.DecodeString(r.Data)
}
// GetRaw requests the raw data for any binary block kept in the factomd
// database.
func GetRaw(keymr string) ([]byte, error) {
params := hashRequest{Hash: keymr}
req := NewJSON2Request("raw-data", APICounter(), params)
resp, err := factomdRequest(req)
if err != nil {
return nil, err
}
if resp.Error != nil {
return nil, resp.Error
}
raw := new(RawData)
if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.JSONResult(), raw); err != nil {
return nil, err
}
return raw.GetDataBytes()
}
// SendRawMsg sends a raw hex encoded byte string for factomd to send as a
// binary message on the Factom Netwrork.
func SendRawMsg(message string) (string, error) {
param := messageRequest{Message: message}
req := NewJSON2Request("send-raw-message", APICounter(), param)
resp, err := factomdRequest(req)
if err != nil {
return "", err
}
if resp.Error != nil {
return "", resp.Error
}
status := new(struct {
Message string `json:"message"`
})
if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.JSONResult(), status); err != nil {
return "", err
}
return status.Message, nil
}
|
Unfortunately, I did not come anywhere close to meeting my goal of 100k words. I spent a good deal of the month sick, which slowed me down, and then disheartened by getting so far behind, which only made it worse. However, despite falling WAY behind, I was able to make a comeback in the last week and ended up squeaking by with just 50,349 words. But hey, a win is a win.
As you can see, I spent most of the month not writing. To fill you in on those long plateaus, I spent a lot of that time taking naps due to intense headaches and watching TV when my head didn't hurt. But while some of those days I was definitely not feeling well enough to write, for much of it the lack of writing boils down to lack of ideas and utter laziness. However, I kicked it into gear on the 26th and put in at least 5k a day from there to reach that final goal of 50k by the end of the month. And while I would have liked to meet my personal goal of 100k last month, in some ways I am glad to have finished the way I did. I really pushed myself in my writing last month and really had to stretch my imagination to keep my story going, which I probably wouldn't have done had I not had that deadline to meet. I'm happy to announce that writing is going better this month, and I think I will be able to finish my rough draft this month, which has long been my goal.
In the end, although this is not the first time I have won NaNoWriMo, I think I learned the most this month about the importance of deadlines and how they can motivate you. I highly recommend participating in NaNoWriMo to anyone who is interested in writing and is looking for a support group, because those message boards are gold. I'm sad that it only happens once a year, but I might look into Camp NaNoWriMo next spring and consider participating in that, or somehow coming up with challenges myself to push my writing throughout the year.
Did anyone else participate in NaNoWriMo this year? Have any stories, tips, or questions? I'd love to hear from you so go ahead and comment below. |
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Cintas is seeking a Garment Mender. Responsibilities include ensuring all uniform garments are repaired in accordance with company standards and customer requests. General repairs include fixing holes and tears in shirts and pants and replacing buttons on garments as needed. Repairing is typically done by hand with needle and thread. The position involves repetitive motions over the entire shift, including sitting, walking, bending, stretching, twisting and lifting. Daily accuracy of work is necessary for inventory control and accountability. Additional responsibilities include housekeeping and adherence to health and safety standards.
Catherines is the fashion and fit authority for women's sizes 16W-34W and 0X-5X, including plus petite. Our commitment to helping each customer look and feel beautiful is unparalleled.
Providing current fashions, accessories, footwear, hosiery and intimate apparel, Catherines specializes in hard-to-find extended sizes, offering a proprietary fit customers love. Our passion for customer care is evident in everything we do. Walk into any Catherines store and you'll witness an extraordinary connection between associates and customers.
Our loyal customers count on Catherines as a friend, confidant and fashion authority. No one knows or understands her style and fit needs better.
Today with over 350 locations nationwide, along with catherines.com, the Catherines brand continues to fulfill its promise to plus size women looking for fashion, fit and comfort-as well as quality that's worth the price. But Catherines is far more than just a place to shop. Embracing the same sense of community on which it was founded, Catherines seeks to engage, connect, inform and inspire the women we serve, and deliver on an extraordinary brand promise, "We Fit You Beautifully."
Ready to apply? We currently have an opportunity for a PTSA to join our team located at our Store 5239-Abilene St Mktplc-Catherines-Aurora, CO 80012.
With nearly 400 locations nationwide, along with our website (catherines.com), Catherines is the fashion and fit authority for sizes 16W–34W and 0X–5X. We offer a beautiful selection of fashions and intimates, including hard-to-find extended sizes and an exclusive fit customers love.
But Catherines is far more than just a place to shop. Committed to unparalleled service, we strive every day to bring style, beauty and confidence to the women we serve, and live up to our extraordinary brand promise, "We Fit You Beautifully."
This rewarding role provides the opportunity to focus on creating a world class customer experience.
Ready to apply? We currently have an opportunity for a PT Sales Lead to join our team located at our Store 5648-West Athens RetlCtr-Catherines-Athens, GA 30601.
This is a part time position with open availability required during weekends.
Ready to apply? We currently have an opportunity for a Sales Associate to join our team located at our Store 5551-Capitol Heights-Catherines-Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
Ready to apply? We currently have an opportunity for a Part Time Sales Lead to join our team located at our Store 5967-Shops at Westgate-Catherines-Wichita, KS 67209.
This is a temporary position for the holiday hiring season with open availability required during holidays.
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Packers Wire
Groundwork is laid for amicable divorce between Aaron Rodgers, Packers
Zach Kruse
Aaron Rodgers doesn't know yet if he wants to play football in 2023, and he doesn't know where he'd want to play if he does return for another season.
But if the two sides do eventually decide to part ways this offseason, the groundwork has been laid for an amicable divorce between Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers said as much during another wide-ranging interview with "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday, reiterating he "understands" if the team wants to go younger with Jordan Love and he has to finish his career "somewhere else."
On multiple occasions, Rodgers used the words "gratitude" and "love" when describing his time with the Packers and his appreciation for the organization, and he pushed back on any potential feelings of "animosity" or "malice" between the two sides in a future divorce.
"If they feel like it was in the best interests of the team to move forward, so be it," Rodgers said. "Again, that wouldn't offend me, and it wouldn't make me feel like a victim. I wouldn't have any animosity towards the team. I love the organization, I love the city, I love the region."
"I hope there's some gratitude on both sides if that happens," Rodgers said.
Of course, this doesn't mean a divorce is coming. But the option is still on the table, and an amicable divorce between the team and future Hall of Famer would sure beat the messy breakup that happened in 2008 between the Packers and Brett Favre.
"It's not with any malice. It's not with any animosity. It's with complete gratitude for an incredible organization that's done a ton for me," Rodgers said.
The ball remains in Rodgers' court. He said he's done "nothing" since leaving Green Bay for the offseason and he needs time to decompress and recover after a long season. He set no timetable for making a decision. So the Packers and the rest of the NFL world will wait.
"I have to figure out what I want to do, and then we'll see where all parties are at and what transpires after that," Rodgers said.
One thing is clear: If Rodgers wants to keep playing but he or the Packers decide a trade is the best path forward, the divorce won't need to get nasty. In fact, he would strongly prefer the opposite.
"If the competitive hole still needs to be satiated and it's time to move on, then I hope everybody would look at that with a lot of gratitude and not any resentment."
Evaluating Packers roster entering 2023 offseason
Story originally appeared on Packers Wire |
*On servers started before 2019 Academy level 5 is enough to research this unit.
The Equites Caesaris are the heavy cavalry of Rome. They are very well armoured and deal great amounts of damage, but all that armour and weaponry comes at a price. They are slow, carry less resources and feeding them is expensive. |
During the summer Mallorca Airport is one of Europe's busiest airports in Europe with around 23 million passengers (12,000 passengers per hour). The airport is located 8 km from Palma. With a rental car you can easily take you back in Mallorca and visit all the nice places, beaches and villages. |
Transparency for Sustainable Economies (Trase) is an online platform aimed at improving the transparency, clarity and accessibility of information on the commodity supply chains that drive tropical deforestation. The Trase initiative is led by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Global Canopy Programme. As project partner, the EU REDD Facility is helping to develop tailored applications from Trase and global suppy chain transparency to the needs of government, trade and customs authorities for monitoring risks and opportunities in commodity production and trade.
The Facility's contribution builds on the International Forest Risk Model (INFORM), designed by the Facility in partnership with the Global Canopy Programme and Oxford e-Research Centre.
Trase is an online platform aimed at improving the transparency, clarity and accessibility of information on the commodity supply chains that drive tropical deforestation.
The objective is to harness the opportunities offered by this new transparency to help governments acquire the information and market intelligence needed to support existing and new policies promoting legal, sustainable, and deforestation-free production and trade. This 'Trase for governance' workstream needs to work for both consumer and producer governments, helping them to develop their own 'forest-risk market intelligence', for those who wish to make that transition towards more competitive and sustainable trade.
For the Trase initiative, the vision for 2020 is to provide the public supply-chain information for companies, governments, investors and other actors seeking to transition towards more sustainable production, trade and consumption for the world´s major forest-risk agricultural commodities. Over the next 5 years Trase aims to cover over 70% of the total traded volume in major forest risk commodities, including soy, beef, palm oil, timber, pulp and paper, coffee, and cocoa.
The initiative sets out to do this by using data to reveal the links between environmental and social impacts in production areas with supply-chain actors such as producers, traders, manufacturers and importers in consumer countries. Trase also addresses other land-use risks and opportunities beyond deforestation.
By making information on the risks of deforestation associated with supply chains available, Trase aims to provide supply-chain operators and producing jurisdictions with a strong incentive to improve business practices. Improving the transparency of supply chains is necessary to meet ambitious private and public zero-deforestation commitment targets and to achieve sustainable commodity production. Trase also aims to help companies reduce the risks of deforestation associated with their supply chains and investments, and identify business opportunities.
The long term goal is to ensure that the supply chains of commodities from areas where agriculture is expanding and intensifying across the tropics are sustainable. Greater transparency can play a critical role in catalysing improvements in production practices, procurement and investment policies, third-party monitoring schemes and government strategic development planning.
Deforestation has a significant impact on local livelihoods, destroys habitats and ecosystem services underpinning water, food and energy security, and is responsible for 15% of global carbon emissions. Agricultural expansion to produce a few commodities including soya, beef, leather, palm oil, pulp and paper and timber, has driven over 70% of tropical deforestation in the last decade.
Several hundred companies with a combined market value of over EUR 3.5 trillion and motivated by reputational, policy and operational interests to take action, have committed to eliminating risks of deforestation linked to their supply chains. In carrying out their commitments, the challenge for companies and private institutions is to identify and reduce the deforestation risks and impacts associated with their procurement policies and supply chains.
Reliable information on complex global supply chains is limited. This lack of information is a serious barrier to effective decision-making on deforestation risks in the public and private sectors, and to transformational change.
The approach of Trase is to harness, through an online platform, large datasets of untapped production, trade and customs data in order to uncover the supply-chain pathways of internationally traded forest-risk commodities. These connections span from the local places of production to consumer countries through exporters, traders and ports. Trase processes comprehensive datasets and make this information available on the online platform, including detailed information on shipping transactions and individual operators.
Data that can be accessed on the online platform does not rely on voluntary initiatives nor on regulatory approaches, as these can encounter problems with participation and enforcement. Instead, the platform makes available concrete, reliable data from a wide range of sources. As transparency improves, supply-chain actors have a greater incentive to work together to address environmental and societal problems in producer regions.
The Facility's contribution to the Trase initiative builds on a feasibility study for an International Forest Risk Model (INFORM). The study involved calculating probabilities and developing criteria to assess deforestation risks using a range of data, including earth observation, customs and trade data.
The European Forest Institute's EU REDD Facility is working to develop platform applications tailored to the needs of governments, trade and customs authorities so that they can use Trase to monitor forest-related risks and identify opportunities in commodity production and trade.
Stakeholder engagement and mediation are essential in implementing deforestation-free commitments at jurisdictional level. Tools such as Trase can be important as a way to engage stakeholders in clarifying and harmonising definitions and methodologies. Going forward, there is a need to build a community of stakeholders committed to developing transparency in forest-risk supply chains. Such transparency can inform deforestation-free policies in a way that satisfies the wide variety of trade partners across producer and consumer countries. The emergence of transparency tools such as Trase is an opportunity to nourish constructive dialogue to speed up the implementation of commitments.
The EU REDD Facility strategy combines REDD+ jurisdictional approaches and supply-chain incentives to address the drivers of deforestation. This approach enables stakeholders at the jurisdictional level to benefit from REDD+ initiatives and climate finance while gaining better access to forest-friendly commodity markets.
Going forward, Trase will undertake case studies of supply chains for three major forest-risk commodities: soy, timber and palm oil.
Work with Trase complements the ongoing work of the Facility on national information systems for legal, forest-friendly supply chains in over 15 tropical countries.
The Stockholm Environment Institute and Global Canopy Programme, with support from the EU REDD Facility and a number of other partners, successfully launched the public version of Trase at COP22 in November 2016.
Supply chain actors and EU policy makers started to debate the implications triggered by global supply chain transparency in support of ongoing efforts to remove deforestation in commodity trade.
At a workshop in September 2016 at EFI, researchers and a group of transparency initiatives from the Supply Chain Transparency Network explored common approaches to attribute deforestation risks to specific commodity production and trade.
Trase is the first initiative to take an actor-driven, sector-wide, jurisdictional approach to supply-chain governance. It harnesses technological innovation and new partnerships to make international supply-chain data publicly accessible on one online platform. The data will cover at least 70% of the global trade in forest-risk commodities within the next five years.
Greater transparency is playing an important role in improving production practices, procurement and investment policies, third-party monitoring schemes and public development planning. These improvements, in turn, are helping supply-chain actors to assess their progress towards zero-deforestation goals and to fulfil other sustainability and legality commitments. |
OpinionDavid Cameron
David Cameron led us to this calamity. Yet he stays quiet and hides in his hut
Nick Cohen
As ex-prime minister, he has a duty to offer a solution on Brexit, but lacks the guts
Why the writer's block, Dave? Photograph: Graham Flack/Red Sky Shepherds Huts
Sat 20 Oct 2018 13.00 EDT
John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have warned of the dangers of Brexit. But where is the former prime minister who called the referendum that will blight Britain for as far ahead as anyone can see? Whatever happened to that likely lad? David Cameron doesn't want to talk about it, one of his friends tells me. "He doesn't defend the referendum, but won't say he made a mistake either. Europe is like a family scandal. We know what's happened but we don't say a word: it's his no-go zone."
At a personal level, the consequences swirl around him. I may be exhausting your capacity for compassion but the smallest of the casualties of Brexit has been the good fellowship of the Chipping Norton set. Naturally, the Cotswolds' wealthy Leavers are grateful. But Cameron must resent them. He must know that he has been the useful idiot who succumbed to the demands of Rupert Murdoch's Rebekah Brooks, a member of the local nouveau gentry by virtue of her converted barn, in the crashingly stupid belief that no harm would come from his surrender.
Invitations to "kitchen suppers" from Remainers, however, can only include Samantha Cameron's name – if, they are extended at all. Tania Rotherwick invited the Camerons to her pool at the magnificent Cornbury Park estate before she split from her husband and Cameron split Britain from Europe. She is now particularly contemptuous, I hear.
Cameron's memoirs were meant to be published this month but have been delayed until next year. The early signs are ominous. A book has to be coherent if it is to find a readership: its opening must prefigure its conclusion. As described in the publishing press, Cameron's effort will have no consistency. He will tell the story of the formation of the coalition, his contributions to economic, welfare and foreign policy, his surprise victory in the 2015 election and then – as if from nowhere – the conventional memoir will end with the author carelessly deciding he will settle the European question, without planning a campaign or preparing an argument and, instead, launching a crisis that will last for decades. Nothing will make sense. Nothing will hang together. It's as if a romcom were to conclude with serial killers murdering the cooing lovers or Hilary Mantel were to have aliens invade Tudor England on the last page of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy.
The book Cameron cannot write would accept that his political battles and achievements were as nothing when set against his decision to appeal to the worst of the Tory party. It would begin with Cameron honouring the decision that won him the Conservative leadership in 2005. He would confess that he should have known better than to pull the Conservatives out of the centre-right group in the European parliament and align them with Law and Justice, the know-nothing Polish nationalists who are reducing their country to an ill-governed autocracy. The manoeuvre was pure Cameron: tactics above strategy; appeasement instead of confrontation.
The pattern continued throughout his premiership. He thought he could buy off the right by refusing to explain the benefits of EU membership to the voters. At one point in 2014 he threatened to leave the EU. He then turned around in 2016 and asked the public to believe that leaving would be a disaster and was surprised when 17.4 million men and women he had never treated as adults worthy of inclusion in a serious conversation ignored him.
If he were being honest, Cameron would admit too that Brexit ought to bring an end to a British or, to be specific, English, style that is by no means confined to the upper class, but was everywhere present among the public-school boys who ruled us.
'One Etonian led the Remain campaign and another led the Leave campaign, and the English couldn't see why that was wrong.' Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris/The Guardian
I mean the ironic style that gives us our famously impenetrable sense of humour (which we will need now the rest of the world is laughing at us). The perfidious style that allows us to hide behind masks and has made England superb at producing brilliant actors for the West End but hopeless at producing practical politicians for Westminster. The teasing style of speaking in codes that benighted foreigners can never understand, however well they speak English. The cliquey style that treats England as a club, not a country, and allowed Jeremy Corbyn to say that Jews cannot "understand English irony", however long their ancestors have lived here.
The deferential style that allowed one Etonian to lead the Remain campaign and another to lead the Leave campaign and for the English to not even see why that was wrong. The life's-a-game-you-shouldn't-take-too-seriously style that inspired Cameron to say he holds "no grudges" against Boris Johnson now the match is over and the covers back on the pitch. The gentleman amateur style that convinced Cameron he could treat a momentous decision like an Oxford essay crisis and charm the electorate into agreeing with him in a couple of weeks, as if voters were a sherry-soaked don who could be won round with a few clever asides. The effortlessly superior style that never makes the effort to ask what the hell the English have to feel superior about. The gutless, dilettantish and fatally flippant style that has dominated England for so long and failed it so completely. The time for its funeral has long passed.
A politician who bumped into Cameron said he thinks the referendum result must be respected, but that Britain should protect living standards by going for the softest Brexit imaginable and staying in the single market. This is a compromise well to the "left" of Theresa May and Corbyn's plans and is worth discussing. Whatever his critics say, David Cameron is a former PM. He not only has the right to offer his solution but a duty. If he is to earn the right to a hearing, however, he must first find not only self-knowledge and courage, but an un-English seriousness of purpose he has evaded all his life.
Nick Cohen is an Observer columnist |
Q: Can I use a gitolite repository on a non-default port from windows? I'm trying to set up some git repositories on my linux server for sharing with some friends working on a Java project. I sniffed around a little and found gitolite was supposed to be a good administration layer, so after looking at their docs I decided to follow this tutorial:
http://sites.google.com/site/senawario/home/gitolite-tutorial
Everything went well until step 6. There, the syntax used for the repository path wasn't working because sshd on the server isn't listening on the default port and that syntax doesn't like non-default ports, so after some more research I quickly discovered git supports ssh://etc. The only issue would be that it requires the full repository path to be included in the URL.
When I reached step 7 and the admin repository failed to push, I discovered that gitolite doesn't like full paths. I was advised by the troubleshooting section to create a host alias like so:
http://sitaramc.github.com/gitolite/sshhostaliases.html
This would supposedly allow me to use hostalias:reponame as the path. Despite the annoyance of requiring every user to do this, we went with that method, only to find out that it's not working at all. Our users are running windows and msysgit.
To summarize:
*
*The server's sshd listens on a non-default port; this cannot be changed.
*gitolite seems to require relative paths. Relative paths are only available on the default port or using host aliases.
*Our users are running windows 7 (not changeable) and msysgit (changeable, if there's anything better out there?). Our setups don't seem to like host aliases.
Is there a solution for this or do we have to drop gitolite and find something else?
A: See if editing ~/.ssh/config (from msysgit) works for each user. Add something like the following to the ~/.ssh/config file:
Host gitserver
Port 9999
The file ~/.ssh/config is optional and is used by ssh if it exists. Also, the ~/.ssh directory must not be readable to others (chmod 700 ~/.ssh).
When accessing git repo serverd using gitolite you're actually using the ssh transport. To be sure that ssh (and indirectly, git) uses the file ~/.ssh/config you can try the following diagnosis:
$ ssh -v gitserver
The first few lines that start with the debug1: prefix will tell you if ssh is using the ~/.ssh/config file - it will show you the full path the the config file that it uses.
|
Police in Spain arrest 24 for distributing child pornography
MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say they have arrested 24 people suspected of distributing pornographic images of children on the internet.
The arrested suspects include citizens from Britain, Ghana, Pakistan and Ecuador. Police found thousands of images of the sexual abuse of minors in the British man's possession when he was arrested.
Police have identified another eight people believed to be involved in the ring, which shared the illegal material via Facebook and Skype.
The arrests occurred all across Spain, from Madrid to Barcelona, and on the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands. Police say the arrested suspects include an evangelical pastor and a former urban gang member who worked in a school cafeteria. |
Tag Archives: High N Dry
Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories
The Record Vault: Def Leppard – High 'N' Dry
January 25, 2022 destroyerofharmony1981, Def Leppard, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, High N Dry, music, NWOBHM, review 13 Comments
I don't have the vinyl anymore. It was in a box that went missing in one of my many house moves. I've been meaning to replace it, but I just haven't gotten around to it. And then Def Leppard announced those marvellous box sets that would cover their career a few years ago, and I've seen a few of em reviewed on the blogs I follow, so I'm thinking, it's time to part with some monies and get em.
Spotify also has em to listen and man, listen I did. For those who reckon that once you've heard an album, you don't need to purchase it, well those people have never understood the collectors mentality.
Anyway, let's get to the album, released in 1981.
The band is the same as the debut with Joe Elliot on vocals, Steve Clark and Pete Willis on lead and rhythm guitars, Rick Savage on bass and Rick Allen on drums.
The album cover by Hipgnosis is smart and done well, but my 80's mind, made me ignore it for quite some time. It wasn't as good as the debut cover, and nothing like the covers of the other albums I was purchasing.
It's written by Pete Willis, Steve Clark and Joe Elliott.
Many would say its AC/DC influenced and I would agree, but then again a lot of British acts like Queen, Sweet, Mott The Hoople and T Rex who influenced Def Leppard had songs with riffs like this. But producer Mutt Lange did work with AC/DC and during this period, "Back In Black" and "Highway To Hell" were selling like crazy.
Most Def Lep fans would know that it was originally titled "When the Rain Falls" with different lyrics and performed live during the "On Through The Night" tour.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mutt Lange had something to do with the song title change.
Another Hit And Run
Written by Rick Savage and Joe Elliot. It's one of my favourite tracks from when I dropped the needle on this. I can never get enough of the Chorus riff and the Verse Riff.
High 'N' Dry
The song is written by Steve Clark, Rick Savage and Joe Elliot. If you want to hear the embryo of the "Photograph" riff, then press play on this and enjoy.
And it also became famous when it made a list called the "Filthy Fifteen", which is a list of songs criticised by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), for having explicit lyrics that describe alcohol use and intoxication.
Seriously the subject matter on this song is meek compared to some other song. But then again what would a bunch of politicians wives know about hard rock music.
Bringin' On The Heartbreak
One of Def Lep's best slower tempo songs. Written by Steve Clark, Pete Willis and Joe Elliot. If those harmony guitars in the Intro don't grab your attention, then please check for a pulse.
And that Chorus. Wow. The multi layered vocals that would become synonymous with the "Pyromania", "Hysteria" and "Adrenalize" albums are all here.
Steve Clark also owns this song in the lead department. He didn't have the top hat of Slash to give him that certain unique look, but his pentatonic playing is exceptional.
In relation to the videos, the live recording with Pete Willis is my go to version, but the video with the boat on a lake featuring Phil Collen is the more well-known one. And the 1984 remix version with the synths is a misstep. There was nothing wrong with the original at all.
Switch 625
An instrumental and it was the song playing in the end credits of "Cobra Kai" Season 4 finale. Written by Steve Clark and all solos are handled by him as well.
Just press play, close your eyes and let the music take you to the places your mind conjures up.
You Got Me Runnin'
Side 2 kicks off with this, written by Pete Willis, Steve Clark and Joe Elliot. I've read some reviews that basically ignore Side 2, but man, some of my favourites are here.
I like the 70's vibe this song gives and the hooks keep coming with the Chorus vocal melody. And press play for the "you got me running" section just before the Pete Willis pentatonic bluesy solo.
Lady Strange
Written by Pete Willis, Steve Clark, Rick Allen and Joe Elliot.
How good is this song?
If it had a different title, it would still be in the set lists today.
The intro harmonies get me hooked and the Chorus riff with the melodic lead gets me moving and tapping my foot.
The verse riff has some sped up chords that would be slowed down in a few years' time for a song called "Pour Some Sugar On Me".
But it's that metal riff just before the Chorus that seals the deal. Press play to hear that and then to hear Clark wail.
And as they come out of the Chorus, there is this arpeggio riff which is excellent, Elliot starts singing and the music morphs into the verse riff and then we are back to the Chorus and that infectious vocal melody, of "lady strange I need you, lady strange I want you".
On Through The Night
Written by Steve Clark, Rick Savage and Joe Elliot. The song has the same title as the debut album.
It's another killer riff (which also becomes the verse riff) to start the song off. It's very Blackmore like.
But press play to hear those Randy Rhoads style arpeggios in the Bridge just before the Chorus. For a band who wanted to rule the charts, they definitely kept their fingers on what was hot and what wasn't.
Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
Written by Steve Clark and Joe Elliot.
A very underappreciated cut.
Press play to hear how the verses are constructed. The drivers are the bass and drums.
Rick Savage plays a pulsing bass riff with Rick Allen providing a thundering beat and then the guitars start to decorate with chords at low volume and then at a more aggressive volume. Joe Elliot showcases his vocals chops moving between metal god and rock god melodies.
The Chorus has a catchy vocal melody with multi layered vocals.
And those harmonies in the solo. Just so many good sections in the song that words can't describe.
I also like how in the last 40 seconds, it starts off with the pulsing bass and drums for a few seconds before the Chorus riff thunders in to close out the song.
Written by Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Joe Elliot.
I feel like its "Ballroom Blitz" merged with "Tie Your Mother Down" and I like it.
Def Leppard will always be known for "Pyromania" and "Hysteria". Those albums have moved over 40 million in sales combined and they make up Def Lep's streaming Top 10 lists as well. But I've never judged albums on how many units sold. It's based on songs and riffs, and the quality and influence of this album cannot be ignored.
A to Z of Making It, Copyright, Music, My Stories
Persistence, Timing, Diversification and playing to your core audience
July 8, 2013 destroyerofharmony1981, 4, AC/DC, app developer, Back In Black, black rain, Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Claudio Sanchez, Coheed and Cambria, copycats, Corey Taylor, Crazy Nights, Def Leppard, Double Vision, Dream Theater, For Those About To Rock, Foreigner, Guitar World, Guns N Roses, hard work, Head Games, High N Dry, Highway To Hell, Hinder, Hot In The Shade, House of Gold and Bones, Hysteria, I Don't Wanna Stop, In This Moment, Jordan Rudess, Kevin Churko, Kiss, Mick Jones, Motley Crue, multi tracking, multiple income streams, Mutt Lange, nikki sixx, Oops I Did It Again, Ozzy Osbourne, paying your dues, persistence, Phil X, Prize Fighter Inferno, producer, Pyromania, rock stars, Roy Thomas Baker, Scream, Shania Twain, SIXX AM, SixxSense, Slip Of The Tongue, Slipknot, song writing, Stone Sour, Success, The Armory Wars, The Corrs, The Dirt, the heroin diaries, This Is Gonna Hurt, timing, Whitesnake 1 Comment
I am reading the recent issue of Guitar World and I come across a question where Mick Jones from Foreigner is asked how it was to work with Mutt Lange? For those that don't know Mutt Lange produced the Foreigner 4 album in 1981.
Mutt had really wanted to do our second album [1978's Double Vision], I believe. But he didn't seem quite ready at the time. So we did the next one [1979's Head Games] with Roy Thomas Baker.
So Lange goes away and he proves himself to Foreigner. He takes on AC/DC and produces Highway to Hell in 1979 (their American breakthrough album) and Back in Black in 1980 (their first with Brian Johnson and their biggest album in regards to sales to date). He also produced For Those About To Rock We Salute You in 1981.
He didn't just give up. In between the period between 1977 and 1981, apart from AC/DC, he also produced albums for artists like City Boy, Clover, Supercharge, The Boomtown Rats, The Rumour, Savoy Brown, Michael Stanley Band, Outlaws, Deaf School, The Records and Broken Home. He is paying his dues, getting the stats on his side, just so that he can work with a band that he wants to work with.
… then Mutt was kind of knocking on the door again. I must say, he was quite enthusiastic.
Then he gets the gig to do Foreigner – 4 which came out in 1981. Persistence. Paying your dues. Credentials. Hard work. Timing. They all play important parts in the recipe for success.
Mutt's persistence to hard work, made him turn over a lot of records as a producer. A lot of those records made a large impression with the public.
Mutt's timing was off when he first approached Foreigner in 1978. It wasn't off in 1981. This time around he also had the credentials to back himself. For a producer, your credentials are the works that you produced, for an artist, your credentials is the music that you make.
He was the first producer I worked with who really challenged me. He was not only very insightful with the songs and in helping to bring them to fruition but he was also really great at achieving sounds.
The real rock stars hated to get challenged. The "songs are their children" is a common cliché that so many of them would say. Mutt Lange didn't give a shit about that. He wanted perfection. He wanted greatness. He wanted to be involved in something that would last forever.
He was just unbelievably dedicated to the process…to the point where I think we kept Def Leppard waiting six or nine months because Mutt was still working with us on 4.
Def Leppard waited for him. Why? They knew. They knew that this guy was special. They knew he was the person that would be able to capture their pop leanings and merge them with their rock and blues influences. All of that pales, compared to what they really needed. Def Leppard needed a song writing partner. Look at the history that they created.
Def Leppard – High 'N' Dry, 1981
Def Leppard – Pyromania, 1983
Def Leppard – Hysteria, 1987
Def Leppard – Adrenalize, 1992
Mutt really set a standard with Def Leppard. I called it the layers standard. Others call it the over dubs or over producing standard. Others call it multi-tracking. The fans loved it. They wanted the big vocals, the arena rock chorus's layered in harmonies. Once Hysteria exploded every other band released albums in the same layered style. Suddenly every hard rock band was doing the Bon Jovi and Def Leppard thing. Kiss went all pop metal with Crazy Nights and Hot In The Shade. Whitesnake did it with Slip Of The Tongue. However, there was one band that was doing things their own way. That one band is called Guns N Roses. I digress.
Once you become successful, it doesnt mean you stop. Mutt Lange didn't. He kept on going.
Song writing for other artists became a new income stream for him from the eighties onwards. As an artist, if all you do is just write music and perform it live, you are limiting yourself to that income stream. However, if you write songs for other artist, you have an additional income stream. If you produce for up and coming bands, sharing your expertise and knowledge, then you have another income stream. If you are a guitar player, become a guitar teacher on time off from recording and touring. That is another income stream. Suddenly, you have a years' worth of work. Yes it is hard work. It was never meant to be easy.
Look at the following list of people that keep on working hard;
Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater. He plays keyboards in Dream Theater, he is a solo musician, he is an instructor and he is an app developer.
Claudio Sanchez from Coheed and Cambria. He is the founder, singer, guitarist and main songwriter for Coheed and Cambria. He also has a side project called Prize Fighter Inferno. He has written novels and comics. He appears at Comic Conventions. He has just signed a production agreement for The Amory Wars story to be turned into a movie or movies. He is also an app game developer.
Corey Taylor is another. The recent House of Gold and Bones releases by Stone Sour have seen that concept story turned into a graphic novel and comic book, as well as a production deal to turn it into a movie. Apart from Stone Sour, Corey still tours with Slipknot. He is also a novelist.
Nikki Sixx is the leader of Motley Crue. He does Sixx A.M as another band. He does photography and his work is being exhibited on line. He has penned two autobiographies (The Dirt and The Heroin Diaries), as well as a picture book/biography for This is Gonna Hurt. He uses social media to build connections with fans. Finally, he is overseeing the long overdue Motley Crue movie. There is also the SixxSense "radio" gig and a range of other outlets like clothing and accessories.
Phil X is currently fill in guitarist for Bon Jovi. He is a session musician. He is a fill in guitarist .He is a solo artist. He is a band member. He is a guitar teacher. Five different income streams. He endorses different product lines of gear.
Kevin Churko is a producer, sound engineer, masterer, mixer and a songwriter. While his production credits involve the hard rock and metal genre, I bet a lot of people didn't know that he was involved with Britney Spears when he started off. Yep that is right. In 2000 he was the Digital Editing and Programming guru on Britney's Oops!… I Did It Again album. He had that same job title for The Corrs, Shania Twain and Celine Dion albums that followed between 2000 and 2003.
From 2003 onwards, he then started getting appointments as an Engineer and a mixer. He had those titles for Shania Twain and Ozzy Osbourne albums.
Then from 2006 and onwards he started getting producing appointments.
Churko built up a credentialed name for himself between 1999 and 2006. Since then he has done I Don't Wanna Stop, Black Rain and Scream by Ozzy Osbourne. Apart from being the Producer, he was also the Engineer, the Mixer and Composer.
He has filled the same role for In This Moment, Hinder, Beggars and Thieves, Emerson Drive, Five Finger Death Punch, Otherwise, Kobra and The Lotus and Rob Zombie.
The point in all of this. Success in music is not just about writing a song and watching it sell. You need to earn your success. You need to pay your dues. You need to live and experience life. You need to be patient. You need to persevere. The bottom line; don't quit.
And remember: still play to your core audience. That is what all of the above artists are doing. They are keeping their core audience satisfied. |
Enjoy the best of both worlds with our Greece twin-centre offer!
Enjoy the best of both worlds with our Greece twin-centre offer, starting off with three nights in Santorini, possibly the most romantic and picturesque Greek Island, born from an ancient volcanic eruption, whose stupendous cliffs rise 900 feet from a half-moon caldera which also makes it a fascinating island to explore.
Picturesque villages teeter on the rocky sides and whitewashed Cycladic houses perfectly complement the blue domed rooftops. In Santorini, you will be staying at the 4-star Veggera Hotel located on one of Santorini's most popular beach.
After Santorini your next 4 nights will be spent in Crete at the 5 Star Bella Beach Hotel on an All Inclusive Board Basis. Located on the beautiful beach of the Cretan Sea, the Bella Beach Hotel is a five-star hotel complete with lush gardens, 3 swimming pools, a giant outdoor chess set and a host of other onsite activities available. For the more active, why not check out the tennis or basketball courts, the well equipped Fitness Studio, or simply chill out by the waters edge or Wellness Centre, the Bella Beach is a luxury resort covering all holiday aspects.
Situated on the northern coast of Crete, near Anissaras, the hotel enjoys a prime location afoot one of the prettiest beaches of the Mediterranean.
Two beautiful Greek Islands in one deal!
The renowned black beach of Perissa on the Greek Island of Santorini is where you will find the 4-star Veggera Hotel, set next to Profitis Ilias Mountain. The whitewashed Veggera Hotel, built in neoclassical and Cycladic traditional style, offers 66 rooms, apartments and suites to suit your requirements, whether single, couple or a family group.
Veggera Hotel, built in neoclassic and Cycladic style, offers traditional rooms and maisonettes featuring satellite TV. All units enjoy private balcony with views to the sea or the pool or the garden.Guest rooms and suites are built and decorated according to the elegant Mediterranean architecture.
Superior rooms are renovated in 2011 and are equipped with all modern facilities including individual air-condition, flat screen satellite TV, telephone, refrigerator, bathroom, hairdryer and have private balcony or terrace.
Guests can spend their morning in the lounge and breakfast area, before heading to the pools or the beach. Veggera restaurant offers a quiet environment where guests can enjoy breathtaking views over the Aegean Sea while tasting Greek cuisine. Those who wish to stick to their fitness routine, can make use of the gym.
At Veggera Hotel, guests will experience the calm beauty of Santorini and the Greek Island slower pace of life.
Bella Beach Hotel is located in a place of timeless beauty with view to the Cretan sea in the centre of the northern coast of Crete.
Lying on the sandy beach of Anissaras, the 5-star Bella Beach offers elegant accommodation with views over the Cretan Sea or the complex's well-kept gardens. The air-conditioned rooms at Bella Beach are decorated in light olive-green tones and open out to a private balcony. They are equipped with a flat-screen satellite TV, DVD player, mini fridge, free toiletries and hairdryer.
Guests can pamper themselves at the on-site spa centre including an indoor pool, a hot tub and a hammam. The property also features a variety of sports facilities, such as 2 tennis courts, a mini-golf course and a basketball court.
Pergola Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in buffet style, while Olive Tree Restaurant prepares Mediterranean dishes a la carte. The 3 bars, on the lobby, the beach and by the pool, are ideal for enjoying an exotic cocktail while overlooking the sea.
Arrive Santorini and you will be taken to your hotel through shuttle transfer. Day will be at leisure.
After breakfast, day will be at leisure. You can either choose to stay back at the hotel or relax at the beautiful beaches of Santorini.
After enjoying delicious breakfast, day will be at leisure to explore Santorini's magic scenery.
Today after breakfast, take your transfer from Santorini Hotel to the port for high speed sea transfer to Crete. After arriving Crete, you will reach hotel through shuttle transfer.
Today will be at leisure and it will be your choice to stay back at the hotel and enjoy your All Inclusive meal plan throughout the day or relax at the beautiful beaches of Crete.
Today will be at leisure and you are free to spend the day as you want to.
This day will be at leisure again and you can laze around at the beautiful beaches of Crete.
It will be end of your trip. Take shuttle transfer from hotel to the airport to catch your flight back to UK. |
What do you need to carry-on with you for a long flight? And when I say a long flight, I mean a really long flight. Like 10 hours and up.
I always check in my luggage and carry-on a duffle bag with my valuables, my pre-packed travel kit for long flights, and of course some entertainment (my iPad, headphones, a book, etc). As soon as I get on the plane, I pull my travel kit out of my duffle bag and leave it on the floor in front of my seat and then put my duffle bag in the overhead compartment. This allows for me to have everything I need without having to get up continuously, while maintaining the most legroom possible.
Some years ago, I bought a bunch of travel size items and packed a small travel kit with the essentials for long flights. Ever since, my travel kit has remained packed and I just update it as necessary. Having all of these items ready to go makes my life so much easier when it's time to pack.
I love my travel kit because it consists of 3 separate bags (it helps me keep it semi-organized!) that fit one into the other. It ends up being just 1 bag that I pull out when I get on the plane.
Travel Bags: I found these Henri Bendel travel bags that come in a set of 3 and are super light-weight, easy to wipe down, and best of all they fit one inside the other. I pack the 3 separate bags based on the type on contents, then drop the 2 smaller ones into the bigger one, take the air out of it and drop it into my duffle bag. Here's the link to purchase them: Henri Bendel Packable Travel Trio.
Lip Balm: Your lips always get super dry on long flights.
Pen: You need this to fill out all of the immigration forms.
Photocopy of your passport: You can leave your passport safely put away in your bag and you still have all of your passport information handy when you fill out the immigration forms. Also, you should always carry a copy of your passport anyway in case you lose it while abroad. I keep 1 copy in my travel kit and a second copy in my husbands wallet, just in case.
Antibacterial Wipes: I'm a clean freak so I wipe down everything around me as soon as I get on the plane to avoid getting sick.
Medication: Any medication that you take regularly should be with you at all times. You might want to also carry something that helps you sleep. It'll make your long flight go by much quicker.
Body Wash: If I have a long layover between flights, I like to take a quick shower. Most international terminals have shower that you can use (but you might have to pay for it). I have done flights that are 30+ hours total, so a shower is a must during my layover.
Deodorant: You need this if you shower and even if you don't get to shower, baby wipes and fresh deodorant will make you feel better.
Face Wash: Even if I don't get to shower during my layover, I like to go to the bathroom to wash my face, reapply moisturizer (planes make you so dry) and a little bit of fresh makeup. It makes me feel so much better.
Toothpaste: Because no one likes dragon breath.
Toothbrush: If you're flying business or first, this is usually provided.
Socks: I'm always freezing on planes so I wear a sweater and take big socks in my travel kit to keep me warm. This will also be provided if you're flying business or first class.
Moisturizer: I apply some after washing my face to keep my skin hydrated.
Phone Charger: You need a phone charger! You can charge your phone at the airport (you might need to carry an adapter as well) and a lot of flights have outlets at your seat.
Portable Battery Charger: The random blue thing in the picture, is a portable charger. I charge it up before leaving home and if there's nowhere to charge my phone, then I plug my iphone cable into the blue charger and charge up my phone for another full charge. If you're doing 30 hours of flight time, trust me you'll appreciate this thing if your flight doesn't have outlets.
Cell Phone: Once I get on the plane, my cell phone gets added to this bag so I don't lose it but I have it accessible.
Mints and/or Gum: Especially gum for takeoff if you have sensitive ears.
Sleep Mask: I never use these things, except for on long flights. You might just be lucky enough to have that guy nearby that wants to have his window open the whole time with tons of sunlight coming in. Just in case, I bring mine to ensure that I can sleep (at least a bit). This is also provided if you're flying business or first class.
Makeup: Just some basic makeup to reapply.
Clean Undergarments: If you get the chance to shower, then carry clean undergarments with you. Even if you don't change your whole outfit, you'll feel clean again. If you want to change completely, then add a clean outfit to your duffle bag.
Band-Aids: I always have a couple with me, just in case.
Tissues: These are great for anything, a runny nose, gum you don't want to chew anymore, etc.
I know it sounds like a ton of stuff, and you obviously don't have to carry the exact same things, but it's worth being prepared. Hopefully this makes your extra long flight a little more bearable.
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A Despacho is a sacred offering, often in the form of a prayer bundle. The Despacho tradition originated in the high Andes mountains with the wisdomkeepers of the Andean communities of Q'eros. The Andean people create Despachos to honor births and weddings, to ask for healing, and bless any new project or endeavor.
Each element that is placed within the beautiful mandala of the Despacho is offered with prayers from those gathered for the ceremony. Every item holds symbolic meaning, calling for the release of certain energies, welcoming blessings and benevolent forces, and ultimately, prayers to return to balance and alignment with our own highest intentions, as well as with Pachamama. There are many kinds of Despacho, and a wide variety of offerings that can be placed in the mandala, including sweets, grains, flowers, incense, feathers, and leaves, but the most essential offering is an open, grateful heart. Once the mandala is complete, the Despacho is closed and bundled, and gifted to Spirit through ritual burning, burial, or offering to the water.
Despachos are made as Ayni offerings. Ayni is a Quechua word that translates to Reciprocity. In the western world, we have lived for a long time as takers. The dominant religions and cultural traditions have led us to believe that the Earth is merely a collection of resources that are available for our taking, and the dis-ease, environmental destruction, species extinctions, and systems collapses that we are now witnessing are the undeniable result of thousands of years of living as takers. In the high Andes, however, the people have lived in an uninterrupted system of balance with the natural world for thousands of years. Ayni is the Law of Nature, insisting that we enter into sacred exchange, equal giving and receiving, and deep honoring of Pachamama as our true Mother, the sustainer of our lives. In the Andes, Ayni is not merely a concept, but a fully integrated way of life ~ as people have never assumed that they are separate from the rest of the natural world.
From Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." For far, far too long, humans have taken this teaching too far, believing that the Earth is merely here for our purposes, for the harvesting of resources and for our dumping ground. Humans have gone deeper and deeper into the mental sickness that believes that we are not merely separate from the Earth, but we are superior to all other life and systems that are sharing this planet with us. It is the wisdom of ancestral traditions such as this one from the Andean master healers from Q'eros that may guide us back to a deep reverence and understanding of our place within the web of life. Ayni says that as we receive, we must give. And as we give, we must receive. Always in prayer, always in humility, and always in gratitude.
Angela Blueskies first encountered the Despacho Ceremony tradition in the Cusco area of Peru in 2005, during her first journey to Peru. She was connected with a young Andean shaman by a colleague, and he was happy to teach her about the traditions of the indigenous people of the Andes. Angela and the young shaman spent two days together travelling to sacred sites near Cusco, and they were joined on second day by the shaman's grandfather. Near a high hillside outside of Chinchero, the young shaman carried his Grandfather piggy-back style to the location where they would make their Despacho. Once everything was set up, Angela was told that she would be creating her own Despacho, and while usually there are certain members of the community that are responsible for making Despachos on behalf of others, and who were masters in the art and ritual, this time it would be done differently. The Grandfather told his grandson and Angela that at this time in the world, it is immensely important that people are making these offerings, and that is more important than making them in a particular way. Angela was told at that time that she was the first person outside of their lineage who had ever been allowed to make her own Despacho.
At the time, Angela didn't think much of this encoun ter, and happily joined in the creation of her own Despacho offering beside her young shaman friend. Now, having deepened her connection with this sacred tradition, she understands that she was given a wonderful gift that day ~ the gift of bringing the Despacho tradition into her own culture, and making it accessible to people in new ways that are both powerful and culturally relevant. Angela has made many, many Despachos on behalf of herself, her family, her community, and humanity during the years since that first Despacho, and it seems more important than ever that people living in the western world return to a deeper understanding of the cosmos and their place within it.
In October 2016, Angela made the journey to one of the high villages within the Q'ero Nation for the first time. She joine d her mentors, Don Augustin and Dona Benita, for three days of connection with their community, with the land, and with their rich and profound traditions. They made a stunningly beautiful Despacho there, joined by their son Santos, and fellow healer Walter. Following the ceremony, Angela asked for their advice to bring back to her community and culture, which is in so much turmoil and chaos at this time. Their answer was always the same: Make more offerings. Once more, Angela was grateful to receive the guidance to continue bringing this powerful ceremony to her brothers and sisters, as humanity finds its way back to the Garden of Eden, back to wise responsibility, back to living in harmony, unity, and balance, and living with a profound reverence for all life as simply one part of the magnificent living systems of Pachamama.
Angela and Helene offer Despacho Ceremonies at Rumi Wasi Sanctuary in Harpers Ferry, WV, as well as within their Washington DC community, The Tribe of Beltway Shamans, and beyond. They are also happy to make Despacho offerings on behalf of their brothers and sisters at a distance who cannot be with them in person, as well as by request for those who wish to arrange a private ceremony. |
You can reach Namsos by calling VHF9.
Namsos Marina is a large port situated in the city with the same name- A local icon for touristic attractions from all around the world. Also known as "The Rock City", this traditional town will dazzle your mind and will provide access to countless landmarks and numerous outdoor activities. Enjoy hiking on the Klompen – A local mountain with a path that leads to its peak, providing a unique landscape with Namsos in the center of it. Oasen is the biggest European swimming establishment that has ever been built inside of a mountain. It is open for visitation and you can experience the warm waters and enjoy swimming in a luxurious venue. If you are feeling hungry, "The Rock City" provides countless quality and luxurious establishments that will transform a simple meal into a feast fit for a king. Here is a list of the top rated venues in the vicinity: Tinos Rastaurant, Den Gamle Nabo, Scandic Rock City and Himmel & Hav Namsos. Relax and enjoy this peaceful place.
From helpful headlines to descriptive details, you could write the kinds of reviews travelers love a look. Kindly share your feedback regarding your experience in Namsos to help them improve and tell future skippers / boat owners what to expect.
We strongly advise you to check the weather in Namsos before your trip.
Namsos is located in Nord-Trøndelag.
A cultural landmark of Norway with deep rooted traditions in excellent cuisine. Situated in the northern part of Norway, with access to the Atlantic Ocean, Nord-Trøndelag is very well-known amongst tourists as a great holiday destination being the host of the Klompen Mountains and Oasen Swimming Hall.
Nord-Trøndelag is a local gem in Norway created in 1804 and resisting the test of time. During the Viking Age, the Innherred area of the county was the home of powerful chieftains and was the place where the Battle of Stiklestad took place, event after which King Olaf II lost his life.
The county is put on the map by 24 municipalities, the largest of them all being Stjørdal, Steinkjer and Namsos. These regions combine life in the city with the wilderness of Norway. It is the perfect place for a diverse holiday.
Stjørdal is one of the most important cities in the county, a crossroad of the industry. This area is the standard point of transport between the Norwegian coastline and the mainland. This city is most well-known for the village of Hell-A popular touristic destination because of its name. The irony is no stranger to this area as temperatures in the village of Hell can reach -30 °C.
Steinkjer is located on the Trondheim Fjord, an oasis of natural landmarks, deep valleys and dense forests. This area offers spectacular views and sublime landscapes and will dazzle every tourist that visits it. With well over 60 lakes, this municipality is a paradise for fishermen from all around the world. Lake Snåsa is the best fishing spot recommended by the locals that will connect you with the famous Salmon or Trout.
Namsos, also known as "The Rock City", is a traditional town that will astonish you and will provide access to numerous activities. Here you can enjoy hiking in the Klompen Mountains.
Oasen is the biggest European swimming arena that has ever been built inside of a mountain. It is open for visitation, and you can experience the warm waters and enjoy swimming in this Olympic size arena.
If you decide to visit this extraordinary area, you should experience the quality restaurants in the city. With traditional cuisine, these marvellous locations offer menus appropriate for every taste and budget, and they will transform every meal into a king's feast.
Here is a list of the finest establishments that Hordaland offers: Tinos Restaurant, Den Gamle Nabo, Scandic Rock City and Himmel & Hav Namsos A. Enjoy a romantic dinner in these quality venues and you will remember your holiday here for the rest of your life.
If you are interested in visiting this outstanding county, the hotels and holiday homes in the area will always be prepared to satisfy your every need and will welcome you with open arms. With cheerful personnel and extraordinary services, these quality establishments will ensure that during your stay here you and your family and friends will be treated like royalty.
The top rated facilities in the vicinity include names like: Scandic Rock City (Namsos), Tino's Hotel (Namsos), Radisson Blu Hotel (Stjørdal), Scandic Hell (Stjørdal), Scandic Solsiden (Stjørdal), Quality Hotel Grand (Stjørdal), Steinkjer Kurssenter (Stjørdal) and Best Western Tingvold Park Hotel (Stjørdal).
This map shows Namsos's specific location. |
Louis PRIMA & Keely SMITH - On Stage
Another one of Dot Records released on to CD , this recording was made at Wilbur Clark's Desert Hotel Inn. Surprisingly, it features Prima's trumpet playing more than anything. performance, we only hear two short songs from Keely. Lou Sino does his best displaying his ability to double and triple tongue on "12th Street Rag," while Sam struts his stuff on "Crazy Little Bee." Louis outdoes himself on his own composition "The Chief's Special," a song titled to reference his nickname within the band. We hear very little (as usual) from Morgan Thomas, who shadows Lou Sino on alto valve trombone. Keely's vocals are deep and mournful on Sinatra's "This Love of Mine," but Louis manages to keep spirit alive with his quips and comedy. The big surprise comes in the ending (I won't ruin the surprise), which is pre-empted by an amazing power-house arrangement of "It Happened in Monterrey." For both collectors and fans this CD is still one that is top-notch.
1. THE CHIEFS SPECIAL
2. PORGY
3. THIS LOVE OF MINE
5. 12th STREET RAG
6. CRAZY LITTLE BEE
7. YOUR EYES
8. I LOVES YA
9. IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY
10. COOLIN'
LaVern BAKER - The Best of...
The HARPTONES - Life Is But...
Winifred ATWELL - Black &...
Scatman CROTHERS - Rock 'n'...
Helen FORREST - The Golden...
Jimmy DEAN - Big Bad John...
Jaye P MORGAN - Up North,...
The FLAMINGOS - Time Was -...
Buddy KNOX - Party Doll and...
Buddy JOHNSON & His...
Conway TWITTY - Lonely Blue... |
Q: Questions about a pivot I did the tutorial for the pivots and got my first 3 pivots.
But if you plant a pivot and another player finds it, what happens to the pivot? Do you lose it forever? Do you have to find it again? Does it change locations?
I am a bit worried that I might lose the pivots.
A: When you are putting your pivots in the map noone will be able to take them.Only you are able to take them back through the map.When you find the pivot that you are looking for just be sure to pick up all the pivots that you placed so you can use them again.They doesn't change locations and you will not lose them.
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I'm running FreeBSD/amd64 8-STABLE (r250276) and, yesterday, updated www/rubygem-passenger from 3.0.19 to 4.0.5 via portmaster. Although the port upgraded without error, the resultant Passenger no longer works: it complains it can't find "bash" and Rails apps won't spawn.
I don't have shells/bash installed, and didn't need to with version 3.0.19 of the www/rubygem-passenger port. The shells/bash port isn't listed as a runtime dependency for www/rubygem-passenger in its Makefile, either.
If I install shells/bash and also put a symlink from /usr/bin/bash to /usr/local/bin/bash then Passenger will run once again. I don't like this solution, though. Does anyone know of a way of running the Passenger 4.0.5 port without needing bash?
I've included at the end a snippet from httpd-error.log showing the behaviour of the new Passenger 4.0.5 prior to the workaround I put in place mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
PS: Please Cc: me on replies because I am not subscribed to this list.
[ 2013-06-10 16:09:55.0458 60992/0x8010041c0 agents/Watchdog/Main.cpp:564 ]: All Phusion Passenger agents started!
[ 2013-06-10 16:11:40.4505 60994/0x80151b940 Pool2/Implementation.cpp:774 ]: Could not spawn process for group /home/pmather/rails_testing/demo#default: An error occured while starting up the preloader.
[ 2013-06-10 16:11:40.4510 60994/0x80120a200 agents/HelperAgent/RequestHandler.h:1889 ]: [Client 23] Cannot checkout session. An error occured while starting up the preloader. |
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With over a decade of firsthand experience in serving a myriad of large and small businesses, Greenwich Airport & Limousine Service has learned to not only meet but to anticipate the needs of our corporate and business clients.
Our commitment to simplify the needs of our patrons has earned us a trusted reputation. For many clients, this means the establishment of a Corporate Account. A corporate account with us will ensure hassle-free limo reservation processing, availability of select vehicles, and convenient expense tracking.
Our drivers are courteous, experienced, polished, and knowledgeable. Each driver is required to have a chauffeur's license and to present themselves in attire that is appropriate for the situation.
Experience the luxury and comfort that we have to offer. Our fleet includes Town Cars, SUVs, and Mercedes Benz. Our cars receive regular maintenance and are in compliance with state and federal licensing requirements, in addition to proper vehicle and liability insurance coverage. |
Q: Angular js: Cannot create property 'type' on string i want disable image with angular js i used a function to do that i have this error Cannot create property 'type' on string:
Controller :
$scope.ActivePlaceSpotCAM = function (idPlace, typePlace) {
var res = null;
angular.forEach($scope.ListPlaces, function (value, key) {
angular.forEach(value.type, function (value ,key) {
if (value.type = typePlace && value.id == idPlace) {
res = value;
}
});
});
return res;
}
html :
<div class="SvgPicto col-lg-2 col-md-2 col-sm-2 col-xs-2">
<img src="@Url.Content("~/Resources/Common/pic.svg")" ng-init="configuredPlaces[@nbPlace] == place.type" ng-if="ActivePlaceSpotCAM(place.id,place.type)"/>
</div>
A: You are doing assignment operation in if please correct
if (value.type = typePlace && value.id == idPlace)
to
if (value.type == typePlace && value.id == idPlace)
And please check the type of value it should not be a string.Before comparing you should check weather the type property is existing or not.
|
"Yes, Father, I want to confess, but I am ashamed of what I have done, not even God can forgive me," he answered.
"You don't know the mercy of a loving, caring Jesus. If you are truly repentant and willing to make amends for what you have done, forgiveness is possible," the priest told him assuringly.
"Father, forgive me, my conscience will not let me sleep at night, I am deeply troubled by what I have done," the penitent continued.
Then he opened up and his story, poured out seeking from relief and expiation of past deeds.
He fell silent with his head sinking into his hands he wept.
While this is a story put together from testimonies given by vigilantes and police seeking protection from the Church, priests like Father Pepito have to think what they would say if this was a sacramental confession.
He would be listening to a contract killer, a serial assassin. In a confessional situation the penitent would have to seek a real change of heart and mind, a turning to God, and not just be a man with a troubled conscience seeking psychological relief and counselling.
There is a good change coming in some Filipino communities where the conscience of the people is emerging from a dark night of unknowing.
They are realising that they have been led astray and mesmerised by the shrill rhetoric of the voices of violence.
They were convinced that killing suspects was the best way to bring peace and create a drug-free society. Many Filipinos these days are slowly awaking to the truth that the extrajudicial killing of the poor is really murder and that to remain silent before evil is to give support to the evil.
One report says that forces unknown have killed 12,000 already. No one has been held responsible. But the day of reckoning is approaching.
The people are now listening to voices they once scorned and protesting against the killings. Bishop Pablo David is calling on the killers to repent, saying they need to be prayed for as they are the living dead.
But in The Philippines today, no one is safe. If the bishop continues with his proclamation of the gospel message that every person has the right to a life of dignity, he too might be charged as a drug lord to silence his voice.
That is what conscience is: an inner knowledge of what is true and false, good and evil, right and wrong. Conscience can be manipulated and weakened and can be corrupted into believing that what is evil is good.
This is achieved by fake media hype, the example of leaders making false promises and sprouting hyperbole, as well as repeating lies many times over. Proclaiming the gospel with a prophetic voice is bringing people to accept and live by the truth. |
7 Surprising Tips about Leadership from the First Revelation of the Quran
Posted February 8th, 2018 by Admin |
Mohammed Faris
"I don't think I'm ready for an executive leadership role," the 42-year-old coaching client said to me on the phone.
Have you ever been in a position where you've been asked to lead a team, an organization, or a company, and your instinctive reaction is that you're not ready for it? If you have, then this story from the Islamic tradition might help ease your distress: it is the story of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he received the first revelation of the Quran.
On a clear night in 610 AD, deep in the mountains of Mecca, the Prophet was alone in the cave of Hira, when an angel appeared before him and squeezed him three times till he could barely breathe. The angel then told him to recite the first verses of the Quran and told him that he's now the messenger of God.
Shocked and scared, the Prophet went to his home shivering saying, "Cover me, cover me!" His wife, Khadija, comforted and listened to him, then she shared some powerful words of support reminding the Prophet that his was an excellent character and that nothing evil would befall him.
Khadija took him to her cousin Waraqa Bin Nawfal, who was a knowledgeable scholar. and the Prophet told him what had happened, and Waraqa reassured him that he was indeed the messenger of God, but he would face difficulties from his people in the years to come.
There are several lessons from this story for the newly appointed leader who is nervous about their new role:
It's OK to Feel Fear: The fact that you feel worried, concerned, and even distressed about your new role is a good sign! This type of stress is called eustress, or good stress because it provides you with enough productive discomfort to grow and stretch yourself.
You Need Family Support: The first person the Prophet turned to after the encounter in the mountains was his loving wife, Khadija. This is a powerful reminder of the role that family plays in supporting your growth. Talk to your family about your new role, what it means for you and them, and what support you need from them to be successful.
Remember Your Strengths: Khadija reminded the Prophet of his character strengths and all the good qualities he needed to grow into this role. You were selected for the leadership position because someone or some people saw something in you that they believed made you right for it. You need to look in the mirror and remind yourself what those ingredients are.
Seek Expert Advice: Meet people who understand what this role entails and ask for their advice, just as the Prophet and Khadijah sought the advice of Waraqa Bin Nawfal in Mecca.
Get a Mentor: The Prophet was blessed with angel Jibreel (Gabriel) as a mentor to teach him the Quran and how to pray. Get a mentor for your role, perhaps even an executive coach. Let them give you the support you need as well as challenge you to grow into your new role.
Get up and Pray: One of the first verses in the Quran that was revealed after the first encounter with Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) was "O you who wraps himself [in clothing], Arise [to pray]". When you know that you're in over your head with responsibilities, seek divine assistance, and let your spiritual self-grow along with your professional self.
Take Your Time: Don't expect to be the perfect leader from day one. You need time to practice a new set of skills and grow into your role. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) took three years before he publicly announced to his people that he was the messenger of God and they should follow him; he spent all that time contacting people in secret and building a network of support.
Back to the 42-year-old coaching client on the phone who told me he wasn't ready. After an hour of coaching, he realized that it was okay to feel uncomfortable and that it shouldn't stop him from at least exploring the role and seeking professional help to succeed in that role. He had it all in him, just like you do.
Mohammed Faris is an international coach, author, and speaker who helps professionals and entrepreneurs live the best versions of themselves spiritually, physically and socially. He's the founder of ProductiveMuslim.com and author of The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity.
This article first appeared on mySalaam.com. All rights reserved. Original Link: https://www.mysalaam.com/en/story/think-youre-not-ready-to-be-a-leader-these-tips-can-help/SALAAM15012018055745
Article under: Dinajpur Education Foundation, Leadership |
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Darreh Murti (, also Romanized as Darreh Mūrtī; also known as Darreh Mūrdī) is a village in Soghan Rural District, Soghan District, Arzuiyeh County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 36, in 13 families.
References
Populated places in Arzuiyeh County |
Happy love stories: Dear uadreams - thank you for your help!
This visit was incredible: my lady, translator, driver, services and even weather :) — everything was just perfect! I promise you this was first but not the last my visit to Ukraine. I have not even suspected but it is very good place even for rest with beatiful ukrainian resorts. I wish development and wealth to your agency and thank you for your help! |
We are going for dinner to the far away south side of the river – Cacilhas.
We are meeting at Cais do Sodré and taking a 5 minutes boat to Cacilhas. Then, in Cacilhas we will walk 3 minutes to the restaurant.
There are boats running until around midnight.
This is a speacilly good area for eating fish. We are going to the restaurant – O Cais.
We will need to use the zapping card to get there. The return ticket is 2,5€.
We will meet in front of Cais do Sodré train's ticket office (on the roads level). |
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Ah I love Christmas – but it can be quite a stressful time! There is always so much to organise, so many things to buy and so many gatherings to attend. Today I thought I'd share with you my favourite Christmas 'hacks'. I was inspired to write this post after watching the Actimel Santa Campaign video (you must give it a watch it really made me laugh!).
The lead up to Christmas – is a little like a bootcamp really; you need to get through it all to be able to enjoy the day itself right? Fighting through crowds to grab the best presents, wrapping all the presents you managed to buy, and then of course eating everything in sight on the day… or everyday in December. I just can't resist a festive hot chocolate!
Here are some ways to make things easier over the Festive Season, helping you stay strong if you're feeling a little stressed. Some things that really stress me out are present buying and wrapping, and also attending events. So, here are my top tips and hacks to make things much easier this year.
Wrapping can be a bit of a nightmare sometimes. With the boys I always have to make sure they are tucked away in bed so I can get wrapping, and often by this time I'm super tired and just want to flake out on the sofa. My solution? Gift bags, lot's of them! Use gift bags to minimise the amount of wrapping you have to do, or fill stockings and Christmas sacks (they fit in a lot of presents!). There are so many fab bags out there so take advantage and save on the sticky tape. Nobody wants a half ripped, messy present! TIP: Save the gift bags and reuse next year.
With Renzo being 7 months old and not quite having my pre baby body back, I'm struggling with what to wear this Christmas. The struggle is real. I want to feel glam but also be comfortable, so I'm going to do this through accessorising and making an extra effort on my hair. Lots of sparkle, lots of shimmer and lots of sass! Use old outfits and make them exciting by adding a different coloured pair of shoes, add some fun accessories to your hair and oh a red lip looks pretty awesome too!
Ah I'm not going to lie – I'm so bad when it comes to sending cards. I always buy them super last minute, write them all out then forget to send! Put me on the naughty list! Ignore my forgetfulness though, if you send a lot of cards each year why not send postcards instead? They will not only be so much cheaper but you can also recycle some of the fronts of old cards which is such a great idea don't you think? If you really want to get creative you can even make postcards with the children, have a crafts morning, pop some Christmas music on and enjoy the mess! It's Christmas after all.
I hope you enjoyed my top three hacks for the Christmas season – What tends to stress you out over the festive season and how do you overcome it?
Disclaimer: Actimel contains Vitamin B6 that contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. It also contains Vitamins B6 & D that contribute to the normal function of the immune system. |
Rectangular Peninsula U-Shape Desk. Right bridge.
Desk with two 3.5" rectangular legs and 12" modesty.
Sample image above shows Regal White worksurfaces and drawer fronts with a Cafe Latte desk chassis. See finishes and pulls. |
There are plenty of male folk-twang Americana singer songwriters who sing about love, oppression, assimilation, and growing up an outcast in the U.S. But not many of them can say they learned to write songs at Girl Scout camp.
In the early 2000's, StormMiguel made the decision to live his life as the gender he always felt he was. After years of agonizing about losing his singing voice to the effects of hormones, he finally decided to take the risk and start testosterone. StormMiguel sang and performed throughout his physical transition, although his voice was unpredictable, and his range shifted radically. He called this awkward period, "The Peter Brady Experiment." Over the years, he regained much of his higher range and developed control over his new lower range. The NPR show, Snap Judgement featured StormMiguel telling the story of how transitioning affected his music in a piece called Storm the Bard.
In June 2010, StormMiguel released his second solo project, Long Lost Sun, through his label, Bad Flower Music. Featuring StormMiguel's unique and haunting vocals and Americana-folk guitar style, Long Lost Sun takes the listener through a journey of "love, vulnerability, and complete & utter faith" as described by nationally-known burlesque artist Simone de la Ghetto. The songs reflect on StormMiguel's life and loves growing up queer, transgender, and assimilated Mexican American. While his songs are personal, his music and lyrics weave together universal themes of love, loss, family, culture, and complex identities that resonate with listeners from all backgrounds and experiences.
StormMiguel has toured across the U.S., headlining such venues as CBGB Lounge (New York, NY), The Lost Church (San Francisco, CA) Mable Peabody's Beauty Parlor and Chainsaw Repair (Denton, TX), and WIMIN Fest (Albuquerque, NM), and college campuses including Yale University and University of New Mexico. He has featured as a recurring performer at the Fresh Meat Festival, the San Francisco Queer Arts Festival, and the San Francisco Trans March. |
#import "SAAceSerializable-Protocol.h"
@class NSString;
@protocol SAGKStructuredAnswer <SAAceSerializable>
@property(copy, nonatomic) NSString *category;
@end
|
The Kut Shoppe. Is a upcoming barbershop in the local area. He requested a new logo for his store front, new business cards, referral card and store front banner.
Customer who are referred to the shop will hand this card to the barbershop to recieved $3 off their hair cut, and if the referred three other customer they'll get a free hair cut.
A logo a barbershop located in PA. Along with it business card and store front banner. |
The unstable surfaces of a BOSU® ball and Swiss ball typically have a greater impact on EMG muscle activity during a push up compared to a normal push up done on a flat stable surface. This study's purpose was to determine if performing a push up on a BOSU® ball and on an exercise bench influenced EMG muscle activity when compared to the activity of a push up on a stable surface in females. Eighteen females were recruited from a convenience sample of college students. The pectoralis major, rectus abdominus, and external oblique muscles showed the greatest EMG muscle activity. The posterior deltoid showed the lowest activity. Overall, the push up performed on the bench showed the greatest EMG muscle activity compared to the other types of push ups. |
A Round Rock police officer succumbed to the injuries he received on Feb. 25.
Round Rock, TX – Round Rock Police Officer Charles Whites succumbed to his injuries on Friday, after being struck by an impaired driver while directing traffic in February.
The incident happened after Round Rock Police Department received a report that a person was walking near Interstate 35 at approximately 5:27 a.m. on Feb. 25, KEYE reported.
They arrived to find the body of 25-year-old Amir Azad lying dead in the roadway.
Officer Whites, 63, arrived at the scene of the crash to direct traffic around the site, the Statesman reported.
Raul Martinez, 65, came upon the crash, and struck Officer Whites with his vehicle.
Martinez later told investigators that Officer Whites attempted to signal to him to drive around the scene by waving his flashlight, but that he was unable to react in time.
He said he hit "something," before he stopped his vehicle approximately 100 yards later, the Statesman reported.
Investigators later learned that Martinez was under the influence of at least twice the prescribed amount of central nervous system depressant, Gabapentin, at the time of the collision.
He displayed lethargic movements and slow speech during field sobriety testing, KEYE reported.
Officer Whites was rushed to a local hospital with broken ribs, bleeding on his brain, and a collapsed lung.
He remained in grave condition, and succumbed to his injuries at a hospice care facility on Friday, KIII-TV reported.
Chief Banks thanked the fallen hero's fellow officers and the Round Rock community for their support.
"We will continue to lean on this strength and support as we remember Charles and honor his many years of public service," Chief Banks added.
"For a 63-year-old officer to still be on the streets is amazing," the chief said.
Officer Whites, a 19-year veteran of the department, worked as a field training officer, SWAT negotiator, and patrol officer during his career, according to his obituary.
He previously managed the Wilderness Whitewater Supply Company before fulfilling his "long-time dream" of becoming a sworn law enforcement officer.
Officer Whites leaves behind his wife, Connie, and his stepson, William Mannella.
He will be laid to rest on Wednesday.
Martinez was charged with intoxication assault, and iss being held on $500,000 bond, KEYE reported.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Round Rock Police Officer Charles Whites, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We'll hold the line from here.
Rest in peace, Officer Whites - thank you for serving your community with the love you had for the job and the citizens you cared for and watched over.
Prayers for our law enforcement officers!!! |
The 268-wagon train started on its solo journey when the driver got down from his cab to carry out an inspection and was soon hurtling along at up to 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour.
BHP's shares were trading 1.21 per cent lower at Aus$33.14 in Sydney Wednesday amid reports in Britain that the Anglo-Australian firm was facing a £5 billion (US$6.5 billion) lawsuit over the deadly Samarco dam failure in Brazil in 2015.
Nineteen people were killed and a wave of toxic waste was unleashed when a dam burst at the mine in one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters. |
'Stoneos' are for adults. And Connecticut wants them gone.
Connecticut Public Radio
Connecticut Network (CT-N)
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong holds up a bag of "Stoney Patch," something that looks very similar to popular candy Sour Patch Kids, at a news conference in Hartford on Tuesday, Oct. 26. He's using that brand as an example of edible cannabis products containing THC that people, mainly kids, can confuse with their favorite treats.
Snacks like "Stoney Patch Kids" and "Double Stuf Stoneos" aren't going to fly with Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection.
Commissioner Michelle Seagull says the agency will ban certain products that confuse cannabis with candy and snacks. Officials are warning Connecticut residents about products with packaging nearly identical to popular candies like Warheads or Sour Patch Kids — these deceptive snacks will get you high.
As the state prepares to allow the legal sale of weed, Seagull said it's important to warn consumers about the contents of these look-alikes.
"It looks a lot like another product you would just maybe see in a candy store, and when it's sitting around in someone's house it can be easily mistaken," Seagull said.
She's concerned kids may reach for a bag of their favorite treat but then actually take down a full bag of edible cannabis.
State Attorney General William Tong recently pointed out a bag of "look-alike Cheetos" containing 600 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, which would be 120 times the recommended adult dose.
"That's not only dangerous, it's scary," Tong said. "It puts our children, our families at great risk here in Connecticut."
He then vowed to take legal action against anyone attempting to distribute the products in Connecticut.
Ingesting mass quantities of THC could result in overdose. Tong reported a spike in calls to a local poison control agency for pediatric exposure to THC throughout 2020 and the first seven months of 2021. In an emergency, the Connecticut Poison Control Center can be reached at 1-800-222-1222.
Seagull said she'll require packages of legal edible cannabis to have THC levels "clearly denoted" on the product. She'll also require the packaging to be child- and tamper-resistant.
Corrected: October 27, 2021 at 2:04 PM EDT
A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the weight of THC in "look-alike" Cheetos as "grams." The proper measurement is in "milligrams."
News marijuanagovernmentConnecticut
Connecticut drag queens shine in latest season of 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
Ray Hardman
This season, three Connecticut drag queens are competing.
The week in CT news: As gun violence rocks California, Connecticut leaders respond
Frankie Graziano
Frankie & Johnny: Jan. 27, 2023: Shootings in California reverberate in Connecticut. New Haven marks the Lunar New Year. Lawmakers consider gun violence proposals. |
I am having a bit of a dilemma. I used to try to make my plots far too thick; the story could not find a conclusion. But now I have simplified things to the point that I barely have a plot at all. I have characters, for sure, and I have events that shape them and make them who they are, but not much of a plotline for them to reveal themselves in.
What do I do? Go back to crazily thick plots?
Just tell me this: what do you enjoy most about a good novel? Does it need suspense and mystery to keep you interested? Or is the plight of an interesting character enough to go on? And given that there is mystery and suspense, at what point do you lose interest and find it all rather ridiculous?
Perhaps my question is impossible to answer because there are too many variations. But I would greatly appreciate any thoughts.
Frank Peretti is perhaps my favorite author. It's not so much the plots that I find interesting, but the characters. He makes them so real, and their realism is funny. I like to laugh.
For instance, what I liked most about his novel The Visitation was the hilarious and true reactions of all the characters to the different circumstances that faced them. Yes, it begins as an intriguing sort of plot, but it really takes awhile for it to pick up. It's mostly dealing with the main character's attitude to life in general.
I have no idea if this applies to what you're asking.
It does apply, a lot. I wanted to know whether the characters are enough to keep a person reading. I am a big fan of mystery myself, so I was unsure whether mystery is necessary to hold everyone's interest, or only my kind.
So yes, you answered my question. |
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California doctor buys Severance Medical Arts Building in Cleveland Heights
Michelle Jarboe
A California doctor has purchased the Severance Medical Arts Building in Cleveland Heights, near Severance Town Center.
A California physician has paid $1.08 million for a medical office building in Cleveland Heights, on the outskirts of Severance Town Center.
The Severance Medical Arts Building changed hands Feb. 3, after hitting the auction block late last year. Public records identify the new owner as a limited liability company tied to Dr. Vikas Ghai, a hematologist-oncologist based in Bakersfield, California.
Ghai did not respond to inquiries about the purchase, a potential redevelopment play.
The nearly 99,000-square-foot building is only 37% occupied, according to the auction listing on the Ten-X website. The structure sits on a 5.65-acre parcel zoned for mixed-use development, including office, retail and residential uses.
"Ultimately, I think it's going to be a good opportunity to see some revinvestment and redevelopment of a key property at a key site for the city," said Brian Anderson, business development manager for the East Side inner-ring suburb.
He and Eric Zamft, the city's planning director, said officials have talked to Ghai about potential approaches to the eight-story building and the sea of parking around it.
"He's expressed a willingness to get some input and suggestions from the city, as far as what we'd like to see and what may be a good fit there," Anderson said. "We're just looking forward to the opportunity to continue that dialogue."
The property, at 5 Severance Circle, went up for auction on Nov. 29.
The seller was a limited partnership affiliated with TransCon Builders Inc., a Bedford Heights company that has been shedding office holdings in favor of focusing on nursing homes, assisted living facilities and apartments.
TransCon did not return a phone call. The company had controlled the property since 1989, according to Cuyahoga County records.
The auction garnered interest from investors scattered across the country, said Joseph Khouri, a first vice president with the CBRE Group Inc. brokerage in Cleveland. He and colleague Vince Mingo represented the seller.
Khouri described Ghai as a value-add investor, a buyer willing to make improvements to underperforming real estate in a quest for higher returns.
"I think he's an avid investor on the Ten-X platform," Khouri said. "And it was a pretty seamless transaction."
Located just outside the road that rings Severance Town Center, the building is not far from the MetroHealth System's Cleveland Heights Medical Center. The hospital system is investing $42 million in a behavioral health and addiction services expansion at that campus, where construction is scheduled to wrap up in the fall.
The outlook for Severance, a sprawling shopping center largely owned by New York-based Namdar Realty Group, remains unclear. City officials have been talking for years about how to reinvigorate the property, which is grappling with significant vacancies.
"There's a lot of community engagement on Severance," Zamft said. "Interest and engagement."
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Tectaria rockii C.Chr., Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 26: 331. 1931; Tardieu & C.Chr., Fl. Indo-Chine 7(2): 420. 1941; Holttum, Dansk Bot. Ark. 23: 238. 1965; Tagawa & K.Iwats., SouthE. Asian Stud. 5: 98. 1967; Tagawa & K.Iwats., Fl. Thailand 3: 374. 1988; Boonkerd & Pollawatn, Pterid. Thailand: 216. 2000.
Tectaria burmanica Ching, Sinensia 2: 31, pl. 12. 1931.
Rhizome short, creeping or ascending, densely scaly; scales stiff, dark brown to nearly black, entire, linear-subtriangular, up to 17 by 1.5 mm. Stipes up to 80 cm long, castaneous to brown, scaly near base, minutely puberulous throughout. Laminae broadly deltoid, about 50 cm long and wide, bipinnate to tripinnate at base; rachis densely puberulous; lateral pinnae 3–5 pairs, basal pinnae much the largest, up to 52 by 30 cm, asymmetrically subdeltoid, deeply lobed or pinnate near base; terminal pinna subtriangular, acuminate at apex, cuneate at base, lobed; pinna-rachis and costa densely puberulous on upper surface, hairy beneath; basiscopic pinnule of basal pinna larger, shortly stalked or sessile, crenate to lobed, up to 23 by 6 cm; lobes of other pinnae rounded to acute at apex, entire; herbaceous or thicker, deep green, paler beneath; veins sparsely hairy, raised beneath, forming irregular areoles with numerous included free veinlets. Sori dispersed on lower surface or sometimes confined to lobes, on reticulate veins, round, about 1.5 mm diam.; indusia more or less persistent, minutely hairy or glabrescent .
NORTHERN: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak; NORTH-EASTERN: Loei; SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi; SOUTH-EASTERN: Chanthaburi.
Hua Phan, Khammouane, Xieng Khouang.
On mountain slopes in dense forests at 400–1200 m alt.
Middleton et al. 4700, Chanthaburi, Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary (E). |
UFS alumni to reach milestone at 2019 Rugby World Cup
18 October 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Getty Images
Jaco Peyper, former Kovsie, will handle a quarter-final match at the Rugby World Cup. It will also be his 50th test match.
With the appointment of Jaco Peyper as referee there will be Kovsie alumni among the referees, players and coaches in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan on 20 October.
Lappies Labuschagné will start on the flank for Japan in their clash against the Springboks on Sunday. Labuschagné, a former Shimla captain, is second on the list for tackles made in the tournament thus far.
In the Springbok camp there are former University of the Free State (UFS) students in Rassie Erasmus (head coach) and Jacques Nienaber (defence coach).
UFS alumnus Jaco Peyper has been entrusted with the whistle in Sunday's other quarter-final between Wales and France. It will be a memorable match for Peyper as it will be his 50th test appearance as the 31st man on the field – making him only the third South African to achieve this feat.
Peyper, who is the only South African among the 12 referees at the tournament, made his World Cup debut in 2015 when he officiated the opening match. In total he has handled six World Cup encounters.
His illustrious career has seen him become only the fourth referee in history to officiate in 100 Super Rugby matches earlier in the year, in which he also handled the final (his fourth Super Rugby final). Peyper scooped the SA Referee of the Year award in 2018 for a third time, a year in which he took charge of his fourth Currie Cup Final.
"The fact that he is only the third South African referee to take charge of 50 tests indicates what a special achievement this is. It takes years of hard work and dedication to reach this level as a referee, and to maintain this standard year-in and year-out is even more challenging as it requires one to produce effective performances consistently," said Jurie Roux, the CEO of SA Rugby.
Six Kovsies included in SA U/19 team
From the left are: Monique Lemon, Carmen Swanepoel, Lauren-Lee Christians, Nieke Loubser, Ané Botha, and Fikile Mkhuzangwe.
Photo: Gerhard Louw
During the South African Netball Championships that were recently held in Richards Bay, six students from the University of the Free State (UFS) were included in the top-twenty group of players in the country.
This achievement qualified Kovsies Nieke Loubser, Lauren-Lee Christians, Ané Botha, Fikile Mkhuzangwe, Monique Lemon and Carmen Swanepoel for the U/19 team. This team will participate in the Zone-6 Games (the African Games for U/19 netball players) in Swaziland later this year.
Ms Burta de Kock from KovsieSport at the UFS, said: "With the incredible support of the university, the group could not fail to achieve this. To have six players in the South African U/19 team of fifteen is a great achievement for the university. |
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