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National Security and the U. S. Marine Corps
Shortly after the inauguration of President George Washington in 1789, Congress created the United States Department of War (also, War Department) as a cabinet-level position to administer the field army and Naval Affairs under the president's constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States and the United States Secretary of War. The first Secretary of War was retired army general Henry Knox. With the possible exception of President James Madison "lending a hand" alongside U. S. Marines at the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814, George Washington is the only Commander-in-Chief to lead a field army in 1794 during the so-called Whiskey Rebellion.
President John Adams considered the possibility of reorganizing a "new army" under the nominal command of retired President Washington to deal with the increase of maritime incidents between the United States and the French Republic in 1798. Adams considered this possibility owing to his concern about the possibility of a land invasion by the French and his perceived need of consolidating the Armed Forces under an experienced "commander in chief." A land invasion would come, but not from France.
Also, in 1798, Congress established the United States Department of the Navy, initiated on the recommendation of James McHenry[1] to provide organizational structure to the emerging United States Navy and Marine Corps (after 1834), and when directed by the President or Congress during time of war, the United States Coast Guard (although each service remained separate and distinct with unique missions and expertise). Until 1949, the Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy served as members of the presidential cabinet.
Following World War II, particularly as a consequence of evolving military technology and the complex nature of war, Congress believed that the War and Navy departments would be better managed under a central authority. James Forrestal, who served as the 48th Secretary of the Navy, became the first United States Secretary of Defense[2]. A restructuring of the US military took the following form under the National Security Act of 1947.
Merged the Department of the Navy and Department of War into the National Military Establishment (NME). The Department of War was renamed the Department of the Army. A Secretary of Defense would head the NME.
Created the Department of the Air Force, which moved the Army Air Corps into the United States Air Force.
Protected the U. S. Marine Corps as a separate service under the Department of the Navy.
The secretaries of military departments remained nominal cabinet posts, but this arrangement was determined deficient given the creation of the office of the Secretary of Defense.
While the National Security Act of 1947 did recognize the U. S. Marine Corps as a separate naval service, it did not clearly define the service's status within the Navy Department. Under this new arrangement, the Commandant did have access to the Secretary of the Navy[3], but many operational matters involving the Marine Corps continued to fall under the purview of the Chief of Naval Operations. As an example, the U. S. Navy funded Marine Corps aviation, determining types of aircraft made available to the Marine Corps as well as matters pertaining to air station operations. Accordingly, the Marine Corps, as an organization, remained vulnerable to the dictates of others in terms of its composition, funding, and operations limiting the role of the Commandant in deciding such matters.
Within three months of assuming the office of Commandant on 1 January 1948, General Clifton B. Cates was forced to confront a difficult political situation. In March, Defense Secretary Forrestal convened a meeting of the military secretaries and service chiefs in Key West, Florida to discuss and resolve their respective roles and missions within the National Military Establishment. Since General Cates was not invited to the meeting, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Louis E. Denfield, undertook the representation of the Marine Corps as part of the Navy. The problem was that the Marine Corps has never been part of the U. S. Navy.
Part of the Key West conference involved a discussion concerning likely future conflicts, with everyone agreeing that America's next war would involve the Soviet Union in Europe. Should this happen, given President Truman's mandate to cut Defense spending, then the Army and Air Force would require substantial defense allocations for reinforcements. In order to fund this potential threat, the meeting concluded that the Marine Corps must receive less money. Besides, argued the Army and Air Force, there would be no need for an amphibious force in a European war. The Key West meeting concluded with an agreement that the Marine Corps would be limited to four infantry divisions, that the JCS would deny Marine Corps leadership any tactical command above the corps levels, and a prohibition of the Marine Corps from creating a second land army[4].
When General Cates learned of this meeting, he protested making such decisions without his participation claiming that it violated the intent of the National Security Act of 1947 and impaired the ability of the Marine Corps to fulfill its amphibious warfare mission. General Cates protestations fell on deaf ears.
Louis A. Johnson replaced James Forrestal as Secretary of Defense in March 1949. Johnson shared Truman's commitment to drastic reductions in defense spending in favor of domestic programs. Both Truman and Johnson made the erroneous assumption that America's monopoly on atomic weapons would act as a sufficient deterrence against Communist aggression[5]. Neither of these men, therefore, believed that a military force-in-readiness was a necessary function of the Department of Defense.
Given the relative autonomy of the service secretaries and military chiefs under the National Security Act, and as a means of thwarting independent lobbying by either the Navy or the Air Force, President Truman pursued two courses of action. (1) Truman sought (and obtained) an amendment to the National Security Act that made the Department of Defense a single executive department, which incorporated as subordinates, each of the service secretaries. The amendment also created the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff[6], subordinating its members to the chairman, the first of these being General Omar Bradley[7]. (2) Both President Truman and Johnson demanded that the service secretaries and senior military leaders "get in line" with the President's defense cuts.
The intimidation apparently worked because General Omar Bradley changed his tune once he was nominated to become Chairman of the JCS. In 1948 he moaned, "The Army of 1948 could not fight its way out of a paper bag." In the next year, both he and Army Chief of Staff General Collins testified before Congress that Truman cuts made the services more effective.
At about the same time, in a meeting with the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Richard L. Conolly, Johnson told him, "Admiral, the Navy is on its way out. There is no reason for having a Navy and Marine Corps. General Bradley tells me amphibious operations are a thing of the past. We'll never have any more amphibious operations. That does away with the Marine Corps. And the Air Force can do anything the Navy can do, so that does away with the Navy."
Truman hated the Marine Corps with intense passion, which might afford psychologists years of interesting study. He did not think the nation needed a corps of Marines when there was already a land army. In implementing Truman's budget cuts, Secretary Johnson intended that the Marine Corps be disestablished and incorporated into the U. S. Army. Toward this goal, Johnson initiated steps to move Marine Corps aviation into the U. S. Air Force. He was soon reminded that such a move would be illegal without congressional approval.
Neither Truman nor Johnson ever accepted the fact that the Marine Corps, as a combat force, provided unique strategic and tactical strengths to the national defense structure. What the law would not allow Secretary Johnson or President Truman to do, they attempted to accomplish through financial starvation[8]. Under the chairmanship of Omar Bradley, the JCS was bitingly hostile to the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps, however, was not the lone ranger. Less than a month after assuming office, Secretary Johnson canceled construction of the USS United States, a then state-of-the-art aircraft carrier. Secretary of the Navy John L. Sullivan[9] resigned his office, and a number of Navy admirals joined him, effective on 24 May 1949. The incident is remembered as the Revolt of the Admirals.
Admiral Denfield USN
The revolt of admirals prompted the House Armed Services Committee to convene hearings during October 1949. A number of active duty and retired admirals appeared before the committee and gave their testimony, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Denfield[10]. They had little good to say about Louis Johnson or newly appointed Navy Secretary Francis Matthews. General Cates also gave testimony, giving his unqualified support to the Navy. Along with this, he protested the fact that he had not been consulted in matters pertaining to the Marine Corps and the impact of these decisions on the national defense. Said Cates, "… the power of the budget, the power of coordination, and the power of strategic direction of the armed forces have been used as devices to destroy the operating forces of the Marine Corps." The House committee also called General Bradley, who, in arguing in favor of disestablishment of the Navy and Marine Corps rejected the notion that the United States would ever again have a use for amphibious operations.
Replacing Admiral Denfield as CNO was Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, who immediately repudiated General Vandergrift's agreement with Secretary Sullivan. He instead approached the Secretary of Defense and requested "a free hand" in matters pertaining to the Marine Corps. Johnson granted Sherman's request. At the beginning of 1950, after two years of forced budgetary cuts, Sherman slated the Marine Corps for additional cuts. The Marine Corps would be reduced to 24,000 officers and men, a reduction from eleven infantry battalions to six, from twenty-three aviation squadrons to twelve. Additionally, Secretary Johnson ordered the curtailment of appropriations for equipment, ammunition, supplies, and people and excluded Marine Corps units from various tactical training. Admiral Sherman assigned the bulk of amphibious ships to support Army training, leaving the Marines with little to do.
War did return to the United States, of course. When it did, it proved General Omar Bradley and the other joint chiefs were completely wrong in their predictions. Worse, it demonstrated how unprepared the United States was for its next martial challenges.
Support for the Marines
Although Representative Carl Vinson (D-GA) proposed a bill that gave full JCS membership to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the measure failed but generated much attention in the American press, particularly in the Hearst news organization. Public support was already growing for the Navy-Marine Corps when the war clouds once more gathered in the Far East.
Among Truman's staunchest congressional foes was Representative Gordon L. McDonough (R-CA). McDonough wrote a letter to President Truman noting how the Marine Corps has always rushed to the nation's defense. With this in mind, the congressman urged the president to include the Commandant as a full member of the JCS. The president's response to McDonough tells us far more about Truman than is possible in an entire essay. Truman wrote, "For your information, the Marine Corps is the Navy's police force, and as long as I am President, that is what it will remain." Apparently, Truman failed to consider that he was writing to someone who might use the president's blistering comments against him later on. Truman continued, "They [Marines] have a propaganda machine almost the equal of Stalin's. When the Marine Corps goes into the Army it works with and for the Army and that's the way it should be … The Chief of Naval Operations is the chief of staff of the Navy of which the Marines are a part."
McDonough inserted Truman's response into the Congressional Record, and it wasn't long before the press picked it up and printed it. Press reporting created a firestorm in the United States. Conservative politicians of both parties and journalists excoriated Truman for his remarks. The White House was overwhelmed by mail from the public, many who lost loved ones during World War II, expressing their indignation of Truman's remarks. Presidential aides scrambled to construct a letter of apology, which Truman personally handed to General Cates at the White House. He then released a copy to the press. Afterward, when Truman fired Louis Johnson after only 18 months as Defense Secretary, the matter moved to the back burner.
The nation responds
Immediately following World War II, the Eighth US Army was assigned to occupation duty in Japan. Initially, there was much work to be done: disarming former Japanese soldiers, maintaining order, dealing with local populations, guarding installations, and prosecuting war criminals. According to the Eighth Army Blue Book[11], "On 31 December 1945, Sixth Army was relieved of occupation duties and Eighth Army assumed an expanded role in the occupation, which encompassed the formidable tasks of disarmament, demilitarization, and democratization. The missions were flawlessly executed at the operational level by Eighth Army …"
The statement may be undeniably true, but as the Japanese people settled comfortably into their new reality, demands placed on soldiers and their officers lessoned. What the Blue Book's history section omits, a dangerous precedent for future soldiers, was that this major combat command became lethargic, pleasure-seeking, and in the face of severe budgetary restraints imposed on it by the Truman administration, reached an unbelievable level of incompetence and ineptitude.
In the early hours of 25 June 1950, the (North) Korean People's Army, numbering 53,000 front line and supporting forces followed a massive artillery bombardment into South Korea. There were only a handful of Army advisors in South Korea at the time. Those who wanted to continue living made a beeline toward the southern peninsula.
In Japan, there was a single battalion in the 21st Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division capable of "mounting out" to interdict the overwhelming KPA army. The battalion, composed of mostly untrained teenagers capable of little more than standing guard duty in Japan, never stood a chance.
The Marines Respond
At the time of the North Korean invasion, senior officers of the U. S. Marine Corps knew that they would be called upon to address this new crisis. Lieutenant General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in Hawaii, flew to Tokyo to confer with General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander Allied Powers (SCAP), in Tokyo. At the conclusion of their meeting, MacArthur sent a dispatch to the JCS in Washington requesting the immediate assignment of a Marine regimental combat team to his command.
In Washington, General Bradley delayed his response for a full five days. By the time the JCS did respond, the North Korean Army had already mauled the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division at the Battle of Osan, rendering it combat ineffective. Closer to the truth, 1/21 was combat ineffective even before it arrived on the Korean Peninsula. For these young men, the land of the morning calm had become a bloody nightmare.
In late June 1950, Marine Corps manpower equaled around 74,000 men. The total number of Marines assigned to the Fleet Marine Forces was 28,000, around 11,000 of these were assigned to FMFPac. Neither the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton nor its east coast counterpart, the 2nd Marine Division, could raise more than a regimental landing team (RLT) of combat-ready troops, with supporting air. To fully man a combat division, it would be necessary to transfer Marines to Camp Pendleton from posts and stations, recruiting staffs, supply depots, schools, depots, districts, and even Marine headquarters.
General MacArthur had requested an RLT, he would get a Marine brigade, the advance element of the 1st Marine Division that had been ordered to embark. The officer assigned to lead the Brigade was the senior officer present at Camp Pendleton, Brigadier General Edward A. Craig, an experienced combat leader with 33 years of active duty service.
The ground combat element of the Brigade would form around the 5th Marine Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Raymond L. Murray. Murray was already selected for promotion to colonel. Marines reporting for duty at Camp Pendleton were rushed to the 5th Marines where they would flesh out Murray's understrength battalions[12]. 1st Battalion 11th Marines (artillery) would serve in general support of the brigade with additional detachments (company strength) in communications, motor transportation, field medical, support, engineer, ordnance, tanks, and special weapons.
At the Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California, Marine Aircraft Group 33 was being formed around Brigadier General Thomas H. Cushman. Cushman would serve as Craig's deputy and command the brigade's air element, consisting of a headquarters squadron, service squadron, VMF 214, VMF 323, VMF(N) 513(-), and Tactical Squadron-2 (detachment).
In total, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade arrived in Korea with 6,534 Marines —its equipment, brought out of mothballs dating back to World War II: trucks, jeeps, amphibian tractors, all reconditioned and tested for service.
MajGen Frank Lowe USA
Major General Frank E. Lowe, U. S. Army (Retired) was dispatched to Korea as the personal envoy of President Truman. His task was to observe the conduct of the conflict and report his findings directly to the President. General Lowe advised President Truman that the Army, its senior leadership and combat doctrine were dangerously lacking. Of the 1st Marine Division, General Lowe reported, "The First Marine Division is the most efficient and courageous combat unit I have ever seen or heard of." General Lowe recommended that the Marine Corps have a permanent establishment of three divisions and three air wings.
Whether General Lowe's report influenced Truman is unknown. What is known is that the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of the Navy, and Chief of Naval Operations continued to oppose recognition of the Marine Corps as a viable service and its leader as someone entitled to become a member of the JCS. Still, public and congressional support for the Marine Corps increased steadily. The issue of the Douglas-Mansfield bills was deferred until the 1952 legislative session. Before then, however, Admiral Sherman died suddenly in July 1951, and General Lemuel C. Shepherd succeeded Cates as Commandant of the Marine Corps.
As a result, the 1952 legislative session worked in the Marine Corps' favor. The Marine Corps was approved for a peacetime force of three infantry divisions, three air wings, and a manpower ceiling of 400,000 men. The Commandant was granted access to the Joint Chiefs of Staff with voting rights on matters pertaining to the Marine Corps, as determined by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and on 20 June 1952, President Truman signed into law the Douglas-Mansfield Act. Some pundits claim that politically, Truman did not dare veto the bill —others argue that Truman finally realized the value of the Marine Corps as our nation's premier combat force.
Catchpole, L. G. The Korean War. London: Robinson Publishing, 2001
Davis, V. The Post-Imperial Presidency. New Brunswick: Transaction Press, 1980
Fehrenbach, T. R. This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History. Washington: Potomac Books, 2001
Krulak, V. H. First to Fight: An Inside View of the U. S. Marine Corps. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1999.
Montross, L. and Nicholas A. Canzona. S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953 (Volume 1): The Pusan Perimeter. Historical Branch, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, Washington, D. C., 1954.
The United States Naval Proceedings Magazine, Volume 33, Number 3: A Propaganda Machine Like Stalin's, Alan Rems, June 2019
[1] A supporter of the United States Constitution, Representative from Maryland, and third Secretary of War. He was also a noted surgeon with many successes during the Revolutionary War. Fort McHenry, outside Baltimore, is named in his honor.
[2] Forrestal had served in the Navy Department as Under Secretary since 1940 and appointed as Secretary of the Navy in 1944. Forrestal served as Secretary of Defense from 18 September 1947 until 28 March 1949 when President Harry S. Truman asked for his resignation and replaced him Louis A. Johnson. Forrestal's wartime service had taken its toll and he was personally shattered when fired by Truman, with whom he had little patience. He took his own life on 22 May 1949 while undergoing treatment for severe depression.
[3] During World War II, Chief of Naval Operations Ernest J. King was well-known as a micro-manager. He treated the Commandant of the Marine Corps as another one of his bureau chiefs and denied the Commandant access to the Secretary of the Navy. This restriction changed when Admiral Nimitz became CNO, but the relationship was a gentleman's agreement between Secretary of the Navy John L. Sullivan, Admiral Nimitz, and Marine Commandant Alexander A. Vandergrift. The National Security Act of 1947, however, did not clarify the status of the Marine Corps within the Department of the Navy.
[4] During World War II, the Marine Corps fielded six infantry divisions.
[5] Nearly every newly created U. S. Air Force general was a proponent of the use of strategic bombing and atomic warfare as the United States' principal defense strategy. Standing in opposition to this ludicrous mindset was nearly every active duty and retired Navy admiral.
[6] The JCS evolved from a relatively inefficient joint board of senior Army and Navy officers who seldom agreed in matters of operational planning or execution. The Joint Board performed as presidential advisors but had no authority to initiate programs or policies. Following World War I, the Joint Board was renamed the Joint Planning Committee with the authority to initiate recommendations but had no authority to implement them.
[7] General Bradley detested the Marine Corps almost as much as President Truman and Secretary Johnson.
[8] Because of Truman and Johnson's defense cuts, the United States had no combat-ready units in June 1950.
[9] Replacing Sullivan was Francis P. Matthews, a former director of the USO who admitted to having no expertise that would qualify him for service as a Navy Secretary beyond his contempt for the Marine Corps.
[10] President Truman demanded Denfield's resignation and took action to demote the other admirals.
[11] Dated 3 July 2019.
[12] Each of Murray's battalions were organized with an H&S Company, two rifle companies, and one weapons company.
Posted on 04/17/2020 02/08/2020 Author MustangCategories Uncategorized
6 thoughts on "National Security and the U. S. Marine Corps"
kidme37 says:
Makes you wonder how we are still a functioning leading country in the world.
If anything, the ineptitude of America's politicians has only gotten worse. In the 1940s and 1950s, about a third of the US Congress had served in the Armed Forces. Today, it is a mere handful and of those, one or two with distinguished service in combat. Experience matters if one intends to "reshape" America's defenders. Truman's incompetence is but one example of many who, in becoming President of the United States, was significantly out of his depth.
Mike P says:
Being treated as the bastard step children has imparted an attitude on every Marine, from the Commandment down. Semper Fi.
We Marines do two things extremely well. We make Marines and we win battles. Our nation knows this, or did until a third of our population came down with that dreaded disease we call the progressive mindset, which is that threat imposed upon the nation from within the category, "enemies, foreign and domestic.
Given the Marine motto of "doing more with less", which I translate as gross abuse of Marines considering all the money that gets stolen, laundered, or spent on cocaine and hookers, I have to wonder how many people in future are going to be willing to accept such abuse. I can easily think in the abstract but I don't see a positive outcome here. Well, I should be ashes and dust by then.
I think it was around 1982 when ABC News offered a "special segment" on the Armed Forces, in five parts lasting Monday through Friday. This was back before ABC turned into a propaganda arm of the un-American progressive movement. In any case, ABC highlighted the Marines on the last day (saving the best for last, I suppose). During this segment, a reporter interviewed a Marine lance corporal helicopter mechanic, who when asked how he felt about the Marines always getting the least amount of DoD funding, answered (paraphrasing), "We don't trust any new equipment that isn't hemorrhaging hydraulic fluid." As Mike indicated earlier, it's an attitude peculiar to the Marines. We're used to kicking ass with the least amount of equipment in the least serviceable condition. The fact is, the American people get more bang for the buck with its Corps of Marines. Always has, always will.
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Square Enix Announces Masters of the Masks, New Mobile Fantasy RPG
News Videos Android iPhone RPG Square Enix
Nick Boisson April 17, 2015 No Comments
Square Enix has just announced their latest title. No, not Star Ocean 5. This new one is a free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android, Masters of the Masks.
What is Masters of the Masks, you ask? It is a fantasy RPG with a hand-drawn art style and pick-up-and-play turn-based combat. Here are some features that Square Enix lists in the press release:
Drag and Drop Turn-Based RPG Battles: The game features a new interface that utilizes the native landscape of mobile devices to create the most natural and easiest put-down/pick-up battle system in mobile RPGs. Players can also coordinate their warriors strategically to unleash powerful skills on their enemy.
Build Your Legend: Through victories in battle, players earn the materials necessary to upgrade their equipment (masks, weapons, shields) and make their units more powerful.
Popular Fantasy World: Players will be able to explore realms with classic fantasy races (Human, Elf, Dwarf) and collect powerful masks to discover new warriors in order to rid the land of evil that rose in the east.
Exciting updates to come: Players will be able to challenge each other to tests of strength in PvP battles to sharpen their skills.
The game also features a soundtrack composed by Hidenori Iwasaki, composer of the soundtrack from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.
Masters of the Masks is available now on iOS and Android for free with in-app purchases.
Check out some screenshots and a trailer for Masters of the Masks below:
Yuna Themed DLC for Lightning Returns Included in Purchases of Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn reaches two million mark

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More than six months after former president Robert Mugabe was dramatically ousted from power — and with Zimbabwe's crunch national polls a mere three weeks away — the nonagenarian continues to hog the limelight in the country's fluid body politic.
This comes as both Zanu PF and the opposition are seemingly unsure about how they should relate to him, with the ruling party — which the 94-year-old led for nearly four decades — lately and curiously using him and his restless wife Grace to peg back MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa's election bid.
Not unexpectedly, as a result, State media has repeatedly reported the unconfirmed claim over the past few weeks that Chamisa and Grace had allegedly entered into a political pact that will see the latter getting the national vice president's post in the event that the former wins the July 30 plebiscite.
Political analysts who spoke to the Daily News yesterday said Zanu PF was doing this in a desperate bid to destroy Chamisa's political standing — having realised that Mugabe and Grace were deeply despised in many circles, as well as the fact that the former first family was now working for the demise of the ruling party.
However, the analysts added, this strategy could backfire on Zanu PF as they believed that Mugabe still had residual support within the ruling party, particularly in the Mashonaland provinces — which could prove key during the polls.
"Linking Chamisa to Mugabe is Zanu PF's strategy meant to besmirch Chamisa's image. However, this may boomerang on Zanu PF.
"The rural Zanu PF supporters, particularly those linked to the G40 faction, are not all happy with how Mugabe was toppled, and they may vote for Chamisa. At the same time, Chamisa's urban support base will not be swayed by these attacks," political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said.
"Having said that, and apart from the possibility of rural Mugabe supporters voting Chamisa, Mugabe has no other political currency that Chamisa can harvest.
gathering enough steam to derail Chamisa's electoral chances," he added.
Another political analyst, Eldred Masunungure, said it would be "very risky" for Chamisa to work with Mugabe and Grace.
"Zanu PF is clearly trying to reduce Chamisa's chances of landing the popular vote by linking him to Mugabe.
"Throwing mud at a competitor is very common in Zanu PF, and the ruling party is thinking that Mugabe and his wife are two of the most unpopular couples in the country, and so they are counting on this.
"Therefore, Chamisa and his party must play it carefully ... as it is risky for them to work with Mugabe. Counting on Mashonaland's support for Mugabe is also very risky as this support is unproven," he said.
This comes as Mugabe was recently said to have sent two clerics to People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Tendai Biti, to table a potential co-operation pact with the main opposition — ahead of a meeting of MDC Alliance principals which was held a day before the sitting of the Nomination Court.
Mugabe was said to be offering "technical, moral and political" support to Chamisa, ostensibly to increase the opposition leader's chances of defeating President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the end of the month.
But well-placed sources told the Daily News that Chamisa had apparently opted not to work with Mugabe and Grace — this after former South African president Jacob Zuma reportedly relayed a message to him via one of the Alliance's principals that this would be "impolitic".
Meanwhile, MDC Alliance spokesperson Welshman Ncube says his party does not need Mugabe's support to win the keenly-anticipated July 30 elections.
"For someone to think that we are going to have an alliance with Mugabe and his wife is complete mockery.
"We know that Mugabe will even vote for us. He too wants to be free .... his future will be more secure in . . . Chamisa's hands, which is why he will vote for Chamisa.
"The fact is that the Mugabe issue is an internal Zanu PF issue. We can win this election without a single vote from Zanu PF," he said.
"We have enough support and numbers to win the elections and we are not bothered where Mugabe and Zanu PF stand.
"We just need a free and fair election, with a level playing field. We have won this election before, even though this was rigged.
"We have spent the whole of our adult life fighting Mugabe. But we were not fighting Mugabe only, we were fighting the system which caused much suffering among Zimbabweans," Ncube told the Daily News.
On his part, Chamisa's spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda said it was an act of desperation that Zanu PF was pushing the agenda to link Mugabe and Grace to Chamisa.
"That is fake news which is being created by Zanu PF. The fact is. . .Chamisa is expecting votes from all Zimbabweans, including Mugabe.
Addressing his supporters in Marondera on Sunday, Chamisa also said Mugabe was now "history". "I have not run out of options that I would resort to appointing Grace Mugabe as my vice president.
"As the MDC Alliance, we respect Mugabe's legacy, but he is now history and like everyone we are also happy that he has retired.
"Why is Zanu PF tormenting him? I have never met him since he retired, but I have heard from sources that he said Chamisa had a clear agenda and that he would vote for me. If Mugabe wants to vote for me, he is welcome," he said.
Mugabe has openly disclosed his bitterness with Mnangagwa and his administration. In March this year, he told a media briefing that he would render his support to a young politician, which some people now claim was a reference to Chamisa.
When the country's military launched Operation Restore Legacy in November last year, this triggered a chain of events which ended with the curtain falling on Mugabe, when he resigned moments after Parliament had started damaging proceedings to impeach him.
The operation also saw the nonagenarian and Grace being placed under house arrest, while several Cabinet ministers linked to the Generation 40 faction — which had coalesced around the Mugabes — were also targeted.


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Saju Muntasher () is a Bangladeshi actor and producer. He is the CEO of 1952 Entertainment Ltd. He was elected general secretary of Television Program Producers Association of Bangladesh in 2019.

Early life
Saju Muntasher was born on 1 January 1977 in Pirojpur, Bangladesh. His father is Obaidul kabir & mother Kanij Najnin Akter.

Career
He started his career as a ramp model in 1997. From 2000 to 2002 he performed as a model in various TVC.
He made his acting debut in Bangla drama in 2002 directed by popular director Ahmed Yousuf Saber. Up to 2015 he has acted more than one hundred fifty dramas.
Besides acting, he was the founder of Hoi Choi Production House. This production house made more than 100 single drama, telefilms & tele movies. He also produced 20 serial drama through this production house.

After that he started a new company   1952 Entertainment Ltd. and he is the CEO of the company. From this company he is producing television drama, films & non fictions events.

He was elected general secretary of Television Program Producers Association of Bangladesh in 2019.

Personal life
Saju married to Fahima Ferdousi Sonia in 2017. She is a doctor by profession.

Filmography

Jury Member of Program

 Binodon Bichitra-2011 -  Photo Sundori Juri Member
 Fair and Handsome – The Ultimate Man Powered By Bangladesh NAVY 2013 Turbo Judge

Awards

 TRUB Award-2021
CJFB Performance Award-2019
 Binodon Bichitra - 2010 - Best Drama Producer

References

External links

1977 births
Bangladeshi male actors
Bangladeshi television directors
Bangladeshi male models
People from Pirojpur District
Living people

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The 2018 Campeonato Mineiro was the 104th season of Mineiro's top professional football league. The competition began on January 17 and ended on April 8. Atlético was the defending champions but was beaten in the final by its longtime rival Cruzeiro, that conquered its 37th title and became the defending champions.

Format

First stage
The 2018 Módulo I first stage was played by 12 clubs in a single round-robin, with all teams playing each other once. The eight best-placed teams qualified for the final stage and the last two teams were relegated to the 2019 Módulo II.

The league also selects Minas Gerais's representatives in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D and the Copa do Brasil. The two best placed teams not already qualified to the 2018 seasons of the Série A, Série B or Série C, earns the spots to the 2018 Série D. The three best-placed teams qualify for the 2019 Copa do Brasil.

Knockout stage
The knockout stage was played between the 8 best-placed teams from the previous stage, with the quarterfinals played in a one-legged tie and the semifinals and finals played in a two-legged tie. The quarterfinals were played necessarily at the best-placed team's home. The first best-placed team played against the eighth best-placed, the second against the seventh and so on. In the semifinals, the best-placed team in the first stage in each contest have the right to choose whether to play its home game in the first or second leg. The best-placed team in the first stage of each contest could win it with two ties.

Participating teams

First stage

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

First leg

Second leg

Finals

First leg

Second leg

Goalscorers

References

External links
 Campeonato Mineiro Official Website

Campeonato Mineiro seasons
Mineiro


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Inderscience Publishers
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Aircraft noise valuation studies and meta-analysis
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Feb. 4, 2004 - By: Youdi Schipper , Peter Nijkamp , Piet Rietveld
Courtesy of Inderscience Publishers
Aircraft noise has a negative impact on consumer welfare in the regions affected. One of the consequences is that property values decrease. This paper gives a survey of studies from various countries on the relationship between the volume of aircraft noise and the values of dwellings. A meta-analysis is carried out to arrive at a synthesis of these studies and to find factors that explain the variance in the outcomes found in the studies.
Keywords: noise valuation, meta-analysis, aircraft noise
aircraft noise
Low-noise Parking at Madrid Airport
With over 34 million passengers, and handling over 360 000 flights annually, Madrid Barajas Airport, Spain is the fifth largest airport in Europe. It is owned by AENA (Aeropuertos Espaoles y Navegacin Area), who manage over 60 airports throughout Spain and Latin America and handle over 160 million passengers each year. On experiencing a growing number of complaints from the neighbouring community due to ground noise caused by aircraft in the parking area, Madrid Barajas Airport introduced night restrictions...
Noise Moinitoring at Toronto Airport
Running a Caring Business Toronto Pearson International Airport is Canada`s busiest airport. The number of passengers passing through its halls is expected to increase from 28 million in 2001 to around 50 million by the year 2020. The area surrounding the Airport has a population of over 4 million. This presents the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) with a major challenge to minimise the noise impact of airport operations on the local communities. By carefully developing a noise management program...
Current Trends in Environmental Noise Monitoring in Europe
Introduction This paper briefly describes the state of the art of environmental noise monitoring development in Europe, including the needs, standards, legislation, data, technology, techniques and tools. This paper will concentrate on the following areas: • How Imagine and the development of ISO 20906 and ISO 1996 affect noise monitoring systems • The need and role of professional databases and the move towards noise management • How modern technology affects the design of state-of-the-art noise...
Elements for a Position Paper on Night-Time Transportation Noise and Sleep Disturbance
The EU Directive on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise (END) specifies Lnight as the indicator for sleep disturbance. This report presents relationships between Lnight and sleep disturbance for transportation noise. These relationships can be used in a position paper on relationships between Lnight and sleep disturbance for transportation noise by the working group `Health and socio-economic aspects`. The working group intends to provide such a position paper to the Noise Committee (under the...
Environmental Noise
Introduction The ability to hear sounds is a sensory function vital for human survival and communication. However, not all sounds are wanted. `Unwanted sounds`, for which the term `noise` is normally used, often have their origin in human activities (mainly transport, industry and households). This article addresses environmental noise  also referred to in the scientific literature as community, or residential, noise. Environmental noise is the noise experienced by people generated outside households. Noise...
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UPDATE 1/16/19 @ 10:58 AM: The clouds are parting and the sun is shining. I predict an amazing sunset tonight, which means the La Sal Mountains, once again freshly dusted with snow, will likely glow pink with alpenglow. Arches and Canyonlands are both open and accessible by vehicle.
UPDATE 1/15/19 @ 11:47 AM: It's snowing! There are some big, fat snowflakes flying but as of now, there is no accumulation in town. Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point are approximately 2,000' higher in elevation and may see some accumulation.
There's a storm brewing and it's got Moab in its sights. The weather forecast is calling for rain and snow storms through Friday afternoon. Whether or not we'll actually receive the forecasted precipitation remains to be seen but you can count on some dynamic conditions with potentially interesting skies and possibly even some fog. And, there's still plenty of snow on the ground from the last storm that came through about a week ago.
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dead Horse Point State Park and all of the surrounding BLM and Forest Service landscapes are open for business, Moab's a ghost town right now and you can get a hotel room on the cheap. It's an excellent time for photographers to visit. Be sure to check out my recent post, "The Photographer's Guide to Winter in Moab", for winter photography tips and a handful of my favorite locations to photograph when the white stuff is on the ground.
I'll update this post as the weather moves through the area so if you're thinking about heading to Moab for photography, you'd be wise to keep an eye on this space for the next few days.
If you enjoy the content I share here, please consider supporting me by purchasing a copy of my popular photo guides to Arches, Big Bend or Zion National Parks. Click to visit eFotoGuide to learn more.


The abbreviation WSP proudly stands for "We Sky Print". We are a father and son duo who run a small design firm based in Mumbai, IN. Our Clients - Some of the most influential startups turned brands. No client is too big or small for us.
We stick by to each brand principle through the design process. Communication through design is critical for increasing ROI Goals and we do just that through Research and Cognitive Science.
From individual design elements to websites, photography, complete campaign designs and more, we provide our corporate clients with everything they need to communicate their brand in the most unique, memorable and user-friendly way possible. We specialize in the design, development, and implementation of tailor-made solutions for corporate and marketing communications across a wide range of business sectors." We serve clients around the globe. Feel free to reach us for and we would be happy to work with you on a project.


Cambrian Ventures is a business model innovator in digital healthcare, interactive advertising and eCommerce. We are looking for founding team members across business and tech.
- Independently conduct market validation through contacting and meeting prospective client companies and government agencies, for a blockchain based assets securitization platform.
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HomeFeaturesAround CampusStudent organization at Temple promotes women in media
Student organization at Temple promotes women in media
The founder of the club, Erin Steffe, just graduated, leaving the association with a new e-board.
29 January 2020 Renata Kaminski Around Campus, Features, student life
(Left) Junior media studies and production major Brynna Haupt, junior journalism major and SMSW president Brooklyn Vaughan and senior journalism major Rebecca Werez lead a meeting for the Sports Media Society for Women at Morgan Hall South on Jan. 22. | JEREMY ELVAS / THE TEMPLE NEWS
During her second semester, Erin Steffe, along with other female students, attended a regional event at a 76ers game, co-hosted by the Association for Women in Sports Media in January 2017.
She wanted to create a similar organization on campus and took active steps towards it in fall 2018. Alice Castellini, her media studies and production professor, encouraged her to make it a reality and helped her start the organization and supporting Steffe as its faculty advisor.
"It's kind of hard to find a place where there is women in sports, so I wanted a place where people could feel encouraged and excited and wanted to learn more about how women in the fieldwork," Steffe, a 2019 media studies and production alumna, said.
Sports Media Society for Women was founded by Steffe in Fall 2019 as an organization for female students in sports media. It aims to advocate opportunities for women in the sports industry and empower them to follow roles that are historically non-traditional careers for women, Steffe said.
Vaughan and Brynna Haupt, a junior media studies and production student, originally helped Steffe start the organization as they joined her as vice president and secretary, respectively.
Brooklyn Vaughan, a junior journalism major, is the club's new president. The club also has a new executive board and Steffe helped them transition as she outlined their goals and plans for this semester.
They will have various events for members including talks and conversations with women in the professional sports industry, Vaughan said.
"It is important to have representation, inspiring and showing other women that they deserve a spot in the industry just like anyone else," Haupt said.
"There's such a stigma with women not being trusted enough in the field because we've always seen males, specifically white, dominating and controlling all aspects of sports and women have always been in more subordinate roles and now it's time for females to be represented to show that we understand sports and can do just as much as males," Haupt added.
The new e-board is just as driven, passionate and organized as the founder, Castellini said. She wants to help the organization fulfill its goals in the sports section, which is not vastly open for females. It will get there someday, but Temple is a good place to start, she said.
Vaughan is excited to get together with other females who want to pursue careers in the sports industry, share experiences and build connections, she said. One of her favorite parts of being a member is the guest speakers she has the opportunity to meet.
Kristen Rogers, the sports anchor at local station FOX 29, talked to the girls via FaceTime at one of their meetings in December and it was a huge connection to have in the industry, she said.
In fall 2019, they invited other women in sports media to share their experiences with organization members like Sarah Higgins, the associate director of athletics communication and social media at the University of Notre Dame. Angelise Stuhl, a 2014 journalism alumna, who is the sports director of the Philadelphia Sports Digest, a multimedia site for local high schools, was also invited.
Though the organization focuses on helping women in sports build connections and receive mentoring, everybody, regardless of gender identity, is welcome to join, Castellini said.
Alexa Ross, a 2018 journalism alumna and sports anchor at News 8 WROC in Rochester, will be a guest speaker in February. It will be a positive experience because many students are concerned about what happens right after college and how to get in an industry like this, Vaughan said.
They also plan to hold workshops to prepare members for career fairs and professional opportunities, Vaughan said. They want to publicize the organization at various campus-wide fronts to recruit new members, she added.
"We want a lot of people in the university to know about it because it is a really big appeal factor," Vaughan said. "I know if had known that a school organization like this existed when I was searching for college, it would have made my decision easier and instant because it is such an important thing you know, to have a support system for young female journalists pursuing the sports industry. It is a really cool opportunity."
The sports industry is cutthroat and it's important to learn to be comfortable asking for what women want and deserve, knowing how to ask the right way, Steffe said.
There are already women who are laying the groundwork for the future, but then it's up to us to continue their legacy and further push the boundaries," she said. "People stand on the shoulders of those who have come before them; it's about not accepting stereotypes or the undermining comments," she added.
Renata Kaminski
can be reached at renata.kaminski@temple.edu. Follow The Temple News @TheTempleNews.
Man fires out of car window on Broad Street
Owls' losing streak reaches four games
Scholar to go from 23rd and Diamond to England
05 December 2017 Emily Scott Features, People You Should Know
Hazim Hardeman is the university's first Rhodes Scholar, a prestigious award.
'I'm still here': Housing insecurity creates daily obstacles and few solutions
19 November 2019 Claire Wolters Around Campus, Features
Two Temple students share their stories about housing insecurity, an issue that affected almost half of college students last year.
A much-needed expansion
03 September 2019 Editorial Board Editorials, Opinion
The Editorial Board commends the decision to create a space for the schools and colleges that have lacked sufficient space in the past.


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Renewable EnergyWind Energy
New Systems Automate Composite Wind-Turbine Blade Fabrication, Double Throughput And Increase Quality
Sterling Heights, MI – MAG is revolutionizing the manufacture of composite wind-turbine blades with the introduction of two patent-pending technologies at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) WINDPOWER 2009 show in May at Chicago's McCormick PlaceThe company's new Rapid Material Placement System (RMPS) and quick-cure molding system for wind blades combine to reduce labor content by two-thirds, double throughput, and produce a consistently high-quality blade from the start of a shift to the end.
The new Rapid Material Placement System (RMPS) brings integrated manufacturing – with automation and repeatable process control – to what has largely been a manual or piecemeal-automated process. RMPS is an automated blade molding facility unto itself, capable of spraying in-mold coatings, dispensing/lay-up of glass and carbon fiber materials, and dispensing/application of adhesive. It brings 3 m/sec (10 ft/sec) lay-up speed to placement of materials in blade skin, spar cap, and sheer web molds, with laser- and vision-based wrinkle detection in cross or longitudinal directions. Depending on the laminate schedule, the system can reduce lay-up time 85 percent on a 45-meter blade.
Programmed off line, the CNC-controlled system consists of a gantry system with multi-axis end effectors capable of manipulating spray heads and adhesive applicators, as well as tooling for spooling and placing materials. After application of gel-coat with spray-head tooling, a ply-generator with a ten-roll magazine of material cuts and dispenses plies to the lay-up end effector on the gantry. The lay-up end effector spools up the material supplied by the ply generator. As the fabric is paid out onto the mold, a pair of articulating powered brushes smoothes it to the tool surface. The lay-up system is mechanically repeatable to ±2 mm, with application tolerance of ±5 mm.
Two such gantry systems adjacent to one another can each produce a 45-meter blade-shell half in less than two hours, with half the manual labor of conventional methods. The gantry system rides on rails that are flush with the floor. It also carries bulk supply systems for gel-coat and adhesive.
The RMPS is controlled by a CNC and powered with programmable drives and servomotors. Off-line programming software developed by MAG creates the CNC code from imported CAD data.
MAG has also developed a new, patent-pending quick-cure mold system utilizing tooling it will supply. The molds are produced using the customer's CAD data. The system yields a finished blade to spec with each cycle. It can be infused with resin in an hour, followed by a two-hour cure, about half the normal time. At the show, MAG will exhibit sample parts representing a 100 mm-thick root section and root spar cap system. The latter will show three zones of material and three thicknesses, demonstrating the system can infuse and cure all three zones at the same time quickly. Like the lay-up system, the infusion/curing system includes process control metrics for resin metering, temperatures, blocked channels, etc., with alarm limits.
On the finishing side of blade automation, MAG will introduce a five-axis machining system for root drilling/milling/sawing. The company is the leading supplier of composites processing technology for the aerospace industry, and produces a full range of upstream and downstream composites solutions, such as tape laying, fiber placement, machining, robotic painting and optical inspection systems, as well as an extensive service support capability.
For metalworking production of wind-power parts, MAG is introducing a new line of horizontal turning centers (HTC's) in the U.S. that combines a wide array of unusual capabilities for finishing a large part in one setup. Ideal for rotor shafts, pinions and similar shaft-type parts, these machines can perform operations unheard of on a typical HTC: deep-hole drilling, serrating, grinding, hard turning, notch milling, hobbing, grinding, as well as cut-to-length and centering, rough and finish turning. European wind industry leaders are already using these machines to produce parts up to 1500 mm diameter and 2800 mm long.
From blade tip to output shaft, MAG demonstrates at WINDPOWER 2009 that it has a total package of automation solutions for turbine and component manufacturers. For more information about MAG, please visit: www.mag-ias.com
SOURCE: MAG Industrial Automation Systems
Siemens Gamesa to supply typhoon-proof turbines to Japan's largest onshore cluster of four wind farms
Siemens Gamesa will supply 79 of its industry-leading Typhoon-class onshore wind turbines for Japan's largest wind farm cluster, strengthening its position as one of...
Fifth Chinese member company joins Global Wind Organisation
Fast growing Chinese wind turbine manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co.,Ltd has now joined Global Wind Organisation, becoming part of a global network of stakeholders...


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Bharat, inoltre, è consigliere fondatore di Grokstyle Inc, una società di ricerca visiva acquisita da Facebook, e Laserlike Inc., una startup di motori di ricerca basata su Machine Learning che è stata acquisita da Apple.

Per la società Google, con sede a Mountain View, ha guidato un team che ha sviluppato Google News, un servizio che indicizza automaticamente oltre 25.000 siti web di notizie in più di 35 lingue. Afferma di averlo creato a seguito degli attentati dell'11 settembre 2001 al Word Trade Center per tenersi al corrente con gli sviluppi della vicenda. Tra gli altri progetti, ha aperto il centro di ricerca e sviluppo di Google in India a Bangalore.

Fa parte del Board of Visitors della Columbia Journalism School e della John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships di Stanford.

Biografia
Krishna Bharat è cresciuto a Bangalore, una corporazione municipale dell'India meridionale.

Ha completato gli studi presso la St. Joseph's Boys' High School di Bangalore e ha conseguito una laurea in informatica presso l'Indian Institute of Technology di Madras (Chennai). Successivamente ha conseguito un dottorato di ricerca al Georgia Institute of Technology in Human Computer Interaction.

Prima di entrare in Google nel 1999, ha lavorato presso il DEC Systems Research Center dove, con George A. Mihăilă, ha sviluppato l'algoritmo Hilltop.

In Google ha sviluppato il cosiddetto LocalRank, che può essere considerato un adattamento di Hilltop.

Ha lavorato alla ricerca web e all'estrazione di informazioni presso Google tra il 1999 e il 2015, anno in cui ha lasciato la società per diventare consigliere-fondatore di Laserlike, una startup di software di apprendimento automatico.

Bharat è tornato a far parte di Google a luglio 2019 come ricercatore.

Premi
Nel 2003 ha ricevuto il World Technology Award per i media e il giornalismo.

Nel 2015 ha ricevuto il Distinguished Alumnus Award dall'Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

Note


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IAMTW's Scribe Awards honor licensed works that tie in with other media such as television, movies, gaming, or comic books. They include original works set in established universes, and adaptations of stories that have appeared in other formats and cross all genres. Tie-in works run the gamut from westerns to mysteries to procedurals, from science fiction to fantasy to horror, from action and adventure to superheroes. Gunsmoke, Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Star Trek, Star Wars, Shadowrun, Underworld, Man from UNCLE, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these represent just a few.
Many of my fellow nominees have written dozens of tie-in novels. I'm honored to be in such fantastic company!


Brendan is an experienced employment and workplace relations lawyer who assists public and private sector clients across a range of industry sectors.
Following the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) four-yearly review of modern awards, award-covered casual employees will be able to elect to become permanent full-time or part-time employees after an initial 12-month qualifying period.
The FWC will introduce a "casual conversion" model clause in a number of modern awards to set out the criteria and process under which conversion to permanent employment can occur. The inclusion of the clause in modern awards will fundamentally change the way employers use casual employment to resource their business.
A qualifying period of 12 months over a calendar year. This may mean casual employees who have been engaged by an employer for more than 12 months will be able to seek conversion as soon as the award applying to their employment is varied to include the clause. However, this issue will likely to be clarified by the FWC.
A criterion that the casual employee has worked a pattern of hours on an ongoing basis over the qualifying period, which could continue to be performed in line with full-time or part-time employment provisions of the relevant award.
An obligation on employers to provide all casual employees (whether eligible to convert or not) with a copy of the casual conversion clause within the first 12 months after their initial engagement.
on other reasonable grounds based on facts that are known or reasonably foreseeable.
Despite introducing the casual conversion model clause, the FWC rejected a further claim to insert a standard daily minimum engagement period of four hours for casual and part-time employees in each modern award. However, the FWC did grant a claim to insert a facilitative provision for a minimum engagement period for part-time and casual employees employed under the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010, Vehicle Manufacturing, Repair Services and Retail Award 2010, Graphic Arts, Printing and Publishing Award 2010, and the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award 2010. It further agreed that 34 modern awards that contain no minimum will now include a two hour minimum engagement period for casual employees. This decision will be the subject of further hearings later this year.
More information on these changes can be read in the FWC's summary of the decision.
Think carefully about the purpose for which casual employees are engaged (to meet short-term or long-term demands) and plan accordingly.
Notify casual employees about their rights to elect to convert within their first 12 months of engagement and implement procedures to deal with requests to convert to permanent employment.
Exercise care when dealing with requests to convert, including when consulting with the employee on this issue. An employer cannot simply dismiss a request to convert, and will need to be able to justify any decision to reject a conversion.
Be alive to the other changes to entitlements for casual employees, such as changes to some awards providing for a minimum period of engagement for casual and part-time employees, and ensure that hours of work and rostering arrangements for these employees are compliant.
We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Alessandra Moussa to this article.


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Latest info on artists, songwriters, producers, and record labels
Hamada Mania Music Blog
Janet Jackson premieres "No Sleeep" music video with J. Cole
Janet Jackson has premiered the music video for her new single online.
The singer/songwriter posted the visual clip for "No Sleeep" – featuring J. Cole – to her official YouTube channel on Friday (July 24, 2015).
"No Sleeep" was produced by Jackson along with regular collaborators Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who also worked with Usher ("Bad Girl"), Mariah Carey ("Through the Rain") and Celine Dion ("Dance with My Father").
Co-production duties were handled by Dem Jointz, whose other credits include Jordin Sparks' "Right Here Right Now" [Louder Than Life], Rihanna's "Cockiness (Love It)" [Def Jam] and Brandy's "Put it Down" f/ Chris Brown [RCA].
Jackson's eleventh studio collection and follow-up to 2008's "Discipline" is scheduled to hit stores and digital outlets later this year through BMG Rights Management and Rhythm Nation Records.
Watch the Dave Meyers-directed clip for "No Sleeep" below.
Tags: BMG Rights Management, Dave Meyers, Dem Jointz, Dwayne Abernathy, Dwayne "Dem Jointz" Abernathy, J. Cole, James Harris, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Rhythm Nation Records, Terry Lewis
Categories Videos
← John Newman confirms details for sophomore album "Revolve"
Lianne La Havas enlists Jamie Lidell for new song "Green & Gold" →
Alicia Keys reveals artwork, release date for new album "A.L.I.C.I.A."
Alina Baraz releases new single "Trust"
Mae Muller announces new single "Roses"
Arlissa teases first release from debut album
Stacy Barthe teases new collaboration with Tiwa Savage
Acoustic Performance
Album Samplers
Hamada's Favorite Songs of the Year
Musicians' Galore
New Record Deals
Publishing Deals
Songs Meant for Other Artists (Hamada's Remix)
Songwriting Credits
Tracklistings
Year's Best Released Songs
Year's Best Unreleased Songs


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Ireland November 2014 with Go Ahead Tours
Traditions of Ireland
Go Ahead Tours
The Ring of Kerry, County Kerry
Copyright © Nancy Nutile-McMenemy
Ireland Gallery: http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Ireland-2014
Ring of Kerry: http://www.theringofkerry.com/
Dingle Bay: http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/
Skellig Islands: http://www.skelligislands.com/
Blog Review: http://photosbynanci.blogspot.com/2014/12/killarney-ring-of-kerry-ireland.html
Traditions of Ireland Go Ahead Tours The Ring of Kerry, County Kerry November 16-26, 2014 Copyright © Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com Ireland Gallery: http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Ireland-2014 Ring of Kerry: http://www.theringofkerry.com/ Dingle Bay: http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/ Skellig Islands: http://www.skelligislands.com/


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Electromobility at voestalpine 3 minutes spent reading
Electromobility at voestalpine
Volkmar Held
The electromobility of the future will require new ideas and further improvements in materials. Thanks to their unique combination of materials expertise and processing know-how, voestalpine and its companies are best equipped for the requirements of the automotive industry. Whether optimized electrical steel strip, the most efficient stacks, or stable battery cases and other components: voestalpine delivers highly sophisticated solutions for electric vehicles.
Electromobility continues to gather steam. This momentum is also boosting the estimated number of newly licensed electric vehicles. According to a study entitled, The Role of Steel in Electromobility, by the Handelsblatt Research Institute, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the EU may top 14 million by 2025. By both linking the competence available Group-wide and focusing consistently on research and development, voestalpine will take a leading position in the promising e-mobility market, too.
Components for electric vehicles are changing
E-mobility does not reinvent the automobile as such. Many components are needed in vehicles powered by combustion engines as well as those powered by electricity—such as doors, flaps, and other add-on parts or safety components such as safety belt tensioners and airbags. Yet the scenario changes completely when it comes to drive-specific components such as electric engines, battery cases, and so forth. While the demand for pistons, crank shafts, and other components of combustion engines as well as for gearboxes or oil pans will decline, however, this is a change that the voestalpine companies already are best equipped to handle.
voestalpine & its e-mobility solutions
compacore® in action: as a rotor in a Daimler axle (© EM-Motive)
Whether high-quality steel as a material or in the form of intelligent technological products such as those used for electric motors—thanks to the solutions it offers, voestalpine is actively involved in shaping this aspect, too, of the future of mobility. To give just one example: for years, the Group has already been a leading provider of highest-quality electrical steel strip (isovac®) that is used in a wide variety of applications and also forms the basis of the compact, inline-bonded lamination stacks (compacore®) that are a central element of an electric motor and sustainably boost the efficiency of such engines. But voestalpine solutions are being used in many other areas of electromobility as well.
Examples of voestalpine's product offerings in the e-mobility sector:
Optimized isovac® electrical steel strip for highly efficient engines—especially the innovative coatings with 'Backlack' (self-bonding option).
compacore® electrical steel stacks, i.e. inline-bonded lamination stacks with guaranteed parameters for electric motors using powertrain and actuators.
Various components for electric vehicles: accumulators, guide boxes, battery holders, and other parts in keeping with our existent supplier portfolio
Modular battery cases for electric vehicles, including temperature management: in planning as part of the MEX Group project
Battery case lids for premium vehicles, already in mass production
Continued demand for lightweight construction
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Next Article Kratom vs. Kava – Is Kava better than Kratom? Differences you need to know.


Which grade level class sizes will be expanded?
Due to the increase in kindergarten applications, and the limitations posed by the present budget situation, it will be necessary to expand class size in Kindergarten from 20 to 22 students. It may also be necessary to expand class size in grades 1-3. We will make that determination for Round 2 assignments, and during the summer, as new families may request spots in these grades. State funding for smaller English and Math classes in the 9th grade was cut leading to the possibility increasing these class sizes as well.
Which schools will see class sizes expanded?
Every elementary school will receive assignments of 22 students in Kindergarten, except for a small handful of schools that are required to keep their class sizes to 20 because of their participation in QEIA (Quality Education Investment Act), a state grant program.
Will the district lose state funds for expanding class sizes?
SFUSD receives some funding from the state to keep class size at 20 in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. However, the savings created by increasing class size far exceeds the small penalty for exceeding 20 students per class.
Is SFUSD opening more Kindergarten classrooms?
SFUSD is looking at opening more new kindergarten classrooms. Some schools have already added classrooms to accommodate this year's growth in demand for Kindergarten. However, most elementary schools are fully utilized and there is no space to expand due to fire safety rules requiring Kindergarten classes be located on the ground floor of the building.
It would be nice to know which schools are adding kindergarten classes for 2009-10.
I know that Rosa Parks is supposed to add another kindergarten class.
Interesting story you got here. It would be great to read more about that matter. Thanks for giving this info.


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South Africa: Cost to health far more than R12bn in taxes tobacco generates, says health expert
By ACTA	Africa News BAT, coruption, Dr Yussuf Saloojee, NCAS, South Africa, Tobacco control 0 Comments
Dr Yussuf Saloojee, director of the National Council Against Smoking, has said that South Africa's anti-tobacco lobby needs to create more effective messages to counter the tobacco industry's focus on the economic role it plays and the taxes it pays.
Saloojee was speaking at the launch of the 2021 Tobacco Industry Interference Index for South Africa.
"The industry has managed to win ears. Instead of being seen as a liability, which it really is, the industry is seen as an asset, in the sense that it provides jobs and taxation," he said.
While the harm caused by cigarettes and tobacco was far greater that the R12 billion in taxes the industry generates, it was difficult to explain this in a snappy slogan, he said.
He added that the country's anti-smoking lobby had failed to effectively communicate that tobacco control means social, economic and health benefits. While SARS would lose billion of rands in taxes if fewer cigarettes were sold, the benefits of cuts in tobacco sales would only be seen over many years.
"It is a difference between short-termism and long-term perspectives," he noted. "If you take a long-term perspective there is absolutely no reason on earth why tobaccos should not be controlled."
Tobacco's economic cost
According to a presentation by British American Tobacco SA to Parliament, tobacco duties will contribute R11.5 billion in the year to March 2020. This covers some periods during which the sale of tobacco was banned. Treasury had hoped that excise duties would contribute around R13 billion. The average income from tobacco excise duties for the 2019/20 financial year was around R40 million per day, according to Africa Check, which comes to closer to R15 billion for the year.
According to a 2020 Oxford University Study, while the total economic cost of smoking was around R42 billion, the actual healthcare cost came in at R14.4 billion. The same study found that overall, for every rand that comes in in the form of cigarette tax, society loses R3.43, meaning tobacco use is a net economic drain.
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In December 2009 Rutherford County (NC) finalized efforts to complete and execute a contract with the non-profit entity Pangaea concerning the county's 38 mile fiber-optic network.
The contract, as of its December 21st version, gives Pangaea full ownership of the county's 38 mile fiber infrastructure. In return the county receives exclusive rights to use the fiber-optic (IRU) for the same 38 miles of fiber-optic network, while paying $60,000 per year to Pangaea for maintenance of the network.
The county spent over $1 Million, received as grants, to build the fiber-optic infrastructure. The contract gives the entire network to Pangaea at no cost; see this section for details on the $10 sale.
As the contract stands, the are several serious concerns listed in the Concerns sections that should be at the very least considered before executing the contract in its latest form.
Pangaea is a non-profit organization based in Tryon, NC formally started in January of 2003 under the name e-Polk. The name Pangaea was adopted in 2007.
Pangaea is mainly funded by grants and revenues from its customer-partners such as Polk and Rutherford Schools and County Governments and others. Since 2003 they have received over $2 Million in grants.
platform of innovation for rural western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.
In 2007 Rutherford County received a $1.445 Million grant from the Golden LEAF's Community Assistance Initiative.
The grant application was initiated by Foothills Connect, however the final result of the received funds is now in possession of Rutherford County, as the county is the owner of the 38 mile fiber-optic installation paid for by the grant.
$300,000 of the $1.445 Million was used to connect several schools to an already existing fiber-optic network. The remaining $1.14 Million were used to build the new 38 mile network used by the county and its emergency services sites.
The county currently owns two fiber-optic network segments.
62 miles used to interconnect the schools in the county.
38 miles used to interconnect the county operations, specifically the emergency services operations.
This segment is the subject of the contract discussed on this page.
The county paid for this 38 mile installation with the $1.445 Million Golden LEAF grant.
This site doesn't discuss the above versions as they were made obsolete by the December 21st 2009 version, which is discussed in the following section.
The version released for the December 21 2009 county commissioners' meeting is accessible at this link which is the agenda for the meeting.
The county agrees to sell the physical fiber-optic cable to Pangaea for $10.
The county will pay Pangaea $60,000 per year to maintain the fiber-optic network.
Pangaea will cover the first $20,000 worth of repairs per year.
Pangaea commits to keep the network operational 98.5% of the time.
This translates to about 11 hours of downtime per month.
For a somewhat detailed explanation of IRU click here.
In essence an IRU is a way for a company/entity to have the full use of a particular telecommunications transport (like fiber-optic cable) without actually owning the physical cable.
In Rutherford County's case, under the December 21st contract version, the county no longer would own the fiber-optic lines, however it would be the only user of the cable's capacity for data transmission.
There seems to be a serious misunderstanding of the meaning of the IRU as evidenced by the discussion in the January 4th meeting. You can see the discussion if you skip to the 1 hour and 37 minute mark in the January 4th video.
The discussion in the meeting identified IRUs to be the actual fibers inside the cable. With this understanding, it is easy to see how the current contract is viewed as not giving up anything to Pangaea.
The correct meaning of IRUs crucial to understanding why this contract needs to be replaced by a simple lease or a maintenance agreement.
The contract specifies that the county will sell the 38 mile fiber-optic infrastructure to Pangaea for the cost of $10. However, simultaneously, Pangaea will sell the county a 30 year IRU for $10. Thus making the transaction have a zero net effect on the county.
You can see the details of this on Page 8 and 9 of the December 21st 2009 meeting agenda document.
A new version was introduced at the January 4th commissioner's meeting, as part of the supplemental agenda made available on the day of the meeting.
The changes in this contract were announced in the meeting during the presentation made by several key contributors to the Pangaea contract. You can view the contract at the above link and compare it with the December 21st version.
Language used to describe the entities the County has the right to sub-lease their IRU to.
The meeting discussion did mention that the language of the Pangaea contract was modeled according to the language of a Bankruptcy case tried in New York where the IRU was not lost due to the bankruptcy.
The IRU was originally purchased for $575,000. The county is getting it for $10.
The court ruling was specifically tied to this particular case, and did not make any general statements about IRUs in bankruptcy proceedings.
Click here to watch the video if you can't see it on this page.
The following are just a few specific points that stand out as problematic. The ideas in this section are a collection of conclusions arrived at by several individuals, some of which have extensive experience with telecommunications from operational, legal and financial areas.
If you discover other concerns that you believe should be listed in this document, please contact us and share your ideas with us so that we may consider them for inclusion to this list.
There is a legitimate concern as to what happens to the county's emergency operations in a scenario where Pangaea can not deliver on its commitments.
The contract might list penalties for lack of service, however during that period where there is no service, the county's emergency services would be seriously degraded.
There should be some sort of performance bond included in this contract to protect the county from extended downtime due to inadequate service.
If for some reason Pangaea ends up in bankruptcy court, under this arrangement the fiber-optic network would be an asset that the court can decide to do with it as it wishes, so that the creditors are satisfied.
Under this scenario, the IRU guarantee would be under a bankruptcy proceeding freeze, and the county can end up with no service on it's fiber-optic network for weeks if not months.
Even after a final decision by the court, the new owner of the fiber-optic cable might not be required nor interested in offering the county the same service as Pangaea had.
Given this scenario, turning over ownership of the fiber-optic infrastructure to Pangaea seems like a disaster waiting to happen to the county without any reasonable plan to handle the scenario.
As an example, NC School Connectivity program is recommending to School Districts to not sign Internet Connectivity contract longer than one year.
If the state takes over control of how local schools interconnect, then Pangaea might end up without any relevant income.
While the county does retain the IRU on the network, the fact still remains that over $1 Million was spend to build up this infrastructure.
There is nothing valuable that the county receives in return, as the ongoing service of the infrastructure is still being charged to the county in the amount of $60,000 per year plus any pole-attachment fees incurred.
A more reasonable arrangement would simply keep the county the full owner of the fiber-optic infrastructure, while contracting an external party to maintain the network and guarantee continuous operation.
If Pangaea is the best choice for this service contract, then they should be used. However, if others respond to a bid for this service to the county, then they should be considered as well.
The 38 mile fiber-optic network cost over $1 Million to build.
However, the current contract only requires that Pangaea share 10% of revenues it receives by signing up new customers on those same 38 miles.
It would seem that the entity that paid for the infrastructure to be build ought to take in a percentage of revenues generated significantly larger than the 10% allowed in the contract.
Typical arrangements like this one would be in the reverse, where the county would receive 70-80% of the revenue being that it is the owner of the fiber.
Some similar concerns were raised by Golden LEAF as well in an email exchange between the county manager and an executive from the foundation. You can read the foundation's questions and the county's responses by clicking on this link.
to the people of the County.
The jump from "commercial" and "economic development" to "access to the people of the County" is a difficult one.
needs that aren't being met by the current providers.
Another hard transition from "businesses and government/community entities" to "people of the County".
In the January 4th Meeting an email from Golden LEAF which stated that the foundation had all their questions answered to their satisfaction, with the caveat that the decision whether the Pangaea contract is appropriate resting in the hands of the County and not with Golden LEAF.
You can see the discussion regarding this update in the video of the meeting if you skip to the 1 hour and 34 minute time stamp.
Many other lesser concerns exist in the documents, and I encourage you that you read them for yourselves, so that you may come to your own conclusions regarding this arrangement. The intent of this write-up is to simply capture your attention, so that then you would do the research for yourself.
Once you do that, please contact the commissioners and share your opinions, ideas and concerns regarding this contract. You can find their contact information at this link.
A document was published on the county web site containing, among other items, transcripts of meetings taking place over the last 2-3 years, where discussions regarding the handling of the county's fiber network were discussed.
The document is accessible at this link.
The Rutherford County web page containing documents and information on the PANGAEA contract.
Davidson will need to raise taxes, cut expenses further, dip into its reserves or come up with some other way of raising the $2 million it needs to subsidize the MI-Connection communications system in the coming fiscal year.
Manassas City,VA Council members voted unanimously Monday to end the city's role as a telecommunications provider... BPL costs the city $170,000 annually.