text:
Legislative Update: Open government laws are a mixed bag
July 10, 2015 | Local News | By: Sandy.Semans
The North Carolina General Assembly has produced a mixed bag of legislation related to open government laws during the current session. The legislators have added a little light to some areas, while closing the shades to keep out the sunshine in others.
In April, Governor Pat McCrory turned Senate Bill 14 into law when he signed the legislation that adds transparency to the Academic Standards Review Commission. The commission was created in 2014 to review the Common Core standards and began its work last fall. The add-on to that enabling legislation mandates that all meeting materials be placed on its website and that all meetings are to be live streamed over the internet.
House Bill 405 is now law after the governor's veto of the legislation was overridden by the General Assembly. It has been dubbed the "Ag-Gag" bill because it is aimed at journalists who take jobs in agriculture to report on inhumane or illegal practices. The new law allows business owners to collect civil damages of up to $5,000 from those who violate the law. In earlier versions of the bill, violations would have been criminal offenses.
HB 97, the Senate version of the House proposed budget, includes a long list of policy issues and matters unrelated to budget issues. It's now set for conference committee to work out the vast differences in the bill, and one of the Senate amendments to it broadens the scope of public records exemptions.
That particular portion of the controversial budget proposal states: "…Sensitive public security information. (a) Public records, as defined in G.S. 132-1, shall not include information containing specific details of public security plans and arrangements or the detailed plans and drawings of public buildings and infrastructure, facilities or plans, schedules, or other documents that include information regarding patterns or practices associated with executive protection and security. (a1) Public records, as defined in G.S. 132-1, shall not include specific security information or detailed plans, patterns, or practices associated with prison operations. (a2) Public records, as defined in G.S. 132-1, shall not include specific security information or detailed plans, patterns, or practices to prevent or respond to criminal, gang, or organized illegal activity."
Opponents of the proposed legislation say that the exemptions are so broad that it could make the governor's or other public servants' calendar and travel protected from public scrutiny. Also of concern is that law enforcement policies could be hidden from public view.
SB 299 became effective when it was signed into law by the governor on July 8. It creates a new public records exemption for contracts with the State Ports Authority for usage of the facilities. This was one of many pieces of legislation that was included in multiple bills. The new law states: "A usage contract entered into between the Authority and a carrier is not a public record within the meaning of G.S. 132-1. For purposes of this section, the term 'usage contract' means a contract or agreement that contains terms and conditions involving terminal services related to maritime activities, including dockage, wharfage, cargo handling, storage, ro-ro service, transportation drayage, and other miscellaneous port services."
This bill means that the amount of revenues associated with the contract also are secret as are the workings of the user.
The governor has also signed into law SB 578 that requires that the Department of Health and Human Services create the Child Maltreatment Registry which, when it becomes effective Jan. 1, 2016, will be a list of childcare providers found to mistreat children in their care. Most of the information collected by the department during its investigation will be exempt from the Public Records Law but the names of the providers will be public.
HB 184 has passed the House and is now in the Senate Judiciary 1 Committee. If made into law, the bill sets a limit on how long a public exemption would apply to many documents withheld from public scrutiny – 100 years. The legislation would not apply to any record that: "(1) Is ordered to be sealed by any state or federal court, except as provided by that court; (2) Is prohibited from being disclosed under federal law, rule, or regulation; (3) Contains federal social security numbers; (4) Is a juvenile, probationer, parolee, post releasee, or prison inmate record including medical and mental health records; or (5) Contains detailed plans and drawings of public buildings and infrastructure facilities. (d) For purposes of this section, the custodian of the record shall be the Department of Cultural Resources or other agency in actual possession of the record."
HB 477, has passed the House and has been in the Senate Rules and Operations Committee since April 30. If passed and signed into law, the bill would provide an exemption to the Open Records Laws for law enforcement, firefighters and others who respond to emergencies. The bill states: "… G.S. 132-1.7 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: "(b1) Public records, as defined in G.S. 132-1, shall not include mobile telephone numbers issued by a local, county, or state government to any of the following: (1) A sworn law enforcement officer or non-sworn employee of a public law enforcement agency. (2) An employee of a fire department. (3) Any employee whose duties include responding to an emergency."
Another law enforcement related bill, SB 699, if made into law, would exempt from examination and inspection the names, addresses, social security numbers, medical, disability and emergency contact information of law enforcement officers upon request. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations in March. In April it moved to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
HB 543 would allow the N.C. Medical Board that licenses doctors, nurses and physicians assistants more secrecy. On one hand, the review panel would be required to post the names and practice addresses of all new applicants. On the other hand, it exempts the review panel from the open meetings laws. It has passed the House and is now on the Senate side.
Law enforcement body and dashboard camera videos are the focus of HB 713 that has passed the House and is now in the Senate. The bill states: "A person seeking an order under subsection (a) of this section to inspect, examine, or obtain a copy of audio, video, or audio and video recordings captured by a law enforcement officer's body-worn camera or in-car camera must state the date and approximate time of the incident or encounter captured by the body-worn camera or in-car camera or otherwise identify the incident or encounter with reasonable particularity. Notwithstanding any other provision of state law regulating or prohibiting access to employee personnel records, a law enforcement agency may release recordings captured by a law enforcement officer's body-worn camera or in-car camera without the consent of the law enforcement officer whose actions, visual or audible, are captured on the recordings. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as (i) requiring a law enforcement agency to allow inspection, examination, or release of audio, video, or audio and video recordings captured by a law enforcement officer's body-worn camera or in-car camera or (ii) superseding federal law that authorizes or prohibits access to recordings subject to this subsection."
(Sandy Semans is a retired newspaper editor and reporter who now works as a free-lance writer. She lives in Stumpy Point. Her update on the goings-on in this session of the General Assembly will appear weekly in The Island Free Press, usually on Friday.)
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED 2015 LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
First bill filed would prohibit condemning property for economic development
Legislative Update: And they are off — sort of
Legislative Update: The gold rush in Raleigh is underway
Legislative Update Most Bills Moving At Snails Pace But One Achieves Warp Speed
Legislative Update: Humor unleashed in the General Assembly
Legislative Update: Lawmakers made hay while the sun was shining
Legislative Update: Bill on dredging causes local turmoil
Legislative Update: 156 new bills filed this week
Legislative Update: Lawmakers keeping busy in Raleigh
Legislative Update: It was raining bills all week
Legislative Update: Occupancy tax provision is out of dredging bill
Legislative Update: Lawmakers take aim at N.C. Constitution
Legislative Update: More taxes and Constitutional amendments proposed
Legislative Update: Lawmakers racing the clock to get bills moved
Legislative Update: Rushing to meet the 'crossover' deadline
Legislative Update: A week of committee work in Raleigh
Legislative update: New taxes for fishermen and new purpose for occupancy taxes
Legislative Update: Bill aims at opportunities for Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station
Legislative Update: Two days, two vetoes
Legislative Update: Sales tax redistribution bill gets more traction
Legislative update: Sales tax redistribution is back, will still hurt Dare
Legislative Update: Senate passes its version of state budget
Legislative Update: Budget conference committee faces challenges
Legislative Update: Hurry up and wait time in Raleigh
'Say Something' tip system comes to Dare schools
January 17, 2020 | Local News | By: Michelle Wagner | From The: Outer Banks Voice
After Record High Temperatures, Colder Weather is Finally in the F ...
January 16, 2020 | Local News
Long-Stalled Dredging at Hatteras Inlet Scheduled for Late January
January 15, 2020 | Local News | By: Catherine Kozak
More Outer Banks News
Hurricane Dorian Ocracoke Debris Removal Update
Body of one crewman recovered, another still missing from capsized ...
January 14, 2020 | Local News | By: Sam Walker | From The: OBX Today
Pamlico Sound ferries on reduced schedule temporarily
January 14, 2020 | Local News | From The: Ocracoke Observer
Surfer receives possible shark bite off Rodanthe
Five seek appointment to vacant ed board seat
January 13, 2020 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
Local News Archive
Crews respond to brush fire on Pea Island near refuge visitor center
CHEC Replacing Transmission Pole at Canadian Hole; No Highway Closures or Outages Expected
January 10, 2020 | Local News | By: Joy Crist
Hazard Mitigation Plan Draft Calls for Locals' Feedback
January 10, 2020 | Local News | By: Sarah Rich
Chairman Woodard Invited to White House for NEPA Announcement
January 9, 2020 | Local News
Bonner Bridge demo crosses halfway point; N.C. 12 on Pea Island gets fresh layer of asphalt
January 9, 2020 | Local News | By: Sam Walker | From The: OBX Today
Coast Guard suspends search for 2 missing mariners in Pamlico Sound
Trash bins scheduled to be emptied this week; Hyde to get thrombolytics; island businesses get loans
January 9, 2020 | Local News | By: Connie Leinbach | From The: Ocracoke Observer
Search Continues for Two Missing Mariners in Pamlico Sound
Coast Guard still searching for two missing mariners of shrimp boat; one confirmed dead
Two rescued, two missing after Hyde County shrimp trawler sinks in Pamlico Sound
Outer Banks Hospital and all Vidant hospitals to set visitation restrictions due to flu
Dare Sheriff still looking for bomb threat suspect
January 6, 2020 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
Coastal Resources to hold hearing on updated building setback rules
January 6, 2020 | Local News | From The: Ocracoke Observer
Coastal Flood Advisory Issued for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Controversial FEMA flood maps to be unveiled
January 2, 2020 | Local News | From The: Outer Banks Voice
VIDEO: Island Free Press Top 5 Stories of 2019
January 1, 2020 | Local News | By: Rory Kelleher
Christmas trees can be dropped off at Buxton Transfer Station on Hatteras Island
December 31, 2019 | Local News
Record High Temperatures Possible for the Outer Banks and Eastern N.C. on Monday
New Coastal Districts In Focus As Filing Ends
December 30, 2019 | Local News | By: Kirk.Ross | From The: Coastal Review Online
After Dorian, Hyde Board to amend abandoned car ordinance
December 30, 2019 | Local News | From The: Outer Banks Voice


If you'll be traveling this summer, I'd suggest avoiding Newark Liberty International Airport if you can as . That's during summer's peak travel season! What were they thinking? Even Amtrak won't be stopping at Newark Airport's train station, so the only way to get to the airport will be via taxi or bus or the replacement shuttle bus, which will leave from downtown Newark. That's not even the worst news. Get this: On April 1st, to begin rehabilitation work for 60 days. I had a friend who flew through there last week and as a result, she was stuck on the runway for two and a half hours before taking off for Europe. Yikes!
They're also shutting down the AirTrain between terminals so there will be shuttle buses between the three terminals and the other locations. As one reader put it, this is going to be a big mess!
Want to see more tips? Click here for all 145!
6 Comments	On "Travel Tip of the Day: Avoid Newark Airport This Summer (If You Can)"
Air Train is silly. Airporter bus is fastest and cheapest.
Just flew into EWR and I can confirm it was a giant mess. About a 1.5 hour delay getting off the ground due to weather and runway construction in NJ (flights the day prior saw 3 hour delays, so I guess we were lucky). Once at EWR, simply getting to Avis to retrieve our rental car was a nightmare. As the article says, they have "shuttle buses" to take you from one terminal to the next (or to the rental cars). The shuttle area is disorganized and there weren't enough vehicles to handle demand–it was standing room only on the shuttles. We also had a baby and stroller in tow on this trip, which pretty much made it all but impossible to board the small shuttle. We ended up just using Uber and cancelling our rental car. Parents, think twice before making this trip. Anyone else, just know what you're getting into before departing.
Flew in and out of Newark last week, delayed 2 hours on way in & 4 hours on way back. Awful!


The Lebanon Yellowjackets slipped past the the Glendale Falcons 319 to 324 on Monday to claim this year's Ozark Conference Tournament Championship. The tourney took place at the Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield. Rolla finished third with a score of 336.
The Jacket's Tryn Titus and Cooper Hess both carded rounds of 74 to lead Lebanon to the tournament championship. It was a big win for the Yellowjackets who finished as runner ups in 2017.
By conference rule Titus and Hess had to compete in a playoff for top medalist honors. On the first hole of the playoff Titus parred, while his teammate Hess bogeyed, to grab this year's top medalist honors for the tournament.
Next up for the Yellowjackets is their district tournament at Lake Valley.
Glendale coach Chris Obert also liked the effort he got from his Falcon squad- a squad composed of two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior.
Lebanon Yellowjackets: 1- Cooper Hess 74, 2- Tryn Titus 74, 3- Haydon Brogdon 88, 4- Grant Carr 83 and 5- Houston Brackett 106.
Glendale Falcons: 1- Dawson Meek 75, 2- Conner Obert 78, 3- Luke Ogden 81, 4- Jonathon Dixon 95 and 5- Colyer Kuntz 90.
Rolla Bulldogs: 1- Matt Drallmeier 81, 2- Jeriah Jordan 82, 3- Evan Moore 84- 4- Jack Gesualdi 89 and 5- Evan Colench 94.


The Croppers are definitely members of the Pouter group, but differ quite a bit in certain respects. Their legs are shorter and straighter and the globe is ball-like and not as set off from the body as that of the Pouter. A good Cropper will soar 50 yards on open wings before using its wings with loud claps to raise its altitude again.
Norwich Croppers are found in many colors, all in pied forms.
Another shot of the Voorburg Shield Cropper male, "Hansel"
An Old German Cropper: this thing was huge -- I thought it was a bloody albatross!!


O duo mezzo francês, mezzo sérvio Elisabeth like a dream é daquelas deliciosas precisiodades escondidas no submundo dos bons sons.
Aleksandra Plavsic e Myriam Bâ criaram as pérolas do EP "Sing Sing" de 2014 e do recente single "Shadow" lançado neste ano, sempre envolto a um clima melancólico entre beats eletrônicos dançantes com nuances de pós punk e aquela aura de sonhos encantadora.
Quer um conselho, dê play imediatamente e apaixone-se.
Well it started as a audio visual collaboraton for art exhibitions before we've decided to really form a band in 2011 . Myriam is a painter and designer and me, mostly a composer and musician . I had songs and Myriam always wanted to play bass …So the first EP « Sing sing » was released shortly after .
The stage is a wonderful place to be, we're feeling free and it's really rewarding to feel that people in the audience are with us. It gives you strenght to continue giving your best.
Q. How do you describe Elisabeth like a dream´s sounds?
An electric rock with a bit of chilwave/dreampop and post-punk .
And there are so many new bands that are really good, but i can't get their names right now..oh yes, there's a band called the underdog effect, their gigs are cool.
We'll be releasing a bunch of singles in the close future .


text:
Patrick A. Smith Named Vice President of NSPS
Patrick A. Smith, RPLS and part of the SAM, Inc. senior staff in Austin, was recently elected as the 2012-2013 Vice President of the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). Pat has been active with stewardship activities in our profession for many years and has also served as chairman of the Board of Governors for the NSPS, a member organization of the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping (ASCM) and is a Past President of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS). He has more than 40 years of experience in land surveying, including extensive familiarity with the latest technology solutions utilized in our profession. He is also thoroughly familiar with the business practices, legal issues, and legislative challenges related to our industry.
Join us in congratulating Pat for this laudable achievement and for the recognition of our esteemed peers at NSPS. We are pleased to have Pat as part of the SAM, Inc. leadership team.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Machine Wash Cold Tumble Dry Low INDIGO WILL BLEED. WASH INSIDE OUT IN COLD WATER WITH LIKE COLORS. DO NOT BLEACH. TUMBLE DRY LOW. DO NOT IRON.
If between sizes; order one size up.23=000, 24=00, 25=0, 26=2, 27=2-4, 28=6, 29=6-8, 30=8-10, 31=10, 32=12.


Mr. Robot Ending After Season 4?
Before we stuff ourselves this Thanksgiving let's watch our country's slow decent into oblivion, shall we? On this week's Mr. Robot Elliot goes into hiding.
WOW!! How do you follow up a classic episode of television? If you are Mr. Robot, you just make another one. This episode was BETTER!


Pink Bean Bag Chair is among the most image we ascertained on the internet from reliable creativeness. We make up one head to discourse this Pink Bean Bag Chair picture upon this webpage because predicated on conception via Yahoo Image, Its one of the most notable reted queries keyword on Google INTERNET SEARCH ENGINE. And that we also consider you came here were looking for this information, are not You? From many options on the web were sure this pictures could be a good image for you, and we sincerely we hope you are proud of using what we present.


Which OS update is most current for Passport?
S.o.s! My z30 has a display problem!!!!
How do i login into my instagram account?
How can I stop my text messages from disappearing?
Import tax whne ordering from the Canada store to the US?
Help! My z30 has a display problem!
How can I get Sky Go working?
How can I reset my old 7250 to factory settings?
Texts not being received (sometimes), not sure why?


Everyone has an opinion, everyone wants to offer up suggestions. Occasionally, these suggestions and opinions are negative. People like to point out what is missing, what is going wrong, what is at risk or what you should be doing differently. The feedback and opinions don't need to be correct to be valid.
Let me just say that all feedback is GOOD! I know that the group's Negative Nelly can wear on us and they can be tedious. Some days it may feel like you are getting a constant barrage of what is not working. Feedback, correct or not – is informative. It tells you what other people expect, want, or how they see things differently. You can use this information to manage expectations, to prepare for objections and to adjust your plan if needed.
Let's look at what you might be hearing.
Something is missing. This could come in a number of flavors; you've forgotten to do something, your project scope is lacking or you didn't include something in your update.
Something is wrong. Wrong is a perception. It might be a true failure, something didn't work out. Or it could simply be that the person has a different point of view – and from their angle, it was wrong.
Something is at risk. There is the possibility of something not working or going wrong.
As a project manager, you need to know and hear about ALL of these. If they are valid, you have work to do. If they are not valid, you still have work to do – in addressing perceptions and expectations.
Now let's talk about how to respond when you are hit with a complaint from your sponsor, project team, peer, customer or your neighbour's cat.
First. Listen, this is your best tactic. Don't be defensive. Don't ignore them. Don't belittle the complaint. Listen. Hear them out. Ask questions. Try to understand their point of view. This can be the hardest part. But it is the most critical. You can't determine what to do next without truly understanding the issue. Keep in mind that the first few words of the complaint are often not the core of the issue. They are the symptoms.
Don't just dismiss this first statement. Ride it out. Listen a bit longer.
mmm… There might be more to this.
Okay, now that's some concrete information you can address.
Second. You need to validate the information. Is this a valid issue? Go to the source. Be careful that you don't react to second and third hand information. Always get to the source.
Third. If the information is true. If there is something to be concerned about, you can address it. Extend your schedule, make resource adjustments. Communicate the risk and its potential to your sponsor. If you take the time to validate the information you can avert disaster.
What if the information is incorrect? What if they are just spouting off and sharing bad information? That's still an issue to address. Remember perception is reality. You need to try to correct the perception. It might be a simple misunderstanding – that you can clear up by engaging with the correct groups.
Regardless of the validity of the complaint, remember these 4 points.
Ask questions. If someone has something negative to say, you should want to know it and hear it – whether you think it's true or not.
Don't promise what you can't deliver. Don't let the negativity push you to promise the moon. Keep your commitments achievable and reasonable.
Don't react emotionally. Take a deep breath. Remain in control. Be professional, take some time, and formulate a professional response. Give yourself time by saying – " I'll get back to you." "I will need to consult with members of the project team." Give yourself room to provide a calm and reasonable response.
Don't bluff – or lie. If you were wrong – own it. Don't lie or deflect blame. Admit when you've made a mistake. It's ok to say, "I don't know." Or "I apologize." You will be more respected for it.


We welcome the opportunity to partner with you in caring for your patients.
We help practitioners manage drug-resistant tuberculosis and other refractory mycobacterial and respiratory infections.
We offer advanced testing services to detect diseases sooner.
Learn more about requesting your medical records and sending medical records to National Jewish Health.
Download free PDFs about diseases, medications, diagnostic tests and more.


Oh if I could throw myself into a bath of collagen I would – well I might!
Actually thinking about it I don't think I would, it could get a bit messy!
Luckily for me then (and you) proto-col have produced a skincare range named Collagen Technology which includes this gorgeous Collagen Serum which I have recently been trying out.
In case you don't already know, collagen production slows down from *sigh* about 25….
Collagen helps to keep your skin looking good – firm, smooth, radiant etc.
So along with drinking lots of water, wearing SPF 😎 (every day) and not smoking, incorporating skin care products with collagen in them makes sense to me.
The packaging is very smart and the carton in a dark royal blue with silver writing looks very high end.
Inside the box the collagen serum itself is beautifully presented – with a glossy silver pump action top which you can lock into the open position.
Good to know, you can see how much product is left through the opaque glass bottle.
As this is a serum it is designed to be used after cleansing but before your moisturiser.
I have been using the serum morning and evening and applying it to my neck and face, using light upward strokes.
The amount in the picture below is enough for my face and neck.
This serum with quinoa (which can help skin elasticity and cell regeneration) is a lovely lightweight fluid that nourishes, protects, hydrates and firms.
It contains collagen (obvs!) which is plant based but also amongst other ingredients Vitamin C which works well with collagen (if you are looking for a product with collagen in it look for vitamin C too). Hop on over to the proto-col website if you want to find out more.
texture, it is a pleasure to use.


The home and away season has concluded with both our Men's and Women's team qualified for the semi-finals of the Tennis Victoria Premier League. The top team progresses automatically to Sundays Grand Final while second plays third in an elimination semi-final.
Our Men's team had the chance to finish on top of the table on Sunday but were not able to do so. This mean we now have a match against last season's Premiers Grace Park Hawthorn. In round one we managed to beat them 5 matches to 1 but with both teams looking at fielding different line up's, it will be a very close match. Kooyong awaits the winner!
Our women's team head into the semi-final against Kooyong after 4 straight victories, the last of which over Kooyong by the narrowest of margins. Our girls are coming into form at the right time of the season but once again we expect a very close match. Liston TC awaits the winner.
Come along and support your teams.
A reminder that the final will be played at MCC Glen Iris on Sunday the 11th starting at 1pm.


text:
VOL. 130 | NO. 10 | Thursday, January 15, 2015
GOP Leader Says Tennessee Lawmakers Will Approve VW Incentives
ERIK SCHELZIG | Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A top Republican in the Tennessee General Assembly expects his colleagues to approve the state share of a $300 million incentive package for Volkswagen despite misgivings over a "secret deal" for the United Auto Workers union at the German automaker's plant in Chattanooga.
House Republican leader Gerald McCormick of Chattanooga said Tuesday that while he understands some of his colleagues' concerns about the union's growing role at the plant, he doesn't want to backtrack on deal struck by Gov. Bill Haslam last summer that is leading to a 2,000-job expansion at the factory.
"The state of Tennessee will keep its promises, and the Legislature will help the state keep its promises that that were made to Volkswagen," McCormick said.
Lawmakers will be asked to approve a $178 million in grants to help Volkswagen with site development, machinery, construction and jobs training. Other portions of the incentive package come in the form in tax credits that don't need legislative approval, or come from local governments or the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The UAW narrowly lost a union election at the plant in last February, but Volkswagen has since created a labor policy that guarantees regular interaction with management and access to meeting space within the plant to unions sign up at least 15 percent of workers. The UAW last month qualified for the top tier of the labor policy by showing it had signed up at least 45 percent of workers at the plant.
While the new policy does not address exclusive bargaining rights, several Chattanooga-area Republicans have grumbled about approving incentives for Volkswagen.
"We do hope that Volkswagen will consider the sentiments of the community when it comes to the United Auto Workers," McCormick said. "We really don't want them in Chattanooga unless the workers vote in an open election to have them there.
"We don't want them to slip in the back door because of a secret deal with Volkswagen," McCormick said.
A rival group called the American Council of Employees, which is led by anti-UAW workers at the plant, has argued that Volkswagen has favored the UAW under its new labor policy. The group has so far failed to qualify under the VW labor policy.
The Detroit Free Press reported earlier this week that Michael Horn, the president and CEO of the Volkswagen Group for the Americas, said he was "very confident" that Tennessee lawmakers would approve the deal.
"I think the politicians in Tennessee – they value jobs and they value business, and I think we will work it out," Horn said at an event surrounding the North American International Auto Show.
Haslam later traveled to Detroit to meet with VW executives and pose for photos in front of a concept SUV based on the new SUV scheduled to be built at the Chattanooga plant in 2016.
The governor told reporters last week that "there's no question" it would become more difficult to strike future economic development deals if lawmakers were to torpedo the deal with Volkswagen.
"Now we always put that as a caveat to the deal that the Legislature has to approve it," he said. "But historically, that has always happened in Tennessee."


The aim of this project is to build competence and knowledge regarding vulnerabilities related to the changing electric power system, especially due to new requirements and changing operating conditions, and thereby contribute to ensure an appropriate level of security of supply.
– a small community with less than 3000 inhabitants in Northern Norway – lost its power supply for nearly 6 days in January 2007 due to failures and breakdown of both 66 kV lines supplying Steigen. This event was triggered y heavy storm, and the repair work was delayed by the bad eather. The cost of this event was estimated to 24 million NOK.
– struck the Midwest and Northeast of the United States and the Canadian province Ontario on the 14th of august 2003, affecting 50 million people. Estimated costs of the blackout range between 4 and 10 billion US$. The blackout was caused by a rolling cascade stemming from inadequate response to failures in Ohio.


All Levelset customers get access to our Scout Research. Scout Research gives you peace of mind that you're sending the right documents, with the right info, to the right people, at the right time. Depending on your subscription level, you may have Scout Research on all documents, all projects, or filed documents only (like liens).
Scout data pulls from nationwide property databases, county assessor records, Levelset's internal database of millions of projects, and more. From these sources, Scout helps you identify missing or conflicting property information and project stakeholders. Learn more about Scout here.
If you have a Levelset subscription account, you also can customize your Scout research settings. Read on to learn more.
Click on the gear in the top right corner of your dashboard and select Scout Settings.
Click the green Edit button to make changes.
First customize the Notification Expiry Period to choose how long you would like Scout Alerts to pause your order so that you can approve changes. The Alerts will be sent to your Levelset account and can be resolved under the Research tab.
Helpful Hint: We will only send you Alerts when your preference is "Contact You." If an Alert is not resolved by the end of the expiry period, then the Alert expires and your document will be sent as-is with your original information. The information contained in the Document Alert will still remain available in your account in the form of a Project Suggestion and can be used to update your project at any time.
Next, for each scenario that might arise on your document order or project, select how you would like our Scout team to proceed: Use Scout Data only, Use my data only, Contact you, or in some cases Use Both.
If you're not sure what selection is going to be a good fit for you and your company, check out this article for an in-depth explanation of your choices.
Property Owner or GC "Empty": No information was provided from your team to our team. For example, an order was placed without a property owner.
Property Owner, GC, or Project Location "Non-Match": The information we found was slightly different from the information provided by you. For example, there was a slight misspelling in a contact's name or the job site address provided was 123 Main Street vs. 123 N Main Street.
Property Owner, GC, or Project Location "Conflict": We identified completely different information from what you provided. For example, the property owner provided was Jane Doe at 123 Main Street vs. John Smith at 1 School Street.
What is a Visibility Doc and why should I send one?
What is an Escalation Doc and why should I send one?
What is a Last Resort Doc and why should I file one?


Nail Art's New Wave: How To Conquer These Cool "Snow Caps"
No doubt, nail art is seriously having a moment. But we're already at a point where certain patterns have become passé (accent finger anyone?). To keep your tips covered in fresh, fantastic looks, we've compiled Nail Art's New Wave, a collection of our favorite new patterns inspired by super-talented manicurist Julie Kandalec and Maybelline New York's Color Show Nail Lacquer – plus hints on how to execute them perfectly.
Our quest to find the latest in new nail looks takes us to some very odd places. This time, we're stealing inspiration from the polar icecaps, creating a glacial flow for your claws. Now, we know that this pattern — "Snow Caps" we call it — looks a bit unwieldy. But never fear, folks — we've broken this baby down into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced versions so you can jump in at your specific level of expertise and add flourishes as you see fit. Ready to embrace the chill, friends? Let's get started.


Frank's online radio show is one of the new best things about Saturday night.
Frank Ocean's Saturday night blonded RADIO show on Beats 1 is becoming more entertaining than SNL. On this past weekend's show alone, he debuted a new song titled "Lens," along with an alternate version featuring Travi$ Scott.
He had more to share after giving away two potential hits, namely one with Young Thug, from his Endless recording sessions. Ocean dropped off a revamped version of "Slide" with a guest verse from Young Thug.
Word is that the crooner will be premiering new tunes on the show every week moving forward.


Hungry Shark Evolution is one game that I've spent hours playing on my iPAd.
The game is all about controlling a shark and navigating through the sea. The game offers much more than just great graphics.
The shark is fun to control and you can even control the speed with which it navigates. Apart from that there are a lot of fun things that you can do. You can eat deep-sea divers, small fishes and turtles.
You can make huge jumps above the sea and destroy complete ships. You can even make the jump to eat paragliders and birds that are flying over the sea. You can go deep sea and explore new places but make sure that the shark is fed regularly or it will die of hunger.
The game is developed by Future Games of London developer and has also been awarded as the "Editor's Choice" on the Google Play Store.
The game is currently free to download. However, you can buy upgrades and add ons using in-app purchases.
The game is currently available on Android and iOS marketplaces only however, Hungry Shark Evolution can be downloaded and played for PC using an emulator like Bluestacks or Xpadian, depending upon what mobile operating system you prefer.
Bluestacks is an android emulator that will allow you to create and Android environment on your Windows PC.
And thus, you can download all android apps, including Hungry Shark Evolution on your PC without any hassles.
Just like bluestacks, Xpadian is also an emulator but for iPad.
It allows you to emulate and iPad environment on your PC and then install apps like you would on an iPad.
Setting up the game is easier with Xpadian however, there might be a few things that you'll need to complete to set up xpadian on your PC i.e. the standard procedure of setting up a new iPad.
However, you can download Xpadian from here and then use the Appstore available on the virtual iPad to download and Play Hungry Shark Evolution on PC.


Cut the beef into half inch pieces. Using a large stockpot and the coconut oil, cook the meat over medium high heat until browned, then remove from the pot. Turn the heat down to medium and add the green pepper, onion, crushed red pepper and garlic and saute for 5-6 minutes. Return the browned meat to the stockpot and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender.
loaded with antioxidants and are a great source of fiber, and the overall warming of the meal adds to ones digestive fire and chi.


A 25-year-old from Idar-Oberstein was sentenced to prison for ordering two handguns, a grenade, ammunition and a "shooting pen" from a dark net market.
According to official court information, the accused and his defender had withdrawn their appeal before the regional court in Bad Kreuznach on Monday. The 25-year-old was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for violating the law on weapons and the war arms control law. He confessed his crimes.
Ordering weapons from the dark net is a really risky business. Many suspects have been arrested for doing such things. One of the most recent cases from Germany is a 24-year-old who was busted in September by the BKA (Federal Criminal Police) for trying to buy weapons from the dark net. An undercover BKA agent made a vendor account on a dark web market and arranged a deal with the suspect. They agreed to meet in person near a crowded supermarket where law enforcement authorities intercepted and arrested the man. According to police information, the 24-year-old admitted all charges against him.
When law enforcement authorities performed a house search on the suspect's home in Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, they found a marijuana grow-operation, which they called as a "stately drugstore". Prosecutor's office states that there were other drugs in the home of the 24-year-old, however, since the lack of information provided by authorities, we can't confirm any details on this. The suspect admitted to attempting to purchase firearms and ammunition via the dark net and the charge of cultivating of cannabis.
Police kept the public in the dark after the bust had happened. They only mentioned that the 24-year-old was trying to buy a single firearm, the prosecutor's office did not even say anything about cannabis cultivation. In addition to that, according to official court information, the accused allegedly tried to buy multiple firearms and ammunition from the dark web. The spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said the investigation is not complete. Statements from the suspect are being reviewed with regard to their plausibility. No further details have been announced.
Germany is not the only country affected by dark net weapon-related busts. Allen Kennedy, a 30-year-old PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) officer in Belfast was arrested on September 5 for ordering a handgun, a silencer, and ammunition from the dark web, court documents say. Law enforcement authorities caught the man when he was making the deal personally in Annadale Embankment after handing over £500 for the package. When police searched the PSNI officer's vehicle, they found cocaine hidden inside drinks tins and WD-40 oil sprays. According to court information, the 30-year-old was involved in a drug dealing operation.
The PSNI officer claimed he bought the gun to commit suicide, however, his claim was rejected. Kennedy is charged with the attempted possession of a handgun, 10 rounds of ammunition and a silencer in suspicious circumstances and with intent to endanger life. He is also accused of possessing bullets, a shotgun cartridge, and Class A drugs with intent to supply and simple possession of cannabis. Kennedy was remanded in custody to appear again by video-link in four weeks.
if you use normal OPSEC (TAILs, good VPN, PGP for comms) there are only two ways you could be 'arrested'….
yeh…..cos they wanted 'the public' to think that they had 'cracked' DNM encryption or some such BS…..
another example of total stupidity….


text:
Geographical Profiling Points to Artist Banksy's Secret Identity
Article by Urbanist, filed under Street Art & Graffiti in the Art category
A set of mathematical processes developed for use in crime-fighting and disease-tracking indicates that one already-suspected individual may indeed be the infamous graffiti and installation artist known as Banksy.
The approach of "geographical profiling" is often used to track down repeat offenders, serial criminals whose strikes began to form patterns that can be productively analyzed by experts and run through models by mathematicians.
The findings help paint a picture of probable places of residence and areas of everyday operation, criminal or otherwise, sometimes narrowing the search to an area as small as a few hundred square feet.
Steven Le Comber, a biologist at the the University of London, learned of geographic profiling from Kim Rossmo, a criminologist at Texas State University, growing interested because of potential applications for disease vector studies. The two then began teaming up to find both pathogens and people.
In this case, their modeling shows clusters of activity in London and Bristol based around 140 data points, specifically: sites of known or alleged works by Banksy. Their findings, reported in the Journal of Spatial Science, suggest a handful of addresses in London (a pub, park and residence) all associated with one Robin Gunningham.
Already suspected of being Banksy, Gunningham may yet be a ruse or a plant, but science suggests the individual is very likely connected with the artist, one way or another. As to the question: who is Banksy? We may never really know for sure.
From the abstract: "The pseudonymous artist Banksy is one of the UK's most successful contemporary artists, but his identity remains a mystery. Here, we use a Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) model of geographic profiling, a mathematical technique developed in criminology and finding increasing application within ecology and epidemiology, to analyse the spatial patterns of Banksy artworks in Bristol and London. The model takes as input the locations of these artworks, and calculates the probability of 'offender' residence across the study area. Our analysis highlights areas associated with one prominent candidate (e.g., his home), supporting his identification as Banksy."
See More in Art (or: Street Art & Graffiti)
Dry Doc: 10 Abandoned Walk-in Public Health Clinics
Famous Figures: How 21 Different Architects Draw Scale Humans
Painting the Town: 13 Unbelievable Urban Mural Projects
Parasitic City: Micro-Metropolis Attaches Itself to a Bridge


Phil has been working in the home improvement industry for over 14 years. This has given him a good understanding of the importance of providing a thorough inspection to make sure all the homeowner's concerns are addressed. He enjoys helping homeowners keep their basements healthy and dry.
Phil is one of the best in the industry. He has received national and in-house training, ensuring that he meets the standard of excellence of the Basement Systems network. Phil completes weekly, quarterly, and yearly training to consistently stay at the top of product knowledge, company updates, and best practices for accomplishing homeowners' goals. His experience and training earned him the esteemed titles of Certified Waterproofing Professional, Certified Foundation Repair Specialist, and Certified CleanSpace Professional.
At the inspection, Phil explains to customers how they can accomplish their basement and foundation goals. He guides each homeowner through the entire process from start to finish. His attention to detail, customer service, and extensive product knowledge make him a tremendous asset to the team and to each homeowner he meets.
In his spare time, Phil enjoys film making and spending time with his wife Jackie and two children.


Why Testing Maryland? For Change!
THIS website focuses on the systems that are in place that enable people to do what is harmful to people and (ultimately) the state of Maryland itself.
Questions can be sent to inspired1(at)testingmaryland.com. Comments should be placed with their respective posts. Be aware that comments for each post are closed after a period of time. Thanks.
HOW TRUE THIS IS: Montesquieu once said: "There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice." I, along with many poor people I assist, have experienced this truth as related to the corrupt Montgomery County, Circuit Court, Family Division. The perpetrators of pure evilness utilizing this corrupt court will learn their lesson very soon. Also, through my Public Service Report, the public may reap the benefits from learning about the real legal system, including the deficient, biased and incompetent AGC.


text:
Yogi: The monk on a mission to 'Make in UP'
Yogi's 'Make In UP' spree. (IANS Infographics)
BY ANINDYA BANERJEE & VIVEK TRIPATHI
New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) At a time when India is aggressive for 'Make in India', India's biggest state Uttar Pradesh has given a never-seen-before thrust to brand the state for its business potential. Defence Corridors, Film City, religious tourism hubs, toy cluster, pharma parks — you name it.
The effort to position UP as a business-friendly state was palpable. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was speaking at a meeting of the High Level Authorised Committee on Monday. "Better law and order, the new industrial policy for all the important sectors has resulted in the fact that we have ranked number 2 in the Ease of Doing Business ranking nationally, jumping from 12," he said. He added that the Investors Summit of February 2018 showed the results of a changed climate and heavy investment.
The intent was clear — make Uttar Pradesh synonymous with business and industry which effectively translates into more direct and indirect jobs. In presence of heads of industrial organisations such as FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CII, Laghu Udyog Bharti and IIA, the UP CM announced, the campaign to make Uttar Pradesh an industrial state has begun.
So what is Yogi Adityanath's grand plan to make Uttar Pradesh the business hub of India?
Project: 'Biggest' Film City
Area: Gautam Budh Nagar
The Yamuna Expressway authority has sent a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government for setting up a film city in the district, which is tipped to be the biggest in the country. The CM had on September 18 announced setting up what he called India's "biggest" and "most beautiful" film city bordering Delhi. It is said to be spread over an area of 1,000 acres.
The district's proximity to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida or Yamuna Expressway will be beneficial. The upcoming Jewar International Airport will also help.
Another relatively small-sized film city may also come up in either Lucknow, Varanasi or Agra. The film city is planned to be spread over 200-250 acres.
"This proposed film city will not just provide filmmakers with better opportunities, but will also kickstart a massive job opportunity for the youth of Uttar Pradesh," Dr KK Agarwal, the President f PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry told IANS.
Project: Toy cluster
Area: Greater Noida
The Uttar Pradesh government will now come up with a toy cluster in Greater Noida of Gautam Budh Nagar. This will be the first toy cluster in the country where toy industries will be put together on a large scale and it will be connected to the international market. This is significant given PM Modi's call for 'Make in India' toys.
The proposed Toy City will be ready in two years. According to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority, 100 acres of land have been allocated for the Toy City. About 50 acres will have 80 toy factories and collective utility facilities. The remaining 50 will be left for the extension of Toy City. It will be developed as an international hub for the toy industry.
The Uttar Pradesh government has received 92 applications for setting up toy manufacturing units in Noida. Several factories will be set up in this toy city at a cost of Rs 600 crore which is likely to generate 15,000 jobs.
Project: Defence Corridor
Area: Aligarh, Agra, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh will also have a dynamic defence corridor. A total of 5,125.348 hectares of land has been proposed for the defence corridor project spread across Lucknow, Kanpur, Chitrakoot, Aligarh, Agra and Jhansi.
The development of the Defence Corridor is being handled by UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPDA). The Defense Corridor will also play a key role to cater to the needs of the Indian Navy. In late August, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh had reviewed its progress and directed completion of all works within the stipulated time.
Project: Pharma Park & Medical Device Park
Area: Lalitpur, Bundelkhand & Gautam Buddha Nagar
The proposed pharmaceutical park at Lalitpur in Bundelkhand is expected to generate employment opportunities for 31,000 people. Similarly, the establishment of the proposed Medical Device Park at Gautam Budh Nagar, 25,000 people will get employment in a phased manner.
An investment of Rs 24 thousand crore is estimated on the bulk pharma park to be built at Lalitpur. The UPSIDA is working on a plan to develop it as a model industrial area. The park will be set up on 2060 acres. To connect it with airports and ports, it will be provided with water supply, pipe natural gas and digital fiber connectivity.
Project: Religious tourism hub
Area: Ayodhya and surrounding areas
Though it is a bit premature in terms of other projects, the state government and the Centre are also gearing up to give Ayodhya and the surrounding areas a massive facelift, expecting nearly 100,000 pilgrims a day once the Ram Mandir is completed.
On Aug 5, during the ground-breaking ceremony, PM Modi had said, "There will be new opportunities in this region. People will come here from the whole world to pay obeisance to Lord Ram and Mata Sita. So much will change here." The idea is to promote the region as a religious tourism hub.
An international airport, a state-of-the-art Railway station, multi-level parkings, elevated roads, hotel chains will be part of the project.
This July, Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari had said, "For beautification and construction-related works of the Ayodhya bypass, the NHAI has sanctioned a project worth Rs 55 crore." Union tourism minister Prahlad Patel also went to Ayodhya to discuss the project which will not only promote tourism but is expected to create thousands of jobs in the hospitality and mobility sectors.
Yesterday, while addressing the who's who of the industry, Yogi Adityanth informed about a massive Land Bank policy that is in works under which topics such as land leasing, land pooling, rapid acquisition along the side of the expressway, sub-leasing of additional land among others will be covered.
When the saffron-clad Chief Minister was throwing such jargon at the industry's best minds, he had one mission — Make in UP.
Previous articleConsidering 5 women for Supreme Court vacancy: Trump
Next articleChina replicates Xinjiang's military-style training centers in Tibet


text:
Smartphone Madness 2014: Galaxy S5 vs. Moto X
By Anna Attkisson - Laptop Mag & Tom's Guide Managing Editor 2014-03-18T10:00:39Z
Day 2 of this year's annual Smartphone Madness tournament sees two popular Android contenders go head to head. Due later this spring, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a phone with a big legacy to live up to, while the Motorola Moto X puts a unique spin on user interaction. Which of these two powerhouses deserves to move on to the next round is all in your hands. The poll opens for voting now, and will remain so until Wednesday, March 19 at 9 a.m. EST. But before you pick your favorite, let's meet the competition.
While it's true that we've not yet reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S5, we did get to spend some time with this 5.2-inch flagship at Mobile World Congress. We were pleased to see the bevy of useful features included, such as the high-speed camera, heart-rate monitor and fingerprint reader. Of course, the beautiful 1920 x 1080 super AMOLED display doesn't hurt, and neither does the 2.5-GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 CPU. The textured and dotted back evokes the basketball tourney that inspired this competition in the first place, but that doesn't mean the Motorola Moto X can be counted out.
Earning 4 stars on our review of the Motorola Moto X, this Android smartphone has a few tricks of its own. It features a more compact 4.7-inch screen, as well as touchless voice controls that can help you save time. We enjoyed generally zippy performance, thanks to the built-in 1.7-GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU with a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU. Plus, the AT&T version of this puppy also offers the Moto Maker, which means you can customize your phone at purchase so you get the exact color combinations you want.
So, which one deserves your love? The shot clock is running and it's time to make your selection. You have between now and Wednesday 3/19 at 9 a.m. EST, so vote and spread the word.
Best and Worst Smartphone Brands
Smartphone Buying Guide: What You Need to Know Before You Buy


text:
FARC Dissident Groups
Explainer last updated April 24, 2020; see also Timeline entries tagged "Dissident Groups"
It is common for some ex-combatants to fall back into violence in transitions from war to peace. As Oliver Kaplan and Enzo Nussio observed in 2016, demobilized fighters worldwide have gone "recidivist" as participants in organized crime, petty crime, vigilantism, or new armed groups. In Colombia in 2014, the Fundación Ideas para la Paz estimated that 24 percent of the country's population of demobilized paramilitary and guerrilla fighters up to that date had reverted to criminal or armed-group activity. (The figure includes both fighters who deserted individually, and paramilitaries who participated in a 2003-2006 collective demobilization process.)
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which signed a peace accord in 2016 and demobilized in 2017, is no exception. While 13,185 FARC members formally demobilized, perhaps 800 rejected the peace accord entirely and refused to participate in the process. Of those who went through the demobilization process, the Fundación Paz y Reconciliación estimated that, as of late 2019, approximately 830 had taken up arms again. If correct, this level of recidivism—about 6.4 percent of the total who demobilized, plus a similar number that refused to demobilize in the first place—is within the norm for post-conflict transitions.
These approximately 1,600 former FARC members who remain in arms, the Fundación asserted in January 2020, operate within 23 FARC "dissident" groups active in 85 of Colombia's 1,103 counties (municipalities). To these must be added an unclear number of new recruits with no guerrilla background: perhaps 600 to 800, which would make for a total dissident membership of about 2,400 fighters scattered across these 23 groups, each of which range in size from a few dozen to a few hundred members.
Fundación Paz y Reconciliación map of dissident groups' locations in August 2019. (Source)
"Dissidents" are also often referred to as "Reincident Organized Armed Groups" (GAOR in Spanish) or Post-FARC Armed Groups (GAPF in Spanish). While all profit from the drug trade and other illegal economies, they vary in the extent to which they identify as "FARC" or ex-FARC. The two largest networks maintain many of the symbols and slogans of the old guerrilla group, with iconography featuring the images of deceased FARC leaders. Others do little to disguise their criminal nature, their memberships may include people with paramilitary backgrounds, and they may benefit from relationships with corrupt security-force personnel.
The overwhelming majority of rank-and-file ex-guerrillas have remained within the demobilization process; as of January 2020 Colombia's National Reincorporation Agency claimed to be unable to locate only 821 ex-guerrillas. Most low-ranking fighters have been occupied by starting families, availing themselves of educational opportunities, and involving themselves in farming or other legal money-making projects.
More at risk of recidivism are former mid-ranking FARC commanders: those who held high positions in fronts or were involved in financing the guerrillas' operations via illicit economies. For many mid-level commanders, demobilization brought the temptation of profiting from their past networks in, or past control of, territories that are strategic for building illicit incomes, like drug trafficking routes and illegal mining sites.
Dissident groups' illicit income streams differ little from those of other armed groups in Colombia. They are involved in the drug trade, particularly the purchase of coca leaf or coca paste from farmers, the production of cocaine, and sales to transnational criminal groups that move the product overseas. They encourage farmers to plant more coca or marijuana in some territories they control. Illicit precious metals mining is a principal income source. Dissident groups also collect extortion payments on much legal economic activity that takes place in areas they control. Some units appear to be more involved in illegal logging than the FARC were. While they make money from cross-border contraband smuggling, dissident groups' presence in Venezuela, though significant, is most likely smaller than that of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
Drug trafficking, mainly cocaine, is almost certainly their largest income source. Dissident groups are active in most major coca-growing areas (Nariño, Putumayo, Catatumbo, Meta and Guaviare, Bajo Cauca) and at key transshipment points along coasts and borders. Like most other Colombian traffickers, they control few, if any, international smuggling routes into markets like the United States: they sell the product to other groups, like Mexican and Brazilian cartels, inside Colombia.
Colombian military photo of a coca processing "laboratory" attributed to dissidents of the FARC's 33rd Front in Catatumbo. (Source)
How the Dissidents Operate
It is impossible to generalize behaviors across groups that are very different. Dissident bands vary widely in the solidity of their command and control, their actual control of territory, and the extent to which they resemble armies more than gangs. The two principal national dissident organizations appear to obey a hierarchy at their highest levels, but it is not clear whether they truly command their far-flung component units, or whether it is more accurate to describe them as "aligned."
In general, though, dissident groups tend to avoid open confrontations with the much stronger security forces. Ambushes and attacks on military or police personnel are infrequent. Dissident leaders whose actions attract too much attention from the security forces, like alias "Guacho" in Nariño discussed below, face a high probability of death or capture.
It is also uncommon for dissident groups to fight the ELN. FARC dissidents operating in ELN strongholds near the Venezuelan border, like Arauca and Catatumbo, appear to be honoring a sort of non-aggression pact with the guerrilla group, according to local analysts whom WOLA has interviewed since mid-2019. We have heard of similar behavior between ELN units and small FARC dissident groups in Chocó's Atrato River basin. "None of the national dissident factions has solid accords with the ELN," Colombia's Fundación Ideas para la Paz found in January 2020, "though there are different types of relations between both armed groups." These include non-aggression arrangements, or transitory operational alliances to confront paramilitaries.
Dissident groups do fight often with paramilitary groups, and with other dissidents. Several regions of Colombia suffer from territorial conflicts with more than two armed actors, usually for control of lucrative trafficking routes or illicit mining zones. In some cases, dissident groups have fragmented, and the component factions fight each other. Examples abound in the territorial discussions below.
All dissident groups have very poor human rights records. They routinely violate the personal integrity of civilian non-combatants. Though it is uncommon for them to commit attention-grabbing massacres—3 or more homicides at once—or ransom kidnappings, dissidents frequently carry out selective killings and so-called "social cleansing" operations targeting drug addicts, indigent people, prostitutes, or petty criminals. They are responsible for a significant portion of child recruitment, about a quarter of cases in a limited recent study carried out by the Observatory for the Protection of Rights and Welfare of Children (OPROB). Combat between dissidents, or between dissidents and paramilitary groups, often displaces communities, as happened to more than 2,300 people in Olaya Herrera, Nariño, in December 2019 and January 2020.
Dissident groups are frequent killers of demobilized FARC members, their former comrades. The Prosecutor General's Office's Special Investigative Unit, created by the peace accord, was able to attribute responsibility for 93 cases of ex-guerrillas murdered between 2017 and 2019; it blamed 36 of these, the largest single portion, on FARC dissident groups. Colombian security forces blame dissident groups for a wave of threats against inhabitants of a former FARC demobilization site (ETCR) in Ituango, Antioquia, and for an apparent plot to kill maximum FARC political party leader Rodrigo Londoño in January 2020. Leaders of the accused FARC faction deny involvement in that plot.
Dissident groups have drawn much attention for crimes against the environment. The group led by alias Gentil Duarte (see next section) stands accused of ejecting guards from national parks in southern Colombia, and tolerating or encouraging deforestation, cattle ranching, and cultivation of coca in parklands. This includes arrangements with large landholders: "Under Gentil Duarte there has been permissiveness toward large-scale property that didn't exist under the previous FARC," Colombian environmental researcher Estefanía Ciro observed in March 2020.
Source: El Tiempo, February 24, 2020.
Principal Dissident Groups
A majority of FARC dissidents are loosely confederated into two national structures. In February 2020, Colombia's Fundación Paz y Reconciliación estimated that, of 23 "post-FARC" groups in the country, 11 were grouped around the "First Front" or "Eastern Bloc" structure associated with Gentil Duarte, 4 were grouped around the "Second Marquetalia" structure associated with Iván Márquez, and the rest were independent, "dedicated to narcotrafficking," and "in a process of decomposition."
The extent to which component dissident groups are truly under the command of national structures is far from clear. Groups believed to be within one of the two national structures, however, rarely fight each other. While that may be changing, combat is far more frequent between the "independent" dissident groups and those aligned with the national structures.
First Front / Eastern Bloc
During much of its 52 years of armed existence, the FARC divided itself into seven geographic blocs around the country. The largest, the Eastern Bloc, operated in a vast region stretching from south of Bogotá across Colombia's eastern plains to the Venezuelan border. In 2016, as negotiators in Havana were nearing agreement on a final accord, a few key units of the Eastern Bloc declared themselves dissident, rejecting the peace process. These centered on the FARC's 1st Front (Armando Ríos Front), headed by Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández alias Iván Mordisco, who declared his dissent in a June 2016 letter to the FARC's negotiating team.
Iván Mordisco allied with Miguel Botache Santillana alias Gentil Duarte, who commanded the Eastern Bloc's 7th Front. When Iván Mordisco went dissident in mid-2016, the FARC made Duarte, who had been a negotiator in Havana in 2015, the commander of the 1st Front and sent him to confront Mordisco. However, Mordisco convinced him to abandon the process, which he did months later, in late 2016, before demobilizations began. Their group, a confederation centered on Duarte, consolidated a presence in parts of the departments of Meta, Guaviare, Caquetá, and in sparsely inhabited wilderness regions further east and south to the Venezuelan and Brazilian borders. Today, Duarte tends to operate in Meta, the Eastern Bloc's old rearguard; Mordisco, according to InsightCrime, operates in the far eastern plains of Guaviare, Vaupés, and Vichada; and Géner Medina alias Jhon 40, who was a key fixture in the FARC's cocaine transshipment operations, is active in Vichada and along eastern border zones.
Gentil Duarte and Jhon 40. (Source: Semana and La Silla Santandereana via Fundación Paz y Reconciliacion.)
Today, Gentil Duarte is arguably Colombia's most powerful dissident leader in terms of territorial control and number of fighters believed to be under his command. He has worked to align dissident groups into a new guerrilla structure, sending emissaries or small groups around the country, with some success near the Venezuela border in Arauca, Catatumbo, and elsewhere. His emissary to Catatumbo was reportedly Jhon 40.
The First Front / Eastern Bloc structure considers itself a continuation of the FARC's fight: its statements espouse leftist politics, and its imagery is similar to that of the old FARC. It does not appear to have a detailed political program, though, or an ambition to take national power. In February 2020, a judge permitted preventive detention for six people whom prosecutors charge with committing acts of violence and vandalism, on behalf of Gentil Duarte and alias "Jerónimo" in Arauca, during Bogotá's November 2019 political protests. If accurate, the allegations would be an uncommon example of behavior motivated more by politics than profit.
Second Marquetalia
Though larger, the First Front / Eastern Bloc is not the dissident network with the highest profile. The best-known national FARC dissident group was launched in late August 2019 by Iván Márquez, a former member of the FARC's seven-person secretariat and the group's chief negotiator during the full duration of the 2012-16 Havana peace dialogues. Márquez's announcement of the formation of a new dissident group, flanked by several other top former FARC leaders in an August 29, 2019 video, sent a shock wave through the peace process.
The August 29, 2019 video.
To the extent that this group has a name, it appears to be referring to itself as the "Segunda Marquetalia," a reference to the armed community of communist campesinos in southern Tolima department that became the FARC after undergoing a 1964 aerial attack by Colombia's armed forces. In March 2020, Márquez published a book with the same title, about his journey back into clandestinity.
Luciano Marín Arango alias Iván Márquez was considered to be one of the more ideologically radical FARC leaders, and to have been a skeptic about peace talks: the FARC leadership most likely named him their chief negotiator in order to guarantee his buy-in. He entered the FARC in the 1970s; during a 1980s peace process, when the FARC formed a political party, the Patriotic Union (UP), Márquez served in Colombia's Congress as a UP representative. He returned to arms in 1987 as that process disintegrated, and as elements of the military, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers, and the political right systematically assassinated thousands of UP members.
Before the negotiations, Márquez commanded the FARC's Caribbean Bloc, operating in the north of the country and near the Venezuelan border. One of his closest confidants was Seuxis Pausías Hernández alias Jesús Santrich, a hardline ideologue who, apparently nearly blind, played more of a political than a military role in the organization. Santrich gained a reputation as an often difficult negotiator during the Havana peace talks.
Jesús Santrich and Iván Márquez at the launch of peace talks, Oslo, October 2012. (Source: FARC.)
In September 2017, after the FARC demobilized, it held a congress to found its new party. When the ex-guerrillas voted to select the party's new leadership. Márquez received the largest number of votes, Santrich finished third, and maximum FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño alias Timoleón Jiménez finished fifth.
The peace accord guaranteed the FARC five seats in Colombia's Senate and five seats in the House of Representatives for two terms starting in mid-2018. Iván Márquez was to become a senator, and Jesús Santrich was to become a congressman. But on April 9, 2018 Santrich was arrested and charged with conspiring to send cocaine to the United States. Led along by Iván Marquéz's nephew, who was not a FARC member but is now in the United States as a witness, Santrich appears to have agreed to help arrange a 10-ton cocaine shipment in a meeting with Mexican traffickers who were in fact informants for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The events in question began in June 2017, after the peace accord's ratification, so they are not subject to amnesty.
Jesús Santrich in a still from a hidden-camera video of a meeting with informants posing as drug traffickers.
A U.S. court requested Santrich's extradition, and the peace accords' transitional justice tribunal, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), began deliberations to verify whether the ex-negotiator's alleged actions took place after the peace accord went into effect.
While top FARC leaders like Timoleón Jiménez called for calm, Iván Márquez responded by abandoning Bogotá, renouncing his Senate seat, and dropping out of view. Also dropping out of view was Hernán Darío Velásquez, alias "El Paisa," the former commander of the FARC's feared Teófilo Forero Mobile Column. This elite unit, tied to the FARC's Southern Bloc, carried out many of the FARC's most spectacular terrorist attacks and kidnappings.
Márquez and "El Paisa" abandoned the reincorporation site where they had been staying in Caquetá on July 3, 2018, claiming a plot was underway to arrest them. They headed east, to an area near (or perhaps over) the Venezuelan border. From hiding, Márquez began issuing very strong criticisms of the peace accord's implementation, especially after conservative President Ivan Duque was inaugurated in August 2018. He also lashed out at the FARC party leadership in Bogotá. For more than a year, though, his status within the peace process remained unclear.
In May 2019 the JEP, unable to secure evidence from the U.S. Justice Department, ruled that it could not determine whether Santrich had committed a crime after the peace accord. Santrich was eventually released from prison and sworn into his congressional seat. By the end of June 2019, though, Santrich too had slipped away from his bodyguards and disappeared from view.
Márquez, Santrich, and "El Paisa" would appear in the August 29 video along with a handful of other FARC leaders and fighters. Of the rest, the most recognizable was Henry Castellanos alias Romaña, a former top Eastern Bloc commander who was known for carrying out ransom kidnappings on a massive scale in the region just south of Bogotá.
The video was a leading international news story. However, observers noted that it showed only a small number of fighters. In subsequent months, Colombia saw few if any signs of military or terrorist actions committed by Márquez's group. Though Márquez's and Santrich's 2017 vote result indicated their popularity within the former FARC, their call to rebellion does not appear to have attracted many demobilized fighters. Instead, the Second Marquetalia appears focused on forging alliances with existing dissident groups.
In mid-July 2018, after they first disappeared, Márquez and "El Paisa" met with Gentil Duarte, leader of the First Front / Eastern Bloc dissidence, in the Yarí plains of Meta department. Márquez's book praises Duarte as "a good, revolutionary man," adding that Duarte helped him and "El Paisa" to avoid being captured by the government. However, there is no alliance between Márquez's group and Duarte's. "Everything indicates that Márquez's rearmament announcement didn't strengthen the dissident groups, it divided them," wrote the Fundación Paz y Reconciliación's Ariel Ávila in January 2020.
In the group's inaugural video, Márquez makes overtures to the ELN. The Fundación Ideas para la Paz noted in January 2020 that there appears to be cordiality but no alliance between the dissidents and the guerrillas:
Media, citing intelligence sources, have informed about meetings between high-ranking ELN commanders and Iván Márquez (accompanied by "El Paisa" and "Jhon 40" [of the First Front / Eastern Bloc]) in Venezuela, to explore a possible alliance. For the moment, beyond a communique from one of the ELN's fronts saluting the dissidents' announcement, there are no signals that an accord is advancing. The historical relationship between [the FARC and ELN] has been marked by tensions, intense confrontations for territorial control, and mutual distrust.
On January 12, 2020, the director of Colombia's National Police alleged that the "New Marquetalia" group—specifically "El Paisa"—was behind a foiled plot to assassinate Rodrigo Londoño, the leader of the FARC party. Romaña and Santrich both denied the group's involvement or interest in killing Londoño.
Selected Territories
These two national dissident networks are establishing presences, or linking up with existing dissident groups, in several regions of the country. There, they often violently dispute territorial control with paramilitary groups or other "independent" dissident groups.
One of the most complex and confusing scenarios is the department of Nariño, in Colombia's southwestern corner, the country's leading producer of coca with a long Pacific coastline and international border coveted by traffickers. Dissident groups, with heavy participation of former FARC militia members—part-time guerrillas with less political indoctrination—have been active in Nariño since shortly after the peace accord's inception. They have been especially present in the large coastal municipality of Tumaco.
The first large dissident groups to emerge in Nariño, in 2017, were the Oliver Sinisterra Front (FOS) and the United Guerrillas of the Pacific (GUP). Throughout 2017 and 2018, parts of Nariño suffered fighting between the two bands. The FOS was headed by Walter Arizala alias "Guacho," an Ecuadorian citizen who had joined the FARC in 2007 and become deeply involved in its cocaine transshipment activities. The GUP's leader, Víctor David Segura alias "David," took over after the FARC, in its final days, killed his brother, the group's founder, known as "Don Y."
In 2017 and early 2018, "Guacho" attracted national attention, and much pursuit by the security forces, by carrying out high-profile attacks on military targets, especially on the Ecuadorian side of the border. In March 2018 his men kidnapped, and later killed, two journalists and their driver from one of Quito's principal newspapers, in what would turn out to be a major issue in Colombia's relations with Ecuador. Their high profiles drew intense attention from Colombia's security forces, who killed David in September 2018 and Guacho in December 2018.
The FOS and the GUP continue to exist, and to fight, though they are at least partially observing non-aggression pacts. But the picture has grown still more complicated in Nariño.
Sometime in late 2019, a large portion of the FOS split off and formed a new group, the Alfonso Cano Western Bloc, headed by alias "Allende" and apparently linked to Iván Márquez and "El Paisa's" Second Marquetalia network. A dissident unit linked to Gentil Duarte, the 30th Front, has meanwhile been arriving since mid-2019 from its rearguard zone in Cauca and Valle del Cauca to the north. The Alfonso Cano and the 30th, whose areas of operation overlap little, do not appear to be fighting, and both appear to be endeavoring—with little success in Nariño so far—to unite the fragmented dissident groups.
Both are contesting territory with the FOS (now headed by alias "Gringo"), the GUP, and a paramilitary organization called Los Contadores that is linked to the FOS. The Contadores' commander was captured in February. Another, smaller Nariño group made up of former FARC members that dates back to 2017, the Gente del Orden, appears now to be tied to the Alfonso Cano structure, according to analyst Kyle Johnson, who met with dissident leaders in late 2019.
North of Nariño is the Pacific and highland department of Cauca, which leads the country in murders of social leaders and human rights defenders.
Northern Cauca, a conflictive area with a large and well-organized indigenous population, is under heavy influence of two dissident groups, both descended from elements of the FARC's 6th Front that rejected the peace accord before it was signed. The Jaime Martínez Mobile Column, headed by Leider Johani Noscue alias "Mayimbú," and the Dagoberto Ramos Mobile Column, headed by Fernando Israel Méndez Quitumbo, alias "El Indio," share territorial control, possibly calling themselves the Joint Western Command New Sixth Front.
It is not clear whether one of these two columns is dominant over the other, though "Mayimbú" has a higher profile. InsightCrime describes their relationship as a "non-aggression pact" more than a confederation. They "may have a direct relationship" with, or "respond to" the command of, the First Front / Eastern Bloc dissident network headed by Gentil Duarte, depending on the source.
The two groups have come to dominate the cannabis trade in several northern Cauca municipalities, and much cocaine transshipment via the Naya River valley region. They appear to have fought off a splinter of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), a remnant of a guerrilla group that demobilized in 1990 yet remained active across the country in the Catatumbo region.
These structures are responsible for massacres and killings of social and political leaders in northern Cauca, including the September 2019 ambush and murder of mayoral candidate Karina García in Suárez municipality. This act has made "Mayimbú"—who was captured in 2014 but released when he demobilized in 2017— a top target of Colombia's security forces.
Further south in Cauca, in the cocaine producing region around Argelia, is the Carlos Patiño Column, also known as the 30th Front, a dissident group headed by alias "El Mocho," also active in Nariño, that may be allied with the First Front / Eastern Bloc network. This group has been fighting the ELN for control of trafficking routes to the Pacific. It may also maintain disagreements with the 6th Front group headed by "Mayimbú." Several social leaders have been murdered in the vicinity of Argelia since 2019.
Military and FARC sources told La Silla Vacía that, in December 2019, Iván Márquez of the Second Marquetalia national dissident network sent an emissary to northern Cauca to seek an alliance with "Mayimbú" and the 6th Front dissidents. This emissary was apparently rebuffed, as they maintain some relationship with the First Front / Eastern Bloc.
Fighting between dissidents and other armed groups has fallen very hard on Cauca's indigenous, Afro-descendant, campesino, and other social leaders, who tend to be very well organized and resistant to criminal domination in this part of Colombia. As disputes worsen, the frequency of threats and murders is likely to increase further.
To the east of Nariño, also bordering Ecuador, the department of Putumayo is another longtime zone of heavy coca and cocaine production. During the conflict, the FARC's 32nd and 48th Fronts, part of its Southern Bloc, had a strong presence.
Dissidents from the 48th, linked to the First Front / Eastern Bloc network, are operating as the Carolina Ramírez Front. They are fighting a local criminal group known variously as the Mafia, the Sinaloa Mafia, or the "Constru," which can trace its lineage to paramilitary groups but has recruited a significant number of former FARC fighters, especially from the 32nd Front.
Some of the main victims of the violence have been Putumayo's social leaders, particularly those involved in coca substitution programs under the peace accord's fourth chapter. The Bogotá think tank INDEPAZ counted 10 murders of social leaders in Putumayo between January and April 2020. Two, Gloria Ocampo and Marco Rivadeneira, were widely known in Colombia's national peace and human rights movements.
Dissident groups are active in the northern part of Antioquia, the populous department of which Medellín is the capital. Two main groups exist: the 36th Front, an independent group headed by Ricardo Abel Ayala, alias "Cabuyo," who had commanded that front; and the 18th Front, aligned with Iván Márquez's Second Marquetalia dissident network and headed by Erlison Chavarría alias "Ramiro." The 18th split from the 36th in late 2019.
The two groups' territories overlap significantly, though the 18th appears to be more active in the northwest of Antioquia, around the municipality of Ituango, and the 36th appears to be more active in the northeast, in Antioquia's Bajo Cauca region. Both areas are hotly contested centers of cocaine production and transshipment.
The Bajo Cauca region, together with the adjoining southern part of Córdoba department, is one of Colombia's most violent zones. It is contested between at least four groups: the 36th Front dissidents; the Gulf Clan national paramilitary network; the Caparros, a local paramilitary splinter group; and the ELN.
Gentil Duarte's First Front / Eastern Bloc network does not appear to have a presence in Antioquia.
Arauca and Catatumbo
The ELN is the predominant armed group in these regions along the Venezuelan border. Both, however, have small but growing dissident forces tied to national networks. Both have some form of non-aggression agreements in place with the larger, more rooted ELN.
In Arauca, the Martín Villa 10th Front is under the command of alias "Jerónimo." It is considered part of the First Front / Eastern Bloc structure headed by Gentil Duarte. In late 2019, reports indicated that a faction of "Jerónimo's" group, headed by alias "Porrón," may have split off and allied itself with Iván Márquez's Second Marquetalia network. This schism may have involved fighting on the Venezuelan side of the border. If accurate, this would be a rare example (so far) of fighting between groups aligned with the two national dissident networks.
In 2018 Duarte reportedly sent top leader "Jhon 40" as an emissary to Catatumbo, where some former fighters from the FARC's 33rd Front had formed a dissident presence. This attempt was unsuccessful, La Silla Vacía explains, "mainly because the dissidents in that zone had already closed agreements with [Mexico's] Sinaloa Cartel, and Duarte wanted them to do business with Brazilian cartels, which buy much of the coca that is produced in the country's south." The same article points out that a former mid-level FARC commander from Catatumbo, Enrique Muñoz, appears in Iván Márquez's August 2019 video inaugurating the Second Marquetalia group.


text:
Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries
Feb 9, 2020 – Jan 3, 2021 | Mint Museum Randolph
Featuring more than 100 ceramic objects, with loans from notable public and private collections in the United States and England, this exhibition is the first to focus exclusively on the black basalt sculpture made by Josiah Wedgwood and other Staffordshire potters in late eighteenth-century England. The works of art on view include life-size portrait busts, statues, vases, and other fully three-dimensional, ornamental forms, as well as works in low relief, such as large plaques, portrait medallions, and medals.
Among the ceramic bodies produced in great numbers in Staffordshire, England in the late eighteenth century was black basalt. Josiah Wedgwood perfected this fine-grained stoneware in 1768, creating its dark color by adding manganese and carr, a slurry rich-with-iron oxide obtained from coal mines, to the clay body. Basalt was soon produced by many other Staffordshire potters as well. Although Wedgwood and the other potters used black basalt to create so-called "useful wares," such as teapots and bowls, this exhibition showcases basalt sculpture, especially works with classically inspired themes or ornament.
Many of the basalt objects on view in the galleries were copied directly from works of art made in ancient Greece and Rome, such as busts of Homer and Socrates, gems and statues depicting gods and other mythological creatures, and coins with portraits of Julius Caesar and his successors. Other basalt pieces derived from works made much later. Among the many artists represented in the exhibition by basalt versions of their creations are Michelangelo from the sixteenth century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini from the seventeenth century, and sculptor Louis François Roubiliac from the eighteenth. The Staffordshire potteries also hired modelers and other craftsmen to create new designs for their basalt wares.
Whatever the design source, the basalt sculpture made by Wedgwood and his contemporaries was well-crafted, refined, and perfectly suited for the neoclassical interiors so popular among style-conscious consumers, both in England and beyond, in the last few decades of the eighteenth century. Classic Black proudly highlights this fascinating chapter in the history of ceramics.
This exhibition was organized by The Mint Museum, and was made possible with generous support from presenting sponsor Wells Fargo Private Bank, with additional support provided by Moore & Van Allen and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The exhibition catalogue was fully funded by the Delhom Service League and an anonymous patron.
Wedgwood Like You've Never Seen It Before
The in-gallery video that showcased the making of Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries won an Emmy for excellence in non-broadcast production from the Nashville/Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The three-minute film, produced by Kelso Communications, tells the story of the inspiration and collaboration behind the remarkable exhibition.
https://mintmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CLASSIC-BLACK-FINAL-200218-720.mp4
Brian Gallagher is the Curator of Decorative Arts at The Mint Museum. In 2015, he reinstalled the museum's historical British ceramics collection and published British Ceramics 1675 – 1825: The Mint Museum.
HannaH Crowell creates unique intersections of art and space that engage visitors in a story and an immersive experience.
Owl is a local mural artist that is responsible for the distinct line-work on the walls of the exhibition. She was a part of the first installation of Constellation CLT.
Classic Black in the News
• 'Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries' Review: A Sumptuous Stoneware Collection (Wall Street Journal)
• The latest Mint Museum show pairs old and new to showcase 'Classic Black' sculptures (Charlotte Observer)
• Street Artist Owl Shifts from Prestigious Museum to Home Studio (QC Nerve)
Learn more on our Classic Black Resources page or Mintwiki: Classic Black. Mintwiki provided by The Mint Museum Library.


We place advertising in airport complexes of Russia, including Sochi: in airport(halls of arrival and departure, waiting rooms, Hall of major aircraft Passengers), on the territory near airport and on the access highways, in planes. We will solve any problems, which are put before us quickly and efficiently. We will choose the best variants of advertising location. We will organize advertising campaign. Advertising will work for your success!
Airport in Sochi (the official name airport Adler) is the biggest air transport complex of Russian south, since the 2014 Olympics was released to the world stage – today it provides services not only for tourists, sportsmen and vacationists from Russia and CIS, but also sport delegations, representatives of the International Olympic Committee, the heads of states and governments, investors and businessmen.
Airport complex takes aircraft of 60 domestic and foreign airlines, served by 40 airlines. Annual passenger traffic of airport in Sochi consists of 2 million people (estimate - 2500 passengers per hour).
For the latest information about the prices, advertisement mediums, terms of advertisement placing in airport Sochi (Adler) please contact our managers.


The Senate votes today on opioid legislation, and the White House says that Zika vaccine efforts are doomed if Congress doesn't immediately pass a funding package. But first: Here's what we've learned about the future of Obamacare.
'Welcome to the Obamacare issue.' Live this morning on The Agenda at POLITICO, our series of in-depth feature stories on the state of health care in America.
"In six months, Barack Obama walks out of the Oval Office and leaves the future of his signature achievement — the Affordable Care Act — in the hands of his successor," writes Agenda editor Steve Heuser. "And as Obama's presidency draws to a close, The Agenda finds that the contours of its successes and its shortcomings are going to leave the next president with a genuinely transformed health care system — and some significant new challenges to confront." More here.
Burwell: Looking for 'points on the board.' That's the HHS secretary's focus in the last six months of the Obama administration, regardless of who wins the White House this fall.
Insurers are taking a beating on Obamacare's exchanges. A POLITICO review found that less than a quarter of 100 health plans in a dozen states hit the standard break-even point last year, and roughly 40 percent of plans had to pay more in medical bills than they collected in premiums.
Is America's job engine making the economy sick? The White House architects of Obamacare in 2009 considered whether to push policies that would control health costs later — but kill health jobs now. Instead, they opted for softer measures that preserved health jobs amid the downturn.
"People on the jobs team were saying we need more middle-class jobs and the best place to create them was in health care," Bob Kocher, who served as a special assistant to President Obama, told me.
What happens when a state says no to Obamacare. The ACA was supposed to provide nationwide protections against getting sick. It hasn't turned out that way — especially in states that have said no to the law's signature coverage expansion.
Why insurance can still be unaffordable, even under Obamacare. The law might be called the Affordable Care Act — but what's becoming clear, three years in, is that "affordable" depends where you look. Many insurers, faced with new coverage requirements and competition on premiums, have shifted costs onto consumers.
Pharma: The health industry the ACA left behind. Obamacare fundamentally changed the rules of the game for a huge swath of the health care sector … but drug companies were largely left to carry on business as usual. Today, prescription drugs are now the fastest growing category of medical costs, prompting calls for reform from both Democrats and Republicans.
Mental health reform has a long way to go, even after Obamacare. Suicide rates are at a record high, drug addiction is an epidemic, and there aren't enough therapists. The ACA never promised to fix all of the country's mental health problems — but even newly covered Americans still have trouble accessing affordable care and finding behavioral health providers that take their insurance.
WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE — Tips to ddiamond@politico.com or @ddiamond on Twitter.
With help from pretty much everybody: Arthur Allen (@ArthurAllen202), Nancy Cook (@nancook), Paul Demko (@PaulDemko), Brianna Ehley (@BriannaEhley), Jen Haberkorn (@jenhab), Sarah Karlin-Smith (@SarahKarlin), Joanne Kenen (@JoanneKenen), Jason Millman (@JasonMillman), Brett Norman (@BrettNorman), and Rachana Pradhan (@RachanaDixit).
White House: Lack of funding is going to kill vaccine development efforts. HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and OMB Director Shaun Donovan warned congressional leaders in a letter yesterday that vaccine makers are "reticent to proceed" on anti-Zika efforts as congressional action on the funding has stalled. More for Pros.
CARA vote today, with Senate Democrats — reluctantly — expected to support it. But before the 11 a.m. vote, which could help the re-election efforts of several Republicans, Democrats are trying to convince voters that it is a hollow response to the huge opioid problem plaguing the country. "Without resources, it's very, very meaningless," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
Land of Lincoln Health will become the 16th Obamacare co-op to collapse. The Illinois Department of Insurance is seeking a court order allowing it to take control of the financially troubled nonprofit insurer, after CMS rebuffed a scheme to delay the $31.8 million in risk adjustment payments that the insurer owes for 2015.
The Illinois co-op lost more than $100 million during its first two years of operations. More for Pros from Paul Demko.
Seven. That's how many co-ops remain, down from the original 23 startups funded under Obamacare. As expected, last month's risk-adjustment payment data has triggered a new wave of co-op collapses.
Government guidelines missed 55 percent of high-risk individuals. That's according to the first large study of the new guidelines, which were issued in October to help doctors determine whether patients should be screened for diabetes, Pro's Arthur Allen reports.
The guidelines from the United States Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) recommend patients be screened for diabetes if they are between 40 and 70 years old and are overweight or obese. But the study of 50,000 EHR records from a Chicago-based health clinic network found many patients outside those ranges developed diabetes — especially racial and ethnic minorities.
"If you miss someone now, it might be years before they come back, at which point they have overt diabetes and maybe even complications, like heart attacks or strokes," said study author Matthew O'Brien, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University.
CBO's budget outlook warns of 'steadily increasing' deficit. The agency's Long-Term Budget Outlook, released yesterday, reiterates the message of recent agency analyses: The debt will continue to grow and, in a matter of decades, reach the highest level in U.S. history.


The WaterColor houses for sale are nestled in the natural setting on Florida's Emerald Coast. There are WaterColor homes for sale that are ready to be moved in, as well as pre-construction homes available to bid on. Most visitors fall in love with the intimate, small town feel of WaterColor the moment they step foot into this unique scenic beach neighborhood. Just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico and the natural dune lakes, there is no wonder people choose WaterColor real estate over majority of the real estate on 30A. This piece of Florida paradise isn't just for adults. WaterColor is full of family friendly bike paths, and is home to Camp WaterColor where children of all ages can explore and interact with nature on Florida's Emerald Coast. Contact one of our WaterColor, FL real estate agents to find out more about owning your next home in WaterColor!