Does paradise seem too far away? Do you dread using some of your precious vacation days traveling to your destination? We've searched the globe to find islands that seamlessly combine adventure and relaxation. These three unbelievably stunning and centrally located islands are easily accessible from each region of the world and will be the perfect location for your next getaway.
Although many tourists in Thailand visit Koh Phi Phi on a day trip, few actually stay on the small island to enjoy all that it has to offer. Koh Phi Phi, equidistant from the popular tourist towns of Phuket and Krabi, may be busy at the docks but each hotel feels like a private oasis. While there are a few hotels near the docks for convenience, the majority of hotels around the island claim beachfront property surrounded by trees, isolating themselves from the world and each holding their own slice of paradise. Due to the lack of accessible roads on Koh Phi Phi, the easiest way to travel to these hotels is via longtail boat and most hotels have their own onsite restaurant, adding to the experience of a secluded escape. The water surrounding Koh Phi Phi is absolutely stunning, with shades of deep blue neighboring a vibrant aqua, and the Koh Phi Phi viewpoint hike offers the perfect panoramic view of this surreal contrast. There are various tours from Koh Phi Phi that offer snorkeling and diving in these beautiful waters, as well as sunset tours that include swimming with bioluminescent plankton. Koh Phi Phi's smaller sister island, Koh Phi Phi Leh, is home to the world famous Maya Bay and is only accessible via daily tours, as there are no accommodations or restaurants on the island. Maya Bay is visited by thousands of tourists daily from cruise ships, Phuket, and Krabi, but all tours leave in the late afternoon in order to return before dark; however, due to Koh Phi Phi's close proximity, visitors staying on Koh Phi Phi can choose later tour times with less crowds to enjoy the true beauty of the island.
Pro Tip: Hike the Koh Phi Phi viewpoint trail before 10 AM for the best photographs and bring some money for snacks, cold drinks, and ice cream at the top.
The Caribbean offers a variety of relaxing island escapes, but few rival the adventure that can be found in Ambergris Caye, Belize. Many Caribbean islands offer all-inclusive resorts, but oftentimes the inclusivity discourages guests from the adventurous aspect of exploring the whole island; however, vacationers on Ambergris Caye are encouraged to rent golf carts to see all the island has to offer, including the Marco Gonzalez Mayan ruins, a lively downtown area, and the spectacular Secret Beach. Located on the west side of the island, Secret Beach boasts pristine blue waters that are warm, shallow, and walkable for over .25 miles; in addition to lounge chairs and beach chairs set up in the shallow waters, there are paddle-boards and kayaks for rent as well as a volleyball net set up in the ocean. The island also offers various snorkeling and diving tours to Shark Ray Alley, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Mexico Rocks, and the Great Blue Hole, one of the world's most famous diving spots. For those who prefer more time on the water rather than in it, options include sailing, fishing, windsurfing, kite surfing, and jet skiing. San Pedro is home to a variety of great restaurants, some of which offer unique experiences such as floating in inner tubes at the Palapa Bar, bowling on the beach at Cozy Coconuts, and watching crab races at Crazy Kanucks.
Pro Tip: Make a reservation at Elvi's for incredible Belizean cuisine, its unique sand-covered floor, and live music.
If you close your eyes and think 'Greece,' chances are your mind conjures an image consisting of white buildings with blue accents and houses lining a hill - this image is the island of Santorini. Walking around Santorini feels like you've stepped inside of a painting, with bright narrow streets that wind down the mountainside, offering a picturesque view of deep blue Mediterranean water around every turn. Most visitors stay in the town of Oia for swimming, dining, shopping, and the ultimate sunset view, while the town of Imerovigli a few miles south offers a quieter atmosphere. Because these towns are built into steep hills that consist of mostly stairs, donkeys substitute as taxis, which is an adventure in itself. Many hotels are built cave style, meaning they are built into the hill and stacked one on top of the other; if you're willing to splurge, some rooms offer private pools that are covered by a cave ceiling but have clear views of the Mediterranean Sea. Wandering through the bright white walls of town feels like a dream and a sailing tour around the island will allow an even fuller appreciation of the island's beauty. For the thrill seekers, check out the 30-foot jumping rock in Amoudi Bay or rent an ATV to explore the island. Discover black sand beaches at Kamari Beach and Perissa Beach, or head south to Akrotiri, a 3,500-year-old village preserved in volcanic ash, and visit the town's red sand beach.
Pro Tip: The best views of the famous Oia sunset are from the Oia Castle; arrive 1-2 hours prior to sunset to get a good spot and plan on staying at the castle for at least 20 minutes past sunset to avoid crowds, as the narrow streets become very congested as sunset-viewers flood the streets all at once.
No matter where you live, an island escape full of relaxation and adventure can be just a short plane ride away!


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hosted by popgeeks.com | Everything You Need To Know About Smash Bros' Byleth SyFy Officially Greenlights Chucky Series
Backstage - Kevin Conroy Interview
Kevin Conroy returns to seminal role as the definitive voice of Batman in
Batman: The Animated Series star reunites with Tim Daly and Clancy Brown brings
in all-new DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie for distribution Sept. 29
While the debate rages among fans over who might be the best live-action actor to play Batman, there is no such controversy when it comes to the voice of The Dark Knight � Kevin Conroy stands unchallenged for that title.
As the voice behind the landmark series Batman: The Animated Series, Conroy set a standard that has cast a wide shadow over any other actor attempting to fill the role for nearly two decades. Conroy once again dons the animated cowl for the September 29 Warner Home Video release of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation will present the all-new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies in a Blu-Ray� Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packed movie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download on Sept. 29.
In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his �partner in crime,� Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite � and recruit help � to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor�s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.
Conroy�s acting career has covered a lengthy gamut of performances on stage and screen, including soap operas and television series like Dynasty and Tour of Duty. His first audition for an animated voiceover role was in 1991 when he arrived at Warner Bros. hoping to land some of the character roles on an upcoming series, and walked out as the title character of Batman: The Animated Series. As they say, the rest is a grand and glorious history for Batman fans across the nation.
So pleased with his return to the role is Conroy that he made his first appearance in six years at Comic-Con International this past summer to promote Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and the crowd greeted their beloved Batman voice with multiple standing ovations. For those fans that couldn�t hear Conroy�s words in person, here�s the recap of a chat with the actor during that weekend �
You�ve been doing this role for nearly 19 years. Are there still challenges to doing the voice of Batman?
I guess the biggest challenge to doing any kind of animation voice work is that you only have your voice to tell the story. And you want to keep it real and you don't want to get cartoony, especially now because the audiences are much more sophisticated. Anything over the top is going to read over the top. So it's a very fine line that people walk. For Batman, I think the biggest challenge is the timber of the voice that I established early on. I just kind of improvised it and it stuck. It's very deep in my register � very throaty � and whenever it gets emotional, it�s a difficult sound to create with a lot of volume technically without blowing your chords out. So there's all kinds of tricks you learn along the way of how to produce a sound, how to produce it without injuring yourself, and how to juice it enough. It's a delicate, funny balancing act.
Recording Superman/Batman: Public Enemies was actually easy because of the cast that Andrea (Romano) put together. Tim (Daly) and Clancy (Brown) � all of us have worked together a lot over the years, and there's a real shorthand when you're dealing with people who have done a lot of it and know what they're doing. Which is really a pleasure. Andrea doesn't have to say very much for me to know what she wants.
What do Tim Daly and Clancy Brown bring to their respective roles?
KEVIN CONROY:
Tim brings to Superman that strong voice, but there's also a real humanity to Tim as an actor and that really comes through. So there�s strength but there's a great sensitivity, and that's unique about his take on Superman.
Clancy is great at being crazy. He's a very talented actor. He's got that great sound, that resonate voice. And yet when you've got that kind of power under you, you can afford to be very casual with it. It makes his sinister quality so much more frightening when this guy with this voice is just being very debonair.
What can people expect to find different about Superman/Batman: Public Enemies than most crossover stories?
There's definitely more humor in this because of the relationship they've created between Superman and Batman. It was really fun doing it with Tim because it almost became like a buddy cop kind of thing. There are not a lot of people that Batman can fool around with like that � that can take it and can dish it back. So I really enjoyed that aspect of the script.
Batman and Superman have all these amazing foes. And yet Lex Luthor has no super powers. What makes Lex a great villain, and how does Clancy make him greater?
Actors always want to play the villain � they�re a lot more fun. Think about it. The hero is just about being a good guy and, in life, we all want to be good guys. But when you're playing at something other than yourself, it's fun to do what is taboo. I played Edgar in a production of King Lear that John Houseman directed for Lincoln Center. Edgar is the good son in Lear and it's probably the hardest role in the play. I thought I did a pretty good job at it � although one critic was particularly unkind. Years later, I did a production at the San Diego Shakespeare Festival of Lear and I played Edmond, who is the force of evil throughout the play. The plot really revolves around Edmond's machinations. It was so much more fun to play Edmond because of the joy he took out of being evil. This guy is planning the downfall of his family, and laughing about it, and delighting in it. And it was a real blast to me. A couple years earlier I was busting my back for Houseman, doing Edgar every night, working so hard on a role that the audience doesn't care about. They want to cheer Edmond and how evil he is because it's so much fun. Clancy brings that joy to Luthor and the more ease he does it with, the more frightening it becomes. And he's really good at that.
So what does Kevin Conroy bring to Batman?
I guess I am basically most comfortable when I'm alone. As a kid, I was very much a loner. I love long distance running and long distance biking. A director once pointed out that those are all very isolated exercises you do for hours at a time. I think Batman taps into that quality of me, because my initial take on the character was that Batman wasn't the performance. Bruce Wayne was the performance. Batman is where he's most comfortable. The cave is where he's most comfortable. And he puts on this persona of incredible sophistication to be able to deal with the world just like I think everybody puts on a mask to deal with the world. Everyone has a private self and a public self. With him, it's taken to a real extreme. And I think I related to that aspect of him. I am basically a pretty shy person � I think a lot of actors are. That's why they get into acting � because it's easier to be free emotionally when you're pretending to be someone else than to be free emotionally when you have to be yourself. And I think Bruce has the same problem.
Is there still a cool factor for you to be the voice of Batman?
Oh, yeah. It�s something that I'm reminded of a lot from people who enjoy the show. That's a very cool thing. I don't ever take for granted how cool a job it is and how lucky I am to have landed in it. It was the first animation job I ever auditioned for � and it just happened to all come together so well. But it was just pure chance.
Were you a comics reader as a kid?
I had an interesting childhood in that my parents were older. I was a late child, and they were children of immigrants. So the connection of the family to Ireland was very close. I have an Irish passport � I went to school there a bit when I was younger. So my parents were very old world, and they grew up during the Depression. They were kind of like my friends' grandparents � my family kind of skipped a generation that way. I was put in very conservative Catholic schools � the nuns had habits to the ground, and the boys and the girls were separated. It was very old school. And comic books just weren't allowed. It just wasn't part of my world. I didn�t read them because I didn't like them � I didn't even know about them. (he laughs). Comic books weren�t part of the planet that I was raised on. Of course, once I heard about them, I liked them a lot. (he laughs)
Do you have a collection of Batman paraphernalia?
I'm no dumb actor (he laughs). Do you remember the Warner Brother stores? One of the most lucrative parts of those stores was the galleries � they ran them like real art galleries. They'd have people who did the voices come in and do so signings, and when they asked me, I said, �Do I get some kind of compensation?� They were trying to get us on the cheap, but I thought there had to be something to make it worth my while. I said �Why don't you give me a cell?� And they said �Oh, that's a great idea.� So I said, �Why don't we make it two?� (he laughs) And so I started doing appearances at the stores and my compensation was two cells � and now I've got about 60 or 70 cells. It's very cool. I have a great apartment in New York and they're all on this wall. Everyone who walks into that apartment turns into a 12-year-old boy. They all walk in and say, �Oh. Wow. Cool.� And it is. (he laughs)
What makes Batman the greatest super hero?
Oh, that's easy. The thing that makes Batman unique as a super hero is that he has no super powers, and the darkness of his personal story. Everyone relates to having a personal dark story � his is just much more dramatic than most people's. Everyone is handed adversity in life. No one's journey is easy. It's how they handle it that makes people unique. Batman took adversity and turned it into something enormously powerful and positive without any superpowers.
For more information, images and updates, please visit the film�s official website at www.SupermanBatmanDVD.com.
Suggested captions for attached images:
Kevin Conroy.jpg
Kevin Conroy, the definitive voice of Batman, returns to his seminal role in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the next DC Universe animated original movie, will be distributed September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. (Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)
B_12.jpg
Kevin Conroy provides the voice of The Dark Knight in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the next DC Universe animated original movie, which will be distributed September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video.
SB_16.jpg
U.S. President Lex Luthor recruits super heroes to help keep America safe, and that includes hunting down the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the next DC Universe animated original movie. Warner Home Video will distribute the film on September 29.
Trademark information for the images:
SUPERMAN � Warner Bros. Ent Inc. BATMAN � Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "SUPERMAN" and �BATMAN� and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and � DC Comics. � Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.[ Back to Backstage ]
Superman, Batman, and related characters and indicia are property of DC Comics and WB, 2009.
The World's Finest and everything relating to this site - copyright, 1998 - 2009.

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OPEC: Venezuelan, Iranian monthly oil production down in September
October 11, 2018 October 11, 2018 by admin
Oct. 11 (UPI) — Oil production in Venezuela, a country with the world's biggest reserves, reached a new low in September as it goes through political and economic instability, declining 3.4 percent in September from August.
Production has now reached its lowest point since the 2002-2003 PDVSA oil strike — in addition to Iranian output also falling.
According to monthly data released Thursday by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, and which it attributed to "secondary sources," the country's September production was just under 1.2 million barrels per day, down 42,000 barrels per day from August.
Venezuelan officials confirmed a decline to OPEC, but at a higher level. According to the figures reported and described as coming from "direct communication" with Venezuelan officials, September crude oil production fell to 1.4 million barrels per day, down only 14,000 barrels per day from August.
The only bigger decline by an OPEC member, as reported by "secondary sources" to OPEC, was that of Iran, where September production of 3.4 million barrels per day fell 150,000 barrels from the previous month. Iran only declared a loss of 51,000 barrels per day to 3.8 million barrels in its "direct communication" with OPEC.
In contrast, Libya and Saudi Arabia ramped up production in September by 103,000 barrels per day to 1.1 million barrels and by 108,000 barrels per day to 10.5 million barrels, respectively, compared with August, as reported to OPEC by the secondary sources.
Venezuelan production has steadily declined from production levels above three million barrels per day in the mid-1990s.
Monthly production has never been lower than current levels, except for a relatively brief period immediately after former President Hugo Chavez responded to a general strike by state oil company PDVSA company workers. After the strike began on Dec. 4, 2002, Chavez fired nearly 35 percent of the workforce, or over 12,760 workers.
Venezuela has 303 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.
Despite its wealth, the country is undergoing a period of political instability, rampant inflation and economic problems that have led to the migration of a significant part of its population.
As for Iran, the country is facing the U.S. restoration of nuclear program-related sanctions on Nov. 5 that are aimed at keeping the nation from continuing its oil exports. Uncertainty related to the reduction of supplies has led to crude oil price volatility.
U.S. President Donald Trump asked Saudi Arabia in July to increase oil production to help prevent increases in crude oil prices.
As for Libya, the country is recovering slowly from its 2011 civil war and unrest in recent years. The country's National Oil Corp.'s headquarters was the target of a terror attack on September 10.
Business News – UPI.com
Tagged down, Iranian, monthly, OPEC, production, September, Venezuelan
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Stretcher Bars Warehouse - Same Day Shipping!
For more information about choosing the right bars for your project continue reading.
Click on the picture below or use the navigation menu on the left to buy canvas stretcher bars.
Light duty stretcher bars are great for those smaller paintings or giclee prints that will be framed or won't benefit from a thicker bar. These are made of the same high quality, kiln dried pine, as the other SBW bars. Like all our stretcher bars, they have a beaded (rounded) edge that holds the canvas and flat part of the bar slightly apart. The rounded edge greatly relieves the stress on the canvas and person framing. A tighter, more uniform stretch is the result of this feature because the canvas flows around the smooth (rather than sharp) edge. For those who have had problems with cracked edges on giclee prints you'll find the beaded edge will reduce or eliminate this problem.
Think of it his way, if you're lowering a heavy box from a balcony with a line, you can let it down smoothly by running the line around a round handrail, but will find patting out the line around a square handrail to be quite jerky. That's what happens with the squared edges on square -edged stretcher bars; the hard corners build tension and resistance and that's not a good thing when stretching. The idea is to stretch all the canvas, not just the edge where the pliers are pulling. We've seen instances where canvas has ripped due to the resistance. We recommend use of our cross braces for strips over 30", to maintain frame strength.
Standard Stretcher Bars 3/4" If there's a standard stretcher bar in the industry, this is it. What we like about our medium duty bars is the slightly raised round-over (bull nose) of the bar's face edge. Raised, rounded edges (as opposed to sharp, flat edges) greatly reduce the friction of stretching, allowing for a tighter, more even canvas face. It also reduces the stress placed on the canvas and the person doing the stretching, as pliers lever the canvas around the frame. The raised edge canvas frame has two other benefits. They lift the canvas away from contact with the wood. They also allow a slight "fudge factor" for gallery wraps that have a sharp transition between the face image and its side. The 1 5/8" width of the bar certainly helps to withstand bowing from taught stretching, but don't overlook using cross braces (spanners) whenever you feel bowing might be an issue. While these bars are known as 3/4" bars, they are actually 11/16" in width, 1/16" less than 3/4."
This stretcher bar will be a dream come true for many folks who want a substantial side profile that adds to the percieved value of their art, but unfortunately costs too much to justify the expense. The Medium/Heavy Duty bars, with a 1 1/4" side profile, are, visually, so close to the 1 1/2" that they will create a notable presence (adding perceived value) but won't strangle your wallet. It's truly the Goldilocks stretcher bar...it's just right! Keep in mind that the bars aren't quite as stout as the heavier duty bars, so you'll need to reinforce with braces sooner. But, at 1 1/4"x 1 1/4," they're still very sturdy. And, quite a bargain too!
Goldilocks Stretcher Bars 1 1/4"
The beauty of these strong Heavy Duty Midi Bars is their price coupled with exceptional quality. You'll get the 1 1/2" depth just like the Super Heavy Duty bar, but you'll be able to afford more for the same dollar spent. Like all our bars, the edges are "eased," for smoother stretching with less resistance. With a generous 3/4" rise, there's little to no chance for the canvas to come in contact with the inside breadth of the stretcher frame. Straight-grained and lightweight these bars are perfect for also reducing the overall weight of the frame. While it's quite difficult to bend bars as strong as these, it's advisable to use braces when you're exceeding 45" or so. Environmental changes can cause wood to bend very, very slowly inward toward the center of the canvas. It may take years, but braces will significantly reduce the potential for this migration. Just something you might want to consider.
Heavy Duty Stretcher Bars 1 1/2" x 2"
so. Environmental changes can cause wood to bend very, very slowly inward toward the center of the canvas. It may take years, but braces will significantly reduce the potential for this migration. Just something you might want to consider.


ODI is an independent think tank with more than 230 staff, including researchers, communicators and specialist support staff. We provide high-quality research, policy advice, consultancy services and tailored training – bridging the gap between research and policy and using innovative communication to mobilise audiences.
As a registered charity, ODI is supported by grants and donations from foundations, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, governments, multilateral agencies and academia. You can find the full list of funders here.
This map shows some of the highlights from our work in 2015-2016.
ensure natural resource management (forests, energy, food and water) balances development and climate goals while protecting the poor.
Leading the internationally recognised research and civil society network REDDnet.
Coordinating research on ACCRA to understand development intervention impacts on local adaptive capacity.
This Resilience Scan summarises writing and debates in the field of resilience during the third quarter of 2017.


text:
Ninildu, Nin-ildu o Nin-Ildu, en la mitología acadia y babilónica, es una diosa menor de los bosques y de la construcción y patrona de los carpinteros. Era hija de Ea, hermano de Enlil.

Maldijo a los árboles de Naram-Sin después de haber cometido actos de impiedad.

Etimológicamente, viene de NIN, "señora" o "diosa" e ILDU.

Referencias
 Michael Jordon, Encyclopedia of Gods, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002.

Deidades mesopotámicas
Mitología acadia
Mitología babilónica
Dioses de los bosques
Diosas tutelares
Diosas de la artesanía

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
New Law Note Addresses Client Confidentiality
NASW News exclusive: By Paul R. Pace, News Staff As the age of communication possibilities continues to expand, maintaining client confidentiality for social workers is a paramount concern. Protection of clients' confidential information is not only a social work cornerstone, it is also a legal obligation, according to the latest NASW General Counsel Law Note, Client Confidentiality and Privileged Communications, ... Read More »
Richard Jones Honored by Metropolitan Family Services
Richard Jones, center, former president and CEO of Chicago-based Metropolitan Family Services, stands outside one of the organization's campus buildings, which was recently named in his honor to recognize 13 years of leadership for the organization that serves the critical needs of families in the metropolitan area. Jones is joined by his mother, Wilhelmina Manns, right, a retired social work ... Read More »
Children Make Up Half of Shelter Residents
According to an article published by United Press International on UPI.com, Minnesota researchers have said that more than half of the residents who stay in battered women's shelters across the United States are children. Jeffrey Edelson, professor of social work at the University of Minnesota, stated in the story that an online platform can serve as a tool to give ... Read More »
Practice Standards Focus on Family Caregivers of Older Adults
By Paul R. Pace, NEWS Staff "Attention to the contributions, strengths, needs and goals of family caregivers of older adults are integral to social work practice." This statement summarizes the intent of the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Family Caregivers of Older Adults. The document, available for a free download at http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/, celebrated its one-year publication anniversary in ... Read More »
Philip Lucas Honored at D.C. Memorial Event
Two prayer vigils and a service were conducted in October to mark the centennial of the 2001 anthrax attacks at the U.S. Postal Service's Brentwood facility in Washington, D.C. Philip Lucas, past president of the NASW Metro Washington Chapter, spoke at the service and was part of a support team after the initial attacks, which killed two employees: Joseph Curseen ... Read More »
NASW Urges Social Workers in Health Care Insurance Exchanges
By Greg Wright, NEWS Contributor The National Association of Social Workers strongly urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to include social workers in plans that will be offered in the new affordable health care insurance exchanges that will be available across the United States by Jan. 1, 2014. NASW also made recommendations to ensure these insurance exchanges ... Read More »
Social Worker Honored by Connecticut NAACP
January 6, 2012 Leave a comment
NASW News' "Social Work in the Public Eye" noted the NAACP Connecticut state conference named Salome Raheim one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut for 2011, according to a story published in the Norwalk Press. Raheim, who is dean of the University of Connecticut's school of social work and serves as co-chair of the Provost's Commission on Institutional ... Read More »
Media Awards Part of Social Work Month
By Paul R. Pace, NEWS Staff Encouraging newspapers, broadcast stations and online resources to help spread the word about the important role social workers play in society has been a tradition of National Professional Social Work Month, which is celebrated each March. The outreach effort relies on thousands of social workers from coast to coast to use local media resources ... Read More »
Armed Forces See Need for Social Workers
By Rena Malai, NEWS Staff In the aftermath of the global war on terror, officials say the number of enlisted social workers within the military has gone down and the need to rebuild those ranks is greater than ever. Soldiers experiencing mental health challenges — ranging from posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety and personal problems — can face risks to their ... Read More »
Care for the Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer's Disease
NASW News' "Social Work in the Public Eye" asked: Who takes care of caregivers when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease? Licensed clinical social worker Elizabeth Bollwinkel takes that question to heart in an article in the Los Altos Town Crier in California. The story explained that about 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Bollwinkel, an education ... Read More »
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The O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce & Industries held its Annual Awards Luncheon in December and recognized Extreme Electrical Contractors LLC as its 2018 Business of the Year; Sherry Gibson, of Gibson Printing, Inc. as its Sue Proost Person of the Year award recipient; Barbara Boswell Goode as its 2018 Ambassador of the Year; GraceRiver Church as its Community Servant of the Year; Rendezvous Cafe & Wine Bar as its Small Business of the Year; and St. Charles Community College as its Large Business of the Year.
Cedar Lake Cellar's Allison Carroll [left] with Pat O'Brien, Pepe Vantreece, Santa, Stephanie DiCiro, Ashley Jordan, and Lindsey Helland.
Investa Management, in partnership with sister companies Snow and Ice Management Co., BSR Services, Inc. and Cedar Lake Cellars, held a toy drive to benefit AGAPE of Warren County's Share-A-Christmas program. Founded in 1996, AGAPE is a non-profit organization that provides food to individuals and families who are facing food insecurity. The Share-A-Christmas program provides toys to 300 Warren County families for the holidays.
Lori Tainter graduated from the Institute for Organization Management [IOM], the professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Tainter is the vice president of member services/new media coordinator of the Greater St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce. The IOM graduate recognition signifies the individual's completion of 96 hours of course instruction in nonprofit management. In addition, participants can earn credit hours toward the Certified Chamber Executive [CCE] or Certified Association Executive [CAE] certifications. Nearly 1,000 individuals attend the institute annually.
The Greater St. Charles Chamber of Commerce hosts its Lunch with Leaders program from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at Piazza Messina, 5535 State Hwy. N in Cottleville. St. Louis Regional Chamber representatives Andrew Smith, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation, and Austin Walker, director of government relations, will present a joint session on the future of the "Hyperloop" and the 2019 Legislative Agenda. Registration is $30 for members; $35 for guests [$5 discount given for early registration]. Register online at gstccc.com.
The O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce & Industries hosts a Taste of Vegas Casino Night from 6-11 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Christy Banquet Center, 9000 Veterans Memorial Pkwy. in O'Fallon. Formal and cocktail attire is preferred. General admission is $65 per person and includes tastings from O'Fallon's finest restaurants, open bar, two raffle entries, $5,000 in gaming money and live entertainment with dancing. No tickets will be sold at the door. Register online at ofallonchamber.org.


Charming Villa Panna is for those who want to be surrounded by history, culture, and nature during their holiday stay.
The best thing about most European holiday homes is that they are not just hotels or resorts where you check-in, enjoy some of the facilities maybe, and for the most part are simply a place to sleep and rest more than anything else. Some of the best of them – like Villa Panna in Scarperia, Florence– are real destinations in themselves.
If the name rings a bell, that's because it's located beside the Panna spring from which one of Italy's most renowned lightly mineralized natural mineral waters, Aqua Panna, emerges. Villa Panna, rising up within a 1,300-hectare of unspoiled natural oasis, has always been at the very heart of the history of Acqua Panna, which in turn is a natural part of the spirit, history, and culture of Tuscany.
The Panna spring is located in the 1300-hectare estate that used to be a part of the favorite hunting ground of the Medici family, the powerful dynasty of Florentine Lords during the Italian Renaissance. A visit here would not be complete without a visit to the spring. On the way there, not only is the scenery amazing – the greenery, the vast park, and all. The well-preserved wildlife also was. As we drive to the spring an entire pack of deer followed us, making the trip nothing short of magical –some of us were even imagining those days when the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and their illustrious guests where hunting here.
Simply put, Villa Panna was a beautiful property, one that ensures a beautiful holiday experience. Antonella Stefanelli, who is in charge of worldwide PR and media relations for Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino, told us that the original structure of the villa, built upon the orders of the Medicis in the mid-16th Century when they took over ownership of the estate, was that of a farmhouse. Stefanelli came down from Milan to personally meet the Lookeast team and give them a tour of the estate.
Today it had taken on the appearance of a patrician villa after progressive expansion and development. But the surroundings, obviously, were very much preserved.
The romantic villa is adorned with statues and Neo-classical decoration, sweetened by artificial ponds and a spectacular panoramic view. Just exploring the villa is quite an adventure. What was once the main entrance to the villa is now home to a splendid cadastral map dated 1792, which depicts the lands of the vast territory that lies within the Panna estate.
Leaving the cadastral map area behind, one finds the breakfast hall inside, which is adorned with silver services dating to the 19th Century; and the fireplace hall; an addition built in the first half of the 1900s. There is also a modern kitchen where a wonderful chef prepares the exquisite food that usually pays homage to the Tuscan terroir, which are served to guests like us.
Completing Villa Panna are the garden hall offering a wonderful panoramic view of the natural landscape, the internal garden graced with original statues from the Torrigiani era that bring to mind Virgil's discourses on bucolics, and the small church, built in 1572, that brims with distinctive architectural details. Inside the church, one will find the broad window used by the nobility to attend religious functions separately from servants and commoners, and, just below that, a sacred terracotta image from the late 15th Century attributable to the Della Robbia School.
Today, lucky guests can enjoy the Villa, its garden, and the surrounding oasis of protected flora and fauna that is still around one third of the original hunting ground of the Medicis. But it's not just the beauty of Villa Panna and its beautiful natural setting. Guests will also enjoy the best of examples of warmth and hospitality that make this region of Italy a favorite of many travelers.
Thanks to on-site experts who make sure this tradition lasting for centuries continues so that discerning modern travelers may enjoy a charming, unforgettable holiday retreat and pay homage to Renaissance heritage, culture, and nature, today.


Subuhi Joshi bonds with Shahid in Mahabaleshwar!
Subuhi Joshi, who plays Sapna in Life OK's Comedy Classes, recently spent a weekend bonding with Shahid in Mahabaleshwar. Now, don't let your imagination run wild. Shahid is a horse the actress rode on, during her stay at the hill station.


Or in other words – We pass the UNIQUE properties for an element to Selenium Automation script so that it can first identify the element and then perform the subsequent action like enter text, click, select value, etc. The different type of properties that can be passed to a Selenium automation script are collectively known as Element Locators in Selenium Webdriver!
Hope you have already read our earlier article "#1. HTML Coding Basics required for Selenium Automation" which would be a per-requisite to understanding this tutorial.
E.g. The automation script launch a browser using Selenium and open the application URL, say Flipkart. The next step in the test case says click on the 'Search' textbox >> Now how do you identify this 'Search textbox' using Selenium automation script?
These attribute – value pairs form the properties of this textbox.
To summarize, Locators are the HTML properties of a web element which tells the Selenium about the web element on which it needs to perform actions. Some of the element types can be – Text box, Button, Drop Down, Hyperlink, Check Box, and Radio Button. Using the right locator ensures the tests are faster, more reliable or has lower maintenance over releases.


text:
Q: Producer-consumer queue in python I'm using a producer consumer model in order to stream audio via sockets to PyAudio. I have one process receiving data from sockets, process, then putting it in a queue, while the other process gets data from the queue and writes it to the stream. While this is working, I am getting underflows + clipping during parts of the stream. My code is essentially as such
Process1
CHUNK = 1024
q = queue

data = s.recv(CHUNK)

#processes data

if q.qsize() < CHUNK * 2: #arbitrary value
    q.put(data)

while q.qsize() > CHUNK:
    time.sleep(5)
#I use this to allow the queue to be emptied
#by the stream and manage my memory somewhat.

Process2
p = pyaudio.PyAudio()
stream = p.open(format=pyaudio.paInt16, channels=CHANNELS, rate=RATE, frames_per_buffer=CHUNK, output=True)

while True:
    if q.empty() is False:
        stream.write(q.get(), exception_on_underflow=True)

I did some logging to log data before and when an underflow exception is shown and what I get noticing was that underflow would only ever occur when q >= CHUNK (e.g. 1025,1026), or upon initial filling of the stream to 1024, and the stream.get_write_availble was always > 15000 out of a total 16384. I know the stream is being starved of data but I don't quite understand why and how this is possible when the queue is never empty (e.g. there is always data to be read into the stream). Any help is appreciated.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


If you're looking for a dentist in Rochester, you've come to the right place. Buhite & Buhite, DDS is an established dental practice with a modern, gentle approach to oral care. Our goal is to provide quality care to every patient who walks through our doors, and we achieve this objective through attentiveness, open communication, and patient education.
Our dentists at Buhite & Buhite, DDS have the experience to treat all of your dental care needs. They are able to provide you with the highest quality dental services in Rochester. Dentists at Buhite & Buhite, DDS have over 40 years experience in the area, which makes them a leader in the dental care industry.
Our highly skilled staff takes a team approach to providing some of the best dental care in Rochester. The dental hygienists and dental assistants work closely with our dentists to provide you with the best treatment possible. The entire team is focused on maintaining a friendly relaxed dental experience, in an effort to make your dental visit as enjoyable as possible.


Add in a little fun easily into your classroom during Easter! This packet has easy to use no prep worksheets and games you can integrate into your lesson or centers.
File folder games can be easily glued into a file folder and laminated. If that is not available, you can easily glue or tape the games together.
Also, follow me and be notified when new products are uploaded. New products are always discounted for a short time after they are posted.
This resource is not editable.
If you enjoyed this product, check out these products!


Genesis has been appointed to the long-term monitoring, evaluation and learning role on Resilient Waters, a five-year programme that aims to build more resilient and water-secure Southern African communities and ecosystems.
The Applied Behavioural Economics (ABE) team at Genesis Analytics will run another course on Behavioural Economics in Action following the success of the two-day workshop in April.
The Applied Behavioural Economics (ABE) team at Genesis Analytics is excited to announce the second introductory behavioural economics training course.
Genesis Analytics and B Lab East Africa will be presenting the developed online map of tools, frameworks and standards that practitioners are using in the East Africa region to measure and manage impact at a breakfast meeting at Sankalp Africa Summit 2019 on 22 February.


The Offside rule is one of the many rules of the football association (FIFA) which is embodied in Law 11 of the laws the game (football).
The offside rule imply that if player whose current position or any part of the player's body parts which the player can use to touch/control the ball during play is in the opponent's half and is closer to the opponent goal line than the ball and the second last player (usually but not always the last defender) of the opponent is in an offside position, hence the play should be stopped and the defending team should be awarded an indirect free kick.
The offside rule does not imply that it is an offense if a player is found in an offside position. Rather it is only when the player who is in the offside position becomes actively involve in the attacking play that it would be counted as an offense. So if a player in the attacking team is in an offside position, but is not actively involve in the play, then the play will not be stoped.
The Offside Rule is a law by FIFA (the football association) which is codified in Law 11 of the Laws of the Game (football) which clearly state when an offside offense is committed and the penalty that should be melted out for it.
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Colorfully - Publish, collect and share images, videos, quotes and fun.
Colorfully is your place to share your inspiration. Colorfully is your online album with your favorite images, videos and quotes. You can check what other people are adding to their albums, you can like it, comment it and share it.Colorfully is your place to share your inspiration. Colorfully is your online album with your favorite images, videos and quotes. You can check what other people are adding to their albums, you can like it, comment it and share it.Colorfully is your place to share your inspiration. Colorfully is your online album with your favorite images, videos and quotes. You can check what other people are adding to their albums, you can like it, comment it and share it.Colorfully is your place to share your inspiration. Colorfully is your online album with your favorite images, videos and quotes. You can check what other people are adding to their albums, you can like it, comment it and share it.Colorfully is your place to share your inspiration. Colorfully is your online album with your favorite images, videos and quotes. You can check what other people are adding to their albums, you can like it, comment it and share it.Colorfully is your place to share your inspiration. Colorfully is your online album with your favorite images, videos and quotes. You can check what other people are adding to their albums, you can like it, comment it and share it.


The 2019 Premium Book will be available May 20, 2019.
Premium money will be mailed to exhibitors and can be expected by January 31st, 2019. The American Royal is not responsible for payment of "Specials" offered by breed associations or individuals. Judges' Books will be used as the only evidence for payment of premiums. Ribbons are not accepted.


The Silver Moon Aromatherapy Pendant is created to use with your favorite perfumes and essential oils.
You can change the color and fragrance of your Aromatherapy Pendant by using one of seven different colored felt pads included with each pendant. Simply saturate one of the included pads with your favorite fragrance and place it in your pendant.
Our line of Aromatherapy Pendants allow you to suspend your favorite fragrance around your neck where the heat from your body activates the oil or perfume. Sensitive skin stays protected from essential oils and perfumes and you stay surrounded by a blissful aroma all day long.
Item Number: PS-TPD1405 | Approximate Size (Inches): 0.94 wide x 0.05 deep x 0.62 high | Approximate Shipping Weight: 0.25 lbs.


Don't Care Bear by Bad Drip is the newest released flavor of assorted gummy candy topped with crystallized tangy sugar. The mouth-watering gummy candy provides the perfect balance of sweet and tang, all rolled it up into one delicious e-juice.
How do you capture the essence of sweet and juicy Georgia peaches, paired perfectly (no pun intended!) with soft and warm d'Anjou pears? I'm so glad you asked! These ripe and succulent fruits are plucked at the peak of ripeness and carefully preserved to offer maximum flavor and a unique tart sweetness. These delicious fruits are then offered as a sacrifice to the rude candy tribe called the Don't Care Bear Clan. These indifferent gummies whack off the heads of the bears who start to care, and carelessly stuff it with the fresh fruit pieces, creating a barbaric yet delicious gooey chewy fruit flavor. These Bad Drip Labs Don't Care Bear slams down the gummy fruit gauntlet with this incredible flavor, and allows you to conquer your obsessive fruit and candy cravings in all your puffy clouds! Treat your vape taste buds to a delightful journey as you chase clouds that both taste and smell out of this world! This eliquid masterfully crafts soft juicy fruits and chewy gummy candy together in one wickedly yummy flavor! Let this flavor smoothly transport you to a sugar-infused paradise where sweet fruits and laughing gummy bear clouds collide! Bad Drip Labs Don't Care Bear needs no introduction; for outstanding sweet flavor that satisfies your fruit cloud cravings, snag a bottle today and enjoy sarcastic gummy bears, fresh summer peaches, and softly and juicy pear clouds for days with Bad Drip Labs Don't Care Bear!
Ive enjoy all of the Bad Drip flavors!


text:
NER + NEA = More Support for Writers
New England Review is delighted to announce that we've won the support of the National Endowment for the Arts for 2015 through an Art Works grant. In 2014 we were able to double our payment to writers for the print journal—the first increase in 20 years—and because of this grant we'll be able to continue paying this higher rate through the next volume. But this year we're going to do even better: beginning in 2015 we will pay contributors to NER Digital, our feature of original writing for the web. Up until now writers have been gracious enough to allow their work to be published there for the gift of a subscription to NER, but now we'll be able to pay them an honorarium in cold hard cash as well. We'd like to thank associate editor J. M. Tyree for his dedication to the NER Digital project—for masterminding the idea and building it through its first years.
The NEA's fellowships for writers, which in 2015 will be awarded to 36 poets, will honor a number of NER contributors. Congratulations to all who earned a place on the list this year, including Sean Hill (NER Digital), Eliot Khalil Wilson (29.4), Kerry James Evans (30.2), Anders Carlson-Wee (forthcoming, 36.1), Sara Eliza Johnson (29.4), Shara Lessley (33.1), and Melissa Range (34.1).
Filed Under: News & Notes Tagged With: #NEAFall2014, NEA Art Works 2015, NEA Poetry Fellowships 2015


text:
Округ Кларк () је округ у америчкој савезној држави Канзас. По попису из 2010. године број становника је 2.215. Седиште округа је град Ешланд.

Демографија
Према попису становништва из 2010. у округу је живело 2.215 становника, што је 175 (7,3%) становника мање него 2000. године.

Референце

Литература

Види још
 Округ
 Спискови округа САД

Спољашње везе

Кларк


As part of the Design Practice module, on the Human Computer Interaction with Ergonomics course, I worked with a team to develop an interactive installation for our client, 'Capturing Mill Road History', based in Cambridge. The aim of this project was to engage local people with the history of Mill Road via technology.
Project collaborators: Suzanne Amos, Ale Ferreira, Sandeep Kollannur, Gustavo Soto Mino.
The research involved exploring Mill Road, the subject of our project, and the area in which our product would be placed.
Based on the target audience, which the Mill Road team are trying to engage with, we developed a series of personas.
We interviewed volunteers from the 'Capturing Mill Road History' project in order to find out more about their intentions and challenges.
The personas, interviews and competitive analysis led us to a series of requirements for the product.
We looked at related products which convey history in an engaging way through technology, such as the David Bowie exhibition of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
After developing the personas based on the research and interviews it was important to understand the requirements of the project.
All individual ideas for the projects were reviewed and given a rating before narrowing down the direction to explore.
Initial ideas were sketched based on the site visit.
The Mill Road history team would like to drive awareness of their project so the ideas are related to local history, the people of Mill Road, and marketing and communicating these themes through a multitude of offline and online interactive channels.
In order to test and validate ideas they were first sketched by hand.
Afterwards simple paper prototypes were created to help visualise concept and test with participants.
After establishing our persona I considered what could hinder interactions with the final product.
Does our persona have a smartphone?
What problems do smartphones have for our user?
Using creative thinking techniques I explored further design opportunities, focusing around locations on Mill Road.
The length of the interaction also defines the complexity of the app and the level of detail which is conveyed to the user. The aim is to limit the interaction to maximum of 1 minute in order to give the user a short but delightful and insightful experience.
The product was developed to be based around a bus stop. Observations concluded that our target audience, elderly people, use buses as their primary mode of transportation, due to the fact that they may receive free travel, are unable or do not wish to drive anymore. The product's secondary aim is to make boring moments, spend waiting, entertaining, exciting and educational.
Observing people's behaviours around bus stops led to some of the design choices, and the parts of the bus stop, we wish to make interactive.
The wireframes were developed based on the storyboards and sketches. Visual branding and tone of voice was considered when designing the user interface elements and on-screen messaging.
To visualise our concepts we made a physical mock up in order to get a sense of the space in which the interaction would occur.
Once the interactions were refined over a series of iterations we increased the fidelity of our prototype.
Finally to visualise our concepts and present to stakeholders a digital mockup was made. The finalised user interfaces were included in our presentation to them.
Renderings curtesy of Gustavo Soto Mino.
People need to know if the system is working. Ensure there is enough feedback to keep the user engaged.
Clarity of instructions. Elderly people are more likely to read instructions before using a product. Ideally it needs to be simple enough so that instructions are not even required.


There is war and the people of Alagbagba are overpowering the villagers of Opa Aro and are enslaving them. Balogun Asako of Opa Aro goes to the witches for superior powers and he conquers the Alagbagbas. When he went back to the witches for thanksgiving, they tell him he has won the war with his soul.


text:
Global citizens in a world of disorder
Comments to the Wairarapa branch of the Institute of International Affairs, 9 June 2015
The world is in a disorderly phase. This is driven in part by geopolitical and geo-economic events, including the mass movement of people, and in part by disruptive technological change which is fragmenting and dispersing power, eroding the sovereignty of individual nation-states and beginning to turn us from citizens of nations into global citizens. This multi-generational transition is likely over time to require a range of informal and semi-formal supranational governance arrangements. A role for New Zealand, as a disinterested global country-citizen, could be to suggest prototypes of such arrangements, starting in the South Pacific.
The world order has given way to a world in disorder. Where does New Zealand fit? Where do New Zealanders fit? Those questions have poignancy as, 100 years from getting entangled in a bungled intervention in the Middle East amid the disorder of the first world war, our troops are there again amid disorder contributing to another stumbling "western" intervention. A difference is that in 1915 there was public enthusiasm and now there is not.
For four decades after 1950 geopolitics were regulated by a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, two nuclear-armed superpowers with a reciprocal interest in not starting "mutually assured destruction". With the United States were European and Anglo-offshoot allies and assorted client autocracies. With the Soviet Union were its subject-territories, communist allies and autocracies, though over time China's communism acquired a divergent quasi-Confucianist dimension. This was in essence a bipolar world.
There was one near-flashpoint, in 1962 over Russian missiles on Cuba, which recent analysis [Schwartz 2013] suggests the United States overplayed to the point of heightening the risk of conflict, but it passed. However, there was much skirmishing on the peripheries of the two spheres as both sides sought to draw into or keep in their orbits other countries, including those newly independent of colonial rule. There were conflicts where the two sides or their proxies butted against each other on the ground. One was the Korean war from 1950-53. Another was the eventually successful two-decade-long bid for national self-determination in Vietnam led by nationalist communists, first against the French colonial administration and then against the United States' attempt to preserve a Korea-style north-south divide.
People, countries and governments knew where they stood. The superpowers knew where they stood. When New Zealand opted out of the mutually assured destruction framework with a nuclear-free policy in 1984, superpower United States treated us as an outcast. That, too, was an overreaction, with eerie overtones of the Cuba missile episode.
When the Soviet empire collapsed, the United States was left as the only true superpower. This was a unipolar world. Some, notably Francis Fukuyama, mused that this might portend the "end of history", that is, the triumph of liberal democracy and market capitalism.
Within 15 years the unipolar superpower was mired in unwinnable wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Just being very big and armed with the high-technology weapons and unlimited funds was no longer enough. A British army officer, Emile Simpson, wrote [Simpson 2012] that in Afghanistan war was not as Clausewitz had stated it, an interstate activity that is polarised, decisive and finite. It was, he wrote, near-impossible to distinguish between enemies and friends: one local commander who was notionally on the side of the Afghan government in Kabul "rented" out some of his forces to the local Taliban because they had agreed to pay for them. There were not two sides. Everyone was on his/her own side.
Meanwhile, China had concentrated from 1978 on building its economy. Economic power usually delivers political power. China unsurprisingly has been asserting its claim to what it regards as its national territory, including islands and marine areas on its east coast and stretching far to its south between Vietnam and the Philippines. Last month it reaffirmed that offshore claim in a defence white paper. [Murdoch 2015] The United States has been harrumphing about that and has been reforging its alliances with South Korea and Japan. Expert commentary on China's assertiveness – or is it aggressiveness? – ranges from the reassuring to the scarifying. [Dobell, 2015, Heinrichs 2015, Miller 2015, Wong 2015]
But China's rise, which also includes expanding investment abroad to secure raw materials, building and strengthening transport, political and trade links with countries to its west and building infrastructure projects in South America and Africa to cement good relations, has not resulted – at least, not yet – in the construction of a new bipolar standoff between the incumbent superpower and a rising power on the way to becoming a superpower (if it is not one already). There doesn't appear (yet?) to be the tight parallel some, such as Robert Kagan, see between China-United States in the 2010s and Germany-Britain in the 1900s decade which led to the first world war. [Kagan 2008]
Why not? First, there are some big players who don't fit on either side.
India, big and slowly improving economically, has also been harrumphing a bit about China and joined the United States in January in some strong words about China's island building in the South China sea and bullying of the Philippines and Vietnam. India is wooing Japan as a mutual counterweight to China. But India is also trying to understand and deal with China and China has shown interest in investing in India. Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping are still early in their expected decade-long rule. How they get on will have implications for world order. Brook Barrington could usefully do some work on this and then tell us his conclusions.
To India's north, Russia has also set out to regain territory by backing rebels in Ukraine and annexing Crimea and by exerting pressure on and offering inducements to other neighbouring countries to join its economic sphere of influence. It has sought to rebuild relations with China. It has explicitly tried to bend back the tentacles the European Union was extending to the former Russian empire countries to the EU's east. The tsars were not tsars of Russia: they were tsars of all the Russias.
Turn south from Russia to the Middle East sectarian cauldron.
Excitable "end-of-history" types called the 2011 uprisings the "Arab spring", presaging a golden summer of democracy and market-economics. For myself, I thought it much more like 1848 in Europe, when regimes were toppled in the name of freedom and justice, only to be restored within a short period in much the same condition, mostly with different figureheads. The positive pointer for Arabs from that post-1848 trajectory is that the social change underlying the 1848 revolts or revolutions continued and over time – in some cases a century or more – did result in liberal democratic regimes and market economies. That might be what is going on right now under the surface in Egypt, where President Sisi has imposed a vicious autocracy, and elsewhere, including in the Saudi Arabian and Gulf States monarchies. But if so, it will likely be a generation or two before we know. History does not run along tight parallel tracks.
For now, the Middle East is fighting a loose equivalent of Europe's 30 years war in the early seventeenth century, sect versus sect, tribe versus tribe. Wahhabist Sunni Saudi Arabia has spawned Al Qaeda and the Islamic State which now threatens stability at home. Sunni Saudi Arabia is backing Sisi's crackdown on the Qatar-backed Sunni Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are sort-of fighting each other in a sort-of-but-not-quite proxy war in Yemen where the Shia Houthi, known as Zaidis, are in some respects, for example, jurisprudence, close to Sunni. Different Sunni insurgents, including the Wahhabi-descended Islamic State, are contesting what used to be Syria. The United States is backing Shiite Iraq – or, rather, what used to be Iraq – against the Sunni Islamic State (and Sunni Iraqi allies who don't like the Shias in power in Baghdad) and is doing that awkwardly alongside troops and commanders from Shiite Iran, which the United States used to label as part of the "axis of evil" and with which it has initialled a sort of deal not to develop nuclear weapons.
We have sent troops into this cauldron. Call back to mind Emile Simpson, whom I mentioned earlier. If our troops can work out who are enemies and who are friends, they will deserve honorary doctorates from Simpson's old university, Cambridge.
Nobody can fix a sectarian contest but the sectarians. Only Muslims can fix Islam. When extracts out of context from a holy writ are used as god-given instructions to kill children, there is no place for liberal-democratic rationality – and cannot be correct by an outside of force of the sort only the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with its millions of available "boots on the ground", could deliver. It needs Muslim leaders to lead, to accept that the killers and rapists are Muslims who justify their actions on scripture, to step back from their own particular tight readings of scripture which set them apart from each other and seek common, humanitarian, readings as the basis for collaboration.
New Zealand troops in one corner of this chaos to aid one player in it will not make a jot of difference to the region's security. The only plausible reason for our involvement is to please the United States, Britain and Australia, to pay our dues to the "club" or be part of the "family". John Key is an Americanophile and a royalist. The risk is a dent in our reputation for disinterested concern and help where help can be useful. Murray McCully's grandiose offer to fix Palestine may be tarnished by familial Key's clubbing.
Go west: Europe is also not the orderly place it was in 2007. Greece still hovers on the edge of ejection or rejection. Britain is to vote – yet again – on whether to stay in the European Union and that comes after Scotland came close to voting to leave Britain. In most countries there are populist parties of various colours from far left to far right to autonomy-seeking or secessionist. These parties are challenging the past six decades of dominance by core parties – those of the centre-left and centre right. The latest to disrupt the core-party order is Pandemos in Spain. Some voters believe the message of those upstart parties; most who swell their vote do so not in support of the ideology but because they see the upstart parties as standing against the established elites who have caused, or at least not fixed, what they, the voters, believe caused their stress. We had a localised dose of that in Northland in March.
Go farther west: the United States political system is not in good order. The Tea Party is pure – and half-mad – populism, yet exerts influence on the Republicans. The Democrats have no compass. The Congress is a place of discord and standoff and the administration's agencies are constrained from functioning effectively and efficiently. Fukuyama describes the United States as a "vetocracy". [Fukuyama 2014]
Roam afield. Brazil? South Africa? Thailand? Work your way through a long list of barely stable or distorted political systems.
This is not the basis for solidity, stability and order, where everyone knows their place.
In short, the world is in disorder. According to Richard Haass' [Haass 2014] reading of Hedley Bull [Bull 1977], there is a "perennial tension in the world between forces of order and forces of disorder, with the details of the balance between them defining each era's particular character". Robert Ayson of Victoria University, Bull's biographer, cautions against seeing this as a sort of seesaw, swinging up into order and down into disorder and back again. [Ayson 2014]
So don't assume this period of disorder is an interregnum until some power or powers re-establish order. There is another powerful disorderly force at work: disruptive technological change.
Digital connectedness facilitated the early Arab uprisings and the many post-2008 "Occupy" movements. The Islamic state has used new media to shock and recruit. A company can find itself suddenly shamed, at significant cost, as Fonterra knows. Obscure nobodies can acquire sudden fame. Most of this is transitory. Some of it sticks.
Add in big data, advertisers' ability to feed off your internet searches to target ads at you for Whanganui or Napier hotels even when you are reading the New York Times. That is more insidious and intrusive than the hoover-everything spying you voted for last year.
Add in everyday folks' ability to buy things without tax. Why pay GST on a book or a dress to Bill English for Steven Joyce to shovel it out to the sublimely rich like Peter Jackson?
Why pay a telecoms company to talk to someone in Delhi or Cape Town when Skype gets you there without paying. Why pay a full taxi fare when Uber will customise your ride for a customised price? Why go to a movie theatre when you can download the movie in a minute or two and play it on your own wide screen with a glass of your best wine, or Speights, in your hand. Why go to the TAB when you can get better, and tax-free, odds on a site domiciled in the ether? Why settle for your lecturer's limited knowledge or pedestrian communication when you can get the world's best?
If you are a customer of some public service, won't you have the same expectations of that service fitting your need, not some bureaucratic frame?
And if you are on the supply side, you can find funders and customers around the world for your niche item. You can set up in production with a 3D printer with a fraction of the capital standard manufacturing needs.
Add all that together and pile it on top of the globalisation of finance, capital, production and people of the past three decades, all of which are, if anything, intensifying.
That all adds up to the fragmentation and dispersal of power. That fragmentation and dispersal is not just of states' power over their territories and citizens. It is also of monolithic companies which used to rule markets. It is of unions and churches. And armies: Simpson charts the tendency in his redefinition of war.
Moises Naim has brought this together in a breathless book. He overstates his case but he is recording a tendency others have been writing about in various ways for the past 10 years and particularly the past five. [Naim 2013]
What this amounts to, I think, is the early stages of the erosion of the Westphalian nation-state, the product of the Treaty of Westphalia at the end of the 30 years war which affirmed the sovereignty of national governments, particularly in religious matters.
The nation-state has a lot of life in it yet, as climate change negotiations tell us. But I think we are seeing the early stages of a transition from people being citizens of a country to being global citizens. [Note]
When Jane Austen talked in her books in the early nineteenth century of "the country" she meant the immediate surrounding area. There was a "nation", which raised taxes and fought wars. An elite resided there. But for most the country was where they lived plus some nearby places. They lived in that neighbourly "country", which happened to be in the nation.
By the time of the first world war "the country" had come to mean "the nation". People lived in the nation and happened to live in a particular place in that nation. So there were New Zealanders who happened to live in Gore. They were eastern Southlanders, to be sure, and fully conscious of it, but, bigger than that, they were New Zealanders.
This transition paralleled, or was driven by, the economic transformation the industrial revolution brought about. Large factories produced goods which were transported across the nation by revolutionised transport. Local economies were absorbed into a national economy. There was still much that was local – retail stores, doctors, mechanics and the like. But they were in a system that was national. National governments expanded their authority to regulate it.
This century's hyperglobalisation, as Dani Rodrik [Rodrik 2011] called it in 2011, coming on top of the globalisation of the last two decades of the twentieth century, has been driving a similar transformation, this time from national economies to a global economy. There are many facets to this, including long and complex supply or value chains, world markets for makers of niche services and products, "work" spread around the globe, additive manufacturing, doctors' access to global symptoms databanks to provide you with an accurate diagnosis after the robot has done a first run through with you. And much, much more.
The real international economic issues now are behind the borders, as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations demonstrate. Such deals breach and puncture national borders – and national sovereignty. For some decades the International Civil Aviation Organisation has set the rules for air transport: if you don't conform, your planes don't fly to other countries. The World Trade Organisation has binding mechanisms to settle trade disputes among signatories. A widening range of bilateral treaties include mechanisms to settle firms' disputes with other states. A web of rules is being woven as treaties are signed. Sovereign nations are being required to give up slices of sovereignty if they want to be part of the hyperglobal game.
Then there is climate change. That is an inescapably global matter to which there is only a global solution. Climate change renders everyday people global.
Moreover, digital technology enables everyday people increasingly to go global. No longer is that the preserve of the rich and intellectual elites. We older-fogeys watch and worry and sometimes partake. If you are 20 you are likely to assume you roam the digital world for work, purchases and entertainment, games, friends and much more. Customer choice and customisation are taking on new meanings. Public servants, watch out. Banks, too. And doctors and lawyers.
And as everyday people go global, they resent interference with their digital travel.
We are beginning to head down the path to being global dwellers, people who live in the world and happen to live in New Zealand and, within New Zealand, happen to live in Gore.
There is also a physical dimension: the much greater movement of people: some 300 million live outside the country they were born in. The stream of humanitarian refugees is turning into a torrent. These migrants bring into nation-states a transnational dimension, diversifying once homogeneous societies and disturbing settled national narratives.
Then note that big cities (which Auckland might one day be) are becoming distinct elements of national cultures and economies – in a sense, extra-national. [Daalder 2015, McKinsey 2012]
So in 2065 we might be global dwellers who happen to live in New Zealand or, if we are Aucklanders, happen to live in Auckland. Of course we will be very much New Zealanders or Aucklanders in that global sphere but we will likely have a wider view of ourselves and our identities.
There will likely be many, often erratic, blowbacks from national governments asserting what sovereignty they still have or think they have. But I do think we are on the way towards being global dwellers and from that to eventually being global citizens a generation or two on. If I am right, it will have profound global and national consequences.
Where can New Zealand fit? Where will it fit?
First, these are early days. In Austen's day, local could still believe local would endure as the reference point for identity. In our day we can believe national will endure. And it will for a long while yet.
But that does not mean we can comfortably secure ourselves behind our borders. If there is a global economy and if people increasingly operate globally there will be an increasing need and demand for global regulation. Meantime, there is disorder.
And for at least some, maybe many decades, there is no prospect of global government to do in this transition what national governments did as economies and societies transited from local to national. The European Union's travails are instructive. Tiny New Zealand may have to navigate some choppy waters, perhaps in changing alliances with bigger nation-states.
But go back to Hedley Bull. He argued that informal arrangements could work to manage the tensions between the two superpowers of the 1960s. And they did. So it is possible informal or semi-formal "global governance" arrangements could develop, as they have for some interactions, such as sport, and for some activities, such as aviation, and as has been argued since the ebola episode for pandemics. If they don't, I think global dwellers over the next two to five generations will increasingly expect them, in order to have some form of oversight or dispute resolution as they become increasingly active globally, both in the digital sphere and as they roam physically. It is far too early to guess the forms these might that be but the bottom-up-top-down approach now applied to climate change negotiations is perhaps one clue as to how sovereign states may begin to edge towards meeting their globalising citizens' growing global interests.
New Zealand is a small, non-threatening nation safely parked at the bottom of the world, no threat. We could argue for informal and semi-formal supra-state arrangements, think up prototypes and propose them, starting with our time on the United Nations Security Council, especially our presidency in July. We could test drive them with our South Pacific island neighbours.
That would give a different, new meaning to New Zealand being a good global country-citizen, as we often promote ourselves (some would argue unjustifiably).
And it might help facilitate a tiny bit of order in a disordered world. Which a small country needs more than a big country.
Note: The word citizen can be taken to mean a full member of a state, recognised by the government of that state. On that reading there could not be global citizens until there is a global government. But there is a less formal reading, as presented by Kennedy Graham in "Global Citizenship", a draft chapter for a forthcoming book: "A person could, however, be a member of a society without being a citizen of that society's non-existent polity. Thus a person could be a member of an existing 'global society' without necessarily being a citizen of a 'global polity'. So the contemporary definition of a citizen needs to be relaxed if the concept 'global citizenship' is to have meaning."
Ayson 2014: Ayson, Robert, Hedley Bull and the Accommodation of Power (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
Bull 1977: Bull, Hedley, The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics (Macmillan, London, 1977).
Daalder 2015: Daalder, Ivo, "A new global order of cities", Financial Times, 26 May 2015.
Dobell, 2015: Dobell, Graeme, The Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 4 June 2015, http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/china-rises-china-acts
Fukuyama 2014: Fukuyama, Francis, Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalisation of Democracy (Profile Books, London 2014), pp488ff.
Haass 2014: Haass, Richard, "The Unravelling. How to Respond to a Disordered World", Foreign Affairs, November-December 2014.
Heinrichs 2015: Heinrichs, Raoul, "China's defence white paper is historic for Australia, and not in a good way", The Interpreter, Lowy Institute, 4 June 2015, http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/06/03/Chinas-defence-white-paper-is-historic-for-Australia-and-not-in-a-good-way.aspx?p=true
Kagan 2008: Kagan, Robert, The Return of History and the End of Dreams (Atlantic and Alfred A Knopf, 2008).
McKinsey 2012: McKinsey Global Institute, Urban world: Cities and the rise of the consuming class, June 2012.
Miller 2015: Miller, Geoff, "Australia should not follow the US into an ill-considered adventure in the South China Sea", The Interpreter, Lowy Institute, 2 June 2015, http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/06/02/South-China-Sea-Australia-should-not-follow-US-into-ill-considered-adventure.aspx?
Murdoch 2015: Murdoch, Scott, "China warns of Spratly Islands counter-attack on 'meddling' rivals", The Australian, 27 May 2015 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/china-warns-of-spratly-islands-counter-attack-on-meddling-rivals/story-e6frg6so-1227370349216
Naim 2013: Naim, Moisés, The End of Power (Basic Books, New York, 2013).
Simpson 2012: Simpson, Emile, War From the Ground Up: Twenty-first Century Combat as Politics (Oxford University Press, 2012). See, as a short introduction: John Thornhill, "Lunch with the FT: Emile Simpson", Financial Times, 9 August 2013.
Rodrik 2011: Rodrik, Dani, The Globalisation Paradox. Why Global Markets, States and Democracy Can't Coexist (Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011).
Schwartz 2013: Schwartz, Benjamin, "The Real Cuban Missile Crisis", Atlantic Monthly January-February 2013 p78
Wong 2015: Wong, Edward, "China Says it Could Set Up Air Defence Zone in South China Sea", New York Times, 31 May 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/01/world/asia/china-says-it-could-set-up-air-defense-zone-in-south-china-sea.html?_r=0
Posted on June 10, 2015 Author Colin JamesCategories Speeches, Papers & Briefings, Uncategorized
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Aston Martin shines in prestigious L'Automobile awards
Aston Martin is once again celebrating a victory in the prestigious Best Cars awards, presented by respected French automotive publication L'Automobile magazine.
18 June, 2015, Frankfurt am Main/Paris: Aston Martin is once again celebrating a victory in the prestigious Best Cars awards, presented by respected French automotive publication L'Automobile magazine.
For the sixth year in succession the iconic British brand's four-door, four-seat sports car, the Rapide S, has been named "Best Luxury Car" in the awards.
The 21st presentation of the annual awards, all resulting from votes by the knowledgable readers of the authoritative French magazine, once again saw Aston Martin honoured in the luxury car class for its Rapide S – widely recognised as one of the most beautiful and charismatic four-door high luxury sports cars in the world.
Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, said: "The Aston Martin Rapide S remains one the most popular high luxury sports cars here in France, consistently praised for its design, technology and craftsmanship.
"We believe the Rapide S symbolises an impressive expression of Aston Martin's exceptional capability. It goes to show how desirable understated elegance truly can be. We are exceptionally proud to once again receive this important award and sincerely thank the readers of L'Automobile magazine for it."
More than 10,000 L'Automobile magazine readers took part in this year's vote, choosing between 348 models spanning eleven categories.
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KiwiSport is a government funding initiative administered by Sport Wellington to increase participation in sport for school-aged children. The Wellington KiwiSport Regional Partnership Fund Plan 2015-18 outlines how KiwiSport funding will be allocated and distributed across the greater Wellington region (Wellington, Porirua, Hutt Valley, Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa). Sport Wellington is responsible for the distribution of approximately $2.6 million over the next three years.
KiwiSport Funding Round now open!
KiwiSport is a government funded initiative administered here at Sport Wellington on behalf of Sport New Zealand with the aim to engage school-aged children in quality sporting opportunities.
We are pleased to invite applications for our next funding round.
KiwiSport funding for in-curriculum initiatives will be minimal over 2017/18. The School Sport Futures project (Sport NZ) identified an issue with sport-based programmes replacing quality physical education, particularly in primary schools, and therefore Sport NZ has recommended this reduction.
If you have a large project that spans regionally, provides new, or expands existing, sporting opportunities for school-aged children that requires funding, then we would encourage you to send in your EOI application. KiwiSport funding is not intended to maintain the same initiative long term as funding is only confirmed until June 2019.


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Major emergency response after UAE hit by floods
Police, civil defence and ministry of defence teams join relief efforts after days of heavy rain
Towers in Fujairah city surrounded by floodwaters. Photo: Mahesh Jangam / @MaheshMj80202 / Twitter
Rory Reynolds
Kelly Clarke
Chris Maxwell
Related: Businesses in Fujairah pick up the pieces and count the cost
A major emergency response effort is well under way after large parts of the Northern Emirates were hit by heavy rain and flash floods.
A summer deluge across Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah has brought traffic to a standstill, led to waterlogged roads and road closures, and forced people to leave homes damaged by widespread flooding.
In Fujairah, members of the Ministry of Defence have joined forces with police and civil defence teams to help those affected by the hazardous weather.
The operation also involved officers from Dubai Police playing a part in assisting members of the public caught up in challenging conditions.
It is the wettest July since 1978, so what is causing the deluge?
In a televised broadcast on Thursday evening, officials said at least 870 people were rescued from flooding and more than 3,800 were placed temporary accommodation.
The weather is expected to stabilise in the coming days.
Footage released by the Ministry of Interior showed a civil defence officer carrying a young child to safety from a flooded property in Fujairah.
The emergency responder is seen placing the child into a rubber dinghy floating in a large pool of standing water outside the family home during the rescue mission.
Hundreds rescued in RAK
Police in Ras Al Khaimah came to the aid of more than 200 motorists stranded in mountains and wadis due to rising water levels.
More than 70 police patrols were on hand to support rescue teams on Thursday.
"More than 200 people whose cars were stuck in high mountains and in valleys and who were trapped by water have been rescued and provided support," said Maj Gen Ali Al Nuaimi, chief of Ras Al Khaimah Police.
The police's air wing unit flew some caught in flooded areas to safety while police helped others to drive safely out of mountainous areas.
Crews are still working to reach families whose homes were damaged by floods.
"Our teams continue to respond to the rest of the reports that were filed by people to the police's operations room," said Maj Gen Al Nuaimi.
"Logistic support in terms of food, water and necessary medical supplies is also provided to those who need them."
He said more than 1,800 calls had been received by the police operations room since the latest bout of wet weather began.
The National Centre of Meteorology issued a safety alert to those in flood-hit areas of Sharjah and Fujairah.
#Video | Dubai Police rescue teams contributed to Operation "Loyal Hands" in #Fujairah pic.twitter.com/Sho2q3uSs6
— Dubai Policeشرطة دبي (@DubaiPoliceHQ) July 28, 2022
"Be extremely vigilant: hazardous weather events of exceptional severity are forecast," it said.
The NCM, the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, and the Ministry of Interior will hold a special briefing on the adverse weather at 4.30pm on Thursday.
Double a year's rainfall in days
Parts of Fujairah have already received more than double the UAE's typical annual rainfall so far this week.
The highest amount of rain was recorded at a National Centre of Meteorology rain gauge in Fujairah Port where 234.9mm of rain fell from 10:30pm on July 25 to 9:18am on Thursday.
The second highest was Masafi — 209.7mm — with the third highest recorded in Fujairah Airport with 187.9mm.
Considering the UAE gets average annual rainfall of about 100mm a year, the statistics underline the severity of the weather.
The NCM forecast the unsettled weather last weekend and told The National on Thursday that similar conditions could be expected for the next few days but probably not to the intensity seen on Wednesday.
"The general situation today [Thursday] is better," an NCM forecaster said.
"The low pressure systems are slightly weaker with rainfall expected to be of less intensity," he said. "But we still have low pressure, convective clouds and a chance of rain across the country including Abu Dhabi and Dubai."
The Ministry of Defence shared images of families being rescued from flooding in Khor Fakkan in the early hours of Thursday.
The government said non-essential public and private sector workers can work from home on Thursday and Friday in flood-affected areas in Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.
جهود الدفاع المدني في إنقاذ عائلة آسيوية في منطقة شيص في خورفكان بالمنطقة الشرقية#الامارات_أمن_وأمان #uae_safe pic.twitter.com/W1KjOonod5
— وزارة الداخلية (@moiuae) July 27, 2022
The decision excludes civil defence, police and emergency responders and those involved in community support to deal with damage to properties.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said nearby hotels should provide accommodation for people who have had to leave their homes.
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure will draw up a report of the damage caused by the heavy rainfall so that work could start to protect people and property, he added.
In Fujairah, teams used pumps to clear flood waters from main roads to allow traffic to flow, and workers sought to clear blocked drains. The Suhaila Al-Sharjah road to the city of Al Dhaid has been closed until further notice, due to the high level of running water, to ensure the safety of lives and property.
تعلن قيادة العمليات المشتركة عن تنفيذها عملية "الأيدي الوفية" في دعمها للسلطات المدنية في إمارة الفجيرة التي تعرضت ليلة البارحة الأربعاء لمنخفض جوي، وتركزت العملية علي إنقاذ العالقين في المناطق المغمورة بالمياه وإنقاذ المحاصرين داخل بيوتهم حيث تم اخلاءهم لمناطق الايواء دون خسائر pic.twitter.com/U7Q36s1SDQ
— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) July 28, 2022
The Ministry of Interior said the safety of people and property is its "top priority" and urged families in flooded areas to stay at home. If they must leave home and drive out of necessity they should "take extreme caution".
The Ministry of Community Development has also been given the task of accommodating those who have been displaced from their homes by the heavy rains, including those living in high-risk areas.
Those affected will be transferred to temporary shelters and nearby hotels until the weather clears.
Residents seek shelter at hotels
The City Plaza Hotel in Fujairah City received a surge in demand for rooms from residents affected by the floods.
Mohammed Irfan, the receptionist at the hotel, said the property reached maximum occupancy on Wednesday night.
"We had a lot of walk-in customers last night at 9pm to 10pm, when it was raining heavily and the floods became worse," he said.
"We have 37 rooms and now we are fully booked. Last night, there was a lot of flooding in our area too and a lot of the ways were closed, but now it's clearer around our hotel."
Prodyut Sinha, who is in charge of the front office at the Sandy Beach Hotel and Resort in Fujairah, said they received a handful of walk-in customers on Wednesday night.
"People came last night because they needed a place to stay," he said.
"It was a messy situation yesterday because of the rain. There were also plenty of people who left the hotel yesterday because they couldn't do any activities.
"It's more manageable in hotel buildings, but we're a resort and with this kind of weather it gets difficult.
Hotels in Ras Al Khaimah that spoke to The National said they were operating as normal.
Flooding has affected the Al Nakheel district, a suburb in the emirate, which has only a few hotels.
Workers in civil defence, policy, security services or those involved in responding to crises or emergency services are to work as normal.
Sharjah was hit by flash floods for a second day on Wednesday, with drivers in the emirate battling challenging road conditions.
Large pools of standing water formed on roads in Khor Fakkan after similar scenes the previous day.
The east coast enclave has been lashed by torrential rain that has hit much of the country this week.
On Thursday morning, Sharjah's Roads and Transport Authority urged motorists to avoid using a road in the Daftah area leading to Khor Fakkan except in cases of "extreme necessity".
It said rocks which had fallen on the road after wadis overflowed were being removed.
The authority later revealed two bus services — the 116 and 611 — which connect the emirate to Fujairah would suspend travel to the eastern regions due to road closures.
Rescue operation in Oman
An air rescue operation was launched in Oman to help more than 130 people left stranded after wadis were flooded during intense rainfall.
Footage shared by Royal Oman Police showed people being taken to safety by helicopter in the Madha area of the country.
Police said all 134 people were in good health and had been transferred to the local airport.
The force said it was continuing to support relief efforts during the hazardous weather.
طيران #شرطة_عمان_السلطانية ينفذ عملية إجلاء لـ(١٣٤) شخصاً بينهم (١٠٢) مواطنين و(٣٢) خليجياً حاصرتهم الأودية في ولاية مدحاء ونيابة ليما، وتم نقلهم إلى مطار مدحاء وجميعهم بصحة جيدة.
كما يواصل طيران الشرطة تنفيذ طلعات جوية في مختلف المواقع المتأثرة بالأمطار في محافظة مسندم. pic.twitter.com/ZVTVg9NoPT
— شرطة عُمان السلطانية (@RoyalOmanPolice) July 28, 2022
Updated: July 31, 2022, 8:51 AM