Transformational processes in the Arab world in the beginning of the 2010s led Russia and Turkey to an understanding of the need to form new foreign policy approaches towards the Middle East. This article seeks to identify the impact of the approaches Russia and Turkey have taken on this issue on relations between Moscow and Ankara. This topic is not only extremely relevant (and will remain so for years to come), but it is also quite voluminous and ambitious. For this reason, the authors propose focusing on the following four main issues: terrorism, nuclear weapons, the Syrian crisis and the security architecture in the Middle East.
At the beginning of 2010, Russia and Turkey had different views on the situation in the region. However, a certain degree of political involvement in the affairs of the Middle East and the development of other areas of bilateral cooperation allowed them to avoid overt conflict. The growing number of threats from the Middle East- international terrorism, the crisis of statehood, the proliferation and/or use of WMD- led to an increase in Russian and Turkish interest in the region, as Moscow and Ankara were forced to respond to the growing security challenges there. However, insufficient communication between the two influential players on harmonizing their interests and creating joint approaches to regional security led to a crisis on the Turkish- Syrian border on 24 November 2015. This incident again called into question the level of relations between Russia and NATO member states. Together with a military coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, the so-called "jet crisis" had a special importance for the role of Turkey in NATO.
The crisis in Russia-Turkey bilateral relations has been resolved and relations are now restored. The normalization of relations required revised approaches to regional policies and a frank dialogue between the parties. Both Moscow and Ankara now coordinate their regional security policies and try to be flexible to avoid future tensions. Russia and Turkey have significant potential for joint actions in stabilizing the region and taking part in a new regional security system.
Domestic and international terrorism is one of the key security issues for Russia and Turkey. For Russia, the struggle against extremist groups in the North Caucasus- particularly Chechnya and Dagestan- has been a vital issue since the mid-1990s. Despite the successful completion of the second Chechen campaign and the counter- terrorist operation in North Caucasus in 2009 which resulted in the restoration of Moscow's control over all of Chechnya and Dagestan, the local terrorist groups did not completely cease their activity thanks to links to international terrorist groups of Islamist persuasion . After the referendum which resulted with the unification of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol with Russia in 2014, a number of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar nationalist associations and other groups intensified their activities, which are defined by the Russian official structures as terrorism .
In their efforts to counter the domestic terrorist challenges in both regions, Russian law-enforcement agencies have repeatedly faced the need to cooperate with Turkish security agencies. The reason for this is the historically close cultural and religious ties between the Turkish population and the peoples living in Russia's southern regions. Despite having a certain conflict potential, these ties also hold great promise for constructive development along the lines of mutual respect and understanding, to the benefit of both Russia and Turkey.
Since the disintegration of the USSR, Russia has maintained a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, refusing to recognize it as a legal and legitimate method of political struggle in the modern world in general, and in Turkey in particular. Therefore, despite the fact that a sizable Kurdish community resides in Russia, Moscow has never recognized organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), nor has it supported their objectives so long as terrorism remains the main instrument of achieving them. At the same time, however, Russia also does not officially recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization despite Turkey's requests. This is mainly because Russia considers an organization as a terrorist organization only when it causes a threat to Russia and operates on the territory of the Russian Federation . On the other hand, respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Turkey remains a permanent and paramount principle for Russia. Unlike the USSR, for which communist ideology was the cornerstone of its foreign policy, contemporary Russia approaches Turkey and the Middle East as a whole from the standpoint of pragmatism and appropriate responses to actual challenges and threats to security, both conventional and nonconventional.
International terrorism became one of the most important, non-conventional security threats at the turn of the 20th century. Network organizations like Al-Qaeda are capable of overcoming the ethnic differences which used to divide domestic terrorist cells, despite the fact that they have common or similar goals. By maintaining socioeconomic and politico-military instability, which is their preferred state of affairs, these organizations antagonize the traditional national states and undermine their monopoly on violence and the protection of citizens both at the local and global levels. The mutually beneficial multilevel cooperation between Russia and Turkey in fighting first Al-Qaeda and then DAESH in 2016–2017, was an example of pragmatic rapprochement in addressing a number of common problems.
Despite the many contradictions that had accumulated over the past several decades of cooperation, and in the face of regular crises of mutual trust, Russia and Turkey have sizable experience in working jointly to combat terrorism. There have been mutual criticisms, but there have also been moments of cooperation when required, and a certain amount of mutual understanding on specific aspects of the problem . In the early 2000s, Moscow and Ankara managed to agree on a joint approach to coping with the internal challenges posed by the Chechen and Kurdish separatists, respectively, and to neutralize the terrorism problem that had surfaced repeatedly on the agenda . This was largely due to the economic growth the two countries enjoyed in the 2000s, which was accompanied by a sharp increase in the volume of bilateral trade.
The situation began to worsen in 2010, however, due to the consequences of the global economic crisis and the impact of the transformation processes taking place in the Arab world, including the socio-political upheavals brought about by the so-called Arab Spring movement. Turkey, which was more closely involved in regional affairs and shares a common border with some of the Arab countries, found itself under greater threat and was forced to respond more actively to the ongoing processes in the Arab world. By siding with the Syrian opposition in 2011, Ankara lost contact with the official Syrian government. Further deteriorating the security situation on Turkey's southern borders were the internal political processes in Iraq, the radicalization of that country's population, and the expansion of the territories controlled by the DAESH terrorist organization. In addition, the confrontation between the PKK and Turkish security forces gained speed in the summer of 2015. All of these events had a negative impact on Turkey's security.
Against this background, Russia's policy in the North Caucasus did not undergo any radical transformations during the same period: the role of Chechnya in domestic and foreign policy actually increased. In the context of the Syrian crisis, ever since the active phase of the Russian military operation in Syria began in September 2015, the so-called "Chechen factor" has in fact become an effective instrument of Russia's domestic policy, as well as its foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa. Chechnya's role in establishing informal and formal ties in different parts of the region helped Russia resolve a number of issues, for example in Libya, Syria and Iraq . By using Chechnya's informal foreign policy resources, Russia has successfully diversified its anti-terrorist toolkit while developing new ways of participating in efforts aimed at addressing acute humanitarian and economic problems. For example, established in Chechnya in 2004, the Akhmad Kadyrov foundation continues to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria . A Russian military police battalion represented mainly by Chechens was also deployed to Syria as part of a law enforcement and peacekeeping force after the liberation of Aleppo in December 2016 .
Both Russia and Turkey are officially committed to combating international terrorism. However, in the absence of a common understanding of this phenomenon (including at the international level), each works to develop its own criteria and approaches. As with several other areas of bilateral cooperation, the partnership between Russia and Turkey in countering terrorist threats still lacks a developed institutional foundation that would, within its scope, be based on strategic trust. Despite the differing approaches to international and third-country political crises, Russia and Turkey tend to view each other's internal problems as their domestic affairs, refusing to capitalize on them for political gain. This mutual restraint could contribute to unifying the countries' approaches to understanding the essence of terrorism and fighting it effectively.
The issue of nuclear weapons is not often raised when analyzing relations between Russia and Turkey, but it does come to the fore during times of crisis. In the 1950s, the U.S. and Turkey held talks on deploying nuclear warheads at İncirlik Air Base as part of NATO's deterrence and defense posture . The fact that tactical nuclear weapons were in fact deployed in Turkey in 1961 urged the USSR to intensify its own program to deploy nuclear warheads in close proximity to U.S. borders. What followed was the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, which was resolved through direct negotiations between the heads of state of the two superpowers. The parties agreed that the USSR should dismantle its nuclear weapons in Cuba, while the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba, and to dismantle the Jupiter missiles in Turkey . The resolution alleviated the global tension. However, NATO retained its nuclear weapons in five countries that were not officially postnuclear powers- Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey . Meanwhile, Turkey signed a number of international non-proliferation agreements, and supported the idea of creating a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. Ankara signed the Non- Proliferation Treaty on 28 January 1969 and ratified it in 1980.
In the period that followed the Soviet- U.S. confrontation, it became clear to many observers that the availability of nuclear weapons to nations had grown irrelevant . Serious discussions began within NATO as to the future of nuclear warheads in Europe; these talks were largely related to the very sense of retaining the alliance now that the "communist adversary"was gone. NATO started looking for new "threats,"eventually identifying a number of Middle Eastern states, such as Iran, Syria and Iraq . As Western rhetoric about the danger of the Iranian nuclear program and the need to "deter" Iran gained pace, many observers, including those in Turkey, began to believe that nuclear weapons were still of political and military significance. Other experts begged to differ, arguing that the presence of nuclear weapons in Turkey was counterproductive since there was no longer a threat to "deter,"and that NATO was unable to counter the new challenges and threats .
The nuclear control situation began to deteriorate in 2000-2010 against the backdrop of the U.S.-led coalition invading Afghanistan and Iraq, and also due to a series of nationhood crises in the region and the Saudi Arabia-Iran and Israel-Iran rivalries. The general belief is that Israel is the only country in the region that possesses nuclear weapons, while Israel maintains a "nuclear policy of ambiguity." Even though Israeli nuclear arms can be considered a serious security guarantee for Tel Aviv, the topic hampers the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the region . The possibility of nuclear proliferation is linked to the threats perceived by other Middle Eastern states. It was in response to U.S. dominance in the Middle East and Washington's invasion of Iraq, as well as to Israel's refusal to as much as discuss its nuclear capability, that Iran launched its own nuclear program. Saudi Arabia followed suit, arguing that Iran's nuclear efforts were a threat to the state. Given the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and the ambiguity over the U.S. security guarantees for Saudi Arabia, the latter has increasingly turned to the idea of developing nuclear arms itself. Riyadh has developed strategic ties with Pakistan, which possesses nuclear capability . Despite this, on the record, Saudi Arabia supports the non-proliferation regime.
Turkey had two options in the post bipolar world. In a 2008 article, Turkish scholar Mustafa Kibaroğlu noted that the country needed to have tactical nuclear arms withdrawn from its territory, which he said would improve the atmosphere of confidence in the region and strengthen international strategic stability . There is, however, a conflicting opinion that favors keeping the warhead weapons in the country. Its proponents argue that the status quo will secure Turkey's position as a NATO member, despite the fact that Washington and Ankara have harbored mounting mutual grudges ever since the 2003 war in Iraq .
Relations between the U.S. and Turkey had a direct impact on the rhetoric of the two countries and their actions within NATO, including in terms of the presence of nuclear weapons in Turkey. Tensions began to mount with the onset of the Syrian crisis and the increasing rift between Washington and Ankara with regard to the approaches of the two countries in fighting DAESH. Turkey, for one, was unhappy with the U.S. support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are dominated by the YPG (People's Protection Units), the armed wing of the PYD (Democratic Union Party)- both, as Ankara stresses, affiliated with the PKK. The YPG gained control of major border towns in northern Syria after the withdrawal of the government forces . Muted responses from the Western governments about the military coup attempt in Turkey also led to the deterioration of Turkey's relations with the U.S. and individual EU member states. The country's NATO membership and the maintenance of nuclear weapons on its soil were once again called into question. Reports began to circulate about plans to transfer the warheads from Incirlik to other countries (including Romania, although this rumor was subsequently denied) .
The JCPOA, which came into force in January 2016, had been expected to ease global political tensions. However, no changes to the regional situation materialized . The developments in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the establishment of, and de-facto lack of a regional institutional security framework exacerbated the Middle Eastern crises and regional rivalry. The Obama administration's revision of the U.S. approach to the region (manifested in Washington's distancing itself from Middle Eastern affairs) led to the activation of regional forces. Nevertheless, the reluctance of the U.S. and the inability of regional powers to face up to the new challenges and threats gave Russia, as a long-standing regional player and a member of the nuclear club, the opportunity to step in.
Russia has consistently promoted non-proliferation and called for the development of nuclear capabilities for civilian use. This is corroborated by Moscow's projects to build nuclear power plants (NPP) across the world, including in the Middle East. In particular, Russia took part in building the region's first NPP, to the IAEA's requirements, in the Iranian city of Bushehr . More nuclear power units are expected to be built in the country. Russia's state-owned corporation Rosatom has also begun building the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey and the El Dabaa NPP in Egypt. Russia is participating in the tender for building an NPP in Jordan , while it is also in talks with Saudi Arabia and has reached a number of agreements with the United Arab Emirates .
Just like the USSR in the bipolar configuration of the world order, Russia is critical of Turkey hosting U.S. nuclear munitions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation continues to urge the U.S. to return its nuclear weapons to their home country, stressing that Moscow has already done a similar thing and now expects the Americans to follow suit . Global Research reports that the U.S. keeps around 200 B61 thermonuclear bombs in Europe. The U.S. National Resources Defense Council says a further 90 or so B61s are kept in Turkey .
Nevertheless, Russia currently views Turkey as a partner rather than a threat. The two countries have made significant progress in economic cooperation over the past two decades, including in the development of the peaceful atom. It was with Russia that Turkey signed the contract for the construction of the Akkuyu NPP in Mersin Province. The plant will be constructed on Build- Own-Operate terms: Rosatom will act as the general construction contractor, and will maintain and run the facility upon its completion. Rosatom plans to commission four power units fitted with VVER-1300 reactors .
Despite the existing problems, Russia and Turkey are both officially committed to nuclear non-proliferation and support the establishment of a nuclearfree zone in the Middle East. Both countries understand the importance of the civilian use of nuclear energy and cooperate in this field.
The commencement of the Russian Aerospace Forces' military operation, which is defined as a counterterrorist operation by Damascus and Moscow, on 30 September 2015 at the request of the Syrian government made Ankara and Moscow realize that the Syrian situation was directly affecting relations between the two countries . The road towards understanding each other's positions and finding a compromise was long and difficult. The sensitive nature of the issue and the inability of the parties to compromise resulted in the incident on 24 November 2015, when a Turkish fighter downed a Russian warplane. This incident led to a drastic deterioration in Russia- Turkey relations and the introduction of Russian economic sanctions against Turkey. Simultaneously, Moscow significantly stepped up its assistance to the Syrian government in the latter's fight against terrorism, emphasizing the need, as Russia's MFA stated, "to fully separate the units of the socalled "moderate"opposition from ISIS and [Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization] Jabhat al-Nusra."  However, according to Russian officials this condition was not met; none of the actors supporting the opposition groups (including the U.S.) volunteered as the guarantor of the dissociation process .
The freeze of relations between Moscow and Ankara adversely affected both parties. As the U.S. continued to support the YPG in northern Syria, the Turkish leadership's pragmatism prevailed and resulted in Ankara sending a letter of regret for the incident in 2015. In 2016, Turkey, under new Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, set a course towards mending relations and reducing tensions with its neighbors. Ankara began this process by restoring ties with Israel (the associated talks took several years), and then went on to make better relations with Russia . The sheer volume of bilateral economic cooperation and the historic ties between Russia and Turkey going back to the 1990s helped the two countries overcome the crisis in their bilateral relations. While the interaction mechanisms needed to be improved and direct dialogue was required on a variety of institutional levels, economic prospects played an important role in the mending of ties between Ankara and Moscow. Nevertheless, Syria remained the key unresolved issue between the parties. Turkey continued to consider the Syrian opposition as the only legitimate representative of Syria, and was supportive of antigovernment groups, while Russia remained committed to backing the Assad regime.
Turkey and Russia decided to interact on the Syrian issue in 2016, despite their totally opposite views of the problem. This interaction, and Ankara's revision of its foreign policy, began several weeks prior to the military coup attempt in July 2016 . Russia's support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came as another sign of Ankara's commitment to restoring and developing bilateral dialogue. The presidents of the two countries and working groups began meeting more often, which resulted in a certain amount of mutual understanding, including the development of specific mechanisms for cooperation in Syria. Nevertheless, the issue of the YPG was a matter of principle for Ankara, which believed the YPG units operating in that country were affiliated with the PKK and did not allow them to participate in the intra-Syrian talks. Russia viewed the situation in a somewhat different light, believing it was necessary to bring all the influential Syrian actors, including various Kurdish representatives, to the negotiating table .
On 24 August 2016, Turkey sent ground troops to northern Syria. Acting in support of the pro-Turkish opposition groups, Ankara launched Operation Euphrates Shield in order to ensure the security of the border between Turkey and Syria, fighting against DAESH and pursuing the less explicitly mentioned objective of preventing the U.S.-backed SDF/ YPG from establishing an autonomous corridor in the north of Syria .
The operation was completed on 29 March 2017 with the establishment of control over the town of al-Bab, which effectively cut Afrin in the northwest of the country from Kobani and Jazira in the northeast. The operation in Al-Bab was the first airstrike Russia executed to assist Turkey's fight against DAESH . In September 2016, after the failure of the Lavrov-Kerry talks, Russia made adjustments to its own policy on Syria. Moscow temporarily halted attempts to resolve the Syrian conflict in concert with the U.S., which had come to be of little help as a partner in light of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Instead, Russia decided to rely on those regional powers which had actual influence on the situation in Syria. This led, in late 2016, to the proposal of the Astana format of Syrian negotiations, with Russia, Turkey and Iran acting as guarantors. The process began at the same time that Aleppo returned to the full control of the Syrian government forces. Given these developments in the Middle East, at the theoretical level, Russian researchers concluded that with the decrease in the role of the U.S., the era of the unipolar world is ending and a world with elements of poly-centricity is emerging .
All the parties involved in the Astana process are committed to resolving the political crisis in Syria within the framework of the Geneva process and UN Security Council Resolution 2254. Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that the Astana process is aimed at resolving technical issues related to reducing the level of violence . The parties and participants have succeeded in reducing the level of violence in the country thanks to an agreement on setting up de-escalation zones in Syria. It should be noted that these zones do not establish any borderlines that would compromise Syria's sovereignty. From the standpoint of international law, Syria maintains sovereignty over its entire territory, and the de-escalation zones are merely a temporary measure.
Following the military defeat of DAESH in Syria and the liberation of territories previously occupied by terrorists, the situation generally has transformed. However, the conflict that began in 2011 is far from being resolved, and the potential for violence along the lines of existing political, economic and ethno-confessional schisms remains quite high. It is becoming increasingly obvious that it is impossible to postpone the solution of the whole set of humanitarian problems, and with it, the restoration of the destroyed social and economic infrastructure, as an indispensable condition for the survival of the Syrian population and the return of refugees. The latter is seen as an important goal, of clear interest to the countries in whose territories the displaced persons from Syria are currently located. First of all, these are the countries that have a common border with Syria- Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.
Russia, Turkey, and Iran, despite their differing positions on other issues, are indispensable participants in facilitating the settlement in Syria. They have a wide range of tools to influence the situation and they are interested in the speedy normalization of the humanitarian, socio-economic and political situation. The key task for these countries in 2018 will be to preserve the compliance reached in 2017 and develop the experience of interaction.
There is a constant need to coordinate the interests of a large number of actors both inside and outside Syria. Many of these interests are amorphous and do not have a permanent political representation. In these conditions of objective complexity, none of the main areas of cooperation should become a "hostage" of another. Russia and Turkey in the medium term have the opportunity to continue developing cooperation in three main areas.
The first is to help overcome the humanitarian crisis and restore the social and economic infrastructure in Syria. In the medium term these issues will be strongly interconnected.
Russia and Turkey have experience in conducting humanitarian operations in Syria and can develop cooperation both with each other and with third parties, including international organizations, to provide direct assistance to those in need. The already established institution of de-escalation zones and existing opportunities for their development may prove to be an important help. The experience of creating de-escalation zones can be used to create humanitarian zones designed to provide support to the population, regardless of whose political and military-political control they may be under.
The second area is the promotion of a political settlement. Russia and Turkey are able to develop existing formats, such as the negotiating platforms in Astana (under the auspices of the three guarantor countries) and Geneva (under the auspices of the UN), and to propose and create new ones. At the same time, new platforms can be developed at the local level, given in particular the experience of the Russian Coordination Center in reconciling the opposing sides on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic in Khmeimim, as well as on the national level. In particular, the format of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress can become a lynchpin, if the work on its preparation and holding is supported and continued, taking into account all the shortcomings revealed in 2017. It is extremely important for Moscow and Ankara to promote the preservation and development of a trilateral format to help resolve the Syrian crisis with the participation of Iran. Iran will continue to be an important participant in what is happening in Syria due to a number of objective indicators, which makes it an indispensable participant in the negotiation process. Nevertheless, the trilateral format with the participation of Russia and Turkey remains the only one that recognizes and takes into account this factor as part of the objective reality. This makes the format valuable in the search for real solutions to the stalemate.
The third area is cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Using their accumulated experience and relying on the commonality of tactical and strategic interests, at least in the medium term, Russia and Turkey can significantly improve the effectiveness of the fight against terrorism both bilaterally and with the involvement of other countries in the region, including Iran and Iraq.
Following the events of 2015–2017, both Russia and Turkey have become inalienable participants in the process of political settlement and post-conflict reconstruction in Syria. Considering the enormous amount of money needed to revive the country as well as the limited resources of Moscow and Ankara, the parties are able to interact on the way to a pragmatic solution amenable to both.
The Russian military doctrine states that one of the main threats to the country's security is NATO's expansion to Russia's borders . However, a number of experts, as well as the President of the Russian Federation, believe that this threat has been largely offset in the past few years by Russia's choice of foreign policy, the successful rearmament of the Russian armed forces, and the development of other deterrence mechanisms . In this context, even though Turkey is a NATO member, Moscow and Ankara have resolved many issues in the past through direct dialogue.
It follows from the Russian military doctrine that one of the objectives of military-political cooperation is "to develop the negotiation process for the purpose of creating regional security systems with Russia as a participant."  Both Turkey and Russia cooperate within a number of international security organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as member countries, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), of which Russia is a member and Turkey a dialogue partner.
The need for a regional security system in the Middle East with the participation of Russia and Turkey is becoming even more topical today. Both countries play a significant role in the region and have interests to protect. The Middle East is a poorly institutionalized region when it comes to security. The multilateral organizations that are active in the region have proven to be ineffective. One of these is the Arab League, which was founded in 1945 to serve the interests of individual actors. This organization has failed to respond to the emerging challenges in the context of current regional transformations. The creation of working groups on security issues and new multilateral interaction formats could have a positive effect on the restoration of post-war countries in the post-crisis period .
The region can only build an effective security architecture based on the principle of inclusiveness. Russia and Turkey seek to maintain working relations with all the regional powers. Regional affairs in 2017 were affected by the decision of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to isolate Qatar with a blockade. While Russia chose not to interfere in this regional conflict, Turkey largely sided with Qatar. Ankara's close relations with Doha urged it to deploy troops in Qatar, which also hosts the Al Udeid Air Base- the largest U.S. military installation in the region . The GCC-Qatar dispute remains unresolved, but the excitement surrounding it has largely abated. Nevertheless, this incident is an indicator of the GCC being another regional association that has failed as a regional security format. The fact that all the current integration formats in the Middle East and North Africa are either poorly equipped, or unable to perform effectively, directly affects the ability of regional actors to ensure not just their own national security, but also the security of the region as a whole. A format similar to what U.S. President Donald Trump proposed following his visit to Saudi Arabia in spring 2017- the so-called Middle Eastern NATO as it was dubbed by journalists- has no chance of success in the region in the 21st century . Such an institution would substitute the strategic aspirations of regional countries with the narrow agenda pursued by a handful of regional powers and certain external actors such as the U.S. The main disadvantage of such an association would be the lack of inclusive open dialogue among all the countries without exception. On the contrary, it would promote exclusivity, and even the exclusion of countries that have fallen from grace for whatever political reason.
This approach completely disregards the fact that the strategic long-term challenges to the effective development and security of the Middle East and North Africa are not so much political as they are economic and humanitarian. Its purpose would be to unite against someone, not cooperate for the sake of something. Iran, without whose support countries like Russia and Turkey cannot imagine a successful future for the region, has certainly found itself excluded from such formats.
Another proposal calls for the creation of a format that would bring together the GCC, Iran and Iraq (so-called GCC+2) . In the initial phase, this new format might require the participation of external actors, such as the U.S. and Russia. Under its auspices, direct dialogue between the Gulf states could reduce the level of mutual negative rhetoric and strengthen confidencebuilding measures in the region. This is believed to be necessary to free regional policies from the ineffective and counterproductive mechanism of unilateral sanctions against individual states. In addition to Iran, which is the most glaring example of a state excluded from foreign political processes through sanctions, there are quite a few countries in the Middle East and North Africa whose full involvement is required in order to work effectively on the problems in the region. The role of Sudan, which has been under sanctions for many years now, in addressing such problems as counteracting terrorism, enforcing the safe navigation of the Red Sea, controlling migrant flows from Africa to Europe, and ensuring water and food security is enormous, if only because of the country's geographical location.
Many of the major regional conflicts, including the long-standing confrontations in Libya and Yemen, cannot be resolved solely by the neighbors of the affected countries, which are already affected, directly and severely, by the challenges and threats spreading from the zones of military, socioeconomic and humanitarian instability. Both Libya and Yemen might seem far away from either Russia or Turkey, but it would be wrong to say that the latter cannot play a positive role in resolving the local contradictions and disagreements while overcoming the consequences of the destructive wars.
Both Russia and Turkey have, at various stages in history, contributed positively to the development of Libya and Yemen. Furthermore, they both have the economic potential required to solve the current problems of the Libyan and Yemeni populations in terms of their survival. Russia and Turkey are not economic rivals. Rather, they may be described as potential partners with regard to a very broad range of economic activities. For these two powers, the Middle East and North Africa represent an extremely promising long-term market for both state-run companies and private businesses. Both Turkey and Russia command enormous longterm potential for assisting the Arab countries in overcoming the natural limitations and consequences caused by water shortages. Such assistance is not just about food supplies in the form of Russian grain and Turkish food products, but also about strategic investment in transportation and energy infrastructure, and in the highly promising sectors of the mining and processing industries. Both Turkey and Russia are interested in regional security and they both have great opportunities to develop contacts with regional players in order to advance the cause of peace and stability in the Middle East and North Africa. By working together, Russia and Turkey would be able to offer a realistic regional security framework with the participation of the region's countries as well external players such as the European Union and China.
In the 21st century, Russia-Turkey relations gained unprecedented dynamism and intensity. Against this background, Russia's consistent "return"to the Middle East on the new geopolitical playing field is not a strategic threat to Turkey's interests either regionally or globally. Pragmatic partnership between the two states is characterized by de-ideologization and independence from the global conjuncture and previous trends. This makes this new stage of Russia-Turkey interaction remarkable in comparison to the dialogue between the Turkish Republic and USSR before and after the Cold War. Such cooperation is becoming a mutually beneficial format for interaction between the two countries, which together can offer a real alternative to the world order that existed previously in the Middle East and which had formerly determined the region's interaction with external players.
Despite the residual differences in Russia and Turkey's approaches to regional and world politics, there are no insurmountable obstacles to cooperation on those issues where real and potential mutual benefits and common interests outweigh any differences.


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Beyond Myself
Beyond Myself opens on Thursday, 15 February. Registration commences at 1:30pm, and the program for the opening reception starts at 3:00pm.
Beyond Myself is part of the Curating Development project spearheaded by Goldsmiths, University of London, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK. Curating Development's partners include Keele University, Kanlungan Filipino Consortium and Filipino Domestic Workers Association in the UK; The University of Hong Kong and Enrich, a not-for-profit organization providing financial literacy training programs for migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong; and in the Philippines, the Scalabrini Migration Center and Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines. In addition to the art works and visual images that resulted from the workshops, the exhibit features the works and materials by Filipino artist Nathalie Dagmang, the Hong Kong-based domestic worker artist collective Guhit Kulay, and Voices of Women Media (VOW Media) a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to empower women through media and technology.
Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center
Roxas Avenue, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Museum viewing schedule: Tuesday–Saturday, 9am-5pm, closed during holidays and specified days
Offiice schedule: Tuesday–Saturday, 9am-6pm
Telephone number: (+632) 981-8500 local 4024 | Telefax number: (+632) 928-1925
Website: http://vargasmuseum.upd.edu.ph | Facebook: fb.me/vargasmuseum.upd
Administrative and Curatorial: vargasmuseum@gmail.com
Library and Archives: vargaslibraryarchives@gmail.com
Posted: February 13, 2018 2:47

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., is the sponsor of the new bill. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
House Republicans' New VA Accountability Bill to Include More Appeal Rights
New measure once again looks to give VA secretary more authority to fire people.
The House will take another crack at expediting the disciplinary process for employees at the Veterans Affairs Department, congressional aides told Government Executive Tuesday, with a new bill looking to preserve more due process rights than previous attempts at reform.
The new legislation will take a more tempered approach than the measure that passed the House late last year with a veto-proof majority, giving employees facing discipline more time and avenues to appeal the department's decision. It will apply to both Senior Executive Service and General Schedule employees, though not to certain doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners covered under Title 38 of the U.S. code.
The bill -- sponsored by House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Phil Roe, R-Tenn. -- would give the VA secretary expedited removal authority, meaning any employee fired by the secretary would be out of a job and off the department's rolls that day. Any employee facing removal, suspension of at least 14 days or a demotion would receive advance notice of 10 days, and the secretary would have five days in which to rebut any response the employee comes up with in that time. That 15-day period cuts in half the advance notice time frame currently in law.
VA employees could at that point appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, where administrative judges would have 45 days to issue a decision. An employee could then appeal to the central board and its presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed members and further to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The latter two entities would not operate under any statutory time restriction. The employees would no longer be receiving government paychecks, the committee aides said, which would relieve the pressure for an expedited process.
The measure would lower the government's bar to demonstrate employees accused of misconduct deserved their discipline from a "preponderance of evidence" to a "substantial" threshold. That would bring employees accused of poor performance and misconduct under the same threshold, aides said, making it easier for the government to argue its case to the MSPB and win.
The bill would allow VA to reduce employees' pensions if they are convicted of a felony that affected their job and to recoup bonuses and relocation expenses in some circumstances. Employees facing those penalties would be entitled to an appeal. It would also give the VA secretary direct hiring authority for medical center and vision directors, positions that have a large number of vacancies and significant turnover. Medical practitioners on Title 38 would see their own, internal appeals process brought under the same time-frame as all other VA employees.
President Obama signed a law in 2014 as part of a larger, bipartisan VA reform bill to hasten the firing of VA's senior executives, but that provision is no longer being enforced after a legal challenge questioning its constitutionality. The committee aides said those concerns have been addressed, and the bill would repeal that provision of the 2014 Choice Act.
"I've said time and time again that the vast majority of the employees at the VA are hardworking and have the best interests of our veterans at heart," Roe said, "but there are still too many bad apples within the department. Our veterans deserve better, and the VA employees who fulfill their duties deserve better."
The aides predicted some Democrats would push back on the bill, but they noted it received 69 Democratic votes last Congress and the legislation has only expanded employee rights since that iteration. The latest version attempts to find a sweet spot while still fixing the system, they said.
Still, Marilyn Park, a legislative representative at the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 270,000 VA workers, called the proposal "disturbing." She said the condensed 10-day timeframe for employees to formulate a response to an adverse personnel action would move VA "much closer to at-will employment."
"If you want to make sure the right people stay and the wrong people leave, you can't keep shortening the time," Park said. "You'll get it wrong." She added the weakening of the evidentiary standard will lead to more retaliation against whistleblowers and called the penalties on retirees' pensions a "terrible" practice never seen in the private sector.
The committee is planning to move forward quickly; it has been in contact with the White House and shared preliminary text with officials there, who have provided a positive response. No one has voiced concern, the aides said, and the officials have said the bill falls in line with their thinking on the matter. Trump listed increased accountability for VA employees as one of his priorities during his campaign. The committee has also been in touch with VA Secretary David Shulkin to discuss the reforms. Roe said he was proud to work with Trump and his administration in putting the legislation forward.
The committee's Senate counterparts have been receptive to the bill, the aides said, and House leadership has already expressed support. A spokeswoman for Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the chairman of Senate's VA panel, said last week accountability is "one of the committee's top priorities." The House committee plans to mark up its bill on March 8.
NEXT STORY: Trump's Budget Proposal Threatens Democratic and Republican Ambitions


The Perkins Career and Technical Education Program is a $1.1 billion dollar federal program that funds secondary and postsecondary career and technical education in the United States.
The Carl Perkins Act (CTE) was first authorized by Congress in 1984 with the express goal of providing individuals with the academic and technical knowledge and skills they need to prepare for careers in current or emerging employment sectors. The Perkins program was last reauthorized in 2006 (statutory language), when the iPhone did not exist and Facebook was still a novelty.
Career and Technical Education is associated with higher on-time graduation rates and higher career earnings.
In the eight years since the last Perkins CTE Program reauthorization, our economy has experienced a tremendous transformation, becoming increasingly dependent on sharp and versatile minds well-versed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Currently, the most common uses of the program's funds include occupationally-relevant equipment, vocational curriculum materials, materials for learning labs, curriculum development or modification, staff development, career counseling and guidance activities, efforts for academic-vocational integration, supplemental services for special populations, hiring vocational staff, remedial classes, and expansion of tech prep programs.
As Congress begins to explore reauthorization of the Perkins Act, policymakers should consider reforms that will modernize it to reflect our economy's needs.
Increase student participation in experiential learning opportunities such as industry internships, apprenticeships and mentorships; and promote the use of industry-recognized credentials.
so it's pleasant to read this blog, and I used to visit this website daily.


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21. Targets: Lionel, Engelbert & Osmonds -
GOODIES TARGETS: LIONEL BLAIR, ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK & THE OSMONDS
While some of the favourite targets of the Goodies humour such as Rolf Harris, Nicholas Parsons and Tony Blackburn copped a good ribbing many times during the whole run of the show, this article examines three targets who only came into the crosshairs on a handful of occasions (none of them after the end of Series 5) but who provided some great Goodies moments along the way.
Henry Lionel Blair Ogus was born in Montreal, Canada in 1931 and moved to Britain when he was one year old, with his father (a Russian immigrant) changing the family name to Blair in Lionel's youth. He was an actor in his early years, but came to the Goodies' attention in the early 1970s as a choreographer and tap dancer; with them heavily sending up his camp persona on more than one occasion.
In the Series Two episode 'Come Dancing', Tim and Bill are having all sorts of trouble learning how to dance, so they try using an 'Invitation to the Dance' instruction kit voiced by the very camp Lionel Bleugh. Lionel's instruction record commentary minces: "Hello! Well now, have you got my bijou dance chart spread out on the floor?"; to which Tim and Bill (in a "Yes Mum" kind of frustrated tone) reply "Yes Lionel!" He continues: "Super dupes! Then we're all ready to go, aren't we, petals?"; which draws a cross "Yeah we're ready, you camp old boot!" from Bill.
Lionel bitchily calls him a "Saucy cat!" and that it's "It's ladies on the left and gentlemen on the right"; only to frustratedly intone "Well, make up your mind, sweeties!" after Tim and Bill get their positions mixed up. They get even more confused as they try to keep up with Lionel's fast-paced commentary while trying to follow the floor chart with foot positions drawn on it (rather like a game of Twister) and end up in a messy tangled embrace, with Tim shrieking "I am the woman!"; much to the horror of an unaware Graeme who has just walked in the door and witnessed their finished pose.
The character of Lionel Bleugh is reprised in Series Five episode 'Chubby Chumps' with Bill as Lionel (in a glittery silver-grey suit and top hat) kicking off the 'Miss Housewife Of The Year' contest at Royal Albert Hall with a very camp rendition of 'Les Girls'. Lionel is surrounded by pink-costumed male dancers and when he sings "She'll really make you a man ...", one of the dancers camply asks "Oh will she make me one too?!" before another dancer grabs him by the hand and drags him off-stage at the end of the song, with Lionel kicking his heel up in delight as he departs.
The final swipe at Lionel comes later in Series Five in 'Scatty Safari' where Tim is ordering Bill around at the stables which hold the various celebrities. A bossy Tim tells Bill to "Get on with your work, go on, chop chop. And while you're about it, bung those on Lionel Blair, will you?!" as he holds up a pair of horseshoes!
Well after the Goodies had finished making fun of him, Lionel Blair took on the role of a team captain on the gameshow 'Give Us a Clue' during the 1980s and early 1990s, which has led to him becoming a target all over again for Tim and Graeme's current radio program 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'. Lionel's miming skills from the show are frequently sent up in the lead-in to the 'Sound Charades' round by the ISIHAC hosts (the late Humphrey Lyttelton and nowadays Jack Dee) who make memorable double entendres based on Lionel's camp on-screen character, such as him supposedly trying to "pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes". It is reported that apparently Lionel despises the remarks that are made on ISIHAC about his supposedly rampant sexuality, particularly as he and his wife Susan have been married for more than 40 years and have three children and two grandchildren.
Engelbert Humperdinck was born Arnold George Dorsey in Madras, India, in 1936. Moving to England at the age of 10 (with a British father and Indian mother), he sang as Gerry Dorsey for a decade until 1965 when he changed his name to that of the 19th-century composer of operas such as 'Hansel and Gretel.' He is a long-time pop singer with a large number of worldwide hits such as 'Release Me and 'The Last Waltz'
Engelbert's name first bobs up in the Series Two episode 'The Music Lovers' when the Music Master gets his dopey offside Gerald to show the Goodies the various music stars that he has abducted and imprisoned at his country hideaway. Upon opening one of the cell doors, we hear a rather mournful Engelbert singing "Please release me, let me go ..." before Gerald closes the door again. At least the Goodies think enough of Engelbert to let him out of his cell as they escape the Music Master's clutches … a courtesy not shown to Cilla Black and her ear-splitting high notes!
Later in 'Scatty Safari', one of the celebrity sightings during the Goodies' bus tour is Engelbert being felled with an axe by a lumberjack. He again sings 'Please Release Me' as he is chopped off at the ankles and buckles to the ground.
While Engelbert only gets the two actual name checks in The Goodies, he has a significant hidden association with the show as he commissioned the Goodies to provide 13 five-minute visual inserts for use in 'Engelbert and the Young Generation' in 1972. Five of these inserts were later woven together to create the Goodies' special 'A Collection Of Goodies', including 'Pan's Grannies' which were an older-generation send-up of the Pan's People dance troupe from Engelbert's show.
The Osmonds are a Mormon family from Utah in the U.S.A. and consist of nine siblings, most of whom formed part of the hugely successful musical group The Osmond Brothers (and later The Osmonds) from the mid-1960s, with several of them having fruitful solo careers as well. The Goodies found two particular Osmonds to be ripe for some stirring in Series Four and Five: Donny and Little Jimmy.
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond was born in 1957 and has carved out a multi-faceted career in showbusiness; including time as a singer, actor, dancer, radio personality, talk and game show host, record producer and author. It was when Donny went solo in the early 1970s with hits including "Puppy Love" that the Goodies had a go at him; notably for his incredibly shiny white teeth.
In Series Five episode 'Frankenfido', Graeme is so chastened by Tim's success as the owner of Mastermind champion Cuddly Scamp Hairylegs of Cricklewood that he decides to whip up a custom-made mutt of his own to enter into Crufts the next day. With the help of his 'Needlework For Beginners' book, a stormy night and lots of electrical cables and switches, Graeme sets to work putting Frankenfido together to the revulsion of Tim, who thinks that he just been chopping up other "poor innocent little doggies".
Graeme: "Look. Teeth. You wouldn't find teeth like these on a mere dog."
Tim (curious): "What are they? Horse, alligator, tiger ..."
Graeme (opens box to reveal glittering diamond-studded teeth): "Look at them."
Tim (shocked): "No! Not Donny Osmond!"
Graeme (proudly): "Yep."
Tim (in horrified indignation): "You ... you've been using people! ... And Donny Osmond!!"
As a follow-up in the special 'The Goodies Rule OK' at the end of Series 5, a down-and-out Graeme reveals to his equally ragged colleagues that he has finally assembled the secrets of success for them to form a rock supergroup. The first of these mystical items that he reveals is Donny Osmond's glittering set of teeth, which are chattering away inside a box. Tim and Bill gasp and rapidly turn away, then don sunglasses so that they can have a peek at the gleaming choppers!
James Arthur "Jimmy" Osmond was born in 1963 and is a singer, actor, and businessman. He is the youngest of the nine Osmond siblings and had a No. 1 hit single in the UK charts with 'Long Haired Lover from Liverpool' when he was just nine years old. It was this particular song that brought him to the Goodies' notice; firstly in Series Four episode 'Hospital For Hire'
Tim is showing new doctors Bill and Graeme around the disgracefully neglected hospital ward as the patients start to get rowdy at the lack of food and general squalor. Tim quells the cacophony by yelling "Alright! I warned you! Headphones on!" The patients don their headphones and Tim counts down "3 … 2 … 1.", then flicks a switch. The patients all scream in agony and a shocked Bill asks: "What are they hearing?!" When Tim replies "Little Jimmy Osmond.", a disgusted Graeme says "That does it! You're supposed to be curing people; not making them sick to their stomachs!" and outlines his own plans for a better health service.
In Scatty Safari', the strains of 'Long Haired Lover from Liverpool' can be heard emanating from one of the stables holding the celebrities and a cranky Bill roars "Shut up!" and a few other muttered curses, then throws a bucket of water into the stall to make Little Jimmy stop his singing!
Also at the end of the 1970s LP 'The Goodies Sing Songs From The Goodies' after the song 'Spacehopper', there is a spiel where Graeme is the doorman at a party which is being held to celebrate the release of the Goodies' new record. All of the who's who of the record industry are greeted as they arrive, including Cliff Richard, Mick & Bianca Jagger, Elton John ("don't fall off the shoes man ... timber!"), Gladys Knight ("How's the Pips? Oh yeah, looking very tasty!) and many others. The doorman says "Ah, great to see you, Little Jimmy" and gets a boyish reply of "I'm a great fan of yours!", only to respond to it with a flat "Thanks Mr Clitheroe." – a shot at tiny actor Jimmy Clitheroe as well as the supposed initial target of Little Jimmy Osmond! Shortly afterwards, the doorman says "Oh, hi there Osmonds!" and gets an enthusiastic chorused reply of "Hi there everybody!" from them; then a little later there's an enquiry of "Ohh, wotcha Engel?" Engelbert's reply is a dull and rather stupid moan, to which the doorman asks "Headache, man?" (followed by another dull moan from Engelbert) "OK I'll call the tree surgeon!" The sketch rather appropriately ends with Tim and Bill trying to get into the party ("We're the Goodies, we made this record.") only to get an unimpressed "Oh. Inadequate, man!" from the doorman, who slams the door in their face.
Lionel Blair
Tim and Bill try out Lionel's learn-to-dance kit
Bill as Lionel Bleugh singing 'Les Girls'
Lionel Bleugh strutting his stuff
"Bung those on Lionel Blair, will you?!"
2/5 The Music Lovers
"Please release me, let me go ...!"
Special - A Collection Of Goodies
Pan's Grannies - a send-up of Pan's People from 'Engelbert & The Young Generation'
The sad sight of Engelbert being felled.
Engelbert at the Goodies' office (from 'Engelbert & The Young Generation')
The Osmond family in the early 1970s
Little Jimmy Osmond
Jimmy Osmond all grown up ... well, sort of!
The patients get a burst of Little Jimmy Osmond
Donny's teeth for Frankenfido
Shut up Little Jimmy!
Special - The Goodies Rule OK
Donny's teeth are so bright that Tim and Bill need sunglasses on to look at them!
20. Sports & Games
<< previous 22 22. Guest Stars: Pat...


The future of Council's L2P Learner Driver Program is secure for another four years, thanks to a recent State Government funding announcement.
Swan Hill Rural City Council is giving Robinvale residents the chance to microchip their pets for free, with registrations opening today.
Ingham's wishes to advise customers it is conducting a recall on Ingham's Gluten Free Schnitzel.
2019 Youth Arts Festival Ambassador applications now open!
Applications close Tuesday, 30 April 2019.
Chobani is conducting a recall of Almond Coco Loco.


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HomeLiberiaBFF Seeks Justice for 'Killers' of Community Chairman, Other…Pleads With Angry Residents To Remain Calm, Law-abiding
BFF Seeks Justice for 'Killers' of Community Chairman, Other…Pleads With Angry Residents To Remain Calm, Law-abiding
May 13, 2020 Joel Cholo Brooks Liberia 0
Corpse of the Late Roosevelt Mayango Jallah Killed in Cold-bloodedness.
Better Future Foundation (BFF) has expressed shock, disdain and regret that the Chairman of the Christian Community in Neezoe, Pipeline Road, in Paynesville, Roosevelt Mayango Jallah, has been brutally killed.
BFF has also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those suspected to be involved in the killing of the community chairman as required by the laws of Liberia.
BFF, a peacebuilding and human-rights based civil society organization, in a press release, disclosed that Mr. Jallah met his brutal death allegedly at the hands of a man, believed to be in his thirties, Abraham Sally, CKA "G-Blazer" and his accomplices on March 30, 2020, at about 7:00pm.
BFF gathered that other individuals who are suspected to be connected to the murder incident are on the run.
The release said, victim Roosevelt Anthony Mayango Jallah was stabbed to death in the Pipeline Christian Community in Paynesville while he and other community leaders were constructing a self-initiative community bridge aimed at facilitating free movement of residents, goods and services as the raining season fast approaches.
Quoting preliminary investigation of the LNP, BFF said the knife injury on victim Mayango Jallah's body was six inches deep and three inch wide.
The release further indicated that some of those suspected to be involved in the brutal murder of the Community Chairman, Mayango Jallah, have gone on the run while one of the suspects, Abraham Sally, reportedly turned himself over on Thursday, April 2, 2020, to Zone 3 of the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Congo Town Police Depot, Monrovia, for fear of being mobbed to death by angry residents.
According to BFF, suspect Abraham Sally was subsequently transferred to LNP Central HQ on Friday, April 3rd, 2020.
BFF, who is also proponent of Liberia Democracy Sustainability Platform (DSP), warned that alleged murderers and other hardcore criminals left to be on the run in any society without arrest and prosecution, puts that country at high security risk.
BFF quoted an eyewitness, Andrew Karbeh, who is the Block "D" deputy leader as disclosing that the murder incident occurred when suspect Abraham Sally and some of his friends were requested by community leaders, who were constructing the bridge, to contribute L$20(US$0.10 cents) each for the bridge project but Sally and his friends defiantly refused to comply.
According to Karbeh, when Sally refused to comply with the L$20 payment, he (Sally) was encouraged by his friends, including Anthony P. Mulbah, CKA "Black D", and Prince Leon to cross and that nothing would happen to him.
It was at this time that Sally allegedly and defiantly crossed after which he was physically engaged by he (Anthony Karbeh), leading to a tousle with Sally and his friends, including Anthony P. Mulbah, Prince Leo and others that resulted to sally falling in the water.
After he came out of the water, Sally is reported to have unsuccessfully pursued Andrew Karbeh with a kitchen knife.
During the tussle, Karbeh escaped from suspect Sally. After Karbeh escaped, Sally then moved towards the community chairman, Roosevelt Anthony Mayango, who was sitting under a nearby tree and instantly stabbed him twice on his body parts with a knife believed to be used by a coconut seller on the spot, leading to his death.
Meanwhile, a communication from the office of the County Coroner, Montserrado County, addressed to Hospital Funeral Homes/Administrator Management said "We present our compliment and hereby write to commend you for the level of cooperation that you continue to give me as coroner for Montserrado County along with the team of jurors in conducting the post-mortem examination/coroner inquest on the body of the late Roosevelt A. Mayango whose body is herein preserved.
"In view of the above, and after completing my work along with the coroner jurors on the body, we therefore request that you kindly release the mortal remains (body) to his/her family members in person of Mulbah P. Gayflor and Wenwolo K. Zayzay for burial or funeral arrangement."
The communication, dated April 15, 2020 was signed by Deputy Coroner, Montserrado County and approved by Abraham B. Ricks, County Coroner.
Meanwhile, the Better Future Foundation (BFF) has lauded the leadership, including the Youth Chairman and Elders Council of the Christian Community, headed by Chairman Mulbah P. Gayflor, for their cooperation with BFF's mediation team and has appealed that all parties remain peaceful, calm, and law-abiding and look up to the Liberia National Police (LNP) and other relevant constituted authorities for redress of their grievances.
The late Roosevelt Mayango Jallah, was buried on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, at 10 am.
Roosevelt Mayango Jallah, born on September 9, 1972; was three years old when his father died. He was an evangelist of the Jehovah Witness which faith he joined in 1979.
He leaves to morn his wife, four biological children, one adopted child with the youngest being two and half years old.
Meanwhile, these accounts which are based on BFF's Community Peace-building Mediation are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the increased wave of mob and domestic violence occurring in Liberia during the COVID-19 Lockdown and the State of Emergency.
For instance in the same Christian Community, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at about 1:15 a. m, a man believed to be in his early 30s, Fasu Darkpanah, attacked and brutally killed his 78-year old uncle, Augustus Golen-poller Kolleh, a retired Postmaster of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, and subsequently stabbed several of his family members, where two identified as Ma Gorpu Kolleh and Lawrence Kolleh are said to be in very critical conditions at a community clinic.
Accordingly, Mr. Henry Kolleh, junior brother of the decease Augustus G. Kolleh is appealing to the Government of Liberia and other philanthropists to come to the aid of their family, as the hospital bills under the current COVid-19 pandemic and lockdown is practically unaffordable. "The cutlass wound on Lawrence Kolleh's head requires advance x-ray and professional medical attention," Henry Kolleh further said to BFF in his SOS call to the Government of Liberia.
In this connection, BFF recommends that efforts to contain the COVID-19 Pandemic by government and partners must equally prioritize the urgent need to contain the proliferation of drugs and other narcotic contrabands and easy access by the youth population in the country; and to further ensure the preservation of human rights, peace and security by swiftly arresting and prosecuting violators of the laws especially those linked to mob justice and gender-based violence.


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Q: How to Calculate Value with Conditional Probability? How do you figure the average value of a variable affected by a repeated probable event ?.
Suppose I have an experiment with input costs of $100$ for each trial:

*

*The first trial has a $90\ \%$ chance of success,

*the second $80\ \%$ and

*the third $70\ \%$.

If I want to succeed at all three in a row, what cost should I expect, on average ?.

*

*I thought it was $300$, plus ( probability of failure * cost ).

*The probability of getting through  three in a row is $0.9 * 0.8 * 0.7= 50.4$.

*So I figured the average cost at the $300$ plus $300/50.4$. That's $595.24$.

But when I run the simulation, I get an average cost of $520$. I'm missing something.
How do I correct the formula for figuring the expected cost of succeeding at three trials, with  $90\ \%$, $80\ \%$ and $70\ \%$ probabilities of success and a cost of $100$ for each trial ?.

A: Let $X$ be the random number of trials needed to obtain three consecutive successes.  Note the following assumption:  if there is a failure before the third consecutive successful trial, then we start all over, in which the next trial's probability of success (immediately after the observed failure) is $0.9$.  We wish to compute $\operatorname{E}[X]$, the mean number of trials needed.  To this end, $$\operatorname{E}[X] = (0.9)(0.8)(0.7)(3) + (0.1)(1 + \operatorname{E}[X]) + (0.9)(0.2)(2 + \operatorname{E}[X]) + (0.9)(0.8)(0.3)(3 + \operatorname{E}[X]),$$ from which it follows that $$\operatorname{E}[X] = \frac{655}{126} \approx 5.19841.$$  At a cost of $100$ per trial this translates to an average cost of $519.841$ which agrees with your simulation.
Why does this formula work, and what does it mean?  Well, look at it this way.  If the first three trials are successful with probability $(0.9)(0.8)(0.7)$, then it took $3$ trials.  Otherwise, the first trial failed with probability $0.1$, in which case we start over and the expected number of additional trials remains the same, so the total expected number of trials after the failure of the first trial is $1+\operatorname{E}[X]$.  This explains the first two terms on the right-hand side.
If the first trial is successful but the second fails (and this has a probability of $(0.9)(0.2)$ of occurring), then again we start all over and the expected number of additional trials is again $\operatorname{E}[X]$, but this time we used $2$ trials, so the total expected number of trials after the failure of the first two is $2+\operatorname{E}[X]$.
Finally, if the first two trials are successful but the third fails, then we spent three trials but need to start over.
Notice that $$(0.9)(0.8)(0.7) + (0.1) + (0.9)(0.2) + (0.9)(0.8)(0.3) = 1$$ so we counted all the possible cases.
The model we are actually working with is a discrete-time Markov chain model with transition matrix $$\mathcal P = \begin{bmatrix}0.1 & 0.9 & 0 & 0 \\
0.2 & 0 & 0.8 & 0 \\
0.3 & 0 & 0 & 0.7 \\
0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix},$$ where each row corresponds to a state of the system in which there are a certain number of consecutive successes.  So the first row corresponds to the state where we have no successes; the second row is for when we have had one success; and so forth, until the final row is the state where we have achieved three consecutive successes.  The columns represent the state we are transitioning to, from a given row, and the value in a cell represents the probability of transitioning from one state to another.  So for example, in the second row, third column, the value $0.8$ represents the conditional probability that, given we have observed one success so far (row 2), we observe another success in the next trial, thus transitioning to row 3.  The value $0.3$ in the third row, first column, represents the conditional probability that, given we have observed two consecutive successes, we fail on the third trial and therefore must start over with zero consecutive successes (row 1).  The last row and column has a $1$, because it represents the state in which we have obtained three consecutive successes, and therefore stop trying.
By using various properties of Markov chains, we can use this transition matrix $\mathcal P$ to compute the mean time to reach the absorbing state (row 4).  We can also find a probability distribution for the time to obtain three consecutive successes, but for this particular matrix, it is a long and convoluted expression.  Numeric estimates are provided as follows:
$$\begin{array}{c|c|c}
x & \Pr[X = x] & \Pr[X \le x] \\
\hline
 3 & 0.504 & 0.504 \\
 4 & 0.0504 & 0.5544 \\
 5 & 0.09576 & 0.65016 \\
 6 & 0.127512 & 0.777672 \\
 7 & 0.0408744 & 0.818546 \\
 8 & 0.0477238 & 0.86627 \\
 9 & 0.0396724 & 0.905943 \\
 10 & 0.0213864 & 0.927329 \\
 11 & 0.019588 & 0.946917 \\
 12 & 0.0143776 & 0.961294 \\
 13 & 0.00958306 & 0.970878 \\
 14 & 0.00777728 & 0.978655 \\
 15 & 0.00560823 & 0.984263 \\
 16 & 0.00403067 & 0.988294 \\
 17 & 0.00309244 & 0.991386 \\
 18 & 0.00224614 & 0.993632 \\
 19 & 0.00165188 & 0.995284 \\
 20 & 0.00123746 & 0.996522 \\
\vdots & &
\end{array}$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Sales Terms and Conditons
Check symptom
B2B support
Confabulation
Confabulation: Description, Causes and Risk Factors:Confabulation is the word used when an imagination or mind's thought becomes confused with memory or else the true memory is mystified with false memory. According to psychology confabulation is the impulsive descriptive account of events that never happened. It comprises of the formation of false memories, perceptions, or beliefs about the self or the surroundings - habitually as an outcome of neurological or psychological dysfunction. Once it is a subject of memory, confabulation is the confusion of imagination with memory, or the perplexed application of true memories.While the accurate causes of confabulation are not known, it may occur whenever there is damage to certain parts of the brain, for instance the basal forebrain. The invention of experiences or situations, often narrated in a complete and reasonable way to fill in and cover up cognitive impairment or memory loss, which may be caused by alcoholism, especially in people with Korsakoff's psychosis; head injuries; dementia; or lead poisoningis also called fabrication. It may have a psychological basis or may be the source of some sort of damage to the brain or certain drugs used in chemical warfare like Quinuclidinyl benzilate can cause the damage. Patient's with Korsakoff's syndrome and Wernicke dementia often display this condition it is also commonly seen in Alzheimer's disease.Theories of confabulation range in emphasis. Some theories propose that confabulations represent a way for memory-disabled individuals to maintain their self-identity. Other theories use neurocognitive links to explain the process of confabulation. Still other theories frame confabulation around the more familiar concept of delusion. Other researchers frame confabulation within the fuzzy-trace theory. Finally, some researchers call for theories that rely less on neurocognitive explanations and more on epistemic accounts.
Neuropsychological theories: The most popular theories of confabulation come from the field of neuropsychology or cognitive neuroscience. Research suggests that confabulation is associated with dysfunction of cognitive processes that control the retrieval from long-term memory. Frontal lobe damage often disrupts this process, preventing the retrieval of information and the evaluation of its output. Furthermore, researchers argue that confabulation is a disorder resulting from failed "reality monitoring/source monitoring" (i.e. deciding whether a memory is based on an actual event or whether it is imagined. Some neuropsychologists suggest that errors in retrieval of information from long-term memory that are made by normal subjects involve different components of control processes than errors made by confabulators. Detection of these errors are considered part of the Supervisory System, which is believed to be a function of the frontal cortex.RESEARCH: Several theories have been proposed to account for the complex cognitive mechanisms underlying the various forms and manifestations of confabulation. As regards the content of confabulations, deficit accounts explain what is lacking in the confabulations, but accounts of the positive features of the content may also be required to explain what remains. There is reason to believe that the content of confabulations is not motivationally neutral; in particular, they appear to "improve" the world experienced by the patient, making it more pleasant than the reality of the situation demands. The present study investigated the content of the confabulations of a neurological patient, ES: A 56-year-old man, who developed a striking confabulatory syndrome following removal of a meningioma in the pituitary and suprasellar region. ES's cognitive abilities were severely compromised, and he confabulated continuously and bizarrely. Raters presented with transcriptions of ES's confabulations found them to represent significantly more pleasant experiences than their corresponding, misrepresented realities. This finding suggests that confabulations include motivated (or "wishful") content. The influence of this motivational feature of confabulation must be considered in parallel with the memory and executive deficits which contribute to the mechanism of confabulation.Symptoms:Signs:Typically verbal statements but can also be non-verbal gestures or actions.
Can include autobiographical and non-personal information, such as historical facts, fairytales, or other aspects of semantic memory.
The account can be fantastic or coherent.
Both the premise and the details of the account can be false.
The account is usually drawn from the patient's memory of actual experiences, including past and current thoughts.
The patient is unaware of the accounts' distortions or inappropriateness, and is not concerned when errors are pointed out.
There is no hidden motivation behind the account.
The patient's personality structure may play a role in their readiness to confabulate.
Diagnosis:Spontaneous confabulations, due to their involuntary nature, cannot be manipulated in a laboratory setting.However, provoked confabulations can be researched in various theoretical contexts. The mechanisms found to underlie provoked confabulations can be applied to spontaneous confabulation mechanisms. The basic premise of researching confabulation comprises finding errors and distortions in memory tests of an individual.Confabulations can be detected in the context of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm by using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott lists.Participants listen to audio recordings of several lists of words centered around a theme, known as the critical word. The participants are later asked to recall the words on their list. If the participant recalls the critical word, which was never explicitly stated in the list, it is considered a confabulation. Participants often have a false memory for the critical word.Recognition Tasks: Confabulations can also be researched by using continuous recognition tasks.These tasks are often used in conjunction with confidence ratings. Generally, in a recognition task, participants are rapidly presented with pictures. Some of these pictures are shown once; others are shown multiple times. Participants press a key if they have seen the picture previously. Following a period of time, participants repeat the task. More errors on the second task, versus the first, are indicative of confusion, representing false memories.Free Recall Tasks: Confabulations can also be detected using a free recall task, such as a self-narrative task.Participants are asked to recall stories (semantic or autobiographical) that are highly familiar to them. The stories recalled are encoded for errors that could be classified as distortions in memory. Distortions could include falsifying true story elements or including details from a completely different story. Errors such as these would be indicative of confabulations.Treatment:Treatment for confabulation is somewhat dependent on the cause or source, if identifiable. For example, treatment of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome involves large doses of vitamin B in order to reverse the thiamine deficiency. If there is no known physiological cause, more general cognitive techniques may be used to treat confabulation. In a recent case study, Self-Monitoring Training (SMT) was shown to reduce delusional confabulations. Furthermore, improvements were maintained at a three-month follow-up and were found to generalize to everyday settings. Although this treatment seems promising, more rigorous research is necessary to determine its efficacy in the general confabulation population.NOTE: The above information is for processing purpose. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition.DISCLAIMER: This information should not substitute for seeking responsible, professional medical care.
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9 Women-Friendly Gym Machines for Powerful Workout
Here is the list of nine user-friendly gym machines for women that are intimidated by barbells, bumper plates, and squat racks by Robin Cortez, director of team training for Chuze Fitness, which has clubs in California, Colorado and Arizona: Smith machine — used for...
High Levels of Iron Protect Arteries from Clogging but It's not All That Good
A new study from Imperial College London suggests that higher levels of iron may cut the risk of clogged arteries. On the other hand, they are linked to a higher risk of blood clots. Within the scope of the study, the scientists used genetic data from 500,000 people...
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4 Top Nutrition-Packed Mocktail Recipes of this Summer
by maisteri | Jun 26, 2019 | Blog, Frontpage News | 0 Comments
When it is so hot outside you still can find hundreds of ways to cool yourself and drinking a mocktail is one of them. Here are few wonderful recipes for you to try. Kiwi Sour 1 oz orange juice 3 slices kiwi 0.75 oz demerara green tea syrup 0.75 oz lime juice 1 oz...
2 Steps that Must be Done Before You Do Fitness for Weight Loss
by maisteri | May 7, 2019 | Blog, Frontpage News | 0 Comments
Many people are motivated for active sports in spring. However, before you buy a membership, you should check which exercises are useful to you and which ones should not be done in any way. Unfortunately, nowadays there are practically no people with an absolutely...
Kangoo Jumps Training: 5 Beginner Exercises
by maisteri | Dec 22, 2018 | Blog | 0 Comments
In childhood, many of us dreamed of learning to jump high. Now, after years, it became easier - Kangoo Jumps has appeared. This is one of the relatively new, but quickly gaining popularity types of fitness training. There are several advantages of jumpers. ...
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Pacific News Minute: Wreck of Famous WWII Aircraft Carrier Found in the Solomon Islands
Hawaii Public Radio | By Neal Conan
Published February 13, 2019 at 9:02 AM HST
The wreck of USS Hornet has been found in the Solomon Islands. A research vessel funded by the late billionaire Paul Allen located the famous ship under 17, 500 feet of water at the bottom of the South Pacific.
USS Hornet may be best remembered as the aircraft carrier that brought Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and 16 B-25 bombers close enough to bomb Tokyo in April, 1942.
Though the bold raid did little damage, it was the first American counterstrike against Japan and lifted spirits amid the deluge of bad news in the months after Pearl Harbor. She later participated in the stunning U.S. victory at the Battle of Midway and then steamed to the South Pacific to support the first American offensive of the war at Guadalcanal.
Hornet was lost in October, 1942 at the Battle of Santa Cruz – a coordinated attack by Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes left her afire and irreparably damaged. American destroyers took off all but 140 members of her crew and Hornet was finally sent to the bottom by Japanese destroyers.
The wreck was found by an autonomous underwater vehicle operated from R/V Petrel, a 250-foot research vessel on a mission funded by the Paul Allen Foundation. The billionaire philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft died last year.
Petrel's crew previously discovered the wrecks of USS Indianapolis, USS Lexington and several ships lost in the ferocious battles around Guadalcanal. They include the cruisers USS Juneau and Helena and, most recently, IJN Hiei, the first Japanese battleship sunk during the war.
Pacific News Minute wwIIPacific News MinuteUSS HornetR/V Petrel
Neal Conan
Over 36 years with National Public Radio, Neal Conan worked as a correspondent based in New York, Washington, and London; covered wars in the Middle East and Northern Ireland; Olympic Games in Lake Placid and Sarajevo; and a presidential impeachment. He served, at various times, as editor, producer, and executive producer of All Things Considered and may be best known as the long-time host of Talk of the Nation. Now a macadamia nut farmer on Hawaiʻi Island, his "Pacific News Minute" can be heard on HPR Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
See stories by Neal Conan
Neal Conan: A Letter of Appreciation From Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Bill Dorman
Neal Conan, who spent 36 years with National Public Radio and several years as a Hawaiʻi Public Radio contributor on the "Pacific News Minute," died Tuesday in Hawaiʻi at the age of 71.
Pacific News Minute: Official Report On Kiribati Ferry Disaster Finally Released
Earlier this month, the government of Kiribati finally released a long delayed report on the country's worst maritime disaster, the sinking of an…


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Q: How to stop message subscribe using NFC in windows phone? I have Four pages in my application. First page was the log in page here I no use any NFC read or write. And then second page I use both read and write actions of NFC.
Finally I close second page and navigate to the first page.
And I use NFC card in first page it reads the NFC card and display the contents of NFC Card.But I don't wrote any code for NFC actions in this first page and I also use the stopsubscribemessage(), but it's not working.
  private void StopSubscribeMessage()
    {
        MessageBox.Show(subscribedMessageId.ToString());
        if (subscribedMessageId != -1 && new_device != null)
        {
            MessageBox.Show(subscribedMessageId.ToString()+"   I am a stop method");
            new_device.StopSubscribingForMessage(subscribedMessageId);
            subscribedMessageId = -1;
        }
    }


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Bianca Pedrina's photography collection started some time ago and shows her engaging with her built environment and urbanity in different locations. She only rarely turns her attention to prestigious buildings. And if she does, then mostly to their details. With her photographies she tells no stories, nor does she glorifies or criticize. Instead she draws our gaze to what lies at the periphery, almost hidden and yet visible to the person through the present with gaze attuned. The publication was published on occasion of Bianca Pedrina's exhibition at Kunsthaus Baselland and is accompanied by the texts Architecture–Gaze–Body by Salome Bessenich, Attending to Detaily by Ines Goldbach.


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Working for Hillsborough families
The European Convention on Human Rights 1950, brought into English law by the Human Rights Act 1998, guarantees your most fundamental human rights, including freedom from unlawful detention, also known as the right to liberty and security (Article 5 ECHR). It states that no-one shall be deprived of their liberty, except in certain limited circumstances – such as when lawfully convicted by a court.
If you have been detained unlawfully, you can bring a claim against the police, immigration officials or other State bodies responsible for detaining you.
Hodge Jones & Allen is one of the leading law firms in the UK specialising in this area (Chambers 2016). Our passionate and committed team of solicitors has vast experience in bringing and winning difficult, controversial and high profile cases, and we are dedicated to fighting on your behalf to protect your basic human rights.
Our specialist solicitors have been practicing in this area for many years, and have successfully obtained compensation, apologies and other redress from different police forces in cases across the UK. Where Article 5 has been breached, a claim can also generally be made for false imprisonment (and further details about this type of claim are available here).
In immigration detention cases, where detention is taken out pending deportation, the law in relation to how long detention is permitted is complex, but we have considerable experience in this area and have successfully claimed significant amounts of compensation for detainees held for an unreasonably long period of time.
Claims for unlawful detention can include:
Compensation claims for unlawful detention
Judicial Review to challenge unlawful detentions
Securing the release of children who have been wrongly held in detention and subsequent claims for compensation
Challenging the lawfulness of detention of vulnerable individuals such as those with health problems, pregnant women, disabled persons and victims of crime
Securing apologies, admissions of wrongdoing and changes to police, prison and immigration detention procedures
Our Civil Liberties team works closely with our large Criminal Defence team where needed, so clients benefit from a comprehensive level of service unmatched by many other law firms. Our solicitors are active members of the Police Action Lawyers Group which represents solicitors specialising in complaints against the police.
Client cases
We represented a grandfather of good character who was arrested and forcibly searched by the police whilst standing on a private area outside his own house. They found nothing on him but caused him a serious injury in the process and then detained him at a police station. Our Criminal Defence team secured his acquittal after he was charged with obstructing a police officer, and the Civil Liberties team successfully sued the police for false imprisonment.
Our client witnessed a woman who had a knife in her hand squaring up to young man. Our client persuaded the woman to give him the knife and he got back into his car. The police arrived and told our client there had been a report that his car had been involved in a knife incident. He explained how he came to have the knife, but the officers searched him and falsely accused him of stealing a child benefit book which belonged to his wife. The officers then arrested and handcuffed him, causing an injury to his wrist. After a 6 day jury trial our client was successful and won a significant amount of compensation.
We successfully won a claim for our client after she was arrested for allegedly carrying a false passport. The agency involved failed to contact the relevant Embassy, and she was detained for two months despite it being a genuine passport. Following our representations she obtained compensation for her time in custody.
To find out more and to see if we can help you, please contact us on our free telephone number 0800 437 0080, or contact us via our website. All communications will be treated in confidence, even where you do not become our client. If we can take on your case, we will give you full details about costs, including advising you on the availability of legal aid and Conditional Fee or "no win, no fee" agreements.
If you might want us to investigate a claim, it is important that you do not delay and you contact us as soon as possible. The law requires that cases are started at court within specific timescales. Most civil claims for compensation (for a breach of human rights) must be issued at court within one year, but to make sure evidence is collected and the case is properly prepared, the sooner you contact us, the better. However, if you think you might be out of time, don't let this stop you from calling us – we will advise you if this is a problem, and if we can take your case on, we will fight to get your claim heard.
Our unlawful detention specialists are part of our London based human rights team. We have four decades of experience helping clients from around the UK with a wide variety of legal matters. For expert legal advice use our contact form or call us on 0800 437 0322 today.
Our Civil Liberties & Human Rights Solicitors are backed by four decades of experience and have a strong track record of achieving favourable client outcomes. For expert legal advice use our contact form or call us on 0800 437 0322 today.
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We just wanted to say a big 'thank you'. Although it is probably a blessed relief to see the back of us, we will miss you. You have given Barney an amazing opportunity for a fresh start in this life. We cannot thank you enough for this. But also we thank you for your support over the years, going the extra mile to help our son in his distress.
I have found Lucy Cadd's advice clear, pragmatic and honest throughout the case. She has kept me informed of the progress when appropriate which has reassured me immensely. I am most grateful.
It wasn't just the legal advice that impressed me, it was the empathy, compassion and professionalism of my solicitor which set her apart.


Thank you for electing me to the Queen Creek Town Council and entrusting me with the care of our great town. I am very honored to have been the top vote getter in the general election. Regardless of who you voted for, I am grateful that you made the time to exercise your right to have your voice heard.
It's no secret that this election was an especially distasteful one. It's also no secret that more than 90% of the attacks and lies were directed toward me. It's important that you know that the awful things that were said about me, every single one, are patently false. I believe very deeply in serving others, which is why I chose to run for Town Council and why professionally I have dedicated myself to serving as the Executive Director of a faith-based charity committed to educating the orphaned, impoverished and often forgotten of Christ's children in both mind and spirit.
My vision for Queen Creek remains the same today as it was throughout the campaign: To enable Queen Creek to become the most prosperous place to do business and the most enjoyable place to call home in Arizona. Achieving this vision will improve the lives of every man, woman and child, as well as, every business owner--from small to large--in our town. But I can't do it alone. The Town Council can't do it alone. It will take all of us, working together and collaborating in pursuit of the BEST possible solutions, not just the most comfortable ones.
We have a vibrant town with an all-American charm and character. We have a town where 'neighbor' still has deep-rooted meaning. Let's prove to the rest of Arizona, and the nation, why Queen Creek really is the best place to call home by working together, shoulder to shoulder, for the best interests of one another.
I am honored and proud to serve the people of Queen Creek and the people of Arizona. Thank you for your trust.