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Mary Lindsay
mel@wrco.co.uk
Mary Lindsay is a Senior Lawyer at Wikborg Rein's London office and is part of the firm's Construction and Shipping Offshore practices. Lindsay focuses on disputes in the construction and energy sectors arising from complex construction, engineering, infrastructure and energy projects. Her work covers arbitration and providing "live" project advice. Her arbitration work involves commencement of proceedings, preparing general correspondence, jurisdictional challenges, drafting pleadings and witness statements, trial preparation and settlement. Lindsay has acted on international arbitrations arising out of projects in Azerbaijan, Yemen, Qatar, Oman and India. Her project advisory work involves managing live risks from within the client's team, drafting key correspondence and assisting with the administration of the project.
2013-2016 Senior Associate, K&L Gates LLP _NEWLINE_2005-2013 Trainee and Associate, Pinsent Masons LLP _NEWLINE_2004-2005 E-Delivery Team, Cabinet Office
ICC arbitration on behalf of a Yemeni contractor in relation to a pipeline project in Yemen under bespoke Conditions of Contract. Seat of arbitration Vienna and subject to Austrian law._NEWLINE_ICC arbitration on behalf of a Turkish contractor in relation to a road project in Oman being constructed under the FIDIC Conditions of Contract. Seat of arbitration Geneva and subject to Omani law._NEWLINE_ICC arbitration on behalf of an international contractor in relation to a process plant in Qatar under bespoke Conditions of Contract. Seat of arbitration London and subject to English law._NEWLINE_ICC arbitration on behalf of a German infrastructure company in relation to the supply of alleged defective electrical products by an Indian manufacturing company. Seat of arbitration Delhi and subject to English law. _NEWLINE_ICC arbitration on behalf of an international hotel group in relation to one of its hotels in Baku under FIDIC Conditions of Contract. Seat of arbitration London and subject to English law._NEWLINE_Advising a joint venture contractor in relation to disputes arising in respect of engineering works on an off-shore/on-shore oil pipeline._NEWLINE_Advising an international energy company in relation to disputes arising from an EPC Contract for the decommissioning of an FPSO in Malaysia (subject to Malaysian law). _NEWLINE_Acting for a UK subsidiary of a major European engineering conglomerate in an ICC arbitration against an Indian supplier of allegedly defective electrical equipment._NEWLINE_Advising a contractor in respect of upgrading works on an underground rail system._NEWLINE_Advising a European contractor in relation to the construction of a high speed railway in the Middle East._NEWLINE_Advising in defence of claims in relation to the construction of an oil and gas processing plant in Russia in an ad hoc arbitration._NEWLINE_Defending a CPR Part 8 claim in relation to civils work at two coal fired power stations in the UK (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2009/1371.html). _NEWLINE_Advising a plant engineering and construction contractor in respect of disputes arising from sub-contracts relating to the construction of FGD plants on two coal fired power stations (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2009/408.html). _NEWLINE_Advising a European contractor in an ICC arbitration in relation to the construction of a processing plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. _NEWLINE_Advising a US supplier of processing equipment for oil and gas production in respect of payments due for the supply of equipment._NEWLINE_Preparing advice for a UK contractor to be used in submissions to the Office of Fair Trading relating to charges of corruption on a large construction site in Egypt.
2003-2004 CPE, College of Law, London_NEWLINE_2002-2003 Postgraduate Diploma in Law, Guildhall University, London_NEWLINE_1995-1999 Bachelor of Land Economy (Hons) , University of Aberdeen


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You are here: Home / Featured / ServiceMaster Acquires Inspect-All Services, a PCT Top 100 & Inc. 5000 Company
ServiceMaster Acquires Inspect-All Services, a PCT Top 100 & Inc. 5000 Company
ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV), a Fortune 1000 company, through its subsidiary, Terminix International Company LP, has acquired the Atlanta-area pest control division of Inspect-All Services, headquartered in Conyers, Georgia, from siblings Brian and Brandon Lunsford.
The Lunsford brothers acquired Inspect-All Services from their father in 2006 and rapidly grew it from a small operation to one of the top 100 largest pest control firms in the United States. The company currently sits on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies and is known as an industry leader for its outstanding reputation, customer care and technological prowess. The company's impressive growth has been entirely organic.
Inspect-All Services, founded in 1984, will continue to operate under its current name and will complement ServiceMaster's impressive presence in the residential services market.
"Our top priority was to make sure the acquirer's core values aligned with ours so that our team and customers would be in good hands moving forward," said Inspect-All Services co-owners, Brian and Brandon Lunsford. "After thorough research and many discussions with our advisor and the ServiceMaster team, we are confident that Inspect-All Services will continue to flourish under the new leadership."
Not included in the sale was Inspect-All Services' multi-state home inspection division, now called LunsPro Home Inspections, and its Jacksonville, Florida pest control operation, now called Kingfish Pest Control. The Lunsford siblings will continue to own and operate those businesses.
Paul Giannamore of The Potomac Company, investment banking advisor to the company, commented: "One fundamental truth that I've learned over the course of decades advising and investing in businesses is that the culture of the organization directly stems from the owners. From the minute I met Brian and Brandon, I understood why this business is on the Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest-growing businesses. I can't imagine better partners for ServiceMaster than Brandon and Brian….These two will definitely be two guys to watch in the future, this won't be their only Inc. 5000 business."
Brian Lunsford commented on working with Potomac:
"After our very first discussion with Paul, Brandon and I immediately said three things to each other: 1) This guy is good. 2) We are definitely going with him and The Potomac Company. 3) There is no doubt, we will definitely be good hands with Paul throughout this process. Sure enough, choosing Paul and his team to help us sell our family-owned pest control business was one of our last and best major decisions we made as owners of Inspect-All Services.
Paul always made time for us, answered all of our literally hundreds of questions, and made us feel like we were his most important client. We are grateful for everything Paul has done for us and look forward to staying in touch with him moving forward."
Paul Giannamore of The Potomac Company acted as exclusive financial advisor to Inspect-All Services. Mike Stanczyk of Lynn D'Elia Temes & Stanczyk, acted as legal counsel to Inspect-All Services.
Filed Under: Featured, News, Transactions & Engagements Tagged With: PCT Top 100 Acquisitions, Pest Control Industry Mergers and Acquisitions News, ServiceMaster Acquisitions, Terminix Acquisitions, US Pest Control Acquisitions
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HomeBusinessCastleton Chamber Players' stellar launch of the 2014 festival
Castleton Chamber Players' stellar launch of the 2014 festival
By Staff/Contributed July 3, 2014 Business, Entertainment, Music, People Comments Off on Castleton Chamber Players' stellar launch of the 2014 festival
By Mike Ashenfelder
At the intimate Castleton Theater, tucked into a flowering rural hillside, violinist Eric Silberger, cellist Daniel Lelchuk and pianist Bradley Moore performed three contrasting chamber music pieces and demonstrated not only mastery of their instruments but how eye contact, body language, attitude and cues can elevate the music to a higher realm of art. They are proof that one of the great pleasures of live performance is watching musicians interact.
Silberger and Lelchuk, founding members of the Castleton Chamber Players and performers-in-residence at the Festival, opened the concert with Johan Halvorsen's "Passacaglia in G Minor on a Theme by George Frideric Handel."
Silberger is a physically expressive violinist and his motions and facial expressions enhanced each variation. At times he appeared playful and mischievous, at times intense and passionate. Lelchuk, by contrast, is physically reserved, with the emotion and expression concentrated in his hands. Nevertheless, their performance styles complemented each other and vividly colored the character of each new variation of the theme.
The second piece on the bill was Ravel's "Sonata for Violin and Cello." Ravel finished the composition shortly after the death of his friend, Claude Debussy, and dedicated it to him. In the spirit of Debussy's practice of "depouillement," minimizing the musical elements, Ravel reduced the texture of the music to its essence and stripped away the harmony. The resulting sonata is four movements of intertwining, independent lines that snake through a shifting tonality. The piece demands concentration from an audience, as it certainly must for the performers.
The second movement, Très vif, is filled with melodrama. Silberger and Lelchuk were fixed in the swelling dynamics and the pizzicato passages, watching each other's faces intently as they barreled through it, ending the movement with a "so there" flourish at each other.
The third movement, Lent, is delicate, like tendrils of wafting smoke, and the little theater was so still during the softer passages you could hear the whisper of the violin bow hair across the strings. Finally, the galloping pulse of the fourth movement — sprinkled with staccato and spiccato flourishes — propelled the music to its close.
Pianist Bradley Moore, who conducted Castleton's "Madama Butterfly" on Saturday night, joined Silberger and Lelchuk for Anton Arensky's "Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32." Moore is an acclaimed recital partner — having performed with musicians such as Renee Fleming, Placido Domingo, Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell — and his vigilant accompaniment and nuanced leadership was evident.
The piano trio is a Romantic piece marked by a haunting theme in the first movement, Allegro moderato. Lelchuk was limber by now and, with Moore anchoring the trio, the three musicians swayed as one unit, passing the theme among them. Moore's mastery and fluid style was especially apparent in the rippling piano lines of the second movement, Scherzo — Allegro molto. Lelchuk poured out sentiment. All three musicians locked eyes and dug in during the interplay. At times, Moore leaned way out to the right of his keyboard to cue and support Silberger and Lelchuk in turn.
By the third movement, Elegia — adagio, the performers were linked in graceful dance, watching each other, smiling, serving up the same dynamics with the same degree of feeling. No more, no less. In the fourth movement, Finale – Allegro non troppo, the piece glides to a close with a restatement of the opening theme, like a melancholy memory.
The Castleton Festival's mission is to help train musicians, "the future stars of the opera and concert worlds," and bring out the best musicianship in each and every one. This Sunday (July 6) the Castleton Chamber Players present the "Martinu Duo #2 for Violin and Cello," "Talia String Quartet Obsession" and the "Schubert Trout Quintet." On Saturday, July 19, they present the "Gideon Klein Duo for Violin and Cello," "Dvorak American String Quartet" and the "Brahms G minor Piano Quartet." Tickets are available at castletonfestival.org or call 866-974-0767.
School & sports news for July 3
Editorial: Town, to be or not to be


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Throwback Thursday: The Achievement Gap
By Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers — July 10, 2014 5 min read
Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers
In 1983, EdWeek published an article entitled Achievement Gap Between Blacks, Whites Continues to Narrow. 30 years ago the achievement gap was measured and determined to be narrowing. If we were narrowing the gap 30 years ago, why haven't we closed it by now? The achievement gap remains, arguably, our greatest educational challenge.
In 1983, there were those still questioning whether intelligence was inherited or developed. Even then, racism and test composition and results were interconnected. Notably, it was at that time the students who had attended public schools following desegregation were entering college. Regarding a study conducted by Lyle V. Jones, Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
...the students who are now taking college-admissions tests are among the first to have received their entire education in integrated schools and to have participated in federal programs such as Head Start.
That link, although not an explanation for the shift is "consistent with the trends we've been seeing, so that desegregation in the school setting could contribute to the narrowing gap," Mr. Jones said in an interview.
But, he added, "so many things have changed. We can't point to the schools and say they did it." Also contributing, he suggested, are factors such as the rising levels of income among black families and the possibility that black students' motivation has improved because they now can realistically plan careers in fields once closed to them.
So, why have we slid away from progress? We can ask is whether we have been facing a racial achievement or an income achievement gap. There is a convincing relationship between those factors. But, the more essential... and abiding... question is what educators and policy makers do to close a long existing gap and include more students in a rich and successful public school experience. Once we know that answer and act upon it, we can ask, in fairness, what do parents and families need to do? The 1983 article also refers to the relationship between the number of math courses taken and achievement and recommends more math courses for children of color. Despite the curricular reforms of the 1980s, the "algebra for all" movements of the 1990s, and the advent of No Child Left Behind in the 2000s, there is still great variability in opportunities to learn higher mathematics in schools across the United States. Students attending predominantly minority schools still receive fewer opportunities to learn rigorous mathematics (Darling-Hammond, 2004; Tate, 1997, in a 2007 Educational Leadership article). In fact, in 2013, Arnie Duncan reported that
Black and Hispanic students account for close to 40 percent of high school students, but they constitute just over a quarter of students taking AP courses and exams, and only 20 percent of enrollment in calculus classes.
So, the finger does point at us. We are not preparing minority students for higher level math. How can this still be true if data have been clear for thirty years?
We want more students to be prepared to take additional and more rigorous courses in high school. But have we examined our own data about the courses taken and by whom as well how students are doing? There must be a plan for both creating stronger k-8 math programs, giving access to them, and institute an intermediate plan for those entering high school with lagging math and reading skills. (See our recent post on Partnering with Pediatricians). STEM elementary schools and middle schools may hold promise by offering welcoming and successful early math experiences. Schools that have tried are seeing success.
The point is the gap persists; it may have narrowed a bit after desegregation, but it is very much our present. We can look at data, agree or disagree with it, and attribute causality wherever our belief system takes us but we cannot deny that this societal and educational problem cannot last another thirty years without dire consequences. The majority of students who achieve and enroll in higher level math and science courses are from middle and upper income families and they are white. Schools in higher income areas have higher graduation rates and our cities, where there are large minority populations, have much lower graduation rates. We don't need any more data to tell us what we already know.
In May, 2014, Heather Schwartz reported in EdWeek:
As the three Education Week figures attest, racial and economic inequalities in schooling remain stubbornly large even 60 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruling. The gap in average test scores between white and black children is still substantial, but fortunately it has diminished in size since 1960. Meanwhile, the achievement gap between children from the highest- and lowest-income families has substantially grown over the same period. The income achievement gap is now about twice the size of the black-white achievement gap.
As a country, we have done an extraordinary job of educating children. We have increasingly included more and more children of varying abilities and capacities. Everyone is welcome. With our open doors, comes a responsibility to meet the needs of all who enter. That is a monumental challenge. We always want more for our students. And we have changed much in the way of teaching and learning but little has narrowed the gap.
On this #tbt, let's focus on this mission: discovering and providing the best possible ways to support students, to prepare them, and to offer them new experiences that narrow the gap. In doing so, we will be offering, and requiring, teachers to create environments in which they can do new and exciting work. This century has brought along newly diverse populations and previously unthinkable technologies. Before we get to the tipping point, perhaps we should be seriously thinking about shifting the system...and then, maybe before another 30 years pass, we will see the gap evaporate.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2004). The color line in American education: Race, resources, and student achievement. DuBois Review, 1(2), 213-246.
Tate, W. F. (1997). Race-ethnicity, SES, gender and language proficiency trends in mathematics achievement: An update. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28(6), 652-679.
Walker, Erica N., Why Aren't More Minorities Taking Advanced Math? Educational Leadership November 2007 | Volume 65 | Number 3
On Thursdays, we highlight an issue that was making headlines 20 years or more ago. We examine the status of that issue today and wonder with our readers about what has changed and what has not. We welcome feedback and ideas.
Connect with Ann and Jill on Twitter or Email.
The opinions expressed in Leadership 360 are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.


Call in the big guns! When you have a seriously large get together, let them eat cake!
"Slab" or "Sheet" refers to size. Our Full Slab size will serve 90-100 people and our Half Slab size will serve 40-50 people. These two sizes are the perfect thing for quickly and easily dicing up dessert when you have dozens of guests!
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New Yorkers 16 and over now eligible for COVID vaccine
By Dana Arschin and FOX 5 NY Staff
FOX 5 NY
NY vaccine eligibility
New Yorkers ages 16 and older can now make vaccination appointments.
NEW YORK - New Yorkers over 16 years old can sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations starting Tuesday, a major expansion of eligibility as the state seeks to immunize as many people as possible.
Teens aged 16 and 17 will be limited to receiving the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because that is the only vaccine authorized for use in people under 18. Parental consent will be required for vaccinations of 16- and 17-year-olds at state-run sites, with certain exceptions including for teens who are married or are parents.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo expanded eligibility to 30 and older last week and announced that people aged 16 to 29 would be eligible starting April 6.
Paul Navarro, 17, of Hempstead, has been waiting all year for the shot.
"I have spina bifida, club feet. I have hydrocephalus and all of that can be bad with COVID," Navarro said. "It can lead to being very ill, even death."
Navarro has had more than 70 different surgeries in his lifetime and refuses to let COVID-19 be the virus that brings him down. He and other teens at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park were among the first teens in the state to get the Pfizer vaccine.
New Yorkers 16 and over vaccine eligible
All New Yorkers the age of 16 and older are eligible to get vaccinated.
Briana Justice, 16, of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, has been battling sickle cell anemia. She said she feels like a weight has now been lifted off her shoulders with this first shot in her arm.
"It felt like a rush, I was very nervous to get the vaccine," she said. "I had my concerns at first but now that my first dose is over with, I feel like I finally have protection against the virus."
Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a briefing from City Hall on Tuesday that New York City was on track to fully vaccinate 5 million people by June. But he warned about supply shortages.
Get breaking news alerts in the FOX5NY News app. Download for FREE!
Why no herd immunity yet?
Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine talks about the piece he wrote for the WSJ as to why the nation has not yet reached herd immunity.
"It will make things simpler in many ways and obviously we want to see everyone get vaccinated," de Blasio said. "The more supply we see, the easier it will be, so we still need to keep pushing this to the federal government, the manufacturers, the state, we still need supply, supply, supply."
None of the available vaccines have yet been approved for people under 16.
The State University of New York also announced plans to offer vaccines to tens of thousands of college students before they head home for the summer.
SUNY students will receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because it requires only one dose and will allow them to be fully vaccinated by the time they finish the semester in early May.
Rutgers to require COVID-19 vaccination
Rutgers University is now requiring all students returning to campus in the fall to prove they've been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Although some colleges, including Rutgers University and Cornell University, have announced they will require COVID-19 vaccinations for students returning in the fall, SUNY has not yet said whether the vaccinations will be mandatory.
Chancellor Jim Malatras said the public college system has secured its first shipment of vaccines and is working with the state to reserve additional doses for students. About 18,600 vaccines were being distributed to 34 campuses Tuesday.
More than 350,000 students were receiving email messages urging them to make an appointment, according to SUNY.
About one in five New York state residents were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A little more than one-third of the state's residents had received at least one vaccine dose.
With The Associated Press
Florida teen fatally stabbed classmate 114 times
Elderly Arizona rancher charged with murdering a Mexican man on his property
New Jersey-bound plane turns around after fire in cabin


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Q: Standalone Java Applications is there a way to compile java files into executable with high quality free software and without going through using executable JAR files?

A: There are several ways to do it. But you should in general avoid making a java application executable on one platform just because you don't like double clicking JAR files. That defeats the purpose of interoperable nature of Java.

A: There's a nice page on Javalobby that discusses this in some detail, as well as going through several different styles you might want to do this and providing links to appropriate tools (broken down into free and commercial).
Some of the free EXE-generating tools are

*

*jstart32

*Launch4j

*JSmooth
and while I've never needed one of these so can't offer my opinion on their effectiveness, they all appear to do the simple task well.

A: There are several wrappers available. I have no experience with them, but you might try the following or google for some more:

*

*http://www.regexlab.com/en/jar2exe/

*http://jsmooth.sourceforge.net/

A: In others words, you want to create an EXE file from your JAR file ?
There are some software for that, such as JSmooth or Launch4J

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


So for some reason you ended up on this site.
Maybe you got lost. Maybe you were looking for something.
Maybe you're thinking to yourself, is reading this worth my time?
It's not much. Maybe nothing at all, really.
All I have is words and my photography.
If you like both then I guess we're on the same boat.
Not literally, of course. I hate boats.
And beautiful people because they're too damn too hard not to fall for.
Maybe it's the lack of rest.
After all, there's no sleep for the lonely.
P.S. Don't kill me for making that joke.
P.P.S. Check my poetry, maybe? They're not too bad, I think.


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Stan Hawkins (University of Oslo)
Staging the Spectacle: The Dandyist Theatrics of Jacques Dutronc
Panel Discussion with Stan Hawkins, Freya Jarman, Kai Arne Hansen and Philip Auslander
Theatricality is a recalibration of everyday life. It is part of every performance. It gives credence to popular music and its cultural and political traditions. This presentation opts for an interdisciplinary and intertextual approach in a bid to argue the inextricable links between theatricality, musical personae, and identity. Popular music studies has come a long way in complementing the scholarship of major opera, film, and musical scholars, which has led to an abundance of work on personae, agency, and the problems of authenticity. To show how popular music performances function as powerful arbitrations of the 'natural' as much as the artistic, I discuss how masculinity was forged by a Mod sensibility in the 1960s. My focus falls primarily on Paris. If Serge Gainsbourg was considered the Leonard Cohen of French pop music, then Jacques Dutronc (1943) was most definitely le dandy cool, the Gallic Bob Dylan. Part of la nouvelle vague, a precursor to the political and social upheavals of the late 1960s, Dutronc's original performance style encapsulated an air of anti-establishment that was framed by the growing civil unrest in Paris in 1968 – the student uprisings, street battles, mass protests, and national strikes, all of which would transform France forever, uniting intellectuals with manual workers. Dutronc's cult of the self, was a rebellion, his vitality symptomatic of the pop esprit of Paris, which found a resonance in the critique of the music flooding into France from the UK. My presentation lands on a discussion of one of Dutronc's most loved tracks, 'Les Cactus', where I map his vocal expression onto audiovisual representations to reveal how theatrics reinforce the structures of gendered subjectivities and more. At the core of all this is my treatise on male dandyism.
Biography: Stan Hawkins is Professor of Musicology at the University of Oslo and the University of Agder, Norway. He has published widely on popular music, culture, sexuality, and identity, and has has served as UK and Nordic Chair of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). He is author of Settling the Pop Score (2002/2017), The British Pop Dandy (2009/2016), Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon (with Sarah Niblock, 2011/2013), and Queerness in Pop Music (2016). Edited volumes include Music, Space and Place (with Sheila Whiteley and Andy Bennett) (2005/2017), Essays on Sound and Vision (with John Richardson) (2007), Pop Music & Easy Listening (2011), Critical Musicological Reflections (2012/2016), The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music and Gender (2017), and The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Video Analysis (with Lori Burns) (2019), and a special edition on Prince (with Anne Danielsen) (2020). He was series editor of Routledge's Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series (2009-2019), and from 2010 to 2015 led a Norwegian Research Council funded project on Popular Music and Gender in a Transcultural Context. In 2017 he was elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.


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Iran: Release Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali
On July 29, 2019, Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a scholar of disaster medicine sentenced to death in Iran, was unexpectedly transferred to an undisclosed location, where he was reportedly held in solitary confinement. Dr. Djalali's wife reports that authorities attempted to extract false confessions from him through torture and threats to execute his death sentence.
SAR has issued the below letter to Iranian officials, urging them to secure Dr. Djalali's immediate and unconditional release from prison.
Demonstrate your support for Dr. Djalali and the right to academic freedom by sending a copy of this letter under your own name and tweeting this call-to-action over social media today.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Mr. Majid Takht Ravanchi
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
RE: Release Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali
Your Excellency:
I write again on behalf of the Scholars at Risk Network to express grave concern for Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, a scholar of disaster medicine who was sentenced to death in October 2017. I understand from recent reports that on July 29, 2019, Dr. Djalali was unexpectedly transferred to an undisclosed location, where he was held in solitary confinement and allegedly subjected to torture before being returned to Evin Prison. I respectfully urge you to call on the appropriate authorities to immediately release Dr. Djalali.
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of more than 500 universities and colleges in 39 countries dedicated to protecting the human rights of scholars around the world, and to raising awareness, understanding of, and respect for the principles of academic freedom and its constituent freedoms of expression, opinion, thought, association, and travel. In cases like that of Dr. Djalali, involving alleged infringement of these freedoms, Scholars at Risk investigates hoping to clarify and resolve matters favorably.
SAR last wrote to you on May 3, 2018, seeking his release on medical parole, given his multiple, severe medical conditions and his need for regular medical treatment; and the reconsideration of his conviction. I write today to raise our gravest concerns regarding reports that, on July 29, 2019, Dr. Djalali had been blindfolded and transferred from Evin Prison to an isolated cell in an undisclosed location. SAR understands that Dr. Djalali was subjected to torture and that authorities have threatened to execute his death sentence in an apparent effort to force confessions from him. SAR understands that Dr. Djalali has since been transferred back to Evin Prison.
We welcome any additional information that may explain these events or clarify our understandings. Absent this, Dr. Djalali's conviction, capital sentence, and new reports of torture and solitary confinement – in addition to the circumstances of his arrest and imprisonment – suggest a troubling disregard for international standards of academic freedom, due process, fair trial, and the humane treatment of prisoners, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party.
We therefore respectfully urge you to instruct the relevant authorities to immediately release Dr. Djalali and, pending such action, publicly disclose his whereabouts and ensure his well-being and access to legal counsel, family, and medical treatment.
We appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to your reply.
Robert Quinn
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Pasteur St., Pasteur Sq.
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: media@rouhani.ir
The Honorable Ayatollah Ebrahim Raeisi
Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh
(Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave. (south of Serah-e Jomhouri) Tehran 1316814737
Email: info@dadiran.ir
The Honorable Anna Segall
Director of the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs, UNESCO
7 place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP, France
Fax: 33(0)1 45 68 55
The Honorable Michelle Bachelet
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Email:InfoDesk@ohchr.org
Fax: +41 22-917-9011
The Honorable Javaid Rehman
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Email: sr-iran@ohchr.org
The Honorable Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission
Rue de la Loi, Wetstraat 200
Email: federica.mogherini@ec.europa.eu
The Honorable Stefan Löfven
Prime Minister of Sweden
Rosenbad 4
SE 103 33
Email: statsradsberedningen.registrator@gov.se
The Honorable Didier Reynders
Foreign Minister of Belgium
FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
Rue des Petits Carmes 15 1000
Email: contact.reynders@diplobel.fed.be
United States Secretary of State
2201 C St NW
The Honorable Margot Wallström
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden
Herkulesgatan 17
Email: margot.wallstrom@gov.se
In Categories: News Press Releases
Ahmadreza Djalali, Iran
Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali is scholar of disaster medicine who has been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death.


Image Title: Our Favorite Panel Ready Refrigerators Kitchen Design Blog With Refrigerator Plans 6. Post Title: Panel Ready Refrigerator. Filename: our-favorite-panel-ready-refrigerators-kitchen-design-blog-with-refrigerator-plans-6.jpg. Image Dimension: 722 x 528 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Ray Langosh. Uploaded Date: Sunday - October 07th. 2018 01:41:11 AM. Category: Design. Image Source: digsdigs.com. Panel Ready Refrigerator Throughout Chicago Kitchen Traditional With For Designs 11. Panel Ready Refrigerator Kitchen With Plan 14. Professional Custom Panel Refrigerators Monogram Kitchens Throughout Ready Refrigerator Plans 18. JF42NXFXDE Jenn Air 42 Built In French Door Refrigerator Panel With Ready Idea 13. 24 Cu Ft Capacity 4 Door French Panel Ready 42 Built In Chef Inside Refrigerator Inspirations 2. KitchenAid 21 9 Cu Ft French Door Refrigerator In Panel Ready With Designs 1. Monogram ZISB360DK 36 Built In Refrigerator With Dispenser WiFi Inside Panel Ready Decor 8. Liebherr HC2062 36 Inch Built In Panel Ready 4 Door French With Refrigerator Designs 5. KitchenAid 21 9 Cu Ft French Door Refrigerator In Panel Ready For Decorations 12. KitchenAid 4 7 Cu Ft 24 Inch Panel Ready Refrigerator With Bottom Intended For Remodel 9.


This winter marks the 20th anniversary of the premiere of Spice World—aka one of the most iconic movies of our adolescence. Tour buses flying through the air, secret bombs hidden on said buses and adorable British singers running through the streets of London in platform sneakers without batting a heavily mascaraed eyelash? We can't think of anything better. What's more, there were few girls who embodied the epitome of style in the late '90s and early-aughts quite like the Spice Girls. Ginger, Scary, Sporty, Baby and—of course—Posh pulled out all the stops when it came to their instantly recognizable fashion.
With the two-decade celebration of their film falling so close to Halloween, we're expecting the costume-friendly holiday to be rife with groups of five, all standing in formation as one of our favorite British girl groups ever. The only question is: How to make it stylish for today? We've adapted each girl's look, mixing in Chelsea boots, midi slip dresses and modern-day athleisure so we can rock these outfits on Halloween and mix certain pieces into our wardrobe for months to come. Ahead, check out how we're channeling the Spice Girls' style this season.
Known for her little black dresses and modern take on Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's style, Victoria Beckham's Posh is the easiest of the girls' style to emulate, Halloween or not. In fact, between the classic minidress, stiletto heels and glitzy-yet-understated jewelry and accessories, this is a look we'll be wearing long after the jack-o'-lanterns are taken down.
With a penchant for light pink and blue tones, Emma Bunton took childhood trends into adulthood with her onstage persona, Baby. This season, we're reaching for a '90s slip dress in dusty rose and going all out with our childhood microtrends by adding a pair of platform sneakers and whimsical fur. On All Hallows' Eve itself, we might mix in knee socks for even more of a themed look.
If there was one girl who went all out when it came to animal-inspired trends, it was Melanie B's Scary. Her wardrobe, rife with leopard, was an edgy one, to be sure. She often reached for leather and chain jewelry, mixing chunky shoes into the mix on most occasions. We're elevating her stage style by trading catsuits for midi dresses but keeping the vibe alive in textures and in tones.
Though an icon of the '90s and '00s, Geri Halliwell's Ginger harkened back to the '60s in style—a truly iconic sartorial time in London. This fiery redhead was known for her Union Jack patterns and retro-style boots. To make the look more wearable, we're styling the Abbey Road vibe with suede and a killer pair of Chelsea boots to finish off the look.


Thank you for purchasing this theme. This is one of the finest Shopify themes. Electrox is packed with a lot of powerful features. We have put together this documentation in the best possible way to explain these features and help you set up your website using DesignThemes. Let's get Started!
Our team presenting new elegant theme Electrox created for electronics manufacturers, online electronics retailers, electronics design studios and repair shops and antique / vintage electronics restoration firms.
When you purchase our theme from ThemeForest, you can download the Electrox files via the 'Downloads' tab on your ThemeForest account. When you download Electrox , you can choose the 'All Files & Documentation'. This will includes the theme files and supporting documents.
Draggable sections:Option to change the home page layout order using drag and drop option.
Slick slideshow:This Slick slider displays your content the beautiful way. Whether it's a Slider, Carousel, Hero Scene.
Newsletter integration: Easily link your Mailchimp account to the newsletter form.
Getting up and running with Electrox is quick and easy. Simply create a Shopify account, purchase the theme and upload it. You'll then have the opportunity to customize it to your liking before publishing it as your main theme.If that sounds like a lot, don't worry… each step is outlined in detail below and it's entirely possible to go from scratch to a store running Boutique in under ten minutes!
Please unpack the whole package after downloading it from Themeforest. On that extracted Electrox-v1, You can find things like Documentation,Install_01.zip/Install_02.zip/Install_03.zip/Install_04.zip , Log.txt and Readme.txt. You need to install a file "Install_01.zip/Install_02.zip/Install_03.zip/Install_04.zip"
Install_01.zip or Install_02.zip or Install_03.zip or Install_04.zip – You can pick any one these installable file to upload.
3. Select Install_01.zip/Install_02.zip/Install_03.zip/Install_04.zip file from extracted folder.
Kindly follow the steps given below for installing this theme.
Header is an important theme feature, and is what users see first. This theme consists 3 different types of headers, it's easy to switch between one header to another. Following screen shot will explore the step by step instructions.
Step 1 : Navigate to the 'Header ' tab in your customize section -> General settings.
Step 2 : Select your Header Style from select box.
Step 3 : Add then navigate to Header Model at sections.
Step 4 : Do required setup, click 'Save '.
Electrox supports custom menus, with multiple levels of dropdown support for the main menu. There are 2 types menu; The simple dropdown menu and Multi column mega menu.
When you first install Electrox , it won't contain all the extra pages setup by default that you might have seen in the live demo. For that you need to do followings setup for respective pages.
Electrox includes a flexible footer than you can customize in various ways. Electrox's Footer allows you to enable various widgets, social icons, copyright text, and much more. You can also apply different footer types.
Step 1 : Navigate to the 'Footer ' tab in your general settings at customization panel 'Click' Select Footer Style.


text:
23 & 24 March 2018.
1st Immersion in istdp for couples and families, by Leone Baruh, In Copenhagen
Home/For Professionals/Past events
Emotion Center Copenhagen invites you to
A two-day seminar by
Leone Baruh, Italy
"Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy of Families and Couples:
Intergenerational Family Therapy"
Copenhagen 23 & 24 of March 2018
"Intergenerational Family Therapy" (TIF) is a psychotherapeutic model under development, which integrates different theoretical orientations into one experiential dynamic psychotherapy approach for couples and families. The model is developed in order to implement psychodynamic techniques from ISTDP into the work with families and couples, which are considered the basic family unit. As such, TIF can be used as a therapeutic framework.
The linchpin of the model lies in using ISTDP to generate significant individual changes in a short time, resulting in changes in the more complex systems of the couple or the family. Techniques from cognitive therapy as well as theoretical understandings from systemic therapy are used to implement such changes in the family system. As such, TIF draws upon three different theoretical orientations:
Systemic family therapy as a basic support for understanding the individual family members' roles in the family as a system.
ISTDP as the optimal technique for creating deep changes in the parents/couple's respective intrapsychic conflicts. By using ISTDP, an unlocking of the parents/couple's unconscious can facilitate deep understanding of their own psychological problems, as well as symptom reduction and a fundamental sense that the emotional problems in the family can be solved.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is used for children in order to alleviate "front door symptoms", and as tools for the parents to handle emergencies in the family.
The overall goals of the immersion are:
to provide the basis of all the practical aspects involved with starting a couple or family therapy with ISTDP.
To show in detail, and using the videos, how the model works
To detect and sharpen the specific ISTDP skills needed to succeed in this complex but exciting field
To set up the foundations of the final model
About Leone Baruh:
Leone Baruh is a psychologist and psychotherapist, Vice President and Head of Education of IEDTA (International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association), Director of the SPAI Master in Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (www.spaigroup.net), and founder and CEO of SPID-B (Sviluppo Psicoterapie Intensive Dinamiche Brevi). Leone is in private practice since 1993 and has devoted the last 15 years of his career in spreading, promoting and teaching Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapies. More recently he is developing and testing brand new STDP models for Families, Couples, Adolescents and Sportsmen.
Date & Time: 23. & 24. of March 2018, both days from 9.00-16.00
Place: Emotion Center, Frederikssundsvej 60D, 2400 Copenhagen NV
Registration: Contact Mikkel Reher-Langberg at psykolog@reher-langberg.dk
Price: – DKK including lunch.
Confidentiality: As the presentations will contain personally sensitive material, the course is for health professionals only, under oath of confidentiality.
Tags: MAR 2018
5 & 6 APR 2019.
2nd Immersion In ISTDP for couples and families, by Leone Baruh, in Copenhagen
March 12; 13 &14th 2019.
Advanced Group Training with Jon Frederickson, MSW
25, 26 and 27 Okt 2019.
A three-day seminar by Dr. John H. Rathauser, USA
EMOTION CENTER 2022 ©Design Kreativa.dk
Psychologists in Copenhagen
Contact and Prices
FEB 2020 – 2023


text:
Puerto Rican bishops encourage participation in march against gender ideology
nito via Shutterstock.
By Cynthia Perez
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug 5, 2021 / 16:30 pm
The bishops in Puerto Rico have encouraged participation in a march against gender ideology, a citizen initiative in response to the upcoming launch of the "gender perspective curriculum" announced by the territorial government.
The Puerto Rican bishops' conference encouraged the island's laity "with complete freedom and in the exercise of their rights as citizens, freely to discern their participation" in the "march against the imposition of gender ideology" in a July 26 statement.
The bishops said they support parents and lay faithful, who, "making use of their natural right" and with "the freedom they have, to strongly express, always peacefully, their concern and their demands regarding this imposition, more ideological than scientific", decide to "participate in the context of their legitimate right, in the march against the imposition of gender ideology."
The march is to be held Aug. 14.
The Life and Family Coalition has called on the population to join the territorial demonstration that seeks to "stop the 'gender' dictatorship in Puerto Rico."
The initiative arose after Governor Pedro Pierluisi issued an executive order to implement in public schools an updated version of the "Gender Perspective curriculum," created by the administration of former Governor Alejandro García Padilla, which was rejected by the people of Puerto Rico in public marches in 2015.
The bishops pointed out that Christians are also citizens who need to "enjoy adequate freedom and the facilities provided by the state," and therefore, they have the same right and capacity as everyone to "claim from the legitimate authorities of the same state, their right to live and act in accordance with their convictions and their conscience."
The Puerto Rican bishops stressed that parents and the faithful have the legitimate right to be able to educate their children "without being subjected in public schools to ideologies that directly attack their convictions and sensibilities."
Finally, they asked the protesters to participate "without allowing themselves to be provoked, nor used by those who, even within the religious sphere, may have other agendas that lead to disrespect" to any person "due to their personal conditions, disability, origin, religion, affective tendencies." This includes all kinds of "harassment, violence, insults and unjust discrimination."
In December 2020 Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres of Arecibo asked Pierluisi to stop the imposition of gender ideology in the territory. In February Bishop Fernández expressed his opposition to bills 184 and 185 that seek to impose this ideology, and warned of religious persecution on the island.
Pierluisi, who took office Jan. 2 and is a member of the New Progressive Party and is affiliated with the Democratic Party on the US mainland, issued an executive order in January declaring the island to be in a state of emergency due to gender violence, and created the Committee for the Prevention, Support, Rescue and Education on Gender Violence and announced the implementation of the Gender Perspective curriculum.
Carmen Ana González Magaz, the president of the PARE Committee and Secretary of the Department of the Family, has announced that in August the gender perspective curriculum would be implemented in the island's public schools. In July, González said the process will be postponed in order to first train the Department of Education and teachers on gender issues.
In response, the Life and Family Coalition Group said on its website that it will march "to bring a clear and strong message to those who make decisions in the executive and legislative branches", so that "they desist from integrating the ideology of 'gender' in every educational effort, public policy, regulations, policies and laws. In particular those directed at minors, endangering our rights and freedoms."
Puerto Rico,
Cynthia Pérez is a Peruvian Correspondent for ACI Prensa. With a Bachelor in Communication majoring in Communication of Development at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), she is passionate about social projects, especially related with rights of persons with disabilities, public health and sustainability.


text:
Maldini set for Azzurri role
12th October 2011 Rob Paton
Former Milan defender Paolo Maldini could be set for a role with the Italian national team.
After the Azzurri's 3-0 victory over Northern Ireland in Pescara last night, both parties revealed that an agreement shouldn't be too far away.
"Maldini would be welcome in or group", Prandelli told the Gazzetta dello Sport, prompting the former Milan captain to state: "I am ready to listen to any proposals, la Nazionale has always been my home. If there was an opportunity I would say yes."
Maldini, 43, earned 126 caps for Italy, scoring seven goals. It has been reported that he turned down an opportunity to become part of Carlo Ancelotti's coaching staff at Chelsea in 2009.
Cassano eyes retirement in three years
Robinho, Mexes set for Milan return


Description	 It is not possible to attack-without-moving (* + direction) at a doorway square occupied by an invisible monster. Instead, we assume that the player is trying to shut the obstructed door.
Should be fixed by http://s-z.org/neil/git/?p=crawl.git;a=commitdiff;h=815f63789a76 [^] (by making ctrl-dir mean, unambiguously, swing at the door).


Bob Marley Custom T-shirts really are a specific favourite of mine. I found it on a recent visit to Florida and also am always on the lookout for quality.
Drawn to Boughi the selection of top quality clothing and also with its own layout in the pub, '' I couldn't believe my luck which there was a group of Bob Marley Custom tshirts on-display.
I spent some time with the store co-owner Tamekia who explained that her Bob Marley product was supplied from Zion who are branded Bob Marley merchandisers.
Boughi is just a great store to see for custom t-shirts together with a range of known brands clothing and apparel for ladies, gents and kids . The next time I am in Florida, I will be visiting Boughi ... oh and trust in me you should too, you will not be disappointed.
As a customized tshirt fan I love to take a look every so often in other websites. Custom made shirt site that is wordans is a site run by some really cool folks in Montreal, Quebec. This is my review of this Wordans custom t-shirt website.
Benefits of Use: The website without confusing the consumer, flows to the purpose of sale. Payment methods are Paypal, Credit Card, Money Order and additionally Money at their bricks & mortar shop.
Regions: Shipping is absolutely free to Canada and US but charges are not yet determined out these nations.
Pricing: Prices vary with kind of shirt and the design that is selected but all are very competitive for custom t-shirts.
Innovation: this site is up with all the best custom shirt websites.
Recommendation: Highly Suggested. A site with some customized t shirt layouts.


The few months when he was out of circulation due to his vestibular problem, were by no means influential in the enormous popularity of André Rieu. After Europe, North America and Australia, the violinist and orchestra leader has now definitely conquered South America.
At the beginning of this month, André Rieu, together with Anthony Hopkins, were standing on stage in the Royal Albert Hall in order to receive the Classic Brit Award for the album "And the Waltz Goes on" for which the British Actor wrote a piece. Hopkins used that occasion to show his admiration for the violinist and orchestra leader by stating, "André is a great musician, a fantastic showman and a wonderful violinist." And people in South America agree with that. Rieu, together with his renowned Johann Strauss Orchestra were able to totally conquer the lovers of the samba and mariachi music. I have always said, "If and when we go to Brazil, it will explode there." And this "explosion" aided Rieu immensely with his incredible success. This "explosion" encompassed as many as thirty sold out concerts in a row in Sao Paulo. No single artist has been able to achieve that. Approximately 200.000 tickets were sold, while within a single year twice as many CD's have been sold. "A show with hallucinating moments" headlined a huge Brazilian newspaper. One fan after the show was shouting, "This show is a gift from God! Outrageously beautiful." The audience was entranced by the beautifully dressed musicians. Reviewers spoke of "the Disney like" pink, light blue and salmon colored dresses. But Rieu did not really touch the Brazilian emotions until he performed his classic version of the pop song "Ai Se eu Te Pego", a world hit by Brazilian Michael Telo.
Illegal: "The Brazilian public was fantastic" said Rieu reflecting back. "They had to wait a long time before we finally arrived to do a live performance. That it would turn out to be thirty concerts, no one would have dared to dream that." This Brazilian fairy tale is not yet finished. In April the Johann Strauss Orchestra will fly to Rio de Janeiro. And for the end of 2013 there are apparently a series of Christmas shows in the planning for Sao Paulo. The success in Latin America did not just come falling out of the sky. DVD's and CD's have of course found their way to fans in Columbia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. But to organize a series of concerts, with approximately one hundred musicians and technicians, and then fly half way around the world, is a bit more complicated. That is why Rieu first and very carefully tested the waters in Mexico, where the 62 year old musician and his Johann Strauss Orchestra now feel at home. But Mexico had a surprise in store for him. "I was dumb founded" said André after one of his concerts in Mexico City. "When we thought, "Let's try Mexico first", I seemed to be already famous there on the streets!" Pirate versions of his DVD's and CD's being offered everywhere in stands, seemed to have boosted his concert ticket sales enormously. Outside the concert halls, son Pierre filmed the shameless vendors selling their illegally begotten wares to the public. "They even wanted me to autograph them" he said laughing.
Music Prize: The illegal sales did simply not keep Rieu from implementing his official sales in Mexico towards the end of 2011. In total he performed eight concerts in Guadalajara, Monterey and Mexico City. Approximately 70,000 spectators came to watch the violin virtuoso, including famous musicians like Armando Manzanero. This series of concerts yielded him a nomination for the Lunas Award, the prestigious music award for the best live performance in Mexico. Previously Elton John and Paul McCartney won this prize. On October 31, only Placido Domingo seems to be a serious contender for this trophy. The Limburg citizen is not surprised at all with his success in South America. "The kind of music I play is accepted all over the world. From the Eskimo's to the Aborigines. As long as you open yourself up to the music. We play with all our heart and that the people in the hall notice that. My orchestra members and I are there because we enjoy it. Our happy faces are not put on, that is why there is a good interaction with the audience. And that works everywhere.
Thank you to John for Translating this and Ineke for sending it.
Simple comment - Dearest Andre, you truly are the Maestro of the World.


Click the first letter of the game title you are trying to find Nintendo 64 Cheat Codes for. We have cheat codes for thousands of Nintendo 64 Games. If you have a cheat code for any Nintendo 64 game that we do not have please submit your cheat code to us.


With only a few ingredients, these grain free cookies are a delicious sweet treat that will help keep cravings at bay. Store in the freezer and grab one whenever the urge strikes.
Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Using a cookie scoop, drop the batter onto a parchment lined baking pan and freeze until firm.


text:
package org.apache.sis.parameter;

import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Collections;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlElement;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlRootElement;
import org.opengis.parameter.ParameterValueGroup;
import org.opengis.parameter.ParameterDescriptorGroup;
import org.opengis.parameter.GeneralParameterDescriptor;
import org.opengis.parameter.ParameterNotFoundException;
import org.opengis.parameter.InvalidParameterNameException;
import org.apache.sis.internal.jaxb.referencing.CC_OperationParameterGroup;
import org.apache.sis.internal.metadata.ImplementationHelper;
import org.apache.sis.internal.referencing.Resources;
import org.apache.sis.referencing.IdentifiedObjects;
import org.apache.sis.internal.util.UnmodifiableArrayList;
import org.apache.sis.util.resources.Errors;
import org.apache.sis.util.ArgumentChecks;
import org.apache.sis.util.ComparisonMode;

import static org.apache.sis.util.Utilities.deepEquals;

/**
 * The definition of a group of related parameters used by an operation method.
 * {@code DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup} instances are immutable and thus thread-safe.
 *
 *
Instantiation

 * Parameter descriptors are usually predefined by the SIS library and available through the following methods:
 *
 *

 *
{@link org.apache.sis.referencing.operation.DefaultOperationMethod#getParameters()}

 *

 *
 * If nevertheless a {@code ParameterDescriptorGroup} needs to be instantiated directly,
 * then the {@link ParameterBuilder} class may make the task easier.
 *
 *
Example:
 * The following example declares the parameters for a Mercator (variant A) projection method
 * valid from 80°S to 84°N on all the longitude range (±180°).
 *
 * {@preformat java
 *     class Mercator {
 *         static final ParameterDescriptorGroup PARAMETERS;
 *         static {
 *             ParameterBuilder builder = new ParameterBuilder();
 *             builder.setCodeSpace(Citations.EPSG, "EPSG").setRequired(true);
 *             ParameterDescriptor<?>[] parameters = {
 *                 builder.addName("Latitude of natural origin")    .createBounded( -80,  +84, 0, Units.DEGREE),
 *                 builder.addName("Longitude of natural origin")   .createBounded(-180, +180, 0, Units.DEGREE),
 *                 builder.addName("Scale factor at natural origin").createStrictlyPositive(1, Units.UNITY),
 *                 builder.addName("False easting")                 .create(0, Units.METRE),
 *                 builder.addName("False northing")                .create(0, Units.METRE)
 *             };
 *             builder.addIdentifier("9804")                    // Primary key in EPSG database.
 *                    .addName("Mercator (variant A)")          // EPSG name since October 2010.
 *                    .addName("Mercator (1SP)")                // EPSG name prior October 2010.
 *                    .addName(Citations.OGC, "Mercator_1SP");  // Name found in some OGC specifications.
 *             PARAMETERS = builder.createGroup(parameters);
 *         }
 *     }
 * }
 *

 *
 * @author  Martin Desruisseaux (IRD, Geomatys)
 * @author  Johann Sorel (Geomatys)
 * @version 0.6
 *
 * @see DefaultParameterValueGroup
 * @see DefaultParameterDescriptor
 *
 * @since 0.4
 * @module
 */
@XmlType(name = "OperationParameterGroupType")
@XmlRootElement(name = "OperationParameterGroup")
public class DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup extends AbstractParameterDescriptor implements ParameterDescriptorGroup {
    /**
     * Serial number for inter-operability with different versions.
     */
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 6058599597772994456L;

    /**
     * The {@linkplain #descriptors() parameter descriptors} for this group.
     *
     *
Consider this field as final!
     * This field is modified only at unmarshalling time by {@link #setDescriptors(GeneralParameterDescriptor[])}

     *
     * @see #descriptors()
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("serial")         // Not statically typed as Serializable.
    private List<GeneralParameterDescriptor> descriptors;

    /**
     * Constructs a parameter group from a set of properties. The properties map is given unchanged to the
     * {@linkplain AbstractParameterDescriptor#AbstractParameterDescriptor(Map, int, int) super-class constructor}.
     * The following table is a reminder of main (not all) properties:
     *
     *

     *
Recognized properties (non exhaustive list)

     *

     *     Property name
     *     Value type
     *     Returned by
     *

     *

     *     {@value org.opengis.referencing.IdentifiedObject#NAME_KEY}
     *     {@link org.opengis.referencing.ReferenceIdentifier} or {@link String}
     *     {@link #getName()}
     *

     *

     *     {@value org.opengis.referencing.IdentifiedObject#ALIAS_KEY}
     *     {@link org.opengis.util.GenericName} or {@link CharSequence} (optionally as array)
     *     {@link #getAlias()}
     *

     *

     *     {@value org.opengis.referencing.IdentifiedObject#IDENTIFIERS_KEY}
     *     {@link org.opengis.referencing.ReferenceIdentifier} (optionally as array)
     *     {@link #getIdentifiers()}
     *

     *

     *     "description"
     *     {@link org.opengis.util.InternationalString} or {@link String}
     *     {@link #getDescription()}
     *

     *

     *     {@value org.opengis.referencing.IdentifiedObject#REMARKS_KEY}
     *     {@link org.opengis.util.InternationalString} or {@link String}
     *     {@link #getRemarks()}
     *

     *

     *
     * @param properties     the properties to be given to the new parameter group.
     * @param minimumOccurs  the {@linkplain #getMinimumOccurs() minimum number of times} that values
     *                       for this parameter group are required, or 0 if no restriction.
     * @param maximumOccurs  the {@linkplain #getMaximumOccurs() maximum number of times} that values
     *                       for this parameter group are required, or {@link Integer#MAX_VALUE} if no restriction.
     * @param parameters     the {@linkplain #descriptors() parameter descriptors} for this group.
     *
     * @throws InvalidParameterNameException if a parameter name is duplicated.
     */
    public DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup(final Map<String,?> properties,
            final int minimumOccurs, final int maximumOccurs, GeneralParameterDescriptor... parameters)
    {
        super(properties, minimumOccurs, maximumOccurs);
        ArgumentChecks.ensureNonNull("parameters", parameters);
        verifyNames(properties, parameters = parameters.clone());
        descriptors = asList(parameters);
    }

    /**
     * Constructs a group with the same parameters than another group. This is a convenience constructor for
     * operations that expect the same parameters than another operation, but perform a different process.
     *
     *
Example:
     * the various "Coordinate Frame Rotation" variants (EPSG codes 1032, 1038 and 9607)
     * expect the same parameters than their "Position Vector transformation" counterpart
     * (EPSG codes 1033, 1037 and 9606) but perform the rotation in the opposite direction.

     *
     * @param properties  the properties to be given to the new parameter group.
     * @param parameters  the existing group from which to copy the {@linkplain #descriptors() parameter descriptors}.
     *
     * @since 0.7
     */
    public DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup(final Map<String,?> properties, final ParameterDescriptorGroup parameters) {
        super(properties, parameters.getMinimumOccurs(), parameters.getMaximumOccurs());
        descriptors = parameters.descriptors();    // We will share the same instance if it is safe.
        if (!(parameters instanceof DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup)
            || ((DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup) parameters).descriptors != descriptors)
        {
            // Note sure where the list come from, we are better to copy its content.
            final GeneralParameterDescriptor[] p = descriptors.toArray(new GeneralParameterDescriptor[descriptors.size()]);
            verifyNames(properties, p);
            descriptors = asList(p);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Creates a mandatory parameter group without cloning the given array. This constructor shall
     * be used only when we know that the given array is already a copy of the user-provided array.
     */
    DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup(final Map<String,?> properties, final GeneralParameterDescriptor[] parameters) {
        super(properties, 1, 1);
        verifyNames(properties, parameters);
        descriptors = asList(parameters);
    }

    /**
     * Ensures that the given name array does not contain duplicate values.
     *
     * @param  properties  the properties given to the constructor, or {@code null} if unknown.
     */
    private static void verifyNames(final Map<String,?> properties, final GeneralParameterDescriptor[] parameters) {
        for (int i=0; i<parameters.length; i++) {
            final GeneralParameterDescriptor parameter = parameters[i];
            ArgumentChecks.ensureNonNullElement("parameters", i, parameter);
            final String name = parameter.getName().getCode();
            for (int j=0; j<i; j++) {
                if (IdentifiedObjects.isHeuristicMatchForName(parameters[j], name)) {
                    throw new InvalidParameterNameException(Resources.forProperties(properties).getString(
                            Resources.Keys.DuplicatedParameterName_4, Verifier.getDisplayName(parameters[j]), j, name, i),
                            name);
                }
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Creates a new descriptor with the same values than the specified one.
     * This copy constructor provides a way to convert an arbitrary implementation into a SIS one or a
     * user-defined one (as a subclass), usually in order to leverage some implementation-specific API.
     *
     *
This constructor performs a shallow copy, i.e. the properties are not cloned.

     *
     * @param  descriptor  the descriptor to shallow copy.
     *
     * @see #castOrCopy(ParameterDescriptorGroup)
     */
    protected DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup(final ParameterDescriptorGroup descriptor) {
        super(descriptor);
        final List<GeneralParameterDescriptor> c = descriptor.descriptors();
        if (descriptor instanceof DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup &&
                ((DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup) descriptor).descriptors == c)
        {
            descriptors = c; // Share the immutable instance (no need to clone).
        } else {
            descriptors = asList(c.toArray(new GeneralParameterDescriptor[c.size()]));
        }
    }

    /**
     * Returns the given array of parameters as an unmodifiable list.
     */
    private static List<GeneralParameterDescriptor> asList(final GeneralParameterDescriptor[] parameters) {
        switch (parameters.length) {
            case 0:  return Collections.emptyList();
            case 1:  return Collections.singletonList(parameters[0]);
            case 2:  // fall through
            case 3:  return UnmodifiableArrayList.wrap(parameters);
            default: return new AsList(parameters);
        }
    }

    /**
     * The {@link DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup#descriptors} as an unmodifiable list.
     * This class overrides {@link #contains(Object)} with a faster implementation based on {@link HashSet}.
     * This optimizations is helpful for map projection implementations, which test often for a parameter validity.
     */
    private static final class AsList extends UnmodifiableArrayList<GeneralParameterDescriptor> {
        /** For compatibility with different versions. */
        private static final long serialVersionUID = -2116304004367396735L;

        /** The element as a set, created when first needed. */
        private transient volatile Set<GeneralParameterDescriptor> asSet;

        /** Constructs a list for the specified array. */
        public AsList(final GeneralParameterDescriptor[] array) {
            super(array);
        }

        /** Tests for the inclusion of the specified descriptor. */
        @Override public boolean contains(final Object object) {
            Set<GeneralParameterDescriptor> s = asSet;
            if (s == null) {
                asSet = s = new HashSet<>(this);        // No synchronization: not a big problem if created twice.
            }
            return s.contains(object);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Returns a SIS group implementation with the same values than the given arbitrary implementation.
     * If the given object is {@code null}, then this method returns {@code null}.
     * Otherwise if the given object is already a SIS implementation, then the given object is returned unchanged.
     * Otherwise a new SIS implementation is created and initialized to the values of the given object.
     *
     * @param  object  the object to get as a SIS implementation, or {@code null} if none.
     * @return a SIS implementation containing the values of the given object (may be the
     *         given object itself), or {@code null} if the argument was null.
     */
    public static DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup castOrCopy(final ParameterDescriptorGroup object) {
        return (object == null) || (object instanceof DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup)
                ? (DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup) object : new DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup(object);
    }

    /**
     * Returns the GeoAPI interface implemented by this class.
     * The SIS implementation returns {@code ParameterDescriptorGroup.class}.
     *
     *
Note for implementers:
     * Subclasses usually do not need to override this method since GeoAPI does not define {@code ParameterDescriptorGroup}
     * sub-interface. Overriding possibility is left mostly for implementers who wish to extend GeoAPI with their own
     * set of interfaces.

     *
     * @return {@code ParameterDescriptorGroup.class} or a user-defined sub-interface.
     */
    @Override
    public Class<? extends ParameterDescriptorGroup> getInterface() {
        return ParameterDescriptorGroup.class;
    }

    /**
     * Returns all parameters in this group.
     *
     * @return the parameter descriptors in this group.
     */
    @Override
    @SuppressWarnings("ReturnOfCollectionOrArrayField")
    public List<GeneralParameterDescriptor> descriptors() {
        return descriptors;     // Unmodifiable.
    }

    /**
     * Returns the first parameter in this group for the specified name.
     * This method does not search in sub-groups.
     *
     * @param  name  the name of the parameter to search for.
     * @return the parameter for the given identifier name.
     * @throws ParameterNotFoundException if there is no parameter for the given name.
     */
    @Override
    @SuppressWarnings("null")
    public GeneralParameterDescriptor descriptor(final String name) throws ParameterNotFoundException {
        // Quick search for an exact match.
        ArgumentChecks.ensureNonNull("name", name);
        for (final GeneralParameterDescriptor param : descriptors) {
            if (name.equals(param.getName().getCode())) {
                return param;
            }
        }
        // More costly search before to give up.
        GeneralParameterDescriptor fallback = null, ambiguity = null;
        for (final GeneralParameterDescriptor param : descriptors) {
            if (IdentifiedObjects.isHeuristicMatchForName(param, name)) {
                if (fallback == null) {
                    fallback = param;
                } else {
                    ambiguity = param;
                }
            }
        }
        if (fallback != null && ambiguity == null) {
            return fallback;
        }
        throw new ParameterNotFoundException(ambiguity != null
                ? Errors.format(Errors.Keys.AmbiguousName_3,
                        IdentifiedObjects.toString(fallback.getName()),
                        IdentifiedObjects.toString(ambiguity.getName()), name)
                : Resources.format(Resources.Keys.ParameterNotFound_2, Verifier.getDisplayName(this), name), name);
    }

    /**
     * Creates a new instance of {@linkplain DefaultParameterValueGroup parameter value group}
     * initialized with the {@linkplain DefaultParameterDescriptor#getDefaultValue default values}.
     * The {@linkplain DefaultParameterValueGroup#getDescriptor() parameter descriptor} for the
     * created group will be {@code this} object.
     *
     * @return a new parameter instance initialized to the default value.
     */
    @Override
    public ParameterValueGroup createValue() {
        return new DefaultParameterValueGroup(this);
    }

    /**
     * Compares the specified object with this parameter group for equality.
     *
     * @return {@inheritDoc}
     */
    @Override
    public boolean equals(final Object object, final ComparisonMode mode) {
        if (object == this) {
            return true;                                    // Optimization for a common case.
        }
        if (super.equals(object, mode)) {
            switch (mode) {
                case STRICT: {
                    return descriptors.equals(((DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup) object).descriptors);
                }
                default: {
                    return deepEquals(descriptors(), ((ParameterDescriptorGroup) object).descriptors(), mode);
                }
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

    /**
     * Invoked by {@link #hashCode()} for computing the hash code when first needed.
     *
     * @return {@inheritDoc}
     */
    @Override
    protected long computeHashCode() {
        return super.computeHashCode() + descriptors.hashCode();
    }

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    ////////                                                                                ////////
    ////////                               XML support with JAXB                              ////////
    ////////                                                                                ////////
    ////////        The following methods are invoked by JAXB using reflection (even if       ////////
    ////////        they are private) or are helpers for other methods invoked by JAXB.       ////////
    ////////        Those methods can be safely removed if Geographic Markup Language         ////////
    ////////        (GML) support is not needed.                                              ////////
    ////////                                                                                ////////
    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    /**
     * Constructs a new object in which every attributes are set to a null value or an empty list.
     * This is not a valid object. This constructor is strictly reserved to JAXB
     * and to {@link DefaultParameterValueGroup}, which will assign values later.
     *
     * @see #setDescriptors(GeneralParameterDescriptor[])
     */
    DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup() {
        descriptors = Collections.emptyList();
    }

    /**
     * Invoked by JAXB for getting the parameters to marshal.
     */
    @XmlElement(name = "parameter", required = true)
    private GeneralParameterDescriptor[] getDescriptors() {
        final List<GeneralParameterDescriptor> descriptors = descriptors();     // Give to user a chance to override.
        return descriptors.toArray(new GeneralParameterDescriptor[descriptors.size()]);
    }

    /**
     * Invoked by JAXB for setting the unmarshalled parameter descriptors.
     */
    private void setDescriptors(final GeneralParameterDescriptor[] parameters) {
        if (descriptors.isEmpty()) {
            verifyNames(null, parameters);
            descriptors = asList(parameters);
        } else {
            ImplementationHelper.propertyAlreadySet(DefaultParameterValue.class, "setDescriptors", "parameter");
        }
    }

    /**
     * Merges the given parameter descriptors with the descriptors currently in this group.
     * The descriptors are set twice during {@link DefaultParameterValueGroup} unmarshalling:
     *
     *

     *
First, the descriptors are set during unmarshalling of this {@code DefaultParameterDescriptorGroup}.
     *       But the value class of {@code ParameterDescriptor} components are unknown because this information
     *       is not part of GML.

     *
Next, this method is invoked during unmarshalling of the {@code DefaultParameterValueGroup} enclosing
     *       element with the descriptors found inside the {@code ParameterValue} components. The latter do have the
     *       {@code valueClass} information, so we want to use them in replacement of descriptors of step 1.

     *

     *
     * @param fromValues    descriptors declared in the {@code ParameterValue} instances of a {@code ParameterValueGroup}.
     * @param replacements  an {@code IdentityHashMap} where to store the replacements that the caller needs to apply in
     *                      the {@code GeneralParameterValue} instances.
     */
    final void merge(GeneralParameterDescriptor[] fromValues,
            final Map<GeneralParameterDescriptor,GeneralParameterDescriptor> replacements)
    {
        fromValues = CC_OperationParameterGroup.merge(descriptors, fromValues, replacements);
        verifyNames(null, fromValues);
        descriptors = asList(fromValues);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Then I got to thinking. As a reader, why will I always prefer the book over the movie? Well most times anyway.
The first is sort of obvious. It has been mentioned many times. Reading a book is a an 'active' activity. When engaged in it, your head has to be fully in it or else that activity ceases to happen. Not to sound too melodramatic, but doesn't this sort of make reading a mediative exercise? Aren't escapism and getting so lost in a book just various forms of mindful meditation? I know that is what I felt when I read The kind worth killing. I read this book for two hours straight, so immersed that after I finished I had a very splitting pain in my arm.
Following from the above then is the sense of accomplishment you get when you finish a book. I know everyone knows what I am talking about. This is the sense that I think us readers get addicted to. A sense for which we trudge through books we are not completely invested in, books that we do not completely understand, just to feel that feel of knowing that you finish something that was made of pages and words, and its pretty much amazing.
Last but not at all the least, need I elaborate over the empathy that books invoke in me? Books allow me to detach myself from my perceptions and judgements and to step into someone else's shoes, if only figuratively. They give me the details, help me paint a picture that movies do not allow. In a movie my imagination is never engaged, what I feel for characters seems transitory. I have experienced this feeling many times, but I felt the full thrust of it when I read Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. I was not a fan of the two main characters, but I was so invested in their story, their struggles, where they were coming from, that I could not stop reading. All I could think of was their story and even though they both had done some pretty despicable things, I empathized, if not loved them till the end.


text:
L'affrontement du récif de Scarborough fait référence aux tensions entre la république des Philippines et la république populaire de Chine au sujet du lit contesté du récif de Scarborough. Les tensions ont commencé le 8 avril 2012 après la tentative d'appréhension par la marine philippine de huit navires de pêche de Chine continentale près du récif.

Contexte
Le récif de Scarborough est revendiqué par les Philippines et la Chine. Le 8 avril 2012, un avion de surveillance de la marine philippine a repéré huit navires de pêche chinois ancrés dans les eaux du récif de Scarborough. Le  a été envoyé le même jour par la marine philippine pour inspecter les environs du récif et a confirmé la présence des navires de pêche et leurs activités en cours. Le 10 avril 2012, le BRP Gregorio del Pilar est venu inspecter les prises des navires de pêche. L'équipe d'inspection philippine a affirmé avoir découvert des coraux, des bénitiers géants et des requins vivants collectés illégalement à l'intérieur du premier navire arraisonné par l'équipe. Le BRP Gregorio del Pilar a signalé qu'ils avaient tenté d'arrêter les pêcheurs chinois mais avaient été bloqués par des navires de  chinois, le  et le . Les tensions se sont depuis poursuivies entre les deux pays.

Réactions et incidents associés
En 2012, un appel infructueux a été lancé aux Philippines pour boycotter les produits fabriqués en Chine par le gouverneur d'Albay, .

La même année, les Pinoys américains pour la bonne gouvernance, ainsi que la communauté vietnamienne de Floride, ont également appelé au boycott des produits chinois.

Échanges de cyberattaques
Des pirates soupçonnés d'être originaires de Chine ont défiguré le site Web de l'Université des Philippines le 20 avril 2012. Les pirates ont laissé un message affirmant: "Nous venons de Chine! L'île de Huangyan est à nous". Le 21 avril, "Anonymous #Occupy Philippines" a riposté et a attaqué le site Web de l'Union des médias de l'Université de Chine, défigurant sa page d'accueil avec une image d'un masque de Guy Fawkes. Le hacker a déclaré : "Le gouvernement chinois est clairement attardé. Le récif de Scarborough est à nous !". Le site Web de l'Université des Philippines a été remis en ligne le même jour. Après les attaques, la porte-parole adjointe du président philippin Benigno Aquino III Abigail Valte a déclaré qu'il ne semblait pas que les attaques auraient un effet négatif sur les pourparlers de Manille et Pékin pour trouver une solution diplomatique à l'impasse, et a exhorté les philippins et les chinois à s'abstenir d'aggraver les tensions. Les sites Web philippins du Journal officiel, du Bureau présidentiel de développement et de planification stratégique des communications et du Musée et bibliothèque présidentiels ont également été dégradés en avril. Le 4 mai, des pirates informatiques ont dégradé les sites Web du journal The Philippine Star.

Exportations de fruits des Philippines vers la Chine
La Chine a imposé des réglementations plus strictes sur ses importations de bananes philippines, car une cargaison de bananes a été rejetée en mai, prétendument en raison de son échec aux tests de quarantaine. Selon les exportateurs de bananes philippins, la décision de la Chine était liée à l'impasse dans le récif de Scarborough. La Chine a également ordonné des inspections plus strictes sur les ananas philippins et d'autres fruits provenant du pays.

Suspension des voyages aux Philippines
La plupart des agences de voyages chinoises ont suspendu leurs visites aux Philippines en raison de l'impasse sur le récif de Scarborough. Les touristes en provenance de Chine représentent environ 9 % du total des arrivées aux Philippines selon le .

L'entreprise publique , le Shanghai Tourism Bureau et Ctrip.com ont suspendu indéfiniment toutes les visites aux Philippines en invoquant le sentiment anti-chinois dans le pays et pour la sécurité des ressortissants chinois.

Manifestations du 11 mai aux Philippines
Les Philippins ont organisé une manifestation près du consulat chinois à Manille contre la politique de la Chine dans le récif de Scarborough le 11 mai. Cependant, elle a été de courte durée car seule une fraction des 1 000 personnes attendues se sont présentées pour participer à la manifestation.

La Chine a déployé des policiers près de l'ambassade des Philippines à Pékin, où environ 200 manifestants ont été signalés. La manifestation à Pékin s'est terminée pacifiquement. L'ambassade de Chine à Manille a conseillé aux ressortissants chinois de ne pas sortir dans la rue. Taiwan a également publié un avis similaire à ses résidents séjournant aux Philippines.

Manifestations du 11 mai à Hong Kong
Des militants de Hong Kong ont organisé une manifestation le 11 mai pour réitérer la revendication de la Chine sur le récif de Scarborough près du consulat des Philippines à Hong Kong. Les manifestants ont envoyé une lettre ouverte aux autorités affirmant que le récif de Scarborough était un territoire chinois depuis 1279 sous la dynastie Yuan. Ils accusent également les Philippines d'inciter les philippins à manifester contre la Chine et de perturber les pêcheurs chinois dans le récif.

Manifestations du 12 mai à Pékin
Cinq manifestants ont déployé des banderoles devant l'ambassade des Philippines à Pékin sur lesquelles on pouvait lire : "L'île de Huangyan appartiendra toujours à la Chine" et "Ne touchez pas à l'île de Huangyan". La manifestation n'a pas duré longtemps et les manifestants ont été dispersés par la police à midi.

Interdiction de pêche
Le gouvernement chinois a unilatéralement imposé une interdiction de pêche en mer de Chine méridionale, où se trouve le récif de Scarborough, du 16 mai au  août. Depuis 1999, la Chine impose l'interdiction annuelle de pêche d'été, qui couvre les pêcheurs, quelle que soit leur nationalité. Les filets maillants monocouches et la pêche à la ligne et à l'hameçon ne sont pas visés par l'interdiction.

Les Philippines ne reconnaissent pas l'interdiction de pêche chinoise mais ont imposé leur propre interdiction de pêche. L'interdiction de pêche philippine a duré du 16 mai au 15 juillet et la Garde côtière philippine interdira les pêcheurs philippins du récif. L'ancien président Benigno Aquino III a insisté sur le fait que l'interdiction était pour la préservation des ressources marines. Des dispositifs de concentration de poissons ont été installés dans les eaux municipales de Santa Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc, Palauig et Iba à Zambales, ainsi qu'à La Union, Ilocos Sur et Ilocos Norte afin d'assurer les moyens de subsistance des pêcheurs philippins touchés. À partir du 26 juin, les navires de pêche, ainsi que les navires paramilitaires, sont toujours dans le récif de Scarborough malgré l'effet de l'interdiction de pêche chinoise.

Manifestation planifiée de Faeldon
L'ancien capitaine de marine  prévoyait de diriger un groupe de pêcheurs vers le récif de Scarborough en guise de protestation pour affirmer la revendication des Philippines sur le banc. Faeldon a également envisagé de planter un drapeau philippin sur le récif. Le 18 mai, le président Aquino a appelé Faeldon pour le dissuader de réaliser son voyage. Selon Faeldon, même si son plan a abouti, son groupe n'a pas l'intention de planter un drapeau, contrairement aux rapports précédents, ou de pêcher dans la région.

Présence chinoise continue
Les Philippines ont affirmé qu'en vertu d'un accord de 2012 négocié par les États-Unis, la Chine et les Philippines avaient promis de retirer leurs forces du récif jusqu'à ce qu'un accord sur sa propriété puisse être conclu. Les Philippines "se sont conformées à l'accord" et se sont retirées. La Chine, cependant, n'a pas respecté l'accord et a maintenu sa présence sur le récif, le militarisant de fait. Le président philippin Benigno S. Aquino III a ensuite comparé le comportement de la Chine à l'annexion de la Tchécoslovaquie par l'Allemagne nazie. La Chine a affirmé qu'aucun accord de ce type n'avait été conclu et qu'elle était ouverte à des pourparlers avec les Philippines à condition que des entités non régionales telles que les États-Unis restent en dehors de ces pourparlers.

En juillet 2012, la Chine avait érigé une barrière à l'entrée du récif, selon le . Depuis lors, des navires appartenant au Commandement de la surveillance maritime et de l'application des lois sur la pêche de Chine ont été observés dans le récif contesté à proximité et des navires du gouvernement chinois ont détourné des navires philippins naviguant vers la région. En réponse, les Philippines ont déclaré qu'elles se prépareraient à renvoyer des navires sur le récif, dans ce qui a été décrit comme une "impasse froide". En janvier 2014, la Chine a continué à maintenir une présence dans le récif, parmi les tensions accrues concernant une nouvelle loi qui oblige les bateaux de pêche non chinois à demander l'autorisation de la Chine lorsqu'ils se trouvent dans la mer de Chine méridionale, mais les bateaux de pêche philippins ont pu pêcher autour du récif sans interaction chinoise.

En avril 2015, un navire des garde-côtes chinois a utilisé des canons à eau sur des bateaux de pêche philippins et a saisi les prises de certains des bateaux, dans les eaux proches du récif. Cela fait suite à une utilisation similaire de canons à eau dans les eaux autour des récifs fin janvier 2014. La Chine a rejeté les rapports concernant l'incident et a réitéré sa revendication du récif. Les États-Unis ont qualifié les actions des garde-côtes chinois de "provocatrices".

Un article paru dans Foreign Policy a identifié l'augmentation des patrouilles chinoises dans les récifs comme la raison pour laquelle l'accusation de la Chine selon laquelle le pivot américain alimentait les tensions en mer de Chine méridionale était "manifestement fausse".

Exploitation de la pêche en avril 2021
En avril 2021, on estimait à 287 les bateaux de pêche chinois qui pêchaient sur le récif de Scarborough. On soupçonne que 240 000 kilos, soit plus de 260 tonnes, ont été capturés illégalement par des navires de pêche chinois. Ce qui à son tour a indigné de nombreux philippins, dont le secrétaire du ministère des Affaires étrangères, , qui a déposé de nombreuses démarches ou plus communément appelées protestations diplomatiques contre l'incursion chinoise à Pékin.

Réactions internationales
  : Le ministre australien des Affaires étrangères, Bob Carr, lors de son séjour à Shanghai le 12 mai, a exhorté les pays demandeurs à se conformer aux conventions internationales et à la loi pour la résolution, déclarant: "Nous ne prenons pas parti sur les diverses revendications sur la mer de Chine méridionale. Mais nous le faisons, étant donné notre intérêt pour la mer de Chine méridionale et compte tenu du fait qu'une grande partie de notre commerce y transite, nous appelons les gouvernements à clarifier et à poursuivre ces revendications et les droits maritimes qui les accompagnent conformément au droit international, y compris la loi de l'ONU sur les la Convention sur la mer."
  : Le mardi 14 juin 2011, les États-Unis ont indiqué leur soutien aux Philippines dans un contexte d'escalade des tensions autour des Îles Spratleys contestées dans la mer de Chine méridionale. L'ambassadeur américain  a déclaré : "Je tiens à vous assurer que dans tous les secteurs, nous, les États-Unis, sommes avec les Philippines, [...] Les Philippines et les États-Unis sont des alliés stratégiques. Nous sommes partenaires. Nous continuerons à se consulter et travailler les uns avec les autres sur toutes les questions, y compris la mer de Chine méridionale".
  : Le ministère indien des Affaires extérieures a publié une déclaration disant que "le maintien de la paix et de la sécurité dans la région est d'un intérêt vital pour la communauté internationale. L'Inde exhorte les deux pays à faire preuve de retenue et à résoudre le problème par voie diplomatique conformément aux principes du droit international."
  : Le Premier ministre malaisien Najib Razak a déclaré que son pays soutenait l'appel des Philippines à une "résolution pacifique" par le biais d'une "solution multilatérale" au conflit du récif de Scarborough.
  : L'ambassadeur du Pakistan en Chine, , a déclaré lors d'un forum des ambassadeurs à l' que "le Pakistan est avec la Chine" sur l'incident du récif de Scarborough.
  : Le Premier ministre britannique David Cameron a souligné que le Royaume-Uni appelait à une "résolution pacifique" du conflit du récif de Scarborough.
  : L'ambassadeur de Russie à Manille, Nikolay Kudashev, a réitéré que la Russie soutenait une solution bilatérale entre les pays demandeurs et s'opposait à l'implication d'autres nations dans les différends en mer de Chine méridionale. Kudashev a également noté que la Russie n'était pas partie au différend sur le récif de Scarborough et que son pays souhaitait garantir la liberté de navigation en mer de Chine méridionale. Kudashev a également déclaré que "l'UNCLOS (Convention des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer) fournirait une base bonne et solide".
  : L'ancien président taïwanais Ma Ying-jeou a déclaré qu'il espérait que le conflit serait résolu de "manière pacifique", mais a également réitéré que Taïwan "continuera toujours à défendre ses revendications souveraines sur la mer de Chine méridionale".
  : Le porte-parole du ministère vietnamien des Affaires étrangères, Luong Thanh Nghi, a déclaré que le Viêt Nam était "profondément préoccupé" par l'incident du récif de Scarborough. Il a souligné que "les parties concernées doivent faire preuve de retenue et résoudre pacifiquement les différends fondés sur le droit international, en particulier la Convention des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer de 1982 et la Déclaration sur la conduite des parties en mer Orientale (DOC), afin de maintenir la paix, la stabilité, la sécurité et la sûreté maritime en mer Orientale et dans la région."

Implication du tribunal international du droit de la mer
Le Tribunal international du droit de la mer (TIDM) est une organisation intergouvernementale créée par le mandat de la troisième Conférence des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer, chargée de réglementer l'exploitation minière des fonds marins au-delà des limites de la juridiction nationale, et de régler les différends entre États parties.

En juin 2013, les Philippines ont décidé de porter le différend territorial devant le TIDM après avoir "épuisé toutes les voies politiques et diplomatiques pour un règlement pacifique négocié de leur différend maritime avec la Chine", déclarant qu'elles demanderaient au tribunal de déclarer les revendications de la Chine comme telles "non valide". La Chine a formellement rejeté la procédure d'arbitrage initiée par les Philippines. Selon l'annexe VII de la Convention des Nations unies sur le droit de la mer (UNCLOS), le refus de la Chine n'entraverait pas nécessairement la procédure.

En février 2014, il a été signalé que la Chine avait offert un retrait mutuel du récif et d'autres incitations si les Philippines s'abstenaient de soumettre un plaidoyer formel, et que la position philippine était: "Avec ce qui est sur la table, il n'y a pas assez."

Exacerbation des tensions en 2016
Après avoir observé une activité de bateaux sur le récif qui aurait pu signaler la préparation d'une activité de développement, les États-Unis "ont effectué trois patrouilles aériennes différentes près de Scarborough [...], y compris les 19 et 21 avril", 2016, et ont évoqué et auraient envisagé d'autres réactions à la lumière de tensions généralement plus élevées dans les Spratleys et la région. Les vols américains ont observé la limite territoriale de 12 milles à partir du récif.

Notes et références

Avril 2012
2012 aux Philippines
2012 en Chine
Mer de Chine méridionale

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia