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Archive for the 'Biden' Category
Messiah Obama Speaks On College Football, Some Worshipers Unhappy
Naturally, a man newly elected by the American people to become the President of the United States can sometimes delve into areas where he is neither welcomed nor really expected or respected for his involvement. When President-elect Barack Obama made some remarks about college football's Bowl Championship Series (BCS), he was not enirely welcomed to the debate with open arms….
BCS power brokers responding to Barack Obama's comments about a college football playoff largely criticized the president-elect on Monday.
By Dennis Dodd
Obama said on CBS' 60 Minutes Sunday night that he would "throw his weight around" in pursuing an eight-team playoff. Among the six power conferences, the commissioners of the ACC, Big 12 and SEC responded when contacted by CBSSports.com. The Pac-10's Tom Hansen and Big East's Mike Tranghese declined comment.
"I am extremely delighted that he is our president and excited that he is going to lead our nation," Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said. "I am disappointed that there isn't more full discussion before he comes to a conclusion on this. I would hope only that the leader of our country would take under full consideration all the aspects.
"The simple solution is easy to state. We're not in charge of a professional league where we have the entertainment value to consider. That should be fully considered. This isn't something you should make a rash decision about."
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told the New York Times over the weekend: "I think it's that time of year. Whether it's the president-elect or college football coaches or fans debating it, the First Amendment is alive and well."
"Certainly it's an important issue for college football and colleges. Where does it stand in the list of challenges we have in America today? I would say it's not very high."
Obama's comments have added weight not only because he is about to become leader of the free world. His vice president has been a strident BCS critic. Around the time the Senate Judiciary Committee convened hearings on the BCS in 2003 Joe Biden called the BCS system "rigged" and "un-American".
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/11113859/rss
Posted in Barack Obama, BCS, Biden, College football, faithful, fans, hearings, Messiah, news, Obama, playoffs, politics, unAmerican | Leave a Comment »
Cocaine Blocks Free Trade
The expanding cocaine trade in Colombia is undermining President George W. Bush's effort to push through a free-trade agreement with his southern neighbor. Despite opposition from Democracts, Bush is trying to seal a deal before he leaves office in January by hitching it to a bailout for U.S. automakers. Álvaro Uribe, the Colombian president, has argued that free trade would produce jobs in Colombia that would provide alternatives to the illegal drug trade. With the global economy in the cellar, that argument has lost much of its luster.
Now it appears the cocaine business is stronger than previously thought. As the United States was pouring $5 billion into Colombia to fight drugs over the past eight years, particularly cocaine, the country's drug cartels were finding new routes through West Africa and shipping their wares to expanding markets in Europe, Africa, and South America. The U.S. General Accounting Office reported last week that instead of reducing the cultivation and production of drugs by 50 percent, the stated goal of the U.S.-funded Plan Colombia, Uribe has presided over an increase in coca cultivation of 15 percent and an increase in cocaine production of 4 percent.
The report was ordered by Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, meaning President-elect Barack Obama, one of the main barriers to the free trade deal, probably took note.
Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe, center, gestures, during a graduation ceremony for new police officers in Bogota, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. At left is Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, at right, the commander of Army Forces Gen. Freddy Padilla. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
From Newsweek
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/ov/archive/
2008/11/11/coccaine-a-thriving-industry.aspx
Posted in automobile, Biden, Bush, cocaine, Columbia, drugs, free trade, industry, news, Obama, politics | Leave a Comment »
Catholic Bishops Will Challenge Obama, Lawmakers, Nation on Abortion
The nation's Roman Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights, saying the church and religious freedom could be under attack in the new presidential administration.
Bishop Dale J. Melczek of Gary, Ind., front left, and Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St. Paul-Minneapolis, right, pray during the semi-annual meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008 in Baltimore. The bishops discussed today Catholic politicians and abortion rights. (AP Photo/ Steve Ruark)
In an impassioned discussion on Catholics in public life, several bishops said they would accept no compromise on abortion policy. Many condemned Catholics who had argued it was morally acceptable to back President-elect Obama because he pledged to reduce abortion rates.
And several prelates promised to call out Catholic policy makers on their failures to follow church teaching. Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa., singled out Vice President-elect Biden, a Catholic, Scranton native who supports abortion rights.
"I cannot have a vice president-elect coming to Scranton to say he's learned his values there when those values are utterly against the teachings of the Catholic Church," Martino said. The Obama-Biden press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas said politicians "can't check your principles at the door of the legislature."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081112/ap_
on_re_us/rel_catholic_bishops;_ylt=AiMp4
0sZ19EOx_DLM21Ud2MGw_IE
Posted in abortion, Biden, bishops, Catholic, Congress, freedom of religion, lawmakers, legislature, news, Obama, Pelosi, politics, religious freedom | Leave a Comment »
Israel urges Biden not to go soft on Iran, Hamas
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged US vice president Joe Biden in a telephone call to keep up a tough line on Iran and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, her ministry said on Monday.
"Iran, Hamas and other extremists are testing our attitude, and they must understand that the world will not be tolerant towards extremists and terrorism," she said.
"It is of the utmost importance that we keep up our coordination against the Iranian threat because time is not on the side of the moderates," she was quoted as saying in the call initiated by Biden, according to the ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R), Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (C) and Defence Minister Ehud Barak attend a memorial parliament session in Jerusalem. Livni urged US vice president Joe Biden in a telephone call to keep up a tough line on Iran and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, her ministry said on Monday. (AFP/Pool/Eliana Aponte)
Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Friday issued a thinly veiled call for the United States not to rule out the possibility of a military strike against Iran because of its nuclear ambitions.
"We don't rule out any option. We recommend others don't rule out any option either," Barak told journalists after talks with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Tehran denies it wants nuclear weapons, and says its atomic project is purely peaceful.
The previous day, Livni herself said that possible US talks with Iran may be problematic, highlighting possible disagreements with a Barack Obama administration.
"Dialogue at this point may be interpreted as a sign of weakness," she said.
President-elect Obama warned during a visit to Israel in July that a nuclear Iran would pose a "grave threat," but he also reiterated his openness to meeting Tehran's representatives if the conditions were right.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081110/wl_mideast_afp/mideas
tisraelusirandiplomacynuclear_081110192640
Posted in Biden, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Israelis, news, Obama, Palestinian Islamist, politics | Leave a Comment »
Testing of Obama Begins
It seems we at Peace and Freedom wrote this same article a few days ago! See:
"Testing" of Obama Has Already Begun
Now, finally, a big-time columnist takes it on….
By Linda Chavez
If Barack Obama were elected president, he would be tested by a major international crisis soon after taking office. Mr. Biden was wrong about one thing: The test has come even before President-elect Obama is sworn in.
Within hours of Mr. Obama's impressive victory, another new leader, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, warned that Russia would deploy short-range missiles capable of hitting NATO territory if the new American president goes ahead to build a missile defense system to protect Europe.
President Dmitry Medvedev announced plans Wednesday to deploy missiles on the EU's doorstep in a warning shot to US president-elect Barack Obama and Washington's allies in central Europe. (AFP/Alexander Nemenov)
It's unclear where a President Obama will come down on this issue. He's been on both sides during the campaign.
The idea of an anti-missile defense system, of course, is not new. The United States has been working on an anti-missile system to protect our territory since the Reagan administration. The Strategic Defense Initiative – often derisively dismissed as "Star Wars" by its critics – fundamentally changed the way the U.S. approached the idea of nuclear war.
Through much of the Cold War, the United States based its defense almost entirely on a good offense: mutually assured destruction (MAD). We would have so many weapons that the Soviets would realize that an attack on us would be suicidal. If they launched a surprise nuclear attack on us, enough of our missiles would survive to retaliate against them, and annihilation would be the fate of both sides.
But Reagan changed the equation. Essentially abandoning the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which allowed the Soviets and the U.S. to set up anti-missile systems to protect only their two capitals, Reagan announced he would explore building a defense shield to protect the entire country.
Some 20 years later, U.S. technology in this area has advanced to the point that we are capable of deploying a limited system to protect our allies. Last year, the U.S. announced that negotiations were under way with some of our friends in Europe to deploy anti-missile systems on their territory. For some of those allies, the primary threat they fear is a nuclear-armed Iran. Although, Poland, with whom we've now signed an agreement, also fears a newly belligerent Russia. But the Bush administration has been at pains to reassure an insecure Russia that any American-deployed system would be purely defensive – a so-called "hit-to-kill" strategy in which a missile's technology would not even include explosives but would rely on intercepting a nuclear missile before it hit its target.
A launcher of short-range Iskander missile rides in a column of Russian military vehicles, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow, in this Tuesday, April 29, 2008 file photo. President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008, that Russia will deploy the short-range Iskander missiles to Russia's Kaliningrad region, which lies between Poland and the ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, in response to U.S. missile defense plans. He did not say whether the missiles would be fitted with nuclear warheads. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/
nov/10/testing-begins/
Posted in Biden, china, chinese, Czech Republic, economy, health care, Iran, Iraq, Iskander, Kaliningrad, Medvedev, Missile Defense, missiles, news, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, politics, president elect, putin, Russia, Russian, Short-range, term, tested, testing, U.S. | Leave a Comment »
Bush and Obama Teams: Thoughtful, Peaceful, Lawful Transition of Power
While meeting with a group of immigrants to American on the night of Barack Obama's election last Tuesday, several new Americans said they could never have voted in the nation of their birth — or their vote was just for show and not counted by the ruling powers. Others said they had never witnessed a peaceful transition of political power…
By Robert Barnes, Dan Eggen and Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, November 9, 2008; Page A01
Faced with one of the most important transfers of presidential power in American history — amid wars on two fronts, the looming threat of terrorism at home and a full-blown economic crisis — the outgoing Bush administration and the incoming Obama team have responded with exceptional cooperation on those issues, aides and outside experts say.
Serious decisions, and potentially divisive ones, still remain for the politically and ideologically divided camps, such as access to classified information and, in particular, battles over the regulations and executive orders that will define the policy of the two administrations.
But the days since Tuesday's election have shown a striking level of comity following the rancor of the campaign, enhanced by President Bush's months-long efforts to pave the way for a smooth transition and President-elect Barack Obama's preelection determination to move quickly.
"Ensuring that this transition is seamless is a top priority for the rest of my time in office," Bush said in his weekly radio address yesterday. "My administration will work hard to ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running."
Bush has created a transition coordinating council, populated by experts from inside and outside the administration, and has streamlined the process for obtaining security clearances for key transition officials. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell flew to Chicago on Thursday to deliver Obama his first daily intelligence briefing.
8/AR2008110802267.html?hpid=topnews
By Jim Rutenberg
There is a great tradition of paint-peeling political hyperbole during presidential campaign years. And there is an equally great tradition of backing off from it all afterward, though with varying degrees of deftness.
But given the intensity of some of the charges that have been made in the past few months, and the historic nature of Mr. Obama's election, the exercise this year has been particularly whiplash-inducing, with its extreme before-and-after contrasts.
The shift in tone follows the magnanimous concession speech from Mr. McCain, of Arizona, who referred to Mr. Obama's victory Tuesday night as "a historic election" and hailed the "special pride" it held for African-Americans. That led the vice president-elect, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., to get into the act. During the campaign, Mr. Biden said he no longer recognized Mr. McCain, an old friend. Now, he says, "We're still friends." President Bush, in turn, also hailed Mr. Obama's victory, saying his arrival at the White House would be "a stirring sight."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/us/politics/
09memo.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Posted in Biden, Bush, Cheney, cooperation, decisions, harsh words, news, Obama, Palin, political power, politics, rancor, staffs, transition, working together | Leave a Comment »
Obama's First Press Conference — Long on Style, Short on Substance
Barack Obama was long on style and short on substance today as he hosted his first press conference as president-elect, as perhaps was appropriate. He reminded the audience that George Bush is still president, but signaled to Americans that his administration will not want for talent or diversity by appearing with a bevy of top drawer financial figures. The members of his Transition Economic Advisory Board who joined him on the stage included, among others, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, and business leaders such as Eric Schmidt of Google, Dick Parsons of Time Warner and Anne Mulcahy of Xerox.
US President-elect Barack Obama (C) speaks to the press in Chicago. Obama on Friday said he would act "swiftly" as soon as he takes office to confront the economic crisis head on, during his first news conference since his historic election. (AFP/Stan Honda)
He appeared at first to disappoint investors who may have been hoping that Obama would announce a sterling choice for the key post of Treasury Secretary, or would somehow produce a rabbit out of his hat that would guarantee an economic recovery. The stock market averages were ahead strongly as Obama took the podium, but drew back as he delivered tempered remarks about his programs to help out the middle class and boost growth. As the day came to an end, however, the market came back to post a 2.8% gain.
Not only did he speak against an impressive backdrop of well known financial figures, he also spoke against a backdrop of sobering economic news, including word today that the U.S. lost another 240,000 jobs in October, leading to a year-to-date drop of nearly 1.2 million.
Responding to the worsening employment picture, Mr. Obama outlined his top priorities.
His first aim appears to be the passage of a stimulus program, which he described as "long overdue" and which he suggested would be his top goal as president in the event that the plan does not get passed by the lame duck Congress. He emphasized the need to extend unemployment benefits, aid homeowners, help small businesses navigate the financial crisis, and assist hard-pressed states and local governments. Doubtless mindful of the miserable earnings results and dire cash flow projections reported earlier in the day by General Motors and Ford, Obama also singled out the auto industry as needing assistance –- advocating specifically funding for retooling for the industry as well as considering other possible options.
Otherwise, Obama reached back into his campaign quiver to talk about long-term areas of focus such as clean energy, universal health care, improved education and tax relief for middle class families. He said his team would work to stabilize markets, help homeowners and oversee the implementation of the financial bailout package "without unduly rewarding" managements of those companies receiving assistance.
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/11/07/lpeek_1107/
Posted in Biden, Congress, dog, economy, Emanuel, experts, first press conference, jobs, legislation, news, Obama, pet, politics, stimulus, Volker, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Russia, China and the tangled web of a very troubled economy have already conspired to begin the "testing" of president Elect Barack Obama.
During the campaign for the White House, Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden said, "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."
By John E. Carey
Peace and Freedom
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev began the process of testing America's new President Elect Obama yesterday during his State of the Nation address.
Medvedev did not welcome or congratulate Barack Obama on his election and entry on to the world stage as the elected leader of the United States. Instead, Medvedev launched a verbal assault on U.S. foreign policy and announced that he would order the deployment of short-range missiles to Kaliningrad, facing Poland and the joint U.S.-Polish missile defense site.
He said Russian missiles would "neutralize" the planned U.S. missile-defense system.
"From what we have seen in recent years — the creation of a missile defense system, the encirclement of Russia with military bases, the relentless expansion of NATO — we have gotten the clear impression that they are testing our strength," Medvedev said.
He signaled Moscow would not give in to Western calls to pull troops from Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, or rescind its recognition of their independence following the August war.
"We will not retreat in the Caucasus," he said, winning one of many rounds of applause during the televised 85-minute address.
"There's no question that this is designed as a test for the Obama administration," said Kimberly Marten, a professor of political science who specializes in Russian foreign policy at Columbia University's Barnard College in New York.
The BBC said of Medvedev, "He could have made the speech on any day in November. Instead he chose 5 November, the day after the US presidential election."
"It's posturing," she said. "Kaliningrad is already so heavily militarized — there are tactical nuclear weapons from the Russian side there — so these missiles wouldn't actually have any particular major impact on the defense balance in the region."
China also scheduled a major military event this week: the huge China airshow.
A model of ARJ21 jet is seen on the opening day of China Airshow 2008 in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong province, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. China's biggest commercial aircraft maker landed its first foreign order Tuesday when General Electric Co. announced its plane-leasing arm would purchase at least five of the company's new regional jets. The order for the 70-seat ARJ21 jets made by Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China includes an option to purchase as many as 20 more, said GE spokesman Geoff Li. (AP Photo/EyePress)
Add to these major foreign policy challenges Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and North Korea.
And don't forget the economy and a host of domestic promises Mr. Obama made about taxes, healthcare and other agenda items.
The testing of the President-Elect is underway….
Best Analysis of Obama's Economic Challenges, From The BBC and Peter Morici, Univ of Maryland
By Linda Chavez, November 10, 2008
Posted in Biden, china, chinese, economy, health care, Iran, Iraq, Missile Defense, missiles, news, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, politics, president elect, Russia, Russian, tested, testing | Leave a Comment »
Obama to begin receiving intelligence briefings
"The world is a much more dangerous place that Barack Obama has ever realized before," a CIA analyst told Peace and Freedom. "The the challenges are daunting and the president elect will have a new realization staring today."
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO – Barack Obama will begin receiving highly classified briefings from top intelligence officials Thursday, as the rush of his campaign gives way to intensive preparations to take over as commander in chief and build a Democratic administration. The briefings typically last 45 minutes to an hour, but Obama's initial one is expected to be longer.
A U.S. intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity said Joe Biden, the vice president-elect, also will begin receiving briefings this week.
The president's daily brief that Obama will receive is mostly written by the Central Intelligence Agency and will include the most critical overnight intelligence for the president. They sometimes dig deeply into a specific topic to give the president an in-depth understanding.
Obama began his first full day as president-elect with the simple pleasure of having breakfast with his daughters, the type of everyday activity with his family that he often said during the nearly two-year campaign was his greatest sacrifice.
Later in the morning, Obama left the house alone, clad in workout clothes, a ball cap and sunglasses and carrying a newspaper on his lap. He ducked into a friend's apartment building where he usually uses the gym while in Chicago. About a dozen onlookers expecting his arrival had gathered with cameras and cell phones to get a glimpse of him.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081105/ap_on_el_pr/obama_8
Posted in Biden, brief, briefing, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, daily, intelligence, Michael McConnell, Mike Hayden, Mike Morell, news, Obama, politics | 1 Comment »
American Presidential Campaign: New Version of 'World's greatest Soap Opera' Begins Wednesday for 2012
It's been the year's longest-running serialized drama, with more ups and downs than a season of "Lost" and more jilted contestants than a season and a half of "Top Model."
And it all comes to a screeching halt after Tuesday night.
By Adam Buckman
The "show" is the presidential campaign. As in past election seasons, the all-news cable channels aired thousands of hours of repetitive chatter, much of it no more illuminating than a chat you or I or Joe the Plumber might have had about the candidates at a corner saloon.
The broadcast networks clawed at each other for interviews with the candidates, those all-important "gets," not so much to inform the electorate but to showcase their anchors, in whom they have invested millions of dollars.
The highlights for better or worse, inasmuch as they helped form public perceptions, were Charlie Gibson's and Katie Couric's interviews with Sarah Palin. Both made news for days (if not weeks), after they were conducted, with Couric's in particular providing more grist for Tina Fey to impersonate Palin on "Saturday Night Live."
Gibson's was notable mainly for the anchorman's pomposity. Never mind what the interview revealed (if anything); most of us were too fixated on the way Charlie's glasses were perched on the end of his nose to listen to what Gov. Palin had to say.
Comedy, with Palin positioned unfairly at the center of much of it, was once again a big part of the campaign picture, with untold numbers of voters preparing to cast their ballots on Election Day based on Jay Leno's jokes and Jon Stewart's sarcasm.
Stewart will be on hand to "cover" the Election Night returns on Comedy Central, with Stephen Colbert as his co-anchor, demonstrating how comedy and TV news are fast becoming synonymous.
But you could have said that four years ago, and even eight years ago. The difference this time around was this campaign's soap opera storyline, which seemed tailor-made for TV.
Presidential campaigns are always dramatic, but this one was more so. It had race and gender and two candidates, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, who a year ago looked like shoo-ins for each of their party's nominations, but who shattered all predictions for how this campaign would go by falling by the wayside.
Tuesday night, the TV newsers will make their last efforts to impress you enough for you to stay with them after the 2008 campaign saga concludes, and the 2012 race commences first thing Wednesday morning.
Posted in Biden, Charlie Gibson, Comedy Central, gaffes, impersonate, Jay Leno, Joe the Plumber, Katie Couric, McCain, news, Obama, Palin, politics, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey | Leave a Comment »
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I have just read a great tutorial here about improving images using photoshop.
I had a go myself!
Not the greatest photo to begin with but this process really makes the colours pop.
I have Kathy's tut bookmarked. Thanks for reminding me to visit.
ooooh, it really does look so vibrant!


text:
Workers have filed 4,775 complaints to OSHA about exposure to Covid-19 on the job. The agency has issued only one citation to an employer.
by Sam Bloch
06.04.2020, 1:57pm
iStock/ImageKit
Experts say rules to protect workers aren't enforceable. Advocates and unions are fighting for an emergency safety standard that will last through the pandemic.
In the three months since Covid-19 was declared a public health emergency, workers have filed 4,775 complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), many alleging that their employers failed to provide the necessary personal protective equipment needed to protect them from the novel coronavirus. But only one complaint to the federal agency, which is in charge of assuring safe and healthy working conditions, has led to an official citation—that, to a Georgia nursing home for improper recordkeeping.
Workers in many sectors of the American economy, from the frontlines of the crisis, to those whose jobs—until three months ago—were essential to our everyday lives, but not necessarily to our very survival, have performed their duties where social distancing is nearly impossible. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of workers in America's meatpacking plants have tested positive for the virus. And just this week, public health officials in California reported a spike in infections among grocery workers.
So why hasn't OSHA done more to protect them? Experts say it's because OSHA, like other agencies tasked with ensuring our health and safety, has been deregulated over decades in order to give employers more control over workplace oversight. The agency issues guidance, but permits employers to enforce those rules and hold themselves accountable. That long-running effort has been hastened by the Trump administration during this pandemic. Now, workers have little recourse to hold their employers accountable if they believe they contracted the virus while on the job without adequate protection.
"There are thousands of complaints that have been filed, and in quite a few of them, the agency has said, it appears the employer is doing okay."
"This is a pretty unfamiliar situation," said Susan Schurman, former dean of the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.
An April 10 memo posted online showed that OSHA's coronavirus strategy had been to focus on industries it considered "high risk"—like hospitals, emergency response, police, firefighting, and prisons. In that same memo, the agency announced that all other employers would not be required to record cases where workers had tested positive for Covid-19, unless there was "objective evidence" the infection was work-related. (That term of art was not defined.) The move, the agency said, was to "help employers focus their response efforts on implementing good hygiene practices." (The agency has since backtracked and began requiring records again on May 19.)
Three days later, OSHA announced that it would not conduct on-site inspections of "medium" or "low risk" workplaces, like meat plants or grocery stores, where workers had filed complaints.
As a result, daily inspections plummeted. On May 18, one day before the agency reversed its decision, Politico reported that OSHA had inspected fewer than 8 percent of 3,990 coronavirus-related complaints the federal agency had received since March. In many of those complaints, workers alleged that employers didn't provide masks and gloves, forced them to work with people who appeared sick, and couldn't maintain six feet of distance in cramped work spaces.
As of this writing, the agency's federal and state branches combined have received 16,360 total complaints, closed over 10,000, and inspected only 253, according to a Covid-19 section of its website. At a Congressional hearing, Loren Sweatt, the agency's acting director, said the agency wasn't inspecting cases because most would not withstand court scrutiny, and would act on the others within six months, according to a Law360 report.
"Covid-19 has caused more deaths among workers in a shorter time than any other health emergency OSHA has faced in its fifty-year existence."
Those numbers don't surprise Rip Verkerke, director of the University of Virginia's employment and labor law program. Despite thousands of complaints, he says the federal agency has only issued a single citation in part because there's no coronavirus-specific safety standard to be enforced. A "general duty" clause, which requires employers to clear workplaces of hazards that are likely to cause death, is hard to enforce.
"There are thousands of complaints that have been filed, and in quite a few of them, the agency has said, it appears the employer is doing okay," Verkerke said.
OSHA has issued industry-specific safety memos and suggestions to employers, which are non-binding. That approach, which deprioritizes enforcement, is typical of the agency under Republican administrations, Verkerke said.
But advocates say guidance isn't enough, and want the agency to enact an "emergency temporary standard" that would require employers to make changes to the workplace or face fines. In a lawsuit filed last month by the AFL-CIO to force that standard, the labor union said such a standard would prevent more essential workers from being exposed to the virus on the job.
"Covid-19 has caused more deaths among workers in a shorter time than any other health emergency OSHA has faced in its fifty-year existence," the petition read. The agency's failure to issue a new standard is "a stunning act of agency nonfeasance in the midst of a workplace health emergency of a magnitude not seen in this country for over a century."
Nellie Brown, who directs the occupational health and safety program at Cornell University, says the threat of citations, whether in the form of fines or public notice, can motivate employers to make safer workplaces. She agrees that coronavirus poses an imminent threat, and warrants a stronger response from OSHA.
"In so many places, people have not looked at the workplace through the lens of communicable disease. These are huge changes that have to be made."
A "good faith" effort to reduce exposure isn't enough. An emergency standard, which would set temporary rules for six months, before permanent rulemaking around airborne transmission, would save lives.
"The problem is, even if you make a good faith effort, can people even get the stuff they need, like N95 respirators?" Brown asked. "In so many places, people have not looked at the workplace through the lens of communicable disease. These are huge changes that have to be made. It's very hard to go back and say that, but that's the issue."
In the absence of those rules, what recourse do employees actually have? "None," said Schuman, the former Rutgers dean. There are other options available to workers, she said, like suing employers for damages, or going on strike if they're in a union. But those efforts aren't likely to succeed during a national emergency, because a judge would reject the case, or the federal government would force workers to return to the job.
The lone citation continues to disturb not only Democrats and labor unions, but even the agency's own watchdog. The Labor Department's inspector general will issue a report on OSHA's coronavirus-related enforcement later this month.
Also tagged
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Sam Bloch is a contributing writer for The Counter, where he covers business, environment and culture. He has also written for The New York Times, L.A. Weekly, Places Journal, Art in America and other publications, and is currently working on his first book, a work of narrative nonfiction about shade, for Random House.
I'm a Whole Foods worker in Philadelphia. I feel like I've been drafted into a war.
by Megan murray + Sam bloch
While NYC residents remain in lockdown, the farmworkers providing their food still lack basic protections
by Olivia heffernan
My husband and I are meatpacking workers. He recently tested positive for Covid-19—this is our life in isolation.
by Jessica fu + "ann"
President Trump described meatpackers' "liability problems." Here's what that could mean for workers.
Contractors selected for USDA food box program raise more red flags
by H. claire brown
Get a weekly dish of features, commentary and insight from the food movement's front lines.
The restaurant crisis is hitting undocumented workers particularly hard
by Mackie jimbo
Gig economy workers have become the Covid-19 pandemic's first responders
Covid-19 hits rural America
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First employee at meat plant tests positive for Covid-19

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Happy kids make for a happy holiday. These villas are packed with things for the kids to do or have plenty of attractions in the local area. Whether it is Wii or WiFi, pool (snooker) or pool (swimming), it's boards rather than bored. We can't guarantee that every property is 100% 'kid safe', but we can guarantee that there will be plenty to keep them entertained.


A moisturizing and corrective skin care fluid with UV protection that hides imperfections while toning and moisturizing.
A 2-in-1 skin care and concealing fluid that hides imperfections while toning and moisturizing.
The 2 in 1 product of the blemish balm family: hydrating skin care and concealing fluid in one product!
bb perfect beauty fluid combines hydrating skin care and an effective, natural concealer without any mask effect, without parabens.
Velvety soft texture with UV protection (SPF 15) and light coverage for a beautiful complexion. The fluid combines make-up and care with effective UVA/ UVB protection and special pigments for an excellent "soft focus effect".
The refreshing formula optically smoothes the skin texture and corrects flaws. It helps to protect the skin against damage caused by UV rays and thus skin aging.
For a natural, flawless looking complexion and a radiant appearance. Free from mineral oil, PEG containing emulsifiers and parabens.
In the morning, apply on face after cleansing.


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A few words about Lady Gaga
April 26, 2011 Guillermo
I like pop music as much as the next person. Let me rephrase that, I like pop music as white noise when I'm doing my job. Or when I'm writing, which I also like to consider part of my job. It gets me rolling and keeps me concentrated because I don't like like pop music, I prefer listening to something like KMFDM or Skold or Marilyn Manson or Nine Inch Nails or…well, you get my point. So when you see Lady Gaga or Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera or Katy Perry on my playlist, you know it's because I'm about to go to work. I can already hear it, "Sure, Willie. Sure." But it's true. I work/write more efficiently listening to pop music because I cannot sing along. And if I'm distracted, I get the job done in a timely manner than, say, having me zone out when "Error 404" by Skold vs. KMFDM starts up – trust me, this happens all the time.
Like everyone, I was intrigued with Lady Gaga when she first appeared. For a split second, I thought I was looking at Marilyn Manson's latest gimmick. Then I was convinced she was Line Trap a.k.a. Harley Quinn a.k.a. Bailey Jay. I listened to "Poker Face" picking at the lyrics – all in good humor – for subliminal messages admitting she was once a man. I loved Manson's remix of "LoveGame." But there was something off with her. Something I couldn't put my finger on. But as quickly as she appeared on stage, her fame quickly diminished. Only it didn't. In fact, it grew. And grew. And grew.
Last summer, "Alejandro" was constantly sung by a baseball player every day in the locker room – only he sung it as Alejandra. Lissie's cover of "Bad Romance" sparked my interested in the talented singer. It was suddenly clear to me that Lady Gaga wasn't going to go anywhere; she was the Sarah Palin of pop music. Just when you think she's gone – BAM! – right in the fucking eye!
In this month's issue of Esquire, Stephen Marche asks the fifty-nine questions about Lady Gaga that I was beginning to wonder, including, but not limited to, "Why is she so famous?" and "What if she never goes away?" What really boiled my blood about Miss "Born This Way" was her use of retarded (which she later apologized for). Apparently, in that moment of bad judgment, Lady Gaga forgot that men tattooed to resembled zombies aren't born that way, but most mentally handicapped people are.
And it seems that Lady Gaga knows how quickly she can be forgotten, which is why the first single of the upcoming album seemed quickly put together and, as Stephen Marche, sounds "just like a Madonna's "Express yourself," only emptier." Who knows, perhaps the entire new album is just cut and paste lyrics thrown together to keep her fan base happy. Isn't that what it's really about? Pleasing and fooling everyone into thinking you're deep and different, while just retooling things that have been done before by people with real talent?
But the blind will continue to hold her up as the role model savior, while bashing Katy Perry. What they don't seem to grasp is that Lady Gaga is no savior. She isn't even the gay messiah. She's nothing but a product on display, rolling in the money until the next thing tumbles out of the manufacturing line. She's got every one fooled and for that, they will continually throw money her way. If anything, Lady Gaga is doing more damage to the cause than supporting it.
So I urge fans to pay closer attention to Lady Gaga. Soon enough, you'll see the layer of deceit fall away. It's okay. I'll grab you some tissues.
Bad Romance Britney Spears Christina Aguilera Katy Perry Lady Gaga LoveGame Marilyn Manson Stephen Marche
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Crunchyroll has began to put up the pre Young Hunters episodes of Xros Wars.
They tossed up 5, and will be adding 3 more a week.
Both Adventure films will be on the same disk again.
No news on if these might have new covers, although I'd expect the same as before due to this series of re-releases officially being designated "priced down reissues."
The new releases will go out of print on September 27th, so if you missed out on these before due to price, they likely won't show up cheaper.
These will be Region 4 (possibly others but not sure) PAL sets.
After asking members opinions I decided to go ahead with the idea of a weekly film with discussion thread.
Here's a link to the section.
Since this has started making the rounds a few places I thought I'd make a newspost about it.
Xros Wars Simulcast and more discussion!
Crunchyroll announced they will be simulcasting Xros Wars starting next week in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
For now the first Xros Wars won't be included, just the current episodes.
Also, let's continue the discussion here since the old thread is getting large.
Normally I try and only post positive news, but this is relevant to all of us who are fans of Digimon and Wada Kouji.
Wada Kouji has put his career on hold due to cancer.
He had put his career on hold almost a decade ago due an illness he declined to comment on at the time.
I'll just link to ANN since they have all the details and everyone can read the details there.
In a bit less than two months there will be a nice selection of new Digimon t-shirts in Japan.
Source link goes to a listing of all the shirts in various sizes on CDJapan. The product listings themselves show the designs on the shirt, but I went with the image only version to show the text detail on a few of them.
Check the size detail information, as the size listing may not be the same as it is in your part of the world.
Xros Discussion Thread! Part New!
Here's a new Xros discussion thread.
Figured it might make splitting the conversation easier.
This thread is for discussing Xros as it is currently airing.
The new season/series/arc has it's own news thread, discuss that there, not here.


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Home » Food »
Oct 1, 2017 by Casey Coates Danson
by Karla Lant
FUTURISM.COM
Investing in Cruelty-Free Food
In August, Richard Branson wrote a post on the Virgin website about his investment in Memphis Meats, which expressed his vision about the future of food: "I believe that in 30 years or so we will no longer need to kill any animals and that all meat will either be clean or plant-based, taste the same and also be much healthier for everyone. One day we will look back and think how archaic our grandparents were in killing animals for food."
Branson is one of several influential thinkers investing in a cruelty-free, sustainable food system. While these thinkers reached their decisions through different means, in the end they all seem to agree that diets that rely on animal meat are less healthy and unsustainable — and that as our planet changes, our habits will too. Their bottom line is that it's time to support companies using technology to satisfy human culinary cravings without killing animals, thereby saving the environment in the process.
Image Credit: Memphis Meats
Branson along with Bill Gates, Cargill, and Kimball Musk, backed the Memphis Meats clean-meat startup in its $17 million Series A round, which went on to raise in excess of $22 million. Memphis Meats will join a cadre of sustainable food businesses such as the three Israeli companies — Meat the Future, Future Meat Technologies, and SuperMeat — which will supply food to China as part of a $300 million deal. Branson, who gave up meat in 2014, appears to be investing in alignment with his beliefs and predictions about the future, all while trying to act against the deforestation caused by agribusiness; a known contributing factor to climate change.
Feeding a Growing Hunger
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states that livestock feed production consumes 26 percent Earth's ice-free land, while 13 billion hectares (32.1 billion acres) of forest are destroyed for use as croplands or pastures each year. According to the WorldWatch Institute, 51 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. Those emissions, and the harm associated with them, would be eliminated by choosing lab-grown meats rather than killing animals for food.
It's also been asserted that lab-grown meat is healthier than the real thing: it's free of antibiotics, dangerous bacteria, and growth-promoting hormones. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization, classified red meats as "probably carcinogenic to humans" and processed meats as "carcinogenic to humans." The director of the IARC also supported limited intake of meat as a public health matter. Although researchers aren't certain which elements of animal meat are potentially carcinogenic, they suspect that heme iron might be to blame — something that lab-grown meat can be made without. Lab-grown meat can also be created free —or nearly free of saturated fat — and therefore cholesterol, another health concern often attributed to meat consumption.
The bottom line is that no matter how much you love animal meat — perhaps even at the expense of its impact on the world — it's simply not sustainable. Eventually, we will need alternatives, so the time to ensure that we have them available is now.
Who Says 74 Million People Can't Be Wrong?
Edward Mazria Wins 2021 AIA Gold Medal
Doctors say CDC should warn people that side effects from COVID-19 vaccines won't be 'a walk in the park'


I guess the GameCube is going be from mommy and daddy now, instead of Santa. She is sharp enough to figure out that Santa wouldn't have brought a gift you bought. Bowmans are so smart!!!
Kevin, thanks for the ecard. Your girls are beautiful. Blessings to you this Christmas season!


Today started with a swim at Yarrangobilly thermal pools(Kosciuszko National Park). At 7am the water was lovely but air temp was 3 degrees. We scraped ice off the stove when we got up. Water dragons were already in the water, obviously familiar with a better way to warm up than solar ways usually used by reptiles. We explored the South Glory Cave then headed over the Snowy Mountain highway, where wild flowers were blooming in vibrant violet and yellow hues. The snow gum forests were eerie, looking quite dead covering much of the mountainsides. We changed plan about climbing Australia's highest mountain given the temperature and settled for the highest town in Australia instead at Cabramurra.


Yesterday Shake Shack introduced the world to its new food trucks, available for rental for private events.
To be clear: the Shack Truck doesn't drive around your city and land at the nearby food truck park come lunchtime. According to the Shack Truck FAQs, it's instead a vehicle you can rent out for private parties like weddings, anniversaries, birthday bashes, and whatever else you could think to throw a party for.
The menu is determined based on each individual event, but in general you can expect the usual Shake Shack items — burgers, fries, and, of course, shakes. Pricing also varies by event and can be determined once you fill out a form and submit it to the company.
Right now, Shake Shack has two of these trucks: one operating in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT, and PA) and one in Atlanta. There's no word yet on whether the company will have more trucks or more cities available in future, though given Shake Shack's rapid expansion pace, it's likely. For now, if you're in the area, the company suggests booking the truck at least two weeks in advance of your event.
What's most intriguing about this is not that you can serve Shake Shack at your wedding (although that is pretty amazing news), but that the company has found yet another way to reach audiences outside the traditional standalone restaurant setting. Nearly all of its 200 units currently deliver, and Shake Shack outlets have long been in places like Madison Square Park, Citi Field, and, more recently, casinos like the New York New York hotel in Las Vegas.
A food truck for rent is really just another form of catering, but it's cleverly branded catering that screams "millennial," a generation that's borderline obsessed with off-premises food options. Plus, around 70 percent of customers (millennials or otherwise) are predicted to be ordering offsite by 2020. That means restaurant chains will have to continue to find unique ways of providing those experiences, and a rentable food truck is certainly a good start.


The Rules: One person says a word. ANY word. Another person writes down what does the word remind of. Then another person writes a connotation of the second persons word et caetera.
Of course, you can ( And should ) explain why does the previous word remind you of your word.
I think the explainations make the game worth playing.
It's as green as Hulk and makes strong - at least this works in cartoons I used to eat a lot of spinach as a kid, so I guess that's why this word popped up in my brain first.
not to go back to spinach, I say Tom & Jerry.
The German theme song of Tom & Jerry goes: "Vielen Dank für die Blumen..." (Thank you for the flowers...) and is stuck in my head.
System of a Down. You know, Chop Suey?
the world's taste of music.
The buckteethed jerk from room 101.


1624's investment capital can cover some or all of the costs of monetizing a claim. The costs of large scale commercial litigation have escalated to astronomically high levels in recent years. In many cases, well-capitalized defendants can afford these costs, leaving smaller plaintiffs with shallower pockets powerless.
In the United States, 1624 funds attorney fees or expenses in a situation where the claimant wishes to share the expense of a law firm's hourly fees with an outside party. Where the law firm wishes to take a case on contingency, 1624 may share the risk of litigation by funding part of attorney fees or out-of-pocket expenses. For attorneys, working with a third-party funder can be a valuable means of attracting quality clients and striking fee arrangements that best align all parties' incentives. Claimants unlock hidden value for their company through their legal claims, without interfering with core operations.
In Europe, litigation finance provides third-party support due to the relative unavailability of US-style contingency fee agreements. In addition, European claimants require After-the-Event (ATE) insurance to protect against adverse costs in the event of a lost litigation. 1624 brings litigation funding and ATE insurance underwriting under one roof, with the costs of due diligence and opinion of counsel absorbed by the funder. 1624 makes obtaining funding and insurance in Europe more cost effective and faster than ever before.
Click here for more information on 1624's litigation finance evaluation process.
Depending on business goals, sometimes litigation is not the best monetization strategy at all, and a licensing campaign, sale of the patent, debt deal or another transaction would be more appropriate.
1624 analyzes the patent portfolio, including the strength of the patents, the value in a sale or licensing opportunity, and the suitable targets for acquisition or partnership. We then leverage our relationships—domestic and abroad—within the patent space to obtain the best result for the patent holder. Depending on the circumstances, this may be a sale of the patents, sale and license-back relationship, or providing of strategic capital (debt or equity) into the company itself.
For growing entities, a strong patent portfolio can provide an invaluable advantage in the battle with competitors. 1624 helps companies in emerging areas of technology identify and negotiate the acquisition of patents, trademarks and know-how from sellers. Through strategic relationships, 1624 may have access to off-market patents to which the company may not have access.


Royal Mint artist Michael Hibbit created these two designs to commemorate the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
Prince Charles said he didn't like them. Signs of things to come?
The portrait design was never issued - only this one.
What will he be like as King?
The gold coin with the portrait was actually issued, it appears that the production process was too advanced to make any changes. Anyway, HRH was clearly more concerned about the inclusion of the Spencer arms on the lower denomination.
As for the portrait I do not know but he was right that the Spencer arms on top of the feathers looks very bad.


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In a specially manufactured reactor, which rotates permanently thanks to a magnet, there are beads with immobilized enzyme. The mixing of the sample ensures an efficient supply of the substrates, while the immobilization ensures that a certain buffer zone is created in which highly reactive particles from the plasma jet can react.
© Damian Gorczany
Two tricks for biocatalysis
Plasmas usually have a destructive effect on enzymes. But in this instance, they supply them with a building block for biocatalysis at the push of a button.
Enzymes can do a good job as catalysts – they can, for example, synthesise a specific product, but not its mirror image, which has to be laboriously separated in other processes. However, they are sensitive and are sometimes inactivated by the substrate they convert. Using plasma, the team of Professor Julia Bandow, holder of the Chair of Applied Microbiology at the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), successfully supplied an enzyme from a fungus with such a starting substance without it being damaged. The report has been published in Rubin, the RUB's science magazine.
Ineffective twin
The production of many chemicals results not only in the desired product but also in its mirror image: the two so-called enantiomers are very similar as far as their physico-chemical properties are concerned and are therefore difficult to separate; but they do have different biological properties. This is evident when it comes to drugs, for example, as the (S)-Ibuprofen molecule is effective against pain, but its twin (R)-Ibuprofen is not. Accordingly, Bandow's research group employs enzymes, i.e. biological catalysts derived for example from bacteria or fungi, to produce such chemicals. But some enzymes produce only one of the two enantiomers.
Enzymes are sensitive
In general, however, enzymes are rather sensitive catalysts. Some are even susceptible to inactivation by the substrate they convert. "Our example enzyme is a case in point. The unspecific peroxigenase, or UPO for short, extracted from the edible fungus Agrocybe aegerita or chestnut mushroom and synthesised by the research group of Professor Frank Hollmann from Delft can produce the fragrance (R)-1-phenylethanol. It requires hydrogen peroxide as a substrate for this purpose. If it is simply added to the enzyme in solution in the form of a concentrate, the starting material of the desired reaction deactivates the enzyme within a short time," explains Julia Bandow.
A dilemma that the team resolved using several tricks. One of them was to use a plasma to produce hydrogen peroxide. In plasmas, which are created by adding energy to a gas, numerous reactive substances are formed that destroy cancer cells, biofilm, viruses or prions. In this instance, however, the plasma was supposed to help protect the biocatalysts by providing the enzyme with exactly the right dose of the reactive substances needed to catalyse the fragrance at the push of a button.
Trick number two
The group therefore experimented with plasmas based on air or noble gases ignited directly above the enzymes in solution to produce the fragrance (R)-1-phenylethanol. However, the enzymes on the surface were quickly destroyed by the reactive species. This is how trick number two came into play: the researchers attached the enzymes to beads, small spheres with a porous surface that lie at the bottom of the solution and hold the enzymes in place. They tested the optimal composition of the beads beforehand, because not every enzyme can dock equally well on every surface and still do its job, as this sometimes requires the enzymes to move.
As a result, they succeeded in getting some solution above the beads at the bottom of the container to separate and buffer the enzymes from the gas phase. The hydrogen peroxide produced by the plasma diffuses to the enzymes and is converted by them. The enzymes never come into contact with an overdose of the substrate or other reactive species. This means they remain intact and functional.
Detailed article in Rubin
You can find a detailed article on this topic in the science magazine Rubin. For editorial purposes, the texts on the website may be used free of charge provided the source "Rubin – Ruhr-Universität Bochum" is named, and images from the download page may be used free of charge provided the copyright is mentioned and the terms of use are complied with.
Prof. Dr. Julia Bandow
Research Group Applied Microbiology
Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology
Email: julia.bandow@rub.de
Donata Zuber
Selected press releases
German News


text:
Q: Git - Unnable to add host_key from terminal Trying to push to git and it asks if I want to add the fingerprint key to the cache I get this message:
The server's host key is not cached in the registry. You
have no guarantee that the server is the computer you
think it is.
The server's rsa2 key fingerprint is:
ssh-rsa 2048 44:2d:5b:28:f4:f6:30:df:f9:64:7a:e3:92:cb:75:f2
If you trust this host, enter "y" to add the key to
PuTTY's cache and carry on connecting.
If you want to carry on connecting just once, without
adding the key to the cache, enter "n".
If you do not trust this host, press Return to abandon the
connection.
Store key in cache? (y/n)

When I type y then press enter nothing happens. How do I fix this problem? I tried reinstalling.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
EBC Secretariat (ESSU)
Mr. Malcolm Orme
The EBC Research Strategy
The IEA co-ordinates international energy research and development (R&D) activities through a comprehensive portfolio of Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs). The mission of the IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities (IEA EBC) TCP is to support the acceleration of the transformation of the built environment towards more energy efficient and sustainable buildings and communities, by the development and dissemination of knowledge, technologies and processes and other solutions through international collaborative research and open innovation. (Until 2013, the IEA EBC Programme was known as the IEA Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme, ECBCS.)
The high priority research themes in the EBC Strategic Plan 2019-2024 are based on research drivers, national programmes within the EBC participating countries, the Future Buildings Forum (FBF) Think Tank Workshop held in Singapore in October 2017 and a Strategy Planning Workshop held at the EBC Executive Committee Meeting in November 2017. The research themes represent a collective input of the Executive Committee members and Operating Agents to exploit technological and other opportunities to save energy in the buildings sector, and to remove technical obstacles to market penetration of new energy technologies, systems and processes. Future EBC collaborative research and innovation work should have its focus on these themes.
At the Strategy Planning Workshop in 2017, some 40 research themes were developed. From those 40 themes, 10 themes of special high priority have been extracted, taking into consideration a score that was given to each theme at the workshop. The 10 high priority themes can be separated in two types namely 'Objectives' and 'Means'. These two groups are distinguished for a better understanding of the different themes.
The strategic objectives of the EBC TCP are as follows:
reinforcing the technical and economic basis for refurbishment of existing buildings, including financing, engagement of stakeholders and promotion of co-benefits;
improvement of planning, construction and management processes to reduce the performance gap between design stage assessments and real world operation;
the creation of 'low tech', robust and affordable technologies;
the further development of energy efficient cooling in hot and humid, or dry climates, avoiding mechanical cooling if possible;
the creation of holistic solution sets for district level systems taking into account energy grids, overall performance, business models, engagement of stakeholders, and transport energy system implications.
The strategic objectives of the EBC TCP will be achieved by the means listed below:
the creation of tools for supporting design and construction through to operations and maintenance, including building energy standards and life cycle analysis (LCA);
benefitting from 'living labs' to provide experience of and overcome barriers to adoption of energy efficiency measures;
improving smart control of building services technical installations, including occupant and operator interfaces;
addressing data issues in buildings, including nonintrusive and secure data collection;
the development of building information modelling (BIM) as a game changer, from design and construction through to operations and maintenance.
The themes in both groups can be the subject for new Annexes, but what distinguishes them is that the 'objectives' themes are final goals or solutions (or part of) for an energy efficient built environment, while the 'means' themes are instruments or enablers to reach such a goal. These themes are explained in more detail in the EBC Strategic Plan 2019-2024. Download the EBC Strategic Plan 2019 - 2024 (PDF 2.9MB)
Many current and former researchers from EBC projects are often directly involved in formulating standards, regulations and codes and will use the knowledge gained in their work for EBC to inform and improve them. This indirect form of deployment can be one by which the EBC TCP has a strong, although less obvious impact.
EBC projects and activities have produced long-lasting decision-making tools and integrated systems technologies. Outcomes from the EBC TCP are publicised through many seminars and conferences.
EBC is one out of eight Buildings-related Technology Collaboration Programmes (BRTCPs) within the IEA's energy technology network.


Visit the Deep Dive Coding Bootcamp website. Next session is scheduled to begin October 2016. The current students' capstone projects will be demonstrated on September 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the FatPipe ABQ, 200 Broadway NE. Public is invited!
Monica, a recent UNM graduate in International Studies, threw herself a going-away party with family and friends before starting the 10-weeks Deep Dive Coding Bootcamp in Albuquerque. The program's Student Success Specialist advised her to inform her family and friends that she would be out of touch throughout those 10 weeks!
The program is offered 4 times per year, for 10 weeks. Students meet 4 days per week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Class size is usually about 12 students but no more than 18. Small class size offers more individual hands-on training. CNM provides a placement counselor who works with each student to define career goals and help them succeed in those goals. Dylan believes that there is a large need for web developers in New Mexico that remains unmet. "Our program curriculum is modeled after the Zend exam, so students are prepared for Zend certification at graduation." Zend certification is one of the highest accreditation in web development.
The attractive and contemporary furnished school offers students a "living room" with comfortable couches and chairs; the main area of instruction with the most up-to-date hardware for each student; a kitchen and eating area filled with snacks, fresh fruit and large windows which let in plenty of sunshine. Twice a week, midday, students go to the next-door gym to work out. One is reminded of the avant-garde workspaces at some of the large tech companies.
Monica, the recent UNM graduate, was seeking a career that would allow her to grow and be successful. She wasn't sure about coding. But the more she learned about the industry and the opportunities for women, the more encouraged she felt about enrolling in the Deep Dive Coding Bootcamp. She was excited to find that Albuquerque offered a coding bootcamp that is close to home and is affordable, unlike similar schools in New York and San Francisco. She loves the program and the career choices have broadened. Beyond good employment opportunities, she is contemplating free lancing or becoming a small business owner. She also wants to promote STEM careers to other young women and help them learn how to code.
A new career came through for Skyler, who graduated from the bootcamp last year. Skyler, a young web developer is now an instructor for Deep Dive Coding Bootcamp.
Kevin was a biology professor at NM Tech for 23 years. After his wife made a career change, Kevin decided he was ready for one also. He took early retirement and started looking at web development as his next career choice. He was surprised to find that Albuquerque offered a coding bootcamp like those advertised in New York, San Francisco and other big cities. Kevin likes the hands-on training. He finds some of the concepts challenging, the course fast-paced and a lot of material to absorb. But it all appeals to his scientific nature and he likes that the projects are real-life projects, that students work as teams and instruction is individualized. He finds the program intense, focused and practical. This program is giving him a clear track and creates contacts for him to transition into a new career.


This work is called « SUR-FAKE » in reference to a previous project called « SUR-FACE ». It [places] the screen as an object of 'mass subculture,' alienating the relation to our own body, and more generally to the physical world. I wanted to come back to the idea of these faked identities, over-exposed, sucked by the digital gulf that breaks the relation to 'real', to bring back a selffocused image of the individual. What interests me in this texture of sucked faces, is the the over-exposure gradually allows a very organic dimension, as well as digital, to render something quite disturbing.
Kill the Noise "Kill it 4 the Kids"
This is a physical QWERTY keyboard that doubles as an emoji machine. The concept is fairly simple -- regular keys work as you'd expect until you press the "emoji" modifier, which will then make a key press generate the appropriate icon. The keyboard requires you to install software to make the magic happen, of course. The standard edition has 47, the Plus has 94, and the Pro 120 (pictured above). The keyboard supports Mac, Windows, and iOS via Bluetooth. The Emoji Keyboard is currently available for pre-order, the standard, 47-emoji model will set you back $80, the 94-emoji Plus costs $90, and the 120-emoji Pro is $100.
"An underwater art exhibit has debuted on a former Air Force missile tracking ship sunk in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary seven miles south of Key West to become an artificial reef."
'Vandenberg: Life Below the Surface' is simply breathtaking exhibition by creative genius & Austrian photographer Andreas Franke.
The exhibit features a dozen digitally composited images on the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg that was scuttled in May 2009. The 4 x 5ft photographs stretch along 200 feet on the starboard side of the Vandenberg's weather deck, 93 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.


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Pay Attention to Policy Milestones to Reduce Workers' Comp Costs
Posted on August 29, 2020 August 29, 2020 by BGESGroup
Once they have paid their annual premium, many employers pay scant attention to their workers' comp policy until the renewal date starts closing in. Unfortunately, that's not the best time to attempt to control costs.
Because workers' comp is one of the most loss-sensitive insurance policies, and as claims can sometimes be paid out for decades, it's important that you proactively manage claims. One way to do that is through a quarterly claims review process, the timing of which is in line with the calculation of your company's Experience Modification Factor (X-Mod).
It's important to review loss runs and assess all open claims three months into the new policy year, because the critical number crunching for calculating the X-Mod takes place six months after the policy anniversary date. This gives you three months to reduce or close claims that will affect the X-Mod calculation.
Policies that renewed on Jan. 1, 2020 used the loss experience from policies that were effective from 1/1/16 to 2/31/16; from 1/1/17 to 12/31/17; and from 1/1/18 to 12/31/18. In other words, it looks at the claims from four years ago to one year prior. It will not include the most recent year's claims payouts, as they are still too fresh.
This is when it's time to focus on trying to close claims and reducing reserves on existing claims. The top priority is getting the injured employees back to full or modified duty. If that isn't possible and return to work appears unlikely, then consideration should be given to settling the claim.
Six months after policy inception is the most important day of the workers' comp year, because this is when the insurance company sends loss information to your state's rating bureau to be used in the calculation of your X-Mod. This is known as the valuation date, or sometimes, the unit stat date.
This information includes not only the money that the insurer has spent on claims, but also what it expects to spend (the reserves). In effect, your insurer takes a snapshot of your loss information and it is absolutely critical that these numbers are correct. With few exceptions, once the rating bureau has the numbers, they are set in stone.
Unfortunately, the numbers are often inaccurate because gauging claims costs is not an exact science. Also, errors are rampant in the system and, once an insurer sets reserves for a claim, it is hard to get them reduced until after the claim closes.
The window of opportunity is short and the process of correcting mistakes can take time, which is another reason for the comprehensive review three months after the policy's inception.
Put reserves in focus
Pay close attention to reserves. They represent what the insurance company thinks the ultimate cost of the claim will be. It is not a guess, but it is more of an art than a science.
Its accuracy depends on the precision of the adjuster in evaluating the employee's medical condition, anticipated time away from work, cost of medical care and other relevant costs.
Yet, the cost projections get counted exactly the same as the dollars paid out, so if the reserve is set too high, you will pay too much.
Although the X-Mod is set at the sixth-month mark, it is a good idea to continue the quarterly review process at nine months. Throughout the year, proactive management of all open claims will ensure that there are no surprises at renewal.
Courts Rule COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims Invalid
As second court has ruled that an insurer does not have to pay business interruption claims by businesses that saw their revenues run dry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will further make it difficult for business to successfully file such claims.
In the most recent case, a Superior Court judge in the District of Colombia in August ruled that an insurer is not obligated to pay business interruption claims of the owner of several restaurants after the mayor ordered all restaurants to close in response to the coronavirus. The judge ruled that in order for the business interruption claims to be valid there must have been physical loss or damage and that the plaintiffs failed to prove any they suffered any such losses.
The ruling comes on the heels of a Michigan state court decision in July that also sided with Michigan Insurance Company in a case brought by the owner of two restaurants whose $650,000 business interruption claim the insurer had denied.
These two cases are closely following the wording of typical business property policies that also include business interruption coverage caused by physical damage.
In the D.C. case, there were several plaintiffs: Lead plaintiff Rose 1 LLC, which is owned by chef Aaron Silverman, and which operates a number of upscale restaurants including Rose's Luxury, Elaine's One, Pineapple and Pearl's and Little Pearl. Other plaintiffs included Buttercream Bakeshop, Karma Modern Indian, El Cucho, Bar Charley, La Vie and Beuchert's Saloon.
Mayor Muriel Bowser had issued orders on banning indoor dining, for residents to shelter at home and for all non-essential businesses to close. The restaurants filed claims on their commercial property policy with Eire Insurance Company, which included coverage for loss of income and/or rental income from a partial or total interruption of business that results directly from loss or damage to the insured property.
The restaurants after the claim was rejected, arguing that the loss of use of their restaurants was a direct physical loss because the closures were the direct result of the mayor's orders.
The plaintiffs argued that the losses were physical because the coronavirus is "material" and "tangible." But, the judge pointed out that the plaintiffs failed to show that the virus was present in their properties and that the mayor's orders did not materially or tangibly affect the restaurants.
Business interruption cover
Business law attorneys say business around the country have filed hundreds of coronavirus-related business interruption lawsuits after seeing their claims rejected. The issue mainly comes down to policy wording.
Most business property policies also cover business interruption claims, but policies usually specify that there must be physical damage to property. The policies are typically tapped to losses resulting from damage to a business caused by a natural catastrophe. Additionally, most business interruption portions of policies explicitly exclude pandemic.
Most policies require there to be some type of direct physical loss or damage to either your premises or some part of your supply chain in order to trigger business interruption coverage. Without that trigger, insurers would likely argue that a virus in your facility is not physical loss or damage.
But these are early days in the litigation front as more cases are decided and appealed, we should have a clearer picture of COVID-19 business interruption coverage.
More Employers Ask Workers to Sign COVID-19 Waivers, but They May Not Be Legal
As lawsuits against employers continue rising amid the coronavirus pandemic, some businesses are requiring workers to sign waivers absolving them of liability and responsibility should they contract the virus.
Eight percent of executives surveyed by law firm Blank Rome said they would require that their workers sign waivers of liability before returning to the workplace.
While employers are trying to protect themselves from a liability that didn't even exist a year ago, some human resources legal experts have expressed concerns that they may not be necessary ― and may be unenforceable.
The moves come as employers are wrestling with numerous risks that the pandemic has wrought, and with the U.S. Senate having proposed legislation that would limit the liability of employers for workers who become sick during the pandemic. A number of states have also enacted laws or emergency regulations that make it harder for employees to sue employers for negligence over COVID-19.
COVID-19-spurred employee lawsuits have mostly centered on employers not providing the proper protections for workers, discrimination or for being laid off for refusing to come to work.
Legal experts caution that employers cannot require workers to waive rights they may have, such as access to workers' compensation benefits or the right to file a complaint with OSHA.
They also say that some employers may consider waivers as a green light to not take precautions against COVID-19, but in such cases the waivers would likely not be legal.
If a worker claims they caught COVID-19 at work and the facts back that up, they would likely have access to workers' compensation benefits (some states even require it). But if the employer was negligent, the employee could have further legal avenues to pursue besides workers' compensation, rights that cannot legally be waived, lawyers say.
So even if an employee were to sign a document waiving their right to file a complaint if they feel their employer is being negligent, they may still have recourse.
Requiring workers to sign waivers could present a number of legal issues, according to the law website nolo.com, including:
Courts in some states are reluctant to enforce liability waivers in the workplace because of the superior bargaining power of employers over their staff.
Workplace morale could suffer if your employees think you are placing your own economic interests above workplace safety.
Any waiver employees sign would not protect your firm from lawsuits filed by their families should they contract COVID-19 if staff are infected at work.
A waiver might be unnecessary in states that have passed laws granting immunity to employers for claims made by workers infected with the virus.
Another option
While employees who refuse to sign a waiver of their company's liability may have grounds to challenge their employer, some liability lawyers say that employers instead of a waiver can ask their staff to sign a social contract that requires:
The employer to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work, and
The workers to comply with their employer's requirements on mandates on wearing masks, social distancing and not coming to work if they have symptoms or of they think they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
This type of agreement won't protect an employer from a lawsuit, but it does spell out that they are following authorities' recommendation for protecting employees.
While employees who refuse to sign a waiver of their company's liability could have grounds to sue, those who sign this type of acknowledgement of new workplace rules and government guidance are less likely to be successful if they are fired for not signing. This is because the acknowledgement is not forcing them to give up any of their rights and is rather for their and their co-workers' protection.
These social contracts also would provide workers with a list of their responsibilities when working during the COVID-19 pandemic, and outline what their employer is doing to protect them.
Number of COVID-19 Workers' Comp Claims Continues Rising
While the pandemic rages on, the number of workers in the U.S. who are filing COVID-19 workers' compensation claims is increasing and are accounting for a growing portion of overall claims.
While there is only data currently available from two states – California and Florida – the numbers coming out of the two states show the steady progression of claims being filed, although in Florida's case the numbers don't reflect all filed COVID-19 workers' compensation claims. Additionally, the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which the rating agency for about 38 states will release it's first numbers on coronavirus claims in September.
In California since the start of the year, workers have filed 22,621 COVID-19 workers' compensation, according to the state
Division of Workers' Compensation. In June and July alone case rose by nearly 11,000 cases. In Florida there have been 5,693 COVID-19 indemnity claims filed since the start of the year, but the number of new claims has been falling.
The way the numbers are reported in those two states differs though as Florida only provides monthly reports on all COVID-19 claims that result in indemnity payments. California's numbers include the total number of first reports of injury where COVID-19 was listed as the cause, so that number includes medical-only claims. There have been 5,252 denials of COVID-19 claims in California through July 31, according to the DWC.
The numbers in California are concerning as in the last two months COVID-19 claims have accounted for nearly 20% of all workers' comp claims filed in the state.
There are concerns that if COVID-19 cases continue rising among American workers that it will start affecting workers' compensation rates as insurers never priced pandemic illness into their policies. The rate pressure may also be less as other industrial injuries have fallen dramatically as not as many people are working as before.
In Florida, COVID-19 was the cause of 28% of indemnity claims in March, 36% in April, 23% in May and 25% in June.
All of the above figures are still raw data as the more claims may be filed for prior months and as more data is available, the true cost of COVID-19 on the workers' compensation system will become apparent.
Who is filing claims
Mitchell International, a San Diego-based insurance data provider, has been tracking COVID-19 workers' compensation claims and has found that claims were filed as follows:
66% of claims were filed by workers in the health care and social assistance industries
7% were filed by workers in public administration
4% were filed by workers in education
4% were filed by workers in manufacturing
3% were filed by workers in transportation and warehousing
16% were filed by workers in other sectors.
At the same time, the frequency of other typical workers' compensation claims continues to fall. For example, in California in July there were only 16,000 total workers' comp claims filed, compared to nearly 46,000 claims in July 2019.
As an employer, it's encumbant on you to provide a safe workplace and that means also safeguarding your workers against transmission of COVID-19. OSHA, the Centers for Disease Control and various states have issued return to work plans for employers to follow.
Most important a safe workplace today must now include:
Social distancing between workers and workers and customers.
Requiring employees to wear masks and other protective equipment depending on their risk.
Regular sanitizing and cleaning.
Plans for monitoring employee's for COVID-19
Posted on August 7, 2020 August 7, 2020 by BGESGroup


Where has that time gone?...it's insane to think that Studio One Yoga was born only 5 years ago, because I genuinely feel like it's been my entire life (I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not?).
This is a personal blog from me, Michelle, to you guys to say a huge THANK YOU!
I always get super emotional on Studio One's birthday weekend as it feels SO special to me to be able to wake up every day and do a job that I love. It sounds like such a cliché but it's true! Owning a yoga studio was never the plan, it wasn't what I was working towards or striving for; it just kinda happened.
Did I dream about having a yoga studio? Yes…Did I ever think it was going to happen? Not really!
Call it fate, call it the stars aligning, but whatever happened 5 years ago took me from a career in academia to a life I've been able to create to serve my students the best way I know how.
Any business owner out there will tell you it's not all fun and high points, and whilst that's true I consider myself lucky that the low points are few and far between and I put this down to YOU! Creating an environment in which people can feel better about themselves generally attracts nice people and we're lucky as a business that 99.9% of people who walk through our door are awesome.
I'm also super lucky that our teachers have stuck around so long :) our teachers and staff are the backbone of the business; they are dedicated to the students, passionate about the job and always learning. If the students are the heart of Studio One then the staff are definitely the lungs!
I'm not going to put a dampener on the occasion but for those of you who've been here since the beginning you know it hasn't always been easy for me; the first 6 months were TOUGH (you can read about it here if you have another five minutes to kill).
I can only say thank you so many times before it starts to sound like I don't mean it so before I wail too much I just want to let you know that we're in it for the long haul…we have some exciting plans for 2019, we're getting involved in some interesting projects and we'll be taking you along for the ride. So keep coming to class, keep engaging with us on social media and keep reading our stuff. I genuinely do this all to make Studio One the best yoga studio around! Thank you.


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Home News New British Airways Gatwick-Gibraltar Route
New British Airways Gatwick-Gibraltar Route
British Airways Announces New London Gatwick-Gibraltar Service
HM Government of Gibraltar welcomes the announcement by British Airways this morning of the launch of a new seasonal route from London Gatwick to Gibraltar. This will commence on Monday 28th May, in time for the peak summer season. The route will operate 6 times weekly, daily except Tuesday, and will run until Saturday 29th September. Over 2,000 additional return seats will be offered per week, with a total of 37,000 seats for the period of operation. This is in addition to the 11 weekly flights from Heathrow during the summer.
Minister for Tourism and Commercial Aviation, the Hon Gilbert Licudi, said: "This is fantastic news for Gibraltar, with much needed capacity left behind by Monarch Airlines being filled up by British Airways. London Gatwick is Gibraltar's busiest route and these additional weekly services highlight the demand on this route, and will complement the British Airways existing London Heathrow services. This shows British Airways confidence in the Gibraltar market. In addition, with easyJet increasing capacity by upgrading to larger aircraft and the charter services from various UK regional departure points in the UK being offered by Super Break, this will undoubtedly boost the tourism industry as well as providing further vital links to major UK airports to all business and leisure travellers".
The new British Airways London Gatwick flights are now available to book on www.ba.com.
flight route
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https://thegibraltarmagazine.com
The Gibraltar Magazine is your monthly business, entertainment, and lifestyle source. Providing the community with the latest breaking news and quality content since 1995. Every month, 100 pages are packed with gripping features from a cross- section of the Gibraltarian community in business, culture and leisure. We have pledged to support the wealth of local talent, constantly promoting young artists, musicians, authors and entrepreneurs and presenting what's on around the Rock. In the business section, we focus on finance, property, and gaming industries. Embracing the latest technology and updating our website daily, we're able to provide increased and up-to-the-minute information. The magazine has been operating for 25 years, which speaks volumes for our forward-thinking team who strive to take a fresh direction each month, as well as our loyal readership and confidence of advertisers.
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BAD GUYS DOING GOOD DISPATCHED BY THE IMPERIAL GALACTIC EMPIRE From a Galaxy far, far away, the RAOB Cardboard Boat Race has been noticed and...
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Jonathan Garcia, a partner in the DLT/Fintech team at ISOLAS, Gibraltar's longest established law firm and home to the market's leading blockchain legal practice,...


You are the last surviving dinosaur of the royal Dinosty! Your life is being threatened by meteorites, avoid it and run as fast as you can. An engaging game about the dinosaur theme is updated and collected daily for you on our Dinosaurgames.me website. what are you waiting for? Let's enjoy this game right now. Have fun!


It starts to rain, you open your bag and start rummaging through all your stuff, finally get the umbrella up but you're already soaked. This is no longer a problem with the U Handle umbrella. Thanks to the carabineer style handle you can clip it onto the outside of your bag allowing you to get it up before the rain gets heavy.


The Wellness Attendant assists the Wellness staff to execute courteous service to members in the Wellness area. This position reports to the Wellness Director.
Ensure the BlueStar Experience for members and guests by modeling and maintaining the standards set in the BlueStar 10 and adhering to BlueStar Resort & Golf (BSRG) and facility policies.
Operate as part of a team handling daily operations, including opening and closing procedures, facility inspections and stocking, along with communicating facility maintenance needs.
Replenishes supply of clean towels in Wellness areas throughout the shift.
Inspects, maintains, cleans and organizes wellness areas.
Welcome and provide a check-in for members and guests at the front desk, providing exceptional customer service and a desire to satisfy all customer inquiries and follow up.
Provide feedback to managers about customer satisfaction and concerns to improve the overall operations.
Develop in depth knowledge of all Wellness services and products, with the ability to promote them with enthusiasm to members and guests and support them in making choices for their wellbeing.
One to three years' direct customer service and hospitality experience required.
One to three years' of wellness related work experience preferred.
Computer literate with proficiency in Microsoft Office.
Knowledgeable in fitness club operations.
Skilled in attentive customer service and calmly responding to guest concerns.
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, portions, and percentages.
Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to respond to the needs and requests of staff members, guests, and the community association.
Must demonstrate initiativeability to think, work, and make independent decisions, based on sound judgment.
This position requires a flexible schedule to include evenings and weekends.
This position operates indoors and routinely uses standard office equipment, such as computers, phones, copy and fax machines. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to hear, see, speak clearly and understand the speech of another person, sit, stand and walk (occasionally for an extended period), use hands to fingers, handle or feel, bend, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must be able to occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.


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Menu Inside UEFA
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Inside UEFA - Video Assistant Referees - News
Video Assistant Referees
How does VAR work? Which UEFA competitions is it being used in? Find all information concerning UEFA's VAR programme here.
Article top media content
An error occurred while playing the video
VAR: what is it and how does it work?
The Video Assistant Referee system (VAR) was introduced into UEFA competitions in 2019 following extensive testing and training of referees.
Background and timeline
On 3 March 2018, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) decided to allow the use of VAR in football following a two-year period of "live experiments with video assistance for clear errors in match-changing situations". IFAB also made various amendments to the laws of the game 2018/19 required to ensure they reflect the use of VAR where applied, including the introduction of the VAR protocol of the laws.
At their meeting on 27 September 2019, the UEFA Executive Committee decided that VAR would be introduced to UEFA competitions from the start of the 2019/20 season. Following an autumn of testing and training, that start date was then brought forward to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 (February–March 2019) at the December meeting of the Executive Committee.
VAR explained: the four match-changing situations
Following the September announcement, courses with the referees took place in Zeist (Royal Netherlands Football Association HQ), Madrid, Istanbul, Lisbon and Malaga. The courses catered for referees with VAR experience as well as male and female officials new to VAR. Meanwhile, background testing of the operational and technological aspects took place at national team and club matches.
Operational set-up
In principle, there is a video assistant referee, an assistant video assistant referee and two video operators on site at all UEFA games where VAR is being utilised. When the VAR team is in place, there is no AAR (additional assistant referee).
The VAR team at the stadium will constantly check for clear and obvious errors related to the following four match-changing situations:
1) goals
2) incidents in the penalty area
3) red cards
4) mistaken identity
Find out which competitions VAR will be used in
The VAR team will check all match-changing situations, but will only intervene for clear and obvious mistakes. The referee can hold up play while a decision is being reviewed.
If the VAR review provides clear evidence for a serious mistake in one of the game-changing situations, the VAR can then ask the referee to conduct an on-field review. The final decision can only be taken by the referee.
The VAR is also able to take into account any infringement that could have taken place in the immediate build-up to the incident (the attacking phase of play).
For 'factual' decisions (e.g. offsides, fouls in or outside the penalty area), the VAR can simply inform the referee of those facts and the on-field view screen isn't needed, but it is always the referee who takes the final decision.
The on-field review process will be communicated within the stadium using either the stadium screens or the public announcement system.
Key documentation
IFAB protocol
Programme insert for UEFA Champions League clubs
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From the Entrepreneur's Perspective: Why is it helpful to follow the financial performance and read the annual reports of publicly traded retailers like Walmart, Target, and Walgreens?
Being informed of what is happening amongst your retailers, or the retailers you wish to do business with, allows you to communicate most effectively with your buyer. The better prepared you are to help the buyer meet his/her objectives, the more confidence the buyer will have in you. Your sales pitch, marketing plan, pricing, packaging,… Continue reading From the Entrepreneur's Perspective: Why is it helpful to follow the financial performance and read the annual reports of publicly traded retailers like Walmart, Target, and Walgreens?


Siebenmann R., Schneider K., von Segesser L., Turina M.
348 cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm were reviewed for typical features of inflammatory aneurysm (IAAA) (marked thickening of aneurysm wall, retroperitoneal fibrosis and rigid adherence of adjacent structures). IAAA was present in 15 cases (14 male, 1 female). When compared with patients who had ordinary aneurysms, significantly more patients complained of back or abdominal pain (p less than 0.01). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was highly elevated. Diagnosis was established in 7 of 10 computed tomographies. 2 patients underwent emergency repair for ruptured aneurysm. Unilateral ureteral obstruction was present in 4 cases and bilateral in 1. Repair of IAAA was performed by a modified technique. Histological examination revealed thickening of the aortic wall, mainly of the adventitial layer, infiltrated by plasma cells and lymphocytes. One 71-year-old patient operated on for rupture of IAAA died early, and another 78-year-old patient after 5 1/2 months. Control computed tomographies revealed spontaneous regression of inflammatory infiltration after repair. Equally, hydronephrosis due to ureteral obstruction could be shown to disappear or at least to decrease. IAAA can be diagnosed by computed tomography with high sensitivity. Repair involves low risk, but modification of technique is necessary. The etiology of IAAA remains unclear.