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Q: XUL listbox.insertItemAt fails after several opening and closings I have a sidebar extension that I'm working on. The problem I'm encountering is that when that sidebar is opened, it goes through some initialization. This requires populating a list. I have an object, which has some of the following functionality:
 var intializeSidear = {
 initSidebar: function(){
 var listbox_to_init = document.getElementById('generic-list-box');
 for(var i = 0; i < 10; i++){
 listbox_to_init.appendItem("Test", i);
 }
 }
 ....

What happens is the first time I open the sidebar, everything works fine. The next time I open it, it gives the error that "listbox_to_init.appendItem is not a function." (I have it wrapped in a try/catch block).
Is there any reason for why this might be happening?

A: It appears that in order for this to fire correctly, an event listener needs to be tied to the window load event:
window.addEventListener("load", function load(event){
window.removeEventListener("load", load, false); //remove listener, no longer needed
    init();
},false);

I'm unsure why this is though. When I alerted the variable that I retrieved from document.getElementById() on the listbox, it showed it as being a [Xul Object], which it is. So why could it make that determination, but in order to actually manipulate the xul object I needed to wait for the window to load?
If anyone has an explanation to offer, that'd be grand. In the meantime, I'll try researching and returning back here if there are still issues with my code or no one else answers my new question.


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The Importance of Joint Concepts for the Planner
By James L. Cook Joint Force Quarterly 99
Nov. 19, 2020 —
Lieutenant Colonel James L. Cook, USA (Ret.), is a Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College.
Croatian soldier assigned to Battle Group Poland presses remote trigger to Vulcan M-92 rocket launcher, firing barrage of missiles in support of Operation Raider Thunder, at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, February 6, 2019 (U.S. Army/Sarah Kirby)
Croatian soldier assigned to Battle Group Poland presses remote trigger to Vulcan M-92 rocket launcher
Photo By: U.S. Army/Sarah Kirby
The 2018 National Defense Strategy explains the importance of developing new operational concepts to "sharpen our competitive advantages and enhance our lethality" across the entire spectrum of conflict.1 The strategy forces us to think beyond military modernization and order of battle to consider how the joint force could be used in new and more effective ways in a future security environment that is "always in flux" and fraught with relentless change.2 According to the Joint Staff, the purpose of joint concepts is to offer "alternative operational methods and related capabilities to maintain military advantage against current and emerging threats."3 These concepts also propose necessary changes for the joint force to improve its ability to fight and win across all warfighting domains in these future conflicts.
David Fastabend argued that concepts provide innovative ideas intended, in part, to facilitate a debate that is the analytical "crucible" to identify flaws and generate consensus while adding a sense of clarity about the way ahead.4 Simply put, he saw value in the joint concept development process that offers a collaborative framework to balance creative thinking with reality. Conversely, Antulio Echevarria contends that operational concepts are no panacea and have downsides. His criticisms include a "paradox," where the joint concept development process itself is often impeded by Service biases and the absence of sustained commitment from the relevant stakeholders, which, in turn, means opportunity costs in the form of exploring other ideas.5
These differing views raise questions about the continued relevancy of joint concepts—and whether this approach is the most effective way to integrate advanced technology and other emergent capabilities into the joint force. This article argues that joint concept development is a critical, if underappreciated, component of military strategic and operational planning that is not currently being maximized to address emerging challenges and opportunities. To substantiate this premise, the article discusses the evolution of joint concepts and their influence on military planning today; describes the Joint Staff process in which concepts drive the development of required capabilities; and recommends some specific areas where joint concept development should be targeted going forward.
The Armed Forces have a proven track record of using strategy to inform the development of joint concepts that "address gaps, shortfalls, or inadequacies in existing approaches and capabilities," while presenting new ways to accomplish a joint operation, function, or activity.6 An often cited example is the 1982 AirLand Battle concept that was conceived in the post–Vietnam War era to fill what Douglas Skinner called a "doctrinal vacuum."7 It offered a new way to think about implementing the Cold War strategy of "containment" and defeating the Soviet Union. The Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Commander General Donn Starry was the driving force behind AirLand Battle, which applied some of the valuable lessons learned from the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and emphasized the importance of early offensive action and combined arms operations to winning the fight.
Army Field Manual (FM) 100-5, Operations, published in 1976, introduced the concept of active defense, which was designed to allow U.S. forces to fight outnumbered in Central Europe. Active defense emphasized the importance of winning the "first battle"8 to provide time for reconsolidation before the next echelon of Soviet forces came within range.9 David Johnson describes the dissatisfaction within the Army over the FM's emphasis on the defense at the expense of the offense. Moreover, he explains how Starry found the doctrine inadequate to solve the problems he faced as a corps commander against the Warsaw Pact, especially at the operational level of war.10 The intra-Service doctrinal debates over the controversial active defense concept allowed for introspection and shaped the thinking of TRADOC and its schools.
The outcome of these intellectual efforts was the development of the AirLand Battle concept. FM 100-5 (1982) states that AirLand Battle is based on "securing the initiative as early as possible and exercising it aggressively" by using synchronized air and ground operations, bold maneuver, and tempo to defeat a numerically superior Soviet military threat.11 The concept also encouraged the employment of combined arms task forces (for example, armor and mechanized infantry units within the same formation) intended to create synergy and "pose a dilemma for the enemy."12 Moreover, AirLand Battle was designed to bridge the gap between military strategy and tactics by focusing on the operational level of war using an extended deep, close, and rear battlefield framework; its requirement of a level of "jointness" in its implementation would later be expanded and codified in the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act.
AirLand Battle also provided an intellectual foundation for Army modernization efforts during the so-called Reagan defense buildup in the early 1980s that procured mobile, lethal weapons systems including the M1 Abrams main battle tank, the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, the Multiple Launch Rocket System, the PATRIOT air and missile defense system, and the Apache attack helicopter.13 The capabilities provided by these advanced systems were critical for successful execution of the concept and validated by the U.S. military's performance during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. It is noteworthy that all of these "legacy" weapons systems remain in service today.
Joint Vision (JV) 2010 offered a capstone "conceptual template" that explained how the Armed Forces would "channel the vitality and innovation of our people and leverage technological opportunities" to improve joint warfighting effectiveness in the post–Cold War era.14 JV 2010 was written to support President Bill Clinton's 1996 National Security Strategy that required the military to field forces "sufficient, in concert with regional allies, to defeat aggression in two nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts."15 To advance the National Security Strategy and promote U.S. national interests, the 1997 National Military Strategy required the joint force to shape the international environment, respond to the full spectrum of crises, and prepare now for an uncertain future.16 To implement this strategic guidance, JV 2010 introduced four operational concepts—dominant maneuver, precision engagement, full-dimension protection, and focused logistics—enabled by information superiority to mass effects and achieve "full spectrum dominance" across the entire range of military operations.17
With the benefit of hindsight, JV 2010 was far from prescient in its assessment of the future security environment, and its shortcomings include an overreliance on technology and insufficient attention paid to operations other than war, such as counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations. That said, the document was an effective medium to emphasize the importance of becoming "fully joint: institutionally, intellectually, and technically."18 Moreover, JV 2010 influenced institutional changes for the Services and guided efforts to improve joint warfighting and the procurement of advanced capabilities including intelligence, command and control, precision-guided munitions, and air and missile defense, which are all critical to the joint force today. On balance, JV 2010 did a creditable job preparing military strategists and operational planners to confront the challenges of a new millennium, while deeply influencing and shaping today's joint force.
Finally, in 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) published the Joint Operations Concept (JOPSC) as a "unifying framework" to guide Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's transformation efforts for the Armed Forces in a post-9/11 world where "adapting to surprise—adapting quickly and decisively—must . . . be a condition of planning."19 He also articulated the requirement to "transform not only our Armed Forces but also the Defense Department that serves them—by encouraging a culture of creativity and intelligent risk-taking."20 The JOPSC echoed JV 2010's emphasis on the importance of achieving full-spectrum dominance, but it advocated a capabilities-based approach "that focuses more on how the United States can defeat a broad array of capabilities that an adversary may employ rather than who the adversaries are and where they may engage U.S. interests."21 In both cases, the need for new concepts occurred in response to abrupt changes in the security environment following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the terrorist attacks against the United States in 2001.
Air Force fighter jet flies overhead as two Soldiers raise signal tower for Patriot missile system during training exercise at Kadena Air Base, Japan, November 22, 2017 (U.S. Army/Adan Cazarez)
Air Force fighter jet flies overhead as two Soldiers raise signal tower for Patriot missile system
Photo By: U.S. Army/Adan Cazarez
How Are Concepts Used Today?
JV 2010 and JOPSC were replaced by the 2012 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO), which was intended to guide joint force development—after a decade of combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria—toward a more potentially dangerous world that includes the reemergence of "long-term strategic competition" with China and Russia and the proliferation of advanced technologies.22 The CCJO describes the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's vision for how the joint force of 2020 will "defend the Nation against a wide range of security challenges" consistent with defense strategic guidance provided in the 2012 Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense. The guidance required a "rebalance" from the post-9/11 "war on terror" waged against al Qaeda and other terror groups primarily on land toward the Asia-Pacific with its different set of challenges, including a largely maritime environment.23
In practice, the capstone concept serves as a "bridge between strategic guidance and joint operating concepts in support of joint force development."24 For example, the 2012 CCJO introduced an approach called Globally Integrated Operations (GIO), which calls for elements of the joint force that are globally postured to "combine quickly with each other and mission partners to integrate capabilities fluidly across domains, echelons, geographic boundaries, and organizational affiliations."25 This approach aligns with the 2018 National Defense Strategy's emphasis on "strategic flexibility" and "freedom of action" in its description of dynamic force employment, which is intended to provide more options for priority missions while introducing "unpredictability to adversary decisionmakers."26 Finally, the CCJO establishes priorities that implement the Chairman's high-order vision and guide the development of a family of more specific and detailed subordinate joint operating and supporting concepts.
Joint operating concepts (JOCs) are broadly defined as describing "how the joint force may execute military operations within a specific military mission area in accordance with defense strategic guidance and the CCJO."27 As an example, the Joint Operations Access Concept (JOAC) is a "warfighting concept" that explains—in conceptual terms—how the joint force would achieve and maintain operational access "in the face of armed opposition by a variety of enemies and under a variety of conditions, as part of a broader national approach."28 It allows Service planners to determine the contributions and limitations of their respective forces under specific scenarios. For instance, the concept recognizes that air superiority and sea control—advantages that U.S. forces have enjoyed for decades—are no longer assured.
The JOAC addresses operational access consistent with the guidance and context provided by the CCJO,29 while directly addressing the Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership requirement to "project power despite antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) challenges."30 One can envision the JOAC's application in response to a crisis in the South China Sea or other global maritime hotspots. The concept's central idea is to leverage cross-domain synergy "to establish superiority in some combination of domains that will provide the freedom of action required by the mission."31 Additionally, the JOAC identifies 30 required capabilities and 11 operational access precepts (that is, general principles) intended as a "guide to judgment" based on an understanding of the unique factors of any situation.32
While critics argue that the JOAC lacks necessary detail for such a complex military problem, it is important to understand that this document provides an "overarching concept" under which can "nest" multiple supporting concepts, such as the Joint Concept for Entry Operations (JCEO), that address specific aspects of A2/AD challenges. Supporting concepts add depth and detail to JOCs by describing how the joint force may conduct a particular subset of the mission.33 In this case, the JCEO focuses on integrating force capabilities across domains "in order to secure freedom of maneuver on foreign territory within an operational area" that is consistent with the GIO approach.34 Specifically, JCEO seeks to employ maneuver in and across multiple domains to establish local superiority at multiple entry points to gain access and achieve military objectives.35 The document lists 21 required capabilities and affirms the need for the joint force to maintain its ability to enter foreign territory and accomplish all assigned missions ashore, both in the littoral regions and farther inland.36
In sum, the Joint Staff provides a logical, hierarchical process that translates strategic direction into proposed solutions for the joint force in the future security environment. Developing joint operating and supporting concepts—with GIO as a guide—gives intellectual focus and creativity to address specific mission areas and challenges. Moreover, the aforementioned collaborative nature of concept development facilitates engaging relevant stakeholders in the discussion—with a goal of enhancing the effectiveness and lethality of the joint force.
The Services formulate concepts that align with the broader joint concepts, while focusing on their unique contributions and Title 10 responsibilities to "organize, train, and equip" forces for joint and combined operations. For example, in 2014, the Army released The Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World, which describes its support for GIO by providing "foundational capabilities required by the joint force." The Army also plans for and executes expeditionary operations consistent with the JOAC and JCEO by "integrating with other Services and mission partners to conduct joint combined arms maneuver [and] the synchronized application of capabilities critical to accomplish the mission."37 In response to the CCJO requirement for the joint force to "integrate capabilities fluidly across domains," then–Army Chief of Staff General Mark A. Milley testified before Congress that the Army's Multi-Domain Operations concept is designed to "guide our modernization efforts . . . inform future force development through numerous iterations of experimentation and analysis . . . [and] describe how we will synchronize our capabilities across all domains in support of the joint force."38
Despite the importance of operational concepts to the planning process, Echevarria correctly argues that they are "usually poorly defined in military doctrine or shrouded in jargon, which in turn leads to confusion."39 For example, what is the difference (if any) between a joint concept, an operating concept, and an operational concept? The ambiguity is more than a mere semantics issue and should be clarified by the Joint Staff for military strategists and operational planners. In the interim, how does one select the right concepts? To be clear, these choices can at times seem more art than science given the wide array of possible threats across the spectrum of conflict. Nevertheless, prudent concept development starts with an assessment of the future security environment to identify challenges and opportunities, followed by a thorough review of strategic direction to understand the context and consider potential capability deficiencies or other obstacles.
Once written, concepts are an important element of scenario-based planning to measure the joint force's ability to succeed in realistic situations, as they also identify capability gaps and other shortcomings. Evan Braden Montgomery argues that scenarios are "not intended to be predictions of the future" but are instead "stories about the way the world might turn out tomorrow . . . that can help us recognize and adapt to the changing aspects of our present environment."40 As an example, he offers a scenario that describes a potential Sino-U.S. conflict in the Taiwan Strait to facilitate the assessment of operating concepts such as the JOAC and JCEO against a specific A2/AD challenge while mitigating risk. This scenario could also be used to address important joint and Service capability issues such as the employment of aircraft carriers and manned versus unmanned systems in such a challenging environment.
From Concepts to Capabilities
The 2030 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations describes a shift to a "joint concept–driven, threat informed capability development process" intended to drive the Pentagon's resource allocation decisions.41 Although some view the term capabilities through the relatively narrow lens of weapons systems, DOD and the Joint Staff take a more holistic view. Joint Publication 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States, states that joint concepts lead to military capabilities, both nonmateriel and materiel, that "significantly improve the ability of the joint force to overcome future challenges" and achieve strategic and operational objectives.42 This robust array of potential capability options to fill identified gaps is captured by the DOD acronym DOTMLPF-P, which serves as an intellectual framework for institutional change (see table).
Table. DOD Capability Framework
Mark Guzinger argues that "legacy" operational concepts based on favorable Operation Desert Storm–like scenarios have hindered necessary changes in the past.43 Fortunately, the 2018 National Defense Strategy emphasizes the need for fresh thinking and innovative approaches to increase the lethality and overall effectiveness of the joint force. This is both encouraging and necessary because an inclusive, transparent exchange of ideas is critical to look beyond the status quo and truly examine novel ways to address 21st-century security challenges that are increasingly transregional, multidomain, and multifunctional (TMM).
For example, the 2030 CCJO states that the joint force "will globally posture forces and prioritize readiness for major combat against peer competitors while providing options for proactive and scalable employment of the joint force anywhere in the world."44 Given this guidance, what are future overseas basing requirements in a TMM environment, where response times to crises are shortened and managing escalation and joint force resiliency would be tested in myriad ways?45 And how are combatant commands and the Services impacted? Formulating answers to these difficult questions should begin with operationalizing dynamic force employment through the development of joint concepts.
The 2018 National Military Strategy directs the joint force to successfully "compete below the level of armed conflict (with a military dimension)."46 With the exception of cyberspace, this is a rather ambiguous mission area that requires some out-of-the-box thinking to address so-called gray zone or hybrid warfare challenges that exist in the space between peace and war.47 How might the joint force respond to future attempts to employ "little green men," armed militias, disinformation campaigns, and other efforts to disrupt national sovereignty and stability? Given the complexity and the political implications of such operations, how can the military's efforts be integrated as part of a broader interagency effort?
Finally, how might the joint force integrate cutting-edge technology such as hypersonic weapons, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence to support GIO? The development of new joint concepts must embrace these emerging capabilities and harness their potential advantages to present "insurmountable dilemmas" for future adversaries.48
Perhaps some or all of these questions will be addressed in the forthcoming Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC), which intends to provide "a threat-informed capability development roadmap for all-domain joint maneuver warfare."49 Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten describes JWC as an "overarching concept" that will help guide the development of "capabilities and attributes that we need to be able to fight effectively in the 2030s and 2040s and beyond."50
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford believes that "the strategic landscape is changing and our investment in future capabilities, capacity, and readiness must keep pace to ensure our men and women in uniform never face a fair fight."51 Joint concepts are critical to this effort because they provide a narrative framework that incorporates a comprehensive assessment of the security environment and strategic direction to identify and prioritize existing shortfalls; at the same time, joint concepts propose innovative approaches and required capabilities to maximize the joint force's qualitative and quantitative advantages to solve complex problems. JFQ
1 Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America: Sharpening the American Military's Competitive Edge (Washington, DC: Department of Defense [DOD], 2018), 7.
2 Joint Operating Environment 2035 (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, July 14, 2016), 1.
3 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) 3030.01, Implementing Joint Force Development and Design (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, December 3, 2019), C-2–C-3.
4 David A. Fastabend, "That Elusive Operational Concept," Army Magazine 51, no. 6 (June 2001), 42.
5 Antulio J. Echevarria II, "Operational Concepts and Military Strength," The Heritage Foundation, October 7, 2016, available at <www.heritage.org/military-strength-topical-essays/2017-essays/operational-concepts-and-military-strength>.
6 CJCSI 3010.02E, Guidance for Developing and Implementing Joint Concepts (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, August 17, 2016), A-1, A-3.
7 Douglas W. Skinner, Airland Battle Doctrine (Alexandria, VA: Center for Naval Analyses, September 1988), 3.
8 Field Manual (FM) 100-5, Operations (Washington, DC: Headquarters Department of the Army, 1976), 1-1.
9 Martin J. D'Amato, "Vigilant Warrior: General Donn A. Starry's AirLand Battle and How It Changed the Army," Armor 109, no. 3 (May–June 2000), 19.
10 David Johnson, "An Army Trying to Shake Itself from Intellectual Slumber, Part 1: Learning from the 1970s," War on the Rocks, February 2, 2018, available at <https://warontherocks.com/2018/02/army-trying-shake-intellectual-slumber-part-learning-1970s/>.
11 FM 100-5, Operations (Washington, DC: Headquarters Department of the Army, August 20, 1982), 7-2.
12 Ibid., 7-4.
13 Kari Hawkins, "AMC-Developed Weapons Remain Vital to Army," Army.mil, September 6, 2012, available at <www.army.mil/article/86839/amc_developed_weapons_remain_vital_to_army>.
14 Joint Vision 2010 (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, July 1996), 1.
15 A National Security Strategy of Engagement and Enlargement (Washington, DC: The White House, February 1996), 14.
16 National Military Strategy: Shape, Respond, Prepare Now—A Military Strategy for a New Era (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, 1997), 1.
17 Joint Vision 2010, 1.
18 Ibid., 9.
19 Quadrennial Defense Review Report (Washington, DC: DOD, September 30, 2001), iii.
20 Donald H. Rumsfeld, "Transforming the Military," Foreign Affairs, May/June 2002, available at <www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2002-05-01/transforming-military>.
21 Joint Operations Concept (Washington, DC: DOD, November 2003), 9.
22 Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, 1.
23 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2020 (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, September 10, 2012), 1.
24 CJCSI 3010.02E, A-10.
25 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2020, iii.
26 Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, 5, 7.
28 Joint Operations Access Concept (JOAC), Version 1.0 (Washington, DC: DOD, January 17, 2012), i.
30 Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st-Century Defense (Washington, DC: DOD, January 2012), 4.
31 JOAC, ii.
32 Ibid., 17.
34 Joint Concept for Entry Operations (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, April 7, 2014), v. Emphasis in original.
36 Ibid., iii.
37 U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Pamphlet 525-3-1, The U.S. Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World (Washington, DC: TRADOC, October 7, 2014), 5.
38 Senate Armed Services Committee, Posture Statement by General Mark A. Milley, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 116th Cong., 1st sess., March 26, 2019, 5–6.
39 Echevarria, "Operational Concepts and Military Strength."
40 Evan Braden Montgomery, Defense Planning for the Long Haul: Scenarios, Operational Concepts, and the Future Security Environment (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, 2009), 14–15.
41 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2030 (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, June 18, 2019), v.
42 Joint Publication 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, March 23, 2013, Incorporating Change 1, July 12, 2017), xxvi.
43 Mark Guzinger, Shaping America's Future Military Toward a New Force Planning Construct (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, 2013), 23.
44 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2030, 4.
45 Kathleen H. Hicks, "The Overseas Basing Debate, Part 1," Defense 2020 Podcast, transcript, Center for Strategic and International Studies, February 10, 2020, available at <www.csis.org/analysis/overseas-basing-debate-part-1>.
46 Description of the National Military Strategy 2018 (Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, 2018), 3.
47 Frank G. Hoffman, "Examining Complex Forms of Conflict: Gray Zone and Hybrid Challenges," PRISM 7, no. 4 (2018), available at <www.jstor.org/stable/26542705?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents>.
49 Senate Arms Services Committee, Department of Defense Budget Hearing, Statement of General Mark A. Milley, USA, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 112th Cong., 2nd sess., March 4, 2020, 12.
50 Theresa Hitchens, "New Joint Warfighting Plan Will Help Define 'Top Priority' JADC2: Hyten," Breaking Defense, January 29, 2020, available at <https://breakingdefense.com/2020/01/new-joint-warfighting-plan-will-help-define-top-priority-jadc2-hyten/>.
51 Senate Appropriations Committee on Defense, Posture Statement of General Joseph Dunford, Jr., USMC, 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 115th Cong., 1st sess., March 22, 2017.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I'm back with an outfit post wearing my current favourite ombre shirt tunic. It's actually more of a shirt dress but as it a short one, I decided to wear it with a pair of ripped jeans. This ombre shirt is from wsdear, an online fashion store, already introduced a couple of times on the blog (here).
As soon as I saw it on the website, I fell in love with the colours, they are absolutely perfect for summers. Half of it is in a sea green colour while the bottom half is white. The combination is very beautiful. I can wear it with white or black denims as well. The material is very fine, much better than what I was expecting because it's pretty inexpensive(only $19). I completed my outfit with tan accessories like this new pair of wedges which will be featured somewhere else very soon.
What do you think about this outfit? Now I am very excited to check out more ombre stuff in different combinations.


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Home / actavis / AmeriKat / angiotech / clearing the path / insufficiency / Lundbeck / mr justice carr / obvious to try / obviousness / plausibility / pozzoli / sufficiency / Mr Justice Carr tackles plausibility in Actavis v Eli Lilly ADHD dispute (Part II)
Mr Justice Carr tackles plausibility in Actavis v Eli Lilly ADHD dispute (Part II)
Annsley Merelle Ward Thursday, December 24, 2015 - actavis, AmeriKat, angiotech, clearing the path, insufficiency, Lundbeck, mr justice carr, obvious to try, obviousness, plausibility, pozzoli, sufficiency
The law on insufficiency and the role of plausibility
Putting a face to a name:
Lilly's Strattera drug for the treatment of ADHD
The most interesting part of the Mr Justice Carr's decision was his take on plausibility. ["Way to bury the lead, AmeriKat", criticizes Merpel]. The parties' arguments are summarized as follows.
Actavis argued that plausibility meant that a patent provides a "reasonable prediction" that the invention will work based on the common general knowledge. This argument broke down as follows:
In light of Hospira v Genentech [2014] EWCA Civ 1094 and Regeneron, the patent must make it possible to make a reasonable prediction that the invention will work across the scope of the claim – it must be plausible or credible. Because Lord Justice Kitchin equated "plausible" and credible" with "reasonable prediction the invention will work", the test for plausibility, in the context of sufficiency, is the same as "reasonable expectation of success" for obviousness.
Although the results of clinical trials are not required, the patent has to be more than a paper proposal to use drug A to treat disease B without any other basis. Showing a pharmaceutical effect in vitro or if there is a clear and accepted established relationship between the physiological activity and the disease may be sufficient.
The standard for assessing obviousness and sufficiency should be the same as they both focus on the technical contribution provided by the patent. A patentee should not be able to obtain a monopoly for an invention that does not add to the art either because it was obvious to reach the invention based on the common general knowledge/and or prior art or because it was implausible based on the patent's teaching.
Therefore, the EPO and the courts require it to be possible to make a reasonable prediction that the invention will work based on the technical teaching of the patent and the common general knowledge.
Eli Lilly argued that pluasibility was a low threshold test. Its arguemente was as follows:
Lack of plausibility is not a ground of invalidity and the imposition of such a requirement would be contrary to TRIPS, the EPC and the Patents Act 1977.
Plausibility arises only as a check on overly-broad claims, for example where a class of compounds is alleged to work in a number of different conditions (as was the case in Regeneron and Salk).
Accordingly, the threshold for plausibility is a low and flexible one, especially as a higher threshold would discourage innovation as it would either be too difficult to satisfy the inventive step requirement as patents would only be awarded for inventions that were "implausible" from the prior art or too difficult to satisfy the test for plausibility, particularly in the life sciences sector where regulatory approval takes years of testing.
This test was supported in Conor where Lord Hoffmann held that the objection of lack of plausibility applies to speculative patents, whose breadth of claim meant that the alleged invention is inherently improbable. The patentee in that case offered very little about how or why taxol would be efficacious in preventing restenosis and offered no proof in support. However, the House of Lords did not consider that this would lead to implausibility, which was unsurprising as it would have put a squeeze on the "obviousness to try" case (i.e. if it was obvious to try with a reasonable expectation of success surely the patent also made it plausible). The fact that the patent offered a theory, but no evidence, that taxol would be effective for the claimed therapeutic purpose, did not render it implausible. If it did, the patent would be invalid for insufficiency. This is why, held Carr J, plausibility is referred to as a "threshold test" which is consistent with its application to prevent the filing of purely speculative patents.
This low threshold, in the context of industrial applicability, was supported by the Supreme Court in HGS v Lilly [2011] UKSC 51 where "plausible" was used alongside "educated guess" and "reasonably credible". Had the Supreme Court intended plausibility to be the same standard of obviousness they had opportunity to say so in Conor and HGS and would not have adopted the "educated guess" language.
This is supported by the EPO case law, in particular T 578/06 Ipsen, where the Board emphasised the need for substantiated doubts about the suitability of the claimed invention to solve the technical problem in order to call into question the plausibility of the patent.
The "reasonable prediction" language comes from Agrevo where the Board there explained that it is possible for a prediction to be "not obvious, but nevertheless reasonable". This only makes sense if the hurdle for "reasonableness" is below that of obviousness. "Reasonable prediction" is therefore not the flip side of obviousness.
Evidence obtained after the priority date can be adduced to defend an allegation of insufficiency/lack of support at the EPO. This could only be justified if the plausibility hurdle is a low one – if it was high there would be no point in adducing evidence. There has to be some basis in the application.
Finally, Lilly flagged that under Rule 42(1)(e) EPC a patent is not required to include examples nor does the invention have to actually been carried out (see T 1437/07 Allergan).
Mr Justice Carr gives the middle
box a big red check
From this Mr Justice Carr held that:
Although plausibility is not a separate ground of objection to the validity of a patent, it must be borne in mind and is when the Boards of Appeal of the EPO and the national courts interpret the requirements of TRIPS, the EPC and the Patents Act 1977.
Plausibility does not apply only to claims of wide scope, but all claims. Whether an invention is plausible is fact, invention, claim, specification and CGK dependent. Claims of narrow scope are likely to be easier to demonstrate as plausible than those of wide scope.
There is no requirement in the EPC that a patent should contain data or experimental proof to support its claims. Salk's reference to the provision of experimental data is by way of example, only.
The policy considerations underlying plausibility for sufficiency are different from those underlying fair expectation of success for obvious. As to the latter, almost anything could be said to be obvious to try and would lead to a denial of patent protection (and therefore research in pharmaceuticals) if it was not for the fair expectation of success requirement. "Plausibility, on the other hand," Mr Justice Carr held, "is to exclude speculative patents, based on mere assertion, where there is no real reason to suppose that assertion is true."
The test of plausibility is a threshold test which is satisfied by disclosure that is "credible", as opposed to speculative. Such disclosure may be subsequently confirmed or refuted by post-published evidence. If it is shown that the invention does not work across substantially all products/methods falling within the scope of the claim, the monopoly will exceed the technical contribution and the patent will be invalid. This is why plausibility is only a threshold test and not the same test as expectation of success in the context of obviousness.
The plausibility of the Patent
The judge held that the Patent was plausible by in light of four factors:
The disclosure in the Patent: The patent disclosed that atomoxetine is effective in the treatment of ADHD, is a selective NE reuptake inhibitor and cited the Gelhert paper in support. The skilled person reading Gelhert would also read Wong, which would further support atomoxetine as a selective NE reuptake inhibitor.
The common general knowledge: At the priority date, the skilled clinician would have considered the hypothesis that the TAs had efficacy in the treatment of ADHD as a result of selective inhibition of NE reuptake to be reasonable and that selectivity would reduce side effects. The position with ADHD could be more complex, but that does not detract from the conclusion that the skilled team would consider the invention credible based on the specification and common general knowledge.
Post-published evidence: The widespread administration of atomoxetine to ADHD patients has confirmed that the product is safe and efficacious, as disclosed in the Patent.
The expert evidence: All the experts considered that the disclosure of the Patent to be credible. Actavis argued that Lilly's experts, Professors Hill and Sharp, made a fundamental error in that they had a mistaken believe that the Patent was an authoritative document in which statements made in it had to be supported by evidence. The judge agreed that their assumptions were wrong. However, their mistaken belief that the Patent was some authoritative document was one of several reasons why the experts considered the Patent credible.
Accordingly the judge held that the disclosure of the Patent was plausible. He continued:
"It's technical contribution has proved valuable in the treatment of this serious condition. The prior art lacks this technical contribution. Neither citation makes it obvious to try atomoxetine for the treatment of ADHD. Furthermore, neither citation gives rise to a reasonable expectation that atomoxetine would be effective in the treatment of ADHD. For these reasons, I reject the alleged squeeze between obviousness and insufficiency."
So with that, Mr Justice Carr held the Patent valid and Lilly's counterclaim for threatened infringement succeeded.
The plausibility threshold: you will
will trip if you don't look
where you going (or your patent lacks
credibility).
Mr Justice Carr's decision provides some reminders on the limits on invalidity challenges by confirming that:
The court must come to the question of obviousness with the mindset of the skilled person.
Obviousness must be assessed in reference to the scope of the claimed invention, not in reference to some vague paraphrase based upon the extent of the disclosure in the patent's description.
Plausibility is a threshold test that asks if the invention is "credible" based on the patent and common general knowledge. It is not to be equated with the fair expectation of success test for obviousness.
In ring fencing the scope-creep of plausibility, Mr Justice Carr's decision will provide some reassurance for patentees who have watched plausibility attacks seep into obviousness and sufficiency without any discernible bounds (especially by virtue of vague and fuzzy pleadings). However, it is doubtful that this will be the final word on plausibility as if there is any area in patent law ripe for the Court of Appeal, this is one of them.
Mr Justice Carr tackles plausibility in Actavis v Eli Lilly ADHD dispute (Part II) Reviewed by Annsley Merelle Ward on Thursday, December 24, 2015 Rating: 5
sufficiency
Anonymous Friday, 25 December 2015 at 23:26:00 GMT
reminders?
"It is not to be equated with the fair expectation of success test for obviousness." Absolutely.
But, how about:
"It is to be equated with the fair expectation of success test for plausability."
LowHurdle Tuesday, 29 December 2015 at 15:39:00 GMT
In Merck v Ono, Birss, following EPO case law said a prior art document that was not plausible was not novelty destroying. That will mean applicants will increasingly push for plausibility to be a high hurdle as they argue in examination that their claims are novel. So it will be interesting to see whether the Courts can keep it as a low hurdle test.


It's time to count our blessings! I hope you've had a lot of blessings this week.
39. My Dad also has volunteered at his Union Hall for over 17 years! Recently, he decided to retire from this full time volunteer work and they honored him with this plaque.
I could tell this meant so much to him. He still is out there cutting the grass once a week, which he loves doing, but how wonderful that they acknowledge his service with this framed piece!
40. Here's a few more things I purchased while at the stitching shop I went to on my trip. My Mom helped me pick these out and they are so beautiful! I can't wait to start them.
41. We didn't get home from our trip in time to celebrate Mother's Day so we did it on Saturday a week ago. We had such a wonderful day and I wanted to stay here and cook out and enjoy my family. My son did the grilling and I made these side dishes...yummy!
Pasta salad, potato salad and baked beans!
This is a full length mirror on the outside and then a place for my jewelry and pictures on the inside! Isn't it amazing?
Although, she kept going over to the flowers to smell them and check them out.
All in all, it was a wonderful Mother's Day! The best!
Thank you so much for coming by to visit! I hope you'll join in on the linkup below!
So nice to see more from your trip Julie. Your cross stitch charts are so pretty. I had no idea you are from Colorado.
I am glad you had a wonderful time. Sounds like your Dad is an amazing man - what dedication. I am glad that he got recognized for it.


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Clandon Park House Fire
April 29, 2015 by Paul Burgman	in Work Related	| Leave a comment
29/04/2015 Clandon House Fire
Very sad day the National Trust Property at Clandon Park has been destroyed by fire.
Ok so the season is over
April 27, 2015 by Paul Burgman	in Football and tagged Football, Grass Roots Football, Guildford City FC, Non League Football	| Leave a comment
The football season, at Step Five at least, is over, Guildford City had a number of memorable games in the frantic end to the season. With so many games postponed during the christmas & January period, it meant playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday for the last few weeks, which was tough on the players, and the club, as revenues from weekday games are seldom, if ever as good as weekend games.
However the new management & the new squad performed admirably with an important run of three straight wins at the end of the season (& 8 wins from the last 13) to ensure Premier league survival for the team. Some outstanding performances across the squad, as usual the strikers (Anthony Baker & Dan Steward) will get most of the credit, there were brilliant performances across the whole park, from goalkeepers, defenders, mid-fielders and the management.
A great end to a season that started poorly, with all of the usual trials & tribulations that go with a management change part way through a season. However, on a positive note, the team are young, they have less than a season of experience at this level of football, I am confident that if we can keep the squad together next season will be a very different story.
Egham v Bedworth
April 26, 2015 by Paul Burgman	in Football, Work Related and tagged Football, Grass Roots Football, Guildford City FC, Non League Football, Sports Photography	| Leave a comment
25/04/2015. Egham Town v Bedworth United. Brendan MATHEW's header hits the crossbar
Couldn't get to the important Mole Valley SCR v Guildford City FC game today as work dictates that I had to visit an 8 goal thriller at Egham Town.
In other news, Guildford City won their game 2 – 0 and have avoided back to back relegations, so congrats to the new management team & their fantastic young players. Critics have said that they have no experience at this level, however, they have proved that a fantastic team spirit, great discipline, high work rate & sound tactics can be made to work at any level. I am confident that the new team (assuming that they stay together) will have a great future in the glorious City Red & White….
Footy Again
April 19, 2015 by Paul Burgman	in Football, News, Work Related and tagged Sports Photography	| Leave a comment
18/04/2015. Brentford v Bolton Wanderers. Brentford Midfielder Jonathon DOUGLAS celebrates Brentford's 2nd goal
I Couldn't make the Guildford City v Colliers Wood match, that City won apparently quite comfortably 3-0 as I was away at the Brentford v Bolton Wanderers game, a match that Brentford had to win to stand a chance of a play off place, unfortunately they were unable to hold on to a 2-1 lead & ultimately were only able to draw, which is probably not quite good enough.
No Win today…
10/04/2015. Knaphill FC v Guildford City. City's Dan STEWART scores
After a good win, on a shocking pitch with the worst lighting I have ever witnessed in any league ever on Thursday night, the 4th game in 8 days was a step to far for the young City side. Having a star striker pull up during the warm up was a set back, but Dan Stewart did come on as a substitute in the second half & scored as well.
Knaphill did probably just about deserve the points, but the battle for survival is still winnable.
10/04/2015. Knaphill FC v Guildford City. City's Tadej VENTA scores from corner
A Hard Earned Win
April 9, 2015 by Paul Burgman	in Football, Work Related and tagged Football, Grass Roots Football, Guildford City FC, Non League Football, Sports Photography	| Leave a comment
09/04/2015. Raynes Park Vale v Guildford City. City's Dan Stewart scores
City travelled to Raynes Park Vale for a Thursday night game, the third in 5 days. Under the gloomiest floodlights I have ever had the misfortune to see, City ground out a win. The pitch was so dark that even at 12800ISO there was barely enough light to work, & in the corners, I felt that I might have been in deepest, darkest Peru.
April 9, 2015 by Paul Burgman	in Photographic Equipment, Work Related	| Leave a comment
One wheel on my wagon
After some 12+ years of service my Peli Case 1650 has parted or at least started to part company with one of its wheels. A little disappointing, because despite its age it has never really been heavily used, it has spent most of its time padlocked in the boot of the car. So back to Peli Products it will go.


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Aberdeen Trades Union Council
Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC) is the body made up of affiliated trade union branches and organisations working in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area to promote the interests of workers in the region. The ATUC provides services to affiliated branches on a wide range of industrial, social and community issues and is affiliated to the STUC. It has an office based in Aberdeen, Scotland.
ATUC
22a Adelphi, Aberdeen
aberdeentuc.blogspot.com
2 Secretaries
3 Presidents
Trade unionists in Aberdeen first formed a committee in 1846, in order to support joiners who were on strike. This committee lasted for three years, and no further organisation was established until 1868, when stonemasons in the town held a ten-week strike. John Jessiman of the Associated Carpenters and Joiners of Scotland founded the Aberdeen United Trades Council, with the aim of establishing a conciliation board to resolve future disputes. This was not achieved, but the council endured. Originally, thirteen trade union branches affiliated, but by 1873 it had more than fifty delegates.[1]
Even by the 1880s, the council represented only 2,000 workers, but its ability to support unions on strike, campaign for shorter working hours and the municipalisation of utilities, gave it prominent role in the city. Socialists increasingly took leading roles on the council, focusing on organising unskilled workers, and setting up a union of women workers and the Scottish Farm Servants' Union.[1] In 1890, it finally achieved its aim of establishing a conciliation board but, since its rulings were not binding, it achieved little, considering only nine cases by 1906.[2]
The council first began electoral activity by opposing the re-election of Lord Provost of Aberdeen George Jamieson. By 1879, it was backing favoured candidates in the School Board election, and it first supported independent labour candidates in the 1885 local elections, with James Forbes and George Maconnachie elected. In 1891, it was a founding affiliate of the Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party, and sponsored Henry Hyde Champion in Aberdeen South at the 1892 general election, although he could only take third place in the poll. At the 1895 general election, there was another independent labour candidate, John Lincoln Mahon, but the council eventually decided not to back his candidacy.[1]
The council also engaged with the broader trade union movement. It hosted the Trades Union Congress in Aberdeen in 1884, and in 1895 it hosted a meeting of Scottish trade unions and trades councils which led to the formation of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), in 1897.[1] In 1973, it became the leading organisation in the new Grampian Federation of Trades Councils.[3]
Early in its history, the council met at the Queens Rooms on Union Street, but in 1892 it purchased its own headquarters on Belmont Street, and four years later opened a purpose-built trades hall, with murals by Douglas Strachan. It relocated to a former warehouse in 1956, then to its social club, and now once more meets at hired rooms.[3]
The trades council continued to grow until 1920, when it reached a peak affiliated membership of 16,684. That year, it formed a council of action to oppose British intervention in the Polish-Soviet War. It co-ordinated local activity during the 1926 UK general strike, then during the 1930s focused on organising workers who were not trade union members. From 1918, the council was known as the Aberdeen Trades and Labour Council, and incorporated the local Labour Party. This arrangement ended in 1935, and it broke all links with the party in 1937 in order to take part in the Communist Party of Great Britain's National Unemployed Workers' Movement and United Front Against Fascism.[1] While a merger with the NUWM was proposed, this did not occur, and the council soon returned to the Labour Party.[2]
The council remained prominent in the STUC as the Aberdeen Trades Council and began growing again, membership reaching a new peak of 26,000 in 1980. Since then, its membership has declined in line with the Scottish trade union movement.[1] In 2003, it was officially renamed as the Aberdeen Trades Union Council.[3]
SecretariesEdit
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
1868: Alexander Rennie
1877: William Brown
1878: John W. Annand
1885: James Forbes
1887: William Johnston
1907: G. A. Fraser
1913: James Balfour
1925: G. R. Mcintosh
1935: William Urquhart
1937: George Maitland
as of 1939: William McLean Brown
1948: Jimmy Milne
as of 1980: Ron Webster
1994: James Lamond
until 2012: Sultan Feroz
2012: Brian Carroll
2014: Nathan Morrison
2015: Laura McDonald
2016: Post vacant
2017: John Connon and Gerry McCabe
2018: Fiona Napier
2019 Fiona Napier
PresidentsEdit
1868: Alexander Kidd
1875: Thomas Gill
1877: George Taylor
1879: William Anderson
1882: William Elphinstone
1883: James C. Thompson
1886: George Bisset
1889: William Livingstone
1890: Thomas Nicol
1895: John Keir
1898: Alexander Robertson
1900: John H. Elric
1903: H. H. Duncan
1911: Joseph Forbes Duncan
1913: David Palmer
1918: James C Allan
1919: George Catto
1923: W. Williamson
1925: Thomas Brown
1927: P. Irvine
1928: Charles Bathgate
1929: Robert A. R. Fraser
1930: Robert Raffan
1935: M. Hetherington
1938: James J. Stewart
1952: William James Fraser
1982: Jurgen Thomaneck
1990s: Sultan Feroz
2014: Alan Robertson
2015: Kate Ramsden
2017: Kevin Hutchens and Tyrinne Rutherford
2018: Kathleen Kennedy
2019: Sasha Brydon
Organised labour portal
Scottish Trades Union Congress
List of trade unions
List of federations of trade unions
Kenneth D. Buckley (1955), Trade Unionism in Aberdeen, 1878 to 1900, Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.
William Diack (1939), History of the Trades Council and the Ttrade Union Movement in Aberdeen, Aberdeen: Aberdeen Trades Council.
^ a b c d e f Fraser, W. Hamish; Lee, Clive H. (2000). Aberdeen, 1800-2000: A New History. East Linton: Tuckwell Press. pp. 172–175, 194, 207, 259. ISBN 1862321086.
^ a b Clinton, Alan. The Trade Union Rank and File: Trades Councils in Britain, 1900-40. pp. 11, 164.
^ a b c "Aberdeen Trades Union Council (1868 – current)". Aberdeen Protest. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aberdeen_Trades_Union_Council&oldid=1024554982"
This page was last edited on 22 May 2021, at 21:01 (UTC).


We buy ferrous and non-ferrous metal.
We are specialist buyers of cable as we have our home cable strippers and granulators.
We are also top buyers of LEAD, ALI, BRASS, COPPER, STAINLESS STEEL and much, much more.
And we also pay top prices for all grades of iron.
We are……"London's fairest buyers of scrap metal".


Soon, you'll be able to jump into the web. Like, literally.
The latest beta and developer versions of Google's Chrome browser app for Android includes support for the open-source WebVR standard, which allows developers to create websites you can use/watch/view in VR. But the developer version specifically mentions a "VR Shell" feature that enables mobile device headsets to browse any site - not just specific WebVR sites.
According to Road to VR, Google ultimately wants everyone to explore the internet in VR. Until that's possible, you can only pop on a VR headset, then navigate to a WebVR-supported site to surf, and remove the VR headset when visiting a non-WebVR site. Because Google is working on immersive browsing though, you'll soon do this - but also explore the entire web - with Chrome.
You'll likely need a special version of Chrome's browser, Google's Cardboard headset (or Daydream viewer), and a supported device to jump into the web and start VR browsing. Keep in mind Samsung already offers a browser for Gear VR, though a Chrome version for Android would obviously be more widely available. Google has already confirmed it is working to bring the web to VR, too.
François Beaufort, Google's Chromium evangelist, revealed in a Google+ post earlier this month that the Chromium team is working on several features to bring the web to VR: "They've recently added an experimental flag ... to enable a browser shell for VR. This allows users to browse the web while using Cardboard or Daydream-ready viewers."
"The team is just getting started on making the web work well for VR," Beaufort added, "there's more to come!"


text:
Working Digital Marketing Strategies for Television station
It is a pleasure to see my clients in the Television station industry grow their businesses. Playing a role in achieving their business goals is very important to the team at Zigma.
In the digital age, developing know, like and trust relationships with clients is more likely than ever to happen online. Simply stated, a user-friendly and technically sound website helps attract more potential clients. It has made a significant difference for my clients in the Television station
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Fill out the form below to be in touch with Television station digital marketing specialist
Zigma is a full-service Internet marketing company helping businesses in Television station in creating and implementing effective digital marketing campaigns. We work hand-in-hand with our clients to create tailored marketing strategies that convert.
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Stronger International believes everyone needs to increase their technical knowledge and ability in our highly computerized world. We strongly support all people in receiving and mastering technical training. In some cases, finances hinder a bright person receiving the training they need.
Stronger International awards IT scholarships giving special consideration to applicants who might represent a group of underrepresented minority in the IT world: including but not limited to women, ethnic minorities, and people from underdeveloped countries.
A majority of Stronger student scholarships are awarded to minorities and women. The candidates are selected by the company based upon their eligibility, financial need, passion for technology in the software industry, quality of the application and their commitment towards leadership.
The applicant must be either currently working in the IT world or enrolled in a full-time degree program in an accredited 4-year university or college.
The applicant should be maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0.
The recipient will either receive a partial or a full scholarship to a course offered by Stronger or a cash scholarship to cover expense for their education. The scholarship funds can be used to cover the tuition but not for other costs such as room and board, books and other expenses. Institution Scholarships will be given by need base, between $300 and $10,000 USD.
Describe a situation wherein you took initiative and went above and beyond to resolve the situation.
Why you are passionate about Cyber Security and Technology.
To apply for a scholarship please review the following information above.
Scholarships include both discounted and free attendance to our trainings as well as covering costs for tuition to a higher institute of learning specifically for earning a degree in an IT field.


(CNN) Tiger Woods has not only declared himself fit to play at this week's PGA Championship, after playing nine holes of practice at Valhalla on Wednesday, but is also confidently declaring he can win the tournament .
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The health of golf as a sport has almost nothing to do with the state of Tiger Woods' game.
Or the success of rising young stars like Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth.
When Tiger burst onto the scene winning the 1997 Masters, it drew 4 million more viewers than watched Spieth win his first Masters this past April, even though Spieth's ratings were up 36% from a year earlier, according to Nielsen.
Woods is now struggling, and won't even make the cut to able to play Saturday and Sunday of this weekend's U.S. Open.
Fortunately for Fox's ratings, Spieth was among the leaders Friday afternoon and quickly becoming the sport's next superstar.
But no matter how popular Spieth becomes, the real measure of the sport's popularity and financial health isn't how many people are watching it. It's how many people are playing it.
And by that measure things are well behind their pre-recession highs.
Figures from Golf Datatech show that the number of rounds played last year was still about 8% below where they were before the recession. Spending on golf equipment also is still down about $400 million from that time. Spending on both are up slightly so far year to date, but nowhere near enough to close the gap.
Golf courses that were built during the real estate bubble in hopes of attracting home buyers created their own "golf bubble," said Tom Stine, co-founder of Golf Datatech. New players who were attracted to the sport during its boom years drifted away from the game as the economy went south and many lost their jobs. Golf course bankruptcies became common across the country.
Stine says the impact of Tiger's popularity on the sport itself was always overstated, partly because the sales of Nike golf equipment soared due to his endorsement deal. But those sales came mostly at the cost of other equipment manufacturers' marketshare, and didn't add much to industrywide sales, Stine said.
The sport is being helped by more Baby Boomers reaching retirement age and having more time to play golf. But it has always had trouble attracting younger players that it needs to solidify its growth.


4Visions is a software company founded 3 years ago by 4 Spanish translators –Irene, Martine, Pilar and Ricard – that were looking for a project management and billing solution for their own translation business. Since we couldn't find a perfect solution for our needs, we decided we would build one such application on our own. After all, how hard could that be?A few months down the road, we brought Asier on board to help with development and the five of us have been working together to bring this project to life. Do you want to know how is a day in the life of 4Visions?
8:00 am – Pilar is usually the first one to arrive to the office. We have an office now but it has not always been the case and we work from home or any other place if we need it to. We've always made encouraged working from anywhere and we use a lot of tools to make it possible. Pilar is in charge of user support and handles questions from our users and prepares all sorts of tutorials, as well as all the newsletters you receive from us. She prepares herself a cup of black tea and goes through all the emails.
09:00 am – This is the time Ricard pops into the office. Ricard is in charge of marketing and is also the unofficial copywriter of the company. He is also the one with the shortest commute. A lucky guy.
09:30 am – Irene and Martine drop their kids to school and head to the office. This is the time they all have a coffee break and have a relaxed conversation before getting in front of their computers until lunch.
Coffee break in the kitchen.
10:30 am – Martine is in charge of the financial / economic side of the company. She makes sure that we stay on budget and doesn't like surprises when it comes to things diverting from the allocated budget. She is also in charge of invoicing and paying our providers, as well as liaising with banks and accountants.
11:30 am – Irene is in charge of supervising all the different areas of the company and she makes sure we're all coordinated and that we all reach our goals. She's also now in charge of our social media. We've all have had a crack at it and we change he social media manager from time to time. It's a hard job and you get burned after a while.
12:00 am – By this time we have a Google Hangout twice a week with our development team, led by Asier, who works from his office in Bilbao. We talk about the current state of the application, the things we need to improve and the new functionalities we'd like to add. We tried Skype for some time, but quality of the video call wasn't good enough and we changed to Google a year ago.
1:00 pm – Irene will upload a short summary of the meeting to Yammer. This is our private network, the one we use to communicate with everybody in the company. We've created different groups and keep conversations there to make sure that everyone knows what's going on within the company.
2:00 pm – Lunch break. Usually Irene, Martine and Pilar will stay and have lunch at our shared kitchen space. Ricard will go to the gym and do some exercise. We all try to find time to do exercise during the day. Irene will wake up at 6 am to go a run a few km everyday, Martine prefers to walk down the beach in the morning and Pilar prefers to run or go to the gym in the evening. Asier is in love with rowing and although he doesn't row as much as he used to, he tries to practice it twice a week. We've even taken part in some races together. They say it's good for team building.
4:00 pm – It's time to leave the office. We try to finish in time to pick our kids at school but we're quite flexible as far as working hours is concerned. We work towards goals and objectives and we are free to choose the working schedule that fits our needs and adapts to our family life.
In any case, leaving the office doesn't mean we stop working. Some of us will continue later in the evening from home and we are all connected through the Yammer app on our phone, by email and we even have a Whatsapp group for the company.
And then there are the special days. Those days when you have an interview for a newspaper, you give a presentation in some conference, you have to travel somewhere and meet wonderful people.


(Beirut) – Egyptian authorities should quash blasphemy sentences handed down to four Christian children and their teacher over a video mocking ISIS. They should also revoke the penal code article that authorities use to prosecute blasphemy.
On February 25, 2016, a juvenile minor offenses court in Minya governorate sentenced three children to five years in prison and ordered the fourth placed in a juvenile facility for imitating Islamic prayer and the act of beheading in a 32-second video that their teacher filmed. The teacher was sentenced to three years in a separate trial.
Two relatives of the children told Human Rights Watch that the teacher filmed the video during a trip in February 2015, shortly after a Libyan affiliate of the extremist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, released a video showing their beheading of 21 abducted Christians, 20 of them from Minya.
The juvenile court, in the town of Bani Mazar in Minya, sentenced Mueller Edward, 17; Bassem Hanna, 16; and Alber Ashraf, 16, to five years in prison, while ordering Clinton Yousef, 17, placed in a juvenile facility.
Police arrested them on April 9, 2015, after other students circulated the video and reported it to another teacher in the school. Reports in local newspapers said the video led to anti-Christian protests, including attacks on Christian-owned businesses and an attempt to storm a church. Prosecutors charged the children under article 98(f) of Egypt's penal code, which outlaws contempt of religion, as well articles 160 and 161, concerning the public conduct of religious rituals, even though the video was filmed in private. The trial began in October 2015.
The relatives of Edward and Ashraf told Human Rights Watch that the village mayor had called them in April and asked them to bring the youths to his house, where police were waiting to take them into custody. Edward's father said that they thought this was intended as a temporary measure to calm tension in the village. He said that the government had deployed security forces in the village and around their houses for a few weeks to prevent further incidents.
Prosecutors interrogated the children after their arrest and ordered them detained pending investigation. The court renewed the pretrial detention orders until early June, when a judge ordered them released on a 10,000-pound bail (US$1,280) each. Their lawyer told Human Rights Watch that the families could barely afford to pay.
The two relatives said that authorities detained the children in Bani Mazar Police Station, in the same cells as adults and criminal suspects, violating Egypt's Child Law.
The teenagers' lawyer said that a technical unit at Egypt's Radio and Television Union, the government body that oversees public broadcasting, reviewed the video and submitted a biased report to the court that offered opinions instead of simply stating the video's content. The lawyer asked the court several times to review the video to check the validity of the report's claims, but the judge did not respond.
The two relatives said that the youths had to study at home after they were released because they were afraid to go to school.
Egypt's Child Law, passed in 1996 and revised heavily in 2008, requires that children be detained separately from adults and also separated in detention based on the nature of their offense. The law says that officials who do not follow those requirements may be punished with prison and a fine. The law also requires the government to form a special prosecution and court system for children with social and educational staff. Egyptian authorities routinely flout these requirements without consequences, Human Rights Watch said.
The lawyer said that the teacher, Gad Yousef Younan, left his house with his wife and children after a "customary reconciliation" council decided to expel him from the village. Such reconciliation sessions are extra-legal tools typically overseen by officials from the security and religious establishments, and including senior family members that are used to resolve sectarian incidents. They frequently lead to illegal decisions, such as the forced eviction of Christian families. A 2015 report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an independent group, counted 45 instances in which reconciliation sessions were used following sectarian clashes between 2011 and 2015. The group stated that such councils foster a pattern of state failure to protect citizens' rights.
More than 28 Egyptian rights groups and political parties condemned the rulings against the children and their teacher and called for the repeal of article 98(f), which has led to an increasing number of prosecutions for blasphemy under the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said it has documented at least nine cases in which 12 people were convicted for blasphemy-related charges in 2015, and that 11 cases remained pending. The cases involve both Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, and atheists.
The children received the maximum punishment under article 98(f), which ranges from a fine of between 500 and 1000 pounds ($70-130) up to a prison sentence of between six months and five years. The children and their teacher can appeal, but the children must turn themselves in to the police to do so. Ashraf's relative said that the children were terrified from their detention experience in 2015 and do not want to experience it again.
Article 111 of the Child Law gives judges a wide range of disciplinary measures to use in children's minor offenses cases instead of prison, but the judge chose the harshest penalty, the lawyer said. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Egypt is a state party, guarantees the child's right to freedom of expression and that all children should be treated equally and without discrimination, regardless of factors including their or their family's religious background. The convention also requires that children should be detained and imprisoned only according to the law, as a last resort, and for the shortest appropriate period of time.


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Carlos Mulas Granados (born 1974 in Madrid, Spain) is an economist and university professor. Former deputy director of the Spanish Prime Minister's Office and former director of the Ideas Foundation, currently he is senior economist of the International Monetary Fund. (IMF).

Biography

Born in Madrid (Spain), he studied in Madrid and got an International Baccalaureate degree at I.R. Maeztu. He then got graduate degrees in Economics and Business Administration from University Carlos III, with a period at Antwerp University (Erasmus program). He also holds a PhD in economics from Cambridge University, a European Doctorate from and Master in International Affairs from Columbia University. Carlos Mulas Granados was a tenured professor of economics at the Complutense University of Madrid until he left on secondment and joined the International Monetary Fund  in 2012. Also,  after 4 years at IDEAS Foundation from the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), he stepped down from his position as director. Shortly after, he joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mulas had run for the Spanish Congress Congreso de los Diputados de España in the list of that socialist party during the general elections of 2011 Elecciones generales de España de 2011. He also contributed to the economic program of the Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and was deputy director of the Economic Office of the Prime Minister. He was later the executive director of the IDEAS Foundation until he joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Awards and recognitions

In April 2017, Mulas received a Fund Departmental award for his IMF book entitled "Fiscal Politics"
In April 2015, Mulas received a Fund Global Award for his work on "Inequality Issues".

His article entitled "Duration of Fiscal Adjustments in the European Union" won the Prize of the Chair Uni-2 for the best article of European Economics at 2003

He was awarded the Medal of the Spanish Order Isabel la Católica in 2006, for his public services during his tenure as the deputy director of the Prime Minister's Economic Office, a position to which he was appointed in 2004.

Activities of social entrepreneurship

He collaborated with the social initiatives of Aprocor Foundation for the inclusion of intellectually impaired people in the labor market. To give a good example, he worked directly with some of them.

As a co-founder of the production company Storylines he co-produced the short-film entitled "Have a Nice Trip", which was recognized for its positive treatment of immigration ,  and he also co-produced the short-film "Uniformed", a movie advocating gender equality in childhood. This latter work has received about thirty national and international awards  and was selected as the Short of the Week in El País , ABC , and RTVE.

Ideas Foundation

In May 2009, Carlos Mulas Granados was appointed as director of the Ideas Foundation. From that position he co-launched the Global Progress initiative in collaboration with the Center for American Progress. The Global Progress summits brought together world figures like Lula da Silva, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Thabo Mbeki, JL Zapatero, Michelle Bachelet, Gordon Brown or Francois Hollande, for different meetings held in Madrid, New York and London. In October 2011, at the request of the Ideas Foundation led by Mulas, these world leaders signed a petition to the G20 in favor of a social pact to end the crisis.

Mulas was fired as executive director of the Ideas Foundation in 2013 after a case of political corruption involving his wife, who received hidden payments for expert reports on a variety of issues.
In February 2013 he also abandoned the PSOE after the political party started the process to oust him. In that period the Spanish conservative newspaper El Mundo reported against his famous ex-wife for writing articles using the nickname of Amy Martin while receiving disproportionally high payments for such articles. She claims that it was as part of a performance for her latest novel Last Days of Warla Alkman, published in November 2013.

Soon after leaving the Ideas Foundation he joined the International Monetary Fund.

Political activity

Member of "Economists 2004", a group of independent economists responsible for the economic program of the future Prime Minister Zapatero for the 2004 elections.

Member of the Editorial Committee of PSOE's electoral manifesto in 2008 and 2011.

Candidate for Congress in the list of PSOE in Madrid (Spain) for the general elections held in 2011. He was called to join the Congress in September 2014, but he announced that he would continue his career at the International Monetary Fund.

External links

 Página personal de Carlos Mulas Granados
 Espacio web en la Universidad Complutense
 Twitter de Carlos Mulas Granados
 Google Scholar de Carlos Mulas Granados

References

Living people
Spanish economists
1974 births

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How do you think about change, about time, the need for change and how change is perceived?
Change was never something that worried me personally – quite the opposite: I've dealt with a couple of changes both in my personal and my professional life.
Born and raised in Egypt, I came to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was eventually tasked to build up the Rockwell Automation presence in the country.
Blog: The Middle East is not just catching up when it comes to food and beverage (F&B) manufacturing, it's storming ahead.
And it makes me feel proud to have the legal entity finally set up in KSA as a joint venture with A. A. Turki Group (ATCO), a respected and established entity in the country.
Saudi Arabia probably is not the first country that would come to mind in the region when talking about change. Rather, stability comes to mind. But change has happened over the past several years, and more is still to come.
Change and growth, be it within a company or for a whole economy, needs vision, talent, goodwill and strong, progressive business ethics.
I am privileged to work with an organisation that takes a global approach to everything it does, that values all of its employees equally, that actively pursues a culture of inclusion, and that holds itself to the very highest ethical standards.
But let's keep focused: 12 years from now, Saudi Arabia will reach a milestone with its Vision 2030 for a sustainable future that centers around three themes: A vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation.
And lots is happening already. Whereas the oil and gas industry naturally will remain strong, in order to not be mainly relying on this, other industries need to step up.
Natural resources such as gold, aluminum, phosphate and copper are opening a new industry branch for the country. Compared to previous years with crude oil being sold, the focus has been shifted to downstream – and all of these changes are creating new jobs.
Blog: Diversification in the Middle East: An Opportunity Full of Surprises.
With a +32 million population, the kingdom also has an understandable interest in answering the demand for consumer products directly and for that reason is opening the door for global manufacturers.
Part of Vision 2030 is the IKTVA – the In Kingdom Total Value Add. The IKTVA sets out to drive domestic revenue, and a strong element of this will be achieved by encouraging international companies to set up and produce locally.
The call has already been heard by big players like PepsiCo, which is now able to serve the Saudi population from within country.
And more is to come, such as the automotive manufacturers – both with vehicles and tires – which is on the radar and about to enter the local industry mix.
Whatever happens in the country is also reflected in our client mix and the projects that we are privileged to support.
As we know from industrial revolutions and evolution, this always comes with a change on the social side. This change is welcomed and happening through the Vision 2030, be it rights and opportunities for women or the culture of entertainment.
Blog: Making the Middle East Ready for the Next Industrial Revolution.
Rockwell Automation, a company defined by its multi-cultural, inclusive, global workforce, fully supports training and development of young talent. Saudis, both male and female, are already part of our global graduate programme and Engineers in Training (EIT) system.
It is this sort of knowledge transfer and blend of bringing in international talent and fostering local talent that reflects the spirit and stated intent of the long-term Vision 2030 approach.
Before I started working in Saudi Arabia, one of my responsibilities while running the Rockwell Automation business back in Egypt was to deliver training programmes to people in my home country.
From this experience, I know the value of training and how much it can add to the development of the skills required to diversify industrial output – and also how much is needed in times of change.
It is with great hope and high expectations that I welcome the Vision 2030 and look forward to supporting it and its benefits to local people through our new entity in Saudi Arabia.


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Back to Godhead > ISKCON > Letters > Notes from the Editor
Notes from the Editor
Back To Godhead May 1978
Back To Godhead May 1978 PDF Download
Predictions for the Age of Hypocrisy
God Is Light and Much More
The Vedic Observer
Questions People Ask About Chanting Hare Krsna
Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out
Every Town and Village
The Eyes to See the "I"
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) in 1978
What the Scholars Say About BBT Books
Displaying the Universal Form
Remembering Srila Prabhupada
India and America: the Lame and the Blind and the Ties That Bind
This year we have witnessed a strengthening of diplomatic ties between India and America. And as the leaders of both nations have pointed out, this closeness reflects even deeper spiritual ties.
Said President Carter during his recent tour, "At the heart of the friendship between India and the U. S. is our determination that the moral values of our people must guide the actions of our states…. Neither the rich nor the poor will feel satisfied without being fed in body and spirit…. There is a sense in the world that moral leadership derives from the Indian people in a direct and continuing fashion."
And at a recent meeting with leaders of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Prime Minister Morarji Desai asserted that spiritual India and technological America can help each other and the world. (See "Every Town and Village," page 23.)
President Carter also said during his tour that he felt particularly impressed with Bhagavad-gita, India's source book on self-realization and realization of God. After one of his many early-morning reading sessions he noted, "One passage from that great book stood out in my mind. I can't quite quote it exactly and I can't interpret it well, but it said when a country is flooded, the reservoirs become superfluous. Krsna went on to explain what He meant in this passage: that when one's heart is filled completely with an awareness or love of God, the other considerations in life seem incidental and one need not worry about the outcome of an action, but one should worry on a momentary basis about the purposes and the attitudes in one's relation to the eternal. . . ."
This, in a nutshell, is India's spiritual vision: we can have peace and prosperity only when we see God as the real owner of all lands and wealth, and when we see "the other considerations in life" as secondary to self-realization and realization of God. Actually, Bhagavad-gita is meant for the Carters and Desais of the world, because as Krsna explains, whatever the leaders do the rest of the people will follow. So if Mr. Carter and Mr. Desai work together to balance the "other considerations" and the eternal—the technological and the spiritual—the whole world will follow and the whole world will benefit.
It's only common sense, really, that when India the spiritual leader and America the technological leader share their assets, everybody will come out ahead. As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada used to say, India is like a lame man and America is like a blind man—so they should help each other. India is blessed with spiritual vision but cursed with technological lameness. America, on the other hand, is blessed with technological vigor but cursed with spiritual blindness. (After barely two centuries, "In God We Trust" and the Golden Rule have given way to abortion, slaughterhouses, pornography, and other vision-robbing disorders.) How can the lame man and the blind man live full, happy lives? By working together. The blind man should take the lame man on his shoulders. That way the lame man can do the seeing and keep the pair on a safe path, and the blind man can do the walking and get them where they have to go.
So there are ties that bind the lame and the blind, India and America. The problem is that neither Prime Minister Desai nor President Carter seems ready to do much about it, at least for now. And this is where the International Society for Krishna Consciousness comes in. ISKCON is following directly in disciplic succession from India's most far-sighted saint, who five hundred years ago introduced an ingenious way for India to share her spiritual vision with the West. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu showed from Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures that the whole world can become peaceful and prosperous and self-realized and God-realized through sankirtana—mass public chanting of God's names. This simple process of chanting God's names and hearing about the science of God from Bhagavad-gita is what Srila Prabhupada gave America when he founded ISKCON a dozen years ago.
And the next dozen years can be even brighter, if our leaders will just take the lead. Mr. P. N. Luthra, formerly of UNESCO and now a minister of India's central government, makes this assessment of the situation: "The very fact that you have established ISKCON in the U.S.A. within the last decade is in itself indicative of America's open mind to receive new ideas. America is realizing that it does not hold the ultimate key to all problems. Insofar as spiritual matters are concerned, I think that America also appreciates that something can be gained from others. ISKCON itself is a living, convincing example that spiritual values prevail and that these alone can give ultimate happiness. We must consider the question of why we've taken birth here on this earth. I think that your organization is a very powerful force, and that it will play an important role in the years to come in transmitting the spiritual message of India."
For our part, we in ISKCON are not taking these words of India's and America's leaders lightly. We hope these people will come forward to work with us—because both they and we know that American vigor and Indian vision can uplift and enlighten the whole world.
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