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Prodita Sabarini
Thoughts and Reports
Tag: Democracy
Female candidates rush to learn campaign strategies
Female candidates running for next year's legislative election are feeling the pressure to learn the ropes of campaigning fast, while fighting the stigma that their presence in parties' candidate lists are mere formalities.
All 12 parties contesting the 2014 general election have fulfilled the 30-percent-quota for female legislative candidates, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU). But as parties have complained about the difficulty in finding high quality female candidates to reach the quota, many still view female candidates as unworthy contenders, Democratic Party legislative candidate Umi Farida said.
Umi, 35, a former NGO worker whose work focuses on women, labor and minority rights, is a first time candidate for the House of Representatives, contesting in the Central Kalimantan electoral district (dapil).
Following the Constitutional Court ruling early this year that upheld the 30 percent quota requirement for women, party leaders, such as United Development Party chairman (PPP) and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali complained about the difficulties in reaching the quota. Syarif from the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party also commented that while the party can guarantee quantity, it could not guarantee the quality of many first time female candidates.
Female candidates say that many of their male counterparts have more experience and are more confident in campaigning, while the women still need support in campaign strategies.
The Democratic Party, in collaboration with the University of Indonesia, supported its female candidates by holding a course for them, Umi said. She said the program introduced female candidates to strategies such as mapping out voters and issues specific to voter's needs; as well as fund raising and campaign budgeting.
Binny Buchori, a Golkar candidate focusing on universal health care access, said her party also had training for female candidates. Golkar focuses on legislation processes and development issues such as the Millenium Development Goals. Binny will run in the East Java VII electoral district, covering Ponorogo, Pacitan, Trenggalek and Tulungagung.
Meanwhile, Tunggal Pawestri, an activist running for the Yogyakarta Council with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said female candidates had discussed the need for specific training that covered constituent outreach and voter targets.
"Male candidates may be more familiar with election strategies, but women need training," she said. For example, they need to know how many votes are needed to win a seat based on the number of voters in an electoral district. For example in her electoral district in Kulonprogo, Tunggul would need at least 25,000 votes to secure a seat in the Yogyakarta Council.
Nihayatul Wafiroh, 33, from the National Awakening Party (PKB), who will run in East Java III — Situbondo, Bondowoso, Banyuwangi — said that some very qualified women had been assigned the numbers one to three on the candidate list. She was listed as number two, which matches the PKB's number on the party list. Despite an open-proportional system, which means those who win the most votes will enter regardless of the rank, Nihayatul said the top numbers still had a psychological effect on voters.
"Many of the voters are still party-oriented and not figure-oriented, so they would choose the top numbers on the list," she said.
Similarly, Tunggal is listed as number four on the list, the same as the PDI-P, which she hopes would help her campaign. Umi from the Democratic Party meanwhile is at the bottom of the list due to it being her first time.
An anonymous source running for the House, from one of the winning parties in the 2009 election, said that competition is rife between candidates from other parties and within the parties themselves. Back-door deals between candidates, in which underdog candidates are asked to donate their won votes, occur often.
"So women just fill the quota and are not considered 'real contestants' in the race, and other candidates will ask them to give their votes to them," the source said.
— JP/Prodita Sabarini
The Jakarta Post | Reportage | Tue, May 14 2013, 11:32 AM
Few voters research legislative candidates
Life is all about choices and Indonesians will have a chance to decide in next year's legislative election on who should make rules for them.
In the last elections for representatives in the local and provincial councils as well as the national parliament, many voters made questionable choices, judging from the track record of the country's lawmakers.
The Constitutional Court has received many judicial reviews for flawed laws. Elected councilors have also produced hundreds of discriminative bylaws that have been blamed, among other things, on councilors' legal incompetence.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry reported that some 3,000 legislative councilors and House of Representatives members were implicated in legal cases, around 1,000 of them in graft cases.
Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi) head Sebastian Salang said that it was difficult to rely on voters to do research and pick the right candidate.
To push people to take care about who represents them is hard as they don't feel any benefit from having legislators, he said.
Sebastian says the General Election Commission (KPU) shares the blame, as they list candidates without any explanation. "In the end [voters] tend to choose people that they're familiar with such as celebrities, who they have seen on television," he said.
But Priska Siagian from the Send Books Movement (GKB), a civil movement that sends books to legislators as a critique to use common sense and better references in their work, said she believes that there are smart voters out there, who want smart representatives.
Priska herself says she seeks potential representatives with a similar vision to hers. "Because for five years after they are sworn into office all our political and legal matters will be represented by these legislators," she said.
Priska said that the Internet helps her track the record of prospective candidates in her electoral district. After checking their track record she would scrutinize the candidate list. "The good thing is in this digital era, [we can] find information on people, especially legislative candidates."
Ika Karlina Idris, a Jakarta-based-voter, said she was guilty of not doing research for the last legislative election. She said she only found out the names of the candidates when she opened the ballot paper in the voting booth. But this year, Ika said she wanted to scrutinize each candidate in her election commentary blog gosippemilu.org.
The Election Commission has posted on their website kpu.go.id the prospective legislative candidate list (DCS) from the 12 parties contesting the elections. The website also has the maps of each province's electoral district. There will be 77 electoral districts (dapil) for the 2014 election. Some Regional Election Commissions (KPUD), such as the West Java KPUD, have posted the DCS for the provincial and regional councils.
Voters can check which dapil they should vote in according to their residence, listed on their ID card. For example, those with an ID based in Bandung would vote in dapil West Java I. Those living in East Jakarta would vote in Jakarta I. A Surabaya resident would vote in East Java III.
After finding one's dapil, a voter can start checking the nominated legislative candidates for the respective regency or municipality, provincial councils and the House of Representatives.
For example, the choices for residents of West and North Jakarta, as well as the Seribu Islands ( DKI III), will include current House speaker Marzuki Alie from the Democratic Party, who suggested women in the House to be banned from wearing miniskirts to save them from sexual harassment; retired policeman Adang Daradjatun of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), who failed in his bid for Jakarta governor in 2007 and whose wife has been implicated in a graft case; the son of business tycoon and Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Aryo P.S. Djojohadikusumo, also the nephew of the party's presidential candidate, former Special Forces (Kopassus) chief Prabowo Subianto; former athlete and newsman Richard Sambera from the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), incumbent legislator and former TV presenter Tantowi Yahya from Golkar, and the secretary general of a hardline religious group Islamic Peoples Forum (FUI) Muhammad Alkhathkhath, from the Crescent Star Party (PBB).
— JP/ Prodita Sabarini
Tried, tested strategies: Incumbents, dynasties and celebrities
The National Mandate Party (PAN) was one of 12 political parties that submitted lists of proposed candidates for the 2014 legislative elections to the General Elections Commission on April 22. The commission will vet the lists to determine a final list of candidates to run for the 560 seats in the House of Representatives. JP/Jerry Adiguna
The General Elections Commission (KPU) posted on its website the provisional legislative nominees list from the 12 political parties eligible to contest the 2014 legislative elections. The parties can still make changes to their lists until May 22 while the KPU finalizes the list for Aug. 22. The Jakarta Post's Prodita Sabarini looks at how the parties compiled their lists for the House of Representatives and related issues, in the following report.
For the electoral district of East Java VI, once the winning ground of former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum when he ran for parliament in 2009, the number one spot on the Democrat's prospective legislator candidates list (DCS) is held by a former soap-star — lawmaker Venna Melinda.
Next on the list — for the electorate district comprising Tulungagung, Kediri and Blitar — is incumbent lawmaker writer-psychiatrist Nova Riyanti Yusuf, who ran for Jakarta II district in 2009.
In the same electorate district (dapil) as Venna and Nova, the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has current House deputy speaker and the former party secretary general Pramono Anung. The vocal lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari is also running in the same dapil.
With the 2014 legislative elections looming, political parties are preparing their strategies to win the most seats in the House of Representatives, the local and provincial councils. Using old faces and reshuffling dapil for some incumbent lawmakers appears to be the strategy of choice for the Democratic Party. Besides Nova, incumbent Ramadhan Pohan and Ruhut Sitompul were also moved to different electorate districts, and are now running in the same dapil in North Sumatra I.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party won the most seats in the 2009 election, garnering 150 from the 560 available. But it is currently facing a plunge in popularity after a series of graft cases involving its party officials.
After the scramble of political parties to submit their candidate list on April 22, the General Election Commission (KPU) finished verifying the nominee paperwork on Tuesday. The political parties now have 14 days to revise their list; the final candidate lists are scheduled for August 22, following input from the public.
Political parties are setting optimistic targets, especially those ahead in the opinion polls. The PDI-P was most popular according to a survey in March by the National Survey Institute (LSN). According to Idham Samawi, PDI-P head of recruitment, the party aims to win the election nationally by winning in at least 17 provinces.
At the last election, the PDI-P won in five provinces and came third after the Democratic Party and Golkar. Idham attributed this to the party being without representatives in seven provinces.
Golkar set a confident 30 percent target, or 168 of the House's 560 seats, higher than 2009 when it won 107 seats, and higher than the Democratic Party's current 150 seats.
Firman Subagyo, head of Golkar's election team for Java, said their target would be at least 17 seats each in East and Central Java and at least two seats in Yogyakarta. At the last election, East Java had 87 seats from 11 electoral districts up for grabs, Central Java had 77 seats from 10 dapil and Yogyakarta had eight seats.
Also in the March LSN Survey, the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) was ranked the third most popular party, after Golkar. Gerindra deputy chairman Fadli Zon said that they would target at least 20 percent of total votes in 2014. The party won 4.5 percent of the vote last election and secured only 26 seats.
With a lower number of incumbents compared to the winning parties of the 2009 last election, Gerindra is relying on celebrities. These include television culinary personality Bondan Winarno, racing driver Moreno Suprapto and dangdut singer Yenny Khaidir, popularly called Tessa Mariska.
"We can't have someone who's popular but disliked by many," Fadli reflected.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), all too aware that its image has been sullied by the beef graft case that implicated former chairman Luthfi Hassan, set the "moderate" target of at least 15 percent of the vote. In 2009 the PKS won 7.9 percent of the vote
"The leadership [of the PKS] was quickly addressed and it was not like the Democratic Party who let their case linger," PKS party spokesperson Mardani Ali Sera said, referring to the Democratic Party's leadership uncertainty after Anas was removed from his post as party chairman. The party eventually elected Yudhoyono as chairman, a controversial issue as he already holds a high position in the party.
"With the appointment of Anis [Matta, as chairman] low morale in regional areas can be prevented," Mardani said, referring to the former PKS secretary general, adding that even after the graft case the PKS won the gubernatorial elections in West Java and Medan.
Similar patterns can be seen across many of the parties; most have renominated their incumbents, encouraged a "passing of the baton" within political dynasties and the nomination of celebrities.
The strategies taken by Islamic parties are interesting and sometimes controversial. The PKS, an Islamic party, nominated non-Muslims in the eastern provinces. The Crescent Star Party (PBB) nominated a graft convict, former chief detective Susno Duadji, despite the KPU ruling that convicted individuals were disqualified from running. Susno recently surrendered to the police, leaving the PBB to prepare a replacement.
The National Mandate Party (PAN) is, for the second time, nominating Eurico Guiterres, its East Nusa Tenggara chapter party head and a former pro-Indonesia militia leader during Timor Leste's independence fighting in 1999.
Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi) said recently that 90.5 percent of incumbent lawmakers from nine major political parties had been nominated for reelection, including those implicated in graft cases. One example is Democratic Party deputy executive chairman Max Sopacua, who was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) after former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, a lawmaker until his graft conviction, alleged that Max accepted funds embezzled from a state-funded construction project.
Other names tarred by graft scandals are Setya Novanto and Kahar Muzakir, from Golkar, both of whom were implicated in the National Games (PON) project case.
Like the dynasties of bigger parties, Gerindra has similarly signs of cultivating a "keep it in the family" culture. The offspring of Hashim Djojohadikusumo — brother of Gerindra's presidential candidate and party chief patron Prabowo Subianto — 29-year-old businessman Aryo P.S. Djojohadikusumo and 26-year-old actress, presenter and philanthropist Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo, have been nominated.
For the PDI-P, the Sukarno clan nominees are chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's daughter Puan Maharani, Puan's uncle Guruh Sukarnoputra, and cousin Puti Guntur Sukarnoputri. In the Democratic Party, there are 15 names related to Yudhoyono— including son Edhi Baskoro Yudhoyono; cousin Sartomo Hutomo; in-laws Hartanto Edhi Wibowo and Agus Hermanto; Agus' daughter Lintang Pramesti; and niece Putri Permatasari.
The candidates of 2014's newcomer, the National Democrats (NasDem), founded by news channel Metro TV owner Surya Paloh, include noted journalists and presenters. Desi Fitriani, renown for her coverage of Aceh, will run in Aceh I and Virgie Baker in North Sulawesi. NasDem has also listed actress Jane Shalimar, model Noni Chirilda Kelling and actor Doni Damara.
Next year's election uses an open and proportional system, meaning candidates who win the most votes will enter the House. In the last election the parties ranked their candidates by number, thus, those of a higher rank were prioritized though another candidate from the same party might have received more votes — a source of frustration for the losers. But following a ruling by the Constitutional Court those with the most votes will secure legislative seats.
"The parties still determine the ranking on the list — but now the effect is merely psychological", Fadli of Gerindra said.
The result is that candidates now have to really put themselves out there so their constituents are familiar with them, PDI-P's Idham said.
Election Series: Striving for 30 percent quota for women
Nihayatul Wafiroh, 33, granddaughter of a popular Islamic boarding school founder in Banyuwangi, East Java, had turned down offers from political parties to contest past elections. This year she relented and agreed to run for next year's general election.
The researcher and consultant, who will represent the National Awakening Party (PKB) for the East Java electoral district covering Situbondo, Bondowoso and Banyuwangi, said that she was once apathetic to politics.
Coming from a family of Islamic clerics that runs the Darussalam Islamic boarding school founded by Mukhtar Syafa'at, the biggest in Banyuwangi with around 4,000 to 5,000 students and alumni, some political parties see her as an asset, she said. She is also the first woman from her family to earn her Masters in the US (for Asian studies) and the first to pursue doctoral studies. PKB had been trying to persuade her for the last two years and she constantly refused until late last year.
What changed her mind? "Last year I conducted research for Search for Common Ground [an international conflict and peace-building NGO] and interviewed female legislators […] I traveled to Yogyakarta, Kendari and many other cities. The quality of a lot of the female legislators that I interviewed was very low," she said. "In NTB [West Nusa Tenggara] a female legislator was very shy just talking to me! Who am I? Imagine her having to talk and debate in the council or with her party members that are mostly men," she said over the phone.
Indonesia is gearing up for the 2014 legislative election scheduled a year from now on April 9, 2014. Based on the latest amendment to the law on political parties, aimed to increase female representation in politics, the General Elections Commission (KPU) last month ruled that parties not meeting the 30–percent quota for female candidates would be disqualified from districts where they failed to meet the requisite number.
Nihayatul agreed to run on one condition — that her name should be on the party's top list. "At least I should be number two on the ballot," she said.
In the last election of 2009, and in 2004 after the law first mentioned the quota for women candidates for legislative bodies, many female candidates were among those who failed to be elected. While observers pointed to the fact that many were not popular, advocates for women also decried the practice of political parties of assigning them low numbers on the ballot, thus reducing their chances of people voting for them. The number on a ballot still determines a candidate's chance to win a seat in the House of Representatives, while the number of votes designates their fate on the local legislative councils.
The question of quantity over quality became the hot topic raised by some political parties facing difficulties in reaching the quota. A number of parties have questioned KPU's disqualification threat, arguing that parties would simply meet the quota irrespective of the quality of candidates. Activists have pointed out that political parties have had 10 years to prepare female cadres since the 2003 law on parties stated they "can" recruit 30 percent of women among their legislative candidates.
An NGO focusing on elections, Cetro, produced a book profiling 100 potential women interested in running for the 2004 elections. Cetro pointed out that many women were ready, as long as there was sufficient support from their families, communities and political parties, apart from national affirmative action policies.
Nihayatul's political calling came from her personal experience that made her see the need for qualified female legislators. But many are still reluctant. A council member from Pasuruan, East Java, Rias Nawang Kartika of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that she would not run again for next year's election. "That's enough for me. I'd like to focus on my business," the 51-year-old said. Her sister, who heads the regental branch of the Pasuruan Democratic Party, Evi Zainal Abidin, is applying as national legislator, only after being persuaded by many people, Rias said.
Political parties' functionaries say there is a lack of interest in women to enter politics. "Many are reluctant, they think about their family, especially their children," said PKS spokesman Mardani Ali Sera. The Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) head of cadre recruitment and selection, Idham Samawi, echoed the sentiment.
"Unfortunately, women are raised with the idea that they are konco wingking, confined only to housekeeping activities. We are trying to challenge this idea […] We have created special activities in which we want to convince women that they have the same opportunities and capabilities that men have," he said.
Idham admits that there are more male party members than females, but added that PDI-P has numerous female cadres that have become regents and deputy governors. "Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, the place where I come from, has more than 30 percent female legislative candidates who are qualified," he said.
PKS has also reached the quota, Mardani said. He said women make up some 37 percent of 15,462 candidates for national and regional legislators that the party plans to submit for the preliminary candidate list.
The head of the candidate selection task force of the Democratic Party, Suaidi Marasabessy, said last week that the party has exceeded the quota in total numbers, but not in some electoral districts. "If there are still some districts that have yet to reach the quota, we'll move the candidates around," he said on Wednesday. Both the Democratic Party and Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) said they are finding it difficult to reach the quota in rural electoral districts such as North Maluku.
The country has seen a gradual increase in female representation in parliament, but the percentage is still far from the 30-percent quota first introduced a decade ago in the law on political parties. The 2009 election brought 101 female legislators to the national parliament, or 18.04 percent of the total 560 seats. The 2004 election brought in 61 female legislators or 11.5 percent of the total number of legislators. Meanwhile, the 2009 election brought an average percentage of female representation to 16 percent at the provincial level and 12 percent at the regency and municipality levels.
Prodita Sabarini and Sebastian Partogi, The Jakarta Post | Reportage | Tue, April 09 2013
Election Series: Want to run? Show me the money first
When applicants to be legislative candidates for the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) were interviewed, one of the questions they were asked was "Do you have enough money to run?" a Jakarta branch official said.
"Maybe they don't have money. Or they do, but they borrowed it from someone," said Syarif, the secretary of Gerindra's Jakarta chapter. They should have their own money "because they have to order flags and T-shirts for their own campaign."
It has often been said that politicians and elected leaders get involved in graft to pay off the debts incurred during their campaigns.
Running in an election costs money. Excluding the vote buying that sometimes besmirches elections, candidates need money to travel, put up banners and posters, order T-shirts, etc. "For people to know who they are, candidates have to campaign. Coffee for their team is the minimum expectation," Syarif said.
"We ask candidates how many votes they expect to win and to calculate the cost of reaching that number of people," he said.
Gerindra has yet decided how much money each candidate needs for the race. Syarif estimates that candidates running for local legislative bodies will need at least Rp 100 million (US$ 10,000), with that figure rising to about Rp 300 million for those running for the House of Representatives (DPR). Syarif said the costs were also needed to ensure the maximum presence and performance of party observers on voting day.
Former student activist Hendra Gunawan, cofounder of the Jabodetabek University Students Community Forum (Forkot) that helped topple Soeharto, reckons that having a lot of money does not necessarily determine the election result. "A lot of people perceive running for office to be very costly," he said. Hendra is running for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and tells of another candidate who spent Rp 20 billion on campaigning but failed to win a seat. Hendra did not mention how much he will spend on his campaign.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) West Jakarta branch secretary Agung Setiarso said that the Islamic party receives donations from its widespread Koran reading groups. "We can raise Rp 1 million in each meeting," Agung said. He also said that each neighborhood branch of the PKS usually has an election fund.
"Since most of the candidates are chosen by the membership, they automatically have to support their candidate," Agung said. Agung is running for the Jakarta council, and he said that the party and the members would help him.
Election Series: Parties struggle to seek right candidates
From April 9 to April 22 the 12 national political parties and three local parties eligible to contest the 2014 general elections are submitting their preliminary lists of candidates for the national and local legislative bodies to the General Elections Commission (KPU). The following is a glimpse of the recruitment process that involves the search for more than 240,000 candidates for over 20,000 seats. Based on interviews in Jakarta, The Jakarta Post's Prodita Sabarini and Sebastian Partogi filed the following report.
In January, the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) made an unprecedented move in the country's politics: advertising in the national media to call for applications to run as legislative candidates with the party in next year's election.
A number of other parties followed suit. The Democratic Party (PD) also made a public call with posters and banners as well as an announcement on their website with the tagline "The People Call for the Nation's Best Sons and Daughters".
Gerindra succeeded in attracting thousands of applicants, but it also raised skepticism of the effectiveness of such methods in netting qualified candidates.
The legislative election is one year from now and the General Election Commission (KPU) opens submissions for parties' candidate lists starting from today until April 22. Ahead of the presidential election, the legislative race in April 2014 will contest over 20,000 seats for the House of Representatives and provincial, municipal and regental legislative councils (DPRD).
Over the past weeks the 12 national political parties and three local parties in Aceh province have been scrambling to prepare their shortlists. If all parties manage to get candidates for all available seats, there will be more than 240,000 candidates contesting the legislative elections.
Gerindra's deputy chairman Fadli Zon said recently that nearly 3,000 people applied to run for House seats with the party. More than half of the applicants were new recruits from outside Gerindra, he said. But this also included those from parties that could not join the election, due to an increase of the electoral threshold to 3.5 percent of national votes. In the last polls, 34 parties joined the race.
Similarly, more than half of Gerindra's 600-plus applicants for the Jakarta council were new recruits, according to Syarif, the head of Gerindra's Jakarta chapter for its cadre division.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) says it does not conduct recruitment that is open to the public. Its spokesperson Mardani Ali Sera said such methods would make the recruitment process seem like a regular job application. Similarly, a blogger in the citizen forum Kompasiana.com suggested anyone unemployed could apply to be a legislator.
Hopes are high that next year's election will bring better legislators compared to the previous batch in the parliament and local legislative councils. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has urged parties to select better candidates, as legislators that were arrested and tried in court have been found guilty.
The recruitment and selection process differs from one party to the other. Parties that select candidates from within their political machine have started their preparation earlier than parties that recruit from the outside. The former tend to select candidates based on their track record in the party's activities.
The Golkar party started preparations from February last year by holding functionaries' orientation programs. "We don't enlist candidates out of nowhere," said Binny Buchori, head of Golkar's Center for Membership Development and Leadership Training. "We have a rule that only cadres that have been in the party for five years and have gone through the functionaries' orientation can run for legislative candidacy," said Binny.
Incumbent legislators are also obliged to participate in the program if they want to reenter the race. Up to now, Binny said, around 2,500 cadres have graduated from the program. She said that more than 560 people are on the long list of candidates for the House.
Party leaders will select the names for the short list, based on their dedication to the party and their electability. Most of the incumbent legislators are running again. Binny, who failed to win a seat in the 2009 election, is among the prospective candidates.
PKS and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) started their preparations last November. PDI-P recruited prospective candidates from within the party from last November to late January. Its selection process started in February this year and included psychological tests, interviews, written tests and drug tests.
According to Idham Samawi, the PDI-P's head of cadre recruitment and selection, party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri had suggested the use of psychology tests in late 2011. "Ibu Mega was concerned over problems involving party members. Those who jumped ship to other parties, those implicated in criminal misconduct and those who bickered with fellow party members […] She decided that we needed to capture the psychological profile of party members," Idham said.
He added that the test was also to determine candidates' interest and capability.
Idham said that ideology was an important part in the selection process of PDI-P, known to be staunchly nationalist. He cited that if a prospective candidate appeared to have an agenda or a mindset about changing Indonesia into an Islamic country, the latter would not pass selection.
The PKS West Jakarta branch secretary, Agung Setiarso, said that in November the party started to announce in mosque gatherings that party cadres should recommend names to be listed for candidacy. He said that PKS' selection process comes from the bottom up.
The West Jakarta branch fielded more than 30 names to recommend to the party's Jakarta branch for the local councils and House seats.
PKS spokesperson Mardani said that they rank the candidates based on recommendations from each party level. A recommendation from an individual party cadre is worth one point; that of the party branch in the neighborhood unit is worth 10 points. The score multiplies by 10 up to the party's national headquarters, where the recommendation is worth 10,000 points.
"You can't really apply to be a candidate, you have to be chosen by others," Agung said.
However a female prospective candidate for the PKS said that she approached the party leaders in Lampung province, expressing her interest in running in the election, and became short-listed.
So far PKS has fielded 15,462 prospective candidates for the parliament and local councils.
"We're not forcing ourselves" to have candidates for all seats if applicants were not qualified enough, Mardani said. He added that 20 percent of their prospective candidates were from outside of the parties.
Parties that recruit from the general public started their recruitment and selection process this year. Gerindra started to publish its ads in the media late January and opened the application period for the whole of February.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party made its public announcement in March, and opened the application process from March 6 to 31.
Officials of the Democratic Party's recruitment division said that up to Monday some 1,070 applicants had applied to run for parliament seats. Some 30 percent of the applicants were new recruits.
The ruling party that has been plagued with graft scandals weighs the applicants based on their resume. Nurita Sinaga of the party's recruitment section said applicants did not have to go through an interview or written tests.
"We rank them based on their resume, because from there we can judge their level of activity and networks," she said.
The ranked list would then be submitted to the Democrat's Supreme Assembly for selection.
Gerindra required applicants interested to run for national parliament seats to include videos of them meeting with the community.
The video shows whether the public is familiar with the applicant and whether the applicant can gather a crowd, Gerindra Jakarta branch secretary Syarif said.
Meanwhile, for applicants interested to run for local councils Gerindra required them to submit 1,500 copies of IDs, as proof that people in their respective electoral basis know them.
For the next step, Gerindra's selection committee hires university students to verify the applicants' diplomas and their local popularity. "You know there are a lot of fake diplomas out there, so the students go to the applicants' university and ask whether they really graduated from those institutions," Syarif said.
A student helping Gerindra, Lukman B Permana, said that some residents gave poor comments about applicants. "A lady said 'Oh that guy, yeah, I know he's running. He's not active in the community.' She seemed to dislike him a lot," Lukman said, adding that the findings were submitted to the selection committee.
The last step for Gerindra was the interview. No less than the party leaders and founders — brothers Prabowo Subianto and Hashim Djojohadikusumo — were among the interviewers. "The interview for DPR candidates lasted for hours. The applicants came out red faced, some saying they regretted applying to Gerindra," Syarif said.
Fadli said applicants to Gerindra included former authorities, celebrities and athletes. "There are also former bureaucrats, former soldiers and professors," he said.
The race for legislative seats is set to be more competitive than at the last election. Parties are looking for votes from a society that is increasingly disenchanted by the poor performance of lawmakers.
Voter turnout has been dwindling from 93.3 percent in 1999, just after the fall of president Soeharto, to 84.9 percent in 2004 and 70.9 percent in 2009. The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) predicts that next year's election will only see 60 percent of voters turn out.
Even Lukman, who traveled to corners of Jakarta to help Gerindra's verification process, said that he would abstain from voting.
"I don't believe in our system," the student said. "Yet, this is the only one we have."
The Jakarta Post | Reportage | Tue, April 09 2013
Indonesia's political parties gears up for next year's legislative election
Checks and balances: The Democratic Party selection team checks documents submitted by would-be legislative candidates at the party's headquarters in Kramat, Central Jakarta, on April 3. Eligible political parties have until April 22 to submit their legislative candidacy lists for the 2014 election to the General Elections Commission (KPU). JP/Prodita Sabarini
I covered political parties' preparation in recruiting and selecting prospective legislative candidates for next year's election.
Sometimes watching the people sitting in parliament feels like watching a comedy show, until you realize that no one's joking. Then you realize it's more like watching a horror movie, and you get spooked a bit, until you remember that what you're seeing is not a movie, it's real life. Anti pornography law? Remember the porn-watching lawmaker from the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party nonetheless – after they release the anti-porn law? And now all this ridiculousness on witchcraft and living outside of marriage being criminalized in the Criminal Code.
So, I was quite excited covering the whole process of choosing candidates of people that will REPRESENT other people in deciding how we run this country. Admittedly, a lot of people don't care about who will represent them in the election. So many say they'll abstain from voting because they don't trust politicians. But maybe if we pay more attention to this, we'll actually can get people who really do care into the parliament.
I got help from The Post new cub reporter in covering for this reportage. Here are the reports
https://proditasabarini.com/2013/04/11/scrambling-grumbling-on-candidacy-submission-2/
https://proditasabarini.com/2013/04/11/parties-struggle-to-seek-right-candidates/
https://proditasabarini.com/2013/04/11/want-to-run-show-me-the-money-first-2/
https://proditasabarini.com/2013/04/11/striving-for-30-percent-quota-for-women/
Good stuff I found on the Internet this week
Why I run
My first North American spring
Arts Democracy Election Human Rights Jakarta LGBT Rights Papua Religious Intolerance Theater Women's Rights


Yes it happened. I finally gave in and joined Instagram! What took me so long? I guess I was just waiting for the right reason to do it. Now as I am starting my blog, I thought it might be a good idea to start this too.
For those of you who are already on Instagram (yes, yes I know it's probably everyone at this point), find me and follow me. (And bear with me as I try to figure out the ins and outs of using this platform).
I am starting with a 30 day autumn challenge. Giving you tips on how to look after your mental health every day for the next month.
Next Post Starting therapy? Here are 3 things you should expect.


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Facebook Introduces 'M' for Messenger - A Challenger for Siri, Cortana
Anyone who's ever worked with any kind of artificial intelligence system knows that automation is difficult. Theoretically, an AI system works like this: the system recognizes as much as it can of the query asked of it then matches those terms against its database to come up with the most logical response - the bigger the database, the higher the accuracy. And that is how they generally work, but the problem is computer systems, no matter how sophisticated, are only able to calculate based on core logic. They can't (at least at this stage) think through the query and come up with nuanced conclusions. And the disconnect here is humans are inherently nuanced - the only way to create a truly responsive and accurate AI system is to have human input, to train the system by highlighting errors and offering alternatives.
This is why AI assistants like Apple's Siri are always a little bit off. Because there's no human input in that process - you have to know the right questions to ask, the right keywords to input, and Siri will then respond to your query based on previous responses and data it's learned from other users. But it never gets enough feedback to really improve accuracy - regional language variation, even individual colloquialisms can throw the system off, and when that happens, people lose faith in the product.
But what if you reverse engineered it? What if, instead of relying totally on AI, you went in with an AI system that was overseen, and assisted, by a team of human trainers who ensured the responses were accurate? More than that, what if those human trainers were also able to do human things on your behalf, like place orders and act intuitively, based on your personal data? And what if, in doing so, your AI systems were being trained with feedback at every stage, every step, accelerating your their learning with every interaction.
This is the approach Facebook is taking with their new personal assistant for Messenger, called 'M'.
Meeting M
Set to take on Siri, as well as Google's 'Google Now' and Microsoft's 'Cortana', M is built into the Messenger experience, avoiding the sometimes awkward process of talking at your phone and (repeatedly stating "yes" to confirm actions). Taking a different approach to their rivals, Facebook has baked M into functionality that's already popular amongst their user base - Messenger is one of the most popular apps in the world, boasting 700 million monthly active users. Working with what people use and are already familiar with, M will enable users to ask questions via message.
But the real differentiating factor with M is how it works. M not only uses AI data matching - it's processes are also overseen by real people. Facebook Messenger lead, and former PayPal CEO, David Marcus outlined the new functionality in a Facebook post:
Today we're beginning to test a new service called M. M is a personal digital assistant inside of Messenger that...
Posted by David Marcus on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Facebook's hope with M is to utilize the popularity of Messenger, combined with the data resources of Facebook, to create the ultimate utility for mobile discovery, stepping in on Google's long-held turf. While Google is still the dominant player in search, Facebook's hoping that M might be able to keep users within Facebook's walls longer - if you're already on Messenger and you want to search for answers, M will enable you to do so without clicking out and switching to another app.
"We start capturing all of your intent for the things you want to do," Marcus told Wired. "Intent often leads to buying something, or to a transaction, and that's an opportunity for us to [make money] over time."
If M can capitalize on the masses of data Facebook has in it's databanks, as well as the added input of human trainers refining and updating the system in real-time, it may just be the ultimate assistant service. But how do you scale such a process?
The M process works like this:
Users will tap a button at the bottom of the Messenger screen to send a message to M
M's AI software will analyze and assess the message to determine the nature of the query, then ask follow-up questions based on its algorithm and data matches
Once the query is clarified, M will go about completing the query - whether that's a data-based response or an actual physical task - and will send an update when complete
In this process, users won't know whether a human has intervened, or whether the process was fully automated - the task is completed by M, that's all you need to know. In terms of physical tasks, M's trainers have customer service backgrounds and are able to make judgement calls on more intricate tasks, where the software might struggle to comprehend. But as they do, they're also able to input that data into the M system to better educate it on human response and signal interpretation. The more people use the service, the more they improve the AI, which, eventually, might be able to take over the whole process.
But not yet.
M has a dedicated team of trainers on contract roles, and Marcus anticipates that as the service expands, they may employ thousands of them, at a high cost. Given that, how can Facebook expect M to become a profitable offering?
Business, with a Capital 'M'
The success and failure of M, of course, is reliant on its accuracy. The more accurate and functional the system is, the more it'll be used, so getting it right early on is crucial. But if Facebook can get it right, if they can provide a functional assistance service via Messenger, then the potential revenue opportunities are significant.
"If, for instance, you have a lot of calls that have to be placed by people to cable companies, that's a pretty good signal that their customers would actually like a better way to interact with the company and maybe they should have a presence inside of Messenger directly," - David Marcus to Wired.
This is just one example of how M data could be used to power enhanced customer service opportunities via the Messenger platform, an area of focus for the next evolution of the service. So far, Facebook hasn't pushed to monetize Messenger, ever wary of impacting user experience (with lessons learned from previous changes to Facebook proper, most notably to its infamous News Feed algorithm). But that's soon set to change - they've already announced new eCommerce options for Messenger, including improved customer service and payment options for the platform. With M, Facebook aims to build a vastly improved data set on how people are using the platform and what queries people want responses to - imagine if, when setting up your next Facebook ad, Facebook's system could tell you what questions people were most commonly asking about your niche, even your business specifically? The bigger the data set, the more Facebook will be able to assist brands to better utilize the platform for marketing and advertising purposes - if successful, M could change the way businesses use Facebook for outreach purposes.
But then, of course, that's a big 'if'.
Essentially, Facebook is banking on their ability to deliver with M. The program is starting small, with Messenger users in the Bay Area being the first to get access, and a slow roll-out planned from there on in. This will enable Facebook to scale their AI system in a more accurate and regionally-focussed way - it's likely that each location will need its own, separate M servers and systems to help it account for localized variations and dialects, and local knowledge from the M trainers will also, no doubt, play a part. Taking a location-by-location approach also makes it easier for Facebook to drop the project if it's not successful.
The crucial element in the initial stages of the M project will be accuracy and speed - if Facebook can provide a great service, that will increase user adoption and enable them to grow the functionality of the system. Given the breadth of Facebook's data, and the focus they're putting on training and refining their AI, M is possibly best-placed among the assistance services to see success and to be of most use. But it depends on how Messenger users see it, whether it's seen as a cool new function or an intrusion on what's considered a private space.
It's one of the many challenges the project needs to confront, but the logic behind M is sound, the approach - a different take on the AI process - is solid. Now we just have to wait and see if M can win over the masses.
Filed Under: Social Marketing

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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SNHU's Bachelor of Science in Middle School Science Education will prepare you to educate, inspire and motivate today's young learners. The campus program is taught by experienced educators who have strong connections to local middle schools and can lead to teaching certification in New Hampshire, grades 5-8 (which is reciprocal in most states).
Unlike similar programs at other universities, SNHU's BS in Middle School Science Education lets you begin field-based experience your first semester. The program requires 100 hours of field experience in a local middle school to earn your bachelor's degree. The program culminates with a 16-week student teaching experience under the close supervision of an experienced teacher. The program's emphasis on field-based learning enables you to gain valuable teaching experience and stand out to schools looking for new candidates.
Teaching certification. You'll graduate with all of the courses you need take the exam for your New Hampshire teaching certification, grades 5-8, which is reciprocal in most states.
100+ hours of teaching experience. You can begin gaining the required 100+ hours of field teaching experience your first semester.
Experienced teachers. Learn from and be mentored by faculty who've logged years of experience as science teachers.
Career advantage. Being specifically trained in middle school science will give you a competitive advantage due to a national shortage of qualified middle school science teachers.
This program is approved by the New Hampshire State Department of Education for Teacher Certification as leading to an initial teacher's license or endorsement in New Hampshire. Southern New Hampshire University cannot guarantee licensure, certification, endorsement or salary benefits. View disclosure information.
The middle school science education program leads to certification for middle-level science grades 5-8. The program provides students with strong scientific knowledge and a good sense of science learning that take place during the middle grades. Throughout this program, courses integrate knowledge of science, knowledge of teaching and scientific knowledge for teaching. The program provides graduates with a comprehensive knowledge of instructional theory and practice while examining traditional and innovative research-based approaches to teaching middle school science.
The curriculum for SNHU's bachelor's in middle school science education includes teacher courses that focus on earth and space sciences, life science and physical science. Taught by experienced educators, many of whom are current and former middle school teachers, these teacher courses are designed to show you how to apply the subject matter in today's classrooms, using the most effective resources available.
Beginning as soon as your first semester, you can apply what you learn in the middle school science teacher courses in real classrooms. Unlike similar programs at other institutions, SNHU's bachelor's in middle school science education allows you to start logging the required 100+ hours of field experience your freshman year. This allows you to see first-hand how the knowledge you're gaining in your teacher courses applies specifically to your middle school students.
Anatomy and Physiology Lab is a counterpart to BIO-210, in which students will examine tissues, bones, muscles and the major organ systems. The laboratory is hands-on and will include use of microscopes, visual representation in models, videos and online dissection.
This course explores how the origin, reactivity, and fate of chemical compounds in both natural and polluted environments shapes the environmental impacts of a full range of agricultural, energy-related, manufacturing, waste disposal, and other human activities. By using the fundamental principles of chemistry as a lens through which to explore the environmental impacts of these activities, students acquire an in-depth understanding of how humanity is reshaping the chemical composition of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, and greater insight into the many threats posed by these changes to both ecosystems and human health.
This course surveys and focuses on child growth and development from birth through the life cycle. Theories pertinent to individual stages are provided and the sociological, cultural and psychological aspects of human growth and development are included. An overview of all developmental stages will be covered.
This course give students an overview of American education including history, philosophy and current issues. It will introduce students to strategies for creating a learning environment that support student learning.
This course will introduce students to classroom structures that support differentiated instruction and other research-based approaches for effective teaching. Topics include lesson planning and reflection, state standards and grade level expectations, small group and whole group instruction, and assessment tools strategies.
This basic course for classroom teachers explores various techniques necessary for designing and implementing authentic measures to assess successful student learning.
This course provides students with innovative and authentic learning experiences about middle-level education. Topics include team teaching, advising, integrating curriculum, active learning, cooperative learning, trackless classes, block scheduling, community service programs, health education, and full exploratory and concentrated curriculum.
This course introduces the principles of the standards-based science curriculum, assessment, and methods of instruction. Students will develop an understanding of developmentally appropriate teaching and classroom management for the middle school years.
This course focuses on the development of reading and writing strategies in support of the content areas in grades 5-12. Students will become familiar with effective practices used to support the development of literacy strategies for students on the secondary level.
This course develops students' knowledge and skill with technology with the ultimate aim of using technology to enhance student learning and achievement. This course also introduces students to learning target (standards/outcomes) and a general model of curriculum development, implementation and assessment.
All teacher education majors seeking certification will participate in 16 weeks of full-time practice teaching at nearby schools. During the 16 weeks, the student teacher receives close and continuous supervision and guidance from teaching personnel at the school and by a member of the Southern New Hampshire University faculty. This course also includes seminars at the university.
The purpose of this course is to prepare teacher candidates of secondary school certifications for the ethical decisions they will confront in their professional lives. Students will explore ethical best practice and decision-making regarding professional responsibility, caring for students, and promoting the well-being of the school and community.
This course is the first of two full-time student teaching experiences required for undergraduate students seeking teacher certification. Students spend four days each week in a NH public school under the mentorship of a certified teacher for one full semester. During this time, the student teacher receives close and continuous supervision and guidance from teaching personnel at the school and by a member of Southern New Hampshire University faculty. This course also includes seminars at the university. Acceptance to Student Teaching is required.
*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, on the internet, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/middle-school-teachers.htm (viewed online March 25, 2019). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.


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This book is a great addition to Osprey's Modelling Series. "Modelling the Mitsubishi A6M Zero" is a classic Osprey book. From a content perspective, nothing is left out. You are introduced to the famous plane with a nice history lesson. The author takes you through four full build write-ups followed by a gallery of A6M models. The usual comprehensive kit and accessory lists are included. In this book you'll find a nice addition to the content list, a color chart that cross-references model paints with various paint manufacturers and the specific color. A nice close up walk around of a 1:1 scale Zero is included too. Based on the historical information a walk around photo gallery is a difficult thing to produce.
You will find everything you need to reproduce this infamous aircraft in small scale. Search the kit list; find build tips, cross-reference your paint supply with the correct brand and shade. You can match the paint to the color palettes in the back of the book. Everything is there.
Brian Criner is a modeler first, then an author. He fully admits this and explains that he wrote this book from a modeler's, not an historian's perspective. He does not superdetail every build with every AM add on. Mr. Criner has done his research and it shows. He fully explains the rationale in his writing focus and all his build processes. He found that weathering is a crucial aspect of modeling Japanese aircraft, especially the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. The fact that Japan is an island and the majority of the flight time for these aircraft is over the ocean in harsh weather really accentuates the attention to the paint and weathering of these aircraft. The unique paints and finishes the Japanese used make this a focal point and therefore finishing and weathering garner the most attention in the builds.
Mr. Criner does not neglect AM kits and 'fully detailed builds'. He does include plenty of information and tips on detailing the cockpit, engine, and control surfaces. These are a must in any aircraft build book and you won't be disappointed. The previously mentioned accessory list includes these AM add-on kits.
The photography overall is well done. The subject matter included and the layout used in the photos is a bit inconsistent from build to build. You won't be left without required photographs, all necessary detail shots are there, but the 'look and feel' differs. Special techniques and details are photographed. Looking back over the book's photography it came across as inconsistent.
This was a fun fast read for me. It has all the content you would expect written in a light conversational style. If you build the A6M or plan to, this book should be on your research list. If you build WWII Japanese aircraft there is ample information on weathering and painting that this book will definitely help you out.
This book is written by a regular modeler for regular modelers. It is easy to read and full of information. If you build aircraft from the WWII Pacific theater this book should be high on your reading list.
Thanks for posting the review Rowan. I must say a year ago today I would not have thought about purchasing one of these 'subject' books. They have turned me around and this one is a good one for the collection.


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But... Are They Companions?
What is a companion? There is much debate. A person who has travelled with the doctor in the TARDIS? Well then Liz Shaw can't be considered a companion; she never took a trip in the TARDIS, but she is a companion all the same. Someone who helps the Doctor in major way in an adventure? Well, that would make Ray from "Delta and the Bannermen" a companion, but she has never been considered a companion. A companion is a friend or an assistant to the Doctor, a person who has adventured with or known him for longer than one adventure - people who can truely be considered companions, rather than those who travel only briefly in the TARDIS.Companions aren't secondary characters who help the Doctor but choose not to accompany him on farther adventures (an acception has been made for Grace from the TV Movie). But there are a few characters that don't fit exactly into the criteria for a companion, yet they do go on to travel with Doctor but they also aren't major cast members either... These characters sometimes end up on companion lists and sometimes are left off companion lists for various reasons. I don't list them as companions as I don't think their contributions or time with the Doctor are significant enough for them to be considered true companions, but they should be mentioned...
Katarina (Adrianne Hill)
Handmaiden to the Princess Cassandra who helped a wounded Steven into the TARDIS during "The Myth Makers" only to end up sacrificing her life to save the others in the next serial "The Dalek's Master Plan."
Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh)
A ruthless and dedicated secret agent for the treacherous Guardian of the 41st century solar system, Mavic Chen. Such was her dedication she even killed her own brother, Bret Vyon. However, when she saw what Chen was intending - to aid the Daleks in building a time destroyer - she changed sides. Her fate was sealed. She became the victim of the terrible weapon as she aged hundreds of years
Kamelion (Voice: Gerald Flood)
A shapshifting robot with a will of it's own, though suseptable to outside psychic influence from a mind with a greater will. The Master found Kamelion on the planet Xeriphas and subjected him to his will. The Master then used the robot to impersonate King John in a plan to circumvent the signing of Magna Carta. Kamelion asked to join the Doctor after the Doctor freed him from Master. Kamelion travelled for a while with the Doctor but kept mostly to himself in the corridors of the TARDIS. The Doctor was forced to destroy Kamelion when he again came under the Master's evil influence.


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Home > Youth Ministry > Catholic Relics > St. Anthony of Padua
Fra Antonio, Evangelical Doctor, Hammer of Heretics, Professor of Miracles
May, 30th 1232 by Pope Gregory IX
Patron Saint for lost articles, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods. Also, against barrenness, against shipwreck, against starvation, against starving, against sterility, American Indians, amputees
In 1221 St. Francis held a general chapter at Assisi; when the others dispersed, there lingered behind, unknown and neglected, a poor Portuguese friar, resolved to ask for and to refuse nothing. From an earlier age he wanted to put on a habit and preached the Faith to the Moors in Africa and become a martyr. Denied a martyr's palm, and enfeebled by sickness, at the age of twenty-seven he was taking silent but merciless the pain upon himself in the humblest offices of his community. From this obscurity he was now called forth, and for nine years France, Italy, and Sicily heard his voice, saw his miracles, and men's hearts turned to God. One night, when St. Antony was staying with a friend in the city of Padua, his host saw brilliant rays streaming under the door of the Saint's room, and on looking through the keyhole he beheld a little Child of marvellous beauty standing upon a book which lay open upon the table, and clinging with both arms round Antony's neck. With an ineffable sweetness he watched the tender caresses of the Saint and his wondrous Visitor. At last the Child vanished, and Fra Antonio, opening the door, charged his friend, by the love of Him Whom he had seen, to "tell the vision to no man" as long as he was alive. Suddenly, in 1231 he died, and the voices of children were heard crying along the streets of Padua, "Our father, St. Antony, is dead." The following year, the church-bells of Lisbon rang without ringers, while at Rome one of its sons was inscribed among the Saints of God.
"Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints"
O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request). O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.


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Digital/E-commerce
Building a Better Retailer: BeautyKind
Jeb Gleason-Allured, Editor in Chief
"Many businesses are seeking ways to develop a brand story in order to form deeper connections to staff and customers," Sheri Koetting wrote earlier this year. "Giving back to a cause is a powerful way to enhance a brand story while helping others."
Cause sponsorships are expected to reach $2 billion in 2016, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report. It's no wonder, given that 90% of U.S. consumers are willing to switch from a conventional brand to one that is associated with a charitable cause. But wanting to sponsor a cause is easy, doing it—and doing it right—isn't. That's where BeautyKind comes in.
Online, shoppers select their products and then select their cause at checkout.
The brainchild of hedge fund, equity research and entrepreneurial veteran Hil Davis, BeautyKind was founded to allow consumers to replenish products and discover brands while supporting causes of their choosing.
Inspired by the TOMS philanthropic shoe giant, Davis saw an opportunity to build a "better" retailer by placing cause marketing into the center of a brand-agnostic portal. In a recent interview with GCI, he explained that this creates a strong emotional connection and loyalty to brands and allows them to scale-up their impact on causes.
Personalizing the Cause
In addition to the portal, which offers brands such as Burberry, Frederic Fekkai, Calvin Klein, Bliss and Art of Shaving, BeautyKind operates a handful of store-in-store concepts at select Bloomingdale's outlets.
Davis noted that many of these nonprofits are experiencing donor fatigue.
BeautyKind has launched national cable TV ads and introduced pop-up stores at events, such as SXSW, the ACM awards and on college campuses around the United States. Online, shoppers select their products and then select their cause at checkout. Each user also has a personalized homepage that becomes his/her personalized beauty counter based on preferences.
Spreading the Cause
BeautyKind has incorporated discovery brands since the start and is expanding its range of mainstream beauty players. Davis noted that the retailer's ability to "move product" convinced top beauty brands to participate.
Of course brands like Estée Lauder have their own cause programs, said Davis. They have the margin and ability to support causes across a range—or select handful—of SKUs. That cause element can often boost those SKUs to top-seller status.
Only about 6% of beauty sales are online, Davis noted, which is a much lower percentage compared to many other industries.
BeautyKind's model, said Davis, gives brands the ability to spread cause marketing and its benefits across all participating SKUs. Traditional retailers, who have costs associated with running stores, don't have the margin to support such cause marketing programs.
BeautyKind, Davis said, takes that cost and applies 5% of sales to a cause of the consumer's choice. By reallocating store expenses to cause marketing BeautyKind may have established a competitive advantage.
Poised for Online Sales
Growth BeautyKind couldn't have occurred three years ago, Davis argued. Today, however, the unique convergence of technology, cause marketing and consumer behaviors have emerged to make such a platform possible.
Only about 6% of beauty sales are online, Davis noted, which is a much lower percentage compared to many other industries. Despite traditional resistance from some brands and retailers, online sales continue to climb. Now, online beauty sales present a $5 billion opportunity.
In addition to gaining new brand partners, BeautyKind is working with the American Cancer Society and other major charities. Davis noted that many of these nonprofits are experiencing donor fatigue. By incorporating these organizations into the cause marketing platform, BeautyKind has created a new passive way to boost donations and build a strong emotional connection, what Davis called "head, heart and wallet."
Engaging Consumers
BeautyKind has launched a reward program and is opening its first showroom, featuring a sample bar with stylists for a person-to-person experience. Davis explained that, because omnichannel is so important, BeautyKind will eventually open 30 to 100 such showrooms. These venues could eventually garner several hundred million dollars in sales, according to Davis.
In addition, the retailer is building a concert series, which will support causes and make BeautyKind more of a lifestyle brand. Such events need not be major profit centers, Davis said, and instead are intended to create connections within consumers' lives. Meanwhile, the college campus pop-up tour will continue, raising more money and creating new opportunities to invite customers to become "part of the brand."
More in Digital/E-commerce
Zelens Expands into US Market at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus
Zelens plans to further expand its U.S. retail partner base in 2023 alongside an anticipated brick-and-mortar return.
Why Session Replay Tech is Under Fire in Ulta Beauty Suit
"A company conducting e-commerce activities nationally must ensure that its website policies and technologies comply with the wiretap laws of each state where its website is accessed."
Sephora's 2023 Accelerate Cohort Highlights Wellness & Clean, Clinical BIPOC Brands
Participants will take part in a six-month curriculum with mentorship, merchandising support, grants and investor connections, with the opportunity to launch at Sephora North America upon completion.
Ami Colé Launching in 277 U.S. Sephora Stores
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Ulta Beauty's Q3 & Nine-month 2022 Results Show Beauty's Resilience Across Categories
Key drivers for Q3 and nine-month results included COVID restriction reductions, retail price increases, and the addition of new brands and product innovation.
Sugardoh Enters Ulta Beauty
The brand can be found online at ultabeauty.com and in more than 250 store locations across the United States.
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The U.K. drugstore retailer says that its new Superdrug Marketplace is designed to help customers discover up-and-coming, diverse and innovative beauty brands.
Haut.AI Taps BreezoMeter Environmental Data for Personalized Skin Care Recommendations
Haut.AI and BreezoMeter's datasets were combined into analytical models using AI and machine learning to identify patterns of environmental influence on different skin types, depending on the person's location.


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Q: Why shift-cmd-n fails as a custom shortcut for Firefox "New Private Window"? I created the shiftcommandn shortcut for Firefox in Syst Prefs to match other browsers' behavior.

It registers in the Firefox Menubar.

But pressing the shortcut opens a new non-private window, and it loads there the first item in my "Top Sites".
I imagine I could create another shortcut to override this behavior, but what is this behavior? I don't see anything highlighted in the Firefox Menubar when I hit the shortcut. Or might there be another solution (other than using a different shortcut to open new private windows)?
Problem exists on both Mojave and High Sierra. Default Firefox shortcut (shiftcommandp) still opens a new private window.

A: This has been a known Mac Firefox bug for years and years.  Because Firefox is not truly a native macOS app, it carries over odd behaviors, one of which being that you cannot fully override its pre-defined keyboard shortcuts.
Firefox 55 addressed this partially as Mozilla bug #429824, which allowed new keyboard shortcuts to be created via System Preferences.  Overriding existing shortcuts like "New Private Window" or "Paste" or whatever is still not completely possible, but progress (or lack thereof) is being tracked by Mozilla bug #1333781.  In any case, you get all sorts of weird, undefined behavior if you try to override those shortcuts anyway.
Before the great extension purge in Firefox 57, Firefox extensions like keyconfig let you work around the problem by remapping those shortcuts within Firefox itself.  After Firefox retired all legacy extensions, this once again became impossible.
Since Firefox 57 (being so annoyed by some of its default, un-Mac-like shortcuts) I've compiled Firefox from source code just so I could patch its keyboard shortcut configurations.  Not something I'd recommend to most people, but it is one potential workaround until the bug is fixed upstream.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home Briefing Rationing With Reserves
Rationing With Reserves
Naky Soto
Photo: PROVEA
What good are the largest oil reserves on the planet if they can't be exploited? The fuel rationing continues and that's why the governors of Monagas and Bolívar have followed the example of the governor of Lara and, starting this Monday, gasoline is sold according to the last numbers on the license plate, purportedly to stave off the mess of fuel shortages while vehicle queues in service stations are several kilometers long and citizens may spend several days waiting. Neither Nicolás nor his Oil minister have acknowledged the drama that's hitting the regions more fiercely than Caracas, because as with every other important matter, it's better to keep quiet until noise forces them to speak.
Acordamos que el transporte público y los vehículos de instituciones del estado quedan fuera de este plan de abastecimiento por terminales de números de placa. En las próximas horas, informaremos sobre las E/S que suministrarán de forma exclusiva a los trabajadores del volante
— Yelitza Santaella (@yelitzePSUV_) June 1, 2019
Información sobre el suministro de gasolina en #Bolivar #Guayana #31May pic.twitter.com/GpYVxxmDnE
— Puerto Ordaz (@SoyPuertoOrdaz) May 31, 2019
The non-country
Health sector workers denounced the irregularities in wages, materials and supplies in the University Clinical Hospital of Caracas, emphasizing the terrible working conditions, including the lack of basic services, cleaning material and the infections suffered by the staff due to hygiene problems. They called for a demonstration before the Health Ministry on Monday, June 10th.
The head of the Venezuelan Milk and Meat Institute, Carlos Albornoz, said that per capita milk consumption is lower than the limits established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, demanding the normalization of fuel supply so that products can reach citizens. According to data from the Venezuelan Chamber of the Dairy Industry, milk production dropped to seven million litres in May, in contrast with the 45 million litres in the same month last year.
Venezuela ranks 131st in the list showing the protection that Hispanic nations offer children from best to worse, according to a report published by the organization Save The Children. Latin America showed an increase in protection unlike Venezuela, which dropped 32 points due to the 40% increase in the mortality rate of children under five years old and 60% increase in child homicide rates.
Fleeing hunger
The Autonomous University of Bucaramanga (UNAB) developed a research project about Venezuelan migrants in that city, revealing that 63% suffered from hunger in Venezuela in the last three months before fleeing and another 52% lost between 5 and 9 kg in the same period of time. Out of the 1,000 respondents, only 12% has passport or an official permit to live in Colombia. Comparing the results of these reports with those presented in March 2018, "there's a significant drop in the average income generated by the population, which went from 500,000 pesos to 300,000 pesos, and an increasingly smaller percentage can send remittances to their relatives in Venezuela." Women stand out among migrants, "taking the risks of migration even despite lacking the economic, psychological and educational conditions to start a transnational migration process." Additionally, 70% of Venezuelans surveyed says they're suffering from depression. The UNAB wants this information to serve as a guide to reduce the risks and the consequences of migration, and for aspiring public authorities to incorporate the issue in their government plans, so the impact of this phenomenon can be managed.
PDVSA's mayhem
This Monday, El Salvador's Prosecutor's Office continued the raids it'd been carrying out since Friday on the offices of ALBA Petróleos as part of an investigation for the alleged laundering of PDVSA funds.
Germán Arriaza, head of the the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Impunity Department, explained that the raids also include companies ALBA Alimentos is El Salvador, ALBA Gas and other 24 related with that society. The man responsible for leading PDVSA's millionaire investment in ALBA Petróleos was Salvadoran politician José Luis Merino. The U.S. had requested an investigation against him for allegedly trafficking drugs and weapons with the Colombian guerrilla FARC. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Justice Department is requesting documents from CITGO Petroleum as part of an investigation on bribes made by American suppliers involving PDVSA.
U.S. prosecutors seek records from @CITGO Petroleum in bribery probe https://t.co/m3zkppVV0r
— Reuters Venezuela (@ReutersVzla) June 3, 2019
CITGO confirmed that they received the subpoena and said in a statement that they agreed to cooperate with this investigation, which has already charged 21 people, 16 of them have already pleaded guilty.
Without fully grasping the temporary suspension of operations of the Canadian embassy in the country, yesterday the Foreign ministers of Lima Group members Canada, Chile and Peru, held a meeting with Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union, and the Foreign ministers of Portugal and Uruguay, members of the International Contact Group. The decision of both groups is to increase contacts to contribute to a political, peaceful and democratic solution to our crisis, because the regional impact of this crisis demands a more active role. They restated their support for the National Assembly and said that it was necessary to restore and fully respect its authority, as well as the release of all political prisoners. Both groups will continue denouncing human rights violations and agreed on the gravity of the humanitarian situation, including the migration crisis, therefore they promised to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan population and the affected neighboring countries, underscoring the need to increase international support. In August, Peru will host an international meeting to analyze solutions for the Venezuelan crisis.
Other movements on the board
Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed yesterday on supporting a political and diplomatic solution in Venezuela, but disagreed on Juan Guaidó's role: "Colombia only supports political and diplomatic means," said Trujillo and Lavrov agreed on rejecting a military solution to the crisis. While Trujillo ratified his full support for Guaidó and the conditions (end of usurpation, transition government and free elections), Lavrov said that Moscow insists on an "inclusive dialogue."
By the way, last Sunday, Colombian President Iván Duque spoke in favor of the unprecedented diplomatic bloc that recognizes Guaidó and the National Assembly as sovereign, so he urged to "keep increasing the bloc but at the same time continue working within Venezuela for the internal fracture within the Armed Forces needed to end the dictatorship."
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was rougher and said: "Maduro isn't in command. Maduro is Venezuela's fool today. There must be a fracture in the Venezuelan Army's high command. This issue can't end until that happens (…) The big problem is that the regime in Venezuela may intensify its control, becoming North Korea without atomic bombs; the Russians are involved in that too because there's oil and gold."
Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: "Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela," a tweet that appeared hours after Russian state-run corporation Rostec denied that their specialists had left our country in response to the information published on Sunday by The Wall Street Journal.
Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
Dr. Evangelina García Prince died yesterday. She was an extraordinary women's rights defender who was Women's minister and a senator, but above all a teacher, a true scholar on the topics she worked on and defended, creating a legacy that protects many Venezuelans. May she rest in peace.
Previous articleThe Quixote Who Defended Caracas Against the English
Next articleThe Nightmare of Growing Up in Venezuela
Naky gets called Naibet at home and at the bank. She coordinates training programs for an NGO. She collects moments and turns them into words. She has more stories than freckles.


The holiday season is upon us once again! Townsquare Media, along with Dan's Supermarket, needs your help to make this Christmas unforgettable for a deserving family in the area. Christmas With Us is the chance to give back to those who are dedicated to helping the community, have experienced some sort of setback or hardship, or are just generally deserving of some help - all you have to do is nominate them!
As all North Dakotans know, the blizzard in March 2011 had far-reaching effects. For one family nominated in last year's Christmas With Us, the aftermath was devastating. As a mother was taking her oldest daughter and niece to the doctor the morning the storm hit, she hit a patch of ice and lost control of her vehicle, throwing both children from the car. Tragically, her daughter had fractured her neck in three places and lost all brain function, forcing her parents to make the heart-wrenching decision to let her go. In an incredibly honorable gesture, they donated their daughter's organs to give the gift of life to other deserving individuals. In addition to supporting two other children, the family found out they were expecting another child just three short months after losing their daughter. The financial responsibilities of supporting a family coupled with the mountain of medical debt due to their daughter's tragic accident made this family more than deserving of a helping hand.
There are plenty of other deserving families out there. Help us out by nominating them for Christmas With Us and give them a Christmas they will never forget!


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Q: Using Tk widget in command-line application we just ran into problems related to Tcl and Tk differences.
We have a testing tool for transfered xml data using the tcltest framework.
General program flow:

*

*read in xml-file and generate DOM tree (using tdom)

*running the tests (using tcltest, tests generate logging output, i.e. setting an array with the relevant information)

*read and process logging information

*prepare latex file with logging info

*generate pdf using pdflatex
In a new test we want to include a graphic into the document. So we load Tk in the test-setup, prepare the graph on a canvas and write the canvas to a file. This all works fine in a stand-alone test program.
But integrated into the application we observe, that the test is performed and the program ends without an error at the end of the testfile, but never returns to the main program to perform the last three steps.???
If the remaining code of the application is sourced into the test-file, the program execution continues properly. Anybody an idea what might go wrong?
Thanks in advance
joachim

A: When you load Tk, it installs a handler which runs the event loop after your script finishes executing. This is because this is how the wish program has worked for at least 20 years; Tcl is (logically) used to set up the application and handle callbacks. For most GUI applications, this is absolutely fine. In your case not.
You should put an explicit exit at the end of your script once you've finished generating the output you want.


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Martin Traugott Wilhelm Blumner (* 21. November 1827 in Fürstenberg/Havel; † 16. November 1901 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Komponist, Dirigent und Musiktheoretiker. Er war der ältere Bruder des Pianisten und Komponisten Sigismund Blumner (1835–1907).

Leben
Martin Blumner wurde als Sohn des aus Dresden stammenden praktischen Arztes und Distriktsphysikus Julius Rudolph Blumner (1795–1857) in Fürstenberg/Havel (damals zu Mecklenburg-Strelitz gehörend) geboren. Er besuchte das Gymnasium Carolinum in Neustrelitz und bestand Ostern 1845 das Abitur. Bereits in früher Jugend erhielt er neben seiner Schulausbildung in Neustrelitz Musikunterricht bei Konzertmeister Johann Conrad Göpfert. Später studierte er in Berlin Theologie, Philosophie sowie Naturwissenschaften.

Erst sein Beitritt zur Sing-Akademie zu Berlin gab den entscheidenden Ausschlag, eine musikalische Laufbahn einzuschlagen. Ab 1847 begann er daher ein Studium der Komposition und des Kontrapunkts bei Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn sowie Elsler und Gustav Wilhelm Teschner im Gesang. In diese Zeit fallen erste Kompositionen. Am 8. November 1853 wurde er zum Vizedirektor der Singakademie unter der Direktion Eduard Grells ernannt. Im Jahre 1876 trat er dessen Nachfolge als Direktor der Sing-Akademie an.

Darüber hinaus bekleidete er noch weitere Ämter und Funktionen. So war er ab 1875 Mitglied der Berliner Königlichen Akademie der Künste, übernahm im Jahre 1885 den Vorsitz der musikalischen Sektion dieser Akademie, erhielt eine Professur und wurde Anfang der 1890er Jahre zum Leiter der Meisterklasse für Komposition ernannt. Im Rahmen dieser Funktion setzte er einen hohen Stellenwert auf die Pflege der Werke Johann Sebastian Bachs. Weiterhin engagierte er sich für Aufführungen der Werke Händels und Haydns. Darüber hinaus setzte er sich in seiner Funktion dafür ein, dass die Werke von Komponisten wie Friedrich Kiel, Albert Becker und Georg Vierling aufgeführt wurden, die zu den "Berliner Akademikern" gezählt wurden.

Das kompositorische Schaffen Blumners umfasste Kantaten, Motetten, Oratorien, Kompositionen für Chöre sowie geistliche und weltliche Vokalwerke.

Anlässlich des 100-jährigen Bestehens der Sing-Akademie zu Berlin verfasste er das Buch Geschichte der Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. Eine Festgabe zur Säcularfeier am 24. Mai 1891, erschienen, Berlin, bei Horn & Raasch, 1891, 256 Seiten, im Original schöner, goldgeprägter Leinwand-Band. Mit einer Photogravure des Gründers der Sing-Akademie, Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch nach einer Radierung von Johann Gottfried Schadow.

Unter seiner Mitwirkung wurde 1900 die Neue Bachgesellschaft gegründet. Im selben Jahr trat er krankheitsbedingt vom Amt des Direktors der Singakademie zurück. Sein Nachfolger wurde der Komponist und Dirigent Georg Schumann.

Martin Blumner starb nach langer Krankheit am 16. November 1901 in Berlin, nur wenige Tage vor seinem 74. Geburtstag. Die Trauerfeier fand am 21. November im Saal der Singakademie statt. Ernst Dryander würdigte den Verstorbenen in einer Rede. Im musikalischen Rahmen der Feier kam auch ein von Blumner selbst komponierter Trauergesang zum Vortrag. Anschließend erfolgte in einem langen Trauerzug die Überführung des Sarges zum Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof I vor dem Halleschen Tor, wo die Beisetzung stattfand. Den Segen am Grab sprach Pastor Otto Blumner aus Diesdorf bei Magdeburg, ein Bruder des Toten. In der erhaltenen Gittergrabanlage steht als Grabstein ein gesockelter Zippus aus schwarzem Granit. An der Vorderseite eingelassen ist ein bronzenes Relieftondo mit dem Porträt Blumners im Profil, ein Werk von Fritz Schaper.

Werke (Auswahl)

Kantaten
 Columbus (1852)
 In Zeit und Ewigkeit op. 38
 Festcantate nach Worten der Heiligen Schrift für Chor, Solostimmen, Orchester (& Orgel) op. 40 (1891). Zur Feier des Hundertjährigen Bestehens der Singakademie zu Berlin 1791–1891 Verlag Röder, Leipzig

Motette
 Die auf der Erde wallen (1853)

Oratorien
 Abraham op. 8 (1862), Edition Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig
 Der Fall Jerusalems op. 30, Edition Bote & G. Bock, Berlin & Posen

Weitere
 Lobgesang Mariä
 Königspsalm op. 35
 Psalm 96
 Psalm 90
 Ruhe sanft

Literatur

 Martin Blumner: Geschichte der Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. Eine Festgabe zur Säcularfeier am 24. Mai 1891, Horn & Raasch, 1891, 256 S.

Weblinks

 Eintrag zu Martin Blumner auf Sing-Akademie zu Berlin

Einzelnachweise

Komponist (Deutschland)
Dirigent
Sing-Akademie zu Berlin
Geboren 1827
Gestorben 1901
Mann
Person (Fürstenberg/Havel)
Deutscher

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Shajari: Presence of foreign countries' guests from Russian, North Korea and Iraq for buying Iranian products. Efforts are being made to attract the most number of guests from other countries to the MPEX exhibition, trade union's top executive of Tehran hand_made shoemakers remarked.
He also asserted that " we are doing our best to invite a lot of guests to this year's MPEX exhibition via communicating with other countries from different parts of the world.presence of visitors in the exhibition from Iraq, Russia, China, North Korea and Italy was finalized. Russian, North Korean and Iraqi traders and guests are coming to the fair to buy products. We are putting our considerable effort into bringing more guests from more countries.
He added that training courses are held by professional instructors from Italy.


text:
SEC Opens Registration for One Person Corporation This Week
Home News/Advisory SEC Opens Registration for One Person Corporation This Week
By Venus Angelli David News/Advisory May 9, 2019
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now accepting applications for the registration of a One Person Corporation (OPC), a corporation with a single stockholder, following the issuance of the pertinent guidelines.
On April 25, SEC approved the Guidelines on the Establishment of a One Person Corporation under Memorandum Circular No. 7-2019. It was published on May 1 on two newspapers of general circulation.
Under the Guidelines, a natural person, trust or estate can form an OPC. However, the "trust" as used by the law does not refer to a trust entity, but the subject being managed by a trustee.
The incorporator shall be a natural person of legal age. A foreign natural person may put up an OPC, subject to the applicable constitutional and statutory restrictions on foreign participation in certain investment areas or activities.
The Guidelines also states that the following are not allowed to incorporate an OPC:
Non-bank financial institutions
Quasi-banks
Preneed, trust, and insurance companies
Public and publicly-listed companies
Non-chartered government-owned and/or -controlled corporations
A natural person licensed to exercise a profession is also not allowed to organize an OPC for the purpose of exercising such profession unless provided under special laws.
How to Register an OPC
You can register an OPC through five easy steps: name reservation and verification, pre-processing of articles of incorporation with the necessary attachments, payment of filing fees, submission of signed and notarized documentary requirements, and claiming of the certificate of incorporation.
Initially, you must file your application manually with SEC's Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) at the ground floor of the Secretariat Building in the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Your application must include a cover sheet, the articles of incorporation of the prospective OPC, and the written consent of a nominee and alternate nominee that you, as the single stockholder, elected.
If applicable, you must also submit proof of authority to act on behalf of a trust or estate incorporating as an OPC, and an application to do business under the Foreign Investments Act (FIA) if you, as the single stockholder, are a foreign natural person, among others.
For the complete list of requirements and the procedure for application, you can check this link.
One Person Corporation PhilippinesOPC Philippinessec philippinessecurities and exchange commission philippines
Venus Angelli David / About Author
Venus Angelli David is a Digital Copywriter. She specializes in SEO and technical writing and produces content for websites, marketing collaterals, social media campaigns, and other marketing mediums. She has a knack for simplifying complex information into digestible content for easier comprehension and experimenting with multiple writing techniques to improve her writing skills.
More posts by Venus Angelli David
SEC Issues Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly-Listed Companies in the Philippines
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally launched on Friday last week the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly-Listed Companies (PLCs), requiring such companies to disclose compliance/non-compliance of the recommendations provided under the Code of Corporate Governance for PLCs operating in the Philippines.
SEC Drafts Guidelines to Prevent Lending Companies from Using Unfair Debt Collection Practices
SEC drafts guidelines to prevent lending companies (LCs) and financing companies (FCs) from using "unfair" debt collection practices on their borrowers.


The Dr. Robert C. Cantu Concussion Center at Emerson Hospital announced today that it has received approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to provide annual concussion awareness training for public middle and high school coaches, nurses, athletic directors, marching band directors, student athletes and parents in the state. Due to the increase in concussions suffered by student athletes, Massachusetts' state law requires annual concussion awareness training for groups and individuals involved with middle and high school sports. The Cantu Concussion Center has developed an innovative, interactive training program called CANTU – an abbreviation for Concussion Awareness Neurological Training and Understanding. The training is provided at no cost to public middle and high schools throughout Massachusetts and fulfills the state requirement.
"We are very pleased to have received approval by the MDPH for our concussion training program," said Dr. Robert C. Cantu, the Center's Medical Director and Director of Clinical Research, and one of the world's leading experts on concussions. "Our team of concussion and head trauma experts has created a program that is highly individualized and interactive, resulting in greater awareness and understanding of concussions, which will lead to improved outcomes for student athletes who suffer head trauma." Each year, clinicians with the Cantu Concussion Center diagnose and treat hundreds of student athletes for concussions.
The CANTU training modules were developed for school staff and parents and students. Topics include Truths about Concussions, How to Recognize a Concussion, Signs/Symptoms to Observe, What to Do if a Concussion Occurs, Concussion Rehabilitation Options, Returning to Play, Safety Options and State Regulations. The CANTU training is now available to public middle and high schools.
For more information, or to schedule a training session, please contact Jessica Gravel, PT, DPT, at the Dr. Robert C. Cantu Concussion Center at jgravel@emersonhosp.org.