These superb properties offer a truly refined getaway. Each type of visa serves a specific case, so there are up to eight types according to Law No. Food And Drinks Tips: How To Tickle Your Palate And Satisfy Your Belly 18. Exit Requirements for children: Minors children under 18 who are citizens including dual citizens or legal residents of the Dominican Republic, if not accompanied by both parents or legal guardian s , are required to present official proof of parental consent to travel. Tap Water: Tap water is unsafe to drink. Additionally, it can be a lot of fun and will make a great story to tell your friends. If your travel plans in the Dominican Republic include outdoor activities, take these steps to stay safe and healthy during your trip.
If a major earthquake occurs close to shore, you should follow the instructions of the local authorities, bearing in mind that a tsunami could arrive within minutes. Medicare does not apply overseas. Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused some local flooding and minor damage to buildings in the north and east of the country in September 2017. Pros: 10 characters minimum Count: 0 of 1,000 characters 4. Embassy official, claiming that a loved one has been arrested overseas. Talk to your doctor about how you can prevent malaria while traveling. Travel history: that is photocopies of Dominican and other countries visas if any.
The roads here are pure mayhem. Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad and repatriation. Risk Levels Exercise normal security precautions There are no significant safety and security concerns. There are also a lot of hustlers looking to get that cash. G: Wales United Kingdom , South Georgia United Kingdom , Gibraltar United Kingdom , Greece, Grenada, Greenland Denmark , Greenland Norway , Guadeloupe France , Guam United States , Guatemala, Guyana and French Guiana France.
If visitors between the ages of 13 and 18 are travelling alone, or in a group with no one over 18, then parental authorisation is not required as long as the group remains the same on entry and exit. In some countries, medicine prescription and over-the-counter may be substandard or counterfeit. If you need consular assistance while abroad, we will make every effort to help you. Among its most precious assets are 1,000 miles of gorgeous beaches studded with coconut palms and sands ranging from pearl white to golden brown to volcanic black. What can I do to prevent bug bites? MobileReference guides use vector-based maps so they load quickly and are easy to zoom and scroll. Natural disasters Hurricanes The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November.
Tags: free map of the dominican republic offline , how to get around dominican republic with gps , the dominican republic travel guides Users review from 2 reviews This is the official smart phone app from Beth Emet Synagogue. Tuberculosis is an infection caused by bacteria and usually affects the lungs. G: Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Advertised rates do not include any applicable daily resort or facility fees payable directly to the hotel operator at check-out; such fee amounts will be advised at the time of booking. You can overstay the visa for years on end.
If you plan to engage in adrenaline-rising adventure activities, make sure it covers them as well. What should I do if I am bitten by bugs? There is no vaccine or medication that protects against dengue fever. Tourist Card: it is, in fact, a tax that the country charges to those who visit it. Sample the different tastes and find your own favourite size and scent. Does an empty stretch of sand, washed by the waves, and surrounded by lush coconut forest sound like a perfect place to visit on your Dominican vacation? For more information on what to do if you are sick after your trip, see. Tourists staying under 30 days will only need a passport.
Browse the , or get in touch with a near you. Quality of care varies greatly throughout the country. Ask your doctor to help you get prescriptions filled early if you need to. Chicken, beef, or goat meat is often served with a side dish of yucca roots, sweet potato, or rice with beans and a salad. Last Update: Reissued after regular review with no changes.
Maritime Travel: Mariners planning travel to the Dominican Republic should also check for. Private hospitals and clinics are better equipped than public ones. Talk to your doctor about which items are most important for you. Plus, there cheap to get into. Winston Churchill 1099 Torre Citigroup en Acropólis Center, 18th Floor Ensanche Piantini, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Tel. See the and the pages for information on scams.
Passport or Passport Card All American citizens traveling to the Dominican Republic must have a passport that's valid for at least six months after the date of their return. For help resolving problems with a flight booking, visit the. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday except U. For information and advice about the risks associated with Zika virus, visit the. Related disputes could take time and be costly to resolve.
Practice started around 3:45 after social hour finished up. Foreigners of Haitian nationality who are equipped with the card that enables them to enter and leave Dominican territory on the same day. In Santo Domingo, Santiago and the north coast including Puerto Plata the number for all emergency services is 911. Dominican culture values money and status. Below we list a series of details to take into account about the Tourist Card: Rights of the beneficiary: the interested party loses his right to obtain it if his stay in the national territory is for the realization of lucrative activities.


text:
One Dominant Currency
One Dominant Currency: When Currency Empires Fall
A Daily Reckoning White Paper Report
by Avinash Persuad- Whiskey & Gunpowder (Sign up FREE today!)
I SPENT THE first part of my career as a currency strategist in the City of London. One of the nice things about being a currency forecaster is that expectations of you are very low. Moderate success is a great surprise. But there are a few things that are more certain than others.
For example, at any one time, there tends to be a single dominant currency in the financial world — not two or more, just one. Some people believe that while the euro may not topple the dollar, it will at least share the spoils of financial hegemony. History suggests not. In the currency markets, the spoils go to the victor, alone — they are not shared.
Either the euro succeeds internationally, or it does not. (Which, lest I anger my Europhile friends, does not make it a failure, just not an international currency widely accepted outside the euro area. Many countries have credible, stable currencies that are not international currencies, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, and Sweden.)
In the past, it was worth asking what the spoils are to being an international or reserve currency.
Some countries deliberately tried to avoid their currency becoming internationalized, such as postwar Germany. The Bundesbank felt that the more deutsche marks that were held outside of Germany, the less control they would have over money supply and monetary conditions. European aspirations for the euro to become the world's reserve currency are more French than German, more dirigiste than dirigisme.
Today, the spoils of reserve currency status are more clearly visible than ever before. If your currency is a reserve currency, you can pay for things by writing checks, which nobody cashes. You can spend more than you earn to a far greater extent than anyone else. This is exactly what the United States has done in recent years. National expenditure has exceeded national income by more than 20% over the last five years.
One Dominant Currency: Going Broke on Tanks and Pills
When that excess spending was due to investment in technology in the late 1990s, it was not clear whether the United States was benefiting from being a reserve currency, or whether it was simply enjoying an investment boom.
But today, that excess spending is on unproductive consumption: tanks, bullets, and pills. Few countries in the past have ever been able to sustain a deficit on external accounts as large as that in the United States today. And when other countries have run large deficits, they have had to pay significant premiums to borrow the money, not as in the case of the United States today, receiving a discount. These are some of the immediate advantages of being a reserve currency.
International and reserve currency status also lends the host country even greater influence than otherwise. One of the interesting passages of dollar diplomacy in recent years was in early 1998, when Japan and Singapore were both generously putting up the cash to support the East Asian economies amid the Asian financial crisis, but the U.S. Treasury was dictating the terms.
One Dominant Currency: Self-Perpetuating Ubiquity… For Today, the Dollar is Microsoft
There are good reasons why there is seldom more than one dominant currency. Reserve currencies have the attributes of a natural monopoly, or, in more modern parlance, a network. If it costs extra to trade with someone who uses a different currency than you, it makes sense for you to use the currency that most other people use. This makes that currency yet bigger and cheaper to use. There is a good analogy with a computer operating system. In that world, Windows is the dollar.
This networking power is why central banks store dollars in their reserves in a far greater proportion than the proportion of trade with the United States. While 30% of international trade is with the United States, 70% of central bank reserves are in dollars. It is why most commodities, like oil, copper, and coffee, are priced in dollars, wherever they are found and whomever they are sold to.
Something else we can be more certain of is that reserve currencies come and go. They don't last forever. International currencies in the past have included the Chinese liang and the Greek drachma, coined in the fifth century B.C.; the silver punch-marked coins of fourth-century India; the Roman denari; the Byzantine solidus and Islamic dinar of the Middle Ages; the Venetian ducato of the Renaissance; the 17th-century Dutch guilder; and, of course, sterling — and now the dollar.
A necessary condition of a currency becoming a reserve currency appears to be its breadth of use and cost and ease of transaction, not, as some might think, the ability to hold its value. Clearly, hyperinflation would not serve a reserve currency, and the end of reserve currency status is often associated with a cycle of inflation. But within the normal bands of inflation, it is size as a trader that matters. In the long term, the Swiss franc and the yen have been better stores of value than the dollar. Since 1980, they have appreciated by more than 21% and 54% versus the dollar, respectively. Yet for much of this time, combined, they have represented no more than 10% of central bank reserves.
In the 18th century, Britain was the largest economy of the Western world, London was the center of international trade and finance, the currency was convertible, and so sterling became the world's reserve currency. By the late 19th century, the United States had become the world's largest economy, a position solidified by Europe's repeated attempt at self-annihilation from the 1880s to the 1940s. By the 1960s, the dollar had usurped sterling and was the world's new reserve currency, with 60% of total central bank reserves being held in dollars, twice the level of sterling reserves.
One Dominant Currency: Tomorrow, the Renminbi Will Crush the Dollar
But time doesn't stop. By the mid-21st century, the United States will no longer be the world's largest economy. By then, China and India will have overtaken the United States, Western Europe and Japan, on purchasing power parity terms at least, which should represent where exchange rates are likely to be in the long run. Indeed, optimistic measures of sustainable growth in China and India suggest this will be the case in 20 years time. Ladies and gentlemen, within my lifetime, the dollar will start to lose its reserve currency status, not to the euro, but to the renminbi.
The process is likely to be long and drawn out, rather like sterling's slip and slide. Although the United Kingdom had lost its position of the world's largest economy in the late 19th century, by 1928, it was still the world's major reserve currency, with twice as many central bank reserves being held in sterling than in dollars. In part, this slow process was a result of the authorities' attempts to delay it.
Gaining reserve currency status is heaven, as you write checks and no one cashes them. Losing reserve currency status is hell, as everyone starts to cash all the checks you ever wrote back in time. Britain's economic history and politics for the first three quarters of the last century were dominated by the overhang of sterling balances and the pressure on sterling as these were liquidated.
The principal way in which Britain tried to slow the process was through the use of imperial power and influence. By the 1930s, sterling's reserve currency status was largely a result of sterling balances held by the British colonies. The majority of sterling reserves were held by Ireland, India, Pakistan, and Australia, not the major economies of the time, the United States, France, Germany, or Japan. In the postwar period, the British authorities formalized the sterling area, within which there were few restrictions to trade but strict rules controlling the movement of goods and capital into and out of the bloc. One could argue that sterling had already lost its reserve currency status in the sense of a currency that third parties voluntarily choose to use as a vehicle currency. However, there is no reason to suppose that the United States would not follow a new imperialism by exerting pressure on countries to stick to the dollar bloc.
There are three further implications of this analysis.
First, those Europeans who want the euro to become the major international currency must consider either substantial immigration or an aggressive enlargement eastward. A European Union that by 2025 included the former Soviet bloc, Turkey, and North Africa could rival the dollar and renminbi, especially if the process brought greater political stability to the new member states.
Second, the loss of reserve currency status for the United States will bring economic and political crisis. If it was economically and politically painful for the United Kingdom, even though its international financial position was not in heavy deficit, what will it be for the United States, which has become the world's largest debtor? There will be an avalanche of checks coming home to be paid when the dollar begins to lose its status. Of course, excessive debt in your own currency is also spelled "inflation." That is the most likely outcome, and it is how other governments have tried to cope with the loss of reserve status in the past. The solidus and dinari were ultimately consumed by a cycle of inflation and debasement.
Third, if the renminbi is to become a major reserve currency, it first has to leave the dollar bloc. This will happen later rather than sooner. One of the other certainties in foreign exchange, what I call the Second Rule of Foreign Exchange, is that the smaller, more open an economy is, the more the authorities manage the exchange rate, and similarly, the larger, more closed an economy is, the less the authorities care about the exchange rate.
Policymakers perceive a trade-off, at least over the course of the political cycle, between the economic flexibility afforded by a floating exchange rate that can respond to new and varying circumstances and the economic disruption that a volatile exchange rate, sensitive to external factors, factors often beyond the control of the country, can cause.
This potential disruption is greatest the more open an economy is to international trade. Small open economies opt for inflexible exchange rates. Large closed economies prefer to keep the flexibility of a floating rate. The European Monetary Union (EMU) makes political economy sense for Belgium, but not for the United States.
One Dominant Currency: From Pegged to Floating, China Emergeth
We think of China as a vast country with a growing economy, but in many ways, it has the characteristics of a small open economy today, with the market sectors of the economy being led, driven, and dependent on international trade. Although I am not altogether comfortable about the meaning of some of the national statistics in a command economy, for what they are worth, they suggest that in terms of trade as a percent of GDP, China is far more open than the United States or euroland, countries that pursue exchange rate flexibility, and is more akin to France, Spain, and Korea, countries that choose exchange rate management. The current arrangement, therefore, is likely to persist for a while longer.
That does not mean that there will not be a revaluation of the renminbi shortly — it could even happen around the end of this year — but that the Chinese will revalue the renminbi and stick to a pegged system, though the limits may widen a little from the current 1%.
But a dollar peg is not China's destiny. It may have an open economy today, but longer term, China will be a large economy, driven by its domestic, rather than external, sector. Then, it will prefer a more flexible exchange rate. The decision by China to move from a peg to a float will mark the beginning of the end of the dollar's reserve currency status. You can see why the Chinese were invited for dinner by the G-7 in September.
In summary, there are few, if any, instances of a single financial system having more than one key currency. Today, that currency is unquestionably the dollar. But reserve currencies come and go. Perhaps the immediate economic advantages that they bestow seduce governments to overextend themselves until the financial empire collapses upon itself. The collapse, as a couple generations of unpaid checks are presented to be paid, will push the United States into a series of economic and political crises in the middle of the 21st century.
The most likely candidate to replace the dollar is not the euro, unless Europe embraces rapid eastward expansion; it is China. Through rapid economic growth and a massive population, China will become the largest economy within 20 years time, and economic size is the key to the rise of new financial empires.
The principal risks to this forecast are whether China can continue growing rapidly and, more uncertain, whether it can maintain a degree of political stability. If Chinese leadership fails on both fronts, the dollar's reign will probably last a little longer. There is a possibility that it finds itself under threat from another quarter, the rupee. India's democracy is remarkably stable for a poor country. Moreover, courtesy of the one child policy, it is India, not China that will end up with the largest population in the world by 2050. The fate of the average Chinese today is to grow old before they grow rich; the fate of the average American is more uncertain than most imagine.
Avinash Persaud for Whiskey & Gunpowder
P.S.: We encourage you to sign up for a FREE subscription to Whiskey & Gunpowder, written by some of the most unconventionally brilliant minds out there. Whiskey & Gunpowder helps prepare its readers by alerting them to current events on a wide variety of topics. Our writers explore how current discussions on civil liberties, world history, economic trends, and other issues affect your investment opportunities… especially in the face of unstable markets and insane circumstances. You won't find a better source of passionate, thought-provoking debates anywhere else on the Internet.
Here are some other Whiskey & Gunpowder articles about One Dominant Currency:
The Bulls and Bears of Precious Metals
by Pinank Mehta
"…A lot of views are expressed about the recent fall in the prices of gold and silver. Linking the arrest in the fall of the U.S. dollar to the fall in the price of gold and silver is a popular view. The arrest in the fall of the dollar is apparently considered more of a "technical" necessity than a fundamental move…"
A Roadmap to Financial Ruin!
by Marc Faber
"…For as long as the Fed perceives the economy to be healthy, it is almost a certainty that it will continue to increase the Fed fund rate in baby steps to between 4.25% and 4.50%, and possibly even higher. Some observers believe that in order to gain credibility, Mr. Bernanke will increase rates more aggressively than Mr. Greenspan intended…"
Slouching Towards a Currency Crunch
by Sean Brodrick
"…Taken in this context, that steep, steep slide we've seen since 2002 seems like just a correction. Ah, if only that were true, amigo (hey, I've got dollars in my pocket the same as you — you think I want to see them go down in value?). Because if you look at the far right end of that chart above, the dollar's rally is fizzling even before the greenback goes up to test its '04 highs…"
Why Has Gold Been Soaring Recently?
by Mike Shedlock
"…The short answer is the yield curve is starting to widen, Congress is going on another spending spree, the market thinks rate hikes are nearly done, and the Fed is likely to print more money for more government handouts. That combination is more important than a U.S. dollar that has somehow held together in the face of the above…"
Useful links about One Dominant Currency:
International Monetary Fund – Transcript of IMF's Economic Forum Series, entitled "One World, One Currency: Destination or Delusion?"
An Approaching Crisis for the U.S.? A debate about the hwo the euro will negatively affect not only American economics… but also American sovereignty and the American way of life.
The Euro — A World Currency Dr. Sirkka Hamalainen speaks before the European Central Bank and elaborates on the euro and how it draws its strength as a form of currency.
Foreign Currencies An introduction to forex (foreign exchange) and how it you can use it in international investment trading.
Yahoo! Finance A dynamic resource for pooling information about market prices, inflation, currently profitable investment oportunities, and the overall health of the economy.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Pork Industry Adds Packing Capacity
Pork producers are optimistic about the future and for good reason. In a short one-and-a-half years, the industry has increased harvesting and processing capacity from 116.2 million hogs annually to almost 130.4 million head, according to USDA.
A full 6% of the increase came online in September, when a Clemens Foods plant opened for business in Coldwater, Mich., with capacity of 8,000 head per day and a Triumph-Seaboard Foods plant started up in Sioux City, Iowa, to process 10,500 head daily.
Within the next six months, Clemens intends to bring capacity up to 10,000 head per day in Coldwater. The Triumph-Seaboard Foods plant will add a second shift in Sioux City, bringing total plant capacity to 20,000 head per day.
Community Benefits. The major investments in rural America reflect a positive long-term outlook for the pork sector and U.S. communities as demand for meat increases.
More than half of full-time employees at Prestage Farms' new packing plant in Wright County, Iowa, will earn at least $15.54 per hour, according to the company. The $240 million facility is under construction and will have capacity of 50,000 hogs weekly.
"Nine hundred and twenty-two jobs will impact our economy in a huge way, by increasing school enrollment and retail activity," says Stan Watne, a supervisor in Wright County. "This will stop our constantly shrinking population."
Producer Brad Blonde of Litchfield, Mich., is in the middle of major business growth, and the buildout of processing plants will support his work. In January, Blonde bought out his father. After 20 years of owning pigs, Blonde decided to pivot to become a contract grower.
"We own the buildings, someone else puts the pigs in, we take care of them [for the supplier] and we get paid on a per-head basis," explains Blonde, who farms near Coldwater.
Development of these new processing plants is spurring hog producers to respond, agrees John Nalivka, principal at Vale, Ore.-based Sterling Marketing.
"The business motivation is to build herds into that capacity," Nalivka points out. "While it may not always be the case, both the sharp increase in packer capacity and herd building are occurring when both packers and producers are profitable."
Three Noteworthy Plant Expansions
The pork sector continues to grow as companies add or improve processing facilities. Although it's not always easy—a proposed plant in Buffalo, N.D., for example, faces scrutiny from local residents—the investments reveal how protein demand continues to support industry growth.
Tyson Fresh Meats plans a $28 million expansion of its Waterloo, Iowa, pork processing plant. The project includes construction of a new 56,400-sq.-ft. warehouse and renovation of another 18,250 sq. ft. of existing space to add production lines. It will add 245 new jobs, all paying more than $17.29 per hour. The company now has nearly 2,900 workers and is Waterloo's second-largest manufacturing employer.
Smithfield Foods will build a distribution center and expand its blast cell cold storage capabilities at its processing facility in Tar Heel, N.C. Smithfield will invest $100 million and add approximately 250 new jobs. Both projects are scheduled for completion by late 2018.
Friesen Foods, a Canada-based company, has purchased 3,018 acres of undeveloped farmland in Cascade County, Mont., and plans to build Madison Food Park, according to a news article in The Great Falls Tribune. "If approved and constructed as described within a Special Use Permit (SUP) application filed with the Cascade County Planning Division, the complex could employ up to 3,000 people, exporting thousands of tons of meat to consumer markets throughout North America," the article notes.
Previous PostPrevious President Trump looks to gain NAFTA leverage, farm state leaders urge caution
Next PostNext Global Ethanol Demand Expected To Rise


Dubai, 12 September—Gemological Science International (GSI) presented a breakfast seminar on 'Successful American Retail Strategies'. The seminar was presented in collaboration with Preferred Jewelers. Andie Weinman, Founder of Preferred Jewelers addressed the select crowd on Proven Successful American Retail Strategies….


text:
Fact-checking Donald Trump on the Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders unity platform
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
By Sophie Austin July 19, 2020
By Jon Greenberg July 19, 2020
By Louis Jacobson July 19, 2020
By Miriam Valverde July 19, 2020
Trump exaggerated the proposed moves on deportations and falsely said Democrats would tear down barriers at the border.
Trump misleadingly cast proposed changes in education policy as the total elimination of school choice. He turned access to housing for ex-felons into free housing.
Trump incorrectly said several of Biden's criminal justice policies would benefit violent criminals.
Trump falsely said Democrats plan to mandate net-zero emission buildings and get rid of windows on buildings.
President Donald Trump listed scores of what he called "extreme" recommendations that emerged from weeks of meetings between advisers to Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and Sanders, the leading voice for the most progressive Democrats, released a sweeping 110-page document covering platform positions on immigration, health care, climate change and more. Trump's critique was similarly extensive.
"The Biden-Sanders agenda is the most extreme platform of any major party nominee, by far, in American history," Trump said July 14 in a Rose Garden speech before listing his takeaways of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force recommendations. "These are actual key elements of the Biden-Sanders unity platform."
What followed, however, were many distortions.
Trump exaggerated the proposed moves on deportations and falsely said Democrats would tear down barriers at the border. He cast changes in education policy as the total elimination of school choice. He turned access to housing for ex-felons into free housing. He incorrectly said several of Biden's criminal justice policies would benefit violent criminals. He falsely said the task force is proposing a mandate for net-zero emission buildings and getting rid of windows on buildings.
He also got some points right. We vetted 22 of Trump's accusations.
"Abolish immigration detention. No more detention. You come in here illegally, no more detention."
This is inaccurate. The proposal calls for an end to for-profit detention centers, but not an abolition of all detention centers. It says the government should prioritize the use of Department of Homeland Security facilities. Detention should be "a last resort, not the default," the recommendation said.
"Stop all deportation. So if we get a MS-13 gang member, which we've taken out of our country by the thousands — brought them back to Honduras, Guatemala — can't do that anymore."
This is misleading. The plan doesn't say to permanently stop deportations. It calls for a 100-day moratorium on deportations of people already in the country (not people arriving at the border). The task force recommended that during the pause, there be a full-scale review of U.S. deportation practices.
"End prosecution of illegal border crossers. Oh, okay, they come in illegally, and we have to stop the whole process."
This is misleading. The task force wants to end some prosecutions, but not all. It recommended prioritizing the criminal prosecution of human traffickers, smugglers, and others engaged in serious crimes.
The task force recommended getting rid of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy that caused the separation of more than 2,000 children from their parents. The group also recommended ending prosecution of asylum seekers arriving at the border. Under federal and international law, immigrants may request asylum even if they entered the country illegally.
Under Biden's policy, immigrants in the country illegally "get welfare benefits. United States citizens don't get what they're looking to give illegal immigrants."
This is False. The task force recommended that Biden extend health care coverage to immigrants illegally in the country by allowing them to purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and allowing them to have health care coverage during a pandemic. Being allowed to buy health insurance isn't the same as getting welfare.
The group also recommended easing federal benefits restrictions on immigrants — but for those lawfully present in the United States. The recommendations do not restrict or deny benefits to U.S. citizens or give immigrants illegally in the country an upper hand.
"Increase refugee admissions by 700%."
This needs context. What Democrats are proposing is to raise the refugee admission cap to around the level that existed before Trump took office.
Trump has reduced the refugee admissions ceiling every year he's been in office. The ceiling for fiscal year 2020 — 18,000 refugees — is the lowest in the history of the U.S. refugee admissions program. The task force recommended admitting 125,000 in Biden's first year, that would be a nearly 600% increase from 2020's ceiling. Compared to the 110,000 proposed by Obama for 2017, an admission of 125,000 refugees would be an increase of about 14%.
"What they're going to do is they're going to rip down the wall. They're taking it down."
That's not the recommendation. The document does not say that existing structures should be ripped down. Rather, it calls for an end to the national emergency designation Trump issued to access Defense Department funding for border barriers.
Education and Housing
"End school choice."
This is Mostly False. It holds only if your definition of school choice is limited to vouchers to private schools, which the Biden-Sanders unity platform opposes. But the school choice movement includes charter schools, magnet schools and letting kids apply to go to the public school of their choice, rather than requiring them to attend their neighborhood school. In those terms, nothing in the policy paper ends school choice.
"End tax credit scholarships serving disadvantaged students in 26 states."
This is basically right. The platform opposes "any and all voucher and neo-voucher programs such as Education Savings Accounts and Tax-credit Scholarship programs." In about half the states, a person or corporation can reduce their state tax payments by some or all of the amount they donate to a fund that distributes private school scholarship funds to deserving students.
"Abolish all charter schools."
This is wrong. The policy paper proposes shuttering for-profit charter schools, demands high standards for all others, and gives public school districts a powerful say over the use of federal dollars to start new charters or expand existing ones. But that might not matter for current charters that don't depend on federal money.
"Abolish educational standards."
This is a mischaracterization. The education section calls for "high quality assessment systems." What it opposes are "high-stakes testing" that it might mislabel students. The platform encourages districts to develop multiple approaches to assessing learning and progress.
"You're going to abolish the suburbs"
An extreme interpretation. The unity policy paper seeks to bring back an Obama administration requirement that local governments work with Washington to examine housing and segregation and come up with plans to fix systemic bias. The goal was to produce more affordable housing, including in suburbs but not only them. For opponents such as Trump, the effort risked lower property values as low-income housing came into neighborhoods. For supporters, it was a collaborative planning model that would reward localities for coming up with practical solutions.
"They want to abolish our police departments. They want to abolish our prisons, I guess."
Pants on Fire! The document does not say anything about abolishing police departments, and while the document does support abolishing privately owned and privately run prisons, equating that with abolishing all prisons is highly misleading.
"End cash bail, releasing dangerous criminals onto our streets."
The unity document does support ending of cash bail, but this proposal is not aimed at "dangerous criminals." The Biden-Sanders unity platform argues that bail penalizes poor people arrested for minor crimes and leaves them in jail for months awaiting trial. Proposals such as the New York state law passed in 2019 apply only for minor, nonviolent offenses.
"Appoint social justice prosecutors in order to free violent criminals."
The document says nothing about releasing "violent criminals." It proposes appointing "people committed to criminal justice reform to key prosecutorial positions," including the U.S. attorney general and U.S. attorneys. It also urges that state prosecutors "ensure public safety while reducing incarceration."
"Free federal housing for former inmates."
This is an exaggeration. The document says Biden would "remove restrictions on access to public housing" for former inmates and "ensure that 100% of returning citizens have access to transitional housing upon reentry from jail or prison." It does not say that this housing would be granted rent-free.
"Abolish completely the death penalty."
This is accurate. The unity document reads "Democrats continue to support abolishing the death penalty." But while abolishing the death penalty is not yet a majority position among Americans, it's inching closer to becoming one. According to Gallup, opposition to the death penalty bottomed out in 1995 at 16% of respondents and has risen steadily to 42% in 2019.
"End mandatory minimums" in sentencing.
Yes, the unity document says this. And this idea is even more popular than abolishing the death penalty. The Pew Charitable Trusts found in 2016 that nearly 80% of respondents favored ending mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.
"End solitary confinement."
The unity document does say this, though it allowed that solitary confinement could be used in "rare, exceptional cases."
"Rejoin Paris Climate Accord and seek an even higher level of restrictions."
This is correct. The task force recommends "rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and seeking higher ambition on Day One, putting the United States back in the position of global leadership where we belong."
Says Biden plans to "mandate net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices and all new buildings by 2030. That basically means no windows, no nothing."
False. The unity paper recommends a goal of net-zero emissions buildings, not a mandate. Buildings can have windows and achieve net-zero emissions.
"We will set a bold, national goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for all new buildings by 2030," the paper says.
"Mandate zero carbon emissions from power plants by 2035."
This is misleading. The task force recommends eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035, but it doesn't mention a mandate.
Says Biden plans to "mandate net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. And I believe he's changing that. He's bringing it down. He wants no petroleum product. He wants no oil or gas."
This is partially correct. The unity platform says the country should achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions "as soon as possible, and no later than 2050."
But it doesn't propose immediately ceasing oil and gas production. It does recommend reducing "conventional and greenhouse gas pollution in all regulated sectors, including the regulation of oil and gas."
Sources linked in article
More by Sophie Austin
stated on August 11, 2020 Facebook post:
Says Kamala Harris wants to eliminate beef.
By Sophie Austin • August 14, 2020
stated on August 8, 2020 press briefing in Bedminster, N.J.:
"The Democrats don't want to do anything having to do with protecting people from eviction."
Linda Sánchez
stated on July 29, 2020 a press conference:
"The average cost of child care in this country is more than what it costs to send a child to college for one year."
By Sophie Austin • August 6, 2020
stated on July 22, 2020 a town hall:
No U.S. presidents elected before Donald Trump were racist.
By Sophie Austin • July 27, 2020
stated on July 14, 2020 White House Rose Garden:
Says Joe Biden plans to "mandate net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices and all new buildings by 2030. That basically means no windows, no nothing."
stated on June 24, 2020 Facebook post:
"Dr. Fauci: No reason to be wearing a mask."
By Sophie Austin • July 8, 2020
stated on June 28, 2020 ABC News' "This Week":
Federal aid for state and local governments through a proposed coronavirus relief bill would amount to "half of what the Republicans put onto the national debt."
stated on June 23, 2020 Facebook on June 23:
Says Taylor Swift wants to remove the Statue of Liberty
stated on June 20, 2020 a campaign rally:
"Joe Biden and the Democrats want to prosecute Americans for going to church, but not for burning a church."
By Sophie Austin • June 23, 2020
stated on June 10, 2019 a Facebook post:
Says the "only valid reason to oppose voter ID is that you plan to cheat," and "every Democrat in Congress opposes voter ID."
stated on June 7, 2019 a tweet:
"Millions of Americans need mental health care. Yet in Iowa, there are just 64 public mental health care beds. And you see similar numbers across the country."
Michael Bennet
stated on May 30, 2019 a CNN town hall:
"The vast majority of Americans believe that climate change is real and we need to do something about it."
By Sophie Austin • June 6, 2019


text:
Генна́дий Кра́узе:
 Краузе, Геннадий Леонидович (1922—2002) — работник транспорта СССР и России, Герой Социалистического Труда, заслуженный работник транспорта Российской Федерации.
 Краузе, Геннадий Николаевич (1914—1980) — советский инженер-механик, лауреат Сталинской премии.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Jeff Daly was born in Rochester, NY but has no memory of living there. His family moved to Michigan and he grew up in the city of Kalamazoo.
After high school, Jeff enlisted in the Marine Corps. He went to bootcamp at MCRD San Diego. He was stationed in Camp Lejeune, NC. Being in a deployable unit, he spent time on a ship in the Mediterranean.
After the Marine Corps, Jeff went back to Michigan and attended Kalamazoo College, a small liberal arts school. FYI – Kalamazoo College is one of the 50 oldest higher education institutions in the United States. Jeff studied Economics and Political Science.
After college, Jeff moved to Chicago to study improvisation, acting and writing at the famous Second City Theater's conservatory.
Jeff later moved to Los Angeles to persue entertainment. He has a collection of modest successes and plans to make a bigger splash starting in 2010.
Find Jeff Daly on the www.


text:
World News USA California Bay Area Peninsula Oracle Larry Ellison Sports (6)
Larry Ellison, Sports Timeline Tuesday, May 8 Author
World News (13) World Sports (829) USA (336) California (187) Bay Area (12) Bay Area Sports (1265) Peninsula (1079) Oracle (143) Larry Ellison (41) Accidents Politics (5) Crime (1) Business (31) Science & Education (1) Sports (6)
Water Sports (5) Sailing (3) Sports Business (1)
Larry Ellison Sports on Wikipedia Larry Ellison Sports on Web
America's Cup (40) Newsom (136) South San Mateo County Sailing 49ers Sports Business (137) South San Mateo County Sports Business (3)
Sports Business Main Event: BMW Oracle wins ... Larry Ellison on Google Map
1. 2014-03-11 Larry Ellison now favors Hawaii for next America's Cup Larry Ellison
C. 2013-01-07 Ellison's America's Cup team found guilty of spying San Francisco
2010-02-16 BMW Oracle wins America's Cup Larry Ellison
E. 2010-02-12 Oracle Boat Wins America's Cup Opener Larry Ellison
5. 2004-10-29 Larry Ellison spurned in bid to buy 49ers Larry Ellison
Mar.11 Larry Ellison now favors Hawaii for next America's Cup
Software billionaire says in a book excerpt that he'd like to have the nextcup in Hawaii
America's Cup Timeline (40)
Jan.7 Ellison's America's Cup team found guilty of spying San Francisco: An international jury has found Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA guilty of spying on the Italian team and penalized Oracle 5 sailing practice days
Feb.21 America's Cup Team Gets Key To City
SF City Hall: Mayor Gavin Newsom presented the BMW Oracle Racing team and owner Larry Ellison with a key to the city for winning the 33rd America's Cup
Newsom Timeline (136)
Feb.16 BMW Oracle wins America's Cup
The 33rd Cup was contested between Société Nautique de Genève defending with team Alinghi against Golden Gate Yacht Club
Since the two parties were unable to agree otherwise, the match took place as a one-on-one Deed of Gift match in gigantic, specialized multi-hull racing yachts with no other clubs or teams participating
South San Mateo County Sailing Timeline
U.S. in February, 2010 (78)
Feb.12 Oracle Boat Wins America's Cup Opener
BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran made up for a bad start and put an American team on the verge of winning the Cup for the first time since 1995
Oct.29 Larry Ellison spurned in bid to buy 49ers
Oracle CEO said that he inquired about buying the 49ers only to be told by the owners that the team isn't for sale
49ers Sports Business Timeline (137)
U.S. in October, 2004 (77)
South San Mateo County Sports Business Timeline (3)
Add a favorite (file a bookmark) to Larry Ellison, Sports Timeline
Advertise on Larry Ellison, Sports Page


text:
Byzantine Club brings ancient hymn in honor of Mary to campus
By: Rachel Miller
RACHEL MILLER
CATHOLIC VALUES COLUMNIST
Photo by Ulises Iniguez
On Jan. 31, students walking by Christ the King Chapel in the evening were greeted by the sound of melodious singing from within: the Akathist Hymn, a prayer sponsored by the Byzantine Club on campus.
An Akathist Hymn is a long and ancient hymn in the Byzantine Rite that can be sung in honor of Mary, the saints, and Jesus. The particular hymn that is sung on campus is the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, a hymn originally written by St. Romanos the Melodist in the sixth century A.D.
"The Akathist Hymn is very much an expression of Byzantine Marian piety," said graduate student David Donahue, president of the Byzantine Club.
According to the Rev. Seraphim Beshoner, TOR, the Byzantine Club's chaplain, this hymn is very spiritual.
"It's good in terms of increasing devotion to Mary and devotion to Christ," said Beshoner.
The Byzantine Club began consistently hosting the Akathist Hymn last semester, when the club approached Beshoner with the request for him to lead it.
Donahue said before last semester, the Akathist Hymn had been sung on campus a handful of times, but it was always led by a lay person. Beshoner, who is a bi-ritual priest and therefore has faculties in the Byzantine Rite, has been able to offer the Akathist Hymn.
"He's been very gracious in … offering it for us and for the university," said Donahue.
Beshoner explained that the Akathist Hymn was sung on the Austrian campus while he was there, so it is something that returning students from Austria might already be familiar with.
Now, one Tuesday a month, students can come to Christ the King Chapel and step into the past with this ancient Byzantine prayer. Donahue said that while most people think of Mary simply as Mediatrix or Co-Redemptrix, "the Akathist goes back to Mary as the new Eve, Mary through the lens of the Scriptural writers."
Each stanza of the Hymn is about the life of Mary. Beshoner said, "It expresses, really, salvation history as seen in the life of Mary and the life of Jesus, starting with the Annunciation and then really going all the way through the time of the Resurrection."
Beshoner said the nearest comparison for the Roman Rite to better understand the Akathist Hymn is saying a novena. There is no set time in the Byzantine Rite for when to sing the Akathist, and it is not sung during the liturgy, but it is often sung on Marian feast days. This particular Akathist is commonly sung, especially on the Feast of the Annunciation.
Donahue said that, though the Akathist looks different than a rosary and other Marian devotions, it is still directed toward the same Mary, and "it expresses our love for her."
Though this devotion is different than Marian devotion in the Roman Rite, it is easy to pick up.
"The programs are very good in terms of the notes," said Beshoner. "If you're able to learn Gregorian chants you'll be able to learn the tones that we have."
Beshoner said not only the tones, but also the words of the Akathist are beautiful. It contains a series of titles for Mary, and also deep language about her and who she is to humanity.
"I think it's a beautiful expression of how the Byzantine Rite and the Roman Rite are very much one," said Donahue, "Both Byzantines and Roman Catholics can believe that we love Mary; we love her as our Virgin, we love her as our Mother."
The Byzantine Club invites all students to come join them in singing the Akathist. It is especially worth it, said Donahue, because "it will express Marian devotion in a way you probably have never heard of."
The date of the next Akathist will be announced in the bulletin. With any questions, email the Byzantine Club at ByzantineClub@franciscan.edu.
Circus Club brings the fun on campus
New St. Vitus Social Dance Club forms on campus
Previous Post: Womens and Men Events reinvigorate campus
Next Post: T.O.R encourages students to take to heart the beauty of the Eucharist


Fillon and Neveu, however, both agree that the regulations will feature only a single, less powerful hybrid system, instead of the permitted two systems per car, which allows up to 8 MJ of recovered entry per lap of Le Mans.
Neveu added: "If you deliver a fantastic idea but you only have one manufacturer, there is no chance to survive like that. If you find a compromise and you have three, four, five manufacturers [on board], you have to follow this direction.


Steel Ferrule Fittings Manufacturer in Trinidad and Tobago, SS Ferrule Fittings Exporter in Trinidad and Tobago, Stainless Steel Instrumentation Fittings Supplier in Trinidad and Tobago, Steel Compression Tube Fittings Stockist in Trinidad and Tobago.
stainless Ferrule Fittings supplier in trinidad and tobago, ss Hydraulic Fittings in trinidad and tobago, Mild steel Brass Ferule Fittings in trinidad and tobago, Steel Double Compression Ferrule Fittings in trinidad and tobago.
Carbon Steel Ferrule Fittings Exporter in Trinidad and Tobago, Alloy Steel Hydraulic Fittings Fasteners in Trinidad and Tobago, Nickel Alloy Compression Tube Fittings Supplier in Trinidad and Tobago, Brass Ferule Fittings Distributor in Trinidad and Tobago, Duplex Steel Instrumentation Fittings in Trinidad and Tobago.
Neon Alloy is acknowledged as a manufacturer, exporter & suppliers of stainless steel ferrule fittings in trinidad and tobago, steel instrumentation fittings in trinidad and tobago, steel hydraulic fittings in trinidad and tobago, stainless steel double compression ferrule fittings supplier in trinidad and tobago, ss hydraulic fittings. we are supply to ferrule fittings in trinidad and tobago. Our products available grade in stainless steel double compression ferrule fittings, carbon steel hydraulic fittings, alloy steel ferrule fittings, duplex steel ferrule fittings, nickel alloy ferule fittings in trinidad and tobago.
These product stainless steel instrumentation fittings in trinidad and tobago have excellent corrosion resistance and superior dimensional accuracy. We offer stainless steel ferrule fittings in trinidad and tobago with different sizes and forms, ensuring a widest elbow, tee, cross, bulk head, male stud, male elbow, male tee, female straight, elbow, tee, plug, cap, weld connectro, nut, ferrule set, ferrule fittings choice to the customers. Our Stainless steel product includes tube sheet, SS hydraulic fittings in trinidad and tobago, SS instrumentation fitting , Stainless double compression ferrule fittings in trinidad and tobago. These products are available at best possible prices which is another important feature exhibited by steel ferrule fittings in trinidad and tobago.
Canada, Australia, Mozambique, Ghana, Sudan, Vietnam, Uganda, Italy, Ethiopa, Kuwait, UAE, Angola, Peru, Brazil, New Zealand, Algeria, Tunisia, Russia, Chine, Dubai, Jordan, Iran, Bahrain, United States, Israel, Germany, Houston, Iraq, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, London, UK, Turkey, Colombia, Thailand (Bangkok), Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Cameroon, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago, Africa.
Cairo, Lusaka, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Douala, Mogadishu, Tehran, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, Yaoundé, Dammam, Freetown, Doha, Antananarivo, Tripoli, Manama, Beirut, Aqaba, Mbuji-Mayi, Subra al-Haymah, Kano, Soweto, Rabat, Hong Kong, Muscat, Lubumbashi, Ibadan, Durban, Khartoum, Byblos, Mecca, Amman, Maiduguri, Abidjan, Jerusalem, Casablanca, Addis Ababa, Zaria, Sharm el-Sheikh, Omdurman, Dakar, Kolwezi, Maputo, Harare, Algiers, Singapore, Kinshasa, Bamako, Brazzaville, Dar es Salaam, Istanbul, New York, Luanda, Kampala, Bulawayo, Ouagadougou, Accra, Abu Dhabi, Conakry, Nairobi, Fez, Bethlehem, Alexandria, Benin, Riyadh, Cape Town, Port Harcourt, Colombo, Giza, Jeddah, Data from the UN, Tel Aviv, Kaduna, Dubai.


white buff white were created in Holland but will soon be extinct.
Contributor to this breed page henk69. Thanks.
I assume there are not any of these white buff white Vorwerks like this in the US. Correct? How about the platinums?
This is an amazing looking bird! Thank you for posting!
henk69 breeds these colours and also a platinum vorwerk. Very interested in trying this out!
I have read that if you breed a Red Pyle Game Bantam to a Vorwerk F1. Then cross the F1 back to a Vorwerk the black neck and tail are then diluted to white F2. Not sure if breeding F2 generations will produce a true colour white buff white but I am going to try this experiment out and see what happens.


text:
Officials release new details about Santee Run Apartment fire
by: Tim Renaud
Posted: Jun 5, 2019 / 03:59 PM EDT / Updated: Jun 5, 2019 / 03:59 PM EDT
MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCBD) – Authorities in Moncks Corner released new information about an apartment fire that left more than 30 people without a home.
According to Capt. Mark Fields with the Moncks Corner Police Department, crews responded to a structure fire at the Santee Run Apartments complex just after 12:30 a.m.
Capt. Fields said the structure was fully engulfed when crews arrived at the scene.
After the fire was put out, an incident report shows crews were able to confirm everyone had made it out of the building safely, but one person did sustain minor injuries.
According to the report, one resident gave a written statement saying he woke up on his couch to see his kitchen on fire.
Investigators later determined there was no criminal element to attribute to the cause of the fire, but the exact case remains under investigation.
More Berkeley County News Stories
by Raymond Owens / Jul 18, 2019
MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCBD) – A verdict has been reached in the murder trial for Jerald Howard.
Howard is charged with the murder and desecration of Nicole Goodlett in 2014.
BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) - On July 9, Berkeley County deputies responded to the 3000 block of State Road in reference to a burglary.
Authorities stated that upon arrival, deputies met with the victim, who stated that he arrived at his property and found that a new lock had been placed on his gate.
Berkeley County News / 2 mins ago


text:
Macropliopsis perroti är en skalbaggsart som beskrevs av Marc Lacroix 1997. Macropliopsis perroti ingår i släktet Macropliopsis och familjen Melolonthidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Skalbaggar
perroti


For those of y'all who are here, you know my mom was the eulogy expert, not me. She was always one for conciseness; I mean, she would do a JEWISH wedding in 15 minutes, AND, start it on time. So, I will try to do this in her spirit. Time me! But to be serious, I'm going to try to do my whole life in her spirit. She was a passionate, kooky, accepting, intellectually driven person. Her thirst for knowledge was almost as big as her heart.
No matter what her struggle that day, when she taught she came alive. When I called later upset about a boy or school, she might not have gotten it right the first time (y'all know my mom was notoriously tactless), but when it really, really mattered, she knew exactly the right thing to say.
And though this is a very sad day and mother had a lot more left on this earth to do, I implore you to treat this death as you would that of a 90 year old, who had seen many grandchildren. My mom had health struggles for years. I'm very very very grateful I had 20 more years than I should have had with my mom, and had the chance to learn and to grow from her.
I'll miss her advice and opinions constantly, but I'm so so darn grateful to have known her at all. I hope it comforts you, as it does me, that she had accepted death and was ready to go. I kept telling her that I wasn't ready. And that is the truth. Maybe we aren't ready to let go of the shining unique beacon my mother was. But if we live our lives as she would have wanted us ("KEEP STUDYING YERUSHALMI", "VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN", "TIP OUTRAGEOUSLY"), and with her generosity of spirit, it won't go out.
So, in conclusion "SAY YOUR B'RACHA."


Iran's ambassador to Kuwait has defended the decision to hold a reception to mark his country's Army Day at a local hotel as a "normal event."
"There is nothing odd about the embassy holding a celebration outside its premises," Rouhollah Kahramani said. "This is not the first time and the reception was in accordance with the Kuwaiti laws and was not meant as a provocation. The Kuwaiti diplomatic mission in Tehran hosts its celebrations outside the embassy as well," he said, quoted by Kuwaiti media on Thursday.
The embassy hosted the event on Wednesday evening at a hotel in Kuwait City.
According to MPs Musallam Al Barrak and Waleed Al Tabtabai, marking the Iranian Army Day outside the Iranian diplomatic mission buildings clashed with the sovereignty of Kuwait.
MP Munawer Al Azemi said that the celebration was a provocation to Gulf nationals, particularly from the UAE "since the Iranian army is still occupying three UAE islands."
Tensions are high in the region after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a visit to the disputed island of Abu Mousa on April 11.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned the visit as "an irresponsible provocation and not in line with the GCC policy of maintaining good neighbourly relations with Iran.
The GCC urged Tehran to refrain from interfering in the affairs of the GCC and to engage in direct talks with the UAE over the islands of Abu Mousa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb that Iran has occupied since 1971 or to take the matter to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.


text:
June 11, 2008 News & Opinion » News
Is Oakland Shortchanging Itself?
While enforcing its Living Wage Ordinance, the city may be missing an opportunity to collect millions of dollars.
By Anna McCarthy
Prudential workers at a strike in September.
Maria Luisa Contreras has worked at Prudential Overall Supply's laundry facility in Milpitas for more than nine years, but didn't learn that she wasn't receiving adequate compensation for her work until last fall. "I couldn't believe it," said Contreras, through a translator. "I was saddened that a company like Prudential with such a solid reputation would do that to its workers."
For the past three years, Oakland has contracted with Prudential to provide clean and pressed uniforms for its meter maids, park rangers, trash collectors, and other city employees. City administrators were just as surprised as Contreras to learn last July that the company had been underpaying its employees the whole time.
With the help of labor union Unite Here and the city of Oakland, Contreras and a group of workers filed a complaint with Prudential and reached a settlement in April that forced the company to pay more than $120,000 in back wages — both from failing to pay minimum compensation and adequate health benefits — owed to 50 to 60 workers according to Oakland's Living Wage Ordinance. The ordinance, which was approved in 1998, currently requires any company contracted with the city for $25,000 or more to pay their employees $10.39 per hour with health benefits and $11.95 without. Federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour, and will increase to $6.55 per hour this July.
Contreras expects to receive around $5,000 in back wages from Prudential. Although she's happy with the win, Contreras says that the settlement is disappointing considering the extent of Prudential's negligence. "According to the company's records, and the explanation that the company gave us, I feel that the payment could have been more," she said.
As it turns out, the city of Oakland also may have gotten the short end of the stick. In addition to making a non-compliant company pay back wages to its employees, the rules and regulations of the Living Wage Ordinance also give the city the right to penalize a company $500 per week per employee not adequately compensated, plus another $500 per week for not providing adequate payroll and benefits records.
The city's investigation into the Prudential case revealed that these penalties would add up to roughly $4 million. But it was $4 million that the city would never see. The city agreed to not pursue penalties and fines against Prudential as long as the company agreed to pay the back wages in a timely manner.
"Prudential paid the employees in a sufficient time upon notification of the non-compliance," wrote Michael Hunt, a spokesman for Mayor Ron Dellums, in a recent e-mail exchange. "They cooperated fully. Had the non-compliance continued and no resolution been imminent, the City would have pursued penalties and fines."
But critics claim that a company like Prudential Overall Supply doesn't deserve any breaks after violating the law for so long. According to an investigation by Oakland's contract compliance division, the company was never operating in compliance with the Living Wage Ordinance since it first contracted with the city in 2005.
Jen Kern, director of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now's Living Wage Resource Center based in Washington DC says that cities should absolutely be imposing penalty fines on companies that don't comply with the Living Wage Ordinance. "It's law, it's on the books, it makes total sense, and it's just the right thing to do," said Kern. "The alternative is that these cities are subsidizing poverty."
Kern says that, despite its paltry number of investigations, Oakland is actually one of the more responsible cities when it comes to enforcing its Living Wage law. "Most cities don't have any effective enforcement," Kern said. "They just don't have someone on staff to do site visits and compliance reviews."
Oakland could benefit from stricter enforcement of its Living Wage Ordinance, but has few resources available to do so, says Jason Oringer, research coordinator for Unite Here. Ironically, if Oakland followed through more on its penalities, it might have those resources. "Oakland could certainly use $4 million," he said.
But city attorney spokesman Alex Katz says that suing a non-compliant company for $4 million isn't as easy as it sounds — especially for Oakland. "Hypothetically, if we tried to sue this company, it could take years to resolve. In the meantime, you have to weigh the amount of taxpayer money and energy that you would need to make the case," said Katz. "You can't just see it as the city's failing to pursue money that it could otherwise have in its pocket."
In the past decade, the city of Oakland has signed hundreds, if not thousands, of contracts that fell under the living wage law. But Oakland has reviewed only 142 of those contracts for compliance. Of those, two companies were in found to be in violation of the law: Prudential and ABC Security Service, a politically connected Oakland company that provides private security guards for City Hall and the Port of Oakland. Hunt says that Oakland's Contract Compliance Division is also currently investigating a potential non-compliance on the Montclair Golf Course.
Legally, according to Doryanna Moreno, a supervising attorney in the City Attorney's Office, Oakland can impose fines on a non-compliant company from the time they find that the company is violating the law. Oakland has not chosen to access penalties on either company it has found in non-compliance because, "both firms cooperated fully and promptly made the employees whole. And also because it was a way of getting the workers paid and avoid litigation," wrote Hunt.
However, it's unclear how many city contractors routinely pay less than the living wage, because the city doesn't have the staff or resources to investigate contractors' compliance with the law. It's also unclear whether contractors have been able to underbid their competitors, and thus win contracts, because they pay less than the living wage, and have no fear that the city will ever catch them. And even if it does, it won't force them to pay penalties because of its aversion to litigation.
But that's a stark contrast to other cities. San Diego is currently in the midst of filing a lawsuit against Prudential to collect penalty fees in addition to back wages and attorney's fees for violations of its labor laws. In addition, Donna Levitt, division manager for San Francisco's Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, says that San Francisco has collected more than $2 million from enforcing penalty fees for companies violating the city's Health Care Accountability Ordinance, which is part of its living wage ordinance. "The goal is to encourage companies contracted with the city to provide adequate health care benefits to their employees or pay a fee to contribute to public healthcare," said Levitt. She added that her office recently investigated five car-rental companies contracted with the San Francisco airport, and found that every single company violated the city's health care and living wage ordinances.
But San Francisco's Office of Labor Standards Enforcement has a staff of fifteen — enough resources to actively investigate companies that they suspect might be in non-compliance with the city's labor laws. Still, Levitt said, it would be impossible for them to oversee every single city contractor, of which there are more than 1,000. "We tend to investigate those companies that we think are most likely to have low-wage employees, and are more likely to be in violation of the law," she said.
Rich Waller, a supervising compliance officer in the department, says that they have investigated roughly three hundred cases since the ordinance passed in 2000. "All of them haven't resulted in adverse findings, but many have," he said.
Although it might be virtually impossible for cities with few resources to oversee all of their contractors, Josie Camacho, Oakland's director of Constituent Services, says that the Prudential case was eye-opening. "Based on this experience, it did register that we do need a better way to monitor the city's various contracts," she said.
Oakland doesn't have an office specifically devoted to enforcing its Living Wage Ordinance, but instead depends on the city's Contract Compliance and Employment Services Division. Like many other cities, Oakland has few resources to devote to active investigations — which might include regularly checking payroll records for city contractors — and relies mainly on employee complaints to initiate investigations.
Penalties are written into the policies of the Living Wage Ordinance to give it teeth — but teeth that aren't necessarily intended to bite, says Jennifer Lin, research director for the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy. "From our standpoint, the penalties are a means to an end," said Lin. "Oakland shouldn't be relying on collecting penalty fees to support its infrastructure anyhow because it's not a sustainable source of income."
Lin considers it a pretty good outcome if workers receive back wages and the company pays for the investigation. Living Wage Ordinance cases often don't make it to court, she says, because cities don't have enough resources to pour time and money into costly lawsuits, and also are wary of being sued. Still, she concedes, cities should go after penalties whenever they can.
Tags: News, Living Wage Ordinance
Smoke-Free Nation Meet the New Boss
by Bay City News
by Todd Guild and Jacob Pierce
by Paul Rosenberg
The Bingo Kingpin
When Berkeley concluded that its only major bingo hall was a scam, it apparently didn't realize who was pocketing the proceeds.
A New Place to Gamble?
Some so-called "Internet cafes" allow you play computer games of chance and win cash. Are they legal?


text:
17th Virginia Cavalry Regiment
January 28 Created at Salem, Virginia by adding three companies to the 33rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion, under the command of Colonel William H. French, Lieutenant Colonel and Major Frederick Smith. Assigned to Cavalry Brigade, Department of Western Virginia.
May-August Assigned to Jenkins's Brigade, Ransom's Division, Department of Western Virginia and East Tennessee.
June 26 Gettysburg
The regiment brought 241 men to Gettysburg under the command of Colonel William H French.
From the monument to Jenkin's Brigade at Gettysburg:
July 3. The Brigade had been with Ewell's Corps but rejoined the Cavalry Division here on this day about noon. It was armed with Enfield Rifles but an oversight brought to this field only about ten rounds of ammunition. While this lasted it was actively engaged mainly on foot as sharpshooters around and in front of the Rummel Barn and outhouses. It was withdrawn from the field at an early hour in the evening.
November-December
Siege of Knoxville
Assigned to Jenkins's Brigade, Ransom's Division, Department of East Tennessee
December Assigned to Jenkins's-McCausland's Cavalry Brigade, Department of Western Virginia and East Tennessee.
February The regiment mustered 311 effectives.
May 9 Cloyd's Mountain
Lynchburg Campaign
Assigned to McCausland's Brigade, Ransom's-Lomax's Cavalry Division, Army of the Valley
Battle of Monocacy
July 30 Chambersburg
Third Battle of Winchester
Battle of Fisher's Hill
Battle of Cedar Creek
Assigned to McCausland's Brigade, Rosser's Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Much of the army's cavalry escaped the surrender and continued west.
The regiment disbanded.


Sports Minster Caral Ni Chuilin has told the Irish FA it could face funding cuts if it fails to fully develop the women's game in Northern Ireland.
The minister believes the IFA does not promote the NI women's team on an equal basis with the men's side.
"If I get a sense that women are being left behind, I will use the power of my funding to make a difference," she told the Belfast Telegraph.
"I've asked the IFA to ensure women are not considered as an afterthought."
The minster said there was "still much to be done in various areas and women's soccer is one of them".
She added: "The money that the IFA are receiving to develop Windsor Park isn't just for the new stadium.
"It also relates to community benefits and supporting developmental squads within their sport and by that I mean all squads.
"When the next round of funding comes along, I will be scrutinising it to such an extent that if I don't see enough in what the IFA are doing for girls and women's soccer we are going to be having some serious conversations.
"I don't want to have to force people to do it. They should be doing it because it is the right thing to do."


Hotel Mon Paradise located in the heart of nature, surrounded by snow-capped Himalaya is an ideal place to spend your holiday. The hotel is a perfect stay over for holiday travelers, leisure seekers, vacationers and educationist. Located among the lakes and mountains, it offers an exotic living in the laps of nature. Your homely stay in the Hotel Mon Paradise with best of service provided by our helpful staff will be a remarkable experience for you and your family. Hotel Mon Paradise is a perfect hotspot to explore the Tawang. Tawang located around latitude 27°45´N and longitude 91°51´E at the north-eastern corner of Indian Subcontinent. Tawang is inhabited by the Monpa people. From 500 BC to 600 AD a kingdom known as Lhomon or Monyul ruled the area. Elevations range between 6,000 to 22,000 feet (6,700 m), and inhabitants are found at lower altitude, where they enjoy a cool temperate climate. In winter, Tawang frequently experiences heavy snowfall.


text:
Iran bypasses SWIFT payment system, to dodge US sanctions
Iranian Central Bank (CBI) Head, Abdolnaser Hemmati, on Wednesday said the country is planning to evade American economic sanctions by switching entirely away from the dollar to national currencies in mutual trade and by bypassing SWIFT.
"Accordingly, we are moving toward using alternative payment systems and conducting our business through national currencies.
"Such steps have been discussed with Turkey and Russia,'' Hemmati said.
Separately, the CBI chief said that his country has issued a proposal to Russia to use alternative payment systems in trade with the entire Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
He noted that such measures would effectively render SWIFT useless for the country.
SWIFT, an international messaging network for communications between banks, announced its ban on Iranian financial institutions after the U.S. targeted them with sanctions in November 2018.
The network said that this was done in order to preserve the global stability of the system.
It said that the decision was preceded by Washington threatening to impose sanctions on SWIFT itself if it would not cut ties with Iran.
The U.S. imposed sanctions against the Iranian economy's energy, banking, and shipping sectors following its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Washington also threatened to impose sanctions against any entity dealing with Iran, including from the EU.
In a bid to preserve the deal with Iran, the European Union developed a special mechanism called INSTEX that would allow for conducting business with the country without falling under U.S. sanctions.
However, Tehran was not entirely satisfied with it as it failed to alleviate Iranian oil trade issues.
Iran has called on Brussels to improve INSTEX, threatening to abandon the JCPOA.
In May, Tehran began to gradually roll-back on its commitments under the accord, citing the lack of progress in improving the INSTEX mechanism.
The international SWIFT network banned Iranian banks from its system soon after the U.S. imposed sanctions against the country in November 2018.
The ban was preceded by Washington's threats to slap sanctions on the financial network too if it were to continue working with the Islamic Republic's financial institutions.
Published in Bank & Finance
US trade groups urge Congress tame "Tariff Man" Trump
Nearly two dozen U.S. lobbying groups have joined forces to try to rein in U.S. President Donald Trump's power to unilaterally impose tariffs amid growing concern about the negative economic impact of his trade policies.
Led by the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), the groups on Wednesday said they had formed the Tariff Reform Coalition to urge Congress to wrest back greater control over trade policy and increase its oversight of the president's use of tariffs.
Trump, who has dubbed himself "Tariff Man," has imposed or planned tariffs on steel, aluminum and nearly all $500 billion in products imported from China each year, as he pursues an "America First" policy aimed at rebalancing U.S. trade ties.
NFTC President Rufus Yerxa said the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to regulate commerce, and lawmakers should ensure that tariffs were used only in exceptional circumstances.
"Not since the 1930s has our country relied so heavily on tariffs in an attempt to pick winners in the U.S. market while overlooking the broader consequences for other industries and our economy as a whole," he said in a statement.
The 23 groups outlined their concerns in a letter to the two congressional committees that oversee foreign trade, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.
"It is clear that many of the Administration's tariff actions over the past two years have had significant collateral effects on domestic prices and have led to extensive retaliation against our exports," the groups wrote, warning that measures still under consideration could inflict further harm.
The letter was signed by large U.S. trade associations, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Retail Federation, the Association of Global Automakers, and the American International Automobile Dealers Association.
"It is clear that many of the Administration's tariff actions over the past two years have had significant collateral effects on domestic prices and have led to extensive retaliation against our exports," the groups wrote
, warning that measures still under consideration could inflict further harm.
The initiative comes as frustration has grown on both sides of the political aisle about the president's use of unilateral measures to impose tariffs, often citing "national security concerns," and to conclude trade agreements with little to no consultation with Congress.
Trump administration officials insist the tariffs on China are paid by the Chinese, but U.S. farmers, retailers, manufacturers and others say the duties are taking a toll on their industries. The measures have also repeatedly roiled financial markets.
The groups urged lawmakers to carry out a robust review of the president's policies, and said it stood ready to work on legislation that would curb his authority.
U.S. lawmakers are considering several pieces of legislation that would limit Trump's authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Trump has used the law to impose the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and to threaten car tariffs against Japan and Europe.
Representative Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said Congress wanted to maximize its role in trade policy, but there was no consensus on how to do that.
At the same time, he said lawmakers agreed on the need to challenge China, but he was cautiously optimistic about Washington and Beijing eventually reaching a trade agreement.
He said lawmakers were still waiting for details about a mini-trade deal reached by Washington and Tokyo this week, including whether the White House had the authority to be able to execute such a deal as part of a two-step process.
"Bottom line is, we want a comprehensive agreement with Japan," he said. "And we'll be weighing whether this first step leads up to the second."
P.W. Botha May Be Savouring Some Big Laugh in Wilderness
Pieter Willem Botha, South Africa's former Prime Minister and first Executive President may be turning in his grave, jeering at the seeming inability of the African National Congress (ANC) led government to give hope to the majority Black population and pull the country away from the brink
BY ITOHOIMO UDOSEN
Not many in this clime are oblivious of Wilderness, a serene seaside town with a weird name on the Garden Route of the Southern Cape in South Africa and perhaps one of nature's most beautiful gifts to mankind which apartheid era President, Pieter Willem Botha made a home.
It is situated a short distance east from the city of George, on the N2 down the Kaaiman's River Pass. Known for its long and luxuriant white sand beaches and lagoons, the town located directly on the Touw River Lagoon, caters mostly to holiday-makers.
The town experiences an extremely mild climate, typical of the Garden Route and has little temperature variation, seldom dropping below 10 °C and above 28 °C, with year-round rainfall. The flora type is Afromontane gallery forest.
The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train originally ran through the town en route between George and Knysna during its years of operation.
Lying in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains in a region of incomparable beauty, Wilderness is an attractive holiday resort with alluring beaches and numerous vantage points to glean the whales and dolphins.
As far back as the late 1800's, the reputation of Wilderness with its natural bounty of rivers and lakes and intrinsic peace and tranquillity, ideal for seaside holidays, was established in a little stone farmhouse. A seaside boarding house was established in the old homestead – and so began the tradition of hospitality which has made this small resort town famous all over the world.
The romantic resort of Wilderness lies 15 km east of George, between the Kaaimans River in the West and the Goukamma Nature Reserve in the east, bordered by the Outeniqua Mountains in the north and the Indian Ocean in the south.
Wilderness not only overlooks the sea, but also the placid lagoon (Touw River Estuary), the Serpentine, which meanders between the Touw River, Island Lake and Rondevlei. This is a favourite venue for waterskiing and attracts enthusiasts from far and wide. Recreational activities in Wilderness include hiking, mountain-biking, bird- and whale-watching, hang- and paragliding, horse riding, scenic drives, day tours, angling, boating and other water sports.
Excellent viewpoints are Map of Africa with breathtaking scenery of forests, lakes, mountains and coastline and Dolphin's Point, an excellent vantage point from which to study whales and dolphins. Kaaimans River Bridge is a much favoured spot for photography and particularly for taking snaps of the Outeniqua Choo-Choo that travels along the coastline between George and Knysna.
Over 800 years old, the Woodville Big Tree creates shaded areas with its massive branches, making it a great picnic spot. Take a stroll along the boardwalk (also wheelchair-friendly) which is part of the Pied Kingfisher Trail and home to a wide variety of birds. One wonders how a town that exudes so much beauty could have gotten such a name.
Wilderness is significant as the home of Botha, fondly called P.W. Crocodile, until his death in 2006. He savoured his life in retirement here after leaving power on account of stroke. As Prime Minister from 78-84 and later first executive President from 1984-89, he was intransigent on the issue of conceding power to South Africa's Black majority.
With the outbreak of xenophobia as a result of growing restlessness of the Black population owning to the inability of the African National Congress (ANC) led government to provide jobs and respond to demands of social welfare to give hope to the teeming Black population, some may argue that Botha was vindicated.
"I am not prepared to lead White South Africans and other minority groups on a road to abdication and suicide," he had told the then ruling White dominated National Party congress in August 1985 when pressed for concession
Botha would be amused that the South Africa he presided over with daunting efficient infrastructure is beginning to wane under an ANC government. Eskrom, the power company is ailing and load shedding is now commonplace. The government couldn't even guarantee water in some places as it had to be shared like rations. Many Whites have locked up their funds rather than invest it to generate jobs because they have no faith in the ANC leadership.
He fiercely opposed the 1992 apartheid exit referendum by his successor, President Frederick. W. de Klerk's in which he campaigned for a "No vote," denouncing de Klerk's administration as "irresponsible" for opening the door to black majority rule. Bolstered by the support from conservative forces, Botha, Die Groot Krokodil, Afrikaans word for "The Great Crocodile", also refused to testify at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up by the Mandela government. For his scorn of the TRC, he was fined and given a suspended jail sentence for crimes against humanity. The sentence was later overturned on appeal.
He was however accorded the courtesies of a former President when he passed on in 2006. But spurning offers of a lavish state burial by the Thabo Mbeki government, as part of reconciliation efforts to heal the scars of apartheid, the family opted to bury Botha who died at 90, quietly in Wilderness like renowned US President, Thomas Jefferson and father of modern France and President of the Fifth Republic, Charles De Gaulle.
The apartheid era strongman may just be having some big laugh from his grave watching the country's descent into savagery with the rise of xenophobic attacks on foreigners particularly fellow Africans as the ANC government remains prostrate to offer sop to the people since the advent of multi-racial South Africa.
This led recently to some diplomatic row with Nigeria which arranged the evacuation of hundreds of its citizens back to the country. It also recalled its Ambassador. Worse is that these attacks appear to have the consent of the ANC leadership with prominent government officials making statements which seemingly endorsed the massacre of foreigners and looting of their shops. Even President Cyril Ramaphosa exploited the fault lines of xenophobia during the last election.
Haven fallen for the trap to accept nominal freedom while the economy including choice lands remained firmly in the hands of the minority White population, the ANC led by Nelson Mandela and its chief negotiator, Ramaphosa, shot itself on the feet when it became spineless in pushing hard with social programmes enunciated in the Freedom Charter adopted in 1955.
Rather than committing itself to massive education of the largely illiterate Black population and a programme of social welfare, including land reform, the ANC cadres who were engrossed in the spoils of office, opted to enfeeble themselves in plots and counter plots for power, avarice and what is generally called "state capture". Haven herded the country through the rigours of armed struggle in order to exert freedom from the apartheid state, it must be utterly revolting that the ANC settled for a mess of pottage.
Writing on the power play between Mbeki and his erstwhile deputy, Joseph Zuma which eventually led to the easing out of the former in 2006, Michael Plaut, in an analysis for the BBC, had revealed that the ANC had long gone rudderless, disempowering the people with its pursuit of neoliberal policies:
"Thabo Mbeki, although a former member of the South African Communist Party, has used "conventional economic policies" to drive the country's development agenda.
"Tight monetary and budgetary targets have been set and met. The result has been a period of unprecedented economic growth, reaching 5% a year in recent years.
"In June 1996, Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel introduced a neo-liberal economic strategy known as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR).
"This included commitments to open markets, privatisation and a favourable investment climate."
Although the ANC and Cosatu were also opposed to the neoliberal policies spelt out under GEAR, the Central Committee of the Communist Party at its congress of July 1998 was unequivocal in its opposition:
"We remain convinced that GEAR is the wrong policy. It was wrong in the process that developed it, it is wrong in its overall strategic conception, and it is wrong in much of its detail. At the end of the day, we cannot allow our entire transformation struggle to be held hostage by conservative approaches to the budget deficit."
Blade Nzimande, General Secretary of the Communist Party had earlier said that, "Despite the many modest gains that our own democracy has made since the 1994 democratic breakthrough, our own self-imposed structural adjustment programme, GEAR, failed to make a dent in unemployment (unemployment actually increased dramatically between 1996 and 2006), and eroded the capacity to build a developmental state."
According to Plaut, "These criticisms are not just held by the Communist Party, they are a reflection of the unease on the left as a whole at the policies that Thabo Mbeki adopted. Anger at the President's strategy to tackle the problems of unemployment, in particular, contributed to his downfall."
In April 2001 the country's national daily, The Star, had a headline that read "Mbeki plot rocks ANC".
According to the report, President Mbeki had sent his Minister of Safety and Security to accuse three leading members of the party of plotting to oust him.
The accused include former ANC secretary-general, Cyril Ramaphosa, now President and two former provincial premiers, Tokyo Sexwale and Mathews Phosa, who were among the party's most respected figures.
All three were men who had driven to seek their fortunes in business after being marginalised by Mr Mbeki. To this day, there is no clear explanation why these extraordinary charges were made. Revered Elder Statesman and former President, Nelson Mandela himself emerged from retirement to say that he held all three in "high esteem".
Both The Mail and The Guardian of London saw this as some antics of Joseph Stalin: "Many observers have dismissed the plot theories as a strategy to warn off potential competitors with ambitions to challenge Mbeki's leadership."
"No evidence was ever laid against them, no charges were laid and the matter was swept under the carpet. However, it was certainly not forgotten," Plaut said.
Ramaphosa, Sexwale, Phosa along with Zwelinzima Vavi, leader of Cosatu and Nzimande were among those who eventually wielded the knife against Mbeki
-Itohoimo Udosen, a Public Affairs Analyst.
Second batch of Nigerians return from South Africa
The second batch of Nigerian returnees fleeing from xenophobic attacks in South Africa arrived in Nigeria on Wednesday.
The 314 returnees were evacuated by the Federal Government with the assistance of a Nigerian carrier, Air Peace.
The B777 aircraft, with registration number 5N-BWI, which departed Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 7.22 p.m.
The returnees were received at the airport by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO of Nigerian In Diaspora Commission.
Published in Travel & Tourism
Malawi evacuates its citizens from South Africa
The Malawian Government announced that it had hired two buses to repatriate nationals, who were displaced, following xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa.
The buses left Johannesburg on Tuesday evening and the repatriated Malawians would be back home on Thursday, Secretary for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, Wilson Moleni, said in a statement.
Moleni said the repatriation was decided after the government received a report from the Malawi High Commission in South Africa that 113 Malawians had been displaced.
The displaced Malawians were being kept in temporary shelters set by South Africa's disaster management authorities in Katlehong town, 35 kilometres east of Johannesburg, the secretary said in the statement.
He added: "Out of the 113 displaced Malawians, 76 expressed willingness to return home''.
Upon arrival, the repatriated Malawian nationals will be provided with temporary shelter in the commercial city of Blantyre before travelling to their various destinations, according to Moleni.


This page brings the essence of Ireland to life and attracts one to deliver a portion of it into your house. Enhance your space with conventional Irish decor in your home from ShamrockGift. From plaques and wall hangings to crosses, coasters and clocks, there's enough to fill any size home here! Grab a handmade Celtic shamrock for the rack, bring luck to your house with a handmade Orgham plaque or amuse heritage off to the next-door neighbors with a shamrock-emblazoned home knocker.
ShamrockGift love to add a level of credibility and quality to the internationally acknowledged saying: 'the chance of this Irish'. There are certain products and signs that are commonly associated with Irish blessings which can be bestowed from the person, user and property owner. Examine our different range of Irish residence décor to add only a little history and Irish appeal to your interior spaces.
Our decor in your home items are perfect for gift-giving, too. Shock your loved one with a cozy tartan place the winter months, or congratulate a fresh homeowner with a Celtic bronze blessing because of their wall. There is certainly a wealth of Celtic record to explore and everybody appreciates a Shamrock. Whatever you choose, they're sure to love the traditional Irish style it brings to their space.


text:
31 January 2018 — City Desk
Unpaid Work Trials Are Common in the Restaurant Industry
Photo by Lois Kapila
Stephanie Carolina Abdelnour Suarez worked in the food and drink industry in Dublin in 2015 and 2016. In less than two years, she says, she did three unpaid work trials.
One was for four hours, which she says is very common. She didn't have a big problem with that, especially because she got a job out of it.
But the other two were each for a week, she says, and she was not kept on afterwards. In one of those cases she knew she wouldn't be paid, but in the other, she thought she would be.
Suarez was annoyed to find herself empty-handed and out of work. Someone advised her to take that case to the Workplace Relations Commission, but she was having health problems, and never got around to it, she says.
"It's not just that bakery – loads of places do that in Ireland, and it's really unfair," she says.
The Workplace Relations Commission says there is no exemption from minimum wage legislation for work trials. All hours worked must be paid at the minimum wage or above.
But several restaurants managers say they need to ask prospective waiters and waitresses to do unpaid work trials to get them up to speed, and to see if they are a good fit for the job.
Unpaid trials in Dublin vary in length from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks, according to workers and employers.
A man who worked in Spice Cottage, an Indian restaurant in Dún Laoghaire, said he didn't get paid for the first six days. "They call it training but they make you work all the time," he said.
Spice Cottage manager Sue Kaur said it depends on the person, but she usually doesn't pay workers the full minimum wage during the first three weeks.
"For the first week, they don't do anything, we just kind of fully supervise them, go through one-to-one training," Kaur said.
They come in for four hours a day, probably on three days a week, for those first four weeks, she says. In the first week, they might start to work a little on the third day, depending how much they'd picked up, she says.
Once the person starts to get the hang of the job in the second week, she'll pay them €30 a night, she says. Then, in the third week, she'll pay them around €50 a night, to encourage them to stick around.
She'll only start to pay them minimum wage once they are into their fourth week, she says. A lot of people quickly decide that the job isn't for them, Kaur says.
Steve, a manager who answered the phone at Havana Tapas Bar on South Great George's Street but declined to give his surname, said they don't pay staff for their training shifts. "They'd be training for maybe two shifts," he said, but it can vary.
Havana gives them some basic training and then lets them work for a bit, to see how they get on, he said. The tapas bar doesn't pay for the training, which could last for two hours, or four or five hours, he says.
"By about the second time of training, you kind of get a vibe if the person's any good or not," he said. "Some people are no good, so we just don't continue. I'm sorry, but that's just the situation."
Getting a Chance
Some employers said they felt they were doing workers a favour by offering them unpaid trials, especially if they didn't have much experience.
Kaur, at Spice Cottage, says she thinks her system is fair, and gives a chance to people who need training and wouldn't get a start otherwise.
"The people who have experience, who have worked somewhere else before, we pay them straight away. It depends who do you get," she said. "Because there's a shortage of staff, usually you don't get experienced people."
Piero, who also declined to give his surname, the manager at Voila, a cafe in Baggot Street, says he sometimes offers unpaid trials to young workers without experience. "It depends," he says. "Usually we pay the minimum wage even for a trial."
Some people ask for trials, he says, because they don't have experience and fear he'll think he'd have to invest too much time in training them, so he won't hire them. So they want a chance to prove themselves.
Whereas in other industries job applicants spend a lot of time preparing for and doing interviews, in hospitality it's best to just give someone a trial for a few hours, he says.
Steve, at Havana Tapas Bar, says he has to try people out, in part, to see if their English is good enough as a lot of them are not native English speakers.
No one has ever complained about not being paid, says Steve. Havana might have to give five or six people trials to find one that's good enough to keep on, he says, so they couldn't afford to pay everyone who comes in for a trial.
Steve hasn't really looked into the issue of whether unpaid work trials are legal, but he's very upfront with people about the set-up, he says. "I make it clear before. I say we're going to give you a trial and we're not going to be able to pay for it and we'll see how it goes."
People are happy to do unpaid trials and often say on their CVs that they're available for a free trial, Steve said. "If they're willing to do it themselves, there should be no issue," he says.
"Not Widespread"
Adrian Cummins, the chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, says the practice of bringing people in for unpaid trials of more than a couple of hours is not widespread.
"I would say whoever is telling you that it is [happening] in a lot of restaurants, I've never heard of it, we totally oppose it," he says. "There are some lads out there that are making stuff up as they go along."
The RAI has taken a strong stance against the practice, Cummins said. Anyone paying less than the minimum wage is breaking the law, and could face inspection and penalties, he said.
"Minimum wage, you have to pay it," Cummins says. (Unless there's a contractual agreement such as an internship; there are schemes for internships in place in the service industry, he says.)
The National Minimum Wage Act does not contain any exemption for work trials, said a spokesperson for the Workplace Relations Commission.
So anyone who's not being paid in accordance with the National Minimum Wage Act can make a complaint and request an inspection.
If the complaint is found to be correct, the complainant is entitled to the wages not paid and any reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the dispute, the spokesperson said.
In 2016, the food and drinks industry was responsible for the largest number of breaches of employment regulations of any industry: 343, according to the Workplace Relations Commission.
In the same year, the industry was also responsible for the second highest amount of unpaid wages: the Workplace Relations Commission found employees had not been paid €332,903 they were owed.
— with additional reporting by Lois Kapila
If your man thinks it's common, he's either blind or drunk.
Twice in the past month my daughter did trials without getting the job. No issues according to the managers, just "not good fits".
Thankfully Daddy isn't as gulible as his daughter and both premises eventually coughed up.
31 January 2018 issue
In the Docklands, an Effort to Close the Word Gap
Some Bank Customers May Be Allowed to Drive Through College Green Plaza
For the Second Time, a Mother and Her Children Face Eviction and Homelessness
Councillors Say They'll Vote Against Sale of Sean McDermott Street Laundry