text:
Probation Violation: The Ultimate Guide 2022
by James Finsweet, Head of legal from LawBrother Ltd
How Probation Is Violated?
Technical Probation Violations
Substantive Probation Violations
What Are the Consequences of Violating Probation?
Legal Rights at a Probation Hearing
Possible Penalties and Punishment
Probation Modification
Probation Extension
Probation Revocation
How Much Time Can You Get for Violating Probation?
In the unfortunate instance that you, a family member, or a friend are found guilty of a crime, there is a range of sentences a judge can impose. On the harsher end, there are prison and conditional sentences while the lighter end can mean discharge or community service. Probation falls right down the middle.
A judge will often hand down probation in lieu of a prison sentence where jail time may not befit the crime. Probation is typically given to support victims and offenders by providing a supervised, conditional reintegration with their community. Depending on the offense, 1 to 3 years is customary but may be extended to fit a particular crime.
In normal circumstances, the probation will stipulate different conditions for the offender to abide by. This can include community service, reporting to a probationary officer or a rehabilitation visit with lawful behavior the minimum expectation. The defendant agrees to uphold the conditions laid down in their court appearance so they can be spared incarceration.
Where the defendant fails to maintain these conditions, they are deemed to have violated the terms of the probation. Violations vary from state to state and come in many different forms from deliberate disregard of the rules of your probation to unintentional lapses. They can be categorized as technical and substantive violations.
Technical violations extend to a defying of the terms of the probation which include:
Willfully or unwilfully missing a court hearing on an agreed upon date.
Failure to report to your probationary officer for a scheduled appointment.
Unwillingness or inability to pay fines ordered by the courts to the victims of a crime.
Visiting victims, known criminals, or other excluded people and places as outlined in probation.
Travelling out of state without the approval of your probation officer.
Incomplete community service.
Unfulfillment of court-mandated rehabilitation (Leaving a rehab facility without permission).
Failure to retain employment or attend further education.
Substantive violations are the perpetration of new crimes while on probation. These should be avoided at all costs as they carry their own sentence plus the possibility of serving the original probated sentence. They include:
Possessing, using or selling of illegal drugs.
Committing further crimes.
Committing misdemeanors or offenses whether criminal or not.
The implications following a probation violation depend largely on the severity of the offense. It is often left in the hands of the probation officer to adjudicate what happens next. The options available are to take no action, issue a warning or defer to the courts.
In making the decision, a probation officer will consider how serious the offense is, any and all prior violations, any mitigating circumstances, and the intention behind the violation. Where he or she deems it is warranted, they can schedule a hearing for the courts to decide the outcome.
If summoned to a probation hearing, the defendant appears before a sentencing judge. You will make your case to refute or suggest mitigation. The prosecution makes the case against you as to where the charges stem from. They need to prove the charges occurred by a preponderance of the evidence and not beyond a reasonable doubt. The judge will render a decision underscored by the same factors previously considered by the probation officer.
Where guilt is proven, the judge will then decide on what sentence is appropriate or in some cases mandated for violation of probation.
In the case of a defendant, it is essential to know and exercise your legal rights. You may not be ordered to attend the hearing but you should always be represented in your legal matters.
The penalties in question can be reasonably trivial for unintentional violations but in more serious cases, legal representation is a must. In almost all probation hearings, your rights include:
Written Notice – All defendants are entitled to be served with written notice of any violation they are being accused of.
Legal Representation – In legal matters, you are entitled to ask for a defense attorney to give you the best legal assistance in your case.
A Fair Hearing – The onus of proof lies with the prosecution, meaning they need to prove their case against you. This requires a neutral and fair judge and a strong case supplemented by evidence and proof.
Presentation of Evidence and Witnesses – Keep in mind that the preponderance of the evidence is a lower bar than reasonable doubt. Defendants should treat it as their duty to provide witnesses, evidence, and any proof that refutes or mitigates the claims of the violation.
For any person(s) served with a probation violation hearing, it is vital to not only know your rights but to protect yourself against further punishment. With the avenues open and sometimes mandated to a sentencing judge, you are at their discretion.
While most will strive to reform themselves after a run-in with the law, probation violations do frequently occur. Where they are proven guilty at a probation hearing, there is a range of avenues for recourse.
For first-time offenders guilty of a low-end technical violation, your probation officer can simply issue a warning. This warning goes on your record and if other violations occur at a later date, it will be counted against you. As the most lenient sanction, this is often your probation officer trying to give you a break.
Where the probation officer or judge you appear before is not convinced a warning is adequate, they may change the conditions of your probation. Changes could mean needing to meet the officer more regularly to attending rehabilitation, counseling, or further community service.
If the victim of the defendant suffered monetary or even physical impairment, a fine may be instituted to make them whole. Where there has been no effort made to pay or where a defendant has otherwise defied conditions, they can be subjected to further fines.
Fines are usually payable to the victims or original or new crimes or the court.
A contempt of court finding is usually reserved for a defendant who has failed to demonstrate remorse or has managed to dissuade a judge that they accept full responsibility. Contempt carries a 30-day sentence and gives the defendant a window into what life is like behind bars.
An extension to the probation period is handed down where a probation officer does not believe the defendant is fully prepared to rejoin society unsupervised. The courts may impart an extension of up to 5 years probation for defendants who they think continue to pose a risk.
Clients who fail to show they are willing to make an effort or who commit further substantive violations risk having probation rescinded. In this instance, the defendant is recalled and must serve out the original prison sentence. These hearings begin with a motion to revoke probation with the court and often end with a warrant for arrest being issued.
Individual state laws and statutes often set the maximum sentencing for probation violations. Judges have broad discretion in probation violation cases and can revoke probation meaning you would be required to serve the full term of a suspended sentence. Probation does not count toward time served. In numerous states, judges are compelled to hand down jail terms to severe violation probations.
In addition, depending on the severity of a substantive violation, a defendant may be prosecuted for new crimes that can hold a concurrent sentence.
Finding yourself in violation of probation leaves any defendant in a difficult situation. There are genuine cases where mitigating circumstances made the infraction unavoidable but where wilful disregard can be proven, the discretion afforded to the probation officer or judge is a real concern.
With serving out the original sentence as a possible punishment on the table, defendants should always avoid violating probation. However, if it does occur, enlist legal help. You are not privy to what day a judge might be having or how you might be treated on any given day. These things are out of your control but your rights are not. Ensure that you exercise your rights to their fullest extent to give yourself the best possible chance at a favorable outcome.
Article by James Finsweet
James Finsweet is a Head of legal department in LawBrother Ltd. At Lawrina, James contributes his experience in law practice and shares opinions on law regulations and news.
The Difference Between Murder and Manslaughter
Stand Your Ground Law in Georgia
Private Right of Action
The University of Minnesota Launches New Center for Medical Device Cybersecurity in Response to Growing Internet-Connected Threats
Cybersecurity & Privacy Law Blog ,
by Andrew Rossow
What Does Child Support Cover?
Conspiracy Charges Sentences


text:
Roads, parking and transport
Public rights of way
How can I report a problem on a Public Right of Way?
If you find a problem on a Public Right of Way, contact us.
Who and what are allowed on PRoW?
Prams, wheelchairs, and dogs are considered to be 'usual accompaniments' on all PRoW. Although the law does not state that dogs must be on a lead, you should ensure your dog is under close control at all times, especially in rural areas where there is livestock.
Who is responsible for the surfaces of PRoW?
As the highway authority for North Tyneside we own the surface of all PRoW, the landowners' interest only extends to the sub-soil. It is an offence to interfere with the surface of a public right of way to the detriment of users and we have a duty to protect the interests of users and the PRoW. We can take enforcement action to ensure the surface of PRoW unlawfully disturbed is reinstated. Occupiers of land can disturb the surface of a right of way by special license if they first apply to us to do so, and by statutory licence in respect of ploughing. We are also responsible for ensuring that (undergrowth) vegetation growing in the surface of the PRoW is kept under control (expect crops) and does not make the route difficult to use. Overgrowth - plants growing across the path from beside it - is the responsibility of the landowner.
What can I do about overgrown hedges and trees adjacent to PRoWs?
The landowner is responsible for ensuring that vegetation does not overhang a public right of way so as to obstruct it. We do have a right to remove so much of the overgrowth to prevent obstruction to pedestrians and equestrians. Additionally, we have powers to require that the owners of overhanging hedges lop or cut back the hedge within a period of 14 days. (Highways Act 1980 section 154).
Signposts and Way-marks
The council has a duty to place a signpost wherever a PRoW leaves a surfaced road. Way marks also help the landowner, as they assist path users in keeping to the correct line of the path, thus reducing the chances of trespass. Misleading and unlawful signs can deter people from lawfully exercising their right to use paths, and we have a duty to prevent such occurrences.
Who is responsible for bridges and culverts on Rights of Way?
TResponsibility for the provision, repair and maintenance of bridges and culverts is shared between us and the landowner, and may be different in each case. We are responsible for most footbridges, but where a public footpath or bridleway crosses a bridge, over which there are private motor vehicle rights maintenance is likely to be the responsibility of the landowner. The rail authority is responsible for the structure of most footbridges over railway lines.
Who is responsible for the clearance of litter and fly-tipping on a Right of Way?
Responsibility for the clearance of litter on a public right of way rests with the council.
Who is responsible for stiles and gates on footpaths and bridleways?
It is the duty of the landowner to ensure that any stiles and gates are kept in a good state of repair. Our duty only extends to ensuring that the landowner complies with this obligation. If an occupier of land wishes to install additional stiles or gates on footpaths or bridleways, they must apply in writing to us for authority to do so. To erect stiles or gates without this authority is an unlawful obstruction and is a criminal offence. The only circumstance for which we can provide authorisation for the erection of new stiles or gates is that the structures are required for stock control purposes. (The Highways Act 1980 section 147). If stiles and gates are not referred to in the definitive map and statement we can request their removal.
The path we have used for years has now been blocked / diverted - can you get it cleared?
The first thing to do is check that the path is recorded as a Public Right of Way by contacting us. If the right of way is recorded, in most cases we will be able to take action to clear any obstructions on the right of way. If the path is not currently recorded it may be possible to claim it as such (see Definitive Map section for further information).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


BAD-BOY Joey Barton will beg Alan Shearer not to boot him out of Newcastle following his latest moment of madness.
But the Scouse firebrand's pleas are likely to fall on deaf ears with the Toon chief having vowed to crack down on ill-discipline.
Shearer has introduced a tough new code of conduct since taking charge and has repeatedly warned players will be punished if they step out of line.
Barton has repeatedly claimed he's a reformed character since serving a seven-week prison sentence for assault last year.
But Shearer was horrified by his wild lunge on Liverpool's Xabi Alonso during Newcastle's 3-0 thrashing at Anfield.
So Barton, who is now banned for the rest of the season, could pay the ultimate price by being ditched by Shearer.
Major changes are already planned at St James's Park irrespective of whether the Geordies, somehow, escape relegation.
But Barton wants to stay even if it means playing Championship football next term.
His agent Willie McKay said: "Even if Newcastle do get relegated, Joey would want to stay on and play his part in making sure they bounced straight back into the Premier League.
"It's ridiculous to claim Joey has played his last game for Newcastle as he has three years left on his contract and wants to honour that commitment.
"He has had a frustrating time because of his foot injury and this was his first game back so he's naturally very disappointed his season has been brought to an end when Newcastle need him.
McKay knows the decision could be taken out of his hands with club owner Mike Ashley planning major cuts if Newcastle go down.
With Barton taking home more than £60,000 every week, he would be one of those the Toon's accountants would be looking to wipe off the wage bill.
McKay added: "It's the club's prerogative as to whether or not they want to sell Joey but he remains firmly committed to doing his very best for the club.
But whereas Sam Allardyce, Kevin Keegan and Joe Kinnear were prepared to give the midfielder the benefit of the doubt, Shearer won't be so understanding.
He was still in unforgiving mood last night having pinned his faith in Barton to inspire a late Toon rescue mission.
Shearer said: "Joey apologised but it was too late. He was picked as I thought he could do something different but I didn't think he'd go and get himself a red card.
Meanwhile, winger Jonas Gutierrez has labelled Newcastle's last two home games against Middlesbrough and Fulham as "like cup finals".


text:
Black in Blue
The Story The Heroes The Film Buy
The StoryThe HeroesThe Film
What does it take
to create a hero?
A feature-length documentary film about the four University of Kentucky athletes who broke the color line in the Southeastern Conference in the 1960s - Greg Page, Nate Northington, Wilbur Hackett, and Houston Hogg.
Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker and UK grad Paul Wagner, executive produced by former UK quarterback Paul Karem with a gospel music score by Kentucky's own Linkin' Bridge.
Exploring previously unknown stories about the history of sports and race in the South, Black in Blue is a compelling story of triumph, tragedy, and healing.


text:
Vernon, Connecticut facts for kids
Vernon, Connecticut
The Tower on Fox Hill in Henry Park
Motto: The Crossroads for Opportunity
Location within Tolland County, Connecticut
Capitol Region
390 ft (119 m)
1,649/sq mi (637/km2)
EDT (UTC-4)
www.vernon-ct.gov
Vernon is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 29,179 at the 2010 census. Vernon contains the smaller villages of Rockville, Talcottville and Dobsonville.
Vernon was incorporated in October 1808, from Bolton. Vernon was named after George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. Vernon contains the former city of Rockville, incorporated in January 1889. The Town of Vernon and city of Rockville consolidated as a town on July 1, 1965. Vernon also contains the smaller villages of Talcottville and Dobsonville.
The New England Civil War Museum is located here.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.1 square miles (47 km2), of which 17.7 square miles (46 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) (1.88%) is water.
2000 28,063 −6.0%
Est. 2014 29,098 −0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income
At the 2000 census, there were 28,063 people, 12,269 households and 7,275 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,582.8 per square mile (611.1/km²). There were 12,867 housing units at an average density of 725.7 per square mile (280.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.95% White, 3.99% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.65% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.58% of the population.
There were 12,269 households of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. Of all households 33.0% were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.
22.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median household income was $47,816 and the median family income was $59,599. Males had a median income of $43,620 compared with $31,515 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,150. About 4.1% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
Vernon, Connecticut Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.


March. 2008 : The new album "From The Ancient World" will be officially released worldwide the 31st March 2008.
It is already available from GFT (UK)!
XTRACTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM OUR MYSPACE !!!!!
02/2007 A special thank to our friends from Quebec who appreciated our album ! Click Here to see their Fav' list for 2006 and how they rated ALMOST HUMAN (#1)- A new review is under way !!!
Almost Human has been nominated by PROGAWARDS !
Best foreign album - Best recording - Best Artwork !!!


When using this integration, courses CANNOT be accessed on goreact.com. If your organization is using GoReact in Blackboard, then you will use Blackboard to navigate between all course content. As long as your role in Blackboard is set to Admin, then you will be able to open any GoReact assignment in your organization with the role of Admin.
Instructors cannot create sessions for students (this method is often used for live event activities). Doing so will prevent grades from passing to the Grade Center because the sessions belong to the instructor even if student presenters are added.
To get your Blackboard organization set up with the GoReact tool, see How to add GoReact to Blackboard.


text:
The Continued Militarization of Sri Lanka
[Journal of Foreign Relations] Led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, post-war Sri Lanka is a sad place. In May of 2009, the Sri Lankan government achieved a resounding military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). [Full Story]
Sri Lanka rights group says TV being militarised
[Reuters] The appointment of a retired general to help run a Sri Lankan state television station is a sign of media militarisation not seen for decades, rights watchdogs said on Thursday. The government, engaged in a long-running war with Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the island, called the accusation a "fabricated lie" and […]
SRI LANKA: Crisis and Militarization in Sri Lanka
[AHRC] One of the latest incidents highlighting the situation of Sri Lanka is the removal of the Director General of the Bribery Commission, who is the only person legally authorised to sign indictments relating to charges of bribery. Thus, by removing the authorised signatory the possibility of signing indictments has been neatly prevented. Observers have […]


Once an immigrant becomes a permanent resident, that individual is granted legal authorization to permanently live and work in the United States. A green card, or a permanent resident card, is a card that shows proof of this immigration status. There are a number of ways to become a permanent resident, whether the individual is applying from outside the U.S. or whether the person is already living in the U.S. and trying to adjust his or her legal immigration status. Some of the pathways to permanent residency are through family members, job opportunities and refugee and asylum status, though there are also others. Ohio Immigration Attorney Jonathan A. Bartell provides an overview of some of these methods below.
Family Members: If you have a close family member who is a U.S. citizen, you might be able to use that as grounds for obtaining a green card (through family-based immigration). As outlined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. citizens are allowed to petition to have certain types of immediate relatives join them in the U.S. and become permanent residents. These relatives include spouses, unmarried children (under 21 years of age) and parents (if the U.S. citizen petitioner is over the age of 21). Those in the "immediate relative" category have special immigration priority, particularly since the category has an unlimited number of visas available.
U.S. citizens can also file petitions for other types of relatives who are not considered "immediate relatives," such as siblings and unmarried children over the age of 21. These individuals fall under the "family preference category." Obtaining green cards for these relatives can require longer waiting periods due to immigration limits that have been placed by Congress. Permanent residents, or green card holders, are also allowed to petition on behalf of certain family members—particularly spouses and unmarried children of any age—under the family preference category.
Job Opportunities: Another opportunity for obtaining a green card can occur through employment. In certain professional fields and in certain parts of the country, there are not enough U.S. workers who have the qualifications, abilities or simply the willingness to meet the industry's demands. This often opens the doors for foreign-nationals to obtain permanent residency in the United States if they are offered such positions or have professional abilities in these areas. High priority is particularly given to those considered to be "highly skilled workers." Sometimes it is necessary to obtain certification from the U.S. Department of Labor to ensure that the job is in a truly in a high-need sector. Furthermore, green cards are also often given to foreign nationals in the "investor/entrepreneur" category, particularly if they are investing in business ventures that are expected to create jobs in the U.S.
Refugee and Asylum Status: Refugees and asylum seekers can apply for green cards. These are generally individuals who are trying to flee or who have fled their home countries due to some type of government persecution, often due to their regions, political beliefs or ethnic backgrounds. According to USCIS, those granted refuge must apply for permanent residency one year after being admitted into the U.S. While those seeking asylum are not subject to such a requirement, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency after one year.
Talk to a Columbus Legal Advocate Who Can Help!
In addition to these methods, there are also other ways individuals can obtain permanent resident cards. Because each case is based on a different set of circumstances, it is of utmost importance to consult with a knowledgeable immigration attorney when dealing with this process. The team at Jonathan A. Bartell, Attorney with Margaret W. Wong & Associates has more than a decade of experience and is more than equipped to help you with a variety of immigration issues. We proudly assist residents throughout Ohio, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Canton, Akron,Columbus and other surrounding cities. If you are in need of help internationally, we can travel to your country's U.S. embassy to negotiate on your behalf. Contact our Ohio immigration attorney and learn about how you might be able to obtain a green card!


According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, U.S. federal prosecutors are preparing a criminal indictment against Huawei for stealing trade secrets. The report, which cites sources with knowledge of the indictment, specifically mentions Huawei's actions surrounding a T-Mobile smartphone testing tool known as "Tappy." The report notes that the current investigation is far enough along that an indictment may come soon.
This isn't the first we've heard of Tappy. In 2014, T-Mobile sued Huawei for allegedly gaining access to a company lab outside of Seattle and photographing and attempting to steal parts of the robotic smartphone testing device. In May 2017, T-Mobile won $4.8 million against Huawei, only a fraction of the $500 million the U.S. mobile carrier sought. The current federal criminal investigation reportedly arose from that civil suit.
The Chinese phone maker has faced increased scrutiny, escalating to open hostility from U.S. agencies and lawmakers who believe that Huawei poses a security threat due to its close relationship with the Chinese government. The tension escalated considerably last December, when Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S. Meng was charged with fraud for deceptive practices that allowed the Chinese company to avoid U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Huawei, now the world's number two smartphone maker, trails only Samsung when it comes to mobile device sales, beating Apple for the second slot in late 2018.
Запись опубликована 17.01.2019 автором Mobile news chief editor в рубрике Default с метками Canada, Iran, US.
Huawei, currently the world's second-largest smartphone company by sales, has won over users partly by loading its devices with a ton of new features, from wireless charging to top-class cameras and catchy cosmetic features like the colorful gradients on their shiny backsides. Now, a leaked image of its next flagship Android phone appears to reveal a surprising reverse course. According to Indian blog 91phones (and via Engadget) its next premium device, dubbed the P30, will feature a HEADPHONE JACK.
What's that, you say? Aren't headphone jacks so yesterday?
Over the past couple of years, Apple and others have gradually removed the jack from their devices.
Yes, it's been done in the name of thinner handsets and more features like waterproofing. But — let's be honest — also most likely also to up-sell people to those very pricey, sometimes pretentious-looking wireless earphones.
But you know what? People — say, those who have a favorite set of corded headphones, or who hate the idea of losing the ability to charge using said headphones — are still missing those inky black holes.
Huawei has been no different, removing its jack in the P30's P20 predecessor.
But the leaked image reveals that it seems to be making a return in the familiar lower edge of the handset, to the left of the USB-C charging port.
Other features revealed in this and previous leaks of the phone include a six-inch screen, more of that gradient backing, a 24MP selfie camera in a streamlined notch on the front, with a Sony triple camera at 38MP with 5x optical zoom on the back, and no fingerprint sensor port, with the device likely to be shipping in 128GB and 256GB versions.
Huawei overtook Apple as the world's second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 of 2018, and the last two quarters have only cemented that position. In Q3, only Samsung (the leader) and Huawei saw shipment growth among all the top players; and as for Q4, well, Apple's given us a little preview of what we will expect there.
Interestingly, Apple specifically has singled out China as a disappointing market when it comes to iPhone sales: Huawei happens to be the market leader there.
So — if this leak is accurate — it's interesting to think that as Huawei grows often by aggressively following the playbook of other brands, it may be making a bold move by bringing something back that appeared to have gotten discarded in the tech march forward.
If its pace of handset sales continues to stay strong, this could be coming at a key time for Huawei. The company remains in hot water with governments in Europe, the US and elsewhere over questionable and potentially illegal business practices, and that appears to be potentially impacting its massive telecoms equipment business and its lucrative deals with carriers.
As for when this supposed phone might launch, we're just about to kick off CES in Vegas, but it's unlikely to appear here. The P20 launched in March last year, a few weeks after the big MWC mobile event in Barcelona, and that could potentially be the same timescale the company follows again.
We're contacting Huawei for comment and will update this post as we learn more.
Запись опубликована 07.01.2019 автором Mobile news chief editor в рубрике Default с метками CES, Europe, MWC, US.
Adults, not teens. Messaging, not Stories. Developing markets, not the US. These are how Snapchat will make a comeback, according to CEO Evan Spiegel . In a 6,000-word internal memo from late September leaked to Cheddar's Alex Heath, Spiegel attempts to revive employee morale with philosophy, tactics, and contrition as Snap's share price sinks to an all-time low of around $8 — half its IPO price and a third of its peak.
"The biggest mistake we made with our redesign was compromising our core product value of being the fastest way to communicate" Spiegel stresses throughout the memo regarding 'Project Cheetah'. It's the chat that made Snapchat special, and burying it within a combined feed with Stories and failing to build a quick-loading Android app have had disastrous consequences.
Spiegel shows great maturity here, admitting to impatient strategic moves and outlining a cohesive path forward. There's no talk of Snapchat ruling the social app world here. He seems to understand that's likely out of reach in the face of Instagram's competitive onslaught. Instead, Snapchat is satisfied if it can help us express ourselves while finally reaching even meager profitability.
Snapchat may be too perceived as a toy to win enough adults, too late to win back international markets from the Facebook empire, and too copyable by good-enough alternatives to grow truly massive. But if Snap can follow the Spiegel game-plan, it could carve out a sustainable market through a small but loyal audience who want to communicate through imagery.
Spiegel always went on his gut rather than relying on user data like Facebook. Aging further and further away from his core audience, he misread what teens cared about. The appealing buzz phrase of "separating social from media" also meant merging messaging and Stories into a chaotic list that made both tougher to use. Spiegel seems to have learned a valuable lessen about the importance of A/B testing.
When Snap first revealed the changes, we predicted that "Teen Snap addicts might complain that the redesign is confusing, jumbling all content from friends together." That made it too annoying to dig out your friends to send them messages, and Snap's growth rate imploded, with it losing 3 million users last quarter. Expect Snap to optimize its engineering to make messages quicker to send and receive, and it even sacrifice some of its bells and whistles to make chat faster in developing markets.
Facebook's biggest structural disadvantage is its broad friend graph that's bloated to include family, co-workers, bosses, and distant acquaintances. That might be fine in a feed app, but not for Stories and messaging where you only care about your closest friends. With friend lists and more, Facebook has tried and failed for a decade to find better ways to communicate with your besties. This is the wedge through which Snapchat can attack Facebook. If it develops special features for luring your best friends onto the app and staying in touch with them for better reasons than just maintaining a Snap "Streak", it could hit Facebook where it can't defend itself.
Discover remains Snapchat's biggest differentiator, scoring with premium video content purposefully made for mobile. What it really needs, though, are a few must-see tentpole shows to drag in a wider audience that can get hooked on the reimagined digital magazine experience.
Snapchat Discover is an overcrowded pile of clickbait. News outlets, social media influencers, original video Shows, and aggregated user content collections all battle for attention in a design that feels overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. Thankfully Snapchat seems to recognize that more cohesive sorting with fewer images and headlines bombarding you might make Discover a more pleasant lean-back consumption experience.
Snapchat can't just be for cool kids anymore. Their lower buying power and lifestage make them less appealing to brands. The problem is that Snapchat risks turning off younger users by courting their older siblings or adults. If, like Facebook, users start to feel like Snapchat is a place for parents, they may defect in search of the next purposefully built to confuse adults to stay hip.
Sources tell me Snapchat's future depends on the engineering overhaul of its Android app, a project codenamed 'Mushroom'. Slow video load times and bugs have made Snapchat practically unusable on low-bandwidth connections and old Android phones in the developing world. The company concentrated on the US and other first-world markets, leaving the door open for copycats of Stories built by Instagram (400 million daily users) and WhatsApp (450 million daily users) to invade the developing world and dwarf Snap's 188 million total daily users. In hopes of a smooth rollout, Snapchat is already testing Mushroom, but it will have to do a ton of marketing outreach to convince frustrated users who ditched the app to give it another try.
Snapchat has big plans for augmented reality. It doesn't just want to stick animations over the top of anywhere, or create AR art installations in a few big cities. It wants to build site-specific AR experiences across the globe. And while everything the company has built to date has lived inside of Snapchat, it's willing to spawn standalone apps if necessary so that it doesn't bog down its messaging service. That could give Snapchat a lot more leeway to experiment.
Snapchat is still bleeding money, losing $353 million last quarter. Snapchat ended up selling 2.3 percent of its equity to a Saudi Arabian prince in exchange for $250 million to lengthen its rapidly shortening runway. And last year it took $2 billion from Chinese gaming giant Tencent. Deals like that could threaten Snapchat's ability to prioritize its goals alone, not the moral imperatives or developer platforms that would benefit its benefactors. Once profitable, Snapchat won't have to worry so much about struggling with short-term user growth and can instead focus on retention, societal impact, and its true purpose — creativity.
Запись опубликована 05.10.2018 автором Mobile news chief editor в рубрике Default с метками Friend Feed, Saudi Arabian, Teen Snap, US.
New 5G networks are coming and big companies are spending big bucks to roll them out.
Ericsson is going to be providing T-Mobile with its latest 5G new radio hardware and 3GPP for a cool $3.5 billion.
As it moves from LTE Advanced networks to 5G, T-Mobile said it will use the Ericsson portfolio of products to expand its existing LTE capacity while readying the network for the 5G jump.
Included in the deal are Ericsson's digital services like dynamic orchestration, business support systems and Ericsson cloud core, which will be used to help T-Mobile roll out 5G services to its customers.
As Mobile World Congress Americas gears up there will be several of these announcements coming down the pike. Already Nokia and Sprint announced they'd be unveiling a demonstration of 5G new radio connections and the Nokia Massive MIMO (multiple input multiple output) technology.
New 5G networking technology promises to deliver high speeds and high-reliability, energy-efficient service in areas of high-device density with extremely low latency.
The partnership with Ericsson means that T-Mobile's already installed base of Ericsson Radio System radios will be able to run 5G NR with a remote software installation.
Запись опубликована 12.09.2018 автором Mobile news chief editor в рубрике Default с метками Ericsson North America, Ericsson Radio System, Niklas Heuveldop, US.
Sprint and T-Mobile, after years of going back and forth as to whether they are going to tie up two of the largest telecom providers in the U.S., have announced that the two companies have entered a merger agreement this morning.
The merger will be an all-stock transaction, and will now be subject to regulatory approval. That latter part is going to be its biggest challenge, because it will not only tie up the No. 3 and No. 4 carriers into the U.S. into a single unit, but also that international organizations hold significant stakes in both companies. SoftBank controls a majority of Sprint while Deutsche Telekom controls a significant chunk of T-Mobile. Following the administration's intervention in the Broadcom-Qualcomm takeover attempt, it isn't clear what will actually go through in terms of major mergers these days.
Bloomberg is reporting that Deutsche Telekom will have 42% ownership of the combined company, while SoftBank will own around 27% of the company.
As expected, the argument here is for the expansion of 5G networks as plans for that start to ramp up. T-Mobile argues in its announcement that it will help it be competitive with AT&T and Verizon as telecom companies start to roll out a next-generation 5G network, though it does in the end remove a carrier choice for end consumers in the U.S..
Both companies appeared to be finalizing the deal on Friday, when they set valuation terms and were preparing to announce the merger today. The deal values Sprint at an enterprise value of around $59 billion, with the combined company having an enterprise value of $146 billion. AT&T has a market cap of around $214 billion, while Verizon has a market cap of around $213 billion, as of Sunday.
I'm excited to announce that @TMobile & @Sprinthave reached an agreement to come together to form a new company – a larger, stronger competitor that will be a force for positive change for all US consumers and businesses! Watch this & click through for details.
Disclosure: Verizon is the parent company of Oath, which owns TechCrunch.
Запись опубликована 30.04.2018 автором Mobile news chief editor в рубрике Default с метками Deutsche Telekom, Disclosure Verizon, LTE, US.


Mecate (americanzed-mecate) basically is Spanish for rope on your hackamore (bosal). They can be as thick as 5/8 in or thin as ¼ in. The rule of thumb traditionally has been the same size as your bosal or one size smaller. They range typically from 18 to 22 feet long. I've seen several things, from parachute cord, cotton rope to the traditional horsehair. (main hair mecates are a lot softer and more supple than tail hair) There are various ways of tying the mecate with some trainers preferring one over another. Basically, you take a few wraps then pull your reins through a few more wraps (the number of wraps depends on size of horses jaw). Tie the end through and four left with a lead rope.
The hanger is traditionally a piece of latigo leather about ¼ in wide that is fastened to the bosal by making a slit and pulling the leather through itself. Its tied much the same way as a rope halter. Nothing fancy.
This piece of equipment the hackamore, had fallen under the radar for quite a while it seemed like. Due to the influences of some of the clinicians, it is making a comeback. It is a very valuable tool in the horseman's arsenal even though it can take years to master. Riding a horse in the hackamore has truly been a joy to me.
For questions or more information on the Hackamore (Bosal/Mecate), please contact us.
I promise to use it only to send you Horse Talk.


If your loved one has been injured in a nursing home, money is probably the furthest thing from your mind. Before you take any action at all, you want to know what happened, and why. Unfortunately, getting that information out of a negligent nursing home can be difficult. The nursing home will likely deny any wrongdoing, and they may alter, conceal or destroy records in an attempt to protect themselves from legal action.
To pursue justice for your family after a case of nursing home abuse or neglect, you need the facts of what happened, and you need a nursing home negligence lawyer on your side to get that critical information. That's why you should contact The Law Office of George S. Johnson right away.
Review hiring and supervision records. We may find that the nursing home failed to conduct a background check and hired a staff member who had a history of abusive or negligent conduct. Or we may find that staff members were not properly trained and issues went unaddressed, allowing a pattern of abuse to continue.
Investigate financial records. Financial exploitation is an often overlooked - but very serious - form of nursing home abuse. Our review of medical records could find that your loved one was double-billed, overcharged or billed for services not actually rendered. Discrepancies in the financial records could also reveal other forms of abuse or neglect, depending on the circumstances.
Examine medication and treatment records. Nursing homes are required to document each dose of medication that residents receive as well as any other medical procedures or therapies. We may find discrepancies in these records or evidence that they were altered to hide an error that caused injury.
Interview witnesses. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of our investigation. Nursing home residents may have difficulty remembering or communicating what they've seen. They may suffer from illnesses such as dementia or Alzheimer's disease that make it difficult to serve as witnesses. We know how to approach and overcome these challenges to find out what really happened.
Finding this information takes time. That's why it's so important to contact us right away. As time passes, evidence disappears. Witnesses may have more trouble remembering what happened. The nursing home may take action to cover up critical information and prevent you from pursuing justice for your family.
The sooner we can start our investigation, the sooner we can hold negligent parties responsible. Call (866) 904-6653 today for your free consultation.


20 November 2017, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa: Today, Ethiopia joined the global World Children's Day celebrations by giving children high profile roles to become champions of their rights. In line with the event's theme 'For children, By children' child parliamentarians took over the roles of the Ministers of: Women and Children's Affairs; Health; Education; Water, Irrigation and Electricity; Labour and Social Affairs; and Urban Works and Construction. In addition, children took over the roles of the Attorney General and UNICEF Representative. In their new roles as 'shadow Ministers', children shared their ideas on issues that affect their lives.
Include children's voices when adults and local authorities discuss issues that affect children's lives.
Child parliamentarians from different regions also had an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to children in Ethiopia with shadow Ministers and dignitaries through a Q&A session.
In her opening remarks, H.E Ms Demitu Hambisa, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, stated that this year's World Children's Day is a day of action for children by children. She highlighted that decision makers need to ensure that children's voices are heard and reflected in decisions that affect their lives.
In addition, UNICEF Ethiopia launched its publication 'Hulem Lehisanat- Always for children' depicting its 65 years history serving children and women in Ethiopia.
The event highlighted the importance of including children's voices by providing children with an opportunity to share their own solutions on how to keep every child in Ethiopia healthy, well-nourished, in school and protected.
ADDIS ABABA, 24 July 2015 – Today, UNICEF's Media and External Relations Section has organised the third media get-together with UNICEF National Ambassadors to Ethiopia – Hannah Godefa and Abelone Melesse. Also present on the occasion as guests of honour were the fathers of Abelone and Hannah- Ato Solomon Melesse and Ato Godefa Assegahen respectively.
Since their appointment as UNICEF National Ambassadors, Hannah and Abelone have shown a true commitment to the issues of women and children by involving in different advocacy activities both in Ethiopia and abroad. At the media get- together, both Hannah and Abelone shared their current activities in relation to the rights of women and children including their recent field visit to Amhara region to see UNICEF- supported child protection and health activities.
At the occasion, the media had the opportunity to ask questions to Abelone and Hannah on their role as ambassadors, their inspiration and their future plan. The media also forwarded their questions to their fathers on how they have raised their daughters and how they support them.
Seventeen year old Hannah became a UNICEF National Ambassador in 2013. This year, Hannah has participated at the World Education Forum 2015 (WEF) from 19 to 22 May in the city of Incheon, Republic of Korea. Hannah joined the "Leaving no one behind – how education can drive inclusive development?" panel co-hosted by the UNICEF Executive Director and David McKenzie of CNN. On 16 June, Hannah became a panelist or the 29th session of the Human Rights Council's panel discussion on girls' education held in Geneva.
Nineteen year old young rap star Abelone Melesse became a UNICEF National Ambassador to Ethiopia in 2014. This year, Abelone has attended a number of meetings and conferences in her new capacity as an Ambassador. On International Women's Day, Abelone was invited by Ethiopian Women's Association in Norway joined by high level Norwegian politicians where she had the opportunity to deliberate a speech and perform her songs on behalf of the women in Norway and in Ethiopia. Abelone also officially released her new single entitled "Jewels of the world" – a song which she has dedicated to UNICEF at the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The song written by Abelone herself has received more than 10,000 views on Youtube 7,150 views on Facebook and 70,106 views on DireTube.
In addition, the Media and External Relations Section facilitates individual interviews with specialists and experts on different programmes in different languages including: English, French, Arabic, German, Swahili, Dutch, Italian and many Ethiopian local languages. We also organise media round tables with senior staff and programme specialists, respective government officials and partners on different topics affecting women and children.
Regular media field visits will continue to be organised to visit UNICEF-supported project sites in Addis Ababa as well as in the regions.
We wish to thank those who were able to join us and look forward to our continuous collaboration in 2015 and beyond.
BERLIN, GERMANY – The J 7 Summit 2015 is an opportunity for 50 young people from all over the world to come together to discuss and express their ideas on the most pressing issues for the upcoming G7 negotiations in June. I was one of the lucky ones to have the privilege of participating in this summit as the Ethiopia representative during my internship at UNICEF Ethiopia. Topics such as: protecting our planet (protection of the marine and resource efficiency); building a healthy future for all (antibiotic resistance and fighting pandemics, neglected and poverty related diseases); empowering women and girls (empowering women in self-employment and vocational training); fair economy (retail and supply chain standards) and ACT NOW (youth involvement) were discussed in detail.
In relation to the issue of neglected and poverty related diseases, suggestions were made with an objective of eradicating poverty related diseases. Creating public awareness was one of the suggestions put forward. With this, there should be an increase in public education as well as in funding. These donations can purchase vaccinations and fund infrastructural solutions. Other suggestions by the youth of the world include increasing pharmaceutical research and developing new drugs, providing education for all and creating an organization with the explicit goal of eradicating neglected diseases.
After presenting our papers to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, we had a lively discussion, during which she stated that leaders of developed countries should also help and work with developing countries to eradicate poverty related diseases once and for all. The Chancellor also mentioned that everyone has a right to a full and healthy life, regardless of where they come from. Chancellor Angela Merkel was very impressed with the suggestions we made and acknowledged that the whole point of the J7 Summit was to include youth in decision making.
We also had the opportunity of going to all G7 countries embassies and the European Union to present our position papers so as to enable us to work together and see what can be done to involve more youth. One way of doing this was to make use of different social media interfaces such as Facebook and Twitter to better keep in contact, involve other youth to take part and spread our position papers to the rest of the world. We, the youth, have also promised to follow up on the G7 Summit and see if our suggestions have been included.
But the J7 Summit wasn't only about work; it was also a chance for us to see historical places in Berlin such as Brandenburg Gate and the Wall of Berlin. We had the pleasure of listening to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and took part in different sport activities to keep ourselves active and refreshed. Personally, this experience has been an unforgettable journey. It gives me so much hope to see so many people and organizations willing to listen and work with the youth.
I am grateful to UNICEF Ethiopia for choosing me to represent my country at the summit.
27 January 2015: UNICEF Chad's Youth Advocate, 16 year old Mani Virgille Djelassem, and UNICEF Ethiopia Supporter- Tommy T. Gobena visited the Addis Ketema Youth Centre and its HIV prevention activities today.
The Chadian National Council for the fight against AIDS, in collaboration with UNICEF Chad, nominated the 16-year-old Mani as a National Youth Advocate to intensify the communications activities around the issue of HIV/ AIDS among youth and adolescents. Her appointment was officially presented by the First Lady of Chad, Mrs Hinda Deby, during the celebration of World AIDS Day on 1st December last year.
Tommy T. Gobena, a bass player in 'Gogol Bordello'- a renowned international rock band- has been closely working with UNICEF in conveying messages on HIV/AIDS prevention. Tommy's public service announcement (PSA) entitled "Your life; Your decision" produced by UNICEF in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and UNAIDS has received extensive public viewers and positive feedback on social media after its release on World AIDS Day last year.
The duo observed the Addis Ketema Youth Centre's youth activities, including the library, cafeteria, Voluntary Counseling and Testing and game centres, and met with young beneficiaries. While discussing the issue of HIV/AIDS, Tommy and Mani highly encouraged them to get tested and know their HIV status as early as possible.
"The sooner you know your HIV status, the more options there are available to you." said Mani.
"You can prevent infection to others if you find out you are HIV positive and you can seek medical care early and live a healthy life. If you test negative, you can continue to protect yourself from the virus by avoiding risky sexual behaviour," reiterated Tommy.
Tommy and Mani also had the opportunity to meet with the Director of the Disease Prevention and Control Directorate at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Mahlet Kifle, and the HIV Team Coordinator, Dr Frehiwot Nigatu.
"I highly encourage adolescents in Ethiopia to be a champion for change and share their knowledge about HIV with each other." said Mani.
In Ethiopia, the prevalence of HIV in terms of percentage of the population is low compared to other African countries. In 2011, 1.5 per cent of the population between the age 15 and 49 was HIV positive. In 2005, this rate was 1.4 per cent. However, taking into account the large population, the absolute numbers of people infected with HIV is high. Young people are often at a greater risk to become infected with HIV. They may have shorter relationship spans and therefore more sexual partners, or they may engage in risky sexual practices. Girls face a higher risk of HIV infection than boys.
In 2011 DHS report, 0.2 per cent of adolescent girls (aged 15-19) were HIV positive compared to 0 per cent of boys. This rate has declined since 2005, when this rate was 0.7 per cent of girls and 0.1 per cent of boys.
ADDIS ABABA, 4 June 2014 – Today, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ethiopia announced a NOK 100 million (USD 17,421, 026 ) grant to support the joint UNICEF and UNFPA programme on 'Rights-based Approach to Adolescent and Youth Development in Ethiopia (Phase II – 2014-2017)'. The fund is divided equally between UNICEF and UNFPA and released independently to each agency on a bi-annual basis.
Under the programme, vulnerable adolescent girls and boys will gain improved access to an integrated youth-friendly services on protection and promotion of rights related reproductive health services, HIV/AIDS prevention services, and livelihoods. The funding will benefit 403,000 adolescents and youth aged between 10 and 24 in 30 selected woredas (districts) of six regions (Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, Afar, Tigray and Addis Ababa City Administration).
This joint programme will be implemented in partnership and with active collaboration of various government and non-government partners. The Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (FHAPCO) and key sector ministries: Health, Education, Labour and Social Affairs and Women Children and Youth Affairs will play a pivotal role at all levels of the programme implementation. Furthermore, civil society organizations (CSOs), and community based organizations (CBOs) will be active implementing partners.
The joint programme aims to improve the capacity of government and non-government institutions as well as youth-run organizations to fulfil the demand of adolescents and youths in the selected 30 woredas. It will also empower communities and parents to ensure a protective and enabling environment which includes protecting them against gender-based violence, Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs) and violation of their reproductive rights.
In line with rights-based programming approach, disadvantaged adolescents and youth are recognized as key actors in their own development utilizing Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) and HIV/AIDS prevention services rather than as passive recipients of information, skills, and services.
Building on the experiences gained from the previous joint programme (2007- 2013), the phase II joint programme will provide services on SRH and HIV/AIDS services through youth centres, health facilities, and educational institutions so that adolescents and youths can ultimately make healthy decisions for themselves.
"We commend the Royal Norwegian Government for supporting the Government of Ethiopia, UNFPA and UNICEF to sustain the gains made so far. UNICEF is firmly committed to enhance the development and protection, care and support of adolescent and young people," said Dr. Peter Salama, UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia.
What: Grant signing of NOK 100 million (US$ 17,421, 026) from the Royal Norwegian Embassy to support the joint UNICEF and UNFPA programme on rights-based approach to adolescent and youth development in Ethiopia (Phase II – 2014-2017).
When: Wednesday 4 June2014, time 9:30am.
Where: Elilly International Hotel, Addis Ababa.
Who: H.E. Mr. Odd-Inge Kvalheim, Ambassador, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ethiopia; H.E Ato Berhanu Feyissa Director General, Federal HAPCO, Dr Peter Salama, UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia; Mr. Faustin Yao, UNFPA Representative to Ethiopia.
Why: About 33 per cent of Ethiopian population are aged 10-24 years, with nearly 22 per cent being adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years. Young people, in particular female youth, continually face risks such as poverty, HIV/AIDS infection, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and harmful traditional practices. To complement government's efforts in addressing adolescent and youth issues, the joint UNICEF and UNFPA programme provides an integrated youth-friendly services on protection and promotion of rights related reproductive health services, HIV/AIDS prevention services, and livelihoods.
 National Youth Policy Implementation Status Assessment, MOWCYA in collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA, December 2012, AA.
TERGOL, AKOBO WOREDA (GAMBELLA REGION), 15 March, 2014- As the searing heat of the afternoon sun begins to ease, a group of women carrying jerry cans and plastic buckets start to descend into a small compound where they have access to clean water from two water points. The small compound is one of two sites where UNICEF has installed two emergency water treatment facilities (EMWAT kits) through its implementing partner, ZOA International, in Tergol town, in the Akobo district of the Gambella region, western Ethiopia.
Tergol is a small town by the Akobo River that marks the border between Ethiopia and South Sudan. Tergol has been under the spotlight since mid-December last year after thousands of South Sudanese asylum seekers crossed over into the town after being displaced by conflict in Africa's youngest nation.
According to UNHCR, close to 66,000 asylum seekers crossed into Ethiopia by the beginning of March 2014. Akobo has received 34 per cent of this number, which is the second largest arrival rate after Pagak where 33,000 South Sudanese civilians displaced by conflict have entered. These asylum seekers are in a critical situation and need immediate humanitarian assistance including the provision of clean drinking water and sanitation services.
In Tergol, the host community has entirely depended on the Akobo River for its water needs as there has never been a facility to provide safe drinking water. However, this situation has been recently improved. With UNICEF's support, EMWAT kits have been built and are now supplying clean drinking water to the Tergol community as well as to the thousands of South Sudanese asylum seekers. Water from the nearby river is purified and supplied by the first reservoir built by the emergency kit, the purified water is then transferred into a second reservoir where it is chemically treated before it is reticulated to the water access points. Each EMWAT kit has a capacity for providing 20,000 litres of clean water and the kits can be re-filled every two hours depending on the rate of demand.
Nyathak Minyjang (with black dress) comes to the water point at least three times a day. She fetches water for cooking, bathing and drinking. The emergency water treatment facility which is built with the support of UNICEF provide clean drinking water to South Sudanese asylum seekers and the host community in Tergol ©UNICEF Ethiopia/2014/Bizuwork.
While the women gather around the water points, they talk to each other as clean water fills their buckets and jerry cans. The women then help one another to balance the vessels on top of their heads.
When it is Nyathak Minyjang's turn, a 25-year-old mother of four, she places her plastic bucket under the tap and holds the hose down to pour in the clean water. Prior to the response, Nyathak had lived on the South Sudan side of Akobo before coming to Tergol with her four children. Her only previous access to water was a river. She never imagined that she would have access to clean drinking water from a tap. "We used to drink water from a river. My children would regularly get sick and I would get sick too", she says. "The quality of the water here is very nice." Nyathak comes to the water point at least three times a day. She fetches water for cooking, bathing and drinking. Most importantly, she applies the lessons she learnt about personal hygiene from community hygiene promoters. She is also keen to keep her children clean.
Nyarout Gazwech, a 21-year-old mother of two boys, is also very happy about the supply of clean water. She came from the South Sudan city of Malakal a month and a half ago, leaving her two brothers and her mother behind when the conflict intensified. During her long trek to Tergol, she and her children had no option but to drink unsafe water. "My children were having diarrhoea after drinking the river water. Here we have clean water and my boys will not get diarrhoea again," she says.
UNICEF in partnership with UNHCR, the Government Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), the Gambella Region Water Bureau, and its implementing partner ZOA supports the provision of safe water to the host community and asylum seekers in Tergol. UNICEF's response has followed its Water Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) strategy by increasing equitable and sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation services, as well as promoting improved hygiene in Tergol.
"We are providing clean water to the asylum seekers and to the host community. Furthermore, we teach them about safe hygiene practices such as the importance of hand washing and using latrines," says Nigussie Yisma of ZOA who is coordinating the WASH interventions in Tergol.
Apart from Tergol, UNICEF also supports WASH interventions at the entry point in Pagag and in the Lietchor refugee camp. One EMWAT kit has been installed at the Pagag entry point and is providing clean drinking water to the asylum seekers and the host community. Similarly, five shallow water wells have been drilled in the Lietchor refugee camp to increase access to a sustainable source of clean water for the refugees. Moreover, water purification chemicals and emergency sanitation facilities are being distributed while hygiene promoters continue teaching the community and asylum seekers about safe personal and environmental hygiene practices.
When the emergency response was launched in January 2014, community hygiene promoters were trained and they taught the community and asylum seekers about the benefits of safe hygiene practices. Furthermore, 40 communal latrines have been built in close proximity to the host community as well as where asylum seekers are staying.
In order to keep the facilities running smoothly, local water technicians have been trained on the management and maintenance of the water facilities to safeguard smooth operation. The water technicians are responsible for regularly monitoring the water levels and the quality of the drinking water.
Water purification chemicals and accessories are also readily available to the community.
Clean and safe drinking water is essential for life and is also bringing renewed hope for people like Nyathak and Nyarout after being displaced by the conflict in South Sudan.


Turkey has banned all academics from leaving the country, and has ordered all those who are abroad to return immediately, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan implements a far-reaching crackdown following the failed coup to oust his government. All teachers' annual leave has been cancelled, and those abroad have been given hours to return to Turkey where they must report for work at 8.30am on Thursday.
Academics and academic institutions are one of most important aspects of a democracy. Whenever they are in danger, freedom is endangered. Turkey is on a slippery slope right now to authoritarianism, hopefully the madness ends soon.


Pop on a pair of headphones before bed and learn Italian in your dreams. Play Vietnamese radio while you cook and absorb vocabulary while chopping onions. Turn on an Arabic TV show without subtitles and let the colloquialisms wash over you. In no time, you're guaranteed to be fluent.
Endless websites, podcasts and even YouTube playlists promise that you can learn a language subconsciously just by passively exposing yourself to it, without any effort. Sit back, relax and let your subconscious do the trick. It sounds almost too good to be true. So…is it?
What is subliminal language learning?
The concept of picking up a language without trying is called subliminal language learning; even if you're not paying attention to anything being spoken, your brain will automatically remember commonly repeated words and form connections between those words and their definitions in your native tongue. At least, that's the idea.
In theory, this should work. After all, babies pick up their mother tongue this way. They don't cram flashcards or glue themselves to the latest language-learning app. They silently absorb the world around them. Sure, adults' brains are a little less malleable, but they should still be able to pick up common phrases through sheer exposure.
The most famous example of subliminal language learning is hypnopaedic learning—that is, learning while sleeping. A quick search for products promising to make listeners bilingual turns up dozens of get-fluent-quick products in everything from Spanish to Tamil.
There is a precedent for achieving fluency while unconscious, as dozens of people have emerged from comas completely fluent in another language. In 2010, a thirteen-year-old Croatian girl awoke speaking German like a native. In 2014, a twenty-two-year-old Australian man woke up with a perfect command of Mandarin. While comatose, they weren't doing vocabulary drills and diagramming grammar, so some sort of hypnopaedic learning must have occurred. However, those are extreme cases. Can sleep-learning take place over the course of a single night?
The Swiss National Science Foundation is convinced that it can.
In 2014, Swiss psychologists at the University of Fribourg tested this with sixty German-speaking students. At 10 p.m., all of the students were taught a list of Dutch words that they had never seen before. Afterward, half of the students were directed to go to sleep while a recording of the new vocabulary played, and the other half listened to the same recording again while awake. At 2 a.m., the psychologists woke everyone up and tested both groups. Those who absorbed the new vocabulary while sleeping did significantly better at recalling the words than those who attempted to learn solely while awake. This, according to the psychologists, proves that hypnopaedic learning is not just viable—it's more effective than conscious learning!
Opponents of subliminal language learning qualify or even outright reject the results of the study, citing numerous alternative explanations for the psychologists' findings. For example, all of the German students had heard the vocabulary words at least once before, so while sleeping, the participants weren't truly taking in any new information. If anything, their brains were just mapping connections among the words that they learned while awake.
Furthermore, it's possible that they didn't learn while they were asleep—they learned because they were asleep. Students allowed to rest will almost always perform better than exhausted students who have been forced to listen to the same monotonous vocabulary recording drone on and on until 2 a.m. According to skeptics, that's not groundbreaking science as much as it is common sense.
Wanting to test hypnopaedic learning for themselves, linguists at the language website MosaLingua ran their own study in 2016. They chose one hundred thirty-six participants as young as eighteen and as old as over sixty.
First, the participants took control tests: memorization tests on sets of foreign vocabulary words they'd studied before and on sets they hadn't. Then, over two weeks, they listened to recordings of words and phrases during the early stages of sleep, when the brain supposedly has its highest sensitivity to external stimulation. Every day, participants alternated between hearing words they had already attempted to memorize and hearing words that were brand new, and they completed tests when they woke up.
MosaLingua compared each participants' daily results with the results of their control tests. After listening to recordings of words they'd never seen before, seventy-two percent of participants experienced absolutely no change to their test scores. They retained none of the new vocabulary from the recording. MosaLingua's conclusion? Hypnopaedic learning is not nearly as effective as its supporters claim it is, and learning new words while sleeping is nearly impossible.
Keyword: new. Learning new words while sleeping is nearly impossible.
Sleep-learning is a great tool to solidify familiar vocabulary.
After listening to recordings of words they'd previously seen, nearly seventy percent of MosaLingua participants improved their test scores. Fifty percent of those who improved their scores did so by over forty percent. These results complement the findings of the Swiss study, where participants learned the vocabulary prior to hearing the recordings at night.
Remember the American man who woke up fluent in Mandarin and the Croatian girl with a German silver tongue? Prior to becoming comatose, the man studied Mandarin in high school and the girl took a German course. They were by no means fluent before their comas, but they had previously been exposed to the vocabulary that now came so easily to them; the prolonged sleep just solidified what they'd already learned. Clearly, sleep is the key to strengthening the recall of familiar vocabulary.
Are other subliminal language learning strategies effective?
Although it's the most talked about, sleep isn't the only method of subliminal language learning; some people swear by the power of playing a language in the background while you go about your daily life. Long commute? Turn on a Turkish podcast. Lazy Sunday in bed? Cozy up to a Spanish telenovela. Doing chores? A little Swedish pop music should do the trick. By just hearing your target language, even if you're not paying much attention, you're bound to pick up something, right?
This is true—to a point. Hearing your target language may help you become more comfortable with the way it sounds, so that the first time you find yourself surrounded by native speakers, you won't feel (as) overwhelmed. And when you finally attempt to speak it yourself, you might subconsciously imitate those shows or radio hosts, allowing you to achieve a slightly more natural-sounding accent.
However, this method can only go so far. That is, not far at all.
If you're not learning actively, you're not learning much.
Simply put, passively listening to a language won't help you parse what's being said. Until you sit down and actively listen to the words—preferably with a dictionary handy—you can't comprehend the meaning, so you might as well be listening to gibberish. Yes, you'll become familiar with the way the language sounds, but you won't truly grasp how to employ the words you keep hearing.
On its own, passive listening won't magically perfect your pronunciation either. Sure, you may be able to subconsciously imitate a certain cadence, as I mentioned above, but if you want to truly speak like a native, you have to do more than just listen. You have to learn, repeat and practice what you hear.
Passive listening also has the downside of making you feel like you've productively studied your target language…even if you haven't. After listening to a Cantonese podcast for an hour, you might feel accomplished and even a little tired, believing that you must have improved because of the sheer amount of time that you "invested," even if you've actually learned nothing at all. In all honesty, you might have picked up more with five minutes of focused flashcard practice than with an hour of unfocused passive listening.
Subliminal language learning will never be as effective as active language learning.
Subliminal language learning alone cannot make someone completely fluent, whether they're wide awake or fast asleep. And, let's be honest: That's disappointing. After all, who wouldn't want to pick up a second language while eating breakfast or taking a nap?
Fortunately, even though you can't rely solely on subliminal language learning, you can still take away important lessons from it.
1. Play vocabulary when you sleep.
Just be sure to study the vocabulary on your own first. Both MosaLingua and the Swiss study proved that if you listen to familiar vocabulary playing while you sleep, you'll retain it better. So review the words once or twice before popping on the headphones.
2. Be strategic about when you learn.
In the Swiss study, participants who studied at 10 p.m., right before bed, did significantly better than participants who stayed up cramming into the wee hours of the morning. Find the time that's best for you. Maybe you work efficiently at night, when you're free of distractions. Maybe you prefer to learn new vocabulary as soon as you wake up, so that you can keep it at the tip of your tongue all day. Run your own experiments.
3. Listen actively, not passively.
What's the difference? To be frank, passive listening is easy. Active listening is hard.
Passive listening doesn't require any attention. Active listening requires full attention. Passive listening lets the words just wash over you. Active listening makes you wrestle with every syllable. Passive listening won't get you far, but active listening will do wonders for your comprehension.
Instead of passively listening to something in the background for an hour, take ten to fifteen minutes to actively listen, tuning in closely to what's being said.
As you do this, grab a highlighter and a dictionary. Research unfamiliar idioms. Keep a journal of new vocabulary, and use each word in an original sentence.
Repeat everything you hear, and record yourself to polish your pronunciation.
If you're listening to a song, learn the lyrics and belt them alongside the lead singer.
If you're watching a show, translate it as you go along, and then hop on an online forum to discuss it with other fans.
You have to make an effort, but it will pay off!
Sadly, subliminal language learning doesn't really exist, at least not to the extent that people hope it does. However, even though it's impossible to become completely fluent in your sleep, you can still use sleep, coupled with other learning strategies, to strengthen your vocabulary recall.
Active learning is hard, but don't give up. Be intentional with when and how you study, and you will master your target language in no time.
Oh how funny, I just read an article about this, and it was so convincing! I was certain that I would wake up using reflexive verbs like a native, lol!
Thanks for posting the facts and not the hype.
Well you know the old saying - "If it sounds too good to be true..."
I've noticed this in my own experience. When I play Japanese audio that I'm unfamiliar with, it tends to sound all static and garbled when I hear people talking in my dreams and also that moment when you're not quite awake, but you're also not quite asleep either.
But when I play the audio from a book that I've been studying diligently (so I know all the words), I not only hear people saying the exact Japanese words and phrases in my dream, but I can also understand them.
The big difference I see between learning something (math, a procedure, etc.) and a language is that in the former we're stocking information in a preexisting structure and in the latter we seem to be reprogramming our minds. And minds no like change. Minds lazy.
Many times in the past I've made the mistake of going through my language learning routine like checking off a box in my to do list. As time went on I (my mind) was getting quite skilled at parroting back phrases without thinking through what I was saying. I really have to be fully engaged (i.e., pain, working at it).
So if what I've observed is true, I really can't imagine how subliminal language learning could possibly work. And so I would not put the 0.01% that it might somehow help up against a good night's sleep.
Good article with good news. I was never looking to learn a new language in my sleep, but finding that I can reinforce what I've already learned thru subliminal learning is great. I can take my Rocket Japanese lessons, put them on my mp3 player, and reinforce the lessons. And I can record vocabulary I'm trying to learn and play that too.
While I know I can't learn a whole language this way, at least I know it's not a total waste of time playing recordings while I sleep.


One evening while sitting by the campfire, along with a group of others, Grandfather was holding a cup. An empty cup, he said, how do you get rid of its emptiness? There's only one way, you fill it.
He then went over to the well and filled the cup with water. We have successfully removed the emptiness, he said with a slight smile, not by focusing on the emptiness or by concentrating on removing it. We removed the emptiness simply by fulling the cup with water. A Simple solution, yet profound, even revolutionary when you apply it to life.
How did God accomplish salvation? By removing evil from the world? No, by His presence, by coming into the world, by becoming God with us, Immanuel.
By pouring water into the cup, I said.
Exactly, He didn't take away our problems or remove them from the world. He did something better, He gave us the answer. He poured the answer into the world. You see, salvation is not the absence of sin. It's the presence of God. Salvation is not the removing of the world's darkness. It's the shining of God's light into the darkness. And by the light, the dark was is driven away. Salvation is the incarnation of God. It's His presence. It's the Immanuel solution. So what does it reveal?
You don't overcome darkness by focusing on the darkness. You overcome the darkness by focusing on the light, I replied.
Correct, and you don't overcome sin by focusing on sin. You overcome sin by dwelling not on sin but on God. You overcome emptiness by dwelling on His presence. You solve your problem, not by dwelling on the problem, but by dwelling on the answer, by being filled up with the answer.
You overcome sorrow by the presence of joy and hate by the presence of love and evil by the presence of good. Try this secret and it will change your life. Overcome the absence by the presence of its opposite. It is as simple and as deep as pouring water into the cup, the Immanuel solution.
Apply this to your everyday life. Overcome the problem with the Answer, the bitterness with Forgivness, hate with Love and evil with the Good.
How will you fill your cup?


At the 13th Imaging Network of Ontario Symposium in London (ON), Nisrin Abou-Seido, Jennifer Andrea, Kaci Carter, and Maggie Hess represented the Perk Lab brilliantly. Between them they authored 5 posters and 3 oral podium papers. During the conference, I kept receiving praises from poster judges, session chairs and many senior colleagues about how well prepared our students were. The icing on the cake was that Maggie Hess received the Second Place Poster Award of the Cancer Imaging Network of Ontario (CINO) Consortium.


text:
Creative Apps
Mobile apps to spark your creativity! Prompts and more...
L'aura del Campo
Online journal capturing the moment and the memory of moments. A meadow meditation.
Greeting the Ex-
Tonight he'd tried to make good on his promise; if I he couldn't have me, no one would
1st place - Use a given quote and write a short story. For The Ultimate Adventure contest.
This is a page to request reviews for static items and books.
Hurricane Camilla strikes again?
This article questions the possible role of Camilla in influencing bad press.
Illusion of Solitude
20 Minutes From Nowhere
2 / 08 Not really sure what's going on here...
XLQ, the fashion magazine for Big Men
The story of XLQ, THE fashion magazine for the Larger Man
Like Leaves Floating
Written for Express It In Eight; a short poem about life.
Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/11783-Mission-Trips.html
Spiritual: January 25, 2023 Issue [#11783]
<< January 18, 2023 Spiritual Archives | More From This Day | Print This Issue
This week: Mission Trips
Edited by: Jeff
More Newsletters By This Editor
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
"Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief."
-- C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of your regular editors for the official Spiritual Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 350 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter!
ASIN: B07P4NVL51
Rory's Story Cubes Actions (Eco-Blister) | Storytelling Game for Kids and Adults | Fun Family Game | Creative Kids Game | Ages 6 and up | 1+ Players | Average Playtime 10 Minutes | Made by Zygomatic
Product Type: Toy
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
When I was growing up, I was (mostly) agnostic and growing up in an area with a large Mormon community. My initial exposure to the idea of missionary work was with those Mormons who elect to pursue a proselytizing mission, many of whom go door-to-door seeking to educate others about their faith and convert them. I've since come to learn that the Mormon Church has, like many other faiths, other types of missionary work including humanitarian aid, community service, etc., but my first experience with the idea of someone on a "mission trip" was a church sending you to a particular city, state, or country with the goal of converting others to your faith.
In 2014, I went on my first mission trip. The previous year, my wife had traveled with her sister's church to Sao Paulo, Brazil where they served with a partner that provided a number of services and benefits to low-income areas, including some of the worst favelas (slums) in the city, and in 2014 they needed someone to help them with audiovisual and web content to promote their ministry. At first, I was really resistant to the idea. I didn't want to go film a bunch of people knocking on doors and trying to convert people to Christianity.
When I got there, I was genuinely shocked to find there wasn't anything like that going on. The ministry partner in Sao Paulo goes into the favelas and puts on "block parties" for the neighborhood kids who, most of the time, are exposed to crime, drugs, violence, and poverty on a daily basis. This organization comes in and sets up on a run-down basketball court, barren park, abandoned building, or whatever they can find and bring everything they need so the kids can spend a couple hours playing games, eating a healthy meal, and listening/singing along with music. They ask if they can pray for the kids and their families, and some of the activities (puppet shows, songs, etc.) have a religious message, but they aren't pushy about it. The goal is just to spend time with the kids, making them feel special and giving them something to look forward to when they come visit every couple of weeks.
At their headquarters, the ministry also offers basic professional classes (everything from English language lessons to tutorials on how to put together a resume, interview for a job, etc.) to help more affluent members of the community, and those funds in turn go to supporting their efforts with the kids in the favelas. While I spent most of my time recording and editing material for them, most missionaries simply helped out with these activities; anything from helping the English classes as a native speaker, to playing with the kids during the block parties in the favelas. Sometimes there would be special projects like helping neighboring businesses remove graffiti from their storefronts or bringing a meal to someone who was sick.
I was completely taken aback that a "mission trip" could be something as simple as helping members of the community; that it wasn't necessarily going around quizzing people about their faith and trying to "educate" them into converting to your religion. Just as importantly, it was also one of my very first experiences really getting to know people different from myself. Spending time with people in other cultures has since become a core value of mine. It's too easy to isolate from others and secure ourselves in our own little protective bubbles when so much of the human experience is a shared one. We're all living on the same planet and many of us, for the most part, want the same things: security, love, acceptance, etc.
In the time since that original mission trip, I've been on a number of other mission trips (both local and international), as well as supported a number of other friends and acquaintances who have taken trips of their own. Collectively, we've built schools and dug wells in Uganda, planted churches in India, sponsored children in the favelas of Brazil and other impoverished regions around the world. Houses have been built in Mexico, cleanup efforts have been undertaken in Haiti, children have been adopted out of the foster system, and - closer to home - an organization is being formed that is trying to, among other things, help skilled locals turn their talents and hobbies into viable business opportunities to support their families. One of my favorite mission trips recently was the one our church sent to work with an organization in El Salvador who is doing some amazing things in their community. A lot of mission trips have a "we'll bring help to those less fortunate" vibe to them and this was one of the few where a more affluent church sent a team to learn from the local organization and bring those lessons back to make efforts in our own community better.
All of this is to say that I had no idea what a "mission trip" really was. I didn't understand that "ministry" isn't necessarily just proselytizing and trying to convert others to your faith. It can be that, sure, but depending on the types of mission work you seek out, there's a real opportunity to help people, to build stronger communities, and to get to know amazing people you might not otherwise have ever had a reason to meet. Those are the kind of missions that speak to me, and have really had an impact on how I see the world and what I've been able to do to make it a better place.
If you ever have the opportunity to support or, better yet, actually go on a mission trip yourself, I'd highly encourage you to consider doing so. You'll of course have to vet the opportunity and make sure that the specific thing you're going to do is something you're excited about, but there are mission trips for all kinds of good work, and the world really is a better place when we get out of our comfort zone and meet other people where they are. You never know where life might lead you from there.
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "The Book of Jeff"
This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
Dear Me: Official WDC Contest [E]
What are *your* goals for the new year? Think it over, write a letter and win big prizes!
by Writing.Com Support
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
Made Pure [ASR]
A young child is sent to stop a curse keeping a kingdom from a holy celebration.
by brom21
EXCERPT: A light gale moved the small tree branch as a snow covered cardinal perched. Daress sat on a bench as he continued to gaze at the creature. His tall father sat beside him. "Do you remember the observance we have once every seven years, son?"
Entries for Spiritual Challenge [E]
2023 - Writing Letters to God
by AmyJo - February is Comin'
Hoped For and Not Seen [E]
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. "Hoped for?"
by PastorJuan
EXCERPT: What is faith besides "the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen?" These two phrases may seem self-evident, but they aren't. If something is "hoped for" and "not seen," it is not yet established, fulfilled, or complete. This is where faith comes in. It suggests that the "not seen" and "hoped for" are real enough and obtainable. The believer has a choice to make at this point. Believers can decide that they will live according to the idea that what they have accepted as the truth will take place or occur. On the other hand, these same believers can also choose to believe in believing in what the Bible claims are valid. This second option is where I think too many Christian tend to live in their "walk with God."
2023, A Year for Gratitude [E]
Never need to look for a reason to show gratitude!
by G. B. Williams
Gabby's Miracle [18+]
A tabby soothes the Christ child and earns a reward.
by dragonwoman
EXCERPT: The tabby cat had only been living in the stable of the Bethlehem inn for a few months. She'd been given in payment by a travelling merchant for a room for the night. She had been heavy with kittens when she arrived. While taking a break from her sleeping little ones, Gabriella, as the innkeeper's wife had named her, heard the innkeeper talking to some new arrivals. Since the inn was small, it had filled up rapidly as people flooded into the town in order to be register to be taxed.
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter!
https://Writing.Com/main/newsletters/action/nli_form
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
ASIN: B083RZ2C5F
Poet's Market 2020: The Most Trusted Guide for Publishing Poetry
Product Type: Kindle
Amazon's Price: $ 19.99
Feedback from "Spiritual Newsletter (December 28, 2022)" about the Twitter "war" on Christmas:
AmyJo - February is Comin' writes:
It is sad that people feel they need to attack others' beliefs (or lack of). We aren't called to attack people, but to show them Christ's love, and be a beacon of light. As the song goes, They will know we are Christians by our love...not by our aggression, however "well intended". Just my two cents, anyway.
BIG BAD WOLF is Merry writes:
My opinion - God is a Scientist, and Earth is his Petri dish. There - Evolution and Creation. Lol!
tpaulter writes:
I'm an agnostic, but I prefer for the holiday to keep its name - "Christmas". It's what I grew up with, and I have many fond memories of the holiday, with presents under the tree, carols on the stereo, and eggnog in our cups. "Winter Holiday" doesn't get it for me. The title "Christmas" is only loosely associated with religion for me, and I would like my memories to not be interfered with.
Shannon writes:
I couldn't agree more, Jeff. I got rid of all my social media accounts two years ago and cable TV about a year ago. Two of the best decisions I've ever made. Great NL, my friend.
Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Newsletter!
This form allows you to submit an item on Writing.Com and feedback, comments or questions to the Writing.Com Newsletter Editors. In some cases, due to the volume of submissions we receive, please understand that all feedback and submissions may not be responded to or listed in a newsletter. Thank you, in advance, for any feedback you can provide!
Writing.Com Item ID To Highlight (Optional):
Send a comment or question to the editor!
Limited to 2,500 characters.
Plotman to the Rescue: A Troubleshooting Guide to Fixing Your Toughest Plot Problems (Bell on Writing)
Product Type: Book
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.