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Original article / research
Table of Contents - Year : 2011 | Month : December | Volume : 5 | Issue : 8 | Page : 1614 - 1617
Surgical Implant Generation Network (SIGN) Solid Intramedullary Interlocking Nail in the Lower Extremity: An Observational Study from Western Nepal 1614-1617
Manoj Kumar Chakraborty, Pabin Thapa, Brijesh Sathian
Manoj Kumar Chakraborty
Prof&HOD, Orthopedics Department, Manipal College of
Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal.
Phone: 00977-9726155900
E-mail:drmkc2010@yahoo.com
Background: Intramedullary nail fixation has become the standard of treatment for both femoral and tibial shaft fractures. It functions as internal splints that allow secondary fracture healing. The axial and rotational stability of the conventional hollow interlocking nails depends primarily on the locking screws. Surgical Implant Generation Network (SIGN) was formed in 1999, with the vision of creating an equality of fracture care throughout the world. This system has been utilized at a variety of facilities in low income countries throughout the world.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of SIGN nailing in the long bones of the lower extremity.
Method and Materials: This was a hospital based, retrospective study which was conducted in the Orthopedics Department of the Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal between May, 2010 and August, 2011. A total of 24 cases with fractures of the femur and the tibia were studied. Both closed and open types of fractures were included and the fracture fixation was done by using SIGN interlocking solid nails and instrumentation. The analysis was done by using descriptive statistics and the testing of the hypothesis. The data was analyzed by using Excel 2003, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows Version 16.0 (SPSS Inc; Chicago, IL, USA) and the EPI Info 3.5.1 Windows Version.
Results: Out of the 24 patients, 16 (66.7%) were males and 8 (33.3%) were females. The average age of the patients was 29.58, with a range of 13-60 years. An intramedullary interlocking SIGN nail was performed in 18 (75%) tibial and 6 (25 %) femoral fractures, with 41.7 % being right sided and 58.3% being left sided. The types of fractures which were included were closed= 66.67 % and open fractures= 33.33%. According to the Gustilo- Anderson classification, 4.17 % were Gustilo I, 25 % were Gustilo II and 4.17 % were Gustilo III a. Open reduction was done in 58.3 % and closed reduction was done in 41.7 % of the cases. Reaming was done in all the cases and no post-operative infections were noted. There was a significant relationship between the type of fracture and factors like the affected side, the method of the fracture reduction and the location of the fracture.
Conclusion: The SIGN solid intramedullary interlocking nail shows promising results in comparison to the hollow nail because of its better strength, better accuracy in distal locking and surprisingly better results in infection and non-union
[ FULL TEXT ] | [ PDF ]


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Q: Ahlfors' Complex AnalysisTheorem 1 of Chapter 4 Hello, I was going through Ahlfors' Complex Analysis where I found some difficulty to underestand the proof of the followning theorem. This is the way he explains it in the book:
Update : $\Omega$ is a region. i.e. an open connected subset of plane.

The following theorem gives a necessary and sufficient condition under which a line integral depends only on the end points.
Theorem I. The line integral $\int_{\gamma} {p dx + q dy} $, defined in $ \Omega $, depends only on the end points of $\gamma$ if und only if there exists a function $U(x,y)$ in $\Omega$ with the partial derivatives $ \dfrac{\partial U}{\partial x} = p $, $\dfrac{\partial U}{\partial y} = q $.
The proof goes like this :
The sufficiency follows at once, for if the condition is fulfilled we can write, with the usual notations, $ \int_{\gamma}{pdx+qdy} = \int_{a}^{b}{ (\dfrac{\partial U}{\partial x} x'(t) + \dfrac{\partial U}{\partial y} y'(t)) dt}  = \int_{a}^{b}{\dfrac{d}{dt} U(x(t),y(t))dt} = U(x(b),y(b))-U(x(a),y(a)) $
and the value of this difference depends only on the end points.
To prove the necessity we choose a  fixed point $(x_0,y_0) \in \Omega $ join it to $(x,y)$ by a  polygon $\gamma$, contained in $\Omega$, whose sides are parallel to the coordinate axes and define a function by $ U(x,y) = \int_{\gamma}{p dx + q dy} $.
Since the integral depends only on the end points, the function is well defined. Moreover, if we choose the last segment of $\gamma$ horizontal, we can keep $y$ constant and let $x$ vary without changing the other segments.
On the last segment we can choose $x$ for parameter and obtain $ U (x,y) = \int_{}^{x} p(x,y) dx + \text{some constant} (*)$, the lower limit of the integral being irrelevant.

What I Realized from this proof : suppose the last horizontal segment mentioned above conects $(a,b)$ to $(x,y)$.
Now since $\Omega$ is an open set for every $(x',y)$ is near enough to $(x,y)$ ( $x'$ belongs to a $\delta$-neighbourhood of $x$ and $x'-\delta>a$ ) we can find a polygon path connecting $(x_0,y_0)$ to $(x',y)$ which its last horizontal segment begins connects $(a,b)$ to $(x,y)$ and the other sides of this path is as same as $\gamma$.
In fact we can right $ \int_{\gamma'}{pdx+qdy} + \int_{\gamma"}{pdx+qdy} $ where $\gamma'$ is always the first part of $\gamma$ connecting $(x_0,y_0) to (a,b) $ and $\gamma"$ depends on $x'$.
This explains the equation $(*)$ except I can't realize where did $q$ go from the integrals?!
Note That the book doesn't work with differential forms. from the text we have these two definitions:
$ \int{f(z)dx} = \dfrac{1}{2}(\int_{\gamma}{f(z)dz} + \overline{\int_{\gamma}{f(z)dz}})$
$ \int{f(z)dy} = \dfrac{1}{2i}(\int_{\gamma}{f(z)dz} - \overline{\int_{\gamma}{f(z)dz}})$
I appreciate your help.
Update : I'm thinking that now I doubt how the first equality of the first part of the proof came from in the first place as well.
Update 2: those definitions I wrote was wrong! These are correct:
$ \int{f(z)dx} = \dfrac{1}{2}(\int_{\gamma}{f(z)dz} + \overline{\int_{\gamma}{\overline{f(z)}dz}})$
$ \int{f(z)dy} = \dfrac{1}{2i}(\int_{\gamma}{f(z)dz} - \overline{\int_{\gamma}{\overline{f(z)}dz}})$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I am loving this book! The delicious and simple to prepare dishes (because the recipes are so clearly written!)are only part of the appeal of this book. I am enjoying learning about a history of a culture and part of the world that I am unfamiliar with. Thank you!


Katalor Steel offer premium quality Stamping and cold forming steels Plates. These Stamping and cold forming steels plates have consistent and controlled properties, designed for withstanding the high tension for deep-drawing and cold forming.
Stamping and cold forming steels sheets (deep-drawing) are suitable for deep-drawing and cold forming. The sheets are weldable; higher grades are suitable for surface treatment by hot dipping, enameling or other coating methods.
DD11 - Steel is suitable for non-structural press work, for forming; DD12 - steel is suitable for medium-structural press work; DD13 - steel is suitable for press work and surface treatment; DD14 - steel is suitable for structural press work, surface treatment.
Katalor Steel has one of the widest steel plate product range in the world. Whether you are a designer, contractor or fabricator you will find our product range both modern and extensive. Stamping and cold forming steels offered by Katalor Steel is in very high quality to support the requirements of those engaged in large projects.


text: Q: InheritedWidget scope So I have app with MaterialApp wrapped inside InheritedWidget called ApiProvider which provides API trough out application.Now what I want is to have InheritedWidget just for specific scope for example I want to login and have ProfileProvider which will be provided only if you user is logged in and etc.Is this doable ? Cause it doesn't make sense to have a Profile accessible or some other state that's in certain domain in this case authenticated user.


Weeks ago, ThoughtWorks published a new issue of Technology Radar compiled by its senior tech leaders. It has done a great job to track latest technology and market trends since 2010 (for archives, scroll to the bottom of this page).
Given the company's business and the authors' expertise in customized software consulting, the focus is around the software development in four different areas: techniques, tools, platforms, languages. For each area, it categorizes various technologies into four rings from inner to outer: adopt, trial, assess, and hold. So you can clearly see what actions should be taken for a particular technology. I don't necessarily agree on everything it recommends, but definitely find the Technology Radar well worth reading.
I think the most interesting part for virtualization and cloud community is the platforms area, which tracks 29 technology points. Among them, 6 technologies are recommended to adopt: ATOM, AWS, care about hardware, communication between those responsible for hardware and software, KVM, mobile Web.
Well said! Like everything else, you can better use virtualization if you understand it.
It explains the rise of devops movement. I also think for a really successful project, at least one person, ideally software architect, should understand both software and hardware. Communication definitely helps, but never to the same result as both perspectives in one brain.


Listen SABC Radio Lotus FM 87.7 News Live Online Stream with new Presenters and RJ,s from Durban city South Africa, Lotus FM 87.7 is working upon the various shows and producing programs into that statement the overall listeners can enjoy which. Lotus FM 87.7 with the presentation of our on-line gushing office has possessed the capacity to listen stealthily on our emcees' special talks, unbalanced track choice and marvelous assembling. At Lotus FM 87.7 you have yourself a genuinely progressive group stereo station which, it ought to be said, serves town with The Soundtrack to Their (Campus) Lifestyle.


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Version 2.0.25 by Volodymyr Volynets

	<time class="change_log_date_commit" datetime="2019-03-02">2019-03-02</time>

Users

	Bug #1204 (Organizations, Locations.)

Repository / Git:
	Name: Numbers\Users
	Title: Users Repository
	Version: 2.0.24
	Last Tag: 2.0.24
	User Name: Volodymyr Volynets
	User Email: volodymyr.volynets@gmail.com
Statistics:
	Addition: 43
	Deletion: 13
Modules:
	O/N Organization Management (Numbers\Users\Organizations, 1.0.14)                         |    43   13
		    8   13	 | Organizations/Model/Locations.php
		   35    0	 | Organizations/Model/Organizations.php

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Pride Alliance will be closed Friday 4/19 12-5pm, in observance of University closure.
Education: Providing information, programs, and training opportunities that create awareness, understanding, and inclusion of all gender and sexual identities represented within the UNT community.
Engagement and Involvement: Serving the UNT community through partnerships with campus and community organizations and promoting policies and practices that are inclusive of all gender and sexual identities.
Student Success and Leadership Development: Fostering an environment that affirms and celebrates all gender and sexual identities and providing opportunities for personal growth through dialogue, exploring the intersections of identity, and creating support systems to enable achievement.


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Henry Brewster Stanton (* 27. Juni 1805 in Preston (Connecticut), New London County; † 14. Januar 1887 in New York City) war ein US-amerikanischer Journalist, Rechtsanwalt, Politiker und Abolitionist.

Leben
Henry war der Sohn von Joseph Stanton und dessen Ehefrau Susan M. Brewster. Die Handelsbeziehungen des Vaters, der Wollwaren herstellen ließ, reichten bis auf die Westindischen Inseln.

Ab 1826 bis zu seinem Lebensende betätigte sich Henry Stanton als Journalist; schrieb für Thurlow Weeds (1797–1882) Rochester Telegraph, für Horace Greeleys New York Tribune und für die New York Sun. Zudem unterstützte er William Lloyd Garrison mit journalistischen Beiträgen für dessen American Anti-Slavery Society und die Wochenzeitschrift The Liberator.

In der Gemeinde Whitesboro bei Utica (New York) studierte Henry Stanton am Oneida-Institut für Wissenschaft und Industrie. Darauf – ab 1832 – studierte er am Lane Theological Seminary, einem presbyterianischen College in Walnut Hills in der Nähe von Cincinnati, Theologie. Dieses Studium brach er ab und heiratete am 1. Mai 1840 Elizabeth Cady. Die Hochzeitsreise führte das Paar nach Europa. Der frischgebackene Ehemann nahm dort im Juni 1840 in London am Ersten Weltkongress gegen die Sklaverei teil und bereiste anschließend die Britischen Inseln und Frankreich. Wieder daheim, schloss Henry Stanton ein Jurastudium bei seinem Schwiegervater Daniel Cady in Johnstown (New York) an und arbeitete ab 1844 als Patentanwalt in Boston. 1847 bezog die Familie ein – vom Schwiegervater gekauftes – Haus in Seneca Falls. Henry Stanton wirkte bei der Gründung der Free Soil Party und auch bei der Gründung der Republikanischen Partei mit. Von 1850 bis 1851 saß er im Senat von New York.

In den Jahren 1842 bis 1857 bekam das Ehepaar Stanton sieben Kinder, die alle das Erwachsenenalter erreichten. Bekannt wurden der Journalist Theodore Stanton (1851–1925) und die Frauenrechtlerin Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch. Henry Stanton starb an einer Lungenentzündung.

Werke (Auswahl)
 1837:  Remarks of Henry Brewster Stanton on slavery  ().
 1849: Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland ().
 1850: Ultraists, conservatives, reformers. An address delivered before the Adelphic Union Society of Williams College, August 20, 1850  ().
Autobiographie
 1887: Random recollections ().

Literatur
 Henry Brewster Stanton im Elizabeth Cady Stanton Womens Consortium
 Henry Brewster Stanton in der African American Registry
 Passionate Reformers: The Couple, Henry Brewster Stanton (1805-1887) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) in der Miami University
 Todesnachricht vom 16. Januar 1887 in der Tageszeitung Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester (New York)

Weblinks

 Henry Brewster Stanton auf The Online Books Page
 Henry Brewster Stanton im Internet Archive
 Henry Brewster Stanton in der Open Library

Anmerkungen

Autor
Journalist (Vereinigte Staaten)
Rechtsanwalt (Vereinigte Staaten)
Abolitionismus
Person (New York City)
Mitglied der Republikanischen Partei
Mitglied des Senats von New York
US-Amerikaner
Geboren 1805
Gestorben 1887
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: Sign In - following upgrade from 2.3.0 to 2.3.1 - Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Cannot instantiate interface If you Sign In to your account and then Sign Out again whilst on the Home page or Category Page you get the following error :-
Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Cannot instantiate interface Magento\Shipping\Model\CarrierFactoryInterface in /var/vendor/magento/framework/ObjectManager/Factory/AbstractFactory.php:116 Stack trace: #0
If you Sign In when on a product page the error occurs straight away.
This started after updating from v2.3.0 to v2.3.1
Initially on updating I had to disable several Magento modules that were causing the following error when running the command to Re-index
PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught Error: Cannot instantiate interface Magento\InventoryIndexer\Model\StockIndexTableNameResolverInterface in /var/vendor/magento/framework/ObjectManager/Factory/AbstractFactory.php:116 Stack trace: #0
I solved the reindex issue by disabling a number of modules in config.php
I am assuming my current Sign In issue is similar but I'm not sure what to disable.
I have tried the usual commands to Update and Compile with no result.
Does anyone know what modules could be related to the error - Cannot instantiate interface Magento\Shipping\Model\CarrierFactoryInterface?

A: First of all, do you have Redis installed? If so, open a CLI window and enter:-
redis-cli
followed by:-
FLUSHALL
this will clear any information in the Redis cache. Now we need to enable all of the Magento modules with the following command:-
bin/magento module:enable --all
That should fix it :)

A: Just run search in code. If you use PHPstorm ctrl +shift + f on magento directory.
If you don't use any IDE you can run this command in console
grep -rnw 'yourmagento/app/code' -e 'CarrierFactoryInterface'

Check also your theme:
grep -rnw 'yourmagento/app/design/frontend/' -e 'CarrierFactoryInterface'

This will help you track what module or theme customisation is causing your issue.

A: For reference I ran the following commands after clearing the VAR, Generated/Code and Pub/Static/frontend directories

*

*redis-cli

*FLUSHALL

*bin/magento module:enable –all

*bin/magento setup:upgrade

*bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy en_US en_GB -f

*bin/magento setup:di:compile

It might be more than was necessary but it did the job


The Bachelor of Film and Television (3 Year Program) is designed for international students who wish to study via a two-semester model, this three-year program means students will study during the January and September semesters of each year only and will complete the degree over three years rather than the usual two.
If you are a domestic student and interested in a Bachelor of Film and Television, please click here.
The Bachelor of Film and Television prepares students for a career in the film or television industry. Taught by accomplished industry professionals, students are mentored through their degree and encouraged to explore their inner creativity.
This 3 year study option is specially designed for international students who wish to study via a two-semester model - a three-year program means students will study during the January and September semesters of each year only and will complete the degree over three years rather than the usual two.
The degree is founded upon practical experience and provides students the opportunity to work on numerous film projects, as well as television broadcast opportunities. Students have access to state-of-the-art equipment and dedicated learning spaces, ensuring they graduate with working knowledge of industry standard equipment. By working on numerous film projects, students graduate with a portfolio of work samples that makes their CV stand out.
There is no better place to study film and television than right here on the Gold Coast! The Gold Coast is home to Village Roadshow Studios which produced films from franchises such as Pirates of the Caribbean, San Andreas, The Chronicles of Narnia and Thor. The Gold Coast boasts the largest studio lot in the southern hemisphere in Village Roadshow Studios, and Queensland Government's commitment to growth in the industry through Screen Queensland.
Designed for students who wish to study via a two-semester model, this three-year program means you will study during the January and September semesters of each year only and will complete the degree over three years rather than the usual two.
Students have complete access to all the Film and Television facilities. The studios come equipped with Hollywood standard state of the art technology such as Sony F65 and F3 digital motion picture cameras, and Arri 35mm and 16mm cameras, all with Zeiss prime lenses. There are over 40 Mac editing suites, with Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, as well as a Pro-Tools HD 5.1 audio mixing suite, and a fully equipped three-camera digital television studio. Our Equipment Loan Store has a large range of professional industry standard lighting, camera and sound equipment.
The Bachelor of Film and Television (3 Year Program) is designed for those passionate about a career in film, television or related screen-based media in the Australian or International Film Industry.
Plus an additional three (3) subjects from the Faculty of Society & Design list of undergraduate subjects.
To fulfil your student visa requirements, you will need to enrol in 40 credit points per semester.
Most students undertake four (4) subjects per semester (equivalent to 40 credit points). You may however enrol in fewer subjects and extend your degree over a longer period.
Bond University's teaching methodology involves a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, examinations, projects, presentations, assignments, computer labs and industry projects.
Visit our student profile if you are interested in the profile of all students who commenced undergraduate study at the Faculty in the January semester 2018.
Centrescreen is the annual screening of our film and television student films. The special event serves to showcase the growth of our students as young filmmakers, their strengthened capabilities and their ability to produce high-quality, emotionally engaging films using state-of-the-art equipment. The evening is truly a spectacular cinematic experience, and a testament to our committed Bachelor of Film & Television students who have worked so tirelessly to create their graduate films. Centrescreen is not only a screening of films, but also represents an awards night to formally recognise each student's film. An esteemed judging panel of industry professionals critiques each film and acknowledges achievements accordingly.
Watch some of our past student films.


A basic indicator of whether a potential investment warrants a closer look...the cap rate is equal to the net operating income divided by the price. Acceptable cap rates vary by the type of property and the location.
Capitalization rate is basically your return on investment based on the price you paid for the property!
cap rate (i believe) is the annual gross return on investment.
so a $500,000 property that nets $50,000/year = 10% cap rate. It represents the return on your investment without considering debt service.
It is the inverse of PE ratio used by stocks. Instead of P divided by earnings, its net income (aka earnings) divided by price.
I caution you to not consider this a return on investment. The CAP rate does not calculate your return compared to the financial investment. As Tracy M of NY says, it is an indicator, in this case a percentage, to compare/measure the value of the investment. The higher the CAP rate, the better value to the buyer. Calculate the annual NOI (without mortgage/debt service) divided by the price or value of the center. The cash-on-cash calculation percentage represents more of a retrun on investment, but would still need to add in depreciation and tax effects to get a true return on investment.
If you're familiar with the stock market, it is similar to the P/E ratio.
A way to determin the risk associated with an investment. The higher the cap rate the more risk involved. The lower the cap rate the less risk involved.


Metal Butterflies and flowers Wall Hanging Art, Handmade in Haiti from recycled drums, Eclectic Home Decor 34" x 17"
Born in 1970, Julio Balan is considered one of the most talented metal sculptors on the island. Many, many young artists began their apprenticeships in his workshop, respecting his skill, and regarding him highly. He is married with six children and fills his themes with lively patterns that tell us of an everyday life that is productive, spiritual and satisfying. His work continues to gain an international reputation.
Julio Balan and his three brothers - Jonas, Joel, and Romel - were taught by their close neighbor, Darius Gary. In their lakou, or shared compound, the Balans often work together to produce art from metal drum pieces. Like many of the other sculptors, Voodoo influences their art, with La Sirene, the mermaid being prominent. Additionally, trees of life flourish in many of Julio's sculptoral pieces and lately he has been experimenting with "tall skinnies" - disproportionately long and thin figures performing the actiities of daily life.


Deepinder, a seasoned a Technology Entrepreneur, is the owner and CEO of powermatrix. An electrical engineer by profession, Deepinder has architected several projects in his career spanning 22 years. Along the way Deepinder has also created two very successful software businesses. One of them in powermatrix that is focused on creating cutting-edge software for business from the energy industry. Deepinder's innate ability to build high-performance teams, including his strategically-selected executive management staff, has served as a growth catalyst and infused productive energy into the workplace.
Jason Beck, is a sales & marketing leader with 10+ years of experience growing customer bases for startups to Fortune 500 companies within deregulated energy. He has an extensive background in creating and executing multi-channel customer engagement plans while streamlining internal cross-functional processes through software automation. Some of these channels include door-to-door, Brokerage, Telemarketing, Digital and Direct Mail. Past positions include managing 3rd party sales channels for Constellation, leading the residential business unit for AEP Energy and VP of Marketing, Reporting and Analytics for Source Power & Gas.
Dhyuman has 15 years of professional experience and is an instigator of innovation with unwavering determination to deliver superior solutions on time. One of his past projects was built under the guidance of UBS and currently has over 100 deployments with companies ranging from 15 Million to 300 Million dollars in annual revenue. Dhyuman delivers products with true passion and a focus on a value driven approach. With his diverse background, he has been able to execute on projects no matter how challenging or complicated. He is a true professional in every respect bringing a wealth of value and critical input to any situation.
Karan has more than 6 years of customer service and leadership experience in the retail industry. He really developed his training and coaching skills while he worked at Best Buy and coached multiple stores to increase revenue and productivity while helping cross train different teams in different departments. Karan has been working deliberately with powermatrix on product demonstrations and new client onboardings while helping with on-shore support here in the U.S. His focus has been to ensure on shore support and quality training sessions for all our clients.
Steven Carroll, has more than 12 years of retail energy experience. He has an extensive background in building channel partner relationships and implementing pre-sale and post-sale software systems for meter management and statistical reporting. In addition to managing operations for some of the top broker companies in the country, Steven has also worked for large energy retail providers to include Direct Energy, AEP Energy, and Reliant. He has experience working with channels contracting private and government energy clients; some of which involve hundreds of meters and total in excess of over 1 billion annual kilowatt hours and in excess of $50 million dollars in revenue. This gives Steven the unique ability to bring balancing perspectives of both retail energy providers as well as aggregators, brokers, and consultants.


Process of visualizing (1) what future conditions or events are probable, (2) what their consequences or effects would be like, and (3) how to respond to, or benefit from, them.
That night we did some scenario planning about what we wanted to see happen the next day on the field.
The scenario planning was fruitful as we were able to determine likely directions the market would go in so then we voiced contingency theories as well.
While most institutions should, and do, use scenario planning as one of their strategic techniques to build their goals and ensure their longevity, some types of institutions, such as medical and military institutions, find that they can mean the difference between life and death.


An electric guitar lesson on how to play "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House.
As far as the guitar parts go, it's mostly the rhythm part that you need to learn. Getting the strumming right on the intro riff might be tricky for some folks. Once you get that down, the rest of the tune is just basic bar chords. The guitar solo is kinda cool. It sounds like one part, but when you really listen its two guitars.
It's the production on the song that makes it so great IMHO. It was produced by a guy called Mitchell Froom. There are a lot of keyboard textures and little guitar parts coming in and out as well as the great harmony vocals. In my demo, I made all the sounds with my Les Paul, trying to cop the keyboard parts with volume swells as well as tremolo effects.
Anyways, I had a lot of fun making these videos so I hope you enjoy them and enjoy playing this awesome song.


text:
2019-20 Quick Facts
2019-20 Schedule (PDF)
2019-20 Photo Gallery
2019-20 Video Gallery
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DOWNED BY WEBER STATE, 66-60
Sacramento State (8-14, BSC 4-7) 16 13 14 17 60
Weber State (11-11, BSC 5-6) 16 11 17 22 66
Pts: Gretchen Harrigan - 13
Reb: Alexia Mefi - 10
Ast: Justyce Dawson - 3
Pts: THOMAS, Deeshyra - 13
Reb: QUINN, Kailie - 6
Photo Courtesy Robert Casey
OGDEN, Utah - In another low scoring contest Sacramento State held Weber State to just 66 points but the Wildcats forced 19 Sacramento State turnovers, 11 of which came in the decisive second half, and held the Hornets to a season-low 52 shot attempts in a 66-60 win on Thursday in Ogden.
Sacramento State (8-14, 4-7 Big Sky) dropped its third straight game after winning four of its five previous contests. The Hornets again put forth a strong defensive effort but scored less than 70 points for the third straight game after topping 70 in each of the first 19 games of the season.
The 52 field goal attempts match the fewest the Hornets have attempted in a game in nearly eight years, going back to 43 shots against Northern Colorado on March 7, 2009. On Thursday the Hornets led at halftime and shot a solid 43% from the field in the second half but attempted just 21 field goals, and only eight threes, in the 20 minute half.
The Hornets did shoot 16 free throws in Thursday's game, however, and made 15. Unfortunately that was counteracted by Weber State (11-11, 5-6 Big Sky) shooting an identical 15-of-16 at the line as the two teams combined to go 30-of-32 (94%) for the game.
Sacramento State battled back from an early eight-point deficit in the first quarter to take a 29-27 lead at the half. The Hornets outscored the Wildcats 16-2 in points off turnovers in the first half, forcing 12 turnovers with just eight of their own, and limited the home team to 2-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.
Weber State went ahead 33-32 midway through the third quarter before a 7-0 Hornet run gave Sacramento State a 39-33 lead with 2:39 left in the quarter. The Wildcats went back ahead by a point going to the fourth and started the final period on a 10-1 run to take a 54-44 lead. The Hornets got their deficit down to four points with less than two minutes to play but could get no closer.
Sacramento State stayed in the game with outstanding free throw shooting, making 15-of-16 as a team with junior Alexia Mefi (6-of-6) and senior Gretchen Harrigan (4-of-4) leading the way. Harrigan had a game-high 13 points while Mefi had a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Quayonna Harris chipped in a career-high 12 points, shooting 5-of-8 overall and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and senior Ashlyn Crenshaw finished with 11 points.
The Hornets actually had a higher field goal percentage than the Wildcats in the second half but were 2-of-8 from 3-point range while WSU was 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. Sacramento State had a 36-31 rebounding advantage with 12 offensive boards in the game but was outscored in second chance points, 8-6. The Hornets finished the game 5-of-19 (26%) from 3-point range and are now 1-11 this season when shooting below 30% from distance.
Sacramento State concludes its road trip at 1 p.m. Pacific time Saturday at Idaho State. The contest will be Bunky Harkleroad's 500th career game as a head coach.
April 27, 2017 HORNET STUDENT-ATHLETES EARN 33 WINTER ACADEMIC ALL-BIG SKY HONORS
March 6, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EDGED BY WEBER STATE IN OVERTIME, 98-97, IN BIG SKY TOURNAMENT
March 5, 2017 MARANNE JOHNSON NAMED ALL-BIG SKY THIRD TEAM
March 4, 2017 WOMEN'S HOOPS ON TO BIG SKY TOURNAMENT, FACES WEBER STATE MONDAY AT NOON
March 3, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO NORTHERN COLORADO ON SENIOR NIGHT
March 2, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON, HONOR SENIORS FRIDAY NIGHT
March 1, 2017 WOMEN'S HOOPS MAKES SECOND HALF PUSH BUT FALLS TO NORTH DAKOTA 92-78
February 28, 2017 WOMEN'S HOOPS BEGINS FINAL WEEK OF REGULAR SEASON HOSTING NORTH DAKOTA WEDNESDAY
February 25, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DRAINS 21 3-POINTERS IN 110-104 WIN AT SOUTHERN UTAH
February 23, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RALLY COMES UP SHORT AT NORTHERN ARIZONA, 91-88
February 22, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON FINAL ROAD TRIP AT NORTHERN ARIZONA, SOUTHERN UTAH
February 18, 2017 MONSTER SECOND HALF LEADS MONTANA STATE PAST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
February 17, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO HOST MONTANA STATE SATURDAY
February 16, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OFFENSE ERUPTS IN 99-69 ROUT OF MONTANA
February 14, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS MONTANA IN PINK GAME THURSDAY
February 11, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LOSES AT IDAHO STATE
February 10, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO REBOUND SATURDAY AT IDAHO STATE
February 9, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DOWNED BY WEBER STATE, 66-60
February 7, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BACK ON THE ROAD, PLAYS WEBER STATE THURSDAY MORNING
February 6, 2017 SACRAMENTO STATE COACHES VS. CANCER 3-POINT CHALLENGE
February 4, 2017 JOHNSON TOPS 1,000 POINTS IN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LOSS TO IDAHO
February 3, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS DEFENDING BIG SKY CHAMPION IDAHO SATURDAY
February 2, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CAN'T OVERCOME SLOW START IN 72-65 LOSS TO EASTERN WASHINGTON
January 31, 2017 JOHNSON NAMED BIG SKY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
January 31, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RETURNS HOME, HOSTS EASTERN WASHINGTON THURSDAY
January 28, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RALLIES FROM DOWN 13 WITH 22-0 RUN, WINS 77-68 AT PORTLAND STATE
January 26, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BACK IN ACTION SATURDAY AT PORTLAND STATE
January 21, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EARNS FIRST EVER WIN AT MONTANA, 73-60
January 20, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO REBOUND SATURDAY AT MONTANA
January 19, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COMES UP SHORT IN 84-80 LOSS AT MONTANA STATE
January 18, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TAKES WINNING STREAK TO MONTANA STATE THURSDAY
January 14, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OUTLASTS NORTHERN ARIZONA IN 82-76 HOME WIN
January 13, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS NORTHERN ARIZONA ON KIDS DAY SATURDAY AT 2:05 PM
January 12, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECRUITS SHINING IN FINAL HIGH SCHOOL SEASONS
January 12, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RIDES STRONG START TO 81-69 HOME WIN OVER SOUTHERN UTAH
January 10, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CONTINUES HOMESTAND FACING SOUTHERN UTAH THURSDAY
January 7, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS NAIL-BITER VS. PORTLAND STATE, 88-86
January 5, 2017 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS PORTLAND STATE FOR BIG SKY HOME OPENER SATURDAY
December 31, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATED AT NORTH DAKOTA
December 29, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OUTLASTED AT NORTHERN COLORADO, 95-88
December 27, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OPENS BIG SKY PLAY AT NORTHERN COLORADO, NORTH DAKOTA
December 18, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DOWNED IN CAUSEWAY MATCHUP WITH UC DAVIS
December 15, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CLOSES NON-CONFERENCE PLAY HOSTING RIVAL UC DAVIS SUNDAY
December 10, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BATTLES FOR 78-70 WIN AT UC IRVINE
December 9, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LOOKING TO REBOUND AT UC IRVINE SATURDAY
December 8, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATED AT #24 CALIFORNIA 97-73
December 6, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RETURNS TO BERKELEY TO FACE #24 CALIFORNIA THURSDAY NIGHT
December 3, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EDGED BY USC 111-95 IN FRONT OF NEAR CAPACITY CROWD
December 1, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS PAC-12 FOE USC SATURDAY IN DOUBLEHEADER WITH MEN'S HOOPS
November 30, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNS FOUR TO NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT
November 29, 2016 TWO TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE, FOOD DRIVE ON TAP FOR SATURDAY'S HOOPS DOUBLEHEADER
November 29, 2016 JOHNSON SCORES 37, EASOM 25 AS WOMEN'S HOOPS BEATS STANISLAUS STATE 102-72
November 28, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS STANISLAUS STATE TUESDAY
November 25, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BESTS HOFSTRA 97-85
November 23, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS POST THANKSGIVING MATINEE FRIDAY VS. HOFSTRA
November 20, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EDGED BY YOUNGSTOWN STATE 102-94
November 18, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO NEW MEXICO STATE AT BANK OF HAWAII CLASSIC
November 17, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HEADED TO HONOLULU FOR BANK OF HAWAII CLASSIC
November 16, 2016 NEVADA USES BIG FOURTH QUARTER TO TOP WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 99-95
November 15, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS NEVADA WEDNESDAY NIGHT
November 13, 2016 EASOM'S LATE THREE GIVES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 97-96 HOME WIN OVER CAL POLY
November 11, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS SEASON OPENER AT SAN FRANCISCO, 91-80
November 8, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OPENS SEASON FRIDAY AT NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAM SAN FRANCISCO
November 6, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BEATS SAN FRANCISCO STATE 81-46 IN FINAL EXHIBITION GAME
November 4, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYS LAST EXHIBITION GAME SUNDAY HOSTING SAN FRANCISCO STATE
November 4, 2016 BIG SKY, RENO EVENTS CENTER LAUNCH BASKETBALL TICKET PRE-SALE
October 30, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES 92-55 EXHIBITION WIN OVER HOLY NAMES
October 28, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS FIRST EXHIBITION GAME SUNDAY VS. HOLY NAMES
October 18, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PICKED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON BIG SKY POLLS
October 17, 2016 BURGOS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG SKY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
October 11, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON OPENER JUST ONE MONTH AWAY
August 31, 2016 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES 2016-17 SCHEDULE

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Roar Report
Cooking with Parind
Jacob W. Sparlin
By LPR Staff
Jacob Winfield Sparlin, 43, of Martindale,Texas, passed away on July 5, 2018, in Kyle, Texas.
A graduate of San Marcos High School, Jacob wore many hats throughout his life: he attended Trade School at TSTC in Waco, Texas, served in the U.S. Army, was a welder and welding inspector for many years in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and most recently enjoyed his work as a Systems Repair Technician at Amazon in San Marcos. Jacob also loved the drums and played in multiple rock bands over the years. Even animals seemed drawn to his incredibly gentle and kind spirit. Jacob had a sweet soul and a kind heart. He was easy to love and will be missed by all who knew him.
Jacob is survived by his parents Arlene (Norris) Carter of Martindale, John W. and Sharon Sparlin of Waco, and Wayne E. Carter of Fentress, his sister Lisa (Sparlin) and brother-in-law Art LaChance of New Braunfels, Texas, his nephew Nicolas Remington and wife Kayley of Abilene,Texas, nieces Madeline and Jacqueline Remington of New Braunfels, his sister Dannette (Sparlin) and brother-in-law Aaron Wigen, niece Kaitlyn and nephew Aaron (Bubba) Wigen, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, step-sister Sabrina Sparlin of Los Angeles, California, step-sister Tina Carter and family of Bertram, Texas, step-sister Tonya Carter Lopez and family of Bertram, Texas, and step-sister Amanda Carter Laws and family of Michigan. He is also survived by numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Viewing was held Tuesday, July 10, from 10-11 a.m. at Pennington Funeral Home, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m., with Pastor Jeffery W. Latham of Westover Baptist Church officiating. Burial services followed in Martindale.
Arrangements by Pennington Funeral Home in San Marcos, Texas.
To view and sign the guestbook, visit www.post-register.com/obituaries/Jacob-W-Sparlin
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text:
Odimegwu Onwumere
Passionate about Nigeria and Writing
Balarabe: Unreserved Truth Of APC's Wares Of Hardship To Nigerians
Posted on December 13, 2017 by africanresearcher2013
By Odimegwu Onwumere
"Balarabe Musa is one of Nigeria's brightest stars of integrity and sterling principles. The octogenarian has lived to his reputation by avoiding any conduct associated with corruption and dishonour. Even Musa's worst enemies and critics cannot dispute his remarkable reputation for integrity and selfless service to the people." – Muhammadu Buhari
At 81, Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa who is regarded as a left-wing Nigerian politician, elected Governor of Kaduna State, during the Nigerian Second Republic, has remained an outspoken loyalist to the downtrodden, hapless and defocused Nigerians, who are enduring charlatanic governance under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of Nigeria. Musa who probably would not have owned a house of his own if not that he took a loan about 40 years ago of which he balanced recently, has spoken truth to the mendacious APC government.
Musa, the National Chairman of Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, with an undamaged acumen not always known of persons of his age, news has it that while speaking at the 54th National Executive Committee of the party in Kaduna on December 12 2017, had the following words for the retrogressed and aberration known as APC: "The economy remains comatose, and in some sectors, particularly in industry and commerce, it is even getting worse. Monetary and fiscal management have continued to lack coherence and consistency, or even predictability and strategic planning.
"Unemployment, particularly among the youths, who constitute the bulk of our population, has assumed critical proportions and is now, for all practical purposes, a national emergency. Yet, this APC administration, which rode to power on the back of false promises to this generation of hapless young men and women, seems to have no answers to this ticking time bomb beyond slogans such as N-Power.
"In the name of an anti-corruption campaign, the government has been consistently assaulting Due Process and the Rule of Law. Court orders are flagrantly disobeyed by the very institutions that should enforce them. Basic democratic rights are being cynically abused.
"While talking glibly about fighting corruption, the government shamelessly looks askance where corruption is exposed within its own very ranks, closets and cocoons. APC, both at the centre and the states it controls, has proved that it has little or nothing else to provide Nigerians other than further mass impoverishment, frustration and hardship."
While the Major General Muhammadu-led APC government has shown that it lags the tenets of positive leadership in the points raised above by Musa but with a PhD in propaganda, you wonder what is then an impeachable offense that a president should commit before he is shown the exit door in the office. T
The governened are enduring untoward hardship as they are experiencing under the government of Buhari in the name of democracy.
Musa has shown that he is not and cannot be like the Senate leader, Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), who on July 25 2016, said in an interview that Buhari cannot be impeached, because he has not been faithful to any impeachable offence. In the same month of that year, the Nigerian House of Representatives corroborated what the Senate had said through Ndume.
Chief Whip of the House, Alhassan Doguwa was the garrulous 'speaker' for the lower chamber. Whereas the Senate and House of Reps exonerated the president of impeachment, it is still fresh in our hearts that the DSS was unashamedly above board in its excesses in this government, Army, Police, Fulani herdsmen and Boko haram were also defiantly everywhere in this government.
Remember that the Nigerian Police was rated the worst in the world few weeks ago, according to World Internal Security and Police Index International, WISPI. But apart from the fact that Nigerians are roasting under Buhari and some persons were saying that he had not committed an impeachable offense, the retention of the (il)legal Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, upon the rejection of Magu by the Senate, had been said is one impeachable offense.
We should not even remember the brain behind Maina's return. According to Reno Omokri, the author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years: Chibok, 2015 and Other Conspiracies, "This is even as the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami had already revealed that he "acted in the public's interest" in initiating the process for Maina's return." The $25 billion Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) fiddle which is regarded by opinion leaders as "the biggest scam ever in the history of Nigeria since 1914 to date" could also have been "in public interest".
Omokri, about five months ago, said that the former President Goodluck Jonathan made mistakes, but Buhari is a mistake. Omokri is not far from the truth. Buhari is not just a mistake but a failure in governance that many of us shouted about during his emergence as APC's presidential candidate in the 2015, that he will finally not prove critics wrong.
Taking to Twitter of the lies of the Buhari government, Omokri wrote that before the APC came into power, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and currently the Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing and was Lagos State Governor from May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015, had in 2014 promised stable electricity, if only the People's Democratic Party (PDP) is voted out.
"However, he is now blaming Jonathan, for reducing electricity tariff. Buhari will do well moving @tundefashola from being in charge of generating power for Nigeria to being in charge of generating excuses for govt," Omokri mocked them. "The main difference between GEJ/PDP and PMB/APC is that @GEJonathan made his mistakes as President while @MBuhari is a mistake as President. The major difference between the PDP and the APC is that whereas the PDP had some confirmed liars as members, the APC is itself a lie!"
Against that influence, Buhari spent the vital parts of his first year in office junketing around the world without a cabinet. Buhari stayed in the office without a cabinet knowing or unknowing that the different states depend on the Federation Account to survive. Buhari had a view that he was preparing for the best for the country, oblivious that his action was for the worse. Six months without a functional cabinet of ministers, ambassadors and so on, were enough to damage the country's economy than just recession. And here we are!
However, speaking in an interview on April 2 2017, Senator Femi Okurounmu, regarded as a die-hard Awoist, said that the president might be impeached, on the appointment of the Magu, if he refuses to follow the constitution. In the words of Okurounmu, "There are two issues involved here. If the Senate rejects Magu and the president allows him to act, that is an impeachable offence. If our legislature is up to the task, if our lawmakers know their rights and they are men of honour, that is enough to impeach the president."
Hmmm. Hardly is anyone talking on the hyper-kept secret of the health condition of Buhari since January 19 2017, we read then in the news that he sent a letter to the senate in respect of this. The senate did not see him, but saw the letter. Since then, Nigeria has been sick as their president is sick.
It is the odious of governments that Buhari is heading that pushed Musa to weep that at 81, he is not yet fulfilled, while fielding questions to journalists on October 27 2017. It is this type of nuisance called democracy under Buhari that made Musa to regret the 57 years of Independence from the rapacious British colonial masters. He said, "At 81, I will say I feel great and I thank God for everything. But, I am not completely fulfilled because we are yet to have the country of our dreams. We are yet to have a country where there is equity and respect for rights and dignity of all citizens. We are yet to have a country where the governed are good followers and leaders think first about the people and not the other way round. I desire a better Nigeria where everyone will feel the impact of governance that is my birthday wish for the country.''
Nevertheless, when this government expires someday, the remaining of us who were not killed by the Buhari hunger policies would remember Balarabe Musa as a man who spoke truth to power, when some others chickened out. We would remember Musa that it was his un-daunting courage for the elements of integrity that made Buhari to describe him as a "man of unassailable integrity and untainted record of public service" in a tribute to Musa on the occasion of his 81st birthday anniversary this year.
If Buhari apologists think they can keep the health of the president a secret, they cannot keep the fact that Nigerians are hungry under Buhari a secret; they cannot keep the killing and marauding Fulani herdsmen a secret, and many other deliberate abuses here and there under the Buhari-led APC government. These are the hardships being offered to Nigerians by the APC government, which Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa was not happy about.
Odimegwu Onwumere is a Poet, Writer and Media Consultant based in Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855. Email: apoet_25@yahoo.com
Posted in Nigeria politicsTagged Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, APC, Babatunde Fashola, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari, nigeria, PDP, Reno OmokriLeave a comment
Local Content: Gulping Billions Of Dollars With Unfeasible Results In Oil And Gas Sector
Posted on December 4, 2017 by africanresearcher2013
In this report, Odimegwu Onwumere unearths that the utilisation of the local content in the oil and gas sector is still a tall dream since the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act was enacted in 2010; and $380b dollars or more have been lost in 50 years in the industry, upon the billions of dollars also being pumped in, to sustain the scheme
{Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board}
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector and the federal government have been gasping for breath to fashion out a lasting plan for the utilisation of the local content in the sector since the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act was enacted in 2010. This socio-economic term, which is as old as man, has had setbacks in several occasions in the country with companies and the authorities pumping in money into the initiative that is habitually never accomplished. The incessant hope given by opinion leaders pointing out that by making use of local content, about $191 billion could be maintained, while 300,000 new nonstop job opportunities were green in such areas as engineering, sciences, technical services and manufacturing of the oil and gas sector, might have been dashed by the oil companies and Nigerian authorities.
The "exploration, production, manufacturing, fabrication, procurement and allied services sectors of the oil business" which were the canons for the implementation of local content in the oil and gas sector are not being realised with the attendant results they deserve. Most times, while the stakeholders push to accomplish the "value added in local oil industries", they make loss upon creating proposed chances and heartening indigenous oil companies to vigorously take part in maximizing local content.
Investigation by this writer has revealed that the local content, which was supposed to be a win-win affair, has been laced with controversies by the different stakeholders; hence there is a gap in promoting alliance amid "national oil companies, local companies and international organization." The local content initiative is still struggling to be all inclusive, because there is drought of enabling environment for business, therefore leading to un-optimized moves to carry out Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the companies involved and not insuring utmost earnings for all.
Billions Of Dollars On Local Content
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), defines local content in the oil and gas company as "The quantum of composite value added or created in the Nigerian economy through the utilization of Nigerian human and material resources for the provision of goods and services to the petroleum industry within acceptable quality, health, safety and environment standards in order to stimulate the development of indigenous capabilities."
To realise this, experts have said that the government of Nigeria made mammoth venture up to $10 billion USD yearly to achieve 70% local content goal by the end of 2010 in the oil and gas sector. But as spectators have seen, the aim was defeated.
However, just on October 16, 2017, Vice Chairman/ Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Mr. Massimo Insulla, while speaking during this year's Nigerian Content Activities, hosted by Eni in Yenagoa, disclosed that the company spent over $5.4 billion in making sure that the Nigerian content gets to the peak in the last six years.
This is even as Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) said it spent $2.5 billion on local content development in Nigeria's oil and gas sector, "representing 65 per cent of the total Nigerian goods and services expenditures for the year."
According to Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron, John Watson, "We do so through partnerships with national and local governments, national oil companies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and development agencies."
Upon Companies Boast Of Expending Billion Dollars
Meanwhile, the Federal Government by August 24, 2017, had geared up to launch $200m (about N61bn at the official exchange rate of N305 to a dollar) local content interference fund. This was apart from its unyielding billions of dollars expended yearly to end local content quagmire by the end of 2010 that never came to light.
According to the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the novel move was "in pursuant of the Business Environment and Investment Drive Component of the #7BIGWINS, known as a document of the ministry that focuses on the short and medium-term priorities targeted at growing the nation's oil and gas industry between 2015 and 2019."
But on the contrary, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) might not be certain with its compass's navigation on the local content. On September 25 2017, in Lagos, the NCDMB said that it was looking up that the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) fund would hit $1 billion in the next three years. It could be sensed that the NCDMB was using permutation in carrying out its national duty than it was using betting. This is even as it had said through its Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote at a public hearing conducted by the Joint Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream and Gas in Abuja on July 26 2017 that it intended to establish a Local Content Bank of Nigeria.
While the NCDMB might not be certain with accountability of the funds to the tone of trillions of naira dished out for various projects over the years, media reports affirmed, "The bank when set up will focus on establishment of facilities for domiciliation of services with emphasis on the optimal use of local resource inputs."
Buttressing this, Wabote in December 2016, (during a media dialogue on his plans to make these companies to meet the terms with the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 by making a payment to the Fund) gave an insight that some companies do not remit their one per cent contributions to the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) Fund.
Explaining, those who know better said, "The NCI Fund is a pool made available by the NCDMB to meet the funding needs of manufacturers, service providers and other key players in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. It was however, gathered that some upstream companies do not contribute to the NCI Fund at all."
Meanwhile, this is contrary to a July 27 2017 report, stating, "On the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), the Executive Secretary reported that international oil companies comply reasonably in remitting one percent of the value of their contracts but some service companies and indigenous operating firms default in their payment."
$380bn Lost In Oil/Gas Sector Due To Lack Of Local Content
While Nigeria was boasting of the billions of dollars she had expended in boosting local content in the oil and gas sector, by September 2017, while speaking at an oil and gas forum held in Accra, Ghana, Wabote disclosed that a whooping sum of $380b dollars or more have been lost in 50 years in oil and gas industry in the country.
"This capital flight is due to the absence of regulation on local content development in the oil and gas industry," said the source.
However, Wabote added, saying, "Local content development in Nigeria has brought about the domiciliation and domestication of value addition in the oil sector, culminating in 26 percent in-country value retention compared to the five percent prior to the enactment of the Local Content Act in 2010."
While this lasted, at the opening of the sixth Practical Nigerian Content Conference, in Abuja, in September 2016, to enlarge implementation of the local content policy to the midstream and downstream of the oil and gas sector, Wabote had explained that "a blueprint would soon be unveiled to attract the needed investment to the sector. And besides the creation of industrial parks for the sector, the NCDMB is also working towards the establishment of three pipe mills across the country."
100% Local Fabrication Of Modular Refineries
At the same time, Nigeria can be seen is confused on how to go about her local content, whereas in 1962 when Norway's offshore oil industry took off, the country recorded a huge growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and by 1965, the Norwegian Petroleum Law was enshrined and by 1972, the local content law was enacted in Article 54 of the Royal Decree of 1972.
According to reports, "The Royal Decree of 1972 mandated that Norwegian government should vigorously pursue the goal of insuring that Norwegian goods and services be given preference in the running of the oil and gas industry, provided they were competitive in terms of price, quality, schedule and service." But since the 50s oil was explored in Nigeria at Oloibiri, a small community in Ogbia LGA located in Bayelsa State, Nigeria was by August 24, 2017 'still' initiating plans to achieve 100 per cent local fabrication and this is especially of modular refineries in Nigeria.
A discussion with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), the federal government was also not certain when to achieve a lasting use of local content in the oil and gas sector. Just as it has been pumping billions of dollars in order to realise the local content by the end of 2010, the federal government through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu was not certain when the deadline for the local fabrication of oil vessels and Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSO), would berth. This is even as "the Bank of Industry said the newly launched $200 million intervention fund could be used for contract financing and loan refinancing for oil companies."
According to the media, "Speaking at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signing ceremony on the implementation of the $200 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF), between BoI and the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Kachikwu said Nigeria would not continue to award contracts, but set deadlines on when to localise most of the vessels and projects in the country."
Senate Uncertain With Local Content Implementation In Oil Industry
While the Malaysian oil industry began in the 1950s and objectives set for Malaysia's oil and gas policy, which was to "maximise local benefits through the development of local capabilities and industrial base to support the growing onshore and offshore oil and gas industry", Nigeria was thus far probing the local content implementation in the oil and gas industry in the country by July 18 2017.
The Red Chambers at the National Assembly was afraid that investors were not considering Nigerian companies while investing, hence the senate referred the investors to Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, which states inter alia: "Investors were mandated to consider Nigerian companies as an important element in their project development and management."
According to news reports, "The Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Gas Resources has commenced investigation into the implementation of local content in the oil and gas industry in the country.
"Opening the session of an investigative hearing on the issue on Tuesday in Abuja, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who was represented by the Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, said the National Assembly was concerned with the level of implementation of local content in Nigeria."
It is expected that the stakeholders in the oil and gas sector will get the local content right this time with Wabote saying recently that NCDMB was presently putting into practice a 10-year tactical roadmap fastened on transporting five pillars of sustainable local content, with an intention of attaining 70 per cent of local content in the next 10 years.
Posted in UncategorizedTagged Local content, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigria, oil and gasLeave a comment
Investigation: How Farmers/Herdsmen Conflicts Cause Setbacks To Agriculture
Farmers and Fulani herdsmen crises linger as a chief problem to the development of agriculture among local farmers in Nigeria. Odimegwu Onwumere uncovers that as a result of this, hundreds of thousands of lives, billions of Naira worth of property and farm produce are lost to the clashes, and the authorities seem not stoical in applying lasting restrictive measures against the nuisance
"When we talk to the Fulani herdsmen over the gratuitous destruction of our crops by their cows, they would point guns and arrows at us. And this is why we hardly question them in our farms, because we do not want to die."
Those were the words of Mrs. Nkechinyere Nwosu, the wife of the Ekwu I of Umuekwune-Ohoro, Igbo-Etche, Etche Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, while leading the women of the community in a peaceful protest recently, to the palace of the monarch to register their plight in the hands of Fulani herdsmen and correspondingly call on Governor Nyesom Wike of the State, not to tarry in saving them and their crops.
Known as nomads from the northern part of Nigeria traversing towns and villages in the southern part of the county with their cattle for the purpose of grazing, some school of thoughts were of the scrutiny that the Fulani herdsmen resorted to violence, when rustlers started making a career of rustling their cows. Investigations by this writer, conversely, showed that the incessant reports by the herdsmen to the authorities in the hands of rustlers, which were attended to with wave of the back hand, pushed them to be carrying arms, not minding that illegal possession of arms is outlawed in Nigeria.
According to a source that would prefer to remain anonymous, "The herdsmen have reportedly encountered cattle rustlers as they move from place to place and made complaints to the relevant authorities who fail to investigate the issue, hence their purported reason for carrying arms about."
The source further tinted, "During their journey, they frequently trespass farmlands owned by locals in their host communities, destroying crops and valuables. Attempts by farmers to prevent them from causing havoc are met with stiff and violent resistance.
"Most times, the farmers are overpowered, injured and killed, while others are evicted from their homes. Sometimes, the herdsmen are accused of taking these opportunities to steal, rape, raze houses and kill innocent members of the communities they pass through."
Against this backdrop, a former Military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, at a forum organised by Search for Common Ground, Nigeria, in collaboration with Abdulsalami Abubakar Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development on October 30, 2017, said that Nigeria loses 13.7 billion dollars annually as a result of farmers-herdsmen conflicts in Benue, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Plateau States.
{Abdulsalami Abubakar}
Farmers And Their Ordeals
While some women and men farmers who have encountered Fulani herdsmen in Igbo-Etche have stories of alleged rape, killing, destruction of their crops meted out to them to tell, the senator representing Nasarawa West Constituency in the National Assembly, Senator Abdullahi Adamu equally noted in a public presentation, saying that disputes between famers and herdsmen typically arise from disagreement over the use of possessions such as farmland, grazing areas and water.
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae experienced this "disagreement over the use of possessions" when he was abducted by some Fulani herdsmen during his 77th Birthday on September 21, 2015, at his Ilado farm in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State. Sources said that until the conviction of the abductors in April 2017 in the persons of Abubakar Auta, Bello Jannu, Umaru Ibrahim, Masahudu Muhammed, Idris Lawal and two others, Falae was released after paying N5m ransom four days after his abduction. Farmers in Igbo-Etche nonetheless believe that the herdsmen have ulterior motive, because they prefer their cows feeding on crops than grass. This, however, has led to incessant complaints by the villagers.
Cry Of Farmers Across The Country
Across the country, farmers have been lamenting the deadly stumbles-upon with Fulani herdsmen in their farms. Many of the farmers weep about the sorrowful attacks the Fulani herdsmen have made as a career against them.
For example, in Ogun and Oyo communities, especially in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, there has been heightened tension for over 12 years, when herdsmen numbering nearly one thousand started using the Eggua boundary every December to April for grazing.
In most cases, the herdsmen authoritatively venture into homes of their host communities and open the barns to feed the cows with maize, yam, cassava and others found in the barns. Like the women of Igbo-Etche, if the inhabitants of Ogun and Oyo communities ask questions, the herdsmen would pull out their guns and cause troubles.
{Woman crying after 13 were killed in Taraba herdsmen reprisal attack}
School Farms Not Left Out
Then-again, just in September 2017, the Vice Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun lamented what he described as illegal moves by the Fulani herdsmen in grazing their cattle in the institution's farm sites.
Ajibefun disclosed this while speaking at a security forum organized by the "Ondo State Police Command to interact with stakeholders including security agencies, heads of institutions, royal fathers, religious leaders, artisans, students, farmers, cattle rearers, hunters and other concerned persons and groups, in Akoko South West Local Government area of the State."
In his words, "We are aware that the issue of security is very complex. And because we don't want to make it more complex, we have been trying to manage our experience with Fulani herdsmen each time they intrude on our campus.
"It is a very bad situation the way they invade our farm and destroy the place. I would like to appeal to our security agencies to come to the aid of the university by finding a lasting solution to the problem."
Heads Roll For Cows To Feed
Reason for this is not farfetched: In some views, the Fulani herdsmen when interviewed have said that they'd no option than making sure that their cows feed.
The outcome of this is in the statistics provided by the Institute for Economics and Peace, saying, "1,229 people were killed in 2014, up from 63 in 2013 and Benue State seems to be the hardest hit in the farmers and Fulani herdsmen conflicts in recent times.
"Barely five days to the end of Governor Gabriel Suswam's administration in May 2015, over 100 farmers and their family members were reportedly massacred in villages and refugee camps located in the Ukura, Per, Gafa and Tse-Gusa local government areas of the state."
It was further noted that in July 2015, "Suspected herdsmen attacked Adeke, a community on the outskirts of the state capital, Makurdi. Last December, six persons were killed at Idele village in the Oju local government area. A reprisal attack by youths in the community saw three Fulani herdsmen killed and beheaded."
Counting Of Damages Continues
In some localities like Asa, Agon-Ojodun, Ayetoro, Ogunpa, Kodera and Igbonla, the locals said that they have been sacked in many occasions by the herdsmen when they resisted them feeding their cows with their farm produce.
From Ayete, a lethargic town in Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State, to the 10 local government areas in Oke-Ogun, the story is the same. In many occasions, the authorities' interventions have yielded little or no result.
The House of Representatives had encouraged all stakeholders to an open hearing in order to tackle what it once illustrated as "incessant clashes between herdsmen, farmers and their host communities''.
However, explorations revealed that just in February 2016, "40 more people were killed (as a result of a clash between herdsmen and farmers in Benue State); about 2,000 were displaced and not less than 100 were seriously injured."
The source added, "Most recently, more than 92 Nigerians were massacred by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Benue and Niger states. Also, before this time, there have been reported attacks by the Fulani Herdsmen in southern states of the country, including Enugu, Ekiti and Ondo States."
Calling Herdsmen To Leave
There is a belief that some farmers in some communities across the country have said that they do not want the herdsmen in their communities. This, though, has generated some rebuttals suggesting that since every Nigerian has a right to reside in any part of the country without prejudice, the call against Fulani herdsmen is uncalled for.
According to a source that would not want the name mentioned, "The solution is not for the herdsmen to leave the communities. There are a lot of political intrigues attached to the development and some people create mischief out of it."
The source enthused that some elements want to create an impression that the clashes between herdsmen and farmers are prevalent in the present administration forgetting that from time immemorial, before democracy, herdsmen and farmers have been fighting.
Among All Odds
Some communities and their traditional rulers are not sleeping on their oars in making sure that agriculture is boosted in the country, no matter the over $13.7b that have been reported lost to farmers and herdsmen conflicts yearly.
The Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru H. Momoh, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo, even with the fears of farmers and herdsmen clashes, braced up on Sunday, June 18 2017, to advise all the 25 village heads in the kingdom to influence their wards, to embrace farming. In the highlight of this, Momoh motivated that his traditional council had donated 5,000 hectares of land: Being their support to the federal government agricultural project, in order to revolutionise agriculture.
According to the monarch, "We have allocated some hectares of land to the Federal Government for the planting of cashew, cassava, maize and groundnut, and we are expecting them to come and inspect the land.''
Checks revealed that over 200 women have been encouraged in Auchi to go back to agriculture in the tone of N5 million. According to Momoh, "Because of the Fulani herdsmen issue, we gave out some money to farmers to ease them of the threat of Fulani herdsmen who threaten them in the farm."
Dissenters Over Ranches
In making sure that the stalemate between farmers and herdsmen are resolved across the country, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh had assured that some States, which included Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Katsina, Taraba, Niger, Adamawa, Jigawa, Sokoto and the FCT, among others, had provided hectares of land for the business of ranches to control clashes between farmers and herdsmen in their States.
According to the Honourable Minister, "The way forward is to strive to attain self-sufficiency in animal protein by checking constant exposure of our cows to long distance trekking in search of pasture which affects their productivity.
"This administration has therefore set out to establish ranches to be planted with high quality improved tropical grass and legume species. We shall provide irrigation for all year commercial fodder production to enhance settlement of pastoralist and ensure cattle, sheep and goat improvement through an expanded breeding programme that would use artificial insemination.''
But Dr Mohammed Ahmed, a former Chief Executive Officer of the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Plateau, was afraid that a typical Fulani herdsman wouldn't accept the initiative.
According to him, "Ranches are capital intensive; government must ensure that there is enough water and all-year-round grass for grazing. The herdsmen must also be encouraged to cut grass in the rainy season and store same for use during the dry season in addition to being educated on how to manage limited space.
"I am not sure that the typical Fulani man in Nigeria will happily embrace a ranch, but with the current realities, settling them in one place is the best way out, especially if they can have what they want where they are settled.''
While government has taken a move for ranches, Alhaji Sale Bayeri, the spokesman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders' Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Plateau, the sunshade body of the Fulani herdsmen, said, "The herdsmen will not accept ranches; we shall prefer to explore our traditional grazing routes/reserves."
That was contained in a media chat last year with MACBAN's National Legal Adviser, Mohammed Bello Tukur, saying, "stakeholders should rather demarcate routes and cattle resting points with support from technical and financial partners."
According to the source, "MACBAN rejects the setting up of ranches and supports the establishment of grazing reserves; we want government to create a ministry of livestock development to ease the establishment of the reserves.''
Chief Audu Ogbeh {The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development}
Local Farmers Must Be Included In Ranches
Some farmers nevertheless said that if government wants the scheme to succeed, local farmers must be included.
In the views of Sen. Jerry Useini representing Plateau South, "We just woke up and heard that cattle ranches will be established in parts of Plateau. Such decision cannot be popular because no one was consulted and neither was any wide enlightenment carried out.''
This was even as Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau said, "No human policy or plan can be perfect, but we want those with reservations about the ranches to suggest something better. It is not enough to just oppose what is being worked out since what we are doing is in the interest of peace.''
According to Mr. Timothy Golu representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam in the House of Representatives, "Ranches are far better than grazing reserves if we are to check incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen, but we must be able to listen to what the ordinary farmers feel about what is being worked out.
"We must carry the farmers and traditional rulers along in carving out the affected areas. We must carefully work out and ensure payment of compensations; otherwise we shall only be breeding another recipe for even worse crises."
Against this influence, the Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau was of the view that herdsmen and farmers' gridlocks are a threat to national peace.
According to him, "The effect of this conflict has been loss of life, dislocation of people and communities and the disruption of socio economic activity. Even more importantly, it is a threat to the integrity and peaceful co-existence of the Nigerian state. The objective, therefore, is to identify any laws and regulations that impact on the conflict; this will in turn inform the design of a definitive policy intervention."
On the contrary, the authorities have done little or nothing to arrest the farmers and herdsmen standoffs. Once more, the standoffs have infused fears into the women and men farmers in the areas to attend to their farms, thereby causing a setback to their agricultural productivities. This is due to unyielding peace agreements that some states have signed in respect to farmers and Fulani herdsmen conflicts. There're also the rejected cattle ranches proposed by the Major General Muhammadu Buhari government.
However, for Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue, "The ranches remain the generally acceptable practice and will serve as the permanent solution to the unending clashes between the herdsmen and farmers.''
Posted in Nigeria current eventsTagged Abdulsalami Abubakar, Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, farmers, fulani herdsmen, nigeriaLeave a comment
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