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TGIF: Ian Donnis' Politics/Media Roundup For June 14
Published Sat Jun 15 2019 12:42:17 GMT+0000 (UTC)
by Ian Donnis
Thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. As usual, your tips and comments are welcome, and you can follow me through the week on the twitters. Here we go.
1) If you told close legislative observers a few years ago that the General Assembly is on the cusp of passing a bill to ensure abortion rights in the state, they probably would have scoffed. A tacit agreement to not move abortion-related bills to the floor had persisted for years, and House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello remained opposed to changing that as of May 2018. But Donald Trump's election as president in 2016 changed the dynamic. It put the wind in the sails of abortion-rights advocates, even before the latest string of state-based moves to restrict abortion. Mattiello signaled a change in his stance last fall, and now he and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio – who both personally oppose abortion rights – have let the process play out. As a result, the full Senate is slated to vote on the abortion bill next Wednesday, and then the legislation, if approved, will return to the House. Opponents of abortion rights are irate; they vow retribution during legislative campaigns next year. The fallout will show whether legislative leaders had an accurate read on public opinion on the issue.
2) The abortion issue shows how when change comes to the Statehouse, it tends to happen quickly. The same was true of same-sex marriage in 2013. Meanwhile, despite the political thorniness of these kinds of social issues, they're arguably easier to take on than the underlying financial challenges confronting the state, lik structural deficits extending into the future.
3) Budget : Gov. Gina Raimondo got a scaled-back versions of her envisioned pre-K expansion and Commerce incentives. Also in the new House budget is an expansion, to nine, of the number of so-called marijuana compassion centers in the state, but not the legalization of recreational marijuana. More details on the budget can be found here.
4) It's hard to imagine more of a political odd couple that the two Senate GOP leaders who were prepared to vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Minority Leader Dennis Algiere is the understated Westerly banker who generally seems outwardly indistinguishable from his Democratic colleagues. Whip Elaine Morgan of Hopkinton is the Trump-inspired conservative firebrand who inspires strong reactions from supporters and opponents alike. Yet despite their outward differences, the duo was mistaken in thinking they could change this outcome in a legislature where Democrats have an overwhelming super-majority. Sure, the House role-modeled better legislative behavior by voting on a significant issue back in March, rather than the waning weeks of session. Yet Senate Democrats used an ace in the hole to move the abortion bill from Judiciary to the Health and Human Services Committee. Republicans cried foul, but the majority party was using the rules approved by the chamber. If the GOP really wants to change things, Republicans need to elect more lawmakers.
5) Supporters of abortion rights believe they have 20 votes for the abortion bill in the 38-member chamber. Meanwhile, the three leaders of the chamber, President Ruggerio, Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey, and Whip Maryellen Goodwin, are among those expected to vote in opposition.
6) Here's what Barth Bracy, executive director of RI Right to Life, told me when asked why two legislative leaders who personally oppose abortion rights would let this process result in floor votes: "I think that they are probably creating a narrative to try to justify what they decided they want to do for political reasons."
7) The view among legislative watchers is that labor is having a very good year at the Statehouse, between continuing contracts, firefighter overtime, and a measure meant to mitigate the impact of the federal Janus program. Asked whether this illustrates the weakness of the RI GOP, Patrick Quinn, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NE, which represents almost 30,000 healthcare workers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, said it's not surprising that organizing pays off. "It's a very small state and you can affect elections if you run effective campaigns," Quinn said on Bonus Q&A this week on The Publics Radio. "The threshhold to run for office is very low, field is really cheap and you can affect a lot of elections with 800, 300 votes. And that's what we do. We organize. We go and talk to people and say, 'You should for this person, because it's better for you.' "
8) Across the partisan aisle, the conservative Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity added a prominent name by signing up former RI Supreme Court justice Robert G. Flanders Jr. for the group's board of directors. "As a long-time admirer of the Center's work, I look forward to exploring with Mike Stenhouse the viability of building a new strategic litigation capacity for our organization," Flanders said in a statement. Stenhouse added: "With our state suffering from a sharp policy turn to the left, and with legislative leaders unchecked and out-of-control in their devotion to special-interests, one strategy is to look into whether not some of the most harmful laws and regulations on our books are even constitutional."
9) Speaking of Flanders, his rival from last year, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, has gotten praise from the political conservative Hudson Institute in an essay on the fight against money-laundering and kleptocracy: "As General David Petraeus and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have noted recently, 'The fight against corruption is more than a legal and moral issue. It has become a strategic one, and a battleground in a great power competition.' It should therefore be of grave concern that the beneficial ownership issue hamstrings not only law enforcement, but also State Department and Treasury Department officials tasked with fighting this rising authoritarian influence and economic corruption worldwide." Whitehouse is set to reintroduce related legislation.
10) How Rhode Island failed a 9-year-old Warwick girl.
11) I got a little push back after asserting in last week's column that about half the members of the so-called 'Reform Caucus' have returned to Speaker Mattiello's fold. I should have noted, of course, that many of the caucus' concerns about legislative culture remain in place. Then again, the proof will be in the pudding when the budget gets voted on the House floor. That will offer a sharper read on how many reps still want to make public their dissatisfaction with the speaker.
12) As Dan McGowan notes, a variety of unconventional uses are being considered for Providence Place, including converting "some of their space to commercial offices or apartments." This ushers in a wonderful sense of everything old is new again, due to the discovery back in 2007 of a secret apartment at the mall.
13) Attention young (or not so young) reporters: you should apply for the New England First Amendment Coalition's First Amendment Institute. The deadline is August 9.
14) Nordblom, the company that teamed up with Buff Chace's Cornish Associates a few years ago to buy the Providence Journal Building, also owns The Boston Globe's former Morrissey Boulevard home in Dorchester.
15) Will Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker really run for a third term?


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Heidi Baker reflects on 'joy and persecution' through lens of terror in northern Mozambique
More in Opinion:
Church : Perhaps small is the new big — Percy Cele Dec 2, 2021
The case for religious exemptions to taking the vaccine Nov 30, 2021
Jesus at Hanukkah — Charles Gardner Nov 25, 2021
Heidi Baker in conversation with Randy Clark (PHOTO: YouTube)
Charismatic healing ministry leader and author Dr Randy Clark recently interviewed Mozambique-based missionary Heidi Baker on a subject which he said is not talked a lot about in Charismatic circles — suffering. The full interview which spans just over 90 minutes can be viewed in two parts on YouTube (part 1 and part 2). Below is an introduction to the interview
Veteran missionary and revivalist Heidi Baker has inspired multitudes of believers with testimonies of what she and her husband Rolland have seen God do through their ministry in Mozambique over nearly two decades.
The couple began their married life serving as missionaries in the slums of Hong Kong and other eastern nations in the early 80s. In the early 90s they ministered to the poor in London while doing their PhDs. But it was in Mozambique — especially after they were both touched deeply by the Holy Spirit during the Toronto Blessing revival in the mid 90s — that God took their ministry to the poorest of the poor, Iris Global, beyond their wildest dreams.
The Bakers have seen more than a million people come to Christ in Mozambique, they have seen many powerful miracles, and together with locals and volunteers from around the world they have established a network of church-based orphanages throughout the country and planted more than two thousand churches in northern Mozambique among people considered unreached and unreachable.
While the couple have had to overcome many hardships, including poverty, serious illness and being shot at and stoned, they have experienced God's provision, healing and protection.
In her recent interview with her friend and ministry associate Randy Clark, who she met during the Toronto Blessing, when he prophesied about her future ministry in Mozambique, Heidi said that after years of going from village to village in northern Mozambique, reaching out to people with the Gospel of Jesus and seeing God exceed their expectations, they absolutely believed that the revival was just going to keep on getting bigger and better.
But then suddenly, a few years ago, persecution and suffering came, beyond anything they could ever have imagined. This, she said, challenged a mindset that in Christ joy and suffering are separate from one another — a mindset that can cause believers to become depressed and lose their hope, trust and dreams in God when great suffering comes
But she says as village after village was burnt by Islamist insurgents, their people were martyred, crucified and beheaded — and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced — slowly they came to understand that when you take up your cross for Christ you discover that the cup of joy and the cup of suffering are the same cup.
You can view the full interview below:
Heidi Baker
joy and persecution

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Follow Me Drone Waterproof - In case you are contemplating buying a drone, this is a wonderful place to get started. Within the following information, I'll discuss all you should know before buying a drone for the very first time. Throughout this page, I shall be mainly talking about camera drones, however, there'll be some fantastic suggestions for toy drones along with DIY drones.
If you're looking for the easiest camera drones, toy drones, or perhaps hobby-grade racing drones, have a look at our newest Drones For Sale page. There you'll uncover off all the best drones accessible listed so as in line with our MyFirstDrone analysis system. For every drone, in addition, there are particular person evaluations, video specs, pricing, and an overview of what our ideas and opinions are.
If you do not perceive the place to buy a drone, then don't worry. There are numerous online retailers for drones which will ship to any significant nation.
In case you are buying a DJI drone, chances are you'll want to obtain it straight from DJI. Here is the explanation why.
Must you buy a DJI drone from Finest Purchase, Amazon or some other merchant, you aren't assured to seek out the most recent version of the drone. DJI makes small changes to their very own drones each couple weeks.
Occasionally it's hardware and generally it is applications. These modifications usually improve safety and reliability, and when it is a hardware shift, the very first place which will get the hardware can be your DJI Store. DJI moreover has free delivery.
In case you are buying a camera drone which is not created, by DJI, your best possible bet most likely prone to be the drone a part of Amazon. One of the best thing about buying drones out of Amazon is that they have a fantastic return policy and free transport to Prime members.
To get a hobby-grade drones, among the largest retailers (if not the greatest) are named Passion King.
Passion King is just like the Walmart of wi-fi management. They've got tens of hundreds of products for sale. Some goods are objects that they have made themselves, some are objects that they have gotten permission to manufacture and also other issues they simply promote similar to every other merchant.
Quite a few those drone parts sold at Passion King are wonderful, however just a few are dreadful, so you should learn the testimonials of whatever the component is that you are looking at. This fashion, you'll be able to view all of the issues which other men and women are having and ascertain if it is a fantastic product or not.
One other place to seek for DIY parts and even complete drone installations is that the classifieds part of RCGroups.com. You will uncover unbelievable bargains, however it is usually possible to get scammed and ripped away. So be careful who you buy from on the market. I'd say about 95 % of the oldsters on there are superb to buy from, just look out for another 5 % and you're going to be OK.
As a brand new drone pilot you should educate your self to the airspace regulations of the nation, and the general rules of secure flying, however for the time being, in case you want to remain out of trouble, listed here are the best practices which will apply to nearly all of international locations including the United States.
When you buy your camera, it is also smart to get it registered with the FAA. Technically, you do not want to enroll your drone in case you're flying below the Particular Rule for Model Plane, however, it isn't at all times feasible to match the requirements of the rule, and it is far better to be secure than sorry. To enroll your drone, then you definitely'll have to go to registermyuas. FAA.Gov. Do not worry, it is an inexpensive and effortless procedure. In case you are buying a toy drone, then you shouldn't must register it as it is going to be lower than the limitation of 0.5pounds.
In case you are looking at camera drones, then nearly all these will come ready to fly. Many toy dronelimitared to fly well, however hurrying drones usually want some further installation.
Usually an RTF quadcopter does not require any setup or meeting, however you would possibly must do some basic things like charge the battery up, arrange the propellers or Rename the management into the quadcopter (get them talking to each other).
A BNF quadcopter typically comes fully assembled, however with no control. With BNF variations, you'll want to make use of the management which you could have (if it is suitable) or locate a controller sold individually. 1 thing that you want to be aware of is that just because a receiver and transmitter are on precisely the very same frequency which does not mean they are going to work together.
Within the analog days, in case you had a mic and receiver both operating on exactly the very same frequency, then they had been almost sure to work collectively. Now with electronic communication that's all changed. Even if your receiver and transmitter are on precisely the very same station, they need to make the most of exactly the very same manufacture protocol in order to talk to at least one another. So check to make certain your management will work together with your personal drone prior to buying it.
ARF Drones are sometimes similar to quadcopter kits. They often do not embrace a receiver or transmitter and will call for partial meeting. The definition of an ARF drone equipment is kind of broad, so in case you go to ARF from the title, you should learn the description completely.
A great deal of people imagine drones are tough to fly, but the actuality is, they're not. The most revolutionary drones believes DJI want some normal understanding in case you want to prevent crashes or worse, losing your drone eternally. So long as you know these elementary concepts, you want to be able to maintain out of trouble.
1 common sensor that is extra prone to interference is your GPS receiver. The GPS is the thing that informs your drone in which it can be, and with no fantastic sign, bad issues can occur. There are a couple issues that affect GPS signals, however the most important purpose is not needing line-of-sight with enough satellites.
That is solely one of the vital significant detectors, because it informs the drone exactly what route it is going through so that it could use the GPS to navigate correctly. This is known as the lavatory bowl impact! Finally, in case your drone has been doing so, it is going to crash.
Compass interferenyous among the largest causes of drone crashes because it is not one thing that the average particular person is considering. What exactly causes this disturbance? Anything comprised of metal. Issues like large metallic buildings, park benches, vehicles electricity lines, and even steel at the flooring can affect your drone.
Everytime you do recalibrate your drone, then be certautomobiles, electricityit near steel objects or ine calibration knowledge will probably be counter clockwise.
Additionally, DJIs new drones make the most of the obstacle avoidance sensors and the principal camera to grasp their standing. That's the reason it's secure to fly drones such because the Spark inside.
Control vary specs don't consider radio interference. When you have a look at the specs for many drones, numbers similar to "1 mile" seems like a great deal of selection, however this number might be deceiving. The vast majority of people do not reside in a location with no radio interference, so that one mile selection can might be significantly influenced depending on the place you are.
In case you are in a average measurement would not reside might obtain half of the advertised selection. Must you fly close by radio towers, then chances are you'll not get over a couple toes of scope. Flying in-between mountains, partitions, trees and the rest you'll be able to consider can even affect how much chances are you'll go.
1 thing which long distance pilots need to be apprehensive about is how giant they need to fly to maintain line-of-sight together with the drone. Within the event that you must fly over 1 mile off, the drone shall be acquiring a signal that's higher than 5 occasions extra profitable than in case you're one thousand toes off. It follows that even tiny issues like trees which are bothering you along with the drone may trigger significant interference or presumably a dropout.
Most camera drones using a GPS will return home whenever they lose sign, and DJI drones may even prevent challenges on the way again, but it does not mean that you must count on the drone to return. It is far better to forestall losing sign and be safe, than possess the drone get a compass mistake whilst coming again and select to fly away into the sunset.
Chances are you'll study the fundamental rod actions for extra securee. Whenpossessingarn what each stick does, there is nothing else you have to fret about when flying. The general controls to get a camera drone shall be similar to a toy drone, however far more secure. It's such as you've received a camera mounted onto an enormous crane, and also you also get to manage the place it belongs.
As for me, I imagine all people who possesses a drone (or needs to buy one) should be part of an internet (or bodily) neighborhood of some type. There are numerous online drone forums on the market. Many are for normal purpose andframesa few or to get very particular subjects, like a specific product lineup or part.
Drone forums might be fantastic, however you should perceive what it is that you are attempting to inquire in which to ask and the best way to ask it. Occasionally people may even look all the way down to you, simply because you asked a dumb question. When you've got never been part of an internet discussion board simply be part of one and look at how other men and women are asking questions.
Following is an inventory of the very best drone forums on the market. If you didn't already know, I really began a neighborhood myself often known as the my drone Freshmen Group. The wonderful thing about the group is that it is for everyone (no drone concern is simply too dumb!) And since there is no subcategories, you do not want to be concerned about within the event that you're posting within the best location.
We've got 28 variations of RC Drones within our scope. Just by looking at the photos and reading merchandise copies, it's quite tough to resolve on the ideal drone to you, your family or friends. With your hectic life-style and schedule, you should not have the luxurious of time and also be ready to see all accessible movies on our site in addition to YouTube. To help you opt for the best drone, we have categorized our broad vary for easy selection.
Drones have improved radically in terms of build high quality and functionality prior to now couple of decades. Drones at the moment are easier to fly with enhanced equilibrium design and in-built multi-axis gyroscope for superior stability. With these developments, studying the best way to fly a drone is far easier and sooner than ever.
It's crucial to resolve on the drone that matches your capability level. It's much too usually that we have observed a extra assured particular person fly a excessive efficiency drone, just to wreck it right into a matter of moments! one hundred pc of their time, the attribute is put on the gear as opposed to themselves.
To place this in view, do you push a potent V8 automobile in case you have not ever pushed on a highway before? We count on you might use the similar common sense and assemble your skill ranges to guard your self, your personal drone.
Flying the proper drone within the best surroundings can also be quite important. A drone can be used inside or exterior and in some situations both. You want the flexibility to make use of your drone's unique features and capacity, this can solely be reached in case you've received the required house to allow your drone loose. Don't use an outdoor drone, inside.
An out of doors drone is most certainly a average to large measurement drone as a result of it has to have the flexibility to accommodate mild exterior wind. Flying an outdoor drone inside may cause any severe hurt to your personal property; your worse and drone situation injures people. This goes the very same for utilizing an indoor drone for outside use.
An indoor drone is a much smaller framework; those drones can't deal with any wind turbulence since they have very tiny rotors. Flying an indoor drone exterior, even in gentle wind illness can affect the drone flight equilibrium and drop control.
Possessing an on-board camera onto your personal drone permits you to capture your aerial expeditions for subsequent viewing. This provides a brand new element of delight, as you'll be able to capture your aerial exploits and be capable of see it at a later time in your computer or Notebook. This form of RC Drone comes with an on-board camera which wirelessly transmits the film to an LCD show in addition to smartphones. With hours of training, you'll be able to browse the drones simply by looking at the show on the distant control. This allows for one to capture complete 1080p HD footage, paired with our FPV system, you may need an especially robust knowledgeable drone program.
Setting a price range is the most significant element in selecting out the ideal drone. With our broad assortment of RC drones available, you'll uncover best drone to satisfy your skill degree and price range. We at all times recommend to start with cheaper price drones in case you're just beginning and at last make your approach into larger, stronger and extra costly drones. We don't advise buying the floor of the road drone (although really easy to fly and armed with features like one button take away and landing) to forestall disappointments for both parties. Develop your skill degree and discover the follow which you want and work your approach upward into the drone which you anticipate in flying.
Our assortment of newcomer drones is specifically supposed for the very first time flyers in your mind. Beginning with our assortment of Roll Cage RC Drones, those possessing a protecting cage across the drone to guard the drone, people and the environment. It may well care for the inevitable crashes the drone will survive whilst studying and rising your flight controller and skill set.
As well as, we offer a medium to larger sized drones acceptable for the novices. With numerous pace settings, the drone might be put to "sluggish" charge that locations the drone to newcomer degree stopping quick changes in acceleration and direction. This permits you to create your controller orientation whilst minimizing potential crashes. You possibly can elevate the speed ranges as your skill degree grows. You will be flying to be an knowledgeable very quickly!
It's necessary to needless to say the secret to flying drones is sluggish rhythmic controller alterations. The foremost purpose for hard crashes is the abrupt shift in administration directions that has the potential to render out the drone of equilibrium or quickly transitioned out of nice heights.
The recommended marketplace to buy Drones is through Amazon, just Click Here to get discounts and or Free Shipping.


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Home | Gadgets | Pixel 4 Details Leaked By Some Reliable Sources You Shouldn't Miss
Pixel 4 Details Leaked By Some Reliable Sources You Shouldn't Miss
by Jennifer Dawson Jun 3, 2019 Updated Sep 11, 2022
After the successful release of the Pixel 3a in May 2019, fans are looking forward to the next Pixel. Needless to say, the Pixel 3a was by far the best mid-range mobile device you can buy below the $500 mark.
Hybrid Design
Pixel 4 Hardware
Previous Google Pixel Release Dates
Expected Release Date of Pixel 4
You might wonder why fans are quick to seek a new Pixel phone now that the 3a has just been released. Well, the answer is pretty simple and here are the details.
All new design revealed
Hybrid design taken from the Galaxy S10+ and iPhone XS
According to a reliable source, a noted mobile phone case maker Skinomi has already taken pre-orders from customers. However, the only problem is that the case maker is only selling screen protector units at this point.
Therefore, there is no clear image for its back cover so to speak. In this case, there is no confirmation as of what type of camera the Pixel 4 is going to use.
Perhaps there is going to be a new design, such as the hole-punch display of the Galaxy S10 phones, as based from previous leaks.
At the same time, a new leak has confirmed this because of an accessory maker who is accepting pre-orders that would perfectly fit the hole-punch display.
Based from the design of the screen protector, the phone will have a hole-punch camera on the right. This will also have a top and bottom front-facing speakers. However, this will not cut into the display of the device.
The front camera also has a couple of lenses, which has been expected of Google after the release of the Pixel 3. So a multi-lens camera trend is expected of Google to embrace this year. At the same time, it will likely have a dual-lens shooter at the back of the device.
https://twitter.com/Ashril_92/status/1134488355171852288
In terms of design, there is a great possibility that the rear dual cameras of the new Pixel will be placed at a different corner in contrast to the Pixel 3 design.
That is when the design of the screen protector tends to be accurate and the front camera is located at the top right corner of the screen.
Aside from the dual front camera punch-hole display, the Pixel 4 is going to have some very exciting new features. Such would include the Snapdragon 855 processor.
Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL October 4, 2017
Pixel 3a announced on May 7, 2019
According a reliable source, the Pixel 4 will be announced in October 2019 at a Google event. In fact, it is time when Google will also announce its flagship phone series.
Nikkei, a Japanese newspaper, also confirmed the Pixel Lite and Pixel 4 phones to be announced later in October at this year's much anticipated event.
The Pixel 4 was supposedly confirmed back in March 2019, but until this very day there are no clear details yet.
So this serves as a mystery that requires a bit more time to be solved. Following the most leaked smartphone of 2018, the Pixel 3, the Pixel 4 is yet to be confirmed.
Tagged: Google Pixel 3, Pixel 4
Jennifer Dawson
As a freelance tech and gadgets writer, Jennifer has teamed up with various technology startups around the world to develop a guide covering technological innovation. Do you need help with your device?... More by Jennifer Dawson


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A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations
Demet Yesiltepe, Ruth Conroy Dalton, Ayse Ozbil Torun, Antoine Coutrot, Michael Hornberger, Hugo Spiers
Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging
The aim of this study is to understand what makes a landmark more salient and to explore whether assessments of saliency vary between experts and non-experts. We hypothesize that non-experts' saliency judgments will agree with those of the experts. Secondly, we hypothesize that not only visual characteristics but also structural characteristics make landmarks salient and that the size and visibility of objects are important for them to be considered as salient. To test our hypotheses, an online navigation game, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), was used and two levels of the game were selected as the case study. The characteristics of these levels were evaluated by non-experts and experts in the field. Our results suggest that both visual and structural characteristics of landmarks make them more salient. We also discovered that experts' saliency evaluations are mostly consistent with non-experts'.
Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings
Jurǵis Šķilters, Nora S. Newcombe, David Uttal
Saliency
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-57983-8_8
Michael Hornberger
M.Hornbergeruea.acuk
Norwich Medical School - Professor of Applied Dementia Research
Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging - Member
Mental Health - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Research Centre Member, Academic, Teaching & Research
Yesiltepe, D., Dalton, R. C., Ozbil Torun, A., Coutrot, A., Hornberger, M., & Spiers, H. (2020). A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations. In J. Šķilters, N. S. Newcombe, & D. Uttal (Eds.), Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings (pp. 95-107). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 12162 LNAI). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57983-8_8
Yesiltepe, Demet ; Dalton, Ruth Conroy ; Ozbil Torun, Ayse ; Coutrot, Antoine ; Hornberger, Michael ; Spiers, Hugo. / A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations. Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings. editor / Jurǵis Šķilters ; Nora S. Newcombe ; David Uttal. Springer, 2020. pp. 95-107 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)).
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title = "A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts{\textquoteright} and Non-experts{\textquoteright} Evaluations",
abstract = "The aim of this study is to understand what makes a landmark more salient and to explore whether assessments of saliency vary between experts and non-experts. We hypothesize that non-experts{\textquoteright} saliency judgments will agree with those of the experts. Secondly, we hypothesize that not only visual characteristics but also structural characteristics make landmarks salient and that the size and visibility of objects are important for them to be considered as salient. To test our hypotheses, an online navigation game, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), was used and two levels of the game were selected as the case study. The characteristics of these levels were evaluated by non-experts and experts in the field. Our results suggest that both visual and structural characteristics of landmarks make them more salient. We also discovered that experts{\textquoteright} saliency evaluations are mostly consistent with non-experts{\textquoteright}.",
keywords = "Landmarks, Navigation, Saliency, Wayfinding",
author = "Demet Yesiltepe and Dalton, {Ruth Conroy} and {Ozbil Torun}, Ayse and Antoine Coutrot and Michael Hornberger and Hugo Spiers",
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editor = "{\v S}ķilters, {Jurǵis } and Newcombe, {Nora S. } and Uttal, {David }",
booktitle = "Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings",
Yesiltepe, D, Dalton, RC, Ozbil Torun, A, Coutrot, A, Hornberger, M & Spiers, H 2020, A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations. in J Šķilters, NS Newcombe & D Uttal (eds), Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 12162 LNAI, Springer, pp. 95-107. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57983-8_8
A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations. / Yesiltepe, Demet; Dalton, Ruth Conroy; Ozbil Torun, Ayse; Coutrot, Antoine; Hornberger, Michael; Spiers, Hugo.
Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings. ed. / Jurǵis Šķilters; Nora S. Newcombe; David Uttal. Springer, 2020. p. 95-107 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 12162 LNAI).
T1 - A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations
AU - Yesiltepe, Demet
AU - Dalton, Ruth Conroy
AU - Ozbil Torun, Ayse
AU - Coutrot, Antoine
AU - Hornberger, Michael
AU - Spiers, Hugo
N2 - The aim of this study is to understand what makes a landmark more salient and to explore whether assessments of saliency vary between experts and non-experts. We hypothesize that non-experts' saliency judgments will agree with those of the experts. Secondly, we hypothesize that not only visual characteristics but also structural characteristics make landmarks salient and that the size and visibility of objects are important for them to be considered as salient. To test our hypotheses, an online navigation game, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), was used and two levels of the game were selected as the case study. The characteristics of these levels were evaluated by non-experts and experts in the field. Our results suggest that both visual and structural characteristics of landmarks make them more salient. We also discovered that experts' saliency evaluations are mostly consistent with non-experts'.
AB - The aim of this study is to understand what makes a landmark more salient and to explore whether assessments of saliency vary between experts and non-experts. We hypothesize that non-experts' saliency judgments will agree with those of the experts. Secondly, we hypothesize that not only visual characteristics but also structural characteristics make landmarks salient and that the size and visibility of objects are important for them to be considered as salient. To test our hypotheses, an online navigation game, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), was used and two levels of the game were selected as the case study. The characteristics of these levels were evaluated by non-experts and experts in the field. Our results suggest that both visual and structural characteristics of landmarks make them more salient. We also discovered that experts' saliency evaluations are mostly consistent with non-experts'.
KW - Landmarks
KW - Navigation
KW - Saliency
KW - Wayfinding
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
BT - Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings
A2 - Šķilters, Jurǵis
A2 - Newcombe, Nora S.
A2 - Uttal, David
Yesiltepe D, Dalton RC, Ozbil Torun A, Coutrot A, Hornberger M, Spiers H. A Study on Visual and Structural Characteristics of Landmarks and Experts' and Non-experts' Evaluations. In Šķilters J, Newcombe NS, Uttal D, editors, Spatial Cognition - 12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Proceedings. Springer. 2020. p. 95-107. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57983-8_8


You are downloading the Virtual Pet Owl XAP file v1.0.0.0 for Windows Phone. Virtual Pet Owl is a free and useful Kids & Family app: Meet your new feathery best friend, the Virtual Pet Owl! Feed, pet, and tell jokes with your owl to keep him happy and healthy!Download the ... You can now download the offline XAP file to install & try it.
Note: To install it manually from an SD card, you should choose one of the server location above to get the offline Virtual Pet Owl XAP file, move the file to your phone's SD card and then tap 'Install local apps' in the phone's App list.
Appx4Fun.com only share the original XAP installer for Virtual Pet Owl v1.0.0.0.
All the Windows Phone apps & games here are free for home or personal use ONLY. Virtual Pet Owl is the property and trademark from the developer Gluten Free Games, all rights reserved.


"Relational Stewardship," taught by Ms. Sandy Lindahl, Principal at Lindahl Consultants. "Relational Stewardship" features four audio-graphic video lessons that students can view at their convenience, plus reading assignments from papers and outside websites.
In the Relational Stewardship lecture, students will consider Christian models and practices for healthy relationships of various kinds, and the positive outcomes for individuals, congregations and communities. Students will consider a broad range of personal relationships ranging from God and self, family and friends to workplace and worship-place connections, and communal relationships that can bring new purpose and energy to congregations.
Community Focus: Students will connect relationship concepts to current trends and events, bringing concepts and practices to bear on contemporary issues of "the other" such as racial tensions in communities, attitudes about immigration, debates about the 1% economic and class divisions, generational perspectives and other topics of interest to participants.
Church Focus: The class will examine how decisions to give of ourselves and our resources depend on relationships, emotional connections, trust and teaching. Students will review and discuss ways to integrate "fundraising" as a ministry integral to all that the Church does and is, and ways to engage people's energy and time productively in the church's mission.
Personal Focus: Students will consider how personal choices affect their own well-being and their connectivity with other beings and Creation.
"Relational Stewardship" is part of the Steward Leaders Engaging God's Mission online course series offered by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center and TransformingTheChurch.org. Students enrolled in Steward Leaders Engaging God's Mission courses learn principles and practices relating to stewardship and leadership through studying Scripture, exploring holistic perspectives, critiquing culture, developing healthy relationships, and achieving financial health.
Sandy Lindahl is a Commissioned Minister for Holistic Stewardship in the United Church of Christ. Since the early 1980s, she has served denominational and regional church bodies and several non-profit organizations in various resource development capacities. Ms. Lindahl is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Geneseo, and she completed courses at Andover Newton Theological School.


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7 Shocking Things About Social Media that Companies Should Know
Social Media is constantly changing, and at times it may seem challenging to keep up with it all. As a business owner, it may be hard to juggle the social media channels. And if it's hard to interact with customers on social media there likely isn't a ton of time to learn more about each channel. That's why it may be useful to learn about some of the most shocking statistics about social media. Here are seven that might make business owners and entrepreneurs rethink the way they're approaching social media.
Who would have thought that fake news would be more popular than real news, but with how things are today on the web, it's not surprising that's the case. Quertime says that it's a serious problem that any company should consider. So what can you do to make sure your content isn't considered "fake"? Well, it's okay to come up with compelling titles but make sure the content you write is not fake and comes from reputable websites.
Currently, the most popular social media website is Facebook. Almost everyone you know has a Facebook account. You find all sorts of news and info on Facebook but what's troubling is that there is a large quantity of fake news out there.
Earlier this year, investigations by BuzzFeed revealed that 20-40% of news stories on Facebook could be fake. There are groups of people who create news stories and spread them in the hopes that they become viral and they can profit from ad revenue. The more controversial the news, the more chances it has of going viral.
44% of adults get all their news from social media. It is such a powerful tool that fake news stories have been shown to have influenced the recent US elections. Mike Caulfield, from Washington State University, carried out research that showed that fake news articles gained thousands of more shares than real ones. Safe to say this is a problem now.
Did you know that moms are the biggest supporters of branding on Facebook? If you haven't been supporting mommy bloggers or made an effort to learn more about their likes and dislikes, this may be something worth doing, according to The Content Factory.
If your brand isn't tapping into the mommy market, you're missing out. Keep this crazy statistic in mind: when they aren't tagging you in embarrassing childhood photos or questioning your relationship status, Facebook-friendly moms are liking brands more than any other group. (Mashable)
Another crazy thing about Facebook is that according to Content Factory, over 130 million Facebook users could be fake. That's a lot of people who may not be genuine customers, so keep that in mind when looking and monitoring analytics.
The site has 1.23 billion monthly active users (MAUs), which means between 67.65 million and 137.76 million accounts are either duplicates or straight up fake. Something to keep in mind when measuring your social media marketing ROI — focus on engagement and traffic, not just follower counts.
Neil Patel cites Search Engine Journal which says that email marketing has an ROI of 4,300%. Based on what is discussed below, it's safe to say that spending more time and money on email marketing than on social media marketing is a smart thing to do.
What? A statistic about email? You thought this was about social media, right?
My title is "Five Shocking Facts That Will Change Your Entire Approach to Social Media." This statistic qualifies as shocking, and it impacts the way we approach on social media.
The basic fact is this: Email marketing has a huge ROI — way better than any social media marketing ROI can ever dream of achieving. Compare 4,300% that with the ROI of social media, which is crawling around on the floor. Is there even a comparison?
Take a look at this chart, released by Custora in 2013. They surveyed the owners of ecommerce sites to find out where these sites got their customers. Here are the top six sources:
via Cutora
Paid and organic search have the highest customer acquisition percentages. The next biggest contender is email. Based on its ROI — higher than paid and organic search — it's a no brainer. Email marketing is awesome.
According to the chart above, the fascinating thing about email marketing is that its acquisition rates are rising dramatically. It has quadrupled over the past four years. Email marketing's effectiveness far outranks any social media platform, and its growth outstrips them.
Even the customer lifetime value (CLV) of social media is hardly worth a second glance. Again, email marketing crushes social media by a huge margin:
Simply put, email marketing is way more effective than social media marketing. It has greater effectiveness, better ROI, and higher CLV.
Even though Pinterest has a high bounce rate doesn't mean you shouldn't utilize it to advertise and promote your business. Since Neil Patel (who cites Fast Company as a resource) mentions that Pinterest is the second biggest social media site, there's no doubt that it offers many benefits. However, seeing results on Pinterest takes patience. See why:
First off, a Pinterest disclaimer (or two), and then a Pinterest happy dance.
The first disclaimer is this — Pinterest has high bounce rate (53%) and low engagement. Disclaimer number two: Pinterest doesn't work for everyone. If you are into food, crafts, photography, weddings, design, fitness, humor, travel, fashion, and inspirational quotes, then Pinterest is killer. It holds promise for some, but not for all.
The happy dance is this — Pinterest is the second biggest social media referral platform. Though it trails Facebook distantly, it still beats out Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn by a sizeable margin.
Now, let's talk about ROI. Pinterest, as it turns out, does have one. But it's a delayed reaction. When a pinner curates his or her pinboard, it takes a while for there to be social buildup, let alone revenue. Unlike Twitter, which has a short half-life, Pinterest visits increase as time goes on. It's like wine. The older, the better.
As it turns out, the revenue doesn't start happening until more than two months after pinning. Pinners spend more time exploring other people's pinboards then they do searching for stuff offsite to pin. The average Pinterest pin gets 10 repins, but it takes time for those pinners to start repinning pins. This leads to a corresponding delay in revenue.
Pinterest is money, but it's slow money. It's like investing in a CD or a bond. The egg just takes a little while to hatch.
Who knew that YouTube could be so useful for advertising products and engaging with customers?! Well, it turns out YouTube might be worth your time. See why Buffer believes YouTube is worth the time and effort.
Did you think TV was the best way to reach the masses? Well if you're after 18–34 year olds in the U.S., you'll have more luck reaching them through YouTube. Of course, one video won't necessarily reach more viewers than a cable network could, but utilizing a platform with such a wide user base makes a lot of sense.
Rethink it: If you've been putting off adding video to your strategy, now's the time to give it a go. You could start small with simple five minutes videos explaining what your company does or introducing your team.
Buffer also reveals a pretty shocking statistic about Twitter, and it's likely you had no idea the audience was in this age group! This just goes to show how important it is to know your audience and know who you are marketing to on any social media channel.
The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55–64 year age bracket.
This demographic has grown 79% since 2012.
The 45–54 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on both Facebook and Google+.
For Facebook, this group has jumped 46%.
For Google+, 56%.
Those are impressive numbers against the prevailing idea that social media is 'just for teenagers.' It certainly points to the importance of having a solid social media strategy if these age brackets fit into your target demographic.
Rethink it: Keep older users in mind when using social media, particularly on these three platforms. Our age makes a difference to our taste and interests, so if you're focusing on younger users with the content you post, you could be missing an important demographic.
Quertime discusses a few more shocking findings of social media channels. For example, who would have thought that younger people feel Instagram is more important than Facebook and Twitter?! It's good to know that Instagram users are younger. Also, keep reading to find out whether there are more women than men on social media or if it's an even split.
Young people view Instagram as more important than Facebook and Twitter
This could be because Instagram is viewed as the newer and cooler app compared to the older ones. 90% of Instagram users are younger than 35 and 32% of US teens cited Instagram as their favorite social network.
Most social networks have an even split of male and female users
Facebook is used by 77% of female'svs 66% of males, Instagram is 29% vs 22%, Twitter is 21% vs 24% and LinkedIn is 27% vs 28%. Pinterest is the only outlier with 42% of female'svs 13% of males.
Sources: The Content Factory, Mashable, Quertime, Neil Patel, Search Engine Journal, Fast Company, Buffer Social Blog


Sorry it's been a while since I posted. I've been busy working on rewrites of a novel that will be going out to publishers soon and it's this novel and some other things that have inspired this post today.
To start off, last week I saw a post on Facebook about 'this generation'.
Needless to say, when the term 'this generation' is used, it's probably not going to be a post about how studious, respectful and wonderful today's youth is. I'm not a teenager anymore, but as someone who once was, and as someone who writes for teens and tweens, this really annoys me!
First off, generations are made out of people and people are individuals. Everyone has their own story, their own triumphs and tragedies. Not everyone born in the sixties or the seventies or the eighties or nineties are the same. Yes, we are all parts of the eras we grew up in, but we didn't grow up in the same houses or neighborhoods, with the same incomes or religions or talents or handicaps. We're all different and grouping a whole generation of teens together is just plain wrong.
Secondly, I happen to like this generation of teens. As a teacher, they make me laugh and sometimes they make me cry. I see them struggling in a world that isn't like the one I grew up in. When I was a kid, bullies weren't that common and if you had one to deal with, you knew once school was over for the day, you were free of him or her. Today kids are never free — not with cyber bullying.
When I was a kid we had fire and tornado drills. We would never have imagined someone coming into school with the intent of killing as many of us as possible just because they have a desire to kill.
The point I'm trying to make is that teens don't have it easy and most of them, if they feel entitled, it's only because they want what's fair, like a decent education and healthy food to eat. Most are grateful for the good things in their lives and most are much more attuned to what's happening in our world than we ever give them credit for.
In the various rewrites of the book, the letters were taken out, but I'd like to give them to you all the same. So starting this week I'll be posting the letters — the love letters from God.
Now, it may seem presumptuous of me to think that I can speak for God, and I'm not trying to. I'm simply imagining what the Almighty might want to say, or is already saying, but in our crazy, hectic, and sometimes angry, societies, we're not hearing.
God gets a pretty bad wrap today and to be honest, I've struggled with sorting through the bigotry and downright evil that is paraded around our country in the name of religion. These letters aren't about religion. They're about spirituality. They're about you and the fact that you mean something. You are something.
Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm hoping the letters bring you. Peace maybe. Guidance…well, we'll see. Mostly, I want them to help each one of you know that while you are part of a generation, you are a part of something much bigger than that. You are a part of a gallery of art that is beautiful, rare and utterly magnificent. You matter.


The EU project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine" has helped carry out the most difficult psychological testing of candidates for the positions of judges of the Supreme Court in the history of Ukraine and Europe. Find more information on how the new Supreme Court works and what challenges the newly appointed judges encounter.
On 15 February, the new Supreme Court turned 2 months. During that time, 115 newly-appointed judges, every fourth of whom has background as a lawyer or scholar, heard over 8 thousand cases, motions and complaints. The new judges are up to a daunting task of handling almost 75 thousand cases for 2011-2017, left by the previous members of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and higher specialized courts, while new cases arrive every day. To learn about what's going on in the highest echelon of the justice system after a contest, the challenges the newly-appointed judges have to deal with, and ambitious plans of the Supreme Court and the entire justice system for 2018, read firsthand from the Ukrainian Themis.
What has justice reform changed to date?
After the Revolution of Dignity, a true reboot of the judicial system went underway in Ukraine: in the fall of 2016, amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (which was amended for the first time in 20 years) concerning dispensation of justice and a revised version of the Law of Ukraine On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges were enacted.
The judicial branch of power becomes independent from politicians. The president and the parliament saw the right to appoint and dismiss judges taken away from them. In the past, there were no open vacancies and competitive selection procedures as judges were appointed by the president and MPs. In other words, the president and the legislative branch were appointing the judicial branch, which was supposed to be independent from politicians. For the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, judges are now appointed via an open contest held by the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, and candidates for judges are approved by the Higher Council of Justice. The president is only responsible for ceremonial signature of judge appointment decrees.
Judges are stripped of full immunity. Now, with the consent from the Higher Council of Justice, judges may be subjected to disciplinary action, rebuked, dismissed and even taken into custody. Moreover, judges are now obliged to complete three declarations: electronic (reporting income and property), family relationships (stating relatives working in the government or justice system), and integrity. In the latter declaration, a judge is required to refute accusations of corruption offenses, prove diligent adherence to the oath, etc. In addition, all judges without exception must pass a qualification assessment (in particular, featuring representatives of the public) to confirm their competence, professional ethics and integrity, and undergo a psychological test. Judges refusing to take or failing the test will be dismissed. Not everyone took the changes positively: beginning from 2016, almost 3 thousand judges have already resigned, in particular, in order not to go for a qualification assessment. This is more than a third of the entire judicial corps. It was a sort of self-cleansing of the judicial system.
Transition to a three-tier court system and restart of the Supreme Court. Until recently, there were four tiers of the court system in Ukraine: courts of first (local) and second (appellate) instance, which heard cases and examined circumstances and evidence. If necessary, a court judgment could be revised in one of the three higher specialized courts: commercial, administrative, and for civil and criminal cases. Finally, there was the fourth instance, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, which was applied to in exceptional cases only. However, this approach did not prove itself right.
Today, Ukraine has adopted a comprehensible three-tier court system used in most countries of the world. The new Supreme Court consists of cassation courts: administrative, commercial, civil and criminal. In addition, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court was created to ensure uniformity of judicial practice. The Chamber enters uniform, predictable, comprehensible judgments that are the same for all, and hears socially important cases. Thus, the Supreme Court has recently upheld the rights of a pregnant woman who was issued a smaller financial assistance due to reorganization of her employer, and ruled to recalculate the amount of pension paid to an ex-police officer.
"The new Supreme Court and the new procedural codes de–facto introduce the principle of "quasi precedent", when judgments of the court of the highest instance become a benchmark for courts of lower instances. Therefore, the new process ensures stability, unity and predictability of legal stances in all jurisdictions, and an applicant to court would already know what a judgment in a case with similar circumstances might be", Olena Pryvalova, a communications advisor of the Council for Judicial Reform explains.
Another positive innovation was that for the first time, the court of the highest instance features not only judges hailing from courts of all instances but also law professionals who have never worked in the judicial system: lawyers and scholars with 10-year work experience. Every fourth judge in the new Supreme Court is one of them.
Amendment of procedural law, without which the new Supreme Court would not work, is an important part of reform. In particular, the law simplifies the procedure of hearing uncomplicated cases, guarantees greater openness of judicial processes, implements an "electronic court" system which makes it easier to exchange information between all participants of a judicial process, and contains many other new rules.
Local courts. Ordinary district, city-district and city courts are amalgamated into circuit courts. It will allow to increase effectiveness of courts and optimize budget expenditures. There will be no more courts without judges. Presently, the State Judicial Administration is developing a draft new map of Ukrainian courts, and after that, the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges will start transferring judges from liquidated to newly-established courts.
A contest selection for the Supreme Court kicked off on 7 November 2016. 120 vacancies were contested by 1436 applicants, i.e. almost 12 candidates per vacancy. 45% of them were judges, 24% lawyers, 15% scholars and another 16% candidates with various experience in these fields. After examining documents, 625 candidates were admitted to a qualification assessment.
"A contest selection for the Supreme Court was a certain professional challenge for me. In the past, lawyers and scholars could not even dream about competing in an open contest for the position of a Supreme Court judge. As a lawyer and a scholar, I knew very well that the chance to take part in this contest, which was held for the first time, might come to you only once in a lifetime", Sehii Zhukov, a judge of the Commercial Court of Cassation who worked in the past as an associate professor at the department of law and European integration of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Institute of Public Administration and director of Nexum Law Firm says.
A portion of qualification tests and all practical tests were developed under the EU project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine", which was the first among international donors to join the process of creating a new Supreme Court.
"First, the candidates had to take an anonymous written test for the knowledge of law. Those who passed it were admitted to a practical test. The candidates were given a case almost 70 pages thick, with applications to court and judgments of first-instance and appellate courts, and were asked to write a resolution of the Supreme Court", Oksana Matiiash, a national expert of the EU project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine" says.
The writing of a cassation court resolution was what the newly–elected judge Serhii Zhukov remembers the most: "As a lawyer, I never wrote a draft resolution by hand during 5 hours before, especially when seeing case documents for the first time and not even using a rough copy, because I didn't have time. It was a very specific task".
382 candidates have passed the test. After that, they had to undergo the next phase of qualification assessment: testing personal moral and psychological qualities and general abilities. During this contest selection for the Supreme Court, the candidates had to pass the most difficult psychological test in the history of not only Ukraine but the whole Europe. Even selection tests at the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) were much easier.
The EU project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine" was the first to support this idea and helped with organizing psychological testing of judges.
"A judge must not only be a good lawyer but also be able to resolve conflicts in the society. What's needed for that is more than just legal knowledge. A judge needs certain psychological characteristics and social skills. That was what psychological testing was aimed at", Dovydas Vitkauskas, Coordinator of the EU project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine" and an ex-legal advisor of the Secretariat of the European Court of Human Rights explains the need for this assessment.
Moral and psychological qualities of candidates were evaluated by ОS Ukraine, a company which before that oversaw psychological testing of NABU and Specialized Anticorruption Prosecution Authority detectives. Over the course of a day, candidates were tested on the basis of four methodologies which revealed their strengths and weaknesses and allowed to forecast their future behavior.
"Supreme Court judges are very expensive cadres for the nation, appointed for indefinite term. The loss of or inefficient performance by one of them entails not only financial losses but also risks for the society. That's why we used four methodologies at once. Usually, we use one or two of them for selection purposes", Anastasia Diomina, OS Ukraine Project Manager explains.
By the way, the base salary of a new Supreme Court judge amounts to 75 times the living wage amount for able-bodied persons, which as of today, equals to over UAH 130 thousand per month excluding additional bonuses for length of service, academic degree and so on.
The candidate's general abilities were evaluated first. The objective was to test their mathematical, logical, abstract and verbal thinking. To a certain degree, this test could be compared with an IQ test. The test results showed how fast and efficiently can a candidate process new information and handle work assignments.
Then, there were purely psychological tests. The first, MMPI-2 test checked the ability to withstand stress and existence of hidden mental problems: depression, aggression, suicidal inclinations and other abnormalities. This test is very complex, consisting of almost 600 quite personal questions or statements. A similar methodology was used at the National Police to select patrol officers and for evaluation of NABU detectives. This test gives answers to many important questions, in particular, whether a person can be trusted with firearms.
Svitlana Yakovleva, a Criminal Court of Cassation judge and an ex-judge of the Court of Appeals for the Kirovohrad Oblast: "Psychological testing wasn't easy and, to a certain degree, was emotionally exhausting. Especially the questions that concerned private life".
Next was the methodology called BFQ-2, or the "Big Five". It is designed to assess five key characteristics: energy, benevolence, diligence, breadth of horizon and emotional stability. Simply put, the candidates were tested for the ability to compromise and cooperate.
Lastly, HCS, the integrity test. Its results allow to determine with high degree of probability whether a person has an inclination toward theft, abuse of official capacity or disclosure of important information, and how a person is disciplined and respects others.
The concluding part of psychological testing was the interview with a psychologist.
Vsevolod Kniaziev, secretary of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court and the ex-president of Mykolaiv Circuit Administrative Court: "Psychological tests lasted for the whole day, from the morning till evening, and were exhausting. After that, there was an interview with a psychologist, and I realized that these tests and the interview allowed the psychologist to "see through me". It was a bit uncomfortable, but I knew that without it, dishonest people could not be sifted out".
In the final phase of the contest, the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges interviewed the candidates live on TV.
Based on the contest results, the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges submitted 120 candidates to the Higher Council of Justice, 115 of whom were approved and appointed as judges per Decrees of the President of Ukraine.
The list of winners included many unordinary candidates. Thus, the Kharkiv judge Oleksandr Mamalui, who served twice in the ATO area, defending Avdiivka and the Donetsk Airport, became a judge of the Commercial Court of Cassation as part of the Supreme Court. The youngest judge, 32-year-old Kostiantyn Pilkov, seriously criticized certain stances of the Supreme Court of Ukraine during his tenure as a lawyer and an arbiter. And today, he takes efforts to fix these flaws when hearing commercial disputes in the new Supreme Court.
In the meantime, 30 out of the 120 successful candidates received negative opinion from the Public Integrity Council, the world's unique association of public activists who helped the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges gather information about candidates for judges to check their integrity. This situation caused a wide resonance in the society. The EU Delegation to Ukraine did not remain on the sidelines, either, calling the selection process "basically transparent" but at the same time, asked the Higher Council of Justice to explain the selection of persons with tainted reputation to the positions of judges at the new Supreme Court.
"The integrity, independence and professional qualities of all judges must not be questioned. The appointment of even a few judges with tainted reputation may undermine trust in the entire reform", the official announcement said.
The Higher Council of Justice stated in its announcement that not the entire information from the Public Integrity Council concerned integrity of candidates; in particular, some of them evaluated the judges' decisions, which contradicts the principles of law.
"I'd like to assure you: we understand that creation of a new judicial system is our most important task we're working on. Today, Ukraine is witnessing both the judicial reform and the creation of a civil society, which is also growing. Therefore, we have to give a lot of weight to information we receive", Ihor Benedysiuk, Chairman of the Higher Council of Justice said.
"The participation of people representing not the judicial branch but the civil society in the process of selecting judges as a form of public control over this procedure is considered one of the most important instruments of ensuring accountability of judges and increasing public trust in the judicial branch. However, this control must be carried out in accordance with clear rules and procedures, guaranteeing and observing fundamental rights of candidates and judges," Reda Moliene, an international expert of the EU project "Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine" believes.
Overall, the Public Integrity Council (PIC) has prepared opinions regarding 146 candidates. Later, it canceled the decisions concerning 12 of them. 51 candidates have been eliminated based on PIC opinion. In total, 80% of candidates to whom the public had questions did not make it to the Supreme Court.
An important positive achievement of the contest was election to the Supreme Court of 25% of "fresh blood from outside the system": former lawyers and scholars. This phenomenon is unique not just for Ukraine. For example, the quota for "non-judges" is 10% in the Supreme Court of Portugal and 20% in Spain. In the past, many of them were partners in successful law firms. For example, among the newly-appointed members of the Supreme Court are Doctor of Sciences and partner of Kibenko, Onika & Partners Law Firm Olena Kibenko, Nexum Law Firm Director Serhii Zhukov, and the former Director of the Center for Commercial Law and presently the President of the Supreme Court Valentyna Danishevska.
The new judges are gradually changing the Supreme Court's philosophy. There are five working groups focusing on management of the Supreme Court, communication strategy, uniformity of judicial practice, prevention of corruption and the new structure of court judgments. The first judgments filed in the Unified State Register of Court Judgments already have clear and comprehensible rubrication, where history of the case and actual circumstances, assessments by courts of the first and appellate instances, arguments of the application for cassation appeal and conclusions of the Supreme Court are separated. Judges actively communicate with mass media, conduct surveys regarding changes, participate in flash mobs in social networks where they speak about the work they do.
In the past two months, the new Supreme Court has heard almost 8 thousand cases. About that much was received during this period. Close to 75 thousand cases were left from the previous Supreme Court of Ukraine and higher specialized courts. The Administrative and Civil Courts of Cassation found themselves in the most difficult situation, having inherited from higher specialized courts and the old Supreme Court over 39 and 28 thousand cases, respectively.
"From the very first day of work, cases and materials were distributed among judges. Both new complaints and the cases pending hearing by the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Court of Ukraine were distributed at the same time. Every judge received from 20 to 90 cases and materials every day. The court's administrative office expects to complete assignment of old cases in a month's time, and every judge would have a backlog of approximately 2 thousand cases and materials", Tetiana Antsupova, an Administrative Court of Cassation judge who was a professor at the department of international law and comparative law studies of the International University of Humanities says.
According to Mrs. Antsupova, most judges have opted for a chronological approach to consideration of cases: simultaneously with "new" lawsuits, statements and complaints, a judge works on "old" cases, starting from the oldest ones.
The judge Serhii Zhukov talks about cases at the Commercial Court of Cassation: "Today, I have only positive impressions from the work I do. I realized that during the first months at this job, judges would have to cope with a huge workload. During the first month, I received over 100 cases. Nevertheless, this is an opportunity to positively influence the consistency and uniformity of judicial practice".
Viktor Prorok, a Civil Court of Cassation judge admits that work at the Supreme Court is uneasy, because presently, he has almost 400 pending applications for cassation appeal. Before that, he was at the helm of his own law firm, Prorok & Partners.
"The system which was shaping itself up for decades cannot be revamped in one month", Vsevolod Kniazev, a Grand Chamber judge comments. "You can consider it a success if it doesn't revamp you. But on the bright side, you have at least an opportunity to change something for the better. Even if you help one person, your efforts weren't in vain".
However, our European partners are worried about how efficiently would the new Supreme Court be able to implement uniform rules for the entire legal system, given such a huge number of cases. According to Jautrīte Briede, a judge of the Supreme Court of Latvia and the Permanent Advisor to another EU–funded project, Supreme Court Twinning, it is important to limit the categories of cases heard by the Supreme Court.
"The main objective of the Supreme Court is to make sure that similar cases in different courts are resolved in the same manner, and issue instructions on how to interpret legal provisions. The Supreme Court should not examine evidence but only uphold decisions of appellate courts or remand cases", Jautrīte Briede explains.
Under the two-year project, representatives of the Supreme Courts of Latvia, Germany and Austria began in February 2018 training judges and members of administrative staff of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, discussing, among other things, procedural codes setting out the list of cases for hearing by the Supreme Court and the ways of improving them. This project is being implemented by the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) and the Justice Ministry of the Republic of Latvia.
To complete the staffing of the Supreme Court, a similar contest may be held in 2018 for another 80 positions of judge, as the law requires the Supreme Court to have up to 200 judges. Hopefully, more talented and worthy judges, lawyers or scholars would want to become a judge of the court of the highest instance after seeing how transparent and objective the contest is.
With the support from the new EU project "Law", the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges will evaluate judges of courts of the first and appellate instances using a methodology similar to the contest for the Supreme Court to test their professional, social and psychological abilities. There are almost 5 thousand judges in Ukraine in total; almost 1 thousand are being checked right now, and at least 2 thousand more judges will have to undergo evaluation by the year's end. After recertification, the judge's pay will increase several times. The base salary of a local court judge will start from 30 times the living wage amount (over UAH 50 thousand), and that of an appellate court judge from 50 times the living wage amount (from UAH 88 thousand).
At the same time, a contest for the positions of judges continues to fill close to 1.5 thousand vacancies in local courts. Currently, the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges oversees selection of 600 new judges from over 5 thousand candidates, i.e. 8 candidates per vacancy. Those who will past the test will be included to the reserve for participation in contests for new circuit courts. Presently, there are dozens of courts with one, maximum two judges, and in some localities, courts were shut down altogether because they have no judges at all.
In 2018, the Ukrainian government also has to establish two new courts: the Higher Court for Intellectual Property comprised of 21 judges and the Higher Anticorruption Court. Judges for both these courts will have to be selected via an open and transparent contest. A full-fledged functioning of the Higher Anticorruption Court is not only a condition for Ukraine's continuing integration into EU but also the foundation for a uniform and predictable application of rules to everyone in the country, including high-ranked officials involved in corruption schemes and inflicting substantial damages upon the state.
"There is no need to further discuss or argue over anticorruption courts. Today, they simply have to be implemented in view of the Venice Commission's recommendations. If you won't intensify the fight against corruption, there will be no economic growth, investments and new jobs for the Ukrainians. Give anticorruption organizations a chance to do their job!", Hugues Mingarelli, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine said back in November 2017.
For the first time during independence, the Ukrainians received a chance for affordable, fair and predictable trial. It is important to make sure that the Ukrainian government implements the objectives of judicial reform for 2018, because without a transparent and efficient justice, there will be no further integration of Ukraine into the European Union, no foreign investments and no new jobs for the Ukrainians.


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Walt Whitman on What Makes Life Worth Living
Walt Whitman on Democracy and Optimism as a Mighty Form of Resistance
Thoreau on Nature as Prayer
The Hour of Land: Terry Tempest Williams on the Responsibility of Awe and the Wilderness as an Antidote to the War Within Ourselves
"Awe is the moment when ego surrenders to wonder."
In his stirring meditation on what makes life worth living, Walt Whitman asked: "After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, love, and so on — have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear — what remains?" He answered simply: "Nature remains."
But between Whitman's day and our own, as we have poured our business and politics onto nature, nature has ceased to be the inexhaustible constant Whitman took it to be. This is what marine biologist and writer Rachel Carson intuited when, a decade before she catalyzed the modern environmental movement, she quit her government job in a grey Washington office not far from where Whitman had once lived and cautioned in a prescient letter as she watched a heedless administration assault nature for commercial gain: "The real wealth of the Nation lies in the resources of the earth — soil, water, forests, minerals, and wildlife… Their administration is not properly, and cannot be, a matter of politics."
The sanctity of that wealth and the urgency of its stewardship is what Terry Tempest Williams, a Carson of our time, explores from the singular intersection of the personal, the political, and the ecological in The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks (public library) — an elegy, in the proper dual sense of lamentation and celebration, for the wilderness; a lyrical clarion call for reexamining the complex interleaving of our ecological relationships and our responsibilities as politically wakeful citizens and creatures among creatures; an invitation to reckoning and a roadmap to redemption.
Terry Tempest Williams (Photograph: Cheryl Himmelstein)
Contemplating what draws 300 million visitors a year to America's national parks, Williams writes:
Perhaps it is not so much what we learn that matters in these moments of awe and wonder, but what we feel in relationship to a world beyond ourselves, even beyond our own species.
Two centuries after Alexander von Humboldt pioneered the notion that the natural world is a web of intricately entwined elements in constant dialogue with one another and asserted that "in this great chain of causes and effects, no single fact can be considered in isolation," Williams paints these vital and vitalizing preserves of wilderness as a supreme sanctuary of that awareness:
I see our national parks as our ongoing struggle as a diverse people to create circles of reverence in a time of collective cynicism where we are wary of being moved by anything but our own clever perspective… The nature of our national parks is bound to the nature of our own humility, our capacity to stay open and curious in a world that instead beckons closure through fear.
Our national parks are blood. They are more than scenery, they are portals and thresholds of wonder, an open door that swings back and forth from our past to our future.
One of Chiura Obata's paintings of Yosemite
As Williams visits a dozen of these precious boundary-worlds, as varied as the Gulf Islands seashore, Glacier National Park, and Alcatraz Island, she reflects on them as a kind of observatory for discovering the largest dimensions of existence in the splendid smallnesses that constellate it. From Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, she writes:
To watch spring arrive on the wings of a pair of red-tailed hawks as they circle each other in amorous display is not a small thing, but a source of amazement at how they find their way back to the same nest each year.
To see the yellow fritillaries burst forth after the deep snows of winter and know that the bears are soon to follow is to be attentive to wild nature's seasonal fugue of infinite composition and succession. The great gray owl sitting on a snag near Sawmill Ponds is not simply a bird but a heightened intelligence with golden eyes behind a mask of feathers.
And yet, as shaped as these wild refuges may be by our intentions and policies, they remain — and must remain — wildly beyond our control. In a sentiment that calls to mind poet Jane Hirshfield's insistence on the life-expanding value of threshold spaces, Williams writes:
No matter how much we try to manage and manipulate, orchestrate, or regulate our national parks, they will remain as the edge-scapes they are, existing on the boundaries between culture and wildness — improvisational spaces immune to the scripts of anyone. Wildlife in wildlands appear without notice. Awakened is what we become in their presence. Curiosity leads us forward on an unknown path, even if it is a path of well-placed steps made out of pink granite here in Acadia. For a precious moment we touch and taste life uninterrupted. Awe sneaks up on us like love. We surrender to the ecstatic outpouring of life before us.
Photograph by Maria Popova
In consonance with trailblazing Scottish mountaineer and poet Nan Shepherd's assertion that "place and a mind may interpenetrate till the nature of both is altered," Williams considers the ceaseless dynamic interaction between our interiority and our physical surrounding:
To be situated in place is to be engaged in a reciprocity where survival, both physical and spiritual, depends on our understanding of gestures. I believe necessity drives us to improvisation where improbable and sustaining gestures create moments of grace that take care of us. We continue to evolve and transform who we are in relationship to where we are. We do not live in isolation from the physical world around us. Nature beckons our response. It is in the doing, the being, the becoming that meaning is made. What becomes sacred is the act itself — not what remains. Something inexplicable is set into motion.
Our fate, like the fate of all species, is determined by chance, by circumstance, and by grace.
One of the loveliest aspects of Williams's prose and her orientation to ecological responsibility is the unflinching critical thinking with which she approaches the subject, at the same time refusing to perpetrate one of the great cultural crimes of our time — the tendency to mistake cynicism, that toxic calcification of the soul, for critical thinking. Her rhetoric is rigorously reasoned and passionately uncynical, precise yet poetic. Writing from Big Bend National Park in Texas, she reminds us that nature itself is our mightiest antidote to cynicism:
Big Bend is no place for cynics. There is too much at stake. A bedrock pragmatism refutes sentimentality through the beauty of the unexpected. What we mistake as sentimental is in fact a generosity, a willingness to stay open and acknowledge the miraculous.
Cynicism flourishes in air-conditioned rooms. Like any true place, the desert is a risk. Back into a barrel cactus and you may get hurt. But touch its yellow flowers with petals like wax and the pain from its needles lessens. Our fear of being touched removes us from a sensate world. The distant self becomes the detached self who no longer believes in anything. Awe is the moment when ego surrenders to wonder. This is our inheritance — the beauty before us. We cry. We cry out. There is nothing sentimental about facing the desert bare. It is a terrifying beauty.
Standing on the Atlantic shoreline of Acadia National Park, Williams echoes the biological and poetic truth Rachel Carson so memorably articulated nearly a century earlier in her pioneering essay on the life of the ocean — "Against this cosmic background the lifespan of a particular plant or animal appears, not as drama complete in itself, but only as a brief interlude in a panorama of endless change." — and writes:
Each breaking wave, each rush of the sea on the slope of sand, reminds me why these places of pilgrimage matter. They matter to me because in the long view, I do not. I am driftwood. I am rockweed. I am osprey and the mackerel in the clutch of her feet. I am a woman standing on the edge of the continent looking out.
Just as we cope with the disorientation of living in a relative universe by grasping for artificial absolutes — a maladaptive coping mechanism that seems to be a bug of human consciousness — we cope with this awareness of our smallness and finitude by grasping for control and domination of the expansive natural world that lies beyond us. Decades after the theologian Thomas Merton wrote in his fan letter to Rachel Carson we suffer from a civilizational sickness leading us to believe that "in order to 'survive' we instinctively destroy that on which our survival depends," Williams writes:
The irony of our existence is this: We are infinitesimal in the grand scheme of evolution, a tiny organism on Earth. And yet, personally, collectively, we are changing the planet through our voracity, the velocity of our reach, our desires, our ambitions, and our appetites. We multiply, our hunger multiplies, and our insatiable craving accelerates.
Consumption is a progressive disease.
We believe in more, more possessions, more power, more war. Anywhere, everywhere our advance of aggression continues.
My aggression toward myself is the first war.
Wilderness is an antidote to the war within ourselves.
A century and a half after Thoreau celebrated nature as a form of prayer, Williams adds:
How do we find our way back to a world interrelated and interconnected, whose priority is to thrive and evolve? What kind of belief systems are emerging now that reinforce and contribute to a world increasingly disconnected from nature? And what about the belief — my belief — in all that is wild?
I return to the wilderness to remember what I have forgotten, that the world can be wholesome and beautiful, that the harmony and integrity of ecosystems at peace is a mirror to what we have lost.
Williams considers the questions facing us — as individuals, as a nation, as a civilization — and the decisions we are called to make in the name of wholeness, beauty, harmony, and all that makes our Pale Blue Dot such a precious improbability of cosmic chance:
We are at a crossroads. We can continue on the path we have been on, in this nation that privileges profit over people and land; or we can unite as citizens with a common cause — the health and wealth of the Earth that sustains us. If we cannot commit to this kind of fundamental shift in our relationship to people and place, then democracy becomes another myth perpetuated by those in power who care only about themselves.
The time has come for acts of reverence and restraint on behalf of the Earth. We have arrived at the Hour of Land.
The Hour of Land — throughout which Williams maps the frontiers of hope and resistance through the noble work of artists, activists, and other emissaries of Thoreau's ethos of civil disobedience as a force of justice — is a requisite, electrically rousing read in its entirety. Complement it with the story of Rachel Carson's culture-shifting courage to speak inconvenient truth to power and Henry Beston — one of Carson's great heroes and inspirations — on reclaiming our relationship with nature.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/04/12/the-hour-of-land-terry-tempest-williams/
booksculturepoliticsRachel CarsonscienceTerry Tempest Williams


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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra flays UP, Uttarakhand govts for allowing illicit liquor trade to flourish
The death toll in the hooch tragedy has increased to 97 and over 200 people have been arrested so far in a police crackdown, officials said.
india Updated: Feb 10, 2019 18:46 IST
Indo Asian News Service
Priyanka Gandhi asked the UP and Uttarakhand governments to take strict action against the criminals and provide appropriate compensation to families of victims.(Sushil Kumar/ Hindustan Times)
Expressing shock over the death of nearly 100 people in the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand hooch tragedy, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday blamed the BJP governments in the two states for allowing the illicit liquor industry to flourish.
"I am shocked and very sad to know that more than 100 people have been killed in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and the death toll continues to rise," Priyanka Gandhi said in a statement.
"It is hard to believe that the illicit liquor industry in the two states is operating without the support of the respective state governments. I hope that the BJP governments will take strict action against the criminals and appropriate compensation and provision of government jobs will be made for the families of the deceased," added Gandhi, who recently took over as the AICC General Secretary in charge of east Uttar Pradesh.
The death toll in the hooch tragedy has increased to 97 and over 200 people have been arrested so far in a police crackdown, officials said on Sunday.
All the deceased had gone to Balupur village in Uttarakhand's Roorkie for an after-death ritual where they were apparently served spurious liquor.
First Published: Feb 10, 2019 18:34 IST
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Priyanka Gandhi
liquor trade


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Euro may only last five years, says senior German government advisor
The euro has a "limited chance of survival" and may only endure another five years, Kai Konrad, one of the German government's closest economic advisers, has claimed.
By Jeevan Vasagar 24 April 2013 • 15:15 pm
"Europe is important to me. Not the euro," said Dr Konrad.
In notably outspoken remarks for a senior German figure, Dr Konrad, chairman of a scientific council that advises the finance ministry, said: "Europe is important to me. Not the euro. And I would only give the euro a limited chance of survival."
Asked whether he thought the single currency would last five years, the economist said: "A concrete period is hard to identify as it depends on so many factors. But five years sounds realistic."
This pessimistic judgment by a senior adviser runs counter to the official German government view that the euro must be held together for the sake of unity in Europe. Dr Konrad's remarks came in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, on the debt crisis in Europe.
The economic adviser warned that: "No country can pile up debt without running the risk that their investors will pull the plug. It's in each [country's] interests to keep their own debts as small as possible.
"Where the limit lies has to be individually decided. That depends among other things on economic growth and the growth of population."
Dr Konrad said that countries should have the freedom to get into debt, provided they carried the "sole responsibility" for these debts. He made his blunt remarks about the future of the euro, when the interviewer suggested that he was advocating a return to the nation state,
The German chancellor Angela Merkel has always insisted that she wants to preserve the single currency and maintain the eurozone in its current form.
In a speech to the Bundestag two years ago, she told German MPs: "Nobody should take for granted another 50 years of peace and prosperity in Europe ... that's why I say: If the euro fails, Europe fails."
The German government's official line is that the euro is essential for the prosperity of an export-oriented nation.
Rather than accept the break-up of the euro, the German government is demanding tighter, Europe-wide controls over national budgets.
Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble recently warned against increasing liquidity to promote economic growth, though he has also acknowledged that the soaring unemployment of southern Europe needs to be addressed.
Mr Schaeuble said in an interview for the economic weekly Wirtschaftswoche: "We are dealing with almost an economic schizophrenia. Everyone says we have deficits that are too large and a high level of liquidity would make everything more dangerous. And then some say, but we have too little growth, and so we need more liquidity."
By Luke Slater 17 Jan 2021, 6:22am
I can't be the only one who goes a bit funny around the full moon
Bryony Gordon 17 Jan 2021, 6:00am
Don't write off the National Trust. It's right to focus less on the countryside
Andy Street 17 Jan 2021, 6:00am


For thousands of years throughout the globe, in every culture, the baby naming ceremony was the most important event to celebrate the birth of a baby and celebrate a new mother by welcoming them both officially into the community. Historically pregnancy and childbirth were shrouded within the Circle of Life, representing both the potential for life and death, and the transition and transformation in status from unborn to born and maiden to mother. Because of superstitions and the sheer magnitude of this event there were no celebrations or names given until after the baby was born. The Baby Shower is the only event that has been embraced by modern society to celebrate the baby before birth. A baby naming ceremony usually takes place 7-10 days after birth and is the first time a new baby's name is said aloud and that baby and mother are welcomed into community in celebration.