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Study the vegetation map of Ghana below and use it to answer the questions that follow:
(a) Identify the vegetation types numbered on the map as follows: I, II, III, IV and V
(b) Highlight five benefits of water bodies in Ghana.
1. (a) Vegetation types
I – Tropical Rain Forest
II – Semi-deciduous forest
III – Coastal scrub and grassland
IV – Guinea savanna
V – Sudan savanna
(b) Benefits of water bodies in Ghana
(i) Means of Transportation – Canoes, boats, ferries, etc are used to transport persons and goods on certain rivers, lakes and the sea.
(ii) Source of Water for Domestic Purposes – People fetch water from streams, rivers, ponds, etc, for domestic uses, such as bathing, cooking, washing, and drinking. The Ghana Water Company also gets water from our rivers and lakes for treatment and supply as potable water
(iii) Source of Water for Industrial Purposes – Certain industries rely on water from water bodies for some of their industrial operations
(iv) Source of Food (Fish / Protein) – Fishermen in Ghana obtain fish from our streams, rivers, lakes, lagoons, ponds and the sea.
(v) Source of Employment – Water bodies provide employment and therefore income both directly and indirectly to people such as fishermen, tour guides, Volta River Authority workers, farmers, etc.
(vi) Generation of Hydroelectric Power – The Akosombo dam generates electricity for the entire country using water from the Volta River. The Bui dam, also for generation of hydroelectric power is still under construction.
(vii) Tourist Attraction Sites – Certain rivers and lakes serve as tourist attractions, which help to generate income and foreign exchange for the country.
(viii) Salt Production from Sea Water – Salt can be obtained from sea water through evaporation
(ix) Irrigation of Farmlands – In areas where there is little or no rainfall, farmers rely on water bodies to grow their crops
(x) Drainage System to Prevent Flooding – When rain falls, the water runs into gutters / drains, which carry them into water bodies. This prevents flooding of communities, which could have caused destruction of life and property.
(xi) Habitat for Aquatic Organisms – Several organisms and micro organisms in the ecosystem live in various water bodies
(xii) Source of Minerals – Certain rivers have mineral deposits in them, eg, alluvial gold in Rivers Birim, Pra and Offin, alluvial diamond in the Birim River . Currently, crude oil is drilled from beneath the sea (off shore Western Region)
(xiii) Helps in Rain Formation – Large amounts of water vapour in the atmosphere come from water evaporation from the surface of water bodies. The water vapour rises higher, becomes cooler, condenses and falls as rain.
(a) What is cultural change?
(b) Explain four factors responsible for cultural change in Ghana.
2. (a) Cultural change
The gradual alteration or adaptations that occur in the way people live.
It includes changes in dressing, language, food, clothing, music, religion, beliefs, values, festivities and other expressions of culture
(b) Factors responsible for cultural change in Ghana
(i) Migration
Migration refers to movement of persons or groups of people from a place to settle in another place, either temporarily or permanently. When this happens it may affect the way they do things due to the difference in culture / natural environment of the new place. Eg a person who moves from a warm climatic region to a colder one may be compelled to change his/her dressing from light and scanty clothes to heavier body covering ones.
(ii) Education
Both formal and informal education is aimed at changing one's way of doing things as a result of acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes. As people learn, they acquire new knowledge, which tends to change the way they think / perceive things, which usually leads to a change in the way they live and therefore a change in culture. Eg, change in one's diet due to knowledge of importance of taking balanced diet.
(iii) Religion
One's religion usually defines what is acceptable or unacceptable. Different religions have different belief systems which impact on the way the followers live. For instance, people who change their religions may be compelled to also change the way they dress, the songs they can sing or listen to, the way they pray, sometimes the food they can eat or even the language they speak.
(iv) Urbanisation
People who move from rural areas to urban areas experience drastic changes in the way things are done. As time goes on, they forget about their old belief systems, values and traditional ethics. They now adopt the city lifestyle, which could mean changes in how they dress, how they dance, the songs they sing, the food they eat and even the good manners and polite behaviour they used to have.
(v) New technology and innovation
Swift changes in current technologies and innovative ideas have brought about rapid changes in culture. These changes happen because most of these modern technologies are more interesting, less tiresome, much faster and more user-friendly. Eg, these days, spending days and weeks to clear / plough a piece of land with a hoe / cutlass can now be done in a much better way by a tractor within a few minutes or hours. Children would rather surf the internet, play computer or video games rather than enjoying storytelling. Letter writing has now been replaced by emails, phone calls, text messaging, chatting on social internet networks.
(vi) Inter-marriages
When people marry they usually change some of the way they do things, out of compulsion, mutual understanding or the love they have for their spouses. Eg, they learn how to prepare and eat different kinds of food. There may also be changes in the way they talk, dress, work, worship God, relate with others, etc.
(vii) The Media
Both the print and electronic media play very significant roles in changing cultures of people. The more people see and hear a particular thing / behaviour, the more accustomed they get to that thing / behaviour. With time, these viewers and listeners gradually change from their old cultural ways of doing things to what they have been seeing / hearing. Many times, such changes are actually unconscious – ie, they don't intentionally decide to change, however they suddenly find themselves doing it. Eg, using a swear word (profane language) or unconsciously humming a song one heard on radio / TV.
(a) Highlight any four contributions of Ghana to the United Nations Organization
(b) In what four ways has Ghana benefited from the United Nations Organization?
3. (a) Contribution of Ghana to the United Nations Organization
(i) Peace-keeping operations in war-torn countries
(ii) Payment of dues – financial contribution
(iii) Human resource contribution – eminent Ghanaians serving at the UNO in various capacities
(iv) Sheltering refugees fleeing from their countries
(v) Participating in deliberations programmes at the UNO general assembly and other organs
(vi) Assisting and facilitating the operations and campaigns of UN specialised agencies such as FAO, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, etc
[any four]
(b) Ways in which Ghana has benefited from the United Nations Organization
(i) Loans and grants from the IMF and the World Bank to support development projects
(ii) Health delivery services provided by the WHO
(iii) International recognition as a result of our membership of the UNO
(iv) Rural developmental projects by the UNDP
(v) Food and Agricultural developmental programmes by the FAO
(vi) Employment of Ghanaians at the UNO and its specialised agencies.
(vii) Support for Ghana's democracy by supply of international observers during general elections
(a) What is separation of powers?
(b) Outline four advantages of separation of powers.
4. (a) Separation of powers
The practice where each of the three arms of government work independently of the others
(The three arms are the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary)
(b) Advantages of separation of powers
(i) It prevents dictatorial tendencies of any arm of government, since absolute power is not given to any one governmental organ
(ii) It ensures the rule of law in the governance of the country
(iii) It protects the rights and freedoms of the people
(iv) It supports specialization of duties, which promotes efficiency
(v) It gives room for checks and balances of one arm from the other arms and therefore enhances effectiveness of governance.
(vi) It reduces corruption and abuse of power.
In what five ways can Ghana reduce her dependency on foreign financial support?
5. Ways by which Ghana can reduce her dependency on foreign support
(i) Supporting local industries to produce more local ('made-in-Ghana') goods
(ii) Encouraging industries to add value to primary goods for both local consumption and export
(iii) Encouraging Ghanaians to patronise 'made-in-Ghana' goods
(iv) Increasing locally generated income by widening the tax net
(v) Fighting corruption in order to conserve locally generated funds
(vi) Increasing the production of export goods in order to earn more foreign exchange
(vii) Investing more in the education of Ghanaians in order to provide higher skilled labour / expertise
(viii) Giving indigenous experts and companies that chance to work on specialised projects, which would have been given to expatriates
(ix) Granting scholarships to Ghanaians to train in highly specialised fields
(x) Providing attractive incentives for local experts to stay and work in Ghana
(a) Describe four ways through which human resource can be developed in Ghana
(b) State two reasons why labour is not fully used in Ghana.
6. (a) Ways through which human resource can be developed in Ghana
(i) Training and retraining
– Staff of institutions and other bodies must be given in-service training on a continuous basis in order to update their knowledge, sharpen their skills and positively improved their work attitudes. This would promote efficiency and higher productivity.
(ii) High quality and specialized education
– Students must be educated in specialized areas that are relevant to the current economic environment, rather than being given mere classical and theoretical lessons/lectures, which may not be beneficial enough to them nor to the nation.
(iii) Improved working condition
– The conditions under which employees work should be significantly improved in order to bring out the best in them. These conditions include the physical, social and political (work policies) environments
(iv) Opportunities for further studies
Organization must create opportunities, scholarship schemes and sponsorships for further studies for their staff based on specified criteria. These would greatly motivate workers to work harder in order to meet the criteria for sponsorship or scholarship awards.
(v) Availability of job opportunities
There is the need for the government and other bodies to create more job opportunities for school leavers. This will enable them to practice what they have learnt, in order to gain experience and perfect their skills.
(vi) Effective monitoring and supervision
Managements of institutions must ensure effective and regular supervision, monitoring, assessment and evaluation. This would keep workers on their toes and motivate them to work more diligently.
(vii) Equitable wages and salaries
It is vital for workers to be paid fair wages and salaries. In this regard, managements should consider paying workers based on performance, rather than on a general basis. If done, this will surely encourage hardworking staff to work even harder and the lazy ones to sit up and work more efficiently.
(viii) Security and welfare services
Every worker desires a certain level of both job and financial security. It is important therefore that worker be given security and welfare services, such as social security scheme, life / fire / motor insurance, staff welfare packages, etc. This helps to put workers' minds at ease, and therefore the peace of mind to focus on their work.
(ix) Award Schemes
As social beings, we all want to be given the recognition where it is due. Institutions in order to further motivate their staff, should consider setting up various award and reward schemes. The selection of winners must be done in the most transparent and objective manner possible, in order to maintain the credibility of the scheme. This should help to inspire workers to put in more for higher productivity.
(x) Use of efficient working tools
In recent times, there has been an emphasis that for greater productivity, there is the need to work smarter, rather than working harder. This simply stresses the need for using efficient modern tools / technology to produce more in less time. Workers using efficient working tools would do more work, as they would enjoy putting in relatively less effort and having greater output.
(b) Reasons why labour is not fully used in Ghana
 Insufficient job opportunities
 Inadequate training
 Lack of effective supervision
 Low quality of education
 Poor working conditions
 Lack of opportunities for further studies
 Unfair wages and salaries
 Lack of award schemes
 Lack of efficient working tools
 Inadequate security and welfare schemes
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National Pork Board to Review Strategic Plan, Elect New Officers
The National Pork Board will meet on June 10, during World Pork Expo. The meeting will focus on progress reports of the strategic plan introduced during Pork Industry Forum in March and the election of a new slate of officers
The National Pork Board will meet on June 10, during World Pork Expo. The meeting, to be held at the Gammon Barn on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, will focus on progress reports of the strategic plan introduced during Pork Industry Forum in March and the election of a new slate of officers. The meeting will begin about 9 a.m. and is open to the public.
In January, the Pork Board adopted a five-year strategic plan, "Leading a World-Class Food Industry," which included specific recommendations, including:
Review the board's governance structure to assure its relationship with producer-led committees remains representative of all viewpoints of the industry while remaining nimble enough to make rapid changes to address new and emerging threats.
Consider a budgeting process that takes into account that some programs – such as research – cannot start and stop quickly. The recommendation calls for the board to consider a process that projects expenditures in major program areas for three-to-five years, without making budgetary commitments to future years.
Review how the board and state pork organizations can collaborate more effectively.
At their March meeting, the board authorized the creation of producer-led task forces to address those recommendations. The board expects to discuss task force recommendations.
"The new strategic plan identified three critical issues that the board must address on behalf of producers and their Pork Checkoff over the next five years," explained National Pork Board President Tim Bierman, pork producer from Larrabee, IA. The three critical issues include:
Protecting the ability of U.S. farmers to produce pork in a socially responsible and cost-competitive manner;
Repositioning pork's image to increase demand; and
Helping producers remain competitive on a long-term, global basis.
"The plan also recognizes that change in the pork industry is accelerating," Bierman noted. "For the National Pork Board to be able to respond to the complex issues that can accompany change, we need to be flexible and ready to respond quickly. The recommendations we get from the task forces should help us achieve that."
Other issues on the Pork Board's meeting agenda include a possible national trust and image campaign involving multiple agricultural organizations, swine disease surveillance issues, and the new USDA dietary guidelines.
Bierman will complete his six-year service on the board once Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack formally appoints new board members from the nominations received from producer delegates at Pork Industry Forum. New officers will serve a one-year term. Anyone wishing to attend the National Pork Board meeting is asked to contact Lorraine Garner, [email protected], (515) 223-2600.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Small rebellions
Saudi Garcia
Anti-blackness is on the rise in Ayiti. But Haitians and Dominicans are resisting, in ways big and small.
Santo Domingo. Image credit @vinylmeister on Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0.
The word crisis is used so often in relation to the island of Ayiti (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) that often it loses its potency. Recent events highlight a peak in anti-Black and anti-Haitian violence, the result of the ever-mutating punishment of Haiti for its revolution of 1804.
In response to an October 3 announcement by the UN's Human Rights Commission asking the Dominican Republic to cease the deportation of Haitians to Haiti, president Luis Abinader issued decree 668-22. The decree establishes that, by presidential authority, the Dominican police and migration authorities can deport any "foreigner" deemed to be occupying state-owned land. Sugar plantations were a key source of dictator Rafael Trujillo's wealth (he ruled from 1930 to 1961), and were transferred into state ownership via the CEA (Consejo Estatal de Azucar). Therefore, the many sugar plantations still active and not owned by powerful families, like the Vicinis, are state-owned land where Haitians and their Dominico-Haitian descendants live.
The protection of private property was named as central to this decree, an ironic and laughable statement in a country still lacking several necessary laws, such as the stalled Ley de Ordenamiento Territorial, which is meant to organize land use across the nation's territory. The effect of the decree has been ethnic cleansing: Haitians and dark-skinned Dominicans have been violently attacked, rounded up, and dropped off in makeshift detention centers around the country and on the border. Although there have been waves of deportation and arbitrary, unlawful detainment of Haitian people in the DR, the sheer scale of the human hunt unfolding in the DR, combined with the hypocrisy of offering expedited paths to residence permits for Venezuelan refugees while ignoring people still denationalized since 2013, makes this the worst act of ethnic cleansing since the 1937 massacre in the borderlands.
I have been a racial equity facilitator since 2011 and a researcher of Dominican culture and politics since 2012. The organizations I have worked with, We Are All Dominican and In Cultured Company, have spent a combined ten years tracking anti-Haitian and anti-immigrant violence in the DR. We are All Dominican politicized a generation of Dominican activists with its forms of radical and consistent solidarity with denationalized Black Dominicans of Haitian descent on the island. Meanwhile, In Cultured Company has been able to successfully change the conversation about Dominican-Haitian relations, denaturalizing perpetual conflict and centering our shared political interests, anti-imperialism and solidarity. Even with these efforts and a rising tide of dissent in and out of the country, fascism is on the rise in the Dominican Republic. It is corroding and harming groups who might have been imagined as immune to it.
For example, on October 12, 2022, artists and activists with the organization, Acción Afro-Dominicana, were attacked with metal rods by members of a paramilitary organization called Antigua Orden Dominicana. Antigua Orden is infamous for attacking journalists, politicians and media figures that it does not deem anti-Haitian enough. The "Antigua Orden" that this organization advocates, much like the vision of the "Make America Great" crowd, is a violent and anti-Black social order. The arbitrary violation of the human and constitutional rights of Haitian immigrants as well as their imprisonment and deportation are the very actions that groups like Antigua Orden have advocated.
It is extremely concerning to see the state-sanctioned rise of anti-Haitian, anti-Black, and anti-LGBTQ violence in the past year. The physical violence, burning of entire small communities, lynching, death threats and online harassment we are seeing are simply the results of allowing a paramilitary organization to thrive unchecked since 2016. As land justice activist Ysanet Batista states: "the Dominican Republic is experiencing a civil rights movement. Organizations like Antigua Orden are a backlash to this social transformation, and decrees like 668-22 facilitate fascist violence."
Antigua Orden, and the decrees being issued by the presidency itself, are meant to fill the void that a lack of economic justice and humane social policies has left in the DR. As I have observed, anti-Blackness (i.e. colorism and racial replacement theories), anti-immigrant and anti-working class policies (both formal and informal) have thrived in this void. As a result, Dominican society has veered towards violence and abuse without accountability. Regardless of nationality, we all will suffer the consequences of living in, or even visiting, a social climate of deep intolerance.
There is a "single story" about Haitians in the DR that is propagated by the right-wing Dominican media. This anti-Haitian story is slowly changing, even if the change is uneven and small. The genie of racial self-recognition and cultural autonomy cannot be put back in the bottle, and this is running up against centuries of anti-Haitian sentiment. Despite a segment of the Dominican population not recognizing itself in broader racial terms, an increasing segment identifies with the long-suppressed African heritage of the nation and in locally appropriate racial terms.
Thanks to social entrepreneurs like Carolina Contreras, founder of Miss Rizos Salon, Dominican women are stopping the use of relaxers that can cause uterine cancers and proudly wearing their hair in Afros. Dembow, an urban rhythm that is connected to ancestral forms of African drumming, is thriving and being recognized in the global music scene. Movements like Barrio Alante are supporting and making visible the development of vibrant local cultural expressions like hip-hop, rap, and graffiti. Despite police brutality and economic oppression, these Black arts are thriving in the most racially-oppressed and marginalized parts of Santo Domingo's urban fabric. These and other groups such as Junta de Prietas, Aquelarre, and Accion Afro-Dominicana, are organizing people with an explicitly intersectional analysis that is rooted in place, race, class, and empire.
While the Dominican Republic is experiencing a racial and civil rights awakening, Haiti is experiencing a massive popular uprising against imperialism and white supremacy. With Haiti on the eve of being invaded by the US and supra-national forces like the UN Security Council, there is a deep sense of uncertainty and even hopelessness among the people of Ayiti. However, as a people, we have found ourselves in similar situations throughout our history. I write our history because the history of our island cannot be told by only thinking about Haiti or the Dominican Republic as separate countries.
They are nations whose fate is interlinked, and history proves it. As in the US, these are hidden histories that activists and organizations such as In Cultured Company work hard to bring into public consciousness. We sorely need an ethnic studies public school curriculum that imagines our history as central to the making of the modern world. In the meantime, our workshops are the spaces where Haitian and Dominican young people can come simply be, learn, and heal together.
There are people in our community whose values, actions, and lives are rooted in a deep sense of fear of the future. The future is indeed uncertain, but this is no excuse for our entire community to sanction racial violence with our silence. Hate, violence and intolerance have a way of echoing and multiplying in a silent room.
As I see my generation of Dominican millennials starting families, I beg us to refuse hate to be the inheritance of our future generations. Our children, our young kin, deserve more than endless violence and accepted cruelty toward Haitians.
It is overwhelming to think about all that we have to do to arrive at a safer, freer, healthier and more economically secure place. But the future is only as uncertain as our inaction allows it to be.
We can start by naming, with clarity and certainty, that this is a moment of anti-imperial and civil rights uprising in Haiti and the DR respectively. Dominicans in the diaspora can rebel in place by ensuring that we are creating the conditions, within ourselves, our families and our communities, to contest for the power to shape the future towards greater peace, freedom, humanity, and care. Breaking the cycle of fear, violence, and intolerance requires reprogramming, a commitment to see more possibilities at this moment and a desire to work in earnest toward transnational policy and structural change.
Dr. Saudi Garcia is a Mellon postdoctoral research fellow and incoming assistant professor at The New School's Department of Anthropology.
The word crisis is used so often in relation to the island of Ayiti (the Dominican
The specter of foreign forces in Haiti
Ambroise Jean-Léon
The so-called 'Haitian crisis' is primarily about outsiders' attempts force Haitians to live under an imposed order and the latter's resistance to that order.
Africa is a Radio: Episode #12
Discussion on this episode of Africa is a Radio features a report back from Sean Jacobs on his recent trip home to Cape Town, a discussion on Kagame's Rwanda and its relationship to the …
A Certain Kind of Black
Gina Athena Ulysse
A meditation on Haiti and Charleston. Being Black, these days, means living in constant state of siege.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Anne Eller
The Dominican state and the country's elites make up a history of conflict with Haiti to justify the periodic deportation of Haitians in the Dominican Republic.


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Happy Friday!! As you read this I will be on a plane for a little weekend jaunt! So excited to be going away for a few days. I won't be traveling as glamorously as this chic lady....I'm more of a jeans and cozy sweater jet set gal. Even though I come back on Monday, don't fret I have the stool DIY reveal from Preciously Me ready to post....I'm in love with this one! Get your jig saw's ready ladies!
|| Another Beautiful DIY from Preciously Me. This girl has me inspired!
|| In love with this clutch that sweet Molly and Sally designed with Emily Rosendhal.
|| DON'T forget to enter the Charles Emerson Designs giveaway!!!! The necklace is too cool. You need some baubles for you this holiday!! Enter here.
How wonderful! I hope that your trip is amazing!
Have fun lovely Albertina! Just what is needed during all the holiday prep and rush rush.
Have a safe and fantastic trip, Albertina!
Yes she really is chic - not easy on a plane! Must check your links. Enjoy the weekend!
Hey girl, congratulations on your bracelet win. Email me your address!
Can't wait to see your stool Albertina!!!
And thank you so much for everything, have a great weekend!
This photo is awesome!! Pinning to Pinterest (and tagging:)... Thanks for sharing, and have a wonderful weekend!!


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American Dream Leaves Clan Behind Mall Empire Mired in Debt
Photo: The American Dream complex stands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
By Tom Maloney, John Gittelsohn, and Natalie Wong
June 9, 2020, 7:00 AM EDT Updated on June 9, 2020, 10:45 AM EDT
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-09/american-dream-leaves-family-behind-mall-empire-mired-in-debt?sref=lhcvxvf8
Owners of the New Jersey property have $5 billion debt load
Ghermezian family's Triple Five Group has missed some payments
The Ghermezians had the American mall all figured out.
As brick-and-mortar shopping centers steadily lost market share to online competitors, the family behind three of the four biggest malls in North America built a thriving business by infusing their properties with heavy doses of entertainment — a nod to the prevailing wisdom that younger people tend to prefer experiences to material goods.
Their company, Triple Five Group, offered attractions worthy of the best theme parks. In a 2016 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Don Ghermezian, who oversees the family's American Dream mall in New Jersey, called the approach "internet-proof."
They weren't betting on a pandemic.
Forced shutdowns battered brick-and-mortar retailers. Mall anchors like J.C. Penney Co. and Macy's Inc. were already struggling before their cash registers fell silent. When tenants stopped paying rent in April, many landlords began to fall behind on loan payments, causing prices to plunge in the $550 billion market for commercial mortgage backed securities.
But for the Ghermezians, the timing has been especially poor. Their most ambitious project yet — the 3.3 million-square-foot American Dream mall in New Jersey, featuring an indoor ski slope and year-round DreamWorks water park — was less than a week from opening its retail wing when the state shut down.
Getting the mall built after more than 16 years of bankruptcies, delays and lawsuits required pledging some of the family's stakes in the two biggest malls in North America. Now parts of a $5 billion mountain of debt associated with the properties is showing signs of stress.
Read more: How Not to Build a Supermall
Perhaps just as concerning for the family is that the model they built — spectacular attractions designed to lure shoppers from far afield — isn't made for a world in which people desperately want to avoid one another.
"They are enclosed gathering places, they have a large tourist component, and they have communal entertainment," said Nick Egelanian, president of SiteWorks, a retail consulting firm. "These things are not going to work for a long time."
The Ghermezians haven't always been synonymous with real estate. Theirs is a rugs-to-riches journey.
After moving to Iran from Azerbaijan in 1940, the family built a business manufacturing and trading Persian rugs. In 1960, Jacob and Miryam Ghermezian immigrated to Montreal with their four sons, and moved to Edmonton four years later, according to the Jewish Archives and Historical Society of Edmonton and Northern Alberta.
"They have an amazing name of being charitable, of being forward-thinking and being really, really smart businessmen," Shlomo Chopp, managing partner of Case Property Services, a real estate restructuring advisory firm, said in an interview.
The sons — Eskandar, Nader, Raphael and Bahman — led the business into real estate development, prominently with the West Edmonton Mall in the early 1980s. They dubbed the 5.3 million-square-foot expanse, with more than 800 stores and indoor amusement and water parks, the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
In 1992, they opened the "Mall of America" outside Minneapolis, featuring the largest U.S. indoor theme park, an aquarium and more than 520 stores.
Distressed Debt
Markets have been gathering places since the agoras of ancient Greece, and the shopping mall reached its own apotheosis of American consumption and hang-out pop-culture — think "Mallrats," "Stranger Things" and "Clueless."
Triple Five took it to another level by making the mall a tourist attraction — and it seemed to be working.
As many as 40% of the visitors at Mall of America were tourists from outside the region, according to a 2015 presentation. Estimates by Green Street Advisors show the mall's sales per square foot can average about 85% more than its nearest Minneapolis rival.
That success led to the family's most ambitious project yet — American Dream.
Originally known as Xanadu, the project faced myriad setbacks since its conception in 2003. Then-Governor Chris Christie dubbed it "the ugliest damn building in New Jersey," and the original developer, Mills Corp., went belly-up in 2007. Colony Capital stepped in, but its plans stalled after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which had been a lender on the project. Triple Five took over in 2013. The construction process was haphazard and large retailers that signed on, including Barneys New York, filed for bankruptcy.
Still, things seemed to turn around ahead of the anticipated retail opening set for March of this year. By January, developers had leased almost 90% of its available 3.3 million square feet.
Then Covid-19 arrived, hitting the densely populated New York area especially hard. Triple Five postponed the grand opening just six days before it was set to occur.
The family borrowed billions to complete the project, using the jewels of its retail empire as collateral. Almost $1.7 billion of construction loans were backed by 49% of the equity interests in West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America, which is expected to reopen Wednesday after a period of civil unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. But with American Dream still shuttered, that collateral is at risk.
"They bet the farm," Egelanian said.
The two properties carry more than $2 billion in debt. Triple Five missed two monthly payments on Mall of America's $1.4 billion mortgage. It was transferred to special servicing, and the junior tranche of a security backed by the debt was downgraded three notches to CCC by Standard & Poor's in March.
The family's net worth has dropped to about $650 million from $2.5 billion in 2016, according to an estimate by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Donna Lainey, an executive assistant at Triple Five, said the estimate is inaccurate. She declined to elaborate or provide another figure.
While the family might be in a tough spot, "banks and investors are right in there along with them," Egelanian said. "It's not in their interests to throw in the towel either."
Indeed, the very size, complexity and uniqueness of Triple Five's mega-malls could help the family retain control of the properties.
'The Glue'
Sophisticated developers like Triple Five "were at the cutting edge of an incredible business plan, had all the connections with all the retailers throughout the world to bring in, the relationships with all the people in the entertainment business," said Jonathan Adelsberg, a partner at Herrick Feinstein's real estate practice.
Lenders might be inclined to show patience with mall owners who have fallen behind on payments because they believe they are best able to "navigate the storm," he said.
"The Ghermezians are the glue, the magic," and they're essential to reviving the business, Egelanian said. "They really understand how to deliver the integrated model of shopping and entertainment."
Of course, that still leaves the question of how to operate three of the biggest indoor gathering spaces in the country in a way that makes people comfortable. Even as the malls get back to business — West Edmonton has already done so — the length of the shutdown may matter less than the aftermath.
"The last couple years, our whole industry has put so much money in entertainment centers that are representative of the consumer preference of experience over goods," said Ami Ziff, director of national retail at Time Equities Inc. "Now that whole business is dislocated."
Packed Pools
After three months of enduring a pandemic, much of what made Triple Five's properties work in the past could be a disadvantage. Will consumers want to spend hours wandering through a crowded indoor mall or floating in a packed wave pool with hundreds of strangers?
"This idea of going shopping for entertainment and leisurely flipping through a store, you're going to see a whole lot less of that," said Ed McMahon, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. A large segment of the population won't want to do things that put them at greater risk until there's a vaccine, he said.
Triple Five also will have to grapple with defaults by anchor tenants. More than half of such retail outlets in the U.S. will go out of business by the end of next year, according to Green Street Advisors, and record unemployment will hurt discretionary spending at the stores that remain.
Despite these challenges, Triple Five is betting on experiences more than ever, with plans to boost the entertainment-to-retail ratio at American Dream to 70/30 from 55/45, Don Ghermezian told CNBC in April.
"People will be so stir crazy" by the time the pandemic ends, he said. There will be some trepidation at the start, "but I think we are going to have so many people."
MSN, American Dream Leaves Family Behind Mall Empire Mired in Debt
National Real Estate Investor, American Dream Leaves Clan Behind Mall Empire Mired in Debt
National Mortgage News, American Dream leaves family behind mall empire mired in debt
Crain's, American Dream leaves clan behind mall empire mired in debt
MSN Money Twitter (123.9k followers) American Dream Leaves Family Behind Mall Empire Mired in Debt
National Mortgage News Twitter (47.3k followers), American Dream leaves family behind mall empire mired in debt
Bloomberg Wealth Twitter (23.9k followers), The family behind three of North America's four biggest malls built a thriving empire that they called "internet-proof". But they weren't betting on a pandemic
Bloomberg Canada Twitter (24k followers), The family behind three of North America's four biggest malls built a thriving empire that they called "internet-proof". But they weren't betting on a pandemic
Crain's Twitter (54.4k followers), American Dream leaves clan behind mall empire mired in debt
Crain's Facebook (39,551 followers), American Dream leaves clan behind mall empire mired in debt
Crain's LinkedIn (22,987 followers), American Dream leaves clan behind mall empire mired in debt
Ami Ziff, COVID-19, mall, National Retail, pandemic, Retail, Shopping Mall, Time Equities Inc.


text:
Q: Possible spins and parities of $^{38}_{17}Cl$ In my introductory nuclear physics course, the following question came up:

Consider the odd-odd nucleus $^{38}_{17}Cl$, which has 17 protons and 21 neutrons. Its 17th proton sits in the $1d_{3/2}$ orbit, while its 21st neutron is in the $1f_{7/2}$ orbital. Calculate the possible spins and parities of this nucleus.

so I calculated the spin and parity the way odd-odd nuclei spin and parity are calculated. The total nuclear spin $I$ should be $j_1+j_1 = 5$.
Its parity is $(-1)^0  (-1)^3 = -$
So the nuclear spin and parity is $5^-$, in accordance with the value i looked up online.
The part I don't get is why there should be multiple possible spins and parities. Does it have to do with the total angular momentum ranging from $|j_1-j_2|$ to $|j_1+j_2|$? How does it relate to what i calculated?

A:
The part I don't get is why there should be multiple possible spins and parities. Does it have to do with the total angular momentum ranging from $|j_1-j_2|$ to $|j_1+j_2|$?

Yes. What you calculated was $|j_1+j_2|$, which is the maximum. In the absence of any interaction between the neutron and the proton, all of those spin couplings, from the minimum to the maximu, would give states with the same energy, and the ground state would be degenerate. They do interact, and apparently in this example the result is that the maximum spin gives the lowest energy. But there is normally no easy was to predict that kind of thing without doing a full shell-model calculation in which you diagonalize a large Hamiltonian.
For more on this sort of thing, see this question: How do you go about guessing the ground-state spin and parity of a nucleus?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is progressing with the development of the state trojan. This year, a version is to be completed, which enables monitoring of mobile operating systems. This is the result of a report, classified as secret, by the Ministry of the Interior, published by Netzpolitik.org.
Specifically, it is about the "Remote Communication Interception Software 2.0" (RCIS 2.0). The BKA wants to extend the state trojan so that the malware can also be introduced into mobile operating systems such as Android, BlackBerry and Apple iOS. The goal is clear: in the future, the authorities also want to be able to monitor encrypted messenger services such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
The application area for the RCIS 2.0 is the source telecommunication monitoring (source TKÜ), ie the pure tapping of communication contents. The BKA had started the development in the third quarter of 2016, the release is scheduled to take place later this year.
The RCIS 1.0 version of the BKA state robot, which still had desktop operating systems in mind, was released by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in February 2016. The malware was examined by an "external software testing laboratory", the results were then sent to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the Federal Data Protection Commissioner. In the case of the latter, a final assessment is still pending. So far, however, the BKA had not discovered any signs that rework would be necessary.
In addition, the BKA wants to use not only the self-developed state trojan, but also the commercial monitoring software "FinSpy" as a substitute in the hindquarters have. This was already purchased in October 2012, which is the consequence after the state-trojan debacle in 2011.
FinSpy is still not in use. The monitoring software was last revised by the manufacturer FinFisher. Now an external company checks again whether the malware matches the legal requirements. If the tests are positive, they are to be approved by the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
An interesting aspect of the report: Apparently, the BKA is also looking for "fundamental rights-protecting alternatives" to the state Trojans. However, the result is sobering. So far nothing has been found and there is no sign that something will change.
It is the attitude that has already shimmered in the new state-presidential law. Shortly before the end of the legislature, the Grand Coalition had decided in a Hauruck procedure that the use of the state trojan was significantly extended. This is true for the source TKÜ as well as for the online search in which the complete system of a suspect is infiltrated.
Jurists and civil rights activists consider the law to be unconstitutional, and complaints have already been announced. At the same time, network activists criticize on the technical level that public authorities are exploiting security vulnerabilities that can also misuse criminals.
Ivy is loves technology and has been addicted to it since childhood. Apart from tech, she loves watching sci-fi / historical documentaries and traveling to new places.


6 STEPS TO BUILDING AN ON THE GO DIAPER CHANGE KIT - STINA & MAE Inc.
New mamas and old mamas alike face the same issues with changing diapers on the go. We've all faced the dreadful bathroom stalls and thought do I really want to change my child here? Finding a clean place to change your child can be hard at times so we've come up with a few tips to make an on the go diaper change run smoothly.
A change of clothes for both hot and cold weather. I like to have a long sleeve and short sleeve shirt/onsie with 2 pairs of bottoms (shorts and long pants).
Changing mat or surface to change your child one.
Diapers, Wipes, and any diaper products you use.
last but not least a wet bag or resealable leak proof bag.


Just a few years before the Second World War the Germans practiced and perfected their use of aerial bombardment of the civilian population during the Spanish Civil War, when the fascist governments in Italy and Germany provided help to Franco's rebels in overthrowing the government.
Picasso's giant mural "Guernica" depicts the atrocity but it is true to say that even within Spain (at least in the south), there are many who are unaware of the horrific bombing raids that virtually annihilated the town of Guernica, the historic heart of Spain's Basque country. The Basques had been granted autonomy within a Spanish state but it was no part of Franco's plan to allow this to continue; it was in Guernica that generations of Basques had gathered around an ancient tree to debate the laws and elect their leaders and so Wolfram von Richthofen, commander of the aerial attacks on Spanish targets, chose Guernica for what was to become one of the bloodiest attacks on a civilian population in history. As Guernica embodied the Basque spirit and history, then Guernica had to be destroyed.
Dave Boling's "Guernica" tells the story of the Navarro and Ansotegui families, joined in marriage and united by tragedy, in particular the three Ansotegui brothers, Justo, Josepe and Xabier. It's essentially a family saga covering three generations but the main focus of the story is the bombing of Guernica. The story begins as the three brothers are growing up; their mother dies young and their father – we don't learn exactly why but we can guess – abandoned the boys a couple years later. Justo assumes responsibility for his younger brothers; he's a determined and headstrong young man who, when he grows up, is known throughout the region for his physical strength. He marries a local girl, Mariangeles, and they have a daughter Miren. Meanwhile, Josepe, the middle brother leaves Guernica and heads for the coast, becoming a fisherman. The youngest, Xabier, leaves for a seminary in Bilbao where he trains to become a priest.
Xabier is different to many of his fellow priests and he won't be persuaded to fall in line with Vatican orders to tacitly support the fascists. He is kept informed of the progress of Franco's rebels by Aguirre, the first official Basque President, who passes on information under the cover of the confessional. As the situation becomes more grave and the rebels move rapidly north, Xabier feels compelled to go to his hometown to warn his family and the people of Guernica about the danger.
Although there weren't quite as many characters as I'd expected for a multi-generational saga, I did find at first that I had to flick back to remind myself who some of the characters were and I'll admit I was a little lost quite early on and almost gave up, something I rarely do with a novel. I can see why Boling chose to stretch the story from the childhood of the brothers because the experience of Justo in particular has a great bearing on how he behaves as a husband and a father, especially in the latter part of the story. However, it did create an imbalance between the development of the various characters with some being quite sketchy and others being over-developed.
An interesting addition to the narration was provided by occasional short sections told from the points of view of Pablo Picasso and Wolfram von Richthofen. Picasso had been approached and asked to give his backing to the fascists but he deplored what was happening in his home country and painting "Guernica" was his way of telling the world what had happened there. Von Richthofen congratulates himself about the "successes" of the bombing missions; it is an unnerving insight into what would be inflicted on Britain in just a few years.
The overall story is thoroughly engaging and I loved the descriptions of Basque life. Boling is a journalist turned author but he clearly knows that a novelist does not tell but shows. Basque traditions – dancing, food, the family structure – are woven nicely into the story and prove illuminating.
The trouble is that the story as Boling relates it is highly romanticised and lacking in the background development that would render the story more whole for readers who don't have much prior knowledge of the conflict. There is also the paradox that if you do have the knowledge, you'll know how much Boling conveniently skims over or disregards altogether. The Basques had been looking over their shoulders since the early 1930s; it was against the law to speak the Basque language in public and the celebration of Basque festivals was largely outlawed. The impression one gets from "Guernica", however, is that right until the time of the attacks, the people of Guernica were merrily going around being as Basque as they possibly could.
This is echoed in the idea that everyone in Guernica (and the Basque country in general) was against Franco. There is a simple stance of rebels bad, Basques good and while one cannot deny that the Basques suffered a terrible fate, Boling's presentation of the situation is hugely biased. He fails miserably to get across the truth that the Spanish Civil War split many families, even among the Basques. There is a reference to some people denouncing their neighbours – people can turn against good friends if hungry enough – but it's not elaborated on; no explanation of how the informants were dealt with and we are left wondering who in this story might have been going off to the police with tales about their neighbours.
The best part of "Guernica" is the description of the attack itself. It is, at the same time, restrained and yet graphic. When Alaia, a blind friend of the Ansotegui family, is left alone in the marketplace to look after herself, my heart was thumping hard inside my chest and I felt tears welling up. The descriptions of people machine-gunned as they tried to run for cover and people suffocating in hastily erected but inadequate shelters were sickening but absolutely necessary. The immediate aftermath is also described with harrowing reality, conscious people with their limbs trapped, unaware that the building they were in was about to collapse. I must admit to being surprised at how much this section of the novel moved me. Taking into account the novel's title and the unnecessary prologue which in effect reveals the final outcome, I was amazed by how much Boling's telling of the actual bombing affected me.
At first I wasn't sure about the idea of introducing the thoughts of Picasso and von Richthofen into the story. They don't interact with any of the fictional characters but (assuming one does know their connection with what happened in Guernica) their inclusion adds a sinister sense of foreboding and heightened the charged atmosphere prior to the attack.
Boling has chosen to tell the story from the personal (the Basque) point of view rather than the political. Xabier is the only one of the brothers to have any kind of political insight and although he stands in Guernica's church warning of the rapidly advancing rebels, you get the impression he's doing it more for his family than for the town in general. Curiously there's no discussion of what's going on elsewhere until the rebels are almost at the door and even then there's none of the debate I'd expected to read about. There's no gossip, no rumour, no bravado, it just isn't mentioned at all.
Despite the contradictions and failings, "Guernica" is a highly engaging and readable novel. As a family saga it doesn't have characters you can care sufficiently about; in fact, the main characters are caricatures rather than real people you can believe in. As a historical novel it misses the mark too; a few details don't ring true and there are problems because some areas lack explanation and background, whereas others are bogged down in too much detail. Still, this is a first novel and there is a great deal for Dave Boling to be proud of. Don't be fooled by favourable comparisons with "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", "Guernica" is nowhere near as brilliant as Louis De Berniere's excellent novel. However, time spent reading "Guernica" is not wasted; this may be a rather light account of the bombing of Guernica but there is no disputing the fact that Boling tells a good story. I look forward to his next and hope that he'll put right the mistakes of his first.
For a more realistic look at the hardships faced by civilians during the Spanish Civil War I would suggest that CJ Sansom's "Winter in Madrid" is a better read. For a simplified but better constructed of the war in general and it's impact on one family, Victoria Hislop's "The Return" is an good read.


text:
MFDA Reasons For Decision
202026 – Leonard Coronel
Reasons202026
File No. 202026
IN THE MATTER OF A SETTLEMENT HEARING PURSUANT TO SECTION 24.4 OF BY-LAW NO. 1 OF THE MUTUAL FUND DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
Re: Leonard Coronel
Heard: June 25, 2020 by electronic hearing in Toronto, Ontario
Reasons For Decision: July 24, 2020
Reasons For Decision
Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council:
Joan Smart, Chair
Kenneth P. Mann, Industry Representative
Brendan Forbes, Enforcement Counsel for the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada
Nicole McAuley, Counsel for the Respondent
Leonard Coronel, Respondent
By Notice of Settlement Hearing, dated May 29, 2020, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (the "MFDA") commenced proceedings against Leonard Coronel (the "Respondent") indicating that an electronic hearing would be held on June 25, 2020 to consider whether the Hearing Panel should accept the settlement agreement, dated May 28, 2020, (the "Settlement Agreement") entered into between the staff of the MFDA ("Staff") and the Respondent.
At the Settlement Hearing on June 25, 2020, the Hearing Panel, after hearing submissions of counsel for the parties and considering the Settlement Agreement, decided to accept it. These are our reasons for that decision.
II. THE RESPONDENT'S ADMISSION OF CONTRAVENTIONS
The Respondent admitted to the following violations of the MFDA Rules:
between January 2018 and September 2018, the Respondent, on 8 occasions, signed the initials of clients next to alterations he made to information on accounts forms, and submitted them to the Member for processing, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
in May 2018, the Respondent altered and used to process a transaction 1 account form in respect of 1 client by altering information on the account form without having the client initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
between January 2015 and October 2018, the Respondent obtained, possessed and used to process transactions, 30 pre-signed account forms in respect of 21 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
III. PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
Staff and the Respondent agreed to the following terms of settlement:
the Respondent shall be suspended from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of, or associated with, any MFDA Member for nine months commencing from the date the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel, pursuant to s. 24.1.1(e) of MFDA By-law No. 1;
the Respondent shall pay a fine of $2,500, pursuant to s. 24.1.1(b) of MFDA By-law No. 1, in installments as follows::
$400 on or before the last business day of each of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth months following acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel; and
$500 on or before the last business day of the sixth month following acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
the Respondent shall pay costs of $2,500 upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel, pursuant to s. 24.2 of MFDA By-law No. 1; and
the Respondent shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
IV. AGREED FACTS
Since June 2006, the Respondent has been registered in Ontario as a mutual fund salesperson (now known as a dealing representative)[1] with WFG Securities Inc. (the "Member"), a Member of the MFDA. At all material times the Respondent was an Approved Person of the Member.
Signing the Initials of Clients on Account Forms
At all material times, the Member's policies and procedures prohibited Approved Persons from signing a client's name to a document.
Between January 2018 and September 2018, the Respondent signed the initials of clients on 8 trade tickets next to alterations he made to information on the trade tickets, and submitted them to the Member for processing.
The alterations made by the Respondent on the trade tickets included alterations to trade instructions, client signature dates and special instructions.
Altered Account Forms
At all material times, the Member's policies and procedures prohibited Approved Persons from altering information on a signed document without the client initialing the document to show that the changes were approved.
In May 2018, the Respondent altered the trading instructions, special instructions and representative commission on one trade ticket in respect of one client, without having the client initial the alterations, and used this altered form to process a transaction.
Pre-Signed Account Forms
At all material times, the Member's policies and procedures prohibited Approved Persons from holding an account form which was signed by a client and was blank or only partially completed.
Between January 2015 and October 2018, the Respondent obtained, possessed and used to process transactions, 30 pre-signed account forms in respect of 21 clients.
The pre-signed account forms consisted of 25 Trade Tickets, 3 New Account Application Forms and 2 Non Financial Information Update Forms.
The Member's Investigation
In September 2018, during a trade review, the Member identified that two trade tickets submitted by the Respondent contained identical signatures found on two trade tickets previously submitted by the Respondent. The Member then conducted an audit of the client files maintained by the Respondent and identified the account forms that are the subject of the Settlement Agreement.
In November 2018, the Member placed the Respondent under increased supervision and he currently remains subject to increased supervision by the Member.
In November 2018, the Member sent letters to clients whose accounts the Respondent serviced asking them to review an attached account history to ensure that its records were accurate and all transactions in the account had been processed as requested by the client. The Member did not receive any responses indicating that any transactions had been processed in client accounts which were not requested by the clients.
In December 2018, the Member sent a Compliance Notice to the Respondent which required the Respondent to complete a compliance course offered by the Member. He completed the compliance course on April 24, 2019.
V. CONSIDERATIONS
Role of the Hearing Panel
Section 24.4.3 of MFDA By-law No. 1 provides that hearing panels may only accept or reject a settlement agreement.
It is generally accepted that a hearing panel will not lightly interfere with a settlement agreement reached between Staff and a respondent and will not reject it unless it views the penalty as clearly falling outside a reasonable range of appropriateness. See, for example, Sterling Mutuals Inc. (Re), LNCMFDA 16 at para. 37.
In determining whether to accept the Settlement Agreement, the Hearing Panel considered primarily: whether it was proportionate and fell within a reasonable range of appropriateness, having regard to the Respondent's misconduct and previous MFDA cases; whether it would serve as a specific and general deterrent; and whether it was aligned with the MFDA's objectives to enhance investor protection and strengthen public confidence in the mutual fund industry.
MFDA Rule 2.1.1 requires, among other things, that Approved Persons deal fairly, honestly and in good faith with its clients, observe high standards of ethics and conduct in the transaction of business and not engage in any business conduct or practice which is unbecoming or detrimental to the public interest.
We found that, as admitted by the Respondent, he contravened MFDA Rule 2.1.1 when he: signed the initials of clients next to alterations he made to account forms and submitted them to the Member for processing; altered information on an account form without having the client initial the alteration and used the form to process a transaction; and obtained, processed and used pre-signed account forms.
The Respondent's subject actions were are also contrary to the Member's policies and procedures.
Obtaining and using pre-signed account forms and altering account forms is serious misconduct. We view as even more serious the signing of client initials next to alterations on account forms. Each of those actions can, among other things, negatively impact the integrity of account documents, destroy the audit trail, impede a Member's ability to supervise accounts and respond to client complaints and potentially allow for misuse such as unauthorized trading and misappropriation.
We considered as an aggravating factor in determining the sanction the fact that the misconduct occurred after the MFDA had issued MFDA Bulletin #0661-E, dated October 2, 2015. In that Bulletin the MFDA warned the industry against using pre-signed forms, altering account forms and falsifying client signatures and advised that it would be seeking increased penalties in future such cases.
In reaching our decision, we considered a number of mitigating factors, including that:
there was no evidence that the Respondent received any financial benefit from the misconduct beyond any commissions and fees that he would ordinarily be entitled to receive had the transactions been carried out in the proper manner;
there was no evidence of client loss, client complaints or lack of authorization;
the Respondent has not previously been the subject of MFDA disciplinary proceedings;
the Member took action to address the misconduct, including placing the Respondent on increased supervision and requiring that he take a compliance course; and
by entering into the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent accepted responsibility for his misconduct and saved the MFDA the time, resources and expenses associated with conducting a full hearing.
Under the MFDA Sanction Guidelines, a hearing panel may consider an inability to pay as a factor in determining an appropriate fine, and we have done so in this case. The Respondent had demonstrated to Staff that he had limited financial means to pay a fine as he has a child with a serious medical condition that requires that he incur additional costs in caring for his children.
In our view, a nine month suspension from working in the securities industry is a significant sanction and, together with the $2500 fine, should deter the Respondent from engaging in similar conduct in the future. It should also discourage other dealing representatives from engaging in similar conduct.
The proposed penalty and costs were within a reasonable range of appropriateness, having regard to other decisions made by MFDA hearing panels in similar circumstances, including those set out below.
Congi (Re), [2019] Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council, MFDA File No. 201851, Panel Decision dated February 28, 2019
Desjardins (Re), [2019] Hearing Panel of the Atlantic Regional Council, MFDA File No. 201903, Panel Decision dated September 6, 2019
Archer (Re), [2019] Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council, MFDA File No. 201855, Panel Decision dated February 28, 2019
Bott (Re), [2019] Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council, MFDA File No. 2018121, Panel Decision dated February 28, 2019
We concluded that the proposed sanction was proportionate and fell within a reasonable range of appropriateness, having regard to the Respondent's conduct and previous MFDA cases. It should serve as a specific and general deterrent. We were also of the view that it was aligned with the MFDA's regulatory mandate. Accordingly, we decided to accept the Settlement Agreement.
[1] In September 2009, the registration category mutual fund salesperson was changed to "dealing representative" when National Instrument 31-103 came into force.
Dated: July 24, 2020
Joan Smart
Kenneth P. Mann
Industry Representative


I received the following message on my LinkedIn timeline.
This is an interesting point. If we look at it from one side it says – We are all forced to be where and what of the fate and there is no control! Right? From the other side we may denounce the statement by stating Free Will (my choice) is what makes me what I am and where I am not the fate.
I remember in one old talk by Guruji (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) somewhere when he said – "All your past was your fate (Karma), all your future is free will." Interesting, isnt it? There is a balance.
I was thinking about the balance and with reference to my fate thing. I made these assumptions or conclusions. The fate most probably provides you with situations to succeed e.g. some astrologer would tell you – Your mangal is sitting here and Rahu and Ketu is doing this or that, therefore you are likely to have tough time. And for good situations because of Brhaspati you may get some this or that opportunity you are likely to get promoted, better job etc etc.
I think we must never get in the debate of fate and free will. We just should keep on doing what we do. Results will come when the time is right. I thought for argument sake we may also say that the bad times are the times for preparation, doing our bit of hard work so that we can reap the benefits when our good time arrives. Isn't it?


Sian Drinkwater ACA has worked in the Professional Recruitment sector now for 21 years. She is uniquely, professionally qualified as a Chartered Accountant, and both the combination of her professional background and longevity in the market has given her an extensive knowledge of the executive finance and senior finance management networks. She has spent a significant part of her career recruiting CFOs and Finance Directors for Clients who are based in Wales.
She is also an active committee member of ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales). Sian trained and qualified as an accountant with Deloitte before joining Hays Plc where she spent 16 years. Sian operated as a Business Director leading on Senior end and Executive appointments. Sian left Hays in 2011 and set up Head4Talent in 2012.
During the 4.5 years at Head4Talent has led on some high profile Executive and Senior Finance appointment, concluding in some highly successful appointments.
DJ Medway ACA looks after middle management finance assignments.
Prior to joining Head4Talent, she was a Relationship Director with Bank of Scotland and then joined Santander Corporate Bank.
She has extensive knowledge of banking relationships, funding structures and relationship management across a broad range of different organisations.
She is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
With her banking and accountancy experience, DJ can quickly gain a good understanding of her Clients' businesses, with their challenges and opportunities, to enhance her capability of sourcing the most suitable candidate shortlist.
Sarah Gilbert has a background in event management and internal/employee communications across a range of industries. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies and specialised in marketing.
Client-focussed, with a passion for organisation and a keen eye for detail, Sarah provides administration and business support to the Head4Talent team.
Annie is a Director of Compass Coaching and Consulting, who are a strategic partner of Head 4Talent. They work with individuals, teams and organisations to improve performance, productivity and profit. They do this through executive and team coaching, expert facilitation and psychometric profiling and assessment.
As a strategic partner of Head4Talent, they are able to provide added value to the executive selection process through a range of support including psychometric profiling and post recruitment coaching and team coaching.
"Sian is usually my first port of call for our more senior recruitment needs"


text:
Polikarpov Po-2
by Grzegorz Szymanowski
In the late twenties of the 20th century, Nikolai Polikarpov was tasked with designing a successor for the U-1 trainer. In 1928 M. Gromov test-flew the prototype designated "U-2".
The new design was a success and soon afterwards the aircraft was mass-produced in the "Krasnyj Liotchik" works near Moscow. The new machine seemed to perfectly suit the Russian aviation industry capabilities of that time – it was simple, of wooden construction, and covered with fabric. The bi-plane arrangement ensured good handling in the air, while the rugged undercarriage was its great asset when operating from dirt airfields.
The five-cylinder M-11 engine rated at 73 kW/100HP (at a later date replaced by the M-11D, which produced 92 kW/125 hp) was reliable and had a decent fuel consumption. The aircraft was not a racer by any means, but that was irrelevant for the training purposes. It had a short take-off run and big wing area, the latter feature being invaluable for prolonged gliding.
Many sub-variants stemmed from the basic design: passenger, liaison, ambulance, psychological warfare, crop-dusting, experimental maritime, as well as the LNB (light night bomber). In 1944 the aircraft was re-designated as Po‑2, its new designation followed by a single-letter suffix, which corresponded to a specific purpose of each of the aforementioned variants.
During the WWII the aircraft was extensively used for evacuating the wounded, dropping supplies, and as the commanders' personal means of transport. Many more performed the reconnaissance and artillery fire correction missions and, last but not the least, the night hit-and-run bomb raids Po-2 got famous for. The aircraft's ability to glide with its engine off enabled a stealthy approach and surprise attack. Its bomb load matched up to three-fourths of what the purpose-built assault Il-2 could carry along. The Germans christened Po-2 the "Night Witch", while the Russians called it "Kukuruznik" (corn cutter) or "Lesnik" (forester). The Poles who flew it usually referred to it as "Pociak" (a colloquial name derived from its official designation "Po-"). Despite high vulnerability to ground fire and a rather symbolic defensive armament, the aircraft remained in active service throughout the war.
Paradoxically, its small speed was its best defence against air threats – it flew at the stall speed of the contemporary German fighters, which left an enemy pilot with very little time to line Po-2 up in his gunsight. The very same problem, only even more accentuated, was experienced by American fighters during the Korean War. Hardly detectable by radars due to its wood-and-fabric construction, it became a real nightmare for its opponents. Nevertheless, flying at the tree-top level to avoid attacks from beneath, Po-2s were extremely vulnerable to even small-arms fire.
The first Po-2 delivered to the Polish Army was a three-seater with hooded cockpit, presented to Col. Zygmunt Berling by Stalin in 1943. One year later, the Polish Air Force units activated in USSR received the following variants of Po-2:
Po-2 WS (liaison) – operated by the 17th Autonomous Liaison Command.
Po-2 LNB (light night bomber) – by the 2nd Night Bomber Group "Kraków" (Cracow).
Po-2 S (ambulance) – by various units.
Po-2 PS and SP (passenger) – by various units.
After the war, the aircraft was manufactured under licence (only with some minor modifications) as CSS-13. Its production run reached nearly 550 aircraft. Those were still in use by some flying schools as late as the seventies. A few Po-2s are private-owned and remain airworthy until present day.
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Huguenots of Spitalfields is a registered charity (Registered charity Number: 1151801) promoting public understanding of the Huguenot heritage and culture.
Our objective is to highlight the contribution of the Huguenots to advance the education of the public, particularly persons resident in, working in or visiting Spitalfields, Tower Hamlets, and the City of London by promoting Huguenot Culture and Heritage in Spitalfields, and to further as the trustees see fit the purposes of any charity whose objects include advancing the education of the public in Huguenot heritage and culture.
Huguenots of Spitalfields is supported by GH Cityprint and by Townhouse Spitalfields.


DC Comics Action Trio Child Costume Kit Just $15.60! Down From $33!
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Rachel from Maison de pax shared her burlap patriotic "wreath".
Jamie, from So Much Better With Age shared her daughters updated nursery.
Jessica, from Cutesy Crafts shared a gorgeous picnic quilt she made.
Aimee from Twigg Studios, shared another beautiful dessert.
Congratulations on your exciting news, Rita...how exciting! Thanks for hosting and have a great week!
Thanks so much for hosting, Rita! And CONGRATS again on your exciting news!!!!
Thanks for hosting the party, Rita!! And congratulations for your new baby to come!! How exciting!!
Always happy to party here, Thanks!
Thanks for the party and congratulations on your baby news!!!
Thanks for the party, Rita, and congrats on the baby news!
Thanks for featuring my picnic blanket, and congratulations on your baby! So exciting!
Thanks so much for the feature, Rita. And congratulations, Mama!!!
Thanks for inviting me over! Fashionably late, but I made it. :) And lucky #100 too! Have a great week!
Thanks so much for featuring my nursery!!


There is great demand in the market for bio-aromatics, especially as a substitute for the aromatics currently produced from fossil raw materials. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research looks to natural feedstocks to make bio-aromatics for numerous high-quality applications. Lignin, and sugars derived from cellulose and hemicellulose are the most important renewable starting raw materials.
More than 150 million tonnes of chemicals worldwide are based on aromatic building blocks. The development of bio-aromatics is predicated on the need to mitigate climate change and the looming shortage of fossil raw materials. Biobased waste and side streams from the paper industry, agriculture, landscape maintenance and other biorefinery chains can serve as an alternative to fossil sources. Thanks to their additional functional properties, biobased aromatics from sources such as carbohydrate-rich or lignin-containing side streams can also offer added value compared with aromatics from fossil sources.
Wageningen Food & Biobased Research has decades of experience with the valorisation of biobased sidestreams as the basis for bio-aromatics. For example, we are a leading institute in research into lignin as a phenol-like building block for biobased resins and adhesives, and as a building block for polymers in polyesters, foams, coatings, and lacquers. We also work on applications for cellulose and lignin as a binder in materials such as asphalt. Additionally we help companies with the conversion of sugars from carbohydrate-rich waste streams into biobased multifunctional aromatics like di and tri-acids. Moreover, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research has identified unique biotechnological approaches towards bio-aromatics.
We are working on using lignin as a natural binder in asphalt in a range of projects. We expect that fossil bitumen binders can be completely replaced in the long term.
In the EU project ZELCOR, we are investigating the use of lignin as a basis for active ingredients in functional packaging, cosmetics and building materials.
In the Waste to Aromatics project, we are working on the conversion of sugars from waste streams such as municipal waste and sewage water into furfural. Furfural serves as a building block for the production of aromatic di and tri-acids.
In the FIAD project, we are developing so-called tandem Diels-Alder aromatisation technology to convert furfural into aromatic di and tri-acids like methylphthalic and hemimellitic acid. These products are being evaluated in applications such as coatings and polyurethanes.


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Mucus Breakthrough Could Help Patients Breathe Easy
A discovery about how mucus thickness is regulated could help to improve airway-clearing treatment options for people with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Researchers have discovered the reason why the excessive amounts of mucus produced by patients with respiratory illnesses is thicker than usual.
Mucus viscosity is driven by proteins called 'trefoil factors' that bind to 'mucin glycoproteins' which are very long protein strands coated with unique sugar molecules.
Understanding these mechanisms could help to significantly improve airway-clearing treatments for patients with chronic respiratory diseases.
Worldwide, hundreds of millions of people are impacted by chronic respiratory disease. COPD alone affects more than 250 million people, causing 3 million deaths each year. People with chronic respiratory diseases typically produce an excessive amount of thick mucus in the lungs which obstructs their airways, making it difficult to breathe.
Significant leap in mucus biology
Mucus is mostly comprised of water and mucin glycoproteins which are very long protein strands coated with glycans – a type of sugar molecule. Associate Professor Goddard-Borger said his study's findings revealed that proteins called 'trefoil factors' interact with mucins by recognising and binding to the unique glycan signatures on their surface.
"Trefoil factors have long been known to make mucus more viscous (thicker), and it has been postulated that this thickening occurs in respiratory diseases. However, until now we did not completely understand how the trefoil factor proteins achieved this," he said.
Associate Professor Ethan Goddard-Borger
Associate Professor Goddard-Borger said the research showed trefoil factors had two glycan-binding sites and could cross-link mucins strands to make the mucus gel more rigid. "Within mucus, trefoil factors essentially 'staple' the mucin strands into a mesh: the more staples, the denser the mesh and the thicker the mucus becomes."
Understanding what trefoil factors bind to and how they do this represents a significant leap forward in understanding mucus and how it functions in the respiratory, gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts.
Improving therapies for blocked airways
Associate Professor Goddard-Borger said that going forward the aim was to inhibit the bonds created between trefoil factors and mucin strands, and that the development of such a technology could lead to new therapeutics for the treatment of respiratory diseases.
"A healthy amount of mucus is very important for capturing and clearing potential threats to the lung, such as dust particles, dead cells and bacteria, so we're not looking to remove mucus altogether. We are seeking to develop innovative approaches for reducing the viscosity of the mucus to aid in clearing excess mucus from the lungs of patients with chronic respiratory disease.
"The next step is to work with commercial collaborators to progress our vision to develop new mucolytic drugs that can more effectively clear mucus from the airways. Achieving this could make a significant impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of people struggling with debilitating respiratory conditions," Associate Professor Goddard-Borger said.
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Wyatt Hunter says:
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Mr Jidda Kwache, an elder and District Head of Michika, said that the deployment of more troops in the area would complement the efforts of the fighting troops on ground.
Kwacha said that the last time the town witnessed any attack was in 2014, noting that the Monday attack left uncertainty in the minds of the people in the community.
He added that "we thank Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu, the acting General Officer Commanding, 7 Division of the army, and Commander Sector 1 for the visit to Michika to sympathise with us.
"This visit is an indication of your firm commitment toward civic protection and restoring peace. You have restored our hopes and confidence to remain in our community.
Alhaji Saidu Lawal, the District Head of Bazza, also commended the GOC and troops of the 143 battalion for responding to their calls to prevent the terrorist from causing havoc in the community.
Lawal said "we need more soldiers to complement the efforts of those on ground. We also notice that the artillery and armoured tanks we use to have in 2014, are no more in Michika; we are appealing that those equipment be deployed again.
Yakubu Jaha-Michika, the Commander of Hunters in Michika, appealed to the Adamawa Government to deploy more security operatives to the area.
The Caretacker Chairman of Michika Local Government Area, Bitrus Vandi, narrated his ordeal during the Monday attack, saying that the report came from Kofa, a neighbouring village.
Reacting, Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu said he was in the town to sympathise with the people on behalf of the .
Meanwhile, a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who visited Michika, reports that normalcy has returned to the town as people were seen going about their daily businesses.


When it comes to treating the symptoms of OAB, there are a number of treatment options that can help you manage symptoms and improve your daily lifestyle.
Because there is no one-size-fits-all treatment, your physician may recommend a single treatment, or even two or more at the same time. Depending on your individual needs, your doctor may also use a combination of lifestyle changes and medication therapy, which often results in greater success for symptom management. Surgical options may also be discussed for treating more advanced cases of OAB.
Your doctor may suggest physical therapy or making changes to your everyday lifestyle as the first line of treatment for your OAB symptoms. While this type of behavior therapy may not alleviate all of your OAB symptoms, it can minimize them.
Pelvic floor muscle exercises/biofeedback – Pelvic floor exercises can help prevent urine leakage by strengthening the pelvic floor and sphincter muscles. Your physical therapist will show you how to perform these exercises to promote muscle strengthening, relaxation and coordination. Biofeedback can help determine if you are exercising the right pelvic muscles in the correct way.
Bladder training or delayed voiding – This involves controlling the urge to urinate by waiting a few extra minutes after you feel the urge at first, and then gradually increasing the time between bathroom visits. Our physical therapists work with you on bladder training exercises for optimal results.
Timed urination – You follow a set schedule for going to the bathroom. Instead of going when you feel the urge, you train yourself, and your bladder, to go at the scheduled time of day. Your physical therapist will determine if this is right for you.
Behavior modification – The physical therapist may recommend utilizing behavior modification to retrain your urinary system. Going to the bathroom frequently, and not just when the "gotta go" feeling strikes, is important for retraining your system.
Fluid and diet management – Limit or eliminate foods and drinks that may irritate the bladder such as caffeine, artificial sweeteners, chocolate, alcohol, certain sodas, citrus, and acidic and spicy foods.
Keep a bladder diary – Keep track of when and how often you go to the bathroom to urinate to help your doctor better understand your OAB symptoms.
Absorbent incontinence pads – Absorbent pads made specifically for urinary incontinence can protect your clothing and keep you dry, helping you avoid embarrassing incidents if you do experience incontinence during social situations or activities.


Zodiac Village Apartments offers affordable rental units in Ayer, MA.
Located in North Central Massachusetts in the beautiful Nashua River Valley, we are located less than 1 mile to downtown Ayer and its Commuter Rail station, Devens, and Routes 2 & 495.
We are also close to Nashua NH, 50 miles from coastal beaches and 35 miles from Boston. We are also minutes to the Rail Trail, for hiking & biking and fishing nearby on the Nissittissit and Squannacook River, Massachusetts' premiere blue ribbon trout stream!
If you are interested in finding an affordable, clean apartment in Ayer, MA, choose the units at Zodiac Village Apartments. Our rental and lease options are flexible and perfect for singles and families.
We have one and two bedroom units available, with single bedrooms starting at $740/month. Furnished apartments also available. Take a look at our pricing page for more information.


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Home Community Sullivan County Real Health Network launches new website
Sullivan County Real Health Network launches new website
Liberty, NY – The Sullivan County Rural Health Network, a partnership between many area organizations who collaborate to address the health needs of the entire County, proudly announces the debut of its new website, www.sullivanrhn.com.
"This site has been many months in the making, as it combines eye-catching design and photographs with details about why this Network exists and what it does," explains Public Health Director Nancy McGraw.
Sullivan County Public Health Services is the lead organization for the Sullivan County Rural Health Network, which is funded by a grant from the New York State Department of Health's Charles D. Cook Office of Rural Health.
The purpose of the Rural Health Network is to coordinate health and human services with community partners, to work together to leverage limited resources, and to ensure an effective and efficient service delivery system to improve health outcomes in Sullivan County.
Under the guidance of a 13-member board and an 8-member advisory group, the Rural Health Network has developed the following objectives for 2020:
Improve health disparities for all underrepresented communities
Reduce maternal opioid and substance use
Increase access to dental services for all residents
Several committees of the Network meet monthly to discuss and develop strategies to collectively address the above issues, including the Drug Prevention/Opioid Prevention Task Force, the Oral Health Committee, and the Health Equity/Common Ground Committee.
For more information, visit www.sullivanrhn.com.
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Truck and Trailer Depot
Community Foundation launches COVID-19 Response Fund


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2010 off with a flourish
With hardly enough time to catch a breath, golf plunges into the new year this week on both the US and Europe Tours.
With hardly enough time to catch a breath, we are being plunged into the new year this week with new tournaments on both the US and Europe Tours.
In Hawaii, the 2010 US PGA Tour kicks off at the Plantation course with the SBS Championship while much further west, South Africa will host it's third 2010 European-Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned event at the highly regarded East London Golf Club.
The Africa Open is a totally new event on the European Tour and brings to four the number of African based-events on what is increasingly becoming an international rather than a European Tour, including as it now does, tournaments in the middle east, most golf-playing Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.
The CBC Championship, on the other hand, has a new title sponsor but is basically the same event it was before the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) replaced Mercedes Benz USA for this season's event.
Balmy Maui will clearly be able to offer its elite field of 2009 PGA tournament winners a welcome break from snow-bound, wintry USA. It should also help the tour forget, if only briefly, some of its recession-linked woes, but it is not likely to quell the Tiger Woods saga.
The fact that the World No 1 won't be playing this weekend – and the reasons behind his absence – might well remain the hottest topic among his shaken colleagues this week.
In the meantime SBS Championship chairman Gary Planos is putting on a brave face and taking a positive stance on this week's event despite the fact that the 28-strong field which is 75% changed from last year, includes just one former champion.
"We're excited to have SBS as our title sponsor this year and going forward," he told the Maui News on Thursday. '
"It is exciting because this is the 12th year that we have hosted this tournament here. The golf course is in excellent shape and, of course, we can expect tremendous weather.
Ernie Els set a tour record by shooting 31 under par when the wind didn't blow much in Kapalua in 2003.
The course was designed to be protected by the trade winds and last year, in moderate winds, Geoff Ogilvy won at 24 under.
"This year there is a little chance of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and then zero chance on the other days – I'll take those odds," Planos said.
Ogilvy is the only player in the field who has won an official tour event at Kapalua.
The other returning players from 2009 are Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Brian Gay, Sean O'Hair and Dustin Johnson.
The field has three players in the top 10 of the world rankings – Steve Stricker (3), Paul Casey (7) and Perry (10) and seven in the top 20.
The 2009 PGA Championship YE Yang is not yet in the Top 20, but the South Korean, the first Asian to win a major and the first man ever to beat Woods when the World number one lead after 54 holes, should be one of the golfers the fans will want to see.
The other three 2009 major champions are also in the field including Lucas Glover (US Open), Cink (British Open), and Angel Cabrera (Masters).
Of the players who won on the PGA Tour in 2009, only Woods, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson are not in the field. Mickelson has not played at Kapalua since 2001, and Woods is skipping the event for the fifth straight time.
"We have counted only seven champions from last year's field," Planos said. "That's how difficult it is to win on Tour these days and it means we'll miss players like Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Stuart Appleby.
In South Africa Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke will top a field that also includes Irish neighbor Paul McGinley
A regular visitor to South Africa since 1991, Clarke is no stranger to the local circuit and captured the imagination of the Eastern Cape sporting public when he challenged South Africa's Retief Goosen over the closing holes of the 2009 Africa Open.
In 2008, a tie for third at the South African Open and a fourth at the Joburg Open kick-started Clarke's return to form after two difficult years sparked by the death of his wife
Clarke went on to capture the BMW Asia International and added the KLM Open to take his international winning tally to 16 and finish the season ranked 13th in Europe.
Although he did not quite recapture that winning form the year just past, he was unlucky to miss out on the season-ending Dubai World Championship when he finished 61st on the inaugural Race to Dubai rankings and failed to qualify by just one point..
Fond memories of East London and a strong performance at the 2010 Africa Open could put the Ulsterman back on the winning track.
A member of the Ryder Cup side in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2004, Clarke was picked as a wild card for the 2006 matches at the K Club.
Always a formidable match-play opponent, he produced one of his most memorable performances by winning all three of his matches. Now back in the world top-120, the Ulsterman will not only be chasing world ranking points for the Race to Dubai, but also a spot in captain Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup side at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales next October.
"I enjoyed playing in the Africa Open last year and had a pretty good result, so I'm really looking forward to playing in East London," said Clark. "It will be fun catching up with everyone again and hopefully this time, I'm on the winning side of the final putt."
The field will be further boosted by four 2009 European Tour champions in England's Nick Dougherty, South Africans James Kingston and Richard Sterne and Swede Oskar Henningsson.
Dougherty captured the BMW International Open, while Henningsson won the Moravia Silesia Open. Kingston secured his second European Tour title in a playoff triumph against Anders Hansen at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne and Sterne achieved a triple triumph by winning the Joburg Open, SA Open and Alfred Dunhill Championship in one year.