text:
Lebanon defaults – A new stage of the country's economic crisis
March 16, 2020 Iain Dalton, CWI Coronavirus, Lebanon
Lebanon's Finance Minister, Ghazi Wazni (photo: creative commons)
A new stage of the economic crisis in Lebanon was reached on Monday 9 March, as the state defaulted on a £1.2bn euro-bond – the first default in the country's history.
This debt will prove difficult to restructure given two-thirds of this debt is held by local banks, although some were able to sell to high-risk foreign investors. But both groups have vested interests in limiting any haircut of a size necessary to give the government sufficient room to manoeuvre.
But the bigger brewing crisis remains in the central bank, which has propped up the economy and US dollar currency peg by relying on sourcing ever more deposits. However, as the Economist (14 January) explained: "The central bank does not have enough dollars to pay what it owes. At the end of January, it had a healthy $37bn in gross foreign-currency reserves – but an eye-watering $52.5bn in liabilities, mostly owed to local banks…"
It goes on to state, "If the central bank defaulted on deposits, it would be a death blow to the financial sector, which has 55% of its assets tied up there. A haircut of just 18% would leave commercial banks insolvent and require a recapitalization worth at least 25% of GDP…"
Thus the new Lebanese government has been in talks with the IMF over assistance for the past month. The new finance minister, Ghazi Wazni, a former finance advisor to the government, said in an interview with Reuters, "Lebanon welcomes all international financial assistance without exceptions. But when it comes to the IMF, this depends on several matters: that the understanding with the IMF – if Lebanon resorts to it – … does not negatively affect the political situation in Lebanon."
But such a combination, of IMF aid without the conditions of that aid sparking further upheaval, is a pipe dream. The recent 2020 budget included a reduction in the salaries of presidents and ministers by 50% and will be welcomed by those who have joined the protests. However, the limits of how far the new government is prepared to tackle the corruption and profiteering of the capitalist class were shown in its failure to pass a proposed one-off tax on the banks to generate $400m.
Instead, measures are likely to further hit the interests of workers. According to a report by Robert Fisk, in The Independent (London) newspaper, "New taxes on fuel and electricity plus a rise in VAT to 15 per cent – a rate still below EU nations, but likely to rise to 20 per cent – will probably hit first."
But the revolution may well return among government employees who receive their salaries in Lebanese pounds, and whose income has already fallen by up to 40 per cent. Compared to price increases by 50 per cent."
Unofficial trade unions
Trade union density in Lebanon is only 11%, a result of the deliberate weakening by successive governments by granting official status to numerous new unions that are mostly organised on a sectarian basis. However, unofficial unions have been established in recent years among public sector employees (for whom joining a union is illegal) and have been the lynch-pin of the strikes and general strikes in recent months and years.
Protests – through reports talk of hundreds rather than thousands taking part – still continue across the country against the government. A new form of protest that has emerged this year is the chasing of MPs and former government ministers out of public places like restaurants and theatres, aided by information on their locations spread on social media.
But the security services are now trying to infiltrate WhatsApp encrypted chats to target leading activists. When parliament passed the 2020 budget, the building was surrounded by police with the surrounding streets shut down (Although this same police and the army are among government employees who will be affected by the squeeze on their wages).
The economy ground to a halt as people have to queue at banks to obtain dollars because paying by 'plastic' is becoming a hit and miss. Reports suggest that increasing numbers of refugees from the Syrian conflict are returning to Syria, not out of choice, but desperation at escalating prices of food in Lebanon, whilst others have protested outside UN offices in the country demanding resettlement.
'Luxury' goods can still be purchased. The Economist reports that "Khoury Home", a household-goods store, advertises new washing machines as a way to "survive the haircut". A housing boom has been taking place as well. An article in the Financial Times website on 12 March commented, "Property sales in January jumped 27 per cent year on year, with a total of 4,668 real estate transactions executed, according to the finance ministry. In December, there were 6,000 transactions in Lebanon totalling $1.1bn." This property bubble comes become yet another source of instability in time.
The protests may have slowed, and due to the shutting down of society now that coronavirus has spread to Lebanon, may do so for a while. But the ingredients for a new upsurge are present in the situation. To take the movement forward it must go beyond just angry protests at the powers that be and move to build its own organisations, including a mass workers' party, and demand the convening of a constituent assembly, to challenge the sectarian parties and the sectarian constitution they rely upon.
'Health not profit' strike wave sweeps Italy
Coronavirus – A workers' charter to tackle the crisis


Most consumers today have a blurred connection between online and offline shopping. Most of the world is digital both in the stores and on the internet, so whether you actually visit the store or shop online, you are gaining a digital experience.
When you visit the large retail stores today, you have Wi-Fi available along with digital displays, and some even offer virtual dressing rooms and links to events in other locations. Technology and consumer savvy retail store owners have restructured our shopping world.
With the rise of the Millennials and Generation Z, shopping online has seen a huge boost. Amazon, Google Shopping, and many other huge e-commerce sites, offer what these individuals crave, instant gratification.
In decades gone by it was once believed that the store associates knew more about their products and services than the consumer. That is no longer the case with financially conscience shoppers of today, where over eighty percent will do research online before spending one penny on any product or service offered.
The new age of shoppers for this decade are much more environmentally friendly than those of decades gone by, and that means less driving of gas guzzling vehicles and huge industrial sized filth spewing shopping malls. Shopping today is all about ease of access that is less harmful to the environment, so we are currently seeing a rise in strip malls.
Strip malls or outdoor malls are becoming popular, and they are being placed in locations that are easy to get to by bike or walking. They also have everything from hardware stores to Laundromats available to their consumers.
With mobile e-commerce becoming huge, we expect to see when we check out a specific store certain elements in their apps and displays online that will drive us to their doors. Smart consumer retail stores should provide directions to nearest store, what aisle the item or service is located in and the cost should be the same both in store and online.
There also should be an incentive to lure consumers to the store and by adding stock quantities and visuals of the actual product and placement in the store are great ways to accomplish this. Most retailers will also place other products and services that people bought during their shopping experience which is helpful as well.
The way we shop today is completely different than even a decade ago, and it continues to reshape itself even as we speak. The younger generation, who is currently the largest pool of consumers and make up over a quarter of the retail percentage, are more financially and environmentally conscience which continues to drive the retail world to continuously change and re-structure their marketing and physical presence to meet this demand.


Transparent electronics are the future, according to researchers including José A. Flores-Livas and Miglė Graužinytė from the research group headed by Stefan Goedecker, Professor of Computational Physics at the University of Basel. However, the relevant technological development is progressing sluggishly due to a shortage of certain transparent semiconductors with a high level of conductivity.
The electronic or optical properties of semiconductors can be manipulated and optimised by making use of appropriate impurities in the material. This doping with impurities, for example in transistors, changes the charge carrier density, thus increasing conductivity.
Identifying suitable impurities in the periodic table, however, often involves years of expensive laboratory experimentation. Researchers are attempting to speed up this process by using computer simulations. They use these to calculate the most promising candidates on the basis of physical laws that describe the interaction between the impurity and the material of the conductor. Potential candidates can then be tested in the laboratory in a targeted manner.
Researchers at the University of Basel used the Piz Daint supercomputer to carry out such complex simulations with the aim of finding suitable impurities that can be used to produce transparent conductors. But when it comes to transparent conductors, the main shortage is of high-performance conductors known as P-Type (positively charged carriers) in which the implanted impurity has one electron too few. Conversely, conductors known as N-Type (negatively charged carriers) are doped with elements that have, so to speak, a spare electron.
According to the researchers, it was recently found that the environmentally friendly and earth-abundant tin monoxide could be a very promising material for the production of transparent and high-performance P-Type conductors. It is also suitable for what is known as ambipolar doping, which is when both negative and positive charge carriers are combined in bipolar conductors. However, until now only a handful of elements have been examined that could be suitable as impurities for equipping the tin monoxide-based semiconductor with the desired properties.
Through their computations, the researchers identified alkali metals as full of potential. They were able to identify five alkali metals (lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium) that could be introduced into tin monoxide in order to enable high-performance and transparent P-Type semiconductors. In addition, according to the researchers, the computations established 13 elements suitable for doping with N-Type charge carriers in tin monoxide. "If these elements can be successfully introduced into tin monoxide and the desired semiconductor can be produced, this would open new avenues for a range of transparent technologies," says Flores-Livas.


On a clear October night, Chelsea Hansford, one-half of the Los Angeles– based brand Simon Miller, is calmly overseeing the transformation of her Laurel Canyon home for an intimate evening of local flowers, food, and cannabis pairings with eight of her friends and colleagues. In a black cable-knit sweater, flared black patent-leather pants, and the label's new "blackout platforms" in green, the designer's signature style (Palm Springs meets American Modernism) mirrors the 1963 indoor-outdoor retreat she shares with husband Grégoire Gamba, who designs the label's handbags.
Just like Simon Miller, which she directs and owns with Daniel Corrigan, Hansford and Gamba's home is defined by bright bursts of color: an outdoor orange Togo sofa, a cobalt-blue Kvadrat-upholstered couch, even a plush limegreen dog bed for their English Bulldog-Boxer, Marcel. Together, these bright accents set off the house's warm wood ceilings, black oil paintings by Gamba's grandmother, and surrounding white birch trees. Everywhere, the designer's penchant to "push boundaries," as evidenced by an expanding line of womenswear, bags, shoes, and accessories, including acrylic-handled "bonsai bags" and "lunch bags," whose folded-over leather recalls a brownbag lunch, is balanced by "earthy minimalism" and wabi-sabi, a worldview and aesthetic.
The theme of the evening is "bringing the outdoors in," as local flora commingles with the "strong bold colors" that inspire the designer. On the couple's white marble dining table, Sophia Moreno-Bunge, founder of Isa Isa, a floral design studio based in Los Angeles, arranged fruit forward centerpieces of palms, pistachios, and dates, an earthy palette offset by bright blue cornflowers. Moreno-Bunge, who named her company after her Argentine grandmothers, takes inspiration from Argentina's "effortless rustic elegance," what she describes as its "Jurassic beauty," and the pastel and ocean tones of her native Los Angeles. To signal the green occasion, the floral designer also created a custom pot-wreath studded with leaves and fresh limes, which hangs on the door to welcome guests, including Tyler Britt of Sterling Ruby Studio and Megan and Hunter Gray, a stylist and film producer.
This mindset also guides the logic of MedMen's cannabis pairings from local grower Northern Emeralds. The salad course comes with a joint of sativa-dominant Durban Poison, chosen in part for its flavor profile: pepper and star anise to complement the heady fruit as well as for its cerebral high to ignite conversation. The swordfish is served with the lemon-rosemary tasting notes of Titan OG, an indica-dominant joint, anticipating the body high that comes with dessert. And finally, the crémeux is accompanied by Kiva Confections' handcrafted cannabis espresso dark chocolate, whose 1:1 THC to CBD ratio allows the guests to come down gently.
Hansford, who describes herself as a longtime proponent of marijuana, particularly enjoys the curatorial nature of Los Angeles post-legalization, where "you can really choose what you want for your body." Describing her Saturday routine as a trip "around the corner" to MedMen followed by a stop at natural-foods mecca Erewhon for fresh elixirs and Gjusta for baked goods, the designer appreciates "the ability to talk to someone that is educated, and actually, buy a product that is really suited for what you need." In an evening infused with four different cannabis products, guests were encouraged to microdose, to go at their own pace and to listen to their bodies. It's a philosophy perfectly suited to Hansford's signature wabi-sabi yet free-spirited aesthetic, and one we're looking forward to conjuring for your next infused dinner party.
"I don't necessarily like things that match, except for luggage," says prop stylist Gena Sigala, who got her start at Neiman Marcus. "Knowing that there are no rules, being comfortable with what speaks to you, I think that's key." On the table, napkins appeared in different formations across the stoneware, creating informal and sculptural variation.
From locally sourced swordfish to locally grown cannabis, the evening's ingredients showcased the best of California. To take a local note even further, think beyond the menu. "In an era of being more environmentally aware of things, and how we live," says Segala, "Thinking locally becomes even more vital." To wit, she sourced hand-thrown bowls and hand-dyed textiles made in California.
For cannabis pairings, try starting with an aperitif glass of CBD spritzer, followed by a sativa-dominant strain to inspire conversation, then switch to an indica for the main course, and cap the night with a nibble of canna-chocolate, all in microdosed amounts.


text:
Forgotten Nations
The Nations not Represented in World Governments.
Sudan, the last Northern White Rhino, Died Yesterday
Posted on March 20, 2018 by Jill Pearson
Sudan like other White Rhinos had been taken from the wild in hopes to protect him and produce offspring to save the species. He was taken to Dvůr Králové zoo in the Czech Republic. Some yeas later he was taken back to Africa to the Ol Pejeta conservancy, There he won the hearts and respect of those who cared for him "with his dignity and strength".
"He was a gentle giant, his personality was just amazing and given his size, a lot of people were afraid of him. But there was nothing mean about him," said Elodie Sampere, a representative for Ol Pejeta.
With the passing of the other captive Northern White Rhinos Sudan was the last thread of hope to cling to.
https://twitter.com/OlPejeta/status/975972162623418368
He was placed under 24 hour armed guards for his protection.
There are five species of Rhinoceroses, the world's second largest land mammal, elephants being the largest. The White Rhinos consist of two-subspecies, the Southern White Rhino and the critically endangered Northern White Rhino. They have been hunted to near extinction due to poaching. Their population in Uganda, Central African Republic, Sudan and Chad were nearly wiped out from poaching in the 1970s and 1980s. They were killed because people with money demanded rhino horn for use in traditional Chinese medicine, and for dagger handles in Yemen.
By 2008, the northern white rhino was considered extinct in the wild, according to WWF, the global environment campaign.
Sudan, named for where he was born in the wild, was 45 and suffering from degenerative muscles and wounds could no longer stand. Treatment was not working. Vets at the at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, where he was living, had to euthanize him. The world's last hope to save the Northern White Rhino.
There has to be something gravely wrong with a species that wipes out another species strictly for ego. That the death of an animal would bring so much money that armed guards are necessary to protect the last remaining male. What are people doing? What do we value? Why do people with so much money think killing an animal for prestige is so much more important than the animal?
The only hope for continuing the species lies in artificially inseminating Sudan's daughter or granddaughter, either Najin or her daughter, Fatu. Either way the genetic diversity is lost.
What were we thinking?
"His death is a cruel symbol of human disregard for nature and it saddened everyone who knew him," said Jan Stejskal, an official at Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, where Sudan had lived until 2009.
At Forgotten Nations the loss of an animal cuts deeply into our hearts. The loss of a species leaves yet another dark hole on our ailing planet.
Category: FeaturedTags: Extinction, Northern White Rhino, Sudan
← Professor Stephen Hawking
Saving the Bees? Which Ones? →
A Halloween Scare
Striking for Climate Action
A Green Amendment Evening
The Right to a Clean Environment for Humans and Nature
It's the Little Things How termites are really our friends
Jill Pearson on Earth Day Plea
Small Change on Earth Day Plea
Earth Day, Climate C… on The Right to a Clean Environme…
Archives Select Month October 2019 (1) September 2019 (1) April 2019 (3) February 2019 (1) August 2018 (1) July 2018 (1) June 2018 (1) April 2018 (4) March 2018 (3) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (3)
So You Thnik You're So Smart?
Follow Fogotten Nations via Email
Follow Forgotten Nations on WordPress.com
Contact Forgotten Nations
jill@forgottennations.earth

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


General Description With its central location, Hotel Karntnerhof is within easy reach of most tourist attractions and business addresses in Vienna. This 3-star hotel offers 44 comfortable guestrooms with a range of in-room facilities suitable for the modern traveler. Each guestroom has internet access, television, shower, satellite/cable TV, internet access (complimentary).Guests staying at this Vienna accommodation can enjoy a wide range of hotel facilities such as elevator, room service, safety deposit boxes, pets allowed. The hotel offers garden to provide extra pleasure and relaxation for all guests. Modern comfort and convenience are seamlessly combined to ensure the guests' satisfaction. The hotel provides a warm and welcoming service of international standard. To make a reservation at the Hotel Karntnerhof Vienna with our secure online booking form, please choose your preffered period of stay.


The authors find that a larger number of direct loan exposures to bank borrowers in countries experiencing systemic banking crises reduces bank returns and the granting of large corporate loans. On top of this negative effect, indirect, second-degree exposures to borrowers in crisis countries have an additional negative impact. Results illustrate how interactions in the long-term interbank market affect bank profitability and the flow of credit in the global economy, thereby supporting the notion that interconnected financial systems enable shock transmission.
We study the transmission of financial sector shocks across borders through international bank connections. For this purpose, we use data on long-term interbank loans among more than 6,000 banks during 1997-2012 to construct a yearly global network of interbank exposures. We estimate the effect of direct (first-degree) and indirect (second-degree) exposures to countries experiencing systemic banking crises on bank profitability and loan supply. We find that direct exposures to crisis countries squeeze banks' profit margins, thereby reducing their returns. Indirect exposures to crisis countries enhance this effect, while indirect exposures to non-crisis countries mitigate it. Furthermore, crisis exposures have real effects in that they reduce banks' supply of domestic and cross-border loans. Our results, based on a large global sample, support the notion that interconnected financial systems facilitate shock transmission.
In this paper we analyze the role of bank connections in the transmission of financial sector shocks across countries. Using detailed data on long-term interbank loans, we construct foreign interbank exposures, and hence a global banking network for the 1997-2012 period. These interbank exposures, which are positively correlated with total foreign exposures, capture both idiosyncratic risk and country risk. Our global banking network comprises more than 6,000 banks. Of these, we have financial statement data for a sample of 1,869 banks, which enables us to document the impact of exposures to banks in countries experiencing crises on bank profitability and loan supply.
We find that a larger number of direct loan exposures to bank borrowers in countries experiencing systemic banking crises reduces bank returns and the granting of large corporate loans, controlling for time-varying borrower demand. On top of this negative effect, indirect, second-degree exposures to borrowers in crisis countries have an additional negative impact, while exposures to borrowers in non-crisis countries have a dampening effect. A possible mechanism for reduced bank returns stems from loan restructuring, a common method of dealing with impaired syndicated loans, which squeezes banks' net interest margins. In the face of shocks to asset values and possible information contagion stemming from troubled exposures abroad, banks also reduce the supply of loans, especially that of cross-border loans.
Our results, which suggest that banks are unable to shield their balance sheets fully from foreign risk, may be interpreted as evidence of market incompleteness. Furthermore, they illustrate how interactions in the long-term interbank market affect bank profitability and the flow of credit in the global economy, thereby supporting the notion that interconnected financial systems enable shock transmission.
The Banco Popular resolution case: a tainted success for the SRM?


text:
Home East New York News ENY Housing Private Developers Officially Take Over NYCHA Developments in East New York
ENY HousingFeaturesPoliticsResidential
eastnewyorknews - Dec 30, 20211026130
It's official. Private Developers have taken control of a few NYCHA developments in East New York. Below is the press release from one of the groups of developers, explaining the joint venture. The impact on the community, positive or negative, remains to be seen, but the deed is done. See the renderings below, showing the expectations of what the development will bring, in terms of community improvements.
Boulevard Together Developer LLC (Boulevard Together), a joint venture of The Hudson Companies, Property Resources Corporation and Duvernay + Brooks in partnership with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), today announced the closing of $600 million in financing for comprehensive renovations to a 1,673-unit public housing portfolio comprising three separate NYCHA developments including Boulevard Houses, Fiorentino Plaza and Belmont-Sutter Area in East New York, Brooklyn. The partnership is undertaking the project through NYCHA's Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) initiative, which utilizes the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program to unlock funding for repairs while ensuring developments in the program remain permanently affordable and that residents retain the same rights that they possess in the standard public housing program.
Through PACT, the Boulevard Together team will oversee critical infrastructure and capital repair needs in 29 NYCHA buildings following decades of disinvestment at the properties. Boulevard Houses will finance the project through a construction loan provided by the New York City Housing Development Corporation and JP Morgan Chase. In addition to traditional funding, Boulevard Houses and Fiorentino Plaza are qualified to generate historic tax credits and Chase Community Development Banking will invest up to $140 million of Federal and State Historic tax credit equity into the project.
"Today's announcement is an important step towards bringing comprehensive repairs and social services to more than 1,600 NYCHA households," said HDC President Eric Enderlin. "HDC is proud to provide critical financing to ensure our public housing residents benefit from lasting affordability and tenant protections through PACT. Congratulations to all our partners on reaching this pivotal stage in the preservation of the Boulevard housing portfolio."
"This is about the residents first and foremost. We have engaged in frequent and productive conversations with the residents and their leadership associations and are thrilled to be providing residents of the Boulevard Houses, Fiorentino Plaza and Belmont-Sutter Area with fully-renovated apartments with critical upgrades to their buildings," said Aaron Koffman, Managing Principal of The Hudson Companies. "This transformational project will also provide local workforce and educational opportunities while maintaining resident protections and permanent affordability for generations to come. We look forward to working in close coordination with Property Resources Corporation, Duvernay + Brooks, NYCHA and HDC to bring this vision to reality."
"D+B is deeply committed to this partnership with NYCHA and the Boulevard Together team to provide critical improvements to residents' homes and to permanently preserve this vital affordable housing resource for its residents and the East New York community," said Duvernay + Brooks Managing Director Gale Kaufman.
"Property Resources Corporation is honored to be a part of the team chosen by NYCHA to revitalize these communities," said Matt Linde, Principal at Property Resources Corporation. "With the closing of this transaction, Boulevard Houses, Fiorentino Plaza, and Belmont Sutter Area will receive much needed capital repairs that will dramatically upgrade each resident's home and enhance the public spaces at each property. PRC and the Boulevard Together team remain committed to ensuring that these apartments remain permanently affordable through NYCHA's PACT program."
Built in the 1950s (Boulevard Houses), 1970s (Fiorentino Plaza) and 1980s (Belmont-Sutter Area) the complexes are in need of repairs to interiors, exteriors, storm drainage, structural upgrades and improved security systems. Starting next month, Boulevard Together will begin work on an array of repairs, with Peter Clements Architects serving as the project's architect.
Improvements will include:
Apartment interior upgrades, including new bathrooms, kitchens, lighting, painting, and flooring
Enhanced community amenities including laundry, and new storage spaces
Exterior site work, new signage, augmented landscape with new gazebos, seating, walkways, renovated playgrounds, outdoor gymnasiums, open air reading rooms, community gardens and areas for outdoor exhibitions
Addressing priorities identified by residents in recent tenant engagement meetings: waste management, new units with ADA access, security, and improved interior and site lighting
100% window replacement
New energy star appliances
Façade and site improvements including entrances, parapet walls, window and roof replacements, building system upgrades to prevent system failures, and elevator modernization
Boulevard Together Management LLC will serve as the new on-site property manager led by Lisa Management and PRC Management
Over the past year, the Boulevard Together team has held regular virtual town hall meetings and provided monthly newsletters with information for tenants to explain the RAD conversion process and engage residents around general feedback, questions and concerns. Residents have signed new leases that were reviewed by the Legal Aid Society and cannot be changed without NYCHA's approval.
At the same time, Boulevard Together will look to expand the on-site social services led by Brooklyn-based social service provider CAMBA. CAMBA serves more than 65,000 families each year and operates 160 programs in 95 locations throughout the city. The team will offer residents on-site services that include adult literacy, GED obtainment, workforce training, and family services programming.
With more than 80 years of combined experience in affordable housing, the Boulevard Team has developed more than 2,000 affordable apartments in East New York and over 7,000 affordable apartments in New York State.
The City's Three NYCHA Plans That Will Privatize Public Housing
The Privatization Of NYCHA Which Will Displace Thousands Of Tenants: How We Can 'Halt The Blueprint'
Community Board 5 Forced To Have Emergency Town Hall After Being Exposed For Not Informing Their Constituents That NYCHA Housing Is Being Sold To Private Developers
One thought on "Private Developers Officially Take Over NYCHA Developments in East New York"
Velencia January 11, 2022 at 12:18 am Reply
I'm just looking for a 1 bedroom
Previous PostCanarsie Residents & Students Can Vote On How $40,000 Will Be Spent in Their Neighborhood
Next PostUnderstanding the CDPAP Program For New York Residents
Understanding the CDPAP Program For New York Residents


Elk, Mule Deer, Bear & Wolf Hunting Blog | Why Hunt Idaho?
Back in January of this year I blogged about the "ten best reasons to hunt Idaho in 2014", well I am extending those 10 reasons indefinitely; certainly until someone can show me a state that has this much opportunity and on trophy animals to boot!
After what we saw this year in the field and in talking to other hunters and outfitters, Idaho is simply THE place to hunt and unfortunately is the best kept "secret" out there. When I work shows in the east and ask hunters if they have ever thought of hunting out west or have ever hunted out west, it seems "they" all seem to think the west stops at Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. This doesn't sit that well with a Utah and Idaho outfitter. Utah, unfortunately, gets lumped in with other states that are wonderful to hunt….if you can draw a tag. Unlike Idaho where tags are readily available over the counter, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Nevada are all draw states. I believe Colorado has over the counter tags for very short, choose your weapon seasons and no real predator hunting to speak of.
In Idaho, you can hunt archery for a month and if unsuccessful you can pick up your rifle and head deep into a backcountry unit for another month and probably have just about as good of chance for a trophy size animal as almost any draw hunt in the west. All it takes is a little saddle time or foot soldiering to get off the beaten path. Even now at the time of this writing (December 1st) if you wanted to go hunt whitetails in Idaho you could head right in, purchase a tag and go hunting. What other states can offer that in December? And if you are willing to pick up a bow, you can still hunt elk and deer in some areas right up until the end of December. Wow!
So if it sounds like I am proud of what Idaho offers, you better believe I am and as much as I wish everyone who reads this would book a hunt with us, I realize that many who read this will be Do it yourself (DIY Hunters), already booked with another outfitter or hunting with family and I am afraid the worst case is the poor soul sitting out all hunts "waiting to draw a tag in a trophy area somewhere else". That truly is heartbreaking. Either way you make it to Idaho, by outfitter, DIY or family, just make it!…and bring a youth hunter with you because Idaho has, in my opinion, the best deal on youth hunting in the country!
Hunting season in Idaho's backcountry unit 27 comes to an official close on November 18 and this year the snow began to roll in about then. So after 2 days of packing out camp it was time to chain up and haul livestock over the pass to winter quarters and begin the drying out of tents, tack and equipment. Riding in to pack camp after the last hunter leaves is always sort of a bitter sweet journey.
George,<br />This is exactly why I booked my hunt with you. Can't wait to chase mulies with you next October!


The 125-year-old Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra, and two Mughal-era monuments in Agra — Haveli of Agha Khan and Hathi Khana — are among the six monuments declared protected and of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2018.
The ancient Neemrana Baori in Rajasthan's Alwar district; the Group of Temples at Ranipur Jharail in Odisha's Bolangir district; and the Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, are the three other monuments that have been listed.
In 2016 and 2017, no new monument was included in the list of sites of national importance. The last monument to be included in the list, in 2015, was the Vishnu Temple in Nadavayal in Kerala's Wayanad district.
The list was presented in the Lok Sabha on December 24, 2018, by the Ministry of Culture in response to a question by the Shiv Sena MP from Ramtek, Krupal Balaji Tumane. Replying to the question, the Ministry said that the ASI takes up a survey for documenting/reporting ancient monuments/sites through exploration and that a village-to-village survey and conservation of monuments is a continuous process.
There were 3,686 centrally protected monuments/sites under the ASI in the country; the number has now increased to 3,693. Uttar Pradesh (745 monuments/sites), Karnataka (506) and Tamil Nadu (413) have the highest number of ASI-maintained sites.
According to information available with the Ministry of Culture, 321 of these sites have been encroached upon.


text:
Q: Why datetime is not apply to the parameter in SQL Server? I have a application runs this T-SQL command:
exec sp_executesql @statement = N'mysp @timestamp=0',
                   @params = N'@0 datetime',
                   @0 = '2021-04-08 20:59:10.987'

I log the timestamp value and I get empty for some reason:
1900-01-01 00:00:00.000

This is the stored procedure code:
ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[mysp]
    @TimeStamp DATETIME = NULL
AS
    SET NOCOUNT ON

    DECLARE
        ....
    BEGIN TRY
        SELECT @TimeStamp
        ...

What is wrong in the T-SQL command? How should it be in this structure?

A: What I see is procedure named mysp which expects one parameter named @timestamp. The =0 part sets the value of this parameter to 0. It is not the name of another paramter. When interpreted as a datetime, a 0 value matches the 1900-01-01 you observed.
I expect this is what the application is trying to do:
exec sp_executesql @statement = N'mysp @timestamp',
                   @params = N'@timestamp datetime',
                   @timestamp = '2021-04-08 20:59:10.987'

Alternatively:
exec sp_executesql @statement = N'mysp @timestamp=@0',
                   @params = N'@0 datetime',
                   @0 = '2021-04-08 20:59:10.987'

In communicating with developers about how to fix this on their end, keep in mind they are probably not writing the exec sp_executesql code directly. Rather, they are more likely using a tool to just call mysp that alters the code to use sp_executesql behind the scenes for them. This is common practice as a safe way for developers to use parameterized queries in their code and avoid Sql Injection security issues.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The programme of the second United Nations Transport and Communications Decade in Africa (UNTACDA II) has been under implementation since 1991. The long-term aims of the second Decade are to establish an efficient integrated transport and communications system as a basis for the physical integration of Africa, so as to facilitate traffic movement, foster trade and enable the achievement of self- sustained economic development as envisaged in the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community.
The design of the programme, including the global objectives, strategies and mechanisms was based on the "bottom-up approach" which clearly recognizes and therefore emphasizes that national level activities constitute the foundation of the programme, supplemented by activities at the subregional and regional levels. As such, the Decade programme is basically an African development programme and its success will mostly depend on the commitment to it by each African country by giving the necessary attention and resources for its effective implementation.
To ensure that the programme remains on course throughout the implementation period, it was decided that it should be evaluated frequently, i.e., every three years (1994, 1997, 2000) so that any necessary mid-way corrective action could be taken before it was too late. In compliance with the above, ECA carried out the first mid-term evaluation of the programme in 1994 and it concentrated on the function-ing of the Decade structure and on the ongoing regional projects.
The evaluation has critically reviewed the relevance and validity of the entire Decade programme as well as its mechanism and organs, viz.: the National Coordinating Committees (NCCs), the Subsectoral and Subregional Working Groups, the Resource Mobilization Committee (RMC), the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee (IACC) and the lead agency. The evaluation also dealt with the progress made and problems encountered during the implementation of the programme. Although the global objectives, together with the sectoral ones, were well-conceived, the mechanism did not function very well.
The evaluation also addressed the issue of projects implementation. In this regard, the evaluation showed that some 456 out of the initial 669 projects approved in 1991 have been monitored by ECA with the conclusion that US$5,252.63 million has been secured for the 456 projects monitored. This amount represents about 59.2 per cent of the total amount for these projects.
Four ongoing regional projects which were under implementation, viz: human resources and institu- tional development, Yamoussoukro Declaration on a New African Air Transport Policy, the regional trans-port database and the Trans-African Highway Bureau were also reviewed by the evaluation. The main find-ing of the evaluation is that all of them suffered from inadequate funding and that more signatures and ratifi-cations are needed for the Trans-African Highway Bureau to become operational.
The tenth meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communications reviewed the evaluation report which the intergovernmental experts had already been considered in greater detail, together with all the recommendations it contained and took several measures aimed at improving the implementation of the programme. These measures are aimed at facilitating the implementation of the pro-gramme in member States, financial institutions, the new orientation of the programme, the mechanism, pro-gramme advisory and promotional activities of UNTACDA II and special appeals to the United Nations General Assembly for additional funding. The Ministers also approved an action programme for imple-mentation of the Decade, as well as resolution through which appeals are being made to some of Africa's development partners to support the funding and implementation of UNTACDA II.
(h) An appeal should be made to the United Nations General Assembly to supplement ECA regular budget resources for the implementation of UNTACDA II activities.
In recognition of the importance of the transport and communications sector in Africa and the absolute necessity to mobilize African Governments and the international community for the development of the above sector, the ECA Conference of Ministers adopted in March 1977 a resolution requesting the General Assembly to proclaim a United Nations Transport and Communications Decade in Africa in order to focus attention on the special needs of transport and communications in Africa. This resolution which was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the first United Nations Transport and Communications Decade in Africa (UNTACDA I) covering the period 1978-1988 was officially proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations through its resolution 32/160 of 19 December 1977.
The evaluation of the implementation of the entire UNTACDA I programme undertaken in 1988 showed that, despite the efforts made by African Governments and donors, the transport and communica-tions systems in Africa were still far from adequate to promote economic growth and development and were seen to be a major constraint on the overall economic integration and development of the region. This again prompted the ECA Conference of Ministers in 1988 to request the General Assembly to proclaim a second UNTACDA with the objective of continuing to focus African and international attention on the needs for the development of the two sectors. Thus, by its resolution 43/179 of 20 December 1988, the General Assembly proclaimed UNTACDA II for the period 1991-2000. The two-year period 1989-1990 was set aside for a thorough and careful preparation of the programme. This period enabled all the partners to identify and elaborate the main objectives of the Decade, which were subsequently adopted by the Con-ference of African Ministers of Transport, Communications and Planning in February 1991 in Abuja, Nigeria.
OBJECTIVE 10: Establishment and strengthening of interregional liaisons in the field of transport and communications.
The design of the programme including the objectives, strategies and mechanism, was based on the "bottom up" approach which emphasizes activities first at the national level, then at the subregional and finally at the regional levels. The Decade programme is therefore basically an African development pro-gramme and its success will depend first on the commitment of each African country to give the necessary attention and resources for its implementation.
To ensure that the programme remains on course throughout the implementation period, it was decided that it should be evaluated frequently, e.g., every three years (1994, 1997, 2000) so that any neces- sary corrective action could be taken before it was too late. In 1994, ECA undertook the first mid- term evaluation of the programme which concentrated on the functioning of the Decade structure and on the ongoing regional projects.
The evaluation revealed that the UNTACDA II programme had been well-designed, its global and sectoral objectives were coherent and properly formulated and covered all critical areas of transport and communications in Africa. Furthermore, the subsectoral strategies deriving from the objectives were found to have been properly articulated.
The degree to which the programme had been implemented was considered inadequate because the machinery set up had not operated to satisfaction.
The evaluation revealed the following deficiencies regarding the operation of the machinery set up for implementation of the UNTACDA II programme.
This organ, composed of the African Development Bank (ADB) (chairman), the Arab Bank for the Economic Development of Africa (BADEA), the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank as well as the Organization of African Unity (OAU), ECA and the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) was set up to effectively promote the pro-gramme within and outside Africa and assist in resource mobilization.
The evaluation report indicates that in the opinion of the various partners, the RMC had not mobilized any resources for the programme. One other problem had to do with the operation of the RMC. Indeed, it was noted, on the one hand, that some influential members of the RMC, such as EU and BADEA had never attended a single meeting of the RMC and, on the other hand, the World Bank which had been very active in the Decade preparatory work had phased out its participation in RMC activities. The reason given by the Bank for its action was the reduction of ad hoc appointments pursuant to World Bank resolutions.
The NCCs comprise representatives of the various government transport and communications agencies, operators, users and the private sector. The main tasks of these committees during the imple- mentation phase are, inter alia, to coordinate the execution of national programmes in cooperation with the subregional organizations, collect and disseminate information on the national transport and communications sectors.
It should be recalled that each member State was to set up its own NCC and make sure that it func- tioned well. Five years into the launching of the Decade programme, it was noted that only 40 NCCs had been set up and among them only a very small number operated in a relatively acceptable manner.
Besides, in spite of the guidelines agreed upon regarding the composition of NCCs, economic operators, particularly private people operating in the transport and communications sector, had not been associated with the work of the NCCs established.
Several reasons were advanced for the poor performance of the NCCs. In certain cases, the terms of reference of the NCCs were too wide in scope and therefore difficult to accomplish. It was also indicated that the programming of UNTACDA II had failed to take into account the capacity of governments to carry out their mandate and honour their financial obligations to the NCCs. The NCCs also had to contend with changes in government priorities regarding project selection.
In the view of the evaluation officers, therefore, the "bottom-up approach" adopted as the basis for the UNTACDA II programme had not worked out properly.
The four subregional working groups are composed of all relevant subregional organizations in each subregion. Their responsibilities, during the implementation phase are, inter alia, to recommend harmonized subregional strategies and programmes for their respective subregions.
The participation in and performance within the programme implementation mechanism of the four subregional working groups has been less than satisfactory, notwithstanding their determination to support the Decade programme. One reason for their poor performance was the lack of financial assistance which the subregional organizations were expecting from the RMC. It appeared that the effective participation of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) depended on the availability of additional financial and technical support which could be mobilized within the context of the UNTACDA II programme. The subregional working groups had also failed to internalize fully the concept of the Decade programme and perceived UNTACDA II as an external programme which did not form part of their regular activities.
There are eight subsectoral working groups, namely roads and road transport; railways; air transport; maritime, inland water and multimodal transport; urban transport; telecommunications and broadcasting; postal services; and manufacturing of equipment. The main tasks of these working groups during the imple-mentation phase is, inter alia, to disseminate subsectoral strategies and monitor progress achieved in imple-menting the UNTACDA II programme.
The eight subsectoral working groups had been very active during the preparatory phase. Nevertheless, after the programme was launched, the activities of many of them decreased considerably. For most of them, activities relating to the Decade programme were additional outputs for which supple-mentary resources had to be provided for their delivery. Due to lack of resources, the work programmes prepared by the various working groups could not be implemented.
African States bore the responsibility for establishing NCCs and ensuring their proper functioning. What could be noted, however, was that the States did not honour this commitment. Moreover, most member States promoted two programmes concurrently: the Decade programme whose implementation they expected some other agency (most often ECA) to carry out and another priority programme which they sub-mitted to funding agencies but which had little or nothing in common with the Decade programme. This attitude of member States is one of the main factors which has impeded the implementation of the pro-gramme over the past five years.
ECA was designated as lead agency and, in cooperation with other agencies, is responsible for the overall coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Decade activities in order to foster the achievement of the objectives.
ECA's contribution as lead agency for the Decade programme was appreciable during the prepara-tory phase. It provided technical backstopping for various aspects of the programme under the regular budget. For the implementation phase, ECA fully integrated UNTACDA II into its regular programme and the staff of the Transport, Communications and Tourism Division were organized so as to address effectively the issue of programme implementation.
In spite of those initiatives, ECA is having difficulties in supporting the current phase of the pro- gramme. The regional programmes designed to support the operations of the implementation machinery organs are mostly not completed due to lack of adequate resources.
When UNTACDA II was adopted in February 1991, most of the parties involved considered that the Decade programme would be incomplete without a number of projects whose implementation would help in appreciating the impact of the programme on the overall development of transport and communications in Africa. Accordingly, 669 projects were selected among the 1,127 regional, subregional and national pro-jects to be included in the first phase of the programme. This selection was conducted on the basis of pre-viously defined criteria, particularly with regard to whether the project met one or more programme objec-tives and should be included in the national priority investment programme or in the work programme of the particular organization which had submitted it as a subregional or regional project.
It was also recognized by the Decade programme partners that the final responsibility for implement- ing these projects would lie with the project initiators: member States, subregional organizations and United Nations agencies.
In spite of these criteria, it turned out that projects submitted to the UNTACDA II machinery by member States did not often tally with those in the national priority investment programmes of most of the countries. This resulted in a number of difficulties encountered in mobilizing the resources needed for the implementation of these projects.
Given the problems encountered in collecting information on the status of UNTACDA II projects, ECA, by late February 1995, had received information on only 456 projects out of the 669 approved in 1991.
(d) 31 projects at an estimated cost of $110.19 million had either been abandoned, postponed or had to be reformulated by the submitting countries or organizations.
The remainder (131 projects out of the 456 evaluated) were awaiting financing. In total, an amount of $5,252.63 million had been mobilized to finance part of the 456 projects, as indicated above.
The main ongoing regional projects also examined in the evaluation are: human resources and institutional development, the Yamoussoukro Declaration on a New African Air Transport Policy, transport database and Trans-African Highway Bureau.
This programme was designed to respond to objectives 3 and 4 of UNTACDA II "to improve human resource planning, development and utilization and achieve operational efficiency, service quality and availability of the transport and communications services". The programme is being implemented in four pilot countries (Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali and Sierra Leone) and focuses on assistance in the development of human resources and institutional capacities.
It will be recalled that in 1988, African Ministers responsible for civil aviation, faced with deregula-tion and liberalization policies initiated in the United Sates of America and Europe, met to take measures for the development of the African air transport industry and adopted the Yamoussoukro Declaration on a New African Air Transport Policy. In so doing, they agreed to commit themselves, individually and collec-tively, to promote cooperation and solidarity in safeguarding and development of international air transport activities in Africa, and to make all the necessary efforts to achieve the integration of African airlines within a period of eight years through the strengthening of cooperative structures and the creation of new entities.
(g) Supplementary measures should be adopted on rationalized use of airspace, air transport charges, facilitation, security, transfer of revenues, designation of airlines and establishment of a multina- tional legal framework for the application of the above decisions.
This programme is designed to contribute to the achievement of objective 5 of the UNTACDA II programme regarding the establishment of data and information systems in the transport and communications sector in Africa.
The first phase of the programme has developed performance indicators for all modes of transport and methodologies for data collection. A network has been created among pilot countries and participating institutions for maintaining progress through exchange of experience. Phase II of the programme is being designed to focus on the problems regarding the establishment of the regional transport database at ECA.
The establishment of the single Bureau of the Trans-African Highway Authorities at ECA to provide secretariat services to all Trans-African Highways Authorities was requested by the ECA Conference of Ministers in its resolution 604 (XXII) of April 1987. The Special Meeting of Plenipotentiaries on the Statutes of the Trans-African Highway Bureau was held in Rabat, Morocco on 14 September 1993 to consider, adopt and sign the Statutes of the Bureau. The following countries signed the Statutes during the meeting: Algeria, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zaire.
(c) Egypt and Morocco have ratified the Statutes of the Bureau.
The Special Meeting of Plenipotentiaries recommended that the launching of the Bureau would take effect after 26 ratifications had been obtained, as stipulated in article 26 (a) of the Statutes. In order to facilitate the coming into force of the Statutes, the tenth Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communications decided to reduce the number of signatures and ratifications to 18.
The tenth meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communications was organized by ECA to review the mid-term evaluation of UNTACDA II programme. The Ministers reaffirmed the continued relevance and critical importance of UNTACDA II, especially towards achieving the goals of the Abuja Treaty (1991) establishing the African Economic Community and noted with concern the low level of implementation of the programme due to lack of resources.
(d) Assess the environmental impact of their transport and communications development projects.
(c) The description and assignment of tasks among the various partners.
A request was made to the Governing Council of UNDP to increase the level of support to UNTACDA II by funding part of the regional action programme for the implementation of the second phase of the UNTACDA II programme.
Financial Institutions and agencies should be approached to contribute further to the implementation of the programme approved by the tenth meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communications. The Coordinating Ministers of the ACP/European Development Fund (EDF) should be approached to give the appropriate priority to the Decade projects and programmes in the preparation of their national and regional indicative programmes under the second financial protocol of the Lomé IV Convention.
The development banks and participating financial institutions should continue to support the UNTACDA II programme and its mechanism for coordinated and efficient support to the development of transport and communications in Africa. In this regard, an appeal should be sent to the World Bank to resume its high level of involvement in and contribution to the implementation of the UNTACDA II pro-gramme.
A special request is addressed to African financial institutions to provide further support to the UNTACDA II programme, particularly by taking systematically into account the guidelines and priorities of the Decade in the preparation of the action plans for African countries.
IGOs should take an active part in UNTACDA II programme by carrying out in their regular work programme activities listed in the UNTACDA II programme with priority given to those that foster regional integration. Member States and IGOs should involve the subregional and subsectoral working groups in the design of regional action programmes and provide them with every assistance necessary for participating effectively in the implementation of the UNTACDA II programme.
The United Nations General Assembly should be requested to provide additional regular budget resources to enable ECA to pursue the major activities of the Decade action programme within its regular work programme.
ECA should disseminate systematically, to all UNTACDA II partners, information on the imple-mentation of the Decade through workshops, seminars, symposia and information bulletins; play a more active role in coordinating the UNTACDA II programme and strengthen its own capacity to provide the necessary technical back-stopping in support of programme implementation. It should also ensure that future evaluations of the implementation of UNTACDA II are based on critical analysis of the degree to which Decade objectives have been achieved, and prepare a consolidated report on the status of implementation of all UNTACDA II projects based on reports drafted by member States and IGOs on the situation with regard to the status of their projects.
The Subsectoral working groups should assist in the evaluation of projects falling within their area of competence as well as in the coordination and integration of the Africa regional work programmes of the United Nations agencies with those of UNTACDA II. They should also initiate a framework for privatiza-tion and commercialization programmes in the transport and communications sectors.
The Ministers decided that the RMC shall henceforth be known as the UNTACDA II Advisory Com- mittee on Programme Promotion (ACPP) and, on the basis of its new terms of reference, lay emphasis on assisting member countries in seeking, arranging and mobilizing funds for their projects approved under the UNTACDA II programme. All financial institutions that are members of the ACPP should play a more active role in supporting the Committee's mission by providing it with the required technical expertise.
The Ministers strongly expressed the view that the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Programme (SSATP) should be implemented in compliance with UNTACDA II objectives and recommended that the necessary measures should be taken to harmonize the two programmes.
On the reactivation of the Trans-African Highway Bureau, the Ministers urged member States which had not yet signed and ratified the Statutes to do so without further delay. To facilitate the reactivation of the Bureau, the Ministers decided to reduce the number of ratifications required for the Statutes to come into force from 26 to 18 member States.
On human resources and institutional development and transport database, the Ministers appealed to the relevant development partners to continue to support fully the two programmes by providing more resources for the implementation of the identified activities and to African countries to increase South-South cooperation in the implementation of the programmes. Member States were urged to adopt harmonized and standardized methodologies for data collection and calculation of performance indicators already developed under phase one of the database programme and to ensure that national focal points are established for the development of transport data in Africa. ECA was requested to prepare an inventory of training institutions available in Africa for dissemination to member States.
Regarding the Yamoussoukro Declaration on a New African Air Transport Policy, the Ministers called upon Coordinator Ministers, countries, the regional and subregional organizations who have not yet done so, to take appropriate measures towards implementing the decisions taken in Mauritius and requested ECA to continue its effort in coordinating the activities of implementing and assisting the various mechanisms adopted in Mauritius.
The Ministers further resolved to see the Decade action programme for 1995-1997 focused on the main regional and subregional areas. The programme of action has been formulated in the bottom-up approach of UNTACDA II; that is, with inputs from member States, African regional IGOs and concerned United Nations agencies and financial institutions. Accordingly, the action programme identified activities to be carried out at these three levels: national, subregional and regional. The findings and recommenda-tions of the 1994 mid-term review formed the basis for the action programme.
National activities should focus on the implementation of high priority projects which have regional and subregional impact, such as those currently included in the approved list of projects to be implemented under UNTACDA II, Volume II: Projects approved in 1991. The national projects, which are designed to enhance the achievement of the UNTACDA II objectives, should be approved within the context of the respective subregions and their activities coordinated and monitored by the leader of the subregional Working Groups, namely the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA). These organizations would then report progress in their respective subregions to the Conference of Ministers through the IACC.
It is to be recalled that the five subregions of Africa are the building blocks for the establishment of the African Economic Community according to the Abuja Treaty of 1991. For UNTACDA II, which is the basis for the physical integration of Africa, these subregions form a natural grouping for its imple- mentation. In fact, the strategies for the programme were drawn on the basis of four subregional groupings, in which Eastern and Southern Africa were taken as one region, thereby combining the activities of the then Preferential Trade Area of Eastern and Southern African States (PTA) with those of Southern African Development Community (SADC) since most of their membership overlaps.
Logistically, the subregional groups are central to the programme of UNTACDA II as was well- recognized in the Tangier strategy. Subregional strategies are the major constituent parts of the Decade strategy and the subregional Working Groups should be entrusted with the assignment to draw up the subregional action programme. In this regard, the subsectoral Working Groups are to provide the necessary technical support.
The mid-term evaluation has concluded that the thematic areas which had been identified in the stra- tegies of UNTACDA II as priority areas have not been adequately developed into action programmes and projects. The African regional organizations and the relevant United Nations agencies should therefore fully incorporate into their regular work programmes those aspects of the programme which are relevant to their mandate and competence. As members of the various subsectoral Working Groups, these organizations and agencies should assist the subregional Working Groups in the evaluation, formulation and implementation of projects in their areas of competence. In view of the drastic reductions in extrabudgetary resources to the United Nations agencies, this seems to be the only way forward.
The regional action programme in support of the development of transport and communications infra- structure and services should take into account the needs identified at the national level as well as the capa-cities of the subregional organizations. It is a realistic programme of action based on the resources which are likely to be available within the regular budgets of the participating agencies and institutions.
The following projects and activities may be considered for implementation under the regional action programme. Member States which are interested in any particular area of activity are expected to inform ECA in its capacity as lead agency for UNTACDA II. The latter would then coordinate with the concerned agencies accordingly.
The human resources and institutional development project aims at improving the human resources and institutional development in African transport and communications. The project entails the implementa-tion of the findings of Phase I of the programme at the country level. As a continuation of the human resources and institutional development programme, seminars on human and institutional development will be organized for some modes of transport and communications. The modes and issues to be considered will derive, inter alia, from the human resources and institutional development programme. Some training on thematic issues are developed. The agencies which have previously participated in this project may be expected to continue; these include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Telecom-munication Union (ITU), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations Con-ference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank, ECA and UNDP.
Development of telecommunications in Africa has been constrained by many factors, principal among which are limited technical and financial resources. Recent discussions have identified private sector parti-cipation as a viable and attractive complement to the traditional government practices for development of this area.
The Abidjan colloquium on telecommunications and sustainable economic development in Africa initiated regional discussions on this issue. This was immediately followed by the Banjul Round-table. The Buenos Aires Declaration further emphasized the need for more rapid development of telecommunications in the developing regions of the world. In this regard, two telecommunications development sector study groups were established under the Telecommunication Development Bureau of ITU to prepare studies on specific development issues.
Africa must therefore take concrete steps in order to encourage private sector participation in developing its telecommunications sector. One possibility for regional action in this regard is to organize subregional workshops on private sector participation, as already begun in SADC region in 1994 with the support of USAID. While the regional economic communities would be the focus of such workshops, they must be organized within a regional framework so as to arrive at a global consensus. International and regional organizations such as ECA, ADB, OAU, ITU, the Pan-African Telecommunications Union (PATU) and the World Bank could prepare the regional framework for this purpose.
Based on the documents prepared by ECA, two meetings (one in French and one in English) will be organized for experts from African countries including representatives of the private sector, experts from subregional organizations and specialized consultants. The objective of the meetings will be to exchange methodologies and experiences in parastatal restructuring using case studies from already established (private) enterprises. It is expected that experts from private companies as well as from parastatals and other experienced consultants will substantially contribute. Based on the conclusions of the meetings, ECA will prepare an orientation paper to be disseminated to African countries and organizations.
One workshop will be organized with the objective of strengthening African capacity in mobilizing resources for transport and communications sectors and will deal with the following: ways and means of increasing tax revenues as well as user charges in support of transport and communications development; and fiscal policies for promotion of indigenous private sector investment in the field of transport and communications.
The report will include the baseline assessment, mode-by-mode, of the performance of the transport and communications sectors in Africa; identification of the services which could be improved through commercialization, including privatization and management autonomy; identification of modalities for commercialization and criteria for selecting services to be commercialized, taking into account the compara-tive advantage of various options for the participation of the private sector in transport and communications operations.
Seminars will be organized in collaboration with subregional organizations, the mechanism set up in Mauritius to monitor the progress of implementation, especially in routes development and traffic right issues for which specific mandate has been given.
(d) Preparation of a report highlighting the African experience in the facilitation of transport, with policy recommendations to governments on short- and long-term steps necessary for the development of transport facilitation along the transport corridors in Africa.
The study will cover transport, communications and tourism aspects. A series of workshops on facilitation of international transport along the major corridors in Africa and the development and promotion of containerized transport. ECA, UNCTAD and the regional and subregional training institutions will develop the training curricular.
Organization of a regular forum for the three subregional port management associations in order to enhance regional cooperation among them for rapid development. Strong regional cooperation among African ports is essential not only for elaboration of joint development policy, but also for coordination of Africa's position in international maritime community and port assemblies (American Association of Ports and Harbours, Baltic Ports Organization, European Community of Sea Ports Organization).
It is to be recalled that since 1987, ECA has organized three meetings of African ports experts and senior officials to discuss development and cooperation among ports. There is need to continue this series of meetings in the form of a regular forum (every two years). However, while the previous three meetings were organized by ECA, the three port management associations are expected to play a key role in organiz-ing the forum through joint preparation of the agenda, programme, substantive papers and intercessional pro-gramme of activities. ECA will continue serving as coordinating focal point. The other international agencies involved in the organization of the forum include UNCTAD, the International Maritime Organiza-tion (IMO) and ILO.
The objective of the seminar is to assist concerned member States to set up two pilot mechanisms of cooperation in the subregion, which will serve as an example for other subregions. ECA will prepare, in collaboration with national experts, a document specifying practical modalities for setting up similar mechanisms of cooperation in other subregions.
This is a programme which is being funded from contributions by African member States. The pro- gramme covers, inter alia, the maintenance, rehabilitation and development of an inter-State road network and implementation of inter-State traffic facilitation.
The project entails the development of subregional centres for the manufacture of equipment and spare parts. The main activities will be the follow-up of the pre-feasibility studies and the start of the feasibility study if possible.
The coastal shipping project in the ECOWAS and ECCAS subregions is funded by ECA and its main goal is to establish a joint African shipping line. The main aspects of this joint venture have already been identified and potential investors/partners are being sought. Similarly, the COMESA project is financed by European Union.
This is a follow-up of the study on the establishment of regional and subregional transit centres in Africa, which was carried out in 1993. Four centres were identified: Addis Ababa, Harare, Abidjan and Cairo. Feasibility studies will be carried out under this project, to be funded through the UNTACDA Trust Fund.
(e) Training in transport statistics.
The publication will contain, inter alia, the assessment and analysis of the transport and communica-tions sectors since the adoption of the UNTACDA II programme, as well as the problems and solutions in selected corridors (facilitation, cost, customs, storage, training needs, etc.). The activities so far conducted by the Transport, Communications and Tourism Division for the establishment of a transport database within the framework of the UNTACDA II will facilitate this publication.
The publication will be the lead paper for the third African Road Safety Congress to be organized in 1996. The objective is to capture the progress or lack of it in the development of road safety activities in Africa since the second Congress held in Addis Ababa in 1989. The paper will review the road safety situation in Africa, the progress achieved, the technology transfer and training and research programmes undertaken in Africa.
The Congress will address the following issues: road safety situation in Africa, initiation, financing and organization of road safety work, requirements for the future, the various elements of road safety and their initiation. It will also initiate South-to-South collaborative efforts to reinforce the already existing cooperation between ECA and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The objective of the forum will be to review the emerging issues in African transport development and to discuss development issues with representatives of financing institutions, agencies and high-level inter-national experts in order to devise common strategies and secure support for specific projects for the development of transport infrastructure and services in Africa. It will also offer the opportunity for the private sector participation and the exhibition of technology, equipment, maintenance and road construction experience, including low-cost construction material.
Based on the conclusions of the forum, ECA will assist African countries to develop and prepare projects in accordance with the priority areas agreed. It is to be noted that a telecommunications forum for Africa is organized by ITU every four years, and therefore the proposed forum would focus only on trans-port aspects. However, ECA and ITU should collaborate in the organization of telecommunications forum in Africa for which COMESA has expressed the wish to host in its subregion.
Five workshops will be held, one in each subregion, to discuss ways and means of implementing aspects of UNTACDA II strategy which are specific to each subregion.
Case studies as well as the experience of other regions in this field may also be considered.
(b) Internalization of the activities, programmes and projects of UNTACDA II at all levels, thus, tailoring ambitions and plans to available and/or clearly identified resources from all sources.
Re-focusing and concentration of the programme on regional and subregional action requires active collaboration by African member States in identifying and agreeing on common projects or programmes and above all in pooling their resources together and preparing and making joint requests to the external institu-tions and organizations for financial and technical support especially when their own resources have proved inadequate.
The mid-term evaluation has clearly pointed out the danger and inevitable failures and disappoint- ments which have resulted in the past from planning without a time frame, availability of resources and the division of responsibility among the various partners and has therefore recommended that these elements be incorporated into the second phase programme. Both member States, subregional and regional IGOs, institu-tions and United Nations agencies have therefore been urged to ensure that the three elements are taken seriously into account in all activities and project of the Decade henceforth.
Another major and most pertinent finding of the mid-term evaluation is the fact that by failing to cooperate and promote regional and subregional activities and projects of common interest, African countries have not been able to take advantage of the funds specifically earmarked by some major multilateral interna-tional and continental financial and development institutions and organizations for regional and subregional activities.
(c) Internalization of the programme through greater reliance on the pooling of internal resources.
Member States are therefore strongly urged to vigorously promote the UNTACDA II programme by ensuring that all Decade projects are presented to financial institutions and donor organizations for funding and avoid the presentation of projects which are not consistent with the UNTACDA II programme, since such projects would seem to indicate the existence of parallel programmes and priorities.
8. Requests the Executive Secretary of the Commission to report to its next meeting on the progress made in the implementation of this resolution.


This preliminary primer is based on ERC's proposed rules and regulations for the Interruptible Load Program (ILP). The document was accessed in the ERC website on March 18, 2015. The regulations governing the ILP are still subject to change and hence this paper is subject to further revisions.
Update: On April 6, 2015, the ERC through Resolution No. 5 Series of 2015, adopted and made effective the ILP. As early as April 11, 2014, MERALCO was given permission to implement the ILP for its captive customers. Many of the important provisions and underlying logic of the ILP draft were carried over to the the final version.


text:
Описание CD
вернуться закрыть окно
Исполнитель(и) :
Church, Charlotte (Vocals)
◄◄◄ ►►►
Наименование CD :
Voice Of An Angel
Год издания : 1998/2000
Компания звукозаписи : Hyperion Rec., (ru)
Время звучания : 51:47
Комментарий (рецензия) :
CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Classics Vocal (Woman Vocal)
inprint Mar 16, 1999
from all music guide
Given that she was merely 12-years-old when she released her debut album Voice of an Angel, and that she is certainly cute, it may be easy for observers to dismiss Charlotte Church as the product of mere marketing, but that's not really the case. Yes, she is a marketer's dream, but her soprano voice is alluring, accomplished, and sweet - even if it's not quite the voice of an angel, it comes close. And that's the reason why millions of listeners were wooed by Voice of Angel: Church is talented, young, and adorable. She's a good singer, sure, but one with enough talent to make her more than a special interest story. However, she is also the kind of singer that isn't well-regarded by classical purists for a variety of reasons, chief among them being the special-interest story itself. It's a double-edged sword, actually, since her very age makes her noteworthy to a wider audience, but not to the aficionados of opera, since she doesn't possess the skill that would make her a great artist in the view of many critics. Yet Voice of an Angel should be judged as a record, apart from Church's age. On that level, it succeeds - particularly if it's viewed as a debut album. Yes, the material is pretty familiar - "Ave Maria," "Amazing Grace," and "Danny Boy" all make appearances - and because Church doesn't really offer revolutionary interpretations of the songs, she is open to criticisms from some opera critics. However, she has such a nice voice that it will be easy for many listeners to overlook the obviousness of the material and just enjoy the sweet music; Voice of an Angel certainly has its fair share of that.
Соисполнители :
Соисполнители не найдены
Наименование трека
1 Pie Jesu T 0:03:30 Webber
2 Panis Angelicus 0:04:14 Franck
3 In Trutina T 0:02:06 Orff
4 Lord's Prayer 0:02:57 Malotte
5 Jerusalem 0:02:18 Hubert C / Parry
6 Ave Maria 0:04:14 Caccini
7 Psalm 23 0:02:45 Mawby
8 I Vow To Thee, My Country 0:03:58 Hoist
9 Danny Boy 0:02:46 Samuel
10 My Lagan Love 0:03:17 Traditional
11 Suo-Gan 0:03:16
12 Lullaby T 0:03:01 Harty
13 Amazing Grace T 0:02:48 Traditional
14 Y Gylfinir (The Curlew) 0:02:19 Three Welsh Bird Songs - Elwyn
15 Tylluanod 0:02:44 -"-
16 Mae Hiraeth Yn Y Mor 0:02:43 -"-
17 When At Night I Go To Sleep 0:02:52 Humperdinck
Обозначения:
T 'щелкнуть' - переход к тексту композиции.
Главная страница коллекции
Collection main page
My Music Base


text:
Q: How to find the smallest prime divisors of $2^{19}-1$ and $2^{37}-1$? How to find the smallest prime divisors of  $2^{19}-1$ and $2^{37}-1$ ?
I'm new to elementary number theory and I'm not sure what to do AT ALL.
We're currently studying primitive roots and indices.

A: As for $2^{19}-1$, one can perform one of the Primality tests. This is immediately succesful and the result is that $2^{19}-1$ is the smallest prime divisor of $2^{19}-1$.
Details can be found by looking for so-called Mersenne prime numbers. For example, see the Lucas test.
For $2^{37}-1$, the trial and error method is successful. Just divide this odd number by all small primes $3,5,7,\ldots ,223$.

A: Smallest prime divisor of  $2^{19}-1$
Let's consider any general prime to be p.
If it's a divisor -
$2^{19}-1=0(mod  p)$
$2^{19}=1(mod  p)$
therefore $19|(p-1)$
As $p>3$
$2|(p-1)$
general prime divisors are $(p-1)=2*19*k$
$p=(38*k+1)$
Similarily for $2^{37}-1$
$p=(74*k+1)$