text:
Why RedMed
The three conquests of Istanbul
by Sungur Savran
Süleymaniye is not a mosque.
Nâzım Hikmet, the Turkish poet who sang the praise of the October revolution, wrote thus, under the pen name Orhan Selim, in a column he was writing for a daily newspaper in the 1930s. He was considered too dangerous as a communist poet and militant to be able to write comfortably without fear of constant censorship and harassment under his own name and that is why he adopted a pseudonym. The "Süleymaniye" he was talking about in the article from which we are quoting is very palpably a mosque, situated on a hill of Istanbul. It is in fact the chef d'oeuvre of the world-renowned Ottoman architect Sinan (d. 1588), commissioned by that other historic figure, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent or Lawmaker (1520-1566), now made, through an irony of history, more famous internationally than ever because of the popular television series called "Magnificent Century" exported to all corners of the world. What Nâzım was saying, against the fact and against common sense, was that Süleymaniye was such a beautiful building, such an extraordinary creation of the human mind and of human technique, such a magnificent product of the genius of Sinan and the skillfulness of his masters, that it is first and foremost a work of art in itself and only secondarily and contingently a religious abode.
This is also true for that other wonder in the same city of Constantinople called Hagia Sophia.
The conquest of Istanbul
The taking of Istanbul by the armies of that other world-renowned Ottoman sultan Mehmed II alias the Conqueror was an epoch-making act of diplomacy and war. It implied that a new empire was being born of the ashes of what had for ages been first Eastern Rome and later Byzantium, mighty empires themselves. It changed the physiognomy of both Europe and the geography that is now commonly called MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) because it made the Ottomans a part of what was much later to be called the "Concert of Europe", an actor in the shaping of Europe's destiny, at once an actor in the predominantly Judeo-Christian world of the continent as well as a Muslim other that was constantly theeatening that world, and later, in the 19th century, "the sick man of Europe". The Ottomans had, of course, penetrated the Balkans earlier, but "Empire" they became once that jewel of a city, Constantinople/Istanbul ("Konstantiniyye" among the Muslims) was conquered.
Constantinople was taken by the Muslims, but the memory of Rome (Eastern Rome, of course) hovered over the territory that was then called Asia Minor and is now called Anatolia. In Turkish, the Greek population that remained behind after the fall of Constantinople in Istanbul, Anatolia and even offshore Cyprus, Crete and the other islands in the Aegean Sea came to be called and is still called not Yunan, the word used for the Greeks of Greece, but Rum, meaning obviously "of Rome". The Rum population are unfortunately mostly gone, but the name remains. This is so true that the poet that is probably considered the greatest poet of this same geography until Nâzım came along, a Sufi poet of the 13th century, is also called Mawlana Jalaleddin Rumi, ("one who belongs to Rome")!
So although the Ottoman Empire was decidedly an Islamic state (the sultan became, somewhat later in the early 16th century, also the Caliph of all Muslims and remained so all the way to 1924), the society it gave birth to was a unique mixture, an amalgam one is tempted to say, of what are now considered to be the Orient and the Occident, isolated from each other irretrievably as it were.
The Ottomans were ferocious in their treatment of Constantinople and its population. However, everywhere from Mexico City to the Ayodhya Temple/Babri Mosque in India, conquerors either razed the temples of the previous civilisation to the ground and built their own place of worship upon the debris or converted the same building to be used as the religious abode of the conqueror. This is what Mehmed II the Conqueror did to Hagia Sophia, built in the 6th century and used as a cathedral. He turned it into a mosque without, however, destroying any of the artwork and belongings precious to Orthodox Christianity. He was for a synthesis of East and West, but of course under the iron fist of his own civilisation. The conquest of Constantinople was also a very violent affair, with incidents of mass killings, pillage and enslavement. But again what civilisation did not commit the same acts of what we now consider to be inhumanity? Al Quds/Jerusalem, that city considered sacred by all three monotheistic religions, was once almost bled to death by the conquering armies of Crusaders. And Haghia Sophia itself had earlier been transformed from an Orthodox basilica to a Roman Catholic cathedral under star of the same lineage of the Crusades.
Today the government of Erdoğan and the Council of State, by a strange twist of history that very typically Western (French) institution that was imported in the epoch of "Westernisation" of the Ottomans in the 19th century, together have turned Haghia Sophia into a mosque. But was it not a mosque already since the conquest and has it really been turned into a mosque? To answer these questions, we have to understand the second conquest of Istanbul.
The Dardanelles impassable?
Istanbul/Constantinople was lost to the Turks, at least temporarily, at the end of the Great War. Allied troops occupied the city unofficially on 13th November 1918 immediately after the signing of the armistice with the Ottoman state. Later on 16th March 1920 the British would re-occupy the city, this time officially, closing down the fragile Ottoman parliament and entrusting the administration of the country to the weakling called Sultan Vahideddin, who had been enthroned towards the end of the war, and a certain Damat Ferit Pasha ("damat" meaning "son-in-law" because he had married a lady of the Ottoman court), a lackey of British imperialism, as the Premier. In between, on 15th May 1919, the Greek army had landed in Izmir (Smyrna, today the third biggest city of the country, an important port city on the Aegean since the 19th century) at the behest of the British.
Even today the average Turk will make a big thing of the fact that the British and allied forces were repelled in the so-called Dardanelles campaign of 1915, during which the Allies tried to cross the Dardanelles Strait in order to reach Istanbul and gain control also of the Istanbul Strait (the Bosphorus) opening up to the Black Sea, (popularly summarised in the brief expression "Dardanelles impassable", so popular that it is commonplace even in football fans' jargon). However, as soon as the war was over the Dardanelles had been, figuratively speaking, crossed and both straits had come under British rule. The battle of Dardanelles was won, but the war for Istanbul and also Anatolia was lost. Even the rump state that was left behind after the Ottoman state parted with its Balkan possessions in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 and its entire possessions in Mesopotamia, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula during the Great War, now lost control of a good part of its territory to the occupying forces of imperialist countries (Britain, France, Italy) and of the British protegé that was the bourgeois kingdom of Greece of the time.
The Ottoman empire was moribund, but delivered most of its territory to imperialism and its allies willingly for the sultan and the camarilla around Damat Ferit were trying to save their own skin by surrendering to the British. Had the entire Turco-Muslim population of Anatolia not begun to organise in local associations and even to fight the occupation in the different regions through guerrilla warfare and had the remaining cadres of the previous bourgeois revolution of 1908 not organised and centralised these at times centrifugal local forces to establish a base for dual power in Ankara and built an army that could cope with the occupiers, Western Anatolia might very well have been Greek territory for the rest of the Twentieth Century. All of this was necessary, but not sufficient. It was the existence of Soviet Russia and its alliance with the new government of Ankara established in April 1920 that sealed the fate of Anatolia. Without generous Soviet aid and assistance and without the heroic policy of revolutionary defeatism on the part of the Greek Communist Party, a factor that was significantly influential in the decisive stages of the Greco-Turkish war, modern Turkey might not have survived. The same process through which the army of Mustafa Kemal (later to be named Atatürk) defeated the Greek army and established an independent Turkish state over almost the entire Anatolian plateau also brought revolutionary change from a multinational Islamic empire to a bourgeois republic. Istanbul was thus conquered by the Turks a second time, this time from British imperialism abetted by the Allies.
Without understanding the utter historic failure of the Ottoman Empire, once the standard-bearer of Islamic splendour in Europe, but a pariah in the "Concert of States" in the 19th and early 20th centuries, one can make no sense of the trajectory of 20th century Turkey. The Ottoman Empire had exhausted all its possibilities. The republic was born from the decaying empire. And it was the product of a revolutionary age that lasted for 15 years, marked by wars in between, and two distinct revolutions, that of 1908 and 1923. Those who nostalgically yearn for the empire today are simply ignoring the facts. Hence, the idiosyncratic secularism of the new republic is what explains the fact that Hagia Sophia, a mosque from 1453 on, had to be turned into a mosque once again in 2020.
It was in 1934 that the government of the young republic of Turkey, Atatürk at its head, signed a decree turning Hagia Sophia from a mosque into a museum. In the extremely divided ideological climate of today, when Islamists and Kemalists face each other almost on every societal and cultural issue, the Kemalists interpret this act as a move to strengthen the secular nature of the new state. There is no doubt an element of truth in this, since Mustafa Kemal was trying by all means to reduce the influence of Islam in society and polity. However, this effort to reduce the hold of Islam was not solely for purposes of strengthening secularism. It was very markedly an effort, at the same time, to remould Turkish society as a member of "contemporary civilisation", which for the Kemalists was imperialist European civilisation in its totality. In other words, the Kemalists were like European colonisers in Turkish skin, self-colonisers one might say. The transformation of the Hagia Sophia into a museum was also a move to make the "new Turkey" sympathetic to European or more generally Western audiences. This, coupled with Turkey's slavish submission to the US, NATO, and the EU in the period after World War II, did immense harm to the idea of the republic, gained it (and secularism) the enmity of entire swathes of the population, led to the resurgence of Islam in Turkish political life after the 1960s, and is the fundamental historical factor that has kept Erdoğan in power for close to two decades now, as we have explained at length in another article.[1]
Has Erdoğan totally abandoned the terrain of this idiosyncratic secularism? That may very well be the direction he is headed towards. But this is simply a tactical question in that strategic trajectory that he has set himself. This strategic goal is to make Turkey the hegemonic force in the Sunni İslamic world, to start with the Sunni Arab world of the MENA region, and become himself the leader (the rais) of this world. This is the policy of what many have called neo-Ottomanism and what we have called Rabiism in other articles. The culmination of this journey would certainly be the resuscitation of the Caliphate. That would be the seal put upon the recreation of Turkish hegemony over the Islamic world, but is only the supreme form of this hegemony among other possible forms.
Erdoğan may be headed in that direction, but he is very far away from the destination (and it is very doubtful whether he can ever reach that destination). And as long as he has not reached the last lap of this marathon-like race, he will not and indeed cannot abandon Turkey's closely knit web of ties to Western imperialism. If he can find a sponsor for this goal in the West (for instance Britain, which is now supporting his Rabiist politics in Syria and Libya, or the US, together with Israel, which looks benevolently to a Sunni sectarian policy as long as it fits its struggle against Iran), he will definitely not shy away from such an alliance. So every move that seems as if it were "finally" a break from the past is only another step towards his strategic goal but not a rupture. "Neo-Ottomanism" as a concept, therefore, is misleading. If he can reach his goal under the republican form that will not bother him in the least.
That is why the question of Hagia Sophia being turned into a mosque is itself doubtful. Nowhere has Erdoğan said that it has been "turned into a mosque". He has only said that the Hagia Sophia will serve Muslims for prayers, hastening to add that it will be open to Muslim and non-Muslim alike. The final setup is shrouded in well-studied mystery. To his devout Muslim audiences within and outside Turkey (remember he wishes to be rais, i.e. leader to all Muslims, at least the Sunni brand), he acts as if the Hagia Sophia were now a mosque. For the consumption of the Christian world, in which the imperialist forces play the major part, he adds "Muslim and non-Muslim alike". We will see how the content of this duplicitous move on the world and domestic chessboard will turn out in the near future. But for the moment the "mosque" is really no more than a mask.
The final conquest
Not in vain has there been so much suffering Istanbul
Wait for us
Wait for us with your grand and tranquil Süleymaniye
With you parks your bridges your towers your squares
Wait for our marches on your avenues with songs of victory
Wait so that the dynamite of history
Wait so that our fists
Bring down the reign of the brigands
Wait, Istanbul, for those days, wait
We deserve you.
Vedat Türkali
Only a month ago we published on this web site an article describing the insurrection of the working class, in Istanbul and the surrounding industrial towns on the 15th and 16th of June 1970 in the following manner:
"Exactly 50 years ago, Turkey was shaken by a workers' insurgency that still stands as the apogee of working class militancy in the country's history. The workers of Istanbul and the neighbouring cities of Gebze and Izmit occupied the streets and squares, filling the hearts of the bourgeois with fear, overrunning every barricade set up by the police and the army, forcibly wresting their fellow workers taken under custody from police precincts, chanting slogans on one of the main avenues of the city that has always been the pride of the wealthy so that, in the words of a worker in their ranks, "the rich shall see our power", and displaying their undeniable power by demonstrating in front of government buildings and local army headquarters. The image of civilians on top of tanks on the night of 15 July 2016 fighting the failed coup made a great impression on international audiences. And yet close to half a century before that the working class had done the same things on the streets of Istanbul! For two days the bourgeoisie and its hangers on shut themselves up in bunkers and Istanbul was conquered by those that made it live through their labour."
"Istanbul was conquered". This what we said. Yet little did we know at that time that in a month's time we would be face to face with a situation where, on the basis of the historical conquest of Istanbul, relying on the legal provisions of the Sultanate, the Council of State would annul the decree passed by the government in 1934 and make it legally binding on the current president to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
The 1970 events of June were the first time the working class of Turkey rose onto the stage of history as an independent agency. Since then there have been ups and downs in the class struggle in Turkey and, of course also very importantly, in the world surrounding the country. The military coup of 1980 was a full-scale assault on the power that the working class had acquired in the two-decade ascendancy of class struggle from 1960 to 1980. It was, stripped of all ideological ornaments, an answer to the 15th and 16th June events.
The last relics of the junta gone in 1989, after an interlude of roughly a decade, the AKP rose to power. Since day one it has been waging an interminable attack on the rights and gains of the working class through privatisations, the flexibilisation of the labour market, the blatant primacy given to unions that side with the government politically, and, most importantly, the successive episodes of banning strikes. Yet more and more the working class seems ready to strike back, as was witnessed in the wildcat strike in the metal industry in 2015 and the mobilizations during the collective bargaining process of the metalworkers this past winter.
The spirit of 15th and 16th June will, there is no doubt on this, come back. Having conquered Istanbul for only two days 50 years ago, the workers will this time not stop until taking power. This will not be a conquest of one pre-capitalist empire by another. This will not be the struggle of one bourgeois nation against another. This will be the conquest of a class society from the usurpers of all socio-economic and political power in order to unite on an equal footing all nations in a federation of the world so as to see it wither away as also the social classes wither away and all other kinds of oppression are consciously fought against so that there will be no racial, ethnic, religious, gender domination and subordination left.
As one of the great Turkish communist novelists and scriptwriters of the 20th century, Vedat Türkali, says in a rare poem of his, Süleymaniye is what the working class deserves and the working class is what Süleymaniye deserves.
The Balkan revolution and the world revolution will bring countries together in their effort to educate the young generations of the working class not only in the domain of the fraternisation of nations and religions but also in the arts and music and literature. It is then that the grandsons and granddaughters of the workers of Turkey, Turkish and Kurdish, and of Greece, Rum and Yunan, will get together in Istanbul/Constantinople to enjoy the beauty of the Hagia Sophia, which is neither a cathedral nor a mosque but beauty incarnated.
After the final conquest, Hagia Sophia and Süleymaniye will extend arms to each other and summon the Aydohya Temple and the Babri Mosque to embrace in bliss forever.
[1]"Class, State and Religion in Turkey", in Neşecan Balkan, Erol Balkan and Ahmet Öncü, The Neoliberal Landscape and the Rise of Islamist Capital in Turkey, New York: Bergahn Books, 2017.


text:
Answering the tough questions
Carolina experts weigh in on thorny ethical questions raised during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Madeline Pace, The Well, Friday, September 25th, 2020
(Shutterstock image)
Who should receive respirators if there is a shortage? Should we save lives or the economy? Who should receive a newly developed vaccine first?
During a pandemic, ethical debates sparked by questions such as these often have life or death consequences. For answers, government agencies and hospitals turn to experts, including several at Carolina.
Jim Thomas, associate professor of epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, was a member of the team asked to develop ethical guidelines during an expected influenza outbreak in the early 2000s that never materialized. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, Thomas knew policymakers would be looking for help again. He quickly created a pandemic ethics dashboard of answers to difficult ethical questions, determined by academic or international consensus.
Since March, there has been an explosion in material related to pandemic ethics, says Douglas MacKay, associate professor of public policy and core faculty member in the UNC Center for Bioethics. MacKay and his colleagues at the Center curated a collection of academic publications and research on how to address moral questions during the pandemic over the summer.
Arlene Davis, associate professor of social medicine and co-chair of the UNC Hospital Ethics Committee, and committee vice chair Benny Joyner, associate professor of pediatric critical care medicine, have been asked to address several issues surrounding allocation of critical resources and are currently examining the ethical balance of allowing visitors for critically ill patients with protecting everyone else in the hospital from COVID-19 exposure. They both cite the pandemic as presenting ethical challenges they never expected to face, even as committee members.
Through the use of the pandemic ethics dashboard, academic consensus and empathetic reasoning, these Carolina experts are helping solve the ethical quandaries caused by the pandemic. As members of the UNC Hospital Ethics Committee, Davis and Joyner regularly guide hospital staff, patients and families through difficult ethical decisions, and Davis teaches on ethics in the UNC Center for Bioethics and the department of social medicine. MacKay researches priority-setting in health care through the UNC Center for Bioethics, and Thomas researches the ethical practice of public health in pandemics through the department of epidemiology. The Well asked them for answers to six difficult questions.
1. Does it infringe on civil liberties for the government to mandate mask wearing or social distancing?
Despite the vocal protests of anti-maskers who claim that being forced to wear a mask to buy groceries infringes on their rights, MacKay said he believes the government and private businesses requiring masks or social distancing is ethically sound.
"In a pandemic, the ordinary individual actions that pose no risk to anybody else suddenly are a risk to others' lives," said MacKay. "In a pandemic, I believe it's justifiable for governments to begin to restrict people's activity."
The COVID-19 pandemic has been repeatedly cited as "extraordinary times," and that characterization is what supports the controversial, yet logical requirement of wearing a face covering in public. Although MacKay does describe face covering requirements as encroaching on personal freedom, he points out that facial coverings cause no harm to the wearer, but the public could face serious harm if people don't wear masks.
"The justification for the mask mandate is that, yes, it's a way of infringing people's liberty," said MacKay. "But it not only ensures you aren't hurting anybody else; it doesn't harm you either."
2. How should hospitals allocate scarce resources?
According to Thomas' pandemic ethics dashboard, the guiding principle of resource allocation is "just distribution." For any patients suffering from COVID-19 and complications from other diseases and conditions, the patients' family and doctor should consider terminating treatment so that other patients can have access to scarce resources. But policymakers should ensure that any criteria for allocating resources does not discriminate against individuals based on gender, race, religion, political affiliation, nationality, or social or economic status.
When considering how treatments, personal protective equipment or a future vaccine are distributed, the preservation of the health care system and frontline workers should be prioritized, Thomas said. This will prevent a shortage of caregivers as the pandemic spreads and the need for health care workers increases.
And when and if there is a resource shortage, such as limited ventilators, health systems should document and publicize that limitation so potential patients can make an informed decision before beginning treatment.
3. Should families be allowed to visit sick loved ones in the hospital during the pandemic?
Davis and Joyner say one of the most difficult decisions the UNC Hospital Ethics Committee makes during this pandemic is whether a patient's family should be allowed to visit. When helping families make difficult choices on behalf of their loved ones, the committee has met with them over the phone, Zoom or Skype, which Davis says often lacks the usual empathy of a human conversation and opportunity to read reactions to what they're telling the family.
Arlene Davis
"We've been considering what it really means to limit visitors, because visits from family members under normal circumstances are helpful for making tough decisions and supporting the patients," said Davis.
Joyner, the chief of pediatric critical care medicine, says limiting visitors is especially difficult for pediatric patients.
"Having an 8-year-old in the hospital is scary, but it's even scarier for both the patient and parent if visits are limited or not allowed at all," said Joyner.
Benny Joyner
Still, Davis and Joyner are finding the balance between keeping their patients safe from COVID-19 exposure, while also recognizing the importance of maintaining the patients' mental health, which sometimes means allowing a socially distanced visit from a family member because communication with family members is often vital for decision-making with the health care team.
4. Do health care workers have an obligation to care for COVID-19 patients?
All doctors and nurses take an oath to always preserve life, but Thomas believes there are competing risks during a pandemic.
"Each health care worker needs to weigh all the obligations that they have, both personally and to the field they work in," said Thomas. "People who have been trained to serve society as health care workers have an obligation to show up when they are needed, but if they have small children, sick parents or an ill spouse, their priorities may lie there."
Essentially, health care workers have an obligation to care for COVID-19 patients, he said, but not if they have a greater responsibility to preserve the life of their loved ones. Many frontline health care workers have quarantined from their families to avoid infecting them, and some nurses are purposefully traveling to COVID-19 hotspots to supplement hospital staff.
Thomas also emphasizes that employers are responsible for any risk they ask their employees to take in the normal function of their jobs.
"Employers have an obligation to minimize any risk to health care workers and to compensate them for any increased risk, whether that be more insurance benefits in case they become ill or hazard pay," says Thomas.
5. Should researchers conduct human challenge trials of a COVID-19 vaccine?
According to the World Health Organization, a human challenge trial is, "a trial in which participants are intentionally challenged (whether or not they have been vaccinated) with an infectious disease organism." In the context of COVID-19, participants would receive the trial vaccine and then be purposefully exposed to COVID-19. The risk is greater in challenge trials because the exposure is purposeful, and there is no proven treatment for COVID-19 if the vaccine failed.
"The researchers would provide care to people who are members of these studies, but there's just the risk that someone could, in the context of these studies, get very sick or possibly pass away," said MacKay. "So, as we get closer to developing a vaccine, we have to decide if we would allow our fellow community members to take that great risk for society."
The organizers behind the "1 Day Sooner" movement are not only willing to take the risk but are actively campaigning to participate in a COVID-19 human challenge trial. Mostly comprised of young, healthy volunteers who believe they would recover from COVID-19 if they became ill during a trial, they believe if human challenge trials help develop a vaccine even one day sooner, it's worth the risk.
Thomas says that as of now, human challenge trials are so controversial that no consensus exists in the medical and ethical community on their use in developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
6. When a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, who should be vaccinated first?
"We need to ensure that health care workers are vaccinated first so we have a group of people who can administer the vaccine to everyone else," said Thomas. "Then we need to vaccinate our vulnerable populations who are at a higher risk of serious complications, and then our essential workers because we're putting them in harm's way."
To Thomas' point, the World Health Organization also recommends that health care workers receive any future vaccine first to ensure that there is a population that is immune and can safely vaccinate the rest of their community. This also ensures that hospitals, doctors' offices and care facilities continue to function through the pandemic and that there is not a shortage of health care workers to care for those who contract COVID-19 as it spreads.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Kimages
Kpedia
Pipsqueaks facts for kids
Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Pipsqueaks
pre-school puppet show
Ian Munro
Emma De Vries
Adam Kronenberg
Dash Kruck
Jay Collie
Original language(s)
Beyond Screen Productions
576i (SDTV)
30 October 2013 (2013-10-30) – 22 April 2020 (2020-04-22)
Pipsqueaks is an Australian pre-school puppet series airing on Seven's digital channel 7TWO. Directed by Ian Munro, it premiered on 30 October 2013.
Sassy - Emma De Vries
Squidge - Adam Kronenberg
Peppy - Dash Kruck
Poppy - Anna Straker
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Pipsqueaks Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
This page was last modified on 23 September 2022, at 19:37. Suggest an edit.
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i always used to skate under the shelter now there is no where else sheltered we can skate.
To make the story short, they dislike skateboarders in SCAPE because we are a nuisance to them for creating noise, vandalism and etc.
They prefer earning the money from the youths.-" Will be leased to youth entrepreneurs at $14 to $15 per sqft."
So whats the point building a place for the YOUTH which in the 1st place it's meant for the so called "YOUNG entrepreneurs"?
"ABOUT *SCAPE. *SCAPE Co. Ltd is a non-profit organization with its mission and vision rooted in support of youth, talent and leadership development."
No wonder no one visits the place. Not enough free activities and they taking away places we want and need like this sheltered skate space. Thank you Singapore!!
we need to do something on our own as a community .. not to rely on this dogs ..
Though I've never skated at scape before i think it was a good place for kids to skate and hangout under the shelter.I miss the old skatepark where scape is now but we skateboarders will adopt to any situation and we all know that street skating is still the way to go.minus the harassment from police,security guards and kaypo public.
more retail space is the last thing scape needs.
how about more programs that support youth and sports.
in fact the outdoor playspace was initially just meant for basketball courts..
that space under the shelter is the ONLY place can skate during raining.
scape is a joke! it's not meant to be a mall! we dont need more shops..
stand up and fight! petition against this please!
lets skate and destroy government property!!!
Freak this man ! It's an awesome spot and you have to take it away from us SCAPE ! you dont know how is it like for skateboarders like us to have a place taken from us !
It's my freaking Skatespot !
The kickers , box , the stairs , rail are all perfect ! why do you have to take it away from us.
If you close down the space for us to skate at scape, where are we suppose to skate? Somerset skatepark?
i agree -i skate at scape instead of somerset park cause its much safer as the ground is smoother. i can also get a drink from cheers and go to the skate shop or have a meal at mcD.
its good we have two spots- somerset and scape. and there were always different crowds at each spot. im sad to see when it rains both spots will be unskatable and i will have to stay at home.
i dont know why . but i kinda skate better at scape as it has alot of space and its flooring is also beast . i used to skate at the shelter when it rains . cause there's no place tht we can skate like tht . and truthfully , i hate the securities there . they have this att of hating skateboarders . come on ! skateboarding is a sport ! take it like soccer , or any of the olympic games ! singapore is getting more and more ridiculouis !


During the Governor's State of the State Address last week, I didn't hear a plan on how we can create an economy that works for all of us; what I heard was a doom and gloom story of failure and struggle.
I see a different Vermont: one with many strengths and opportunities with communities working to make our state a better place to thrive. Instead of his focus on failure, let's focus on what's working and how we can make progress and move forward. This spirit of progress is a core Vermont value.
The Governor says we need a marketing program to recruit families to move to Vermont. I say there's no better marketing plan than helping working families thrive. People are attracted to success. Making paid family leave part of every job and gradually raising the minimum wage will improves the lives of Vermont's working families and puts more money back into our local economy. Vermont is held in high regard for our quality of life, our environment, food and culture. Slick marketing plans don't attract workers; good wages and benefits, strong schools, and affordable housing does.
When the Governor looks to override local school board budgets by mandating certain staff levels, I say that imposing the biggest lay off in recent state history isn't the answer. We need to focus on what's best for our kids and provide the resources our schools need to meet today's challenges. When the Governor cites statistics and teacher/student rations, I see the adults our kids depend on for support and success. Let's let our local communities balance their school staffing levels with the budgetary challenges all communities face.
When the Governor says we can't raise taxes while saying we are going to invest in programs, I say we can't put them on the credit card and pass the cost off to future generations. We can't kick the can down the road. We will find the solution that is right for Vermont and continue working toward making the Vermont dream accessible for all.


The Live Positive Blog is dedicated to individuals reaching their maximized selves through positive means.
What was the happiest moment of your life? What were the feelings associated with that snapshot of life? I bet it was incredibly gleeful, and the you were left with truly unforgettable memories.
Imagine what it would be like to find that level of fulfillment in your daily life.
What would it take to personify that moment? What would you wear? How would you carry yourself? What kind of lifestyle would you enjoy? Who would you interact with? What kind of relationships would you cultivate?
The answer to these provocative question needs to be explicitly understood to provide a framework to the methodology of becoming the captivating individual that you could become. Reverse-engineering the end results allows for an individual to expedite the process of transformation, and the stories from the Live Positive blog is a facile way to encapsulate the positive traits you can find within yourself. Through our multitudinous platforms, you will carve your personal path to become the positive individual you were meant to be.
Become the riveting individual you were meant to be and conquer your wildest aspirations!


Debi Derryberry joins Butch Hartman and Jace Diehl in the Speech Bubble to talk about being Jimmy Neutron, how to break into the animation industry, and more! Listen to the end to hear about how Debi once rode a killer whale in a movie… Gotta blast! Listen to it here!
Debi will be at the Wondercon VO Panel on Friday 3/29/19 at 3:30pm in Anaheim! Click here for more information about attending. Debi will also be a featured guest for the weekend at The Great Philadelphia Comic Con April 12-14! Click here for more information about attending. See you there!
Here's one a few #GREAT surprises 2019 brought so far this year….. Listen for Debi as Helpy in Tigtone!: Debi on the cover of Toluca Lake Magazine: #Season4 give you more….


July 2007 - This quarter we asked respondents how often they received feedback on their performance and whether that feedback could be characterised as constructive.
Our research shows a clear correlation between feedback and happiness at work with those who receive regular feedback claiming higher levels of satisfaction. The exception is the small number who say they receive feedback on a fortnightly basis. This may, of course, be a reflection of an employer's attempt to manage underperformance.
So, regular and constructive and balanced feedback has a clear influence on levels of happiness at work. What is interesting however is that the happiness of half of those who believe their feedback to be critical and unbalanced is unaffected.


Today, Nike has presented the home kit for one of the brand's big Italian clubs: AS Roma. Right here you can get a closer look at the stunning new home shirt that represents the unbreakable bond between AS Roma, the city of Rome and the club's fans all over the world.
With two rounds to go of the 2017/18 Serie A season, AS Roma looks towards securing a Champions League spot after facing defeats by Juventus and Napoli in the fight for the Scudetto. Today, Nike has presented the AS Roma Home Shirt 2018/19 to be debuted this weekend, when Giallorossi host Juventus.
Like usual, the AS Roma Home Shirt 2018/19 is predominantly red, but this year the colour is a tad darker compared to the shade of red used last season. A 'Roma-yellow' collar and Swoosh round off the look in addition to a subtle, but gorgeous armour-like graphic print - like the ones worn by soldiers in ancient Rome - on the front and back of the kit. These links on the Giallorossi shirt represent the unbreakable bond between AS Roma, the city and the club's fans all over the world.
Based on the latest version of the Nike Vapor template, the shirt features the famous zig-zag design on the sleeves. 'Roma Siamo Noi' (We Are Rome) pride graphic adorns the inside neck, while the brand new sponsor Qatar Airways' logo will appear on the center front of the Il Giallorossi kit.
Order your AS Roma Home Shirt 2018/19 right here from Thursday 17th of May.


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Go Iowa City
EASTERN IOWA
Iowa City's an overnight town for RAGBRAI riders, here's how to open your home
Riders have until July 1 to make a housing request, and Iowa City residents and families can sign up to be a host home on July 27.
Iowa City's an overnight town for RAGBRAI riders, here's how to open your home Riders have until July 1 to make a housing request, and Iowa City residents and families can sign up to be a host home on July 27. Check out this story on press-citizen.com: https://icp-c.com/2rsp86g
Andy Davis, aldavis@press-citizen.com Published 1:42 p.m. CT May 8, 2018
See which overnight towns are on the route for RAGBRAI 2018.
Iowa City's theme for the RAGBRAI overnight stop is "Book it to Iowa City," a nod to the city's designation as a UNESCO City of Literature. The logo depicts Herky the Hawkeye riding a bike in front of the Old Capitol.(Photo: Special to the Press-Citizen)
Iowa City residents and families can open their homes to RAGBRAI riders as they stay overnight on July 27.
A news release from Iowa City said riders have until July 1 to request private housing through the iowacityragbrai.com website.
The release also said the Iowa City RAGBRAI committee is seeking host homes offering accommodations like a yard for camping or indoor sleeping space. Families and residents looking to volunteer their homes should fill out a Host a Rider form, available on the site, before July 1, the release said.
MORE: RAGBRAI riders will 'Book it to Iowa City' this summer
A donation of $3 per riding group is requested, the release said, "to defray costs."
At the "Book it to Iowa City" theme unveiling event last month, Iowa City Manager Geoff Fruin said the main campsite for riders is still to be determined, but the city expects some campers to stay at City Park.
The city's release said while there will be "plenty of camping space in the main campgrounds," private housing is an additional option. The release notes, though, that RVs will not be accommodated at host homes for safety reasons, and the private homes are meant to accommodate groups of 15 or fewer people.
MORE: Iowa City's ped mall will be under construction as RAGBRAI rolls through town
"Host housing will be most needed in areas of relative proximity to the downtown district, where the main entertainment will take place," the release said.
RAGBRAI is expected to attract some 12,000 riders from around the world. As they stop in Iowa City for the first time in over 40 years, they will be treated to everything Hawkeye and a block party-style celebration.
17 aerial photos: RAGBRAI cyclists arrive in Johnson County
RAGBRAI cyclists make their way to Mount Vernon on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
RAGBRAI cyclists cross the Coralville Dam on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
The Iowa River Landing awaits RAGBRAI cyclists on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
RAGBRAI cyclists cross the Cedar River in Sutliff on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
RAGBRAI cyclists ride through Solon on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
RAGBRAI cyclists ride towards Mount Vernon from Hiawatha on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
RAGBRAI cyclists ride through Mount Vernon on Friday, July 24, 2015. David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
Reach Andy Davis at 319-887-5404 or at aldavis@press-citizen.com, and follow him on Twitter as @BylineAndyDavis.
Read or Share this story: https://icp-c.com/2rsp86g
New turf installed at Kinnick to address drainage issues
Money launderer who targeted UI sentenced
The day her mother died, she transferred $650K into her own account, police say
Privatization raises archaeologists' eyebrows
Drinking wine under the Tuscan Moon
Police continue burglary investigation


text:
Tommaso Colombaretti (born 26 June 1980) is an Italian football defender who currently plays for Fano.

In 2009, he was signed by Lanciano.

References

External links

1980 births
Living people
Sportspeople from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino
Italian footballers
A.S.D. Martina Calcio 1947 players
Calcio Foggia 1920 players
S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 players
Association football defenders
Footballers from Marche
People from Fano

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Prof.Dr.Hasan Özen graduated from Hacettepe University Medical School in 1982.
He completed his pediatric residency at Hacettepe University Hospital and served as chief resident for one year at the same hospital.
After becoming a pediatrician he specialized in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition, 1991-94, at Hacettepe University Hospital-Ankara. During this period, he studied one year in New York. He has been working at Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Ankara, since 1991. Dr.Hasan Özen is professor of pediatrics since 2003.
He has served as the president of Turkish Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (TURKSPGHAN) from 2006 to 2010, and, on behalf of TURKSPGHAN, organized 43rd ESPGHAN Annual Meeting in Istanbul. He is currently the vice president of TURKSPHAN. He organized many educational meetings for residents, pediatricians and pediatric gastroenterologists.
He is author/co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. His main interest is clinical nutrition.


text:
Gullane No. 1
Golf has been played over the links at Gullane for more than 350 years. Today, Gullane Golf Club is one of Scotland's most prestigious member clubs, mixing the finest tradition with some of the most admired natural links land in the world.
Gullane is blessed with superb turf and a climate that allows all year round golf. Visitors are welcome to play our championship courses which offer dramatic coastal views and a golfing challenge to savour.
Laid out over prime seaside land, the three golf courses are simply known by number reflecting their age. We have 4 flyovers available to view. Click here to view a flyover of all the courses. More information on this can be found in the Courses section of the site.
Gullane offers a unique range of golfing experiences for members and visitors alike, combining a major role in the history of golf in Scotland, great golfing conditions, and a truly spectacular environment.
We look forward to welcoming you to Gullane.
Gullane Golf Club,
6 W Links Rd,
Gullane
EH31 2BB
E: secretary@gullanegolfclub.com
PLAYING AT GULLANE NO. 1
Visiting parties are advised to book in advance.
BOOK TEE TIME
Gullane No. 1 (1884) has a long history of hosting national and international championship golf events. The Club was delighted to host the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and Ladies Scottish Open, having previously played host to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in 2015 as well as Local Final Qualifying for the Open Championship at neighbouring Muirfield. The last time this was held was in 2013.
Gents par 71, 6583 yards, SSS 73
Ladies par 74, 5903 yards, SSS 75
Pro Shop & Tuition Available
Club, trolley and buggy hire
Caddies available book in advance
Changing/shower facilities
Use of Members Clubhouse
NEARBY ACCOMMODATION
Duck's Inn
Garleton Lodge
The Lodge at Craigielaw
Previous PostKilspindie Golf Club


SimpsonizeMe is a promotional site presented in conjunction with Fox and Burger King. With a week left until the release of the Simpsons' latest movie, the site is designed to do three things; provide you with mindless photo fun, offer a segue into the virtual Springfield, and make you really hungry.
Ever feel like turning yourself into an animated, yellow picture of perfection? Now you can, with Simsonize tool. Upload an image of yourself, and it will be modified to look like an animated character from the long-running television show. As with services like Gizmoz, you'll have to be very particular about the image you upload, as this tool won't work with images that have backgrounds, bad lighting, or don't show your face in the correct position. If that's taking too long for you to figure out, head on over to the virtual Springfield, a separate site where you can create an avatar, play games, download content, access the MySpace profile for the Simpsons movie, and more. Your avatars can be saved, emailed to friends, or downloaded for use on your instant messenger clients.
There's no lack of Simpsons' content between these two sites, between the store, avatar creation, game play and movie trailers. You could find yourself wasting an obscene amount of time here, which is precisely the point.


Some things are impressive due to their sheer size. Think of the Atlantis hotel on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, blue whales or Peter Crouch. But bigger doesn't always mean better. In fact cosy restaurants and bars often have a better atmosphere, especially if there aren't a lot of people inside.
BU! is one place that certainly takes you aback with the amount of space it has, but more often than not it's a struggle to fill it.
There are three distinct areas here: a dining room, a bar and an outdoor terrace. The food coming out of the kitchen is always superb, so we often wonder why the restaurant section of this venue is quiet. The inside bar area, except for on ladies' night, is another spot that could do with more people. In the winter months, however, there's one place we'd always make a bee-line to – the brilliant terrace.
Like the indoor space, the alfresco section of BU! is brilliantly decked out. The attention to detail when it comes to the Latin touches and general décor must be applauded. But, wow, it's vast.
While it sits in the middle of a Downtown area, the views are still impressive. Granted, they're not of the Corniche or the Grand Canal, but we can still appreciate a city skyline when we see one. Service is also good, with the well-turned out staff knowing their way around the menu and being able to come up with a mean mixed drink. The tunes are also to our liking, with DJs providing some South American, and more general, funky beats.
Prices aren't the keenest around, but we're talking about a prime piece of real estate here. However, we can't help but feel Back Yard Bistro, over the way on the same level of The Hub, is perhaps nabbing some of the custom with its rock-bottom prices and more casual feel.
We can see the appeal of both, but for a more classy evening, or a date night, we think BU! wins. Sitting on the terrace in this weather, with the music playing in the background and one of the superb concoctions in our hands, there are few places in the city we'd rather be. We just wish more people would join us. Maybe it's time to overlook the big space and get cosy with your friends.


Store your chipotle chili powder in an airtight jar out of direct sunlight and use within 3 months before making a fresh amount.
Toasting Note: Whilst the dry toasting step is not absolutely necessary to get a fab tasting blend, I do highly recommend it!
Salt Note: I recommend using a quality rock/sea/kosher salt but you could use regular table salt if that's all you have available.
Ingredient Note: I recommend using whole spices where you can when making your blends. If you don't have them all available, swap with pre-ground powders but halve the amount you use. So instead of 1 tablespoon of whole cumin seeds you would use ½ a tablespoon of pre-ground cumin etc. Reduce the peppercorns likewise if you only have ground pepper and stir in with any other powders when making.


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Search in Beast: The Primordial only Advanced Search
Chronicles of Darkness
Beast: The Primordial
Beasts vs. Princesses - game balance question
Morbleiz10
So I'm gearing up to run a Princess: The Hopeful fansplat campaign featuring three antagonist factions.
Two factions have Beasts among their ranks, along with Darkspawn (low-end supernaturals rom the fansplat).
One faction is led by an Anakim Tyrant, with an Anakim Ravager, a Namtaru Predator, and two Mnemosyne (from the fansplat) as his lieutenants.
A second faction is led by a powerful Mnemosyne with an Anakim Collector, an Anakim Predator, and a Namtaru Nemesis among his lieutenants.
There is also a fourth faction of Beasts that the PCS can potentially ally with against the other three factions and the campaign's Bigger Bad.
The idea is to force the PCs into a moral quandary. They can work with the other faction of Beasts, who are unabashedly predatory (4 Predators, a Ravager, and a Nemesis) but have some semblance of morality when picking their prey....
...or they can go it alone against two groups of heavily armed mortals led by supernaturals.
However, I'm trying to figure out if I created a balanced set of opponents for the PCs, should they choose not to ally with the third faction.
Is a group of 4-5 Princesses with Inner Light 2-3 going to get TPK'd by 2-3 melee-oriented Lair 3 Beasts? Especially since those Beasts have mortal and low-end supernatural backup? Or are the Beasts going to get curb-stomped?
Heavy Arms
OK, I don't know Princess really well, so I'm not sure how any of my read-only impressions and memory is going to be as accurate as possible, but I know Beast really well.
And.. maybe? I would say, on average, the Beasts have the advantage in a straight up fight. Beasts, unlike Princesses, aren't easy to categorize just on Lair, because Atavisms (their more combat oriented powers) aren't capped by Lair, Lair just makes them better and better. When a Beast drops to Low Satiety, their Atavisms get even better, and there's no obvious powering up like a Princess transforming.
As well, you're giving the Beasts back up, which is always a tough thing to throw into the mix for the other side. Beasts don't really have to worry about holding back to avoid hitting their allies for the vast majority of their powers, and doing stuff in front of mortals isn't penalized for them in any fashion (at least not that's going to come up with them as NPC antagonists, and I doubt you want Heroes storming the scene).
But they're NPCs... so you can tailor their stats however you want. You don't have to combo Looming Presence, Limb from Limb, Lightning Strike, Unbreakable, and the Advanced Killer Instinct Merit at 3 (this is a TPK machine of a Beast at Lair 3) just because that's what a Beast after maximum close-combat power is going to want to get ASAP.
I'm not sure how much this is helping. It's just hard to be specific because there's no simple guide to what a Beast might have up their sleeves based on Family/Hunger/Lair rating.
This actually is helping. It's cementing my resolve that the PCs really need to ally with SOMEBODY to deal with the two evil factions.
I tried not to make the enemy NPC Beasts ridiculously combat-optimized - the guy with the nastiest combo of Atavisms only has Str 2 or 3 and 2 dots in Brawl. (Said combo: Unbreakable, Looming Presence, Crushing Coils, and Ravenous Maw)
However, you're definitely making me think that I should test the waters with a couple of Horrorspawn first, or throw the PCs at some Darkspawn to gain experience before they go up against the major bad guys.
I'm also thinking that the PCs should definitely work on their diplomacy skills. Allying with a Hero is an option if I use one of the less reprehensible ones. Jones the ex-Navy SEAL from the corebook springs to mind, especially given that his followers are veterans who wouldn't much like either of the two evil factions.
Of course, then they might lose the option to ally with the more moral faction of Beasts...
Alternatively, Task Force Valkryie or VASCU could come sniffing around. The Union or Network Zero could also be options.
One of the things I'm trying to do in this campaign is keep things complex. The PCs are in an interconnected world, after all.
So the first thing to remember is that, statistically, at least one of those Beasts can single-handedly TPK anyone who makes the mistake of fighting them where they want to be fought. Lair Traits just do that.
Any more than that I'm going to need to see some Callings and Courts. 4-5 Troubadours of Clubs are going to be a red mist before they can even warm their vocal chords. 4-5 Champions of Storms is what the Dark Mother has nightmares about.
Which version of P:TH may or may not prove particularly relevant but it can't hurt to say.
Deinos
Its gonna be *rare* that a full brood of beasts can't obliterate a parking lot full of enemies, likely without even a roll. The fact that beasts can turn up anywhere they want makes them exceptionally hard to deal with.
I like the nice touch of some of the beasts having darkspawn, beasts and their creations really do resemble various permutations of darkness dudes. I can imagine them getting along well in some cases.
Penguinbowler
This is probably the one complaint about beast i have that can never really be changed. There is a massive power gap between beast and most other splats, and if it was classic i wouldn't really have an issue with it. But Chronicles has for the most part been trying to keep the gap between them as small as possible, as in it's a design goal stated by the developers. Liars not really having a cost to use (Dim the lights and watch the chaos all for the low low cost of... does it have a satiety cost?), combined with having no easily exploitable weaknesses like Fire or Iron makes dealing with a beast a hassle. Anathema being a hero exclusive ability is also kinda weird, most other splats have the debuffs occur do to their own actions, such as getting to strong or overusing their powers, beast need to have it applied while in combat by a very weak enemy. Kinda why i like Incarnates more as antagonist, they have a very real weakness in their myth, that if you break will leave them helpless.
Originally posted by Penguinbowler View Post
But Chronicles has for the most part been trying to keep the gap between them as small as possible, as in it's a design goal stated by the developers.
This is the exact opposite of the case, they've been saying for fourteen years that intersplat balance is not a thing.
Tessie
Originally posted by Sith_Happens View Post
This. That the "weaker" splats have had upgrades (especially vampires) has created a somewhat more even curve, but the changes have been for those individual gamelines and not because they strived towards more balance between splats.
Bloodline: The Stygians
Ordo Dracul Mysteries: Mystery of Smoke, Revised Mystery of Živa
Mage The Awakening: Spell Quick Reference (single page and landscape for computer screens)
We also have two very rough categories of splats. Some splats are very "innate" focused where you can make some significant assumptions as they get more powerful. There's things most Elder vampires are going to have at their disposal because they're available and useful to any vampire so even if they didn't start with it, they picked it up over time, or it's a thing that naturally gets more powerful (ex: physical intensity). Other splats are very "concept" focused where it's really hard to generalize about them. "This changeling is powerful enough to be the Monarch of their Court," tells you so little about what sort of powers they'd have at their disposal. You really need to know what a Lost's concept is to have any idea what tools they're going to bring to the table when things get serious.
Beasts are in the second category. They have no innate weakness in combat... but they have no innate advantages either. Even something like Lair Traits have to be relevant... a lot of them could be meaningless when fighting a member of a different splat. They can't throw down vitae to boost their attacks (and they don't keep getting a bigger pool of blood as they age), or have the innate ability to take on a form that regenerates all bashing and lethal damage every turn, etc.
Combat heavy Beasts come from combat heavy concepts that Beast allows you to make, not just by playing a Beast.
Liars not really having a cost to use (Dim the lights and watch the chaos all for the low low cost of... does it have a satiety cost?)
"Watch the chaos" of… usually two to three other stage hazards at most, and the more dangerous ones inevitably lock you out from invoking them freely in any circumstance but dimming the lights. If you want to draw down the Lair, say, outside during the day, you're spending Satiety and Willpower and rolling at a substantial penalty unless you've been hunting in the area and it's the same type of location as one of your Chambers.
Beasts are built around home field advantages. The cost is that they have to be at home to take advantage of them.
Resident Lore-Hound
Currently Consuming: Hunter: the Vigil 1e
Originally posted by Satchel View Post
Thanks, still dislike anathma being hero exclusive (mostly because heroes tend to be a lot weaker) but knowing the actual cost is great (I checked the lair section of the corebook and couldn't find it
As for them not caring for multisplat balance, that's new to me, guess the circles i was in were wrong as they said it was a goal (Maybe it was the fact compared to the Classic world of darkness counterparts everything is a lot weaker) but eh, authorial design choices change over time.
Keep in mind that while inflicting an Anathema is a Hero exclusive power, a Beast is stuck with it until they can resolve the Condition. Other creatures might not know what it is, but during that period anyone that happens bring it to bare will cause the appropriate effects on the Beast.
It was never balance as much as making the different splats sharing the same world and game systems make more sense. While this certainly lead to some increase in balance in general (knives aren't randomly more deadly in the rules for some splats than others) and in more specific cases (Clash of Wills and Supernatural Tolerance being standard for everyone and powers that can affect anything never targeting a trait that doesn't exist/have a counterpart for everything), it was never stated as a goal in the 15 years of the game lines to balance them against each other.
I'll also challenge anyone that thinks CofD PCs are "weaker" compared to the WoD, but that's getting off the rails of this thread.
Last edited by Heavy Arms; 05-28-2019, 04:40 AM.
HelmsDerp
Or the Beast has the Death of Light Atavism, in which case they can do it at will with no expenditure and no roll in all circumstances except supernatural light. There are a looooot of ways to combo Atavisms and Lair traits. Siren's Treacherous Song for Thunderous. Vengeful Earth for Earthquake. Dragonfire can create Infernos. Storm Lashed for... a bunch of possible traits. This is not an exhaustive list.
Not every Beast is going to have that kind of synergy, sure, but it's not a difficult thing for them to achieve.
Having an area resonant with your Lair because through whatever means makes it easier to impose Lair Traits, but it still isn't free. You're still also capped by your Lair rating on how many you can impose in a scene, and you still have to find ones that are relevant. That can be hard since imposed Lair Traits are 'natural.' Blanketing an area in darkness doesn't stop flashlights or supernatural light powers from making things visible.
Konradleijon
Interesting I wonder what the Fluff for their Interaction..


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Responsible Data Use Playbook for Digital Contact Tracing from BrightHive
Posted by Amanda Taylor on September 4, 2020 at 11:02am
COVID-19 is an unprecedented public health crisis. As the disease continues to spread through communities across the U.S. and abroad, information about the illness continues to evolve. To slow the spread, public health officials are turning to contact tracing as a means to track cases, identify sources of transmission, and inform people who may have been exposed to take precautions that can prevent further transmission.
Manual contact tracing is a scientifically established method that can help understand the spread of communicable diseases. For contact tracing to be most effective, people must share sensitive personal information regarding their whereabouts and the people with whom they have been in close proximity. This information allows contact tracing professionals to trace or map their locations and connect with those with whom they have been in close contact. One unique feature of the COVID-19 era is the way digital technology is facilitating these processes.
Digital contact tracing technology (DCTT) has the potential to significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19 and assist with reopening efforts. Technologies such as smartphones, mobile device applications (apps), and the network of data transfer protocols (e.g., APIs) have been pulled together to produce digital contact tracing technologies. Contact tracing apps track an individual's exposure to COVID-19 and notify the individual if they encounter another app user who has tested positive for the virus, or who has self-reported as positive. These apps typically track users through either geolocation data or Bluetooth proximity data, or both.
Apps relying on geolocation data use GPS, WiFi, or cell phone towers to track users' locations, while Bluetooth apps check for other nearby devices using the app and exchange a unique, often rotating, token with the other device.1 The app later searches a database of tokens registered to users who have self-reported testing positive for COVID-19 to determine if the user was exposed to the virus.
Apps using geolocation data are considered more privacy invasive because they rely on tracking the user's location to determine proximity to other users. Bluetooth proximity apps only collect proximity data but rely on constant broadcast from a Bluetooth device, and may be less accurate than apps relying on location data.3 This is a particular problem for centralized Bluetooth-based apps, which are not able to make use of the Google-Apple Exposure Notification API for decentralized exposure notification apps.
The design and use of these apps create privacy risks and raise ethical questions. MIT Technology Review assessed apps developed by 25 countries, while the Internet Digital Accountability Council reviewed 108 apps across 41 countries. Many of these apps failed to minimize their collection efforts and did not provide guarantees for destroying the data after a set period. Some countries' apps also failed to place limits on the use of collected data and many of the apps reviewed did not provide transparency around their policies or design.4 By taking these concerns into account, organizations that develop or use contact tracing apps can protect both health and privacy, and increase trust in contact tracing apps and other digital tools.
While health behavior changes at the population level, such as social distancing, hand washing, and wearing face coverings, are the current best approach to containing the spread of COVID-19, both analog and digital contact tracing are important elements of a comprehensive approach to containing the spread of this viral disease. Nevertheless, DCTT raises significant ethical and privacy concerns that should be addressed through design and policy.
Public health authorities, application developers, and users of DCTT need better information on how to best preserve privacy and ensure ethical use of contact tracing data, so they can better scale contact tracing initiatives and reduce the spread of COVID-19.
BrightHive and the Future of Privacy Forum teamed up to kick off this privacy playbook to assist the coalitions of professionals invested in development and deployment of trusted DCTT. The playbook provides a series of actionable steps that purposefully address the privacy concerns of DCTT and support the development of ethical and responsible digital contact tracing protocols.
In particular, this playbook has been developed with the following types of scenarios, or use cases, in mind: 1) easing tension between application providers, public health officials, and government authorities; 2) supporting "opt-in" models for individuals to share health and location data; 3) supporting employers that are turning to internal contact tracing when their workplaces reopen.
This playbook is organized into two categories: Foundational and organizational plays, and technical and operational plays. Foundational and organizational plays create a strong, diverse coalition with a unified goal and set of values, aid in the administration of DCTT initiatives, and ensure that the coalition adheres to its shared values and gains the public's trust. These plays are geared toward leadership, policy, and partnership roles in an initiative.
The technical and operational plays support implementing the DCTT initiative in a way that is consistent with other plays, the coalition's values, and users' privacy rights. These plays are geared toward technical, project management, and day-to-day operational roles in the initiative.
While plays are geared toward different roles, BrightHive and FPF advise collaborating across team and function through the lifecycle of the DCTT initiative.
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Ghana - USAID and Partners Improve Access to Community Health Services in Volta Region
On December 18, 2017, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and Korea International Development Agency (KOICA) commissioned four Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds in the Volta Region. Chiefs, assembly members and community members joined USAID/Ghana Mission Director Sharon L. Cromer; USAID/Ghana Health Office Director AkuaKwateng-Addo; Ketu South Municipal District Chief Executive, the Honorable Edem Elliot Agbenorwu; Ghana Health ServiceDirector of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division Dr. Koku Awoonor-Williams; Volta RegionalHealth Directorate Deputy Director, Administration Mr. Edward Kaba; KOICA Deputy Country Director Mr. Seungmin Oh; and USAID Systems for Health Chief of Party Marni Laverentz at the event.
The Government of Ghana's Community-based Health Planning and Services policy improves access to primary health care services at the community level to promote universal health coverage. USAID works with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to improve accessibility, quality and use of health services, with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition services.
USAID/Ghana Mission Director Sharon L. Cromer commended the community members for their contributions in making the CHPS compound a success.
"Your community collaboration and investment is exemplary and clearly demonstrates the premium you place on your own health and wellbeing," said Cromer. She thanked the community health officers for their relentless work in serving their communities. Finally, she encouraged community members to participate actively in the upkeep and maintenance of these compounds, noting it "will help ensure that all systems and equipment continue to work, so that everyone in your community can enjoy a good and healthy life."
The ceremony was held at the CHPS compound in Lotakor. The CHPS compounds were constructed in line with the standard guidelines set forth by the Ministry of Health and include a clinical unit, a residential unit with two separate one-bedroom apartments, an elevated water tank, a septic tank, placenta pit, incinerator, borehole and solar panels. The process of CHPS compound construction involves elaborate stakeholder consultations and reflects gender-sensitive and environmental guidelines.
The CHPS compounds were constructed as part of the USAID-supported Systems for Health project, in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service. KOICA provided financial support for the construction of the Lotakor CHPS compound. Additional CHPS compounds are under construction in Northern and Volta regions, with expected completion in 2018-2019.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the United States - Accra - Ghana.


Team NC jumped on Team SC with three straight pins to open tonight's All Star match in North Myrtle Beach, and never looked back, cruising to a 62-9 victory over the SC All-Stars.
Caleb Queen from SW Guildford set the tone with an opening match pin over Zack Jurey of Summerville HS, and Will Edmiston of Lake Norman ended the night with an impressive fall over Jordie White of Eastside HS.
Overall, Team NC won 12 of the 14 bouts contested. CLICK HERE to view a facebook live replay of the video provided by the Kirl Report and Coach Todd Odum.


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Photoville 2013 is a 74,000 sq. ft. photography-focused pop up village in Brooklyn, New York that fills more than 45 shipping containers repurposed into photo & multi-media galleries. Photoville features over 40 exhibitions from great names such as Ann Curry of NBC, Tyler Hicks of the New York Times, Carolyn Cole from LA Times, Donald Weber and the late Chris Hondros. There are lectures, hands-on workshops, night-time screenings, a camera-flower installation by Brazilian artist André Feliciano—all free and wrapping around a summer beer-garden complete with food trucks. This second annual edition of the festival is substantially bigger than the inaugural Photoville, which was presented last summer and drew over 40,000 visitors to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Here's a sneak peek of images from this year's exhibitions and scenes from the 2012 Photoville.


text:
Q: Unexpected behavior from ternary operator When I run this code:
#include <iostream>
#include <map>

using namespace std;

void f1() {
    map<int, int> m;
    m[5] = m.find(5) == m.end() ? 1 : 2;
    cout << m[5] << endl;
}
void f2() {
    map<int, int> m;
    if (m.find(5) == m.end())
        m[5] = 1;
    else
        m[5] = 2;
    cout << m[5] << endl;
}
int main() {
    f1();
    f2();
    return 0;
}

I get the following output:
2
1

Why am I getting wrong output when I am using ternary operator?

A: The order of function calls is indeterminate and affecting your results.  Consider:
void f1()
{
    map<int, int> m;
    int& result = m[5]; // creates m[5]
    auto it = m.find(5); // finds the empty m[5] created above
    int value = (it == m.end())? 1: 2;
    result = value;
    std::cout << m[5] << std::endl;
}

This is a perfectly legal implementation of the code you wrote.
There's nothing wrong with the ternary operator.  This would work just fine:
bool notfound = (m.find(5) == m.end());
m[5] = notfound? 1: 2;

The important thing is whether m[5] could possibly be evaluated before m.find(5).

A: In this statement
m[5] = m.find(5) == m.end() ? 1 : 2;

you created object m[5] by placing it in the left side of the assignment. So m.find(5) != m.end() because m[5] already exists.
In fact there is the undefined behaviour because the order of evaluation of the left and the right operands of the assignment is not specified.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


COMOS – Making data work. The pharmaceutical industry and other strictly controlled industries such as food are facing tremendous challenges. In the pharmaceutical industry in particular, a product's time to market must be extremely short and product quality must be impeccable. Moreover, national and international guidelines formulate concrete specifications for the production and testing procedures. Each individual batch has to be properly documented. A software solution like COMOS provides integrated compliance management.
The pharmaceutical industry, as well as other industries such as food and beverage, are subject to strict national and international guidelines. They must comply with the stipulations of regulatory authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Companies in the pharmaceutical industry have an obligation to produce supporting documents for all their production processes and sequences. Moreover, they must guarantee compliance with high safety standards at all times. Gaps in the documentation of a production process can result in a loss of license. In some cases, this can mean that decades of research work are completely undone. In the worst case, a company's very existence can be threatened. Time to market is another significant challenge: Research companies in the pharmaceutical industry must launch their products as quickly as possible because once their patents expire, they're in competition with generics manufacturers.
When designing a plant, compliance with the stipulations of national and international regulatory authorities e.g. FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) etc. is essential. A plant's qualification and the validation of product quality must already be integrated in plant engineering, as well as in its later operation. When all parties involved have access to all the relevant information, compliance with all stipulations can be ensured – resulting in a short time to market and optimized patent protection terms.
With COMOS, Siemens delivers a comprehensive software solution that can be globally implemented and that optimally integrates engineering and operation. The COMOS PQM (Project Quality Management) software solution was even expanded to meet the special demands of the pharmaceutic industry. With COMOS, you use a uniform database as a source of information during all phases of your plant's lifecycle. The solution permits efficient data and document management – consistent, paperless, and mobile.
Safety and compliance workflows, approval processes, and data mapping are always in compliance thanks to integrated electronic data and document management. This means that they also comply with the standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: They meet the FDA's "21 CFR-Part 11" requirements (eSign, password). Production and testing procedures for ensuring optimal product quality – including ERES and audit trail regulations – can also be complied with thanks to integrated GMP/GAMP-5 (Good Manufacturing Practice/Good Automated Manufacturing Practice) standards.
COMOS supplies up-to-date information from a single source for plant data and plant documentation. Both process speed and plant safety can be significantly improved with COMOS.
COMOS provides integrated compliance management across all phases of engineering and operation and ensures that your plant operates in compliance with regulations at all times. As early as the design and engineering phase, the software generates the necessary document structure based on standardized templates. The uniform database and rigorous object orientation ensure high data quality and consistency, which in turn significantly simplifies compliance management.
The consistency of blueprint and plant as well as material and supplier specifications can all easily be checked with COMOS. The test results of the operational qualification can be simply documented, archived, and retrieved. All processes are optimally mapped, and the seamless documentation guarantees a minimal error rate. Automatically generated maintenance schedules also permit efficient plant supervision.
Internal studies show that we have achieved engineering savings of up to 12% by using COMOS software.
With COMOS, your pharmaceutical plants are ready for the future today – and securely on the path to Industry 4.0.
Using mobile technologies in the pharmaceutical industry and in the food and beverage industry.
Keeping an eye on the future: The integrated software solution offers high data security, makes workflows more efficient, and thus ensures higher productivity and quality. The latest electronic certifications are always available, meaning that the software will absolutely guarantee up-to-date certification in the future. Naturally, mobile technologies – an essential element for digitalized companies – can also be used.
Solutions for creating data value are already being successfully implemented in the pharmaceutical industry. Discover sample applications that demonstrate how COMOS helps to increase the value of your data in actual practice.


text:
Molecular Aging
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Aging
FoxO4-DRI Senolytic Peptide
The Peter de Keizer lab at Erasmus University Rotterdam has unveiled a D-retro-inverso (DRI) peptide mimetic of the p53-FoxO4 interface that selectively kills senescent cells (TASC, targeted ablation of senescent cells, "senolytic").
This strategy rejuvenated aging hallmarks in naturally aged and accelerated aging (DNA damage mutant) mice. In addition, the peptide cleared senescent cells resulting from chemotherapy treatment. The Judith Campisi lab at the Buck Institute, where senior author Peter de Keizer was a postdoc, has long studied the role of senescence in the tragic accelerated aging post-chemotherapy. Many chemo drugs are DNA-damage inducing agents, or are otherwise cytotoxic, and result in accumulated senescent cells that secrete the pro-aging, pro-inflammatory Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP, see this Annual Reviews article). De Keizer worked on the FoxO4 peptide in the Campisi lab, but it did not work properly. Later, the D-retro inverso modification was found to be critical for molecular stability and efficacy.
Last year, Unity Biotechnology raised a $116M series B financing to pursue senolytics for osteoarthritis and other age-related conditions. Spun out of the Buck Institute and Mayo Clinic, their focus has been on small molecules developed by Abbot/AbbVie, such as ABT-263, a selective inhibitor of BCL-2 family proteins (primarily BCL-xL and BCL-2). This drug has undergone clinical trials in oncology, but dose-limiting thrombocytopenia occurred (thrombocytes are highly dependent upon BCL-xL for survival). This year it became clear that Unity will repurpose ABT-263 or its analogs for local administration into the intra-articular space of the joints afflicted by arthritis, thereby avoiding off-target effects.
Rumor has it that the FoxO4-DRI peptide will be translated into a biotech development effort in the near future. This company is unlikely to pursue osteoarthritis as an indication. Pending further confirmation, as long as the FoxO4-DRI peptide lacks the side effects of ABT-263, it could be much more promising than Unity's lead candidate. The possibility of systemic administration opens the door to cardiovascular and oncology indications in particular, where senescence and the SASP have been shown to play a critical role in pathogenesis.
de Keizer et al. Targeted Apoptosis of Senescent Cells Restores Tissue Homeostasis in Response to Chemotoxicity and Aging. Cell 2017.
Elisseeff, Campisi, Unity, et al. Local clearance of senescent cells attenuates the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis and creates a pro-regenerative environment. Nature Medicine 2017.
Cell Permeable Nanobodies for Intracellular Antigens
Monoclonal antibodies work well for extracellular or cell surface-bound target antigens. Inside the membrane, though, small molecules with favorable pharmacological properties (e.g., Lipinski's Rule of 5) are preferred.
That paradigm could change thanks to smaller antibodies ("nanobodies") conjugated to cell penetrating peptides, as shown by Herce et al. (2017) in "Cell-permeable nanobodies for targeted immunolabelling and antigen manipulation in living cells."
Coupled with new, well-named methods like AdPROM (Affinity-directed Protein Missiles) that mediate the "orderly" proteasomal degradation of targets, we may be opening a new chapter in pharmacology.
Also see: Phys.com, "Researchers report on cell-permeable nanobodies" 2017.
Surgical Sutures Releasing Tissue Repair Factors
Some tissues heal better than others after surgery. Connective tissue like tendons and ligaments don't heal well, but they are injured quite frequently.
Cytokines and growth factors like PDGF, VEGF, TGF-beta, and bFGF are able to improve healing outcomes. The problem is releasing them close to the site of injury and over a long period of time. You don't want them in circulation because they might cause cancer.
Coating surgical sutures is an obvious solution. However, the surface area is limited (you can't actually load many molecules onto them), the molecules rub off during implantation, and the growth factors are released quickly after use (e.g., 100 hours). A group at Georgia Tech led by Younan Xia and first author Jianhua Li developed medical sutures that are porous. This paper was published in 2016, so I am looking forward to results in vivo.
Li, J. et al. (2016) Surgical Sutures with Porous Sheaths for the Sustained Release of Growth Factors. Advanced Materials.
Nature Outlook: Regenerative Medicine – Timeline of RegenMed
Fascinating and concise.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v540/n7632_supp/full/540S50a.html
The Renaissance of Rejuvenation Biotechnology
This article lists recent entrants into the anti-aging biotechnology sector (including Google and J. Craig Venter); the SENS Research Foundation framework for combating aging as described by Aubrey de Grey, PhD; and recent advances in molecular biology aimed at attenuating the underlying molecular mechanisms of aging.
[I wrote this article for the Longevity Reporter, where you can read it in full.]
Global Overpopulation Won't Happen Anytime Soon [Data]
According to UN data, global population growth peaked in the 1970's at 2.1%. As the poor lift themselves out of poverty, they have fewer children (quality over quantity). Today, the global population growth rate is about 1%, which is less than the required 2.1% replacement rate to keep a steady state. Eventually, the global population will peak at 11 billion around 2100 and then level off.
h/t Avi Roy and the OurWorldInData.org team at Oxford.
Read more here: OurWorldInData.org/world-population-growth/
But let me ask you aspiring Malthusians out there this:
Even if population were not declining, would it be morally right to abstain from developing more effective medicine (and thereby prolonging average lifespan — healthy or not)?
Obviously we must do everything in our power to improve quality of life (and as a side-effect, length) for those who are already alive.
The only limiting resource is energy (fossil fuels). We have plenty of space, arable land, and Nutella to satisfy everyone's needs. We just need to stop believing the lies spewing forth from the global energy cartel about how fossil fuels are "here to stay."
From my original post "Malthus Revisited: Statists Seeding Fear Again" at C4SS.
Caption: Some fearmongering from the 1970's Club of Rome which first promulgated the overpopulation myth.
Are you concerned about overpopulation? If you live in a city, or Asia, it is easy to feel justified. But strictly speaking, the Earth has plenty of land, air, food and water for billions more. The limit is energy and the true crisis is poverty.
Read more below.
Continue reading "Global Overpopulation Won't Happen Anytime Soon [Data]"
Brace Yourselves… The Senile Tsunami is Coming
Global demographic aging is no joke. The world is rapidly getting old and sick as we have fewer children and the elderly live longer (but not better or with more vitality).
This crisis is also known as the Silver Tsunami, and the most economically, socially, and emotionally catastrophic component of this trend is what I call the "Senile Tsunami" — the rising tide of neurodegenerative disease, particularly Alzheimer's dementia.
Source: Alzheimer's Disease International, World Alzheimer Report 2010, accessed on July 11, 2012.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people suffering with dementia will triple by 2050. We have 35 million afflicted today and it will reach 115 million only three decades from now. That number ties Mexico as the 10th largest country in the world. And each one of those patients will require an additional caregiver to look after them. This is an enormous economic shock to an already troubled global workforce.
The Senile Tsunami is a bigger problem than global climate change, which has politicians and the public running around hysterically. Indeed, it is a problem — especially for agriculture and rainfall patterns. But at least we have a clear roadmap to solving the problem: dramatically cut greenhouse gas emission, plant trees and grow algae to sequester CO2, and transition rapidly to a fossil-fuel free global economy.
Of course the fossil fuel ("energy") industry is one of the largest and most powerful lobby groups in the world, so there has been considerable resistance to pursuing this plan. Alas, we have a critical path and it is technologically feasible today with renewable energy, carbon capping regulations, and sequestration.
And even if we don't act, climate change will be a major economic disruption (lost beachfront property, destruction of property by natural disasters, lost revenue from agriculture, etc.) but we can adapt.
We cannot adapt to our mortality and increasing decrepitude, nor that we have more people extracting money from the public purse for increasingly expensive medical care and fewer working-age people paying into the system ("dependency ratio").
Dealing with the demographic crisis is not so clear
One option, like the Japanese do, is voluntary suicide by the elderly (to reduce the financial burden on their family should they become ill). This is related to hospice and assisted suicide. That's not a great option, but often the best option an individual has. But it's not likely to work for the entire population.
Plus, I want to live a long life and you probably do too. You may think that in 50 or 60 years you'll be ready to go. But I bet if I asked you, as an 80 year old in decent health: are you ready to die tomorrow? You would respond with a resolute "No." You still have family, friends, and goals. So longevity itself is desirable (even if a Black Hole instantly wiping out humanity in an could be a desirable utilitarian outcome if you ask Schopenhauer).
The other option is to extend healthy lifespan, and even rejuvenate the aged.
This has been demonstrated in animals many times already. Caloric restriction, geroprotective nutraceuticals, gene editing, and more recently the ablation of senescent (damaged, old) cells can rejuvenate aged mice by 27%.
We are pursuing the elixir of life, the goal of Gilgamesh, the Philosopher's Stone, and all the rest. I don't believe biological immortality is achievable — but the goal of all medicine has been to prolong healthy life. So let's get serious about it and stop consigning the elderly to 20 years of chronic degenerative disease at the end of life. This is a form of torture, and it's avoidable today.
Let's get serious about aging. We need a Manhattan Project for aging — a coordinated effort with clear milestones motivated by an understanding that this global biological force is a greater threat than any foreign enemy. We need an engineering approach, and a lot more funding. The rate of progress is not intrinsic to the arrow of time — it's directly proportional to societal investment and the talent of those working on the problem.
"It seems reasonable to suppose that the discovery of a technique that can, in a laboratory animal, diminish to near zero the incidence of neoplasia, cardiovascular illnesses, and diabetic changes would prompt a substantial public commitment to working out the mechanism of the intervention and developing analogues that work well in humans.
Reasonable but wrong: such an intervention has been clearly established for decades, and yet its investigation receives such a small proportion of governmental research funding that it cannot be seen in a pie chart." – Richard Miller, PhD, geroscientist
–Extending Life: Scientific Prospects and Political Obstacles by Richard Miller (2002).


text:
What! No Surcharge On The Surcharge?
TheGouging
BCFerriesVille
Remember when Keith Baldrey went all a-googly after BC Ferries Chairman David Hahn wrapped the cord around him, yanked it hard, and started him spinning like a top the very night that the Queen of the North sank?
"Early last Wednesday morning - just after 2 a.m. - my home phone rang. That's usually a reason for concern - the first thing that springs to mind is a family emergency somewhere. But this call was about another kind of emergency.
"Keith, it's Dave Hahn. Sorry about the early call, but I thought you should know. One of our vessels has just gone down north of Vancouver Island. I'm trying to get an update on the passengers. I'll keep you informed, but I thought you might want to get going on this."
It was a startling phone call, to say the least. Startling because the ferry had only sunk about an hour before, startling because of the potential magnitude of the ferry disaster, and startling because of the forthrightness of the man who runs BC Ferries.
Mr. Hahn and I talked several more times in the early hours of that morning. He would phone with updates - the most important of which was about the state of the passengers - and try to provide as much information as possible.
As the morning went on, he started appearing seemingly everywhere - one minute on CKNW, the next moment on CBC Radio, the next on Global TV. BC Ferries had hastily chartered a plane to fly Mr. Hahn and Premier Gordon Campbell to Prince Rupert to meet the Queen of the North's passengers. He invited me and a Global cameraman to accompany them......
It's a refreshing approach from the head of a large company, and one that I suspect resonates well with the general public."
Well, I wonder if Mr. Hahn arranged for a plane to fly Mr. Baldrey up to his summer place so they can spend the weekend discussing this:
September 21, 2006 - 5:14 am
By: Amy Ryan
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - You may be enjoying the lower pump prices when you go to fill up your car, but don't expect BC Ferries to drop its fuel surcharge.
Despite reporting a surplus earlier this month, the corporation says it is carrying a fuel deficit. CEO and president David Hahn says the it is because the company initially waited too long to apply for relief from the BC Ferry Commission. He told a small audience at the corporation's annual general meeting that in hindsight the company should have applied for surcharges as early as late 2004, but banked on rising fuel costs dropping back to historic levels.
Now BC Ferries is facing a $21 million deficit fuel account, which Hahn said must be paid down before surcharges can be reduced. Earlier this month the company released its fiscal report that showed overall profits are up to nearly $15 million while fewer people are taking the ferries
Do we have a surplus or a deficit at BC Ferries, or what?
Because, so far the biggest ballyhoo, especially from the spun media in this province, has been on the surplus side.
And just how is BC Ferries making more money when fewer people are taking the Ferries in the apparent absence of significant rate increases?
Could it have something to do with those egregious 'reservation' fees of $35 a trip on the major routes that are not considered to be part of the 'fare'?
Posted by RossK at Friday, September 22, 2006
Doris Does Denial
Real Reporting In The Rockies
Surprise, Surprise!
Sammy Maudlin Goes To Europe
Which Would Sammy Choose.....
Root Causes In Their Esteemable Estimates
He Even Kinda Looks Like Steve Martin...
Ya, But Can He Play Tony Danza?
StratCo(u)n Keeps Pushing?
There Are Things We Know.....
Fight The Anschluss
When News Is Suppressed....
No News Is......
Obfuscation For Both Nations
Wither Smithers?
Stop The Anschluss!
Weirder Than Iranian Badge Zombies
Nailing The Coffin Shut....
The Snakes Of Wrath
Anschluss In The Rockies?
Shrub's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Progs Are, Indeed, Rockin'
Another Prog Rockin'?
Who Am I, Anyway?
Conflation Nation.....
The L Girl's Story
The Central Dupes
Who Loves Ya' Canada?
Questionable Period
Working For The Clampdown
Dismantling The Catapault
Catapaulting The Kids
Where Has All The Summer Gone?
Gangster Tag
Where Will All That Slush Go?