The Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Finance, Mona Quartey, has argued that more than transparency is required to ensure good governance of the extractive industries in the country. Speaking at a workshop for the Ghanaian branch of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Minister Quartey said that it was also crucial for the Parliament to pass legislation to assist the monitoring of mining revenue. For more analysis of the EITI, read this Shaping Sustainable Markets article.
The majority partner in the South African Government, the African National Congress, has argued that greater transparency is required in tendering for major projects, particularly in the extractives sector. It said that South Africa should sign up to the EITI and the Kimberly Process certification which ensures that diamonds are not from conflict zones.
Americans buying jewellery will now have the opportunity to purchase ethically-sourced items from artisanal and small scale miners in developing countries. Reflective Images Jewellery has worked with Fairtrade International to bring Fairtrade Gold to the country.
Labelling and certification schemes exist for ecological and fair trade products, but it seems that there is no such scheme that specifically seeks to protect biological and cultural diversity. That is why IIED, the University of Leeds and Asociacion ANDES (Peru) are developing a new labelling or biocultural heritage (BCH) indication scheme for biocultural, heritage-based products. They are consulting on the design of the scheme, and seeking feedback from indigenous organisations NGOs, practitioners, researchers, governments and United Nations agencies. Your feedback will be used to develop a proposal for a biocultural heritage indications scheme. Please respond by 30 December 2015. For more info see here. Also see this IIED paper for more of an analysis of biocultural heritage.
The US Government has downgraded Thailand on their 'trafficking in persons' watchlist, with potential ramifications for the fisheries industry in the country. Thai fisheries has come under scrutiny in recent times for accused practices of 'seafood slavery'. In responding, the Thai Tuna Industry Association pointed to collaboration with the ILO, and a number of certification processes such as the Marine Stewardship Council. For an IIED analysis of the challenges of implementing standards like MSC in developing countries like Thailand, see here.
The future of Indonesia's branch of the UN REDD+ deforestation programme is in doubt. The national agency responsible for REDD+ administration in Indonesia has been abolished by new President Widodo. Its functions have been subsumed into another government department. The dismissed head of the agency, Heru Prasetyo, said that "REDD+ now has a bleak future as a brand here in Indonesia." However it may be too soon to judge, with another observer saying that the new government's plans for REDD+ were in a period of transition. Keep tuned to SSM news for more updates.
The future of climate finance in the Paris climate negotiations, including the Green Climate Fund, has been much debated. Amal-Lee Amin from the Inter-American Development Bank has argued for clarity on how $100bn/year by 2020 will be achieved, and what rules will evaluate the process. Meanwhile there is conjecture on how much private finance will make up of the GCF. Paul Simpson from Carbon Disclosure Project argues for a 50/50 public/private split. Alix Mazounie from Climate Action Network- France says that the negotiations should commit to strong public finance targets.


We celebrated Halloween in Glen Oaks with Andrea and her friends. We dressed up in a Harry Potter theme and went trick or treating after the Glen Oaks parade.
We went apple picking at Barton Orchards with our friends. (Unfortunately Eason had to stay home to do homework.) We listened to love music, picked apples, and solved their corn maze riddle.


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29 July 2019 at 2:46am
Duke of Rothesay to visit UK mainland's northern-most distillery
Prince Charles is known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland Photo: Chris Jackson/PA
The Duke of Rothesay is to visit the UK mainland's most northerly distillery as part of a visit to the Highlands.
Prince Charles will be taken on a tour of The Wolfburn Distillery near Thurso, Caithness, on Monday.
He will meet with the master distiller and other members of staff.
Wolfburn was first established in 1821, but ceased operating at around 1870.
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Plans were unveiled to resurrect the old distillery in 2011 and in January 2013 the new site started production, becoming the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland.
Charles's visit will follow a trip to the offices of Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm Limited and SSE Renewables in Wick, to mark the official opening of the project.
Situated eight miles (13km) off the coast of Caithness, its 84 turbines will generate enough energy to power 450,000 homes and will be Scotland's largest wind farm.
Last updated Mon 29 Jul 2019
PM to raise US driving concerns at summit after Harry Dunn death

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Taking full advantage of sweeping views of Puget Sound, the main home is sited on a small plateau high on top of a steeply-sloping hillside. The view opportunity on one side and the road on the other suggested a stone plinth and stone wall to form the base and rear of the house. A pair of thick stone walls with fireplaces rising together within the home's interior enhance the concept, separating the main level into public and private realms and flanking a central stone staircase.
A light-filled wood structure perches atop the low stone base, creating a nuanced sense of enclosure. A simple shed roof covering the pavilion tips low in front to protect from the southern summer sun while offering prime real estate to a photovoltaic array above. Winter light in turn penetrates deep into the main living spaces through a wall of glass running continuously across the building's south elevation.
Behind the wood pavilion and within the stone wall at the rear of the building are more utilitarian spaces. Protected by a smaller shed roof pitched in the opposite direction, the relative height difference between the wood pavilion and these secondary program elements allows consistent north light to flood into the primary living spaces via a series of clerestory windows, which also allow the release of warm air high on the leeward side of the structure.
The site for the guest house, while beautiful, came with significant challenges. The concept for the guest house begins with a stone tower set near the center of the small circular parcel. Rising high above steeply-sloping grade, it acts as a three-dimensional datum. Feature program elements puncture each of the tower's walls to unique effect. The stair, comprised of a concrete base below large casement windows, emerges from the stone. It incorporates a wood screen around its perimeter to balance natural light with privacy. The main entry occurs at the high side of the property. It offers ease of access to the project's public spaces through a simple, full-height opening cut into the stone volume's north elevation. A steel canopy gives it distinction, extending from interior to exterior. Once inside the view deck opposite the entry provides a very different experience. Extending the great room while cantilevering far above grade, it affords a view of Puget Sound that is as thrilling as it is beautiful.
The dining room, another element extending from the stone tower, was conceived as a three-sided glass object floating in a forest of trees. It presented multiple technical challenges. Two steel beams carry its entire weight and extend deep into the interior floor system to allow the room to cantilever. Floor-to-ceiling glass wraps the exterior with minimal interruption. Perhaps most challenging of all, though, was the need to preserve nearby trees. Without the trees the room's purpose would be defeated. With that in mind the design team developed custom retaining walls capable of avoiding critical root zones, preserving trees located a few feet from the dining room envelope.
The lower level of the home plays host to its more private spaces. Two small bedrooms, a single shared bath, and modest utility spaces are all contained within the perimeter of the stone datum. At the exterior a concrete patio offers protected outdoor space below the dining room floating above. It provides a secondary entry as well as its own distinct view experience.
Taken together the buildings of this personal retreat provide two related but distinct ways of appreciating the beauty of this site.


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Home » Ghana Web » Fri 11th Jun, 2021 » African regions must work together to make AfCFTA work - Cummings Jr
African regions must work together to make AfCFTA work - Cummings Jr
Fri 11th Jun, 2021 04:12
Countries must work together to "level up" their regions in order to make the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) a success, a former Chief Administrator at Coca Cola turned political leader has suggested.
Alexander B. Cummings Jr, currently the standard-bearer of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) in Liberia, said: "International structures must offer nations opportunities to complement and compete with each other and allow the private sector to operate with efficiency."
He was speaking during the 2021 Horasis Global Meeting, which was held virtually on Tuesday.
In its 15 years of existence, Portugal-based Horasis has been hosting high-level gatherings to offer solutions to global challenges.
Mr Cummings, who spent 20 years at Coca Cola, told the annual meeting of decision-makers from business, government and civil society: "Regional economic structures can boost competition with better regulations and anti-competitive rules.
"AfCFTA is a good example of this – if countries allow it to work.
"Its benefits will soon become evident."
He went on: "Poorer nations must operate on a level playing field with their stronger neighbours, as this rewards innovation and excellence.
"Wealthier countries investing in poorer neighbours pays off for all.
"This spurs economic activity back into the investor country, builds better bilateral and regional ties and builds security and stability.
"This increases equality and generates opportunity on an ever-increasing scale, with a disproportionate benefit to poorer nations," Mr Cummings added.
He was contributing to the discussion during the session on cooperating while developing national competitiveness, which noted that all nations pursued competitive traits despite differing in their ability to compete in the international arena.
At a later session on Africa as the world's engine of growth, Mr Cummings's call for regional cooperation was buttressed by Béata Habyarimana, Rwanda's Minister for Trade and Industry.
She said regional industries should be established in Africa for countries to take advantage of economies of scale that would be beneficial to the growth of AfCFTA, whose secretariat is based in Accra.
The meeting noted that with Africa having the world's youngest population, and would soon represent one-fifth of the global population, the continent "is poised to become the world's engine of growth".
Drawing on his 40 years of international business experience, Mr Cummings said: "International success starts at home.
"Nations must create the right environment for innovation to thrive and therefore build an internationally attractive offering.
"By improving and investing in the right areas at home – particularly in strengthening the rule of law and clamping down on corruption – countries can give themselves the best chance of making long-term, significant changes for future generations."
He emphasised that the rule of law was critical to building confidence and attracting foreign investment, while anti-corruption activities and security were equally crucial.
"Reforms must benefit all, not just urban centres, and education must be placed at the heart of long-term growth.
"Too many countries are being held back by poor leadership and a lack of vision," Mr Cummings added.
He called for more emphasis to be placed on private sector commercial experience that would be "vital to building long-term economic success".
He continued: "Nations must look to the private sector to understand competitive advantages and build mutually-beneficial international cooperation.
"Business must fly the flag and be the catalyst for growth."
Noting that the economic foundation of many countries in Africa was natural resources, Mr Cummings said: "The traditional sectors such as mining and agriculture must receive investment to improve efficiency and provide a base-level of income to fund further development and economic diversification.
"The real asset these countries have is their people and governments must work with the private sector to speed up knowledge transfer and fuel jobs growth."
He said this could be achieved through tax breaks and other incentives, adding: "Government has the chance to identify and lead on specific sectors."
Mr Cummings suggested that African governments should focus on working with multinationals on public-private partnership projects, particularly in infrastructure, which had long-term benefits by tackling vital power and communications connectivity problems "that hold poorer countries back from making major gains".
Mr Cummings said governments should help develop small businesses and support them.
Crucially, he said governments should back "national champions internationally while ensuring an oligarchy does not develop domestically".
He admitted that this was a "difficult balance to strike".
But by harmonising trade policies, goods and services, helped by technology, "countries, regions, and everyone" would benefit, Mr Cummings said. Read Full Story
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The file sharing website IsoHunt.com is shutting down. In a Stipulation and Proposed Judgment filed with a District Court in California it has agreed to halt all operations and to be permanently enjoined from further infringements. In addition, isoHunt and its founder Gary Fung have agreed to be jointly and severally liable for damages in the amount of US $110 million dollars.
This is a preview of isoHunt shut down . Read full post.
Was the $675,000 damage award against Joel Tenenbaum for file sharing excessive?
Was the statutory damages award of $675,000 against Joel Tenebaum for downloading and distributing 30 music files over peer-to-peer networks excessive? Did it violate US due process? According to a decision released by a U.S. District Court yesterday in the Sony BMG Music Entertainment v Tenebaum 2012 WL 3639053, (D.Mass., Aug. 23, 2012) case, the answer to both questions is no.
After a five-day jury trial, the jury found that Tenenbaum's infringement was willful as to each of the thirty sound recordings in issue, and returned a verdict within the US statutory range of $22,500 per infringement, for a total damages award of $675,000. After an appeal of the jury verdict, the Court was charged with the duty of determining whether the award was excessive under the common law remittitur doctrine and whether it violated due process.
This is a preview of Was the $675,000 damage award against Joel Tenenbaum for file sharing excessive? . Read full post.
Last week, Robert Levine, author of Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back, and Brett Danaher, the author of a study on the effect of France's HADOPI graduated response law, participated in several events in Toronto. This included talks by Robert Levine at the Economic Club, at Osoode Hall Law School, and at Canadian Music Week and by Brett Danaher at Osgoode Hall law School and Canadian Music Week. A summary of their talks at Osgoode Hall law School is available here. Their talks at CMW can be seen below.
This is a preview of Robert Levine and Brett Danaher at CMW . Read full post.
Several weeks ago TorrentFreak published its Top 25 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2009. In a blog commenting on the rankings, I pointed out that out of the top 25, 7 of them are located or have connections to Canada and that of the top 10, 4 are located or have connections to Canada. I also pointed out that this meant that Canada, alone, is home to more than 25% of the world's public English language unauthorized bitTorrent sites and 40% of the leading ones are in Canada.
This is a preview of Toying with funny math to downplay Canada's role as a piracy haven . Read full post.
Earlier this week, a US district court granted summary judgement to MPAA members holding that Gary Fung and four websites operated by him, including Isohunt one of Canada's largest bittorrent sites, contribute to massive worldwide copyright infringement.
Operators of bittorrent sites like isoHunt often claim they are nothing but content neutral search engines like Google. The Isohunt court disagreed holding, based on uncontested expert evidence, that approximately 95 percent of all files made accessible through Isohunt were infringing or highly likely to be infringing.
This is a preview of Fung and Isohunt found liable for inducing worldwide copyright infringement . Read full post.
This is a copy of my personal submission to the Canadian Government consultation on copyright reform.
These questions reveal fundamental insights about the objectives of copyright reform.
Reforming copyright law will stimulate investment in the creation and dissemination of movies, TV programs, books, music and software; help Canada to be a leader in the global digital market for cultural products; and enable Canadian actors, artists, performers, producers and publishers to be paid for their creative efforts and investments.
This is a preview of What Happens When Copyright Goes Digital . Read full post.
In what is being heralded as a victory for copyright holders, a Swedish district court has found four operators of the file-sharing service The Pirate Bay guilty of aiding and abetting copyright infringement, fined them US$3.6 million, and sentenced each to a year in prison.
The defendants were involved in the operation of The Pirate Bay, reportedly one of the world's largest bittorrent-tracking website. According to the court, users could upload and store torrent files on the Pirate Bay website as well as search the site's database for torrent files to download. The service also had a tracker function, which allowed users to contact each other to share the recording or work to which the torrent file referred.
The judge found that The Pirate Bay's server contained torrent files that related to copyright-protected works and that some of its site's users used The Pirate Bay's service to unlawfully share these materials. Therefore, the judge concluded that those users had breached the Swedish Copyright Act and were guilty of copyright infringement.
This is a preview of The Pirate Bay – Operators Fined for Aiding and Abetting Copyright Infringement . Read full post.
THE SAC PROPOSAL FOR THE MONETIZATION OF THE FILE SHARING OF MUSIC IN CANADA: DOES IT COMPLY WITH CANADA'S INTERNATIONAL TREATY OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO COPYRIGHT?


Notch signals inhibit the development of erythroid/megakaryocytic cells by suppressing GATA-1 activity through the induction of HES1 The effects of Notch signals on the erythroid/ imegakaryocytic differentiation of hematopoietic cells were examined. Activation of Notch signals by the intracellular Notch1 or an estradiol-inducible form of Notch1/ER suppressed the expression of the erythroid marker glycophorin A in an erythroid/megakaryocytic cell line K562. Although Mock- transfected K562 cells underwent megakaryocytic differentiation in response to '12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), estradiol-activated Notch1/ER induced apoptosis during TPA treatment in the transfectant, which was accompanied by the reduced expression of an antiapoptotic molecule Bcl-XL. Even when apoptosis was prevented by the overexpression of Bcl-XL, activated Notch signals still inhibited TPA-induced megakaryocytic differentiation. As for this mechanism, Notch1/recombination signal binding protein J-kappa-induced HES1 but not HES5 was found to inhibit the function of an erythroid/megakaryocytic lineage-specific transcription factor GATA-1. Although HES1 did not affect the DNA binding activity of GATA-1 in gel shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, it directly bound to GATA-1 and dissociated a critical transcriptional cofactor, p300, from GATA-1. Furthermore, overexpressed HES1 inhibited the development of erythroid and megakaryocytic cells in colony assays. Also, the Notch ligand Jagged1 expressed on NIH3T3 cells suppressed the development of erythroid and megakaryocytic cells from cocultured Lin(-)Sca- 1(+) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. These results suggest that Notch1 inhibits the development of erythroid/ megakaryocytic cells by suppressing GATA-1 activity through HES1.
Ishiko, E., Matsumura, I., Ezoe, S., Gale, K., Ishiko, J., Satoh, Y., Tanaka, H., Shibayama, H., Mizuki, M., Era, T., Enver, T., Kanakura, Y.


Thailand is one the most popular countries in Asia and is famous for its delightful culture, stunning sandy beaches, Thai culinary delicacies and some wonderful tourist attractions. Tourists can experience the euphoria of Thailand in Pattaya. Renowned as one of the world' s top beach destinations, Pattaya has been luring adventure-seekers for decades with an intoxicating mix of eateries and shops, luxury resorts, wild parties and high-octane water sports. Pattaya is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, just 150 kilometers from the capital ' Bangkok. The beach city draws in hordes of tourists and expats from all over the world. You can choose to get lost in the natural beauty or get taken over by the allure of the cabaret stage. This region is famous for its varied nightlife, which gave it the name ' the naughty sister of Bangkok.' However, now there are a lot more attractions and activities for everyone. There are botanical gardens, golf courses, water sports, and museums. Other places of interest include the Pattaya Floating Market, Nong Nooch Village, Sanctuary of Truth, Mini Siam, Underwater World Pattaya and more.
01 nights stay in Pattaya.
Bangkok city & temple tour.
1 Days ( Airport - Pattaya) Arrival at Bangkok airport. Meet & greet by our local representative at the airport. Pick-up from the airport and transfer to the resort. Check into the resort. Afternoon, you will visit the Coral Island. Explore colorful Coral reefs and beautiful underwater life. Enjoy various sea sports like scuba diving, banana boat rides, parasailing, sea walking etc. Overnight at Pattaya. 2 Days (Pattaya - Bangkok) After breakfast proceed to Bangkok. Check into the hotel. After that, you will visit the Temple Of The Golden Buddha (Wat Traimit). Overnight at Bangkok. 3 Days ( Bangkok) After breakfast, you will visit the Bangkok City. Explore the famous sites such as Lumpini Park, Grand Palace, Jim Thompson House and Wat Pho. Overnight at Bangkok. 4 Days ( Bangkok - Airport) Breakfast at Hotel. Departure transfer from hotel to the Bangkok Airport for your departure flight to home.