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John Lennon's killer is denied parole for the 6th time
By Laura Batchelor, CNN
Mark David Chapman is serving 20 years to life in prison for the December 8, 1980 murder of John Lennon.
NEW: Parole called "incompatible with the welfare of the community"
Mark David Chapman was interviewed by parole board members Tuesday
He has served 29 years in prison
New York (CNN) -- Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer, was denied parole for the sixth time Tuesday, according to the New York State Division of Parole.
A three-member panel of parole board commissioners conducted a video conference interview with Chapman from their offices in Rochester.
In their written comments, the commissioners told Chapman they had concerns "about the disregard you displayed for the norms of our society and the sanctity of human life." After considering the action he took in 1980, they concluded Chapman's "discretionary release remains inappropriate at this time and incompatible with the welfare of the community."
Chapman's latest request for freedom comes just months short of the 30th anniversary of the death of the former member of the Beatles.
The last time Chapman was up for parole, in 2008, the New York State Division of Parole issued a release saying his request was denied "due to concern for the public safety and welfare."
He also was denied parole in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006.
Chapman, 55, is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in prison for the shooting death of Lennon outside Lennon's New York City apartment on December 8, 1980.
He has served 29 years of his sentence at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility, where he is held in a building with other prisoners who are not considered to pose a threat to him, according to officials with the state Department of Correctional Services.
He has his own prison cell but spends most of his day outside the cell working on housekeeping and in the library, the officials said.
For the past 20 years he has been allowed conjugal visits with his wife, Gloria.
The visits are part of a state program called "family reunion" that allows inmates to spend up to 44 hours at a time with family members in a special setting. Inmates must meet certain criteria to receive the privilege.
Chapman has not had an infraction since 1994, said Erik Kriss, spokesman for the Department of Corrections said last month.
"He goes about his business, doing his prison job and without any fanfare," Kriss said.
Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, in previous years has submitted a letter requesting that parole be denied.
Chapman is next eligible for a parole interview in August 2012.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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OMB Controller: Even Short-Term Sequester Should Be Avoided
Jen DiMascio February 15, 2013
Government offices may remain open if government-wide budget cuts take effect on March 1, but if sequestration is allowed to take effect it will have serious economic consequences, the U.S. government controller told senators Feb. 14. "I do not think it's prudent at all to think that because the...
Russia Used Su-57s Over Ukraine, UK Ministry Of Defense Says
L3Harris To Buy Aerojet Rocketdyne For $4.7 Billion
U.S. Has Sent Threat-Emitters To Ukraine To Confuse Russian Aircraft
What's New on the B-21?
Selected U.S. Military Contracts For The Week Of Nov. 7 - 10, 2022


If you've been watching TV over the past week, odds are pretty good you've caught Guns N' Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine' in a new commercial spot, but it's entirely possibly you may not have immediately recognized it. That's because a cover version of the song, softened considerably with a mesmerizing children's choir, has soundtracked the new Johnson & Johnson spot.
The clip, seen below, puts the spotlight on families -- mothers and fathers with infant children, grandparents with their grandchildren and so forth -- as Johnson & Johnson seeks to re-establish their brand in the marketplace as a leader in creating products for family usage. As shots of various family scenarios transition across the screen, the female narrator states, "Love, it's the most powerful thing on the planet. Love is family. Love is the reason you care for the tiny and fragile." Meanwhile the angelic children's choir deliver the dreamy rendition of 'Sweet Child O' Mine' in the background before the tagline of "For All You Love" ends the spot.
For those wondering, the Capital Children's Choir is responsible for the recording. The London-based outfit, led by Rachel Santesso, recorded their version of the Guns N' Roses favorite back in 2008 and the song is currently available here.
The New York Times reports that the national spot marks Johnson & Johnson's first corporate branding campaign in over a decade. The company, beset by a few public relations setbacks over the last few years, decided to get back into the promotional game with this new spot.


Another hard to ignore facet of HB 479 is the fact that it combines legal online casino action along with daily fantasy sports. Perhaps you will not be surprised to learn that the primary reason for this combination is politics at work.
You see, apparently neither daily fantasy sports nor legal online casino had enough support on their own to become law. On the other hand, by taking the extra step of putting these two gambling options together in the same Bill there is a much better chance of full passage.
Note that at present, daily fantasy sports has an unmistakably strong lobby presence as well as a proven ability to motivate its players to take action at the grass roots level. On the other hand, legal online casino action already has quite a bit of support from the existing brick and mortar casino industry in Illinois.
How will this play out? All indications point to full enactment and eventual endorsing by Governor Quinn. That is, if HB 479 can make it's way through the sometimes contentious House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan.
Stay tuned, as HB479 is in fact a unique approach to legal online casino action.


If you are ready to branch out and switch up your style, then it's time to consider how to mix and match your jewellery. Use these tips to ensure that you look great.
Matching all of your jewellery used to be the rage, but now if you want to get noticed, then you need to try mixing and matching your pieces. When done correctly, this can create a look that is effortlessly cool and chic, but does take a little practice to make sure that you get it right and don't look sloppy and unkempt. Follow these rules to make sure that you look fresh and updated when you mix and match, which is sure to help you stand out.
The best way to get comfortable with mixing and matching your jewellery is to start by mixing your metals. This is really easy to do by adding another necklace of a different metal or wearing a few rings like normal, but swapping one out with a contrasting metal. As you become more comfortable with mixing and matching, you may want to make bolder choices, but this is a great place to start.
It's important that the jewellery that you mix and match all fits within a theme so that you don't look sloppy. This means that you need to make sure that you don't try to mix very fine and dainty chains with chunky necklaces, as the larger ones will simply overwhelm the smaller pieces. Make sure that pieces are a similar size, theme, shape, and design, and you will look great.
When wearing multiple necklaces, rings, or sterling silver bracelets for women, you want to make sure that they are all different lengths or sizes so that they don't rest on the same place on your body. By shopping with a high-quality company such as Silver by Mail, you can easily purchase pieces in varying lengths and sizes so that they rest next to each other, not on top of each other.
As you can see, anyone can confidently mix and match their jewellery and instantly update their style. This does take a little practice at first, especially if you are used to only wearing one piece of jewellery at a time. That's why it's a good idea to start out slow by mixing two different metals until you feel more confident and are ready to really update your style with larger and bolder pieces.


Q: Is it fair to blame the Bush administration entirely for the loss of jobs?
Q: How can the US be competitive in manufacturing and still pay the wages Americans have come to expect?
Q: You talk about tax cuts to stop outsourcing. But when you have IBM documents that I saw recently where you can hire a programmer for $12 in China, $56 an hour here, tax credits won't cut it.
AD VIDEO: 2.7 million manufacturing jobs lost: Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001-2004.
AD NARRATOR: Millions of good jobs lost to plant closures and outsourcing. Yet President Bush protects tax breaks favoring corporations that move their headquarters overseas. America can do better. John Kerry's plan: End job-killing tax loopholes, and provide incentives to companies who create good jobs here. Because John Kerry believes we should export American products, not American jobs.
Q: What would you do to close that gap between unemployment rates for whites and minorities?
Our first has to be to put jobs back at the top of national agenda. As president, I will commit this country to turning the tide on manufacturing jobs. I'll start with a tax incentive to encourage companies to keep jobs in America. I will also propose a job-creation tax credit that would give businesses a one time break from the payroll tax for every new worker they hire. and my health-care plan, which I will explain in a alter chapter, will stop spiraling health-care costs, one of the biggest problems facing businesses struggling to maintain employment levels.
Match minimum wage increases to Congressional pay raises.
OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: A bill to provide for an increase in the Federal Minimum wage and to ensure that increases in the Federal minimum wage keep pace with any pay adjustments for Members of Congress.
SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. CLINTON: This legislation will raise the minimum wage over the next two years and link future increases in the minimum wage to Congressional raises. Today, working parents earning the minimum wage are struggling to make ends meet and to build better lives for their children. The Federal minimum wage is currently $5.15 an hour, an amount that has not been increased since 1997. Sadly, during that time, Congress has given itself eight annual pay raises. We can no longer stand by and regularly give ourselves a pay increase while denying a minimum wage increase to help the more than 7 million men and women working hard across this nation. If Members of Congress need an annual cost of living adjustment, then certainly the lowest-paid members of our society do too.
My legislation would increase the minimum wage first to $5.85 an hour, then to $6.55 an hour, and ultimately to $7.25 an hour within the next two years. In addition, my legislation then ensures that every time Congress gives itself a raise in the future that Americans get a raise too. This is the right and fair thing to do for hardworking Americans.


Halsted and Hoggan Inc are based in CA but will deal with the following markets: Latin America/Caribbean, South America, Western Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Pacific Rim, Australia, China, Europe, Canada, Mexico.
Stocking distributor of pumps specializing in agricultural, chemical, domestic & industrial applications. Large stock of pumps, service parts, accessories & motors representing over 40 mfrs including Aermotor Windmills, American Process Equipment, American Stainless Pumps, Fe Myers, Baker Manufacturing, Baldor Motors & Drives, Myers-Aplex, Beckett Pumps, Oberdorfer Pumps, Inc., & Berkeley Pumps. Application engineering & custom fabrication available. Authorized factory exchange center for Procon? products.


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Q: customizing infobox with getInnerHtml Does anyone have some experience with the infobox of the google maps api V3.
InfoBox
The property content can take both plain html and or text in HTML Dom mode.
So I figured I'm building my own infowindow in plain html like this
 function getInnerHtml( name, contract, detailLink)
    {
    var innerHtml = '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">' +
                            ''+
                            ''+  '<title>Framed</title>' + '' + '' +
                            '
' + '
' + '

' + '
'  +  '
' + name + '/a>
' +
                            '
'+ vergoeding(contract) +'
' + '
' + '

' +
                            '
' + '

' + '
' + '' + '';
    return innerHtml;

}

   function boxText(name, contract, vestigingID)
    {
        var detailLink =  getBaseUrl() + "/Details/" + vestigingID;
        var boxText = document.createElement("html");
           boxText.innerHTML = getInnerHtml(name, contact, detailLink);

        return boxText;
    }

 function infoboxOptions(boxText)
    {
     var Options = {
             content: boxText
            ,disableAutoPan: false
            ,maxWidth: 0
            ,pixelOffset: new google.maps.Size(-140, 0)
            ,zIndex: null
            ,infoBoxClearance: new google.maps.Size(1, 1)
            ,isHidden: false
            ,pane: "floatPane"
            ,enableEventPropagation: false,
            alignBottom: false
        };
        return Options;
    }

and I will get a customized infowindow.
However this fails, I'm getting an infowindow with the wrong stuff.
I'm I missing something here.
Also I like my infobox(window) to be on top , but I must be overlooking the property any ideas here?
I could really use some help.

A: It turned out my styling is indeed doing something funky. So I decided to just use all the properties in the html tags.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Have you made a RAGS Game?
You should check out Regalia. It's an enhancement to the (unfinished) HTML export in RAGS Designer 2.4. You run the export, run Regalia on the export, and then nobody has to install the godawful RAGS Player to play your game.
It's open source so there's a pretty good prospect for it eventually supporting every feature in RAGS.
RAGS is a graphical adventure game creation system that's popular in several different adult video game scenes. Unfortunately it's Windows only, tricky to install correctly, largely unmaintained, and has a couple of mutually incompatible versions.
The biggest source of the trouble is that the .RAG format is a renamed SQL Server Compact Edition database. This is an undocumented binary file format called SDF (no relation to signed distance fields). RAGS player relies on SQL Server Compact being installed in order to open the databases. That's why you have to run two separate installers to install the player. Microsoft is dropping support for SQLSCE in 2021. The old installers will probably work for a while after that point, but there's no telling when OS or .Net changes will break them.
.RAG files are a terrible way to distribute games and we should stop doing that.
Mandrill, my former e-mail provider, discontinued the service I was using and I botched switching over to a new service. Between 25 and 27 February any attempts by the game or the forums to send e-mails resulted in an Internal Server Error. I didn't notice because I botched the error monitoring too. I fixed the game yesterday and the forums just now.
This is the menu redesign I'm working on. I don't have anything to release yet because I want to save it until it's definitely an improvement on what's already there.
You can see with Cast Loosen there's a sub menu for the target. I tried out exposing all the arouse/heavy arouse (options #1 and #2) variations in a sub menu, but picking the variation isn't an interesting decision so I'm going to keep that randomised.
I'm hiding the descriptions inside a foldable section. I figure those are things you really only need to read once. Maybe I'll default them to unfolded if you've never seen an action before, or if you're on a big display. I haven't decided which.
Does anyone have recommendations for JS animation libraries? I need relatively simple tweening through a list of keyframes for a variety of CSS properties. Preferably something that runs OK on underpowered devices. JQuery is disappointingly bloated and sluggish.
This post isn't much use for anyone but programmers: it's about the save format I've chosen, and a big overview of how it's been working out for me.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, rather than packing my data into a special format for saving, I just feed my game objects directly into python pickle. Most Python folks regard this with horror!
The drawbacks haven't exactly been the ones that everyone warns about. Most people I've talked to consider that doing this makes it infeasible to change the data format while retaining backward compatibility. In fact, it was pretty quick to set up a data migration system that overrides bits of pickle deserialisation and runs special migration scripts based on a version number stored inside the object.


Davidson County's ballot for the November 6 election got longer with the addition of five charter amendments added to the ballot.
Davidson County's ballot for the November election just got a bit longer.
The Metro Council voted Tuesday night to add five Metro charter amendments to the Nov. 6 general election, adopting all but one of six proposals council members had before them.
Nashville voters will have the final say on items ranging from adding female pronouns to the city's Metro Charter to extending term-limits for council members.
A Metro Charter amendment proposed by Councilwoman Davette Blalock would extend term-limits of council members from two four-year terms to three four-year terms, meaning they would be able to serve 12 consecutive years for the same seat.
Nashville's term-limit system has been in place since the early 1990s, when it was adopted by voters.
The council voted 37-2 to adopt this amendment. Supporters said the council has been hurt by a lack of institutional knowledge and has sacrificed power to the mayor's office as a result.
This proposal, led by Councilman Dave Rosenberg, would task the council with electing a temporary mayor in the event the mayor leaves before his or her term expires and the vice mayor is unavailable to serve.
The council voted 35-0 on the amendment.
The charter amendment would require special elections for council seats that are vacated with more than eight months left in a term. Currently, council seats can remain vacant for 12 months.
The amendment was adopted by a voice vote. But later Councilwoman Karen Johnson, who is leaving her council seat after being elected Davidson County Register of Deeds earlier this month, voiced opposition.
This charter amendment, also led by Blackock, would require oaths of office for mayor, vice mayor, and council members to uphold the Metro Charter. When they are sworn in, they currently only given an oath to support the Tennessee and U.S. constitutions.
The amendment was approved unanimously by a voice vote.
This charter amendment, pushed by Councilwoman Angie Henderson and Rosenberg, would adopt female gender pronouns in the charter, where they are currently absent. References to "councilman" would be changed to "councilmember" and "policemen" would be changed to "police officer," among other changes.
The council approved the amendment unanimously.
These five proposed amendments will be on the same ballot as Tennessee elects a new governor and U.S. senator.
Rosenberg sponsored three of the amendments, one of which addresses an issue that was exposed with the mayoral succession process by the March resignation of Mayor Megan Barry. Blackock put forward the two other amendments.
The lone charter amendment proposal that failed was also from Rosenberg — a measure to create a new instant runoff process for special elections that take place when council members leave their terms prematurely.
The instant-runoff plan sought to avert the need for stand-alone runoff races during special elections, but the council voted 25-11 on the charter amendment, not enough to clear necessary 27-vote threshold.
The council voted 38-0 to adopt a resolution with each of the five charter amendments, formally clearing it for the voters.


Light dances across the flowers, highlighting the petals of the flower. The flower is mirrored on the back, making it a pleasure to touch. This silver necklace is hand made in Dublin, Ireland and is hallmarked by the assay office in the heart of Dublin Castle. The fine silver chain is really nice to wear.


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The date and channel for the England match against France in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
The date of the England match against France, and the broadcast channels for this upcoming meeting in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, is what many are searching for at the present time, and below we will show you all the details of the match.
ENGLAND AND FRANCE MATCH PREDICTION
It's Coming House or Allez Les Bleus will be ringing around the Al Bayt Stadium at the full time whistle on Saturday evening, as England fight France in their Globe Mug 2022 quarter-final.
The 3 Lions put three past Senegal without reply to advancement to the last eight, while the reigning champs got rid of Poland 3-1 to maintain their hopes of back-to-back titles alive.
An error-strewn England group looked one of the most likely to acknowledge in the beginning against Senegal, that did not permit the 3 Lions a 2nd to take a breath with their reliable pushing, yet the trend quickly turned when 19-year-old Jude Bellingham took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Bellingham set up Jordan Henderson for the opening objective in the 38th minute before playing a massive part in Harry Kane's 52nd England objective just before the break, and also Gareth Southgate's decision to bring Bukayo Saka back right into the layer was justified, as the Toolbox man made it three for England after 57 mins.
Southgate was delighted to see his side display a touch of "ruthlessness" in one more game where a below-par beginning led to an acquainted sense of fear, as well as a semi-final with Morocco or Portugal now waits for if the Euro 2020 runners-up can send out the holders packing.
However, quarter-final departures have been typical for England, who have actually been disposed out at this stage in the 1954, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002 and also 2006 competitions, and six of their last eight World Cup removals have come versus fellow European nations.
A three-game streak without yielding a goal at the World Mug does stand England in excellent stead, as well as Southgate might now come to be the very first 3 Lions manager in background to lead the group to greater than one semi-final, but the most formidable of powerful adversaries is standing in their means.
As Kane created a 52nd international objective to border closer to the England record, Olivier Giroud's 52nd strike was enough to see the a/c Milan aggressor storm to the top of the France graphes, as Les Bleus showed a medical edge that Robert Lewandowski's Poland had no response to.
Mbappe turned provider for Giroud to fire house the opening objective, which saw the 36-year-old overtake Thierry Henry at the summit of the men's goalscoring listing, and the former quickly came up with 2 roaring surfaces to place the video game to bed before a retaken Lewandowski penalty gave Poland a late alleviation.
Giroud still has some method to head to come to be France's outright leading goalscorer - Eugenie Le Sommer has a staggering 86 to her name - however the professional's toughness as well as link-up play enhances the quickness of Mbappe flawlessly, and England's rearguard will have their work suitable them right here.
France have now gotten to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in five of the last seven versions - consisting of each of their last 3 - as well as Didier Deschamps's males have prevailed in eight of their last 10 knockout ties against fellow UEFA nations, but they are yet to silence all the critics.
Undoubtedly, Les Bleus are still without a clean sheet at the 2022 Globe Mug and also have really lost both of their previous meetings with England at the event in 1966 as well as 1982, but much more current history does not favour the Three Lions, that can just boast one win from their last eight against the champs of the globe.
England's sway Senegal was rather eclipsed by the news of a break-in at the home of Chelsea assaulter Raheem Sterling, who flew back to the UK over the weekend break, yet he will be back with the squad on Friday and also need to push for addition. Collection's Ben White is also still lacking for personal factors.
Callum Wilson has recouped from a small pressure but was never ever anticipated to start, and Southgate was additionally been handed a small scare with Declan Rice, that missed out on training on Wednesday as a result of illness, although his disorder is unlikely to stop him from using Saturday.
Several have tipped Southgate to return to a three-man backline for the weekend break, yet the 52-year-old has actually hinted that he will stick with the tried-and-tested 4-3-3 setup that has actually paid dividends up until now, enabling Henderson to link up with Rice and also Bellingham in the midfield one more time.
Over at the Bleus camp, a media craze was triggered when top marker Mbappe missed training on Tuesday due to discomfort in his ankle, but it was simply a dud, as the 23-year-old was back on the method pitches on Wednesday and must create part of a the same XI.
Incredibly, France have actually won all 9 of their Globe Cup matches that Mbappe has begun, as well as his striking companion Giroud - who has three goals to his name in Qatar - might equate to a document set by a 38-year-old Roger Milla, who to date is the only 36+ gamer to score four goals at a single World Mug.
Aurelien Tchouameni and also Jules Kounde will certainly both miss any type of potential semi-final if they are yellow-carded below, however Deschamps is not likely to consider any type of on-field corrective violations when picking his ideal XI.
England feasible starting lineup:
Pickford; Pedestrian, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Bellingham, Rice, Henderson; Saka, Kane, Foden
France possible starting schedule:
Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud
We say: England 1-3 France
The much longer this quarter-final takes place, the a lot more it will benefit England, that have a wealth of attacking talent on the bench waiting to make a distinction versus tired French legs.
On the other hand, Southgate's side have not exploded out of the blocks in their last 3 World Mug experiences, and the clinical pairing of Mbappe and Giroud will certainly need no 2nd invitation to capitalize on another slow beginning.
The result of Saturday's video game can come down to how well the respective nations can have Mbappe and also Bellingham's star qualities, but we are battling to see a way for England to prevail and also can only imagine France sending out the Three Lions house empty-handed again.
NAME: England - France
What channels will broadcast the match between England and France?
beIN Sports MENA Global HD


The School of Applied Science and Technology (SAST), has re-elected Dr. Moshood Fowomola as dean for a second term.
Although Fowomola was unopposed, the election was conducted to confirm that two-thirds of the workers wanted him to return. He emerged the winner with 100 per cent votes.
Fowomola said he was able to implement all the promises he made while seeking office for the first time in 2012 – one of which was the part payment of the annual conference fees for all.
He added that, throughout his tenure, incentives were given to workers, both Christians and Muslims during the festive periods, while some laboratories and offices were renovated without putting all the burden on the management.
Mr. Mufutau Usman, Head, Micro Biology Unit of the school, he described Fowomola as a 'man of integrity'. He said paying part of the conference fees for all workers was a feat that had never been accomplished in the history of the school. He said each worker paid N3,000 instead of N68,000, which was a great relief for them.


Lately Pakistan has been under the microscope for its involvement in the development of nuclear weapons programs internationally. Although others such "axis of evil" nations Iran and North Korea actively purse weapons of mass destruction their success has largely been dependent on Pakistan's inadvertent assistance and cooperation.
The founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has admitted he transferred nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, a Pakistani government official stated. Khan made the confession in a written statement submitted "a couple of days ago" to investigators probing allegations of nuclear proliferation by Pakistan, the official told The Associated Press on condition on anonymity.
The transfers were made during the late 1980s and in the early and mid 1990 s, and were motivated by "personal greed and ambition," the official said. The official could not give details of the nuclear transfers, but said they were not authorized by the government.
A meeting of the National Command Authority that controls Pakistan's nuclear assets was briefed on the statement at a meeting when Khan - long regard ed as a national hero in Pakistan - was sacked from his position as a scientific adviser to the Prime Minister. A military official briefed a number of Pakistani journalists about Khan's confession.
Khan had previously been reported as denying any wrongdoing. The government official who spoke to AP was familiar with the briefing. The government official said the two-month probe into the proliferation allegations had reached its conclusion, but said it was up to the authority to decide whether to prosecute Khan and six other suspects in the case.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who heads the authority, is due to make an address to the nation about the progress of the investigation after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, which ends Thursday in Pakistan, officials said. Pakistan began its investigation in November after revelations by Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
Allegations of nuclear transfers to Libya and North Korea have also surfaced. The government official said that "questions have been put" to two former army chiefs, Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg and Gen. Jehangir Karamat, to check information provided by Khan and other suspects during the "debriefings" - as the government has referred to the questioning of scientists.
The official stressed that the two generals were not the focus of the investigation. He said they told investigators they never authorized nuclear transfers. However, the official said the probe had concluded there had been a lapse in security that allowed the transfers to take place, although no blame had been apportioned.
Analysts say that many unanswered questions remain over how powerful generals who oversaw the Pakistan's nuclear program that began in the 1970s - wit h the aim of creating a military deterrent against rival India - could have been so in the dark about any nuclear transfers by its scientists.
The mission to create the bomb was conducted in secret, using black market suppliers to circumvent international restrictions on trade in nuclear-related technology. Pakistan conducted its first nuclear test in 1998.
In all, 11 employees of the Khan Research Laboratories, a top nuclear facility named after Khan, have been questioned since November, and some subsequently released. Officials say that three scientists and four security officials - military officers among them - are still being investigated. Six are held in custody in an undisclosed location. Khan has been told to stay at his Islamabad home, where he is guarded with tight security.
Whether wittingly or unwittingly, Pakistan bears responsibility for the act ions and deeds of its top nuclear scientists who have promoted the proliferation of nuclear weapons programs and weapons of mass destruction internationally; especially with those "axis of evil" nations Iran, North Korea and former wannabe Libya much to the detriment of global and regional security and stability solely for economic profit. Africa, Asia and the Middle East are now in great danger and face risk of escalation of war as a direct result.
Although Pakistan may not be able to undo the damage done due to insufficient safeguards it must punish those guilty of taking advantage of their position and power.
Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.


Dr. Mao is a pioneer in co-working space sector in China, with a wealth of experience and know-how in both business management of blue-chip companies and project delivery in real-estate sector across the diverse regions in Asia. He started the career in 2008 with Temasek Holding, where he led the China operation at the company's headquarters in Singapore.
During his 14-year tenure in senior roles with CapitaLand, Asia's largest real-estate investment company, Dr. Mao led the development and operation of Beijing Raffles City, a large commercial complex and Raffles City China Fund. He also spearheaded the rapid expansion of Ascott service apartment, establishing a solid foothold and reputation of the brand in China. During 2009-2015 at Vanke Group, Mao led the Chinese real-estate conglomerate headquartered in Shenzhen through exponential growth, achieving an unprecedented sales record in excess of US$3 billion.
Dr. Mao founded his first venture Ucommune in 2015, combining his expertise in both commercial and residential property to deliver premium experiences for small medium enterprises and a connected business community that serves the need of increasingly mobile entrepreneurs. Backed by renowned institutional investors such as Sequoia Capital, Zhen Fund and Noah Wealth Management, Ucommune is inarguably a unicorn. His primary focus is to grow the business-servicing capacity and integration of the platform, and to continuously increase the footprints in China and beyond. His vision is to create a connected community infused with creativity and dynamism where those from the parallel world can meet.
Mao has a Bachelor of Architecture at Southeast University China and a PhD of Regional Economics at Peking University. He is a Visiting Professor of a number of leading academic institutes in China, among which Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsing Hua University. In the meanwhile, he is an honorary member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and a registered architect.


text:
Slobodan Milosevic
by Paul Ford, on April 11, 2006
A Christian martyr. A car bomb killed 10 people at a Shiite shrine in Najaf, Iraq, and a suicide bombing killed 85 people at a Shiite mosque in Baghdad. BBC…
by Paul Ford, on March 21, 2006
Eighty-six corpses–most shot, some strangled–were found around Baghdad over a 30-hour period. CNN"We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more,"…
The U.S. State Department issued a report criticizing human rights abuses in China, North Korea, Iran, and Cuba. It also criticized the rights records of Jordan and Egypt, two countries…
by Roger D. Hodge, on July 13, 2004
The Senate Intelligence Committee released a scathing report on the CIA's unfounded, unjustified, and unreasonable claims about Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction; the report was oddly silent, however, about…
by Roger D. Hodge, on April 20, 2004
President George W. Bush held a prime-time press conference and refused several times to apologize or accept responsibility for his government's failure to prevent the September 11 attacks; theNew York…
by Roger D. Hodge, on March 2, 2004
The British government declined to prosecute Katharine Gun, the linguist who leaked a United States National Security Agency memo asking British intelligence to spy on United Nations diplomats before the…
War crime and punishment
by Guy Lesser,
What the United States could learn from the Milosevic trial
by Roger D. Hodge, on January 21, 2003
United Nations weapons inspectors discovered 11 empty chemical warheads in southern Iraq; the inspectors said that the warheads were not included in Iraq's weapons declaration, but Iraqi officials said that…
by Roger D. Hodge, on December 10, 2002
Iraq delivered its 12,000-page weapons declaration to the United Nations, and American officials said they will be ready to mount an invasion by next month. General Amir al-Saadi, one of…
by Roger D. Hodge, on November 19, 2002
One day after Iraq's parliament rejected the terms of the Security Council resolution calling for resumed weapons inspections, a letter from Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri agreeing to the demands…
by Roger D. Hodge, on October 8, 2002
Senator Robert Torricelli of New Jersey withdrew from the November election after new evidence emerged that he had accepted "improper gifts" from a contributor; Torricelli said that he did not…


We have released our annual analysis of the Government of Alberta's 2014 Budget.
Budget 2014 covers the time period from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 (2014-15) fiscal year (FY). Budget 2014 estimates an operational surplus of $2.6 billion, and a consolidated surplus of $1.1 billion when capital spending and net savings are included. The government's revenue picture has brightened considerably since last year's budget due to higher than expected energy prices and a lower Canadian dollar. As a result, operational spending will increase next year though by less than inflation and population growth. In this fACT sheet, next year refers to the 2014-15 FY and this year refers to the current 2013-14 FY.


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January, 2016:
World's first waste incinerator with carbon-capture tech
http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2016/jan/carbon-capture-waste-incinerator.cfm
Carbon-capture technology has been deployed for the first time as part of a waste incinerator in Norway's capital Oslo.
The experiment at the Klemetsrud incinerator will remove climate-warming carbon dioxide from fumes created by burning industrial and household waste. If successful, the technology could represent a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions if deployed on a larger scale.
"I hope Oslo can show other cities that it's possible," said the Mayor of Oslo, Marianne Borgen, at an opening ceremony.
So far, carbon capture and storage technology has been experimented with in some fossil-fuel-fired power plants, but development has been hindered by high cost.
The Klemetsrud waste-to-energy incinerator, which generates heat to warm buildings in the city, produces 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year – about 0.6 per cent of Norway's man-made emissions.
The experimental carbon capture and storage removal system consists of five containers with a series of pipes and filters through which the exhaust gas is fed. It captures carbon dioxide at a rate of about 2,000 tonnes a year.
The experiment will run until the end of April. If the results are positive, a full-scale system could be built by 2020. Operators of the system say the carbon dioxide captured could be shipped to the North Sea and used for enhanced oil and gas recovery.
"We see potential in this market across the world," said Valborg Lundegaard, head of Aker Solutions' engineering business, which runs the test.
The operators have admitted that at the current price of carbon credits, the technology is nowhere near cost-effective. However, they claim that as the incinerator burns largely organic waste from food and wood, it actually removes CO2 from the natural cycle and not only that industrially produced.
"It won't be possible to achieve goals set in the Paris agreement without wide use of negative emissions," said Frederic Hauge, head of environmental group Bellona.
Development of new technologies capable of offsetting the devastating effects of rising temperatures globally was also in the heart of the UN climate talks in Paris in December.
Earlier this week, climate scientists confirmed that 2015 was by far the warmest year on record – another extremely hot year in a string that started at the beginning of the 21st century. There is no doubt, the scientists said, that the situation is getting worse and is caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite its potential, carbon capture and storage is still on the fringe. A 2015 report by the Australia-based Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute said there are just 15 big CCS projects in operation worldwide, including a coal-fired power plant run by Canada's Saskatchewan Power.
CTA Letter to Legco on Hong Kong Waste Management
Gas unit to cut Lamma smog
Hongkong Electric will replace older generating units at Lamma Power Station with a new gas-fired combined cycle turbine unit in 2020 to reduce emissions.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=165363&story_id=45941455&con_type=1&d_str=20160120
The more efficient L10 unit will help HK Electric meet the stringent emission requirements set by the government to increase the proportion of natural gas generation to 50 percent by 2020.
It has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation to commission the construction of L10, which is expected to cost HK$3 billion.
Managing director Wan Chi-tin, who signed the agreement with Mitsubishi in Tokyo, said the L10 will enable a cleaner power supply while maintaining reliability.
"When L10 is commissioned in 2020, it will enable HK Electric to further reduce our carbon footprint and other emissions while maintaining power supply reliability," he said yesterday.
L10 is cleaner and more efficient after adopting combined cycle generation technology.
The company says the technology "is one of the cleanest, most popular and efficient ways to generate electricity by fossil fuels in the world."
It also has greater fuel efficiency through generating additional power from its steam turbine, which uses the high- temperature exhaust gas from the gas turbine.
Gas generation produces fewer emissions than other fossil fuels, reducing its environmental impact.
Meanwhile, Secretary for Environment Wong Kam-sing said the government is working to reduce the maximum return ratio of the territory's two electric companies.
Under the Scheme of Control Agreement with the government, each of the power companies is allowed to make a capped rate of return of 9.99 percent after tax on its average net fixed assets. It will expire in 2018.
On a radio program yesterday, Wong said the government wants to increase the use of renewable energy.
He said a public consultation last year found citizens they want to reduce the return rate to between six and eight percent.
"We should not aim at the lowest ratio possible, but a balanced one," Wong said.
45,552,000 cubic meters of landfill gas is currently flared off per year from the 3 HKG open landfill sites
Australia firm plans $520mln waste-to-energy plant in HCMC
http://www.thanhniennews.com/business/australia-firm-plans-520mln-wastetoenergy-plant-in-hcmc-57939.html
Australia's Trisun Green Energy Co. has sought the Ho Chi Minh City government's permission to conduct a feasibility study for a US$520 million waste-to-power plant.
The plant will use plasma gasification technology to burn waste at 3,000 degrees Celsius to turn it into electricity. It is expected to cover a 13-hectare area in the outlying district of Cu Chi, the city government's website said on Wednesday.
Trisun Green Energy Co. said the plant could treat 2,000 metric tons of household waste, 1,000 metric tons of hazardous waste, and 2,000 metric tons of sludge every day, according to the website.
Ho Chi Minh City now discharges around 7,000-8,000 metric tons of waste every day and this is expected to increase by 8 percent every year.
Some 75 percent of the waste is buried, which causes wastage of land and pollutes the land as well as water sources. The rest is recycled or burnt.
At the national level, 85 percent of 23,000 tons of waste is buried every day.
Five Hong Kong electric buses pulled from service in under two weeks due to glitches
The No 11 Citybus went into operation on December 27, covering a circular route from Central Ferry Piers to Jardine's Lookout.
BYD, the Shenzhen-based manufacturer, blames minor software problem it says has now been fixed
Five electric buses have been taken out of service with glitches after less than two weeks on the road.
Checks on three Citybus vehicles and two from New World First Bus revealed problems with the exit doors, so they were called back to the depot for maintenance.
"The doors opened when the rubber trims of the door were pushed while the buses were still," said a spokesman for New World Services, which owns the two franchised bus companies.
"This issue does not occur when the bus is in motion. We have recalled the buses and contacted the manufacturer to follow up the problem."
The manufacturer, Shenzhen-based BYD, blamed minor problems with the software.
"We have updated the software and retuned the buses to NWFB and Citybus for a thorough inspection," a spokeswoman said.
She stressed it was the first time anywhere in the world that the problem had surfaced and that the company would keep in close touch with the bus companies to ensure passenger safety.
The city's first electric bus – a battery-powered, single-decker with 31 seats – hit the roads on December 27. The Citybus vehicle went into operation on the circular No 11 route from Central Ferry Piers to Jardine's Lookout.
Two more Citybus circular routes, No 12 and 25A, started running over the next two days, while two New World First Bus routes, No 81 and 78, launched on December 28 and January 5.
The Transport Department said the buses had passed safety tests and it would keep an eye on the issue.
Breakdowns of electric buses made on the mainland have raised safety concerns.
The Hong Kong Productivity Council rolled out its first locally designed, made-in-China electric bus for road tests in October, but it caught fire a month later.
In 2013, Kowloon Motor Bus put a BYD green bus on trial for half a year, but if failed and was returned to the manufacturer.
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1899539/door-glitch-forces-hong-kong-electric-buses-road
Hong Kong fallout from China's reckless nuclear ambitions feared
Unproven and possibly faulty nuclear reactors are being built on Hong Kong's doorstep and throughout China, a country not known for its transparency or industrial safety, writes Stuart Heaver
Fifty years ago, when China first revealed its nuclear power ambitions, most in the West dismissed them as Maoist propaganda, but there is nothing imaginary about the nation's current boom in nuclear energy – and not everyone is happy about it.
Scientists and conservationists fear the ever-increasing commercial and environmental pressure to expand the nuclear power sector means not enough attention is being paid to safety. Within a couple of decades, Hong Kong could be in close proximity to as many as 39 reactors, spread across Guangdong province. Two of them are nearing completion just 140km west of Hong Kong, in Taishan, in what has been labelled by green groups as the "most dangerous nuclear power plant in the world".
We are very worried about Taishan and the design flaws in the reactor vessel and we would like to know what [China General Nuclear Power Group] are doing
Frances Yeung, Greenpeace Asia
"China is developing its nuclear capability too fast; they just don't have enough trained staff or adequate independent safety infrastructure," says civil engineer Albert Lai Kwong-tak, convenor of Hong Kong think tank the Professional Commons and a long-standing opponent of nuclear energy. Yet, despite the reservations of campaigners, China is not only the world's biggest market for nuclear technology but, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), it is set to "go global".
"The only country that is building plants to a significant degree is China," says nuclear industry analyst Mycle Schneider, from his Beijing hotel room. And the driving force behind the nuclear push is no mystery. The nation is trying to meet an increasing demand for electricity while curbing its emissions of carbon dioxide. According to the United States-based Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), from 1992 to 2012, electricity consumption grew from 666 billion kilowatt-hours to 4,468 billion kilowatt-hours – an average annual growth rate of about 10 per cent – and, currently, non-fossil fuels account for only about 12 per cent of supply in China.
The climate change agreement reached in Paris last month seems only to have increased the political pressure to expand nuclear energy production. China's senior climate negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, told a news conference in Beijing last month that nuclear energy was "essential" to meet the nation's 2030 climate change commitments.
"A more dynamic view is that there are [many] nuclear reactors being built around Hong Kong, so immediately the risk increases," says Lai. According to data provided by the WNA, as well as the nine reactors already in operation, 18 are currently under construction, planned or proposed for Guangdong. There are less definite proposals for a further 12. (Nationally, 30 reactors are in operation, with 64 under construction or planned and another 92 proposed.)
Lai is worried that, despite the track record at the Daya Bay nuclear plant, which has been supplying electricity to Hong Kong since 1994 and provides almost 25 per cent of the city's needs, nuclear power is "not a mature technology". He says there are still no proven safe means of disposing of radioactive waste and, despite pledges to build a dedicated facility, all of Daya Bay's spent fuel rods are still in a temporary facility about 5km from the main plant.
"In Daya Bay, we adopted French technology, but we now have multiple technologies and much of it is unproven," says Lai, echoing the official findings reported to China's State Council in 2012 as part of a nuclear safety review in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster: "China has multiple types of nuclear reactors, multiple technologies and multiple standards of safety".
The reactors being built in Taishan appear to be among the most problematic. Construction of the plant was begun by French nuclear energy giant Areva and the €8 billion (HK$67 billion) contract with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) to install two third-generation European pressure reactors (EPR) there was heralded by Areva as "the largest international commercial contract signed in civil nuclear history". The unveiling of the deal, at a ceremony in November 2007, was attended by the Chinese and French presidents in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. In order to save time and money, according to Areva's official website, the plant was to use technology that had been proven at two EPR plants already under construction in Europe.
"Thanks to the operating experience gained by Areva's teams on the two first-of-a-kind EPR reactors at Olkiluoto [in Finland] and Flamanville [in France], the project schedule has been shortened by 40 months," reads a statement on Areva's website.
It is astonishing that this statement has remained on the website because there is no operating experience to speak of; both Olkiluoto and Flamanville have yet to go online. Both are many years behind schedule and billions of euros over budget. Olkiluoto is already the subject of a complicated and expensive legal dispute between Areva and its partners in Finland.
Rather than being the third plant successfully using the technology, Taishan, surrounded by dense Pearl River Delta conurbations, is more likely to be operating untested EPR reactors, the first fully functioning ones on the planet, should they go into service. Both units are two years behind schedule and last April the news got a whole lot worse, when Pierre-Franck Chevet, head of French nuclear safety agency Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), reported that a "serious anomaly affecting a crucial component of the nuclear power plant" had been detected.
"Some 92 nuclear power plants have already been abandoned mid-construction and Flamanville could be added to that list anytime soon," says Schneider. "They found a technical fault [in the reactor casing] and it's the same situation at Taishan. The material has not been manufactured to the correct technical specification. This is extremely complex."
Chevet hastily flew to Beijing but the outcome of his meeting has yet to be made public. He had added that unless he was satisfied with the plans to rectify the problem, he could put a stop to the EPR project in France, a decision that could have disastrous and far-reaching ramifications for Beijing's nuclear ambitions and the French economy, which is heavily reliant on the nuclear programme in China.
"The situation in France is absolutely critical because the financial status of the key nuclear companies could actually threaten the state," says Schneider. Areva is in such a fragile financial condition, French state-owned power company EDF announced last summer that it was to take over at least 51 per cent of Areva's reactor business.
"The share price of Areva is just going from historical low to historical low," says Schneider, who doesn't think there is any quick fix to the EPR problem.
China is committed to third-generation reactors on the grounds that they are safer and cheaper to operate than older technology. If it is proved that one of the two key designs – the EPR – is unworkable or unsafe, the nation's entire nuclear programme is likely to be reviewed.
In response to inquiries regarding the safety of Taishan 1&2 and Chevet's dash to Beijing, ASN informed Post Magazine, "P.F. Chevet was in China last July. The visit was dedicated to the bilateral exchanges about safety", without providing any further information.
TAISHAN IS VEILED IN SECRECY, even though the safety implications directly affect tens of millions of people and the fear is that the very high levels of political and financial capital invested in the Chinese nuclear dream will eventually outweigh any public safety concerns.
The principal evacuation zone established after the Fukushima plant was damaged by the Tohoku earthquake in 2011 was 30km. Nevertheless, says Schneider, technical evaluations have found hot spots of radioactivity 60km from the plant that were higher than those found in the exclusion zones surrounding Chernobyl, the Soviet nuclear power plant that melted down in 1986.
The finances of China's nuclear energy programme are eye-watering and the stakes are high. The total assets of CGN, which operates most of the Guangdong plants, are expected to have grown to one trillion yuan (HK$1.19 trillion) by 2020, according to state media reports, and the numbers affect economies outside China.
According to the NEI, the direct economic benefit to the US of the recently renewed 123 Agreement to continue trading nuclear technology with China is expected to be between US$70 billion and US$204 billion through to 2040, when the agreement expires. Between 20,000 and 45,000 US jobs depend on that trade and those jobs are potential political gold in an election year – and the only customer for the American Westinghouse AP1000 reactor is China, which is currently constructing four, in Zhejiang and Shandong provinces. The third-generation AP1000 is also untested in the real world, and the reactors being built in China are years behind schedule, too.
When, in November, Areva announced a possible minority stake sale to another major player, China National Nuclear Corp, and a partnership covering all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, some commentators saw it as a bailout by the Chinese. Schneider finds it astounding that anyone would seek a partnership with what he calls a "bankrupt company".
"Everybody is scared to death about losing billions of euros if these plants don't open," says Schneider, adding that all eyes will be on tests in France scheduled for this year and the ASN will be under enormous pressure.
"You don't need to be an expert to imagine the huge commercial pressure in play," says Schneider. "But what does it mean when an almost bankrupt company is operating a nuclear facility?"
IN 2011, 172,000 PEOPLE were evacuated from the exclusion zone around Fukushima. Later that year, Nature magazine and Columbia University, in New York, reported that two-thirds of the world's power plants have 30km radiuses that each encompasses more than 172,000 people. If that radius is widened to 75km, the plants at Longgang, in Shenzhen – Daya Bay and Ling Ao – top the league in terms of number of people most at risk, each threatening about 28 million people, including everyone in Hong Kong.
The same Nature article looked at key risks for nuclear energy plants: the likelihood of external events (tsunami/earthquake/terrorist attack, etc), the age of reactors and what experts call "the culture of safety".
Age is a concern in China because nuclear plants are most dangerous at the beginning as well as at the end of their life cycles. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the US occurred in a reactor that had started operation only three months earlier, and the accident at Chernobyl occurred after only two years of operation. A serious loss of coolant occurred at the French Civaux-1 reactor in 1998, less than five months after start-up.
With regard to external threats, one of the Guangdong plants on the drawing board is proposed for Huizhou, which, it is envisioned, will have two AP1000 reactors up and running by 2025.
Earthquaketrack.com [3] reports that no less than 16 earthquakes have shaken Huizhou in the past 30 years, the most recent, on August 31, 2012, having a magnitude of 4.4.
Nature explains that the "culture of safety" is an intangible value but extends beyond legislation and regulation to an innate appreciation of risk. Recent industrial accidents, such as the explosion at the port of Tianjin last August and the mudslide at a construction-waste site in Shenzhen last month, suggest such a culture isn't particularly strong in China.
"We are very worried about Taishan and the design flaws in the reactor vessel and we would like to know what CGN are doing," says Frances Yeung Hoi-shan, energy group leader for Greenpeace Asia. "We simply don't know. Investors were informed that the plant would not open until 2017 but there was little detail."
It comes as no surprise that Greenpeace Asia has consistently rejected nuclear power as part of Hong Kong's energy mix – the parent group was initially set up to protest nuclear weapons testing, after all – but it has a separate concern about the proliferation of nuclear plants in Guangdong and how transparent the safety processes will be. In April, the environmental group wrote to the Hong Kong government requesting information about Taishan 1&2 and Yeeng was not impressed with the reply, which only reaffirmed that any major incidents would be reported as an extension of the protocol set up for Daya Bay and that "tests" were being carried out.
"Transparency is very important about these plants because Hong Kong people have a right to know. The government is not proactive enough. We can't just sit and wait to be informed when something does go wrong," she says.
Says Lai, "If the French authorities had not told us about the problems with the EPR, we would probably have never known."
Daya Bay is owned under a joint venture in which local power provider CLP has a 25 per cent stake, so it can exert pressure at board level and even offer public visits to the site. Its influence also extends to a limited extent to the four reactors subsequently built at the neighbouring Ling Ao plant, says CLP, in which it has no financial interest.
"Besides being represented in the board of the joint-venture company of Daya Bay, CLP has also played an instrumental role in introducing international safety practices at the plant level," says Tang Chi-cheung, senior director, nuclear at CLP Holdings. He says his company's involvement has improved public communication and has played a part in "enhancing transparency". He emphasises the environmental benefits of nuclear power, which, according to CLP figures, saves 7.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from being emitted each year in Hong Kong.
"To put the environmental benefit into perspective, it is equivalent to planting a woodland area of 57 times the size of Hong Kong Island," says Tang, who does not rule out sourcing electricity from wholly Chinese-owned plants, including Taishan 1&2.
"It is too early to get into the specifics of more nuclear imports given that it is a future decision to be reached by the government and the general community," he says.
Tang expresses confidence in China's regulatory body and says that, post-Fukushima, the central government "has placed a priority on safety in its nuclear programme".
FIFTY YEARS AGO LAST MONTH, a front page headline in the South China Morning Post read, "China: 'We can build N-power stations'". And it has – but nuclear is still responsible for only about 2 per cent to the nation's energy mix, and industry experts such as Schneider think China is possibly the last show in town for nuclear power, as the "smart money" moves to renewable alternatives.
While no one is alleging negligence on the part of the Chinese Nuclear Safety Administration and many agree that safety has been tightened post-Fukushima, even advocates of nuclear energy express reservations in private about the frenetic pace of growth and the lack of transparency. Schneider says one senior Chinese academic confided in him at an energy conference in Macau that he thought the speed of expansion was "more than crazy".
One million signatures were obtained in objection to Daya Bay before it opened in 1994 and a 2013 Hong Kong government survey revealed that only 34.5 per cent of respondents were confident about the operational safety of Shenzhen's nuclear power plants. Although a respected local operator such as CLP, with a share price to maintain, can influence decisions regarding safety at Daya Bay, such a mechanism does not apply to the other plants in Guangdong, including Taishan 1&2.
"We need to get this right," says Lai, because if the pace of expansion continues unchecked and the public and media remain excluded from the apparent nuclear success story until a Fukushima occurs in Guangdong, it may well spell doom for everyone in the Pearl River Delta.
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1898583/hong-kong-fallout-chinas-reckless-nuclear-ambitions-feared
CEC Report: Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling to Surge
http://waste-management-world.com/a/cec-report-electric-vehicle-battery-recycling-to-surge
A new report outlining best practices to recapture and recycle the materials used in electric-drive vehicle (EDV) batteries once they reach end-of-life has been published by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).
According to the CEC, an organisation intended to facilitate collaboration and public participation to protect the environment in North America the context of increasing trade and social links among Canada, Mexico, and the US, the market in North America for electric-drive vehicles has surged over the last 10 years and the supply of end-of-life batteries for EDVs is expected to continue to increase.
The report sais that this represents a vital opportunity to recapture and recycle the valuable materials used in EDV batteries, such as nickel, cobalt, steel, and other components.
The study—carried-out in partnership with Environment Canada, Mexico's Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat) and Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – examines how EDV batteries are currently managed at end-of-life across North America to best protect human health and the environment.
The report, Environmentally Sound Management of End-of-Life Batteries from Electric-Drive Vehicles in North America, warned that design changes to incorporate less costly materials in EDV batteries need to be assessed to ensure the continuing environmentally sound management of the batteries at end-of-life.
This report characterises the types, quantities, and composition of batteries used in EDVs in North America, and outlines best practices and technologies to support their environmentally sound management at end of life
Key Findings and recomendations
It is projected that about 276,000 EDV batteries will reach EOL in North America in 2015
Most of these batteries are likely to be nickel metal hydride (NiMH), which is the predominant battery chemistry used in HEVs
By 2030, almost 1.5 million EDV batteries will reach EOL. By that time, close to half the EOL EDV batteries will be lithium-based, with the remainder being NiMH batteries
The constituents of EDV batteries (mostly nickel from NiMH batteries and cobalt from Li-ion batteries) provide an economic incentive for recycling at this time. Battery designs are changing so that they contain less-valuable materials; this is a concern for the economics of future recycling efforts
Large auto manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda are establishing reverse supply chains to ensure that EOL EDV batteries are recovered and properly recycled
Companies already in the battery recycling business (Retriev, RMC, Umicore, Glencore/Xstrata, etc.) can process large-format NiMH and Li-ion batteries as long as they are broken down to smaller components (cells or packs). Companies with smelting operations (sometimes large global companies such as Umicore, Glencore/Xstrata, etc., with global supply chains) are interested in recycling EDV batteries because of their metal content
The economics of recycling EDV batteries depends on the value of the metals and other materials which can be recovered. In some cases, companies pay a credit against a processing fee. In other cases a tipping fee is charged
The recycling/processing infrastructure for EDV batteries is in its infancy, but large players are already in the market and are assessing options for future expansion. It is likely that more players will emerge over time as the supply of EOL EDV batteries increases.
According to the authors, governments should also be vigilant so that appropriate legislation is in place to support and promote the environmentally sound recycling of these batteries.
Peeling Away The Layers from Waste-to-Energy
Energy, Climate Change & Environment


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Chris Paul Harman est un compositeur de musique classique contemporaine, né à Toronto en 1970. En 1986, il est devenu le plus jeune finaliste à participer au Concours national des jeunes compositeurs de la Société Radio-Canada, à seulement 16 ans. Ses œuvres ont été exécutées par de nombreux ensembles et orchestres au Canada et à l'étranger, y compris par l'Asko Ensemble, l'Orchestre de la radio de Radio-Canada, l'Esprit Orchestra, l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, l'ensemble des New Music Concerts, le Noordhollands Philharmonisch, le St. Lawrence String Quartet, l'Orchestre symphonique de Tokyo et le Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Certaines de ses œuvres ont été diffusées dans quelque 25 pays.

Chris Paul Harman, compositeur
Chris Paul Harman a étudié la guitare classique, le violoncelle et la musique électronique avec, respectivement, Barton Wigg, Alan Stellings et Wes Wraggett, mais c'est en autodidacte qu'il se tourne vers la composition. Ses œuvres ont été exécutées par de nombreux ensembles au Canada et à l'étranger, notamment par l'Asko Ensemble, l'Orchestre de la radio de Radio-Canada, l'Orchestre symphonique de Tokyo et le Noordhollands Philharmonisch.

Il a également reçu de nombreuses commandes, subventionnées par le Conseil des Arts du Canada, la fondation Laidlaw, le Conseil des Arts de l'Ontario et des fonds privés. C. P. Harman a ainsi composé pour les guitaristes William Beauvais et Sylvie Proulx, le violoniste Jacques Israelievitch, le hautboïste Lawrence Cherney, le Continuum, l'Esprit Orchestra, le Guelph Spring Festival, Musique Canada 2000, l'Orchestre du Centre national des Arts, le duo Sabat-Clarke, la Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, le Standing Wave Ensemble, le Soundstreams Canada, le Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra et la Société Radio-Canada.

Il est professeur adjoint de composition à l'École de musique Schulich de l'Université McGill à Montréal depuis 2005.

Récompenses
 Finaliste, Société Radio-Canada Concours national des jeunes compositeurs (1986)
 Grand Prix pour Iridescence, Concours national des jeunes compositeurs (1990 - le plus jeune compositeur à recevoir ce prix)
 Premier prix dans la catégorie des compositeurs de moins de 30 ans pour Iridescence, Tribune internationale des compositeurs à Paris, en France (1991 - premier Canadien à recevoir ce prix)
 Recommandation dans l'édition 2004 de la Tribune pour Concerto pour hautbois et cordes
 Mention honorable pour Uta, lors de la Semaine internationale de musique Gaudeamus (2001)
 Prix Jules-Léger et finaliste au Prix de Composition de la Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco pour Amerika (2001)
 Prix Jules-Léger pour Postludio a rovescio (2007)

Références

Liens externes

 Centre de musique canadienne

 I care if you listen
 Philarmonia orchestra

Naissance en novembre 1970
Compositeur canadien de musique classique

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The timewasting actions of Jorginho that Chelsea got away with against Palmeiras
Dhruvan Nair
European Champions Chelsea successfully added the Club World Cup to their expanding trophy cabinet after seeing off Brazilian side Palmeiras in the final.
German international Kai Havertz dispatched a 117th minute penalty to bring the trophy home at the end of extra time. The London side's maiden Club WC win means they now join an elite group of 5 clubs to have won every major club trophy in existence.
It really showed how much the trophy meant to the Blues as Havertz was mobbed by his teammates right in front of the Chelsea supporters near the corner flag.
During the goal celebrations, Italian midfielder Jorginho saw a window of opportunity to buy his some more time at the close of extra time.
Just look at Jorginho! He's not letting the players go back on field & pulling them back to waste more time 😂pic.twitter.com/Nw7hU2TBYD
— Nouman (@nomifooty) February 13, 2022
While the Italian had started the semi-final against Saudi outfit Al Hilal and played the first 45 minutes, he was left on the bench by Thomas Tuchel in the final.
If he had been on the pitch, Jorginho would certainly have been the one to take the penalty, being the Blues' penalty specialist. But even as a substitute, he felt he could help the team as he pulled everyone close in a huddle in an effort to waste time and prevent a late Palmeiras equaliser.
His effort was commendable as it definitely looked like a genuine extended celebration as emotions were running high and not a professional timewasting tactic.
Perhaps if the referee could have accessed a fan's camera instead of the VAR monitor, Jorginho would not have avoided a caution at the very least. But he would not have minded taking one for the team, especially on a night like this.


Social skills are key to developing a legal practice. Executive coach Joella Bruckshaw talks about the experiences of one trainee.
I don't usually work with people at junior level but recently I was asked to meet Elizabeth a young trainee lawyer. She had excellent research skills and a good understanding of legal problem solving but she was so quiet, her colleagues reported that when she was in a room they jumped when they finally noticed her presence! The firm wanted Elizabeth to be more outgoing so that when she became an associate she would have the necessary social skills to talk to clients and put them at their ease so that she could ask the necessary questions in order to fully understand the brief.
Elizabeth was more than delivering for the firm but her fear of failure meant she was routinely working until 1 and 2 in the morning to make sure that her answers to the legal questions she being asked were correct. To achieve her new goals she would need to reassess some of the conclusions she had reached so far in her life and be open to a new way of thinking. In order to change her thinking she and I would need to gather detailed evidence of her current thinking so that she could understand how to change it. So I set her a group of exercises to get this information.
There is something that often happens when working with people who are highly developed linear thinkers. They know they are good at thinking and it is hard for them to get their minds around thinking about the way they think and how it affects their behaviour!
Elizabeth, like many young lawyers already carried a heavy workload, without the extra demands caused by being so perfectionist and self-critical. When I asked her to gather the information that would help shift her distorted thinking she couldn't see past these pressures, reasoning that as long as she delivered to a high standard everything would be alright. The result was that she neglected to do her exercises!
We needed to sit down and revisit why it was so important for her to build her confidence and self-esteem in this environment, what she would gain if she did and what it would cost her if she didn't. My consulting clients often need this opportunity to recalibrate and 'get it' about what's important when faced with the reality of what they need to do. My revisiting with Elizabeth did the trick and she redoubled her efforts and generated the feedback we needed.
After that everything went like a dream. From the data we obtained we isolated her core belief (I'm a failure) and the catastrophic outcomes she feared (being thought stupid or lazy) made her very reluctant to venture an opinion, ask for help or say no when she was working on a project. We set about finding opportunities to experiment with doing all of these things to test if colleagues really did think she was stupid or lazy.
Over a period of a month, with 10 minute weekly check-ins, she flipped from being shy and retiring to someone who was able to systematically check out whether her fears were grounded or not. She came to the conclusion that if she asked for help, people didn't mind, if she said she didn't 't think she could fit some extra work in, they accepted it and if she said what she thought, no one concluded she was stupid. Her changed assessment of what was now possible meant she could relax and she quickly realised that it wasn't necessary to work so late because she found that without all of the distracting worries about failing, she could work more efficiently.
And this is where the rotten vegetables come in! I always have a shared evaluation of the work I do with clients and when I asked her at the review how things had changed she told me her husband commented that whereas previously, by the end of the week there were always rotten vegetables in the fridge because she was never there to eat them, now there were none! The rotten vegetable test was the clincher!


Melissa's outgoing and bubbly nature has made her a viewer favourite on MAFS. But the talent manager says she found it tough watching herself on the show, because she was the "biggest" she's ever been.
"I hadn't realised how much weight I'd put on until I watched my wedding," Melissa, 38, tells TV WEEK. "I was like, 'Oh, my God – I look pregnant.' And my face was huge. It was alarming to see."
Melissa with her husband Dino on MAFS (Image: Nine Network).
Melissa, who is married to meditation coach Dino, says the stress of appearing on the show made her pile on the kilos ahead of filming.
"I wasn't sleeping properly, so my body clock was out of whack," she explains. "I was eating a lot, and often at 11pm. I put on weight because of it."
Now, Melissa is back to what she calls her "normal weight".
"Being on the show helped because we were really active and doing so much," she says. "I never stand on the scales – I usually judge by my clothes.
"I noticed I couldn't fit into some of them, but by the end of the show I was back to my normal weight."
Dino "proposes" to Melissa on their wedding day (Image: Nine Network).
Melissa calls herself a "tomboy", but says she regrets not making more of an effort with her appearance during the filming of MAFS.
"The other girls looked immaculate all the time," she says. "But I was myself and it didn't make me think more or less of myself at the time."
Want more MAFS gossip? Listen to the the MAFS Confessional podcast below!


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Love bears are taking on the world. Save humanity from a love overdose! rn Don´t let them bears escape! Use combos to improve your score.
There are lots of charming luxury gems. Clear the gems by swapping them!
F1 – Korean Grand ..
Its an adaptation of classical snake game.


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Australia Today
The Borders Issue 2019
The Last Places in Europe Where It's Illegal to Get an Abortion
European microstates are some of the richest countries on the continent, but human rights, including abortion, are curtailed.
by Sarah Souli; illustrated by Cathryn Virginia
20 August 2019, 5:50am
This article originally appeared on VICE US
This article appears in VICE Magazine's Borders Issue. The edition is a global exploration of both physical and invisible borders and examines who is affected by these lines and why we've imbued them with so much power. Click HERE to subscribe to the print edition.
Lara hadn't wanted to see the baby.
It wasn't supposed to be hers, anyway; when she accidentally got pregnant at 18, she had decided the child would be raised by her aunt while she went off to university. The first few months of the pregnancy were normal: doctor's visits, ultrasounds, the abrupt abandonment of cigarettes and beer. Then, around five months into her gestation, the pain and bleeding started. At the emergency room, a surprising diagnostic—fatally missed by her primary gynecologist—was announced. The baby was lacking two nerve bundles in its neck. A few days later, a second test with Lara's gynecologist revealed a diagnosis of Down syndrome. The baby, doctors briskly explained to Lara, would be born "a vegetable."
"[My pregnancy] was so complicated, and [these issues] were detected so late, I had a serious risk of death," Lara, whose last name has been withheld to protect her identity, now 23, explained while sitting in a village bar in the tiny country of Andorra. It was twilight, and the Pyrenees mountains were turning violet behind her, a bit of late-spring snow still visible at their peaks. Around us, people were clinking beer bottles and playing cards.
It's estimated that thousands of women, like Lara, have clandestinely traveled from Andorra to Spain or France for abortions in the past few decades, though official numbers don't exist.
Along with the microstates of San Marino (in Italy), Liechtenstein (between Switzerland and Austria), and Monaco (in France), Andorra is one of the last places in Europe, along with Malta, Poland, and Northern Ireland, where abortion is criminalized. Even in cases of rape, incest, or fetal deformity, abortion is outlawed in Andorra, San Marino, and Liechtenstein, though in those situations, women in Monaco are permitted to abort. Both nationals and residents of these microstates have no choice but to travel elsewhere for access to what the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organization, calls a human right.
Lara's father managed to scrape together €3,000 (around $3,350) to cover the cost of the procedure, plus transportation and lodging, and drove her three hours away to Barcelona. There, doctors performed an abortion late in her pregnancy that was both painful and traumatic, exacerbated, Lara said, by her Andorran gynecologist, who instructed her Spanish doctors to show her the baby after her chemically induced delivery.
"She was dead," Lara, now 23, recounted. "Obviously I know from the lack of oxygen, but she was so purple. I still have the image in my mind; sometimes it wakes me up at night. Since I was little I've been scared of the dark, but since this, it's gotten so much worse. I sleep with a stuffed animal now." Her abortion followed her to work, where she was unable to keep up with her employer's demands; to court, where she was prosecuted; and into the meaty passages of her brain, where she sank into a depression that lasted three years.
"The women in Andorra are treated as second-class citizens," said Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, the president of Stop Violències (Stop Violence), a prominent women's rights group in Andorra that is fighting, among other things, for the decriminalization of abortion. "When we ask for our rights, we are treated as crazy, as radical."
Andorra flag encircled by Spain and France flags
With a population of around 76,000 in an area roughly two and a half times the size of Washington, DC, Andorra is mostly known for its tax-free shopping, pristine ski slopes, and the largest spa complex in Europe; it has the aggressively capitalistic vibe of an outdoor mall that places it squarely in modern, neoliberal Europe. Compared with the increasingly restrictive abortion laws in some parts of the United States and in Latin American countries, Europe tends to pride itself on its socially liberal policies—state-sponsored paternity leave, universal healthcare—that most countries across the Atlantic are sorely lacking. Microstates are a blemish on the smug skirts of continental Europe. The dismal reality is that women's bodies, no matter where in the world they happen to be, are swaddled in a layer of man-made politics.
Surrounded by democratic countries, Europe's microstates are political relics of a bygone era. Since the 13th century, Andorra has been ruled as a co-principality between a Catholic bishop (currently Joan-Enric Vives of Urgell) and the French head of state (now Emmanuel Macron). Monaco and Liechtenstein are both governed by powerful monarchs, and San Marino, which was formed in the 4th century as a refuge for Catholics escaping persecution, has political institutions used in Renaissance-era Italian city-states before Italy unified in the 19th century.
"They are all very conservative, not just in the way the institutions have survived but also in terms of these [social] issues," explained Wouter Veenendaal, an assistant professor of political science at Leiden University and the coauthor of Democracy in Small States: Persisting Against All Odds. "If you look at the introduction of female suffrage, these countries were among the last ones to allow women to vote. In Liechtenstein, women [won] the right to vote only in 1984." In Andorra, divorce was finally legalized in 1995.
The issue of abortion is often presented as a preservation of these microstates' unique historical character and their religious roots. "[These countries] are seen as having a very strong connection to the Catholic church and state," Veenendaal said. On most moral questions—euthanasia, gay marriage, women's rights, drugs—European microstates veer to the right. While discrimination based on sexuality is banned in microstates, and most offer civil partnerships, inconsistencies exist. Gay people in Liechtenstein, for example, are still banned from donating blood.
In the past few years, abortion has become a linchpin for the question of continued sovereignty for microstates. "They have this feeling of being very vulnerable small states, and being protective of their own identity," said Veenendaal. "When the EU sometimes attacks these microstates for having antidemocratic institutions and monarchies, you immediately see the reaction of the political elite is that the EU should not try to undermine their sovereignty."
Liechtenstein's Prince Aloi, the acting head of state and heir to a $7 billion fortune, threatened to veto the results of a double referendum on abortion in 2011; 52.3 percent of Liechtensteiners voted against decriminalizing abortion at 12 weeks in cases of fetal deformity. In light of the prince's vocal admonishment of the abortion referendum, a second referendum was passed to curtail the monarchy's power. At that, his father, Prince Hans-Adam II, threatened to leave the country and take his name with him (the country is named after their family). Last year, when the pro-choice movement began to grow more vocal in Andorra, the Church intervened, threatening to remove the bishop and end the co-principality.
"Abortion is a red line for the Episcopal bishop and something for us that is very difficult to change," said Maria Ubach, the Andorran minister of foreign affairs. "Our size and our fragility are very important. Any institutional change could have some important political consequences." The Andorran government has tied the issue of legalizing abortion to the country's sovereignty. Though the bishop himself has never publicly stated this, the Andorran government is fearful that if the French co-prince signs an abortion law into effect, the bishop will leave the country. In 2009, then French president Nicolas Sarkozy publicly threatened to abdicate as co-prince if Andorra didn't change its notoriously opaque banking laws; the country eventually acquiesced in 2016, though it's unclear if it was solely due to Sarkozy's political clout.
The worst-case scenario of losing a co-prince would be a complete dismantling of the political system, leading to a loss of independence and the country's collapse, as Prince Hans-Adam II threatened. It's somewhat of a straw-man argument. Before divorce was legalized in 1995 in Andorra, it was considered a menace to the Catholic Church and society; but Andorra still stands in all her divorcée glory. The EU, UN, and NATO have diplomatic relations with all European microstates, meaning invasion or redrawing of borders is unlikely. And they are financially independent. "These microstates are the richest countries in Europe, some of them by far," Veenendaal said. "The EU can't exert an economic pressure on them."
There is also no historical precedent to indicate that either the borders or the sovereignty of these countries would be threatened if women were granted the right to abort. To the contrary: Monaco, which loosened abortion restrictions in 2009 despite intense protest from Catholic dignitaries, remains intact. Activists in Andorra aren't even asking for a full lift of abortion laws—they are taking things incrementally, and advocating for abortion in the case of rape and fetal deformity. As with the draconian abortion laws of Chile, El Salvador, or the U.S. state of Alabama, abortion in microstates is not essentially about politics or religion. It's about controlling women's bodies.
"We need to ask what's more important: the fundamental rights of women or politics?" said Ot Guillamet Fages, a sociology student at the University of Barcelona who is researching Andorran perceptions about abortion. "And the politicians are prioritizing politics."
That women can simply leave their small countries for abortions presents an attractive, albeit bad-faith, loophole for politicians to justify these archaic laws. "No woman is really living in a difficult situation, as far as I am informed," Ubach said, noting that women can just go "a few kilometers" for an abortion. Crossing the border for health reasons is not in itself rare. "It's very normal for people to go to the doctor in Barcelona, because we don't have specialized doctors here," explained Mendoza Cortés. But traveling is forced upon pregnant women as their only option. It can be painful—Lara remembers lying flat on her back clutching her abdomen for the three-hour drive back home after her abortion—and can exacerbate feelings of guilt and fear associated with clandestine activity.
"As an Andorran woman, I want my state to be able to protect me. We want to be able to exercise our rights here, not to go somewhere else," said Cristina Valen Estevez, an educator and a member of Andorra's Social Democratic Party, adding that she feels "totally behind other European countries."
In 2005, the Andorran government introduced a new article in the penal code that imposes a sentence of up to two and a half years in prison for women convicted of having abortions—doctors who perform the procedure can receive up to 12 years if the abortion results in the woman's death. Prison sentences are also imposed by the penal code in San Marino and Liechtenstein.
Lara was prosecuted under this law in 2016, after her gynecologist denounced her to the police for "intent to commit homicide." She got lucky: The judge was a family friend, and offered her the lightest sentence—either eight months in prison or four years of conditional probation. As part of this probation, Lara was obliged to get a contraceptive implant. Back at our sidewalk table, she pushed a spot on her biceps and the implant rippled under her skin.
The vast majority of Andorran women who get abortions aren't prosecuted under the criminal law. The last known case of a woman being jailed for an abortion was in 1987, when a seven-months pregnant woman shot herself in the stomach—a case that's still talked about in hushed tones in the country.
The 2005 criminal law was introduced on the basis of the Andorran constitution, which protects life in "all its stages." It's a loosely worded article that can be interpreted, as it often is in Catholicism, as including fertilization. But earlier this year, the government began steps to legalize the use of harvested embryos for in vitro fertilization. Ubach noted that if the embryo has severe defects, or the woman is older than 50, it can be destroyed.
"This is a country of contradiction," said Elisabet Zoppetti Núñez, an Andorran lawyer. It seems that the destruction of embryos becomes problematic to officials only when they're already in a woman's body.
Because European microstates are so small, and the majority of the population is comparatively wealthy, there's a misconception by both local lawmakers and the international public that it's too minuscule an issue to take seriously. In Andorra, where the minimum wage is €1,017 ($1,135) per month, however, that's far from the truth. An early abortion in Spain or France costs between €300 and €1,000 ($335–$1,116), depending on how far advanced the fetus is, whether local or general anesthesia is being used, and whether it's performed in a private clinic or a public hospital. Women often have to take several days off work to recover, and pay for their transportation, food, medicine, and accommodation. If they need psychological support post-operation, that's also partly out of pocket. The situation is further complicated in the case of minors, who might be pressured into carrying to term and giving their baby up for adoption.
In one particularly egregious case in 2012, an 11-year-old girl was raped (the age of consent is 14 in Andorra). Her rapist was not prosecuted, because, Núñez said, the judge decided "it would ruin his life—never mind that the girl's life is ruined." The girl was placed under the state's social services, where she was never given the option of abortion. Instead, she carried the child to full term, giving birth when she was 12. Even in Liechtenstein, where, again, abortion is illegal even in cases of rape, incest, or fetal deformity, unmarried girls under 14 (which is also the age of consent there) are permitted to abort.
The Andorran government does not keep official statistics on the number of women who travel to Spain and France for abortions in the years since laws were liberalized in those countries in 1985 and 1975, respectively. They only know numbers for Andorran women who aborted in public Spanish hospitals, which are obliged to share their records with foreign governments. In 2017, 107 women aborted in public Spanish hospitals, but dozens more abort in France and private clinics.
"I'm a nurse—I worked for a long time in the health center," said Antonia Escoda Alegret, the president of Accio Feminista (Feminist Action), another women's rights group in Andorra. "We knew all the addresses where we could send someone, even if it wasn't official." Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled her own mother's abortion back in the 1970s, before France or Spain legalized abortion and everyone went to England. Some years later, she needed an abortion herself and went to Toulouse—an experience that wasn't particularly traumatic, she noted, thanks to her mother's own history.
The years lessen the pain, but for some, the emotional toll lingers. Back in the bar, Lara took a drag on her cigarette before showing me a small tattoo. She tells people it's for her younger sister, but that's not the whole truth. It's also for her daughter—tiny, lilac, and somewhere in the sky.
If you want more border stories, check out this additional package which explores how the borders that divide and surround Europe affect the lives of the people living near them.
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Dr. Alex Loyd – The Success Codes
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Dr. Alex Loyd – The Healing Codes and The Success Codes In the spring of 2001, Dr. Loyd discovered, quite amazingly through what he refers to as a 'revelation?, a simple, and extremely powerful physical mechanism that would prove to be what he had spent so many years searching for. Dr Alex Loyd discovered a healing mechanism now known as The Healing Codes that eliminates the physiological stress in the body. His prayers had been answered. A few years later after the discovery of the Healing Codes, Dr. Loyd would make yet another amazing discovery. The same Healing Codes that were responsible for thousands of testimonials of healing around the world could be re-patterned into a slightly varying set of protocols and assist with success and fulfillment issues in life as well. As a result of this discovery The Success Codes were released. For the next year after this his initial discovery of The Healing Codes and the healing of his wifes depression, Dr. Alex Loyd further tested and validated the effectiveness of this mechanism, which would later become known as The Healing Codes through pre-post Heart Rate Variability tests which is the state-of-the-art mainstream medical diagnostic test for measuring stress in the autonomic nervous system. Basically, heart rate variability testing enables examiners to see when the autonomic nervous system is in or out of balance using state of the art medical diagnostic equipment without the possibility for inaccuracies. When the autonomic nervous system is out of balance it causes physiological stress in the body which in turn not only effects the operation of the immune system, but various other areas of life as well such as an inability to succeed at desired levels or experience fulfillment in other areas of life. As Dr Alex Loyd would also discover, according to research performed at Stanford University, by Dr. Bruce Lipton PHD., an estimated 95 plus percent of all people walk around experiencing this type of stress, most without even being consciously aware of it. It is this same form of stress which according to Dr Bruce Lipton PHD. , is responsible for the same 95% plus of ALL illness and disease. In 86% of the documented studies Dr Alex Loyd performed in his testing the Healing Codes, utilizing heart rate variability testing as the measuring device, stress was virtually eliminated from the body within 20 minutes of using The Healing Codes protocols and the autonomic nervous system was brought back into balance. This was something that had NEVER been accomplished before in the history of medicine. Previous to Dr. Loyd's research and testing of The Healing Codes, there were only 2 known methods that brought the autonomic nervous system into balance and they required six weeks of consistent use to balance the autonomic nervous system, according to available literature going back as far as 30 years. Even then the physiological stress was only eliminated for a few minutes and in best case scenarios a few hours at a time. The protocols afforded through The Healing Codes showed that balance was still apparent 48 hours later in the majority of cases after only one initial 20 minute session utilizing The Healing Codes protocols that Dr Alex Loyd had discovered. Both The Healing Codes and The Success Codes were created after Dr Alex Loyd received what he refers to as a 'revelation? in 2001 just after boarding a plane that would prove to change not only his and his wifes own lives but since has proven to make a profound and positive impact around the world as well for those seeking a totally natural alternative for any number of issues. The revelation that he had received provided a noticeable difference in his wife's depression within only forty five minutes of performing the healing protocols which had been revealed to him on her, and through continued use over the following 3 weeks the clinical depression that she had suffered from for 12 years completely disappeared. What 12 years of
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