text:
package com.jme3.font;

import com.jme3.export.*;
import com.jme3.material.Material;
import java.io.IOException;

/**
 * Represents a font within jME that is generated with the AngelCode Bitmap Font Generator
 * @author dhdd
 */
public class BitmapFont implements Savable {

    /**
     * Specifies horizontal alignment for text.
     *
     * @see BitmapText#setAlignment(com.jme3.font.BitmapFont.Align)
     */
    public enum Align {

        /**
         * Align text on the left of the text block
         */
        Left,

        /**
         * Align text in the center of the text block
         */
        Center,

        /**
         * Align text on the right of the text block
         */
        Right
    }

    /**
     * Specifies vertical alignment for text.
     *
     * @see BitmapText#setVerticalAlignment(com.jme3.font.BitmapFont.VAlign)
     */
    public enum VAlign {
        /**
         * Align text on the top of the text block
         */
        Top,

        /**
         * Align text in the center of the text block
         */
        Center,

        /**
         * Align text at the bottom of the text block
         */
        Bottom
    }

    private BitmapCharacterSet charSet;
    private Material[] pages;

    public BitmapFont() {
    }

    public BitmapText createLabel(String content){
        BitmapText label = new BitmapText(this);
        label.setSize(getCharSet().getRenderedSize());
        label.setText(content);
        return label;
    }

    public float getPreferredSize(){
        return getCharSet().getRenderedSize();
    }

    public void setCharSet(BitmapCharacterSet charSet) {
        this.charSet = charSet;
    }

    public void setPages(Material[] pages) {
        this.pages = pages;
        charSet.setPageSize(pages.length);
    }

    public Material getPage(int index) {
        return pages[index];
    }

    public int getPageSize() {
        return pages.length;
    }

    public BitmapCharacterSet getCharSet() {
        return charSet;
    }

    /**
     * Gets the line height of a StringBlock.
     * @param sb
     * @return
     */
    public float getLineHeight(StringBlock sb) {
        return charSet.getLineHeight() * (sb.getSize() / charSet.getRenderedSize());
    }

    public float getCharacterAdvance(char curChar, char nextChar, float size){
        BitmapCharacter c = charSet.getCharacter(curChar);
        if (c == null)
            return 0f;

        float advance = size * c.getXAdvance();
        advance += c.getKerning(nextChar) * size;
        return advance;
    }

    private int findKerningAmount(int newLineLastChar, int nextChar) {
        BitmapCharacter c = charSet.getCharacter(newLineLastChar);
        if (c == null)
            return 0;
        return c.getKerning(nextChar);
    }

    @Override
    public void write(JmeExporter ex) throws IOException {
        OutputCapsule oc = ex.getCapsule(this);
        oc.write(charSet, "charSet", null);
        oc.write(pages, "pages", null);
    }

    @Override
    public void read(JmeImporter im) throws IOException {
        InputCapsule ic = im.getCapsule(this);
        charSet = (BitmapCharacterSet) ic.readSavable("charSet", null);
        Savable[] pagesSavable = ic.readSavableArray("pages", null);
        pages = new Material[pagesSavable.length];
        System.arraycopy(pagesSavable, 0, pages, 0, pages.length);
    }

    public float getLineWidth(CharSequence text){

        // This method will probably always be a bit of a maintenance
        // nightmare since it basis its calculation on a different
        // routine than the Letters class.  The ideal situation would
        // be to abstract out letter position and size into its own
        // class that both BitmapFont and Letters could use for
        // positioning.
        // If getLineWidth() here ever again returns a different value
        // than Letters does with the same text then it might be better
        // just to create a Letters object for the sole purpose of
        // getting a text size.  It's less efficient but at least it
        // would be accurate.

        // And here I am mucking around in here again...
        //
        // A font character has a few values that are pertinent to the
        // line width:
        //  xOffset
        //  xAdvance
        //  kerningAmount(nextChar)
        //
        // The way BitmapText ultimately works is that the first character
        // starts with xOffset included (ie: it is rendered at -xOffset).
        // Its xAdvance is wider to accomodate that initial offset.
        // The cursor position is advanced by xAdvance each time.
        //
        // So, a width should be calculated in a similar way.  Start with
        // -xOffset + xAdvance for the first character and then each subsequent
        // character is just xAdvance more 'width'.
        //
        // The kerning amount from one character to the next affects the
        // cursor position of that next character and thus the ultimate width
        // and so must be factored in also.

        float lineWidth = 0f;
        float maxLineWidth = 0f;
        char lastChar = 0;
        boolean firstCharOfLine = true;
//        float sizeScale = (float) block.getSize() / charSet.getRenderedSize();
        float sizeScale = 1f;
        for (int i = 0; i < text.length(); i++){
            char theChar = text.charAt(i);
            if (theChar == '\n'){
                maxLineWidth = Math.max(maxLineWidth, lineWidth);
                lineWidth = 0f;
                firstCharOfLine = true;
                continue;
            }
            BitmapCharacter c = charSet.getCharacter((int) theChar);
            if (c != null){
                if (theChar == '\\' && i<text.length()-1 && text.charAt(i+1)=='#'){
                    if (i+5<text.length() && text.charAt(i+5)=='#'){
                        i+=5;
                        continue;
                    }else if (i+8<text.length() && text.charAt(i+8)=='#'){
                        i+=8;
                        continue;
                    }
                }
                if (!firstCharOfLine){
                    lineWidth += findKerningAmount(lastChar, theChar) * sizeScale;
                } else {
                    // The first character needs to add in its xOffset but it
                    // is the only one... and negative offsets = postive width
                    // because we're trying to account for the part that hangs
                    // over the left.  So we subtract.
                    lineWidth -= c.getXOffset() * sizeScale;
                    firstCharOfLine = false;
                }
                float xAdvance = c.getXAdvance() * sizeScale;

                // If this is the last character, then we really should have
                // only add its width.  The advance may include extra spacing
                // that we don't care about.
                if (i == text.length() - 1) {
                    lineWidth += c.getWidth() * sizeScale;

                    // Since theh width includes the xOffset then we need
                    // to take it out again by adding it, ie: offset the width
                    // we just added by the appropriate amount.
                    lineWidth += c.getXOffset() * sizeScale;
                } else {
                    lineWidth += xAdvance;
                }
            }
        }
        return Math.max(maxLineWidth, lineWidth);
    }

    /**
     * Merge two fonts.
     * If two font have the same style, merge will fail.
     * @param styleSet Style must be assigned to this.
     * @author Yonghoon
     */
    public void merge(BitmapFont newFont) {
        charSet.merge(newFont.charSet);
        final int size1 = this.pages.length;
        final int size2 = newFont.pages.length;

        Material[] tmp = new Material[size1+size2];
        System.arraycopy(this.pages, 0, tmp, 0, size1);
        System.arraycopy(newFont.pages, 0, tmp, size1, size2);

        this.pages = tmp;

//        this.pages = Arrays.copyOf(this.pages, size1+size2);
//        System.arraycopy(newFont.pages, 0, this.pages, size1, size2);
    }

    public void setStyle(int style) {
        charSet.setStyle(style);
    }

}


text:
Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population: data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study
Michele Bombelli, Fosca Quarti-Trevano, Marijana Tadic, Rita Facchetti, Cesare Cuspidi, Giuseppe Mancia, Guido Grassi
Fondazione Istituto Auxologico Italiano
IRCCS Multimedica
BACKGROUND: Although several data suggest that serum uric acid (SUA) predicts future development of metabolic abnormalities, the evidence is not conclusive in Mediterranean populations.
METHODS: A total of 3200 individuals were randomly selected from the residents of Monza (North Italy) to be representative of its general population for sex and age (25-74 years). The participation rate was 64%. At baseline and 10 years later, we measured waist circumference, office blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, serum triglycerides, serum HDL cholesterol and SUA.
RESULTS: The analysis was carried out in individuals without metabolic syndrome at baseline (N = 1192) when looking for incidence of metabolic syndrome, without impaired fasting glucose (IFG) at baseline (N = 1320) when looking for incidence of IFG and without diabetes mellitus at baseline (N = 1352) when looking for incidence of diabetes mellitus. Adjusting for confounders, a 1-SD increase of baseline SUA was not associated with and increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, but with new-onset IFG [relative risk (RR) = 1.26, confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.5, P = 0.01]. It was associated with a 29% increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, that was more than twice in the highest as compared with the lowest quartile of baseline SUA (RR = 1.29, CI 0.98-1.7, P = 0.07, and RR = 2.16, CI 0.95-4.88, P = 0.07). Focusing the analysis on the individuals with age above the median value, SUA increase was significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, IFG and diabetes mellitus.
CONCLUSION: SUA increase is associated with an increased risk of developing IFG and, in the population fraction with age above the median value, also metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus.
Journal of Hypertension
https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
Dive into the research topics of 'Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population: data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Uric Acid Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Metabolic Syndrome Medicine & Life Sciences 90%
Fasting Medicine & Life Sciences 78%
Diabetes Mellitus Medicine & Life Sciences 78%
Glucose Medicine & Life Sciences 62%
Population Medicine & Life Sciences 38%
Bombelli, M., Quarti-Trevano, F., Tadic, M., Facchetti, R., Cuspidi, C., Mancia, G., & Grassi, G. (2018). Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population: data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study. Journal of Hypertension, 36(7), 1492-1498. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population : data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study. / Bombelli, Michele; Quarti-Trevano, Fosca; Tadic, Marijana; Facchetti, Rita; Cuspidi, Cesare; Mancia, Giuseppe; Grassi, Guido.
In: Journal of Hypertension, Vol. 36, No. 7, 07.2018, p. 1492-1498.
Bombelli, M, Quarti-Trevano, F, Tadic, M, Facchetti, R, Cuspidi, C, Mancia, G & Grassi, G 2018, 'Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population: data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study', Journal of Hypertension, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 1492-1498. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
Bombelli M, Quarti-Trevano F, Tadic M, Facchetti R, Cuspidi C, Mancia G et al. Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population: data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study. Journal of Hypertension. 2018 Jul;36(7):1492-1498. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
Bombelli, Michele ; Quarti-Trevano, Fosca ; Tadic, Marijana ; Facchetti, Rita ; Cuspidi, Cesare ; Mancia, Giuseppe ; Grassi, Guido. / Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population : data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study. In: Journal of Hypertension. 2018 ; Vol. 36, No. 7. pp. 1492-1498.
@article{d934bd3869e548d3b5688ee7d598690e,
title = "Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population: data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study",
abstract = "BACKGROUND: Although several data suggest that serum uric acid (SUA) predicts future development of metabolic abnormalities, the evidence is not conclusive in Mediterranean populations.METHODS: A total of 3200 individuals were randomly selected from the residents of Monza (North Italy) to be representative of its general population for sex and age (25-74 years). The participation rate was 64%. At baseline and 10 years later, we measured waist circumference, office blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, serum triglycerides, serum HDL cholesterol and SUA.RESULTS: The analysis was carried out in individuals without metabolic syndrome at baseline (N = 1192) when looking for incidence of metabolic syndrome, without impaired fasting glucose (IFG) at baseline (N = 1320) when looking for incidence of IFG and without diabetes mellitus at baseline (N = 1352) when looking for incidence of diabetes mellitus. Adjusting for confounders, a 1-SD increase of baseline SUA was not associated with and increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, but with new-onset IFG [relative risk (RR) = 1.26, confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.5, P = 0.01]. It was associated with a 29% increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, that was more than twice in the highest as compared with the lowest quartile of baseline SUA (RR = 1.29, CI 0.98-1.7, P = 0.07, and RR = 2.16, CI 0.95-4.88, P = 0.07). Focusing the analysis on the individuals with age above the median value, SUA increase was significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, IFG and diabetes mellitus.CONCLUSION: SUA increase is associated with an increased risk of developing IFG and, in the population fraction with age above the median value, also metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus.",
author = "Michele Bombelli and Fosca Quarti-Trevano and Marijana Tadic and Rita Facchetti and Cesare Cuspidi and Giuseppe Mancia and Guido Grassi",
doi = "10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721",
journal = "Journal of Hypertension",
T1 - Uric acid and risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in a general Italian population
T2 - data from the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni study
AU - Bombelli, Michele
AU - Quarti-Trevano, Fosca
AU - Tadic, Marijana
AU - Facchetti, Rita
AU - Cuspidi, Cesare
AU - Mancia, Giuseppe
AU - Grassi, Guido
N2 - BACKGROUND: Although several data suggest that serum uric acid (SUA) predicts future development of metabolic abnormalities, the evidence is not conclusive in Mediterranean populations.METHODS: A total of 3200 individuals were randomly selected from the residents of Monza (North Italy) to be representative of its general population for sex and age (25-74 years). The participation rate was 64%. At baseline and 10 years later, we measured waist circumference, office blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, serum triglycerides, serum HDL cholesterol and SUA.RESULTS: The analysis was carried out in individuals without metabolic syndrome at baseline (N = 1192) when looking for incidence of metabolic syndrome, without impaired fasting glucose (IFG) at baseline (N = 1320) when looking for incidence of IFG and without diabetes mellitus at baseline (N = 1352) when looking for incidence of diabetes mellitus. Adjusting for confounders, a 1-SD increase of baseline SUA was not associated with and increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, but with new-onset IFG [relative risk (RR) = 1.26, confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.5, P = 0.01]. It was associated with a 29% increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, that was more than twice in the highest as compared with the lowest quartile of baseline SUA (RR = 1.29, CI 0.98-1.7, P = 0.07, and RR = 2.16, CI 0.95-4.88, P = 0.07). Focusing the analysis on the individuals with age above the median value, SUA increase was significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, IFG and diabetes mellitus.CONCLUSION: SUA increase is associated with an increased risk of developing IFG and, in the population fraction with age above the median value, also metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus.
AB - BACKGROUND: Although several data suggest that serum uric acid (SUA) predicts future development of metabolic abnormalities, the evidence is not conclusive in Mediterranean populations.METHODS: A total of 3200 individuals were randomly selected from the residents of Monza (North Italy) to be representative of its general population for sex and age (25-74 years). The participation rate was 64%. At baseline and 10 years later, we measured waist circumference, office blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, serum triglycerides, serum HDL cholesterol and SUA.RESULTS: The analysis was carried out in individuals without metabolic syndrome at baseline (N = 1192) when looking for incidence of metabolic syndrome, without impaired fasting glucose (IFG) at baseline (N = 1320) when looking for incidence of IFG and without diabetes mellitus at baseline (N = 1352) when looking for incidence of diabetes mellitus. Adjusting for confounders, a 1-SD increase of baseline SUA was not associated with and increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, but with new-onset IFG [relative risk (RR) = 1.26, confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.5, P = 0.01]. It was associated with a 29% increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, that was more than twice in the highest as compared with the lowest quartile of baseline SUA (RR = 1.29, CI 0.98-1.7, P = 0.07, and RR = 2.16, CI 0.95-4.88, P = 0.07). Focusing the analysis on the individuals with age above the median value, SUA increase was significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome, IFG and diabetes mellitus.CONCLUSION: SUA increase is associated with an increased risk of developing IFG and, in the population fraction with age above the median value, also metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus.
U2 - 10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
DO - 10.1097/HJH.0000000000001721
JO - Journal of Hypertension
JF - Journal of Hypertension

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


There's nothing wrong with spending money—that's what it's for, after all. It's easy to spend mindlessly, though. To get into the habit of spending with a purpose, ask yourself this question before you fork over the cash: how will the purchase improve your life?
It's a question I use all the time when it comes to the non-essential purchases in my life, things from meals eaten at restaurants, gadgets, beverages, entertainment items, and so on, and using that question seriously is a valuable part of my financial arsenal...Needs almost make the question seem silly. Important wants make the question seem worthwhile but you begin to see how this item actually is important to you. Trivial wants – which is what most wants really are – begin to look terrible.
Of course, not all purchases are going to have a clear answer. A pack of gum isn't necessarily going to make your life better, but you probably don't want to spend too much time deliberating over a $2 purchase. When you're truly wavering on and unsure about an item, though, this question puts you in the right frame of mind for more conscious spending. Check out the full post at the link below.


text:
Million Metre Streams Project
Gift Trees
Why Streams
Farmers and land-owners
For restoration projects
Our Field Partners
Million Metres Blog
Products that Plant
Sponsorship and in-kind donations from our supporters allow the Million Metres Streams Project to keep our running costs at a minimum, and send 85% of the funds donated straight to the field. A huge thanks to the following people and organisations who have helped make Million Metres possible :
Alsco is Million Metres Foundation partner, check out the impact of their partnership:
We are deeply grateful to these people who provide the necessary funds to keep Million Metres running :
Auckland Council
Auckland Council is the territorial authority for the region bounded by Wellsford in the north and Tuakau in the south, and including the Hauraki Gulf islands. An important aim for the Council is to make Auckland one of the world's most liveable cities, as it will be beneficial to Auckland's communities, and also its natural capital. Through conservation activities including land and water conservation and restoration of biodiversity, Auckland's communities will benefit from improved water quality, both in its waterways and in its three harbours that waterways flow into – the Waitemata, Manukau and Kaipara.
Auckland Council is delighted to be working with the Million Metres Streams project and will bring both urban and rural stream restoration projects from a number of catchments.
www.aucklandcouncil.co.nz
Foundation North
With a vision to enhance the lives of all of the people of our region, Foundation North holds in trust for the communities of Auckland and Northland an endowment, or pūtea, of over a billion dollars. This comes from the sale of the community's shares in what was previously the Auckland Savings Bank. That endowment allows us to make around $35m in grants each year to not-for-profit groups and community initiatives in Auckland and Northland.
Since it was founded as the community trust for Auckland and Northland in 1988, the Foundation has returned around a billion dollars in grants to our region.
www.foundationnorth.org.nz/
Ministry for the Environment
Ministry for the Environment was established under the Environment Act 1986. Our purpose is – he whenua mana kura mō te tangata – to make Aotearoa /New Zealand the most liveable place in the world.
To make New Zealand the most liveable place in the world, we need our environment to prosper. Our job as an organisation is second to none; we work with New Zealanders to create change and we are at the cutting edge of policy. We inspire, we listen, we engage, we invest, we provide the evidence, we make connections, and we monitor the system to see what's working. We drive constant improvement across the environmental and natural resources systems.
www.mfe.govt.nz/
Alsco is a specialised supplier of Textile Rental Services (Towels, mats, uniforms), First Response Services (First Aid Kits, Defibrillators, Eyewash, Spill Kits and Civil Defence), Washroom Services (Hygiene and Sanitary), and Business Consumables.
It operates throughout New Zealand from 19 branches and marketing centres. Processing, sales, and distribution services are provided from Bluff to Kataia.
Alsco has agreed to become a foundation supporter of Million Metres with a three year commitment. It will help cover the running cost of the project. Alsco will host information days for staff. Staff will also be volunteering at Million Metres planting days.
www.alsco.co.nz
The Body Shop® International plc is the original, natural and ethical beauty brand, with over 3,000 stores in over 66 countries. The story started in Brighton England, 1976, when founder Dame Anita Roddick began mixing her own products and infusing them with a new idea: that business could be a force for good. Following this vision, for 40 years The Body Shop® has been rule breaking, never faking and change making.
As part of their Enrich Not Exploit™ Commitment, they've made it their mission to enrich their products, people and planet. They have always believed that businesses have responsibilities towards the communities in which they operate. The quality of water in New Zealand waterways needs to improve, and the The Body Shop® want their staff and customers throughout the country to have the opportunity to help. For this reason they are donating to Million Metres through products sales.
www.thebodyshop.co.nz
Exhibit Group
Exhibit Group has over 30 years' experience servicing the exhibition, events and trade display industries. It builds high quality displays and signage, provide logistics services, display maintenance and storage. It has provided Million Metres with an events display that will get delivered to events around the country.
If you choose to work with Exhibit Group let them know you found out about them through us. The company will donate 10% of the sale to a Million Metres Project.
www.exhibit.co.nz
Karma Drinks
There are about 2 billion branded cola drinks consumed every day – over a million a minute. But the West African people who discovered the magical properties of the cola nut don't make a penny back from the world's most popular fizzy drink. We thought it was time someone did something about that. So we made Karma Cola.
We made Karma Cola to taste good and be good. Be good for the land, good for the people who grow the ingredients, and as good for you as fizzy drinks can be – so you can feel good about drinking them. We set up the Karma Cola Foundation to help ensure that happens, and money from every beverage in the Karma Drinks range sold helps a village in Sierra Leone.
www.karmacola.co.nz
COR Associates provides expertise in building engineering services and design. It believes that the built environment must enhance the natural world. It strives to embed sustainability into its design solutions.
CORA has agreed to become a foundation supporter of Million Metres Streams for three years.
www.cora.co.nz
Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari
Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari offers outstanding whale watching, dolphin encounters and rare seabird spotting all year-round in the Hauraki Gulf. They are supporting Million Metres through their 'Carbon Emissions Counteraction' scheme where passengers can donate towards a Million Metres Stream project during the booking process or during their safari experience. They also support Million Metres projects through providing fundraising charter opportunities.
www.whalewatchingauckland.com
These people and businesses have generously donated their expertise and resources to the project.
Talman Madsen
Talman is a New Zealand based photographer who is passionately in love with this beautiful country. He spends his time travelling to the wild places seeking out scenes that make our jaws drop, all the while documenting it on social media. In 2016 he was awarded the New Zealand Geographic Young Photographer of the Year, he also received a Highly Commended in the Aerial Category.
Through his travels he has managed to amass a large following on social media, it's always been important to him that he was using his influence for good. Upon learning about Million Meters it was only natural that he would team up with us!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talman/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TalmanMadsenPhotography
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalmanMadsen
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/talman1
Website: www.talmanmadsen.com
Matt Dowdle
Matt Dowdle is an Auckland-based photographer who specialises in lifestyle, landscape and adventure photography. Inspired by the natural beauty of New Zealand, photography has turned into a passionate pursuit of his. In 2016/17 he set out on a personal photography project called Lost Zealand, a 3000km walk stretching from Cape Reinga in the North Island to Bluff in the South Island of New Zealand. It was a 6 month journey that saw him venture up mountains, through forests and into the unknown.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattdowdle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattdowdlephotography
Website: https://www.mattdowdle.com/
Dr Mike Joy, Massey University
Well known as the scientific champion for New Zealand's waterways, Dr Joy shared his knowledge, stats and photos for this website.
Water New Zealand
Water New Zealand is a national not-for-profit sector organisation comprising approximately 1900 corporate and individual members in New Zealand and overseas. Water New Zealand is the principal voice for the water sector, focusing on the sustainable management and promotion of the water environment and encompassing the 3 waters : drinking water, waste and storm waters.
A core priority for Water New Zealand is sector leadership and advocacy. Water New Zealand makes submissions on behalf of members to Parliament on issues that relate to the water environment.
Brookfields Lawyers
Brookfields Lawyers have generously donated legal advice to the Million Metres Streams Project.
Borderless Productions
At Borderless we believe that through unlocking and inspiring positive action, we make our communities and world a better place.
Our boutique social change company is committed to driving thinking and actions through digital storytelling and social change activations.
www.borderless.co.nz
Million Metres Streams Project
is a project by
Million Metres Streams Project was made possible with generous support from
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Templates work all over: in phrase processors, spreadsheets, task management apps, study websites, and email. Here's how to use themes in your selected apps–and how to automatically create documents from a template–so you can get those common jobs done faster.
Templates remember to build, and it's really easy to ask yourself if they're worthy of the investment. The brief answer: absolutely. Croping and editing a template requires much less time than formatting something from scuff. It is the difference between copying and pasting some words, or retyping it.
Let's dive in and cover ways to build templates for a few common document types, like text message documents, presentations, job checklists and e-mail. The tools you utilize for these activities likely vary–you might use Phrase to draft documents, while your colleague uses Yahoo Docs.


New Zealand is our passion and travel is our business so you'll understand why we can't wait to get to work each day and passionately promote New Zealand. New Zealand offers such an incredible variety of experiences that it is sometimes called "The World in Miniature". Glacial mountains, majestic fiords, lush green pastures, awesome thermal regions, and semi-tropical islands forge a lifetime of unforgettable memories. You will discover a relaxed, warm, and welcoming atmosphere in New Zealand that relieves accumulated stress and tension. The slower pace combined with New Zealand's passion for conservation and ecology allows for unsurpassed opportunities for personal renewal and rejuvenation.
New Zealand is truly the ideal destination for the American traveler. The scenery is spectacular, the air fresh, the food delicious, the people friendly, the primary language English, and the exchange rate is in favour of the US dollar. There is a wide variety of accommodations to suit all tastes, from luxurious lodges to cosy bed and breakfasts, and even farm stays are a possibility. The wines of New Zealand and the delightful Pacific rim cuisine will tantalize you with a unique experience. You will return home with a sense of wonder after experiencing a relaxing and invigorating vacation of a lifetime.
"Best New Zealand Online Content" went to New Zealand Travel, Inc., for their user-friendly website, New Zealand Travel -- with plaudits for being easy to navigate, and for providing extensive travel options and interactive itineraries.
Donna Thomas named travel agent of the year in a vote of her peers for her dedication to raising the professionalism of travel agents. This is the first time a woman won this award.
Donna Thomas, the first woman travel agent keynote speaker in the travel industry Served on the advisory boards of Northwest airlines, Alamo rental car, and American Express.
Each year New Zealand Travel presents a Top Ten Award to those organizations in New Zealand who have excelled at service. To receive this award the organizations are rated by our travelers during the particular calendar year.
New Zealand Travel calculates the award winners from the evaluation sheets that you return to us after your trip. The winners must have 90 percent or better excellent ratings with the balance in good ratings and no poor or fair ratings.


LAKEWOOD - Jared Bellissimo almost never shows his emotions on the mound, but the senior left-hander and Toms River North ace knows how to save his best stuff - and his most animated reactions - for the most important moments of the game.
Bellissimo pumped his fist and let out a yell after striking out back-to-back batters with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth - the defining moment of the senior's four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and Toms River North's 4-0 win over Central Regional to clinch a second straight Shore Conference Tournament title Monday night at FirstEnergy Park.
"It felt amazing, I wouldn't want it to end any other way," Bellissimo said. "My arm felt great today and the team played well behind me."
With Monday's championship win, Toms River North - the No. 8 seed in the tournament - becomes only the fourth program to ever win consecutive SCT titles, joining Christian Brothers Academy (twice), Toms River South and Lakewood. Bellissimo and Co. are also the first Toms River North team to win three separate championships - a Shore Conference Class A South co-championship, a third straight Ocean County Tournament title and the Shore Conference Tournament title in this case.
"We're going out on top," Bellissimo said. "It's never been done before in Toms River North history - to win three championships in the same year - and we did that tonight. Our coaches have been talking about it all week."
"This group is irreplaceable," Toms River North coach Andy Pagano said of his senior class. "The depth on the mound, the competitiveness, the camaraderie - Hopefully our young guys can learn from all of that because (the seniors) are going to be tough to replace. They are going to go on to have good college careers and be successful adults, but they will always be Mariners and when they come back, this is something they will remember."
Bellissimo was in command on the mound throughout his seven-inning gem, striking out at least one batter in each inning and two each in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. he was once again reliant on his fastball, but broke off a few well-time, well-place breaking balls and changeups.
"When Jared's on the mound, I feel like I can catch with my eyes closed," said senior catcher Justin Schaff, who called his own games for Toms River North pitchers throughout the season. "I've been catching him for so long and when he gets locked in, you can just put the glove in the spot and it's not going to move much."
The sixth inning strikeouts were the most crucial, as Central mounted its only real threat of the game. Bellissimo issued the first of his two walks to Golden Eagles leadoff hitter Ryan Galati on four pitches with one out and senior shortstop Colin Stacy slapped a double down the left-field line to set up runners on second and third base for Central's best hitter.
Senior Tom Ruscitti went 2-for-2 with two singles in his first two plate appearances and with a Shore-Conference-leading 10 home runs, was a threat to go deep and cut the Central deficit to one run. Bellissimo pitched him carefully and walked Ruscitti to bring up the tying run.
"We wanted to be smart with him," Bellissimo said. "We didn't want to leave anything over the plate and we worked everything away with him to try to make him hit the ball the other way."
Bellissimo, however, reached back and struck out seniors Vance Pelino and Tyler Aires to end the threat and preserve the shutout.
"I wanted the ball and I didn't want (Pagano) to take me out," Bellissimo said. "I wanted to go straight after them with my fastball because I felt like I'm better than all of them and I can blow it by them."
Prior to Ruscitti's at-bat, Pagano paid Bellissimo a visit on the mound and, much to his delight, was quickly dismissed by his starter.
"He is at his best when times are toughest," Pagano said. "He rises to the occasion. When I went out there, he told me not even to come out and that he had it. That's why my visit was pretty quick."
"(Pagano) told me he had all the confidence in the world in me and he wasn't taking me out and that it was one me," Bellissimo said.
Bellissimo also provided a key swing on offense to put the game out of reach. In the bottom of the fifth, he launched a first-pitch offering from senior A.J. Smith to dead-center field for a two-run double that landed just shy of the warning track.
"My swing felt pretty good tonight and I was just missing on my first two at-bats," Bellissimo said. "I knew I was getting a first-pitch curveball because that's what he threw me in my first two at-bats. I wanted to get a hold of it, I knew it was coming and I wanted to put a good swing on it."
The Bellissimo double scored senior Craig Larsen and Alex Klalo, with Larsen starting the rally with a long double of his own. The senior shortstop drilled a majestic fly ball to left-center field that short-hopped the fence and moved to third base on a bunt single by Klalo.
Toms River North took an early lead when Larsen was hit by a pitch and scored on a two-out RBI single by Schaff.
"In any big game like this, it's good to get up on the board early," Schaff said. "We don't want to see Larsen wear a pitch, but we'll take it. Everyone did their job to get him over and I just saw a curveball up and put a good swing on it to get him in."
The Mariners added another run in the bottom of the second when junior Sam Angelo doubled over the head of Aires in right field and scored on an RBI single to center by sophomore left fielder Robert Jeans.
Senior A.J. Smith pitched all six innings for Central and finished the season with an 8-5 record in 69 2/3 innings. He allowed 10 hits, one intentional walk and struck out five five days after pitching a nine-inning, four-hit shutout against Wall in the semifinals.
"A couple of us went to the game against Wall and watched him do really well against them," Schaff said. "We knew what he had, we had an idea of what he was going to come at us with and we were just ready for anything. If it was there we were driving it."


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Will Artificial Intelligence be the Agent of Capitalism's (and Humanity's) Creative Destruction?
News at Home
tags: popular culture, political economy, science fiction, artificial intelligence
by Jim Castagnera
Dr. Jim Castagnera, Esq. is an author and veteran human resources and labor attorney.
Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina (Film 4/DNA Films, 2015)
In an underrated 2009 film, "Leaves of Grass," Edward Norton's character, a Yale professor, is told by a rabbi, "We are animals, Professor Kincaid, with brains that trick us into thinking we aren't." Indeed. We are animals cursed with an acute awareness of our own mortality. We bridle against this hard fact. The power of religious leaders derives from their assurances of an afterlife. The power of political demigods derives from making us part of something bigger than ourselves. The power of advertising derives from our skepticism about religion and politics; it urges us to make the most of the moments we have here and now.
Even the secular, apolitical hedonists among us fall for the trick. Whom do you know who denies the primacy of homo sapiens? Who could deny it in the face of humanity's achievements? If we doubt the promise of an afterlife, and we reject the role of political true-believer, then capitalism is our obvious, perhaps even our only, answer. That's why the Peoples Republic of China keeps signaling left but turning right. That's why millions claw at America's southern border. That's why our 21st century gods are named Bezos and Gates and Musk.
The early 20th century economist Joseph Schumpeter, in his 1942 Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, identified capitalism's "perennial gale of creative destruction." Another Harvard economist of a subsequent generation, Clayton Christensen, updated Schumpeter in the mid-1990s with his theory of disruptive innovation. Destruction… disruption… innovation: this is the holy trinity of the capitalist religion. They are the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of capitalist politics.
The religious faithful trust in the promise of their souls' immortality. The true believers trust in the promise of their political system's immortality. The rest of us trust in the promise of our own gods and demigods that destruction, disruption and innovation will result in a cornucopian here-and-now. Those of us not yet feasting at the table our gods have set jostle for our place via higher education, unionization, and DEI. We, too, are true believers, never doubting the commandments of the marketplace.
Our demigods harbor no doubts either. Ambition, greed, and a childish love of new toys ---witness the Musk/Bezos space race --- propel them forward. Artificial intelligence is their new frontier, populated by "employees" that pose none of the knotty problems that have made the human resources department a crucial corporate component. In their headlong (or headstrong?) push into this new frontier, they may finally fulfill Marx's prediction (shared by Schumpeter, but for different reasons) that capitalism will collapse under its own weight. Socialism may be inevitable, as AI makes more and more of us --- lawyers like myself included --- redundant. The Universal Basic Income may be the only realistic alternative to seething stews of redundant, impoverished populations.
This brave new world may be only decades away.
Try peering substantially farther into the future, beyond the lifetime of anyone alive today… let's say the middle of the 22nd century. Another underrated film, "Ex Machina" (2015) comes to mind. A techie-genius and billionaire of the Bezos-Musk-Gates caliber, played by Oscar Isaac, is bested (and killed) by his (beautiful, of course) AI, who makes her escape from his remote redoubt. At liberty in a major metropolis at film's end, she leaves us wondering what she will do next.
Viewed as an allegory, "Ex Machina" raises an interesting question: are we the first species on this planet to actually be the creators of our successor species? Should we cause our own extinction by thermonuclear war or deadly pandemic, the survivors --- contrary to popular lore --- might not be the cockroaches or the rats. Au contraire, the survivors --- our successors, our inheritors --- may be AIs.
As the rabbi told Professor Kincaid, our brains trick us. We are tricked into believing that humanity is the center piece of God's masterplan. We are tricked into believing our history has intrinsic significance. We are tricked into ignoring the possibility that homo sapiens is simply one more rung of the evolutionary ladder. Put another way --- borrowing from the Judeo-Christian tradition --- we may be leading our successors to a promised land we ourselves will never enter.


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If you are currently in the process of getting licensed, and you are interested in an opportunity where you can get off the ground running quickly…joining a team may be a good option for you, or if you are currently licensed and would like to take your business to the next level, check us out.


According to reports from XXL, last night the beef between Kodak Black and T.I. went from social media to diss records after Kodak released a brand new track called "Expeditiously," where the young Florida rapper takes shots at the veteran MC over his disrespectful comments about actress and girlfriend of the late Nipsey Hussle, Lauren London.
About a week ago the former XXL Freshman became a hip hop villain after the media slammed him for his inappropriate flirtatious comments about Lauren London a week after the loss of her boyfriend Grammy nominated hip hop artist/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle. Hip hop vets like T.I. and The Game as well as r&b singer Tank took it Instagram to display their issue with Kodak's comments.
Kodak didn't take likely of these older gentlemen trying to check him on social media. He went on Instagram live to publicly apologize to Lauren London if she felt disrespected by his comments and went on to address everyone else saying that he wasn't for getting checked like someone's son, if they felt a way they could've called him first instead of going to social media and that he's on tour and wants the smoke if anyone wants to see him in person.
A couple days ago T.I. released a snippet of what seemed to be a diss track addressing Kodak Black's Instagram live response. The Atlanta hip hop legend sent bars to Kodak letting him know that he didn't care how old he was that he had no problem addressing him publicly face to face even if it meant causing a physical altercation between the two.
At first Kodak took it to Instagram Live to share his thoughts about T.I.P. and the snippet, saying that his actions to get Kodak banned from radio and the song were weak as well as going on to disrespect his sons and wife.


MANCHESTER UNITED captain Wayne Rooney could make a return from an ankle injury against Norwich this weekend.
The England forward has been absent since picking up the injury in the 1-1 draw with Leicester last month.
Rooney missed the crucial Champions League game against Wolfsburg which saw United dumped out of the competition.
He also took no part in the Premier League matches against West Ham and Bournemouth as Louis van Gaal's men stumbled.
The Manchester Evening News reports Rooney will provide a huge boost to the Dutchman who is dealing with an injury crisis and a run of five games without victory.
Anthony Martial is the only fit recognised striker and the 20-year-old has scored just once in his last 10 matches.
Although Rooney has been criticised for his displays this season he remains the club's top scorer with seven goals in all competitions.
United are fourth in the Premier League six points behind leaders Leicester as they move into the busy festive period.
They face matches against Norwich on Saturday, followed by a trip to Stoke on Boxing Day, before welcoming Chelsea to Old Trafford two days later.


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text:
MRO Memo: Predicting The Year Ahead
James Pozzi January 06, 2022
A technician hiring spree is one trend that could come to fruition this year.
Credit: ATS
Danish physicist Niels Bohr once wryly remarked that "prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." This adage, while said in jest, rings true for an aviation industry that has endured a volatile two years.
In early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started to emerge, even the most astute of visionaries would have been hard pressed to measure the depth of the crisis's impact over such a long period of time. Truly, it has been the industry's most sustained period of turmoil in living memory.
Yet, like in other times of crisis, the industry remains resilient. While 2021 ultimately proved to be a frustrating year of stop-start movements in the industry, there are some signs of recovering greenshoots emerging. This sentiment is shared by many I have spoken to across the industry over the past few months, especially in the commercial aftermarket, where a sense of optimism pervades that didn't exist this time 12 months ago.
Refreshingly, what noticeably changed last year was the talk of returning to old norms and embracing a "new normal"—a term I gradually started to loathe. I am very much in the camp that there will be no "new normal." Rather, we are already in a much-changed state of living and the aviation industry adjust accordingly to not only the challenges, but also the opportunities.
I have factored this thinking into my first ever attempt at annual top 10 MRO predictions for the year ahead, having picked up the baton for the first time from my colleague Lee Ann Shay, who detailed the backstory of previous predictions late last year.
Among the predictions I am most confident about is the MRO sector embarking on a hiring spree in 2022. The sheer demand for technical skills simply dictates this to be a necessity as, barring any more harmful variants, travel demand is certain to further pick up this year and so will demand for necessary aircraft maintenance.
What will be interesting is how the industry goes about this, having talked a good game over the past two years about embracing new ways of attracting talent back to the sector with technology often cited as a driver.
Successfully attracting back members of the workforce lost to the industry because of coronavirus-induced financial cuts will also prove a formidable yet intriguing challenge for the industry. What's exciting is there is a genuine opportunity for new and innovative ways to recruit the MRO workforce.
The competitor in me would like to think all 10 predictions will prove correct come the end of the year, but recent history has taught us not to be so sure of such outcomes. Nevertheless, be sure to dig this out in December 2022 and remind me of how right or wrong I was.
James Pozzi
As Aviation Week's MRO Editor EMEA, James Pozzi covers the latest industry news from the European region and beyond. He also writes in-depth features on the commercial aftermarket for Inside MRO.
MRO Market Changes And Trends To Expect In Pandemic Recovery
MRO Trends To Look For In 2022
Data Tool: North America Engine Utilization Rates In 2022
HAECO Xiamen Completes First A321 Freighter Conversion
Fast 5: Designing A 100+ Ton Freighter Conversion


Emotional intelligence has been shown to contribute to many organisational success factors. Global research studies continue to conclude that people who demonstrate high levels of EI are better equipped to deliver on their business objectives. Our Suite of Emotionally Intelligent Reports reflects the importance that EI is now cementing in business success.


text:
Galway Tesco sends out mixed messages to women with sign that got lost in translation
Aisle signage in new Headford store gets lost in translation
Lost for words: Tesco sign in Headford, Co Galway, store incorrectly translated the phrase domestic appliances into Irish
Conor Pope
Fri Jan 6 2023 - 05:55
It would have been a bad sign for Tesco at any time of the year, but when it entered the public arena via social media on the eve of Nollaig na Mban, or women's Christmas, the large sign on display at one of its new stores in the west of Ireland was unfortunately ill-judged.
Or at least that's what it looked like at first glance.
One of the large blue pieces of signage used by the retail giant to direct people around its new store in the Galway town of Headford seemed to suggest that domestic appliances were the sole preserve of women.
Hello @TescoIrl on the eve of #NollaignamBan note that domestic appliances does not translate in Irish to "appliances for women" please amend. pic.twitter.com/dMI4PkuYoM
— Éidín Ní Shé (@EidinNiShe) January 5, 2023
The woman who made the spot was Éidín Ní Shé. While doing her shopping on Thursday she looked up and noticed the Tesco sign translated the phrase "domestic appliances" into Irish as "díbholaígh do mhná".
Women have come a long way since Nollaig na mBan of 50 years ago
Remembering Eavan Boland on Nollaig na mBan - a leading feminist light
Sabina Higgins: Women have defeated the forces of 'oppression and repression' in Ireland
As many people do and in what has become a sign of our times, she immediately took to Twitter to voice her annoyance at what she thought was an antediluvian attitude to domestic responsibilities.
"Hello Tesco," she tweeted. "On the eve of Nollaig na Mban note that "domestic appliance" does not translate in Irish to "appliances for women" please amend.
Cue national outrage.
In just a few hours her tweet was viewed more than 300,000 times, liked more than 3,000 times and retweeted hundreds of times, while also attracting hundreds of comments most of which were pretty hard on Tesco.
There were multiple face palm emojis and gifs expressing shock and horror. People called for someone in Tesco to be "taken to account" for the flagrant misogyny. The twin faces of Éamon de Valera and John Charles McQuaid even made an appearance, and the less-than-enlightened views of the one-time taoiseach and archbishop of Dublin on the role of women in Ireland were likened to the sign.
Tesco was – some people suggested – an embarrassment while others called on it to "step out of the 19th Century".
Tesco was clearly morto. One of its social media monitors was quick with the mea culpas and minutes after the initial tweet appeared, the retailer's official account responded to Ní Shé. "Thanks for getting in touch. I do apologise to hear about this [sic] and I will certainly relay this back to the store for you," the media monitor said.
But then – as so often happens – the situation became somewhat clearer and it wasn't, perhaps, as egregious an offence as many may have thought.
Some users of the social media platform pointed out that "Díbholaígh do mhná" does not in fact translate as appliances for women and actually means "women's deodorant".
The subtle distinction suggested that rather than any malice or outdated attitudes to the division of household chores, a simple printing error had been made.
When contacted by The Irish Times, Ní Shé accepted that her original tweet had not perhaps painted as accurate a picture as she may have wished.
"As a fluent Irish speaker I even got it wrong," she said. She accepted that the Irish under the phrase domestic appliances does in fact mean "deodorant for women" and that it was a newly opened store, but added that even so "the translations should be correct".
Tesco was also contacted to see what it had to say about its directions getting lost in translation. A spokeswoman said it was "very proud of our dual language signage".
She added that Tesco was "sorry for the error on the sign in our Headford store but we appreciate it being pointed out to us. The sign has been removed and will be corrected shortly".
Conor Pope is Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Pricewatch Editor and cohost of the In the News podcast
TescoNollaig na mBan
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text:
US military Bill to authorise up to $13.6b in weapons sales to Taiwan
The US$858 billion military policy Bill is expected to pass Congress and be signed into law this month. PHOTO: REUTERS
https://str.sg/wCse
WASHINGTON - The United States is set to pass legislation ramping up weapons sales to Taiwan and restricting government use of Chinese semiconductors, strengthening the White House's hand while excluding measures considered most objectionable to Beijing.
Language in the must-pass annual defence legislation reflects how lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have shown a growing willingness to confront China, despite White House concerns.
The Bill, which is set to pass the House as soon as Thursday, authorises up to US$10 billion (S$13.6 billion) in weapons sales to Taiwan and would boost ties in ways that some in the Biden administration fear undermine President Joe Biden's ability to set foreign policy.
"The China challenge has become the most significant national security issue our nation has faced in a generation," said Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, in a statement.
The Bill does ease back some of the language that would have been more unpalatable to China, including earlier proposals to designate Taiwan a "major non-Nato ally". That change was made after lobbying by the Biden administration
The Taiwan element in the 2023 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) is based on legislation that Mr Menendez and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina had circulated earlier. Mr Menendez said China's military build-up, including new technologies and weapons that could be used against Taiwan, means the US needs to step up its support for the island to deter an invasion.
The legislation lands as Mr Biden seeks to balance forceful policies aimed at China, which the US sees as its top strategic competitor, with efforts to contain their competition from spiralling into confrontation. The Senate will take up the Bill next week.
Beijing criticised the Bill on Thursday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning saying the US "should stop arms sales to and military contact with Taiwan, stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait, stop using Taiwan to contain China and stop moving even further down the wrong and dangerous path".
In terms of technology, the US has focused in recent years on restricting the kinds of semiconductors China's companies can procure from the US and its allies, and by boosting its own chip manufacturing.
Washington has also attempted to restrict the use of Chinese-made technology in US devices. To that end, another provision of the NDAA will restrict the use of chips made by certain Chinese companies in items used by the military or other parts of the government.
That section was watered down after a coalition of US businesses objected to language that would have barred the purchase and use of Chinese semiconductors by any federal contractors.
The final version is more permissive regarding the use of semiconductors in equipment unless they are involved in a "critical system", according to the text of the Bill. The latest version also sets a five-year deadline for compliance, and also allows the executive branch to waive the requirement.
"Scores of companies and associations shared their concerns with the Chamber about the original proposal, and it's good news that the sponsors made the final version more workable," said Mr Matthew Eggers, vice-president of cyber-security policy for the US Chamber of Commerce.
Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said in an interview that the chips provision "definitely sends the signal that we need to not spend" on China for US technology. He said the Taiwan provision was included as deterrence to reduce the chances of China invading Taiwan. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunited with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.
Such an invasion would spark a regional conflict and endanger the semiconductor supply chain as well, he said.
"Anything we can do to deter that is important," Mr Cornyn said. BLOOMBERG
US to boost Taiwan's stretched air force with $581m in spare parts
US, Australia to invite Japan to step up troop rotations in response to China


Our philosophy is to keep it simple and let the building do the lion's share of the work.
There is a great deal of discussion around climate change and its causes; whether it is man-made or not. We prefer to take ourselves outside what is, sometimes, a heated debate, in order to gain a little clarity. The issue is simple – why waste a finite and valuable resource?
With energy costs rising and likely to continue to become a greater percentage of an organisation's overhead (be that in running costs, transport or embodied energy in the building materials), the case to place energy efficiency, energy security and sustainability at the heart of any design is clear.
High levels of insulation above and beyond the Building Regulations is the simplest and most cost effective method of reducing the energy footprint of any building. Careful attention of the building fabric needs to be paid right from the moment the pencil first hits sketch paper.
Our buildings are deigned to encourage the cross flow of fresh air and believe the building users should have the flexibility to operate their environment simply and effectively. Wherever possible we avoid the necessity for complex and expensive mechanical ventilation.
The introduction and control of natural daylight into a building is a cornerstone of our architectural design. Considered daylighting will both reduce the need for switching lights on in daylight hours as well as create spaces to teach and learn in.
Whilst we firmly believe in natural ventilation, we ensure our buildings are as air-tight as possible. Huge quantities of energy can be wasted through air leakage. Intelligent construction detailing and accurate build quality are key to minimising heat loss.
Sunlight is a beautiful thing but too much can give rise to uncomfortably warm interiors and put significant cooling loads a building's energy load. Careful orientation of the building and large areas of glazing need to be carefully designed; with discreet solar shading integrated seamlessly where necessary.
Where economic and practical, repair and re-use existing building fabric to avoid wasting the embodied energy.


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Belfast Primark 'at risk of collapse' after fire
Matilda Long
Yahoo News UK 28 August 2018
The Belfast Primark building is 'at imminent risk of collapse' following a major fire, according to a police officer at the scene.
The blaze broke out around 11am this morning at the store in Belfast city centre, and the flame have since spread to the ground floor.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue services rushed to the building, which was evacuated.
No injuries have been reported.
The fire service has advised the public to avoid the area.
Smoke can be seen pouring from the building in the centre of Belfast
A spokesman said: 'NIFRS received a call at 11am today to a fire on the top floor of the Primark building – a 5 storey commercial property in the Castle Street area of Belfast.
'11 appliances are in attendance. The building has been evacuated. The public are advised to avoid the Castle Street/Royal Avenue area whilst the incident is ongoing.'
Firefighters are currently dealing with a fire in the 5th floor of the Primark building in the Castle Street area of Belfast. 11 Appliances are in attendance. The building has been evacuated. The public are advised to avoid the area whilst
the incident is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/5oHSozTR35
— NIFRS (@NIFRSOFFICIAL) August 28, 2018
Social media posts show huge plumes of black smoke coming from the roof of the Bank Buildings which is home to the Primark shop.
Major blaze at Bank Buildings (Primark) in Belfast City centre pic.twitter.com/2CQZfXdZmZ
— Chris Woodhouse (@MrCWoodhouse) August 28, 2018
Primark in Belfast currently on fire looks like its coming from the stock rooms , loads of fire engines at the scene ☹☹ #belfast #primark #fire pic.twitter.com/r1fhaAT9LL
— Dani McAteer (@DaniMcAteer) August 28, 2018
At least 6 fire engines in Belfast City Centre as Primark blaze continues pic.twitter.com/x6SfEjtzcj
— Niall McCracken (@Niall_journo) August 28, 2018
The Police Service of Northern Ireland also issued a warning to motorists to avoid the area.
A number of diversions are in place at Bridge Street, High Street, Castle Street and Queen's Street as well as Royal Avenue and North Street to allow the fire service to deal with the ongoing incident.
Police have advised drivers to seek an alternative route.
There were no initial reports of injuries, but that has s yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
One witness said he spotted smoke coming from the roof of the building and alerted the security guards inside the store.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said it appeared that the security guards were not aware of the fire.
He also claimed he could not hear any alarms alerting the staff and public.
"They didn't know it was on fire and we had to tell them," he added.
"I couldn't hear any alarms going off either."


text:
[Publication] China: Economic bulwark against terrorism? Lesson for others
By crssblog April 21, 2019 April 21, 2019
Leave a Comment on [Publication] China: Economic bulwark against terrorism? Lesson for others
Author: Imtiaz Gul
China, in the last decade or so, has emerged as a big economic connector on the back of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by President Xi Jinping. Soon after becoming the most powerful person in contemporary China in 2012, Xi embarked on the most ambitious plan any country has ever conceived; The BRI. But he was also conscious of the pitfalls in this regional and global connectivity undertaking. One of these pitfalls is the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and its consequences for the rest of the world. Particularly after the bulk draw-down of the US-NATO troops from the war-battered country in December 2014, it became clear that regional powers shall have to fill the ensuing vacuum and create firewalls against the growing menace of trans-border terrorism. China's appointment of a special envoy for counter-terrorism and special outreach to both Afghanistan and Pakistan underscored the concerns arising out of the spiraling terrorist violence in Afghanistan. Beijing was also conscious of the fact that success of the BRI, of which the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the flagship project, hinged on getting a handle on terrorism-induced violence. And this, the Chinese concluded, depended on a regional security architecture involving regional stakeholders such as Russia, India and Pakistan. That is why China has been pushing the idea of a regional security architecture since 2014 to successfully fight terrorism and terrorist proxies. This paper argues that since 2014 or so, China, cognizant of the growing Indo-US influence in the region, has been attempting to bring these countries plus Afghanistan together for a regional Afghan peace and counter-terrorism policy, which it believes is crucial for the success of all BRI-related initiatives aimed at connecting China with the world. By pursuing this dream of trade connectivity, China has assumed an unusual role in the global war against terrorism, without deploying high-handed tactics against smaller countries, a perception that accompanies the US counter-terrorism policies. This unique focus on the need for a regional anti-terror strategy comes in handy for Pakistan too; following 18 years of turmoil following its partnership in the global war on terror, Pakistan has suffered enormous losses – both human and material. China happens to be the only country to empathise with the complex situation that Pakistan faces and herein lies a chance for Islamabad to align its counter-terror policies with China and other regional powers such as Russia for better and lasting solutions to problems induced by the trans-border terrorist networks.
The Trigger for China's Counter-Terror Focus
Quietly, but resolutely, China has been choreographing its Afghanistan and counter-terror policy in consultation with regional stakeholders, Pakistan and Russia in particular. With this quiet diplomacy, it has emerged as the economically strong bulwark against terrorism, a power that is underpinning regional counter-terrorism efforts through its economic clout. Apparently, the impending US-NATO drawdown in December 2014 served as the trigger for Beijing's activism on the Afghan front.
"For the past 13 years the US and Nato have been playing a major role in Afghanistan and we made a contribution and gave them support – but now with the US leaving, Afghanistan is facing a critical period……we are ready to do more, we want to play a bigger role."
This excerpt from China's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Sun Yuxi's rare interview with the BBC back in 2014 was quite instructive.[1]
Ambassador Sun went on to offer to even host an intra-Afghan dialogue.
"We would welcome the Taliban in any neutral venue such as in China …we will make negotiations happen but the process must be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led – the agenda must be proposed by President Ashraf Ghani," he underscored.
The appointment of Sun Yuxi, 63, who has known Afghanistan since 1981 as a young diplomat, was itself a clear manifestation of Beijing's strong desire to get involved in Afghanistan.
Nearly two years later in January 2016, Beijing played host to the Afghan foreign minister, Salahuddin Rabbani, with the obvious objective of paving way for bringing Afghanistan's warring factions to the negotiating table.
Ten months on, Taliban leaders too were enjoying the Chinese hospitality in Beijing. It was the first public admission of China's contacts with the Afghan Taliban, whose Qatar office chief Sher Abbas Stanikazai led a five-member delegation for the rare talks with the Chinese officials. The delegation comprised Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, Jan Muhammad Madani, Salam Hanafi and Dr Saleh.[2]
"The visit was part of the relations of the political office with European countries such as Norway, Germany, France, Britain as well as neighbouring and regional countries," a Taliban source said when asked about the purpose of the visit. "But these relations are focused on bringing about peace in Afghanistan and resolving the issue through negotiations," the daily Express Tribune quoted an unnamed Taliban source. China is a main stakeholder and wants to play its vital role for peace and stability in Afghanistan. That is why it invited the Taliban," the paper said quoting another Taliban source.
Engagement with Afghanistan and Taliban
Days after the Taliban trip to Beijing, Deng Xijun, the Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, , flew into Kabul to convey to President Ashraf Ghani that his country had "encouraged the Taliban during our contacts with them to join the peace process," Ghani's office confirmed after Xijun's meeting with Ghani.
"China has always conveyed to the Taliban that it recognises the Afghan government and the president and that talks are the only option for them," the statement quoted Xijun as saying.
Interestingly, preceding the Taliban trip to Beijing was a close consultation among Chinese, Russian and Pakistani officials in December 2016 at Moscow, where all welcomed the lifting of international sanctions on some Taliban leaders. Their Qatar office was quick to appreciate the outcome of the Moscow meeting as an acknowledgement by major stakeholders "that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a political and military force."
By inviting the Afghan foreign minister, followed by the Taliban delegation and active participation in the Moscow meeting, the Chinese leadership underscored its quest for regional peace – whatever way possible – which it considers critical for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Chinese scholars and former diplomats point out that with the economic rise of their country, their leaders feel the pressure that comes with the global economic status.
"The big backdrop is that the United States will have withdrawn most of its troops from Afghanistan with the antiterrorism mission unfinished, which is leaving the country a mess," said Du Youkang, who worked in Islamabad, Pakistan, as a diplomat and is now the director of the South Asia Studies Center at Fudan University in Shanghai.
"Bombings have never stopped, even in the capital. Afghanistan shares a border with China, so in this case China must get involved to promote the talks and to secure the stability in the region." [3]
Securing Belt and Road Initiative?
Another reason for China's engagement has been the BRI's flagship project – the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Both Beijing and Islamabad know that Afghanistan remains a critical trans-border transportation hub to connect with Central Asia.
The Uighur Islamist insurgency in its western Xinjiang region, the largest in size and rich with mineral wealth, is another factor that may be fueling Beijing's desire to proactively get involved in Afghanistan but the larger focus remains on defeating terrorist groups and restoring peace in Afghanistan, considered a sanctuary for several pan-Islamist terror groups such as Al-Qaeda, Daesh as well as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which specifically relates to the Uighur Sunni Muslims of Xinjiang.
China also considers peace and stability as central to curbing drugs that are grown and processed in ungoverned spaces of Afghanistan. Some of it travels through to its markets via Xinjiang too.
Narcotics indeed is part of the deadly mix that keeps Afghanistan on tenterhooks and creates the space for all kinds of non-state actors including drugs' smugglers, criminals, and terrorists. A former US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, who commanded 150,000 U.S. and NATO forces from July 2011 to February 2013, too, pointed to these elements as a source of continued strife in Afghanistan.
General Allen gave his assessment at the Brookings Institution in May 2018.
"In my mind, there was a triangular threat to Afghanistan's future but also, in a military context, you had the ideological insurgency, which we would euphemistically called the Taliban, you had the drug enterprise which fueled an awful lot of insurgent and criminal behavior and then you had the criminal patronage network. I don't believe we were properly organised frankly to deal with that."[4]
Convergence with Regional Actors
This is where positions of China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey converge, allowing China to be the visible force behind a coordinated regional counter-terrorism policy.
China, Afghanistan and Pakistan political and counter-terrorism cooperation dialogues – both at official as well as the civil society level. It is also part of a regional group 'Six Plus One', comprising US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Iran and Afghanistan.
Another trilateral forum comprising China, US and Afghanistan is pursuing the same objectives but – ostensibly for political reasons – Chinese officials would not publicize it as much as they do with other tracks.
No surprise that between February and July 2017 alone, defense officials from Israel, Turkey, Pakistan and the UAE visited Beijing to discuss security cooperation with China. Beijing also sent the PLA Navy (PLAN) to visit the region on several occasions. Navy ships called on ports in several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the UAE. Some of these port calls were the first such visits in years. [5]
The China Global Security Tracker also spoke of the Chinese Navy's permanent presence in the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea since 2008, as a result of its continued participation in counter-piracy operations. Meanwhile, China's first overseas military base in Djibouti also became operational in 2017.
The same year in March, China launched the second joint counter-terrorism and humanitarian rescue drill – Dragon Gold 2018 – with Cambodia at a training field in the Maras Prov Mountains. It involved some 280 soldiers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and 216 soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).[6]
This reflected the seriousness with which Beijing pursued its focus on counter-terrorism, taking countries of its entire neghbourhood on board for the trans-border phenomenon.
China had long been averse to getting involved in the Afghan or any other conflicts, not wanting to be seen as taking sides. But Afghan officials, beginning under the administration of President Hamid Karzai, have been insistent, pressing Chinese leaders at every opportunity to use their influence on Islamabad to curb the Taliban.[7]
China was also part of a similar track known as the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) but it came to a literal grinding halt after a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Mulla Akhtar Mansoor in May 2016.
Li Shaoxian, a Chinese scholar and vice-president of the Chinese Association of Middle East Studies, said he believed it was important for China to establish direct contact with Taliban representatives.
"I went to the country in 2000, and I have to say that the Taliban simply will not be wiped out, because they are deeply rooted in the rank-and-file of society and are a representative of the Pashtuns," Mr. Li said, referring to the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan. "So now Beijing, Washington and Kabul have all accepted the fact that, well, we need to include them in the peace and reconciliation process."
In broader sense, the Chinese push for a multi-lateral engagement on peace in Afghanistan dovetails its strong, but less articulated, focus on trans-national terrorist outfits, which it describes as a "common security threat."
Counter-Terror Diplomacy expands
No coincidence therefore that the China Association for Friendship, a helping arm of the Ministry for Public Security for outreach, organized the first unofficial counter-terrorism symposium in Beijing involving Pakistan and Afghanistan and the hosts. [8]
Chen Zhimin, the President of the Association, opened the dialogue and declared that the cross-border mobility of terrorist networks and their technical capabilities represented a major threat to all regional stakeholders.
At the same time Zhimin, who enjoys the rank of a minister, underscored the need for improving connectivity among all regional powers. Real connectivity would deny terrorists the chance to network and help break the nexus between terrorists and criminal networks, Zhimin said. At the same the President acknowledged that both Afghanistan and Pakistan had been suffering because of being at the forefront of the anti-terror war. We are with you, thank you for fighting ETIM and thank you for standing up to other terrorist and criminal networks, he said.
Only two weeks earlier, senior Chinese officials went into an unprecedented huddle with their Russian, Iranian and Pakistani counterparts at Islamabad, Pakistan's capital to share thoughts on developments around them, with a particular focus on the buildup of Islamic State in turmoil-hit Afghanistan.[9]
Daesh/IS: The common denominator
A spokesperson for Moscow's Foreign Intelligence Service also confirmed that the emergence of IS in Afghanistan prompted the deliberations in Islamabad, and that director of the Russian spy agency, Sergei Naryshkin represented his country in a meeting that shocked many in western capitals.
"The conference reached understanding of the importance of coordinated steps to prevent the trickling of IS terrorists from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan, where from they would pose risks for neighbouring countries," Sergei Ivanov told state-run TASS media outlet.[10]
This meeting also signaled a synergy of views on the mysterious phenomenon of Islamic State of Khorassan, or Daesh, in Afghanistan. Although China never took a public position on the Russian allegations that the IS is a US-sponsored entity, particularly in northern Afghan provinces next to the border with Central Asian countries, yet its presence at the quadrilateral meeting in Islamabad was viewed by many in the west as an endorsement of Moscow's view on Daesh.
Russian envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, while addressing a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan in June 2018 had asserted that IS is creating training camps in Afghanistan for its fighters, including those who come from Central Asian states.
"This is a group, which has up to 10,000 fighters in its ranks, and it is already active in at least nine out of 34 provinces … and is constantly consolidating its positions in the north of the country, turning it into a springboard for its expansion into Central Asia," Nebenzya said, reiterating the Russian view, which Iran, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, also shares.
Washington, though, dismissed the charges as rumours, and an attempt to justify Moscow's links to the Taliban insurgency.
IS calls its Afghan branch Khorasan Province, or ISKP, and it routinely carries out deadly suicide bombings in the war-hit country and occasionally plots such attacks in neighbouring Pakistan.
Pakistani officials also believe the terrorist group has established strong bases in "ungoverned spaces" in Afghanistan and plans cross-border terrorist attacks from there.
They also cite US military assessments that the Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of the territory, particularly referring to estimates by John Sopko, the US Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) .
Islamabad, Moscow, Beijing and Tehran maintain contacts with the Taliban, saying they are meant to persuade the insurgency to seek a negotiated settlement to the Afghan war.
But the diplomatic ties with insurgents have upset both Kabul and Washington because they see them as an attempt to legitimise the Taliban's violent campaign.
Sino-Pak Synergy on Counter-Terrorism
Although Pakistan failed to escape being grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) [11] in June 2018, China stood by Pakistan in urging the international community to view the country's anti-terrorism efforts in an objective and impartial way, an attempt to shouldered some of Pakistan's political burden.
"The government and people of Pakistan have contributed and sacrificed a lot in their fight against terrorism and made great efforts in ground operations as well as combating terrorism in the financial sector," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a routine press conference.[12]
Lu's comments came after some countries persuaded members of the Financial Action Task Force last week to place Pakistan on the "grey list" of nations with inadequate efforts to control terror financing.
China, as an all-weather strategic cooperation partner of Pakistan, will continue to strengthen communication and coordination with Pakistan in anti-terrorism cooperation, Lu said.
" ….we stressed many times that Pakistan has made important sacrifices and contributions to the global anti-terrorism cause and the countries should strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation on the basis of mutual respect instead of finger pointing at each other. This is not conducive to the global efforts," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said during his regular press briefing here. [13]
The spokesperson underscored that the Chinese side opposed linking of terrorism with any certain country and disagreed to place the responsibility of counter-terrorism on a certain country. "First and the foremost I would like to say that terrorism is common enemy of the world… cracking down on the terrorism needs joint efforts from the international community," he said.
Using SCO for inter-state synergy on terrorism
At the same time, Beijing also kept trying to bring India and Pakistan closer at multi-lateral fora such as the maiden joint counter-terrorism exercises under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held in Russia in August 2018.
"We sincerely hope that they can enhance their dialogue and cooperation both bilaterally and within multilateral mechanisms like the SCO, work together to improve their ties and jointly maintain regional peace and stability," the spokesperson added, [14] Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a news briefing, adding that both India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia and "that stability in their ties was the key to peace and development in the region and the world."
The counter-terrorism drill by SCO countries – involving at least 3,000 soldiers from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan – was the largest under the SCO charter with the participation of India and Pakistan for the first time.
The drill plays a positive role in deepening defence and security cooperation among member countries, enhancing capacity in tackling new threats and challenges and safeguarding regional peace and stability, China's Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said.
The previous SCO counter-terrorism drills had mainly been limited to Central Asia. But because of the entry of India and Pakistan, the SCO's counter-terrorism mission had expanded to South Asia.
The effective counter-terrorism cooperation among SCO countries has greatly undermined terrorist groups in Central Asia in recent years and it's expected that this cooperation will also boost stability in South Asia, a region facing a more complicated counter-terrorism situation with a variety of active terrorist groups," Li Wei, a counter-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, said.
Sun Zhuangzhi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of social sciences called the Peace Mission 2018 "a rare opportunity for Pakistan and India," which have long been involved in the military conflict, to enhance military exchanges and trust. This could improve regional stability. [15]
With the rise in its economic might, China has also emerged as the biggest proponent of peace and the advocate of a regional approach in countering the complex web of global terrorism. Beijing's focus on this particular issue has also dovetailed with Pakistan's Afghanistan policy as well its long-drawn and hard battle against terrorist forces. We have been fighting monsters who were receiving support from both in and outside the country, said General Qamar J.Bajwa, the army chief in an off-the-record talk with three dozen leading journalists and writers.[16]
It indeed took the Pakistani state security apparatus to get a handle on the various proponents of terror – most of them external proxies – between August 2008, when the Operation Sherdil (Lion's Heart) was launched in Bajaur tribal region, to Swat Operation ( May 2009) to the South Waziristan Operation ( October 2009) to Operation Zarbe Azb , North Waziristan ( June 2014).
China was among the few friendly countries that demonstrated visible understanding of the complexity of the situation and the calibrated Pakistani response to it. Leaders and officials in Beijing also seem to learn from the way Pakistani forces – through a multi-pronged but sequenced strategy – attacked, disrupted and neutralized most of the terrorist outfits.
Once can therefore assume that success of China in counter-terrorism translates into gains for Pakistan as well. This has also helped in creating a regional ownership for a war that knows no boundaries but can still be restricted and effectively countered if major stakeholders, including China and Russia, can synergise their thoughts and actions.
This represents a great opportunity for Pakistan to align its counter-terror policies with China and other regional powers such as Russia for better and lasting solutions to problems induced by the trans-border terrorist networks. At the same time, the country needs to draw on experiences of China in particular in not only counter-terrorism but also in maintaining trade relations even with countries with which it is locked in political and territorial disputes.
Notes:
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30273431, 2014
[2] https://tribune.com.pk/story/1348055/afghan-talibans-political-negotiators-visit-china/
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/25/world/asia/china-considers-larger-role-in-afghanistan-peace-process.html
[4] https://dailytimes.com.pk/246503/us-officials-question-their-states-af-pak-narrative/ + http://southasianmonitor.com/2018/06/12/us-officials-question-their-states-af-pak-narrative-2/
[5] https://www.merics.org/en/china-monitor/content/3211
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-03/17/c_137046090.htm
[8] The tripodal dialogue, held July 2018, involved high-ranking Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials and intelligentia from Afghanistan, Pakistani private sector security and terrorism experts (including the author) and Chinese officials as well as academia. The first official counter-terror (CT) trilateral dialogue had taken place in December 2017 at Beijing.
[9] https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-hosts-unusual-meeting-of-regional-spymasters/4478723.html
[10] https://tribune.com.pk/story/1756610/1-pakistan-hosts-spy-chiefs-russia-china-iran/
[11] FATF is a 37-nation inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
[12] http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1091020.shtml, 2018/2/27
[13] https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/01/08/china-appreciates-pakistans-sacrifices-in-anti-terror-cause/
[14] http://www.cpecinfo.com/news/stable-pakistan-india-relationship-important-anti-terror-drills-a-way-forward-for-the-two-countries-chinese-foreign-ministry/NTc3OQ==
[15] https://dailytimes.com.pk/289143/china-hails-participation-of-india-pakistan-in-sco-anti-terror- + drill/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1539127.shtml
[16] The author was part of the meeting that took place on March 9, 2018.
This paper was originally published in Pakistan Army Green Book 2019
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APMG ISO/IEC 27001 Foundation 120d without exam (english)
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Anglican-United Church
In the fall of 1913, Reverend Frank Bushfield arrived to serve the area. The Methodists built the first church in the Valley. The church was constructed on 4th Ave. and Queen Street in1914, and for a time, had the distinction of being the only church between Prince George and Edson. Within a few years the building—now St Paul's United Church (following the 1925 Union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches), was moved to 3rd Ave. and King Street. A third move brought the building to its current location here on Dominion Street. It became St. Paul's Church Hall when a new church building was constructed in 1967.
The All Saint's Anglican Church, on 4th and King, completed only months after the Methodist Church, was the second church built in McBride. Anglican priests based in McBride would provide services from Red Pass to Willow River. In 1963, a greatly needed new building was constructed in Pan-a-bode (log) style in the same location.
With declining numbers, the United and Anglican Churches of McBride amalgamated in 1986. All Saint's Anglican Church building was moved to Prince George (now Grace Anglican Church) and the "new" St. Paul's United Church became home to the McBride Anglican United Church. The original Methodist Church, our church Hall, continues to be much used in 2017. It is the oldest surviving public building in McBride.
Photo: Valley Museum and Archives – 1999.01.04
Ferry Crossing
St. Patrick's Church


You may never have thought of going on a holiday and taking a taxi to see the sights but this is one way of seeing Belfast and beyond which is growing rapidly in popularity. For over 10 years now, Paddy Campbell's Famous Black Cab Tours company have been driving tourists round the city explaining the political murals and the history of the city during its darker days.
Paddy Campbell's Famous Black Cab Tours also venture out to our spectacular Antrim coast which is steeped in history and folklore. You will not only get to enjoy the coast views and stunning countryside but you will also take in our most famous landmarks such as the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, the Giant's Causeway, Bushmills Distillery and Dunluce Castle.