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HIGHRIDGE — State police at Frackville investigated a crash that occurred in the southbound lanes of Interstate 81, at mile marker 119.8 in Cass Township, around 4:35 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said a person, whom they did not identify, was driving a 1997 Toyota Tacoma heavily loaded with camping gear and lost control, causing the vehicle to cross over the east shoulder and go into the median.
After spinning into the median and facing north, police said, the driver was able to drive out of the median area and come to a final stop facing south along the east shoulder of the road.
JONESTOWN — A theft of license plate from a vehicle that was reported in this Lebanon County community around 10:10 a.m. Tuesday is being investigated by state police at Jonestown.
Police said someone removed the license from a 2008 Ford Fusion owned by a 30-year-old Jonestown man. Police said the man reported that the tag could have been stolen in the Philadelphia area while he was on a business trip.
Anyone with information is asked to call state police at Jonestown at 717-865-2194.
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — State police at Schuylkill Haven investigated a theft of items from a vehicle that occurred at 1544 South Route 61 in North Manheim Township sometime between 7 and 8:55 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said Julia Fisher reported someone smashed out the passenger’s side rear window of her 2011 Audi SUV, removed a Michael Kors purse and then fled the area.
The theft occurred in the parking lot of the Cressona Mall, in front of Planet Fitness, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Trooper Bruce Kleckner at 570-754-4600 and refer to incident PA2018-892542.
The end of the U.S. draft in 1973 and the conversion to an all-volunteer force didn't put an end to conscientious objectors: individuals who, due to deeply held religious, moral or ethical beliefs, resist military service. The end of the draft did, however, force a shift among conscientious objectors from trying to stay out, to trying to get out.
In the last decade, the four military branches combined approved an average of 45 conscientious-objector applications a year, according to Defense Department statistics. Except for an earlier Persian Gulf war spike, from 96 in 1990 to 158 in 1991, CO discharges have been on a gradual, steady decline -- down to 32 during each of the last two years. Preliminary numbers, the Defense Department reports, for "Active Duty Conscientious Objector Losses" for the current fiscal year (October 2002 through February 2003, the latest available figures) stand at 11.
As for the total number of applications received, "There is no historical record of CO applications," said Maj. Sandra Burr, a Defense Department spokeswoman. "They're only paper records, kept for 90 days."
Anecdotal evidence at least suggests interest in conscientious-objector applications may be up. J.E. McNeil, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Conscience & War, said her phone is busier than ever. The Center on Conscience & War was founded in 1940 by an association of religious bodies and is one of a handful of groups offering conscientious-objector counseling.
"Prior to 9/11, we worked on one case a month; after, one a week," said McNeil. "Since January, when it became clear we were going to invade Iraq, and when it became clear the [National] Guard and reserves were going to be called up first, it jumped to two or three a week."
Titus Peachey of the Mennonite Central Committee, a service and relief agency founded in 1920 by the pacifist Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches, concurs. Calls for advice have "certainly gone up since 9/11," he said. And "we've had a spike around the Iraq war, during the bombing of Baghdad."
McNeil said military personnel who call the Center on Conscience & War for help fall into three groups. By far the largest is the "hopelessly naive," she states. "Not everyone, but the vast majority fall into that group."
"I probably shouldn't call them that," she adds, "but that's what they are."
McNeil is also quick to defend them, saying, "They're young. . . . Recruiters play up travel and educational opportunities. The National Guard ads are all about helping the community during floods. They go into the military not even thinking about war. When they get called up [to active duty] is when it hits them over the head."
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ryan Yantis doesn't think much of that argument.
"It's made clear to every recruit that they're joining the Army," he said. "Our position is that they're briefed. Recruiters are required by law to read them a paragraph that says, in brief, you will be required to bear arms."
The second group looking for help, McNeil said, "joined the military totally aware of what was involved. They often enthusiastically want to participate in war and serve their country, but something happens that changes it all for them."
That happened for the Army Special Operations soldier McNeil recently counseled.
"He knew all about war and killing. He served in Afghanistan and knew he'd be going to Iraq," she explains. "But he said, `I had a child in the sights of my weapon. I can't do that again.'"
The third group, McNeil said, "is also dedicated and committed to serving in the armed forces. As many young people do in their early 20s, they seek religion. As they deepen in their faith, they conclude God does not want them to participate in war.
"Historically, this is the group most people think of [when considering conscientious objectors], but it's really the smallest group."
Army Reserve Specialist Diedre Cobb, a 21-year-old Urbana native, said she received her "hit in the head" in mid-March. "That's when I got called up. It forced me to ask, Can I participate in this war, or any war?" In early April, Cobb filed her conscientious-objector application.
Although each branch has its own regulations, those applying for a conscientious-objector classification -- either 1-O, a request for a full discharge, or 1-A-O, a request to stay in the military but be assigned a non-combat role -- must submit written answers to questions about how, when and why their feelings had changed since joining. They also undergo interviews with a military chaplain, a psychiatrist and a base investigating officer. Supporting documents, such as letters from religious leaders, teachers or friends, can be submitted by the applicant. A final decision, usually within six months, is made by a branch Pentagon review board.
Speaking from her base commander's office at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, Cobb, who filed for 1-O status, tried to explain why it took nearly two years after joining the Army to ask herself the war question.
After attending a few colleges, the New Mexico Military Institute among them, "I wasn't sure what I wanted," she said. Not having a degree or experience needed to be a Peace Corps volunteer, Cobb said she volunteered for the Army Reserve "as an alternative source of learning" and "as a way to help."
"At the time," Cobb wrote in her application for discharge, "I believed that the Army was an organization focused on furthering world peace."
"I knew the military killed people," she admits when asked to explain. "I didn't understand it was a cycle, that there was no end to it. There is no peaceful outcome of war."
Asked to sum up how she thought this admitted mess got started, Cobb declares, "Hasty decisions make great mistakes. That's how I got into this trouble."
Although Cobb might qualify for McNeil's "naive" group, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, that doesn't imply her conscientious-objector claim is less worthy than, say, that of a Quaker convert looking for a discharge. As the court ruled in 1965 and reaffirmed in 1970, belief in a "Supreme Being" or membership in an organized religion which forbids violence isn't necessary to be a conscientious objector. The test is whether or not the belief claimed is sincere and occupies a place in the applicant's life "parallel to that filled by the orthodox belief in God of one who clearly qualifies for the exemption." In 1971 the Supreme Court also made clear there could be no such thing as a "selective conscientious objector," meaning you can't pick and choose -- for religious, moral or ethical reasons -- your own battles.
To help support her claim, Cobb submitted letters of recommendation, including one from Patch Adams, M.D., a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and the subject of a 1998 biographical film (which he says he "hated") starring Robin Williams.
Cobb sought out Adams in Urbana, where the psychiatrist is a scholar-in-residence at the University of Illinois.
"I write about 600 letters a year [in support of conscientious objectors]," Adams said by phone from his home in Arlington, Va. "I write them longhand. I don't have a computer."
As for Cobb, "I loved her," he recalled. "She's clearly a CO. A lot of people join because they don't know what they're doing. I think she realized she made a mistake when she examined her inner core, which is where the conscious objection comes from. In the process, she was forced to face who she was.
"I got my CO status as a doctor from the draft board in 1971. The wonderful thing about being a CO is that the government declares you're unfit to kill. That's the question: Can you kill? And if you don't think you can, how can you fight and protect the guy next to you, or yourself? You have to be ready to pull the trigger. You can't hesitate."
Cobb, who according to Army regulations can't be deployed while her case is under review, was asked how she thought it might turn out.
"I'm just glad the military allows this process," she said, "because I'm very confident I'll be approved. I thought this through a lot, and I'm very sincere in my position. If not, I'm prepared to do what I have to do to continue; I signed a contract."
A bishop in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa has stepped down after being accused of sexual misconduct. The Sunday Times newspaper in Johannesburg reported at the weekend that Bishop Monument Makhanya has decided to stand down at the end of this month after a former Deacon in the diocese lodged a complaint of sexual misconduct against him. The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, told the Anglican Communion News Service that he would seek the input of the province's Synod of Bishops in response to the resignation.
"Bishop Makhanya resigned during the process which followed, which is still ongoing. I have consulted with the Province's Safe Church Network and legal advisers and will seek the input of the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the way forward."
Bishop Monument was consecrated as the 14th Bishop of Zululand on 23 April 2016. Archbishop Thabo told The Sunday Times that he was "shocked and distressed" when he heard the allegation; and said that pastoral support is being provided to the complainant.
The evolution of technology has come a long way and what was deemed “disruptive” then is standard fare now. Advisors may already understand the impact of technology in their clients’ portfolios, but may not be aware of the trends that are already disrupting the current tech regime, such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
These are disruptions advisors must embrace and on Wednesday, Apr. 17, 2019, ETF Trends will give financial advisors the opportunity to congregate in a cutting edge virtual setting to discuss these disruptions and how they positively impact the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space.
At the Virtual Summit, industry experts will dive into robotics, artificial intelligence, biotech, genome sequencing, 3D printing, autonomous vehicles and many others affecting or are set to affect the ETF space.
More and more, as the concept of disruption becomes part of societal standards, advisors and those within the financial markets in general who fail to adopt the latest and greatest technology face the possibility of getting left behind.
When such a transformative technology like AI is introduced into a financial industry that can be reticent to change and stuck in its tried-and-true ways, it can present a challenge. However, those who are slow to adapt could be the ones left in the dust.
With technology expanding at such a rapid pace, being at the cusp of a major breakthrough seems like a daily occurrence. Advisors can position themselves and their investors to benefit from these breakthroughs in disruptive technology like AI-focused ETFs.
Who Started the Ukraine Crisis?
Did Japan and China Just Press Reset?
KLAUS SCHWAB is Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. A version of this article originally appeared in the book Business in a Changing Society: Festschrift for Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (November 2014).
The business of doing business, by which I mean transforming resources into products and services in the most efficient and sustainable way, has never been more challenging, yet at the same time, the opportunities have never been greater. The transformative forces underway—driven by the world’s increasing complexity, interconnectivity, and velocity, as well as a rapidly changing geopolitical environment—create a need for new models of engagement among business, government, and civil society to address the shortcomings of our existing multilateral governance system and the critical challenges of our times. By serving as a responsible and responsive stakeholder in the global community, global business has a unique role to play in safeguarding our collective future. The urgent task now is to define how it best fulfills this role and the qualities its leaders must possess to do so effectively.
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has long been used as an effective lens through which to examine the actions business can take toward ensuring mutual long-term well-being and sustainability. CSR provides context on the role of business in the global community, benchmarking business performance against its responsibilities to society and the environment as well as to shareholders. Yet the definition of CSR has become increasingly broad, referring to anything from the health and safety of workers to sustainable sourcing or philanthropy. CSR alone, therefore, is not sufficient to help optimize corporate behavior and decision-making, and should be supplemented with five other pillars of a company’s engagement with its stakeholders: corporate governance, corporate philanthropy, corporate social entrepreneurship, global corporate citizenship, and professional accountability.
OTTAWA—Jaspal Atwal, a once-convicted would-be assassin of an Indian cabinet minister, had his invitation to a reception for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yanked because he was politically controversial, not because he was deemed a security threat, senior officials say.
And yet today, Atwal remains a man of political mystery.
Is he a reformed terrorist? A Liberal party supporter? An equal-opportunity political fixer for a B.C. radio station who has posed with Conservatives and NDP politicians alike?
Those questions remain unanswered days after Atwal’s surprise presence at a prime ministerial event in Mumbai led to his invitation to a second reception being withdrawn — all of it kicking off an international controversy and derailing Trudeau’s visit to India.
A senior government official told the Star the prime minister did not speak Monday to Randeep Sarai, the B.C. Liberal MP who put Atwal on the guest list for the event in India.
Trudeau was not in the Commons, where his public safety minister, Ralph Goodale, deflected a barrage of questions from Conservatives demanding “proof” of suggestions in some media reports that the Liberal government had blamed the Indian government for trying to “sabotage” the Trudeau visit.
However the official did suggest that there are “people in India” who would benefit from fuelling the controversy over whether the Trudeau government is “complacent on terrorism” — an allegation the Liberal government flatly denies.
Atwal reportedly served five years of a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of attempting to kill Indian cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu during a visit to Vancouver Island in 1986. According to the Vancouver Sun, Atwal was also charged but acquitted in the 1985 beating of Ujjal Dosanjh, a vocal opponent of Sikh extremism who later became a federal cabinet minister. Atwal was later convicted as part of an auto insurance fraud scheme.
So just who is Jaspal Atwal?
He told The Canadian Press he has helped politicians from different parties both federally and provincially. Records show he has made only one $500 donation, in 2011, to a federal Liberal candidate in B.C.
A friend of Atwal told the Star he has political contacts across all parties. Photos showing Atwal with Liberal figures — including Sarai, the MP who took responsibility for putting Atwal’s name on the guest list for the event — are posted on the Facebook page of Media Waves, an Indian community radio station based in Surrey, B.C. There are photos of him with Trudeau and Sukh Dhaliwal, another Liberal MP from B.C.’s Lower Mainland. On Atwal’s personal Facebook page, there are photos of him with hockey star Wayne Gretzky, former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, and a long-haired Trudeau before he was prime minister.
Media Waves CEO Ashiana Khan told the Star on Monday that she has known Atwal for about 20 years. He’s keenly interested in politics, she said, and often contacts the station to recommend stories and suggest people for interviews. Atwal introduced her to B.C. New Democrat MLA Jinny Sims, a Punjabi-Canadian who was an MP in the last Parliament.
Khan said Atwal is notorious for taking pictures with well-known people, whether it’s Bollywood stars or politicians. She said he has told her that he has photos of himself with former NDP leader Jack Layton and former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, for instance, and that he visited MPs on Parliament Hill in 2014. Atwal did not return the Star’s calls seeking to verify those claims.
Khan said she spoke with Atwal earlier Monday, and he explained to her that he was in India this month for a “health visit” when he was invited to a reception where he was photographed with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the prime minister’s wife, and with Canada’s infrastructure minister, Amarjeet Sohi.
Since then he has tried to “improve himself,” Khan said, pointing to his ability to obtain a visa to visit India. “I guess that’s what the Indian government has seen,” she said.
Atwal told The Canadian Press he does not support Sikh separatist organizations and that he has not been a member of the International Sikh Youth Federation, now banned as a terrorist group.
In the Old Testament, this divine love is expressed in the book of Isaiah, which says: “Can a woman forget her baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I’ll never forget you” (Is. 49, 14).
By the way, the above words of Isaiah inspired that poignant Tagalog song “Hindi Kita Malilimutan” which is very popular in funeral wakes.
In the New Testament, the image of a loving, forgiving God is illustrated in this 24th Sunday’s gospel about the “Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son” (Lk 15, 1 ff).
God as the solicitous shepherd takes pains to look for the lost sheep. To search for one insignificant sheep leaving the ninety-nine goes against the principles of pasturing.
Shepherds never go after one lost sheep. They have greater responsibility for the ninety-nine. But this is not so with the Good Shepherd.
Then he proceeded to crumple the money. “Who wants it?” he asked. Several hands were raised. He dropped the money on the ground and crushed it into the floor with his shoe.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the sins we commit. We feel as though we are worthless, like the prodigal son.
But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes.
ADMISSION OF GUILT. The other important lesson we can learn from the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” is WILLINGNESS to accept our mistake and change. We have always been taught that God’s love is “unconditional,” but the truth is there’s a condition. That is, we should be willing to admit we did wrong.
It’s just like the relationship between parents and children. Children make mistakes and most parents understand this as part of the process of growing.
The trouble arises when the children do not feel sorry for their wrongdoings and want to do things their own way.
THE LIGHTER SIDE. Teacher: Ano ang pangalan ng pinakamalakas na bagyo? Juan: “Tukso” Mam. Teacher: Bakit tukso? Juan: Kasi po, kay rami nang winasak na tahanan, kayrami nang matang pinaluha at kayrami nang pusong sinugatan.
Note: The main cause of damage is not temptation (tukso) but sin. Temptation is an incitement but it can lead us to commit sin.
a FLIGHT. DECEMBER I, 1938 HERE AND THERE (CONTINUED) The Lafayette Squadron By Flight into Hell: The Story oj the Lafayette Escadrille Edwin C. Parsons. (John Long, 8s. Orf.) T HE Lafayette Escadrille was a squadron of the French Army Air Service during the Great War. It was com posed of American volunteer pilots. The CO. and second-in- command were French officers, and the mechanics were French. The squadron served in the French Army from April, 1916, to February, 1918, when it was taken over by the American Army, and for practical purposes lost its peculiar individuality. During its service in the French Army thirty-eight American pilots were, from first to last, on its active roster. Of these, nine were killed one invalided out with wounds, and one taken prisoner. During the same period the squadron scored fifty seven officially confirmed vic tories, though doubtless many more German machines were shot down too far behind the enemy lines for official con firmation to be possible. If these figures seem small compared with the bag of No. 56 Squadron (for example), which arrived in France in April, 1917, and between that date and the Armistice shot down 427 enemy aircraft (officially confirmed), it should THE NEWEST ROLLS- ROYCE : First views of the Rolls-Royce Peregrine en gine, which has the capacity of a Kestrel (21.3 litres) and is rated at 830/860 h.p. at 13,500ft. in its Mk. I and Mk. II forms. Maximum power figures have not yet been issued. It will be noted that this engine, unlike the Kestrel series, has a down- draught carburetter. It would make an admirable power plant for installation in high-speed twin-engined fighters or bombers. •H De remembered that the crack British squadron had had many more pilots on its books from first to last, and that its forty- four dead alone outnumbered the total number of pilots who served in the Lafayette. Also, the rules for confirmation were rather stricter in the French than in the British Service. This book is a breezily told history of the Lafayette Esca drille by one of the Americans who served in it. There are many thrilling stories of air combats, and also intimate pen- pictures of several of the more notable of its pilots. Besl known is Raoul Lufbery, who was a fighter pilot of great skill and courage. The Americans seem to have had very crude ideas of discipline, but they fought hard. It was their ideal to repay to France some of the debt which America owed to the Marquis de Lefayette during their War of Inde pendence, and in this they succeeded. This book is sure to be popular.
Omaha District architects, Karen Jarvis, Askelon Parker (left) and Andy Temeyer (right) sat down with Northwestern Division Military Construction program manager Dave Packard to talk about design projects at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Three U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District architects who are providing in-house design for several facilities at Fort Cason, Colorado, as part of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade recently sat down with Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division Military Construction program manager Dave Packard to talk about their projects and the design process.
Each of the district architects, Andy Temeyer, Askelon Parker and Karen Jarvis, have designed projects for several hangars and support facilities at the Butts Army Airfield on Fort Carson. Military construction projects often have unique aspects, a challenge that the Army Corps of Engineers professionals are eager to address, doing their best to deliver in the most efficient and flexible way possible.
The project architects provided some thoughts on how Army Corps of Engineers design teams pride themselves in providing flexibility on even the most challenging projects and designing sustainable facilities for the United States military.
Engage Army Corps of Engineers Project Delivery Teams. They are familiar with Federal sustainability concepts, policies, and goals. Tough questions early-on in planning and programming allow designers to plan realistically for design, construction, and operations.
Start as early as possible. Early or proper planning and programming can yield long-term success during design and construction. Engage all appropriate stakeholders including the Director of Public Works, Base Civil Engineer, Centers of Standardization, etc.
Establish clear goals. Root all stakeholders in higher-level policies to ensure they reflect the types of facilities that all are being tasked with procuring. Army Corps of Engineers designers can often be the bridge among sometimes difficult challenges.
Coordinate. Building Information Modeling and energy modeling are good tools to facilitate coordination among design teams. These tools allow designers to essentially construct a facility in Virtual Reality. So much more can be learned about a facility this way.
Iterate. An iterative design process yields better-tuned, higher performance facilities.
Choose the best design/contracting mechanism for the job. Not all projects are created equally. Chose the contracting mechanism that has the best potential to yield the intended results within schedule and budget limitations.
Invest in the design process. Committing to a successful design effort should yield payback throughout the life of the facility. There are so many parallel efforts between the different services, a collaborative investment in a design process can foster shared knowledge and a greater investment in the overall process.
Validate goals. Throughout the design and construction process, review the project goals to ensure work is focused on these goals. Validation is also beneficial during facility operations such as re-commissioning or retro-commissioning.
Stay Engaged. Design teams should stay engaged as appropriate through construction. Implementing an effective feedback loop that involves all stakeholders including Army Corps of Engineers headquarters will improve business processes.
Educate facility occupants and operations personnel at turnover. Proper operations and maintenance ensures a high-performance building stays "tuned" throughout its intended life.
Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Trayvon Robinson throws his bat after striking out with bases loaded during the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 26, 2012.