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Analyst Bruce Wilson said, "Over the last two years there have been a number of legislative actions by the current ruling party which limit the independence of the judiciary, and the view of the European Union is that part of the process of building a democratic society is that the three arms of government, the executi... |
Wilson, professor at RMIT University's European Center in Australia, said "in the last two years, 13 pieces of legislation, according to the EU, have threatened the independence of the judiciary." |
He said Brussels fears the PiS is"limiting the capacity of the judiciary to review the actions of the government." |
PiS leaders have couched their fight with Brussels as a David versus Goliath tussle with cosmopolitan overlords, accusing them of undermining patriotic values and the cohesion of the country. |
The Polish government also has taken issue with Brussels for trying to force EU member states to admit Muslim war refugees and economic migrants. The position is supported by other central European states, including Hungary, which disapproves of Wednesday's triggering of article 7. |
Zsolt Semjen, Hungary's deputy prime minister, condemned the commission's move as astounding and unjust." |
He added in a statement,"It is unacceptable that Brussels is putting pressure on sovereign member states and arbitrarily punishing democratically elected governments." |
How the standoff between Brussels and Warsaw now plays out is unclear. |
The two laws President Duda signed defiantly would force two-fifths of the country's supreme court justices to retire and give parliament control over their replacements. |
Poland has also fallen afoul of the EU commission — and attracted criticism at home and overseas for illiberalism — for changes to laws governing the media and human rights. In October, Human Rights Watch accused the PiS government of eroding the checks and balances necessary for democratic government. |
"Since its election win in October 2015, Poland's ruling party, the right-wing Law and Justice Party [PiS], has used its majority in the Sejm [the Polish parliament] to seek to introduce laws and policies that have serious, negative implications for human rights and the rule of law," HRW said in its report. |
The rights group accused the government of interfering with the independence of the judiciary and the administration of justice; undermining freedom of expression; limiting the rights of protesters; restricting women's reproductive rights; and violating the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers. |
The claims were dismissed by the Polish government. |
PiS has the support of half of the country, according to opinion polls, and the opposition to the government is divided and in disarray. But Poles are highly enthusiastic about EU membership, according to surveys, and analysts say there are political risks for the government if the confrontation worsens. |
Conservatives are not sold on the idea of Rep. Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanAppeals court rules House chaplain can reject secular prayers FEC filing: No individuals donated to indicted GOP rep this cycle The Hill's Morning Report - Waiting on Mueller: Answers come on Thursday MORE (R-Wis.) as Speaker. |
While top House Republicans are trying to push a reluctant Ryan into the job, on the grounds that he alone can unify the conference, conservative lawmakers gave a decidedly cool response Friday when asked if they want him to be their new leader. |
Several GOP lawmakers noted that Ryan has repeatedly said he is not interested in the job, while appearing less than convinced that he is the only viable candidate. |
Huelskamp also criticized one of Ryan’s major legislative achievements in Congress, the two-year budget agreement he hammered out with Sen. Patty Murray Patricia (Patty) Lynn MurrayHillicon Valley: Washington preps for Mueller report | Barr to hold Thursday presser | Lawmakers dive into AI ethics | FCC chair moves to b... |
The Kansas Republican noted that he opposed the pact, “as did a lot of other people,” and pointed out lawmakers in both parties are now pushing to further ease the spending caps it established. |
“A lot of folks want to break that up already,” Huelskamp said. |
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) declined to weigh in on Ryan as Speaker, noting only that his group had earlier backed Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) for the job. |
And Rep. John Fleming John Calvin FlemingThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Dems aim to end anti-Semitism controversy with vote today Former congressmen, RNC members appointed to Trump administration roles Overnight Energy: Watchdog opens investigation into Interior chief | Judge halts Pruitt truck pollution rule decision | Winn... |
“I think that’s more media-driven. I think that’s you guys who keep talking about Paul Ryan,” he said. “Paul has made it clear he’s not interested." |
Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashBipartisan group asks DHS, ICE to halt deportations of Iraqi nationals Overnight Defense: House votes to end US support for Yemen war | Vote expected to force Trump's second veto of presidency | More Russian troops may head to Venezuela | First 'Space Force' hearing set for next week House... |
"I think that Paul Ryan would be a more acceptable candidate than the current leadership team, primarily because he’s not in the current leadership team. And I believe he’d provide a different approach," Amash said. |
Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) said that if hardliners reject Ryan, "they would lose all credibility." |
"Listen, these guys don't know what they're doing anyway. They would prove to the American people they have no idea what they're talking about," King said. |
The level of support for Ryan among conservatives is critical, given that it was rightward pressure that originally pushed out Speaker John Boehner John Andrew Boehner20 years after Columbine, Dems bullish on gun reform Dem says marijuana banking bill will get House vote this spring Trump appears alongside Ocasio-Corte... |
Despite being broadly popular among House Republicans, McCarthy stunned his colleagues Thursday by dropping out of the race, minutes before a vote he was expected to win. |
He told members he was removing himself because he did not think he would be able to unite the divided Republican conference and win over enough conservatives. |
—Sarah Ferris and Cristina Marcos contributed. |
Last month, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump broke with his party’s orthodoxy and came out against a North Carolina law that bans schools and public buildings from accommodating transgender individuals’ bathroom use. |
But Trump has steadily walked those comments back during the handful of weeks since. In fact, Trump’s recent comments suggest he doesn’t actually object to anti-trans state laws like North Carolina’s aforementioned HB2 after all. |
Donald Trump’s Incoherent Position On Transgender ProtectionsLGBT by CREDIT: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer As the Republican Party struggles to embrace Donald Trump as its presidential…thinkprogress.orgEarlier this month, Trump said that while he thinks “transgender people should be protected under the law,” the bathroom issu... |
Then, during an appearance on The O’Reilly Factor this Monday, Trump rolled out another rationale for why states shouldn’t be required to accommodate trans people — it’s allegedly too expensive. |
Thursday, Trump appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel, to his credit, pressed Trump on the transgender bathroom issue, repeatedly asking him to clarify what his personal beliefs are with regard to transgender bathroom accommodations. Trump, however, said he doesn’t know what he believes anymore. |
Trump mentioned the orthodox Republican position on bills like HB2. But unlike last month, he made no attempt to push back on legislation of that sort or suggest he supports a different approach. |
“The party generally believes that whatever you’re born, that’s the bathroom you use,” Trump said. “Well what about you?” Kimmel replied. |
Transgender rights is one of a number of issues where Trump has contradicted himself in recent weeks. In fact, in response to questions about Trump’s ever-shifting positions during a CNN appearance earlier this month, Barry Bennett, a senior political adviser to the Trump campaign, took umbrage with the very idea that ... |
3 How Much Vitamin K Is in a Chayote Squash? |
4 Is Parsley Good for Losing Pounds? |
A type of summer squash, zucchini is a staple in backyard vegetable gardens. Zucchini has a thin, edible green skin, creamy white flesh and soft seeds. Shaped somewhat like a cucumber, it can vary from just 4 or 5 inches to a foot in length, with a diameter up to 2 inches. A versatile food you can eat raw or cooked and... |
Summer squash is 95 percent water, making it naturally low in calories and a good choice if you are trying to lose weight. A medium zucchini, for example, contains just 33 calories. It supplies a gram of protein and less than a gram of fat. The same size zucchini contains 6 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of which are ... |
Zucchini is an excellent source of two antioxidant vitamins that help boost immunity and support healthy aging. A medium vegetable supplies 35 milligrams of vitamin C, or between 39 and 46 percent of the recommended daily allowance for adults. Zucchini is also rich in vitamin A, providing 392 international units in a m... |
Potassium is one of the principal electrolytes in your body needed in proper balance with sodium in a ratio of 2 to 1. With its emphasis on processed foods, the standard American diet tends to be higher in sodium than potassium, which leads to high blood pressure. Zucchini is a good source of potassium, with a medium v... |
Raw zucchini adds extra crunch to green salads. You can also cut it into strips or rounds for dipping in hummus. For quick stir-fries, saute zucchini quickly in just a little olive oil with crimini mushrooms, yellow squash and red peppers for a colorful dish. Zucchini is also a standard addition to minestrone soup. If ... |
Martinac, Paula. "Is Zucchini Good for You?" Healthy Eating | SF Gate, http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/zucchini-good-1549.html. 19 November 2018. |
What Is a Marrow Vegetable? |
Israel’s international isolation and vulnerability is several degrees deeper following the September 15 release of a United Nations war crimes report on the conduct of last winter’s Gaza war. How serious the damage will be depends in considerable measure on how Israel chooses to respond. Initial signs are not encouragi... |
The report offers a 575-page mountain of closely documented, seemingly credible charges against Israel of “actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity” during its 22-day military campaign against Hamas. The mere publication of the document is certain to weaken Israel’s defenders in the ongoing Mid... |
The report was produced by a four-member fact-finding commission appointed by the U.N.’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council and headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. The panel interviewed 188 persons and reviewed some 22,000 documents and photos. It also conducted its own on-the-ground forensic investigation... |
Israel refused to cooperate, answer questions or even permit the panel to enter Israel. And the report shows it, repeatedly citing a lack of Israeli evidence that hampers its findings. Israel’s demurral tilts the field toward the Palestinian case, with no Israeli rebuttal except what the investigators found in publishe... |
Israel’s Foreign Ministry immediately dismissed the entire report as a biased screed that “writes a new and shameful chapter in the history of international law” and doesn’t merit a response. |
This dismissive Israeli strategy has worked in the past. Countless reports have attacked Israel over the years, and while some have inflamed public opinion, none has resulted in concrete punishment. That’s been due partly to obvious bias among the accusers, and partly to diplomatic cover from Washington and other frien... |
Some critics are charging that Israel’s dismissal of the investigation amounts to a silent admission of guilt. That underestimates Israel’s deep suspicions of the U.N. and its affiliates, particularly the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, which has an egregious record of singling out Israel. Nor is Israel alone in its... |
This report won’t be so easy to wave away, however. Whatever its sponsorship, it will ultimately be judged by its content. Despite the original, biased mandate from the Human Rights Council, Goldstone demanded and got a broader mandate to probe both Israeli and Palestinian conduct. Of 425 pages devoted to examining spe... |
Some of Israel’s defenders further hurt their case by accusing Goldstone of ideological bias. The Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor claims Goldstone is tainted by his longstanding ties to the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, which is accused by many of Israel’s supporters of anti-Israel bias. |
But Goldstone isn’t an easy target. One of the world’s most respected war-crimes experts, he served as chief prosecutor of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. He’s also a leading figure in international Jewish affairs, past president of the World ORT Union and an honorary mem... |
The report offers detailed, convincing accounts of incidents that suggest serious Israeli wrongdoing. Israel is described as shelling hospitals and a U.N. refugee center, shooting Palestinians waving white flags and destroying civilian targets such as a chicken farm and a sewage treatment center. All these are depicted... |
The extent of the report’s damage to Israel will depend in large part on Israel’s response. The report details severe allegations of misconduct by Israeli forces. It also condemns aspects of Israel’s broader conduct in the territories, such as imprisoning Palestinian Authority legislators and blockading Hamas-ruled Gaz... |
The report does not brand Israel a criminal or renegade state. It does not forbid Israel from acting to defend itself. Rather, it cites particular Israeli actions that appear to be illegal, and it calls for Israel to investigate and address its own actions. Only if Israel fails to act within a given time frame — the re... |
The actions demanded of Israel aren’t easy, but they’re not insuperable. Above all, Israel is called on to undertake a “credible” war-crimes investigation. The international court can’t to take a case unless the accused country has refused to investigate on its own. A “credible” investigation, it says, must be prompt a... |
Some Israeli analysts say Israel needn’t fear legal fallout. First, they note, U.N. adoption of this report would cast a long shadow over Russia’s anti-terrorist actions in Chechnya and America’s in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s a strong point, although international institutions have overcome such scruples in the past ... |
Analysts also say the international court won’t intervene because Israel never signed the treaty creating the court and therefore is outside its jurisdiction. That’s wrong. Yes, the court can intervene directly only in nations that signed the treaty. But other nations can be indicted, too, if the Security Council votes... |
Universal jurisdiction has already kept some Israeli officials from taking some important trips. So far, Israel’s top leaders haven’t fallen under a quarantine comparable to, say, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir. Now, however, that sort of isolation is a real threat. |
Contact J.J. Goldberg at goldberg@forward.com and visit his blog. |
This story "Goldstone Throws Down the Gauntlet" was written by J.J. Goldberg. |
Good, who is running for re-election this year and Gruters, who is running for a state Senate seat, both promised to compile the results of the meeting and present them to their colleagues in Tallahassee during the next legislative session. |
Julie Schoults elicited tons of applause during her plea to both politicians. She explained that the red tide has forced her to reconsider living in Sarasota and asked that the representatives consider legislation that could prevent more than 150 tons of dead fish from washing up on local shores. |
“I’m really just begging you to make ocean-conscious legislation because we don’t have time for anything else,” she said. |
“We need to stop worrying about humans and start worrying about the oceans because without the oceans, humans will not survive and that’s just a fact,” she said. |
Other speakers said they’d like to see the enforcement of laws prohibiting the use of fertilizer during crucial summer months, better promotion of the government’s cleanup efforts and more public education on the issue of red tide. One resident said it disappointed him that funds have already been diverted to encourage... |
One speaker said he believes that money would be more useful for funding of red tide research, echoing the sentiment of Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium President and CEO Michael Crosby. |
“Research on red tide is always popular when red tide is happening but if it’s not, then the researchers have trouble getting the resources and it rolls again, so I’d like more consistent efforts to fund the research to really figure out the cycles of what’s going on, what the inputs and causes are so we can figure out... |
Rampant red tide has been bringing heaps of dead fish into downtown Sarasota waterways and marinas, prompting hotels and other businesses to contract cleanup help. |
Both Gruters and Good said they are committed to fighting for sustained red tide funding through their tenure in the Florida Legislature. Both lawmakers said they’d also like to find short-term solutions for problems, as well. |
Multiple Sarasota beaches have been affected by “no swim” advisories from the Florida Department of Health. On Saturday, the advisory at Brohard Beach was lifted, but it remains in place at Venice Fishing Pier Beach, Longboat Key Beach and Lido Casino Beach. |
Hundreds of dead fish line the shore on Siesta Key Thursday afternoon after being killed by Karenia Brevis, also known as red tide. FWC officials believe the same may be in store for Manatee County beaches soon. |
“Knowing your customer” is not just a marketing cliché but a mission first defined by Chick-fil-A’s founder and CEO decades ago. But the brand’s batch-and-blast email approach was falling short of that promise. Emily Randall, interactive digital media at the brand, shows how Chick-fil-A quickly built a model that balan... |
Truett Cathy, the founder of Dwarf House Grill in 1946. First version of Chick-fil-A. In Atlanta. 10 stools, 4 tables. He knew his customers. And their stories. Heart of who Chick-fil-A is. He said we’re not even in the chicken business, we’re in the people business. Hospitality, going the second mile. 2,300 locations ... |
What are all of our marketing touchpoints? Each touchpoint is a deposit or a withdrawal. Our journey at looking at email program. 18 months ago, we saw it was more of a withdrawal, with a batch-and-blast approach, it was pretty messy. Our story is one of becoming modern marketers. Learning what that looks like. |
1. Databases were separate, making it hard to audit messaging frequency, capitalize on any personalization opportunity. We had email insiders of about 6 million people; A-List, local loyalty program, inconsistent, had emails associated with hit; Cow Calendar (a customer could purchase beginning of year, free monthly it... |
2. Visual design was inconsistent. Three different teams handling it. Clear solution: overhaul. Worked with our partner, Brightwave, on this and we did an entire overhaul. We also internally folded up everything under one team working on email. It’s all in Chick-fil-A One, you can link to your profile, you can see how ... |
3. Our Email Service Provider was cloud-based and had challenges balancing PII with personalization capabilities. We needed something on premise so we decided to partner with Messagegears, that was a huge partnership with our IT folks. We went through a whole set of capabilities and requirements that we needed. Allowed... |
Today, it’s not perfect but here’s how we approach it. 1) We have a three times the email database that we had about a year and a half ago, so we have definitely seen growth. Chick-fil-A One is part of that. |
We think a lot about balancing the scale and personalization. How do you take one of our differentiators, local ownership, we want to be able to take stories that are happening personally and then highlight those in email at scale and then we also want to be able to take stories that are at scale alike our national cam... |
We’re also balancing local email. We do let our operators email their customers. On brand side, we give them templates, tools to send emails, share best practices, and then each template is one single message. It’s not the content blogs that we have on the brand side. And then they can load in their pictures, signature... |
An example of what a wire frame looks like for an email. We’re pulling in multiple different data sources, customer data, transaction data, and we tweak the message based on where somebody is based on their customer journey. |
We started out with 32 base segments per email, we also had at least 500 versions. |
We have seen about a five time increase in overall memberships. Email biggest driver of keeping someone engaged. |
Over 20% hike in conversion from people who get the email vs. the control group. From an attribution standpoint, we are able to measure that. It’s incredible what you can tie actions and emails to in terms of sales, and to measure attribution in this channel. |
We saw a huge spike in email engagement. |
Local know their customers better than we do. We want to continue that again. Secret sauce of Chick-fil-A. It’s a tough balance. |
Start plugging in from personalization standpoint in emails. Then pull in geo, local messaging. Tie it to app activity. |
People want to see deals in QSR. Balance basic rewards. |
It’s not just new tech for new tech. Don’t get caught up in the shiny new thing. |
A new exhibition at GV Art Gallery brings science out of the laboratory and into the gallery, with exhibits ranging from a 3D-printed brain scan, wings made from bioeingineered pig cells and a brain tumour etched into a glass block. |
Merging Art & Science features 16 different exhibits over two floors of a gallery, which are the result of collaborations between artists and scientists. Highlights include Pig Wings by Ionat Zurr & Oron Catts -- a triptych of three pairs of wings created out of lab-grown pig cells, displayed like jewels in tiny boxes. |
Lumen by Nina Sellars is a kinetic installation that projects images of bodily interiors taken from scans onto a wall. The work features a small, seemingly clear glass panel that rotates in front of a powerful light. As the light shines through the glass, a pattern inspired by MRI images appears on the wall. Annie Catt... |
& Julia Yonetani and Ian Kaplin is an animation inspired by electron microscopic images of stomata from the leaves of trees, revealing the process of photosynthesis and respiration of plant life. The piece has an audio track of breathing designed to be listened to while looking at the animation. |
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