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“The Uluru Statement was a historic moment for our nation, by refusing it the Turnbull Government chose to write itself out of history,” Flanagan said.
“The effort it demanded of Canberra was perhaps too large — it demanded it imagine the country anew, stronger, richer. It required people who knew a life of the mind and a life of the soul.
A parliamentary inquiry has been launched to consult with indigenous leaders and identify a viable alternative to the advisory body.
Turnbull said he would consider any outcome of the inquiry but said his preference was for more indigenous Australians to be elected to parliament.
Andrea Mason, chief executive of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council and one of Turnbull’s top advisers on indigenous issues, said that the last decade of indigenous affairs had been “wasted”.
“It’s created a lot of disappointment, because there was opportunity to do it better… we haven’t been able to have the right goals and targets,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“A representative body could have provided high-level advice to that refresh.
Rediff.com » Sports » Paes wins US Open mixed doubles title and scripts record. Congratulate him!
Paes wins US Open mixed doubles title and scripts record. Congratulate him!
Leander Paes created history by winning the US Open mixed-doubles title with Swiss partner Martina Hingis as the veteran Indian now has the highest number of mixed-doubles titles in Open era.
The fourth seeded pair, edged past unseeded Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 to win their third Major title together this season.
The 42-year-old Paes now has won nine Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles, surpassing compatriot and former partner Mahesh Bhupathi's record of eight titles.
He is now behind only legendary Martina Navratilova, who won 10 mixed-doubles trophies. Of those 10, two came with Paes when they won Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2003.
With this win, Paes and Hingis, who also won Australian Open and Wimbledon titles early this season, have become the first mixed-doubles team since 1969 to win three Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles in the same year.
It was Paes's 17th Grand Slam title overall and Hingis's 19th. Hingis has won four Grand Slam titles and all of them have come with Indians. She won her first mixed-doubles trophy with Mahesh Bhupathi when they won the Australian Open in 2006.
Hingis is also in the contention in the Women's Doubles with Sania Mirza with whom she won Wimbledon earlier this year. They are up against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Casey Dellacqua of Australia.
Ron Miscavige says his son runs a church that is "coercive and, in my mind, evil."
The cover of Ron Miscavige's book shows him and his son.
The father of Scientology leader David Miscavige issued a blistering indictment of the church he introduced his family to more than 45 years ago, describing his son as a tyrant who has turned the organization into a destructive influence.
In a memoir released Tuesday, Ron Miscavige writes that David Miscavige "still possesses the energy and intelligence that I saw in him as a child. But, while he employed those traits in his youth to get excellent grades in school or to become good at hitting a baseball, today he sits atop a multibillion-dollar church that is controversial, litigious, secretive, manipulative, coercive and, in my mind, evil."
The elder Miscavige, 80, also said the church has "morphed into an immoral organization that hides a long list of abuses behind First Amendment protections," spends millions to investigate and harass its critics, and has destroyed families — including his own — through its practice of "disconnection."
Titled Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige and Me, the book takes readers on a wild, 244-page ride. It depicts the young Miscavige clan growing up outside Philadelphia in the 1960s and '70s. It follows an earnest and shaggy-haired David leaving home at age 16 to join Scientology's clergy, the Sea Org. It details the father's own 27-year career on Scientology's staff and the years of hardship and hand-wringing that preceded his 2012 escape from the church's desert base near Los Angeles.
The latter moment is a familiar one that echoes the stories of other Scientology defectors. Hearts pounding at the thought of being caught and brought back by church security guards, Ron Miscavige and his wife, Becky, made it past the main gate of the heavily fortified base and gunned the car motor, hoping not to be followed.
Ron Miscavige recounts many fond memories of his time in Scientology, often taking time to explain the theories of church founder L. Ron Hubbard and their benefits. While he recalls good times and loving moments with his son, who is now 56, the prevailing theme is that a church he once saw as a force for good has gone seriously off the rails under the leadership of his own flesh and blood.
Readers from the Tampa Bay area will take note of a climactic moment near the end of the book that unfolds in Clearwater and involves Scientology celebrity Lisa Marie Presley. It was October 2014, when Ron and Becky traveled to Clearwater to try to talk with his two daughters. The daughters had disowned the parents after they left the church. When Presley, a longtime friend of Ron's, found out, she stormed into church offices in downtown Clearwater and looked into the security cameras with a message aimed at David: How dare he split up his family over this.
Two days later, according to the book, the church invited Presley back. Upon her return, she was confronted by the daughters, who yelled at her about how abusive their father had been when they were young.
Students of Scientology will notice how the disharmony within Scientology's first family is at odds with the church's claims that its communication tools work to dramatically strengthen families.
Early on, Ron Miscavige recounts how he found Scientology in the late 1960s, how his wife and four kids became interested as well, and how they jumped in with gusto, traveling twice to England for extended stays at the church's Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead. Young David became especially interested, Ron Miscavige writes, after Scientology counseling mitigated his distressing bouts with asthma.
• A profane, hourlong tirade backstage at a Scientology event where the son dressed down the father, a scene Ron Miscavige describes as "shattering."
• A period beginning in the late 1980s and continuing for years in which David Miscavige planned and micromanaged lavish events celebrating Scientology holidays, often cracking the whip with outbursts and staff punishments.
• The years after 2000, when restrictions and punishments at the desert compound became more severe, and staff began to wither under a steady diet of work, sleep deprivation and tongue-lashings from the leader.
By 2006, Ron Miscavige said he didn't want to spend the rest of his life this way and began thinking seriously about leaving. It would take six more years to finally take the plunge.
On March 25, 2012, a Sunday, they gassed up their Ford Focus. They discreetly loaded what belongings they had left and drove toward the gate, where the guards were accustomed to seeing them drive just across the highway to the other half of the compound.
"Had we been caught, Becky and I would have been locked up in a remote part of the base under 24-hour guard, and I would have spent the rest of my life like that," Ron Miscavige writes. "I never would have gotten out. Never."
To the couple's surprise, the guard opened the gate without incident and they sped away.
"We made it," Ron Miscavige writes. "We were free."
In a final chapter titled "A Final Word," he said he hopes things will change one day.
"But for now, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart: David I forgive you."
Welcome to the dental office of Dr. Linda Boehm. Our general dentistry practice is unique in that it is the only general dentistry practice in the Central New York area that is certified to administer general anesthesia for those patients seeking advanced surgical procedures, wisdom tooth extractions or for those who are fearful or anxious about dental treatments.
Since 1995, Linda Boehm has been providing Offices And Clinics Of Dentists from Oneida.
Published: March 6, 2015 at 06:37 p.m.
Updated: March 6, 2015 at 08:34 p.m.
Representatives from all 32 NFL teams -- including New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, new Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan, Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim -- were present for Clemson's pro day on Thursday, when 20 prospects worked out indoors on Tartan Turf.
The top draw at the pro day was outside linebacker Vic Beasley, who is projected by NFL Media analysts to be selected in the top half of the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Beasley (6-foot-3, 246 pounds) stood on his numbers from the NFL Scouting Combine, which were outstanding -- he posted the fastest 40-yard dash time among linebackers (4.53), had the most bench press reps among linebackers (35 at 225 pounds), and was a top performer in his position group in vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill and 20-yard short shuttle.
Beasley displayed outstanding athleticism in the position drills. Beasley originally came to Clemson as a running back, then was moved to tight end, but was moved to defense when Clemson assistant coach Marion Hobby convinced the staff that a move to the defensive side of the ball would be beneficial for both player and team. Now, Beasley is a likely top-10 pick.
Defensive end Tavaris Barnes (6-3 7/8, 284) ran the 20-yard short shuttle in 4.62 seconds. He had a three-cone time of 7.56 seconds. He had a 31-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot broad jump. He looked very quick in the drills.
Defensive end Corey Crawford (6-5 1/8, 299) ran the 40-yard dash in 5.16 and 5.08 seconds. He also performed 17 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
Nose tackle Grady Jarrett (6-0 3/4, 298) ran the 40 in 5.13 and 5.08 seconds. He had a 30-inch vertical jump and 9-foot-5 broad jump. He had a 20-yard short shuttle time of 4.63 seconds and a three-cone time of 7.52 seconds. He performed 23 strength lifts. He also had a good positional workout.
Inside linebacker Stephone Anthony (6-2 3/8, 243) stood on his numbers from the combine, where he was a top performer among linebackers in the 40-yard dash and 20-yard shuttle. Anthony looked good in the positional drills and displayed his good athletic ability. Anthony is a prospect on the rise.
Cornerback Garry Peters (5-11 5/8, 201) ran the 40 in 4.57 and 4.62 seconds. He had a 9-foot-10 broad jump. He was really smooth in his backpedal and has good ball skills.
Punter Bradley Pinion (6-5 1/2, 229) caught the ball well and was good as a holder, but he was not consistent as a punter.
Defensive tackle DeShawn Williams (6-0 1/2, 303) ran the 40 in 5.10 and 5.03 seconds. He had a 30-inch vertical jump and 8-foot-9 broad jump. He did the short shuttle in 4.59 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.70 seconds. He also performed 23 strength lifts. Williams has a chance to be a low-round draft choice.
After the workout, the NFL scouts and personnel were treated to a great catered lunch. It was so great that they thought they were at a luxury hotel with that kind of spread.
Online payment firm WorldPay, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, is battling to process customer transactions after being hit by a massive denial of service (DoS) attack. The attack started yesterday, flooding WorldPay's web connected systems with huge volumes of bogus requests and bringing its payment and administration systems to a grinding halt.
WorldPay operates in 70 countries, processing credit card payments for 27,000 customers including Vodafone and Sony, and it sent out an email to customers today alerting them to the problems.
The email said: "The integrity and security of our systems and data is in no way compromised. While this type of attack on our system is difficult to prevent and avoid, it is purely a matter of the network capacity being overloaded by the deliberate actions of a third party."
WorldPay spokesman Simon Fletcher told silicon.com that it is a pure denial of service attack and that the systems and data are secure and have not been compromised.
"It is a concerted and orchestrated attack. It is pure 'can we get the Internet to fall over' for the sheer for the hell of it -- and they did," he said. "Our systems are actually functioning but it is just because the pipe is so blocked up with detritus we can't get that information out, or the transactions are very slow compared to what they usually are. Our pipe to the Internet has been blocked."
The reason customers had not been informed until 24 hours after the attack began was because the attack also prevented the firm sending out the emails.
The spokesman said two changes have now been implemented to bring the payment service back to normal. It is re-routing transactions and filtering genuine ones from those generated by the denial of service attack. It could take up to a day to resume normal service.
Another option for customers is a "small" technical change at their end that will point transactions to a back-up WorldPay set-up. For customers choosing this option, service will be restored to normal straight-away, the spokesman said.
He said the immediate priority is getting the WorldPay service running back to usual levels, and then a decision will be made on tracing and investigating the attack.
In London, the population rose by about 108,000 from mid-2012 to mid-2013. During the same period, only an additional 18,200 houses and flats were completed. That trails behind the 42,000 houses that London needs to build each year to keep up with the growth.
Other cramped cities, like Hong Kong, New York, and Singapore, have similar issues — too many people and not enough housing. These mega-cities are surrounded by water and are restricted from expanding outward. London doesn't have the same excuse.
Instead, housing development is being held back by a series of laws introduced in the 1930s and 1940s that established the Green Belt — a ring of land surrounding London that can't be developed on, other than for agricultural or sanitation uses. The Green Belt is not to be confused with greenfield land, which means the land hasn't been developed on before. This interactive map from the Telegraph shows the massive scale of the building-free area.
Those in support of the Green Belt argue that partitioning off this land prevents urban sprawl and protects rural communities. Many housing experts disagree. That includes London School of Economics Professor Paul Cheshire, who argues that closing off the green space to residential and commercial building is a show of government over-regulation.
One common misconception about the Green Belt is that people think of this area as pristine nature: grass, leaves, swaying trees, chirping birds, etc. In reality, many parts of the protected green space serve as dumping grounds or unused lots.
A rubbish dump just south of Upminster – 19.9 miles from Central London.
It's not even clear what this is, but it's definitely not green – 19.8 Miles From London.
Ashford Water Treatment Works – 16 miles from Central London.
A huge gravel pit in Hertfordshire – 17.7 miles from Central London.
A vast landfill in Reigate is so enormous that residents complain about the smell – 20 miles From Central London.
The location of Esher Sewage Treatment Works 15.2 miles from Central London.
This is a double whammy: A car breaker's yard along with a treatment plant – 17.1 miles from Central London.
Google's latest phone comes with top-tier features, but here's how it stacks up to previous versions.
The Pixel 3 is one of Google's most refined phones yet. It's got the specs to compete with the iPhone XS and Galaxy 9, features dual 8-megapixel front-facing cameras for spectacular selfies and even supports wireless charging, all for hundreds less than the competition.
On top of all that, it ships with Android Pie, along with the deep well of Google's services, not to mention retooled camera processing that promises vivid low light photography and features to help select your best photo.
But how does it stack up with previous versions of the Pixel? We put together an exhaustive chart of all the various specs so you can see how the older Pixels stand up to the latest from Google's current flagship line of phones.
This may be the year in which sport, especially soccer, emerges as the next frontier in the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to isolate Israel over its occupation of Palestine. And the ball is in BDS’s court, so to speak.
Although the PFA motion was narrowly focused on specific Israeli violations rather than the impact of the occupation more broadly, Israel reacted with a full court diplomatic press. Israel launched what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an “international effort” to persuade other countries not to back the PFA’s bid if it came to a vote. This reportedly involved lobbying the sports ministers and football association heads of more than 100 countries “in order to draw a line in the sand.” The result was a temporary victory for Israel: a toothless monitoring committee that has predictably made no substantive progress months later.
Is New York State About to Create a Blacklist of BDS Supporters?
But Palestinian campaigners and their supporters will take courage from the fact that the motion also generated widespread coverage and debate, both beyond the sports world and beyond those who normally pay attention to the Palestine-Israel issue.
Israel and its supporters can’t be happy with the growing presence of protesters at matches involving Israeli sportspeople. This includes opposition to Israeli participation at tennis tournaments; protests against the decision by UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, to award Israel hosting rights for the 2013 Under-21 Championship; disruption of ice hockey games in South Africa; protests outside basketball matches in the United States and football games in Europe; and a number of leading, mostly African, soccer players coming out in support of Palestinian rights.
Even more concerning to Israel must be analogies to the sports boycott of apartheid South Africa. FIFA was the first major international sports organization to suspend South Africa. The sports boycott forced many people who might not otherwise have done so to reckon with the issue of apartheid.
Like South Africa then, a central tenet of Israeli identity is that of an outpost of Western civilization in an otherwise backward region, a nation oriented toward the United States and Europe. While Israel is not dominant in any global sports the way South Africa was in cricket and rugby, a concerted campaign by the BDS movement to promote a sports boycotts has the potential to have a powerful psychological effect by disrupting Israel’s attempts to present itself as a normal nation.
Israel’s concern is understandable given the powerful symbolism and potential ripple effects that its suspension from FIFA could have. Few things would bring the conversation about BDS and the Israeli occupation to a wider audience than Israel’s inability to compete in European and international soccer tournaments, or to participate in other arenas such as the Olympic Games.
The BDS movement itself is a legacy of the campaign against South Africa. But despite this connection, so far sport has not been a prominent part of the campaign, as Omar Barghouti, one of the leading figures in the BDS movement, has acknowledged.
Part of this absence may have to do with how the Palestinian establishment views a sport boycott. The BDS movement was unsurprised at the ongoing reluctance of the Palestinian sports establishment to stand up to Israel. The head of the PFA is Jibril Rajoub, who in one of his previous jobs was chief of the notoriously repressive security forces that collaborate closely with Israel. The effects of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian soccer had been on FIFA’s agenda for the previous two years, and each time Rajoub, a senior member of the Palestinian establishment, had threatened to seek sanctions if things did not improve, only to back down from his demands in the end. Indeed, Israel figured it could rely on Palestinian authorities not to push the issue too far. Prior to the FIFA Congress, a senior official in Israel’s Foreign Ministry predicted Rajoub would “ride this issue to the very last moment and then step back.” Despite this, Israel was still clearly worried about the attention the issue was receiving and the threat of suspension.
There appears to be support among Palestinians generally for sporting sanctions against Israel. However, to date BDS has largely been focused on other targets. In recent years, the cultural boycott has become a growing aspect of the movement. While the success or failure of cultural boycotts is debatable (they have had success up to a point), what the South African case points to perhaps is the greater impact of sports boycotts on political attitudes and reform.
One thing that seems to work well—when international diplomacy and common sense have failed—is the threat of withdrawing a rogue nation from the community of sport. In South Africa the slogan “no normal sport in an abnormal society” encapsulated the conviction that as long as the regime excluded the majority of its people from participating in society as equals, it should be excluded from participating in international sports competitions as equals. For white South Africans (and their apologists), sporting isolation was a bitter pill to swallow.
The Israeli government and sports associations’ responses to recent threats of Israeli expulsion from UEFA and FIFA are particularly instructive: Citizens have strong feelings about sport. It is closely tied to national identity, and the symbolic effects of sporting sanctions are more palpable than economic sanctions may be for many citizens (in the way, say, that being denied access to certain commodities may not be).
Up to now, BDS has been largely ambivalent about a sports boycott. Nevertheless, experience has shown that sports boycotts are very powerful tools for international solidarity groups. Ultimately, they could prove crucial in the Palestinian case, forcing a much broader conversation about the Israeli occupation and potentially representing one of the most significant threats yet to the status quo.
Sean JacobsSean Jacobs is editor of Africa is a Country and co-editor of Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy (2015). He is on the international affairs faculty at The New School.
Aubrey BloomfieldTwitterAubrey Bloomfield is a graduate student at The New School in New York City.
TNDTE Diploma result 2018: Candidates can check the TNDTE result at tndte.gov.in. The direct link has been provided here.
TNDTE Diploma result 2018: The October TNDTE result has been announced @ tndte.gov.in.
TNDTE has announced results for the Diploma exam held in October. Candidates who took the exam in October under Tamil Nadu Directorate of Technical Education (TNDTE) can now check their result online at the official website of the TNDTE at tndte.gov.in. TNDTE results were also supposed to be released at intradote.nic.in. The official web portal and the result website are not responding earlier, but the portal is opening now. Technical glitches may be there therefore students should wait for a while before retrying for the result retrieval. Students are suggested to retry during offpeak hours.
Results have been announced for full time, sandwich and part time modes.
The exam is held in October, every year, for the disciplines of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Electronics and Communication Engineering.
Last year the result was released in December.

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