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The fourteenth report of the Special Committee (A/54/325) was issued on 8 September 1999 and transmitted to the General Assembly by the Secretary-General. It followed two periodic reports (A/54/73 and Add.1), which were transmitted to the Assembly on 13 April and 7 September, respectively. In accordance with established practice, the consideration of these reports was allocated to the Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), together with related reports of the Secretary-General.
The report states that restrictions in the occupied territories with respect to land, housing and water severely affect the Palestinians. The information made available to the Special Committee confirms that confiscation of Palestinian-owned land still continues. The establishment of new settlements and the expansion of existing ones continued and accelerated markedly after the signature of the Wye River Memorandum in 1998, particularly subsequent to the unilateral suspension by Israel for six months of its implementation of the Memorandum. There are reportedly 194 Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Some Palestinian estimates placed the number of settlements at about 220.
Also according to the report, movement of Palestinians within and between parts of the occupied territories continues to be under the control of the Israeli authorities. Requirements concerning identity cards and travel permits are complicated, and there is a system of checkpoints and closures. Among the positive developments during the period under review was a decline in the number of Palestinian administrative detainees, which has been attributed to the activities by Israeli human rights groups. The issue of torture has been raised repeatedly in connection with the treatment of Palestinian prisoners under interrogation, in particular those accused of having committed security-related offences.
The Special Committee concludes that there exists an all-encompassing sense of tension in the occupied territories. Rigorous implementation of laws, regulations and administrative measures by Israeli authorities creates a sense of fear and despondency among the inhabitants. During periods of violence, such exercise of control makes the lives of the Palestinian and Syrian peoples in the occupied territories even more unbearable. Bitterness at their treatment by the authorities and the sense of hopelessness are caused to a large extent by lack of progress in the peace process and absence of tangible benefits for the people of the occupied territories. The Special Committee welcomes the resumption of dialogue in the peace process and notes meetings between Palestinians and Israelis of the younger generation, which show what appears to be an increasing willingness to meet and communicate. However, the Committee also observes an apparent absence of sensitivity to circumstances in the occupied territories on the part of the Israeli authorities. As regards the general conditions of the Palestinians, the sense of alienation, exclusion and separation from their homeland remains a matter of anxiety and concern.
The Special Committee recommends that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in communication with the Secretary-General, consult with appropriate Israeli authorities with respect to permitting long-separated families in the occupied Palestinian territories and in the Syrian Golan to meet freely and often. Such consultations should also include the subjects of the entire process of detention and treatment of detainees; the use of physical force and torture; the effect of the occupation, including settlements, closures and restriction on movement, on the children of the occupied territories; facilitating access to educational centres; and ameliorating the conditions under which Palestinians in Gaza travel from Gaza into Israel through the Erez border crossing.
The Special Committee considers it especially important that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in consultation with the Secretary-General, establish a system of continuous communication with the Israeli authorities to improve the lives of the Palestinian and Syrian peoples of the occupied territories. The Special Committee also believes that it is important for the Committee to have access to the occupied territories in order to witness for itself the actual human rights situation there and to ascertain the views of the Israeli Government on the subject.
The Committee also had before it the Special Committee’s first periodic report (A/54/73), which covers the period from 6 November to 31 January 1999 and contains a summary of articles on the matters within the terms of reference of the Special Committee from the newspapers Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post, published in Israel, and The Jerusalem Times, published in the occupied territories.
According to the summarized articles on the human rights situation in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the part of the area fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority (Area A) would increase from 3 to 18.2 per cent and Israel would withdraw from 13 per cent of Area C. As a result, the Palestinians would have full or partial control over 40 per cent of the West Bank, while Israelis would control the remaining 60 per cent. The document also contains reports of incidents when Palestinian residents of the occupied territories objected to Israeli settlement practices and land development there, and of settlers seizing Palestinian land and establishing makeshift operations in several locations in the West Bank.
The report also contains articles about land confiscation in the occupied territories and violent confrontations over the construction of settlements, the plans for which - according to the articles - have been accelerated before the implementation of the Wye agreement. The Wye Memorandum states that “neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and Gaza strip in accordance with the Interim Agreement”, the report stated. However, then Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on 31 October 1998 that by the year 2000, construction would be completed at Har Homa. On 15 November, members of the Council of Jewish Settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip stated that they would continue to establish facts on the ground in advance of a pullback. Construction of roads also continued in the occupied territories.
The Special Committee also transmits summaries from articles regarding the confiscation and demolition of houses built without permits, and restrictions affecting the movement of Palestinians within and outside the occupied territories. Following violent incidents, the Israeli authorities on numerous occasions resorted to closures of Palestinian villages, imposing curfews and setting up roadblocks throughout the West Bank to prevent residents from leaving their homes. Some publications contain information about delays and difficulties in granting authorizations and identification papers to the Palestinians by the Israeli authorities; incidents at checkpoints; interrogation procedures; administrative detention and imprisonment and in their conditions.
On the question of the use of force, the report transmits summarized articles about clashes between the Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops, as well as about use of rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition by the authorities. Violent incidents in many cases led to injuries and death on both sides. Aspects of the administration of justice are also covered, as well as economic, social and cultural effects of the Israeli system of regulation and enforcement.
The last chapter of the report is devoted to the human rights situation in the occupied Syrian Arab Golan, where, the report stated, settlement policies, similar to those in other occupied territories, were pursued. On 4 January 1999, the Knesset plenum approved the first reading of a bill that would require any Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights to be approved by an absolute majority of 61 members of the Knesset and a simple majority of citizens voting in a national referendum. On 26 January, the Knesset gave its final approval to the so-called Golan Heights bill. However, due to a change in the bill approved by the Knesset, the requirement for holding a referendum would only take effect after the Knesset legislated a basic law on the matter.
The Committee also had before it the second periodic report of the Special Committee (A/54/73/Add.1), which covers the period from February through August 1999. The newest evidence before the Committee, the report states, includes examples of Israeli practices relating to land, housing, use of water, demonstrations in protest of Israeli actions, road construction, identity cards and travel permits.
It is reported that the Israeli Interior Ministry would defend its policy of revoking East Jerusalem identity cards by introducing a new plan. The Israeli authorities would conduct a census within Jerusalem city limits before the end of 1999. According to the proposal, the citizens of East Jerusalem would be divided into five categories. Those living within the borders of the city and included in the 1968 census would have permanent status and would enjoy full social benefits. Other categories would have no entitlement to social benefits; depending on their place of residence, they would be given different kinds of residence status and identification papers. The report also contains information on the closures and the manner of the implementation of restrictions. It also addresses the question of the use of force; aspects of the administration of justice; and economic, social and cultural effects that the Israeli system of regulation and enforcement has on the lives of the people of the occupied territories.
The Committee also had before it reports of the Secretary-General regarding his actions undertaken pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 53/53, 53/54, 53/55, 53/56 and 53/57 of 3 December 1998 (documents A/54/181, A/54/182, A/54/183, A/54/184 and A/54/185). In those reports, the Secretary-General states, among other things, that all necessary facilities were provided to the Special Committee on Israeli practices, and the Department of Public Information continued to provide press coverage of the Special Committee meetings. The Department also continued to disseminate information on the activities of the Special Committee and provide support to its field missions. The Secretary-General also states that in view of his reporting responsibilities under the resolutions, he addressed several notes verbales requesting information on steps taken by the Israeli Government concerning the implementation of the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolutions No replies had been received at the time of the preparation of the reports. The Secretary-General had drawn the attention of all States Parties to the Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and to relevant paragraphs of the Assembly resolutions.
Donors to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Governments hosting Palestine refugees in the Near East, at an informal meeting which ended Wednesday in Amman, have reaffirmed support for UNRWA and its efforts to maintain services to some 3.6 million refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In response to the Agency's current financial crisis, delegates from a number of donor countries also announced additional contributions to UNRWA's 1999 budget.
The additional contributions announced included, from the United States, $1 million to the Agency's "general fund" regular budget and another $2.5 million for special projects; around $2.1 million for the general fund from the Netherlands, some $1.6 million for the general fund from the United Kingdom, and around $800,000 each from Italy and Canada. The Government of France announced that part of its food aid to UNRWA for 1999 would be monetized through a payment to UNRWA of some $950,000 in cash, in lieu of transportation and distribution costs, for a donation of 1,500 tonnes of flour.
The representative of Belgium announced that his Government would increase its annual contribution to UNRWA by 10 per cent in 2000, in addition to increasing food aid to the Agency. Luxembourg said its contribution to UNRWA's general fund and projects in 2000 would be increased by 25 per cent over their 1999 level. The additional contributions announced at the Amman meeting will cover part of the Agency's expected cash deficit in 1999.
The Amman meeting was attended by delegates from 26 of UNRWA's major donors, the host Governments of Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Speaking on behalf of Jordan's Prime Minister, the Director-General of the Jordanian Department of Palestinian Affairs, Abdul Kareem Abul Heija, reiterated Jordan's commitment to supporting Palestine refugees and offering them the means for socio-economic development. "UNRWA's indispensable services are viewed by the refugees themselves and the host Governments as a bastion of stability and a vital instrument in helping the refugees cope with the necessities of life, until a final settlement of their problem is reached and implemented", he said.
In his opening remarks, UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said that despite the continuation of existing austerity and cost-reduction measures in 1999, the financial situation for the year remained grave, with a cash-flow crisis expected in the last quarter of 1999.
Meeting with Mr. Hansen in Amman on Wednesday, Jordan's Prime Minister, Abdur Ra'uf Rawabdeh, reaffirmed Jordan's unwavering support to UNRWA and its firm belief that the continuation of UNRWA services was instrumental to peace and stability in the region. He expressed his hope that donor countries would increase their support to UNRWA at this critical juncture in the peace process.
At the Amman meeting, delegates from donor and host Governments stressed their full support for UNRWA and its continuing efforts to improve the level and quality of services under extreme financial difficulties. They also commended the Agency for its continuing efforts for management reform, which had resulted in a new budget format providing an improved tool for planning and fund-raising. Delegates also reiterated their belief that a solution to the refugee problem was a prerequisite for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
In his concluding remarks, Commissioner-General Hansen thanked donor and host Governments for their continued support for the Agency and for the additional pledges announced at the meeting. He reiterated the Agency's commitment to a "tripartite" partnership with its stakeholders, the donor Governments, the host authorities and the refugees.
Recent progress on the peace front is reinforcing improvements in the Palestinian economy, donors were told by the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje-Rod Larsen.
Mr. Larsen's statement was issued prior to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in Tokyo today, which is being chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Norway, and is composed of the Palestinian Authority, Israel, major donors including the United States, the European Union, Japan, Norway and Canada, as well as the Russian Federation and regional parties such as Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Larsen declared that, for the first time since early 1996, there was encouraging news in both the political and the economic aspects of the peace process. On the one hand, the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement and its implementation "are allowing people to believe once again that a comprehensive and lasting peace will be achieved". On the other hand, the Palestinian economy is growing at about 4 per cent and employment opportunities are increasing.
Mr. Larsen commented that the Palestinian Authority had been "very successful" in establishing the basic institutions of the public sector, delivering public services and initiating a planning process to identify priorities for development assistance. Today's Liaison Committee agenda also indicated how successful the parties had been in resolving differences, including some related to increasing Palestinian access to external markets. Furthermore, it reflected the responsiveness of donors to changing developments in the peace process and in the Palestinian economy.
Unfortunately, Mr. Larsen continued, the news was far from being all good: "The Palestinian economy remains perched on a weak foundation that is still under construction." The increase in jobs could be attributed to two factors: Israeli demand for Palestinian labour and employment in the public sector. "In the longer run, neither of these trends is a viable long-term engine for economic growth."
What is needed, said Mr. Larsen, is large-scale private investment. To achieve this, there is a need to overcome the political and economic uncertainties, combined with the lack of basic infrastructure and developed governance structures. Bolstering investor confidence was, therefore, a principal goal.
Mr. Larsen said that the donor community, as represented in the Liaison Committee, was in a position to play a continuing positive role in the future. He proposed that, over the next 12 months, the Liaison Committee should focus its attention on three areas: increasing public investment by both donors and the Palestinian Authority; enhancing Palestinian access to international markets for trade and investment purposes and regional markets for increasing job opportunities; and supporting the Palestinian Authority's efforts to further improve governance structures and public resource management. "Public investment is the bricks, while market access and governance are the mortar; both are needed to construct the edifice which we all want to see, a strong and sustainable Palestinian economy", he said.
Commenting on the declining level of disbursements (under $250 million for the whole of 1999 to date), Mr. Larsen reminded donors that annual disbursements should be running at $600 million if they were to keep their November 1998 promise to the Palestinian people to provide around $3 billion in aid over the coming five years.
Mr. Shigeichi Higuchi, 81, resident of Los Angeles, passed away on Jan. 24, at Keiro Nursing Home.
Private family funeral services were held on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Fukui Mortuary “Chapel in the Garden,” with Honorable Bishop Taisen Miyata of Koyasan Buddhist Temple officiating.
He is survived by his sons, Albert Tetsuo and Jone Hitoshi (Kiyomi) Higuchi; granddaughter, Emily Higuchi; grandsons, Michael and Jone Kengo Higuchi; brothers, Katsumi (Teruyo), Kaoru (Masako) and Makoto (Tomiko) Higuchi; sisters, Toki (Yoshikazu) Watanabe and Hideko (Masashi) Kobayashi; many nephews, nieces and relatives.
Tomorrowland is actually set to undergo a series of changes which have actually started within the last couple of weeks. The Carousel of Progress has received another paint job to take away the bright rainbow colors and turn it into the matching white and blue scheme which is set to take over the land.
One of the biggest changes is that the new Tron Lightcycle attraction is going to be built in a “new space” next to Space Mountain. This attraction will not only bring forth new excitement for guests but it is going to completely change the skyline and dynamics of Tomorrowland.
Right now, the biggest thing happening is the massive amount of land being cleared between Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus. As you can see in the images below, from outside of Magic Kingdom, both Space Mountain and some of the tents in Storybook are now visible as most of the trees have been cleared out.
There is no set opening date for the Tron Lightcycle, but again, Disney hopes to have it open by WDW’s 50th anniversary in 2021. Work is clearly underway and it’s going to be fun watching it develop over the next few years.
Tomorrowland will receive a number of other changes as well and WDWInfo reported that some are coming to the famous “Purple Wall.” Disney has started painting it to give it a bit of a better shine and it will soon have a new “enhanced section” which is sure to please guests who love taking pics with the walls of Walt Disney World.
According to WDWNT, there will be a couple of subtractions coming along with the other changes and additions. The rolling robot known as ICAN will perform only through April 7, 2018, and the Toy Story-themed merchandise cart near Wedway will close on April 8, 2018.
Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom was always meant to be the world of the future brought to guests before it became a reality. Now, those who visit Walt Disney World will begin seeing things in a whole new light as construction and changes are set to take place all throughout the land. Land has been cleared and painting is taking place all around with the hope that the new Tron Lightcycle roller coaster will be ready to go by 2021.
I got your sewer monster right here.
Oh blogosphere, what have you dragged in now? A sewer monster that might be aliens or worms or some unmentionable part of the male anatomy, that's what you've brought in today. The 'monster' dubbed the Malphrus Sewer monster, and a few less kind, but more imaginative things, looks way too silly to be anything other than early marketing for what can only be a horror comedy.
In fact, speculation on YouTube and in the UK Daily Mail that the monster might in fact be worms in the sewer suggests the most promising candidate for that horror comedy. The Mail cites "experts" who "claim they are clumps of annelid worms, which normally live in soil and sediment at the bottom and edges of polluted streams."
Yes, that's right. It is starting to look like the monster might be an advance for the next installment in the "Tremors" franchise, which starred Kevin Bacon and Alex P. Keaton's dad in the first installment.
A call to the Malphrus Construction company shed little light on the origins of the monster, but they assuredly, did not take credit for the video as other sources have claimed. Call there and ask about a sewer monster and the receptionist connects you, quite speedily, to a husky voiced woman named Ann.
Are you familiar with the video of the sewer monster?
Is Malphrus responsible for the video?
Do you know who is?
A recently released United Nations report outlines the global body’s plan to foist a centrally planned “green” world order on all of humanity, making every level of government subservient to its “sustainable development” agenda. The upcoming Rio+20 sustainability conference in Brazil — held two decades after the first “Earth Summit” adopted Agenda 21 — will be used to solidify the foundation of the emerging planetary control system.
Under the guise of a “green economy” — expected to cost trillions of dollars per year, according to the report — the UN intends to make use of coercive power at all levels of governance to implement the plan. From local and national governments to regional and global entities, programs affecting every area of human life will be used to advance the controversial “sustainable development” agenda.
According to the UN report, entitled “Working towards a Balanced and Inclusive Green Economy: A United Nations System-wide Perspective,” everything must change to make humanity more sustainable. Lifestyles, opinions, education, health, consumption, production, agriculture, diet, law, taxation, industry, governance, and more: Literally everything must be re-shaped to conform with new international standards.
The perfect opportunity to solidify the scheme is coming up in June at the UN sustainability summit. And UN bosses are determined not to waste it. “Agreement among UN entities on core elements of strategy, policy, and programmatic services in support of governments’ green economy initiatives will send a powerful signal to governments, businesses, and civil society of the determination of the UN system to ‘Deliver as One’ on a green economy transformation for sustainable development,” the report notes.
The plan, of course, will be imposed from the top down. Regional, national, state, and even local governments will all be coaxed into participation. “At the international, sub-regional, and regional levels, there is a need for policy coherence and financial and technological cooperation,” the UN report states. Various enforcement tools will be used to ensure compliance.
To aid in the transition toward a so-called “green economy,” the report explains, governments at all levels will have to employ “mandatory technical regulations” and other measures. International bodies, of course, will be used to ensure the whole world is signing up to and complying with the controversial agenda. And the regulations will have to be global.
The UN, of course, has already been working to develop the international rules that every person and government on Earth will eventually be expected to obey. “In this regard, a number of UN entities have been involved in developing international regulations, standards or guidelines to be used as a basis for national regulations or standards to support green economy objectives,” the report observes.
Outside of the UN, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have parts to play in the transformation of society as well — particularly when it comes to developing the rules all of humanity must abide by or prodding national governments into subjecting their populations to the schemes. Those entities will also work with national, state, and local lawmakers to ensure that everybody is on board.
There might be an even more important role for the IMF to play, too, at least if the UN and a cabal of powerful global leaders get their way. The UN acknowledges that the “transition” will be wildly expensive — likely more than $2 trillion per year, not including the economic losses suffered due to central planning and compliance with the unprecedented global regulatory regime.
A truly global currency managed by the IMF, of course, would certainly help the emerging centralized authority to pay for the grandiose transformation envisioned by the UN. But critics have warned that such a scheme would be extremely dangerous — to say the least — as the global system would then have essentially unlimited funding to support its highly controversial agenda.
The so-called “advice” will include, among other measures, policy design and implementation. But of course, there is much more: The creation and development of a so-called “carbon market” based on dubious UN global-warming theories; the “greening” of just about everything; boosting coercive support for “green energy;” developing a “range of instruments” to extract the wealth needed to pay for it all; and more.
“Incentives” including regulations and “distributional policies” should “contribute to behavioral changes in production, consumption, and lifestyles,” the document claims. One key element of changing people’s thoughts and lifestyles will be educational programs to essentially teach the youth the importance of accepting the new global order. Worldwide welfare programs will play an important role in the changes as well.
“Strategic planning” of so-called “city-regions” — also known as central planning — is also, according to the UN document, “critical” to ensuring that humanity stops consuming more resources than the planners think appropriate. A transition toward what the UN calls “sustainable diets” will be needed, too.
Even with sustainable diets, however, the supposedly wise would-be central planners hold as a central tenant of their faith that supposed “overpopulation” represents a threat to Mother Earth. So, to partially alleviate the alleged problem, the UN proposed ensuring access to legalized abortion and “family planning” all over the world.
While the “green” UN vision appears at first glance to be unprecedented, there seems to be an existing model: Red China. The totalitarian communist regime — with its brutal suppression of dissent and its one-child policy enforced through forced abortions — is described by the UN report as “a good example of combining investments and public policy incentives” in the development of clean technology for the march toward the “green economy.” In reality, of course, central planning in China has produced very little in the way of technological progress — most of that has come through worldwide espionage aimed primarily at more liberty-minded nations.
Despite well over 50 million deaths caused by the communist dictatorship under Chairman Mao, key proponents of the UN goals continue to praise the system. "The social experiment in China under Chairman Mao's leadership is one of the most important and successful in history," billionaire UN supporter and “green” agenda driver David Rockefeller was quoted as saying by the New York Times in 1973.
The SMU Mustangs lost 56-0 on Saturday to rival TCU in the 94th Battle for the Iron Skillet, dropping their record to 0-4 overall and 0-2 at Ford Stadium.
Junior walk-on quarterback Garrett Krstich made his first career start, and while the Mustangs started slow on offense, they showed some improvement during the course of the game. SMU was twice on the brink of scoring a touchdown, but two failed attempts to convert fourth downs led to SMU being shut out at home for the first time since 1999.
SMU Interim Head Coach Tom Mason was satisfied with Krstich’s play.
Krstich completed 14 of 30 passes for 142 yards and an interception. After SMU went three-and-out on its two four drives, he found a groove.
Early in the second quarter, Krstich led SMU on a 15-play, 76-yard drive that stalled at the TCU 1-yard line when his fourth-down pass for Darius Joseph fell incomplete. On SMU’s next drive, a 36-yard pass touchdown from Krstich to Joseph was overturned when Joseph was ruled down by contact at the TCU 30-yard line. Two plays later, SMU turned the ball over on downs.
“I felt like we kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Krstich said. “We’d get ourselves in a situation where it’s second and long, third and long. We need to win the first down battle and we need to convert on third downs.
Krstich took a third-down sack on each of SMU’s first two drives. The Mustangs converted only four of 18 third downs and allowed nine sacks on the day. Krstich said many of the sacks were his fault.
SMU also struggled defensively, giving up 614 yards. TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin torched SMU for 280 passing yards, 67 rushing yards and six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing). SMU could not find an answer for TCU jack-of-all-trades wide receiver Deante’ Gray, who had 112 total yards and two touchdowns. The win moved TCU to 3-0 on the season and earned the Horned Frogs the 25th spot in the Associated Press top 25 poll.
Mason preached improvement during the practices leading up to the game, but SMU did not show any. Mason said the tackling was worse than it was against Texas A&M;, but he did like the effort his team showed.
The Mustangs open American Athletic Conference play Oct. 4 when they travel to Greenville, N.C. to take on 22nd-ranked East Carolina University.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 804-guest Black Watch will enter dry dock at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany in November 2016, in preparation for the forthcoming 2017/18 cruise season.
The ship will undergo various engineering works, general maintenance and refurbishment during the dry dock, as well as the creation of several new public areas and guest facilities, as part of a multi-million Pound investment.
Black Watch will depart from Tilbury, UK for Hamburg on November 18th, with work on the dry dock expected two days later.
Mike Rodwell, managing director of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “Black Watch is one of Fred. Olsen’s most popular cruise ships, and it is important that she always looks her best.
“During her 26-day dry dock in Hamburg, as well as the usual maritime inspections and maintenance work, we will also be undertaking major upgrades to the cabins and public areas throughout the ship, to ensure that we continue to provide the best facilities possible to meet our guests’ expectations.
A key focus of Black Watch’s refurbishment will be the 423 cabins across the ship, on Marquee Deck 9, Bridge Deck 8, Lido Deck 7, Main Deck 5, Atlantic Deck 4, and Marina Deck 3.
A new interactive in-cabin TV system will be installed across the ship, equipped with all the latest features and connectivity.
Bathrooms will be refurbished, and all cabins will feature safes and mini-bars, as standard.
To enhance the on-board experience for guests, the Marina Cinema on Marina Deck 3 will be upgraded with the latest ‘3D’ technology, enabling the Black Watch team to show 3D films and other programmes.
Similar refurbishments and upgrades are expected to the rest of the Fred. Olsen fleet – Balmoral, Braemar and Boudicca – in the coming years.
Following Black Watch’s dry dock, the ship will recommence her cruise season from Tilbury, UK, with a seven-night ‘German & Danish Christmas Markets’ cruise in early December.
If you don't know what's great about this, you have never been forced to listen to soft rock non-stop for 40 hours a week.
A while back, I was forced to take a job which included among its many indignities the nonstop broadcast of a soft-rock radio station over its intercom system. With the Orwellian tag line -- "All your soft, familiar favorites" -- this radio station introduced me to a level of musical torture I had scarcely known to have existed. As a music-lover, asking me to tune it out would be like asking a mother to ignore her only child being beaten and humiliated. Still, I managed to cope with it via a twofold strategy: first, frequent and elaborate murder fantasies in which I would off Michael Bolton and Celine Dion in grisly fashion just as their dramatic early whispers had turned into the hysterical screaming of the word "LOVE!" that they use at the climax of every single song. Second: an aggressive lowering of my standards. This latter strategy made an otherwise surly music snob gasp with joy when I heard the first strains of the new Dido song, or Santana with Michelle Branch, or even Norah Jones for the billionth time.
Still, those were all songs I had at least a secret affection for before taking that job. The real shocker was Shania Twain, who has just released this greatest hits collection. Previously, I had filed her next to Faith Hill on the ash heap of pop culture. My prejudices about Hill proved polite compared to my assessment of her talent when I was actually forced to listen to her. Twain, by contrast, had plenty of surprises. Hill is Celine Dion with less impressive pipes and a dollop of country twang for no good reason. Twain, when teamed with husband and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, is pure confection; she knows her strengths and she sticks to them. Of course, Twain's massive popularity means that few music aficionados respect her. Lange is at least used to doing massively popular work that no one respects, namely with Def Leppard, a group with which Twain has more in common than fans of either would care to admit. Def Leppard was accused of being too polished to be metal; Twain is accused of being too pop to be country. Both complaints are misguided: what Lange does well is to steer an artist towards the ever-popular middle-of-the-road without demanding the kind of sacrifices that he would were he the mercenary he is often taken for. Def Leppard's Hysteria is slick, glossy, and sanitized of the band's previous rawness, but it is not a sell-out. It communicates the band's ideas to a mass audience -- but the ideas remain theirs.
In the case of Twain, the line gets blurrier since Lange gets a co-writing credit for her songs, but the results are enjoyable enough that it hardly matters. Greatest Hits gathers together just about everything you could want from her unless you happened to be a fan of her pre-superstar, pre-Mutt debut, which is ignored here. This is no country purist's collection, but Twain is no country purist's singer. What people want from her is exactly what she delivers with Greatest Hits -- catchy, mindless fun: 21 tracks of it. Four of those are new, but the other 17 will scratch most any itch that Shania fans could come down with. To be sure, this isn't artistic greatness. "Forever and For Always" sounds as if it is dedicated from one idiot teen to another; "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" has a title-word-to-exclamation-point ratio that would make the headline writer at The National Enquirer blush; "That Don't Impress Me Much" is just plain annoying. But, in the end, who cares? Enough Twain converts will be thrilled to have her best songs on one disc, and any skeptics out there need only be forced to listen to soft rock for 40 hours per week to discover what they've been missing.
Sometimes we find ourselves in that "can’t stand music, only podcast" phase in the week, so we go into the iTunes store, and the first thing we do is download the newest episodes of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast.
Maron’s a smart guy who’s been around the block six or seven times. His resume includes terms and designations such as "alternative comic," "off-Broadway star," "political commentator," and most recently, "host of very popular podcast".
What sets WTF apart from any other comedy podcast floating around in cyberspace, is the fact that Maron knows comedians are (usually) smart people with a lot of things to say. The conversations he’s had with folks from Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt, and recently, the two part series with Judd Apatow, are interesting, insightful, and always full of laughs that don’t seem to come from practice runs for new routines.
Jewcy hung out with Marc in his jungle themed hotel room while he was in town, and asked a few questions.
China’s ambitious $40 billion plan to construct a rival to the Panama Canal in Nicaragua has captured the world’s attention, but the Middle Kingdom is no stranger to ambitious megaprojects in far-flung corners of the globe. New Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was Vice President before he assumed presidency, has long pushed Chinese companies to invest overseas to gain access to precious natural resources like coal or mineral ore. And while China’s state-owned enterprises characteristically focus on extractive industries in impoverished countries, infrastructure projects — such as highways or power plants — are often thrown in as part of the deal. Beijing chooses to invest in many semipariah states that Western democracies remain wary of — such as Sudan, Belarus or Cambodia. These marginalized nations are happy to receive China’s grants and low-interest loans as securing similar funds from Western powers normally entails tiresome assurances on human rights and transparency — topics Beijing is only too happy to disregard.
OSLO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Norwegian insurer Protector said on Friday it had hired investment bankers to help with a potential exit from change of ownership insurance, long a profitable segment which has triggered a series of profit warnings.
The profit warnings stem from a surge in gray silverfish infestation which has resulted in a large number of claims.
“We are now considering our strategic options for the change of ownership insurance and Nordea is hired as an adviser,” the company said.
Protector expects its net combined ratio to rise to a loss-making 107 percent in 2018, well above the 92-94 percent it had forecast at the start of the year.