The full dataset viewer is not available (click to read why). Only showing a preview of the rows.
The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 161
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 153, in _generate_tables
df = pd.read_json(f, dtype_backend="pyarrow")
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 815, in read_json
return json_reader.read()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1025, in read
obj = self._get_object_parser(self.data)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1051, in _get_object_parser
obj = FrameParser(json, **kwargs).parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1187, in parse
self._parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1403, in _parse
ujson_loads(json, precise_float=self.precise_float), dtype=None
ValueError: Trailing data
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1997, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 156, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 130, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 161
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1029, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1124, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1884, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2040, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
datasets.exceptions.DatasetGenerationError: An error occurred while generating the datasetNeed help to make the dataset viewer work? Make sure to review how to configure the dataset viewer, and open a discussion for direct support.
pred_label
string | pred_label_prob
float64 | wiki_prob
float64 | text
string | source
string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__cc
| 0.616079
| 0.383921
|
Google: Low Traffic Does Not Always Mean Low Quality
August 27, 2021 In SEO
Google’s John Mueller answered a question about what to do with low traffic pages that have poor search visibility and traffic. He acknowledged that there could be quality issues but also noted that low traffic in itself is not mean the pages themselves are low quality.
John Mueller offered solutions to the problem of low traffic web pages.
What to Do About Low Traffic Pages?
The person asking the question was concerned about hundreds of thousands of web pages that are indexed but have minimal search visibility.
He communicated that perhaps these pages lacked authority and asked if he should de-index the pages or canonicalize them because he was concerned about the website’s quality score.
How does Google Treat Low Traffic Pages in Terms of Quality?
This is the question asked:
“We have a site that has a hub and spoke architecture.
A hub page might be Eric Clapton and the spokes are what guitars he uses, and each of those pages are relatively small.
The value from them is from embedded videos or pictures with relatively little unique font content.
Over time those pages have become the majority of our indexed pages, with well over a hundred thousand.
But only a third of those are getting traffic through search.
In the past I’ve heard you say that to affect your website’s quality score, we were considering de-indexing those pages …the pages that are not getting traffic…
However, we were also considering canonicalizing these.
So I was curious how Google would treat that from a quality score perspective.”
Google Does Not Have a Quality Score for Organic Search
Many in the search industry and Google discuss site quality. Web pages, groups of web pages and entire websites can be judged to be of low quality.
But Google does not have a “quality score” for the organic search results. John Mueller affirmed this important point.
Google’s John Mueller first addressed the issue of the quality score by noting that Google does not give sites a quality score.
Mueller:
“We don’t really have a quality score, in that sense.
I think that’s something that comes from the ad side.
So that’s one thing to keep in mind there.”
How to Deal with Low Quality Web Pages
Mueller next discussed the different approaches to dealing with pages that have low search visibility.
John Mueller continued:
“I think there are multiple things to think about here.
On the one hand, I would consider taking some action if you feel that these pages are low quality.
Taking action could be something like removing those pages, improving those pages, combining those kinds of pages together.
Anything along those lines could be something that you could do if these are low quality pages.”
Low Traffic is Not a Signal of Low Quality
John Mueller next offered the insight that low search visibility is not a symptom of low quality.
The question of low quality is a good one so it’s always useful to hear what John Mueller or any other Googler has to say about this issue of page and site quality.
Mueller offered the following insights:
“If these are pages that tend not to get a lot of traffic but they’re actually useful on their own then I wouldn’t necessarily see them as low quality. That’s one thing to keep in mind.
On some websites, pages that get low traffic are often almost like correlated with low quality as well but that doesn’t have to be the case.
On other websites it might must just be that a lot of traffic goes to the head pages and the tail pages are just as useful but they’re useful for a much smaller audience.
So they get barely any traffic.
From our point of view, those websites are still useful and it’s still high quality.
I wouldn’t remove it just because it doesn’t get traffic.”
How to Fix Low Quality Pages at Scale
Mueller next discusses the difficult issue of dealing with low quality pages at scale in terms of hundreds of thousands of pages.
Mueller offered these suggestions:
“With regards to the different kinds of approaches there, when I ask the search quality teams about this, usually they say well you should just improve the quality of your pages. which kind of makes sense…
But at the same time if you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of pages that’s really hard to do at scale.
So sometimes people do opt for removing the pages or combining the pages.
The thing to keep in mind with using a canonical to combine pages is that we only take into account the canonical page then.
So if you have one page for example about Eric Clapton’s guitars and another page about Eric Clapton’s shoes, and you say that the guitar page is the canonical for the shoes page then we wouldn’t have that shoe page or any of its content in our index anymore. We would essentially just focus on the guitars.
So if someone were searching for Eric Clapton shoes, they wouldn’t be able to find those pages at all.
So that’s (kind of) with the different approaches, something to keep in mind, so that in a case like that, what I would do is take the content from the page that you want to kind of remove or clean up and include that into kind of a bigger page and make that bigger page stronger.
And by that you’re also making sure that you still have that content indexable somewhere.”
Identifying Quality Issues and Traffic Issues
In a way, this question was really about two topics.
One topic was about content quality. The other concern was search traffic.
If one decouples the issue of “quality” from the concern about pages lacking search traffic, then the answer to the question of what do with the pages becomes a little clearer.
The question becomes, “What can I do to make these pages perform better in search?”
Google’s John Mueller suggested combining the pages to make stronger pages out of hundreds of weaker pages, if the content itself is useful.
But of course, if the content is inherent useless, it’s possible to rewrite it to make it more useful, get rid of it or redirect it to a page that has a similar topic but is better.
Pages with Low Traffic Aren’t Always Low Quality
Watch John Mueller answer the question at the 40 second mark:
How to Get Started with Keyword Research for SEO
Google: Interstitials are Fine Under this Condition
SEO Agencies, How Do You Keep Your Clients Close When You Can’t Meet?
H1 Headings: Over 50% of SEOs Doing it Wrong?
12 Ways To Use Content Marketing To Build Brand Awareness
What Is Enterprise SEO?
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| 0.696649
| 0.303351
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What's All This Then?
Our site is new and still evolving. Please be patient as we grow and improve.
Ardrigh Books
We specialise in the retrieval and republication of forgotten texts, with a particular focus on the historically creative period of the Irish Cultural Revival of the late nineteenth century. Our books will include poetry, prose, fiction, local history, music, folklore and antiquarian essays that have been long out of print.
Ardrigh & F.J. Bigger
FJ Bigger
Ardrigh (pronounced 'ard ree') the Irish for High King, is a name we have taken on in memory of Francis Joseph Bigger (1863-1926)... read more
Ardrigh Books is a partnership comprising of the husband and wife team of Roland Spottiswoode and Sara Craig Lanier...read more
£12.00, May 2014
3 b/w illus.; pp. xlii, 226 PB
Fiction, Irish fiction,
£15.00, Dec. 2013
22 b/w illus.; pp. xxxiv + 342, PB
History & Musicology,
Francis Joseph Bigger
Marcus Ward
An Tuirne Beag
© 2009, 2010, 2014 ardrigh books. All Rights Reserved | Privacy | CONTACT |
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| 0.863416
| 0.863416
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’Ticking time bomb of inequality’ to put owning a home beyond the reach of children born today
Rubbish! This galah has rightly noted the big increase in house prices but is oblivious that home unit prices have not followed suit. Home unit prices have increased much less. And the way apartment towers keep popping up there should soon be downward pressure on unit prices. Home unit prices should remain affordable even when house prices do not. Home unit living can be perfectly congenial
Australian kids born in major capitals today face a “ticking time bomb of inequality” that could force them to rent for life as homeownership becomes an inherited luxury.
That’s the prediction from a leading futurist, who has warned the government may need to level the playing field as the bank of mum and dad drives entrenched wealth between Australians and their homeownership dreams.
It comes as newborn babies can take their first steps on the property ladder before they can walk, with fractional property investment now open to minors via BrickX.
Global futurist at the Thinque think tank Anders Sorman-Nilsson said while Australia’s cultural affinity with homeownership was driving markets like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane today, it would price out more and more residents in the coming decades.
“You may (in the future) only be able to afford your own home in Sydney and Melbourne if your mum and dad are taking out some of the equity in their own home to help,” Mr Sorman-Nilsson said.
“This could be a ticking time bomb of inequality. So there will have to be something done to ensure that this Australian dream will remain.”
Affordability issues already mean large parts of Sydney are out of reach for many buyers.
He noted some countries had implemented wealth and inheritance taxes to stem the impact of intergenerational gifts such as the hundreds of thousands of dollars some parents offered to help their kids into a home.
Price growth might be alleviated as greater “digital democracy” made knowledge-based jobs more accessible in regional areas, but it was still likely many kids born today will never own a home.
“You will see new European-style housing arrangements, with people who rent for life or rentvest – buying an investment property, but renting where they want to live,” he said.
Proptrack (realestate.com.au’s research division) economic research director Cameron Kusher said price growth over the past 30 years was unlikely to repeat in the coming decades as it had been buoyed by falling interest rates, which were more likely to now rise.
But Mr Kusher said even a conservative estimate would put home price growth ahead of inflation, which typically rises as wages do, meaning today’s prices could still be doubled in 30 years time when newborns would be looking to buy.
“Most parents will help via their property increasing in price,” Mr Kusher said. “But unfortunately homeownership has been falling, so not everyone will be able to do that.”
He said parents might consider shares or fractional property purchases to help their kids
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/ticking-time-bomb-of-inequality-to-put-owning-a-home-beyond-the-reach-of-children-born-today/
NSW government overturns decision to block coal mine expansion
The New South Wales government has been accused of being “captured” by the coal industry after it overturned a planning commission decision to block a mine expansion that it found could cause irreversible damage to drinking water and release significant heat-trapping gas.
The deputy premier, Paul Toole, and planning minister, Rob Stokes, declared on Saturday the Dendrobium mine expansion near Wollongong – proposed by BHP spin-off South32 – was “state significant infrastructure” due to its role providing coal for the Port Kembla steelworks.
It reversed a planning commission decision in February to reject the proposal, which would have allowed the company to extract an extra 78m tonnes of coal from two areas near the Avon and Cordeaux dams. The dams supply water to metropolitan Sydney and the Macarthur, Illawarra and Wollondilly regions.
The state government did not mention the water supply or emissions in its statement about the mine expansion. Toole said Dendrobium was a critical source of coking coal for the Port Kembla steelworks and declaring it significant infrastructure would “provide thousands of workers with greater certainty on the future of their jobs”. He said the mine contributed $1.9bn to the state’s economy each year.
The NSW government also confirmed it had ruled out future coal exploration in the Hawkins and Rumker areas in the state’s central west, a step flagged by Guardian Australia last month.
South32 said it welcomed the government’s decision. A company spokesperson said it “marks an important step” and would allow a submission for an alternate mine plan to that rejected by the planning commission.
“We continue to consider our options to determine the best path forward for Illawarra Metallurgical Coal, to continue to supply metallurgical coal for local steel production and support local jobs and investment,” it said.
The Dendrobium declaration means South32 can submit an environmental impact statement for community feedback and assessment by the planning department. The department previously recommended the independent planning commission approve the project as its benefits would “significantly outweigh its residual costs, and that it is in the public interest”.
It has been supported by Bluescope Steel, which claimed “green steel” – made using hydrogen and renewable energy – was decades away and it wanted to use an existing blend of coking coal until 2048.
Dan Gocher, director of climate and environment at shareholder activist organisation the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, said the Dendrobium decision “reeks of state capture”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/06/captured-by-coal-nsw-government-overturns-decision-to-block-mine-expansion
Australia’s Omicron travel ban is ‘discrimination’, South African diplomat says
The ban does sound like closing the door after the horse has bolted. What does it achieve?
South Africa’s high commissioner to Australia, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, said the ban needed to be overturned due to large numbers of Omicron cases being detected in other continents and not just in parts of Africa.
“We believe it is discrimination, because the only difference is these countries [on the travel ban list] are on the African continent,” he told ABC Radio on Monday. “The ban is unfair, there is no evidence the ban works, the World Health Organization confirms that.”
The travel ban to nine southern African nations was announced in the wake of the Omicron variant being detected. It also led to a two-week delay to the entry of visa holders without a medical exemption, which is now set to take place from 15 December.
Despite the pause on international arrivals, 250 fully vaccinated students will arrive on Monday in Sydney as part of a New South Wales government pilot program. The arrivals will still need to isolate in student accommodation for three days.
There have been 15 cases of Omicron detected in NSW, while two have been identified in the Australian Capital Territory and one in the Northern Territory.
The finance minister, Simon Birmingham, said while the government had been cautious about the arrival of Omicron, the steps were necessary to assess the situation.
“It seems that plenty of advisers are indicating that vaccines continue to provide strong levels of protection, and it is why people should get vaccinated if they haven’t done so already,” Birmingham told ABC TV.
“We’re now at the point where we’re one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/06/australias-omicron-travel-ban-is-discrimination-south-african-diplomat-says
Scholarship program fails to attract NSW teachers as staff prepare to strike for first time in a decade
Until they bite the bullet of bringing back effective discipline in classes, government schoolrooms will remain a workplace environment that attracts only the desperate
A New South Wales government program aimed at convincing professionals to become maths teachers attracted only six people last year, five of whom dropped out before their scholarships were complete.
As the state’s public school teachers prepare for their first strike in almost a decade on Tuesday, new figures have cast doubt on the success of the government’s attempts to address teacher shortages in NSW without significantly increasing pay.
In 2019, the state government announced the Teach.Maths NOW scholarship to lure current undergraduates and industry professionals with a background in pure or applied mathematics to become teachers.
But the program has struggled to attract and retain applicants. Despite funding for 160 placements, the program was only offered to 53 people in its first two years. Now, new figures obtained by the Guardian show the program has also failed to keep many of the industry professionals who did apply.
According to the government, only six industry professionals were among the intake for the Teach.Maths NOW scholarship in 2020. Of those, all but one dropped out of the program “citing a number of reasons including changes in circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic”, the government said.
The government said it had made substantial changes to the program, and in 2021, 13 of the 17 industry professionals who signed up for the scholarship remained, but the struggle to attract and keep teachers through Teach.Maths NOW underscores a larger problem.
The NSW Department of Education has warned that a significant shortage of teachers – particularly in subjects such as maths and science – is affecting the quality of students’ learning. But the state government has rejected the claim of the teachers’ union that inadequate salaries are leading to declining enrolments in education degrees and an increase in the number of teachers leaving the profession.
That’s set the stage for the first teachers’ strike in almost a decade on Tuesday. Staff will defy an order from the Industrial Relations Commission and walk off the job as part of a campaign to see wages increase by 5% with an extra 2.5% to recognise experience.
The government has offered a 2.5% pay increase in line with its longstanding cap on wages for public servants and has rejected the argument that the department’s staff issues are related to pay.
The education minister, Sarah Mitchell, said: “It is unfortunate but not surprising the [NSW Teachers] Federation continues to attack a staffing strategy, informed by credible research, which seeks to build a sustainable pipeline of quality teachers through various initiatives including increasing pay and financial incentives.”
“At no point has the federation engaged in any proactive conversations on how to improve staffing in hard-to-staff regional areas.
“Arguing that the only way to attract more people to teaching is a pay increase wilfully ignores the complexities of the modern profession and genuine independent research on the issue.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/06/scholarship-program-fails-to-attract-nsw-teachers-as-staff-prepare-to-strike-for-first-time-in-a-decade
Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
Posted by jonjayray at 8:04 PM
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An interesting email Melanie Ryan [sweetkitty05@...
Child murderers and serial killers could be denie...
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| 0.528496
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2019: A Year of Treading Water
Home|Uncategorized|2019: A Year of Treading Water
by Wayne Forrest
Politics dominated 2019 as it was an election year characterized by a stormy Presidential campaign, violent demonstrations by supporters of the losing candidate (Prabowo), and a serene October inauguration. Economically, Indonesia tread water, reinforced its value-added and resource nationalism priorities, maintained its macro stability and 5% growth rate, continued some modest de-regulations, but saw itself on the short end of countries attracting new foreign direct investment, especially from companies relocated production out of China. Consequently, towards the end of the year, after the President’s second term Cabinet was installed, the government began a course correction that will take shape in 2020.
2019 Highlights:
GDP growth rate for 2019 hovered around 5%, the same as its been for the past several years, mirroring the average rate over the past 20 years. President Jokowi’s goal was 7%, the rate needed to absorb most new entrants to the labor market. As in the past, most of the growth is being produced by consumption rather than foreign investment or trade.
The rupiah gained 3.73% versus the dollar, rebounding from 2018 when it lost 12%.
Although Bank Indonesia (central bank) lowered rates several times and eased lending conditions in response to deteriorating external factors (from 6% to 5%), inflation remained low, averaging 3%.
Further stability was gained via successful government bond auctions and other macro prudential measures.
The average rate of inflation over 2019 was 2.72% reflecting the government’s food price stabilization measures.
Fiscal deficit widened to 2.2% of GDP, under Indonesia’s self-imposed 3% limit, but still a major concern heading into 2020. Slowing global growth contributed to lower commodity prices and lower tax revenues, which continue to be under target, notwithstanding the 2018 tax amnesty and inter-country sharing of tax data.
The manufacturing sector, accounting for only 20% of GDP, remains a focus of government policy but without much headway. The textile/garment sector appears to be weakened by cheaper imports and a slowdown in overseas markets. Little progress was made on converting informal jobs to formal ones, as manufacturing remained stagnant and the corporate purchasing index dropped to 2016 levels.
Garment makers grew exports 20% but lost ground domestically due to a flood of cheaper imports. As a consequence, higher tariffs were imposed in November.
Cars sales were down in 2019.
Indonesia’s equity market closed about 2% lower, year on year. Bright spots continued to be Indonesia’s digital companies: e commerce, fintech, and payments. The better positioned firms will be those investing in good cyber-security.
The failure of state insurance firm Jiwasraya left 14,000 policies hanging as well as a stain on financial regulators.
President Jokowi’s infrastructure build-out continued in 2019 with the successful completion of several toll roads, power plants, airports, dams, smelters. The President also unveiled a $33 billion plan to move the nation’s capital to a new city to be built in East Kalimantan by 2030.
The digital economy was a bright spot, growing from $27 billion to $40 billion, generating new employment, and fostering greater financial inclusion.
In September the President received a report from the Chief Representative of the World Bank in Indonesia that indicated that Indonesia’s was not the location for 33 investors relocating their production from China due to the US-China Trade War. The President’s rhetoric and Cabinet choices point to a renewed urgency for reform.
Trade Relations:
USTR began a review of Indonesia’s eligibility to continue to receive benefits under the generalized system of preferences program (GSP). This program gives tariff reductions covering $2.1 billion (mostly manufactured products) of a total of $18.4 billion of Indonesia’s exports to the US. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross traveled to Indonesia in November 2019 to discuss GSP and other issues with President Jokowi. A decision is expected in 2020. If past reviews are any guide, Indonesia and the US will come to acceptable terms so that the benefits remain.
The EU rescinded its program promoting palm-based biodiesel to be used in European power plants because of rainforest degradation. The program will be phased out gradually by 2030. Indonesia launched a WTO suit challenging the EU’s move. Meanwhile Indonesia ramped up its own biodiesel program requiring up to 30% palm-based fuel, the highest mandated mix in the world.
After Indonesia moved forward its nickel export ban from 2022 to 2020, the EU filed a WTO suit, claiming the policy subsidizes its stainless-steel producers. Indonesia announced its intention to develop electric batteries and automobiles, attracting a Chinese battery maker.
The April rematch of President Jokowi and Prabowo Subianto turned out not to be of any measurable substance. Jokowi won by 11 points, larger than his 2014 margin. Although on the surface the rhetoric between the candidates was heated their policy differences were minimal. In May deadly riots challenging the results marred an otherwise peaceful vote.
Soon after President Jokowi was inaugurated in October he appointed his rival, Prabowo, Defense Minister, confirming that Indonesia’s political parties are heavily driven by oligarchic behavior. Only a few parties (and their backers) want to be left in opposition without access to ministry-driven patronage.
For the first time Indonesia ran both Parliamentary and Presidential elections at the same time, a huge undertaking that was successfully managed. There was little evidence of vote tampering but plenty of evidence of vote “purchasing”, especially in non-urban regions.
The lame-duck Parliament tried unsuccessfully to pass unpopular laws that spurred the largest nation-wide protests since 1998 and the fall of Soeharto. A new criminal code outlawing adultery, non-married couples living together, abortion, and effectively banning gay and lesbian relations was pulled and could be revisited in 2020. Also, left off the table was a new mining bill as well as a bill ending direct elections.
However, a bill did pass that appears to denude the independent powers of the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK). Although protesters demanded Jokowi revoke it through a Presidential decree, he seems unlikely to do so.
Jokowi’s second-term Cabinet keeps a mixture of experienced hands and new faces. Sri Mulyani and Luhut Pandjaitan remain in their powerful positions as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Maritime (Mines and Energy). Two ministers under 50 from the private sector take on the important portfolios of Education and State-Owned Enterprises (SOE’s). Erick Thohir is already shaking up the management of important SOE’s such as the state electric company (PLN) and Nadiem Makarim (founder and CEO of tech unicorn GoJek) has been tasked with reforming Indonesia’s public schools and their curriculum to achieve what President Jokowi calls a “mental revolution”.
The future of direct elections for the President as well as local governors was called into question by several major political figures including Tito Karnavian, the new Home Affairs Minister.
A series of deadly suicide bombings in Surabaya and Medan, including women perpetrators, and the knifing of Wiranto, Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, stunned much of the country and seemed to have drawn a line in the sand for President Jokowi.
This was reflected in his appointment as Minister of Religion, Fachrul Razi, a former general, who favors non-religious attire in the workplace and a new plan to vet public employees who espouse radical Islamism.
Protests and riots broke out across Papua and West Papua after an incident in Surabaya where Papuan students were labeled “monkeys” and “pigs”. At least 33 people were killed in the riots, prompting tens of thousands to flee the region and causing losses amounting to US$33.8 billion.
Social/Education:
Indonesian students achieved very low PISA Scores (an international test for 15 year-olds) compared to their peers worldwide and in southeast Asia. Out of 79 assessed countries Indonesia ranked 73rd in math, 74th in reading, and 71st in science. The scores dropped from the previous test in 2015. However, Indonesia has made strong strides in enrolling more children and achieving a basic literacy rate of 95%.
The creativity of the 35 year-old Harvard alum Nadiem Makarim, who founded the ride hailing service GoJek, may bring fresh ideas and solutions (including technology) to the Education Ministry.
The #MeToo movement arrived in Indonesia in the case of a university student whose rape ignited a national campaign against sexual harassment and victim blaming.
Indonesian leaders realize they have a demographic bonus, over 50% of its 270 million are under 30, but yet underemployment is chronic, and manufacturing jobs are not being created fast enough. President Jokowi began his second term in October 2019 seeking to reverse these trends.
Two key pieces of legislation slated for 2020 embody the government’s stepped-up posture to attract foreign investment: an Omnibus Bill on taxation and an Omnibus Bill on Job Creation. The implementing regulations for each bill would also be simultaneously drafted. The President believes that he has spent sufficient political capital with all but two political parties in his Cabinet, giving his coalition 75% of the votes on paper. However, Indonesia has no experience in enacting Omnibus Laws: they encompass thousands of article amendments and close to 100 laws. Both bills are slated for passage in 2020. If passed expect:
Tax rates to fall from 25% to 20.
Expatriates would not be taxed on worldwide income
The negative list of investment would be changed allowing more generous terms for foreign investment
Relaxed rules on penalties and pre-paid VAT
Restrictions in the labor law would be eased to encourage manufacturing investment
Overlapping and duplicative national and regional permitting rules for buildings and land will be eliminated and synchronized.
The tax law will probably pass first without a long deliberation; everyone loves to see taxes lowered. Due to the changes to labor rules, the bill on job creation will take longer and its entirely possible the President will face challenges from within his own coalition as well as street protests from workers. His own party, PDI-P, has in the past bucked changes to the labor law and its generous severance provisions. Given the heavy involvement of Indonesian conglomerates in political parties, easing rules regarding foreign investment such as opening sectors will also be a challenge. The President’s rhetoric since 2014 has been for ground-breaking reform but government policies have usually fallen short given his preference for consensus over confrontation. Furthermore, lacking a strong power-base within even his own party, dominated as it is by its chairman former President Megawati, the President can get isolated if the longer-term interests of his supporters (i.e. the positioning of her daughter as a future candidate for high office) do not conform with his. In the end, the President will get the changes he is seeking, although they may be watered down.
GDP growth will remain in the 5% range but inflation will pick up and the rupiah will head back over 14,000 The potential for more rather than less volatility in Indonesia’s partners (EU/Brexit, US/election, China/Hong Kong/trade war) could push GDP growth lower.
President will make further positive management changes within his Cabinet, state-owned enterprises, while pushing ministries to perform better. These changes will mitigate a more threatening international environment, building on the strengthening digital economy.
Jokowi will resist efforts to amend the Constitution to end direct elections, even those from within his own party. If they come at all, they would be more forceful at the end of his 5 year term.
2020 will be a year of consolidation but not without the unpredictable effects of calculations of those seeking power in 2024.
Law/Governance
The massive failure of the state insurer, Jiwasraya, is a potential landmine for the President. If there are no prosecutions, Indonesia’s reputation will suffer further, battered as is by the downgrading of the KPK (Anti-Corruption Commission) which has gone months without any arrests since its enabling law was revised. The President, however, reappointed Yasonna Laoly Justice Minister who has not focused on ending the judicial mafia that has led to many bizarre judgments against foreign companies. On the other hand, the respected new Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security, Mahfud MD, has promised a new truth and reconciliation commission to review long standing human rights cases, but has not yet addressed the issue of the malignant court cases that damage the investment climate. Combined with the anti-corruption commission’s loss of independence, unfortunately, fundamental judicial reform is not a priority.
(These views are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of AICC or its members.)
By wayne-forrest2|2020-04-16T18:52:52+00:00January 15th, 2020|Uncategorized|0 Comments
About the Author: wayne-forrest2
Wayne Forrest is President of the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, a private not for profit membership organization based in NY.
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Dillons Progress in Feile.
What a fantastic day at the Tank on Saturday with six great games in the Feile which saw Dillons win out and progress to the semis on Sunday. We have a squad of 25 which is fantastic and they were well coached to win all three matches in great style. First up it was St. Fanahans of Mitchelstown. We won that well on a scoreline of 3-6 to no score. Olivia was awesome. Next up it was the fancied Valley Rovers from Innishannon. A fierce battle right to end which we won 2-3 to 2-0. Rebecca with a rocket of a goal to win it late on. Our third and final game was against St.Colums of Bantry. Once again we won comfortably 2-4 to no score with Sofie scoring two goals. We had some fantastic individual performances. Allanna, Mary and Ellen were outstanding but it was Olivia that stole the show, what a player this young lady is. She really put on a show in front of our supporters who turned out in great numbers. Now its the semis today Sunday in Nemo Rangers at 4pm. A big thank you to everyone who helped out to get the Tank ready for the event. The place was immaculate and a huge thanks to our fantastic Committee under Chairperson Veronica and Secretary Yvonne who organised it all. There were plenty of sandwiches, cakes, biscuits for all our visitors who were very impressed and they expressed their gratitude which is nice. When Dillons put on a big event, they do it better than anyone else. Well done to all.
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Team Teaching Shakespeare
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Educational television. English KS3 students work together in an introductory lesson on analysing Shakespeare. English teacher, Karen McWilliam, and lead teacher in English Carol Weale, joined their Year 9 classes together to provide fresh ideas about teaching Shakespeare. Building on the classes’ knowledge of iambic pentameter, Karen asks the students to look at two speeches by contrasting characters: Macbeth and Puck.
By looking at the rhythm of the verses and the number of syllables in each line of the verses, the students build up an understanding of the emotional state of each character, without looking at the language. Karen leads the lesson with Carol’s supporting her, assisting with discipline and adding an extra dimension to the teaching.
Although team-teaching has potential risks, their similar teaching styles help ensure the lessons run smoothly.
Great Secondary Lesson Ideas
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The programme schedule is designed to fit into teachers’ working days, broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week on digital satellite and cable, and overnight on digital terrestrial TV. Programmes are also available on the supporting website (www.teachers.tv), allowing viewers to watch or download programmes.
Drama; Education; Shakespeare
drama teaching; poetry; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); teacher training; team teaching; Verse speaking
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Secondary-English-Team-Teaching-Shakespeare-6084632/
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Funded by the Department for Education, Teachers’ TV was a producer and supplier of over 3,600 free videos and lesson resources to support the professional development of anyone working in school, enabling them to widen their skills, develop their practice, and connect with others in the field. Previously broadcast on digital television, the service became exclusively online from 31 August 2010, with programmes being available for free online viewing or download. Thge DfE terminated the contract with Teachers TV and delivery via the website ceased on 29 April 2011, with the programmes being offered to educational distributors free online delivery. Further details from the DfE website Until 29 April 2011 programmes from Teachers Television were streamed on the website and available for download to registered users (free registration). Programmes are aimed at primary and secondary school teachers in all subject areas, as well as headteachers and governors, and include observation of teaching sessions, materials for use in the classroom and discussion of issues relevant to education. Teachers TV was funded by the Department for Education but the contract ended in April 2011 and the programmes are being offered to educational distributors to deliver free at the point of use from their websites. Details of which titles are available in this way are on the DfE website http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/teacherstv
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by Beauce DotOrg
Comments Off on ABC Policies
North American Beauceron Club (dba American Beauceron Club) does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations.
These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.
Neither membership, nor full participation in the activities of this Club, shall be denied to any person on account of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.
Adopted April 6, 2014
This code establishes a standard of conduct to be followed by all members of the ABC in the normal course of owning, exhibiting, judging, breeding and selling Beaucerons. Recognizing the impossibility of covering every situation that may arise, it is the spirit, rather than the letter of the Code that shall apply.
The main emphasis for breeding Beaucerons will be to preserve the herding and working ability and other outstanding qualities of character of this breed, as well as its appearance.
Measures should be taken to acquaint the general public with the contents of this Code so that they may not become innocent partners in improper breeding practices, and a detrimental use of the Beauceron.
Responsibilities as a member of the ABC:
1. Support and abide by the American Beauceron Club Constitution and By-laws.
2. Support and abide by the ABC Code of Ethics.
3. Support and abide by the AKC standard for the Beauceron.
4. Abide by all AKC rules and regulations where they pertain.
5. Consider the health and welfare of the animals in your care, as well as the health and welfare of the breed in general, as uppermost in importance.
6. Whenever possible, maintain contact with the breeder of your dog advising him/her of the dog’s progress, any training or health problems that may occur.
7. Never to abandon or dispose of your Beauceron in a shelter or a pound. If unable or unwilling to care for your dog, to contact the breeder or the ABC to enlist his/her support in finding a new home.
8. Support Beauceron Rescue programs to the best of your ability realizing it serves as the final safety net for Beaucerons facing life-threatening situations.
9. Conduct yourself in a manner to reflect credit upon yourself, the breed and the Club whether at home, at shows or traveling by:
Displaying good sportsmanship at all times.
Refraining from false or malicious criticism (hurtful or mean-spirited comments) about a competitor’s dog, breeder or owner.
Refraining from false or malicious criticism about a judge’s decision. No member shall make false or malicious comments to any judge in writing, in public or in private regarding dogs belonging to others.
Practicing and promoting responsible dog ownership to include the conduct and control of your dog in public places.
Respecting the property of others, including facilities used for dog events, especially by use of proper sanitary measures.
Should any violation of the above occur at an AKC licensed or member club event or at an AKC sanctioned event, it shall be handled as an AKC disciplinary matter.
10. No Officer, Director or other member shall knowingly represent his/her personal opinion to be the official position of the ABC or of its Board of Directors in the media or other means of public communication.
11. Any contract disputes will be resolved between the contracting parties, not American Beauceron Club or its Board of Directors.
Responsibilities as a Beauceron breeder:
Code of Ethics breeders agree to breed in a discriminate manner and only upon strong evidence of the possibility of finding suitable homes for the resulting puppies. In addition to their responsibilities as members described above, breeders:
1. Should be fully familiar with the AKC Standard and breed to preserve breed characteristics.
2. Demonstrate honesty and fairness in dealing with other breeders, purchasers of dogs and the general public.
3. Use breeding stock of sound temperament, with no major hereditary defects, free of parasites and communicable disease All Beaucerons that are to be used for breeding purposes must be free of degenerative joint disease: rated excellent, good or fair by Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, or an equivalent rating as judged by a reputable Veterinarian controlled registry. Breeders will also strongly consider the following tests: an echocardiogram, CERF registration, a recognized Temperament Test and a Brucellosis test.
4. Provide appropriate documentation to all concerned regarding the health of the dogs involved in a breeding or sale, including reports of examinations such as those applying to hips and eyes.
5. Refrain from further use of any dog/bitch that has produced serious defects detrimental to the animal’s well being, affecting normal functions or impairment of vital functions and produces like results with a different mating partner.
6. Make full use of AKC Limited registration in selling puppies with disqualifying faults or, in the breeder’s opinion, lacking the quality adequate for breeding.
7. Follow AKC requirements for record keeping, identification of breeding stock, and registration procedures.
8. Screen prospective buyers to ascertain their potential to properly care for a large, active, dog. Inform prospective puppy buyers of the lifelong responsibilities of Beauceron ownership: training, grooming, socializing, veterinary expenses, equipment needs, spatial needs, and exercise.
9. Provide complete information to new owners including instructions on feeding, medical records, training and socialization needs. Urge buyers to attend puppy socialization and obedience classes. Also provide a three generation pedigree, AKC registration papers, which may be provided after spaying or neutering per contract, and a copy of the AKC breed standard.
10. Use clear concise contracts to document the sale, co-ownerships, the use of stud dogs and lease arrangements including the use, when appropriate, of non-breeding agreements, spaying/neutering contracts and/or Limited Registration.
11. Understand and agree that you are willing to take back or assist in finding a new home for any dog you produce at any time in its life, if requested to do so. The owner of the sire, having a vested interest in the litter produced, should also be consulted in matters arising that may affect the health and welfare of the offspring.
12. No member or breeder shall, either singly or in litter lots: (i) knowingly consign, donate or sell dogs to commercial dog wholesalers, franchised commercial facilities, brokers, pet shops, puppy mills, laboratories, or agents of the forgoing, (ii) offer, or donate or sell any dog to be offered as a prize in any form of raffle, contest or other like activity or for sale in a mail order catalog.
13. Ensure that all of their advertising shall be truthful and ethical. Any claims made must be provable.
Newsletter Editorial and Advertising Policy
The Beauceron Bulletin (Bulletin) is the official publication of the American Beauceron Club (ABC) and is for ABC activities, news affecting the ABC membership, educational, informational and entertaining materials. It also provides a means for the membership to advertise.
The Bulletin welcomes submissions of photographs, drawings, articles and other materials for publication. Materials submitted and accepted for publication become the property of the ABC unless other arrangements are made with the Board of Directors of the American Beauceron Club (the Board). Neither the Board nor The Bulletin assumes responsibility for receipt of submissions of any kind. No materials sent via US Postal Service or other such means will be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed envelope bearing proper postage. Materials sent via electronic means will not be returned, whether published or not. The Bulletin, its Editor(s) and the Board reserve the right to reject and/or edit all submissions.
The Bulletin accepts advertising in good faith and assumes that those advertising act in good faith in the representations and information provided in their advertisements. The Editor further reserves the right to request proof of titles and certificates mentioned in advertising. All advertisement of dogs offered for stud service, the sire and dam of upcoming litters and/or of puppies advertised for sale or placement, and dogs of either sex age 2 years or older offered for sale/lease/free of charge must include an OFA number and rating or the information that the animal has failed OFA. PennHip ratings and foreign equivalent are acceptable. Rescue and re-home dogs offered by the ABC are exempt from this requirement. Ads announcing new titles, birthdays, purchases, and similar do not require this information. The Editor and/or the Board will have the right to decide whether or not an ad requires this information.
Neither the Editor nor the Board guarantees the viewing or printing quality of any ad accepted for publication. No refunds will be made for ads that contain errors or are not “aesthetically pleasing” to the Advertiser. Ads submitted as “print ready” must be in jpeg format.
The ABC promotes and expects fairness and accuracy in all submissions and in buyer/seller relationships arising out of materials published in The Bulletin. The Board and/or the Editor reserve the right to refuse any materials considered in their opinion to be questionable or to require additional information before publishing such material. The ABC does not recommend, guarantee, endorse nor rate breeders, their kennels, or their stock. The ABC, Board of Directors and Editor(s) do not take responsibility for errors and/or misrepresentations in advertising or misunderstandings arising between buyer and seller.
The Beauceron Bulletin is copyright of the American Beauceron Club. No portion of The Beauceron Bulletin may be forwarded or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the American Beauceron Club Board of Directors. This includes posting to e-group forums or other social media venues not under direct control of the American Beauceron Club.
The Bulletin’s Editor has the right to edit, reject, or otherwise take action with any material submitted for publication. Rejected items will be presented to the Board, who may overturn the decision of the Editor. There will be subjects and photographs considered always inappropriate for publication in order to maintain the positive image of The Bulletin, the ABC and the Beauceron. These include, but are not limited to, “bite work” photos and dog fighting.
If a story is rejected or major editing is needed, the author will be contacted. There may be instances when the Editor(s) will do some editing without notification. The ABC supplies the space occupied by each writer’s words; therefore each writer is asked to please be respectful of this policy. ABC’s Editorial/Advertising Policy and Guidelines is included in The Beauceron Bulletin at least once per year and is also available from the Editor, the ABC Secretary or the ABC website.
Complaints pertaining only to The Beauceron Bulletin must be submitted via email to the Editor and the ABC Secretary at their email address published in The Beauceron Bulletin.
Adopted February 2, 2002
Download ABC Code of Ethics (PDF)
Journee 2007
2008 AKC A Match
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Kerala Tours
Kerala Wildlife Tour
South India Temple Tour
Kerala with Kanya Kumari
Keral Backwater Tour
Kerala Cities
Home :: Kerala :: Kottayam
Location : 70 kms from Cochin
Area : 2,579 Sq, km
Trip Highlights : Beaches and Temples
Ideal time to visit : October - March
Languages : Malayalam, Hindi and English
STD Code : 0474
The word Kottayam is a composition of the words Kotta (meaning fort) and Akkam (meaning inside). Kottayam, located in the southern part of Kerala is an important commercial centre of India, producing a large chunk of cash crops. A beautiful town situated in the hills, most of India's natural rubber originates from the acres of well-kept plantations of Kottayam. Popular for its churches, Kottayam sandwiched between serene palm-fringed backwaters on the west and the Western Ghats on the east, provides some of Kerala's finest natural scenes.
Ask for tour
Panoramic backwater stretches, lush paddy fields, highlands, hills and hillocks, extensive rubber plantations, places associated with many legends and a totally literate people have given Kottayam District the enviable title : The land of letters, legends, latex and lakes. Kottayam Town is the first town in India to have achieved 100% literacy. (a remarkable feat achieved as early as in 1989).
Places of Attraction in Kottayam
Vaikom Temple
This Shiva temple located 40 km away from the city is said to be related with the legendary figure- Parshurama who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This temple is a magnificent work of art and displays the classical style of Kerala Temple architecture.
The Temple at Ettumanoor
It is located about 12 km north of Kottayam and is well-known for murals and the 'ezhara ponnana' or the 7.5 elephants carved in gold.
The Mosque at Erumeli
Located about 60 km north-east of Kottayam, this mosque is dedicated to Vavar, a companion of Lord Ayyappa, a Hindu deity. A large number of Hindu pilgrims worship at this mosque every year before their pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
St Mary's Forane Church
This 9th century church located at Athirumpuzha, near Kottayam is famous for its extraordinary filigree work on the rusty fold altar and this church introduces an unequalled crucifix which exhibits the Jesus Christ without a single bruise.
Elaveezha Poonchira
It is a hill station that lies 60kms away from Kottayam and is an ideal place for picnics. It has a pool with picturesque beauty and legends say that this pool was used as a bathing place by Draupadi, the legendary persona of Mahabharata.
Climate and Best Time to Visit
The climate of Kottayam like the rest of Kerala is equatorial. It is hot and humid. From June to Sept. it experiences torrential rains brought by the monsoon clouds. From September to March the climate remains relatively dry and cool. The temperature rises upto 35ºC in summers and lower down to 22 º.C
Kottayam Air/Rail/Road Links
Airport : The nearest airport from Kottyam is at Cochin (Kochi) which is 76 km away. Another important airport is at Thiruvananthapuram () which is 160 km away.
Railway Station : Kottayam is well connected with the main towns within and outside Kerala by an extensive rail network. The nearest railway station is just 2 km away from the main bus station. There are regular trains from Kottayam to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam (165 km), and Ernakulam (65 km).
Bus Station : Kottayam is connected to major cities of South India by a good network ofroads. There are two bus stations - the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation on T.B. Road and a private bus stand near the railway station. Buses to major cities ply from the the KSRTC bus station.
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OBSERVATIONS: It Ain’t Funny How Time Slips Away (for baseball)
June 9, 2020 November 10, 2020 Hal McCoy 1 Comment
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, watching Korean baseball while the Boston Red Sox organist plays music. Disclaimer: I don’t like organ music at baseball games.
It has reached a point that when MLB or the players make an offer I just give them a cursory glance because I know it will be rejected.
Both parties must carry reject buttons in their pockets.
MLB’s latest offer barely echoed down the halls before the players not only rejected it, they called it laughable and Philadelphia’s Andrew McCutcheon posted three letters: lol.
After agreeing back in March to pay the players pro-rated salaries based on numbers of games played the owners keep coming back wanted more salary cuts.
When it comes to asking players to take pay cuts, they’d be better off asking them to cut their veins.
That doesn’t absolve the players. The owners are guilty, too. Both sides are entangled in three words: greed, greed and greed.
Will there be a season? As Willie Nelson sang it, ‘Ain’t It Funny How Times Slips Away.” No, not funny at all.
—Maybe Joey Votto should retire from the playing field and become baseball commissioner. The Cincinnati Reds first baseman is proposing a six-point plan: ‘How MLB can ‘fix’ baseball:
(1)Stop local streaming blackouts.
(2)lFree entry for kids on weekends.
(3)Mic’d up players.
(4)Financial support for grass roots minor league baseball.
(5)All concession items served in plastic helmets.
(6)LEAVE THE ACTUAL GAME ALONE.
The shouting for No. 6 is mine. And shout it from the roof tops of all major league parks.
—QUOTE: From Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto: “I’ll do anything but catch.” (Strangely, Votto signed with the Reds as a catcher and they converted him into a first baseman, where he drives me crazy with the way he stands in front of the bag to ‘hold’ runners on.)
—Umpire Angel Hernandez seems to always be in more trouble than Willie Sutton. Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez called him the worst umpire, “Ever.”
The New York Post revealed this week that Hernandez was fined for obtaining 11 signed baseballs from Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey the night Bailey threw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh.
Hernandez worked third base that night. MLB’s Joe Torre, who was MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer at the time, fined Hernandez and ordered him to return the baseballs.
“Threats to the integrity of the game will not be tolerated,” Torre told Hernandez. The umpire says Torre has had it in for him after a call he made against him when Torre managed the New York Yankees in 2001. And if that were the case, every manager in baseball ‘would have it in’ for Hernandez.
—QUOTE: From New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia after umpire Angel Hernandez had three calls at first base reversed during a playoff game against the Red Sox: “He is absolutely terrible behind the plate and he was terrible at first base. It’s amazing how he’s getting jobs umpiring in these playoff games.” (Now tell us how you really feel, C.C.)
—This was relayed to me by long-time friend and former Columbus Dispatch sports writer Brad Schmaltz, who taught me how to play blackjack, costing me a few thousand dollars:
It comes from C.J. Nitkowski, a No. 1 draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds. “My wife had an odd way of comforting my son after a rough pitching outing yesterday. She said, ‘Well, at least you still get to live in our house. When dad pitched bad we usually had to move.’”
Nitkowski was drafted No. 1 in 1994 and pitched for the Reds, Detroit, Houston,Detroit again, the New York Mets, Atlanta, Texas, New York Yankees and Washington. He also pitched in Japan and Korea. How did he miss Cleveland?
—There is a petition circulating to remove Marge Schott’s name from the University of Cincinnati baseball field (Marge Schott Field).
The old UC field was Johnny Bench Field, but when the school built a new facility petitioners are saying the school sold out to a racist, bigot and anti-semite.
Schott’s contribution to the fans was the $1 hot dog, which is no longer available. Schott was known for her penny-pinching ways.
A media person interviewed her in 1995 in her office and in appreciation she handed him at Cincinnati Reds calendar. It was for 1991.
—QUOTE: From former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, who never had children: “One of my sisters had 11 kids. She was part rabbit.” (Schott’s love was for St. Bernard’s, named Schottzie and Schottzie 02. She permitted the pooches to run all over the field during batting practice. Said former manager Lou Piniella, “Schottzie lives here, I just visit.”)
—Baseball’s all-time worst uniforms:
(1)The Houston Astros rainbows in the 1970s (I always looked for a pot of gold behind Jeff Bagwell)
(2)Chicago White Sox short pants and collared shirts in 1976 (They looked as if they should be playing in a sandbox)
(3)Cleveland Indians all red, jerseys and pants in 1975 (They resembled the word’s tallest thermometers)
(4)Pittsburgh Pirates all yellow, jersey and pants (How many Big Birds can you get on one field?)
(5)San Diego’s chocolate brown and mustard yellow jerseys and pants in the 1970s (They looked like something my great grandson left in his diaper)
(6)Seattle Pilots baby blues with yellow lettering and yellow stripes on the sleeves (Fortunately, the Pilots last only one year and the uniforms were donated to an usher company.)
(7)Kansas City A’s in 1969, yellow uniforms with cutoff sleeves and green undershirts with green socks and yellow sanitary hose (Polly want a cracker?)
(8)Colorado Rockies road black jerseys with a pleat in the shoulders (You can buy one on-line for $134.99, , ,oh, now reduced to $98.54. I’ll wait until they pay me to take one).
← OBSERVATIONS: Rose makes ‘news’ when he doesn’t even try
OBSERVASTIONS: The day Dock Ellis went head-hunting against the Reds →
One thought on “OBSERVATIONS: It Ain’t Funny How Time Slips Away (for baseball)”
rivercity
Yeah – Votto for commish! (at least he sounds like he gives a crap about baseball, unlike your typical empty suit commissioner)
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Demand Media slates GAC’s new gTLDs demands
Kevin Murphy, May 9, 2013, Domain Policy
Demand Media has become the first new gTLD applicant to put its head above the parapet and tell ICANN that its latest batch of Governmental Advisory Committee advice is unworkable.
While its comment on the GAC’s Beijing communique is very diplomatically worded, it’s obvious that Demand reckons most of the “safeguard” advice it contains would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement.
The company has urged ICANN to refuse to adopt the advice, saying:
the spirit and actual letter of the GAC Advice related to these additional safeguards comes in a manner and form that is completely antithetical and contrary to ICANN’s bottom-up, multi-stakeholder, consensus-driven policy development process. Because the proposed safeguards, if implemented, would effectively change how new gTLDs are managed, sold, distributed, registered, operated, and used in the marketplace, the GAC Advice is tantamount to making “top-down,” dictatorial, non-consensus, policy which undermines the entire ICANN model. If ICANN chose to adopt any one of these three safeguards, ICANN itself would lose all legitimacy.
Demand seems to agree with many of the points raised in this DI post from a few weeks ago related to the GAC’s demand that hundreds of new gTLD registries should compel their registrants to stick to data security standards when they handle sensitive financial or healthcare data.
The GAC’s advice is extremely broad here and pays scant attention to the innumerable implementation questions raised. As such, Demand says in its comment (filed by applying subsidiary United TLD Holdco):
United TLD believes applicable laws and recognized industry standards should be developed and implemented by appropriate legislative, law enforcement and industry expert bodies and should not be developed by the registry operator.
It also takes issue with the GAC’s demand for registry operators to “establish a working relationship with the relevant regulatory body including developing a strategy to mitigate abuse.”
The company points out that many TLDs listed in the Beijing communique will have multiple uses, and even if there is a regulatory body for a subsection of registrants, it may not cover all.
For example, should a software engineer (an unregulated profession) have to agree to abide by rules developed for civil engineers when they register a .engineer domain name?
it would be inappropriate, and impossible, to find a “relevant regulatory body” with whom to establish a relationship related to the use of .ENGINEER. Additionally, what if the relevant regulatory body simply declined to work with a registry operator or does not respond to requests for collaboration?
The Demand comment is full of examples of problems such as this.
In broader terms, however, the registrar and applicant is utterly opposed to the GAC’s insistence that “certain” unspecified gTLDs representing regulated sectors should be forced, in effect, to transform into tightly restricted sponsored gTLDs.
The GAC wants these applicants to forge tight links with regulatory and self-regulatory bodies and vet each registrant’s credentials before allowing domains to be registered.
Demand said:
applicants, including United TLD, submitted their new gTLD applications believing that that they would be operating, managing and distributing generic TLDs. These three Safeguards completely change the nature of the new TLDs from being generic and widely available, to being “sponsored” TLDs restricted only to those individuals who must prove their status or credentials entitling them to register domain names with certain extensions. These three Safeguards are patently adverse to the core purpose of the new gTLD program and ICANN’s mission generally which is to promote consumer choice and competition.
While Demand is the first application to slam the GAC advice as a whole (a few others have submitted preliminary comments on specific subsets of advice), I’m certain it won’t be the last.
That said, .secure applicant Artemis Internet submitted what is possibly the most amusing example of “sucking up” I’ve ever seen in an ICANN public comment period.
The company actually requests to be added to the list of strings covered by the GAC advice on the grounds that its application was so gosh-darn wonderful it already planned to do all that stuff anyway.
I expect, by the time the comment period closes next Tuesday the prevailing mood from applicants will be more Demand and less Artemis.
Could this be ICANN’s most important public comment period ever?
Kevin Murphy, April 24, 2013, Domain Policy
How much power should governments have over the domain name industry? Should the industry be held responsible for the actions of its customers? Are domain names the way to stop crime?
These are some of the questions likely to be addressed during ICANN’s latest public comment period, which could prove to be one of the most important consultations it’s ever launched.
ICANN wants comments on governmental advice issued during the Beijing meeting two weeks ago, which sought to impose a broad regulatory environment on new gTLD registries.
According to this morning’s announcement:
[ICANN’s Board New gTLD Committee] has directed staff to solicit comment on how it should address one element of the advice: safeguards applicable to broad categories of New gTLD strings. Accordingly, ICANN seeks public input on how the Board New gTLD Committee should address section IV.1.b and Annex I of the GAC Beijing Communiqué.
Annex 1 of the Beijing communique is the bit in which the GAC told ICANN to impose sweeping new rules on new gTLD registries. It’s only a few pages long, but that’s because it contains a shocking lack of detail.
For all new gTLDs, the GAC wants ICANN to:
Apply a set of abuse “safeguards” to all new gTLDs, including mandatory annual Whois accuracy audits. Domain names found to use false Whois would be suspended by the registry.
Force all registrants in new gTLDs to provide an abuse point of contact to the registry.
Make registries responsible for adjudicating complaints about copyright infringement and counterfeiting, suspending domains if they decide (how, it’s not clear) that laws are being broken.
For the 385 gTLD applications deemed to represent “regulated or professional sectors”, the GAC wants ICANN to:
Reject the application unless the applicant partners with an appropriate industry trade association. New gTLDs such as .game, .broadway and .town could only be approved if they had backing from “relevant regulatory, or industry self-regulatory, bodies” for gaming, theater and towns, for example.
Make the registries responsible for policing registrants’ compliance with financial and healthcare data security laws.
Force registries to include references to organic farming legislation in their terms of service.
For gTLD strings related to “financial, gambling, professional services, environmental, health and fitness, corporate identifiers, and charity” the GAC wants even more restrictions.
Essentially, it’s told ICANN that a subset of the strings in those categories (it didn’t say which ones) should only be operated as restricted gTLDs, a little like .museum or .post are today.
It probably wouldn’t be possible for a poker hobbyist to register a .poker domain in order to blog about his victories and defeats, for example, unless they had a license from an appropriate gambling regulator.
Attempting to impose last-minute rules on applicants appears to reverse one of the GAC’s longstanding GAC Principles Regarding New gTLDs, dating back to 2007, which states:
All applicants for a new gTLD registry should therefore be evaluated against transparent and predictable criteria, fully available to the applicants prior to the initiation of the process. Normally, therefore, no subsequent addition selection criteria should be used in the selection process.
The Beijing communique also asks ICANN to reconsider allowing singular and plural versions of the same string to coexist, and says “closed generic” or “exclusive access” single-registrant gTLDs must serve a public interest purpose or be rejected.
There’s a lot of stuff to think about in the communique.
But ICANN’s post-Beijing problem isn’t whether it should accept the GAC’s advice, it’s to first figure out what the hell the GAC is actually asking for.
Take this bit, for example:
Registry operators will require that registrants who collect and maintain sensitive health and financial data implement reasonable and appropriate security measures commensurate with the offering of those services, as defined by applicable law and recognized industry standards.
This one paragraph alone raises a whole bunch of extremely difficult questions.
How would registry operators identify which registrants are handling sensitive data? If .book has a million domains, how would the registry know which are used to sell books and which are just reviewing them?
How would the registries “require” adherence to data security laws? Is it just a case of paying lip service in the terms of service, or do they have to be more proactive?
What’s a “reasonable and appropriate security measure”? Should a .doctor site that provides access to healthcare information have the same security as one that merely allows appointments to be booked? What about a .diet site that knows how fat all of its users are? How would a registry differentiate between these use cases?
Which industry standards are applicable here? Which data security laws? From which country? What happens if the laws of different nations conflict with each other?
If a registry receives a complaint about non-compliance, how on earth does the registry figure out if the complaint is valid? Do they have to audit the registrant’s security practices?
What should happen if a registrant does not comply with these laws or industry standards? Does its domain get taken away? One would assume so, but the GAC, for some reason, doesn’t say.
The ICANN community could spend five years discussing these questions, trying to build a framework for registries to police security compliance, and not come to any consensus.
The easier answer is of course: it’s none of ICANN’s business.
Is it ICANN’s job to govern how web sites securely store and transmit healthcare data? I sure hope not.
And those are just the questions raised by one paragraph.
The Beijing communique as a whole is a perplexing, frustrating mess of ideas that seems to have been hastily cobbled together from a governmental wish-list of fixes for perceived problems with the internet.
It lacks detail, which suggests it lacks thought, and it’s going to take a long time for the community to discuss, even as many affected new gTLD applicants thought they were entering the home stretch.
Underlying everything, however, is the question of how much weight the GAC’s advice — which is almost always less informed than advice from any other stakeholder group — should carry.
ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade and chair Steve Crocker have made many references recently to the “multi-stakeholder model” actually being the “multi-equal-stakeholder model”.
This new comment period is the first opportunity the other stakeholders get to put this to the test.
ICANN starts the clock on new gTLD GAC advice
The over 500 new gTLD applicants affected by Governmental Advisory Committee advice on their bids have 21 days from today to file their responses officially with ICANN.
But there’s still some confusion about who exactly is expected to file responses, given the extraordinary breadth of the advice contained within the GAC’s Beijing communique.
ICANN today put applicants on formal notice of the publication of the Beijing communique, which actually came out a week ago, and said applicants have until May 10 to respond to the ICANN board.
What it didn’t do is say which applicants are affected. Technically, it could be all of them.
The Beijing communique contains six “safeguards” related to things such as abuse and security, which it said “should apply to all new gTLDs”.
On a more granular level, the GAC has called out, we believe, 517 individual applications that should not be approved or that should not be approved unless they do what the GAC says.
The Beijing communique, it could be argued, throws the whole new gTLD program into disarray, and this is the first chance applicants will get to put their views directly in writing to the ICANN board.
GAC threat looms over ICANN Beijing
Kevin Murphy, April 8, 2013, Domain Policy
How the Governmental Advisory Committee handles its advice on new gTLD applications seems to be a big worry at the ICANN public meeting in Beijing this week.
During a session yesterday, new gTLD program vice president Christine Willett was peppered with questions about the approval process going forward, many of which related to the GAC.
There’s also a lot of gossiping about which applications the GAC is thinking about delivering the kiss of death to, and what its advice will mean to the overall program timetable.
DI is not attending the Beijing meeting in person, but here’s what I’ve learned from remote participation and talking to attendees:
Confusion over the GAC Advice standard
Judging by interactions during Willett’s session, there may be a little bit of confusion about whether GAC Advice needs to be “consensus” GAC Advice in order to halt a new gTLD application.
I think the confusion is mainly due to the way some people (Willett and myself included) use phrases such as “non-consensus GAC Advice” as shorthand for a particular paragraph of the Applicant Guidebook.
Here’s the way I understand it:
All GAC Advice — including Advice sent on issues completely unrelated to the new gTLD program — is consensus GAC Advice.
If the GAC sends written Advice to the ICANN board, it means the GAC has reached consensus to send that Advice, even if the Advice itself reflects a lack of consensus on the specifics.
Confusion in the community is arising now because the Applicant Guidebook also talks about three types of “GAC Advice on New gTLDs”, the first of which is:
The GAC advises ICANN that it is the consensus of the GAC that a particular application should not proceed. This will create a strong presumption for the ICANN Board that the application should not be approved.
That’s describing a situation where the GAC has reached a consensus that an application should be rejected. It’s going to sound the death knell for several applications, without doubt.
The second type of GAC Advice on New gTLDs in the Guidebook is:
The GAC advises ICANN that there are concerns about a particular application “dot-example.” The ICANN Board is expected to enter into dialogue with the GAC to understand the scope of concerns. The ICANN Board is also expected to provide a rationale for its decision.
The language was written by the GAC, using its consensus model, which is why it’s so badly worded.
What it means is that the GAC could not find consensus to kill off an application — some governments want it killed off, some don’t — but that the GAC as a whole reached consensus to tell ICANN that some governments do want it killed off.
So when people talk about “non-consensus” Advice, we’re referring to this second form of GAC Advice on New gTLDs, where the GAC could reached consensus to alert ICANN about “concerns” but could not reach consensus that the application should be taken outside and shot.
Which applications are going to get Advice?
The GAC stated last week that 20 applications had been put forward for specific review at the Beijing meeting.
From what I’ve been able to piece together from the GAC’s public hints, its Early Warnings, and sources in Beijing, I think I’ve identified many of these applications.
I’m pretty certain that DotConnectAfrica’s application for .africa is going to get killer Advice.
I’m not picking on DCA (disclosure: DCA accused me of being part of a racist conspiracy) but it is the only remaining applicant to comprehensively ignore ICANN’s rules on geographic names.
It’s also well-known that Amazon’s application for .amazon (and translations), and Patagonia Inc’s application for .patagonia, both of which were not captured by ICANN’s rules on geography, are unloved by Latin American governments.
The Montevideo Declaration, signed by government ministers from the continent last week, specifically condemns any new gTLDs related to Amazonia and Patagonia.
It’s difficult to see how the GAC could ignore the strength of this position, but it’s always possible that some members may have been lobbied into submission by applicants, therefore spoiling consensus.
Other geographic strings that ICANN’s rules did not identify as geographic may also face Advice.
It’s known that .persiangulf, for example, is racially/culturally divisive because the same body of water is also known as the Arabian Gulf by Arab states in the region.
The Japanese government’s Early Warning against .date (issued because there are two cities in Japan that, when translated into Latin characters, are called Date) is also believed to have been put forward for formal GAC Advice.
Outside of geographic names, I hear that .basketball and .rugby are also on the GAC’s shortlist.
These are interesting cases because the governments with the beef (Greece and the UK) are not concerned about the strings themselves. Rather, they want to make sure their preferred applicant wins.
Both gTLDs are contested, and each contention set has one applicant backed by the official world authority for the sport concerned.
If the GAC issues Advice on either, it’s putting itself in the position of picking winners and losers, which could make for some frenetic lobbying in future application rounds.
The application for .uno is believed to be under discussion in the GAC because it clashes with the acronym of an intergovernmental organization.
It also seems pretty certain that Demand Media’s applications for .navy, .army and .airforce are going to get Advice in one form or another. The US, I gather, is adamant that these bids should be rejected at all costs.
How GAC Advice affects the timetable
Willett said yesterday that ICANN expects to receive the GAC’s Advice this week, which should come as some relief to applicants given that the timing has always been a bit vague.
But it’s still not clear what form the Advice will take.
Sure, there’s bound to be some bits of Advice that call out specific applications for death-by-board, but there may also be Advice that addresses certain “categories” of application.
If that happens, and the GAC does not explicitly state which applications fall into which category, there’s the potential for mass confusion following the Beijing meeting.
I raised this specter last week, and it cropped up again during Willett’s session in Beijing yesterday.
What I forgot about last week, and what Willett was quizzed about yesterday, is that the Guidebook gives applicants with GAC Advice 21 days to respond to it before the ICANN board acts.
“I’m concerned that whereby the GAC Advice is such that it is all-encompassing and non-exhaustive that therefore all applicants must respond and all applicants are waiting another 21 days,” ARI Registry Services CEO Adrian Kinderis asked. “No applicant can proceed, because they’re all impacted.”
“If that hypothetical situation occurs, I think that’s possible,” Willett responded.
I other words, if the GAC delivers broad advice this week that does not name specific applications, it’s possible that every applicant would have 21 days to tell ICANN’s board why they’re not affected.
That would completely balls up ICANN’s plan to sign its first registry agreements on April 23.
NTIA fights Big Content’s corner, tells ALL new gTLD applicants to submit PICs
Kevin Murphy, February 26, 2013, Domain Policy
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said today that all new gTLD applicants, even those that have not already been hit by government warnings, should submit Public Interest Commitments to ICANN.
In a rare comment sent to an ICANN public forum today, the NTIA suggested that applicants should use the process to help combat counterfeiting and piracy.
The agency, the part of the US Department of Commerce that oversees ICANN and participates in its Governmental Advisory Committee, said (emphasis in original):
NTIA encourages all applicants for new gTLDs to take advantage of this opportunity to address the concerns expressed by the GAC in its Toronto Communique, the individual early warnings issued by GAC members, and the ICANN public comment process on new gTLDs, as appropriate.
PICs were introduced by ICANN earlier this month as a way for applicants to voluntarily add binding commitments — for example, a promise to restrict their gTLD to a certain user base — to their registry contracts.
The idea is to let applicants craft and agree to stick to special terms they think will help them avoid receiving objections from the GAC, GAC members and others.
NTIA said that applicants should pay special attention in their PICs to helping out the “creative sector”.
Specifically, this would entail “ensuring that WHOIS data is verified, authentic and publicly accessible”.
They should also “consider providing an enforceable guaranty that the domain name will only be used for licensed and legitimate activities”, NTIA said, adding:
NTIA believes that these new tools may help in the fight against online counterfeiting and piracy and is particularly interested in seeing applicants commit to these or similar safeguards.
The PICs idea isn’t going down too well in the applicant community, judging by other submissions this week.
The Registries Stakeholder Group of ICANN, for example, says its members are feeling almost “blackmailed” into submitting PICs, saying the timing is “completely unreasonable”.
As DI noted when PICs was first announced, applicants have been given until just March 5 to submit their commitments, raising serious questions about the timetable for objections and GAC advice.
The RySG has even convened a conference call for March 4 to discuss the proposal, which it says “contains so many serious and fundamental flaws that it should be withdrawn in
its entirety”.
GAC Early Warnings just got a whole lot more important
Kevin Murphy, January 18, 2013, Domain Policy
ICANN will let new gTLD applicants change their applications in order to respond to the concerns of governments, it has emerged.
Changes to applications made as a result of Early Warnings made by the Governmental Advisory Committee “would in all likelihood be permitted”, ICANN chair Steve Crocker informed the GAC this week.
ICANN is also looking at ways to make these changes enforceable in the respective applicants’ registry contracts.
Combined, the two bits of news confirm that the GAC will have greater power over new gTLD business models than previously anticipated.
The revelations came in the ICANN board of directors’ official response to GAC advice emerging from last October’s Toronto meeting.
After Toronto, the GAC had asked ICANN whether applicants would be able to change their applications in response to Early Warnings, and whether the changes made would be binding.
In response, Crocker told his GAC counterpart, Heather Dryden, that ICANN already has a procedure for approving or denying application change requests.
The process “balances” a number of criteria, including whether the changes would impact competing applicants or change the applicant’s evaluation score, but it’s not at all clear how ICANN internally decides whether to approve a request or not. So far, none have been denied.
Crocker told Dryden:
It is not possible to generalize as to whether change requests resulting from early warnings would be permitted in all instances. But if such requests are intended solely to address the “range of specific issues” listed on page 3 of the Toronto Communique, and do not otherwise conflict with the change request criteria noted above, then such request would in all likelihood be permitted.
The “range of specific issues” raised in the Toronto advice (pdf) are broad enough to cover pretty much every Early Warning:
Strings that are linked to regulated market sectors, such as the financial, health and charity sectors
Competition issues
Strings that have broad or multiple uses or meanings, and where one entity is seeking exclusive use
Religious terms where the applicant has no, or limited, support from the relevant religious organisations or the religious community
Minimising the need for defensive registrations
Protection of geographic names
Intellectual property rights particularly in relation to strings aimed at the distribution of music, video and other digital material
The relationship between new gTLD applications and all applicable legislation
Some Early Warnings, such as many filed against gTLD bids that would represent regulated industries such as finance and law, ask applicants to improve their abuse mitigation measures.
To avoid receiving potential lethal GAC Advice this April, such applicants were asked to improve their rights protection mechanisms and anti-abuse procedures.
In some cases, changes to these parts of the applications could — feasibly — impact the evaluation score.
The GAC also made it clear in Toronto that it expects that commitments made in applications — including commitments in changes made as a result of Early Warnings — should be enforceable by ICANN.
This is a bit of a big deal. It refers to Question 18 in the new gTLD application, which was introduced late at the request of the GAC and covers the “mission/purpose” of the applied-for gTLD.
Answers to Question 18 are not scored as part of the new gTLD evaluation, and many applicants took it as an invitation to waffle about how awesome they plan to be.
Now it seems possible they they could be held to that waffle.
Crocker told Dryden (with my emphasis):
The New gTLD Program does not currently provide a mechanism to adopt binding contractual terms incorporating applicant statements and commitment and plans set forth within new gTLD applications or arising from early warning discussions between applicants and governments. To address concerns raised by the GAC as well as other stakeholders, staff are developing possible mechanisms for consideration by the Board New gTLD Committee. That Committee will discuss the staff proposals during the upcoming Board Workshop, 31 Janaury – 2 February.
In other words, early next month we could see some new mechanisms for converting Question 18 blah into enforceable contractual commitments that new gTLD registries will have to abide be.
Fight over new sports gTLDs gets real ugly
Kevin Murphy, January 10, 2013, Domain Registries
The battle for contested new gTLDs .rugby and .basketball is turning nasty.
Roar Domains, a New Zealand marketing firm whose gTLD applications are backed by the official international bodies for both sports, is promising to pull out all the stops to kill off its competition.
The company, which is partnered with Minds + Machines on both bids, has told rival portfolio applicant Donuts that it will attack its applications for the two TLDs on at least three fronts.
Notably, Roar wants Donuts disqualified from the entire new gTLD program, and plans to lobby to have Donuts fail its background check.
The company told Donuts last month:
while we have no desire to join the chorus of voices speaking out against Donuts, it is incumbent on us to pursue the automatic disqualification of Applicant Guidebook Section 1.2.1, and every opposition and objection process available to us.
Applicant Guidebook section 1.2.1 deals with background checks.
Donuts came under more scrutiny than most on these grounds during the new gTLDs public comment period last year due to its co-founders being involved at the sharp end of domain investment over the last decade.
Demand Media and eNom, where founder Paul Stahura was a senior executive, have lost many UDRP cases over the years.
A mystery lawyer who refuses to disclose his clients started pursuing Donuts last August, saying the company is “unsuited and ineligible to participate in the new gTLD program.”
Separate (pseudonymous?) public comments fingered a former Donuts director for allegedly cybersquatting the Olympics and Disney.
While Roar has not claimed responsibility for these specific previous attacks, it certainly seems to be planning something similar in future.
In addition, Roar and International Rugby Board, which supports Roar’s application for .rugby, say they plan to official objections with ICANN about rival .rugby bids.
The IRB told Donuts, in a letter shortly before Christmas:
As the global representative of the sport and the only applicant vested with the trust and representation of the rugby community, we are unquestionably the rightful steward of .RUGBY.
Without the support of the global rugby community your commercialization efforts for .RUGBY will be thwarted. We are also preparing an objection to file against your application in accordance with ICANN rules to which you will be required to dedicate resources to formulate a response.
Roar and the IRB are also both lobbying members of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee, which has the power to file potentially decisive GAC Advice against any application.
Roar told Donuts recently:
Roar serves as the voice and arm for FIBA [the International Basketball Federation] and IRB in the New gTLD area. We are pleased to have obtained four Early Warnings on behalf of our applications, and fully expect the GAC process to be completed to GAC Advice.
The Early Warnings against the two other .rugby applicants were filed by the UK government — the only warnings it filed — while Greece warned the two non-Roar .basketball applicants.
Roar is also involved with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on its .basketball bid.
While commercial interests obviously play a huge role, there’s a philosophical disagreement at the heart of these fights that could be encapsulated in the following question:
Should new gTLDs only be delegated to companies and organizations most closely affiliated with those strings?
In response to the UK’s Early Warning, Donut has written to UK GAC representative Mark Carvell asking for face-to-face talks and making the case for a “neutral” registry provider for .rugby.
Donuts told Carvell:
We believe gTLDs should be run safely and securely, and in a manner that is fair to all law-abiding registrants, not only those predetermined as eligible. A neutral third party, such as Donuts, can be best capable of achieving this outcome.
Donuts believes a neutral operator is better able to ensure that the gTLD reflects the full diversity of opinion and content of all Internet users who are interested in the term “rugby.”
As the IRB is a powerful voice in rugby, an IRB‐managed registry might not be neutral in its operations, raising questions about its ability to impartially oversee the gTLD. For example, will IRB/Roar chill free speech by censoring content adversarial to their interests? How would they treat third parties who are interested in rugby but aren’t part of the IRB? What about IRB critics or potential rival leagues?
Despite these questions, no .rugby applicant has said it plans to operate a restricted registry. There are no applications for .basketball or .rugby designated as “Community” bids.
The IRB/Roar application specifically states “anyone can register a .rugby domain name.”
Both .basketball and .rugby are contested by Roar (FIBA/IRB/M+M), Donuts (via subsidiaries) and portfolio applicant Domain Venture Partners (aka Famous Four Media, also via subsidiaries).
Roar is a sports marketing agency that is also involved in bids for .baseball, .soccer, .football and .futbol. The New Zealand national team football captain, Ryan Nelsen, is on its board.
Here are the letters (pdf).
GAC Early Warnings confirmed for today. Here’s what I expect to see
Kevin Murphy, November 20, 2012, Domain Policy
ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee is ready to send out its Early Warnings on new gTLD applications today as scheduled, ICANN has confirmed.
The Early Warnings, which highlight applications that individual GAC members have problems with, are expected to be sent by the GAC to applicants and published by ICANN later.
Because the warnings are expected to be issued by individual governments, rather than the GAC as a whole, we could wind up seeing hundreds, due to multiple governments objecting to the same applications.
However, some governments may have decided to be conservative for precisely the same reason.
Governments won’t be able to hide behind the cloak of “GAC Advice”, as they did when .xxx was up for approval last year; the names of the governments will be on the warnings.
That’s not to say there won’t necessarily be safety in numbers. It’s possible that some warnings will be explicitly supported by multiple governments, potentially complicating applicant responses.
But which countries will provide warnings?
I’d be surprised if the US, as arguably the most vocal GAC player, does not issue some. Likewise, the regulation-happy European Commission could be a key objector.
It’s also my understanding that Australia has a raft of concerns about various applications, and has been leading much of the back-room discussion among GAC members.
Going out on a limb slightly, I’m expecting to see the warnings from Western nations concentrating largely on regulated industries, IP protection and defensive registrations.
We’re likely to see warnings about .bank and .sucks, for examples, from these governments. To a certain extent, any non-Community applications that could be seen as representing an industry could be at risk.
On the “morality” front, indications from ICANN’s public comment period are that Saudi Arabia has a great many problems with strings that represent religious concepts, and with strings that appear to endorse behavior inconsistent with Islamic law, such as alcohol and gambling.
But last time I checked Saudi Arabia was not a member of the GAC. It remains to be seen whether similar concerns will be raised by other governments that are members.
The one Early Warning we can guarantee to emerge is against .patagonia, the application from a US clothing retailer that shares its name with a region of South America.
The Argentinian government has explicitly said it will issue a warning against this bid, and I expect it to garner significant support from other GAC members.
The GAC Early Warnings stand to cause significant headaches for applicants, many of which are gearing up for a four-day US Thanksgiving weekend.
After receiving a warning, applicants have just 21 days to decide whether to withdraw their bid — receiving an 80% refund of their $185,000 application fee — or risk a formal GAC Advice objection next year.
But that’s not even half of the problem.
The GAC has indicated that it wants to be able to, effectively, negotiate with new gTLD applicants over the details of their applications after issuing its warnings.
At the Toronto meeting last month, the GAC asked ICANN to explain:
the extent to which applicants will be able to modify their applications as a result of early warnings.
[and]
how ICANN will ensure that any commitments made by applicants, in their applications or as a result of any subsequent changes, will be overseen and enforced by ICANN.
ICANN has not yet responded to these inquiries and it does not expect to do so until Thursday.
The fact is that ICANN has for a long time said that it does not intend to allow any applicant to make any material changes to their applications after submission. This was to avoid gaming.
It has since relaxed that view somewhat, by introducing a change request mechanism that has so far processed about 30 changes, some of which (such as .dotafrica and .banque) were highly material.
Whether ICANN will extend this process to allow applicants to significantly alter their applications in order to calm the fears of governments remains to be seen.
Whatever happens this even, many new gTLD applicants are entering unknown territory.
GAC gets more power to block controversial gTLDs
While the new version of ICANN’s new generic top-level domains Applicant Guidebook contains mostly tweaks, there’s a pretty big change for those filing “controversial” applications.
The Guidebook now grants the Governmental Advisory Committee greater powers to block gTLD applications based on minority government views.
ICANN has adopted poorly-written, ambiguous text approved by the GAC at its meeting in Dakar last October, which lowers the threshold required to force the ICANN board to consider GAC advice.
The changes essentially mean that it’s now much easier for the GAC to force the ICANN board to the negotiating table if a small number of governments object to a gTLD application.
In the September Guidebook, a GAC consensus objection was needed to force the ICANN board to manually approve controversial applications. Now, it appears that only a single country needs to object.
This is the relevant text:
Applications for .gay, of which there are expected to be at least two, will almost certainly fall into this category.
If you’re applying for a potentially controversial gTLD, you can thank the GAC for the fact that your road to approval is now considerably less predictable.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the GAC is allowed to file an objection based on any aspect of the application – not just the chosen string.
So, for example, if you’re applying for .bank or .pharma and your application falls short of one government’s expected consumer safeguards, you may also see a GAC “concerns” objection.
In cases where the GAC objects to an application, the ICANN board of directors does have the ability to overrule that objection, if it provides its rationale, much as it did with .xxx.
However, .xxx was a special case, and ICANN today is under a regime much friendlier to the GAC and much more nervous about the international political environment than it was 12 months ago.
Make no mistake: GAC Advice on New gTLDs will carry weight.
This table compares the types of GAC Advice described in the Applicant Guidebook published in September with the one published last night.
It should also be noted that since Dakar the GAC has defined consensus as “the practice of adopting decisions by general agreement in the absence of any formal objection”.
In other words, if some GAC members push for a GAC consensus objection against a given gTLD, other GAC members would have to formally object to that proposed objection in order to prevent the minority view becoming consensus.
It’s a pretty low threshold. The .gay applicants, among others, are going to have a nerve-wracking time.
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HYRE INVESTOR NEWS: ROSEN, GLOBALLY RESPECTED INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages HyreCar Inc. Investors with Losses in Excess of $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action – HYRE
NEW YORK, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of HyreCar Inc. (NASDAQ: HYRE) between May 14, 2021 and August 10, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important October 26, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased HyreCar securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the HyreCar class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases–register–2152.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll–free at 866–767–3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 26, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) HyreCar had materially understated its insurance reserves; (2) HyreCar had systematically failed to pay valid insurance claims incurred prior to the Class Period; (3) HyreCar had incurred significant expenses transitioning to its new third–party insurance claims administrator and processing claims incurred from prior periods; (4) HyreCar had failed to appropriately price risk in its insurance products and was experiencing elevated claims incidence as a result; (5) HyreCar had been forced to dramatically reform its claims underwriting, policies and procedures in response to unacceptably high claims severity and customer complaints; and (6) as a result of the foregoing, HyreCar's operations and prospects were misrepresented because the Company was not on track to meet the financial estimates provided to investors during the Class Period, and such estimates lacked a reasonable basis in fact, including HyreCar's purported gross margin, EBITDA and net loss trajectories. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the HyreCar class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases–register–2152.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll–free at 866–767–3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the–rosen–law–firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
Toll Free: (866) 767–3653
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
ROSEN, A LEADING AND GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED LAW FIRM, Encourages AdaptHealth Corp. f/k/a DFB Healthcare Acquisitions Corp. Investors With Losses in Excess of $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important September 27 Deadline in Securities Class Action – AHCO, AHCOW
NEW YORK, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of AdaptHealth Corp. f/k/a DFB Healthcare Acquisitions Corp. (NASDAQ: AHCO, AHCOW) between November 11, 2019 and July 16, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period") of the important September 27, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased AdaptHealth securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the AdaptHealth class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases–register–2135.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll–free at 866–767–3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 27, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) AdaptHealth had misrepresented its organic growth trajectory by retroactively inflating past organic growth numbers without disclosing the changes, in violation of SEC regulations; (2) accordingly, AdaptHealth had materially overstated its financial prospects; and (3) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the AdaptHealth class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases–register–2135.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll–free at 866–767–3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
ROSEN, TOP RANKED GLOBAL INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages Activision Blizzard, Inc. Investors with Losses Over $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action First Filed by Firm – ATVI
NEW YORK, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) between August 4, [...] Read more »
COIN SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ROSEN, GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages Coinbase Global, Inc. Investors with Losses Exceeding $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important September 20 Deadline in Securities Class Action – COIN
NEW YORK, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) pursuant and/or [...] Read more »
Bombardier to Hold Virtual Event Celebrating the Best of Aerospace Innovation on Tuesday, September 14, 2021
MONTRÉAL, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bombardier is pleased to invite members of the international community to a special virtual event premiering at 11:00 am (EDT) on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.
[...] Read more »
KPLT LOSS ALERT: ROSEN, LEADING TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages Katapult Holdings, Inc. f/k/a FinServ Acquisition Corp. Investors with Losses in Excess of $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action – KPLT, KPLTW, FSRV, FSRVU, FSRVW
NEW YORK, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Katapult Holdings, Inc. f/k/a FinServ Acquisition Corp. [...] Read more »
Dickey’s Executes Monumental International Franchise Deal to Expand in Africa
Dallas, Texas, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Read more »
Majid Al Futtaim Launches AI Powered Carrefour City+; The Region’s First Check-Out Free Store
Carrefour City+ offers customers a fast, seamless and contactless shopping experience
From start to finish, the new [...] Read more »
Intelex Is Making Moves to Further the Global Expansion of its Innovative ESG and Global Environmental Solutions
Toronto, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TORONTO, CANADA "" September 7, 2021 "" Intelex Technologies, ULC, a leading global provider of cloud–based Environmental, Health, Safety and Quality (EHSQ) [...] Read more »
INVNT GROUP® to launch bzar – Xperience Shopping™ An “always on” 24/7/365 global, immersive metaverse connecting brands, consumers, experiences, content, and creators through gamification
New York, NY, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Launching this November, bzar is a patent pending, disruptive, immersive, metaverse leveraging Epic Games' Unreal Engine, the most powerful real–time 3D creation tool, and [...] Read more »
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Your mind = blown, apparently
Hey, Internet! Please allow me to turn your world upside-down:
I like Halo!
It’s like a crazy Warthog jump upending everything you’ve ever known and loved!
My liking Halo has never struck me as being a particularly big deal. I mean, I enjoy plenty of video games, especially first-person shooters with a strong story component, and I’ve had a soft spot for Bungie games since I first saw my graphic design professor misusing his juiced-up Power Mac 8100 to turn armies of three-eyed aliens into gooey xenokibble.
To judge by the reactions I’ve witnessed when people learned I helped EGM tackle Halo 3, though, it actually is a horrible shock to many people. A life-altering revelation, perhaps. I guess the general assumption is that I only like old games… or quirky Japanese games… or RPGs… or Nintendo first-party stuff… or handheld games… or whatever. Since that’s what I usually write about, when I write about games. But you know, a newpaper reporter who writes the crime beat doesn’t only live to think about crime; I’ve always assumed it was a given that the same holds true for any kind of writer.
So for 1UP, I tend not to cover much of the more mass-market/mainstream titles, because so many other people already cover them in such exhaustive detail; I prefer to focus on niches that I like and that might otherwise be neglected. I mean, Ray only has so much time in the day for writing, and Shane has a sort of manic, wild-eyed look about him that makes me question the sanity of his views. I can’t trust anyone who spends that much time staring at the ceiling.
This doesn’t mean I don’t like mainstream/mass-market titles, though. I’ve put in a stupid number of hours playing GTA games, I dig Halo, Crackdown was amazing, the Half-Life games are great, I generally love anything Final Fantasy-related, yadda yadda yadda. It’s just that there’s more room for me to say something unique about, for instance, Castlevania or Odin Sphere or whatever, since fewer people write about them fervently.
(Besides, I seem to recall Castlevania and Mega Man and the like being cutting-edge mainstream games, once upon a time.)
So what have we learned today? Like the saying goes, “when you assume you make an ass out of u.” But not me. I’m way too awesome to be tarnished by your ill-informed preconceptions.
29 thoughts on “Your mind = blown, apparently”
Merus says:
Here’s me totally disregarding the moral of the story, but I figured people were more confused at how they decided that they were going to send Jeremy Parish to write about it. To use the crime writer example, why are they sending the crime writer to write about sports? Is the sports writer sick?
The whole idea of the enthusiast press choosing what games to write about is one I have some difficulty accepting. I always assumed there was some sort of reason why most of the enthusiast press only covered games from retail, or more recently download services run by publishers, as opposed to mixing in the odd outstanding shareware/freeware game. Although perhaps this unflattering stereotype is behind the times (where is the Cave Story review guys I’m having trouble finding it).
I would also make some sort of snarky remark at the somewhat troubled relationship 1up seems to have with story games, but that’d just be asking for trouble.
Mightyblue says:
Y’know, if you like Warthogs, you might want to check out bungie’s site. They’ve got a news feature with a picture of a full size and fully functional Warthog they made for the Halo shorts that are being filmed.
mode7 says:
Why did you even bother to write that up? No one’s gonna kill you for liking games (beside old ones), but, yes, some people that post on Talking Time are pretty scary.
I’d like to add that your writings on games no one cares about are exactly what I enjoy the most over here, because, as you said, no one writes about them. I’ve had the opportunity to play some pretty cool games that I wouldn’t have noticed in the first place, thanks to this site, so, thanks a lot.
What the heck? Am I banned for life around here? My previous comment was perfectly on-topic and polite.
Yeah, whatever, frat boy. Hope you have time to teabag some Mexican Jew lizards before you have to run off to the Linkin Park show.
Manna says:
My debut in Halo was as a pink armored trooper named “Hibiki.” I liked to hop around in the wide open spaces of Blood Gulch daring people to snipe me. Until I got the hang of aiming (HAHA) I racked up a legendary number of vehicular homicides instead.
Later I learned a fun tactic: If I changed my handle to various hard-to-pronounce things, people would get flustered trying to yell at me and leave themselves open to another kill. That’s Psy-ops, people.
Personally I’d be more surprised if Parish didn’t like Halo or Half Life or what have you, because they’re simply good games. Like the old saying goes, there are only two types of games: good and bad.
R^2 says:
You know what happens when you make an assumption: You make an ass out of u, and mption.
…….I don’t know you in real life, do I, R^2?
Anyway, Halo single player is boring. Multiplayer can be a blast, and Co-op is always fun. Just not enough fun for me to buy a system this time around…
I wrote this up because it was very amusing to see message board post after message board post saying, “Buh? Parish likes Halo?” Especially after everyone I worked with did a double-take and said, “Buh? You like Halo?”
M.Nicolai says:
Excuse me, but I know the differance between a Jeremy Parish and a Tomm Hulett, thankyouverymuch.
Also: 1up Yours needs more JP. Anyone hear it?
Like a fine wine, my podcasting presence is most enjoyable when exercised in moderation.
Also: grows more bitter with age.
Sir, a fine wine does take time to mature, but after too long it just becomes vinegar. Don’t make Sharkey even more unappetizing than he already is.
P.S. Much love to the Sharkey
shivam says:
i dont see why this would surprise anyone; parish is like the internet’s biggest marathon fan, and halo is just the natural progression of that series.
Stiv says:
Incidentally, here’s the significance of the number 7:
http://www.musanim.com/miller1956/
QPCES says:
“The whole idea of the enthusiast press choosing what games to write about is one I have some difficulty accepting. I always assumed there was some sort of reason why most of the enthusiast press only covered games from retail, or more recently download services run by publishers, as opposed to mixing in the odd outstanding shareware/freeware game.” Perhaps it’s because the people who sell retail games are the only ones who can afford advertising in the magazines? Also, share/free ware games don’t need to be reviewed quite so much because you don’t have to drop a Grant (or more) to try them out.
Kevin Thompson says:
So what you’re saying then is that Nintendo first-party games are akin to crime?
ReyVGM says:
*Hijacks topic and changes it to retro*
Where has the Retro Roundup gone?
The person that matters answers and the others discuss.
E3 happened. I’m working on a three-week wrap-up edition right now. Don’t panic, man, don’t panic.
I’m not surprised about the liking Halo.
Do you like Halo MULTIPLAYER, JP?
P.S. Thanks for telling me about Crackdown way back on this very site. I got it with my 360 and it was flippin’ sweet.
Complaining about Halo’s singeplayer kind of misses the point, because even though Halo 1 was overlong, and Halo 2 had no ending, I liked them way more than the multiplayer because I didn’t need to be an idiot savant to enjoy them. Playing Halo online is kind of like Starcraft because if you aren’t a perfect machine of snipe, so to speak, you’re deadmeat. And not the cool dog from Fallout kind of deadmeat, either.
TOLLMASTER says:
Are we allowed to like Ikaruga? Or does the IGN quote on the box ruin it for us hardcore types.
I think it’s more that cliques tend to surround certain games, and these cliques repel each other, and these cliques then cause very little interaction with games beyond each individual clique. A frat boy isn’t going to wake up at night and worry what his friends at the Pokemon Pearl message board think about him and his opinion on Totodile, and an RPG gamer won’t feel comfortable around people who think being drunk and high while on Live is the pinnacle of hilarity. People see Parish here enjoying something like the Boktai series, and they figure he’ll be repelled by Halo by the people who play Halo, when Parish actually doesn’t seem to care. Working in the game industry gives him more access to video games, while the rest of us have to wait for our friends to tell us “hey man, this TOTALLY awesome game just came out! From Japan!” If no one tells us to buy teh Haloez, then we typically won’t buy teh Haloez. There are Halo players who have a hidden hunger for Persona 3, and not a few Persona 3 buyers could probably stand even the faux human interaction of Halo over Live.
Didn’t you also write the strategy guide to Halo 2 a couple of years back for 1up? I think you were generally positive about it too, so I wonder where all the surprise comes from.
Inattentiveness? Or maybe the fact that it doesn’t matter worth a fat damn.
mazoboom says:
Parish loves Bungie. I have always known this truth of the ‘frog.
Unknowing says:
Seriously haven’t been to your sight regularly in years, but something of a shocker. Although I like Halo too, but maybe I have always held you at a higher standard of elitism.
megaman says:
I once skipped an entire level in Halo 2 (on Hard) by driving through it on the Puma.
I’m hardcore.
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India, Maldives sign MoU on strengthening audit of public financeNew Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) With an aim to develop and strengthen professional capacity and improve [...]
WHO urges joint efforts to prevent future Covid-like pandemicKathmandu, Sep 7 (IANS) World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for countries [...]
Maldives’ Aug tourist arrivals top pre-pandemic levelsMale, Aug 29 Tourist arrivals to the Maldives in August have surpassed the pre- Covid-19 [...]
UNGA President-elect Abdulla Shahid meets ModiNew Delhi, July 24 (IANS) Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, the President-elect of the 76th session [...]
Trilateral Table Top Exercise-2021 Conducted between India-Maldives-Sri LankaColombo, July 15 Virtual Trilateral Table Top Exercise (TTX) – 2021 was conducted from 14-15 [...]
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New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, the President-elect of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Friday. He
Trilateral Table Top Exercise-2021 Conducted between India-Maldives-Sri Lanka
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India to open new Consulate General in Maldives
New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) India on Tuesday announced the opening of a new Consulate General in Addu City in the Maldives this year, a move to augment India’s diplomatic presence.
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lowells named 2021 Neighborhood Favorite by nextdoor
January 4, 2022 January 4, 2022 Rob Morris 0 Comment Awards
We are pleased and humbled that users of nextdoor have named lowell’s a Neighborhood Favorite for 2021. ( We were also a 2020 Neighborhood Favorite!)
This means that lots of different nextdoor members have recommended lowell’s to their neighbors. We really appreciate everyone who tells their friends, family, and neighbors about us, and we’ll keep working to earn your recommendations in the future. Thank you!
lowell’s wins 11th “favorite auto repair” in 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards
August 15, 2021 September 8, 2021 Rob Morris 0 Comment Awards
2021 Favorite Auto Repair
For the eleventh time, Lexington Herald-Leader readers have voted Lowell’s their “Favorite Auto Repair” in the 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards.
This Readers’ Choice Award is our 21st first-place award (11 from Herald-Leader readers, 9 more Best of Lex Awards from Ace Weekly readers (even though Ace hasn’t run the awards since 2011), and last month’s Best of 2021 Award from Preferred Mechanic.
We are humbled and honored to have the support of our wonderful, wonderful customers. We are also very grateful to have such thoughtful and skilled employees. We promise to keep improving our service to keep deserving your appreciation.
Rob, Suzanne, and your Friends at Lowell’s
lowell’s selected #1 out of 370 mechanics in Lexington
July 1, 2021 September 8, 2021 Rob Morris 0 Comment Awards
#1 of 370 mechanics in Lexington!
Preferred Mechanic evaluated 370 mechanics across Lexington, and chose lowell’s as the top mechanic in town for 2021.
For their Best of 2021 awards, Preferred Mechanic ranked shops across the nation based on customer reviews, ratings, awards, and multiple other criteria. On July 1st, they named lowell’s as the #1 mechanic in Lexington!
The Best of 2021 Award makes the 20th time that lowell’s has been selected as the best mechanic in Lexington. We’ve also received 10 Readers’ Choice Awards from Herald-Leader readers, and 9 more Best of Lex Awards from Ace Weekly readers (even though Ace hasn’t run awards voting since 2011).
We’re always driving to offer the very best auto repair service. If you ever notice anything we can do better, please let us know.
September 8, 2020 September 8, 2021 Rob Morris 0 Comment Awards
We are pleased and humbled that users of nextdoor have named lowell’s a Neighborhood Favorite for 2020.
lowell’s wins 2019 Readers’ Choice award
For the ninth time, Lexington Herald-Leader readers have voted Lowell’s their “Favorite Auto Repair” in the 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards.
This Readers’ Choice Award is our 18th first-place award (9 from Herald-Leader readers, and 9 more Best of Lex Awards from Ace Weekly readers (even though Ace hasn’t run the awards since 2011).
Lowell’s wins 2015 Angie’s List Award
March 23, 2016 April 8, 2016 Rob Morris 0 Comment Awards
We are extremely humbled by the awards that customers have chosen for us over the years.
We have won 8 Readers’ Choice Awards from Herald-Leader readers as Favorite Auto Repair Shop. We’ve also won 9 Ace Magazine Best in Lex Awards as Favorite Mechanic. We are Lexington’s first and only RepairPal Certified mechanic.
And now, for the third year in a row, we’ve also been recognized by Angie’s List.
Lowell’s has earned the Angie’s List 2015 Super Service Award for the outstanding things our customers have said about our service on Angie’s List.
Angie’s List collects reviews from real people on a variety of services, including reviews of auto repair service in Lexington.
According to Angie’s List, “winners of this award have met strict eligibility requirements, which include an ‘A’ rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade; the company must be in good standing with Angie’s List, have a fully complete profile, pass a background check and abide by Angie’s List operational guidelines.”
We are so honored to serve great customers and to have had those customers make this award happen for us. Thanks for all of the wonderful things you say and do for Lowell’s!
Lowell’s named Lexington’s first RepairPal Certified shop
August 4, 2014 February 3, 2020 Rob Morris 2 Comments Awards
Only one day after winning a Readers’ Choice Award as Lexington’s Favorite Auto Repair Service, Lowell’s has also been named Lexington’s first and only RepairPal Certified repair shop.
RepairPal is an online service designed “to provide drivers with the most accurate, unbiased, and useful car ownership information available”. In other words, RepairPal helps consumers find the very best automotive service.
The RepairPal Certified designation means that we meet or exceed RepairPal’s rigorous standards for customer satisfaction, employee training, fair prices, and quality work.
As is the case with all of our awards over the years, this designation also belongs to our incredible customers. Over 30 recent customers were kind enough to give us very positive reviews. (Thank you so much!)
You can read RepairPal’s profile of Lowell’s to learn more. Lowell’s received a 95.8% overall rating on the RepairPal Quality Index.
We’re honored and humbled by this recognition, and we’ll work diligently to earn your continued trust and respect.
August 3, 2014 April 6, 2016 Rob Morris 2 Comments Awards
For the eighth time – including each of the past six years – Lexington Herald-Leader readers have voted Lowell’s their “Favorite Auto Repair Service” in the 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards.
We also came in second place in the new “Favorite Oil Change” category.
Lowell’s won the Repair Service category even when matched up against other great finalists who have national backing, multiple locations, and who service multiple vehicle brands (Tire Discounters and S&S Tire).
In addition to the past six years, Lowell’s was also the top pick for Herald-Leader readers in 2007 and 1994 – to our knowledge, that’s every time the auto repair category has been up for voting.
Lowell’s selected for Angie’s List 2013 Super Service Award
December 19, 2013 April 5, 2016 Rob Morris 1 Comment Awards
Lowell’s wins Angie’s List Super Service Award for Auto Repair in Lexington
We have won 7 Readers’ Choice Awards from Herald-Leader readers as Favorite Auto Repair Shop. We’ve also won 9 Ace Magazine Best in Lex Awards as Favorite Mechanic.
Now we are pleased to add a new award to that great list!
Not all online reviews are equal. Angie’s List collects reviews from real people on a variety of services, including reviews of auto repair service in Lexington.
“Only about 5 percent of the companies Lowell’s competes with in Lexington are able to earn our Super Service Award,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “It’s a mark of consistently great customer service.”
Lowell’s wins 2011 Best of Lex Award
September 15, 2011 April 6, 2016 Rob Morris 0 Comment Awards
Thanks to your generous votes, Lowell’s has been chosen “Best Fear-Free Mechanic” in Ace Weekly’s Best of Lex 2011.
This is the ninth time Ace readers have voted us Lexington’s best mechanic, and we are deeply grateful that you have honored us once again.
And be sure to check out all of this year’s Best of Lex winners.
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Dieselgate has shaken Volkswagen to its foundation, prompting the automaker to embrace a radical new direction and invest nearly $40 billion into EV R&D as well as the factory tech needed to make it. The initial result of that massive investment has now hit the streets in the form of a compact crossover SUV. Say hello to the 2021 ID.4, VW’s first EV for the people.
The ID.4’s on-paper stats aren’t particularly striking, especially when compared to some of its higher-priced, luxury alternatives. With a 77.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack putting out 201 HP and 229 pound-feet of torque, the ID.4’s specs are very much in line with its gas model equivalents like the Honda CRV or similarly specced EVs like the Hyundai Kona or Kia Niro EV (though each of those only have 64 kwH batteries).
The ID.4 tips scales at 4,600-plus pounds. Yeah, that’s stout, even for an electric and it’s roughly 800 pounds heavier than the biggest 2021 Kona EV. As such, you shouldn’t be surprised that the EV crossover takes its sweet time getting up to 60 mph in around seven and a half seconds, which is pretty pokey for an EV. Even when overtaking other vehicles at freeway speeds, the ID.4 can feel downright lackadaisical. Combined with a governed top speed of 100 MPH, the ID.4 is very much a people mover, not a sports car in disguise.
Andrew Tarantola / Engadget
Its EPA estimated 250-mile range feels generous and seems very much geared towards urban errands and freeway commutes with ready access to charging stations. Even when using the electron-sipping Economy mode to cruise along a nearly empty Highway 280 outside San Francisco, the power gauge shrank far more quickly than I was comfortable with. This was the first EV I’ve test driven where I’ve felt a bit of palpable range anxiety. Thankfully, the ID.4’s 400V electrical architecture supports both level 2 and DC fast charging protocols which enable it to imbibe an 80 percent charge in, respectively, around 9.5 hours and just under 40 minutes (per VW’s estimates).
Style-wise, I find myself smitten with the ID.4. The crossover’s exterior is less windswept than last year’s Honda HRV but not as rigidly straight-edged as Volvo’s upcoming C40 Recharge. And unlike what we saw on the Mach-E, e-tron GT or even the XC40 Recharge, the ID.4 appears to use surprisingly muted head and tail lights — you won’t find any Thor’s Hammers bedazzling the hood or distended brakelights climbing the trunk lid like LED ivy. Kind of a shame, really.
The interior is sparse. But, I guess, no more sparse than any of the other last few EVs I’ve recently been in? Honestly, They all feel sterile and minimalist to me, if only to varying degrees. In this case, the dashboard of the ID.4 comprises two LED displays, a smattering of steering column stalks and some AC vents.
The gear shift is located on the steering column as well and it’s weird — basically a wide paddle mounted on the column and capped with a parking brake button. You twist it back and forth to change between forward and reverse gears. I mean, I wasn’t initially a fan of the Mach-E’s cylindrical iDrive-style shifter but at least it didn’t take me 5 minutes just to identify the damn thing the first time I got into the car. Same with the Start button. I haven’t thought to look for a start button on the steering column itself since the days of physical ignition cylinders. Touche, Volkswagen.
Despite the confusing nature of various sticks, stalks and buttons, the cabin itself is really quite comfortable. It’s roomy enough for five grown adults to fit in without having to slouch in the back seat, plus the perceived headroom and vertical space is accentuated by an all-glass roof. Unlike the Mach-E, the ID.4’s roof is much less opaque and is instead concealed from external prying eyes by a rollaway cloth headliner which slides out of the way at the swipe of an overhead touch control. The trunk space is equally well appointed with 30 cubic feet of space that more than doubles if you lower the rear seat backs.
The infotainment system, however, is like if 2020 were digital cabin controls. I’ve yet to encounter such a system with a steeper initial learning curve. The menu system feels like it was designed via dare. Upon taking delivery of the vehicle I was auditorily assaulted with adult contemporary music for an unconscionable span of time while I tried in vain to locate a power button, a pause button — hell, even the volume controls — in what proved to be VW’s byzantine infotainment menu system. And for that I will never forgive you, Michael Bolton. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID, MICHAEL.
Thank goodness for a robust voice control system combined with integration for both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to enable more seamless control of the cabin environment. But note that these aren’t fully integrated like what you’d see on the XC40 Recharge or the Polestar 2 with Android Auto — those operate directly through the infotainment system head unit.
The ID.4 does bear a passing resemblance to the Tesla Model Y, and I like that, it’s just tall enough to provide a clear view of the traffic around me without feeling top-heavy — the thousand pounds of battery pack under my seat certainly helps with that. The suspension is strung tightly enough to keep the ID.4 from body-rolling through turns while remaining soft enough that driving over potholes wouldn’t jar my spine out of alignment.
Oddly, I could seem to find a one-pedal driving option. One-pedal driving is a system found in EVs that uses the accelerator pedal to modulate both the vehicle’s drive and braking — press down on the pedal to go faster, ease off it to automatically engage the regenerative brakes and recoup precious charge. I personally am not a fan of the method but its absence from a vehicle so clearly designed as a practical family commuter is both noticeable and notable.
The ID.4’s ADAS system, IQ.DRIVE, works generally as you’d expect it would. It offers the standard mix of forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. In my limited experience with it, I found the lane keeping feature demanded an iron will to engage as the vehicle kept seeming to delay recentering itself within the lane until it was already riding the side marker. It’s certainly no hands-free steering like what GM’s SuperCruise feature offers, but this is helpful when you’re in traffic and trying to fight through infotainment menus.
The ID.4 starts at around $40,000 and comes available in three trim packages, the Pro, the Pro S and the 1st edition. All three are currently only available as RWD though the Pro and Pro S will begin offering an AWD version later this year as a $4,000 option. Specifically, the 1st Edition, which I drove, starts at $43,995, the Pro will put you back $40-44,000 depending on drive type and the Pro S (the S stands for Statement) will start at $44-48K with the option to upgrade to 19-inch rims and a 12-inch infotainment display for an added $1,500.
Overall, the ID.4 is a solid first attempt at an EV. Sure Volkswagen included a few… ahem, unusual design decisions, it’s range and power consumption were twitchy enough to keep my eyes glued to the battery gauge during my drive, and the whole vehicle in general felt just a touch under-powered. But this is the first of what we expect will be many more EV models from the automaker. I’d personally wait a model year or two for everything to fully shakedown and for VW to work all the bugs out but if you’re in the market for a sensible mass-market EV that can shuttle your family around town, carry home a full load of groceries, and perform all those other innocuous errands that used to fill our days before the pandemic hit, the 2021 ID.4 is well worth your consideration.
295: The Gift of Discontentment (yep, that's no typo)
Winter Skincare for Face and Body: 2021 Edition
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To The War Poets by John Greening
Published by Carcanet Press
Reviewed by Denis Joe December 2014
“Something occurred in 1914 that makes it very challenging to grasp the century to come.”
“. . . the war’s going on still . . .”
To Edmund Blunden
We can easily find the theme of World War One in plenty of art forms: film and novels are two obvious examples. The theme tells us a straight forward story (All Quiet on the Western Front). We will have a clear idea of what is being conveyed to us. But poetry is different. Things are not as clear cut and we are made to suspend our conception of reality and meaning when we engage with a poem. Or at least that is how a poem should work. Even the poetry of Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg, etc., is not as straight forward as it may appear. Though we can assume that those great men were trying to convey the everyday living of war, we can never be certain. One could just as well see the war as a metaphor for the latest stage of capitalism at that time: Mass war; mass production. In the same manner that the worker became a part of the mechanics of the factory the soldiers became a part of the machinery of war.
It is probably that which keeps the work of the War Poets alive: Their poetry spoke not to their comrades in the trenches, nor to the folks back home, but to the generations to come. This is captured wonderfully, in Isaac Rosenberg’s poem The Immortals:
I killed them, but they would not die.
Yea! All the day and all the night
For them I could not rest nor sleep,
Nor guard from them nor hide in flight
The words could have been written about the horrors that were the Second World War. Too many poets, since, seem intent on trying to capture an idea of ‘what it was like’. To a certain extent we can see that approach even in Andrew Motion’s The Five Acts of Harry Patch 'The Last Fighting Tommy'. So it is refreshing to come across this volume of poems from John Greening. None of the poems in this volume make any pretence in attempting to capture some sort of feeling of the war, as one critic put it: “These are not poems as history lessons.” There is no faux rage about the slaughter of so many men, instead Greening takes us on a journey through the century still recovering from the upheaval of that war.
To The War Poets contains a series of verse letters, addressed to the poets of the First World War; not only British poets, but also those who fought on the opposite side. To August Stramm, George Trakl, Ernst Stadler, Georg Heym suggests the importance of these German poets. We are never quite sure where and when we are. One moment we are swiping our plastic card on the steel door to “get to sleep”. The next minute we are back on the battlefield:
Over forty thousand in this
square of earth, taped
as if for a crime scene.
The lines suggest a distaste for the War (or wars in general) and yet do so from the distance of the 21th century. Similarly with To Siegfried Sassoon:
No need to fantasise a tank
coming down the stalls, it’s all
on the hotel TV . . .
And yet the sound and fury of war runs through many of the poems:
The winter storm’s mad organ playing
is like the Volk’s dark fury,
[On the Eastern Front]
The screams of the grown-not-old
They hover on the edge because
there is a centimetre of mud,
because the tunnels are scary,
[To Laurence Binyon]
In one group of poems, The Music Group, Greening captures the celebration of the war at home:
. . . when you have conjured up a tune
that will knock ‘em flat
[Elgar]
Greening realises that there is no need for dramatics to put across the feel of war; in this sense he displays a great deal of respect for his audience: allowing them to respond to his poetry in their own way and at their own time. In doing so he captures the humanity of the war poets, who, in their own way, also rejected hysteria in regards to their own work, and in many ways gave a feeling of ordinariness to their experience of the war (see my essay The Sound of Distant Drums).
Edward Thomas is usually grouped alongside the War Poets, though that is disputable. Thomas wrote very little poetry about the war. For example in his poem This is no Case of Petty Right and Wrong, we feel a disgust and utter contempt for the war, but that poem seems to be a response to newspaper articles rather than any participation in the War. But he did fight and he died in the War in 1917. He did leave a diary of his experience. In his last entry there were a few lines, which may well have developed into a poem; one that could very well have been a War Poem, in the sense of Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg, etc.
Where any turn may lead to Heaven
Or any corner may hide Hell
Roads shining like river up hill after rain.
See Collected Poems, Faber and Faber, 2004. . 173]
In the poem To Edward Thomas, Greening informs the poet that he is going to look for his grave “at Agny”, not expecting to find Thomas “at Tyne Cot or on the wall of names”. In two lines Greening captures the pathetic loss of Thomas (and perhaps the loss of all lives) thus:
You died at an observation post.
You looked and looked and saw the detail
we did not.
The Mound at Sutton Hoo is one of the best poems I have come across in years. It takes us through the past century, without heed to order. We flit from one decade to another and yet Greening ensures that we do not get lost. Like all of the poems in this collection, Greening's artistry shines through, and the sheer gorgeousness of lines such as:
When Basil Brown, part sideshow novelty,
Part shaman, came prodding his Chaplincy
into a mound and found (to the whirr of a 30s
cine-camera) he could turn old rivets
into a longship –
‘They reconstructed me,’ says the acid that bites
behind the silver mask in the exhibition room
‘and chased into my surface the images of war . . .’
Do you hear the strings of something for harp
that could be Britten?
The play on names such as Chaplin and Britten is a fine example of the care and humour that Greening puts into his work. As we near the end of the centenary of the start of World War One we wonder at what it all means to us today. There have been a good few publications and broadcasts on the War over the year. Although Greening’s collection was published on Armistice Day 2013, it had its place in 2014.
Yet To The War Poets is not a collection of poems about World War One, but takes as its theme the decades after the war. It is a volume of contemporary poetry in the truest sense that I hope will be read in many years to come, alongside the works of the War Poets.
There is a great line from Sassoon’s poem, Return of the Heroes, that says much about the post WW1 years and echoes back to us now and says much about the decline of Britain and the Empire and its gradual impotency that we are made aware of every day by the so-called ‘War on Terror’:
They must feel sad to know they can’t win any more
Great Victories!
Watch the video of Greening Greening on the speakers panel at the Manchester Salon discussion in October 2014 by clicking on this 'Writers and War' link.
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15 G.O.P. Senators Urge Hagel's Withdrawal as Democrats Push Toward Vote (0)
German Home-School Parents Appeal Asylum Ruling (4)
Morning-After Pills Don’t Cause Abortion, Studies Say
Important recent findings prove case, but the GOP won't be deterred by Science or facts
By Thanos
Science • 2/22/13 3:31:21 am • Views: 1,079
One hypothesis on how Plan B works was by preventing implantation post fertilization - however recent findings show that’s not the case, it works through preventing ovulation.
For years, scientists knew the pills, particularly Plan B, were highly effective in preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex but weren’t exactly sure how they managed that. “It wasn’t really clear whether it worked before ovulation or after ovulation,” says Wood.
Scientists did know the drug worked primarily by preventing ovulation. It stops an egg from being released from a woman’s ovary and thus prevents any chance of fertilization and pregnancy. But they also thought the drug might make it more difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in a woman’s uterus.
Technically, that’s not an abortion, says Wood.
“We know that about half of fertilized eggs never stick around. They just pass out of the woman’s body,” she says. “An abortifacient is something that interrupts an established pregnancy.”
But people like Rudd worry that even if what the drugs do is not technically abortion, it’s still objectionable if it happens after fertilization.
But it turns out, at least when it comes to Plan B, there is now fairly definitive research that shows the only way it works is by preventing ovulation, and therefore, fertilization.
“We’ve learned a lot about how these drugs work,” says Diana Blithe, a biochemist and contraceptive researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “I think it’s time to revise our speculations about how things might work in view of data that show how things do work.”
For example, says Blithe, a study published just last year led the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics to declare that Plan B does not inhibit implantation. And some abortion opponents in the medical community are beginning to accept that conclusion.
“Up until recently I would not prescribe the Plan B product because we didn’t have enough science to say it doesn’t have a post-fertilization effect,” says Rudd. “Now, I’m becoming — sitting on the fence with that.”
More: Morning-After Pills Don’t Cause Abortion, Studies Say : Shots - Health News : NPR
Abortifacient Abortion Opponents Fertilization Medical Community Ovulation Pregnancy Pills Don'T Cause Plan B Product Unprotected Sex Don'T Cause Abortion Eggs Egg Gynecology Scientists Science Contraceptive Researcher
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The Omicron Blues So with the case count breaking records and a high-risk wife, I thought it wise to take a look at measures taken this past year. But there is a truly schizophrenic angle. As average individuals, omicron is less dangerous ...
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Sea and Islands
South African journalist hails Vietnam’s stance on maritime security
QNN | 18/08/2021 17:25
Pretoria (VNA) – South Africa’s The Diplomatic Society on August 16 posted an article by the site’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Kirtan Bhana, appreciating the stances of Vietnam and India on maritime security.
Vietnam Coast Guard ship (Photo: canhsatbien.vn)
In the article, Kirtan Bhana stressed that at the first-ever UN Security Council Open Debate on Enhancing Maritime Security, which was held virtually on August 9, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh acknowledged the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the Constitution of Oceans and Seas, the universal and unified legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, and the basis for international cooperation to address common challenges in the world.
PM Chinh highlighted traditional and non-traditional security challenges at sea, including terrorism, criminal acts, especially organised crime, climate change, sea level rise and pollution of the marine environment, adding that unilateral acts that violate international law, even threats or uses of force, have escalated tensions and affected peace, friendship, security, safety and freedom of navigation and trade, as well as efforts to address non-traditional security challenges.
The journalist also quoted Chinh’s three proposals at the open debate. Firstly, it is imperative that states and international organisations develop a comprehensive, extensive and broad awareness of the importance of oceans and seas, and the threats to maritime security. Secondly, maritime security is a global issue and therefore requires global solutions to be provided by a network of arrangements and initiatives for regional maritime security with the United Nations working as the coordinator, to bolster information and experience sharing, coordinate actions, and address common challenges in a timely manner, And thirdly, the policies, regulations and conducts of states at sea must be in line with international law, especially the UN Charter and the 1982 UNCLOS.
Vietnam’s PM also re-affirmed the country consistently pursues a foreign policy of peace, independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of international relations, as a trusted friend and partner, and a reliable member of the international community. Vietnam stands ready to cooperate, exchange information and share experience with other countries in efforts to address maritime security issues and to contribute positively to the maintenance of a peaceful and secured maritime environment, and sustainable development in the region and the world, the author wrote.
He also cited the speech by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the rotating Chair of the UNSC in August and the chair of the open debate “Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation”./.
South African journalists
Philippines highlights importance of peace, stability in East Sea
QNN | 14/08/2021 - 13:33
(QNO) - The Philippines has emphasised the importance of maintaining navigation and overflight freedom in the East Sea, as well as the peaceful solution to disputes through international law.
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Home Travel Hallmark Announces ‘New Year New Movies’ Lineup: What’s Coming in January
Hallmark Announces ‘New Year New Movies’ Lineup: What’s Coming in January
The “Countdown to Christmas” is still on, but Hallmark Channel is already looking to the future. On Tuesday, November 30, the network announced five new movies set to debut in the new year.
In addition to five movies airing on the Hallmark Channel — The Perfect Pairing, The Wedding Veil: Avery’s Story, Love is Trending and Butlers in Love and Romancing the Birthday — Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will air a new flick, North to Home.
The lineup comes amid Hallmark’s biggest time of the year. “Countdown of Christmas” launched on October 22 and includes 41 new original movies.
Candace Cameron Bure, who has starred in dozens of movies for Hallmark, appeared in her 10th Christmas film this year, The Christmas Contest. While she also serves as an executive producer on all her movies, she has recently let go of the pressure that comes from being the face of the network.
“I did feel an immense amount of pressure [last year] as every movie does well in the ratings,” the Aurora Teagarden actress, 45, told Us Weekly exclusively in November. “And then you always want to hit that mark and exceed that mark. And last year, I finally let it go because it’s not the reason why I make these movies. I make them because I love them. And I know that the viewers that watch them really love them, and they mean something to them.”
The Fuller House alum added, “I always try to make it the best that I can, but I let the pressure go last year.”
That said, she still celebrates Christmas for multiple months, hanging her decorations right after Halloween.
“If I’m going put them up and do the work, I want to enjoy [the decorations] as long as possible,” she shared with Us. “[That] doesn’t mean I’m blowing over Thanksgiving. Doesn’t mean I don’t recognize Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving actually, it’s my favorite. I just like the Christmas decorations to be viewed all the time.”
Scroll down for the full lineup of movies coming to Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in January:
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Re: NHL Media [message #789626 is a reply to message #789625 ]
Skookum Jim wrote on Tue, 20 July 2021 19:27
Congrats to Cassie! I’m thrilled that your fantastic season as a hockey analyst has led to a much deserved promotion to a network we’re not likely to see at all. We will miss you, just as we did Mike Milbury and Pierre Maguire when they were pulled to American networks.
Adam wrote on Tue, 20 July 2021 18:37
Hah. I still don't mind Maguire, I enjoyed having the oddball in broadcasts and interviews to throw in whatever wackiness to make the broadcasts less bland and boring.
Milbury even had his head scratching but funny moments.
Location: Victoria
Wow. Truly mind blowing. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I honestly believe she is not that good at her job. Well unless the Flames are playing.
Sportsnet PR @SportsnetPR
We're rolling out the red carpet Star-struckConfetti ball
Congratulations to @IceSinghHNIC for winning the #CdnScreenAward for Best Sports PxP Announcer for @HkyNightPunjabi Ice hockey stick and puckPartying face We're so proud of you!
#CdnScreenAwards | #CdnScreenAwardWinner | @TheCdnAcademy
And Singh takes the award for play by play? Why even make these clownish awards?
Kr55 wrote on Tue, 20 July 2021 20:40
She was up against Ray Ferraro, Buck Martinez, and Kevin Bieksa. That means it was both for in game analysts (Ferraro, Martinez) and studio analysts (Bieksa). Really is just puzzling and looks like it was a diversity award.
And I can't say anything different about the play-by-play award. Harnarayan Singh beat out Chris Cuthbert, Dan Shulman, and Mark Lee. Cuthbert and Shulman are two of the finest play-by-play people on the planet. The only way it makes sense is they picked him because of his skin colour.
We're just handing out awards like candy now!
Congrats Kr55 - you're the Oilfans Exceptional Poster of the Year!
You get the 1996 World Cup Trophy! This trophy is unique among hockey hardware, in that it was only ever awarded once! For some reason, it created an 8-year gap before another World Cup was played, at which time they decided to go with some strange piece of plastic as a replacement! The good news is that we wouldn't stick you with some weird tupperware trophy (besides, it will apparently be used again sometime, while yours is completely irrelevant now!)
Given the American team that won the thing, I can only assume that the trophy is in rough shape. You may want to wear gloves when you handle it...
This is a throwback to the OFPOD.
Holy crap man, that's even funnier, the two absolute worst in the business each get an award, for being the "Best" at what they do.. Singh especially, they slide him in for one abbreviated season, sounds like a student they pulled fresh out of NAIT doing Ookpik games, and he's crowned king of of Canadian NHL PxP ... hilarity.
Without realizing it, who ever created the award just made it a meaningless one.
Looks like we'll be stuck with these "Award Winning" media fixtures until they retire now.. OR .. until Sportsnet loses out in the bidding to TSN after their contract is up... then we can get rid of McLean and Hrudey as well.. oh please ... 🙏🏻
Singh definitely improved through the season, but holy frick that's giving an award to the D student who made it to a C, when the rest of the class all had As and Bs.
As for Cassie, thankfully it's a going away gift. I liked her to start, but her anti Oilers, pro everyone else bias grated that away.
Wed, 21 July 2021 01:38
nullterm wrote on Tue, 20 July 2021 23:08
Not sure why people think Cassie isn't still working for Rogers. She's going to do some ESPN as a side gig, but she's never said she's leaving HNIC. She's even married into the Flames Org, so they aren't moving. Expect a lot of floorboards on the wall next year.
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick
This is hilarious. I can't think of 2 worst commentators and PxP ever. And they are the winners?
mightyreasoner
Registered: October 2005
Awards (all of them) are kind of stupid because it all subjective anyways. It's the worst when it is a committee of gatekeepers trying their best to look progressive, artsy, and legitimate (look at the Rotten Tomato scores of Paddington 2 and Green Book and tell me which one won Best Picture).
Anyways, I think Harnarayan Singh is good.
Again - awards are subjective and stupid. Best to ignore them.
OilPeg
mightyreasoner wrote on Wed, 21 July 2021 00:18
I like Singh, too. You can tell he really loves the game, he gets excited at all the right moments. He had a learning curve, but I definitely think he's good.
Skookum Jim wrote on Sat, 02 June 2012 00:29
But he (Belanger)'s as soft as room temp. margarine.
Skookum Jim wrote on Tue, 16 March 2021 18:49
Turris in the BOA will be like an ice cube in the Sahara.
OilPeg wrote on Wed, 21 July 2021 14:28
Yeah I really like Singh to for 99% of the game. It’s a pleasing voice. I just don’t need anymore vibratos during the goal call. Say what’s needed and don’t be the star of the call.
Skoobz
Location: McDavidisneyland
Interesting how different perceptions can be. I see Singh’s weakest element is that he has absolutely no clue when to be excited.
"[It was] really cool to throw on the Oilers gear, the gear that I want to play the rest of my life wearing. It was pretty cool to put it on. With all the history, it was a lot of fun." - Connor McDavid, July 1, 2015
Skoobz wrote on Wed, 21 July 2021 15:38
I liked him alot more at the end of the season when he was more comfortable. In 5-10 years I'm sure he'll be solid because it seems like it's working hard to get better, as I observed through the season.
nullterm wrote on Wed, 21 July 2021 17:45
He needs to figure out a new goal call though
15 seconds in:
Connor McDaviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid .
Reminds me of
[Updated on: Wed, 21 July 2021 17:49]
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Home»Boxing»Claressa Shields: Simply The Best
Claressa Shields: Simply The Best
Shields cements herself as The GWOAT
Rhett Butler March 6, 2021
Image Credit: Eric Bronson/ESPN Images
Claressa “T-Rex” Shields proved that she is the Greatest Woman (Boxer) of All Time last night with a complete outclassing of Marie-Eve Dicaire last night.
Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) made history Friday night in her women’s 154-pound title unification fight in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
CLARESSA SHIELDS TO Savannah Marshall pic.twitter.com/wNr7yKGYdY
— Black Soulutions (@MrRoscoes) March 6, 2021
She retained her WBC and WBO 154-pound crowns, while adding to her hardware collection by taking the IBF belt from Dicaire (17-1, 0 KOs) and winning the vacant WBA “super” title.
All three judges scored the 10 rounds for the Shields, winning by a score of 100-90 in the main event of an all-women’s pay-per-view card at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center.
HISTORY FOR CLARESSA SHIELDS! 👑
She is the first boxer to become the undisputed world champ in two different weight classes in the four-belt era. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oHYQD9wQv6
— BroBible (@BroBible) March 6, 2021
It was only the second pay-per-view headlined by women in the history of the sport. The first was Laila Ali vs. Jacqui Frazier-Lyde back in 2001.
Shields is now the first fighter, male or female, to become an undisputed champion in two divisions (middleweight and light middleweight) during boxing’s four-belt era.
You know it bro 😂🗣💪🏾🙏🏾 https://t.co/Z8usuB4Atq
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) March 6, 2021
“[The scores were] 90-100, I can’t be mad about it,” Shields said during her post-fight interview. “But, you know, she just kept head-butting me and elbowing me. And I was trying to get the knockout.
“That’s really what I wanted, and I almost had it a couple times. But, you know, we got two minutes and then we got the ref breaking up the fight for 30 seconds when she’s holding and f&#@ing elbowing me and stuff.”
History Made! 🏆🏆 @ClaressaShields becomes the first boxer (male or female) to become undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era. pic.twitter.com/KdhUA4Ba9c
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) March 6, 2021
Shields is also the only two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA. She formerly defeated Germany’s Christina Hammer (26-1, 12 KOs, 1 NC) in April 2019 to become undisputed middleweight champion on SHOWTIME. The fight remains her highest profile bout to date.
Shields is also the recipient of a 2017 award from The Shadow League.
“I’m happy, but I still wanted the KO, and I just didn’t have enough time. But at the end of the day, I am the new undisputed champion at 154, the first boxer to do it in history – undisputed twice.
“And I did it here in Flint, Michigan, so to all the people in Flint, I love y’all. Thank y’all for coming. Everybody who ordered the pay-per-view, thank you so much. Hopefully, I didn’t disappoint. I don’t think I did.”
Champion Claressa Shields Jacqui Frazier-Lyde Laila Ali Marie-Eve Dicaire undisputed
Jaron Ennis Passes Biggest Test To Electrify Welterweight Division
VIDEO: Jaron “Boots” Ennis Faces Biggest Test Against Sergey Lipinets
Can A.J. McKee Become Bellator’s Featherweight GOAT
Zab Judah Launches Celebrity Boxing Championships
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What Song Was that?
What Song Was That? was a TAFE project I completed for the PHP section of a Web Development Diploma, which resulted in a distinction level grade.
The requirements were simple. The site was to have a user system, a cart system, a system for searching through song/artists/lyrics and a way to download a PDF of the lyrics once purchased.
Read more about What Song Was that?
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Tag: Alison Tucher
The following recommendations (save for the one on Corrigan) come from progressive activist Carter Lavin. We deeply appreciate his taking the time to research these judges.
Carol Corrigan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court: NO
Update: After consulting with other attorneys, we’ve found out that Corrigan is often a swing vote in the Court, sometimes siding with the liberals and sometimes with the conservatives. California would be far better off is Newsom was able to appoint a more progressive justice. We therefore recommend you vote against her.
Original write up: As a Supreme Court Justice, Corrigan wrote two dissents to the Court’s finding that the California Constitution protected the right of gay people to marry. However, Corrigan also seems to be the first lesbian to serve in the California Supreme Court. She considers herself a moderate. We need to do more research on her record.
Leondra Kruger, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court: YES
Kruger worked for Obama, could go further but rules narrowly so as to not rock the boat
James Humes, Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 1: YES
Ruled that a potential employer can be held to have violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act by deterring a pregnant woman from applying for a job through lying to her that there were no openings.
Sandra Marguiles, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 1 : NO
Ruled to allow the state to perform warrantless blood draws on motorists in a wider variety of circumstances.
James Richman, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 2: NO
Ruled against protecting public worker pensions
Marla Miller, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 2 : NO
Tried to protect the Governor’s office during the CPUC corruption issue.
Also ruled against tenant protections/Ellis Act reforms in SF
Peter John Siggins, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 3: YES
Siggins was one of the justices who ruled that California’s prisons are overcrowded to the point of human rights violations
Alison Tucher, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 4: YES
When a lawyer did a ton of pro-bono work and got a person exonerated who was wrongfully convicted of murder.
Jon Steeter, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 4 : YES
While in private practice sues the Federal Gov’t for holding immigrants without a chance of bail.
Barbara Jones, Associate Justice, Court of Appeal 1st Appellate District, Division 5: YES
Ruled in favor of the Raiders’ Cheerleaders in wage theft issue.
UPDATE: Here is another take on the judges’ races.
Author Margarita LacabePosted on October 14, 2018 November 5, 2018 Categories Endorsements, Statewide RacesTags Alison Tucher, Barbara Jones, California Supreme Court, Carol Corrigan, James Humes, James Richman, Jon Steeter, Judges, Leondra Kruger, Marla Miller, Peter John Siggins, Sandra Marguiles43 Comments on Don’t Just Say Yes: How to Vote in California’s Judicial Races
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Tag: Jim Oddie
Progressive Endorsements for the City of Alameda
Every election, our sister blog San Leandro Talk publishes a voter guide with recommendations for what candidates progressives should vote for. We are migrating that guide and those recommendations to this blog. We are starting with the City of Alameda.
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
Mayor: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
We recommended Trish Spencer when she first ran for Mayor, but we have been disappointed by the anti-progressive positions she has taken since elected. She has opposed rent control and is now supporting Measure K, a measure that gives landlords the right to increase rents and evict tenants without cause. She voted against raising the minimum wage in Alameda to $15 by 2020 – even though the cities surrounding Alameda, Oakland and San Leandro, have successfully implemented similar ordinances. She has voted in favor of mass surveillance in Alameda and did not support the sanctuary city resolution. Moreover, Spencer has been a disruptive presence in the Council, both fellow Councilmembers and city staff members report having problems working with her. Alameda is now looking to hire both a City Manager and a City Attorney, and it’s unlikely to attract strong talent with Spencer as a Mayor.
That leaves Councilmembers Frank Matarrese and Marilyn Ashcraft. Both of them have a more progressive record, oppose measure K, voted for sanctuary city and to raise the minimum wage but they both also support mass surveillance and oppose permitting recreational marijuana dispensaries in Alameda. Neither is a real progressive choice. Of the two, Matarrese was a late convert to rent-control, he is often wishy-washy and does not convey strong leadership qualities. Ashcraft, on the other hand, has been a strong champion for rent control and has firmly stood up to the landlords, while also being willing to stand up against the Firefighters Union, when they tried to force the City Manager to hire their chosen candidate as Fire Chief. In Alameda, having elected officials that are not easily intimidated is particularly important. We recommend Ashcraft as the lesser evil choice.
City Council (vote for 2): Jim Oddie and John Knox White
Jim Oddie has been a solid progressive vote in the City Council. He has been a big leader on rent control, raising the minimum wage and keeping ICE out of Alameda. He has also been supportive of putting restrictions on mass surveillance. He is accessible and reasonable.
John Knox White promises to be another progressive voice in the Council, supports rent control and limiting mass surveillance. He has a history of community activism and attending City Council meetings, so he should be able to hit the ground running.
None of their opponents are acceptable choices for progressives. Matz and Daysog are both conservatives who oppose rent control. Chen is simply corrupt: he has yet to take responsibility for committing insurance fraud, even though he pled guilty to such charges years ago and has used his position to advocate for businesses that are friendly to him.
School Board (vote for 2): Mialisa Bonta
Mia Bonta has strong progressive values and a lot of professional experience on bringing racial equity to public educational institutions. I think her experience and knowledge would bring a level of professionalism and viewpoint diversity that is needed on any board. While Mialisa is married to Rob Bonta, our Assemblymember, who can be at times problematic and is definitely trying to build a political machine behind him, I don’t think it’s fair to hold this against her.
Both Gary Lym and Anne McKereghan are parents of former AUSD students who are clearly and inspiringly committed to Alameda schools. They both voted in favor of the non-dress code and support restorative justice. They are also both nice people. McKereghan is more conservative in general, but not in a way that affects the schools. Lym is very close to School Board member Gray Davis, which may make it harder for him to vote independently of her. They both bring personal experiences that are important, Lym as an Asian-American adoptive single father and McKereghan as the mother of a special needs child. I think either is a good choice.
Healthcare District Director, Short Term: Dennis Popalardo
Dennis Popalardo was appointed to fill out this term, and I see no reason to replace him. He is a progressive who supported Bernie Sanders, and I recommended him when he ran for School Board in 2016.
Measure F – Sales Tax: No
Cities are very limited on their sources for taxation, but as a matter of course we oppose sales taxes as they are regressive measures which hurt the poor far more than the rich. We particularly decry taxes based on scaremongering tactics, such as this one which suggests that the money will go for “police response to violent crimes and burglaries.” In reality, most of the money is and probably should go to pay for rising pension costs – a fact that the City should be transparent about.
Measure K – Anti-Rent Control: No
Measure K is a charter amendment which will preclude the city of Alameda from passing strong rent control protections.
Author Margarita LacabePosted on October 3, 2018 October 17, 2018 Categories Alameda County Politics, EndorsementsTags Anne McKereghan, City of Alameda politics, Dennis Popalardo, Gary Lym, Jim Oddie, John Know White, Marilyn Ashcraft, Mialisa Bonta, Trish SpencerLeave a comment on Progressive Endorsements for the City of Alameda
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A book ebook pdf download The Gay Talese Reader: Portraits and Encounters by Gay Talese (English literature)
Par jyralove dans Accueil le 9 Juin 2021 à 16:03
The Gay Talese Reader: Portraits and Encounters by Gay Talese
The Gay Talese Reader: Portraits and Encounters
Publisher: Walker & Company
As a young reporter for The New York Times, in 1961 Gay Talese published his first book, New York—A Serendipiter’s Journey, a series of vignettes and essays that began, “New York is a city of things unnoticed. It is a city with cats sleeping under parked cars, two stone armadillos crawling up St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and thousands of ants creeping on top of the Empire State Building.” Attention to detail and observation of the unnoticed is the hallmark of Gay Talese’s writing, and The Gay Talese Reader brings together the best of his essays and classic profiles. This collection opens with “New York Is a City of Things Unnoticed,” and includes “Silent Season of a Hero” (about Joe DiMaggio), “Ali in Havana,” and “Looking for Hemingway” as well as several other favorite pieces. It also features a previously unpublished article on the infamous case of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt, and concludes with the autobiographical pieces that are among Talese’s finest writings. These works give insight into the progression of a writer at the pinnacle of his craft. Whether he is detailing the unseen and sometimes quirky world of New York City or profiling Ol’ Blue Eyes in “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” Talese captures his subjects—be they famous, infamous, or merely unusual—in his own inimitable, elegant fashion. The essays and profiles collected in The Gay Talese Reader are works of art, each carefully crafted to create a portrait of an unforgettable individual, place or moment.
More eBooks: Free online textbooks for download Abandoned Wisconsin: The Demise of America's Dairyland 9781634992152 here, Pdf textbooks download Shut Up and Listen!: Hard Business Truths that Will Help You Succeed here,
jyralove - Blog - Eklablog - CGU - CGV - Préférences cookies - Signaler un abus -
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Nomi Prins, Keynote Speaker Who Recently Addressed The Fed, IMF And World Bank, Warns Of Total Global Collapse
59651 Views September 11, 2015 GOLD, KWN, KWN II King World News
Today Nomi Prins, the keynote speaker who recently addressed the Federal Reserve, IMF and the World Bank, warned King World News about when the real implosion begins where we will see a total global collapse.
Eric King: “Nomi, we’ve seen this kicking-the-can down the road in Europe and the United States — it’s been going on for a long time. We had the collapse of 2000 – 2002 rescued by money printing, and again in 2008 – 2009. But they just keep pushing and pushing until eventually the house of cards collapses. Are we nearing that moment?”
Nomi Prins: “We’re in the moment right now where this is coming to a head. That’s why we’ve seen this activity to the downside in markets and that’s why we see these 500 – 1,000 point intraday swings in markets. Those are all signs of turning from this artificially stimulated bull market into a bear market…
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Continue reading the Nomi Prins interview below…
“Now in terms of an actual full implosion where the markets crash, that will take some time because this money printing machine, which is now global, is going to continue to have some prop-up value in the markets, even though it is not real economic growth that is driving any of this. It’s all bubbles predicated on this monetary policy that central banks are engaged in, so I think we are going to continue to have heightened volatility to the downside and increased tension because of that throughout the globe.”
Eric King: “But we do reach a point where the markets don’t respond positively to the money printing — they tank and the money printing no longer works. What kind of a world will that be?”
This Is When The Real Collapse Starts
Nomi Prins: “That’s when the implosion happens. In that situation we awake in a world which is a world you and I know exists but that has been camouflaged by these policies and artificially fabricated to look better than it is. That’s when markets start to collapse. That’s when corporate and credit derivative spreads start to blow out. That’s when loans start to default. All of that is what happens when these policies that have not actually grown anything, that have not helped economic longevity and stability, run out.”
Eric King: “Egon von Greyerz has talked in the past about the massive leverage that exists (in the global financial system). The stunning leverage at the Swiss National Bank — it’s far larger than the Swiss government. I have no idea when that starts to unravel what the Swiss government will do because the SNB is too big for them to bail out. And we have the massive leverage at Deutsche Bank (and other banks). We saw a partial seizure of the financial system in 2008 – 2009, but when the system seizes up this time and the central banks (and the banking systems) are bigger than these governments and nothing can be done to save system — that’s what you’re talking about (the total implosion of the global financial system), isn’t it?”
Nomi Prins: “That’s when liquidity dies. That’s when credit seizes by more than it did during the last financial crisis…You can continue listening to this powerful audio interview with Nomi Prins that has just been released, where she discusses the coming financial destruction that is in front of us, what is going to make the price of gold skyrocket, what investors can do to protect themselves and much more by CLICKING HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
***ALSO JUST RELEASED: An Ominous Day And The Coming Storm That Will Shock The Word CLICK HERE.
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Fleckenstein – The Big Move In Gold Is Coming
It’s Like Magic, Plus This Remarkable Chart Tells You All You Need To Know About The Gold Market Right Now
GOLDEN GAP: Gold & Silver Bull Markets Ready To Stampede
WARNING: This Now Threatens To Bring The System To Its Knees
Richard Russell – The Greatest And Most Destructive Of All Bear Markets Is Coming, Gold, The Great Unwind And A Critical Lesson
Man Asked To Speak To Chinese Officials Warns Of Cascading Series Of Global Defaults
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Lotus’s Kuantan
Home/Commercial, Upcoming/Lotus’s Kuantan
Lotus’s Kuantan admink1pC 2021-04-27T14:03:15+08:00
Lotus’s, Kuantan
In October 2020, Lotus’s signed a master lease agreement of five (5) consecutive terms, of three (3) years each with KIP Group to open a new store in Bandar Indera Mahkota, with a land size area of approximately 293,766 sq ft. The signing of the master lease agreement facilitated to forge a landlord and tenant relationship for KIP Group to lease the facilities, infrastructure and landscaping for Lotus’s to operate in Bandar Indera Mahkota.
The single-storey mall is located close to Indera Mahkota KFC drive-thru restaurant, houses one (1) anchor tenant (Lotus’s), one (1) mini anchor tenant, twenty-two (22) retail and food and beverage shops, twenty-three (23) promo counters, and one (1) food court. The commercial centre is targeted to commence operations in June 2022 and is an exciting extension to Bandar Indera Mahkota. Under the master lease agreement, KIP Group and Lotus’s will work together towards the successful partnership.
CORE Avenue @ Sepang
KIP Sentral @ Sepang
Lavender Shoplot @ Senawang
KIPMall Senawang
KIPARK Sri Utara: Business Avenue
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