Google began Project Ara in 2013 to create phones that users could upgrade or customize by adding or swapping out various modules.
Google's Project Ara smartphone initiative, which began in 2013 with the concept of designing a phone platform that would incorporate a wide array of camera, audio and other modules as desired by users, has been suspended by the web giant.
The suspension of Project Ara was reported in a Sept. 2 story by Reuters, "as part of a broader push to streamline the company's hardware efforts," according to two sources who have knowledge of the decision. "The move marks an about-face for the tech company, which announced a host of partners for Project Ara at its developer conference in May and said it would ship a developer edition of the product this autumn," the story continued.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the report to eWEEK on Sept. 2 but declined further comment.
But while Google may not move forward with Project Ara on its own, "the company may work with partners to bring Project Ara's technology to market, potentially through licensing agreements," one of the sources told Reuters.
The Ara phones centered on a baseplate or frame that incorporated a preintegrated display, CPU, graphics processing unit, sensors and all the functionality of a standard smartphone.
The reversal on Ara is stunning. In May, Google executives said at the company's annual I/O developer conference that the first Project Ara devices would be delivered in 2017, according to an earlier eWEEK story. The first Ara smartphones reportedly were to come with support slots for six modules so that users could customize the devices for their needs.
The Ara phone frame was designed to allow users to slide any Ara module into any slot and use the custom-configured device immediately, the story reported. For example, a user who wanted to add a high-resolution camera capability or a more powerful battery to his or her phone would be able to get that functionality simply by adding the appropriate module into an available Ara slot.
Under the specifications for Ara phones, users would not need to reboot their devices or hunt for drivers in order for a new module to work. Provisions to remove modules were just as easy and were planned to be accomplished either by selecting the module and having it ejected using the device Settings app or by using a voice command.
By integrating the core functions of the phone in the baseplate, Google wanted to free up space for modules that would let users create and integrate functionality easily, the company said earlier. The modular slots were designed to support modules for any add-on capability. Each slot was designed to support data transfer rates of up to 11.9G bps while consuming about as much power as a USB 3.0 port.
Google was scheduled to release a preview version of Ara this fall in a bid to spur developer interest in the technology and ensure that modules for a wide range of applications would be available for the smartphone at launch. Organizations that were working with Google in developing modules for Ara included Samsung and Sony. Among the modules that Google was working on was one that would integrate the functions of a glucometer so people with diabetes could measure their glucose levels using their smartphones.
In June, reports surfaced about Google preparing to launch its own Android smartphones to take on those of Apple and other competitors, according to an earlier eWEEK story.


Investigations by Fiji police into an alleged robbery at a foreign exchange company in Suva this week have uncovered an international money moving scam.
Police seized computers and other records at two offices of Money World Fiji yesterday.
The Fiji Times reports the police raid followed information that the company was transferring large amounts of money out of Fiji without Reserve Bank approval.
Police have confirmed that the general manager of Money World, Ula-isi Waqa, has been charged in connection with the robbery at the company in which more than 85 thousand US dollars was taken.
The police money laundering unit started the probe after the original robbery suspects provided information about those behind it.


Salomon Kalou says he is interested in returning to the Premier League if an offer emerges.
The former Chelsea forward is wanted by West Bromwich Albion but is also enjoying life in France with Lille.
Kalou, 27, left after winning the Champions League with Chelsea, adding it to four FA Cups, the Premier League and the League Cup.
He said: 'There is some interest in me in England but, to be honest, I am enjoying my time at Lille as much as I can. However, it is not just my choice.
The Ivory Coast international scored 14 times on his debut season in Ligue 1 and could link up with Nicolas Anelka at the Hawthorns.


It turns out that the Association of US Catholic Priests, a group representing around 1,000 clerics, is meeting in St. Louis.
The association will be voting on whether lay people could have more voice in the church. As well as how bishops are selected.
Although, the biggest issue will be whether the church will allow married men into priesthood. Many members believe celibacy should be optional for Catholic priests.
Well, I suppose any group can vote on any topic. But after the votes are counted, what happens next? Why not vote on who’s going to win the World Cup? That vote would be equally likely to determine the result.
Based on the pictures of the gathering available on other websites, they are on average elderly priests. How is it relevant if malformed 50's-60s-70s era priests don't agree with priestly celibacy? Young priests do not agree with them. They are not relevant within the Church, which is why they crave secular media to promote their message. It's not the norm for priests' groups to seek secular media publicity.
Wonder if such a group could have existed prior to Vatican II?


TWISTED Karen Matthews' friend Julie Bushby has claimed her pal "wasn't intelligent enough" to mastermind the fake kidnapping of her daughter Shannon.
Julie - played by Sheridan Smith in hit BBC drama The Moorside - believes there is a "horrible conspiracy of silence" and wants police to re-open and investigate the shocking case.
The shop worker, who mounted searches for nine-year-old Shannon in 2008 when she vanished, told the Mirror there are three others involved in the plot that saw Matthews locked up for eight years.
But Julie has disputed this theory, and has said Karen was trying to get away from Craig.
She told the Radio Times that the key to understanding Karen is she is "a child in an adult's body".
Even after Karen was found guilty and sent to prison, Julie was the one person to visit her.
She says she did so as although she wanted answers, Karen was "a mate" and because Julie felt she "must be so lonely".


An infographic depiction of the epic battle between "Michael" and "Jacob"
When it comes to the most popular names for baby boys in the United States, "Michael" long held sway. For most of the 1960s, and then on throughout the '70s and '80s (and almost all of the '90s!), the given name of Mssrs. Jackson and Jordan, Kors and J. Fox, was the most common in the land. And then, in 1999—probably under the influence of boredom and/or Y2K fears and/or Prince songs—Michael fell, ever so slightly, in the rankings. The go-to name for so many decades' worth of American boys was forced to give up its crown to the new name-leader: Jacob.
You may have seen the amazing GIF of the nation's most popular girls' names that Becca wrote about last week. Today, Deadspin's census data GIFmaster, Reuben Fischer-Baum, has published the male version of that image: a single GIF depicting the evolution—or the lack thereof—of American boys' names from 1960 to today. Embedded in the moving image above (and in the year-by-year frames that comprise it) are fascinating little geo-specific data-nuggets: You can watch Jose and Angel emerge in Texas and Arizona. You can see names like James, Christopher, and William become—and remain—especially popular in the South. You can see how, in 1964, John was the most popular name for boys in 11 states. The likely reason? The assassination of President Kennedy.


It used to be—back when the easiest superhero joke was to make fun of Adam West’s Batman—that everyone fretted over making more realistic superheroes. Okay, I say “used to,” but we all know that the fear of making something campy has never, ever left most studios’ psyches. FX’s Legion, however, isn’t interested in avoiding capes and camp. It’s interested in avoiding violence as the only ending.
When I wrote the script I assumed it was set in present day and in our world, and I think the network assumed that too. Then when it came time to make it I thought about it more as a fable on some level and I realized I wanted to make something subjective. Which is to say this whole show is not the world, it’s David’s experience of the world. He’s piecing his world together from nostalgia and memory and the world becomes that. I found myself watching A Clockwork Orange and Quadrophenia and a lot of ’60s British films. Yet there are elements that are futuristic too. You’ll notice there’s only one car in the whole first hour, and not many in the whole season, because cars really date something. Costume wise Clockwork had a specific look to it that I wanted to play with. I wanted to create a world that had its own rules, and that was about putting you into David’s head and seeing things that are there or aren’t there. You wonder: Who is this guy if everything he’s thought about himself is wrong?
That’s one way of trying to create something timeless. Another is Gotham’s “old cars but with cell phones” aesthetic. I actually think they both work for confusing the senses enough that you give up trying to place something.
Are there any tropes of the genre you specifically want to avoid? Like, “There will be no capes”?
I’m sure the people who control the budget at FX are happy. And he is right that there is an assumption that in both movies or television, a giant battle is the pre-destined climax of comic book stories. Legion is trying really hard to succeed while being different than all the other comic book offerings on TV. It looks great, so please let this succeed in being a proof-of-concept for variety.


More than eight months have passed since the introduction of India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST), are form intended to revamp the entire taxation system and stimulate economic growth. What’s more, existing economic initiatives, such as “Make in India”, are getting a boost from the new tax regime, at least for the most part.
What exactly is the “Make in India” initiative?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched “Make in India” on Sept. 25, 2014, with the primary goal of making India a global manufacturing hub by encouraging both multinational and domestic companies to design and manufacture products within the country. The initiative takes aim at increasing production capacity, stimulating job creation, and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) as well.
While the initiative has been successful in positioning India as a global investment destination, FDI surged even more with the introduction of GST, increasing FDI by more than 40 percent. Other aspects, both positive and negative, of the interplay between “Make in India” and GST are also coming to light. Let’s take a look.
One of the most pronounced changes to come with GST is the shift to destination-based taxation. This change has three impacts on the “Make in India” initiative.
A) Imports: The first is that all imported goods and services are charged with an integrated tax (IGST), which is equivalent to central GST and state GST combined together, as they effectively flow into an Indian state. This brings parity in taxation on local and imported products, meaning that Indian-made goods are better able to compete with imports.
B) Intrastate transactions: The fact that cross-state integrated tax (IGST) is the same as central and state GST for intrastate transactions also remove barriers for state-to-state commerce. Prior to GST, the tax implications of making something in one state and selling it in another were as daunting as buying from out of country. By normalizing taxes within and between states, the new tax regime makes Indian companies much more likely to purchase from one another, regardless of in what state the supplier resides.
C) Exports: The most significant impact of destination-based taxation is that, under GST, exports are zero-rated, given they are not consumed within an Indian state. This has been instrumental in boosting Indian exports in the international market. There are also mechanisms built into the system toreward exporters possessing a clean taxation record with an immediate refund amounting to 90 percent of their claims. There have been some difficulties in this regard, but more on that later.
Due to the uniformity in tax structure and the seamless flow of input tax credit for both input goods and services, production costs are lower now than under the previous tax regime. Reducing production costs positively impacts the manufacturing hub and is bound to increase manufacturing sector profits in the long run. Further, GST has inspired more innovative production and opened up new markets, increasing production capacity and job creation across the nation. The “one nation, one tax” concept has effectively made geographical boundaries irrelevant.
As mentioned above, GST has been successful in removing economic barriers and has paved the way for an integrated economy at the national level, which has also benefitted the logistics sector. Previously, trucks moving from one part of the country to another spent considerable time at border checkpoints waiting for documents to be reviewed and cleared.
Efficiencies in logistics have reduced this time significantly, benefitting the manufacturing sector and, thereby, the “Make in India” initiative. Improvements in infrastructure are expected to bring additional benefits in time.
GST has further increased demand in various sectors such as tyre manufacturing industry as companies previously in a wait-and-watch mode have switched to execution mode. This increase in demand will trigger an increase in production in years to come.
India’s GST has not been without its growing pains. One of the most significant hindrance to the success of the “Make in India” campaign has been delays in export tax refund payments. Most taxpayers are required to pay GST at the border in the form of customs duties, then request refunds of those taxes.
However, mechanisms to accomplish this have been late to come and complex for taxpayers to follow. Many exporters are reeling from cash crunches while waiting for pending GST refunds. These exporters have been among the worst affected due to various issues with required documentation in the absence of checklists, and this has negatively affected the “Make in India” initiative.
Some experts also believe that frequent shifts in policies are not sitting well with industry and could ultimately hamper the country’s financial rating. One recent example occurred within the automobile industry. The government approved a bill to raise the maximum cess levied on luxury cars from 15 to 25 percent in order to generate funds to compensate states for revenue loss due to GST implementation. Industry sharply criticised the move, and the country’s largest luxury car maker, Mercedes-Benz, even cancelled its plan to expand under the “Make in India” initiative.
In other areas, GST, coupled with “Make in India” and “Skill India”, is having the opposite effect. In particular, the tax reform and economic initiatives have ushered in a new era for start-ups in the country. Last year, India secured a place among the top 100 countries for ease of doing business — moving from position 130 to position 100, the highest jump any country has ever made.
However, as a whole, GST is still a work in progress. It is likely that, with time, the dust surrounding GST will settle, and it will prove to be the icing on the cake for “Make in India” and other initiatives designed to stimulate the economy.


Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan plunged headlong into the fall campaign Friday on a two-track mission to convince Americans that the GOP nominee is not only the right man to fix the economy but an all-around leader for the nation. Romney, hoping to project an aura of leadership, surveyed storm damage in Louisiana and declared "people down here need help."
President Barack Obama made plans for his own visit to the Gulf on Monday. And the president served notice that he will use his powers of incumbency to make Romney's mission hard: He underscored his record as commander in chief by paying a visit to troops at Fort Bliss in Texas, exactly two years after declaring the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.
"Today every American can be proud that the United States is safer, the United States is stronger and the United States is more respected in the world," Obama declared, a throng of soldiers in fatigues providing the backdrop.
Fresh from the Republican National Convention, Romney met up with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal south of New Orleans, his motorcade passing by flooded homes and submerged gas stations as residents stood in water where there should have been front lawns. The two talked about some of the challenges facing the surrounding community, which relies on fishing for its livelihood.
"I'm here to learn and obviously draw some attention to what's going on here," Romney said. "So that people around the country know that people down here need help."
At a farewell rally as he left Tampa, Fla., Romney kept his focus squarely on the economy. The GOP nominee said he and Ryan "understand how the economy works, we understand how Washington works. We will reach across the aisle and find good people who like us, want to make sure this country deals with its challenges. We'll get America on track again."
Ryan hopscotched from one electoral battleground to another — Florida to Virginia — declaring "67 days to go!" He told supporters in Richmond that after four years of economic troubles, it was time for change.
"If we stay on the same path, we'll get more of the same result," Ryan said.
Isaac left a wake of misery in Louisiana, with dozens of neighborhoods under deep flood waters and more than 800,000 people without power. While New Orleans was spared major damage, the storm walloped surrounding suburbs, topping smaller levees with days of rain and forcing more than 4,000 from their homes.
Asked what a private citizen can accomplish by visiting the Gulf, Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the GOP nominee had talked with Gulf officials about focusing public attention on the region, "particularly the need for charitable donations and resources to aid relief efforts."
"The governor is in a position to help focus that public attention," Madden said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement it was "the height of hypocrisy for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to make a pretense of showing sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Isaac when their policies would leave those affected by this disaster stranded and on their own." He said the federal budget proposed by Ryan would have severely cut disaster funding.
Romney heads into the campaign's final days with his primary focus on jobs and the economy, and depicting Obama as a well-meaning but inept man who must be replaced.
"America has been patient," Romney said in his speech to the nation Thursday night. "Americans have supported this president in good faith. But today, the time has come to turn the page."
Among those who chose not to tune in: Obama. "He tends to consume his news the old-fashioned way, via print," said spokesman Jay Carney.
His wife, Michelle, said in an email appeal that she's "learned to shrug off what Barack's opponents say about him." But she told supporters "not everyone knows him as you and I do," and urged them to contribute money to help get the Democratic message out.
Ann Romney, for her part, made the rounds of Friday morning talk shows to offer her husband as the solution to the country's economic problems, and predicted that argument would hold sway with women who haven't voted Republican in the past.
She said women tell her: "It's time for the grown-up to come, the man that's going to take this very seriously and the future of our children very, very seriously. I very much believe this is going to be an economic election, and I think a lot of women may be voting this cycle around in a different way than they usually are, and that is thinking about the economy."
Democrats gather in Charlotte, N.C., next week for Obama's convention. They hope the convention will, at a minimum, neutralize any GOP bounce out of Tampa. Obama narrowly won North Carolina in 2008 and scheduled his 2012 convention there in hopes of repeating the unexpected feat. Romney's path to victory is severely complicated unless he puts the state back in the GOP column.
Deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, in a conference call with reporters, said Democrats will have a "working convention," focused on registering new voters, organizing neighborhoods and connecting more people to the campaign.
She dismissed the GOP gathering as a collection of attacks on the president lacking "any substantive reason why Mitt Romney should be president."
In the lead-up to his convention, Obama was campaigning this weekend in Iowa, Colorado and Ohio, before surveying storm damage in Louisiana on Monday.
Vice President Joe Biden spent Friday in the political battleground of Ohio, visiting with UAW workers in Lordstown. He reminded them that Romney opposed the administration's bailout of the auto industry, which didn't come up at the GOP convention.
"What they didn't say is because of the auto rescue, there are 4,500 of you working here today," Biden said. "And GM is adding two shifts."
Romney will be in Ohio on Saturday before taking a couple of days to rest during the Democratic convention.


Online registration for the USAA-sponsored 2016 Legacy Run will end Aug. 1. So far, 455 participants have signed up for the 11th annual motorcycle ride benefiting The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund. The registration fee is $50 for riders and $25 for passengers. Non-riders may also register. This year's Legacy Run will leave Kenneth N. Dowden Wayne Post 64 Indianapolis at 9 a.m. on Aug. 21 and travel more than 1,300 miles. On Aug. 25, the ride will conclude at Post 199 in Harrison, Ohio, on the eve of the 98th American Legion National Convention in Cincinnati. Register on the 2016 Legacy Run webpage.
For more on military-related entertainment events, visit the Military.com Off-duty Center. For guides on military education benefits and tuition assistance, visit the Military.com Education section.


No. 1 most overpaid actor of 2014: Adam Sandler brings in $3.20 for every dollar he is paid.
No. 2 most overpaid actor of 2014: Johnny Depp brings in $4.10 for every dollar he is paid.
No. 3 most overpaid actor of 2014: Ben Stiller brings in $4.80 for every dollar he is paid.
No. 4 most overpaid actor of 2014: Ryan Reynolds brings in $4.90 for every one dollar he is paid.
Actor Adam Sandler has topped the annual list of Hollywood’s most overpaid actors for a second year in a row.
The “Waterboy” star only brings in $3.20 in profit for every dollar he is paid, according to the list compilers at Forbes magazine.
Coming in at number two is Johnny Depp, whose “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise has grossed $3.7 billion at the global box office, but other films including “The Lone Ranger” and “Dark Shadows” have fared terribly forcing Depp’s profits down to $4.10 for every dollar he is paid.
See the top five most overpaid actors in the gallery above and click here for the full list.


Opposition parties in South Africa are demanding an investigation.
The artists say that the rabbit is “their trademark”.
“There was nothing I could do. I was alone in a very dangerous situation,” Thamasanqa Jantjie has told a South African newspaper.
The deaf community in South Africa is outraged by the error.
Madiba will lie in state for three days in Pretoria where heads of state, celebrities and the general public will view the open casket.
The Gala fans backed their star striker and Emmanuel Eboue tonight.
The station has been criticised for its decision.
Up to 100 world leaders and 80,000 people are expected at the FNB Stadium today.
Here’s what else will happen in South Africa this week as the country says goodbye to its former leader.
Heads of state and government have been arriving ahead of tomorrow’s State Memorial Service. President Michael D Higgins is representing Ireland.
From inspiring a nation to Rugby World Cup success to his stunning appearance at the 2003 Special Olympics.
Freed from prison six months earlier, Mandela made a stirring speech to the Dáil in that glorious summer of 1990. Here’s what he said.
“We didn’t have 60,000 South Africans, we had 43 million South Africans” – Francois Pienaar.
The former president of South Africa, who spent 27 years in prison, has died.
Nelson Mandela — South African icon — has died aged 95, current president Jacob Zuma has confirmed tonight.
The South African’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela spoke to a local newspaper about the former president’s condition.
The 95-year-old legend’s condition has been described as ‘critical and, at times, unstable’.
Reports this morning suggested that the 95-year-old has left hospital almost three months after being admitted.


For some, the term "free clinic" conjures up visions of a small, sparse, medical office with few accoutrements short of an exam table, stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. United Way of the Virginia Peninsula's focus on Community Health has helped expand that vision through its support of two local state-of-the art free clinics providing primary and chronic medical and dental healthcare and prescription medications for the unemployed and working uninsured.
Community Health is just one of three “Impact Areas” adopted by local United Ways in support of United Way Worldwide’s effort to build stronger communities by improving health, education, and self-sufficiency. On the Peninsula, United Way targets program funding toward community health strategies that are prevention-based to provide long-term benefits, lower costs, and decrease emergency room visits. The Gloucester-Mathews Care Clinic and Lackey Free Clinic are just two examples of how United Way funds are improving healthcare for local residents.
The Gloucester-Mathews Care Clinic (GMCC) last year served approximately 2,000 unemployed and uninsured residents with diabetes, hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease and other chronic medical conditions. Most GMCC patients were without health insurance for six months or longer, had exhausted their own resources and were resorting to local emergency rooms for primary care. With the average emergency room visit costing $2,400 and the average clinic visit less than $100, GMCC has been able to reduce unnecessary use of the emergency room from 7% to 3% over the past year.
The Lackey Free Clinic serves a population that includes York County, Williamsburg, James City County, Poquoson, and Newport News, 14% of whom are uninsured and more than half with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Like GMCC, people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease represent 75% of Lackey’s patient population.
The overall diagnostic capabilities of the free clinics are impressive. Lackey Free Clinic is able to provide echocardiograms to diagnose heart function and disease before invasive intervention; digital imaging and diagnostic ophthalmology equipment to examine and treat retina disorders of chronic disease patients; and ultrasounds to diagnose and treat vascular disease and blood clots.
Most insurance plans, including The Affordable Care Act, do not include access to dental care, which is linked to complications of chronic diseases. Both GMCC and Lackey provide state-of-the-art dental care to patients with local dentists volunteering their time to provide this critical need.
These are just two examples of United Way’s investment in improving the health of our local residents.
In the coming weeks we will see how funds are making an impact in the lives of families with children who have life-threatening illnesses, addressing mental health needs for adults, children and families, and youth substance abuse intervention and treatment.


Archives|7,000 TO SAIL TODAY ON NINE STEAMERS; Many Students Are Among the Passengers Booked for European Points. PILGRIMS GOING TO ROME Majestic From Southampton and the Giulio Cesare From Naples Are Due.
7,000 TO SAIL TODAY ON NINE STEAMERS; Many Students Are Among the Passengers Booked for European Points. PILGRIMS GOING TO ROME Majestic From Southampton and the Giulio Cesare From Naples Are Due.


The FINANCIAL -- Mercer has launched two personal insurance products that, in a first for New Zealand, include a benefit for Mercer KiwiSaver customers.
The new products - Mercer LifeProtect, providing insurance for death and terminal illness, and Mercer BillProtect, which covers the inability to work due to redundancy, illness or injury – are underwritten by Cigna Life Insurance and each include Mercer SaverProtect, for Mercer KiwiSaver customers, according to Mercer.
This means that a Mercer KiwiSaver customer holding either LifeProtect or BillProtect can claim a monthly contribution of $200 to be paid into their KiwiSaver scheme account under the terms of their policy if they can’t work due to accident, illness or redundancy.
Martin Lewington, Managing Director of Mercer New Zealand, said, “Mercer SaverProtect provides insurance against the long-term impacts of short-term financial hardship for our KiwiSaver customers holding LifeProtect or BillProtect.
“Longer-term considerations such as retirement needs have typically been out of sight, out of mind for people experiencing hard times, but interruptions to a person’s ability to make regular KiwiSaver contributions can be a hidden sting in the tail.
Lance Walker, CEO Cigna NZ, said “Cigna is excited to support Mercer in providing customers with extra protection, and in bringing the new SaverProtect benefit to the New Zealand market.


The public spat over the appointment of Mr Gopal Subramanium as a Supreme Court judge is uncalled for. No one need be a judge in his own cause. There are enough people who believe that Subramanium is the most eminently suited candidate to be an SC judge.
There is widespread support for him across the spectrum. So, where is the need for him to flutter his wings and splash water all around? There is bound to be collateral damage, not only to the institution of justice but also himself.
This incident to a great extent exposes the inadequacy of the system of appointment of judges.
Many years ago, Justice Krishna Iyer had said: "There is no structure to hear the public in the process of selection. No principle is laid down, no investigation is made and a sort of anarchy prevails."
Dr B.R. Ambedkar had warned against judges selecting judges.
He said: "To allow the Chief Justice practically a veto upon appointment of judges is really to transfer the authority..., which we are not prepared to vest. The authority for appointment of judges must vest with the President or the government of that day."
I urge the government to fast-track the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 24 last year, as well as the Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill to insert Article 124A in the Constitution for the setting up of a Judicial Appointments Commission.
The proposed commission will definitely be an improvement over the existing process, without hurting in any manner the independence of the judiciary.
(Former Supreme Court judge) Justice Katju, while hearing a case against an Allahabad HC judge who passed "extraneous orders" to favour kith and kin practicing in the same court, noted that the practice had shaken the faith of the common man.
A weekly magazine reported in 2010 that the kin of several Allahabad HC judges were practising in the same Court.
According to the report, 35 out of the court's 70 judges found nothing wrong with the practice. The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association too noted that relatives of judges had been appointed as law officers. The bar association, in a resolution, called upon such relatives to resign.
I have not heard of any follow-up with regard to that resolution. In 2013, a newspaper reported that over 1,000 Punjab and Haryana HC lawyers had protested against the recommendation of seven names for appointment as judges. The Bar had decried the tendency to recommend sons, daughters and other relatives of former judges for selection to the post.
As compared to India, where utmost secrecy shrouds the appointment process and there is virtually zero consultation with either the Bar or the government, the British practice is far more fair.
The British Judicial Appointments Commission has 15 members, 12 of whom are selected through competition and three are eminent citizens.
The request for filling up the vacancies is advertised, candidates shortlisted and a list submitted to the Lord Chancellor.
In the US, presidential nominees require clearance from the Senate Judicial Committee. The committee holds public hearings where the objectors express their reservations in writing and tender evidence by presenting witnesses and documents.
The nominee is allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. Thereafter, the nominee produces evidence and the objectors can cross-examine the witnesses.
Before sending the nominations to the Senate Committee, the American Bar Association is formally consulted. In over 200 years, no appointment has been made against the bar association's opinion.
We have a long way to go as a democracy to adopt such transparency in our appointments. The appointments commission is the first step.
We are proud of our judiciary, which has immensely strengthened the foundations of democracy and established the majesty of law.
But we need to be on our guard and constantly evolve better systems to further enhance the capabilities and capacity of the judiciary to dispense speedy justice and cut down delays which are the biggest blot of our judicial system.


Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the province is not banning natural gas in Ontario.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has distanced herself from a draft plan to wean the province off natural gas, the same day a major Calgary-based distributor of the fuel took shots at the Liberal government's sweeping climate blueprint.
Earlier this month, The Globe and Mail obtained a 57-page document outlining a $7-billion Ontario government climate change strategy to dramatically cut the province's carbon footprint. According to the report, a key plank of the plan is new building code rules that will require all homes and small buildings built in 2030 or later to be heated without using fossil fuels, such as natural gas.
However, on Thursday in Edmonton, Ms. Wynne spoke to the controversy about that aspect of the yet-to-be-released climate-change strategy.
"Let me be clear," she said. "We are not banning natural gas and have no intention to force people off natural gas."
Hours before Ms. Wynne participated in the joint press conference with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on Thursday, Enbridge Inc. chief executive officer Al Monaco publicly warned against the Ontario plan for a long-term phasing out of natural gas heating for homes and businesses. He accused the province's Liberal government of taking a blanket approach to reducing emissions that threatens to drive up costs for consumers who already face high rates for electricity – and said new generation and distribution capabilities would require a $200-billion investment.
Enbridge has previously pegged the price of converting a single home from natural gas to electricity at about $4,500, while warning of a threefold increase in heating costs associated with the switch. That calculation is based on typical residential use of about 2,400 cubic metres of natural gas a year for home and water heating, according to the company.
"And that would be on top of the cost of converting," Mr. Monaco said Thursday morning at a conference in Calgary hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
"Replacing building heat and electricity would require $200-billion of investment in generation and distribution, just to effectively duplicate what we've already spent on infrastructure. That would more than double electricity rates in a province with very high electricity costs." A company spokesman later described the figure as an internal estimate. It could not be independently verified.
Still, Mr. Monaco told reporters that his firm was working with the government on policies affecting its network of pipelines, which he described as a key asset for the company. Enbridge, the largest natural gas distributor in Ontario and Canada as a whole, said about three-quarters of Ontario residents use natural gas to heat their homes.
Ms. Wynne will speak at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday, where the perception that her government is trying to wean Ontario off natural gas is likely to be a contentious issue. The possibility that Ontario could phase out the use of natural gas to heat homes and buildings in the decades ahead not only raised the ire of many Ontarians, but also Albertans, who have seen their oil and gas industry rocked by low global commodity prices for those products, and U.S. production take up more of the North American market.
As a result of the U.S. gas boom, American producers have grabbed a larger share of the Ontario market from Western Canadian companies. Now, most Ontario natural gas comes from the U.S.
The National Energy Board says 18.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas was imported into Ontario from the U.S in 2015, the equivalent to about 70 per cent of the sales in the province that year. However, the Canadian Gas Association cautions that some U.S. exports that first go to Ontario end up in Quebec.
Ms. Wynne insisted Thursday that her government is working to extend natural gas lines to rural and northern communities, to support economic development – "exactly the opposite of what was reported" about her province's climate-change plan.
"I want to directly address the critics who jumped on last week's false media reports suggesting that our plan will ban natural gas in Ontario. That is not true," she said.
The Globe reported earlier this month on the draft Climate Change Action Plan, which contains a preamble signed by Ms. Wynne. The document says the province will change the building code "so that new homes and small buildings built in 2030 are not relying on fossil fuels for their heating and cooling," and that this policy will be expanded to "all buildings before 2050."
The Ontario Premier also spoke about Alberta's climate-change plan that will have a carbon price attached to all transportation and home heating fuels as of 2017, and will also place a hard cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands – saying it will make national discussions about building new pipelines easier. However, she steered clear of any unequivocal support for projects, including the controversial Energy East proposal.
"Am I supportive of finding ways to cooperate with Alberta's need to get that product to tidewater? Absolutely," Ms. Wynne said.
"This conversation, which is a national conversation, is a much easier one because of the work that Alberta is doing."


Zick, Timothy, "Campus Speech in the “Post-Virginia Tech World”" (2007). Popular Media. 200.


Oh, Oscar season! You are a time of heartbreak! We recently brought you the trailer for Carol, a smoldering story of taboo love between two women in mid-century Manhattan, and now we bring you The Danish Girl. Based on the book of the same name by David Ebershoff, The Danish Girl is a fictionalized account of the real life of Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo gender confirmation surgery, and we have been anticipating its release since that striking photo of Eddie Redmayne as Elbe started circulating back in February.
Elbe was born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, and before transitioning lived well as a famous artist with her wife, another famous artist named Gerda Gottlieb (Alicia Vikander). As we see in the trailer, Gottlieb accidentally causes Wegener to realize her true self by having the artist pose for a portrait. (Apparently, the original model just never showed up.) From that moment, as we see, their partnership is tested in ways neither of them could have anticipated.
If you're operating under the illusion this movie isn’t going to wreck you emotionally then you're a monster. Both the subject matter and the performers could not be more timely. Entertainment Weekly heralded "America's Transformation" in its recent LGBT issue, with Laverne Cox as Lady Liberty on the cover. And over in Hollywoodland, Redmayne is the fresh and freckled Best Actor Oscar holder while Vikander is simply smashing 2015. She stole one of the year's best movies (Ex Machina), starred in one of its sexiest (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), and got rave reviews in the art house scene (Testament of Youth). Redmayne looks perfectly delicate and fearlessly prepared for the challenge of playing Elbe, and Vikander is in full Academy Award mode with all those strong-vulnerability tears streaming down her face. Oh, and Amber Heard is here! With a real role! Director Tom Hooper came at our emotions hard with The King's Speech and Les Misérables and he's back for all our hearts with The Danish Girl.
Pause at: 0:36. The lovely couple. Appreciate Lili at 1:01. Oscar clip at 1:18. Heart death at 1:41 and 1:51.


THE Treasury was the centre of a 'cover-up' row today after it delayed releasing sensitive papers on Britain's 1992 exit from the European monetary system.
The Black Wednesday documents were reportedly held back after last-minute interventions by John Major, Tory Prime Minister at the time, and his then Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman - now Lord - Lamont.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, Treasury officials had earlier this week agreed to publish some 300 secret papers on the fiasco, which saw interest rates raised twice, from 10% to 15% cent, in a matter of hours.
But Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull reportedly granted Major and Lamont more time to study the documents, fuelling suggestions that an 'old boys' network' was behind the publication delay.
Both politicians have denied trying to block the release of the papers - the first big test of the information law. The Conservatives do, however, fear Labour could try to use them as part of a General Election 'dirty tricks' campaign.


Charming two bedroom, two bathroom home on a large lot. This well-kept home features a spacious, attached garage. You will appreciate this low price once you see what this home has to offer!


FORT WALTON BEACH � Shane Nicholson and Brandon Castelin served them up. Sean Hoffstatter knocked them down.
Showcasing a deft scoring touch in the final third, Hoffstatter made the most of two tailor-made assists and Choctaw celebrated Senior Night and closed out the regular season with a 2-0 win over rival Fort Walton Beach at Joe Etheredge Stadium.
Defensively, the Indians didn�t allow a decent shot on frame all of Friday night. Castelin, Luke Hambleton, Isaiah Hawkins, Peyton Johnson and Colin Shannon didn�t allow anything over the top or out wide, and goalkeepers Jose Mendoza (first half) and Austin Wilson (second half) were never challenged.
Offensively, the only thing prettier than Hoffstatter�s pair of goals were the passes that set them up.
The first came in the 20th minute from Nicholson, who � a night after delivering five assists in an 8-0 win over Bay � took a pass from the Indians� side of the midfield line, beat his man up the left side and belted a left-footer that split a pair of defenders and found Hoffstatter perfectly in stride up the middle. The junior forward made quick of the gift, making two long strides just outside the box before beating Tristan Tietgan inside the right post.
Four minutes later, Hoffstatter provided an encore. And he can thank Castelin.
Castelin booted a pass that up the right side that looked innocent enough. But it cleared Fort Walton�s drawn-up defenders and, akin to a wideout, Hoffstatter ran stride for stride with the pass, collected it and beelined toward the goal for an easy right-footer to stake the Indians to a 2-0 lead.
From there, Choctaw put it on cruise control en route to a 2-0 halftime lead before emptying its bench in the second half.
With their respective district tournaments on the horizon, it would have been easy for Choctaw and Fort Walton Beach to dismiss Friday night�s regular-season finale.
After all, no postseason implications were on the line. But that�s not how rivalries work. Bragging rights aren�t always necessitated by deeper meanings, and after their first matchup was canceled, the bragging rights grew.
Taking ownership of those rights was Choctaw, which dominated from the start with a shot on goal in the first minute and never relinquished control.
The Indians will look to continue the momentum next week.
Added Hoffstatter, �This district is tough. We have Gulf Breeze and Washington to worry about, but if we play like we currently are we should be able to win district.


The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has commissioned BAE Systems Applied Intelligence to create a system that will give banks early warning of cyber threats.
The Financial Crime Alerts Service (FCAS) system will allow 12 government and law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency (NCA), to make banks aware of potential threats as early as possible.
Using real-time intelligence from 12 partner agencies and government bodies, FCAS – which will go live in early 2015 – will share this information with the relevant experts to help them tackle cyber crime, fraud, financial crime and other violations.
This project follows work between banks and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau that has prevented more than £100m of fraud losses through information sharing.
As well as cyber and e-crime, FCAS will include warnings about terrorist financing, money laundering, bribery, corruption, fraud and other threats.
BBA CEO Anthony Browne said the alerts system is a powerful weapon against fraudsters, cyber criminals and other crooks intent on stealing customers’ money.
“Receiving real-time alerts from domestic and international bodies will be vital intelligence for the army of staff banks have already hired to combat these threats.
“It's an example of how banks and government can work together to benefit all customers,” he said.
Donald Toon, director of the economic crime command at the NCA, said collaboration between law enforcement and the private sector is key to reducing the impact of economic crime.
“Alerts to the industry are a key part of this and I welcome the BBA’s work in this area,” he said.
According to the Bank of England, a quarter of UK banks see operational risk as one of the main threats to UK financial stability, and more than half of these banks consider cyber attacks as a threat.
In its November 2013 Financial Stability Report, which looked at the second half of 2013, the Bank of England revealed more than half of the 25% of banks that perceive operational risk as a threat deem cyber attacks as a major risk.
This compares with the first half of 2013, when around 23% of banks saw operational risk as a threat and only 6% cited cyber attacks.


Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm newspaper, underlined that US President Donald Trump will fail in his anti-Iran measures which have recently been intensified by reimposition of sanctions.
“This means declaration of war and will lead to chaos at the international level because many countries, headed by the EU, India, China and Turkey, have officially announced defiance of these sanctions (against Iran),” Atwan wrote on Tuesday.
This means that Iran is not alone and Trump will fail, he added, expressing the hope that this failure would end his presidency.
Washington intensified pressure on Iran on Monday with the reimposition of a series of tough economic sanctions. Trump confirmed he would reinstate sanctions on Tehran that had been waived as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which he withdrew the US in May.
The sanctions, which take effect on Tuesday, prohibit Iran from using US currency. They also bar trading in cars and metals and minerals that include gold, steel, coal and aluminium. Iran will also be barred from buying US and European aircraft.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told state television on Monday night that Iran had no intention of negotiating a new deal with the United States.
Trump said on July 30 that he would “certainly meet” Iranian president Hassan Rouhani without preconditions, a move that was later rejected by Trump’s own administration.
Speaking during a joint news conference with Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, Trump said he would meet Iran “anytime they want to”.
Asked whether he would set any preconditions, Trump was clear.
After the comment, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to contradict Trump, listing preconditions that had to be met first.
“if the Iranians demonstrate a commitment to make fundamental changes in how they treat their own people, reduce their malign behavior, can agree that it’s worthwhile to enter in a nuclear agreement that actually prevents proliferation, then the president said he’s prepared to sit down and have a conversation with him”.
Also, Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the president’s National Security Council, later said in a statement the US would not lift any sanctions or re-establish diplomatic and commercial relations until “there are tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran’s policies”.
Also, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari dismissed Trump’s call for negotiations with Tehran, reminding him that Iran is totally different from North Korea.
“Mr. Trump! Iran is not North Korea to give a positive response to your demand for a meeting. You should know that the Iranian nation…will never allow their officials to negotiate and meet with the Great Satan,” Jafari wrote in a letter.
“You will take this wish to the grave to see the day when the Islamic Republic of Iran demands for a meeting with you or is allowed by the nation to meet you. You will never see that day,” General Jafari said, addressing Trump.
He underlined that the next US presidents will not see another day when the Iranian officials sit to the negotiating table with them either.
General Jafari said that the Iranian nation will resist until it achieves final victory and inflicts ultimate defeat on the arrogant powers by withstanding the cruel and inhumane sanctions thanks to the divine promises, huge internal resources and the leadership of a wise leader.
Trump announced on May 8 that Washington would no longer remain part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and promised to re-impose the highest level of economic sanctions against Iran.
The sanctions reinstated on Iran on May 8 included boycott of Iran’s crude supplies and bans on transfer of its crude revenues. There is a 180 days interval before these sanctions come into effect. Other US secondary sanctions are reinstated this month.
After Trump’s declaration, the Iranian government issued a statement, calling the US withdrawal as “unlawful”. The statement underlined Iran’s prerequisites for continuing the deal with the five world powers. These conditions that were reiterated later by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei later mainly included Iran’s guaranteed crude sales and transfer of its revenues back home.
Two months later, the other five powers party to the nuclear deal have failed to satisfy Iran. President Hassan Rouhani voiced his disappointment over a recent package of incentives proposed by the European Union countries to Tehran, and said that the Islamic Republic expected a much better, clearer and explicit stance by the EU.
“Unfortunately, the EU’s package of proposals lacked an operational solution and a specific method for cooperation, and featured just a set of general commitments like the previous statements by the European Union,” President Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on July 5.
The Iranian president, however, said that the package proposed by the three European countries (the UK, Germany, and France) on how they are going to live up to their commitments and cooperation under the JCPOA was “disappointing”.
The Iranian president, however, said that Tehran would continue cooperation with Europe if the outcome of the July 6 Vienna talks would be promising.
“If the process of the European foreign ministers’ meeting in Vienna, which is aimed at encouraging Iran to cooperate, is promising, we will continue our cooperation with Europe,” Rouhani added.
But the Vienna talks on July 6 among foreign ministers from Iran and the five world powers (Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain) failed to satisfy Iran with senior officials in Tehran complaining that the Europeans had offered nothing new to ensure Iran’s continued merits under the deal.
On July 8, the Iranian parliament’s research center has readied a comprehensive plan that includes a detailed list of policies and moves to fight off sanctions as Washington sped up attempts to rally international support for intensified pressures on Tehran.
The comprehensive “active anti-sanctions plan” that has been compiled at the parliament research center after long studies and consultations with experts from Iranian research and academic centers, traders and entrepreneurs is now under study by senior Judiciary, Parliament and Government officials for a final editing.
The program that mainly aims to make the country “unsanctionable” has been developed in contrast to the US sanctions program and has reportedly been edited seven times so far, several MPs told FNA.
Information obtained by FNA reveals the program offers a package that also involves social and cultural measures to reinvigorate the country’s economy and infrastructure against the US sanctions that come into effect from 90 to 180 days after their re-imposition and seek to wear off Iran’s economy step-by-step.
The plan also entails specific time-based nuclear, security and political leverages that would be enforced in reprisal for enemy threats, while it also envisages transient waivers that could be extended, halted or annulled based on relevant decisions by authorities.
The plan to make Iran sanction-proof includes detailed measures in two 90-120 days and 180-210 days periods in various areas of monetary, banking and currency sector, liquidity management and deterring middlemen disruption and negative interference, optimized forex reserves management, facilitated money transfer in the international market, reduction of intermediary currency role, strategic commodities, budget resources and use, energy, business, trade, structures, culture, society, media and legal affairs.
Meantime, several other plans have also been compiled by university and research centers for improving economy through reinvigoration of national potentials to make the country sanctions-proof.


We’re big fans of the start-up culture here at LearnVest, obviously.
But here’s something to consider next time you’re choosing between the big corporation and the scrappy mom-and-pop: The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report shows that, on average, a larger company will pay better than a small one.
At a company with 500 employees or more, the average compensation is a whopping $42.39 per hour, while companies with fewer than 50 workers pay on average just $22.96 per hour. That’s almost half!
A lot of this is due to the sweet benefits that come with working at a company with deep pockets and a robust HR team, like 401(k) matching, health insurance, flexible spending for things like childcare, and even the little things, like paying for dinner when you work late.
At a company with 500 or more employees, benefits are worth an average $14.50 per hour, or 34% of total compensation. It drops from there: Companies with 100 to 499 employees earn $8.88 an hour in benefits, companies with 50 to 99 employees provide $7.54 per hour in benefits and the little, under-50 companies provide just $5.82 per hour in perks.
But it could also be due to executive compensation, of course. Averages can be seriously skewed by outliers, and we’re guessing there are very few companies with less than 50 employees that can afford to give their CEOs millions in compensation.
1. Working for a small, fun company may come with a tradeoff in terms of pay and especially benefits. You have to know what is important to you personally.
2. Negotiate not just your salary, but your benefits as well, as they can make up a large part of your compensation.


Being married to a law enforcement officer usually starts with a sense of pride. But over time, stress begins to set in because of the physical dangers inherent in police work and the personal challenges officers face from frequently experiencing traumatic events. Police spouses cannot help but be affected by this stress as well.
Law enforcement is one of the most stressful occupations in existence. Officers are commonly exposed to fatalities, domestic abuse, crimes against children, internal problems in the police department, and the ever-present danger of personal injury or even death on duty.
Over time, these daily occurrences result in physiological, psychological, and even mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress (PTS), which might not be fully understood or addressed by the officer’s family. Often, the civilian spouse suffers too.
After a shift that might have lasted 12 hours or more, officers return home carrying the burden and heightened emotions of their work. For example, a spouse might notice that an officer will react more harshly when their teenage son stays out too late. Also, the officer may be taciturn, gloomy and non-responsive because of some unpleasant or disastrous experience while on the job.
If police officer stress is not managed effectively, it can lead to substance-abuse problems for both partners. Substance abuse can have an adverse effect on the marriage, especially on children.
Spousal stress can also result from media criticism of police actions, an apparent rise in violence against law enforcement officers, and the fear of the ever-present dangers their officer partner faces on duty. Communication is one of the most effective ways spouses can reduce their own stress and the stress within the family unit.
Officers and their spouses should communicate regularly and talk about the specific factors that cause the stress. Perhaps it is the shift the officer is working or the area the officer covers?
Communication with other police spouses is also important. Similar to the police culture that fosters trust among officers, spouses need to get together to talks about the common challenges police families face and possible strategies for reducing household stress.
To simply expect the stress of policing to subside at home on its own is unrealistic. Instead, stress in police marriages should be addressed so that both spouses take steps to cope together. In addition, they and their family members should participate in off-duty activities together.
It is equally important to encourage officers to develop a life and identity away from the police station. It’s often helpful to develop friends in other occupations to lower stress levels as well as those of their partners. These friendships open them to hear ideas about family life without a law enforcement perspective.
Such friendships bring police families into contact with people in other professions who have different interests, experiences and hobbies. Enjoying the company of civilian families frees officers and their spouses from routine “shop talk” and helps to create personal identities not associated with law enforcement.
Stepping out of the police role when off duty and maintaining a personal identity that is not associated with policing is important in reducing stress within the police household. Utilizing peer support following critical incidents that are experienced in the field is also an important way to manage police stress prior to the end of shift, which can have a positive impact on police families.
Finally, sometimes officers need to seek professional counseling in order to help them manage stress. If spouses notice significant behavioral changes in officers, they should encourage their officer spouse to seek professional therapy. It may also be beneficial to seek counseling as a family. Talking to a therapist as a family can help open up new channels of communication and help all members of the family who may be struggling.
Being a law enforcement family is difficult. It is important that both spouses and officers take steps to mitigate the impact stress has on everyone in the family.
About the Author: Dr. Jarrod Sadulski is an adjunct professor with American Military University. He has spent more than two years studying police stress and its influence on the lives of police officers. Jarrod conducted a review of approximately 300 peer-reviewed scholarly articles that focused on topics associated with police stress and officer wellness. He interviewed veteran officers who have served in domestic and international law enforcement. Based on his research, Jarrod is currently writing a book on effectively managing police stress through a successful police career, which covers in further detail the physiological effects of police stress and how stress can be managed. He has 20 years of policing experience between both federal and local law enforcement. To contact him, email IPSauthor@apus.edu. For more articles featuring insight from industry experts, subscribe to In Public Safety’s bi-monthly newsletter.


There's no way in and no way out. The road is blocked by an upturned car, makeshift barricades of wood and rocks, and an exhausted soldier, standing in the rain. He waves his rifle menacingly at anyone who swings in to sight.
Beyond the roadblock lies Tivoli Gardens, the centre of the small war that has enveloped Jamaica's capital, Kingston, this week. Somewhere in its maze, a woman called Margaret is beginning to have her doubts. The man she saw as the saviour of her family and community has brought death and terror to the streets, and she is uncertain now who to blame.
Last week, Margaret was marching in support of Christopher "Dudus" Coke – variously portrayed as the real power in Jamaica, as some kind of messiah and as the head of a criminal empire that reaches to Europe and North America – even though her elderly mother told her to stay home.
Some of her fellow protesters held up handwritten placards in protest at the government's plan to extradite Coke to the US to stand trial for drug trafficking. One read: "Jesus died for us. We will die for Dudus."
Now though – after a three-day battle during which the Jamaican military hunted for Coke in Tivoli Gardens, his Kingston stronghold – Margaret is more concerned about what has happened to the father of her young daughter.
"If I go out, they kill me, I'm sure," she says by phone. "The soldiers are everywhere. They are shooting everywhere. All the men have disappeared. They take them away. The women and the children are here but we have no food. There was so much shooting, my daughter, she is terrified. There are guns. There are bombs." The allegations of indiscriminate shooting and beatings by the army have been made by others among the thousands trapped in Tivoli Gardens and other Kingston neighbourhoods under assault.
"Dudus has been good to us," says Margaret, who will not give her second name for fear of reprisals. "He look after us. Everyone. He is the government here (in Tivoli Gardens) because the government don't care about us, the poor. The government betrayed him." She never expected the violence, though. "We didn't need this war. It would be better if they fight somewhere else," she says.
Margaret remains trapped in a part of Tivoli Gardens still under lockdown, but in another area that became accessible for the first time only yesterday, the evidence of heavy fighting is everywhere. Buildings are heavily pockmarked by bullets and hand-grenades, and there is blood on the floors. At one entrance to the area, soldiers have a handful of young men spreadeagled against a wall. But mostly only women and children remain and, while it is finally safe to step out of their houses, they do not venture far up the street.
As a line of soldiers on patrol passes on a street called Bustamente Highway, some of the women jeer and shout abuse. Paula Grey gesticulates toward the soldiers and accuses them of hauling off her 15-year-old son, Horrace, three days ago. She hasn't seen him since. "I don't know where he is. He's gone. I hope they didn't do what they did to a man across the street. They walked into that house," she says, pointing to a building opposite the Faith and Hope Deliverance ministry, "and they shot him. Point blank. He didn't have a gun."
The wreckage of burned-out cars and barricades of tyres and barbed wire has been pulled to the roadside here by the army. But a few blocks on, the area is sealed off. There, the barricades remain in place, and the soldiers are hunched down with their rifles pointed up the street. So far, 500 or more men have been taken away by the military, and the "dons" of the gangs that rule the streets of parts of Kingston have been captured or surrendered.
The one person the government hasn't caught is Coke, the 42-year-old don at the alleged head of the Shower Posse gang – so called because of its tactic of showering its enemies and hostile communities with bullets – that has been a feature of Jamaican life, and politics, for as long as women such as Margaret can remember. Jamaica's former national security minister, Peter Philips, recently described Coke, who is popularly known as "the president", Shortman and Bossy, as probably the most powerful man in the country.
When the government announced that Coke would be extradited to New York, some of that power became evident: whole communities were mobilised. His supporters threw up barricades. Some used barbed wire connected to power lines.
Then the gangs launched attacks on police stations to demonstrate their contempt for the authorities. On Darling street, the century-old British-built police station has been razed. It was firebombed in broad daylight, then looted as the police fled.
All this prompted the declaration of a state of emergency in the capital and the biggest security-force mobilisation in Jamaica's history. Hundreds of soldiers and much of the Kingston police force were brought in.
Since then – with thousands of people still trapped in the areas of fighting– the police say they have seized the kind of equipment that could arm an insurgency: ammunition, military fatigues and body armour. However, they have yet to lay their hands on the much-feared Grizzly Big Boar rifle – a weapon used by American military snipers that uses armour piercing bullets – that they claim forces protecting Coke possess. In fact, they appear to have seized few guns of any kind. Officially, the death toll stands at 44, but this is bound to rise.
There are a lot of questions the information minister, Daryl Vaz, can't or won't answer. How many armed men have the security forces been confronting? Has the government been in contact with Coke? Have troops raided his home? And, above all, who are the dead? Earl Witter, Jamaica's public defender, an official independent role, has raised questions about the relatively high number of civilians killed compared with the small number of weapons seized. "The security forces have their own explanation. If they don't find it particularly curious, I certainly do," he said. The Jamaican press, meanwhile, have reported that two men were found with tags which indicated they had been shot by Coke's supporters for refusing to fight on his behalf.
Coke's own life has been racked by violence. Two brothers and a sister have been shot dead. His father, Lester, who was a former leader of the Shower Posse, died in 1992 in a fire in his prison cell. He was in jail awaiting extradition to the US on drug trafficking and murder charges.
Coke's lawyer was, until the extradition order, Tom Tavares-Finson, who is also a Jamaican senator. Tavares-Finson has described his client as "just an ordinary Jamaican going about his everyday business".
"Nobody has heard of him being involved in any criminal activity," he told the Jamaica Observer in December. "[He is] trying to improve the lot of his children, his family and his community, with a recognition that he has an influence, and he takes his influence very seriously, and that influence is what is propelling the transformation of western Kingston."
Tavares-Finson said it is not Coke's fault if people want to turn him into "a mythical character". "That is not his doing. Left to his own devices, he would not be on the front page of any newspaper," he said.
That much is true. Coke – unlike some of the more showy dons such as the now imprisoned Donald "Zekes" Phipps, who loved to pose for the television cameras and boast about his power – largely sought to stay out of the limelight. Even in Jamaica's raucous nightclubs he was known for sitting in the corner – albeit surrounded by scantily clad women – while other dons drew attention to themselves on the dance floor.
Even Coke's supporters recognise that it may be criminal activity that has earned him the vast sums that allow him to wield the power he does. But then they regard all Jamaica's leaders as crooks, and say that at least Coke looks after them. And this he certainly does. Coke sends the children of the poor to school. He buys their families food. Above all, he is seen to be loyal to his own people in a way that the island's politicians are not.
"There's no job here," says Margaret. "There's enough money for one thing but not the other. For food but not clothes. And if the child gets sick, who pays?" Until now, Coke and the Shower Posse did. Thanks to Coke, the residents of this area of Kingston – known as a "garrison" – pay no rent. No one's power is cut off for non-payment. The gang maintained a form of law and order on the streets they controlled.
Tellingly, many of Coke's supporters are women grappling with the daily struggle of raising a family in poverty. They care little if he makes his money from Americans buying drugs.
This is a strategy that has won favour for drug lords and armed groups from Colombia to Gaza. Pablo Escobar, who once oversaw the mighty Medellin cartel, was a Robin Hood figure to many of that city's poor. He built whole streets for the near destitute, along with football pitches, churches and simply giving away cash. In return, the population were his lookouts and when Escobar needed someone to murder police officers, there was no shortage of volunteers. In the process he turned Medellin into the murder capital of the world.
But with Coke it seems to go further. The Reverend Earlmont Williams was shocked to see women marching with signs comparing Coke to Jesus. "It is obvious that the perception held of their leader by many residents of garrisons is built on their understanding of Jesus' life and mission," he wrote in the Jamaica Observer. "What bothers me is that their messiah theology is articulated in the reverse, in that rather than the garrison 'messiah' dying for his people, they are willing and ready to die for him."
If nothing else, Jamaicans admire Coke's energy. Until this latest spot of trouble, he ran everything from registered companies such as Incomparable Enterprise, which received millions of dollars in government contracts, to Presidential Click, which stages weekly street dances as well as the popular Champions In Action dance-hall event. And while doing all this, if the charges against him are to be believed, Coke was managing a sprawling organised crime network that reaches from Jamaica to Britain and North America.
The US indictment against Coke says he has controlled Tivoli Gardens for close on two decades. It describes the area as guarded by gunmen. "These gunmen act at Coke's direction. Coke arms them with firearms he imports illegally, via a wharf located adjacent to Tivoli Gardens. Coke also distributes firearms to other area leaders of other sections of Kingston, Jamaica," the indictment says. "Organisation members in the United States routinely seek Coke's advice and approval for various matters relating to the sales of narcotics, including how to resolve conflicts with other Organisation members. The members of the Organisation commonly send cash and goods, including clothing and electronics to Coke as 'tribute' payments, in recognition of his leadership and his assistance."
It is more than just gang members in New York who have spent years paying tribute to Coke. Tivoli Gardens is one of the neighbourhoods known as "garrisons" because they were built by one of Jamaica's two political parties during their rotations of power, and could be relied on to deliver up the vote accordingly. But with that political control developed criminal organisations that were key to the parties maintaining their grip on the vote.
Tivoli Gardens happened to be built by the Jamaica Labour party and the man Coke has been delivering the vote for is the local MP, Bruce Golding. He is also now the prime minister and Coke's would-be jailer. To many of the poor that smacks of betrayal and hypocrisy.
For nine months, Golding did in fact resist US pressure to extradite Coke. The government said that the evidence against him had been obtained illegally by the Americans. The Jamaican prime minister even hired a lobby firm in Washington to try to get the US authorities to drop the extradition request. Only when that was made public, and Golding looked to the entire country as if he had been bought and sold by Coke, did the prime minister change his mind and move against the Shower Posse leader.
Meanwhile the business community, so long a target for the dons' rackets, is egging the government on. "Extortion from businesses has been one of their main sources of funding," says Milton Samuda, a lawyer and president of the chamber of commerce. "We're heartened to hear that the operation won't be confined to West Kingston, and we'll be pressing for it. It's our intention to ensure that this is the commencement of a process."
But Samuda recognises that the violent purging of gangs from Tivoli Gardens and other garrison communities will not address the core reasons for their support. "There has to be a break between the historic ties between criminality and politics. But separate from that, part of the reason that these gangs are able to take over communities is because they supplant the state," he says. "If the gangs are paying school fees and clothing people and ensuring people get medical attention, then those who receive will be beholden. There's a cultural shift that will have to take place, which means that when you get rid of them you have to have the social services coming right in behind until people are able to fend for themselves."
But are the politicians taking that seriously? "We're past the stage of caring whether they take it seriously. It's going to have to be done and we're going to agitate for it," says Samuda.
Already some in Jamaica are declaring that the pact between the criminals and the state has been broken. The next election will demonstrate if there is any truth to that. In the meantime, Coke is still on the run, only adding to the myth. In his absence, rumours are sweeping the streets. He has fled Jamaica. He is negotiating his surrender. He never left Kingston. "It would be better if they never find him," says Margaret. Jamaica's leaders may secretly agree.


A suburban Phoenix high school student who kept up with classes through cancer treatments but was denied permission to walk at graduation has received support from around the world after a Facebook post about his situation.
Stephen Dwyer, 18, withdrew from Dobson High School in Mesa during his junior year to receive a life-saving bone-marrow transplant for leukemia. He took online courses until he was able to return last fall. He took on an extra early-morning class, rejoined the swim team, and was elected student-body president. He is 2½ credits short of graduating.
A district spokeswoman lauded Dwyer for being courageous, but cited district policy for excluding him from the ceremony. He was offered the chance to sit on the stage—but not in a cap and gown—and give a speech as a student leader. He turned that down, saying that would have made him feel more isolated from the other seniors.


Escalated tensions between the European Union and China over solar panel tariffs is not going to cause a trade war. These disputes are short-lived, even if they are expected to continue in the coming years, explains George Friedman.
George Friedman is founder and chairman of Stratfor, a Texas-based global intelligence company.
"Tensions between the European Union and China escalated this week after Beijing announced that it is studying retaliatory tariffs against wine imports from Europe. The move was a response to the European Commission's decision to impose temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels.
The latest in a long history of trade disputes between China and Europe, this quarrel does not presage a major break in trade relations over the long term. The issue does, however, highlight Europe's internal debate over protectionist policies and the steep economic challenges facing both Brussels and Beijing.
The dispute is taking place amid a slow reconfiguration of the international system. Two foundations of the post-Cold War world – a rising China and a consolidated European Union – have been shaken by the global financial crisis in recent years. The EU is now economically weak and politically divided, and the crisis has exposed the increasing weakness of China's export-oriented economy forcing Beijing to a take on a long-postponed economic transformation.
For decades, EU states have regularly denounced Chinese discrimination against foreign companies and the government's heavy intervention in the country's economy, as well as China's weak enforcement of intellectual property rights. Beijing, in turn, has continually objected to what it perceives to be EU attempts to obstruct Chinese imports. As China's emphasis on producing higher value-added goods increases, so too will the likelihood of trade conflicts with competing countries such as those in the European Union.
Still, the EU is China's largest trading partner, while China is Europe's second-largest, and partners don't need to like each other to do business. Currently, trade between China and Europe amounts to more than €1 billion per day, a volume that neither Beijing nor Brussels would seriously consider undermining. EU countries import mainly machinery, footwear, clothing and toys from China while selling it mainly machinery, vehicles, aircraft and chemicals. But China is also the world's main producer of solar panels, 80 percent of which are exported to Europe. In 2011, for example, Europe imported €21 billion worth of Chinese solar panels.
Bilateral relations are complex and go well beyond specific disputes. For example, China's threat to restrict wine imports are intended to hurt France, the world's largest wine producer and the main advocate for sanctions against Chinese solar panels. But in late April, Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President François Hollande signed a deal worth an estimated €5.8 billion for the purchase of 60 airplanes built by France's Airbus. Some of the planes will reportedly be built in the Chinese city of Tianjin. Meanwhile, French carmaker Renault is in negotiations to open a factory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where it would produce 150,000 vehicles per year. Overall, French exports to China grew from €11 billion in 2010 to €14.7 billion in 2012.
Thus, more than a possible trade war between Europe and China, Brussels' temporary measures against China highlight the European Union's internal differences. In addition to the varying levels of economic development and conflicting strategic interests, Europe is divided by trade policy. For example, while Mediterranean Europe tends to be more supportive of protectionist policies, northern Europe generally opposes such measures.
The current issue with China reflects this divide, since the anti-dumping duties were supported by France and opposed by Germany. Viticulture is much more important to France than Germany, so China's possible moves against wine imports would be clearly targeting a politically vulnerable sector (not to mention one that appeals to French nationalism). In December, all 27 EU states will vote on whether to apply permanent measures against Chinese solar panels. The issue will test the unity of the bloc, especially since diplomatic pressure from southern European countries for greater protectionism is likely to increase as the eurozone crisis deepens.
Considering the regularity of trade tensions between China and Europe, these sorts of short-term disputes can be expected to continue in the coming years, especially if the economic challenges facing each side grow. But beyond occasional limited protectionist measures, neither Brussels nor Beijing will attempt to provoke the type of crisis that could seriously threaten bilateral trade."


Target recently came out with a new commercial that puts down homemade costumes in favor of store-bought ones. This makes sense, since the company sells costumes and we’re in a recession where a $19.99, 100% polyester Iron Man toddler costume may seem like a luxury. The commercial made me think of my own childhood Halloween costumes, which were all hand-made by my mother. Not only were they higher quality than the store-bought kind, they’ve lasted for generations. A Snow White costume she made for me (from real cotton and satin) lasted for more than 20 years and was handed around from family to family. In 1995, she made a matching baby-and-mama set of elephant costumes (see baby below) that still exist. I can only imagine that making a product that lasts for 20-some years, and is reused, may not be better for the environment as a whole, but may be better for landfills. I’m not sure what the carbon or water footprints of a homemade costume is versus the kind you’d buy at the store. I started looking into the carbon emissions for 3 yards of cotton versus 2 yards of polyester, but there are so many variables (shipping, manufacturing, etc) that I don’t think it’s really confirmable which is greener.
Of course, not every child has a parent who can, or has time to, cut a pattern, buy fabric, cut fabric, fit, and sew a costume. I definitely understand the appeal of just being able to buy one at Target and being done. Stores also have trend-based costumes, like Iron Man or Legally Blonde. I have to take issue with Target that homemade costumes are necessarily poor quality: mine won ‘best costume’ several years running. Thanks Mom!


WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. - A message was shared at a Metro Detroit high school to address depression, suicide and how to deal with feelings of inadequacy and stress.
The message was shared with students that it's OK to not be OK. The U Matter program teaches them that mental health is important.
U Matter gathers Metro Detroit teenagers and addresses the stigma of suicide and mental health that's not typically covered in school. It teaches students to love themselves for who they are, not who they think they should be.
It's not just a gathering of teenagers making posters. It's designed to be the beginning of something that transforms, and maybe even saves the lives, of others.
Teenagers from the Friendship Circle at West Bloomfield High School prepared for a U Matter week that will be brought to Walled Lake Central High School.
"So we're talking about a lot of different ideas," West Bloomfield senior Sophia Cannella said. "How we can reach everyone through all the difference activities."
U Matter is a week-long campaign that focuses on spreading the message that each individual matters through hall decorations, essay contests and real-life, honest talks from their own teachers.
"They get to speak on how they've been through tragedies in their life and really just get to motivate the students on mental health issues and being able to cope," Sophia said.
"I think the idea of bringing mental illness and suicide awareness into schools is something that should have happened a long time ago," Walled Lake Central senior Carson Biederman said.
"I think it's hard for us to have to be growing and learning and just trying to become something," Walled Lake Central senior Christopher Hamama said. "Then, at the same time, balancing out our emotions."
Six weeks later, Local 4 cameras were at Walled Lake Central for the U Matter presentation.
"This is something that sometimes can be uncomfortable," the speaker at the podium said.
Students said they hadn't been to that kind of assembly before.
"I felt very broken, but that stuff goes away," one speaker said.
Students listened to TED Talks and heard straight from teachers on how they battled issues in their lives.
"I'm really excited to see what people have to say about hearing their teachers open up and be honest, and be vulnerable, and share that they have gone through a lot of the same (things) we might be feeling right now," a student said.
The Walled Lake Central students learned how to get a conversation started when they have concerns in a judgment-free zone, and the hope is that they won't feel alone anymore.
"You can intervene early on with anxiety," said Lori Blumensteitn, executive director of the Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety. "You can intervene early on with depression. But when things go left untouched, then we're getting into substance abuse. Then we're getting into things that didn't need to happen."
Most believed the visit was a success.
"I'm really happy with how everything has gone, and I think that the school is really starting to open up," one participant said.
You can learn more about U Matter and how to bring the program to your school by clicking here.


Sudy Bharadwaj is a co-founder and the CEO of Jackalope Jobs, a web-based platform that combines search, social networking, and the overall user’s experience to provide relevant job openings. Learn how Sudy and Jackalope Jobs obsess over job seekers by connecting with them on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Call it self-marketing, personal branding, professional development, or any other buzzword you'd like. In any case, both finding a job and climbing the career ladder are all about investing in the business of you.
As a professional, you are a brand unto yourself. The target market for the unique value you provide are employers who are constantly bombarded with messages from your competitors (read: other industry professionals) and also always on the lookout for innovation. Develop and market your personal brand effectively by using traditional marketing techniques.
Though the boundaries of traditional marketing no longer exist due to online media and new digital technologies, its core tactics can be reworked to guide your self-marketing strategy online.
The four Ps of marketing are product, price, promotion and place. In the realm of self-marketing, you are the product that's up for sale, which means you must successfully apply the traditional marketing model to you: the person, the professional and the brand.
To develop an online self-marketing strategy, you must determine who you are as a professional and build a personal brand around your core strengths, skills and experience. What do you bring to the table that others in your industry do not? Know your strengths and play to them by creating a consistent brand around yourself that's complete with mission, objectives and recognizable visual brand elements. Today's hiring managers are social consumers who are more apt to hire you based on the experience you're selling rather than your ability to carry out a few specific tasks.
Just as you instantly know a can of Coca-Cola when you see one (and know what to expect once it's open), your audience should know exactly what you bring to the table and what they're getting by working with you. Whether you've branded yourself as a no-nonsense people mover who's apt at managing staff, or an industry expert and consultant who provides fresh insights and innovates the way a company operates, be consistent. Decide on your core messages and stick to one brand name.
The importance of this element in online self-marketing is twofold. In addition to accounting for the value you add to an organization, you must decide what you, the hard-working professional, are worth and what your bottom line is — particularly if you ever decide to freelance or become an independent contractor.
Based on your accomplishments and experiences, your expertise comes with a price tag in the form of a salary. Decide what you're worth based on how much others in your industry are being paid for the work they perform, and be resolute about how much you're willing to accept. Every time you step foot into a store and buy a product, the price is more or less the same, so your hourly rate or salary requirements align with your industry and level of experience in a similar fashion.
In traditional marketing, products were distributed across geographic regions. As a professional, you are only one person. Thus, it's critical that you select a sphere of influence and stick with it, though it could be based on industry or knowledge base as much as geography. Be realistic about where your target audience spends their time. Research who needs your services and where they participate online. Spreading yourself too thin across communities and niches where your products and services aren't needed will only make more work for you ... with little reward.
This final tactic is arguably one of the most important. How will you communicate your messages to the market you've targeted? Selecting the appropriate mediums means the difference between being heard loud and clear or getting lost in the clutter.
To make this critical decision, turn your attention back to your intended audience. For instance, if you're a freelance web developer who provides consulting services for interactive agencies, promoting yourself online through an online portfolio and via social media is a more effective strategy than it would be for someone who makes a living running errands for the elderly.
Determine where members of your target audience get their information and make sure your messages are present on these channels. Again, whether that means building a website to market your services or running an ad on a local newspaper’s website or blog, the most effective tactic depends entirely on your audience. Use every necessary option in your self-marketing toolkit to get the job done right.
New technologies have dramatically shaped our social and professional interactions; however, to adequately market yourself, you must consider the precepts of traditional marketing. Whether you're looking for a job or desire to be considered an expert in your industry, you can meet your objectives by building a brand around yourself — effectively leaving a memorable first impression and making people want to learn more about you.
How else can you make your self-marketing strategy more effective based on the four P’s of traditional marketing?
Social Media Editor at Omaze in Santa Monica, Calif.


DUESSELDORF (Germany), May 18: Tommy Haas helped to keep Germany in the hunt for a place in the World Team Cup final as they beat Sweden 2-1 on Wednesday. The German number one beat Sweden’s Joachim Johansson 6-0 3-6 6-3 before joining forces with Alexander Waske for a 6-4 6-4 doubles win over Jonas Bjorkman and Johansson to give a jubilant host nation the decisive point.
Their showdown with Spain on Friday will decide the finalist from the Blue Group. The Spaniards also chalked up their second series victory of the tournament with a 2-1 win over a second-string United States team.
Thomas Johansson had earlier kept Sweden’s slim chances of reaching the final alive with a defiant 6-4 6-2 win over Nicolas Kiefer, which left the countries level at 1-1 heading into the doubles rubber.
Joachim Johansson missed Monday’s 2-1 defeat by Spain with a hamstring strain and was caught flat-footed during Wednesday’s opening singles encounter as Haas stormed through the first set without dropping a game.
Although the Swede eventually dug his heels in at the Rochusclub’s centre court to make a comeback in the second set, Haas made the most of the home support to clinch victory.
Germany, who beat the United States on the opening day of the eight-nation tournament, could have sealed Sweden’s fate had Kiefer won.
Instead, former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson showed his resilience and silenced the partisan crowd with an efficient performance against Kiefer.
The cheering fans were back on their feet, though, when Waske’s backhand shot hurtled past the outstretched rackets of the Swedish doubles pair to seal the 2-1 result.