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Wlan AP Groups Vlan Feature on Cisco 4404 WLAN Controllers with 1131 AP's

I'm trying to segment off Vlan's not needed by certain access points but doesn't seem to be working. I have created AP Groups and added the interface-mapping for certain Vlans but I'm still able to get all Vlans. Any help would be much appreciated.
For discussions on Cisco Infrastructure please visit the Networking - General Discussions group. The Cisco Infrastructure group is no longer active.

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text:
 Damon Albarn - Dr Dee 'The Marvelous Dream' (Official Single) смотреть онлайн
Damon Albarn - Dr Dee 'The Marvelous Dream' (Official Single)
Dr Dee, a new studio album by Damon Albarn, will be released by Parlophone Records on 7th May 2012 - Pre-Order here: http://smarturl.it/DrDeeAlbum Discover more at http://dr-dee.info

Dr Dee is 18 tracks of songs and music inspired by the life of John Dee, mathematician, polymath and advisor to Elizabeth I. Described by Albarn as 'strange pastoral folk', Dr Dee is a fitting companion to the end of another Elizabethan age. The album combines Albarn's voice with early English choral and instrumentation alongside modern, West African and Renaissance sounds.

Dr Dee was recorded late last year in Albarn's West London studio and also in Salford with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The album was mixed by Valgeir Sigursson in Reykjavik.

Damon Albarn Dr Dee Live at One Fest, UK 14th April - http://onefestuk.com/

Watch Damon Albarn's Dr Dee Opera Live at the London Coliseum June 25 -- July 7, tickets from £15 Details here http://bit.ly/DrDeeENO

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software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2016-50
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for November 2016
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
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text:
Teditorial: Why he won

Posted at Nov 07 2012 11:23 PM | Updated as of Nov 08 2012 07:34 AM

Watch also in iWantv or TFC.tv

US President Barack Obama has just clinched a second term. Teddy Locsin Jr. tells us why he thinks Obama won in tonight's Teditorial. -- The World Tonight, ANC, November 7, 2012

For more on ANC’s The World Tonight, go to http://anc.abs-cbnnews.com/shows/6/the-world-tonight/


text:
Kerry: US Must Approve All Syrian Airstrikes During Ceasefire

Syria Not Supposed to Bomb Anyone Without US Permission

by Jason Ditz, September 12, 2016

In an attempt to clarify questions about the Syrian ceasefire, and the Nusra Front not being a party to it, Secretary of State John Kerry today offered more details, confirming that the US and Russia needed to provide joint permission before the Syrian government was allowed to launch any airstrikes.

“Assad is not supposed to be bombing the opposition,” Kerry insisted. “He is allowed to target Nusra but that will be on strikes that are agreed upon with Russia and the United States in order to go after them.”

The last ceasefire struggled with this question, as it also excluded Nusra and ISIS, but Nusra was so heavily embedded with so many rebel ceasefire participants that it opened up almost every rebel group to targeting. The US is now warning its allies not to embed with Nusra.

State Department officials sought to insist this approving of all targeting was short of actual US cooperation with the Syrian government, insisting that they are only cooperating with Russia, and not with Syria itself.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz


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[an error occurred while processing this directive]
BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
Last Updated: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 13:53 GMT 14:53 UK
Police fire on mass Nepal protest
Troops watch over protesters in Kathmandu
Security forces have been posted throughout Kathmandu
Nepalese security forces have opened fire on protesters in the capital, Kathmandu, killing at least three people, hospital sources say.

At least 100,000 people defied a shoot-on-sight curfew, marching on central Kathmandu to rally against the absolute rule of King Gyanendra.

Doctors say at least 40 others were injured, some seriously.

The king imposed direct rule in February 2005, saying the government had failed to defeat Nepal's Maoists.

Thursday's deaths were the first in the capital during two weeks of national strikes and protests by an alliance of seven opposition parties.

Ten people have been killed elsewhere since the strike began.

The UN human rights body, the UNHCR, on Thursday accused the government of obstructing the deployment of its monitors in the Kathmandu Valley in "clear violation" of an agreement.

British ambassador to Nepal Keith Bloomfield told the BBC the situation was "deteriorating rapidly".

He said Indian envoy Karan Singh had held talks with King Gyanendra and delivered a "very tough message".

"We believe the complete restoration of democracy is an essential first step," Mr Bloomfield said. "If the king doesn't act immediately... the constitutional monarchy may no longer be on the table."

Mr Singh, who has returned to Delhi, said he was hopeful of a royal announcement soon that would "considerably defuse the situation".

The opposition alliance has called for another mass protest at the ring road on Friday.

'Freedom, not the king'

Security forces on Thursday fired live ammunition and used rubber bullets and tear gas as protests in the Kalanki area, in the west of Kathmandu, turned violent.

The king has to be ready to hand over power to people's representatives
Minendra Rijal
Nepali Congress party

An eyewitness at the scene told the BBC he had seen the body of a youth being dragged through the street, apparently lifeless after being shot in the head.

Other injured protesters were lying in the street with no ambulances able to attend to them, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports.

The 18-hour curfew was in place from 0200 local time (2015 GMT Wednesday) until 2000 (1415 GMT) in the city centre, stretching to 200 metres beyond the ring road.

But large crowds tried to break through into the curfew area.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder watched as more than 2,000 people gathered in the Chabail area chanting "We want democracy".

Raju Lama, one of the protesters, said: "We want freedom. We do not want the king any more."

The king should understand he will never anymore be able to continue his regime. It is only a matter of time when he will fall down
Sudeep Kafle, Kathmandu

There were also reports of crowds gathering in the town of Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu, where a curfew was also imposed.

The government has accused Maoist rebels of infiltrating the rallies to sow violence.

In addition to the curfew, the government has doubled the length of detention orders on a number of imprisoned human rights campaigners and opposition politicians.

Minendra Rijal of the opposition Nepali Congress party told the BBC that the will of the people was for King Gyanendra to restore democracy.

Locals and tourists in Nepal give their views on the crisis

"King Gyanendra has to be ready to hand over power to the people's representatives," he said.

"Our basic aim is to hold elections to the constituent assembly. Anything else is not acceptable to the people of Nepal."

International condemnation of the crackdown has been growing.

"Ultimately we have to have a political solution," said Ian Martin, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal.

"The demonstrators are not going to give up and the last thing we want to see is an increased use of force by the security forces."

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

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Local BBC Sites

Page last updated at 10:34 GMT, Friday, 15 January 2010
Harmonies and spite from Atlas
Atlas hail from the north west of England

Atlas hail from the north west of England with a sound reflective of their habitat.

The often angelic harmonies and melodies reflect the beauty of their Lake District surroundings.

But this is tempered with the occasional hard hitting gritty spite that is characteristic of the industrial towns they inhabit.

Formed in December 2007, Atlas have frequented many of the north west's festivals and venues.

This included slots at Kendal Calling '08 and '09, Ravenstonedale and Cockermouth Festivals and venues such as Manchester Academy 3.

Their festival successes lead them to embarking on their first tour in November 2009.

They are playing plenty of shows this year starting in March, with their new EP Launch :

  • 12 March: Berwick upon Tweed, Barrels Ale House
  • 15 March: Lancaster, Yorkshire House
  • 17 March: Barrow in Furness , Forum 28
  • 18 March: Manchester, Retro Bar
  • 20 March: Preston, Mad Ferret

The band are also to be confirmed to play at Manchester and Liverpool's 02 Academies later this year.

They have a MySpace profile at www.myspace.com/atlashq and are currently building a website to be completed by the end of January.

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Backgrounder Article from  Public Safety Canada

Archived - National Disaster Mitigation Program

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.

The impacts of natural disasters across Canada produce a significant economic, social and physical strain on individuals, communities and all levels of government. It is clear that a reactive approach to emergency management is not sufficient. That is why the Government of Canada is shifting focus toward a proactive, sustainable approach that includes investments in disaster prevention and mitigation to reduce the impact of these events on Canadians.

Prevention and mitigation refer to proactive steps to eliminate, or reduce, the risks of disasters. These activities are the most effective means of reducing disaster costs. Prevention and mitigation strategies benefit individuals and communities and help to secure critical infrastructure.

In Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government of Canada committed to investing $200 million over five years, beginning in 2015-16, to develop a National Disaster Mitigation Program.

After reviewing national trends in disaster frequency, severity, and costs, it was determined that floods are the biggest draw on the Government of Canada’s natural disaster recovery resources, including the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA). Accordingly, the National Disaster Mitigation Program will prioritize measures aimed at identifying the risks and mitigating the impacts of floods.

This program will help to reduce flood-related costs for all levels of government. It will also contribute to establishing conditions for the introduction of a residential flood insurance market in Canada.

Through this program, provinces and territories will be able to apply for cost-sharing for flood prevention and mitigation projects. Public Safety Canada will work with provinces, territories and other partners on the assessment criteria for projects funded by the NDMP. The NDMP will be a merit based process where projects may be selected using objective and measurable criteria such as: risk assessments; project readiness; and return on investment for proposed projects.

Eligible projects could include both non-structural investments, such as flood-mapping and forecasting, and small-scale structural investments, such as retrofitting or modernizing existing buildings to improve resiliency.

This program is in addition to the funding available through the New Building Canada Fund. Announced in Economic Action Plan 2013, the $14 billion fund provides investments to support significant infrastructure projects across Canada as identified by the provinces and territories, which can include mitigation infrastructure to help prevent natural disasters. Details include:

  • $4-billion National Infrastructure Component (NIC) that will support  projects of national significance; and
  • $10-billion Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component (PTIC) for projects of national, regional and local significance. Of this amount, $1 billion is dedicated to projects in communities with a population of fewer than 100,000 residents.

The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with provinces, territories and stakeholders to finalize the NDMP program design. Together, we aim to empower individuals, communities and governments to increase their resilience and reduce disaster risks and impacts.

Search for related information by keyword

Public Safety Canada Government and Politics

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Thursday, March 12, 2015

How Spy Games Are Sabotaging Ukraine’s Intelligence Agency

KIEV, Ukraine -- When Moscow-backed separatists were starting their war in east Ukraine last spring, the country’s main security agency sent a covert team to capture a rebel leader.

Alexander Khodakovsky (L), former head of SBU's counterterrorism unit in Donetsk, is one of the highest-profile defectors to the rebels.

But word of the classified mission leaked out, and three Ukrainian operatives were themselves captured and thrown into a separatist jail.

Rebels stripped them to their underwear, bound their wrists and blindfolded them, then paraded them in front of Russian journalists.

Ukrainian counterintelligence officials now believe their capture was an inside job, the result of a betrayal by a high-ranking employee of the Security Service of Ukraine.

The agency, roughly equivalent to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and known by its Ukrainian acronym SBU, has battled corruption, internal intrigue and treason for years.

Ukrainian officials said in interviews that by the time the war began last year, the SBU was riddled with Russian spies, sympathizers and turncoats, and many of its files had been stolen and taken to Russia.

The SBU’s troubles come amid broader tension in Ukraine about whether the country should ally itself with Moscow or the West.

As Russian and Western powers drift toward a new Cold War over the crisis, U.S. officials have grown concerned about special operations, spycraft, propaganda and other actions Moscow has undertaken in Ukraine and could attempt elsewhere.

The Kremlin, for its part, has disavowed any role in the war.

“We do not interfere in Ukraine’s internal affairs,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last year.

“There are no Russian agents there.”

The U.S. is careful about sharing intelligence with the Ukrainians, in part out of concern that it could fall into Russian hands, American officials say.

U.S. spy-satellite images, for example, are degraded before they are shared.

Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, current head of the SBU, said in an interview that when he took over the agency last year, days after Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin regime fell, he faced a gutted institution.

“We entered this empty building. All the deputies had disappeared,” he said recently at SBU headquarters in downtown Kiev.

“Nobody was home.”

Ukrainian intelligence officers say Mr. Nalyvaichenko’s predecessor fled to Russia early last year and later was involved in funneling weapons to the separatists.

Unlike some other former Soviet republics, Ukraine didn’t purge the ranks of its spy service when it gained independence in 1991.

Many agents at the newly created SBU came from the former Soviet KGB’s 5th directorate, which had focused on rooting out domestic political dissent, according to Ihor Smeshko, a former intelligence chief and now adviser to Ukraine’s president.

When the Soviet Union broke up, two specialized military-intelligence brigades that once reported directly to Moscow were left on Ukraine soil.

Those brigades had been responsible for organizing sabotage and guerrilla warfare in the event Soviet Ukraine became occupied by the West, according to Mr. Smeshko.

KGB files

In the early days of independence, Ukrainian operatives in Kiev loaded KGB agent files onto a truck at night and drove them to a secure location to prevent the former local KGB boss from taking them back to Moscow, recalls Nicholai Malomuzh, who would later lead Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.

Nevertheless, cooperation between Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services remained close.

“We were closer even than the U.S. and U.K.,” recalls Vitaly Naida, who joined the SBU in 1997 as a counterintelligence officer.

“The Russians could pick up the phone and call any office here. There was a direct secret connection line.”

Corruption spread through the security service, according to current and former officials.

Reports of SBU involvement in arms sales abroad began appearing regularly in the early 2000s.

One case involved a former SBU officer and Russian intermediaries who sold Ukrainian cruise missiles to Iran and China.

Ukrainian authorities later acknowledged the sale and arrested some alleged participants.

Ukraine’s then-President Leonid Kuchma was caught on tape in 2000 discussing a possible sale of antiaircraft radar to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

The surveillance of the president’s office was conducted for years by a career security officer assigned to Mr. Kuchma’s protective detail, though it remains unclear whether the officer acted alone.

Mr. Kuchma said he never authorized the sale to Iraq.

The tapes include comments by the president to senior advisers about an opposition journalist.

On one tape, then-chief of the SBU Leonid Derkach promises the president he will deal with the reporter, who he says is already under surveillance.

The journalist, Georgi Gongadze was later strangled, decapitated and buried.

A police general was sentenced to life in prison for the murder in 2013, more than a dozen years later.

The former president and his associates, including Mr. Derkach, have denied any role.

Another murky chapter in recent Ukrainian history involves the 2004 poisoning of pro-Western politician Viktor Yushchenko.

His successful run for the presidency that year against a Moscow-backed candidate triggered Ukraine’s Orange Revolution.

During the campaign, Mr. Yushchenko ingested dioxin, a powerful toxin that left him in severe pain, his face discolored and bloated.

Shortly before becoming ill, he had attended a small private dinner with Ihor Smeshko, then SBU chief.

Ukrainian investigators zeroed in on the dinner as a possible site of the poisoning.

Mr. Smeshko, whom Mr. Yushchenko had fired upon becoming president, was interrogated by prosecutors.

Mr. Smeshko denies he had anything to do with the poisoning, which remains unsolved.

As president, Mr. Yushchenko sought to steer the SBU away from its former Soviet influences.

The so-called de-KGBzation campaign involved declassifying and publishing archives dealing with the deadly famine unleashed by the Kremlin on Ukraine in the early 1930s.

The president’s point-man for the project was the SBU chief at the time, Mr. Nalyvaichenko, who now holds that job for a second time.

He says the effort to relieve the SBU from its Soviet baggage was “a very important thing for the society and for the security service itself.”

On the ground in Crimea, Ukrainian counterintelligence teams began confronting Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main successor to the KGB.

Officially, the FSB was on the peninsula to protect Russia’s Black Sea Fleet stationed there under a treaty with Ukraine.

Ukrainian counterintelligence claimed the FSB went beyond its mandate.

“They were executing clandestine operations, collecting human intelligence, recruiting Ukrainian officials, police, trying to steal secret documents,” says Mr. Naida, the longtime SBU officer.

Russian operatives were establishing links with pro-Moscow organizations active on the peninsula, he says.

Those organizations would later prove instrumental in the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Russian officials have said FSB officers in Crimea dealt only with fleet security.

In 2009, Mr. Yushchenko’s government revoked the deal that had allowed limited official FSB presence in Crimea.

In 2010, with his popularity waning, Mr. Yushchenko was replaced as president by the Moscow-backed politician he previously had defeated, Viktor Yanukovych .

Yanukovych sought to reorient Ukraine toward Moscow.

Inside SBU headquarters Kiev, Russian officers became a common sight.

“It was the golden age of Russian special services,” says Mr. Nalyvaichenko, who left SBU when Yanukovych became president and joined the opposition.

“They simply came in with their equipment, their people and their mentality.”

A veteran SBU officer from Odessa said in an interview that counterintelligence operations against Russia were deliberately blunted.

Ukrainian officials now say the SBU returned to its old role of spying on opposition activists, wiretapping their phones and tailing them around Kiev.

But President Yanukovych’s decision to spurn European integration in favor of the Kremlin’s Eurasian economic union set off the street protests that eventually led to his flight from the country early last year.

After his government fell, the SBU was supposed to take the lead in dealing with the pro-Russian separatist unrest that followed.

But when Russia annexed Crimea, the local head of the SBU switched allegiances to the FSB.

Later in Donetsk, now the capital of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, nearly one-third of SBU employees supported the separatists, according to Ukrainian counterintelligence officers.

The highest-profile defector was Alexander Khodakovsky, a former paratrooper who for years had led the SBU’s counterterrorism unit in Donetsk.

During the protests against President Yanukovych, his team had deployed to Kiev’s Maidan square, the center of the protests, for crowd control.

Khodakovsky says he was shocked by the revolution.

He returned to Donetsk frustrated and demoralized.

His feeling was shared by other officers at Maidan square, who faced scorn from the protesters and later from the new government in Kiev.

Khodakovsky says that led him to join the separatists.

In Kiev, Mr. Nalyvaichenko once again took charge of the SBU.

When the unrest began in Donetsk last spring, he didn’t trust the agency’s operatives in the city.

So he sent a team from Kiev to track and capture a rebel chieftain.

Mr. Nalyvaichenko claims that Khodakovsky, the defector, called one of the operatives’ cellphones, fished out details of the mission and relayed them to the rebels.

That led to the capture of the three SBU operatives.

“He’s a traitor,” says Mr. Nalyvaichenko, Khodakovsky denies this, saying SBU counterterrorism commandos “remain my family. To betray them is unthinkable.”

They spent 10 days in the basement of the former SBU headquarters in the town of Slovyansk.

The three eventually were released in a prisoner swap that included the separatists’ self-proclaimed “people’s governor,” who had been captured earlier by the SBU.

Khodakovsky used his inside knowledge to help the rebels.

Last May, when the rebel leadership decided to storm the Donetsk International Airport, Khodakovsky says, he and his men surprised the Ukrainian forces inside by using a secret, special-forces airport entrance.

The raid led to months of fighting that left many dead and reduced a multimillion-dollar facility to rubble.

After leading his own battalion staffed with many Russian fighters, Khodakovsky now serves as the secretary of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s security council.

SBU’s Donetsk headquarters has become the separatists’ command-and-control center and jail.

The SBU officers who remained loyal to Kiev regrouped in Mariupol, a port city in the Donetsk region that remains in Ukrainian hands.

Vadim Tsvihun, a deputy chief of the regional SBU branch, says that after the protests at Kiev’s Maidan square, “there was no real authority in the country.”

Pro-Russian groups mobilized.

One such group, called Mongoose, took part in a deadly raid on Mariupol’s police headquarters last May that destabilized the city.

A Mole

Mr. Tsvihun says Mongoose had a mole inside the SBU who helped supply weapons to Mongoose commandos.

When the mole was arrested by SBU counterintelligence, he turned out to have links to Russian security agencies, including a laptop for encrypted communications, Mr. Tsvihun says.

The operative, he says, was released in a prisoner swap requested by the former SBU chief in Crimea, who also had sided with Moscow.

Back in Kiev, Mr. Nalyvaichenko, the SBU chief, resumed the “de-KGBzation” campaign he had begun when he first held the job.

He laid off top officers who had substantial Moscow links.

Mr. Nalyvaichenko, a former diplomat who served in Washington, had himself studied in an elite Moscow foreign-intelligence school.

But he says he never graduated, which allowed him to keep his job.

His pro-Western bent is so strong that SBU’s former chief, now living in Russia, has accused him of being a CIA agent, something Mr. Nalyvaichenko dismisses with laughter.

SBU recently arrested its former counterintelligence chief, Vladimir Bik, accusing him of bringing FSB groups to Kiev to suppress the Maidan protests, where more than 100 protesters were shot to death.

Bik’s lawyer, Taras Popovchenko, characterized the charges as “a political prosecution” and the “rants of a madman.”

Some of SBU’s recent actions have stoked criticism that it is overreaching.

The agency arrested a Ukrainian journalist in part because he questioned mass military mobilization in Ukraine.

Mr. Nalyvaichenko and President Petro Poroshenko accused a close aide of President Vladimir Putin of personally supervising sniper teams during the Maidan protests.

No evidence has been presented to prove or disprove a Russian connection.

Putin ridiculed the accusation.

“It’s complete and utter nonsense,” he said in a Russian television interview.

Mr. Nalyvaichenko is unapologetic about the charges, or about the broader battle against Moscow.

The SBU’s new logo features an eagle stomping on a snake with two crowned heads.

The heads appear to be cut and pasted from the Russian state coat of arms.

The logo carries a Latin proverb:

“The eagle doesn’t chase flies.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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text:
Ubisoft Inc. this week released the Amo Master Assassin Trailer for Assassin’s Creed Unity for Sony Corp.’s Playstation 4, Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox One and the PC.

The trailer features Amo in a race to prevent the death of Elise, a young noblewoman.

Assassin's Creed UnityThe next-generation stealth action title takes place in the open world of 18th century France and features new assassin Arno and brand new parkour mechanics to free run down walls and buildings.

The final game features an all-new game engine, character customization, and four-player co-op functionality.

It will be released Oct. 28.

Follow us on Twitter @PunchJump, @WeLoveHotDeals, @PreOrderBonus, @SQUARE Gentleman, and visit us at Facebook and Google+.

Comments are closed.


text:
LOBO ADVISORY - 4.27.2016, 4:30 p.m.:  A dark skin male grabbed a cell phone from female student at Yale/Redondo S.

Suspect described as 30-40 yrs, 6-0, 175 lbs. with a black beard, wearing black eyeglasses, green beanie, blue jacket with white stripes, light blue jeans, black socks and brown loafers.

Be aware of your surroundings at all times and report suspicious behavior to the UNM Police Department at (505) 277-2241.


text:
Re: Anarchists Rampage In Greece After Teen Shot

Mitsos** wrote:
Nashton wrote:
Mitsos** wrote:
Nashton wrote:
Mitsos** wrote:

The exact events leading up to Grigoropoulos' death still remain
unclear. The policeman who fired the deadly bullet continued to
confirm he solely fired warning shots. One of them ricocheted and hit the
boy. But at least three eye witnesses have said on Greek
television that the policeman aimed directly at the boy and shot him.

Karamanlis said there would be a complete investigation to clarify the
teenager's death and the guilty party would be brought to justice.

"I have assured the country's president: we will not show any mercy for
those responsible," he said.

I can't see how anybody in uniform in Greece could have shot a child, point blank, no matter how the populace in Greece perceives their police.

I think that this incident was the last straw in a series of perceived injustices, such as increased fuel prices, unemployment and the gap between rich and poor.

"the gap between rich and poor" has been widening at a steady rate since the 80's and the super rich get super richer.
Less people belong to the middle class now.

The mentality of entitlement still pervades Greece, as it pervades many other countries unfortunately and I personally find the riots reprehensible.

Also our civil rights are being eroded.

I beg to differ. Civil rights have been improving steadily for a long time now.
So do I:

Human rights eroding, analysts warn
Poll Results: 98% of Americans don't care
Rollback of Civil Rights
Loss of Our Civil Liberties
Welcome to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Are you concerned that the government's warrantless surveillance, detainee policies, and other post-9/11 laws and policies undermine our basic civil rights and liberties and make our country less safe? Join the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's national network of people who are taking meaningful action to restore protections guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.
The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights (NCRCR) today filed an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in Pearson v. Callahan, a case involving the warrantless search of a home.....

Police Chief: ID cards, the surveillance society and eroding civil liberties
A chief constable has broke ranks to complain about a lurch towards a “surveillance” society which is “eroding” civil liberties.

Your report on privacy highlights the extraordinary extent to which Britain has eroded innocent people's privacy since September 11th; but it's important also to see this in a longer-term context. As Privacy International notes, the erosion of individual privacy and the growing, barely-controlled accumulation and dissemination of ever more information on us by bureaucrats has been going on for many years, and lookss set to continue. This is not a temporary problem: it is continuing and worsening.

This Government has shown an alarming appetite for acquiring personal data and intruding on people's lives without clear good reason or adequate controls. It has even used people's very natural fear of terrorism to justify intrusions that having nothing to do with tackling that threat.

If we are to rein in this control-freak tendency, we desperately need to go back to first principles. The appetite (official and otherwise) and technology for information-gathering on millions of people exists as never before. We need a privacy law to protect our personal information, a law that clearly establishes our basic right to privacy and clearly marks out the exceptions to that rule and the necessary safeguards. A law that pulls together the concepts of individual privacy, free expression and freedom of informatin can genuinely protect all of them - and protect all of us from the unjustified snooping by an over-zealous bureaucracy.

John Wadham

London Bombings: Liberty's Anniversary Statement
07 Jul 2006
It is one year on and Liberty still feels outrage at the senseless and vindictive acts of terror carried out in London on the 7th July.
As we said at the time ‘our hearts go out to the victims and their families and our respect and profound gratitude to the emergency services. We have no doubt that the whole of society will support the police and security services in the task of bringing the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice’.

We also welcomed the response to the attacks from leading politicians across the political spectrum whose statements were a proportionate response to the events. Since that time we have, unfortunately, had occasion to oppose counter-productive legislation which restricts fundamental rights and freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism.

Such restrictions do not make us safer; they risk giving a victory to the terrorists by undermining good community relations and cooperation with the police and security services. One year on we hope politicians will once again seek consensus around a response based upon putting resources and commitment into defeating terrorism not passing unnecessary laws.
London Bombings Data Page
Eroding Americans' Last Defense: The Civil Justice System
by Ralph Nader

Our lawless President and his Congressional cohorts are pushing legislation that would significantly erode Americans' last defense against corporate crimes and frauds; the civil justice system. With a bill scheduled to reach the Senate floor next week, our freedom to redress harms in courts of law is in danger. S. 5, a proxy for last year's misnamed "Class Action Fairness Act," emerged from the Senate Judiciary Committee this week with little discussion and no public hearings. No public hearings! It will be rushed to the Senate floor next week, as befits this increasingly dictatorial Congress.

While the class action remedy has successfully provided many of those harmed by negligent actions an efficient means of redress for wrongful injuries and violations of civil and consumer rights since the 1960s, S. 5 would send most class actions to procedural purgatory. It would shift class action suits -- where any member of the class is from a different state than the defendant -- from state court to federal court. This coup encompasses class actions of any significance, according to respected legal scholar and Harvard professor Arthur Miller.

Before enacting such legislation, the burden of proof is on the Congress to demonstrate that state judges and jurors are unwilling, incompetent or unable to dispense justice based on the common law and state statutes. If proponents of this legislation were to talk to their home state judges, they would not support this federal usurpation of state judicial responsibilities. S. 5's backers also ignore the dire warnings of federal judges who are already presiding over congested courts and who admit that this bill will result in most cases being summarily dismissed on procedural grounds as being "unmanageable."

On what basis could such a fundamental right be taken from us?

EU governments eroding civil liberties at breathtaking rate in name of security
London, Sep 11 (ANI): EU governments and policy-makers are eroding civil liberties and privacy at a “breathtaking” rate in the name of security policy, a damning report has claimed.

Civil liberties watchdog Statewatch slammed the EU’’s post-9/11 security strategy as a “frightening” grab for every aspect of individual information.

The 60-page report - published on the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington - said that the EU now saw data privacy and judicial scrutiny of police surveillance tactics as obstacles to efficient law enforcement co-operation, rather than rights to be safeguarded.
911 Ripple Effect ***

... An outline in simple talking points ...
Complete 911 Timeline
1. Patriot Act - The War on Civil Liberties (1/3)
Indict Bush for Murder
FBI files indict Bush, Cheney and Co. as war criminals
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2008-05-28 18:28.

* Media

By Bill Van Auken, WSWS

The most stunning revelation in a 370-page Justice US Department Inspector General’s report released this week was that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had formally opened a “War Crimes” file, documenting torture they had witnessed at the Guantánamo Bay US prison camp, before being ordered by the administration to stop writing their reports.

Below are the 35 articles of Impeachment coming from a newspaper overseas where they do more than talk about britney Spears

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S.
Military Bases in Iraq

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S.
Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S.
Citizens and Foreign Captives

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to " Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture

Article XX
Imprisoning Children

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001

Article XXXV
Iraq for Sale: Part.1
NSA Spying on Americans Is Illegal (12/29/2005)
Leave No Marks: "Enhanced" Interrogation Techniques and the Risk of Criminality

Leave No MarksA new report issued by Human Rights First and Physicians for Human Rights provides the first comprehensive look at the legality of 10 so-called “enhanced” interrogation techniques in light of the medical evidence on their mental and physical impact. Many of these techniques are widely reported to have been authorized for use by the CIA. On July 20, the President issued an Executive Order on the CIA interrogation program that fails to prohibit these techniques. The report finds that each of these techniques, including mock-drowning, sexual humiliation, severe isolation and sensory bombardment are prohibited by U.S. law and could subject U.S. officials who authorize or use them to criminal prosecution.
Kosovo: A European Narco State
Poverty USA

Image:United States Income Distribution 1967-2003
To which one can respond that if "collective security" demands the surveillance of all
movements and all telecommunications and the collection of all the fingerprints of
everyone living in the EU there can be no individual freedom, except that sanctioned by
the state. "Freedom" is not just about rights it is also the freedom "from" state
surveillance and control. Put another way, if "collective security" requires the state, in
"the name of all", to set the limits, boundaries and sanctions of all our actions it is a
recipe not for "freedom" but enslavement.
"Upcoming" priorities Frattini said included:
"the wider use of phone-tapping and CCTV"

Are we talking about civil rights in the US, where gay marriage is allowed, abortion is rampant, pay equity between the sexes is improving at a time when a black president was elected? Ever heard of the ACLU?

The Liberal media is shameless in propagating lies to prove that Bush and anything conservative is ass-backwards and irrelevant.

Ever read Chicken Little?


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Friday, December 9, 2016
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Giant lanterns raise P1M for ‘Pablo’ victims

/ 10:28 PM December 17, 2012

THE LANTERN of Del Pilar was adjudged the best because of its numerous lighting patterns and assembly of images that “danced” with the music. E.I. REYMOND T. OREJAS/ INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Within seconds on Saturday night, images of stars, fans, musical notes, bird wings, angels, trumpets and the flag of the Philippines flashed in bright colors, wowing the crowd that gathered in a shopping mall complex in this Pampanga capital for this year’s Giant Lantern Festival.

Eleven giant lanterns, fashioned by Kapampangan artisans, provided this unique kaleidoscope to celebrate the 81st year of the Ligligan Parul (Giant Lantern Festival).

As wide as 6 meters and as tall as 9 meters, the lanterns also gave everyone the impression that the patterns of light “danced.”

This is because of a local invention called “rotor,” through which the light bulbs connected by hairpins and wires switch on and off in sync with the music selected by the lantern makers or tunes played on the spot by the Giant Lantern Executive Committee (GLEC).

Performing one after the other during the first round, in a set of three or four in the second round, and together in the final round, the lanterns wowed the audience estimated by organizers to have reached at least 50,000 at the events’ center of the Robinsons Starmills here. Many foreigners were seen in the event.

But on this night when no rain spoiled the modern rendition of the Star of Bethlehem, the lanterns were played to spread the Christmas spirit with victims of Typhoon “Pablo” in Mindanao, where over 1,000 people have died from flashfloods and landslides early this month.

Including the contribution of P200,000 from the city government, the festival gathered pledges and donations reaching P1 million, Mayor Oscar Rodriguez said.

Donation boxes at the Robinsons Starmills would be maintained up to Dec. 31, city administrator Ferdinand Caylao said.

Yolanda David, GLEC chair, said the festival’s proceeds from contributions of private companies would be donated to relief and rehabilitation programs of the government.

Barangay Del Pilar reclaimed the best lantern award. After its last victory in 2002, it failed to repeat its major feat of dominating the festival for nine straight years, from 1983 to 1991.

“I’m very happy,” said Rainer Deveraturda, who designed the winning lantern.

Through the help of rotor-maker Obardo Yumang, the Del Pilar lantern featured 8,500 bulbs controlled by nine rotors.

Deveraturda and Yumang learned the craft from running errands for and watching old artisans work.

The lanterns of Telabastagan and San Jose came in second and third, respectively.

Sta. Lucia, the champion in the 2010 and 2011 contests, failed to bag a major prize, but it was voted the “texters’ choice.”

TAGS: Christmas lanterns, News, Paskong pinoy, Regions
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Friday, December 9, 2016
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MGB denies existence of fund for rehab of Boac River in Marinduque

By: - Reporter / @deejayapINQ
/ 01:12 PM September 13, 2013

MANILA, Philippines—The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Friday disowned knowledge of any $12-million escrow fund for the rehabilitation of the Boac River in Marinduque following the Marcopper mining disaster of 1996.

“There is no such fund,” MGB Director Leo Jasareno said in reaction to reports that resurfaced on the fund purportedly set up in 2001 by Marcopper Mining Corp., which was responsible for what has been described as the country’s worst mining disaster.

“Insofar as the DENR is concerned, no such fund was ever made available. We have no information on it and the DENR was never a party to it,” he told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

A former Marinduque provincial board member, Melecio Go, earlier asked whatever happened to the fund set up by Placer Dome Inc., Marcopper’s parent company, in November 2001, supposedly as part of the company’s commitment to then president Fidel V. Ramos to clean up the 27-kilometer Boac River.

Marcopper shut down after the 1996 toxic spill that flooded several villages in Marinduque. In 2006, Placer Dome Inc. sold its shares to the global gold-mining firm, Barrick. The Marinduque government, through Governor Carmencita Reyes and her son former Representative Edmund Reyes, filed a $100-million class suit against Placer Dome in October 2005.

Walter “Skip” Scott, lead counsel in the 2005 damage suit, branded the escrow fund as a “myth built on hope but no less a myth.”

Go earlier showed to the Inquirer copies of the 2005 correspondence between him and former Marcopper president John Loney, who acknowledged that the fund was deposited “under an escrow agreement with a financial institution.”

A 2006 Inquirer report also quoted another board member, Alan Nepomuceno, as saying that the money was deposited in a bank in Hong Kong with details “known only to selected government and Marcopper officials.”

Lawyer Miguel Ongsiako, counsel of former Marinduque Representative Edmund Reyes, said in an earlier phone interview that the escrow deal was entered into by the DENR and Barrick.

But Jasareno said the DENR had no knowledge of any such fund.

He said the MGB had, under the present administration, formed a “Task Force Marcopper” to devise plans for the recovery of damages from the mining company and the rehabilitation of the Boac River.

“The task force already has output that will be submitted to the Mining Industry Coordinating Council,” Jasareno said without giving a time frame.

TAGS: Boac River, environment, Marcopper, Marinduque, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Mining, Rehabilitation
For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

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black family thanksgiving

We at NewsOne want to wish our readers a very Happy Thanksgiving.

We also wanted to hear what you’re thankful for that’s a part of your life.

All the best to you and yours.

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Weekly Review Of The Affairs Of France, March 4, 1704

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NY State Appellate Court Upholds Martin Heidgen’s Murder Conviction In DWI Wedding Night Crash

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — It was one of the first murder convictions in the country in a fatal drunk driving case, and the conviction will stand.

In a 3 to 1 decision Thursday, the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled to uphold Martin Heidgen’s conviction.

However, he can still appeal to the state’s highest court  — the Court of Appeals.

In July 2005, Heidgen was intoxicated while driving the wrong way on the Meadowbrook Parkway. He slammed his truck into a limousine leaving a family wedding, killing 7-year-old flower girl Katie Flynn and limo driver Stanley Rabinowitz.

WEB EXTRA: Heidgen Court Decision

Heidgen’s defense lawyers tried to convince judges that Heidgen was convicted of the wrong crime – murder – and he should have been tried only on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Defense Attorney Jillian Harrington had made the argument that Heidgen left a party, got lost, ended up on the Meadowbrook Parkway in the wrong direction. “It was a horrific, tragic accident that was a result of that, but that’s not what the New York State Court of Appeals says is depraved indifference murder,” Harrington said.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice differs. Heidgen was charged with murder by depraved indifference, she says, because he acted so recklessly others were likely to die. “His actions made the deaths of Katie Flynn and Stanley Rabinowitz inevitable. It was as inevitable as taking a gun and firing it at an individual who’s standing five feet away from you,” Rice said.

The defense also argued that police mishandled blood evidence indicating how drunk Heidgen actually was. The case was the first in Nassau County in which a drunk driver was convicted of murder.

“It makes me extraordinarily angry – he murdered my daughter, and now he’s dragging us through this again,” Neil Flynn said in January. “He’s self-centered and self-involved.”

Heidgen is currently serving 18 years to life in prison.

The Flynn family attended every day of the five-week trial, along with dozens of supporters.

Do you agree with the court’s decision? Sound Off below

One Comment

  1. VY says:

    His actions climbed to the level of murder because his action of drinking in a place where he knew he had to drive to leave where he was drinking, is premeditation.
    He had to say to himself: “I’ll stop at this bar, have a drink, and drive to my next place”. So he decided to drive after drinking BEFORE he drank, knowing he had to drive after drinking.
    So any life he took after drinking was a premeditated act of willfully planning to drive while intoxicated.
    Once you plan to drive after drinking, you are responsible for any damage your impaired driving causes.
    He sghould have gotten a longer sentence.
    That law should be made stronger, but that law is a good first effort.

    1. Owen says:

      It costs more money for the tax payers to keep him in jail than go to court. It will just go to a higher court where it will eventually get overturned. He has already served 6 years and will be out in no longer than 6 years. Why waste money on keeping him in jail. He would leave sorry New York and come back to the south. He isnt a threat to anybody. You think he would want to go back to jail? He has been sober for 6 years and wouldnt take another drink. I forgot everybody lives by the old testiment eye for an eye instead of following Jesus and turning the other cheek. There is one judge. Free Marty and let him get out of your state. He is no threat to NY anymore. He lived there 6 months before this happened and I am sure he would love to get out of the state.

  2. Carlos Liriano says:

    1. Owen says:

      Are you even an American? You sound like an illegal. Either that or have no education

  3. Ty says:

    He should get the death penalty

    1. Owen says:

      God will judge you for those feelings and judgement. Judge not unless you be judged first

  4. Marie Palmieri says:

    The judges are to be commended for doing their jobs…and rendering the only opinion that makes any sense in light of the facts of this case.

  5. Legal Advocate says:

    In light of the dissenting opinion, it is expected that leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals will be granted. So the opportunity for further review is still available.

  6. Joyce Rabinowitz says:

    Three of the four judges were paying attention and did their job. Obviousloy, the other one should have been reading all the reports and looking at the evidence and testimony before he or she made such an egregious decision on Heidgen’s appeal. Now justice will be served and my family and the Flynns will not have to go back to court and the taxpayers will not have to pay for another trial. Heidgen deserves to stay in prison because that’s where criiminals belong.

  7. DMEL says:

Comments are closed.

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Yankees’ Michael Pineda Charged With DUI In Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda has been charged with drunken driving in Tampa.

Hillsborough County jail records show that the 23-year-old right-hander was arrested shortly after 3 a.m. Monday. He was released hours later on $500 bail.

The police report said Pineda was driving without his headlights on and traveling at “a high rate of speed and weaving from side to side, crossing the lane markers, failing to maintain (a) single lane of travel,” according to the New York Post.

Pineda told the Post he had “three or four” mixed whiskey drinks in “three or four” hours.

“I was driving very smoothly,” he told the paper.

Pineda went to the Yankees in the offseason trade that sent catcher Jesus Montero to Seattle. Pineda remained in Tampa at the Yankees’ spring training facility after hurting his shoulder in March and has not pitched in a game this season.

Your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below…

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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Singing String Quartet Shakes Up Music World

Well-Strung To Perform At Highline Ballroom This Weekend

New York (CBSNewYork) — Well-Strung, the singing string quartet making waves in the music scene, performed some hits on The Couch ahead of their New York City performance this weekend.

Well-Strung will be performing at Highline Ballroom on Sunday at 8 p.m.  For tickets and information on the show, head over to

Check Out These Other Stories From The Couch:

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Distraught Family Offering Reward For Information Regarding L.I. Man's DisappearanceHe went to work and never came home, a Long Island family has spent the past two months searching for their father and husband, now a reward has been offered by the heartsick family.
Family, Friends Searching For Missing Dix Hills ManFamily and friends searched the woods Friday morning near the Deer Park train station where Robert Mayer's 2004 red Pontiac was found.

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Brooke Astor's Son To Remain Free During AppealThe 88-year-old heir to an American fortune remains free on bail in New York while he pursues a further appeal of his conviction on charges of plundering his mother's millions.
Brooke Astor's Art, Jewelry And Furnishings To Be Auctioned Off For CharityIn keeping with Astor's wishes and life's motto that "money is like manure; it should be spread around,'' all the proceeds from the sale will go to the institutions and causes she supported.

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Organ Donation in New York: The Gift of Life - New York Estate Planning News

New York Estate Planning News - Find a NY Estate Attorney

Organ Donation in New York: The Gift of Life

Surveys and studies show that most Americans support the gift of life that comes with organ donation, and yet so many of us don't do it. Is it just the difficulty of facing our mortality that keeps us from an act that can save a life, or is it the fear that the process is too complicated, legally or morally? Here are a few questions and answers that might help you decide if organ donation is right for you.

According to the New York Department of Health, more than 8,000 New Yorkers are still on waiting lists for transplants of organs like kidneys, livers, and hearts. One organ donor can save up to eight lives or with tissue donation, can improve 12 or more lives by restoring eyesight, helping fight infections in burn patients and preventing disability.

Question: How do I become an organ donor in the state of New York?

Answer: Enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry through the New York DMV, the New York Department of Health, or through a local donation organization.

Question: What if my religion does not permit donation?

Answer: According to FindLaw, most of the world's major religions recognize donation as a gift of life to others. However, if you are not sure how donation may be viewed by the religion you practice, ask your spiritual adviser whether your religion endorses organ donation.

Question: How can I be sure that my organs will, or if I decide against it, will not, be donated?

Answer: One of the best ways to make sure your organs will be donated, if that is what you wish, is to include directions in your advance directive on health care. If you include your wishes in your will, according to FindLaw, they will usually not be read in time to ensure donation.

Question: Do I need my family's consent?

Answer: According to the New York DMV, if you have singed the consent certification with the NYS Donate Life registry, family consent is not required.

Like all topics touching on end of life issues, organ donation can be difficult to think about. Talk with your family and then consult an estate planning attorney if you want further guidance on the legal requirements for organ donation. Someone out there will be thankful you did.

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Home / Browns / Buccaneers Prepared To “Do What It Takes” To Sign DE Cliff Avril?

Buccaneers Prepared To “Do What It Takes” To Sign DE Cliff Avril?

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that “several league sources” have informed him that the Buccaneers are “pushing hard for a pass rusher” and believe that they will “do what it takes” to sign free agent DE Cliff Avril.

It’s unlikely that free agent DE Michael Bennett will be retained, so it makes plenty of sense to see them involved in other defensive ends. Previous reports have indicated that Dwight Freeney, Osi Umenyiora and John Abraham could all be options, but pursuing Avril could cost them as much as $10 million annually.

The Browns are also believed to have serious interest in Avril as well.

We have him listed as the No. 2 best available player in our Top 50 Free Agents list.

Anwar Richardson of reports that “at least four teams” have shown interest in free agent DE Cliff Avril.

Richardson adds that it’s unknown whether or not the Lions are among the interested teams in Avril.

Avril, 27, is clearly among the most sought after free agents and the fact that NFL teams believe he can play 3-4 outside linebacker only adds to his value.

He reportedly rejected a three-year deal worth $30 million and included as much as $20 million guaranteed last season. Clearly, that was the right move for him given that the Lions wound up paying him a franchise tender of $10.605 million last season and he’s now poised to beat those figures by a large margin.

The Browns are rumored to be one of the teams with serious interest in Avril.

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Sustainability on the Home Front

May 9, 2012

 A decade ago, few people were talking about sustainability, especially in the South Bronx. It was there that Majora Carter founded programs for green-collar jobs, spearheaded policy changes, and helped transform a toxic dump into a riverside park. From a local movement to “green the ghetto,” she has inspired people across the nation to secure the environmental, educational and economic futures of their own communities. Majora Carter is a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, and host of the public radio series, “The Promised Land.” She’ll be sharing stories of eco-entrepreneurs and activists tonight at an event hosted by the New Hampshire Planners Association in Concord.

Majora Carter speaking at TED Conference


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Instructional Support Workshops

All Instructional Support workshops are free of charge and open to all Niagara University faculty, adjuncts, and staff. Workshops are usually announced through The Daily Post. Workshops change each semester and are selected based on faculty interest, requests, opportunities, and trends in teaching and learning. For many workshops, the event may be recorded for those who cannot attend; often, materials or individual tutorials related to workshops are available on demand. Faculty are also encouraged to schedule an individual consultation with Instructional Support staff for personalized assistance.

For a complete list of the workshops taking place this semester, visit our Events page.

For information on upcoming workshops or to request an event, please email or call Sierra Adare-Tasiwoopa api.

On-Demand Technology Tutorials

Instructional Support offers several on-demand technology tutorials. If you are interested in learning about a technology not listed here, please contact us, and we will do our best to assist you. To schedule a tutorial appointment, please contact Sierra Adare-Tasiwoopa api at or Ext. 8120.

Advising Online Students

Do you have students in your online class that you wish you knew more about? Do you find it difficult to advise students about online classes? This is an opportunity for you to see Niagara University’s Online Student Orientation webpage and ask questions. Learn how using this tool during advisement or at the beginning of your course can help the student and you make decisions about whether an online class is right for them.

Audacity is  free audio-recording software that is available online. In this tutorial, Audacity will be installed on your computer, and you can discuss how this tool can be used to support your teaching. Possible benefits could including recording audio lectures for online classes or creating audio comments for student papers. You will have the opportunity to create a sample recording and upload it to Canvas.

Canvas tutorials assist faculty with navigating the Canvas Learning Management System software. Tutorials can range from an overview of the basic features of Canvas to addressing specific instructor questions, including adding content, online tests and surveys, and collaborative tools such as Discussions, Collaborations, and Conferences.

Or, Canvas Basics for Faculty is now available online. This is a voluntary, fully online, self-paced, eCertificate course designed to introduce you to Canvas and its powerful tools that can assist you in providing students with the means they will need in order to succeed in your course whether you are teaching in a face-to-face, hybrid, or in a fully online class. To sign up, email Sierra Adare-Tasiwoopa ápi at and include your NU e-mail address.

Classroom Technology

Classroom technology tutorials provide hands-on instruction on how to use the basic technology in the classrooms on campus. Learn how to turn on and use the document camera, computer and projector. Need to hook up your PC or Mac to the screen? We will show you how to do that and how to make sure you have sound. This session will inform you of simple troubleshooting techniques and how to contact the IT Help Desk for quick support.

Clickers in the Classroom

Classroom Response Systems (clickers) are growing in popularity. Clickers can be powerful for formative assessment; they're also useful tools to facilitate controversial discussions in the classroom. Plus, students love them! Instructional Support lends TurningPoint clicker sets to faculty. Learn how to use the clickers, create and add your own  clicker questions to your PowerPoint presentation, and  how to reserve the clickers for your classroom.

Effective Online Course Design

This online course design tutorial helps faculty apply research on quality online course design to develop or redesign an online course. This tutorial is discussion-based and involves sharing or developing the current course design, analyzing it against Niagara’s online course design evaluation rubric, and identifying areas for further work based on the results. This tutorial is highly recommended for any online instructors preparing to have their courses formally reviewed.

Free Web Tools

Learn how to use free online tools to enhance your courses. Each tutorial will allow you to actively explore available tools and to discuss how they could enhance your teaching as well as tools your students can use to complete assignments. Tools include research/graphic organizers, presentation/interactive tools, and podcast/screen video tools. Ask us about Audacity or Prezi! Visit our Free Web Tools site now for ideas and links to great tools that are available for you to use!

Microsoft Office Suite

Want to create an Excel spreadsheet to track students' grades? Interested in creating a more effective PowerPoint presentation? Want to learn how to use the voice-over feature in PowerPoint? Contact us, and we will connect you with a trainer who can guide you through enhancing your skills with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Access.

The best way to learn about the SMART Board is to use it! SMART Board tutorials are hands-on experiences with a SMART Board that will allow you to become comfortable with the SMART Board so that you can use it effectively in your classroom. If possible, the tutorial will take place in the classroom in which you have been assigned to teach. Tutorials can also help you become familiar with the SMART Notebook software. Learn how to take notes on a webpage, use  interactive SMART tools, or post a copy of your "whiteboard" lecture notes on Blackboard! Tutorials can range from beginner to advanced sessions.

Additional Opportunities

SGID Classroom Visits: Improve Your Course Through Anonymous Student Feedback

SGID sessions are an approach to gathering student feedback for faculty who are interested in improving their teaching. This is a unique opportunity to connect with your students and potentially improve student evaluations. SGID is an especially helpful tool for pre-tenure faculty or for any faculty members who would like to improve their teaching. Information gathered through SGID is not shared with anyone except the faculty member and the process is entirely voluntary. Visits ideally take place around midterms. For more information about how SGID works, or to set up an appointment, please contact Instructional Support.

Researching and Publishing in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Faculty Learning Community

Instructional Support is proud to support the Researching and Publishing in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Faculty Learning Community (FLC). The Faculty Learning Community at Niagara University is designed to create and support a community of 8-15 scholar practitioners who focus on a common topic each year.

Online Course Design Community

Instructional Support would like to announce the new Canvas-based online professional learning community (PLC). It is for those thinking about designing an online or hybrid course and for veteran instructors who are considering updates to their course. This group will have the opportunity to hear from guest speakers, from both on and off campus. Starting at the beginning of the semester, the group will begin with the basics of online course design, or rethinking your face-to-face class. The course is structured to focus on independent course design time in a supportive online community. Colleagues, the Instructional Support specialist, as well as the user education librarian, will be available to collaborate and provide necessary resources for the design or redesign of your online or hybrid course. To check the dates each semester that the PLC will run, visit the Events page. A certificate of completion will be awarded to all who actively participate throughout semester.


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Over the years, so much had been said about resuscitating the moribund Ajaokuta Steel, but little has been done in terms of giving the place a human face. The steel is still in a state of disarray despite the fact that about $7 billion has been sunk into it since 1979 in a bid to get it up and running.
In fact, the comatose state of the steel has become a source of worry to well meaning Nigerians, especially the youths who are calling on the Muhammadu Buhari led-government to summon the political will and determination to get the plant back on its feet.
No doubt, Ajaokuta Steel has suffered serious neglect under successive administrations. It has not only been abandoned, but has also been depreciating in value. Experts have said that reviving the steel industry could be the solution to youth unemployment in the country.
Following the inability to fulfill any of his campaign promises in his first one year in office, Nigerian youths are not only dissappointed, but also anxious to know if the president still has the capacity to deliver on his promise on job creation.
Recently, the president reneged on some promises that he had earlier made to Nigerians. For instance, shortly after he was sworn-in, he promised to curtail his foreign trips in view of the near-empty treasury that he claimed he met on ground. Secondly, Nigerians recall vividly that Buhari had during his campaign promised to pay N5,000 as monthly stipend to the most vulnerable in the country. But after assuming office, he reneged on that promise by saying he would no longer pay the stipend to unemployed youths. He, however, argued that it is wise to use the funds to put up infrastructure and empower them through agriculture than to give out monies.
The question now is: can Buhari fulfill his promise on job creation by summoning the political will to revive the moribund Ajaokuta Steel?
Unfortunately, after President Shehu Shagari’s removal from office in 1983, the plant was abandoned, while most of its Russia trained engineers left to join other companies.
Perhaps, this embarrassing state of the plant was the reason why the seventh House of Representatives directed its Committees on Steel, Privatisation and Commercialisation and Justice to investigate the concession, following the controversy and non-performance of the industry from inception.
The House had expressed worry that the comatose nature of the industry had made the country to rely on the importation of iron and steel, thus spending about N1.3 trillion on capital flight in 2012 alone. The lower chamber also expressed concern that the employment potentials of the project had not been fully exploited, adding that it is capable of generating over 15,000 direct employment. It lamented that a similar company, Mittal Steel of India, conceived at about the same period with Ajaokuta is currently working at full capacity, while Ajaokuta has been marred by controversy.
Experts have reiterated that the plant is not obsolete, but is yet to have its operating control fixed. They, therefore urged the federal government to muster the political will to put the company to use, as it has the potential to generate 15,000 direct employment, even as 500,000 Nigerians could also be indirectly engaged. These experts added that in this era of insecurity and other social vices confronting the nation, making the company functional will address some of our current challenges. They explained that over 74 percent of global steel companies have adopted the blast furnace mode of steel production and noted that the insinuation that this technology has become obsolete is untrue and stressed that it is the best source of steel-making all over the world till date.
It is generally believed that what is required in reviving the plant is adequate funding and maintenance.The ideal thing to do is for Buhari’s government to carry out a detailed feasibility study to know what it will cost to get the place operational. Whether government likes it or not, the plant remains one of Nigeria’s heritage that must not be allowed to die by sheer neglect.
It is unimaginable that at this age and time, Nigeria is still importing slabs, roofing sheets, simple agricultural tools such as hoes, cutlasses, glassware etc from other developing countries, thus enriching them. This has to stop if the country must attain its target as an industrial giant.
Nevertheless, the eighth House of Representatives Committees on Steel, Privatisation and Commercialisation and Justice should beam its searchlight on the controversy surrounding the concession of the plant and come up with legislations were necessary.
Therefore, it is expected that the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, as part of his campaign promise on job creation, summons the political will and rare courage to reactivate the steel company which is capable of generating over two million jobs for youths if properly funded. This is one way that this government can create jobs for unemployed youths being used to perpetuate crimes.

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Freethought Activism Secular Events

A Report on the Chennai Freethinkers’ 25th Meet

The Chennai Freethinkers’ Meet for the month of August was held outdoors for a change. We decided to join a Tree Walk organized by Nizhal (meaning ‘Shade in Tamil), an NGO involved in greening urban areas. Despite having a full list of participants, the organizers Shobha and Usha graciously  accommodated our group of 20 members. The Tree Walk was at the Nanmangalam Forest Park (in front of the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest) at 8 a.m on Sunday, the 25th of August. CFT members gathered as planned and there were three eager children too. The Tree walk started from the gate of the Forest park and we walked slowly with the Resource persons Bhuvana and Dr.Babu identifying the trees and explaining interesting features about the trees including their scientific attributes and highlighting the mythological connections. The Forest Watcher Mr.Subramanian also accompanied us and gave us information about the trees. I will share some of the aspects we learnt about each tree. The tree names are listed with their common English names, followed by the Botanical names and the Tamil names.

A picture of Chennai Freethinkers having a tree walk.

1)      Peepal tree  – Ficus religiosa –  Arasa maram

Peepal tree is also called Ashvatha tree.  Dr.Babu explained that Ashva meant Horse in Sanskrit and in ancient times horses were probably tied to rest under this tree. Ganesha idol is commonly found below it and Hindu ascetics meditated beneath this tree. It is said that Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating underneath this tree.   The tree gives out compartively more oxygen and that is probably why people assembled under these trees for worship as well as for village panchayat meetings. (The ever present Naattamai theerpu scenes in Tamil films!)  We admired its heart shaped leaves and heard how the tree was considered sacred by Hindus as well as Buddhists.  This tree belongs to the Fig family. When the coordinator mentioned the wonderful relationship between  the fig tree and fig wasp, some of us remembered the account by Richard Dawkins about this symbiotic relationship in his book Climbing Mount Improbable.

2)      Arjuna tree –Terminalia arjuna  – Marudha maram

We learnt that it is also called ‘neer marudhu’ in Tamil and is found near river banks. The silkworm that produces Tassar silk resides in this tree. We observed its characteristic woody fibrous fruits which enables the dispersal of seed through hydrochory (dissemination of seeds by floating in water).

3)       Cannonball tree –  Couroupita guianensis -Nagalinga maram

The tree has been aptly named – the fruit looks like a cannonball and the flower looks like a hooded serpent.  The nagalinga flower has a distinct appearance and emits a strong and sweet fragrance.

4)      Honey Tree – Madhuca longifolia – Iluppai Maram

The sweetness of the iluppai flower has been immortalized in the Tamil proverb ‘ “aalai illaa oorukku iluppaip poo charkkarai” – where there is no sugar mill,the iluppai flower serves as sugar. Dr.Babu explained how the oil cake from the iluppai seed was used in Shrimp farming to kill the fish which preyed upon the prawns. While the fishes are killed by the extract of this plant by means of haemolysis since their blood contain  haemoglobin, the shrimps are not affected since they transport oxygen in their blood through haemocyanin.

5)      Yellow Myrobalan (Tantrika)  – Terminalia chebula -Kadukkai

This tree yields a nut ‘kadukkai’ which is one of the three ingredients in ‘Triphala’ an Ayurvedic medicine.

6)      Indian Mahogany – Swietenia mahagoni  – Maravembu

The wood is sturdy and is used to make furniture, boats and musical instruments. The bark of the tree has medicinal properties.

7)      Indian Jamun – Syzygium cumini  – Naaval maram

The tree is native to India and is known as Jamun tree in English as well though the other names are Java Plum tree or Malabar Plum tree. The fruits of this tree are of a distinct purple colour and is nutritious. They are also used to make dyes. There is a legend about how Avvaiyar was engaged in a witty joust by the disguised lord Murugan  underneath this tree.

8)      Fish tail palm – Caryota mitis – Koonthal panai

It is an ornamental plant and the leaves resemble a fish tail. The dense foliage is said to resemble the flowing tresses of a woman and hence the Tamil name.

9)      Indian gooseberry (Amla) tree – Phyllanthus emblica  – Nelli maram

The Amla fruit which has a sour and astringent taste is highly nutritious with a good content of Vitamin C. The seeds, leaves, bark and the fruit is used in Ayurveda . It is also used in inks, hair dyes  and shampoos because of its high tannin content. Legend has it that the Tamil poet Avvaiyar was offered this highly prized fruit by her friend King Athiyaman to give her a long life and the story is told to appreciate their exemplary friendship.

10)   Sandalwood tree – Santalum album – Sandana Maram

The fragrant sandalwood  is highly valued and the Essential oil derived from the wood  finds uses in the cosmetic industry. It is used to manufacture perfumes. Sandalwood paste is used in Hindu rituals.

11)   Kadamba tree – Neolamarckia cadamba – Kadambu maram

This tree has glossy green leaves and is grown commonly as an avenue tree. In mythology it was on the Kadamba tree Krishna hid the garments of gopis and played pranks on them.

12)   Indian laurel – Calophyllum inophyllum – Punnai maram

It is an ornamental tree and grows along the coast.  The oil from the seed is said to have medicinal properties and is used to cure skin diseases. This tree is the sthala vruksham of the Kapaleeshwarar temple at Mylapore, Chennai. Dr.Babu  stated that Sthala vruksham  did not mean sacred tree but only meant the predominant species of that area.  People inhabiting that area probably had a livelihood based on the local bio resources which they conserved and considered as sacred so that it was neither overexploited nor depleted. Once the dependency on that bioresource for their livelihood  diminished that particular species was not conserved and was depleted in that area. A lone tree of that era might have survived inside the temple. Now people treat that tree as sacred forgetting its important uses.

13)   Jackfruit tree – Artocarpus heterophyllus – Palaa maram

The word chakka in Malayalam became jaca in Portuguese which is said to be the origin of the name jackfruit. The leaves are similar to that of the leaves of the Punnai maram and the resource person explained the difference in the veins of the leaves. While Jackfruit leaves had angular veins the punnai leaves had parallel veins. The fruit is very sweet and popular in Kerala and Tamilnadu and the wood is used to make musical instruments and furniture. Jackfruit along with Mango and Banana (Maa, palaa, vazhai) are considered the chief of fruits in Tamilnadu.

14)   Indian almond tree- Terminalia catappa –  Naattu Vadhumai

The tree has distinct circular branches and is commonly found in the city. The seed is edible and has a taste similar to the almond. When the leaves are about to fall they turn a brownish red and the tree looks beautiful then.

15)   Silk Cotton tree – Bombax ceiba – Ilavam panju maram

This tree is found in Africa and Southeast Asia as well. The seed is surrounded by the soft fibre and is seen floating in the wind.

16)   Indian palm tree – Phoenix sylvestris – Panai maram

This is a very common tree and is the State tree of Tamilnadu. The leaves are used for making bags, mats etc., The sap is tapped and fermented to produce toddy.

17)   Tamarind tree –  Tamarindus indica  – Puliya maram

The tree is indigenous to Africa and was brought to India. The name derives from Arabic Tamr-ind meaning Indian date. The fruit has a major culinary use and the wood is used to make furniture. Some trees are intertwined with some stories and it is impossible to look at a tree without remembering the story.  I could not help remembering Sundara Ramasamy’s novel ‘Oru Puliya Marathin Kathai’ wherein a Tamarind tree is the central character around which the lives of the villagers are woven beautifully.

18)   White teak – Gmelina arborea – Kumizh/Venthekku

This is a fast growing tree and the timber is used to make furniture, doors, musical instruments. The wood when burnt yields the whitest possible ash and it is said that this ash was used by our ancestors to draw the cave paintings in Tamilnadu. It finds uses in Ayurveda too.

19)   Eucalyptus tree– Eucalyptus globules/E.grandis etc. – Nilagiri thaila / Karpoora thaila maram

The tree was cultivated in India to meet the demands of firewood, small timber, poles etc.,  However concerns were raised about it becoming invasive and replacing other trees in the forest. The tree sucks a lots of water and nutrients.  The Eucalyptus oil is used as an insecticide, deodorants, dyes etc.,  Babu explained that the Eucalyptus leaves are rich in oil content and do not degrade easily. The leaf litter formed an insulating mat above the soil, cutting the soil and air interface. This would increase the temperature of the soil and would also have a negative impact on the bacterial profile of the soil. Depletion of ground water and alteration of the microbial profile might lead to soil infertility in the long run.

With that the tree walk came to a close and we gathered under a tree to listen to the volunteers of Nizhal who shared their experiences and spoke about the need to protect trees. Even if one tree is saved it would save  many more species that are dependent on that particular tree said Dr.Babu. Bhuvana spoke about the Tree park developed by her family and received a hearty applause from the gathering. Usha requested us to speak up for trees when they face the danger of the axe. Their passion for protecting the trees and growing more and more trees came through in their genuine and heartfelt plea to save trees. It helps to talk to those who are about to cut the trees just because it hindered an electric line they said. They can be requested to trim only the unwanted branches. A sapling requires care only for a few months; just watering them and ensuring that they are not grazed would help in them growing into majestic trees. Whenever you see advertisements nailed to a tree, call the number and register your protest, they suggested. Dr.Babu reminded us that we could call the Corporation Helpline number 1913 whenever we see a tree being vandalized. The trees should not be completely surrounded with concrete paving, they reminded. Finally they requested us to carry the message as Ambassadors of Nizhal and spread it among our residential communities. It was heartening to see an NGO that had humble beginnings grow steadily and have a large impact in promoting the tree culture in urban areas. We thanked them profusely and expressed our desire to see more mature trees in our next Tree walk.

The CFT members then moved to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. There was not much choice in the menu but nobody had any complaint because we wanted to spend some more time together. We  discussed several topics over breakfast which extended for nearly one and a half hours. Being a group of skeptics we could not but subject certain claims to scrutiny. Do mango leaves have antimicrobial properties and is that why they are hung on entrances, we wondered. How long and how much area would that sanitizing effect cover, we were intrigued. If tying tubelights are harmful to trees would street lights be equally harmful? Or is the proximity of the tubelight that harms the trees we questioned.

The information about certain trees products that were used in Ayurveda gave rise to our favorite discussions on Science based medicine vs. Complementary and Alternative Medicine.  To ponder how our ancestors would have determined which part of a particular tree would cure a particular ailment is fascinating. However we hope that people would not fall for the scam of CAM that “Ancient wisdom in medicine is to be cherished. Or Anything herbal is safe. Or Herbal remedies are chemical free.” To quote Steven Novella from here:

The notion that something is magically safe and/or effective simply because it’s natural is a common logical fallacy in our culture, carefully cultivated by the supplement and other industries to remarkable success. There is, however, no operational definition of what constitutes “natural” and there is no scientific reason to think that a substance that occurs in nature should be safe for human consumption or have any medical qualities.

And further:

In fact, science based medicine is the only form of medicine that has made a serious and systematic attempt to understand the actual cause of disease and to treat those causes whenever possible. Taking an antibiotic to eradicate an infection is not simply suppressing symptoms. Medical treatments fall into several categories: curative, therapeutic (disease modifying), prophylactic (preventive) and symptomatic. All are valid and useful treatments. Of course we try to cure whenever possible, but many chronic diseases cannot be cured by our current technology. Many can, however, be significantly modified. We cannot cure diabetes but we can significantly alter the course of diabetes with various treatments (lifestyle and medicines). Many science-based treatments prevent complications or reduce the risk of disease or the negative consequences of disease. I cannot cure migraine, but I can give treatments that will significantly reduce the number of migraine attacks. And finally many treatments are symptomatic, something which is very important to quality of life and greatly appreciated by those who need them.

There were several mentions about mythology and folklore and though almost all our members are  atheists and did not believe in any of the supernatural stuff we stayed interested to know the stories.  All of us had grown up hearing these stories and we realize that mythology gives a lot of insight about our ancestors, their beliefs and traditions. We were eager to know the stories involving the trees because it was amazing to see how beliefs and practices had evolved.

Special thanks to the Nizhal team for engaging with us through mail even after the Walk concluded. To our query on street lights they emphasized that it indeed had an impact on the avenue trees. They added that it was always better to have street lights glow below the branches focusing on the roads/streets rather than above the trees. Thereby the negative impact on the trees and associated species is reduced and roads /streets would be well illuminated. They clarified that the mythology cited during the tree walk was to highlight how it had masked scientific reasons. Only the stories were transferred from generations to generations without highlighting the real scientific base behind it, they opined. The mythology was shared by them to create an urge in the minds of the participants to analyse if such mythology really contained any scientific basis. They felt that there was a large scope for scientific research if we did not ignore such mythology.

The Tree walk was very interesting and had made us curious to learn more about the trees we observed. I, for one, had made a list of the trees that were covered and read about each one of the tree, thanks to the world wide web. The CFT members passionately discussed about the possibility of conducting a Tree walk wherein we could talk more about the Ecology, Evolution and Adaptation of Trees. Then we worried whether the general public would find it boring. But then we reassured ourselves saying that Science can be packaged in a captivating manner and of course, we would not leave out the mythology and the folklore since they are charming too. We particularly wanted to tell the public more stories similar to the one about the spellbinding relationship between the fig tree and the fig wasp.

Then reluctantly, as ever, we bid our goodbyes but not before discussing when the next meet could be and who would be making a presentation then. Wait for the announcement –  the topic is an interesting one and would lead to a lot of absorbing discussions!

PS: A beautiful documentary has been made on the incredible relationship between the fig tree and the fig wasp (‘one mighty enough to withstand the vagaries of nature and the other tiny enough to pass through the eye of a needle!’) This documentary is exceptionally  well-made and is an essential viewing for everybody.

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Geetha T.G.

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