can we pass environment variable PRODIGY_HOME directly in the prodigy.serve argument

I am trying to run multiple instances of prodigy at the same time on different ports simultaneaously on the same machine. I wanted to know if an argument can be passed, instead of setting environment variable for prodigy home. So that I can have separate settings for all running instances.

Hi! PRODIGY_HOME is currently only an environment variable. I guess you could write to os.environ in between the calls to prodigy.serve, but I'm not sure if this is going to have any side-effects.

Is the main reason you want to change the PRODIGY_HOME location the database file? If so, yo could also just pass different "db_settings" to each call to prodigy.serve via the keyword arguments. The SQLite settings also allow specifying different paths to the .db file. I haven't tested this in detail yet, but something like this should work:

prodigy.serve("...", db_settings={"path": "/custom/path1", "name": "prodigy.db"})
prodigy.serve("...", db_settings={"path": "/custom/path2", "name": "prodigy.db"})


Philadelphia mayor torches Trump's claim on rising murder rates
© Getty

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) ripped President Trump Thursday in an official statement following Trump's claim that the murder rate in the city was on the rise.

“Right now, too many families don’t feel secure,” Trump said earlier in the day. “Just look at the 30 largest cities. In the last year alone, the murder rate has increased by an estimated 14 percent. Here in Philadelphia the murder rate has been steadily, I mean, just terribly increasing.”

Kenney slammed the president, calling the statement false and an "insult" to the Philadelphia police force.

"Our police officers have worked tirelessly and with great personal sacrifice to get Philadelphia's crime rate down to its lowest point in forty years, while also successfully implementing reforms to strengthen police-community relations and uphold the rights of all our residents," Kenney said in the statement.

Kenney went on to hit Republicans for not enacting stricter gun control laws.

"Our homicides are, in fact, slowly declining, and while we are not satisfied with even our current numbers, we are handicapped by Republican refusal to enact any kind of common sense gun control and by their obsession with turning our police officers into ICE agents - which will prevent immigrants from coming forward to provide critical witnesses statements that can put dangerous criminals behind bars," Kenney said.

Trump claimed Thursday that the murder rate in Philadelphia was on the rise, but law enforcement data show that violent crime in the city is at its lowest level since 1979.

There were 277 murders in Philadelphia in 2016, continuing an overall decline during the last decade, according to police data. There were more than 300 murders every year between 2007 and 2012, reaching as high as 391. Since then, there were 246 murders in 2013, 248 in 2014, and 280 in 2015.

Overall, the city's murder rate has declined 41 percent in the last 10 years. The city's all-time high was 500 murders in 1990.


Signs of Tooth Decay You Shouldn’t Ignore

Signs of Tooth Decay You Shouldn’t Ignore

by Holly (SU)

Your teeth are one of the most functional and important parts of your body. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to chew solid food or have a great looking smile.

But your teeth require regular maintenance if they are to stay healthy. If you don’t brush and floss them at least twice a day or insist on eating and drinking sugary foods and beverages, the bacteria in your mouth will cause your teeth to gradually decay and may lead to cavities, an abscess, gum disease, and plaque that could affect your heart health.  What causes tooth decay and what are some signs you should not ignore?

Plaque and Decay

As your tooth decays, the bacteria and acid find their way to the inner pulp, which contains nerves and blood vessels. At that point, the pulp becomes swollen and irritated, and the nerve becomes pressed, resulting in pain. If you ignore a cavity or delay treatment, it could lead to complications such as an abscessed tooth, damaged or broken teeth, tooth loss, chewing problems, or the shifting of teeth  – besides severe pain that can interfere with your daily activity.

How to detect tooth decay

Besides good brushing and flossing habits, regular visits to your dentist can help prevent cavities. That’s because you may not be aware that a cavity is forming. Nevertheless, you should always be guard for these signs of tooth decay:

·      Pain or a toothache that spontaneously occurs without any apparent reason.

·      General tooth sensitivity or pain when you bite down.

·      Black, brown or white stains on any surface of your tooth.

·      Noticeable holes in your teeth.

If you suspect tooth decay, don’t wait until your next scheduled dental visit, which could be weeks or months away. See your dentist as soon as possible, especially if you experience a toothache or mouth pain.


SW-23704 - Canada (Ontario) - Flight Operations and Data Management System - Deadline May 8,2019

Government Authority located in Ontario; Canada based organization looking for expert vendors for flight operations and data management system.

[A] Budget: Looking for proposal

[B] Scope of Service:

Vendor needs to provide flight operations and data management system to assist Transport Aircraft Services Directorate in completing the development of requirements to acquire a Commercial-off-the Shelf Flight Operations Solution to capture information from its flight operations. As an approved Air Operator is using a mix of Software applications as well as electronic and paper forms to ensure that TC and Coast Guard flight operations are conducted in a safe and efficient manner as required by the Canadian Aviation Regulations and its Operating Certificates.
- support of an efficient and robust Commercial-off-the Shelf web-based Flight Operations solution that can be accessed, preferably through a cloud (SaaS) platform, from multiple
locations across including CCG icebreakers and from flights originating from Iqaluit, Nunavut to conduct flight patrols of the Canadian Arctic water.
Plan flight operations (Booking/Scheduling);
􀁸 Record flying activities (Pre, In and Post flight phases);
􀁸 Manage TC pilots’ training records to ensure that they meet Canadian Aviation Regulations
(CARs) for the 700 series to fly;
􀁸 Track pilot Flight and Duty Times in a manner that is in accordance with the regulatory
􀁸 Generate customized as well as ad hoc reports from all the information collected to address
management as well as internal and external client’s requests for information;
􀁸 Facilitate the exchange of aircraft logbook information with the ASD aircraft maintenance
􀁸 Facilitate the exchange of information related to aircraft maintenance schedule status with the
Flight Operations system; and
􀁸 Facilitate the exchange of pilot training information from the ASD Training system with the Flight
Operations system.
a. Provide to ASD flight operations regulatory compliancy to CARs 700 series;
b. Capture booking and scheduling by capturing aircraft, crew, itinerary, passengers, fuel, and other
information related to catering, hotel bookings, etc. as required;
c. Display flight schedules in different format (By ASD bases, aircraft, pilots and by day, week or
d. Prepare trip sheets for VIP flights;
e. Capture easily flight details at the Pre, In and Post flight stages and transmit information to key
personnel and organizations;
f. Capture/Maintain/Monitor flight time and duty times and calculate automatically resting period for
each crew member, track compliancy requirements and provide automatic warnings and alerts to
crew members and managers when approaching or exceeding limits;
g. Capture/Maintain/Monitor training dates, track compliancy requirements and provide automatic
warnings and alerts to crew members and managers when approaching or exceeding limits;
h. Capture/Maintain/Monitor currency events, track compliancy requirements and provide automatic
warnings and alerts to pilots and managers when approaching or exceeding limits;
i. Be able to customize “Next Due Date” related to flight, duty and rest times, training and currency;
j. Generate/Print customized and ad hoc reports where filters can be applied to retrieve specific and
accurate information to address management and internal and external client needs;
k. Provide bilingual screens and on-line help support;
l. An application that will reduce paperwork, expedite data entry, facilitate the administration of
flight operations by streamlining the flight operation process including the ability to support an
electronic Journey Logbook;
m. Provide and update automatically information related to airports, FOBs, CARs, time zones, etc.
- Use electronic signature technology to meet acknowledging and verification control requirements;
o. Provide administrative functions to create/maintain users and to allocate appropriate roles and
privileges, to manage list of values pertinent to ASD and to manage detailed information related to
the application users, ASD bases, aircraft, crew, passengers, etc.;
p. Customize the information displayed in the different screens through filters that should be
available to users;
q. Locate and obtain detailed information about airports, FOBs and other logistic organizations;
r. Ability to estimate the cost of a flight operation;
s. Capture expenses and associated details that have occurred during a flight including ability to
assign/track expenses by specific client;
t. Provide the ability to add notes/remarks/observations/comments throughout the screens presented
to capture the flight information or training records including attaching related documents. This
should include specific mission planning pages. In al

[C] Eligibility:

Onshore (Canada Only)

[D] Work Performance:

Expiry Date : Wednesday, 8 May, 2019

Category : Software, System and Application

Country : Canada

State : Quebec

RFP Expired

*No commitment =
(1) There is no minimum commitment.

Similar RFPs


Main Menu

Every Wednesday that the schedule allows, students meet with their Advisory for the first thirty minutes of the day.Students are randomly assigned to an Advisor, and will have the same Advisor for their entire middle school career.This is the only regularly scheduled time where students work together across grades.This time will be devoted to a variety of non-PSSA topics, including community awareness, the Six Pillars of Character, the Olweus Bully Prevention Program, and teambuilding connection activities.


Conventional wisdom states that index funds do very well in an up stock market but stumble during a bear market. The logic goes that an active manager will be able to see the signs of a downturn in the stock market and know when to get defensive. An index fund, on the other hand, will just stay in the stock market and rack up those losses. I think we can all agree that we are currently in a down market, so let’s examine how the index funds did versus their actively managed peers.


21 | ENE | 2020
Mexico City's airport is profitable and functional
Mexico City's International Airport - Photo: Miguel Espinosa/EL UNIVERSAL

Mexico City's airport is profitable and functional

Noé Cruz Serrano
Mexico City
-A +A
A study from 2016 contradicts claims made by the current government and investors

Leer en español

In September 2016, the federal government received an economic and financial evaluation of the current Mexico City airport. The study explains that Mexico City's International Airport (AICM) can operate until 2022 when it will reach its maximum capacity, and on a lower scale in the following years.

The study, carried out by Inver-Planning Consultores, verified “the high economic potential of the Benito Juárez airport, which manifests its capacity to generate profits because even if it has been compromised since 2005, its main profit, Departure tax, which has been used to finance the Texcoco airport, has shown a stable behavior in regards to its financial situation, with the solvency and liquidity needed to face its obligations.”

According to the study obtained by EL UNIVERSAL, the current airport could generate, in a base scenario, up to MXN $265,456 million if it operates in the next 14 years.

This amount, the transfer of rights of the Departure tax and the payment of usage to the Ministry of Communications and Transport (SCT), would add MXN $169,895 million, that would be destined to the construction of the Texcoco airport.

To cover the payroll, materials, general services, and other expenses, they would have MXN $70,848 million for this period, an average of MXN $5,060 millions per year.

It was estimated that in the incoming years, it would maintain the solvency and liquidity levels because “the possibility to require returns of the transferred Departure tax prevails, therefore, the obstacles to fulfill the Investment Program, considered in the Master Development Plan 2017-2021 do not prevail.”

The AICM's administration, the study adds, “has the capacity to make decisions about its cash inflows, that would allow it to maintain the right amount of money in each activity.”

Saturation without risk

The study adds that the high economic potential of the AICM is evident “its only obstacle is the fact that it's currently reaching the limits of the maximum capacity, estimating that the maximum operating capacity is reached in 2022 when it registers a limit of 485,000 operations each year.”

“This situation doesn't endanger the financial stability and solvency of the AICM, even when it would continue to operate the airport in the current facilities, because with the expected profits in saturation conditions, there would be enough solvency to preserve the existing airport infrastructure and face the cost commitments to keep the airport running.”

It adds that: “Even in this case, it's expected that a flow of passengers continues in small increases in the years after 2022, due to an optimization of the passengers' occupancy rate, we expect that more passengers are carried in each flight.”

The demand forecasts refer that in 2022 when the airport reaches its operating limits in 2022, it would be serving 31 million national passengers and 15.4 million international passengers.

The documents indicate that until September 2016, when the study was carried out, the collection rights of the Departure tax had been assigned to Nafin, through a guaranty trust, in order to repay the USD $1000 million loan.

Mexico City new airport is of interest to the British

The diplomatic commission was received by Federico Patiño, General Director of the Airport Group of Mexico City
Mexico City new airport is of interest to the BritishMexico City new airport is of interest to the British

Mantente al día con el boletín de El Universal


Rose Festival

The Rose Festival is a magical event that usually takes place at the beginning of May every year and has become a favorite attraction and festival for tourists to attend.

El Kelaa M?Gouna is the only settlement in the area, and is home to the two massive rose water factories of the region. Rose water is quite an expensive commodity in Morocco and is used not only for its fragrance but in traditional cooking as well. The reason for its price tag is because of the fact that the four thousand two hundred kilometers of rose hedges can only produce one thousand four hundred liters of the product. The process uses approximately three thousand kilograms of rose petals to extract a liter of rose oil. Visitors to the festival will therefore see tons of rose petals being transported to the factories to extract the precious oils, leaving a trail of rose scent lingering in the air.


How do you determine a plants

eight × 18 cm Tosoh) equilibrated with thirty% saturated ammonium sulfate in buffer A. The column was then washed with . 2 L of equilibration buffer, and the enzyme was eluted applying a linear gradient of 30% to % saturated ammonium sulfated in buffer A (full of . 3 L). Fractions with significant activity ended up combined, desalted utilizing a PD-ten column (GE Healthcare Lifetime Sciences), equilibrated with buffer A, and then used to Bio-Scale Mini CHT forty-µm Cartr >m potassium phosphate buffer (pH 8) made up of 4 m m DTT.

Soon after washing the columns with thirty mL of the exact same buffer, enzymes ended up eluted with a linear gradient of 10 to four hundred m m potassium phosphate buffer (pH eight) supplemented with four m m DTT. Fractions with significant exercise have been merged, concentrated applying an Amicon Extremely-fifteen (Merck), and then desalted in a PD-ten column with buffer A. Active fractions have been applied to HiTrap DEAE Sepharose Speedy-Stream resin (1 mL GE Health care Life Sciences) equilibrated with buffer A. Soon after washing with ten mL of buffer A, the enzyme was eluted with a linear gradient o.

to . 5 m NaCl in buffer A. Hexenal reductase action was determined in just about every fraction, and SDS-Web site analyses exposed a protein band that correlated properly with enzyme activity (Fig. After purification, the protein band of ) of one hundred to 2,000.

How can i know whenever you should standard water my succulents?

MS/MS spectra have been produced by collision-induced dissociation in the linear ion entice. To identify the protein, MS and MS/MS information were being converted to an MGF file utilizing NanoFrontier eLD Knowledge Processing computer software (Hitachi Significant-Technologies) and then had been analyzed employing the MASCOT MS/MS Ions Search with the following parameters: database, NCBInr enzyme, trypsin skipped cleavages, 3 taxonomy, all entries preset modifications, carbamidomethyl (C) variable modifications, oxidation (HW) and oxidation (M) peptide tolerance, . 2 D MS/MS tolerance, . 2 D peptide cost, 1 , 2 , and thre.

and instrument, ESI-Lure. cDNA Cloning. Total RNA was extracted from experienced Arabidopsis (Col-) leaves employing FavorPrep Plant Whole RNA Purification Mini Kits (Favorgen Biotech). DNA was degraded utilizing DNA-absolutely free Kits (Ambion, Thermo Fisher Scientific), and cDNA was synthesized making use of SuperScript VILO cDNA Synthesis Kits (Invitrogen). Subsequently, CHR cDNA was PCR amplified utilizing the primers ) at 37°C right up until the optical density at 600 nm arrived at . 6 to . eight. Right after chilling cultures on ice for 15 min, isopropyl β- d -1-thiogalactosylpyranos >m , and cells ended up then cultured at 16°C for 16 h. Cells have been recovered by centrifugation at 5,000 g for 5 min at 4°C and resuspended in twenty five m m Tris-HCl (pH 7. five) made up of . 1% (v/v) 2-mercaptoethanol, . forty five m KCl, . one m m phenylmethane sulfonyl fluoride, and 50 µg mL −1 lysozyme.

Right after incubating on ice for 15 min with intermittent swirling, suspended cells have been disrupted with a idea-variety ultrasonic disruptor (UD-211 Tomy Seiko).

Lysates had been then cleared with centrifugation at ten,000 g for ten min at 4°C and applied directly to a His-Accept (Nacalai Tesque) column preequilibrated with twenty five m m Tris-HCl (pH 7. 5) containing . one% (v/v) 2-mercaptoethanol and . 45 m KCl. Right after washing the column in the very same buffer, the recombinant Arab >m imidazole. Volatiles from Leaves. Aboveground elements of 37-d-aged Arab >m MES-KOH (pH 5. five) for one min working with a mortar and pestle. To decide volatiles in intact leaves, buffer was changed with option containing 1 g mL −1 CaCl 2 to arrest enzyme functions. Homogenates then were transferred into tubes by rinsing the mortar with . 5-mL aliquots of the exact buffer 2 times. Risky compounds in homogenates ended up extracted with two mL of methyl tert -butyl ether that contains 1 µg mL −1 nonanyl acetate. GC-MS analyses then were carried out as described earlier mentioned. To obtain volatiles, three pots with CHR HPL (No-) and chr HPL crops that had been infested for 24 h with Plutella xylostella larvae were being put in a glass jar (8.

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tv   Bloomberg Markets Middle East  Bloomberg  December 21, 2016 11:00pm-12:01am EST

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>> it is a big week in the middle east. a saudi arabia may reveal how it will balance one of the region's biggest estimates. >> oil retaining its gains, despite rises in inventories, rising just below $55. >> ronco says it is still deciding. we are told they remain. unreliable and not credible third banker convicted in singapore over the malaysian
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fund. a.m. in the:00 emirates. salamat in hong kong. -- you have an interesting chart showing a correlation. always an interesting chart, the dow short of 20,000. liquidity getting thinner. this is where that chart comes in. i want to show you the effects this has had on inflation expectations. this is the 10 year break even. you can turn that -- look at the bloomberg to get additional content. you can see what happens in the blue box as the oil prices and blue go down. it takes down inflation expectations. inflation on an annual basis. it has recovered a little bit,
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but still around the 1.93 mark. what are you looking at as they gear up for the holidays? rishaad: we came tantalizingly close to that 20,000 level. just seeing what is going on with the state of stocks and how people's money is doing. mumbai down. hong kong equities leading in this part of the world. a rise in u.s. stocks. oil prices firming after that drop on wednesday. that's a -- that is what we have at the moment. yousef: in this part of the world, just under two hours away from the opening of the emirates market. see how things worked out in the last trading day yesterday. you can see a big picture across the board. 2/5 of 1%. saudi arabia, we are seeing
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volumes at a two-month low. we did see saudi on the back of saturday, at from ronco, 3.4%. that was the most gained. 1.8% in yesterday's trade. 9.3%. how much further does this market have to go? remarkable. downside pressure on the market. byot of those gains driven other banks in egypt. let's look at the first word headlines from around the world. >> president-elect donald trump responded to the white house trade office with a comment to the china critic. advisedmics professor innovative strategies in trade talks, and the fed. billionaire investor led regulatory reform and the sec.
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will oil behemoth aramco explore an ipo in japan. we are looking at markets from hong kong t new york for what could be a biggest sale in history. they have downplayed tensions with the u.s., passing a law for victims of the september 11 attacks to sue the kingdom. job cuts at home. the bank plans to eliminate about 900 positions, possibly enable it to achieve its target a year earlier than expected. credit suisse says it has eliminated more than 6000 positions globally this year, but not broken down by region. alibaba has been criticized for its attitude to fake goods. the returned to the so-called a tory is markets list, i'm unacceptably high level of reported counterfeiting and piracy. it is disappointed
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in doing all it can -- shares were down .6% in new york. rishaad: saudi arabia may reveal steps to balance one of the highest budget deficits in the middle east. they will focus on boosting nonoil revenues. our north african managing editor, what are we expecting to hear, and we get it today? yes, we were told that the budget announcement will come today. it will probably be this afternoon. what we are expecting is come up are from the normal budget figures, a forecaster with the next five years, what the budget deficit will be like. they are expecting a gradual reduction. one of our sources said they expect that in 2020.
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it may even be in surplus. other than that, we are expecting an announcement on a program to support low and middle income earners and saudi arabia. they're also going to announce further cuts in the subsidies on gasoline prices going forward. how is this year different than the previous budget announcement? >> the previous budget announcement before last year, was very bare-bones announcements. they said here is our extending, our revenue come other revenue was mainly oil driven, and that was it. bring up moreo figures and broke them up more. year, it is about this forward-looking, five-year plan, where they show how they will reduce their reliance on oil, which is still 70% of government
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revenue. that nonoileduce revenue into government revenues. yousef: we brought up this function for our viewers to make a prediction. you can see a sense of where things are at in terms of economic activity, your account balance, your deficit, interest rates and so forth. that takes into consideration the bloomberg surveys and the feedback we get from it. how does the oil price factor into the plan that we are going to your today? revenue is still over 73% of government revenue. in 2018, introduce they're reducing subsidies. but at the same time to do that, this is a major change for the way saudi arabia functions. they need the funds for the period that crosses over from an
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oil-based economy to one where they have further streams from taxes in the private sector. they're trying to strengthen the private sector. they need the oil prices to make that change because they are asking a lot of the saudi population to make a change and make it very rapidly. a great insight, we love having you on the program. now, to the head of investment strategy that joins us. welcome back. it has been interesting times for the saudi economy. a last time we had a chat, there was a healthy dose of skepticism about saudi arabia's ambitions. with the budget announcement expected late today, they will shift things and a high gear a little bit? >> i think the idea of bringing down revenues and at the same time provide cash to the lower income families is already
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something very good because you're basically isolating a problem, a problem of economic sustainability. they need to participate in the economy, there is a big population compared to other countries. they are isolating that problem. it will allow them when they have to do the 2018 budget, to really have a hard look at the subsidies and at the same time, -- that willo 2018 investors to look at lower income families. there are clearly indications that they are organizing the budget, they are looking at how to better the revenues. is there a risk of saudi ambitions being too ambitious? will it kick back in terms of slowing down the economy?
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extray they are adding measures. in that could take them back, especially with the federal reserve adding rates. >> the rate hikes are a problem. onre could be pressure interest rates that could spill into the economy. that if the oil price stays stable, they are now assuming an average oil price around $50 a barrel. i was suggest that this plan, coming out to be with cutting budgets but providing cash to the lower income families, should not be real, aggregate domestic demand. 2018 will be another story. but right now, if interest rates do not go up too much, it is likely that interest rates have already overshot over the last month. seems stillt, this
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a trajectory for the situation to remain quite good. interest rates aside, if the oil price creeps up to barrel, that dilutes it, doesn't it, and that is a problem? >> you have that always. the politicalp economy. situation improves, and there is always a business incentive to reform. you see it in the eurozone, and when theng markets, dollar kohl's down and interest rates cool down. it is very difficult to predict. that the saudi government is quite aware of the problems long-term, and has no
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, they are not expecting a major increase. it could go to $60 a barrel. you look at every thing that is happening in the world, technology changes included, i do not think it will make that kind of assumption. stick around with us. more from him later in the show. research from wood mackenzie says it needs to be around $55 a barrel for the oil and gas industry to be profitable again. we will discuss that later on. usef: global markets are taking a breather. we will have the very latest on all of the market action next. ♪
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yousef: welcome back to "bloomberg markets: middle east come go live on bloomberg tv and radio. i am yousef gamal el-din in dubai. rishaad: i am rishaad salamat in hong kong. barred from board meetings. an abrupt dismissal as a german. tata returned to take control. ally has been voted off the board. president-elect donald his aseems to have won battle with the new air force one. boeing ceo says he told the ceo the replacement job can be done for less than $4 billion,
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reported in recent days. trump met with boeing and lockheed martin at his mar-a-lago resort in florida. will get it done for less than that, and we are committed to working together to make sure that happens. was able to give the president elect personal commitment on behalf of the boeing company. this is business that is important to us. google's autonomous vehicle unit is talking about self driving autonomy into the automakers cars. just behind chrysler. general motors and ford tried to reach a deal with google last year. they have plans to sell autonomous cars sometime around 2020. let's see what is going on right now. more than of trading,
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that, 36 minutes in japan. let's get to david. >> a lot is happening right now. a quiet start to the day. for the most part, the first for five hours of asian trading, not a lot. it is clearly more red now, 70% of stocks. that came to fruition when japan rose .8%. the latest market opening up. it india, seventh straight day of declines, .33%. philippines, 1.7%. the worst weekend of selloffs back in january. we are now pushing toward 6500 on that index. singapore, .6%. we are looking at declines. day left. pushing toward christmas, the
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volumes are quite light. equal,s like all things a weekly loss for asia. gone over. has we can forecast as we go into 2017, a one-day chart. let me extend that to two years to give you a sense of where we are in the greater scheme of things. highest level going all the way back to august of last year. pushing 3% tobe 8%, which would take as easily to 6000 if we do get 8% on the back of commodities and financials. that is it. goldman upgrading their target for nikkei to 21,000 and four that other index -- one of the key stories coming out of europe to read a theyes have told bloomberg
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could probably fail a $5 billion capital raise, making a state rescue likely. no anchor investor has shown interest in recapitalization and liquidity is drying up, a slump by 12%. going to 87%. let's go to the investment of investment strategy. have talked about the italian story. with the latest news coming out, how will this play out? >> what happened at the beginning of this month, we had a referendum in italy. what i said at that time, the referendum had been taken out of context. the political risk of the referendum had been overdone. when the referendum was overstated, and the banks rally
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tremendously in november. that is now behind us. either there would be a market solution or a state bailout. that isolates the problem. that is the most important thing because what is going to happen now, banks had a tremendous month in november. it is difficult to say in the short term. it is important to bear in mind that the italian banking story is not going to have a ripple effect in global markets. it will not trigger a risk mode of any sort. the idea that the state bailout is not possible or would be political -- politically italy, and would be violating the european bailout,
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bail-in rules is not correct. the government is entitled to indemnify after the bail-in for these investors for whom debts were improperly sold. what i think is key to understand, we're going to have a bailout. this means the debt over gdp ratio will go up again. little compared to the overall debt and gdp in italy. but the problems long-term are not solved. rishaad: it is not just at this problem likely to affect other banks as well? there are a lot of banks in italy that are currently under threat. argument, fear
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for contagion into other banks is slightly overstated. 50 billion,es of and the package is only $20 billion. that is to make sure that for banks specifically, among them, monte dei paschi. thefor the other ones, likelihood that they can still recapitalize of the other markets, is still considerable. thathould bear in mind in italy,ast years there has been a lot of consolidation and cost cutting. the yield curve is a bit steeper and helping banks. growth in italy will remain fragile. if there is a really market shot, then the banks are in trouble. if this situation goes on, i suspect the other banks can get
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out of this. it is important to bear it in mind because the banks in italy were never the problem. the problem was always the economy of the country. italian banks do not have problems until 2008. that indicates a continuing fragility. yousef: hold that thought. he is staying with us. we will look at emerging markets and get key called as we wrap up 2016, a very volatile one. we will look at 2017. ♪
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yousef: welcome back to "bloomberg markets: middle east come go live on bloomberg tv and radio. i am yousef gamal el-din in dubai. rishaad: i am rishaad salamat and hong kong. let's continue with our guest in this rally we have seen since
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donald trump's victory. luciano jannelli still with us, from adcb. there is an old adage, bull markets are born on skepticism, mature and optimism, and i on euphoria. where are we with that? i think we're going to see some stability, is probably pausinlar is causing -- g. the chinese are stilling the progression of the renminbi. and interest-rate are stabilizing. i think we will have some tranquility. but for emerging markets going this pressure on higher yields and fiscal spending will keep the investment story for them fragile for the for seeable future, 2017. yousef: let's pick up on the
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rebound of oil prices and how that is affecting the correlation. this chart really tells the story. currencyee that correlation with oil, at a 22 month low. how are they going to handle that higher treasury in the u.s. and that reflation trading? luciano: this is the good news for the emerging markets. the yield of gone up some of the dollar has strengthened. commodities and oil have not suffered that much. this is where the risk lies. with oil, there is a reasonable chance for it to remain relatively stable. the oil is more affected by dynamics in advanced economies. is bigger for the industrial metals complex. i do not think it is sustainable. rishaad: always great to get your view.
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still to come, bit of a preview. potentialg plans with on the table. yousef: we assess all of that next. ♪
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>> it is 1230 in hong kong, a: 30 in dubai. here are the first word headlines from around the world. saudi arabia aims to balance the hype of the deficit in the middle east. government officials told bloomberg the plan will focus on boosting revenue. they may shield low and middle income earners from the measures. its biggesting economic shakeup in history to reduce its reliance on oil. after 20 land to japan years of negotiations. the official ceremony will be held in okinawa where the military will hand over the most land a since in 1972. it is home to more than two
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thirds of u.s. troops stationed there. for have been criticized giving the go-ahead for another military base. japan spends nearly $2 billion next year to increase maritime security in the east china sea. the money will increase coast guard personnel by around 200 and at five surveillance ships. aircrafts from both countries regularly patrolled area. a pilot declared formally responsible for the crash in colombia that killed 71 people. the carrier is based in bolivia and they said they are principally to blame for the disaster. he died in the crash which came when -- many of those who died were on the brazilian football team. global news 24 hours a day, powered by 120 countries. this is bloomberg.
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japan is approved a record budget of $820 billion for the next fiscal year. marchards companies that to the drum of economics. but critics say the economics are based on things that are too optimistic. first of all, where is the government going to spend all this money? >> that was a big question. we heard about the size of the budget, but where were they going to spend the money? now we know they will spend it on companies that further their policy objectives. we are talking about raising wages, supporting child and elder care here in japan. these companies that can increase wages based on performance instead of seniority, as is common in japan, are being incentivized. those companies that turn
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nonregular workers to permanent ones, they are also being encouraged. these measures are the latest efforts i that shinzo abe administration to change private sector behavior. it could be a catalyst for that much-needed structural reform. some people are pretty skeptical on the economic forecast. the government -- what are they saying? >> the fact is that for this budget the government has current bond issuance of a nine-year low. this depends heavily on a weaker yen providing more income from foreign reserves and higher corporate tax income. some people think this could be challenging. take a listen. >> for a couple years the japanese government was very lucky. greater than expected earnings.
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they could always get higher, which could be allocated to a supplementary budget. but it is getting difficult to do that. >> the government's income estimate is based on nominal growth of 2.5%, real growth of 1%. and she does not think that will happen. she thinkser yen could spark criticism from the u.s. government and that could lead to volatility. i found interesting is what japan has done in terms of the allocation to the defense budget. talk us through the numbers here. >> the defense budget, huge. a record budget of more than $42.5 billion. this will be spent on a new jets.ine, s-35 fighter we are seeing regional tensions with china and the east china sea, and a more aggressive north
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korea. i spending package approved for the current fiscal year of about $1.5 million that was going to focus more on ballistic missile defense. defense costs and social security costs, we are seeing japan facing more challenges when it comes to balancing their budget. yousef: thank you for that update. back over to this part of the world, saudi arabia pressing forward with plans to lift aramco, and all competing exchanges remain on the table. we are bringing an energy reporter. is it a usual place for foreign companies to list? why is aramco looking at japan? saudi's,e heard from they are keeping all the options on the table and open. they are just weighing out the pros and cons. hostedt that japan has
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foreign ipos is a concern in the foreign minister said that in his many words. that could be because there is an unusual amount of risk in the more usual places where companies might lift. in the u.s., a lot has recently allows citizens to sue the country of saudi arabia for its alleged involvement in 9/11. and we have brexit. with donald trump coming into the white house next year, notlar medic norms may apply. it is hard to know what the u.s. relationship with the world will be. the saudi's are keeping everything on the table and assessing their options. are they flying a kite? day, they arethe trying to get the best deal they can.
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will be huge, how big we do not know. tell me what people are saying about that and the expected time frame. it will be an absolutely huge ipo. the biggest company in the world. we do not know exactly how big it is or how much of valuation it will have because it has been quite opaque in terms of the reserves the controls, the actual production levels, its cash flow. all that will need to be audited and published before and ipo takes place. it will be fascinating watching this unfold. we think the company is worth more than $2 trillion, and the plans to list 5%, $100 billion, that is huge by any standards. how long it will take to come together? is a hard to say, there lot that needs to be done. possibly next year, possibly 2018. certainly there are looking to move ahead with this pace. rishaad: sam, thank you for that
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from the by. third formera employer, convicted in singapore for a money laundering case linked to malaysia is the one mdb fund. regulators crackdown on bankers. what is emerging, what more do we know? sure, 34tails for years old, worked at dsi for five years. for five years. he encourage witnesses to like to belize, destroyed evidence, tried to hide his ill-gotten money. there were secret profits linked to 1mdb. he also downplayed his ties. a key person in the
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investigations, a malaysian financer. expect sentencing to be given away. iawei is considered under and -- unreliable, and will deny the charges. he is expected to have prison time and a fine, as well. doesn't he face other charges, apart from obstruction of justice? yes, seven separate charges, including money laundering. the trial will take place in april, and he could face more charges. muscles, flexing its they have closed down bsi operations here in singapore. former goldman sachs banker also faces a potential band, which would be among the most high-profile individual
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bands imposed by a singapore regulator. siis is the conviction ofex-b bankers in singapore. one banker misappropriated billions of dollars. it is the biggest money laundering case to hit the country. investigations have been most complex, the scandal sophisticated. of moneyall it a web trail. yousef: a bit of a preview of what is to come on "bloomberg markets: middle east." year of stability and opportunity for global oil and gas companies. we discuss more on that subject with the company's research director. oil prices trading to the upside. ♪
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rishaad: welcome back to "bloomberg markets: middle east ," i am rishaad salama in hong kong. yousef: and i am yousef gamal el-din in dubai. let's get a check of the business headlines. approval to won build a $10 billion natural gas export plant in texas. two companies happen given the go-ahead for a pipeline project 2.5 cubic feet of gas to the facility. it has been nearly three years since they filed the application. rishaad: saudi arabia may compensate when it cuts fuel subsidies and raises prices next year. prices will diesel be announced before the end of this year. prince is overhauling the kingdom's economy to lower
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reliance on oil. malaysia's estate owned energy company has agreed to a fields inudy two iran. they signed a memorandum to assess the potential of the two fields to share deposits. the agreement marks a return to before petronas sanctions were imposed. stocks rose for the first time in five weeks. an unexpected increase that you could argue worsened. hissked michael for outlook. >> we think prices are likely to average $57. we think prices are likely to be on average higher in the first half and in the second half. i think what we are going to see is in the first half of the year, you will see refinery runs
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increase. the demand for crude will increase. and at the same time, crude supply will remain pretty level. you will have a big bump up and demand and level supply will result in a decline in inventory. arguably, there will be places around the world, whether in asia which we are already seeing, or u.s., where those inventory draws are quite severe and will lead to inventory pockets of tightness. >> then there is a opec deal. what is the guide for 2017 if you do not have access to the bloomberg and cannot monitor ships coming in out of ports, or the pipeline in russia? what is the guide to understand if they are being compliant? user,you are a lady drinking a bottle of water out of a plastic cup, you will not see much of a change for your bottle of water. gasoline,l user of
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you drop your tank at the pump, you are going to see a retail price bump, not only because of what is going on for gasoline, going to be are facing a colder winter than normal, compared to last year. heating oil, fuel oil, is also going to show up. the increases we are talking about, the tightening, will show up in disposable income. where that disposable income ends up. the prices will be higher. fromad: michael cohen barclays capital. an opportunity for the international oil and gas industry. analyst.n energy think you for joining us. where do we go? i want to pick up on that last answer. prices where they are and the supply positioned where it is, that increases the incentives for cheating.
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>> an interesting point. i think that when the oil price goes up, and we have seen that already, and we forecast increases through 2017, we think about who will react fast us. actthe markets that can fast us in first will be independent. you have to see what is , they areand see already going back. through 2017,is as oil price is around $57. that is a massive incentive for them to get back to work. even more importantly, if oil prices stay above 65 -- $65 throughout 2017, they will have to work on another basis in the u.s..
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willis where the volumes come back first in the u.s.. that will be where you see the market react fast us. is,aad: what you're saying the saudi arabia and grand plan to drive them out of business has failed because they are backtracking when it comes to quotas that opec. on one side of it. now, the oil price has a ceiling. yes, that is an interesting point to make. it will take time for those to get back to work. 2017 will be a year of transition. barrelsseen 700,000 fall out of the u.s. we forecast about 300,000 of those barrels being back in the marketplace by the end of 2017. in 2018, it was still above $55. even more valuable come back. forecasted that in 2018, the
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oil price could go back down again. to answer that question, yes. if the saudi strategy worked in the short-term, we have seen a bump in oil prices. in the long-term, it does incentivize is others to get back to work. they can bring about the market the fastest. they get upset in the longer-term term. it will have consequences. yousef: let's talk about oil prices. i brought this chart to give context on the gains that oil prices have made. i put this against the bloomberg commodities index. you are looking at the biggest contrast since is it not sustainable given the fact that you have shale, the shale industry in the u.s. they could make a comeback with high oil prices? yes, but the other thing
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to bear in mind, what do investors in these companies want? there is still overwhelming caution in the marketplace. very cautious thing. these companies need to see oil above $55 month on month. then the capital gets back to work. at the moment, the investors in these companies are highly leveraged. there saying, because us. but you want to see profits allocated to get the right kind of returns. important is the oil prices, stability in the price. that allows companies to make decisions and bring normal activity back to the market. is a key point, what the oil ministers are saying, we need stability in the price of crude. what is the current environment
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going to do to mergers and acquisitions going into 2017? what are you expecting? believe it will be a very interesting time. you see a lot of deals come to fruition that have been in the making for the last six months. year in a very unusual that it was very lopsided. billion spent120 globally, about 75% of that was spent in north america. 25% was in one basin. ighting toward the u.s. is unusual by historical standards. the rest of the world is very, very cold. we have seen some companies do some big deals. really quiet.
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in 2017 that will change. that havehe majors assets out there in the marketplace, those deals will happen in 2017. there is a lot to look at. rishaad: thank you, great to talk to you. will be finding out why franklin templeton says egypt and the united arab emirates will outperform other middle east stock markets. ♪
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rishaad: welcome back to "bloomberg markets: middle east come go live on bloomberg television and radio. imf shot salamat in hong kong. yousef: and i am yousef gamal el-din in dubai. the middle east stock market poised to perform the best in 2017. let's get more on the story.
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tell us what investors are seeing here. >> it is quite interesting. they are trying to figure out what they are working on next year. we have beenhing hearing for many investors located here. it is an interesting story because we see the prices, valuation is interesting. they are trading in line with emerging markets. at the same time, that perspectives for the country is better than what we saw this year. we see banks trading at much better levels and are seen as much more healthy than they were last year. you also have the expo 2020 getting closer. all the projects involved are happening right now. overall, it is a good picture. rishaad: let me pick up that
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point. i am showing the performance. this is year to date. stocks are leading the regional gains. yousef: then you have saudi arabia in there and divide. 176%, year to date. what is the currency situation? we heard commentary improving outlook. filipe: egypt is related to a currency story. we saw a surge in egypt when the currency started to fluctuate. investors we talked to did not see many changes happening next year. that is a point that is brought up as positive for the uae. when you look at the emerging inkets universe, the uae was most of the index is that it -- that are globally important. as stocks will not evaluate
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much as another part of the globe. it is a safe investment in terms of currency exposure. rishaad: what are the expectations? it comes to saudi, most people want to implement the changes when it comes to capital markets into investment. especially from foreign investors. a starts want to see within two days for saudi stocks. want to see growth for shortselling in the global market. the saudi market is pretty much a local investment story. are saudi, investors in saudi. people just want to see it moving forward. rishaad: thank you for joining us in dubai. that is it for this thursday's edition of "bloomberg markets: middle east." yousef: we will have all the top
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stories from around the world. bloomberg tech is next. ♪
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Scarle v Scarle and the 'commorientes' rule: who died first?

HHJ Philip Kramer, sitting as a judge of the High Court, gave his judgment last Tuesday (13 August 2019) in the matter of Scarle v Scarle.

HHJ Philip Kramer, sitting as a judge of the High Court, gave his judgment last Tuesday (13 August 2019) in the matter of Scarle v Scarle. The claim was brought on behalf of the Estate of Mr John William Scarle Deceased (by his personal representative Ann Winter), against the Estate of Marjorie Ann Scarle Deceased (by her personal representative Deborah Ann Cutler).

In general terms, the case concerned the question as to which of Mr and Mrs Scarle died first and, as a consequence, who would inherit their bungalow and £18,000 in a Co-op bank account, both of which were owned jointly between them.

On 11 October 2016, Mr Scarle, aged 79, and Mrs Scarle, a married couple, sadly passed away in their bungalow in Essex. Mrs Scarle was the younger of the two, aged 69 at the time. The police found Mrs Scarle first, in the bathroom, later finding Mr Scarle in the lounge.

Based on the evidence, it was not possible to establish the date of the deaths, but they occurred in the period 4 October 2016 to 9 October 2016. The post-mortem examinations found that the cause of death of both Mr Scarle and Mrs Scarle was hypothermia.

The law

The law governing the ownership of jointly owned assets is that the last to die is entitled to the whole of the property and the sums in the bank account. As they had both passed away, the house and money would pass to those entitled to their estate, i.e. to Mrs Scarle’s estate if Mr Scarle died first and vice versa.

Central to this question is the operation of section 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925, a provision which, where the order of death is uncertain, creates a presumption that the younger person is deemed to have survived the elder person.

The dispute

Ann Winter, the claimant, is the only child of Mr Scarle. Her case was that:

  • The presumption in s.184 is not engaged if she could prove, on the balance of probabilities (i.e. 50.1%), who died first; and
  • Based on the evidence, she could prove that Mrs Scarle died first.

Deborah Cutler, the defendant, is the daughter of Mrs Scarle. Her case was that:

  • The standard of proof was higher, i.e. somewhere between the balance of probabilities and beyond all reasonable doubt; and
  • Ann could not prove the sequence of deaths, even to 50.1%, and therefore it was to be presumed that Mr Scarle died first.

The evidence

The doctor carrying out the post mortem examinations thought that the changes due to decomposition were less advanced in Mr Scarle, which may have suggested that he died a period of time after his wife, possibly days.

Another expert was also of the view that Mrs Scarle was more likely to have been first to die based on, by way of example, the more advanced state of decomposition and her underlying pathologies (which could have brought about sudden death).

All of the experts agreed that Mr Scarle and Mrs Scarle were in the early stages of decomposition, but that Mrs Scarle was at a more advanced stage. In consequence, if the temperature and environmental conditions within the two rooms, i.e. the lounge and the bathroom where they were found, were equivalent, it may be concluded that it was more likely than not that Mrs Scarle died before her husband.

The key difference between the experts was whether it should be accepted that the temperature and environmental conditions in which the Scarles were found were equivalent.

The arguments

Ann argued that there was a lack of significant variation in the micro-climate of the property and that the lounge must have been as warm or warmer than the toilet because of the layout of the premises. If the lounge was warmer, this would have accelerated Mr Scarle’s decomposition and his lesser decomposition would indicate that he must have died substantially later than his wife.

Ann also placed reliance on the evidence that Mr Scarle was alive on the floor for some time before death, namely a pressure sore on the right hip and the continued production of urine. In contrast, she points to Mrs Scarle’s pre-existing conditions, which the experts accepted may have led to a collapse followed by the development of hypothermia.

Deborah said that all the experts had to go on was the rate of decomposition and that they couldn’t draw any reliable inference from the fact that one was more decomposed than the other. This was particularly true, she said, given that decomposition is a very unreliable method of identifying the time of death and the extent of decomposition can be variable amongst people who die at the same place and time.

Deborah said that no safe inference could be drawn as to whether the toilet area was warmer, cooler or the same as the lounge.

The circumstances surrounding the death were also relied upon by Deborah, pointing out, for example, that Mr Scarle was the carer as he was more physically able.

The decision

As to the burden of proof, it was held that, where the order of death is uncertain, the burden of proof is on the party seeking to establish otherwise. Such proof is to the civil standard, the balance of probabilities.

The facts surrounding the deaths were equivocal and the picture was incomplete, even when considered in conjunction with the evidence of the pathologists.

The only evidence which could point unequivocally to the sequence of death was the relative differences in decomposition. Both Mr Scarle and Mrs Scarle were at an early stage of decomposition when found but Mrs Scarle was substantially further on in that stage. There were two explanations for this effect, namely that Mrs Scarle pre-deceased her husband or that the micro-environment of the toilet area was warmer than the lounge. The experts accepted that if the temperature and environmental conditions within the two rooms were found to be equivalent, it was more likely than not that Mrs Scarle died before her husband.

It was held that there were too many variables and unknowns to come to a safe conclusion as to the relative temperatures of the toilet and the lounge. Ann, the claimant, therefore did not satisfy the judge as to the order of death. Accordingly, the presumption of death in s. 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925 applied and Mrs Scarle was presumed to have survived Mr Scarle. The bungalow and the bank account therefore passed to those entitled to Mrs Scarle’s estate.

Where two or more people die in circumstances rendering it uncertain which of them died first, it will be assumed that the youngest survived the eldest. A person wishing to challenge this will need to be able to show, on the balance of probabilities and with clear evidence, which of the deceased persons died first.

For any further information regarding any of the issues raised in this case or in respect of will disputes generally, please contact David McGuire, Solicitor, on 0161 214 0523 or, or contact another member of Weightmans’ disputed wills, trusts and estates team.

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How do you handle bullying when it happens in your classroom?

October is National Bullying Awareness month, which can be especially meaningful for students with exceptionalities or those who have experienced bullying.

Often, students with exceptionalities are bullied for the very thing that makes them unique: their exceptionality. It can be hard to support these students in reporting and coping with being bullied.

I was recently reading a new book by Dr. A Lisbon, “Unmasking the Trauma,” which is a collection of short essays regarding parents and their student’s experiences with bullying. One common theme was the importance of school to home communication.

As teachers, we often try to protect our students from harm similarly to that of a parent. We can get preoccupied with solving the problem for the student rather than allowing the student and their parents to learn and develop the appropriate social skills to overcome being bullied. By working with parents, we offer our students the ability to learn strategies at school such as telling a trusted adult, or how to appropriately respond to bullying, then go home and practice those skills. It is also important that parents know so that they can monitor their student and act when needed. Another way to overcome bullying is to teach all students regardless of ability about the harm that bullying causes to the victim, other students, and the bully themselves.

In the past, my class and I have had discussions about how it feels to be bullied through role playing. During the role-play, we teach students appropriate social skills to respond to bullying along with how, when, and what to tell a teacher. Giving a clear definition of bullying and the consequences of it is also very important.

How are some ways that you address bullying in your school? Tweet us at @CECmembership

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Dialogue and peace – the speech by Patriarch Bartholomew at the 17th Eurasian Economic Summit

Patriarch Bartholomew
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

It is once again an honor to address the Eurasian Economic Summit, which is organized each year by the esteemed Marmara Group and is today considering the topic of “Culture and Ecological Dialogue.”

Centuries ago, a Christian mystic declared: “Acquire inward peace, and thousands around you will find their peace.” In some ways, then, the dialogue for peace begins within. This in turn embraces a religious dimension, which can never be separated from genuine peace, whether locally or globally. As faith communities and religious leaders, we are obliged constantly to remind people about the obligation and responsibility to choose peace through dialogue.

Human conflict may well be inevitable in our world; but war and violence are certainly not. If our age will be remembered at all, it may be remembered for those who dedicated themselves to the cause of peace. We must believe in and “pursue what makes for peace.” (Rom. 14.19)

The pursuit, however, of dialogue and peace calls for a radical reversal of what has become the normative way of survival in our world. It demands a transformation of values that are deeply seeded in our hearts and societies, hitherto determining our relationship with those who challenge our worldview or threaten our lifestyle. Transformation in the spiritual sense is our only hope of breaking the cycle of violence and injustice. For, war and peace are systems, which are contradictory ways of resolving problems and conflicts. Ultimately, they are choices.

This means that making peace is a matter of individual and institutional choice, as well as of individual and institutional change. It begins within and spreads outside to the local and in turn to the global. Thus, peace requires a sense of inner conversion (metanoia) — a change in policies and practices. Peacemaking ultimately requires commitment, courage and sacrifice. It demands of us a willingness to become people and communities of transformation.

The various gatherings initiated or organized at the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the last decades have proved crucial in order to prepare the way for a more peaceful coexistence and closer cooperation between the world’s peoples. They serve to bring cultures together in a searching encounter and assist religious believers to establish a more meaningful form of communication with one another.

Such an interfaith dialogue draws people of diverse religious beliefs and differing cultural backgrounds out of their isolation, preparing them for a process of mutual respect, understanding and acceptance. It is our unswerving conviction that when we truly desire this kind of encounter and communication and our hearts sincerely seek these, then we will somehow find ways to coexist in spite of differences in our faiths and in our cultures.

Isolation, agression

In fact, historical conflicts between Christians and Muslims normally have their roots in politics and not in religion itself. Speaking of an inevitable and inexorable “clash of civilizations” is neither correct nor valid, especially when such a theory posits religion as the principal battleground on which such conflict is doomed to occur. It may sometimes be the case that national leaders try to bring about isolation and aggression between Christians and Muslims; or that politicians or demagogues mobilize religions in order to reinforce fanaticism and hostility among nations. However, this is not to be confused with the true nature and purpose of religion.

Christians and Muslims have lived together, sharing the same geographical region, in the context of the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires, usually with the consent or support of the political and religious authorities of these two monotheistic religions. In Andalusia, Spain, believers in Judaism, Christianity and Islam coexisted peacefully for centuries. These historical models reveal possibilities in our own world, which is shaped by pluralism and globalization.

It is overly simplistic to distinguish sharply between the cultures or civilizations of “East” and “West,” as if the two are unrelated or can never converge in any meaningful or creative way. Moreover, it may be helpful to recall a fact that is rarely acknowledged by historical commentators and political scientists. As the Byzantine historian Alexander Vasiliev (1867-1953) observes:

Perhaps the cultural influence of both the Byzantine Empire and Islam may be noted in the origin and progress of the so-called Italian Renaissance. Classical knowledge, which was carefully preserved by Byzantium, and various branches of knowledge which were not only preserved but also perfected by Arabs [and Ottomans] played an essential role in the creation of the new cultural atmosphere . . . a connecting link between ancient culture and our modern civilization. Here we have an example of the cultural co-operation of the two most powerful and fruitful forces of the Middle Ages – Byzantium and Islam.

Perhaps, then, it would be more appropriate to focus our imagination not on some inevitable clash of civilizations, but on the mutual enrichment that can occur between different, diverse and distinct cultures. This is a hope expressed in a paradoxical way by a contemporary Turkish writer, Turan Oflazoğlu (b. 1932): “What we need is to enrich ourselves with those aspects of foreign culture, which are not congenial to our nature.”

This is precisely why a dialogue, which acknowledges differences but also suggests ways to negotiate differences, may prove helpful to map out appropriate avenues of communication between cultures and nations. It is the only way of discovering the peace that is within in order to realize a peace that is local, which in turn materializes a peace that proves truly global.

This is the speech by Patriarch Bartholomew at the 17th Eurasian Economic Summit in Istanbul.


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Straight Talk About Potholes & Pavements

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines a pothole simply as "a bowl-shaped depression in the pavement surface." A slightly more comprehensive definition is "a deterioration of the pavement surface in which the material breaks down in a relatively short time and is lost causing a steep depression." Potholes may be commonly thought of as an asphalt pavement issue because 94% of all paved roads in the U.S. are surfaced with asphalt, but potholes can occur in asphalt, concrete, or composite pavements, as well as in dirt and gravel roads.

Potholes occur when water infiltrates a road surface, weakening the material in a way that diminishes the weakened portion of the pavement's ability to carry traffic. Freeze–thaw cycles typically accelerate this damage as freezing water expands and wedges apart cracks or pavement layers. This is why potholes can seem to appear suddenly during wet winters with rapid swings in temperatures. Left untreated, the pavement damage can reach a point where material begins to pop out of the pothole or to ravel away, accelerating the pavement vulnerability and damage. In most cases, potholes are not an indication of a structural failure and the pavement can be successfully repaired. However, if left untreated, the damage can continue to grow, resulting in a more difficult and costly repair.

In a well-maintained pavement, potholes should not form. With an active pavement management system and appropriate pavement preservation activities, as well as proper repair of utility cuts, a pavement should not allow for the infiltration of water that can lead to potholes. However, in a time when public budgets are stretched and public works and road maintenance programs face chronic underfunding, it is no surprise that a harsh winter can lead to a noticeable increase in potholes on pavements that have deferred maintenance.

The simple fact is that while potholes form in pavements, they can be prevented in budgets. At all levels of government, departments of transportation and public works agencies face difficult decisions about how to allocate maintenance, repair, and construction funds across their road networks. Often trade-offs must be made, especially when public pressure calls for a "fix the worst first" strategy, which can mean more expensive repairs instead of spending money to keep serviceable pavements in good condition. Unfortunately, no matter how diligent an agency is, without greater investment in our roads at the local, state, and federal levels, this will continue to be a problem.

When a pothole does form, sometimes the best that an agency can do is put a patch in place and then plan for a more complete repair later in the year. During winter, asphalt plants in many parts of the country stop producing mixtures as paving is not appropriate in low temperatures and instead focus on equipment maintenance and facility upgrades. Also, when the weather is too cold and wet, placing asphalt in a way that ensures long-lasting performance can be difficult. Cold-mix asphalt patching solutions, when placed with proper site preparation, can make a road safer for drivers, but ultimately these patches will need to be replaced with a more permanent repair.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides a good understanding of how public agencies can work to address and avoid potholes, Pothole Primer: A Public Administrator’s Guide to Understanding and Managing the Pothole Problem (Special Report 81-21). It includes the following 12-point suggested pothole repair program focused on understanding pavement conditions and maintaining pavement performance.

1. Train a "Pothole Supervisor" to recognize problem areas in your town or city.
2. Conduct an inventory of your pavement system to rate the condition of each street.
3. Develop a maintenance schedule based upon the inventory…
4. Provide separate budgets for snow removal and road maintenance.
5. Establish a normal program of inspection and removal of debris from drainage ditches and structures.
6. Equip pothole repair crews to blow out, sweep or otherwise remove water and to dry and prepare the hole.
7. Repair potholes successfully by: a) proper hole preparation, b) use of heated asphalt concrete, and c) proper compaction of materials.
8. Repair potholes in the summer based on year-round monitoring and the inventory.
9. Use proper materials and procedures in good weather for permanent "one-shot" repairs.
10. Develop a first-class, strictly enforced system of coordinating the improvements to underground utilities with the street resurfacing program.
11. Establish a system making the utility responsible for the care and maintenance of a patch for at least a year after a pavement cut.
12. Maintain your pavements on a regular and proper basis to protect your investment.


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Department of Sociology

The study of sociology aims to prepare future graduates for educational activity, as well as educating them in the essential knowledge required in professions that demand a comprehensive sociological education. This study programme encompasses the field of general sociology and various specific sociologies, together with the accompanying, essential, methodological knowledge.  The study programme in the sociology of culture, on the other hand, equips future graduates with specific sociological knowledge from the fields of culture and art.

Andreja Končan

Phone: +386 1 241 1120


Since its establishment, Hayat Pharmaceutical Industries has been eager to form strategic partnerships with regional and international partners. As part of these efforts

HPI has been able to form fruitful partnerships with Chiesi and Gerot from Italy and Medinova from Switzerland for contract manufacturing and under license production.

HPI has also licensed out know how to Saidal Algeria for producing certain HPI products.


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Касенова А.Б. [Часть 2] Teaching English as a Foreign Language (2)

Differentiation is when a teacher reflects on learners’ needs and matches the teaching methods, learning tasks, resources or environment to individual learners or groups of learners. There is a variety of reasons for the range in learners’ needs, but the key principle is that through differentiation all learners can become successful learners.

The main reasons for the need for differentiation in the primary classroom are:

the learners’ level of ability, this is both for supporting the less able as well as challenging the most able

personal styles of learning or pace of work.

How to differentiate

There are many ways in which teachers can create or adapt teaching methods or materials to give every child the opportunity for challenge and success. Some ways of differentiating are:

By using ability groups. The most common way of differentiation is where learners are placed in high, average or low ability groups for some subjects. This can be the most effective way to help the teacher match the work to the different levels, but it sometimes causes the less able learners to develop a poor self- image, especially if groupings are rarely reviewed.

By using mixed- ability groups. An alternative to this method might be to group learners according to gender, age, friendship, or other criteria. This prevents stigmatisation and research has shown that less able learners work better in mixed- ability groups. However, more able learners may not reach their potential and will not necessarily be as challenged as they are in same ability groups

By varying the task. This is when learners cover the same work or meet the same objectives but in different ways. For example, when learners are working on ‘clauses’, some might use sets of ‘clause cards’ to create sentences to identify different kinds of clauses whilst others might be able to work directly from a book activity or worksheet. The most able might work on manipulating clauses to create different effects

By varying the outcome. This is when learners are expected to reach different standards by learning through adapted learning styles or resources. For example, if the class task is to write a short story about an animal, some learners with developing writing skills might draw pictures with captions; others, whose writing skills are good, might write a longer story or include dialogue

By varying learner support. This is when learners receive additional adult help from the teacher, a classroom assistant or even a more able learner. For example, when a class is undertaking a group reading activity, the teacher might work with the less able group and lead the discussion but allow the most able learners to work in an unsupported group with a summary sheet of questions / challenges to focus their discussion.

In summary, there are several ways in which the needs of learners can be met. Planning needs to include opportunities for:

• Differentiated group work

• Differentiated open- ended tasks

• Differentiated questioning. This is particularly important when using ‘closed’ questions

• Open questions. These allow all learners to take part. Encourage learners to discuss their answers either in pairs or small groups before giving a response

• Targeted questions. This is when pairs or small groups are asked specific questions related to the main learning outcome.

It is important that all learners have the opportunity to take part in a discussion, and can respond orally or through specially adapted or specialised resources or with the support of an adult.

Some learners may need extension activities. These can be based on the same learning objective as the rest of the class and need to be very high but with realistic expectations.

Challenge learners to take responsibility and be independent and active and to question and evaluate their learning. At the end of the lesson they can be asked to share experiences and ideas, so that all of the class can see and hear higher level work. In some cases these able learners may be able to use their experiences with active learning to set their own success criteria.

Written work or homework can be adapted to suit particular needs if a learner needs more help with understanding the written word. Enlarged print, illustrations which provide clues to the meaning of the words or an audio recording can be used. Simplifying the vocabulary or breaking the task down into simpler steps, with more guidance can also help. Appropriate resources, which are manageable, should be provided. Learners who need extra support can be encouraged to choose their own support materials.

Differentiation does not set out to enable all learners to achieve the same standard. It aims to promote learning so that all reach their potential – the best that they as individuals are able to achieve. Your skills as a teacher will be to encourage learners on their journey to reach their own personal goals through carefully planned provision of exciting and stimulating learning experiences.

Cambridge Primary. English. Teacher Guide. University of Cambridge International Examinations, 2011. — 172 p.

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KTLS Alumnae visited their Alma Mater (30/09/2017)

It is our pleasure to welcome our alumnae including Dr Hon Helena WONG Pik-wan, HKSAR Legislative Councilor, from Chen Hui Association (1977) visiting us today. They reunited with classmates and friends over the weekend and went on a campus tour, visiting our refurbished creative media room, art room, playground and recalling their sweet school memories, where they belonged together.


Protagonism and Productivity

Photo by Henry Romero

When I went to work in Venezuela in 2004, I discovered in the Bolivarian Constitution some elements that I consider to be central to the concept of socialism for the twenty-first century. For one, there was the emphasis upon human development—the goal of “ensuring overall human development.” But there was more. That Constitution also focused upon the question of how people develop their capacities and capabilities—i.e., how human development occurs. It declared that participation by people in “forming, carrying out and controlling the management of public affairs is the necessary way of achieving the involvement to ensure their complete development, both individual and collective.” The necessary way. Accordingly, the Bolivarian Constitution calls for democratic planning and participatory budgeting at all levels of society and upon “self-management, co-management, cooperatives in all forms.”

And these were more than noble words in a constitution that are soon forgotten. President Chávez constantly stressed the importance of practice. “Socialists have to be made,” he explained on Aló Presidente in 2007. “A revolution has to produce not only food, goods and services it also has to produce, more importantly than all of those things, new human beings: new men, new women.” Agreeing with Che’s point about the necessity of simultaneously developing productive forces and socialist human beings, Chávez insisted that the only road was practice: “We have to practice socialism, that’s one way of saying it, have to go about building it in practice. And this practice will create us, ourselves, it will change us; if not we won’t make it.”

Precisely because he understood the importance of this link between practice and human development, Chávez stressed the development of the communal councils where people transformed both circumstances and themselves, calling those councils the cells of a new socialist state. And, it is why, in his last reflection (when already seriously ill), Chávez stressed the absolute necessity of building the communes (comuna o nada) and argued that capitalist workplaces with their built-in hierarchical social division of labor should be replaced by one that involves the full participation of the associated producers and an appropriate means of coordination. For Chávez, the necessary road was protagonistic democracy—in the workplace and in the community—as the practice that transforms people.

All this should be familiar to anyone who has studied Marx. This key link between human development and practice is precisely Marx’s concept of revolutionary praxis as “the simultaneous changing of circumstances and human activity or self change.” Once we grasp Marx’s key link, we understand that every human activity has two products—both the change in circumstances and the change in self, both the change in the object of labor and the change in the laborer. In short, in addition to the material product of activity, there always is a second product—the human product. Unfortunately, that second product is often forgotten. And, the question we should ask is: what are the implications of forgetting that second product?

If we begin from the recognition that every activity in which people engage forms them, then we understand that there is a relation between the nature of our acts and the capacity we develop. If, for example, workers democratically decide upon a plan, work together to achieve its realization, solve problems which emerge and shift from activity to activity, there is a constant succession of acts which expand their capacities. Those workers are, indeed, the products of their own activity. “Every developed personality,” proposed the French Marxist psychologist Lucien Sève, “appears to us straight away as an enormous accumulation of the most varied acts through time.”

Thus, the level of capacity is a function of the nature and extent of practice. This is one aspect of Marx’s key link of human development and practice. But there is another side. What do we mean by capacity? Simply, capacity is the ability to engage in many acts. Sève defines capacities as “the ensemble of actual potentialities, innate or acquired, to carry out any act whatever and whatever its level.”4 The higher the extent of capacity, then, the greater the potential flow of acts drawing upon that capacity. In short, capacity is a stock, a stock which is expanded as a result of particular acts, and which is the basis for a flow of acts. Thus, we need to explore the complex dialectical relationship between acts and capacities (which, is to say, between practice and human development).

For example, a high capacity, i.e., a great potential for action, does not mean that all of that capacity is necessarily utilized. There is the potential of unutilized capacity. And if particular capacities are unutilized, they tend to atrophy—even if they have been built up in the past. For example, education leading to the development of particular skills will lose effectiveness over time and, indeed, will be forgotten if unutilized. Similarly, a process of learning by doing builds capacity, but if those capacities subsequently are not used, they wither away. In this respect, just as Marx spoke metaphorically of the renewal of the worker in his free time as “the production of fixed capital, this fixed capital being man himself,” one might speak of a tendency for moral depreciation of human capacity that has been built up, all other things equal, if it is not used.

By this logic, the maintenance of a stock of particular capacities requires renewal by its use. The education received before its utilization, the skills that are the result of a process of learning by doing—these previous additions to capacity are renewed through their use. This is a case of simple reproduction of capacity. Contracted reproduction of capacity, in contrast, occurs through non-utilization of that capacity. Thus, practice is key in determining the level of capacity.

In the same way, we can think about expanded reproduction of capacity. That growth of capacity occurs as a result of new acts. For example, engaging in new types of activity, solving new problems, activities that break with routine—these are practices that expand the stock of capacity. This allows us, then, to distinguish analytically between the set of activities that expand capacities (Type I) and the set of activities that simply utilize existing capacities (Type II). The second permits the simple reproduction of those capacities and thus, in itself, does not imply further growth. Type I activities, in contrast, may be seen as an investment that expands capacity and, all other things equal, permits an increase in future activities. Finally, it is obvious that the non-utilization of existing capacity and, even more, the destruction of existing capacities means, all other things equal, a reduction in the potential to carry out activities in the future.

This discussion, however, relates to only one side of the process. In addition to the production of human beings in the process of production, there is also the production of things. Recall that in the process of production, indeed in any human activity, there is the change in both circumstances and self-change, both the change in the object of labor and the change in the laborer. Thus, we need to consider the interaction between the output of these two products— i.e., the interaction of the joint products. Let us consider some propositions:

1) Type I activities (i.e., capacity building activity) in the production of human beings will be reflected, all other things equal, in future productivity increases in the production of things. In other words, increases in material productivity can be seen, all other things equal, as a function of the growth of the capacities of workers.

2) Type II activities (i.e., capacity-using activity) in the production of human beings leads to the renewal of capacity and thus has no effect on productivity in the production of things, all other things equal.

3) Finally, in contrast to both Type I and Type II activities, if the capacity of producers falls (either because it is unutilized or because it is destroyed), then productivity in the production of things will fall, all other things equal.

All of this is invisible if you use capitalist accounting and rely upon capitalist concepts of efficiency. Consistent with the logic of capital, capitalist accounting is concerned with workers only insofar as they are costs for capital. From the perspective of capital, workers are merely means for its growth. Accordingly, capitalist accounting ignores workers and focuses upon material output, the value of output and profits. Only the quantity of things and the value of things enter into its discussions of output and efficiency.

In contrast, the logic of the working class is centered around what Marx called in Capital “the worker’s own need for development.” Thus, the focus of socialist accounting and the concept of socialist efficiency is upon all conditions that allow for the full development of the worker’s capacity. There are here two different concepts of rationality, and they are not neutral, but rather class concepts, and they yield different conclusions. For example, time spent building workers’ capacities (through learning skills on the job like accounting or engaging in collective discussions to solve production problems) appears for capital (and thus capitalist accounting) as inefficiency and reduced productivity. In contrast, from the perspective of the worker and a society oriented to “the worker’s own need for development,” these are investments.

Is it possible to find a way to measure and thereby compare these contrasting products of capitalist production? Our first concern here must be the necessity to recognize that of the two joint products of capitalist production, only one is acknowledged in traditional capitalist accounting, and we need to understand the implications of this silence. We need to understand that capitalist accounting is a class concept; its class bias is revealed by what it considers important to measure and by what it excludes.

In contrast, the logic of the working class (and thus the socialist accounting implicit in it) is not so one-sided. Workers have an interest in productivity increases insofar as they contribute to the satisfaction of their own need for development. The time released from the direct production process, Marx noted, is “time for the full development of the individual, which in turn reacts back upon the productive power of labor as itself the greatest productive power.” That growth in productivity in its turn creates the basis for more free time.

Thus, socialist accounting necessarily considers the change in both products—the change in circumstances and the change in human capacities, the joint products of productive activity. So, I return to the question I posed earlier: what happens if we forget about the second product? What happens if we ignore the principle for socialism for the twenty-first century that protagonism is the necessary condition for complete development, both individual and collective?

As I have argued elsewhere, to build the new socialist society, it is necessary to develop new, socialist concepts. So, let me end by paraphrasing Che from his Man and Socialism in Cuba: the pipe dream that socialism can be achieved through capitalist accounting and capitalist concepts of efficiency can lead into a blind alley. And you wind up there after having travelled a long distance with many crossroads, and it is hard to figure out just where you took the wrong turn.

Michael A. Lebowitz is a professor emeritus of economics at Simon Fraser University.This article is adapted from a presentation at the University of Havana in November 2016, organized by the Federation of University Students as part of the Memoria Popular Latinoamericana institute’s project on Socialism for the Twenty-First Century.

This article originally appeared in Monthly Review.


Particle cli cloud compile is mixing target build trees

Couldn’t find another community post on this so just submitted a ticket - posting here in case anyone bumps into the same problem:

If I do one build with the particle CLI, e.g.

particle compile --target 1.4.2 --saveTo target/MyProject.bin photon

and then later to another build of a different project with the same name (for example, working on a branch/patch in the same repository):

I get compile errors, for example indicating that some symbols are not defined, includes are missing, etc. Here is the tail of the error message:

make[2]: Leaving directory ‘/firmware/user’
…/…/…/build/ recipe for target ‘user’ failed
make[1]: Leaving directory ‘/firmware/modules/photon/user-part’
make[1]: *** [user] Error 2
…/build/ recipe for target ‘modules/photon/user-part’ failed
make: *** [modules/photon/user-part] Error 2
Compile failed: Compiler encountered an error

I expect this when doing offline builds but not when doing a build in the cloud - the environment should be clean every time with no mixing of symbols, sources, etc.

The pre-compiling seems to be having a problem for me - definitely an issue.


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  • 1
    ISSN: 1432-0789
    Keywords: Key words Genetically modified bacteria ; Soil invertebrates ; Plasmid transfer ; Pseudomonas spp. ; Enterobacter cloacae
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Notes: Abstract  Plasmid transfer between introduced strains of Pseudomonas stutzeri JM302 (pLV1013), Pseudomonas putida PAW340 (pLV1017), Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO5 (RP4), and Enterobacter cloacae MF10 (RP4), all of them harbouring genetically modified or naturally occurring plasmids and bacteria indigenous to oak leaf litter, soddy-podzolic soil or vermicompost was monitored using non-sterile laboratory microcosms inhabited by the millipede Pachyiulus flavipes, the woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare, or the earthworms Aporrectodea caliginosa and Eisenia fetida, respectively. Plasmid transfer from genetically modified Streptococcus faecalis JH2-2 (pAMβ1) to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis 1-5 under similar conditions was also followed. A recombinant conjugative plasmid (pLV1017) encoding resistance to antibiotics and expressing catechol 2,3-dioxygenase was transferred into two facultatively anaerobic gram-negative bacteria, isolated from the excrement of A. vulgare. Presumed transconjugants of the facultatively anerobic gram-negative bacteria given above were isolated from the leaves and soil (four strains) and the excrement of the invertebrates (11 strains). They carried the same plasmids and exhibited the same enzymatic activity as the respective inoculant strains; for most of them, however, DNA fingerprints were slightly different. Transfer from S. faecalis JH2-2 to B. thuringiensis var. israelensis of a naturally occurring plasmid, pAMb1, encoding resistance to erythromycin was observed in vermicompost.
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