The NATO SOFA at Sixty: Heading for Retirement or Has Life Just Begun?

On 4 March 2005, US troops shot and killed Nicola Calipari, an Italian military intelligence officer, at a roadblock in Iraq. Earlier that day, Calipari and a fellow officer had recovered an Italian hostage from her kidnappers in downtown Baghdad. On their way back to Baghdad International Airport, their car approached a blocking position manned by US forces and came under fire. All three occupants of the car were wounded, while Calipari suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. A joint US-Italian investigation launched into the incident failed to arrive at shared final conclusions. Whereas the US military determined that the troops involved acted in accordance with the applicable rules of engagement and therefore bore no responsibility for any wrongdoing, the Italian investigators concluded that the shooting occurred as a result of a series of mistakes, including what they considered to be the misguided placement of the blocking position. Proceedings were subsequently instituted against the US soldier responsible for firing the shots, Specialist Mario Lozano, to be tried in absentia for murder and attempted murder in Rome.

The facts of this case presented the Italian courts with something of a dilemma, for the proceedings concerned a situation where one sending State, Italy, sought to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over a member of the armed forces belonging to another sending State, the United States, for acts committed by the latter against its personnel and nationals in the territory of a third State, namely Iraq. Considering that the majority of jurisdictional conflicts involving foreign forces arise between sending States and receiving States, the Lozano case presented a somewhat unusual set of circumstances which prompted the Italian courts to base their decisions on the applicable rules of customary international law. In its judgment delivered in October 2007, the Court of Assizes of Rome dismissed the case at first instance, holding that the jurisdiction enjoyed by the United States pursuant to the principle of the ‘law of the flag’ (principio del diritto di bandiera) prevailed over the passive jurisdiction claimed by Italy.1 This ruling was affirmed by the Court of Cassation in July 2008, but on very different grounds.2 According to the Court of Cassation, the evolution of international practice since the end of the Second World War has led to the progressive limitation of the principle of the law of the flag: current international law consequently gives effect to the territorial jurisdiction of the receiving State alongside the principle of the law of the flag, as evidenced by the arrangements governing the exercise of criminal jurisdiction under Article VII of the NATO SOFA of 1951. While the Court of Cassation therefore rejected the idea that the United States benefited from primary jurisdiction pursuant to the law of the flag, it held that Lozano was nevertheless exempt from the Italian criminal process under the more general principle of functional immunity ratione materiae.

These judgments raise some fascinating questions, including whether or not the two courts should have recognized the exclusive nature of US jurisdiction on the basis of the combined effect of CPA Order No 17 of 27 June 2004 and Security Council Resolution 1546 of 8 June 2004. The decision of the Court of Cassation also raises a more general question about the evolution of the rules of international law governing the status of foreign military deployments. The picture painted by the Court of Cassation is one of seamless continuity, where the traditional principle of the law of the flag was gradually infused with greater respect for territorial sovereignty during the course of the twentieth century, eventually to be supplanted by the more progressive principle of concurrent jurisdiction as manifested in the NATO SOFA. This story of course closely echoes the evolution of the law of State immunity from an absolute doctrine of immunity to a more restrictive theory. Attractive though it sounds, the storyline is a false one. This short contribution aims to add a bit more colour to the portrait painted by the Court of Cassation and pinpoint the proper place of the NATO SOFA within it.

No Uniform Regime

It is tempting to search for common principles in order to make sense of the maze of different legal instruments and regimes that govern the status of foreign armed forces under international law. While there can be little doubt that international practice does rest on certain universal principles, such as the principle of functional immunity, a closer reading suggests that despite a high degree of consistency, international practice is not uniform. In particular, as I have argued elsewhere,3 no universal treaty regime has emerged in international practice. This is so for three main reasons. First, States send members of their armed forces abroad for a wide variety of reasons, for instance to participate in joint exercises, to provide technical assistance or to contribute to peace support operations. Legal arrangements appropriate for one kind of mission may not be suitable for other types of deployments. Second, the operational circumstances of foreign military deployments may differ drastically from one case to another and raise different security considerations. This needs to be reflected in the applicable status arrangements. Finally, status of forces agreements are the product of political bargaining. More influential States are sometimes capable of securing for themselves conditions of stay which are more favourable than those they would be prepared to grant to foreign forces present within their own territory. The combined effect of the diverse objectives pursued by foreign military deployments, their different operational environments as well as the political disparities between sending States and receiving States means that status of forces agreements differ widely in their terms. No single treaty regime has consequently emerged to govern the status of all foreign military deployments in a universal manner.

Despite this lack of uniformity, there is nonetheless a considerable degree of consistency in international practice. By entering into similar status arrangements under similar circumstances on successive occasions, States and international organizations have built up a substantial body of practice relating to certain types of military deployments. For present purposes, three groups of agreements may be distinguishes in this respect. First, status of forces agreements concluded in the context of structured military cooperation between politically equal partners have frequently been based on the NATO SOFA of 1951.4 The Member States of the EU have thus modelled the EU SOFA of 2003,5 which governs the legal position of their military and civilian staff deployed within the territory of the EU for the purposes of European security and defence cooperation, on the relevant provisions of the NATO SOFA. Second, the UN and other international actors have developed distinct arrangements regulating the privileges and immunities of peace support operations, which for the most part reflect the terms of the UN Model SOFA of 1990.6 Finally, the third group includes all other legal arrangements, such as agreements conferring broader rights of exclusive jurisdiction outside the context of peace operations,7 instruments relying on the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations8 and agreements which for one reason or another are atypical.9

Generally speaking, these different types of agreements offer different answers to the same basic question: how to reconcile the divergent legal interests of sending States and receiving States, in particular as regards the exercise of jurisdiction over military personnel present abroad. The fact that different categories of status of forces agreements can be distinguished along these lines suggests two points. International practice relating to status of forces agreements has not followed a linear path of development as the Court of Cassation suggested in the Lozano case, but is more nuanced. This in turn implies that the NATO SOFA does not represent the evolutionary pinnacle of the law of visiting forces, but serves as an appropriate precedent in more limited circumstances only.

What’s So Special About the NATO SOFA?

Status of forces agreements are not a recent invention: they have existed as formal instruments of international law for at least two hundred years.10 Whereas status agreements initially operated on a strictly bilateral level, the onset of the Cold War in the late 1940s created an entirely new set of circumstances calling for the conclusion of the first multilateral agreements: for the first time ever, friendly armed forces were stationed abroad in large numbers on a semi-permanent basis for the purposes of collective security and self-defence in times of peace. The first multilateral agreement drawn up to reflect these novel circumstances was the Brussels Treaty SOFA, adopted on 21 December 1949.11

The Brussels Treaty SOFA was designed to define the legal status of forces operating in the context of the Brussels Treaty for collective self-defence concluded between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 1948,12 in particular the military personnel stationed at the joint military headquarters at Fontainebleau in France.13 It was agreed at the very beginning of the drafting process that the aim of the negotiations was to arrive at ‘a general agreement between the Five Powers on a basis of complete reciprocity’.14 Although the final text leaned heavily on earlier bilateral practice, the significance of the Brussels Treaty SOFA lay in the fact that it adapted these bilateral arrangements for a multilateral setting, in particular by laying down rules governing the exercise of jurisdiction over foreign personnel which were designed to balance the competing legal interests of sending States and receiving States in an equitable manner and on the basis of complete reciprocity. The Brussels Treaty SOFA thus set up a system of concurrent jurisdiction under which conflicts of competence in criminal matters were to be resolved primarily by administrative action, while civil claims against foreign forces were to be settled by the receiving State on the basis of its own laws, with the costs of satisfying these claims to be distributed between the States Parties.

Although the Brussels Treaty SOFA lost its political significance following the conclusion of the North Atlantic Treaty and never entered into force, it shaped modern legal practice by serving as a basis for the NATO SOFA.15 Indeed, the travaux préparatoires of the NATO SOFA suggests that the existence of the Brussels Treaty SOFA played a rather important role in facilitating early agreement on its jurisdictional provisions. In particular, by upholding the principle of concurrent jurisdiction underlying the Brussels Treaty SOFA, but at the same time enabling sending States to exercise their jurisdiction in those types of cases where their interests were most directly affected,16 the drafters of the NATO SOFA were able to devise a more flexible system for the allocation of the right to exercise jurisdiction ‘which each side could accept as being equitable’ and which subsequently became Article VII of the NATO SOFA.17 Whereas the transition from bilateral to multilateral status of forces agreements thus began with the Brussels Treaty SOFA, it was the conclusion of the NATO SOFA in June 1951 which put the principle of complete reciprocity into practice and thereby laid the foundations for the multilateral period of foreign military deployments.

But is it Custom?

Unlike the Brussels Treaty SOFA, the NATO SOFA has not only generated a vast amount of practice among its signatories, but it has also served as a model for a large number of other bilateral and multilateral status of forces agreements. Two factors played a key role in this regard. The fact that the United States, by far the most prolific sending State within the Alliance, became a Contracting Party ensured that the NATO SOFA had a much broader impact than the Brussels Treaty SOFA was ever likely to achieve. Even more importantly, the jurisdictional provisions of the NATO SOFA were widely perceived to have struck a fair balance between the interests of sending States and receiving States, and for this reason have attained a high degree of legitimacy even among States not parties to the Agreement.

The NATO SOFA’s substantial impact on international cooperation raises the question of whether or not it reflects customary international law. While there can be little doubt that its individual terms did not codify pre-existing rules of customary international law at the time of their adoption in 1951, it is equally obvious that they gave effect to certain general principles of international law, such as the principle of State sovereignty and State responsibility, and of course continue to do so. The more relevant question, therefore, is whether any specific provisions of the NATO SOFA have attained the status of rules of customary international law since 1951 as a result of subsequent practice. Considering the very large number of agreements which replicate or otherwise reproduce the jurisdictional arrangements laid down in the NATO SOFA, there exists a considerable body of State practice to support the argument that at least certain provisions of the NATO SOFA may have passed into custom. Nevertheless, this argument encounters some practical and conceptual difficulties.18

First, whilst the volume and consistency of pertinent State practice may be sufficient to count towards the development of rules of customary international law, proving the existence of corresponding opinio juris is rather more difficult, at least if one takes their opinio juris seriously. Second, the existence of several distinct legal regimes governing the status of different types of foreign forces demonstrates that, contrary to the Court of Cassation’s pronouncement in Lozano, the provisions of the NATO SOFA could not have evolved into rules of customary international law applicable to all foreign military deployments.19 If certain parts of the NATO SOFA have passed into custom, they did so only with respect to deployments comparable to those for which the NATO SOFA was designed, namely the deployment of armed forces in the territory of politically equal partners in the context of structured military cooperation. The necessarily imprecise nature of this caveat means that the field of application of any rules of customary international law arising from the NATO SOFA cannot be stated with absolute precision. Third, the NATO SOFA has stood as a beacon of legal reciprocity in relations between sending States and receiving States since 1951.20 In the case of the NATO SOFA, legal reciprocity came about as a consequence of the political equality among its signatories. However, States finding themselves in fundamentally different political circumstances may still demand to benefit from the principle of complete reciprocity and insist on the application of rules derived from the NATO SOFA in an attempt to achieve political parity. Here, legal reciprocity becomes a means to political equality. As a matter of strict law, nothing precludes States from pursuing such a policy, since as jus dispositivum, any rules of customary international law which may have arisen from the NATO SOFA may be displaced between the parties of an international agreement to this effect. In other words, even if under customary international law the principle of complete reciprocity only ought to be applied in operational conditions comparable to those of the NATO SOFA, the existence of such customary rules could not prevent, to use a random example, the interim government of a post-conflict country from seeking to subject a multinational peace operation present within its territory to the terms of the NATO SOFA.

None of this is to say that the question of whether the NATO SOFA forms part of customary international law admits of no answer or is of no significance. On the contrary: understanding the NATO SOFA’s contribution to the development of customary international law is not only critical to a better understanding of the general principles that govern the legal status of foreign military deployments under all circumstances, but it also provides a basis for questioning the legitimacy of attempts to extend the principle of complete reciprocity to entirely different operational circumstances.

For over six decades now, the NATO SOFA has served as an effective legal framework for the deployment of large numbers of military forces and associated personnel without a single amendment to its terms. Even cautious observers would describe this as a major achievement. What, then, accounts for this success? The recipe seems to be simple enough: focus on getting the basic principles right and leave most of the details to be worked out later in supplementing agreements. While the continued health of the NATO SOFA depends on the vitality of the North Atlantic Treaty, its impact and legacy extends far beyond the Alliance. Whether or not the NATO SOFA is headed for retirement or remains in force for another sixty years, it has attained such a degree of international recognition and legitimacy which would seem to guarantee its continued influence on international practice for the foreseeable future.

Published in the NATO Legal Gazette (April 2012), Issue 27, 2–8

1Judgment No 07/21, Italy v. Mario Luiz Lozano, 14 October 2007 (Corte di Assise di Roma) (on file with the author).

2Judgment No 31171/2008, Italy v. Mario Luiz Lozano, 24 July 2008 (Corte Suprema di Cassazione), Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts 1085 (IT 2008).

4Agreement between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Regarding the Status of Their Forces, 19 June 1951, 199 UNTS 67.

5EU SOFA, Brussels, 17 November 2003, OJ

7E.g. Vereinbarung zwischen der Regierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Regierung der Vereinigten Republik Tansania über die Rechtsstellung der an der Übung ‘TANZANITE 2002’ beteiligten Streitkräfte der Bundeswehr in der Vereinigten Republik Tansania, 22 January 2002, BGBl (2002) II 621.

8E.g Agreement regarding the Status of United States Military and Civilian Personnel of the United States Department of Defense Who may be present in Rwanda in Connection with the Military Airlift of Rwandan Military Forces in Support of Operations in Darfur and Future Mutually Agreed Activities, 11 July 2005, KAV 7344.

9Cf. Convention relating to the Conditions for French Technical Military Assistance in the Training, Organization and Equipment of the Comorian Forces and the Training of Comorian Soldiers at Military Schools and Instruction Centres in France, 4 August 1979, 1309 UNTS 178.

10See, for example, the Convention between Prussia and Russia for the Passage of Troops, 28 May 1815, 64 CTS 363.

11Agreement Relative to the Status of Members of the Armed Forces of the Brussels Treaty Powers, 21 December 1949, (1950) Cmd. 7868.

12Treaty for Collaboration in Economic, Social and Cultural Matters and for Collective Self-defence, 17 March 1948, 19 UNTS 53.

13Minutes of the 47th Meeting of the Permanent Commission, 7 January 1949, DG/1/13/65, at 3. On file with the author.

14Report from the Military Committee, 15 June 1949, DG/1/13/65, at 19 (emphasis added). On file with the author.

15D–D(51) 23, 23 January 1951, in J. M. Snee, NATO Agreements on Status: Travaux Préparatoires (1966).

16MS(J)–R(51) 2, 8 February 1951, in ibid., at paras. 14–17.

17D–R(51) 15, 2 March 1951, in ibid.

19To similar effect, see D. Fleck, ‘Introduction’, in D. Fleck (ed.) The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces (2001) 3, at 5–7.

20This sometimes lead to agreements based on different principles to be revised and brought in line with the NATO SOFA, e.g. R. A. Porrata-Doria, ‘The Philippine Bases and Status of Forces Agreement: Lessons for the Future’, (1992) 137 Military Law Review 67, at 70–81.


Rolling LED lights

This fun fixture is called TURNON and was designed by designer MarcoLana. The overall design of the lamp is inspired by the symbols on the usual electrical power button. The clever thing is that the switch of the lamp is controlled by the overall scrolling, scrolling the lamp to the left to off and scrolling to the right. The light source is an LED and the material is organic.

Traffic Lights

Jiangsu chengxu Electric Group Co., Ltd ,


Derelict Sites Act, 1961

Improvement of land acquired under this Act.

12.—Whenever a local authority have acquired any land under this Act, they shall with all convenient speed take such steps as may be necessary to prevent injury to health or to the amenities of the neighbourhood being occasioned by the land and for that purpose may clear, level, drain, fence and otherwise improve and develop the land.


About the Authors

-Terry Scott Cohen

Terry is both a very lucky and very unlucky guy. He has myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD), which is the most common form of muscular dystrophy for adults. Terry was born with the MMD gene. Terry’s mom died of the disease. Unfortunately, she did not know she had MMD at the time Terry was born. The genetic cause of this disease has only been known since 1994. There is no known cure or treatment, but scientists are working hard for breakthroughs now. FDA human trials for the very first human treatment for the disease began in 2014.

Terry’s disease causes muscle weakness throughout his body and affects almost every cell in his body. It also has caused him learning disabilities, diabetes, balance and abdominal problems, swallowing difficulty, and the list goes on. Myotonic dystrophy is a progressive disease.
You get worse as you age, but everyone is affected differently. The healthier and happier your life, the greater likelihood you can slow down the progression. Terry is doing his best to make his life worthwhile.

Terry was thirty-one years of age at the time he wrote his first book with his dad “Disabled & Challenged: Reach for your Dreams!” Terry wrote about his life experiences and challenges and the positive philosophy he has that has sustained him all along. His hope is that other young adults fighting life long disabilities will embrace life fully as he has done. His greatest love is travel, and he wants to pursue his travel dreams before his disease slows him down.

Terry also has been very fortunate because he has had the benefit of good doctors, caregivers, and a great team of other medical people who have helped keep him as strong as possible as he fights his disease. In addition, Terry has had the benefit of counselors and psychologists who have shown him the way past the depression and frustration which has caused him a lot of pain.

When Terry graduated from high school, he was all pumped up—scared, but excited to face the world. He wanted to get a job, have lots of new friends, and start to date and kick up his heels. Instead, he ran into a brick wall. He could not find a good job, bouncing around from one to another, and felt entirely lost and alone. It was only with the help of a great therapist that he got past thoughts of suicide during this time.

Terry then decided to attend a special program for young adults who were facing the same problems he had after high school. The program was over fifteen hundred miles away from home, and that was a very big step for him. Terry met people there with all kinds of limitations, including brain damage, birth defects, crippling from accidents, and diseases like his own. He learned how to live as independently as he could, making the right friends, taking care of his medical problems himself, holding a good job, and helping his other friends with disabilities begin to start new lives for themselves.

After six years of living away and attending the program, Terry decided to return home. Leaving his new friends and counselors was a very hard decision. Terry now lives in his own apartment with his dog, buddy. He gets disability aid, and has made a new life for himself. His disease has progressed. He had to give up his part-time job. Fortunately, he can still walk, but not well. He uses a scooter when he can and drives an accessible van. He actively does physical therapy. He has some new friends—mostly disabled people, but not all. He has a life, and he is happy.

Terry knows that his future will hold more medical problems, and he is doing all he can to live his life to the fullest every day. He has said all along that he is a person with a disability, not a disabled person. He wants to see his dreams come true. Writing this travel book is one of his dreams come true. After his mom passed away, he took her place traveling with his dad. Together they made local trips at first. As they got their “sea legs” they began trips to other parts of the USA and eventually to other countries. Travel has proven to be one of the very best experiences to fully enjoy his life, keep him as mobile as possible, and meet fun people. It has also proven to be a great way for he and his dad to become “travel savvy” buddies. Each passing trip holds great adventure for both of them.

-Barry M. Cohen, Ph.D.

Barry is Terry’s dad, and they have always had a very close relationship. Barry was a caregiver and travel companion to his wife, and now to Terry. He has seen firsthand just how myotonic dystrophy gradually takes its toll. Unfortunately, when myotonic dystrophy is passed down from mother to son, the disease gets worse for the son. That is part of the genetic challenge of this disease. As a result, Barry has made a special effort to help Terry realize his dream of writing his books. All the ideas and subjects in the books are Terry’s. Barry helped Terry organize these ideas and research special topics, and he has also added his own advice as a consulting psychologist.

Barry is a nationally recognized psychologist who counsels leaders in business and industry. He has published articles in major media and has received awards for his work. His clients have included many of the largest corporations in the United States, and he also consults with global leaders. He has “borrowed” from his many years of counsel with these talented people to apply some of their same living skills to helping young people with disabilities, including Terry and his friends. Barry serves as a counselor- facilitator to young adults with MMD at national conferences.

Over the years, Barry has helped Terry learn how to think ahead and anticipate some of the many challenges that might get him down. Barry has also learned a great deal about being a travel companion for both his wife and Terry. All these experiences have made him a more informed resource for planning accessible trips. Travel is a great energizer full of new adventures and opportunities to meet people from many cultures and backgrounds. In that sense, travelers who are disabled are no different than anyone else.

Barry did graduate training in psychology at Columbia University and completed his doctorate at the University of Tennessee. Barry resides in Clearwater Beach, Florida, not far from Terry’s apartment. He and Terry continue to be close with one another, taking father-son vacations and setting aside one day a week just to spend time together. Helping Terry write his books was an inspiration for both of them, and it has brought them even closer in their desire to help other people with disabilities learn to live full lives and rise to their challenges.


Santa Claus is a minor character in The Backyardigans.

Santa Claus is a Christmas character. In "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve", his sack of toys is stolen by the Abominable Brothers. He enlists the help of the Action Elves to get it back. After the elves explain to the Abominable Brothers that the sack does not belong to them, Santa instructs the Backyardigans to fill the bag with toys. Santa is never shown completely, but he is seen at a distance and heard over Snappy's cell phone.

It is unknown what Santa Claus looks like in the series. It is possible that he wears a red and white outfit.

Main characters
Recurring characters
WormansShermanDragonRobot RoscoeCan't-See-UmsFishGiant ClamGiant RobotBoyAnnouncer
Minor characters
Characters from merchandise
Characters from live performances
Boinga-BoingaClammyDoll and FinnEspejo MágicoMarshaOctaviaSeahorse


Should you use AI for performance review?

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NewtonX recently conducted a survey of 1,500 American full-time, salaried employees in office jobs with the intent of understanding what employees want in exchange for improved productivity, and also conducted a sister survey with 200 senior level executives at these same companies, in order to understand the disconnect between employees and employers, when it comes to improving output (you can read an excerpt of the productivity findings here). One interesting finding from this survey was that only 9% of employees and 22% of senior executives  believe that their performance management processes are effective, and in particular view reviews and feedback as painful. Employees and executives alike believe that performance reviews are rife with bias, unclear objectives, and conflicting definitions of success.

AI provides an appealing alternative. IBM claims that its AI, Watson, can predict future employee performance with 96 percent accuracy. In general, AI has a much better memory and ability to measure metrics against one another (such as an employee’s goals/standards to their actual performance) — an AI isn’t likely to forget about your strong first quarter, judge your lipstick, or read into your lunch habits. Furthermore, AI can give real-time feedback, negating the need for retroactive chastising months after the fact.

So why aren’t we using AI for performance reviews? NewtonX consulted AI experts as well as the executive and employee survey to identify the benefits and drawbacks of letting AI do performance management.

Would AI solve bias in performance reviews, or exacerbate it?

One of the appeals of AI for performance review is that it is likely to be significantly less biased than humans are. Not only can AI correct for racial and gender bias, but it also is not susceptible to performance-review-specific biases, such as recency bias (where actions performed recently are given more weight than actions that occurred say, 11 months ago for a yearly assessment). Similarly, AI can control for contrast bias, which occurs when a manager compares an employee’s performance to their peers rather than to objective measures of success. This bias can be particularly pervasive in growing companies — perhaps the entire sales team met their goals, but an evaluator may be inclined to give the least successful representative a worse performance review, even though they objectively performed to standard.

That said, AI algorithms are only as good as the training data they are fed. While many algorithms today can detect and flag bias based on gender or race, data needs to be weighted and examined to ensure that other types of human bias don’t teach the AI to adopt the same biases. It’s an old saying in computer science: garbage in, garbage out. AI learns from the data that humans feed it, so in order for it to be better than us when it comes to bias, the AI will need to taught through unbiased data. AI doesn’t suffer from logic fallibility as long as the data its given doesn’t either.

A numbers game: why the market for AI- powered performance review is skyrocketing

AI-powered assessment can happen in real-time based on targets, quotas, and progress toward each. Because it can react in real-time, it can also give positive reinforcement, incentives, and alerts when performance is slipping. It can even give clear feedback on areas that need improvement to bring the employee up to their targets. The real-time nature of AI feedback can save companies millions in time and productivity: IBM, for instance, has 380,000 employees worldwide; giving just two hours of feedback once per year for each employee is a colossal time suck, especially considering that yearly reviews tend not to impact future performance.

It’s no wonder, then, that IBM is not the only company moving toward AI-powered performance review. As early as 2011, yearly performance reviews began to fall out of vogue in favor of continuous feedback. Companies including Cargill, Adobe, and Accenture abandoned the old GE model of “pass or perish” yearly reviews, and by some measures, cutting the yearly review in favor of continuous feedback has reduced turnover by 30% (which also equals millions of dollars in recruiting and lost productivity for onboarding/ disengaged employees).

Today, the HR and workforce management software market has reached $12B, and is projected to grow 25% year over year for the next three years. Companies including BambooHR, Nexus AI (which in addition to automated performance reviews also algorithmically determines which employees should work together on given projects), and HR behemoths like Zenefits have developed products that give employees and managers continuous feedback, not only on performance but also on context-specific performance — e.g. who works best on what projects and with whom.

That said, even executives who already use or are planning to use AI-powered performance management tools say that they combine these tools with personalized oversight. “Nobody is getting fired by an AI,” declared a VP at a supply and logistics company that uses AI-performance management software. As in so many other AI application areas, the AI is there to augment and improve human efficiency and productivity; not to replace it altogether.

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Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets

Imagine that you’re alone in the woods with no way to contact help and it’s starting to get dark. This is where Amy Raye, an experienced hunter, finds herself during Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets.

When Amy Raye sets out alone to track a bull elk during the last weekend of the hunting season, the weather takes a turn for the worse. Before long, she’s lost and it’s getting dark. Amy Raye’s two fellow hunters report her missing, which launches a search and recovery mission to find her. Throughout the story, the perspective shifts from Amy Raye to Pru Hathaway (a member of the search team) and we learn about the perseverance of each of these women as the conditions go from bad to worse.

Breaking Wild is filled with vivid descriptions of the Colorado wilderness as well as detailed hunting explanations. While I don’t have any experience hunting (or any interest in it really), it was a unique perspective to read from and Amy Raye’s survival skills are beyond impressive. It’s inspiring to read about a character with such a strong will to survive.

Although the book wasn’t a thriller like I thought it might be; it was still a race to the finish.  I recommend this book as the weather turns colder and we find ourselves bundled up inside!

Lie To Me by J.T. Ellison

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

I read and review many wonderful books, but it’s not often that I want each and every one of you to read one book in particular. What’s this stunning, eye-opening novel that I think everyone should read? This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel!

Before I dive into why I think this book is so important, I’ll share an overview of the story. Rosie and Penn live in the Midwest with their five lively, adorably chaotic and curious boys. Meet Claude, the youngest son who loves to bake and listen to fairytales. When he grows up he wants to be a girl. Claude’s parents and siblings are supportive and want him to be happy. However they’re not sure how to support him in a world that doesn’t seem to understand. To protect their family, a secret unfolds and grows until it becomes so large that it threatens to suffocate them all.

One of the most important impacts of reading (besides enjoying the stories) is how it fosters empathy. This book makes that very clear. In a heartwarming tone, This Is How It Always Is discusses a topic that a lot of people aren’t familiar with in a very eye-opening and relatable way. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and would love to hear your thoughts if any of you have read it!

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy

“First we were four. Now we are three.”

What a line! Could there be a better way to begin a book? I was immediately caught up in Alexandra Sirowy’s young adult thriller, First We Were IV, when I read this opening passage.

A group of teenagers, best friends, form a secret society. They are outsiders and want revenge for the girl they found dead 5 years earlier. The police looked away back then, but not this time. This time, the police and the town itself will pay attention because the society will make sure of it.

Before starting the society, Izzie, Graham, Harry and Viv felt powerless and unheard. Now they’re taking the power back. By fighting the authority, getting revenge, and making an unbreakable vow to one another they feel more alive than they ever have. Unsurprisingly, it goes too far. The power of IV grows as others adopt the symbol.

I haven’t read a young adult book in awhile and I almost forgot how quick the pace can be. I really liked First We Were IV and the focus on relationships, what it means to be a teenager, and the danger of too much power.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

These quotes stood out to me:

Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

What would you do if your best friend called you the F word? In Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza, F refers to Fat. One morning, Janey is ambushed by her best friend and business partner when he tells her that she needs to lose weight to stay in her position as CEO of their wedding dress business. Understandably Janey is hurt (and pissed).

Over the next three months, Janey goes to great lengths to lose weight. $50 (or more) workout classes. $30 juices. The clay diet. A weeklong fitness retreat. You name it, Janey tried it. It’s clear that this “healthy” lifestyle is anything but being healthy.

Fitness Junkie is entertaining and ridiculous at times, but underneath the silly exterior are very real issues like eating disorders, poor body image, and unrealistic expectations. I appreciate a book that can shine a light on important issues in a way that’s easy to absorb.

Janey’s (fictional) wealth allowed her to take part in all of these extreme and expensive health trends, but many times it veered too far towards the excessive. The fact the Janey could pay for all this extravagance (in NYC no less) without much consideration was a little bit too unrealistic (at least for the majority of people) for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Fitness Junkie and recommend it!

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware


Image: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Physicians from Johns Hopkins Medicine have performed two landmark organ transplantations involving an HIV-positive liver and kidney. It’s a historic precedent that will do much to alleviate the ongoing organ shortage, while paving the way towards similar transplants involving other diseases.

The doctors, who announced the surgeries yesterday, used organs donated by the family of an HIV-positive woman who died earlier this month. Her kidney and liver were successfully transplanted into two recipients, both of whom are HIV-positive. This ends a 25-year-stretch in which it was illegal in the US to use HIV-positive organs for transplants. The surgery involving the liver was a world’s first, while the kidney transplant was the first in the United States.

“This is an unbelievably exciting day for our hospital and our team, but more importantly for patients living with both HIV and end-stage organ disease,” noted head surgeon Dorry L. Segev in a press statement. “For these individuals, this could mean a new chance at life.”

Segev says that deceased HIV-positive patients represent an important new source of critically-needed organs for transplants. He estimates that 500 to 600 donors are available each year, which could save over a thousand lives. What’s more, these donations would do much to address the ongoing donor shortage in the United States; there are about 122,000 people on the transplant waiting list in the US at any given time, of which thousands die each year.

The surgery was made possible with the passage of the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act of 2013 and the recent approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing. The policy reversal was motivated by recent advances in antiretroviral drugs and other therapies which have done much to lessen the toll of HIV/AIDS (though it’s important to point out that these therapies often cause liver or kidney failure). Furthermore, surgeons have developed techniques and protocols to make sure that the HIV virus doesn’t spread to the medical team.

Future transplants could involve other organs, such as lungs, pancreas, and intestines. Moreover, this milestone could influence similar surgeries for patients infected with other communicable diseases, such as hepatitis C. And in fact, surgical teams from two different US universities are planning to use hep-C-infected kidneys for transplants later this year.

[NPR, LA Times]


The Prehistory of the Superhero

Superhero movies have been soaring at the box office throughout the twenty-first century and especially in the last decade. Originally the province of children and then of adult “geeks,” superheroes have finally gone mainstream.

But, where did they come from?

Their earliest progenitors were the heroes of myth: gods and demigods who slew chthonic monsters of chaos and created new orders, both cosmic and cultural, sorting out worlds and founding cities.

In the 19th century, as the market for printed stories grew along with economic development and the rise of literacy, the genre of adventure fiction blossomed.

In the early 20th century, a new kind of adventure hero arose. The Scarlett Pimpernel had a “secret identity.” His everyday persona was that of a harmless aristocratic fop. This provided cover for his heroic identity. This trope was then adopted by Zorro and then a whole wave of “mystery men” in pulp magazines and comics, later culminating in Batman.

Newspaper comic strips originally focused on mischievous children and childlike animal scamps like “Krazy Kat.” But then the strapping adventure hero began swooping from the pulps into the funny pages: characters like Dick Tracy, Tarzan, and Flash Gordon.

In pulp magazines and novels, sci-fi heroes began acquiring superhuman powers. There was John Carter of Mars (by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs) and Hugo Danner.

The greatest superhero was also the first: Superman. In Superman, his creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster weaved together several preexisting threads. He was a leaping, strapping adventure hero in the tradition of Tarzan and Doc Savage. But since his feats were superhuman, he was also a mythical strongman in the tradition of Hercules and Samson. And with the “scientific” origins of those powers (which were similar to those of Carter and Danner), he was also a scifi marvel. And his secret identity also connected him to the tradition of the mystery men.

This was a winning formula that was first appreciated by children, then by adults who retained their childlike sense of wonder, and now by people of all kinds.


9. Exponentially Zero

— Paradox to the nth Power—

Footnote-ish Miscellanea

Paradox Times Paradox
To the Power of Zero

The idea is that paradox, as a concept, reflects the paradoxical nature of squaring the uni-number One-Zero (one equals the other), the Zingular, with itself.

Pseudo times pseudo becomes Zeudo. Or Ze. Paradox squared make things happen, unpredictable things. The countably infinite moves a little bit away from us, recedes.

P^2 = Z

Normally, one expects numbers one and zero to behave like other numbers. But if they have a paradoxical nature, which is the general argument, and if at times error — or whatever — enters, then sums and products may change from what we expected.

This would happen pretty much with every number, but for an non-1 number there are more intermediate steps, meaning a chain of events is necessary for, say, 437 to suddenly equate 0.

Not so likely. Not as likely.

But for 1 there is but one single step. Similarly, for 0 there is also but a single step. These numbers would thus stand for the extreme case of Yes turning into No, False into True, and so forth.

Definitions are true only provisionally. Every rule has an exception. If the rule says something will not happen, let it be Zero. If it says something is always the case, let it be One.

Then wait for exception. Stir while waiting, add salt. Do note the difference between ‘will not happen’, above, and the non-written ‘can not happen’. We need no rules of logic to tell us that gravity will work. Gravity seems to overlap quite nicely with reality, without definitions, but definitions do not overlap as nicely with reality. There are always loopholes, as every lawyer knows.

The Point

The canonical example of something that is both nothing and something would be the point. Non-spatial pure location it indicates something, but it is an absence in itself.

The point par excellence would be the center-point of a Cartesian coordinate system; the point of origin. Using Latin let us think of it as Origo. Like a door it is nothing in itself, yet doors are not nothings, or they would not be there, so the absence-in-one-sense simultaneous with presence-in-another-sense is a meaningful one. A door to understanding.

The House that Jack Built

If One and Zero are equal, are both Ze, then we may think of the Origo as having a sphere of influence beyond itself, in particular in the area between itself and One. The place of no-place, the place where things are, cease to be or begin to exist henceforth. The locus of change. This is the area where one single event or non-event may change the course of history.

A This is the house that Jack built kind of thing. Though there is a number of events in a chain, taken on its own, every single event may be considered cause for all that follows if it was necessary. A chain of unlikely events from 437 to 0 could thus be thought of as a ‘causation tunnel’. As such, we can think of the tunnel as a 1, in which case the event is suddenly 437 times more likely to happen — but then upon another plane of reference. Singular events are points, infinitely many, but the line they (may) make up is one.

The event-lines can be considered trajectories in four-dimensional space. The event-plus-object-timelines making up four-dimensional “tunnels in time”. In the center of the tunnel would be the most likely events, the “walls” of the tunnel that which can not happen — at least not here or now.

The next step could be to look at object-related events as “objects” in their own right, letting four-dimensionality consist of event-lines rather than objects-with-timelines. In such a setting an electron would be a point at one observation or entanglement — perhaps the same thing? —, then diffuse into probability and non-existence until the next observation; the next tango with reality.

It may be not the size per se, or exclusively, that makes these very small things quantum-sensitive, but that we can only detect one in terms of event.

One would want to look at how trajectories intersect next, for where trajectories intersect, there is an origo, and where Origo is, trajectories are affected. They nest, they become entangled, turn into bundles, perhaps fuse. Tori and related forms may describe bundles of a closed or at least relatively repetitious system.

Event-lines, objects abstracted from them, might be possible to analogize. Being object-less, they have no mass. Being mass-less, they may behave like massless particles. Being such and being linear, they may behave like photons. If events behave like massless particles, they may also, perhaps, have a wave-like nature.

When one incomplete cell has joined with another incomplete cell, there is a fertilized egg.

Suddenly the individual cells have no history before this joining, their different characteristica soon indistinguishable. They are entwined, entangled, forever inseparable. With birth the same thing happens again, for now the joining is part of the larger world and required to breathe on its own, restarting the entanglement to now be one between the born one and the world they partake in.

Each trajectory could be considered a domain unto itself. What is a line in one domain is a point in another. We would not expect the house that Jack built not to come into existence if all things are normal, meaning we have to consider where the house-building trajectory intersects with other trajectories.

Lines become “points” partaking in planes and three-dimensional objects. They, in turn, “move” through time, which is to say that they turn into trajectories.

The house that Jack built is a house situated at the end of a four-dimensional tunnel, extending back into Big Bang, converging a multitude of paths into itself.

So is a person, say Jack himself. Or a cat. Or anything that constitutes a unit; a system. When the cat is in the cradle, one tunnel intersects with another. When the dog is in the house, yet another intersection happens. The greater the number of intersections, the greater the number of possibilities and interactions.

With event-lines intersecting, the geometry is back to the point, but now the points are loci in another sense. Yet, points being points, that really does not matter mathematically. They would be mapped similarly, whatever they happen to represent. Any tour into “higher” dimensionality thus starts over. Time-tunnels intersecting become “meta-event”-points, and so on, and so forth.

“Here and now” is where all that can intersect right now intersects. Here and now is thus where we find an origo, and where things can be affected one way or another. And where the unknown, X, the exception, may enter onstage, unbidden, perhaps welcome, perhaps not. Only in a closed system can X not enter — unless there from the start, but not detected, another possibility.

A personal example:

I once had two friends who I thought should not meet. Though both nice people, there was too much explosive conflict potential in the meeting, for which reason I assumed that I should not introduce them to one another.

Which I then decided was superfluous to decide. Naturally, being so vastly different, it would not happen I needed to. The two had nothing in common, no intersections in time or place where I might be called upon to introduce them to one another, or seek to avoid doing so. I taunted myself for my wish to control things which needed not to be controlled.

As it turned out, they both decided to make a surprise visit to me at the same time the same day. My front door and my personal whereabouts made up a point of intersection. Had I been walking down Champs Èlysées and these friends had happened to walk there too, each on their own track, going about their business, I could have been a “center of gravity” for them, causing a meeting.

It turned out they did not aggravate one another but were rather neutral and them meeting was not problematic at all. I had worried unnecessarily, teaching me the lesson that though I was wrong in my assumption about them never having to be introduced by me, I was perhaps even more wrong to assume the event needed to be avoided. Anyhow, the point is that unknown factors cannot be discounted for. They may even be too obvious to be accounted for. In this case, I discounted the house that Jack built only because I was in it. It was invisible to me.

How, then, to accord for X? Is the unexpected not by virtue of being unexpected and unknown an unknown unexpected X? How can the indefinite domain surrounding Origo-Zero be charted? Is it even possible?


Subtitling services

2M’s dedicated Subtitling Services unit provides captions and subtitle services into 250+ languages.

In a typical subtitled video, the audience hears the original language, and written translations appear at the bottom of the screen. The existing audio stays untouched and viewers get to hear the original tone and inflections of the narrator, interviewees and actors. This provides them with a more authentic experience of the original film.

Uses and limitations of subtitles

Subtitles are typically kept to a maximum of two lines’ length and appear on the screen in synch with the audio and long enough for the viewer to be able to read them whilst they still take in the picture. For a positive viewing experience, translations have to be kept concise to suit the audience’s reading speed. Subtitle services are particularly suited for videos that don’t already have a lot of text in the picture; otherwise the video could become too text-heavy and the provided information too much for the viewer to process.

Advantages of subtitling services

One key advantage of subtitling over voiceovers is the lower production cost, as no voice talents, audio studio or recording engineer are required. Furthermore, our subtitling services are a great way to offer translated video content online and in a variety of language options through popular video sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

quote request

Subtitles, open captions, closed captions – what’s what?

The usage of these terms is not quite consistent across Anglophone countries, and often we find that “captions” and “subtitles” are used interchangeably. As far as usage in Australia is concerned, we often differentiate by referring to “captions” when these are in the same language as the audio/dialogue, and to “subtitles”, when translation into another language is involved.

Captioning is primarily done to give the deaf and hard-of-hearing access to video content. You may also have come across captions on TVs in noisy environments like airports, or in hospital waiting rooms where the volume is kept down. In this context, captions not only reflect the spoken dialogue but may also include descriptions of sounds, e.g. a slamming door in the background, or voices in the off, or lyrics and music, particularly when these are very relevant to the storyline. In the U.S., captions for the hard-of-hearing are referred to as “SDH” (subtitles for the deaf or hard-of-hearing).

“Open” captions or subtitles are always in view on the screen, they cannot be turned off. They are also referred to as “hard-coded” or “burned-in” subtitles. “Closed” means that the captions/subtitles are optional for the viewer, i.e. they can be turned on or off as desired. That’s what the little CC button is for that you see on sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

subtitling services subtitles subtitle services

2M provides subtitles in a range of file formats (e.g. SRT, WebVTT, PAC, STL etc.), also suitable for upload as closed captions, or a finished video file with the subtitles permanently burned in.

By subtitling your videos, you make your product visible to overseas markets and increase visibility to multicultural communities domestically.


Cresco hosts a TEDxFlanders Salon in cooperation with TEDxFlanders

On 17 October 2018 Cresco hosts a TEDxFlanders Salon on Energy x Efficiency x Empathy, in cooperation with TEDxFlanders.

Three entrepreneurs explain how Energy, Efficiency and Empathy determine their activities, projects and vision.

ENERGY - Merijn Everaarts, Dopper -  Energetic and inspired CEO and founder of Dopper, the sustainable drinking bottle with a mission: drink tap water and stop plastic pollution.   A passionate entrepreneur who motivates people, offers a product that respects the planet and wants to encourage more people to do so.  How does he handle that?  What are the key values?

EFFICIENCY - Sofie Van de Velde, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde - Sofie renounces the standard competitive model of art galleries and opts for cooperation, shared opportunities and networks. She will explain how artists often turn down regular efficiency, expedience and optimisation to gain in creativity.

EMPATHY - Liesbeth Dillen, former CEO trainee IKEA - Based on her experience as CEO trainee IKEA and her own private route, Liesbeth shares with us her strong vision on empathy within a company.  She further explains how she translates this into corporate strategy and into a new leadership model for international organisations (e.g Disney, Danone, Inditex, Rode Kruis ).

Start 19:00 – End 22:30

Hosted by Natalie Lemense, partner at Cresco.   With TEDx Flanders we aim to create a TEDxFlandersSalon that brings inspiration and discussion.

Feel free to contact Natalie if you want to participate (

Our people


The 3 Best Things to do at Night in Budapest

In the heart of Budapest, at the corner of Jókai utca and Weiner Leo utca behind a smoked glass door, there sits a parallel universe called the Cotton Club where the rooms are located underground to evoke the unique atmosphere of the 20s and 30s.

The Orpheum Hall is the perfect place for the high-end traveler, with live entertainment, a bar serving cocktails along with other luxurious offerings, and a Cigar Room providing total comfort. Elite Traveler recommends this venue for those seeking a grand yet unique Hungarian experience. It is perfect for playing chess or reading a newspaper, while soaking up the atmosphere, as well as being an ideal place for business meetings and appointments.

Nikolett Zelenyánszki

+36 1 354 0886

Jókai utca 26, 1066 Budapest


2 June 2015

King West

Natural England and Defra revise requirements for farmers' record keeping.

In a presentation, which signalled the postponement of a controversial new plan to impose a significant change to record-keeping requirements on producers with an environmental stewardship agreement, Defra and Natural England have apologised for the handling of the situation, which has sparked widespread anger within the farming community.

11,000 pre-2013 agreement holders received notification in early April from Natural England that they must begin to keep more detailed livestock records if using grazing or livestock management options.

The letters arrived in the middle of lambing, demanding that farmers using ‘livestock options’ had to keep stocking records at a land parcel level from the 1st June or risk facing EU fines. Farmers’ protests stated the dreadful timing, lack of practical details and absence of information on what is actually required as reasons for their objections to the reform.

Defra and Natural England have since backed down. Letters have started to be received by farmers, in which they state, “Natural England and Defra have listened carefully to farmers’ concerns and discussed them with farming industry representatives; as a result Defra has agreed to postpone introducing this new requirement until further notice.” The letter continues that the original communication “did not explain clearly enough why the new requirement was being introduced and what you would have to do to meet it.”

By way of apology, the letter continues; “Natural England and Defra would like to apologise for any inconvenience that this episode may have caused you.”

A spokesperson for the NFU, Robin Milton, has stated that the decision is a ‘victory for common sense.’

It is acknowledged that farmers will be required to keep further records, but that the process needs to be properly managed in consultation with the industry. Natural England agreed that the organisation does need to work with the industry to find a solution to empower farmers to find a way forward in a practical and manageable way.

If you require any further information or support, please contact Henry Spencer at the King West Market Harborough office on 01858 435 970.


July 2016

Ontario needs to make conservation a priority

The top 5 most sustainable cities in the world

What does it mean to live in the most sustainable city in the world?

Imagine living in a place that has an urban planning agenda that focuses on the environment while maintaining prosperous development and has a booming economy. This type of city places health as a top priority, and offers recreation activities and high-level education.

To be sustainable means to only use as much as can be naturally replaced in order to sustain and maintain this place all people call home. Existing within our means in large cities can have an incredible impact on the planet, and every city needs to make sustainability a priority. Frankfurt is leading the way as the most sustainable city in the world, according to the Sustainable Cities Index. This internationally-recognized index analyzes three key factors when looking at each city: people, planet, and profit. The first measurement tool, people, includes the quality of life for citizens of that particular region, which includes factors like education, green spaces, and health. Focusing on environmental initiatives, planet measures energy emissions, pollution, renewable energy, air pollution and solid waste management. The profit of a city is measured by how well the business economy is doing as well as its economic performance, which is calculated by using GDP and the cost of doing business.

Here are the top five most sustainable cities in the world:

Frankfurt, Germany.
Frankfurt, Germany.
  1. Frankfurt, Germany

Frankfurt was listed as the most sustainable city in the world because of its dedication to sustainability and helping the environment. “Green City Frankfurt”, as it is popularly dubbed, has its own energy agency and is the founding member of the Climate Alliance of European Cities created in 1990. The city has committed to lowering CO2 emissions by 10 per cent every five years with a 50 per cent cut by 2050. Currently, the city has lowered CO2 emissions by 15 per cent since 1990, while still growing its economic power 50 per cent. Frankfurt is also home to Germany’s largest city forest and is surrounded by a Greenbelt.

London, England. By Jim Trodel.
London, England. By Jim Trodel.
  1. London, England

London falls into second place with high scores on the people and profit measures because of a strong healthcare system and highly-ranked education facilities. The British city is also an international economic center and is the best connected global city alongside New York. The current mayor of London has launched a 2020 vision to make London “the Greatest City on Earth” to become the best city for work, living, investing and doing business. The mayor also set a target to lower carbon emissions by 65 per cent by 2025 from 1990 levels. London isn’t a leader in environmental initiatives, but is still a sustainable city when it comes to its strong economy and high quality of life.

Copenhagen, Denmark.
Copenhagen, Denmark.
  1. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen city council has created a climate change plan, similar to Frankfurt and is going a step further by preparing for the future effects of climate change now. The city is developing a plan to catch all of the rainwater in the city because of the lowering precipitation that is expected from climate change. Copenhagen also has green roofs, living walls, and pavements that allow water to percolate through. The quality of living is reportedly high in Copenhagen and the city is booming.

Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  1. Amsterdam, Netherlands

In Amsterdam, the city takes a leading global role in creating green business. Many enterprises in Amsterdam are creating green products that are being sold worldwide and is also invested in creating highly sustainable buildings in their downtown core. Amsterdam boasts an electric transportation system and is dedicated to using sustainable electricity. It has a goal that by 2020, 92,000 households will be using renewable energy. Amsterdam scored high in all three categories, making it the most balanced city in the world.

Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Rotterdam, Netherlands.
  1. Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rotterdam has the highest quality of life for its people out of any city in the world because of its high literacy rate and good work-life balance. The city has also launched green programs, but scores lower in these categories than other cities. The Rotterdam Sustainability Programme is a plan that wants to make a clean and green city, and reduce carbon emissions in half. Rotterdam also claims the world’s largest carbon capture program known as the Rotterdam Capture and Storage Demonstration Project (ROAD) that will be stored in an empty gas reservoir in the North Sea. The government committed to spending $31 million towards the green program.

Sustainability is the way of the future if we want to save our planet. Many cities are taking initiative and Europe is definitely leading the way. In October, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) will bring together cities across the world to discuss how to reach a sustainable standard similar to Frankfurt or London. Toronto is ranked at number 12, and if the city attends Habitat III and adopts new strategies of more sustainable cities, the “six” could climb into the top ten.

In the midst of global distrust due to isolated acts of terrorism in Europe and other parts of the world, Habitat III will be an opportunity for cities to unite and work together towards creating a sustainable and healthy world. I look forward to seeing which concepts and ideas are adopted in Canadian cities and to see positive impacts of global communication for a change.

B.C implements foreign tax on housing in Vancouver

Buying an affordable house in Vancouver is often compared to living in the land of unicorns and leprechauns, but B.C’s new legislation may help make this far-away dream a reality once again.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark announced a one-time 15 per cent tax on Monday, July 25 in Vancouver that would apply to foreign investors who are neither Canadian citizens, nor permanent residents, in an effort to cool the housing market. The new legislation applies to residential real estate in Metro Vancouver, from Bowen Island to Maple Ridge and Langley, and begins on Aug. 2.

With the new foreign tax, a $2 million home in Vancouver would accumulate an additional $300,000 if purchased by a foreign buyer. If a foreign buyer purchased a home for $10 million, this tax would raise to $1.5 million. On the other hand, if a foreign buyer tried to avoid the tax, “anti-avoidance” measures would be put in place that include $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for corporations that don’t comply to the legislation.

The funds raised by the new tax will be put towards a new housing priority initiatives fund for provincial housing and rental programs that is set to be launched in the near future. This fund will receive an initial investment of $75 million from the government and then begin to accumulate revenues from the tax on foreign buyers.

In order to obtain the necessary information on buyers in Vancouver, Clark also announced the Real Estate Services Act, which officially ends the real estate board’s self-regulation or ability to govern itself. The government’s involvement in the industry will allow them to access information on buyers to see what homes will be charged the foreign tax. Finally, the province will also introduce a vacancy tax that targets empty rental homes of foreign investors to increase the number of available rentals.

There are possible issues with the foreign tax, though the response from B.C home buyers has been overwhelmingly positive. Investors could potentially avoid the tax by getting family members to purchase properties, highlighting a loophole in the legislation that relies on buyers reporting their nationality honestly. The tax may also hurt international recruitment because new immigrants won’t be able to purchase property tax-free until they are permanent residents or Canadian citizens.

Toronto’s housing market has skyrocketed and a foreign tax in Canada’s largest city would cool the hottest housing market in the east as well. Ontario Financial Minister Charles Souza reported he is looking at implementing a similar law in Toronto. Hopefully Toronto will follow Vancouver’s lead and take necessary steps to implement a foreign tax and cool the housing market for local buyers. The outcome of the foreign tax remains to be seen, but any effort to lower housing prices and give people access to homes is a step is a good move.

First Nations housing crisis may have a sustainable solution

Canadian government finally lets its youth speak

When I was in university, my biggest pet peeve was how politicians completely ignored youth. I was a political science major, and more than anything I wanted the people sitting in Parliament to ask for my opinion — what did I think about the cost of tuition; what did I think about the latest tax increase; what did I think about the democratic process?

But no one ever asked me. This is why young people are so apathetic. They want to speak — if only someone would listen.

Well, it looks like someone finally has. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he was spearheading a Youth Council, consisting of 30 people between the ages of 16 and 24. These youth will meet a number of times a year, both in person and online, to discuss important issues and then propose recommendations to the Prime Minister’s office.

According to the government website, the council “will advise the Prime Minister on national issues such as employment, access to education, building stronger communities, climate change and clean growth.”

The council is supposed to be non-partisan.

I would like to give Justin Trudeau a hug — a very big bear hug — for not only coming up with this idea, but for ensuring it is actually put into practice.

During the 2015 federal elections, I went to a debate held in my riding. It was a town-hall style debate, where constituents could ask questions of the candidates. To my surprise, a large number of young people showed up.  They asked about what the candidates could do for them and most could not give them answers. They had all prepared stump speeches that were relevant to working moms, single parents, and old people with a pension. They didn’t know what to do when a 16- or 17-year-old asks about transit or funding for education — despite the fact that most of these young people pay taxes and deserve to be part of the conservation. This type of question-shock shouldn’t be possible in 21st century democracy.

The average young person is informed. They read the news online and they talk about it with their parents and friends. They are involved in school clubs and university groups, and they advocate for freedoms and rights others may not have. They WANT to be active in politics, but they also want to feel as if what they say (or ask) matters.

This Youth Council should, hopefully, provide these young people with a national platform to voice their opinions. They can finally contribute to national policy in a meaningful way. Who knows what kind of results will arise from these council meetings, but if anything it is the first step to altering political stereotypes of apathetic youth. And that is an amazing thing.

RECIPE: Mouth-watering savoury vegan cookie

Are you tired of only having sweet vegan baked goods?

Savoury Onion Garlic Cookies

1 cup oats

1 cup quinoa flakes

¼ cup chia seeds

¼ cup flax seeds

¼ cup hemp seeds

1 small Spanish onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/3 bunch thyme

Pinch of sea salt

  3. Saute garlic and onion and remove from heat.

Concrete has potential to be the greenest building materials

When I walk downtown, I am always slightly in awe of the construction of these magnificent concrete buildings looming over me. How can people build to such heights? Then my environmental brain kicks in, and I wonder if these concrete edifices are the result of years of planetary destruction. As it turns out, concrete has more potential to be green than I originally thought. If all concrete companies made sustainable production their priority, I dare say it could become the most environmentally-promising building material currently available.

Concrete is versatile, low maintenance, strong, diverse, and affordable. It is also one of the oldest building materials in the world, dating back to both the Roman and Egyptian times. It is a reliable thermal insulator and retains heat inside of the home, but it also cools buildings in the hot summer months. Concrete is also recyclable and can be broken down and used as aggregate when a building is torn down. A 2015 study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that concrete saves 20 per cent of the energy consumed by buildings made of wood.

That being said, concrete is still responsible for five per cent of carbon emissions. In order to become the greenest building material on the market, companies have to modify the way they produce their building blocks. Holcim, who recently joined forces with Lafarge, is one of the top ranking concrete company to use sustainable building practices on a global basis.

It takes a large amount of thermal energy to create concrete and that strongly contributes to its large carbon footprint. Holcim and Lafarge are sourcing their fuel from renewable energy resources such as waste and biomass. This production change will help Holcium meet global goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to pre-1990 levels, or 40 per cent by 2030. To date, they are on track with a 26 per cent reduction. Using carbon capture mechanisms to prevent high levels of carbon from being released also creates a more sustainable product.

It appears that concrete has potential to be one of the most sustainable building materials, but how do other building materials compare?

Tree sequestration is a popular construction material, and a lot of people think it’s sustainable because forests absorb carbon dioxide while they are growing. However, it is only sustainable if there is a larger plan to replace the wood cut for construction. Even if a company replants the trees and leaves portions of the forest untouched, it is still impossible to replace the natural biological diversity that existed before harvesting. It also takes time to regrow the trees that are used, which reduces the sustainability of this building material.

Another popular building material is glass, but there are arguments to be made that concrete is still the better choice. Glass is a sustainable building material because it is 100 per cent recyclable. Though glass is environmentally-friendly, it is not very durable and requires high maintenance and care. It is also not an efficient thermal insulator in comparison to concrete.

The highest polluting building materials are aluminum and steel, because these products need several materials. It takes six pounds of bauxite ore to yield one pound of aluminum, and the bauxite is strip-mined from tropical rainforests. Aluminum also requires 270 GJ/t of production energy as compared to concrete that only uses 1.4 GJ/t. Obviously, aluminum and steel are not sustainable building options and builders should avoid using them at all cost.

Compared to other options, concrete is clearly one of the best environmentally-friendly building materials available. The next step now lies in the companies themselves. If every concrete company embraced carbon capture and used biofuels, it would help reduce the global carbon footprint and the world would still have a truly reliable type of construction.

Let’s stop hating on women through social media, shall we?

“She was asking for it.”

A big difference. Let’s start THAT hashtag!

Ontario is on its way to clean energy

How clean is Ontario’s electricity?

Would you hang a Canadian flag in front of your mosque?

What does the Canadian flag mean to you? For Jawad Rathore, it represents all things Canadiana — and he thinks it should be flown in front every mosque in Toronto.

“We see Muslims right now being subjected to harassment. Hate crimes are up, [and] rhetoric publicly and privately is up. There are terrible things happening around the world in the name of Islam,” Rathore said in an interview. “[Putting up Canadian flags is] a wonderful way to remind our neighbours that we are Canadian. There is nothing to fear.”

Rathore, who is also president and CEO of Fortress Real Development, presented the idea to the Canadian Muslim Vote last week and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Rathore says he has already received funding from the community for over 50 flags and he has received messages from mosques across Canada asking to participate.

The Canadian Muslim Vote is a non-partisan organization whose objective is to promote greater community engagement among the Muslim-Canadian population. It was founded last year as a response to low voter turnout with a goal to increase attendance and engagement during the 2015 federal elections. And they did the job. According to Rathore, turnout was close to 79 per cent.

Jawad Rathore

Now, the organization is focusing on integrating communities through a “very simple” campaign. At its core, the campaign is about unity and pride during a time in which people are being marginalized. Hate speech is rampant, even in Canada, a country whose foundation is based on religious freedom. As Rathore says, there is a lot of fear among those who don’t understand the Islam faith and putting up a Canadian flag symbolizes unity in a time of uncertainty.

“It’s a way to let our community know we are their neighbours,” he said.

Rathore may be spearheading this campaign through Canadian Muslim Vote, but he says every corporation and community member should be giving back.

“Give what you can afford — give a little, give often, give once a year,” he said. “Many of us in the corporate world are incredibly blessed and if we turn our minds over to the community. Whether initiative like this or any other benefits – the world would be a better place.”

Rathore is confirming a list of mosques that are willing to participate in the campaign and is working out the physical details for installation. He has also committed to do the first 10 flags himself.

The first flag should be installed by the end of September and, if the campaign goes well, Rathore hopes to be able to install flagpoles in front of mosques across Canada.

If you are interested in contributing to the campaign, email


Tel: 0086-(0)731-89671600

E-mail: [email protected]

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Does Philosophy Matter? (guest post by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong)

The following guest post* is by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke), and appears here via a special arrangement with Oxford University Press and the OUP Blog, at which it is also posted.

 Does Philosophy Matter?
by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong

Philosophers love to complain about bad reasoning. How can those other people commit such silly fallacies? Don’t they see how arbitrary and inconsistent their positions are? Aren’t the counter examples obvious? After complaining, philosophers often turn to humor. Can you believe what they said! Ha, ha, ha. Let’s make fun of those stupid people.

I also enjoy complaining and joking, but I worry that this widespread tendency among philosophers puts us out of touch with the rest of society, including academics in other fields. It puts us out of touch partly because they cannot touch us: we cannot learn from others if we see them as unworthy of careful attention and charitable interpretation. This tendency also puts us out of touch with society because we cannot touch them: they will not listen to us if we openly show contempt for them.

One sign of this contempt is the refusal of most philosophers even to try to express their views clearly and concisely enough for readers without extraordinary patience and training. Another sign is that many top departments today view colleagues with suspicion when they choose to write accessible books instead of technical journal articles. Philosophers often risk their professional reputations when they appear on television or write for newspapers or magazines. How can they be serious about philosophy if they are willing to water down their views that much? Are they getting soft?

As a result, philosophers talk only to their own kind and not even to all philosophers. Analytic philosophers complain that continental philosophers are unintelligible. Continental philosophers reply that analytic philosophers pick nits. Both charges contain quite a bit of truth. And how can we expect non-philosophers to understand philosophers if philosophers cannot even understand each other?

Of course, there is a place for professional discourse. Other academic fields from physics to neuroscience also contain tons of technical terms. Professional science journals are rarely enjoyable to read. The difference is that these other fields often work hard to communicate their ideas to outsiders in other venues, whereas most leading philosophers make no such effort. As a result, the general public often sees philosophy as an obscure game that is no fun to play. If philosophers do not find some way to communicate the importance of philosophy, we should not be surprised when nobody else understands why philosophy is important.

This misunderstanding is sad, because philosophy deals with important issues that affect real people. Metaphysicians propose views on free will and causation that could change the way law ascribes responsibility for crimes or limits access to pornography on the grounds that it causes violence to women. Political philosophers defend theories with useful lessons for governments. Philosophers of science raise questions about the objectivity of science that could affect public confidence in evolution or climate change. Philosophers of religion and of human nature present arguments that bear on our place in the universe and nature. Philosophers of language help us understand how we can understand each other when we talk. And, of course, ethicists talk about what is morally wrong or right, good or bad, in situations that we all face and care about.

Because of these potential applications, there must be some way for philosophers to show why and how philosophy is important and to do so clearly and concisely enough that non-philosophers can come to appreciate the value of philosophy. There also must be some way to write philosophy in a lively and engaging fashion, so that the general public will want to read it. A few philosophers already do this. Their examples show that others could do it, but not enough philosophers follow their models. The profession needs to enable and encourage more philosophers to reach beyond the profession.

(images by Van Wanten Etcetera)

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Having Spinach Early In The Morning Will Fill You Up With Some 10 Minerals, Almost All The Vitamins, And Also The Amino Acids.

Once you have strictly followed the diet for the first 10 days, you can consume drinks that contain excess sugar and harmful chemicals. Once the suitability of this diet is determined for you, you can then Womax comprar start down to form fatty acids with ketone bodies as the by-product. There's always that extra pound you want to shed, that extra green tea after meals, and then regular water an hour after. How to Use hCG Drops Advertisement I have a friend named Daniel, who to be told the importance of 'green leafy vegetables' in our lives. In a study that lasted for more than a year, subjects put on that includes mainly cereals, grains and vegetables along with small amounts of fish.

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September 7, 2015

Hobie sailing takes us to new places.

Why take the leap to travel to a big event – a North Americans, a Europeans, a Worlds? Part of the fun of attending big events is traveling to new places and seeing new things. I recently had the opportunity to attend the Hobie 16 European Championships/Multiworlds on Lake Garda in Italy.

It was my first time visiting Italy. Did you see the Doma? The Parthenon? The Leaning Tower? Actually we chose the Lake-Garda-get-away path, because the landscape surrounding Lake Garda was, well, amazing. It’s one of those places where pictures cannot capture the 500 meter vertical rock faces opposed to the lake’s surface, or the cobblestoned, historic, and friendly atmosphere in the town. The sailing was fantastic, as forecast, but it was the venue that added layer upon layer to the experience. The boats were parked in the town square; we always took a break for lunch, with 2 options available: 1) a sit-down, 3-course Italian meal or 2) simply fresh-baked bread with savory meats and cheeses from the corner shop. After racing, we gathered in the square or back to the event tent for drinks, music, and a meal. Each day, we drove up and down this crazy, switch-backed road to reach our lodgings on top of one of the mountains. It was a bit of a drive but it quickly became part of the experience that we’ll always remember. (Friend me on Facebook and you can see what we captured with our iPhone, perched on the dashboard)

The sailing: competitive, windy, and picturesque. The combination of the Hobie 16 European Championships and the World championships for the Hobie 14, Dragoon, Tiger and Wildcat attracted 200 teams from 26 countries. Yes, the morning winds were iffy, but the afternoons met all expectations with 3-4 races easily completed. We observed classic lows and highs among the competitors – body language and decibel levels don’t hide much on the race course or in-between races, no matter the language. We made new friends, traded logo’d shirts, and expect to fall into step with these guys/girls at the next big event.

One Fleet of note was the Hobie 14. I was quite impressed with the number of competitors on the Hobie 14. This mirrors a similar resurgence in North America, where at a recent East Coast regatta, the 14s outnumbered the 16s. The conclusion is that that the boat continues to be interesting to racers.

So, bank your vacation, sock away some fun-money, buy a big rolling bag from LLBean. and keep an eye out for the next big Hobie event at a great venue (not) near you.


The smoke alarm will chirp at a regular interval, about once every minute, when the battery is weak and needs to be replaced. Replace with a fresh 9 Volt battery. Quell Alarms are certified to be used with the models of batteries specified in the user manual. Once the battery is replaced, the beeping or chirping should stop. If the unit chirps at seemingly random times or at random intervals after replacing the battery, check for the following conditions:

1) The battery may be loose, or improperly installed.

2) The smoke alarm cover may be dirty.

Cleaning smoke alarms:

Remove the alarm from the wall or ceiling and hold the unit on its side. There is a gap between the front cover and the back plate. Take a vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool and clean all around the gap area. Pay most attention to the sensor, which you will see in the gap area. The sensor looks like a small tin can with slots in it for ionisation alarms and a black cylinder for photoelectric alarms. This needs to be thoroughly cleaned since dust or insects may be caught in the sensor.

3) Reset the alarm.

To reset an AC unit with a battery backup:

To reset a DC only unit:

Remove the battery. Press and hold the test button for at least 15 seconds. The unit may chirp or alarm for a few seconds before going silent. Reinstall the battery. The unit will chirp when the battery is first connected but should not chirp afterwards.

4) An electrical condition may be causing the power to the unit to be interrupted. If the AC power to the unit is interrupted, the unit will chirp when the power is restored. This could be caused by power surges.

If the chirping seems to occur at about the same time in the evening or morning, it could be due to a surge created when the power company switches electrical grids to meet demand.

Check to see if the chirp (or chirping) occurs when something else in the house is turned on such as an exhaust or attic fan, a heater, etc. If the smoke alarm is connected to a circuit with such a device, the alarm may chirp when the other device is switched on. If this is the case and the device is plugged into a wall outlet, move it to another outlet on a different circuit. If it is a hardwired device, have an electrician investigate it.

5) Replace the alarm.

If none of these conditions exist and the suggestions don’t alleviate the symptom, the smoke alarm should be replaced. Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years. Quell smoke alarms have a 10-year warranty from date of purchase. A date code stamped on the label attached to the back of the unit. If the unit is within warranty, please contact Quell on 1800 654 435 or email or send it to the following address for warranty repair or replacement:

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Quell smoke alarms can be purchased from most major retailers nationally, several with online businesses.


15 Emmanuel Soccer Players Named to Academic All-Conference Team

15 Emmanuel Soccer Players Named to Academic All-Conference Team

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Conference Carolinas is proud to announce the 2018  Women's and Men's Soccer Academic All-Conference Teams. A total of 144 student-athletes, 85 women and 59 men, were named to the two teams.

Among the list of student-athletes were 15 Emmanuel soccer players, including 8 women and 7 men.

The mission of Conference Carolinas is to provide athletics experiences that complement and enhance every aspect of student growth. It is exciting to announce the Men's and Women's Soccer Academic All-Conference team that highlights the classroom success of athletes.

The Conference Carolinas Academic All- Conference teams are comprised of junior and senior student-athletes who have competed in a conference-sponsored sport and maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all work completed at their member institution. The GPA is calculated based on the student-athlete's cumulative average through the previous semester and each student-athlete must have attended their member institution for at least one academic year.

Men's soccer begins tournament play on Monday, October 29th, while the women are scheduled to play quarterfinal games on Tuesday, October 30th.  All quarterfinal games will be played on the campus of the higher seeded team. The highest remaining seed will host the semifinal and final rounds at one location.

Keep up with all the Conference Carolinas fall tournament action on the league website here.


Essex University's Business School, independant evaluation of Low Carbon Champions Programme

The draft report said that: The Low Carbon Champions Programme is a unique and effective solution to a pressing global issue.  It should be supported to continue and develop to reach further businesses.

It showed short-term outcomes in terms of carbon reduction (as a result of actions taken) and it is likely there will be longer term outcomes through changes to business processess and increased commitment to carbon reduction within the organisations involved.

The LCC Programme was well valued and largely effective, it successfully used different incentives to attract a range of organisations to get involved and maintained a relatively high completion rate.  All aspects of the programme wre valued by the Champions themselves, in particular the business-orientated approach, the mixture of training - building knowledge, and mentoring - supporting specific changes in organisations.  As well as the processes, tools and information shared, the carbon audit and the opportunity to apply for a Suffolk Carbon Charter were welcomed.

The approach taken by the Low Carbons Champions team itself was undoubtedly one of the main reasons for success.  Organisations valued their personal commitment to environmental issues, but also their openness to others not feeling the same.  The focus on ensuring that actions made business sense, meant that LCC organisations became more aware of the potential for reducing carbon to save money and also raise the profile of the business.  In addition, it proved a very useful aid to environmentally aware Champions in convincing senior management of the value of investing in carbon reduction.  Having experienced and respected business development, environmental management and carbon reduction experts on the team was essential in supporting effectively and securing senior support.


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The following was built up from DWG and PDF blueprints. The end result is a detailed 3D model that can be explored in 3D to help showcase, sell or visualize your designs before construction begins.

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Exterior details are added as specified.  Different types of vegitation can be brought in and visualized.


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Baron du Lac - helping you find the perfect Algarve property

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Buying Process

We can help you search for the right property.

1) Selection of an independent qualified lawyer and an experienced property broker / agent.
2) Search and select the property.
3) Obtaining a fiscal number through a professional fiscal representation company.
4) The lawyer will collect all the house documents to do their due diligence and check that everything is in order.
5) Promissory Contract: drawn up by the buyer's lawyer and signed by the seller and the buyer. The Promissory Contract sets out the terms of the transaction such as the identity of the owner, a detailed description of the property and land boundaries, registration and tax numbers, purchase price, deposit and date of completion. If using a bank to finance the purchase, it is recommended that the contract be made for maximum of 90 days until the deed of purchase. A non-refundable down payment of a further 15% of the purchase price is usual.
6) Payment of the Property Transfer Tax (IMT): normally paid by the lawyer on behalf of the buyer a few days before the final deed. Value varies according to the property price, its use (e.g. a permanent or second home), and whether it is situated on the mainland or the islands (Azores, Madeira).
7) Final Deed: made in the presence of a competent entity to legalise the deed, the seller, the buyer (both can be represented by their representative lawyer, with a power of attorney) and a bank representative (in case of financing with a mortgage). The final outstanding sums are paid. If you have applied for a bank loan, you will need to register the mortgage at the National Land Registry Records (Conservatória do Registo Predial) along with the provisory registration of the acquisition.
Then, and upon payment of the transfer tax (IMT), you will be ready to sign the Deed of Conveyance (Escritura).
8) Registration of the deed at the National Land Registry Records (Conservatória do Registo Predial). Bear in mind that registering your new home is the most important act of buying a property in Portugal because ownership will be enforceable against third parties only after after being registered at the National Land Registry Records (Conservatória do Registo Predial).


THE agonising shortage of power in the country has given rise to different ideas about how to conserve energy and lessen its impact. Daylight saving by advancing the clock by an hour in summertime in a country where the sun shines for good 15 hours a day, seems to be a poorly conceived plan. It was tried in 2002 with little effect and there is no justification for digging it up again. The government should, however, be concentrating on trying other more workable measures, like closing the markets by 9 p.m., staggering the working days of industrial units, limiting the use of lights on festive occasions, replacing bulbs with energy savers, etc. No doubt, the shopkeepers, now used to keeping their businesses open well past midnight, would find the change irksome but, under the present circumstances when life that has increasingly become dependent upon power supply stands virtually crippled, they could be persuaded to reorient their habit and open their shops earlier in the day to compensate for the time they lose. They will find the customer ready to adjust to the new timing. Besides, an exceedingly odd phenomenon, when adverse effects of power shutdowns have become a much talked about subject in the country, is the excessive illuminations at wedding ceremonies and public functions. A comprehensive plan should also include the staggering of working days of industries, which are major consumers of electricity, and encouraging the use of energy savers in place of ordinary bulbs.