a month agoAC Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma: We’re a beautiful group
About the authorCarlos VolcanoShare the loveHave your say AC Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma: We’re a beautiful groupby Carlos Volcanoa month agoSend to a friendShare the loveAC Milan goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma says they’re ready for the derby against Inter Milan.Milan have won two of their first three games under coach Marco Giampaolo.Donnarumma said: “We’re a beautiful group. With a new Coach it’s normal to have some difficulty at the beginning, but we’re working well.“We’ve picked up two wins from three, not playing very well, but winning helps us win more and slowly we’re getting to grips with our game.“A derby goes over everything else, it’s a game that prepares itself and gives out a lot of energy and emotion. Playing the derby is a unique satisfaction.“Samir [Handanovic] is a very good lad and a great goalkeeper, I like how he attacks the ball, plus we know all his other qualities.“With D’Ambrosio I have a beautiful relationship, he’s my compatriot and he also lives near me. I’ll surely cross him.” 
Ferdinand hails ‘perfect performance’ from Chelsea defender Tomoriby Paul Vegas23 days agoSend to a friendShare the loveManchester United legend Rio Ferdinand is convinced by the potential of Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori.Ferdinand knows a thing or two about good defending – and he saw that in abundance from Tomori in Chelsea’s Champions League win over Lille.He enthused: “Huge talent. I think tactically Frank has got an A+ today because the pace on the counter attack from the Lille front men was there for all to see.”That was the best defender on the pitch actually setting up the first goal.”Everything he did today defensively I thought he was perfect.”His tenacity, his anticipation, his willingness to step out and make quick decisions to intercept.”He notices the danger, he’s running past people to get back to make an effort for his team. That’s what you want to see from young players.”The best bit is one-v-one. He’s saying, ‘Go on, you try and run past me.’ That’s what you want from your centre-half.” About the authorPaul VegasShare the loveHave your say
LEXINGTON, KY – NOVEMBER 14: A general view of the Kentucky Wildcats game against the Grand Canyon Antelopes at Rupp Arena on November 14, 2014 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)We’re just one month away from March Madness, so naturally, the apparel manufacturers are starting to debut new uniforms for the top college basketball teams. Nike unveiled eight new uniforms Friday – six for men’s teams, two for women’s teams.The men’s squads for Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Florida, Arizona and Oregon got new Nike Hyper Elite’s for the stretch run. UConn and Baylor’s women’s teams were were also part of the release. A number of teams, including the Blue Devils, will debut them this weekend. From Nike:Each school’s home uniform will feature a white base with school-specific color lettering and a 26-degree speed graphic of an iconic symbol of each school across the side of the game short. The 26-degree angle of each school’s graphic was inspired by the chevron on the classic Nike Windrunner track jacket that debuted in 1978. Each graphic represents a distinctive basketball point of view, based on the roughly 1,000 directional changes, or “cuts” that a player might make in the course of a game.Here are some shots of the new digs.New Nike uniforms for Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Florida, Arizona, Oregon, UConn, & Baylor pic.twitter.com/q6HykfdiCr— Heidi Burgett (@heidiburgett) February 20, 2015Road to March is paved with @nikebasketball Hyper Elite Unis for 8 teams. Debuting this wkd. http://t.co/7ryu7iCz2S pic.twitter.com/cgXspbt3yA— Brian Strong (@briangstrong) February 20, 2015The new Disruption uniform set from Nike! Will wear when Syracuse visits Cameron. pic.twitter.com/sV0EvMGWod— Duke Basketball (@dukeblueplanet) February 20, 2015Check out the brand new @Nike Hyper Elite uniforms we will wear vs. Virginia on Senior Day 3/2! #CuseMode pic.twitter.com/qjz5Fdb6MB— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) February 20, 2015College basketball fans – what do you think?
New Delhi: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Wednesday held a surprise inspection at Burari Transport Authority here and suggested changes for smoother fitness test for three-wheelers. “Made a surprise visit today to Brurari Transport Authority. Interacted with lots of three-wheeler drivers. Have suggested few changes which will further smoothen the process of fitness for three-wheelers,” he tweeted. Last year in July, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal went for a surprise inspection to the Transport Authority in Burari and called it a “den of corruption”. He had directed changes after which the auto drivers find it easy to get certificates and other documents from the authority.
OTTAWA – The emergence of an RCMP questionnaire targeting Muslim asylum seekers in Quebec prompted fresh accusations Thursday that the Liberal government mismanaged this past summer’s massive flow of migrants from the United States.The questionnaire was used at the Quebec border crossing that saw an influx of thousands of asylum seekers from the U.S., many of them of Haitian descent who were concerned about the Trump administration’s decision to cancel a program that allowed them to stay in the country.Among other things, the questionnaire asked opinions about religious practice, head coverings associated with Muslim women and terrorist groups with mainly Muslim members.Toronto immigration lawyer Clifford McCarten said he obtained a copy of the document from a client seeking refugee status, who had been given the three-page, 41-question document by mistake.“He was shocked by the questions,” said McCarten, who provided a copy to The Canadian Press.The man was originally from a Muslim country, he added.“Canada is a very liberal country that believes in freedom of religious practice and equality between men and women. What is your opinion of this subject? How would you feel if your boss was a woman? How do you feel about women who do not wear the hijab?” says the questionnaire, which also asked the same question about other head and body coverings, including the dupatta, niqab, chador and burka.A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the government found out on Tuesday about the existence of the questionnaire from a “stakeholder” who takes an interest in the work of the department.Public Safety spokesman Scott Bardsley said the department was immediately concerned and the document is no longer being used by the RCMP.“Some of the questions were inappropriate and inconsistent with government policy,” Bardsley said in an emailed statement.Bardsley said the document was only used “locally,” but would not say whether there would be repercussions for any of the Mounties involved in its creation.He referred those questions to the RCMP, but a spokeswoman said Thursday the Mounties would not be granting interviews on the topic. In a written statement, the RCMP said the “interview guide” was used by its Quebec C Division and “has been revised to better evaluate individuals coming into the country whose origin is unknown, while being respectful of their situations.”McCarten said the existence of the document raises questions about the federal government’s competence in managing the sudden surge of arrivals from the U.S.“If, in fact, this was a local detachment making this decision — which I find a bit hard to believe — then it’s deeply concerning that one of the most, if not the most problematic crisis spot in Canadian immigration and refugee policy right now . . . doesn’t have a federal strategy for how screening is happening.”Matthew Dube, the NDP public safety critic, said in an interview the questionnaire raises “red flags” about whether the RCMP is engaged in widespread racial profiling, and he called on Goodale to launch a broad inquiry to find out.He said he has serious concerns that Goodale didn’t know about the questionnaire until Tuesday.“I have no idea how such a racist, profiling questionnaire could ever be part of an operational procedure.”Jenny Kwan, the NDP immigration critic, said the government needs to provide more answers on how the questionnaire was used.“The number of times someone prays should have no bearing on their refugee status. That is not who we are,” she said.Other questions asked the applicants to specify their religion and “how often” they practice their religion.McCarten said the RCMP needs to conduct security screening, but the questions being asked don’t cover all potential threats to Canada.“It appears to instruct RCMP officers to be asking questions to the exclusion of other types of concerns, specifically the right-wing, white supremacist violence happening in the U.S. and that we have a history of in Canada,” he said.“It asks questions that are discriminatory, that reflect a kind of institutional bias and an institutional ignorance of the RCMP of the nature of risk.”He said asking a Muslim their opinion of head coverings is “absurd” and akin to “asking a Jewish person what their opinions are about men who don’t wear the yarmulke.”McCarten said the document reflects on the RCMP as a whole, and shows “a kind of Islamophobic bias that is animating how it does its business.”Pierre Paul-Hus, the Conservative public safety critic, said the party supports the RCMP’s efforts to keep Canadians safe, but is “united against unjust discrimination towards anyone because of their faith.”
HALIFAX — A decision is expected Thursday in the high-profile case of a British sailor accused in a gang rape at a Halifax-area military base, even as the Crown mulls whether to reinstitute a sexual assault charge against a second member of the Royal Navy.Darren Smalley, who is in his late 30s, is charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and participating in a sexual assault involving one or more people in barracks at 12 Wing Shearwater on April 10, 2015.The complainant testified at his trial last fall that she went to sleep next to a sailor, and later awoke face down and naked as at least three men sexually assaulted her.Smalley was one of four British sailors originally charged.Charges against Simon Radford were stayed early during the trial because he was being treated in hospital for an infection.Prosecutor Cheryl Schurman said Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Patrick Duncan’s ruling in Smalley’s case may impact the Crown’s decision on whether to resurrect the charges against Radford.“A decision on whether to reinstitute the charges will be made before this October — the expiry of the stay of proceedings,” said Schurman in an email.“The Crown will take into account all of the available information, including the decision in Mr. Smalley’s case.”Charges against the other two men, Craig Stoner and Joshua Finbow, were dropped.Several days into a preliminary inquiry in April 2016, charges were dropped against Stoner, while charges against Finbow were withdrawn in December 2017.The Crown said the prospect of convicting Finbow became unrealistic after Duncan deemed his police statement inadmissible at trial.Smalley was part of a Royal Navy hockey team that was in Halifax to compete in a tournament.In his final submissions at the conclusion of the trial, defence lawyer Ian Hutchison argued that the credibility of the complainant was undermined by inconsistencies in her testimony.Hutchison told the court that all of the witnesses provided contradictory evidence, and that the woman’s testimony contrasted sharply with what witnesses had to say about her behaviour.However, Crown lawyers rejected that view, arguing the defence had largely relied on rape myths to bolster its case.The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, testified she was at Shearwater’s Warrior Block barracks because her friend had invited her on a double date after meeting a British sailor on Tinder.She testified she went to sleep in a bed next to Radford, and later awoke to at least three men sexually assaulting her.The woman told police she couldn’t see the men, but she was able to identify Smalley’s voice.The court heard swabs taken by a sexual assault nurse confirmed that semen found near her anus and on her underwear matched Smalley’s DNA profile. The nurse also found bruising on the woman’s shoulder, leg and groin area, and lacerations to her genitals and anal area.The complainant testified that she became fearful earlier in the evening after she lost sight of her friend, but said she did not want to leave the barracks without her friend. She recalled being frantic in the unfamiliar building, which was filled with hockey players.But Hutchison argued that every witness, including the woman’s friend, told the court the complainant appeared happy and comfortable in her surroundings.“Despite having this fear of being in an unsafe environment, she consumes alcohol and gets into bed with Mr. Radford,” he told the court on October 19.As well, Hutchison noted the woman gave Radford a kiss on the lips when she got into his bed, which she said was a way of saying thank you for letting her sleep there. Schurman said it was wrong to infer that the kiss was important to the case.“It does not mean she consented to group sex,” Schurman said. “The kiss is a red herring.”Schurman also argued that the woman’s outward behaviour was not necessarily inconsistent with how she was feeling inside.She said the idea that the woman had a duty to flee the barracks should be understood as a rape myth.“Regardless of how uneasy she was, she was under no obligation to flee,” she argued.Smalley did not testify at the judge-only trial.Follow (at)AlyThomson on Twitter.Aly Thomson, The Canadian Press
LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Advertisement PARIS — Director Guillermo del Toro has called out a Canadian airline in a multi-tweet diatribe about his travel woes, which he insists was not fuelled by anger, but rather concern for any passenger attempting to navigate the “Sphinx-like” complexities of baggage retrieval.The Oscar winner recounted his quest to track down a missing bag in a series of tweets mentioning Air Canada on Thursday, saying the saga began when he arrived in Paris two days ago to be welcomed by “1 lost bag. 1 broken handle.”Of possible interest to @AirCanada : Arrived to Paris 2 days ago. 1 lost bag. 1 broken handle. Waited and hour, then filed the report. 24 hours later no one had contacted me. Many calls, email and messages later (no response at all) I spent hours tracking my bag–— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 28, 2018 Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro called out Air Canada in a multi-tweet diatribe about his travel woes involving his luggage. – Refugio Ruiz / AP Photo Twitter Advertisement
Facebook Login/Register With: Advertisement He tweeted that a series of inquiries to Air Canada over the next 24 hours went unanswered, later realizing that his report had been filed under the wrong email address.After enlisting the help of friends in Toronto to call the airline, del Toro says he was assured that the bag would arrive, and it did — but his troubles wouldn’t end there.I offered to go to terminal 2 and pick it up myself. No contact for the delivery company wass offered (except a wrong number) the company is called J.A.P. Transports https://t.co/AfseJgzpC1 and the only review you can find on them are 1 star reviews. I must agree…— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 28, 2018Del Toro claims Air Canada then handed over the bag to a French delivery service, which after further communication issues, told him to his parcel would be dropped off within a three-hour window.On the penultimate day of his stay, he waited patiently for the delivery, first by the door, then on the street where he chatted with passersby. Several selfies later, he says, still no bag.I contacted them by finding a phone in a complaint in Google. I called. They said it would arrive between 5-8 PM. On my penultimate dsay here I waited patiently, first by the door, then standing on the street for an hour (nice conversation and selfies ensued) but alas, no call…— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 28, 2018Despite offering to meet his luggage at the airport terminal, del Toro says he has yet to be reunited with his belongings.It’s not about the bag — although it contains a four-volume set of short stories by Russian writer Anton Chekhov — or demanding preferential service, he insists.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Kate Spade, a fashion designer known for her sleek handbags, was found hanged in the bedroom of her Park Avenue apartment Tuesday in an apparent suicide, police said. She was 55.Spade’s body was found by a housekeeper not long after 10 a.m., police said at an afternoon news conference. Her husband and business partner Andy Spade was in the apartment at the time.The police department’s chief of detectives, Dermot Shea, said that while investigators were still in the early stages of their inquiry, evidence including the state of the apartment and the presence of a note pointed to “a tragic suicide.”It’s not clear how long Spade had been dead. The medical examiner will perform an autopsy.The couple’s 13-year-old daughter was at school. Shea wouldn’t discuss what was in the note, but law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that, among other things, it contained a message to the teenage girl telling her it was not her fault. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” her family said in a statement through a spokesman. “We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly. We would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”A crime scene truck was parked outside their building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and barriers had been set up to keep back reporters and gawkers who were arriving to the building.The company she founded and later sold, Kate Spade New York, now has over 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the U.S. and more than 175 shops internationally.Julia Curry, a spokeswoman for the company, said that “Kate will be dearly missed” and “our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time.”Neva Hall, executive Vice-President at Neiman Marcus Stores, said the news was devastating.“Her creative light and bright mind will be greatly missed,” Hall wrote in a statement.Kate Spade was born Katherine Brosnahan and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri.She was working as an accessories editor at Mademoiselle magazine when she launched her company with husband Andy in their New York apartment in 1993. She started the company based on six shapes of bags that she thought every working woman needed. It created a smash.“I grew up in the Midwest, where you have to have it (a fashion item) because you like it, not because you’re supposed to have it,” she told the AP in 2004. “For our customers, fashion is in the right place in their life. It’s an adornment, not an obsession.”From the original boxy handbags, she expanded into shoes, luggage and other accessories, as well as a home line, stationery, and three books. Spade won multiple awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and was named a “giant of design” by House Beautiful magazine.“As an accessory, a great bag that takes the outfit somewhere else is interesting,” she told the AP in a 2000 interview.She walked away from the company in 2007, a year after it was acquired from the Neiman Marcus Group for $125 million by the company then known as Liz Claiborne Inc.Coach, now known as Tapestry, bought the Kate Spade brand last year for $2.4 billion, seeking to broaden its appeal.Meanwhile, Spade and her husband — brother of comedian David Spade — started a new handbag company a few years ago, Frances Valentine. And she changed her name to Katherine Noel Frances Valentine Brosnahan Spade.“I will never forget the first Kate Spade bag I got for Christmas in college,” Jenna Bush Hager tweeted. “She was a trailblazer. Her life and death are a reminder that pain doesn’t discriminate. Sending love to her family.”
“I remain hopeful that you will change course ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline for all provinces and territories to submit their carbon-pricing plans.”Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said as recently as Friday that the province has not changed its mind about being the lone holdout on Ottawa’s Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.After a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Moe said the province has a plan of its own and only signs agreements it can honour.McKenna said Saskatchewan will be subject to a carbon tax, whether it signs on or not.“To be clear, we cannot accept your request not to price carbon in Saskatchewan,” she said. “In the event that your government does not adopt a price on pollution that meets our standard, we would have no choice but to ensure that a price on pollution applies in Saskatchewan, just as we would anywhere else in the country.”The federal government would apply its carbon pricing in Saskatchewan and would ensure any revenues raised stayed in the province, she said.Saskatchewan has already missed one deadline to sign on to the federal plan, which McKenna has said means the province won’t get $62 million in funding for emissions-reduction programs. Both Moe and Duncan have said they will still apply for the money from the low-carbon fund.In her letter, McKenna said Saskatchewan’s share will be open to provinces, territories, municipalities, businesses, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous communities across Canada including in Saskatchewan.“Funding will be awarded to projects selected under a competitive process,” she said. “I look forward to seeing excellent proposals come forward from your province.”(THE CANADIAN PRESS) REGINA, S.K. – Canada’s environment minister says Saskatchewan will be subject to a federal carbon tax if it doesn’t sign on to a national climate change plan by the fall.Catherine McKenna says in a letter to her Saskatchewan counterpart, Dustin Duncan, that Saskatchewan is best positioned to design a carbon-pricing approach that works for the province.“The other nine provinces have taken us up on that approach,” she wrote. “It’s unfortunate that your government has not yet chosen to do the same.”
New Delhi: Hundreds of teachers under the aegis of the DUTA held a vociferous Black Flag Demonstration at Gate No 1, while the University Vice Chancellor and officials presided over a function celebrating the Foundation Day of Delhi University. The teachers were protesting against the fact that the University has refused to intervene in the matter of two colleges, viz Vivekanand College and Shyamlal (E) College, whose Principals have issued illegal letters to their Associate Professors in Physical Education informing them that they would be retiring at 62 years instead of 65. These letters are wholly unwarranted, arbitrary and in blatant violation of existing Rules and Regulations. “The Principal (Officiating) of Vivekanand College went so far as to misrepresent the College Governing Body by claiming that the GB had directed her to seek “legal opinion” in the matter. This claim has been contradicted by a written statement issued by nine members of the GB (copy attached). The matter has assumed utmost urgency as the two Associate Professors concerned will attain the age of 62 in May and July 2019 respectively,” said a protesting teacher. He added that by failing to intervene in the matter, the University has failed to protect its own EC Resolution No 127 of 1990, the consequential Ordinances and the University Notification dated 12.5.2017, in which it had been made clear that Physical Education teachers, like those of any other discipline, are to be placed in the faculty roster.
Luciano Spalletti believes Inter Milan’s comeback win against Tottenham Hotspur will be an added boost to his squad.Speaking ahead of their clash with Sampdoria, the Italian manager is optimistic will return to winning ways owing to the confidence in his side.“Winning games like the one on Tuesday gives us confidence and confirms the means are there for us to do well,” he said at a Press conference.“I think it gave us a bonus to multiply tomorrow. We showed character against Tottenham, but I’d like to emphasise that we also played with intelligence, pressing high up the pitch but without ever losing balance.
Capello calls Lukaku “a modern striker” Manuel R. Medina – September 14, 2019 The former Italian manager believes Romelu Lukaku is perfectly suited for Antonio Conte’s Internazionale Milan in the Serie A.“We showed character, but it shouldn’t remain an isolated case. Mauro gives everything on the field.“It’s clear he must make runs that benefit the team, while the team must take his quality into account, managing to put him in a position so he can express himself better.“Just a few seconds of great talent are enough for a top player to score a goal, but in order to play like champions, 95 minutes of character are needed.“I rate Giampaolo’s work highly. He’s a modern Coach, and he took too long to come to the fore, but he’s showing all his quality.“He has a top squad, his team build from the back and play in accordance with their opponents, without forgetting Sabatini: I’d like to say ‘hello’ to him, but I know he has to complete his treatment first.”
Serbian striker Luka Jovic wants to stay at Eintracht Frankfurt, despite rumoured interest from Barcelona and Bayern MunichThe Benfica loanee is tied with Borussia Dortmund’s Paco Alcacer as the Bundesliga’s leading scorer on 10 goals this season.Frankfurt sporting director Bruno Hubner has already made it clear he intends to sign Jovic permanently this summer for a rumoured fee in the region of €10-12m.But reports in the German media have suggested that Barcelona and Bayern are interested in making their own moves for the highly-rated Jovic.
Mourinho: “Lionel Messi made me a better coach” Andrew Smyth – September 14, 2019 Jose Mourinho believes the experience of going up against Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi at Real Madrid made him a greater coach.Although the 20-year-old insists his sole focus lies with Frankfurt.“We, the players, shouldn’t think about that. The management at the club will decide that. As for me, I’d like to stay with Eintracht,” Jovic told Bild.“It’s nice that such big clubs are thinking about someone like me. But I keep both feet on the ground and only think about the next game.”Frankfurt, who are fifth in the Bundesliga table, will host Bayer Leverkusen in a league match on Sunday at 18:00 (CET).
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic feels his side played well enough to secure a win against Valencia at the Camp Nou, despite the game ending in a stalemate.The 2-2 draw against Marcelino’s men ended the club’s eight-game winning streak in the League and could only stretch their lead to six points above Atletico Madrid.Two goals for Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to fight back, after falling 2-0 behind after 35 minutes, but the Croatian international believes they had the chances to collect all three points.⌛️FULL-TIME: There’s the whistle! Leo Messi scores twice as Barça battle back from 2-0, first-half deficit to earn a tie!FT: Barça 2 – 2 Valencia⚽️ #Messi 39′ (p.), 64′ / Gameiro 24′ , Parejo 32′ (p.)🔵🔴 #BarçaValencia pic.twitter.com/GyuzSYUOmC— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 2, 2019“We surely deserved to win. We played a much better game than Valencia. He revealed in a quote cited on Football Espana.
La Liga Betting: Match-day 4 Stuart Heath – September 14, 2019 Despite it being very early into La Liga season, both Barcelona and Real Madrid have had unprecedented starts to their campaigns. With this in…“Maybe in the first half we did not play that well, but in the second half we dominated, and at times we were almost playing handball around their area.“But in the end, we came up short, and it is not easy to play against a counter-attacking team like Valencia, particularly after a hard game in midweek as we had against Sevilla.”Atletico Madrid will be hoping to reduce the gap to three points when they face Real Betis on Sunday.Real Madrid could also be in the mix for the title if they maintain a winning form for the rest of the campaign.Barcelona host Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night, and Messi and defender Gerard Pique are doubtful after picking up injuries in the Valencia tie.🗣 @ivanrakitic 🗣 Ernesto Valverde⚽️ #BarçaValencia pic.twitter.com/CGE4z49wqy— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 2, 2019
Krull hopes to create into a local beer and wine bar mixed with a restaurant to open by summer of 2018. Facebook0TwitterEmailPrintFriendly分享Alaska railcar 602, has been transformed into a new coffee house in Soldotna. “Brew@602” has partnered with Steam Dot Coffee Roasters in Anchorage. Story as aired: Audio PlayerJennifer-on-Brew@602-update.mp3VmJennifer-on-Brew@602-update.mp300:00RPd Photos courtesy of: Brew@602 on Instagram Railcar 602 is an out of service Alaska Railroad car that Soldotna resident Mary Krull purchased from a private seller in Homer, the grand opening will take place on December 28. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/brew602/ Brew@602 will open daily from 7-5 (Sun 8-5) starting on Thursday, December 28th. Brew@602 sits at the top of the hill on Kleeb Loop Road, in Soldotna. Krull: “It’s a double decker. What we have done is added some fix tables, but we maintained the walk over seats that were common in commuter cars. Most of the seats move, and its a unique feature of this rail car.” The coffee car is just the first business to open on ‘Whistle Hill’. A second car, named Addie Camp, was built in 1913 and was shipped from South Dakota where it was taken out of service in 2008.
Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local people help with rescue operations in hill areas hit by landslides in Kerala.@NDRFHQ/TwitterHas Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has lost the precious connect with the people that every democratically elected ruler should have? He has, and it hardly surprises anyone that Vijayan hasn’t realised the bitter truth yet. From one laughable lapse to another, his rickety apple cart is chugging on. The Left leader, a prisoner of the time-warped Stalinist thought process, seems to be holding on to the belief that making Kerala a police state is the best route to suppress criticism.The latest example is the widely carried out witch-hunt against mediamen, activists and social media users who criticised the government’s handling of the disaster relief funds. The sloppy management of the flood disaster in 2018 had earned Vijayan and his government deeply rooted disaffection among Kerala’s general public. The state survived the disaster because a highly socially aware and committed general public raised their game even as a the government machinery squarely failed. However, what heightened the sense of betrayal of the Kerala public was the blatant misuse of the food relief funds that followed. General public, not just political opponents, vented their anger when a second flood havoc struck the state this month. However, Kerala’s new police state had an easy way to smother criticism. File cases against social media users and media outlets that criticised the government. “The cases have been registered for spreading false campaigns on the relief works and all such people would be arrested and proceeded against as per the law,” State police chief Loknath Behera said after booking 19 people. The swift police move came a day after Vijayan called whistleblowers and social media voices “anti-social elements.” Was the criticism false and motivated? Pinarayi VijayanPTIThe Vijayan government loves to believe that the money and muscle power of the Marxist Communist Party give them the mandate to steamroller critics. The government floundered on many fronts when the flood disaster struck Kerala in 2018. The clueless government was in denial when hundreds died. When fair criticism mounted, the critics were easily termed villains and hunted down by the cyber wing of the Marxist party. So, did the government misuse the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF)? Yes, it did, multiple times, and brazenly. But if you say that aloud in Kerala your chief minister calls you an anti-social and his police would slap charges that attract imprisonment up to three years. That’s so much for the party that preaches the virtues of freedom of expression and tolerance.”CMDRF is an official system and the money received would be used for distress relief only… The fund is used for helping the poorest among the poor. All the allegations that the fund was being used for any other purpose is wrong,” Vijayan said. He added that those who said otherwise were commiting the most “heinous crime” and should be locked up.A lot of people in Kerala believe he was lying through the teeth. A look at incidents widely reported in the media will help. When CPI-M MLA KK Ramachandran Nair died, Vijayan’s cabinet gave the family Rs 25 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) in flagrant violation of norms. The disaster relief fund is not meant for paying off bank loans of party leaders. In another blatant violation of norms the CM misused the disaster relief fund again by giving Rs 25 lakh to the family of Uzhavoor Vijayan, the state chief of NCP, an ally in the ruling coalition. An equal amount was doled out to the family of a CPM worker who was killed in an accident. Again, from the chief minister’s disaster relief fund.However, the most disastrous of the indiscretions was Vijayan’s travel in a chartered helicopter to attend a party meeting using funds meant for disaster relief. The CM spent Rs 8 lakh from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) on a chopper ride to attend a CPM meeting in February 2018. When the media reported it widely the government cancelled the original order. In January 2019, the Kerala Lokayukta admitted a case against CM Vijayan and the state government over the misuse of the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. The case before the Lokayukta was that the CM and ministers showed “favouritism” in giving hefty financial help to NCP leader late Uzhavoor Vijayan and former CPI(M) MLA K K Ramachandran Nair. The complaint also highlighted that Rs 25 lakh was allotted from the CMDRF to the family of a civil police officer who died in an accident while escorting CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.What is CMDRF?As per rules, money from CMDRF can only be used for providing relief to people affected by natural calamities. If money is allotted for medical treatment then the beneficiary should be from below the poverty line. CMDRF is not a party fund that the CM can distribute as he pleases to his henchmen. But the CM’s army of advisers failed to tell him that. And when the people said that on public channels they became anti social elements! Fattening the cronies Another disgraceful farce is the skewed priorities at the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI), which was set up to coordinate flood relief efforts. Though basic relief hasn’t reached tens of thousands of victims a year after the disaster struck, the RKI has gobbled up Rs 10 crore for its own establishment costs. The most shocking breach of public trust was the Vijayan government’s decision to rent out a building owned by a party fellow traveller as office for the RKI and furnish it to the hilt. Passengers travel in a truck to a safer place as flood waters ravaged the National Highway 47 in Ernakulam district of Kochi on August 17, 2018AFP/Getty ImagesThe government is spending Rs 88.5 lakh from the RKI funds to furnish the rented property, the Times of India reported, citing an order issued by the planning and economic affairs department. The building is right next to the state secretariat. It’s not as if government buildings can’t be found in the capital city to run the RKI office from. But it’s clear that the government is hell bent on fattening its cronies in the name of flood relief. The money in the CMDRF is the sum total of the contributions, large and small, from people everywhere in the world who wanted to help the flood-hit state. This government breached the trust element underlying a disaster relief contribution. But those who questioned it, and aired concerns over the intentions of the government, were booked under Section 118 B and 120 O of the Kerala Police Act. Section 118 B of Police Act against criticsSection 118 B provides for “imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees or with both” for the offence of ” knowingly spreads rumours or gives false alarm to mislead the police, fire brigade or any other essential service”.Section 120 O stipulates punishment of up to one year for “causing, through any means of communication, a nuisance of himself to any person by repeated or undesirable or anonymous call, letter, writing, message, e-mail or through a messenger.”These case just show the audacity and brazenness of the government. Raise your voice against incompetence, corruption and nepotism, the cyber coolies will bury you under a sleaze load first and then the police will hunt you down. It’s a pity that a communist government in Kerala is stooping so low to protect its image. Perception management, Stalinist style?(The author is Managing Editor, International Business Times, India. Views are personal. Reach the author at j.jacob@ibtimes.co.in) Close Kerala Floods | Rain, landslide play havoc in state, 17 killed; CM chairs review meeting
Map of Papua New Guinea locating the Buimo jail, where at least 17 people were killed after a mass breakout, reports said Monday. AFPSeventeen prisoners have been shot dead after a mass breakout at a jail in Papua New Guinea, police said Monday, with 57 still on the run.Inmates from the Buimo jail in the Pacific nation’s second largest city of Lae made a dash for freedom after breaking out of their compound on Friday, with prison warders opening fire.The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary said in a statement 17 were killed, three were caught and 57 were still at large.”These are undesirable people and will be a threat to the community,” Lae police metropolitan commander Chief Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jr said of the escapees, warning the public to be vigilant.”The majority of those who escaped were arrested for serious crimes and were in custody awaiting trial.”A good number were arrested by police last year for mainly armed robberies, car thefts, break and enter and stealing.”Police shot dead 12 inmates during a jailbreak at the same prison last year. In 2015 more than 50 prisoners escaped from the same facility.Jails in PNG are often overcrowded and conditions are poor.Wagambie said locals in Lae should brace for a spate of crime.”We experienced an upsurge of criminal activities when Buimo jail reported a mass breakout last year,” he said, urging family members and associates of the escapees not to harbour them.”I am warning them that they will be caught. They must do what is good for them and surrender.”Crime and lawlessness is rampant in PNG, a sprawling nation where many still live traditional and subsistence lives in remote areas.
US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk after lunch at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on 12 June 2018. Photo: ReutersPresident Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un concluded an extraordinary summit Tuesday with lofty promises by the American president to take care of a “very dangerous problem” and Kim forecasting “major change for the world.” They signed a document that Trump described as “pretty comprehensive,” but he declined to describe it, saying the details would be revealed later.The document signing followed a series of meetings at a luxury Singapore resort.Meeting with staged ceremony on a Singapore island, Trump and Kim came together for a summit that seemed just unthinkable months ago, clasping hands in front of a row of alternating US and North Korean flags, holding a one-on-one meeting, additional talks with advisers and a working lunch.Throughout the summit that could chart the course for historic peace or raise the specter of a growing nuclear threat, both leaders expressed optimism. Kim called the sit-down a “good prelude for peace” and Trump pledged that “working together we will get it taken care of.”In advance of their private session, Trump predicted “tremendous success” while Kim said through an interpreter that “we have come here after overcoming” obstacles.Aware that the eyes of the world were on a moment many people never expected to see, Kim said many of those watching would think it was a scene from a “science fiction movie.”In the run-up to the meeting, Trump had predicted the two men might strike a nuclear deal or forge a formal end to the Korean War in the course of a single meeting or over several days. But in the hours before the summit, the White House unexpectedly announced Trump would depart Singapore earlier than expected – Tuesday evening – raising questions about whether his aspirations for an ambitious outcome had been scaled back.Giving voice to the anticipation felt around the world, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday he “hardly slept” before the summit. Moon and other officials watched the live broadcast of the summit before a South Korean Cabinet meeting in his presidential officeThe meeting was the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.After meeting privately and with aides, Trump and Kim moved into the luncheon at a long flower-bedecked table. As they entered, Trump injected some levity to the day’s extraordinary events, saying: “Getting a good picture everybody? So we look nice and handsome and thin? Perfect.”Then they dined on beef short rib confit along with sweet and sour crispy pork.And as they emerged from the meal for a brief stroll together, Trump appeared to delight in showing his North Korean counterpart the interior of “The Beast,” the famed US presidential limousine known for its high-tech fortifications.Critics of the summit leapt at the leaders’ handshake and the moonlight stroll Kim took Monday night along the glittering Singapore waterfront, saying it was further evidence that Trump was helping legitimize Kim on the world stage as an equal of the US president. Kim has been accused of horrific rights abuses against his people.Trump responded to such commentary on Twitter, saying: “The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the US, say the haters & losers.” But he added “our hostages” are back home and testing, research and launches have stopped.Trump also tweeted: “Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly … but in the end, that doesn’t matter. We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!”The summit capped a dizzying few days of foreign policy activity for Trump, who shocked US allies over the weekend by using a meeting in Canada of the Group of Seven industrialized economies to alienate America’s closest friends in the West. Lashing out over trade practices, Trump lobbed insults at his G-7 host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump left that summit early and, as he flew to Singapore, tweeted that he was yanking the US out of the group’s traditional closing statement.The optimistic summit was a remarkable change in dynamics from less than a year ago, when Trump was threatening “fire and fury” against Kim, who in turn scorned the American president as a “mentally deranged US dotard.” Beyond the impact on both leaders’ political fortunes, the summit could shape the fate of countless people – the citizens of impoverished North Korea, the tens of millions living in the shadow of the North’s nuclear threat, and millions more worldwide.Alluding to the North’s concerns that giving up its nuclear weapons could surrender its primary deterrent to forced regime change, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that the US was prepared to take action to provide North Korea with “sufficient certainty” that denuclearization “is not something that ends badly for them.”He would not say whether that included the possibility of withdrawing US troops from the Korean Peninsula, but said the US was “prepared to take what will be security assurances that are different, unique, than America’s been willing to provide previously.”The North has faced crippling diplomatic and economic sanctions as it has advanced development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Pompeo held firm to Trump’s position that sanctions will remain in place until North Korea denuclearizes – and said they would even increase if diplomatic discussions did not progress positively.Experts believe the North is close to being able to target the entire US mainland with its nuclear-armed missiles, and while there’s deep skepticism that Kim will quickly give up those hard-won nukes, there’s also some hope that diplomacy can replace the animosity between the US and the North.
Share Graphic by Todd Wiseman Texas — the state that has executed the most people by far since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States 40 years ago — had the nation’s second-busiest death chamber this year for the first time since 2001. Georgia’s nine executions in 2016 surpassed the Lone Star State’s record-low number of seven.The shift came in a year that saw several high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding the death penalty, fights over lethal injection drugs and a 25-year low in nationwide executions. Texas has seen decreasing numbers of new death sentences and executions in recent years.“The death penalty landscape in Texas continues to change dramatically,” said Kristin Houlé, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, in the advocacy group’s release of its annual report Thursday. “Prosecutors, juries, judges, and the public are subjecting our state’s death penalty practices to unprecedented scrutiny and, in many cases, accepting alternatives to the ultimate punishment.”Only three death sentences were handed down by Texas juries in 2016 — all to black men, according to the anti-death penalty group’s report. Another sentence was officially handed down this January after a competency review, but the group marked it as a 2015 sentence since the jury sentenced the man last year. At its peak in 1999, the state had 48 new death sentences. The number dropped significantly after 2005, when life without parole became the alternative for jurors in death penalty trials, but the past two years dipped even more.“Could it simply mean there are a lot less murders in Texas these last 15 years, so naturally the number of death-eligible defendants is way down as well?” said Robert Kepple, executive director of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, in an earlier email. “That, coupled with life without parole option, means less death penalties.”Only one trial in Texas this year where prosecutors sought the death penalty resulted in the alternative sentence of life without parole, according to the annual report. Data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows more than 40 others this year were convicted of capital murder and given the lesser sentence.And while fewer new inmates shuffle into cells on death row, fewer are being shuffled out to be executed as well.Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Texas has executed 538 men and women, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. That’s nearly five times as many as Oklahoma, which has the second most at 112. Georgia, this year’s leader in executions, has 69.
This year, Texas’ seven executions hit the lowest mark since 1996, when executions halted amid legal challenges to a new state law intended to hasten the death penalty appeals process.The number would have been higher, but 12 people got relief when courts either delayed, halted or rescheduled their executions, the report said. Seven stays of execution were handed down by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and one was given by a federal appellate court.The U.S. Supreme Court took up a couple of Texas death penalty cases as well this year. Duane Buck and Bobby Moore brought their cases to the high court in search of getting new sentences. Buck’s case focused on racist testimony in his trial, while Moore’s touched on intellectual disability.Though the death penalty may appear to be slowing, it is not gone. Nine executions have been scheduled in Texas for next year, according to the corrections department.Read related Tribune coverage:The U.S. Supreme Court appeared fairly split along party lines in Texas’ latest death penalty case, which focuses on how to define intellectual disability among death row inmates.A psychologist testified at Duane Buck’s trial that blacks are more dangerous than whites. Buck wants a new sentencing trial.This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2016/12/15/unusual-year-death-penalty-texas-didnt-have-most-e/.
Kolkata: Former judge Ashim Kumar Roy, who was the Chairman of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, will be the next Lokayukta of the state. The decision was taken unanimously during a meeting in the Assembly on Friday.Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Biman Bandyopadhyay, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Leader of the Opposition Abdul Mannan and the Parliamentary Affairs minister Partha Chatterjee were present in the meeting. Also Read – Rain batters Kolkata, cripples normal lifeRoy, a retired Calcutta High Court judge, will be the second Lokayukta in the state after Samaresh Banerjee, who had served in the same post between 2006 and 2009. The post remained vacant since then. The West Bengal Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2018 was passed in the state Assembly in July this year, allowing the Lokayukta to investigate matters relating to the Chief Minister on the remaining 58 subjects under the state list, with the approval of two-third majority of the members in the state Assembly. Also Read – Speeding Jaguar crashes into Mercedes car in Kolkata, 2 pedestrians killedMamata Banerjee had earlier explained in the Assembly that the Chief Minister is not at all out of the purview of the Lokayukta, apart from the matters “relating to public order”. Meanwhile, former judge Soumitra Pal, who was a member of the West Bengal Information Commission, will be appointed as the new chairman of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission. Raj Kanojia has become a new member of the Information Commission. Naparajit Mukherjee was given an extension as a member of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. Mukherjee was the former Director General of Police. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that Justice Girish Chandra Gupta is the chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. The state Assembly was adjourned on Friday, after obituary references were made to some distinguished personalities from various fields, including politicians like the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. The Speaker also read out the obituary references of Pankaj Banerjee, Ranjit Kundu, Ram Kumar Mondal, Dinesh Joardar, Anil Basu, Ajay Chakraborty, Ajit Wadekar, Gopal Basu, Biswanath Dutta and Annapurna Devi.
Recent Comments