The Charm Offensive: Austin Petersen talks libertarian conservative coalitions, Rand Paul and Bush 2 – Video

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The Charm Offensive: Austin Petersen talks libertarian conservative coalitions, Rand Paul and Bush 2
On this edition of The Charm Offensive, we welcome Austin Petersen, CEO of Stonegait LLC and Founder of the online magazine, The Libertarian Republic. Thank you for joining us today, Austin!...

By: Liberty.me

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The Charm Offensive: Austin Petersen talks libertarian conservative coalitions, Rand Paul and Bush 2 - Video

British Virgin Islands establishing sanctuary for all shark species in its territorial waters

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FILE - In this May 17, 2013 file photo, a flamingo walks along the beach on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. The British Virgin Islands is setting up a sanctuary for all shark species in its territorial waters to protect the imperiled marine predators whose global numbers have been rapidly dwindling. Necker Island is the home of Richard Branson, the British tycoon and adventurer who has been pushing Caribbean governments to better protect its marine environments. (AP Photo/Todd Vansickle, File)The Associated Press

KINGSTON, Jamaica The British Virgin Islands declared its territorial waters a sanctuary for all shark species Thursday to help protect the marine predators whose global numbers have been dramatically dwindling.

Kedrick Pickering, deputy premier and minister for natural resources, said the loss of sharks disrupts the predator-prey balance, compromising the health of oceans and reefs and the survival of other marine creatures.

"The best way to manage their populations is to let them fulfill their ecological role as apex predators," Pickering said at a conference in Belgium.

The Cabinet of the British Caribbean archipelago of roughly 60 small islands, cays and islets banned commercial fishing of all shark species in the 30,933 square miles (80,117 square kilometers) of its exclusive economic zone.

Shark fishing has grown rapidly in recent decades, driven by rising demand, mainly in China, for shark fin soup. Because of their long life spans and low fertility rates, sharks are highly vulnerable to overfishing. Experts say roughly 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries around the globe.

It's far from clear how robustly the tourism-dependent British territory will police its waters, which are home to coral reefs where divers can spot such shark species as scalloped hammerheads, oceanic whitetips and reef sharks.

The territory of about 25,000 people said it is also protecting rays, whose numbers have sharply dwindled over the years. Researchers with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature have said roughly one-quarter of the world's sharks and rays are threatened with extinction.

The sanctuary announcement was applauded by the territory's most famous resident, British tycoon and adventurer Richard Branson.

Branson, CEO and founder of the Virgin Group of companies, has been pushing Caribbean governments to better protect marine environments, making special mention of sharks and rays. At a conference Branson hosted on his private island last year, several regional governments committed to establishing shark protections by May 2015.

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British Virgin Islands establishing sanctuary for all shark species in its territorial waters

New principal for TISS

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Thousand Islands Secondary School will have a familiar face as their new principal for the upcoming school year.

Gordon Cooke, the current principal at Smiths Falls and District Collegiate Institute, will take over for Don Lewis.

Cooke spent most of his teaching career at Thousand Islands Secondary School, beginning as a math teacher, then becoming department head and later, the school's vice-principal. He worked at the school from 1983 until 2006.

I am returning to TISS with many fond memories, Cooke said.

Cooke said he has set goals to achieve while principal at Thousand Islands Secondary School, a position he said will likely mark the end of his education career.

I hope to achieve the same goals I had in my three-and-a-half years at Smiths Falls, he said.

That is to ensure that everyone uses their strength, skills and passions in the best interests of all students and in pursuit of a 90 per cent graduation rate.

Current principal Lewis has been appointed principal at Seaway District High School in Iroquois.

Lewis has been principal at Thousand Islands Secondary School for three years, and, before that, served as principal at Brockville Collegiate Institute for three years.

He previously worked as a teacher and a guidance counsellor at Seaway District High School.

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New principal for TISS

Broad Paper Vids: Natural selection and infectious disease in human populations – Video

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Broad Paper Vids: Natural selection and infectious disease in human populations
Copyright Broad Institute, 2014. All rights reserved. Broad Paper Vids: Natural selection and infectious disease in human populations In the first installment of "Broad Paper Vids," researcher...

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Broad Paper Vids: Natural selection and infectious disease in human populations - Video