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Promoting fiscal discipline – Daily Excelsior

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Although the question of bringing about financial reforms has been hanging fire in previous regimes also yet no reforms worth the name were brought in so far. When we get used to a system, we are loath to change it even if the change is positive and more beneficial at the end of the day. Financial system in our State administration is essentially based on the system that prevailed even before freedom dawned in our country. A few reforms have been brought in no doubt, but the fast changing times in which we live, and the obvious constraints imposed by democratic form of Government, call for radical change in the financial system if the State has to keep pace with other States in the country in march towards all round development.The administration has to move fast to keep pace with the rising aspirations of the people and requirements of a democratic governance. The Government has taken a bold step and announced a slew of reforms to strengthen and streamline fiscal discipline. The conventional practice of dragging the budget to the last quarter and then to the last month of the financial year has been a source of big corruption and delay in delivery. According to new policy of the Government, not more than 30 per cent of the total budget has to be spent during the last quarter of the financial year. So far the practice has been of dragging procurement and tendering process to the last month meaning March of the financial year and then hurrying up and rushing through the tenders, allocations, payments and clearance of balances. The net result was that there used to be great rush and mismanagement all giving rise to corruption. This practice has been discarded now. Fiscal discipline will be prioritized with the announcement of release of 50 per cent revenue and capital expenditure budget provision for upcoming financial year of 2017-18, at least four to five months ahead of schedule and May 15 is fixed as deadline for procurement and tendering process for all kinds of work to give ample time to their execution in view of limited working season in some of the areas. Actually, most of the inhabited areas of the State being winter zone, normal life is disrupted by the harsh elements imposing serious restrictions on work culture. This imposes so many restrictions on administrative and financial aspects of the State. There are clear cut instructions from the Finance Department to the Heads of Departments and other executing agencies to immediately set in motion the procurement and tendering process for the works to complete them latest by May 15, 2017, which means that all budgeted works must be allotted and supply orders issued or procurements made by the specified timeline. The fixing of time line under new directions to the Departmental Heads is a significant change in the stereotype practices observed so far. This is naturally bound to bring fiscal discipline on a new pattern. Essentially, this drastic measure has been taken by the Government keeping a number of situations in mind. Firstly, now a new dimension is given to Center-State relations in which the Centre categorically asserts that in case of non completion of schemes in time and non submission of utilization certificate the Centre will stop further installments on the project. This condition is not only on paper but has been taken recourse to. Secondly, the routine excuse for non completion of projects is that funds are not released in time. According to new pattern this issue remains tackled and there will be no more complaint because funds will be released much ahead of time and in advance in certain cases. Fiscal discipline will put an end to malpractices which afflicted the Finance and other departments invariably.

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Promoting fiscal discipline - Daily Excelsior

Venezuela now leads US asylum requests as crisis deepens – Philly.com

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Venezuelans for the first time led asylum requests to the United States as the country's middle class fled the crashing, oil-dependent economy.

Data from the U.S. government's Citizenship and Immigration Services show that 18,155 Venezuelans submitted asylum requests last year, a 150 percent increase over 2015 and six times the level seen in 2014. China was second place, with 17,745 requests coming from citizens of that country.

Venezuela first cracked the top 10 asylum-seeking nations following months of sometimes bloody street protests in early 2014 seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

But back then, amid the widespread jailing and harassment of opponents of the socialist administration, fewer than 100 Venezuelans per month sought asylum. That compares with 2,334 requests in December, 2016, the last month for which data is available.

The number of applicants has skyrocketed since December 2015, when the opposition took control of congress in a landslide election, giving hope to many that it could disrupt 17 years of socialist rule. Instead of reaching out to his opponents, Maduro retrenched and more and more Venezuelans began to uproot as triple-digit inflation pulverized salaries and widespread food and medicine shortages made life unbearable for many.

The vast majority leaving are middle-class Venezuelans who don't qualify for refugee status reserved for those seeking to escape political persecution, according to Julio Henriquez, director of the Boston-based nonprofit Refugee Freedom Program, which has been drawing attention to the trend.

"The pace at which requests are increasing is alarming," said Henriquez, whose group obtained the still-unpublished data in a Feb. 8 meeting between U.S. officials and immigration lawyers. "It's not just worrisome that so many people are escaping the terrible situation in Venezuela but also that the practice of sending asylum-seekers with poor advice and false proof is proliferating."

Still, given mounting hardships at home, increasing numbers of Venezuelans are willing to take advantage of a more-than-two-year delay for their applications to be processed to obtain work authorization and seek short-term employment even if it means being eventually deported.

In the 2015 fiscal year, Venezuela was among the top 10 countries whose citizens had overstayed their visas in the United States, according to an estimate of visa overstays by the Department of Homeland Security.

Venezuelans seeking U.S. asylum represent a small share of the overall Venezuelan immigrant population, some of whom have made their home in the U.S. for decades.

Published: February 12, 2017 12:01 AM EST

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Venezuela now leads US asylum requests as crisis deepens - Philly.com

MEL STA. MARIA | The 1987 Freedom Constitution should not be changed – InterAksyon

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

Atty. Mel Sta. Maria is the Dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law and Professor at the Ateneo de Manila School of Law.

On February 2, 1987, the Filipino people ratified the 1987 Freedom Constitution. Its significance can be appreciated by studying the Constitution which preceded it the 1973 Martial law Constitution of former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Ferdinand E. Marcos, a cum laude law graduate from the University of the Philippines and number one topnotcher of the bar examinations, was brilliant and ruthless as a dictator. When his official term as President was ending, he declared martial law, unceremoniously closed Congress, jailed many of its prominent members especially those in the opposition, locked up journalists and media-people critical to him, suppressed the freedom of the press, speech and association, and arrogated all powers of government unto himself.

To further perpetuate his power, Marcos knew where to start the Constitution. And so, to replace the 1935 Constitution and using his martial law might and influence, the dictator had a new Constitution spuriously ratified by the raising of hands of the so-called "citizens' assemblies". That Martial Law 1973 Constitution had all the hallmarks of despotism.

It contained "Amendment Numbers 5 and 6" which made the Batasang Pambansa a rubber stamp a useless legislative branch of government ignored and/or disregarded at a whim by President Marcos. Amendment No. 5 authorized the President to "continue to exercise legislative powers until Martial Law shall have been lifted." And had Martial Law been truly lifted, the President still would have had legislative powers via Amendment Number 6 which provided that "whenever in the judgment of the President, there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the interim Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees, orders, or letters of instructions, which shall form part of the law of the land."

If the dictator Marcos did not like a law or a bill being discussed at the Batasang Pambansa, he simply issued a Presidential Decree on the same subject using his own judgment and even relying merely on his gut-feel. There were no standards for the President's exercise of legislative power except his own self-serving determination of what they were. So, if in his personal judgment "for any reason" the legislature was "unable to act adequately" in one, two, three or more months or even in just one, two or three days, he can just legislate on his own and by-pass the legislature. This also rendered nugatory the legislative oversight and fiscal powers.

During his dictatorship, President Marcos literally issued more Presidential decrees, Executive Orders and Letters of Instructions than laws passed by the Batasang Pambansa. The President churned up laws and repealed them as frequent as he desired. And many of them were made without publication and proper dissemination of information. People were incarcerated via Presidential Decrees that would suddenly exist depending on the Presidents caprice.

To firm up his hold over the impotent Batasang Pambansa, the Presidential veto of any legislation was absolute and final under the Marcos Constitution. This is unlike the 1987 Freedom Constitution where a presidential-veto can be overridden by Congress as a check on possible abuses of such presidential prerogative.

Also, unlike the 1987 Freedom Constitution where judges and justices are appointed only after determination and written recommendation to the President by an independent body, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the 1973 Marcos Constitution gave the President the sole and exclusive prerogative to select, determine and finally appoint judges and justices. Consequently, many of those who aspired to be appointed to or promoted in the judiciary kowtowed to the dictator. Judges and Justices were beholden to the President who did not hesitate to wield his undue influence over them. Judicial independence was an illusion.

All these went against the grain of democracy. The reason behind the effectivity of three separate great branches of government (namely: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary) is precisely to disperse governmental powers. The configuration is designed so that each branch can check any abuse committed, being committed or may potentially be committed by the other branches. Concentrating power or almost all the powers of government only in one branch (directly or vicariously) leads to a monarchial kind of authority that is absolute and unconditional.

And to further assure President Marcos' "fear factor" over the citizenry, the 1973 Marcos Constitution did not limit the power to issue a warrant of arrest to the courts unlike in the 1987 Freedom Constitution. The power was also granted to any "responsible officer authorized by law." The President, exercising his legislative powers, can authorize the Secretary of Defense or even a mere bureau chief to issue a warrant. In fact, this power was much abused such that the proliferation of Arrest Search and Seizure Orders (ASSO) happened. People were just arrested even without probable cause determined by the courts.

Also, the 1973 Constitution allowed the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus where people can be detained without charge or trial and the imposition of Martial Law for a limitless period as determined by the President without any check from the legislature. Worse, the basis of the imposition can be highly subjective as when the President believed that invasion or rebellion was "imminent". How imminent was imminent? The 1973 Constitution did not define it. It all depended on the President.

Under the 1987 Freedom Constitution, suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and declaration of Martial Law can only be made when there is actual invasion or rebellion when public safety requires an objective basis. The President's belief of the imminence of such situations happening which is very subjective and prone to abuse is not a ground. And even in case Martial Law is imposed, Congress can rescind it. Should Congress and the President agree to its imposition, the Supreme Court can void their decisions upon a meritorious petition from a taxpayer. And under the 1987 Constitution, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus can be questioned in court which can grant bail for the provisional release of the detained.

Then, under Section 17 Article 15 of the 1973 Marcos Constitution, the dictator Marcos made himself immune from suit for all acts he did for as long as they were "official". And Marcos cannot be sued even after his term. Considering that he can enact laws by himself, Marcos can make a crime "official". For example, any technical malversation of government funds can be legitimized as "official" by a Presidential Decree which "forms part of the law of the land" issued by no other than the person guilty of malversation, the President himself. Also, billions of money diverted from the national treasury to private foundations can be validated as "official" and therefore cannot be subject of a suit, whether administrative, civil or criminal. This gave the dictator Marcos the power to make himself legally God-like incapable of doing anything wrong, much more criminal a clear badge of despotism. Simply put, there was total impunity.

For the dictator, there was only rule of law for the citizens but not for him, He was above the law as he was the law who can make, change and repeal the law anytime he wished. The consequence was the unprecedented grave and horrible abuse of power and authority, resulting to accumulation of ill-gotten wealth amounting to billions of dollars and "summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance and other gross human rights violations committed during the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos covering the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986" as recognized by Republic Act Number 10368, otherwise known as the "Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013".

According to Fr. Joaquin Bernas S.J., President Corazon Aquino, after the February 1986 revolution, could have decided just to use the 1973 Marcos Constitution during her term as President. But she did not. She knew its autocratic nature. So she decided that a new constitution should be presented to the people and ratified.

President Cory Aquino selected brilliant minds such as, among others, constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas SJ, former Supreme Court Justices Roberto Concepcion and Hilarion Davide, former Justices Cecilia Munoz Palma and Florenz Regalado, former Senator Ambrosio Padilla, former Secretary of Labor Blas Ople, and labor leader Jaime Tadeo, to draft a new constitution . The outcome was the 1987 Freedom Constitution a legal and political document affirming the people's revulsion to any form of autocratic rule. It likewise ensured the freedom of the press, speech and association, among others, and put importance to accountability and human rights.

Now, President Duterte intends to amend the 1987 Freedom Constitution and for this he has opted for a constitutional assembly, made up of politicians in Congress, to do it. If this pushes through, let us hope that they know what they will be doing. Likewise, Duterte's strong-arm character, his fondness of Martial Law, his friendship with Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. and most of all, his admiration of the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos whom he publicly said was "the brightest among the past Presidents", are also serious concerns.

Let us all be vigilant. The present 1987 Constitution does not need amendments when it comes to our civil liberties, limitation of governmental powers, public accountability, and the advocacy of human rights. It is not the present Freedom Constitution which is the problem. It is the people, particularly government officials, who pervert, ignore, or disregard the Constitution who are the problem.

We must remember that the 1987 Freedom Constitution was not just a document simply to forget a by-gone-Marcos-era. It is about lessons from the dark side of that history, learning from them and not standing idly-by to let others, especially those in government today, repeat them.

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MEL STA. MARIA | The 1987 Freedom Constitution should not be changed - InterAksyon

The United Kingdom and the Benefits of Spending Restraint – People’s Pundit Daily

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Theresa May, the next UK prime minister following the resignation of David Cameron. (REUTERS/Peter Nicholls)

When I debate one of my leftist friends about deficits, its often a strange experience because none of us actually care that much about red ink. Im motivated instead by a desire to shrink the burden of government spending, so I argue for spending restraint rather than tax hikes that would feed the beast.

And folks on the left want bigger government, so they argue for tax hikes to enable more spending and redistribution.

I feel that I have an advantage in these debates, though, because I share my table of nations that have achieved great results when nominal spending grows by less than 2 percent per year.

The table shows that nations practicing spending restraint for multi-year periods reduce the problem of excessive government and also address the symptom of red ink.

I then ask my leftist buddies to please share their table showing nations that got good results from tax increases. And the response isawkward silence, followed by attempts to change the subject. I often think you can even hear crickets chirping in the background.

I point this out because I now have another nation to add to my collection.

From the start of last decade up through the 2009-2010 fiscal year, government spending in the United Kingdom grew by 7.1 percent annually, far faster than the growth of the economys productive sector. As a result, an ever-greater share of the private economy was being diverted to politicians and bureaucrats.

Beginning with the 2010-2011 fiscal year, however, officials started complying with my Golden Rule and outlays since then have grown by an average of 1.6 percent per year.

And as you can see from this chart prepared by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, this modest level of fiscal restraint has paid big dividends. The burden of government spending has significantly declined, falling from 45 percent of national income to 40 percent of national income.

This means more resources in private hands, which means better economic performance.

Though allow me to now share some caveats. Fiscal policy is only a small piece of what determines good policy, just 20 percent of a nations grade according to Economic Freedom of the World.

So spending restraint should be accompanied by free trade, sound money, a sensible regulatory structure, and good governance. Moreover, as we see from the tragedy of Greece, spending restraint doesnt even lead to good fiscal policy if its accompanied by huge tax increases.

Fortunately, the United Kingdom is reasonably sensible, which explains why the country is ranked #10 by EFW. Though its worth noting that it gets its lowest score for size of government, so the recent bit of good news about spending restraint needs to be the start of a long journey.

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The United Kingdom and the Benefits of Spending Restraint - People's Pundit Daily

Four suspected foreign drug barons deported to Seychelles – The Star, Kenya

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

The government has deported four foreigners suspected to be drug barons following their arrest in Mombasa on Saturday.

Multiagency detectives apprehended two South Africans and two Seychellois at an apartment adjacent to Nyali Beach Hotel.

They were identified as Dominguez and Nedy Micock (Seychelles) and Barend Nolte and Marc Faivelewitz (SA).

More on this: Four suspected foreign drug barons arrested in Mombasa

The four were flown from Mombasa to the JKIA in Nairobi on Saturday night, for deportation and possible prosecution inSeychelles.

Inspector General of police Joseph Boinnet confirmed their departure.

Source indicated that four were linked to the Akasha brothers and two foreigners who were extradited to the US for allegedly running an international drug trafficking syndicate.

Baktash and Ibrahim Akasha, and foreigners Vijay Goswami (Indian) and Hussein Shabakash (Pakistani) were secretly flown to New York on January31.

[VIDEO] Akasha sons, two foreigners extradited to US - police source

An Italian man who runs several companies in Mombasa and Kilifi was termed key to the arrest of the four.

A US drugs enforcement agency officer said businessman Paolo Basta informed police of the whereabouts of the suspects after he was told he risked being linked to drug trafficking syndicate.

Read more: How Italian Paolo Basta helped arrest Akashas, two foreigners

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Four suspected foreign drug barons deported to Seychelles - The Star, Kenya

Book review: ‘Island People’ brings Caribbean’s humanity, color to life – Fredericksburg.com

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Until this point, my experience of the Caribbean islands has been limited to notions of beautiful beaches and a vague awareness of the pitfalls surrounding Caribbean tourism. In his highly ambitious new book, Island People: The Caribbean and the World, however, author Joshua JellySchapiro attempts the seemingly herculean task of giving all these typically marginalized islands more depth and substance.

Though this work is perhaps most accurately called a travelogue, JellySchapiro also provides a historical account of the islands, which ranges from Christopher Columbus initial discovery to contemporary problems and politics. Island People is also, at times, a sociological account, as the author explores ideas such as the impact of tourism on the native populations and race relations.

Most strikingly, however, JellySchapiro promotes the idea that the Caribbean islands, far from being small players on the world stage, contribute much to both popular culture and academic study. This reader finds the author to be as comfortable discussing Afro-Caribbean identity as he is Bob Marleys impact on music.

Given the varied tasks of this book, JellySchapiro performs an amazing balancing act. Though it is true that each of the islands are not given equal space and depth, JellySchapiro still manages to leave the reader with a strong sense of each islands culture.

Some readers may find, however, that this work is occasionally too theoretical, and reading Island People is less a pleasure than an intellectual exercise. Despite this drawback, JellySchapiros distinctive prose style sets him apart. Although this work is nonfiction, JellySchapiro brings the people and places he encounters over the course of this expansive book to life, and the book, in these moments, reads more like a novel than an academic text. Moreover, although JellySchapiros love of the islands is clear from his introduction, he does not shy away from exposing the darker aspects of the islands cultures, governments and politics, and the picture of the Caribbean that develops over the course of the text has remarkable depth.

The goal of this work appears to be to alter the seemingly omnipresent view that the Caribbean is only the sum of its tourism industries, and in this JellySchapiro is astonishingly successful. The Caribbean, as it is presented here, becomes a place of astounding humanity and color.

Ashley Riggleson

is a freelance reviewer from Rappahannock County.

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Book review: 'Island People' brings Caribbean's humanity, color to life - Fredericksburg.com

FATCA hurting Caribbean: Revoke it, Mr Trump – Jamaica Observer

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

The United States Government passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010 and has been implementing it vigorously.

FATCA requires US persons, including those living abroad, to file yearly reports on their non-US financial accounts to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. It also requires all foreign financial institutions to provide information on assets and transactions of US persons to the US Department of the Treasury.

The definition of US persons includes foreigners holding upwards of US$50,000 in accounts with financial institutions.

The motivation for FATCA is two-fold: First, improved tax compliance and tax revenue collection, and second, to cut off or reduce funds getting to terrorist organisations. Nothing is wrong with either motive.

But the US is inadvertently causing serious damage to the small, developing economies of the Caribbean, who are its strong allies, because of the highly open nature of their economies and their dependence on international financial intermediation by foreign commercial banks.

Many in the region, however, believe that the US action was also related to the fact that it has listed 15 Caribbean countries as tax havens. FATCA adversely affects all international financing provided by correspondent banks. Adverse impacts include choking international investment flows, trade financing, transfers of remittances, debt servicing, transfers of profits and royalties.

Some US banks have either withdrawn or restricted some of these services to 16 banks in the Caribbean in spite of FATCA compliance by Caribbean jurisdictions. There have been meetings between the US Treasury and Caribbean ministers, but the region feels that there is insufficient empathy.

Jamaicas Finance Minister Audley Shaw made a strong statement when Caribbean finance ministers met with the US Treasury and the International Monetary Fund late last year. Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda hosted a special conference shortly thereafter.

Recently, the leader of the Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar did something almost unheard of by writing to then President-elect Donald Trump to remind him that in his presidential campaign he indicated that he would abolish FATCA. The Wall Street Journal took up the issue in an editorial.

Latest development is that a seminar is scheduled for tomorrow at the SUNY-UWI Centre for Governance and Sustainable Development in New York to mobilise support for a change in US policy. The strong Caribbean team includes Sir Kenneth Hall; former prime minister of Barbados Owen Arthur; Ambassador Dr Richard Bernal, pro-vice chancellor of global affairs at UWI; former president of the Caribbean Development Bank Professor Compton Bourne; and Dr Damien King of the UWI Economics Department.

Combating money laundering and terrorist financing is a goal shared by this newspaper and Caribbean governments. Suitable arrangements have to be put in place to ensure that this can be attained while allowing normality in international financing. Hopefully, the SUNY-UWI seminar will help influence the US to repeal FATCA.

We wish the team well in their mission.

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FATCA hurting Caribbean: Revoke it, Mr Trump - Jamaica Observer

Cruise Line Drops 25 Bahamas Sailings – Cruise Radio (blog)

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Cruise Line Drops 25 Bahamas Sailings
Cruise Radio (blog)
For years, It's better in the Bahamas has been not only that island's advertising slogan, but a sentiment that millions of cruisers agreed with. But it's beginning to look as if the longtime love affair between cruisers and the Bahamas may be fading ...

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Cruise Line Drops 25 Bahamas Sailings - Cruise Radio (blog)

In A Growing Trend, Norwegian Cruise Lines Drops Bahamas In Favor Of Cuba – Cuba Journal

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Cuba is gaining influence as a trending destination in the Caribbean as various industry players reshape their regional travel schedules.

The most recent example of cruise industry changes is the announcement by Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) that it decided drop its Grand Bahama stopover in favor of newly awarded Cuba approval for its 2000-passenger ship, Norwegian Sky, the largest cruise ship to ply Cubas waters to date. The new itinerary for Skys four-day cruise now includes an overnight stop in Havana.

Price start at $699 per person including beverages.

The timing for the Sky to drop Freeport, Grand Bahama, an island that is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Matthew, which struck the island in October 2016, is regrettable. We look forward to Norwegian returning to that island in 2018, Bahamas Tourism said in a statement.

In a statement published in the Jamaican Observer, FNM Deputy Leader, K Peter Turnquest said, There are constant reminders every week of more hotels and resorts closing, more workers being laid off, and now we have cruise lines leaving our beautiful waters for other countries.

Last week, competitor Royal Caribbean announced plans to extend its Cuba offerings for the rest of 2017.

Image by Cuba Journal

Royal Caribbean added eight sailings for voyages from Tampa through November 4th, the latest schedule of any U.S. cruise line to date. According to the Miami Herald, the other cruise companies traveling to Cuba Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings three cruise lines and Connecticut-based Pearl Seas Cruises have announced voyages only through the spring.

RELATED: Cubas Future as an Affluent Traveler Haven

For U.S. commercial airlines, adjustments are underway in the other direction.

Recently, American Airlines announced it would dropone of the two daily flights between Miami and the cities of Holguin, Santa Clara and Varadero. The airline cited weak demand in reducing its schedule to 10 daily round-trip flights from 13, starting in mid-February.

And as ofMay 3, 2017, JetBlue will fly aircraft with fewer seats to Havana, Santa Clara, Camagueyand Holguin. As a result, JetBlue will fly 300 fewer seats aday to its Cuban destinations.

In the hyper affluent travel segment, New York-based private jet startup Encore Jets has announced direct flights to Cuba from 24 U.S. cities and their respective airports, including Miami, Atlanta and New York.

The brokerage has partnered with the tour operator International Expeditions, recognized for its ongoing experience in tourism and government relations with Cuba. Together, the two travel companies have introduced private charter flights and customized experiences through Encore Jets Discover Cuba.

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In A Growing Trend, Norwegian Cruise Lines Drops Bahamas In Favor Of Cuba - Cuba Journal

Trudeau: Arctic offshore drilling too dangerous – The Independent Barents Observer

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Text: Levon Sevunts

Responding to criticism of the move from Darrel Nasogaluak, the mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, a remote community on the shores of the Beaufort Sea, during a town hall meeting in Yellowknife on Friday, Trudeau said one of his governments fundamental responsibilities was to protect communities and the environment from a potential environmental disaster.

There has been a lot of research, a lot of people over a long time have tried to look at ways to exploit and explore Arctic Ocean resources and quite frankly it has never been determined that it can be done safely, Trudeausaid. The cataclysmic impact of an oil spill in the High Arctic Ocean is unimaginable. Thats why we made the decision that there needed to be moratorium on Arctic oil and gas exploration.

David Miller, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada, praised Trudeaus comments as positive and very consistent with the science.

Its quite clear from our work at WWF that risk to nature of drilling is far too great to be worth taking, Miller said in a telephone interview.

Unhappy territorial leaders

However, while environmental activists have applauded the ban, announced by Trudeau in conjunction with outgoing President Barak Obama on December 20, 2016, the Liberal leader has come under fire from local government and some Indigenous leaders in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, who have denounced the lack of consultations with them prior to the announcement.

Our people have been working with the industry over 50 years on and off, weve grown skills, weve got good employment, our businesses have grown, the region has grown, Nasogaluak said, addressing Trudeau. To lose an opportunity on oil and gas for our people is very upsetting. One elder told me, We cant just up and move to where the jobs are.

Trudeau acknowledged that the Liberal government has closed one door of potential economic opportunity but said the various levels of government need to work together to ensure that we are opening many more doors of economic opportunity.

Moratorium to be reviewed

Yet he did not close the door to future oil and gas exploration completely.

We make decisions based on science, Trudeau said. Thats why were working with the North, with communities, with the premier with the scientists to establish the framework so that we can evaluate every five years the science around the modern technologies, around spill response, around operating frameworks to make sure that the moratorium is still relevant.

The ban means Arctic ecosystems will be protected by default and it would be up to the oil industry to demonstrate that they can operate safely, which we are a long way from being able to do right now, Trudeau said.

Paul Barnes, manager of Atlantic Canada and Arctic for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said Canadas offshore industry has been operating safely for more than 50 years.

The oil and natural gas industry has a long history of meeting the challenges of Arctic exploration with technological advances, science-based research, applications of lessons learned from operating experience, traditional knowledge and adaption of best practices from elsewhere around the world, Barnes said in an emailed statement. Our members have been working to world-class standards in the offshore and have brought tremendous economic benefits to Northern and Atlantic Canada.

Canadas energy regulator, the National Energy Board, has strict filing requirements for offshore drilling in the Canadian Arctic and it the oil industrybelieves that itcan be done safely, Barnes said.

Weve done oil spill trajectory modeling and any deep-sea well puts the ecological health of huge swathes of the Arctic at risk, Miller said. And that is an economic challenge, not just an environmental challenge because it puts the jobs and livelihoods of people whose livelihood depends on sustainable exploitation of things like fish very much at risk.

And while the science on the dangers of offshore drilling wont change, the political climate could, Miller warned.

Im less concerned with Mr. Trudeau changing his position than the fact the moratorium isnt permanent, Miller said. Because Mr. Trudeaus successor could, perhaps, change that position sometime in the future whether it be in five, ten, fifteen or twenty years.

Hundreds of people had packed into the gym at the Yellowknife Multiplex to take part in the town hall, first town hall event north of the 60thparallel.

Trudeau answered questions on building roads to access northern mining resources and reduce the current reliance on the seasonal ice roads, as well as affordable housing and updating federal legislation to better protect Canadas rivers and lakes.

The Liberal leader was also grilled for abandoning plans to reform Canadas first-past-the-post electoral system, a key electoral promise during the 2015 campaign.

On Thursday, Trudeau was in Iqaluit the capital of Canadas Arctic territory of Nunavut, where he signed a declaration with Inuit leaders, setting apromised Inuit-to-Crown partnershipin motion.

This was Trudeaus first visit to the northern territories since his 2015 election victory.

This story is posted on Independent Barents Observer as part ofEye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.

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Trudeau: Arctic offshore drilling too dangerous - The Independent Barents Observer

Diamond Offshore Is A Hold – Seeking Alpha

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Last week Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO) delivered Q4 revenue of $391.9 million and eps of $0.40. The company beat on revenue by over $32 million. The stock is up about 2% since the report. I had the following takeaways:

Revenue Fell Y/Y, But Bounced Sequentially.

Diamond's total revenue fell 29% Y/Y. Ultra-deepwater floaters still make up 60% of total contract revenue. This segment fell 41% Y/Y as drilling for ultra-deepwater remains prohibitively expensive. Deepwater was off 30%, while Mid-water nearly doubled.

On a positive note, revenue was up about 13% on a sequential basis; Ultra-deepwater and Mid-water led the way with gains of 7% and 91%, respectively. The OPEC supply cut has sent oil prices in the mid-$50 range, and breathed new life into certain segments of the offshore market. The higher prices have also enticed North American shale drillers to increase supply. I expect oil prices to range from $50 - $60, which could help the Mid-water segment to remain a catalyst for several quarters.

Market For Offshore Drilling Remains Oversupplied

The general market for offshore contractors remains oversupplied. Industry participants have suffered from revenue declines due to waning demand for contract drilling services. Revenue earning days and average daily revenue have both been in decline. Diamond's biggest selling point is that it did not succumb to unbridled optimism that befell Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) and others; it did not take on excessive debt or commit to capital expenditures that only made financial sense with oil prices in the $75 - $100 range.

On the earnings call management was keen to point out that it does not have any assets delayed in shipyards yet to be delivered or any sixth-generation assets uncontracted. The company has also been able to sustain its EBITDA margins during the downturn. Q4 EBITDA margin was 50%; this was higher than the 46% margin achieved in the year earlier period, despite lower revenue. These factors should allow the company to at least tread water if oil prices remain range bound.

Pristine Balance Sheet

Energy-related names seem to be bifurcated between those with strong balance sheets and those without them. Diamond's balance sheet is pristine. At Q4 it had working capital of $165 million. With $220 million in annual free cash flow, the company's liquidity should grow over time. As importantly, Diamond's $2.1 billion debt load is only 2.7x run-rate EBITDA.

That is in stark contrast to the balance sheets of competitors like Seadrill whose debt is over 5x EBITDA; Seadrill also has upside down working capital, and $1 billion in near term principal payments it might not be able to meet. Diamond's low debt load is probably why its liquidity and cash flow is so strong. If it had billions in near term principal payments then its cash flow and business prospects would be a lot more dismal. There is a scenario where Seadrill or another competitor could fold and potentially remove some supply from the market.

Conclusion

DO trades at 5.5x run-rate EBITDA. The low multiple is most likely due the dismal prospects of the offshore market with oil prices sub-$60. I believe oil prices will remain range bound due to land drillers increasing supply at higher prices. If financial markets endure a major correction or if a major competitor goes belly-up, removing supply from the offshore market, DO could become a buy. For now I rate the stock a hold.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Diamond Offshore Is A Hold - Seeking Alpha

Diamond Offshore Surprises Everyone With a Fourth Quarter … – Motley Fool

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

You have to give Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO) credit. Despite an absolutely brutal market for offshore rigs, the company was able to not only soundly beat estimates for the quarter, but it was able to actually increase earnings. That's something that almost no other rig owner has been able to say for the past several years.

Here's a look at how Diamond was able to pull off this rather remarkable feat, and how management thinks the position it is in today will help to make it an even more competitive company in the coming years.

Image source: Getty Images.

*in millions, except per-share data. Source: Diamond Offshore earnings release.

Based on the dynamics of the oil and gas industry today, the last group of companies you might expect to see an uptick in earnings is with offshore rig companies. Yet that is exactly what happened with Diamond this past quarter. That net income gain is a little larger because of an early termination fee that added $0.28 per share to the bottom line, but even after we pull out that gain it was still an impressive gain over the two comparable quarters.

There are some gains that are sustainable, and some that aren't. One of the most notable gains was in its Mid-water floater segment. However, this is the segmenet where it netted that one time contract termination gain. The one that is truly impressive, though, is the gains for its ultra deepwater fleet. Two rigs -- the Ocean GreatWhite and Ocean BlackLion -- both started 3 year contract terms.

The Ocean GreatWhite is in a unique position because the job it was hired to do was drill in Austrailia's Bight Basin for BP (NYSE:BP). BP has since suspended operations there, however, so the two have worked out a hybrid standby contract that will remain in place until BP can find a place to put this ship to work.

Source: Diamond Offshore earnings release. Author's chart.

The increase in revenues and the declines in operating costs have also freed up cash flow for the company, which is enabling it to pay down some debt. This past quarter alone Diamond was able to pay back $188 million in short term borrowings. With little in terms of capital spending in the coming quarters, the company should be able to throw off quite a bit of cash for either paying down debt or even returning that cash to shareholders. Considering the depressed share price, it wouldn't be shocking to see Diamond buy back some stock.

For the most part, CEO Marc Edwards' comments were on all of the action items that have happened as of late, notably the contracting of several rigs. While that does give the company a decent boost to the income statement now, Edwards also explained how there are some other advantages to being in this position for the future.

Although the next few years will be challenging for offshore drillers, we have uniquely positioned Diamond Offshore to take best advantage of a recovery either in '19 or 2020.

For example, our sixth-generation fleet is contracted through 2019. Our clients have a strong preference for rigs that have recently completed other work. In other words, rigs that are hot. They do not want to take the financial or time risk of qualifying a rig which has been stacked for a lengthy period. We are already seeing some tenders illustrate a strong preference for rigs that are hot. As the market recovers, our rigs will be finishing up their contracts and will therefore be the most attractive to our clients.

Diamond Offshore has done a great job of transforming itself over the past several years. It has gone from a company with an old fleet of rigs with little to differentiate itself from the pack to a young, capable fleet that is working on some innovative ideas like its partnership with General Electric for its pay for performance blow out preventors and its new generation design for ultra deepwater rigs.

With a decent chunk of its fleet contracted out over the next several years, it looks as though Diamond will be in a much better position than its peers to handle the ups and downs of the market. With shares trading at very cheap prices today, it may be a long term investment worth putting on your radar.

Tyler Crowe and The Motley Fool own shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Diamond Offshore Surprises Everyone With a Fourth Quarter ... - Motley Fool

Pirates Face Push Back On The High Seas – American Media Institute

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Pirates still roam the seas, but their numbers are at an 18-year-low, according to a new report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The report recorded 191 incidences of piracy or armed robbery on the high seas in 2016. This is down from 246 in 2015 and is the lowest total recorded since 1998.

In an interview held in Tromso, Norway where Lim attended the 2017 Arctic Frontiers conference, he said he was especially pleased that piracy [is] on a downward trend in most regions around the globe.

He credited the improvement in part to coordinated international efforts to end piracy. These include the NATO-led anti-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa dubbed Operation Ocean Shield. Begun in 2009 this effort to which the United States Navy was the largest contributor was so successful in battling the scourge of Somali piracy, that it was ended in December.

Somali pirates were involved in just two piracy events in 2016; though neither incident led to a successful boarding. The report, however, warns that a single successful hijacking of a merchants vessel, will rekindle the Somali pirates desire to resume their piracy efforts. On shore, Somali pirates continue to hold three hostages.

Three areas around the globe remain hotspots for piracy: Peru, Nigeria and in South East Asian waters around the Southern Philippines. Nigeria saw 36 incidents of piracy in 2016. The figure is more than double the 14 incidents in 2015. Both the Philippines and Nigeria also saw an increase in maritime kidnappings.

Globally, 62 people were kidnapped from vessels and held for ransom in 2016. The 15 separate incidences of kidnapping in 2016 marked a three-fold increase from 2016.

Peru, which experienced no piracy in 2015, saw 11 incidents in 2016. Ten of these incidents took place in the countrys main port of Callao. Some involved well-armed groups targeting ships with the aid of skiffs and other incidents seemed less well planned including the incident in which a pirate attempted to board a tanker by climbing up its anchor.

The maritime security consulting firm Gray Page noted that a government crackdown on the drug trade likely resulted in some criminals trying their hand at piracy. Some 90 dockworkers have been killed in drug-related violence in the report in the last year.

The incidents in Callao reflect the latest trend in piracy: attacking ships at anchor or close to popular ports rather than on the high seas.

This is also the case in Nigeria one of the other hotspots noted in the IMB report where vessels holding oil and operating in coastal waters often found themselves victims of pirate attacks. In many past incidents, pirates hijacked the vessels for several days and ransacked the vessels, the report stated.

Finally, the uptick in piracy in South East Asia waters is a direct response to the aggressive anti-terror efforts on land by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as parallel efforts by the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia, said Armando Heredia, an analyst with the Center for International Maritime Security, [Piracy] is also a means of raising revenue to continue [terrorist] operations.

In one gruesome episode that occurred earlier this month, heavily-armed pirates linked to the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf killed eight fishermen on a Philippine vessel.

Heredia noted that further cooperation on counter-piracy issue in Southeast Asia would be challenging given disparate capabilities, interoperability, and historical suspicion he said. Other countries may be willing to assist the Philippines. Early this month, following a visit by Russian warships to Manila, the Russian Navy offered to help the Philippines in anti-piracy training efforts.

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Starbound to revamp space travel in future update – PC Gamer

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

When it's not working on its two new games, Starbound developer Chucklefish finds the time to update, well, Starbound, its spacey, science fiction sandbox game. True to that, a new post on the Chuckleblog sheds a bit of light on an upcoming patch that will revamp the way space travel works. You'll soon be able to fly freely around star systems in your little pixel spaceship, or in a bunch of new vehicles that will be added as part of the update. Here's a GIF that shows the work-in-progress system off (I do like how your craft appears to automatically orbit planets if you get close enough).

"Space isnt just about stars and planets," Chucklefish's Molly explains in the update post, "its about the space between them, so youll now be able to fly freely around systems and explore all kinds of new locations, from space stations to traveling merchant ships to mysterious derelicts! Systems wont just be static, eithermoons orbit planets, planets orbit stars, and rich opportunities come and go, rewarding patient explorers with brand new perils and plunder!"

All of which sounds fab, particularly in a space-focused exploration sandbox game like this one. There's no date for the patch yet, so while you wait you'll have to make do with Starbound's current method of space travel. (Thanks, RPS.)

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Starbound to revamp space travel in future update - PC Gamer

NASA’s Irish Twins Study reveals first results of space travel on humans – IrishCentral

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Irish American astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly make history. Never have two twins both spent so long in space.Nasa.gov

The next big challenge for the space industry will be putting people on our nearest planetary neighbor, Mars. The journey time could take up to 300 days and before people are asked to make the trip, scientists at NASA have looked at the effect of space on the bodies of astronauts whove already spent a year in orbit.

Step forward the identical Kelly twins; Mark and Scotts Irish family hailed from Cork and Kerry and the intrepid pair have both spent over a year in space each. The NASA study will determine what effect space travel has had on their respective bodies through blood tests and the examination of other biological material.

The fact that the Kellys are genetically identical means theyll have their own Twins Study - a first in the industry - and theyve already got all the material they need. NASA is currently analyzing and the results should be made public within a year or two.

Nature have previously reported that after Scott spent just under 50 weeks in space tests, reveal[ed] changes in gene expression, DNA methylation and other biological markers.

Such changes, scientists concluded, were most likely from his near year in space.

Heres a short video from NASA explaining the Twin Study:

Previous tests have shown the two brothers to have had very similar results but that Scott had slightly longer telomeres - the caps on the end of chromosomes - than his brother Mark. Even though they returned quickly to their normal length, the finding shocked scientists, as telomeres are supposed to shrink over the course of an individuals lifetime.

That is exactly the opposite of what we thought, said Susan Bailey from Colorado State University.

NASA scientist, John Charles, said even if the results were unusual they were thankfully not concerning, Its important to appreciate that telomere lengthening is not always a good thing, as telomere lengthening is also associated with some disease processes and pathologies, he explained before adding, That is not the case in this instance, however.

Its expected that the tests will reveal more mind-boggling results like this once properly examined.

The Kelly twins first decided they wanted to be astronauts when they 8, their father Richard recalled to our sister publication, Irish America. Grandma, were going up in space someday, they proclaimed and in 1996 they got their wish when NASA selected them to be two of the elite few to travel to the stars.

And although the pair are most well known for their professional work, theyve also made headlines when tragedy struck their family in 2011 when Marks wife Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in failed assassination attempt.

Giffords was holding a town hall meeting when a gunman opened fire, a bullet narrowly missing the crucial midline of her brain. She has since made strong progress with her recovery.

Scott was in space at the time but released a statement when informed about his sister-in-laws brush with death.

We have a unique vantage point here aboard the International Space Station, he said. As I look out the window I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful. Unfortunately, it is not. These days we are constantly reminded of the unspeakable acts of violence and damage we can inflict upon one another not just with our actions but also with our irresponsible words. We are better than this. We must do better.

Even if the tragedy kept Mark from space for a while, it was never going to stop if forever. When asked if it was a difficult decision to leave his wife, then still recovering from the shooting, Kelly said I know her very well and she would be very comfortable with the decision that I made.

Nevertheless, his marriage remains the most important thing in his life. The wedding ring he gave her had inscribed on it, Youre the closest to heaven that Ive ever been.

Read more: Gabrielle Giffords love story with husband Mark Kelly

Families Finally Hear From Completely Paralyzed Patients Via New Mind-Reading Device – Singularity Hub

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Wendy was barely 20 years old when she received a devastating diagnosis: juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an aggressive neurodegenerative disorder that destroys motor neurons in the brain and the spinal cord.*

Within half a year, Wendy was completely paralyzed. At 21 years old, she had to be artificially ventilated and fed through a tube placed into her stomach. Even more horrifyingly, as paralysis gradually swept through her body, Wendy realized that she was rapidly being robbed of ways to reach out to the world.

Initially, Wendy was able to communicate to her loved ones by moving her eyes. But as the disease progressed, even voluntary eye twitches were taken from her. In 2015, a mere three years after her diagnosis, Wendy completely lost the ability to communicateshe was utterly, irreversibly trapped inside her own mind.

Complete locked-in syndrome is the stuff of nightmares. Patients in this state remain fully conscious and cognitively sharp, but are unable to move or signal to the outside world that theyre mentally present. The consequences can be dire: when doctors mistake locked-in patients for comatose and decide to pull the plug, theres nothing the patients can do to intervene.

Now, thanks to a new system developed by an international team of European researchers, Wendy and others like her may finally have a rudimentary link to the outside world. The system, a portable brain-machine interface, translates brain activity into simple yes or no answers to questions with around 70 percent accuracy.

That may not seem like enough, but the system represents the first sliver of hope that we may one day be able to reopen reliable communication channels with these patients.

Four people were tested in the study, with some locked-in for as long as seven years. In just 10 days, the patients were able to reliably use the system to finally tell their loved ones not to worrytheyre generally happy.

The results, though imperfect, came as enormous relief to their families, says study leader Dr. Niels Birbaumer at the University of Tbingen. The study was published this week in the journal PLOS Biology.

Robbed of words and other routes of contact, locked-in patients have always turned to technology for communication.

Perhaps the most famous example is physicist Stephen Hawking, who became partially locked-in due to ALS. Hawkings workaround is a speech synthesizer that he operates by twitching his cheek muscles. Jean-Dominique Bauby, an editor of the French fashion magazine Elle who became locked-in after a massive stroke, wrote an entire memoir by blinking his left eye to select letters from the alphabet.

Recently, the rapid development of brain-machine interfaces has given paralyzed patients increasing access to the worldnot just the physical one, but also the digital universe.

These devices read brain waves directly through electrodes implanted into the patients brain, decode the pattern of activity, and correlate it to a commandsay, move a computer cursor left or right on a screen. The technology is so reliable that paralyzed patients can even use an off-the-shelf tablet to Google things, using only the power of their minds.

But all of the above workarounds require one critical factor: the patient has to have control of at least one muscleoften, this is a cheek or an eyelid. People like Wendy who are completely locked-in are unable to control similar brain-machine interfaces. This is especially perplexing since these systems dont require voluntary muscle movements, because they read directly from the mind.

The unexpected failure of brain-machine interfaces for completely locked-in patients has been a major stumbling block for the field. Although speculative, Birbaumer believes that it may be because over time, the brain becomes less efficient at transforming thoughts into actions.

Anything you want, everything you wish does not occur. So what the brain learns is that intention has no sense anymore, he says.

In the new study, Birbaumer overhauled common brain-machine interface designs to get the brain back on board.

First off was how the system reads brain waves. Generally, this is done through EEG, which measures certain electrical activity patterns of the brain. Unfortunately, the usual solution was a no-go.

We worked for more than 10 years with neuroelectric activity [EEG] without getting into contact with these completely paralyzed people, says Birbaumer.

It may be because the electrodes have to be implanted to produce a more accurate readout, explains Birbaumer to Singularity Hub. But surgery comes with additional risks and expenses to the patients. In a somewhat desperate bid, the team turned their focus to a technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Like fMRI, fNIRS measures brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow through a specific brain regiongenerally speaking, more blood flow equals more activation. Unlike fMRI, which requires the patient to lie still in a gigantic magnet, fNIRS uses infrared light to measure blood flow. The light source is embedded into a swimming cap-like device thats tightly worn around the patients head.

To train the system, the team started with facts about the world and personal questions that the patients can easily answer. Over the course of 10 days, the patients were repeatedly asked to respond yes or no to questions like Paris is the capital of Germany or Your husbands name is Joachim. Throughout the entire training period, the researchers carefully monitored the patients alertness and concentration using EEG, to ensure that they were actually participating in the task at hand.

The answers were then used to train an algorithm that matched the responses to their respective brain activation patterns. Eventually, the algorithm was able to tell yes or no based on these patterns alone, at about 70 percent accuracy for a single trial.

After 10 years [of trying], I felt relieved, says Birbaumer. If the study can be replicated in more patients, we may finally have a way to restore useful communication with these patients, he added in a press release.

The authors established communication with complete locked-in patients, which is rare and has not been demonstrated systematically before, says Dr. Wolfgang Einhuser-Treyer to Singularity Hub. Einhuser-Treyer is a professor at Bielefeld University in Germany who had previously worked on measuring pupil response as a means of communication with locked-in patients and was not involved in this current study.

With more training, the algorithm is expected to improve even further.

For now, researchers can average out mistakes by repeatedly asking a patient the same question multiple times. And even at an acceptable 70 percent accuracy rate, the system has already allowed locked-in patients to speak their mindsand somewhat endearingly, just like in real life, the answer may be rather unexpected.

One of the patients, a 61-year-old man, was asked whether his daughter should marry her boyfriend. The father said no a striking nine out of ten timesbut the daughter went ahead anyway, much to her fathers consternation, which he was able to express with the help of his new brain-machine interface.

Perhaps the most heart-warming result from the study is that the patients were generally happy and content with their lives.

We were originally surprised, says Birbaumer. But on further thought, it made sense. These four patients had accepted ventilation to support their lives despite their condition.

In a sense, they had already chosen to live, says Birbaumer. If we could make this technique widely clinically available, it could have a huge impact on the day-to-day lives of people with completely locked-in syndrome.

For his next steps, the team hopes to extend the system beyond simple yes or no binary questions. Instead, they want to give patients access to the entire alphabet, thus allowing them to spell out words using their brain wavessomething thats already been done in partially locked-in patients but never before been possible for those completely locked-in.

To me, this is a very impressive and important study, says Einhuser-Treyer. The downsides are mostly economical.

The equipment is rather expensive and not easy to use. So the challenge for the field will be to develop this technology into an affordable product that caretakers [sic], families or physicians can simply use without trained staff or extensive training, he says. In the interest of the patients and their families, we can hope that someone takes this challenge.

*The patient is identified as patient W in the study. Wendy is an alias.

Banner Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Will we control innovation or will it control us? – The Daily Courier (subscription)

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

Most experts say we are not ready for the massive job losses that will happen because of automation.

In most instances, we think we are interested in innovation, but we are mostly interested in incremental innovation, such as changing the proverbial flavour of the ice cream, adding a blade to a razor, or buying a welding robot.

A bigger step is social innovation, the changing of mindset, attitude, and culture. As Edgar Shein (1985) said, culture determines and limits strategy.

Many have figured out that if we dont learn to think differently, we will not solve our big problems.

A better toothbrush may be important, but it has little to do with finding ways to address complex issues such as racism, terrorism, violence, let alone the inability for rich nations to get people working, feed impoverished children, or address mental health issues.

The key to social innovation is deep listening, according to thinker Pauline Oliveros, the kind of dialogue that builds understanding, acceptance, and partnership.

It wasnt long ago, when people with differences women and minorities of all kinds endured violence and state-level oppression. Canadas residential schools are a clear example of state-sponsored and legalized violence.?

But social innovation processes allowed the world to change, for equity to evolve, and eventually, in many cases, become the rule of law.

But letting go of old ways is challenging. The process may require a long period of healing and an active phase of reconciliation.

The work done in South Africa, for example, under their Truth and Reconciliation agenda is not so much about boosting poverty rates directly, but empowering and healing so that oppressed people can address generations of collective trauma.

Social innovation may help us come together, but of all the kinds of innovation, I consider quantum innovation as the most misunderstood.

A quantum social innovation is the leap from one state of social consciousness to another.

Some think that quantum innovation is impossible because it requires a system to evolve in ways that are posthuman.

What is posthuman? It means getting beyond a limiting anthropocentric perspective where humans are the centre of everything something Indigenous people all over the world have known for millennia.

Those who study consciousness, neuroscience, computation, biological evolution, and creativity point to studies in evolutionary adaptation, quantum physics, and photosynthesis to identify non-linear change where a system, species, or structure evolves far beyond the rational addition of its components.

What we have discovered is that quantum change is all around us. The sub atomic level reveals evidence that not only is time not linear, but that one particle can be in two places at one time.

This is the kernel of what is known as quantum computing.

The biological perspective reveals many examples of quantum change, such as how cells or photons do more than regenerate, but evolve to create new forms.

Neuroscience tells us that consciousness extends beyond our brains to our bodies and perhaps even beyond.

In my view, artificial intelligence (AI) offers us potentially new ways of addressing our human limitations and offers a chance to refocus our energy on ethics.

New automobiles with assisted technologies are a clear example of the ways in which machines are assisting human beings.

We have already created new interfaces with machines that may give us a peek into a future where machines help us in unexpected ways.

The question that many ask in the field of artificial intelligence is what will we do when robots put 60 per cent of human beings out of work.

Many commentators see a global depression coming because soon robots will eliminate millions of jobs.

Before this happens, we must think about these challenges to human productivity and the human economy.

Might robots make us enough money so that we dont have to work? It depends on who owns them or programs them doesnt it?

Did you know that the current economy could not function without robots?

Artificially intelligent agents make the stock markets fairer by taking the human element out, so that trades can be conducted ethically and so that catastrophic events can be mitigated.

Just as artificially intelligent umpires will make our sports, like tennis, fairer, the same will happen to arenas where there is human error or emotion.

Ethics is the key discipline when addressing artificially intelligence and automation.

Soldiers who work with sentient machines (i.e. bomb disposal robots) consider their machine partners as persons and give them human levels of loyalty and respect.

Is this loyalty to the inanimate ethics?Can sentient machines help us make better ethical judgements and eventually help us be better, more compassionate humans?

Can robots assist us to create jobs? Can they identify and predict where we will face not just say weather and traffic issues, but where violence and conflict might emerge?

Can they lead us into useful court/medical/negotiation simulations where win-win outcomes will help us avoid conflict, ecological exploitation and war? Or will they simply steal our jobs, put our global economy into a tail spin, and deliver us into self-extinction?

In my view, machines can help us if we focus on evolving ethical ways for human beings to advance our mutual well-being with the planet.

What will we do? Instead of just asking how machines can help us be more innovative, let us ask machines to assist us in becoming more ethical and humane.

Stan Chung, PhD is the author of I Held My Breath for a Year available at stanchung.ca.

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Regional sewer plans in Ascension appear headed for another set back – The Advocate

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

GONZALES More than a year after the outgoing Ascension Parish Council decided to explore a public-private partnership to build a $500 million regional sewer system, the plan appears all but dead.

The parish agreed in November 2015 to try to work out a deal with Ascension Environmental, SCS Management, GSA and others to move the sewer project forward after years of false starts.

Last week, though, a key council committee recommended killing the effort to create a municipal-style sewer system through a public-private partnership, as has Parish President Kenny Matassa. Once a final council vote happens on the partnership Feb. 23, the parish faces starting all over again on sewer plans, officials say.

The parish has grappled for years with how to finance the sewer program without new taxes or high user fees, even as regulatory pressure has intensified to improve water quality in area bayous. Some parish officials have argued a public-private partnership was the solution.

Under such a partnership, the parish would get expertise and access to hundreds of millions in capital to build out a system that will discharge in the Mississippi River. The trade-off is paying a premium to the partners and granting them a long-term concession to recoup their investment.

Some estimates of the current partnership plan suggested the overall cost of the 30-year deal approached $2 billion.

In calling for an end to the deal, Matassa cited the same concerns Tuesday that the Council Utilities Committee noted late last month before members, at Councilman Daniel "Doc" Satterlee's urging, agreed to a last-ditch meeting the save the proposal.

The parish president noted the structure of the proposal from the public-private partnership, known as a "P3," had changed.

Meanwhile, a critical $60 million low-interest loan the parish got from the state Department of Environmental Quality a few years ago is in jeopardy after delays in the sewer work.

Finally, Matassa said, the parish may have other options it could pursue and preserve the loan, but those can't be considered with the current proposal in play.

"Therefore, the administration recommends abandoning the current P3 proposal and moving to consider other options," Matassa said.

Matassa got little argument, even though the planned last-chance meeting with the partnership Satterlee suggested never even occurred.

Satterlee asked David Einsel, senior project manager with GSA, a P3 partner, what happened.

Einsel responded that GSA was comfortable with the recommendation to end the deal based on the "changes in the structure of our overall team."

Satterlee said he thought both parties could have done more to try to make the private-partnership deal work.

"I firmly believe there were problems on both sides," he said.

One big change in the plan was the loss of Ascension Wastewater Treatment, a private sewer provider with thousands of customers. However, that company may turn out to be an option for the future if, as expected, the P3 deal is killed later this month.

According to letters last fall between Tim Hardy, the parish's legal adviser, and SCS Management, Ascension Wastewater wants to make the parish an offer directly.

Council Chairman Bill Dawson said some officials may be interested, but said the parish needs to take a broader view, given tougher water quality standards on Bayou Manchac.

"I would say we just want to look at all the other options," Dawson said.

One idea is revisiting some version of an older, more localized plan in the Prairieville area along La. 42, La. 73 and Airline Highway, where the parish is already installing sewer infrastructure as part of state highway expansions.

Dawson said the parish needs to bring a plan soon to DEQ to secure the loan, and the Prairieville-based proposal could include less detailed options for sewer for the rest of east Ascension.

An analysis two years ago of the Prairieville plan showed it would generate only 2,041 customers and leave the system in annual, multimillion dollar shortfalls and with a $60 million loan to repay. That study helped build the case for the current public-private partnership.

Ascension's long-elusive goal of regional sewage treatment has foundered before on failed partnerships most recently in the spring of 2011, when Ascension Wastewater also pulled out of that deal. But the pressure to act in some way on sewer may be starting to ratchet up.

In addition to an approaching expiration date on the DEQ loan, tighter water quality rules on Bayou Manchac are constraining, though not eliminating, subdivision developers' options on sewer service, regulators say.

Manchac, which, for years, has ended up as the receiving bayou for treated effluent from much of fast-growing Prairieville, has been deemed to be maxed out for certain kinds of new pollution from treated sewage.

Since 2010, this finding has resulted in tighter requirements on what sewer systems can discharge. The limits have gradually been rolling into effect as five-year DEQ sewer permits are renewed, DEQ officials said.

Kimberly Corts, permit and biomonitoring supervisor at DEQ, said brand new plants must avoid discharging into Manchac through detention ponds or land application of effluent.

If they do discharge into the bayou, they must meet a much tougher, more expensive treatment standard and, at the same time, take in older plants that now treat to a lesser standard so no additional pollution ends up in the waterway, she explained.

Some parish officials see these rules as growing leverage in any potential negotiations with Ascension Wastewater.

Thomas Pertuit, owner of the company, declined on Friday to discuss what he wants to offer the parish but insisted the water quality rules won't prevent his company from continuing to provide sewer for new homes and businesses in Ascension.

"There are ways for us to deal with that," Pertuit said.

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Regional sewer plans in Ascension appear headed for another set back - The Advocate

LSU FACES Lab called in to help identify skull found in Ascension Parish woods – LSU Now

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

When a human skull was found in the woods of Ascension Parish, the University FACES Laboratory team was called in to help identify the remains. But the case in Ascension Parish was hardly a FACES Labs first.

Since 2006, after successfully petitioning to University administration, as well as the Louisiana State Legislature on behalf of former Director Mary Manhein, the FACES Lab has managed Louisiana Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons Information Program.

Ultimately, the FACES Lab has helped to establish a public, central database on unidentified remains and missing persons in order to be a catalyst for positive identification of these individuals.

Ginesse Listi, director of the FACES Lab, said one of the biggest goals is to help solve cold cases and match unidentified remains with missing persons on a national level by working with the coroners offices, local police and national databases.

One of the problems you see all over the country is unidentified cases that become cold, Listi said.

While some may not think our skeletons can identify much about humans, Listi said bones help the lab to identify a number of traits such as sex, age, ancestry and height.

When all of this information is collected and the person remains unidentified, that is when the FACES Lab will digitally reconstruct the face. To do this, the lab utilizes tissue depth standards and the skull to recreate an approximate version of what that person may generally look like. This is when Imaging Specialist Larry Livaudais comes in.

What I do here is really a last ditch effort, Livaudais said.

After the tissue markers are filled with clay and molded to depict what the unidentified person may have looked like, Livaudais said digitally texture-mapping the faces helps to make the face more life-like, thus increasing the chances that someone will be able to positively identify the person.

While the reconstruction is merely a generalization of the persons physical features, Listi said this process has had success in solving cold cases.

What it [facial reconstruction] did was it sparked somebodys memory...something about that face looks familiar to someone who knew that person, and thats what the goal is, Listi said.

Listi said the most frustrating part of her job is when unidentified persons remain unidentified and that some cases simply are never solved.

Despite this, FACES has had much success in helping to bring closure to these cases. Since the labs inception, Listi said, FACES has collected data on over 244 missing persons and 125 unidentified persons. Of these, the lab has solved 21 cold cases, with two dating back 35 and 37 years, respectively.

You can have all the information in the world about your unidentified person but if someone hasnt reported that person missing, it doesnt matter. They slipped through the cracks, Lisiti said.

However, Listi said that they work to encourage the public to remain attentive and interested in helping identify these unidentified persons. One way the public can do this is by visiting the repository at http://www.IdentifyLA.lsu.edu and finding LSU FACES Labratory on Facebook.

FIP Ascension 2017 live results thread: Yehi vs. Cage – Cageside Seats (blog)

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Danzig

The World Wrestling Network is in Ybor City, Florida tonight at 7PM Eastern to finish out their weekend with FIP Ascension 2017. As always in the wild west of pro wrestling, we only have a small sampling of the card announced to start, but you can bet there's gonna be some crazy stuff going down. So fire up FloSlam and follow along with all the action in the thread, and we'll provide running results updates right here for your convenience.

Drennen & Parrow over ??? & ??? by pinfall with a maneuver.

Connor Braxton over Alex Taylor, Eddie Machete, Jackson Kelly, and Xander Killen by pinfall with a spinning brainbuster.

Dan Barry over Billy Barboza by pinfall with a wrist-clutch driver.

Caleb Konley over Jason Cade by pinfall with an avalanche firemans carry Michinoku Driver.

Aria Blake over Dynamite DiDi by pinfall with an inverted DDT.

Anthony Henry over Dan Barry by pinfall with a Vertebreaker ($10,000 Bounty on Anthony Henrys Head)

Martin Stone (c) over Jon Davis by pinfall with a schoolboy pin under the ropes to retain the FIP Florida Heritage Championship.

Fred Yehi (c) over Brian Cage by submission with a Koji Clutch in the ropes to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Championship.

Uncle Johns Friends (AR Fox, Darby Allin, & Sami Callihan) over Austin Theory, Sammy Guevara, & Tracer X by pinfall with an assisted Fox Catcher from Fox on Theory.

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FIP Ascension 2017 live results thread: Yehi vs. Cage - Cageside Seats (blog)

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