Igor Shuvalov

Igor Ivanovich Shuvalov (; born 4 January 1967) is a Russian politician. Since May 2018 he became the Chairman of State Development Corporation VEB.RF (Ex-Vensheconombank). From May 2012 to May 2018 he was First Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet. Previously, he served in the same capacity in Vladimir Putin's Second Cabinet. As First Deputy Prime Minister, he was the most senior member of the cabinet after the Prime Minister and was responsible for the federal budget and economic policies. He serves as a member of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
Biography.
Igor Shuvalov was born on 4 January 1967, in the town of Bilibino in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, where his parents came to work. He graduated from high school in Moscow in 1984. Following a failed college matriculation in 1984 – 1985, he worked as a laboratory assistant at the Ekos Research Institute.
From 1985 to 1987 he completed compulsory military service in the Soviet Army, then enrolled into technical school. He later matriculated into the Faculty of Law at Moscow State University and graduated with a degree in Jurisprudence in 1993.
After graduation, Shuvalov was assigned as attaché to the legal department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was responsible for pursuing developments in international law. The same year he joined the law firm 'ALM Consulting', named after Alexander Mamut where ALM stands for his initials A. L. Mamut. Shuvalov was senior attorney, then managing partner until 1997. The firm is affiliated with the Moscow Bar Association. In 1995 – 1996, Shuvalov became a co-founder of Stalker, a wholesale open joint-stock company (OJSC), Fanteim, a real estate OJSC, RANDO Joint-stock company (JSC), a consumer goods manufacturer, and the bank consortium of Channel One Russia JSC, which consolidated the capital of banks that held shares in Public Television of Russia JSC (ORT).
In 1997, Shuvalov was appointed as Head of the Department of the State Register of Federal Property on the State Committee of the Russian Federation for State Property Management, where he was responsible for cooperation with financial institutions and represented the interests of the state on the boards of directors of Rosgosstrakh and Sovcomflot. In January 1998, Shuvalov was appointed Deputy Minister of State Property. In February 1998, he was appointed as a member of the board of directors of Public Television of Russia.
On 25 May 1998, Shuvalov was appointed Acting Chairman of the Russian Federal Property Fund (RFPF) and in September he was confirmed as Chairman. While working with the fund, Shuvalov represented the interests of the state in a number of companies – the Russian State Insurance Company, ORT, the All-Union Exhibition Centre SJSC (VVC), Gazprom, and several others.
On 18 May 2000, after the appointment of Mikhail Kasyanov as Prime Minister of Russia, Shuvalov became a minister of the Russian Federation as Chief of Staff of the Government. On 28 May 2003, following a conflict with Kasyanov, he left the Government and was appointed to the position of Assistant to the President, where he coordinated the activities of the working group responsible for the development of measures to double the GDP, the fight against poverty, and military reform.
In October 2003, Shuvalov was appointed Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration. In 2004, he was appointed as the President's Representative to the National Banking Council, and he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sovcomflot until July 2008. In 2005, Shuvalov became the personal representative of the president at the G8 and, in 2006, he was Deputy Chairman of the organizing committee for the preparation and securement of Russia's chairmanship of the G8.
On 12 May 2008, he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. In the same year, he headed the government commission on the development of small and medium-sized businesses, the commission to coordinate government actions to combat the effects of the global financial crisis, the commission on the socio-economic development of the Far East and Transbaikal, and the organizing committee on preparation for the APEC summit.
Since 19 March 2009, Shuvalov has been the national coordinator of the affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In October 2009, he was discharged from the National Banking Council. In January 2010, he headed the Joint Governmental Commission on economic development and integration.
Since August 2010, Shuvalov has been responsible for coordinating the efforts of federal executive agencies to consider inquiries from Russian and foreign investors, and formally remains in that position, following the June 2012 appointment of Boris Titov as Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights. Following the September 2011 resignation of the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin, Shuvalov took charge of the government's economic bloc. The same year he was appointed to replace Kudrin as Head of the Council on Financial Markets and Representative of Russia on the board for the Eurasian Economic Commission.
On 25 March 2011, the newspaper "Vedomost" reported that Shuvalov considered the possibility of heading the Right Cause political party, citing a federal official and a source within the party. In 2011, Shuvalov headed the regional electoral list of the United Russia party as a Primorsky Krai candidate for the State Duma of the VI Convocation at the 4 December elections.
In January 2012, Shuvalov became the head of the government commission on transport and communication. On 21 May 2012 Shuvalov was appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister in the government formed that month.
Professional activities.
In 2009, an analyst with the electronic news site Slon.ru, Konstantin Gaaze, referred to Igor Shuvalov as "Putin's 'chief commander'" and an "engine in charge of 'it all'". The expert noted that for Putin Shuvalov was the "official with the driving force who could get things off the ground", which is why he gets assigned "projects that are economic in nature but with an extremely important public policy component as well as strict deadlines that cannot be breached". Among these projects, the author named the G8 summit the "ideological support for national projects", and described it as the "finishing touches" on the trilateral Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, which was the first step toward building an economic supranational institution in the post-Soviet space.
According to Slon.ru, Dmitry Medvedev wanted to see Shuvalov as the head of his administration during his presidency. However, Shuvalov allegedly refused and joined the Putin government, thus becoming "a kind of a macroeconomic incarnation of the prime minister".
Government projects.
Vladivostok APEC Summit 2012.
In 2008, Igor Shuvalov became head of the organizing committee on preparation for the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which was held in Vladivostok in September 2012. Preparation for the forum involved revamping of the city's infrastructure. The main construction sites were the cable-stayed bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait to Russky Island, the cable-stayed bridge across the Zolotoy Rog Bay, and the new campus of the Far Eastern Federal University. The construction project for facilities for the summit was subjected to public criticism because of the high costs. Igor Shuvalov stated that none of the facilities built in Primorye were akin to a "Potemkin village". According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, facilities "for the show" and "Potemkin villages" were instances of an external facade with nothing behind, while, with the facilities built in Primorye, one could "come and see for yourself – you can either work or study here".
After completion of the summit, the director of the Center for Support for Regional Initiatives for the HSE NRU (Higher School of Economics National Research University) Ivan Ognev referred to Ivan Shuvalov as the "organizer of Putin's victories in Vladivostok, including the APEC summit of 2012, which drastically changed the city and the local mentality".
In January 2013, the Accounts Chamber announced that the total investment in the construction of facilities for the APEC summit was 690 billion roubles, of which 239 billion was funded by the state, the remaining funds coming from extra-budgetary sources; 99% of the funds were disbursed as budgeted. Shuvalov supported investigations into potential corruption in preparation for the APEC 2012 summit.
In November 2012, Roman Panov, the former Deputy Minister of Regional Development for the Russian Federation, was charged with large-scale fraud. At that time he held the post of Prime Minister of Primorsky Krai. On 20 November 2012, the head of the Far Eastern Directorate of the Ministry of Regional Development, Oleg Bukalov, resigned his post. Shuvalov stated that the Far Eastern Directorate of the Ministry of Regional Development was a "redundant link". He expressed the hope that the perpetrators of the embezzlement would be convicted. If someone steals during a project, "they should be thrown in jail," according to Shuvalov. Shuvalov believes that the APEC 2012 forum should help shift Russia's foreign trade balance toward Asian countries.
Socio-economic development of the Far East.
In 2008, the Russian government established a state commission on the socio-economic development of the Far East, the Republic of Buryatia, the Transbaikal Krai, and the Irkutsk Oblast. The commission was headed by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov.
In 2013, the government raised the question of whether or not the existence of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East, formed in 2012, served a useful purpose. The proposed plan for socio-economic development of the Eastern Territories prepared by the agency had not been approved by any of the key ministries, while the amount of requested appropriations was more than 5.7 trillion roubles, which was beyond the resources of the Treasury. The government returned to the idea of consolidating the faculties for the development of the Far East region within a specialized state corporation. Igor Shuvalov, who oversaw the construction of facilities for the APEC summit in Vladivostok, was among the potential candidates considered for the position of Agency Chief.
On 31 August 2013, Vladimir Putin signed a decree dismissing Viktor Ishaev from his posts as Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation to the Far Eastern Federal District, and Minister for Development of the Far East. By another decree, the head of state appointed Yuri Trutnev as both Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President to the Far Eastern Federal District. The media referred to Trutnev's appointment as a "strategic success" for Igor Shuvalov.
In April 2013, the Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a program covering up until 2025, for the socio-economic development of the Far East and the Transbaikal Krai. In the next 12 years approximately 10 trillion roubles will be invested in the program implementation from both the state budget and the funds of private investors.
Financial Mega-Regulator.
In 2012, Igor Shuvalov proposed the idea of creating a regulator of the Russian financial markets based in the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). According to Shuvalov's plan, the strengthened Federal Financial Markets Service that is charged with the supervision, including that of insurance companies, would be merged into CBR. The concept of creating a mega-regulator proposed by Shuvalov was approved by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in January 2013.
Universiade 2013.
In 2009, Igor Shuvalov became the head of the organizing committee for the 27th World Summer Universiade.
In May 2011, he reported that the construction schedule for more than 30 new sports facilities in Kazan was ahead of schedule. In May 2012, the General Director of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate, Vladimir Leonov, noted that over a period of three or four years, Kazan has been undergoing development that most cities take 20 years to achieve.
In December 2012, Igor Shuvalov announced that all preparations for the Universiade were proceeding on schedule. In mid-December, 2012, Sergei Stepashin, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber for the Russian Federation, stated that the Universiade 2013 facilities in the Capital of Tatarstan are 90% ready for launch.
On his official trip to Kazan, on 19 March 2013, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, visited the major Universiade facilities and noted the efficiency of the use of the funds for the construction of the main stadium for the games. Altogether, 64 sports facilities were ready.
As part of the development of transport infrastructure of the city many commissions were granted, including: the new terminal 1A and the reconstructed terminal 1 of the Kazan International Airport along with the new Kazan-2 rail-bus interchange station, the reconstructed Kazan-1 main railway terminal, the second stage of the Kazan underground railway, the Kazan high-speed tram line, the Aeroexpress Line to the Kazan International Airport, 11 junctions, 41 pedestrian crossings, 23 highways with a total length of 65 km, and 63 city streets.
The final report for the FISU was issued on 30 June. After that, the Mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, President of FISU, Claude-Louis Gallien, and Chairman of the Russian University Sports Union, Oleg Matitsyn, declared Kazan 100% ready for the Universiade.
After the opening of the competition, Vladimir Putin stated that all the funds had been directed toward the development of the city, and to construction of the sports infrastructure and road junctions. "All of this has greatly improved the image of Kazan, which today has become a luxurious European city," said the President of Russia.
Upon completion of the Universiade, Igor Shuvalov was awarded an Order for Service to the Republic of Tatarstan and the badge of Honorary Citizen of the City of Kazan with the wording "for economic development and prosperity, enhancing the city’s reputation, and strengthening the image of the capital of Tatarstan in Russia and in the international arena".
The sports facilities built in Kazan will remain available to the people of the city and the republic, in contrast to the infrastructure of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where some of the facilities will be moved to other cities.
FIFA World Cup 2018.
On 16 December 2009, it was announced that Igor Shuvalov was heading the organizing committee in support of the nomination of Russia as a candidate to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018/2022. Russia, England, Belgium, Holland, Spain, and Portugal presented their bids in Zurich on 2 December 2010. Igor Shuvalov was part of the Russian delegation together with the Minister of Sports, Tourism, and Youth Policy, Vitaly Mutko, and football player Andrei Arshavin. Following the presentation, the 22 members of the FIFA Executive Committee held a secret ballot in which Russia was chosen as winner.
In January 2011, the honorary president of the Russian Football Union, Vyacheslav Koloskov, suggested that Igor Shuvalov should head the organizing committee for the 2018 World Cup. As part of the government formed in May 2012, Igor Shuvalov, among other things, coordinates the organization, preparation, and holding of the World Cup in 2018, including the issues of creating and developing the necessary transport infrastructure.
In March 2013, it was announced that the regions had requested 540 billion roubles to prepare for World Cup 2018, but the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Igor Shuvalov, stated that the amount was excessive. It was decided that, in order to avoid misuse of federal funds, funding would only be made available for the construction of stadia and training facilities, as well as reconstruction of city airports and roads connecting the airports to the stadia. Expenditure on city infrastructure and road transport networks was excluded from the proposed preparation program. The regions must raise the funds for those purposes themselves, because those expenditures are not part of Russia's obligations to FIFA.
Controversies.
Accusations of a conflict of interest.
In December 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released information about Shuvalov's participation "in deals to acquire assets in the United States in the amount of $319 million, as well as providing Shuvalov with a loan for these purposes in the amount of $119 million at an astronomical rate of 40% per annum".
In March 2012, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that the family of Igor Shuvalov acquired shares from Gazprom worth approximately $18 million via Sevenkey, a company registered in the Bahamas. Two days later, Alexei Navalny posted on his blog copies of documents that indicated that Shuvalov's company account received transfers of tens of millions of dollars from companies that, according to Navalny, were owned by billionaires Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov.
The First Deputy Prime Minister reacted swiftly to the publications in the Western media by issuing the following statement: "Regarding declaring my income and the income of my family, I have always approached the matter in an exceptionally responsible manner. As a lawyer, I have invariably followed the rules and principles concerning conflicts of interest. The funds that I earned as a businessman, which are now in a managed trust, form the basis of my independence from various interested parties, in making my decisions as an official".
Artem Dymskoy, a partner at the law offices of ALM Feldmans, stated that the information about the activities of Igor Shuvalov's family trust may have been disseminated by his former lawyer Pavel Ivlev, who, having sticky fingers himself, was currently wanted by Interpol on charges of embezzling 2.4 billion dollars from YUKOS.
Dymskoy also confirmed that "Ivlev is acting to the detriment of the Shuvalov family by deliberately distorting the facts... We believe that Ivlev is deliberately manipulating the actual facts and circumstances to present a picture favorable to him, and he is doing so exclusively to advance his political goals and objectives".
In February 2012, the media reported that Pavel Ivlev had a business relationship and financial arrangements with Alexei Navalny, since Ivlev had hired Navalny as his own lawyer in the YUKOS case. The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation conducted an audit and found no improprieties in the Shuvalov family's sources of income.
On 10 April 2013, Igor Shuvalov met with the editors of leading publications and demonstrated his assets and income declaration for 2011, mentioning the Severin Enterprises company that had been the focus of media attention. Severin Enterprises is an offshore company in the jurisdiction of the British Virgin Islands, owned 100% by Olga Shuvalov, the wife of the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Alexei Venediktov, the editor-in-chief of the Echo of Moscow radio station, wrote about the meeting with the media leaders, explaining that in the prior version of Igor Shuvalov's assets and income declaration for 2011, published on the internet earlier, Severin Enterprises was not mentioned because the law at the time did not require public disclosure of the assets of officials' family members. Accordingly, the presence of Olga Shuvalova on the list of Offshore Leaks published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is considered lawful.
Extravagant lifestyle.
The press regularly covers Shuvalov's extravagant lifestyle. The Times wrote that he "uses a £38 million private jet to transport his wife’s corgis to dog shows across Europe". In February 2018, Transparency International reported that lawyer and activist Alexei Navalny has claimed that Shuvalov owns two apartments in London's Whitehall Court worth £11.4 million. The Washington Times has covered the controversy surrounding Shuvalov's alleged ownership of an enormous $9.4 million apartment in Moscow.
Family.
Igor Shuvalov is married to Olga Viktorovna Shuvalova. The income of Shuvalov's spouse over two years amounted to more than 1 billion roubles: she earned 642 million roubles in 2009 and 365 million in 2008. She is a major business figure engaged in the sale of real estate in the Skolkovo Innovation Center offshore business, and trading in shares of Russian raw materials companies.
The Shuvalovs have two sons and two daughters. Their elder son, Evgeny, served in the Pacific Fleet Special Forces based on Russky Island from September 2011 through September 2012. Their elder daughter Maria is studying ballet at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography.
According to the official assets and income data for 2009, Shuvalov's annual income was approximately 6.5 million roubles; his wife's approximately 642 million. The Shuvalovs' property includes several apartments and land plots with buildings, as well as seven cars. According to the Vedomost' newspaper, the Shuvalov family has a house in Austria and an apartment in the UK. In the assets and income declaration for 2011, the overseas real estate is marked by Shuvalov as "in use", as he had transferred all the family assets into a blind trust.
According to the 2012 declaration filed and posted on the Government of the Russian Federation's website, Igor Shuvalov is the wealthiest member of the government. His income was 226,386,929 roubles. In the same year his spouse Olga Shuvalova earned 222,009,378 roubles.


Mid Cork (UK Parliament constituency)

Mid Cork, a division of County Cork, was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 to 1922 it returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Until the 1885 general election the area was part of the Cork County constituency. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament, as it was no longer in the UK.
Boundaries.
This constituency comprised the central part of County Cork, consisting of the baronies of East Muskerry and West Muskerry and that part of the barony of Barretts not contained within the constituency of North East Cork.
Elections.
Elections in the 1900s.
Sheehan was expelled from the IPP on the grounds of being a "factionist" and, in protest and to re-emphasize his public support, he resigned the seat and re-stood as an Independent (Labour) candidate in the resulting by-election.


Koos van den Berg

Jacobus Teunis "Koos" van den Berg (18 September 1942 – 21 April 2020) was a Dutch politician of the Reformed Political Party (SGP). Born in The Hague, he served as a member of the House of Representatives from 3 June 1986 to 23 May 2002.
On 21 April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, Van den Berg died in Nunspeet due to complications from COVID-19, at the age of 77.


North Cork (UK Parliament constituency)

North Cork, a division of County Cork, was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 to 1922 it returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Until the 1885 general election the area was part of the Cork County constituency. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament, as it was no longer in the UK.
Boundaries.
This constituency comprised the northern part of County Cork, consisting of the baronies of Duhallow and Orrery and Kilmore and that part of the barony of Fermoy contained within the parishes of Ardskeagh, Ballyhay, Doneraile and Imphrick, and the townland of Ballylopen in the parish of Kilquane.
Elections.
Elections in the 1910s.
Guiney died in office and was succeeded by his brother John Guiney at a by-election held on 4 November 1913.


Side judge

Side judge, or assistant judge, is a judicial position unique to the U.S. state of Vermont. There are two side judges in each of Vermont's 14 counties. Like lay judges, side judges are usually not legal professionals.
Duties and responsibilities.
While Family, District and Superior Court judges are appointed by the Governor, probate and side judges are elected. Side judges run at-large (not specifically for one of the two seats) and county-wide in November of even-numbered, non-presidential election years, and serve four-year terms. The terms begin on the following February 1.
In the event of a vacancy, the Governor is empowered to appoint a replacement.
Side judges sit with the judge in Superior (civil cases and violations of traffic laws and municipal ordinances) and Family Court. There are Superior and Family Courts located in each of Vermont's 14 counties at their "shire town" or county seat.
There are normally two side judges on the bench, but the court may proceed with only one side judge or none. In theory the side judges, who are generally not attorneys, have input only on matters of fact, with matters of law left to the presiding judge, but the vote of a side judge has the same weight as that of the judge, so two side judges can outvote the judge. If there is only one side judge and the side judge and the judge disagree on a matter of fact, a mistrial is declared. Side judges who undergo some training may also sit alone in small claims, uncontested divorces, traffic offenses, and violations of municipal ordinances.
Side judges have administrative duties in addition to court responsibilities. They appoint the County Clerk, Treasurer and Auditor, Road Commissioners, and Notaries Public, manage the county courthouse, sheriff's office and other property, and prepare the county budget. As a result, side judges receive two types of compensation: a salary for their administrative duties, paid by the county, and a per diem for their judicial duties, paid by the state.
Once the county budget has been determined, municipalities in the county are assessed a portion, based on their grand list (total evaluation of property in the municipality).
Vermont's Assistant Judges also have a professional association and lobbying group, the Vermont Association of County Judges.
History.
The position of side judge was part of Vermont's government during the mid to late 1700s period of the Vermont Republic, and was continued in the Vermont Constitution when Vermont was admitted to the Union as the fourteenth state in 1791.
The idea of side judges appear to have been borrowed from the colony of Pennsylvania, and they were also part of the judiciary in other states, including New Hampshire and Connecticut. In Vermont, they were created in part because early Vermont residents were distrustful of lawyers, many of whom had received their training in England before the American Revolution, making their loyalty suspect, or had supported New York during the dispute between New York's colonial government and Vermont's original white settlers over control of Vermont's first towns. The founders of Vermont had purchased their land grants from Benning Wentworth, the Governor of New Hampshire. When the British government supported New York's attempts to assert control, those with New Hampshire land grants refused to re-purchase them from New York. Adding lay judges to the courts was a means of ensuring that pro-British or pro-New York judges could not control the courts.
Though reorganization of the judiciary in other states eliminated the side judge position, It has continued in Vermont. Some updates and changes to Vermont's court system included elimination or a reduced role for the side judges, but most of those efforts have been unsuccessful.


Samuel Livermore (legal writer)

Samuel Livermore (c. 1786–1833) was an American lawyer and legal writer, known for his works on agency law and conflict of laws.
Livermore graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1800 and from Harvard in 1804. He subsequently studied law and was admitted to the bar. He moved to New Orleans, where he lived until his death. Livermore authored two treatises on the law, "A Treatise on the Law of Principal and Agent, and of Sales by Auction" (Boston, 1811; republished in 2 vols., Baltimore, 1818), and "Dissertations on the Questions which arise from the Contrariety of the Positive Laws of Different States and Nations" (New Orleans, 1828), the latter work on conflict of laws.
Livermore's works continue to be cited in court decisions, most recently by the U.S. Supreme Court in "Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald", 546 U.S. 470 (2006), which cited to Livermore's 1818 edition of "Treatise" for a principle of agency law.


Wim Dik

 Wim Dik (born 11 January 1939 in Rotterdam) was the head of Royal PTT Nederland NV, Holland's formerly state-owned postal and telecom service. On behalf of Democrats 66 (D66) he was a State Secretary in the Third Van Agt cabinet from 1981 to 1982.


South Meath (UK Parliament constituency)

South Meath was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) 1885–1922.
Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the Meath (UK Parliament constituency). From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament.
Boundaries.
This constituency comprised the southern part of County Meath.
1885–1922: The baronies of Deece Lower, Deece Upper, Duleek Lower, Duleek Upper, Dunboyne, Lune, Moyfenrath Lower, Moyfenrath Upper, Navan Upper and Ratoath, that part of the barony of Navan Lower contained within the parishes of Churchtown and Rataine, and that part of the barony of Skreen not contained within the constituency of North Meath.
Elections.
Elections in the 1890s.
On petition, Fullam was unseated causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1900s.
Carew's death prompted a by-election.


Union for Europe of the Nations

Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) was a national–conservative, Eurosceptic political group of the European Parliament active between 1999 and 2009.
History.
UEN was formed on 20 July 1999 for the 5th European Parliament, supplanting the earlier Union for Europe. Its member parties Fianna Fáil (FF) and the National Alliance (AN) were the driving forces behind the group, despite their being alone in the group in their support for the proposed European Constitution. Gianfranco Fini, leader of AN, was a member of the Convention which drafted the Constitution, while Bertie Ahern, leader of FF, negotiated the treaty as President of the European Council in 2004.
UEN was a heterogeneous group: broadly Eurosceptic and national-conservative, it included some parties which were either uncomfortable with this characterisation or eventually evolved into something different. More specifically, FF was a "catch all" centre-right party and later joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, AN was a conservative party which eventually joined the European People's Party through The People of Freedom, and Lega Nord was supportive of a "Europe of Regions".
After the 2009 European elections the group officially had 35 members but this figure included parties such as AN and FF, which had already committed to leave. UEN members migrated to other groups after the elections in June 2009 and before the Seventh European Parliament term started on 14 July 2009. FF had already left for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group, For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK and Law and Justice MEPs went to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group, and Lega Nord, the Danish People's Party and Order and Justice MEPs went to Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) Group. With this loss of members, the UEN group was dissolved by default.
Membership.
Membership by member state at 11 June 2009.
On 11 June 2009, UEN had 35 MEPs as follows:
Membership by party at 10 February 2008.
On 10 February 2008, UEN had 44 MEPs as follows:


United Nations Security Council Resolution 626

United Nations Security Council resolution 626, adopted unanimously on 20 December 1988, after noting an agreement between Angola and Cuba regarding the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and considering a report by the Secretary-General, the Council endorsed the report and established the United Nations Angola Verification Mission I for a period of thirty-one months.
The Council decided the mission would enter into force once the tripartite accord between Angola, Cuba and South Africa had been signed as well as the agreement between Angola and Cuba, requesting the Secretary-General to report to the Council immediately after the agreement was signed.
On 22 December 1988, both bipartite and tripartite agreements were signed in New York City, which helped pave the way for the independence of Namibia and the withdrawal of 50,000 Cuban troops from Angola.


Ino van den Besselaar

I.H.C. (Ino) van den Besselaar (born 14 November 1948 in The Hague) is a former Dutch politician. As a member of the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid) he was an MP from 23 November 2010 to 19 September 2012, succeeding James Sharpe. He focused on matters of social affairs, pensions and government spending.


Boris Banga

Boris Banga (born 9 August 1949) is a Swiss politician and longtime mayor of Grenchen (1991–2013). Banga is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland.


Jan van der Jagt

 Jan van der Jagt (30 May 1924 in Rotterdam – 4 August 2001 in Arnhem) was a Dutch politician and architect.
Van der Jagt was a member of the provincial parliament of Gelderland from 1974 to 1977, Party chair of the Reformed Political League (Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond) from 1976 to 1984, and a Senator from 1977 to 1981, and also from 1983 to 1991.
He was made Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion on 11 June 1991.


Law broker

In Australia, Canada and New Zealand, a law broker is a professional that assists individuals who are searching for a lawyer. A law broker will analyze an individual's case or legal issue and provide a customized referral to an appropriate lawyer. Some common factors that a law broker will consider are a lawyer's experience level, success rate, reputation, and quality of service. A law broker will often review legal publications, court decisions, and rely upon a network of legal contacts to provide an objective, customized referral to a client.
The person who coined the term "law broker" was an Australian solicitor Dr. Yuri Rapoport of Kohen Rapoport Group. He started the world's first law broking firm "Prime Law Brokers" in 1996, which paved the way for the development of the private-sector legal referral industry in Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom.
Fees.
In most circumstances, a law broker does not charge a fee to a client but rather obtains a referral fee from the lawyer.
In other countries.
In North America, an equivalent service is provided by lawyer referral programs, which are usually operated by bar associations.


Yaad Rotem

Yaad Rotem (born in 1973) is Dean and professor of law at the College of Law and Business (CLB) in Ramat-Gan, Israel.
He is an expert in the fields of private international law (conflict of laws), corporate bankruptcy and reorganization law and corporate law.
Biography.
Rotem was born in 1973 and was raised in Haifa, Israel. During the years 1978-1983 he resided with his parents in Nigeria.
Rotem studied at the Ironi H High School in Haifa. He was a basketball player for Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Ramat-Gan and was also included in the Israeli National Youth team.
In 1998 Rotem earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), magna cum laudae, from the University of Haifa Faculty of Law. In this year he also earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A.) in Economics from the University of Haifa Economics Department. He was a member of the editorial board of Mishpat U'Mimshal—the Faculty's law review—for two years. Throughout his studies at the Faculty of Law he was included in the Dean's list. He also won the Meirhoff Scholarship.
Rotem clerked for one year at the Supreme Court of Israel for Justice Dalia Dorner. In 2000 he was admitted into the Israeli Bar, and then returned to the Supreme Court and served for two more years as Justice Dorner's senior legal clerk. While at the Court Rotem completed a Master of Laws degree the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During his two years at the Hebrew University's Faculty of Law he was a member of the editorial board of Mishpatim—the Faculty's law review—and also won first prize the Judge Julian W. Mack Essay Writing Competition held at the Faculty. In 2004 he won the Peter Lougheed Scholarship for Canadian Studies.
Rotem was an adjunct lecturer at the University of Haifa, the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, and at the College of Management in RishonLe'ziyon.
In 2005 Rotem completed a doctorate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law under the supervision of Professor Zohar Goshen.
In 2005 Rotem joined the faculty of the College of Law and Business in Ramat-Gan. During June 2011 to May 2012 Rotem was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.
During 2010–2011 Rotem served as head of the Business Law Program at the College of Law and Business.
In 2012 he was appointed as vice dean of the law school and since April 2015 he serves as the dean.
In 2008 Rotem served as a special consultant to the Israeli National Official Inquiry Committee investigating the treatment of Holocaust survivors by the State of Israel. In 2009 he served as s special consultant to the Israeli National Official Inquiry Committee investigating the evacuation of Gaza and Northern Samaria.
In September 2015 Rotem was appointed as a law professor by the Council for Higher Education.
Rotem also provides legal counseling to the private sector.
He is married to Anat Rotem, a lawyer, and the father of three children.
Research.
Rotem's research focuses on governmental or regulatory concessions extended by the government to businesses in financial distress. A regulatory concession may help the business and its claimholders—creditors, employees and shareholders—but it also undermines the interest of the general public, represented by the relevant regulator.
Rotem suggested a way to balance these conflicting interests and minimize the harm to the public interest and to the claimholders. He claimed that when forced to extend a regulatory concession the government should be made a formal claimant of the firm seeking the concession. The purpose of this approach is, first, to ensure that the government's entitlements against the financially distressed firm mirror its unique position as a potential investor with external interests that relate generally to the public. The general public can be compensated directly, not only indirectly, for its "investment" in the financially distressed business. Second, to deter potential firms from seeking government concessions. Third, to demonstrate equal treatment to a firm receiving a regulatory concession and to firms which do not receive such a concession. Fourth, to compensate the general public for any possible "residual" harm to its welfare as a result of any subsequent breach of the regulatory regime which may unavoidably occur once the regulatory concession is extended and the general regulatory scheme is breached.
Rotem's research also focuses on private international law (conflict of laws, in US terms). His research focuses on the effects of extraterritorial regulation, the jurisdiction of local courts to adjudicate civil lawsuits against foreign defendants; the recognition of foreign judgments; and choice of law in collective action and derivative action lawsuits.
Another area of Rotem's research focuses on the financial distress of small and medium-sized businesses. Rotem analyzed the phenomenon of "The Phoenix Syndrome" underwhich shareholders of small to medium-sized business transfer the assets of their financially distressed business to a new enterprise while hiding such a transfer from the unsecured creditors of the business, thus securing, at least for a limited period of time, the possibility of continuing operation of their business.
Rotem explained the complexities arising in such situations and offered a novel regulatory solution taking into consideration the costs associated with opting to a formal rehabilitation procedure for financially distressed small- to medium-sized businesses.


Loi Marthe Richard

Loi Marthe Richard (Marthe Richard Law) of April 13, 1946 abolished the regime of regulated prostitution in France that had been in force since 1804. It required the closure of brothels ("maisons de tolérance"). The law bears the name of Marthe Richard, who was a municipal councillor of Paris but not a parliamentary representative.
Build up to the law.
On December 13, 1945, Marthe Richard, elected councillor of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, presented to the "Conseil municipal de Paris" a proposal for the closure of Paris brothels. In her speech, she does not attack prostitutes as much as society, responsible in her view, of "organised and patent debauchery" and organized crime, which benefits from regulated prostitution. She also reminds the council that prostitution was complicit with the German occupation during WW2. The proposal was voted and on December 20, 1945, the police prefect, Charles Luizet, was authorised to close, without notice, the houses of prostitution in the Department of the Seine within 3 months (by March 15, 1946 at the latest).
Encouraged by this success, Marthe Richard started a press campaign for a vote on a law generalising these measures to all France. It is supported by the "Ligue pour le relèvement de la moralité publique" (League of Social and Moral Action) and by the Minister of Public Health and Population, Robert Prigent.
On April 9, 1946, MP Marcel Roclore presented the report of the Committee on the Family, Population and Public Health, and concluded that the closure of brothels was necessary. The deputy Pierre Dominjon, member of the Ligue pour le relèvement de la moralité publique, tabled a proposal for a law which was voted on April 13, 1946 in the Chamber of Deputies. The closure of brothels takes effect from November 6, 1946. Withdrawing the administrative authorizations without compensation marked the end of legalisation and the start of a policy of abolitionism.
Consequences.
After the adoption of the law, Marthe Richard ensured that article 5, which ended keeping national files on prostitution, in which she was still recorded, was enacted. These police records were replaced by a health and social file for prostitutes (law of April 24, 1946) in order to prevent prostitutes with a STI trying to evade the treatment of their disease. This law was little applied and was repealed on July 28, 1960, the date of French ratification of the United Nations Convention of December 2, 1949 for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. (France's late ratification of the convention was due to the existence of brothels in its colonial empire).
Approximately 1,400 establishments were closed, including 195 in Paris (177 official establishments): the best known were Le Chabanais, Le Sphinx, La Fleur blanche, One-Two-Two but also the maisons d’abattage (“slaughterhouses”) such as Le Fourcy and the Lanterne Verte.
This law caused smiles at the Brigade Mondaine of the 3rd floor of 36, quai des Orfèvres since it emanated from Marthe Richard, who was herself a prostitute until around 1915, when she wanted to make a clean sweep of her past. The police do not like the law because it risks depriving it of one of its sources of information (from the prostitutes). Prostitution was still a legal activity, only its organization, exploitation (procuring), its visible manifestations and offense of soliciting are prohibited by law, however the police continue to tolerate bawdy houses. Many brothel owners turned themselves into owners of clandestine inns concentrated around French and American military barracks as well as in major cities. Whilst the law provided for the collection of prostitutes in "reception and outplacement centers", many continued their activities clandestinely.
Critics of French prostitution policy, such as Mouvement du Nid, question how effective this was, its implementation, and whether it really closed the "maisons". For instance, they point to the presence of military brothels in Algeria till 1960.


Yanomami Indigenous Territory

The Yanomami Indigenous Territory () is an indigenous territory in the states of Amazonas and Roraima, Brazil. It overlaps with several federal or state conservation units.
It is home to Yanomami and Ye'kuana people.
There were conflicts with an overlapping national forest in which mining was permitted, but these appear to have been resolved.
Location.
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory has an area of in the states of Amazonas and Roraima.
The territory is bounded by the frontier with Venezuela to the northwest.
In the west it adjoins the Balaio and Cué-cué/Marabitanas indigenous territories.
50% of the Pico da Neblina National Park overlaps the western part of the territory.
Most of the Amazonas National Forest is within the territory, as is most of the Serra do Aracá State Park.
In the southeast it adjoins the Serra da Mocidade National Park and the Caracaraí Ecological Station.
In the east it adjoins the Roraima National Forest.
People.
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory is home to Yanomami people speaking the Ninam, Sanumá, Yanomamö and Yanomami languages of the Yanomamam linguistic family, and to Ye'kuana people speaking the Ye'kuana language of the Carib linguistic family.
The population as of 1989 was 9,910 according to FUNAI. This has risen steadily to an estimated 23,512 people as of 2016 according to Sesai.
The state is represented in the territory of the Fundação Nacional do Índio (Funai). Registered indigenous organizations include the Associação das Mulheres Yanomami (Kumirayoma), Associação de Pais e Mestres Comunitários (APMC), Associação do Povo Ye'Kuana do Brasil (APYB), Associação Texoli, Associação Yanomami do Rio Cauaburis e Afluentes (AYRCA/FOIRN), Associação Yanomami do Rio Marauiá e do Rio Preto (KURIKAMA), Círculo de Pais e Mestres Escola Estadual (Indígena) Apolinário Gimenes (CIPAMESAG), Federação das Organizações Indígenas do Rio Negro (FOIRN), Hutukara Associação Yanomami (HAY) and the Organização dos Povos Indígenas de Roraima (OPIR).
History.
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory was created through a series of steps that began with ordinance 1.817 of 8 January 1985 and led to the first homologation on 16 February 1989.
The Roraima National Forest was created by decree nº 97545 of 1 March 1989 and covered of the Amazon biome.
This had the effect of dividing the territory of the Yanomami people into several separate areas.
In 1990 three gold mining reserves were created within the Roraima National Forest.
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory was demarcated in 1992 in the lead up to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The indigenous territory was created on 25 May 1992 with an area of , and it was thought that this territory completely covered the national forest area.
This was followed by a vigorous international campaign in support of the Yanomami people.
The gold mines were closed and the miners removed.
In an indigenous territory the indigenous people have the exclusive right of use according to their customs and traditions.
Although technically the Roraima National Forest remained, exploitation of the forest would violate these rights.
In 2001 IBAMA realized that 5% of the forest, or , had been left out of the indigenous territory, and decided to repossess the unit.
However, in the mid-1990s two settlements, Samaúma and Vila Nova, had taken , leaving unclaimed.
To regularize the situation, the boundaries were revised by law 12058 of 13 October 2009.
The resized national forest now excludes the indigenous territory.
There were various other adjustment with the most recent being homologation process 954 of 19 July 2012.
Threats include illegal mining, fishing, hunting and farming.
As of 2000 a total of had been deforested.
This had risen to by 2014.


Bagaka Regiment

The Bagaka Regiment (formerly 2 Parachute Battalion) is a reserve airborne infantry regiment of the South African Army.
History.
Origins.
With the implementation of one year National Service in South Africa in 1968, 1 Parachute Battalion struggled to administer the Permanent Force and the Citizen Force Parabats. To prevent the loss of these trained national servicemen at the end of their one-year service to other units of the South African Defence Force, it was decided to form a new citizen force parachute unit to take these men. The battalion was formed at Tempe in July 1971 of five rifle companies. On 20 April 1978, the 2 Parachute Battalion and other parachute units became part of the newly formed 44 Parachute Brigade.
Operations.
2 Parachute Battalion would take part in Operation Savannah in Angola during 1975 and covered the withdrawal of the SADF forces from that country in early 1976. In May 1978, elements of this battalion took part in the parachute drop over Cassinga during Operation Reindeer. Companies from this battalion were based on the border with Angola in South-West Africa/Namibia and used as a rapid reaction force to counter incursions by SWAPO's PLAN forces into that country. 2 Parachute Battalion companies were also deployed internally in South African black townships to suppress unrest to the governments Apartheid policies.
Name change.
In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa. 2 Parachute Battalion became the Bagaka Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.


Amatuni Vartapetyan

Amatuni Vartapetyan () was First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1936 to 1937. He appeared on Stalin's execution list of July 26, 1938.


Keogh plan

Keogh plans are a type of retirement plan for self-employed people and small businesses in the United States.
History.
Named for U.S. Representative Eugene James Keogh of New York, they are sometimes called HR10 plans. IRS Publication 560 refers to them as "Qualified Plans". They are different from individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
Format.
There are two basic types of Keogh plan: defined-benefit, and defined-contribution.
In a defined-contribution plan, a fixed contribution (percentage of total paycheck or a fixed sum) is made per pay period. It may be set up as a profit-sharing plan, where the pension that one can withdraw after retirement depends on how much they invested in the plan while they worked.
The defined-benefits plan is more complex. It relies on an IRS formula to calculate the rate of contributions.
In either case, as in other retirement plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs, the funds in the plan can be invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.
Benefits.
The main benefit of a Keogh plan versus other retirement plans is that a Keogh plan has higher contribution limits for some individuals. For 2011, employees can generally contribute up to $16,500 per year, and the employer can contribute up to $32,500, for a total annual contribution of $49,000. The total contribution cap is $50,000 for 2012, $51,000 for 2013, $52,000 for 2014, and up to 25% of compensation or $53,000 in 2016, whichever is lower.
A person with a Keogh plan can also contribute to an IRA (traditional or Roth).
Drawbacks.
Keogh plans are not as common as most other retirement plans because there are several limitations to Keogh plans.
Compared to other retirement plans (traditional IRA, SIMPLE IRA, etc.), Keogh plans require more administrative paperwork. While most small business owners can manage to set up other plans themselves, a Keogh plan requires complex calculations and professional help to establish. They've been largely replaced by SEP IRAs, which have the same contribution limits but much less paperwork.
Keogh plans cannot be established by an employee. Keogh plans are applicable to self-employed individuals who own their own unincorporated business (sole proprietorships, partnerships and LLCs).
All contributions must be made "pre-tax", meaning that the contributions can be deducted from this year's tax, but taxes must be paid on the money when it is withdrawn during retirement. There is no such thing as a "Roth Keogh plan".
Penalties may apply for making withdrawals from a Keogh plan before the account holder turns 59½.
The main benefit of a Keogh plan versus other plans (Keogh's high contribution limit) is lost in individuals who do not make a high level of income. These individuals may get the same benefits of a Keogh plan with less administrative cost by using another type of retirement plan (401(k), SEP-IRA, etc.). This is best illustrated by comparing the following three scenarios:
Scenario #1 – A self-employed accountant makes $50,000 per year from her accounting business. Her maximum contribution is 25% of her post-contribution income ($10,000, which would be the same as saying 20% of her gross income), regardless of whether she uses a SEP-IRA, Keogh plan, or SIMPLE 401(k). Since there are less administrative costs, she would benefit most from choosing either the SEP-IRA or SIMPLE 401(k).
Scenario #2 – A family physician who owns his own practice makes $100,000 per year. His maximum contribution is 25% of his post-contribution income ($20,000, which would be the same as saying 20% of his gross income) whether he uses a Keogh plan or a SEP-IRA. The cost of maintaining the SEP-IRA is much less, so he would benefit more from that plan.
Scenario #3 – An entrepreneur who owns a small marketing firm makes $400,000 per year. She wishes to contribute as much as possible to a retirement plan in order to minimize her current taxes. She could contribute up to $11,500 for a SIMPLE IRA, $49,000 to a SEP-IRA, or up to $50,000 (contribution cap for 2012) in a Keogh plan. By choosing the Keogh plan over the SEP-IRA, she can contribute an additional $1,000 per year into her retirement plan.


West Waterford (UK Parliament constituency)

West Waterford was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1918.
Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1918 the area was part of the County Waterford constituency.
Boundaries.
This constituency comprised the western part of County Waterford. It included the baronies of Coshmore and Coshbride, Decies within Drum, and that part of the barony of Decies-without-Drum not contained within the constituency of East Waterford.
Elections.
Elections in the 1890s.
Pyne's death causes a by-election.
Webb's resignation causes a by-election.
Notes and References.
Notes
References


Balaio Indigenous Territory

The Balaio Indigenous Territory () is an indigenous territory in the northwest of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The territory is home to small numbers of people from several different ethnic groups of the Arawak and Tucano linguistic families.. It is in the Amazon biome. The territory overlaps with a national park and a biological reserve, both technically fully protected areas. Mining concessions before the territory was recognized have been disallowed.
Location.
The Balaio Indigenous Territory is in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas.
It has an area of .
The territory lies on either side of highway BR-307.
It adjoins the Cué-cué/Marabitanas Indigenous Territory to the north and west.
To the east it adjoins the Yanomami Indigenous Territory.
An area of , or 93.73% of the reserve, overlaps with the Pico da Neblina National Park.
It contains the Morro dos Seis Lagos Biological Reserve.
The territory lies in the Rio Negro basin.
Vegetation is in the Amazon biome, and includes Campinarana in contact with rainforest.
People.
Sampaio reported a population of 220 in 1991.
According to GT/Funai the population was 350 in 2000.
Siasi/Sesai reported that the population was 328 in 2013.
These included Baniwa, Baré, Koripako and Tariana people of the Arawak linguistic family, and Desano, Cubeo, Pira-tapuya, Tucano and Tuyuca people of the Tucano linguistic family.
The registered indigenous organizations are Federation of Indigenous Organizations of the Rio Negro (FOIRN) and the Wariró House of Indigenous Products of Rio Negro.
The Balaio community is at about km100 on BR-307, founded in the early 1980s.
As of 2015 there were more than 23 families, mostly Tucano and Dessano, but including some Coripaco (Baniwa), Tariana and Cubeo.
Most of the people were related.
For several years the Association of Indigenous Women of Balaio (AMIBAL) and the Balaio Indigenous Association (AINBAL) have run painting workshops for adults and children as a way of preserving traditional knowledge and culture.
FUNAI represents the government in the territory, and has a post at km55 of BR-317 at the mouth of the Iamiri River.
There are two evangelical missions in the territory.
History.
The region contains large mineral reserves, including rich deposits of iron, manganese and niobium.
The latter are important for manufacture of electronic devices such as computers and cellphones.
The Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais (CPRM) was authorized to extract minerals in a area of what is now the territory in 1975.
The CPRM is owned by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The 1988 constitution only allows mining on indigenous territories when authorized by a specific law.
The Indians expressed opposition to mining.
The Morro dos Seis Lagos Biological Reserve was created by Amazonas state decree 12.836 of 9 March 1990.
In October 1997 a scheduled auction of the niobium reserve was cancelled due to pressure from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, which objected to opening the mine since it is within two protected areas.
In 1999 the mining concession was annulled at the request of the Public Ministry of the State of Amazonas.
The Balaio Indigenous Territory was identified by ordinance 993 of 20 September 2000.
The Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI) conditionally approved it on 22 August 2002.
In 2006 Luciano de Vito was licensed to explore for cassiterite in of the territory.
The territory was declared by ordinance 2.364 of 15 December 2006.
It was formally approved ("homologated") by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by decree on 22 December 2009.
The decree recognized the overlap with the Pico da Neblina National Park created in 1979 and Morro dos Seis Lagos Biological Reserve created in 1990, but did not comment on the implications.
This was one of nine indigenous lands recognized by the president on the same date, the largest being the Trombetas Mapuera Indigenous Territory with almost .
In September 2015 FOIRN arranged an Internal Assembly of the Balaio Indigenous Association (AINBAL) with about 80 attendees to initiate preparation of the Territorial and Environmental Management Plan (PGTA) of the indigenous territory.
FOIRN was supported by AINBAL, the National Indigenous Foundation (Rio Negro Region), the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the Instituto Socioambiental.
Representatives of DSEI/CONDISI and the municipality attended.
Problems discussed included lack of road maintenance and lack of adequate transport, the energy network, and unauthorized hunters and fishers.


Sadegh Ghotbzadeh

Sadegh Ghotbzadeh (, 24 February 1936 – 15 September 1982) was an Iranian politician who served as a close aide of Ayatollah Khomeini during his 1978 exile in France, and foreign minister (30 November 1979 – August 1980) during the Iran hostage crisis following the Iranian Revolution. In 1982, he was executed for allegedly plotting the assassination of Ayatollah Khomeini and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
Early life and education.
Ghotbzadeh was born in Isfahan in 1936. He had a sister and a brother. His father was a wealthy lumber merchant.
As a student, he was active in the student branch of the National Front following the toppling of Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. He left Iran in 1959 after being detained twice due to his opposition activities to the Shah's regime; he lived in Europe, the US and Canada. Ghotbzadeh was a supporter of the National Front of Iran. In addition he was one of the senior members of the Freedom Movement of Iran led by Mehdi Bazargan in the 1960s.
He attended Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service from 1959 to 1963. He contributed to the movement from the US. He was part of the more radical wing of the movement together with Ebrahim Yazdi, Mostafa Chamran and Ali Shariati. However, he was dismissed from the school before graduating due to his skipping studies and exams to lead protests against the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, including storming a posh party hosted by the then Iranian ambassador to the United States, the son-in-law of the Shah, Ardeshir Zahedi.
Ghotbzadeh left the US when his passport was revoked and moved to Algeria, Egypt, Syria and finally to Iraq, where he met Ayatollah Khomenei in 1963. In December of the same year Ghotbzadeh along with Chamran and Yazdi met the Egyptian authorities to establish an anti-Shah organization in the country, which was later called SAMA, special organization for unity and action. Chamran was chosen as its military head. Ghotbzadeh also developed a close relation with Musa Al Sadr, an Iranian-Lebanese Shia cleric. During his stay in the Middle East, Ghotbzadeh was trained in Lebanon together with Iranian revolutionary militants and Palestinians.
In the late 1960s, Ghotbzadeh went to Canada for higher education and graduated from now defunct Notre Dame University College in Nelson, BC, in 1969. Next he settled in Paris using his Syrian passport which he obtained through the help of Musa Al Sadr. There he worked as a correspondent for the Syrian government daily, "Al Thawra". The job, in fact, was fake and covered his opposition activity in the city.
Career and activities.
Ghotbzadeh left the Freedom Movement in 1978. He became a close aide of Ayatollah Khomeini when the latter was in exile in France. Ghotbzadeh along with Mostafa Chamran was part of the faction, called "Syrian mafia", in the court of Khomeini, and there was a feud between his group and the Libya-friendly group, led by Mohammad Montazeri. Ghotbzadeh was an Amal sympathizer and close to Lebanese Shii cleric Musa Al Sadr. Khomeini appointed him a member of the follow-up mission to search for fate of Al Sadr following the latter's disappearance in August 1978.
Ghotbzadeh accompanied Khomeini on his Air France flight back to Iran on 1 February 1979. It was Ghotbzadeh, who translated the Ayatollah's infamous response "Hichi (Nothing)" to journalist John Simpson's question: "Ayatollah, would you be so kind as to tell us how you feel about being back in Iran?" He was also Khomeini's translator in the press conference held in Tehran on 3 February 1979.
Following the Iranian Revolution Ghotbzadeh became a member of the revolutionary council when Bazargan and others left the council to form an interim government. In addition, he served as spokesperson of the Ayatollah. He was also appointed managing director of National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT) on 11 February 1979. He tried to overhaul it to be in line with Islamic teachings, purging royalists, women, and leftists. This was criticised by a group of Iranian intellectuals and also the interim government. On 13 March, two women, one with a gun and the other with a knife, attacked Ghotbzadeh protesting the fundamentalist policies of the Islamic regime. Nearly 15,000 women also gathered outside the headquarters of the NIRT to protest his Islamist policy.
He was appointed foreign minister in late November 1979 after Abolhassan Banisadr resigned as acting foreign minister amid heated disputes on the fate of the American hostages. In early 1980 Ghotbzadeh was involved in early Iran hostage crisis negotiations in Paris with Carter aide Hamilton Jordan, which led to "a complex multi-stepped plan" which was torpedoed by Khomeini announcing the hostages' fate would be decided by the new Iranian parliament.
Ghotbzadeh wrote an open letter to the Majlis in August 1980 arguing for the quick release of the hostages, and told Reuters five days later that "United States presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, supported by Kissinger and others, has no intention of solving the problem. They will do everything in their power to block it." In September and October, he made several other public statements alleging that a deal to delay the release of the hostages may have taken place. The French news agency Agence France Presse quoted him on 6 September as stating the "Reagan camp was trying hard to block a solution of the [hostage] problem before the elections" and that he had "information" to prove it. On 11 September, the open letter was published in an Iranian newspaper with similar charges. A decade later in 1991, Joseph E. Persico of "The New York Times" concluded a review of Gary Sick's book "October Surprise" stating: "Two friends of Ghotbzadeh who spoke to him frequently during this period said that he insisted repeatedly that the Republicans were in contact with elements in Iran to try to block a hostage release." The House October Surprise Task Force investigating the October Surprise allegations interviewed close associates of Ghotbzadeh and concluded in 1993 that they "uncovered nothing to corroborate Ghotbzadeh's statements".
After the failure of the rescue attempt decided upon by President Carter, he qualified this decision an "act of war" against Iran. However, Ghotbzadeh was not committed anti-American during his tenure.
In January 1980, Ghotbzadeh ran for the presidency, but lost the election. His tenure as foreign minister ended in August 1980 and he was replaced by Karim Khodapanahi in the post. Following his retirement from politics Ghotbzadeh dealt with his family trade in the importing business and studied Islamic law.
Arrest and execution.
Ghotbzadeh was first arrested on 7 November 1980 on charges of planning to kill Ayatollah Khomeini and criticising the Islamic Republic Party and put in the Evin prison. He was released on 10 November when Ayatollah Khomeini intervened.
On 8 April 1982, he was arrested along with a group of army officers and clerics (including a son-in-law of the religious leader Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari), all accused of plotting the assassination of Ayatollah Khomeini and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
At an April 1982 "press conference", hujjat al-Islam Mohammad Reyshahri, the chief judge of the newly created Military Revolutionary Tribunal, explained the plot with "an elaborate chart full of boxes and arrows linking Ghotbzadeh and the royalist officers, on one side, to `the feudalists, the leftist mini-groups, and the phony clerics` and on the other side, to the `National Front, Israel, the Pahlavis and the Socialist International.` The last four were linked to the CIA."
Rumors include the story that Ayatollah Khomeini initially did not want to execute Ghotbzadeh; but, he was persuaded to do so after hearing a tape of Ghotbzadeh in prison agreeing to pay money and provide the contact information of his allies in France in exchange for his freedom. Ghotbzadeh supposedly told this to a fellow prisoner specifically hired to entrap him. The veracity of these rumors is unknown.
Trial of Ghotbzadeh began in August 1982 and in the court he denied the accusations, but confirmed the existence of a plot to topple the Islamic government and to form a "real republic". His forced confessions, which were aired, are said to have come only after severe torture on the part of the Iranian Police. On late 15 September 1982 in Evin prison of Tehran, Ghotbzadeh was shot by a firing squad following a 26-day trial and after the Military Revolutionary Tribunal found him guilty and sentenced him to death. He was 46.
Reactions.
Abolhassan Banisadr, who had been in exile in Paris, stated that Ghotbzadeh's execution was "settling of accounts".
Personal life.
Ghotbzadeh never married. He was fluent in French and English languages, in addition to his native Persian.
Legacy.
In 1987, Canadian journalist Carole Jerome published a book, "The man in the mirror: A story of love, revolution and treachery in Iran" detailing both her romantic relationship with Ghotbzadeh and her journalistic account of the revolution. In his 1991 book, "Inside the KGB: Myth and Reality", Vladimir Kuzichkin claimed that Ghotbzadeh had been an agent of the Soviet military intelligence service during his studies in the United States, adding that he had later detached himself from it. The book also alleged that the KGB had fabricated and placed a false CIA cable to an unnamed American agent in Iran in his residence, which was used as evidence to arrest and try him.
Ben Affleck's 2012 movie, "Argo", used a real clip of Ghotbzadeh, showing him accusing Canada of "flagrantly violating international law." Ghotbzadeh's great-niece, Sanaz Ghajarrahimi, wrote and directed a play, named "Red Wednesday", which was presented at the New Ohio Theatre in New York from 26 July to 3 August 2013. It was inspired by Ghotbzadeh's controversial life.
In 2017 Ali Sajjadi, a Persian journalist based in Washington DC, published a collection of Sadegh Ghotbzadeh manuscripts. Sajjadi also interviewed many friends and colleagues of Ghotbzadeh for the book.
The BBC Persian documentary series Son of the revolution premiered in Feb 2020. The series follows Sadegh Ghotbzadeh's fascinating journey from a revolutionary in exile, to government minister and finally traitor in the eyes of the Islamic Republic. It was directed and produced by Farshad Bayan working with producer and researcher Mahmoud Azimaee. The project took over 5 years to complete. The 3 parts mini series, uses archive footage and features 30 people who knew him or had interesting encounter with him to shed light on Ghotbzadeh's character and tell fascinating stories about his activities both before and after the Iranian Revolution that led to his death sentence. The documentary was published on YouTube in Persian language.


Vadim Kharazia

Vadim Kharazia is the current Chairman of the State Committee for Repatriation of Abkhazia. Kharazia was appointed on 11 April 2015 by President Raul Khajimba to succeed Khrips Jopua.


The Mentalist

The Mentalist is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show follows former "psychic" Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), who is a consultant to the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and his boss, a senior agent, Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), using the highly developed observational skills he previously employed to "read" people's minds.
There is a 2018 Russian-Ukrainian remake Менталист under the same title set in a Russian-speaking setting.
Synopsis.
The series follows Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento, California. Although not an officer of the law, he uses his skills from his former career as a successful, yet admittedly fraudulent, psychic medium to help a team of CBI agents solve murders. The real reason for Jane's involvement with law enforcement is to track down the serial killer known as Red John, who was responsible for the brutal murders of his wife, Angela Ruskin Jane, and his daughter, Charlotte Anne Jane.
Before the murders, Jane had a lucrative career as a con man, successfully posing as a psychic medium and enjoyed near-celebrity status. Five years before the events in the show's pilot episode, he appeared on television to claim that his paranormal abilities helped the police profile a serial killer named Red John. Red John, angered by the perceived slight, murdered Jane's wife and his young daughter in revenge.
Jane subsequently abandoned his career and teamed with the CBI, using his skills to help them solve various crimes. His main focus is on the cases involving Red John or Red John copycats. He admits to faking the supernatural aspects of his skills, often asserting that "there's no such thing as psychics," yet he has finely honed skills in cold reading, hypnosis, and picking pockets, as well as his intuitive observations and an immense insight into the human psyche and the behavior of witnesses.
His associates at the CBI include colleagues Wayne Rigsby, Grace Van Pelt, and Kimball Cho, and their boss, Teresa Lisbon. Various directors and recurring civilians come across as the show unfolds, including: Bret Stiles, Gale Bertram, Kristina Frye, Madeleine Hightower, JJ Laroche and Walter Mashburn.
As the show progresses, the focus shifts from general cases during seasons one to three, to solely catching Red John, throughout seasons four to six. At the midpoint of season six, the Red John case is solved, the FBI steps in, closing the CBI, and the show adopts a new track for two seasons, along with a few new characters. The show still focuses on case solving, together with emotional episodes.
Production.
Having developed "Rome" for HBO, Heller was interested in doing something different and wanted to prove himself. CBS was looking for a show that would work as a companion to NCIS, and Heller
welcomed the challenge of developing a popular show within the constraints of prime time network television and adapted his concept to fit.
Heller describes the character as being a combination of a Sherlock Holmes type and street psychic, part detective helping people and part con-artist selling people lies. Wanting the character to have both physical and spiritual grace, Heller imagined someone like Cary Grant for the role.
The show often set episodes based on fictional locales with names such as Salinger Mill and Rancho Rosa. Like the majority of American television shows, "The Mentalist" was mostly filmed within the studio zone in Los Angeles County, but occasionally filmed a few scenes on location in Sacramento. The structure used to represent the CBI headquarters in Sacramento is the back of the Pico House in downtown Los Angeles. On October 15, 2008, CBS ordered the first season of "The Mentalist" and the show was subsequently renewed annually from 2010, both in the domestic market and overseas.
In November 2013, Amanda Righetti (Van Pelt) and Owain Yeoman (Rigsby) were confirmed to be leaving after season six concluded.
On May 10, 2014, CBS renewed the series for a 13-episode seventh season, which premiered on November 30, 2014, and later announced it as the final season.
In the season seven episode "Orange Blossom Ice Cream", scenes set in Beirut were filmed in Los Angeles and supplemented by freelance footage of Beirut by Michael Timney.
Distribution.
TNT began syndicating "The Mentalist" in the fall of 2011. In the period between the end of "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in the summer of 2015, "The Mentalist" was carried weeknights on CBS in full as part of the network's temporary late-night lineup. The show also aired on the CTV Television Network in Canada.
Reception.
Critical reception.
The seasons score between 60% and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first season of "The Mentalist" received mostly positive reviews, with critics being divided on the procedural format, but praising the performance of Simon Baker. On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has an overall rating of 60% from 25 critics, with the consensus saying, "The setup and episodic storytelling is far from original, but "The Mentalist" distinguishes itself from other procedurals mostly due to the talents of Simon Baker." On Metacritic, season one has a score of 65/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Robert Bianco of "USA Today" felt the pilot episode lacked in originality, but praised Baker, saying, ""The Mentalist" may be a copy, but it's a well-done copy sparked by an actor who has come into his own as a TV star." Matthew Gilbert of "The Boston Globe" said, "the CBS show has very little dramatic heft or distinction, but it's wily and brisk enough to engage you for an hour." Gilbert also praised the chemistry between Baker and Tunney, but criticized the crime cases, feeling they were predictable and at times uninteresting. Mary McNamara of "The Los Angeles Times" praised Baker as "virtually irresistible" and said, "...psychological sleight of hand can't fill an hour every week. For that you need complicated, interesting crimes and complicated, interesting characters solving them. "The Mentalist" seems prepared to deliver just that."
The pilot episode had an audience of 15.6 million viewers in its first airing, and 7.8 million in a reairing three days later. The December 2, 2008, episode, "Flame Red", was the highest-rated television show of the week, marking the first time a program in its first season had achieved that distinction since "Desperate Housewives" four years earlier.
The show drew comparisons to the USA Network comedy "Psych", which also featured a lead character with heightened powers of observation that were mistaken for psychic abilities, who works as an independent consultant for law enforcement in California, and which debuted two years earlier, including "Psych" itself making repeated references to the similarities with the later-premiering show.


Thomas Merton Center (Pittsburgh)

The Thomas Merton Center is a non-profit grassroots organization in Pittsburgh whose mission is to educate, raise awareness and to ask the moral questions that surround issues of social justice, poverty, workers' rights, racial discrimination, environmental and economic justice, peace and nonviolence.
The Center was co-founded by Molly Rush and Larry Kessler in 1972. The Thomas Merton Center is named after Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani who wrote prolifically about issues related to peace and justice.
History.
The traditional base of the Center was radical Catholic pacifists, but has since expanded to secular humanists and diverse community perspectives concerned with building a more peaceful and just world. The Center began in 1972 to protest the continuation of the Vietnam War, to work against federal cutbacks and to raise money to provide medical aid to Indochina.
The Center has also protested and peacefully demonstrated against a variety of issues including world and local hunger, exploitation of workers, militarism, and racial discrimination.
During the 1980s, the Center worked extensively on nuclear disarmament, targeting local weapons makers Rockwell and Westinghouse, as well as organizing campaigns of solidarity and support to the people of Central and Latin American countries that were targeted by the Reagan administration. In the 1990s, organizing against the Gulf War and in response to the murder of Johnny Gammage by police, among other projects, were undertaken. With the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Center became central in organizing Pittsburgh's large anti-war protests and most recently served to facilitate and organize many of the educational and protest activities in September 2009 against and in response to the G20 Summit, including the Peoples' March, which was one of the largest protests in Pittsburgh in decades. Several local institutions grew out of the Center, including the Pittsburgh chapter of Amnesty International and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Currently the center has active campaigns focused on building the New Economy Working Group movement, integrating the work of environmental justice groups locally, and creating a more peaceful world by working to end wars globally.
The Thomas Merton Award, a peace prize, has been awarded since 1972 by the Center. Past recipients include Dorothy Day, Noam Chomsky, Vandana Shiva, Martin Sheen and Fr. Roy Bourgeois.
Current Structure.
Its current structure includes a Board of Directors, committees, affiliates, friends, projects, and members. Membership dues and donations provide much of the funding and the Board of Directors are elected to make decisions related to governance of policies at the Center. Several of the most active projects include Book 'Em, a books for prisoners program; the Environmental Justice Committee, the Pittsburgh Darfur Coalition, Haiti Solidarity, the Pittsburgh Chapter of Code Pink, Roots of Promise, Marcellus Protest Group, Fed Up! the Pittsburgh chapter of the Human Rights Coalition, and The East End Community Thrift Shop, which provides clothing and household items for low-income individuals in the area.
The Thomas Merton Center has four key focus areas: peace and non-violence; human rights; environmental justice; and economic justice. The Thomas Merton Center also acts as a fiscal umbrella for a number of smaller organizations that align with the peace and justice mission of the center. To name a few, Book'em Books for Prisoner program, Haiti Solidarity, Pittsburgh Progressive Notebook, Fight for Lifers West, Human Rights Coalition Fed' Up, Pittsburgh Darfur Coalition, Roots of Promise, Marcellus Protest Group, and Westmoreland Marcellus Protest Group.
Publication.
The Thomas Merton Center publishes a monthly newspaper entitled "The New People". It is a peace and justice newspaper for Pittsburgh and the Tri-State area. Published 11 times a year, "it fills the voids left by the mainstream media by providing an outlet that reflects progressive and alternative politics: locally, nationally and globally."
The paper reports on the issues of war, poverty, racism and oppression, by focusing on the non-violent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. The New People also acts as an organizing tool for Thomas Merton Center members and the activist community.
External links.
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President of the Senate (Netherlands)

The President of the Senate () is one of the 75 members of the Senate of the Netherlands and is elected to lead its meetings and be its representative. The officeholder also chairs the Internal Committee ('), the Committee of Senior Members (') as well as the joint sessions of both houses of the States General, the so-called "".
The office has been held by Jan Anthonie Bruijn of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2019.


Financial fragility

Financial fragility is the vulnerability of a financial system to a financial crisis. Franklin Allen and Douglas Gale define financial fragility as the degree to which "...small shocks have disproportionately large effects." Roger Lagunoff and Stacey Schreft write, "In macroeconomics, the term "financial fragility" is used...to refer to a financial system's susceptibility to large-scale financial crises caused by small, routine economic shocks."
Sources of financial fragility.
Why does the financial system exhibit fragility in the first place? Why do banks choose to take on a capital structure that makes them vulnerable to financial crises? There are two views of financial fragility which correspond to two views on the origins of financial crises. According to the fundamental equilibrium or business cycle view, financial crises arise from the poor fundamentals of the economy, which make it vulnerable during a time of duress such as a recession. According to the self-fulfilling or sunspot equilibrium view, the economy may always be vulnerable to a financial crisis whose onset may be triggered by some random external event, or simply be the result of herd mentality.
Self-fulfilling crisis views.
Diamond-Dybvig.
In the standard Diamond-Dybvig model, financial systems are vulnerable to a financial crisis in the form of a bank run due to the inherent nature of banking. Banks serve as intermediaries between depositors and borrowers. Depositors want immediate access to their deposits, while borrowers are not able to pay on demand. This creates a fundamental fragility, as a bank's assets cannot be liquidated in the event of a crisis to pay all depositors. This tension makes the financial system susceptible to a sudden change in demand for money by depositors, resulting in a bank run.
Diamond-Rajan.
Economists Douglas Diamond and Raghuram Rajan argued that banks purposefully adopt a fragile structure as a commitment device. Under this view, depositors would not normally trust banks with their deposits because they fear that when they want to withdraw their money, the bank may try to avoid repaying, or try to repay at a lower rate. However, if the bank does not have enough liquid assets to cover all depositor claims, a refusal to pay any one depositor the promised amount will prompt all other depositors to try to withdraw as well, and effectively cut off all lending to the bank. Banks voluntarily submit themselves to the risk of a bank run so that depositors will trust them with their loans, since depositors know that the bank will not be able to get away with their money without prompting a run.
Lagunoff-Schreft.
Economists Roger Lagunoff and Stacey Schreft have argued that financial fragility arises from linked portfolios of investors. If investors have linked portfolios such that if one investor withdraws funds the investment will fail and the other investor will also take a loss, then any event that causes investors to change their portfolio could cause others to take losses. If these losses are large enough to prompt further portfolio changes, a small change could initiate a chain reaction of losses. Moreover, Lagunoff and Schreft argue that investors will anticipate the possibility of such a chain reaction, so that the belief that it may happen in the future could cause investors to reallocate their portfolios, thus triggering a self-fulfilling crisis.
Fundamental crisis views.
Robert Van Order.
Economist Robert Van Order argued in 2006 that a small change in economic fundamentals can prompt a large change in asset prices and financial structure due to the asymmetric information problem in financial markets. According to Van Order, lenders can choose to make loans to borrowers directly through financial markets such as the stock market, or to operate through a financial intermediary such as a bank. Banks are better able to verify the quality of borrowers, but they charge a fee for their services in the form of lower returns to their depositors then the full returns on the investments. Financial markets allow lenders to circumvent banks and avoid this fee, but they lose the banks ability to verify the quality of borrowers. According to Van Order, a small change in economic fundamentals that made borrowers more nervous about financial markets caused some borrowers to move their savings from financial markets to banks. Such a change would raise the costs of borrowing in financial markets, which could prompt high-quality borrowers to try to get loans from banks rather than financial markets. This could snowball as all the good borrowers stop getting loans from financial markets, prompting lenders to charge still higher rates to those who remain prompting still more borrowers to switch. This process is called an adverse selection spiral, and could lead to the sudden collapse of a financial market. The opposite effect might also occur, leading to a large-scale change in the capital structure in the other direction.
Allen-Gale.
Franklin Allen and Douglas Gale discuss financial fragility as large effects from small shocks. They formalize this idea by considering the case of an economy in which the size of financial shocks approaches zero. They show that even in such an economy there will still be significant fluctuations arising solely from these vanishingly small financial shocks. In their view, banks are risk-sharing institutions where deposits act to insure depositors against a lack of access to money. Even minuscule shocks can set off self-reinforcing price changes.
Bailouts.
Another reason banks might adopt a fragile financial structure is because they expect a government bailout in the event of a financial crisis. This is an example of moral hazard, since the bank engages in risky behavior because it believes it has insurance against downside risks. If the government is considered likely to step in and reduce losses incurred by banks, bankers will have an incentive to take on more risk and increase the financial fragility of the banking system. In general, a bailout is the optimal response of policy-makers "once a crisis has occurred" (ex post), because the bailout will reduce the negative effects of the crisis on the economy. Before the crisis occurs (ex ante), policy-makers would like to convince banks that they will not bail them out in the event of a crisis so that banks do not adopt a fragile capital structure. However, if policy-makers announce that they will not bail out banks in the event of a crisis, bankers will not believe them because they rationally anticipate that policy-makers will in fact bail them out in the event of a crisis. Policy-makers stated policy of no bailouts in the event of a crisis is not credible, so in the absence of a commitment device banks will take on excess risk.
Moreover, some economists have argued that the presence of bailouts will "force" banks to take on more risk than they would like. In 2007, Charles Prince the CEO of Citigroup was quoted as saying, "As long as the music is playing, you have to get up and dance." More formally, economists Emmanuel Farhi and Jean Tirole have argued that policy in response to a crisis naturally gives greater benefits to those banks that have taken on more leverage. Given this, banks have an incentive to imitate other banks so that they achieve their worse losses when everyone else does, and thus maximally benefit from the bailout or other policies. This leads banks to adopt a particularly fragile capital structure, so that they all fail together.
Connection to exchange rate regimes.
An important aspect of financial fragility of the international system is the connection to exchange rate regimes. Barry Eichengreen and Ricardo Hausmann describe three views on the connection between exchange rate regimes and financial fragility. One view relates to the moral hazard created by the belief of market participants that governments will provide bailouts in the event of a crisis. A pegged exchange rate is a form of implicit guarantee, and leads market participants to expect such bailouts. A second view is that, due to lack of confidence in a country's currency, borrowers in that country seeking financing will not be able to borrow long-term, or borrow from international lenders at all, in that country's own currency. Yet often the returns of the borrower's project will be in the domestic currency. This is a source of financial fragility, because a drop in the exchange rate can cause a debt crisis, as debt denominated in foreign currency becomes much more expensive. A third view holds that the fundamental cause of international financial fragility is a lack of institutions to enforce contracts between parties. This lack of strong contracts makes lenders suspicious of borrowers, and can prompt a crisis should lenders begin to suspect that borrowers will not repay.
Reducing financial fragility.
The natural financial fragility of banking systems is seen by many economists as an important justification for financial regulation designed to reduce financial fragility.
Circuit breakers.
Some economists including Joseph Stiglitz have argued for the use of capital controls to act as circuit breakers to prevent crises from spreading from one country to another, a process called financial contagion. Under one proposed system, countries would be divided into groups that would have free capital flows among the group's members, but not between the groups. A system would be put in place such that in the event of a crisis, capital flows out of the affected countries could be cut off automatically in order to isolate the crisis. This system is partly modeled on electrical networks such as power grids, which are typically well-integrated in order to prevent shortages due to unusually high demand for electricity in one part of the network, but that have circuit breakers in place to prevent damage to the network in one part of the grid from causing a blackout throughout all houses connected through the network.
Taxing liabilities.
As described above, many economists believe that financial fragility arises when financial agents such as banks take on too many or too illiquid liabilities relative to the liquidity of their assets. Note that asset liquidity is also a function of the degree of stable funding available to market participants. As a result, the reliance on cheap short term funding creates a negative risk externality (Perotti and Suarez, 2011). Some economists propose that the government tax or limit such liabilities to reduce such excessive risk-taking. Perotti and Suarez (2009) proposed prudential Pigouvian charges on unstable short term funding, while Shin (2010) targets unstable foreign flows. Others have supported this approach.
Capital requirements.
Another form of financial regulation designed to reduce financial fragility is to regulate bank's balance sheets directly via capital requirements.


Karl Karrer

Karl Karrer (22 March 1815 – 18 April 1886) was a Swiss politician and President of the Swiss National Council (1861/1862).


Glasgow school closures protest, 2009

Save Our Schools was a protest movement which arose in Glasgow, Scotland, in early 2009 against the proposed closure or merger of 13 primary schools and 12 nurseries in the city.
On 3 April 2009 parents occupied Wyndford and St. Gregory's primary schools in the Wyndford area of Maryhill in the city. A rally was held there on 4 April. The parents intended to remain in occupation over the Easter holiday.
A march in support of the campaign took place in Wyndford on 9 April, which was attended by around 400 people. There was a rally at the end at Wyndford Primary School, with several speakers including Bob Doris MSP, and campaign organiser Richie Venton.
The campaign planned to hold a short march and rally in George Square on 17 April at 10 a.m., the day the council executive takes its decision.


National Negro Business League

The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was an American organization founded in Boston in 1900 by Booker T. Washington to promote the interests of African-American businesses. The mission and main goal of the National Negro Business League was "to promote the commercial and financial development of the Negro." It was recognized as "composed of negro men and women who have achieved success along business lines". It grew rapidly with 320 chapters in 1905 and more than 600 chapters in 34 states in 1915.
In 1966, the League was renamed and reincorporated in Washington D.C. as the National Business League. It remains in operation.
Organizational history.
Establishment.
The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was established in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900 by Booker T. Washington. The effort was supported by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
The organization was formally incorporated in 1901 in New York , and established 320 chapters across the United States. In May 1913, a respected Black journalist, Ralph Waldo Tyler was elected as the first National Organizer of the NNBL. Tyler's role was to travel throughout the Southern United States and document the state of negro businesses and encourage enrollment in the NNBL .
The League included Negro small- business owners, doctors, farmers, other professionals, craftsmen, etc. Its goal was to allow business to put economic development at the forefront of getting African-American equality in the United States. Business was the main concern, but civil rights came next. In 1905 the Nashville, Tennessee, chapter protested segregation in local transit with a boycott. Booker T. Washington felt that there was a need for African Americans to build an economic network and allow that to be a catalyst for change and social improvement. Also, extant press releases indicate that "the League organized the National Negro Business Service to 'help . . the Negro business men of the country solve their merchandising and advertising problems,' promoted advertising in Negro newspapers and magazines, and 'influenced . . . national advertisers to use Negro publications in reaching this importantly valuable group of people with its tremendous purchasing power.'"
After the death of Booker T. Washington in 1915, the League was headed by his successor at Tuskegee, Robert Russa Moton. Albon L. Holsey, an executive at Tuskegee, was executive secretary of the League. Other leaders in 1922-23 were John L. Webb, treasurer (succeeding Charles H. Anderson), and Charles Clinton Spaulding, head of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Durham, North Carolina.
Affiliations.
Affiliated professional organizations included: the National Negro Bankers Association, the National Negro Press Association, the National Association of Negro Funeral Directors, the National Negro Bar Association, the National Association of Negro Insurance Men, the National Negro Retail Merchants' Association, the National Association of Negro Real Estate Dealers, and the National Negro Finance Corporation. The National Negro Bankers Association was organized at a meeting of the League in 1906 by Birmingham's William R. Pettiford.
The organization inspired Robert R. Church Sr. to open Solvent Savings Bank in Memphis, Tennessee in 1906.