View allAll Photos Tagged questioning
A suspected murderer being held by New York City Police Department (NYPD) for questioning escaped from the 103rd Precinct station house around 2:30 PM on August 23, 2007. The precinct is not far from where I live. I was reading at the time when an NYPD helicopter appeared out of nowhere and started the aerial surveillance of the surrounding areas. Soon afterwards, it was followed by two news helicopters. First helicopter belonged to the CBS News (WCBSTV) of New York and second one to the NBC News (WNBC) of New York. I went for the camera and took these pictures of all three helicopters hovering over my head. But, I wasn’t able to take clear picture of the CBS News helicopter. As of today, August 24, 2007, suspect has not been found. Picture taken on August 23, 2007. Olympus FE-240.
Raining, Pouring.... back from school. Two young girls amused and surprised at being caught on the cam while I drove! Darjeeling!
Caught children in Sikkim in various acts.... only they can be good at! each of the following attributes hold true..
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontanious, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
Yuval Noah Harari, Professor, Department of History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel speaking during the Session "Questioning Our Human Future" at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 24, 2018.
Copyright by World Economic Forum / Boris Baldinger
children having great time watching the rehearsals of Dusherra celebrations!! Lachung, North Sikkim
Caught children in Sikkim in various acts.... only they can be good at! each of the following attributes hold true..
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontanious, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)
Order Passeriformes, Family Ptilogonatidae
From The Birds of North America Online, Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
The Phainopepla inhabits arid wood lands and deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. This long-tailed, crested bird is common and conspicuous in the Sonoran Desert, where it perches atop mesquite or palo verde trees, calling with a questioning "Wurp?" while flicking its tail and turning from side to side. The female in gray plumage, and the male in glossy black, flutter and zigzag, especially in pursuit of flying insects. In flight, the male flashes white wing patches, a striking contrast with the shimmering black plumage which inspired the Greek name Phainopepla, or "shining robe."
Phainopeplas breed in two distinct habitats at different times of the year, an unusual pattern among North American passerines. Between February and April the species breeds in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and in the portion of the Sonoran Desert extending into California, called the Colorado Desert. As summer heat intensifies and berry supplies dwindle, Phainopeplas vacate the desert. In May, they arrive in the oak and sycamore canyons of Arizona and California, where they breed through July. The two distinct breeding seasons have prompted conjecture that the same individuals breed in both habitats each year. However, specific migratory routes are unknown, and it remains uncertain whether the same birds breed in both desert and woodlands.
The differences in Phainopeplas' social behavior between desert and woodland breeding grounds are as striking as the physical contrasts between the habitats. In the desert, mated pairs vigorously defend feeding territories against intruders. In woodlands, Phainopeplas often nest in loose colonies of from 3–15 pairs, have overlapping home ranges, and mob nest predators such as the Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) in groups. Several members from the colony may feed at the same fruiting bushes such as holly-leaf redberry (Rhamnus ilicifolia) and blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). These social differences between habitats may reflect differences in the availability and distribution of fruit. In woodlands, fruiting at any given bush is relatively ephemeral, and the bushes thrive in open areas away from shaded nest sites. In the desert, Phainopeplas depend on fruiting desert mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum), which parasitizes the same trees used for nesting, and produces a stable, long-lasting supply of berries.
Early accounts of the Phainopepla described nesting behavior in southern California woodlands (Merriam 1896, Myers 1907, 1908, 1909) and in Arizona's Sonoran Desert (Rand and Rand 1943). More recently, Walsberg (1977) compared social behavior and daily energy expenditure of desert and woodland populations. In the desert, Phainopeplas are inextricably linked to desert mistletoe, upon which they subsist almost entirely in winter. Noted as early as 1914 (Grinnell 1914), this reliance on desert mistletoe has spurred studies on the morphological specialization of the Phainopepla digestive system (Walsberg 1975), the impact of the fruit-eating specialist on desert mistletoe seed dispersal (Larson 1991, 1996), and fluctuations in mistletoe berry crops as a determinant of Phainopepla breeding success (Walsberg 1977, Anderson and Ohmart 1978). Ongoing investigations include microgeographic study of population genetics (R. Fleischer and W. Boarman pers. comm.), comparison of mating strategies of territorial and loosely colonial Phainopeplas (MC), and description of the diverse vocal repertoire of the species, including imitations of other birds that both sexes use in distress calls (MC).
Ever since Gilman (1903) noted the disjunct breeding seasons and habitats of the Phainopepla, various authors have remarked on the question of whether the same birds breed in both seasons (Dawson 1923, Crouch 1943, Phillips et al. 1964, Walsberg 1977). If so, Phainopeplas would be behaviorally flexible—in migration, breeding, and social structure—to a degree not documented in any other North American bird. All major studies of Phainopeplas have been conducted in the United States, and comparable data on breeding habitats and migratory movement in Mexico are lacking, including such basic information as the extent of any north–south migration over the border. The question of whether the remarkable behavioral flexibility of the Phainopepla is exhibited by individuals or by separate populations of birds remains an unresolved and pressing issue.
20081116_0047a1_800x600_no-geotag
After a terrorist attack in New Mexico the FBI finds a link the attack with a black marker salesman. Task force 242 from the united nations is sent in to capture him for questioning.
The young one with grandma outside a shop in Lachung, North Sikkim. He bargained for his favourite sweetmeats in lieu of this photo!
Caught children in Sikkim in various acts.... only they can be good at! each of the following attributes hold true..
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontanious, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
This is the sweetest donkey who believes that everyone who walks by is there to see him! He is very photogenic.
do people say the name of this place in the questioning intonation pattern. that's what i want to know.
Detectives probing the kidnaps of two men in Salford last month are questioning five suspects after dawn raids this morning saw properties targeted across the city and Manchester as part of the investigation.
Earlier today (Thursday 7 April) officers from our Tactical Aid Unit (TAU), alongside local officers, hit six addresses in Blackley, Gorton and Salford.
The action comes after we received a report on the evening of Thursday 24 March regarding a man being assaulted and dragged into a car by a group of three men on Clarendon Park.
Thankfully after enquiries by specialist investigators, the victim - a man in his 20s - was found safe and well with some physical injuries but none that required hospital treatment.
Subsequent enquiries have led detectives from our Swinton CID to believe that a second man - also aged in his 20s - was also targeted by the group but was able to flee from the offenders vehicle.
We think that the incidents have been targeted attacks emanating from a possible drugs dispute involving organised criminals and we're keen to ensure that any potential suspects are identified and brought to custody for questioning.
Five men aged between 20 and 30 are currently in two custody sites across Greater Manchester and await questioning on suspicion of kidnap.
Anyone with concerns or information about suspicious activity in their area should contact us online via LiveChat, if able, or by calling 101 knowing that information will be treated with the strictest confidence.
Details can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Questioning a Flower
With what brush
painted
you
with
red?
on this
yellow
tower
held
by
a
thread
of
slender
green
Who initiated this idea?
satin petals burst forth
from a bulb in spring
again
I ask
who?
Why in winter do each hide?
yet in spring to detonate
in colors
of
green
red
orange
yellow
purple
pink
and white...
why?
-rc
It's the sort of thing one is constantly questioning, especially as today is an Ember Day. Happily Wikipedia comes to the rescue in a trice.
See here.
Living as I do in Crawley one feels that one should lean to the etymological derivation given by the one-time rector of Crawley the Revd J M Neale.
The hereios of the We're Here! group have paid a visit to the using common sense or not group, at the suggestion of pikespice.
Stuck for an idea for your daily 365 shot? Try the hereios of the We're Here! group for inspiration :)
Yuval Noah Harari, Professor, Department of History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel speaking during the Session "Questioning Our Human Future" at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 24, 2018.
Copyright by World Economic Forum / Boris Baldinger
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontaneous, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
I choose my friends not by their skin or other archetype, but by the pupil.
They have to have questioning shine and unsettled tone.
I'm not interested in the good spirits or the ones with bad habits.
I'll stick with the ones that are made of me being crazy and blessed.
From them, I don't want an answer, I want to be reviewed.
I want them to bring me doubts and fears and to tolerate the worst of me.
But that only being crazy.
I want saints, so they daunt doubt differences and ask for forgiveness for injustices.
I choose my friends for their clean face and their soul exposed.
I don't just want a man or a skirt, I also want his greatest happiness.
A friend that doesn't laugh together doesn't know how to cry together.
All my friends are like that, half foolish, half serious.
I don't want foreseen laughter or cries full of pity.
I want serious friends, those that make reality their fountain of knowledge, but that fight to keep fantasy alive.
I don't want adult or boring friends.
I want half kids and half elderly.
Kids, so they don't forget the value of the wind blowing on their faces and elderly people so they're never in a hurry.
I have friends to know who I am.
Then seeing them as clowns and serious, crazy and saints, young and old, I will never forget that 'normalcy' is a sterile and imbecile illusion.
Member of audience questioning NDP leadership candidate Nathan Cullen during Q&A in Toronto - NDP Leadership Candidates© Linda Dawn Hammond / IndyFoto.com 2012. The Centre for Social Innovation Annex 720 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1Z5 Jan. 26, 2012.
Nathan Cullen Leadership Campaign
Le français suivra ci-dessous
Fellow New Democrat --
We all joined this party to get more done. Whatever issue moves us, we didn’t join the NDP for any other reason than to change something.
That’s why I ran for our party. It’s why I am running for leader. And why I am in favour of really doing politics differently: doing what it takes to replace Stephen Harper’s majority with a progressive one.
For 50 years, we’ve asked Canadians to see politics differently. Now we must ask ourselves to do the same. Not for the sake of co-operation. But because Mr. Harper is attacking the values we hold most dear—something on which every leadership candidate agrees.
Yet, I am alone in suggesting we be open to co-operating with other parties, in Conservative-held seats. It is controversial. I would like to explain why I believe it is right.
After eight months of a Harper majority, we can’t afford eight years. His majority represents a clear and present danger. We need to find it in ourselves to rise to this challenge—soon.
In my own riding in British Columbia, the Harper government calls opponents of the Northern Gateway pipeline “radicals” and “enemies of the state”.
We’re not. We’re part of Canada’s progressive majority and, like you, we deserve a progressive government.
Our challenge as a party is how we rise to this threat.
I believe that a new breed of conservative requires new progressive thinking, which embraces the precious gift of Quebec’s new openness to progressive federalism.
I am a proud New Democrat. I’ve served in Parliament longer than any other candidate.
I am proud, too, of our party’s history of working with others. We did so not because we were bad New Democrats, but because we had an opportunity to get something done.
Jack Layton put getting something done first in 2005 when he wrote a better budget. Before him, Tommy Douglas and David Lewis worked co-operatively to deliver universal health care, public pensions and affordable housing.
These Canadian values are under attack.
They are also shared by people who have voted for other parties. For this reason, I’ve proposed that in Conservative-held seats, we let ridings hold run-off nominations …so the NDP, Liberals and Greens can face-off and decide which party runs against the Conservative.
Some people call this defeatist.
I say replacing Mr. Harper with NDP Cabinet ministers is the best thing we can do for our country, and our party.
Our response to Mr. Harper cannot be politics as usual. We’re New Democrats because we don’t want politics as usual.
I hear the concerns of people who have doubts.
We are all proud of our historic breakthrough. May 2 opened up an incredible opportunity for all of us—and a responsibility to use it well.
We are now the Official Opposition. We are no longer in third or fourth place. The tactical fights of yesterday are not the strategic fights of tomorrow.
Today’s third-place party, with one third of our seats, should not be our focus. Defeating Stephen Harper should.
Because there is a progressive majority in Canada that deserves better, and which wants us to rise to the challenge and make change happen.
If you want to help replace Mr. Harper’s majority with a progressive majority government, led by a New Democrat Prime Minister, I need your help.
Cher néo-démocrate,
Nous avons tous adhéré à ce parti car nous voulions que plus se fasse. Peu importe l'enjeu qui nous motive, nous nous sommes joints au NPD pour changer quelque chose.
C'est pour cette raison que je me suis présenté comme député, puis comme candidat à la chefferie. C'est aussi pour ça que je suis réellement pour une politique différente : faire ce qu'il faut pour remplacer la majorité de Stephen Harper par une majorité progressiste.
À la dernière élection, nous avons demandé aux Québécois de travailler avec nous pour pouvoir faire davantage. Les Québécois ont répondu positivement à l'appel et ça a mené à une percée historique.
Maintenant, je demande à tous les néo-démocrates d'être aussi ouverts à la coopération. Dans chaque province et territoire, le gouvernement conservateur est une menace aux choses qui nous sont chères.
Tous les candidats à la chefferie s'entendent à ce sujet.
Toutefois, je suis le seul à suggérer une plus grande ouverture à la coopération avec les autres partis, cela dans les circonscriptions conservatrices. Cette proposition est controversée. Je voudrais vous expliquer pourquoi je crois qu'elle est bonne.
Après huit mois de majorité conservatrice, il est clair que nous ne pouvons nous permettre huit ans. Cette majorité est un danger, clair et présent. Nous devons trouver la force de faire face à cette menace — rapidement.
Dans ma circonscription en Colombie-Britannique, le gouvernement traite les opposants au projet de pipeline Northern Gateway de « radicaux » et « d'ennemis de l'État ».
Pourtant, nous ne le sommes pas. Nous faisons partie de la majorité progressiste canadienne et, comme vous, nous méritons un gouvernement qui nous représente.
Notre défi en tant que parti est de trouver comment faire face à ce péril.
Je crois qu'une nouvelle génération de conservatisme nécessite une nouvelle pensée progressiste, qui tient compte du précieux cadeau qu'est la nouvelle ouverture québécoise au fédéralisme progressiste.
Je suis un fier néo-démocrate. Je siège au Parlement depuis plus longtemps que tous les autres candidats.
Aussi, je suis fier de l'habitude qu'a notre parti de travailler avec les autres. Nous l'avons fait, pas parce que nous étions de mauvais néo-démocrates, mais bien parce que nous avions l'opportunité de faire avancer les choses.
Jack Layton avait mis cette volonté à l'avant-plan en 2005 quand il a établi un meilleur budget. Avant lui, Tommy Douglas et David Lewis avaient travaillé en coopération pour livrer le régime universel d'assurance-maladie, le système public de pensions et des logements abordables.
Maintenant, ces valeurs canadiennes sont attaquées.
Elles sont aussi partagées par des gens qui ont voté pour d'autres partis. Pour cette raison, j'ai proposé que dans les circonscriptions conservatrices, nous laissions les comtés organiser des primaires. Ainsi, le NPD, les libéraux et les verts peuvent s'affronter et décider quel parti se présentera contre les conservateurs.
Certains voient ça comme du défaitisme.
Je crois que remplacer l’équipe de M. Harper par des ministres du NPD est la meilleure chose que nous pouvons faire pour notre pays, et notre parti.
Notre réponse à M. Harper ne peut être de la politique « comme d'habitude ». Nous sommes des néo-démocrates car nous ne voulons pas de politique « comme d'habitude ».
J'entends les préoccupations des gens qui doutent.
Nous sommes tous fiers de notre percée historique. Le 2 mai, on nous a offert une opportunité incroyable, mais aussi la responsabilité de bien l'utiliser.
Nous formons maintenant l'opposition officielle. Nous ne sommes plus en troisième ou quatrième place. Les combats tactiques d'hier ne sont pas les combats stratégiques de demain.
Le parti qui est en troisième place aujourd'hui, avec le tiers de nos sièges, ne devrait pas attirer notre attention. Démettre Stephen Harper devrait le faire.
Il y a une majorité progressiste au Canada qui mérite mieux et qui souhaite nous voir affronter le défi et changer les choses.
A new joint operation - called Operation Vortex - has gotten underway today (Wednesday 19 January 2022) in Oldham to crack down on vehicle crime and traffic offences in the district.
The Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit, along with officers from GMP's Safer Transport Team and officers across the Oldham District, worked along the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency at a static base in Chadderton, stopping a number of vehicles either committing traffic offences, or vehicle crime.
Two men arrested, one on suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs, and one for driving while disqualified and remain in custody for questioning, ten vehicles have been seized for being driven with no insurance, and one stolen vehicle has been recovered.
In addition, officers also reported 35 traffic offences for a range of driving offences.
Chief Superintendent Mark Dexter from GMP's Specialist Operations said: "This will become a regular operation across Greater Manchester, where we will strive to make our communities and roads safer, tackling illegal vehicles which we know that are all too often used in crime and cause harm and misery on the roads.
"I hope this sends a strong message to anyone thinking of breaking the law on our roads, that we are watching, and we won't hesitate to take action to remove you and your vehicle from the road."
You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.
Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
You can access many of our services online at www.gmp.police.uk
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontaneous, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
Here's a couple of pieces that probably had some people, more specifically my wife, questioning my sanity. In my defense, it was cheap and I was in Winnipeg, so I needed a little something extra to keep me powering through the week.
Nendoroid Anna and Elsa from Frozen.
Now, I'm not as big of a Disney Nerd, as it were, as I used to be. I've always enjoyed their designs (though IMHO Aladdin beats them all), and I did enjoy the once or twice I saw Frozen. The story was cute, and the designs were quite nice. Didn't quite get into Carpool Karaoke mode that many others did when the song came on the radio, and with my children being quite young, I didn't have to endure tone dea.... I mean.. charming, renditions of the songs by my daughters.
Whist in Winnipeg, a local seller had these up for $25 a pop, albeit with slight damage to the Olaf that came with Anna. Figured it was a good opportunity to get them both at once, so one rainy morning before work I met up with the seller and got the deal one.
On a side note, the Medicom Anna and Elsa are OUTSTANDING, and I would love to get my hands on those without having to pay black market organ prices.
If you haven't watched Frozen.. somehow.. then you're probably still somewhat familiar with the characters. Anna is the plucky younger sister of the Royal family, while Elsa is quite literally an Ice Queen, and lives a life like Bruce Wayne from Act One of The Dark Knight Rises.
As I've probably said before, the Nendoroid "style" lends itself to certain characters. At worst, you get a chibi version of a normal proportioned character, like with those Cosbaby release that Hot Toys puts out, but sometimes that Nendoroid magic just makes this release of the character that much more magical.
In this case, it leans more towards the magical side, though not as magically delicious as, say Kirby. The simplifed art style and cute proportions do make animated characters like Anna and Elsa somewhat more appealing that normal, but I feel that, especially in the case of Elsa, there significant loss of detailing on the outfits is to the detriment of the overall character itself.
Again, your standard Nendoroid rules regarding articulation, QC, included accessory types and so on apply here. Of the two, I'd have to give the slight advantage to Elsa with her raised eyebrow expression and much cooler ice based accessories.
Olaf.. well, he's kind of there. Nice addition, but ultimately doesn't really add a whole lot to the set IMHO because if you bought one, you probably bought both to display together.
GSC included a set of arms that allows you to link the two figures together in that pose I keep picturing Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in.
This also brings me to the weakest part of the set, as it were.. that horrible snowflake base that Elsa comes with. It's honestly like a take out container lid with a snowflake moulded in.
Obviously while not an essential part of the Nendoroid experience (I don't think I actually own any of those, to be honest), a good solid set of figures that you shouldn't hesitate on if you find them for a good price.
Martinez, CA
Resolution No. 2014/185
In the matter of:
Declaring June 2014, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQQ) Pride Month in ContraCosta County
Whereas, the month of June was chosen for LGBTQQ Pride Month to commemorate a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay and lesbian community against unjust police raids that took place in New York City at the end of June 1969, known as the Stonewall Riots; and
Whereas, the Rainbow Flag, also known as “the freedom flag,” was created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, a Bay Area artist, to symbolize the diversity, solidarity, healing, harmony, inclusion, and struggle of the LGBTQQ
community; and
Whereas, the flying of the Rainbow Flag is encouraged to show support of the LGBTQQ Community; and
Whereas, more same-sex families are identifying themselves to the US Census now than ever before, placing Contra Costa County 15th in the state’s 58 counties with the most same-sex couples per capita,
according to the 2010 Census; and
Whereas, committed LGBTQQ couples do not have the same rights and benefits that their straight, married friends and allies are legally guaranteed; and
Whereas, Contra Costa County Health Services started the Pride Initiative in 2009 to create greater inclusion and sensitivity to LGBTQQ patients, clients, and staff; and
Whereas, research shows youth who are perceived to be LGBTQQ are at greater risk of being targeted, harassed, and bullied in school, and experience risk of suicide at a rate that is 2 to 3 time higher than their
straight peers; and
Whereas, in the late 1980's, when AIDS was almost exclusively a disease of gay men, Contra Costa passed an AIDS Anti -Discrimination Ordinance banning discrimination in the workplace and housing for people
with AIDS. Introduced as a public health measure to encourage high-risk individuals to get tested, the ordinance carried the underlying message of broader tolerance; and
Whereas, Contra Costa County has played an important role in the LGBTQQ community’s struggle for fair and equal rights including the 1978 Milk-Briggs (Harvey Milk and John Briggs) debate on Proposition 6 at Walnut Creek’s Northgate High School, which, if passed, would have made it mandatory for California school districts to fire gay teachers and any employees who supported gay rights; and
Whereas, transgender and gender nonconforming youth now have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in schools across the state, with support from California Assembly Bill 1266; and
Whereas, in Contra Costa County, LGBTQQ community residents, employees, businesses, and organizations have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions and add to the rich diversity
of this County; and
Whereas, Contra Costa County’s LGBTQQ service partners include the Rainbow Community Center, RYSE Center, Center for Human Development, Gender Spectrum, El Cerrito High School James Morehouse Project, Danville / San Ramon Valley Chapter of PFLAG Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Gay-Straight Alliances, and
Whereas, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors supports and promotes inclusion, non-discrimination, and equality among all County residents;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County declares the month of June 2014 as LGBTQQ Pride Month and encourages a safe and accepting environment for all members of the community.
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontaneous, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
Info from their website:
"The QUILTBAG is a 2SLGBTQ+ retail shop carrying queer & trans wares in Edmonton, Alberta and online. Queer & Metis owned.
"QUILTBAG" is a fun-to-say variation of the LGBTQ2S+ acronym. It stands for queer, questioning, unlabelled, intersex, lesbian, trans, two-spirit, bisexual, asexual, gay, genderqueer, and more.
The shop carries an always changing assortment of custom and curated accessories like pins, pronoun buttons, patches, stickers; art by local artists; homeware; gifts; and trans gear including chest binders and compression underwear."
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontaneous, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
We drive at 160kmph.
The street is empty.
“I got an idea… stop here,” she screams, overpowering Passionpit’s high-pitched vocalist.
I park the car, looking at her questioningly.
“Let’s feed homeless people”
HUH?
“See that store?”
YUP… very Hopper-esque, I must say.
“Wanna play Robin Hood tonight?”
I laugh so hard, my stomach hurt.
“Hey, I’m serious. I dare you 10 minutes to wrap it up. If you win you pick the next game”
I laugh again, suddenly I stop. “Make it 5.” It’s not me answering her, it’s my competitive self.
“Or… how about..” she smiles cheekily, “By the time this song finished… you’re back here.”
Ok, here we go again…
“DEAL… But play it from the beginning.”
We shake hand, I open the door.
My heart is pounding so hard, adrenaline rush kicks in.
“NO CHEATING,” I said.
“WAIT,” she grabs something from her bag, throwing it at me.
A rabbit mask and a brown bag
“You’ve been planning this huh? NOT HAPPY!”
“Tick tock tick tock,” she mocks, pushing the play button.
I wink at her, put on the mask, walk fast…
The door open. Bright lights inside.
TING TUNG.
“Welcome to 7eleven, how may I help you?”
Quick survey.
Girl behind the counter, three drunk teens at the corner, skinny guy near hotdog machine, and the same song but in original version.
My lucky day.
I push a bottle of hand sanitizer inside my jacket and pointing it forward.
“Calm down… This is a robbery!” I must win this game, please please be a good girl.
I throw the brown bag at her, she opens the cash register, fills it with money, forget the detail, everything in fast forward, pauses when she throws back the brown bag.
I said, “Thank you” and smile.
Heart pounding.
“Tonight.. Tonight…” echoes in my head. This is it, this is it…
The car rushes to get me, and the next moment I’m inside.
She’s laughing so hard.
It’s 3.13AM
This rabbit mask smells like hell.
”By the way… You LOSE”
Missing Link is making a video of all of the tattoos created during their 'Missing Ink' week.
(They brought out a top tattoo artist from Cape Town, and invited their staff, clients, and friends to come and have tatts done.)
They asked for a coupla shots of the finished, healed tatt for use in the vid.
So I asked Jennifer to take a few shots this morning after I emerged from the bath.
She used my Nokia E71 loan phone, the one Virgin Mobile have lent me as a courtesy until the N96 comes out here in SA.
She took a whole bunch of them, but I've selected two to pop onto Flickr.
Some fool was questioning me when I said it was a 6-speed. Just because nearly all Mercs in the US are useless automatics doesn't mean all Mercs around the world are.
amazing, altruistic, bombastic, brave, curious, calculating, conniving, creative, celebration, determined, energetic,enthusiastic, expressive, endearing, fashion conscious, fun-loving, futuristic, gesticulating, hardworking, happy, honest, harrowing, Innocent, innovative, inventive, inquisitive, jovial, Karishmatic, laughing, linguists, musical, nature lovers, naughty, nimble-footed, omnipresent, outgoing, quiet, quick, questioning, risk taking, social, spirited, spontaneous, tireless, tantrum, ubiquitous, vibrant, vulnerable, vivacious, wonderment, ......
They make the world a wonderful and worthwhile place to live in. We are responsible to leave a better place for the generations to come...
I spotted her while driving home yesterday morning (Bolingbrook at 127th a few blocks west of Weber Rd). I was able to get photos of the bands on both legs. I forwarded the photos to Stephanie Ware and Mary Hennen at the Chicago Field Museum. They are part of the Midwest Peregrine group. They were able to determine that she is Neomi Jo, born in Kentucky in 2006. She was seen at Fermilab (Batavia 45 miles west of Chicago) in 2007. They were going to do some more research but so far this is all the info available.
I drove quite a ways off the road and up to a cornfield to shoot the above photo through my sunroof. But I wanted to get the other leg. So I walked around to the other side but the feathers were covering the bands. I focused my camera on the leg for about five minutes hoping for her to move. And then she did and I got a shot. When I looked back at my car I saw a fire engine and two firemen looking into my car. They said they had a report of an accident with someone slumped over the steering wheel. I told them that I was taking photos of the falcon that just flew off. After some more questioning about if it was my car and if I was alone, etc. I finally realized that they had to make sure I wasn't dumping a body or something. Anyway, they were professional and polite and it didn't go any further. But these encounters with public officials are becoming more frequent. I wonder if the rest of you have similar encounters when you go to some extreme to get the shot.
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An iconoclast who tried to transform the industry. How will history judge him?
February 19, 2018 @ 12:01 am
Larry P. Vellequette
"We hadn't seen anything like you. You took $2 billion, roughly, and you've turned it into around $72 billion, and more important than that, there are many hundreds of thousands of families across many nations that are better off because of you and your team."
Adam Jonas, Morgan Stanley, to Sergio Marchionne during an FCA call with analysts in January
Brilliant, arrogant, temperamental, mercurial, opportunistic, talented, captivating, infuriating, stubborn — all apply to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne.
But one thing about Marchionne, a former tax accountant and philosophy student, stands out after nearly 15 years running the Fiat holding company and now FCA: The guy knows how to make money.
Few people in automotive history have as impressive a legacy of wealth creation as the 65-year-old Marchionne: Henry Ford, Billy Durant, Karl Benz and Kiichiro Toyoda among them. But those titans were like the industry's farmers — cultivating businesses from scratch and nurturing them into today's automaking giants.
Marchionne, in contrast, has been the fireman — running into the ruins of once-great companies, putting out the flames and rebuilding something better than before.
History will determine which was harder, a judgment that will begin in about a year, when Marchionne hands over the keys to his as-yet-unnamed successor.
Like Lee Iaccoca and men whose names are still inscribed on today's vehicles, Marchionne will leave an outsized void when he retires next year.
Yet it wasn't very long ago that few in the U.S. auto industry even knew of Marchionne.
Sergio Marchionne in 2004, the year he became CEO of Fiat
"In 2004, when you were first introduced to the auto industry, a lot of people were thinking, 'Who the hell is this guy?' Right? I was one of them, frankly," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told Marchionne during FCA's Jan. 25 quarterly call with analysts. "We hadn't seen anything like you. You took $2 billion, roughly, and you've turned it into around $72 billion, and more important than that, there are many hundreds of thousands of families across many nations that are better off because of you and your team."
In May 2014, as Marchionne launched a five-year business plan for the combined Fiat and Chrysler, Automotive News graded his first five years atop the formerly bankrupt Chrysler. Marchionne received a composite grade of B+, and he objected, albeit tongue-in-cheek, that the grade was too low during a press conference after the daylong rollout of the 2014-18 business plan.
FCA plans to reveal its 2018-22 business plan June 1 in Balocco, Italy, outside Fiat's historic home in Turin. The site and date have a nostalgic double meaning: Marchionne became CEO of Fiat on June 1, 2004, and Balocco was where he laid out his first five-year business plan for the company. Marchionne said last month that the 2018-22 plan would be carried out by his successor, whose identity would be revealed by the FCA board sometime after the presentation.
So how best to judge the 65-year-old Marchionne's nearly 15 years as CEO of Fiat? Is it by the wealth he's created for shareholders, as Jonas did? Or by the results Marchionne continues to produce from what has grown into FCA, Ferrari and CNH Industrial, whose combined value Bloomberg estimated at about $80 billion?
Either way, the numbers don't properly tell the why and the how of an iconoclast who may not have fundamentally transformed the auto industry as he wanted to, but at least saved a good piece of it. Marchionne declined a request for an interview for this article, so perhaps the best way to judge is to look closely at what he got right and what he got wrong, with the help of his own words.
After all, as Marchionne told graduates of the University of Toledo in May 2011: "People who see only themselves are destined to remain trapped alone within the fragile two-dimensional image of a looking glass. What a person has done during his life should not be measured by what he has achieved for himself, but rather by what he has left behind for others."
Let's start with Marchionne's bargain of the century: acquiring control of bankrupt Chrysler in 2009 for pennies on the dollar. Nearly a decade on, it's easy to forget that Marchionne agreed to take over Chrysler after virtually everyone else said no, largely because he recognized the global potential of Jeep. Jeep and Ram were the "crown jewels" of Chrysler, Marchionne said, and they needed to be shared with the rest of the world. Under different financial circumstances, that might have happened quicker. But because of Fiat and Chrysler's hobbled finances, it required time.
"What I found was ... a company that had been run by a foreign entity for a long period of time, that had taken all of its wares on the way out. In 2006-2007, it had been flipped over to financially competent — but industrially incompetent — private equity investors who had run it for a period of time and then run into a brick wall in a crisis. What we ended up looking at [when Fiat arrived] was empty cupboards in terms of technology and product. And so we started from scratch." — Marchionne at Brookings Institution, May 2014
Within months of taking control of Chrysler, Marchionne met with its dealers in Las Vegas. There, he made the first of what he called "a promise for a promise" — namely, that the automaker would commit to invest in and improve its products if dealers would agree to invest in their stores and improve their business practices with the public. Marchionne has since renewed this promise and did invest in FCA's lineup, especially early on. But the pace of product renewal has steadily slowed. The Dodge Journey, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, among other vehicles, still ride on platforms from the DaimlerChrysler era. Promised luxury SUVs, the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, have been delayed. The Dodge Grand Caravan, long scheduled to die, was re-engineered and placed back into extended sales service in 2017 because no affordable substitute had been developed to protect the value of the Chrysler Pacifica.
"The problem with us is that we like hanging onto old cars, like the Journey, you know, a successful car. Investing in the next architecture of the Journey is costly — coming up with another car that sells today." — unpublished portion of Marchionne interview with Automotive News, August 2015
Marchionne at the New York Stock Exchange after FCA's trading debut on Wall Street in October 2014. He has found a winning formula in stripping off undervalued assets and monetizing them for shareholders.
If you held shares of what was then a distressed Fiat holding company on June 1, 2004, and held onto them, your returns would have lapped the broader market several times. Marchionne found a winning formula in stripping off undervalued assets from the Italian industrial conglomerate and monetizing them for shareholders, doing so with what is now CNH Industrial ($20.25 billion) and Ferrari ($22.34 billion). Shareholders enjoyed the fruits of those actions, as they are likely to if the FCA board, as expected this month, spins off parts maker Magneti Marelli.
"One of the things that came along with being poor, which is the way we started life back in 2004 and again in 2009, is one of the things that you learn is how to do with less. And that's something that ... I have not forgotten, and I think there is nobody on the leadership team that has forgotten what it felt like at the time." — Marchionne on a quarterly conference call with analysts, January
In any cyclical industry such as automotive, the best-run companies take advantage of the good times to weather the bad. FCA hasn't reported a quarterly loss since the third quarter of 2015, but it remains the only major automaker with more debt than cash on hand. The red on FCA's balance sheet was an immediate turnoff to General Motors executives, who rebuffed Marchionne's overtures in 2015 for a potential blockbuster merger with a curt and dismissive response: "Why should we bail out FCA?" Since then, FCA has made strides in paying down its debt. The approximately $3 billion in remaining net debt reported at the end of 2017 was roughly a third of the total in mid-2015, before the spinoff of Ferrari. Marchionne said paying down debt was a priority and pledged to have the net debt wiped out by June 1.
"We're now looking like we're joining the rest of the automotive ranks. We were the only leveraged automaker in the world. We're no longer leveraged. We're now fighting with equal arms." — Marchionne, January
Marchionne gets an emotional hug from a UAW local president in Tipton, Ind., during a 2014 plant dedication.
In 2009, Marchionne inherited a mess. Daimler and later Cerberus Capital had largely failed to invest in necessary product improvements or modernize the company's industrial footprint. Morale among employees who had survived constant cost-cutting, including several rounds of layoffs, and then the bankruptcy could not have been lower. Marchionne offered the automaker's disheartened employees a path back to potential health — one that demanded long hours, hard work, humility and sacrifice. The employees accepted the challenge. They set to work fixing many of the things that had gone so wrong with Chrysler and its products — improving quality, overhauling 16 vehicles in 19 months, banning rat-gray interiors and fixing manufacturing plants. Their level of commitment and dedication to restore the company to some semblance of health continually surprised Marchionne.
"That spot [the 'Born of Fire' 2011 Super Bowl commercial] is homage to the culture of action and to our industrial roots. It speaks about hard work and results achieved through resilience and tireless efforts, about people that are not resigned to their destiny but redesign the future for themselves, day after day. It is not simply a commercial. It is the embodiment of our spirit. It portrays our company and its aspirations. It shows our passion for cars and our desire to create the best. It embodies the values upon which the American dream was built. In the end, it expresses the vision that we are making come to pass." — Marchionne when the company repaid the Chrysler government loans, May 2011
After nursing the company back to health, Marchionne saw an opportunity to return Fiat to the U.S. But rather than adding the Italian brand to Chrysler showrooms, where the additional models would have broadened the automaker's lineup at minimal expense, Marchionne sold dealers on the need to keep Fiat separate. He mandated separate European-style "studios," some of which cost dealers up to $3 million, that added overhead and botched the minicar's reintroduction to the United States.
"It was a poorly executed plan. I take full blame. I was the biggest sinner because I said [Fiat's] too small and it will just get squashed by the elephant. Everything got carved out — special treatment, special yers, special advertising agency, special this, special that, special birthday cake — and at the end of the day, it didn't need to be special." — Marchionne, January 2012
Dropping production of the Chrysler 200 helped free up capital and plant capacity that allowed FCA to expand its highly profitable Jeep and Ram lineups.
One adjective that clearly doesn't describe Marchionne is "tentative." Two years ago, industry analysts thought he was crazy to abandon the compact and midsize car segments in the U.S. to go all-in on SUV and pickup production. The risky move put FCA's lineup in a better position for where consumer tastes were heading, but it also arguably left the automaker vulnerable to another spike in fuel prices, as happened in 2008. Marchionne brushed aside the concern that history might repeat itself at the pump, reasoning that fracking had fundamentally stabilized the global oil markets for the foreseeable future. Jettisoning the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 freed up working capital and manufacturing capacity that allowed expansion of the highly profitable Jeep and Ram lineups, which are projected to drive record financial returns for FCA this year.
"There has been, in our view, a permanent shift towards [utility vehicles] and pickup trucks, and we have seen, certainly in terms of our ability to meet market demand, some severe restriction in terms of the dexterity of our manufacturing system to accomplish that end. And so, one of the things that we have decided to do is to effectively defocus from a manufacturing standpoint in the U.S. [on] the passenger car market." — Marchionne, January 2016
In 2011, Volkswagen Group scion Ferdinand Piech wanted Alfa Romeo in the worst way. At the time, the Fiat holding company had made years of promises about restoring the Italian brand to its former glory but hadn't spent much on the project and had little to show as a result.
Piech and Volkswagen would have paid top dollar for Alfa Romeo. Instead, Marchionne publicly feuded with Piech and then-VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, even offering an extra $1,000 discount for VW owners who switched to an FCA vehicle. Marchionne refused to sell, choosing instead to sink $6 billion in cash from his highly leveraged automaker into a wildly optimistic resurrection plan in 2014. When the resulting vehicles finally launched, they were late and had quality problems. Alfa Romeo has yet to turn a profit.
"As long as I am CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, Mr. Piech will never have Alfa Romeo." — Marchionne, February 2011
Marchionne has no shortage of people who will disagree with him, but most colleagues, competitors and acquaintances respect his intellect. He is unapologetically emotional — as in 2014, when he choked up reading aloud from a scholarship application from the daughter of an FCA line worker in Detroit. He is also unabashed about questioning the foundations of the auto industry and capitalism itself. His 2015 analysis of the auto industry's wasteful spending habits, "Confessions of a Capital Junkie," was roundly applauded by analysts for its thoroughness and drew quiet praise from competitors, even if they didn't act on it.
Marchionne also has been warning for years that growing income disparity is a threat to capitalism that must be addressed, even as he takes home millions in pay and bonuses each year.
"We all need to understand that there can never be rational markets, growth and economic well-being if a large part of our society has nothing to bargain with other than their own lives. ... Sometimes I wonder whether we have stiffened our mental models even in the face of clear market threats because we feel comfortable in our relative well-being and uncomfortable in dealing close up with the have-nots." — Marchionne to investors, May 2014
Marchionne greets then-President Barack Obama in 2011 at FCA?s plant in Toledo, Ohio.
Marchionne is famous for speaking his mind, sometimes to his detriment.
There was the time, in 2011, when he complained about the government charging FCA on its bailout loans, before apologizing the next day. He called the former Jeep Commander "unfit for human consumption" while some of them remained on dealers' lots.
When the EPA, in the waning days of the Obama administration, alleged that FCA had undeclared emissions software on its EcoDiesel Ram 1500s and Jeep Grand Cherokees, Marchionne angrily protested, His vociferous denials likely factored into delayed certification of the 2017 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and difficulty winning approval for other vehicles with that engine.
There was also an incident at the 2012 Paris auto show, in which Marchionne appeared to challenge VW's Winterkorn to a fight. The two men never came to blows, at least in public.
"If Volkswagen, through its chief executive, thinks that it needs to do something, tell them to show up tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock at our stand." — Marchionne, September 2012
Marchionne embraces UAW President Dennis Williams before 2015 contract negotiations between FCA and the union.
American Motors, Renault and Chrysler talked about it. Daimler Chrysler was supposed to try, but it botched the attempt and bagged the effort. And Cerberus? It was too busy selling art off the walls to make payroll.
But Fiat and Marchionne have accomplished what those other companies could not: taking Jeep global. Not only have the SUV brand's sales more than doubled under Fiat, but Jeeps are now built and sold in South America, Europe and Asia, unlocking the potential value of one of the world's most recognized automotive brands.
"[Jeep], to me, is the biggest insurance policy I have, because that brand, that was the best part of Chrysler by a long, long stretch. ... I think we had a lot of safety in saying we can afford to screw up elsewhere because Jeep will just carry the load." — unpublished portion of Marchionne interview, August 2015
In 2015, Marchionne talked as if a tie-up with GM, Volkswagen or some other company was unavoidable. But when nobody else went along with the idea, he was forced to fix up his own house, recasting his lineup into SUVs and pickups in a bid to improve the balance sheet, and the grandiose talk of inevitable mergers faded away.
"The numbers here are so large that the logic of the deal is irrefutable. If I stand up and I tell you ... that you can make X billion more by being together, I guarantee you that I can carry half the market if I say it." — unpublished portion of Marchionne interview, August 2015