Activism Reproductive Rights
Feminists Fought Back Against Anti-Abortion Extremists in Alabama Last Week
Last week, the anti-abortion extremist group Operation Save America (OSA) organized its annual national event of increased harassment and protesting outside targeted clinics in Alabama. The Feminist Majority Foundation’s Clinic Defense Team spent several weeks on the ground in Alabama before and during the protests, providing assistance to clinics throughout the state.
Feminist Campus and Lizz Winstead of Lady Parts Justice! @lpjleague This clinic stays open!
A photo posted by Feminist Campus (@feministcampus) on Jul 16, 2015 at 8:41am PDT
For years, OSA has used the summer to travel around the nation and protest abortion, often targeting vulnerable clinics in states where abortion providers are already under siege. This week, anti-abortion extremists targeted Montgomery, Alabama’s Reproductive Health Services, the only clinic left in the state’s capital. OSA historically attracts many out-of-state anti-choice extremists to their demonstrations, but this was the first year OSA invited an advocate of “justifiable homicide” to be a featured speaker during the week of intimidation and harassment.
Matthew Trewhella , the leader of Missionaries to the Preborn, was spoke to an evening OSA rally; Trewhella is a signatory of the Defensive Action petition in support of the use of lethal force to stop abortion. In addition, John Brockhoeft, an Ohio-based advocate of justifiable homicide and convicted felon who served time for arson attacks on clinics in Ohio and conspiring to bomb a clinic in Pensacola, FL, participated in the OSA protests.
“In spite of severe intimidation and harassment by OSA, all of the abortion clinics in Alabama, from Huntsville to Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery, remained open and all patients were seen,” said duVergne Gaines, director of FMF’s Clinic Defense Team. “We were pleased to work with courageous clinic staff, hundreds of pro-choice supporters and dedicated law enforcement throughout the state to keep these clinics safe and open to serve the women of Alabama. What’s more, OSA’s numbers were down this year as compared to last year when they targeted Louisiana, and it appears they are more desperate than ever.”
Along with the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Clinic Defense Team, feminists and activists from across the Southern states have come together throughout the week to protect clinics in Alabama. Organizations like Alabama Reproductive Rights Advocates, The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance of the University of Montevallo, and the Feminist Caucus of the University of Alabama showed up in support of Reproductive Health Services and other clinics. Through the FMF Choices Campus Leadership Program’s Adopt-a-Clinic campaign, local college students have mobilized to help protect Alabama clinics.
“The students have been instrumental in training, reaching out to community members to build a network, and organizing their campuses,” said Edwith Theogene, National Campus Organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation. “We’re proud of the student turn-out and the dedication these students are showing to keeping their clinics open and safe.”
Besides protesting outside of abortion clinics, OSA disrupted progressive religious events or services to oppose both abortion and LGBT rights during its annual national siege. The protest left many residents of Alabama feeling uneasy and unsafe.
“Everybody is on high alert [during this time],” said Mia Raven, legislative director of the Alabama Reproductive Rights Advocates. “Everybody in the state of Alabama and everybody in surrounding states is on high alert.”
Such high alert is often necessary during extremist protests such as OSA. The Feminist Majority Foundation’s 2014 National Clinic Violence Survey shows that since 2010, the distribution of Old West-style WANTED posters and pamphlets targeting doctors and clinic staff, and featuring doctors’ and staffs’ photographs, home addresses, and other personal information, has almost doubled from 27% to 52%. Historically, these kinds of threats to abortion doctors, staff, and clinics have often preceded serious crimes such as violence, arson, bombings, stalking of clinic staff, patients, and doctors, and murder.
“Given this history, the dramatic increase in extremist threats cannot be ignored,” said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “Clinics like those targeted in Alabama, are a vital part of women’s healthcare, providing birth control, STD and cancer screenings, and other reproductive health services in addition to abortion. Without these clinics, there is no choice.”
Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation NCAP 2014 Survey
abortion Alabama news


School Testing and the Rising Rate of ADHD
Posted by Peter on March 19th, 2014 | No Comments
A new book finds a startling connection
Read the Interview: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/could-school-testing-be-driving-adhd-n55661
Is the increased demand for performance behind the increased diagnoses of ADHD? Two University of California professors have released a book this month titled, “The ADHD Explosion.” They call it a “reality check” for parents, providers, educators and politicians.
The Berkeley professors, Dr. Stephen Hinshaw and Dr. Richard Scheffler, are noted researchers on ADHD. Their research tells them that federal policy issues may be behind the recent explosion in cases of ADHD.
“When you look at that [national testing policy], you get the
closest thing there is to a smoking gun,” says Dr.Scheffler.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, found that rates of ADHD in California have jumped by 24% since 2001. Additionally, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports increases from 7.8 percent in 2003 to
9.5 percent in 2007 and to 11 percent in 2011— a rate of 5 percent a year.
It looks for all the world like a growing epidemic. But ADHD wasn’t even something people noticed until recently,” says Hinshaw.
“It started about the same time in history that we made kids go to school,” Hinshaw told NBC News in an interview.
Then come the 1990s, and a crisis of falling test scores. “What happened is that a number of states began to pass accountability laws,” Hinshaw said.
Hinshaw and Scheffler examined the correlation between diagnoses of ADHD and maps of states that had passed accountability laws.
According to NBC News, by the turn of the century, 30 states had passed accountability laws. They tended to be Republican-leaning states in the South, such as North Carolina. In 2007, 15.6 percent of all children in North Carolina had been diagnosed with ADHD at some point, including nearly one in three teenage boys.
Two things happening together don’t prove a correlation. Is it coincidence? Hinshaw and Scheffler were persuaded to look further.
AN NBC News article reports that the professors then examined date related to the No Child Left Behind federal policy enacted in 2002. It was one of the first official acts of President George W. Bush after he took office.NCLB required standardized testing to show if schools were, in fact, educating students. A truly salient aspect of NCLB was that it held teachers and principals directly responsible for the results and removed federal and state bureaucrats who mandate curriculum and educational policy.
According to the NBC News article:
“Now what happens is a natural experiment,” says Hinshaw. The other states raced to write accountability laws, requiring schools to show they are actually educating children.
“When you incentivize test scores above all else, there is probably pressure to get kids diagnosed with ADHD.”
Hinshaw and Scheffler compared ADHD rates in the 30 states that had been requiring testing with the 20 states that had to play catchup.
Rates of ADHD diagnoses soared.
“Children ages 8 to 13, living in low-income homes and in states without previous consequential accountability laws, went from a 10 percent to a 15.3 percent rate of ADHD diagnoses once No Child Left Behind started,” they wrote. That’s a 53 percent increase over four years.
California’s current rate, post-testing? It’s 7.3 percent. North
Carolina’s rate actually fell slightly, to 14.4 percent in 2011.
“When you incentivize test scores above all else, there is probably pressure to get kids diagnosed with ADHD,” Hinshaw said. “We know from our own research that medication not only makes you less fidgety but also can bump up your test scores.”
That would be the benign interpretation, that testing has
encouraged parents to get their kids in to see specialists for
much-needed medical care. But there’s also a more sinister
possibility and one that Hinshaw and Scheffler say is at work in
some states.
“If you can identify the children with ADHD, you can take them out of the pool that measures how schools are doing,” says Scheffler.
He says some districts — he won’t say where — do seem to have been doing so. State school officials and the federal Department of Education did not respond when contacted by NBC News.
No Child Left Behind ties federal funding to test scores, Scheffler points out.“You can see the incentive for schools to get kids diagnosed with ADHD,” he says.
Either way, Scheffler and Hinshaw say the increase in ADHD cases is real, and it’s not just affecting kids. Recent studies show adult diagnoses are on the rise, too.
“Although often ridiculed, ADHD represents a genuine medical
condition that robs people of major life chances,” they write in the book.
“You can see the incentive for schools to get kids diagnosed with ADHD.”
Scheffler doesn’t see the increase in adult ADHD diagnoses as
surprising. “This has nothing to do with the schools. This has to do with global competition and performance,” he says. People are under pressure to perform better at work.
And news about adult ADHD in turn sends more people to their doctors, and diagnoses spike even more, Hinshaw adds. “Here are we are in 2014 with evidence that medications can benefit. Adult ADHD clinics spring up,” he says.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” says Hinshaw.
What is bad is if ADHD is not being diagnosed with the proper care, Hinshaw says. A 10-minute pediatrician visit is not adequate for an ADHD diagnosis and certainly not as the basis for writing a prescription for a powerful stimulant, such as Ritalin or Adderall, to treat it.
“Many pediatricians are not trained in the emotional disorders of childhood, or not reimbursed for the time it takes,” Hinshaw said.
“It is easy to pull out prescription pad at the end of a visit.”
He calls the book a “reality check” and says parents, providers, educators and politicians should take note, and make sure the right kids are being diagnosed, and helped, properly.
The Global Market For ADHD Medications
Posted by Peter on April 22nd, 2007 | Comments off
The University of California, Berkeley reports that ADHD has more than tripled worldwide since 1993. Researchers at UC, Berkeley found that the United States, Canada, and Australia “presented higher-than-expected rates of ADHD medication use between 1993 and 2003 – based on predictions from per-capita GDP indicators – a country-by-country analysis showed increases in ADHD drug consumption in countries ranging from France and Sweden, to Korea and Japan.” The US still leads the world in dollars spent on ADHD medication at $2.7 billion in 2006.
The University of California at Berkeley study was published in the journal, Health Affairs. Researchers reviewed data on ADHD medication use among 5-19 year-olds in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose members are largely economically fit North American, European and Northeast Asian nations.
The researchers stated that one in twenty-five children is taking medication for ADHD in the US. However, their research also suggests that the diagnosis of ADHD and subsequent use of medications to control it is now spreading worldwide.
Dr. Richard Scheffler, a UC Berkeley distinguished professor of health economics and public policy Overall thinks the study reflects global trends. “Given the global diffusion of ADHD medications, as well as the prevalence of this condition, ADHD could become the leading childhood disorder treated with medications across the globe,” Scheffler said. “We can expect that the already burgeoning global costs for medication treatment for ADHD will rise even more sharply over the next decade.”
The Berkeley researchers also cite that “Growth trends indicate that other countries are following in its tracks. For example, global spending on ADHD medications increased nine-fold among OECD countries during the time period studied. This increase is largely due to the advent and availability of more costly and long-acting medications such as Concerta™, Strattera™ and Adderral XR™”.
The use of medications outside of the US is still primarily short acting amphetamines. However, the pharmaceutical industry is well aware that they cannot reach the estimated $3.4bn by 2015, unless it is led by the launch of drugs with novel delivery mechanisms such as improved durations of action and anti-abuse profiles as media are raising the abuse flag significantly. These custom drugs will help differentiate these pipeline drugs from the current established ADHD therapies and increase market share.
It is important to note that although ADHD drugs have demonstrated efficacy in improving the three main symptoms of ADHD – inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity – none have shown efficacy in treating the cognitive deficits of ADHD.
Drug makers are likely to increase the costs of these novelty release (e.g. long acting) drugs globally as they become more prevalent outside the U.S. in order to reach the estimated $3.4bn target in 2015.
Back to Berkeley, using the IMS Health MIDAS™, an international pharmaceutical database, researchers looked at data and found that between 1993 and 2003, “the number of countries using ADHD medications rose from 31 to 55, with the U.S. share of global market decreasing from 86.8 percent to 83.1 percent. Meanwhile, countries with traditionally low and moderate consumption of ADHD drugs were showing steady upswings.”
Stephen Hinshaw, who is frequently approached by the media to comment on ADHD, is chair of UC Berkeley’s Department of Psychology was a co-author of the study. Commenting on this study, Hinshaw states, “The results temper some key criticisms of ADHD. A common misconception is that ADHD only exists in the U.S. and that the pharmaceutical firms are getting bigger sales because of the ‘creation’ of the disorder in the U.S. Yet cross-cultural research has shown that ADHD exists in nearly any culture that has compulsory education. Clearly, ADHD–which has a substantial genetic liability–is not just a figment of American doctors’ imaginations.”
In a nutshell, here’s Hinshaw’s argument: The use of stimulant
medication in wealthy member nations of the OECD outside of the U.S. is
growing, therefore, “ADHD is not just a figment of American doctors’
imaginations.” I’m not arguing that ADHD is real or not real. I am
simply citing that pharmaceutical marketing dollars greatly contribute
to the rise in use of stimulant medications in these nations. For
example, when adult ADHD medication was marketed heavily in the U.S.,
sales of the drug skyrocketed. Did the number of diagnosed cases
increase? Yes. Did that mean more people had the disorder? No. If this
poor logic and poor research is the best Berkeley and Hinshaw can
produce, then the students that are graduated from Berkeley are doomed!
But, wait, that’s also a non causa pro causa!
Hinshaw has essentially committed a non causa pro causa (false cause). He’s co-authored a study of data from a pharmaceutical database and citing that the number of persons outside the U.S. in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose members are largely economically fit North American, European and Northeast Asian nations. The pharmaceutical industry has spent many millions of dollars over the past few years to increase their profit in these nations in an effort to obtain their estimated goal of $3.4bn by 2015.
What can be clearly gleaned is that the Berkeley study is meaningless. It might have some teeth if the researchers actually correlated the marketing dollars spent by the pharmaceutical manufacturers to the numbers of persons using their medications in the OECD. It would be interesting to see the data on usage in third world countries who cannot afford it. I’d wager that they have far fewer cases of ADHD and use far less medication.
9/8/2005 New Video Game Shows Promise In Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)
Posted by Peter on September 8th, 2005 | Comments off
As many as three million children in the United States are being treated for Attention Deficit Disorder. And they’re not the only ones. 4.4 percent of the adult population have A.D.D. or a related disorder, making it the second most common psychological problem in adults after depression. VOA’s Paige Kollock reports on a new ‘game’ that might be able to help them.
New Video Game Shows Promise In Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder
By Paige Kollock
Medical studies have shown that television and video games may contribute to the rise in Attention Deficit Disorder, especially in children.
Doctor Stephen Hinshaw of the University of California researches children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He says, “Very fast paced media are in some ways overwhelming the young brains.”
Now a company called Unique Logic and Technology has created a video game that helps re-train those young brains. It’s called “Play Attention,” and the company claims it can teach your brain how to pay attention. It works by using a helmet that has sensors.
The sensors can tell whether or not the user is paying attention. In conjunction with computer software, the sensors teach the user what it feels like to pay attention and reward them for paying attention for longer periods. Over time, the user acquires the skill of concentration.
Former Principal Pat Faulkner says the $1,795 program is worth the money. “I think Play Attention was worth every penny they ever spent on it, and all the time that was spent on it, because it has the power to change a child’s life. When a child can learn to participate in class, then he can learn, and that’s a life changing experience.”
Adults are using Play Attention too. While the U.S. Women’s Olympic bobsled team may not have A.D.D, using Play Attention helps them increase their focus, which gives them a competitive edge.
Educators say the game takes between eight and 12 months to become permanently effective. From that point on, they say, users can fall back on the skill for the rest of their lives.
Can custom-made video games help children with attention deficit disorder?
From the Berkeley Medical Journal:
y Attention!
Can custom-made video games help kids with attention deficit disorder?
By Gordon Kwan
For children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), life can feel like a never-ending video game. They are wired–restless, impulsive, and easily distracted. Their minds are constantly bombarded with different elements of reality that compete for their attention.
So far, the most popular treatment for ADHD has been Ritalin, a rapid-acting stimulant for adults that has the opposite effect in children, calming the jitters associated with the disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about three percent of American school children take stimulants like Ritalin regularly. However current research suggests a surprising new strategy for treating this disorder: video games linked to brain-wave biofeedback that can help kids with ADHD train their minds to tune in and settle down.
It is difficult for a child with ADHD to learn how to self-regulate and know what it feels like to concentrate. Biofeedback teaches patients to control normally involuntary body functions such as heart rate by providing real-time monitoring of such responses. More than 15 years of studies show that with the aid of a computer display and an EEG sensor attached to the scalp, ADHD patients can learn to modulate brain waves associated with focusing. Increasing the strength of high-frequency beta waves and decreasing the strength of low-frequency theta waves, for example, creates a more attentive state of mind. With enough training, changes become automatic and lead to improvements in grades, sociability, and organizational skills.
Despite its proven success, the technique has not become a mainstream treatment for several good reasons. First, unlike drug therapy, which can have immediate results, a typical course of biofeedback treatment takes a series of about 40 one-hour sessions over a span of several months before benefits become apparent. Second, it is more expensive than drugs. Costs range from $3,000 to $4,000 for these treatments, so insurance companies tend to pick the less expensive option. Finally, biofeedback training requires the very kind of prolonged concentration that patients with ADHD struggle to attain.
Alan Pope, a behavioral scientist at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, came up with a more engaging approach through work with NASA flight simulators. He was determining the degree of interaction with cockpit controls necessary to help pilots stay attentive during routine flights. In an experiment, he linked the level of automation in the cockpit to the pilots’ brain-wave signals, so that some controls switched from autopilot to manual when the pilot started to lose focus. He found that with practice the pilots could begin to adjust the controls to the level of automation that felt most comfortable by regulating their own brain waves.
Pope applied his findings to help ADHD patients stay focused by rewarding an attentive state of mind. He realized, however, that the simple displays that were already part of biofeedback treatment may not be enough to hold the interest of restless youngsters. He then chose several common video games and linked the biofeedback signal from the player’s brain waves to the handheld controller that guides the games’ actions. “In one auto-racing game, a car’s maximum speed increases if the player’s ratio of beta to theta waves improves. The same sort of feedback also controls the steering,” Pope says.
In the test, six Sony PlayStation games were used with 22 boys and girls between the ages of nine and thirteen who had ADHD. Half the group received traditional biofeedback training; the other half played the modified video games. After 40 one-hour sessions, both groups showed substantial improvements in everyday brain-wave patterns as well as in tests of measuring attention span, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity. Parents in both groups also reported that their children were doing better in school.
The difference between the two groups was motivation. “In the video-game group, there were fewer no-shows and no dropouts,” according to Pope. The parents were more satisfied with the results of the training, and the kids seemed to have more fun.
Since children are more motivated toward video-game biofeedback and may already be familiar with video games, they will not need one-on-one coaching to master the technique. As a result, the cost of the treatment should be reduced and maybe even permit “do-it-yourself” biofeedback. One North Carolina company markets their Play Attention system as a fun bike helmet and game-like video exercises that work on almost any computer. The helmet is lined with sensors that monitor the child’s brain waves, and the child actually controls the computer video exercises by mind alone. Parents should not expect regular video games to help their children. The wrong kinds of video games might actually hurt children with attention disorders.
Parents, however, may be hesitant to switch from traditional treatment programs. One parent whose child currently takes drugs to control ADHD says, “Our son is using drugs to control his attention problems and although we don’t like giving him the pills, he is no longer causing problems at school. We try to keep our son away from things that might make him hyperactive. Unless our doctor tells us to do this brain wave training in a hospital, we are not going to buy a machine to do our own treatment at home.”
Brain-wave biofeedback alone may not be a substitute for drug therapy. Professor Stephen Hinshaw, an expert in the field of child clinical psychology at UC Berkeley, gives a reserved opinion about biofeedback treatment. “Biofeedback is a promising potential alternative, but unfortunately the kinds of really well-controlled studies that might support its clinical benefits have yet to be performed.” The two treatments have complementary aspects that make them effective as adjuncts. A single dose of Ritalin, for example, acts quickly but only for a few hours, and most patients take it only on school days. Brain-wave regulation takes a long time to learn but has the potential for longer-lasting effects.
Researchers and clinicians are realizing that ADHD is not easily outgrown. Most doctors support an approach that combines good nutrition, sleep, exercise, and learning strategies as well as biofeedback and drug therapy. The possibilities for brain-wave biofeedback are very promising since its benefits could last a lifetime. Video game biofeedback therapy may provide a more tolerable and long-lasting form of treatment for children through a medium they are more likely to enjoy.
Stephen Hinshaw
Posted by Peter on December 8th, 2004 | Comments off
I just wanted to take a moment to further comment on The November 13, 2004 Boston Globe article, Playing their Way to Improved Concentration, referring to Play Attention, a feedback based learning system I created for persons with attention problems. It uses a video game format to teach cognitive skills typically deficit in children and adults with diffused attention.
In order to balance out the article, Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray sought out the expert opinion of Dr. Stephen Hinshaw.
Dr. Stephen Hinshaw chairman of the psychology department at the University of California at Berkeley and an expert on hyperactivity disorders, said techniques that teach concentration may work in a doctor’s office, but often stop working when the child reenters his home or classroom. “I’m not a cynic, but I’m a skeptic until things are proven pretty thoroughly,” Hinshaw said.
I admire Hinshaw’s candor. Frequently experts are requested to remark on technology or teaching methods they have never seen or used. They must produce off the cuff remarks. Hinshaw should be respected as he utilizes multi-modal approaches to treating AD/HD and has a book worth reading.
While I was not allowed to comment about Dr. Hinshaw’s remarks in the article, I would like to comment that Play Attention is the preferred educational learning system for students struggling with attention problems in over 450 school systems in the US. We’ve recently received a 91% satisfaction rating from our users because of our great support and teaching method utilizing feedback technology.
(support) Play Attention is proudly powered by WordPress


Dave Walsh
2021 C.A.R. President |
Dave Walsh serves as C.A.R. president. Walsh is a strategic leader with broad-based business, financial and operational expertise gained from over 40 years of residential real estate sales, management and training experience.
Walsh began his career in the real estate industry in 1980 as a sales associate and became a broker in 1982. He was owner of a real estate firm and general manager of six Windermere offices prior to joining Alain Pinel REALTORS® as vice president in 2007. He became part of the Compass family when Compass acquired Alain Pinel in 2019.
As vice president and manager of the Compass San Jose office, Walsh is responsible for supervising the 124 real estate sales professionals and staff that work for him and for reviewing all their transactions for professional, regulatory, and disclosure compliance.
Walsh has a history of being at the forefront of real estate trends, its policies and industry organizations. He served on the Board of Directors for both the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) and the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® (SCCAOR) as well as the Board of Directors for San Francisco Bay Area-based multiple listings service, MLSListings, Inc. In 2007, Walsh was awarded the prestigious “REALTOR® of the Year” award by the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® and was elected its president in 2008.
In 2018-2019, Walsh served as state treasurer of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and was responsible for leading the Strategic Planning Committee, identifying critical issues of importance to REALTORS® based on the driving forces affecting the evolution of the real estate market and brokerage industry. He previously served as C.A.R.’s 2020 president-elect.
Walsh is passionate about consumer protection and the professional standards of the real estate industry. To that end, he frequently speaks on real estate ethics and professional conduct as well as other trends, values, and issues impacting the Bay Area, California, and national real estate industry.
He frequently meets with elected legislators in Sacramento and Washington D.C. to support and advocate for all property rights and homeownership issues.
Otto Catrina
2021 C.A.R. President-Elect |
A full-time real estate broker/REALTOR® since 2002, Otto Catrina serves as C.A.R. president-elect.
In addition to serving his clients, Catrina also is active with his local, state, and national associations of REALTORS®.
At the local level, Catrina was 2011 president of the Bay East Association of REALTORS®, where he served on various committees, including Strategic Planning, Board of Directors, Marketing, Professional Standards, and Local Government Relations.
Catrina also serves as a State Director for the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, where he has served as C.A.R.’s Federal Chairman and Chairman for C.A.R.’s Legislative Committee. He has served as Public Policy Liaison to C.A.R. Leadership, overseeing federal and state legislation.
Catrina also has served in various leadership positions at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) including NAR Director, member of the Issues Mobilization Committee, and REALTOR® Party Member Involvement Committee.
Distinguished in the real estate industry, Catrina has been recognized by the Bay East Association of REALTORS® with numerous honors. He received the Association’s prestigious “REALTOR® of The Year” in 2007, the John A. Deadrich Distinguished Service Awards in 2009 and the Outstanding Leadership Award in 2019. He is a member of NAR’s Presidents Circle and in 2016, was inducted into NAR’s Hall of Fame.
Jennifer Branchini
2020-2021 C.A.R. Treasurer |
Bay Area REALTOR® Jennifer Branchini serves as C.A.R. treasurer. Branchini has been a REALTOR® since 1998, having worked in management at her family’s brokerage for many years. She’s also an active REALTOR®, helping her clients with their housing needs on a daily basis.
Branchini has held numerous leadership positions during her career. At the local level, she served as the 2014 President of the Bay East Association of REALTORS®.
At the state level, Branchini has served on the Board of Directors of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® since 2010 and has served in various capacities on numerous C.A.R. committees.
Nationally, she has served on the National Association of REALTORS®’ Board of Directors since 2014. Most recently, she served as Member Services Liaison Chair of the Meetings and Conference Committee.
Branchini is passionate about working together with her fellow REALTORS® to improve the real estate profession and enjoys mentoring others along the way.
Joel Singer
C.A.R. Chief Executive Officer
C.A.R. CEO Joel Singer has held the Association's top staff position for more than 30 years, overseeing the association’s objectives, business development, strategic planning, legislative policies and creating products so that real estate professionals can succeed in today’s changing real estate market.
As an industry visionary, Singer led C.A.R. into the digital era by creating California Living Network in 1996, one of the industry’s first web-based listing and real estate information service. Singer was also the driving force behind the development of electronic forms through C.A.R.’s for-profit subsidiary, Real Estate Business Services® LLC (REBS®) and serves as its president.
As its previous president and chief executive officer, he was instrumental in positioning zipLogix™ as the leader in the real estate forms and transaction management space. Under Singer’s leadership and C.A.R.’s 20-year stewardship, zipLogix™ was at the forefront of electronic real estate forms and e-signatures. Singer oversaw the recent sale of zipLogix™ in order to leverage best-in-class technologies and business systems to grow and further enhance the success of REALTORS®.
Under Singer’s direction, C.A.R. has a strong presence in Sacramento, advocating for the real estate brokerage industry, housing, private property rights and other policy objectives of its members. Recent legislative victories include supporting bills that ensure that real estate professionals can remain independent contractors; create greater transparency for property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs; and help increase the construction of accessory dwelling units. C.A.R. also defeated a bill which would have eliminated the mortgage interest deduction for second homes and defeated a ballot measure that would have repealed the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
Singer joined C.A.R. in 1978 and previously served as its chief economist and headed the Association's Public Affairs department.
Since 2015, Singer has appeared on Swanepoel’s Power 200 list, which identifies the 200 leaders that have the most power and influence to impact the residential real estate brokerage industry. He was named to the 2015 Inman 101 list of real estate industry doers “whose ingenuity, outspokenness, strength, conviction, power, and persistence are driving change.” Singer also was selected to Inman’s list of Real Estate Influencers of 2017 for his long-time efforts of keeping the REALTOR® at the center of the transaction. In 2004, he received NAR’s William R. Magel Award of Excellence, which is presented annually to an individual who has truly exceled in his or her role as an association executive of a REALTOR® association.
C.A.R. Staff Roster


Posted on November 4, 2009 November 4, 2009 by Matthew VanDevander
Well, sorry I haven’t been updating much recently or anything. I haven’t had much time lately to do really anything of this sort. Also I don’t have internet at home, so it’s a bit hard to just get out and post things on here all the time. But for this post, I’ve got something fairly decent prepared. I just quit my job so I can start working on Fij full time, meaning I will hopefully get the game finished or at least in some working order. But I will go ahead and get on with the rest of this post, which is a review of the new Prince of Persia.
Prince of Persia is one of the oldest gaming franchises there is, with the entries spanning nearly two decades. The original Prince of Persia is somehow considered a classic, and appreciated for its astonishingly smooth animation for the time. Even despite its horrid laggy controls, which are caused mostly as part of the “smooth” animation. It’s somewhat surprising that such a flawed game has spawned so many sequels. I mean, there’s the first sequel, which was basically like the original, only different levels, then there’s a remake… At one point, someone decided that the franchise was worth bringing into the 3d era, and the god-awful “Prince of Persia 3D” was born. Not surprisingly, after such a flop, and with the Nintendo 64 and Playstation already in their waning years, the idea of a 3d Prince sat stagnant for a while.
But then, an idea was born.
The primary appeal of the original game was the atmosphere of a heroic Persian prince who was a master at acrobatic feats. The only problem was, in the original game, in order to perform these acrobatic feats, you had to spend hours getting used to the strange laggy timing of the game. When the original came out, this wasn’t really an issue. Nobody knew how games were “supposed” to be, so there weren’t any real pre-concieved notions about how a game should behave. However, by the Playstation 2 era, gamers, and especially reviewers weren’t willing to put up with “control lag.” So, in Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time, the controls were fine tuned and acrobatic feats were made as easy as possible. Everything seemed good, the game came out with a nifty rewind mechanic and people wanted more.
Unfortunately, in the two sequels that followed, they had missed something. The fact of the matter was, Prince of Persia has always been an unfair game, including the stellar Sands of Time. What with all the spikes coming out of the ground and killing you when you walk too fast across them. Most of the dangerous traps in the dungeons require the player to “learn by dying.” This practice was of course quite common back in the era the original Prince was released. But today is generally considered a design “no-no.” Sands of Time relieved the unfair feeling by allowing the player to rewind time when he died. Although the rewind mechanic itself was somewhat gimmicky and didn’t add much gameplay, it was still a key point of the games design.
Luckily, someone at Ubisoft realized that the unfairness of the later Playstation 2 Era Princes was a problem, and set to remedy it by once again re-inventing the franchise. And thus, “Prince of Persia” was released.
Now I guess I can get to the real review, now that I’ve ranted on about something you probably already know about.
Prince of Persia succeeds in creating a smooth easy-to-control and acrobatic Prince. Suprisingly, he’s even easier to control and more acrobatic than Sands of Time. The controls in Sands of Time were quite specific and although not difficult, were somewhat complex. This meant that as the game progressed, you learned new things and were accquianted with new gadgetry at a reasonable pace. However, this new Prince manages to cram in all of the controls and the major environmental obstacles into less than an hour of gameplay. Now, this isn’t bad because it’s confusing, because it’s anything but. In fact, the controls are so simple, most actions are performed automatically or with one button. This is bad because the rest of the game is set up as a non-linear experience. Now, I know the big buzzwords in gaming right now are all about “non-linearity” and “sandbox gameplay” and “emergent behavior”. But the issue is that these things just don’t really work in Prince of Persia’s puzzling platform universe. It’s sad to see that the game had to make it to full production before anyone truly realized just how much it doesn’t work.
The problem is that the game lacks a real sense of progression due to it’s “Go anywhere” approach. There are four different worlds with 5 stages in each, and each stage ends with a boss. So, there’s twenty stages in total. Now, this would seem like a decent amount of content if this game had followed the linear style of it’s predecessors. Unfortunately, the freedom the game offers you in allowing you to pick which worlds and levels you want to tackle in which order makes all of them kinda taste like beans.
The fundamental controls are introduced in the intro part of the game, and after that, there are really few additions. With the major ones being these “plates” which require you to press the “Y” button when you land on them. There are four plates, which are each unlocked after collecting a large number of “light seeds.” The light seeds themselves are basically just an incentive to re-explore areas that you’ve already been to, as they are only available after you have completed the stage by defeating the boss and “healing the land” by rapidly pressing the “Y” button. The plates offer several different “moves” which will be performed upon activation. Two of the plates require interaction from the player to avoid hitting obstacles while on a sort of spiritual train-ride against the laws of physics. And the other two basically just play an animation which takes you somewhere else in the level. Unfortunately, none of the plates add anything really interesting to the puzzles in the game, and they all require the press of the same button. So they eventually just add up with the rest of the elements in the game into what feels like an elaborate Simon Says game. When I see the grappling ring, I should press “B”, when I see the plate, “Y”, Press “A” before you get to the edge, “Y” if it’s really far.
The way I put it, the game may sound boring. And I’m sad to say, the truth is that the game is rather boring. The choice of non-linearity allows nothing in the game to build upon anything else, and so it never gets more complex than the first stage you play. Sure, they throw in a few new baddies that you must avoid, and each of the bosses has a slightly different weakness. Unfortunately, these aren’t really enough to add interest, because all of the fighting in the game follows the same sort of Simon says feel with many “Press A to not die” events that pop up if you get too close to the enemy. Although the combat in the game, like almost everything else, is more forgiving than Sands of Time. It’s not really as satisfying or interesting. At the beginning of the game, we are introduced to the novel aspect of combat that we will be controlling two characters during combat. With the Princess’s magic attacks being assigned to the “Y” button. However, as the game progress, we realize that you will never fight more than one opponent at a time, and that all of your opponents will basically be proxies for one another. Sure, one of the bosses you have to push off the cliff because they’re too big to actually feel your sword. And the wierd feral cat-chick thing has some interesting “illusion” battles. But overall, most of the battles involve the same sort of back-and-forth “Simon says” feel as the rest of the game. Oh, now I have to start with an “A” attack, now I have to start with “Y” attack. Uh-oh, he’s charging, better press the buttons on screen so I don’t die.
Of course, as I’ve said earlier, the game is quite forgiving. Almost too forgiving, you can’t even die. Every time you fall to your doom the Princess magically teleports over to you and saves you. (Kinda makes you wonder why you go through all the trouble of helping her out when she can fly the whole time.) Every time you might die in battle, or get sucked in the black “corruption” you get saved by Princess Elika. There are some penalties, if you fall while on a series of acrobatic moves, you get moved back to the last solid ground. If you “die” in battle then the boss regains some health. But overall, the game is easy to an almost ridiculous level. There was a certain joy to being able to let my Prince smack into the ground and die in Sands of Time. There was a certain other joy in being able to just rewind it back when I felt like it. (or didn’t, you bastard prince. *smacks into ground repeatedly*)
Well, anyways. The non-linearity is obviously a problem. And the most interesting bits are the start and the end of the game, where the designers could actually have some idea of what you’ve experienced up to that point.
The story of the game reminds me of a Super Nintendo era game, such as Zelda 3, with the majority of the real backstory and lore being contained solely in the games instruction manual. (Which of course, is entirely in black and while, because no gamer would ever consider reading the instruction manual.) The story in the game is primarily conveyed through conversations between the prince and Elika. Unfortunately, these conversations are completely optional, and only activated when you press the left trigger button. So, you can play through the whole game without actually knowing anything about what’s going on. Many of the conversations pop up at inopportune moments, such as in the middle of a daring escape sequence from a crumbling tower. And due to their disposable nature, all of the conversations feature the same camera angles. This is sad, considering the interactions in Sands of Time worked quite well with conversations that continued regardless of what the player was doing. Although this sometimes created strange situations which didn’t quite match up to the writers intentions, the game didn’t suffer from the same feeling of having a big back-story crammed into a tiny game that the new Prince has.
The game’s ending leaves the story open for a sequel, and is perhaps the highlight of the entire game. If there is a direct sequel to this Prince, I hope the fine folks at Ubisoft will see their mistake and make the next one a linear experience.
But maybe they won’t. After all, the series must be making some good money, for them to be making a Disney movie of the thing. Jerry Bruckhiemer is even jumping on that cash cow. Let’s just hope that movie has a deeper story than this game, and it might just turn out to be watchable.
The game is very playable. There are a few interesting moments, but the game as a whole is rather forgettable. Sad, because the art style of this game was a positive direction for the series.
Tagged Game Reviews, Games, Jerry Bruckhiemer, Prince of Persia, The Sands of Time, video games
Published by Matthew VanDevander
An award-winning graphic designer, an independent game developer, a self-published novelist, a movie and video game critic, and everyday artist. Matthew VanDevander lives in the great state of Tennessee and is on a never-ending quest for the deeper meaning of life.	View all posts by Matthew VanDevander
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If there’s any place more dangerous than the prisons, it is the world outside it. Humans have taken it their due right to harm others physically, and this behavior has made society more violent. Of course, not all but most humans in the society feel it a not only compulsion but embrace it willingly. This increasing tendency to harm others has forced the states to make the criminal justice system an essential practice in the state affairs
The essential part of the criminal justice system is prisons, where the criminals are kept so that society can be peaceful. At the same time, work is being done to improve criminals’ mental health. So, we can say that prisons are the homes of criminals where they learn the ethics of behaving in a society.
The Criminal Mindset can vary from person to person. For example, a person might have a more damaging criminal mindset, while others might have a less harmful mindset for society; therefore, the prisons are designed differently.
The humans falling in the category of possessing more criminal mindset are kept in such places where the environment is more conservative than other prisons so that their behavior and mental health can be improved. Such prisons are called dangerous jails of the world
This article will give you essential information about the prisons and enlighten you about the top 15 most dangerous prisons globally.
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List of 15 Most Dangerous Prisons In The World
It is for sure that prisons are not an ideal place to spend time. Inmates are facing many problems, but there are standards among the prisons too. Some are considered organized and well-managed prisons, while others might have issues of overcrowding, gang rapes, physical abuse, and disease.
The list is based on different factors such as the law and order situation in the prisons, the inmates’ behavior, facilities being provided in prison, and the behavior of administration of the prisons.
15- Sabaneta prison Venezuela
Venezuela is among the countries with the highest homicide rate, and therefore the situation of the prisons there is worse. The prisons’ situation in Venezuela can be assessed from a statement made by the director of prisons who said in a public gathering that armed inmates run 80 percent of the Venezuelan prisons.
More than 3,700 of the most dangerous prisoners are being kept in Sabaneta prison, which has a capacity of 700 people. One can easily imagine the situation of law and order, hygiene, and over-crowdedness in such prisons. There is only one guard for 150 people in the mentioned prison, which makes the situation worse.
Gang culture is promoted in such prisons because there is no higher authority to control the inmates; therefore, they are their own lords in the prisons. There are powerful gangs in the Sabaneta prison whose members oppress the weaker prisoners. The situation is so worse that often the more vulnerable prisoners are not even allowed to drink water, so the only way left for them is to drink it through the washroom pipes.
14- Tadmor Prison, Syria
The Tadmor prison in Syria gives goosebumps to every citizen of Syria because of the JailJail’s terror. The Syrians usually reflect on this prison with words such as torture cell, horror, and madness.
The Jail is famous for keeping the country’s political dissidents for a long time; for this reason, Tadmor prison was the first thing ISIS blew up when they captured Palmyra. Thousands of political dissidents were kept there for years and were tortured to death; for this reason, the Jail is known as the country’s most notorious Jail, and everyone fears going into it.
13- Bang Kwang Prison, Bangkok, Thailand
The prison is made for international and domestic criminals, but there have been many complaints of less funding and overcrowdedness. Due to foreign criminals, most of the Prison budget is being spent on security, and the prisoners inside the prison are left helpless.
The prison is internationally famous for unfair sentencing and inmates abuses.
The prison was built in 1930 with an original capacity of holding 3,500 prisoners, but currently, more than 8,000 prisoners are being held. Most of the prisoners kept in this facility are waiting for their death sentence, and a tradition of wearing a shackle for the first three months in prison is being followed for every prisoner.
The prisoners are kept in such poor conditions that only a bowl of soup and a plate of rice is being served every day, and if a prisoner feels the need to himself, he can buy the items from the canteen. The lack of enough drinking water and a weak sewerage system is constantly harming the prisoners’ health.
12- Petak Island Prison, Vologda, Russia
Petak Island is often referred to as “Alcatraz of Russia,” and the most dangerous criminals are being brought to this correctional facility. The prisoners who are being transferred to this Jail could face physical torture 23 hours a day. Apart from this, most of the criminals are only allowed to meet two visitors in a year.
You might be thinking that prisoners would try to escape from such prisons, and that feeling is so real, I believe many would have even tried. Still, the Island prison is inescapable because a frozen lake surrounds it from all sides.
A prison psychologist, Svetlana Kiselyova, said that this place destroyed people. There is no way a person can spend twenty-five years in such a place without being psychologically destroyed. According to her observation, in the first nine to ten months, a person tries to adapt to the environment. Still, after spending a year or so, his personality starts to deteriorate.
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11- La Santé Prison, France
The prison is located in France under the operation of the Ministry of Justice. The prison is divided into two wings; one of the wings is for VIPs while the other is for ordinary criminals with high security. The prisoners’ Meeting scenes with their families have been captured in camera and been telecasted in the Bollywood movies.
The prison environment and torture are so extensive that many inmates had tried to poison themselves through Rat poison and drain cleaners. Skin diseases are shared among the prison inmates because of the lack of shower facilities in the prison. The prisoners are only allowed to take a bath twice a week.
These incidents have been reported in famous newspapers of the world, which caused massive damage to the French government’s reputation as they portray themselves as the most prominent advocates of human rights.
10- Guantanamo Bay Cuba
The prison is located on the eastern tip of Cuba and is being operated by the United States. The prison was opened post 9/11 for the sole purpose of Keeping the Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders. Despite the claims made by President Obama to close the prison, it is still operational and functional.
The total numbers of inmates in prison are 150, and they are kept in two different camps of the prison.
The two camps of the prison are:
· Camp Delta
· Camp Iguana
9- San Quentin State Prison US
San Quentin is considered among the most violent prisons globally, and it’s the oldest Prison in California. The prison has been home to many infamous prisoners, such as Sirhan. Sihran assassinated US president John F Kennedy.
The prison only has a death facility for male inmates and is considered the largest death facility in the United States. There have been many reported incidents of financial corruption and other irregularities in the prison.
8- Terre Haute, USA
The prison complex is located in Indiana and consists of three different units. Maximum security, medium security, and low-security are three of its units, and the prisoners are kept in these units according to their criminal profile.
The prison is nicknamed Guantanamo North and is home to the federal government’s execution chamber. The inmates who are sentenced for death are kept in small cells in this prison and are only allowed to go to the exercise cage thrice a week.
7- La Sabaneta Prison, Venezuela
The prison is heavily crowded and is home to 3,700 criminals. The prison was initially designed for 700 people but has been overly crowded, resulting in disease and incidents of violence among the inmates.
The prison facility is governed by corruption where the guards are facilitating the influential people, but the weaker suffer; moreover, many incidents of financial corruption have been reported. The guards are charging money for serving the prisoners.
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6- Diyarbakir Prison, Turkey
The prison is known for having the most number of human rights violations per inmate. The violence in prison, both physical and mental, has been so brutal that it has compelled many inmates to take their own lives in the prisons.
The facility is built for 700 people, both men and women, but is often overcrowded, causing severe administrative problems. When the families of the inmates visit them, they don’t dare to speak a word of complaint because these words can be used against the inmates for torturing them more.
5- Mendoza Prison, Argentina
The Mendoza prison is considered among the most crowded prisons in the world. According to an estimate, five inmates are living in a cell that measures only four square meters. There have been several complaints of inadequate drainage systems in prison.
The condition is so poor that the prisoners are forced to use plastic bags and bottles as their toilets. Necessary medical facilities also lack in prison, and the prisoners only see the doctor when they have died.
4- Rikers Island Prison, USA
The Jail facility in Rikers Island is the third-largest jail facility in the world. The prison is made for either short sentences for less than a year or those who are awaiting trial and transfers.
It is hard to imagine that a prison in which the prisoners are being kept for so less time will be poorly managed. The main issues being faced by the inmates are gang violence and the abusive behavior of the correctional officers.
The New York Times has reported several cases of violence in the Jail. In one of their famous stories, they mentioned that almost nine lawsuits had been filed against the correctional facility for the guard suctioned violence and inmates’ violence.
In one such violence case, the guard in prison ordered six prisoners to beat an inmate who was hospitalized, and his lungs had collapsed.
3- United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX), USA
USP Florence ADMAX is home to the most violent criminals in the United States; therefore, foolproof security measures are taken for this prison. The prisoners kept in this prison are considered too dangerous to be held in any other prison facility; therefore, this prison has the most security personnel deployed.
The prison has been impenetrable due to the emphasis on its security and higher spending on it. Notorious gang leaders, domestic and international terrorists, and other wanted criminals have spent their time in Florence.
The prisoners in this facility also faced the physical torture of up to 23 hours a day and isolated from other inmates for torturing them mentally. The prison is designed in such a way that the prisoners themselves do not know their whereabouts in the correctional facility.
Due to these conditions of the prison, it’s considered the worst prisons in the world. A former warden of the Prison Robert Hood gave the title of “Cleaner version of hell” to the prison.
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2- Camp 22, North Korea
Camp 22 in North Korea was kept secret by the government of North Korea until the Satellite images of the prison facility were released. The laws for criminals in North Korea are strange for the rest of the world; a person’s crime can result in the arrest of his whole family. Due to this law, Camp 22 is overcrowded, and many believe that 50,000 criminals are being kept in this facility.
The prisoners are not provided with basic food due to which they malnourished. Secondly, the prisoners are subject to physical violence and mental torture in the camp 22.
1- Gitarama Prison, Rwanda
The Gitarama prison was built only for 400 people, but there are currently 7,000 prisoners. This makes Prison one of the most crowded prisons in the world. Rwanda genocide took place in 1994, and most of the prisoners kept in the facility are the culprits of genocide.
Due to overcrowding, the men and women in the Jail are forced to stand barefoot for long hours, which is causing their feet to rot. The prisoners are not given necessary medical facilities due to which half a dozen people die every day.
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Tagged most dangerous prisonsmost violent prisonsscariest prisons in the worldtoughest prison in the worldworld most dangerous prisonsworst prisons in the world
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Aneev Rao – Faculty
My only advise to students would be to pay more attention to their sources of inspiration. The internet is riddled with bad/mediocre content and I urge them to go beyond that and find something truly inspiring to guide their work and vision.
– Aneev Rao
Satish Kumar Raju – Faculty
LLA is a hub for image makers. LLA is my place to see groups of photographers discussing about image making and continuously talking about what makes the image look good and how to improvise a shot like studying the behavior of subject, technical challenges, waiting for light, team work, group activities and knowing so many things. This is a place that tunes a person to appreciate life and art of living through photography. LLA is not only for enrolled students to learn, it’s also for faculties since we also get to learn.
– Satish Kumar Raju
Pankaja Srinivasan
I am taking away so many lessons myself. The young photographers I interacted with showed passion, aesthetics and most importantly sensitivity in their work. Heartening. Photojournalism is in good hands.
— Pankaja Srinivasan
Iqbal Mohamed
Iqbal Mohamed inspires students with his knowledge and vision, while keeping them in splits with his sense of humour. He is indeed the fulcrum around which the faculty finds true meaning in teaching. He is easily accessible to students for a discussion about assignments or photography in general – in his cabin, classroom or even the corridors. The other faculty at Light & Life Academy are aligned with the philosophy of the academy: share knowledge and the willingness to work with students who have varying learning curves. Being practicing photographers (some of them are alumni) they are all equipped to teach in a structured fashion. They help re-invent the syllabus and be relevant in terms of trends, techniques and aesthetics. Since they’re practicing photographers, the faculty may change from month to month and year to year. However, none of the faculty ever gives up till every student learns every single technique/aesthetic aspect thoroughly.
www.iqbalmohamed.com
Ajit S N
Ajit started his photographic career in the year 2007 when he decided to make his passion his profession. A graduate from Light & Life Academy, he specialises in shooting cars and bikes and has shot for numerous advertising campaigns.
He fell in love with the ocean since he first dived in Maldives when he wanted to discover scuba diving. Since then he has been obsessed with underwater photography. Ajit is a Tech 40 Diver certified by PADI. His work as a photographer has taken him to the most remote and exciting dive destinations across the world.
Ajit’s personal challenge is to visually communicate the incredible beauty beneath the world’s ocean and inspire a greater determination towards the preservation and respect for the marine ecosystem that has to be protected
www.ajitphotography.com
Aneev Rao
Aneev is a portrait and fashion photographer. Taking a stroll through Chennai's Parry's Market on his 16th birthday, Aneev chanced upon an antique camera store. A couple of tantrums later, and with the promise of better exam results, he walked out with an old Olympus OM 10 and a slightly disgruntled father in tow. Three years later he enrolled into The Light & Life Academy. After graduating in 2007 he spent some time working as a photo-editor in Bangalore and then decided to move to Mumbai.
Aneev's work has featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Grazia, Harper’s Bazaar, People, etc. He now lives in Goa with his vegetable patch, antique furniture and cats.
https://www.behance.net/aneevrao
Ankit Gupta grew up in Delhi. A big fan of cricket, he played the sport every chance he got, apart from enjoying his fair share of Table Tennis and Badminton. Like everyone around him at the time, Ankit had one of two paths to take after school, either becoming an engineer or a doctor. Ankit chose the former and completed his under graduation in engineering.
He was placed in Infosys straight from college and shifted base to Mysore. His mother gifted him a DSLR just before he left for Mysore. This was the beginning for Ankit. He worked at Infosys for 4 years with the ambition of completing his MBA abroad. Realizing that being abroad would mean spending less time with his family, Ankit’s plan completely changed and he decided to stay in India and stay close to his family. He quit Infosys and went back to Delhi and quickly turned to photography. The constant encouragement from his friends and family about the quality of his photographs boosted his confidence.
He recollects one morning distinctly, when he was in a valley, surrounded by mountains in Kashmir, where he realised his passion for photography, because all he could think about was capturing that moment, and saving it for eternity.
After little deliberation, with bags packed, he came to LLA and completed his Post Graduation in professional photography, specialising in Travel, Nature, Architecture and Interior photography.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ankitguptaphotography/
Arnab Nath
Arnab’s first inspiration to take up photography was his father, a photographer himself. Arnab started taking pictures from the 3rd Standard and became the designated photographer for all the family functions.
Arnab joined the BA science from Ferguson college, Pune, specializing in Mass communication and Physics. This was the turning point where his fascination with photography grew into a passion and one that he decided to pursue whole-heartedly.
Arnab joined Light & Life Academy and completed his Post Graduation Diploma in Professional Photography in 2003. He mainly covers product, automobile and portrait photography. He has been a faculty at LLA since 2008. He also invests a lot of his time in personal projects that help him constantly evolve and grow as a photographer. Some of them include a shoot for South African Tourism, a visual representation of the KumbhMela, Holi celebrations at Mathura and Pushkar festivals.
Dolly Kabaria
Dolly graduated in computer engineering from the Sardar Patel University, Vidhyanagar, Gujarat. After pursuing a successful career in the IT industry, she took up photography as a full time career. She completed her Post Graduate Diploma in photography from the Light & Life Academy, Ooty, specializing in product, interior-architecture and industrial photography. She has a special interest in macro photography, panoramic views and 360 degree virtual tours. Apart from photography, Dolly is also a design consultant for all projects involving products, furnitures, accessories, artefacts and installations.
https://www.behance.net/dollykabaria
Garima Chaudhary
Garima started her photography journey from her Grad school as an optional subject. She has specialized in People and Fashion photography. She has worked extensively with e-commerce firms during the last 6 years. And started when the e-commerce industry was in a nascent stage and have grown along with it. Her major clients have been Koovs, Zovi, Fashion & You. Other than that she has done numerous freelance project & worked as a consultant for setting up studios and training junior photographer for the same.
Garima is an alumnus of Light & Life Academy Ooty. She holds a PG Diploma from St. Xaviers Mumbai and B.A. in Applied Art from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi.
Garima is keenly interested in painting with Acrylic on canvas as a medium. She also likes to teach art to young kids and expand their natural creativity.
http://garimac.wix.com/photography
Mihir Hardikar
Mihir Hardikar was born in Bombay and now lives, works and dreams in Mumbai.
After graduating from the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, he went on to study photography at the Light & Life Academy (www.llacademy.org) in Ooty, where he got multi-faceted grounding in the techniques and aesthetics of photography.
When he is not at work, Mihir loves travelling and trying out new cuisines - both street and sophisticated. He dreams to taste local food across the globe and shoot Chernobyl someday. Starting with his dad's humble Minolta Range Finder, Mihir today has shot for various clients and categories, landscapes and locales, places and products.
http://mihirhardikar.format.com/
Punya Arora
Punya Arora, is a Punjabi by nature but South-Indian at heart, a professional Photographer, a self-proclaimed Biriyani connoisseur and one of the very few female stand-up comedians in the country. Her style of comedy reflects on everyday life, encasing some amazingly funny moments and situations and a couple of accents. Her style of photography includes taking pictures of people, both on land and underwater. Other than portraits and fashion, she also photographs spaces, food and weddings. A constant spreader of happiness and sunshine is a great way to sum it all up.
https://www.behance.net/punyaarora
Satish Raju
Satish is a 3rd generation photographer from Pondicherry. Omni studio, founded by his grandfather a century ago focused on creating magical portraits. Today, Satish has taken to a new level encompassing a diverse range of photography.
Satish studied ‘Visual Communication’ in Loyola College, Chennai. He assisted renowned photographers Iqbal K Mohamed and Satyajit. He went on to do the P.G Diploma course at Light & Life Academy. He currently specialises in shooting automobiles and has worked with a number of leading international brands.
http://www.omnistudio.in/
Shantonobho Das
Shantonobho completed his B.Com, with Accountancy as his specialisation subject. With an opportunity in early 2003 to move base to Mumbai he found his way ahead. In the midst of his day job he joined National Institute of Photography and started to learn the craft.
In 2007, Shantonobho joined Carnival, the worlds largest cruise liners as a photographer and then moved on to be appointed as the head of the on board ship, printing department. A year later, he completed his one year Post Graduation in Photography from Light & Life Academy, with renowned photographer Iqbal Mohamed as his mentor.
There on, he decided to launch his own commercial photography career and went on to win two silver awards at Spikes Asia and ABBY Awards and one nomination at Cannes.
He is currently based in Mumbai, where he pursues his creative, professional and personal interests in the field of People and Travel Photography.
His other area of interest is food. Shanthanobo runs a very popular catering service with a friend out of Mumbai.
http://www.shantonobhodas.com
Sukil Tarnas
While studying Chemistry in Loyola College, Sukil discovered his love for the camera. His passion for the art was deep enough to make him take the risk of quitting the course and joining Visual Communication.
He went on to assist Iqbal Mohamed from there and eventually joined Light & Life Academy to learn the science of the art.
Marrying a photographer, he went on to start Sukil & Khushboo.- doing work in the verticals of Interiors, Portraits, Industrial and Product. He also makes corporate films for various clients. Now settled in Chennai, he has worked with various clients including Indian Terrain, William Penn, Verve Magazine, Madras Regimental Centre, Khwahish Diamonds.
www.sukilandkhushboo.com


Eurovision 2021: AVROTROS confirms the dates: Grand Final on 22 May!
The Netherlands 2021
by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani June 15, 2020 1:30 pm 981 views
The EBU and Dutch public broadcasters, NPO, AVROTROS and NOS have unveiled the dates for the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam.
The 2021 is scheduled to be held on 18, 20 and 22 May at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest will be co-produced by NOS, AVROTROS and NPO along with the EBU.
Martin Osterdahl (Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor) says:
It’s vitally important that the Eurovision Song Contest returns next year, and we’re pleased to have the necessary commitment from our Members in The Netherlands to bring this much-loved show back to audiences across the world.
Sietse Bakker (Eurovision 2021 Executive Producer Event) says:
The music, the artists, the fans, the competition and the international character combined is what makes the Eurovision Song Contest so special. We now have a year to explore all scenarios in detail with the parties involved and to make the shows happen regardless of the circumstances, with adjustments if necessary. We still aim high!
The stage will be carried over to next year, because that was already prepared. Apart from that, a lot depends on what is possible at that time, on the availability of all those involved and on what fits the spirit of 2021.
The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest was set to be held in Rotterdam on 12, 14 and 16 May in Rotterdam, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
This will be the fifth time that the Eurovision Song Contest will be held on Dutch soil, as the Nethelands has hosted the event four times before; Hilversum (1958), Amsterdam (1970), The Hague (1976/1980).
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State aid: EU Commission approves €550 million Danish scheme to support electricity production from biomass installations
19/05/2020 MaP News 0
The European Commission has approved a DKK 4,150 million (approximately €550 million) State aid scheme to support the production of electricity in existing and depreciated biomass installations in Denmark.
The installations benefitting from the scheme will receive support in the form of a premium covering the additional operating costs of producing electricity from biomass compared to producing electricity from a coal plant. The premium will be calculated on an annual basis and it will be capped at DKK 0.11/kWh (approximately 0.015 €/kWh).
The scheme will be in place until 31 December 2029. The Commission assessed the Danish measure under the 2014 Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020. It found that the scheme is necessary to prevent the switch of the supported installations to fossil fuels.
The Commission also found that the scheme will help Denmark reaching its target of 55% of electricity production from renewable energy by 2030 and its objective of phasing out coal from its electricity production in the same year. The Commission concluded that the scheme will contribute to the EU’s energy and environmental objectives and the goals set by European Green Deal,without unduly distorting competition.
On this basis, the Commission approved the measure under EU State aid rules. More information will be available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number SA.55891 once confidentiality issues have been resolved.
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Review underway at B.C. vaccine clinics over concerns of queue-jumping
Richard Zussman GlobalNews.ca
More allegations of vaccine queue jumping in BC
Officials are reviewing how the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered after recent concerns of queue-jumping.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said Wednesday that “appropriate action” will be taken following recent reports of queue-jumping at Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health.
The main concern is ensuring the clinics keep an accurate list of people who can have access to the vaccine, if those who have an appointment don’t show up. The added challenge is the location of vaccine clinics are being moved around and it’s hard to keep track of who nearby is on the priority list for vaccination.
“We want to make sure there are very clear instructions and guidance given by public health on immunization and the priority list and to make sure to follow the guidelines in order to protect our most vulnerable. And we are determined to see that will happen,” Dix said.
Fraser Health directors, staff accused of jumping COVID-19 vaccine queue in B.C.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be administered within six hours of being thawed. If anyone misses their vaccination appointment, clinic staff can consult a list of eligible people close to the vaccination centres to take their place.
On Tuesday, Global News reported that four employees of Fraser Health, including two hospital directors, had received the vaccine ahead of front-line health workers on Dec. 27.
A vaccine clinic at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster found itself with 17 leftover doses after a day of immunizing front-line workers.
According to Fraser Health employees who spoke to Global News on condition of anonymity, the clinic’s executive director reached out to other directors in the health region and offered up the extra doses.
A director at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, who, according to colleagues, is not involved in day-to-day direct patient care, received one of those doses, as did their son and son-in-law, who work at the hospital as a porter and a screener, respectively.
“It is always making sure that we have that list of people. But at the end of the day, if people are not available in very small instances, we have others who are offered the vaccine, who are also health-care workers and working in that setting,” Henry said on Wednesday.
“So it’s not like we’re going off of script entirely. But that has happened in a small number of cases.”
Meanwhile, Vancouver Coastal Health is investigating allegations of doctors jumping the queue when it comes to receiving the second dose, Global News has also learned.
“The COVID-19 vaccines administered through our VCH Vaccination Program are being tracked in a single provincial database, which allows us to identify everyone who has received a first dose at any clinic,” reads an internal memo obtained by Global News.
“Through this system, it has come to our attention that there have been instances in which physicians have attended our clinics and received their second dose of vaccine before they were invited or permitted to do so. These instances will be investigated and may result in disciplinary action.”
When is it my turn? A coast-to-coast look at COVID-19 vaccine rollout
When asked about the investigation, Dix said the province is “very disappointed”.
Dr. Penny Ballem, chair of the Vancouver Coastal Health board of directors and former Vancouver city manager, will oversee B.C.’s mass immunization rollout, set to begin in April. More details are expected next week.
–With files from Sarah MacDonald and Janet Brown
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McNight v. Petersen, 137 S.Ct. 2241 (2017)
Posted on January 27, 2018 by Commentator
The district court in McNight had issued qualified immunity to the officers in an excessive force case and was reversed by the Ninth Circuit.The Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari, vacated the decision of the Ninth Circuit, and remanded for “further consideration in light of White v. Pauly, 137 S.Ct. 548 (2017).” In White, the case recommended, the Justices criticized other excessive force reversals by appellate courts on grounds of high generalization of qualified immunity.
In McNight the Ninth Circuit has not issued an opinion on the remand since the Supreme Court decided the case in June, 2017.
U.S. v. Perkins, 850 F.3d 1109 (9th Cir.)
The Ninth Circuit consists of a variety of judges, the majority of whom are classified as “liberals.” The meaning of the word varies contingent on the subject matter, and in reading enough of their decisions you will note the high degree of reversals of state court cases in federal habeas decisions. In most cases the conviction penalty is murder. In one case a judge dissents and explains that the failure of the death penalty is attributable to philosophic differences of Ninth Circuit judges reversing state court judges in habeas corpus decisions.
In Perkins, however, the charge is child molestation, and the split among the three judge Ninth Circuit panel illustrates the distinction of philosophy although the case is more an academic disagreement in a search warrant case. The dissenting judge particularly notes the opinion of the trial judge who sensed credibility of the officer who testified in lieu of a dry record read by an appellate court.
Canadian officials detained the defendant while he crossed the Canadian border, and his car search revealed a photograph of a young women whom Canadian officials concluded was not pornographic under Canadian law. American border officials disagreed, arrested Perkins, and obtained a search warrant for his house, The search revealed another questionable photo. A search of Perkins’ records unearthed a conviction of child molestation twenty years ago.
In an American federal trial court, Perkins moved to suppress the photographic evidence and objected to the search warrant. Perkins argued the American official misled the court for failing to include the Canadian opinion in the warrant, and failed showing the photos to the judge in applying for the warrant. The Ninth Circuit panel majority held these two errors invalidated the warrant.
American courts near the border had accepted the expertise of border officers in pornography, and the court or jury would see the photos to decide the case. The absence of including the photos of Canadian officer’s opinion is irrelevant. The dissenting judge expressed the objection more fully.
Congress originally attempted to reduce the constant interference of the Ninth Circuit in state court convictions, (AEDPA), and the U.S. Supreme Court criticized the Ninth Circuit for applying legal error to these cases when the object of federal habeas corpus is to determine state court injustice. The Ninth Circuit has never used this problem. Congress must intervene.
Posted in Fourth Amendment	| Leave a reply
Rodriguez v. McDonald, 872 F.3d 908 (9th Cir. 2017)
The U.S.Supreme Court has repeatedly criticized the Ninth Circuit for its habeas corpus decisions reviewing state court convictions. Recently the Justices told the Ninth Circuit not to assume your duty is correction of legal mistakes. Your test is to determine whether a breakdown has occurred in the state court justice system. The Ninth Circuit simply ignores this instruction, recites the facts and calls the case reviewed as a breakdown. In Rodriguez, the Ninth Circuit decision reversed a criminal case tried in state court, conviction affirmed by the California Court of Appeal, denied review by the California Supreme Court, state court habeas denied, federal district court habeas denied, appeal reversed by the Ninth Circuit.
A police officer arrested Rodriguez, who admitted gang membership, during an investigation of a murder, and various witnesses provided evidence of his responsibility. Officers had extensive discusions with Rodriguez who ultimately confessed. The legal issue in the case was Miranda. A venerable U.S. Supreme Court originally established Miranda in an attempt to avoid use of force or threats when officers were questioning a usppect. In this case the evidence is in conflict to some extent whether the officers did not use Miranda early enough. The trial court resolved the evidenciary conflict as did the California Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, state courts in habeas filings, the district court. Period. No breakdown of the justice system. Appeal reversed by the Ninth Circuit correcting an alleged legal error. Read the stinging dissent in Rodriguez.
As a result of this decision the murder conviction was reversed and the charge involving gangs potentially retried unlikely. This practice goes on and should be criticized by police and prosecution. Congress should simply end AEDPA and suspend any use of habeas corpus by federal courts over state cases.
Posted in 9th Circuit Reversals: 2012	| Leave a reply
Browning v. Baker, 875 F.3d 444 (2017 (9th Cir.)
Posted on January 8, 2018 by Commentator
In 1996 Congress enacted the AntiTerror and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) to reduce the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision adding federal habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution to jurisdiction in state courts. Federal courts began to review state court criminal cases in habeas corpus petitions to reverse judgments already decided. The imposition exceeded its expectation as federal courts rendered decisions far exceeding legislative intentions.
In time, the language of the Act came very close to almost ending federal habeas review of state courts. Federal appellate courts, particularly the Ninth Circuit, evaded the statutory language and was repeatedly reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the words of a Supreme Court Justice, AEDPA was intended “only to guard against extreme malfunction in the state justice system not a substitute for ordinary error correction through appeal.”
This test rarely fits the decisions of the Ninth Circuit as demonstrated in a November 2017 case of Browning v. Baker. No case illustrates better a complete disregard of AEDPA and its purpose as expressed in the dissent. The 2/1 majority opinion in Browning is just that in the words of the Justice: correction through appeal. The majority repeats the entire state court trial record of a robbery admittedly involving conflicting testimony. The jury, who sat through the trial and evaluated testimony and its credibility, unanimously voted for “guilty.” The majority of judges in the Ninth Circuit saw no witness, and the trial judge made no legal mistakes-including affirmation of the jury verdict. But the majority in the Ninth Circuit didn’t like some of the witnesses and re tried the case. Certiorari is assured.
Godoy v. Spearman 861 F.3d 956 (9th Circuit 2017)
Another murder case resolved by the Ninth Circuit whose judges regularly reverse murder cases and death penalties although the jury in Godoy v. Spearman voted only second degree murder. The California Court of Appeal had affirmed the conviction, the California Supreme Court denied review, and the district court denied a habeas corpus petition filed by the defendant. The Ninth Circuit heard the appeal from the district court and in a split vote reheard the case again on federal habeas corpus and reversed.
The Ninth Circuit author of the Godoy decision wrote that the case was originally governed by AEDPA, but the California Court of Appeal refused to apply U.S. Supreme Court precedent. For that reason the court said, we can use the correct standard of de novo instead. This judicial invention, unsupported by precedent, allowed the Ninth Circuit to repeat its earlier discussion of AEDPA for some irrelevant reason and rewrote the decision in the “correct” version.
In the course of that alternative legal version of the law, the majority court panel repeatedly criticized the California Court of Appeal for all its errors, reverses a state supreme court case and a federal district court for the unknown future of a second trial. Or, if witnesses cannot be found, records lost, investigating officers retired, the defendant convicted of murder goes free.
The essence of this case is nothing more than a statement by a juror to the trial judge that she had heard another juror converse on the phone with a “judge friend” during the trial. No evidence was presented on the subjects discussed, but according to the Ninth Circuit the trial judge should have held a hearing. If the juror was unaware of the topics discussed what would the hearing have proved? The issues in the case are not so much what response the state court trial judge should have made or done, but the repeated criticism of the California Court of Appeal. Secondly, the Ninth Circuit rejection of AEDPA. Their decision also reversed the district court judge who affirmed the state court decision.
Godoy v. Spearman is another example of two court systems for the same case. A waste of time and money, endless appeals, and a refusal of Congress to eliminate federal habeas corpus. Whenever the state court concludes their case is ended, the only post trial issue is state habeas corpus-and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court. Who have said almost the same thing.
U.S. v. Sanchez-Gomez, 859 F.3d 649 (9th Cir. 2017)
In a split 9th Circuit court vote the majority Constitutionalizes a courtroom practice defined as “shackling” prisoners, and destined to affect all state and federal trial courts. The dissent is a written masterpiece rejecting the majority court decision of four men convicted several years ago. The court is ruling on: the absence of a “Case or Controversy” mandated by the Constitution; violation without precedent of the Fifth Amendment Clause; a series of adjectives describing the impaired dignity of everyone shackled; ignoring a presumption of innocence until a verdict; the work of justice applies to everyone until convicted. In addition to a justifying a jurisdictional right to begin with an a case already concluded, the court invents mandamus as an alternative to appeal.
But these procedural controversies are not the heart of the case. The majority outlines a legal history beginning with the common law and thendisagreement between the other Circuits. The issue: can ederal Marshals shackle all prisoners in non jury appearances before a judge or magistrate judge? For a variety of reasons, including inability to forecast violence by the prisoner, the configurement or location of the court, the lack of adequate staff to restrain escape or injury, and other factors. The court majority ignores all criticism of shackling and defines prisoners in criminal court as presumed innocent men until found guilty, entitled to dignity in a courtroom, and judicial decorum. The dissent characterizes this language as ivory tower rationale.
Federal court Marshalls in non jury trials attempt to shackle every defendant but do lack staff in some cases. No federal statute exists to enforce shackling of all defendants in criminal trials, and inventing the procedural Constitutional decisions are absurd. Time for certiorari if the California Attorney General knows anything about Constitutional law.
Petrocelli v. Baker, 862 F.3d 809 (9th Cir. 2017)
Another death penalty case reversed by the same judge who reverses other capital cases (including this one earlier ), never upholding the verdict regardless of the vicious and brutal murder the jury voted correctly. In this case, scouring the record of a defendant who filed three state habeas corpus cases rejected by state courts; a previous federal habeas corpus case reversed by the 9th Circuit; the instant case reversed by the 9th Circuit.
To begin, the judge assures us this case was not under AEDPA jurisdiction-the defendant constantly in court for this case starting in1996. The record reflects that the prosecutor asked a psychiatrist Dr. Gerow to interview the defendant and determine his legal competency. After his examination the doctor concluded the defendant incurably violent, and testifies to his opinion at trial. According to the 9th Circuit panel, a Supreme Court case rejects this process without a Miranda admonition and used as an admission of responsibility by the defendant.
At the trial the doctor testified he did not use the Miranda admonition and asked no incriminating statements from the defendant. The doctor only examined for legal competency and his testimony included nothing about an admission of complicity in the crime. Despite that, the panel concluded his testimony inadmissible.
Two defense doctors submitted their report on the same issue of competency, but without testimony, and concluded curability33 was a possibility. Now the panel concludes no testimony and only a written report by defense doctors overcomes the live testimony of a colleague. Apparently the court panel has never tried a case when the direct testimony of a witness (a doctor who is not a detective) lacks the veracity over two written reports. But the panel needs an excuse.
The panel criticizes the state court judge who had affirmed the conviction and lists his errors. For example, they commented on Doctor Gerow who did not interview the defendant on April 20, but on April 21. Devastating. The balance of the “list” of errors is equally trivial.
. Apparently the panel, who were not at the trial, decided the case for the jury. In fact, the panel offered their own opinion of the doctor whose testimony they had reviewed in an earlier case. Evidence by a witness who the panel had not seen as jurors did, was not admitted at trial because the doctor had not Mirandized the defendant prior to a legal competency test.
One of the worst cases I have ever read. Now the prosecution must call all the witnesses again to hear evidence only on the death penalty. And people criticize California courts for tardy disposition of cases. The year 1996 and this case is still in federal courts on a simple ten day trial obviously warranting the death penalty.
The second judge on the court panel wrote an equally absurd concurrence. the third judge signed nothing.