Daily Archives: February 28, 2017

Amnesty Int’l critical of Jamaica, Haiti, The Bahamas – NYCaribNews

Posted: February 28, 2017 at 8:24 pm

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) The London-based international human rights group, Amnesty International, has criticised the situation in three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries on issues ranging from the ill-treatment of documented migrants to alleged crimes against humanity.

In its 2017 State of the Worlds Human Rights, Amnesty International paid attention to alleged human rights abuses in Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas. The other CARICOM countries were not mentioned in the report released over the weekend.

The report noted that in the Bahamas, there was widespread ill-treatment of undocumented migrants from countries including Haiti and Cuba.

It said the Dominican Republic deported thousands of people of Haitian descent including Dominican-born people who were effectively rendered stateless while often failing to respect international law and standards on deportations.

Upon arrival to Haiti, many people who had been deported settled in makeshift camps, where they lived in appalling conditions. Despite a commitment from newly elected authorities in the Dominican Republic to address the situation of stateless individuals, tens of thousands of people remained stateless following a 2013 Constitutional Court ruling which retroactively and arbitrarily deprived them of their nationality. In February, the IACHR described a situation of statelessness of a magnitude never before seen in the Americas.

Amnesty International said that rampant impunity allowed human rights abusers to operate without fear of the consequences weakened the rule of law, and denied truth and redress to millions.

Impunity was sustained by justice and security systems that remained under resourced, weak and often corrupt, compounded by a lack of political will to ensure their impartiality and independence. The resulting failure to bring the perpetrators of human rights violations to justice allowed organised crime and abusive law enforcement practices to take root and prosper.

Denial of meaningful access to justice also left huge numbers of people including in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela unable to claim their rights.

Amnesty International said in Jamaica, impunity prevailed for the decades-long pattern of alleged unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions by law enforcement officials.

While more than 3,000 people have been killed by law enforcement officials since 2000, only a handful of officials have been held accountable to date. In June, the Commission of Enquiry into alleged human rights violations during the 2010 state of emergency made recommendations for police reform; by the end of the year Jamaica had yet to outline how it would implement the reforms.

The human rights group noted that in Haiti, no progress was made in the investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed by former President Jean-Claude Duvalier and his former collaborators.

It said that States made little headway in tackling violence against women and girls. This included failing to protect them from rape and killings as well as failing to hold perpetrators accountable. Reports of gender based violence came from Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the USA and Venezuela, among other countries.

Amnesty noted that legislative and institutional progress in some countries such as the legal recognition of same-sex marriage did not necessarily translate into better protection against violence and discrimination for LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people.

Across the Americas, high levels of hate crime, advocacy of hatred and discrimination, as well as murders and persecution of LGBTI activists persisted in countries including Argentina, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, the USA and Venezuela.

In the Bahamas, Amnesty International noted Bahamians voted no in a constitutional referendum on gender equality in citizenship matters in June.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people continued, it said, adding that in the June referendum Bahamians voted on gender equality in citizenship matters under Bahamian law.

The proposed amendments backed by the government would have strengthened anti-discrimination protections based on sex. The result maintained inequality in Bahamian laws so that women and men pass on citizenship to their children and spouses in different ways.

The result put at risk the citizenship rights of families, in particular the risk of separation of families with diverse nationalities or children born outside of the Bahamas to Bahamian parents.

Amnesty said that stigma and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people continued and in April, activists founded the group Bahamas Transgender Intersex United.

In Jamaica, Amnesty said that unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions continued. Violence against women and discrimination against LGBTI people persisted. Children continued to be detained in violation of international standards.

It said that despite committing to the establishment of a national human rights institution, Jamaica had not established the mechanism by the end of the year.

Jamaica continued to have one of the highest homicide rates in the Americas, Amnesty International reported, saying that in June, a Commission of Enquiry published its much-anticipated report into the events that took place in Western Kingston during the state of emergency, declared on 23 May 2010, which left at least 69 people dead.

Almost 900 pages long, the report identified a number of cases of possible extrajudicial execution and produced a number of important recommendations for police reform. In an official response, the Jamaica Constabulary Force accepted a number of recommendations, such as committing to hold administrative reviews into the conduct of officers named in the Commissioners report.

But Amnesty said that the police continued to refuse to accept any responsibility for human rights violations or extrajudicial executions during the state of emergency.

By the end of the year, the government had still not officially indicated how it would implement the recommendations of the Commissioners. While the number of killings by police have been significantly reduced in recent years, 111 people were killed by law enforcement officials in 2016, compared with 101 in 2015. Women whose relatives were killed by police, and their families, experienced pervasive police harassment and intimidation, and faced multiple barriers to accessing justice, truth and reparation.

The human rights group said that Jamaica again failed to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, signed in September 2000, nor had it adhered to the UN Convention against Torture or the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

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Several of the Bahamas’ Beloved Swimming Pigs Found Dead – TownandCountrymag.com (blog)

Posted: at 8:24 pm

Seven of the Bahamas' famed swimming swine (who've splashed around with visitors in the Exumas for three decades) have been found dead, and the Bahamian government is currently investigating whether the tourists themselves are at fault.

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It seems, according to some reports, that the "swimming pigs" were poisonedthough it's unclear whether the deaths were accidental or intentional. One of the pigs' owners, Wayde Nixon, told The Nassau Guardian, "We have people coming there giving the pigs beer, rum, riding on top of them, all kind of stuff." Nixon says that the remaining 15 pigs are alive and well, but he's working with the government to better regulate the interaction between tourists and the animals going forward.

"If we have boundary lines, the people will be able to take photographs and see the pigs swim, all of that, but they will not be able to feed them things," said V. Alfred Gray, the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources. "[We] seek to implement that as soon as it is practical to do so."

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Several of the Bahamas' Beloved Swimming Pigs Found Dead - TownandCountrymag.com (blog)

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IRS Audits to Go After Offshore Earnings and Transfer Pricing – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Posted: at 8:23 pm


Wall Street Journal (subscription)
IRS Audits to Go After Offshore Earnings and Transfer Pricing
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The Internal Revenue Service has put companies on notice: It is targeting offshore earnings and transfer pricing as part of a new audit push. The federal tax collector highlighted the two issues last month in connection with a new series of 13 audit ...

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IRS Audits to Go After Offshore Earnings and Transfer Pricing - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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Worried about Revenue clampdown on offshore assets – Irish Times

Posted: at 8:23 pm

Given all the recent talk about a Revenue clampdown on offshore assets could you please clarify what should be declared and how to do so?

I am a PAYE taxpayer. I have two modest offshore accounts, one in euro and one in a foreign currency. They are deposit accounts which earn no interest. There also hasnt been any trading in the foreign currency which might give rise to capital gains.

Until these deposits (or indeed any other offshore assets) generate income, can I assume there is no need to declare them? I note that Form 12 caters for foreign income but otherwise does not invite a declaration of non-earning deposits.

Mr JF, email

As you are a PAYE employee, you probably will not have received any letter recently from the Revenue Commissioners about this. The tax authorities did send out nearly 500,000 letters warning people about impending changes to the regime on failure to disclose offshore income but they only went to people who filed returns last year and that means largely self-assessed taxpayers.

Youre right to be concerned but, as it happens, I think you will be fine and will not be facing any liability.

Right to be concerned? Well, the thing with offshore tax evasion is that everyone assumes, when they hear about it, that the tax authorities are talking about the big players looking to hide ill-gotten millions. And its certainly true that Revenues investigations and large-case unit does actively pursue such players.

However, the bulk of those people likely to be caught under the new rules are small scale taxpayers who will never to this point have had cause to deal personally with Revenue beyond a Med 1 health claim or the comfortable anonymity of a Form 12 annual return.

These are the people who may have spent some time abroad and set up accounts there, or bought shares or even a small house or apartment. Maybe, if they are older, they will be in receipt of a pension either from a foreign state or a private employer in another country.

For Irish taxpayers, all of this counts as income and/or assets and so it is of relevance to the Irish tax authorities as Irish tax residents pay tax here on their worldwide income.

Another thing people also tend to forget is that Northern Ireland is just as offshore as Australia, the United States or anywhere else in the world.

For all these reasons, people should be concerned and should do an audit of their assets to see if they might have any tax liability which they may have forgotten to mention to the Revenue up to now.

Well, from May 1st, anyone approaching Revenue with details of tax liability on offshore assets or anyone approached by Revenue on the same issue will not be able to avail of what is called voluntary disclosure. Voluntary disclosure is a regime where Revenue cuts the taxpayer a bit of slack as an incentive to fess up rather than waiting for Revenue to invest the time, energy and money pursuing them.

While taxpayers using voluntary disclosure still have to pay the tax owing, and interest due on it dating back to when it should have been paid, they pay just a fraction of the penalties that would apply if Revenue has to come chasing after them. Penalties are about 10 per cent of the tax due rather than up to 100 per cent for those caught.

Anyway, in relation to foreign tax liabilities, Revenue has persuaded Government that these things cannot simply be hidden from Revenue accidentally and that forgetting to let Revenue know of such liabilities is actually a deliberate act and so such people should not be able to avail of the relief of voluntary disclosure.

And tax authorities in different countries are now working much more closely with each other. So the Irish Revenue either has already (depending on the jurisdiction), or will later this year, received any details about you, and all other Irish taxpayers, that is held by tax authorities in most other countries. That will certainly include details of foreign bank accounts among other things.

That is why Revenue is so sure of its ground and its ability to track down people with offshore tax liabilities, no matter how large or small.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan announced in his budget last October that there would be a clampdown and the necessary amendments have been made to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This new regime kicks in on May 1st, so the message Revenue is giving people out there is that the clock is ticking and they need to act fast to minimise any tax bill.

Apart from lower penalties, errant taxpayers getting their affairs in order before May 1st will avoid the possibility of having their names published in the quarterly list of tax defaulters that appears in Iris Oifigiil and most national newspapers, and will also avoid the, albeit for most remote, possibility of criminal prosecution.

So where does that leave you? You tell me that you have these two offshore accounts. There are two ways in which you could be liable. First, where did the money come from that is sitting in the accounts? Does it date back to a time when you were not a tax resident here? If so, you should be fine. But if the money was put into the accounts since you became liable to Irish tax, it might be liable to Irish tax.

If it was an inheritance, it depends on whether the bequest would bring you over tax-free inheritance tax thresholds; if it was a capital gain on the sale of some asset held abroad, it would be liable to tax here if it exceeded 1,270. And, of course, if it came from income maybe from a pension or from some foreign project you undertook it should certainly have been declared to Revenue at that time.

If not, you could be in trouble and may need to approach Revenue ahead of the May 1st deadline.

The second issue is any income that these accounts may be giving you. You state that neither is delivering any interest but was that always the case? If there is no interest income now or in the past, there is no liability on that front. If there was, the rules above apply.

And, if you do have something to approach the Revenue about, how do you go about it?

Revenue is hoping people will file any details of the tax and penalties owing through the online MyEnquiries facility available to those filing by ROS (Revenue Online Service) or, for individuals, more likely MyAccount.

You will need to file a Disclosure Form, including a computation of tax, interest and penalties owed. To help on this, Revenue is providing an estimator essentially a special calculator allowing you to work out your liability. You dont have to use its estimator but it may well be easier than you trying to work out any liability especially interest due, which is worked out at a daily rate.

The disclosure forms and estimator are at revenue.ie/ en/business/disclosure.html. That same page also includes a fairly comprehensive file of frequently asked questions (FAQs).

To sum up, if the money in these accounts came from after-tax income and you have earned no interest on them, youre fine and do not need to do anything.

One last thing. For those who do have liabilities but only of a minor nature, they should note that, where the full historical liability on offshore assets and income is less than 6,000, no penalty will be applied either before or after the May 1st deadline but you will still have to pay the tax due.

Send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to dcoyle@irishtimes.com. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice.

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Worried about Revenue clampdown on offshore assets - Irish Times

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Chamber continues to oppose offshore drilling – Destin Log

Posted: at 8:23 pm

By Annie Blanks | 315-4450 | @DestinLogAnnie | ablanks@thedestinlog.com

The Destin Chamber drafted a resolution earlier this year to reinforce its stance opposing offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The resolution states that the Destin Chamber Board of Directors opposes the drilling so that we may preserve and protect our tourism industry and the (Military Mission Line) for military training purposes that protect the United States of America.

Chamber CEO Shane Moody said the board has opposed offshore drilling for the past several years, and the most recent resolution only solidifies the organizations stance.

This is not a new issue, just reinforcement of our position over the years, Moody said. Its out boards decision to help maintain and protect the economy that we have.

The two main reasons the chamber cited for opposing drilling were tourism and the military. Moody said he does not want to see oil spills impact the areas beaches and waters, and oil wells in the Gulf would be unsightly to visitors.

People dont want to sit on the beach and see an oil well 10 or 12 miles out, Moody said. We dont want to see the big tankers out there if theres pollution. (Not having any drilling) maintains the beauty of our beaches we have now, and we dont want anything to destroy that.

The Military Mission Line prohibits offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico so that military units can train without interference. The Air Force and Navy, including forces from Eglin Air Force Base, frequently use the waters for training purposes.

The protection of the (Military Mission Line) expires in a few years, and we want to make sure that thats maintained, Moody said.

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Aging high-seas murder suspect out of hospital and back in court – Sacramento Bee

Posted: at 8:23 pm


Sacramento Bee
Aging high-seas murder suspect out of hospital and back in court
Sacramento Bee
Silas Duane Boston, out of a hospital after apparent complications from heart and liver disease, returned to federal court Tuesday as a judge approved pretrial depositions and set a tentative October date for Boston to face trial for the 1978 murders ...

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Your own private island for 7000: Seven of the most luxurious new private island resorts across the world – The Independent

Posted: at 8:22 pm

For some, a good book, a rectangle of sand to lay a beach towel onand a few days to bask in the sun like a lizard and gorge on local food is enough for a relaxing holiday. For others (namely those with deep pockets), a destination wont do unless it is a private island with access to a yacht, a spa, cigar humidor and a wine cellar.

Below, The Independent roundsup the newest luxury private island resorts from across the globe.

This five-acre stretch of land in the crystal blue waters of the Maldives is a record-breaker. Opened in late 2016, it is not only Four Seasonsfirst private island resort but also currently the only exclusive-use hideaway in the 463 square mile Baa Atoll UnescoWorld Biosphere Reserve, which is made up of 75 islands. Its exclusive use, so rented to single groups, with a maximum of 22 holiday-makers serviced by a full staff.

Guests can both relax and explore the natural beauty surrounding the island. There is access to three villas, a beach house complete with an open-air living room, kitchen, pool deck, library, gym anda spa. The 62ft yacht parked in the lagoon is all yours, whether it's to explore the biosphere reserve or simply snorkel with manta rays and sea turtles.

From 36,700 per night for 22 people

Butlers service every single one of the 77 villas at St. Regis first private island escape, which opened last year. While some rooms are nestled between the dense tropical plants, others are situated slightly off the lagoon of the 23-acre island. Their silver shingle roofs were designed by Singapore-based Wow architects to look like manta rays skimming across the water.

The outdoor infinity pool, spa and library caters to guests yearning for relaxation, while more active holiday-makers can visit the fitness centre, diving and sports centre, and tennis court. Want to get rid of the kids for a bit? Make for the childrens club.

From 1400 per night

Only 10 guests in total can stay on this island, a 45-minute helicopter ride north of Auckland. In 2010, before it was developed (it opened last year), the island was rated second on National Geographic Travelers list of 99 Worlds Top Rated Islands, Coastlines and Beachesin 2010. Its owner discovered it during his round-the-world super-yacht trip (of course).

As temperatures on the island hover between 22-26C in the summer and 14-17C in the winter, this isnt so much a resort for sunning yourself, but rather for wildlife watching. Each of the five suites on the purpose-built 29m property has a balcony overlooking Helena Bay and the South Pacific Ocean, and comes with a pair of Leica binoculars. The nearby Poor Knights Island is home to the worlds largest sea cave and is a habitat for orca, dolphins and hundreds of species of fish. The rugged landscape means its also perfect for hiking, biking and fishing.

The estate also features a gym, a 25m heated swimming pool, a library, and an outdoor fire pit for guests more into relaxing than hiking, and there's also a spa inspired by a Russian banya, over 1000 bottles of New Zealand and international wines in the cellar, and an offshoot of the Amalfi Coast's two Michelin-starred Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890.

Doubles from 1020, half board

This resort, which opened last year, is located on Flicit, among the 115 islands of the Seychelles archipelago. As a satellite of the nearby La Digue, Grande Soeur, Petite Soeur, Coco and Marianne islands, it means its ideal for Greek-style island hopping.

Its 30 one-bed villas,each shrouded by tropical plants,are a 20-minute helicopter ride from Seychelles International Airport on the main island of Mah, and look out onto the Indian Ocean. Each has a 20m infinity pool and access to the rock-edged pools and three private white sand beaches.

In a push for sustainability, the resort has a reverse osmosis plant and crystal water refinery removing the need for plastic bottles. As for food, the resort currently has a chicken farm and organic garden.

Doubles from 1,075

Set to open in April, this luxury lodge is on Nosy Ankao, on of the biggest of five islands off the north-eastern coast of Madagascar.

Miavana, by the team behind the award-winning North Island lodge in the Seychelles and Chinzombo in Zambia, is a resort for those hungry to experience Madagascars wildlife, 90 per cent of which is endemic. Its 14 villas are set across 5km of white beaches, with views across the ocean which stress to mainland Madagascar to the west. When you want to venture out, marine safari guides head explorations of the archipelagos beaches, lagoons and channels and aquamarine bays.

Villas from 3,360 per night

The winner of the Worlds Leading Exclusive Private Islandat theWorld Travel Awards 2016, this is the ultimate in luxury:atropical island withjust one villa.

Positioned in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Tanzania, Thanda, which opened last year, is in the middle of a coral reef, and is home to two species of turtle, with afurther three in the surrounding waters. Those headed to the island for an autumn or winter break might also spot whale sharks, which pass through the waters between October and February. Dugongs, an endangered sea mammal, also sometimes make an appearance.

Guests stay in the villa, which has five en-suite bedrooms as well as outr extras like an indoor aquarium, Steinway piano and cigar humidor. There is, of course, aninfinity pool. When that gets tiresome, you can move tothe two traditional Tanzanian banda tents, or head to the spa.

From 7,000 per night

Withexplorers wanted as its tagline, guests at this resort have access to six islands situated to the north-east of Singapore.

At Bawah, which is a 150 nautical-mile plane ride from the mainland, a maximum of 70 guests will be allowed to visit at any given time (it opens this year). Thats more than some other private island resorts. Still, it's set across 300 hectares of land and the destination offers nature-lovers access to a jungle canopy for trekking, three lagoons, and 13 white-sand beaches.

Aimed atcouples, the accommodation comes in the form of 35 tented villas. 21 of the have a view of the lagoons, three are surrounded by vegetation, while the remaining 11 are designed for watching the sun rise and set.

Price to be announced

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Drums, Voices, and Circles – Memphis Democrat

Posted: at 8:21 pm

Max, Christina, and Emma singing their hearts out. Photo by Javi.

Im sure that lots happened this last week here at Dancing Rabbit, but all I can think about is singing.

Christina here, bringing news of drums, voices, and circles.

Before I moved to Dancing Rabbit, singing was barely a part of my life. Sure, I sang to the kids to get them to sleep at night and I sang in the car all the time. But Id been told sometime somewhere that I wasnt a good singer, and so I never really sang with or around other people.

When I came to my first visitor session, I was by myself. I heard that there was this thing called song circle, but I was too timid to go. I remember walking by the Common House that night and seeing people sitting around on the couches and chairs in a loose circle and singing. It looked intriguing.

I decided that it would be a good experience for the kidseducational and all that. So when I came back for my second visitor session, this time with the whole family, we decided to check out this song circle thing.

When we finally moved here, early last February, the kids and I kept showing upon Wednesdaynights at7:45, sitting in those couches and chairs, and learning new songs. The way it usually works is someone starts off by requesting a song. We all do our best to sing it, or learn it if we dont know it. We then go around the circle, and everyone has a chance to request what we sing. There are a few stronger singers, and there are some who are not always (or often) on tune. There are also a few who are good at leading and teaching new songs, and some who forget the words every week.

There wasnt any big revelation for me, or a moment when I realized how important singing had become in my life; it was more of a gradual change. But one day, I found myself looking forward toWednesdaynight, making lists of songs to request, and walking around singing the new songs Id learned all week long.

Fast forward to this past weekend. Alyssa decided a few months ago to organize a weekend singing retreat. The idea was that we would spend a day and a half learning new songs and eating together and not doing much else. Because Alyssa is a master organizer and has a great talent for making things happen, she rounded up over 30 adults and I think 11 kids, from the tri-communities as well as from La Plata and further afield. Housing was arranged, meals were coordinated, tea and snacks were set up, and chairs were placed in a circle again, this time in La Casa.

So, we spentFridayafternoon and night andSaturdaymorning and afternoonand a bonus kid sessionon Saturdaynightlearning new songs. The amazing song leaders who had traveled in for the retreat kept the energy high and the intentions focused. We sang rounds and harmonies and danced in circles and lay on the floor on mats. We learned African songs and Norwegian songs and folk songs and brand new songs that had been written by a friend of a friend. We sang sad songs and joyous songs and silly songs and hauntingly beautiful songs. We shared lots and lots of good foodso much that there was enough for an unplanned dinneron Saturdaynight. My throat was aching bySaturdaylunch, and my head was full of many many new songs.

This might sound like a lot of singingand it was.On SundayI felt that strange mental hangover that I feel after a big holiday or vacation is over.

Obviously, community can exist without singing, but Ive been told that many communities have singing traditions. Its interesting to think about why this isIm pretty sure that none of my friends back in mainstream life have anything of the sort in their lives.

For me, there are a few things I love about this specific kind of singing.

Its super cheap entertainment.In fact, its usually free. Not that I refuse to ever spend money on things that are fun, but I definitely do resent the idea that I think is pretty common in mainstream life that you have to spend money to do anything excitinggoing out to dinner, seeing a movie, even driving to a friends house all cost something. But walking over to the Common House on aWednesdaynight costs nothing but the time.

A bond is created when people are sharing their voices in song. Its partly another example of a time when we work together to achieve something. Its also the fact that theres nowhere to hideyou have to make eye contact at some point no devices or even songbooks to hide behind.

I get out of my head for the time being.It is not easy for me to stop thinkingabout what I have to do today, what I havent done yet, what I already did, what were having for dinner, or whether or not the clothes are dry yet. But when Im singing a song at song circle, I am totally there. Its enough to think about the words of a song that I silence all those other thoughts for a little while, but its not so much that it becomes a stressful task in and of itself.

Watching my kids sing is one of the greatest joys in my life.Looking over to see their sweet relaxed faces, totally focused in the moment and enjoying themselves, is really quite incredible. They are just so pure and innocent in that moment.

There are many many reasons why we moved to Dancing Rabbit, and for the most part, those reasons are still relevant to our decision to stay. But its also fascinating how many things I love about living here that I hadnt even anticipated. Singing is one of those. Im hooked now, and I dont intend on stopping any time soon. Even if I am off-key (most of the time).

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and educational nonprofit outside Rutledge, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Public tours are offered April October on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. In the meantime you can find out more about us by checking out our website, http://www.dancingrabbit.org, calling the office at (660) 883-5511, or emailing us at dancingrabbit@ic.org.

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12 band members struck by vehicle at Alabama Mardi Gras parade – Chicago Tribune

Posted: at 8:21 pm

Twelve members of the Gulf Shores marching band were struck and injured by a 2008 Ford Expedition driven by a 73-year-old Fairhope man during the start of the city's annual Mardi Gras parade Tuesday, forcing its cancellation and creating a chaotic scene at the parade's starting point.

Of the 12, three were listed in critical but stable condition at hospitals where the injured were taken to in Foley, Pensacola and Mobile. The age range of the injured students was from 12 to 17 years old, and involved a mix of middle school and high school students who comprise the marching band.

"We are very saddened by this event," Gulf Shores city spokesman Grant Brown said. "This is 39 years that this parade has been going on. These are our children, these are our friends and our people. To have this happen is horrible."

Police are investigating the incident as a "tragic accident" which occurred around 10:05 a.m. as the parade began on Gulf Shores Parkways near Clubhouse Drive. The stretch of the parkway, which is part of Ala. 59, was shut down for most of the day prompting motorists to be re-routed to alternative routes to leave the beach area.

Gulf Shores Police Chief Ed Delmore said the driver, whose name he declined to release, was not driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Delmore also said there was no indication that the incident was intentional.

"We are certain at this point it was not an intentional act and that it was an accident," Delmore said. "Beyond that, we are still investigating and don't want to speculate on the dynamics of what happened."

Delmore said that police have custody of the vehicle and that the driver was being cooperative in submitting to blood tests and questioning. He said it could be "weeks" before the investigation is wrapped up.

"Like any kind of investigation of this type, we have to look at the human factor and the equipment factor," said Delmore. "Part of that is to look at the equipment and the black box and we combine all of those things to find a conclusion of what happened, not to mention we are looking at video of the incident and witness statements. It takes time."

Delmore said an FBI agent in Mobile contacted his office offering assistance, but police declined it.

"Learning that it was not an intentional act and not anything strictly of a criminal nature, we denied the assistance," Delmore said. "We do appreciate them reaching out to us."

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, in a statement, said he's directed the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to assist Gulf Shores police with any resources they may need. The governor thanked the first responders and emergency personnel for their work in assisting the injured.

"To the students, band members, families and community, please know I, and the people of this state, are praying for you," Bentley said in the statement.

Brown said the Ford Expedition was part of the parade, and was associated with the American Legion honor guard. The vehicle had a "MOAA" banner on the side of it, which stands for the Military Officers Association of American.

Brown said he was unsure what the man's affiliation was with the group, which is based out of Virginia.

The MOAA, in a statement, said they were aware of the accident that involved a vehicle representing "the local MOAA chapter."

"We have been made aware of the incident and our staff is gathering facts at this time," said Jonathan Withington, a spokesman with the organization. "We don't know the circumstances and we're unaware of the cause of the incident involving our Gulf Shores Chapter. We're concerned about those who have been injured and our hearts and prayers go out to them and their families as they deal with this unfortunate mishap."

Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler said counselors will be on duty Wednesday to meet with students in Gulf Shores. The school system was off Tuesday in recognition of the Mardi Gras holiday, which is celebrated in communities throughout the Gulf Coast.

"It's tough. It's difficult," said Tyler. "We got a great family, law enforcement, the city of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. It's a special county."

Brown said the city had not received specific updates about the injured students, saying that privacy laws and insurance prohibited the release of that information.

The parade's abrupt cancellation caused confusion along the route, which consisted of all of Alabama 59 from the Intercoastal Waterway Bridge toward the beach. Word spread on social media about the parade's cancellation, though a Mardi Gras parade later in the day still took place in Orange Beach. Some of the same floats and marching groups participated in that parade, and a banner honoring the Gulf Shores band was on display.

Near the crash scene, witnesses such as Carol Ann Nix described a scary scene.

"I was thinking, 'oh my gosh this is some terrorism act,'" said Nix of Plymouth, Ind., who is staying in Fort Morgan for the winter months. "Then I saw the old guy and his expression was horror and disbelief."

"It was unbelievable that this happened," she added.

The crash occurred less than three days after 28 people were injured when a truck plowed into a crowd at a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. The driver of that incident, according to police, was highly intoxicated.

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Citizen Science Means Anyone Could Discover Planet NineEven You – Singularity Hub

Posted: at 8:20 pm

In the first week that US scientists recruited the public to help identify a possible ninth planet in our solar system, more than 20,000 people volunteered to join the search. About 50,000 people around the world have signed up to allow Australian astronomers to siphon off a bit of their computing power to study the universe. Thousands more are expected to help capture a mega-movie of a major solar eclipse this summer.

It seems that astronomers, astrophysicists and others who study life, the universe and everything are turning to citizen scientists to help them collect and even analyze data. Its possible that one of these amateur scientific sleuths might find the answer is something other than 42. Or, at the very least, spot a brown dwarf or a galaxy cluster.

Citizen science has a very promising outlook because of the way that so many research areas are becoming data-driven, says University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) postdoctoral researcher Aaron Meisner. Meisner is a physicist on a quest to discover the so-called Planet 9, hypothetically as large as Neptune but on an orbit so distant around the sun that its nearly impossible to detect. The researchers also hope to identify nearby, low-density stars called brown dwarfs.

What Meisner has is loads of data: millions of infrared images captured by NASAs Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer space telescope. Meisner has his teamincluding researchers from Arizona State University, NASA, American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimorehave created a website called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9.

The idea is for volunteers to log onto the website and analyze flipbooksshort movies made up of four or more frames, each taken from the entire sky several times during the last seven yearsto detect objects that appear to move or change appearance. The images have too much noise for an automated search by computer.

Meisner tells Singularity Hub that citizen scientists have already made nearly two million classifications, representing about 10 percent of the entire database.

At any given time, we'll have something like 250 to 500 users classifying data, and they're actually classifying so quickly that were racing to upload enough flipbooks to keep pace, he says. Our team has been blown away by the response.

The project coordinators promise to include the names of volunteers who contribute to a possible discovery on any published papers.

Some citizen scientists have enjoyed even more fame. Last year, two amateur astronomers helped discover one of the biggest galaxy clusters ever identified. The Matorny-Terentev Cluster RGZ-CL J0823.2+0333 now bears their name, and the duo also got credit in a paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Citizen scientists arent just relegated to analyzing fuzzy pictures of distant celestial objects.

Researchers are recruiting amateur astronomers and photographers across the US to record a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Photos from the participants on the ground will be stitched together into a movie documenting the entire path of the event, from the coast of Oregon until the moons shadow falls over the east coast off South Carolina.

The ubiquity of technology like smartphone cameras with GPS help make projects like the Eclipse Megamovie possible, according to UC Berkeley solar physicist Hugh Hudson, who proposed the Megamovie idea in 2011, along with Scott McIntosh of the National Center for Atmospheric Researchs High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado.

We hope to extract different movies from what we expect will be a huge and diverse database, Hudson says by email to Singularity Hub. We realized a couple of years ago that we could augment the good imagery, as obtained by our better-equipped volunteers, as well as programs such as Citizen CATE, with simple smartphones.

The Megamovie Project isnt just about making a cool-looking film. Hudson and his team hope to learn about the interactions between the suns outermost layer, the corona, and another layer of the suns atmosphere called the chromosphere. The thin chromosphere is difficult to observe, lost in the glare of another layer called the photosphere.

The technical advantage of an eclipse is that one can see right down to the chromosphere, Hudson says.

And the technical advantage of citizen scientists?

There are many questions about complex databases that require human ingenuity and insight, as well as patient observation, Hudson says, speaking more generally. Id say the main benefit to science is thus to generate unique facts about the database that otherwise would have gone unrecognized. For the Megamovie database, we have a list of things that we would offer the volunteers, but we are expecting them to generate ideas as well.

A project out of Australia called theSkyNet, with a tongue-in-cheek nod to the Terminator movies, isnt asking for brain power, but computing power. The International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) has run the citizen science project since 2011. Its 50,000 volunteers allow astronomers to connect their computers via the internet, basically creating a mid-range supercomputer.

Researchers use theSkyNet supercomputer to process data from various radio telescopes, which collect information on a different wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum. The research is diverse, from studying the evolution of the early universe to the formation of stars.

It turns out citizen science isnt just good for research. It can also be therapeutic.

Scientists showed in a paper just published by the journalPublic Library of Science (PLoS) that patients requiring physical therapy did betterand were more engagedwhen the exercises involved participating in a citizen science project.

In the case of the study published in PLoS, participants helped map a polluted canal in New York with a miniature instrumented boat. The boat was remotely controlled through physical gestures using a low-cost motion capture system. Scientists got environmental data, patients received needed exercise, and the researchers validated a new approach to physical therapy.

Our methodology expands behavioral rehabilitation by providing an engaging and fun natural user interface, a tangible scientific contribution, and an attractive low-cost markerless technology for human motion capture, says Maurizio Porfiri, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, in a press release.

Technology isnt just leading to new breakthroughs in space exploration and other fields, its enabling regular people to participate in scientific discovery at scales never before possible. Enlisting tens of thousands of people to engage in research to nearby stars and beyond is truly exponential.

Image Credit: NASA

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Citizen Science Means Anyone Could Discover Planet NineEven You - Singularity Hub

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