Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Manish Sisodia walks out press meeting

17 02 2015

Handling of media is an action of wisdom and not an act of intellectuals.

Disgruntled lots disguised as party managers must be trained to handle the important aspect of handling media who Qs not for themselves but for the ” Good of the people”. In case the leaders are not prepared to answer any Q can go the next Q, there is no obligation on part of leaders to ans all Q.


AAP  has become totally  unfriendly with the media persons and is in the habit of hearing soft and appreciation for their party when they have not shown any concrete actions of appreciation on the ground.

Their pep-up talk to few reputed media in form of adv or other connections has made their mind full of arrogance because of their splash visibility on the channels specially of their convener but lacks in formatting any concrete actions .

With their behaviors, expression always people around all corrupts and they the pure of all purest is their fix jinx. They are  unable to give vision of their path to be tread or road map for their actions. Hence their  continuous harping or chirping to  give corruptions free system seems to be fuel of their take off state. This will soon be in jeopardy because of their lack of basic etiquette are  absent. Party leaders crude behavior  towards MSME media to which they have no soft words,plus do not offer or ask for water to reporters  during their briefing.When party lacks to tackle their media friends, treat them with distrust,disdain. Party workers & leaders having no space in governance do speak  with arrogance urgently need to learn public speaking before public delivery system. Thus the first encounter with media is quite obvious and first media drama happens as such-:

Manish Sisodia walks out of press meeting: Uncomfortable with questions?

Barred from entering the Delhi Secretariat, reporters boycotted a press conference called by Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today and forced him to leave press briefing mid-way, this on the first day of the new government’s work. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his team have made many promises to the people of the city – from better safety for its women to free water and electricity and citizens empowerment on civic issues. The big question is: where the money will come from to fulfill so many of these promises? The knives are already out on the first working day of the government, but isn’t it too soon to judge them?




News from the Tow Center

17 02 2015

February 16, 2015

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Play The News: A Report by Max Foxman
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm How can games be used to tell stories?  Are news games the future of journalism? Max Foxman has explored news companies that are experimenting with play. It’s an adventurous time. From ProPublica to BuzzFeed and MTV, designers, journalists and creative technologists are redefining the user experience of journalism, combining delight and play with the traditional product. Foxman’s new report examines all this experimentation and draws out lessons for journalists and news room leaders.
RSVP

RECENT EVENTS

Lies, Damn Lies, and Viral Content: A Report Launch Last Tuesday, we launched a report on rumors and debunking by Craig Silverman with a panel discussion featuring Anna Dubenko of Digg, Margarita Noriega of Fusion, and Max Read of Gawker.
Read the report here
Watch the video

Journalism After Snowden Closing The Tow Center closed its Journalism After Snowden program with an event at the Newseum in Washington DC — National Security Reporting in the Age of Surveillance: A Conversation About Reporting Post-Snowden, and the release of a new report by the Pew Research Center titled Investigative Journalists and Digital Security.  The panelists included Dean Baquet, Executive Editor of the New York Times, Marty Baron, Editor of the Washington Post, and Susan Glasser, Editor of Polito.
Watch the video here
Read our new report Learning Security: Information Security Education for Journalists
Watch new video on Digital Security by the Tow Center

LEDE PROGRAM

Data Certification Bootcamp: Columbia Journalism School is offering an intensive summer or two-semester certification in computational journalism, designed to give storytellers of all kinds the analytic tools to turn data into narrative. Students in the Lede Program take core courses in coding, statistics, data analysis and visualization; and may stay on for fall study in the Department of Computer Science, or elsewhere across the university. No prior experience is needed. For info, see here; contact jrncomputation@columbia.edu; or join our 1/29 Info Session, hosted by the J-School’s Mark Hansen and Jonathan Soma. *Apply by Feb. 15.*




AirAsia Group is pleased to announce its operating 4th Quarter 2014

17 02 2015
Preliminary Operating Statistics
For the 4th Quarter and Full Financial Year Ended 2014

F

AirAsia X Berhad (“AAX” or “the Company”), the long-haul, low cost airline affiliate of the AirAsia Group is pleased to announce its operating statistics for the 4th Quarter 2014 (“4Q14”) and the Full Financial Year ended 31 December 2014 (“FY2014” or “2014”). 

AAX’s passenger size grew another 1.1 million passengers or 34% year-on-year (“y-o-y”) to 4.2 million passengers in FY2014, on the back of stronger branding, enhanced customer experience and larger capacity at KLIA2. Capacity as measured by Available-Seat-KM (“ASK”) grew by 31% y-o-y, with the introduction of new routes- Nagoya, Xian, and Narita in 2014. Load factor for the full year remains healthy at 82.0% despite challenging market conditions.

For 4Q14, AAX’s passenger traffic grew 9% y-o-y, against 8% y-o-y increase in ASK capacity. Consequently, load factor improved by 0.5 percentage points to 81.4%, implying capacity injected during the peak quarter was well absorbed by demand arising from year-end holiday travel.
The Company had during the quarter took delivery of 2 A330-300 on operating lease, bringing its total number of A330-300s to 23, 2 A340-300s (to be returned early second quarter of 2015), and 1 A330-200 (to be returned by first quarter of 2015). Its fleet size has expanded to 26 aircraft from 19, in the same period last year.
On the associates, Thai AirAsia X registered strong load of 84.4% for its 4Q14, with 159,034 passengers carried, showing faster-than-expected pick-up for the well popular routes between Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. Thai AirAsia X launched its inaugural flights to Incheon in July 2014, Osaka, Narita in September 2014, and recently added Sapporo as its 3rd destination in Japan. Indonesia AirAsia X, on the other hand, is set to commence with four times weekly Denpasar – Taipei service in March 2015.
4th Quarter 2014 Operating Statistics

 
Full Year 2014 Operating Statistics

(1)                Number of earned seats flown. Earned seats comprise seats sold to passengers (including no-shows) and seats provided for promotional purposes
(2)                Number of seats flown
(3)                Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) / Available Seat Kilometres (ASK)
(4)                Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) measures an airline’s passenger capacity. Total seats flown multiplied by the number of kilometres flown
(5)                Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) is a measure of the volume of passengers carried by the airline. Number of passengers multiplied by the number of kilometres these passengers have flown
(6)                Number of flights flown
(7)                Number of aircraft including spares




Quake of M6.7 – SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION

17 02 2015
Today at 4:10 AM




Quake of M6.8 – NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

17 02 2015
Today at 5:18 AM




Volatile Cotton Sector Struggles to Balance Cost and Benefits

17 02 2015
  

Volatile Cotton Sector Struggles to Balance Cost and Benefits


New Worldwatch Institute analysis explores trends and impacts of global cotton production
Washington
, D.C.
—-Growing cotton provides livelihoods for an estimated 100 million households in as many as 85 countries. But adverse global market conditions and reliance on large doses of water, fertilizer, and pesticides impose considerable social and environmental costs, writes Michael Renner, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, in the Institute’s latest Vital Signs Online article (www.worldwatch.org).

Although synthetic materials are making inroads, cotton remains by far the most important natural fiber for textiles. In 2013/14, an estimated 26.3 million tons of cotton were produced worldwide.

Cultivating cotton accounts for about 3 percent of all agricultural water use worldwide. Countries that import cotton or finished cotton products also bring in large amounts of embedded “virtual water” with these imports and have considerable water footprints. Producing a pair of jeans takes an estimated 10,850 liters of water, and a t-shirt takes 2,720 liters.
The legions of small cotton farmers around the world face a set of challenges largely beyond their control. In addition to unfair subsidies (totaling $47 billion between 2001 and 2010 for the United States, China, and Europe), they must deal with health risks from pesticide use and, in some cases, insurmountable levels of debt.

Cotton is a very pesticide-intensive crop (accounting for 16 percent of global insecticide use and 6.8 percent of herbicide use), with potential repercussions, such as pest resistance and adverse health impacts on farmers that range from acute poisoning to long-term effects. Pesticides and fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus, potash) can also leach out of the plant’s root zone and contaminate groundwater and surface water.

Sadly, severe indebtedness has caused an estimated 100,000 cotton farmers in India to commit suicide over a 10-year period. Indebtedness results from numerous factors, including the rising cost of pesticides and genetically modified seeds, low yields due to droughts, and the declining price that cotton fetches on world markets.

Several initiatives exist to improve the social and environmental conditions under which cotton is produced. In organic production, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are replaced with organic substances, soil fertility management, and integrated pest management. Fair trade producers, usually small family farms organized in cooperatives or associations, receive a minimum price covering the average costs of sustainable production, as well as a premium.

One effort, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), seeks to reduce the environmental impact of cotton production, improve the livelihoods of farmers, and promote decent work. In 2013, just 3.7 percent of all cotton was produced in accordance with BCI principles, but the goal for 2020 is to extend this to 30 percent and to involve 5 million farmers. Such initiatives offer important benefits to cotton farmers. But for the moment, at least, they account for only a relatively small share of the industry.
—-END—-
Notes to Editors:    
For more information and to obtain a complimentary copy of “Volatile Cotton Sector Struggles to Balance Cost and Benefits please contact Gaelle Gourmelon. Click to preview the trend.

About the Worldwatch Institute:
Worldwatch is an independent research organization based in Washington, D.C. that works on energy, resource, and environmental issues. The Institute’s State of the World report is published annually in more than a dozen languages. For more information, visit www.worldwatch.org.
About Vital Signs Online:
Vital Signs Online provides business leaders, policymakers, and engaged citizens with the latest data and analysis they need to understand critical global trends. It is an interactive, subscription-based tool that provides hard data and research-based insights on the sustainability trends that are shaping our future. All of the trends include clear analysis and are placed in historical perspective, allowing you to see where the trend has come from and where it might be headed. New trends cover emerging hot topics-from global carbon emissions to green jobs-while trend updates provide the latest data and analysis for the fastest changing and most important trends today. Every trend includes full datasets and complete referencing.




ADR requests Chief Minister of Delhi to take cognizance of the findings of the ADR-Daksh Survey

17 02 2015

ADR requests Chief Minister of Delhi to take cognizance of the findings of the ADR-Daksh Survey that captured the top 10 Governance Issues as perceived by the Delhi voters.

Dear Shri Arvind Kejriwal,
1)      We the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) along with Daksh conducted perhaps the largest ever survey in any one country. The survey was conducted across 525 Lok Sabha constituencies and over 2, 50,000 voters participated in this exercise spread among various demographics. The main objective of this survey was to find outvoter perception on specific governance issues and the rated performance of our Government on those issues.
 2)     The survey was conducted during December 2013 to February 2014, prior to the Lok Sabha elections. While conducting this survey voters were asked to rate the 30 most important issues in their particular region in terms of their capacity, governance and specific roles in improving the living conditions of the voters. These aspects are analyzed in relation to the performance of the Government on those issues as perceived by the respondents.
3)     To identify what are voter priorities in terms of governance issues like water, electricity, roads, food, education and health, a list of 30 items was given to voters and they were asked to rate whether a particular issue was High, Medium, or Low. This list was comprehensive as less than 5% said that there were “other issues” beyond the list.
 4)      The results of the Perception Assessment shows the striking difference between the priorities of the voters and the performance of the Government on those issues. Voter priorities have changed and expectations have gone up. There is a need to re-set some of the priorities to reflect what the voters really need and to improve governance.
 5)     The key objective of this perception assessment is to provide an improved understanding of the importantexpectations of voters from the Government and how they assess its performance. In addition, it seeks to fill a vital gap in contemporary times, namely, evidence based research and action on governance. For far too long we have depended entirely on ideology or the opinions or various experts. Though that is important, we also need to reflect the priorities of citizens. These priorities and assessments will change over time, and hence there is a need to repeat this survey periodically.
 6)     The overall score in Delhi, on a scale of 10, for Importance of Issues was 8.88. This meant that the 30 issues presented to voters were rated as between Medium and High Priority. In other words, expectation from the Government across Delhi state was high. The voters gave an overall Government’s performance rating of 5.86 on a scale of 10, to these 30 issues, which meant Below Average performance.
 The all India score of Importance of all 30 Issues is 7.51 (out of 10), which means that voters of Delhi (with importance score of 8.88/10) expect more from the Delhi Government and the gap between performance score (5.86/10) of the Delhi Government, as perceived by the voters, and the importance score of issues as felt by them underscores their disappointment.

S. No.
Score (on a scale of 10)
Delhi India
1
Expectations of Governance Issues as perceived by voters
8.88 7.51
2
Delhi Government’s Performance on the Issues as perceived by voters
5.86 5.68
 Importance Scores of all 30 Governance Issues as perceived by Delhi and all-India Voters and Governments’ Performance Scores as perceived by the voters
7)     In Delhi, Drinking Water was rated as the highest priority, getting a score of 9.24, followed by Better HospitalsBetter Electricity SupplyBetter Law and OrderBetter RoadsBetter Public Transport,Better SchoolsBetter Employment OpportunitiesSecurity for Women and Subsidized Food Distribution as the Top 10 issues with scores between 9.05 and 9.24 about which people are most concerned.
The table below shows the Delhi’s top 10 Governance Issues with their importance scores as felt by the Delhi voters and the Delhi Government’s performance scores on each issue as perceived by the voters. The table also provides the corresponding figures, for the top-10 Delhi Issues, as reported by all India voters. It can be seen that Delhi voters’ expectations are significantly higher.
Inline image 1
 Perceived Importance Scores of Delhi’s top 10 Governance Issues and Delhi Government’s Performance Scores on the Issues as perceived by the Delhi voters  compared with scores capturing the perceptions of all-India voters on the Delhi’s top 10 Governance Issues
We earnestly request that your Government take a serious note of the findings of the ADR-Daksh Survey and prepare a blueprint at earliest so that the most pressing Governance Issues as reported by the Delhi voters may be catered and resolved sooner rather than later.
We wish you all the best in your Government’s endeavors to put Delhi on the path of development.
Inline image 2
Enclosures:
 
1. Appendix A: Top 10 Governance Issues as reported by Delhi voters 
 
and the Delhi Government’s Performance on these issues.
 
2. Appendix B: Methodology of the Survey
 
3. Appendix C: Sample Questionnaire of the Survey

Association for Democratic Reforms
T-95A, C.L. House, 1st Floor,
(Near Gulmohar Commercial Complex)
Gautam Nagar
New Delhi-110 049
M: +91 8010394248 
T: +91 11 41654200
F: 011 4609 4248
 

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