This event will screen the movie Cobalt Rush – The future of going green which investigates the human and environmental costs associated with the extraction of minerals for the transition to net zero a Q&A session with our panellists will take place The decarbonisation of the transportation sector is a vital component in achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement governments around the world are pushing forward the transition away from combustion engine to electric vehicles the production of electric vehicles necessitates the use of raw materials The movie sheds light into the human and environmental consequences of mining cobalt the mineral deposits on land are highly concentrated in just a few countries making their global availability dependent on trade relationships and vulnerable to supply disruptions that may result from export restrictions political instability or natural disasters Such supply challenges have the potential to delay the transition to net zero but also hold implications for the financial system and its stability Quentin Noirfalisse is a Belgian journalist He has directed four feature documentaries the return of a hero (2023) and After the rain (2024) He has produced more than 15 documentaries for theatrical releases and major European broadcasters (RTBF He specializes on corporate responsibility climate inequalities and has a focus on the DR Congo where he has lived in 2009 and 2012 and has kept working on the major challenges the country is facing in the 21st century.   Richard Perkins is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and an associate of the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment Richard’s research interests focus on the governance of climate and environmental change by both public and private actors His most recent work is concerned with interrogating sustainable/green finance Anneke Van Woudenberg is the Executive Director of corporate watchdog RAID a UK NGO which specializes in holding companies to account for human rights abuses and environmental harm Previously she was the Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch where for 14 years she led in-depth fact-finding on human rights violations across sub-Saharan Africa She has testified at international war crimes trials the US Congress and the British and European parliaments and is a frequent commentator in the international press Anneke has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics Elizabeth Robinson (@EJZRobinson66) is Director of the Grantham Research Institute at LSE The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (@GRI_LSE) was established by the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2008 to create a world-leading multidisciplinary centre for policy-relevant research and training on climate change and the environment bringing together international expertise from across LSE and beyond A podcast of this event is available to download from Cobalt rush: raw materials and the transition to net zero. Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel Photographs taken on behalf of LSE are often used on our social media accounts photographs could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre and of audience members as they participate in the Q&A If you are photographed participating in an event Q&A but would not like your photograph to be stored for future use, please contact events@lse.ac.uk Follow LSE public events on X for the latest updates on all our events and ticket releases.  Livestreams and archive videos of past lectures are shared on our YouTube channel while event podcasts can be found on the LSE Player London School of Economics and Political Science LSE is a private company limited by guarantee Campus map Contact us Cookie policy Report a page Accessibility Statement Terms of use Privacy policy Modern Slavery Statement This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page There was no direct danger during a confrontation between a boy who was cycling and wolves in Woudenberg the organization did say that the situation was a problem as the wolves were within 30 meters of the boy The incident allegedly happened on the Voskuilerdijk The boy claims that he was cycling to school when ten wolves came out of a nearby bush before standing around him The fright caused the boy to fall off his bike The Dutch Mammal Society analyzed the incident at the request of the province of Utrecht be reconstructed according to the Mammal Society," the province said But if the incident unfolded as this report indicates the wolves are likely from the pack on Heuvelrug where a maximum of seven wolves are living "The fact that the boy thinks there were ten or more does not alter that prediction because it would have been an impressive event for the boy." The Mammal Society again advised tracking all wolves They believe this could have provided faster and more accurate information in this incident This was confirmed by the responsible deputy The province is working on a license to catch and track the pack of wolves on the Heuvelrug The license was initially only requested for one wolf which specialists claimed was causing trouble Sterk said that the province wants to use transmitters to get information about the animals so that action can be taken quickly if necessary SGP States Member Bertrick van den Dikkenberg said that these types of issues should not be taken lightly Sterk replied by saying that this is certainly not the case She said that she had contacted the boy's father about the Mammal Society's analysis and expressed commitment Arne Schaddelee of the ChristenUnie said that it is also important to take this into context and it is good to look at it in a healthy and critical way," Schaddelee said about the incident in Woudenberg And one of the facts is that no one has been fatally injured by the wolf in Europe for 40 years." The province of Utrecht is advising children who are cycling through the forest areas to cycle in groups the advice is to always have an adult cycle with you.” Marla (Terry) Buresh; 9 granddaughters; 8 great-grandchildren; 3 great great-grandchildren Saturday (12-5-15) Havelock United Methodist Church The family requests those attending wear fun socks Memorials in lieu of flowers to the church sign up for email or text message notifications We respect your privacy. The data gathered will only be used for official Roper & Sons correspondence. For more information see our privacy policy We understand that grieving doesn’t end after the service We offer Aftercare for grief support as you process and heal from your loss Michael: Hi, it’s wonderful to be part of the Tech Writer’s Stack, and I’ve loved the incredible network and collaboration that Substack is allowing us to build, which I found largely absent from other blog spaces.  My background is a menagerie of experiences across multiple domains and disciplines.  I call myself an aspiring Polymath; a jack of all trades and master of none but more often better than a master of one My core background is in systems engineering, but it’s more like systems thinking.  I like to say that Systems Thinking is more than just engineering and consists of three things: the humility to accept we just don’t know that much Third is intentional reframing of a problem or idea to see if we really do understand it I’ve got a Master's Degree in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins and a diverse background in advanced technologies such as autonomy and weapon systems across a variety of companies from tech startups to Fortune 150 companies I also recently founded Polymathic Disciplines, which provides Systems Innovation to unlock the full potential across multiple domains and disciplines.  As mentioned earlier, I am also the author on Substack of Polymathic Being which provides counterintuitive insights from technology Edem: You recently announced your new book titled Paradox Michael: Paradox is a science fiction novel that explores AI and dives into what it means to be human The tagline is: In the battle over Advanced AI will we lose our humanity or learn what truly makes us human It really explores the paradox of being human and what it would take to actually achieve a sentient artificial intelligence along with all the challenges and potential consequences My goal is that I want people to wonder which side they’d take in the end because I’m still not sure myself Here’s a fun video trailer that gives a nice summary Michael: Fiction is the art of narrative that is not purely grounded in fact. Paradox is where science fiction meets science fact The book idea started about five years ago when I was trying to figure out how to take the psychology and theology of being human and make it more interesting to read AI makes a great plot device to work with because the goal is if we achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) AGI simply means that AI is as good or better than humans you need to learn a lot about what it means to be human and we are a lot more complex than we fully understand and humans are built on top of an emotional brain which is also connected to a hormonal or gut brain Let’s just say there’s a lot to explore there any author who is using a computer with a word processor and a search engine is using AI to write What is slightly different is that ChatGPT 4.0 helped me to kick it off I just asked GPT to put together a narrative on a few topics But the truth is that AI is a terrible author It takes so much time and effort to craft the prompts right for any results it helped me get off the blank page problem that so many authors are blocked by It was useful for coming up with names for characters and organizations one of the key organizations defending humanity was recommended by ChatGPT due to the connection to the Greek myth of the Titan Hyperion Edem: Let’s talk about the potential of AI in fiction How do you envision AI could change the fiction writing landscape Michael: Right now, AI is a terrible author.  It’s okay with simple descriptions, research, character definition, etc. It really can’t do longer form narrative well. It’s something that is explored in Paradox in Chapter 3 What the characters find is that AI is good at mimicry; it just isn’t very good at creativity A more painful conversation is that those who are worried about AI replacing them probably have a point The key to not being replaceable is to have a skillset or an understanding of what makes humans unique that can’t be algorithmized away.\ I do worry that a lot of weak writers will start using the LLMs to crank out bad content We saw this recently with a book someone published literally two days after the Maui fire about how the fire was indicative of climate change I’m not even sure the fellow took the time to read it before he pushed it to Amazon how would you use Text models to facilitate your creative process Michael: Well, I wouldn’t rewrite this book, but I am about to kick off book two.  It’s titled Integration and explores the AI arc after the calamity of Paradox It’s going to be exploring a lot of concepts more broadly but these tools are just not at a place where they can write to the level I need them to Edem: Is it possible for Large Language Models to ever be capable of creating Literary masterpieces like Harry Potter and Irobot Michael: LLMs will be able to mimic those masterpieces I can’t see them being able to create something new and unique Not without pretty heavy human involvement Humans never stop learning though and social learning is one of our superpowers where we build off of one another Humans learn and create through social connections Moreso, what I found in the book that limited AI was that it was purely logical and could only fake emotion. Humans are smart because we are emotional, not so much that we are logical. That’s the piece that had to fall into place in Paradox to actually achieve AGI but that’s just not something we are anywhere close to AI is nowhere near capable of creating masterpieces who should take credit for the work and why Michael: I’ll ask the question back a different way If I went to a library and a librarian helped me do research The thing with AI like ChatGPT is that they are only responding with mathematically structured algorithms returning statistically predictive textual completion but there’s a ton of human input to the book which just goes back to the idea from earlier on how we are social learners I can honestly say there is nothing in my book that isn’t first mine and then aided by people and tools Edem: What are your thoughts on a future where AI systems can efficiently imitate the literary technique of popular authors and potentially extend their literary legacy Michael: I mean, we are doing that in some ways already.  They did that with Carrie Fisher in the 9th Star Wars film He has hundreds of manuscripts and world-building concepts he never wrote into books Could AI help us with a better version of that Or is his true legacy that he nearly wholesale invented the fantasy literary world as we know it Thousands of new authors are imitating the worlds he created His legacy is seen in all the authors who were moved to build on it AI can only copy; it could never do what those human authors did with Tolkien’s legacy Edem: Collaboration with AI seems inevitable How best can writers incorporate AI into their creative process without outsourcing their potential creativity Michael: I’d say that if you outsource your creativity You can even use it to provide counter-arguments or recommend new phrasing I’ve been asking ChatGPT to recommend changes to dialog to make my antagonist more antagonizing in a sneering That helps get my brain juices flowing and I then craft it in my own way But this isn’t any different in some ways from bringing up a personal experience and trying to express it AI just helps the process flow a bit faster It still requires me to feed very specific prompts to get focused answers that are usable Edem: Looking forward to the distant future What parts of the entire writing process (writing and publishing) do you think AI tools could be most useful?\Michael: It’s good as an admin and an idea generator in the writing process behind distributors like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and fulfill orders in ways that didn’t exist 15 years ago AI in marketing through places like Meta’s ad space makes writing ads and finding eyes and clicks so easy it’s incredible AI has literally democratized publishing to where anybody can do it without the archaic and nepotistic publishers and without paying many thousands of dollars I’ve probably invested $2,000 to write and publish my book Edem: What advice would you give to a budding writer looking to write and publish their work in the current state of AI Michael: Don’t let AI replace your writing If you’re writing isn’t any better than an AI I’d look hard at improving your craft and finding out where you can be unique AI also offers writers a unique opportunity to step out and above the average by understanding and leveraging the unique capabilities that humans can leverage over machine AI Those who use it to do the work for them will never compete with those who use it to make their work better Michael: A lot of people are worried about AI My biggest worry isn’t AI but how we react to AI That’s the thread I pulled in Paradox that unleashed the most destruction I didn’t need to have AI kill people; I just had the AI in the story unlock the fears and ignorance so that it triggered a human societal auto-immune response But that’s not how it has to be, and that’s the true underlying lesson in the book.  Because it really does come down to that tagline: In the battle over Advanced AI, will we lose our humanity or learn what truly makes us human? If you are interested in more of these topics, please subscribe at PolymathicBeing.com  You can find the book on Amazon You can also watch a short video (2-½ minutes) on AI as a co-author below on YouTube HOLLAND — Pehyton Woudenberg and Ethan Vollstedt have known each other a long time They starred in different sports at Holland High School but they shared one more moment together at Holland The two made their college commitments last week at a joint ceremony Woudenberg committed to play football at Hope College while Vollstedt is headed to Alma College to play soccer Woudenberg was a standout all-purpose offensive threat for the Holland football team and could make an impact for Hope in a number of ways We knew he had unique abilities and we used him in many ways He created our biggest plays with his speed and ability to break tackles,” Holland football coach Shawn McManus said scored four touchdowns and had 32 receptions for 320 yards I’ve always had a strong passion for football The end of my junior year and going into my senior year was when I really started to get recruited I had many schools in mind and that did not include Hope until the end of my senior year when I went on a visit I learned about their outstanding education program and got to meet a amazing coaching staff and awesome football players I knew it was a good fit While attending Hope I plan to major in education and play football all four years I plan to grow as a football player and as a young man Hope stands out to me as a good place to do so.” Vollstedt has been a key member of a Dutch soccer team that won a state championship during his freshman year and have been a perennial power “I chose to attend Alma College to further my athletic and academic career based off of its small class sizes their interfaith spiritual campus lifestyle along with the connection I felt toward the Chaplin Andrew Pomerville along with new head coach John Greer,” Vollstedt said “I hope to pursue a sports management degree over the course of the next four years and am very excited about the next chapter of my life.” Vollstedt was an all-conference and all-district defender Ethan led the defensive effort and did so with speed and athleticism,” Holland coach Greg Ceithaml said but Ethan played very well against some of the most dangerous teams in the state.” — Follow Sports Editor Dan D’Addona on Twitter @DanDAddona and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports "The worldwide pandemic put education and training to the test but remote learning and working—in many unexpected ways—ultimately brought us closer," said Victor Rivero "Leaders and innovators with their tools and techniques worked hard to keep the learning world connected to knowledge and each other." ST Math is a PreK-8 visual instructional program that leverages the brain's innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems patented approach provides students with equitable access to learning through challenging puzzles MIND's CEO Brett Woudenberg has been named a 2021 Leadership Award finalist in the Founder/CEO category of the awards program Woudenberg is being recognized for keeping students' educational needs at the forefront of all decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic we are so appreciative to be recognized by EdTech Digest," said Woudenberg we have ensured that as many students as possible continue their math learning with the support of ST Math I am proud of the team at MIND that has helped meet the tremendous need of students and families to make learning happen and move our mission forward." ST Math has been proven effective while distance learning it's just as powerful a learning tool outside the classroom as it is inside of it About MIND Research Institute MIND Research Institute is a neuroscience and education social impact organization dedicated to ensuring that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world's most challenging problems. MIND is the creator of ST Math. Visit mindresearch.org to learn more http://www.mindresearch.net Do not sell or share my personal information: Rob Woudenberg announce the engagement of their daughter The bride-to-be is a 2007 graduate of NJHSA and a 2010 graduate of Bergen Community College She is employed as a veterinary technician and dog groomer is a 2007 graduate of Vernon Township High School and a 2012 graduate of Rowan University He works as a health and physical education teacher wedding at Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church Sign In Subscribe Now Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines at Cornerstone Church in Manchester by the Sea Ryan’s grandparents are Tony and Ann McGeoghegan sister of the bride and matron of honor; bridesmaids Allison Loomis and cousin of the groom Westley McGeoghegan Ryan is a graduate of Marshfield High School They both graduated from Endicott College in Beverly and served in the college’s Army ROTC program Army and works as a nurse at Fort Bliss in El Paso They spent their honeymoon in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic — Multiple members of Erie’s Board of Trustees have raised concerns over the mayor’s actions during a selection process to hire a consultant to put together a new comprehensive plan for the town Two members of the elected Board of Trustees spoke with Denver7 Investigates about their issues with Mayor Jennifer Carroll They claim she acted unethically and attempted to manipulate a voting system that was set up prior to hearing presentations from three finalist consultant firms in May “The mayor needs to answer for her behavior on this,” said Christiaan Van Woudenberg one of seven board members who represent the growing town of roughly 30,000 that straddles Weld and Boulder counties According to open records requests filed by Van Woudenberg that were shared with Denver7 Carroll failed to turn in a portion of her 40-question score sheet on time The scores would be used to select a consultant for the comprehensive plan which serves as a guideline for future development The plan is slated to cost $400,000 and includes grant money received from the state’s Department of Local Affairs Voters were to include all members of the Board of Trustees and the town’s appointed planning commission as well as an advisory committee made of select town staff The voting process was formulated by a steering committee made up by some trustees second and third choices for the consultant position But after asking for and receiving the preliminary vote totals before they were released she asked if she could finish and submit the rest of her ballot saying she believed it would have an effect on the results She then texted other members of the board stating that she is not comfortable going with the current top pick and urged another trustee to submit his scores and encouraged him to give his top pick a perfect score and his bottom pick the lowest possible score “The text said to basically give perfect scores to the person that she wanted to win,” Trustee Brandon Bell said This is what Van Woudenberg and Bell are calling an ethical breach as they feel Carroll wasn’t evaluating the firms fairly and stacking the vote to either ensure the firm she wished was in first place or at least that her bottom choice -- which led after results were initially in -- was not selected for the job “It’s obvious that this wasn't a good-faith participation by the mayor that she waited until everybody else's vote had been submitted that she saw those scores and then submitted her own scores to select the consultant that she wanted,” Van Woudenberg said Bell called it “another black eye for the town.” I believe she scored it in a way to get the results she wanted,” Bell added Both Van Woudenberg and Bell questioned why Carroll waited until after learning of the results to cast her vote and to recruit another trustee to do the same Emails from the open records request show Carroll telling a town staffer that she had “some family issues” and wasn’t able to fill out the spreadsheet in its entirety Carroll declined an interview with Denver7 and provided a statement: “Erie has an unfortunate tradition of manufactured distractions in the months leading up to our elections The disproven accusations of bid rigging and collusion are the outcome of relying on Google for legal advice and ignoring advice from the Town’s legal experts.” Town Administrator Malcolm Fleming told Denver7 that he felt the process got convoluted and that the optics do not look good he decided to hire an independent law firm to review the process He referenced allegations of “bid-rigging” as a reason but feels that this does not qualify as rigging “I thought it was appropriate to have a legal firm involved in reviewing that allegation,” Fleming said “I don't think there is anything that substantiates that allegation.” He added that he felt the mayor should answer questions and explain her actions during the process and that he would not have called the situation a “manufactured distraction.” I would not use those words myself,” he said “I don't know the motivations behind the people who are making those accusations." Fleming said he hopes the investigation will be wrapped up within five weeks and expects to present a full report on Sept I think she is a better person than to have gone to these lengths to get the result she wanted." These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity This one-time National Ballet of Canada soloist helped bring media attention to the call to end old-growth logging in British Columbia by choreographing and organizing community dance protests My awe for the ancient forests was matched by horror at all the clearcuts I asked the activists what they needed and they told me they needed publicity We were very successful in attracting media attention because it was a novel and visually compelling protest Since then, I have created another dance to a rewritten version of Stop In the Name of Love, which has been performed in multiple United for Old Growth flash mobs around the city, mostly in shopping malls. Many of the dancers are seniors from Elders for Ancient Trees and from Greater Victoria Acting Together Salmon dance at the old-growth rally Photo submitted by Mya Van Woudenberg I am very pleased that the British Columbia government in partnership with Ottawa and First Nations has just announced a commitment of $1 billion for conservation including the protection of old-growth trees It is very satisfying to know we played a small part Tell us about moving from being a climate-conscious individual to working in the community it was easy to understand the importance of taking care of one’s personal environment I wanted to act beyond personal lifestyle choices but couldn’t see my way in I couldn’t see a connection between activism and the art form in which I had invested so much My experiences at Fairy Creek have changed my view of the role of arts in advocacy Art makes messages accessible and palatable On the last of many trips to Fairy Creek that summer I was with a group challenging a controversial “exclusion zone” that the RCMP had set up along a public road I was astonished to see the number of resources it required The judge agreed that I had been arrested inappropriately My decision to plead not guilty was easy because I did not believe I had broken the injunction My trial was significant in that it set a precedent for other cases to be dropped A friend from church suggested that I become involved in Greater Victoria Acting Together, which brings civil society groups together to work on shared priorities, one of which is protecting old-growth. I also work with Elders for Ancient Trees which has gathered older people to stand up for this precious resource but we have to act together to make it happen fast enough I began attending the National Ballet School in Toronto I joined the National Ballet of Canada and eventually became a first soloist my husband and I moved to British Columbia to raise our family choreograph and still perform occasionally Community dances to protect old-growth trees I loved being a professional dancer but I was in search of meaning I am so happy to have discovered that my knowledge and talents can help to make a better world What would you like to say to young people I want young people to know they can make a difference and whatever they cultivate in themselves has a place in creating the world we want to see Don’t wait to join a group until you know what role you can play Is there anything else you would like us to know I really appreciate the opportunity to express what is so meaningful to me Peter Woudenberg had a lot of older role models in his family I always looked to Casey as the example," Peter said "I knew when I started high school the older guys talked about his legacy I always tried to follow in his footsteps." Holland coach Sam Soukup said he sees a similar leader in his Holland High School senior "It is kind of unique because I swam with Casey and am coaching Peter," Soukup said Peter has been a big leader and done a really good job of doing that by example Peter leads the Dutch into this week's OK Green Conference swim meet Preliminaries are Friday and finals are Saturday at Hamilton "He is helping make the underclassmen see what it takes to be successful," Soukup said It speaks of his character that he could get in to West Point." but he is hoping to help himself this weekend He is close to qualifying for the Division 2 state meet for the first time as an individual His 57.4-second time in the 100-yard butterfly is about a second off the state cut I have always tried to get there and I have been close To finally get there my senior year would mean a lot to me I have worked hard and tried my best," he said Soukup thought Peter would be headed for a state cut a little earlier but a couple of health issues put him behind the pace he was hoping for this season "It has been a little difficult to have to take this much time off for health reasons," Peter said "I had the flu last week and some other issues earlier in the season I have to be on the top of my game with the little things But Soukup said his stroke technique has improved dramatically this season Peter comes from a family of distance swimmers who was a state qualifier in the 500 freestyle "He is a strong kid and has had a distance mindset and we have spent a lot of time getting his hand speed up," Soukup said "I have seen tremendous growth from November to now He has really been a student of the sport." That could end his swimming career on a high note "He is prepared enough and is mentally strong," Soukup said and her husband to the Phoenix area.  still hasn't gotten used to the state's blistering summers she missed going to the beach and watching the leaves change colors in the fall "I have never been happy with the heat," Woudenberg told Insider.  a city about 85 miles north of Grand Rapids where she planned to spend the warmer months instead of hunkering down indoors in air conditioning and waiting for the Arizona heat to subside Woudenberg said splitting time between Arizona and Michigan allows her to enjoy the positives of both places you do not garden in the summer," she said "I garden a lot in Arizona in the wintertime so now I get the best of both worlds."  Woudenberg participates in the opposite of the popular "snowbird" trend in which cold-averse people fly south for the winter "Sweat birds" — or "fire birds," which Woudenberg prefers — ditch the heat and opt for a cooler experience in the summer by relocating north It offers outdoorsy people more opportunities to do the activities they love throughout the year without worrying about That was a big draw for her deciding to spend more time up North Woudenberg enjoys outdoor activities like hiking but the weather in Arizona denies her those pleasures during the summer it's just too hot — and sometimes even then it's hot," she said Arizona has had a blazingly hot summer, with temperatures hitting at least 110 degrees for 31 days straight during June and July Michigan's summer temperatures average highs in the 70s and let Woudenberg carry on with her favorite outdoor activities Woudenberg said her life in Michigan mirrors her life in Arizona in terms of what she's normally doing — it's just during different times of the year "There really isn't that much difference as far as outdoor activities," she said Hiking in Arizona is great when the weather is tame the National Forest trails in Michigan are beautiful Woudenberg said that Arizona has an avid boating community but the heat dictates when you can get out on the water "Boating in the summer is still miserable unless you're swimming," she said In Michigan you're boating until everything freezes over." Woudenberg told Insider that the prices of homes inland are not as expensive as lakeshore homes Her three-bedroom cabin is about 30 minutes from Lake Michigan This was Woudenberg's first summer owning a second home in Michigan She plans on spending about five months (June through October) up North although the foliage in the fall may have her extend her time to November.  "The spring is spectacular down in Arizona for weather because it'll be 70 or 80 degrees and sunny," she said "But the colors in Michigan are just amazing." Galia Pennekamp and Mike Gerrard spend about 75% of their time in Miami In what is normally the landing spot for snowbirds, Florida during the summer months can be unbearable for some because of the heat.  Galia and Mike have lived in South Florida for decades and bought a second home in Driggs "Many of our friends have homes in North Carolina or the Keys but we wanted something a little different than that," Galia told Insider noting that Idaho's Teton Valley area is a bucket-list location for some Galia, 56, and Mike, 59, purchased a four-bedroom home for $2.7 million in a private residential community, Tributary and now have a climate better suited for the outdoor activities in the summer that they just can't do in Miami year-round.  hiking — we even tried downhill mountain biking this year for the first time," Galia said "We both walk for pleasure and for exercise every day Chuck Anderson is originally from Nebraska but has lived in Dallas since 1980 He naturally gravitates toward warmer climates but Dallas' summer weather has become a bit too much California — which borders Nevada and is only 30 minutes from Reno He bought a five-bedroom house within the luxury ski and golf community Martis Camp Anderson declined to share the amount he paid for his home but said prices in the community ranged from about $4 million to $20 million during his search The lakeside community offers amenities including a tennis pavilion and a beach shack that Anderson and his wife "My wife and I are fairly active," Anderson told Insider. "We hike, swim, and play golf and a bunch of pickleball and they have all those here so we can use them all." and spends about four to eight weeks there during the summer He compared the temperatures of Dallas and Truckee in the same week and said Dallas was predicted to be between 102 degrees and 108 degrees while Truckee had highs in the 70s and 80s Anderson still loves Dallas but enjoys his break from the heat "This is just a place to go to beat the heat and get away from it," he said 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated Mike Gerrard's last name The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says a prisoner on death row for a 1983 murder in Muskogee died over the weekend at the state penitentiary in McAlester.  The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says a prisoner on death row for a 1983 murder in Muskogee died over the weekend of natural causes at the state penitentiary in McAlester Sammy Van Woudenberg was sentenced to death for the strangulation death of Mark Berry of Durant in the Muskogee County jail Van Woudenberg was serving a life sentence out of Tulsa County for a 1972 murder when he escaped from prison in 1983 He was captured a month later and was taken to the Muskogee County jail Berry was in jail for stealing government property but Van Woudenberg and two other men were convinced he was a snitch and strangled him with a wire hung him in the shower and tried to make it look like a suicide Van Woudenberg and one other were sentenced to death but in 2001 a judge decided Van Woudenberg couldn't be executed because he was mentally ill The just said he could be executed if he got better and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox 2014 at 10:21 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A Hawthorne man was arrested for driving while intoxicated after Wyckoff police noticed the vehicle was being driven on two flat tires of Hawthorne was arrested for DWI after Wyckoff police saw “sparks coming from the side” of his Toyota pickup on Grandview Avenue just before 1 a.m The pickup “was being operated on the metal rims with both side tires flattened.” Woudenberg was charged with driving while intoxicated reckless driving and operating an unsafe vehicle He was released to his mother and will appear in municipal court Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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Dressage trainer Johan Hamminga is succeeding Reijer van Woudenberg as member of the KWPN Stallion Licensing Committee for dressage In November 2019 Van Woudenberg's post on the Licensing Committee will come to an end as his term is up and he is no longer re-electable The KWPN Members' board agreed with the general management to appoint Johan Hamminga as his successor for a period of three years The 68-year old Hamminga will be serving on the committee from November 2019 till November 2022 He is now chair of the Harness horse licensing committee but this function will end for him when he starts in his new role in November In the past Hamminga has been closely involved with the Dutch team selection for the World Young Horse Championships He was also Adelinde Cornelissen's initial trainer bringing Parzival to Grand Prix level Photo © Digishots Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot Bike Europe is a part of VMNmedia. The following rules apply to the use of this site: Terms of Use and Privacy / Cookie Statement | Privacy settings Related Topics: Cape Town City F.C., Woudenberg, goalkeeper coach, Netherlands, Premier Soccer League, Benni McCarthy, Comes, Mother City F.C. While Cape Town City are yet to make any big moves in terms of playing personnel they have wasted little time in bolstering their technical department The Citizens ended their 2018/19 Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign in fourth place but head coach Benni McCarthy is refusing to rest on his laurels and has brought on board Dutch goalkeeper coach Sjoerd Woudenberg on a reported two-year deal This was revealed by City boss John Comitis, who shed light on the Mother City-based outfit’s latest addition in an interview with SABC Sport we have assigned a new goalkeeper coach (Woudenberg) to the team CNN and Oprah's Book Club are teaming up to bring you a discussion of "Say You're One of Them," a book of short stories about African children who face the unimaginable. While the book is fiction, the issues in Africa are real. RSVP for the live Web event on Monday (CNN) -- Rape has turned into a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the number of attacks on women having grown threefold over the past few years told Christiane Amanpour that 200,000 women and girls have been raped in Eastern Congo since 1998 and the condition of women has become more dire as the Congolese army has pressed a military campaign against armed groups in the countryside "Rape is being used as a weapon of war in eastern Congo So we notice and we have documented that when armed groups walk into town in order to punish the local population," she said "It's the easiest way to terrorize a community." Congo has witnessed one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II with a death toll estimated at more than 5 million Most of the dead have come not from direct violence but the consequences of the fighting: disease and starvation While the war formally ended six years ago "One of the other sad realities is that the majority of those who are raped are adolescent girls And I think we've got to take more seriously -- protection of civilians is not just protecting them from death It's protecting them from rape," van Woudenberg said There have also been reports of members of the Congolese army the United Nations handed over the names of five top military officers accused of rape Two of the senior officers are being detained in the capital of Kinshasa and the three others must report to authorities under close observation starting with the establishment of a special court made up of Congolese and international judges and prosecutors to investigate rape allegations "I think they've got to start holding to account the generals and colonels who are either themselves responsible or who allow their troops to rape those are the guys that have been untouchable," said van Woudenberg "No general has yet been held to account in Congo for rape and it's high time that that changes." Congo has taken some measures to try to curb the sexual violence its parliament passed a law criminalizing rape with penalties ranging from five to 20 years Penalties are doubled under certain circumstances including gang-rape and if the perpetrator is a public official has launched a public campaign speaking out against rapes of the nation's women and girls The army has also started a zero-tolerance campaign in which commanders have emphasized to troops that they must respect human rights and protect civilians from harm The United Nations maintains in Congo its largest peacekeeping force anywhere in the world But the forces have been ineffective at stopping rape told Amanpour that the international forces face a serious problem: Too few troops assigned to the vast inaccessible reaches of eastern Congo there are 10 million people," Guehenno said "If one applied the counterinsurgency ratios that the U.S 20 per 1,000 -- that would mean 200,000 troops in Congo -- 200,000 accountable troops." because if it did not give any support to the Congolese army probably the Congolese army might prey even more on the population," Guehenno said Part of the problem stems from the tactic applied by the Congolese government to quell previous armed rebellions against Kinshasa by incorporating insurgents into the ranks of the national army leading to a military that paid scant attention to human rights Watch how one community is coping "What needs to be done is to have a state in Congo that can control its territory and that has the confidence of the people," Guehenno said. "The violence in the Kivu, the violence in Ituri, it is the result of a vacuum, the fact that there is no administration, there is no credible state, there is no justice. And so that vacuum is being occupied by various militias. "And, unfortunately, when the Congolese army integrates a militia without sorting between the killers and those who could be integrated, it just adds to the problem." Van Woudenberg called for international pressure to force the Congolese army to bring abusers to justice. "My worst fear is that we're going to continue to see those individuals responsible for rape being promoted. My hope is that the women and girls of -- of eastern Congo in particular -- will continue to speak out. I think we've seen immense courage from those women and girls to say, 'No, we've had enough.'" Harry Willoughby and the Holland boys swimming and diving team were in no mood to share this time. The Dutch completed an unbeaten run through the OK Black/White Conference on Saturday, winning the conference meet at Calvin College with 495 points. Last year, Holland shared the OK Black/White title with East Grand Rapids. This year, East Grand Rapids took third in the conference meet with 456 points, behind Grand Rapids Christian’s 459.5. “(Winning outright) really means a lot,” said Willoughby, one of seven all-conference performers for the Dutch along with Casey Woudenberg, Kyle Taylor, Jeremiah Morren, Jake Courey, Gage Mitchell and Jonathon Maat. “Holland High has a proud tradition of swimming. It feels great to keep that going on another year.” Holland, the fourth-ranked team in the Division 2 coaches poll, capped its day with a dominant performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Dutch juggled their lineup, winning by nearly 10 seconds as Woudenberg, Courey, Morren and Taylor clocked a time of 3 minutes. 11.97 seconds. The relay cut 13 seconds off its preliminary time, which seeded it second. “We tried to maneuver some relays around, try to figure out what we were going to do for state meet,” Holland coach Don Kimble said. “That’s one of our options. It worked out pretty well.” The depth gives the Dutch valuable options in relays, Willoughby said. “We have a lot of fast guys (who) do a variety of strokes,” he said. “If anything happens to one guy, we have guys (who) can make up for that.” Holland clocked the top performances in four other events. Woudenberg led a 1-2 finish for the Dutch in the 200 freestyle. He won in 1:43.37, followed by Willoughby at 1:48.56. Woudenberg also won the 500 freestyle in 4:43.21. Taylor took first in the 200 individual medley with a swim of 1:57.89 and the 100 butterfly at 51.55. Mitchell followed in second in the 100 butterfly at 53.93. Jakob Gibson qualified for the Division 2 state meet in the 100 butterfly with a sixth-place time of 56.24. Courey swam to a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle at 48.69. Holland came in runner-up in the 200 freestyle relay with Courey, Maat, Morren and Taylor going 1:29.2. Connor Bos (55.91) and Willoughby (56.3) went 2-3 in the 100 backstroke. Holland’s Kenny Baker placed second in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.84. Grand Rapids Christian and East Grand Rapids are tied for second in the Division 3 coaches poll behind Hamilton. The police found ten dead dogs at luxury canine hotel Hondenhuys in Woudenberg, Utrecht, on Saturday. A source told RTL Nieuws that the hotel was not nearly as luxurious as advertised, and the dogs were kept in a shipping container without proper ventilation. Police officers found 13 dogs in a shipping container on the grounds of the Hondenhuys. They rushed 11 of them to a veterinary clinic. Only one survived. “There was only one ventilation grille in that container. So those dogs most likely suffocated due to a lack of oxygen,” the source said. The owner of the Hondenhuys told RTL that he was “deeply affected” by what happened. “It is terrible. But I can't say anything further at this time as the investigation is ongoing.” One of the dog owners involved told the broadcaster that they are devastated, but could not provide many details. “We hear rumors, but we don’t know anything for sure yet. If I were to say something now, it would be out of anger. Because there is a lot of anger,” they said. “We are still on holiday, so we can’t do anything from here.” According to the owner, an autopsy will be conducted on one of the dogs. Attorney Birgitte Roodvelt, who is advising four affected dog owners, said that the police went to investigate the Hondenhuys after someone called animal protection services. “That’s all we know right now,” Roosevelt told RTL Nieuws. The owners are devastated, she said. “For most dog owners, a dog is like a family member. They only want one thing: to know what happened.” © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. 2024 This dog is busy "niksen" according to Depositphotos.comPolice are investigating the unexplained deaths of 10 dogs at a “luxury dog hotel” in Woudenberg in Utrecht A member of staff found the dead dogs on coming to work on Saturday morning which are left locked up alone at night with camera surveillance were still alive and were rushed to a veterinary hospital “The owners of the dogs are extremely sad and have lots of questions which have not been answered yet. What happened here? Did my dog suffer?” lawyer Brigitte Roodveldt, who is representing a group of owners, told the AD. “My worst nightmare has come true, my babies and best doggy friends are gone. Two dogs, this is a big shock,” one owner wrote on social media. The woman had tried the pension for a weekend “because of its good reputation”,  she said. It is not clear what had happened but according to the duped dog owners, the pensionl owners are not to blame. “We are sure they would not have wanted this to happen and that this has hit them hard. In these types of cases there are only losers,” they told the paper. A police spokesman said the police are being assisted in their investigation by the Dutch food and product safety watchdog NVWA. The pension owners, who have started their own investigation, said they would not comment until more is known about the incident. We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day. Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days! We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here. 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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Soccer Laduma (@soccer_laduma) SA News African News World News The Club House Podcasts & Videos More Premiership Having been without a permanent goalkeeping coach since Jyri Nieminen's departure in December last year Orlando Pirates have filled the void with the appointment of former Cape Town City coach Woudenberg and the Dutchman has already started work."If you train every training session and goalkeeping session at the highest level [the players] should adapt quickly to my way of working the way I try to improve the goalkeepers," Woudenberg told the club's media how they have already made steps in their development it won't be tough to reach the highest level especially at a club like Pirates [where] you must be the best goalkeeper in the country and that's what I want to reach with all of the goalkeepers "We have a tough pre-season but I think it is very good for the guys and it is top quality in every department and I'm happy to be here.  "I think it's going to be very positive and I hope that they can show the things we are working on during the games It's good that we have a tough pre-season with a lot of training sessions but it's also a good opportunity for us to improve everything on each goalkeeper." "Every goalkeeper is in a different phase of his career and I'm happy to help them all with their development still," the 34-year-old added "I know Orlando Pirates is the biggest club in South Africa and one of the biggest teams on the continent of Africa and I think everybody wants to work for a big club likes this..." Scroll through the gallery to see the new Orlando Pirates kits >>> Orlando Pirates have bolstered their technical team with the appointment of Dutch goalkeeping coach Sjoerd Woudenberg ahead of the 2021-22 season The club's goalkeeping coach position has been vacant ever since the Buccaneers parted ways with Jyri Nieminen in December last year Veteran goalkeeper Wayne Sandilands has been filling the role on a temporary basis while the club looked for a permanent solution has set his sights on making their goalkeeping department the best in South Africa "If you train every training session and goalkeeping session at the highest level The Soweto giants current have five goalkeepers on their books Siyabonga Mpontshane, Kopano Thuntsane and Elson Sithole and I'm happy to help them all with their development still," he added Home | Sport Cape Town City on Wednesday strengthened their technical team ahead of next season with Dutch goalkeeper coach Sjoerd Woudenberg having signed a two year contract with the club The 32 year-old Pro Licence coach spent the past few years in the Dutch Eredivisie with Go Ahead Eagles, and City’s chairman John Comitis says they are excited to have him on board Comitis says that Woudenberg will fit right in with coach Benni McCarthy’s ethos, and they are looking forward to the new season. Comitis feels that Woudenberg will help take City’s Dutch goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh and his deputy Sage Stephens to new levels. City will return to pre-season training in the last week of June, in preparation of the 2019/2020 Absa Premiership season. – Report by Rob Delport Local International Off The Pitch Another exit at Cape Town City has been confirmed to the Siya crew.Sjoerd Woudenberg is believed to be pursuing another challenge though it isn't clear yet where he is headed he is leaving and came to say goodbye to the players this morning," a source confirmed The Dutchman worked closely with Peter Leeuwenburgh the City first team goalkeeper the club has since confirmed is returning to his native country in Holland to join FC Groningen at the start of next season Woudenberg also enjoyed a good relationship with City coach Jan Olde Riekerink and the likelihood that he is heading out the door could have affected his decision to resign from his post Riekerink was on Monday placed on "administrative leave" by the Citizens with Diogo Peral asked to take over the reins in the interim Eric Tinkler has already been liked with a return to the Mother City after Siya sources informed the crew he has held a meeting with chairman John Comitis over that possibility though Riekerink would have to be officially sacked first.  officially announced his departure on his Instagram account.  I want to thank the club and the chairman (for) respecting my decision to leave Cape Town City Now it's time to reload and look forward to what the future will bring City are now expected to fill three vacancies in the coming weeks – a goalkeeper to replace Leeuwenburgh