The Association of Caribbean States is a union of nations centered on the Caribbean Basin. It was formed with the aim of promoting consultation and concerted action among all the countries of the Caribbean; the primary purpose of the ACS is to develop greater trade between the nations, enhance transportation, develop sustainable tourism, facilitate greater and more effective responses to local natural disasters. It comprises seven associate members; the convention establishing the ACS was signed on July 1994, in Cartagena, Colombia. The Association of Caribbean States is intended to promote regionalism among the member states; the success and functionality of the ACS is debated among scholars. The main goals of the association are "to confirm the new concept of the Caribbean Basin by accentuating those interests the Caribbean nations hold in common and working to eliminate barriers left over from its colonial past."The organization seeks to use geographic proximity and regional cooperation for political and economic advantage with respect to the global economy and trade blocs such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, European Union, Arab League, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The ACS has four distinct areas of interest: Trade, Sustainable Tourism, Natural Disasters. Each is pursued by a Special Committee which meets at least twice yearly in order to discuss current regional issues and draft treaties; the Special Committee on Trade Development and External Economic Relations works in an effort to create larger economic actions in the Caribbean by uniting its member states through integration and cooperation. Through various annual forums the ACS attempts to create economic cooperation in an attempt to benefit and expand the region's economy; the Special Committee on Transport works to promote an Air Transport Agreement amongst the countries which have ratified the agreement. Security of travelers and the policing of airborne crime like drug trafficking falls under the auspices of the Special Committee on Transport; the Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism aims to promote tourism, environmentally friendly. The committee promotes the use of sustainable tourism, healthy for the environment, at the same time economically beneficial to the Caribbean as a region.

The Special Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction which aims to coordinate the prevention and response to natural disasters in the Caribbean. The main focus of this committee is to maintain organization and attempt to maintain a high level of ability to cope with disasters. One agenda adopted by the ACS has been an attempt to secure the designation of the Caribbean Sea as a special zone in the context of sustainable development, it is pushing for the UN to consider the Caribbean sea as an invaluable asset, worth protecting and treasuring; the organisation has sought to form a coalition among member states to devise a United Nations General Assembly resolution to ban the transshipment of nuclear materials through the Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal. The success of the ACS is debated by many scholars on both sides; those who suggest the ACS is successful would point to the many initiatives the developmental coalition has undertaken, as well as its large membership and relations with other international organisations like the European Union.

Those who suggest it is unsuccessful note how by the end of the 1990s, unlike CARICOM, the ACS had failed to establish a track record, worthy enough to allow for the evaluation of the ACS as a developmental coalition. Furthermore, some scholars suggest that the ACS is unlikely to become a true player on the international level. Skeptics point to other failed attempts at economic coalition building like the Central American Common Market as an example of the instability of the region; the influence of NAFTA on the Caribbean outlines the future struggle of the ACS. The future of the ACS in relation to the western hemisphere is uncertain. "Despite governmental statements of commitment to liberalisation, it will be difficult for Caribbean countries to succeed in putting their economies on a firmer footing that would enable them to compete effectively." The ACS has held five summits involving heads of state and/or government: I ACS Summit, at Port of Spain and Tobago, August 17–18, 1995. II ACS Summit, at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, April 16–17, 1999.

III ACS Summit, at Isla Margarita, December 12, 2001. IV ACS Summit, at Panama City, July 29, 2005. V ACS Summit, at Pétion-Ville, April 23–26, 2013. VI ACS Summit, at Mérida, México, April 28–30, 2014. VII ACS Summit, at La Habana, June 4, 2016. VIII ACS Summit, at Managua, March 29, 2019. Caribbean Community Secretariat Caribbean Tourism Organization Central American Integration System General Agreement on Central American Economic Integration Permanent Secretariat Community of Latin American and Caribbean States European Union Latin American Economic System MERCOSUR United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Gowricharn, Ruben. Caribbean Transnationalism: Migration and Social Cohesion. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2006. Henke and Fred Reno, eds. Modern Political Culture in the Caribbean. Kingston: University of West Indies P, 2003. Heuman, Gad; the Caribbean: Brief Histories. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2006. Hillman, Richard S. and Thomas J. D'agostino. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean.

London: Lynne Rienner, 2003. Knight, Franklin W; the Modern Caribbean. Na: The University of North Caroli

The La Tour-Blanche Anticline called Chapdeuil Anticline or Chapdeuil-La Tour-Blanche Anticline, is a tectonically caused, dome-like upwarp in the sedimentary succession of the northeastern Aquitaine Basin in France. The structure is oriented west-northwest-east-southeast; the anticline was named after a small town in the northwestern Dordogne. Yet the centre of the structure is situated farther southeast within the commune of Chapdeuil, hence the names Chapdeuil Anticline or Chapdeuil-La Tour-Blanche Anticline. In plan view the structure has the shape of a nearly rectangular parallelogram with the base lines striking ESE-WNW and the sides more or less N-S. In its long dimension, the anticline measures about 6 km, yet across strike 3 km. Similar in shape to the Mareuil Anticline, the La Tour-Blanche Anticline has an asymmetric profile with a steeper northeastern flank and a gentle southwestern flank; the northeastern flank is accompanied by a reverse fault with little heave. On its northern side, the La Tour-Blanche Anticline yields to the Villebois-Lavalette-La Chapelle-Montabourlet Syncline.

After a pronounced structural flexure, traceable from Verteillac to Grand-Brassac, follows to the south another syncline composed of Campanian strata at the surface. The next anticlinal high traverses Montmoreau in the Charente department and ends just northwest of Ribérac; the eastern end of the La Tour-Blanche Anticline is crossed by several normal faults trending NE-SW. East of Saint-Just the axis of the anticline disappears changing its direction to an easterly course; the structure definitely ends on the east side of the Boulou. The area of the anticline is drained in a southeasterly direction by the Euche river, a right-hand tributary of the Dronne, by the Buffebale, a small rivulet and left-hand tributary of the Euche, it demonstrates. Seen from the edge of the Aquitaine Basin, the La Tour-Blanche Anticline forms the second anticlinal ridge. At a distance of 25 km, it runs less parallel to the edge of the Massif Central. In the centre of the anticline, the sedimentary cover reaches a thickness of 1000 m.

Like the Mareuil Anticline, the La Tour-Blanche Anticline is a regional feature and can be traced northwestwards to Cognac in the Charente department. To the southeast, the structure links up via the Bussac high with the Périgueux anticline; the La Tour-Blanche anticline is cored by Upper Jurassic. Lowest outcropping member is uppermost Kimmeridgian overlain by Lower Portlandian; the Uppermost Kimmeridgian is being cut by the Buffebale and can be observed in the slopes of the rivulet. It has a detrital base and changes into calcareous sandstones and into bioclastic, oolithic limestones. Two facies domains can be distinguished: a detrital domain in the east and a reefal domain with single corals, occasional oysters and nerineids in the west; this differentiation into two facies domains persists through the Lower Portlandian, with the eastern domain showing detrital intercalations made of shelly debris and breccias. The Lower Portlandian — composed of 35 m of well-bedded cryptocrystalline micrites — takes up the major part of the anticline.

Its grey to yellowish, sometimes reddish beds are between 10 and 20 cm thick and are separated by thin marly or clayey layers. After the regression in the Uppermost Jurassic and the complete withdrawal during the entire Lower Cretaceous, the sea transgressed again during the Cenomanian; the fairly thin, littoral Cenomanian deposits are variable in thickness and can reach 40 m in certain places. They can be divided into three sequences: a detrital sequence at the base followed by a calcareous sequence and another detrital sequence at the top. Concordantly on top of the Cenomanian follow the Turonian deposits which can be subdivided into 15–40 m of Ligérian and 35–65 m of Angoumian; the overlying Coniacian is discordant. It consists of hard fossiliferous limestones reaching a thickness of 50–80 m; the sedimentary sequence is topped by the typical chalks of the Campanian. The deeper parts of the La Tour-Blanche Anticline have been studied by drilling, reaching the variscan basement at 1085 m depth.

From top to bottom, there is a thick Upper Jurassic followed by 158 m of Middle Jurassic, 182 m of Lias, 75 m of Triassic. The tectonic deformations registered by the sediments in the La Tour-Blanche Anticline find their expression in many structural features; the Lower Portlandian was quite deformed and exhibits lots of stylolites and slickolites. The following structures can be recognized: strike-slip faults trending ESE-WNW with pronounced slickolites. Fractures oriented NNE-SSW with a right-lateral offset and stylolites pointing in the same direction. Tension gashes filled with calcite trending N 165 to N 175, sometimes N 020, they can be interpreted as pull-aparts along releasing bends of the strike-slip faults. NW-SE

WLVF-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel format. Licensed to Haines City, United States, the station is owned by the Landmark Baptist Church; the station was assigned the call letters WHGS on February 12, 1986. On August 1, 1990, the station changed its call sign to the current WLVF-FM. WLVF-FM was simulcast on WLVF, which relinquished its license and went off the air in 2011. In addition to live broadcasts of services at Landmark Baptist Church, the schedule includes reruns of Lester Roloff, Unshackled! produced by Pacific Garden Mission, Canada's People's Gospel Hour with speaker Perry Rockwood. Query the FCC's FM station database for WLVF Radio-Locator information on WLVF Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WLVF

The 16th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held between March 17 and 20, 2016 in Portland, United States. The event did not feature Russia. Following a WADA investigation into widespread and institutional doping practices in Russian athletics, the IAAF provisionally suspended Russia's membership of the organisation in November 2015 excluding the country both from hosting events and entering competitions. Russia's effective exclusion from the tournament was confirmed in November 2015 when it was announced by IAAF that a decision over lifting its provisional suspension from international athletics would not be taken until the end of March at the earliest. Portland was selected unanimously with the only other bidder being England. Birmingham was selected as the host of the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships; the reason Portland was selected for 2016 and Birmingham being selected in 2018 is that the IAAF wanted more time between events in the UK with London hosting the 2012 Olympics as well as the 2017 World Championships in Athletics along with Cardiff hosting the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

The event took place inside the Oregon Convention Center, fitted with the necessary 200m track and seating for 8,000 spectators. A concept drawing of the plans were released in early 2015, showing a two toned track colored green, with trees adorning the peristyle of the indoor arena. All dates are PDT In brackets the number of athletes participating. Official website

Anne Mather Smith, Lady Smith, is a Scottish lawyer, a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. Anne Mather was educated at Jordanhill School and Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls, before attending the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh, where she graduated with an LL. B.. She served a two-year apprenticeship with Shepherd and Wedderburn WS, was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1980, she married David Alexander Smith WS in 1979. Smith worked as Standing Junior Counsel to the Countryside Commission, before becoming a Queen's Counsel in 1993, she served as a Temporary Sheriff from 1995 to 1999, as Chairman of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse from 1998 to 2000, as an Advocate Depute from 2000 to 2001. In April 2001 she was blamed by Donald Findlay QC for falling dress standards in the courts. In 1997, she had been the first woman to appear before the Court of Session in trousers, they are all right for going to Tesco in, but not suitable dress for ladies to wear in court."

In November 2001, Smith was appointed a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, the Supreme Courts of Scotland, taking the judicial title, Lady Smith. Filling the vacancy created by Lord Gill's promotion to Lord Justice Clerk, she was only the third woman to be appointed to the College of Justice. Lady Smith was appointed as chairwoman of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in July 2016. On 25 January 2019 she was made an Honorary Fellow of The Academy of Experts in recognition of her contribution and work for Expert Witnesses, she married David Alexander Smith, a solicitor, with whom she has a son and a daughter. She plays piano and flute, her other interests include aerobics, swimming and walking. Profile at Judiciary of Scotland website

Bob Reiss is an American author of nonfiction and fiction books. Reiss has written more than 20 books, including Purgatory Road, a murder mystery set in Antarctica, The Road to Extrema, a study of the destruction of Brazilian rain forests, The Coming Storm, which focuses on global warming and catastrophic weather. Many of his novels and articles are based on his travels to Alaska, Hong Kong, South Africa and other locations around the world. White Plague, a novel set on a US icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean, was published in January 2015, under the name of James Abel. Protocol Zero, second book in the series, was published in August, 2015, followed by "Cold Silence" in 2016 and "Vector" in 2017. Bob received a best magazine reporting New York Press Club award in 2018 for his coverage of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Fortune Magazine. Under another pseudonym, Ethan Black, Bob Reiss has penned a series featuring Conrad Voort, a New York City police detective; the five books published in this series include: The Broken Hearts Club - Irresistible - All the Dead Were Strangers - Dead For Life - At Hell's Gate - In 2012, Reiss published The Eskimo and The Oil Man, a non-fiction book about the opening Arctic, the fight over offshore drilling there, as seen through the eyes of a Shell oil executive, an Inupiat Eskimo leader in Alaska.

William Reilly, co-chair of the former Deepwater Horizon Commission, Chairman Emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund, said of the book, "Reiss has taken a charged and divisive subject and gotten inside the lives and values of the principles with empathy and insight. The Eskimo and The Oil Man is a most illuminating contribution to issues that will become more important as new discoveries follow drilling offshore." Reiss's novel Black Monday was optioned by Paramount Pictures. According to Variety this novel focused on "a mysterious condition, eroding the quality of the crude with catastrophic results, a federal investigator tries to solve the problem before the world is brought to a screeching halt." Aside from this project, Reiss has sold and optioned books for films, a screenplay to Warner Bros. and a film treatment to NBC. Reiss has written for Smithsonian Magazine, Rolling Stone, GQ, Parade, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. Bobreiss.com A Bibliography for Bob Reiss Paramount in the'Black' Works by or about Bob Reiss in libraries