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Most of the squad now live and play in Europe. But while many footballers could be accused of being insulated from the realities of the outside world, the same cannot quite be said of this team.
Kolo Toure’s current status is that of a millionaire playing for the English premiership side Arsenal.
But his first kicks of a ball were made in Adjame, a slum area on the edge of Ivory Coast's largest city, Abidjan.
"You can never forget where you come from," he says.
"In a strange way the problems at home have helped us. It has made us more determined as a team, because we know what football still means to everyone. To see the people so happy after we made it to the World Cup is the reason we carry on playing."
The Ivorians biggest star by some distance is Chelsea’s Didier Drogba.
His nine goals in qualifying fired his side to the top of a group that also included Cameroon and Egypt.
When the team do venture into the public domain his is the hand people want to shake, his the face they want to be photographed with.
There is perhaps an understandable degree of world weariness when Drogba talks to the media.
He tends to precede answers with a shrug and can appear constantly distracted during press conferences.
The only time his gaze and mind can definitely be focussed is when the subject of the people he represents comes up.
"Football is one of the few good things our country has now," he says. "Even if it is just for one or two hours, people can sit together and forget about any differences they might have."
While football can create some common ground, it is too easy to see this team as a simple means of uniting a country. Sport and human beings are just too fickle a creation.
After reaching the final at this year’s African Cup of Nations the side were met by tens of thousands of supporters at Abidjan airport.
By contrast, after a disastrous Nations Cup in 2000 the team were met at the airport by the army. The players were then taken directly to a military boot camp where they were given time to "reflect on the shame they had brought to the Ivory Coast."
The team look to be the strongest African side to have reached Germany. But they have found themselves in the toughest of groups, alongside Argentina, Holland and Serbia-Montenegro.
If they can negotiate that anything is possible in the knock-out rounds, and a triumphant return home is guaranteed. If they can’t, Drogba and his friends may just find themselves dusting off their combat fatigues.
Chicago native Henry Threadgill has been on a tear lately with his inventive and versatile band Zooid, whose interpretations of his dazzling compositions are guided by fixed harmonic intervals embedded in the material. That means everyone improvises all at once, in a context that demands the highest levels of concentration but yields dividends worthy of the investment. The music keeps on giving, rich in sophisticated interplay and melodic and harmonic detail. And today Threadgill released Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi), the fantastic debut recording by a different group: the seven-piece Ensemble Double Up.
I saw Ensemble Double Up premiere this music in 2014 at the Winter Jazz Festival in New York, and now as then, Threadgill doesn't play—instead he conducts a top-notch lineup consisting of two pianists (Jason Moran and David Virelles), two alto saxophonists (Curtis MacDonald and Roman Filiu), tubaist Jose Davila, cellist Christopher Hoffman, and drummer Craig Weinrib. The album is a concert-length work written in homage to cornetist Lawrence "Butch" Morris, pioneer of conduction, who died in January 2013; starting in the mid-70s, he'd often often played alongside Threadgill, after they both ended up in New York. I remember being impressed by Ensemble Double Up at the festival, but the sound quality was a bit muddy, so that it was occasionally difficult to make out the contours of the multilinear music (unlike with Zooid, a model of concision and clarity). That's not a problem on this excellent recording, which captures every detail of the band's joyous polyphony.
It's surprising how much the saxophonists' playing recalls Threadgill's tart, halting lines, but they've clearly studied him, and MacDonald has worked as his copyist for three years, giving him a particularly strong familiarity with the intricacies of his musical thinking. Old Locks and Irregular Verbs expands on the system Threadgill uses in Zooid, but he says it's "not as tightly prescribed"—the musicians have more latitude to navigate the material according to what they're hearing from their bandmates. Considering the size of the lineup, it's impressive that the music feels so lucid. Moran and Virelles are two of the most exciting pianists at work in improvised music today, and they offer the other players an expansive harmonic palette—it's also remarkable that each is willing to cede to the other so often. The work is intended to be a single piece, but the CD breaks it up into four chunks, the second of which you can hear below.
Old Locks and Irregular Verbs by Henry Threadgill's Ensemble Double Up The final part of this segment flows continuously out of what preceded it, but you can hear a change in tone and approach—the music becomes much more emotional. Threadgill wrote the conclusion as kind of a chorale to Morris—he was charismatic and influential, a warm thinker and musician who seemed to spread happiness wherever he went (I'll never forget sharing a dinner with him in Istanbul). A beautifully ornamental piano duo, embroidered with grandiloquent flourishes, gains in intensity and is joined by mournful, funereal horns—a spin on New Orleans tradition that turns a lamentation into a sizzling celebration—and then the piece halts suddenly. At 72 years old, Threadgill is still as potent a force as ever.
All eyes will be on Mother Nature Saturday during the first Winter Wind Derby at The Forks.
Since November, hobbyists have been tinkering with handmade “flying” contraptions in an effort to propel themselves down the Red River Mutual Trail the greatest distance.
The competition relies completely on the wind, meaning the weather better play nice. Environment Canada says wind gusts will be about 50 km/h from the south on Saturday.
“Winter and wind go hand in hand here in Winnipeg. So when (artist) Jordan Van Sewell proposed the idea of creating a derby around it, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity” said Paul Jordan, CEO of The Forks Renewal Corporation.
The creations can’t have motors, rocket packs or be prefabricated. Only wind and human power are permitted.
The public will get their first look at the competition at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) named Tim O’Neill as its vice-chairman, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the latest top-level appointment ahead of David Solomon taking charge as chief executive officer of the Wall Street bank.
The appointment on Monday comes four days after Stephen Scherr was named as the bank’s chief financial officer.
O’Neill, who joined Goldman in 1985 and became a partner in 1990, most recently was the co-head of the bank’s investment management division.
Richard Gnodde, vice-chairman of the firm and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs International, will also expand his responsibilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to include operations of the bank outside of North America, the memo said.
Gnodde, who joined Goldman in 1987, has spent almost 30 years in the investment banking division.
Mariena Jaros’ “Passing Time” earned hear the Best in Photography prize in the Lakeland Community College Visual Arts Student Exhibition.
We are counting down to a myriad of spring and summer events. The outdoor festivals will be here before you know it.
And if you are not exhibiting art, you should buy art. Actually, I don’t have to tell artists that — we already do support other artists. Everyone should have some local art in their home. And, yes, the refrigerator display counts.
Has the Ohio roller-coaster ride of weather got you down? Sunny and warm. Cold and wet. Sunny and warm. Windy and wild. Snow?
Take some inspiration from the garden. Seriously. Go outside and pick a bouquet. Pop it in an interesting container — it does not have to be a vase — and create a still life. Take a picture or sit a spell to draw or paint your still life creation.
Lake Metroparks’ 33rd annual Amateur Photography Contest and Show will be accepting entries in a couple of weeks. Get your images printed and ready to hang — on white mats and with no frame. For more information, visit www.lakemetroparks.com/events.
The Gallery at Lakeland, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland, announced the winners in the Lakeland Community College Visual Arts Student Exhibition at last week’s awards and artists’ reception.
Congratulations to Adam Retych, who took top honors with the Best in Fine Arts award and a $500 talent grant.
The $300 talent grant for Best in Category, Drawing went to Catherine Love, with an Honorable Mention going to Andrew John DeBus.
The $300 talent grant for Best in Category, Painting went to Mike Tomc. The Merit Award, Painting, with a $75 cash award, went to Megan Heyl. The Merit Award, Advanced Painting, $75 cash award, went to Hap Howle, with an Honorable Mention going to Audrey Strother.
The $300 talent grant for Dimensional Media 3, Best in Category, went to Catherine Love.
Best in Category: Advanced 3, $100 cash award, went to Deniece Wang.
The Merit Award, Advanced 3 ($125 gift certificate for Larchmere Fireworks) went to Laura Lynch.
The Merit Award: Advanced 3 ($75 gift certificate for Larchmere Fireworks) went Marianne V. Hawson, with an Honorable Mention going to Kristine Pryor.
A $300 talent grant for Advanced Jewelry/Metals, Best in Category went to Annette Cappelli. A merit award in the same category (with $100 Gift Certificate Flux Metal Arts) was won by Joan Hartshorne, and another merit award (with $75 cash prize) went to Barb Jakubs Schmidt.
The top students in Graphic Design each received a $75 cash award plus a $300 talent grant. They are Elizabeth Alexander, Matt Joos, Mackenzie Spangler and Glendy Bergdorf. In addition, $150 talent grants were presented to Tory Indre, Abbie Henry and Trista Wright.
Stop in and check out the artwork. The show will be up for viewing through May 2.
Is your entry ready? It’s last call to enter the 10th annual “May Show at Lakeland Juried Art Exhibition.” The show will be open May 16 through July 12. Artwork Drop off will be May 4 through May 6. Go to lakelandcc.edu/gallery for entry details and an application form. Awards include a $1,500 Best in Show cash award.
Painesville's Art in the Park will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 17 in Veterans’ Park. Art in the Park is a juried event for both new and returning artists. There is a $5 application fee and $50 space fee if accepted.
Applications also are open to local food artisans and cottage-industry foods, but there is space for only eight vendors.
The application deadline is May 31, and the process will be handled online. All questions need to be directed to Bethany Homrighaus at starfishandcoffeeshop@yahoo.com.
Are you a comic book fan? Check this out. Valley Art Center, 155 Bell St., Chagrin Falls, is looking for artists for a fall exhibit, “Comix.” The entry deadline is May 31.
In curating this show, Cleveland comic artists Gary and Laura Dumm will combine educational material with original pieces by local, regional and national comic artists, as well as work by students of local schools.
Gary is a comic-book artist best known for illustrating the work of Harvey Pekar. His work also includes several full-length graphic novels, editorial cartoons and other comics.
Laura’s work brings a fine-arts balance to the team as she dominates with vibrant color. Painting is her medium, and she often adds color to Gary’s work. They have teamed up together for many projects, from painting to comics.
The show also will include select pieces to spotlight moments in the history of comic creation and share Ohio’s contributions to the craft.
Art will be accepted in a variety of media, including textiles, glass/enamel, wood/metal/sculpture, jewelry, painting/drawing, ceramics and other/mixed media.
Learn more about VAC at valleyartcenter.org.
Coming up at Finestra Gallery, 4076 Erie St., Willoughby, is local photographer Lori Diemer, May’s artist of the month. She captures nature images.
Her show will open with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. May 3 and will feature her images printed on metal. This is a frame- and mat-free option that creates a sleek, contemporary piece — very appropriate for her style. The metal prints are mounted in a way that looks as if they are floating on the wall.
For more information, call 440-946-3313.
Who will pay the taxes for universities, health care and rapid transit if residents of some of Metro Vancouver’s exclusive neighbourhoods are reporting poverty-level incomes?
Some homeowners in tony parts of the west side of Vancouver and Richmond are claiming to have income as low as people struggling in Vancouver’s chronically poor Downtown Eastside.
The tax unfairness caused by the growing phenomenon of mansion owners alleging poverty can be traced largely to Canada failing to catch trans-national migrants who refuse to report their total global income at tax times.
A study by University of B.C. geographer Dan Hiebert shows the problem is worse in Metro Vancouver than in Montreal and Toronto.
It’s the unintended consequence of Metro becoming a popular destination for those who gained a Canadian passport through the business-investor immigrant program.
Statistics Canada data shows the upscale neighbourhoods in Metro where more than 30 per cent of adults are reporting poverty have a high proportion of immigrants, writes Hiebert.
Why does upscale Richmond neighbourhood appear “poor” to tax officials?
The most contradictory-appearing “low-income” area of Metro Vancouver is the elite tree-lined west side neighbourhood of Shaughnessy-Arbutus Ridge.
It includes Prince of Wales Secondary School, Quilchena Park and the luxurious hillside houses north of 37th Avenue, which typically sell in the $2-million to $6-million range.
The neighbourhood south of Oakridge Shopping Centre also has a curiously high proportion of residents reporting poverty, even though most people there own either expensive houses or stylish condominiums.
In addition, a large collection of adjacent neighbourhoods (which StatsCan technically calls “census tracts”) in north-central Richmond, where roughly 40,000 people tend to own either pricey houses or condos, has an unusually strong percentage claiming low incomes.
Hiebert’s study, for the Institute for Research on Public Policy, dovetails with the findings of Vancouver mathematician Jens von Bergmann, formerly of The University of Calgary.
Von Bergmann found 25,000 households in the city of Vancouver alone, almost one in 10, declare less income than they spent on their housing costs. His maps, published by the South China Morning Post, show most are in the west side.
Both Hiebert and Von Bergmann discovered most of the Metro neighbourhoods where residents own expensive houses but many declare low income contain a much higher than Metro average of visible minorities, particularly of Chinese origin.
Immigration Canada is aware of the reported-earnings anomaly. It released data this year showing refugees to the country appear to earn more income on average than the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have arrived via the business-investor program. The latter were required to temporarily invest $800,000 in Canada.
Many of the Metro households in fashionable neighbourhoods that claim low incomes appear to follow the well-documented “astronaut” scenario of investor immigrants, in which husbands often work offshore while their school-age children live in Canada.
In Millionaire Migrants: Trans-Pacific Life Lines, Ley cites a Chinese-Canadian Historical Society report that two of three Hong Kong males who obtained a Canadian passport work and live outside the country. A Citibank official in East Asia estimated only 10 per cent of trans-national migrants’ assets are initially transferred to Canada.
Almost six of 10 residents of the supposedly low-income neighbourhood of Shaughnessy-Arbutus Ridge are foreign born, according to an interactive map created by former Sun digital reporter Chad Skelton. The residents are 50-per cent ethnic Chinese, 34 per cent white and eight per cent Korean.
In the “low-income” neighbourhood south of Oakridge shopping centre, between Granville and Cambie, the percentage of those who are foreign born rises to almost seven in 10. Based on ethnicity (see interactive map), 69 per cent are Chinese, 19 per cent are white and five per cent South Asian.
The conglomeration of north Richmond neighbourhoods that appear “low-income” to StatsCan is also generally more than 70 per cent foreign born, including roughly three out of four who are ethnic Chinese, with some whites and South Asians.
Almost six of 10 residents of the supposedly low-income neighbourhood of Shaughnessy-Arbutus Ridge are foreign born. The residents are 50-per cent ethnic Chinese, 34 per cent white and eight per cent Korean.
One of the many unusual things about these apparently “low-income” neighbourhoods is that they are not, like the Downtown Eastside, UBC and Burnaby’s Metrotown, dominated by rental housing.
The rate of home ownership among immigrants in these technically “poor” Metro neighbourhoods is extremely high compared to Montreal and Toronto, according to Hiebert.
Former Richmond mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt and Albert Lo, head of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, are worried about the many problems related to wealthy property owners not fully reporting or paying taxes in Canada on their global income.
Even though such homeowners pay municipal property taxes, Halsey-Brandt said, many appear to not be paying an appropriate share of provincial and federal income taxes, which fund highways, transit, universities, hospitals, the CBC, welfare, immigrant-support organizations and much more.
Lo wants the Canada Revenue Agency to more closely examine the earnings of immigrants who “park large amounts of money” in Canadian real estate and then “go back to work in China” or elsewhere.
Albert Lo, head of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, wants Canada to go after the earnings of immigrants who “park large amounts of money” in Canadian real estate and then “go back to work in China” or elsewhere.
Even though the federal government last year cancelled the immigrant-investor program that is largely responsible for this tax inequity, a back door remains.
Rich immigrants continue to be accepted by the thousands into Quebec’s business-investor program, but most move to Metro Vancouver.
And although Ottawa brought in legislation in 2013 that required Canadians to declare their foreign assets, Vancouver immigration lawyer Samuel Hyman said neither the federal nor B.C. governments are cracking down on people who pay sky-high prices to buy Canadian houses but don’t pay taxes on global income.
That goes for both overseas property owners who are avoiding taxes through a legal loophole — by becoming non-residents for income tax purposes, for example — and for those residents acting outside the law by not reporting global income, Hyman said.
One common example of the tax unfairness that arises with dual passports is in regards to higher education.
A key reason migrants yearn to become citizens of Canada is so their children can attend its English-language universities.
But if dual-passport parents who appear poor because they’re not reporting their global assets are at the same time sending their children to Canadian universities, it means they’re not contributing to the tax base for their children’s subsidized education.
This dual-passport inequity also applies to many students with both Canadian and U.S. citizenship. Many of their parents no longer reside in or pay taxes in Canada, but the children still cross the 49th parallel for a relatively inexpensive, Canadian-taxpayer-funded higher education.
That’s just one of numerous tax injustices that come with dual citizenship, which Canada, says Hyman, has so far been a laggard in stopping, compared to other more tax-pursuing countries like Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.
In Canada, unfortunately, resistance to forcing foreign-asset disclosure has long come from all political sides.