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The Distorted Reality of Eating Disorder Books
TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorders
By ELLEN RICKS | 19 FEB 2019
Image courtesy of Peter Tea
If I had a nickel for every time I was told all I needed was a sandwich, I’d probably be able to afford real medical treatment for my anorexia.
To be fair, most people don’t mean to be insensitive about my illness—they might not even realize they are being insensitive. They are going by what they’ve seen and read about eating disorders which, as far as I can tell, isn’t much to go on at all. There isn’t much media about eating disorders, and the small part of them is rarely accurate. I would know because when I went looking into my eating disorder, I found very little I could relate to. In fact, I found more things that harmed than helped.
Psychology 101 textbook
The relationship between me and my disorder is complex, like most mental illnesses. For years I was in denial about my problem, but I had a feeling that something was off. Like a true Hermione Granger, I set out to do extensive research into what the hell was going on with me. I started off trying to find facts— in Google searches, WebMD results, and the pages of my eighty-dollar psych textbook. I took endless eating disorder screening quizzes online, each telling me in bold flashing letters: High Probability of an Eating Disorder. I read big Latin words and the accompanying bullet pointed lists of symptoms. Although thoughts food and calories preoccupied me, and I constantly commented about my weight, I hadn’t stopped menstruating, or eating completely. And whose definition of “dramatic” weight loss was correct, anyway: mine or everyone else’s? Growing up in a conservative house where mental illness was a fancy word for lazy and crazy, we didn’t speak of eating disorders, much less Google them; I deleted my history on the family laptop hourly for self-protection. leaving me even more confused about my illness.
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
I first read Wintergirls when I turned eighteen on the cusp of my illness. I read the haunting tale of Lia Overbrook in secret, hunched over a digital PDF copy on my phone. Her story horrified and disgusted me – and honestly made me a little envious. She was described as being so thin, so beautiful, so fragile because of her petite body. Like a porcelain doll. I came away thinking this would surely be one of my favorite books, yet I found myself frustrated by it. I did not work as hard at my weight loss as the pretty, porcelain ex-ballerina Lia did. I had not yet flung myself as far off the deep end of the disorder as she did.
Weight is a painful trigger when reading books about eating disorders. Every time a disorder is mentioned, it seems like the person’s weight must also be mentioned, as though it somehow validates the character’s illness. Lia’s BMI is mentioned on almost every other page as it sinks lower and lower.
These weights unlocked a certain competitive drive in me, a common personality trait in people with eating disorders. I have always been an ambitious, goal-oriented girl, and these weights gave me something to shoot for. I believed I had to be at a certain BMI to prove that I was sick, and that once I reached a certain weight, then I could stop. I became fixated, triggered by numbers; I beratedmyself for not reaching my goal weight. To this day, I believe what kept me sick for so long was that I wanted to reach Lia’s BMI. I began reading in search of a character who understood my distorted views on eating and body image, but instead I came out thinking I needed to try harder to get thin.
I’d be lying to you now if I say thinness still isn’t a goal.
Instead of learning that “eating disorders are bad,” I learned “here’s how you get good at it.”
The Best Little Girl In The World by Steven Levenkron
An eating disorder can look glamorous to those who’ve never been sick. The reader becomes fascinatedwith how someone can go that deep in self-denial, how they can function eating so little. They may question if they have the willpower to plunge deep into the cold, unforgiving depths of the disorder. But what is the price of this glamorization? The dehumanization of the sufferers.
The Best Little Girl In The World by Steven Levenkron, the original eating disorder novel, drives this point home. I discovered the book a year after reading Wintergirls. I was at the lowest weight of my life and starting to become faintly concerned about it.. Dr. Steven Levenkron wrote The Best Little Girl in the World in 1978, when eating disorders first emerged into the public consciousness. Known for his work on anorexia and self-harm as well as for treating singer Karen Carpenter in 1980, Levenkron claimed he had based the novel on his own patients. His website boasted a 90% recovery rate. He must know something.
I later learned that Karen Carpenter died of anorexia in 1983, apparently a part of the 10%.
Eating disorder books are graphic. It’s what they’re praised for: “gritty, raw, unflinching narratives.” They highlight how hard eating disorders are by torturing these girls. The Best Little Girl In The World stayed with me, not because of its plot or characters but because of its gore. Horror movies can’t hold a candle to it. I still have nightmares over the “feeding” scene. (If you haven’t read the book, the TV movie it’s based on can be found on YouTube starring a young Jennifer Jason Leigh, and let me tell you: It. Is. Horrific). I couldn’t look away at the graphic and detailed acts of self-destruction.
Horrifying, yes, but what is the point? It’s like watching the opening scene of a crime show where the victim is tortured and killed; sure, we feel bad for them, but we don’t know them long enough to truly empathize. A common theme in eating disorder books is that the main characters don’t have a personality outside of their disorder. They are flat, shallow characters, focused only on losing weight and hiding their illness. They are defined only by the terrible things that happen to them. Almost every conversation that Kessa has with any other character is about her illness, but we don’t know how Kessa feels about it Instead, we only get to watch her torment herself. Why is that interesting?
I don’t find my own inevitable demise at the hands of my traitorous mind interesting. Honestly, it’s pretty boring. A real book about eating disorders would be me sitting on the couch, sipping black coffee, eating baby carrots, and wishing I was dead.
But I guess that wouldn’t exactly create booming book sales.
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher
I discovered Marya Hornbacher’s debut memoir Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia the summer before my senior year of college. I had high hopes. I thought reading a memoir straight from someone who’s lived through it would give me a sense of emotional support; she has lived through it and continues to live. I hoped I could find something to connect to.
Plot twist: it was even worse. Hornbacher detailed her own actions from childhood to her 20s with crystal clear recollection that sent chills down my spin. She documents her declining weight throughout the years, leading up to her final weight that left her near-dead and hospitalized. Her book, like the others, was a tale of self-destruction, of how she ruined her body to almost beyond repair.
I, too, could share my own horror stories. I could tell you about being elbow deep in my vomit after purging, trying to unclog my sink. I could tell you how I tried to rip open my stomach with a knife and my bare hands to remove the fat from my body. I could write it all down, every tiny, terrifying detail—but would you really know me? Would you feel all the complex emotions that drove me to that point? Guilt, denial, self-loathing, shame, embarrassment, pride, fear—we see none of those emotions in these books. Eating disorder books tell us what an eating disorder looks like, not what having an eating disorder feels like.
Why do people with eating disorders need to die in order for society to care about us?
That is the million dollar question.
While I could not get the emotional support or feelings that I could relate to in these books, they did give me something else: tips and tricks on how to get sicker. In their detailed accounts of agony, these authors told me exactly how to stay sick, and how to keep it a secret. Things that wouldn’t have occurred to me were laid out clearly for me to use. And I knew they would work: they came directly from doctors and fellow anorexics.
Somehow, while trying to research my illness, I’d built a reading list on how to die.
Eating disorders are mental illnesses with physical symptoms; it’s part of the reason they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. In my reading, I learned a lot about the physical aspects, (i.e. what my illness should look like), but I learned nothing about the mental aspect. People say “you need to gain weight” or “you just need to eat a sandwich” because that would heal the physical symptoms. But you still have a disordered relationship with food, with how you look in the mirror. My illness didn’t start because I was a dancer or cheerleader, or because someone called me a mean name on playground, but as a way of coping with my major depression and anxiety- it was a side effect of my other mental illnesses. My sickness didn’t happen when my BMI dipped to an unhealthy range and didn’t stop when I got to a “healthy” weight again. I was always sick. I’m still sick as I write this. Yet, if there is one thing I have learned from my decade-long illness it is that there is no such thing as a rock bottom, and no such thing as getting “fixed.” Having an eating disorder is a lifelong uphill battle you will need to fight every day. But that doesn’t mean it will be a bad life.
Eating disorders happen not to characters in books, but to people. Real people with jobs and hopes and dreams and personalities that have nothing to do with their illness. I am anorexic, but I am also a hundred other things people forget when they hear my condition. We suffer silently, we suffer messy days of inner chaos that you don’t get to see; but through the suffering, we have a thousand other emotions that deserve to be told, too.
We are not pretty dead girls. We are humans fighting a silent war.
We have a story to tell.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, there are people who can help:
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
Toll-Free phone number: 1-800-931-2237
For 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 7417431.
Ellen Ricks is a writer and mental health advocate. She has a BFA in Creative Writing, which has been surprisingly useful when it comes to being published in Teen Vogue, Bustle, and Argot Magazine. When not writing, Ellen enjoys drinking pumpkin spice everything, making terrible puns, and dismantling the patriarchy. She currently haunts Upstate New York.
Highly Pigmented: YouTube and Millennial Expectations
By MONIQUE JONES
Highly pigmented. Not works well or is smartly designed or of quality—the focus is generally on how brightly colored an eyeshadow palette is. However, just because something is rich in color doesn’t it mean it’s good.
This Space Left Intentionally Blank
By LINDSAY LYNCH
We don’t often leave spaces blank in America— it goes against everything capitalism stands for.
The Victorian Angel Guides of Death
By ALLISON C. MEIER
Even as these stones romanticize their death, the mortality and harrowing pain of Victorian women haunts these scenes.
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HomePosts tagged 'agape'
Quick thoughts on the injustice of grace
April 28, 2016 MJH Christianity, Classic Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Mediaeval Christianity, Monks, Patristics agape, aidan kimel, apokatastasis, eclectic orthodoxy, injustice, isaac of nineveh, isaac the syrian, justice, late antiquity, love, the injustice of god's love
Image from the Orthodox Church in America
A call for papers passed through my inbox recently for a conference entitled ‘Divine (In)Justice in Antiquity and the Middle Ages‘. In my perversity, I immediately thought about this sublime post by Fr Aidan Kimel over at Eclectic Orthodoxy, St Isaac the Syrian: The Scandalous Injustice of God. If you’re pressed for time, I recommend that you skip my post and read Fr Aidan’s.
Anyway, I thought it would be a laugh to submit a paper to the conference about the injustice of divine grace in St Isaac the Syrian (‘of Nineveh’, d. 700) — to challenge our ideas of what it means when God is ‘unjust’. Generally speaking, when folks say that God is ‘unjust’, they really mean that God allows ‘bad’ things to happen to ‘good’ people. My paper, inspired by Fr Aidan and giving him full credit (of course), would use St Isaac to question this idea of just and unjust as well as bad and good in relation to divine-human relationships.
Upon further thought and reading the call for papers more closely, I decided that it wasn’t such a good idea — I can’t read Isaac in the original Syriac; I have yet to read his complete works; blog posts by Fr Aidan are the only secondary material I’ve read. The groundwork for me to produce an academic paper on St Isaac the Syrian is too great, even if the seed of a thesis exists. And I have a feeling that seed is correct.
Nevertheless, as I brough to the fore on my posts about St Augustine of Hippo and medieval Cistercians on divine love (here and here), God goes far beyond justice in His dealings with the human race, according to the teachings of historic Christianity. Whether one believes in apokatastasis as do St Isaac and Fr Aidan, God — the overwhelming Trinity that is, in His essence, agape, dilectio, love — loves us more than we can ask or imagine, and that love has overflown and continues to overflow in the divine action with regard to the human race.
Remember, as we were taught in Sunday School or heard from an evangelist on the street, the human race is fallen, broken, twisted, diseased, suffering. One glance at footage shot by drones in Homs, Syria, will show you that. One look at the clubbing scene in Glasgow on a Saturday will show you as well. Having turned our backs on God, and being ourselves ultimately ex nihilo, we are headed for destruction without God (see St Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation).
God loves us, so He comes to save us. Justice, which is balance (I always quote Ra’s al Ghul from Batman Begins for that), means that ‘bad’ things happen to ‘bad’ people. No one is good, no one is righteous — not one (Cf. Romans 3:12; Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:0).
Yet when we were God’s enemies, Christ died for us so that we might become the friends and children of God, heirs of the universe. This is absolute, overpowering love, agape at its deepest and truest.
It is also, by the ancient understanding of justice (in a judiciary sense, typically a retributive idea), unjust.
All of this, of course, has been said better and more beautifully by St Isaac the Syrian.*
[Insert plug for Late Antiquity here.]
*Also said by the Newsboys, ‘When you get what you don’t deserve, it’s a real good thing. A real good thing.’
What do you mean, “God is love”? (Part One: dilectio and agape with St Augustine)
March 12, 2016 March 11, 2016 MJH Anglicanism, Books, Christianity, Classic Christianity, Classics, Patristics 1 john 4, agape, bible translation, caritas, charity, de trinitate, dilectio, love, st augustine of hippo, what does it mean that god is love
When I was 15, there was a very popular Barq’s rootbeer commercial where one of the characters, out of sight of another, proclaims, ‘What do you mean, “Barq’s has bite”?’ Here it is in all its glory:
That summer at camp, I was involved in a parody of that ad, only the guy standing at the booth was saying, ‘God is love,’ and Johnny was saying, ‘What do you mean, “God is love”?’ Johnny was handed a New Testament, took a look, and said, ‘Amen!’ instead of, ‘Ouch!’ (I think?)
The question has recently jumped into prominence for me because of St Augustine, De Trinitate, and the Church of England’s ‘Pilgrim Course’. Today I’ll deal only with Augustine.
In Books 8 and 9 of De Trin, St Augustine discusses love and knowledge, and how one can love that which one does not know. He also says that love is a potential analogy for the Holy Trinity, since love requires a lover, a beloved, and the love itself. He later rejects this analogy on the grounds that in order to love onself, lover and beloved are both the same. He later makes some other analogies from human psychology.
So — what do you mean, ‘God is love’?
The first thing we need to sort is ‘love’. When I was working for IVCF/IFES in Cyprus, we were reminded to be careful with how we use that famous phrase. A lot of the Nepali Hindus we met were liable to switch subject and predicate and then equate sex with love, producing a highly distorted view of what 1 John 4 is talking about!
St Augustine in these books of De Trin uses multiple words for love, annoyingly. When he actually cites, ‘God is love,’ he does so in a version of 1 John 4:16 that runs:
Deus dilectio est, et qui manet in dilectione, in Deo manet. (De Trin 8.VII (10))
God is love, and the person who remains in love, remains in God.
The Greek of the relevant portion is is:
Ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστὶν
God is agape. The Weber-Gryson edition of the Vulgate gives us caritas where Augustine has dilectio and the Greek agape. Caritas is the normal Latin translation of agape — hence older English Bibles with charity. I found myself perplexed by Augustine yesterday, no less so when he suddenly switched from dilectio to amor in Book 9, using it in much the same way! He did use caritas at one point in Book 9, to distinguish between it and cupiditas.
Semantics matter if we’re trying to figure out what somebody means.
It turns out that I may have a watered-down vision of dilectio, probably from some of the uses of its cognate verb diligo that seem weak in English — ‘to esteem’. Also, it is used commonly in late Latin letter-writing as ‘tua dilectio’ so frequently that any force of substantive love has been sucked out of it.o
Nonetheless, I learned from Lewis & Short’s Latin dictionary that this is a late Latin word and that Tertullian uses dilectio dei to refer to the love of God, and it is not entirely absent from the Vulgate. The Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, in fact, cites nothing earlier than Tertullian for this word. According to that esteemed dictionary, dilectio is used in it primary sense as a synonym for the Greek agape and the Latin caritas.
So that settled what Augustine meant by dilectio. He meant love as in agape as in caritas.
Caritas/agape has traditionally been rendered into English as charity — observe the King James translation of 1 Corinthians 13.
This is the word that Lancelot Andrewes and his team chose to signify the highest form of love there is. Sadly, because of how we act/view ‘charitable’ deeds and almsgiving, charity in English tends to mean someone else’s leftovers that they really don’t want. It should, rather, mean a super-powerful love that is powerful enough to love the unlovely and unloveable. It is, after all, modelled upon the love of God — a love so large that while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Ro 5:8).
A prime example of what has happened to the word charity is that famous sermon Bono preached to then-President G. W. Bush several years ago. He said that Africa and the developing world don’t need charity — they need justice. And went on to press the President to improve the quality and quantity of American foreign aid.
In fact, actually, Africa doesn’t need justice. True charity is preferable to justice. Every time. Ra’s al Ghul may have had dastardly methods to execute what he felt was justice, but he was not wrong in declaring that justice is balance in Batman Begins. This is what the retributive justice system is about. Justice is when you get what you deserve.
Charity, on the other hand, looks at your deserts and chooses to give you better. In a universe shot through with charity, the Judge looks at you and takes your penalty. In a universe shot through with charity, the Father embraces you, knowing that you have a knife in your hand to stab Him in the back.
Augustine’s dilectio is meant to carry the same weight, although I didn’t quite get it without the lexicographical wonders of the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae.
But this is only one of the many ramifications of what is meant by “God is love”…
Catacombs and Controversy
November 22, 2012 MJH Art, Classic Christianity, Patristics agape, catacomb images, catacombs, catacombs of rome, cult of the saints, early christian art, eucharistic feast, orans, revisionist history, roman catholicism
Orans or ‘Pray-er’ in the Catacombs
I’m not an art historian, as this post that still leaves me dissatisfied will show. But I do like art and architecture and sometimes even have coherent thoughts about them. This coherence is typified in my posts about Gothic art and architecture here and here. Part of what makes Gothic architecture easier to write about is the fact that it comes with a guidebook, almost. When Abbot Suger redesigned St. Denis, he wrote all about it.
This clarity is not the case for much early Christian art.
And today, I had to lead a tutorial seminar on the Catacombs of Rome, which lack much clarity and coherence because they were first excavated during the Reformation and were thus marshalled for the ‘Counter-‘ or ‘Catholic’ Reformation as Anti-Protestant/Iconoclast propaganda. Today, the Vatican still controls access to these subterranean lands full of wonderful images, thus making it harder to re-evaluate them based upon new techniques and better knowledge of the early history and art of Christianity from other sources (such as Dura Europos).
The propaganda value of the Catacombs comes from attempts to proclaim all of the art Christian and all of it pre-Constantinian. This often comes coupled with the belief that the Christians lived and hid in the Catacombs during times of persecution. The idea is that if you can prove a major role for bishops and the Bishop of Rome before Constantine, as well as the centrality of martyr (ie. saints’) cults in Ante-Nicene Christianity, as well as the prominence of Christian figural art including images of Christ before Nicaea, you can prove to Iconoclast Protestants who want to separate from Rome and abolish the cult of the saints that they are treading a fine line with overturning early stages of the very tradition that gave us the Scriptures.
However, I do not believe that you need to espouse this 16th-century propaganda to be Roman Catholic — not that I’m a Roman Catholic. The newer interpretations of the Catacombs are that they are subterranean necropoleis like those of other Mediterranean cities and that they housed the corpses Christians, Jews, and pagans. This view explains why there are so many pagan motifs in the art down there (you’d think it would be welcome to the Roman authorities).
Catacomb Banquet
Although such a view leads to re-dating some art as well as proclaiming other art pagan, the art that seems to date from the mid-third century still has many of the major Catacomb motifs — banquet scenes, Bible stories, Christ the Good Shepherd on the ceiling, fish, chi-rhos, and the like. Thus, arguments for Ante-Nicene figural images can still stand against Iconoclastic opponents.
Of course, when the material is re-dates, there is some trouble with the fact that none of the crosses or crucifixions pre-dates the fifth century. But this merely makes the Catacombs like every other place with Christian art. Christians were very slow to go about publically painting and carving crosses. My hunch is that in a culture where people are actually crucified, it’s still too raw; Christians have to spend enough time working through the shame as it is, as evidenced in Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho.
I think the lack of crosses also points to the purpose of the art. While it’s likely that some Christian martyrs were buried there, no evidence exists for regular Church services down there, apart (one imagines) from martyrs’ festivals. The Bible stories tend to be images of people being saved, not of Christ’s salvific act. They are reminders of the hope all Christians hold.
Good Shepherd, ceiling of cubiculum in Catacomb of Priscilla
Another idea countered by younger scholars is that every banquet scene in the Catacombs is Eucharist. Since some of them are pagan, this need not be so. They could be images of the heavenly banquet; they could be images of the banquets Romans (Christians included) held at the tombs of loved ones on the anniversary of their death; they could be images the Christian love-feast. Who knows?
Alas, however, these views are hard to find, as an art historian/archaeologist friend was explaining today over coffee. Since access to these sites is so closely controlled, and the official line so loudly proclaimed, it is hard to find a book that will break the silence and tell the truth in all its messiness and with all its uncertainties.
But I like the image of the Catacombs as common cemeteries where Christians told their stories in frescoes, even if they are not always the stories we expect. It adds another angle to the evidence provided by the also scant but much more numerous documentary evidence that I usually deal with.
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Local Treatment For Piles
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Ranking the top 5 moments from “Fear the Walking Dead” season 5 episode 5: “You Fall, I Fall.”
Happy Tuesday TV fans! After watching AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead season 5 episode 5, I realized that sometimes you need to let something go in order to finally open up to those around you. It’s up to you to decide if you want to stay in the past or embrace the future. Please note spoilers are ahead if you have not gotten a chance to watch the latest episode yet. In last night’s episode, “The End of Everything,” we finally catch up with Al and learn about her fate after she was taken. My top 5 moments from Fear the Walking Dead season 5 episode 5 are:
“Hey baldy…over here!”
In the beginning of the episode, we catch up with Al after she goes back to find and record her next story. She is taken by someone in the mask and suit, who is focused on one thing…finding the tape that Al recorded on her camera. Al wakes up in a car with her hands tied, but she proves just how resourceful she is. Al spots a walker and calls him over to her. The walker, or Baldy, takes the bait and Al is able to grab on to the barbed wire around him to free herself. She then proceeds to take out the walker with the car door, reminding us that she is a bad-ass you do not want to mess with!
“I just want to know the truth. Why are you out here?”
The stranger really should have used handcuffs as Al suggested, but we learn that the masked stranger is a woman. The woman continues to ask for the tape again and again, but Al is quite stubborn. We get to see the helicopter with the 3 circle symbol up close and learn that the woman is part of “Ground 17,” whatever that means. We also learn that there is a Reclamation team ready to swoop in if needed. So how many teams are there and is the Reclamation team the group that was in contact with Rick and Anne/Jadis on TWD or is this an entirely different branch? This is a lot to process, but Al is determined to get to the truth…even if she has to risk her life to do so.
“Why does any of this matter?”
Al finally gets through to the mysterious woman, hilariously nicknaming her Happy for now, when she agrees to tell Al about what they are doing in exchange for the tape. Happy doesn’t seem like she wants to share too much, but Al refuses to take no for an answer and continues to question her, revealing the journalist within.
Happy finally asks Al why any of this matters and Al explains that “when we’re gone, our stories will be all that’s left.” Happy finds Al’s tape, Bog #7, which is extremely important to Al. Al explains that she lost her brother because she was chasing after the story and this is a reminder. Happy seems to be opening up more now and explains that “we have the future,” but does that mean she is ready to give up on the present?
“You fall, I fall.”
I don’t know why, but when I heard Al repeating this phrase, I kept thinking about The Notebook’s “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird” speech, but I guess it applies here. In an attempt to get more fuel for the helicopter, it’s time for some extreme rock climbing with an angry walker to make it that much more exciting. Al and Happy work together to climb up the wall and have a close call, but Al is able to hook on to the walker’s line before it is too late. I thought Jon Snow’s climb up the wall on GOT was exciting, but Al sure had me on the edge of my seat as well! They are able to make it to the top together, but Al realizes that once this is all over, Happy will need to kill her because she knows too much.
“I want you to live!”
After Al turns over the tape, Happy destroys it, explaining that this is bigger than all of us, but is still pretty cryptic about what she actually means here. Al realizes that this is the end of the road for her, as Happy tells her to turn around. Al tells her she gets it and that she finally knows that she chose something other than a story. She turns over the Bog #7 tape and tells Happy, “Make sure the story matters.” Happy holds a gun to the back of Al’s head, but has second thoughts and tells her, “I want you to live!” She explains that her real name is Isabelle and tells Al not to chase this story. She reveals that she has finally witnessed one of the prettiest things ever since the apocalypse started and passionately kisses Al. I’m still swooning over this kiss!
Al and Isabelle go their separate ways and Al catches up with Morgan and Alicia. She lies and tells them that she only heard the helicopter and says there is no story. I thought this was a huge moment for Al’s character. When she handed over the tape to Isabelle, it’s like she was finally able to free herself from the burden of her past, now ready to open up to the possibilities of the present and the future. Al even reveals her last name, which I am still having trouble pronouncing, but it just goes to show that she is finally ready to write her own story.
Where is Isabelle going? I’m not sure, but we still have been left with so many unanswered questions. Isabelle calls off the Reclamation group, but are we going to have to wait until the movies with Rick Grimes to learn anything concrete about what this group is actually doing? Either way, I was thoroughly entertained by the episode and I thought that Maggie Grace was brilliant, branching out into a well layered character that continues to surprise me again and again. Stay tuned!
I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your own theories and thoughts on Fear the Walking Dead in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!
Do you love horror series? Of course you do! Please also check out 12 Nights of Horror Series Coming Soon. It’s your home for everything you need to know about new and returning horror television series including new trailers, premiere dates, reviews, recaps, and renewals!
Posted on July 1, 2019 July 1, 2019 Categories Fear the Walking Dead, UncategorizedTags 3 circle symbol, Al and Isabelle kiss, Al's character development on Fear TWD, Al's fate revealed on Fear TWD, AMC, Bog #7, Crossover to Rick and Jadis, drama, Episode 5, Fear the Walking Dead, Fear TWD, Fear twd fans, Fear TWD season 5 episode 5 Maggie Grace, Fear TWD season 5 episode 5 recap, Fear TWD season 5 episode 5 top moments, Fear TWD theories, Ground 17, Happy, helicopter, horror, Huge moment for Al's character, Isabelle, Maggie Grace, Ranking, Reclamation team, rock climbing, Season 5, spoilers, television, The End of Everything, theories, top 5 list, Top 5 moments, TV, You Fall I Fall, zombiesLeave a comment on Ranking the top 5 moments from “Fear the Walking Dead” season 5 episode 5: “You Fall, I Fall.”
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ELLA BAKER, “ADDRESS AT THE HATTIESBURG FREEDOM DAY RALLY” (21 JANUARY 1964)
Barnett, Bernice McNair. “Invisible Southern Black Women Leaders in the Civil Rights Movement: The Triple Constraints of Gender, Race, and Class.” Gender & Society 7 (1993): 162-82.
Cantarow, Ellen, , Susan Gushee O’Malley, Sharon Hartman Strom, Florence Luscomb, Ella Baker, Jessie Lopez De La Cruz, Moving the Mountain: Women Working for Social Change. Old Westbury, NY: Feminist Press, 1980.
Carey, Mittie K. “The Parallel Rhetorics of Ella Baker.” Southern Communication Journal 79, no. 1 (2014): 27-40.
Carson, Clayborne. In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981.
Cox, Robert and Christina Foust. “Social Movement Rhetoric.” In Andrea Lunsford, Kirt H. Wilson, and Rosa A. Eberly, eds. The Sage Handbook of Rhetorical Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2008.
Crawford, Vicki L, Jacqueline Anne Rouse, and Barbara Woods. Women in the Civil Rights Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers, 1941-1965. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990.
Davis, Townsend. Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Norton, 1998.
DeLaure, Marilyn Bordwell. “Planting Seeds of Change: Ella Baker’s Radical Rhetoric.” Women’s Studies in Communication 31 (2008): 1-28.
Dittmer, John. Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
Grant, Joanne. Ella Baker: Freedom Bound. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Hampton, Henry, Steve Fayer, and Sara Flynn. Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s Through the 1980s. New York: Bantam Books, 1900.
Hogan, Wesley C. Many Minds, One Heart: SNCC’s Dream for a New America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.
Holsaert, Faith S., Martha Prescod Norman Noonan, Judy Richardson, Betty Garman Robinson, Jean Smith Young, and Dorothy M. Zellner, ed. Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
Houck, Davis W., and David E. Dixon, ed. Rhetoric, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2006.
Jensen, Richard J. and John C. Hammerback. “Working in ‘Quiet Places’: The Community Organizing Rhetoric of Robert Parris Moses.” Howard Journal of Communications 11, no. 1 (2000): 1-18.
King, Mary. Freedom Song. New York: William Morrow, 1987.
Lawson, Steven F. and Charles M. Payne, ed., Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006.
Lewis, Earl M. “The Negro Voter in Mississippi.” The Journal of Negro Education 26 (1957): 329-350.
Manning, Marable and Leith Mullings ed. Let Nobody Turn us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal: An African American Anthology. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009.
Marshall, James P. Student Activism and Civil Rights in Mississippi: Protest Politics and the Struggle for Racial Justice, 1960-1965. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2013.
McGuire, Danielle L. “‘It was like All of Us Had Been Raped’: Sexual Violence, Community Mobilization, and the African American Freedom Struggle.” The Journal of American History, 91 (2004): 906-931.
Miller, Joshua H. “Empowering Communities: Ella Baker’s Decentralized Style and Conversational Eloquence.” Southern Communication Journal 81, no. 3 (2016): 156-167.
Moye, J. Todd. Ella Baker: Community Organizer of the Civil Rights Movement. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2013.
Mueller, Carol. “Ella Baker and the Origins of ‘Participatory Democracy.’” In Women in the Civil Rights Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers, 1951-1965. Ed., Vicki L. Crawford, Jacqueline Anne Rouse, and Barbara Woods. Bloomington: Indian University Press, 1993, 51-70.
Olson, Lynne. Freedom’s Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
Payne, Charles. “Ella Baker and Models of Social Change.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 14, no. 4 (1989): 885-899.
_____. I’ve Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
Robnett, Belinda. “African-American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965: Gender, Leadership, and Micromobilization.” American Journal of Sociology, 101 (1996): 1661-1693.
Tarrow, Sidney. Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
West, Cornel and Christ Buschendorf. Black Prophetic Fire. Boston: Beacon Press, 2014.
Zinn, Howard. SNCC: The New Abolitionists. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985.
“Civil Rights Movement Leaders.” Take Stock: Images of Change. http://www.takestockphotos.com/imagepages/folioframes.php?FolioID=3#.
Eyes on the Prize. Produced by Henry Hampton of Blackside, Inc. Arlington County, VA: Public Broadcasting Service, 1987. DVD.
FUNDI: The Story of Ella Baker. Directed by Joanne Grant. NY: Icarus Films, 1981. DVD.
“Photo Album.” Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. http://www.crmvet.org/images/imghome.htm.
“About SNCC.” One Peron, One Vote: The Legacy of SNCC and the Fight for Voting Rights. http://onevotesncc.org/.
Baker, Ella. “Bigger Than A Hamburger.” The Southern Patriot, May 1960. http://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc2.htm.
“Baker, Ella Josephine.” Zinn Education Project. http://zinnedproject.org/materials/baker-ella/.
“Civil Rights History Project.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/.
“Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive.” The University of Southern Mississippi. http://digilib.usm.edu/crmda.php.
“Cornel West’s Thoughts on Ella Baker.” YouTube, posted by Time, October 9, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omyQ6P2SCzo.
“Ella Baker Papers, 1959-1965.” Wisconsin Historical Society. http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15932coll2/id/18105/rec/11
“Sovereignty Commission Online.” Mississippi Department of Archives and History. http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/.
“Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.” Zinn Education Project. https://zinnedproject.org/materials/sncc/.
“Who Was Ella Baker?” Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. http://ellabakercenter.org/about/who-was-ella-baker.
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Bibliographic List of Sources
Darrow, Clarence. “Attorney Clarence Darrow’s Plea for Mercy in the Franks Case.” In Attorney Clarence Darrow’s Plea for Mercy and Prosecutor Robert E. Crowe’s Demand for the Death Penalty in the Loeb-Leopold Case. Chicago, IL: Wilson Publishing Company, 1924), pp 5-85. [=A]
Darrow, Clarence, “Plea for Leopold and Loeb.” In Words of a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900-1999. Eds. Stephen E. Lucas and Martin J. Medhurst. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp 157-208. [=B]
Statement of Editorial Procedures
The copy-text is Darrow 1924 (=A), the text taken from the Wilson Company’s 1924 pamphlet, posted on the University of Minnesota’s Law Library website. Darrow, ever mindful of his public persona and the written record of his speeches, borrowed–and did not return–some of the original court transcripts of his closing statement to work on an edited version for publication after the trial (“The Judgment”). This creates some challenges because there is no complete set of court transcripts for all three days of Darrow’s speech. Text A is a proof-read replica of Darrow’s summation published in 1924 by the Wilson Publishing Company. The October 4, 1924 issue of the Chicago Defender carries an advertisement on page A14 for the Wilson’s Company’s 50-cent publication, which contains not just Darrow’s closing statement but Crowe’s arguments and Caverly’s verdict, as well as supplementary material such as the full text of letters exchanged by the boys, the ransom notes sent to the victim’s family, and a précis of the case. This version is largely identical to that published in Words of a Century (=B): this version draws on the court stenographer’s recordings for the first day of Darrow’s speech and the Wilson pamphlet for the second and third days (Lucas and Medhurst). The editors of Words of a Century note that of the various versions of Darrow’s speech in circulation, the Wilson pamphlet hews most closely to the court stenographer’s recordings for the first day, and is able to convey “the distinctly extemporaneous flavor of his remarks on days two and three” (p. xxi), prompting their decision to rely on the pamphlet to provide the text for the second and third days in their compilation of Darrow’s statement. I use the Wilson pamphlet’s version of Darrow’s address as the basis of Text A, while following the Lucas and Medhurst version (Text B) for spelling, grammar, and word usage.
Darrow 1924 [=B] is followed for spelling, grammar, and word usage (details are provided in the notes below)
Paragraph numbers have been added in square brackets at the beginning of each paragraph.
The text of this edition has been thoroughly checked and proofread.
Departures from the Copy-Text and General Editorial Procedures
Notes: The following is a list of instances where the language found in Text B is used over the language in Text A.
105 There is not any man on earth [who] can mention B: There is not any man on earth can mention A
118 who go down into [dis]honor and disgrace B: who go down into honor and disgrace A
194 It has been heralded, broadcast through the world B: It has been heralded broadcast through the world A
Bibliographic Sources for Statement of Editorial Procedures
“Just Out: Loeb-Leopold Case” Chicago Defender, October 4, 1924, A14.
Lucas, Stephen E. and Martin J. Medhurst, eds. Words of a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900-1999. Oxford University Press, 2009.
“The Judgment: The Defense Rests.” In The Murder that Wouldn’t Die: Leopold & Loeb in Artifact, Fact, and Fiction, Northwestern University Library digital exhibit. http://exhibits.library.northwestern.edu/exhibits/leopoldandloeb/. (Accessed September 7, 2014).
Textual Authentication Information for Clarence Darrow, “Plea for Leopold and Loeb.”
1. Speech title as it is to be printed: “Plea for Leopold and Loeb.”
2. Exact Date and Place of Delivery: 22, 23 and 25 August 1924, Cook County Criminal Court, Chicago, Illinois.
3. Complete Name of Speaker, with year of birth and year of death: Clarence Seward Darrow (1857- 1939).
4. Complete name of editor or compiler of electronic text, with indication of role: Rohini S. Singh (obtained text of Darrow’s address from University of Minnesota’s Law Library website’s PDF copy of the Wilson Company pamphlet (“The Clarence Darrow Digital Collection,” Law Library, University of Minnesota. http://darrow.law.umn.edu/trials.php?tid=1), converted into Word Document, inserted paragraph numbers, proofread for spelling mistakes, inserted dates as section headings for each day of the speech, and checked word usage against Text B).
5. Date of Electronic edition: [Unknown – taken from University of Minnesota’s Law Library, “The Clarence Darrow Digital Collection”]
6. Languages: English (100%)
7. Proposed Library of Congress Subject Heading: Law (general level); Law of the United States (specific level); Library of Congress Classification: KF (Law of the United States), OR K181 (Miscellany)
8. Indication of editing functions performed: (e.g., data entry, proof-reading), by whom (complete name), and when performed (complete [inclusive] dates):
Rohini S. Singh: Obtained text from University of Minnesota’s Law Library website’s PDF copy of the Wilson Company pamphlet, converted into Word Document, inserted paragraph numbers in square brackets, proofread for spelling mistakes, inserted dates as section headings for each day of the speech (September 7th, 2014).
Rohini S. Singh: Changed speech title from Wilson Company’s original title to match title of interpretive essay in this Voices of Democracy unit. Wilson Company’s original title: “Attorney Clarence Darrow’s Speech in the Franks Case before Judge Caverly in the Criminal Court of Cook County, Chicago, Ill., August 22 to 25, 1924.” Amended to: “Clarence Darrow, “Plea for Leopold and Loeb,” Cook County Criminal Court, Chicago, Illinois (22, 23, and 25 August, 1924). (September 7th, 2014).
Rohini S. Singh checked and edited Speech Text A against Speech Text B.
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EDWARD EVERETT, “GETTYSBURG ADDRESS” (19 NOVEMBER 1863) AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN, “GETTYSBURG ADDRESS” (19 NOVEMBER 1863)
Barton, William Eleazor, and Edward Everett. Lincoln at Gettysburg: What He Intended to Say; What He Said; What He Was Reported to have Said; What He Wished He Had Said. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1930.
Boritt, Gabor. The Gettysburg Gospel: The Speech that Nobody Knows. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2006.
Briggs, John Channing. Lincoln‘s Speeches Reconsidered. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
Ellis, Richard. The Union at Risk. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Everett, Edward. Orations and Speeches on Various Occassions, by Edward Everett. 4 vol. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1870-1878.
Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995; orig. 1970.
—. Politics and Ideology in the Age of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Franklin, John Hope, and Alfred A. Moss, Jr. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans, 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
Gramm, Kent. November: Lincoln’s Elegy at Gettysburg. Bloomington: Indiana, University Press, 2001.
Lincoln, Abraham. Abraham Lincoln, His Speeches and Writings. Roy P. Basler, ed. Franklin Center, PA: Franklin Library, 1979.
Potter, David. The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861. New York: Harper & Row, 1976.
Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1954.
Woodman, Harold D., ed. The Legacy of the American Civil War. New York: Wiley, 1973.
Africans in America: America’s Journey through Slavery. South Burlington, VT: WGBH Boston Video, 2000. Video Recording.
Bell, Ed. Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives. New York: HBO Video, 2003. Video Recording.
Burns, Ken. 1863: The Universe of Battle. Alexandria, VA.: PBS Video, 1999. Video Recording.
—. 1864: Valley of the Shadow of Death. Alexandria, VA.: PBS Video, 1999. Video Recording.
The Civil War: Vicksburg; Reconstruction. South Burlington, VT: Annenberg/ Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2000. Video Recording.
This Far by Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys. Alexandria, VA: PBS Video, 2003. Video Recording.
Slavery: The South and Slave Culture; The Coming of the Civil War. S. Burlington, VT: Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2000. Video Recording.
Slavery and the Making of America. New York: Ambrose Video Publishing, 2005. Video Recording.
“Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress.” Library of Congress, 2002, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html.
“American Civil War Collection at the Electronic Text Center.” University of Virginia, http://etext.virginia.edu/civilwar/.
“Battle Summary: Gettysburg, PA.” CWSAC Battle Summaries, The American Battlefield Protection Program, National Parks Service, 2006, https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/pa002.htm.
“Everett, Edward – Biographical Information.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000264.
“The Gettysburg Address.” Library of Congress, 2006, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/.
“Gettysburg National Military Park.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2006, http://www.nps.gov/gett.
“The Papers of Abraham Lincoln.” Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2006, http://www.papersofabrahamlincoln.org/.
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With Explore the Planets, investigate the planets, their moons, and understand the processes that shape them. By G. Jeffrey Taylor, Ph.D. See our DVD collection.
This ultraviolet image of the Sun shows one of the largest solar flares ever seen. The flare, which erupted in November 2003, is the bright region along the Sun's right limb. The horizontal "spikes" extending to the right and left of the flare are not real; they are an artifact produced by the imaging instrument, which was overloaded by the intense brightness of this flare.
Image courtesy SOHO (NASA & ESA).
Movie: Journey Beneath a Sunspot
When Nature Strikes: Space Weather
When Nature Strikes: You Be the Solar Scientist! Classroom Activity
Solar Flares
Solar flares are essentially huge explosions on the Sun. Flares occur when intense magnetic fields on the Sun become too tangled. Like a rubber band that snaps when it is twisted too far, the tangled magnetic fields release energy when they "snap". Solar flares emit huge bursts of electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, and radio waves. The energy emitted by a solar flare is more than a million times greater than the energy from a volcanic explosion on Earth!
Although solar flares can be visible in white light, they are often more readily noticed via their bright X-ray and ultraviolet emissions. Coronal mass ejections often accompany solar flares, though scientists are still trying to determine exactly how the two phenomena are related. Solar flares burst forth from the intense magnetic fields in the vicinity of active regions on the Sun. Solar flares are most common during times of peak solar activity, the "solar max" years of the sunspot cycle.
Last modified April 29, 2016 by Jennifer Bergman.
Cool It! is the new card game from the Union of Concerned Scientists that teaches kids about the choices we have when it comes to climate change—and how policy and technology decisions made today will matter. Cool It! is available in our online store.
The Sun's Magnetic Field
The Sun has a very large and very complex magnetic field. The magnetic field at an average place on the Sun is around 1 Gauss, about twice as strong as the average field on the surface of Earth (around...more
Electromagnetic radiation is the result of oscillating electric and magnetic fields. The wave of energy generated by such vibrations moves through space at the speed of light. And well it should... for...more
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation. A radio wave has a much longer wavelength than does visible light. We use radio waves extensively for communications. Radio waves have wavelengths as...more
Active Regions on the Sun
An active region on the Sun is an area with an especially strong magnetic field. Sunspots frequently form in active regions. Active regions appear bright in X-ray and ultraviolet images. Solar activity,...more
Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the "surface" of the Sun. Sunspots are "dark" because they are colder than the areas around them. A large sunspot might have a temperature of about...more
Projects - for Science Fairs & Beyond
Interested in doing a project related to space weather for a science fair? The Stanford SOLAR Center provides information about space weather monitors that you can build yourself, including the Sudden...more
Sunspots and Magnetic Fields
Sunspots are caused by very strong magnetic fields on the Sun. The best way to think about the very complicated process of sunspot formation is to think of magnetic "ropes" breaking through the visible...more
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Lakes Near Gilroy, California
Tom Wagner, Leaf Group Updated February 12, 2018
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Gilroy is a central California city, 20 miles south of San Jose and 80 miles south of San Francisco. Nestled in the fertile Santa Clara Valley, Gilroy is less than 25 miles from the Pacific coast and the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, as the crow flies. While the area around Gilroy holds only one sizable lake – San Luis Reservoir – many small lakes in the area are popular destinations for picnickers, campers, boaters and anglers.
San Felipe Lake
About six miles southeast of Gilroy, San Felipe Lake is small, roughly oval and popular with local fishmen. All common fishing techniques are equally effective – spinning, bait-casting, trolling or fly fishing – and the catch may include trout, sockeye salmon and rock bass. The most effective times to fish are from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., from 1 to 3 p.m. and from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Be sure not to keep any trout or salmon caught more than an hour after sunset, per California law.
Coyote Lake
Coyote Lake is a small, crescent-shaped lake about six miles northeast of Gilroy. Roads access the 4,595-acre Harvey Bear Ranch County Park along the western shore of the lake, with boat launch and shore fishing areas. The campground has 74 campsites with facilities such as showers. Coyote Lake is popular for biking, hiking and horseback riding, as well as fishing. Anglers pull largemouth bass and rainbow trout out of the lake in the spring and summer, and bluegill from spring through fall. Nightcrawlers and flashing lures work best for trout; bass tend to strike crank-baits, spinners, jigs and worms; and bluegill prefer top baits such as mealworms or grubs. Coyote Lake is exempt from California’s night-fishing restrictions.
Anderson Lake
Just east of the neighboring town of Morgan Hill, Anderson Lake is long and narrow and somewhat larger than Coyote or San Felipe lakes. Anderson Lake County Park spans 3,109 acres and is popular with boaters, hikers, bikers, equestrians and picnickers. While fishing is permitted and anglers occasionally reel in good-sized largemouth bass, it is inadvisable to eat any fish from Anderson Lake because of high mercury levels in the water.
Pinto Lake and County Park
A small, amoeboid-shaped body of water, Pinto Lake is located just outside of Watsonville, 15 miles southwest of Gilroy. Pinto Lake County Park is on the north side of the lake, and the much smaller Pinto Lake Park, a Watsonville city park, is on the south side. Within the parks, it is possible to find a baseball field, two soccer fields, volleyball area, playground, horseshoe pit, seasonal rowboats and pedal boats and several picnic areas. Popular with birdwatchers, the park and lake attract anglers who fish for bass, trout, crappie, catfish and bluegill.
Pacheco Lake
Pacheco Lake, located about 17 miles east of Gilroy is long, narrow and about half the size of Coyote Lake. Pacheco State Park is across Pacheco Pass Highway, abutting the San Luis Reservoir. A road accesses the east shore of Pacheco Lake, which runs shallow in dry years – making it barely more than a widening of Pacheco Creek. Anglers can catch rainbow trout, yellow bass and a variety of panfish in the lake. The best fishing times are from 5:30 to 8 a.m. and from noon to 2 p.m.
San Luis Reservoir and State Recreation Area
The San Luis Reservoir is by far the largest lake in the Gilroy area. Located 25 miles east of Gilroy, the lake draws campers, hikers, kayakers, canoers, recreational boaters, bicyclists, picnickers, board-sailing enthusiasts and anglers year-round. Pacheco State Park runs along the west shore of the lake, and San Luis State Recreational Area covers the east shore and partially envelops O’Niell Forebay, the reservoir providing water and hydroelectric power for homes, businesses and agriculture in the area. San Luis State Recreational Area has four campgrounds, including Basalt Campground, which is the only one adjacent to the lake. Basalt has 79 campsites, some of which can accommodate RVs up to 30 feet long. San Luis Reservoir is home to a wide variety of fish, the most common of which are crappie, catfish, bluegill, trout, walleye and five varieties of bass: striped, white, spotted, largemouth and smallmouth. The lake also yields an occasional white sturgeon.
Hook and Bullet: San Felipe Lake
Santa Clara County: Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park
Santa Clara County Gov: Find a Park
Pinto Lake Park: Home
Hook and Bullet: Pacheco Lake
California State Parks: San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area
The Fish Sniffer: San Luis Reservoir/O'Neill Forebay
Fishing Notes: San Luis Reservoir General Information
California Department of Fish and Game: 2011-2012 Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations
Tom Wagner began writing for newspapers and magazines in the L.A. area in 2001. With articles appearing in "California Examiner," "World Reporter," the "Philippine Nurses Monitor" and "Famegate Global News," he currently writes for all three Philippine Media publications in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas. His articles focus on food, social issues, travel, sight-seeing, humor, general information, politics and medical matters.
Wagner, Tom. "Lakes Near Gilroy, California." Travel Tips - USA Today, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/lakes-near-gilroy-california-60600.html. 12 February 2018.
Wagner, Tom. (2018, February 12). Lakes Near Gilroy, California. Travel Tips - USA Today. Retrieved from https://traveltips.usatoday.com/lakes-near-gilroy-california-60600.html
Wagner, Tom. "Lakes Near Gilroy, California" last modified February 12, 2018. https://traveltips.usatoday.com/lakes-near-gilroy-california-60600.html
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Things to Do on a Nice Day in Portsmouth, Ohio
Renee Rall-Harden, Leaf Group Updated March 21, 2018
Things to Do on a Nice Day in Portsmouth, Ohio (Photo: )
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Ohio has a reputation for temperamental weather, so when a nice day pops into the forecast, take advantage of it. Located at the southern edge of the state, at the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto Rivers, Portsmouth offers a full schedule of outdoor events and activities. Experience the area's recent and ancient history, enjoy the acres of parks and woodland, relax over a locally-crafted beer and party along the banks of the Ohio River.
Historical Musings
Portsmouth's flood wall murals on Front Street -- in the historic district -- are a stunning visual representation of the area's rich history. Created by renowned muralist Robert Dafford, the depictions are arranged in chronological order, beginning with images of the earliest known inhabitants of the area, the Mound Builders, and ending with scenes of modern-day Portsmouth. View the handiwork of the Mound Builders by heading north of the city to Serpent Mound Park in Peebles. This prehistoric effigy is the largest in the world -- stretching more than 1,348 feet -- and imitates the form of a serpent. The emerald-green grass is kept short, so you can clearly see the shape of the monument. Pay a small parking fee to enter the park, which is open daily from dawn to dusk. Museum and gift shop hours vary by season.
All About Nature
Walk or bike on the scenic road that winds along the Ohio River to Alexandria Point Park, which overlooks the confluence of the Scioto and Ohio Rivers. Visit the Alexandria Stone, which is inscribed with the date 1802 and believed to be all that remains of the abandoned village of Alexandria, the area's earliest settlement. Head west of the city to Shawnee State Park in the 63,000-acre Shawnee State Forest. This area is nicknamed the "The Little Smokies" for its uneven topography and miles of woodland. The park offers two lakes with excellent fishing, a marina and two public swimming areas. Take advantage of a seasonal nature center, six hiking trails, two bridle trails and a golf course. Hunting is not permitted within the park, but those with a valid Ohio hunting license may hunt during the season in the Shawnee State Forest.
Open-Air Fare
Portsmouth's Boneyfiddle District is the perfect place to wander on a mild afternoon. After browsing through shops, visit the Portsmouth Brewing Company to enjoy craft beer on tap and pub favorites in the outdoor beer garden. Another of Portsmouth's local favorites is the Second Street Dari Creme, a long-established hot dog stand that serves much more than just hot dogs, although their "footers" should not be passed up. Order your milkshakes, chili and hot dogs to-go and drive to nearby Mound Park. Named after the preserved ancient burial mound that serves as the centerpiece, this park offers a picnic area, playground and outdoor recreation facilities.
Summer Entertainment
Take in an adrenaline-pumping dirt track race at the Portsmouth Raceway Park, just 1 mile west of Portsmouth on U.S. Route 52. This raceway offers a full schedule of events from May through October, including championship races like the Dirt Track World Championships. Each year on the Thursday before Labor Day, the city begins its annual celebration, the Portsmouth River Days festival. This five-day event takes place on the riverfront and in the Boneyfiddle District of Portsmouth. Enjoy nightly musical entertainment, arts and crafts, carnival rides, a parade, fireworks and an antique car show.
Arc of Appalachia Preserve System: Serpent Mound
Scioto County Commissioners: Parks of Scioto County
Renee Rall-Harden has worked as a writer and editor for more than six years. She has contributed to magazines such as "Ohio Magazine" and online for Pratt & Lambert's Personal Expressions. Rall-Harden holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and English from Ashland University.
Attribution: Turover; License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
Attribution: IpsoPhatso at English Wikipedia; License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license
Attribution: Ruhrfisch and Nyttend; License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
Rall-Harden, Renee. "Things to Do on a Nice Day in Portsmouth, Ohio." Travel Tips - USA Today, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/things-nice-day-portsmouth-ohio-110458.html. 21 March 2018.
Rall-Harden, Renee. (2018, March 21). Things to Do on a Nice Day in Portsmouth, Ohio. Travel Tips - USA Today. Retrieved from https://traveltips.usatoday.com/things-nice-day-portsmouth-ohio-110458.html
Rall-Harden, Renee. "Things to Do on a Nice Day in Portsmouth, Ohio" last modified March 21, 2018. https://traveltips.usatoday.com/things-nice-day-portsmouth-ohio-110458.html
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The U.S. Grant Bridge over the Ohio River connecting Portsmouth, Ohio with Greenup, Kentucky
The new U.S. Grant Bridge at night from Portsmouth, Ohio. This photo was taken at roughly 2AM on May 10th, 2007.
Map of the municipal and township boundaries of Scioto County, Ohio, United States, as of the 2000 census, with the location of the city of Portsmouth highlighted. Township borders are shown only in unincorporated areas in order to differentiate incorporated and unincorporated areas more clearly.
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Forbes Names Jay-Z Richest Musician In The World
Mon Jun 3 2019 8:37 pm
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American music mogul, Jay–Z was on Monday named by Forbes as the richest musician in the world.
According to Forbes, the rapper is now the first rapper to become a billionaire. A report posted on its website said the rapper is worth over $1bn.
The report reads in part
“It’s clear that Jay-Z has accumulated a fortune that conservatively totals $1 billion, making him one of only a handful of entertainers to become a billionaire—and the first hip-hop artist to do so,” Forbes said.
Forbes’ breakdown indicated that the rapper’s chief source of wealth is his $300-a-bottle Armand de Brignac champagne brand (at $310 million), but also boasts of investments at well over $200 million (including a large stake in Uber).
The report also said the reason Jay-Z’s wealth went all up on the table is his new business interest in alcohol. His streaming service, Tidal allegedly supplies about $100 million of his net worth, just behind his cognac D’Ussé.
Jay-Z recently gave a special performance to celebrate the re-opening of the celebrated NYC venue Webster Hall.
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CBN Governor Receives Forbes International Award
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Review of Vitamin D Deficiencies in developing countries - Oct 2011
Hypovitaminosis D in developing countries —prevalence, risk factors and outcomes
Asma Arabi, Rola El Rassi and Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan
Calcium Metabolism and Osteoporosis Program, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh 1107 2020, Beirut, Lebanon, G. El-Hajj Fuleihan gf01 at aub.edu.lb
Nature Reviews: Endocrinology
Abstract | Hypovitaminosis D is a prevalent disorder in developing countries. Clinical manifestations of hypovitaminosis D include musculoskeletal disorders, such as nonspecific muscle pain, poor muscle strength and low BMD, as well as nonmusculoskeletal disorders, such as an increased risk of respiratory infections, diabetes mellitus and possibly cardiovascular diseases. In developing countries, the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D varies widely by and within regions; prevalence ranges between 30-90%, according to the cut-off value used within specific regions, and is independent of latitude. A high prevalence of the disorder exists in China and Mongolia, especially in children, of whom up to 50% are reported to have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <12.5 nmol/l. Despite ample sunshine throughout the year, one-third to one-half of individuals living in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <25 nmol/l, according to studies published in the past decade. Hypovitaminosis D is also prevalent in children and the elderly living in Latin America. Risk factors for hypovitaminosis D in developing countries are similar to those reported in Western countries and include extremes of age, female sex, winter season, dark skin pigmentation, malnutrition, lack of sun exposure, a covered clothing style and obesity. Clinical trials to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on classical and nonclassical clinical outcomes in developing countries are needed.
PDF is attached at bottom of page
See also VitaminDWiki
Overview of Vitamin D Deficiency
All overviews at VitaminDWik
Reasons for vitamin D Deficiency especially Air Conditioning
VitaminDWiki Home page
Published Recommendations of Vitamin D both IU and ng
Following text, with a few figures, are extracted to ease translation to other languages
Vitamin D may be obtained from food, but its most important source is skin synthesis upon exposure to ultraviolet B radiation (UVB). The distance that sunlight travels to the earth's atmosphere is the least in regions nearest the equator. Thus, UVB rays are the most intense and vitamin D synthesis is possible all year long in zones extending between latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S to the equator (the tropics). In latitudes higher than the tropics, the angle of light striking the earth is such that UVB intensity becomes insufficient for vitamin D synthesis.1 In temperate zones (23.5°-66.5°), people lack sufficient UVB to synthesize vitamin D for 1 month of the year, whereas those nearer to the poles do not get enough UVB radiation for vitamin D synthesis for most of the year (Figure 1).1,2 Vitamin D—synthesized by the skin or obtained by food—is metabolized by the liver into 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is hydroxylated in the kidney by the enzyme 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1a hydroxylase (encoded by the gene CYP27B1) to the active form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. The actions of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in multiple target tissues are mediated by the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR), a phosphoprotein that binds the hormone with high affinity (Figure 2).3,4 Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is the best marker of whole-body vitamin D status.3,4 The cut-off to define vitamin D deficiency has been a matter of debate during the past decade; some consider levels >75 nmol/l to define sufficiency,5,6 while others consider 50 nmol/l an adequate cut-off level.7
Hypovitaminosis D is a widespread disorder across all age groups in developing countries and is, in addition to infectious diseases and malnutrition, among the most prevalent childhood health disorders in such countries.8 The high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in a number of developing countries exists despite the fact that a large number of these countries lie in zones that have sufficient sunlight for vitamin D synthesis for most if not all of the year. The objectives of this article are to review the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D across the lifecycle in individuals from developing countries and discuss the risk factors and health outcomes associated with hypovitaminosis D. This Review used the World Bank classification of developing countries, which considers all low-income and middle-income countries as developing. In its most recent classification, a total of 144 countries were considered developing. These countries are located in East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa.
Information on the prevalence of hypovitamino-sis D, risk factors and effects on health were available from 23 developing countries and are reviewed herein (Figure 1). However, the reader is alerted to limitations inherent to the nature of the studies, namely that studies were mostly descriptive; population-based studies were scarce, and methodological standardization of measurement was lacking. In addition, a wide range of cut-off values were used to define vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in the studies.
Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D
Countries within each region are introduced by order of latitude, starting with the countries that extend furthest from the equator. Studies quoted in Table 1 are those that included information on predictors of hypovitaminosis D.
Nutritional rickets is highly prevalent in Mongolia and China. In a study assessing the nutritional status of preschool children living in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia in the 1990s, 50% of 342 randomly selected children had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <18 nmol/l.9 Furthermore, a pilot study including 46 schoolchildren aged 9-11 years in 2008 showed that 32% had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <37.5 nmol/l.10 The prevalence of rickets in China is reported to be among the highest in the world. In a study that included 250 infants (aged 12-24 months) living in Shanxi Province, the prevalence of rickets (defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D <30 nmol/l) was 29% in springtime.11 Furthermore, Specker et al. reported a mean cord concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of 27.5 nmol/l in 256 full-term Chinese babies in the 1990s.12 Lastly, in a study of 1,277 randomly selected healthy girls aged 12-14 years living in Beijing, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of <12.5 nmol/l were reported in 45% and 7% of the girls in winter and summer, respectively.13 Low vitamin D levels were associated with low calcium intake and limited sunlight exposure in Chinese and Mongolian populations.13,14
Hypovitaminosis D is a widespread disorder in developing countries, regardless of their latitude
The disorder is highly prevalent in China, Mongolia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, especially in children, the elderly and women
Risk factors are similar to those reported in Western countries and include extremes of age, female sex, winter season, low socioeconomic status, malnutrition, covered clothing style and dark skin
Clinical manifestations of hypovitaminosis D are not limited to musculoskeletal disorders, but may also include an increased risk of respiratory infections, diabetes mellitus and possibly cardiovascular diseases
Public health-awareness campaigns, as well as food fortification with vitamin D are efficacious and affordable means to prevent vitamin D deficiency
Clinical trials are needed to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the burden of both communicable and noncommunicable diseases in developing countries
Hypovitaminosis D has been reported in women of all age groups living in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. This situation is surprising in view of the location near the equator of these southeastern Asian countries. In a study evaluating postmenopausal women living in Manila, the Philippines (n = 60) and Jakarta, Indonesia (n = 60), 20% and 73%, respectively, had a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level <50 nmol/l.15 Encouragingly, the study also found that fortified milk supplementation reduced these percentages to 22% in Indonesian women and to 0% in Filipino women. In a study of 103 Malay women aged 50-65 years from Kuala Lumpur, 71% were found to have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/l. Ethnicity, fat mass and BMI were associated with vitamin D status.16 In addition, over 60% of 504 women aged 18-40 years living in Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta in Indonesia were reported in 2008 to have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/l; ethnicity and dress style predicted serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D values.17 Another report in 2008 found that 35% of 74 Indonesian elderly women living in institutionalized care units in Jakarta or Bekasi in Indonesia had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <75 nmol/l.18
In summary, hypovitaminosis D is prevalent in children and women in this region of the world.
The highest prevalence is in China and Mongolia, where up to 50% of children have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <12.5 nmol/l.
World map indicating developing countries as classified by World Bank criteria in color and relating latitude by geographic regions to skin ability to synthesize vitamin D as estimated from information provided in an article by Tavera-Mendoza and White.1 Developed countries are shown in white. Information on the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, risk factors and effect on health was available from 23 developing countries that are indicated as shaded areas on the map.
Figure 2 is in PDF file
Figure 2 | Metabolism of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D for nonskeletal functions. When monocytes and macrophages are stimulated by an infectious agent, the expression of vitamin D receptor and 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1a hydroxylase is upregulated, so that more 25-hydroxyvitamin D is converted to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. This shift increases the expression of cathelicidin, which induces destruction of the infectious agent. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D also has a role in immunomodulation. The 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D produced locally in tissues such as the breast, colon and prostate regulates some genes involved in proliferation, angiogenesis, differentiation and apoptosis. Locally produced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D also inhibits the expression and synthesis of parathyroid hormone. The 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D produced in the kidney downregulates renin production and stimulates pancreatic p-cell insulin secretion. Abbreviations: 1-OHase, 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1a hydroxylase; 25(OH)D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D; 1,25(OH)2D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D; RXR, retinoid X receptor; TLR, toll-like receptor; vDR, vitamin D receptor. Reproduced from Holick, M. F. vitamin D deficiency. N. Engl. J. Med. 357, 266-281 (2007) with permission, © 2007 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.
Vitamin D deficiency is a common European problem. Nevertheless, relevant published studies from the 24 countries classified as developing by the World Bank in the region Europe and Central Asia are scarce. The discussion in this Review is, therefore, limited to findings in Turkey and Poland. In a study of 8,532 postmenopausal women with a mean age of 74.2 years from nine European countries, 30% of 1,544 women from Poland had hypovitaminosis D defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of <50 nmol/l; this prevalence level was similar to that found overall for the whole nine-country cohort.19 By use of the same cut-off value of 50 nmol/l, a prevalence of hypovitaminosis D of 83% was reported in winter among 274 women aged 60-90 years living in Warsaw, Poland.20 In a survey of 54 neonates and their mothers in Ankara, Turkey, 46% of the mothers and 80% of the neonates had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <25 nmol/l.
Table 1 | Prevalence and predictors of hypovitaminosis D in developing countries
The table includes studies identified for the review that included predictors of hypovitaminosis D. Abbreviation: SES, socioeconomic status.
Predictors of low maternal vitamin D levels in mothers were low socioeconomic status, low educational level and reduced sun exposure as a result of a covered clothing style, and for neonates the predictors were a low maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and a mother with a covered clothing style.21 In Erzurum province in Eastern Turkey, the incidence of rickets with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <12.5 nmol/l was 6% in preschool children in 1998, but this prevalence dropped to 0.09% when the Ministry of Health initiated a free nationwide vitamin D supplementation campaign targeting all infants in 2005.22 In 64 adolescent girls living in Izmir, the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was 16-59% in winter and 16-25% in summer. The report, published in 2006, identified risk factors including end-of-winter period, low socioeconomic status, illiteracy of mothers and low calcium intake.23 In a case-control study of 50 male coal-miners and 50 surface workers in Zonguldak, Turkey, that aimed to determine the effect of underground work on vitamin D levels, mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were low in both groups, 35 nmol/l and 24.5 nmol/l, respectively. Calcium intake was also low in both groups.24
Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in this region, according to the evidence discussed above.
Hypovitaminosis D seemed to affect all age groups and both sexes in the studies from Turkey and to be prevalent in postmenopausal women in Poland.
Hypovitaminosis D has been widely reported in Argentina over the past decade.25-28 In a group of 42 children (mean age 8.5 years) living in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the World, mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were <50 nmol/l in summer and <25 nmol/l in winter.26 The levels were similar in children with fair or dark skin in winter but were higher in children with fair skin compared to those with dark skin in the summer.26 In seven different regions of Argentina, 57% of 386 elderly individuals had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/l at the end of winter.27 Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels correlated with average sunshine hours, temperature and latitude. In Santiago, Chile, 60% of 60 ambulatory, postmenopausal women were found to have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/l.29 Old age, winter season and low calcium intake were independent predictors for low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.
In Brazil, studies in the past few years have revealed a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in different age groups and both sexes. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were <50 nmol/l in 60% of 136 healthy students (64 boys and 72 girls) aged 16-20 years in Sao Paulo,30 and in 57% of 73 young resident physicians of a general hospital in Porto Alegre.31 In a cohort of 102 healthy elderly individuals with a mean age of 77 years from south Brazil, 86% had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/l.32 Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were not associated with age, sex or sun exposure in this study.32
The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D seemed to be the highest in this region of the world,
although the high prevalence might in part be explained by the relatively higher cut-off value of 50 nmol/l used in most studies from this region.
Rickets is common in children in Sub-Saharan Africa, but is mostly attributed to severe mixed calcium and vitamin D deficiencies rather than isolated vitamin D deficiency. Indeed, Nigerian children with rickets had a better response to calcium alone or in combination with vitamin D than vitamin D alone.33,34 Vitamin D deficiency rickets has also been described in Ethiopian children; predisposing factors included protein-energy malnutrition and lack of exposure to sunlight.35
The South Asia region has UVB radiation levels that are sufficient for vitamin D synthesis for 11 to 12 months of the year, but serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of <25 nmol/l have been reported in more than 50% of the infants, children and women studied. For example, in Kabul, Afghanistan, 73% of 107 preschool children randomly sampled in winter had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <20 nmol/l.36
Rickets is commonly reported in Bangladesh, but nutritional calcium deficiency plays a major part. In a case-control study published in 1999 that included 14 children with rickets and 13 without rickets, 70% of children with active rickets had no evidence of hypovitaminosis D.37 Also in Bangladesh, suboptimal serum 25-hydroxyvita-min D levels (<25 nmol/l) were described in 189 women living in Dhaka or in Nandail cities, with high prevalence in lactating women of low socioeconomic status and those wearing the Shari that exposes only the face and hands to sunlight.38 In another survey of women aged 18-60 years in Dhaka, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were <40 nmol/l in 78% of 36 university students and in 83% of 30 veiled women. Predictors of low vitamin D included low parity and lack of time spent outdoors.39
In Pakistan, 55% of 62 infants and 45% of their nursing mothers who attended private and public well-baby clinics in Karachi were reported to have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <25 nmol/l.40 Infants <6 months of age had the lowest levels. Season, maternal education and maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels correlated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in infants.40 In the same city, 62% of a cohort of 119 ambulatory clinic patients with a mean age of 44 years were found to have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <20 nmol/l.41
In India, similar to Pakistan, nutritional factors and vitamin D status of mothers during pregnancy explains hypovitaminosis D in infants. High prevalence of hypo-vitaminosis D has been reported among Indian pregnant women (n = 207) from a maternity hospital in Lucknow: 42% had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D values <25 nmol/l.42 Maternal vitamin D status correlated with that of their newborns (r = 0.79, P <0.001).42 In healthy adolescents in Delhi, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were <22.5 nmol/l in 27% and 42% of children of high and low socioeconomic status, respectively; boys had higher levels than girls.43 Lastly, in a study of 132 individuals, including people with depigmented skin, physicians, nurses, soldiers and pregnant women and their newborns living in Delhi, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were suboptimal in all groups except soldiers. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were related to direct sunlight exposure and skin pigmentation.44
In an international study of women with osteoporosis, the highest prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was reported in the Middle East.45
Within the Middle East, this finding was independent of national income.
Indeed, developed Arab Gulf countries carry a high prevalence of hypo-vitaminosis D, a finding possibly explained by cultural practices and skin pigmentation.46
A number of studies have reported vitamin D status in Iranian cohorts in the past decade. In a study of 88 newborns and their mothers in Isfahan, Iran, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were <50 nmol/l in 6% of mothers and <31 nmol/l in 5% of newborns.47 Eighty percent of 50 mothers in Tehran and 46% of 67 mothers in Zanjan had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <25 nmol/l, and low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D were found in neonates (mean 4.9 nmol/l and 16.7 nmol/l in Tehran and Zanjan, respectively).48,49 Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <20 nmol/l were common in a study of 963 schoolchildren in Tehran, and these levels were five times more prevalent in girls than in boys (50% versus 11%, respectively).50 In another study in Tehran, levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <12 nmol/l were reported in 10% of 1,210 healthy men and women aged 20-64 years; calcium intake and age correlated with vitamin D levels.51
Vitamin D status has been extensively studied among Lebanese schoolchildren living in Beirut in the past decade,52,53 with reported serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of <25 nmol/l in 32% of 90 girls and 9% of 83 boys aged 10-16 years in fall.52 Studies in Lebanese adults also reported levels of <25 nmol/l in 60% of 465 women aged 20-59 years in summer.54 In another study, levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <12 nmol/l were reported in 31% of men and women aged 30-50 years (n = 316) and in 62% of the veiled women.55 Finally, a population-based study of 460 elderly individuals revealed that only 5% had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels >50 nmol/l.56
In healthy Jordanians aged 18-45 years (22 men and 124 women) living in Amman, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <30 nmol/l were reported in 62% in summer and 50% in winter,57 predictors of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels being season and dress style. Similarly, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <20 nmol/l were reported in 49% of young women (n = 93) and 61% of their preschool children living in northern Amman. Predictors were socioeconomic status in children, and age and parity, but not dress style, in mothers.58
In a study of 54 rachitic children and 28 healthy controls <3 years of age in Cairo, Egypt, mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were 9 nmol/l and 25 nmol/l, respectively.59 In another case-control study of 98 rachitic and 58 healthy children aged 6-48 months recruited from university and community outpatient hospitals in Egypt and Turkey, 71% of rachitic patients and 42% of controls had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <37.5 nmol/l.60
The findings in the Middle Eastern population were similar to those of populations living in South Asian developing countries, with almost half of the population having serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <25 nmol/l. Females, newborns and children were particularly at risk.
Of 415 women aged 24-77 years living in Rabat, Morocco, 91% had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <75 nmol/l.61 Lack of sun exposure and veiled clothing style were the most important predictors61. In a study of 389 healthy Tunisians aged 20-60 years, living in Ariana, 48% had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <37.5 nmol/l. Predictors of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels included female sex, multiparity, menopause, veiling and low calcium and vitamin D intake.62
Risk factors for hypovitaminosis D
Several risk factors are associated with hypovitamino-sis D in developing countries. Female sex and particular age groups (neonates, preschool children or the elderly) were the most consistently reported risk factors for hypovitaminosis D (Table 1).29,40,43,51,52,58,62 Obesity is an emerging endemic health problem, which is rapidly increasing in developing countries.63 Vitamin D levels negatively correlate with BMI and fat mass in Pacific Island populations,16 findings that are compatible with the long-standing concept that adipose tissue is a storage site for vitamin D.64
Skin pigmentation may affect vitamin D synthesis, and evidence in support of this hypothesis is available in South Asian populations.44,65 Melanin acts as a natural sunscreen and reduces the production of previtamin D in human skin during sunlight exposure.66 Lo et ul.67 showed that Asian Indians and Pakistanis have similar capacity as white individuals to produce vitamin D in their skin but need longer exposure to produce a similar response. A concealing clothing style was a consistent predictor of low vitamin D levels in the Middle East, East Asia and North Africa.17,21,23,38,55,61,62
Season and latitude affect vitamin D synthesis in the skin.3,4 Lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are reported in winter and spring compared to summer and fall in studies from temperate regions in the developing world.13,23,26,27,29,40,57 Paradoxically, studies from Gulf areas show that mean vitamin D levels are lower in the summer than in winter because people avoid going outdoors owing to the intolerable heat of that season.46
Latitude affects vitamin D synthesis in the skin and, therefore, low vitamin D levels are expected at high latitudes in the absence of vitamin D supplementation. However, such trends were not possible to establish in this Review (Table 1). Low vitamin D levels in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia may reflect cultural dress customs that limit skin exposure.38,55,57,61,62 Furthermore, government public health interventions and guidelines on vitamin D supplementation to improve vitamin D levels are lacking in countries in these regions.
Individuals with hypovitaminosis D were mostly of low socioeconomic status and were reported to have low daily intake of calcium, namely in East Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa.13,14,21,23,24,27,29,35,40,43,46,51,58,62 Malnutrition and protein deficiency cause a decrease in the vitamin D binding protein in blood, which diminishes the ability of the body to conserve 25-hydroxyvitamin D.68 Low calcium intake was reported as a predictor or a determinant of low vitamin D in some studies; however, low calcium intake is probably associated with low vitamin D levels rather than being a causative factor.
Atmospheric pollution has been suggested to be a cause of reduced vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Agarwal et ul.69 showed that the higher the atmospheric pollution, the lower the amount of UVB light reaching ground level. They also showed that children living in an area with high levels of atmospheric pollution had lower mean serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (31 nmol/l) than those living in similar types of housing but in a less polluted area of Delhi (68 nmol/l).69
Finally, a few studies showed an association between VDR gene polymorphisms and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in Egyptian and Turkish children,60 but not in Lebanese individuals.70 Whether genetic factors interacting with environmental factors increase the predisposition to low vitamin D levels in some populations needs to be further investigated.
In summary, nutritional status, obesity, skin pigmentation, clothing style and seasonal variation affect vitamin D levels in developing countries.
Females and individuals at the extremes of age are most affected.
However, these risk factors have already been described in Western populations and, therefore, are not unique to developing countries.
Musculoskeletal outcomes
Data linking any health outcomes to hypovitaminosis D in developing countries are scarce, suffer from multiple limitations and have led to inconsistent results. Musculoskeletal disorders associated with low vitamin D status start in utero. Maternal vitamin D status affects intrauterine skeletal mineralization, bone growth and muscle development.71,72 Hypovitaminosis D causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. In the elderly, the disorder decreases muscle strength and BMD and increases the risk of falls and osteoporotic fractures.73,74 Studies in Arab and Indo-Pakistani patients have shown a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among patients suffering from nonspecific muscle pain.75
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels correlate with lean body mass and with BMD at multiple skeletal sites in healthy adolescent Lebanese girls aged 10-17 years53 and, similarly, in elderly Lebanese individuals.56 In addition, in 301 healthy Chinese adolescent girls, those with poor vitamin D status have lower muscle strength and bone mass at the total body and forearm than those with adequate vitamin D status.76
The effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D on bone mass may be mediated by parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels.56 Indeed, in a prospective population-based study assessing bone loss and fractures in 195 ambulatory Lebanese individuals (65 men and 130 women) aged 65-85 years who were followed-up for a median of 4 years, PTH but not 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels predicted bone-loss rates, which suggests that vitamin D osteopathy is partially mediated by PTH.56,77 Conversely, total-body bone mineral content and BMD measured during the first 24 h of life were not related to the 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 100 neonates or their mothers in Turkey.78 Furthermore, 25-hydroxyvitamin D level did not correlate with BMD in 245 healthy, free-living postmenopausal Iranian women aged 40-80 years,79 nor with BMD and physical performance in a cohort of healthy ambulatory, premenopausal (n = 108, mean age 42 years) and postmenopausal (n = 307, mean age 56 years) women from Morocco.61
Nonmusculoskeletal outcomes
VDR is widely expressed in over 30 tissues and organs, and the enzyme 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1a hydroxylase is expressed in some of these tissues.
This knowledge has led to the recognition of the varied nonclassical physiologic activities of vitamin D (Figure 2).
Thus, hypo-vitaminosis D has emerged as a potential risk factor for infections and chronic diseases.3,4,80
Studies to show the associations between hypo-vitaminosis D and nonmusculoskeletal health disorders, and those evaluating the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the prevalence and/or the course of these diseases have mainly been conducted in populations from Western countries. Probably, these associations can be extrapolated to developing countries; however, genetic and/or modifiable factors influencing these associations have not been demonstrated and, therefore, these associations need to be investigated in developing countries.
Acute respiratory infections cause 4.5 million deaths among children per year in developing countries.
These infections are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in preschool children in developing countries.81,82
Exposure of monocytes and macrophages to Mycobacterium tuberculosis leads to the production of catheli-cidin, a peptide capable of destroying M. tuberculosis and other infectious agents.83 This capacity to produce catheli-cidin is inhibited when serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels fall below 50 nmol/l.84 Strong associations between hypovitaminosis D and M. tuberculosis infection and acute lower respiratory tract infections have been reported in Indian, Turkish and Sub-Saharan African populations.85-87 In a hospital-based, case-control study of 25 neonates with acute lower respiratory tract infections and 15 healthy neonates in Turkey, mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the study group were lower than those of the control group (22.5 nmol/l and 40.7 nmol/l, respectively). Mothers of the study group also had lower mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations than those in the control group (33.2 nmol/l and 56.7 nmol/l, respectively).88 Moreover, radiological evidence of rickets was associated with an increased risk of wheezing bronchitis in a case-control study in Iraqi infants.89
Autoimmune diseases are less prevalent in developing than developed countries,90,91 but VDR is widely expressed in most immune cell types, such as the antigen-presenting cells—T cells and B cells (Figure 2).80 Vitamin D has a major role in determining the immune responses involved in autoimmune diseases. In the Framingham study, the development and progression of osteoarthritis was related to vitamin D levels.92 Similar observations have been made for rheumatoid arthritis.93 Vitamin D also seems to have a protective role against the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus.94 Evidence linking hypovitaminosis D to autoimmune disorders in developing countries is lacking. However, the link between autoimmunity and hypovitaminosis D may contribute to the change in the global epidemiology of such conditions in these regions if left unaddressed.
The metabolic syndrome
The prevalence of obesity and the metabolic syndrome has risen rapidly in developing countries in the past few decades.63 Even if individuals are not obese by conventional BMI classification, some people in South Asia have high abdominal adiposity and thick truncal subcutaneous fat that contributes to insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and inflammation.95 Obesity alters the release of vitamin D into the circulation and decreases its bioavail-ability because of deposition in adipose tissue compartments.16,64 The consequent hypovitaminosis D may predispose individuals to cardiovascular disease through associations with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia and increased inflammatory markers.96
Pancreatic (3 cells express VDR, and hypovitaminosis D induces insulin resistance and ((-cell dysfunction.96-98 In a cohort of 246 Thai individuals with a mean age of 62 years, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels negatively correlated with HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance) and mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were slightly lower in participants with abnormal than those with normal glucose tolerance (52.5 versus 55.25 nmol/l).99 Similarly, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were inversely correlated with fasting blood glucose levels and HOMA-IR in a cohort of 381 Lebanese university students.100 This correlation persisted with fasting blood glucose levels but not with HOMA-IR after adjustment for sex and BMI.100 Conversely, no correlation was found between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and fasting blood glucose levels, HbA1c or lipid profile in 119 Iranian patients with a mean age of 55 years with type 2 diabetes mellitus.101 In addition, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels measured at 30 weeks of gestation in 559 Indian women showed that hypovitamino-sis D was common (66% with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <50 nmol/l) but not associated with the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus.102
Vitamin D is a potent suppressor of renin biosynthesis, and blood pressure follows an inverse relationship with vitamin D levels.103 In Western countries, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels inversely correlate with cholesterol and triglyceride levels104 and lipid profile improves with the consumption of oily fish.105 Hypovitaminosis D was associated with increased levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin 6 and with increased overall mortality, including cardiovascular mortality, in a 7.7-year prospective cohort of 3,258 patients (mean age 62 years) undergoing coronary angiography. Lowest quartiles of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with a doubling of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality risks compared with highest quartiles. These effects were independent of coronary artery disease, physical activity level and New York Heart Association class.106
In healthy Lebanese university students, 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels correlated negatively with LDL cholesterol and positively with HDL cholesterol. The inverse correlation with LDL cholesterol persisted after adjustment for sex, BMI and exercise.100 In a study of 170 healthy British Bangladeshi individuals aged 35-65 years, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was an independent predictor for apolipoprotein A-I, but not for other components of the fasting lipid profile, after adjustment for glycemia, dietary and lifestyle risk factors,107 which suggests that individuals with low vitamin D status might be at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease independent of risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.107 25-Hydroxyvitamin D level correlated with levels of C-reactive protein and cardiovascular disease risk, but not with fasting blood glucose levels, in Iranian women, which suggests that inflammatory markers contribute to the association between low vitamin D level and cardiovascular disease risk.101
Cancer is a major cause of mortality throughout the world.
Developing countries account for more than half of the global cancer burden and it is estimated that by 2020, 60% of new cases will occur in these nations.108
VDR regulates genes in the breast, prostate, colon and other tissues. The local production of 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D in prostate, breast and colon tissues inhibits the growth of cancer cells by induction of expression of the tumor suppressor genes p21 and p27 and inhibition of the expression of other genes such as the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 gene, which results in control of cell proliferation and the transformation of cells to a more differentiated phenotype.80 Studies conducted in Western countries have shown that 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/l are associated with an increased risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer and a decreased survival rate in these cancers.109-111
No studies, to the best of the authors' knowledge, have assessed the relationship between vitamin D and cancer in developing countries. However, in view of the documented association between vitamin D and cancer and the high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in developing countries, low vitamin D levels might explain, at least in part, the occurrence of cancers at younger ages than in developed countries, even after adjusting for life expectancy. The high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D might also explain the more aggressive nature of cancers in developing countries. Indeed, almost half of all women with breast cancer in Arab countries are <50 years of age—median age 49-52 years compared with median age 63 years in industrialized nations.112 Cancer survival is also lower in developing than in developed countries, whether there is an association with low vitamin D levels needs to be investigated.113
Effect of vitamin D supplementation
Musculoskeletal parameters
Studies conducted in Western countries clearly demonstrate the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in improving muscle strength, reducing falls and decreasing the incidence of fractures.74,114 The evidence from developing countries is scarce. However, regimens including daily, weekly or monthly use of oral or injectable forms of vitamin D have been shown to be efficacious.115
The incidence of rickets dropped from 6% in 1998 to 0.099% in 2008 in a study conducted in Turkey.22 During a 1-year period (2007-2008), out of 39,133 children aged 0-3 years who were brought to different pediatric outpatient clinics in Erzurum, Turkey, only 39 (0.099%) were diagnosed with vitamin D-dependent rickets.22 This low rate was attributed to a free national vitamin D supplementation campaign initiated by the Ministry of Health in Turkey in 2005 to eradicate vitamin D-dependent rickets. Furthermore, in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on musculoskeletal health in 179 healthy adolescent Lebanese girls aged 10-17 years who were randomly allocated to receive placebo (n = 58), 1,400 IU vitamin D per week (n = 62) or 14,000 IU vitamin D per week (n = 59) for 1 year, both doses of vitamin D supplementation increased lean mass, bone area, BMC and BMD at several skeletal sites.53 Lastly, in a case-control study, 4 months of consumption of vitamin D-fortified milk improved serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and decreased bone turnover in 120 healthy postmenopausal Indonesian and Filipino women with a mean age of 58 years.15
In conclusion, scarce but optimistic data on the effect of vitamin D supplementation on musculoskeletal health in developing countries exists that needs to be confirmed by long-term studies.
Nonmusculoskeletal parameters
Almost all studies that have assessed the effect of vitamin D therapy on chronic and infectious diseases have been conducted in Western countries.
Vitamin D supplementation may offer protection against the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus in infancy.95,116 In a birth cohort study conducted in Finland that included 12,058 live births followed-up for 11 years, vitamin D supplementation with 2,000 IU daily during the first year of life was associated with a decreased risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus (relative risk 0.12).94 A single, large dose of oral vitamin D (100,000 IU) improved endothelial function in 87 patients from Scotland with type 2 diabetes mellitus and vitamin D insufficiency.117 Moreover, a meta-analysis that identified 18 studies from developed countries with a total of 57,311 participants, showed that dietary supplementation with daily doses of vitamin D varying between 300-2,000 IU decreased total mortality rate by 7%.118 However, in the Women's Health Initiative, calcium plus vitamin D supplementation over 7 years did not reduce blood pressure or the risk of developing hypertension119 or type 2 diabetes mellitus120 in postmenopausal women. Vitamin D supplementation also did not decrease the incidence or severity of upper respiratory tract infections during winter in 162 healthy adults living in New York who were randomly allocated to receive 2,000 IU vitamin D per day or placebo for 12 weeks.121
In developing countries, vitamin D supplementation did not improve clinical outcome or mortality in a randomized controlled trial in 367 adult patients with tuberculosis from Guinea-Bissau.122 However, administration of 0.5 ug alfacalcidol daily with insulin for 1 year preserved islet (-cell function better than insulin alone in a randomized controlled trial in a group of 35 Chinese adult patients with late autoimmune diabetes.123
Hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent across age groups in developing countries. Consistent risk factors include female sex, extremes of age, covered clothing styles, low socioeconomic background and winter season. Evidence regarding the effect of hypovitaminosis D on musculo-skeletal and nonmusculoskeletal health outcomes in developing countries is scarce and the effect of VDR gene polymorphisms on these clinical manifestations is unclear. Adequately designed randomized controlled trials that aim to establish the optimum dose, duration and effect of vitamin D supplementation on multiple health outcomes in populations living in such countries are needed.
The need for nutritional public health-awareness campaigns about the importance of vitamin D is pressing, specifically in countries where the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is very high. Evidence from developed countries of the safety and efficacy of vitamin D supplementation for the improvement of musculo-skeletal outcomes related to low vitamin D levels renders the institution and implementation of national health policies in developing countries mandatory. These policies would, however, require further revisions based on evidence from locally conducted studies.
Developing countries were identified using the World Bank Classification. A PubMed search was then conducted entering the key term "developing countries" with the term "hypovitaminosis D", and by entering the individual names of the countries of interest identified as described above with the terms "vitamin D or hypovitaminosis D". The search was limited to English language articles published between 1990 and 2010. The content of the abstracts of identified articles were checked and the papers of interest that could be retrieved were included in this Review. References of identified papers were also checked for relevant reports. Finally, reviews and publications on hypovitaminosis D available in the authors' library files were also used.
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74. Collins, D., Jasani, C., Fogelman, I. & Swaminathan, R. Vitamin D and bone mineral density. Osteoporos. Int. 8, 110-114 (1998).
75. Badsha, H., Daher, M. & Ooi Kong, K. Myalgias or non-specific muscle pain in Arab or Indo-Pakistani patients may indicate vitamin D deficiency. Clin. Rheumatol. 28, 971-973 (2009).
76. Foo, L. H. et al. Low vitamin D status has an adverse influence on bone mass, bone turnover, and muscle strength in Chinese adolescent girls. J. Nutr. 139, 1002-1007 (2009).
77. Arabi, A., Baddoura, G. & El-Hajj Fuleihan, G. PTH and not vitamin D predicts age-related bone loss in the elderly: A prospective population based study. Am. Soc. Bone Miner. Res. 23 (Suppl. 1), M178 (2008).
78. Akcakus, M. et al. The relationship between birthweight, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and bone mineral status in neonates. Ann. Trop. Paediatr. 26, 267-275 (2006).
79. Hosseinpanah, F., Rambod, M., Hossein-Nejad, A., Larijani, B. & Azizi, F. Association between vitamin D and bone mineral density in Iranian postmenopausal women. J. Bone Miner. Metab. 26, 86-92 (2008).
80. Nagpal, S., Na, S. & Rathnachalam, R. Noncalcemic actions of vitamin D receptor ligands. Endocr. Rev. 26, 662-687 (2005).
81. Berman, S. Epidemiology of acute respiratory infections in children of developing countries. Rev. Infect. Dis. 13 (Suppl. 6), S454-S462 (1991).
82. Savitha, M. R. et al. Modifiable risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infections. Indian J. Pediatr. 74, 477-482 (2007).
83. Liu, PT., Stenger, S., Tang, D. H. & Modlin, R. L. Cutting edge: vitamin D-mediated human antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is dependent on the induction of cathelicidin. J. Immunol. 15, 2060-2063 (2007).
84. Liu, P T. et al. Toll-like receptor triggering of a vitamin D-mediated human antimicrobial response. Science 311, 1770-1773 (2006).
85. Gibney, K. B. et al. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection in immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Clin. Infect. Dis. 46, 443-446 (2008).
86. Wayse, V., Yousafzai, A., Mogale, K. & Filteau, S. Association of subclinical vitamin D deficiency with severe acute lower respiratory infection in Indian children under 5 years. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 58, 563-567 (2004).
87. Nnoaham, K. E. & Clarke, A. Low serum vitamin D levels and tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int. J. Epidemiol. 37, 113-119 (2008).
88. Karatekin, G., Kaya, A., Salihoglu, O., Balci, H. & Nuhoglu, A. Association of subclinical vitamin D deficiency in newborns with acute lower respiratory infection and their mothers. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 63, 473-477 (2009).
89. El-Radhi, A. S., Majeed, M., Mansor, N. & Ibrahim, M. High incidence of rickets in children with wheezy bronchitis in a developing country. J. R. Soc. Med. 75, 884-887 (1982).
90. Selmi, C. & Tsuneyama, K. Nutrition, geoepidemiology, and autoimmunity. Autoimmun. Rev. 9, A267-A270 (2010).
91. Mody, G. M. & Cardiel, M. H. Challenges in the management of rheumatoid ar thritis in developing countries. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Rheumatol. 22, 621-641 (2008).
92. McAlindon, T. E. et al. Relation of dietary intake and serum levels of vitamin D to progression of osteoarthritis of the knee among participants in the Framingham Study. Ann. Intern. Med. 125, 353-359 (1996).
93. Merlino, L. A. et al. Vitamin D intake is inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Iowa Women's Health Study. Arthritis Rheum. 50, 72-77 (2004).
94. Hypponen, E., Laara, E., Reunanen, A., Jarvelin, M. R. & Virtanen, S. M. Intake of vitamin D and risk of type 1 diabetes: a birth-cohort study. Lancet 358, 1500-1503 (2001).
95. Ruderman, N., Chisholm, D., Pi-Sunyer, X. & Schneider, S. The metabolically obese, normal-weight individual revisited. Diabetes 47, 699-713 (1998).
96. Pittas, A. G., Lau, J., Hu, F. B. & Dawson-Hughes, B. The role of vitamin D and calcium in type 2 diabetes. A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 92, 2017-2029 (2007).
97. Chiu, K. C., Chu, A., Go, V. L. & Saad, M. F. Hypovitaminosis D is associated with insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 79, 820-825 (2004).
98. Boucher, B. J., Mannan, N., Noonan, K., Hales, C. N. & Evans, S. J. Glucose intolerance and impairment of insulin secretion in relation to vitamin D deficiency in east London Asians. Diabetologia 38, 1239-1245 (1995).
99. Nimitphong, H., Chanprasertyothin, S., Jongjaroenprasert, W. & Ongphiphadhanakul, B. The association between vitamin D status and circulating adiponectin independent of adiposity in subjects with abnormal glucose tolerance. Endocrine 36, 205-210 (2009).
100. Gannage-Yared, M. H. et al. Vitamin D in relation to metabolic risk factors, insulin sensitivity and adiponectin in a young Middle-Eastern population. Eur. J. Endocrinol. 160, 965-971 (2009).
101. Bonakdaran, S. & Varasteh, A. R. Correlation between serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 and laboratory risk markers of cardiovascular diseases in type 2 diabetic patients. Saudi Med. J. 30, 509-514 (2009).
102. Farrant, H. J. et al. Vitamin D insufficiency is common in Indian mothers but is not associated with gestational diabetes or variation in newborn size. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 63, 646-652 (2009).
103. Witham, M. D., Nadir, M. A. & Struthers, A. D. Effect of vitamin D on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Hypertens. 27, 1948-1954 (2009).
104. Rejnmark, L., Vestergaard, P, Heickendorff, L. & Mosekilde, L. Simvastatin does not affect vitamin D status, but low vitamin D levels are associated with dyslipidemia: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Int. J. Endocrinol. 2010, 957174 (2010).
105. Stanner, S. New thinking about diet and cardiovascular disease. J. Fam. Health Care 16, 71-74 (2006).
106. Dobnig, H. et al. Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Arch. Intern. Med. 168, 1340-1349 (2008).
107. John, W. G., Noonan, K., Mannan, N. & Boucher, B. J. Hypovitaminosis D is associated with reductions in serum apolipoprotein A-I but not with fasting lipids in British Bangladeshis. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 82, 517-522 (2005).
108. World Health Organisation (WHO). Cancer: Diet and Physical Activity's Impact [online], http:// www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/ facts/cancer/en/ (2010).
109. Gorham, E. D. et al. Vitamin D and prevention of colorectal cancer. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 97, 179-194 (2005).
110. Hanchette, C. L. & Schwartz, G. G. Geographic patterns of prostate cancer mortality. Evidence for a protective effect of ultraviolet radiation Cancer 70, 2861-2869 (1992).
111. Hines, S. L., Jorn, H. K., Thompson, K. M. & Larson, J. M. Breast cancer survivors and vitamin D: a review. Nutrition 26, 255-262 (2010).
112. El Saghir, N. S. et al. Trends in epidemiology and management of breast cancer in developing Arab countries: a literature and registry analysis. Int. J. Surg. 5, 225-233 (2007).
113. Parkin, D. M., Bray, F., Ferlay, J. & Pisani, P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J. Clin. 55, 74-108 (2005).
114. Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A. et al. Fracture prevention with vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA 293, 2257-2264 (2005).
115. El-Hajj Fuleihan, G. In Vitamin D: Physiology, Molecular Biology and Clinical Applications 2nd edn Ch. 24 (ed. Holick, M.) 469-494 (Humana Press, New Jersey, New York, 2009).
116. Zipitis, C. S. & Akobeng, A. K. Vitamin D supplementation in early childhood and risk of type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch. Dis. Child. 93, 512-517 (2008).
117. Sugden, J. A., Davies, J. I., Witham, M. D., Morris, A. D. & Struthers, A. D. Vitamin D improves endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and low vitamin D levels. Diabetes Med. 25, 320-325 (2008).
118. Autier, P. & Gandini, S. Vitamin D supplementation and total mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch. Intern. Med. 167, 1730-1737 (2007).
119. Margolis, K. L. et al. Effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Trial. Hypertension 52, 847-855 (2008).
120. de Boer, I. H. et al. Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of incident diabetes in the Women's Health Initiative. Diabetes Care 31, 701-707 (2008).
121. Li-Ng, M. et al. A randomized controlled trial of vitamin D3 supplementation for the prevention of symptomatic upper respiratory tract infections. Epidemiol. Infect. 137, 1396-1404 (2009).
122. Wejse, C. et al. Vitamin D as supplementary treatment for tuberculosis: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 179, 843-850 (2009).
123. Li, X. et al. Protective effects of 1-alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 on residual beta-cell function in patients with adult-onset latent autoimmune diabetes (LADA). Diabetes Metab. Res. Rev. 25, 411-416 (2009).
A. Arabi, R. El Rassi and G. El-Hajj Fuleihan researched the data for the article, provided a substantial contribution to discussions of the content and reviewed and/or edited the manuscript before submission. A. Arabi and G. El-Hajj Fuleihan wrote the article.
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Home News World Population Day event highlights inequalities in sexual and reproductive health, leaders’ determination to end them
UNFPA Representative Mr. Alain Sibenaler welcomes the Vice President Edward Sekandi to the event at the Bobi Community Polytechnic grounds. Looking on is the ambassador of the Netherlands to Uganda H.E Henk Jan Bakker and Omoro district woman Member of Parliament, Catherine Lamwaka
As the world commemorated World Population Day, UNFPA Uganda joined the National Population Council and other partners to commemorate the event in Omoro district, northern Uganda.
Held under the theme Leave No One Behind: Strengthen Service Delivery and Accountability for sustainable development the national commemoration provided a platform for UNFPA and stakeholders to engage in dialogue around the various forms of inequality and how these impact on development. These include inequalities in access to key reproductive health services such as family planning and adolescent health services as well as inequalities in education and employment.
Beyond the challenges, however, the commemoration provided an opportunity for leaders at national and local level to reflect on their role and the initiatives they could undertake to address inequalities in their various spheres of influence.
Leading the way were district leaders from Omoro and 15 other districts that make up the northern region. The leaders signed a declaration committing to, among other things, prioritise local initiatives to keep girls in school and strengthen provision of sexual and reproductive health services as a way to prevent unplanned pregnancies. The district leaders’ declaration was presented to the Vice President Edward Sekandi, who represented His Excellency President Museveni, by the Omoro district chairperson Mr. Peter Douglas Okello.
UNFPA Representative Mr. Alain Sibenaler expressed his appreciation for the commitment shown by the leaders. “I am humbled and proud to have witnessed the extraordinary leadership of the Chairperson of the Omoro District Local Government and the commitment of the Chairs of the surrounding 15 districts to address some significant inequalities faced by the Acholi and Lango sub-regions,” he said.
He highlighted the need for more deliberate focus on addressing inequalities that affect adolescent girls and women. “The socio-economic development future of Uganda depends on its women and its girls. We are asking every person who is in a position to lead and to influence, in national and local government, traditional or cultural leaders and especially every man and every boy: Let girls be girls! Make sure they are free from violence and harassment at home in school and at work,” he said.
UNFPA staff at the World Population Day event in Omoro
Mr. Sibenaler also appreciated the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni on population issues and pledged, on behalf of UNFPA, to continue supporting implementation of effective service delivery interventions in health and education.
In a speech delivered by Vice President H.E Edward Sekandi, President Yoweri Museveni, repeated a concern made during the 2017 World Population Day commemoration on the issue of teenage pregnancy rates. He noted that with high teenage pregnancy rates witnessed in Omoro district and country wide, Uganda’s girls were continuously being left behind. He urged local leaders to implement community mobilization drives involving parents, religious and cultural leaders to create awareness about the problem and to take more action to keep girls in school.
The Ambassador of the Netherlands His Excellency Henk Jan Bakker also weighed in on the issue, noting that inadequate investment in educating girls and ending child marriages constitute an enormous lost opportunity for Ugandan society. He also pledged continued support to the government in its efforts to address inequalities at all levels.
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12 Must-Visit NYC Locations to Check Out During OHNY Weekend 2015
Untapped Cities 09/22/2015 Architecture, Guides, New York
7. Manhattan Borough President’s Office Map Display
On OHNY Weekend, the Manhattan Borough President’s office will display an historically essential map in the development of Manhattan—executed by John Randel in 1820—that has never been displayed publicly in full (although you can also see it a version by request at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.). This map is the first that plotted the 1811 “Commissioner’s Plan” which established the Manhattan street grid from Houston St. to 155th. The MBP’s Topographical Bureau is the sole repository for these 92 hand-drawn and hand-colored panels, which will be assembled into a room-size display, allowing map geeks to examine every part of the formative plan that has guided the development of Manhattan over the following 195 years.
View all on one page
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
The Top 10 Oldest Churches in NYC
The Top 10 Secrets of Citi Field, Home of the New York Mets
The Top 15 Secrets of The Brooklyn Bridge
Todd 10/06/2015 1:40am Reply
Hi! Do you have to join something or sign up somewhere to visit the TWA terminal? I’m changing my flight back to NYC to land at JFK on the 18th just to see it.
michelle young 10/06/2015 7:28am Reply
It’s open access, so you won’t need a reservation. But we would recommend going early to line up, it’s guaranteed to be packed!
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The Pen Versus the Sword: Sex Education Books and Death Threats in Saudi Arabia
47% of fathers in Saudi Arabia find it difficult to answer their children
s questions related to sex and about 87% find it embarrassing to answer the questions, and, as a result, they tend to ignore them.
Professor Amal Mohammed Banouna
In her recent research study of the position of parents and teachers on offering early sex education to children between 3 and 8 years of age, Professor Amal Mohammed Banouna of Umm al-Qura University in Mecca found that the curiosity of students about sexuality embarrassed many parents and elders in the conservative kingdom. Despite this blush, Banouna found that more than 90% of parents and teachers support the introduction of sex education in public schools. Also, Banouna recommended that both teachers AND parents should be given training on how to deal with their children’s curiosity, especially when it comes to matters of sexuality. Another older study in 2010 showed that 43% of parents were reluctant to share sexual health information with their children themselves; yet, almost 90% said they were concerned their children may be sexually harassed or abused.
Mohammad Al-Sheddi, a member of the Shoura Council and the Human Rights Commission, believes that children have a right to information that would protect them, stating, The Shoura recently approved a protocol to protect children from being exploited for pornography. Children should be equipped with enough information that would allow them to differentiate between right and wrong, and detect whether they are being used or lured into a situation in which they may be abused.
Also in 2010, Dr. Wedad Lootah, an Emirati social worker and marriage counselor who wrote a bestselling book on sex education, said that she planned to write a series of three books on the subject for kindergarten, junior school and high school pupils. She outlined her plans saying, First there will be a picture book for kindergarten that will grab their interest, and then for the bigger ones, grades one to six, there will be Islamic teachings in simple language. Then for the higher grades who already know everything, there will be the dangers and the negative effects: what is right and what is wrong. However, I was unable to find any recent stories about the potential books beyond that fact she received many death threats from fundamentalists.
Dr. Lootah, who wears a full-length black niqag, is the only female counselor at the Family Court of Dubai, where she counsels several Arabs, including Emiratis at her Dubai Healthcare City clinic, and teaches them how to have a healthy physical relationship.
So if Saudi youth aren’t getting the necessary information to protect themselves and be sexually healthy from their schools or their parents, where are they getting it from?
The answer is through trial and error, books, and the Internet according to female college students in a discussion about sex education in the Kingdom. These women also reported feeling that they did not have a safe place or safe person where they could comfortably go and ask such questions. Moreover, women’s relationship to sexuality and sexual health in Saudi Arabia needs drastic improvements. According to a study on women’s sexual health, female participants reported experiencing more difficulties in talking about sexual matters generally, and specifically those that related to sexual intercourse. They also delayed seeking sexual health care as a result of the influence of Saudi social norms around women’s sexuality. Plus, health care professionals tended to avoid initiating discussions about sexual matters in their clinical practices to respect the cultural norms and avoid offending the patient.
Hopefully, with the projected introduction of sex education in schools, Saudi Arabian youth and women can start receiving the information they need to maintain their sexual health. Nonetheless, as Banouna pointed out, no matter how embarrassing or taboo, parents, teachers, school administrations, and health care professionals should ALL be involved in educating youth about sexuality and sexual health or else they will not know how to take care of or protect their bodies and make responsible choices.
Creative Commons Image Provided by: Flickr FR
Creative Commons Image Edited by: Alifa Watkins
Creative Commons Image Provided by: Flickr
Alifa Watkins
Alifa Watkins is an honors student at American University (Washington, DC) majoring in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her interests in sex education and youth sexual health motivates her research, blogging, and activism for comprehensive sex education, more progressive attitudes about adolescent sexuality, and the improvement of sexual health outcomes in America.
Latest posts by Alifa Watkins (see all)
Preventing Teens from Preventing Pregnancy: “Plan B” not an Option for Teens PART II - May 5, 2014
Preventing Teens from Preventing Pregnancy: “Plan B” not an Option for Teens PART I - May 5, 2014
Depending on More than Faith: Comprehensive Sex Ed in Church - April 24, 2014
Contact Alifa Watkins at aw4804a@student.american.edu
in Sex Education by Alifa Watkins 22 Apr 2014 22 Apr 2014 0 comments
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Home Movies Disney Again Makes History With Takings Above $7bn For 2018
Disney Again Makes History With Takings Above $7bn For 2018
Walt Disney Studios is again ending the year on a high note, posting more than $7 billion in global box office earnings, thanks to hits such as “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
“This is only the second time in history any studio has surpassed the $7 billion mark, after Disney’s own industry-record 2016 global gross of $7.6 billion,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
“The Studios’ estimated international box office gross through December 9 is an estimated $4.069 billion, marking our second biggest year and the third biggest in industry history,” it added.
Disney’s success comes as the studio is set to release “Mary Poppins Returns” on December 19, which is expected to top the box office during the holiday season.
“To date, four of the top eight worldwide releases of the year are from The Walt Disney Studios, including the top two global and top three domestic releases,” the company said.
“Avengers: Infinity War,” made by Disney’s Marvel subsidiary, led the way, earning $2 billion alone. It is followed by superhero movie “Black Panther,” which earned $1.35 billion worldwide.
“Incredibles 2,” made by Pixar, another Disney subsidiary, earned $1.24 billion.
Other top box office earners for 2018 are “Ant-Man and The Wasp,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” which has held the number one spot at the North American box office for the third consecutive week.
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Posted on 22. December 2017. 21. December 2017. by Zlatko Milojičić
Legend of Kolovrat
Furious is the first feature-length film about the Ryazan native Evpaty Kolovrat, commander of the army which fought against the Mongols in 1238.
Mid-13th-century Russia is fragmented into principalities that fall one by one before the
westward Mongol expansion led by Batu Khan. Terrified by the ruthless hordes, most of the Russian princes surrender their lands on enemy terms. The invaders pillage and burn down cities, flooding Russian soil with blood, until a Ryazan swordsman Evpaty Kolovrat stands in their way. Kolovrat leads a detachment of several hundred brave souls to avenge his love, his people, and his homeland. Kolovrat’s courage is so astounding, even Batu Khan himself is humbled by it. The legendary warrior’s name forever remains in his people’s memory, and his heroic feat lives on in the annals of history.
The film was shot in 72 filming days from the end of January to the beginning of May, 2016. Furious is the first Russian film to be shot entirely in chroma key. Filming took place in Moscow, in facilities specially constructed on the territory of the ZIL factory. The facilities built at ZIL included the largest green screen studios in Europe, with a total area of over 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet), record breaking in the history of Russian film production. Other facilities included a training gym, stables, and an arena for horse riding.Visual effects were created by Main Road Post (Wanted, Stalingrad, Attraction).
A team of 450 professionals from 16 studios based in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, and India, worked over a period of 18 months to complete the film ( 1903 CG shots).
“The shooting process was very complicated. On the one hand, you’d think it would be easy indoors – no cold, snow or rain to worry about, no impenetrable mud. And where lighting is concerned it’s very easy. But for the DoP Maxim Osadchiy the green screen posed a majorchallenge. He couldn’t see what the final picture would look like; basically he was setting upthe light, hitting record and hoping for the best. Sometimes it was very difficult for us to combine the graphics we had created with the filmed material in a way which was truly convincing. Coming up with the true-to-life images was a rather difficult artistic task.
The visual success of the film is thanks to the staggering amount of work we all put in, and our close collaboration with the DoP, costume designers and makeup artists. Dzhanik Fayziev showed us references, old pictures of snowy cityscapes and the like. We know from the sources and from historical reconstructions that cities of the time would probably seem small villages to the modern eye. We had to work with the dimensions of the buildings so that a modern viewer would think of the settlement as a city. The houses are not simple huts; we gave them that folksy Russian look complete with decorations and carvings. We used a lot of red folk designs and folk carvings such as roosters and accolades. As for the snow, we made it as thick and fluffy as possible, and used bright cold colors. We made a conscious decision to employ this kind of not entirely realistic but convincing style, “reality plus” as we called it among ourselves.
In the end we had different looks and feels for Ryazan: peaceful, beautiful and sunny at the beginning; then burning, fiery and charred; and finally mournful and bleak, after the city’s destruction. We had to create a tool that would enable us to quickly switch between the intact, burning and destroyed forms of various individual houses, because we had many frames to work on.“, says Arman Yahin, CEO of VFX studio Main Road Post.
More concept arts from Legend of Kolovrat: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ZQm8R
This entry was posted in:News
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New DeLorean DMC-12 to get more powerful engine, new transmission
Article by Christian A., on June 20, 2016
The DeLorean Motor Company, commonly called DMC, is an American automobile manufacturer that was founded by John DeLorean in 1975. However, the company finally hit rock bottom in 1982 when it filed for bankruptcy after the various issues and scandals surrounding the production of its first and last car – the DMC-12.
The company was unable to make ends meet; there was poor financial management and insufficient sales and ultimately, the last straw was when John DeLorean was accused of engaging in drug trafficking to keep the company afloat. As the saying goes, “all good things come to an end” but the DeLorean Motor Company ended too soon.
Luckily, a British business man by the name of Stephen Wynne bought all company rights and stock of the DeLorean Motor Company in 1990. He set up shop in Houston, Texas, where old DMC-12s up for repair and new units are expected to meet. The DMCs proved to be a great hit up to this day but now, the firm is having trouble keeping up with the demand for parts. As demand for new DMC-12s is increasing, its products and parts are also slowly dwindling and so DMC is currently searching for possible alternative parts.
Production of the new DeLorean is scheduled to start next year. There will be new parts of course; that is, it wouldn’t be the same as those that make up the 1980s DMC-12s but the automaker will try its best to deliver the same tenacity as that of the original make. DMC is currently on the hunt for new sources that could provide them the required pieces for the newest units.
As far as we know, there will be quite a few changes on the DMC-12s. One would be the wiring, which should be redone as it is important to keep things under control and to boost the safety of its passengers. Also, DMC plans to make a more comprehensive weather proof steel chassis and will install an up-to-date suspension. The braking system will also be modified and revamped for better handling and safe driving.
But the biggest change that we’re sure all DMC fans are anticipating is the adoption of a new engine and transmission set-up. The company is planning to replace the previous five-speed manual and PRV V6 (which have been proven to be too slow for this futuristic kind of ride) and is opting for a better, faster and on-trend DMC-12. There aren’t much specifics released yet but we’ve gathered enough information to get those retro-sensors tingling.
Two development units from two of DMC’s potential suppliers are being tested. Each of these new engines is expected to produce more than twice the power of the original 2.8-liter PRV V6 engine (which only had around 130 ponies under its hood) as well as an estimated increase of at least 100 lb.-ft. of torque (most likely around 262 lb.-ft. on the new models). The on stock five-speed manual will also undergo modification to cope with the extra power that the DMC-12 will soon wield.
DMC targets to start the development and testing of the new DMC-12s sometime next month. Should the new models reach production and distribution, Wynne is eyeing a base price of under $100,000; note that refurbished DMC-12s cost somewhere in between $45,000 to $55,000.
However the price may still change in the near future since it will also depend on which engine will be chosen to power this “Back to the Future” vehicle. The only thing that the new DMC owner will keep of this historical vehicle is its appearance which is a statement itself.
We’re praying that the project will become a success and will change everyone’s concept of the DMC-12. Once the new models meet the world, we’re crossing our fingers that it will soon erase its title of being the “best known failed car of all” to the “best futuristic car of all time”. Let’s just hope that the new management learns from the lessons of the past.
Topics: sports car, delorean dmc-12
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Catalans' wish to vote unstoppable: Carles Puigdemont
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the president of Catalonia discusses a looming referendum to break away from Spain.
30 Sep 2017 21:58 GMT Catalonia, Spain, Politics, Europe
The wish of Catalans to vote in a banned referendum on breaking away from Spain "is unstoppable", Carles Puigdemont, the region's president, has told Al Jazeera, even as Spanish authorities step up efforts to stop the poll from happening.
The central government in Madrid has mobilised thousands of police to the northeastern region to stop the referendum, while the country's Constitutional Court suspended the vote after authorities challenged its legality.
Speaking to Al Jazeera's John Hendren on the eve of the poll, Puigdemont said: "referendums are not carried out by the courts or the police."
WATCH: Catalonia on the eve of its independence referendum (2:32)
"It's voters who make up a referendum," he added. "The wish to vote is unstoppable. You cannot put a brake on it."
If it takes place, Sunday's vote will be the region's second referendum on independence in three years. The previous ballot, a non-binding vote in November 2014, returned an 80 percent result in favour of an independent Catalan state. However, less than half of the 5.4 million eligible voters participated.
Puigdemont's interview, edited for clarity and brevity, can be read below.
Al Jazeera: In 2014's non-binding referendum, you had 2.4 million people voting. Now, the Spanish government wants to dramatically minimise that and delegitimise the whole process. So, technically, how can the vote take place?
Carles Puigdemont: Spain never authorised any referendum or any consultation, even on a non-binding nature.
But one important thing has happened in the past few days. There is a new wide-ranging majority in Catalonia which has grown and wants to vote - be it "Yes" or "No" - and this is unstoppable.
READ MORE: Catalonia independence referendum - All you need to know
Referendums are not carried out by the courts or the police - it's voters who make up a referendum. The wish to vote is unstoppable, you cannot put a brake on it.
Today the debate is not between "Yes" or "No", it's above all between those who wish to create a new, modern state right from the grassroots or to continue with an authoritarian state which can cut back on our freedom and liberties, and compel us to continue forming part of this state.
Al Jazeera: There is really no campaign in favour of "No", so how do you ensure that there are objective people at the polls? And since you had to reprint the ballot papers many times, after the Spanish government has confiscated over 10 million of them, how do you ensure that they are legitimate?
Puigdemont: You have the registered census - people who are in the census will be able to vote, and people who are not in the census will not be able to vote.
THE LISTENING POST: Catalonia referendum: One country, two stories (25:05)
People will not be able to vote twice over. There will be an electoral panel, which will be checking each voter individually. We should do things democratically via politics, not using the police or the courts.
Al Jazeera: With this cat-and-mouse game, in which police are shutting down polling stations, is there a secret plan for how to carry this out?
Puigdemont: We don't know what the plans of the state are to stop the referendum. They've kept them under wraps.
So, we have no obligation to publicise how we are going to organise the referendum, the logistics - and there has been, as you have rightly said, a cat-and-mouse game.
Al Jazeera: Describe what an independent Catalonia would look like.
Puigdemont: We are committed to the great challenges of humanity: fighting terrorism, fighting climate change, fighting cyberattacks.
Al Jazeera: On the front lines of this quiet revolution are children, young people out in the streets, people who have gone to Catalan schools and are now occupying schools to keep them open as voting places. At the same time, there are thousands of police in the street and there is the potential for violence. If it gets ugly, what will you tell them?
Puigdemont: Firstly, it is inconceivable that a peaceful people that expresses itself peacefully could be repressed with violent means.
For the last six years, we have organised demonstrations which have brought together millions of people with zero incidents of violence. We can mobilise large masses. Now that we have 10 times more police, should we be scared of violence? It's rather suspicious.
WATCH: France's Catalans want more regional autonomy (2:29)
The question should be, "Is anyone interested in generating a climate of violence in Catalonia to attack the reputation of a movement which has earned its credibility the hard way by the way it expresses its opinion peacefully?"
There is no violence. So, if someone does have this temptation, they'll be doing themselves no favour, and they'll be doing European democracy no favour.
It's a peaceful, civic, cross-cutting movement, with young people, old people, people from rural backgrounds, people from metropolitan backgrounds, people of different levels of education, people who are wealthy and people who are not wealthy.
We do not have to show that we are a peaceful people who know how to think properly - we have proved that.
Al Jazeera: If you succeed, you'll have to decide what relationships the nation of Catalonia has. In the European Union, any country can withhold its support for a new country entering. Spain would almost certainly do that. Don't you run the risk of doing a Catalonian Brexit in putting more borders between you and Europe rather than fewer?
Puigdemont: No, that is impossible. Firstly, we are already European citizens. There are 7.5 million Catalans who have European citizenship and we shall not lose it. To date, I have never requested recognition from any European state because I've never known the result of the referendum.
After the referendum, we shall move forward on that. We are pretty confident about the future of Catalonia within the European Union. It is a yes-yes situation.
Al Jazeera: How do you evaluate the reaction of the Spanish and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy?
Puigdemont: It is no surprise, but we are very disappointed. Maybe you have seen images of Spanish people in various points of Spain where police convoys are leaving for Catalonia saying, "Go and get them."
Those images define or reflect the policy of the Rajoy government. They have no interest in making us feel comfortable and happy within Spain.
The Spanish government has almost acted like an arsonist. It has been putting wood on the fire. It has been acting totally irresponsibly.
WATCH: Anger in Madrid at Catalonia referendum (2:43)
And it is a lack of Spanish patriotism - a genuine Spanish patriot would want everything in its country to go smoothly, for everyone to feel happy within the state.
Al Jazeera: If you don't succeed, you face some pretty serious consequences with the Spanish government. They have accused the organisers of this referendum of crimes, including sedition, which comes with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Are you willing to face that?
Puigdemont: We accept full responsibility, but it would be very, very irresponsible for the response to a political aspiration to be a prison sentence.
I am no delinquent. I'm no criminal. I am not responsible for sedition. You don't normally get coup d'etats with ballot papers instead of guns.
I accept my responsibilities, but let me tell you it would be a very severe mistake and they would have to live with the consequences. It would be a definite blow.
Catalonia referendum: One country, two stories
As Catalans head to the polls, what does independence mean for both sides? Plus, Mexico's diverse community radio.
Media, Catalonia, Spain
Spanish police seal off polling stations in Catalonia
Spain's government cracks down on Catalonia's banned secession vote as separatists camp out at schools across region.
Spain, Catalonia, Europe, Politics
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« War In Afghanistan News 17 May 2011 Updated 12:30 AM Central | Main | Bomb Found in Ireland Ahead of British Queen’s Visit »
Fallen Army Journalist, SSG James Hunter, Honored at Newseum
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
Krishna Bharat, Google News founder, delivers the keynote address for the 2011 Journalists Memorial Rededication ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., May 16, 2011. The ceremony honored 77 fallen journalists whose names were added to the memorial, including Army Staff Sgt. James Hunter, an Army journalist killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. DOD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2011 - Army Staff Sgt. James Hunter is remembered for lots of things. His fellow soldiers will tell you he was a hard worker, selfless and dedicated to his soldiers and their mission. His family will tell you that he loved Kentucky basketball and, above all else, he loved his country.
Today, Hunter was honored for his work as a journalist. He was an Army public affairs noncommissioned officer who was killed by a roadside bomb in June during a foot patrol in Afghanistan. His rifle was slung across his chest, but clutched in his right hand was his camera.
"He was an outstanding NCO and leader," Army Lt. Col. Larry Porter, public affairs officer for the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said. Porter was Hunter's boss at the time of his death. "He was very dedicated to telling the soldiers' story."
He and 76 other fallen journalists were memorialized at the Newseum here today in the 2011 rededication ceremony of the Journalist's Memorial. The memorial honors 2,084 reporters, photographers, editors and broadcasters who died covering the news between 1837 and 2010. Their names are inscribed on the glass panels of the memorial, adjacent to a wall filled with photographs of their faces, some with a short biography. Of those reporters honored today, 59 died in 2010.
Krishna Bharat, founder of Google News, delivered the ceremony's keynote address, praising the character and drive of journalists for the risks they take to inform the otherwise uninformed public.
"In most cases, [journalists] made the conscious choice ... to walk a path that was not paved with gold, but danger, to serve a higher human cost," Bharat said. "As we look back on the lives lost in the service of journalism, it's worth remembering that while we cannot predict how and when we die, we can certainly choose how we live.
"The journalists we remember and honor today chose lives full of meaning and purpose," he added. "They chose to bring news that mattered to people who care to make the world a better place."
The fact that Hunter was part of the ceremony is a humbling honor, said Army Lt. Col. J. Frank Garcia, an Army public affairs officer who worked closely with Hunter at Fort Campbell, Ky.
"It really is great to see the Newseum honor a soldier journalist," Garcia said. "[Hunter] was someone who volunteered not only to be a soldier, but to put himself in danger repeatedly just to tell the soldiers' story [and] to ensure the story of what [soldiers] do all over the world is being told."
Hunter grew up in South Amherst, Ohio, and enlisted in the Army in September 2003. He served in the 82nd Airborne Division's 49th Public Affairs Detachment on Fort Bragg, N.C., and deployed with the unit to Iraq in 2006. Following his tour at Fort Bragg, Hunter reported to the 10st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team on Fort Campbell, Ky. He deployed to Iraq a second time in 2008. He was only two months into his Afghanistan deployment when he was killed. He was 25.
"I'll always remember [Hunter] as the guy who always volunteered for the tough assignments," Garcia said. "He was the kind of guy who wanted to be up front with the troops, living with them and experiencing their experiences and making sure the world knew their stories."
The photograph and short biography of Army Staff Sgt. James Hunter is on display near the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Hunter was among 77 fallen journalists honored at the 2011 rededication of the memorial, May 16, 2011. DOD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
Download high-resolution
Army Staff Sgt. James Hunter's name is inscribed on the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Hunter was among 77 fallen journalists honored at the 2011 rededication of the memorial, May 16, 2011. DOD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
Posted by MsMarti - on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 08:30 in Honoring Our Heroes, Military News | Permalink
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elaws - employment laws assistance for workers and small businesses
elaws Home
- Employment Law Guide
Wages and Hours Worked: Workers with Disabilities for the Work Being Performed
ELAWS Advisor
FLSA Section 14(c) Advisor
DOL Agency Assistance
Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Recordkeeping, Reporting, Notices and Posters
Notices and Posters
Penalties/Sanctions
Relation to State, Local, and Other Federal Laws
Compliance Assistance Available
DOL Contacts
Updated: December 2016
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), as amended (PDF)(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/statutes/FairLaborStandAct.pdf)
(29 USC �201 et seq.(http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/29/201.html); 29 CFR Parts 525(https://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR^Q^gp=1|h=L|r=PART|n=29y3.1.1.1.17&exitTitle=www.ecfr.gov&fedpage=yes))
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is administered and enforced by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards generally affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, state, and local governments. Section 14(c) of the FLSA authorizes employers, after receiving a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division, to pay subminimum wages � wages less than the Federal minimum wage � to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed. The certificate also allows the payment of wages that are less than the applicable prevailing wage to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed on contracts subject to the McNamara-O�Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA). Payment of wages under a Section 14(c) certificate may be subject to the requirements of Executive Order 13658, which establishes a minimum wage for work performed on or in connection with certain covered government contracts.
Employers must obtain an authorizing certificate from the Wage and Hour Division prior to paying subminimum wages to employees who have disabilities for the work being performed. To apply for a certificate, employers must submit a properly completed application (Form WH-226), Application for Authority to Employ Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages), as well as Form WH-226A, Supplemental Data Sheet for Application for Authority to Employ Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages and the required supporting documentation, to:
United States Department of Labor
Wage and Hour Division
230 South Dearborn Street, Room 514
Chicago, Illinois, 60604-1757
Certificates covering employees of work centers and patient workers normally remain in effect for two years. Certificates covering workers with disabilities placed in competitive employment situations or School Work Experience Programs (SWEPs) are issued annually.
Commensurate wage rates. Subminimum wages issued pursuant to Section 14(c) of the FLSA must be commensurate wage rates - based on the worker's individual productivity in proportion to the wage and productivity of experienced workers who do not have disabilities performing essentially the same type, quality, and quantity of work in the geographic area from which the labor force of the community is drawn. The key elements in determining commensurate rates are:
Determining the standard for workers who do not have disabilities - the objective gauge against which the productivity of the worker with a disability is measured
Determining the prevailing wage - the wage paid to experienced workers who do not have disabilities for the same or similar work and who are performing such work in the area. Most SCA contracts include a wage determination specifying the prevailing wage rates to be paid for work on the SCA contract
Evaluating the quantity and quality of the productivity of the worker with the disability
All commensurate wage rates must be reviewed and adjusted, if appropriate, at periodic intervals. At a minimum, the productivity of hourly paid workers must be reevaluated every six months and a new prevailing wage survey must be conducted at least every twelve months.
Any employee paid a subminimum wage (or his or her parent or guardian) may petition the Secretary of Labor, under FLSA Section 14(c)(5), to have the commensurate wage rate reviewed to determine if the wage is justified. The review will be conducted by a U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge. Such petitions are completely independent of any enforcement action that may be undertaken by the Wage and Hour Division. Although the petition does not have to follow a particular format or form, it must be signed by the individual (or his or her parent or guardian) and should contain the name and address of the individual filing the petition and the name and address of his or her employer
The Wage and Hour Division�s role in the petition process is solely to serve as a conduit�the means through which the petition is forwarded to the Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge. The Wage and Hour Division does not serve as a party in this matter. It does not represent either the employee with a disability or his or her employer. In all matters relating to the propriety of a commensurate wage rate, the burden of proof rests with the employer. See 29 CFR Part 525.22 for more information.
Notices. Each worker with a disability receiving a subminimum wage under FLSA Section 14(c), and, where appropriate, the parent or guardian of such worker, shall be informed orally and in writing by the employer of the terms of the certificate under which such worker is employed. In addition, employers of workers with disabilities receiving subminimum wages must display the Wage and Hour Division poster, Employee Rights for Workers with Disabilities Paid at Special Minimum Wages (WH Publication 1284. This poster explains the conditions under which subminimum wages may be paid. The poster must be posted in a conspicuous place on the employer�s premises where employees and the parents and guardians of workers with disabilities can readily see it.
Additionally, each worker with a disability and, where appropriate, a parent or guardian of the worker, must be informed, orally and in writing, of the terms of the certificate under which the worker is employed. This requirement may be satisfied by making copies of the certificate available.
Posters. Every employer of employees subject to the FLSA�s minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted, a notice(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm) explaining the Act in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments. Although there is no size requirement for the poster, employees must be able to readily read it. The FLSA poster is also available in Spanish(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsaspan.htm), Chinese(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwagecn.pdf), Russian(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/FLSAPosterRuss.pdf), Thai,(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/MinWageThai.pdf) Hmong,(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/MinWageHmong.pdf) Vietnamese(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwageViet.pdf), and Korean(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwageKorean.pdf). There is no requirement to post the poster in languages other than English(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm).
Certain industries have posters designed specifically for them. Employers of Agricultural Employees (PDF)(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/wh1386Agrcltr.pdf) and State & Local Government Employees (PDF)(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/wh1385State.pdf) can either post the general Fair Labor Standards Act poster(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm) or their specific industry poster. There are also posters for American Samoa (PDF)(https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/americanSamoa/ASminwagePoster.pdf) and the Commonwealth Northern Mariana Islands (PDF)(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/cnmi.pdf).
As discussed above, under FLSA Section 14(c), employers of workers with disabilities who are paid subminimum wages are also required to post the �Employee Rights for Workers with Disabilities Paid at Special Minimum Wages� poster
In addition to the recordkeeping requirements imposed on all employers subject to the FLSA, those paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities under Section 14(c) must also maintain records regarding the disabilities of the workers, prevailing wage surveys, work measurements, and individual productivity. See the following for the general FLSA recordkeeping requirements.
Every employer covered by the FLSA must keep certain records. Employers must keep records on wages, hours, and other information as set forth in the Department of Labor's regulations. Most of this data is the type that employers generally maintain in ordinary business practice.
There is no required form for the records. However, the records must include accurate information about the employee and data about the hours worked and the wages earned. The following is a listing of the basic payroll records that an employer must maintain:
Employee's full name, as used for Social Security purposes, and on the same record, the employee's identifying symbol or number if such is used in place of name on any time, work, or payroll records
Address, including zip code
Birth date, if younger than 19
Sex and occupation
Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins.
Hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek
Basis on which employee's wages are paid (e.g., "$9 per hour", "$440 a week", "piecework")
Regular hourly pay rate
Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
Total overtime earnings for the workweek
All additions to or deductions from the employee's wages
Total wages paid each pay period
Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment
For a full listing of the basic records that an employer must maintain, see the Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping Requirements Under the FLSA(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs21.pdf). Employers are required to preserve for at least three years payroll records, collective bargaining agreements, and sales and purchase records. Records on which wage computations are based should be retained for two years. These include time cards and piecework tickets, wage rate tables, work and time schedules, and records of additions to or deductions from wages.
The FLSA does not contain any specific reporting requirements; however, the above referenced records must be open for inspection by the Wage and Hour Division's representatives, who may ask the employer to make extensions, computations, or transcriptions. The records may be kept at the place of employment or in a central records office.
Section 14(c) certificates can be retroactively revoked if it is found that false statements were made or facts were misrepresented in obtaining the certificate or if it is found that any of the provisions of the FLSA, SCA, or the terms of the certificate have been violated.
The Department of Labor uses a variety of remedies to enforce compliance with the Act's requirements. When Wage and Hour Division investigators encounter violations, they recommend changes in employment practices to bring the employer into compliance, and they request the payment of any back wages due to employees.
The Department of Labor may also bring suit for back pay and it may obtain injunctions to restrain persons from violating the Act.
The Act also prohibits the shipment of goods in interstate commerce that were produced in violation of the minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, or subminimum wage provisions of the FLSA.
The issuance of a certificate under the provisions of FLSA Section 14(c) for payment of subminimum wages does not excuse noncompliance with any other Federal or state law or municipal ordinance establishing higher minimum wage standards.
The Department of Labor provides employers, workers, and others with clear and easy-to-access information and assistance on how to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Among the many resources available are:
The Handy Reference Guide to the FLSA(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/hrg.htm)
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Section 14(c) Advisor(/elaws/whd/flsa/14c/): Helps employers, employees and their family members understand FLSA Section 14(c), which authorizes employers, after receiving a certificate from the Department of Labor, to pay less than the Federal minimum wage to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Coverage and Employment Status Advisor(/elaws/whd/flsa/scope/screen9.asp): Helps employers and employees understand and determine coverage under the FLSA.
FLSA Recordkeeping Fact Sheet(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs21.pdf): Explains recordkeeping requirements under the Act.
Wage and Hour Division(https://www.dol.gov/whd/)
Contact WHD(https://www.dol.gov/whd/contactform.asp)
Tel: 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243); TTY: 1-877-889-5627
The Employment Law Guide is offered as a public resource. It does not create new legal obligations and it is not a substitute for the U.S. Code, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations as the official sources of applicable law. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is complete and accurate as of the time of publication, and this will continue. Later versions of this Guide will be offered at www.dol.gov/compliance or by calling our Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365) (1-866-487-2365).
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A Bond to Benefit the Community
When a mutual friend first introduced fellow horseback riding enthusiasts Morgan Burnette and Kayla Myers, he no doubt knew the two women would likely bond over their shared love of all things horses.
But what he couldn’t have known is that the two women would form an immediate and powerful bond that has sparked the creation of a new non-profit that in less than two years is having an impressive impact on the community they love.
“Happy Trails originally started with me and her meeting on a trail ride and just starting a friendship and kind of talking to each other about what we see for the future of our community,” Kayla told me when we sat down recently to discuss the creation of the pair’s nonprofit, Happy Trails of SOWEGA. “I don’t even think we paid attention to the ride.”
“We’re a good match,” Morgan continued. “It’s funny. It was just one of those natural friendships right off the bat. That we’re trying to do something good and have turned into partners has been awesome too.”
The something good the two women are involved with is the newly designated 501(c)(3) that parlays the pair’s love of horseback riding, and their connections to the local “horse community,” into financial support for and awareness of different area causes and other nonprofits in need of assistance.
Like most nonprofits, the success of Happy Trails will ultimately be measured by its overall impact, but if the past few months are any indication, it will continue to be a positive force in Southwest Georgia. Already the organization has held seven trail rides benefitting a variety of causes and the women are fielding requests almost daily from individuals and organizations looking for support.
Despite the growing profile though, both Morgan and Kayla are quick to downplay what Happy Trails has accomplished—stressing that what they’re doing is just a small thing compared to what a lot of other organizations are doing in the community.
“I mean, it’s not even that we’re doing that much,” Morgan said. “It’s just kind of organizing this thing in the community that people can get behind. What we’re doing is not huge. It’s not comparable to some of the other nonprofits in this community, but our goal is just to help someone. And for that person or that organization we’re helping, it’s a big difference.”
It’s actually that concept of a person doing their part to make even the tiniest difference that lies at the heart of Happy Trails and is what first peaked my interest in the organization when Kayla’s dad, Lee County Co-Manager Mike Sistrunk, reached out to me at the Herald about covering the women’s first event.
At the time, Mike was just trying to help his daughter with a project she was working on, but I realized pretty quickly that she and Morgan had stumbled onto a pretty cool concept while simply trying to do a little something for a good cause.
“The first thing we did was for the Lee County Animal Shelter because they needed more than they were getting,” Morgan explained. “We said, ‘Well listen, we have these rides, we’re doing this anyway, so why not do this for a good cause?’”
So the duo decided to organize a trail ride at Chehaw park—where Morgan is the director of guest and public relations—and donate the entry fees to the shelter. To raise additional funds the girls added a silent auction with donated items which people who attended the ride could bid on while eating some donated BBQ. Additionally they added some entertainment and other things to help attract non-riders, which only aided the event’s success.
I covered that first ride and knew immediately—thanks to the solid attendance, positive vibe and out-pouring of support—that the women’s plan to host a follow-up ride later in the year would no doubt bear fruit.
It was after they hosted those two successful rides to benefit the shelter that the girls realized that their trail rides for a good cause concept could have a broader impact. But, they said, they were a little surprised at how quickly word spread about what they were doing.
“The community really started pouring in and saying, ‘We need help with this,’” Kayla said.
“’Have you thought about this? We have a problem. This person needs help,’” Morgan continued.
“I mean, we didn’t really think of Back the Blue, but we had someone come to us and mention it,” added Kayla. “Tom Gieryic found us and he was just like, ‘Have you thought about doing a ride for Back the Blue?’ “’Well no, but that sounds good; we’ll make it happen.’”
After organizing that Back the Blue Urban Trail Ride, which helped raise money to purchase body camera’s for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Happy Trails concept continued to gather momentum and before long they were organizing a ride to benefit the Camp Osborne Boy Scout campground in Worth County that was devastated by the storms that raged through Southwest Georgia in January of 2017.
“Camp Osborne was a big one,” Morgan said. “It’s just grown from there. We just became an official nonprofit last year. And not because we want to collect money for ourselves. It just makes it easier to channel the money we raise to the people it needs to go to and it gives a benefit to those who are donating. The goal is not for Happy Trails to have any money.”
“If anything, it’s like if we do not have a ride set up and someone donated to us, okay, we can just put that toward the next thing that comes up,” added Kayla. “Everything goes to the community.”
Despite the fact that Morgan and Kayla are still in the process of figuring out the finer points of running a nonprofit—in addition to both working demanding, full-time jobs—they are undaunted by the extra work load in their lives simply due to the fact that it seems quite natural to both of them to be focused on helping the community.
In fact, while it was their shared love of horses that brought them together, it was their mutual affection for their community, and their desire to make a difference where they grew up that cemented their bond.
“I really think we’re both doers,” said Morgan.
“Very much so,” continued Kayla. “We both just have that drive in us that we want to impact our community in some positive way.
“I grew up here in Albany and my dad has always been a huge part of the community, with the different positions he’s held in Albany and Lee County, and I kind of got his personality as far as I don’t meet strangers. So just following him around has pushed me to want to do more around here where we live, where I grew up. I want to see it become a bigger, better place.”
“Same here,” added Morgan. “I’ve lived here all my live. I went off to school and I CHOSE to come back. Not everybody chooses to come back here and I’ve kind of always just been the quintessential cheerleader. If I’m doing it, I want to be all-in. I really want to do it.
“And I want to see this community be amazing because I really think it is.”
Not one to keep her feelings about community to herself, Morgan expanded on that notion, sharing that much of the drive that fuels her to work hard for both Chehaw and Happy Trails comes from her desire to combat what she sees as unnecessary negativity.
“I think we hear a lot of the negative all the time,” she said. “But I see the positives. I want to be out there promoting the positives.
“You hear negatives everyday about anything in general, but for some reason people in this community feel the need to share the negative. And I want people to know that I chose to be here. I see the positive.
And for Morgan and Kayla it goes beyond just seeing the positive. In their lives and through Happy Trails they both feel they can do something to affect change.
“If I see a negative, I’m going to work to change it,” Morgan stressed. “I’m not naïve. I know there’s some negative things out there, but I think it’s going to take people doing something to change it.”
“You can’t just sit there and wait for someone to change it for you. Be the someone who makes the change you want to see. I think that comes down to choosing to love the life you live right now. Happiness is a choice.”
Fortunately, Morgan said, her experiences with Happy Trails have strengthened her belief that there are a lot of like-minded people in this community—people who are willing to give their time, money and effort in hopes of doing something positive that needs to be done.
“That’s what’s been so great about Happy Trails—the community stepping up and helping,” she continued. “I mean anytime we’ve needed something, people have donated their time, their resources, their land for us to have rides on.”
“Yeah, we’ve had two or three people just recently who have called us and said, ‘Hey, if you have a future trail ride, come use our land,’” Kayla added. “The response from the community has been great. There’s been so many people who have stepped up to help.
“Whenever we’ve had a need, there’s been someone there to fill it.”
That so many members of the community have embraced Happy Trails and its mission to serve where it can does not surprise either Morgan or Kayla, despite the negativity that is so often present in and around the Albany area.
For proof that this community has so many incredible and caring people in its midst, Morgan said you have to look no further than the tragic situation that occurred last year.
“I think the people here, as a resource, are incredible,” Morgan said. “And obviously not just the horse community. You saw it when the storms hit. The little negative things people gripe about didn’t matter anymore. Everybody stepped up.
“Everybody came together and that’s the community I see on a daily basis.”
“Everything on the news is negative, negative, negative, but it doesn’t feel that way to me,” Kayla added. “In fact, I get picked on because I got married and we live in Ashburn now, but where do we go all the time? We’re here.
“This is home. It just feels right to be here and to be a part of it.
“I come out to events in the community and you just see a different side of Albany than you do on the news. Everything on there is a robbery or a murder. It’s always just the dark part. But like Morgan said, happiness is a choice and you should spread that around. We shouldn’t rely on storms and natural disasters to bring this community together. Seeing what we saw when the tornadoes hit, that’s what we need to see every day.”
“I know I sound super cheesy,” Morgan continued. “My favorite word is awesome and this community is awesome.”
Listening to the two women talk about their shared passion for service and their respect for their community, it was no wonder Happy Trails has been well-received. More importantly, though, it became clear to me that the bond the two have forged is a critical factor in their success.
That the two became fast friends isn’t that surprising once you spend some time with them. As they quite naturally finish each other’s sentences like some old high school pals, it’s easy to see how well they complement each other—something both of them are keenly aware of.
“It was just that kind of summer camp relationship,” Morgan explained. “It was like…”
“’Oh, you ride horses?’” Kayla continued.
“’You like this? I like this too,’” added Morgan. “’We are best friend now.’”
“If I’m not mistaken I believe we actually had that conversation,” Kayla said.
“That actually happened,” said Morgan.
“I was like, ‘Did we just become best friends?’” Kayla continued. “And she was like, ‘Yeah I think so.’ I mean it was a ‘Stepbrothers’ moment.
“But really I think when we started it was like, “Oh, okay, good acquaintances.’ But now, we each have someone who we can bounce ideas off of. And now it’s like, ‘Oh wait, you think that way too? Oh, that’s how you handle a situation? Okay, well we’re pretty good at this.’
“What makes us have such a good friendship is that we’re opposite in so many ways, but our strengths are so much alike.”
“It was providence,” Morgan finished. “It was fate. We were put together and that’s kind of how this started. It just felt like, it sounds so cheesy to say this, like destiny. It’s like we were brought together for a reason. We were given this opportunity and let’s do something with it besides just hang out and ride horses together.”
From my perspective this community can only benefit thanks to the fact that Morgan and Kayla not only became friends, but poured their love of horseback riding and community service into creating Happy Trails for the benefit of everyone.
And knowing that my hometown has two dedicated servants—willing to do what it takes to make even the slightest difference—in Kayla Myers and Morgan Burnette, gives me further confidence that the Albany area is in good hands.
There may be negatives, but from where I sit the biggest positive is folks like the ones behind Happy Trails.
To learn more about the organization or how you can get involved visit their Happy Trails of SOWEGA Facebook page, or stop by Tractor Supply on Ledo Road at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 28, for a special event to meet the horses of Happy Trails. The team will provide information on the organization, and about the health and care of horses, as well offering pony rides, pony painting and unicorn photos.
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Major developments for the week of May 12th include successful military offensives in Nigeria, a large reported Islamic State attack in Niger, several al Shabaab bombings in Somalia, continued violence in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu and political turmoil in Central African Republic and Sudan.
In Nigeria, military forces made significant inroads against Boko Haram. In an announcement on May 13th, an army spokesperson announced that a unit of soldiers performed a successful insurgent clearing operation in Borno State, which also led to the rescue of 54 hostages. Elsewhere in Borno, 117 Task Force Battalion and the Civilian Joint Task Force militia cleared six villages in Chibok Local Government Area on May 12th. Seven other locations were cleared by military forces in Maiduguri, Mobbar and Biu Local Government Areas. However, on May 13th three soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were reportedly killed by a Boko Haram roadside blast 30km North near Damboa. Four other soldiers sustained injuries. It is unclear which faction of Boko Haram implemented the attack, though Shekau’s fighters have favoured roadside IEDs in the recent past.
In Niger, twenty-nine members of the Nigerien army’s Compagnie Speciale d’intervention (special forces) based in Ouallam were reportedly killed during an ambush by suspected Islamic State Greater Sahara (ISGS) fighters near the Mali border. The May 14th ambush marks the single deadliest attack on state forces in Tallaberi Region. The mass attack comes only a few weeks following IS leader al-Baghdadi’s call to “have the [Sahel emanating the caliphate]” in his late April video announcement. However, direct evidence that the Tallaberi attack was influenced by Islamic State (IS) leadership is yet to be seen. It is further speculated that ISGS is fostering a closer relationship with IS-backed Barnawi factions Boko Haram, loosely based 1,000km to the east.
In Somalia, the Mogadishu area was beset by several al Shabaab bombings. On the 14th, a car laden with explosives targeted a Ramadan food distribution centre near the Presidential Palace in Warta Nabadda district. There were four reported fatalities and over 30 injuries. The blast comes two days after a similar and deadly attack on Hodan District. Al Shabaab officially claimed responsibility in both instances, stating their intended target was a Turkish military advisor who was attending a security meeting in the area. Similarly, al Shabaab is believed to have assassinated a Somali military officer in Kaaraan District. Outside the city, a group of mobile government forces was attacked with a roadside bomb on the 14th. Causalities from this event are inconclusive. Somali military forces fared better in Lower and Middle Shabelle Regions; on May 12th troops repelled an attack on Arbacow settlement and successfully gained control of two Balcad villages following an extended battle. Fifteen al Shabaab fatalities were reported in Balcad. On the 15th, government forces launched an offensive an an al Shabaab position north-west of Afgooye, which caused fatalities and al Shabaab to flee. In Gedo, al Shabaab carried out a complex attack against Jubaland forces at Geedweyne on May 14th. Al Shabaab overtook the village and abducted several NGO aid workers following the Jubaland retreat.
The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to be very active in the east. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out four attacks in North Kivu, one of which – in Anzuma – was claimed by Islamic State (although doubts remain). On May 13th, an unidentified militia attacked the Ebola Treatment Centre in Katwa, but was repelled by the military. The Centre was set on fire the following day. In South Kivu, communal clashes continued between armed groups associated with the Ngumino and Banyamulenge in the Minembwe region, displacing a reported 20,000 to 25,000 civilians. Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) moved of an estimated 3,000 of their combatants into the Kalehe territory, South Kivu. The concentration of forces to the area is believed to be a preparation for a possible incursion into Burundi. This development has alarmed local civil society organizations who have called for security forces to be deployed to the area.
Lastly, political tensions are high in the Central African Republic and Sudan.
In the Central African Republic, the implementation of the Peace Agreement continues to be contentious. The Coalition for National Defense and Security (CNDS) and Popular Front for the Renaissance of Central Africa (FPRC), both ex-Seleka groups, have accused the Government of the Central African Republic of violating the peace agreement this week. This stems from the deployment of military forces to Kaga-Bandoro, Nana-Grebizi a stronghold of the Patriotic Movement for the Central African Republic (MPC) on May 5th. The government troops, who were escorted by MINUSCA withdrew from the city on the same day as their deployment, leaving the town under the control of the MPC.
In Sudan, Alliance for Freedom-backed protests against the Transitional Military Council continued. Though leaders of both groups were expected to come to an agreement as to the civilian and military make-up of the body of the tentative governing body this week, negotiations between the two groups were suspended for 72 hours on May 16th. Immediately leading up to the breakdown of negotiations, a security contingent violently dispersed a large demonstration in central Khartoum, leading to five reported fatalities and 14 injuries over several days. The attacks drew international condemnation and sparked further demonstrations throughout the country.
Charles Vannice
Global Program Officer
Charles Vannice is a Global Program Officer at ACLED. With a background in political science and education, his interests include insurgency and politically driven conflict with a focus on East Africa and Nigeria. Charles’ past research includes work with the Institute for Policy and Social Research at the University of Kansas, where his focus was on the Indian sub-continent and Afghanistan.
Tagged on: Central African Republic Democratic Republic of Congo Niger Nigeria Somalia Sudan
Charles Vannice 21/05/2019 Africa, Analysis, Regional Overviews
← No Home Field Advantage: The Expansion of Boko Haram’s Activity Outside of Nigeria in 2019
Regional Overview – Asia
21 May 2019 →
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Game of Thrones Stars Rose Leslie and Kit Harington tied the Knot
Sunday 24 June, 2018
Asad Zahid
Many people are calling it a match made in Westeros when Game of Thrones stars Rose Leslie and Kit Harington tied the knot in Aberdeen, Scotland on Saturday. Several co-stars from Game of Thrones attended the wedding including Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage and Sophie Turner.
Leslie and Harrington announced their engagement last year in September. Kit Harrington plays the character of Jon Snow on the Game of Thrones which is a hot HBO series. The final season of Game of Thrones is set to release next year.
Rose Leslie played the character of Ygritte which was a courageous warrior and Jon Snow’s love interest. The character was killed off in the fourth season; however, the on-screen chemistry sustained in the real life as well.
The relationship that ensued was kept low key by both Kit Harrington and Leslie Rose and they have been dating for several years. At Oliver Awards in London in 2016, they went public as a couple on the red carpet. Both Leslie and Harrington are 31 years old. Leslie currently stars in a legal drama “The Good Fight.”
The marriage took place at the bride’s ancestral castle in Scotland with a church service. The guests and the couple arrived at the Rayne Church in the afternoon which is close to the 900-year-old Wardhill Castle in Scotland. The couple then got in a Land Rover embellished with paper hearts and tin cans as they drove to the reception held at the Wardhill Castle.
“It is an absolutely lovely day for us” said the father of the bride, Sebastian Leslie. Rose Leslie grew up in Aberdeenshire before moving to London to pursue her career.
"If you're already attracted to someone, and then they play your love interest in the show, it becomes very easy to fall in love" said Kit Harrington.
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A Pair of Two Extremely Classic Stories
Charlie and Lola: Classic Gift Slipcase
Paperback / softback Publication Date: 26/04/2017
A beautiful slipcase edition of two classic Charlie & Lola hardbacks "I am NOT sleepy and I WILL NOT got to bed" and I will not ever NEVER eat a tomato"..
I have this little sister Lola. She is small and very funny.
Sometimes Charlie has to try and get his little sister Lola to go to bed. This is a hard job because Lola likes to stay up late. Lola says, "I am not slightly sleepy at 6 or 7 or 8. I am still wide awake at 9 and not at all tired at 10, 11 and 12 and I will probably still be perky at even 13 o'clock in the morning."
Lola is a fussy eater. She won't eat her carrots until Charlie reveals they are orange twiglets from Jupiter. She won't eat her mashed potatoes until Charlie explains they're cloud puff from the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji. There are many things Lola won't eat, including tomatoes, or will she?
Lauren Child burst on to the children’s books scene in 1999 and has since published many bestselling and award-winning books, including those featuring the hugely popular Charlie and Lola, and the Clarice Bean series.
She has won numerous awards including the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal and the Smarties Gold Award.
Her books have been made into an award-winning TV series and have sold in many languages with runaway success.
Be the first to review A Pair of Two Extremely Classic Stories.
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Therapists/Professionals
Rebecca Finds Freedom on the Water
Rebecca Hopkins has always loved sports and outdoor activities. She was a keen soccer player as a child. She ran her first road race aged 12 and came first in her age group just three weeks after brain surgery to remove a tumour. A keen cross country runner she placed in the top 20 in the National Junior Olympic competition and earned all state honours three times in her high school.
Rebecca also began riding her bike in the Pan Mass Challenge to raise money for the “Jimmy Fund”: a national organization that raises money for kids fighting cancer. Over a two-year period she raised over $24,000 for the cure.
But Rebecca’s greatest love is water skiing. She first learned to ski around age six and over the years graduated from two skis to one and finally bare foot.
Rebecca has always enjoyed working with children and graduated from college with a degree in early childhood education. In 2012 shortly after spending a year teaching in Japan, Rebecca returned home and began experiencing severe headaches. The MRI showed the brain tumour had returned and she would require a second brain surgery and radiation. The surgery and radiation left her partially blind in her right eye and partially paralyzed in her right leg and arm. In short Rebecca would no longer be able to water ski, bike or do many of the other things she loved to do.
Rebecca joined the YMCA “Live Strong” program that helps to rehabilitate people recovering from cancer. The target was to work on strengthening her right-hand side. As Rebecca did not have enough gripping strength her parents had to hold her hand onto the different exercise equipment.
After spending a while looking Rebecca’s mother came across Active Hands while searching the web. In an instant she realized that it was just what they were looking for to give Rebecca back her independence, help her in the gym and get her back to her love of water-skiing.
Rebecca water-skis with a specially adapted system. She is attached to the training pole by her Active Hand gripping aid, a mountain climbing harness attached via a heavy duty karabiner and a cord: providing her with a three-point connection. This protects her from an uncontrolled fall yet still gives her the responsibility for controlling the ski.
Mark, Rebecca’s father says:
“Once again I can’t tell you how much Rebecca looks forward to skiing, it makes her feel normal and the joy it brings her is priceless, without the Active Hand she would just be another kid sitting on the side-lines with only memories about what life was like before cancer.”
Rebecca also uses her Active Hands gripping aids with her specially designed bike. We hope that she can use it to try other activities that our customers have told us about such as climbing or off-road riding. Why not take a look at our products page for more ideas?
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North Country’s Hal Smith, Mayberry’s Affable Town Drunk
by Lawrence P. Gooley
For millions of people, holidays are all about going home, returning to one’s roots of family and friends. That concept was epitomized by a North Country man who attained great fame in Hollywood, but to his great credit never forgot the home folks — and to their credit, the home folks never forgot him. Whenever he returned to the North Country, or old friends visited him in California, there was always an exchange of love, admiration, and deep appreciation.
He was born in northern Michigan in 1916 as Harold John Smith, about as anonymous a name as one can imagine, and likely one that stirs no sense of recognition. But if Otis Campbell were mentioned, many would instantly recall Mayberry’s affable town drunk from The Andy Griffith Show.
By coincidence, Harold John Smith is the given name of another star from the early days of television — Jay Silverheels, an Ontario native who played Tonto in The Lone Ranger series. But the Smith we’re interested in here was known widely as Hal, who became one of the most famous Massena residents in the town’s history. He arrived in St. Lawrence County in a roundabout way, in part because of family ties that ran deep in the Adirondacks and North Country.
His father, Jay, born in Michigan, was a millwright who maintained and repaired equipment at a variety of locations. In his early 20s, he found work in the northern Adirondacks at St. Regis Falls, where he met and became enamored with Emma Ploof of Dickinson Center (modern-day home of Joyce Mitchell, an infamous key player in the 2015 escape from Clinton Prison). Smith moved to Coinjock, North Carolina, near the Atlantic coast, but returned to upstate New York in December of that year and married Emma. They lived in Coinjock for more than two years, visiting family in the Adirondacks at least once annually before returning to the region in 1906, when Jay was hired by A. Augustus Low as superintendent of his mill at Horseshoe, southwest of Tupper Lake. He was also employed at Long Lake West (now Sabattis), located four miles farther southwest.
A devastating fire in 1908 destroyed Long Lake West, including the cattle and property of Jay Smith. Shortly after, the family returned to live in the southern United States. There daughters Kathleen (1912) and Bernadeen (1914) were born. From locations in Virginia and North Carolina, the Smiths moved to northern Michigan, where sons Harold (1916) and Glenford (1918) were born before the family returned once again to the South. In 1923 in Wilmington, North Carolina, just before he turned seven, Hal made his first show-business appearance when he and younger brother Glen played the imps that emerged from Pandora’s Box.
During all the moving from state to state, the Smiths made at least one trip home per year to St. Regis Falls and nearby villages to visit with friends and family. In 1926, they moved back north to Dickinson Center, where they lived on the 200-acre family farm, which was then operated by Emma’s brother, Arthur Ploof. The following year, Jay found work about 20 miles northwest, at Alcoa Aluminum in Massena, where the Smiths settled into a home at 12 Brighton Street and became part of the community. The children — Kathleen (15), Bernadeen (13), Hal (11), and Glen (9) — were enrolled in the Massena school system, where they would, in time, join in many activities that played a part in Hal’s future.
Jay was known among his coworkers as very funny, entertaining, and a great story teller, traits that he may well have passed on to his children, who seemed to love an audience. The girls, older than their brothers, took part in school plays, and by 1929, all four Smith children were playing roles in school presentations and in shows hosted by local organizations like the Maccabees, the PTA, and different churches. In an interview decades later, Hal recalled that the four siblings appeared in the amateur shows at Cohen’s Theater, earning five dollars a week.
In 1931, Kathleen and Bernadeen danced and presented vaudeville acts as the Smith Sisters, while Hal and Glen sang with friends Robert Houmiel and Earl Dutton as a quartet, the Cement Mixers. The boys made a number of appearances and often sang between acts of stage plays. Each of the Smith children performed one or more roles in most of the local stage productions. On one very busy night, Hal sang with the chorus, joined a friend in a duet, and did a solo as well.
When he was still just 14, he got his first big break, courtesy of the Kings of Rhythm, a local band led by Joe Calipari, who remained Hal’s friend for life. In the Massena Observer in 1964, reporter Leonard Prince related the story of Smith’s first big night out. As Hal told it, he arrived home at 11 p.m. after the gig, and his dad read him the riot act. “What kind of outlaw are you going to turn out to be?” he said, and when Hal said he had played with the band, his father replied, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Prince also wrote, “Smith recalled how Calipari and his band would play at the old Hilltop Pavilion just out of Norwood. People would come and stand outside to hear the music; they wouldn’t come in and pay the price. Sometimes, a musician got a quarter.” The story recalls a similar story from my own past. When a local hotspot, The Pavilion (near Rouses Point on the shores of Lake Champlain) was filled to capacity, we stood outside among the cars and listened to the music.
During their high-school years, Kathleen and Bernadeen directed and acted in elaborate programs presented at several venues, including the school and the opera house. Glen and Hal often sang and played roles in different acts of each play. At other times, he and Glen appeared as a duo, comically billing themselves as the Smith Brothers—Cough & Drop, and sometimes as the Smith Brothers—Trade & Mark.
Next: Hal Smith, Part 2. (A nod goes to Tracy Negus Robertson, whom Jill and I met when we were guests at TAUNY in Canton in early December. While perusing one of my books, she noticed a story about a character from The Andy Griffith Show, Arnold Winkler, who was played by a child actor from Plattsburgh. She mentioned that Otis was from Massena, and that started me digging, which culminated in this five-part review of his remarkable life. Thanks, Tracy!)
Photos: Hal Smith; 1935 advertisement for Joe Calipari and His Kings of Rhythm; from the future, Hal with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts
Hal Smith, Massena’s Shining Star (Part 4)
Hal Smith, Alias Otis Campbell, Massena’s Shining Star (Part 2)
Lawrence P. Gooley
Lawrence Gooley, of Clinton County, is an award-winning author who has hiked, bushwhacked, climbed, bicycled, explored, and canoed in the Adirondack Mountains for 45 years. With a lifetime love of research, writing, and history, he has authored 22 books and more than 200 articles on the region's past, and in 2009 organized the North Country Authors in the Plattsburgh area.
His book Oliver’s War: An Adirondack Rebel Battles the Rockefeller Fortune won the Adirondack Literary Award for Best Book of Nonfiction in 2008. Another title, Terror in the Adirondacks: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert F. Garrow, was a regional best-seller for four years running.
With his partner, Jill Jones, Gooley founded Bloated Toe Enterprises in 2004, which has published 83 titles to date. They also offer editing/proofreading services, web design, and a range of PowerPoint presentations based on Gooley's books.
Bloated Toe’s unusual business model was featured in Publishers Weekly in April 2011. The company also operates an online store to support the work of other regional folks. The North Country Store features more than 100 book titles and 60 CDs and DVDs, along with a variety of other area products.
Tags: Arts, Massena, Performing Arts
I’m anxiously anticipating the next part, Larry!!!! This is a great story!
Joe Gray says:
A Massena guy, John D. Michaud III, wrote a book a few years back with lots of info. He has spoken with Smith a number of times. The book is called More Than Just Otis.
Thanks Terry. Please note that I’ve asked Adk Alm to revise the title they used. The original title said nothing about Hal being a native, and he wasn’t, as I noted at the beginning of paragraph two. He was a transplant who very happily adopted Massena as his hometown. I do love his story, and I think you’ll enjoy the rest of it as well.
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New Logo Reintroduces the National Park Service
Public engagement campaign aims to reach millennials
By Michelle Castillo
The National Park Service’s 100-year anniversary isn’t until 2016, but it's celebrating early by getting a face-lift for its logo. It’s all part of a new campaign rolling out in the next two years called “Find Your Park,” meant to expose the national park system to millennials and multicultural communities.
“Looking at the continued relevancy of the parks, it was obvious we needed to bring awareness to a younger generation, to reintroduce the parks to those [who] have been enjoying them and to those who did not have an awareness of them,” said National Park Foundation president Neil Mulholland.
The National Park Foundation, the nonproft arm of the National Park Service, hired Grey New York to help with rebranding. Ken Dowling, a partner at the Grey Group, said that part of the challenge was introducing millennials and other new communities to the national parks without alienating loyal park-goers.
“I don’t think it’s been on the millennials' radar," Dowling said.
While the iconic arrowhead will still be prominently featured in the logo and is not going away, the revamped design will show the connection between the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation.
“The centennial is the perfect time to completely align our two organizations, and with partners throughout the parks community, introduce—or reintroduce—the national parks and the National Park Service’s work with communities to every American,” director of the National Park Service Jonathan Jarvis said via email.
The freshened-up logo will be featured in the upcoming Disneynature documentary Bears, set for release April 18. Disneynature will also make a donation through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to the National Park Foundation.
Besides the logo redesign, Jarvis will be holding a Reddit AMA. It will be the first time the National Park Service has participated with the online link-sharing community.
Both the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation will also launch special centennial-themed Web pages today in preparation for a massive digital platform push in 2015.
And, the National Park Foundation is also going to jump on the Instagram bandwagon. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, you’ll be able to see pics of your favorite parks on social media.
The national parks get almost 300 million visitors annually, but Mulholland said the majority of those visitors tend to be baby boomers. The organization realized that if it wants to stay relevant, it has to reach out to millennials in a language they understand: social media.
During the recent government shutdown, 7.88 million visitors were turned away from park gates. It brought attention to the system’s vulnerability.
But, Mulholland said, people were not aware that there was a National Park Foundation. He’s hoping that by connecting the two organizations, it will show the public there is a way to help out and donate.
“There was a heightened awareness about expectations from the federal government and their responsibilities,” Mulholland said. “The American people in the private sector are willing to provide support.”
http://adweek.it/1itRPVr
Paid Media Strategist (Work From Home)
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Home / News and Events / African Development Bank President tells African youth to get into agriculture
African Development Bank President tells African youth to get into agriculture
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina has urged African youth to get involved in agriculture, saying that the Bank has invested massively in jobs for youth in rural areas and that the sector offers enormous potential.
Adesina was speaking Saturday 6 April as a member of a panel discussing Africa’s youth population, jobs and migration, during the Ibrahim Governance Weekend organised in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The panel was chaired by former UN diplomat Valerie Amos and included Hailemairam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia, Abdourahmane Cisse, Energy minister, Côte d’Ivoire, Roberta Gatti, Chief Economist of the Human Development practice group in the World Bank, and Natasha Kimani, head of programmes at communications firm Well Told Story.
“What Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world … Who drinks oil, who smokes gas? But you all had breakfast this morning...The food business is a big business but we have to make it a cool business for youth. Young people have to get into agriculture and treat it as a professional career, not as a way of life, and not as a developmental activity,” Adesina said.
It was not enough to talk about Africa’s potential, such as the oft-cited figures about the continent’s burgeoning youth market: the potential has to be transformed into outcomes, Adesina said.
The Bank had launched the $374 million ENABLE Youth programme in 2017, which aims ultimately to support over 300,000 youth-owned businesses. Six projects with ENABLE Youth components have been approved for a total of $774 million, and 15 ENABLE Youth projects are included in the Bank’s 2017-2019 project pipeline.
Agriculture is just one of the areas where the Bank was investing in young people. It had also initiated funds worth more than $200 million to support high-risk enterprises, fin-techs and other youth-owned businesses.
65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land is in Africa and the sector could generate a market of $1 trillion by 2030. “You want to be a billionaire? You want to be a millionaire? Get into agriculture,” said Adesina.
Desalegn agreed with Adesina that agriculture could cure many economic ills.
“We need smart agriculture … Agriculture can take most of our people into the economy. We need digital as well. We need to have IT as well as digital infrastructure,” said Desalegn.
In her remarks, Natasha Kimani called on young people to demand more of their governments and hold them accountable. “Ask the tough questions,” she said.
Young people’s ambitions were often dismissed, Kimani said. “We need to change how we talk about young people; how we talk to young people.”
Adesina said the fate of young and old were bound up together. He said if young people did not prosper, they could not contribute as taxpayers, potentially restricting pension funding for their elders.“ We must invest in hope. The young people, they are the hope of the continent. And that is not a conversation for tomorrow. It’s a conversation for today,” said Adesina. Over the weekend, Adesina also held bilateral meetings with former South African and Mozambican First Lady Graca Machel, chair of the Graca Machel Trust and various other officials to discuss future and ongoing partnerships with the African Development Bank.
The Mo Ibrahim Governance Weekend brings together some of Africa’s most influential political, business and thought leaders, civil society, and multilateral institutions. This year’s event focused on African migration, one of the major factors to affect the continent over the next decade.
The Foundation is the creation of Mohammed Ibrahim, a Sudanese-British businessman.
Chawki Chahed
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Top teacher award goes to another WMU grad
Contact: Deanne Puca
Cara Lougheed
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—For the second year in a row, the Michigan Department of Education has selected a Western Michigan University alumna as its top teacher. Cara Lougheed, a teacher at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Hills, was surprised May 8 when Interim State Superintendent Sheila Alles named her the 2019-20 Teacher of the Year during an all-school assembly.
"Ms. Lougheed has an incredible ability to forge meaningful relationships with those around her, whether it's students in her English class, or college students she's mentoring to become our next generation of educators," Alles said. "She cares about their long-term success, both inside and outside the classroom, and provides them with the tools necessary to be lifelong learners. She is an inspirational educator who truly embodies what it means to put students first."
Governor Gretchen Whitmer added, "Ms. Lougheed has dedicated her life to helping our students get ahead. Throughout her more than two decades of teaching, she has touched countless lives and inspired her students and colleagues. Michigan is a great state because of the dedicated teachers like Cara who work tirelessly to make sure their students get a great public education. I'm proud to congratulate her on her outstanding service to our state, and I am committed to making sure Cara and teachers everywhere are treated with the respect they deserve."
Lougheed began her teaching career at Rochester High School in 1998 and was a founding staff member of Stoney Creek High School when it opened in the fall of 2001. She earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from WMU's College of Education and Human Development and a Master of Arts in teaching and learning from Florida's Nova Southeastern University.
During her career, she has taught thousands of students and mentored numerous future teachers; and she has inspired her colleagues for more than two decades throughout Rochester Community Schools and Oakland County.
Outside of the classroom, Lougheed has served as a social studies teacher leader, building activities director, district union representative and a National Education Association delegate. She has worked collaboratively with colleagues and administrators to write curriculum, design an attendance incentive program for students, and contribute to various projects aimed at increasing student connectedness and improving school culture.
Lougheed's selection comes after a months-long, multi-level competitive process. She was one of more than 400 teachers nominated for the award in the fall of 2018. The field was narrowed twice, and Lougheed was named one of the state's 10 Regional Teachers of the Year in April. Of the 10 finalists, Lougheed was chosen to receive the state's top honors.
She was one of two WMU alumnae to be included as this year's regional top 10. The other graduate was Katie Farrell, a first-grade teacher at Bauer Elementary in Hudsonville Public Schools who earned a bachelor's degree in early childhood and elementary education and a master's degree in literacy studies from WMU.
The Michigan Department of Education uses the Teacher of the Year program to recognize outstanding educators across the state and creates an avenue for them to share their voice with the department and other education stakeholders as they work to make Michigan a top-10 education state in 10 years.
As the state's newest top teacher, Lougheed will chair the Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Committee, which is comprised of each year's cohort of regional teachers of the year. She also will have a nonvoting seat on the State Board of Education during its regular monthly meetings.
Last year's top state teacher also is a Bronco alumna. Laura Chang, a two-time WMU graduate, was the 2018-19 Michigan Teacher of the Year. She is a second-grade teacher at Sunset Elementary School in Vicksburg and part-time instructor of special education and literacy studies at the University who earned bachelor's and master's degrees from WMU.
WMU's College of Education and Human Development has the longest-standing history at the University. Since its inception as Western State Normal School in 1903, WMU has impacted millions of lives through preparing committed and well-equipped education professionals with its diverse program offerings, innovative educational practices, and diverse and challenging educational experiences.
Discover what the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies can do for you
For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.
WMU grad and instructor is named state's top teacher | June 8, 2018
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Kore and the Eleusinian Mysteries: A Tarot Spread to Encounter Persephone
Posted on August 5, 2011 by Literata
I’ve finished Level 2 of my studies with the Order of the White Moon! Here’s my goddess project for this level. It’s also in the OWM Goddess Gallery with images.
The rituals of the Eleusinian Mysteries centered on the worship of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. In the context of the Mysteries, Persephone was known by the title Kore, which means simply “Maiden.” Although the exact details of how Kore was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries have been lost, you can use the Tarot spread in this project as inspiration for your own encounter with the goddess.
The Eleusinian Mysteries were a series of rituals that culminated in mystical initiation; they were held in and near the Greek city of Eleusis, a day’s walk from Athens, from approximately 1500 BCE to 392 CE. Even though the Mysteries endured for almost two millennia and attracted initiates from across the Hellenistic world, we know surprisingly few details, because initiates took a sacred vow of secrecy. We do know that they focused on the worship of Demeter and Kore. Reconstructing the Mysteries is a tricky process of interpolating the gaps in archaeological evidence with what we know about the myths of Demeter and Persephone/Kore. Since the myths themselves are many-layered and often conflicting, mythologists can end up going in circles.
One theory, advanced by authors following the lead of C. G. Jung and Karl Kerenyi, holds that the Mysteries included a ritual drama. Initiates may have witnessed or even participated in a reenactment of Demeter’s search for Persephone after her abduction by Hades. The drama may have been drawn from the story as told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter or the Orphic hymns, although there are multiple theories on exactly which parts of the many interlocking stories were told and how the drama had such a significant effect on the initiates. [1]
A second major theory emerged from scientific investigation into entheogens and their historical use. A ritual drink, the kykeon, was consumed during the Mysteries; ethnomycologists speculate that the kykeon may have been a hallucinogen. The kykeon, was made from barley, and barley can harbor the ergot fungus, which has been shown to produce chemicals related to LSD. [2] This theory is improbable, given the difficulties of creating a safe and reliable hallucinogen with the technology of the day, especially since ergot is often poisonous. Extraordinary experiences were part of mystery cults, but any trance or ecstatic states were likely achieved through more reliable spiritual technologies such as fasting, dancing, and disorientation from sensory overload by sudden light and loud sounds. [3]
The most intriguing speculations have to do with the results of the ritual: many authors throughout the time of the Mysteries attested that initiates were unafraid of death. They reported that initiates were assured of having a special place in the afterlife which was much more pleasant and joyful than the rather dull and dreary existence led by the shades of the uninitiated. Since Persephone ruled as Queen of the Underworld, it made sense that she could provide special privileges for those who were devoted to her in life. [4]
We do know that large fire was lit in the main building on the night of the initiation. [5] One possibility is that in the climactic ritual, this fire may have been used in a symbolic way to make the initiates immortal, as the Homeric Hymn tells us Demeter tried to do with the infant Demophoon (whom she cared for while Persephone was missing). [6] Another possibility is that the rites were connected with an assurance of rebirth, since Persephone is also described in the Orphic hymns as “parent of the vine,” that is, of Dionysos (also called Zagreus and Euboleus), who died and was reborn multiple times in myth. [7]
The worship of Demeter and Kore was not just about the afterlife, though; another symbolic interpretation of the myths is that Kore is a personification of grain crops, literally the bread of life. One of the few statements we have about what went on at the Eleusinian Mysteries is that a single stalk of grain was exhibited, and even if that account is not reliable, Demeter and Persephone are both often shown with grain as their symbol or as as their gift to humankind. [8] Similarly, Hades, the god of the underworld was alternately known as Ploutos, the wealth-giver, who carries the cornucopia as a symbol of his relationship to abundance not just in terms of minerals below ground but also fertility above it. [9]
In the older Greek tellings of this myth, Persephone actually spent the summer underground, not the winter. In the Greek climate, grain was planted in the fall, grew over the winter, was reaped in the spring, and was stored for summer, often underground. Winter, not summer, was a time of growth and fertility. The heat of summer was seen as less lively and more dangerous, and summer was the military campaigning season. In contrast, winters were mild and rainy, and the time when growth was most abundant. Kore is now thought of as a spring goddess, because retellings of the myth were adapted to fit other climates. However, the Eleusinian Mysteries echo the original Greek ecological rhythms. The Mysteries were celebrated at the end of September or beginning of October, corresponding with the fall planting. [10]
One of the best introductions to the Eleusinian Mysteries is the first chapter of Hugh Bowden’s Mystery Cults of the Ancient World, where he describes the Eleusinian Mysteries as the most famous and best-known of all mystery cults. Bowden accepts that we cannot know precisely what occurred, but gives many details about the rituals that can be known, especially from relatively recently unearthed archaeological evidence. The festival was preceded by priests and priestesses of Eleusis going to Athens, taking with them sacred objects, hiera, in baskets. These objects were not shown to the uninitiated, and although we can speculate that they may have been statues or symbols such as a stalk of grain, we do not know for sure.
The festival started in Athens itself, where initiates had to go to the shore to wash themselves and a piglet in the ocean and then sacrifice the piglet. A few days later they walked in a processional to Eleusis, carrying the sacred objects back with them, and entered the sanctuary, where they rested and drank the kykeon. The secret initiation ritual took place at night, and the euphemistic descriptions of it usually separate it into three parts: things said, things shown, and things done. Of these, the things shown were the most important part. This was when the sacred hiera were exhibited, and the primary priest who showed them to the initiates derived his title from the role: he was the hierophant, he who makes the hiera appear.
This sacred vision, made possible by the large fire, is emphasized as the central part of the initiation by descriptions of initiates as those who had seen the Mysteries. This worship of Kore revolved around an encounter with her, coming face-to-face with the goddess through ritual, rather than on beliefs or explanations. Bowden suggests that initiates developed their own understandings of what they had seen and experienced, which helps explain the overlapping and even conflicting profusion of myths. This process of meaning-making is similar to the way we interpret a Tarot reading by reflecting on it to construct a coherent meaning in a particular context, adapting our understanding and the cards’ images to fit together smoothly.
This Tarot spread takes the form of a stalk of grain and can be an image for you to contemplate as you strive to connect with Kore. It could be done at the beginning of your relationship to her, to gain insight into ways you might try to get to know her better, or to gain insight into a past experience where you felt her presence in your life. Each position is named after something related to the Eleusinian Mysteries, indicating roles the cards can play in your experience. This spread is not as much about divination or understanding the future as it is a way to begin to have an encounter with the goddess. If you want to invoke her promise of guidance in the afterlife and potential for rebirth, light a candle, or better yet, do this reading by firelight.
Positions in the Kore spread
6 8
1 – Offering: This card may symbolize what you need to give up or leave behind you as you begin your metaphorical journey. It may also be the thing you will do (rather than something to stop doing) to make an offering to the goddess.
2 – Procession: This card represents something that separates your everyday life from your experiences of encountering the goddess (future or past). It symbolizes both the way initiates plunged into the ocean and the long journey on foot to Eleusis afterwards.
3 – Torch: Something or someone who lights your way as you travel appears in this image. This may be closely related to Hecate, who helped bring Persephone back from the Underworld.
4 – Kykeon: Like the ritual drink of barley-water, this card is something that you take into yourself which is unique to your encounter with Kore, possibly something that takes the place of what you gave in offering.
5 – Basket: Representing the baskets in which secret sacred objects were carried in procession, this card holds an image of something that may have a meaning unique to you. What do you take with you to encounter the goddess?
6 – Things said: Interpret this card in the context of a communication that reflects a part of the mysteries of the goddess.
7 – Things seen: This is an experience that was part of the mysteries. Ask yourself how others have played the role of the goddess to you.
8 – Things done: Let this card inspire you to find ways that you may play the role of the goddess towards others.
9 – Stalk of grain: The way you find the encounter appearing in your everyday life afterward may be deceptively simple, but full of meaning. What will you take away from your encounter? What seeds will you plant? And what will your blessings or wealth be?
To make the “stalk of grain” shape more apparent, tilt the cards on either side (3, 6, 5, and 8) a little away from the central line.
Note that if the Hierophant card appears in this reading, it should be interpreted in a positive light with reference to the original hierophant’s role as a priest of Kore’s mysteries, and not with negative associations with hierarchy, rigidly formalized religion, or the Christian associations of the Pope.
[1] C. G. Jung and C. Kerenyi, Essays on a Science of Mythology: The Myth of the Divine Child and the Mysteries of Eleusis, trans. R. F. C. Hull. Princeton University Press, 1969, and Karl Kerényi, Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter, trans. Ralph Manheim, Princeton University Press, 1991. (Transliteration of Kerenyi’s first name varied between Carl and Karl.)
[2] R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hoffman, and Carl A. P. Ruck, The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978. First chapter available online.
[3] Hugh Bowden, Mystery Cults of the Ancient World, Princeton University Press, 2010, p 43.
[4] Bowden, p 26, 48.
[5] Kerenyi, p 92.
[6] Marvin W. Meyer, ed., The Ancient Mysteries, a Sourcebook: Sacred Texts of the Mystery Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean World, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999, p 26.
[7] Meyer, p 104-5. Although the phrase is rendered there as “maiden rich in fruits,” the text still makes it clear that Dionysos is Persephone’s son. A different translation of the Orphic hymns including the phrase “parent of the vine” is available online.
[8] Meyer, p 19. This account is from Hippolytus, a Christian who was writing about the mysteries in a negative light without himself being an initiate, so it must be treated with care, but the repeated grain symbology elsewhere makes it one of the more likely possibilities.
[9] Wikipedia describes Plouton and Ploutos as being conflated although originally separate; in another instance of overlapping myths, one of them he may have been Demeter’s son who was merged into the figure of the other, her son-in-law. The Orphic hymns refer to him as Plouton and wealth-giver simultaneously.
[10] Bowden, p 31.
This entry was posted in divination, Tarot, theaology and tagged divination, goddess, Kore, nature, Persephone, ritual, Tarot, theaology. Bookmark the permalink.
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Archives For character
Mirror, Mirror: Show the Hero?
QUESTION: Why are writers told not to use mirrors to provide character descriptions?
ANSWER: Many writers use mirrors as a way to sneak character description into their stories with minimal effort. Seasoned writers avoid this method, because it’s considered lazy writing. In fact, the use of mirrors as a way to provide the description of a character has been done so often that it’s considered a cliché.
How to Describe the Viewpoint Character
The reason writers tend to use mirrors (or reflections) is that the protagonist is often the viewpoint character. Writers don’t want to commit point-of-view errors, and mirrors are a convenient way to allow the viewpoint character to see and describe herself. Fortunately, there are ways to provide character descriptions without resorting to mirrors. One method is to use other characters to give a description through dialogue. Another method is to have the viewpoint character look at another character and compare that character’s physical appearance or clothing to her own. It’s also possible to drop subtle hints. For example, if the character is a petite cheerleader named Joan, one could write something like:
Joan didn’t get along with Molly, the head cheerleader, but Molly needed her for the top of the pyramid.
Then readers will have a reasonable idea about Joan’s size.
Breaking the Rule
Most of the time, it’s best to come up with a way to describe a character without using reflections or mirrors. Of course, there are successful authors who break this rule. The Moonlit Garden, by Corinna Bomann (translated by Alison Layland), begins with a character looking into a mirror. The opening line is simple: “Helen Carter gazed in bewilderment at her reflection in the mirror.” A description of the character’s cheeks, eyes, and makeup ensues. At the time of this writing, this book has 3,279 reviews on Amazon.com that average four stars. The book also begins with a prologue, but that’s a topic for another day.
In On Writing, Readers Ask character, description, hero, mirror, protagonist, reflection, The Moonlit Garden, Write Something You Love
When to Introduce the Protagonist
QUESTION: Should the protagonist be introduced on the first page?
ANSWER: Experienced writers often introduce the protagonist on the first page. To create empathy for the hero, get readers interested in him as close to the beginning of the story as possible. There are exceptions. Some writers choose to introduce the antagonist first. Although it’s less common, minor characters can appear in prologues and framing devices.
There are disadvantages to delaying the protagonist’s introduction. Readers like to experience a story through the eyes of one character and go on an emotional journey with that character. If the first character the reader meets is not the protagonist, the reader might feel disoriented and stop reading. It’s important to show a clear connection between the first character introduced and the protagonist in cases when the story opens with a character other than the protagonist.
In The Terminator, the nemesis (a cyborg from the future) appears first. This technique works because a powerful antagonist creates anticipation and concern for the protagonist (a waitress named Sarah Connor). While this example is from film, writers of thrillers often begin novels in a similar fashion.
Still, one of the chief reasons agents pass on manuscripts is a lack of empathy for the protagonist. To prevent this problem, show what makes the main character tick pronto. Convey the protagonist’s essence. A good opening scene sums up who the character is at his core using actions. The protagonist should show his defining qualities (admirable traits, serious flaws) through his behavior. While there are exceptions to nearly all writing guidelines, new writers benefit from using proven methods. Authors rarely go wrong by introducing the protagonist first.
In On Writing, Readers Ask character, hero, introduction, protagonist, Write Something You Love
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Wrongful Convictions Blog
addressing wrongful conviction and actual innocence issues around the globe
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The Dark Side of Crime Stoppers – False Information and Police Tunnel Vision
Posted on December 20, 2012 by Phil Locke | 14 Comments
You’re probably familiar with Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers first began in Albuquerque, NM during July 1975. Two weeks after a fatal shooting, the police had no information, when out of desperation, Detective Greg MacAleese approached the local television station requesting a reconstruction of the crime. The re-enactment offered $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killers. Within 72 hours, a person called in identifying a car leaving the scene at high speed, and he had noted its registration. The person calling said that he did not want to get involved, so he had not called earlier. Detective MacAleese then realized that fear and apathy were the primary reasons why the public tended not to get involved. So he helped establish a system where the public could anonymously provide details of crime events that offered cash rewards for information leading to an arrest and/or conviction. Since its first chapter was officially formed in Albuquerque in 1976, Crime Stoppers has spread across the United States, and has been responsible for more than half a million arrests and more than $4 billion in recovered property.
This all sounds very good, and I support the organization, but let’s dig deeper into the motivational aspects of why someone would phone in an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers. Someone who really wanted to do their “civic duty” would go directly to the police, and if they’re afraid of “involvement” or retribution, they can still remain anonymous. Given that anyone can provide an anonymous tip directly to the police, the real attraction of Crime Stoppers is the cash. Here are some examples from Crime Stoppers organizations across the country. The payouts are all conditioned upon either an arrest or an indictment or both.
This from the Topeka, KS Crime Stoppers website:
And here is a random sampling of the rewards offered by Crime Stoppers organizations across the country:
Crime Stoppers of Michigan – $1,000
Texas Crime Stoppers – $50,000
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay – $1,000
NYPD Crime Stoppers – $10,000, $2,000, $1,000, or $500 – depending on the crime
The problem here is that people can be tempted to provide information, even if it’s false, just to get the payout. It happens – just like jailhouse snitches will provide false information to get a deal from the prosecutor.
I have been personally involved in a case in which the defendant was convicted and imprisoned based primarily upon the initial tip by, and subsequent testimony of, an informer. This key prosecution witness has since completely recanted her testimony, and admits that she provided the initial tip for the Crime Stoppers money. Face it – when you’re a teenage school dropout with a drug habit, $800 is all the money in the world. Her initial tip, and subsequent testimony, led to a clearly wrongful conviction, and we’re still working to get the defendant released.
Money aside, some people will provide false information motivated by revenge. A typical false informer here would be the girlfriend who’s been cheated on, or dumped – just like people reporting an ex-spouse to the IRS. I’m involved in another case in which the scorned woman did just that, and the ex-boyfriend is now in prison.
Crime Stoppers has no way to verify information. They just pass it along to the police, and make the unfortunately flawed assumption that the police and prosecutors will get all the misinformation correctly sorted out, and not charge, indict, and convict innocent people.
This is where the problem with police “tunnel vision” comes in. In cognitive science, this is called “confirmation bias”. This is the compelling tendency to readily accept data and information that supports our own ideas and beliefs, and to reject or ignore data and information which contradicts, or does not support, those ideas and beliefs. Based upon a false tip, police can become “locked on” to a particular suspect, ignoring and rejecting all information that the suspect is actually innocent.
Trial prosecutor in the Chicago Dixmoor 5 case, in which five boys made false confessions, Bob Milan, made this telling quote when interviewed on CBS “60 Minutes” about the case, and what can happen when the police latch on to false information (emphasis is mine): “What happens is it’s tunnel vision. OK. They get locked in on this individual. So the anonymous phone call, the confidential informant, the well-meaning witness sends them in the wrong path.”
I know of no available data we can access to accurately dimension the scope of the problem, but I do know it does happen. I would also take the position that “once is too many”. I’m not proposing that we abolish Crime Stoppers. The problem lies in the investigative practices and protocols of the police agencies.
Here is a quote from Mark Godsey’s recent WCB post on ‘tunnel vision’. (See Tunnel Vision post here.) “Brandon Garrett, the law professor who wrote the book on wrongful convictions and why they happen, has pointed out that police and prosecutors have no obligation to pursue alternative explanations, or even to follow a particular method of investigation or keep a record explaining the course they’re taking. Which means it’s close to impossible to hold them accountable for their errors.”
So there’s actually a double problem here – lack of process & protocol in investigations and lack of error correction mechanisms. “Confirmation bias” (tunnel vision) is, unfortunately, human nature, and the way these kinds of human nature issues are dealt with in industry is through “process”. Process is figuring out the best way to do something under a particular set of circumstances, and then making sure you do it that way every time. There should be a process for how to conduct an investigation that has safeguards built in to prevent the occurrence of “tunnel vision”, and to make sure that investigations are objective, complete, thorough, honest, and fair. There should also be some way to do a root cause analysis of why investigative errors happen when they do, and feed that information back into the process to make sure they don’t happen again. Doesn’t that sound simple and logical? Why does it not happen? I would also direct you to my previous post on Six Sigma and the justice system for more information on the subject.
This entry was posted in Editorials/Opinion, Police conduct (good and bad), Reforming/Improving the system. Bookmark the permalink.
14 responses to “The Dark Side of Crime Stoppers – False Information and Police Tunnel Vision”
Docile Jim Brady – Columbus OH 43209 | December 20, 2012 at 3:55 pm | Reply
Good write and will share .
As I recall , tunnel vision was a component of the wrongful conviction of Clarence Elkins , after his niece said the predator “looked like” her uncle .
Sue Luttner | December 21, 2012 at 2:48 pm | Reply
A concise look at a difficult problem. Human nature is complex and unreliable, but we have to try.
Martin Yant | December 22, 2012 at 11:04 am | Reply
Here’s another problem with Crime Stoppers: The group’s records are generally not considered public, so it’s impossible to exactly how the tip came in or how it was processed or massaged. I worked on a case in which two supposed friends of the murder victim identified the defendant to Crime Stoppers only after his name surfaced in the rumor mill. These ”friends” each collected $2,000 rewards for identifying the defendant as the the person they saw leave the bar with the victim the night she was killed. Their identification was higly suspicious to me, but not to the detectives eager to solve a highly publicized case.
Pingback: Crime Stoppers Gets it Wrong … Again | Wrongful Convictions Blog
prayerwarriorpsychicnot | March 22, 2014 at 6:35 am | Reply
Reblogged this on Citizens, not serfs.
Pingback: A Major Cause of Wrongful Convictions …….. POLITICS ?! | Wrongful Convictions Blog
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Mak Allen | January 26, 2016 at 3:24 am | Reply
I requested an anonymous status be put on a statement that I gave regarding a jewelry store being robbed and within 48 hours my written statement was texted to me by the best friend of the suspect. How might we explain that?
Rowan | August 15, 2016 at 5:13 pm | Reply
Another aspect not mentioned is the potential for police to abuse the anonymous system. They are collecting illegal data from the 5 eyes spy network, which they make assumptions about when looking at “suspects”. They can’t use that lack of information to get a warrant, so they might ring up the anonymous line and then they can say they are following up on some tips from the public. There is no accountability for the police abusing this system- if the accusations on the Crimestoppers hotline prove to be false, there is no investigation done on the source. Crimestoppers is a crime in itself.
M Blatman | February 11, 2017 at 8:13 pm | Reply
The initial article is based on several false assumptions. First please show me one case where a person has been convicted of any crime based solely on a Crime Stoppers tip. I don’t believe you will find one. Crime Stoppers tips are provided to law enforcement as just that, a tip. It is up to the investigating law enforcement agency to either validate or invalidate the information provided.
Tunnel vision by investigating officers has nothing to do with Crime Stoppers. Investigators can develop tunnel vision as a result of any information provided them, either through Crime Stoppers, by a witness, a confidential informant or any other means of information provided to investigators.
Financial considerations play very little in the motivation of a person providing information to Crime Stoppers, The number one reason is the fact they can be anonymous. Statistically nationwide only about 10% of tipsters collect rewards. You have heard the saying “Snitches end up in ditches”? Even though that is rarely true, that’s why people prefer to remain anonymous.
Crime Stoppers programs all across the US, Canada and the rest of the world work because people are afraid of retribution.
Again having been involved in Crime Stoppers for more than 30 years, I have never seen a case where a conviction was based just on a crime stoppers tip.
Mad at Blatman | February 8, 2018 at 9:06 am | Reply
I was the victim of a false accusation via Crime Stoppers while in high school. The accusation alone led the school administration to expel me without no evidence. The police followed me for weeks. I was ostracized by my peers. I fell into depression and fell prey to a number of things that affect me to this day. The person who called the tip line was never found.
Are you saying that’s a good thing?
colinmunroe | February 8, 2018 at 9:07 am | Reply
Free at Last | May 16, 2018 at 9:07 pm | Reply
My mother tried to have me swatted through crimestoppers in 2000. She had just discovered that I (19 year old male) had a boyfriend (19 year old male), which apparently is a capital offense (to be fair though, it was totally illegal in 2000 for two men to love each other). So she reported I had many kilos of heroin and crack (neither of which I had ever seen in my life) and was about to trade it to, I don’t know, I guess at that quantity some very scary people? Apparently she gave enough specificity and indicia of reliability to get me raided, which was nice. I only know it was her because, when I accused her of the false report, her response was, “I’m only doing what’s best for you.”
Thanks, Mom!
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Mark Godsey
Daniel P. & Judith L. Carmichael Professor of Law,
University of Cincinnati College of Law;
Director, Center for the Global Study of Wrongful Conviction;
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Professor, California Western School of Law; Director, California Innocence Project
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Associate Professor, Shandong University Law School; Visiting Scholar, University of Cincinnati College of Law
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Professor of Criminology, Law & Society and Sociology, University of California-Irvine
Phil Locke
Science and Technology Advisor, Ohio Innocence Project and Duke Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic
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Reader in Law, Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University
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Author and Advocate
Order her book False Justice here
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Professor, Faculty of Law, Konan University Innocence Project Japan
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Successful Completion Of The Initial Public Offering
Tweet Monday, March 18, 2013
PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS STOCK EXCHANGE NOTICE
Bronderslev, 18 March 2013 – Asetek A/S (“Asetek” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its initial public offering (the “Offering”) with its shares to be listed on the main list of the Oslo Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “ASETEK”. The Offering, which was priced at NOK 36.00 per Offer Share, includes a total of 5,333,333 Offer Shares, consisting of 4,000,000 New Shares offered by the Company and 1,333,333 Secondary Shares sold on a pro rata basis by existing shareholders (the “Selling Shareholders”). In addition, 800,000 Secondary Shares, representing 15% of the Offering (excluding the over-allotment), has been allotted pursuant to an over-allotment facility. The Offering was well oversubscribed at the Offer Price. The first day of trading of the Company’s shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange will be 20 March 2013.
The board of directors of Asetek has resolved to issue 4,000,000 New Shares, each with a par value of DKK 0.10, and the Selling Shareholders have resolved to sell 1,333,333 Secondary Shares in the initial public offering of shares in Asetek on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The Selling Shareholders has furthermore granted the Joint Bookrunners an over-allotment option of up to 800,000 Secondary Shares, exercisable by Carnegie as stabilisation manager within 30 days from the first day of listing. A separate disclosure will be issued by the stabilisation manager regarding over-allotment and stabilisation activities. The Selling Shareholders are subject to a customary 180 days lock-up period following admission to the Oslo Stock Exchange.
The Offering, which was primarily subscribed by high quality international and domestic institutional investors, was priced at NOK 36.00 per Offer Share, resulting in approx. NOK 143 million (equivalent to approx. USD 25 million) in gross proceeds to the Company and a market capitalisation of Asetek (including shares held in treasury) after completion of the Offering of NOK 536 million (equivalent to USD 93 million). Following the Offering, the Company will have more than 700 shareholders.
The net proceeds to the Company resulting from the Offering will primarily be used to support Asetek’s efforts within the data center business where the Company expects strong growth going forward.
Commenting on the announcement, André S. Eriksen, Chief Executive Officer of Asetek, said: “We are very pleased with the response we have received from the investors and that we have reached this important milestone in the Company's development. The support from existing and new investors in Scandinavia, Europe and USA will enable us to pursue our ambitious growth strategy that we have been presenting and the listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange will be a first step in what we foresee as an exciting journey ahead".
Registration of the New Shares at the Danish Business Authority is expected to take place on or about Tuesday 19 March 2013. For investors in the institutional offering, delivery against payment in respect of allocated shares is expected to take place on Wednesday 20 March 2013. For investors in the retail offering, for which timely payment is received as set out in the prospectus in relation to the Offering (the “Prospectus”), delivery of allocated shares is also expected to take place on Wednesday 20 March 2013, the first day of trading in the Company’s shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
The number of issued shares in the Company following the Offering and the conversion of USD 2.4 million in nominal value of the USD 3 million convertible loan, as described in the Prospectus, will be 14,881,311, of which 13,838,031 shares are outstanding and 1,043,280 shares are held in treasury by the Company.
Carnegie AS and Arctic Securities ASA acted as joint-lead managers and joint bookrunners in connection with the Offering. Crux Kommunikasjon AS acted as IR/communications adviser.
André S. Eriksen, CEO: +1 408 398 7437
www.asetek.com
About Asetek:
Asetek is the leading provider of energy-efficient liquid cooling systems for data centers, servers, workstations, gaming and high performance PCs. The Company's products are used for reducing power and greenhouse gas emissions, lowering acoustic noise, and achieving maximum performance by leading OEMs and channel partners around the globe. Asetek's products are based upon the Company's patented all-in-one liquid cooling technology, with more than 1.3 million liquid cooling units sold and deployed in the field.
These materials are not an offer for sale of securities.
Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into the United States, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures.
The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any part of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.
Any offering of securities will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from the issuer or the joint-lead managers and that will contain detailed information about the Company and management, as well as financial statements. This document is an announcement and not a prospectus for the purposes of Directive 2003/71/EC (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State, the "Prospectus Directive"). Investors should not subscribe for any securities referred to in this document except on the basis of information contained in the prospectus.
In any EEA Member State other than Norway that has implemented the Prospectus Directive, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State.
This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) to investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) above together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Matters discussed in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "will," "may," "continue," "should" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements.
The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as at its date, and are subject to change without notice.
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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A Walk in Wilson Oryema’s Shoes (They’re Sustainable, Obviously)
Fashion & BeautyCulture Talks
Photography by Wilson Oryema
The fashion industry’s favourite poet and artist takes on The Loop – a new style from Stella McCartney composed of recyclable parts
Stella McCartney August 31, 2018
TextEmily Gosling
“If we want a better quality of life, we have to move forward together and help each other as much as possible,” muses artist, activist and model Wilson Oryema. “If we’re not doing our best by each other, then what’s the point?” Through his poetry, photography and other art practices, Oryema has used his place in the fashion world to bring conversations around environmental and sustainability issues to the fore. In doing so, he’s walking that tricky line between consumption and ethics with just the poise we’d expect from a Calvin Klein model.
Oryema’s stance beautifully echoes that of the Stella McCartney brand; and it’s little surprise he’s so taken with its Loop sneakers, which are created with entirely recyclable components. Now, you can take a closer look this innovative style, by way of The Loop Lab – an immersive new exhibition space located in Stella McCartney’s Bond Street store. In celebration of both the launch of the style and this space dedicated to it, Oryema talks to us here about what we can all do to interact with fashion in ways that are both fun and responsible; and why making eco-friendly images needn’t be all about well-worn leafy clichés.
7Wilson Oryema x The Loop
On moving away from stereotypes in sustainability-related images in his Loop art…
“A lot of the time when people are shooting for an eco project or something sustainable they feel like they need to make it nature-based. Of course it’s good to amplify the aspect of the trainer being more beneficial to the environment than a regular one, but people are complex – they don’t need to see something in a natural framework to understand that. I wanted to show Loop as a product people can get behind, without trying to push a particular agenda on them.”
On how we can interact with fashion more ethically...
“The fashion industry gets isolated a lot in conversations around consumerism and sustainability, but it’s an issue in any industry you place yourself in. It’s always an uphill battle to improve the situation and make sure we’re not being too taxing on the planet. A wonderful way to start is Fashion Revolution, an organisation that works on initiatives that focus on understanding where everything comes from. It’s a really good way to look at who actually made your clothes – what conditions they were exposed to, where the materials come from, what effect it has on the planet. Once you start thinking about those things in relation to what you have or what you want to purchase, it becomes a personal journey around what you can tolerate.”
On how art can further conversations around the environment…
“I’m a very insular or introspective person, I think about my actions and their impact on the world and how I’ve reacted to things a lot. My book started by looking at the outside world and how we consume things, and the effect it has on ourselves and the planet. People all learn in different ways, and so they’re moved by content in different ways: I might enjoy a poem which may not appeal to you at all, but you might enjoy [the same message] by watching a film, or someone else might like a great image. It’s about finding the best way to communicate.
“I work in lots of different media, and my existence in different spaces allows me to do different things. My creative work and fashion modelling work play off each other – modelling has allowed me to be more involved in the sustainability and fashion conversations; while my writing has allowed me to go to other places and do other things.”
On what we can learn from the Loop sneakers...
“The most important thing to learn is that it’s possible: there’s been a lot of innovation to get to this point, and now people can see that you can make great trainers that look good, and are comfortable, but aren’t as taxing on the environment as other products. It’s a great time-stamp to see the effects it has, and the results that will come from other people seeing how we can move forward.”
The Loop sneaker is available now.
Fashion & BeautyCulture TalksSustainability Stella McCartney
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Team Assist Jan 25, 2017 Russell Taylor Group, Management, Business...
The Russell Group are delighted to announce the acquisition of national specialist recruiter, Assist Resourcing Group. The acquisition which completed on Monday 23rd January 2017, sees the Assist Resourcing business now becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Russell Taylor Group and will trade under the name of Assist Resourcing UK Limited.
Russell Taylor Group are delighted to announce the acquisition of national specialist recruiter, Assist Resourcing Group.
The acquisition which completed on Monday 23rd January 2017, sees the Assist Resourcing business now becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Russell Taylor Group and will trade under the name of Assist Resourcing UK Limited.
Assist Resourcing Group is one of the most recognised volume resourcing businesses in the UK supporting some of the most recognised brand names across the UK.
Over the past 5 years the business has achieved record-breaking growth becoming the fastest growing recruiter in all sectors in 2015. This has been on the backdrop of the fantastic dedicated and service levels that the business has delivered to its customers.
In early 2016 the business suffered a contraction in revenue which was as a result of supporting the transition of a significant number of workers to its long term customers and not as a result of any business loss.
We are pleased to have been able to complete this acquisition and be in a position to provide the business with the long-term commitment and financial support that it requires to continue to build what is a fantastic business.
There will be no changes to the day to day business operations with all key staff and senior management transferring to the Russell Taylor Group.
Russell Taylor Group was established in 2002, a successful and fast growing group of recruitment businesses which will deliver revenues in excess of 35m this year. The Group consists of a portfolio of complimentary businesses including permanent recruitment, onsite flexible resourcing, engineering and technical staffing solutions provided to some of the UK’s most respected brands.
Ben Russell CEO of Russell Taylor Group commented: “The acquisition of Assist Resourcing Group is a key building block in our growth and development plans. Assist has relationships with its existing customers that span over 20 years and shares the values and culture that we have built at Russell Taylor"
Pass This On
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Home » Geology is Destiny
Geology is Destiny
The record of the rocks is not just the history of Earth; it’s your history too. Geologists can learn about events going back billions of years that influenced – and even made possible – our present-day existence and shaped our society.
If the last Ice Age had been a bit warmer, the rivers and lakes of the Midwest would have been much farther north and the U.S. might still be a small country of 13 states. If some Mediterranean islands hadn’t twisted a bit, no roads would have led to Rome.
Geology is big history, and the story is on-going. Human activity is changing the planet too, and has introduced its own geologic era, the Anthropocene. Will Earthlings of a hundred million years from now dig up our plastic refuse and study it the way we study dinosaur bones?
Plus, the dodo had the bad luck to inhabit a small island and couldn’t adapt to human predators. But guess what? It wasn’t as dumb as you think.
Walter Alvarez – Professor of Geology, University of California, Berkeley, and author of A Most Improbable Journey: A Big History of Our Planet and Ourselves
David Grinspoon – Senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, and author of Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future
Eugenia Gold – Instructor, Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University
Venom Diagram
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Author Interview: Robert Eggleton
Meet Robert Eggleton, Author of Rarity from the Hollow
BBB: Tell us about yourself.
RB: I’m a recently retired children’s psychotherapist with over forty years in the field of child advocacy. Rarity from the Hollow is my debut novel and follows publication of three short stories in magazines.
I earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1977 and devoted my career to helping needful children. Over these years, I’ve achieved a lot in my home state, West Virginia – impacted social services practices, policy and state statute – and, I’ve continued on with this mission by donating author proceeds from this novel to child abuse prevention.
I now write adult literary science fiction stories. My goal is to produce stories that sensitize readers to important social issues – poverty, child abuse, domestic violence, war, addiction, mental health concerns…as elements of stories that are fun to read.
I’ve wanted to become an author since winning the eighth grade short story contest at school. One of my proudest moments was reading the first of two Gold Medal book reviews awarded to Rarity from the Hollow: “…The author has managed to do what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse, and written about them with tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them… it’s a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy.” http://awesomeindies.net/ai-approved-review-of-rarity-from-the-holly-by-robert-eggleton/
I love writing and reading – everything, all genres. I’ve been married for forty-four years to the smartest person that I’ve ever met. I collect old L.P.s, especially psychedelic rock, but my listening interests are eclectic like my reading. My son is a computer geek who plays guitar and must have gotten his smarts from his mother. Tell you what, I’m an open book. If any of your readers have questions, there is a link to my personal email on the Lacy Dawn Adventures website: http://www.lacydawnadventures.com Feel free to contact me.
What inspired Rarity from the Hollow?
RE: I’ve mentioned how I’d dreamed of becoming an author for decades before pursuing my dream and how life got in the way with work and about my passion to help maltreated children. I’ve also told you about how I recently retired from my job as a children’s psychotherapist so that I could concentrate on writing and promoting my fiction. Now, I’m going to tell you about how a skinny little girl with stringy brown hair inspired me to pursue my dream of becoming an author, and how she was so inspiring that she became the real-life role model for my fictional protagonist, Lacy Dawn.
In 2006, Lacy Dawn was admitted for treatment in the intensive mental health day program where I worked. She had been severely abused and was shy at first. One day, during a group therapy session, she opened up and disclosed not only her abuse by the meanest daddy on Earth, but she spoke of her hopes and dreams for the future – finding a permanent, loving family to protect her. She was inspiring to all, especially after hearing what she had been through.
Something clicked inside me after meeting Lacy Dawn. I started to think about my own dream of writing fiction. However, I was torn between passions. It felt like I would be turning my back on needy kids if I gave up my psychotherapist job, and then it came to me that although Lacy Dawn wanted a new family, she wasn’t giving up on her biological parents. She wanted her father to get well, and for her mother to become stronger – for the world to stop being so angry and mean. That concept became Rarity from the Hollow – the most unlikely savior of the universe, an eleven year old human taking on the evil without hating it.
I wrote feverishly after work and on weekends, but it wasn’t until after I committed to donate author proceeds to child abuse prevention that I found full inspiration. Especially now that I’m in the self-promotions phase of the novel, all I have to do is to imagine the face of Lacy Dawn, and the millions of other kids in such situations, and I can defeat discouragement. Lacy Dawn was my inspiration for writing fiction and to raise money for a great cause.
BBB: Tell us about your main character.
RE: As I mentioned, Lacy Dawn is the protagonist of Rarity from the Hollow. My wife named her after I asked Rita to help write the novel. Rita said that since the mother in the story, Jenny, couldn’t afford to buy Lacy Dawn pretty things, she was at least going to give her a very pretty name at birth.
Although she occupies the body of a skinny eleven year old in the beginning of Rarity from the Hollow, Lacy Dawn is actually hundreds of thousands of years old. Lacy carries a gene that was implanted and has been monitored by Universal Management for savior attributes through many generations. This version of Lacy lives in an impoverished hollow, show strength in handling her victimization by circumstances including a mentally disabled father, and care about her family and friends. Through training via direct downloads into her brain, a port that had been installed in her upper spine, this little girl becomes the most powerful person in the universe.
Lacy Dawn is strong and powerful but never resorts to violence. She hurts but never loses control of her emotions, except once when she missed school for the first time ever. She exemplifies a driving force that motivates with patience. She falls in love, but never loses sight of her goals, and never pushes her android boyfriend, for when she’s old enough to have one, to hurry up and grow up. And, best of all, Lacy Dawn knows her limitations and how to rely on others without feeling weak. Yep, you guessed it, Lacy Dawn is my hero, scratches on her knees and stringy hair and sometimes a potty mouth and all.
Although there is some adult content in this novel, no sex scene or anything like that, Lacy Dawn is kind of old-fashioned, as well. In the story, she decides not to have sex for the first time until after she is married and not to try marijuana until after she has graduated from college. That doesn’t mean that Lacy ignores how to manipulate males – she learned how from her mother and grandmother and uses it on the android. Even after the android begins to go through human development, she never lets him get farther than to kiss her on the cheek, once. Now, that’s power!
BBB: What do you think readers will find most appealing about your book?
RE: Several people have said wonderful things about Rarity from the Hollow in their book reviews, but they all seem to emphasize different elements, and not everybody will get this story. I guess that no book is for everybody.
Some people have been impressed with the realism, while others have commented about the magical fantasy. People have noted both tragedy and comedy. The interspersing of third and first person has been a comment subject of critique and praise. The most common attribute of the novel made has been that it is unique and that’s it’s not a cookie-cutter story like so many other titles. I don’t think that anybody has gotten all of the puns.
If a reader doesn’t get pulled in too deep into the psychological distress of the first few chapters, I believe that readers will find the use of satire and farce most appealing. I’ve mentioned that the Awesome Indies book reviewer found the use of humor without trivializing serious issues. Another book reviewer, an Affiliate of Fantasy Fan Federation, an international organization that has been around since the 1940s and holds an annual fantasy fiction contest, posted on Amazon: "The author has created a new narrative format, something I've never seen before, with a standard third-person narration, interspersed, lightly, with first-person asides. This makes me think of Eugene O'Neill's play "Strange Interlude" where internal and external dialogue are blended. Rarity from the Hollow begins with some rough stuff, hard to read, involving child neglect and child abuse. But it soon turns the corner to satire, parody, and farce, partaking a little of the whimsical and nonsensical humor of Roger Zelazny or even Ron Goulart…."
You know what I like best about the above review? It’s the sharp contrast between the almost “high brow” tone of the review against the colloquial, down-to-Earth voice in the story. The novel itself is so full of contrasts: victimization leads to empowerment, realism becomes outrageous and even silly fantasy, tragedy amplifies comedy…contrasts that I hope people will appreciate and enjoy.
Before I go, please let me tell you about something that I hope somebody will get in the story. Nobody has mentioned it so far, so maybe I didn’t do a good enough job writing it in. There is political satire, similar to that used by Orwell in Animal Farm, once the reader understands the economic structure of the off-world planet – the economic center of the universe, and it could be considered in relation to today’s presidential primaries. That’s a big hint, folks. If somebody sees the political satire in the story, please contact me and let me know what you think.
BBB: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
RE: I’m easy to reach by email. A link to my personal address is linked on the Lacy Dawn Adventures website: http://www.lacydawnadventures.com . I post updates about the project on the Lacy Dawn Adventures Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Lacy-Dawn-Adventures-573354432693864/?ref=hl , but only the most recent show up. I tweet from https://twitter.com/roberteggleton1 and would love to have your readers as followers. I can be messaged there, as well, and frequently retweet interesting comments, and about projects that I support.
Of course, if your readers would be so kind to write a book review on Amazon, I pay close attention to those, and on Goodreads, as well. Just follow the links on this page. Your input, either directly or indirectly through book reviews, is very important to me as I put the finishing touches on my next novel, Ivy. It is adult literary science fiction that asks the question, “how far will a child go to save a parent from addiction.” West Virginia has the highest overdose death rate in the nation, so we have a lot of kids who want to save their parents, and I’ve met a bunch of them through my work.
Rarity from the Hollows is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/190713395X/
http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44
http://www.doghornpublishing. com/wordpress/books/rarity- from-the-hollow
Robert Eggleton link
Thanks again for the great interview about Rarity from the Hollow, an adult literary science fiction novel. A lot has happened since the post and I decided to update you and your readers.
The second edition of Rarity from the Hollow is scheduled for release by Dog Horn Publishing, a traditional small press in Leeds, on September 30, 2016. The original, uncut version is still available from Amazon; http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44; and, directly from the publisher http://www.doghornpublishing.com/wordpress/books/rarity-from-the-hollow . It can be purchased at just about any book outlet.
Following are a few of the highlights about the novel:
As you know, the novel was found by the editor of Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine to be laugh-out-loud funny in some scenes. Long-time science fiction book critic, Barry Hunter, closed his review, "...good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find." http://thebaryonreview.blogspo......
A former Editor of Reader's Digest found that, "Rarity from the Hollow is the most enjoyable science fiction that I've read in several years." http://warriorpatient.com/blog...
Rarity from the Hollow was referred to as a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and awarded a Gold Medal by Awesome Indies: "...Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate...it's a funny book that most fans of sci-fi will thoroughly enjoy." http://awesomeindies.net/ai-ap......
With respect to the story's treatment of tough social issues, this reviewer said: "If I could, I would give it all the stars in the universe...I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go." http://www.onmykindle.net/2015...
A prominent book reviewer from Bulgaria named Rarity from the Hollow as one of the best five books that he had read in 2015. http://codices.info/2015/12/to...
On January 20, 2016, Rarity from the Hollow was awarded a second Gold Medal by another popular book review site: https://readersfavorite.com/bo....
An Affiliate of Fantasy Fan Federation, an international organization that has been around since the 1940s, posted on Amazon: "The author has created a new narrative format, something Ive never seen before, with a standard third-person narration, interspersed, lightly, with first-person asides. This makes me think of Eugene ONeill’s play Strange Interlude where internal and external dialogue are blended. Rarity from the Hollow begins with some rough stuff, hard to read, involving child neglect and child abuse. But it soon turns the corner to satire, parody, and farce, partaking a little of the whimsical and nonsensical humor of Roger Zelazny or even Ron Goulart...."
"...There is much here worthy of high praise. The relationship between Lacy Dawn and DotCom is brilliant. The sense of each learning from the other and them growing up and together is a delight to read. The descriptions of DotCom's technology and the process of elevating the humans around him again is nicely done. Eggleton reminds me very much of Robert Heinlein at his peak...." http://sfcrowsnest.org.uk/rari......
"...The best thing about ‘Rarity’ is the writing. It feels timeless, classic and mature in a way that would ensure its longevity if more people knew about it. I would even say it could be read in a college setting both for the craft itself and its unique brand of storytelling. The premise was brilliant and brought a distinctive approach to the adult-fairytale/modern-retelling sub-genre..." -- http://tabbyafae.com/rarity-hollow-robert-eggleton/
Rarity from the Hollow has now appeared on over one-hundred and thirty blogs or magazines worldwide, in twenty-three different countries including all over the U.S. and the U.K., Finland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Belgium, South Africa, Croatia, Uruguay, India, Taiwan, Australia, Nigeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Canada, Vietnam, Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, The Philippines, and Israel. The project has grown into a world-wide movement to sensitize people about child maltreatment through a satiric and comical science fiction adventure. Author proceeds have been donated to child abuse prevention.
Thanks again for your beautiful post!
Robert Eggleton
Thanks again. The final edition of Rarity from the Hollow was released to Amazon on December 5, 2016. http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44
For a limited time, the eBook version of the final edition of Rarity from the Hollow is on sale for $2.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017REIA44/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk A sale on the paperback version began a few days ago: https://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/190713395X/
Project Updates: https://www.facebook.com/Lacy-Dawn-Adventures-573354432693864/ and https://twitter.com/roberteggleton1
Hi Stacie,
Happy New Year! I hope that you're doing okay. After Christmas sales are tallied, the publisher is going to make the next deposit of author proceeds from the Rarity from the Hollow project into the nonprofit agency's account for the prevention of child maltreatment. Millions of American children spent this holiday in temporary shelters. A lot more world-wide likely spent their respective "holidays" in worse conditions. Having once been the director of emergency children's shelters in West Virginia, it is still heartbreaking to think about children not having a "real" family during Christmas. I remember the faces, the smiles and thank yous for the presents from staff, but….
I also wanted you to know that the novel received a very cool review by Amazing Stories Magazine. This is my tweet: “Amusing at times, shocking at others, a touching and somehow wonderful SFF read.” Full review by Amazing Stories Magazine: http://bit.ly/2kbsAlV On Sale for Christmas: http://amzn.to/2lF5BPS Proceeds help maltreated children: www.childhswv.org
Thanks again for the interview. I just shared the link to it again on social media.
https://twitter.com/roberteggleton1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/1907133062
P.S. Just FYI, here's the link to a review that nailed the political parody in my story, connected the tragedy with the comedy, and its overall child welfare interests within this climate of adversity in America. https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2RAXNLSHTUDUF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=190713395X I thought that you might appreciate reading this review.
Interviews, Books, Authors
Photos used under Creative Commons from mripp, hallosunnymama, wwarby, themostinept, Matias Carreño, wwarby
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https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/College-pays-off-but-watch-what-you-pay-13705831.php
TASCHINGER: College pays off, but watch what you pay out
Updated 12:08 pm CDT, Friday, March 22, 2019
The college bribery scandal is one of the crazier stories to break in a long time, and it has as many layers as the paint on the wall of an old house. The amounts paid out were huge — $500,000 by actress Lori Loughlin to get her two daughters into USC. The lack of oversight in athletic departments was also appalling; the University of Texas tennis coach was fired for taking bribes to provide athletic scholarships to kids who didn’t play tennis. Uh, didn’t anyone notice?
What really stands out, however, is the futility of it all. You really don’t need a degree from Harvard or Yale to succeed in life. Study after study, expert after expert has said that a good education at a much affordable institution (like, ahem, Lamar University) will serve you just as well as a sheepskin from an Ivy League giant. And it does matter. The U.S. Department of Education said that in 2015, adults with bachelor’s degrees earned an average of $48,500 a year, as compared to $23,900 for high school graduates.
Granted, if you’re rich and you can get Timmy or Susie into Harvard, it won’t hurt them. That instant name recognition will at least get them their first job, but most of them will have to rely on their talent and perseverance afterward. New hires have to adapt to their workplace culture, figure out what the boss wants done, and do it. If they want to get promoted, they will have to do it better than their co-workers.
A fancy degree does not guarantee this. If anything, a spoiled kid who thinks he’s got it made because of that distinguished institution could set off warning signals at interviews that shout, “Don’t hire me!” Graduates like that will not work as hard as they need to, which is pretty hard at any company that’s serious about its profits, which is most of them.
The education available at many lesser-known, more affordable colleges — whether in business, medicine, engineering or law — is virtually the same as the one you get at Big Name U. Lamar has a list of highly successful grads in many fields (several are mentioned below) that would cover this page.
The famous debt-reduction guru Dave Ramsey preaches this often on his national radio show. He has hired hundreds of college graduates for very demanding, well-paying jobs. He doesn’t care where they got their degree from, and certainly never hired one because of the college name on the diploma.
In an interview, he and other employers are looking at the young man or woman sitting in front of them, going over their resume and life story, sizing them up, trying to figure out if they will work hard and well for them.
The lesson that Ramsey and other smart people teach is that young people should not go into huge debt for college, and preferably no debt at all. If you doubt this advice, consider that the biggest problem for young graduates is — surprise — student-loan debt.
Some millennials have debts of $150,000 or even higher when they start working. But for a very few careers that guarantee big salaries, that burden can’t be managed. For most people, it means a long, hard slog of paying back Sallie Mae while also trying to buy a home and start a family.
At schools like Lamar, graduates can leave with student-loan debt about the price of a new car. Those grads are just as well equipped for a bright future as the Yalies, and they can knock out their debt in five years or so instead of carrying it into their 30s or 40s.
It should also go without saying that if you’re going to get a four-year degree, it should be in a field that will produce a reasonable paycheck. Going into debt for a degree that won’t benefit you much is doubly stupid.
Pick that major carefully. The best investment you will ever make is an education that provides a good income, and you don’t have to pay bribes to go to Harvard to get it.
ttaschinger@beaumontenterprise.com
Lamar graduates/business leaders:
Randy Best — BS Government 1967, Best Associates Chairman & CEO
Angela Blanchard — BBA Accounting 1984, President Emerita of BakerRipley
Jared Boudreaux — BBA Marketing 1998, President/CEO Vector Controls
Yolanda Conyers — BS Computer Science 1989, VP of Global Human Resources/Chief Diversity Officer of Lenovo
Rena Clark — BS Mechanical Engineering 1984, Managing Partner at Laurel Oak Capital
Paul Fregia — BS Electrical Engineering 1981, President/CEO of Grandma Maud’s
Anthony George — BS Physics 1988, Nautical Control Solutions/FUELTRAX President and CEO
Jack Gill — BS Chemistry 1958, President of the Gill Foundation of Texas
Wea Lee — MA Government 1976, Chairman/CEO of Southern Chinese Newspapers Publishing Co.
Bill Mitchell — BS Mechanical Engineering 1958, Retired Vice Chairman of Texas Instruments, Inc.
Steve Moore — BS Communication 1978, Former CEO of the Country Music Association
Jorge Quijano — BS Industrial Engineering 1973, Master of Engineering 1974, CEO Panama Canal
Bill Scott — BS Government 1970, Chairman/CEO Trans-Global Solutions, Inc.
Dan F. Smith — BS Chemical Engineering 1969, Retired President/CEO/Chairman of the Board of Lyondell Basell Industries
Joe Tortorice — MBA 1971, President Jason’s Deli (Deceased)
C.W. Conn — MBA 1969, founder/former CEO of Conn’s Inc.
Charles Garrett — BS Electrical Engineering 1959, Doctor of Humane Letters 2011, former President/CEO Garrett Metal Detectors — became the world’s largest manufacturer of metal detection and invented the metal detectors used in most airports
Tom Giannopoulos — BS Electrical Engineering 1962, retired President/CEO/Chairman of the Board of MICROS Systems, Inc.
Source: Lamar University
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Press Release - Formula 1® Grand Prix de Monaco 2019 Results
( Sources - F1 Media, Mercedes AMG Petronas Media, Redbull F1 Media & Scuderia Ferrari F1 Media ) 26 May 2019
Source Mercedes AMG Petronas Media
This was probably Lewis Hamilton’s best win of the season, even if his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team didn’t manage to rack up a second consecutive one-two finish. It was a memorable race, even before the start, with a touching tribute to the late Niki Lauda on the grid. Then came an intense duel between the five-time world champion and Max Verstappen, which lasted for almost the entire race.
For Hamilton, this was his third win in Monaco, and the 77th of his career. But he had to fight for it for all the way, having to fend off the never ending attacks of the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver. The key moment came on lap 11, when the top four – Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen and Vettel – stopped to change tyres during the Safety Car period after Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari left debris all over the track.
The Mercedes man opted for Medium tyres, while Ferrari and Red Bull went for Hards. Verstappen and Bottas collided in the pit lane and the Finn clipped the barrier with his right rear tyre, which led to a slow puncture and a return to the pits next time round. Bottas thus dropped behind Verstappen and Vettel, but he too went for the better-suited Hard tyre, thus leaving Hamilton as the only man on Mediums.
From then on the order didn’t change, but the race was far from dull, in fact it was nail-biting. Knowing he had a five-second penalty for an unsafe release, Verstappen realised his only hope was for Hamilton’s tyres to go off before the finish, otherwise he would have to overtake him on track. The Dutchman stayed glued to the back of the Englishman all the way to the chequered flag, trying right at the end to get past, as Lewis was clearly struggling with his tyres. The two men even touched on lap 76 of 78 at the chicane after the tunnel exit, but there were no consequences for either man.
Although he took the flag in second place, Verstappen’s penalty meant he was classified fourth, a final blow to the man who had seemed to be the quickest on track, so that Vettel and Bottas also got to stand on the podium.
This was Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow’s best result of the year but paradoxically this race gave the impression that the Maranello team was not only unable to match Mercedes but also Red Bull. Vettel drove a faultless race, but never looked likely to challenge those ahead. Charles Leclerc’s first Monaco race for Ferrari did not go well at all. After the disaster in yesterday’s qualifying, the Monegasque driver got off to a blinding start today, pulling off some good passing moves. But then, on lap 9, while he was trying to pass Nico Hulkenberg at Rascasse, the two men collided and the Ferrari suffered a puncture that damaged the car and led to his retirement – his first this year – a few laps later.
Red Bull ended up reducing their gap to Ferrari by five points in the Constructors’ Championship thanks also to the fifth place for Pierre Gasly, who also had the luxury of an extra pit stop. That allowed him to set the fastest lap of the race, earning him the bonus point.
The other two cars powered by Honda also made it into the points. Daniil Kvyat (7th) and Alexander Albon (8th) secured the best result of the season for Toro Rosso, which therefore jumped up to seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship. That took them ahead of Alfa Romeo Racing, which failed to score for the second straight race. They also jumped ahead of the Renault works team, which managed to take only its third points finish of a very difficult season courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo’s ninth place.
Another Renault-powered car that performed much better was the McLaren of Carlos Sainz, who took a brilliant sixth place, albeit more than 40 seconds behind the fifth-placed car. That confirms the difference in performance that persists between the top three teams and the rest of the field. Completing the top ten was Romain Grosjean’s Haas which, despite crossing the line in ninth place, lost a position thanks to a time penalty for cutting the pit exit line.
The weekend of the FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO has always been the stage for many superstars from all over the world, and this year was no exception. From stars of American sport like Odell Beckham Jr (NFL) and P. K. Subban (NHL) to alpine skier Lindsay Vonn and football megastars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Josè Mourinho and Radamel Falcao, from supermodels like Winnie Harlow and Kendall Jenner to film and TV stars such as Liam Cunningham, fashion designers like Tommy Hilfiger and musicians such as Nick Mason... So many legendary names were welcomed at Monaco during the weekend to see up close the emotions that only Formula 1 can generate – albeit in a weekend over which a veil of sadness had been drawn due to the loss of a hero of this sport: Niki Lauda.
From The Drivers
Today was one of the hardest races of my career, it was so intense. With 20 laps left I thought there was no way I was going to make it to the end. I thought I was going to crash, I was battling so much with the car. There was absolutely nothing left in the tyres and it was so tough to keep the car on the track. I thought to myself, 'what would Niki do'. I was trying my hardest - giving everything I had. I just tried to stay focused and make no mistakes. I know he was watching me today, but with Niki by my side we managed to do it. I wore his helmet colours today and I didn't want to let him down. He was close to my heart, I really wanted to deliver for him this weekend and I was determined not to crack under the pressure. Today belongs to Niki.
My race was decided in the pits. We did a double-stacked pit stop under the Safety Car, Lewis first, then me. Vettel and Verstappen came in as well and when I left the pits, Max was released at the same time and was side-by-side with me. We touched, I hit the wall because there's no space to go and I got a right-front puncture. So I had to do another pit stop the following lap. At that point, I thought I'd be at the end of the field, but I only lost a couple of places, so I guess I was unlucky but lucky at the same time. It's always disappointing if you finish the race lower than you qualified; however, my pace was really good all weekend long and I still scored valuable points for me and the team. One of my first thoughts this morning was that I wanted to drive well for Niki, I wanted to win for him. Ultimately, I didn't, but Lewis did, so I'm sure Niki would be proud right now.
MAX VERSTAPPEN,
Finish Position: 4th*, Start Position: 3rd “I gave it my all today and I had a fun race. I think we were very competitive and I enjoyed putting the pressure on and trying to go for the win. You know when you’re up against Lewis it’s going to be very hard but I kept pushing him and I tried to force him into a mistake. I made him use his tyres a bit more than he wanted which meant I could attack. At one point I could see his tyres really dropping off and there were a few corners on the track where he was really slow which meant I could line up a move, but we just couldn’t get close enough. With a few laps to go, I thought I’m going to try it now and see what happens. We touched but luckily nothing came of it. The penalty from the pit stop is unfortunate, but I don’t think the Team did anything wrong and it is impossible to see in that tight pit lane. When you look at our pace we were very strong and that’s the most important thing. Of course, I would have liked to be on the podium but I enjoyed the race and you win some, you lose some. It’s easy to say with a few more laps I would have got him but I tried my very best and that was all I could do. The Team did a mega job all weekend and we tried everything we could to get that win today.” *Finished 2nd on the road with a 5 second penalty applied as per Stewards’ decisions
“It was a tough race today but, in the end, second is a great result and I am happy for the team that we got a podium finish on such an iconic track as Monaco. We were also able to benefit from mistakes of other people today, but that’s part of this game. When I was following Lewis, who was struggling with his tyres, and Max chasing him very closely, I saw that they touched and for a brief moment I even kidded myself I might win it! We know we have a lot of work to do so today we are happy, but not entirely happy. On the other side, it’s a pity for Charles. Not the best weekend for him”.
“Our performance was there but unfortunately the result wasn’t. I gave it my all today, knowing that I had to do something different and take a lot of risks to fight my way forward after starting in 15th position. I enjoyed the beginning of the race and it was going quite well. While overtaking Nico on lap 9, I clipped the rear on the wall and our cars touched which damaged my rear tyre and the floor. We tried to continue racing on a new set of tyres but we were just lacking too much downforce after the incident and had to retire. A difficult weekend overall, but I am already fully focused on the next race in Canada and will do my best to bounce back there”.
Daniel Ricciardo,
started P6, finished P9: “It was a very frustrating race, to be honest. We had a great start, jumped Kevin [Magnussen] on the outside for fifth and had a strong Turn 1. Then we pitted under the safety car, which is where we missed out. We definitely could have done better and got a great result as we had all the cards in our hand. Although we missed some points, the car was very good even though we couldn’t always use the speed we had. We’ll look at what happened and address it for future races.”
1st Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 78 1:43.28.437
2nd Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow
3rd Valtteri Bottas Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
4th Max Verstappen* Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
5th Pierre Gasly Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
6th Carlos Sainz McLaren F1 Team
7th Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
8th Alexander Albon Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
9th Daniel Ricciardo Renault F1 Team
10th Romain Grosjean* Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
11th Lando Norris McLaren F1 Team
12th Kevin Magnussen Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
13th Sergio Perez SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
14th Nico Hulkenberg Renault F1 Team
15th George Russell ROKiT Williams Racing
16th Lance Stroll* SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
17th Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing
18th Robert Kubica ROKiT Williams Racing
19th Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing
NC Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 16 DNF
Fastest lap: Pierre Gasly (1.14.279 on lap 72)
Drivers’ Championship
3 S. Vettel 82
4 M. Verstappen 78
5 C.Leclerkc 57
6 P. Gasly 32
7 C. Sainz 18
8 K. Magnussen 14
9 S. Perez 13
10 K. Raikkonen 13
11 L. Norris 12
1.Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 257
2.Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 139
3.Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 110
4.McLaren F1 Team 30
5.SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team 17
6.Rich Energy Haas F1 Team 16
7.Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 16
8.Renault F1 Team 14
9.Alfa Romeo Racing 13
10.ROKiT Williams Racing 0
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1 Kings 6-7
1 Kings 51 Kings 8
1 Kings 6-7 New International Version (NIV)
Solomon Builds the Temple
6 In the four hundred and eightieth[a] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.
2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[b] 3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[c] and projected ten cubits[d] from the front of the temple. 4 He made narrow windows high up in the temple walls. 5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6 The lowest floor was five cubits[e] wide, the middle floor six cubits[f] and the third floor seven.[g] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.
8 The entrance to the lowest[h] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.
11 The word of the Lord came to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”
14 So Solomon built the temple and completed it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper. 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[i] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
36 And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.
37 The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.
Solomon Builds His Palace
7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. 2 He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,[j] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. 3 It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. 4 Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. 5 All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.[k]
6 He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.[l] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof.
7 He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge, and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.[m] 8 And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
9 All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits[n] and some eight.[o] 11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.
The Temple’s Furnishings
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,[p] 14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him.
15 He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.[q] 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits[r] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows[s] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.[t] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits[u] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin[v] and the one to the north Boaz.[w] 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars was completed.
23 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits[x] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth[y] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.[z]
27 He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.[aa] 28 This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit[ab] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.[ac] Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.
34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit[ad] deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape.
38 He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths[ae] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the pots[af] and shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord:
41 the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);
43 the ten stands with their ten basins;
44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;
45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.
48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:
the golden altar;
the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence;
49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary);
the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;
50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers;
and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.
1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
1 Kings 6:2 That is, about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 14 meters high
1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters
1 Kings 7:2 That is, about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 45 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
1 Kings 7:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
1 Kings 7:6 That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide or about 23 meters long and 14 meters wide
1 Kings 7:7 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew floor
1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verse 23
1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.6 meters
1 Kings 7:13 Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45
1 Kings 7:15 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
1 Kings 7:16 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 23
1 Kings 7:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts made the pillars, and there were two rows
1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts pomegranates
1 Kings 7:19 That is, about 6 feet or about 1.8 meters; also in verse 38
1 Kings 7:21 Jakin probably means he establishes.
1 Kings 7:21 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 12,000 gallons or about 44,000 liters; the Septuagint does not have this sentence.
1 Kings 7:27 That is, about 6 feet long and wide and about 4 1/2 feet high or about 1.8 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 2 1/4 feet or about 68 centimeters; also in verse 32
1 Kings 7:35 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
1 Kings 7:38 That is, about 240 gallons or about 880 liters
1 Kings 7:40 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate (see also verse 45 and 2 Chron. 4:11); many other Hebrew manuscripts basins
1 Kings 6:1 : 6:1-29pp — 2Ch 3:1-14
1 Kings 6:1 : Ezr 3:8
1 Kings 6:1 : Ezr 5:11
1 Kings 6:2 : Ex 26:1
1 Kings 6:3 : Eze 40:49
1 Kings 6:5 : Jer 35:2; Eze 41:5-6
1 Kings 6:7 : S Ex 20:25
1 Kings 6:7 : S Dt 27:5
1 Kings 6:9 : SS 1:17
1 Kings 6:11 : 1Ki 12:22; 13:20; 16:1, 7; 17:2; 21:17; Jer 40:1
1 Kings 6:12 : 1Ki 11:10
1 Kings 6:12 : 2Sa 7:12-16; 1Ki 9:5
1 Kings 6:13 : S Lev 26:11; S Dt 31:6; Jn 14:18; Heb 13:5
1 Kings 6:14 : Ac 7:47
1 Kings 6:14 : 1Ch 28:20; 2Ch 5:1
1 Kings 6:15 : 1Ki 7:7
1 Kings 6:15 : Eze 41:15-16
1 Kings 6:16 : S Ex 26:33
1 Kings 6:18 : ver 29; Ps 74:6; Eze 41:18
1 Kings 6:19 : S Ex 25:10; S 1Sa 3:3
1 Kings 6:20 : Eze 41:3-4
1 Kings 6:20 : S Ex 30:1
1 Kings 6:23 : S Ex 37:1-9
1 Kings 6:27 : S Ge 3:24; S Ex 25:18
1 Kings 6:29 : S ver 18
1 Kings 6:29 : ver 32, 35; Eze 41:18, 25
1 Kings 6:32 : Eze 41:23
1 Kings 6:36 : 2Ch 4:9
1 Kings 6:36 : 1Ki 7:12; Ezr 6:4
1 Kings 6:38 : 1Ch 28:19
1 Kings 6:38 : Ex 25:9; Heb 8:5
1 Kings 7:1 : S 2Sa 7:2
1 Kings 7:2 : 1Ki 10:17; 2Ch 9:16; Isa 22:8; 37:24; Jer 22:6, 23
1 Kings 7:7 : 1Sa 7:15; Ps 122:5; Pr 20:8
1 Kings 7:7 : 1Ki 6:15
1 Kings 7:8 : S 1Ki 3:1
1 Kings 7:12 : S 1Ki 6:36
1 Kings 7:13 : 7:23-26pp — 2Ch 4:2-5
1 Kings 7:13 : 7:38-51pp — 2Ch 4:6, 10–5:1
1 Kings 7:13 : ver 45; 2Ch 2:13; 4:16
1 Kings 7:14 : Ex 31:2-5; S 35:31
1 Kings 7:14 : 2Ch 4:11, 16
1 Kings 7:15 : 2Ki 11:14; 23:3; 25:17; 2Ch 3:15; 23:13; 34:31; Jer 27:19; 52:17, 21; Eze 40:49
1 Kings 7:16 : ver 20, 42; 2Ki 25:17; Jer 52:22
1 Kings 7:21 : 2Ch 3:17
1 Kings 7:23 : ver 47; 2Ki 25:13; 1Ch 18:8; 2Ch 4:18; Jer 52:17; Rev 4:6
1 Kings 7:23 : Jer 31:39; Zec 2:1
1 Kings 7:25 : Jer 52:20
1 Kings 7:40 : S Ex 27:3; Jer 52:18
1 Kings 7:46 : S Ge 13:10
1 Kings 7:46 : Jos 3:16
1 Kings 7:47 : 1Ch 22:3; Jer 52:20
1 Kings 7:47 : Ex 36:5-7
1 Kings 7:48 : Ex 39:32-43
1 Kings 7:49 : S Ex 25:31-38
1 Kings 7:50 : S Nu 7:14
1 Kings 7:50 : 2Ki 25:13; Jer 52:19
1 Kings 7:51 : S 2Sa 8:11
1 Kings 7:51 : 2Ki 12:13; 24:13; Jer 27:19
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Bible > John > Chapter 20 > Verse 21
◄ John 20:21 ►
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
Berean Literal Bible
Therefore Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As the Father has sent Me forth, I also send you."
So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you."
After Jesus had greeted them again, he said, "I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me."
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you."
Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
Jesus told them again, "Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."
So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you."
Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
But Yeshua said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as my Father has sent me, I also am sending you.”
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."
Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be unto you; as my Father has sent me, even so send I you.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you.
Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
[Jesus] said therefore again to them, Peace [be] to you: as the Father sent me forth, I also send you.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father hath sent me, even so I send you.
A second time, therefore, He said to them, "Peace be to you! As the Father sent me, I also now send you."
Jesus, therefore, said to them again, 'Peace to you; according as the Father hath sent me, I also send you;'
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
…20After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” 22When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.…
While they were describing these events, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you!" He said to them.
When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.
Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
as.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
John 17:18,19
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world…
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs…
πάλιν (palin)
Strong's Greek 3825: Probably from the same as pale; anew, i.e. back, once more, or furthermore or on the other hand.
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's Greek 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.
Εἶπεν (Eipen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's Greek 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.
to them,
αὐτοῖς (autois)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.
“Peace [be]
Εἰρήνη (Eirēnē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's Greek 1515: Probably from a primary verb eiro; peace; by implication, prosperity.
with you.
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.
καθὼς (kathōs)
Strong's Greek 2531: According to the manner in which, in the degree that, just as, as. From kata and hos; just as, that.
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's Greek 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.
Πατήρ (Patēr)
Strong's Greek 3962: Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a 'father'.
has sent Me,
ἀπέσταλκέν (apestalken)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's Greek 649: From apo and stello; set apart, i.e. to send out literally or figuratively.
so also I
κἀγὼ (kagō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's Greek 2504: To also, I too, but I. From kai and ego; so also the dative case kamoi, and accusative case kame and I, me.
am sending
πέμπω (pempō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's Greek 3992: To send, transmit, permit to go, put forth.
ὑμᾶς (hymas)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Plural
(21) Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you.--These words may be here a solemn repetition of the greeting in John 20:19, by which our Lord's own message of peace is immediately connected with that which the Apostles were to deliver to the world. It is, however, more natural to understand the words in John 20:19 as those of greeting, and these as words of farewell. (Comp. John 14:27.) Other words had intervened, as we know from St. Luke's narrative. He is now about to withdraw the evidence of His presence from them, and does so with the customary "Shal?m;" but with this He reminds them of the apostleship to which He has called them, gives them an earnest of the Presence which will never leave them, but always qualify them for it (John 20:22), and places before them the greatness of the work to which He sends them (John 20:23).
As my (better, the) Father hath sent me, even so send I you.--Comp. Note on John 17:18, where the words occur in prayer to the Father. As spoken here to the disciples 'they are the identification of them with Himself in His mediatorial work. He is the great Apostle (Hebrews 3:1); they are ambassadors for Christ, to whom He commits the ministry of reconciliation (2Corinthians 5:18 et seq.). He stands in the same relation to the Father as that in which they stand to Him. He declares to them, and they in His name are to declare to the world, the fulness of the Father's love, and the peace between man and God, witnessed to in His life and death. He and they stand also in the same relation to the world. At this very moment they are assembled with shut doors, for fear of the Jews, who are triumphing over Him as dead. But to that world, which will hate, persecute, and kill them, as it had hated, persecuted, and killed Him, they are sent as He was sent; they are to declare forgiveness, mercy, love, peace, as He had declared them, to every heart that does not harden itself against them; and they are to find in His presence, as He had ever found in the Father's presence, the support which will ever bring peace to their own hearts (John 14:27).
And when he had said this, he breathed on them.--The word rendered "breathed" occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but was familiar from its use in the Greek (LXX.) of Genesis 2:7. St. John uses to describe this act of the risen Lord the striking word which had been used to describe the act by which God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. He writes as one who remembered how the influence of that moment on their future lives was a new spiritual creation, by which they were called, as it were, out of death into life. It was the first step in that great moral change which passed over the disciples after the Crucifixion, and of which the day of Pentecost witnessed the accomplishment.
And saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.--These words are not, on the one hand, to be understood as simply a promise of the future gift of the Holy Ghost, for they are a definite imperative, referring to the moment when they were spoken; nor are they, on the other hand, to be taken as the promised advent of the Paraclete (John 14:16 et seq.), for the gift of the Holy Ghost was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39; John 16:7 et seq.). The meaning is that He then gave to them a sign, which was itself to faithful hearts as the firstfruits of that which was to come. His act was sacramental, and with the outer and visible sign there was the inward and spiritual grace. The very word used was that used when He said to them, "Take (receive ye), eat; this is My body" (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22). It would come to them now with a fulness of sacred meaning. The Risen Body is present with them. The constant spiritual Presence in the person of the Paraclete is promised to them. They again hear the words "Receive ye," and the very command implies the power to obey. (Comp. Excursus C: The Sacramental Teaching of St. John's Gospel, p. 556.)
Verses 21-23. -
(4) Peace, spiration of the Holy Spirit, and conference of power to remit or retain sin. Verse 21. - Therefore [Jesus] said unto them again, Peace be unto you. With added emphasis, and in obvious reference to his valedictory discourse, he gave to them the essence of his own sublime repose, the blending of an infinite joy with a measureless sorrow; the equilibrium that springs from the spirit mastering the flesh. Not an ecstatic rapture, nor a joy that would make their life on earth insupportable by its contrast with their abiding frame of mind; but peace - "the peace of God, which passeth understanding." The first "peace" gave to all who were assembled a new revelation; the second "peace," a summons to service. The Lord added the memorable words, As the Father hath sent me (ἀπέσταλκε, hath sent me on a special commission), I also send you (πέμπω, charge you to go forth and accomplish this commission of mine); see Westcott's excursus on the New Testament usage of the two verbs, which does much to justify these shades of meaning. Both verbs are used of both the mission of the Son and the mission of believers, but in the two senses,
(1) that sometimes the special service on which he or they are sent is emphasized by the use of ἀποστέλλω; and
(2) that at other times the simple mission or sending forth is the dominant idea when πέμπω is employed. Thus in John 4:38 the Lord says, "I sent (ἀπέστειλα) you to reap that on which ye bestowed no labor;" and John 17:18 (see note) the same word is appropriately used twice - for the Lord's own commission, and also for the commission of the disciples. Then it seems to point back to an event in their history and the work done already and before Christ's death for the world. Now the disciples have a new conception of Christ and of his work, and they must go forth to fulfill it. This usage of ἀποστέλλω is more or less conspicuous in John 1:6; John 3:28; John 5:33; John 18:24. Πέμπω is used often to describe the Father's mission of the Son, the mission of the Comforter, and the mission of the disciples (John 13:20; John 14:26; John 16:7). Moulton says, " Ἀροστέλλω means 'commission' and πέπμω 'mission.' With the first word our thoughts turn to the 'special embassy;' with the second, to the authority of the ' ambassador' and the obedience of the sent." Another peculiarity of this passage is that the Lord uses the perfect tense, ἀπέσταλκε, rather than the aorist used elsewhere, suggesting a complete commission on his own side, whose meaning and effects are still in operation. Those who have received this revelation are to become at once witnesses to the fact of his resurrection, agents and organs of his Spirit. Moulton suggests that τέμπω is used in order to enforce the physical separation between the Lord and his disciples; and that we cannot overlook in the similarity of the ideas the difference in the manner of the sending, by the Savior of the disciples, from the manner in which the Son had been sent by the Father. Christ came forth from the eternal companionship of the Father, in the fact of his incarnation, taking humanity up into his eternal substance. The disciples were sent forth by the risen Lord, who had called them by grace into fellowship with himself, and who equipped them for his service. The difference in these two methods of sending is as conspicuous as the resemblance.
20:19-25 This was the first day of the week, and this day is afterwards often mentioned by the sacred writers; for it was evidently set apart as the Christian sabbath, in remembrance of Christ's resurrection. The disciples had shut the doors for fear of the Jews; and when they had no such expectation, Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them, having miraculously, though silently, opened the doors. It is a comfort to Christ's disciples, when their assemblies can only be held in private, that no doors can shut out Christ's presence. When He manifests his love to believers by the comforts of his Spirit, he assures them that because he lives, they shall live also. A sight of Christ will gladden the heart of a disciple at any time; and the more we see of Jesus, the more we shall rejoice. He said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, thus showing that their spiritual life, as well as all their ability for their work, would be derived from him, and depended upon him. Every word of Christ which is received in the heart by faith, comes accompanied by this Divine breathing; and without this there is neither light nor life. Nothing is seen, known, discerned, or felt of God, but through this. After this, Christ directed the apostles to declare the only method by which sin would be forgiven. This power did not exist at all in the apostles as a power to give judgment, but only as a power to declare the character of those whom God would accept or reject in the day of judgment. They have clearly laid down the marks whereby a child of God may be discerned and be distinguished from a false professor; and according to what they have declared shall every case be decided in the day of judgment. When we assemble in Christ's name, especially on his holy day, he will meet with us, and speak peace to us. The disciples of Christ should endeavour to build up one another in their most holy faith, both by repeating what they have heard to those that were absent, and by making known what they have experienced. Thomas limited the Holy One of Israel, when he would be convinced by his own method or not at all. He might justly have been left in his unbelief, after rejecting such abundant proofs. The fears and sorrows of the disciples are often lengthened, to punish their negligence.
John 20:21 Commentaries
Forth Jesus Peace Second Sending Time
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Alphabetical: Again also am As be Father has I Jesus me Peace said send sending sent So the them to with you
NT Gospels: John 20:21 Jesus therefore said to them again Peace (Jhn Jo Jn) Christian Bible Study Resources, Dictionary, Concordance and Search Tools
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The northbound orange line began to leave the Back Bay station when the operations center “was called about a report of a propulsion issue.” This issue resulted in visible smoke to riders onboard the train. With the doors to the train closed, people on the train began to break the windows to escape. In a statement, the MBTA explained that the doors to the train had not been malfunctioning. Instead, the doors were closed because the train was moving away from the station. When the issue was discovered, the “motor person had begun promptly opening doors to allow passengers to evacuate safely, away from (the) live third rail.” However, there was no initial announcement over the intercom of what was occurring, which led a lot of scared people to self-evacuate through the windows. As a result of this chaos, five people were treated for injuries at the station, and three passengers had to be taken to the hospital.
In addition to the injuries, passengers were stuck outside of the station and confused about how to get home. The orange line had suspended all services until 5:41 P.M., when the Boston Fire Department allowed the southbound side to resume service. The northbound orange line did not resume service until 6:15 P.M.
While the MBTA stated that “passenger safety is the top priority,” less than 24 hours later, around 9:50 A.M. on October 27, a woman was hit by the Green Line trolley when she attempted to cross the tracks near Summit Avenue in Brookline. The trolley made contact with the woman, but thankfully she was conscious and alert when she was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The people who were injured may have a claim against the MBTA.
Massachusetts allows personal injury claims against public employers like the MBTA. According to M. G. L. c. 258, section 2, “public employers shall be liable for injury or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any public employee while acting within the scope of his office or employment, in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances.”
While the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act limits the amount of compensatory damages that an injured party can recover from most public agencies to $100,000, this $100,000 limit does not apply to MBTA for serious bodily injury. However, a passenger cannot recover punitive damages from the MBTA. In order to recover damages, an injured party must bring a claim within two years of the incident and will have to present his or her claim to the executive officer of the public employer. Basically this means that someone injured by the negligent action of the MBTA will have to provide written notice to the MBTA general manager via certified mail.
Unlike most motor vehicles, as a common carrier, MBTA owes passengers a higher duty of care. This means that MBTA has to exercise the utmost care when transporting passengers. When a common carrier, like the MBTA, has a higher duty of care, it means that parties that are injured may have an easier time proving their claim.
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Blocking Out the Future
By Norman Boucher / May / June 2004
Whatever faults future historians of Brown may find in the administration of Ruth Simmons, lack of ambition will not be one of them. As the third anniversary of her presidency approaches, her plans for improving the University’s academics are well under way: some of the 100 new faculty members have been hired, courses have been added, new multidisciplinary centers and collaborations have been formed, partnerships with other universities and research centers have begun, and plans have been announced for strengthening and growing the graduate and medical schools.
Meanwhile, a complementary but less well-known plan has also been emerging, one that will determine what a twenty-first-century Brown will look like. As ambitious and far-sighted as Simmons’s academic initiatives, this blueprint, which had been formally approved by the trustees, recognizes that new professors teaching new courses need new classrooms and offices, that more research means more lab space. No academic plan is complete without some effort to solve the space problems it produces, and at Brown the problem is particularly acute.
Embedded in a densely populated and historic residential neighborhood, the University, unlike many of its peers, owns no useful chunks of real estate into which it can easily expand. For example, the campus comprises about 235 buildings, almost half of which were originally built as houses—hardly ideal for classrooms, lecture halls, or laboratories. Restricted in this way, the University in the past has tended to address growth building by building, a habit that at times has led to pitched battles with neighbors and city government. Even worse, growth without an overarching strategy does little to make sure that Brown’s identity and academic philosophy are reinforced by its physical campus. Brown, for example, prides itself in its multidisciplinary approach to knowledge; the design and architecture of campus should facilitate those connections.
“I had experienced as president of Smith how difficult it is,” Simmons says, “to make decisions about space on an ad hoc basis. That was really what motivated my urging the Corporation’s facilities and design committee to bring in an outside expert to look at the campus and to ask the question: What can we do to insure that, as the campus grows in the future, we will preserve the best features of the campus? And at the same time, what can we do to make sure that we can accommodate the changes that are going to be needed in the future? I didn’t have particular changes in mind. I just knew that any thriving university requires that.”
The idea of producing a master plan that would articulate a few basic principles to guide future growth is, if not a new idea, one that has never really been implemented at Brown. In recent decades, for example, the trend has been to build structures based less on some perceived long-term academic strategy than on solving an immediate need. The New Pembroke dorms, for example, were built during the 1970s in response to a need for more student housing, while the GeoChem and Watson computer-science buildings sprouted in the 1980s to respond to growing activity in those disciplines. More recent buildings, such as MacMillan Hall and the new Watson Institute, solved immediate academic needs while demonstrating an architectural sensitivity to their surroundings. And as locating and constructing new buildings have become more politically difficult and more expensive, the University has most recently turned to renovating existing buildings such as Smith-Buonanno and the English department on Brown Street. Although each of these projects has resulted in useful and, sometimes, beautiful enhancements to the campus, they have been examples of what Simmons refers to as “ad hoc” projects.
“When I came to Brown in September 2000,” says Director of Planning Mike McCormick, who oversees day-to-day facilities planning at Brown, “planning was a deferred-maintenance schedule. A master plan was an institutional master plan we filed with the city, a compliance document to let the city know what we’re doing over the next five years. Now, with this new plan, it’s a document to set strategy for the next fifteen or twenty years.”
Although the main push for a long-term strategy undoubtedly came from the academic initiatives, the University’s experience with its new $95 million Life Sciences Building was also a factor. From the start, the building encountered local and municipal opposition for its size and its location near stores and residences. Although senior University officials are reluctant to talk on the record about the building’s relationship to the new master plan, it’s clear that most believe that, had a master plan been in place, the University’s long-term life sciences needs might have been better met by two or three smaller buildings than by one large structure. “That probably was one of the reasons we were hired,” says Frances Halsband, the architect behind the new strategy.
THE DECISION to hire Halsband came two years ago, after the Corporation’s facilities and design committee realized it needed some architectural expertise to help it guide the growth that Simmons’s academic initiatives would require. Simmons had already installed her senior adviser, Richard Spies, as the University’s first executive vice president for planning to take on the task of developing a vision for campus growth. But the trustees needed some more specific expertise to develop core ideas around which to develop such a vision. Halsband, of the New York City–based firm, R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects, is a former dean of Pratt’s architectural school who has worked on planning at a number of universities and colleges, including Yale and Smith, where she’d collaborated with Simmons. After a few conversations with Halsband, the facilities and design committee quickly promoted her from adviser to lead architect on the plan.
Halsband then began what she calls an “extraordinarily open and inclusive process.” She explains, “We went out and talked to maybe 150 to 200 different people. When we come to these projects, we try not to have a standard checklist. We want to see where things will lead us. We talked to the chair of every academic department. We talked to student groups, we talked to alumni, we talked to administrators, and we talked to neighborhood groups. We assembled lots of maps. We went for a walk with everybody in the neighborhood and tried to define what is the edge of campus. Really through these interviews and through the maps we began to identify what would be characteristics which were wonderful and should not be changed, and what were the things that were left over and the time had come to change them.”
As her perceptions formed, Halsband met again with faculty, students, neighbors, and administrators for their reactions, a process that would be repeated during every step of the planning process. Among the characteristics of Brown that quickly emerged were the campus’s integration into the city and the quirkiness of its architecture. When Halsband walked the edges of campus with its neighbors, she discovered that no one really agreed where the University ended and the rest of the neighborhood began, a reflection of how the two have evolved together over the past 200 years. City streets flow through the University landscape, and even in the heart of campus sits St. Stephen’s Church, an important place of worship for the East Side.
As for the eclectic campus architecture, Halsband saw that as a mixed blessing, a perception that surprised the trustees. “People at Brown think of themselves as quirky and unusual,” Halsband says, “and the buildings are quirky and unusual.” Among those buildings are the 105 houses that Brown owns and that are made to serve various administrative and academic functions. Many faculty members and alumni see these houses as essential to Brown’s small-scale charm, but Halsband asked: how practical are they for a modern university?
“You know,” says Simmons, “in the academic world we believe very strongly in soliciting outside advice, but often when we get that advice we’re really ticked off about it. It doesn’t represent what we thought we should get as advice. When we first started hearing from Frances Halsband, she was telling us some things about ourselves that created discomfort. Like we have lots of very small structures on campus. One of her early statements was that we have too many; some of them are in bad condition; some of them will never fundamentally be useful to our institutional needs, and we should start to divest ourselves of some of these houses.”
Halsband says that by far the biggest Brown strength that emerged from her research and observations was that “multidisciplinary studies really work here,” something that many people at Brown take as a given but that struck Halsband with particular force. “On every campus I have worked on, taught on, built on,” she says, “everyone wishes and hopes for multidisciplinary things to happen. And one can make it happen. Here it just does. To me that makes Brown really the most important place for the next century. When I was dean at Pratt, I felt it was my mission to become interdisciplinary, and I went and had lunch with the head of the interior design department. I said, ‘Oh, we want to welcome you into the architecture school; we’re all going to be together.’ And he said, ‘Look, we can have lunch anytime you like, but don’t ever ask me to be part of your school.’ ”
As Halsband began to think about ways to incorporate the University’s multidisciplinary approach as a theme in her planning strategy, she came up with the first of three major principles that the trustees later adopted: to develop a “circulation infrastructure” that would “foster community” and “unify and enhance the campus and its surroundings.” Because working across disciplines is so common at Brown, Halsband says, “people do a lot more commuting around,” but, she believes, the campus throws up a lot of obstacles. No clear and inviting walkways join the various parts of campus, for example, and as a result some parts are underused. Halsband points to the Pembroke campus as the clearest example. “One of the things that struck us with tremendous force is that no one has really taken into account the administrative decision of 1971 to join Pembroke and Brown, to declare that ‘now we are one.’ It doesn’t feel like that walking around. And so the principal recommendation of our plan is to create a walkway through the center of campus that takes you from Lincoln Field to Pembroke campus. I think once that happens, people will start seeing and discovering the buildings up there.”
This was not a new idea. In fact, a walkway uniting the Brown campus with Pembroke had first been suggested in 1901 by Frederick Law Olmsted, who’d been hired by the trustees to develop a plan for Lincoln Field and points north. (The curious slope in front of the Marcus Aurelius statue today is a relic of the amphitheater that Olmsted suggested be built there.) Halsband reminded the trustees that in order to walk from the main campus to Pembroke along that same path today, students must traverse a parking lot flanked by a gas station on one side and dumpsters and recycling bins on the other. “She pointed out that that was not a very profitable experience for our students,” Simmons says. “And of course that’s very right. It’s so easy from the standpoint of utility to think about your day-to-day movement as being appropriate. It takes an outsider coming in and saying, ‘This is very distasteful, and if you want your students to have a good experience, you need to change it.’ ”
PEMBROKE CAMPUS’S relative isolation also hints at a major sur- prise that has emerged from the interviews Halsband and University administrators conducted: the paradox that such a small and close-knit campus can lack a sense of community, and even a central place where everyone can gather and interact. “The single biggest observation we heard from students,” Simmons says, “is that they want to feel more like a community. Some of that is the times. I think if you go on any campus right now, you’d hear students saying that. Some of that is our sense of loss, our sense of danger, and our desire to feel a part of something that nurtures us and protects us. That’s a feeling many people are experiencing right now. But because of the way we’re organized on campus, we’re very fractured in the way our space is laid out.”
Vice President for Campus Life David Greene says that he, too, was surprised by the yearning for community. “I think it’s because there are lots of little subcommunities at Brown,” he says. “People create all of these communities around their particular interests. What we heard from students is that they belonged to three, four, or five of these. They liked that, but they were also thinking about bringing some of these subcommunities together.” Greene said that when he and others met with seventy-five student leaders of various campus groups, they discovered that the groups were all meeting in different places around campus.
As a result, the planning process has become as much about strengthening community bonds as about creating sufficient academic space. And so another specific proposal emerged: to build a campus center, an inviting spot for everyone to eat, study, converse, exercise, and socialize. Over the past few months, smaller planning groups have begun to examine where walkways and a 100,000-square-foot campus center might be located and how they might look. It is increasingly likely that the first major walkway will approximate Olmsted’s original suggestion, and that a campus center might be one of its architectural anchors. Another proposed site for a campus center is the Metcalf Lab complex between Lincoln Field and Thayer Street. Some of its departments are scheduled to move to the Life Sciences Building anyway. A final decision is expected to be made this spring.
A new campus center would solve a number of problems for the University. Most importantly, it would reflect the way students study today. David Greene notes that activity on Brown’s computing network slows down around 4 a.m. every day, reflecting students’ tendency to study and remain active into the hours just before dawn. “These students grow up doing homework with headphones on and while watching videos,” he says. A modern fitness center is likely to be built as well, either as part of a campus center or as a separate facility. A new campus center will have a wider range of food available and easy Internet access. It may contain a large auditorium or performance space, something the campus has long lacked. It may have glass walls on the first floor or some other architectural element to invite students walking by to come inside.
REINFORCING BROWN’S multidisciplinary approach and a sense of community were also important factors in Halsband’s second recommendation: to better and more fully use the main campus. “At least half the buildings around the main Green could be more intensely used than they are,” Halsband says. “Rhode Island Hall is perfect example. It was built by and for the people of Rhode Island to welcome them onto campus. It had a museum in it when it was built. And it’s now just a collection of offices that happened to be there. Rhode Island Hall should have a more significant use, a more intense use.”
What’s more, she says, Faunce House fails to provide the kinds of things students look for in a campus center. “Faunce is a series of big, beautiful rooms, but with doors on them, so you can’t coast around informally and take stock. And there’s probably not enough food, and there aren’t enough places for student offices, and so on. But that doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with the building. There just needs to be a better match between use and shape.”
In addition to discovering better uses for existing space, Halsband has identified areas within the core campus where buildings could be located without antagonizing neighbors or city officials. One site is along the north-south walkway; another is around the base of the Sciences Library. With some new academic buildings in place, houses that are now used for departmental offices could be turned back into residences. Halsband sees this as a good way to further blend the campus with its neighborhood and as a tool for attracting new faculty. “If you’re trying to encourage a professor to come here,” she says, “and you can say, ‘By the way, we have this beautiful historic house.…’ ” Houses might be sold to faculty on the condition that they would one day be sold back to Brown.
Halsband’s most comforting observation from the trustees’ perspective is that enough land is available within the core campus to meet the University’s immediate needs. “In our first presentations back to the trustees,” Halsband says, “we reported that we think there’s something like a million square feet that you can build while still staying within the appropriate guidelines for the historic districts.” This, she says, came as a great relief to trustees, who were dreading another battle like the one waged over the Life Sciences Building.
But a million square feet can take Brown only so far, and Halsband’s third recommendation is to prepare to expand beyond College Hill. The natural tendency of universities to expand along their edges is no longer feasible for Brown, she believes. Better to identify real estate in other parts of Providence that might serve as satellite sites. Earlier this year, the University began this process by buying and renovating a building within Providence’s jewelry district to house research labs and serve as a link between the campus and hospitals affiliated with the Medical School. Halsband believes the planned relocation of a link of Interstate 195 in Providence will open up land that the University should look into acquiring. “Brown needs to get land now that it can bank for the future,” she says. “The way you bank land is by making it into green space or recreational facilities or athletic facilities that you share with the community. Then, someday, maybe twenty-five years from now, when you need it back, you can build on it. Brown desperately needs that great big land bank for the future, and that means getting it right now.”
Halsband also suggests raising money for some of this by selling off assets that the University may no longer need. She suggests that Brown think about building a new football stadium along a riverfront, for example, and returning the land where the current stadium is located back to the tax rolls. “That’s a bankable asset,” she says. “That’s worth more to other people than it is to Brown. Also, can some of the houses be put back on the tax rolls? I think Brown owns a lot of things that have untapped value.”
HOW MANY of Halsband’s specific suggestions the University eventually takes up will depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is the success of the fund-raising campaign that Brown will undertake over the next several years. Halsband’s three broad principles will certainly guide future planning, however, even if some of her detailed suggestions are eventually rejected. “Frances has given us a very comprehensive study,” Simmons says. “Some of the things in it we probably don’t like very much. Some of the things we like quite a lot. But that’s the whole point of the study: to come up with concepts that will allow us, at any given moment when we have to do something, to do it in the context of an overall plan rather than doing it on an ad hoc basis.”
For her part, Halsband is amazed at how much has been accomplished already. “This is a wonderful moment for Brown,” she says, “and I hope I can stay with it. You have no idea how depressing this is on other campuses. On other campuses it just deteriorates into bickering. It takes leadership, and you’ve got it here.”
So how will campus look in 2019 to alumni from the class of 2004? “For their fifteenth reunion,” Simmons says, “they’ll see a campus that is so beautiful in its green spaces, in the walkways, in the trees that are planted, in the public art that’s available. They’ll see a central facility, so they won’t have to wander around campus looking for a place to get coffee, looking for a place where they can ask what’s going on on campus. They’ll be able to go to a fitness center and get a vigorous workout and at the same time enjoy the company of a large number of students and others using that facility. They’ll be able to walk into a life sciences building that has the latest technology and facilities for teaching and learning. They’ll be able to walk into probably two or three other buildings that didn’t exist when they were here before and that have gallery space for student art, auditoriums for lectures and concerts and films. And I think they’ll be able to leave the campus, get on a shuttle, and five minutes later be in the jewelry district or other sites that will show the best of science going on at Brown.”
It’s a big, expensive vision, on a scale like nothing that’s been attempted at Brown before. “I know that what we’ve set out to do is very difficult and very ambitious,” Simmons says. “And sometimes when I feel, ‘Oh, my goodness, we’ve taken on so much and there’s so much to do, I wonder if we’re doing too much,’ I have to remember that this is what it feels like when you’re really doing this at a high level. We have to get used to this level of activity and embrace it because by embracing it we embrace the idea that Brown is a very important university. It’s busy all the time. It’s challenging all the time. That’s the way it is.”
Norman Boucher is editor of the BAM.
Reader Responses to Blocking Out the Future
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Andrew Yang arrives at a campaign rally on Boston Common in AprilPhoto: Mark Ostow
Andrew Yang Wants to Give You $1,000
Serial entrepreneur and erstwhile political nobody Andrew Yang ’96 has leveraged social-media savvy and a Big Idea—universal basic income—to create a surprisingly successful presidential candidacy.
By Will Bunch ’81 / July/August 2019
It was a gray, blustery Monday night in mid-April, with a chilling dagger of wind whipping off the Potomac River that touched 50 mph. It felt like the odds of anyone showing up for an outdoor rally on the steps leading down to the Reflecting Pool at Washington’s Lincoln Memorial on a night like this were about as good as those that the speaker—an until-recently obscure entrepreneur, Andrew Yang ’96—will become the 46th president of the United States.
And yet the people came. Ransom Fox, an 18-year-old high school senior from Fairfax, Va.—wearing a big red-and-white bandana and clutching a hand-drawn sign that read “Protect Our Jobs—Yang Gang 2020”—and a couple of his schoolmates had scoped out prime real estate on the steps an hour ahead of time.
Fox is a self-described “Trump supporter” and son of a GOP functionary in northern Virginia. But the teen told me he’s now pumped about Yang and his ideas after stumbling across a YouTube video in which the 44-year-old political neophyte had talked about proposals like the “Freedom Dividend,” a $1,000-a-month government check to every American over age 18, on a wildly popular podcast with Joe Rogan, an
Ultimate Fighting commentator.
“I see similarities [between Yang and Trump] in that they both want to protect our jobs, they just have different views about protecting [them],” Fox said amid the gusts. He added: “I will vote for Yang in [Virginia’s open] primary. If he makes it to the top”—a general election against the incumbent president—“I don’t know what to do.”
Fox is not a total outlier—Yang’s insurgent Democratic primary bid has appealed to other conservative voters—but as the steps fill up toward an eventual crowd of about 1,000 you tend to meet more traditional Democrats, libertarians, the previously apolitical, and a few who voted in the 2016 primaries for the democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. The only thing this mix of committed supporters and the Yang-curious seemed to share was a thirst for new political ideas to shatter Washington’s political ennui … and a fondness for numbers.
“Andrew says a lot about math,” a rally organizer shouted into a microphone as the 6 p.m. start loomed. “Who’s got a “MATH” sign?” About 50 or 60 people held up the blue placards. “So when Andrew says something about math, hold up those signs and yell, “Math!”
Photo: Mark Ostow
Fifteen minutes later, the candidate finally bounded onto the steps, energetic and fashionable in a red and blue scarf and a black baseball cap that read—you guessed it—“MATH.” Just a stone’s throw from where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, Yang laid out a 21st century nightmare of robots and artificial intelligence taking away the jobs of truck drivers, store clerks, and call-
center workers. But then he pivoted toward a more hopeful message—punctuated by his $1,000-a-month plan, which he tells the rally has already been tried successfully in one American state.
“What state is that?!” Yang shouts into the mic.
“Alaska!” shouts back the crowd, obviously well-schooled from YouTube.
“And how do they fund it?!”
“Oil!”
“And what is the oil of the 21st century?”
“Technology!”
“In Alaska they call it the Oil Check and they love it,” Yang says after the hubbub stops echoing off the Reflecting Pool. “We’re going to call it the Tech Check and we’re going to love it. I want you to think what you would do with $1,000 a month ….”
Andrew Yang isn’t leading in the polls, and with big names like former vice president Joe Biden continuing to enter the ever-expanding Democratic fray, the math for actually winning the party’s nomination at next July’s convention in Milwaukee, let alone defeating Trump in the 2020 general election, remains beyond daunting. But Yang’s bid for the White House has arguably been the most unconventional and even the most interesting in this rugby scrum of nearly two dozen candidates.
And on most days it’s the most fun—a point he hammered home in mid-April when the campaign posted a video of a hologram of Yang showcasing his moves alongside a similarly beamed-up Tupac Shakur, the late rapper, while promising Yang might later show up at campaign rallies in holographic mode. (Ribbed about it during a CNN Town Hall, he said to the host, CNN anchor Ana Cabrera, “How do you know it’s me in this chair?”)
Why the Free Money?
Andrew Yang ’96 knows you’re skeptical. “‘There’s an Asian man running for president ... who wants to give everyone $1,000 a month?’” he says. “‘This sounds too good to be true!’ But when you look at our history this idea has been here since the founding of this country.”
UBI: an old idea
Yang is right when he says universal basic income (UBI) has been debated for a long, long time. Past supporters of UBI have included the American Revolution-era thinker Thomas Paine,
who called for “a citizens’ dividend” in the new
republic. Twentieth century Nobel Prize-winning economists like Milton Friedman and F.A. Hayek have also supported UBI. In the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King along with over 1,200 economics professors signed a letter to President Nixon pushing for a modified UBI, called a “guaranteed income,” which in 1970 passed through the House of Representatives but was ultimately struck down in the Senate.
Why do it now?
Since 2000, technology has replaced four million manufacturing jobs in the United States. Studies show that current government policies that attempt to deal with job losses in manufacturing—such as retraining displaced workers—largely aren’t working. And the next wave of automation will include sophisticated artificial intelligence softwares like self-driving cars, which alone jeopardize 3.5 million truck driving jobs, and millions more when accounting for ride service jobs, delivery jobs, and other driver-based jobs. This will create unprecedented levels of job insecurity for millions of Americans.
What’s the economic case for it?
Beyond the individual benefits that the Freedom Dividend affords each person, UBI would also permanently grow the U.S. economy by 12 to 13 percent, according to a study done by the Roosevelt Institute. This is because the money is being given to people who will actually spend it, which will jumpstart the economy. Inflation-wise, UBI should have a minimal effect due to the way it’s funded.
How will we pay for it?
The simplified answer that Yang gives at campaign rallies is we’ll pay for UBI by more effectively taxing big tech companies, like Amazon, which currently reap large profits while paying little or no federal taxes. The more complicated specifics—a so-called value-added tax, or VAT, on every stage of production—draws mixed reviews from economists; some say firms would pass those costs on to the consumer and thus nullify the $1,000 benefit. However, Yang’s VAT would be around 10 percent (half the European Union’s current 20 percent VAT rate) and would be higher on luxury goods and lower or even nonexistent on staple goods. The cost would also be offset by reducing current Social Security spending; Americans currently on a government benefit program, like paid disability or food stamps, would choose between the Freedom Dividend’s unconditional $12,000 a year or their current government benefit program—whichever they decide benefits them more. This would decrease direct spending as well as the bureaucratic cost of implementing and monitoring complicated government programs.
Has it ever been tested?
A handful of pilot programs have been implemented in a number of countries around the world in the past couple of decades, including in Finland, Kenya, and Cambodia. Many of these programs have found that people’s standard of living, educational attainment, financial security, and general health and well-being all improve while receiving basic incomes or cash transfers. In North America, multiple successful pilot programs have been run—in Oakland, North Carolina, Indiana, Manitoba, and Ontario, for example—but the longest running has been in Alaska, where a tax on oil has been shared with all residents as a dividend since 1982. Stockton, Calif., is currently in the midst of testing out its own $500 a month program for a random selection of its residents. The multitude of pilots, programs, and experiments in UBI have, if anything, further bolstered the case for a large-scale national basic-income program.
—W.B.
with additional reporting by Joshua Danielson ’20
Given the admittedly low expectations for a not-well-known businessman who’s never run for any political office before, it’s fairly remarkable how far Yang has already ventured on the long, strange trip of a modern presidential campaign. Polls in the spring showed Yang running as high as 3 percent in the crowded field, ahead of well-known pols like senators Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand—and internet prediction markets rated his chances even higher. Hundreds of thousands of TV viewers saw Yang hold court for an hour at that CNN Town Hall—a warm-up for June when, aided by his skill in raising small donations, he seemed certain to qualify for a spot on the Democrats’ first big debate stage in Miami.
The fact that Yang aims to be America’s first Asian-American president almost feels like an afterthought—a tribute, perhaps, to his ability to keep the conversation focused on the proposed Freedom Dividend and some of the 95 other policy positions on his website. The national attention is fairly heady stuff for the son of Taiwanese immigrants from upstate New York whose unusual and small do-good-capitalism nonprofit, Venture for America, was little publicized before Yang launched his Oval Office bid.
“What I’m proposing is something called human-centered capitalism,” Yang said as he dug into a salmon Caesar salad in the large lobby of a Capitol Hill hotel, still on something of a high from the CNN event the night before and the newest poll showing him moving ahead of some more famous Democrats. He explained that means “we channel the market’s ability to direct resources—but instead of trying to maximize profitability in stock market prices, we try and maximize our own health, our life expectancy, our mental health, our freedom from substance abuse, our environmental quality, our childhood success rates—things that would actually be important to us.”
Yang’s wonky passions, for ideas and for giving something back to society, were honed during his four years on the Brown campus in the mid-1990s. His parents were lured from Taiwan to America by a program in the late 1960s that encouraged the island nation’s best and brightest to study in the U.S. on a fast track to legal residency. After meeting and marrying at Berkeley, his dad—a physicist with multiple patents as a researcher for General Electric and IBM—and his mom, now an artist, settled in Schenectady, N.Y., where Andrew was born in 1975, before the family moved to Westchester County, N.Y.
In The War on Normal People, the second of his two books, Yang writes with searing honesty about his childhood and the abuse heaped on him for his Asian heritage—the kids who called him “Chink” or kicked at him like he was an extra in a kung fu movie. Enrolling at Brown—he’d nearly attended Stanford before deciding last-minute to stay on the East Coast, near his brother who was at Wesleyan—gave Yang more oxygen to be himself and find new outlets for a passion for helping the underdog that he’d developed during the years of bullying.
“There was a program where they teach you about marginalized people of various kinds,” Yang recalled in the interview. As he learned more about the plight of black and brown Americans, the LGBTQ community, and women, “It had a huge impact on me.” He also learned more about himself. As a suburban kid, he says, “there was something of a monoculture with just three TV channels back in the 1980s—so there was a bit of an awakening to my own identity I went through at Brown.”
Meanwhile, Yang’s studies in political science and economics look today like a roadmap to the presidential campaign he’d create a quarter-century later—including labor-force economics, where his obsession with the future of work emerged. (He’s continued to stay in touch with the professor, Ross Cheit.) But Yang’s Providence years were kind of low voltage for a future presidential candidate. He’s called himself “a fairly unremarkable student” who spent much of his time playing video games like Street Fighter II and working out, focused on the martial art of taekwondo. He jokes in his first book, Smart People Should Build Things, that his big college achievement was bench-pressing 225 pounds eight times in a row and building up his pectorals to the point where he named them “Lex” and Rex.”
Polls in the spring showed Yang running as high as 3 percent in the crowded field, ahead of well-known pols like senators Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand.
After graduation, Yang earned his law degree at Columbia and endured a short, unsatisfying stint as a corporate lawyer. He then launched one internet startup that failed to take off but then did much better with the next one, a business-school test-prep company called Manhattan GMAT that he and his co-founder sold in 2009 to the industry giant, Kaplan, at a healthy profit. By then, he’d noticed that ambitious entrepreneurs like himself tended to congregate in a few large cities and a few elite professions while the rest of the U.S. economy was suffering—but he wasn’t sure what to do about that.
In 2008, Yang had returned to the Brown campus for an alumni panel on entrepreneurship where he met Charlie Kroll ’01 for the first time. Kroll’s story of how he’d built a small but thriving financial software startup amid the industrial brownfields of Providence didn’t just inspire Yang but gave him a big idea, a venture-capital outfit that targeted down-and-out Rust Belt cities. He imagined it like the Bill Clinton–founded Teach for America except with entrepreneurs—so much so that he called it Venture for America when it launched in 2011.
“I decided to create more Charlie Krolls,” said Yang, who in nearly a decade with Venture for America has launched small success stories like Banza, a publicity savvy startup in Detroit that makes chickpea pasta, and LeagueSide, also in Detroit, which connects struggling youth sports leagues with big-name corporate sponsors. Kroll, who joined VFA’s board of directors, said that Yang “is really magnetic. He has this almost unique ability to inspire people and get them motivated to do things.”
After Trump’s election in November 2016, Yang started to ponder how he could do more. Convinced that automation of factory jobs in the Midwest had driven voters to the Republican party, Yang became interested in the idea of universal basic income (UBI) as a safety net against a robot economy. He met one of UBI’s top advocates, longtime union leader Andy Stern, and asked Stern who would make that the focus of a 2020 White House bid. When Stern told him, flatly, “No one,” Yang says he decided to run himself. (He later told CNN that his mother’s initial reaction was along the lines of, “That’s nice … pass the salt.”)
“I’m surprised someone had the courage,” Stern said in an interview, adding that he never imagined a candidate who’d have so much success using new media like podcasts and YouTube to bring so much attention to UBI.
Yang said in the interview that no one imagined that 21st century capitalism “would be eaten by itself.” The biggest problems, he explained, are advances in automation and artificial intelligence. “In the old days you’d say in order to optimize my bottom line I’d hire the best people and treat them well,” he said, “but increasingly, optimizing my bottom line means getting rid of people as fast as possible.”
His candidacy has been marked by that type of big-picture thinking. But instead of being a single-issue candidate, Yang created a website with a veritable matrix of policy issues. They range from the serious—on health care and drug-policy reform—to rather arcane political topics like a text line for reporting robocalls, getting rid of the penny, protections for MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters, and free marriage counseling. He backed away from another early stance—opposition to circumcision—after pushback and some ridicule in the press.
“A lot of it is just clarity of vision and giving people a sense of my world view,” he said of his 96 listed positions. Meanwhile, Yang’s direct pitch for Trump’s disgruntled 2016 voters has had an unintended consequence: winning the candidate favorable reviews from a few prominent white nationalists in the Trump-friendly movement that bills itself “the alt-right.” The notorious white nationalist Richard Spencer tweeted that “Trumpism was the fantasy that America can be we saved [sic]. Yangism is the awareness that it can’t.” At the same time, #YangGang hashtags exploded on underground sites like 4chan, popular with the far right.
Yang told me he’s repudiated any white-extremist support but that he’s also not worried about it. “One thing I’ve learned running for president is that you have to lean into who you are,” he said. At the Lincoln Memorial rally, his campaign introduced him with a steady stream of young supporters who voiced both their angst about making ends meet in 21st century America and their hopes for what they could do with a Freedom Dividend of $1,000 a month.
“The 9-to-5, lifetime careers of our grandparents are virtually non-existent in today’s America,” a local artist and Yang volunteer named Rachel Spellman told the rally as she spoke of trying to survive on short-term gigs and freelance work. She added that her family had disowned her for coming out as gay and “Andrew Yang is the only presidential candidate right now who would offer protection in scenarios like mine.”
“I’m going to present the State of the Union as a PowerPoint deck—I’m going to be the first president to do that!”
Others in the rally crowd were curious about Yang but not ready for commitment. Lisa Winett, a 47-year-old teacher from Baltimore, told me she thought the candidate was “pretty smart,” yet she wondered about giving $1,000 a month to the drug dealers currently preying on her hometown. And if the Freedom Dividend gains too much traction, she said, “Big Business is going to squash that like a bug.” Some critical economists say Yang’s plan won’t do enough for the poorest Americans, because the $1,000 would merely replace their current benefits, like disability checks.
For now, though, Yang is flying in a sweet spot above the ground yet below the radar screen. His spring tour of rallies proved an ideal platform to talk about his quirky-but-popular issues like ditching the gross domestic product, or GDP, as a measure of America’s economic health. He explains that GDP measures whether corporations are thriving but not people, at a time when opioid addiction is rising and U.S. life expectancy is actually declining. He questioned why the annual State of the Union speech doesn’t reflect that.
“I’m going to present them as a PowerPoint deck—I’m going to be the first president to do that!” he told his cheering admirers. “That’s right—you’re going to get something out of the State of the Union instead of these bizarre theatre performances we’re subjected to every year … and people are all trying to stand up and clap or not clap—what is this? It’s so weird!”
Yang looked out into the grey gloaming toward the Washington Monument, his view of the great Reflecting Pool blocked by dozens of whooping supporters waving their signs that read “MATH.”
“Numbers, right?!”
Will Bunch ’81 is national opinion columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News and author of several books including Tear Down This Myth: The Right-Wing Distortion of the Reagan Legacy.
Class of 1996, Class of 1981
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Sociologist Rachel Sherman ’91 on why 1-percenters need to see themselves as virtuous
Reader Responses to Andrew Yang Wants to Give You $1,000
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Oct 20 Call Answered: Mary Dimino: Big Dummy Scared Skinny
Mary Dimino, author of Scared Skinny, has a new solo show, Big Dummy about Mary's relationship with her father, whom she describes as a simple man. As someone who grew up with a learning disability, I already feel a connection to this show! When I was a child, I was diagnosed with a learning disability called auditory processing, where it would take me longer to process information being spoken to me than someone else. It was a struggle for me to get through school. I spent a lot of time on my work. With the help of my parents and many teachers, I made it through school, but it was at Curry College where I truly learned how to overcome my learning disability. If it wasn't for their PAL program, I might not be where I am today.
Big Dummy, a heartfelt comedy about dads and daughters, is playing a special encore performance in the United Solo Festival on Thursday, October 22 at 9pm at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th & 10th Avenue). Click here for tickets!
Big Dummy will then run at The 13th Street Repertory Theatre from December 2, 2015-January 30, 2016 (50 West 13th Street, between 5th & 6th Avenue). Click here for tickets!
For more on Mary be sure to visit http://www.marydimino.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and IMDB!
For more on Big Dummy visit http://www.big-dummy.com and follow the show on Facebook and Twitter!
For more on Scared Skinny visit http://www.scared-skinny.com and follow the show on Facebook!
1. Before we get to your new show Big Dummy, let's go back a moment to your award winning show Scared Skinny, just to get a little background on yourself. You have struggled with weight your whole life. When did you realize you could turn your fat into funny? My struggle with weight has always been the heart of my comedy, not only as a comedian and actress, but also as a coping mechanism as a child. In school, I’d make fun of myself before anyone else would. I’d get the bullies and the popular kids to laugh by being myself, but an exaggerated version of myself. I learned early in life that diffusing a situation with humor always renders the best results, in other words, you don’t get your ass kicked. Ironically, pointing out my flaws is what gave me my power back.
Scared Skinny: A one (hundred pound lighter) woman show - chronicles my life growing up fat, funny and afraid in an Italian family from Queens. It’s about how I lost 100 pounds, what got me to that weight in the first place, and the fears I had to overcome before I could lose it. Ultimately, it’s a story of self-acceptance and triumph, where perfection does not exist. Instead perfection is always in the moment we have now, in the bodies we are living in.
Scared Skinny debuted in the New York International Fringe Festival where it had a sold out run, and was winner of the Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show. It was also nominated for the MAC Award for Outstanding Special Production. It’s been running regularly for over a year now at the Corner Office Theater in Times Square Arts Center. Scared Skinny's next performance is November 18 at 7pm! Click here for tickets!
2. On October 22, you are returning to the United Solo Festival with Big Dummy, a heartfelt comedy about dads and daughters. Why did you want to have another show in the United Solo Festival? United Solo invited me back to be apart of their Encore series. Big Dummy was apart of last year’s 2014 United Solo. Dummy enjoyed a successful run with five sold out shows, and won a United Solo Award, so it was an exhilarating experience. I am honored to be back on Theatre Row for an encore.
What’s also news is that Big Dummy is having a run at The 13th Street Rep, opening Friday, January 8th 2016 and running regularly through January 30th. Dates and times are at www.big-dummy.com. Dummy has an exciting fall/winter season ahead!
Mary Dimino in "Scared Skinny"3. After writing and performing your award winning show Scared Skinny, what made you want to write a show about your relationship with your dad? I’ve been holding Dad’s secret close to my heart, something I had told no one, and had no intention of ever telling anyone. And that’s exactly why I knew I had to do it. Sometimes it’s the story we can never tell—that has to be told.
Dad was unique, even "special" you may say, yet his story is so relevant in today’s society. Over 30 million Americans have learning disabilities. 92 million have special needs. I felt strongly that telling Dad’s story would heal others. My wish is for people to see themselves or a loved one somewhere within this play. Big Dummy is about Dad. He could be your dad, your brother, your son, your uncle. It’s about understanding someone who "is not like everybody else." His story’s take away is inspiration, and understanding that it’s never too late to fulfill your destiny.
Mary Dimino in "Big Dummy" in 20134. In writing Big Dummy, what is one thing you discovered about your dad that you didn't appreciate until you were an adult? I discovered in the writing of Big Dummy that Dad was brilliant, as is. Accepting Dad, in all his simplicity, was the gift that writing this piece gave me. I remember, as a teenager, trying to hide him away, distancing myself from him. This piece fused my feelings, both good and bad, into unconditional love. I think I can say what I discovered is that in order to do something extraordinary, you don’t have to be super smart, or highly educated, or prideful. In fact, it was because of his lack of all of the above, that he was able to achieve what he finally did. I now understand why he was so magical. It was because of his simplicity, not in spite of it. It’s through Dad’s story that I learned miracles occur when you are within a pure state of trust. To have ONE way of being and knowing no other.
I can now appreciate the fact that all you really need to be happy in life is to be genuine, be yourself, and to keep it simple—that’s when you’re limitless.
Mary Dimino in "Scared Skinny"5. Do you feel your relationship with your dad added to your weight issues? If so, how? My relationship with Dad was a positive one, so in the end, I don’t think it added to my weight issues, which is why Dad is not a major character in Scared Skinny. Skinny wasn’t his story. It was Mom’s and Grandma’s and mine. The women in my life were really the ones who unintentionally ruined me when it came to body issues. "You’re too fat to wear that dress." "You’re too fat to go out with boys." "You’re too fat to wear a bathing suit." You know, that kinda stuff. And that’s why they are the main characters in Skinny. I’m sure they were doing the best they could but wow, they certainly did a number on my self esteem.
On the other hand, Dad grounded me. He passed no judgements, he just was Dad. Always there, very consistent in his love. Dad had his own story which was way too amazing to be apart of Scared Skinny’s plot line. That’s why I gave him his own show. His story demanded it.
6. How did writing Scared Skinny and Big Dummy help you move forward in life? Skinny and Dummy helped me move forward in many ways. I was able to develop as a writer. I started out as a stand up comic, sketch player and improviser, where what you do is presented in fast chunks of material, each having multiple punch lines and very short set ups. Solo playwriting allows a writer to go deeper, to tell an audience a sustained story, with an arc and a message, providing all of the ups and downs, the emotional rollercoasters that so reflect real life. You have a chance to make people both laugh and cry, to give them poignancy along with the humor.
I also find that writing heals me. And it is through my healing that others are healed. So, I guess you can say it was a double blessing. For example, people will come up to me after a show, sometimes with tears in their eyes, saying to me that I just told their story, too. I will never forget, one time after Skinny, a teenage girl came up to me sobbing because she hated her body so much, was so depressed and was thinking of dropping out of school. After seeing Skinny, she was overwhelmed with new emotions and empowerment. It healed her, knowing that she was not alone in this struggle with weight. She felt empowered to be who she was now and not the idealized person that she wanted to be one day, or the model she saw in a magazine or on television. To know that I can be that for someone means everything to me. It’s the reason why I do this, why I go through the pains of birthing a new story.
Ironically, these stories, even though they are about my life experiences, are not really about me, or my particular story. It’s about everyone else’s. It’s through my story that people can see theirs. Sometimes something bigger than yourself goes on. And I am honored to be an instrument for that. Before I write, I always ask the universe to show me the way, to use me. I don’t want to die with my story in me. I want to use up everything so that in the end, I can say I have nothing, because I used it all.
Mary Dimino United Solo Festival winner7. What challenges do you face in putting a solo show together? Putting a solo show together is a huge feat. It involves taking everything you know and everything you didn’t know you knew. It takes both self disciple, and the ability to work with a team towards a clear unified vision. Ultimately, it is all you in the end and your play needs to reflect the vision you had when you first conceived it.
Solo shows are the best representation of what you are made of because it's your guts and your glory that are on stage every night for strangers to see. You take a thought in your head, and make it manifest - into art. Solo show writers are consciously working magic, it's alchemy of the highest order. And once the magic happens, the work just begins. You become the producer, the marketer, the actor, the writer, the publicist, the manager. You have to know when to put on those different hats and when to take them off. You need to know something about everything and admit you know a lot about nothing. You then have to get on that stage, let it all go…And. Just. Be.
8. In your opinion, what makes the bond/relationship between a father and daughter unique? The relationship between a father and daughter is unique because dad is the first man she will look up to, the first man she will subconsciously model and compare all other men to in her future. A daughter bases her ideas about men, and who they should be, and the type of man she will feel comfortable with in the future, on what a father does and doesn’t do. And for the father, every dad sees his mother or his sister in his daughter, which makes him love and respect his daughter, and womankind even more. In a way, they take care of each other, making each other live to their fullest potentials.
Mary Dimino in "Big Dummy" in 20139. Out of all your friends growing up, did you ever wish one of their dads could have been your dad? If so, why? Sure. In fact, I admired most of my friend’s dads, they all seemed so normal, you know. Taking their kids to baseball games, helping them with their homework, doing dad stuff. My dad wasn’t like them. He couldn’t be. My dad was who he was, nothing more, nothing less. I never really understood that, or came to terms with that, until later in life. Funny how time can put the past into perspective, a perspective that brings with it appreciation. Now, I wouldn’t want anyone else’s parents but mine. Why? Because they were mine. Wanting what you have—it’s a concept that sometimes takes a lifetime to learn.
10. If you could have had any TV dad as your real dad, who would you have chosen? Fred Flintstone. A helluva guy, that Fred. He drove a car with his feet, he bowled on his toes, he was a member of the Water Buffalos, he played golf, pool, poker, he sang, he danced, he had a pet dinosaur for a dog, he worked at a quarry operating the brontosaurus crane. The guy even had a vitamin named after him.
But mostly why I think of Fred for this question is because he was lovable, down to earth, a good provider for his family, and he’d do anything for his wife and daughter. Kinda like my Dad. Yup, kinda like mine.
Mary DiminoMore on Mary:
A Fringe NYC "Outstanding Solo Show" Award Winner for her critically acclaimed sold out hit Scared Skinny, Mary Dimino is described as "riotously funny" by The Wall Street Journal, "utterly captivating" by nytheatre.com, and "a born ranconteur with exuberance and heart" by Curtain Up.
Her book, Scared Skinny No More, based on her original autobiographical solo show, Scared Skinny, is published by Sunbury Press and debuted #10 on their bestseller list.
A 2010 MAC Award winner for "Outstanding Female Comedian," author and actress Mary Dimino also won a 2008 Gracie Allen Award for her role in the PBS documentary, Fat, What No One is Telling You and was featured on NBC’s Today Show. The Gracie Allen Award, presented by American Women in Radio and Television, honors exemplary contributions of individuals who have encouraged the realistic and faceted portrayals of women in entertainment, commercials and featured programming.
Mary Dimino's TV appearances include HBO's Chris Rock Show, VH-1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Graham Norton Effect, Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade, American Movie Classics' Interstitial Movie Moments, NBC's Today Show, Meredith Vieira, sketches on Late Shows with David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, and numerous national commercials. She has been heard on SIRIUS XM Radio, Howard Stern 100 News Leiberman Live. On stage she played the "Maid of Honor" in Tony & Tina's Wedding, "Carmella" in Surprise, and last season landed the role of "Vidalia" in the off-Broadway hit My Big Gay Italian Funeral at St. Luke's Theater.
Her latest solo show BIG DUMMY, made its world debut to a sold out run at The Player's Loft Theatre in The New York International Fringe Festival (2013). BIG DUMMY enjoyed a sold out run on Theatre Row (2014), where it won the United Solo Award for "First Sold Out Show."
Mary Dimino is a comedy contributor for The Huffington Post.
Actress, Adam Rothenberg, Big Dummy, Call Me Adam, Comedian, Dads, Daughters, Learning Disabilities, Mary Dimino, Scared Skinny, United Solo Festival, Weight Loss
Oct 22 Call Answered: Brian Charles Rooney: Trouble at Feinstein's/54 Below
Oct 16 Call Answered: Steve Schonberg & Laura Heywood: Ghost Light: Songs and Creepy Stories from Broadway and Beyond To Get You In The Halloween Spirit
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Concord: Naval weapons station meeting May 11
By Bay Area News Group |
CONCORD — The City Council on Wednesday will consider selecting Lennar Urban to develop the Concord Naval Weapons Station.
The meeting is 6:30 p.m. in the council chamber at the Civic Center, 1950 Parkside Drive.
The council had been scheduled to review Lennar’s revised financial proposal on May 3, but the meeting was canceled due to a lack of a quorum.
Under the revised proposal, Concord would receive a guaranteed $20 million over 10 years with profit-sharing once the company earns a 20 percent return on its investment, which could amount to an additional $23 million for the city.
Lennar also would commit $40 million for affordable housing and spend nearly $16 million to widen Willow Pass Road to four lanes and rebuild Willow Pass bridge as a four-lane span.
The proposal still allocates $39 million for a K-8 school; $26 million for 80 acres of parks, greenways and open space; $20 million for two community centers; and $3 million for a shuttle connecting the development to Todos Santos Plaza.
Lisa P. White covers Concord and Pleasant Hill. Contact her at 925-943-8011. Follow her at Twitter.com/lisa_p_white.
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Ashers Bakery: Evangelical Couple Wins Major UK Supreme Court 'Gay Cake' Discrimination Case
CP Current Page: World | Wednesday, October 10, 2018
By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter | Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Daniel McArthur (R) and his wife Amy of Ashers Bakery following the Supreme Court ruling in London on October 10, 2018. | (Screenshot: YouTube/The Christian Institute)
An evangelical couple have won their court ordeal after the U.K.'s Supreme Court decided that they did not discriminate against a gay man by refusing to make him a same-sex wedding cake.
The couple, Daniel McArthur and his wife, Amy, of Ashers Bakery in Belfast, had previously lost the lower court case and a subsequent appeal that found them guilty of discrimination in 2014. They had been accused of refusing to make gay rights activist Gareth Lee a cake in support of same-sex marriage, which they said goes against their religious beliefs.
On Wednesday, the five justices unanimously overturned the guilty verdict in London.
"The district judge found that the appellants did not refuse to fulfill Mr. Lee's order because of his actual or perceived sexual orientation. The objection was to the message on the cake, not any personal characteristics of the messenger, or anyone with whom he was associated," reads the official judgment.
"The message was not indissociable from the sexual orientation of the customer, as support for gay marriage was not a proxy for any particular sexual orientation. The benefit of the message accrues not only to gay or bisexual people, but to their families and friends and to the wider community who recognize the social benefits which such commitment can bring. Thus, there was no discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in this case," it adds.
The case has been on the forefront of religious freedom vs. anti-discrimination debates in the U.K. for years.
The Christian Institute, the group representing the McArthurs, hailed what they called a landmark victory in a press release. Daniel McArthur, Ashers' general manager, spoke about his delight at the ruling, and gave thanks to God.
"We're delighted and relieved at today's ruling. We always knew we hadn't done anything wrong in turning down this order. After more than four years, the Supreme Court has now recognized that and we're very grateful. Grateful to the judges and especially grateful to God," he declared.
"We're particularly pleased the Supreme Court emphatically accepted what we've said all along — we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself."
The controversy all began in May 2014, when Ashers turned down an order for a cake with a message reading "Support Gay Marriage" featuring "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie.
While they were sued for discrimination, the McArthurs repeatedly insisted that their evangelical faith prevents them from supporting such messages.
In response to the verdict, Lee argued that the case has made him feel like a second-class citizen, BBC News reported. The activist added that he is now concerned about "the implications for all of the gay community."
"To me, this was never about conscience or a statement. All I wanted to do was to order a cake in a shop," Lee added.
The Christian Institute Deputy Director (Public Affairs) Simon Calvert called the ruling "a total vindication of Ashers Baking Company and the McArthur family."
"The court strongly agreed with Ashers' lawyers that this case has always been about the message on the cake and not the customer; the message, not the messenger," Calvert said.
"Equality law was never intended to be used in the way the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland tried to use it in this case."
Christian Couple Found Guilty of Discrimination for Not Baking Gay Marriage Cake Take Case to Supreme Court
Christian Couple Who Lost Gay Marriage Cake Case Sees Profits Soar to Millions Despite Controversy
Christian Couple in UK Supreme Court 'Gay Cake' Fight Declare: 'Jesus Has Been With Us Every Step'
Gay Journalist 'Horrified' Court Ruling Forces Christian Bakers to Bake Gay Marriage Cakes
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cogitASIA CSIS Asia Policy Blog
About CogitASIA
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Update on India’s States
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By the Numbers: India’s Progress on its Renewable Energy Target
by cogitASIA Staff • February 27, 2019 • 4 Comments
By Aman Y. Thakker —
India One solar thermal power plant in Rajasthan, India. Source: Brahmakumaris Photo Gallery’s flickr photostream, used under a creative commons license.
In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set an ambitious goal for India to generate 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2022. According to latest data released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India has installed a total capacity of 74.79 GW of renewable power as of December 31, 2018. The Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies analyzed the progress each Indian state had made on meeting this target, and the path ahead for India as it tries to meet these goals.
25.21 GW in Wind Power compared to 35.14 GW in Solar Power
A plurality of India’s installed renewable energy – over 35 GW – continues to be sourced from wind power. However, more than half of that installed capacity came before Prime Minister Modi announced the 175 GW target in 2015. At the time he announced the target, India had already installed 23.4 GW of wind power, giving it a significant leg up over solar power, which only boasted 3.7 GW of installed capacity in 2015.
India’s total installed renewable energy capacity as of December 31, 2018. Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Press Information Bureau, Government of India, compiled by CSIS Wadhwani Chair staff.
However, in the three years since, the total installed solar capacity between 2015-2018 has risen by 21.5 GW, compared to an additional 11.7 GW for wind in the same timeframe. This year, 2019, will see the pace pick up for solar, with estimates that nearly 14 GW of installed capacity will be added by the end of the year, compared to 2.3 GW for wind. At this rate, installed solar capacity in India is on track to overtake wind capacity by next year.
100 GW in 4 Years
While India has already installed around 75 GW of renewable energy capacity, it has a long way to go if it is to meet its target of 175 GW by 2022. The average rate at which India added renewable capacity from 2015-2016 to 2018-2019 is 9.20 GW per year. As it looks to add another 100 GW of energy by 2021-2022, such a feat would require a growth rate of over three times the current rate – nearly 33.40 GW per year.
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Press Information Bureau, Government of India, compiled by CSIS Wadhwani Chair staff.
This challenge looks even more daunting as states announce that they are already experiencing a surplus of electricity. According to the Load Generation Balance Report 2018-19 report by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), a majority of states have surplus power based on peak demand, with the entirety of India’s Western states noting surplus power generation capacity. With reports of such surplus power, it remains to be seen how states can continue to add installed capacity.
For example, the state of Maharashtra has a target of 11.93 GW for installed solar capacity and 7.6 GW for installed wind capacity by 2022. It has currently installed 1.42 GW, or 11.9 percent of its solar target, and 4.65 GW, or 61.2 percent of its wind target. The CEA’s report notes that the state already has 1.3 percent surplus power supply based on peak demand with 23.30 GW. Adding another 12.86 GW (10.51 GW solar + 2.35 wind) will be tough at a time when the state is already reporting surplus power. With other power surplus states such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and others facing similarly high targets, adding more installed capacity will become increasingly difficult in coming years.
Mr. Aman Thakker is a Research Associate with the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at CSIS. Follow him on twitter @AmanThakker.
← Update on India’s States: February 27, 2019
Heightened Tensions in South Asia →
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Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, on the Importance of the Pacific for New Zealand & U.S. Foreign Policy
July 16 – CSIS
G20 Osaka Debrief: What, So What, Now What?
Ninth Annual South China Sea Conference
Tweets from https://twitter.com/BeanJD/lists/csis-asia-programs
Copyright © 2019 cogitASIA CSIS Asia Policy Blog. All Rights Reserved.
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There are schools offering paramedic programs in Wisconsin!
Click to browse online paramedic programs >
Schools Offering Paramedic Training Programs in Wisconsin
Paramedic Programs in Indiana
Paramedic Programs in Michigan
Paramedic Programs in Minnesota
Paramedic Programs in Iowa
Paramedic Programs in Illinois
Paramedic Programs in Ohio
Each year, approximately 0.8% of Wisconsin graduates receive certificates in paramedic training. In other words, every year an estimated 1,357 paramedics graduate from Wisconsin's 15 paramedic schools.
Chippewa Valley Technical College, which is located in Eau Claire, is the top-ranked school in Wisconsin that has a paramedic program. It received a ranking of 76th in the country in 2010. 11 students graduated with a certificate in paramedic from Chippewa Valley Technical College in 2010. Students at Chippewa Valley Technical College paid $3,677 per year in tuition fees.
The second-ranked school in Wisconsin that has a paramedic program is Northcentral Technical College. Northcentral Technical College, which was ranked 76th in the country in 2010, is located in Wausau. In 2010, 112 students graduated from Northcentral Technical College paramedic program. The tuition rate at Northcentral Technical College was $3,493 per year.
The third-ranked school in Wisconsin with a paramedic program is Fox Valley Technical College, which is located in Appleton. In 2010, it was ranked 77th nationwide. In 2010, Fox Valley Technical College graduated 69 students from its paramedic programs. Students at Fox Valley Technical College paid $3,650 per year in tuition fees.
Paramedic schools in Wisconsin, charge students an average tuition of $3,523 per year. But, tuition can be as much as $4,058 per year, or as little as $3,339 per year. The highest tuition rates in 2010 at Wisconsin paramedic schools were charged at the following schools:
Nicolet Area Technical College - located in Rhinelander, students are charged $4,058 per year
Chippewa Valley Technical College - located in Eau Claire, students are charged $3,677 per year
Fox Valley Technical College - located in Appleton, students are charged $3,650 per year
The paramedic schools that charged the lowest tuition rates in Wisconsin were:
Blackhawk Technical College - located in Janesville, students are charged $3,339 per year
Lakeshore Technical College - located in Cleveland, students are charged $3,355 per year
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College - located in Shell Lake, students are charged $3,371 per year
A paramedic certificate from a Wisconsin school... what next?
A large number of Wisconsin paramedic graduates become paramedics. 5,290 paramedics were working in Wisconsin in 2010. The largest populations of Wisconsin paramedics are working in the following counties:
Barron County - 1,030 paramedics
Adams County - 710 paramedics
Milwaukee County - 650 paramedics
The government projects that the number of paramedics in Wisconsin will grow by 17%. By 2018, there will be an estimated 6,610 paramedics working in Wisconsin.
On average, paramedics earn $28,470 per year. However, this number is only an average. paramedics in Wisconsin had varying salaries from $15,520 to $67,820 per year in 2010. The following counties in Wisconsin have the highest average salaries for paramedics:
Rock County - $43,380 per year
Milwaukee County - $35,840 per year
Marathon County - $32,790 per year
A paramedic in the following counties in Wisconsin make the lowest salaries on average:
Fond du Lac County - $23,900 per year
Barron County - $24,940 per year
Brown County - $25,510 per year
For more data regarding a career in paramedic training in Wisconsin and to compare salaries with various related fields such as paramedic or emergency management, take a look at the graphs and charts below.
Associate's Degree in Paramedic Training in Wisconsin
Certificate in Paramedic Training in Wisconsin
Curious what studying Paramedic gets you?
Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians n/a $22,320
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics 5,290 $28,470 -25.9%
Below are paramedic related jobs in Wisconsin
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A Video Game That Explores the Physics of Architecture
Aarian Marshall
Scramble up the side of a futuristic skyscraper.
(William Chyr)
Chicago-based video game designer William Chyr has designed a world governed by a consistent bizarro-physics, where a player can walk up walls and ceilings and gravity is partially governed by colors.
The game, Manifold Garden, “is a metaphor for the last 400 years of physics,” Chyr explains. “You start learning about gravity, and you expand into learning about the shape of the universe.” Within the 20-odd hours it takes to to finish the game, you go from Newton to Leonard Susskind.
The sphere of Manifold Garden is made of Escher-like staircases, cities of lattice windows, and mysterious repeating structures. (“As complex as it seems, it’s all just boxes,” Chyr says.) Backed by the independent game funder Indie Fund, the developer has now been able to hire another part-time programmer, but this is mostly a full-time, solitary labor of love that’s taken Chyr three years to complete.
As the game’s puzzles increase in complexity, Chyr says, its architecture becomes more complex, too, with “more real-world references.” He cites architects Tadao Ando and Frank Lloyd Wright as influences, as well as Japanese gardens. Toward the conclusion of the game, once players have had a chance to explore the rules, the visuals can get more arresting (and dizzying). “By the end, I can indulge,” Chyr says.
This is innovative stuff, but Chyr says he hopes anyone who knows how to operate a joystick or keyboard can enjoy his game. Manifold Garden hits a PC or Playstation 4 near you sometime in 2016.
@AarianMarshall
Aarian Marshall is a transportation reporter at WIRED and former CityLab contributor. She lives in San Francisco.
8 Charts on How Americans Use Air Conditioning
The U.S. government’s long-running Residential Energy Consumption Survey includes a lot of data on our A/C habits—and some surprises.
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Limited rezonings along Carroll Street approved
City Council • Rezonings • Columbia Street, Brooklyn
Courtesy The Center for Negative Thinking LLC
Separate public and private proposals impacted eight lots left out of the Carroll Gardens/Columbia Street rezoning. On April 28, 2011, the City Council approved independent proposals by the Department of City Planning and a private developer, Marshall Sohne, to rezone portions of Carroll Street between Columbia and Van Brunt Streets in Brooklyn’s Columbia Street Waterfront District. The two proposals impacted portions of the north and south side of Carroll Street that were not included in the Carroll Gardens/Columbia Street Rezoning plan approved by the City in 2009. 6 CityLand 153 (Nov. 15, 2009).
Planning’s proposal covered six lots on the south side of Carroll Street. Five of the lots are developed with late nineteenth century rowhouses, while the sixth lot was once occupied by a similar residential building. The five rowhouses were the subject of a broader 2007 private rezoning that would have replaced the M1-1 zoning with an R6 district. Due to a technical omission, however, Planning requested that the City Council remove the lots from the plan. The current rezoning extended an adjacent R6B district to the six lots to reflect the neighborhood’s residential character.
Sohne’s proposal covered two lots on the north side of Carroll Street, including a partially vacant warehouse at 33 Carroll Street and an adjacent five-story building at 25 Carroll Street. The rezoning replaced both lots’ M1-1 zoning with an R6B district. Sohne intends to replace the warehouse with an eight-unit residential building designed to environmentally-sensitive “passive house” standards. The building at 25 Carroll Street was once occupied by manufacturing uses, but the owner in 2007 received a variance from BSA to convert the top four floors to residences. The rezoning will permit the owner to convert the ground- floor space to residential use.
Brooklyn Community Board 6 and Borough President Marty Markowitz supported both rezonings. No one opposed either proposal at the City Planning Commission’s hearing, and the Commission unanimously approved the plans.
The Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee held hearings on both rezonings on April 4, 2011. Local Council Member Brad Lander supported Planning’s application and agreed that it was appropriate to bring the residential rowhouses into compliance with the zoning resolution. No one testified in opposition.
At the Subcommittee’s hearing on Sohne’s rezoning, Lander expressed regret about the decline of manufacturing uses in the neighborhood, but supported the “thoughtful” application. Lander acknowledged that Sohne had agreed to increase the affordability component in a nearby residential project being developed under the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s New Foundations Program. The owner of 25 Carroll Street also agreed to donate $20,000 to the nearby Urban Meadow community garden for landscaping and other improvements.
The Subcommittee, Land Use Committee, and full Council unanimously approved both proposals.
Council: 20/30 Carroll Street Rezoning (C 110118 ZMK–rezoning); Carroll Street Rezoning (C 090225 ZMK-rezoning) (April 28, 2011).
Tags : Carroll Gardens, Columbia Street, Department of City Planning, Rezoning
Category : City Council
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Indian Indian polity Current affairs 2019
Following the current events and news in the area of Indian polity is very very important for the general studies paper in the UPSC exam. In recent times questions are set on only those topics that have made news. Regular study of Indian polity from NCERT books or otherwise is no longer required. The idea is to follow the current affairs news related to Indian polity and understand the Indian polity behind those issues. This is true for all levels of teh IAS exam - prelims, mains and also the interview.
Current Affairs in Indian Indian polity - May 2019
UAPA: It stands for the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was in the news recently after Bangladesh-based terror outfit — the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) — was banned by the Centre under this anti-terror law. This law is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective is to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. The UAPA, framed in 1967, has been amended twice since: first in 2008 and then in 2012.
Article 83(2) of the Constitution: It is the Article under which completion of five years from the first day of its meeting amounts to dissolution of the Lower House. It was in the news recently after the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval to the Resolution advising the President to dissolve the Sixteenth Lok Sabha, which was constituted on 18.05. 2014.The Lower House can also be dissolved earlier by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. It can also be dissolved if the President feels that no viable government can be formed after the resignation or fall of a regime.
SKM: Which stands for Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) President Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) was sworn in as the sixth chief minister of Sikkim during a public function at Paljor Stadium recently. Governor Ganga Prasad administered the oath of office and secrecy to Golay and his cabinet members. SKM had won 17 of the 32 seats in the recently-concluded assembly polls. It ended the 25 year-long rule of SDF led by five-term CM Pawan Chamling
PM-AASHA: Which stands for Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan is the government’s flagship price support scheme.Greaves Cotton -it is the company which recently launched high-speed electric scooter Ampere Zeal that meets the specifications of the FAME-II policy of the government. Zeal will have a top speed of 55kmph and a range of 75km with charge time of 5.5 hours. Under FAME (Faster Adoption and manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) II benefit, Zeal would attract Rs. 18,000 subsidy per scooter.
NSIC: It recently signed MOU with Ministry of MSME which envisages provision of enhanced services by NSIC under its marketing, financial, technology and other support services schemes for MSMEs in the country. Under the scheme of National SC-ST Hub being implemented by NSIC on behalf of the Ministry of MSME, it will be a continued endeavour to provide assistance to SC/ST entrepreneurs through different interventions and various outreach activities with the overall objectives to increase their participation in public procurement. The National SC/ST Hub has been set up to provide professional support to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Entrepreneurs to fulfil the obligations under the Central Government Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises Order 2012, adopt applicable business practices and leverage the Stand-Up India initiative.
Operation Safed Sagar:It was undertaken by the Air Force jointly to flush out infiltrators in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control.
BJD: Which stands for Biju Janata Dal is the party whose President Naveen Patnaik took oath as the chief minister of Odisha for a fifth consecutive term, in Bhubaneswar recently. Odisha governor Ganeshi Lal administered the oath of office and secrecy to Patnaik. The BJD, which won 112 seats in the 147-member assembly in the recently concluded elections, held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, has been in power in Odisha since 2000.
BIMSTEC: Which stands for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is the group whose leaders have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony on May 30, 2019 of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With this move India has made a carefully calibrated diplomatic move that signals a major outreach to India’s neighbourhood from the Bay of Bengal to Central Asia, as well as the Indian diaspora across the world. BIMSTEC was formed in 1997, originally with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and later included Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. BIMSTEC, which now includes five countries from South Asia and two from ASEAN, is a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes all the major countries of South Asia, except Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Death of kidnapped reporter Daniel Pearl shocks CJFE
Today's announcement that reporter Daniel Pearl was murdered has stunned CJFE, which considers his death a shocking attack on press freedom. According to news reports, Pearl's employer, the Wall Street Journal, said it had evidence from the United States State Department and police officials from the Pakistani province of Sind to confirm that the reporter was killed by his captors. "We are outraged and saddened by the news," said CJFE Executive Director Joel Ruimy, whose organization had been monitoring developments in the case. "The murder of Daniel Pearl is an act of barbarism. We extend our deepest regrets to his family and call on Pakistani officials to do everything in their power to identify and punish those responsible." Pearl, 38, disappeared in Karachi on January 23 as he was attempting to make contact with Islamic radical groups. He was investigating links between the terrorist al Qaeda network and alleged shoe bomber Richard Reid, arrested in December on a Paris-Miami flight he is said to have boarded with explosives in his shoes. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting freedom of expression both in Canada and around the world. CJFE manages the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Clearing House, which brings together more than fifty press-freedom and free-expression groups world-wide. For more information, please contact Joel Ruimy at CJFE, 489 College St., Suite 403, Toronto, Ontario, M6G 1A5, tel: (416) 515-9622 x227, fax: (416) 515-7879, e-mail: ruimy@cjfe.org, Web: www.cjfe.org.
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Debra Milke, Arizona death row inmate, has conviction overturned
By Crimesider Staff
March 15, 2013 / 12:15 PM / CBS News
Undated booking photo of Debra Milke Arizona Department of Corrections via KPHO
(CBS/AP) PHOENIX - An Arizona woman sentenced to death in the notorious 1989 killing of her 4-year-old son had her conviction thrown out Thursday as a federal appeals court ruled that her case was tainted by a detective who had a history of lying under oath.
The ruling marked a surprising turn in a case that made national headlines with the brazen and gruesome nature of the crime. Prosecutors said Debra Milke, now 48, dressed up her son Christopher in his favorite outfit and told him he was going to see Santa Claus at a mall during the holidays.
Instead, he was taken into the desert by her boyfriend and another man and shot three times in the back of the head as part of an alleged plot by Milke and the two other defendants to collect a $50,000 life insurance policy.
Milke would have been the first woman executed in Arizona since the 1930s had her appeals run out. The Arizona Supreme Court went as far as to issue a death warrant for Milke in 1997, but the execution was delayed because she had yet to exhaust federal appeals.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the prosecution failed to disclose information about a history of misconduct by former Detective Armando Saldate Jr., who testified that Milke confessed to plotting her son's murder.
The evidence against Saldate included multiple court rulings in other cases in which the detective either lied under oath or violated suspects' Miranda rights during interrogations.
Prosecutors are required to provide a defendant's lawyers with material that might support a not guilty verdict, including material that could undermine the credibility of a prosecution witness. But there was no other witness or recording of Milke's alleged confession, who proclaimed her innocence.
"No civilized system of justice should have to depend on such flimsy evidence, quite possibly tainted by dishonesty or overzealousness, to decide whether to take someone's life or liberty," Chief Justice Alex Kozinski wrote in the decision.
The trial amounted to "a swearing contest" in which the judge and jury ultimately believed the detective over Milke, but they didn't know of his record of dishonesty and misconduct, Kozinski wrote.
The ruling reversed a U.S. District Court judge's ruling and ordered the lower court to require Arizona authorities to turn over all relevant personnel records for the detective. Once the material is produced and defense lawyers have time to review it, prosecutors will have 30 days to decide whether to retry her. If they don't, she will be released from prison.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office said it was reviewing the case and will likely file an appeal. Maricopa County prosecutors had yet to read the ruling and had no immediate comment on the decision, spokesman Jerry Cobb said.
Rick Romley, who was the county attorney from 1989-2004, said he remembers that the facts were quite strong against Milke and there never was a question in his mind that she wasn't guilty.
"If she walks, it's a travesty of justice," Romley told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV. "You just can't get around that."
In 2009, defense lawyer Michael Kimerer said his client maintains her innocence and was a loving mother who still grieves her son's death.
"Our main concern is the fact that I have a client that never confessed and a police detective who said she gave a confession," Kimerer said then. "There was no tape recorder, no witnesses, nothing. Just his word."
Milke is one of three women on death row in Arizona. All three are imprisoned at the state prison for women in Goodyear.
The two men convicted in the Milke's case, Roger Scott and Milke's former roommate James Styers, are both on death row at a prison in Florence.
Scott confessed during a police interrogation and led detectives to the boy's body. Neither Scott or Styers would testify against Milke.
First published on March 15, 2013 / 12:15 PM
"Piles of cash" and fake passport found at Epstein's home
Judge Richard Berman said he needed more time before making a decision on whether Epstein would be granted bail
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Paddy rice is a staple crop for much of the world’s population. It is also a key source of the greenhouse gas methane, responsible for about 40 million tonnes, or 10% of global emissions , each year...
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Based on Japan’s national action plan for achieving the Kyoto Protocol (KP) target, various measures have been taken on methane emissions, including reduction from waste and agricultural sector. Because of such actions, methane in Japan has been decreasing successfully in these decades to achieve about 40% reduction from 1990 level.
HFCs are also targeted by the action plan for KP with three pillars in HFC countermeasures: 1) promotion of development and use of alternative substances; 2) voluntary actions by industries to reduce use and emission of HFCs, and 3) recovery and destruction of HFCs contained in equipment such as refrigerators, air conditioners and cars when they are discarded. Collection and destruction of HFCs in those products are accommodated in the legislation which also covers CFCs and HCFCs in relevant acts.
Particulate matters, of which black carbon is major component, and precursors of tropospheric ozone such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and non-methane volatile organic carbons (NMVOCs) have been addressed in the context of air pollution control. Emissions of these substances from stationary sources as well as vehicles are controlled by the Air Pollution Control Law. Preferential tax scheme is applied in order to promote “green vehicles” which achieve high energy efficiency and low emission of pollutants.
Japan has contributed to reduction of methane and HFCs emissions in developing countries through several types of CDM projects and other technological supports including adequate waste management technology. With regard to HFCs, Japan has supported developing countries to transfer from HCFCs to lower global-warming-potential alternatives and technologies under the Montreal Protocol. Japan has also contributed to the Global Methane Initiative (GMI) since its launch in 2004. Japan has been operating the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) to archive, maintain and deliver relevant global measurements.
Reduction of black carbon and tropospheric ozone in Asia is the key for our challenge to cope with SLCPs globally. Japan has been tackling this issue through providing technical assistance and conducting a large number of projects to improve energy efficiency and reduction of air pollutants in developing countries in Asia. Japan has taken a lead to develop a regional monitoring network of air pollutants in East Asia in which 13 countries participate. Japan also joins actively international research on black carbon and other pollutants in Asia such as the UNEP ABC (Atmospheric Brown Clouds) Project and a joint research with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).
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Coalition launches new initiative on efficient cooling at G7 Environment Ministers Meeting
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BMW i3 120 Ah (2019) Launch Review
BMW Car launches Buying i3 Electric
It's hard to believe, but the BMW i3 electric car has been on sale in South Africa since 2015 – and it has received numerous updates. This week, we relished the chance to drive the latest version, equipped with a 120 Ah battery.
Since its launch, the i3 has become the most popular electric vehicle sold in the country. Granted, it's not like the market is teeming with electric vehicles (EVs) yet, but hundreds of South Africans have "swallowed the red pill" and become early adopters. Since the launch of the electric BMW i sub-brand, more than 600 i3 and i8 models have found homes in Mzansi. Which is impressive, considering there no government incentives or discounts to encourage consumers to buy EVs. Globally, it is a different story; BMW reached its goal of selling more than 140 000 EVs in 2018.
What's new for 2019?
The design has remained the same, but the key updates focus on range which is critical for electric cars
It doesn't sound like much when we say there's a larger-capacity battery, but it's a critical change. When the i3 was launched in SA 4 years ago, it had a 60 Ah battery with an optimal range of approximately 130 km. Following a mild update, the battery spec increased to 94 Ah, which upped the range to 200 km, and now this latest offering boasts a 120 Ah battery, enabling the 2019-spec BMW i3 to travel up to 260 km on a full charge. While this doesn't sound like a big gain, it's impressive when you consider the range increases are from a battery that hasn't physically grown in size.
Oh, and before we forget, the 2019 BMW i3 range now includes an i3S derivative. The sportier version of the compact electric car offers a tad more power and torque, as well as more responsive steering and sportier suspension setups. Whereas the standard i3 produces 125 kW and 250 Nm, the i3S conjures up 135 kW and 270 Nm. BMW claims a 0-100 kph time of 7.3 sec for the standard car, with the i3S being a touch quicker (6.9 sec).
Inside, there aren't that many changes – the cabin still resembles "a cockpit from the future". What's really impressive is the extensive use of recycled materials throughout the i3's interior. The seats, for example, are made from recycled fibres, while the wooden dashboard comes from a sustainable forest. Being a premium offering, the standard specification is great with plenty of luxury and convenience features such as satellite navigation. Options range from an uprated audio system, some autonomous safety features to heated seats, but we wouldn't bother with those.
The updated BMW i3 is still an absolute delight to drive with addictive surges of power
The advantage of driving an EV is that it only has one gear and produces its peak torque instantaneously. In layman's terms, the i3 is simply ballistic from a standstill; it'll take something with serious performance credentials (and grip!) to pull away faster than this diminutive BMW. Its responsiveness and accelerative urge are addictive... We frequently found ourselves taking gaps in traffic that wouldn't normally be possible.
The best way to describe the "i3 driving experience" is to say that it feels like you're at the helm of a well-assembled and luxury golf cart. The steering is direct and light – the car is eager to dart about. Be mindful not to tug too enthusiastically at the steering wheel, however: the car gives a sensation that it is quite top-heavy. You see, the i3 rolls on narrow low-rolling-resistance tyres that are designed to make the car coast more freely down hills and in turn, recoup some energy. Fortunately, the car's centre of gravity is quite low because its battery pack is positioned in its floor.
The interior is beautifully finished and assembled out of recycled materials.
The way that the i3 zips away is very entertaining and will put a smile on your face, but be mindful that, just like a heavy foot will ruin fuel efficiency in a conventional car, eager driving can – and will – limit an EV's range. We chose the longer test drive route that saw us leave BMW's head office in Midrand and head to the Zambesi Auto BMW dealership. The car's GPS seeks to avoid situations that will increase energy consumption and, given the distance of 43 km (in mild traffic and using the i3's least frugal driving mode) we were impressed to arrive with 89% of charge still available.
Nevertheless, we plugged the car in for a quick top-up, which is complimentary for BMW owners using the ChargeNow network. Within 10 minutes the car was registering full and seeing that we were pressed for time, we decided to open the taps and drive back to Midrand as quickly as possible. We've already mentioned that the i3 is scorching off the line, but the in-gear acceleration is also worth a mention. Getting from 60 kph to 100 kph in an overtaking manoeuvre is effortless, but you will find that the vehicle starts to lose overtaking urge once you're at the national speed limit.
How viable is an EV in SA, realistically?
Naysayers will be quick to point out the lack of recharging infrastructure in South Africa, but there have been significant advances in that regard, just in the past year. BMW currently has 58 ChargeNow stations in the country, 6 of which are shared with Nissan. Back in 2015, the Japanese brand signed a memorandum of understanding with BMW and while the first-gen Leaf hasn't quite been a sales success, there's much expected of the 2nd-generation version, which is expected in the local market soon. There are also 5 DC fast chargers located at the following dealerships: Zambezi Auto and Club Motors Fountain (Pretoria), Sandton Auto (Johannesburg), Supertech (Durban) and SMG (Cape Town. The airports are next in line to receive chargers and chances are by the time you're reading this, the majority of SA's airports will have the capacity to charge electric vehicles.
With the free ChargeNow card, BMW i3 owners can pop down to their local dealerships for a quick top-up.
These high-powered chargers can charge an i3 from 0% to 80% in about 45 minutes and, given the advances in the latest BMW i3 battery tech, this equates to an available range of about 200 km on the spot. Jaguar Land Rover has invested significantly in a charging network in our country and the BMW i3 can tap into that. The range claims for the pure electric-only BMW i3 make it worthwhile and if you're doing more than 200 km a day, then you must certainly be in the minority. The Johannesburg-Pretoria-Johannesburg commute comes to 150 km (in total), making it totally feasible and well within range. Of course, you can also charge your i3 at home overnight plugged into the wall of your garage and you'll get a full charge by the time you're ready to hit the road in the morning.
There's nothing dramatically new about the BMW i3, but the addition of a larger-capacity battery will further allay "range anxiety". We feel the key to owning an electric car and reaping the benefits is by reshaping your life around the car – treat it like a smartphone. Even when your phone's at 50% capacity, many people will plug it in just to ensure they have sufficient battery life in reserve. The same methodology should be applied with electric cars and customers should be taking advantage of chargers at malls and gyms as even a quick 15-minute charge is sufficient for 40 km.
Should you buy one? YES. There are a few Cars.co.za staffers who'd readily take the plunge given their lifestyles. However, the cost is a big barrier to entry and we imagine BMW Group SA is quietly frustrated with the government's reluctance to incentivise EV purchases. To add insult to injury, EVs are subjected to higher import duties than internal-combustion engined vehicles. In contrast with the rest of the world, where customers are offered incentives to go green and buy electric cars with discounts, cash in hand and much more, this seems a very backwards way of thinking...
The BMW i3 continues to be a niche product in SA. Hopefully, our government can address the incentive issue and make electric car ownership appealing.
BMW i3 Price in South Africa (May 2019)
eDrive R658 500
s eDrive R716 900
eDrive REX R740 700
s eDrive REX R799 100
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BMW i3 (2019) Specs And Price
BMW's Electric Offensive Begins
Having contributed to multiple motoring titles as well helping run the public relations machine of the Johannesburg International Motor Show, Dave has experience in both sides of the motoring industry. He's based in the Western Cape and has driven & photographed too many cars... he's still trying to remember them all.
Follow David Taylor on Twitter
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What New Cars And SUVs To Look Forward To In 2019
BY Michael Gauthier | Posted on January 1, 2019 January 7, 2019 16
2018 is officially in the history books, but the new year will see a number of automakers introduce highly anticipated models.
Things will kick off in a couple of week as the North American International Auto Show will be usher in the unveiling of the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Featuring a supercharged V8 engine that produces more than 700 hp (522 kW / 709 PS), the range-topping pony car will be even more powerful than the iconic Ford GT.
While big horsepower ratings are always impressive, Ford has promised the GT500 won’t be a one-trick pony. Instead, it will come equipped with “innovative track technologies, performance hardware, plus aggressive and functional track-tuned styling.”
The GT500 won’t be the only high-performance model to debut in the Motor City as Toyota will finally pull the wraps off the all-new Supra. Based on the same platform that underpins the BMW Z4, the 2020 Supra will feature a unique design and special tuning.
Despite these modifications, the model will use a BMW-sourced 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine. It produces up to 382 hp (284 kW / 387 PS) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque in the Z4 M40i and it will send power to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential.
Sticking with the performance theme, BMW will pull the wraps off the all-new M8. A handful of pictures surfaced online last month and they showed the car will have an aggressive front bumper, a gloss black grille and honeycomb mesh inserts. Buyers will also find a carbon fiber roof, a carbon fiber diffuser and a four-tailpipe sports exhaust system.
Specifications remain unconfirmed, but the model is expected to feature a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 that produces around 617 hp (460 kW / 625 PS) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque. The engine enables the M5 Competition to accelerate from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 3.3 seconds before hitting a top speed of up to 189 mph (304 km/h).
High-performance coupes won’t be the only highlight of 2019 as Audi is putting the finishing touches on the all-new S6. Featuring a restrained design, the sedan is distinguished by a sport-tuned suspension and a unique four-tailpipe exhaust system.
While it might look like fairly ordinary, the car is rumored to use a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 engine that produces around 444 hp (331 kW / 450 PS) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque.
Acura TLX Type S
Speaking of performance sedans, Acura will finally be returning to the segment with the new TLX Type S. Featuring a sportier front bumper and a four-tailpipe exhaust system, the range-topping TLX will have an all-new turbocharged V6 engine and a Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system.
There’s no word on how powerful the car will be, but the model has been caught being benchmarked against the Audi S4 Avant and Mercedes-AMG C43. If those cars are any indication, we could be looking at an output of around 350 hp (261 kW / 354 PS) to 360 hp (268 kW / 365 PS).
Crossover and SUV fans have plenty to look forward to as Land Rover will finally unveil the 2020 Defender. Teased last week, the Defender features a modern design and an all-new platform that promises to make the model more comfortable than its predecessor.
Engine options remain unconfirmed, but we can expect an assortment of petrol and diesel units. Entry-level models will likely use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, while higher end variants should have a six-cylinder powertrain.
Range Rover Velar SVR
Drivers looking for something more powerful can always wait for the upcoming Range Rover Velar SVR. Featuring svelte styling and a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces around 542 hp (405 kW / 550 hp) and 502 lb-ft (679 Nm) of torque, the model should rocket from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in approximately 4.1 seconds.
Customers needing more space and can look forward to the 2020 Cadillac Escalade. Set to become the brand’s definitive flagship following the death of the CT6 in North America, the all-new Escalade will face stiff competition from the Lincoln Navigator as well as the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS.
While the model will be evolutionary, it will become far more modern and luxurious thanks to an independent rear suspension, a “really jazzy” interior and an available SuperCruise semi-autonomous driving system. Despite these updates, the model is still slated to use a 6.2-liter V8 engine that produces 420 hp (313 kW / 425 PS) and 460 lb-ft (623 Nm) of torque.
Last but not least, Chevrolet will introduce an all-new Corvette which will feature a mid-engine design for the first time. Expected to debut this summer, the model will look far more exotic than its predecessor.
Rumors have suggested the Corvette will be offered with an assortment of different engines including an upgraded 6.2-liter V8 that produces around 500 hp (372 kW / 507 PS). There could also be a new 5.5-liter V8 which develops up to 800 hp (596 kW / 811 PS) in twin-turbo guise.
Those are just some of the models which are expected to be introduced this year, so which ones are you looking forward too?
TagsAcura, Acura TLX, Audi, Audi S6, BMW, BMW M8, Cadillac, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet, Corvette, Featured, Ford, Ford Mustang, Land Rover, Land Rover Defender, Range Rover Velar, Shelby, Toyota, Toyota Supra
Meh, meh, meh
New Dacia Sandero…
Carlos Gamarra
James May would be quaking at a new Sandero
It’s going to be a hell of a year, it kicks off in just 2 weeks at the Detroit auto show.
caddy45
Really curious to see how the XT6 and next-gen Escalade stack up against the Aviator and Navigator.
USOZ
The Aviator will wipe the floor with the XT6. The Aviator is RWD while the XT6 is FWD.
kachuks
All premium. It shouldn’t be impossible for companies to make an everyday car we can get excited about.
can’t wait for the Mate! i mean M8.
Honda NSX-R
What happened to the 718 Cayman GT4?
To mention something more affordable, I’m really looking forward to the Forte GT.
I’d love a nice surprise like a new Mazda 6 or something like that.
Perry F. Bruns
That’s it! I’m getting a anti-spy-photo wrap for my 2011 Scion xB to make people think Toyota is up to something.
From this list, I’m most excited for the Corvette, Escalade, Defender, and GT500.
I’m also really hyped for both the Bronco, baby Bronco, Escape, and hopefully more surprising and fun-to-drive hybrid and EV options.
The American cars are just way more exciting to me now. Was not always the case. I used to hate American cars.
Wayne Alan Carr Heyes
That’s it ? We’re is all the other cars? The new juke the new captur the new clio the new corsa?
Thank god you stoped there. What is next? A sandero and a daewoo? lol
estradings
Glad they didn’t mention any new Spanish cheap junks and East European junks…
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Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel apologized to Max Verstappen immediately after the British Grand Prix.
Set to go on sale soon, the updated Lincoln Navigator should offer more bang for your buck.
BMW M5 Competition Signs Up For Crime Fighting In Australia
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In this Jan. 18, 2014, file photo, an endangered female orca leaps from the water while breaching in the Salish Sea west of Seattle, Wash. The capture of killer whales for theme-park display in the 1960s and ’70s was devastating for the Pacific Northwest’s resident orcas: 13 were killed and 45 kept to entertain paying crowds, leaving only about 70 in the wild. The captive whales could nevertheless now provide a boon to researchers urgently trying to save wild whales in the Northwest and elsewhere. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
SeaWorld publishes decades of orca data to help wild whales
The information could guide how scientists intervene to help sick or stranded whales
The endangered killer whales of the Pacific Northwest live very different lives from orcas in captivity.
They swim up to 100 miles (161 kilometres) a day in pursuit of salmon, instead of being fed a steady diet of baitfish and multivitamins. Their playful splashing awes and entertains kayakers and passengers on Washington state ferries instead of paying theme park customers.
READ MORE: Humpback whale safety campaign launched as population booms on B.C. coast
But the captive whales are nevertheless providing a boon to researchers urgently trying to save wild whales in the Northwest.
SeaWorld, which displays orcas at its parks in California, Texas and Florida, has recently published data from thousands of routine blood tests of its killer whales over two decades, revealing the most comprehensive picture yet of what a healthy whale looks like. The information could guide how and whether scientists intervene to help sick or stranded whales in the wild.
“For us, collecting blood from free-ranging killer whales is exceedingly difficult, so it’s something we would rarely ever do,” said Deborah Fauquier, a veterinary medical officer at the National Marine Fisheries Service. “Having partners that are in the managed-care community that can provide us with blood values from those animals is very useful. It’s giving us a very robust baseline data set that we haven’t had previously for these whales.”
The round-up of killer whales for theme-park display in the 1960s and ’70s was devastating for the Pacific Northwest’s resident orcas: At least 13 were killed and 45 kept to awe and entertain paying crowds around the world, according to the Center for Whale Research on Washington’s San Juan Island. Only one of those orcas survives: Lolita, at the Miami Seaquarium.
Washington state eventually sued SeaWorld to stop the hunts. Today, 17 of SeaWorld’s 20 whales were born in captivity, including some descended from orcas captured near Iceland; the company hasn’t collected a wild orca in more than 40 years. Under public pressure, it ended its captive breeding program and is replacing trained orca shows with what it describes as “more educational experiences where guests can still enjoy and marvel at the majesty and power of the whales.”
It took decades for the so-called southern resident killer whales, which spend several months every summer and fall in the marine waters between Washington state and Canada, to recover from the hunts. By the mid-1990s, their population reached 98.
Half a century later, the orcas are struggling against different threats: pollution, vessel noise and, most seriously, starvation from a dearth of Chinook salmon, their preferred prey. There are just 75 left, and researchers say they’re on the verge of extinction.
Gov. Jay Inslee has proposed $1.1 billion in spending to help the whales, with much of the money going toward protecting and restoring salmon habitat. The National Marine Fisheries Service, also known as NOAA Fisheries, is planning to propose expanded habitat protections this year for the whales’ foraging areas off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts.
SeaWorld has also boosted its efforts to help the southern resident orcas, pledging $10 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program.
“Our stance is to do research with our animals to try to help this population now, and that’s what we’re doing,” said Todd Robeck, SeaWorld’s vice-president of conservation research. “That’s why I got into what I do — to try to help animals in the wild.”
Robeck is one of the lead authors on the review of SeaWorld’s data, which included results of more than 2,800 blood tests on 32 whales from 1993 to 2013. Data from sick and pregnant whales were excluded to obtain a standard range for blood values, including cholesterol, platelet count, triglycerides and many other metrics. The whales were trained to present the underside of their tails for the blood draws, which were taken once or twice a month.
The results show that most of the values don’t differ much between male and female whales, but they do differ considerably with age and season, Robeck said. The study suggests that orcas lose some immune function as they age.
While there will be some difference between the values for captive and wild whales due to differences in climate, diet and other factors, the research provides a template for understanding the whales, Robeck said. Further, the values may be compared to data from blow samples or fecal samples to provide even greater insight, he said. Among the ongoing research projects at SeaWorld is studying the extent to which toxins that build up in the whales due to pollution are transferred to calves from their mothers.
“It’s something that could only be done with our animals,” Robeck said. “It’s an example of how we are dedicated to participating in the wellbeing of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest and around the world, and how research with our animals is vital in answering some of these questions about how to address the needs of the animals in the wild.”
Gene Johnson, The Associated Press
Iran sanctions send oil prices, supply concerns higher
After Islamic State’s fall, some women who joined plead to come home
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Worldliness poses danger to priestly identity, Pope says
Papal Inauguration Mass in St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis on March 19, 2013. Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/CNA.
By Carl Bunderson
Denver, Colo., Apr 27, 2013 / 04:05 pm ().- The biggest threat to priests is the temptation to be more immersed in the world than the Gospel, says Pope Francis in his newly translated book.
“For then-Cardinal Bergoglio, narcissism and worldliness are completely self-defeating to the purpose of why a priest becomes a priest,” the book's translator, Alejandro Bermudez, told CNA April 23.
“It's a total rejection of the reason why he decided to become a priest, and therefore these are some of the most destructive and damaging problems in priestly formation.”
The new book, “On Heaven and Earth,” is a conversation between Pope Francis and Abraham Skorka, a rabbi and scholar from Buenos Aires. It was originally published in Spanish in 2010, when the Pope was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.
The book covers numerous topics touching on priesthood in today's world, including vocation, celibacy and the sex abuse crisis.
Bermudez, who is executive director of Catholic News Agency, said that though Pope Francis warns against worldliness in all Christians, “he makes a much more important point regarding the priests, because they have the duty to lead the Catholic community, and lead it in a completely selfless manner.”
“One might think that having a woman on the side is being worldly, but that is only one of the double lives that are usually mentioned,” Pope Francis said in the book. “There are those that seek to compromise their faith for political alliances or for a worldly spirituality.”
Pope Francis noted the 20th century theologian Henri de Lubac's comment that to be worldly is “the worst that can happen” to a priest. “If this were to happen throughout the Church, the situation would be much worse than those embarrassing periods with libertine pastors,” he said.
“Worldliness and the narcissism can become not only an attitude of individuals but of the whole community, and therefore you can have the whole leadership of Catholics – bishops, priests and lay leaders – involved,” said Bermudez.
This would “basically turn the Church into a narcissistic worldly operation, and it would be completely neutralized of any capacity to transform persons and the world,” he explained.
In “On Heaven and Earth,” Pope Francis discusses priestly celibacy with such phrases as “for now” and “for the time being.” This has led some to speculate that he will bring to an end to the Latin Church's tradition of unmarried priests.
However, Bermudez asserted that Pope Francis will do “absolutely nothing” to change the rules on married priests.
“That doesn't mean at all that he is soft on this, or even contemplating the possibility of not continuing the tradition of priestly celibacy,” the translator said. “The book in itself, his pastoral practice and his homilies all speak to the great appreciation he has of priestly celibacy.”
Pope Francis also said that “we can rule out that celibacy carries pedophilia as a consequence.” He noted that most sex abuse occurs in families and neighborhoods by those who have not taken a vow of celibacy.
“Now, when this happens, you can never turn a blind eye. You cannot be in a position of power and destroy the life of another person,” the Pontiff stressed.
“I do not believe in the positions that some hold about sustaining a certain corporate spirit so as to avoid damaging the image of the institution … Recently, in Ireland they uncovered cases that occurred for twenty years, and the current pope (at the time Benedict) clearly said: 'Zero tolerance with this crime.' I admire the courage and the straightforwardness of Benedict XVI on this point.”
Since his election as Bishop of Rome, Francis has reaffirmed the Vatican process established by Benedict for handling instances of sexual abuse by priests.
Tags: Vocations, Priesthood, Pope Francis, Celibacy
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Israel’s Dystopic Prison Initiative
Posted By Yoav Litvin On October 6, 2017 @ 1:53 am In articles 2015 | Comments Disabled
The Israeli economy is composed of several sectors that include industries such as hi-tech, biotech, agriculture, communications and tourism, among others. It is a relatively young, diversified and growing neoliberal economy that has managed to stay afloat while many have shrunk, barely survived or collapsed entirely due to debt, market fluctuations and crashes.
As a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Israel is highly ranked for health care and life-satisfaction but is plagued by poverty, housing crises and stark inequality.
Yet it is in the war, security and incarceration industries that Israel truly excels.
Israel is one of the world’s main arms dealers. It has a shady history of selling weapons to some of the most brutal regimes and militias. For decades, Israel’s arms industry has fueled wars and crises throughout the globe, which has resulted in thousands of victims. Only recently, Israeli weapons sales to Myanmar were the subject of intense debate and condemnation due to the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people carried out by the Burmese regime.
Israel is also a leader in security services. American police and other security forces regularly receive training in Israel, despite, or likely because, of its long history of occupation, repressive practices and human rights abuses.
Israel has served as an inspiration for the most regressive, xenophobic and oppressive policies and ideologies. In fact, American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have very similar visions for a future dominated by ethnocentric, hyper-militarized, privatized and corporate-controlled economies that benefit their rich friends at the expense of the commons, with an emphasis on a continued impoverishment of the global south and disenfranchisement of black, brown, indigenous and immigrant communities.
Recently, the Israeli government announced a dystopic initiative. According to Walla News, Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan and the President of Bar-Ilan University Arie Zaban are collaborating on a “university teaching prison”, in the same format as university teaching hospitals.
The prison will be managed by the Israeli Prison Service and academics from Bar Ilan University will have free reign to conduct “experiments” and other ventures (unspecified). Erdan added that he believes the new university prison will “inspire other countries”.
This new venture is in line with Israel’s continued economic interest in imprisonment and wall-building. After all, it has decades of experience with the mass incarceration of Palestinians, has built a 422 mile-long annexation wall that cuts off and impoverishes the Palestinian population of the West Bank while stealing many of its vital resources, and is actively maintaining the largest modern open air prison – Gaza.
Erdan’s and Zaban’s initiative is cynical and dystopic on multiple levels. First, it appears that its goals are primarily economic, not humanitarian. This means that profit will be placed before people, i.e. human rights. The notion of turning an entire subclass of society, the incarcerated, into an “industry” that should be studied and experimented on in an academic setting is, in fact, the normalization and even glorification of modern-day slavery, and ultimately caters to the private prison industry.
Second, “experiments” conducted in a prison setting have a very dark history, including the infamous case of Jewish prisoners in German camps during World War 2, e.g. Josef Mengele in Auschwitz. A recent case that involved a collaboration between an academic association (the American Psychological Association), the US Department of Defense and the CIA clearly demonstrated the dangers of such ventures.
Finally, the academicization of imprisonment focuses on- and promotes resolving the symptoms of a diseased society, instead of working on healing its pathology. In contrast to the provably effective approaches of prevention, decriminalization, humane rehabilitation and mental healthcare, Israel’s new and inherently immoral venture seeks to perfect and model the profit-making industry of mass incarceration and maximize the exploitation of imprisoned populations, at the expense of their human rights.
URL to article: https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/06/israels-dystopic-prison-initiative/
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Have the Russian Military Aircrafts in Venezuela Breached the Door to “America’s Backyard”?
Posted By Nino Pagliccia On December 18, 2018 @ 1:50 am In articles 2015 | Comments Disabled
At an international media conference last December 12 in Caracas Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro referred emphatically to knowledge, that his government had acquired through its intelligence services, of preparations to destabilize Venezuela.
That in itself is major news but it is noticeable that his denunciation only two days after the well-publicized landing of Russian military aircrafts at Venezuela’s international Simon Bolivar airport of Maiquetía as part of Russia-Venezuela joint military exercises and training. This is not the first occurrence of military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela but this seems to be the first time such news has had enough impact on Washington to prompt a strong and undiplomatic reaction from the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo who referred to the two countries as “two corrupt governments squandering public fund” in a tweet.
Is Russia putting a major gaping hole into “America’s backyard” with the help of Venezuela? It appears to be so, and certainly Venezuela is quite a wide door in geopolitical terms capable of countering the political reversals of some countries in the region surrendering to neoliberal ideology.
Russia’s display of support for Venezuela is not totally surprising for two reasons. First, the U.S. government has had a very aggressive policy against Russia by pushing the NATO military coalition to the doorsteps of Russia’s front yard despite the “iron clad guarantee” given by the U.S. administration in February 1990 to the then Soviet president Gorbachev that “NATO will not expand one inch.” The aggression continues today with the possibility of including Ukraine and Belarus in the NATO military alliance. Moscow indicates that it has the willingness and the capability to match Washington’s military threat in its own turf.
Second, in addition to military threats to both countries, the Trump administration has slapped sanctions against Russia and Venezuela, which also brings them closer as victims of economic warfare. The military threats against Venezuela are much more menacing therefore a balancing assistance from a more powerful friend is welcome.
But the timing of the assistance is also important to consider. Maduro will be sworn in as president of Venezuela for the next six years on January 10 following his re-election last May 20. This is a widely anticipated event not least because there have been “rumors” of major disruptions being organized in order to prevent it from happening. Russia is sending a clear signal that it fully endorses and supports the next Maduro presidency.
However, the official position is that these are not just rumors and the disruptions may include violent and terrorist tactics. To that effect president Maduro stated at the media conference: “Today I come again to denounce the plot that from the White House is being prepared to violate Venezuelan democracy, to assassinate me and to impose a dictatorial government in Venezuela.” Then he added more pointedly, “Mr. John Bolton has been appointed again, as head of the plot to turn Venezuela to violence and to seek a foreign military intervention, a coup, to assassinate President Maduro and impose what they call a ‘transitional government council’. I’m saying this to you to unveil their plans. ”
John Bolton is the National Security Advisor of the United States with the reputation of coining the term “troika of tyranny” in reference to the democratically elected, progressive governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Maduro’s statements are perfectly credible mainly based on specific details he provided. He revealed that a paramilitary group, called the G-8, is being trained in the municipality of Tona, in North Santander, Colombia. The group of 734 mercenaries, including Colombians and Venezuelans, are being prepared to undertake false flag actions.
Another group of mercenaries is being trained to attack Venezuela at the U.S. military case of Tolemaida in Colombia, one of the 7 bases that the U.S. maintains in that country.
Maduro also revealed that yet another commando group is located at the Eglin base of the U.S. Air Force in Florida. This “group of special forces is being trained for a surgical aggression against Venezuelan air and military bases. Its objective is to disembark, take and neutralize the Libertador air base at Palo Negro, the Puerto Cabello naval base and the Barcelona air base.”
For the historical record on these facts, Maduro’s statements and revelations were followed up with a formal diplomatic note of protest delivered by Venezuelan Minister of foreign affairs Jorge Arreaza to the U.S. chargé d’affaires, James Story in Caracas.
The deployment of the Russian warplanes in Venezuela – just one week after President Nicolas Maduro’s visit to Moscow – consists of two TU-160 long-range bombers with nuclear capability, an An-124 heavy military transport plane and an II-62 long-haul plane of the Russian aerospace forces. These are technologically advanced aircrafts whose force is still modest when compared to the 22 U.S. military bases in Latin America and the more that 800 in the world. However, the message that the action sends must be seen as a strong deterrent to any military intervention in Venezuela especially coming from Colombia.
Venezuela Minister of defense, Vladimir Padrino explained, “We must tell the people of Venezuela and the entire world that … we are also preparing to defend Venezuela to the last extent when necessary.”
Concluding thoughts
It has been about 115 years since the practice of the Monroe doctrine established the U.S. unilateral right to dominance in the countries of Latin America. The first time that the attribution was unsuccessfully challenged was in 1962 during the so-called Cuban missile crisis when the Soviet Union attempted to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba. The recent deployment of Russian military aircrafts in Venezuela may not be as spectacular but it is certainly of considerable importance for the reasons and the timing mentioned above.
The U.S. response must be more measured today because Washington does not have the full political hegemony in Latin America that it had in the 1960s therefore Venezuela retains a tactical advantage. At present the so-called “America’s backyard” may not appear to be as inviolable providing a new opening to the Bolivarian vision of the Patria Grande (Great homeland).
U.S. sanctions and military threats have certainly been contributing factors to the strategic alliance between Russia and Venezuela. Another possible member of this alliance of resistance is Iran, also subject to U.S. sanctions and threats. In fact, the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that will soon send warships to Venezuela as a sign of strategic partnership.
What makes Russia’s presence in the region not only relevant but also valuable is its outstanding record in the combination of defense diplomacy and balancing role successfully used in the Middle East to allow Syria to defeat terrorism, to a great extent, while simultaneously deterring the U.S. from militarily achieving a regime change against the legitimate government of Bashar al-Assad.
Russia practices a remarkable two-prong approach in its foreign policy that combines a responsible non-hegemonic military strength with careful maintenance of balance of forces in particularly conflictive areas. This is precisely what is needed in Latin America in order to preserve peace, as opposed to the divide-and-rule approach used by U.S. foreign policy.
More broadly, Russia and Venezuela share a common view of a multipolar world cooperating in social, military and economic areas of interest that replaces the hegemonic unipolar strangling financial world dominated by the U.S.
Finally, the U.S. response to the deployment of Russian aircrafts is not yet clear. Past track record may suggest a diplomatic reaction like a formal denunciations at the UN or through the OAS, or the use of any warfare tools ranging from more sanctions to infowar, to hybrid war including false flag actions as announced by Maduro. But any U.S. supported attempt to prevent the swearing in ceremony on January 10, or any subsequent attempts to destabilize Venezuela will have grave consequences in human lives to which the perpetrators will have to respond towards the international community.
Nevertheless, Venezuela is not letting its guards down and is quite aware that Russia is not there to put troops on the ground but only to provide assistance and training to the Venezuelan military to modernize its weapons systems.
Should there be a military intervention or hybrid war in Venezuela, Maduro has already given the basic instructions: “I order all our National Bolivarian Armed Forces, to be alert and maintain maximum deployment, discipline, leadership and preparation, in order to defeat imperial conspiracies and maintain peace. Venezuela counts on you!” And progressive Latin America counts on Venezuela in turn.
URL to article: https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/12/18/have-the-russian-military-aircrafts-in-venezuela-breached-the-door-to-americas-backyard/
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Cardinal Allencherry governed by Indian laws, not Papal ones, says Kerala HC
Kochi: Kerala High Court has said Kerala Catholic Church chief Cardinal Mar George Allencherry is governed by Indian laws and not Papal ones.
The court said this while reacting to the observation of the Cardinal’s lawyer that only the Pope had power to punish him if had committed any misdeeds. The court said it was exploring if a case could be registered under IPC 460.
Is the Archbishop above country’s law, the court asked. The cardinal said that if he had erred in the sale of church property, only the Pope had the power to act against him.
The activities of the Church were governed by canonian laws, he said. Many had approached the Pope against him, but no action was taken, showing that he was innocent, he added.
He said the Church did not get money from sale of its land due to demonetisation.
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Wed 8th
Margaret thatcher lecture 2019
US Secretary of State delivers Margaret Thatcher Lecture 2019
Wednesday 8th May 2019
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers the Margaret Thatcher Lecture at the Centre for Policy Studies, with introductions from CPS Chairman Lord Saatchi and UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The Margaret Thatcher Lecture (2019) discussed the deep and special relationship between the UK and USA.
LORD SAATCHI: Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Maurice Saatchi, and on behalf of the distinguished board of directors of the Center for Policy Studies, the outstanding teams from the CPS, the UK Foreign Office, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. embassy, and Ambassador Johnson, thank you all and welcome.
It was in this very room in Lancaster House that the inaugural CPS Margaret Thatcher Lecture was delivered by Rupert Murdoch, and next month I hope we will welcome you all again to the Guildhall for the Thatcher Conference on Britain and America. It’s my honor today to greet our illustrious Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who will then introduce our guest speaker, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Before we begin, will you join me in congratulating the latest symbol of Anglo-American cooperation, the royal baby? (Applause.) We will build on that Special Relationship today. (Laughter.)
May I give you the backstory for this event? Let’s put it like this: How do you become an icon? That is the question. U.S. President Kennedy knew. If he had left Dallas that fateful day, he would have told us in six words. Reviewing America’s place in the world, he would have said conformity and complacency will not do. He had no interest in the status quo, and neither did Mrs. Thatcher. They shared the conviction that an individual acting alone, or almost single-handed, can make what seems highly improbable in fact happen. For them, the whole point of being an icon – of being alive – is to change the world.
So it was 40 years ago that Margaret Thatcher won the first of her three historic election victories. As leader of the opposition, she had worked out that general elections are an intellectual battle and that the winner is the one with the best arguments. So she founded the CPS to do the job. In the first CPS office, Mrs. Thatcher sat on the floor, wiring the kettle, but as her official biographer explains, she wasn’t wiring the kettle. She was rewiring conservatism.
Henry Kissinger has told us how they first met. Officials in the State Department in Washington told him about her and suggested that when he was next in Britain he should meet her. As the minister for education, she was astonished that the national security advisor for the United States of America would want to see her. Dr. Kissinger describes how after a while he said to her, “So you’ll be moving to the center ground, will you?” Her reply was, “No, I’m not moving to the center ground, I’m moving the center ground to where I’m standing.”
The Iron Lady also agreed with President Kennedy that to win a war you need more than air power or financial power or even manpower. It requires brain power, the mastery of the inside of people’s minds. With President Reagan, Mrs. Thatcher understood the point of moral leadership, something good in the moral sense. They did not think this talk of morality was mumbo jumbo, philosophical claptrap, or pie in the sky. On the contrary, they agreed with our great General Slim, whose statue stands right opposite the gates of 10 Downing Street, that you cannot win a war unless your troops believe they are fighting for a noble object. That is how Mrs. Thatcher and President Reagan brought down the Berlin Wall, and as we know, consigned Soviet communism to the ash heap of history.
However, times change, and now defensive prefixes atone for free-market capitalism: inclusive capitalism, caring capitalism, compassionate capitalism, progressive capitalism, and so on. And now we all look to the Chinese version of state capitalism with bewilderment.
So, dear all, everyone knows the great line of the American Declaration of Independence: “We the people hold these truths to be self-evident.” But less quoted, I think, is the most beautiful last line: “We pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
I would say to you, all my friends, American intellectual self-confidence has been the heartbeat of Western civilization, and I’m sure today we will learn again how America deserved and won that iconic status.
Please, would you welcome the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to introduce our guest of honor. (Applause.)
FOREIGN SECRETARY HUNT: Thank you, Maurice, and I’m delighted and honored to have this opportunity to introduce Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here in Lancaster House. Your job, Mike, was created in 1790, and you are the 70th Secretary of State. My job was created in 1782 and I am the 64th foreign secretary. (Laughter.) And the first task of the first foreign secretary, Charles James Fox, was to decide whether to recognize the independence of the United States of America. I’m delighted to say that that first foreign secretary was an ardent supporter of the American Revolution. Indeed, Fox was so keen to recognize American independence that his enthusiasm outran the government’s official position and he resigned in protest. (Laughter.) But he got his way in the end.
So there’s no one else in the world who can say this, Mike, but my job created your job. (Laughter.) Welcome to being Secretary of State. (Applause.)
And this shows that the friendship between Britain and America is woven into the very fabric of the offices that you and I hold, and in our meetings today I voiced my pride in the role that Britain and America play in the world. Whether we’re combating Daesh in the Middle East, taking military action to degrade chemical weapon use, exposing cyber attacks, we strive side by side to make the world a safer place. And Mike, you have been at the forefront of this, and I commend your leadership.
When Margaret Thatcher visited President Reagan soon after he was inaugurated in 1981, she said, “Your problems will be our problems, and when you look for friends, we shall be there.” They reshaped the world in the 1980s, accelerating the downfall of communism and helping millions to win their freedom. They had the occasional differences. The invasion of Granada was one, and there’s a famous story that when Margaret Thatcher called President Reagan to complain, during the tongue-lashing that he was getting on the phone, he put his hand on the receiver, held it away, and said to his officials, “Isn’t she wonderful?” (Laughter.)
But in that great tradition, I’m delighted that Mike will address us today on the enduring friendship between our two countries and America’s role as a force for good in the world. Ladies and gentlemen, give a big hand for Secretary Pompeo. (Applause.)
SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Serious matters at hand. I hope we find some joy and some fun as I move through my remarks today. Jeremy, you reminded me I’m the 70th Secretary of State, and I’m mindful that President Trump is number 45, so turnover in my job is a lot higher. (Laughter.) And so I hope I get it right today.
Thanks for the kind introduction. I first met Jeremy – I think it was your first day. We were in Brussels, if I recall. And it brought to mind that – I could see – I knew a little bit about you, and it brought to mind Churchill’s famous quote that Jeremy “has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices” that I so admire. (Laughter.) We are – I hope to live up to your skills and your talents.
It’s great to be back in Britain too. I’ve visited here as a private citizen many times, but it’s another thing altogether to be here representing the United States of America. Thank you to the British people and the British Government for the warm welcome you have given me today. I’m grateful, too, for the incredible privilege to speak here in this amazing room, in this historic space. Thank you so much for giving me this glorious opportunity to speak on behalf of the United States of America. And I want to thank her majesty’s government for sharing this national treasure with all of us today.
I see a handful of members of parliament here today, and others in the audience. Thank you for joining, and I would be remiss if I didn’t say congratulations. You stole my joke. But I do want to say thank you to the duke and duchess of Sussex on the new addition to their family. This was good news on both sides of the Atlantic.
To deliver the Margaret Thatcher lecture is truly humbling for me.
I didn’t invent this, but when I was in private sector in Kansas, I worked diligently on something we called the Kansas Public Policy Institute. It was a small free-market think tank in Kansas and we raised a little money and caused havoc in the capital of Kansas, Topeka, driving our government in Kansas to be smaller and more responsive to the people of Kansas. Her co-founding of this and the little bit of work I was able to do there were in the same vein, and so Lord Saatchi, thank you for your kind remarks today, to Robert Colvile, thank you too for offering me this opportunity.
It’s amazing. You talked about this. This is now the 40th anniversary of her election. I have a son who is 28 who doesn’t always remember these times and would have read about them in the history books, and I see some of you look like you were reading about them in the books too. But those of us who were around know that this Special Relationship is a direct result of some of the most remarkable leadership that Britain has ever had during her time in office.
As she remarked on the 200th anniversary of our diplomatic ties, she said, quote, “There is a union of mind and purpose between our peoples which is remarkable, and which makes our relationship truly special.” “It just is and that is that.” Indeed.
Our two nations are united by a common history and cultural heritage. But even more importantly, we share a set of common values, respect for the rule of law and for property rights, protection of basic freedoms, an unwavering belief in human dignity. These sturdy pillars of our societies form the basis of our mutual success and our independent success. And like anything of value – if you’ll allow a former Army man to say it bluntly – they must be vigilantly protected. They must be worked at.
I mentioned earlier I am from Kansas. It’s a small state, rectangular, right in the center of our country. There was another great American who came from that place: Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was from a little place called Abilene. He told an audience in this very city in June of 1945 – he said, quote, “To preserve his freedom of worship, his equality before the law, his liberty to speak and act as he sees fit…..the Londoner will fight. So will the citizen of Abilene. When we consider these things, then the valley of Thames draws closer to the farms of Kansas and the plains of Texas.” We live in the footsteps of great leaders like this. Our relationship is built upon great leaders who recognize this. How fitting it is for me to be able to recite these words as someone from Kansas on the 74th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
I’m sure for many of you, like many back in the States, it’s easy to forget just how special the relationship is between our two countries.
We have a robust defense partnership, in truly every sense of the word. Your sailors have berths on American ships. The United Kingdom was spending 2 percent of GDP on defense well before President Trump demanded it of every NATO member. But even the vast sums of money are a pittance compared to the British blood that has been spilled fighting alongside us for decades. For this, the American people are immensely grateful.
There’s our intelligence relationship too as well as our diplomatic partnership. I saw firsthand when I was the director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency every day the incredible value of our British partners: MI-6, MI-5, GCHQ, each of them delivering to keep the American people more safe and secure. In fact, I’m sure they were listening to me on my flight in. (Laughter.) That’ll come back to haunt me. (Laughter.)
As Secretary of State, look, I see it in too – I’ve been doing this now – I’ve been a year and a couple weeks as Secretary of State. I see your diplomats, who are free to enter our headquarters in Washington, D.C. wearing the very same badges that we do. No other country has a privilege that special. Nor can I forget about the massive educational and cultural exchanges, which have blessed both of our peoples over so many years. Indeed, in her younger years, Margaret Thatcher participated in a program that’s still around today. It’s called the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership program. We try to train people around the world about American values. I am confident we learned more from her than she did from us. (Laughter.)
And not the least of all between our two countries is the incredibly important economic relationship that we have. This economic cooperation is a model for the rest of the world to emulate. We’re the world’s largest economy; yours is the fifth-largest. The volume of trade between our two nations is staggering. We collectively set the standards for innovation, for entrepreneurship, and also, importantly, for human striving. Our economies are the envy of the world, and I’ll come back to that.
As I read the history, it is absolutely unmistakable, and one cannot challenge the idea that we have accomplished so much together over these past decades. But there’s an awful lot more to do especially in a world that’s changing as rapidly as the one in which we live in today.
As the Secretary of State, I see a landscape that is far more complex than the one that we faced together in the Cold War. We faced Islamist terrorism as Londoners, and those who live in Manchester know so well. We faced the re-emergence of great power competition in the likes of China and Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We, too, face the swings and roundabouts of our politics as every democracy does.
And I want you to know, because this is so important, that it is now the actual opposite of the right time to go wobbly, and I’ll come back to that. We must stand together to address the challenges of our time.
We’ve already stood fast together in regard to Russia. After the chemical weapons attack that took place here in Salisbury, along with our other allies, we pushed back, we punished Russia with important sanctions. We wanted the world to know that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by nations like ours who value the rule of law.
You recognize, too, that Russia wants Nord Stream 2 to use energy as leverage over Europe – we shouldn’t allow it to proceed. We must continue our close cooperation in that regard.
I traveled in last night from Baghdad. In the Middle East, the Royal Air Force supported the Syrian Democratic Forces that dismantled the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
And in Yemen, the United Kingdom has led the efforts to find a diplomatic solution to this Iranian proxy war. The 770 million pounds in aid that your country has committed to that conflict to help feed starving people in Yemen is remarkable and something you should be incredibly proud of. I made clear in remarks I gave in Cairo, Egypt, now several months back, that resolving Middle East challenges demands a strong network of allies and partners, and I appreciate that the United Kingdom is right out in front.
President Trump has led tough diplomacy towards the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea. You’ve supported this. That mission is important, and the pressure campaign that the world has engaged in must continue. This is an outcome that is imperative for the security of the world. The Royal Navy, too, has deployed to the Pacific to deter illicit ship-to-ship transfers on North Korean fuel that would have undermined those sanctions. We thank you for that. This must continue.
In China, we face a new kind of challenge. It’s an authoritarian regime that’s integrated economically into the West in ways the Soviet Union never was. President Trump is in the midst of trade talks. I hope they’re resolved successfully, but it is important that we get these trade relationships right.
But separately, separately it’s important that we speak honestly about the nature of the Chinese regime. I’ve been talking to other audiences about the more than one million Chinese Muslims detained in camps in Xinjiang. That’s the same province in China that pioneered a credit system in which users trade freedom and privacy for government benefits. And it’s the same province that’s the beginning of the Belt and Road. It’s the future China wants for China and for the world.
Britain has first-hand experience with this challenge. In the cyber-realm, the A.P.T. 10 Group acted on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security to steal intellectual property and sensitive commercial data from Europe and from Asia and from the United States. We appreciate the United Kingdom publicly calling out China for that cyber attack. There will be more and we must be ever vigilant.
Even more in plain sight, China steals intellectual property for military purposes. It wants to dominate AI, space technology, ballistic missiles, and many other areas. China’s growing capacity is matched by its appetite for expansion. I just gave a major speech in the Arctic Council warning against China’s incursions in the Arctic. We can’t let the High North – or any other area – go the way of the South China Sea.
Ask yourself – ask yourself this: Would the Iron Lady be silent when China violates the sovereignty of nations through corruption and coercion? Would she have welcomed the Belt and Road Initiative without demanding absolute transparency and the highest standards? Would she allow China to control the internet of the future?
Look, I know it’s a sensitive topic, but we have to talk about sensitive things as friends. As a matter of Chinese law, the Chinese Government can rightfully demand access to data flowing through Huawei and ZTE systems. Why would anyone grant such power to a regime that has already grossly violated cyberspace? What can her majesty’s government do to make sure sensitive technologies don’t become open doors for Beijing’s spymasters?
This is a discussion that extends far beyond technology and trade, although it’s often couched that way. Insufficient security will impede the United States ability to share certain information with trusted networks.
This is exactly what China wants; they want to divide Western alliances through bits and bytes, not bullets and bombs. We know that 5G is a sovereign decision – we respect every nation’s right to make its own choices – but it must be made in the broader context, the broader strategic context of China’s efforts throughout the world.
And finally, there’s the subject of the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is no daylight between our two countries on the threat emanating from the Iranian regime. We agree that they’re operating in defiance of the UN’s ballistic missile resolution. We agree they fund terror across the Middle East, and across the world. We agree that they take hostages, and repress their own people. I urge the United Kingdom to stand with us to rein in the regime’s bloodletting and lawlessness, not soothe the ayatollahs angry at our decision to pull out of a nuclear deal. If this is about something like commerce, let’s open markets together. I know that we can.
And that brings me to the next point. You are our partner, our best partner in promoting free enterprise.
The world can look at our prosperous trade relationship and see the fruits of democratic capitalism. How’s that for a hyphen before capitalism? (Laughter.) Let’s keep the West’s wellspring of innovation alive.
Again, as often, Mrs. Thatcher’s wisdom applies. She said, quote, “Government should create the right framework of sound money, low taxes, light regulation, and flexible markets – including labor markets – to allow prosperity and employment to grow,” and for nations to prosper. We encourage the United Kingdom to liberate its economy and take advantage of its untapped energy resources as well. Freedom brings wealth, and growth, and human dignity. The energy revolution is one American revolution that the British can actually welcome. Shale exploration has created waves of wealth and jobs in the United States. It could do so here too.
There’s one more big item on the table, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t address it. President Trump is eager for a new free trade agreement that will take our number-one trade relationship to unlimited new heights. And I spoke with both Foreign Secretary Hunt and Prime Minister May about this this morning. We’ve filed all the papers we can at this point, and we are ready to go.
But we can’t make progress on a new agreement until Brexit gets resolved – Godspeed and good luck. (Laughter.) How it turns out is, of course, your sovereign choice, but whatever happens you should know we will honor that decision. Look, our relationship has been amazing and strong before Brexit, and it will be strong after it. Ultimately, when all is settled, you’ll be first in line for a new trade deal, not at the end of the queue.
Finally, I’d like to address the shared values we hold so dear. I’m troubled by the anti-Semitism that’s emerging again in our society, and in yours. We must stop this cancer before it metastasizes even further.
In a free society, a yarmulke should not be a scarlet letter. And hatred of the Jewish State is just as bad. As I said in a speech now several weeks back, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.
As I close today, I’ll say simply this: The Special Relationship is the beating heart of the entire free world. President Trump has called it “a bond that is like no other.”
Theresa May was the first foreign leader that was welcomed to the White House. Less than a month from today, he’ll have the privilege to pay a visit here, and gather with other transatlantic allies to commemorate D-Day. We will remember the courage shown by Britons and Americans alike in that fateful hour.
But I also remind you of the diplomatic cooperation that helped win that war, as any good secretary of state would.
In 1941, the new American ambassador, John G. Winant, got off the plane in the dark of night at Bristol Airport. His first words were modest: “There is no place I would rather be at this time than in England.” Those words were conveying his solidarity with your nation right from the get-go. He chose not to live in the official ambassador’s residence – that seems unimaginable, having just left Winchester. (Laughter.) Instead, a modest flat was where he took his residence. He ate the same rations as Londoners. He joined them in the shelters during air raids. Day in and day out, he worked closely with Churchill, helping to coordinate urgent lines of effort.
We all know how that story ended: We won the war. When he and Churchill met for the last time, Churchill described him this way, quote, “He is a friend of Britain, but he is more than a friend of Britain. He’s a friend of justice, of freedom, and of truth.” Nothing has changed, literally nothing. As Secretary of State and a representative of President Trump, I tell the people of the United Kingdom that America will remain a friend to you and a friend of justice, freedom, and truth. Let our nations go forward in that same spirit. Let’s recognize how special this relationship really is. Let’s tend to it; let’s expand it. And as Mrs. Thatcher once toasted President Reagan, let us look forward with confidence to the next 200 years of Anglo-American friendship, to an enduring and confident alliance, and to peace and freedom for today’s and future generations. Thank you, and may God bless you. (Applause.)
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Jorge Moreira da Silva
Jorge Moreira da Silva is director of the Development Co-operation Directorate at the OECD, overseeing the organization’s work measuring progress in development cooperation, analyzing global and regional trends, and helping to design development policies that meet recipient countries’ needs. His role also supports the work of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee.
Opinion: Here's how to strengthen development cooperation — and meet the SDGs
New data from 86 partner countries and 100 development partners shed light on what effective partnerships looks like. Experts from OECD and UNDP explain.
Opinion: The 'impact imperative' for sustainable development finance
The shared responsibility for finance actors to deliver on the SDGs means they must adopt a shared understanding of "impact," writes Jorge Moreira da Silva, director of OECD's Development Co-operation Directorate.
Opinion: Getting climate infrastructure right — A stronger role for development banks
In order to limit global warming, the next decade will see a surge in efforts made by public, private and civil society stakeholders. However, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Jorge Moreira da Silva believes that it is development banks that could make the most difference, especially in developing countries. In this guest column, he explains what further actions are needed to forge a lower-carbon pathway and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Opinion: Yes, the private sector is good for development. The question is how.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, director of the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate, explains how development doesn't just benefit from the private sector — it requires its investment.
See all articles by Jorge Moreira da Silva
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You are here :Home > Northern > Mackinac Island and Northern Michigan
Mackinac Island Bus Tour
See Mackinac Island by Bus!
Step back into a quaint lifestyle in a waterfront setting on our group bus tour to Mackinac Island and beautiful Northern Michigan! After arriving by bus and checking into your nearby hotel, your group will travel by ferry boat across the waters to idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are prohibited and travel is done by horse and carriage. This Mackinac Island vacation package features a horse and carriage tour, and you will also enjoy free time to explore. The next day brings a bus tour to Sault Sainte Marie, MI, and an exciting cruise across Soo Locks. The evening brings gaming at Kewadin Sault Casino if you wish. The following day is a guided bus tour of Mackinaw City. Your group will also visit Colonial Michilimackinac, an 18th-Century living history village. This group bus trip to Mackinac Island and beautiful Northern Michigan shows your group the peaceful, old-world beauty of this tucked away corner of the world.
Embrace the Victorian Era and Enjoy the Peaceful Surroundings of Mackinac Island
Aerial View of Mackinac Island
Enjoy A Carriage Tour on Mackinac Island
The Famous Lighthouse in Mackinaw City
Soo Locks Boat Tour
The amazing Colonial Michilimackinac
Explore beautiful Sault Ste Marie
Mackinaw - a City that Offers the Best of Both Past and Present
Diamond did an excellent job from begining to the end. Also, the price for the trip makes it affordable for us senior citizens.
Jan, Senior Center Group Leader, August, 2017
I have enjoyed all of the trips with Diamond Tours for the past five years and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone.
Cathy, Trip Club Group Leader, September, 2017
I have been group leader for 2 of the Diamond Tours and all was very good. The Diamond Tour staff members are pleasant and very helpful.
Claire, Group Leader, June, 2016
Overall it was a good trip, especially with the 2 and 3 horse carriage maneuvering to and from Mackinac Island. I liked the driver's expertise in recommending rest stops and lunch stops and letting me choose from there.
Bernetta, Group Leader, June, 2017
Diamond Tours is great and your staff is wonderful. I think they were at every place we stopped, always with smiling faces.
Ruthann, Group Leader, June, 2017
Our Mackinac Island Bus Trip Includes:
All Lodging Including 4 Consecutive Nights in Northern Michigan
Boat Ride through Soo Locks
The Soo Locks have been referred to as one of the great wonders of the world and it is still the largest waterway traffic system on earth. Your boat will travel along the international shoreline of the lower harbor letting you experience all the sights, sounds, and excitement of Michigan's oldest city, Sault Ste Marie.
Sault Sainte Marie
A vibrant, picturesque community of 15,000 people, Sault Ste. Marie is situated on the southern shore of the historic St. Mary's River at the eastern end of Michigan’s spectacular Upper Peninsula. Known as the Northern Gateway to Canada the Sault is home to the world famous Soo Locks, connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron.
Guided Tour of Mackinaw City
A core feature of Mackinaw City is their famous lighthouse. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse served as a beacon to navigators through the Straits of Mackinac for 65 years. By the time the lighthouse was established in 1889, both the technology and administration of the lighthouses had developed considerably. The lighthouse is filled with interesting exhibits.
Admission to Colonial Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it is a National Historic Landmark and is now preserved as an open-air historical museum. Today, it brings history to life with music, live demonstrations and reenactments, including musket and cannon firing demonstrations. The site has numerous reconstructed historical wooden structures. It is considered one of the most extensively excavated early French archaeological sites in the United States.
Kewadin Sault Casino
Whenever you arere in the Michigan Upper Peninsula you are never far from a Kewadin Casino experience. And that means moments you will hold on to forever. From live entertainment to gaming promotions and events, there is always something going on at Kewadin.
Visit to Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering 3.8 square miles. In the late 19th century, Mackinac Island became a popular tourist attraction. Much of the island has undergone extensive historical preservation and restoration; as a result, the entire island is listed as a National Historic Landmark. It is well known for its numerous cultural events and wide variety of architectural styles. More than 80 percent of the island is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park.
Carriage Tour on Mackinac Island
Prepare yourself for a tour like no other! What you will experience is by far the most enjoyable and authentic way to view the island.
Mackinaw Crossings
A charming village that is considered by many to be Northern Michigan's Premier Shopping, Dining and Entertainment destination.
Visit to Mackinaw Crossings
Mackinac Island and Carriage Tour
Colonial Michilimackinac
Kewadin Casino
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How Einstein was proven right using Irish equipment in Brazil – in an expedition led by an Irishman
Radio observations reveal the origin of pulsating light from the Sun
Chris Hadfield visits DIAS to witness image of black hole being revealed
DIAS-led team finds evidence that Young Star Clusters make Cosmic Rays
GRAVITY instrument breaks new ground in exoplanet imaging
What is Life?’ lecture series returns to Dublin after 75 years
New portrait of renowned scientist Sheila Tinney unveiled at Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
DIAS launches ambitious strategy to establish Ireland as “home for intellectual leadership”
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
is a statutory corporation established in 1940 under the Institute for Advanced Studies Act of that year. It is a publicly-funded independent centre for research in basic disciplines. DIAS has three constituent schools:
School of Celtic Studies
The School of Celtic Studies is dedicated to the study of Irish and the other Celtic languages, both written and spoken, throughout their history, as well as related areas of cultural, social and legal history. Employing both academic… Read More
The School of Cosmic Physics undertakes theoretical, computational and observational studies of physics related to the understanding of the Cosmos – from the Earth’s core to the outer reaches of the Universe. It is organised in two broad… Read More
The School of Theoretical Physics focuses on original research into the mathematical principles of physics. It investigates the fundamental mathematical structures in which the laws of physics find expression. This research has profound, if long-term, implications not just… Read More
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New men's style from way up north
By Gillian Nelis Aug 7, 2016
It’s 150 not out for Magee, and the Donegal clothing firm is celebrating in style as it unveils its latest autumn/winter collections
This has been a big year for the Donegal clothing and weaving company Magee. As well as celebrating its 150th anniversary, its owners, the Temple family, have opened a new flagship store on South Anne Street in Dublin, welcomed the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to their Donegal town factory, and announced a collaboration with the bloodstock agents Goffs.
The autumn/winter collections, which are arriving in stores from this month, were unveiled...
Kilkenny festival’s spirit of adventure
PREVIEW: Brian Eno’s Moon landings at the NCH
Chess With Sam Collins
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Global Stage Orchestra (1)
Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Score) (1)
LP Vinyl (3)
Fantastic Beasts (2)
Watertower Music (2)
Atlantic UK (1)
Decca (1)
Factory of Sounds (1)
Masterworks (1)
Music on Vinyl (1)
Sony Music (1)
Soundtracks (10)
Picture Disc (1)
Items 0 - 0 of 10
Label: Masterworks
Features: CD
2018 release. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two-part stage play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling and John Tiffany. Imogen Heap's official music and... more
Plays Music From Harry Potter Movies [Import]
Global Stage Orchestra
Label: Factory of Sounds
Features: Holland - Import
Harry Potter: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks I-V
Features: Picture Disc Vinyl LP, Boxed Set
Limited edition boxed set that features the soundtracks to the series' first five films pressed on vinyl picture discs (10 LPs). Each soundtrack is contained in a gatefold sleeve that is die-cut on... more
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Label: Watertower Music
Features: Digipack Packaging
Two CD. Original soundtrack to the 2016 motion picture composted by James Newton Howard. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an all-new adventure created by J.K. Rowling. Arriving in New York... more
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Import]
Label: Music on Vinyl
Limited double 180 gram audiophile vinyl LP pressing in gatefold sleeve including insert. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series written by... more
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Score) [Import]
Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Score)
Label: Sony Music
Features: Germany - Import
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Original Soundtrack) [Import]
Label: Decca
Features: United Kingdom - Import
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Original Soundtrack) [Import]
Label: Warner
Ori Release '02. Limited Edition with bonus CD Romfeaturing exclusive screensaver, PC Wallpaper, Website links + 2 film trailers. more
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Original Soundtrack) [Import]
Label: Atlantic UK
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Original Soundtrack)
Original Motion Soundtrack: will feature the film' s magical score, composed by renowed John Williams. Best known for his unforgettable scores to such films as Jaws, Star Wars. more
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Monrovia deaths of woman and teen called…
Monrovia deaths of woman and teen called homicides; suspect named
By Jonah Valdez | jvaldez@scng.com and Robert Gundran | rgundran@scng.com | San Gabriel Valley Tribune
PUBLISHED: December 5, 2018 at 4:08 pm | UPDATED: December 5, 2018 at 10:48 pm
Authorities are conducting a homicide investigation after a woman and a teenage girl were found dead in their apartment in Monrovia on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 5.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Nimrod Perez Guerrero is suspected of killing two people in Monrovia on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Officials didn’t immediately provide information on how they may have died nor did they identify the two, but officials confirmed the girl was a student at Monrovia High School across the street.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department late Wednesday named 33-year-old Nimrod Perez Guerrero as a suspect in the double homicide.
Guerrero is five-foot-eight-inches tall and 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Officials said he is possibly driving a gray 2014 Toyota RAV4 with a license plate 7FPB132.
“The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Wednesday night.
The statement didn’t say how the suspect may have come into contact with the victims.
Some of the teenage girl’s friends gathered Wednesday afternoon at the school’s lawn, where they huddled together under an umbrella as rain poured down. Members of the group cried and stared at the apartment complex that was surrounded by crime scene tape.
Authorities investigate after a woman and a girl were found dead in a Monrovia apartment unit on Wednesday, Dec. 5. (Photo by Jonah Valdez/Southern California News Group)
“The teachers, staff and students of Monrovia Unified School District are mourning tonight because of the loss of one of our Monrovia High School students. There is no question that a tragedy of this nature affects our entire community. It is difficult to process the death of anyone, much less someone so young and so promising,” said a statement from Monrovia Unified School District Superintendent Katherine Thorossian.
Thorossian said the district would provide grief counselors at the school for students.
“That makes me feel a little more (shook) up, not as safe,” said Jacob Chooniyom, a freshman at Monrovia High who was also watching the crime scene from the school’s lawn. “I can see the families around here, or people close, crying, and it’s like, it makes me a little worried about what could happen.”
The teenage girl who died was a student at Monrovia High School, which is located across the street from the girl’s apartment complex. (Photo by Jonah Valdez/Southern California News Group)
Officers were called to the 800 block of West Colorado Boulevard, where they found the woman and girl, said Lt. Derrick Alfred with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Monrovia police had been called to conduct a welfare check for the woman and girl at the apartment at 12:52 p.m., Monrovia Police Sgt. Yolanda Juarez said.
The call for the welfare check had originally come from an individual who contacted the Alhambra Police Department, Alfred said. After officers’ attempts to contact the two had failed, they entered the apartment through an open window and found the woman and girl, who were both unresponsive.
The girl had missed three to four days at school, Juarez said.
The Sheriff’s Department was called to assist Monrovia police in the investigation, and sheriff’s homicide detectives were sent to the scene.
The two were pronounced dead at the scene, Alfred said.
Martin Pont, who lives in a house next door to the apartment complex, watched the crime scene from his front lawn. He had just returned from buying groceries when he pulled into his driveway, where members of the media and law enforcement had gathered.
“It was just a real shock, and for something like that to happen next door,” Pont said, describing residents of the neighboring apartment complex as cool and friendly. “Even though we don’t know their names, we see them often. We just want to know who it was and why it happened.”
Off-trail area of Big Falls Trail in Forest Falls to be closed to public until May 2020
CHP officers prevent man from jumping off overpass in Corona
Rancho Cucamonga puts several areas off-limits on July 4th, due to wildfire danger
Anyone with information on the incident or the whereabouts of Guerrero can call The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Those who want to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Jonah Valdez
Jonah Valdez is a reporter on the crime and public safety team.
Follow Jonah Valdez @Jonahmv
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Posted on May 4, 2019 by MICHAEL ULLERY
County combats cyber crime
News, Top Stories
MCSO Detective Todd Cooper home from weeks of training
By Mike Ullery - Miami Valley Sunday News
Detective Todd Cooper of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office demonstrates some of the equipment acquired by the sheriffs office to extract data from cell phones and computers. All of the computers and other tools were provided, at no cost to the county, by the United States Secret Service upon Cooper’s completion of schooling to become proficient in computer and cell phone forensics.
Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Sunday News
Computer forensics tools in the detective section of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, provided by the United States Secret Service and used by Detective Todd Cooper, to investigate and prosecute cyber crimes.
Cell phone forensics tools in the detective section of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, provided by the United States Secret Service and used by Detective Todd Cooper, to investigate and prosecute cyber crimes.
Cell phone and crime
Detective Cooper said that a large percentage of today’s crimes involve cell phones. “Everything is done on your cell phone,” said Cooper, “so anything that is crime-related, whether it’s drugs, or whatever, a lot of people put that stuff on there, contacts, maps, or whatever.”
Duchak stressed that, just like “traditional” crimes, law enforcement officials must follow the law before seaching a cell phone of computer. Authorities must have probable cause that a crime has been committed and a search warrant must be obtained before the device is confiscated.
MIAMI COUNTY — In a rapidly-changing society, criminals are taking to cyber space in increasing numbers. Whether computers or cell phones, crimes are being committed with the assistance of electronic and digital media in increasing numbers. In order to combat cyber crimes, law enforcement agencies must become experts at locating digital evidence to prosecute cyber criminals.
The Miami County Sheriff’s Office has teamed with the U.S. Secret Service in the fight against cyber crimes. As part of the U.S. Secret Service Task Force, Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak was able to send Detective Todd Cooper to a pair of schools, operated by the Secret Service in Hoover, Ala., to learn the techniques and procedures necessary to extract data from cell phones and computers in order to solve and prosecute crimes.
The classes, which include a four-week course in 2018 and a five-week course that Cooper recently completed, are technical and required Cooper to meet admission criteria to be accepted. The course is not one that is “just” applied for, according to Duchak. Cooper was nominated by the Secret Service to attend the courses and Duchak said he heartily approved his attendance.
“The cost of the course is 100 percent covered (by the Secret Service),” Cooper said. “Even the laundry.”
Once Cooper successfully completed the courses, all of the computers and tools necessary to do diagnostics and forensics to extract necessary data from cell phones and computers is provided to the sheriff’s office by the Secret Service.
As part of the agreement and being part of the task force, when the Secret Service needs cyber investigation assistance, Cooper and the Miami County Sheriff’s Office will provide their help.
“As part of the task force, I think this past year, I’ve done maybe six phones for them,” said Cooper.
Most often, cases where Cooper’s expertise is needed by the Secret Service involves investigations in this area, he said.
While investigators with Cooper’s skill set are rare, more law enforcement professionals are being trained to combat cyber crimes.
The equipment and training ultimately allows Cooper to extract necessary files — evidence — from computers and cell phones.
“It gives the ability to locate and find files, particularly deleted files,” Cooper said. “They provided us with several programs that actually goes in and digs that stuff out.”
“Technology is always changing, and more and more, a lot of criminal investigations are greatly impacted if we can recover digital evidence from some of these difference media devices,” Duchak said.
Duchak said since Cooper attended the first course more than a year ago, he has recovered information from approximately 140 cell phones.
“He has captured critical information that has allowed for prosecution to occur, not only for our department, but also for other agencies within the county and a few outside the county.”
“It is critical to law enforcement to keep up with technology,” Duchak said. “The crime labs and other places that a lot of the digital evidence would go to are just overwhelmed. Without being able to get that information quickly can impact a criminal case, so Detective Cooper’s skill set and the equipment, he is able to get that information out, a lot of times in close to real time, where we never had that luxury before. We had to get in line and wait, and wait, and wait. It has greatly enhanced our ability to get digital data quickly.”
When the name of the U.S. Secret Service comes up, people usually think of the men and women who protect the president of the Untied States. In reality, when the Secret Service was formed in 1865, their sole mission was the protection of U.S. currency. That later evolved into protection of the president and other dignitaries. In 2003, the Secret Service was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security and handles cases involving not only currency but any crimes involving money, whether cash or the cyber transfer of funds.
https://www.dailycall.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/05/web1_042919mju_mcso_cooper1.jpgDetective Todd Cooper of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office demonstrates some of the equipment acquired by the sheriffs office to extract data from cell phones and computers. All of the computers and other tools were provided, at no cost to the county, by the United States Secret Service upon Cooper’s completion of schooling to become proficient in computer and cell phone forensics. Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Sunday News
https://www.dailycall.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/05/web1_042919mju_mcso_cooper2.jpgComputer forensics tools in the detective section of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, provided by the United States Secret Service and used by Detective Todd Cooper, to investigate and prosecute cyber crimes. Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Sunday News
https://www.dailycall.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/05/web1_042919mju_mcso_cooper3.jpgCell phone forensics tools in the detective section of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, provided by the United States Secret Service and used by Detective Todd Cooper, to investigate and prosecute cyber crimes. Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Sunday News
By Mike Ullery
Miami Valley Sunday News
Reach Mike Ullery at mullery@dailycall.com
©2019 Miami Valley Sunday News, All rights reserved
Hi! A visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: County combats cyber crime. Here is a link to that story: https://www.dailycall.com/news/58152/county-combats-cyber-crime
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Doctors Are Now Giving 8-Year-Old Girls Testosterone, Claiming They're 'Transgender'
By Amanda Prestigiacomo
@amandapresto
According to medical doctors and a parent of a gender non-conforming child speaking on a panel for the Heritage Foundation, their quest to stop dangerous transgender treatments on minors has exposed that “government-funded research now allows wrong sex hormones such as testosterone to be given to girls as young as 8,” reported The Christian Post on Tuesday.
Through FOIA requests, Dr. Michael Laidlaw, a California-based endocrinologist, and some of his colleagues “found that in 2017 they lowered the minimum age for cross-sex hormones from 13 to 8,” the report said.
”Imagine giving 8-year-old girls testosterone," Laidlaw offered. ”They are in 3rd or 4th grade. This is unbelievable. But this is going on."
During the panel discussion, the endocrinologist detailed the dangers of medically treating children who are confused about their gender and showcased video clips of doctors Ilana Sherer and Johanna Olson-Kennedy, both of whom medically treat “transgender” children. The Christian Post reported:
Sherer explained that puberty blockers are given to children at age 8 or 9, when they are in third and fourth grades. Olson-Kennedy is doing a 5-year study, for which she has received a $5.7 million National Institutes of Health research grant, and in one of her publications, it shows that mastectomies have been done on girls as young as 13. In the clip Laidlaw showed, Olson-Kennedy is seen on tape insisting adolescents have the capacity to make life-altering decisions, including to have their breasts removed.
Gender-confused teen girls as young as 13, Laidlaw warned, are having their breasts removed via mastectomy procedures, and boys the age of 17 are developing penises the developmental age of a nine-year-old’s or losing sexual sensation all together due to hormone blockers. Laidlaw cited TLC’s "I am Jazz” star Jazz Jennings as such an example. Jazz, who is male-to-female transgender, has reportedly never experienced sexual sensations or orgasms because of puberty-blocking drugs, the endocrinologist said.
“Under the nebulous concept of ‘gender identity,’ children as young as 8 are receiving injections for gender transition treatment,” explained Laidlaw, according to The Christian Post report. “The phrase was defined in a recent court case as a person's ‘core internal sense’ of their own gender and that it was the ‘primary factor’ in determining their sex, not biology,” he added, noting that this information is false.
"This whole thing is an experiment on children,” asserted Laidlaw. “We are ignoring the voices of desisters and people who have come out of this and recognize their sex. And the NIH is allowing unethical research to be conducted on adolescents, in my opinion."
A woman who has a “trans-identifying child” named Elaine also spoke out about the dangers in medically treating “trans” children.
“It’s not acceptable for doctors to remove healthy limbs from children, so why is it acceptable for doctors to remove healthy reproductive organs from children?" the mother asked.
"The 'experts' tell parents that it is harmful to question their children’s beliefs, that they must support their children’s medical transition, which includes a lifetime dependence on hormones, and that if parents do not comply, their children will be at higher risk of suicide," she said, adding, "These parents are being lied to as their children are harmed and their families are torn apart."
H/t The Christian Post
Read More: Gender Transgender
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Debunked: Did the U.S. government infect people with syphilis and gonorrhea?
Filed under Debunked at Jun 2016
Seema Yasmin, Staff writer
Connect with Seema Yasmin
Some children were infected through injections into the spine. Some men were infected through sex with prostitutes who themselves had been infected with syphilis and gonorrhea by American doctors. Some men had skin scraped off their penises so that doctors could rub syphilis into the cuts. One woman, a patient in a psychiatric hospital, had pus from a gonorrhea patient injected into her eyes.
Between 1945 and 1956, 1,308 orphans, soldiers, mental health patients, prisoners and sex workers in Guatemala were deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhea by American doctors. Some were given antibiotics. Many were not. At least 80 people died.
One woman, a patient in a psychiatric hospital, had pus from a gonorrhea patient injected into her eyes.
The doctors said they wanted to learn more about sexually transmitted diseases and to see if penicillin could treat syphilis. But they changed their minds about the study objectives over and over again.
The experiments were funded by the National Institutes of Health and approved by the surgeon general. The study wasn't made public, but in 2005, Susan Reverby, a professor at Wellesley College, discovered study documents in the University of Pittsburgh library.
“I was floored,” she said. Reverby was researching another set of gruesome medical experiments carried out by American doctors (more on that later), when she found the papers about the Guatemala studies.
Historian Susan Reverby, a professor of history and women's studies at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, discovered the gruesome U.S.-conducted scientific experiments in Guatemala while doing archival research in Pittsburgh, Pennsylania. (Wellesley College/MCT)
In 2010, President Barack Obama called Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom to apologize. An official statement was released by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The Guatemala study wasn't the only set of experiments the U.S. government had to apologize for. In 1997, President Bill Clinton said sorry to survivors of unethical medical research funded and carried out by American doctors.
From 1932 to 1972, nearly 400 African American men were deliberately left untreated with syphilis in a study called the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. The men were mostly poor sharecroppers from Macon County, Alabama. (I wrote about the Tuskegee and Guatemala studies in an earlier column.)
In an undated handout photo, a doctor injects a patient as part of the Tuskegee syphilis study, in which U.S. government researchers followed African-American men infected with syphilis and didn't treat them so that they could see the disease take its course. A new paper argues the effects of the study on public trust were so severe that it led older African-American men to avoid care, leading to a decrease in life expectancy of 1.4 years. (Handout via The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS STUDY BY AARON E. CARROLL FOR JUNE 18, 2016. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. --
Even when penicillin was known to cure syphilis in 1947, the men were left untreated and U.S. Public Health Service doctors experimented on them as they grew sicker. By the end of that study, 128 men had died from syphilis. At least 40 of their wives were infected and 19 of their children were born with the disease.
Even when penicillin was known to cure syphilis, the men were left untreated while U.S. Public Health Service doctors experimented on them.
The effects of these unethical experiments are felt to this day. Some public health experts blame an outbreak of tuberculosis in Marion, Alabama, earlier this year on the U.S. governments history of unethical medical research. (In February, the rate of tuberculosis in Marion was higher than the rates in India and Kenya.)
Marion is a two hour drive from Tuskegee. A deep mistrust of doctors and the medical establishment means some people sick with tuberculosis in Marion have been reluctant to seek help. That may have helped the disease spread, experts say.
If you want to learn more about the Tuskegee medical trial, the film Miss Evers' Boys, tells the story of a nurse in Macon County who was recruited to take part in the study.
Debunked is your go to site for demystifying science and medicine. Send your questions and conspiracy theories to syasmin@dallasnews.com or tweet me @DoctorYasmin. I'm a staff writer at the Dallas Morning News and a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. I worked as a medical doctor and disease detective before training to be a journalist. And I'm obsessed with conspiracy theories.
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Home BlogWeekly News 10 Bits: the Data News Hotlist
10 Bits: the Data News Hotlist
This week’s list of data news highlights covers December 5 – 11, 2015 and includes articles about how Australian universities are making it harder for graduates to lie about their degrees to employers and how Google search data can help researchers study the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
1. Setting High Stakes for a U.S. Smart City
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) has announced the Smart City Challenge to spur the development of a mid-sized smart city that demonstrates the ability of connected technologies and data to reduce congestion, improve transportation safety, support the economy, and benefit the environment. Cities can submit bids to participate in the Smart City Challenge until February 2014, and the winning city will receive $40 million to implement its smart city plans. Additionally, philanthropic investment company Vulcan Inc. has agreed to award an additional $10 million to the winning city if its projects include developing infrastructure to support electric vehicles.
2. Making it Harder to Lie about Degrees
A group of Australian universities have launched the Digital Student Data Project (DSDP), an initiative to build a database of academic records to make it easier for employers to verify job applicants’ education credentials. DSDP will have the added benefit of making it easier for students to move between academic institutions without the hassle of transferring paperwork to prove their academic history. DSDP will only grant employer access to academic records if the student or graduate explicitly gives the employer permission. DSDP plans to eventually expand the database to include academic records from other countries, including the United States, China, India, and the UK.
3. Taking the Global Pulse of Open Data
Open Knowledge International, a non-profit organization, has released the 2015 Global Open Data Index assessing the state of open government data in 122 countries. The Global Open Data Index evaluates how well a country provides various categories of important data, such as national statistics and government spending, to the public based on factors such as whether or not the data is freely available, machine readable, timely, or if it exists at all. For the 2015 Index, Taiwan topped the list of countries with an openness score of 78 percent.
4. Connected Cars Could Put an End to Hit-and-Runs
Police arrested a woman in Florida for a hit-and-run after data from her car proved she was involved in an accident that hospitalized another woman, contradicting her denial. The woman had struck another car from behind and sensors on the car detected the accident, causing it to automatically call authorities via the woman’s phone as part of a feature called 911 Assist. The woman initially ignored the dispatcher, causing the car to pull over and share its location with authorities on the chance that the driver was incapacitated. The woman then denied to the dispatcher she struck another car, but authorities were able to find her thanks to the car’s location data and identified extensive vehicle damage and paint transfer, proving she had hit another car and tried to flee the scene.
5. Making Australia’s Open Data a National Resource
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has released the government’s Public Data Policy Statement, defining data held by the government as a “strategic national resource.” The new policy commits to the practice of open by default for non-sensitive government data, focuses on expanding the use of government data by collaborating with researchers and businesses, and requires that data be made available in machine-readable formats as well as utilize open standards and licenses. The policy is part of the government’s new National Innovation and Science Agenda which aims to advance government research and support startups.
6. Programming a Smart Home with a Swipe
Reality Editor, a new smartphone app developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Fluid Interfaces Lab, which studies human-computer interaction, allows users to easily link and program the various smart devices in their home. The app allows users to easily link the functionality of different devices. For example, users can link a smart lightbulb and television to automatically dim the lights when the television turns on. Reality Editor is free to download, and developers are free to create software for it to work with smart devices from different manufacturers.
7. Mining Search Data to Prevent the Spread of STDs
Researchers at University of Illinois at Chicago are mining Google search data to develop analytical models that can forecast outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) based on real-time search data for phrases related to various diseases, such as particular symptoms. Researchers can analyze search keyword trends by specific locations and develop a clearer understanding of where disease is spreading before public agencies officially report verified cases. The researchers are focusing on STDs in particular because of their stigmatized and personal nature, which makes individuals less likely to provide data about their disease in other ways useful to epidemiologists, such as tweeting about their congestion when they have a cold.
8. An Algorithm that Learns as Fast as Humans
Researchers at New York University, the University of Toronto, and MIT have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of recognizing handwritten characters as accurately as a human can after analyzing just one example. Until now, even the best machine-learning algorithms needed to analyze thousands of examples to reliably distinguish between different characters. The researchers’ technique differs from other algorithms in that it attempts to mimic the way adults, who already know how to read and write, learn and recreate new characters, whereas other techniques could be described as mimicking the way children learns to recognize a new character as they learn how to read in general.
9. Getting a Clearer View of the Earth
Startup Descartes Labs has developed a method of creating a live map of Earth unobscured by cloud cover, which can make it easier for scientists to monitor changes on the Earth’s surface, such as changes in vegetation and water features. The company’s software stitches together satellite images of the entire planet from government sources and automatically edits out cloud coverage. With an unobstructed view of the Earth, Descartes Labs claims it can forecast changes more accurately than organizations such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which can be valuable for farms and agriculture companies.
10. Scoring Individual Doctors
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published performance scores for individual physicians that have accepted Medicare reimbursements for routine screenings and preventative care for common conditions such as diabetes. CMS only published scores for doctors that have volunteered data about practices such as how reliably they provide follow-up care and how frequently they verify a patient’s medications to avoid potential problems. In 2016, CMS will penalize doctors that fail to report this data.
Image: hangglide.
States Should Kill the Annual Report, Here’s Why
5 Q’s for David Kuehn, Program Manager for the Federal Highway Administration’s Exploratory Advances Research Program
Friday Roundup (7/27/2012)
10 Bits: The Data News Hot List
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Christian Daniel Rauch
Christian Daniel Rauch (Arolsen 1777 - 1857 Dresden)
Elisabeth, Queen of Prussia, Berlin, 1841
Carrara marble, 34.2 x 36.2 x 5.4 cm
Incised inscription ELISABETH KOENIGIN.V. PREUSSEN
Auguste von Liegnitz, second wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia
Commissioned by her for the Villa Liegnitz, am Grünen Gitter, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam
Private collection, Berlin
Jutta von Simson, Christian Daniel Rauch, Berlin 1996, p.359, no. 226
Guido Maaz (ed.), Nationalgalerie Berlin. Das XIX. Jahrhundert, Bestandskatalog der Skulpturen, II, Leipzig 2006, no. 788
In 1835, Auguste von Liegnitz, the second wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, commissioned the sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch to execute a portrait relief of Crown Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Prussia (1801-1873), daughter of Maximilian Joseph, Archduke of Bavaria. Elisabeth Ludovika was then the wife of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, later King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia (1795- 1861). Until recently, only a stucco version of this portrait was known.[1]
The present, recently rediscovered Carrara marble version of the portrait relief has long been considered lost. In 1841, after the death of Friedrich Wilhelm III, his widow, Auguste von Liegnitz, ordered alteration work to be carried out on her mansion in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. This mansion was known as the Villa Liegnitz. The present portrait relief of the new queen, Elisabeth of Prussia, was commissioned by Auguste and designed to form part of the villa's decorative scheme.[2]
Rauch depicts Elisabeth in a semi-circular niche set in a square panel in the tradition of Renaissance profile portrait reliefs. Heraldic motifs fill the spandrels above the niche - a Bavarian lion set on an olive branch at the left and a Prussian eagle set above what appears to be a palm frond at the right. These motifs project very slightly over the moulding which edges the panel. The bust-length portrait shows Elisabeth in sharply defined profile to the right. Her hair is coiffed in side curls and drawn up into a chignon behind her head. An ermine stole covers her shoulders, its edges projecting over the parapet-like upper edge of an inscription panel beneath the portrait. Elisabeth is holding in her left hand a sprig of lily of the valley, reputedly her favourite flower. Its extract was used in popular medicine in the treatment of heart conditions.[3]
Rauch was the son of a valet de chambre in the household of the Princes of Waldeck in Hesse. He completed an apprenticeship as a stonemason in Helsen and worked under Christian Ruhl, a sculptor in Kassel. On the death of his elder brother, Rauch was obliged to support the family and took on his brother's post at the court in Potsdam. Here he was valet de chambre to Luise, Queen of Prussia (1776-1810). The Queen enabled him to continue work as a sculptor. In 1802, he contributed to an exhibition at the Berlin Academy of Art. Here, his work attracted the interest of the court sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow. In 1804, Rauch left the royal household and set off for Rome. In Rome he was in regular contact with Wilhelm von Humboldt and drew inspiration from his study of the work of Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen. He was also influenced by the work of the archaeologist Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker. In 1812 he was in Carrara working on a marble version of the tomb of Queen Luise. In 1819 he opened a studio workshop in Berlin's Klosterstrasse. Here he was to work with Friedrich Tieck and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. He had numerous patrons in Berlin and received a very large number of commissions from Ludwig I of Bavaria. He spent the latter part of his life working on a monument to Frederick the Great. Fêted in his own lifetime as his country's greatest sculptor, he founded a school of sculpture that was to produce sculptors of the calibre of Ernst Rietschel, Friedrich Drake, August Kiss and Reinhold Begas.[4]
[1] Christian Daniel Rauch, Crown Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, stucco, 34 x 36 cm, incised inscription: ELISABETH KRONPRZS. V. PREUSSEN, Nationalgalerie Berlin, inv. RM 259.
[2] Rauch executed another version of the portrait relief in marble in 1842. This was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm IV as a gift to Queen Victoria of Britain. Rauch's diary entry of 21 December 1842 notes the presence of ‘marble victory figures' on the verso. Thus the present 1841 relief cannot be the version presented to Queen Victoria. See Maaz, op. cit., p.545; Simson, op. cit., p.359.
[3] Maaz's description, see op. cit., p.544f.
[4] Biographical details based on G. Bott and H. Spielmann (eds.), Künstlerleben in Rom. Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844). Der dänische Bildhauer und seine deutschen Freunde, exhib. cat., Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg 1991, p.730.
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Talented Norwich youth stars help put the wonder into new production of Alice
Norwich Theatre Royal's youth programme's summer musical this year is Alice in Wonderland. Picture: Submitted
Norwich Theatre Royal's youth programme's summer musical has a track record of unearthing future stars. Course leader and show writer David Lambert tells us more about this year's show Alice in Wonderland.
Alice Back In Wonderland is being performed by Norwich Theatre Royal Youth Company. Matilda Bailes and Ali Hunt, who play Alice and the Mad Hatter, Photo: Norwich Theatre Royal.
Each summer, hundreds of young people get the chance to perform on the Norwich Theatre Royal stage putting the skills and stagecraft they have learned into practice by starring in a major musical production.
David Lambert, who writes and directs the show, has been director of the theatre’s arts courses for almost 30 years, though he is soon to step down having enthused generations of fledgling actors and seen many go on to both theatre and big and small screen success.
The theatre arts and youth programmes have nurtured the fledgling talents of a remarkable number of future stars in recent years from Hollywood star Sam Claflin and his actor brother Joe to Daisy Maywood who played Eponine in the 25th anniversary show of Les Misérables.
Who knows then which future stars of stage and screen will be treading the boards in this year’s summer musical production, an adaptation of Alice Back In Wonderland.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and its sequel Through The Looking Glass are amongst the best-loved of children’s stories – and David’s story, which enjoys a four night run next week, shows how the heroine’s life panned out as it revisits the scene of her adventures.
As writing the book, music and lyrics for the show, David is also directing the 280 young people who will appear in it, including Matilda Bailes and Ali Hunt who are playing Alice and the Mad Hatter.
Why did you decided to revisit the Alice story?
Norwich Theatre Royal Arts Course director, David Lambert. Picture: Denise Bradley
I chose the Alice story because it’s such a classic. Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass are so well-loved and I thought that would encourage an audience. It is very much a zeitgeist at the moment – there seem to be so many productions connected with Alice and sequels to Alice and different versions of it. It was the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Alice in 2015. It’s a great story and I thought of a sequel of what happens when Alice is a little bit older. I have twisted some of the storylines – and it’s fun and full of mad characters and the cast love playing mad characters.”
How long did it take you to write the storyline?
Well for the actual storyline I got a small group of students together and we had a day of brainstorming to come up with the base plot line which I then took away and spent eight weeks writing into a script, with the lyrics and the music – so it was eight weeks from beginning to end.
So the children on the course have an input into it as well?
Yes, they helped me with the plot line. Once I have a plot line then dialogue and character is much easier, but it’s having a structure that suits our theatre arts course and the youth company, and gives all the young people a chance to be on stage. If we went with a pre-existing musical, then how do you fit eight-year-olds into something like Cabaret or another big musical? It doesn’t really work. But this way, I write something that’s very specific for our young people so that they get the experience of being in a specially-written show, especially for them and it’s on stage at the Theatre Royal which is a huge experience for them.
Where does your storyline take Alice?
It starts off in Oxford where Alice’s father Dr Liddell was Dean of Christchurch and it starts with Alice’s mother’s funeral, so it’s not a very happy start, and she is convinced that all this Wonderland stuff is nonsense. It was just a book that Uncle Lewis Carroll wrote down and it was all made up. So she is therefore quite surprised that suddenly the White Rabbit reappears and everything has gone hideously wrong in Wonderland. The Looking Glass-land people, who are led by the Red Queen and the chess pieces, have all invaded and taken over the land, so Alice is needed back in Wonderland to help sort things out.
Are there some big song and dance numbers to look forward to as well?
Yes – there is some lovely harmony singing from the main cast. There’s some dance numbers. A lot of the songs aren’t standalone. They push the story forward which is the whole point of good musical theatre, I hope, but yes there are some nice dance numbers. Two of the members of the cast have helped me with the choreography this year and have choreographed a couple of songs themselves, which is brilliant, so it is all singing, all dancing and all acting.
Do some of them get involved in behind the scenes work as well?
To an extent. We have one young lady who is not only playing a principal role but she is also designing all the character make-up for the principal roles. Two girls are choreographing some of the numbers for me, so we get people involved wherever we can. And it’s not all about the principals. Principals might only have a couple of songs, but some of the ensemble have got up to 10 songs and dances to learn. There will be around 280 taking part overall and in each performance there will be getting on for 200 on the stage each night, so things can get a little tight. There’ll be lots of fun and laughter, and family entertainment is guaranteed.
Alice Back In Wonderland is being performed by Norwich Theatre Royal Youth Company. Matilda Bailes and Ali Hunt, who plays Alice. Photo: Norwich Theatre Royal
• Alice Back in Wonderland, Norwich Theatre Royal, July 26-29, 7pm, 2pm July 29, £12-£7, under-3s free, 01603 630000, www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
Former Theatre Royal Youth Stars
• Sam Claflin – films include My Cousin Rachel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Snow White and the Huntsman.
• Joe Claflin – acting credits include Game of Thrones and Da Vinci’s Demons.
• Jack Bannon – films include The Imitation Game and Fury alongside Brad Pitt, plus ITV’s Endeavour.
• Tim Bell – Shanty Theatre Company co-founder.
• Daniel Burgess – directing career includes work for The Globe.
• Martin Hutson – National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company productions.
• Nic Jackman – starred in Arnold Wesker play Roots at London’s Donmar Warehouse.
• Sarah Langrish Smith – previous productions include 180 at Norwich Playhouse, and Little Pieces of Gold for the Park Theatre.
• Daisy Maywood – played Eponine in the 25th anniversary year of Les Miserables, and Meg in the 25th anniversary concert of Phantom of the Opera.
• Neil Sheppeck – founder of theatre company Love&Madness.
Man who inspired Hollywood star Sam Claflin is leaving Norwich Theatre Royal after 28 years
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Top 10 of our best TV theme songs.3 min de lecture
Today on Dust of Music, we talk about tv series and our 10 favorite themes!
It’s obvious. Composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, Stranger Things‘ theme is structured with C major aperggio base, there you go. Besides this technical point, the theme comes from one of Dixon and Stein’s demos called Prophecy. Producers loved the melody in particular the mysticism that emanated and they ask musicians to go deeper in it. Then, they laid this beautiful egg which is Stranger Things‘ theme.
What would be a top 10 of best TV series’ themes without the legendary Game of Thrones ? This TV show distributed by HBO is a worldwide phenomnon and sweeps everything away! Its theme is animated by a mecanic map made of gears and marked spirits namely because of its epic background music composed by Ramin Djawadi.
Here’s a TV show which is, compared to the preivous ones, less known. Even though it success is growing and that season 4 is coming next Autumn, Outlander is a historical tv show that mixes past, present and future! The song Sky Boat Song is a Scottish traditional singing and has been chosen as the theme’s background music. Performed here by Raya Yarbrough, the lyrics deals with the story of a young woman who escapes in Skye’s Island, considered as a promised land.
Misfits is the kind of TV show we deeply miss, mostly because of crazy Robert Sheehan. Its theme is vivacious with a punk tune from American band The Rapture, Echoes. It goes perfectly with the atmosphere of the series. It tells the story of young offenders who are hit by lightening during a storm in London and will be endowed with superpowers.
The only French TV show produced by Canal +, that is very appreciated at the editorial! Versailles tells the story of French king aka Le Roi Soleil, Louis XIV. The theme pay tribute to the magnificence of the king and the remarkable work made in Château de Versailles and its gardens. To accompany these images, it’s Outro by French electronic band M83, that you can find on their record Hurry Up We’re Dreaming out in 2011.
A classic and we must put it in our top! Performed by The Rembrandts, I’ll Be There For You is the theme of the genius TV show Friends that keeps bewitch today’s generations.
Written and performed by Regina Spektor, You’ve Got Time is the theme song for Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black. It has been written especially for the series when the singer has been approached by producers and creators. It’s not the first time we hear Regina on a TV theme song because she also sang on Weeds‘ theme.
With their title Red Right Hand, Nick Cage & The Bad Seeds signed the theme of this HBO show that is crushing everything around and for several years now. In Peaky Blinders‘ soundtrack, the tune is covered by many artists such as Arctic Monkeys and rock singer PJ Harvey. By the way, if you don’t know this series, you MUST see it, by the order of the Peaky Blinders !
Surely one of the most beautiful melodies ever composed for a TV show. Twin Peaks had a huge success in the 90s. Directed by the master David Lynch, this weird and dark show earns the chillest theme ever and creates a contrast when we enter in the series’ creepy ambiance. American composer Angelo Badalamenti is hiding behind this great background music.
The song Bad Things of American country rock artist Jace Everett has been chosen to feature in the theme for HBO’s TV series True Blood. On a visual point, it’s breathless. Meaningful the theme has been nominated at 2009’s Emmy Awards in the category Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.
2018FriendsGame of ThronesMisfitsOrange Is The New BlackOutlanderPeaky BlindersStranger ThingsTop 10True BloodTV showsTwin PeaksVersailles
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mac demarco - 2
Captured Tracks; 2012
Mac Demarco might give the impression of being a care-free goofball when you look at the front cover of his second LP of the year, but that sense of nonchalance doesn't translate on to the music contained within. Well, maybe it does a bit, he sings with a relaxed delivery and plays casually appergiated guitar chords for the entirity of "2" however it's more of a stylistic preference rather than an indicater of disinterest. Take "Ode To Viceroy" for a great example of how a song can carry the hallmarks of lightweight breeziness whilst deeply resonating with you. There's both an unsettling aura and an effortless charm to Demarco's vocal cadence in "Viceroy" and throughout the rest of "2" also, which is complemented by his twangy guitar tones and understated melodic phrasing.
The Cover Art on "2" isn't a complete red herring though, little idiosyncracies pop up by way of tongue in cheek sign outs on a few of the songs here and "Still Together" is for all intents and purposes a song that should be taken about as seriously "Gangnam Style". Demarco plays the majority of the music on "2" with a relatively straight face though and some tracks like the brilliant "My Kind Of Women" have an undeniably affecting quality to them, his yearning feels earnest and genuine here and his music in this mode becomes very easy to relate to. The stark contrast between "2" and the Glam Rock tinged posturing of Mac Demarco's first album of 2012 "Rock and Roll Nightclub" might leave you to believe he's still searching for an identity as an artist and whillst that may be true, the sincerity of the music on "2" suggests to me that he's found it here.
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'Hey Arnold!' Theory About Arnold Not Too Popular With Cast
By Tina Kolokathis
Hey Arnold! is coming back to TV with a two-part series on Nickelodeon and '90s kids are losing their dang minds.
I spoke exclusively with the cast of the new Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie at the 2017 Comic-Con San Diego and got the scoop on everything, including this insane Hey Arnold! fan theory that's been brewing over the years.
The theory basically says Arnold's grandparents are actually his parents, who had him late in life and that's why he has a football-shaped head. Some fans went even further to diagnose Arnold with hydrocephalus. There's actually a specific form of hydrocephalus that's known as Arnold Chiari Syndrome.
As I talked to Lane Toran (the original Arnold), Jamil Walker Smith (the original Gerald), Mason Vale Cotton (new Arnold), and Benjamin "Lil P-Nut" Flores, Jr. (new Gerald), they told me they have heard the theory and gave their thoughts.
Flores, Jr.: I mean, we'll find out in the movie, which comes out in the fall of 2017. Smith: I think the head thing would be more in line if grandma and grandpa were actually brother and sister and had a baby. That's how you get that odd-shaped head. The whole new thing is women are having babies at 45 and 50 and they turn out just cute as a button. FJ: But if you have a brother and a sister, and they're old, and they have a baby... S: FOOTBALL HEAD! FJ: Touchdown!
Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie follows Arnold and the whole cast (Gerald, Helga, Phoebe) taking a trip to San Lorenzo (doesn't actually exist but is somewhere in Central America) to find out about his missing parents.
So, I guess we'll really find out if Arnold's grandparents are really his parents, or if his real parents have been chilling in Central America all these years.
The special airs on Nickelodeon on November 23.
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Hot Smart 3.5mm IR Infrared Remote Control For iPhone Android Phone TV DVD
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Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (一带一路) is an ambitious programme to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks along six corridors with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.
The name was coined in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping, who drew inspiration from the concept of the Silk Road established during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago – an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries. The BRI has also been referred to in the past as 'One Belt One Road'.
The BRI comprises a Silk Road Economic Belt – a trans-continental passage that links China with south east Asia, south Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe by land – and a 21st century Maritime Silk Road, a sea route connecting China’s coastal regions with south east and south Asia, the South Pacific, the Middle East and Eastern Africa, all the way to Europe.
The initiative defines five major priorities:
policy coordination;
infrastructure connectivity;
unimpeded trade;
financial integration;
and connecting people.
The programme is expected to involve over US$1 trillion in investments, largely in infrastructure development for ports, roads, railways and airports, as well as power plants and telecommunications networks.
The BRI’s geographical scope is constantly expanding. So far it covers over 70 countries, accounting for about 65 per cent of the world’s population and around one-third of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Risk assessment and mitigation in Central Asia: implications for foreign direct investment and the Belt and Road Initiative
What China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” means for the Western Balkans
Belarus: Comparative Research on Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
A proactive and steady approach for the building of the China-Belarus Industrial Park
'China's Belt and Road Initiative puts Paris climate commitments at risk' (FT's beyondbrics)
The EBRD and BRI
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« Towards Effective Environmental Education
8 Signs That You’ll Need A Humidifier At Home »
Green Building Sector in the UAE: Perspectives
By Saeed Al Abbar | February 27, 2019 - 7:26 pm | February 27, 2019 Green Building, Middle East
The focus on sustainability is one of the biggest trends in the GCC’s building sector. This is underpinned by Dubai being ranked third in the list of global cities with the highest number of green certified buildings in the ‘Sustainability and Wellness in Dubai’ report by Core Savills with over 550 projects under LEED certification and the implementation of the Estidama framework in Abu Dhabi.
Paving the Way
In the UAE, the directives by the Federal and Local Government entities to establish a sustainable economy that advocates demand side-energy management, and water & energy use efficiency has encouraged real estate developers to streamline their services to support these goals. This has translated to commendable contributions in the field of energy efficiency, sustainable construction building materials, renewable energy and indoor air quality.
There are clearly specified targets that support sustainable development including the reduction of energy and water consumption in Dubai by 30 per cent and increase the share of solar in the energy mix to 25 per cent – both by 2030. Dubai has also announced its Clean Energy Strategy to achieve 75 per cent clean energy by 2050. Across the UAE, green targets include 50 per cent clean energy in the total energy mix by 2050, and treatment of 75 per cent waste by 2021.
With such clear guidelines in place, the UAE’s real estate industry has increased its focus on sustainable buildings to comply with the current green building regulations in the UAE such as Abu Dhabi’s Estidama Pearl Rating System and the Dubai Green Building Regulations. The main developers have placed a concerted focus on the energy performance of their buildings through energy benchmarking of their properties, identifying best practices and developing strategies to increase efficiency of the built environment.
For example, Majid Al Futtaim, a corporate member of Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), was awarded the ‘Developer of the year’ at the MENA Green Building Awards for their strong commitment toward sustainable asset management by monitoring of energy, water and waste benchmarks of their existing developments. There is also considerable innovation in green buildings as was highlighted at the 2017 MENA Green Building Awards to recognise innovation, creativity and excellence in promoting sustainability best practices. We saw a remarkable number of submissions from across the region reflecting the keen interest of public and private sectors as well as academia to drive green buildings.
In addition to green building best practices being applied right from design to construction stage, the region is also witnessing significant interest in retrofitting buildings – not just residential but also commercial – with the goal of improving the efficiency of existing buildings and reducing the carbon footprint of built environment. We see this keen interest in building efficiency as a game-changing trend for the Middle East’s real estate sector.
Role of EmiratesGBC
EmiratesGBC is an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, and ever since our inception in 2006, we have focused on promoting dialogue and positive action in promoting green buildings. As an independent entity, our role is to provide the inputs that support decision making and influence policy-making, The Council also encourages the private sector and the community at large to become active participants in driving sustainable built environments.
Emirates Green Building Council is playing a vital role in facilitating dialogue between the public and private sectors
Over the years, we have played a pivotal role in facilitating a dialogue between the public and private sectors, to support green building initiatives in the region, aiming to make the UAE a leader in sustainable development. We have served as a catalyst in Energy Efficiency in existing building stock through introducing technical programmes. We facilitate the growth of the energy efficiency market, and work to increase awareness and capacity building. We function as a common platform for all stakeholders in the building industry supply chain, whereby they can meet, discuss, interact, and exchange groundbreaking ideas and help promote a sustainable built environment. Most recently, we launched the ‘Green Building Tooltips,’ freely accessible online at this link.
Rapid Progress of Green Building Sector
The UAE has been among the first movers in embracing green building design and implementation. In fact, as early as 2007, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced a decree that mandated all new urban structures to conform to environment-friendly green building standards. Over the years, the UAE has consistently revisited its sustainable development goals such as the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy, A Green Economy for Sustainable Development in line with the UAE Vision 2021, the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the UAE Energy Plan for 2050. All these are drivers for the public and private sector, as well as the community, to embrace green practices.
The UAE has introduced a slew of initiatives to ensure sustainable built environments including buildings codes such as the Estidama Pearl Rating System in Abu Dhabi, which mandates that all new buildings must achieve a minimum Pearl 1 certification and all government buildings must have a minimum of 2 Pearls. Dubai Municipality has issued the Green Building Regulations and Specifications (GBR&S) for all new buildings in the emirate since March 2014, and much progress has been achieved in this regard. This has further been strengthened with the launch of Al Sa’fat, the new building rating system introduced by the Dubai Municipality.
The new system energises the ongoing initiatives to promote sustainable buildings, a key area of EmiratesGBC. In other initiatives, Dubai is the only city in the MENA region to join the Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) programme, to double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030. BEA is a programme under the ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ (SE4All) initiative led by the United Nations Secretary-General and funded by the Global Environment Facility. The strong commitment of the government acts as a catalyst that drives green buildings in the UAE, which encourages de-carbonised diversification by setting targets in demand side management, and renewable energy generation. In addition to the regulations mentioned above, retrofitting initiatives such as Etihad ESCO in Dubai and the Tarsheed programme in Abu Dhabi also drive green building development.
The UAE experience is a great model for the region to implement effective, efficient and tangible green building practices. There are several areas that should be prioritised – starting with a strong governmental resolve that reflects in its vision and strategy. With governmental support, the private sector is further energised to embrace green building practices. Also of critical value is the need to promote awareness.
DEWA Headquarters in Dubai is the world’s largest LEED-certified building
When EmiratesGBC was launched, dialogue on green buildings and sustainable built environments was limited. There was apprehension on the cost associated and the need for such a tactical move towards ‘green buildings.’ Over the years, through our interaction with industry stakeholders and their commendable action to make a positive change, the need for green buildings is now widely recognised for the long-term value they bring and their role in securing a greener future for the coming generations.
It is also important to undertake benchmarking projects to assess energy and water use efficiency – as we did for the hospitality sector in the UAE – so that we understand the true challenge at hand and can take corrective actions.
Similarly, we need to promote innovation and investment in the green space. We see several clean-tech start-ups in the region, who can play an important role in driving the sustainable development narrative. It is important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all formula to promote green buildings. Further, the green building best practices by different stakeholders such as developers, contractors, and product specialists within the built environment must be recognised and rewarded. Additionally, research and development is key in creating a market for sustainable alternatives in energy efficiency, water management, waste, and indoor environmental quality.
Each country has its own challenges and the key is to ensure a broad understanding of the need for sustainable built environments and facilitating an environment that helps accomplish it. Through awareness, education and capacity building, and promoting public-private partnerships and collaborations, we can further drive sustainable built environments in the region.
About Saeed Al Abbar
Saeed Alabbar is the Chairman of Emirates Green Building Council, an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices in the UAE. He also sits on the Board of World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), a network of national green building councils in more than 90 countries. A mechanical engineer by profession, Saeed holds a First Class Masters degree with honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath and is a LEED Accredited Professional and Estidama Pearl Qualified Professional.
View all posts by Saeed Al Abbar →
Tagged Buildings, Dubai, EmiratesGBC, energy efficiency, Estidama, GCC, Green Buildings, Real Estate, Sustainability, UAE. Bookmark the permalink.
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Green Building Trends in the Middle East
The Middle East region faces a unique set of environmental and socio-economic challenges in the form of water scarcity, harsh climatic conditions, ecological degradation and abundance of fossil fuels. Commercial and residential buildings in the Middle East consume more energy than those in other parts of the world, mainly on account of extremely hot weather, rampant use of glass exteriors and heavy reliance on air-conditioning. The Middle East building industry, in recent years, is actively trying to make widespread use of eco-friendly architecture, traditional building methods and sustainable construction practices. Some of the other drivers for the progress of green buildings sector … Continue reading →
Renewable Energy in GCC: Need for a Holistic Approach
The importance of renewable energy sources in the energy portfolio of any country is well known, especially in the context of energy security and impacts on climate change. The growing quest for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been seen by many as both – a compulsion to complement the rising energy demand, and as an economic strength that helps them in carrying forward the clean energy initiatives from technology development to large scale deployment of projects from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh. Current Scenario The promotion of renewable energy (RE) is becoming an … Continue reading →
Green Buildings and the Middle East
The Middle East region faces a unique set of challenges in terms of sustainable buildings and cities. For example, water shortage is mitigated by costly desalination and we are faced with high water consumption which leads to a higher carbon footprint and ultimately impacts climate change. Middle Eastern countries are at the top of the list of largest per capita ecological footprints. Qatar has the highest per capita level of carbon dioxide emissions, at 44 metric tons per person annually. Kuwait is second with 30.3 tons, followed by the UAE with 22.6. Therefore, integrating energy efficiency is a critical need. Benefits of Green … Continue reading →
Egypt's Water Crisis - Recipe for Disaster
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AB InBev teams up with WWF to champion supply chain water stewardship
18 October 2018, source edie newsroom
The world's largest brewer has launched new partnerships with WWF and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in a bid to accelerate water security initiatives in water-stressed areas around the world.
The partnerships will be used to spur investment in - and collaboration for - sustainable catchment management across Africa, Bolivia and Latin America
The first phase of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) partnership with TNC will see the organisations collaborate to launch a series of four new Water Funds in Colombia, El Salvador, Argentina and Mexico. These Funds will be used to unite water catchment stakeholders in developing nature-based solutions and sustainable watershed management models.
It is hoped that the move will help to bolster the climate resilience of catchments while creating jobs for local people.
Meanwhile, AB InBev will work with WWF to develop “blended finance” approaches to catchment management in Bolivia and Africa.
Such approaches will encourage private sector catchment stakeholders to make investments at the scale necessary to improve water access and quality while safeguarding the condition of river basins, according to AB InBev’s global director of water sustainability Andre Fourie.
“The time to take action on global water security is now,” Fourie said. “More than just a key ingredient in our beer, water is a critical resource for the economic, social and environmental well-being of the countries where we operate and the communities where we live.”
Fourie’s comments echo the findings of recent research by the CDP, which revealed that 63% of cities see future risks relating to water supply - many of which will be exacerbated by climate change. Almost 85% of cities in Asia and Oceania are concerned about “serious risks”, and these concerns only fall slightly in Africa (80%) and Latin America (75%).
Commenting on the new initiatives, WWF’s lead for freshwater practice Stuart Orr said: “We will never achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without harnessing the power of partnerships: AB InBev’s work with WWF and TNC is a great example of how to do this.
“AB InBev has been at the forefront of water stewardship over the past decade, assessing water risks to [its] operations, setting targets and engaging beyond the factory fence. Our new partnership will drive even greater collective action that will benefit economies and ecosystems.”
Water leadership
Operating in more than 50 countries, AB InBev was one of 74 companies placed on CDP’s A-list for water reporting last year, and the company has reduced water use to 3.09hl/hl on average across more than 200 breweries.
By 2025, it is envisioned that AB InBev's average will fall to 2.8 hl/hl. In fact, AB InBev has recorded water savings of 20 billion litres in five years, enough to fill more than 7,800 Olympic swimming pools.
The company has previously collaborated with WWF to conduct a string of water risk assessments across Africa, and through its Stella Artois brand, is involved in the “Buy a Lady a Drink” programme in partnership with Water.org.
The partnership aims to tackle the global water crisis and has provided clean water to nearly 800,000 people in developing regions. It has since been extended to provide for 3.5 million people by 2020.
edie recently rounded up seven ways that the business community is progressing water stewardship efforts worldwide. Read that article in full here.
Sarah George
supply chain | water | water security | Corporate Social Responsibility
Water | CSR & ethics
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Entrepreneurs Prepare For A Mountain Of A Challenge
An intrepid team of successful North East entrepreneurs are set to scale new heights by embarking on the challenge of a lifetime.
The businessmen and women, who are all members or associates of the Entrepreneurs' Forum, are to trek the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp – and raise thousands of pounds for charity on the way.
For most, the expedition is an opportunity to step out of their successful businesses and test themselves in an extreme personal challenge, which will demand high levels of fitness and stamina.
Carole Beverley, chief executive of the Forum, is joining members on the climb, which is being led by experienced Everest trekker Don Cowper and local Sherpas through Charity Challenge, the organisation that took celebrities up Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief last year.
The team departs on April 30, flying to Kathmandu and on to Lukla at 10,000ft before setting out on their trek to base camp at 17,000ft or 5,400m.
They will climb for eight days and take four days on the return leg, camping en route and eating in tea houses.
Their kit will be carried by yaks. The group will also be accompanied by a doctor and first aiders.
Don has been to the Himalayas five times before, as well as scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, completing the Inca Trail in Peru, cycling the length of Lake Malawi and, in 2013, will be the official starter of the Everest marathon.
He said: "Everest is the most spectacular and beautiful place I have been in the world. I've seen golden eagles and some of the most amazing flora and fauna up there, as well as 100 metre high bridges and tranquil monasteries.
"The total trek is about 40 miles. We will spend one night at base camp and reach the highest point on the trek, Kalapathar at 5,545m, with breathtaking views of Everest.
"Anyone who is reasonably fit and leads an active life should be OK as long as they take their time to become acclimatised to the altitude."
Weekly training sessions are being provided by Tony Douglass of Bodyguards gym in Jesmond, Newcastle, who is working on strength and cardio vascular fitness with the trekkers, as well as giving tips on nutrition and eating for energy.
The team has also been supported by Berghaus, which has provided advice on the best gear to take.
As well as fundraising for their own chosen charities, the trekkers will be raising money for Show Racism the Red Card, the North East based charity which runs workshops combining football coaching and fitness with promoting teamwork and understanding between young people.
The adventurers will also visit local schools in Nepal, taking stationery and balloons for the children.
Carole said: "Our Everest Trek is something completely different from the Forum and will be a unique, memorable and possibly life changing experience for all of us who have signed up.
"Business brings with it many challenges and summits to climb. This is obviously a totally different kind of challenge but the self discipline, teamwork and motivation needed are all qualities that our entrepreneurs demonstrate every day in business.
"This is a very dynamic group and I am sure they will learn a great deal about themselves and each other – things that they can draw on in the future and apply to their businesses when they return. Raising money is also a fantastic motivator and we are proud to be supporting Show Racism the Red Card – a national charity started in our region – as well as many other worthy causes."
Anyone wishing to donate to the Carole's fundraising effort, which will be split between Cash For Kids, The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Show Racism The Red Card can do so via http://www.everyclick.com/entrepreneursbasecampchallenge
Here, some of the trekkers explain why they are doing it, how they are preparing and predict how their businesses will cope without them:
Ian Phillips, EEW Electrical Services, Durham:
"I'm 50 this year and I'm aim was to turn it into a year of self-challenge, but I had not considered something like this before. I'm doing it for the challenge and self-discipline it will need, and I'd also like to raise money for charity. It's a chance to totally escape for a couple of weeks and enjoy the camaraderie of being with likeminded people - being in a group is a much better motivator. The Himalayas is an environment that you can't actually envisage until you're there and I can't wait to see it."
Anne Ganley, Thompson Building Centres and TAPS plumbers' merchants, Sunderland:
"I love the idea of having to go to bed at 8pm at night - all that sleep! I always push myself at work; it's just what I do to try and get better each day. I get a lot of satisfaction from it but it's the personal side that often gets parked. I'm doing this to test myself, for the personal challenge and to really push myself."
Rob Lawson, Point Pleasant Communications, Ouseburn:
"I am going with my mother, Yon Lawson, who is 65, retired and wanted a challenge. It's not the sort of thing you will do unless you make the effort, it's something different and something to get fit for."
Peter Nixon, Recruitment Now and Nixon Hire, Newcastle:
"My wife Sarah volunteered me for the trek for her dietary reasons, the idea being that she would join me on training sessions. We live in Tynemouth so I go running up and down the steps at King Edward's Bay and on the beach. I climbed Kilimanjaro a few years ago and got a big buzz out of getting fit and raising money. I'm hoping I'll get a great sense of achievement from it. In business you always have to motivate yourself and keep up your self esteem and it's been a hard couple of years in that respect for many people in business. Also, having worked for 25 years in a family business straight from school you never know how good you are so this is my way of pushing myself personally. It gives you a lot of disciplines you need in business and doing it with likeminded people I think will mean we'll be able to share stories and concerns."
Dr Tony Trapp, IHC Engineering Business, Riding Mill:
"I live in Northumberland and I can step out my door and walk for five hours. I've just had three weeks walking and cycling in New Zealand and I've trekked in Namibia. I've not done anything at this altitude so I'm looking forward to the physical and mental challenge. The team dynamics of a trip like this will always be interesting – what people are like when sleep deprived, how they will cope with blisters, who will emerge as leaders and so on. Business is all about working with people; this is a group of people thrown together who don't know each other very well and the interaction that goes on will be really interesting."
Ann Bell, Datasafe Storage, Newcastle:
"My mum died of cancer in September. I'll be raising money for Cancer Research as well as Show Racism the Red Card and will have a handkerchief soaked in Chanel No 5 up there to remind me of her. You don't get the opportunity to climb to Everest every day and this is a chance of a lifetime. I've decided to do two major events a year. One year I did the Great North Run and the Gothenburg half marathon, this year I'm doing the Great North Run and Everest. Not being contactable up there means I can relax 100 per cent; I won't know what's happening and I won't worry about it. I run the business with my ex-husband so I can go with a clear conscience. The only thing I've got a problem with is not being able to use a hairdryer and straighteners..."
Eddie Czestochowski, Cell Pack Solutions Ltd and CPS Hobbies, South Shields:
"I won an award last year and when I was finally allowed to tell people about it – in December – I decided I wanted it to be the start of a really special year. This is so far out of my comfort zone that I took a week to think about it then decided ‘that's it, I'm going to do it'. I go to the gym but this has really given me something to focus on; it's a fantastic goal over the next few months. I have worked for ten years solid growing the business so this is a bit of me time, a personal challenge and a chance to do something for charity. I've got a great team – I spent some time in China 18 months ago and they coped fine without me, so I've no worries there. In fact, my going to Everest has spurred them on to do charity challenges – one guy is cycling from London to Paris and others have said they'll do the Great North Run."
Georgie Cameron, Admiral PR & Marketing, Newcastle:
"I live in Northumberland and do quite a bit of walking but my first experience of a group challenge was walking Hadrian's Wall from Cumbria to Newcastle. There were five of us and we are all very different. It's really interesting how a group mixes; you learn to see things from other people's perspectives. We're bound to do a bit of networking; I'm not interested in being competitive but entrepreneurs are a competitive bunch naturally. For me, it will be about the scenery and the difference of place. I have a very capable team and they will cope fine without me. We've all made a commitment to raise money for breast cancer care this year so that's my chosen charity."
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Former Jackson County Prosecutor Albert Riederer dies
Jeff Fox - jeff.fox@examiner.net
Flags are at half-staff at Jackson County offices after the death Thursday of Albert Riederer, whose long career included serving as a county legislator, county prosecutor and judge.
“Albert’s one of the few people who doesn’t have any enemies in this business. What a good guy,” County Legislator Scott Burnett, D-Kansas City, said last month as friends prepared an “Albert Riederer Recognition & Retirement Gig” in Kansas City.
Burnett said it was in keeping with Riederer’s commitment to the community that he wanted the event used as a fundraiser for the Bishop Sullivan Center on Truman Road in northeast Kansas City, which feeds hundreds of hungry people five days a week.
“That money goes to people that are in bad, bad shape,” Burnett said.
Riederer, 67, died Thursday. He was a county legislator from 1978 to 1980, then served three terms as county prosecutor, from 1981 to 1993. He was a Missouri Court of Appeals judge from 1997 to 1999. He also had a law practice.
“He wore many hats in this courthouse and always did an honorable job,” longtime Legislator Fred Arbanas, D-Lee’s Summit, said earlier this month.
Others spoke of his ability to mediate sometimes contentious dealings among county officials.
“He was always there when we needed him,” said Legislator James D. Tindall, D-Kansas City.
As prosecutor, Riederer pushed for the county’s anti-drug tax, COMBAT, a quarter-cent sales tax that remains in effect today. Among other things, that tax pays for the Jackson County Drug Task Force, which spearheads the local law-enforcement effort against drugs.
But Riederer also pushed for such criminal-justice system alternatives as Drug Court – also a COMBAT initiative – which county officials have long hailed as helping first-time offenders turn their lives around, contributing to society instead serving time in costly jails and prisons. Although the trend at the time was to address drugs with more police and prisons, Reiderer argued that ultimately society cannot incarcerate its way out of the problem. Instead, it should be viewed as a public-health issue.
“Think about how ahead of his time he was with that concept,” County Executive Mike Sanders, himself a former prosecutor, said recently.
“He’s truly a great man,” Sanders added. “His legacy and footprint are all over this community.”
The Legislature this month renamed two county buildings – at 1305 and 1315 Locust, near the downtown Courthouse – as the Albert Reiderer Community Justice Complex. Several court and prosecutor’s office workers are in those buildings.
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Information Granada City
Granada is the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Beiro, the Darro, the Genil and the Monachil. It is situated at an average elevation of 738 metres above sea level and it is only a 40 minutes drive to the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical.
In the 2014, the population of the city of Granada was 237.540, and the population of the entire urban area was 498.365, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport located 12 km from the city.
The Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is located in Granada. It is the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic historical legacy with its many cultural attractions that make Granada a popular destination among the touristic cities of Spain. Over 2 million people are visiting this famous mounument every year.
View on Granada and Sierra Nevada
The Almohad influence on architecture is also preserved in the Granada neighborhood called the Albaicín with its fine examples of Moorish and Morisco construction. Granada is also well-known within Spain for the University of Granada which has about 80,000 students spread over five different campuses in the city.
The Most Atractive Districts / Areas
The Most Touristic Terraces / Squares
Terraces / Squares (hidden secrets)
The Monuments You Must See
The Most Beautifull Gardens
The Restaurants in Granada
The "Dia de la Toma" is celebrated on the 2nd of January;
On the 1st Sunday of February the Fiesta de San Cecilio (patron de Granada) is celebrated with a pilgrimage;
Eastern week is celebrated with daily processions from the 20th till the 27th of March;
On the 3rd of May the day of the crosses is celebrated with cross decorations on the street;
Corpus Cristi is celebrated with a big fair. This is the main fiesta of the year and is celebrated from the 22nd till the 29th of May in 2016;
On the 15th of September and the last Sunday of September the festivities are held in honor of the patron of Granada; Nuestra Señora de las Angustias (processions);
Around the 29th of September San Michiel is celebrated in the district of Albaicin;
With Chrismas there are several activities organized such as: Contest of Nativity scenes and Christmas markets.
The Most Exclusive Accommodations in Granada City
Granada City (center): This beautiful hotel is one of the best five star hotels in Granada. It is a 75-room restored masterpiece, that was also declared as an artistic and historic monument. The hotel has 5 floors , 69 rooms and 6 suites.....
Number of persons: 2-150 / Price: from € 110,- a room a night
MORE EXCLUSIVE ACCOMMODATIONS >
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HickoryTech's Q1 revenue up 22% on strong fiber, data sales
HickoryTech Corp. (Nasdaq: HTCO), an independent ILEC that serves various upper Midwest states, reported first-quarter 2012 revenue of $46.9 million, a 22 percent year over year increase, a result of strong equipment, fiber and data sales.
The Mankato, Minn.-based ILEC's earnings for the quarter ended March 31, rose 8 percent to $2.3 million, while earnings per share totaled 17 cents per diluted share, up 6 percent from the same period last year.
"Our business product lines continue to produce excellent results and drove the strong revenue increases in the first quarter, giving us a solid start to the year," John Finke, HickoryTech's president and chief executive officer, said in the earnings release.
Here's a breakdown of its key segment results:
Fiber and data: The service provider reported that Q1 2012 fiber and data segment revenue of $13.4 million, up 22 percent year over year, a factor it attributed to strong commercial and wholesale transport and data service sales, in addition to the IdeaOne operations it acquired in March. Fiber and data segment operating income totaled $2.3 million in Q1 2012, a 58 percent year-over-year increase.
Equipment: Driven by an 87 percent rise in hardware sales, total Q1 2012 equipment segment revenue was $17.4 million, up 67 percent, year-over-year. The service provider's equipment segment revenue was $820,000 in Q1 2012, up $322,000 or 65 percent, year-over-year.
Telecom: The telco's Q1 2012 Telecom Segment revenue declined 6 percent year-over-year, to $16.7 million, a factor it attributed to expected declines in both traditional local access and network access revenue. Likewise, Telecom Segment net income was $1.3 million, down 24 percent from Q1 2011. Network access revenue totaled $4.9 million, down 16 percent year- over-year, while local service revenue totaled $3.4 million, down 7 percent from 2011. Meanwhile, broadband revenue, which includes DSL, Internet, Data and Digital TV, remained flat at $5 million. One growth spot in the telco's Telecom Segment was bill processing where revenue rose 64 percent year over year to $1.2 million.
HickoryTech is maintaining its 2012 projections, with revenues expected to be in the range of $177 million to $183 million, and net income of $7.6 million to $8.6 million.
The service provider's stock was trading at 10.24, up 0.31 cents in morning trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Special report: Wireline in the first quarter of 2012
HickoryTech completes acquisition of IdeaOne
HickoryTech acquires IdeaOne Telecom, bulks up broadband, business holdings
HickoryTech's Enventis enters telepresence service game
HickoryTech ups its quarterly cash dividend
HickoryTech's Enventis begins work on $24M middle mile project
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Sprint forms M2M-focused business unit
Sprint Nextel said it would create a new business unit focused solely on bringing more machine-to-machine and mobile computing solutions to market for businesses and consumers. The new unit, called Emerging Solutions, will focus on embedded wireless devices that offer "increased durability, hardware/software integration, simple setup and lower support costs for customers and partners." Sprint also will focus on M2M devices for a variety of applications, including asset tracking, fleet management, telematics, automation and control, automated meter reading and smart grid initiatives.
Danny Bowman, president of Sprint's Integrated Solutions Group, told FierceWireless that the new unit would essentially allow the company to streamline its M2M processes. He said the unit would fall under the Integrated Solutions banner, and that Sprint would put significant marketing muscle behind the unit, so that vertical markets--from health care to transportation--know about Sprint's capabilities. He also said Sprint would continue its focus on partnerships, such as the one between the carrier and Amazon that produced the Kindle ereader, which Sprint powers.
The new unit is the latest step Sprint has taken to bolster its M2M presence. In September, the company signed a multi-year deal with wireless data service provider M2M DataSmart to help get more M2M devices running on its network.
Other carriers also are pouring more resources into M2M. AT&T recently announced a new lab designed specifically to test and certify embedded wireless and M2M devices, as well as a partnership with Jasper Wireless, and Verizon Wireless formed an M2M joint venture with Qualcomm. T-Mobile USA is also involved in the M2M space, and earlier this year launched an embedded SIM card for M2M solutions.
Bowman said he expects significant growth in the M2M space during the next 12 to 18 months. "It's almost like a rerun of some of the things we've seen in the past, whether it was content or apps," he said. "I think this is one of those windows of opportunity. The first movers will end up in a very good position over the next five years."
- see this release
Mobile health, smart grid in the spotlight at CTIA IT
AT&T opening M2M certification lab
Spint inks M2M partnership with DataSmart
AT&T moves closer to embedded wireless vision
Verizon, Qualcomm forming M2M joint venture
Verizon's Seidenberg: 500 percent penetration achievable
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Weekend Box Office: Endgame Tops Detective Pikachu - But Pokemon Still Sets Record
While Endgame came out on top for the third straight weekend, and continued both its domestic and worldwide domination, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu wasn't too far behind and can now claim the best opening for a film based on a video game. There were three other new films over the weekend though only The Hustle managed to perform in line with expectations with both Poms and Tolkien struggled to satisfy audiences. The box office continues to shine and John Wick 3 should help things right along.
1) AVENGERS: ENDGAME
For the third straight weekend the mightiest of the mighty heroes took the box office crown with $63 million. And while it took a somewhat bigger-than-expected 57.2% drop, its domestic total now stands at $732.5 million, just the third film to hit the $700 million mark, and it topped Black Panther to become the third highest domestic film of all time as well. In terms of how it got there - only Star Wars: The Force Awakens did it better. In fact, the worst-case scenario has the film hitting $850 million (remember, worst case here) - which would still put it above Avatar on the domestic front. Internationally, the film took in $102.3 million (also a somewhat bigger 64% drop) for a new $1.76 billion total - $2.485 billion worldwide. It sits in second place behind Avatar in both international and global totals - though it needs just $265 million overseas and $302 million global to top it. It's not a guarantee at this point, but I'm going to say odds are still in its favor to hit both marks. Even if it falls short, I guess Disney owns Avatar at this point - so they will still have the biggest international and global earner anyway.
2) POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU
Thanks to some dynamite marketing and capturing the curiosity of fans and outsiders alike, Detective Pikachu hit $58 million on its opening weekend - the best opening for a video game-based film of all time, topping Lara Croft Tomb Raider ($47.7 million) with relative ease. And audiences were more than happy with it too - awarding it an "A-" CInemascore, just the sixth time a video game movie has topped a "B" average (Rampage, Mortal Kombat and three of the animated Pokemon films are the other five). It is also the first video game movie to have a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It did tend to bring in a younger crowd with 27% coming in 18 or under with 49% being under 25. Now it remains to be seen if it flames out quickly or can hold onto that audience for a longer haul. If it plays out similarly to Rampage or Angry Birds, it will hit $160 million - but we'll see if it can't do just a bit better and hit $170 million. In any case, it should have little issue topping the $131 million of Tomb Raider to become the highest-grossing domestic video game adaptation of all time. Internationally Detective Pikachu brought in $103 million ($113 million total including an early drop in Japan). While it only took in $41 million in China, it should still have a decent run ahead of it in the foreign markets as well. It needs to hit $434 million to top Warcraft as the biggest worldwide video game adaptation and tracking has it pegged at right around $450 million or so - here's hoping it can leg it out!
3) THE HUSTLE
The only other new wide release to hit the top five was the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels gender-flipped remake, The Hustle. With Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson in the title roles, the film came in right in line with expectations (or maybe a bit ahead) with $13.5 million. It was just under the opening for fellow remake Overboard ($14.7 million). The driving force behind this one was women, who made up 72% of the audience with 66% coming in 35 or younger. The film received a "B" Cinemascore and we'll have to wait and see if women continue to drive this one forward. If it plays out similarly to Overboard, a finish in the $40-$45 million range. It also earned $13.7 million overseas, so it should give a solid return in the long run, even if it's not going to do so in a flashy way.
4) THE INTRUDER
With a decent hold - a drop of just over 39% - thriller The Intruder took in $6.6 million, for a new total of $21 million. With a reported $5 million price tag, that is a damn fine return on investment - and a lot better than I thought the film would do compared to its fellow competition. But, hey, who doesn't enjoy a tale about a angry white dude harassing the uppity black folk who have taken over his old house? If it was any less transparent, Trump could sue for defamation of character. This one is going to break $25 million easy, we'll see how much better it goes from there.
5) LONG SHOT
Rounding out the top five is the comedy/romance Long Shot as the Charlize Theron/Seth Rogen pairing dipped just over 37% (another fine hold) taking in $6.1 million for a new $19.7 million total. That is still less than half its $40 million budget - and Mother's Day likely helped it out a bit - so I'm still saying this odd-couple pairing is going to have a tough time staying out of the red. Hopefully it find a better life once it's out of theaters and into the homes because I have a feeling it's going to be lucky to hit $30 million in theaters.
Outside the top five: Poms, which finds old women reliving the glory days of Bring It On - could only muster a sixth place showing of $5.11 million. The Mother's Dad crowd came out with 75% of the audience being made up of females and 85% coming in 25 or older. It is the second big miss for STX after last week's UglyDolls failed to animated much of a spark. Even if older adults support this one in the long run, it will probably fall short of $20 million.
The poorly-recieved biopic Tolkien barely cracked the top 10, landing in 9th place with just $2.15 million. Originally it was supposed to stay a limited release, and I bet the studio is now wishing they had stuck to the original plan as the film debuted to an anemic $1,440 per-theater average. Nicholas Hoult should stick to mutants as this is going to fall short of $10 million.
In milestone news, The Curse of La Llorona cracked the $50 million mark with a $1.8 million weekend and new $51.4 million total. It's still weak for a Conjuring films, but still good for a low-budget horror.
Next week brings us the third chapter in the John Wick saga, we also get another pet-friendly A Dog's Journey and the romance The Sun is Also a Star.
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Firtion Adams Funeral Home
| 76 Broad Street
| Westfield, MA 01085
| info@firtionadams.com
John Albert Dillingham
January 12, 1927 ~ May 12, 2019 (age 92)
John Albert Dillingham, 92, passed away peacefully at the Holyoke Soldiers Home on May 12, 2019 after battling Parkinson’s Disease. John was born in Cleveland, OH to the late Albert and Gertrude (Silvernail) Dillingham. John served his country in the United States Navy from 1944-1946 and in the Navy and Coast Guard Reserve from 1946-1987, retiring with the rank of Commander. He graduated from Brown University in 1950 with a BA in Economics, and took graduate courses at Western New England from 1954-1958 in accounting, auditing and finance. John was employed by Old Colony Envelope Co. from 1950-1987 as auditor, asst. treasurer, and treasurer while it was an independent company. He was vice president and controller in the division of Hammermill Paper Co., now International Paper. John also worked for Healy Pease Funeral Service as business manager in the Westfield and Northampton locations. John served on many committees, he was a former treasurer for YMCA of Greater Westfield, former treasurer and present trustee for Westhills Home Health Care unit of Noble Health Systems, former chairman of Westfield Board of Assessors, treasurer of Pine Hill Cemetery, trustee, with Westfield Athenaeum, Westfield Academy and the Dewey House and director of Noble Medical Practice group. He served on the Board of Directors for the Sara Gilett Foundation for the elderly and Shortliff Foundation for children, Woronoco Bank. Additionally he was a member of the American Legion Post 124, Rotary Club of Westfield, Westfield Historical Society, and longtime member and former treasurer of the Get Together Club. John was an active member of First Congregational Church of Westfield, former deacon, served on most committees and was a past chairman of invested funds. John is survived by his wife Elizabeth Rolfe Dillingham and preceded in death by his former wife Marcia Nelson Dillingham. John leaves his four children; Laura Dillingham Mailman and husband George, Victoria Fresquez, Judith Dillingham Carter and husband Greg and Stephen John Dillingham and his fiancé Lynn and a step son David Hooper. John also leaves two very special friends, David Dauphin and Bruce Murphy, and eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. John was a gentle quiet man who loved his true and faithful dogs and cats. He loved his almost 92 years at his beloved cottage on Lake Warren in Alstead N.H., his many walks through Stanley Park, canoe trips in Maine and travel throughout Europe and the Caribbean. A Memorial Service will be held at the First Congregational Church, Broad St. Westfield on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 11AM, burial with Military Honors will follow in Pine Hill Cemetery, Western Ave. Westfield. In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to the First Congregational Church, 18 Broad St. Westfield, MA 01085 or to the Holyoke Soldiers Home, 110 Cherry St. Holyoke, MA 01040. www.firtionadams.com
© 2019 Firtion Adams Funeral Home. All Rights Reserved. Funeral Home website by CFS
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Cleveland, OH Area Scholarships
Cleveland (/ˈkliːvlənd/ KLEEV-lənd) is a major city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. The city proper has a population of 388,072, making it the 51st-largest city in the United States, and the second-largest city in Ohio. Greater Cleveland is ranked as the 32nd-largest metropolitan area in the U.S., with 2,055,612 people in 2016. The city anchors the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area, which had a population of 3,515,646 in 2010 and is ranked 15th in the United States.
The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. It became a manufacturing center due to its location on both the river and the lake shore, as well as being connected to numerous canals and railroad lines. Cleveland's economy relies on diversified sectors such as manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals. Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cleveland residents are called Clevelanders. The city has many nicknames, the oldest of which in contemporary use being The Forest City.
* Description and images provided by Wikipedia under CC-BY-SA 3.0 license. More
Virginia Frantz and Maurice W. Cogan Memorial Scholarship
Wheeling Jesuit University
Varies Varies See Details
Cleveland Lutheran Veterans Club Scholarship
Black Professionals Association Charitable Foundation Scholarship
Wilberforce University
Alan L. MacCracken Scholarship
Schools in and around Cleveland, OH
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $47,074 average out-state tuition; $47,074 average in-state tuition
Four or more years; Public; $13,687 average out-state tuition; $9,636 average in-state tuition
Cuyahoga Community College District
At least 2 but less than 4 years; Public; $7,468 average out-state tuition; $3,953 average in-state tuition
Ohio Technical College
At least 2 but less than 4 years; Private for profit
Notre Dame College
Cleveland Institute of Art
Brookpark
Popular Majors in Cleveland
Business Administration, Management And Operations
Finance And Financial Management Services
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You are here: FBA » Shop » Publications » Special Publications »
SPEC13 Chironomid Pupal Exuviae
A Guide to the Identification of Genera of Chironomid Pupal Exuviae occurring in Britain and Ireland (including common genera from Northern Europe) and their Use in Monitoring Lotic and Lentic Fresh Waters
Author: R.S. Wilson & L.P. Ruse
Format: Softcover, size 245 x 171 mm, 176 pages
About 600 species of non-biting or "dancing" midges occur in Britain and Ireland, with many more on the continent of Europe. They are most noticeable when the adults perform mating flights in swarms along the shores of running-water (lentic) and standing or still-water (lotic) habitats. The aquatic life-cycle of eggs, larvae and pupae usually lasts for a year or less. When adult midges emerge from their pupae the empty cast skins or pupal exuviae float on the water-surface and become part of the flotsam accumulating along strand-lines and in backwaters. In such places, pupal exuviae can be scooped-up easily with a long-handled pondnet, for subsequent identification under low magnification.
This guide provides a series of multiple-choice keys for identifying the pupal exuviae of 145 genera and more than 100 selected species of Chironomidae that have been recorded from Britain and Ireland, including some that may become added to the list as they colonise the region from Northern Europe. The guide provides a simplified introduction to the complex taxonomy of the Family Chironomidae, and is intended for use by those who are not familiar with the group. The text is generously illustrated with line-drawings of important characters used for identification. An illustrated key is also given to separate the pupal exuviae of chironomids from the cast skins of other common aquatic insects that are similar in general appearance.
All genera and species covered by the guide are allocated to one of four groups representing varying degrees of organic pollution, based on published knowledge of the ecological requirements of genera and individual species, and the authors' own extensive experience. Drs Wilson and Ruse use their Chironomid Pupal Exuvial Technique (CPET) to evaluate habitat diversity and the ecological quality of a wide variety of water-bodies, and to monitor any changes occurring in them. Their technique is comparable to others that are commonly employed in biological monitoring and assessment of water quality. CPET is summarised and briefly discussed in a special section of the text.
SPEC15 The World of Lakes: Lakes of the World
SPEC07 Aquatic life cycle strategies
SP67 Macroinvertebrates for Biotic Assessment
SP69 Freshwater Leeches
SP56 Dixidae and Thaumaleidae
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Disney's $3 Billion Magic Touch On European Suppliers
Christian Sylt Senior Contributor
I cover the theme park industry and the business of Formula One. Here is a list of the services my company provides: https://www.formulamoney.com/products/
Theme park operator Euro Disney has revealed that since the doors to its resort on the outskirts of Paris opened in 1992 it has bought more than $3 billion (€2.4 billion) of goods and services from hundreds of European suppliers.
In the early days there were concerns that the United States would be the main beneficiary as it is home to the Walt Disney Company which took full control of Euro Disney last year. However, the data shows that, in fact, its sparkle has rubbed off on companies all over Europe.
At 5,510 acres Euro Disney is a fifth the size of Paris and at the heart of it are two theme parks - the fairytale-inspired flagship Disneyland Park and movie-themed Walt Disney Studios. In 2016 13.4 million guests streamed through their turnstiles making the resort Europe’s most-visited tourist attraction. Although it is most famous for roller coasters and cuddly characters the colossal complex comprises much more than that.
There are also two convention centers, a 27-hole golf course, 55 restaurants, seven on-site hotels with 5,800 rooms and a 440 acre carbon neutral nature resort designed in partnership with holiday park operator Pierre& Vacances. Euro Disney is the biggest single-site employer in France and has 15,000 staff who are known as cast members due to the role they play on a themed set. It hasn’t just enchanted guests.
Last month Euro Disney launched Season of the Force, a two-month extravaganza which has all the razzmatazz of a Hollywood première. Themed to the sci-fi movie series Star Wars, the festivities feature a cavalcade of characters, a stage show where the actors interact with a giant screen and a fireworks display timed to cutting-edge projections on buildings.
A high-tech projection show at Disneyland Paris features scenes from Star Wars beamed onto structures in the park
The star attractions are life-size models of the movies’ iconic X-wing and TIE fighter space ships which hang from the ceiling at the entrance to the Studios park. Perhaps surprisingly, they weren’t made in France or the US but in Germany.
The models were built by German organization Project X1 which is based in the town of Burghaun, around 100 miles north-east of Frankfurt. For the past 20 years Project X1 has been working with Lucasfilm, the Disney subsidiary which controls Star Wars, so it was at the top of the list when props were needed for the festivities in Paris. It made a big impact.
“It takes about 1,200 hours to build each one,” says Michael Schramm, chief executive of Project X1. “There are 16 of us who come together in a facility which we built in Germany. It’s 1,000 square meters and looks like the hangar from Star Wars.”
He adds that there isn’t just an economic benefit of having his models on display at the French outpost of the company which created Star Wars. “This is a big deal because of the emotions. You don’t get these feelings in a usual job. My dream was to become part of this my whole life and it came true in a special way so being here officially is just ‘wow’.”
According to data from Euro Disney, in 2016 490 of its 3,000 suppliers came from countries within Europe excluding France. More come from Britain than any other country as it is home to 135 suppliers followed by 77 from Belgium, 63 from the Netherlands and 58 from Germany.
Since Euro Disney’s ornate iron gates swung open 17.7% of its $17.1 billion (€13.7 billion) in purchases have been imports into France giving a total of $3 billion. The origin of the money doesn’t match the ratio of suppliers pro rata but Britain is still on top. As British newspaper The Daily Telegraph revealed in February last year. almost 30% of Euro Disney’s $96.6 million (€77.5 million) of imports in 2015 were ordered from British suppliers.
They include pyrotechnics specialists Le Maitre and UK Loco, a metal fabricator which was commissioned by Euro Disney to make 2,218 giant geranium leaves hand-wrought in aluminium. They can be seen at the end of the ride which is themed to the 2008 Oscar winning movie Ratatouille.
An elaborate recreation of a traditional French square is home to a cutting-edge ride themed to 2008 Oscar winning movie Ratatouille (BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images)
The attraction features cutting-edge trackless simulator cars which move through huge indoor sets filled with giant 3D screens. The cars move in time to the on-screen action to give the impression that the riders have been shrunk down to the size of a rat. They emerge in the undergrowth at the end of the ride which is when the giant geranium leaves come into view. Building all of this didn’t just generate economic impact but jobs too.
In 2014 the Telegraph revealed that Euro Disney hired 8,000 staff in the run up to the première of the ride. They covered a wide range of professions as there are 500 different career roles at Euro Disney stretching from makeup artists and hair dressers to hotel managers, engineers and IT technicians. The range of suppliers is equally diverse.
One of the 77 Belgian suppliers is chocolate maker Ravico which makes edible versions of Disney icons. Legendary Star Wars space ship the Millennium Falcon is on offer during the Season of the Force event whilst Ravico also makes chocolate Cinderella slippers for the Auberge de Cendrillon restaurant as well as chocolate ships inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. “Our speciality is questions no one else can answer,” says Ravico chief executive Michel Vanderkerken. “We are proud to say that we work with Disneyland Paris, just as we are all proud of how long this relationship has endured.”
Euro Disney has been working with Ravico since the early 1990s when its buyers approached the Belgian business at SIAL, the world’s largest food innovation exhibition. It isn’t the only supplier which has been there from the start.
In the early 1980s, when Euro Disney was still in the planning stages, its landscapers toured European garden centres looking for suppliers. “A French landscape architect came to see us, and we had an immediate connection,” says Jan-Dieter Bruns, director of German company Bruns Pflanzen Export. He says that the following year the company won a tender for the contract to supply plants and trees to Euro Disney which was “a true turning point in our development.” It was no mean feat.
“To ensure that the trees chosen by Disneyland Paris would be ready on the day, we even opened a special nursery spread over 5 hectares,” says Bruns. He adds that supplying Euro Disney paved the way for Bruns to work with other big theme parks in Germany and China.
Ironically, despite the initial concerns, some American companies weren’t so fortunate. “When Disneyland Paris opened buyers naturally first thought to use American lighting providers,” says Julien Gau, president of French lighting company Maison Lucien Gau. “But certain products weren’t compatible with use in France in terms of voltage, plugs or safety norms. Everything was different.” It put local companies first in line for the work and Maison Lucien Gau won the contract. It transformed the company.
“Not only have we developed a department dedicated to hotel dining and theme parks, but we have also begun working with resin, which is new to us,” says Gau. “This has allowed us to diversify our knowledge, which has been really interesting for our teams.”
Indeed, French suppliers have benefited more from Euro Disney than those in any other country. Since it opened, 82.3% of its $17.1 billion in purchases have been from companies in France with 70% based in the Ile-de-France region which includes Paris.
Euro Disney is most famous for its two theme parks but the colossal complex comprises much more than that. (Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)
“In 30 years Disneyland Paris has become a precious asset for the region in terms of tourism, but also for the economic development of eastern Île-de-France,” says Valérie Pécresse, president of the regional council. “Disneyland Paris is a marker and motor of the economy in Île-de-France, and contributes considerably to local job creation.”
It is the magic touch which the French government envisaged when it signed an agreement with Disney in 1987 to develop a European house for the Mouse. One of Disney’s objectives was to develop far more land than the space on which its theme parks would sit.
It needed more land so that it could maintain standards throughout the entire resort from the parks to the surrounding hotels and even the roads and nature reserves. This strategy stems from when Walt Disney bought land for Disneyland in California and soon after it opened in 1955 motels and restaurants began springing up next to it spoiling the fantasy theming of the resort.
To prevent a repeat of this in France Disney requested a vast plot of land almost a fifth the size of Paris. It was originally home to five villages and huge beet fields which had been earmarked for development. These plans were frozen following the 1973 oil crisis but were put back on the drawing board with a wave of Disney’s magic wand. It got what what it wanted but it came with a catch.
The government agreed to sell the land to Disney provided that the majority of it was developed in accordance with its own vision. To ensure that it benefits the local area, and isn’t rushed through, the government only sells land to Disney in stages once previous plots have been completed.
This relieves pressure on Euro Disney and it has a wide window to develop the land since its 1987 masterplan with the French government expires in 2030. Although only half of the 5,510 acres has been developed so far, the aim is to get through all of it. That really would be a happy ending.
Christian Sylt
I write about the business of Formula One auto racing as well as the theme park industry and have been doing this since 2002. My colleague Caroline Reid and I are the o
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Sep 9 Lambert Cadwalader Is Forced To Resign
Day two of the Cadwalader Brothers series!
Lambert Cadwalader, like his brother, fought with the Continental Army. He was taken prisoner for a brief period and went to to participate in the Continental Congress and, later, was an inaugural member of the House of Representatives.
Lambert Cadwalader
Born in New Jersey, Lambert Cadwalader moved to Philadelphia with his family while he was still just a boy.
Although he attended college, Lambert dropped out to start a merchant house with his brother, John. The siblings were less than a calendar year apart in age and worked together extremely well, building a successful business and cultivating small fortunes in an extremely short amount of time.
In response to the Stamp Act, Lambert became a vocal critic of Parliament’s overreaching taxes. He (and his brother) signed the boycott agreement on British goods.
By 1774, Cadwalader was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly. He also became an active member of Philadelphia’s Committee of Correspondence which maintained communications with the other colonies.
Lambert signed up to fight with the Continental Army and he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel.
After leading the 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion to New York, he was ordered to stand his ground and hold Fort Washington. Eventually, in what we now call the Battle of Long Island (or the Battle of Brooklyn, or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights), the Patriots were overtaken by the superior British numbers.
When Fort Washington was seized by the Redcoats, Cadwalader was taken prisoner. Luckily, his time under arrest was brief and he received parole.
Cadwalader was soon promoted but, as he was still technically a prisoner on parole, he could not lead his men in the field.
Eventually, fed up that he could not participate in the Revolution (because being a ‘man of his word’ was taken extremely seriously), Lambert resigned from the Continental Army. As Philadelphia was occupied by the British, Cadwalader returned to his childhood home in New Jersey.
After the Revolutionary Was concluded, and the Treaty of Paris was signed, Cadwalader was chosen to represent New Jersey in the Continental Congress. During this time, between the end of the war and the ratification of the Constitution, the United States in Congress Assembled got very little done.
After the Constitution was ratified, however, the federal government was reinvigorated and full of life.
Lambert Cadwalader was voted to represent New Jersey as an original Congressman in the United States House of Representatives. As a Federalist who supported the Washington Administration, Cadwalader returned two years later and helped create the government we still enjoy today.
If you would like to learn more about the Battle of Long Island, check out 'The Maryland 400.' Although it is not directly related to Lambert Cadwalader, it does discuss in detail the British victory and, specifically, the retreat and capture of Continental Soldiers. The link below take you to our affiliate Amazon.
Please subscribe to our email list if you are interested in receiving a new Founder every day.
The Maryland 400 in the Battle of Long Island, 1776
By Linda Davis Reno
Lambert Cadwalader, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, pow, Congressman, Battle of Long Island
Sep 10 Abraham Clark Suggests A Constitutional Convention
Sep 8 John Cadwalader Shoots 'That Damn Rascal' In The Mouth
Mar 13 Nathaniel Scudder - The Doctor Who Died in Battle
Jul 18 Thomas Mifflin Accepts The Resignation of General Washington
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Fighting Chemotherapy Brain Fog
Chemotherapy is one of the most effective tools for combating breast cancer. Unfortunately, the very thing that helps women ultimately feel better initially makes them feel lousy.
Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which can grow and divide quickly, according to Cancer.gov. But it can also harm healthy cells, such as those that line the mouth and intestines, and stop hair from growing.
Additional side effects include fatigue, pain, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell counts, hair loss, and mouth sores, Cancer.gov says.
It’s the fatigue that often causes a type of brain fog in cancer sufferers that can last long after chemotherapy stops, according to some studies.
Dr. Paul Fishkin told the Associated Press last month that chemo brain is one of the survivorship issues cancer patients deal with. This area of cancer fatigue or 'chemo brain' is real and not as well understood as it should be," said Fishkin of Oncology Hematology Associates of Central Illinois. Click here to read that story
One company believes it has come up with a product that can help battle this fog and help cancer patients get their minds back on track.
MindFit Back on Track is a software program developed by the company, CogniFit to help chemotherapy patients exercise their brains to maintain mind “fitness” throughout and after chemotherapy treatment.
“Twenty to 30 percent or more of people exposed to chemotherapy complain that for months and sometimes years after treatments stop, they have the inability to focus and to remember things,” said Shlomo Breznitz, founder and president of CogniFit, which has offices in New York and Israel. “We’ve found in previous research that MindFit helps the elderly stave off mental decline and can do the same to help cancer patients battle chemo-fog.”
MindFit, which costs $129 for downloadable version of the program and $149 for a CD-ROM, provides users with a series of mind-fitness exercises. The company recommends using the program for 20 minutes two to three times a week. A demo is available at the company’s Web site, www.cognifit.com. Many of the exercises use shapes and puzzles to help users rebuild attention and multitasking skills.
The program is tailored for each individual according to the symptoms they are experiencing.
“We don’t want people to find it too taxing or too boring because then they won’t use it," Breznitz said. "So it’s geared to each user and can even be geared to different kinds of age groups.”
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Vol. 48, Issue 2 • The War on Taxpayers
Wars and Whistleblowers
UFOs and Elvis and Nazis, oh my!
Psychiatry’s Role in the Bosnian Genocide
The War on Taxpayers
Going Private
Joe Cirincione on the New Trillions of Dollars Arms Race
Going After Whistleblowers
When Mainstream Media Back the Wrong Side
Going Where The Pain Is
Rebuilding Nepal
‘Extreme’ Adventures
Scientology Tells Atlanta ‘Y’All Come’
Plan + Commitment: 51 Ideal Churches done
Unite and Win
Honest People Have Rights, Too
Photograph by Scientology Media Productions
Pacifica Bridge Los Angeles’ Ideal Church (foreground), the American Saint Hill Organization (moving down L. Ron Hubbard Way, on right), the Advanced Organization Los Angeles (across LRH Way on left).
Salvaging the planet is a tough job—but the Churches that can make it happen are being built.
There are days of rage, when humanity recoils in horror at bloodshed and depravity. Poignant are the sneak attacks on America—December 7, 1941, and September 11, 2001—which so stunned the world. But for only a short time.
In 1945, the Allied nations smashed the Axis powers. And, while the outcomes of “9/11” are still playing out, there was no argument that many good men and women said “no!” to a future that held only carnage and chaos.
Among those who refused to capitulate to fear after 9/11, the Church of Scientology marshaled its resources to salvage civilization from its mad rush towards self-destruction. “Bluntly, we are the only people on Earth who can reverse the decline,” stated Scientology’s ecclesiastical leader, David Miscavige, in a message titled “Wake-Up Call” that was sent to every member of the religion just hours after the World Trade Center towers fell. “If we don’t work faster we could face a scenario where any help would be impossible. And it’s not just the violence we have recently witnessed; it’s everything that violence potentially wreaks in terms of economic and social collapse.”
The key to answering that challenge was in transforming every Scientology Church into powerhouses of outreach.
Yes, the Churches serve their members, advancing them up what’s called the “Bridge to Total Freedom.” But an equally important role is organizing crusades and programs—in tandem with many other groups—that attack the causes of degradation in society. These humanitarian efforts fight drugs, advance literacy, promote human rights, battle psychiatric abuse and teach rehabilitation for ex-offenders. And squads of Scientology Volunteer Ministers respond to everything from the devastation of earthquakes to organizing “extreme” tours to remote communities that are in dire need of social services.
The challenge in 2001 was that few of Scientology’s Churches had the brick and steel, and precise design, to do the work envisioned in Mr. Miscavige’s “Wake-Up Call.” Scientology was founded in the mid-20th century, and had expanded rapidly. A lot of the early Church structures weren’t up to the task.
Mr. Miscavige had a study done of the Tampa Church, close to the Church’s spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, and out of that came a plan.
“People said we couldn’t create the Churches that we needed,” said Mr. Miscavige. “People said we should do things gradually.
“But that got us nowhere, and buildings have taken too long to plan, construct and open—while humanity’s plunge into chaos hasn’t slowed. We had to act,” Mr. Miscavige concluded.
His energy echoed that of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, when he said in 1982: “The consideration that it takes a long time to build something is not true. That itself is an aberration, an effort to discourage destruction by pretending creation takes a long time.”
Building Ideal Churches was not a new concept. Indeed, it was the vision of Mr. Hubbard as early as 1962: “We’re thinking in terms of new buildings and designing new buildings all over the world.” And in 1975 when he described the Ideal Organization: “One could look at this ideal org and know that this was the place a new civilization was being established for this planet.”
Photographs by Scientology Media Productions
CreationThe International Landlord Office, assisted by the global design firm Gensler, is the hub of planning, design and purchasing for new Ideal Churches.
It was in 2003 when the first Ideal Church (or Organization) was created. With the opening of the new Church in Atlanta in April 2016, Scientology reached a milestone of 51 new Ideal Orgs. How did that happen?
Mr. Miscavige determined exactly what must be done to build an Ideal Org—the kind described by Mr. Hubbard. The Church at Saint Hill in England, which Mr. Hubbard managed while also conducting advanced spiritual research in Scientology in the mid-1960s, was a model to attain that was set by Mr. Hubbard. But how could that be measured? The solution was determined by desired outcomes—here’s everything an Org should do, and here’s how the physical planning could achieve that. It’s not just the size, but the rigorously designed plans that enable the broad dissemination of the religion and the delivery of all available Scientology services, thus allowing Scientologists to accelerate their spiritual progress.
Achieving incredibly precise quality, as well as economic efficiency, were considerations. “It was an overwhelming task if every single Church had to plan out its work individually,” Mr. Miscavige said. “We had to organize it so that Churches were not left on their own to solve the same construction problems which come up in each case, while bringing down the cost with global procurement contracts.”
The answer was the International Landlord Office which was created as the management body to oversee the creation of Ideal Orgs globally.
The mandate was to do it all and do it all now. The mass purchasing and standardization by master designers—especially the worldwide architectural firm of Gensler—had to be integrated with the sense and style of each community.
“With what we’re doing centrally,” Mr. Miscavige said, “we are helping every Church congregation. By unifying functions such as space planning, design and purchasing, we don’t duplicate work. We maximize the economy and we assist every Church to achieve the highest quality building.”
The first Ideal Church was in Johannesburg, South Africa, opening on November 1, 2003. The city was one in which Mr. Hubbard lived and continued his research into the spirit and mind in the early 1960s. To inaugurate the Ideal Church program, Mr. Miscavige highlighted the mission of Scientology, salvaging mankind.
Mr. Hubbard tackled problems “directly and at every strata,” Mr. Miscavige said at the Johannesburg opening, “from programs for white juvenile delinquents, to literacy tools for black African schools, not to mention an end to the policy of separateness. … LRH knew those chains would be broken, and yet the freedom sought would not be achieved without something else. For, how free is a man if he is not able. And that is why, above all else, he worked to bring the spiritual freedom that is only possible through the Technology of Scientology.”
Fifteen days later, Mr. Miscavige opened the second Ideal Church—this one in Buffalo, N.Y. At the inauguration, David Miscavige announced: “Here stands the Central Organization to bring our solution of drug rehabilitation, education, morality, not to mention even more groups, centers and missions to every community.”
After that came San Francisco, where Mr. Miscavige announced the “workable solutions” embedded in this new Church, and the mission to “bring them everywhere, on a planetary scale, to reverse those trends” of social decay.
And then on to Madrid, London, Rome, Nashville, Seattle, Portland, Tokyo—until the Church reached No. 51, Atlanta. And the runway for new Ideal Churches keeps increasing in speed, with 50 more planned to be opened in the immediate future.
Mr. Miscavige summed up: “What LRH envisioned of an Ideal Church is a gathering place for the entire community. Yes, it is the ideal facility to service Scientologists on their ascent to higher states of spiritual freedom. But it is also the meeting point for humanitarian programs in that city for the benefit of all, a cooperative effort to uplift people of all denominations. And, ultimately, we reach the point where humanity finally has a chance.”
Ideal Org: No. 50 Milan
Mega Church of Scientology.
Here’s what expansion means for the Church of Scientology.
In October 2012, the Church’s ecclesiastical leader, David Miscavige, was in Italy to open a new “Ideal Organization” in Padova. He decided to add to his trip by visiting the Church in Milan. There he observed a large, active congregation—so large, so active that the facilities could barely contain all that was going on.
Maria Rosa Dalmas, Executive Director of the Church of Scientology of Milan, told Mr. Miscavige about standing plans to move to a larger building. Dalmas explained that she had been scouting potential locations and that, in fact, she might have found the perfect place.
“Show me,” Mr. Miscavige told Dalmas, who obliged, taking him to see a five-story structure on Fulvio Testi Avenue, overlooking Milan’s beloved North Park.
As their tour of the property was winding down, Dalmas remembers David Miscavige turning to her and asking, “What are you waiting for?”
Less than two months later, in December 2012, the Church completed the purchase of the building—the future Scientology Ideal Organization of Milan. The Church’s International Landlord Office in Los Angeles, saw to the planning, design and execution of the project, working closely with Dalmas to see that the specific needs of her congregation were met.
Great story—but it gets even better with a little history. In the 1980s, an anti-religious clique in the Italian government attempted to destroy Scientology in that country. Machine gun-toting police stormed the Church in Milan, but Scientologists were undeterred. After a lengthy court battle, the Italian Supreme Court threw out all charges against the Church, and in a landmark decision proclaimed, “Scientology is a bona fide religion whose activities, without exception, [are] characteristic of all religious movements.” Today, this decision is recognized by leading judicial authorities and scholars as a pivotal decision setting important standards regarding the definition of religion throughout the European Community.
Big, BeautifulThe Milan Church, largest Ideal Church in the world, allows large numbers of parishioners to progress up Scientology’s “Bridge to Total Freedom.”
The Italian Scientology churches never stopped growing during the 20 years of litigation—resulting in the happily cramped bustle Mr. Miscavige witnessed in 2012 in Milan. About three years later, on October 31, 2015, the new Ideal Church of Scientology opened.
During his speech at the opening, Mr. Miscavige referred to the struggle that Italian Scientologists had endured—and culminated with victory. “It was you who surmounted every obstacle,” he said. “So that when doors were shuttered and dark forces encircled, you drew from those first tests of strength and advanced our Religious Freedom Crusades in Europe.”
The Milan Ideal Org is a vast structure, spanning 104,000 square feet on 1.5 acres of land, covering a full city block—a fitting monument to the energy and vigor of the local parishioners, and the town they call home. “If ever a city was destined as the seat of an Ideal Org, then it is your Milan,” Mr. Miscavige said in his address. “This city of age-old splendor and new-age vision. This city, where energy pulses from her streets and creativity issues from her soul.”
Rosella Cominelli was an early adopter of Scientology in Italy, one of a group of five people who opened the first Church Office in Milan in 1974. Now 63, Cominelli took the opportunity of the opening to reflect how far her religion has come. “This new Ideal Org is simply a dream come true. It’s so different from what we were at the beginning more than 40 years ago. That was grassroots. This—this is grand.”
Hub of ActionThe Milan Ideal Church is a focus on community activities—including an open house for Scientology’s Volunteer Ministers.
The Church, the largest local Scientology Organization, has a constant flow of people working on their spiritual progress or engaging in humanitarian efforts.
Indeed, Milan’s new Ideal Org reflects the refined style for which Italy is famed. The building’s interior is outfitted with elegant marble flooring, dark millwork, polished stainless steel and accents in deep red, evocative of the trademark shades of two other bold Italian institutions: Ducati Motorcycles and Ferrari.
But beyond the size and grandeur of the Milan Org, the rapid pace of activity continues: Human rights, anti-drug awareness campaigns, shining a bright light on psychiatric criminality. And, if there’s one thing that marks Italian Scientology Churches—especially Milan—is the work of Volunteer Ministers. The Civil Protection Volunteers of the Scientology Community, popularly known as PROCIVICOS, provide frontline disaster response in their communities.
“Our churches are both inward and outward facing,” Mr. Miscavige said in an interview. “Individual Scientologists grow in their abilities to confront life and make change. And then they turn to the communities where they live. They start fixing problems, finding solutions, salvaging people in many, many ways. That’s the story in Milan. It’s our biggest Church, and it got big by creating powerful Scientologists who could then tackle the big jobs in society.”
Ideal Org: No. 49 Tokyo
Ideal Church in Japan marks Scientology’s rapid expansion in the Far East.
The Land of the Rising Sun has long figured in the lore of Scientology, as David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the religion, explained to the crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered at the August 8, 2015, opening of the Tokyo Ideal Organization.
Scientology Founder “L. Ron Hubbard originally approached these shores at the age of 16, in 1927,” Mr. Miscavige said. “He came to view Fujiyama from 50 miles at sea and described it as ‘a symmetrical cone of celestial beauty.’ So it was Japan well and truly left her mark on a young LRH, for it was here he saw a culture he knew ‘could influence the entire East with thought and raised ability.’”
Scientology came to Japan as a grassroots movement, with the Church establishing its official presence with a Tokyo Org in 1985. In 1986, Dianetics was first published in Japanese, making the nation’s bestseller list two years later. By 2007, Japanese translations of all of Scientology’s Basics Books and Lectures were available.
“With a new Ideal Org in Tokyo, and another in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Scientology is now firmly established in the Far East,” Mr. Miscavige said in an interview. “Every book and lecture by LRH that Japanese and Chinese-speaking Scientologists need to advance on their spiritual path is now translated into their own languages.”
Japanese Scientologists now have the ideal environment for religious study, with course rooms designed specifically for Scientology and an entire floor dedicated to facilities for Scientology spiritual counseling, called auditing. There’s also a chapel for congregational gatherings, weddings and naming ceremonies. An auditorium spans most of the eighth floor of the building, and the Org also features a café, multi-use public spaces and a stunning rooftop terrace.
Ultramodern and eight stories high, the building is located in the heart of the world’s most populous city, standing as a symbol of spirituality and hope.
Like all Scientology Ideal Orgs, the Tokyo Church has an expansive public information center, where all are welcome and visitors can peruse multimedia displays to take in more than 500 films introducing the beliefs and practices of Scientology.
ExuberanceThe Tokyo Ideal Church is a place of bustle and activity—from arriving to begin more courses and services (above) to attending lectures and community meetings (below).
“An especially attractive aspect of the religion for Japanese is Scientology Study Technology,” said Takayuki Shirota, director of the Learning Support Institute of Tokyo. He said the educational method developed by L. Ron Hubbard is a tool “desperately needed by Japan today” because of the nation’s “drop in scholastic ability,” adding that if Japan were to implement the technology, the nation would experience nothing less than “the dawn of a renaissance of learning.”
At the new Tokyo Org, information is also available on Church-sponsored humanitarian and social betterment programs, which include Youth for Human Rights International, The Truth About Drugs, The Way to Happiness Foundation and Scientology Volunteer Ministers.
The regional activities of these programs are coordinated at the Tokyo Ideal Org, which will “not only light up the center of Tokyo but our entire nation with humanitarian help,” according to Masami Saito, a member of Japan’s parliament for Miyagi Prefecture.
Saito should know—he personally benefited from the work of Scientology’s Volunteer Ministers in the aftermath of a 2011 earthquake that rocked Eastern Japan, as he explained in a speech at the Tokyo Ideal Org opening. “Your members, the Volunteer Ministers, were there clearing away debris from [my father-in-law’s] collapsed house,” Saito said. “They showed such skill and discipline. Your humanitarian attitude was touching to the core.”
Scientology team members participated in search-and-rescue efforts, manned earthquake shelters and organized the delivery of food, water and supplies. They also assisted in the cleanup of entire towns and villages that had been leveled by tsunami waves, displacing more than 300,000 residents.
The Scientology volunteers also used techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the religion’s founder, intended to help victims overcome stress, toward facilitating rapid recovery from illness and injury. “We helped people to dream again, changing despair to hope,” said Koji Minami, who coordinated the Volunteer Ministers, adding: “We were able to create minor miracles like this on a daily basis.”
Ideal Org: No. 48 Bogota
Proven results: Scientology efforts helped end the scourges of violence and drugs.
A thriving metropolis of nearly 8 million people, Bogota, Colombia, may have a bloody past, but its gaze is fixed firmly on a bright future. It’s a city with an artistic center, a creative edge and a strong sense of itself.
“They consider themselves the city closest to heaven on earth,” David Miscavige, Scientology’s ecclesiastical leader, noted in a speech after the July 5, 2015, opening of the new Ideal Church in Bogota.
Nestled in a high-altitude cradle beneath the Andes Mountains at over 8,500 feet above sea level, Bogota’s new eight-story Scientology Ideal Organization stands prominently on the city’s Calle 100 in the Northern district of Usaquen.
The ultramodern structure spans 48,000 square feet and sits in the center of the district’s vibrant commercial and entertainment hub.
The lofty city, home to the first Scientology Ideal Org in South America, bears little resemblance to the Bogota of just 20 years ago, when human rights atrocities, drug trafficking, murder and mayhem plagued all of Colombia, much of it perpetrated by the country’s own military.
Today, longstanding civil conflicts are being resolved and crime rates are down. Colombia’s National Police report that 2014 was the country’s least violent year in three decades, with the homicide rate at its lowest since the mid 1980s.
Of course, the big question is why Colombia has done such an about-face. The general consensus is that it can be traced to a combination of factors, including the nation’s taking on of the cartels (with an assist from the United States’ $9 billion Plan Colombia initiative approved by Congress in 1990), some courageous politicians, and perhaps a populace that grew tired of living in a war zone.
There is another influence in the ongoing Colombian transformation: The presence and programs of the Church of Scientology, which several of the high-ranking members of the nation’s military have emphatically affirmed.
The story of the religion in Bogota dates to the 1970s, when the first Scientologists began Dianetics and Scientology dissemination there. The Church’s presence grew throughout Colombia over the decades until 2009, when its cruise ship, Freewinds, sailed to the port city of Cartagena for its 20th anniversary refit.
The ship’s presence would facilitate a close relationship between the Church and the Colombian military and police forces, whose members began taking Scientology courses onboard the vessel with the encouragement of General Carlos Ramiro Mena and Colonel Ricardo Antonio Prado.
Getting the wordThe Bogota Ideal Church’s Information Center has videos and literature on Scientology—as well as the religion’s many humanitarian projects in Latin America.
Around the same time, Church-sponsored human rights education programs ramped up in the country, ultimately reaching 100 percent of Colombian Army personnel, according to Lt. Colonel Anstrongh Polania, Chief of the Department of Joint Operational Law for the Colombian Ministry of Defense. As a result, human rights complaints against the army dropped 96 percent.
“And it is not only the Army we reached,” Polania explained in a speech at the Bogota Ideal Org opening. “We trained judges, prosecutors, magistrates, attorneys and even schoolchildren across all of Colombia. Everyone we taught learned that the protectors of human rights form the backbone of our nation.”
The Way to Happiness campaign, which promotes a common sense moral code developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, has also had a positive impact, says Lt. Colonel Edgar Rojas, Special Ops Commander for Rural Zones for the Colombian National Police. “I have observed real changes in my men and fellow police officers once they study The Way to Happiness. Believe me, it is the checklist for life.”
Scientology’s Truth About Drugs educational initiative is also at work in Bogota. “Drugs are still the biggest enemy of our nation, and those who lack knowledge and understanding are at continual risk,” said Lt. Colonel Carlos Peña, Coordinator for Anti-Drug Education with the Colombian Anti-Narcotics Department.
Peña praised the Church of Scientology for “opening the eyes of people to the dangers of drugs” and helping to “change the perception of associating Colombia with drugs, terrorism and corruption.”
All around, Peña said, the new Ideal Org, and the Scientologists behind it, are a fantastic ally in the effort to build and carry into the future “a stronger Bogota and a greater Colombia.”
Truth tellingThe Bogota Touristic Police Unit met at the city’s new Scientology Ideal Church to get instruction on the religion’s Truth About Drugs campaign.
Currently reading: Plan + Commitment: 51 Ideal Churches done
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As driving career ends, Patrick remains driven
Danica Patrick is the only woman to have ever won an IndyCar race. (Reuters pic)
NEW YORK: Danica Patrick may soon no longer be a race car driver, but the only woman to win an IndyCar race remains as driven as ever as she speeds toward one last Indianapolis 500 and the end of a ground-breaking career.
Patrick will bring her career full circle on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s famed oval on May 27 when she climbs into the cockpit of her electric green Chevrolet one last time as one of North America and the world’s most recognisable athletes takes a final bow.
“I’ve always said that I hope people remember me as a great driver and a woman. I hope it’s in that order,” Patrick said on Wednesday. “I hope it’s one of those stories where they are like she was awesome and a girl and it was cool to see something like that, something unique and different.”
“I don’t want them to not remember that I was a girl.”
“I’m here largely because I am woman, I just try to lead by example.”
“It’s a tough subject because I think people expect, want me to be an advocate for women in a certain way but really I am just about people achieving their highest potential.”
While Patrick is routinely viewed as a pioneer and a standard-bearer for women’s causes, she sees herself as more of an inspirational figure than an advocate.
On the racetrack, however, Patrick is simply another racer.
She established herself as an elite driver and fierce competitor in IndyCar, blazing a path to the winner’s circle when she took the chequered flag at the 2008 Indy Japan 300.
But it was the Indy 500 where the diminutive driver rose to fame by taking third in 2009, the best result ever at the Brickyard for a woman driver.
Patrick was never able to match that result in NASCAR despite driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, one of the top teams.
She competed in almost 200 NASCAR races but never found Victory Lane, her best result being sixth at Atlanta in 2014.
Her greatest success in NASCAR came in 2013 when she grabbed the Daytona 500 pole.
“I didn’t have as good a results in NASCAR as I wanted,” Patrick said. “It’s more difficult in some ways just because I was fighting for a top 10 or the top 20 and IndyCar I was fighting for a top five or a win.
“I still fought really hard, they are still both difficult but as far as tangible results that people understand IndyCar went better so for that I loved it.”
Although Patrick will be getting out of the race car, she will not be slowing down.
One of the most marketable athletes in North America, she has been able to turn her fame and passions into businesses.
She is an author, has her own wine and clothing line, and a growing interest in yoga and fitness.
What Patrick is not interested in is starting her own race team like one of her fellow trailblazers Sarah Fisher. However, she does plan on staying involved with her sport and did not completely rule out the possibility of getting back into the cockpit.
“I’m never going to say never,” Patrick said. “Long answer short, I don’t see myself in any capacity staying and racing in a significant way.”
“Always be supportive and watch and be curious but I don’t see myself owning a team or touring, it’s just not in my nature.”
“I’d like to inspire people from the heart so that they were driven from the inside and help them generate confidence in themselves or by taking care of themselves,” Patrick added.
“One of the things that I’ve done my whole life and I get this from my dad, I’ve always just been a dreamer.”
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Articles related to article 28
Opinion of the Board
legal duties
secondary processor
Secondary subcontracting
Show the recitals of the Regulation related to article 28 keyboard_arrow_down Hide the recitals of the Regulation related to article 28 keyboard_arrow_up
(81) To ensure compliance with the requirements of this Regulation in respect of the processing to be carried out by the processor on behalf of the controller, when entrusting a processor with processing activities, the controller should use only processors providing sufficient guarantees, in particular in terms of expert knowledge, reliability and resources, to implement technical and organisational measures which will meet the requirements of this Regulation, including for the security of processing. The adherence of the processor to an approved code of conduct or an approved certification mechanism may be used as an element to demonstrate compliance with the obligations of the controller. The carrying-out of processing by a processor should be governed by a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, binding the processor to the controller, setting out the subject-matter and duration of the processing, the nature and purposes of the processing, the type of personal data and categories of data subjects, taking into account the specific tasks and responsibilities of the processor in the context of the processing to be carried out and the risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject. The controller and processor may choose to use an individual contract or standard contractual clauses which are adopted either directly by the Commission or by a supervisory authority in accordance with the consistency mechanism and then adopted by the Commission. After the completion of the processing on behalf of the controller, the processor should, at the choice of the controller, return or delete the personal data, unless there is a requirement to store the personal data under Union or Member State law to which the processor is subject.
Article 4 (8) defines the processor using the definition already available in the Directive. The processor is: “a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller”.
Article 28 of the Regulation extends the previous duties of controllers and processors while organizing a separate regime for their duties for security referred to in Article 32 et seq.
As before, the controller can only choose contractors with sufficient safeguards with respect to taking of appropriate technical and operational measures to meet the requirements of the Regulation and to ensure protection of the rights of the data subject.
The principle is still that of a specific contract between the controller and the processor, or by another specific legal act provided for the needs of the Union or of a Member State, binding the subcontractor and the controller. On the other hand, the content of the written contract - including an electronically format is extended. In addition to information on the processing itself (purpose, scope and duration of processing, etc.), the contract provides for the commitment of the processor to comply with a range of duties vis-à-vis to the controller, namely:
- to process the personal data only on documented instructions from the controller – which was already provided – but these instructions will now be specifically documented - in particular the transfers of data to third countries – by the controller. An exception is made for the legal duties which would subject the contractor who will be the subject of specific information by the processor, except for a justified legal exception for important reasons of public interest;
This duty is also reflected in Article 32 requiring the controller to take measures to ensure that anyone who has access to data under the authority of the controller or the processor can process them only on their instructions, unless required to do so by the law of a member State or a rule of the EU and provided that they inform the controller accordingly, unless such information is prohibited for important reasons of public interest.
- to ensure that persons authorised to process the personal data have committed themselves to confidentiality ;
- to respect the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 for engaging another processor (see below);
- to assist the controller for the fulfilment of the controller's obligation to respond to requests for exercising the data subject's rights;
- to assist the controller in ensuring compliance with the obligations pursuant to Articles 32 to 36 of the Regulation;
- at the choice of the controller, to delete or return all the personal data to the controller after the end of the provision of services;
- to make available to the controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with Article 28 and allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the controller or another auditor mandated by the controller.
Article 28 also requires the processor to immediately report to the controller if, in its opinion, an instruction infringes this Regulation or other Union or Member State data protection provisions.
In addition to the duties provided for by the Directive, the Regulation organizes the question of processing entrusted to third parties - secondary processors by the direct processor of the processing controller, very common cases in practice. Thus, the possibility left to the secondary processor of the processor itself will be subject to a prior written consent (specific or general) by the controller. In the case of a written general authorization, the direct processor must inform the controller, prior to any change of the "secondary" processor to enable the controller to object.
In addition, this secondary processor contract must comply with the rules applicable to the content of the contract entered into between the controller and the main processor (Art. 28 (4)). Where that other processor fails to fulfil its data protection obligations, the initial processor shall remain fully liable to the controller for the performance of that other processor's obligations.
Adherence of a processor to an approved code of conduct as referred to in Article 40 or an approved certification mechanism as referred to in Article 42 may be used as an element by which the processor shall demonstrate sufficient guarantees.
The Regulation expressly provides the possibility of using standard contractual clauses provided by various sources as the basis of the specific contract between the controller and the processor (included in a procedure of certification, of the Commission or the supervisory authorities). The Commission is also empowered to establish standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, in accordance with the consistency mechanism referred to in Article 63.
Finally, the last version of the Regulation specifically indicates that if a processor infringes this Regulation by determining the purposes and means of processing, the processor shall be considered to be a controller in respect of that processing.
Article 17 of the Directive organized the system of processors as part of the security obligations. The Directive provided that the controller who acts through a processor should ensure that such processor provides sufficient guarantees as to the implementation and the compliance with the security measures to be implemented.
A binding legal contract or act should bind the controller and the processor, the latter having to state in particular that he or she will act only on instructions from the controller, as well as the safety measures he or she had to take.
The precision and the extension of contractual clauses, extensive references to the links to the secondary processor impose to the controllers to review all their relations with their processors and to amend extensively the previous contracts. Often, in practice, general references were contained in only one style clause inserted in the service provision contract. The processor - often a technology provider - must attach more importance to the data protection and the obligations that go beyond the simple measures of security, but requires a much more professional contract management.
1. Where processing is to be carried out on behalf of a controller, the controller shall use only processors providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that processing will meet the requirements of this Regulation and ensure the protection of the rights of the data subject.
2. The processor shall not engage another processor without prior specific or general written authorisation of the controller. In the case of general written authorisation, the processor shall inform the controller of any intended changes concerning the addition or replacement of other processors, thereby giving the controller the opportunity to object to such changes.
3. Processing by a processor shall be governed by a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, that is binding on the processor with regard to the controller and that sets out the subject-matter and duration of the processing, the nature and purpose of the processing, the type of personal data and categories of data subjects and the obligations and rights of the controller. That contract or other legal act shall stipulate, in particular, that the processor:
a) processes the personal data only on documented instructions from the controller, including with regard to transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, unless required to do so by Union or Member State law to which the processor is subject; in such a case, the processor shall inform the controller of that legal requirement before processing, unless that law prohibits such information on important grounds of public interest;
b) ensures that persons authorised to process the personal data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality;
c) takes all measures required pursuant to Article 32;
d) respects the conditions referred to in paragraph 2 ans 4 for engaging another processor
e) taking into account the nature of the processing, assists the controller by appropriate technical and organisational measures, insofar as this is possible, for the fulfilment of the controller's obligation to respond to requests for exercising the data subject's rights laid down in Chapter III
f) assists the controller in ensuring compliance with the obligations pursuant to Articles 32 to 36 taking into account the nature of processing and the information available to the processor
g) at the choice of the controller, deletes or returns all the personal data to the controller after the end of the provision of services relating to processing, and deletes existing copies unless Union or Member State law requires storage of the personal data
h) makes available to the controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations laid down in this Article and allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the controller or another auditor mandated by the controller.
With regard to point (h) of the first subparagraph, the processor shall immediately inform the controller if, in its opinion, an instruction infringes this Regulation or other Union or Member State data protection provisions.
4. Where a processor engages another processor for carrying out specific processing activities on behalf of the controller, the same data protection obligations as set out in the contract or other legal act between the controller and the processor as referred to in paragraph 3 shall be imposed on that other processor by way of a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, in particular providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that the processing will meet the requirements of this Regulation. Where that other processor fails to fulfil its data protection obligations, the initial processor shall remain fully liable to the controller for the performance of that other processor's obligations.
5. Adherence of a processor to an approved code of conduct as referred to in Article 40 or an approved certification mechanism as referred to in Article 42 may be used as an element by which to demonstrate sufficient guarantees as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article.
6. Without prejudice to an individual contract between the controller and the processor, the contract or the other legal act referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article may be based, in whole or in part, on standard contractual clauses referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 of this Article, including when they are part of a certification granted to the controller or processor pursuant to Articles 42 and 43.
7. The Commission may lay down standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article and in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 93(2).
8. A supervisory authority may adopt standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article and in accordance with the consistency mechanism referred to in Article 63.
9. The contract or the other legal act referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be in writing, including in electronic form.
10. Without prejudice to Articles 82, 83 and 84, if a processor infringes this Regulation by determining the purposes and means of processing, the processor shall be considered to be a controller in respect of that processing.
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Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault June 17, 2019
Part I: (Un)Accountability for Torture
The following is the first of a two-part series.
With the nomination and eventual appointment of Gina Haspel to the directorship of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), debates around the legality and the morality of the torture program undertaken during the early years of the War on Terror resurfaced. Some editorials asserted that condoning torture was now a roadmap for promotion at the CIA. Others, including former senior leaders of the CIA, argued that none could lead the Agency better than Haspel and claimed she was a person of integrity. Yet, amid the debates about her leadership of the Agency loomed two larger questions: 1) who is most responsible for the torture program, and 2) what does accountability mean? In the balancing act between the demands of justice and the imperatives of national security, how can we best ensure that the right people are held accountable for the U.S. torture program? Forceful repudiations of the program did occur through both internal agency proceedings as well as in the form of checks and balances across the federal government, but the public view of torture has changed in the almost two decades since 9/11. This shift is significant because U.S. popular opinion against the torture program a decade ago significantly contributed to pushback against it, pushback that manifested in the accountability measures detailed below. In the absence of public opposition, accountability measures will be more elusive.
To answer these two questions—who is responsible and what accountability would look like—we need to review these dark moments in U.S. history with an eye toward identifying those most responsible, assessing what measures were taken to ensure accountability, and examining why public mobilization around torture constitutes a national security issue.
What Happened and Whose Fault Was It?
Following the 9/11 attacks, the George W. Bush administration authorized the CIA and the Department of Defense (DoD) to use a range of extraordinary tactics—many adapted from Chinese methods used against U.S. soldiers during the Korean War—to extract information from captured detainees. A 2002 memo authored by Alberto Gonzales, then White House Counsel, concluded that interrogation methods of the past were no longer adequate for the demands of the War on Terror. According to the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report, the CIA’s new authorities covering rendition, detention, and interrogation—as well as the perceived need for immediate actionable intelligence—resulted in around one hundred people being subjected to coercive treatment, including three who were waterboarded.
Former senior Bush administration officials argued that the DoD’s program was the work of a “few bad apples;” indeed, if responsibility is measured by who was prosecuted or removed from their jobs, the answer would seem to be the interrogators themselves. Yet, in reality, the greatest responsibility for the CIA and DoD’s torture programs lies with lawyers and senior Bush administration officials who repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to challenge the normative and legal constraints imposed by the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. The legal authors of the program—individuals like John Yoo at the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and David Addington in the Vice President’s office, for instance—argued that neither Congress, the courts, nor the American public could unduly limit the powers of the unitary executive in general, especially during wartime.
What Accountability Steps Were Taken?
After revelation of the programs, accountability measures were taken both within and across agencies, yet the missing piece has been the role of the public in repudiating this program. Particularly in this realm of human rights and war, without this kind of public accountability, illegal behavior is not only left unchecked. The torture committed during the early years of the War on Terror seemed to validate the core narrative that al-Qaeda has long held that the United States was an immoral, hypocritical state with wanton consideration for Muslim life. In this way, accountability is not just a moral imperative, a measure to guarantee compliance with the law, or a means of ensuring the proper allocation of resources. It is a national security priority.
Political scientists Ruth Grant and Robert Keohane (2005) lay out the following foundation of accountability:
Accountability, as we use the term, implies that some actors have the right to hold other actors to a set of standards, to judge whether they have fulfilled their responsibilities in light of these standards, and to impose sanctions if they determine that these responsibilities have not been met. Accountability presupposes a relationship between power-wielders and those holding them accountable where there is a general recognition of the legitimacy of (1) the operative standards for accountability and (2) the authority of the parties to the relationship (one to exercise particular powers and the other to hold them to account).
Keohane further develops eight types of accountability that grant individuals and groups the power to sanction power-wielders: hierarchical, supervisory, electoral, fiscal, legal, market, participatory, and public reputational accountability. In the post-9/11 era, a number of these mechanisms were successfully instituted, namely in the hierarchical, supervisory, electoral, and legal realms.
With regard to internal agency hierarchical accountability, the DoD convicted eleven soldiers in military trials for the abuses at Abu Ghraib and issued a new Army Field Manual that explicitly prohibits the cruel treatment of detainees. The CIA conducted six accountability proceedings from 2003 to 2012, which assessed the actions of thirty individuals involved with the program in some way. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee report, of these thirty people, sixteen were deemed accountable, and one contractor was fired. Lastly, in 2004 the Department of Justice (DoJ) withdrew the Bybee torture memos originally released in 2002. In 2009, a report from its Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that the torture memos “fell short of the standards of thoroughness, objectivity, and candor that apply to DoJ lawyers.” The report assigned specific responsibility to the individuals who originally produced this legal advice: Yoo, Jay Bybee, Patrick Philbin, Steven Bradbury, among other department officials. However, no further material action was taken to punish these men beyond their listing in the OPR report.
In addition to measures taken inside the agencies most responsible, there were wide checks across the federal government. While the Supreme Court affirmed in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006) that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions—which includes a humane treatment requirement—applied to the conflict between the United States and al-Qaeda, concrete public reckoning also came from Congress, in the form of both oversight and statutory guidance. With the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Congress strongly repudiated coercive practices in interrogation. These legislative actions were driven in large part by the leadership of torture-survivor Senator John McCain who specifically sought to codify in law the normative prohibitions against torture.
Congress also pursued accountability through its oversight function. The Senate Armed Services Committee examined DoD actions regarding detention in a 2008 report, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued a 6,000-page review of CIA detention practices in December 2014 (though only the 538-page executive summary has been declassified). Lastly, Congress effectively banned torture by passing an amendment to the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that limited interrogation techniques to those contained in Army Field Manual 2-22.3.
These wide measures constitute a serious attempt to assign blame. Many of the measures investigated past abuses, punished some of those responsible, and put in place barriers to prevent abuse from happening again. In addition to these measures, citizens also played a vital role in the initial processes of policy and accountability, particularly through public advocacy. In fact, Georgetown Law Professor David Cole argues that critical decisions such as Hamdan v. Rumsfeld only became possible after small, but vocal, advocacy groups amassed political momentum behind granting legal protections to detainees. In the buildup to the 2008 election, candidate Barack Obama decried the use of enhanced interrogation techniques and advocated for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, stances that brought these issues to the forefront of national conversations. Obama then issued EOs 13491 and 13492 immediately following his inauguration, reversing Bush administration policies on detention and interrogation and reaffirming his commitment to close Guantánamo. Yet, after those early moments, public attention to, and interest in, accountability eroded, and the American public has not shown sustained interest in holding senior leadership accountable for their decisions. While there was a public outcry following the scandals at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, the public memory is fleeting and the American people have moved on.
Professor Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault is an Associate Professor of Teaching
in the Security Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. She was presented with the Dorothy Brown Award in 2012 by the Georgetown University Student Association on behalf of the undergraduate student body and also received the School of Foreign Service Faculty of the Year Award in 2012. She is the author of How the Gloves Came Off: Lawyers, Policy Makers, and Norms in the Debate on Torture
Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault
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Global GovernanceMichael Fuchs and Abigail Bard May 21, 2019
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