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__label__cc	0.744832	0.255168	HomeAbsinthe United States In the early 1900s many European countries banned the strong alcoholic drink Absinthe, United States banned Absinthe in 1912. Absinthe was never as popular in the United States as it was in European countries such as France and Switzerland, but there were areas of the US, such as the French part of New Orleans, where Absinthe was served in Absinthe bars. Absinthe is a liquor made from herbs such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. It is often green, hence its nickname the Green Fairy, and it has an anise taste. Absinthe is an interesting concoction or recipe of herbs that act as a stimulant and alcohol and other herbs that act as a sedative. It is the essential oils from the herbs that cause Absinthe to louche, go cloudy, when water is added. Wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, contains a chemical called thujone which is said to be similar to THC in the drug cannabis, to be psychoactive and to cause psychedelic effects. Absinthe United States and the ban At the beginning of the 1900s there was a strong prohibition movement in France and this movement used the fact that Absinthe was linked to the Bohemian culture of Montmartre – with its writers, artists and the courtesans and loose morals of establishments such as the Moulin Rouge, and the allegation that an Absinthe drinker murdered his family, to argue for a ban on Absinthe. They claimed that Absinthe would be France’s ruin, that Absinthe was a drug and intoxicant that would drive everyone to insanity! The United States followed France’s example and banned Absinthe and drinks containing thujone in 1912. It became illegal, a crime, to buy or sell Absinthe in the USA. Americans either had to concoct their own homemade recipes or travel to countries like the Czech Republic, where Absinthe was still legal, to enjoy the Green Fairy. Many US legal experts argue that Absinthe was never banned in the US and that if you look carefully into the law and ordinance you will find that only drinks containing over 10mg of thujone were banned. However, US Customs and police would not allow any Absinthe shipped from abroad to enter the US, only thujone free Absinthe substitutes were allowed. Absinthe United States 2007 Ted Breaux, a native of New Orleans, runs a distillery in Saumur France. He has used vintage bottles of pre-ban Absinthe to investigate Absinthe recipes and to create his own classic pre-ban style Absinthe – the Jade collection. Breaux was amazed to find that the vintage Absinthe, contrary to belief, actually only contained very minute quantities of thujone – not enough to harm anyone. He became determined to provide an Absinthe drink which he could ship to his homeland, the US. His dream was to once again see Absinthe being consumed in bars in New Orleans. Breaux and lawyer Gared Gurfein, had many meetings with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau about the thujone content of Breaux’s Absinthe recipe. They found that actually no law needed to be changed! Breaux’s dream became reality in 2007 when his brand Lucid was able to be shipped from his distillery in France to the US. Lucid is based on vintage recipes and contains real wormwood, unlike fake Absinthes. Now, in 2008, a brand called Green Moon and two Absinthes from Kubler are all able to be bought and sold within the US. Absinthe United States – Many Americans are now enjoying their first taste of real legal Absinthe, perhaps there will be an Absinthe revival.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line1
__label__wiki	0.578499	0.578499	Sometimes I find it difficult getting too worked up about some Human Rights Issues, even ones affecting me personally. They seem so trivial in the Grand Scheme of Things, yet I have a duty to clean up my own back-yard, so to speak. Here's why I feel this way. I subscribe to iAbolish, the US-based anti-slavery group. This scourge is still with us in out-of-the-way places, and the wrongness of chattel slavery offends me deeply. This week, iAbolish brings you an excerpt from chapter 2 of Enslaved: Abuk Bak's story. When her village in Southern Sudan was raided by an Arab militia in 1987, Abuk Bak; only 12 years old at the time; was kidnapped and subsequently enslaved for ten years. During that time, her master, Ahmed Adam, never once used her name; she was always "abeeda." It was only after she escaped that she learned what it meant: her name for a decade was simply "black slave." From Chapter 2: Beyond Abeeda "As we struggled, Ahmed Adam grabbed the knife that he carried in his sleeve and stabbed me in my right thigh. The pain was so strong that he could not stop my screams, and he ran back into the house, afraid that his wife would hear... "I knew right away that I would not stay to see another morning there, but my leg was bleeding badly. I ripped a piece of cloth from my skirt and tied it around my thigh to try to stop the bleeding, and thought about how to escape. I lay awake all night, knowing that if I ran away I could be found and severely beaten or killed, but I had to take a chance." You can read about the rest of Abuk's escape in Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery Compared with that, it's a little difficult getting too worked up about trivialities like being denied a passport, or any of the myriad humiliations I've had to endure in my journey so far. at 10/31/2006 09:26:00 pm 0 comments Links to this post Deferred Success Oh England, My England! I've been naturalised since 1988, but I can't help but feel more than a trace of affection for the land of my Birth. So this story saddens me. From the BBC : A retired teacher has lost her fight to have the word "fail" replaced by "deferred success" in education speak. Liz Beattie, from Ipswich, Suffolk, put forward the motion at the Professional Association of Teachers' conference. She argued many children were put off learning for life after being labelled "failures" but her colleagues rejected the move as "a foot-in-mouth motion". Ian Pringle, from Canvey Island, Essex, said: "We'll be ridiculed. Please do not vote for this motion." All well and good. Yes, they'd be a laughing-stock if they did this. But the article then goes on: Another delegate said failure was not a word used in schools anyway these days. You see, it's not the concept they're against : just what they're doing being found out and them subject to deserved public ridicule. An Un Conventional Story The Hotel's lobby was quietly cool, the soft piano music in the background unobtrusive, almost imperceptible, as smooth as the evening's velvet darkness. The Middle Aged Alpha Geek walked in, his suit and tie uncomfortable after the day's proceedings, though not as uncomfortable as they were when he'd put them on that morning. Both had a nice, rumpled look now, lived in, to match his personality. And it had pockets, lots of them, now stuffed with a hundred business cards, some from suits, some from colleagues, some from friends, and some from rivals. Networking, they called it. Not the frantic linebuzz of TCP/IP, the you-scratch-my-back-and-I'll-stab-yours world of rustling up venture capital, sailing through fleets of corporate buccaneers hunting for the treasure that was the Next Big Thing. A necessary Evil. Not His Scene. Something you had to do at any HiTek Convention though. He spotted her, across the room. A few other women had just left in a group, leaving her in relaxed solitude, comfortably enveloped in a black lounge chair, legs demurely crossed, studying the next morning's programme. No-one could have mistaken her for a suit, or an advertising dollybird. Not for her, the power trouser suit, the immaculate makeup and thousand-dollar coiffure. Some sort of black silk top, and an ankle-length dress denim skirt, neat but understated. Besides which, she'd given a presentation that morning on lifecycle models, risk analysis, and the impact of team personalities on software design that was as intriguing as it was unconventional. He'd wanted to speak to her about that, despite his natural shyness around the females of the species. The project that would make or break his firm was just ramping up, and she might just hold the key to its success. He would have just marched up to a guy and introduced himself, but now he was acutely aware of his bald patch, his over-ample belly, and the salt-and-pepper 5 O'Clock shadow he'd forgotten to scrape off in his hotel room. But what the heck. His divorce was well over a year ago, and it was time he did some socialising. Of course, with his luck, she'd be Lesbian. No matter, her ideas really could make a big difference to The Project, and that's what his life revolved around now since Sandra left with the kids. "Hi" Oh great line, Joe. that will work wonders he thought. I'm out of practice for this kind of stuff. What was I thinking? The Geekette, what was her name, Phoebe? sat up a little straighter, tensing slightly, then favoured him with a raised eyebrow that could only be called "quizzical". She could have been any age from her late thirties to early fifties. A bit statuesque for his tastes, almost Amazonish now he was close to her. Broad shouldered. Nice rack though. Her voice sounded a little huskier than it had over the PA system. "Hi-I'm-Joe-Macennerny-and-I'd-like-to-speak-to-you-about-your-presentation" the words came out in a rush.Oh God Please Let the Floor Swallow Me Up Now Her face lit up, a slight smile magically appearing, as she held out her hand and replied. "Phoebe Dawson. Now what was that again?" Slowly, he repeated his introduction, and she gestured for him to sit in the overpadded lounge chair beside her. Soon they were engaged in that intimate intercourse of tech-talk common amongst geeks of every stripe and nationality. When taking tech, her enthusiasm was contagious, her hands weaving patterns of thought, invisible diagrams on a virtual whiteboard that communicated more than mere words could say. He ordered a double bourbon from a passing waiter, she a vodka and lime, and soon they were sharing war stories, tales of spectacular management ineptitude, and even the odd truly foetid pun. He found himself opening up in a way he never did before, talking about his family, and showing her the pictures of his two daughters. And of his son, his boy who had gone off to war and come home under a flag of honour. Killed in an automobile accident while delivering mail on a poorly surveyed road. He looked up, fighting off the wateriness that always came into his eyes when he told that story, and saw tears falling down her cheeks. Without prompting, she took his hand, and just held it, her soft skin gently pressing against his, speaking without words a message of comfort, and sympathy, and shared sadness. "So", he said eventually, "Do you have a family?" "A boy" she said brightly. "Nearly twelve now. He's staying with my best friend." "And his father?" Her whole body seemed to diminish, her face which had been bright and lively dimming and grey, and he knew that once again, he'd blown it. Like he'd blown it with Sandra. Like he always blew it. "My son's father is.... no longer with us." "Divorce?" The word just spilt out, he'd been thinking of his own situation, and now he was just making it worse. But she seemed not to notice his gaucherie, nor take offense. "No, it's a long story. He was born with a rare congenital condition. Neurological. Some die with it, without ever showing symptoms. Some have years, even decades of increasingly bizarre behaviour before the end. It puts a strain on any marriage." She took a paper handkerchief out of her bag, wiped away her tears, and continued. Now her grief was in full flood, and all he could do was listen. "Oh, it's not genetic. My son's OK. And his father didn't suffer much, except at the end. Many sufferers suicide, their whole life is one of misery. He didn't have it too badly, till January of '04. He got acute symptoms in January, February was full of medical tests, the typical bizarre behaviour started in March, and in early April, he was gone. Just. Like. That. Leaving us to cope." "Could nothing be done?" "No, it's incurable, and still not well understood. The first signs show up at about age 5, you know? Oh, Palliative care can help reduce the agony, but that often hastens rather than delays the end. Oh God, it's a blessed relief to them when they go, he said it was the best thing that could ever happen to him. He was so sorry to leave his family in such a mess, but he said he had no choice, and he was in so much pain...." Now she was gently crying, her whispered voice choked with low, feminine sobs. "He tried so very, very hard to be a normal man, and a good father. But he just couldn't do it any more..... So. Here I am. Picking up the pieces of my shattered life." Not knowing what to do, the Alpha Geek somehow did exactly the right thing, took her hand, and gently held it. When the waiter came by a little later to freshen their drinks, the pair were once more in animated conversation, sprinkled with laughter and garnished with smiles. Talking an incomprensible private language larded with acronyms like "SLCM", "CMMI", and "J2EE". He sitting a little taller, she absently twiddling her long dangly earings. The two lonely people conversed long after midnight, and left together, sharing the same lift. The waiter had bet five bucks those two would be sleeping together that night, but the cynical bartender refused to pay up. "No open diplay of affection, they could have been going to separate rooms" he said. "You can never tell by outward appearances." (c) 2005 Zoe E Brain The Uncanny XX-Men From Nature : How can a person with two X chromosomes be a man? In more ways than one... The battle of the sexes continues to rage — right down to the level of our genes. A gene has now been discovered that, when mutated, turns girls into boys. The finding advances, but also complicates, our understanding of how sex is determined by our genes. As if it wasn't complicated enough... In people, almost all men carry two different sex chromosomes (XY) and women are XX. But there are some (extremely rare) exceptions to this rule. It is possible to have XX men, for example. And X0 women, and XXY men, and (very rarely) XXY women, and a whole host of others, XY/XX, XY/XO mixtures, and this is just for humans who are mentally normal. XXXY, XXYYY etc and Bad Stuff (tm) happens in neural development. This female-to-male sex reversal almost always happens when a certain gene called SRY, usually carried on the Y chromosome, accidentally ends up on the X chromosome inherited from the father. Other genes have been found to muddle up sexual identity, making the resulting child neither fully male nor fully female. As regular readers of this blog are no doubt aware. Then there's environmental issues in the womb, where the genes are fine, but a chemical is introduced, or things just go slightly amiss for one reason or another. It happens. But in most cases of anatomically complete XX men — who have functional testes, but without a Y are infertile — SRY is involved. For this reason, it has long been called the gene that defines 'maleness'.[1] But now Giovanna Camerino of the University of Pavia in Italy and colleagues have found another gene that is equally important to the process. The team studied a family in which four brothers were each XX. None carried the 'male' SRY gene. Instead, the team reports in Nature Genetics [2], they each have a mutation in a gene called RSPO1. It seems that sex is determined in humans by a cascade of genes. At a crucial junction in this process lies a gene called SOX9, which in males is switched on by SRY, causing testis development. In females, the researchers now suggest, SOX9 might be typically switched off by RSPO1, which, via other genes in the cascade, leads to the development of ovaries. In the brothers, it seems the mutated RSPO1 gene could not fulfil its switching-off role, leaving SOX9 on and leading to male development. This theory fits with animal studies: mice with two X chromosomes that have their SOX9 expression turned back on form testes.[3] The idea stands in contrast to previous theories that said that female development was basically the default that happens in the absence of genes to direct maleness. "What is really important is that suppression of male and induction of female development is an active process," says Andreas Schedl of INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Nice, who is a co-author on the paper. "RSPO1 clearly plays a key role in this process." The identification of this gene, he says, may be as important to the field as the identification of SRY. 1. Koopman P., et al. Nature, 351 . 117 - 121 (1991). 2. Parma P., et al. Nature Genet., doi:10.1038/ng1907 (2006). 3. Vidal V. P., et al. Nature Genet, 28 . 216 - 217 (2001). Another piece in the puzzle. Not an expected one either, hence more valuable than most. The Jelly Baby Death Machine Here, along with other unwise microwave experiments Lego Stargate It's about time I blogged an Interesting URL. A great source is always Fred Kiesche's Eternal Golden Braid. From Make Magazine : Crisis Averted From News.com : AUSTRALIANS travelling to the US can breathe easy. So can the 100,000 or so Australian expatriates living in America. The US government today dismissed media reports it had banned Vegemite. "There is no ban on Vegemite," US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesman Mike Herndon said. Media reports at the weekend claimed American border officials were confiscating Vegemite from Australians as they entered the US. The FDA, charged with policing America's food supply, has not issued an "import alert" to border officials to halt the import of Vegemite. Mr Herndon said the FDA was surprised by the media reports. The controversy centres on folate, an ingredient in Vegemite. Under US regulations, folate can be added only to breads and cereals. "One of the Vitamin B components (in Vegemite) is folate," Mr Herndon said. "In and of itself, it's not a violation. If they're adding folate to it, boosting it up, technically it would be a violation. "But the FDA has not targeted it and I don't think we intend to target Vegemite simply because of that." Joanna Scott, spokesperson for Vegemite's maker, Kraft, reportedly has said, "The Food and Drug Administration doesn't allow the import of Vegemite simply because the recipe does have the addition of folic acid". But Mr Herndon said, "Nobody at the FDA has told them (Kraft) there is a ban". To eradicate any grey areas or potential regulation breaches, Mr Herndon said, Kraft could petition the FDA, something other food manufacturers have done. While many Aussies living in the US rely on visiting Australian relatives and friends to bring them a jar or two of Vegemite from Australia, the product is available in some US supermarkets. The price slapped on Vegemite, however, is tough to swallow. A tiny, four ounce jar of Vegemite sells for around $US4.80 ($6.33) in US supermarkets. But from a comment on a previous thread, by my good friend, Scotty : was forwarded this yesterday and I looked on the shelves of a new snooty grocery shop, hoping to get a jar of Vegemite before it ran out, and I was greated by only Marmite. I was very sad. The Vegemite was gone. The Vegemite was gone. Yet Another Data Point Another blood test, the last before my Op. Oestrodiol level a new high, 301 pMol/L. Of course a normal Human being would have at least 600, but I'll take whatever I can get. Still the highest on record. If the hypothesis about my condition is correct, we could reasonably expect levels to slowly increase as the receptors in the cells get "turned over:, and saturated with post-pubescent levels of hormones. The progression since starting 8mg of Progynova, tests every 3 months, is 179, 241, 301. Vs a pre-HRT level of about 195. Still not proven, but the hypothesis has made its first prediction, and come up trumps. Meanwhile I'm recovering from jaw surgery on Monday, the wisdom tooth had J-curve roots. The extraction didn't hurt despite me having only local anaesthetic, though the bone saw wasn't a pleasant experience. Today, I've just come back from my usual day-trip every 3 months to see Professor Steinbeck, my endocrinologist. All the blood tests - apart from the weird hormonal results - are now slap-bang in the middle of the normal range, so I'm cleared for surgery by him. Next stop, my GP to get BP and cardiac functions checked, and I'll be set to go. The last bit of medical preparation before the op. Wars Have Started For Less From Blogcritics About Australia, a US based store providing American consumers with traditional products from Down Under, was forced to stop importing Vegemite six months ago, however the product was actually limited to 113gram (4oz) jars in 2005. Expat Daniel Fogarty, now living in Canada, was recently searching for Vegemite while crossing the border on a trip to Montana. Other travelers have had their jars of Vegemite confiscated. At the bottom of this bizarre prohibition is the US Food and Drugs Administration (of course), who say they disapprove of the addition of folate to anything other than bread or grain products such as flour and pasta. Okay, time for the serious stuff. Exactly what is folate and why is it so bad? Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin found naturally in green vegetables, legumes, liver, and some fruits and nuts, not to mention yeast extracts. It works in conjunction with B12 (also present in Vegemite) to produce the genetic materials for cell growth and reproduction. Folate helps to build proteins and healthy red blood cells, which means it is an important nutrient in the defence against anemia. Furthermore, there is some evidence to suggest that high folate intake can reduce the risk of certain diseases. Sounds like pretty good stuff, right? The FDA thinks so, too. In 1998, after several years of deliberation, the FDA ruled on regulations for the mandatory addition of folic acid (the synthetic equivalent of folate) to breads, cereals, and other grain products, to assist in the prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Nine months after the policy was introduced, incidence of spina bifida was reportedly reduced by 31 percent. However, it is argued that the supplementation is inadequate and many more cases of birth defect could be avoided with a higher dosage. Nevertheless, the FDA purports to the theory that too much folate can mask vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly and, they argue, Vegemite contains just too much. I’m thinking the FDA hasn’t been reading the nutritional information panel on their jar of Vegemite, which suggests a 5 gram serving for 50% of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) of 200 micrograms of folate per day, or 400 micrograms for women of child bearing age. Not only that, the Institute of Medicine has established a daily upper intake level (UL) of no more than 1000 micrograms of folic acid so as not to mask symptoms of B12 deficiency. That’s an awful lot of Vegemite, even for an Aussie. Just how much Vegemite is the FDA slapping on their slice of toast? But it's gotten worse. From the Courier Mail : THE United States has slapped a ban on Vegemite, outraging Australian expatriates there. The bizarre crackdown was prompted because Vegemite contains folate, which in the US can be added only to breads and cereals. Expatriates say that enforcement of the ban has been stepped up recently and is ruining lifelong traditions of having Vegemite on toast for breakfast. Former Geelong man Daniel Fogarty, who now lives in Calgary, Canada, said he was stunned when searched while crossing the US border recently. "The border guard asked us if we were carrying any Vegemite," Mr Fogarty said. "I was flabbergasted." Paul Watkins, who owns a store called About Australia in San Antonio, Texas, said he had been forced to stop importing Vegemite six months ago. "We have completely stopped bringing it in," he said. "(US authorities) have made a stance and there is nothing that can be done about it." You know what to do. Go to SaveVegemite.com, or just e-mail the White House direct. The Tenth Dimension Superstrings for beginners, explained here. Curtsy to reader (and former schoolmate) Hugh. And if you think a ten-spatial-dimension Universe is something miraculous, you should see the pictures of his baby daughter. That a Universe could exist with a place in it for concepts such as Love, that is the real miracle. The mechanics are interesting too, of course, but somehow... less important. Another interesting day. Ok, so there was a big pow-wow today, with the Education Mavenette of the AutoCRC. I better provide subtitles. My PhD - and about a dozen others - is being funded by the Co-Operative Research Centre (CRC) for advanced Automotive systems. CRCs are joint educational/Industry Research and Development groups, co-operative partnerships where academic and industry groups get together to see what they can do for each other. Industry provides the money, and gets both directed research, a higher profile amongst undergrads, and even a say in what is taught, so they have a skilled workforce that meets their needs. This was a planning meeting, saying what the situation was, and to explore future possibilities and overcome difficulties. One of the 3 main problems the Automotive Industry has here is Diversity - there isn't any. Only 8% of engineering graduates are female, and less than 1% of engineers working in the auto industry. As the senior female engineer there (3 gals, 30 guys, sigh) , and since I'm a member of the WICcans (Women in Information and Communication - WIC - the national group), and the WITches (Women in Information Technology - the group within the ANU's Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology), I got a special after-meeting one-on-one with the Education mavenette. She was really interested in what was going on, and needed the contacts. Well, after a Kaffeklatsch about Diversity, how to achieve it, what's gone wrong with previous attempts etc, I decided to give her the post-grad treatment. I showed her my presentation on Intersex, and about three quarters of the way through the penny started to drop. The slide about passport difficulties for IS and TS people, as she knew that I'd had some for unspecified reasons. She still burst out in stifled laughs when she saw the last slide - the one detailing (with pictures) my unique perspective. Then we got around to discussing how TS is 1:3500 or so in the general population, but 1:100 in IT, and we think about 1:250 in Engineering generally. They're just starting to formulate HR policies in this regard, so I'll be involved in that in addition to my PhD studies. As she said, we might even generate a paper on the subject. It was great to get a hug from her as she left. I think we'll work well together. Landed Immigrant I have just been informed that an official decision has been made by the Department of Immigration to update my records. As of two days ago, as far as they're concerned, I'm now Zoe Ellen Brain, Australian Citizen, Landed Immigrant. Legally Female, too, and with UK passport number recorded. OK, so they sent me my new Citizenship certificate some time ago, but it takes time for these things to work through the system. Two months and some weeks, rather faster than I thought it might in fact. Hmmmm... I wonder of that will help me get my UK Birth Certificate changed one day? Oh well, that's another struggle, and sufficient unto the day the troubles thereof. I leave for Thailand in just over 3 weeks. The end of a long nightmare is in sight. As long as Murphy doesn't intervene, of course, and I have a deep and abiding faith in both him and his consort, Eris, Goddess of Chaos and Confusion! Thoughts on Gender Here's a post I wrote in reply to Jane, a woman who I greatly admire. She transitioned when the odds against it were almost unsuperable, when you could count the number of SRS surgeons in the world on the fingers of one hand - and not use your thumb. She'd "Deep Stealth", having had pretty close to a normal life since her mid 20's, so I can give no more details about her. Other than she's quite a gal. It's about the nature of gender - and those transsexual people who for some reason or other never quite seem to look right in their acquired gender. Nothing you can put your finger on - but some just look exactly right, while others ring false. Like you Jane, I'm convinced that the answer lies in the brain. Look at the diagram - values of -4 to -1 we call "male", values 0.5 to 4 we call "female". All sexed species have facilities for recognition of the opposite sex buried deep in their nervous system. The same goes for their sexual identity. That's necessary for species survival - though by some theories, having a trace amount of cross-gendered identification may be advantageous. Or maybe it's just in the nature of things that stuff goes wrong sometimes, and to make it absolutely 100% accurate would have penalties not worth the cost. Now we know from autopsies, and most recently, dynamic MRI imaging that the human brain is very sexually dimorphic - at least as dimorphic as the genitalia. But it's also a very complex organ. It might be best described as a vector with not dozens, but thousands of values. Put into plain english, a brain might be FFFfFfffFmFFFfFFmfF - indicating strongly feminine (F) in some aspects, normally feminine (F) in others, weakly feminine (f) in others, and even a bit more masculine than feminine (m) in a few. Really though, "feminine" could be anywhere from 0.5 to 4 as shown in the diagram, and I'm simplifying hugely. Now my own studies, and research by other workers in Artificial and Natural Intelligence, indicate that we think consciously a lot less than we think we do, and think subconsciously a lot more. Moreover, we make use of stereotypes a lot to fill in the gaps in information that we don't have. For example "it has 4 wheels and is on a road" leads us to the belief that "it" is a car, an automobile, and we're usually right in that belief. We don't have to examine the chemical composition of the paintwork, and other such details. The brain's "programmable firmware" give us our instincts, our talents, the way we move and react, the way we carry ourselves. A recent study showed that gender recognition was based more on movement than anything else. You, Jane, could be wearing a boiler suit, and just the way that you walk, or even your stance when standing still, would clue anyone that you're a woman. That's because the base part of your brain causes your posture to be that way. Typically feminine, maybe 3 on the graph above. There are other sexual cues too, body shape, face, and there's additional cultural programming on top of that. In our society, men generally don't wear floral prints, skirts, lipstick, and these are additional cues, but the basics are still instinctive, we "think" without knowing that we think. Now when things go wrong - and for some of us, that means 47xxy chromosomes, for others 46xy but a glitch in masculinisation, etc etc we may end up not with FFFfFfffFmFFFfFFmfF but with FFfMFfmfFmFfFfFFmfF. Still recognisably female, but with some bits under-feminised. Though again, it's a bimodal distibution, numbers <0 are "typically male", >0 "typically female", so it's not quite right to say bits of the brain are "masculinised" or "feminised". They are what they are, typical or atypical for a given gender. And that is why I was so emotionally affected by getting involved with the Women in Technology. I knew from my studies that my brain hadn't been feminised "properly", it couldn't have been, no matter how much I might wish it were so. But when I joined WIT, I found other women, natal women, who thought just like I did. I hadn't been damaged beyond repair, my femininity wasn't congenitally wrecked, I was no more masculine than any of the others there, and more feminine than a few. Yet they were all women. I wasn't "second class", "ersatz", or shoddy goods after all. Anyway, that's why, despite there being a "spectrum", we still fit into one of two main categories. It's why 99.9% of us are recognisable no matter what we do, provided enough of the misgendering cues (such as build) aren't all consistently too far from the norm. But if you are a woman, regardless of the genitalia or chromosomes you were born with, and the parts of your brain controlling how you move and carry yourself are misgendered, then you have a problem. A minority of TS people have this. They must "learn" techniques to overcome their intincts and move in a way that will cause correct gender recognition. But others have the opposite problem, their intincts are so strong that they must "learn" techniques to overcome their instincts just so they will pass as the gender they're not. Those TS women with very masculine bodies (like me) are pretty much forced to do this, and the bar for success is lower than for those with androgenous/feminine bodies. Those, the andro/femme primary transitioners, have basically no hope of pretending to be guys successfully. Like you, Jane. It does mean though that some TS women have to work at it, while the majority of us just have to relax, and get rid of as many somatically male cues ( voice, face, skin texture, clothing ) as we can. The impassable ones are just as female as we are, and more so in some cases. They just have parts of their brain masculinised that we don't. Wilful Blindness From the National Review: The credibility of the flagship of U.N. “reform,” the newly created Human Rights Council, sunk during its very first session, which ended on Friday, June 30th. The deck chairs on the Titanic had been rearranged when the Council replaced the discredited Commission on Human Rights. Serial human-rights abusers were elected members right from the start. The Human Rights Council is now the U.N.’s lead human-rights body, and examples of egregious human-rights violations should not have been hard to find. In Darfur, there are three quarters of a million people beyond humanitarian reach, 2.5 million people displaced by the violence, 385,000 people in immediate risk of starvation, and over two million dead in 22 years of violence and deprivation. But it wasn’t genocide in Sudan that interested the Human Rights Council. Nor was it a billion Chinese without civil and political rights. Not 13 million women in Saudi Arabia whose lives depend on hiding from sight in public places and never being caught behind the wheel of an automobile. Not the dire human-rights conditions of 23 million people in North Korea. Not Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s incitement to genocide or his country’s legal system, which includes crucifixion, stoning and amputation. No; there was only one country singled out by the U.N. Human Rights Council, and that was Israel. The Council placed criticism of Israel permanently on the agenda of all future sessions. It gave only the special investigator on Israel what amounted to a permanent mandate. On its final day, the Council passed just one resolution condemning human-rights violations by any of the 192 U.N. members, and directed it at Israel. When it was all over, the Council decided to hold its first special (emergency) session within a few days — on Israel. At the Commission (the dysfunctional former UN Human Rights body), over a 40-year period, 30 percent of the resolutions condemning human rights violations by specific states were directed at Israel. The Council is now batting 1.000. And given a behind-the-scenes deal not to have any country-specific resolutions at least in the first year of operation (with the exception of Israel), that figure is not likely to change any time soon. From RadioFreeEurope : RFE/RL: Mary Robinson, may I ask you about the Human Rights Council? This was a body meant to replace a predecessor that came under a lot of criticism for failing to address human rights abusers on the commission. But the council has just ended its session, and one group at least, Human Rights Watch, called it a huge disappointment, again failing to address some of the big human rights issues, such as Darfur. Do you share the view that it's a disappointment? Mary Robinson: Well, like Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty, and some of the other major human rights organizations, I did welcome the establishment of the Human Rights Council, and I felt that it had a real possibility of trying to break through sensitive political issues with a human rights leadership, which is never easy. The current president of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador [Luis Alfonso] de Alba of Mexico, is very committed, and it had a reasonably good start. I think there were two things that worried me. One was when the war broke out in Lebanon, and you had the response of Israel, which is very questionable about being disproportionate, and raised issues of civilian casualties and displacement and destruction of property, and bridges, etc., which raises issues of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. But you also had Hizballah sending missiles into civilian populations in northern Israel. I hoped that the Human Rights Council would act in a human rights way, and set up a commission of inquiry into both. Alas -- and this was a problem of the previous Human Rights Commission -- it only set up a commission of inquiry into what had happened in Israel, by the Israel forces. And that is not the human rights approach; that is the political approach. And if the Human Rights Council continues to taint human rights with the political approach, this time because of the Organization of the Islamic Conference countries.... They had the majority, they wanted to hit Israel, not do human rights work. How can you have a Human Rights Council that's not absolutely outraged by what's happening in Darfur? So that's one very big problem. And then, I would very much agree with Human Rights Watch. How can you have a Human Rights Council that's not absolutely outraged by what's happening in Darfur? It's getting worse by the day. There are women being raped, there are children dying, there are populations being displaced, there's a militia that's being supported in a complicit way by a government, and the fact that they didn't bring it to our attention in a more urgent way, and have more urgent action.... The Security Council was also involved, but the Human Rights Council is the voice. "We the people" is the first three words of the charter. But I still hope that the Human Rights Council will work well, because the United Nations needs leadership on human rights. Everyone with two neurons to fire consecutively could predict what would happen - what has happened. If Mary Robinson, former head of the Human Rights Council's predecessor "hoped that the Human Rights Council would act in a human rights way" with the current batch of dictatorships and tyrannies that compose the majority of the commission, it can't be lack of intellect. It requires wilful blindness. The same wilful blindness the world as a whole is showing about Dafur. I blame Bush. Or rather, I think the US political scene is partially to blame. The problem is that it was a Republican President who dared to liberate 50 million people, not a Democrat. For this, Bush can never be forgiven by the US Media, though of course a lot of the world's media is congenitally Anti-US no matter who is in power, simply because they distrust any nation or organisation that is too powerful. Much as many on the far right of the US distrust the UN, regardless of what it does. As a result, the world as a whle has lost its idealism. From The Australian : In Rwanda in 1994, pit latrines were favoured places for the disposal of bodies. When I was there two years after the genocide, people were retrieving the bodies from the pits and giving them church burials. In 100 days, not of tribal madness but of government-organised slaughter, Rwandan Hutus killed close to one million Rwandan Tutsis. Today in Rwanda it is considered bad form to talk of Tutsi and Hutu. All are simply Rwandans, which must give some cause for hope. In Darfur, wells are a favoured means of disposing of bodies. This time two years ago I was in a refugee camp near the Chad-Sudan border, hearing stories of people who had fled the massacres in the Darfur region of Sudan. This conflict, now in its third year, was even then being described as "Rwanda in slow motion". Whether it is a genocide or, as the UN would describe it, merely "ethnic cleansing" is still being disputed. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says the UN resolution for the deployment of peacekeepers is a "Zionist plot" to weaken the region and an insult to his country's sovereignty. He has threatened that his soldiers will fight any uninvited UN forces. He may be bluffing. But because so little pressure has been put on him until now, Bashir appears to believe he can get away with whatever he wants. (Incredibly, in 2004, while the massacres in Darfur had been under way for months, Sudan was elected to the then UN Human Rights Commission.) The problem, of course, is Iraq. What the world desperately needs, and hasn't got, is a strong, effective and united UN. That was lost over Iraq. What the world needs and hasn't got is a strong affirmation of the principle that governments do not have the right to brutalise and massacre their own people with impunity, simply by claiming national sovereignty. That was lost in Iraq, too. There was always a case for humanitarian intervention in Iraq, though it was clearly not the reason for the invasion (which I supported). What has been lost, in the tragedy that Iraq has become, is idealism. It has become naive and stupid to believe that there is even such a thing as an international community, let alone one that can intervene to stop genocidal dictators, which Saddam Hussein certainly was when he was in power and Bashir gives every indication of wanting to be. The mandate of the African Union troops has been extended to the end of this year. For all sorts of reasons it would be better if African forces could keep the peace in Darfur. But what Bashir needs to believe is something Saddam never believed: that if he can't or won't stop the killings, a stronger international force will come in and do it, with or without his consent. (Bashir is no Hussein and it is very likely he would crumble once his bluff was called.) What we need to get back is the belief that, in the 21st century, in this age of globalisation, we owe protection to people in distant countries, even if we are not being threatened. Unless we can get back some of that belief, some of that idealism, we are going to keep hearing about atrocities such as Darfur and are going to keep demanding something be done, without knowing or acknowledging what it is that has to be done. The predecessor to the UN, the League of Nations, did nothing to stop WW II. But if anything, the current UN is even worse, and it's not getting better. Quite the contrary. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Fascist Spain, Japan and Stalin's Russia would now have seats on the Human Rights Commission if they were around today. We need something like the UN, despite the ravings of the far right. But the current UN is unsalvageable, all attempts at reform have just made the situation worse. Time to mend it with a new 'un. Special Victims Australian TV is a little behind the current US series. Case in point, the latest episode of Law & Order : SVU. Special Victims Unit. The episode just aired was Identity. It left me in tears. You see, so much of the episode was based on fact. From Intersex Initiative : Investigators confront the parents: "What happened? Is it that you just had to have a boy and a girl?" "It was a freak accident. They do it hundred times a day. It's supposed to be a routine procedure." "What?" "Circumcision... They used some sort of device to remove foreskin--it malfunctioned. Burned him severely. We spoke to all those experts, and they all said that he will never be normal... Imagine the abuse he'd take in locker rooms. Humiliation of explaining it to the girl he fell in love with. We couldn't put him through that." "Did you think that sex change operation would be easier for him?" "What else could we do? Dr. Blair convinced us that it was the only hope our child had for a normal life... He promised us that it would work. He promised us, as long as we are committed to raising him as a girl." Next, investigators visit Dr. Blair, a character obviously based on psychologist/sexologist John Money. "Any plastic surgeon would tell you that it's easier to dig a hole than to build a pole... In order for the experiment to work, she has to look like a girl, be treated like a girl, and taught to act like a girl... Children are born psychosexually neutral, a blank slate. Gender identity is determined by nurture, not nature." Investigators then go back to Lindsey to tell her that they would not press charge against her because it was self-defense, but Lindsey is rightfully confused about what had happened. "But I don't understand... You said my brother had to have done it. Just tell me what's going on! I feel like I'm going crazy. Please." It is at this point Lindsey is finally told the truth despite the objection of Dr. Blair. "You were born a boy. There was an accident right after you were born." "I knew it! I never once felt right! Why didn't anybody tell me? Why didn't you tell me? What was my name?" Almost immediately, Lindsey stops taking estrogen and chooses to transition back to his genetic gender. But that is not all: Logan wishes to press charge against Dr. Blair. "He molested us. He used to show us these pictures of adults having sex. He pushed us into positions. He used to make me and my sister pretend we are having sex." This is the detail similar to Dr. Money's practice described in "As Nature Made Him." In response, Dr. Blair insists that everything was necessary part of the treatment. "It was important to differentiate their gender roles... It clarified things for Lindsey. She had to be programmed. It's perfectly normal for children to explore each others' bodies." "So you are not denying any of the allegations Logan made about your practices?" "Denying? I'm writing a book about it." The most unbelievable parts of the episode are the parts that most closely mirror reality. That is exactly what happened, and yes, he did write a book. Now we know - or most know - that Gender is set in the brain, not the genitalia, and not amenable to any amount of nurture or brainwashing. Goodness knows, many Transsexuals try so very hard to be the gender the mirror and society tells them they have to be. And a small proportion of TS people have been made that way. Born Intersexed, their bodies were changed to the gender the surgeons guessed was best. Often they guess right, and a normal life becomes possible. Sometimes though, they guess wrong, and Transsexuality results. This practice is still standard today. Instead of waiting till the child is old enough to state which gender they feel themselves to be, Intersexed children are, to put it bluntly, genitally mutilated shortly after birth. Here's the ending in fiction: In the end, however, Dr. Blair is found murdered in his office. They find the DNA and security camera evidences indicating that either Logan or Lindsey--now going by Luke--must have committed the crime, but they cannot figure out which one did it. "They came up with a perfect crime." "Until you get one of them to flip." "That's not going to happen. They are too close." The scene pans out as Logan and Luke, now wearing similar clothes and hairstyles, feel each other's presence through the holding cell wall. The ending in fact: Unfortunately, in the real "John/Joan" case both twins--Brian and David Reimer--have committed suicide Dr Money died not long ago, well-respected in his field, despite his inhuman conduct. I'm on a variety of support groups. Some of the most amazing things have happened, people being treated this way, as experimental animals, even to this day. I have to deal with the wreckage, the consequences, the pain every single day, providing support simply because I've had it just so easy compared with nearly everybody. I can't not help. And yes, I get my share of support too, sometimes things aren't easy for me either. Seeing this episode caused me to be unspeakably angry at the way some people have been treated, and are continuing to be treated. OK, I've been discriminated against in this whole Passport farce, but compared with other things, it's nothing. I just have to remember - it was only a TV program, and one not the freshest either. A program about Special Victims indeed. It's like being stung by a bee. 40,000 times. Costing you 30c a sting. But it's better than being the "bearded lady". Some people see it as some sort of "rite of passage", a necessary evil that separates those who are strong enough to successfully transition from those who will pike out. Personally, I think that's rubbish. I mean, they're only bee-stings, for goodness' sake. There are far worse problems, to do with one's marriage, one's family, one's children, important stuff. Very real health risks too with the hormones, liver failure, diabetes, deep vein thrombosis. On the other hand, in terms of pain, yes, far worse than having a tooth extracted, something else I've had recently. Dearie, Dearie me, wisdom teeth are not supposed to start growing again. And a recent X-ray confirms that yes, another one is growing to replace one I had extracted about 10 years ago. Impacted, of course. Oh well, if that's the worst of my problems, I've gotten off lightly. Still hurts though. Rite of Passage? Pshaw! I'm just lucky that IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) cleared away about 90% of the facial hair, so I only have about 4000 to deal with. Another 211 out today, that's nearly 1000 of them gone. There's the UK Tabloids. The Sun is in a class of its own, for example: Angling Star had his Rod removed (October 5th): A Woman who won one of angling’s top prizes has a secret past — as a man. (Photo : Gina lost her tackle) Gina le Faux, 51, was once George Faux, a professional folk singer who lost his rod in sex-change surgery. Sex-change woman darts ban : A Woman darts player has been thrown out of her ladies’ league — because she used to be a man. Christine Makin, formerly Clive, had to quit her pub team after 17 out of 25 rival sides protested. She revealed she was cruelly taunted during games, with opponents shouting: “You can’t play because you’re not womanly enough.” Christine, 51, was married for 13 years as a man but became a woman through a series of sex-change operations. Now, just like David Walliams’s Emily Howard character in Little Britain, she insists: “I’m a laydee.” Shades of Steppin Fetchit. "Yes Massa, I's a Cumin!" Here's "Emily Howard", on the right. Just so you know what they mean. But Leek Ladies’ Darts League in Staffs disagreed. Christine was turfed out for the 2006/7 season under Rule 35, which states: “Under no circumstances can any person of any gender play in the league unless that person was born a female.” She claims the rule was brought in specially to keep her out. Sex-swap cop got me the chop : A Cop has been suspended for refusing to call his cross-dressing male colleague MELANIE-SARAH. PC Jason Anderson, 35, faces a disciplinary hearing because he insists on treating transsexual copper David Hanson as a man. He is being hauled over the coals by his bosses at Cleveland Police despite the fact they themselves refused PC Hanson’s demand to let him dress as a WPC. Married dad-of-two PC Hanson, 45, stunned colleagues when he first revealed he wanted to be a woman. Police chiefs let him grow his hair and change his name — but drew the line at a female uniform. When off-duty, PC Hanson wears women’s clothing and fake boobs — and is on hormones in preparation for a sex swap op next year. Part of her qualification for treatment is that she take on the new gender role for at least a year, two in the UK. I;m surprised that her treatment by her employer has allowed her to continue, especially in the UK. She must be going to a private doctor, at her own expense. Last night a police source at Hartlepool nick said: “PC Anderson will not co-operate and acknowledge PC Hanson as a woman in any way. He points out that, as Cleveland Police will not allow Hanson to dress as a woman cop, he should not be forced to address him as a WPC. “Jason was suspended and has a disciplinary hearing this week and could be sacked. “It would be a tragedy as he is a very good copper.” As opposed to that jumped-up Pervert who should be shot, right? The one who, despite having passed through Goodness knows how many psychiatric barriers is now labelled as a "cross-dressing man". Actually a woman forced to cross-dress as a man during working hours. OK, so let's get a little more up-market. Well, the Grauniad anyway. Some of the comments on one of their recent articles, this one about the witch-hunting of Dr Russel Reid. The way society approaches cosmetic surgery (and I think gender reassignment belongs in this category) needs rethinking... Spend the cash on cancer care or something. There is no such thing as a sex change. No amount of hormones could turn the billions of XY chromosomes in my body into XX chromosomes. "Gender dysphoria" is a psychological problem. Like any other psychological problem, it is unlikely to be cured by mutilating the patients genitals and pumping them full of hormones. The whole concept of "changing gender" is an absurdity. Castrate a man and pump him full of estrogen and you have a woman? Not hardly. Lloydy2: Spend the cash on cancer care or something. Dr Reid provided primarily private treatment. Because of bigots sharing your attitude, we all had little choice but to pay for it out of our own money. I suppose that I will not fully understand transsexuality, but, having heard from you and others on this blog, I accept that it is real. It must be truly difficult and I admire not just your courage to try and set things right, but also your taking time to educate the rest of us on this blog. Thank you, all TS bloggers. And from The Australian : ONLY a girl could write The Female Brain and walk away with life and reputation intact. This new book may be contentious, but in fact modern science is merely playing catch-up with what we know intuitively. Girls are different from boys. Mind-blowing news, huh? But here's the really brave bit: the unisex brain is a feminist fabrication. Louann Brizendine, an American neuro-psychiatrist, has written a book debunking stubborn notions that girls are different only because society makes them so. It's much more to do with the brain, she says. The female brain, to be more precise. Here's a snap brain quiz. Which sex uses, on average, about 20,000 words a day, in contrast to the 7000 uttered by the other sex? Who has two-and-a-half times the amount of brain space devoted to sexual drive, meaning they think about sex, on average, every 52 seconds? When their feelings are hurt by someone they love, which sex reacts by assuming the relationship is over? Who has larger sections of the brain for action and aggression? If you answered, in order, women, men, women, men, you've been watching too many Woody Allen movies. Now, science is confirming that Woody was right all along. While more than 99 per cent of male and female genetic coding is the same, it's the less than 1 per cent of difference that packs a punch in marking out women from men. Drawing upon advances in gene technology and brain-imaging techniques that have revolutionised neuro-scientific research, Brizendine presents a heady cocktail of structural, chemical, genetic, hormonal and functional differences between women and men. These biological differences explain the most basic female behaviour. For instance, why do teenage girls endlessly talk? Science suggests that connecting through conversation triggers the pleasure centres in the brain. Can I take the Fifth there? Anyone who's known me for long will be aware that I;'m a little loquacious at times. Just a bit mind you. OK, but now I know why. So much obvious in hindsight. Tooth or Consequences Looks like the various Hormonal and general metabolic weirdness is affecting my teeth too. A fully impacted wisdom tooth has started growing again, and has pretty much destroyed the tooth in front of it. Anyway, just had an extraction today, with a surgical extraction scheduled for Monday. So blogging will be light for a while. This is just so wrong Hello Cthulhu Just a Good Blog Sometimes you see a penny in the dust. Sometimes it's actually a gold sovereign. Have a look at the NeoBlog Medication Time. The SMH Belfry The Sydney Morning Herald used to be a good paper, once upon a time. But it has steadily moved further, and further, and yet further, not so much towards the Left as to stark staring Insanity. And the readership now reflects this. From their Comments Page about the recent North Korean Nuclear Test. Here's the first 3. No, I'd say it's become a lot safer now. With a nuclear deterrent Korea is now less likely to be invaded by the USA. Posted by: Tony B at October 9, 2006 01:17 PM No less safe than the world is now. Israel already has nuclear weapons and has proven it can't be trusted not to bomb the blazes out of another country. Posted by: sam88 at October 9, 2006 01:23 PM I am more concerned about indiscriminate terrorist attacks against innocent people and the global aggression displayed by the US government. I think North Korea is a lonely outpost of Communism, but is of little threat to the world, unless the US decides to aggravate them. Unless they show signs of invading South Korea, I don't see any reason to be concerned about their internal politics and international grandstanding. Posted by: Dean at October 9, 2006 01:24 PM Some more responses: World will most certainly be more dangerous. Not because NK has done what they have done, but simply because of Uncle Sams knee jerk reaction. Posted by: Woka at October 9, 2006 01:29 PM I'm a lot more worried by the US, who is the only country who has ever used nuclear weapons against people. People allways forget that they use them twice, against civilian targets! One was an airburst, and one was a ground detonation. They used two bombs against innocent people to test which would be more destructive. Now that is a terrorist rouge state if I ever saw one! Posted by: dude at October 9, 2006 01:31 PM DPRK would not have tested a nuclear bomb if Bush was not the president of USA. Posted by: Maan at October 9, 2006 01:31 PM It's very refreshing to see someone sticking it in the eye of America and Israel. I would encourage Iran to continue as well. We are not falling for the propaganda that is spun up by George W. Bush any more. The world will only get safer the more we deter America from pushing us around. This seems to be the only language they understand. Let's keep the ball rolling. Posted by: Samson at October 9, 2006 01:39 PM Not that i agree with nuclear weapons but hasnt the US tested weapons? The Costs of the Manhattan Project (US) $20,000,000,000. Total number of nuclear missiles built, 1951-present: 67,500. Pot calling the kettle black Bush. Posted by: alan at October 9, 2006 01:41 PM The hostile attitude of NK is a direct response of decades of western hostility. Iran will be the next new nuclear kid on the block. And the west will simply have to swallow its arrogance and take it. The threat of war from the US is far greater than NK or Iran. And can someone please explain why these nations having nuclear power is such a bad thing when during the cold war Russia and the US wouldnt dare fire on each other in fear of wiping the world out? Posted by: Jim at October 9, 2006 01:42 PM Great. So now the US, with a leader who cannot even pronounce the word "Nuclear" will be having an itchy trigger finger Posted by: Andy at October 9, 2006 01:43 PM North Korea is a brutal dictatorship, but it's had nuclear weapons for years. But US policy seems to be "Be nice to us or we'll bring democracy to your country". Posted by: Gren at October 9, 2006 01:44 PM Absolutely not. The United States government couldn't care less about they're own people so why the hell would they think twice about murdering millions from another country. Anti-Korean sentiment is clouding seriousness of this issue for alot of people. Posted by: asdf at October 9, 2006 01:44 PM And the last comment before the site was closed: jf... 'A man who keeps his people in abject poverty, ' Have you seen America's health system and social security and privately run Gaols. 'has a record of staggering human rights abuses' US Foreign policy in South America, Vietnam to name just two.... ' and is completely paranoid. ' I'd be paranoid if the world's only super power branded me part of an axis of evil. Posted by: whitty at October 9, 2006 04:34 PM I don't think I need say more. The Great Passport Fiasco : A Victory For Common Sense ? In a Previous post, I wrote: ...someone had the Bright Idea that a document of limited validity, good for 5 years (later changed to 3) not 10, and not considered adequate as a passport by many countries, but with the great virtue that it made no statement about the holder's identity, could be used. Such a document existed, the Document of Identity, or DOI. In response to a passport application by someone who was evidentially transgendered and pre-operative, A DOI would be offered as an alternative to an arguably useless M type (for someone identifying as female) passport. No statement would be made about the holder's gender as far as the Government was concerned, and no admission that the holder was "really" of a gender other than the one they identified as would be required. Overall though, it was a humane compromise: not quite as good as a full passport, but often good enough, and issue of it avoided all sorts of legal complexities and a possible test case about gender that the Government didn't want. The Re Kevin decision hadn't gone their way, and who knows what the Courts may find? A Transgendered applicant would be faced with the question of whether they wanted to fight for years, and have a possibly financially devastating loss and lose existing rights, or accept the compromise. By applying for a passport in an F identity, they asserted their right to be considered that, and the Government made no reply either way - just offered this alternative. And the option of a 12-month validity F passport was still there for SRS, should they wish to travel for the operation to a country where a DOI was inadequate. Not perfect, but the hardship caused would be small. Not as good as the UK policy, of issuing a correctly gendered passport on evidence of living permanently in the new gender, but good enough. The intent was not to require the transgendered person to apply for a DOI - for then they would be "Australian citizens who request a document of identity instead of a passport". No, by section 60, a DOI would be issued to meet immediate travel needs, in response to a passport request. And there there was a problem already. Instead of a full 3-year unrestricted DOI, this would be only to "meet immediate travel needs". Arguably, the intent was to have the situation similar to that of a DOI for travel to Norfolk island, unrestricted except for the 3-year validity, and the restriction that many countries didn't accept a DOI as adequate. That was what I thought should be happening - but wasn't. I now have evidence indicating that indeed, this was the intent of the Legislation. Here it is, received in this morning's mail, just an hour or two ago: Dear Ms Brain, Thank you for your email dated 13 September 2005 to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Downer has requested that I respond on his behalf. As advised previously, persons born overseas who have undergone gender reassignment surgery, and who are applying for a passport in their new gender, are required to provide medical certificates from two registered medical practitioners, confirming they have undergone gender affirmation surgery, that they are 18 yeasr of age or over and unmarried. As you do not meet these requirements but have advised that a Document of Identity (DOI) would satisfy your needs, I am very pleased to advise that I am able to approve the issue of such a document valid for three years (the maximum period permissible) to enable you to meet your commitments for travel associated with your medical condition and PHD studies. The Document of Identity will not record your gender. In order to set arrangements in train, you will need to acknowledge the advice contained in the accompanying letter by signing the attachment and forwarding the same to the Canberra Passport Office. Once the Document of Identity has been issued the fee of $38 will be deducted from the sum we are holding and the balance will be refunded to you. Thank you for bringing your views to the attention of the Government. Ross Tysoe Passport Client Service Branch Attached Letter: Dear Ms Brain. Thank you for your recent application for an Australian passport. I refer to our subsequent advice on the possible issue of a Document of Identity. It is important to note that the following information about issuing you an Australian Document of Identity without the sex/gender section being displayed. While this will alleviate unnecessary embaressment to you when travelling, it is important for you to be aware that: some countries do not regard a Document of Identity as a valid travfel document. custioms/immigration authorities in some countries may view the possession of a Document of Identity in lieu of a passport with suspicion and consequently delay or harass the bearer at entry points; and should customs officers decide to conduct a body search there is a very real risk of embarressment to the bearer. If you agree to be issued with an Australian Document of Identity could you please sign and return the enclosed acknowledgement as soon as possible etc etc etc Ross Tysoe, I'll be doing that straight away. Now, I actually don't need a DOI at this point, because Immigration granted me an Australian Declaratory Visa, good for 5 years, and with my UK passport I'm not subject to the 3-year DOI's strictures. Nonetheless... I wish to set a firm precedent. A precedent stating that for Transgendered people, the DOI really is a semi-passport, and that this situation is distinguished from VAK and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade [2002] AATA 588 (11 July 2002). That the circumstances are not the same as the general ones, and that to paraphrase Miss S A Forgie Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, "It (The DOI) should be issued in terms that would permit freedom of travel that equates with a passport for a shorter period of time.". There's still some work to be done: why should people born overseas have to be unmarried if they are to get a new passport? But that is for the long term, and another ... negotiation (I only fight when I'm cornered). Right now, the situation is discriminatory, but if this precedent is set, it can be lived with as a reasonable, and even arguably humane, compromise. It's Discrimination - but it's not blatant Persecution. If a precedent is set, and in the general case, transgendered people will always be offered an unrestricted 3-year DOI as an alternative to a misgendered passport.... then it's a victory. Not mine though. One for Common Sense, and one for the Australian Passport Office, who will no longer look like absolute Dills. Now This is Cool! Curtsy to MaddBlog , from Science Daily : In the submicroscopic world -- the domain of elementary particles and individual atoms -- things behave in the strange, counter-intuitive fashion governed by the principles of quantum mechanics. Nothing (or so it seems) like our macroscopic world -- or even the microscopic world of cells or bacteria or dust particles -- where Newton's much more reasonable laws keep things sensibly ordered. The problem comes in finding the dividing line between the two worlds -- or even in establishing that such a line exists. To that end, Keith Schwab, associate professor of physics who moved to Cornell this year from the National Security Agency, and colleagues have created a device that approaches this quantum mechanical limit at the largest length-scale to date. And surprisingly, the research also has shown how researchers can lower the temperature of an object -- just by watching it. The results, which could have applications in quantum computing, cooling engineering and more, appear in the Sept. 14 issue of the journal Nature. According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the precision of simultaneous measurements of position and velocity of a particle is limited by a quantifiable amount. Schwab and his colleagues were able to get closer than ever to that theoretical limit with their measurements, demonstrating as well a phenomenon called back-action, by which the act of observing something actually gives it a nudge of momentum. "We made measurements of position that are so intense -- so strongly coupled -- that by looking at it we can make it move," said Schwab. "Quantum mechanics requires that you cannot make a measurement of something and not perturb it. We're doing measurements that are very close to the uncertainty principle; and we can couple so strongly that by measuring the position we can see the thing move." The device, while undeniably small, is -- at about ten thousand billion atoms -- vastly bigger than the typical quantum world of elementary particles. Still, while that result was unprecedented, it had been predicted by theory. But the second observation was a surprise: By applying certain voltages to the transistor, the researchers saw the system's temperature decrease. "By looking at it you cannot only make it move; you can pull energy out of it," said Schwab. "And the numbers suggest, if we were to keep going on with this work, we would be able to cool this thing very cold. Much colder than we could if we just had this big refrigerator." The mechanism behind the cooling is analogous to a process called optical or Doppler cooling, which allows atomic physicists to cool atomic vapor with a red laser. This is the first time the phenomenon has been observed in a condensed matter context. Schwab hasn't decided if he'll pursue the cooling project. More interesting, he says, is the task of figuring out the bigger problem of quantum mechanics: whether it holds true in the macroscopic world; and if not, where the system breaks down. For that he's focusing on another principle of quantum mechanics -- the superposition principle -- which holds that a particle can simultaneously be in two places. "We're trying to make a mechanical device be in two places at one time. What's really neat is it looks like we should be able to do it," he said. "The hope, the dream, the fantasy is that we get that superposition and start making bigger devices and find the breakdown." For more on the related Zeno Effect, see a previous post on the subject Just as weirdly, and also via Maddblog, this from PhysOrg.com : With a variation on the famous double-slit experiment of quantum mechanics, scientists Yves Couder and Emmanuel Fort from the University of Paris 7 are rewriting the textbooks. Their accomplishment, however, has less to do with quantum mechanics than with an observation once considered experimentally impossible: the wave-particle double nature of a macroscopic object (an oil droplet and its associated surface wave). he droplet, which is about 1mm (10 million times larger than an atom), is also one million times larger than the second largest object--a 2-nm molecule called a buckyball--whose wave-particle duality was observed in 2003. “The interest of our result comes from the fact that we observe single particle diffraction and interference with a classical system,” Couder told PhysOrg.com. “This phenomenon was thought to be reserved to the quantum scale.” Although there is no specific dividing line between the quantum and macroscopic scales, an object larger than an atom generally has much too small a wavelength to be detected. Wave-particle duality, one disturbing chapter of quantum mechanics, means that all objects (quantum and macroscopic) sometimes behave like waves and show interference, and other times like particles--objects that have mass and obey conservation laws. Duality, though strange, could explain why objects seem to be in two places at the same time and communicate instantaneously across distances. These abilities, to scientists, would be even more difficult to reckon with than wave-particle duality, which is accepted as an "interpretation" of the world rather than a literal description. While the scientists observed that each droplet goes through only one slit, the associated wave travels through both slits, with the wave interferences determining the walker’s trajectory. When creating a histogram based on the walkers’ deviations, the scientists found that the graph highly resembled that of a plane wave. In other words, this interference of the waves generated both individual uncertainty and statistical determinism in the trajectories of the material particles formed by the drops. Outgoing Mail As opposed to Outgoing male I suppose... Another letter to some Politicians. These ones involved in actively lobbying for a comprehensive anti-discrimination Act. [address 1] Kevin Rudd MP Nicola Roxon MP Dear Mr Rudd, I wish to bring to your attention the very real problems faced by Transsexual people wishing to travel overseas. The problem is caused by the explanatory notes to the Australian Passports Determination 2005, which states (with no reason given) that it is "unneccessary or undesirable" to give Trangendered people passports. By the explanatory notes, the following people are to be treated equally: Australian Citizens who cannot be issued a passport due to an outstanding arrest warrant, or being suspected of passport trafficking for having "lost" so many * Australian Citizens who are Transgendered * Australian Citizens being deported, repatriated or extradited * Australian Citizens whose travel the minister believes should be restricted The effective definition of "Transgendered" by the Australian Passport Office includes everyone who has not had their Australian Birth certificate altered, all post-operative people who are married, all people whose medical health or financial status precludes surgery, and many people who are Intersexed. Such people may be granted a Document of Identity, good for one journey, but only if they apply in their originally registered gender, and can find a guarantor to swear that this is their "actual" gender. This is impossible for some Intersexed people, and for those whose medical history has been kept secret. By caselaw, a DOI will only be issued for "good reasons" such as to get neccessary surgery or to allow travel back to Australia to answer an arrest warrant. It will not be granted for business purposes, for example. I required multiple re-entry to Australia to attend Academic conferences necessary for my PhD (a fact attested to in writing by my PhD supervisor), but was told this would not be granted. Exceptions to this general case - those travelling to Norfolk Island, and those unable to obtain a Commonwealth passport - are explicitly stated in the explanatory notes. All the rest - wanted suspects, deportees, extradited criminals, people refused a passport due to security considerations or suspected passport traffickers, and Transsexuals - are treated the same way. In my own case, I was unable to get a DOI anyway because of my medical condition - medically I'm female, according to Medicare Australia, despite the UK "boy" birth certificate, so could not apply as a male. To apply for a DOI, I would have to purjure myself, and leave both myself and my guarantor open to prosecution (based on the medical evidence) under the Australian Passports Act 2005, or conversely, under the Foreign Passports (Law Enforcement and Security) Act 2005*, as my UK passport states that I'm Female. As a Dual UK/Australian national, I was able to leave Australia any time I liked, but not able to return to my family due to the APO's travel restrictions. As I require surgery of a type only available overseas, I was to be effectively exiled from Australia, not despite, but because of, my Australian Citizenship. As an Australian Citizen, I don't qualify for a re-entry visa on my UK passport, unlike permanent residents. I applied for an Australian passport on June 4th 2006, well before the scheduled date of surgery on November 15th 2006, and still don't have one. Not only that, but I've been informed in correspondence with the Commonwealth Ombudsman that no appealable decision has been made. A passport hasn't been refused (a decision I could appeal through the AAT) - they just won't issue one. A phonecall from a representative of the APO made it quite clear : in order to get any form of Australian Passport, I would have to divorce. The exact words were "Under the Marriage Act, we can't have people who are married changing their gender". The APO is in possession of advice directly contradicting that assertion from the Federal Attorney General, advice they have chosen to ignore. Ironically, for the purposes of the Marriage Act 1961*, my UK passport showing a Female Gender is adequate to verify my Identity for the purposes of marriage. Fortunately, the Department of Immigration and Indigenous Affairs staff were horrified when they saw the correspondence from the APO. They have gone out of their way to help, issuing me both with a new Citizenship Certificate (which was ignored by the APO) based on the medical evidence, and at the last moment with a rare emergency administrative document which will allow me back in the country. I was lucky - most people would not have this loophole to turn to. Perhaps the original intent was to allow Transgendered people - including fulltime crossdressers - an unrestricted "gender-neutral" travel document (albeit one not recognised by many countries) as an option, as an alternative to a passport showing a gender inconsistent with their appearance. The actual practice is that many transsexual Australian Citizens are now forbidden to travel overseas. Other transsexual Australian Citizens are merely forbidden to return. Unbelievable, isn't it? But I have the evidence in writing, and the explanatory notes to the Australian passports determination 2005 are available for all to see. I also kept an online diary, a weblog***, of events as they happened. Transgendered people - especially Transsexuals - are subject to harrassment, even violence. If Transsexuals have their medical condition treated, they face the loss of family, of income, of friends. All too often their difficulties seem insurmountable, they give up, and lose their lives instead. Usually the prejudice they face is covert, hidden and "plausibly deniable". It's unusual and dismaying that the law of the land overtly and unashamedly singles them out for blatant persecution here. This must not stand. It is unjust. It is unfair. It is Un-Australian. Please put and end to it, and as soon as possible. Zoe Ellen Brain BSc MInfoTech(Distinction) Australian Passports Determination 2005 Explanatory Notes Section 6.3 para 89 http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstrument1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/5681A7871644AF20CA25702200251B7F VAK and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade [2002] AATA 588 (11 July 2002) http://www.austlii.edu.au//cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/cases/cth/aat/2002/588.html?query=passport * Australian Passports Act 2005 Division 2 Section 29 Making false or misleading statements in relation to Australian travel document applications http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/EE43C1E140453B9ECA25719C002AD9D1 ** Foreign Passports (Law Enforcement and Security) Act 2005 Part 3 Section 18 Making false or misleading statements in relation to foreign travel document applications http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/0D75D5C1796BB48ECA25702600068C9F * Marriage Act 1961Division 2 Section 42.(1).b.(iii) http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/3D7C85733B0F1F41CA25719C00335E0D **** http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2006/09/great-passport-fiasco-summarised.html And after reading Petro Georgiou's Speech about putting the Liberal back into the Liberal Party, a copy to him too. I've voted Liberal since I was 18. We'll see if the Liberal party can return to its roots. Well, Hope springs eternal in the human breast. And now I have two of those, at last! Labels: Passport Perspective, Revisited From the Jawa Report : Recently, I was creeped out by this supernova. Detected Feb. 18 by Swift, a satellite launched to look for gamma-ray bursts, the exploding star already was the 24th supernova discovered at that early point in 2006. As instruments improve, exploding stars appear more common than cosmologists had expected, and that's not the best news we might have heard. Coded GRB 060218, this star detonation began as a gamma-ray burst that lasted 33 minutes -- absolutely stunning because previous gamma-ray bursts from space have lasted a few seconds at the most. The gamma rays came from 470 million light-years away. That was discomfiting because strong gamma-ray bursts usually emanate from what astronomers call the "deep field," billions of light-years distant and thus billions of years back in the past. A distance of 470 million light-years means the GRB 060218 supernova happened 470 million years ago. That is ancient by human reckoning, but many cosmologists had been assuming the kind of extremely massive detonations thought to cause strong gamma-ray busts occurred only in the misty eons immediately after the Big Bang. The working assumption was that since life appeared on Earth, there had been no stellar mega-explosion. Now we know there has. ...had GRB 060218 happened in our galaxy, life on Earth would have ended Feb. 18. Apart from some lithophillic bacteria, perhaps. 470 million LY is not just "not in the furthermost corners of the Universe", it's not that far from the local galactic cluster, which stretches for 10 million LY. Just outside the Virgo Sipercluster in fact. That's the one we're in. Odds are, conditions within a given Supercluster are fairly uniform, in terms of probablilities of Gamma Ray Bursts like this. A GRB within a Galaxy presses the "reset" button over less than a million years, wiping out all complex life within the whole Galaxy as the Gamma rays propagate outwards. Puts little problems like Al Qaeda, and trivialities such as minority persecution in perspective, doesn't it? A Disturbing Image I know it's supposed to be humourous. Nonetheless, this altered comic front cover leaves me with some very disturbing feelings. Firstly, that if it did happen to a boy, it would probably kill him. The looks are one thing, it's the thinking process that's important (trust me). Guys who are born in female bodies have it hard enough. Many don't make it, but at least they don't have it happening suddenly, they have time to get used to the idea - and time to suffer too. Yes, there's the whole Sex thing too, but if he were as screwed up hormonally as that, sex of any kind is probably the last thing on his mind. Even if he were Gay - there's a massive difference between being a Gay Male and a Straight Female. Many in the GLB activist groups don't understand that TS women aren't some form of Gay Male, and TS men aren't Lesbians either. Secondly, although the condition 5-alpha-reductase deficiency (5ARD) can cause little girls to grow up into big boys, the reverse is much rarer. Yet there seems to be something of an "urban legend" status about it - maybe it's a part of male sexuality (something I've never understood), or maybe it happens more often than the literature says it does. Probably with fatal results, from purely physiological considerations, let alone psychological ones. Thirdly - why did it have to happen when I was 47, and not 17? And why couldn't I have ended up looking like that? Grrrrrr. Never mind, considering my skeletal structure at age 10, it was not to be anyway. I always was thickset, "elfin" was never a possibility. Fourth - they got the whispers in the background right. Heck, it was difficult enough for me, surrounded by mature, educated adults. For teenage transitioners, it must be far worse, at least, in some societies. In others, where there's a bit more knowledge and tolerance than there was when I was growing up, it might be easier. But it would never be easy. I've seen far too many kids lives made hell by parents who not just don't understand, they won't understand, won't even look at the evidence. It's too embarressing and upsetting to their world-view. A bit like my reaction to this picture. You know what? I'm awfully lucky I had CNI - Congenital Neurological Intersex AKA Transsexuality. If I hadn't... it doesn't bear thinking about. For most people, being TS is a curse. For me, it was a literal life-saver. Gosh! (Zoe for the nth time thanks her lucky stars) Good News For Some From The Times : Womb transplants may be possible within two years, giving hope to women unable to have children, doctors claimed yesterday. London-based researchers, working with medical teams in New York and Budapest, have developed a technique for providing a transplanted womb with a reliable blood supply. Women born without a uterus or who have undergone an emergency hysterectomy would be among those to benefit from the procedure. The transplant would be temporary, doctors being reluctant to continue giving a patient drugs to help the body to fight rejection of the womb. That could leave the woman two to three years to conceive and carry a baby or babies before the womb was removed. This will certainly benefit many Intersexed women with vaginal dysgenesis and other conditions where they have ovaries, but not the complete reproductive system. It will also benefit many other women who have had to have hysterectomies which have left their ovaries intact. Not good for women like me though. Not yet. But perhaps, one day, those who are now transitioning in their teens might just possibly be able to become biological mothers. It means a lot to us, you see. Meanwhile, I look at my son Andrew, now fast asleep, and am content. Content? I'm positively ecstatic! Though I think if we'd had to adopt, I'd feel just the same. There's more to motherhood than pregnancy. Would have been nice though... but was not to be. Guess I'm just greedy.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line3
__label__wiki	0.628199	0.628199	Opposite Direction From the SMH, a tale of Intersex, Medical Blindness and Ostracism : A champion shot-putter and discus-thrower, Rabei has photos of himself as a woman towering over other female competitors, which prompted sporting authorities to raid his home looking for performance-enhancing drugs. But his build was not enough to prompt doctors to entertain the idea that he was not a woman. "Every time I went to hospital, they told me I was a woman," he said, adding doctors routinely failed to diagnose a lack of internal female reproductive organs. Staff at one clinic laughed when he went for tests to determine his genetic sex. Doctors instead prescribed pills to induce menstruation and suggested an operation to open the hymen when Rabei could not consummate "her" marriage. Rabei's lawyer, who is fighting to have his sex and name changed on official documents, said her work was not easy. "People have been attacking me personally, asking me why I encourage sex correction. According to them, this is haram, or forbidden in Islamic and Arab society," Fouzia Janahi said. Rabei's employers have demanded his resignation and psychiatrists have declined to counsel him for life as a man. "I'm not saying I'm not under intense pressure, but as long as what I'm doing is right medically, religiously and legally, I don't care what people say," he said. "Praise God, I feel like I'm a man, I feel like I'm myself." I feel like myself. I took a different route, and in the opposite direction, but I know exactly how he feels. The Australian Government is thinking about setting up a consultation blog/forum to give the public a chance to debate public policy. If you want to help shape the form this blog will take then have your say here: www.openforum.com.au/Survey It only takes a couple of minutes and could help lead to something really worthwhile. Thanks.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line4
__label__cc	0.668518	0.331482	AGG Intellectual Property Law ANTOINETTE G. GIUGLIANO, Esq. Registered Patent Attorney Antoinette G. Giugliano is a Registered Patent Attorney and the founder of AGG Intellectual Property Law. With more than 20 years’ experience, Antoinette advises clients to develop a worldwide patent strategy. Intellectual property legal services of the firm include drafting and prosecuting patents and trademarks, obtaining copyright protection and advising clients about protect trade secrets. Antoinette has prepared and successfully prosecuted hundreds of U.S. and foreign patent and trademark applications. Antoinette represents various types of clients, corporate, start-ups and universities, in intellectual property matters in many fields, specializing in life sciences (e.g., biotechnology, biochemistry, immunology, and molecular biology), bioinformatics, medical and dental devices, business methods, mechanical devices and consumer products. Prior to founding the firm, Antoinette worked at a Boston area intellectual property law firm for several years drafting and prosecuting patent applications. Antoinette also obtained experience working at EG&G, Inc., where she assisted in-house counsel with managing its worldwide patent and trademark portfolio. Additionally, she has worked at Boston University’s Office of Technology Transfer, where she assisted in various stages of patent prosecution and negotiation of licensing agreements. Antoinette has biochemical and immunological experience as a Research Technologist at the University of Vermont, College of Medicine (UVM). At the UVM, Antoinette produced monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, maintained established hybridomas, performed protein purification, tissues culture, ELISA assays, antibody isotyping, SDS-PAGE, ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration and immunoblotting. Additionally, she has computer software experience as an Installation Consultant at IDX Systems Co., Inc., where she installed laboratory and radiology software. Antoinette received a B.S. degree in Biology, cum laude, in 1992 from the University of Vermont and is also a graduate of Suffolk University Law School from which she received her J.D., cum laude, with a High Technology Concentration in 1997. Antoinette is a member of Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. bars, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 100 Cummings Center, Suite 227C Beverly, MA 01915 email: agg@ProtectInventions.com © Copyrighted 2005-2017 Antoinette G. Giugliano, P.C. dba AGG Intellectual Property Law This web site provides information only. No attorney-client relationship is created by access to this web site, nor does the information provided herein constitute legal advice. This web site and information may be considered advertising under the rules of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Patents Copyrights Trademarks & Trade Secrets	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line6
__label__wiki	0.852202	0.852202	Creating a Portrait A Princess: CHAKA CHAKA "My background could never deter me from wanting to be what I wanted to be." Her Voice and a Broomstick Profile of an Icon “Let’s do it for Madiba!” shouts Yvonne Chaka Chaka as she walks on stage at the first 46664 concert in Cape Town. She’s decked out in South African flags, looking like a soccer fan crossed with a diva. There are two on her dress and eight on her hat; her left side is supported by a crutch draped in a 46664 t-shirt. In spite of the crutch, she dances with real energy, shaking her hips as she sings ‘Umqombothi’. It’s a song about beer – more specifically, making it, as women all over South Africa do. Chaka Chaka doesn’t drink, but she sings this song as though she does. This concert captures Chaka Chaka in her element: performing to an enchanted South African audience, for a good cause: she’s a singer with a heart, deeply involved with the African people. She’s sophisticated, she’s intelligent, and she carries herself lightly, moving with the poise of a born performer. She speaks with sureness and refined grace, her musicality bubbling under the surface. This does not mean that she is at ease with the world. No black South African who grew up during the 1970s and ‘80s could be. But one of her gifts is the ability to take negativity and turn it into something positive: past challenges are used as motivation to improve the present. Chaka Chaka learnt the importance of discipline and integrity from her mother, who raised three daughters as a single parent on a domestic worker’s salary. She’d help her mother with chores around the house – but also found time to express herself. While sweeping the floor, Chaka Chaka, barefoot and swaying in time to the swishes of the broom’s scratch on concrete, would sing into its handle. It became a microphone, and the concrete floor a stage. Children are ambitious. Usually their dreams and desires fall away over time, replaced by the concerns of the moment and cut down by the realities of life. Not everyone can be extraordinary. Chaka Chaka is the exception. At the age of 13 she was introduced to the world of show business when she went to an audition held by Bernard Joffe, who was looking for talented children in Soweto. “He came from nowhere. I guess he was sent by God,” she says. Out of the audition came a show called ‘Sugar Shack’, and Chaka Chaka became the first black child to appear on South African television. Rising to fame at a young age can mean that turbulence, controversy and a meltdown into ignominy follow. Not so for Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Her calm and grace have sustained her throughout her career, kept her touching the heights without plummeting down. “I love life. I live life to the fullest and I want to help where I can. I know I can never change the world, but I’m a believer that if you have, always share with others,” she says. Staying grounded, and sharing her gifts, has worked out well for Chaka Chaka. She’s released more than 20 albums, with multiple gold and platinum records to her name. By the time she was 19 she was recording her first album, “I’m in Love with a DJ”, for Dephon Records. The first single, which shares its name with the album, was an instant hit, and both sold well. As an example of how Chaka Chaka is able to take misfortune and use it to make something beautiful, a trip to the doctor turned into a lifelong romance. Chaka Chaka’s sister recommended that she visit Doctor Mandlalele Mhinga when the singer fell sick, and while nothing of note happened immediately after that first visit, they stayed in contact. Occasional calls and meetings turned into love and, ultimately, marriage. The death of Phumzile Ntuli, a musician in Chaka Chaka’s band, turned her world on its head. After playing a concert in Gabon, Phumzile came down with a fever. Doctors misdiagnosed her, only realising too late that she had malaria, a disease that affects more than two thirds of the world’s population. More than that, it’s the most vulnerable who are the worst affected by malaria: its highest rates of occurrence are in the world’s poorest countries. Chaka Chaka threw herself into the fight. She is now a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for malaria. “I was totally ignorant about malaria. I knew it was there, but I didn’t know how many people it kills, and when I discovered that I thought, ‘I want to be the voice of the voiceless.’” When she says that she’s talking about who malaria affects: in addition to the poorest people being the most susceptible, those who are particularly vulnerable are children under the age of five – who lack natural immunity – and pregnant women – whose immunity is decreased. Now when she makes music, Chaka Chaka has an external motive. She’s still doing what she loves, but she’s singing to keep her profile high enough that she is able to make a difference in the fight against malaria. For Chaka Chaka, singing has become useful as well as enjoyable: it has the power to mobilise people, and to raise funds for medicine and mosquito nets. Chaka Chaka is a performer with a conscience. She stands out from the celebrities who pretend to care, whose involvement in humanitarian causes is done more to appease their own guilty consciences than out of genuine concern for others. She’s got an extraordinary presence. She’ll win you over without even trying – without needing to do more than smile, or give a gentle touch on the arm. There’s a restrained energy behind those gestures that, when it’s unleashed, knocks you off your feet. People who have such allure often fall in love with themselves, forgetting about the concerns of others. Chaka Chaka never did that. She has maintained the connections she established growing up, and knows who she is: The Princess of Africa. The second part of that title is important – Yvonne is ofAfrica. She doesn’t set herself above it. She gives freely of herself, with her music and her humanitarian work: more than anything she works for the African people, for their health and wellbeing. Africa is lucky to have her. iryVYy3Cies Singer and goodwill ambassador Yvonne Chaka Chaka tells Adrian Steirn, filmmaker, photographer and creator of 21 Icons South Africa, about her long and difficult journey as a musician and why she has chosen to become a voice for the voiceless through her charitable work. In conversation with Adrian Steirn, Yvonne Chaka Chaka relives her extraordinary career, which saw her rise from the townships of Soweto to becoming the Princess of Africa: a world famous singer, performer and human rights activist. A series of behind-the-scenes images reflecting the 21 Icons team at work. Seemingly daydreaming Chaka Chaka sings into a wooden broomstick pretending it is a microphone as she did as a child. In the background, a tiara rests atop the piano in reference to the nickname ‘Princess of Africa’ bestowed upon her by Nelson Mandela.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line9
__label__wiki	0.588281	0.588281	Follow @JohnPaczkowski Recent Posts by John Paczkowski FTC Reviewing Google’s Waze Acquisition June 22, 2013 at 1:04 pm PT Hardly surprising: Google’s $1.1 billion acquisition of the mapping company Waze has drawn regulatory scrutiny. Google on Saturday confirmed that it has been contacted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regarding the acquisition. The company and the FTC both declined to comment on the nature of the inquiry, but it’s pretty obvious what’s going on here. Google Maps is a leading mapping and navigation service. Waze was a rising rival. In fact, back in April, Waze CEO Noam Bardin was talking up his company as the search behemoth’s only viable competitor in that space. “The traditional players don’t have a model that’s scalable, and they have financial challenges, so Google is out there creating a new standard in terms of quality,” Bardin said. “We feel that we are the only reasonable competition to them in this market of creating maps that are really geared for mobile, for real-time, for consumers, and for the new world we’re moving into.” If that’s truly the case, the Google’s acquisition of Waze could be problematic. Not only does it remove a potential competitor from the mapping space, it consolidates a ton of mapping data in Google’s hands, further extending the company’s dominance. Could that be harmful to competition and consumers? That’s what the FTC hopes to determine. Tagged with: antitrust, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Google, mapping, maps, monopoly, Noam Bardin, Waze Late Start May Be Tempering China Mobile’s iPhone Preorders Twitter’s Tanking 2013 Was a Good Year for Chromebooks BlackBerry Pulls Latest Twitter for BB10 Update Apple CEO Tim Cook Made $4.25 Million This Year I think the NSA has a job to do and we need the NSA. But as (physicist) Robert Oppenheimer said, “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you’ve had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.” — Phil Zimmerman, PGP inventor and Silent Circle co-founder, in an interview with Om Malik	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line12
__label__cc	0.725835	0.274165	Does the authoritative teaching of Christianity st... Understanding Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Identifying an Argument - Looking for Hidden Premi... 12 Years a Slave and a Different Perspective Review of the Ken Ham-Bill Nye Creation Debate Identifying an Argument: Looking for Trigger Words... Tools for the God-Fearing Mind Yesterday, Ken Ham and Bill Nye debated their concepts of creation and evolution at Ham's Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky. I watched the debate live with a group at a local church (you can watch a recording for a few more days here), and given that there were nearly 500,000 streams of the event around the globe, it would be easy to estimate that well over half a million people viewed the exchange. Many have commented on the event, but as someone who has previously participated in a formal debate, I thought I would put down some of my observations here. I thought the debate was very well run and it went better than I expected. Both Mr. Ham and Mr. Nye were respectful in tone and were genuine in their approaches. I think each participant understood that this event was important and each wanted to make his best case. CNN's Tom Foreman moderated and did an excellent job as well. The debate platform was clean and the podiums for the speakers were spaced comfortably for both audience viewing and the television cameras to get a two-shot. (The graphics on the front of the podiums were my favorite part.) Using a pre-submitted set of questions from the audience allowed the Q & A time to flow quickly and more questions were presented in the 45 minute allotment than could be had with a queue in front of microphones. I thought some of Bill Nye's arguments concerning the ice core evidence for 680,000 of winter/summer cycles and the abundance of species variation that argues against such diversification taking place in only a few thousand years were his strongest points. I thought that Ham did a great job in showing how science education today does hold a bias against a creator, even including a clip from a previous interview Bill Nye did. He was particularly strong when referencing a new study that shows all dogs came from a single ancestor and declaring how changes in finch beaks are variations within an instruction set. He also notes that cave fish "evolving" to have no eyes is not a net gain; there is no new information there. The fish have only lost the capability of seeing. Ham was also bold enough to present the gospel a few times during the evening, which I appreciated. The most unfortunate thing in this debate is that neither debater focused on the actual debate question! At the beginning of the debate, Foreman clearly stated that the debate question was "Is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era?" Ham was to argue the affirmative and Nye was to take up the negative. Neither person in their initial opening five minute speech nor in their longer thirty minute second presentations built an argument focused on this question. Ham continually claimed that one must start with certain assumptions when trying to understand the past. However, this doesn't address whether or not creationism is a viable model. Several times throughout the night he highlighted scientists who were also creationists, although most of those had specialties that had nothing to do with creationism or evolution at all. If the debate question were "can good scientist hold to a creation model?" this would be prime evidence. Alas, that was not the topic at hand. Nye actually changed the question when he began his 30 minute presentation. He begins by saying, "Let's take it back to the question at hand. Does Ken Ham's creation model hold up?" What? Is that now the topic of the debate? If so, I wouldn't have bothered watching because I'm not interested in Ham's version. Nye offered several strange lines of evidence, such as the shipbuilding capabilities of Noah and his family. Huh? What in the world does that have to do with creation as a viable model in science? In any account of Noah and the flood, the creation has already been established. Nye also went off on a tangent about fish reproducing asexually versus sexually with others. He notes how asexual reproduction is less desirous but sometimes necessary (that's a straight line for too many jokes.) But again, how does this prove or disprove the question at hand? Could the fish not be designed for such contingencies? It shows neither evolution nor creation but the fact that certain fish in a certain environment have the capability to reproduce asexually. There are other animals that reproduce asexually, too. This completely misses the question. Neither presenter provided an actual argument—you know, a series of premises and a conclusion—that I would have expected in a debate. It would have been a much more powerful presentation had the opponents laid out their arguments first and then expounded on them. And it was clear that both presenters were guilty of something I've stressed before: creation conflation. There were a few missed opportunities in the debate that could have been capitalized on. The first is Nye's claim that if you can find "even one example" of a fossil crossing layers you would change science forever and "the scientists of the world would embrace you." Well, polystrate fossils have been well-documented, and it hasn't led the scientific community to embrace creationism. There are simply new theories that justify the find as a natural, not a supernatural occurrence. The point that made me laugh out loud, though, was how Nye insisted that scientist WANT to embrace new ideas. We know that scientists resist upsetting their current models, as this 1961 article from Science shows. The more relevant work is that of Thomas Kuhn. In his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn demonstrates how the history of science is not one gradually increasing understanding of the world, but it is more how a certain model becomes the status quo and is accepted until someone (whom Kuhn labels "an outsider") upsets the status quo by offering a new paradigm. Thus science advancement comes in fits and stages as those who hold the existing model are forced to give way to the newer paradigm. Two examples of Kuhn's paradigm shifts were items that Bill Nye mentioned in the debate: the emergence of plate tectonics and the abandonment of spontaneous generation after Louis Pasteur's experiments. Another I could add was the emergence of the Big Bang model from the previous steady state theory of the universe. Like the other models, the theory was not met with open arms by the scientific community, but by much resistance. Nye seemed to imply that Fred Hoyle liked the idea, when he actually named it in derision and was one of its most vocal opponents. Though it was first proposed by Roman Catholic priest Georges Lemaître in 1927, it took Wilson and Penzias' discovery of the cosmic background radiation in the 1960's that led it to be the primarily accepted model among cosmologists. Another wince-inducing point was how Nye tried to assert that the Biblical text was transmitted to us through a method like the telephone game. This is simply, demonstrably false and even non-believing scholars l flatly reject such an assertion. Ham had some egregious moments as well. When he for the third and fourth time referred to his small sampling of scientists who were also creationists, his argument moved from a non-sequitur to a fallacious appeal to authority, and it became annoying from the audience's standpoint. Ham never answered Nye's stronger points above, but simply dismissed them with the rhetorical "how do we know, we didn't see it!" Well, if that's the criteria for knowledge about historical events, then we need to fire all the CSI lab technicians and set the murderers free. Ham also lost points in my opinion when he was asked if he was provided evidence, would he still believe in God. Instead of beginning with the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus, Ham stated that everyone has to have certain presuppositions and the Bible was his presuppositional choice. But doesn't that beg the question? Nye similarly begged the question when asked about things like the emergence of consciousness or how the Big Bang happened from nothing. He simply claimed these were "great mysteries" and we should be glad they are there to study. The final question of the night, "What is the one thing, more than anything else, upon which you base your belief" was offered to both participants and they basically responded the same way they had been all night long. Ham said one must presuppose the truth of the Bible in order to know history and origins. Nye answered that he based his beliefs on the joy and love he receives from the information and the process of science. Their presuppositions are noted, but each is rather subjective. I know that many creationists also feel Nye's excitement and love of scientific discovery. I know there are many other people who presuppose the Qur'an, the Book of Mormon, or some other text as their starting point for interpreting history and creation. Neither answer satisfies a seeker who is honestly trying to make heads or tails out of all this, and while this question may be tangential in itself, neither response helps us answer the question of the debate. In all, I am truly excited that the interest in this debate was so high. I think there are many, many people who really want to discover the facts that are out there and that we as Christian communicators can find fruitful ground in providing some of those answers. There are a lot of holes left open by the participants in the debate. Let's see if we can go out and close some of them with good evidence. Labels: beliefs, Bible, creation, debate, evolution, science, worldview BernieDehler 1:51 PM RE: "Well, polystrate fossils have been well-documented, and it hasn't led the scientific community to embrace creationism. " Lenny, you should know better. There is no 'creationism' position that is specific. Young earthers and old earthers disagree. If you want an answer for polystrate fossils, can't an old-earth ministry like "Reasons to Believe" give you the answers? That is a old earth creationist ministry answering the charges from a young earth creationist ministry. Lenny Esposito 2:02 PM Bernie, I agree. But realize this wan't my point. It was Bill Nye who insisted multiple times that the fact that fossils don't cross layers is evidence against creation and insisted that if you could find even one the scientific community would hail the discovery. It was Nye's error to present such an absolute claim as evidence. Glen 3:24 PM I think Ham lost a lot of points by not focusing on the debate question (I don't subscribe to Nye's position and my points system stops at zero anyway.) I had a feeling Ham would inject a lot of a priori comments rather than build up from the creation question; I don't think the debate question was ever answered. Ham could have done so much better by keeping his focus on this one small topic. Of course creation is a viable model!!! Aludra 6:02 PM Just wondering, what is your position on the age of the universe? Also, what is your position on uniformitarianism?	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line15
__label__wiki	0.964825	0.964825	Canada Justice The Family Redefined The Supreme Court expands spousal support provisions to include separated gay couples D’Arcy Jenish May 31 1999 The Family Redefined D’Arcy Jenish May 31 1999 D’Arcy Jenish Rebecca Hunter and her partner of 6½ years, Debra Lamb, were making their way through rush-hour traffic on a busy Toronto expressway last Thursday when they heard the report over the car radio. The Supreme Court of Canada had nullified an Ontario law denying samesex partners access to spousal support if their relationship ended. The decision, declaring the law unconstitutional, forces the provincial government to contemplate amending that and almost 90 other pieces of legislation in order to extend equal rights to homosexual couples. Outside of Ontario, several premiers acknowledged that they, too, may have to rewrite dozens of laws in their provinces. For Hunter and Lamb, high-school teachers who jointly own a home, a cottage and other assets, the high court ruling was both a legal and symbolic victory for gays and lesbians. “We shouted as soon as we heard the news,” said Hunter. “This society is finally recognizing that homosexual couples deserve the same rights as heterosexual couples.” The Supreme Court ruling came in a case known only as M. vs. H. It involves a lesbian couple who split up in 1992 and became embroiled in an acrimonious dispute over dividing their assets, which included homes, property and a business. Lawyers who worked on M. vs. H. estimate that across Canada there may be as many as 1,000 provincial statutes that discriminate against gays and lesbians. British Columbia had already taken the lead among the provinces by amending several laws to give homosexuals rights to child custody, access and spousal support among other things. As well, a Toronto-based organization pressing for gay rights, the Foundation for Equal Families, has launched a legal challenge to 58 federal laws that it says violate the equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Despite the tasks ahead, gay and lesbian activists were in a celebratory mood following last week’s ruling. “This is truly a great day in the history of our equality in this country,” said Toronto lawyer Martha McCarthy, who represented the plaintiff M. throughout her seven-year battle. In her constitutional argument, McCarthy, backed by several rights organizations and the United Church of Canada, focused on a section of Ontario’s Family Law Act that allows one spouse from a failed marriage or common-law relationship to apply to the courts for financial support. But the legislation’s definitions of spouse does not include men or women in samesex unions. In an 8-1 ruling, with Mr. Justice Charles Gonthier dissenting, the Court gave the province six months to amend the law. “The exclusion of samesex partners from the benefits of the spousal support scheme,” ruled the majority, “implies that they are incapable of forming intimate relationships of economic interdependence. This differential treatment discriminates ... by violating the human dignity of individuals in same-sex relationships.” Premier Mike Harris said he would comply, however reluctantly. In midcampaign for a June 3 election, Harris said that, if returned to office, his government will respect the ruling even though he subscribes to a more traditional notion of family. Conservative religious leaders responded guardedly. Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic, Roman Catholic archbishop of Toronto, said the provincial government should strive to protect the economic rights of same- sex couples while maintaining the sanctity of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Added Gary Walsh, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: “We encourage legislatures to meet the ruling without eroding any further the place of marriage in this culture. Let marriage be marriage.” But elements of both church and state appear to be lagging behind public opinion on the issue. A national poll conducted in April, 1998, by the Toronto-based Angus Reid Group revealed that 75 per cent of Canadians believe that human rights legislation should protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. The survey, taken shortly after the Supreme Court ordered the Alberta government to include sexual orientation as a prohibited grounds of discrimination in its human rights act, found that 64 per cent of Albertans support such a measure. It also showed that fully 57 per cent of respondents who declared themselves to be Reform party backers favour protection for gays and lesbians. The two unidentified Toronto women at the centre of the landmark case, now in their 50s, met in 1980 while vacationing in Nepal. They began living together and in 1982 started an advertising company based on H.’s contacts and M.’s experience running a small bicycle courier firm. H. drew a salary of $6,000 monthly from the business while M. handled most of the domestic responsibilities. By 1989, however, they were no longer sleeping together and in September, 1992, M. moved out. According to McCarthy, H. changed the locks on their homes, shut down the business while retaining her clients, and refused to divide the assets or provide support. That left M. almost penniless and without legal recourse except to sue her former partner. After a lengthy civil suit, the two women reached an out-of-court settlement in January, 1998, under which H. agreed to pay M. the equivalent of her equity in the country property. While the lawsuit was in progress, M. launched a separate challenge to the constitutionality of Ontario’s Family Law Act. She won in two Ontario courts before the provincial government appealed to the Supreme Court. In a statement issued through her lawyer, M. described herself as “an accidental activist” who never intended to become embroiled in a seven-year legal dispute. “The fair and equitable division of property after the breakup of any other kind of relationship would never be questioned,” she said. “That it was was both unconscionable and intolerable.” The ruling may prompt some gays and lesbians to examine potential financial obligations. But the overwhelming reaction was one of relief that their position under the law had finally been clarified. “I have many clients in M. s position,” said Toronto lawyer Kelly Jordan, 31, who attended a news conference with her partner, Jude Stewart. “They have been anxiously awaiting the decision.” They will now expect a legislative response from politicians across Canada. 03 Backing entitlements The Supreme Court released two other substantive decisions last week. The impact: • The mother tongue of an accused person is a vital right. The court ordered a new trial—a fourth—for Jean Victor Beaulac, a bilingual B.C. francophone charged with murder who had been tried in English. • Indians living off reserves should be allowed to vote in their bands’ elections. The court allowed 18 months for Parliament to repeal residency requirements in the Indian Act and for bands to amend voting practices. The court was ruling on the fate of a disfranchised Ojibwa from the Batchewana band near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Business Cover The Best & Worst JOBS May 1999 By Ross Laver May 1999 By Eric Silver Black and Read All Over May 1999 By Anthony Wilson-Smith Heartbreak on the Farm May 1999 By Brian Bergman THE LONG AND WINDING TRAIL August 1996 By D’ARCY JENISH Taking on the Tories OCTOBER 1996 By D’ARCY JENISH	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line18
__label__wiki	0.543363	0.543363	You are at:Home»HOBSON'S CHOICES»Hobson’s Choices: recent war themed non-fiction Hobson’s Choices: recent war themed non-fiction By ARTbop on July 1, 2016 HOBSON'S CHOICES, WORDS The centenary of the First World War has seen a proliferation of new books being published on and around the topic. I have been very fortunate to be able to review three great additions to our knowledge by some very talented New Zealand writers. One is specifically on the First World War, while the others take a much broader look at all the conflicts in which New Zealand has been involved. The three books are, First Day of the Somme by Andrew MacDonald, To the Memory by Jock Phillips and The Penguin Book of New Zealand War Writing edited by Harry Ricketts and Gavin McLean. The Penguin Book of New Zealand War Writing has the broadest sweep, covering conflicts that involved New Zealand as far back as the time of Captain Cook right up to modern times. I particularly like that the content includes both factual and fictional writing. Factual accounts from those who witnessed the events are set alongside many contributions from our finest writers who have imagined or reinterpreted the events in our history. There are some excellent stories in here that will both shock and delight, and in particular some that open an understanding of the traumas suffered by those who returned from war like nothing I have ever read. To the Memory by Jock Phillips is a quite different approach, being a look at our war memorials across the country and across all our different wars. It is much more of a picture book, but it also has a superb narrative about the approach we have taken to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. The scope of Jock Phillips book runs from the New Zealand Wars to the present day and charts the different responses. While it took 50 years to begin to erect memorials for the New Zealand Wars, it took only five years to build those for the South African Wars. While the First World War was commemorated with statues, cenotaphs and obelisks, the Second War had a quite different response with memorial halls, libraries or even a museum. The arguments about the appropriate response that sprang up between central and local government and the local people are a fascinating part of our social history. In the depression era after the First World War, the cost of memorials was an issue and in many cases we imported them directly from marble sculptors in Italy rather than the more expensive commission of a local artist. Where these commissions did happen the result were fine sculptures such as figures in Devonport and Christchurch. This book is well-timed, as the centenary celebrations have led to the restoration of many memorials around the country and as Phillips suggests, we are now more interested than ever in the exploits of those who went before us. He recalls an ANZAC Day service in Auckland in the mid-1980s where only a few hundred attended and compares it to 2015 when more than 50,000 were present. And my final selection is an excellent reassessment called First Day of the Somme by Andrew MacDonald. The 1st July 1916 remains the worst day in British Military history, with 19,240 killed and over 35,000 wounded on that day alone. The book looks deeply at the characters involved on both the British and German sides and assesses their successes and failures. It then describes the fighting all the way along the front line, delving deeply into the specific battles and advances, the failures and the small successes. The Somme campaign would last until the middle of November, with Kiwi troops not heavily involved on the first day but soon playing an important role in the gradual push forwards. For an account of the Kiwi soldiers on the Somme, MacDonald has written an excellent volume called On My Way to the Somme. Between the 1st July and the middle of November 1.28 million officers and men were killed or wounded on both sides. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent of killing or wounding the whole population of Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Tauranga. Such a huge loss of life is hard to imagine. And where did the blame lie for all that carnage? A combination of factors; leaders out of touch with events, poor artillery impact in many places and a failure to understand just how well the Germans had dug themselves in, so that even after several days of bombardment they emerged from deep underground and were able to mow down the advancing troops in their thousands with machine gun fire. Continuous firing left guns too hot to touch and by the close of the day some were surrounded by more than 20,000 empty cartridge shells. Hundreds of guns and literally millions of bullets on one day alone. Three very different but highly recommended books to read now as we look back to the sacrifices that our forefathers made in conflicts around the world. Marcus Hobson is the ARTbop Literary Editor, regular book reviewer, writer, and the Secretary of the Tauranga Writers group Marcus has been, and continues to be, lots of things. An aspiring author of both novels and reviews, he has always said he wants to be a writer and 40 years later is making that come true. He has in the past done such varied things as study ancient and mediaeval history at Uni in London, worked as an archaeologist, as an economist in central and southern Africa, and as truck driver in a quarry. About two years ago he relocated to the beautiful Bay from a finance job in Auckland. He is a lover of art, the written word and a full-time fanatical book collector, with over 3,000 volumes on his shelves. He lives close to Katikati with his wife and sometimes their three daughters, two cats, a library and the odd chicken. Marcus is currently working on a “factional” work about World War One. If you would like to contribute your original book reviews to ARTbop WORDS please forward them to info@artbop.co.nz for the attention of the Literary Editor Marcus Hobson. We prefer the work is emailed in docx format We appreciate one or two jpg images (not enormous ones as they become an uploading issue for ARTbop) Previous ArticleQnA With Morbidian – Morbidian Music Next Article UpFlash: Tauranga Comps start 8th July Te Reo Maori at Whakamarama School The Place Where I was born: Mount Reminiscing	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line21
__label__cc	0.626634	0.373366	Garden After Dark: Immersive Dance Experience at Red Butte Garden’s Legends of Camelot By Shawn Rossiter on October 23, 2015 • ( 3 Comments ) If this Halloween season you’re looking for something with a touch more art and a lot fewer chainsaws, Red Butte Garden’s Garden After Dark: Legends of Camelot is the place to go to become enchanted. For the last two weeks of October, the gardens on Salt Lake’s east bench have been transformed into a place where legend comes alive as visitors wind their way through the grounds on an Arthurian-themed quest. At stations along the way, little ones (and large ones) have the chance to decorate a protective shield with heraldic symbols, obtain a glowing magic potion, collect healing herbs and make an oak-leaf crown, all the while looking for scenes from the Arthurian legend: the lady of the lake, the sword in the stone, the knights of the round table. It’s part nature stroll, part Renaissance festival, with a good dose of Halloween atmosphere. There’s nothing really scary, but plenty of eerie ambience, including blue-light effects, dry ice mist and a cast of performers that gives the entire space a sense of magic and mystery. You’ll be tempted to go early in the evening, when it’s warmer, but it’s worth putting on an extra layer and waiting until it’s properly dark to enjoy the full effect — that way you’ll be able to see the light projections on the hills on either side of Red Butte, be startled by the sudden appearance of a wandering Merlin, and enjoy the enchanted forest in all its phosphorescent glory. Throughout, parents and children will be beguiled by “The Mists,” an immersive dance theater experience that happens in the gardens and features professionals from Utah’s dance community. “The Mists” evokes the story of Avalon, the magic-infused realm that preceded Camelot. You won’t have to get out your Geoffrey of Monmouth or Chretien de Troyes to enjoy the experience, but you may need to pause for a moment to absorb it. There are no timed performances, so what you see may depend on when you arrive, and taking a second lap along the quest trail may provoke new surprises and an expanded understanding of the story (a short guide available just inside the entrance will help). The performances are part of a mythical realm that for these few nights in October seems to break through a fairy veil to become part of our mundane, if briefly festive, world. While the anthropomorphic herd of wild stags near Guinevere’s Meadow may prance up to you and encourage a rub or scratch with the tilt of their head and shrug of their shoulders, the denizens of the enchanted forest likely will ignore you as they play their flutes from a tree branch, bang their drums or chase after glow-in-the-dark bubbles. As you leave the magic show (which alternates nights with a raptor encounter), you may catch a glimpse of an intense, raven-like Morgan stalking the fair Guinevere, or while you’re sitting at a table enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, the Priestesses of Avalon, dressed in their long black cloaks, may swarm past you like a band of grackles, to perch on a stone wall, encircle a young tree, or puff and chant around a stone cauldron, all the while ignoring the young girl in her Snow White costume, trying to get their attention. The performances are concrete and compelling, enough to infuse the carnival-like experience of children teasing siblings or asking for another candied apple with a slightly unsettling air of awe and dread. Red Butte Garden’s Garden After Dark: Legends of Camelot is Oct. 22, 23, 24 & 29 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Oct. 30 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. Price: $6 for Garden members, $12 for the general public and free for children 2 and under. While not required, costumes are certainly welcome. Shawn Rossiter The founder of Artists of Utah and editor of its online magazine, 15 Bytes, Shawn Rossiter has undergraduate degrees in English, French and Italian Literature and studied Comparative Literature in graduate school before pursuing a career in art. Categories: Dance Wall of Hope: Murals Adorn Wall that Protects Children at The Road Home Ann Poore says: I read this, borrowed a small child, and headed up to Red Butte directly. It was as magical an experience as described — moonlit night, dancers in the trees, mute priestesses in flowing black gowns, fabulous. I could have lingered for another hour. There’s so much to experience that going back through a second time is good counsel, if you have the stamina. I may go back, if I can find another kid willing to put up with me! M. Wilson says: See it Thursday and Friday (October 29th and 30th)! Red Butte Garden is the perfect setting for The Mists, which tells the story, through dance and live music, of Avalon and Camelot, fairies, wizards and stags. There is a combat on an open lawn between the King Stag and Arthur, Merlin rows across the lake toward Morgaine, a fairy wood where the Fairy Queen and her fairy court live, and many other scenes and dances showing what happens to the Lady of the Lake, Guinevere, Morgaine, Lancelot and Arthur. It finishes with with a coronation where all the characters dance and invite the public to join them. Aleta says: Are they doing this again at midsummer’s eve? I would LOVE to see it then!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line22
__label__wiki	0.979648	0.979648	Martyna Majok wins 2017 Primus Prize Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 10:00AM ATCA Operations Martyna Majok has been awarded the 2017 Francesca Primus Prize for her play Cost of Living. Jointly sponsored by ATCA and the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, the Primus Prize is given annually to an emerging woman playwright. Majok has received the $10,000 award check and will be officially congratulated at an upcoming ATCA conference. Two of the four characters in Majok’s compelling Cost of Living face isolation and loneliness as they cope with disabilities. John, a charming, but difficult, PhD student has cerebral palsy, and Ani has become quadriplegic after an automobile accident. The other two characters, Jess and Eddie, are their caregivers. Cost of Living shatters stereotypes as it counterpoints the two stories and the compassion and misunderstandings that shape these two very different relationships. Majok and her mother immigrated to the United States from Poland when she was a child, and she is no stranger to feeling like an outsider. “As a theatre artist, I’m committed to presenting stories of people whose experiences do not often get told. And I strive to do so with the complexity, humor, and clear-eyed lack of sentimentality that I believe to be an honest reflection of their lives but not always the portrayal we see onstage,” she says. “I write about poor people, the working class, about women with appetites and drives but societal limitations. I write the ill and the differently abled as characters with agency. I love the poetry of languages, bent and reshaped, that might emerge from a foreign mouth or a certain kind of childhood or place. I write the perimeters and pockets of society. Cost of Living emerged from a one-act play called John, who’s here from Cambridge, which told just one of the stories. She later expanded it and added the second, parallel story. “I have worked with people with disabilities, both as a theatre colleague and as a caregiver, and realized how at a distance they are kept, perhaps even how their existence frightens and unnerves a large portion of the population” she says. “This galvanized me to write a play that placed characters with disabilities at the center—played by actors with disabilities—and that countered certain tropes about their experiences. Cost of Living made its world premiere at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2016. The play went on to receive its New York premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2017. In addition to the Primus Prize, Cost of Living was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Majok’s other plays include Sanctuary City, queens, and Ironbound, which was a finalist for last year’s Primus Prize. She has received multiple awards, including the Lucille Lortel Award for outstanding new play, Lanford Wilson Prize, Stacey Mindich Prize, Helen Hayes Award for outstanding new play, and the Jean Kennedy Smith Award. She was also the first woman to receive the Greenfield Prize for drama. Majok was the 2015–16 PoNY Fellow at the Lark Play Development Center and is the 2018–2019 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. She received her BA from the University of Chicago and her MFA from the Yale School of Drama and Juilliard. Majok was selected from fifteen applicants by a nationwide committee of critics, chaired by Barbara Bannon (Salt Lake City, UT) and composed of Julie York Coppens (Juneau, AK), Marianne Evett (Arlington, MA), Michael Howell (Montgomery, AL), Marjorie Oberlander (New York, NY), Kerry Reid (Chicago, IL), and Lynn Rosen (Bellingham, WA). “The Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation was established to recognize and support emerging women artists who are making a difference in the theater community in which they work,” observed Barry Primus, the foundation administrator. Founded in 1997 in memory of actress and critic Francesca Primus, the Primus Prize was originally administered by the Denver Center Theatre Company. ATCA began overseeing the award in 2004. Article originally appeared on American Theatre Critics Association (http://americantheatrecritics.org/).	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line24
__label__wiki	0.675099	0.675099	Grasshopper Facts For Kids \| Grasshopper Diet & Habitat While summarizing some of the imperative grasshopper facts for kids, several important insights about the insect come to the fore. This article explains grasshopper diet, behavior, reproduction and widespread distribution. The grasshopper is an insect that belongs to the Caelifera suborder. Apart from crickets or katydids, grasshoppers are also denoted as short-horned grasshopper. Some species deemed to change their color or behavior at greater population densities and are known as locust. These insects have antennae that are relatively undersized as compared to their body. With the help of powerful mandibles, grasshoppers tear off their food. The powerful and long hind femora are perfectly made for leaping. They are greyish brown in color, and often tinged with reddish brown. Although they have wings, but these wings are not typically made for the proper flight which is why most grasshoppers are seen to take shocking flight. Males are relatively shorter than females, with longer ovipositors. There is a lone plate at the abdomen end of the insect. There are two pairs of valves that are attached to the female’s abdomen and these are actually used for digging whilst laying eggs. Grasshoppers are simply baffled with the crickets, falling in the same order; nevertheless, grasshoppers have distinctive features in numerous aspects. For example, there is a sheer difference in the number of segments (in antennae), structure of the ovipositor, and methods of sound production as well as the position of tympana. Unlike caeliferans, there are around 20 to 24 segments in Ensiferans. Grasshoppers are thought to live in the tropical wet forests. Grasshopper Facts For Kids There are loosely held nerve cells that manipulate the grasshopper’s nervous system. These are called gangalia. These cells are commonly known to exist in nearly all species. All the gangalia operates at the centre (neuropile) of the brain. Grasshoppers are also eaten as a paramount source of food. It has great quantity of protein. Nonetheless, these species embrace tapeworms which is why they must be eaten cautiously. Grasshoppers are also reliant on the surroundings to change their colors. This is necessary especially to get rid of potential predators like frogs. Most of these species are well reformed to the green fields and forests. Grasshopper facts for kids show that these insects are found almost everywhere in the world except in extreme cooler regions. There are three types of grasshoppers such as long-horned grasshopper, short-horned grasshopper and pygmy grasshopper. Locust is another type of grasshopper. Grasshoppers are also known to leap 20 times their length. The weight of these species measure around 2 – 3 grams; however they can prolong their legs contrary to the ground with a force of about 30 grams with half-legs extended. This operates when the leg muscles tighten. All (contractions and thrust) must be done speedily otherwise grasshopper won’t be able to take-off too far. These insects have no ears but they can certainly hear. The organ known as tympanum facilitates hearing. One of the unique grasshopper facts for kids is that the tympanum is positioned at the abdomen and is often confused with a huge round disk. It’s an eardrum that is located on one side of the insect and it enables grasshopper to hear. Do you know that grasshoppers are also known to sing late at night? In case, you do not sleep the whole night and suddenly the chirping voice emerges from the severe darkness, it’d be the grasshoppers singing voice. They do not sing for us; rather the sole purpose is to draw females toward them for mating. Grasshoppers have two bulky eyes on top of the head. These are considered to be the complex eyes. There are thousands of small eyes that operates within the great eye to shape a picture in a grasshopper’s brain. The three eyes attached enable these species to look sideways, forward as well as backward for countless distances. Read More: How long do grasshoppers live? What Do Grasshoppers Eat Grasshopper facts about its diet includes that these species are herbivores and they predominantly feed on leaves, stems, roots, grasses, and cereal crops. Most of these species are polyphagous. These types of insects are particularly known to feed on variety of plants in a single day though some species tend to restrict their diet to few plants material. There are around 8000 grasshopper species in the world. There is a foregut coupled with the hindgut in the digestive system of insects. The mandible and salivary glands make the mouth discrete. These mandibles begin to chew their food marginally and give rise to the mechanical digestion. Because of the carbohydrates involve in grasses, grasshoppers are very fond of feeding grass. Salivary glands facilitate the food to assimilate chemically. The food, after entering into the mouth, move further across the esophagus and finally into the crop. This crop is capable to embrace food. The food then passes into the gizzard which has sharp teeth-like features. Finally, the food moves from the gizzard to its final destination which is stomach where digestive enzymes assists the food to break it down. Enzymes begin from the gastric caeca encircling the stomach. These are the primary excretion organs. The hindgut involves intestine parts (rectum and ileum) and leaves across the anus. Nearly all food is fingered in the midgut; however certain food is left for the residue wastes which are mostly embedded with the uric acid, amino acids and urea. These wastes are normally transformed into dry pallets before being actually discharged of. Learn more: What do Grasshoppers Eat Interesting Grasshopper Facts about its Reproduction Migratory grasshoppers give rise to a lone generation in most of its range, and overwinter in the egg stage. As far as the southern generation is concerned, two generations may befall each year. The hatching period begins in the late July under the normal circumstances. Hatching demands 40 to 45 days to develop the population. The grasshopper’s eggs are yellow in color and are elongate-elliptical together with a minor curved shape. The shape of these eggs very much resembles to that of bananas’. The length of the eggs measure around 4.5 mm by length, while the width measuring at 1.2 mm. The eggs are organized in two features within an egg pod. There are around 18 to 20 eggs in a single pod and are repressed to a depth of 35 mm. The length of these pods is about 25 mm, with a diameter measuring at 3 – 4 mm. Healthy females are capable to produce 7 to 10 pods at regular intervals of 2 – 3 days. Consequently, fecundity of 200 eggs per female is probable. Grasshopper Facts For Kids \| Worst Attacks Unless they are stopped, they may cost farmers millions. They are like a scattered army—you can’t shoot them all. In the mid of 19th century, grasshoppers are known to destroy most of the agricultural crops which bring these insects into directly conflict with humans. Grasshoppers fall randomly in between migratory and nonmigratory groups. The migratory insect of this group (locust) are particularly known for devastating all the agricultural crops. These locusts migrate in massive groups comprising millions of individuals. Read More: What do grasshoppers eat? Grasshoppers’ Attack on Crops Locusts typically go for the sparingly stable zones while nonmigratory insects normally confront settled regions. Severe attacks had been observed in New England back in 1749, 1754, 1743, and 1754. In order to get rid of these hazardous insects, farmers used hopperdozers in the 19th and 20th century. The worst attacks also came to the fore in the period of great depression that is 1934, 1931, 1936, and 1939. However, the foulest amongst these invasions were the one that occurred in 1936 which obliterated all the crops ranging from Midwest, South and to the Great Plains. Including grasshoppers, nearly 1 million species are capable to jump; many groups have advanced their own method of jumping habits of different kinds. Collembola (commonly known as springtails) are simple, tiny insects which have no wings; these are found under the rocks where they form the primary food for many other species, particularly pseudoscorpions. Collembola are skilled enough to make gigantic leaps through a special flicking mechanism. They also carry an elongated, stiff furcula at the tip of the abdomen. When the insect is at rest, the furcula is bent forward and lies beneath the abdomen, where it is held in place by retinaculum. When disturbed, the springtail through its strong abdominal muscles, extend the furcula with lightning speed, and as the furcula discloses, like a flick-knife blade the insect is catapulted into the air. Many jumping insects like click beetles and few others, employ their legs for jumping. Is Grasshopper A Flying Insect? \| Grasshopper Facts For Kids Grasshoppers are not generally considered as flying insects. Nevertheless, they possess two pairs of wings, the first of which are hardened and reinforced with tough wing veins, and the second membraneous. The large, migratory species, known as locusts, are accompanied flyers with bush-crickets (Tettigoniidae) and true crickets (Gryllidae) differ from grasshoppers by having very long antennae. Singing to the Sun and Moon \| Grasshopper Facts For Kids While many Orthoptera species have developed a unique jumping ability, they are often found singing in a loud voice; one can observe their voices in an uncultivated land in the sunny meadows of summer. All the Orthoptera, especially grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts are known to sing in a loud voice so much so that their voice overlaps the loud song of the cicadas. Amongst these, the male grasshoppers and bush-crickets (family Tettigoniidae) are relatively popular for singing and they live in small colonies in rough vegetation and grass. Most Orthoptera are sun-worshippers, although a good many number of crickets start singing in evening and into the night in summer; the house cricket is almost entirely nocturnal. They produce these sounds via a special structure which is located on its pair of wings that, when rubbed either with the wings or with the modified legs, become the source of these sounds. One of the species of Orthoptera is a green bush-cricket, Tettigonia viridissima, reaching a length of 7 – 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) have an extended thread-like antennae. It is generally found in the coastal districts of western and southern England and less commonly inland in late summer. The grasshoppers (family Acrididae) having unique coloration holds short antennae as compared to that of bush-crickets. While the grasshopper is busy in stridulation, one can easily observe the rise and fall of its extended long legs provided the movement is slow and the note is a low one. The not becomes higher in pitch as the movement speeds up. Like bush-crickets, true crickets let their front wings to come into play for stridulation but unlike the former the latter has a file on the right wing and the wings always lie with the right wing uppermost. The complicated structure of the stridulatory organs thereby gives rise to the delicate song which is quite pleasing to the human ear. True crickets have long been kept in captivity by men of several historical periods so that they may listen to the melodious songs of these insects. Grasshopper Facts For Kids \| Video What Do Butterflies Eat? \| Butterfly Diet What Do Praying Mantis Eat \| Praying Mantis Diet Peacock Butterfly Facts \| Anatomy, Diet, Habitat, Behavior Pond Snail Facts \| Anatomy, Diet, Habitat, Behavior Black Swallowtail Butterfly Facts \| Anatomy, Diet, Habitat, Behavior Karner Blue Butterfly Facts \| Anatomy, Diet, Habitat, Reproduction madison August 28, 2014 at 1:12 am I love animals Three Guard Dog Alternatives for Your Home Endangered Species For Kids \| Top 6 Endangered Species	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line31
__label__wiki	0.691109	0.691109	I, Medusa For atheist witches, by atheist witches Medusa: Our Lady of Rage nonsense \| paganism \| witchcraft Women are still being murdered for practicing witchraft Anna Mist September 2, 2018 September 2, 2018 Home nonsense Women are still being murdered for practicing witchraft Success and Jealousy in the Witch Community: Don’t be a Hater, Girl How to become a witch Anna Mist nonsense \| paganism \| witchcraft September 2, 2018 September 2, 2018 When people think about the violent executions of women accused of witchcraft, the Salem trials and 1600s England commonly come to mind. However, murdering women in the name of eradicating witches is still very much a practice — even in 2018. The Katmandu Post reports that a 40-year-old woman has just been arrested for killing her own mother-in-law out of the belief that the woman was a witch. Police say that 40-year-old Tanki Rawat took her 69-year-old mother-in-law into a wooded area before beating her to death as a form of exorcism. The woman believed that her mother-in-law had been casting black magic spells on her. She claims that a shaman told her that her elderly mother-in-law had been practicing witchcraft. In August, a woman in Koenjhar, India was poisoned to death by villagers after they accused her of practicing witchcraft. The victim, an elderly woman, was accused by her killers of casting spells on them to prevent them from being able to bear children with their spouses. An autopsy determined that the woman had been poisoned with a variety of toxic substances, including pesticides. Authorities in this area claim that witchcraft-related violence is somewhat frequent, with at least four other incidents on report in 2018. Also in the past month, two Nigerian priests have been arrested after “accidentally” killing a woman that they were trying to exorcise of witchcraft. The 25-year-old woman was reportedly poisoned, much like the woman who was killed in India around the same time. It seems that poisonings and violent beatings are becoming the preferred mode of killing witches — or, rather, innocent women who are likely not at all involved with the craft. Just two weeks ago in Kenya, a 30-year-old man brutally beat his mother within an inch of her life — and threatened to kill her — because she didn’t like his wife. However, the man also told police that his mother is a witch, and that is why he was attempting to beat her and chase her from his home. Meanwhile, his mother accuses his young wife of also being a witch. Currently in Tanzania, authorities are having a hard time controlling the increasing number of vigilante murders associated with witchcraft. The nation of over 55 Million people has a culture richly rooted in belief in witchcraft, and over 90% of the population still believes in it. Many residents of Tanzania do practice witchcraft, but their practice is kept hidden due to vigilante witch hunters who are determined to kill witches in the name of Jesus Christ. People want us dead There is no way around this fact. Many of us are fortunate enough to live in the Western world, where talk of witch slayings are based on history and not current events. We’re all lucky in that we don’t live in daily fear of vigilantes hunting us down. But on the other side of the world, the number of women (and also men and children) being murdered on these accusations is growing, and growing and growing. Most people who are murdered for practicing witchcraft are innocent, but many of us are not. Many of us are practicing witches, and we need to remain aware of the fact that we’re targets. ©2019 I, Medusa	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line36
__label__wiki	0.898149	0.898149	Rep. Lewis: Race controversy good for dialogue Atlantis Online > Forum > Modern Historical Mysteries > Modern History > Civil Rights > Rep. Lewis: Race controversy good for dialogue Author Topic: Rep. Lewis: Race controversy good for dialogue (Read 19 times) Monique Faulkner Rep. Lewis: Race controversy good for dialogueStory Highlights Rep. John Lewis is a superdelegate who switched from Clinton to Obama Lewis did not mention the Rev. Jeremiah Wright by name during his sermon Some of Wright's past sermons came under scrutiny this past month Obama says he would have switched churches had Wright not retired From Rachel Streitfeld and Cody Combs WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis suggested Sunday the controversy over Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor has reignited a conversation about race that could ultimately be beneficial for the country. Rep. John Lewis says "we must learn to understand and forgive those who have been most hostile" toward us. 1 of 2 "The civil rights movement had the power to ... what I call bring the dirt, the filth from under the American rug out of the cracks and corners, into the light so we can deal with it," said Lewis, an Obama supporter, at a forum on faith and civil rights at Washington's National Cathedral. "Just maybe, just maybe, what is happening now will bring something out, so we all can be educated and sensitized." While he did not mention the Rev. Jeremiah Wright by name during a sermon he gave at the cathedral, Lewis indirectly addressed the Chicago pastor's fiery comments on race. "During the past few days, the issue of race and the need for reconciliation have emerged through the presidential campaign. We know, and we all know, it's not a secret America had a dark past of division and separation," Lewis said. "But if we are to emerge unscarred by hate, we must learn to understand and forgive those who have been most hostile and violent towards us." Some of Wright's past sermons came under scrutiny in recent weeks when a news report highlighted ones that included racially charged remarks. In one, the minister said America had brought the September 11 attacks upon itself. In another, he said Sen. Hillary Clinton had an advantage over Obama because she is white. Obama, a longtime friend of Wright's and a member of his church for two decades, has repeatedly denounced the remarks, but refused to denounce the minister himself. Wright retired from Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ earlier this year, before the controversy erupted. Obama: Had Wright not retired, I'd have left church Clinton: Wright would not have been my pastor Election Center 2008 Obama told ABC's "The View" in an interview last week that he would have left the church if his pastor hadn't retired and hadn't acknowledged making "inappropriate" comments that "deeply offended people." Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia, delivered his sermon from the same pulpit where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke 40 years ago, four days before his assassination. Lewis said King's struggle for peace and equality continues today. "The sermon Martin Luther King gave us is still so timely, so relevant and so fresh," Lewis said, adding that he could have re-read King's words to similar effect today. He parried several questions about the heated race for the Democratic nomination, joking the audience was trying to put him in hot water. "Now, you know what you're doing, you're putting me on the spot here," he laughed. "But it's OK. I've been in the hot seat before." Lewis soon abandoned his hesitance to declare Americans were open to electing a black president, and predicted Obama will win the Democratic nomination and go on to become president. Lewis had backed Clinton, but then decided in late February to endorse Obama. Obama won the Georgia primary February 5. "I'm convinced he will be elected," he said. "I believe the American people are ready." Lewis said a win for Obama would send ripples throughout the globe. "We will send a message to citizens of the world that America can be looked upon as a model for diversity and a new kind of leadership," he said. Lewis is a member of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives and a Democratic superdelegate -- one of the elected officials and party leaders who are not bound by the results of primary elections or caucuses when they vote on the party's presidential nominee at its August convention in Denver. E-mail to a friend http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/30/lewis.wright/index.html#cnnSTCText	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line37
__label__wiki	0.749213	0.749213	Trojan Baseball Coaching Staff Lee Boyd: Head Coach email-lee.boyd@lowndes.k12.ms.us twitter- @BoydLNHBB Lee Boyd begins his 14th season overall and is returning for his 10th season as the head coach of the Trojans. Boyd has been named The Commercial Dispatch Large School’s Coach of the year 5 times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017). He was also named MHSAA Class 5A Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, the MAC (Mississippi Association of Coaches) named Boyd the state’s baseball coach of the year and the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) also named him Mississippi’s Baseball Coach of the year. Following a state runner-up finish in 2018, Boyd was named the NEMCABB Class 4A Coach of the year. Boyd has been selected to coach the MHSAA all-star game in 2014 and the NEMCABB all-star game in 2017. He has also been a guest speaker at the MS Association of Coaches Clinic in Jackson. In his nine seasons at New Hope, Boyd has a nine-year record of 226-79 and has seen several of his players sign to play college baseball. Currently, the program has 13 players on college rosters and one (Will Golsan, Colorado Rockies Organization) in professional baseball. Boyd has led the Trojans to the North State Championship Series (Final 4) in 6 of the last 7 seasons, winning 3 of those series to advance to the State Championship. Under Boyd, the Trojans have been nationally ranked twice. (2014 and 2015) The most successful seasons for Boyd came in 2013 and 2014. The 2013 team finished at 27-9 and won the state championship against defending champion Pascagoula in 3 games. It was the first title for the Trojans in 10 seasons. The 2014 team won the division and made its way back to North State and defeated rival Oxford to advance to the state championship. The Trojans were matched up against South State Winner West Jones and won a hard-fought series in 3 games to win back to back state championships for the 1sttime in school history. The 2014 team jumped back in the national polls for the 1sttime since 2005 at #20 by Baseball America. The Trojans have also had recent success on the diamond. In 2015, the Trojans finished at 25-7 as the North State Runner-up and were ranked #7 in the state by Maxpreps.com and #20 Nationally by Maxpreps.com medium school poll. The 2016 team made a run to the 3rdround of the playoffs and finished the season ranked #19 by Maxpreps.com. The 2017 team started slow but ended up finishing as the North State Runner up with a 21-14 record and ranked #23 in state by Maxpreps.com. Last season, (2018) was special as the Trojans won the division and were crowned the class 4A North State Champion. NH made its way back to Jackson to compete in the state championship vs Vancleave. The Trojans ended up losing the series to finish as the Class 4A State Runner up. NH had a final record of 29-7 and ranked #13 in the state by prepbaseballreport.com. Before taking over the New Hope program in the fall of 2009, Boyd was an assistant under head coach Brian Jones at Neshoba Central High School in Philadelphia, MS from 2007-2009. Before joining the staff at Neshoba, Boyd was an assistant under head coach Jeff Cook at Columbus High School. His first coaching experience came during a one year stop as the head coach at Immanuel (Columbus Christian School) in Columbus. A native of Columbus, Boyd attended high school at New Hope and was a three-year starter for the Trojans. During his three years as a starter, the Trojans collected three district championships, a North State runner-up finish, and a North State championship. After graduation Coach Boyd began his collegiate career by signing with East Mississippi Community College. During his freshman campaign, he was named second team All-Region. After two seasons at EMCC, Boyd signed with the University of West Alabama. As a junior, he was named second team All Gulf South Conference after going 6-1 with two saves in 23 appearances out of the Tiger bullpen. During his senior campaign, he was named preseason All GSC. He finished his college career by going 5-1 with two saves and helped the Tigers finish with a 45-19 record, which is currently the most wins in the program’s history. The 2005 Tigers also won the GSC title and earned a birth in the NCAA Div II Regional. Boyd finished his two year UWA career with an 11-2 record which is good for 2ndall time at UWA in career winning percentage. Boyd earned a Bachelor’s degree in History Education from UWA in 2005 and a Master’s degree in Physical Education from UWA in 2008. Boyd, 35, and his wife Allison have been married since June of 2006. They have 2 children, daughter Audrey (8) and son Brady (5). They both attend New Hope Elementary. Boyd Year by Year Overall 226-79 Division 57-23 (4 Division Titles) Playoffs 55-20 (3-time North State Runner up, 3 North State Championships, 2 State Championships) Year Record Result 2018 29-7 District Champions, Class 4A North State Champions, Class 4A State Runner up 2017 21-14 Class 5A North State Runner-up 2016 20-12 3rd round of playoffs 2015 25-7 Class 5A North State Runner-up 2014 32-4 District Champions, Class 5A North State Champions, Class 5A State Champions 2013 27-9 Class 5A North State Champions, Class 5A State Champions 2012 25-9 District Champions, Class 5A North State Runner-up 2011 24-9 3rd round of playoffs 2010 23-8 District Champions, 2nd round of playoffs Final Rankings by Season 2018 #12 by Maxpreps.com, #13 by Prepbaseballreport.com 2017 #23 by Maxpreps.com 2015 #7 by Maxpreps.com, #20 Nationally by Maxpreps.com Medium School Poll 2014 #2 by Maxpreps.com, #4 by Clarion-Ledger, #20 Nationally by Baseball America 2013 #12 by Maxpreps.com, #12 by Clarion-Ledger 2010 # 22 by Maxpreps.com Jared Garrett: Assistant Varsity Coach Twitter- @JGarrettNHBB Email- jared.garrett@lowndes.k12.ms.us Jared Garrett is entering his 3rd season with the New Hope Baseball program and 2nd as the varsity assistant. Coach Garrett is a 2006 graduate of New Hope High School. After graduation, he went on to serve in the military for 4 years. Prior to coming to NH, he has been an assistant coach at Starkville High School (2016) and Columbus High School (2014). In 2015, Garrett started his career as the head baseball coach at Columbus Christian School. His main responsibilies will be to run the junior varsity team and work with outfielders and hitters. Coach Garrett earned his Bachelor's of Science degree from Mississippi State University in 2014. Garrett, 30, and his wife Annie Cate have been married for three years. She is also an elementary teacher at New Hope Elementary School. Joel Robertson: Freshman Coach Joel Robertson is entering his 4th season as an assistant coach. Coach Robertson will be in charge of the 9th grade program and assist with the JV/Varsity. Prior to joining the staff at NH, Coach Robertson was as assistant coach at Winona High School for 8 seasons. He is a 1995 graduate of Winona High School. He is a 2008 graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor's Degree in PE/Health. Joel's wife Rachel is a teacher at NHHS. They have six children, Chandler (20) Grace (15) Ndy (13) Huntley (11) Emma (10) and Nolan (6). Tyler Neal: Junior High Coach Tyler Neal is entering his 4th season with the New Hope Baseball Program. He spent the 2016 season on staff at Long Beach High School. Neal was a volunteer student assistant on the 2015 staff. His main responsibilities will be to run the Junior High Program and assist with the JV/V. Coach Neal graduated in 2009 from Edinburg High School where he was a 4-year starter. After graduation, Neal signed with East Central Community College to continue his baseball career. After finishing at ECCC, Neal went on the Mississippi State University and graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. Coach Neal, 26, and his wife Keeton both teach at New Hope Middle School. They have 1 daughter, Evie Kate, who was born in November of 2018. Nich Morrow: Assistant Junior High Coach Nich Morrow is entering his 1st season at New Hope as the junior assistant coach. He has previously coached as an assistant at Choctaw County High School and Eupora High School. Coach Morrow graduated high school from East Webster in 2011. After graduating, he served for 6 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard. Coach Morrow received his Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University in May of 2017. He has one child, Christian, who is 3 years old. Brandon Williams: Student Coach Brandon WIlliams is entering his 1st season with the New Hope baseball program as a student assistant for the 2019 baseball season. He is a 2015 graduate of Grenada High School where he was a three year starter before earning all state honors as a senior. He continued his baseball career at Itawamba Community College where he spent the 2015-2017 seasons as a middle infielder. He is now a senior at MIssissippi State University and is majoring in Secondary Education with a focus on Social Studies.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line41
__label__cc	0.592338	0.407662	Published on Investing in Health Equity Is a Must on the Road to Universal Health Coverage Caroline Ly Michael Kent Ranson Many countries around the world are working to ensure that all people can access the quality health services they need without suffering financial hardship. Countries have committed to reaching universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030 as part of the global Sustainable Development Goals. However, recent evidence from countries undertaking these reforms shows that while countries are often able to make strides in expanding health coverage and financial protection, inequities can persist and even widen on the path to UHC when an equity lens is not applied to reforms. To help address this issue, ministers of health and finance, along with academics and other partners, are gathering this week for the Third Annual Universal Health Coverage Financing Forum (AUHCFF). With participants from 65 countries in attendance, the two-day forum, which takes place on April 19 to 20, will engage these critical policymakers in sharing country experiences and proposing solutions to best mobilize resources and shape health financing to achieve equity and access to health services. By bringing the finance and health sectors together, the AUHCFF, which is co-hosted by the World Bank Group and USAID, creates one of the only global spaces that convenes key actors to help accelerate progress in countries towards sustainable financing for the expansion of health services and access. With less than 5,000 days left to go to achieve the global target on UHC, current progress is too slow. As countries determine how best to accelerate progress, they must also take into consideration that improving health outcomes will require that poor and marginalized populations have access to good quality services with a minimized burden of out-of-pocket spending. By ensuring a sustained equitable approach to financing health services, countries on the path toward UHC will also be on a path toward self-reliance. However, this may require policymakers to balance decisions between improving equity and other objectives, such as improving efficiency, population health, stimulating employment or economic growth. The AUHCFF will provide an opportunity to discuss and explore how health financing can achieve equity on the road to UHC. It will shine a spotlight on UHC reforms, including public and private sector approaches, that aim to achieve the equitable distribution for financing health services as well as the equitable use of services based on health needs. This year’s Forum builds on two previous UHC financing forums. The first Forum in 2016 focused on resource mobilization and how to generate revenue, through country-driven means, to meet the needs of populations for good quality health services and financial protection. The second Forum in 2017 debated strategic policies and practical interventions to help governments use health system resources more efficiently. The Third Annual Universal Health Coverage Financing Forum (AUHCFF) will take place on April 19 to 20, 2018, at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Follow the conversation on Twitter at #UHCfinance. For more information visit the Forum’s website. Health Economist More Blogs By Caroline Senior Health Economist More Blogs By Michael	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line43
__label__cc	0.675462	0.324538	Bodleian Map Room Blog Items of interest from the wonderful world of maps A battle plan from the Second Opium War Sketch illustrating the action fought on the 18th of September 1860… is an example of a type of map called a Battle Plan. Created by historians to illustrate books on campaigns these types of map have also been used for educational purposes or for items for sale to the general public. The Bodleian holds in its collection a large number of such plans; the Napoleonic wars, the American Civil War and numerous colonial conflicts in Africa are just a few examples available to consult. This plan is of the battle of Chang-Chia-Wan, fought between French and British forces and the Chinese between 1857 and 1860 during the Second Opium War over trade restrictions, hostility to British settlers and the selling of opium in the West. Divisions are indicated by the rectangular blocks and troop and cavalry movements shown by lines of advance. The use of the rectangular box to indicate units of troops is a long established practise which continued up to and past the Second World War, the main difference between the old and the new being that divisions got bigger as the areas of conflict grew, and maps as detailed as this, which has a scale of 2 inches to a mile, become less relevant as whole fronts are depicted. Judging by the marble design on the verso of the map and the tag (not shown) at the top of the map this is most probably a fold-out from a book. Single sheet maps from the time don’t usually have the elaborate marble pattern on the back that this one has. Marbling is created when paints are floated onto a gum solution and then swirled into patterns, paper is then laid on top of the pattern which is transferred on to the paper and then dried. It is interesting to note that the map is lithographed by Col. Sir Henry James, Director-General of the Ordnance Survey. A second map from the Opium Wars shows the situation between the 1st and 21st of August and the taking of the Taku forts (D5:17 (30)). Sketch illustrating the action fought on the 18th of September, 1860 by the allied armies in China taken from the road survey made by Lieut: Colonel Wolseley, D.A.Q.M.G. and Lieut: Harrison, Rl. Engineers [1861]. D5:17 (29) This entry was posted in History, Military on 10 March 2016 by stuart. The Map Room's official website The Atlantic Charter Not a map The Grand Junction Railway Views from the sea	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line46
__label__wiki	0.784891	0.784891	Not Nearly Enough Baseball After my appearance on "Jeopardy!" in mid-April, I heard from a lot of people who said "too bad baseball wasn't a category," and I couldn't agree more. What they didn't realize was how close I did come to having baseball as a category. My show was taped in early February, a perfect time to escape winter's grip in Cooperstown and head to sunny southern California. I was lucky that I got to make two trips, because it was much sunnier there the second time. "Jeopardy!" tapes five shows a day, and I was extremely eager to play in the first game of the day -- not because I was more awake than the other contestants (far from it), but because it would air on my birthday. Randomness is the guiding factor in running the show, however, and my randomness turned out to be shaky. Every morning of taping, the show's producers bring six complete game boards with them, which they turn over to the outside company which oversees randomness and other components of fairness. This system of safeguards is the residue of that little quiz-show scandal they had a half-century ago, and which led Merv Griffin's wife to suggest that instead of dishonestly giving contestants the answers to questions already posed, they create a show where contestants are given the answers and have to provide the questions. Voila! Game-show history. So the outside company chooses which five of the six game boards will be used that day, and in which order. Meanwhile, the day's new contestants gather in the green room, have their names put on index cards which are shuffled and scrambled into randomness. Two at a time are picked, and those are the challengers for the next game. So I had big hopes for playing that first game and starting a week-long run on the show. But no. I didn't get picked for the first game, and had to remain on the sidelines with the other players, sequestered like a jury, not allowed to talk to anyone except each other, lest we get information from someone who had seen the game boards. Imagine my dismay when they revealed the "Double Jeopardy" categories and the first one was "Baseball". My hands flew up in the air in a gesture of dismay, and the people around me snickered. "Too bad for you," someone whispered. No shit, Sherlock. The five clues were easy, and assuming I had buzzed in first I would have picked up a cool $6,000 on the category. Instead, when I played I got "Double Jeopardy" categories like Physics, Marine Life, Business Talk, World Religion, and Native Americans. Not exactly my wheelhouse. I had to wait until the final game of the day to get my chance to play. One of the first-round categories was on the NFL, and I didn't buzz in first until the $800 clue, which I got along with the $1,000 clue. That helped me build up a sizable lead by the end of the show, even without any baseball references in sight. Winning that first game was the rush of a lifetime. My mother was on "Jeopardy!" the first year it was on the air, 1964, and I remember going to Rockefeller Center with her for the taping, sitting in the audience while Art Fleming read out the answers, and watching with dismay as she lost to the show's first five-time winner. He won $6,000 in his five games, the amount I would have made just from that Baseball category on my birthday show if chance had acted differently. Still, after a mere 44-year wait, I had redeemed my mother's frustrating loss. Leaving the studio, I was asked by an audience member for an autograph, which will have to count as a sort of baseball moment, a star rookie performer giving a new fan a souvenir. There was another baseball connection on that first show. One of my opponents--the other challenger--was a woman from Spartanburg, South Carolina. After the show, we talked about her cousin: Shoeless Joe Jackson. Her grandfather played semi-pro ball with Jackson during the 1920s, and she was knowledgeable about the banned outfielder. After the show aired last month, someone sent me a link to the Spartanburg newspaper and its headline about the local woman appearing on "Jeopardy!" The article began "A local woman nearly staged a come-from-behind victory on Friday's episode" of the show. The phrasing intrigued me. At the end of "Double Jeopardy" she had $2,300 and I had $19,600, twice as much as the defending champion, so I had the victory cinched, especially over her. It made me wonder how the folks in Spartanburg, South Carolina define "nearly". Then it dawned on me; they define the word as in "The South nearly staged a come-from-behind victory in the Civil War." By winning the last show taped one week, I got to return to Los Angeles the following week to defend my championship. Things didn't go as well. I had a small lead after "Double Jeopardy," had to bet almost everything I had, and missed the final question, going down in flames like a doomed fighter pilot in that "most magnificent competition" of all, war. That's show biz! I heard from a lot of friends around the country after the games aired, and a few people actually wrote to ask "how could you not get the Rangers question?" Yes, there was a baseball question on the second show. The category was Texas, and the clue was about the team that plays its home games in Arlington. Some friends felt compelled to chide me for NOT KNOWING that it was the Rangers. I felt compelled to ask them, "how can you not know that there's more to the game than knowing the answer?" In fact, knowing the answer is the easy part of the game. Most of the contestants know most of the answers. The key is buzzing in first, which is a matter of quick reflexes and timing. I just didn't buzz in fast enough on that clue. I work at the Hall of Fame; trust me, folks, I know where the teams play. In all the years I've been watching "Jeopardy!" I can't remember seeing Baseball as the "Final Jeopardy" category--until just six shows after the one I lost. I was astonished to see it: "Baseball Terms". The answer was a quote I hadn't seen before, about how "Slugger Willie Stargell described it as 'a butterfly with hiccups'." That was easy enough to figure out. The full quote is a dandy: "Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox." Only one of the three contestants that day got it, so that was another game where I would have kicked ass. All I needed to do was win six more games and chance would have broken in my favor. It turns out that there was plenty of baseball in the vicinity during the games that aired in mid-April, but not nearly enough in the games I got to play. Oh well--it sure was fun while it lasted. All That Snake Jazz	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line47
__label__wiki	0.652418	0.652418	Noise And Silence The Independent newspaper ran a fun little article about a production of the Austrian playwright Peter Handke's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other. The play consists of 60 pages of stage directions, with no dialogue. In the National Theatre production which opened this week in London, 27 performers play 450 parts in 90 word-free minutes. Journalist Andy McSmith professes to being bemused by the production. He cites other wordless plays like Beckett's Act Without Words shorts, but puts their lack of dialogue down to the fact that they're only a few minutes long. Yet despite his befuddlement, McSmith's take on Handke's drama is an engaging read: His descriptions of the actors processing across the stage like old men, the thumps and screams, and the finale in which an actor sitting in the audience gets up on stage, make the work sound rather compelling. I especially like the idea that the lack of spoken words causes an explosion of dialogue in the audience at the end: "After the final curtain, instead of the silence that usually follows the completion of a drama, there was a torrent of conversation, as if everyone had to make up for all that missing dialogue," McSmith writes. "They talked in their seats, in the aisles, and on their way through the exit. It was happy chatter." I haven't seen the play, but I've read it. The work isn't so much trying, as McSmith attests, to "make some point about people's inability to communicate." It's more about the myriad different ways that people communicate -- from the joy of movement to the power of locking eyes across a town square. Language is just one method of interacting. It's the most direct, perhaps, which is why the audience broke out into enthusiastic chatter at the end in the National's production. Perhaps McSmith let himself get bamboozled by the venue. If The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other had been performed at The Sadler's Wells or The Royal Ballet by dancers rather than actors, then no one would have considered the wordlessness out of the ordinary. It's funny how often peoples' perceptions of theatre -- mine included -- are bound by conventional spoken language. Here's a little weekend reading for anyone interested in delving into Handke's play.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line50
__label__wiki	0.54898	0.54898	Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) may have been born anywhere between 1900 and 1908. He may have gotten his nickname as a young baggage-handler from jerryrigging a pole to carry four bags at once - or because he was once caught swiping a suitcase. Depends on who you ask. Satchel was born in Mobile, Alabama. Entering reform school for shoplifing at the age of 12, he was mentored by Edward Byrd who taught him his loping pitching style. Release early from a five year gig, Satchel went semi-pro. As was common in those days, especially for black players, he played wherever and whenever he could, not only for the team he had a contract with, but off-season games (in Cuba, for example) and “barnstorming” where you might often get to watch a mixed-race game. In 1931 he played for the Cleveland Cubs as part of the Negro League. Playing in a city that also had a white, professional team, had an effect on Paige. "I'd look over at the Cleveland Indians' stadium, called League Park. All season long it burned me, playing there in the shadow of that stadium. It didn't hurt my pitching, but it sure didn't do me any good." In 1936 Paige was playing for the Pittsburgh Crawfords. The Cleveland News - Friday, July 3 Colored Aces to Play Here Sunday Negro National League baseball will return to Cleveland Sunday with a double-header at League Park between the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, for years two of the strongest clubs in the loop. Satchel Paige of the Crawfords rated the biggest crowd pleaser among the colored ball players is expected to pitch one of the two games here. He humiliated the Homestead team two years ago before 12,000 fans, turning them back without a hit. As a member of the Negro League All-Stars he also barnstormed in Cleveland that summer, facing off against 17 year-old Bob Feller. Each pitched three innings, giving up one hit. Feller struck out eight, Paige seven. In 1948 at the age of 42, Satchel Paige joined the Cleveland Indians. He is the oldest rookie in the history of the Major Leagues. The Cleveland News Labels: baseball, Bob Feller, Cleveland Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland News, Satchel Paige, Wikipedia beedie December 11, 2010 at 6:05 AM I had no idea he was so old when he was hired by the Indians. Racism sucks. pengo December 11, 2010 at 7:51 AM "Racism sucks." You must be a writer. The Year In Review (1936) Cleveland Municipal Stadium Blackwing Sketchbook Heater From Van Meter Ohio Criminal Syndicalism Act Cedar-Lee Theatre Western Reserve University Bay Village "A second Boston Tea Party!" Sterling Lindner Davis Department Store Christmas Comes But Once A Year (1936) My Trip To Lubberland George Gund Cleveland Trust Company	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line53
__label__cc	0.734371	0.265629	After-School Programs Can Help Lift Students at Risk By Michael Brown, Special to the Times Saturday, June 4, 2016 8:51am Michael Brown, executive director of After School All-Stars Tampa, says programs like his boost students’ performance. After School All-Stars Michael Brown, executive director of After School All-Stars Tampa, says programs like his boost students’ performance. Money magazine recently described Tampa as an “urban gem” and ranked it best large city in the Southeastern United States. Affordable house prices and low unemployment rates were two criteria used to explain this distinction as well as Tampa’s growing infrastructure, extensive network of beaches and unbridled ambition. None of this was a surprise to me. Tampa is home and I consider it one of the finest cities in America. I am pleased that it is getting the positive recognition it deserves. However, it is important that while acknowledging our successes we not ignore the challenges that still affect too many of our fellow citizens. Tampa struggles with problems like poverty, homelessness and income mobility. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013 Hillsborough County ranked fourth out of Florida’s 67 counties for people living in poverty. In 2012, Hillsborough had the highest rate of homelessness in the nation, according to a report compiled by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and a recent Harvard University study ranked Hillsborough County 98th out of the 100 largest counties when it comes to income mobility for poor families. These are frightening statistics, but I fundamentally believe quality education can provide the antidote to each of these problems. However, when I talk about education, I think it is important that we consider it holistically. Quality education encompasses more than just academics and a school day that runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Quality education needs to include health and wellness learning, character development, community service projects and a school day that mirrors parents’ work schedules. Students, especially those in challenged communities, need to understand the value and practicality of their efforts and must have a safe space to continue their development once classes end. They need results-driven programming and access to comprehensive after-school programs. The organization that I work for, After-School All-Stars, provides free after-school programs designed to keep students safe and to help them build skill sets that allow them to succeed in school and life. We offer a curriculum that balances academics, health and fitness and enrichment learning, and we operate from 3 to 6 p.m. five days a week. After-School All-Stars recently launched its first chapter in Tampa at Memorial Middle School in Seminole Heights. Ninety-five percent of Memorial’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and close to a third of the student body has been absent more than 10 percent of the school year and/or has been suspended at least once. Despite these challenges, the school is filled with potential and is led by a dedicated group of teachers and administrators. We are eager to work with the Memorial Middle School team on creating a more holistic educational environment for its students. Together we can reduce the truancy and suspension rates at the school and improve overall academic performance. After-school programs have a well-documented record of success at improving student attendance, performance and behavior. More difficult to quantify but just as important, after-school programs also improve the cultures of the schools they operate in. I recently spoke to a teacher at Memorial Middle School who feels that she has more credibility with her students than she did before the program started. She also told me a wonderful story about a student of hers who regularly attends class just so he can go to our after-school program later in the day. After-school programs can’t provide solutions to all the challenges facing communities in Tampa, but they can help many of the city’s most-at-risk students obtain a fun and positive educational experience. After-School All-Stars is already hard at work with the city of Tampa, Hillsborough County School District and philanthropic partners like the New York Life Foundation to ensure everyone in Tampa can say with certainty that they live in the best large city in the Southeastern United States. Michael Brown is executive director of After-School All-Stars Tampa. © 2016 Tampa Bay Times Posted on June 4, 2016 Author WeblineDesignsCategories National Media Coverage Previous Previous post: Step Up and Join #TeamBolt to Support ASAS South Florida Next Next post: There’s No Pay-To-Play in After-School All-Stars	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line57
__label__wiki	0.630722	0.630722	Elijah's Mantle, Part 3 RP Logs » Archives: Logs » Elijah's Mantle, Part 3 January 23, 2015: Beast asks Cap for some help and the gang debates Jesus. Somewhere over the Atlantic A quinjet cockpit. <Name of NPC or "None"> <Use same pattern for all npcs> It's not the Blackbird, but the Quinjet seems to be interesting enough. Once things were settled and they were up in the air, Beast got up from his seat and moved to join Captain America in the cockpit, assuming that there's a co-pilot's seat. There is, of course, the question on his lips about whether or not he should -really- be flying since he was apparently found frozen…in a plane…that had been crashed into an iceburg. He decides, however, to let that sleeping dog lie. Instead, he takes a seat, looks at the panel, and then asks, "Do you have a moment, Captain Rogers? I'd like to ask a…SHIELD sort of question if that's all right." Captain America had just put the craft into auto-pilot, setting course for New York City, the Triskelion, and presumably, to debrief. The information that they've gotten seems conclusive enough. But now the question begs: Does HYDRA have the mantle? And if so, where is it now? And, perhaps more imporantly—why do they want it in the first place? Still, on the outside, Steve is calm, cool, and collected. "Sure, Beast," he says with a nod and he tilts slightly in his seat towards the scientist. "What's on your mind?" For the duration of their journey back to the Quinjet, Leopold Fitz has been oddly quiet. One might guess him to be embarrassed about pretty much everything that happened back at the catacombs, and one might be right in guessing just that. As soon as he's back on board, he busies himself with going through his gear, making sure everything is replaced in its meticulously organized compartments. Midnighter is back in his seat, seemingly staring out the window and listening to his MP3 player since he's put the earbuds back in his ears. He's obviously paying attention though as he turns to watch Beast head forward and he turns the volume down so he can shamelessly eavesdrop. Sara is strapped into one of the seats near the cockpit, trying to figure out how to pass a long plane trip. They're apparently new for her. She did pick up a handful of magazines before they took off, but most of them aren't in English. Which means she's mostly flipping through them and looking at the pictures. "You know," she muses to Fitz, "I don't think the burqa is really an improvement on the swimsuit edition." Beast looks over the instrument panel again as if memorizing it for later recall, "A colleague of mine…Cyclops…shoots beams out of his eyes? He mentioned that he worked with you on a mission recently and…well…we have some missing colleagues and we're wondering if we might be able to call on SHIELD to help. We think HYDRA may be involved and we've exhausted our capabilities. If HYDRA -is- involved, it's quite possible that our capabilities have been rendered inert in regards to them." He's not terribly concerned about people eavesdropping, but he's also trying to be vague and specific all at once. Steve nods soberly, "Yes, I know who you're talking about." He folds his arms over his chest and stretches out his legs, folded at the ankle as he thinks. "I don't really speak on behalf of SHIELD, Beast. But I can tell you this: Regardless of whether or not my superiors will help you, you can count on me. I'd be happy to help, and I'll be happy to try and convince those who make the decisions for SHIELD to help, too." "Nothing will ever beat the Merlin Comics Swimsuit Edition of 1997," answers Fitz in a matter of fact way. Beast's journey to the cockpit had certainly caught his attention, but it wasn't strong enough to break the brooding. Sara, however, is. The scientist closes his ballistic case once he's confident that everything is accounted for, and walks over toward where the NYPD Detective is seated. "So, uh, I was wondering." He scratches his head a fidgets awkwardly for a moment. Most people would assume that he was about to awkwardly ask the woman out on a date or something. Instead, he points toward her hand, smiling in a bashful way. "That's a pretty neat thing, that you do. That thing you do, with the metal and the wires and the… yeah." Sara flips the magazine closed, leaning slightly forward to look toward the cockpit conversation. "More of Nancy's group?" she chimes in, before turning back to Fitz, lifting her right hand and giving the bracelet a shake. "Pretty neat thing is one way to put it," she says ruefully. "Though I've got a feeling that if I try to explain it, it might break some of your science," she cautions. "Howard Stark was taking a look at it while he was clearing SHIELD observation." "HYDRA is kidnapping mutants again?" Midnighter asks, raising his voice just enough to likely be heard up front. Naturally, Stormwatch heard about the last attempt given the threat to US security. "They really need to be persuaded to stop doing things like that." Beast gives a nod and lets out a breath in relief, "Thanks. We're really concerned about these kids…and with some of the anti-mutant tactics that HYDRA has already implemented, we're drawing a logical conclusion. You've also had quite a bit of experience with HYDRA, if I recall." He turns as Midnighter chimes in, "Again? They attacked us there for a while, but we seemed to have at least squelched that for a bit." They completely hosed the HYDRA agents who attacked the Institute. "These kids have been missing for a while. We're hoping for the best, but…" one reason they can't find them is that they may no longer be alive. Steve nods, "I'll be happy to help." He chuckles just under his breath at the comment about his experience with HYDRA. "Depending on how you count it's either 5 years, or 70." Although once Beast goes on, it's clear that the situation is no laughing matter. If they've stolen children and it has been this long…it's probably not going to be a positive conclusion. "Well." Fitz takes a seat and leans forward. Sara is about to learn a lesson in why people tend to be cautious engaging him in conversations such as these. "My presumption would be a combination of nanotechnology and a highly adaptable form of AI. However, considering you seem to have some control over how it works, that means there's some sort of interface with your nervous system. Thing is, it's wireless, and my scanners haven't picked up any signals, so clearly, whomever invented it has developed something that is far beyond anything SHIELD has ever encountered." Pause for breath. "You're probably right." He leans back, smirking. "If I really had a chance to dissect it, and of course I would only ever do so in the most secure and safe of environments, I'd probably discover some kind of alien technology. Things that might bend, or even break, the laws of physics as we know it. But, I'm up to the challenge." Completely over his head, that one. The other conversation draws his attention for a moment, but the matters of X-Gene bearing mutants is far more interesting to his wayward counterpart. There's a carrot dangling in front of Fitz, and it's called the Witchblade. "Ah." So not another attack. And likely the children are dead so it's not really something Midnighter considers a priority. Not that them being alive would necessarily be either. He swivels his chair around to glance at Sara and Fitz, considering their conversation. "Perhaps you should concentrate a bit less on things that are not your business and more on things with a practical importance. Such as looking down more and learning how to remain still." "It's magic, buddy," Sara informs Fitz, amused. "More things in heaven and earth." Tossing the magazines onto the seat next to her, she shifts to hike up her shirt and push the waist of her pants down on one side, revealing a scar the width of her hand between her hip and her side. "Spear of Destiny, used by an actual descendant of Christ. Through the armor." Settling back in again, she leans back in her seat. "Also, I tried to get it under a scope once. Breaking off pieces…is not easy to begin with, and usually has some unpleasant side effects even if it works." "It's appreciated. I'll let you know what our plans are once I'm back in touch with Cyclops…" Beast starts but then the conversation behind him catches his attention. "Hey now…that could have happened to any one of us. It's not like the trap was supremely obvious. No need to pick on Dr. Fitz." He is a 'doctor', right? Gold eyes then flick to Sara, "The Spear of Destiny…it's a real thing?" Religion and Science are uneasy bedfellows, after all.@emit "It's appreciated. I'll let you know what our plans are once I'm back in touch with Cyclops…" Beast starts but then the conversation behind him catches his attention. "Hey now…that could have happened to any one of us. It's not like the trap was supremely obvious. No need to pick on Dr. Fitz." He is a 'doctor', right? Gold eyes then flick to Sara, "The Spear of Destiny…it's a real thing?" Religion and Science are uneasy bedfellows, after all. "Christ didn't have descendants," Steve says idly to Sara as his blue eyes look at the scar passingly. But after that, Steve doesn't say much about the topic. Midnighter gets a look. That look soon turns embarrassed. The fellow is right, he ought to keep his nose out of other people's business. Fitz is about to apologize, when Sara goes and reveals her scar. "Oh, um," he starts, blinking owlishly for a moment before looking back to her as she explains it all away. His face actually flinches when he tries, and mostly succeeds, in whisking away a smirk. A veritable smorgasbord of snark is about to spill from his lips, but the deluge is halted when Beast first defends him, then asks about the Spear of Destiny. His eyes flash from Beast to Sara, then back to Beast. Scientist, asking about religious nonsense… NYPD cop getting stabbed by Jahweh's great x18 grandson, not settling well with the Doctor. Fitz whips out his tablet and begins searching the SHIELD databases for 'Spear of Destiny' and 'Known Descendants of Christian Figurheads'. "Because he wasn't real," he echoes behind Steve's interjection. "Stepping on the trigger can be forgiven." Midnighter agrees. "But moving enough to set off the trap was foolish and displays a lack of self control. A potentially fatal trait in an agent as was clearly demonstrated." Unlike a certain scientist, he has no problem accepting magic and looks curiously at Sara. "The actual spear of Longinus?" "As real as the demon that ate her and tried to take the Spear after," Sara answers Beast's question. She leaves out the part where it's currently residing in her hall closet. "And I'll let you take that up with the next killer nun, Steve," she adds to the Captain. "Besides, what, you think he spent his whole life preaching love and never had sex? You can come to mass with me on Sunday, talk to Father Vincent about the crafting of the Bible. Me? I believe in something once I've been stabbed with it, thanks." At Midnighter's question, she lifts a hand, wiggling it from side to side. "I didn't have time to get the full explanation at the time. I'm not sure if it was what it was before Longinus, or if it just happened to be in an opportune place at an opportune time to become something more." "Not necessarily true. It's believed that Jesus was a Rabbi…just not the Son of God." Yeah, this is going to turn out well — a bunch of scientists debating Jesus' existence while on a plane piloted by the epitome of an American. "Descendents don't have to be direct children. Wasn't there something going around about how he had siblings?" Magic is one thing. Religious-based miracles…that's another. Belief does amazing things, even imbuing ordinary things with legendary powers. "There are some who even say that Jesus could have been a mutant…" "Are we done here?" Captain America asks as he looks around the room. "I think I'd like to review some of the intelligence that SHIELD has sent over." The young scientist's eyes dart about as the group converses about such fantastic things. It hasn't even dawned on him that he may very well have insulted Captain America with his response, but the weight of that happens when Rogers makes a move to stop the conversation in its tracks. He stares slack jawed at Rogers for a moment, before slumping down in is his seat. "I didn't mean any offense," he mutters, before lowering his tablet and clearing the searches. Midnighter nods at Sara's answer. The question was purely academic for him since he doesn't have to fight the one carrying it. At the moment, anyway. "Interesting. Is there a tie between it and the item you carty?" "Considering the guy referred to her as the Magdalena, I've got a few guesses," Sara murmurs before clearing her throat with a look at the back of Steve's head. She had her crisis of faith a few years ago, but she's come out the other side. It's hard to lose faith entirely when you keep running into literal angels and demons. She shrugs to Midnighter - no answer on that front. "So, right. Intel. What're we looking at, Steve?" It takes him a moment to realize that not everyone would appreciate such a discussion. Clearing his throat, Beast offers, "Apologies. I'm sure none of us meant any offense." Religion is always such a touchy subject. "Did you want me to take the controls? I don't mind…I haven't flown this jet, particularly, but I'm sure I can figure it out." Steve pulls himself out of his seat and gives Fitz a friendly pat on the shoulder as he makes his way back towards one of the cabins. "No one ever does, kid." He gives Hank a shake of his head, "It's on autopilot. It'll let us know when we're close." With that he heads down towards the back of the plane. Yep. That's confirmation, Fitz just offended Steve Fucking Rogers. He's decidedly not going to tell Simmons about that until the vicious SHIELD rumor mill brings it back to him. "I'll pull up the incoming packets," he answers, and begins accessing the SHIELD intel. Soon enough, anyone with a compatible device will have the (encrypted) material delivered. _201501beastcaptain_americaelijahs_mantlefitzmidnighterwitchblade	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line58
__label__wiki	0.721157	0.721157	Details About The 'Every Little Thing' Single Emerge Details about 'Every Little Thing', the second single to be released in Germany from the 'World Service' album, have started to emerge. The cover for the CD single, shown right, is now believed to have been finalised, along with the tracklisting. The single is due to be released in Germany on 13th September by J-Star records. The CD single will contain five tracks. There will be four different versions of 'Every Little Thing': 'radio hit mix', 'radio ballad mix', 'radio remix', plus the 'album version'. The fifth track will be 'Free', taken from 'World Service'. As with the 'Inside Outside' single in Germany, the remixes have been produced by Germany's Udo Rinklin. As no video has yet been shot for 'Every Little Thing', the CD will not include any videos. 'Every Little Thing' can now be pre-ordered from Amazon.de. The single's release will coincide with Delirious' appearance at the 'SWR3 New Pop Festival' in Baden-Baden, Germany (18th September). In addition, 'World Service' will be re-released in Germany on 4th October with additional bonus tracks, expected to be the remixes from the two singles, plus the 'Inside Outside' music video. More details to follow. Singles: Every Little Thing [Germany]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line64
__label__wiki	0.829008	0.829008	Culture, Society & Politics Diaspora and Migration North, Central & West Asia Inner and Central Asian Studies Iran and Persian Studies Ottoman and Turkish Studies Russian and Soviet Studies Tibetan and Himalayan Studies East, South & Southeast Asia Asian Archaeology Asian Art History Japan Studies Eastern and Central Europe Latin American and Caribbean Studies U.S. History & American Studies Fresh from the Archives Applicants Forum Seeking Editors Review & Be Reviewed Crisis & Responsibility in Postemancipation Jamaica Latin America April 7, 2014 - No comments A review of The Measure of Empire: Crisis and Responsibility in Postemancipation Jamaica, by Christienna Fryar. Is it possible to write a history of nineteenth-century Jamaica in which slavery and emancipation become supporting players rather than leading roles? This history could not ignore race or class divisions, nor could it neglect the ongoing post-slavery labor debates. But what if these issues became an ever-present backdrop for a study spotlighting other aspects of Jamaican politics and society? Or a history that foregrounds Jamaica’s knotty relationship to the British Empire? Christienna D. Fryar’s dissertation, “The Measure of Empire: Crisis and Responsibility in Postemancipation Jamaica,” aims to do precisely this. Spanning from the 1850s to the early 1900s, Fryar does not attempt to construct a long narrative, but instead examines Jamaica and its imperial relations through four different crises: the cholera epidemic of the early 1850s, a scandal concerning the Kingston Insane Asylum in the late 1850s and early 1860s, a fire that consumed Kingston in 1882, and the devastating earthquake of 1907. The decision to tell Jamaican history through four crises serves Fryar well and enables her to make multiple historiographical interventions. For one, each chapter features an array of sources that Fryar uses to show the different facets of each crisis. Her evidence comes from both sides of the Atlantic and includes official exchanges between the Colonial Office and the Jamaican governors, public and private assessments from reformers and journalists, as well as the testimonies of ordinary Jamaicans. Besides including a wide range of sources, the case study approach also calls into question the usual periodization of Jamaican history. As Fryar notes, most historians of nineteenth-century Jamaica pivot around two historical moments: the process of emancipation in the 1830s or the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion and the subsequent transformation of Jamaica into a Crown Colony. Questioning the limits of this chronology, Fryar opts to instead begin her study after emancipation, with the cholera epidemic in the 1850s. She also extends her study beyond Morant Bay. Rather than seeing the rebellion as an endpoint for the “postemancipation period,” she argues that slavery’s legacies, including the colonial relationship that had been defined by a slave economy, lasted at least until the 1930s. Only with modern Jamaican nationalism did a new struggle for freedom began, “this time national rather than individual” (p. 15). Fryar’s dissertation also calls on her readers to rethink how imperial history has been told. Although Jamaica was relegated to a “minor colony” status by the mid-nineteenth century, it still remained a part of the empire. Across each distinct Jamaican crisis, Fryar shows the shifting place of Jamaica within the empire, and she analyzes both the Colonial Office’s management of Jamaica during times of crisis as well as the expectations that Jamaicans had for their imperial rulers. Throughout the dissertation, she probes the political culture and personalities of colonial elites and points to the ways ordinary Jamaicans appealed to British reformers and colonial officials. Her study of these various communications and lobbying networks reveal the difficulties of living and working in a colony on the decline, at least in the eyes of those in the Colonial Office in London. The first two chapters of the dissertation address public health crises: cholera and the shocking reports of abuse at the Kingston Insane Asylum. Together, these chapters build on the work of Catherine Hall and Diana Paton, who have argued that humanitarian reforms in Britain often became distorted in the post-emancipation and colonial context of Jamaica (Catherine Hall, Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the British Imagination, 1830-1867. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002; and Diana Paton, No Bond But the Law: Punishment, Race, and Gender in Jamaican State Formation, 1780-1870. London and Durham: Duke University Press, 2004). Fryar vividly describes the devastation of the cholera epidemic on the island while also comparing it to other outbreaks in the empire and elsewhere. The Colonial Office sent financial aid and advice to the Jamaican government, and they also deployed three physicians to the British West Indies, including the Scotsman Gavin Milroy, who wound up in Jamaica. Fryar focuses on Milroy’s public and private reports in which, she argues, “sanitary prescriptions” combined with “moral sermonizing” about black Jamaicans’ perceived idleness, uncleanliness, and immorality (p. 37). Discussions of cholera and how to manage future outbreaks became critiques of the “ruinous transition to emancipation” (p. 70). As Fryar concludes, “What would keep cholera at bay was the same thing that would cure Jamaica’s economic woes: the creation of a class of docile, hard-working, married, healthy, clean, and otherwise morally upstanding plantation laborers” (p. 72). The second chapter narrates a fascinating public debate about the scandalous mistreatment of patients at the Kingston Insane Asylum. Led by Lewis Bowerbank, a white Jamaican-born physician, some Jamaicans published exposes on the conditions of those held in the asylum, and they argued that the institution was in violation of modern reforms. The critics included an ex-inmate of the asylum, a colored woman named Ann Pratt, and a former warden. On the other side, the institution’s defenders included the lead surgeon at the hospital and asylum, James Scott, and the Governor, Sir Charles Henry Darling. The scandal began in Jamaica but moved to England when Bowerbank went to seek out allies in the British reform movement, and his complaints also made their way into the Colonial Office. While the controversy itself resulted in a trial and an acquittal of the accused matron and other attendants, Fryar uses the scandal to uncover other issues as well. She shows how the Jamaicans who protested the asylum’s conditions believed in “metropolitan fairness” throughout the crisis as they appealed to British reformers and colonial officials to address the asylum’s problems (p. 145). It also shows how some colonial officials, including Scott and Governor Darling, believed that the high standards of humanitarian treatment expected in Britain could not be applied to a colonial context in an institution primarily serving black and colored people. The third and fourth chapters turn to disasters, a term Fryar uses with some caution as she emphasizes the social and structural factors that must be considered when surveying “acts of God” (p. 19, citing Ted Steinberg, Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006). Indeed, both chapters show the influence of recent studies examining the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Haiti earthquake. Like the chapter on the asylum scandal, these final two chapters also focus on Kingston, and they therefore provide an urban history of the colony. The third chapter addresses the coincidental timing of an 1882 fire that burned down much of Kingston and the inflamed protests from a month before the fire over the structure of Jamaica’s government and the influence of the Colonial Office on local affairs. The Colonial Office uncharacteristically (as Fryar shows through briefly examining earlier examples) offered a loan to those who had lost property during the fire, and this offer of aid on the part of Britain stemmed not from the facts of the fire but from their realization that “it would be politically disastrous” to refuse aid at a time of constitutional tumult (p. 190). The loans, however, were never paid out, most likely due to the fact that the people who lost homes during the fire were impoverished renters who were ineligible for the rebuilding loans. The offered aid did not address the persistent inequalities in the colony that left the poorest inhabitants in the most vulnerable position to be ruined or killed in a disaster. In the last chapter, Fryar reexamines the case of Governor James Alexander Swettenham. In the days after an earthquake rocked Jamaica in 1907, Swettenham appealed for medical aid, and American ships, rather than the British government, responded. Rear-Admiral Charles Davis and American marines landed in Kingston, taking up positions at the American consulate and the prison. Swettenham, however, treated Davis’s landing as an “armed intervention,” and he wrote a harshly worded letter to Davis with a sarcastic statement wondering how British soldiers would be received if they arrived in New York to aid the New York Police Department (p. 200). Fryar proceeds to examine the fallout from the letter: Swettenham’s correspondence with the frustrated Colonial Office and his eventual forced resignation, the opinions of journalists in Jamaica about the presence of Americans, and Jamaicans’ changing interpretations of the event over time. This last chapter suggests how Jamaica’s proximity to the expansionist United States helped to shape its place in the empire as well as its importance to British diplomacy, but it also shows how Jamaicans themselves had mixed opinions of the United States. While many welcomed American aid in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, others, including Swettenham, expressed concerns over how white Americans would treat black Jamaicans. Further, as more time passed, Swettenham’s “resistance” to the Americans became a point of pride among some Jamaicans who identified as both British subjects and Jamaicans, a point that encapsulates the complex nature of colonial identity present throughout the dissertation. Taken individually, each tightly narrated chapter works on a few different levels. First, Fryar provides vivid portraits of Jamaican political and social history at particular moments, and she renders both famous and lesser-known historical figures in all of their complexity. Second, through analyzing the exchanges between those in Jamaica and the Colonial Office, she explores how the crisis played out on the level of imperial bureaucracy, and her inclusion of marginal notes on dispatches passed around the Colonial Office offers a sense of the layers of discourse taking place over Jamaican crises. Finally, because public health crises and natural disasters were not specific to Jamaica alone, Fryar opens the door to considering Jamaican history in relation to world history, and on issues related to but distinct from comparative slavery and emancipation. Indeed, Fryar’s structure and focus on crisis moments suggests ways of thinking about humanitarianism and its limitations more broadly as a way to understand the dynamics between colony and metropole as well as international relations without losing track of the particularities of the local context. Gale L. Kenny Term Assistant Professor Colonial Office Archives, National Archives, Kew, Great Britain National Library of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica Archives, Spanish Town, Jamaica Daily Gleaner (Kingston) Jamaica Daily Telegraph and Anglo-American Herald (Kingston) Princeton University. 2012. 251 pp. Primary Adviser: Linda Colley. Image: Jamaica Times (March 16, 1907, page 1). 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__label__wiki	0.764607	0.764607	Training with Faith, Care and Concern for Troops Weaponless yet Eager, 27th IBCT Chaplains Charge into Pre-deployment Training Story by: Spc. J.P. Lawrence - 42nd Infantry Division Dated: Wed, Jun 8, 2011 Chaplain (1st. Lt). Raziel Amar of the 369th Sustainment Brigade holds a Jewish service for the beginning of the Sabbath June 3 at Fort Drum. Pfc. Isabel Polanco, a New York, N.Y., native, and an administrative specialist with the 369th SB, and Pfc. Daniel Miller, an Eerie, Penn., native and a cavalry scout with 2nd Battalion, 101st Cavalry, hold the prayer books, which read right to left. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. J.P. Lawrence) FORT DRUM -- On Andrew Ayers’s uniform, there are the markings of a modern New York Army National Guard Soldier: velcro pockets and an American flag, camouflage in proud digital green and grey, and dirt, hard-earned from a day’s training. As the Mexico, N.Y., native and his fellow Soldiers complete this day of pre-deployment training here in early June, they ready to storm and clear a room. Ayers goes with them, and completes the training as they do, but he does it in a way that is fundamentally different from his fellow Soldiers. On Ayer’s uniform is something that distinguishes him from his fellow Soldiers: a solid black cross stuck above his name, the emblem of a U.S. Army chaplain. When Chaplain (1st. Lt). Ayers of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team goes to train with his fellow troops, he cannot, in accordance to military non-combatant law, carry a weapon, but he participates in training -- goes crawling through the mud, marches through bogs and creeks -- anyway. The reason why Ayers and his fellow chaplains do this is one of empathy. With a deployment upcoming, Chap. (Maj.) Alexander Knowles, 27th Brigade chaplain, expects his chaplains to be able to emphasize with their Soldiers, and know what is like to walk a mile in their desert sand combat boots. “I expect my chaplains to go up those fight lanes just like their Soldiers do,” said Knowles, a native of Wilson, N.Y. “That’s where they should be, with their Soldiers. So even though they go without a weapon, they’re still doing the hill.” The chaplain corps, established in 1775, provides Soldiers with ordained clergy for their religious, counseling, and moral needs, whether in peacetime or war. Recently, clergy have also been used to connect to religious leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to make sure Soldiers are financially and legally prepared for combat. “Nurture the living, care for the wounded, and honor the dead,” 1st. Lt. Raziel Amar, a Brooklyn, N.Y., resident and Jewish chaplain, said of his mission. For Amar, who moved from Israel to the United States at age 20 and joined the military after September 11, 2001, the chaplaincy occupies a special place in military life as a helpful ear, outside the chain of command. “If I help someone with their problems, I feel like I’m doing my job.” And yet as Soldiers, chaplains must build rapport with their troops. “There’s no exceptions for my chaplains,” Knowles said. “No privileges. The Soldiers are out there getting cold and muddy; the chaplain should be out there getting cold and muddy. That’s important to support the mission: to learn what the Soldiers go through, to know what’s going on, to experience their experiences.” This was a mandate well-accepted by Ayers, who was previously an enlisted Soldier. During his training, Ayers said he has cleared rooms, walked patrols, and administered first aid, although at the firing range he mostly encouraged others. “I wanted to be with the guys, and I wanted to get to know them,” said Ayers. “You want the knowledge to understand the context of what you’re faced with. You want to understand what they’re going through. The adrenaline. The fear.” On these missions, Ayers said, he finds from time to time a moment to reflect, to appreciate the many decisions that lead to this moment, to appreciate the Soldiers who have mentored the Soldiers to this point, to appreciate leadership and camaraderie between Soldiers necessary just to get to this one moment. And then in a flash of movement, each Soldier bursts into the room, reacts to danger, or scrambles to fulfill their prescribed duty -- and Ayers follows them. “It’s a calling,” he said. “This is where I need to be. I feel like I can’t not do it.” © NYS DMNA: News Story: Training with Faith, Care and Concern for Troops Page Last Modified: Wed, Jun 8, 2011	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line68
__label__cc	0.685667	0.314333	Kulture Factory One of the Greats Featured Builder: Max Fish of Bio Kustumz 09/25/2013 Jerry Horton Builders, Hot Rods, Kustoms 4 When it comes to building cars, Max Fish can do just about anything. Sheet metal, fabrication, machining, paint, engineering, suspension design, the list goes on…. The interesting thing about Max is that in this era of computer-controlled everything, Bio Kustumz still uses old analog machines. The experience and the process is just as important to him than the end result, whether it be a bracket, a hinge, or a wheel. With many different types of cars built, he’s proven he can make just about anything look good and work well. Some might call him a jack of all trades, but we would venture to say he’s close to becoming a master of all trades. Incidentally, the mountain bike you see him riding at the end of the video: Yeah, he built that too. Below is a gallery of cars Bio Kustumz has built. BIO KUSTUMZ Max Fish About Jerry Horton 35 Articles I'm not going to pretend someone is writing a bio for me. Here I am. For those who don't know, I play guitar in Papa Roach. Since before I started dreaming of being a rockstar, I was dreaming about cars. My dad made me this way. Before I was born, he had a green 1972 Camaro. He did autocross when I was too young to know what was going on, and when I got a little older, he built a VW Beetle by himself in the carport. We would go to drag races in that car, and he would take down Mustangs and Camaros, much to their astonishment and horror. He took me to Top Fuel drag races in Sonoma, local drags at Sacramento Raceway, and I loved it. I was hooked. When it came time for me to get a car, he asked me if I wanted something older that we could work on, or something newer that would be a little more reliable. I told him I'd like an older car, and he said he found a 62 Chevy Nova with a 350. I was obviously excited, and 2 days later, he told me he had reconsidered. He said it was too much power for me, and ended up getting me a 1987 Mustang. 4 cylinder. I was extremely disappointed, and didn't want to talk to him for a while, but in the end it was the right decision. I drove that thing like an idiot, and ended up getting in 5 accidents (One was my fault). Fast-forward to the year 2000, and our first major record blows up, which allows me to get my dream car. The Dodge Viper. At the time it came out, the Viper was viewed as the modern-day Cobra; a motor with wheels. It scared the crap out of me, but over the years, I was able to show it respect, and get a lot out of it. Now, here we are. I created DriveKulture initially because the guys in my band aren't car guys. I needed an outlet; a place to share my ideas and opinions about new cars, sports cars, and kustom cars (yes that's custom with a "K"). I now see DriveKulture as not only a place where my car friends and I can interact, but also as a place for education. For a long time, I had pre-conceived notions about certain cars, and couldn't understand why someone would want them. In reading articles and talking with owners, I can see that they have slightly different tastes than I do, but their passion for cars are the same. I want to expose people to different types of cars, and try and convey what makes these different kinds of cars great. Welcome to DriveKulture. Top 5 Most Ridiculous Options on a Car Lambrecht Chevrolet auction: Top five sales from Day 2 Sara Nicole Elmer Guitars, cars; is there anything you can’t do? Jeanette Perry My uncle restores cars in New Jersey. Is located next to a cool private car museum. He has some real neat stuff. He’s working on a few Chevelles at the moment Michelle Choate I love chevelles!!!^^ I mean who doesnt. Jasmen Cagas Butao h! jerry 🙂	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line72
__label__wiki	0.871059	0.871059	Abramorama, Verisimilitude Releasing PiL Documentary Wed, 06/20/2018 - 12:43 -- Nick Dager In celebration of Public Image Ltd.’s fortieth anniversary, Abramorama and Verisimilitude have released the first official trailer and poster of the new music documentary The Public Image Is Rotten. The career-spanning documentary, tells the story of music icon John Lydon and his pioneering group PiL with a level of depth and intimacy never before seen. Following a sold-out screening at Camden London’s Odeon Cinema, the film will be released in multiple theaters across the United Kingdom and select European cities throughout the summer, followed by a North American theatrical tour in the fall kicking off at New York City’s downtown Metrograph. Directed by Tabbert Fiiller, The Public Image Is Rotten features in-depth interviews with John Lydon, former and current bandmates as well as Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ad-Rock (Beastie Boys) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) among others, and the film is loaded with electrifying archival performance and interview footage. Abramorama’s CEO Karol Martesko-Fenster and West Coast head of acquisitions and business development Evan Saxon said, “We are thrilled to be working with Verisimilitude’s Tyler Brodie and Hunter Gray, alongside John Lydon and longtime PiL manager John Rambo Stevens on the global release. John Lydon forever changed the face of music and pop culture in many of the same ways Elvis did. The timing of this is perfect as PiL is touring the world and giving fans an amazing live show like never before. We will leverage the theatrical campaign to work closely with the fantastic team at Universal Music to drive awareness for their comprehensive box set also titled The Public Image Is Rotten.” John Lydon and his PiL bandmates Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith, are currently in the midst of a 36-date tour of UK/Europe and Japan. They are the longest stable line-up in the band's history. Abramorama www.abramorama.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line78
__label__cc	0.533668	0.466332	Home \| Project information \| Project partners \| Project meetings \| APE in schools \| APA in rehabilitation \| APA in Sports & recreation Publication EUSAPA (European Standards in Adapted Physical Activities) APA in rehabilitation – case study Satakunta/Finland Coaching Skills Development in Boccia and Swimming Sporting Chance Programme – Ireland Activities for All – adapted windsurfing Description the EGP: In April of 2007, National Learning Network, Tralee was recommended for funding of €501,667 under round two of the Enhancing Disability Services programme to run the Sporting Chance Initiative. Funding was provided from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform which is administered through POBAL. Sporting Chance is a ground breaking new training programme to enable people with disabilities to build careers in the sports and leisure industry. These posts could include coaches, leaders, educators and managers. Many students who were coming to the National Learning Network centre in Tralee were identified as having a strong passion and aptitude for sport. The sports and leisure industry, particularly since the establishment of the Irish Sports Council, has undergone an unprecedented expansion. Despite this expansion, many members of society who have a disability have been unable to access sporting facilities and even less likely to undertake training and development programmes leading to career opportunities in this sector. Sporting Chance was specifically developed to assist individuals with disability to gain the qualifications, skills and work experience necessary to obtain employment in the sports and leisure industry. The course would also interest students who wished to access further third level education in this area. The course would be targeted towards individuals with physical and sensory disabilities, intellectual difficulties and those with mental health difficulties. There was far greater demand than supply of places following the development and subsequent marketing of the programme. All courses also include job specific modules plus job seeking skills and work experience. No course fees apply to the training programmes and a training allowance is paid to students. In addition to mainstream qualifications, National Learning Network, Tralee also offers a person-centred approach. Courses are tailored to meet the needs of the individual by means of assessment and discussion. This leads to an Individual Action Plan for each student. Literacy and numeracy classes are also available to students who wish to improve their education skills as required by the course. The centre staff provides training which maximises the benefit to the individual and also helps students obtain employment. The centre staff provides training on areas such as assertiveness training, confidence building and independent living skills as required by the student. Applicants do not require any formal entry requirements. An average of 90 % of National Learning Network students progress to employment, further education or further specialised training. Where is it provided? The National Learning Network (formerly called NTDI) is Ireland’s largest non-government organisation with more than 50 purpose built training and employment facilities catering for around 4,500 students each year. The organisation offers over 40 different vocational programmes which carry nationally and internationally recognised certification and are designed to lead directly to jobs or progression to further education. National Learning Network, Tralee has been providing vocational training and employment opportunities for people with additional support needs for over 30 years. The centre offers a wide range of training courses. Who is providing this program? The Sporting Chance Programme is provided by the National Learning Network in Tralee Co Kerry Ireland Local/national/European level of program? The Sporting Chance Programme has a national focus providing people with disabilities throughout Ireland the opportunity to study in Kerry. This is an innovative, cutting edge course which is unique in an international context. 88 Segregate/inclusive setting? The programme is completed at the National Learning Network Tralee Kerry Ireland which is Ireland’s largest non-government organisation with more than 50 purpose built training and employment facilities catering for around 4,500 students each year. While the programme is based at the National Learning Network, a vast majority of the course is completed in an integrated setting with links with National Governing Body of Sport courses and the Institute of Technology Tralee. In addition the students complete relevant work experience related to their area of interest and are supported in obtaining employment opportunities within this area or to support in furthering their education. An example of this is the close partnership with the Institute of Technology Tralee where students have on completion of the sporting chance programme furthered their education within the Health and Leisure Studies at the Institute of Technology Tralee. What is the target group? The Sporting Chance Programme targets individuals with physical and sensory, intellectual and mental health difficulties. What is the content of the program? OUTLINE TRAINING PLAN – FLOW DIAGRAM Why this EGP is relevant to be included in EUSAPA project? This Sporting Chance Programme at the National Learning Network Tralee Ireland is a unique innovative programme which provides opportunities for people with disabilities who can have the opportunity given appropriate direction and individualised academic and vocational supports, to pursue their chosen career path and achieve their potential in the sports and leisure industry. It describes the importance of training and education courses to encourage and enable people with disabilities to become valued members of the sport and leisure industry profession. It is a good example of the type of course that could be replicated in other areas of Ireland and Europe to encourage and support people with disabilities to obtain a career in the sport and leisure industry As well as the vocational opportunities, there are strong social benefits for the students on the course. It highlights the importance of partnership links between disability services and educational institutions for the design and delivery of such a programme. In particular the links with the Institute of Technology Tralee and Mr. Pat Flanagan APA Coordinator who played an influential role in advising and supporting the developments of the course. Subsequently this partnership has further developed to parts of the programme being facilitated at the Institute of Technology Tralee and students from the programme accessing opportunities to further their education at the Institute. What skills, competences and knowledge are present in this EGP? Develop and apply a range of skills required to communicate effectively in both professional and personal life. Demonstrate personal, interpersonal, work related social skills. Demonstrate the ability to understand the concepts of self-advocacy and understand rights and become more assertive in making personal decisions. Develop an understanding of the concepts involved in teaching exercise classes such as circuit training, aerobics and stability ball classes. Partake in outdoor pursuits with a view to developing a career in this area where appropriate. Develop an understanding of the concepts involved to instructing in a gym. Experience a wide range of sports and leisure activities. Demonstrate the benefits of healthy lifestyle and an overall holistic approach to fitness. Understand the principals of exercise and practically apply them in a sports and fitness setting. Understand the movement of muscles and bones in the Human Structure. Understand and demonstrate how to use basic computer applications. Respond appropriately to first aid requirements. Understand the importance of customer relations and develop the skills to provide an exceptional standard of customer care in the leisure industry. Develop basic mathematical skills that can be applied to the leisure/health/sports industry. Research and identify community based sporting organisations and bodies. Engage in community based sporting/leisure activities as appropriate. Decide on specific/elective areas of sporting interest and pursue relevant qualifications/awards in this area. Implement learned skills in an external real work environment and obtain employer feedback. Contact Kevin Smith Sporting Chance Coordinator National Learning Network Tralee Co Kerry Ireland- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Example of good practice was described by Niamh Daffy from the Institute of Technology, Tralee, Ireland. EUFAPA menu kurtköy escort escort bodrum beylikdüzü escort avrupa yakası escort This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Copyright © 2007-2011, EUFAPA	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line80
__label__cc	0.716637	0.283363	Detroit Region Aerotropolis The Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation is a four-community, two-county public-private partnership driving corporate expansion and new investment around Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run Airports. The Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation is a four-community, two-county public-private partnership driving corporate expansion and new investment around Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run Airports. The Aerotropolis region is the premier location for greenfield expansion in Southeast Michigan, offering 6,000 acres of development-ready land in the midst of a world-class network of transportation infrastructure. The region boasts a workforce of just under 1 million people, including more than 60,000 automotive manufacturers and engineers, and is supported by 10 universities and community colleges within 20 miles, including the University of Michigan. The Aerotropolis region is centered around a world-class network of transportation infrastructure: five rail lines, three freeways, and two airports, including Detroit Metropolitan Airport - the 18th busiest airport in North America with 140 nonstop flights to four continents. The Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation provides a suite of economic development services to companies considering expansion in the region, including site identification and infrastructure analysis, regional market data and demographic information, governmental relations and private sector engagement. The Aerotropolis is also empowered to approve a host of economic development incentives to help enable corporate investment, including but not limited to funding for public infrastructure and/or site readiness development. Michigan's automotive industry speaks for itself. With 12 as-sembly plants, 92 of the top 100 automotive suppliers in North America and more engineers per capita than any other state, it is the epicenter of the North American automotive industry. The Aerotropolis region is home to Ford, General Motors, Mopar, Visteon, Brose, Inergy and more. Michigan's next-generation mobility industry is also a global leader. One example of this leadership is the American Center for Mobility (ACM), a 500-acre federally designated testing and product development facility for future mobility. Designed to enable safe validation of connected and automated vehicle technology and accelerate the development of voluntary standards, ACM boasts a high-speed 2½-mile highway loop, 700-foot tunnel, and multiple real-world test environments. Primely positioned between Detroit and Ann Arbor, the Aerotropolis region is a short drive from two of the hottest cities in the United States. Metropolitan Detroit provides many great cultural, entertainment, and recreational opportunities, including the renowned Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village. Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation, 743-992-2286, www.detroitaero.org	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line84
__label__cc	0.682275	0.317725	Art Scene / Exhibitions / Reviews What has been under the Shadow: Wang Gongxin Solo Exhibition at the Bunker by Sue Wang on May 1, 2019 • 2:47 pm No Comments How to interpret an exhibition, what is the key? This is a problem that exists, which is easily overlooked, but the answer varies from various perspectives. When we are confronted with an unfamiliar and novel exhibition, it is a necessary and useful attempt to find a way to perceive the charm of art through the exhibition and works. The reply from Wang Gongxin’s solo exhibition “Under the Shadow–About BIAO” to this question in the Bunker provides an interesting discussion. Watching an exhibition is like the metaphor of “stream” from the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht. The viewing process beyond the “stream”, near the “stream” and in the “stream” cannot be separated from the elements related to the exhibition. These elements are far-reaching, profound and shallow, and they all become ways to understand exhibitions and works. But from Wang Gongxin’s solo exhibition, it can be found that space, as the entrance to comprehend the exhibition, is how to make the exhibition sneak into the shadow of the space. I Exhibition and Space Some exhibitions are born for space, while others are independent of space. Wang Gongxin’s solo exhibition “Under the Shadow–About BIAO” is an exhibition designed for space. A unique spacious venue often adds unexpected effects to the work, but whether it has a relative meaning depends on the inherent logic of the exhibition. Wang Gongxin’s new solo exhibition was chosen to be displayed in the Bunker in the southwest corner of No. 3 Zhang Zizhong Road. The courtyard was once the temporary ruling place of Duan Qirui. Previously, there was a “March 18 Massacre” in front of the courtyard. The Bunker was the former underground fortifications built by Yasuji Okamura, a commander of the Japanese Army in North China. The basement of the Bunker is interconnected by five long box-like rooms. The epochal changes filter a taste of history, but this exhibition enables history to have a short breath. The first room in the Bunker cannot accommodate too many people. The photos and texts on the wall provide an explanation on the opening of the work. Why is the exhibition called “Under the Shadow–About BIAO”? This exhibition is related to Wang Gongxin’s exhibition of BIAO, twenty years ago at the art space of No. 10 Ludwigsburg in Stuttgart, Germany. He used traditional Chinese manual paper to plaque (BIAO) to paste the entire space, 10 pieces at the bottom of the tray contain the fixer which is then covered with the original photo of the copying landscape and the red light bulbs of the dark room are hung on the top. From the surface (BIAO), to the decoration (BIAO), to the expression (BIAO), the questions related to BIAO are answered. The first space presents the spectator with an experience on the “stream”. II Artist and Space As the creator and owner of the art space, the artist often connects and replaces various spaces. Since ancient times, artists have been exploring the mysteries of space, and they become the masters of space making. Wang Gongxin’s works are full of concepts about space, both obvious and sharp, both diverse and concealed. The artist himself seems to be reluctant to advertise certain ideas, and he just hopes to show a hidden retrospect through the exhibition. Wang Gongxin’s life journey has experienced a variety of spaces. He comes from China, lives in New York, and has exhibited in Germany. His actions are a matter of space. The versatile space has a perceptible continuity, which does not only make the work traceable, but also creates new ideas for the works. This is not just the existence of his artistic creations, which also provide a reference and an interpretation for future creations. Wang Gongxin’s treatment of spatial elements in art makes his work give them a symbiotic and eternal life. 20 years ago in the exhibition of BIDO in Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart, Germany, and the exhibition of “Under the Shadow–About BIAO” in the Bunker of No. 3 Courtyard of Zhang Zizhong Road, Wang Gongxin presents his exhibition in two spaces which are interspersed and infiltrated to a certain sense. In the second space of the exhibition, the sound intervenes into another sense, the microphone is close to the ground, suspended, and rubbed on the ground in a circular trajectory. The friction sound is transmitted to a vibrating device and converted into an area of beating sand. The red light bulbs hanging on the installation watch the jump of the sand. The sensory space is converted and the red light bulbs usher in the language of the next space. III Spectators and Space As one of the purposes of an exhibition, the spectator is the most important sensory collector of the exhibition. Space endows the work with meaning, which is the best way to evoke thinking by perception. Entering the third room, the vision is guided by the light and shadow of the red light bulbs in the darkroom. There are six pools cut on the surface. The tank is filled with fixer and the space is integrated with the work. The six red bulbs maintain a different vertical distance from the pool, some have been immersed in the fixer, and some face each other. The exhibition space was cut to break the concept of the original space in the viewer’s mind. This cutting and intervention is the most impressive place for spectators. Just like Wang Gongxin’s “The Sky of Brooklyn” exhibited at home in 1995, visitors can understand the work through space and the artist’s intention through the work. The spectator’s perception of space is often an intuitive perception. When a work is integrated into space, space will endow the work with a perception of the potential, and spectators will enter the aesthetic pleasure under this potential. On another level, the spectator’s comprehension of space is also to evoke the existence of another subconscious space, to enter the familiar space through an unfamiliar space, and to connect the work with the familiar space, thus creating a new sense of individual feeling. IV Time and space Time has its own unique meaning as an element that cannot be ignored in comprehending the exhibition. The significance of time in the exhibition space is more involved in the exhibition space, works and visitors. The Bunker represents a static time, the work represents a time that is happening, and the viewer is the coordinate of time. Entering the fourth space, the huge pool occupies most of the room. Ten red bulbs move slowly up and down through the device above the pool. Water droplets flow out from inside the bulb. In addition to the fixer and the paper that is immersed in the water pool, if you want to see the pattern on the paper in the darkroom, you can only find the words in the water when the light bulb touches the pool. As a material existence, the Bunker makes time flow into the memories of history, and the consciousness and form of historical events become the signals of interpretation. With the existence of time, the works temporarily perceive the existence of the viewer’s self through the existence of works in the space. As a time coordinate, viewers can touch the meaning of the work through history, at present and in the future, so as to interpret the work on a multi-dimensional level. V Space and space Space is not only the source of significance in the exhibition, but also the black hole of some important information. Beyond the limited space are more blank spaces. Do we have to believe in all the content that the artist has shown? Instead, question the gap behind this space. In the fifth room, the artist displayed the concrete part cut from the ground in the third room on the exhibition stand. The cut parts are embedded with red light bulbs and a monumental display. In addition to responding to the third space, there is a more inexplicable eternity. Although it is a short-term spectacle, it leads the thinking of people to the blank area outside the exhibition. Judging from the location, the curator, the sponsor, the artist, the media, and the visitor, the perspective from the visitor might be the most sincere and utilitarian, other attitudes expressed by other parties through the exhibition, whether they are just hidden. Or what you expect to mention is the purpose, whether the blank space is the source of the secret? It may be that the excessive interpretation will bring a burden to the spectator, but the charm of art is that it is unpredictable but enjoyable. Space is the artistic proposition that Wang Gongxin has been exploring. His works also guide the visitor to a perspective. As for the title “Under the Shadow–About BIAO”, his exhibition is a shadow that sneaks into space. Text by Lin Lu, translated by Sue/CAFA ART INFO Photo by Yang Yanyuan/CAFA ART INFO Wang Shui-bo “Liu Xiaodong’s Hotan Project” in Beijing inaugurated at Today Art Museum New Continent: A Selection From the Video Collection of the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Tours to S... Rockbund Art Museum to celebrate 5th anniversary with the upcoming exhibition featuring works by Che... Tags: contemporary art Previous postThe Coincidence of Virtual Technology and Garden Landscape: Exhibition of Sui Jianguo was unveiled Next postHdM Gallery presents "Hu Weiyi: The Window Blind" in Beijing	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line88
__label__cc	0.712821	0.287179	Night Hockey League gala match Vladimir Putin took part in the gala match of the Night Hockey League at the Bolshoi Ice Arena in Sochi. Ahead of the competition, the President presented the prize to the winning team of the Night Hockey League's Amateur 40+ division. Yekaterinburg's team, Skon-Ural, received a certificate for the construction of an indoor ice skating rink in their city. Together with Vladimir Putin, the awards ceremony was attended by Alexander Yakushev, a renowned hockey player and the Night Hockey League's Legend Council Chairman. Earlier on Friday, Skon-Ural defeated Kaliningrad's Zapad Rossii [Russia's West] team, and for the third time won the Night Hockey League and the Krutov Cup. Vladimir Putin played for the Hockey Legends team as No. 11 against the Night Hockey League team. Among those who took part in the match were also Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and hockey players Vyacheslav Fetisov, Pavel Bure, Alexei Kasatonov and Viktor Shalimov. The Hockey Legends team won 14–7, with the President scoring 9 goals. Speech at the awards ceremony President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, sports fans, spectators and athletes, I congratulate you on the end of the 8th Night Hockey League season. Thank you for inspiring millions of people to get involved in fitness and sports. I would like to congratulate the winners – for the third time, it is the team from Yekaterinburg. I want to wish you success and say that this is a true accomplishment. Almost one thousand teams play today in the Night Hockey League, and 162 teams came here to Sochi to take part in the playoff stage. There is immense competition. I saw the so-called amateurs play – they were simply impressive. It is not so easy for our stars to play against you, particularly since I represent you on that team. Today, the Ice Hockey World Championship starts. The Russian national team will play against Norway, a strong team. Let us wish our team success. Publication date: May 10, 2019, 19:15 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60500 Last updated at May 10, 2019, 22:56	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line91
__label__cc	0.606799	0.393201	'Countries seeking US support are main losers': Boroujerdi TEHRAN, Dec. 03 (Press Shia Agency) – Iranian senior MP said the countries which are seeking US support will definitely lose in the international arena. Chairman of Iran’s Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi made the remark in a meeting with Norbert Abreski, the deputy chairman of the Poland-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Polish parliament. Referring to the history of good relations between Iran and Poland, Boroujerdi said “the existence of a positive historical mentality between the two nations and the suitable economic, political and cultural capacities between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Poland, provide a great platform for the expansion of relations between the two countries” adding that the two parliaments can enhance the relations. He pointed to the EU’s opposition to the unreasonable words of the US president regarding the nuclear agreement and noted “the nuclear deal has created a new space for EU cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and countries that are waiting for US decisions are the main losers in the international trade and competition market.” Norbert Abreski, for his part, declared that “the nuclear deal has provided a good opportunity for European countries including Poland to expand their economic relations with Iran and no country has the right to break its commitments in the deal.” The deputy chairman of the Poland-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Polish parliament concluded that the two countries’ parliaments can encourage the private sectors in the two countries to cooperate more in the future. KI/4161042 Tags : Economic Ties , Parliamentary Ties , Political Talks France Says Europe Must Stay United to Preserve JCPOA	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line92
__label__wiki	0.550554	0.550554	News, People, What's Trending Nigerians recommend punishment for Lawal and Oke Posted on October 31, 2017 by Encomium President Muhammed Buhari sacked the director general, National Intelligence Agency Ayodele Oke and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal over the corruption mess they were found guilty of. The vice President Yemi Osinbajo submitted the panel’s report on August 23 to President Buhari on his return from 100 days medial vacation in London. The panel was earlier scheduled to submit its report to President Buhari on May 8, but he left Nigeria for the United Kingdom on May 7 for a follow-up consultation with his doctors and stayed for 100 days. Lawal was investigated for allegedly awarding N200 million contract for the cutting of grass in Yobe State to Global Vision Limited, a company he had interest, under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE). A Senate Committee on Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East had indicted Lawal and demanded his resignation and prosecution. While Oke was investigated over the discovery of $43.4 million at apartment 7B in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos. He had claimed that the money belonged to the NIA and was approved by former President Goodluck Jonathan for some covert operations. The presidential panel was mandated to uncover the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds and find out how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA as well as to establish whether or not there was a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds. The president accepted the recommendation of the panel to terminate the appointment of Mr. Lawal and has appointed Mr. Boss Mustapha as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The appointment takes immediate effect. Meanwhile, President Buhari also approved the recommendation to terminate the appointment of Ambassador Oke and has further approved the setting up of a three-member panel to, among other things, look into the operational, technical and administrative structure of the agency (NIA) and make appropriate recommendations. encomium.ng sampled opinion of Nigerians on recommended punishment for Lawal and Oke. Below are their responses… AISHAT JAKANOLA There is no remedy in their case, they will definitely be punished after sacking them because they’ve committed an offence and there is a reward for it. In case of other people who are trying to do the same thing, they will use them as scapegoats to others. ADEWALE AYINDE Yes, they should not encourage such things from them, they should be punished according to their offence. OLAJUMOKE HAJIMOH Yes, so far they committed the offence, they should punish them. Especially if they find guilty in the court then the judge will make his judgement according to the law. AREGBESOLA IBRAHIM They should be punished because how would someone steal billions of naira and still be walking free. No, things should not be done that way, they should charge them to court and if truly they are found guilty, they should be punished according to the law. ESTHER THOMPSON He should be duly punished. Nobody is above the law. Buhari’s corruption team is actually working but they had to be prosecuted in order for their punishment to be complete, they shouldn’t just be sacked because there are more to it than meet the eyes. Yes, they should be punished because after all, they’ve been found guilty. The Federal government should not only sack but they should also be prosecuted in order for them to serve their punishment. ABIOLA S ADEMOYEGUN They should be apprehended and left to face the judgement because they are not above the law. DAMILOLA RACHAEL The president needs to punish them according to the law so that it will be a lesson to others and we all have it in mind that we are all equal to law. And it will even reduce the corruption cases among our leaders. – Shukurat Alimi for encomium.ng Tags : Ayodele Oke, Mr Babachir Lawal, Mr. Boss Mustapha, Shukurat Alimi, Yemi Osinbajo Previous Story Buhari receives in audience New SGF, Boss Mustapha in State House Next Story We are proud of our achievements – President Buhari’s remarks at APC NEC meeting	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line95
__label__cc	0.680108	0.319892	Legacy Data uia.org of World Problems & Human Potential Search Values Arrogantly Related Problems: Academic arrogance Human exceptionalism Cultural arrogance Government arrogance Scientific arrogance Arrogance of experts Intellectual arrogance Bureaucratic superiority Arrogance of policy-makers Ecological authoritarianism Presumptuous management of the environment Arrogance of intergovernmental agencies Super-power chauvinism Being arrogant Type Classification: D: Destructive values About the Encyclopedia The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential is a collaboration between UIA and Mankind 2000, started in 1972. It is the result of an ambitious effort to collect and present information on the problems with which humanity is confronted, as well as the challenges such problems pose to concept formation, values and development strategies. Problems included are those identified in international periodicals but especially in the documents of some 60,000 international non-profit organizations, profiled in the Yearbook of International Organizations. The Encyclopedia includes problems which such groups choose to perceive and act upon, whether or not their existence is denied by others claiming greater expertise. Indeed such claims and counter-claims figure in many of the problem descriptions in order to reflect the often paralyzing dynamics of international debate. In the light of the interdependence demonstrated among world problems in every sector, emphasis is placed on the need for approaches which are sufficiently complex to encompass the factions, conflicts and rival worldviews that undermine collective initiative towards a promising future. About UIA The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a research institute and documentation centre, based in Brussels. It was established in 1907, by Henri la Fontaine (Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1913), and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science. Non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental in nature, the UIA has been a pioneer in the research, monitoring and provision of information on international organizations, international associations and their global challenges since 1907. www.uia.org	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line96
__label__wiki	0.58893	0.58893	AI year in review – Facebook Code January 8, 2019 posted by engineering Category: Mechanical Engineering At Facebook, we think that artificial intelligence that learns in new, more efficient ways – much like humans do – can play an important role in bringing people together. That core belief helps drive our AI strategy, focusing our investments in long-term research related to systems that learn using real-world data, inspiring our engineers to share cutting-edge tools and platforms with the wider AI community, and ultimately demonstrating new ways to use the technology to benefit the world. In 2018, we made important progress in all these areas. We presented new research highlighting the long-term feasibility and immediate benefits of working with less supervised data, in projects that ranged from improved image recognition to expanding the number of languages that our services can understand and translate. We released a number of platforms and tools to help others transition their AI research into production applications, including updating our popular open source PyTorch deep learning framework with a new, more versatile 1.0 version that includes additional support and entry points for newcomers. And in addition to publishing a wide range of public research papers and related models and data sets, we showed that AI has the potential to improve lives, by assisting with MRI scans, disaster relief efforts and tools to help prevent suicides. Here are some highlights of our efforts in AI throughout the year. Advancing AI learning through semi-supervised and unsupervised training One of the founding goals of the Facebook AI Research (FAIR) group is to work toward the development of systems with human-level intelligence. Achieving this milestone will take many more years of research, but we believe that our efforts in 2018 helped demonstrate a path towards AI that’s more versatile, by learning from data that’s less curated for the purposes of training. While most current AI systems use supervised learning to understand a specific task, the need for large numbers of labeled samples restricts the number of tasks they can learn, and limits the technology’s long-term potential. That’s why we’re exploring multiple approaches to reducing amount of supervision necessary for training, including projects that show the benefits of learning from semi-supervised and even unsupervised data. For example, in order to increase the number of languages that our systems can potentially translate or understand, we demonstrated a new method for training automatic translation NMT models on unsupervised data, with performance comparable to that of systems trained on supervised data. Our system’s accuracy was a substantial improvement over that of previous unsupervised approaches. By reducing the field’s reliance on large corpora of labeled training data, it opens the door to translating more languages, including low-resource languages such as Urdu, for which existing data sets are limited in comparison with English. Two-dimensional word embeddings in several languages can be aligned via a simple rotation. Another project worked entirely with low-resource languages, with multiple approaches for circumventing the relative scarcity of labeled training data. This work included using multilingual modeling to leverage the similarities between dialects within a given language group, such as Belarusian and Ukrainian. This was applied research, and the range of techniques the team employed added 24 more languages to our automatic translation services this year. Also, in a collaboration with NYU, we added 14 languages to the existing MultiNLI data set, which is widely used for natural language understanding (NLU) research but was previously English-only. Among the languages in our updated XNLI data set are two low-resource languages (Swahili and Urdu), and our approach contributes to the overall adoption of cross-lingual language understanding, which reduces the need for supervised training data. We also demonstrated variations on data supervision, such as a new method of combining supervised and unsupervised data — a process called omni-supervised learning — through data distillation. And for our study of hashtag-based image recognition, we developed a creative use of existing, non-traditional labels to generate large training sets of what was essentially self-labeled data, including a set of 3.5 billion public Instagram images. That project proposed that user-supplied hashtags could act as data labels, turning existing images into weakly supervised training examples. Our results not only proved that using billions of data points could be highly effective for image-based tasks, but it also allowed us to break a notable record, beating the previous state-of-the-art image recognition model’s accuracy score on the ImageNet benchmark by 1 percent. Hashtags can help computer vision systems go beyond general classification terms in order to recognize specific subcategories and additional elements in an image. Accelerating the transition from AI research to production AI has become foundational to nearly every product and service at Facebook, and that diversity of applications is reflected in the broad range of AI-based platforms and tools that our engineers are building and enhancing. But a common theme developed over the course of our platform work in 2018: turning the AI techniques we’re researching into AI systems we can deploy. Since our release of PyTorch in 2017, the deep learning framework has been widely adopted by the AI community, and it’s currently the second-fastest-growing open source project on GitHub. PyTorch’s user-friendly interface and flexible programming environment made it a versatile resource for rapid iteration in AI development. And its open design has ensured that the framework would continue to grow and improve, thanks to codebase contributions and feedback. For 2018, we wanted to give the PyTorch community a more unified set of tools, with a focus on turning their AI experiments into production-ready applications. That meant enough of an overhaul to justify a new version: PyTorch 1.0. We announced the updated framework at our F8 conference in May, detailing how it integrates the modular, production-oriented capabilities of Caffe2 and the newly expanded ONNX to streamline the entire AI development pipeline, from prototyping systems to deploying them. In October, we released the PyTorch 1.0 developer preview at the first PyTorch Developers Conference, where we presented the framework’s rapidly growing partner and platform ecosystem. Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Tesla, and many other technology providers discussed their current and planned integration with PyTorch 1.0 at that event, and both fast.ai and Udacity have created courses that use the new version to teach deep learning. We completed the rollout of PyTorch 1.0 earlier this month, with a full release that includes all the new features we’ve been working on, such as a hybrid front end for transitioning seamlessly between eager and graph execution modes, revamped distributed training, and a pure C++ front end for high-performance research. We’ve also released tools and platforms this year that extend PyTorch’s core capabilities, including a pair of kernel libraries (QNNPACK and FBGEMM) that make it easier for mobile devices and servers to run the latest AI models, and PyText, a framework that accelerates natural language processing (NLP) development. PyTorch also provided the foundation for Horizon, the first open source end-to-end platform that uses applied reinforcement learning (RL) to optimize systems in large-scale production environments. Horizon takes RL’s much researched but rarely deployed decision-based approach and adapts it for use with applications whose data sets might include billions of records. After deploying the platform internally at Facebook, in use cases such as optimizing streaming video quality and improving M suggestions in Messenger, we open-sourced Horizon, making this unprecedented bridge between RL research and production-based RL available for anyone to download. A high-level diagram showing the feedback loop for Horizon. First, we preprocess some data that the existing system has logged. Then, we train a model and analyze the counterfactual policy results in an offline setting. Finally, we deploy the model to a group of people and measure the true policy. The data from the new model feeds back into the next iteration, and most teams deploy a new model daily. We also released Glow, an open source, community-driven framework that enables hardware acceleration for machine learning (ML). Glow works with a range of different compilers, hardware platforms and deep learning frameworks, including PyTorch, and is now supported by a partner ecosystem that includes Cadence, Esperanto, Intel, Marvell, and Qualcomm Technologies Inc. And to further encourage the use of ML throughout the industry, we released a new ML-optimized server design, called Big Basin v2, as part of the Open Compute Project. We’ve added the new, modular hardware to our data center fleet, and the specs for Big Basin v2 are available for anyone to download at the OCP Marketplace. 2018 marked the transition of Oculus Research into Facebook Reality Labs, and new explorations of the overlap between AI and AR/VR research. And as part of our ongoing effort to open source as many of our AI-related tools as possible, we’ve released the data and models for our DeepFocus project, which uses deep learning algorithms to render realistic retinal blur in VR. The first system to accomplish this in real time at the image quality necessary for advanced VR headsets, DeepFocus is a novel application of deep learning in AR/VR work, using an entirely novel network structure that’s applicable to our own Half Dome prototype headset, as well as to other classes of promising head-mounted displays. In the year ahead, we hope to get more feedback about all of these releases. And we’ll continue to build and open-source tools that support PyTorch 1.0’s mission to help the entire developer community get cutting-edge AI systems out of labs and research papers and into production. Building AI that benefits everyone We have a long track record of working on technologies that deliver the benefits of AI very broadly, such as creating systems that generate audio descriptions of photos for the visually impaired. This past year, we continued to deploy AI-based features aimed at benefiting the world, including an expansion of our existing suicide prevention tools that use text classification to identify posts with language expressing suicidal thoughts. This system uses separate text classifiers to analyze the text of posts and comments, and then, if appropriate, send them to our Community Operations team for review. This system leverages our established text-understanding models and cross-lingual capabilities to increase the number of people we can connect with support services. We also released a method for using AI to quickly and accurately help pinpoint the areas most severely affected by a disaster without having to wait for manually annotated data. This approach, which was developed in a collaboration with CrowdAI, has the potential to get aid and rescuers to victims with greater speed and efficiency. In the future, this technique could also be used to help quantify the damage from large-scale disasters such as forest fires, floods, and earthquakes. We deployed an ML system called Rosetta that extracts text from more than a billion public images and video frames every day, and uses a text recognition model to understand the context of the text and the image together. Rosetta works on a range of languages, and it helps us understand the content of memes and videos, including for the purposes of automatically identifying policy-violating content. Two-step model architecture used for Rosetta’s text extraction. And 2018 marked the beginning of fastMRI, a long-term collaboration with NYU School of Medicine to improve diagnostic imaging technology, starting with accelerating MRI scans by as much as 10x. Current scans take up an hour or more, which makes them infeasible for some patients and conditions, and this joint research project is intended to increase the availability of this potentially life-saving diagnostic tool by using deep learning to generate images from less raw scanner data. The goal of fastMRI isn’t to develop a proprietary process but to accelerate the field’s understanding of this technique, and our partnership has already produced the largest-ever collection of fully sampled MRI raw data for research purposes (fully anonymized and released by NYU School of Medicine), as well as open source models to help the wider research community get started on this task. We also launched an online leaderboard, where others can post and compare their results. (L) Raw MRI data before it’s converted to an image. To capture full sets of raw data for a diagnostic study, MRI scans can be very time-consuming. (R) MRI image of the knee reconstructed from fully sampled raw data. In 2018, we also published blog posts detailing our work in other areas. These included ways to use AI to improve our systems (Getafix, predictive test selection, SapFix, Sapienz, and Spiral) and enhance our products (SLAM and AI in Marketplace), as well as other research efforts (wav2letter++, combining multiple word representations, multilingual embeddings, and audio processing.) We’re excited by the progress we’ve made in 2018 in our pillars — conducting fundamental research, deploying cutting-edge applications, and sharing new ways to use AI to help others — and we look forward to building on those efforts in the coming year. This series of posts looks back on the engineering work and new technologies we developed in 2018. Read the previous posts about our work in Data Centers and our Open Source efforts.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line97
__label__wiki	0.991661	0.991661	Real Madrid agree fee for Chelsea's Hazard: reports Reuters , Thursday 6 Jun 2019 Chelsea's Eden Hazard celebrates scoring their fourth goal (Photo: Reuters) Brits wave farewell to Hazard as Spain lay out red carpet Hudson-Odoi can fill void Hazard could leave at Chelsea, says Luiz Hazard scores twice as Chelsea sweep aside Arsenal in Europa League final Europa League title would be fitting farewell for Chelsea's Hazard Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is set to join Real Madrid after a deal worth 100 million euros ($112.65 million) plus add-ons was agreed between the two clubs on Thursday, British and Spanish media reported. There was no official word from Madrid or London. Spain's AS sports daily, citing unnamed sources, said on its website that the Premier League side had accepted Real's offer for the 28-year-old. It said Hazard, who is training with Belgium ahead of a weekend Euro 2020 qualifier against Kazakhstan, had been informed and the deal could be announced later. Sky Sports television said Chelsea had wanted in the region of 130 million pounds ($165.20 million), a fee that could ultimately be reached through performance-related clauses. Hazard, who was set to become a free agent in June 2020, guided Chelsea to the Europa League title in Baku last month with two goals in a 4-1 win over London rivals Arsenal. "My dream was to play in the Premier League and I did it for seven years. I think it's a goodbye," he said after that game. He joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 for 32 million pounds and won the Europa League in his first season. He later won the Premier League title in 2015 and 2017 as well as one League Cup and FA Cup. He scored 16 goals and created another 15 in the Premier League last season as Chelsea finished third in the table.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line99
__label__cc	0.619944	0.380056	To fulfil the ambition of a six-fold expansion in electricity generated by onshore wind farms by 2020, it will be necessary to build another 4,000 wind-turbines which amounts to about one a day for the next 12 years. Including offshore turbines, a grand total of 11,000 will be needed by 2020, in order to hit European renewable energy targets. The U.K. currently has 2,000 onshore turbines and those opposed to them claim that rural areas will be "blighted" by their proliferation and that they are "less reliable" than those placed out at sea. In May the British government announced its intentions for another 7,000 offshore turbines, which is one of the most ambitious civil engineering projects for decades. There is, as noted, and unsurprisingly, opposition to the whole enterprise, but changes in laws regarding planning are expected to facilitate the fruition of these proposals by developers. If these efforts are genuine, in the face of energy-shortages, then it might be a reasonable compromise to sacrifice some of the braking-power to building projects in the interests of bridging an energy-gap, albeit that lax laws will undoubtedly be abused by other kinds of "developer". The EU target for renewable energy means that 15% of "energy" (I think that means "electricity" rather than "energy", which amounts to just under one fifth of the U.K.'s total "energy" bill, 40% of the rest coming in the form of transportation fuel) and will cost this nation £100 billion, coincidentally a little less than the country's annual welfare bill, which is completely unsustainable. According to a new report on green energy to be published next week, an area the size of Essex will need to be planted with crops to supply fuel for power stations, while it is conceded that it may not be practical to meet the EU target due to a "chronic shortage of engineers able to build wind turbines". Perhaps our "new universities" will return to their roots as technical colleges and polytechnics who were very successful in teaching useful arts, rather than churning-out "graduates" in a diversity of impractical subjects that will prove a dubious luxury in the coming years, when innovation is required. The encroaching energy crunch will almost certainly forge an overdue reformation of the British higher education system which was reconfigured almost two decades ago in order to expand student numbers in the interests of inclusiveness and "education, education, education" as Mr Blair promised them all. "They" are all now massively in debt, to a tune of typically £15,000, as a consequence of top-up-fees and student loans. The report proposes an increase in the use of biomass, e.g. wood, agricultural waste, straw and energy crops (the size of Essex?) to fire power plants. Here is a condensed version of a few interesting facts from it: Up to 4,000 more onshore and 7,000 offshore turbines by 2020. 1,300 square miles (3,250 km^2) of the U.K. for growing crops to fire power stations (5% of total crop-land area) Grants and incentives for solar panels for 1/4 all homes. Grants for domestic wind turbines and ground-source heat pumps. Local authorities to collect waste food to generate methane for power stations. The renewable energy transition will result in 160,000 new jobs but it will cost £100 billion. Working at full-capacity (which they won't, see below) our present turbines could power 1.4 million homes. It takes 6-8 months to pay-back the energy outlay in building a wind-turbine. The turbines need wind-speeds of between 10 and 33 miles per hour (16 and 50 kmh) and are idle for up to one third of the time. 38 new wind farms are currently under construction and another 124 have planning permission to go ahead. One line of criticism is that we should be concentrating on insulating homes to make them more energy-efficient and use less power. I agree that energy-efficiency is paramount but so is energy supply. We just shouldn't waste it. Shaun Spiers, CEO of the Campaign to Protect Rural England said: "[Installing more onshore wind turbines] may be sacrificing our landscape just to allow people to fly and drive more." I don't understand the connection between electricity production by wind or other means and transportation, since the latter uses liquid fuels and we don't have electric vehicles, or versions that run on hydrogen made from electricity etc. As things stand, all the scheme in the report can do (if it can) is to result in using less fossil fuel to make electricity. All other problems, especially those pertaining to keeping transportation going appear to remain. Equally, I don't understand it when Mr Brown says that more nuclear and renewables will help to break our dependence on oil. How exactly? How can electricity substitute (and quickly too!) for oil? Also, in regard to fabricating one new wind turbine installation per day, what exactly is the present capacity to build them? Far less than that almost certainly, and so how will this be expanded across the U.K. and indeed across Europe? It is the rate of building completely new manufacturing capacity that sets the clock for the expansion of renewables and all other technologies. Once again the lack of engineering capacity appears to provide a bottleneck to this scenario. Related Reading. "Ministers want a new wind turbine built every day for 12 years to meet new EU green targets." By David Derbyshire. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1028447/Ministers-want-new-wind-turbine-built-day-12-years-meet-EU-green-targets.html Other than mention that today is the first day of Wimbledon, the B.B.C. news [1] this morning was filled with items about fuel - both oil and gas. Gordon Brown has visited Saudi, along with other energy leaders, to ask for an increase in production from this, the world's majority oil-producer. He also asked that Saudi and other major oil-producing nations invest in British renewable energy, which includes nuclear, that they may reap a harvest from in the coming oil-dearth era. Presumably this also defrays Britain's own outlay costs to build a future based on "renewable resources". It always puzzles me that nuclear power is counted among the cast of renewable resources since it depends on uranium as a fuel, which is surely in finite supply, and only through breeder-reactor technology using either uranium or thorium, or mining poorer streams of uranium "ore" can the world's nuclear fuel last for hundreds of years, rather than running-out in less than 50 years as the present known reserves of 3 million tonnes or so are anticipated to. However, in the conference summary, there was no mention of such a commitment to U.K. renewables, nor to the post-oil era. According to Saudi "there is no production problem for the foreseeable future". Mr Brown is the only non-OPEC national leader in attendance, which I take as a demonstration of his commitment to the seriousness of the oil-price situation. Indeed he has stated that "oil prices are the greatest threat to the world." I agree: rising CO2 emissions may well be a longer-term threat, but running out of cheap fuel will have the more immediate impact on maintaining present lifestyles. The aviation industry is feeling a very firm pinch from high fuel-prices and is levying all kinds of charges - for check-ins, airport taxes, and many other services. I read that one airline in the U.S. is going out of business every day, and these are the smaller outfits which, along with budget airlines across the world generally are finding their profit margins squeezed relentlessly against increasing operational costs. Saudi have said that the world cannot expect oil to become cheaper, while noting that an inexorable rise in the price of a barrel of oil is not in their interests either. Other main oil-producing nations, e.g. UAE, do not seem especially similarly concerned, and have not offered to ramp-up their own production. With the oil-prices as they are, UAE are making a surplus of around $100 a barrel over the amount they have budgeted for ($40 a barrel): adding up to a cool near $100 billion a year. What is done with such surpluses will impact significantly on the world political stage. The new gas-terminal at Milford Haven in South Wales, also home to the U.K.'s largest oil-depot, looks set to begin work. It is thought that this facility may handle 30% of the U.K.'s gas, imported in liquid form by tanker from Qatar, a nation that owns vast volumes of gas; some of which it is turning into synthetic diesel through GTL technology, in the world's biggest civil engineering project employing almost 30,000 workers. Thus from the oil and gas exporting nation Britain was until a couple of years ago, we are now heavily dependent on imports of both from the Middle East. Thus surely any potential strife there could effect this country calamitously if supplies of gas and oil are interrupted - in terms of providing heating, electricity and transport. Our other friends for gas-imports are the Norwegians, who live in a perennially stable nation. It makes sense to plan for the longer-term future now, while so much of conventional fossil-resources are up for grabs, and the gas-deals should keep Britain fuelled for decades ahead. The oil problem comprises both its costs and ultimately limited supply, although setting a time-line for the latter is difficult and possibly not helpful since it is the cost of oil and its refined products, particularly fuel, that will drive consumption down over time. This will have significant social impacts, and unless some other kind of fuel is found in similar amount and at reasonable cost, cheap transport will be a thing of the past. One can of course not know what will happen in the far-future, but in the more immediate term, the airlines, both budget and large enterprises such as B.A. who are prepared to cut the number of their flights to conserve fuel costs, provide an indication of an economically-motivated curbing in the level of transport. There are severe limits in what might be provided in terms of biofuel, unless the algae-to-fuel technology [2] can be implemented on the large-scale, but this will require enormous amounts of phosphorus fertilizer, demand for which is already being pressed from conventional agriculture - i.e. to grow food. Food prices are escalating across the world and the latter problem will not help to alleviate matters. Indeed, a food-crop vs fuel -crop conflict over the same, restricted amount of available arable land will only make matters worse. The issue of "growing things" is paramount on so many levels, and one underlying problem is the poor quality of soil especially in Africa and much of Asia. I discovered a new term (new to me anyway) of "biochar" [3] which is a kind of charcoal formed at low temperatures, which both ties-up unwanted carbon from the atmosphere in the soil over the longer-term (maybe hundreds of years) and increases the fertility of poor soil. It also seems to help the soil to retain nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and may mean that less of them are required to provide a given crop, which would usefully ease pressure on the latter particularly. This is another worthy "technology" to be investigated, and I am beginning to think that those strategies that are likely to come to the aid of the world are those which work in-hand with nature, rather than which preserve a bubble whose integrity can only be preserved by expending other finite "mineral" resources. It is significant that another item this morning mentioned [1] that "it will take 30-40 years to install the proposed nuclear power programme in the U.K." - this emphasises that the "nuclear solution" is not a quick fix and will depend on all kinds of other resources to bring it forth. However, it is not clear to me how renewables, even if we include nuclear and if we can get enough of them up and running, can address the issue of replacing liquid fuels, unless the majority of future transport is intended to run on electric-power, which has implications for other resources such as lithium. [1] "Breakfast Time" B.B.C., news items, June 23rd, 2008. [2] http://www.oilgae.com. I am writing a chapter for a book on this subject which I will post when it is published. [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar. Posted by Professor Chris Rhodes at 7:40 am 1 comment: Links to this post In the face of the war in Iraq, it is alarming to sense a development in the possibility that Iran too might become embroiled in military actions with another power. I have read various reasons that this could happen, but the central issues appear to be that Iran (i) wishes to carry on enriching nuclear fuel and (ii) it is claimed, the country has been providing certain factions in Iraq with weapons. Since many other countries either enrich or handle uranium that has been enriched elsewhere, there is no reason per se that Iran should not do likewise, but the principal concern is over the degree to which uranium would be enriched in uranium-235, either to around 3.5% as a raw material for nuclear fuel in peaceful nuclear power generation or, as is alleged by Israel and the West (both the US and Europe) to nearer 90%, to provide weapons grade uranium. At one stage, Russia offered to enrich uranium for Iran to fuel grade concentrations, but Iran remains defiant that it should be allowed to maintain its own enrichment facilities. In view of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's), which were never identified in Iraq but furnished one of the reasons to go to war with them, and that it was thought that some of these WMD's might be nuclear, the whole matter is very delicate. I have read a host of commentators' claims that the reason for the Iraq war (the second one at any rate) was "about oil", and there are similar anticipations that any military actions against Iran would in reality be similarly motivated. I am not a politician, but I am setting these matters on the table for discussion. Both Iraq and Iran are lands under which are reckoned enormous deposits of oil, perhaps up to 200 billion barrels worth apiece, and an amount of oil that might be counted to serve more than a decade's worth at present world use - or far longer than that for the needs of individual nations if they managed to get their hands on it - is a glittering prize indeed. Back in 2006, it was reported [1] that Iran was threatening to deprive the West of oil if the latter went ahead with its sanctions against them over its attempts to acquire a nuclear enrichment facility. Iran insists that its sole purpose in developing the facility is for nuclear power generation, and it had by then 164 centrifuges and there were plans to get another 3,000 in that year. This can be measured against an "expert" view that it would take around 50,000 such centrifuges to produce weapons grade uranium, and so such a prospect appeared some years off, even if that were the intention. The story has unfolded somewhat since then and there have been a number of potential standoffs between Iran and both Western nations and Israel. Last November (2007) it was reported [2] that the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, had proposed a worldwide ban on companies involved in the development of Iran's oil and gas fields should it fail to curb its nuclear ambitions. He said that Iran had a choice: sanctions from the international community or dropping its nuclear plans and also stopping its support for terrorism and "having a transformed relationship with the world". Military action was not ruled-out by Mr Brown, who said that "hard-headed intervention" was occasionally necessary. He also said that the active providers as well as the potential users of nuclear materials should be held to account. In the latest development, Israel has apparently carried out a rehearsal exercise for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities [3,4]. Over Israeli 100 fighter-planes were involved in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of this month. It would appear that this action was intended to warn Tehran that Israel has the military might to launch an attack on Iran, which it would do if it thought that Iran was "close to getting a nuclear weapon". This does sound familiar, although it is emphasised that there is no definite intention to attack Iran but a display of its capability to do so can be read as a statement of intention. The UN secretary approved a third round of sanctions against Iran back in March 2008 over the nuclear issue, which was unexpected since it was reported by US intelligence at the end of 2007 that Iran had "given up its nuclear weapons programme". Now I am confused because I didn't think that Iran had ever said it had any plans toward "nuclear weapons", just the peaceful development of nuclear power. Maybe insertion of the word "weapons" is a typo but if so it is highly dangerous. A spokesman for the Israeli military said that the air force "regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by threats facing Israel". Experts have expressed doubt that Israel has the capacity to destroy Iran's extensive and heavily defended nuclear facilities without the assistance of the U.S. In 1981, the Israeli air-force destroyed Iraq's single nuclear reactor and last September it bombed a site in Syria which U.S. intelligence had identified as containing a nuclear reactor constructed with the aid of North Korean nuclear engineers. Iran still denies vehemently that it intends to develop nuclear weapons but remains steadfast in its intentions and rights to develop a peaceful nuclear power facility. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency which is the UN's watchdog over matters nuclear, has demanded "full disclosure" from Tehran in connection with plans it has obtained covertly to design a nuclear weapon, which Iran has discounted as "baseless, forged or irrelevant". This flame is under the pot. [1] "Iran threatens to use 'oil weapon' in nuclear standoff." By Simon Tisdall. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/aug/07/topstories3.iran.print [2] "Gordon Brown threatens Iran's oil interests unless it curbs nuclear ambition."http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2859612.ece [3] "Israeli threat to attack Iran over nuclear weapons." By Ian Black. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/07/israelandthepalestinians.iran [4] "Israelis 'rehearse Iran attack'." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7465170.stm "Energy Balance" seems to be entering a certain level of maturity, in the sense that what I was thinking and posting a couple of years ago (the blog only 2 1/2 years old) strikes some rather unsettling or deja vu backdrops against what has occurred since - and is threatened now, particularly. For a start, the price of a barrel of oil was around $70, or about half what it is now, and even that was more than three times its price a couple of years before then ($22). It was a mere $12 a barrel in 1999. Anyway, thinking about the recent Saudi pledge to pump more oil, and that if it does so, much of the increase could be in the form of high-sulphur "sour" heavy crude oil, rather than the "sweet" (low-sulphur) light oil that everybody wants, struck a chord with an article that I revisited inadvertently, having forgotten writing it, but which I have re-posted below as it seems relevant to current trends. Alternative oil sources are all up for grabs, as supplies of "light crude", the easiest form of petroleum to extract and process are set to decline, following the peak in production: "Peak Oil". We will most likely see further regions and examples of unsettledness in the world, but either way, the developed nations and their energy providers are strenuously seeking alternative sources of oil, including those whose exploitation made no economic sense during the times of plenty for light crude. Thus we see increasing mention of "oil sands", more accurately termed "tar sands", which contain bitumen, a material that can be "cracked" into oil, and hence processed into gasoline. The Alberta sands produced something like 1.1 million barrels of oil every day in 2005, and it is hoped to increase that production to the level of around 5 billion barrels daily by 2030. We will need all of that, and much more, in 25 years, when we will have exhausted probably all the "cheap" light oil; by then, extraction costs will be considerable. Nonetheless, in terms of EROEI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested), the return on tar-oil is not great, at 1.5 (3:2), and it is thought that 3 is the limit below which extraction of an energy resource is not worth the effort or expenditure of existing resources (See previous posting "You Need Energy to get Energy - Time is Running Out."). It is a crime that almost all of this precious material is simply being burnt in the mighty fuel tank of transportation, rather than being retained as a vital chemical feedstock - when cheap oil is gone, much of the world's industry and economy in consequence, will find itself without raw materials, let alone fuel to process them with. Much of the U.S. is well provided for in terms of oil-shale. This is essentially porous rock which contains hydrocarbons, and by heating (which is also highly energy intensive, in similar amount to the oil-sands problem) these are expelled for processing into...yeah, gasoline and aviation fuel. There seem to be no plans to hang on to the stuff for a rainy day, the whole enterprise is aimed just to produce as much as demand will accept, at whatever costs the markets will put up with...and then burn it. It is likely that any market-driven stoicism may skid a little, as the price of oil is now around $70 dollars a barrel, and up from about $22 a couple of years back. Consequently, airport taxes and other charges are being stepped-up, for no reasons of altruism, but because the main cost of flying - fuel - cannot be otherwise born. The knock-on effect will be to make the cost of cheap flights increasingly uncompetitive with the big-boys, and that may well reduce the number of passengers overall. Mining oil-shale, especially when it is deposited deep underground is a problem, both in terms of accessibility and energy. I have read of one suggestion, which is to use underground nuclear explosions to "break-up" such deep seated shale deposits, in order to make their extraction easier. However, I envisage "radioactive oil" being even less popular than the standard offering: two emissions for the price of one: radiation and CO2. Mmm, I think that one is some way off yet! More likely to succeed are the Saudi's proposals to unlock their reserves of "heavy oil". Heavy oil is much more difficult to handle, and can be of the consistency of treacle (molasses?). This makes it harder to pump to the surface than light oils. The U.S. giant Chevron is investigating a technique which uses steam to mobilise sludge-like reserves in Wafra, the neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - both countries have an equal share of oil from the neutral zone. Heavy oils are also more heavily contaminated with metals and sulphur, and because refineries need specialist facilities to remove the impurities, it is priced lower than light oil, reflecting its lesser appeal. However, there is a growing number of appropriately equipped refineries around the world which can turn heavy oil into gasoline, aviation fuel and heating oil, and Saudi Arabia has announced plans to build more of them to capitalise on its home stocks. For decades now, Chevron has used steam injection successfully to boost oil production in California and in Indonesia, and it could add many billions of barrels to Saudi oil stocks, obtained from the porous rock formations that are common in the Middle East. Without steam, heavy oil fields sometimes yield as little as 5% of their oil by conventional pumping, as compared with up to 35% from a light oil deposit. To extract oil from the Canadian tar-sands, very high temperature steam is used to recover the bitumen, a substance so viscous it could not be pumped out at all otherwise. Chevron's test in Saudi Arabia is centred around one steam-injection well, four producing wells and one observation well to colect data on the way that oil and steam interact. However, the company has committed itself to an expansion phase that will involve 16 injection wells and 25 producing wells, along with the installation of facilities for water-treatment and steam-production, at a total cost of a cool $300 million. In Oman, Occidental Petroleum Corp. is preparing to spend $2 billion on a large-scale stem-injection project in the Mukhaizna field, which contains about one billion barrels worth of oil. After four years of negotiations, Occidental has managed to persuade the Omanis to let it manage the field, in part by promising them a ten-fold increase in production to 150,000 barrels a day. Kuwait is planning a pilot project to investigate exploiting its northern heavy-oil fields, as part of meeting its goal to raise output to round four million barrels a day by 2020, from a current production of 2.6 million barrels, daily. The world is draining the tank to the bottom, as technology permits more oil to be squeezed from the bowels of Nature, but inevitably at rising costs.... until when? ... and then what? [I didn't put my references with the articles initially, since I was trying to present them as "newspaper-style" journalism, but I have these if anybody wants them. At the request on one "reader" I began to add them as footnotes later on, which has saved me a lot of work since! I am grateful for all the input from many people both in agreement or disagreement of what are just my own opinions, but at least I try to back them up with numbers as necessary. Chris.]. Posted by Professor Chris Rhodes at 3:34 pm 3 comments: Links to this post Soaring Cost of Plane Fuel Causes Run on Rare Metals. The recent hike in the price of crude oil has resulted in soaring costs to airlines for fuel. As we mull these things over, some airlines are going out of business and even British Airways were quoted recently as planning to reduce their number of flights by one half over the next decade. It is odd, as I have remarked before, that there can consequently be any real justification for a fifth or even sixth terminal and a third runway at Heathrow Airport, since logic suggests there will be far fewer flights during the next decades than now, rather than the "three-fold expansion by 2030", that was flagged-up prior to the inauguration of Heathrow "terminal five". I don't see how conventional fuel can meet such demand in the face of unprecedented high costs, and worse to come according to many analysts, and an ultimate actual shortage of fuels, most likely during this same period. I read the other day that it might be possible to make hydrocarbon "jet-fuel" from algae, of higher power-yield than ethanol or biodeisel, and which retains a satisfactorily low viscosity at the low temperatures encountered during routine flights in the altitudes of the troposphere. In contrast, iiodiesel becomes highly viscous (thick) when cooled and difficult or impossible to pump around an engine. However, this technology is still at an experimental stage and certainly is unlikely to solve the problem of how to keep aviation running in the face of an inevitable loss of cheap, plentiful plane-fuel. The same conundrum also applies to terrestrial vehicles, of course. As in any potential shortfall between supply (earnings) and demand (expenditure) , the gap can be narrowed from either side: i.e. you can, in principle at least, earn more or you can economise, and spend less. So it is with plane-fuel. Knowing that there will never be cheap fuel again, the airlines are looking toward designing planes that use fuel far more efficiently. However, even if more fuel-efficient planes can be built, there remains the matter of what materials they will be made from. This brings on another resource issue, namely that of rare metals. Metals such as rhenium, chromium, cobalt and titanium, which are already in demand to make industrial catalysts and other essential items for a variety of purposes, including fuel-production from crude-oil distillation fractions, are needed on a large scale to make new super-alloys for planes. The price of rhenium has jumped to a record $11,250 per kilogram, which is almost twelve-times its price in 2006. Indeed, it is now only half the price of gold, which is a big plus to those countries that mine rhenium-ore, e.g. Chile and Kazakhstan. Rhenium and other rare metals are readily blended with other more common metals, to form alloys which are highly heat-resistant, and allow aircraft engines made from them to run at much higher temperatures than normal, so increasing the thermal-efficiency of the engine. The Carnot-cycle depends on the temperature differential between the coolest and the hottest working part of an engine and so if the latter can be increased, more miles are obtained per gallon of fuel. Rhenium-alloys have been used in military planes for decades but the move on them by the commercial sector is new. During the cold-war both the US and the Russians stockpiled such materials specifically to keep their war-plane fleet provided for. The drive toward fuel-economy will force-up the price of rare metals as rival airlines battle it out in order to stay in business. Chromium is mined and produced mostly in South Africa, which has seen its price rise from $4,000 a tonne in 2000 to $11,000 a tonne now. The price was just under $7,000 a tonne only last year. It is interesting but probably unrelated that this is close to the ratio of oil-prices between now and a year ago. Cobalt is produced mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly the Belgian Congo), and now costs about $52.50 a pound, which is double its 2006 value. Along with many resources, most metals are now being stretched into a supply-demand gap, as the world requires more and more of them, and we see this being reflected in their price. In many cases, it is not that there is insufficient of a particular material in the Earth but its rate of production is limited in the face of demand. For metals such as hafnium, vital both in the nuclear and electronics industries, there is a real shortage of known world-reserves, which only the discovery of new ore-deposits or the implementation of an efficient recycling strategy will serve to ease. "Rare metals soar on demand for efficient jets." By Javier Blas. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a0c9877a-3c91-11dd-b958-0000779fd2ac.html Posted by Professor Chris Rhodes at 9:19 am 13 comments: Links to this post No-one can be unaware of the present high price of fuel and most will have heard of the recent record $139 barrel of oil. The price has fallen, for now at least, to around $135 a barrel, but most analysts predict hefty increases, and soon at that. There are a number of factors that can be invoked or held culpable for the huge increase in the price of crude oil which was around $20 a barrel just 5 or 6 years ago. The main issue however, is that demand in beginning to outstrip supply, in part from roaring eastern economies, notably China and India, supply troubles of various kinds including acts of terrorism and that the cheap light crude oil peaked its own production at the end of 2005. Accordingly, most of the roughly 1 trillion (or optimistically 1.2 trillion) barrels-worth there are left in the ground consists of "sour" heavy-oil which is more difficult and expensive to pump and to refine. The weakening US dollar is also blamed on the most extreme oil price hikes, in one case by $11 in a single day. Many countries, including the US and the UK, are of the opinion that if more oil can be brought onto the markets, the pressing demand-supply gap will be eased and the price of oil will come down. To this end, the Saudi King Abdullah held talks with the UN secretary general, Mr Ban Ki-moon at the royal palace in Jeddah, during which he promised to pump an extra half-million barrels a day. Mr Ban was reassured that Saudi had increased its production by 300,000 barrels a day this month and will increase this by an additional 200,000 daily barrels next month. According to Mr Ban, "...there will be no shortage of oil." The Saudi oil minister, Mr Ali al-Naimi said that the Kingdom was responding to requests to increase oil output from 30 different countries. It is a balance of forces however, rather than pure altruism, in that the Saudis need the West and the oil-revenue just as much as the West needs its oil. From the former side are fears that increasing oil prices will curb demand in the West for oil by quenching industrial growth, so damaging the Saudi economy. I was a little surprised to hear this news since I have read a number of accounts to the effect that Saudi oil is close to its peak and that it has little additional reserve capacity to produce oil. There are other comments that the volume of the Saudi reserves and those in the Middle East generally have been overestimated. Perhaps not. In any event, failing to act now, as we did in the 1970's when the OPEC nations cut production of oil and caused a fourfold increase in its price, will merely mean that we postpone very temporarily the geological crisis over oil that will come eventually and probably soon, as rising demand must clearly overshoot supply from a finite resource, as oil is. In any event the world will hit a "gap" in meeting demand, and surely now, if and while there remains some time in hand before an energy-crunch, would be an apposite moment to search and develop technologies and means for living that use less oil and less energy in general. For most of the world, oil means transport, while in Italy, who swore-off nuclear power long-ago, preferring instead to use oil to generate electricity, recent rising oil-prices have resulted in a revision of this attitude. Italy is now planning to build nuclear power plants which it thinks will be cheaper to run while oil-prices continue their upward ascent. Coincidentally, Italy makes 18% of its electricity in oil-fired power stations, which is exactly the amount that the UK makes from nuclear. The supply-demand gap exists currently because we are using oil too fast. Once peak oil hits, especially among the biggest producers, especially Saudi, the gap will widen, being drawn-down from the production side too. Only then can it be kept healed if our use of the resource similarly gears-down, to follow its depleting production curve. "Saudi King: 'We will pump more oil'". By Anne Penketh, Monday June 16. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-king-we-will-pump-more-oil-847830.html The name of Marion King Hubbert is revered as that of a pioneer in the field of predicting likely future oil production. Hubbert first applied his analysis to the lower 48 states of the US (i.e. those excluding Hawaii and Alaska) in 1956 and predicted that oil production would reach a maximum (peak oil) either in 1965 or 1970, depending on his estimate of the total volume of the oil-reserve there, of either 150 or 200 billion barrels, respectively [1]. While the latter input yielded the timing of the peak for US oil with uncanny accuracy, the method was not per se predictive of the total volume of the resource; that required a prior estimate. One derivation of Hubbert's analysis that is predictive [2,3] has become known as the "Hubbert Linearization". The Hubbert Peak can be represented by the logistic differential equation (1): dQ/dt = P = kQ(1 - Q/Qt) ......................(1). Here, P is the production (number of barrels of oil) per year, Q is the cumulative production (i.e. the total amount of oil recovered from the source to date), Qt is the total amount of oil that will ever be recovered from it and k is the logistic growth rate (described by Kenneth Deffeyes [3] as a "sort of compound interest"). Equation (1) is a quadratic (and describes a parabola or bell-shaped curve, Figure 1) but may be re-written in linear form, by dividing through by Q to give equation (2): P/Q = k - kQ/Qt ......................................(2). Thus a plot of P/Q (i.e. the number of barrels of oil produced each year divided by the total amount of oil extracted to date) versus Q (the total amount of oil extracted to date) directly, gives a straight line (Figure 2) with a y-axis intercept equal to k and a slope -k/Qt. From k and Qt, values for P can be estimated using equation (1), for each unit value of Q, from which it is apparent that the ability to produce oil depends entirely on the "unproduced fraction", (1-Q/Qt), i.e. how much oil there is remaining in the well... and on nothing else. Qt is also given by the intercept on the x-axis, since it corresponds to the point at which the resource is exhausted and P/Q = 0. To make a plot of P against time - i.e. a classic production curve - it is necessary to replace Q as the x-axis unit by time (e.g. by year). This can be done by noting that P = dQ/dt, as in equation (1). Hence, 1/P = dt/dQ. By using equation (1), values of P can be predicted for each barrel of oil (billion barrels of oil are a more convenient unit), by increasing or decreasing Q by increments of one (billion barrel) unit from cumulative production at a specified year (to act as a "clock", e.g. Q = 169 billion barrels by 2002 for the US). By then dividing the P values into 1, we get the reciprocals (1/P) which are in units of years/billion barrels rather than of billion barrels per year (P). Then for each value of P, we calculate a year-fraction (i.e. how long it took to produce each billion barrel unit) and make a production plot of P versus year-fraction, giving the curve in Figure 1, the area under which is equal to the total volume of the resource, Qt. [*i.e. the division does not come out conveniently in round year units, but is usually fractional. For example, for the US production, for which we obtain k=0.061 and Qt=198.395 Gb. When Q=169 Gb, P=1.532, 1/P = 0.653, and we set the year at 2002, by when production data shows that 169 Gb had been produced. This is our "clock". We then calculate for Q=168, P=1.574, 1/P=0.635, and so the "year fraction" is 2002-0.653=2001.347. For Q=167, P=1.902, 1/P=0.526, and the year fraction is 2001.347-0.526=2000.821. The points can be extended above the "clock" year too, e.g. for Q=170, P=1.488, 1/P=0.672, and the "year"= 2002+0.672=2002.672. The procedure is continued for all values of Q to obtain a good data set for the plot of P/"year"]. For world oil reserves, the analysis predicts a value for Qt of around 2 trillion barrels, which would suggest we are close to (or past) the half-way point, i.e. we have used around half our original bestowal of oil. The method has been extended to using second derivatives [4], e.g. in the form of equation (3): (1/P)dP/dt = k(1 - 2 Q/Qt) ....................(3). In equation 3, the term before the equals sign is often called the decline rate (of a resource). Use of this formula has been called the "Second Hubbert Linearization". A plot of delta-P/P versus 2Q gives a value of 2634 billion barrels for Qt and k = 4.6%. There are two potential matters of import here, if this analysis is correct: (1) we may have another 600 billion barrels of oil available to us, (2) the date of peak oil is shifted from around 2006 [as is obtained from equations (1) and (2)] to around 2013. According to the summary of a recent oil conference, consensus on peak oil is that it will be with us by 2012 [5]. This is in accord with the prognosis made by the CEO of Shell who, earlier this year, stated that he expected to see a gap between demand and supply for oil at some time between 2010 - 2015. That additional 600 billion barrels if real may not help us much though, because it is the rate of recovery that matters in closing the demand-supply gap for oil. If more oil cannot be pumped-out per day and refined fast enough to match demand, high prices will remain and there will be shortfalls in supply... somewhere or another, both in terms of fuel and chemical feedstocks for industry. [1 M.K.Hubbert, “Nuclear Energy and the Fossil Fuels.” Presented before the Spring meeting of the Southern District, American Petroleum Institute, Plaza Hotel, San Antonio, Texas, March 7-9, 1956. [2] M.K.Hubbert, “Techniques of Production as Applied to Oil and Gas,” in S.I.Glass, ed., Oil and Gas Supply Modelling, Special Publication 631 (Washington D.C.: National Bureau of Standards, 1982), pp. 16-141. [3] K.S.Deffeyes, “Beyond Oil”, Hill and Wang, New York, 2005. [4] http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/8/16/102942/337 [5] D.Low, “ASPO conference confirms a peak in global oil production by 2012.” http://www.energybulletin.net/35127.html Figures are available at the following URL's: Figure 1. Logistic (Hubbert) curve fitted to crude oil production from the lower-48 US states. From S.Foucher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hubbert_US_Lower48.svg Figure 2. Hubbert linearization of lower-48 states data, according to equation 2, yielding fit-parameters k=6.1% and URR = Qt = 199.07 Gb (billion barrels), used to derive the logistic curve in Figure 1. From S.Foucher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HubbertLin_US_Lower48.svg I submitted the following letter to The Independent, in response to an article entitled as above. There is an essential difference between the total volume of reserves and the proportion of them that can be recovered as a rate per day: i.e. it doesn't matter how big the reserves are if they can't be tapped-into fast enough to match rising demand. This is true also of potential "abiotic oil" as is believed to be produced in the earth, according mainly to Russian/Ukranian geologists, in contrast to the prevailing view in the West. Even if the latter theory is true, the world still needs to reduce its demand for oil. "Sir: Richard Pike [CEO of the Royal Society of Chemistry is quoted ("Oil Shortage a Myth", The Independent 9-6-08) as saying there is plenty of oil left, and he is right. We should indeed not underestimate proven oil reserves but this is not the problem; the issue is flow rather than the quantity of total reserves and the quality of the oil that will be recovered from them. There may be 1,200 billion barrels worth left, but if it cannot be recovered much faster than is being done now it will not help alleviate the pressing gap between rising demand and supply. Even if Saudi were to increase its output by one million barrels a day (and it is debatable that they could) the product would be a heavy oil for which there is presently insufficient refining capacity in the world. Producing most of that remaining trillion or so barrels will be far more difficult and expensive than for the sweet, light crude oil, production of which peaked at the end of 2005. It will also be harder to turn it into fuel, requiring new refineries to be built, given its higher sulphur content and higher molecule mass hydrocarbon composition. I agree, we will be producing oil for decades and it is not running out per se, it is the cheap oil that is, and we will never see cheap fuel or chemical feedstocks again, with adverse effects for world transportation, industry and financial markets. Professor Chris Rhodes." Oil may reach $250 a barrel according to Alexey Miller, the CEO of the world's biggest energy company, Gazprom. He made his remarks in the aftermath of last Friday's huge rise in oil prices to above $139 a barrel - a massive hike of almost $11 in a single day, in consequence of the fall in value of the US dollar. Recently there have been unpromising predictions that oil could reach that sesqui-milestone of $150 by the beginning of July, up from $100 at the beginning of the year, and if Goldman Sachs are correct, on the way to the $200 barrel within 6 - 24 months. I was hedging my bets at $200 by the end of 2009, but I would not be entirely surprised if it came sooner than then in the wake of recent roaring price increases in oil per se, and the knock-on from that to escalating fuel and food costs. Using the word "wake" is possibly a Freudian slip, as we are facing the death of the oil-plenty era - or certainly that of cheap oil. I have noticed that there is a rough numerical correlation between the $ price of a barrel of oil and the UK pence price for a litre of diesel, around $130 and 130 p. While there are mutterings that Mr Miller is overstating the gravity of the world oil situation, I would not be too surprised if he is not so far off the mark. I did see something about $300 a barrel by 2015, but predicting just how big the inevitable gap between demand and supply will be by then for oil and its resulting price, are probably good guesses at best. Almost certainly, along the way there will be abandoned cars, businesses, homes, jobs and hopes. I recall a line from the film "The Day After Tomorrow", when one of the main characters says (something like): "I realise I have been planning for a future that no longer exists." I am left with that same unsweetened taste. Also during the inevitable phase of transition there will be winners too, and those with the major natural resources, particularly those of fuel, will hold the strongest hands to throw on the table in this gambling game we are playing with the future of the world. For example, the United Arab Emirates are budgeting at $40 a barrel while the price is almost $140. Thus they make $100 a barrel over and above their economic plan - i.e. a surplus of almost $100 billion a year. Such surpluses and what is done with them will become key drivers in world affairs and power will fall into those hands that control the carbon compounds that literally drive the modern world. A world without which, or without a clearly and practically implemented alternative strategy to cheap oil, is doomed. Meanwhile food prices are also soaring for a range of reasons, but rising fuel costs are not helping to bring them down. I read this morning that in consequence of food-aid and probably turning over potential food crops like wheat from food to biofuel production, the "US has nothing else left in [its] food pantry." The sale of 18.37 million bushels of wheat has just been announced from the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). There is apparently no cheese, butter or milk powder either leaving only 2.7 million bushels of wheat, or about sufficient to bake half a loaf of bread for each member of the 300 million population of America. The American Agriculture Movement (AAM) has raised its concerns about the impact of food politics on domestic food security. The CCC is owned by the Federal government and is intended to stabilise, support and protect farmers' incomes and prices and also to keep in balance and sufficiency agricultural commodities and subsidies in an "orderly" distribution. As has been emphasised, having a Strategic Energy Grain Reserve has the same import as the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve: i.e. it acts as a buffer against impelling forces of various kinds, to keep the nation fed as well as fuelled. The American Agriculture Movement has pledged to continue the work of the Farmer Owner Reserve (FOR) which allows grain to be stored on farms, as a central component whereby grain supplies could be decentralised in the event of "some unforeseen calamity which might befall the large grain storage terminals. Presumably like a bomb going off at one! I'm not sure what reserves of food we have in the UK but I recall seeing a figure of 11 days worth of fuel should some "unforeseen calamity" interrupt our imported supplies of it. [1] "An ominous warning that the rapid rise in oil prices has only just begun." By Danny Fortson. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/an-ominous-warning-that-the-rapid-rise-in-oil-prices-has-only-just-begun-844217.html [2] Tristate Observer. http://www.tristateobserver.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=10121 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that the governments of the world will need to spend $45 trillion (i.e. $45,000 billion) by 2050 to develop a low-carbon economy. They are calling for an "energy revolution" in order to curb CO2 emissions, which it predicts will otherwise "more than double" if present energy practices are maintained. The IEA also stressed that demand for oil will rise by 70% during this period. However, demand can do as it will it is supply that will provide the limit to whatever actions might by then be sustained. As the old saying goes: "If wishes were horses, beggars might ride." I very much doubt that another 70% per year can be found, which would add-up to a total of just over 50 billion barrels a year from 30 billion barrels used annually now. It is not just a simple matter of dividing the total reserve volume by current annual use, which would suggest 1,200/(50-30) = 24-40 years worth, since the output of oil from a well roughly follows the Hubbert curve and production reaches a maximum and thenceforth declines until it is no longer economic or possible to get more oil out. Hence the world oil production must begin to fall, and some think within a few years. Therefore, such future enhanced demand figures make no real sense. We won't be able to maintain the present output within a few years and it would make more sense to plan for that eventuality rather than promulgate some fantasy of unlimited growth. The IEA proposals do in fact address this, albeit in a less explicit way. In addition to various schemes for carbon-capture and sequestration - which the UK government has not agreed to, and indeed granted a permit for a new coal-fired power station in Kent, recently, with no CCS equipment, on the grounds it was an untried and untested technology (true!) - the agency calls for new nuclear plants, and retrofitting 35 coal-fired and 20 gas-fired power plants with CCS technology at a cost of $11.5 billion per unit. It also recommends building 35 new nuclear power plants and 17,500 wind turbines every year until 2050 (i.e. for the next 40 years). Other recommendations are a massive development of solar-energy and the implementation of so-called second-generation biodiesel (made by converting lignocellulose into a mixture of CO and H2 which is then turned into diesel via Fischer-Tropsch catalysis). The latter has the advantage that the whole plant is converted to fuel rather than just the sugar components. I wonder though, in an age when fossil fertilizers must become more scarce and expensive, that might be the time to return as much of the organic chaff from plants to the soil to maintain its fertility and health. It is already a problem now, that overproduction using synthetic fertilizers has in some regions all but removed the organic component of soil, leaving just a mineral (inorganic) matrix on which to grow anything. I am doubtful that fractious and generally world-divided political will is likely to be brought to bear in a concerted, potentially altruistic fashion, but at least the IAE has emphasised the scale of the problem. $45 trillion accounts for around 1.1% of the world's GDP which is not much to spare humanity and the ecology of the planet, but it may prove a bridge too far, and once again even these draconian proposals do not solve the problem of scarce and relentlessly expensive liquid fuel without which air transport will all but disappear, destroying the global village, and the lack of cheap, road-fuel which will tend to restore us to more familiar actual villages. "IEA calls for $45 trillion global energy technology revolution." By Nick Clark. The Independent, Saturday, 7-6-08. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ iea-calls-for-45trn-global-revolution-in-energy-technology-842130.html?r=RSS I was interviewed by George Galloway (the M.P. for Bethnal Green and Bow, East London) on his radio show last night on "talkSport radio" on the subject of fuel prices and our addiction to fossil fuels. Until he mentioned it I hadn't realised that the price of crude oil had climbed back from what I suspected in my last posting to be a lull of $122 to a record high of over $139. Sorry to have been correctly suspicious about this, that it would go back up again, and I note that Morgan Stanley are predicting a rise to $150 by the beginning of July. Part of the problem is the weak US dollar, but as I pointed out, the underpinning factor is that the world has got through most of the readily-extracted, cheap oil, and what is left will take far more effort to procure and refine, with an according cost increase. The age of cheap fuel is firmly bygone. My feeling is that the $150 barrel will arrive by the end of the year, and probably not before then, but I defer to a firm of experts such as Morgan Stanley. Goldman Sachs were predicting a $200 barrel within 24 months and I am still putting my money (figuratively at any rate) on a $200 barrel by the end of 2009. If it comes before then, I will take that as a sign either that the world oil supplies have peaked, or that relentless demand is forging an inexorable gap with supply more quickly than anticipated. Once the production peak is reached, the gap is widened from the supply side and will become ever enlarged by the tug of war between want and yield, thus forcing the price of oil yet higher. I am comforted in a cynical way by the putative 30 billion extra barrels in the North Sea that are now reckoned, but I know full well they are going to cost - however many of them it will prove efficacious or even possible to extract, and so the inevitable knock-on effect on the price and viability of transport - especially personal transport - will tend toward curbing the extent of the latter. Economists tend to think of resources in isolation. That each has its individual share of the market and that if the price goes up enough, the effect will be to bring more of the given resource onto the market. This is partly true, and the possibility of that extra 30 billion barrels arises because the likely returns as a consequence of rocketing oil-prices make reserves that were once uneconomic to recover - i.e. it would probably have cost money to get them out of the ground even a few years ago - now not only viable but highly profitable. It always takes resources to extract resources, however, and when I was interviewed on another radio station earlier in the week I was asked "so gas prices are rising but surely this has nothing to do with electricity, and so why are electricity prices rising too?" I pointed out that we make increasing amounts of electricity from gas, which we need to import and at elevating prices, and so there is a simple knock-on effect in terms of costs. So it is too with fuel. If all the oil we can recover in the future depends on highly expensive engineering, at increased capital costs for rigs and platforms etc., and the need to drill in harsher climes and regions, along with political difficulties such as terrorists blowing-up oil and gas pipelines as routinely happens in some parts of the world, e.g. Nigeria and Georgia/Armenia, and higher costs of electricity, gas and fuel to run the necessary processes, there will be no more cheap fuel, with the inevitable relocalisation of civilization. I do at least hope that we manage to hold onto the latter, since it came about only at great human sacrifice. [1] "Oil prices shoot past record above $139 a barrel on weak dollar and prediction of price spike."http://www.pr-inside.com/oil-prices-shoot-past-record-above-r629774.htm [2] http://www.georgegalloway.com/page.php?page=content/tsarchive.html The raw cost of a barrel of crude-oil is now down from the record $136 to around $122, and yet fuel prices at the pump remain high. Not surprisingly, this is causing consternation among British motorists who have been calling for the government to cut its tax on fuel to restore the cost of a litre of petrol or diesel to more manageable levels. As an average, a vehicle that cost £50 to fill its tank in 2006 now costs around £85, or an increase of 70%. There is no way the government can cut fuel-taxes since it needs all the money it can get to pay for the welfare state, the NHS and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fuel infrastructure has been compromised, it is blamed, for instance the strike at the Grangemouth refinery and the fire at another in Finland, which has hit fuel provision in Europe generally, and so refining capacity and distribution may impose a bottleneck to cheaper fuel, irrespective of the basic cost of a barrel of oil. Since oil prices are subject to the vagaries of exploration costs, pipelines being blown-up (e.g. in Nigeria) and an inexorable rise in production costs per se, in consequence of the need to draw oil from wells that was once considered not economically viable and also the price of capital equipment such as oil-rigs and platforms, we should not take too much comfort in the fall in oil prices, which remain six times that of 5 - 6 years ago. The situation is not great for British motorists. Not only are fuel costs increasing to the level that will force many cars off the road, certainly if, as is inevitable, the ultimately rising oil price is borne by the cost of the fuel that is refined from it, but there is very little new infrastructure in terms of motorways, in comparison say with Spain, a country that has invested heavily in its transport infrastructure. In Britain, the roads went the same way as the railways (in the latter case due to privatisation) and their retrospective refurbishment will cost more than routine maintenance would have done, if it can indeed be done to the same level given present costs and that investors are reluctant to put their money into a system that is not guaranteed to provide good returns. If cars will be forced off the roads by inexorable hikes in fuel costs why should anyone invest in more roads? The car is seen as a symbol of prosperity across the world. In the early 1960's certainly not everybody had a car. With one wage coming into a house, cars were expensive and higher-purchase arrangements not as convenient as they are in today's credit bubble. Now car-ownership is practically a given. Both in terms of their price and quality, cars are cheaper than they once were, in real terms. Little tin-boxes on wheels I often think of them as, rather than a Bentley or even a "Jag". In developing economies such as China one principal aspiration is to own a car, an untenable situation since there is insufficient cheap oil to keep even the existing number going, let alone double that by 2030, as I have read projected, if more Chinese, Indians and South Americans own cars in consequence of the growing success and prosperity of these nations. I strongly suspect that oil-prices will increase again, and we are presently in a lull on what will prove to be a relentlessly rising curve. I note too that it is now thought there may be 30 billion barrels worth of recoverable oil in the North Sea. Now this is mostly not down to new finds but that oil formerly considered uneconomic to extract has now become so in consequence of the massive rise in oil prices. If, as I believe, the price of oil will increase to $150 by the end of this year and $200 or so by the end of $2009, there may be around $4-6 trillion to be earned from the extra North Sea bounty. To put it into a different perspective, if the UK gets through 80 million tonnes of oil a year, call it 100 million to allow for some lucrative exports, that amounts to 730 million barrels annually, and so the "new" reserve would be enough to keep the UK in oil for 40 years. Personally, I agree with King Abdullah in Saudi, that we should keep it for ourselves and not waste is as we did the first tranche. However, it is an unknown quantity just how much oil can be extracted and it is of course the rate of extraction rather than the quantity of the reserve that determines how useful this will be to us - hence providing yet another bottle neck, like fuel. [1] "The end of the road for British motorists." By Neil Lyndon. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/fair_deal_for_drivers/2017868/ The-end-of-the-road-for-British-motorists-as-cost-of-petrol-hits-new-high.html [2] "North Sea could see second oil boom due to huge unexplored reserves." By Andy Bloxham. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2077195/ North-Sea-could-see-second-oil-boom-due-to-huge-unexplored-reserves.html I remember well the phenomenon of "cold fusion" as it was dubbed. This was back in 1989 when Professors Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischman claimed that they could extract 40% more energy in the form of heat than they had put in the form of electricity into an electrochemical cell containing deuterium oxide ("heavy water"). They proposed the deuterium nuclei had undergone a nuclear fusion. The potential implications of this were staggering: that rather that trying to mimic the massively high temperature conditions in a star such as the Sun, of some hundred million degrees or so as are necessary to overcome the strong Coulombic forces that tend to keep two positively charged nuclei apart, as in "hot" plasma-fusion, it was feasible to somehow overcome this barrier such that the process could occur at room temperature. Pons and Fleischman became largely dismissed as charlatans when many other research groups around the world found themselves unable to reproduce their results and confirm their claims, which were accordingly dismissed as unfounded. However, note the comment below to the effect that the phenomenon has since been confirmed in many highly credible laboratories around the world. I remember there were some really quite bizarre effects found by other workers - for example, one young man was killed when a cold-fusion cell exploded while he was trying to demonstrate the phenomenon of "fusion in a test-tube" as the popular press described it. So, something real was happening, fusion or not. A senior scientist and champion of cold-fusion, Dr Eugene Mallove, was murdered during the furore, which incited a number of conspiracy theories at the time. The matter never entirely went away and I recall reading an article either in The Guardian or New Scientist (or both) to the effect that a scientist in the US had claimed to have demonstrated fusion when he exposed hexadeuteroacetone (that's C3D6O as opposed to the more common C3H6O) to ultrasound. He was crucified by the scientific community, as I recall, who had decided that cold fusion did not exist, and when they do that, God help you, if you claim otherwise - you will be castigated as a heretic, with all the ardour of the Spanish Inquisition. The most fervent believers, both scientific and religious, tend to bang the drum of their dogmas with equivalent enthusiasm; trampling the opposition where they may find them. However, a professor in Japan has apparently demonstrated that if deuterium gas is passed into a reactor containing composite palladium-zirconium oxide (Pd-ZrO2) nanoparticles, Helium-4 is produced (a sure sign of fusion?), the temperature of the reactor rises and its centre remains warm for 50 hours. If this is true it is absolutely fascinating and perhaps the accepted laws of chemistry and physics will need to be substantially modified, as has been said. However, from a practical point of view, that of dealing with the energy crunch, is the result of any importance even if cold fusion is a reality? I don't think so, frankly. I have not seen any figures for how much Pd and deuterium gas are used to run this cell and how much excess heat is produced. However, I have yet to be convinced that the energy needed to produce deuterium gas (by the electrolysis of deuterium oxide - "heavy water") and to make enough heavy water in the first place to feed the electrolysis units, will be offset by the final thermal output of the "fusion" reactors. Then there is the matter of availability of palladium metal, the energy for its fabrication into the composite nanoparticles and so on, and how would the heat energy be extracted usefully, say to heat buildings or drive electricity turbines? The problem of energy extraction is even worse for "hot" fusion, from a plasma that even if it can be sustained, would produce ultra-high energy neutrons that no known materials are yet able to withstand, from which to extract thermal energy. Very interesting indeed if it's all correct, but so what? We need more pragmatic solutions than fusion, hot or cold, to preserve lifestyles as we know them as we begin to see the depletion of conventional fuels. http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/06/cold-fusion-fact-or-fantasy.html Reviled for three decades, nuclear power is set to become an essential component of that final energy mix proposed in the Royal Society report as a result of a meeting of "experts", including me hence my use of parentheses! I referred to this in the very first posting on this blog, following the initial meeting on the subject of [providing] "Energy to 2050" at the Geological Society in London, the conclusions from which were unveiled at the Royal Society a couple of months later. I was working in the former USSR immediately after the explosion of the Unit 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986, an odd experience in that there was no information available in Russia so it seemed, and we learned most about what had happened from our colleagues in the West - in Sweden, particularly, which was where the first alarm sounded - literally, for a nuclear worker on his way into a Swedish power station who had become contaminated while hiking in the hills during the weekend, from the radioactive cloud that drifted from Kiev, across western Europe, and as far as the eastern coast of the US. It is claimed that this manifestation of naked secrecy contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union just three years later, although the details of latter event are in fact very complicated. Another explanation is that the US persuaded the Saudis to lower the price of their oil so that the Russian economy was finally toppled by the according undermining of its own oil revenue - a considerable blow to the GDP. I recall this simply because this is the image of nuclear power that the industry has had to contend with and it seemed practically impossible that any more civilian nuclear reactors would ever be built. However, the world energy situation has changed, and in the face of an inevitable and imminent shortage of energy, nuclear has returned to make its contribution. Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are often flagged-up by anti-nuclear objectors, and there were a number of pretty bad incidents in the early days of nuclear power, e.g. Windscale in 1958 (later renamed Sellafield, probably in the hope that people would forget it was the same place), but on the whole the nuclear industry can confidently state that it has caused far fewer deaths than coal-mining say, which claims 6,000 lives each year - and that's just in China. The real worry is what to do with the nuclear waste, although there are proposed strategies to store it underground out of harm's way sealed in metal canisters deposited in concrete bunkers, until the more active radioactive elements have cooled-down, until after around 300 years (that's 10 half-lives each for Sr-90 and Cs-137) the material is about as radioactive as natural uranium. The long-term consequences of this are indeed unknown. It is a conundrum, in the inevitable evolution of cultures - such as will survive the oil dearth era - over time, accompanied by the changing of the spoken and written language in a region, to wonder, how will these nuclear-dumps be marked? If written signs are to be used, will they be written in English, Russian, Chinese or what other script or hieroglyphics? In the 1950's, "atomic energy" was hailed as being a source of "electricity to cheap to meter"... yeah, right! The real purpose was to make plutonium for nuclear weapons, and the electricity angle, useful though the commodity has proved to be, was a bit of spin. Windscale was, in reality, largely built to make plutonium by irradiating natural uranium an an "atomic pile" (reactor). I missed Queen Elizabeth's switching-on of the world's first civilian reactor, at Calder Hall there in 1956, being born a few years after that, but my parents tell me that it did feel like the dawn of a new age, and so well was the story spun, atomic energy was believed by the public to be purely in their interests by providing them with cheap electricity. Similarly, nuclear power is now being hailed as a saviour technology, the main spin being to avert climate change by curbing CO2 emissions, but the more immediate reason is to compensate for the fact we are running short of available fossil resources, notably natural gas. During the next decades we won't have them to burn, or not at a cheap price, and nuclear power will be needed to bridge the energy gorge to that utopian somewhere of renewables or the nowhere of cold, dark houses and the abandoned tarmac that will be left when liquid fuels begin to decline. "Dawn of a new nuclear age," By Terry Macalister. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/22/nuclearpower.energy	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line101
__label__cc	0.63456	0.36544	Whistleblower Provisions ... What Others Are Saying The FCPA bar is an active group of writers. And quick. Below is a sample of other views on the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill signed by President Obama last week. As noted in this prior post, the whistleblower provisions apply to all securities laws violations and the FCPA is part of the Securities Exchange Act. In the post, I set forth my reasons for why I believe the new whistleblower provisions will have a negligible impact on FCPA enforcement. As demonstrated by the below snippets, I am clearly an outlier, which is not surprising to me. So if you have an unexplained fascination for law firm client alerts (as I often do) this post is for you. Foley & Lardner (see here) "The Act's broad whistleblower provisions significantly increase the compliance risks companies doing business internationally face. Coupled with the fact that numerous recent FCPA enforcement actions have resulted in companies paying record fines — in many cases in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars — to settle enforcement actions, the Act will create enormous financial incentives for individual whistleblowers to report FCPA violations (or even speculative claims of a violation) to the SEC. Given this important legislative development, there is no better time for companies to evaluate their FCPA compliance programs to ensure they are in line with current best practices. An effective FCPA compliance program both minimizes a company's risk of violations and provides protection to companies by maintaining the components of an effective compliance and ethics program set forth in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines." Morrison & Foerster (see here) "Although the new provisions apply to all violations of the securities laws, they are likely to have particularly significant impact on enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), an area in which criminal and civil penalties and enforcement activity have increased sharply in recent years." "Although Dodd-Frank’s whistleblower provisions apply to any of the securities laws under which the SEC can bring enforcement actions, the Act will likely have an immediate and outsized impact on FCPA enforcement." "Given the large size of recent FCPA settlements and enforcement actions, the ability to aggregate the recoveries from “related judicial and administrative actions” when determining the whistleblower’s award, and the government’s continued focus on and increased resources devoted to FCPA enforcement, the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions are likely to result in even more FCPA investigations and enforcement actions." "The new whistleblower provisions could lead to more and/or earlier voluntary disclosures of potential securities law violations, as companies hoping to obtain the benefits of voluntary disclosure must move quickly, before the whistleblower makes his or her disclosure. They could also lead to more reports of minor violations previously deemed not significant enough to report." Proskauer Rose (see here) "While the whistleblower bounty exists for all securities violations, the risk companies face is particularly great relative to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which broadly proscribes corruptly influencing foreign public officials. The remarkable monetary sanctions in FCPA enforcement actions, where SEC settlements in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars have become increasingly common, provide a compelling incentive for individuals to contact the SEC about suspected FCPA violations." "The dramatic increase in FCPA enforcement efforts, along with the comprehensive press coverage surrounding such efforts and the expected cottage industry of lawyers and others, will ensure that potential whistleblowers are aware of, and take full advantage of, this enticing incentive." "The increased possibility that FCPA violators will face substantial sanctions (for violations that may have been “under the radar” previously) also suggests that companies have even greater reason to inhibit bribery and fraud from occurring in the first place. The importance of effective internal controls and compliance programs to detect and prevent FCPA and other securities violations has intensified. With the new bounty, companies will need to adapt to this defining change in the legal landscape." Fulbright & Jaworski (see here) "In light of the current aggressive FCPA enforcement environment, Section[] 922 [...] stand to further increase the number of FCPA-related investigations initiated by corporate counsel and U.S. enforcement authorities, as well as the number of civil and criminal enforcement actions brought by the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Before the Act is signed into law, companies doing business overseas—particularly publicly traded companies in the oil, natural gas, or minerals industries—should take the time to review their compliance policies and procedures and determine what, if any, changes must be made to account for the changing enforcement landscape as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act." "In light of Section 922 and the financial incentives it provides, companies should expect an increase in whistleblower allegations and associated investigations—particularly in the context of the FCPA, where several recent civil and criminal recoveries have been $100 million or more. This expectation will also affect companies’ determinations regarding self-reporting, should allegations arise, both in terms of whether to self-report the allegations and how quickly to do so (e.g., before an internal investigation has been conducted). At the very least, companies should reassess internal compliance policies and procedures to ensure their adequacy in anticipation of such increased enforcement activity." McDermott Will & Emery (see here) "When combined with recent efforts to step up enforcement, these new provisions significantly alter the incentives for potential whistleblowers, making it more likely that those on the fence will race to government, rather than report to their employer. Take the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as an example. In the past few years, both the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have dramatically increased their enforcement of this statute, resulting in a recent number of groundbreaking settlements, including an $800 million payment by Siemens; a more than $575 million sanction and disgorgement against Kellogg Brown & Root and a $185 million payment by Daimler. With recoveries like this, a potential 30 percent share is akin to winning the lottery for a whistleblower. Under such circumstances, even a loyal employee may find it difficult to turn down such a potential jackpot." Holland & Knight (see here) "The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act approved by Congress and set to be signed into law by President Obama next week contains a whistleblower provision that will have a significant impact on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)." "This new provision increases the likelihood that information regarding improper payments will come to the attention of the SEC. Moreover, when combined with recent enforcement actions by the SEC that have held U.S. parent companies strictly liable for the improper conduct of their foreign subsidiaries, the compliance and enforcement risks for U.S. public companies engaged in overseas business activities cannot be overstated. We strongly urge U.S. companies to take immediate steps to strengthen their FCPA compliance programs and undertake training of their employees and third parties, including agents and distributors. U.S. companies should also be proactive in conducting compliance audits of their overseas operations." Mark Mendelsohn, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (former DOJ FCPA top cop) in the American Lawyer "[Mendelsohn] offered the usual cautionary caveat about it being too soon to know, but he did say the new provisions may create a regulatory backlog because employees now have an incentive to go to the SEC with matters that previously would have been handled internally. 'As a company, you want to have mechanisms for people to report things up the chain internally,' Mendelsohn said. 'The whistleblower legislation cuts against that by incentivizing people to go outside the company with information.'" It is just not law firms with FCPA practices that have put pen to paper. Below is a sample of what some "whistleblower" law firms are saying. Finch McCranie (see here) "Bribery of foreign government officials in international business transactions, and false entries in books and records of those companies within the statute, are the targets of the FCPA. Whistleblowers whose information helps the SEC recover monetary sanctions from those corrupt entities in FCPA cases now have an enforceable right to a monetary award of 10-30%. Based on the increasing number and size of these FCPA cases, the rewards to whistleblowers can be meaningful--as they must be to cause whistleblowers to come forward. Over the past decade, the government has pursued more and more FCPA cases, and some recover hundreds of millions of dollars." Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti (see here) "Some believe that this new provision will have significant impact in the context of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits companies from engaging in certain practices, including bribery, in foreign countries. Recent settlements by the SEC with international corporations have demonstrated the possibility of FCPA settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Whistleblowers contemplating the new SEC whistleblower provisions of the Wall Street Reform Act will have a huge new financial incentive to come forward with allegations of wrongdoing, in both domestic markets and abroad." Staying on the whistleblower topic, last week the SEC announced (see here) the award of $1 million to Glen and Mary Kaiser "who provided information and documents leading to the imposition and collection of civil penalties" in an insider trading case. As noted in the SEC release, "this is the largest award paid by the SEC for information provided in connection with an insider trading case." The release notes that the award was pursuant to the old insider trading whistleblower program and further notes that this program "has since been repealed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which added new Section 21F to the Securities Exchange Act, authorizing the Commission to award bounties to parties who provide information leading to recovery of monetary sanctions in a broader range of cases, not limited as before to civil penalties recovered in insider trading cases." If indeed the SEC does award whistleblower payments in connection with an FCPA enforcement action, let's hope that the SEC makes such an award known as in the above example. Why is it that no one is focusing on the conflict of interest aspect of this, that is, most companies' compliance programs include provisions on this subject. Is it not a conflict of interest for an employee to report illegal acts to the government first (in order to collect the bounty) rather than to their employer, who would then be arguably able to address the problem? Mounties Lay Corruption Charges DOJ, SEC Receive FCPA Training General Electric Settles Iraqi Oil For Food Matter... A Results Based Opinion Procedure Release? Whistleblower Provisions ... What Others Are Sayin... Year Two ... Plus The Friday Roundup Schumer Calls For BP Investigation U.K. Bribery Act Delayed The Financial Reform Bill's Whistleblower Provisio... Giffen Update Financial Reform Bill Contains Major Compliance He... China, China and More China Former SEC FCPA Enforcement Attorney Critical of S... Nigeria ... A Challenging Market The G-20 On Corruption More on Snamprogetti, ENI Snamprogetti The Latest to Join The Bonny Island B... More On Technip Coverage From The Conference Circuit Smith & Wesson's Recent Disclosures July Fireworks?	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line103
__label__cc	0.732233	0.267767	Exchanges Operating in: US, Panama, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, China, Poland, EU, Indonesia, South Korea, UK, Russia, Seychelles, Mexico, Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Philippines, Ukraine, Turkey, Iceland, British Virgin Islands, Thailand, Germany, Cyprus, Chile, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, India, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Tanzania, France, Taiwan, Vietnam, Argentina, Venezuela, Malta, Pakistan, Switzerland, Austria A Fund’s ability to invest in MLPs that are treated as qualified publicly traded partnerships (“QPTPs”) for federal income tax purposes is limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify as a RIC, and if the Fund does not appropriately limit such investments or if such investments are recharacterized for U.S. tax purposes, the Fund’s status as a RIC may be jeopardized. Among other limitations, a Fund is permitted to have no more than 25% of the total value if its total assets invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in QPTPs including MLPs. A Fund’s investments in MLPs potentially will result in distributions from that Fund (i) constituting returns of capital not included in a shareholder’s income but reducing the shareholder’s tax basis in his or her shares; (ii) attributable to gain recognized with respect to that is recharacterized as ordinary income and, therefore, not offset by capital losses; or (iii) taxable to such shareholder even though they represent appreciation realized by that Fund prior to the shareholder’s investment therein. That Fund’s investments in MLPs will also potentially cause it to recognize taxable income on its investments in in excess of the cash generated thereby, and therefore require the Fund to sell investments, including when not otherwise advantageous to do so, in order to satisfy the distribution requirements for treatment as a RIC and to eliminate a Fund-level tax. As for why you should buy a put option instead of the asset itself, the answer is simple. By buying the asset itself, you can never profit from falling prices. With put options you can, simply because their value rises as the price of the underlying stock is falling. In addition to this feature, they offer the same kind of potential for leverage that calls options do, as described above. The price of put options is calculated in a similar manner, but with the important difference being that the intrinsic value is calculated as a predetermined price of the option minus the current market price of the asset – not the other way round as is the case for call options. Elsewhere, here is the story of block.one, which "has raised about $700 million and counting" by selling EOS tokens that it says "do not have any rights, uses, purpose, attributes, functionalities or features." Block.one is using the money to build "a new blockchain architecture designed to enable vertical and horizontal scaling of decentralized applications," as its white paper explains, and the white paper also includes a disclaimer in bold capitals: reduce the amount of the Fund’s borrowings to the extent necessary to meet this 300% coverage requirement. Maintenance of this percentage limitation may result in the sale of portfolio securities at a time when investment considerations would not favor such sale. In addition to the foregoing, the Funds are authorized to borrow money as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes in amounts not in excess of 5% of the value of each Fund’s total assets. This borrowing is not subject to the foregoing 300% asset coverage requirement. The Funds are authorized to pledge portfolio securities as ProShare Advisors deems appropriate in connection with any borrowings. Were Centra's tokens securities? Well, yes, obviously. We talked last week about the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement action against Munchee, an initial coin offering vaguely similar to Centra's in that it featured "utility tokens" to be used in a blockchain ecosystem that did not yet exist, sold on promises of speculative returns. The SEC brusquely and correctly dismissed the notion that such "utility tokens" were not securities, and I suspect any court will agree. Also, while Centra occasionally remembered to call its tokens "utility-based tokens" and "not securities, shares or investments," it often forgot. From the complaint: The question is: Do we live in a society, or do we just have a list of prices and you decide which ones to pay? Do we all try to get along together and share the world, giving due consideration to each other's needs, or do rich people just get to do whatever they want? Much of the article is devoted to the cool things that the Flatiron Institute is doing, but much of it is devoted to people fretting that there might be a downside to rich individuals determining the direction of basic science and using their money to crowd out traditional universities. Meanwhile Simons sits back and smokes and tosses pennies into the no-smoking jar. Because only a few regulations implementing the straddle rules have been promulgated, the consequences of such transactions to the Funds are not entirely clear. The straddle rules may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by a Fund, which is taxed as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders. Because application of the straddle rules may affect the character of gains or losses, defer losses and/or accelerate the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions, the amount which must be distributed to shareholders as ordinary income or long-term capital gain may be increased or decreased substantially as compared to a Fund that did not engage in such transactions. So be aware of the premium or discount that is on longer dated contracts, this can allow you some arbitrage opportunities if you are patient and have the coins to apply to it. In general, we recommend that you trade any contract that has good liquidity and high volume. This is the most important characteristic of ANY product for a trader. If you can't get in and out reliably, and have a price that reasonably follows the spot market behavior, then it's not worth trading. Transactions in options, futures, forward contracts, swaps and certain positions undertaken by the Funds may result in “straddles” for federal income tax purposes. The straddle rules may affect the character of gains (or losses) realized by a Fund, and losses realized by the Fund on positions that are part of a straddle may be deferred under the straddle rules, rather than being taken into account in calculating taxable income for the taxable year in which the losses are realized. In addition, certain carrying charges (including interest expense) associated with positions in a straddle may be required to be capitalized rather than deducted currently. Certain elections that a Fund may make with respect to its straddle positions may also affect the amount, character and timing of the recognition of gains or losses from the affected positions. While volatile movements take away the attractiveness of any asset, a certain amount of swing in price creates trading opportunities. This is something that many traders and speculators have been taking advantage of by buying the digital currency and then selling at a profit through an exchange. The whole process makes bitcoin exchanges an important part of the ecosystem since it facilitates the buying and selling of bitcoins, as well as futures trading. Bitrex provides comprehensive vetting of new Cryptocurrency tokens and places a strong emphasis on user security. Hence has the reputation for being a secure wallet with a good security module. The platform trades vastly in Altcoin. Trading fees at the platform are 0.25 %. The minimum transaction fee of the blockchain governs the charge for deposit and withdrawal. You should carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should read the "risk disclosure" webpage accessed at www.DanielsTrading.com at the bottom of the homepage. Daniels Trading is not affiliated with nor does it endorse any trading system, newsletter or other similar service. Daniels Trading does not guarantee or verify any performance claims made by such systems or service. A dividend or Capital Gain Dividend with respect to shares of a Fund held by a tax-deferred or qualified plan, such as an IRA, retirement plan, or corporate pension or profit sharing plan, generally will not be taxable to the plan. Distributions from such plans will be taxable to individual participants under applicable tax rules without regard to the character of the income earned by the qualified plan. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the suitability of shares of a Fund as an investment through such plans and the precise effect of an investment on their particular situation. I’m an elderly gentleman, closing in on 68 years of age. My son introduced me to Crypto in late 2012. After doing a lot of researching Btc I felt strongly that It had a lot of growth and potential ahead of it. So my son and I built my 1st rig and I started mining in January 2013, pulled $5,000 from my IRA and bought Btc at $13.44 and have never looked back since. The sweetest sound that I’ve ever heard was the clink of my 1st mined Bitcoin way back when. That was as satisfying a note as there ever was on any musical scale. Nothing but happy days ahead since. Don’t get me wrong, there have been bumps in this Crypto highway, the demise of the Silk Road, Mt Gox, DAO hack to name a few but as a HOLDer (holding on for the long duration) not a HODLer (hanging on for dear life) and not day trading, has rewarded me with quite a decent profit. It just takes a lot of patience (Sisu) and doing your research with due diligence. I have since invested in Ethereum (Dec 2015), Monero (Jan 2016) and lately Omisego (July 2017) all purchased from some of my profits from Btc to go along with my newly acquired free Bch and recently free Omg. I’m currently operating 3 rigs equipped with 6 gpus each. 2 mining Eth and 1 Monero for now, all of which will be re-evaluated after Metropolis kicks in to see which direction I go from here. So I ‘m back to doing more research in order to help with my next moves but I’ll always be a strong believer in Ethereum which is where I’ve made my money so far. HOLDing on to the rest for now. Btc $5,000-10,000, Eth $2,500- 5,000, Monero $200-400, Omg $100-1,000 no one ever really knows but MY research says yes and so far MY research has not proven me wrong. Bought Btc at $13.44, Eth at .80, Monero at .48, Omg at .43 Bch for free. No where to go but up for me. Just biding my time. It’s taken me over 4 and a half years to get here but I’ve made over $4,000,000 so far with just my original investment plus the cost of my rigs and I’m still sitting on a lot more. Taking a position and HOLDing is where the real profit is and it isn’t going to happen overnight. So if you want aggravation and ulcers go ahead and day trade, try and beat the Market I wish you luck but the real money comes with Research, HOLDing and Patience. Hope this advice helps because in the long run what it all comes down to, its just Eths, You and Me hopefully making the right decisions. Other forms of swap agreements that the Funds may enter into include: interest rate caps, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates exceed a specified rate, or “cap”; interest rate floors, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates fall below a specified level, or “floor”; and interest rate collars, under which a party sells a cap and purchases a floor or vice versa in an attempt to protect itself against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels. No Independent Trustee (or an immediate family member thereof) during the two most recently completed calendar years had: (i) any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction or series of similar transactions, in which the amount involved exceeded $120,000; or (ii) any direct or indirect relationship of any nature, in which the amount involved exceeded $120,000, with: Making money arbitraging bitcoin futures can be extremely simple. Futures contracts typically trade at a premium, and all you have to do, starting with USD, is buy bitcoin at Spot price and sell futures of the same amount at premium price. Then just wait until expiration to make your arb profit in bitcoin (which you can then put in USD). Whether it's a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or any futures contract, as long as it's in a premium, you lock in the sale price and earn the arbitrage profit.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line106
__label__cc	0.627894	0.372106	Luxury cruise from tokyo to seward (anchorage, alaska) 12 may 2019 silversea j gastroenterol hepatol 26.12.2018 Gas service #alaska#anchorage#chapter electricity#commercial fishing#cruise#Dutch Harbor#Kushiro Shitsugen#luxury#remote lodge#road system#seward#tokyo Kushiro, known as the "town of mist", is situated in the south eastern part of Hokkaido. With about 200,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city in the region and the base for deep-sea fishing. gas water heater reviews 2013 The marine products industry of Kushiro has flourished since the early 20 th century and many streets of this port town retain features of this era. Thanks to its strategic location on Hokkaido’s Eastern Pacific seaboard and the area’s only ice free port, Kushiro is experiencing steady growth as an important economic, social and cultural centre. A literary atmosphere can be attributed to the poet and novelist Takuboku Ishikawa, who lived here in the early 20th century. To the north of Kushiro lies one of its most renowned attractions, the Kushiro Shitsugen, Japan’s largest marshland. Stretching out over the majority of the Kushiro Plain, it accounts for 60 percent of Japan’s wetland and was designated to become the country’s 28th National Park in 1987. As the marsh is considered one of the greatest treasure houses of flora and fauna in Japan, its protection, preservation and wise use are promoted by a national agreement. electricity grid code Equally famous is the marshland as the habitat of the Tancho (Japanese Crane). At one time, it could be seen in many places in Japan, but their numbers dwindled in the Meiji Era due to over hunting and environmental changes. In the late 19 th century, the cranes were thought to be almost extinct. Then several dozens cranes were discovered in the depths of the Kushiro Shitsugen, and after establishing special crane reserves, the birds rehabilitation has succeeded. The Kamchatka Peninsula is part of the Eastern frontier of Russia. Due to its close proximity to the United States, the region has played a strategic role in the defense of Russian territory throughout modern history. As a result, the territory was closed for many years to foreigners and Russians alike. Fortunately, the region’s isolated position played a significant role in preserving and protecting its unique wilderness and rich biodiversity. With few roads, most regional transportation is by plane, boat, or helicopter. chapter 7 electricity test Kamchatka is a spectacular, lavish landscape dotted with fuming volcanoes (150, of which 29 are active), fast-running rivers, and a wilderness that is inhabited by the largest brown bear population (10,300) in the world. The largest eagle in the world, the Steller’s sea eagle (approximately 4,500 in number), is also found in the region. harry mileaf electricity 1 7 pdf Kamchatka is poised to become one of the most exciting sport-fishing destinations in the world, with an estimated third of the world’s Pacific salmon population. The crumpled peaks, and tranquil scenery, of Dutch Harbor belies its history as one of the few places on American soil to have been directly attacked by the Japanese – who bombed the significant US military base here during the Second World War. Located on a string of islands, which loops down into the Pacific from Alaska, a visit to this Aleutian Island destination offers comprehensive military history, and extraordinary ocean scenery. Hike the volcanic, gloriously green landscapes, and look out for wonderful wildlife, like bald eagles, as they survey the surroundings. You can also watch on in awe, as incredible marine mammals crash through the waves just offshore.Dutch Harbor, gives you the chance to sample some of the rich local fishing heritage. Why not book yourself onto a voyage aboard a working fishing boat, to see for yourself how richly filled the waters of the Bering Sea are, as the hard-working fishermen pull bountiful supplies of cod and pollock from the water? The fish plucked from the Bering Sea are shipped to dining tables across America, and you’ll quickly see why Dutch Harbor is one of the US’s most important fishing locations Today, commercial fishing is king in Kodiak. Despite its small population—about 6,475 people scattered among the several islands in the Kodiak group—the city is among the busiest fishing ports in the United States. chapter 7 electricity and magnetism The harbor is also an important supply point for small communities on the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula.Visitors to the island tend to follow one of two agendas: either immediately fly out to a remote lodge for fishing, kayaking, or bear viewing; or stay in town and access whatever pursuits they can reach from the limited road system. If the former is too pricey an option, consider combining the two: drive the road system to see what can be seen inexpensively, then add a fly-out or charter-boat excursion to a remote lodge or wilderness access point.Floatplane and boat charters are available from Kodiak to many remote attractions, chief among them the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge , which covers four islands in the Gulf of Alaska: Kodiak, Afognak, Ban, and Uganik. At the southern end of the Sterling Highway lies the city of Homer, at the base of a narrow spit that juts 4 miles into beautiful Kachemak Bay. Glaciers and snowcapped mountains form a dramatic backdrop across the water. Founded in the late 1800s as a gold-prospecting camp, this community was later used as coal-mining headquarters. Chunks of coal are still common along local beaches; they wash into the bay from nearby slopes where the coal seams are exposed. Today the town of Homer is an eclectic community with most of the tacky tourist paraphernalia relegated to the Spit (though do note the Spit has plenty else to recommend it, not the least of which is the 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains); the rest of the town is full of local merchants and artisans. The community is an interesting mix of fishermen, actors, artists, and writers. gasco abu dhabi salary Much of the commercial fishing centers on halibut, and the popular Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby is often won by enormous fish weighing more than 300 pounds. The local architecture includes everything from dwellings that are little more than assemblages of driftwood to steel commercial buildings and magnificent homes on the hillside overlooking the surrounding bay, mountains, forests, and glaciers. Will oil prices collapse once again the motley fool canada e gasoline Gas dryer troubleshooting appliance aid gasco abu dhabi salary Prebiotics and probiotics 101 ketogenic.com gas prices in michigan Installing watsen design flushmount signals yamaha mt10 fz10 forum gas constant for helium Homework helper science gas 4 weeks pregnant	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line107
__label__wiki	0.78781	0.78781	Written by Evan Symon Review: ‘Peanut’ (Steam) Game logo. TEAM SPIKKEEE When your premise, style, gameplay, and even sound effects have been done a million times over, you need something to separate yourself from the pack. Peanut doesn’t do that. In fact, it takes half a step forward and two steps back. You are a corgi named Peanut. Your girlfriend (named... Bae) has been kidnapped, so you have to go rescue her in an elaborate series of 2D platformer levels. There’s a few twists and turns here, but it’s pretty much stealing from every other game ever that has ‘your girlfriend has been kidnapped’ as its premise. It’s just not that much of a catalyst. Also, at this point I’m waiting for a game where there’s an option to just pay a ransom or something to continue on with the game. That would be way more original than this premise. I played on Steam, and just like any 2D platformer, you have the whole WASD control scheme going on. I should really start keeping a checklist on how many video game standards they’re using. The graphics in Peanut are like if 8 different games were smashed together. Your little corgi is rendered as 8-bit pixel art. Background art is well rendered and seems to change to a new artist each level. A few levels look like direct ripoffs from Mario; other levels, you'd swear they’re just using clipart. It all seemed ungracefully lumped together and it was honestly really distracting. In one sense it works because of the changes in the story, but this doesn’t seem like it’s that subtle a game. On at least three occasions I messed up because of the graphics; twice, it was on a level with waterfalls that I swear were made in MS Paint. And that’s not even bringing the sound into it. For no reason the music style is jungle/steel drum, and that's what they have playing on a loop, so… good luck there. But what really got me were the sound effects they chose. Half the time, such as when bouncing on a mushroom, there are no sounds to be had, and it’s just this weird silence with the strange music blaring. Then when you throw or hit something, it plays an Atari 2600-style standard bleep. And if you hit a ring? You get the Sonic ring sound effect. I mean, couldn’t there be at least a little bit of difference? What you’re playing is a 2D platformer. So think Mario, but with a few more recent innovations like slidey bars. You have the same random creatures to stomp, the same level bars, and admittedly a few things to throw off timing. But man, if Mario was a dog, I swear half the time you couldn’t tell how the game was different. I couldn’t tell if the game was glitching some of the time. Certain things you bounced on would sometimes kill you, and sometimes not. Some enemies wouldn’t move while they chased you, and sometimes they would. A gun on the side once had a projectile go right through me without injury. Frame rates kept up, but there was an obvious need for bug fixes in many parts. Peanut is strange because it takes no risks, offers nothing new, and sounds and looks off-putting at best, and intentionally bad at worse. So many games have taken the premise and done a lot more. So many have taken the art style, music or other part and done it better. Peanut felt like it was made in a rush. It may not have, but it really felt like it, and that ultimately detracted from the experience. Final Score: 4 out of 10 A copy of this game was provided for the purpose of review. Published in: Review Review: ‘Brief Battles’ (PS4) Review: ‘Beyond the Veil’ (PC)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line108
__label__wiki	0.620253	0.620253	American Warmongering and Opportunism on Parade The United States collectively speaking lost its mind last week during a multi-day orgy of smug self-satisfaction centered on the obsequies culminating in the state funeral of Senator John McCain. McCain became the Everyman American-style, embodying virtues that all red-blooded lovers of freedom should aspire to, a hero who fought “for the life and liberty of other people’s in other lands.” He was a man, according to the media, of matchless nobility who endured torture for love of country, a war hero who put down his sword before starting a long career in government service where he selflessly defended liberty and justice worldwide. Unfortunately, very little of the story is true. The entire hagiographic saga of the warrior prince that has been woven around McCain by those in the media and the political world that want to use him to demonstrate the deficiency of those qualities in Donald Trump is little more than a work of fiction. John McCain was a monster, betraying his country while a prisoner in Hanoi and then his former comrades-in-arms after the war ended. From Vietnam he learned nothing, saying “I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.” McCain subsequently embraced every war that came his way while also promoting regime change and doing his best to start new wars in places where America had no interests. Think Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Somalia and Syria just for starters. A prosperous Libya was bombed into anarchy and is now ruled by gangs who have reopened slave markets. McCain was also an opportunist par excellence, parlaying his dubious war record into a political career and at the same time ditching a first wife whom he considered a liability to marry the daughter of a multi-millionaire Arizona beer distributor to finance his personal ambitions. The number of politicians of all stripes and media hacks eager to climb on the McCain bandwagon is quite astonishing, particularly as the Senator’s real track record is well known inside the beltway. Songs of praise were of course expected from leading Establishment and Deep State toadies completely lacking moral compasses, to include George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, self-described socialist and darling of America’s progressives, enthused over the “maverick” warrior, whom she never had met, whose “…legacy represents an unparalleled example of human decency and American service.” Another leftist who should know better, Senator Elizabeth Warren, recalled fondly how McCain advised her “To always get in the fight and throw some punches.” Only the honest and honorable ex-President Jimmy Carter has had the courage to buck the trend and tell it like it is regarding McCain, describing him in 2014 as a “warmonger.” Hanging the human decency label on McCain is the ultimate travesty as he is a man who actively promoted the policies that have killed millions around the world, to include thousands of his own countrymen. Indeed, he was a symbol of American interventionism, having led the Republican wing of the National Endowment for Democracy, a US government funded democracy promotion engine which has interfered in more elections and governments than even the CIA did in its heyday. So who is the real John McCain? A credible case has been made that McCain, who was shot down while bombing a civilian target, almost certainly crossed the line and collaborated extensively while a prisoner in North Vietnam before being exonerated through a Navy Department cover-up of his behavior after his release from captivity. His own subsequent actions as a congressman to block any inquiry into the status of possible US prisoners of war remaining in Indochina have also been examined in some detail by prize winning journalist Sydney Schanberg and quite appropriately condemned. But McCain is perhaps best known for his recent efforts to increase US involvement in Syria and also instigate war with Russia and Iran. Fighting between Georgia and Russia broke out in 2008 when Tbilisi threatened and then attacked Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. McCain responded, “We are all Georgians now,” urging that the US enter the conflict on behalf of Georgia. He later was present in Maidan Square in Kiev together with the odious Victoria Nuland, stirring up opposition to the regime in power that was friendly to Russia. When regime change subsequently took place and fighting broke out, McCain led congressional moves to actively support the new Ukrainian government against Moscow. And who can forget the good Senator’s photo-op with ISIS terrorists in Syria as well as his sparkling rendition of “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” on the Howard Stern radio program? So it is goodbye to John McCain. And I would add, good riddance. About the author: Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest. Source: Strategic Culture Foundation Breaking the Constitution: Lithuania Seeks the Permanent Presence of the U.S. Troops on its Territory As it appears Lithuania expects major changes in the near future. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius was on an official visit to the United States of America from the 20 to the 24 of February 2017. During a visit he said that Lithuania seeks the permanent presence of United States troops in its territory. "We have requested stationing of military forces in our country on a more permanent basis - not only rotational but also more permanent," the minister told BNS in the telephone interview from Washington D.C. Linas Linkevicius' call for the permanent presence of United States troops in Lithuania territory ... The Western “Math-Gangsters” and the Kosovization of Macedonia Introduction After the referendum’s results held in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on September 30th this year and the Western reactions on it (by the EU & NATO) it is absolutely clear that this small Balkan country is finally proven to be the Western puppet colony without its own real Government and above all the national sovereignty. To remind ourselves, the people of Macedonia were called to express their wish to change or not a state’s name into the Northern Macedonia and, therefore, its national name into the Northern Macedonians, in order to avoid further obstructions by neighboring Greece in ... Kosovo’s Political Murders: Unpunished but Not Forgotten The first thing you hear is the slow-moving clatter of a wheelchair. Then comes his voice. Fetah Rudi survived an attempted assassination which left him paralysed for life, and has spent more than 17 years suffering the consequences.Kosovo Liberation Army - A Balkan Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organization a la HezbollahIn June 1999, Rudi was one of the Kosovo Albanians who was detained and tortured in a Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA prison.A few months later in December 2000, Rudi - a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, which at the time was President Ibrahim Rugova’s party - became a ... Raining on Trump’s Parade Thankfully humanity is freed from the scourge of a third Hillary and Bill Clinton crime family co-presidency – she in the lead role with her finger on the nuclear trigger as US military commander-in-chief, perhaps eager to squeeze it. Newsweek magazine jumped the gun, printing a special edition, distributing it to outlets before November 8 – Hillary on the cover below the heading “MADAM PRESIDENT.” Shades of November 3, 1948, the Chicago Tribune headlining “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.” A beaming President HST held up a copy of the broadsheet, saying: “That ain’t the way I heard it!” Like polls predicted a Hillary victory this ... US Complicity in Gaza Massacre The horrendous bloodshed this week in Gaza is directly related to US President Trump’s controversial decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem. The US bears responsibility in large part for the atrocity in which more than 60 unarmed Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli military. This was a cold-blooded massacre. Thousands of others were maimed from live fire. An eight-month-old baby girl, Layla Ghandour, was among the victims after she died from asphyxiation from tear gas fired at the protesters. Washington’s shameless defense of Israel’s brutal use of lethal force as “restrained” and its subsequent blocking of an ... CIA Was Aiding “Jihadists” before Soviets Invaded Afghanistan Originally, there were four parties involved in the Afghan conflict which are mainly responsible for the debacle in the Af-Pak region. Firstly, the former Soviet Union which invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Secondly, Pakistan’s security agencies which nurtured the Afghan so-called “mujahideen” (freedom fighters) on the behest of Washington.Thirdly, Saudi Arabia and the rest of oil-rich Gulf states which generously funded the jihadists to promote their Wahhabi-Salafi ideology. And last but not the least, the Western capitals which funded, provided weapons and internationally legitimized the erstwhile ‘freedom fighters’ to use them against a competing ideology, global communism, which posed a ... Five Facts About Kosovo the Fakenews Media is Lying to You About 1. Kosovo is not ancient Albanian land Its very name comes from the Serbian word "kos," meaning blackbird. Its Albanian name, "Kosova," means nothing whatsoever. Kosovo was the heartland of medieval Serbian state and the site of the 1389 battle in which both the Serbian prince and the Ottoman sultan died, checking the Turkish expansion into the Balkans for almost 70 years. Ethnic Albanians were settled there by the Ottomans over the intervening centuries, and became a majority due to pogroms and persecution of Serbs - which began under Ottoman rule but continued under Austro-Hungarian occupation in WWI and German/Italian occupation in ... The Hysterics of Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė The outbursts of anti-Russian rhetoric of Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė is certainly very bizarre in view of her curriculum vitae. Dalia Grybauskaitė is a very educated woman. Because of the free education system of the former USSR, she was able to complete her university education at the elite Saint Petersburg State University. She became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1983, some five years before she earned a doctoral degree at the prestigious Academy of Social Sciences in Moscow. It is generally known that not every applicant is routinely accepted to become a Party member. This ... 70 Years of Disinformation: How the CIA Funded Opinion Magazines in Europe When an intelligence agency arranges to disseminated fake news it is called “disinformation” and it is a subset of what is referred to as covert action, basically secret operations run in a foreign country to influence opinion or to disrupt the functioning of a government or group that is considered to be hostile. During the Cold War, disinformation operations were run by many of the leading players in both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and in the opposition Warsaw Pact. Sometimes the activity and the sponsorship were clearly visible, as when Radio Free Europe and Radio Moscow would exchange barbs about ... Electronic Voting Fraud: A Real Threat to any Democrat Running for President А single strategic IT manipulator virtually anywhere could swing the 2016 election with just a few keystrokes perpetrated in less than a minute. (Image: Lauren Walker / Truthout)The support of readers like you got this story published - and helps Truthout stay free from corporate advertising. Can you sustain our work with a tax-deductible donation today? The way our electoral process now stands, electronic voting machines guarantee a Republican victory in 2016. No matter what she does, Hillary Clinton - or any other Democratic nominee - cannot be elected without a fundamental change in the basic mechanics of how our votes are ... NATO’s War on Yugoslavia and the Expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo In the period before the 1999 NATO attack on Yugoslavia, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) waged a campaign to secede and establish an independent Kosovo dominated by Albanians and purged of every other ethnic group. In October 1998, KLA spokesman Bardhyl Mahmuti spelled the KLA’s vision: “We will never change our position. The independence of Kosovo is the only solution…We cannot live together [with Serbs]. That is excluded.” Once NATO’s war came to an end, the KLA set about driving out of Kosovo every non-Albanian and every pro-Yugoslav Albanian it could lay its hands on. The KLA left in its wake ... Palestine: There’s no Conflict, There’s an Illegal Occupation Professor Doctor Asem Khalil, Ph.D. in Constitutional and International Law, Associate Professor of Law of Birzeit University, West Bank, speaks of ways to consolidate the Palestine State, and definitely end Israeli crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territories. Edu Montesanti: Dear Professor Doctor Asem Khalil, thank you so very much for granting this interview. How do you evaluate the meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 15? “I’m looking at two-State and one-state” formulations, President Trump said during a White House news conference with Mr. Netanyahu. “I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with ... Book Review: NATO War Crimes: “Media Lies and the Conquest of Kosovo” Media Lies and the Conquest of Kosovo: NATO’s Prototype for the Next Wars of Globalization. Publisher: Unwritten History, Inc., New York, 2007. By Michel Collon, 276 pages, with photographs and maps. “Each war begins with media lies.” This is how Belgian journalist Michel Collon begins his analysis of the Kosovo conflict which resulted in the U.S. and NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the subsequent occupation of the Serbian Kosovo province by U.S. and NATO troops. The U.S. and NATO had launched a war of aggression without United Nations approval and in violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of ... NATO Announces War Policy Against Russia On May 18th, Britain’s Guardian headlined “West and Russia on course for war, says ex-Nato deputy commander” and reported that the former deputy commander of NATO, the former British general Sir Alexander Richard Shirreff (who was Supreme Allied Commander in Europe from 2011-2014), expressed outrage that Britain isn’t urgently preparing for war against Russia, and also reported that “He describes Russia as now the west’s most dangerous adversary and says Putin’s course can only be stopped if the west wakes up to the real possibility of war and takes urgent action. … In a chilling scenario, he predicts that Russia, in order to escape what it believes to be ... Accusing Russia: Listening to History The prophet Cassandra’s curse was that when she told the future, no one listened; history’s curse is that when it tells the past, no one does. The West has no shortage of charges it hurls against Russia, but most of them can be grouped into one of three categories: that Russia intervened in the American elections, that Russia is dragging the world into a new cold war, and that Russia is becoming increasingly aggressive and expansionist. Sometimes when charges are brought against you, the best witness you can call to your defense is history. Election Intervention This history of Russia, America and political ... Dear America – Open Letter to the Americans Read our Disclaimer/Legal Statement! Donate to Support Us We would like to ask you to consider a small donation to help our team keep working. We accept no advertising and rely only on you, our readers, to keep us digging the truth on history, global politics and international relations. Save Save Washington’s War Crimes in Syria The United States government is guilty of war crimes. This is the stark conclusion reached by the independent international commission of inquiry established by the United Nations in 2011 to investigate human rights violations stemming from the protracted US-backed war for regime change in Syria. The Pentagon’s relentless bombing campaign in and around the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the so-called “capital” of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has inflicted a “staggering loss of civilian life,” while forcing over 160,000 civilians to flee their homes, Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UN’s commission of inquiry, said on Wednesday. US warplanes ... Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes Speech Origins of images: Facebook, Twitter, Wikimedia, Wikipedia, Flickr, Google, Imageinjection & Pinterest. Read our Disclaimer/Legal Statement! Donate to Support Us We would like to ask you to consider a small donation to help our team keep working. We accept no advertising and rely only on you, our readers, to keep us digging the truth on history, global politics and international relations. Washington’s Bizarre Kosovo Strategy could Destroy NATO Not satisfied with having sponsored the artificial creation of Kosovo, the United States has now decided to ram the mafia state through NATO and the European Union. A new member with such characteristics is the last thing that Europe needs right now. However, it should work wonders for the consolidation of U.S. political and military agenda in the region, not to speak of the flourishing heroin trade from Afghanistan…both of which, as Engdahl points out in this sharp analysis, pose a threat to Russia and may backfire in the end.In one of the more bizarre foreign policy announcements of a ... Have You been Brainwashed about Gaza? It’s frightening. Unprincipled psychologists, in the service of a malignant regime, use sophisticated techniques in order to control the mind of a person from afar. The term “brainwashing” was born in 1950. It is a Chinese word (“xinao”, literally wash brain). Originally it served to describe a technique used – so it was claimed – by Chinese masterminds to manipulate the minds of American prisoners in the Korean War. They changed their unconscious mental processes and turned them into agents of sinister forces. Many books and movies purported to show how this works. For example, the classic film “The Manchurian Candidate” shows ... Posted in America, Foreign Affairs, USA and Tagged America, Bush, Carter, Clinton, democracy, imperialism, McCain, Middle East, NATO, Obama, Palestine, Pentagon, USA, Washington, White House, World. The US is Already an Authoritarian Regime Libya: Ten Things about Gaddafi They don’t want You to Know Forgotten “Anniversaries” of U.S. Sponsored Military Coups against Democracy Brexit: A Challenge to America’s Domination of Europe Ukraine’s Cult of Stepan Bandera: Not a Detail, but a Cornerstone	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line112
__label__cc	0.695172	0.304828	Brunswick shut down freemasonry, declared the Illuminati, enemies of humanity and of the state. Clearly most of the Dukes of Brunswick were not Freemasons. In fact, after a period of 18 years after founding the German Freemasonry as an order of the state, Brunswick ordered no quarter given to any involved in the illuminati, and even outlawed Freemasonry itself. In the below letter, you can read the formal edict of 1794 by the ruling Imperial prince, the duke of Brunswick, for the immediate end of ALL German Freemasonry, as to ensure there would be no power given to the very evil Illuminati: “I have been convinced that we, as an Order, have come under the power of some very evil occult Order, profoundly versed in science, both occult and otherwise, though not infallible, their methods being black magic, that is to say, electromagnetic power, hypnotism, and powerful suggestion. We are convinced that the Order is being controlled by some Sun Order, after the nature of the Illuminati, if not by that Order itself. We see our edifice…crumbling and covering the ground with ruins, we see the destruction that our hands no longer arrest…a great sect arose, which taking for its motto the good and the happiness of man, worked in the darkness of the conspiracy to make the happiness of humanity a prey for itself. This sect is known to everyone, its brothers are known no less than its name. It is they who have undermined the foundations of the Order to the point of complete overthrow; it is by them that all humanity has been poisoned and led astray for several generations…They began by casting odium on religion…Their masters had nothing less in view than the thrones of the earth, and the governments of the nations was to be directed by their nocturnal clubs…the misuse of our order…has produced all the political and moral troubles with which the world is filled today…we must from this moment dissolve the whole Order.” Duke of Brunswick, Grand Master of German Freemasonry, 1794 For this measure the house has suffered greatly. The junior branch of Hanover later crept in after about a dozen ruling dukes were killed one oafter the other. Orphaned Karl II cited the law, of Hanover's unlawful usurpation in his edict to regain all what has been stolen from the people of Germany by Napoleon's, Prussia's, Austria's and Britain's raids. As ruling sovereign His official edicts and the seven principalities of the duchy of Brunswick, remain sovereign to this day (in the structure protected at Geneva Switzerland), so that nothing of the duchy may fall into the hands of Prussia, France, or of Hanover, as explicitly prescribed to the agnates of Karl II, and recognized by numerous international bodies. Anything else is a lie no doubt perpetrated by the Illuminati, as many corrupt officials joined with against Germany's true Royal and Imperial house, Brunswick-Wolfenbeuttel. Posted by S. Michael at 4:44 AM No comments: Brunswick shut down freemasonry, declared the Illu...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line115
__label__wiki	0.68441	0.68441	Stone World has been the leading news source serving the international stone industry since its inception in 1984. Its articles cover the production and use of granite, marble, limestone, slate, quartz surfacing and other materials and our readership includes fabricators, architects, installers, importers, distributors and other stone industry buyers, sellers and producers. While based in the United States, Stone World and www.stoneworld.com are read by key stone industry buyers and producers in more than 90 countries throughout the world and our magazine is distributed at trade shows worldwide. When the team at Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture in New York set out to design the new Pablo Center at the Confluence in Eau Claire, WI, they sought a local stone, Aqua Grantique hornblende/gneiss, for the building's exterior facade to reflect the natural and artistic beauty of the area. A little more than 25,000 square feet of the material was combined with "waves" of copper to create the striking design. To learn more about the stone and how it completes the design of the new performing arts center, turn to page 56 of this issue of Stone World. Photo by Tom Kessler. Stone supplied by Krukowski Stone Company, Inc. in Mosinee, WI. Jade is a precious stone from Margramar found inside the company's white quartzite quarry, which is called Zurich, located in Bahia/Brazil. Jade is an Ortobreccia with a very natural and unique look. The material is composed of several types of semiprecious stones and perfectly suitable for kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities and showers, flooring and wall panels. Jade is one of many stones from Latin America that is featured in a photo gallery beginning on page 58 of this issue. Marble elements at Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in downtown Spokane, WA, received an update by Mario & Son of Liberty Lake, WA. This is one of several stories we are featuring this month in our "Renovation/Restoration" focus. To learn more about the detailed crafts- manship that went into the church renovation project, turn to page 62 of this issue. ON THE COVER: The facade of the Bexar County Public Works building in San Antonio, TX, was designed to appear as if it is rising from the ground. The exterior features Mesa Grande limestone blocks from Keller Material Inc. To learn more about the building's stone architecture, turn to page 60. Design by Marmom Mok Architects of San Antonio, TX. Photo by @Paul Bardagjy. Based in Dayton, TN, Majestic Stone supplies building stone, landscape stone and thin veneer from its seven quarries in Tennessee. While the company was started more than 20 years ago, it has experienced a resurgence since 2016 as a result of new ownership. The company intends to continue its expansion to service its customers throughout the U.S. To learn more about Majestic Stone, turn to page 40. The homeowners of a newly constructed residence in Texas sought to combine California contemporary style with the aesthetics of a southern ranch. While the use of local lime- stone predominantly was used for the home's exterior, as well as fireplaces in the living space, the kitchen has a fresh modern look with a thick stone countertop paired with subway tile. The Taj Mahal quartzite countertop was given a leather finish. To learn more about the home's design, turn to page 60. Photo by Andror Baldinger. Design by Craig McMahon Architects. Volume: 35 Issue: 12 Founded in 1983, Stocchero Attilio & C. s.r.l of Verona, Italy, has grown to become a global exporter of quality stone products. The company currently exports 35% of its material to the U.S. To learn more about its operation, turn to page 40 of this issue of Stone World. With the demand for quartz surfacing continuing to grow, Tab India made the decision to open a new factory for TabQuartz in South India at the start of 2018. The company has dedicated time to designing and developing a technology which has resulted in the evolu- tion of normal quartz slabs to a "New Age" quartz, which uses very high-quality quartz and specialty resins suitable only for production of low VOC quartz -- ensuring very low-resin inside the slabs, pressed on a highly efficient and strong vibro-vacuum press. To learn more about TabQuartz and Tab India's production process, turn to page 58. The village of Stony Creek, CT, is built on the rocky surface of Stony Creek granite, and architectural elements, such as this stone wall, are found throughout the area. The Stony Creek granite formation can be found on the Thimble Islands and beneath the Long Island Sound, where the village sits, and it runs up to the historic quarry where Stony Creek Quarry, Inc. still harvests granite today. To learn more about Stony Creek granite and the quarry, turn to page 50. Photo by Jennifer Richinelli. During a tour through Italy, members of the Stone Fabricators' Alliance were taken on a helicopter ride up into the Alpi Apuane Mountains where a Carrara Statuario marble quarry resides, part of the Franchi Group quarries. This was just one of many memorable experiences the group had while on the trip. Read more about their journey beginning on page 76. Photo by Jason Kamery. The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, FL, is focused on the art of the American West, and as a result, a stone that evoked the colors and striation of the canyons and ravines of Nevada, Arizona and Utah was desired for the facility's design. Teakwood sandstone from Tab India met the design criteria and was fabricated into thou- sands of custom-cut sizes and shapes – creating a unique and awe-inspiring aesthetic for the museum. Photo courtesy of Tab India. Stone supplied by ASI Stone Imports, Inc. For a newly constructed 6,300-square-foot home in McMinnville, OR, "Oregon Trail Blend," a 60-40 mix of Camas Grey basalt and Alpine granite, was chosen to be used throughout the interior and exterior design. The stone was quarried locally and fabricated into random- sized rough-cut square and rectangular blocks, which enhance the overall design of the ranch-style residence that captures sweeping views of the countryside. Design by Giulietti \| Schouten Architects, Portland, OR. Photo courtesy of David Papazian. A graduate of Texas Tech University College of Architecture and the graduate program at University of Texas School of Architecture, Darwin Harrison of Austin, TX, has developed a passion for working with natural stone. Recently, he built his own home with regional limestone used in unique and inspiring ways. Turn to the Q&A on page 54 to learn more about the designer and the details involved with the stone design and installation of his Texas Hill Country residence. Established in 1992, Gramazini of Barra de Sao Francisco, Espirito Santo, Brazil, owns 28 active quarries throughout Brazil. The numerous sites allow the company to offer an extensive range of stone varieties to its customers. To learn more about Gramazini, turn to page 54. Recently, a $5.3 million renovation and waterproofing of the Irish Hunger Memorial in Manhattan was completed -- restoring the monument, including its impressive stonework, to its former magnificence, while rendering it significantly less susceptible to damage from weather for years to come. The memorial includes 32 varieties of stone representing each of Ireland's 32 counties. To learn more about this massive undertaking, turn to page 114. A rustic and inviting atmosphere was created at the pool and amenity area of the Texan residential community of Austin Waters with Multicolored Oklahoma Natural Stone that was sourced from Quality Stone Quarries of Stigler, OK, and supplied by Caprock Hardscape Supply of Lewisville, TX. More than 150 tons of the material was used for the outdoor design. To learn more about the project, turn to page 56 of this edition of Stone World. The sandstone quarry in Curwensville, PA, which is currently owned by Russell Stone Products, Inc., was first opened in the mid-1800s. The quarry produces two varieties, Bloom Run Stone and Roaring Run Stone, and has become a source for numerous high-profile projects nationwide. A specific blend that combines both varieties has been used for many landscape designs on the campuses of Pennsylvania State University, including most recently the Brandywine location in Media, PA. To read more about Russell Stone Products, Inc., turn to page 68. Cumar Marble and Granite, Inc. of Everett, MA, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Through the years, the fabrication business, which specializes in providing unique and exotic material to the upscale residential and luxury commercial markets, has continually evolved and expanded. Pictured is the company's own bathroom, which was recently renovated with stone and high-end fixtures. To learn more about Cumar Marble and Granite, Inc., turn to page 42 of this issue. For a secluded residence in the Texas Hills of Boerne, TX, Sisterdale dimensional chopped square ripple limestone was chosen for the design. The rough-cut pieces, which protrude from the wall surfaces, are accented with bands of Lueders gray limestone. Design by Craig McMahon Architects, Inc. of San Antonio, TX. Photo Copyright Dror Baldinger For this kitchen design, Silestone Iconic White creates a large center island, while just over 35 square feet of Charcoal Soapstone was employed for the periphery countertops with a thickness of 3cm. The quartz surfacing not only provides the durability necessary for a busy family, but also the aesthetic that was desired. Learn more about this residential kitchen design beginning on page 70. Design by InDetail Interiors of Pensacola, FL. Photo courtesy of Cosentino. Founders Hall -- located on the campus of Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) in Waterbury, CT -- was recently renovated and locally quarried Stony Creek granite was specified for the project. The school's administration was adamant about using a regional material, and Stony Creek granite also met requirements for durability. Photo courtesy of Moser Pilon Nelson, Architects, LLC. Story begins on page 62. BardenStone of Memphis, TN, is a third-generation family operated business servicing an upscale residential market. The company, which offers a range of rubble and building stone, as well as marble and granite, takes pride in its one-on-one approach to customer service. Learn more about BardenStone in the story beginning on page 34 of this issue. Photo by Jennifer Richinelli. Built with an open first floor plan, a private residence in Hinsdale, IL, features a piece of "natural art" that required seven setters to lift and place using a wooden accent frame to achieve and complete the gallery affect in the house. This is one of the many examples of stone installation in this issue. This story can be found on page 56. For a private residence in Wimberely, TX, the use of natural stone for the patio and pool area created an outdoor retreat for the homeowners to enjoy their scenic landscape. This is one of many examples illustrated in the Architects' Round Table, which begins on page 88 of this issue, of how natural stone fulfills both aesthetic and functional demands in design. Photo Copyright C.L. Fry. Design by Burleson Design Group of Wimberely, TX. Recently, Michels Stone of Fond du Lac, WI, a division of Michels Corp., obtained the ANSI/NSC 373 Sustainable Dimension Stone Certification. Read more about the company and the process it went through beginning on page 42. Michels Stone is one of several stone producers featured in the U.S. Quarried Stone focus of this issue of Stone World. Among the quarries operated by Maq Stone of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, is the Pegasus site. The company primarily fabricates countertops for both residential or commercial projects in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Australia, Spain, Germany and China. Maq Stone is one of several Brazilian stone producers featured in this issue's Report from Brazil/Latin America. Read more about the company beginning on page 58. As part of their trip to Xiamen, the delegation from MIA+BSI spent a day touring several stone processing plants belonging to leading Chinese stone producers. All the factories were busy with activity -- working on large custom stone projects. Among the companies visited was Jianming Stone Group, whose work is featured on this month's cover of Stone World. Read about the Xiamen Stone Fair, beginning on page 72, and look for more on the MIA+BSI factory tour, as well as a full Report from China, in the June edition. Photo by Jennifer Richinelli To create the "wow factor" the homeowner of a private residence in Tampa, FL, desired for his outdoor living space, Arctic White stacked stone from M S International, Inc. (MSI) was used for the walls in the entertainment section, pool area and kitchen. For the majority of the flooring, the walls of the pool and three wall elements, a Turkish silver travertine paver was chosen in square- and rectangular-shaped sizes, which was supplied by Harmony Stone, Inc. in Tampa, FL. Design by Ryan Hughes Design/Build, Tampa, FL. Photo by Joe Traina. Read more about the residential design beginning on page 94 An expansive home in Wimberley, TX, makes use of native resources by featuring limestone quarried on site throughout its exterior and interior design. The natural stone is paired with large glass windows and modern amenities -- achieving the perfect balance of rustic elegance. Photo courtesy of Dror Baldinger. Rock of Ages has supplied its premium Bethel White granite for the new Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) tower in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The signature building is ranked the second tallest in the city and 42nd highest in the world. Approximately 1,000 blocks of the material was used for the exterior facade, as well as interior applications. A definitive index of stone suppliers, fabricating equipment and supplies, installation and stone care materials, and trade associations in the stone industry. This guide includes alphabetical listings and cross-reference indexes, which allow its users to easily locate a company by name and products. Additionally, the next edition will feature a comprehensive review of the Marmomacc fair, which recently was held in Verona, Italy. The Bethel White quarry in Granitesville, VT, which is operated by Rock of Ages, was among the stops on the MIA+BSI study tour, which took place in September. The site dates back to the 1800s and was among the first commercially operated quarries in the U.S., and its material has been used for a range of historic buildings and national landmarks. To read more about the Bethel White quarry, as well as the study tour itself, turn to page 30 of this issue of Stone World. For the renovation of a private residence in Greenwich, CT, local fieldstone was chosen for the living room fireplace -- creating a rustic yet elegant design. The floor-to-ceiling stonework creates a striking accent in the living space. Design by Saniee Architects, Greenwich, CT. Story begins on page 68. For the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple outside of Indianapolis, IN, the design drew influence from the rich architectural history of Indianapolis and the symbolism of the city and state. While the exterior stone cladding features 35,800 square feet of Aero Cream limestone from Turkey in a honed finish, with carved decorative elements, the site work cladding, caps, curbs, piers, benches and water feature are fabricated from Chinese granite, which was supplied by Bestview International. At the central fountain, the cubic dome, cascades and weirs were comprised of Giallo Antico granite from Brazil, with a transverse finish and cascade notches. Photo courtesy of Antonio Chapital, John Wright (Mediawright Photography). Story begins on page 100. On the Cover: This edition of Stone World takes a look at stone production in India. Rich in material, the country has several leading stone producers which export products worldwide. Among them is Rama Arts & Exports, a company with a reputation as a leading manufacturer of semi-precious slabs and customized stonework. Learn more about the stone producer beginning on page 52. On the Cover: A major reorganization project on the campus of St. Joseph Cathedral in Wheeling, WV, involved the construction of a central courtyard and a garden dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as well as building a new fountain that would add the elements of movement and sound for an inviting yet serene gathering area. Mesabi Black granite-- quarried and fabricated by Coldspring of Coldspring, MN -- was chosen for the fountain design. Photo by Prestige Photography. Story begins on page 94. On the Cover: The renovation of a condominium in Miami Beach, FL, required durable material, yet an elegant aesthetic. To meet the demands of the project, Neolith sintered compact surfacing in the color "Estatuario," from the Classtone collection, was used throughout the contemporary living space. To learn more about the remodel, turn to page 44. On the Cover: Paying homage to native resources, the new Performance Center at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, IN, is constructed of local red sandstone -- quarried at a small site nearby. Work on the new facility began not long after the renovation and expansion of the adjoining Student Center. The combination of stone and glass of both buildings brings a fresh contemporary aesthetic to the campus. Design by Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture, New York, NY. Story begins on page 68. On the Cover: Safety was top priority for a home in Cary, NC, using Calacatta marble in 5 cm and 3 cm thickness. The kitchen featured two seamless 10-foot- long double islands made from the Calacatta marble. Fabricated and installed by ROCKin'teriors of Raleigh, NC. Story begins on page 128. On the Cover: An upscale design was achieved for a home in Paradise Valley, AZ, with an extensive palette of high-quality stone. Large-format Lavender Blue granite floor tiles enhance the luxurious feel of the master bath and the chiseled finish on the facing of the steps leading to the bath tub adds texture and depth. Photo by Dino Tonn. Design by Swaback Partners pllc of Scottsdale, AZ. Story begins on page 76. Quality Stone Quarries in Stigler, OK, currently operates three quarrying sites -- producing a number of stone varieties that are ideal for both indoor and outdoor applications, such as this exterior wall. The company markets its stone across the U.S. Photo by Sarah Ratliff. Story begins on page 68. Travertine stone tiles with a tumbled finished transformed the backyard of a residence in Baton Rouge, LA, into a Mediterranean-style oasis. The design included a beach-like entry, spa with a cascading waterfall, in-ground swimming pool, and fire and water features throughout, along with a "bridge" of stepping stones. Close to 2,000 square feet of the material was employed, which was supplied by M S International, Inc. (MSI) of Orange, CA. Design by Ferris Land Design, LLC, Baton Rouge, LA. Story begins on page 108. The December issue of Stone World is our annual Stone Guide. This definitive index of stone suppliers, fabricating equipment and supplies, installation and stone care materials, and trade associations serves as a valuable tool for those in the stone industry. This guide includes alphabetical listings and cross-reference indexes, which allow its users to easily locate a company by name and products. Olympia Tile & Stone, Orro Mosaic, Caesarstone and The Tile Mural Store worked with designer Ambience Design Group and installer Rockford Tile Contractors on a private residence located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada and won an award in the "Residential Stone Installation" category at the Coverings Installation & Design Awards. Story begins on page 66. In the summer of 2013, Roy V., John B. and Jacob Swindal of Masonry Arts, Inc. teamed up with Claire L. Burgess and Chinese businessman and investor Tan Changyan to form TBGS Quarry, LLC, now doing business as Sylacauga Marble Quarry, which quarries Alabama White marble. Operation of the quarry started in December 2014, and the team looks to continue development of the site for the next couple of years while also producing marketable block in varying color and quality ranges. To learn more about the quarry's history, turn to page 66. Levantina is a large stone producer based in Alicante, Novelda, Spain. The company has more than a dozen quarries and distribution locations worldwide, including in the U.S. Levantina operates five Marron Emperador marble quarries, and the company reports this is one of its most popular materials. To learn more about Levantina's operation, turn to page 120. Founded in 1989, Kangli Stone Group is a producer of natural stone and quartz surfacing. Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, the company has facilities stationed around the globe -- supplying stone and quartz products worldwide. Among the recent projects the company supplied was custom stonework for the five-star Hotel Sofitel Wanda in Beijing, China. To learn more about Kangli, read the article beginning on page 40 of this issue. The fourth annual Coverings Installation & Design (CID) Awards, a program that honors outstanding design and installation of stone and tile in residential, commercial, sustainable and international projects, was recently presented during Coverings 2015, which was held this past spring in Orlando, FL. The project Hyde Park Gardens was the International Stone Design Winner. The guest bathroom is an example of outstanding stone craftsmanship with large marble slabs perfectly bookmatched. To read more about this project, as well as other CID award winners, turn to page 138 of this issue. Las Vegas Rock in Jean, NV, produces a unique stone, which is used for a variety of applications, including landscape rock, flooring, custom stonework, slab material, cut-to-size panels, engraved signage and planking. For 2015, the stone quarrier is expecting to produce 180,000 square feet, or 250,000 tons, of product. To read more about Las Vegas Rock's operation, turn to page 62 of this issue of Stone World. The Marble Institute of America (MIA) recognizes excellence in commercial, residential and renovation/restoration of natural stone projects through its annual Pinnacle Awards. ABS Information Commons received an Award of Excellence for Commercial Exterior in the 2014 competition. The exterior of the building features variegated Ramon Gray limestone panels, which on average measure 2 x 7 feet. To read more about the design of ABS Information Commons, as well as other Pinnacle Award winners, turn to page 66 of this issue Taj Mahal white quartzite was chosen for the kitchen island in this Colorado residence. The material, which was supplied by Cereser and fabricated and installed by Planet Granite, was resined and treated three times to fully penetrate the fissures. The quartzite is complemented by Antique Brown granite on the perimeter countertops. Further adding to the rustic elegance of the space is the rough-cut stone face of the countertops and backsplash. A floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace creates a dramatic focal point in the living room of this Texas Hill Country ranch. The structure is built of a blend of 5-inch-thick ‘Old Yellow’ limestone and Sisterdale Cream limestone pieces, which were quarried within 15 miles of the site and laid in a squared-up ashlar pattern. Design by Craig McMahon Architects, Inc., San Antonio, TX. Photo © Dror Baldinger. Story begins on page 68 Quartz countertops continue to grow in popularity in certain areas of the U.S. For this residential kitchen, Vanilla Ice quartz from Pompeii Quartz of Naples, FL, creates a sleek contemporary look. To read more about the latest kitchen trends, turn to page 44. Photo courtesy of Alena Capra of Alena Capra Designs. For a 4,350-square-foot private residence in Blanco, TX, the homeowners selected Palomino Granbury limestone from the Tolar Quarry in Tolar, TX, which is owned by Arnold Stone. The regional stone with its rough-cut texture creates the traditional Texas farmhouse look that was desired. Photo by Tre Dunham. Story begins on page 110. White marble remains a popular choice for kitchen countertops among homeowners and the design community. The large center island in the kitchen of a private residence in Denver, CO, features Eureka Danby marble -- quarried by Vermont Quarries of Rutland, VT. Photo by Mark Woolcott Photography. Recently, Plateau Masonry, BMJ Stone of Crossville, TN, collaborated with builder Charles Atkins of Knoxville, TN, and architect Jonathan Miller on a private residence in Knoxville, TN. The company's "Stonewood Mountain" fieldstone product, which is an ashlar pattern and harvested from the hills of Tennessee, was chosen for the home's exterior facade. Photo by Jimmy Chiarella/JC Studios. Story begins on page 80. With nearly 50 years of experience in the stone industry, R.E.D. Graniti added to its list of quarries by purchasing the Colorado Yule marble quarry in Marble, CO. The global Italian stone producer has made significant investments, which have resulted in the production of top-quality white marble. Photo copyright Ron Bailey Photography. Story begins on page 78. F.J. Cochicho & Filho LDA is part of a consortium comprising three companies that work an open-area pit marble quarry in Vila Vicosa, Portugal. Stone World had the opportunity to visit this quarry as well as several others in the marble region of Alentejo (Vila Vicosa) and the limestone region in the Serras de Aires and Candeeiros Natural Park as a guest of the first "Designing with Natural Stone" Portugal course. Read about the course and companies visited beginning on page 80. Photo by Jennifer Adams. A total of 30,000 square feet of Temple White granite adorns the exterior facade of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints Calgary Alberta Temple. The typical veneer for the exterior cladding was 3 to 4 cm thick, while the stonework for the cubic water table pieces ranged from 3 to nearly 8 inches thick. Design by ABBARCH Architecture Inc. Photo by Errol Barr. Story begins on page 52. Fabricator Issues & Solutions Stone in Architecture CNC Technology Report from Brazil Success in Xiamen Coverings 2014 Preview: U.S. Quarried Stone High-end fabrication in NYC A World Record in Stone Fabricator Market Forecast Stone Guide 2014 U.S. Quarried Stone OSHA fails the industry Classic stonework in NYC Report from Europe "The Green Issue" Indian Stone Fabricator Solutions Fabricator Forum Coverings 2013 Preview Material Handling Forum Texas Regional in Limestone Quarry growth in North Carolina The Smith Center - Las Vegas	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line116
__label__wiki	0.607992	0.607992	Fernanda Frick - by - 0 - In Chilean Animation Contemporary Animation Digital Animation Handdrawn Animation Studio Animation Image Source: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/watch-trailer-premiere-heres-plan-sweet-film-relationships-147728.html (compiled by Skye Lobell) Fernanda Frick is a Chilean animator, illustrator and director. Frick started to pursue a career in animation at the age of 13, after seeing a making-of of Sprited Away, realizing that if human beings created animation, so could she. She started learning animation by adapting other people’s comics, until she got a job from an independent US band to make a music video for them. She created a story for the music video, which made her realize that she wanted to tell her own stories instead of adapting those of others. She studied at university for two years before signing up for the character animation course on Animation Mentor, from which she graduated in 2013. Afterwards, she won a scholarship to attend the Gobelins summer program, and after that completed a one-month animation internship at the Chilean studio Punk Robot on the short film A Bear Story (2014), the first Chilean short to win the Academy Award for best animated short film. She created her first short film, When I’m Scared (2013), out of fear of creative stagnation. Her fourth short film, Here’s the Plan (2017) – a story about a recently married couple who put their dreams on hold and must rediscover what really matters to them – was born out of her frustration with how negatively mainstream media portrayed long-term romantic relationships, which she has found personally harmful, as well as the wish to portray a relationship where the characters work as a team and go through hardships without it having to end in separation. Frick found it difficult to relate to human characters in live-action films as a child because they lacked flaws. She finds it easier to connect with characters if they are anthropomorphized or abstract, which is why she felt drawn to animation. As a teenager, she became intrigued with the styles and subjects of indie cinema. She was insecure about her art style until she discovered the graphic novel Goodbye, Chunky Rice, by Craig Thompson, which portrayed characters with cute, simple designs and complex relationships and emotions. This became her major inspiration for her own style of storytelling. One of the most distinctive aspects of Here’s the Plan is the visual style which borrows from indie cinema in its tone and cinematography, but has cute and simplified character designs which remain faithful to her original illustrations. To help keep the tone naturalistic, she cast real-life couple Lindsay and Alex Small-Butera, animators from the studio Smallbü, as the voices of the two main characters. The film took two years to complete and was financed by Chile’s National Council of Culture and the Arts and Frick’s own savings. The production faced several issues, including the lack of qualified CG professionals, and the inability to compete with the budget of advertising and video games, where the most skilled CG crews could be found. She was however able to complete the production through online collaboration and with the help of Punk Robot, Estudio Pintamonos, and a render farm in China. Frick is currently working on a graphic novel called Strokes (Trazos), and is developing an animated TV series. She also freelances and teaches at local universities. Amid Amidi, Netflix To Develop Fernanda Frick’s ‘Raise The Bar!,’ A Series From Chile: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/netflix-to-develop-fernanda-fricks-raise-the-bar-a-series-from-chile-160504.html Fernanda Frick, About Me: http://fernandafrick.com/about-me/ Samuel Locuviche, Watch The Trailer Premiere of ‘Here’s the Plan,’ A Sweet Film About Relationships: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/watch-trailer-premiere-heres-plan-sweet-film-relationships-147728.html Danny Paez, CB Fest Premiere: ‘Here’s The Plan’ by Fernanda Frick: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/cb-fest/heres-the-plan-154171.html Entrevista con Fernanda Frick, guionista y directora de “Here’s the Plan”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROiAPPr8PI Fernanda Frick Studio, About: https://www.ffrickstudio.com/about/ Mauricio Neira, “Here’s the plan”: Fernanda Frick cuenta cómo nació el nuevo corto animado chileno que busca un Oscar: https://www.publimetro.cl/cl/entretenimiento/2017/10/25/heres-the-plan-fernanda-frick-cuenta-nacio-nuevo-corto-animado-chileno-busca-oscar.html Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez, This Short Animation By Two Chilean Women Is Making Waves In The Industry: https://fierce.wearemitu.com/fierce-boss-ladies/these-two-chilean-women-are-leaving-a-mark-on-the-animation-world-with-heres-the-plan/ Constanza Troncoso, Este es el Plan: una cinta chilena llega a la Comic-Con de San Diego: http://culto.latercera.com/2017/07/03/este-plan-una-cinta-chilena-llega-a-la-comic-san-diego/ Website: http://fernandafrick.com/ Fernanda Frick Studio Website: https://www.ffrickstudio.com/ Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ffrick Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJuLdFlj1ZQZfRdWhh9uHag Behance: https://www.behance.net/FernandaFrick Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fernandafrick/?hl=en Tumblr: http://ffrick.tumblr.com/ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7936210/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/fernandafrick?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FFrickAnimation Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/FernandaFrick CTNAnimationExpo Profile: http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/fernanda-frick Here’s the Plan Website: http://herestheplanfilm.com/ Here’s the Plan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herestheplanfilm Here’s the plan – Animated Short Film from Fernanda Frick on Vimeo.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line117
__label__cc	0.57231	0.42769	The Muslim nation shouldn’t be deceived by fake version of Islam The head of the expediency council talked about the case and changes of region, he said by showing the wrong and fake versions of Islam the enemy is trying to interpret Islam very wrong. The grand ayatollah Sayed Mahmood Hashemi Shahroudi the head of the expediency council today in the morning in the meeting of Ahlulbait followers (fan of Ahlulbait a.s) talked about the issues of Takfiries. (Who blame all others as infidel), the meeting which was held in Islamic conference hall said, and we are witness of strong power of resistance forces against the global Zionism and their partners. He tated in today’s conditions we should go and work against terrorism thoughts as it was very important in the time of Al-Qaeda and right now among Daeish. He stated, in time of Al-Qaeda and Daeish creation the thoughts of Wahabism was the base and these thoughts with the help of arrogance put the Islamic world under pressure. Therefore, until these thoughts are existed the Islamic world will not have peace and calmness. The head of the expediency council insisted, we need to be all together especially the elites of Islamic world, and we push all to the love of Ahlulbait, which is, not only for Shi’a but its common issue among muslims and this is common platform where all we can come together. The grand ayatollah Sayed Mahmood Hashemi Shahroudi said, this ceremony has on the same day of victory of Islam on Da’eish, pushing Da’eish back from Iraq and Syria that is why I offer my congratulations to the supreme leader and the government and the Iraq and Syria’s nations to Hizbullah, Pasda’ran and Quds force. The grand ayatollah Sayed Mahmood Hashemi Shahroudi stated, love of AhlulBayt (a.s) is continuing obeying the prophet (peace be upon him) and it was the main goal of the Prophetic mission. Fortunately, such a nice ceremony can bring a good message to all Muslims to come together on this platform. The grand ayatollah Sayed Mahmood Hashemi Shahroudi said, there is mentioned in holy book of Qu’ran that the prophets never asked people or followers for their reward but only for the last prophet (peace be upon him) who was ordered by Allah (s.w) to ask his reward from the people. This reward was not material or related to this world, but only it was love his progeny and Ahlul Bayt (a.s). We should not forget the benefits of this demand do not go to the prophet (peace be upon him) but it comes to Muslim nations and us. The head of the expediency council mentioned that the hardness and the difficulties that the prophet (peace be upon him) faced in his prophetic mission, the prophet (peace be upon him) counted the love of Ahlul Bayt (a.s) very important and said this love takes you safe and sound to the final righteous destination. He said that the human being has emotional wing, which always helps and encourage movement of wisdom towards to God. We see in the teachings of Prophets comparing with Philosopher, there are two elements one is logic and another is emotional, because this is cause of really movements of Muslims. The head of the expediency council said, participating of 20 million of Pilgrims of Imam Hussain (a.s) in Ar’ba’een (the fortieth of Martyrdom of Imam Hussain), showed the strength and Love to Ahlul Bayt (a.s) which is very clear for whole world. So we should not forget that the love to God, Prophet (peace be upon him) and to AhlulBayt (a.s) is soul of religion. The grand ayatollah Sayed Mahmood Hashemi Shahroudi added March of Ar’ba’een and presence of Muslims and non-Muslims and Shi’a and non-Shi’a in this March is greatest capacity to build up unity for having global Islamic revolution. He explained Verse of Tatheer and Saqlain tradition, all the meaning and importance of human being has gathered in teaching and behavior of Ahlul Bayt (a.s). In recent condition of the region, arrogance has also come to understand importance of Ahlul Bayt’s love and strength, that is why always, is trying to give fake versions of Islam and its roots. The head of the expediency council said, enemy by giving fake version of Islam is trying to derive wrong meanings of Jihad and stablish the really Islam. It is very easy to know that the hostility of Ahlul Bayt and hostility of lovers of Ahlul Bayt (a.s) is on the top of fake versions of Islam.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line125
__label__cc	0.571081	0.428919	Previous Topic \| The positive sides of depression Depression and transitions to adulthood \| Next Topic Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. among those ages 10-24. Roughly 157,000 people per year within this age group receive treatment for self-inflicted injuries in the emergency room. Many people we talked with had suicidal thoughts, and a few had attempted suicide. If you currently feel suicidal or know someone who is feeling suicidal, please call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1 (800) 273-8255. Suicide as a sign of the seriousness of depression For many people in our study suicidal thoughts were a sign that they needed to get help. Crystal says she experimented with actively attempting suicide, and “after a couple incidents that’s when it was noticed and I had to get help”. Marty says he let his depression control him, and this led to his depression becoming more serious. He warns others that, “depression might be overlooked by some doctors, but it’s a serious illness… it’s easy to overlook what can happen”. Destructive thoughts and thoughts of death People often had destructive thoughts or thoughts of death when their depression was severe. Teddy says he, “slipped into this really deep dark depression, where I wanted to die”. A few started having suicidal feelings in middle school, while most expressed first having thoughts in high school or college. Leanna says she “would take my mom’s sleeping pills in hopes that I wouldn’t wake up at a really young age”. Crystal says her thoughts of suicide increased when she started college. She “realized at that point that I have suicidal thoughts every day and they haven’t gone away. Beginning of college I started having them constantly, I remember that a little bit in high school but in college I really realized that every moment that I’m not actively engaging my mind in something else I go back to my original thought process and it quickly spirals into feelings of erasing myself”. Maya describes her thoughts as “being intellectually suicidal” but did not have any concrete plans to follow through with them. Brendan describes having suicidal thoughts at a young age. Brendan has three jobs and is a fulltime college student and musician. He lives in an apartment with a roommate. Ethnic background is White. I know it was a thing from early on but the first really clear memory I have that stood out to me as being not normal was when I was about eight or nine years old. And I essentially noticed that I developed a suicidal fixation, and this particular image of being at my martial arts studio and bleeding out and collapsing and being hospitalized. And what I-- And what I always found interesting about that in retrospect is not only the suicidal way-- ideal say you shouldn't, but also the very publicness of it. You know, I think there was something about attention. And, you know, because I was hospitalized, I was taken care of. So that was when I first really noticed that my mentality seemed to be kind of different and kind of darker than a lot of nine-year-olds. And when I was 11, I've earned my brief stint in that private school. I actually considered suicide as an option for the first time. Luckily my brother became aware of it and intervened and he helped me get past what was going on there, which I think was mainly the drama in my life and the fact that I hated being at-- in their school but took the form of being about a girl. For some people, the severity of these thoughts caused them to reach a breaking point. Colin says, “every day that I woke up I was so surprised that I woke up and I hadn’t killed myself”. Reasons for feeling suicidal The people we interviewed gave many reasons for feeling suicidal. They felt suicidal because life did not feel worth living or because they felt hopeless in particular situations, such as coping with family or a relationship. Elizabeth attributed her suicidal thoughts to her “lack of… coping skills... It felt like any little hurdle that I came to, I just couldn’t face it”. Teddy started feeling suicidal when his relationship with his girlfriend ended. He says, “she found another guy and I found out just by putting all the pieces together she was trying to make me into the guy that she was really going after. And after that like, I was going in and out of mental hospitals trying to you know, just end it because there was nothing else I could do”. For more about relationships, see ‘Depression and relationships’. Jackson, a man who identifies as transgender, said his feelings of being different made him feel more isolated. He watched a friend who had come out become “a target for ridicule and physical abuse”. This led Jackson to become “invisible and suicidal for many years”. For more about feeling different see ‘Depression and feeling different when young’. Others, like Myra and Brendan, also talked about being a target of bullying and abuse and related these experiences to their suicidal thoughts (see ‘Depression and abuse’). Some people felt a more general hopelessness about the world or a lack of reason to live. Sierra Rose says her thoughts were telling her, “look at the world we live in, the crap world and blah blah blah all of those negative voices talking in the back of your head, convincing you that life isn’t worth living.” She also expresses that she didn’t have a choice in terms of being born and and couldn’t understand “why can’t I make the decision to just leave”. Similarly, Colin says he “would just wake up and just couldn’t find any reason or purpose in the day whatsoever” and “felt so guilty for it because... I had good parents, good family”. For Colin, his suicidal thoughts were connected with his struggle with OCD. For more about OCD, see ‘Depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)’. Colin describes his experience in the hospital after attempting suicide. And, once I realized my plan A wasn't working, my mind just started going to those really dark places that it always used to where, oh, if plan A isn't working then what's the point, I guess. Just, couldn't think of any reason to keep going on if that one goal I had was oh so far out of reach all the sudden. And then, yeah, I just felt very empty and lost, and so un-expressively sad that I just gave up on school. I just stopped going and I, it was like the first time in my life that I was 100% certain that I'd go through with the thoughts I had with suicide. And then, I had it all really well planned out. And then, one night, it was a Tuesday night, I finally went through with it. And, unsuccessfully of course, I took about 120 Xanax with vodka, which, I don't know, is beyond lethal. And I don't know, I don't know, it's really just, like the doctors told me, in the hospital, that it was sheer luck that I survived because somebody found me on a park bench at like three in the morning. , I don't know why they were out there and I don't know who found me. But, they got me to the hospital in time. And, I woke up two days later in the ICU at [name]. , and I was kind of going in and out of consciousness, I didn't really know what was happening. And, once I woke up for good, I was just, I said all the wrong things, I guess. They sent a psychiatrist into me to do a psych eval, and like I said, I didn't say what I, like I said what I meant at the time which was I was mad, I was really mad that I woke up. He was asking me what brought you to this point, like, why are you here? Why are we having this conversation right now? And, I obviously knew what he meant. He meant like what has transgressed in your life, like, in the past, what has gone on that led you to this point of depression? But, I decided to be really snarky about it because I was mad. I was like, oh, why am I in this bed right now in front of you? And then, my answer was because I didn't drink enough. And, that was like the one thing I said, I think, that got me sent to the inpatient. And, he told me that, that's not what they want to hear, that a lot of people usually feel glad or relieved, or regretful and like repentive of it. And, I didn't. Others described feeling like they were worthless, or not good enough. Crystal says she felt that her depression was, “something that I’m just born with and. ... I really shouldn’t be here”. Crystal discusses the pressure she feels and how it relates to her suicidal thoughts. Crystal is an African American college student. She works campus jobs during the year and internships in the summers. Part of me is just continuing to feel like you know there is an end and, and for me like nothingness is a really great end for me because I am so tired of you know the daily struggles that I go through and all of the voices and things that go on in my head, all of the anxiety that I feel, and all of the pressure that I feel, it’s hard to move and hard to get up and when you even have a taste of that it makes me just wish that I could just erase myself completely and just forget about everything. Medication and suicidal thoughts A few people talked about how being on medication or not being on medication influenced their thoughts of suicide. Sierra Rose described how a medication, “made me feel so much more suicidal. I couldn’t even cross the street without thinking about jumping in front of the next car I see… which was you know really bad because I lived along a highway and had to cross the highway to get to work. So, you know, you’ve got semi’s rushing by you at 40 miles per hour it’s really hard to avoid the thoughts in your head saying, “Jump, just do it, just step out in front of them.” Colin experienced a similar increase in suicidal thoughts when on a medication and said he “became twice as suicidal as I was before.” Although increase in suicidal thoughts is an uncommon side effect of antidepressants, it is serious and needs immediate help. The FDA has placed a “black box” warning label on antidepressants to alert people up through age 24 about this rare but serious possibility. If you or someone you know is considering harming themselves, please call 911 or The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255. Others, like Ben, said he would have suicidal thoughts when he wasn’t taking medication. (For more information about taking medication for depression, see ‘Depression, medication, and treatment choices’.) Several people we talked to described realizing they needed to ask for help from family or friends when feeling suicidal or as part of a suicide attempt. Some felt their suicide attempts were a sign they needed help from others. Marty said, “I understand how they were just cries for help, because if I wanted to die I would be dead right now”. Sierra Rose described feeling desperate and how she “had to call my mom to talk me down”, even though she felt their relationship was strained at time and they had not talked for over a year. Whitney said she was committed by her father after her second suicide attempt and was not given a choice about hospitalization. A few people discussed reaching out via suicide helplines. Crystal said she, “called suicide hotlines daily” when she needed “short term solutions to help get me out of a panic attack or some sort of crash”. Devin describes telling his parents about needing help before he attempted suicide. Devin lives with his girlfriend and other roommates in a city he recently moved to from another part of the country. He has a part-time job in a store. He is White. I was probably 16 at the time now and I was probably there for less than a week and I just started to absolutely break down because it was everything all over again. And I was in the room next to my mother while she was sewing or something and I was just breaking down crying and I ended up having to message one of my friends on Facebook or something like that to tell her to contact my mom because I could not speak at that moment, I was just so overwhelmed I guess. And it had gotten to the point with self-harming that I just wanted to kill myself at that point and I was going to do it that night, unless somebody helped me out. And I told my mother that I needed to go to the crisis center and she seemed upset about it, which I was kind of confused. And when we got to the crisis center had somebody speak to me, they called my dad along and both my parents haven’t been in the same room for what had been for I don’t know, it had been a long time since I had seen them in the same room, it was weird . But it was like, they were sitting on the opposite side of the table, my father was pouring tears because I told him straight up that I just wanted to kill myself I didn’t want to be alive anymore and that’s why I needed to go to a crisis center. While my father was crying my mother was just sitting there stone faced, no expression at all. What prevents suicide People we talked with reported a range of things that contributed to their decision to live. Most were concerns related to a greater sense of purpose, but a few worried about the “shock” their death would be to people they cared about. For many, a greater sense of purpose included wanting to be there for family or friends. Crystal felt she had a “duty” to finish school and take care of her family. Teddy and Sierra Rose felt a similar sense of responsibility, but for their pets. (See ‘Depression and pets’.) Sierra Rose talks about her difficult living situation and being scared to live with her mother’s boyfriend, but realizing that she did not want to die and wanted to be there for her brother. Sierra Rose who was experiencing abuse from her mother’s boyfriend describes telling her brother about her suicide attempt. Crystal describes how she uses self talk to prevent suicide. Sierra Rose lives in an apartment with her boyfriend, another roommate, and three beloved cats. She spent a week in the hospital shortly before her interview, and was continuing with out-patient care but struggling to pay for some of it. She is Italian and Jewish. He was scary to live with. He had me frightened for my life at some points and that made me want to end my life even more. I didn’t want to live there anymore I hadn’t wanted to live there for years and he just kind of added to that. And so November 2013, I attempted to kill myself. I went into the bathroom, I wrote a note out, and I tried to slit open my wrist. Part way through I realized that I don’t actually think I want to die. I had a boyfriend at the time not my current boyfriend a different one and he was my entire life, I didn’t want to not be with him, so I made the decision to, you know, go upstairs tell my mother. She took me to the hospital, her and her boyfriend. The entire time we were there in the waiting room I was sitting there with the towel to my wrist and they were sitting there talking and laughing with each other and her boyfriend actually had the balls to accuse me of trying to kill myself for attention. I was the one who had to explain to my brother who was at the time 13 years old, that no I wanted to die, I wanted to kill myself and it hurt so much to see the pain in his eyes. My brother and I, we’ve always fought a lot, what siblings don’t especially when you’re 4 years apart but I love him to death and I would do anything for him and I know that the feeling is mutual, there’s a sibling bond there that can’t ever be broken. And seeing his heart break because his big sister not wanting to live anymore, it should have been an eye opener, it was for a little while. Sometimes life just feels really meaningless to me and sometimes just the daily work that I do to just distract myself from what’s going on in my head, some of that is just like, “Well it’s still meaningless, I don’t want to be alive even, and so then you think about ok, how do I make what’s more permanent imitation and what makes more of a lasting impression on people those sort of things are more abstract and float above more of the daily sort of material things that happen in your life. And so being dedicated to continuing to be a role model and continuing to help my family in whatever ways that I can is what has occupied myself. So whenever I have a question like, whenever you know I get distracted, I hmm I sink back into my negative thought process and I asked myself, “Ok what are you doing here?” Instead of, either I’ll say you know, “I’m here because I need to finish this homework assignment,” And sometimes that helps or I say, “Oh I’m here because I need to finish this homework assignment, that way I can get a degree so that way I can help make money so that way I can help bring my family to a better situation.” Some people we talked with had a friend or a pet reach out to them at the right time, or found someone that was particularly special to them. Teddy had a friend call him and say, “If there’s anything you need just know that I’m here for you and I’ll do the impossible”. This led him to share his thoughts about suicide and “was pretty much the push for me to get help”. Colin said he met someone during a study hall in high school that brought light to his life. He says, ”And just every day when I had nothing to look forward to I would just look forward to going and seeing her, every day… it really turned my whole life around. It didn’t make it good, but it made it bearable.” For others, seeing a family member or a friend attempt or commit suicide prevented their own attempts. One participant says after her friend attempted suicide “that was really the turning point for me, when I realized I could end up like that too”. A few people said finding distractions or something to occupy their mind helped prevent thoughts of suicide. Crystal used goal setting, which helped her occupy herself “until that next discrete point”. Despite difficult circumstances, a few participants still felt hope for the future. Jackson said that although he “didn't feel like I had anything to look forward to” after his mother was sent to prison and his father died unexpectedly, he felt that “anything could happen”. Although his circumstances changed negatively, he thought there could also be a positive spin and that “things can get better”. He says, “I… had the adulthood to look forward to, where I was like, oh, maybe I can finally be free of these horrible people and make my own choices. So, maybe it will be better”. Brendan realized that “periods of hopelessness are temporary” and still feels positive for the future, despite having bad days. After experiencing cycles of depression, Brendan feels hopeful about the future. I feel optimistic about the future, but there are still even today, there are certain days where like, I know that things are good but I'm just tired, I'm just sad, I just feel a little awkward. It's something that you live with. It's something that you make adjustments to, you know, meet some-- I've tried—it’s like, you know, having like a sore shoulder or something. You want to be careful with heavy-- lifting heavy objects. You don't want to hurt yourself but it's an annoyance, it's not something that's taking you out of the game. And that's what I'm trying to remind myself is that no matter, no matter how bad I feel, it's almost never actually that bad and if I just keep on doing what I'm doing that I normally turn out OK. “Suicide Prevention”. Injury Prevention and Control: Division of Violence Prevention (Centers for Disease Control), 10 March 2015, Web. 7 February 2016.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line126
__label__wiki	0.849122	0.849122	How did Africa really get its name? For a long time, the origin of the name “Africa” has been a subject of dispute as many historians have not been able to come to an agreement on how the continent got its name. The word “Africa” for many of its 1.2 billion people, equates to a home of unequalled linguistic, ethnic and cultural variety. Despite being the place of ancient civilisation, for others, it reminds them of poverty and corruption. But largely, it is believed that Africa provided a home for the first man on earth thousands of years ago. But where did the name “Africa” come from? One of the most popular belief is that the word came from the Romans, who named the land they found on the opposite side of the Mediterranean after a Berber tribe living in the Carthage area (now Tunisia). Some historians say that the word might have stemmed from the Latin word afri, used to refer the Berber tribe Aourigha. The Romans called the region Afri-terra, meaning “the land of the Afri”. The Latin suffix –ica is used to denote a landmass as well. Historians suggest that the suffix “-ica” could also have been used to mean “the land of the Afri”, as in Celtica (a region of modern-day France) which was named after the Celtae who lived there. There are a number of theories stemming from different times and people on how Africa got its name and we want to take a look through 9 of these theories. The name Africa has been connected with the Phoenician word afar, which means “dust.” It has also has been connected to two Phoenician terms friqi or pharika, which means “land of corn or fruit.” It has also been hypothesized that Africa may have derived from a Phoenician root faraqa or faraq, meaning “separation or diaspora.” The Romans have been given credit for popularizing the name Africa in the West. They used the name Africa terra meaning “land of the Afri” (or singular version “Afer”) for the northern part of the continent. Its capital was Carthage, which is modern-day Tunisia. The story told by some historians is that the Romans got the term from the Carthaginians, as a native term for their country. The Latin suffix “-ica” can sometimes be used to denote a land (e.g., in Celtica from Celtae, as used by Julius Caesar). Another theory is that the continent was named after the Roman general “Scicipio Africanus,” but his name meant “Sicipio of Africa,” which would mean the general was named for being from Africa. Some say the term is drawn from the Latin adjective aprica (sunny). The historian Leo Africanus (1495-1554) attributed the origin of “Africa” to the Greek word aprikē or aphrike. Phrike means cold and horror, when combined with the negating prefix a-, it means a land free of cold and horror. The 1st century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus asserted that Africa was named for Epher, grandson of Abraham, according to the Bible’s Genesis 25:4, whose descendants invaded Libya. The Hebrew name for the continent, Auphirah is supposedly written as Ophir in many Jewish records. Some have attributed the name to the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya (sunny place) in modern-day Tunisia. However, the Arab version is considered by most historians to be a derivative of the Latin version. Another theory is that the word might stem from Sanskrit and Hindi in which the root Apara or Africa denotes that which, in geographical terms, “comes after” or to the west — in which case Africa is the western continent. Some have postulated that it is the name of a Yemenite chief named Africus who invaded North Africa in the second millennium B.C. and founded a town called Afrikyah. A number of historians believe the Romans got the name from a corruption of what the Berbers called the region in which they lived. The theory asserts that “Africa” stems from the Berber ifri (plural ifran), the word for “cave,” in reference to cave dwellers. The same word is found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, a Berber tribe originally from Yafran (also known as Ifrane) in northwestern Libya. A few historians argue that the word “Africa” is indigenous to the continent, and the idea that the Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Hindus or any Caucasoid group created the name Africa is absolutely inaccurate. This theory asserts that Romans and Greeks began using the term only after coming in contact with African people, such as the Greek conquest of Egypt and the Roman conquest of North Africa and Egypt. Why South Africa is considered Africa-light. The term “Afru-ika” means “birthplace” or “Motherland,” according to historian Ivan Van Sertima. Af-rui-ka means “to turn toward the opening of the Ka, womb or birthplace.” Another hypothesis is that the name of the 4th dynasty pharaoh, Kh-afre, reveals that an early Egyptian king had the name “Africa.” It’s believed by some that because modern Egyptologists and others often mix the order of the hieroglyphs that the ancients wrote Kh-afre is supposedly written as Afre-Kh or Africa. The word “Africa” is an evocative one that conjures up different images for different people. For some, it’s an ivory-tusked elephant standing before the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro; for others, it’s a mirage shimmering on the horizon of the arid Sahara Desert. It’s also a powerful word—one that speaks of adventure and exploration, corruption and poverty, freedom and mystery. For 1.2 billion people, the word “Africa” is also synonymous with the word “home”—but where does it come from? There is no conclusive idea or theory on how Africa got its name and no-one knows for sure which theory is most accurate. Now lets take a look at the Etymology of the word “Africa”: The Etymology of the word Africa or Etymological origins of the name Africa: Afrika: Similar to the native words, Kongo (Congo) and Akkra (Accra), it is reported that original Afrikan languages spelled Afrika with a “k.” After European colonialism, the letter “k” was substituted by the letter “c.” To further support this theory many look to the Dutch spelling of Afrikaaners. (Assatashakur.org) Afraka: According to the Doghon University of Thought, it is believed there is a West Afrakan civilization in Mali identified as the Do(h)gons. The Do(h)gons“defined our identity as AfRAkan and while the term may appear similar it is unlike the word African in that it has a meaning that is defined by us and not a European explorer. AfRAka means First-Sun-Soul.” Africa: Originated from the Egyptian word “Afru-ika”which is translated to “Motherland.”(Dr. Van Sertima) “Africa,” comes from the Arabic word firk or frik, which means separate, divide, or conquer. (Sacred Woman by Queen Afua) It is also reported the spelling of Africa originated from Romans who conquered Carthage and identified the continent as Africa terra (feminine form of Africus) meaning the land of the North African tribe, Afri. Other theories for the origin of the spelling of Africa stems from the adjective for Africa in Latin“Afer,” which means Black or Dark and “Aprica” meaning “Sunny.” The spelling of Africa originates from the Greek word phrike, combined with the negating prefix a-, Aphrike means land free of cold or horror. Alke-bulan: According to Kemetic History “(A)mong the many names Alkebu-lan [“mother of mankind” or “garden of eden”] was called the following: “Ethiopia, Corphye, Ortegia, Libya and Africa – the latest of all. Alkebulan is the oldest and the only one of indigenous origin. It was used by the Moors, Nubians, Numidians, Khart-Haddans (Carthagenians), and Ethiopians. Africa, the current misnomer adopted by almost everyone today, was given to this continent by the ancient Greeks and Romans. (Yosef Ben-Jochannan) Many people believe different versions of the Etymology and theories of how Africa got its name and as much as we would dispute some of the theories, we can never dispute the beauty of this continent, that many are privileged to call home. Previous Who does Africa really belong to? Next How Africa is becoming China’s China.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line128
__label__wiki	0.741698	0.741698	A History of the Crawford United Methodist Church Frances Hardwick Hairston History of the Crawford United Methodist Church In around 1984 or 1985, I had the ambitious idea to write a history of the Crawford Church. I went to the archives at the Mississippi State University Library; browsed through the old deed books in the Chancery Clerk’s office in Columbus; and contacted various people who had been involved with the church and asked them to write down things they could remember about the church. Many people did respond, and because of them, we have invaluable information. Laura May Hairston Cotton, Margaret Nance Hartman, Mamie DeVane Ledbetter, Archie Nichols, Mary Alice Hairston Gibson, Merrill Gentry, Beatrice Gentry, Christine Ledbetter Vaughan, Mary Hannah Christopher Tucker, and Carolyn Moorhead Henderson all told stories, but they are all now deceased. Peggy Gentry Phillips, Shirley Gentry Brown, Jewel Bell Holcomb, Lois Dean Bell Eaves, Mary Jo Atkins, Johnny Gentry, Alice Hairston Edwards, Kay Meadows all gave pictures and oral information. The church records were stolen in the 1960’s when furniture was stolen from the old parsonage. The records had always been stored in the seat part of the hall tree. (A large piece of furniture used as a coat hanger but also includes a large lift up seat for storage). The thief, certainly oblivious to the more important treasure for the church, took the hall tree, records and all. I was determined to find some kind of information or someone who had knowledge of a record. One contact leads to another contact. Finally, Sarah Frances Cox Husband, a noted Lowndes County historian, led me to Olin and J.L. Looney who were members of Shaeffer’s Chapel. They are both now deceased. Olin Looney had previously done extensive work on the history of Shaeffer’s Chapel. Since Shaeffer’s Chapel and Crawford were in the same district, the Quarterly Conference records were the same. Because of these two Looney Brothers, we now have records dating from the 1830’s until 1928. Jewel Bell Holcomb will fill in these missing years from accounts we have of past Sunday School accounts. Around 1985, my house burned. Miraculously, these records were not burned, though somewhat water damaged. I put out of my mind the thought of pursuing this project any further until Jewel, who is as tenacious as a bulldog called me in August and said the Lord had been telling her we needed to write a history of the church. I was in school at MUW working on an art degree and had just begun the fall semester. I had two weeks to get this history together for the Crawford Church Homecoming. Crawford, Mississippi “Nothing is really ended until it is forgotten.” With that statement clearly in your minds, I present to you a rendering of the past so that those who have put so much into the work and building of this church with the help of the Holy Spirit will not be forgotten. As Morgan Freeman says, “Having places that give us roots is essential to our spirit and souls.” This church has a colorful beginning. Go back in time and think about a time before 1832. The Choctaw Indian Nation owned the land in this area, over a million acres. As a part of the Black Prairie, there was much grassland. There were many trees including Post Oaks and Bois d’Arc (Osage Orange). Settlers had begun to move into Columbus, but the area west of the Tombigbee River was not open to settlement until 1832 even though Mississippi became a state in 1817. In 1832 the United States Government signed a treaty with the Choctaw Indians at Dancing Rabbit Creek near Mashuaville in Noxubee County, Mississippi. Greenwood Leflore was the Choctaw chief. The Dancing Rabbit Creek Treaty opened vast areas for settlement by the Americans. And, settle they did! The people who came were a part of the great migration moving from the eastern seaboard into the fertile valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This migration continued well into the mid 1800’s. People left the east coast for a variety of reasons: the spirit of adventure; lands in Virginia and the Carolinas had grown thin with the over planting of tobacco; large families did not provide enough land for their sons; and some large land owners wanted to move their large accumulation of slaves into the newly opened lands. Among those early settlers were Grey and Celia Ledbetter who settled approximately three miles east of Crawford. Moving to this area with them were the Randles and Johnsons. John M. Ledbetter, 1802-1887, a son of Grey and Celia, married Eliza White. He was influential in the building and development of the Crawford Church and was listed for many years as a trustee of the church. His son, John McGee Ledbetter, May 22, 1846- May 8, 1943, was married to Margaret Randle. As superintendent of the Sunday Schools and supervisor of district 4 in Lowndes County for 30 years, he was and influential figure in the community. Lands sold rapidly. There was a demand for short staple cotton. The Industrial Revolution in the early nineteenth century created a demand for cotton. The Black Prairie provided fertile land and large portions of land. Robert Hairston back in Virginia saw this as an opportunity to bring slaves so that he would not need to sell them and break up families. It was also an opportunity to have more land for cotton. He was soon followed by his brother Hardin and family. They settled east of Crawford around the Trinity area and helped organize Bethel Presbyterian Church in the 1830’s. Dr. Peter Constantine Hairston, a son of Hardin, was the local physician for the area and lived on what is now Nick Hairston Road. Dr. Jack Elliott, in his paper on the Black Prairie, states that once land was acquired, the buyer had to go and find it. They had to develop the land, remove trees although the Indians had been burning off the land every year. ___________ Nance, in R. R. Wyatt’s book, The Diary of a Little Man, gives an account of riding on horseback into this area and seeing vast stretches of grassland and realizing water was very hard to find. Johnson grass grew as high as a man on horseback fooling settlers into thinking water was plentiful. Little did they realize that Johnson grass sends out long tap roots reaching deep into the earth to find water. The settlers soon discovered wells had to be dug deep. The soil was beautiful and black, but the prairie mud in the winter was another thing to deal with. The mud and the lack of water made many settlers hesitant to move into this area. Many people owned plantations in the Prairie but chose to build houses in Columbus. For those early settlers who did choose to stay and develop the area, there was much work to be done. The houses that were built were very utilitarian since most of the attention was directed towards developing the land and attempting to realize an income from their hard labors. The houses, strictly functional, began as a dogtrot house with rooms on either side and a large hall down the middle. The first houses were made of logs with the logs hewn on both sides. Porches and more rooms were added later as the family grew. There were no gravel roads, but each land owner was obligated to put so many hours of labor into maintaining roads. Although Columbus was the county seat of Lowndes County as early as 1830, it was very difficult journey to get to Columbus. There was no Highway 45 as we know it today. What roads were available were almost impassable in the winter. The only road to Columbus was the Old Macon Road. The main transportation was the Tombigbee River. Therefore, a big concern was a global economy: how to produce crops and how to get crops to market. New England purchased cotton for their mills, but England also wanted the cotton. The government was changing from a territory to a county and a state government. Judge J. W. Carr, one of the earliest settlers was responsible for opening a better and faster market for crops by giving land for the right-of-way for the Mobile and Ohio Rail Road in 1857. This move also furthered the growth of the town of Crawford. An account of the trial of pioneer times is related by Judge Carr in The Autobiography of a Little Man. “The first year was particularly hard because food was scarce. The only meat available was deer meat. After the opening of the rail road, he tells of many mornings of having seen as many as fifty deer lying around like so many calves on the knoll on which the town of Crawford now stands. The knoll was covered by a copse of dwarf post oak trees, and being a little higher than the surrounding grounds, the deer came there for a dry place to rest and for protection against wind and weather Jude Carr said he got tired of deer meat. “They baked it and they biled it, and stewed it, but I got so tired of it, I could not retain it on my stomach.” Life for the earlier settlers was very complicated and very hard. However, it is an instinct for people to want to gather to share and to worship. As early as 1823, a Methodist Church was established in Columbus. Methodism was being developed in the northeastern part of the state. In 1832 the Alabama conference was formed making Lowndes, Noxubee, and Monroe, east of the Tombigbee River, part of the conference. Population west of the river was sparse, but Bethel Presbyterian Church, east of Crawford, was established in the late 1830’s. A Presbyterian Church was also established at Mayhew, north of Crawford. There were no Methodist churches. Circuit Rider preachers were sent from the Alabama Conference to convert the settlers. The development of Methodism in Mississippi owes much to these brave men who rode horseback into these sparsely populated areas. They were at the mercy of the settlers for a place to say or for food to eat. Many time the Circuit Riders only came once a year and would hold revivals or protracted meetings. According to Olin Looney, who did extensive work on the development of Prairie Hill Church and Campgrounds and Shaeffer’s Chapel, the exact date of the Prairie Hill Methodist Episcopal Church South is not established. However, it is recorded in Deed Book 23, p. 207 there is an account of land being deeded from Mecageh McGee, executor of the estate of Thomas McGee to W. M. Kenner, Jesse Qualts, L. W. Ward, Wally Johnson, and General S. L. Kenner, trustees of the Prairie Hill Church dated August 5, 1847. We can assume from this deed that a church building was already on this land. Prairie Hill Church and Campground was located somewhere near Penn Station. People would gather in the summer for a week of revival preaching, prayer meetings, and socializing. Many times, this might be the only time people would see a minister. Early accounts from these meetings are drawn from letters or articles written by the Reverend George Shaeffer. From these letters, we learn of an interesting account of a camp meeting in 1839. These records indicate that the church or campground was established prior to 1839. The following is one of the Reverend George Shaffer’s letters on “Remarkable Conversions”: In the year 1839, I traveled the Macon Circuit which then included Prairie Hill at which place had a gracious revival and about fifty conversions in all. One day during the progress of the meeting, two men, who had not attended the meeting before, came to the church. They were both quite wicked; and, on their way had been ridiculing the Christians and scoffing at religion. During the preaching, they were both powerfully convicted and came to the altar when the penitents were invited forward. After an earnest struggle in prayer, they were both converted and went home rejoicing. Nothing was further from their thoughts than the idea of embracing religion at that time when they came to the House of God, but the power of god arrested them and they completely changed from scoffers in religion to men of prayer and faith.” George Shaffer added a footnote at the bottom of his account: ‘I had been making them a special subject of prayer.” George Shaffer relates another account of conversions and show the types of people the preachers were dealing with: A remarkable case of conversion took place on the “Prairie Hill” circuit in the year of 1847, which is a striking instance of the direct agency and powers of the Holy Spirit in the awakening and conversion of sinners. A camp meeting was held at Prairie Hill in Lowndes County, Mississippi in the month of August. It commenced on Monday evening and closed the following Monday morning, and was much blessed; upwards of forty persons were converted. A certain individual resided near the meeting ground who was quite wicked. He was the head of a family, about forty years of age, and had never manifested any interest in religion. He was very profane and a regular drinker of ardent spirits though he was not a drunkard. His associations were almost entirely wicked and he was one of the most unlikely subjects for conversion in the neighborhood, so much so that a young man remarked to some of his friends, who were urging the subject of religion. “When J. T. gets converted, I shall think there is some chance for me.” This man did not come to the meeting until Friday morning. He arrived about the close of the eight o’clock service and walked immediately up to the altar. When I first discovered him, he was standing upright near the stand. He told me he wished to go to the mourners’ bench, and I accompanied him to a seat in the altar. He then said, “I came to this place to get religion and I never intend to leave until I get it.” He remained at the altar all day earnestly engaged in prayer and religious conversation. About ten o’clock at night, he embraced Christ and was unspeakably blessed. He literally leaped for joy and seemed filled with astonishment that God could convert such a sinner as he was in one day. He afterwards informed me that he was convicted at home and then resolved to go to the camp meeting and embrace religion. There God convicted without any direct agency of the holy Spirit or human instrumentality, producing such a powerful conviction of sin and such clear perception of the importance and necessity of salvation as led him to the determination to secure it at all hazards. The change wrought in him was thorough; he was truly a new creature. He never had a relish for ardent spirits after his conversion and he became eminently a man of faith and prayers; religion was his theme. He made a useful leader and has been a pattern of piety ever since. Dr. William Lowndes Lipscomb’s History of Columbus also mentions the Prairie Hill Campground. He was proud to call this campground his spiritual birth place in 1849. Prairie Hill Campground, located near Penn Station Road, continue its annual meetings for a number of years. Very many of the early settlers built and occupied tents every year. This camp meeting was distinguished for the generous hospitality of its tenters, the large number of visitors reaching up in the thousand and its sweeping revivals of religion. An early map of Lowndes county shows a United Post Office at Prairie Hill in 1840. Two years later, around 1841, this post office was moved to Daley’s Crossroads just southwest of Crawford, the Richards house. John Daley, Sr. built, owned, and operated a stage coach inn known as Wayside Inn. This stage coach stop was significant to the area as it was connected to Robinson Road which ran to Jackson thus connecting this part of the state with the middle of the state. The house later passed into the Davis family then to the Rupert Richards family. Unfortunately, in around 2015 the house burned. Transportation was limited to horseback, stagecoach, and river travel. After 1857, railroad transportation was vital in bringing more people to the area. More people developed the need for a school that was organized by the Reverend Peter Crawford who also helped to establish a Baptist church in the town of Crawfordsville. From the History of Columbus by Dr. Lipscomb, “the village of Crawford was called after the Reverend Peter Crawford and was distinguished from its earliest history for the mortality and intelligence of its citizens. There were good schools and churches, and its stores were well furnished with large stocks of goods. It was incorporated, governed by a mayor and selectmen, made pleasant at all seasons, an altogether is one of the most delightful prairie villages in this section of the state.” Fortunately, there are copies of Quarterly Conference records dating back to April 8, 1843. At this meeting were the presiding elder, William Weir and Elisha Calloway, Pastor in charge. Others included Zepe Myze, Thad B. Hilburn, Charles Barrett, L. W. Baldwin, V. L. Brooks, and R. Steward. In 1846, among the following members present was an Isom Moorhead and J. W. Carr. Information gathered from the Quarterly Conference records reveals interesting information such as the names of stewards, ministers, and trustees. A report was always included about the amount of money given by each church for the quarter; the number of people received into the church or the number of people expelled; the status of the Sunday Schools; and the general morality of the churches. In 1843, the minister was Elisha Calloway. The expenses given were $746.00 for the minister. The fourth Quarterly Conference, held at Trinity on December 12, 1846, contained recognizable names Isom Moorhead and J. W. Carr. The number joining the church since the last Quarterly Conference were 14 whites with 2 whites being expelled. The number of coloreds received were 27. There was only one successful Sabbath school in operation. This conference not only included Prairie Hill but Prairie Point, Bunchs’ School house, Fairfield, Memphis, Lagrone, Trinity, Ebenezer, Sixteenth Section (later became Shaeffer’s Chapel), Concord, and Providence. The collection listed from Prairie Hill was $27.00. W. Weir received $55.00; W. Murrah, $20.00; and Baldin, $45.00. Since very little money was being received for the preachers, a meeting of the stewards was held in Macon, in 1847 for the purpose of assessing the amount each preacher should receive. The amount assessed for the preacher, R. Finley, was $995.00. The presiding elder was to receive $100.00. Each church in the Prairie Hill Circuit was responsible for a certain amount. Prairie Hill church was assessed $200.00. In July 1850, the Quarterly Conference met at Trinity Church. The mission work of the church during the 1850’s was to the coloreds. Wesley smith was appointed missionary to the coloreds. By now there were reported three Sabbath Schools “doing tolerably well.” The mission report was given stating there was to be a missionary collection appointed at each church in the circuit by the preacher in charge. For the Plymouth Mission report, five children were baptized and two adults; nine received on probation; three expelled; 125 children catechized. At this time, no money was raised for the mission. Methodist Church Parsonage - built about 1850 A very important resolution came from this meeting. It was decided a parsonage would be built at Crawfordsville to provide a home for the preacher for all of these little churches that comprised the Prairie Hill Circuit. A building committee, Jesse Smith, H. D. Randle, and Mathew Mims, was appointed. T. Moody, the minister, was $203.45. In the May 18, 1852 meeting, it was moved and carried that a camp meeting committee be appointed for the purpose of locating a campground for the Prairie Hill Circuit. Protracted meetings or revivals were still being held each summer. Families would come and stay in tents for perhaps a week to have the opportunity to listen to preaching, to pray, and to visit with the other families. The 1854 Quarterly Conference met at Prairie Hill. P. A. Smith was the secretary. One of the questions asked was what is the state of the churches in this circuit? “They are all in good condition except Crawfordsville which is not as could be desired.” It was moved and seconded that the organization at Crawford still exist. From these records, we have surmised an approximate date for the parsonage in Crawford and have placed the date around the mid 1850’s. It is assumed that the first Methodist church was built in Crawford around the same time. The period from 1850 to 1860 was very good economically in Mississippi. Farmers were making more money on their cotton. Crawford was beginning to grow. Stores were being built. Schools were established. Houses were getting bigger with large front porches. The Quarterly Conference continued to meet all through the 1850’s. In 1859, there are records of a conference meeting on May 14, 1859. Three Sabbath Schools were also listed for the circuit. Three whites and two coloreds were received into church on probation. Fifteen whites and four coloreds were received in full conviction and five whites and twelve coloreds by certificates. Three were expelled. “Morally good” was the reply the minister made to the question, ‘what is the state of the church?” $85.00 was raised for Sabbath School. Crawfordsville contributed $ 101.53. the trustees listed for the Methodist church in Crawfordsville were J. M. Ledbetter and H. N. Lawrence. The third Quarterly Conference met at Artesia Methodist Church on August 13, 1859. The group resolved to purchase a house for a parsonage, not costing more than $2000.00 for the Prairie Hill Circuit during the “present Year”. Trustees for Prairie Hill were Joseph Toland, W. H. Cook, James Thompson. These trustees were invested with power to sell the land belonging to Prairie Hill Church and campground and dispose “said church house in the best way to assist in building a parsonage for the Circuit of Crawfordsville.” All the proceeds from the sale were to be applied toward the building of the parsonage. A resolution was passed the next year expressing gratitude for the “marked kindness” shown our pastor by Mr. N. E Hairston who allowed his carpenter to perform valuable work on the parsonage for more than two weeks. Storms of war were brewing throughout the South. All through the 1850’s into 1860 there were many arguments and disagreements between the South and the Northeast, mainly concerning the moving of slaves into newly opened western territories. The Civil War or the War Between the States began on April 1861 with the firing of the first shot at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Crawford, anxious to become a part of this war, wasted no time getting involved in the war. The Prairie Guards, under the leadership of Watt Hairston, met under a large oak tree on the site of the former Baptist Church. From the book, The Prairie Guards by D. C. Love, the following account is given: “The Prairie Guards, an infantry company, raised in and near Crawford, Mississippi, was among the first to offer its services to the state. It was composed of the flower of the manhood of section, handsomely uniformed and under the drilling of its Capitan, J. T. W. Hairston, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, soon learned to move with military precision. It at once became the pet of the ladies of the community who made a special flag for the troops.” The whole community turned out to see the Prairie Guards leave on the train for Corinth where they would go to Virginia, Tennessee, and Gettysburg. Among the women watching the train leave was Laura Ledbetter who waved goodbye to her husband, Cornelia Nance. He was later killed in the battle of Gettysburg. His cousin, Henry Tharp, was taken prisoner in this battle and was later sent back to Mississippi. He later married his cousin’s widow, Laura. Henry and Laura were the parents of Ela Tharp who married George Hairston. The officers listed in this infantry were J.T.W. Hairston, Captain; W. H. Gray, 1st Lieutenant; A. H. Ledbetter, 2nd Lieutenant; H. P. Halbert, 3rd Lieutenant; Thomas Carr, Ensign; and Ed Sanders, Orderly Sergeant. In 1862 and 1863 two more companies were formed. All the men in the church were gone. Even the minister signed up. Jack Ledbetter at the very young age of 15 signed up. Lying about his age so as to be admitted, Jack, with his older brother, A. H. Ledbetter, became a part of the Confederate Army. At the end of the war, he was taken prisoner near Vicksburg, but somehow, he escaped. The war ended in 1865; so, his father set out to find his son who had been a fat little boy when he left home. His father stopped anyone he could see to ask if they had seen his boy. Finally, he saw one bedraggled soldier trying to return to his home. This soldier recognized the name and told Mr. Ledbetter that he could find his son on the porch of an old black woman. He told him, ‘I don’t think he will live much longer, and he is certainly not a fat little boy.” Indeed, Jack was in terrible shape. He would lie on the porch and crawl down the steps to get a drink of water. The black woman told Mr. Ledbetter that this boy is probably your son. “Come look at him.” The father replied, “He does not look like the boy I last saw four years ago, but I am going to take him home to my wife and see if she thinks she is his mother. If not, we are going to keep him anyway.” In spite of the ongoing war, the fourth Quarterly Conference meeting for the Crawfordsville Circuit met at Crawfordsville on the twentieth of September 1862. The following members were present: George Shaeffer, presiding elder of the Tuscaloosa district, Pastor J. B. Stone, J. P. Gaines, M. Randle, S.D. Reed, and H. N. Lawrence who was appointed secretary. It was reported there were three Sabbath Schools, but that one was not very prosperous. Eight whites were received into the church on probation and 122 coloreds on probation. No one had been expelled. The state of the churches was reported as on a whole as being in a prosperous condition. The churches involved and amount of money each gave is as follow: Artesia, $107.00 Trinity, $100.00, Crawfordsville, $100.00, and Tibbee, $140.00. George Shaeffer, as the presiding elder, was paid $58.00, and J. B. Stone, the pastor, was paid $289.00. However, the war cast gloom over the church in 1861. The state of the church was reported as “cold, and the pastor has gone to war.” At this meeting was discussed a “considerable debt” incurred on the furniture at the Crawfordsville parsonage due to a Brother Hearon, a previous pastor. A motion was moved and carried that “if the debt were not paid or certain arrangements made to discharge said parsonage debt by the first of November next that the furniture be sold for cash to pay for itself.” The conference appointed a member from each church to attend the November meeting to “effect the above purpose.” H. N. Lawrence was appointed as a member from Crawfordsville. From a History of North Mississippi Methodism, 1820-1900 by Gene Ramsey Miller, in 1860 the Alabama Conference held a mission in Columbus. The Church of Crawfordsville was included in this conference. This history stated that Crawford had 121 whites and 101 coloreds until the Civil War (1861). “The Methodist Episcopal Church South confined its missionary activities principally to work among the Negro slaves,” as stated in this history. From the records of the church, William C. Hearn was listed as a pastor for 1861; J.B. Stone from 1862-1863; William E. Mabry, 1864; and John W. Harmon, 1865. Following the 1862 Quarterly Conference meeting, there are no records of any other meeting until 1885. Times were very hard when the war ended in April of 1865. The men, who were not killed, returned broken in spirit and economically. Many were injured and some never quite returned to normal. Their wives and daughters had to take up the slack while they were away. The slaves had been freed. So that the Confederacy would not be revived, Congress laid out a very strict reconstruction plan. Government in the South was in the hands of Carpetbag rule. Southerners, not happy with this kind of rule, took law into their own hands. It was a period of great uncertainty and unrest. There was practically no money to make a comeback such as to pay for seed, supplies, or labor to farm the crops. There is a story passed down in the Hairston family about the daughters in the family having rag dolls stuffed with cotton seeds. Since it was very difficult to obtain seed, these dolls were ripped apart. The seeds were removed and planted. However, the price of cotton was at an all-time low. Because Crawford was primarily a farming community, the store keepers found it hard to survive economically. No ministers were listed from 1870 to 1878 and again from 1881 to 1883. To make matters worse, the town of Crawford burned on August 17, 1883 according to an entrance in the diary of James Nance. Mr. Nance, the father of Margaret Hartman, was a bookkeeper for George W. Hairston, Sr. Mr. Nance kept a diary from 1860 until 1923. He made one entry a year. This one entry he made in 1873 is a primary source confirming a date of the town burning. The business part of Crawford consisted of all wood frame buildings and was located further west from the present location prior to the fire. By 1885, the town began to redevelop. New life was coming back into the town. Crawford was incorporated in 1885. New stores were relocated near the railroad on the eastern edge of town. Brick buildings replaced the wood frame buildings. Crigler, Hairston, Potts, Ervin, Richards, and Bragg were listed as merchants. In 1885, the Quarterly Conference for the Crawford Charge of the Columbus District resumed its meetings. The September 1885 meeting was held at Artesia. T. M. Dye was the pastor in charge. J. M. Ledbetter was listed as a steward. A question always asked at these meetings was, “Have the local preachers and exhorters passed an examination of character and have their licenses been renewed?” The character of J. P. Gaines, the minister in question, was passed. Again, mention is made that the preacher in charge was instructed to dispose of the Prairie Hill church property and “proceeds of said sale applied to the property of Crawford.” In October of 1885, the Crawford Charge of the Columbus District met at Shaeffer’s Chapel. Total members listed were 304. Additions to the membership in the churches by profession of faith were five, by certificate, four. The number of churches included in the charge were four. The value of the churches was listed as $3500.00 the one parsonage was listed at Crawford and was valued at $1500.00. The money expended for churches and parsonage was $100.00. The preacher in charge was paid $660.00, $30.00 above what was asked. For the first time, a bishop is listed. He was sent the amount of $15.00. Foreign missions were given $147.00; domestic missions, $35.00; education, $18.00; and the Bible Society, $10.25. The number of Sunday Schools was four. (Sabbath schools were now changed to Sunday schools.) the number of officers and teachers were 25, almost 6 teachers per church. The number of scholars was 210. The amount collected was $29.00, and the amount for Children’s Day was $4.28. The Crawford Charge comprised the four churches of Crawford, Artesia, Trinity, and Shaeffer’s Chapel. In 1885, the Sunday School superintendent was R. M. Smith. Crawford was a part of the Columbus District Mississippi Conference no longer a part of the Alabama conference. Among the stewards listed representing Crawford were J. M. Ledbetter, G. P. Waller, B. Crigler, and R. M. Smith. In 1886, the Quarterly Conference listed J. M. Archer as Sunday School Superintendent. He was listed again in the same position in the 1887 conference. In 1888, R. M. Smith was the Sunday School Superintendent. The Quarterly Conference convening in October 1888 was held at Artesia with the Reverend J B. Malone as the pastor in charge. His report is very interesting and more detailed than most. “Taken as a whole, the Circuit is thought to be in better condition than for the two years just past. There was a most wonderful revival at Trinity in August, at which every individual who attended the meeting regularly was converted, save one and only six left in the back of the church. A protracted service at Crawford left part of the church with quickened energy and greater desires and determination; the same be said of Artesia. I do not regard the year as a failure. God has blessed us, and the outcome will be to His glory.” The October 3, 1891 meeting was held at Artesia. The asking salary listed for the pastor was $800.00 but he was paid $673.75. the bishop was sent $21.00. The asking for foreign missions was $143.00 but was paid $100.00. Asking for domestic missions was $43.00 but was paid $20.00. Crawford raised $42.50 for support of the ministry. The report of the Sunday Schools at this October meeting included the following: “four Sunday Schools in good working order with a competent corps of teachers using our own literature and accomplishing good for the church. A large percent of our children belongs to the church and seem to be interested. The pastoral instruction of the children is the best we can. We try to cultivate the character as religiously as circumstances will justify. K. A. Jones was the pastor in charge.” The Reverend Jones related the following account of the spiritual state of the church. “The spiritual condition of the church has improved very much since last quarter. We have had protracted services at the four appointments since the last Quarterly Conference with very gratifying results. The great work was not in receiving additions to the church but in stirring the church members to a higher spiritual life. Many who have been in the background for some time were reclaimed, new resolutions were formed and new desires aroused. Some were awakened to testify to the saving power of religion. Five have been received into the church sine last quarter.” The 1892 Quarterly Conference listed W. A. Hartman as church secretary. In 1894, he was listed as a steward at the Quarterly Conference. In 1895, A. J. Ervin was listed as a steward along with J. P. Waller and W. C. Lawrence. There are no conference records from 1896 until 1916. A possible reason for the lack of these conference meetings could be due to the fact that heavy rains caused loss of crops. This loss left the church in bad straits in the early 90’s. Many of the members moved away, but it was apparently reconciled and was growing again at the turn of the century. A register of the members of the Crawford Church included the following families: Smith, Lawrence, Hartman, Ervin, Ledbetter, Carr, Hairston, Potts, Wilkins, Waller, Woodfin, Gould, Thompson, Lester, Pearce, Shackleford, Hubbard, Lumpkin, Scales, Winningham, Jackson, Stanley, Ritter, Hinkle, Kemp, Flournoy, DeLoach, Miley, Wood, York, Cunningham, Babb, Pearce, and Gentry. No date is given on this register, but the date is assumed to be in the earliest part of the twentieth century, possibly around 1905-1910. A very significant report comes out of these minutes. The first church in Crawford was built sometime in the 1850’s and burned around 1911. In 1916, the church is being rebuilt. The Reverend D. W. Babb, the pastor in charge, reported that the church is “complete except a little minor work, the cost of which will be small. It is painted inside and out. Seated with circular pews with mahogany finish. Three additional Sunday school rooms were finished and a good light plant installed and two good stoves They all were paid for and the church had one of the best bells in the county put in by Captain A. J. Ervin in memory of his “sainted wife.” Crawford Methodist Church - built in 1916 - destroyed by fire 1956 The 1917 Trustees for the charge from Crawford are J. M. Ledbetter, A. J. Ervin, Jr., W. A. Hartman, G. P. Waller, and Henry Hartman. J. M. Ledbetter was the Sunday School Superintendent. Meanwhile, the United States entered World War I in 1917. The Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. There must have been members of the church who were engaged in fighting in this war, but no mention is made in the church records. 1918 was also the outset of the Influenza Epidemic which spread like wildfire all over the United States. It was so prominent that the Reverend D. Dabb made note of it in the October 30, 1918 Quarterly conference held at Shaeffer’s chapel. He stated, “We have two Sunday Schools fairly well attended until the Epidemic struck our charge. Since then we have done but little. Our attendance on the preaching of the Word had been very good until the late sickness referred to above. We have two appointments to preach to the children, both of them disappointed because of sickness.” The 1920 report lists J. M. Ledbetter as Sunday School Superintendent. Stewards were J. M. Ledbetter, A. J. Ervin, Jr. G. P. Waller, Henry Hartman, and W. A. Hartman. There was still no Epworth League in 1920. There were still two Sunday Schools. W. I. White, pastor in charge, reported, “There is a live interest manifested in the work both at Crawford and at Shaeffer’s Chapel. Crawford Church and Sunday School sent $15.66 to the orphanage in Jackson. The following from the Crawford Church were received into the church: Mamie DeVane Ledbetter, Jimmy Lou McGahey, Sarah Henkle, Laura Cunningham, Bert Ervin, and Peter Hairston. A woman’s missionary society was formed in Crawford. “Even though the members were few in number, the little society remains alive,” according to the pastor. In 1925, a Crawford and Mayhew Charge was formed J. B. Randolph was the presiding elder. G. H. Boyles was the pastor in charge. H. P. Hartman was the secretary. The stewards listed from Crawford were H. P. Hartman, N. O. Scales, J. M. Ledbetter, M. C. Pegues, Dr. t. W. Frazier, and G. W. Hairston, Jr. In 1928, Crawford was still in the Crawford, Mayhew Charge. W. M. Langley was the pastor in charge. The stewards were J. M. Ledbetter, J. P. Hartman, M. C. Pegues, W. H. Nichols, Dr. T. W. Frazier. The Trustees were A. J. Ervin, Jr. and G P. Waller. The Sunday School Superintendent was J. M. Ledbetter. The annual committee listed were the missionary committee with Mrs. M. C. Pegues, Mrs. L. C. Gibson, Mrs. J. W. York, and Mrs. G. P. Waller as members. Stewardship was in the hands of A J. Ervin, Jr. J. M. Ledbetter, Mattie Carr, and Mrs. Pegues. 1928 is the last of the Conference records. Crawford Methodist Church - built in 1959 Timeline Summary Page 1817 Mississippi becomes a state 1823 Methodist Church established in Columbus 1832 Signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek 1847 Land deeded for the Prairie Hill Methodist Episcopal Church near Penn Station 1850 Decision made to build a parsonage for the Prairie Hill circuit in Crawford Mid 1850’s Methodist church built in Crawford 1857 Mobile and Ohio Railroad completed 1859 Decision made to sell the building and property of the Prairie Hill, Church to invest money in the Crawford church and parsonage 1861 Beginning of Civil War between the states 1883 Store buildings of Crawford burn 1885 Crawford is incorporated as a city 1911 Original Crawford Methodist church burns 1911-1916 Church members meet in nearby Christian Church 1916 Second Crawford Methodist church is completed 1918 Influenza epidemic 1956 Second Methodist church burns in Crawford 1959 Third Methodist Church is rebuilt in Crawford List of Pastors Prairie Hill Circuit to Crawford Methodist Church 1843 Elisha Callaway 1844 George Shaeffer 1845 William Murrah 1846 John Baldwin 1847 Robert S. Finley 1848 J. Foxworth 1849 William Leigh 1850 Theophilus Moody 1851 William Weir 1852 L. Masingale 1853 James A. Clemment 1855 A. J. Coleman 1856 Landon T. Schooler 1856 M Grayham 1857-1858 Silas H. Cox 1859 John Toland 1860 James A. Peoples 1861 William C. Hearn 1862-1863 J. B. Stone 1864 William E Mabry 1865 John W. Harmon 1867-1868 Leroy Massengale No ministers are listed from 1870-1877 1878-1879 S. M. Thames 1880 J. T. Armstrong 1884 H. A. Tucker 1885 T. W. Dye 1885 T. B. Malone 1888-1890 T. B. Malone 1891-1893 Kenneth A. Jones 1895 N. G. Augustus 1896-1897 J. H. Shumaker 1898 Thomas Cameron 1899-1900 P. E. Duncan 1901 Evans 1902 T. D. Borders 1903 J. A. Oats 1905-1909 D. W. Babb 1910 W. J. Lester 1911-1914 J. Mark Guin 1915-1918 D. W. Dabb 1919-1920 W. I. White 1920-1921 Thomas H. Mills 1921 R. G. A. Carlisle 1922-1924 G. W. Avery 1926 G. H. Bagles 1929-1931 W. M. Langley 1935 Hemphill 1936-1937 William I. Hester 1938-1939 A. N. Maxey 1942 T. E. Shelton 1943 L. M. Wright 1944-1945 J. L. McElroy 1945-1948 J. T. Humphreys 1949-1950 C. R. Hollis 1951-1952 Sam J. Hull 1953 C. W. Arnette 1954-1956 E. C. Johnson 1957-1961 Dr. L. P. Wasson 1962 Tom McAllister 1963-1964 Jesse Sowell 1965 B. F. Barrentine 1966-1967 J. J. Tant 1968-1969 Gus Shelley 1970 Rush Miller 1971 Charles Simmons 1972-1974 C. M. (Buddy) Smith 1975 Mike Childs 1976 Phil Estes 1977-1978 Ray Branch 1979 James Califf 1980 Melvin Hollingsworth 1980-1981 Walt Porter 1981-1983 Paul Young 1984-1989 Ben Lewis 1992-1995 John Kottenerook 1995-2000 Dale Green 2000-2003 Greg Bufkin 2003-2014 Buddy Carroll 2014- Kathy Brackett Register of Crawford Methodist Church Mrs. Amelia Archer Mrs. M E. Babb Mrs. Mattie E. Babb Dr. R. A. Bailey Dr. Bledsoe Lula Bell Bledsoe Miss Josephine Broyles Miss Annie Broyles Dr. Broyles Abbie Broyles N. S Carr Bailey Carr Mattie S. Carr Mrs. Lucy E. Coleman C. D. Cunningham Miss Catherine Cunningham Mary DeLoach Mrs. W. F. DeLoach Miss Elmore R. H. Elmore A. J. Ervin Mrs. Hetty Ervin Frank Ervin William E. Ervin E. D. Ervin Wade M. Ervin Artemus Jennings Ervin, Jr. William Kennedy Ervin Edwin Moore Ervin Laura Flournoy Miss Regina Flournoy Mrs. D. Flournoy N. L. Gaines Eunice Gentry Irene Gilmer Miss Elizabeth Gilmore Elizabeth Gilmore Miss Willie Gould Lawrence Gould John Townes Hairston Mrs. Laura Hairston Lillie R. Hairston P. C. Hairston John Wesley Hairston Peter C. (Doc) Hairston Laura May Hairston Nick Hairston George Hairston Mrs. Corrine Hairston W. A. Hartman S. C. Hartman Mrs. Leon Hartman Mary Eliza Hartman Jack Hartman William Hartman Dock C. Hartman Laura Hartman Henry Hartman Robert Hewlett F. A. Hewlett Norma Hewlett Ora Hewlett Miss May Elizabeth Hinkle Mrs. C. O. Hinkle Murray Hinkle Mrs. J. K. Hinkle Mrs. J. O. Hinkle Houston Hinkle Addie Hinkle Elbert Hinkle Miss Lillie May Hinkle Henry Hinkle C. Hubbard Mrs. A. C. Hubbard Miss Ollie Hubbard Eulalie Hubbard J. L. Jackson Mra. J. L. Jackson Mrs. Marion Jackson Mrs. Jeffries P. B. Johnson Dr. R. C. Jones Emma Kemp Sallie Kemp Edna Kemp Louis Kemp J. Kemp Mrs. R. S. C. Kemp M. B. Kemp Jeannette Kemp Walter Kemp Sarah Spaulding Kemp W. C. Lawrence L. D. Ledbetter J. M. Ledbetter Mrs. Maggie Ledbetter Walter D. Ledbetter Miss Lillie Elaine Ledbetter Gray W. Ledbetter Mrs. Maggie Lou Ledbetter Mattie Ledbetter Mattie Bell Ledbetter Shep Ledbetter Lucille Ledbetter Miss Maggie Lou Ledbetter Mrs. W. C. Lester Daisy Lester William Lester J. W. Lester W. C. Lester Ella P. Lester H. P. Lester J. P. Lester J. L. Lumpkin Mrs. J. L. Lumpkin Mrs. Sallie Martin Dr. D. D. Mattox Mary Alma McGee J. Cleve McGee Mrs. Thomas Miller Mattie Moss Mrs. Moss W. S. Pearce Mrs. Pearce Miss Willie Potts Miss Mattie Potts Stanton Ritter Mr. Sam Scales Miss Lucy Scales Birney Scales J. G. Shackelford Mrs. J. G. Shackelford Mrs. Sallie Sharp Hunter Sharp Earl R. Smith William Lee Smith Lee B. Smith Mrs. S. A. Smith Mrs. Archie Smith M. Jeff Smith W. S. Stanley Mrs. W. S. Stanley Mrs. Cy Thompson C. C. Thompson Fred Waller Annie Belle Waller Mrs. Vernon Waller Mary Alice Waller G. P. Waller Mrs. Augusta Waller Vernon Stuart Waller George Waller, Jr. Mary Smith Waller James Ford Waller Catherine Waller Mrs. Emma W. Wilkins Miss Bessie Wilkins Charles Smith Wilkins E. D. Winningham Mrs. E. D. Winningham Miss Sue Winningham Mrs. Woodfin Thomas C. Woodfin Susie Irene Woodfin H. L. Word Mrs. H. L. Word J. W. York Mrs. Hessie York Willie York Hallie York Louise York Mary York	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line129
__label__cc	0.549736	0.450264	Authority agrees Terms of Settlement with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland Friday, 29th October, 2010: Following the completion of a Preliminary Enquiry and the subsequent initiation of a Full Enquiry under section 23 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003, the Authority and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland have agreed Terms of Settlement (‘Settlement’) on the basis that it has been determined that the Institute failed to comply with its approved investigation and disciplinary procedures. The Settlement, which details the Authority’s findings and the associated sanctions, can be viewed here.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line131
__label__wiki	0.585026	0.585026	Bacteriophages: An alternative to antibiotics? [img_assist\|nid=87\|title=\|desc=\|link=none\|align=right\|width=100\|height=43]Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a serious medical problem. Treatment with bacteriophages might pose an effective alternative that has long been known but has been ignored outside the former Soviet Union. The development of phage therapies exemplifies positive as well as negative implications for scientific development that is restricted in its access to the mainstream, English-language dominated scientific community. All over the world, the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is becoming a grave medical problem. Independent of the resources of the medical system, whenever antibiotics are used the development of resistance is a logical consequence; like all other living organisms, bacteria adapt to changing environmental conditions in a continuous process of evolution. The question is not whether but when antibiotic resistance will occur. Ironically, resistance is promoted by both the overuse of antibiotics as well as insufficiency of dose. In industrialized countries, bacteria are developing multiple resistance to a range of antibiotics, which threatens to make the achievements of modern medicine futile. Without the protection against bacterial infections, for instance, large-scale operations and treatments that weaken the patients’ immune system, such as chemotherapy or organ transplantation, would not be possible. In developing countries basic medical care is already endangered by single resistance to inexpensive common generic antibiotics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a great number of the population of developing countries will not be able to afford the replacements. In these countries, dosage often appears to be too low or treatment is not carried out over the whole course; resistance is encouraged because even if the patient is cured, those bacteria that are best adapted to low doses of these antibiotics survive. Cases of reported antibiotic resistance comprise tuberculosis, pneumonia and dysentery. Although the spread of antibiotic resistance has long been known as a worldwide phenomenon, research seems to have reached a dead end. During the last 30 years, no new classes of antibiotics have been found, even with the help of modern biotechnology such as genetic engineering. Pharmaceutical companies have mainly focused on the development of new products derived from the known classes of antibiotics. Bacteriophages: The road not taken A possible alternative for the treatment of bacterial infections could be the use of bacteriophages, which are viruses that live on bacteria (see box). Each kind of bacterium hosts its own, specific phages, which can be found wherever that particular bacterium grows. Thus, phages can be selected and isolated as an antidote from sewage, faeces, soil, or springs. Further processing of bacteriophages depends on the intended treatment. For external use, such as for wound healing, the process is simple, whereas for internal treatment the sample has to be cleaned from bacterial debris that might be toxic. Compared with chemical antibiotics, bacteriophages offer several advantages. Limited impact. Unlike antibiotics, bacteriophages are self-replicating as well as self-limiting. Bacteriophages replicate exponentially as long as the specific bacteria are available in abundance. With a decreasing amount of bacteria, the number of phages declines too and they are gradually eliminated from the patient and from the environment. Depending on the form of application, a single dose may be sufficient. Limited resistance development. Bacteria will certainly develop resistance to phages too. However, since phages have a higher mutation and replication rate, they can outcompete the adaptation of the bacteria, and development of resistance is therefore limited. Specific targets. Treatment with chemical antibiotics often causes bacterial imbalance and can lead to secondary bacterial infections with Pseudomonas sp. or Clostridium difficile, which cause severe diarrhoea and infections of the colon. Bacteriophages, on the other hand, target a particular kind of bacteria far more specifically than chemical antibiotics, and therefore cause much less damage to the human intestinal flora. A complication, however, is that this specificity requires a precise knowledge of the infection. Therefore ready-made phage preparations cannot be used for unspecified infections, which is often the case with antibiotics. Few side effects have been reported; nevertheless, phages can cause adverse immune reactions, particularly after internal use. However, this problem could be alleviated by treating patients that show adverse effects with a different, unrelated phage the next time they have a bacterial infection. Especially in hospitals, phages can be used prophylactically against nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections as well as for the disinfection of problem areas. Phages can be used either independently or in combination with antibiotics. Bacteriophages are not a new field of scientific interest. As much as a hundred years ago, it was reported that the waters of the rivers Ganges and Junna in India possessed astonishing antibacterial properties. Edward Twort (1915) and Felix d’Herelle independently described filterable entities that could destroy cultures of bacteria. D’Herelle called them ‘bacteriophages’; not so much ‘bacteria eaters’, but in the sense of ‘developing at the expense of bacteria’. Over the following years, research on bacteriophages took off worldwide. In 1921, it was reported for the first time that skin infections caused by Staphylococcus had been successfully treated with bacteriophages. In 1922, d’Herelle published a standard volume ‘The Bacteriophage’ with classical descriptions of different aspects of phages and their life cycles. By the end of the 1920s, companies in France and the USA commercially produced phage preparations for a wide market. Between 1917 and 1956, some 800 publications dealt with a range of medical applications of bacteriophages. Phage therapy was used to cure dysentery, typhus, paratyphus, cholera and infections of the urinal tract, but it was also used against diseases such as gall stones or eczema, which are not caused by bacterial infections. The results remained inconsistent and many trials were based more on euphoria than on scientific knowledge of bacteriophages or microbiology. Uncharacterized phages in unknown concentrations were given to patients with unspecified bacterial infections, without follow-ups, without control groups, without placebos. In 1931, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the America Medical Association came to the conclusion that "the use of bacteriophages in the treatment of infections…is for the most part contradictory." This assessment seriously influenced the willingness of the medical research community in the USA to invest in further exploration of phage therapy. With the advent of new chemical antibiotics like penicillin, which became widely available in the 1940s, research on the potent but unpredictable phage therapy was abandoned in the western world. Research in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe Meanwhile in the Soviet Union, the research on phage therapy flourished ever since in 1923 the Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology was founded in Tblisi, Georgia. From the 1950s, antibiotic resistance was a known problem also in the Soviet Union. By decree from Moscow, specimens of all antibiotic-resistant bacteria from all over the Soviet Union were sent to Tblisi to set up what became the world largest collection of antibiotic resistant bacteria and corresponding phages. Here, the replication, biochemical properties and the phage sensitivity of several thousands different pathogenic strains of bacteria, such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Proteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostrium were studied. Next to the Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology in Tblisi, already since the 1920s industrial manufacturing sites were set up for the large-scale production of phage preparations on a self-supporting basis, with Russian production facilities in Ufa, Kharbarowska, Nijnyi Novgorod and Sratov. Based on the research of the institute, phage preparations have been continuously improving. One of the latest developments is called ‘IntestiPhage’, containing 17 different phages against different intestinal bacteria. According to Georgian physicians, phage therapy is part of common medical care, especially in paediatric, surgical and burns hospital settings. They are used independently or in combination with chemical antibiotics against primary as well as hospital-acquired infections, as prophylactics, for treating the incision area before surgery, and for disinfecting operating theatres. Most of the scientific research carried out in Tblisi was confined to Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, an iron curtain also came down between scientists. On the one side, a western scientific community contributed to a seemingly worldwide exchange of scientific results with English-language multinational conferences and the validation of research results by peer review in international, English-language journals. Scientists of the Soviet Union and of other countries of the Warsaw Pact were on the other side, not part of this community. Research on bacteriophages was not limited to the Soviet Union. For instance, one well-documented clinical phage therapy was carried out at the Institute for Immunology and Experimental Medicine at the Polish Academy of Science in Wroclaw. Between 1981 and 1986, 550 patients in different clinics were treated with bacteriophages after having previously been treated unsuccessfully with antibiotics. These results were published between 1982 and 1987 in English, thus also becoming accessible to the non-Russian speaking world. In general, however, further scientific exchange was prevented by both Eastern and Western governments, and conference visits were possible only in exceptional cases. Even today, the greater part of the research of the Tblisi institute remains inaccessible to most English-speaking scientists, because the results are published in Russian or Georgian. Nowadays scientific exchange is generally not prohibited by government decree, and the internet, especially, suggests an increasing exchange of information worldwide. Along with language barriers, there are still political, financial, and cultural conditions, as well as gender relations, which set up boundaries against the free flow of scientific knowledge. On the other hand, the example of phage therapy shows that being cut off from the scientific mainstream might also give rise to alternative approaches. The second advent of bacteriophages In the 1980s, interest in phage therapy had slowly resurfaced in the West, just as it was about to be lost again in the East. With the breakdown of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the 1990s, financial support from Moscow was stopped for the Institute of Bacteriophage Research in Tblisi, Georgia. The newly-founded Georgian state faced financial restrictions and internal warfare caused a breakdown in infrastructure. Parts of the phage collection had been lost as a result of power cuts affecting the electric storage units. Furthermore, the production of phage preparations on an industrial scale could not be continued, because the technical devices needed to check for purity were no longer available. A new partner emerged from an unexpected quarter. In 1997, a North American stockbroker founded a company called Georgia Research Institute Inc. (GRI) in the USA, with a small laboratory located at the institute in Tblisi. While the company received samples from the Tblisi institute, disputes over future intellectual property and production rights prevented a longstanding cooperation. However, GRI took up commercial manufacturing activity under the name Phage Therapeutics International Inc. in a plant in Seattle, USA. The institute in Tblisi is now working most closely with the US company Intralytix, which was started by a group of researchers of the University of Maryland Hospital, USA. One of the outcomes of these joint activities is the development of an artificial skin called ‘PhageBioderm’, which is impregnated with phage for wound and burn healing. A similar product has already been used successfully for the treatment of soldiers during the war in Georgia. Next to the treatment of burns and wounds the Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology in Tblisi cooperates with a local hospital to use phages to combat nosocomial infections. A spin-off of one of the industrial production sites, Biopharm Ltd., produces three different commercial phage preparations – one a cocktail of five phages, another of seventeen, both against enteric bacteria, and one anti-Staphylococcus preparation with a single phage. These products are produced in volumes that satisfy the Georgian market. However, production standards and protocols for testing would not meet the requirements of drug approval authorities in many industrialized countries. Companies in the USA therefore pursue their own approaches towards testified phage therapies, but are still going through trials with their products. For instance, Exponential Biotherapies Inc. (USA) tries to improve the efficiency of phage therapy by preventing phages from being cleared out through the human body’s filtering system against foreign material. In 1997, a patent was issued to the company both for a process of purifying phages that can circulate for a long time in the blood, and for their use to treat infections in animals and humans. Alternative and future applications Approximately half of the world’s antibiotic production is not used as human medicine but for animals. Some antibiotics for industrialized husbandry are sold freely over the counter as growth promoters. Several of these antibiotics are known for cross-resistance to those used in human medicine. It has been shown that antibiotic resistant bacteria are present in meat products and can also be found in humans who have not received these substances in the course of a medical treatment. Although so far there is no evidence for a causal relationship, this potential spread of resistance adds to the problems with antibiotics for future medical applications. Phage therapy will not prevent the use of antibiotics as growth promoters, and could only substitute those antibiotics used for animal health purposes. As such, phage therapy would also be useful in uncoupling medical care and growth promoting. In principle, the application of bacteriophages is not limited to medical uses for humans or animals. It might be used in agriculture to deal with bacterial infestations like citrus canker (Xanthomonas citri), which are treated with antibiotics. This application also affects the soil microbiology. Replacing antibiotics with bacteriophages might be one step towards a sustainable agriculture. Phage therapy is especially interesting for medical care in developing countries. According to the WHO, in developing countries infections and parasitic diseases are responsible for the death of twenty million people per year. Every year about eight million children under five die of acute respiratory tract infections of bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumonia,Haemophilus influenza type B or of diarrhoea related diseases caused by bacteria such as Shigella sp., Vibrio cholera and several types of E.coli. Especially in Africa, dysentery caused by Shigella dysenteria is common. Since the late 1970s, drug-resistant strains of S. dysenteria have caused epidemics in various parts of Central and Southern Africa. By 1990, several of these epidemics were caused by strains resistant to all antibiotics used in those countries. The availability of advanced antibiotics is often limited by their higher costs. On the other hand, phage therapy has proved to be effective against dysentery since the first days of phage therapy research. In the case of serious burns, the biggest cause of death within the first two days is an infection of Pseudomonas aerginosa (Bunting 1997), and bacteriophages might combat this. Especially for such external applications, bacteriophages might become an inexpensively and locally produced remedy, making them ideal candidates for basic medical care. Phages will not be the panacea of medicine, but phage therapy research will gain momentum because traditional antibiotic research has come to a stop. Appropriately selected phages can easily be used to help prevent bacterial diseases in humans or animals, with potential for alternative applications and special interest for developing countries. bacteriophages - antibiotics A. Lorch, < a href="http://www.biotech-monitor.nl/3905.htm">Biotechnology and Development Monitor September 1999	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line133
__label__wiki	0.785954	0.785954	PG&E Joins with EVI to Unveil Utility Industry’s First Electric Hybrid Bucket Trucks Extended-range electric utility trucks capable of providing power to homes and businesses during outages Sep 20, 2013 2:15 PM ET PG&E Joins with EVI to Unveil Utility Industry’s First Electric Hybrid Bucket Trucks @pge4me @evi_usa http://3bl.me/yr9r6g STOCKTON, Calif., September 20, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Electric Vehicles International (EVI), joined by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), unveiled the utility industry’s first electric hybrid drivetrain Class 5 trucks today at an event at the manufacturer’s facility in Stockton. The Range Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) utility trucks, developed by EVI in partnership with PG&E and the California Energy Commission (CEC), were designed, built and tested in the heart of California at EVI’s manufacturing plant in Stockton. The REEV features an all-electric range of 45 miles and fuel savings of up to 30 percent when the units are operating in hybrid mode. PG&E accepted delivery of the first two REEV units this summer, and purchased two additional units after a successful initial demonstration of the vehicles. “California’s Alternative and Renewable Fuels and Vehicle Technology program is putting more of the cleanest vehicles into service today,” said Janae Scott, member of the California Energy Commission. “The investments that the Energy Commission is making covers initial costs of these trucks, gets innovative technologies to market sooner, and furthers California’s lead on clean transportation.” EVI, formerly headquartered in Toluca, Mexico, moved its operations to Stockton in 2009 to take advantage of various statewide and regional incentives designed to assist alternative-fuel truck and bus manufacturers in reducing prices for its customers. Beyond statewide incentives such as the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) offered by the California Air Resources Board, EVI has partnered with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to reduce the costs of clean vehicles even further based on the district’s pledge to match other government incentives. “Our decision to relocate to Stockton was the best choice we could have made and we are proud to bring new jobs to the San Joaquin Valley and to help reduce air pollution in this highly affected region,” said Ricky Hanna, president and CEO of EVI. “In addition, being able to work more closely with innovative, forward looking companies like PG&E on developing new ‘green fleet’ technologies will help us to expand our capabilities and presence to create even more new local jobs.” PG&E plans to eventually replace all 942 of its conventional fuel Class 5 vehicles, including bucket trucks, flat beds, and other service trucks, with plug-in electric hybrid models, which would save the utility nearly $3.5 million in fuel costs and reduce GHG emissions by over 9,000 metric tons annually. In addition to the fuel savings and environmental benefits that PG&E anticipates as it deploys these trucks in increasing numbers, the trucks also offer up to 75 kW of exportable power that could be used to provide power to the grid during planned or unplanned outages, and the utility is working closely with EVI to move that number even higher. “These cutting-edge trucks not only will help us reduce our fuel costs as well as our carbon footprint, but in the event of an outage, we would be able use their exportable power capacity to supply electricity to homes and businesses,” said Dave Meisel, senior director of transportation and aviation services for PG&E. “Imagine having a fleet of these to deploy in response to a natural disaster or unplanned outage. For us, as a utility, that is a game-changer for the future, and we are proud to partner with EVI and the CEC to develop and integrate these vehicles into our green fleet.” EVI is a leading manufacturer of alternative energy vehicles specializing in battery electric vehicles (BEV) and range extended electric vehicles (REEV) for multiple applications covering a diverse range of transportation options. For more information, visit http://www.evi-usa.com/. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com. Green Professionals Sustainability Professionals Sustainability Business Sustainable Trade Climate Change / Global Warming Green Innovations More from Pacific Gas and Electric Company PG&E Corporation Releases 2012 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report Electric Vehicles International and PG&E to Unveil Utility Industry's First Electric Hybrid Bucket Trucks in Stockton Sacramento: PG&E Kicks Off New Era of High School Energy Training Sep 6, 2013 2:00 PM ET PG&E Participates in Pilot Program to Measure the Impact of Community Investments Aug 28, 2013 9:15 AM ET	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line135
__label__cc	0.510568	0.489432	History of Kosciuszko Mound Tadeusz Kościuszko's Biography Kosciuszko Today Kościuszko Mound Committee Presidents of Committee Save the Mound Kościuszko Mound in Kraków In November 1820 by the decision of the Senate the Committee of Constructing the Monument to T. Kościuszko was brought into being, headed by Franciszek Paszkowski. On the 1st of June 1825 the Committee gave its first report, named: Diary of the Construction of the Monument to Tadeusz Kościuszko in Krakow. The failure of the Krakow revolution in 1846 and incorporation of the Republic of Krakow to the Austrian Empire impacted the committee in a large way. It was now beholden to the Country Administrative Council. This required the making of regular reports and financial reports. From 1860 the Committee was under the Sovereign Committee and from 1866 the Country Division in Lviv, which was the executive branch of the Galician Sejm. In 1867 the Committee of Constructing the Monument 1867 was transformed into the -still existing – Kościuszko Mound Committee. In 1919 the Committee made a report to the Legislative Sejm and the Commander-in-Chief, concerning its actions during the time of the partitions and asked for means to protect the Mound. On the 1st of July 1924 a deal was made between the Committee and the Commander of Krakow Army Corps thanks to which the Committee received monetary and logistic support. During World War II, when the occupying forces threatened to destroy the Mound, the Committee worked in secret. Four valuable members of the Committee were killed during the war, including John Fischer and Tadeusz Polaczek Kornecki. The first meeting of the Committee after the War took place on the 4th of February 1945. The Committee worked with reduced numbers and without financial support. In 1946 Karol Estreicher jr. was made vice-president, a member of the Committee and of the management of Society of the Enthusiasts of the History and Monuments in Krakow. On 15th July 1951, the President of the Committee Karol Rolle gave away the seal and the care of the Mound to Karol Estreicher. The new president with dedication and sacrifice cared for the Mound. Financial backing was provided by entry fees. On the 21st of January 1971 management of the Society of the Enthusiasts of the History and Monuments in Krakow, as asked by its president Wiesław Bieńkowski, agreed to make the Committee a separate entity within the society. From that moment on it was part of a legal entity as mandated by law. Dr Mieczysław Rokosz - a historian - is president of the Committee since 1994 By using this website you accept the cookies policy. Learn more about our privacy policy. You can enter the Mound between 9:00 and 20:40 today. ×	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line136
__label__wiki	0.843319	0.843319	147 - Legjislacionii \| Keshilli Prokurorial i Kosoves Memorandum of understanding bound between the office of chief state prosecutor, represented by Mr. Ismet kabashi, chief state prosecutor and ngo movement --FOL-- represented by Mr. Ramadan ilazi, executive director Memorandum of cooperation between State Prosecutor and anti-corruption agency Memorandum of understanding between Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) and Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) on the transfer of authority, assets and personnel from the Kosovo Judicial Council to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council Memorandum of understanding between Ministry of Justice and State Prosecutor for competencies transfer Between State Prosecution of the Republic of Kosova and the office of the Supreme State Prosecutor of Montenegro Memorandum of understanding for Cooperation in criminal justice between State Prosecutor of Republic of Kosova and General Prosecution of Republic of Albania Memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the general Prosecutors Office of the Republic of Kosova and the Office of the attorney general of the Republic of Croatia in combating transnational crime and laundering of the proceed from crime Memorandum of understanding for partnership between Kosovo Judicial Council and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council related to putting in use information and communication technology (ICT) in courts and prosecution offices Memorandum of understanding for Cooperation between Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (--KPC--) represented by mr. Ismet Kabashi and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (--BIRN--) represented by Mrs. Jeta Xharra	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line138
__label__wiki	0.530597	0.530597	Kidney Walk - The Kidney Foundation of Canada National Partner Partenaire national Register \| LoginInscription \| Connexion Alberta (Northern) and the Territories Alberta (Southern) British Columbia & Yukon DonateDon For ParticipantsPour les participants How We HelpComment nous aidons Stay ConnectedTissez des liens EnglishEN FrançaisFR The Kidney Foundation of Canada (“The Foundation”) is committed to protecting the privacy of its employees, members, stakeholders and those we serve. We value the trust placed in us by the Canadian public and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that has been given to us. This Privacy Policy is a statement of principles and guidelines concerning the protection of personal information entrusted to us. Personal Information the Foundation Collects Canadian privacy legislation defines “personal information” broadly as information about an identifiable individual or as information that allows an individual to be identified. For the purposes of this policy, personal information means information about an identifiable individual as defined from time to time in applicable privacy legislation. Generally speaking, personal information does not include what is considered business contact information: name, title or position, business address, telephone number, facsimile number or e-mail address. The Foundation gathers and uses personal information for the following purposes: To solicit and process donations and to issue tax receipts To process applications for funding (e.g. financial assistance, grants, bursaries, subsidies) from The Foundation To process applications for services (e.g. peer support, attendance at camp, etc.) To process applications for membership or to volunteer To provide information (e.g. patient manual, brochures, newsletters, etc.) To compile profiles on directors and members of committees To occasionally exchange direct mail lists with other charities to reduce costs For any other purpose to which consent is given The Foundation’s Privacy Practices The Foundation shall in all respects comply with applicable privacy legislation. The Foundation’s privacy practices are designed to achieve this. Therefore, in the course of collecting, using and storing personal information, the Foundation will ensure that: Consent to the collection, use, retention and disclosure of personal information must always exist. In obtaining consent, the purpose(s) for the collection, use and/or disclosure will be obvious by the very nature of the transaction or, will be as described in this policy or will be stated either at the time or before the information is collected. Consent can be either express or implied and can be provided directly by the individual or by an authorized representative. Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from an individual’s action or inaction. Any further use of this information is subject to consent, and the Foundation routinely offers individuals the opportunity to opt not to have their information used for purposes beyond those for which it was explicitly collected. Information will be carefully protected from inappropriate or unauthorized use. Internally, access to personal information is based only on the need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was collected. Personal information is stored in secured locations and on servers controlled by The Foundation or at the offices of our service providers. Specific safeguards (physical, organizational and technological) are in place to ensure that the information is not shared or disclosed more widely than is necessary to achieve the purpose(s) for which it was collected. Measures are taken to ensure that the integrity of this information is maintained. Personal information is retained only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected and to meet specific legal obligations. When personal information is no longer needed (relating to the reason(s) for which it was collected), it will be appropriately destroyed. Individuals have the right to access their personal information, which the Foundation has on file and to challenge its accuracy, if necessary. From time to time, the Foundation may disclose personal information to: Service providers, including an organization or individual retained by The Foundation to perform functions on its behalf (e.g. data processing, office/professional services, document management, bulk mailings, etc.) Volunteers/staff who act as adjudicators on behalf of the Foundation in the assessment of applications for funding or to assess applications to volunteer. Other charitable organizations, with consent. Any third party or parties, where consent to such disclosure is provided or where disclosure is required or permitted by law. Where personal information is transferred to outside service providers, all reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that any such provider has personal information procedures and policies in place that are at least comparable to those of the Foundation. The Foundation’s Website The Foundation uses the appropriate technological safeguards (e.g. robust firewalls, virus protection, passwords, encryption software) to protect all personal information which is received online. When a visit is made to our website, our web server automatically logs (records) domain name and standard information about the operating system and web browser being used, as provided by the web browser. This information is used for statistical purposes to help us manage our site; it does not identify an individual in any way. We use cookies and other technologies to keep track of your interactions on our website to offer a personalized experience, and to help improve our website for future visits. Our website may contain links to other websites, which are provided as a convenience only. Third party websites may have different privacy policies and practices than The Foundation, and The Foundation has no responsibility for such third party websites. The Foundation reserves the right to modify or supplement this privacy policy at any time. Access to Information / Inquiry / Complaint Process Any person whose personal information is held by the Foundation has: the right to know of the existence of such personal information and to have access to that information to ensure that it is accurate, and the right to complain if that personal information is improperly collected, used, stored or disclosed. A Local Privacy Officer is available at each Branch and the National Office of the Foundation to administer this Policy and related procedures, and to deal with requests for access to information. Complaints and/or inquiries pertaining to the Foundation’s Privacy Policy or procedures can be directed to Teresa Havill, Chief Privacy Officer at privacy@kidney.ca. Requests in writing can be sent to: The Kidney Foundation of Canada National Office ATTN: Chief Privacy Officer 5160 Decarie Blvd., Suite 310 Montreal, Quebec H3X 2H9 Tel.: 1-800-361-7494 www.kidney.ca www.rein.ca walkinfo@kidney.ca infomarche@rein.ca 1-800-361-7494 Disclaimer/Privacy Policy Politique de confidentialité \| Terms & Conditions Conditions d’utilisation © Copyright 2019 The Kidney Foundation of Canada Droits d'auteur © 2019 La Fondation canadienne du rein Created by A.K.A. New Media Inc. and powered by raisin® Créé par A.K.A. New Media Inc. et propulsé par raisin®	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line140
__label__wiki	0.776819	0.776819	Journal of Genetic Genealogy Enriching our world through citizen science. Manuscript Types Manuscript Formatting Journal of Genetic Genealogy An independent online journal that publishes original work involving genealogical applications of genetic test results. News for and by a world-wide community JoGG accepts submissions in the form of Brief Communications, Scientific Reports, Case Studies, Review Articles and Letters to the Editor. Y-DNA Testing of the Fox Paper Trail >Simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. it has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. Report: Y-DNA Testing of a Paper Trail - The Fox Surname Project Report: Evidence of early gene flow between Ashkenazi Jews and non-Jewish Europeans in mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H7 About JoGG About the Journal of Genetic Genealogy The Journal of Genetic Genealogy (JoGG) is exclusively an online journal. The entire content of the Journal will be published quarterly on the World Wide Web at www.jogg.info. It is possible that JoGG will have a minimal printed edition for certain libraries. Previous issues of the Journal will remain on the web site. Ownership and control of the journal presently reside with the editorial board. JoGG invites papers presenting original work involving techniques for analyzing the results of genetic testing that will prove of wide use among the genealogical community. The main emphasis of this journal will be to present a forum for articles that may not be appropriate for other established genetics journals since they may be based on datasets in which a statistically random sample cannot be guaranteed (i.e. surname studies). Articles on individual surname studies are welcomed if they illustrate an unusual success story, present a new method of analysis, or would otherwise be of general interest to the genealogical community. Other topics might include insights into mutation rates, geographic patterns in genetic data, information that help to characterize haplogroups, and studies involving mtDNA. Beyond Y chromosomal and mtDNA topics, we encourage articles on new tools that may include X chromosome markers, and ancestrally informative autosomal markers. These guidelines are not definitive. Correspondence with the editor is heartily welcomed concerning any topic of genetic genealogy an author thinks may be appropriate for JoGG. Opportunities for Publishing in JoGG While the quality of the datasets may be uncertain, genetic genealogists have access to larger datasets with more markers than are usually available to genetic researchers. Therefore, there is the opportunity to identify patterns in genetic data before long before they appear in other established genetics journals. The journal is likely to have audience in both communities. For detailed information on format and style for articles, click on Instructions for Authors. The Journal of Genetic Genealogy (JoGG) is an independent online journal that publishes original work involving genealogical applications of genetic test results. Issues are compiled at www.jogg.info, with individual articles available as pre-prints once the review process has been completed. At present, there are no costs to publish in JoGG nor to access the articles on-line. Authors retain copyright to their work but license it to JoGG pursuant to the Creative Commons agreement. JoGG invites papers presenting original analyses of genetic or genomic data that will prove valuable to the genealogical community. Topics include, but are not limited to, autosomal DNA inheritance, surname DNA projects, geographic patterns in genetic data, phylogenetic analyses, haplogroup categorization, and mutation rates. Genetic genealogists have access to larger datasets with more markers than are usually available to genetic researchers, although the sampling may not be random (e.g., surname studies) and the datasets may vary in quality (e.g., inconsistent marker sampling). Therefore, JoGG is a forum for research that may not fall within the scope of more genetically oriented journals. The journal is likely to have an audience in both the lay and academic communities. The Editorial Board encourages comment on JoGG’s scope, content, and format. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License. Commercial use is not allowed without permission. The information is free for personal users and researchers; attribution is required on derivative works and a share-alike license applies. All rights reserved. Leah Larkin, Ph.D. Email: jogg (at) isogg.org Leah Larkin earned her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her Ph.D. in 2002 from the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation work relied heavily on phylogenetic analysis, which is applicable to both ySNP and mtDNA studies in genealogy. She left academia after several years as a professor to become a freelance scientific editor. Her genealogical interests focus on using autosomal DNA in endogamous groups, especially through the Cajun Cousins project. Past Editors T. Whit Athey, PhD Email: athey (at) hprg.com Whit Athey is a retired physicist whose working career was primarily at the Food and Drug Administration where he was the chief of one of the medical device labs. He received his doctorate in physics and biochemistry at Tufts University, and undergraduate (engineering) and masters (math) degrees at Auburn University. For several years during the 1980s, he also taught one course each semester in the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Maryland. Besides his interest in genetic genealogy, he is an amateur astronomer and has his own small observatory near his home in Brookeville, MD. Leah Larkin, PhD Leah Larkin earned her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her PhD in 2002 from the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation work relied heavily on phylogenetic analysis, which is applicable to both ySNP and mtDNA studies in genealogy. She left academia after several years as a professor to become a freelance scientific editor. Her genealogical interests focus on using autosomal DNA in endogamous groups, especially through the Cajun Cousins project. Blaine T. Bettinger, PhD, JD Email: Blaine_5 (at) hotmail.com Blaine Bettinger is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law where he studied intellectual property law. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY in 2006. He is currently the coordinator of the Bettinger surname DNA project and blogs at The Genetic Genealogist. Turi King, PhD Dr. King's PhD thesis topic was The relationship between British surnames and Y-chromosomal haplotypes and she is also co-author (with George Redmonds and David Hey) of the book Surnames, DNA and Family History. Dr. King is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Genetics and the School of Historical Studies at the University of Leicester, where she is the project manager for an interdisciplinary project The Impact of Diasporas on the Making of Britain. Turi has worked on the Y chromosome since 1996 and has concentrated on surnames, the Y chromosome and genetic genealogy (among other studies) for over ten years. More details about her background and interests can be found at http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/genetics/people/king/turi. Doug McDonald, PhD Email: Mcdonald (at) scs.uiuc.edu J. D. McDonald is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current research interests include studies of the folding of single protein molecules. He is the assistant administrator and data custodian of the Clan Donald DNA Project. Steven C. Perkins, Jd MLL Email: sperkins (at) gmail.com Steven C. Perkins is Coordinator of Reference Services at the University of Houston M.D. Anderson Library. He has a JD from the University of Cincinnati and an MLL degree from the University of Denver. He is an avid genealogist and is running eight Y chromosome surname studies. David A. Pike, PhD Email: dapike (at) mun.ca David Pike is a Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He obtained his PhD in 1996 from Auburn University and his BMath in 1992 from the University of Waterloo. Dr. Pike has been voluntarily coordinating the Pike Surname DNA Project since its inception in 2004. His interests in genetic genealogy also include mitochondrial DNA (especially mtDNA Haplogroup T), Y-DNA Haplogroup R-Z253, and autosomal DNA analysis. Ann Turner, MD Email: dnacousins (at) gmail.com Ann Turner is the founder of the GENEALOGY-DNA mailing list at RootsWeb and the co-author (with Megan Smolenyak) of "Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree." She received her undergraduate degree in biology in 1964 and her M.D. from Stanford University in 1970. In recent years, she developed software for neuropsychological testing and wrote utility programs for the PAF genealogy program. One of these utilities provided a way to split out all people in a database who were related via their mitochondrial DNA, six years before mtDNA tests were commercially available. The inspiration for this feature came from the (then) forward-looking predictions of Dr. Thomas Roderick. Previous JoGG publications: Previous JoGG publications Spring 2005 - Fall 2011 The Journal of Genetic Genealogy welcomes all communication. Please contact us if you wish to publish your research. Copyright 2016 Journal of Genetic Genealogy. All Rights Reserved. Terms Of Service \| Contact \| Back To Top	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line141
__label__cc	0.71849	0.28151	Home Story The Heir Part X — Azebel’s Plan The Heir Part X — Azebel’s Plan This entry is part 13 of 20 in the series Darkshire Woods: The Heir. Gerard was dead. Azebel could scarcely believe it. He had seemed as permanent as the castle itself, a fixture that would be passed down from regent to regent. She had even thought that he would continue to work for Vance and her when they assumed control of the kingdom. She knew that he was mortal, obviously, but she had always assumed that he would die of old age. And to be killed in a brothel? She would never suspected the chamberlain of having any inclination toward such activities. She hadn’t been surprised when the king summoned her, and she was even less surprised when he ordered her to go and examine the place where his body was dumped. She did as she was told, leaving the castle at first light and heading through the city until she reached the brothel in question. The building itself was abandoned, the girls fleeing either out of guilt or out of fear of being punished. Azebel could hardly blame them. The king had been in a foul mood when he ordered Azebel to investigate. He would likely vent his considerable anger on someone, whether they were guilty or not. What Azebel learned wouldn’t help his mood in the slightest. She used every spell she could think of, scouring the building and the pit where the chamberlain’s body had been dumped. She hadn’t gleaned any insight into who might have been responsible. In some ways, she should have expected that. Many people went through the building itself and they would have easily muddled the impressions she got. But to find absolutely nothing useful in the pit either was troubling. She should have found something, some shadow of the killer’s presence. To find nothing suggested that the murderer knew how to mask his or her presence from Azebel and that possibility was troubling, to say the least. She was mulling over her lack of new information as she walked into the palace. Azebel didn’t want to go and see Bartholomew. Without any new information to give him, she would quickly become the target of his wrath. So instead of hurrying to his study, she instead sought out Vance, if only to assure herself that he was still all right. He quickly ushered her into his quarters, a spacious suite in one of the towers of the palace. He pulled her into a tight embrace once the door was shut. “Thank the gods below that you are all right, my dear.” His breath tickled her ear. “When I heard that Gerard was murdered, I feared that she had gone after you as well.” Azebel tried to ignore the delicious tremor that wormed down her spine. “Who? You mean Edrys?” Vance nodded. “Who else?” “Why would she have killed Gerard?” He steered her to a nearby couch. “Because he was going to confront her last night.” With that explanation, he launched into the story of how he and the chamberlain had discovered the Queen Georganna’s tomb had been vandalized, and how that discovery had galvanized Gerard into action. “The last I saw of him, he was planning on confronting Edrys straight away. The next thing I hear, he’s found dead. One doesn’t need your form of insight to see the connection.” Azebel’s entire body had gone numb, and it felt as if her thoughts were draining from her mind as well. “Then we need to tell the king about this! Immediately!” Vance shook his head. “Healey and I considered that, but what good would it do? You know how smitten the old goat is with that wench. Unless you found something at the brothel, we have no way of connecting his death with her aside from our guesses.” He was right, as much as Azebel didn’t want to admit it. Without solid evidence to prove that Edrys was responsible for Gerard’s death, Bartholomew would never believe them. Even worse, it was entirely possible that Gerard had been killed by someone else. He could have been ambushed by highwaymen on his way back to the palace. Or he could have visited the girls to prepare himself to confront Edrys. As unsettling as Gerard’s death was, it was a distraction. No, if they wanted to deal with Edrys, they would have to find another way. Azebel’s eyes widened as she realized what they had to do. She grabbed Vance’s arm and squeezed as her thoughts tumbled into a semblance of order. “I think I know how we can prove that Edrys is a fraud.” Vance turned to her “Go on…” “There is a ritual I could perform. I’ve never had to do it before, but I have all the instructions in my grimoire…” Her voice trailed off as she started thinking through the logistics of her idea. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? Frustration flared across Vance’s face, a slight reddening of his cheeks. Azebel had seen that expression many times; it usually led to violence of some kind. “At times, the Order of the Eighth Eye is called on to make determinations of parentage, usually when an illegitimate child tries to claim an inheritance. This spell can show if a child’s claims are true or not.” Vance’s anger faded and was replaced by a dazzling smile. “You mean…” She nodded. “We would be able to determine if Edrys really is related to the king once and for all.” Vance clamped his hands and his smile turned feral. “And then we’ll be able to get rid of her. What do we need for this ritual?” “That will be the difficult part. We will need a part of both Bartholomew and Edrys.” “‘A part?'” “A part of them, something like a bit of skin, some blood or hair. I could even use saliva.” Azebel fidgeted with the hem of her robe. “I somehow doubt that they would simply volunteer to give us what we need.” Vance stroked his chin. “Yes, you are correct, of course. In this case, though, I think it would be better to…acquire what we need in more creative ways. I will try to get a part of Edrys. You get it from the king.” Azebel’s mouth went dry. She wasn’t a thief. Far from it. The thought of trying to trick the king into giving her what she needed…she had no idea how she would do that. But she knew she had to. For the good of the kingdom. For the good of her future with Vance. She’d do it. She didn’t have any other choice. Vance’s hands lashed out and caught her behind her neck. She flinched at the sudden movement, but he pulled her into a passionate kiss. She easily melted into his arms. “Once we have done this, we will be able to ascend the throne. Together…” And with that promise, he left the room. Azebel took a few moments to compose herself, then she slipped out of Vance’s quarters and headed for the king’s study. He’d want to know what she found at the the brothel and he likely wasn’t happy about her delay. Sure enough, the king was still in a foul mood by the time she arrived. He glared at her from behind his desk. “Well? What did you learn?” She ducked into a quick bow. “Unfortunately, Your Majesty, I didn’t learn much. The building itself is gone and, in spite of the many spells I cast, I was unable to discern anything about his killer.” Bartholomew snarled, muttering something under his breath. Then he wrenched around in his chair to glare at one of the serving boys. “You! More wine!” The boy darted forward to the decanter on a side table and poured a goblet. He set it into the king’s hand, who quaffed the entire thing in one gulp. He slammed the goblet back on the desk. The boy bowed and removed the cup and left the room. Azebel jerked as a though occurred to her. That goblet would likely contain some of the king’s saliva! She had to get it before the boy took it back to the kitchens! “I am sorry that I failed you, sire.” She took a step backwards, toward the door. Bartholomew stared at the desktop, his face pinched into a frown. But then he winced and looked up at her, a momentary confused expression flitting across his features. “Azebel? Oh, yes. Yes. I…I know you did your best and I appreciate it.” She frowned. The king’s tone had softened considerably. But if he wasn’t angry anymore, for whatever reason, this was the best opportunity to escape. “If you have no further need of me, sire?” He dismissed her with a lazy flick of his wrist. She turned and left the room, keeping her gait steady so long as she remained in his gaze. But as soon as she left the room, she hurried down the hallway until she caught up with the boy. “You there!” The boy paused and turned to face her. She studied him, trying to remember what his name was. He was a new servant, that much she knew. It didn’t matter. She held out her hand. “Give me the goblet.” His eyes widened. Was that fear in his expression? He shrank back. “Why?” “Do I need to explain myself to you? Give me the goblet. Now.” She held out her hand. The boy appeared as if he were thinking about running. She pulled herself up to full height and snapped her fingers, opening her hand again. Thankfully, he didn’t protest further. He gave her the goblet and then retreated down the hall. She held up the goblet and examined it. There was still a little bit of wine swirling in the bottom of the cup. She’d have to consult the grimoire to be sure, but she thought it would be enough. Hopefully Vance would be able to procure what they needed from Edrys. Then they’d be able to put all of this behind them. Series Navigation << The Heir Part IX — A Surprise VisitorThe Heir Part XI – Love Is in the Air >> ICYMI – Supergirl Trailer ICYMI – Legends of Tomorrow Trailer	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line142
__label__cc	0.603379	0.396621	Taiwan’s Soft Power and Global Climate Change Initiatives Written by Stacy Closson 柯黛希 Monday, 07 November 2016 10:22 Despite being constrained by non-recognition as a sovereign state by the majority of the world’s states, Taiwan seeks to be a constructive member of the international community. The island nation only belongs to two intergovernmental organizations – World Trade Organization and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Nevertheless, it has found a way to contribute on key issues of global concern through its soft power. A defining feature of soft power is that it is non-coercive; the currency of soft power is culture, political values, and foreign policies. Published in Public Policy Beijing’s Formidable Strategy in the South China Sea Written by Nancy Chunjuan Wei 衛純娟 Wednesday, 23 November 2016 15:55 The U.S. rebalance to Asia has yet to alter the desired outcome for U.S. allies and partners in the South China Sea (SCS): Checking Beijing’s advances in territorial claims. Instead, despite a few successful maneuvers, most of the strategies adopted by the Philippines and Vietnam have backfired. China has seized every opportunity to advance its claims in response to its neighbors’ perceived provocations and operational incompetence. Let us consider some examples of how SCS competitors act, react, and interact in the strategic pursuit of their own self-interests. The Invisible Hand of Great Power Politics: China and United States Fight for Economic Supremacy in Asia Written by Grant Nordby 羅若彬 Wednesday, 23 November 2016 16:33 It is widely accepted that the future of the world will rest in the hands of Chinese and U.S. world leaders. Both President Obama and President Xi have, on numerous occasions, voiced this sentiment. In 2013, in a joint press conference with Obama in California, President Xi said, “A sound China-U.S. cooperation can serve as the ballast for global stability and the propeller for world peace.”1 Their choice to cooperate (or not) will shape every global issue from nuclear weapons and terrorism to trade and technology. This is the first great confrontation between great powers with profoundly different… complex relationship China's Elusive Nationhood: Ethnic, Cultural, and Civic Dimensions Written by Daniel Glockler 葛樂德 Thursday, 01 December 2016 11:25 Despite the ahistorical claims of those who misread “nationhood” into the millennia of history in present day Greater China, a “Chinese Nation” is a fairly recent concept. As a political ideal, its roots are found in the writings of late Qing dynasty anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist intellectuals and revolutionaries. As a “reality,” it is no older than the 20th century, and a persuasive argument has been made that national consciousness reached much of China only in the 1950’s.1 Nonetheless, the influence of “Chinese nationhood” on both China and the world should not be underestimated. The success of the… Daniel Glockler Research and Reflections from Hualien County Written by Stephen Pan 潘長浩 Thursday, 01 December 2016 13:01 When I visited Taiwan in the summer of 2002, there were no direct flights between the island and mainland China, Freedom Square was still called Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Square, and the now diminutive Mitsukoshi tower was still the tallest building in Taipei. In my suitcase was a Sony Discman with electronic skip protection, along with about ten pounds of CDs with timeless hits like “Gonna make you sweat” by C+C music factory. Though I only taught English in Taiwan for a few weeks, the experience as a college sophomore left an unexpectedly powerful impression on… Stephen Pan 潘長浩 moto accident Written by Grant Nordby 羅若彬 Monday, 13 November 2017 14:01 A case study provides the opportunity to delve deeper into the perceived advantage that China wields over the United States in monetary power. By analyzing a real world case of Chinese monetary power, this research aims to answer the questions: when is economic coercive action in the Chinese-United States relationship likely to succeed, and why aren’t there more instances in which China tries to make use of its theoretical leverage. Over the course of the case studies, deeper analysis presents a more complex and complicated picture of the broader and more definitive areas of leverage presented in… Unpacking U.S. Aid in Taiwan: Developmental Perspectives Written by Elyse Mark 麥麗施 Wednesday, 25 July 2018 14:09 For development scholars, few postwar success stories are more fascinating than that of the four Asian Tigers in the twentieth century. Due to its political isolation, many authors have attributed Taiwan’s miraculous economic growth to long-term stimulus from U.S. aid packages in the post-WWII period. International relations (IR) scholars have historically neglected development studies, preferring to focus on the state-centric power dynamics of the overall international system rather than developing nations of the global “periphery.” IR theorists often view the global system in terms of national interest, balance of power, material capacity, and institutionalism; these levels of analysis… One Belt One Road and China’s Energy Security Written by Kaiwen Lin 林凱文 Thursday, 02 August 2018 14:05 The Belt and Road Initiative, initially known as One Belt One Road, is China’s latest national development strategy, which aims to: Promote the connectivity of Asian, European and African continents and their adjacent seas, establish and strengthen partnerships among the countries along the Belt and Road, set up all-dimensional, multi-tiered and composite connectivity networks, and realize diversified, independent, balanced and sustainable development in these countries.[1] The initiative is composed of six sections: the Eurasian Land Bridge, the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,… Chinese Energy Security and the South China Sea Oil has been a critical national resource since the early 20th century, when the British Empire began using oil to power its ships, and Parliament voted to acquire a majority stake in a Persian oil firm in order to ensure that it would be able to maintain access to oil for the Royal Navy.[1] With the development of the oil-powered airplane and tank, oil became even more important to strategic planning, and many nations created their own state-owned oil companies to ensure continued access to foreign oil. After the close of the Second World War, it was… Bringing a Piece of Kentucky to the Taiwanese Classroom Written by Alexandra Hezik 賀琳 Wednesday, 22 August 2018 11:10 For the 2017-18 academic year, my alma mater, Western Kentucky University (WKU), hosted a Taiwanese Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) to help tutor students currently studying Mandarin Chinese in the university’s Chinese Flagship Program. As a recent graduate of that program, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that the two of us essentially switched places—she went to WKU and I came to Taipei. The FLTA was named Pia Lin. She also happened to be the co-founder of The World In Your Classroom (TWIYC), a non-profit organization that provides foreigners living in or visiting Taiwan the opportunity to… Browse Topics Home --About Research & Reflections --Archive --Contact Us Browse Topics --Life & Reflections --EDUCATION & MANAGEMENT FOR THE FUTURE --NEW CULTURAL INSIGHTS --PUBLIC POLICY THAT MATTERS --CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY & MEDICAL RESEARCH --ARTS THAT UPLIFTS 經驗分享 --學者交流 --專業人員及創作藝術家 --攻讀博士 --卓越教學獎助計畫 --FLTA Watch Videos --Why Fulbright Works? --EDUCATION & MANAGEMENT FOR THE FUTURE --NEW CULTURAL INSIGHTS --PUBLIC POLICY THAT MATTERS --CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY & MEDICAL RESEARCH --ARTS THAT UPLIFTS Fulbright Taiwan --Official Site --YouTube Channel --ETA in Taiwan --Facebook Fan Page Submit --Submitting Content --Write an Article --Edit My Profile Login --Login Module	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line143
__label__wiki	0.967562	0.967562	InDepthNH.org (http://indepthnh.org/2016/04/08/evidence-of-police-dishonesty-leads-to-overturned-convictions-nationwide/) Evidence of Police Dishonesty Leads to Overturned Convictions nationally By Nancy West \| April 8, 2016 More on criminal justice Subscribe to criminal justice Editor’s note: This story by Nancy West was sponsored by the Fund for Investigative Journalism and first published by VTDigger on July 19. West founded the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism, which launched its news website InDepthNH.org on Sept. 1. Maybe Debra Jean Milke masterminded the murder of her tow-haired son Christopher in Phoenix just before Christmas 1989 to collect the 4-year-old’s $5,000 life insurance policy. Or maybe – as Milke has insisted all along – she was just the innocent victim of a corrupt cop with a proven pattern of lying who was out to win a conviction. Whichever is true, Milke, 51, is a free woman now after spending 23 years on death row, convicted of conspiring with two men to kill Christopher. She was released from prison because prosecutors withheld evidence of misconduct by then-Phoenix Police Detective Armando Saldate Jr., who testified Milke confessed to him. “That was pretty outrageous,” said Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of the Milke case in general. Kozinski wrote the panel’s 2013 decision overturning Milke’s conviction because of Saldate’s undisclosed history of dishonesty. The Arizona Court of Appeals threw out the murder charges last year and in March, the Arizona Supreme Court declined further review. “If a cop lies and convicts an innocent person and they get executed, they’re just as dead as if a cop shot him,” Kozinski said during a recent telephone interview. It’s another way in which police can violate someone’s civil rights, Kozinski said. Milke’s case is one of a growing number of convictions overturned across the country – another just last month in Massachusetts — because prosecutors failed to disclose evidence of police misconduct that could have helped prove the defendant’s innocence. A convicted murderer in New Hampshire is seeking a new trial on similar grounds. Called Brady material because of the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors are constitutionally required to turn over all favorable, material evidence to the defense. That includes evidence of police dishonesty such as lying in an official proceeding, falsifying evidence or stealing when an officer is going to testify, but can also include excessive use of force. The defense could then use the information to impeach an officer’s testimony. The Ninth Circuit was so disturbed by Milke’s case that the panel referred its opinion to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona and the Assistant U.S. Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division “for possible investigation into whether Saldate’s conduct, and that of his supervisors and other state and local officials, amounts to a pattern of violating the federally protected rights of Arizona residents.” Kozinski learned through the media that nothing came of the referral. “They do not consider lying cops to be quite the same priority as shooting cops,” Kozinski said during an interview. “Maybe because they don’t get riots and they don’t get the same kind of public reaction as when police shoot somebody, but in essence it’s the same thing. “They are helping commit violence against the suspect by words, but words can have the same effect,” Kozinski said. Impeachment evidence When a Brady violation is discovered later that would have likely changed the outcome or the penalty, it usually results in the verdict being overturned and in egregious cases like Milke’s, the charges being dismissed altogether. Had they known about Saldate’s history of dishonesty, Milke’s lawyers could have impeached his testimony, Kozinski wrote. There’s no physical evidence linking Milke to the murder of Christopher, Kozinski wrote. “The only evidence linking Milke to the murder of her son is the word of Detective Armando Saldate, Jr. – a police officer with a long history of misconduct that includes lying under oath as well as accepting sexual favors in exchange for leniency and lying about it,” Kozinski wrote in the opinion. “On the last evening of his short life, Christopher Milke saw Santa Claus at the mall,” Kozinski wrote. Judge Alex Kozinski Christopher woke up the next morning pleading with his mother to visit Santa again. She sent Christopher to the mall with her roommate, James Styers, who picked up a friend, Roger Scott. “But instead of heading to the mall, the two men drove the boy out of town to a secluded ravine, where Styers shot Christopher three times in the head,” Kozinski wrote. The men then drove to the mall and reported Christopher missing. “Could the people of Arizona feel confident in taking Milke’s life when the only thread of evidence on which her conviction hangs is the word of a policeman with a record of dishonesty and disrespect for the law?” Kozinski wrote. “Bad cops and those who tolerate them put us all in an untenable position.” Styers and Scott were also convicted of murdering Christopher. They both remain on death row and have never testified against Milke. Milke has sued the city of Phoenix, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, and several police officers and officials claiming her civil rights have been violated. Buddy Rake, one of the lawyers representing Milke in the civil suit, said she would have no further comment, but she did hold a news conference in March. “I had absolutely nothing to do with the brutal murder of my son Christopher,” Milke told reporters. “I did not give a confession to Mr. Saldate.” Tearfully, Milke said how much she misses her son and how Christopher loved to spin out on his Big Wheel bike. She also explained how it feels having been wrongly accused and convicted of killing him. “Try to imagine that as some of you sit in judgment of me,” Milke said. “My innocence did not matter in their pursuit of a conviction. … “This could happen to any one of you,” Milke said. Confidential barriers Research for this article, sponsored by the Fund for Investigative Journalism, revealed a lack of consistency when it comes to finding out about police misconduct, the kind of evidence the defense could use to challenge an officer’s testimony. States vary widely on what constitutes police Brady material, whether prosecutors or the public can review police personnel files and when such misconduct must be disclosed. Jonathan Abel wrote about the disparities for the Stanford Law Review in “Brady’s Blindspot: Impeachment Evidence in Police Personnel Files and the Battle Splitting the Prosecution Team.” “(The disparities) deprives some defendants of their constitutional due process rights simply by virtue of where they happen to be tried,” Abel wrote. Defendants on trial in Minnesota and some other states are more likely to benefit from their rights under Brady because police discipline is a matter of public record. The accused is less likely to learn about a testifying police officer’s propensity to lie in states where police personnel files are confidential, or where there are complex barriers to obtaining the information. “These protections benefit dirty cops by allowing them to testify and, thereby, hold on to their jobs,” Abel wrote. They also harm defendants who are denied evidence to which they are constitutionally entitled. “And they harm society by undermining due process and allowing dishonest officers to stay on the job,” Abel wrote. Even well-intentioned prosecutors are hamstrung in some states by local regulations that keep them from reviewing the files themselves, forcing prosecutors to rely instead on police agencies to alert them to problem officers, Abel said. The stakes are high all around. “Suppression of this misconduct evidence can cost defendants their lives, but disclosure can also be costly,” Abel wrote. “It can cost officers their livelihoods.” Tuftonboro, N.H., Police Chief Andrew Shagoury has seen the Brady issue from the perspective of a patrol officer and as chief. “It definitely could ruin a career, but not always,” Shagoury said of the Brady designation, which in New Hampshire means an officer has been placed on a “Laurie list.” There was enough concern by police in New Hampshire about the fairness of the Laurie system that they pushed for legislative reform, but what ended up passing was a study commission. In small departments, there may be no work for an officer who will be problematic when testifying, he said. “The issue has become one of, is there consistency in putting people on the list and if they are on the list, how do they get off,” Shagoury said. “As a chief in leadership, you have to worry about being able to run the department. You want to treat people fairly, and have to be concerned about due process rights.” Shagoury remembers a case in a different department in which an officer was placed on the Laurie list for pranking a fellow officer and lying about it at first. “I don’t think people want dishonest officers to testify. But what if it truly was a mistake that was blown out of proportion?” Shagoury said. The public expects police do their work with integrity, he said. “Nobody wants that more than police officers,” Shagoury said. No statewide system in Vermont There’s no statewide protocol in Vermont to make sure all favorable, material evidence of a testifying police officer’s misconduct is disclosed to the defense, but Defender General Matthew F. Valerio said it doesn’t appear to be a big problem. Vermont is a small state, so people will probably find out if an officer has a problem telling the truth, Valerio said, adding some cases could be missed. “Some cases fall through the cracks,” Valerio said. “The question is, does it make a difference? I think in some cases it makes a difference, in some cases it doesn’t.” Because of the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland,prosecutors are required to alert the defense to all favorable, material evidence that could help prove the defendant’s innocence. That includes testifying police officers who have been disciplined for dishonesty, and sometimes for excessive use of force. Prosecutors don’t always know there’s been an internal affairs investigation, Valerio said. “Unless it comes to light, I think that’s probably one of the areas where you have a vacuum as far as turning over the material,” Valerio said. Defense investigators sometimes come across such evidence about an officer, he said. “It always comes down to the question of you don’t know what you don’t know,” Valerio said. “In the vast majority of cases, we get what we need.” Assistant Vermont Attorney General John Treadwell, head of the homicide unit, said he is not aware of any disclosure problems. “We rely on police agencies,” Treadwell said. “I have no reason to believe they are misleading us.” Scott Waterman, public information officer for Vermont State Police, said in an email that the department keeps track of disciplinary matters through the Office of Internal Affairs. “Both the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Director of the Vermont State Police take their responsibility to the criminal justice system seriously and when the department becomes aware of a personnel matter that could impact a prosecution, we obtain permission from the State Police Advisory Commission to share the information with prosecutors,” Waterman wrote. Exoneration list grows Samuel L. Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School and the editor of the National Registry of Exonerations, said it is impossible to know how often wrongful convictions result from prosecutors failing to disclose Brady police information. It is just one type of the “official misconduct” category included in the registry’s research. To get more detail, the registry is recoding the first 1,367 exonerations, he said. As of June 25, the number of exonerations was up to 1,624. A recent study of the database listed official misconduct as a factor in 45 percent of the exonerations. Perjury and false testimony were factors in 56 percent; mistaken witness identification in 33 percent of cases; false or misleading forensic evidence in 23 percent; and false confessions in 13 percent. “I suspect those cases will be undercounted in the sense that it probably happens more often than anybody notices because, how do you know?” Gross said. Even if the new coding provides more details, it will only represent cases in which the alleged perpetrator was exonerated. There is no way to know about cases in which no one noticed, or someone noticed later, but there was other ample evidence that the person was guilty so the conviction wasn’t overturned. Post-conviction research is rare because it is expensive and time-consuming. In Milke’s case, it took 10 volunteers who worked 7,000 hours over three-and-a-half months to pore through court records looking for Detective Saldate’s name, then more time to sort through them. “Sometimes we find out later on,” Gross said. “More often, we don’t.” System cracks Attorney Larry Hammond, a founder and president of the Arizona Justice Project, who introduced Milke at her news conference, said there is no state law in Arizona governing Brady police disclosure. Phoenix maintains a Brady list of such officers, he said, but disclosures are still rare in Arizona. “Most lawyers would tell you it’s a pretty uncommon thing for them to press for the (police) personnel files, in part because the chance of getting the file in the absence of some specific knowledge that the cop has a problem is remote and it’s time-consuming,” Hammond said. “I do think lawyers should be pressing for them.” Prosecutors are feeling the pressure even though it is rare for a prosecutor to be disciplined for ethical lapses. Kristine Hamann, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, is now a fellow with the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice. She works on sharing best prosecutorial practices across the country. Hamann has already met with prosecutors in 30 states, 18 of which have formed best practices committees. Brady police disclosure is one area of interest, Hamann said. “These committees are committed to improving prosecutions so that convictions are right in the first instance – thus avoiding wrongful convictions,” Hamann said. Unusual transparency Judy Johnston, training manager for the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, said police discipline is a matter of public record in Minnesota. Anybody can find out about it. Just to make sure nothing is missed, her office recently scoured all police personnel records in the county’s largest police department, something that would be unheard of in many states. Hennepin County will also follow the lead of Ramsey County in Minnesota and begin keeping a list of Brady cops as well to make sure defense attorneys don’t miss any potential Brady material. Minnesota has a long history of open file discovery, she said. “We want to make sure we’re not convicting innocent people,” Johnston said. Reluctant prosecutors Judge Kozinski said some prosecutors don’t like disclosing Brady material because it weakens their own cases. “Getting a lot of prosecutors to comply with Brady is like pulling teeth,” Kozinski said. In the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, Kozinski made it clear that Milke may well be guilty. When asked his opinion, Kozinski said: “I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball.” It wasn’t the panel’s job to re-examine guilt or innocence, he said. “You have to be guilty and found guilty by a correct and fair process,” Kozinski said. Kozinski advocates for open file discovery to make sure all defendants get a fair trial. “Anybody could be a defendant if unlucky enough,” Kozinski said. The Brady doctrine “protects all of us and our loved ones.” What if Milke is, in fact, innocent? “Then you’ve got a real miscarriage of justice, a very serious miscarriage of justice, of course,” Kozinski said. Overturned: 22 years in prison for killing a cop Sean Ellis (center) with lawyers Jillise McDonough (left) and Rosemary Scapicchio In Massachusetts, Sean K. Ellis has become the latest convicted murderer to win a new trial because his constitutional right to all favorable material evidence involving police misconduct was violated. Only this time, one of the officers, Boston Police Detective John Mulligan, was also the homicide victim — shot five times in the face as he slept in his car on a paid police detail outside a Walgreens in 1993 in Roslindale, Massachusetts. Ellis was 19 at the time and told police he went to the store to buy diapers for a relative that night. Ellis, now 40, has served 22 years of a life sentence for killing the veteran detective but was never told Mulligan was under investigation at the time for ripping off drug dealers. On May 5, Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Carol S. Ball ordered a new trial for Ellis. Ball also cited newly discovered evidence that three other police detectives who were involved in Mulligan’s corruption scheme were also significantly involved in his homicide investigation. “(T)his is a case where justice has not been done,” Ball wrote. Attorney Rosemary Curran Scapicchio fought for 14 years in state court to pry open Boston Police Department personnel files related to Mulligan but had no luck until she filed a federal request for information. The results were explosive. FBI informants described Mulligan as a rogue cop who beat up prostitutes and robbed and extorted people. It happens more often than not that police discipline is withheld before trial or comes up in the middle of a trial or even years later, Scapicchio said. “They get away with it because there are no repercussions, no discipline,” Scapicchio said. Police fail to disclose the misconduct to prosecutors who then turn a blind eye, she said. “Nobody rocks this boat,” Scapicchio said. “They get commendations when they withhold evidence so there is no downside.” John Mulligan’s brother, Richard Mulligan, said his brother had a “clean slate” and was never charged or convicted of a crime. He believes Sean Ellis is guilty of shooting his brother to death and that he shouldn’t get another chance at freedom. “Sean Ellis did it,” Mulligan said in a brief telephone interview. If the court system lets him off, then “justice is stupid.” Ellis supporters helped raise the $50,000 bail Ellis posted while he waits for the state’s anticipated appeal of Ball’s ruling. Renee Nadeau Algarin, deputy press secretary to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, said in an email that no evidence was withheld in Ellis’ case. Ellis’ conviction was based on direct, reliable, corroborated evidence, she wrote. “And we intend to present that evidence to a new jury if necessary,” Algarin wrote. If it goes to trial, it will be Ellis’ fourth for the same offense. Jurors in the first two trials couldn’t agree on a verdict. The conviction of Ellis’ co-defendant in Mulligan’s murder, Terry Patterson, was overturned on unrelated grounds. Patterson pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released from prison in 2006. Elaine A. Murphy, who advocates for Ellis, said he is adjusting to life outside prison and is hoping to go to college. “Life is a total thrill to him,” said Murphy who had dinner with Ellis since his release and plans to write a book about his case. “He sits back and shakes his head and smiles.” New Hampshire mayhem Convicted murderer Eduardo Lopez is seeking a new trial in New Hampshire claiming the state failed to disclose “impeachment evidence of prior bad acts by then-detective John Seusing.” Lopez, who was 17 in 1991 when he was charged with murdering Robert Goyette during a robbery in Nashua, has filed a motion for a new trial in Merrimack Superior Court. His original trial focused on whether Lopez was the shooter, and whether he was so drunk that he couldn’t form the requisite intent. Seusing later became the police chief of Nashua, the state’s second-largest city, and has since retired. He testified then about Lopez’s booking video, which was disputed at trial, and has not recently been found. The defense claimed it showed Lopez being dragged into the police headquarters nearly unconscious, while the state said it showed he was “cocky, cunning and soberly belligerent.” Seusing’s past discipline came to light two years ago after Anthony Pivero, a former Nashua police officer, filed a complaint with Attorney General Joseph Foster. Pivero claimed prosecutors had failed to disclose in an unrelated 1995 murder case that Seusing had been suspended for 15 days for lying to his superiors earlier in his career. The attorney general’s investigation showed Seusing’s discipline had in fact been disclosed to the judge, who ruled it inadmissible at trial, but it was never disclosed again as required under Brady. As a result, Foster notified Lopez and two other convicted murderers of the disclosure failure, which paved the way for Lopez to seek a new trial. Had his lawyers known about Seusing’s discipline, “they could have responded to his testimony with a simple line of cross that Seusing had lied in the past when it benefitted the Nashua Police Department so he was doing the same in Lopez’ trial,” Public Defender Paul Borchardt wrote in the motion. Brady issues involving police are called Laurie issues in New Hampshire because the state Supreme Court overturned Carl Laurie’s murder conviction in 1995 because prosecutors withheld a key investigator’s history of misconduct. Two years ago, the attorney general formed a committee to update protocols for identifying, tracking and disclosing Laurie officers after press reports revealed flaws in how the secretive process works. Deputy Attorney General Ann Rice said the committee was on hold awaiting guidance from the state Supreme Court on a couple of related cases. One of them was decided on June 25. The court ruled in favor of three Manchester police officers who wanted their names removed from the Laurie list. The officers had been disciplined for using excessive force while off-duty, but an arbitrator overturned the discipline and a previous attorney general ruled they did not commit a crime. Concord Attorney James Moir, who represented Carl Laurie at trial, said the New Hampshire Brady disclosure system is broken. “There can be no guarantee this information will be disclosed,” Moir said. “We have to rely on the good faith of a great number of people.” Prosecutors, police chiefs and finally judges all exercise some discretion as to what constitutes Laurie issues and when they should be disclosed, he said. Officers with a Laurie designation do not want to speak publicly, said Eric Wilson, a defense attorney in Nashua, who has helped some officers avoid being placed on Laurie lists. “It’s like a scarlet letter,” Wilson said. The process can be unfair to police officers, Wilson said. Some police chiefs use the Laurie list to get rid of an officer they don’t like, or to silence union activists, he said. Brady interpretations There are different interpretations of Brady from state to state, within different jurisdictions in the same state and sometimes – as in Florida — between defense and prosecuting attorneys. In Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit, Alan S. Johnson, chief assistant state attorney, said although police discipline is a matter of public record available to anyone, internal affairs records are not admissible in court, with rare exceptions. “If something is not admissible, it can never be Brady material because it is not admissible so it can’t affect the outcome,” said Johnson, who trains lawyers on Brady matters. Police officer dishonesty as a general rule is not admissible unless there is some nexus to the case or there was a criminal conviction for dishonesty, Johnson said. Clearwater Attorney Denis de Vlaming, who also trains lawyers about Brady issues, disagreed with Johnson. The Florida Supreme Court grew so weary of Brady violations, de Vlaming said, that it is now requiring all lawyers by next year to take a 100-minute course on Brady issues to maintain their licenses. “If it is not admissible, (prosecutors) take the position it’s not Brady. I take the position that even though I might not be able to use it, it may lead to impeachment or exonerating information so I think I am entitled to it,” de Vlaming said. If they are at all concerned about whether something is or isn’t Brady, de Vlaming tells prosecutors to bring it to a judge for review just to be safe. In California, the state Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on a domestic violence appeal deciding who is responsible to search police personnel files for possible Brady-type discipline. Defense attorneys in San Francisco have obtained Brady disclosures from police personnel files for about three years after the district attorney negotiated a system in which a board reviews the police personnel files before disclosure. That system is on hold until the high court rules. “For 30 years, we never got anything in a police officer’s file,” said Public Defender Christopher Gauger. “We weren’t allowed to have that. We didn’t know it existed, and the DA didn’t know it existed.” There is a hodgepodge of protocols in different jurisdictions in California for providing Brady police disclosures, including some that have no procedures at all, he said. “Hopefully there will be some systemic changes,” Gauger said. Some prosecutors claim they don’t have time to review the personnel file of every police officer who will testify in a case. But Attorney Jonathan Abel, who has researched and written about police Brady issues, has little patience for that reasoning. During a recent interview, Abel said the rights of the defendant must be protected over police personnel privacy. “If prosecutors are so concerned about the difficulty of searching for the material in police personnel files, they should push so the misconduct in the files is publicly accessible,” Abel said. In an op-ed piece for The Daily Journal, a legal publication, Abel said prosecutors don’t want to anger police by disclosing misconduct, which causes a conflict of interest. Abel suggested that the U.S. Justice Department could investigate cases to “launch a larger initiative aimed at identifying defendants convicted because police misconduct was not disclosed.” “Such an initiative would shine much-needed light on police misconduct while simultaneously vindicating the civil rights of the wrongfully convicted and demonstrating that police misconduct must not be swept under the rug,” Abel wrote. One thought on “Evidence of Police Dishonesty Leads to Overturned Convictions nationally” Nancy West on August 15, 2015 at 6:34 pm said: This story was sponsored by a Fund for Investigative Journalism grant and first hosted by VTDigger.org.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line146
__label__wiki	0.94448	0.94448	Free as in Freedom Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software 0-596-00287-4, Order Number: 2874 240 pages, $22.95 US $34.95 CA The GNU General Public License By the spring of 1985, Richard Stallman had settled on the GNU Project's first milestone-a Lisp-based free software version of Emacs. To meet this goal, however, he faced two challenges. First, he had to rebuild Emacs in a way that made it platform independent. Second, he had to rebuild the Emacs Commune in a similar fashion. The dispute with UniPress had highlighted a flaw in the Emacs Commune social contract. Where users relied on Stallman's expert insight, the Commune's rules held. In areas where Stallman no longer held the position of alpha hacker-pre-1984 Unix systems, for example-individuals and companies were free to make their own rules. The tension between the freedom to modify and the freedom to exert authorial privilege had been building before GOSMACS. The Copyright Act of 1976 had overhauled U.S. copyright law, extending the legal protection of copyright to software programs. According to Section 102(b) of the Act, individuals and companies now possessed the ability to copyright the "expression" of a software program but not the "actual processes or methods embodied in the program."1 Translated, programmers and companies had the ability to treat software programs like a story or song. Other programmers could take inspiration from the work, but to make a direct copy or nonsatirical derivative, they first had to secure permission from the original creator. Although the new law guaranteed that even programs without copyright notices carried copyright protection, programmers quickly asserted their rights, attaching coypright notices to their software programs. At first, Stallman viewed these notices with alarm. Rare was the software program that didn't borrow source code from past programs, and yet, with a single stroke of the president's pen, Congress had given programmers and companies the power to assert individual authorship over communally built programs. It also injected a dose of formality into what had otherwise been an informal system. Even if hackers could demonstrate how a given program's source-code bloodlines stretched back years, if not decades, the resources and money that went into battling each copyright notice were beyond most hackers' means. Simply put, disputes that had once been settled hacker-to-hacker were now settled lawyer-to-lawyer. In such a system, companies, not hackers, held the automatic advantage. Proponents of software copyright had their counter-arguments: without copyright, works might otherwise slip into the public domain. Putting a copyright notice on a work also served as a statement of quality. Programmers or companies who attached their name to the copyright attached their reputations as well. Finally, it was a contract, as well as a statement of ownership. Using copyright as a flexible form of license, an author could give away certain rights in exchange for certain forms of behavior on the part of the user. For example, an author could give away the right to suppress unauthorized copies just so long as the end user agreed not to create a commercial offshoot. It was this last argument that eventually softened Stallman's resistance to software copyright notices. Looking back on the years leading up to the GNU Project, Stallman says he began to sense the beneficial nature of copyright sometime around the release of Emacs 15.0, the last significant pre-GNU Project upgrade of Emacs. "I had seen email messages with copyright notices plus simple `verbatim copying permitted' licenses," Stallman recalls. "Those definitely were [an] inspiration." For Emacs 15, Stallman drafted a copyright that gave users the right to make and distribute copies. It also gave users the right to make modified versions, but not the right to claim sole ownership of those modified versions, as in the case of GOSMACS. Although helpful in codifying the social contract of the Emacs Commune, the Emacs 15 license remained too "informal" for the purposes of the GNU Project, Stallman says. Soon after starting work on a GNU version of Emacs, Stallman began consulting with the other members of the Free Software Foundation on how to shore up the license's language. He also consulted with the attorneys who had helped him set up the Free Software Foundation. Mark Fischer, a Boston attorney specializing in intellectual-property law, recalls discussing the license with Stallman during this period. "Richard had very strong views about how it should work," Fischer says, "He had two principles. The first was to make the software absolutely as open as possible. The second was to encourage others to adopt the same licensing practices." Encouraging others to adopt the same licensing practices meant closing off the escape hatch that had allowed privately owned versions of Emacs to emerge. To close that escape hatch, Stallman and his free software colleagues came up with a solution: users would be free to modify GNU Emacs just so long as they published their modifications. In addition, the resulting "derivative" works would also have carry the same GNU Emacs License. The revolutionary nature of this final condition would take a while to sink in. At the time, Fischer says, he simply viewed the GNU Emacs License as a simple contract. It put a price tag on GNU Emacs' use. Instead of money, Stallman was charging users access to their own later modifications. That said, Fischer does remember the contract terms as unique. "I think asking other people to accept the price was, if not unique, highly unusual at that time," he says. The GNU Emacs License made its debut when Stallman finally released GNU Emacs in 1985. Following the release, Stallman welcomed input from the general hacker community on how to improve the license's language. One hacker to take up the offer was future software activist John Gilmore, then working as a consultant to Sun Microsystems. As part of his consulting work, Gilmore had ported Emacs over to SunOS, the company's in-house version of Unix. In the process of doing so, Gilmore had published the changes as per the demands of the GNU Emacs License. Instead of viewing the license as a liability, Gilmore saw it as clear and concise expression of the hacker ethos. "Up until then, most licenses were very informal," Gilmore recalls. As an example of this informality, Gilmore cites a copyright notice for trn, a Unix utility. Written by Larry Wall, future creator of the Perl programming language, patch made it simple for Unix programmers to insert source-code fixes-" patches" in hacker jargon-into any large program. Recognizing the utility of this feature, Wall put the following copyright notice in the program's accompanying README file: Copyright (c) 1985, Larry Wall You may copy the trn kit in whole or in part as long as you don't try to make money off it, or pretend that you wrote it.2 Such statements, while reflective of the hacker ethic, also reflected the difficulty of translating the loose, informal nature of that ethic into the rigid, legal language of copyright. In writing the GNU Emacs License, Stallman had done more than close up the escape hatch that permitted proprietary offshoots. He had expressed the hacker ethic in a manner understandable to both lawyer and hacker alike. It wasn't long, Gilmore says, before other hackers began discussing ways to "port" the GNU Emacs License over to their own programs. Prompted by a conversation on Usenet, Gilmore sent an email to Stallman in November, 1986, suggesting modification: You should probably remove "EMACS" from the license and replace it with "SOFTWARE" or something. Soon, we hope, Emacs will not be the biggest part of the GNU system, and the license applies to all of it.3 Gilmore wasn't the only person suggesting a more general approach. By the end of 1986, Stallman himself was at work with GNU Project's next major milestone, a source-code debugger, and was looking for ways to revamp the Emacs license so that it might apply to both programs. Stallman's solution: remove all specific references to Emacs and convert the license into a generic copyright umbrella for GNU Project software. The GNU General Public License, GPL for short, was born. In fashioning the GPL, Stallman followed the software convention of using decimal numbers to indicate prototype versions and whole numbers to indicate mature versions. Stallman published Version 1.0 of the GPL in 1989 (a project Stallman was developing in 1985), almost a full year after the release of the GNU Debugger, Stallman's second major foray into the realm of Unix programming. The license contained a preamble spelling out its political intentions: The General Public License is designed to make sure that you have the freedom to give away or sell copies of free software, that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things. To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.4 In fashioning the GPL, Stallman had been forced to make an additional adjustment to the informal tenets of the old Emacs Commune. Where he had once demanded that Commune members publish any and all changes, Stallman now demanded publication only in instances when programmers circulated their derivative versions in the same public manner as Stallman. In other words, programmers who simply modified Emacs for private use no longer needed to send the source-code changes back to Stallman. In what would become a rare compromise of free software doctrine, Stallman slashed the price tag for free software. Users could innovate without Stallman looking over their shoulders just so long as they didn't bar Stallman and the rest of the hacker community from future exchanges of the same program. Looking back, Stallman says the GPL compromise was fueled by his own dissatisfaction with the Big Brother aspect of the original Emacs Commune social contract. As much as he liked peering into other hackers' systems, the knowledge that some future source-code maintainer might use that power to ill effect forced him to temper the GPL. "It was wrong to require people to publish all changes," says Stallman. "It was wrong to require them to be sent to one privileged developer. That kind of centralization and privilege for one was not consistent with a society in which all had equal rights." As hacks go, the GPL stands as one of Stallman's best. It created a system of communal ownership within the normally proprietary confines of copyright law. More importantly, it demonstrated the intellectual similarity between legal code and software code. Implicit within the GPL's preamble was a profound message: instead of viewing copyright law with suspicion, hackers should view it as yet another system begging to be hacked. "The GPL developed much like any piece of free software with a large community discussing its structure, its respect or the opposite in their observation, needs for tweaking and even to compromise it mildly for greater acceptance," says Jerry Cohen, another attorney who helped Stallman with the creation of the license. "The process worked very well and GPL in its several versions has gone from widespread skeptical and at times hostile response to widespread acceptance." In a 1986 interview with Byte magazine, Stallman summed up the GPL in colorful terms. In addition to proclaiming hacker values, Stallman said, readers should also "see it as a form of intellectual jujitsu, using the legal system that software hoarders have set up against them."5 Years later, Stallman would describe the GPL's creation in less hostile terms. "I was thinking about issues that were in a sense ethical and in a sense political and in a sense legal," he says. "I had to try to do what could be sustained by the legal system that we're in. In spirit the job was that of legislating the basis for a new society, but since I wasn't a government, I couldn't actually change any laws. I had to try to do this by building on top of the existing legal system, which had not been designed for anything like this." About the time Stallman was pondering the ethical, political, and legal issues associated with free software, a California hacker named Don Hopkins mailed him a manual for the 68000 microprocessor. Hopkins, a Unix hacker and fellow science-fiction buff, had borrowed the manual from Stallman a while earlier. As a display of gratitude, Hopkins decorated the return envelope with a number of stickers obtained at a local science-fiction convention. One sticker in particular caught Stallman's eye. It read, "Copyleft (L), All Rights Reversed." Following the release of the first version of GPL, Stallman paid tribute to the sticker, nicknaming the free software license "Copyleft." Over time, the nickname and its shorthand symbol, a backwards "C," would become an official Free Software Foundation synonym for the GPL. The German sociologist Max Weber once proposed that all great religions are built upon the "routinization" or "institutionalization" of charisma. Every successful religion, Weber argued, converts the charisma or message of the original religious leader into a social, political, and ethical apparatus more easily translatable across cultures and time. While not religious per se, the GNU GPL certainly qualifies as an interesting example of this "routinization" process at work in the modern, decentralized world of software development. Since its unveiling, programmers and companies who have otherwise expressed little loyalty or allegiance to Stallman have willingly accepted the GPL bargain at face value. A few have even accepted the GPL as a preemptive protective mechanism for their own software programs. Even those who reject the GPL contract as too compulsory, still credit it as influential. One hacker falling into this latter group was Keith Bostic, a University of California employee at the time of the GPL 1.0 release. Bostic's department, the Computer Systems Research Group (SRG), had been involved in Unix development since the late 1970s and was responsible for many key parts of Unix, including the TCP/IP networking protocol, the cornerstone of modern Internet communications. By the late 1980s, AT&T, the original owner of the Unix brand name, began to focus on commercializing Unix and began looking to the Berkeley Software Distribution, or BSD, the academic version of Unix developed by Bostic and his Berkeley peers, as a key source of commercial technology. Although the Berkeley BSD source code was shared among researchers and commercial programmers with a source-code license, this commercialization presented a problem. The Berkeley code was intermixed with proprietary AT&T code. As a result, Berkeley distributions were available only to institutions that already had a Unix source license from AT&T. As AT&T raised its license fees, this arrangement, which had at first seemed innocuous, became increasingly burdensome. Hired in 1986, Bostic had taken on the personal project of porting BSD over to the Digital Equipment Corporation's PDP-11 computer. It was during this period, Bostic says, that he came into close interaction with Stallman during Stallman's occasional forays out to the west coast. "I remember vividly arguing copyright with Stallman while he sat at borrowed workstations at CSRG," says Bostic. "We'd go to dinner afterward and continue arguing about copyright over dinner." The arguments eventually took hold, although not in the way Stallman would have liked. In June, 1989, Berkeley separated its networking code from the rest of the AT&T-owned operating system and distributed it under a University of California license. The contract terms were liberal. All a licensee had to do was give credit to the university in advertisements touting derivative programs.6 In contrast to the GPL, proprietary offshoots were permissible. Only one problem hampered the license's rapid adoption: the BSD Networking release wasn't a complete operating system. People could study the code, but it could only be run in conjunction with other proprietary-licensed code. Over the next few years, Bostic and other University of California employees worked to replace the missing components and turn BSD into a complete, freely redistributable operating system. Although delayed by a legal challenge from Unix Systems Laboratories-the AT&T spin-off that retained ownership of the Unix brand name-the effort would finally bear fruit in the early 1990s. Even before then, however, many of the Berkeley utilities would make their way into Stallman's GNU Project. "I think it's highly unlikely that we ever would have gone as strongly as we did without the GNU influence," says Bostic, looking back. "It was clearly something where they were pushing hard and we liked the idea." By the end of the 1980s, the GPL was beginning to exert a gravitational effect on the free software community. A program didn't have to carry the GPL to qualify as free software-witness the case of the BSD utilities-but putting a program under the GPL sent a definite message. "I think the very existence of the GPL inspired people to think through whether they were making free software, and how they would license it," says Bruce Perens, creator of Electric Fence, a popular Unix utility, and future leader of the Debian GNU/Linux development team. A few years after the release of the GPL, Perens says he decided to discard Electric Fence's homegrown license in favor of Stallman's lawyer-vetted copyright. "It was actually pretty easy to do," Perens recalls. Rich Morin, the programmer who had viewed Stallman's initial GNU announcement with a degree of skepticism, recalls being impressed by the software that began to gather under the GPL umbrella. As the leader of a SunOS user group, one of Morin's primary duties during the 1980s had been to send out distribution tapes containing the best freeware or free software utilities. The job often mandated calling up original program authors to verify whether their programs were copyright protected or whether they had been consigned to the public domain. Around 1989, Morin says, he began to notice that the best software programs typically fell under the GPL license. "As a software distributor, as soon as I saw the word GPL, I knew I was home free," recalls Morin. To compensate for the prior hassles that went into compiling distribution tapes to the Sun User Group, Morin had charged recipients a convenience fee. Now, with programs moving over to the GPL, Morin was suddenly getting his tapes put together in half the time, turning a tidy profit in the process. Sensing a commercial opportunity, Morin rechristened his hobby as a business: Prime Time Freeware. Such commercial exploitation was completely within the confines of the free software agenda. "When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price," advised Stallman in the GPL's preamble. By the late 1980s, Stallman had refined it to a more simple mnemonic: "Don't think free as in free beer; think free as in free speech." For the most part, businesses ignored Stallman's entreaties. Still, for a few entrepreneurs, the freedom associated with free software was the same freedom associated with free markets. Take software ownership out of the commercial equation, and you had a situation where even the smallest software company was free to compete against the IBMs and DECs of the world. One of the first entrepreneurs to grasp this concept was Michael Tiemann, a software programmer and graduate student at Stanford University. During the 1980s, Tiemann had followed the GNU Project like an aspiring jazz musician following a favorite artist. It wasn't until the release of the GNU C Compiler in 1987, however, that he began to grasp the full potential of free software. Dubbing GCC a "bombshell," Tiemann says the program's own existence underlined Stallman's determination as a programmer. "Just as every writer dreams of writing the great American novel, every programmer back in the 1980s talked about writing the great American compiler," Tiemman recalls. "Suddenly Stallman had done it. It was very humbling." "You talk about single points of failure, GCC was it," echoes Bostic. "Nobody had a compiler back then, until GCC came along." Rather than compete with Stallman, Tiemann decided to build on top of his work. The original version of GCC weighed in at 110,000 lines of code, but Tiemann recalls the program as surprisingly easy to understand. So easy in fact that Tiemann says it took less than five days to master and another week to port the software to a new hardware platform, National Semiconductor's 32032 microchip. Over the next year, Tiemann began playing around with the source code, creating a native compiler for the C+ programming language. One day, while delivering a lecture on the program at Bell Labs, Tiemann ran into some AT&T developers struggling to pull off the same thing. "There were about 40 or 50 people in the room, and I asked how many people were working on the native code compiler," Tiemann recalls. "My host said the information was confidential but added that if I took a look around the room I might get a good general idea." It wasn't long after, Tiemann says, that the light bulb went off in his head. "I had been working on that project for six months," Tiemann says. I just thought to myself, whether it's me or the code this is a level of efficiency that the free market should be ready to reward." Tiemann found added inspiration in the GNU Manifesto, which, while excoriating the greed of some software vendors, encourages other vendors to consider the advantages of free software from a consumer point of view. By removing the power of monopoly from the commerical software question, the GPL makes it possible for the smartest vendors to compete on the basis of service and consulting, the two most profit-rich corners of the software marketplace. In a 1999 essay, Tiemann recalls the impact of Stallman's Manifesto. "It read like a socialist polemic, but I saw something different. I saw a business plan in disguise."7 Teaming up with John Gilmore, another GNU Project fan, Tiemann launched a software consulting service dedicated to customizing GNU programs. Dubbed Cygnus Support, the company signed its first development contract in February, 1990. By the end of the year, the company had $725,000 worth of support and development contracts. GNU Emacs, GDB, and GCC were the "big three" of developer-oriented tools, but they weren't the only ones developed by Stallman during the GNU Project's first half decade. By 1990, Stallman had also generated GNU versions of the Bourne Shell (rechristened the Bourne Again Shell, or BASH), YACC (rechristened Bison), and awk (rechristened gawk). Like GCC , every GNU program had to be designed to run on multiple systems, not just a single vendor's platform. In the process of making programs more flexible, Stallman and his collaborators often made them more useful as well. Recalling the GNU universalist approach, Prime Time Freeware's Morin points to a critical, albeit mundane, software package called hello. "It's the hello world program which is five lines of C, packaged up as if it were a GNU distribution," Morin says. "And so it's got the Texinfo stuff and the configure stuff. It's got all the other software engineering goo that the GNU Project has come up with to allow packages to port to all these different environments smoothly. That's tremendously important work, and it affects not only all of [Stallman's] software, but also all of the other GNU Project software." According to Stallman, improving software programs was secondary to building them in the first place. "With each piece I may or may not find a way to improve it," said Stallman to Byte. "To some extent I am getting the benefit of reimplementation, which makes many systems much better. To some extent it's because I have been in the field a long time and worked on many other systems. I therefore have many ideas to bring to bear."8 Nevertheless, as GNU tools made their mark in the late 1980s, Stallman's AI Lab-honed reputation for design fastidiousness soon became legendary throughout the entire software-development community. Jeremy Allison, a Sun user during the late 1980s and programmer destined to run his own free software project, Samba, in the 1990s, recalls that reputation with a laugh. During the late 1980s, Allison began using Emacs. Inspired by the program's community-development model, Allison says he sent in a snippet of source code only to have it rejected by Stallman. "It was like the Onion headline," Allison says. "`Child's prayers to God answered: No.'" Stallman's growing stature as a software programmer, however, was balanced by his struggles as a project manager. Although the GNU Project moved from success to success in creation of developer-oriented tools, its inability to generate a working kernel-the central "traffic cop" program in all Unix systems that determines which devices and applications get access to the microprocessor and when-was starting to elicit grumbles as the 1980s came to a close. As with most GNU Project efforts, Stallman had started kernel development by looking for an existing program to modify. According to a January 1987 "Gnusletter," Stallman was already working to overhaul TRIX, a Unix kernel developed at MIT. A review of GNU Project "GNUsletters" of the late 1980s reflects the management tension. In January, 1987, Stallman announced to the world that the GNU Project was working to overhaul TRIX, a Unix kernel developed at MIT. A year later, in February of 1988, the GNU Project announced that it had shifted its attentions to Mach, a lightweight "micro-kernel" developed at Carnegie Mellon. All told, however, official GNU Project kernel development wouldn't commence until 1990.9 The delays in kernel development were just one of many concerns weighing on Stallman during this period. In 1989, Lotus Development Corporation filed suit against rival software company, Paperback Software International, for copying menu commands in Lotus' popular 1-2-3 Spreadsheet program. Lotus' suit, coupled with the Apple -Microsoft "look and feel" battle, provided a troublesome backdrop for the GNU Project. Although both suits fell outside the scope of the GNU Project, both revolved around operating systems and software applications developed for the personal computer, not Unix-compatible hardware systems-they threatened to impose a chilling effect on the entire culture of software development. Determined to do something, Stallman recruited a few programmer friends and composed a magazine ad blasting the lawsuits. He then followed up the ad by helping to organize a group to protest the corporations filing the suit. Calling itself the League of Programming Freedom, the group held protests outside the offices of Lotus, Inc. and the Boston courtroom hosting the Lotus trial. The protests were notable.10 They document the evolving nature of software industry. Applications had quietly replaced operating systems as the primary corporate battleground. In its unfulfilled quest to build a free software operating system, the GNU Project seemed hopelessly behind the times. Indeed, the very fact that Stallman had felt it necessary to put together an entirely new group dedicated to battling the "look and feel" lawsuits reinforced that obsolescence in the eyes of some observers. In 1990, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation cerified Stallman's genius status when it granted Stallman a MacArthur fellowship, therefore making him a recipient for the organization's so-called "genius grant." The grant, a $240,000 reward for launching the GNU Project and giving voice to the free software philosophy, relieved a number of short-term concerns. First and foremost, it gave Stallman, a nonsalaried employee of the FSF who had been supporting himself through consulting contracts, the ability to devote more time to writing GNU code.11 Ironically, the award also made it possible for Stallman to vote. Months before the award, a fire in Stallman's apartment house had consumed his few earthly possessions. By the time of the award, Stallman was listing himself as a "squatter"12 at 545 Technology Square. "[The registrar of voters] didn't want to accept that as my address," Stallman would later recall. "A newspaper article about the MacArthur grant said that and then they let me register."13 Most importantly, the MacArthur money gave Stallman more freedom. Already dedicated to the issue of software freedom, Stallman chose to use the additional freedom to increase his travels in support of the GNU Project mission. Interestingly, the ultimate success of the GNU Project and the free software movement in general would stem from one of these trips. In 1990, Stallman paid a visit to the Polytechnic University in Helsinki, Finland. Among the audience members was 21-year-old Linus Torvalds, future developer of the Linux kernel-the free software kernel destined to fill the GNU Project's most sizable gap. A student at the nearby University of Helsinki at the time, Torvalds regarded Stallman with bemusement. "I saw, for the first time in my life, the stereotypical long-haired, bearded hacker type," recalls Torvalds in his 2001 autobiography Just for Fun. "We don't have much of them in Helsinki."14 While not exactly attuned to the "sociopolitical" side of the Stallman agenda, Torvalds nevertheless appreciated the agenda's underlying logic: no programmer writes error-free code. By sharing software, hackers put a program's improvement ahead of individual motivations such as greed or ego protection. Like many programmers of his generation, Torvalds had cut his teeth not on mainframe computers like the IBM 7094, but on a motley assortment of home-built computer systems. As university student, Torvalds had made the step up from C programming to Unix, using the university's MicroVAX. This ladder-like progression had given Torvalds a different perspective on the barriers to machine access. For Stallman, the chief barriers were bureaucracy and privilege. For Torvalds, the chief barriers were geography and the harsh Helsinki winter. Forced to trek across the University of Helsinki just to log in to his Unix account, Torvalds quickly began looking for a way to log in from the warm confines of his off-campus apartment. The search led Torvalds to the operating system Minix, a lightweight version of Unix developed for instructional purposes by Dutch university professor Andrew Tanenbaum. The program fit within the memory confines of a 386 PC, the most powerful machine Torvalds could afford, but still lacked a few necessary features. It most notably lacked terminal emulation, the feature that allowed Torvalds' machine to mimic a university terminal, making it possible to log in to the MicroVAX from home. During the summer of 1991, Torvalds rewrote Minix from the ground up, adding other features as he did so. By the end of the summer, Torvalds was referring to his evolving work as the "GNU/Emacs of terminal emulation programs."15 Feeling confident, he solicited a Minix newsgroup for copies of the POSIX standards, the software blue prints that determined whether a program was Unix compatible. A few weeks later, Torvalds was posting a message eerily reminiscent of Stallman's original 1983 GNU posting: Hello everybody out there using minix- I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu for 386 (486) AT clones). This has been brewing since April, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).16 The posting drew a smattering of responses and within a month, Torvalds had posted a 0.01 version of the operating system-i.e., the earliest possible version fit for outside review-on an Internet FTP site. In the course of doing so, Torvalds had to come up with a name for the new system. On his own PC hard drive, Torvalds had saved the program as Linux, a name that paid its respects to the software convention of giving each Unix variant a name that ended with the letter X. Deeming the name too "egotistical," Torvalds changed it to Freax, only to have the FTP site manager change it back. Although Torvalds had set out build a full operating system, both he and other developers knew at the time that most of the functional tools needed to do so were already available, thanks to the work of GNU, BSD, and other free software developers. One of the first tools the Linux development team took advantage of was the GNU C Compiler, a tool that made it possible to process programs written in the C programming language. Integrating GCC improved the performance of Linux. It also raised issues. Although the GPL's "viral" powers didn't apply to the Linux kernel, Torvald's willingness to borrow GCC for the purposes of his own free software operating system indicated a certain obligation to let other users borrow back. As Torvalds would later put it: "I had hoisted myself up on the shoulders of giants."17 Not surprisingly, he began to think about what would happen when other people looked to him for similar support. A decade after the decision, Torvalds echoes the Free Software Foundation's Robert Chassel when he sums up his thoughts at the time: You put six months of your life into this thing and you want to make it available and you want to get something out of it, but you don't want people to take advantage of it. I wanted people to be able to see [Linux], and to make changes and improvements to their hearts' content. But I also wanted to make sure that what I got out of it was to see what they were doing. I wanted to always have access to the sources so that if they made improvements, I could make those improvements myself.18 When it was time to release the 0.12 version of Linux, the first to include a fully integrated version of GCC, Torvalds decided to voice his allegiance with the free software movement. He discarded the old kernel license and replaced it with the GPL. The decision triggered a porting spree, as Torvalds and his collaborators looked to other GNU programs to fold into the growing Linux stew. Within three years, Linux developers were offering their first production release, Linux 1.0, including fully modified versions of GCC, GDB, and a host of BSD tools. By 1994, the amalgamated operating system had earned enough respect in the hacker world to make some observers wonder if Torvalds hadn't given away the farm by switching to the GPL in the project's initial months. In the first issue of Linux Journal, publisher Robert Young sat down with Torvalds for an interview. When Young asked the Finnish programmer if he felt regret at giving up private ownership of the Linux source code, Torvalds said no. "Even with 20/20 hindsight," Torvalds said, he considered the GPL "one of the very best design decisions" made during the early stages of the Linux project.19 That the decision had been made with zero appeal or deference to Stallman and the Free Software Foundation speaks to the GPL's growing portability. Although it would take a few years to be recognized by Stallman, the explosiveness of Linux development conjured flashbacks of Emacs. This time around, however, the innovation triggering the explosion wasn't a software hack like Control-R but the novelty of running a Unix-like system on the PC architecture. The motives may have been different, but the end result certainly fit the ethical specifications: a fully functional operating system composed entirely of free software. As his initial email message to the comp.os.minix newsgroup indicates, it would take a few months before Torvalds saw Linux as anything less than a holdover until the GNU developers delivered on the HURD kernel. This initial unwillingness to see Linux in political terms would represent a major blow to the Free Software Foundation. As far as Torvalds was concerned, he was simply the latest in a long line of kids taking apart and reassembling things just for fun. Nevertheless, when summing up the runaway success of a project that could have just as easily spent the rest of its days on an abandoned computer hard drive, Torvalds credits his younger self for having the wisdom to give up control and accept the GPL bargain. "I may not have seen the light," writes Torvalds, reflecting on Stallman's 1991 Polytechnic University speech and his subsequent decision to switch to the GPL. "But I guess something from his speech sunk in ."20 See Hal Abelson, Mike Fischer, and Joanne Costello, "Software and Copyright Law," updated version (1998). http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/6805/articles/int-prop/software-copyright.html See Trn Kit README. http://www.za.debian.org/doc/trn/trn-readme See John Gilmore, quoted from email to author. See Richard Stallman, et al., "GNU General Public License: Version 1," (February, 1989). http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copying-1.0.html See David Betz and Jon Edwards, "Richard Stallman discusses his public-domain [sic] Unix-compatible software system with BYTE editors," BYTE (July, 1996). (Reprinted on the GNU Project web site: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/byte-interview.html.) This interview offers an interesting, not to mention candid, glimpse at Stallman's political attitudes during the earliest days of the GNU Project. It is also helpful in tracing the evolution of Stallman's rhetoric. Describing the purpose of the GPL, Stallman says, "I'm trying to change the way people approach knowledge and information in general. I think that to try to own knowledge, to try to control whether people are allowed to use it, or to try to stop other people from sharing it, is sabotage." Contrast this with a statement to the author in August 2000: "I urge you not to use the term `intellectual property' in your thinking. It will lead you to misunderstand things, because that term generalizes about copyrights, patents, and trademarks. And those things are so different in their effects that it is entirely foolish to try to talk about them at once. If you hear somebody saying something about intellectual property, without quotes, then he's not thinking very clearly and you shouldn't join." The University of California's "obnoxious advertising clause" would later prove to be a problem. Looking for a less restrictive alternative to the GPL, some hackers used the University of California, replacing "University of California" with the name of their own instution. The result: free software programs that borrowed from dozens of other programs would have to cite dozens of institutions in advertisements. In 1999, after a decade of lobbying on Stallman's part, the University of California agreed to drop this clause. See "The BSD License Problem" at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/bsd.html. See Michael Tiemann, "Future of Cygnus Solutions: An Entrepreneur's Account," Open Sources (O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1999): 139. See Richard Stallman, BYTE (1986). See "HURD History." http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/history.html According to a League of Programming Freedom Press, the protests were notable for featuring the first hexadecimal protest chant: 1-2-3-4, toss the lawyers out the door; 5-6-7-8, innovate don't litigate; 9-A-B-C, 1-2-3 is not for me; D-E-F-O, look and feel have got to go http://lpf.ai.mit.edu/Links/prep.ai.mit.edu/demo.final.release I use the term "writing" here loosely. About the time of the MacArthur award, Stallman began suffering chronic pain in his hands and was dictating his work to FSF-employed typists. Although some have speculated that the hand pain was the result of repetitive stress injury, or RSI, an injury common among software programmers, Stallman is not 100% sure. "It was NOT carpal tunnel syndrome," he writes. "My hand problem was in the hands themselves, not in the wrists." Stallman has since learned to work without typists after switching to a keyboard with a lighter touch. See Reuven Lerner, "Stallman wins $240,000 MacArthur award," MIT, The Tech (July 18, 1990). http://the-tech.mit.edu/V110/N30/rms.30n.html See Michael Gross, "Richard Stallman: High School Misfit, Symbol of Free Software, MacArthur-certified Genius" (1999). See Linus Torvalds and David Diamond, Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidentaly Revolutionary (HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2001): 58-59. See Linus Torvalds and David Diamond, Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidentaly Revolutionary (HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2001): 78. See "Linux 10th Anniversary." http://www.linux10.org/history/ See Robert Young, "Interview with Linus, the Author of Linux," Linux Journal (March 1, 1994). http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=2736 Back \| Table of Contents \| Next webmaster@oreilly.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line150
__label__cc	0.656779	0.343221	Stability clause for FX stability: PM The Prime Minister announced that a stability clause in the Papua LNG Project agreement will see US$250 million (K843m) be maintained in the country while 10 percent of all export revenue will be returned to the country. Peter O’Neill thanked the Central Bank for their negotiations in this regard, saying this will address the foreign exchange (forex) issues faced by the country. The Prime Minister said this at the signing of the Papua LNG Project Agreement. “I wish to thank the Governor for the Central Bank about the negotiation we are having with project partners, to give visibility so that we do not have foreign currency issues when we are exporting all these resources out of the country; our currency must be stable. “The project partners have agreed that there is a stability clause of US$250 million every year must be maintained in the county, and 10 percent of all export revenue must be returned back in the country, giving stability to our country and confidence to our business community and make sure our economy benefits and our economy continues to grow,” said O’Neill. Stability clause Papua LNG	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line153
__label__wiki	0.966612	0.966612	PNC Music Pavilion 707 Pavilion Blvd., Charlotte, NC www.ticketmaster.com/PNC-Music-Pavilion-Charlotte-tickets-Charlotte/venue/114764 Rock,Funk,Alternative,Jam Band Fusing folk-rock, world beat, jazz and pop, the Dave Matthews Band is arguably the most musically adept of all its contemporaries. Formed in 1991, the group have multiple studio albums and a myriad of live releases, selling over 31 million albums worldwide. • Fri 7/19/19 at - 8:00 PM The Tom Joyner One More Time Experience Talks/Lectures Celebrate the 25th year of The Tom Joyner Morning Show in radio syndication. • Sat 7/20/19 at - 7:30 PM Rock,Pop,Alternative Alternative pop/rock band Third Eye Blind, led by frontman Stephan Jenkins, hit the scene in the late '90s with a catchy and melodic post-grunge sound that gave them a hit with 'Semi-Charmed Life,' followed up by the charting hits 'How's It Going to Be,' 'Jumper,' 'Deep Inside of You' and more. They've sold over 10 million albums worldwide. • Sun 7/21/19 at - 7:00 PM English heavy metal band Iron Maiden is from Leyton in east London. The band formed in 1975 by bassist and songwriter Steve Harris. The group has become one of the most successful metal acts around. They are known for such powerful hits as 'Run to the Hills,' 'Two Minutes to Midnight' and 'The Trooper.' The often-imitated band has maintained a strong following worldwide. • Mon 7/22/19 at - 7:30 PM Punk,Pop,Rock Formed in Southern California in1998, the pop-punk band's catalog includes five albums and such hit singles as 'Dammit,' 'What's My Age Again?,' 'All the Small Things,' 'Adam's Song,' 'The Rock Show,' 'First Date,' 'Stay Together for the Kids,' 'Feeling This' and 'I Miss You.' • Tue 7/23/19 at - 7:00 PM R&B/Soul,Rap/Hip Hop Crowned the new "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul," Mary J. Blige enjoyed a breakout year in 1992 with 'What's the 411?' Such singles as 'Reminisce' and 'Real Love' thrust the Atlanta-born singer into the spotlight at age 21. The proof of her acclaim is in the consistent #1 albums and singles, multiple Grammy awards, nearly 10 multi-platinum records and over 20 years of love from the public, critics and fellow artists. • Wed 7/24/19 at - 8:00 PM Nelly is a Grammy-winning rapper who quickly became a major player in the hip-hop game, topping the charts with his 2002 second release, 'Nellyville.' Country,Rock Florida Georgia Line boasts they're "where country soul meets rock n’ roll." This dynamic duo, comprised of members Tyler Hubbard of Monroe, Georgia and Brian Kelley of Ormond Beach, Florida, combines a hard-driving rock sound with modern, mainstream country bent. Bluegrass,Country Multiple Grammy nominee and chart-topping country music star Dierks Bentley entertains audiences with his smooth, powerful vocals and engaging lyrics. His rowdy party anthem, 'Am I The Only One,' was the first smash hit off of Bentley’s sixth studio album, 'Home,' and continues to be a crowd favorite. • Thu 8/8/19 at - 7:00 PM Kidz Bop World Tour Family/Child,Pop KIDZ BOP records kid-friendly versions of today’s biggest pop music hits sung by kids, for kids. Over the past 18 years, KIDZ BOP has created the #1 music brand for kids, selling more than 16,000,000 albums. Since 2001, families have welcomed KIDZ BOP into their homes and cars, making KIDZ BOP a fun and safe part of their daily lives. KIDZ BOP is proud to be a part of kids’ music “firsts.” For millions of kids each year, KIDZ BOP is their first introduction to pop music, and for tens of thousands of kids, the KIDZ BOP Kids Live Tour is their first concert experience. Rock,Blues,Jazz,Latin/Salsa Carlos Santana is a Mexican and American musician who first found massive success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, and his own virtuosic guitar playing. The band pioneered a fusion of rock and Latin American music, featuring his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhythms generate on such percussion instruments as timbales and congasm which were not generally heard in rock music. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at number 20 on their list of the '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.' He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. As the frontwomen of Heart, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson are behind some of rock music's most iconic hits, including "Barracuda," "Magic Man," "These Dreams," "Crazy on You" and more. In their nearly forty years as a band they have sold over 35 million albums worldwide and have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rock,Metal,Alternative Breaking Benjamin plays bust-out metal. Formed in 2000, the Wilkes-Barre band gained a solid fan base from their local gigs, which caught the attention of local radio, eventually getting the band signed to Hollywood Records. Their debut 'Saturate' came in 2002, followed by 'We Are Not Alone' two years later. Rock,Alternative,Pop Rock icons The Smashing Pumpkins had a string of hits in the 1990's, including "Today," "1979," "Tonight, Tonight" and "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," for which they won a "Best Hard Rock Performance" Grammy in 1997. Frontman Billy Corgan teamed up with founding members James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist Jeff Schroeder to release "Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun." in late 2018, with a tour to follow. West Virginian Brad Paisley is an award-winning artist who combines traditional country and pop sensibilities. He has scored numerous #1 singles, including 'Letter to Me,' and won Album of the Year by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Alternative,Rock,Pop Mixing a plethora of genres and rhythms combined with truly unique lyrics, Beck has become one of rock's most popular artists. His inventive and eclectic songs put him in the forefront of mid-90s postmodern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture, notably with his 1994 single "Loser" from "Mellow Gold." Over the course nearly a dozen recordings, Beck's stylings have embraced pop, punk, folk, hip-hop, electronica, blues, jazz and Latin musics, cleverly turning the sounds inside-out through collaborations with such names as the Dust Brothers, Nigel Godrich and DangerMouse. One of the most respected guitar players of all time, Peter Frampton has always made challenging, interesting and critically-acclaimed albums. Beginning with British bands The Herd and Humble Pie, Frampton quickly cemented his status as a world-class guitar hero and singer. The 1976 double album, 'Frampton Comes Alive,' was the biggest selling live-rock album ever at that time. Led by Darius Rucker, Hootie and the Blowfish came from playing small gigs at North Carolina State University to the massively popular "Cracked Rear View" album and world tour. The group went on hiatus in 2008 as Darius persued a solo career, but in late 2018 announced they'd be touring in 2019 with a new album to follow. Jason Aldean is a burnished honky-tonk tenor whose music resonates with emotional honesty. The singer co-hosted the 2013 CMT Music Awards with actress Kristen Bell. In the spring of 2015, Aldean was the biggest country act in Jay Z's Tidal streaming service. • Thu 9/12/19 at 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM • Thu 9/12/19 at - 7:30 PM Rock,Country,Blues Robert James Ritchie, aka Kid Rock, was once a rap and hip-hop performer. After releasing "The History of Rock" in 2000, the artist moved to a more rock, county and blues vibe. "Rebel Soul" was released on November 19, 2012. And "Let's Ride", a war anthem to the United States military, was a Billboard hit. He sets out on tour in 2015 to promote his new album "First Kiss." Rock,Blues ZZ Top, aka "That Little Ol' Band From Texas," lays undisputed claim to being the longest running major rock band with original personnel intact, and in 2004 the Texas trio was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard are still very much together after over 40 years of rock, blues and boogie on the road and in the studio. Their many hits include "Sharp Dressed Man," "La Grange" and "Legs." • Sun 10/6/19 at - 7:00 PM Georgia native Brantley Gilbert doesn’t just write songs, he shares from the heart the chapters of his life through music. He is adamant about the fact that the devoted “BG Nation” is made up of his friends, not fans. His sound ranges from high-energy; adrenaline fueled Southern rock numbers to quieter and more tender ballads. • Fri 10/11/19 at - 7:00 PM	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line156
__label__cc	0.538097	0.461903	Gevo Announces Closing of Whitebox Debt Exchange ENGLEWOOD, Colo., June 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), announced today that WB Gevo, Ltd. (“Whitebox”), the holder of the Company’s issued and outstanding Senior Secured Convertible Notes, due June 23, 2017 (the “2017 Notes”), exchanged (the “Exchange”) all $16.5 million of the existing 2017 Notes for $16.5 million of the Company’s newly created 12.0% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due March 15, 2020 (the “2020 Notes”). The 2020 Notes are convertible, at the option of the holders, into shares of the Company’s common stock. The 2020 Notes will have an initial conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to $0.7359 per share. Upon completion of certain equity issuances by the Company, the holders will have a one-time right to reset the Conversion Price (i) in the first 90 days following the Exchange, at a 25% premium to the common stock price in the equity issuance and (ii) after 90 and within 180 days following the Exchange, at a 35% premium to the common stock share price in the equity issuance. “This Exchange is a significant milestone for Gevo. With a new maturity date for our senior debt in March 2020, we can focus on executing our key strategic initiatives, without the distraction of near term liquidity concerns. We ended last quarter with over $20 million of cash on our balance sheet, and we expect that this will be sufficient to fund Gevo into 2018 without any additional financings,” said Dr. Patrick Gruber, Gevo’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our improved balance sheet should play an important role in our negotiations of supply agreements for our core jet fuel, renewable gasoline and isobutanol products. Gevo’s improved financial condition is important to customers, as it provides better certainty that Gevo will produce and deliver its products to them in the future,” Mr. Gruber continued. A Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that will include the Indenture pursuant to which the 2020 Notes are being issued. About Gevo Gevo is a leading renewable technology, chemical products, and next generation biofuels company. Gevo has developed proprietary technology that uses a combination of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering to focus primarily on the production of isobutanol, as well as related products from renewable feedstocks. Gevo’s strategy is to commercialize bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based products to allow for the optimization of fermentation facilities’ assets, with the ultimate goal of maximizing cash flows from the operation of those assets. Gevo produces isobutanol, ethanol and high-value animal feed at its fermentation plant in Luverne, Minnesota. Gevo has also developed technology to produce hydrocarbon products from renewable alcohols. Gevo currently operates a biorefinery in Silsbee, Texas, in collaboration with South Hampton Resources Inc., to produce renewable jet fuel, octane, and ingredients for plastics like polyester. Gevo has a marquee list of partners including The Coca-Cola Company, Toray Industries Inc. and Total SA, among others. Gevo is committed to a sustainable bio-based economy that meets society’s needs for plentiful food and clean air and water. Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, which include statements relating to Gevo’s ability to produce and deliver jet fuel, renewable gasoline and isobutanol products to customer and Gevo’s improved balance sheet and financial condition, are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Gevo and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Gevo undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Gevo believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Gevo in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Gevo for the year ended December 31, 2016, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Gevo. David RodewaldThe David James Agency, LLC gevo@davidjamesagency.com Shawn M. SeversonEnergyTech Investor, LLC gevo@energytechinvestor.com @ShawnEnergyTech www.energytechinvestor.com Gevo, Inc.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line161
__label__wiki	0.867046	0.867046	Home Historiography Articles Roy Mottahedeh’s Contributions to the History of Medieval Iran decrease font size font size increase font size Read 13226 Military Organization under the Buyids in Bosworth's Scholarly Research Prof. Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1928-2015) was an English historian and orientalist, specializing in Arabic and Iranian studies. He received his BA in history from Oxford University and MA and Ph.D. in the same field from Edinburgh University. Prof. Bosworth was a long-standing member of the BIPS Governing Council and the editor of the Institute’s journal IRAN, handling all the contributions in the non-archaeological fields.1 He wrote hundreds of articles in academic journals and composite volumes. His other contributions include nearly 200 articles in the Encyclopaedia of Islam and some 100 articles in the Encyclopædia Iranica, as well as articles for Encyclopædia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana. Moreover, he translated remarkable medieval books like Tarikh-e Tabar, Tarikh-e Bayhaqi, and Tarikh-e Gardizi. Among his books are: Historic Cities of the Islamic World, (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2007). The Islamic Dynasties, a Chronological, and Genealogical Handbook, (Edinburgh University Press 1967, revised ed. 1980). Sistan under the Arabs, from the Islamic Conquest to the Rise of the Saffarids (30-250/651-864), (IsMEO, Rome 1968). The medieval history of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Variorum, Collected Studies Series, (London 1977).2 Bosworth scholarly works on the Ghaznavids including The Ghaznavids, their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran 994-1040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963) is remarkable in such a way that we cannot study the Ghaznavids without frequent references to Bosworth. But this paper addresses Bosworth’s scholarly studies through his article “Military Organization under the Buyids of Persia and Iraq”, Oriens, Vol. 18/19 (1965/1966), pp. 143-167. Reviewing the studies were done on the Buyids (932-1055), Bosworth highlights the orientalists’ disregarding the Dailami dynasties in general and the Buyids particularly. To support his idea, Bosworth refers to V. Minorsky persistent attempts to stimulate interest in the “Dailami interlude” of Iranian history. Minorsky has criticized Spuler's anti-Dailami and pro-Turkish bias in his review of Spuler's Iran in fruh-islamischer Zeit, in Gottingische Gelehrte Anzeigen, CCVII/3-4 [1953], 193-9. Bosworth explores the reasons for the paucity of scholarly works in the “unenthusiastic” or even “downright condemnatory” attitude of Muslim chroniclers towards the Buyids, most prominent of the Dailami dynasties. Bosworth classifies the Buyids and so the historical works written during their rule in two subdivisions. The first generation of the Buyids like Laila b. Nu'man, Makin b. Kaki, Asfir b. Shiruya, Marddvic b. Ziyar and the three Buyid brothers 'Ali 'Imad ad-Daula, Hasan Rukn ad-Daula and Ahmad Mu'izz ad-Daula are regarded as “Barbarians” by Bosworth who “brought savage destruction into the ancient lands of culture and civilisation of western Persia and Iraq” (Bosworth, p.143). He specifies that the Buyid family rose to power as soldiers of fortune, and the part played in Islamic history by their people, the Dailamis, was almost exclusively military “No great administrators, scholars or literary men arose from this remote and culturally backward mountain region of Persia, but the Buyid Amirs depended on secretaries and officials from the Arab lands or from the rest of Persia for the smooth running of their government” (p. 144). Bosworth considers the second phase of the Buyid rule as the time of peace and prosperity. This time, the second half of the 10th century, particularly in Adud ad-Daula Fana Khusrau’s reign (949-983), the Buyid power was at its height and their territories extended from Iraq and Oman to the borders of Khorasan and Baluchestan: “This was undeniably an age of cultural brilliance, above all for Arabic literature and learning; sufficient to note that the Kitab al-Aghtni and al-Mutanabbi's 'Adudiyyat were written under the Buyids and that such great scholars as Abul Fadl b. al-'Amid and the Sahib Isma'il b. 'Abbad served as their ministers” (Bosworth, pp. 143-144). But what Bosworth is going to elaborate on his article is not the Buyid’s cultural achievements, but their military system comprising mostly the Dailamis. The Buyids were an aggressive and expanding dynasty, clashing with the Samanids and Ziyarids in the east and the Hamdanids and other Arab Amirates of the Syrian Desert fringes in the west (Bosworth, p. 144). But what is more striking to Bosworth is not just the expansionist aspect of the Buyid state, which was so common among many medieval dynasties in Iran, but “the mixed nature of the Buyid armies and their place in the development of the multi-national, slave-centered armies characteristic of the middle Abbasid period and beyond” (Bosworth, p. 144). Dailami, living in mountainous Caspian region next to Gilan, were the first elements of the Buyid dynasty. These mountaineers, who revealed their aptitude for warfare, “achieved a reputation as mercenary soldiers, above all as infantrymen” (Bosworth, p. 147). The Dailamis and Gilanis formed the national backing of the three Buyid brothers and are often referred to by contemporaries as the auliya', partisans of the dynasty par excellence (e.g. by Hill, in Eclipse, III, 12, 41, 151, 242, 379, tr. VI, 4, 39, 157, 256, 406, and Tanukhi, Nishwar al-muhadara, 154, tr. 168); and in his dying testament of 356/967 Mu'izz ad-Daula enjoined his son and successor in Baghdad, 'Izz ad-Daula Bakhtiar, to cherish and conciliate the Dailamis and always see that they were paid regularly (Miskawaih, in Eclipse, II, 234 ff., tr. V, 248 ff.). Bosworth is one of the first scholars highlighting the role of the Dailami not only in the Buyids dynasty but also the Ghaznavids, the Saljuqs, and the Abbasid Caliphate: “Under the Buyids, the Dailamis continued to play their historic role as hardy infantrymen, with their swords and brightly painted shields, their battleaxes, their bows and arrows, and above all, their Zupins, two-pronged short spears which could be used either for thrusting or for hurling at the enemy as javelins” (Bosworth, p. 149). Bosworth provides detailed accounts of the military tactics the Dailami infantrymen employed to advance on their enemies. One significant characteristic of the Dailmai was their care for purity of blood and lineage which one might expect in a proud, isolated mountain people, “Maqdisi, 368-9, stresses how marriage in Dailam was strictly endogamous, with death as the penalty for exogamy; when in Dailam, he himself witnessed the murderous pursuit of a man accused of this social crime. Furthermore, within this endogamous framework, some marriage practices flourished in Dailam which were outside those sanctioned by the Sharia and which may have approximated to the looser ways of pre-Islamic Persia” (Bosworth, p. 152). The racial solidarity of Dailami was so critical not only in their military duties and prestige but also in receiving the pay and privileges so that many non-Dailamis frequently insinuated themselves into their ranks, and that periodical reviews of the troops were necessary, “In 388/998 Samsam ad-Daula of Firs and Kirmin was advised by his counselors to make a register of all the Dailamis in his territories, retaining those whose lineage was sound (sarik an-nasab wa asil) and rejecting those whose lineage was doubtful (mutashabbih) or who were obvious intruders (dukhala')” (Bosworth, 152-53). Bosworth supports his striking findings about the Dailamis with many examples of the medieval chroniclers namely al-Athar al-baqiya and, Hudad al-'alam. However, this fact that the Dailamis were essentially infantrymen created a military problem for the Dailami generals who needed horsemen for their thrusts across the Iranian plateau. To solve this problem, the Buyids like the Abbasid Caliphate follow the prevailing military trend of the time and recruit Turkish cavalrymen. The indispensability of these Turkish cavalrymen was readily acknowledged by “the rank-and-file of the Dailami soldiery” (Bosworth, p. 154). Having done much research on the Ghaznavids and the Saljuq, Bosworth compares the gradual growth of Buyid Amirs to their Turkish ghuldms than in their Dailami co-nationals, parallel to the gradual estrangement of the Great Saljuq Sultans from their Turkmen supporters. The presence of Turks in the Buyid troops led to drastic conflicts between two ethnic groups of Dialamis and Turkish ghulams. The rivalry of the Dailami and Turkish elements of the Bilyid forces sometimes emerged out of religious attitudes challenged the solidarity and unity of the Buyid dynasty. Even the Buyid Amirs’ policy of bringing the two opposing ethnic elements together and of linking them both with his own family could not remove the disputes among two elements of Dailami and Turks. One of the fundamental problems of the Buyid Amirs was how to pay their troops including Dailamis and Turkish ghulams requirements. Bosworth explores the roots of this difficulty in the attitudes of the Amirs themselves, “their comparative inability to make the change from being military adventurers to becoming rulers of settled states” (Bosworth, p. 159). For the payment of their troops, the Buyids established a system of land grants, iqta's, in which the grantee was allotted a sum from the Kharaj of an estate or district. The Buyid iqt'a system derived from earlier practice in the central lands of the Caliphate, but the Buyid period is important for the spread and consolidation of the system in western Iran (ibid). The Diwan al-Caish was presided over by the 'Arid al-Caish, who was concerned with the recruitment of soldiers, their recording in the registers (card'id), their state of equipment and military preparedness and the disbursement of their pay. At the peak of the dynasty's fortunes, under 'Adud ad-Daula and later under Bahd' ad-Daula, there were two separate 'Arids, one for the Dailamis and one for the Turks, Kurds and Arabs (Bosworth, p. 162). Besides iqta, the Buyids Amir paid their troops cash grants. However, as Bosworth specifies the persistent attempts of the Buyid Amirs to satisfy their envious troops and unify the rival ethnic elements of Dailami and Turkish ghulam failed and ultimately led to the decline of the Buyids. Maryam Kamali C.E. Bosworth, “Military Organization under the Buyids of Persia and Iraq”, Oriens, Vol. 18/19 (1965/1966), pp. 143-167. [1]. http://bips.ac.uk/notice-edmund-bosworth/. [2]. To learn more about scholarly researches of C.E. Bosworth, you can visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Edmund_Bosworth. Published in Articles Email: info@iranianmedievalhistory.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line162
__label__cc	0.604968	0.395032	Posts Tagged ‘Legal Services Corporation’ Legislative Initiatives Affecting Elderly Clients NOVEMBER 27, 1995 VOLUME 3, NUMBER 22 Congress, led by the Republican majority in both houses, continues to debate and promote “reform” of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Simultaneously, discussion about the future of the Older Americans Act, the Nursing Home Reform Act and the Legal Services Corporation rages in Congress and between legislators, Administration figures and a concerned public. Almost lost in the furor is the fact that other issues of concern to elderly citizens are being actively discussed in Congress at the same time. Two areas of current debate: the rights of grandparents in foster care placements and the estate and gift tax structure. Foster Care Placement The Kinship Care Act of 1995 would require states to involve adult relatives in placement decisions for dependent children. It would make relatives (including grandparents) the “preferred placement option” for parentless children, and would ease regulations governing financial assistance to relatives who act as foster parents. If passed, the Kinship Care Act would encourage states to develop plans for dealing with the needs of families headed by grandparents. It would provide no new services, and would have no budget impact. The Act has been introduced by both Democratic and Republican Representatives, but is unlikely to be voted on before next year. Estate and Gift Tax Under current rates, estate are due only on estates larger than $600,000. While that number is large, and most estates escape taxation, the threshold has not changed since 1987, despite steady (though gradual) decreases in the value of money. House Republicans have revised the exemption figure. Under their proposal, the exemption would increase to $700,000 in 1996, then continue to increase as follows: 1997–$725,000 1999 and beyond–$750,000 adjusted annually for inflation. The Senate has adopted similar, though slightly less generous, provisions. Since these changes are part of the negotiation over balancing the budget, they are likely to be adopted in some form by Congress’ December 15 deadline. Meanwhile, one jurisdiction is taking a leading position encouraging the use of long-term care insurance. While Congress debates mechanisms to increase the number of insured patients in nursing homes, New York State has enacted a tax deduction for the payments on insurance premiums. Policies which meet certain minimum criteria (including three years of coverage, home care benefits and adequate coverage amounts) will entitle the purchase to deduct a portion of the premium from income for state tax purposes. Those deductions are keyed to the taxpayer’s age, and start at $750/year for 55-year-olds and increase to $2500/year for those over age 70. One problem: most of the policies currently available in New York willnot qualify for the deduction. Subjects: grandparents’ rights, Kinship Care Act of 1995, Legal Services Corporation, long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Nursing Home Reform Act, Older Americans Act Comments Off on Legislative Initiatives Affecting Elderly Clients Congressional Activity Steps Up As Senate Debates Cuts The new Republican majority in Congress has consistently worked toward balancing the federal budget and returning governmental control to a more local level. Shortly after taking charge, the new majority was also presented with projections of shortfalls in Medicare and Medicaid. Since Medicare provides the vast majority of medical care for elderly citizens and Medicaid pays for about half of all nursing home costs nationally, any proposals for change in those two programs would necessarily have a disproportionate impact on the elderly and disabled. Recent discussions in the House and in several key Senate committees show just how dramatic that impact is likely to be. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed to a budget for fiscal year 1996 which included a $270 billion cut in Medicare, $182 billion cut in Medicaid, elimination of many federal programs, reductions in other social programs, and a tax cut of $245 billion. The expressed goal is to balance the budget in seven years. As the House and Senate begin to work out minor differences in their respective proposals, several common themes have emerged. It is now almost certain that the Republican plan will contain the following elements: Elimination of Medicaid by converting it to a program consisting of federal block grants to the states. Elimination of the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987. Major modifications to the funding and reimbursement elements of Medicare. Dramatic funding cuts and restrictions on the Legal Services Corporation. Drastic reductions in funding under the Older Americans Act. The largest impact might well be felt in connection with the conversion of the federal Medicaid program into a block grant to the states. Under the House proposal, for example, Arizona’s anticipated increases in Medicare funding would be reduced by a total of $711 million less over the next seven years (the 1996 payment would actually increase by $110 million). The Senate version would reduce Arizona’s anticipated Medicaid subsidy by over $1.1 billion over the same seven years, including a $141 million reduction in 1996. At the same time that federal subsidies are drastically reduced, federal mandates on service would also be cut. Although there are differences between the House and Senate versions, both would eliminate most eligibility standards, allowing states to set their own rules for participation, copayments and deductibles. While childhood immunizations must be covered in both versions, the Senate does not expressly require nursing home coverage (though it does require coverage for elderly and disabled individuals earning less than $1142/month. Most insidiously of all, however, the House version eliminates any requirement of rules governing spousal impoverishment. States would be free to return to the pre-1987 rules, under which an nursing home patient would receive assistance only if his spouse had spent down to $3,000 in countable assets. Even the current exemption for the patient’s home could be limited, and liens could be required at the state’s option. Repeal of Nursing Home Standards The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 set national standards of care for the industry. Among the most important consequences of the NHRA has been the dramatic reduction in use of restraints. In fact, recent studies suggest that the implementation of NHRA standards has reduced hospitalization among nursing home residents by as much as 25%. Both the House and Senate would repeal the Nursing Home Reform Act. This would leave the adoption and enforcement of regulations to the same state governments whose inaction and failure generated bipartisan federal action in the first place. Medicare Financing Both the House and Senate have acted to increase premiums for all recipients. Next year, for example, premiums would be expected to rise from $46.10 per month for Medicare Part B to $54 (the premium had been scheduled to drop slightly next year). For the first time Medicare would be partially means-tested, with high income individuals (over $75,000) and couples (over $125,000) paying higher premiums. The Senate would also increase the age for Medicare coverage to 67, to match the scheduled increase in Social Security eligibility. Originally, a significant portion of the savings was scheduled to come from reductions in payments to doctors. Facing possible American Medical Association opposition to the proposals, House Speaker Newt Gingrich last week agreed to as-yet unspecified limitations on those reductions. News reports indicate that the AMA has voted to approve the changes, after having been promised another $300 million in fees. Legal Services Cutbacks The national Legal Services Corporation (“Legal Aid” to most) has been the target of many previous budget cutting cycles. This time, the current budget of $415 million is slated to be cut by between 18% (Senate version) and 33% (House version). In addition, Legal Services programs will be prohibited from various activities seen as threatening the pace of welfare or regulatory reform. In the Senate version, for example, LSC lawyers would be prohibited from filing class actions. Among the specific proposals being debated regarding Legal Services, training and education programs now provided by the National Senior Citizen’s Law Center would be eliminated. LSC lawyers would be specifically prohibited from filing any action challenging the legality of welfare reform measures or from handling fee generating cases in Medicaid, Medicare or similar litigation, even though private attorneys have not been interested in such cases. Since Richard Nixon’s administration, in 1972, the Long Term Care Ombudsman program has been an integral part of funding under the Older Americans Act. The Ombudsman program has been a mainstay of assistance and support for institutionalized patients and their families and advocates. Anyone working in the field for the past 25 years would be able to recall nursing home conditions and the quality of long term care prior to the activist work of local Ombudsmen. The House Appropriations Bill would zero out funding for the Long Term Care Ombudsman, as well as elder abuse prevention. These actions would save $4.4 million and $4.7 million, respectively (remember that the Doctors’ lobby asked for and was given approximately $300 million in restored funding). The Senate would continue these programs, plus $1.3 million for legal hotline programs like the one administered by Southern Arizona Legal Aid. The House bill also would reduce funding for the Older Americans Act by 13%. Services provided under the OAA include much of the funding for Area Agencies on Aging (such as the Pima Council on Aging in the Tucson area). Subjects: American Medical Association, elder abuse, Legal Services Corporation, Long Term Care Ombudsman, Medicaid, Medicare, Newt Gingrich, Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, Older Americans Act, Pima Council on Aging, Southern Arizona Legal Aid Comments Off on Congressional Activity Steps Up As Senate Debates Cuts	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line165
__label__cc	0.55603	0.44397	Posts Tagged ‘Scott v. Commissioner’ Same-Sex Couples Can Face Higher Estate Tax Liability Gay and lesbian couples need to take special steps to make sure that their wishes are carried out at death. The law makes some assumptions about the intentions of married couples—that they usually intend to leave their property to one another, for example. There are also tax rules benefiting married couples that are not available to same-sex couples. Mary Scott and Lucille Horstmeier lived together in Illinois for nearly twenty years. Ms. Horstmeier was a locally prominent businesswoman, while Ms. Scott managed the household, handled the couples’ finances and took care of housework and repairs. For some of the time they lived together, Ms. Scott worked at the school Ms. Horstmeier managed, but her earnings were considerably lower than her partner’s. In 1975 the two women moved into a new home in Glenview, Illinois. Ms. Horstmeier made the down payment and all subsequent payments, and took the title in her name alone. While Ms. Scott contributed some of her earnings to the household over the ensuing years, she never contributed directly to the mortgage payment on the home. Ms. Scott maintained that the two women agreed that they would own the home jointly, and that her name was left off the title only because she did not have a down payment or a steady income at the time they bought their home. One problem that frequently arises in similar situations can occur when the couple separates, or one partner dies, and no arrangement has been formalized for division or transfer of the property. Ms. Horstmeier, however, had planned for her own death—she made a will leaving all her estate to Ms. Scott and naming Ms. Scott as her executor. When Ms. Horstmeier died in 1993, however, there was still a problem. Because she had been successful her estate was large enough to incur an estate tax liability. If Ms. Scott could have been treated as a surviving spouse there would have been no problem, since estate tax law permits an unlimited amount of money and property to pass to a spouse without tax. But Ms. Scott’s problems with the IRS were even larger. Since she believed that she was already a one-half owner of the couple’s home, Ms. Scott reported only half the value of the home (minus half the remaining mortgage) on Ms. Horstmeier’s estate tax return. The IRS disagreed, insisting that the entire home had belonged to Ms. Horstmeier. The distinction was important, since the IRS position produced an additional $157,404 in taxes. The IRS position prevailed in the Tax Court, and Ms. Scott appealed. The appellate court agreed with the Tax Court, and ordered the tax paid. Scott v. Commissioner, September 8, 2000. What could Ms. Horstmeier and Ms. Scott have done differently? They could have taken the title in their joint names and made joint payments on the mortgage, or even signed a written agreement in advance. The planning they did complete was good—without it the home might have gone to Ms. Horstmeier’s relatives instead of Ms. Scott. They should also have anticipated yet another problem facing same-sex couples in their effort to achieve the benefits routinely available to married partners. Subjects: Estate Tax, IRS, same-sex couples, Scott v. Commissioner Comments Off on Same-Sex Couples Can Face Higher Estate Tax Liability	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line166
__label__wiki	0.785738	0.785738	Army Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Honored with Fort Meade Memorial Plaque T - Mon May 28, 2012 @ 02:55PM Happy Memorial Day Lint Center Mentors and Affiliates! The Lint Center for National Security Studies is proud to announce that Staff Sgt. Richard S Eaton Jr. was recently honored with a biographical plaque at the US Army Reserve Center Memorial at Fort Meade. The transcript of the plaque biography reads: SSG Richard Selden Eaton, Jr., a CI Special Agent and “soldier’s soldier” who represented the very best of the non-commissioned officer corps, was born 9 February 1966 in New Haven, Connecticut. He grew up in Wallingford, Old Lyme, and Guilford, Connecticut — his family home for 29 years. He attended The Wooster School in Danbury, CT and graduated from Guilford High School in 1985. He continued his education at Seoul University for language studies, the University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State University with a major in International Studies. Throughout his 18-year Army career, 13 Active Duty and 5 in the Army Reserves, SSG Eaton served in numerous duty positions that included extensive tours in South Korea with the 2nd ID and two tours with JTF-B in Honduras. He also served on special missions in the Philippines (Feb., 1986) and Panama (Dec., 1989). He joined B Company 323rd MI BN as a reservist in 1998 and worked as a DC area contractor with Sytex and BAE. While working for Sytex, he authored “Introduction to CHATS and CHASIS (the Army CI Human Intelligence Automated Tool Set and All-Source Integration System),” Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, 24: 24-27 October-December 1998. He was a co-founder and co-moderator of the online Army Counterintelligence Discussion Group (ACIDG-L). While working as a BAE contractor for G2, he and other staff escaped death on September 11, 2001 due to the remodeling of their Pentagon office. A G2 staff member and an electrical contractor were killed by the hijacked airliner while making final plans for computer installations. SSG Eaton was also a former civilian employee of INSCOM at Fort Belvoir, VA. Four months before his 2003 OIF deployment he was a contractor in South Korea at Kunsan AFB. Though accepted by a South Korean reserve unit, he cancelled the paperwork and chose to deploy with the 323rd MI BN. He was a tireless NCO, superb trainer and a professional soldier. He was the Bravo Company Training NCO and a co-author of the CI portion of the Battalion Tactical SOP. During his mobilization in Kuwait and Iraq he served with distinction on many assignments while attached to the 221st MI BN, the 223rd MI BN and the 3/3 ACR. In his last assignment SSG Eaton conducted missions for the 3/3 ACR as a CI HUMINT team leader in the Sunni Triangle region of Iraq. After a protracted firefight on August 11, 2003 in Hit, in which he rescued a heat-stricken soldier under live fire, he died after medical treatment the next night from heat stress and rhabdomyolysis. SSG Eaton’s awards include the Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster (one for merit and the other for valor), Army Commendation Medal (three oak leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal (one silver and one oak leaf cluster), Good Conduct Medal (three awards), National Defense Service Medal (one star device), Army Superior Unit Award, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (two devices), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (five awards), and the Expert Marksmanship Badge with bars for rifle, pistol and grenade. He was nominated for the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and received the Thomas G. Knowlton Award and the 3/3ACR’s Order of the Spur. His survivors were his father, Richard Selden Eaton, Sr., deceased in 2005, and mother, Sharon Noble Eaton, of Guilford, CT. They established the Richard S. Eaton. Jr. National Security Book Collection at the University of New Haven and the SSG Richard S. Eaton, Jr. History Scholarship at Guilford High School. The non-profit Lint Center for National Security Studies established the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Agent SSG Richard S. Eaton, Jr. Memorial Scholarship in 2009. The US Army Counterintelligence Agent SSG Richard S. Eaton Jr. Memorial Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis for students pursuing scholastic study in the fields related to “Alliance Building, Counterintelligence, Cultural Understanding, and National Security studies.” The Lint Center for National Security Studies is ever-honored to be connected with CI Agent SSG Eaton Jr. and his family, and we always hope that our work will help the next generation of national security workers to follow in the footsteps of the heroes that came before them. Tags: CI, Counterintelligence, Special Agent, University of Connecticut, Lint Center for National Security, Lint Center for National Security Studies, Lint Center, Richard S. Eaton, Richard Eaton, Eaton, Staff Sgt. Eaton, Army, Fort Meade, Memorial Day 1. sims 4 cc \| my website \| Tue Feb 12, 2019 @ 02:56AM Things are very open and intensely clear explanation of issues. It was truly information. Your website is very beneficial. 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__label__wiki	0.800159	0.800159	July. 16. 2019 Korea Times Weekly (해설판) Copyright@KoreaTimes.co.kr All rights reserved ⓕ font-size Photos 2018-09-06 11:42 Kei Nishikori of Japan returns the ball during his men's singles quarter-final match against Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day Ten of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 5, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball during the men's singles quarter-final match against Dominic Thiem of Austria on Day Nine of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP A photo made with a tilt-shift lens showing Roger Federer of Switzerland serving to Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan on the second day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 28 August 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA Serena Williams of the US hits a return to Magda Linette of Poland on the first day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 27 August 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic returns the ball during her women's singles first round match against Petra Martic of Croatia on Day One of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. EPA Spain's Rafael Nadal serves to Austria's Dominic Thiem during their Men's Singles Quarter-Finals match at the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on September 4, 2018. AFP Nicolas Jarry of Chile returns the ball during the men's singles second round match against John Isner of The United States on Day Three of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Gael Monfils of France returns the ball during his men's singles first round match against Facundo Bagnis of Argentina on Day Two of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Dominic Thiem of Austria returns the ball during the men's singles quarter-final match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on Day Nine of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Sloane Stephens of The United States returns the ball during the women's singles quarter-final match against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia on Day Nine of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Venus Williams of the United States returns the ball during her women's singles second round match against Camila Giorgi of Italy on Day Three of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia serves the ball during her women's singles third round match against Madison Keys of the United States on Day Six of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 1, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic serves during her women's singles second round match against Eugenie Bouchard of Canada on Day Four of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 30, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP A general view inside Arthur Ashe stadium during the women's singles fourth round match between Maria Sharapova of Russia and Carla Suarez Nevarro of Spain on Day Eight of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Madison Keys of the US serves to Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia during the sixth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA Robin Haase of The Netherlands serves during his men's singles first round match against Mackenzie McDonald of The United States on Day Two of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Rafael Nadal of Spain serves the ball during the men's singles quarter-final match against Dominic Thiem of Austria on Day Nine of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Andy Murray of Great Britain returns the ball during his men's singles second round match against Fernando Verdasco of Spain on Day Three of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Fernando Verdasco of Spain celebrates after winning the third set during his men's singles second round match against Andy Murray of Great Britain on Day Three of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball during the men's singles fourth round match against Jaoa Sousa of Portugal on Day Eight of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his five-set win in the men's singles quarter-final match against Dominic Thiem of Austria on Day Nine of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 4, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Novak Djokovic of Serbia tosses his racket while playing against Tennys Sandgren of the US (off frame) during their 2018 US Open men's round 2 match August 30, 2018 in New York. AFP Serena Williams of the United States serves the ball during her Women's Singles finals match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on Day Thirteen of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Naomi Osaka of Japan serves the ball to Madison Keys of the US during their 2018 US Open women's singles semi-finals tennis match on September 6, 2018 in New York. AFP Serena Williams of the United States returns the ball during her Women's Singles finals match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on Day Thirteen of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Serena Williams of the US breaks her racquet as she plays Naomi Osaka of Japan during the women's final on the thirteenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 08 September 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA Serena Williams of the United States argues with umpire Carlos Ramos during her Women's Singles finals match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on Day Thirteen of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Serena Williams of the United States reacts while being interviewed after her defeat in the Women's Singles finals match to Naomi Osaka of Japan on Day Thirteen of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Djokovic of Serbia misses a serve from Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina during the men's final on the fourteenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 09 September 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning his men's Singles finals match against Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina on Day Fourteen of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the men's final on the fourteenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 09 September 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA Choi Won-suk wschoi@koreatimes.co.kr Sign up for eNewsletter	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line173
__label__cc	0.640624	0.359376	Mongolia Travel Hostel Guide to Backpackers in Mongolia You are here: Home / Blogging / How do nomads make Mongolian fur? How do nomads make Mongolian fur? ZayaBlogging If you are not familiar with Mongolian culture, then you are in for a treat because it’s one of the most unique cultures around the world that is almost forgotten and unheard of. Specifically we’ll be learning more about how Mongolian fur pillows are made. Who are Mongolian nomads The Mongolian nomads are people who still live by the traditions of living with the land and the animals. For thousands of years, nomadic tribes have lived throughout the steppes of Eurasia which spanned from Hungary to Manchuria. Most often these tribes warred, intermarried, and had constant contact with one another. It wasn’t until 1206 when Chinggis Khaan or Temujin, united all these tribes and founded the Mongolian empire. He further went on to become one of the greatest leaders in history. However since the fall of the Mongolian empire, descendents of Mongolians and Chinggis Khaan have been living the traditional nomadic lifestyle throughout Eurasia, and these nomads can be found in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Inner Mongolia, and Mongolia. How do Mongolian nomads live Their lifestyle is pretty simple without much worries of the modern day world. They live in harmony with nature and tend to their animals. Did you know that livestock outnumber the population of Mongolia by 20:1? Meat and animald produce are fairly cheap in Mongolia due to that fact. Studies have shown that Mongolian nomads who live out in the countryside are healthier, have better immune systems and overall happier despite living away from the luxuries from modern day technology and the convenience. Researchers are showing that stronger family ties and communities are one of the big reasons for why some people live longer, are more healthier and happier. Usually the nomad lifestyle involves performing manual work such as tending to the flock of sheep, animals, making sure they are well fed and maintained. Division of labour is pretty apparent, where women mostly take care of household chores and other tasks that don’t require much strength, whereas men are in charge of erecting, building things, breakind down horses, etc. What do the nomads do for a living While money is not an essential part of being a nomad, they still contribute greatly to the economy and produce quality materials and goods. From milk, to biscuits, to wool and fur, the Mongolian nomads are an integral part of the economy and supply the general population with food, clothing material, cashmere etc. If you ever go to live with nomads, you will realize that they mix play and work together. It’s as if their lifestyle is not necessarily considered “work” but just part of their life. For example, women wake up early to tend to their livestock, milk them, feed them, and the men shearing the sheep for fur etc. Shearing Sheep Some people might have wondered whether it is ethical to produce Mongolian fur. Good news, because the sheep are not necessarily harmed during the process of making Mongolian fur. They sheep are sheared first, which require them to subdued for a few minutes while the nomads shear their wool and fur. The wool and fur are then transported/ collected and sent off to processing plants that clean them. The material then is sent to other factories that create products and the wool ends up being used for products and goods that are sold in stores. You will find Mongolian fur throws, pillows, deels, coats, jackets, and various other goods that are made specifically for keeping warmth and insulation. Mongolia is still a developing economy so it still has a lot to catch up with when it comes to competing in the world markets, but it’s a growing industry and as the world learns more about Mongolia, more and more people are opting to buy Mongolian produce and goods. Cashmere is one of those big trends and Mongolian fur and sheep wool seems to be next, because Mongolia’s quality is almost unmatched. Mongolian Language For Beginners 5 Reasons to Stay a Few Days in Ulaanbaatar Best Destinations to Visit in Mongolia	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line176
__label__wiki	0.616756	0.616756	Javier Marías: Thus Bad Begins Thus Bad Begins by Javier Marías (Así empieza lo malo, 2014) translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa (2016) Knopf (2016) Act 3, Scene 4 of Hamlet takes place in Gertrude’s bed chamber. There, the Queen and the royal adviser Polonius wait for Hamlet to arrive, Polonius planning to hide behind the tapestry to eavesdrop on Hamlet’s conversation with Gertrude. What follows is one of the most horrific scenes in the play. Hamlet bursts in to his mother’s bedroom and assails her with insults and taunts, telling her that he is aware of just how profoundly she has sinned against him and his dead father. As Hamlet’s violence increases, to the point where he might have strangled his mother — we don’t know! — Polonius shouts for help from behind the tapestry. In an uncharacteristically brash moment of action, Hamlet stabs through the tapestry, killing Polonius, the “intruding fool.” For his part, Hamlet does feel some regret for having killed Polonius, and with that we get a fascinating speech, and the line that serves as the basis for Javier Marías’s latest novel to appear in English: . . . For this same lord, I do repent. But heaven hath pleased it so, To punish me with this and this with me, That I must be their scourge and minister. I will bestow him, and will answer well The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel, only to be kind. Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. Marías has used Shakespeare as the basis for his titles, and therefore his themes, before, multiple times. The title of his novel A Heart So White comes from Macbeth[1]; Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me and When I Was Mortal from Richard III[2]; The Dark Back of Time from The Tempest[3]; Your Face Tomorrow from Henry IV, Part 2[4]. With Thus Bad Begins, though, Marías loads the Shakespearean allusions as our young protagonist spies and hides behind the arras, a kind of intruding fool, seeking, philosophizing, as Hamlet, for the ever-elusive truth. For starters, our young protagonist, the one who will be seeking to uncover the truth, is named Juan de Vere. De Vere calls to mind a search for truth; its root, “ver,” means “truth” and is the same as verity, veracity, verify, verdict, veritable. But Marías is having fun here. De Vere is a name famous now to those who work in Shakespeare because some think that Edward De Vere, the Duke of Oxford, was the real author behind the works of Shakespeare. This allusion is directly addressed in the novel, Edward De Vere standing in as a tantalizing thought that even centuries-old truths, with loads of evidence, can be questioned. The futile quest for truth is at the heart of this novel, with accompanying explorations of why we want to know the truth, why we hide the truth, the consequences for uncovering the truth, how this can become a national tragedy. The novel’s action takes place in Spain in 1980. Our narrator, Juan de Vere, is twenty-three years old, and is a personal assistant to a relatively well-known Spanish film director named Eduardo Muriel. Muriel, being a part of the older generation who lived through the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing years under Franco’s regime, has a life of secrets that are held on to for survival. Toward the beginning of the novel, we learn that Muriel would like Juan to investigate the past of an old friend, Dr. Jorge Van Vechten. Dr. Van Vechten is a well-respected, though womanizing and rather flagrant, member of society. Known for his care of all people during the fractured days of the Civil War, most are willing to overlook his weaknesses, and maybe even consider them part of his charm, or at least his right. At first, Muriel isn’t sure he wants to investigate. For one thing, he knows he will never know for sure if it is the truth. When trying to garner the will to send de Vere on this chase, he says: “The truth is a category that remains in suspension while we’re alive.” He pondered this phrase for a few seconds, gazing up at the ceiling, as though expecting to see it appear there, like the words and names that teachers of old used to write so painstakingly on the blackboard. “While we’re alive,” he repeated. “Yes, it’s illusory to go in pursuit of the truth, a waste of time and a source of conflict, sheer folly. And yet we can’t not do it. Or, rather, we can’t help wondering about it, knowing that it does exist and is to be found in a place and time to which we have no access. I realize that I’ll probably never know for sure if that friend did or didn’t do what I’ve been told he did. [. . .] The worst thing is that, by this stage, even the person concerned may not know what the truth is.” Yet Muriel cannot just drop it, much as he’d like to. What he thinks Van Vechten may have done is too egregious: What stops me simply dropping the matter, rejecting it as frankly unbelievable and not even worth considering, is that, according to what I’ve been told, the Doctor behaved in an indecent manner towards a woman or possibly more than one. Call me old-fashioned or whatever you like, but that, to me, is unforgivable, the lowest of the low. For Juan, Muriel’s statement about mistreating women opens up another, even more interesting, mystery. Muriel may say he honors women, that he demands they be treated with respect, but he certainly doesn’t appear to practice this when dealing with his own wife, “the only one who regularly bore the brunt of those harsh, unpleasant, cold out-bursts, was his poor wife, Beatriz Noguera, or so she seemed to me, a poor, unhappy woman, sad and affectionate. Poor soul, poor wretch.” I admit, this was the central mystery of the novel to me as well. Beatriz is devoted to Muriel, seems to think he is justified in his actions toward her. But why? For the longest time, we know only that it concerns “the truth,” something we do not yet know. One evening, hiding behind the arras, so to speak, Juan overhears Beatriz pleading for her husband’s love; Muriel will not give it, and says: “If only you’d never told me,” he went on, “if only you’d kept me in the dark. When you embark on a deception, you should maintain it right until the end. What is the point of setting the record straight, of suddenly telling the truth?” The wonderful, mysterious drama of the story is underlined nicely by the thing that must be a part of everything, according to Muriel: the Spanish Civil War. Such a dark time fear, when one could tell the truth and be accused of lying, and vice versa. When people witnessed the blackness in another’s soul and had to live by that person in silence for fear of the greatest terror visiting their homes. This novel, taking place forty years after the Civil War nevertheless deals with the secrets from that society that have still not been aired out. But in 1980, five years after Franco’s death, some things were being brought to light, painfully: In those days, in those years, certain distant events were just beginning to be discussed in private, things that many Spaniards had been obliged to keep quiet about in public for decades and which had only very occasionally been talked about in whispers within the family and with ever-longer intervening silences, as if, quite apart from the forbidden nature of the subject matter, there was a desire to confine such events to the realm of nightmares, to relegate them to the bearable fog of what may or may not have happened. It makes one think Muriel may be right when he asks why some things need to be said. What good does it do anyone? Interestingly, this novel is a form of confession, or of revealing a secret. Juan is 23 in 1980, but he’s much older when he’s recounting these events. He has his own secret, that he won’t tell a living soul, he says, and the whole of Thus Bad Begins can book looked at as his own personal struggle to know when to disclose and when to shut up, when to distract from and when to address directly. Marías’s tangential style, with its meandering passages, sometimes going pages before the speaker gets back on track, fits perfectly with the themes, and it’s a beautiful thing to read. Here is a long sentence, filled with diversions. I don’t know why — perhaps it was that remark of her husband’s, or, if I do know why, I’d rather not say, or not yet, perhaps later — but when Muriel was out, looking for locations or traveling around in search of financial backing or shooting the one film he made during the time I was working for him, a strictly bread-and-butter project for the British producer Harry Alan Towers, when the latter returned to Spain to try his luck again after the 1960s and 70s, when he had made films about or based on Fu Manchu, Dracula, Sumuru and the Marquis de Sade, usually with Jesús Franco aka Jess Frank as director and with Muriel himself occasionally deputizing (although he would always become involved in the project as if the original idea had been his alone, convinced that, thanks to his finer hand and eye, he would produce something that would be both personal and rather artistic); anyway, while he was away for a week here and there, and I had nothing much to do but draw up exhaustive chronological lists of authors, in an attempt to impose some order on his vast library, and other such tasks (I have known few men who were so well read), as I say, when he was absent, I took to following his wife whenever she went out alone. The main idea here is that he started following Beatriz — you could cut out all but the first four words and the last fifteen — but look at all of that digressive filler! Here is a man who takes the long road to the point — Hamlet, again — who seems to look for any excuse to avoid confessing. This is vintage Marías, a technique (and themes) he’s utilized time and again, sometimes to greater effect than here, but, for my money, not by much. I’m happy to keep following him as he complicates the seemingly simple. 1. Macbeth, Act II, Scene 2 Lady Macbeth: My hands are of your colour; but I shame To wear a heart so white. 2. Richard III, Act V, Scene 3 Ghost of Clarence: Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow! I, that was wash’d to death with fulsome wine, Poor Clarence, by thy guile betrayed to death! To-morrow in the battle think on me, And fall thy edgeless sword: despair, and die! from a few lines earlier . . . King Henry VI: When I was mortal, my anointed body By thee was punched full of deadly holes Think on the Tower and me: despair and die! Harry the Sixth bids thee despair and die! 3. The Tempest, Act I, Scene 2 Prospero: But how is it That this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? 4. Henry IV, Part 2, Act II, Scene 2 Prince Henry: What a disgrace is it to me to remember thy name! or to know thy face to-morrow Thus Bad Begins: A novel By Trevor Berrett\|2017-08-03T22:57:38-04:00July 26th, 2017\|Categories: Book Reviews, Javier Marías\|Tags: 2010s, 2014, Spanish\|5 Comments Lee Monks July 27, 2017 at 7:45 am Wonderful review, Trevor. I think Marias is getting better, unlike most! Trevor Berrett July 27, 2017 at 4:12 pm I do love his 1990s output, Lee, but I don’t see that he’s diminishing either. I can’t wait for the next. This one came out in Spanish in 2014, and it looks like his next novel is Berta Isla, due out in Spanish in September 2017. If you can understand Spanish, here he is talking about it: I can understand some of it, and I cannot wait! I can’t, sadly, but good to know there’s another Maria’s some way down the line! Tredynas Days August 2, 2017 at 12:39 pm I too enjoyed this one, Trevor, though prefer Your Face Tomorrow trilogy for more consistently brilliant writing. Marías at not quite his best is still streets ahead of most. Trevor Berrett August 3, 2017 at 12:37 am Marías at not quite his best is still streets ahead of most. I agree full, Simon!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line177
__label__wiki	0.674891	0.674891	EXCLUSIVE! Akshay Kumar: I have survived for 25 years without big names backing me MUMBAI, Feb. 8: Today, Indian Cine Star Akshay Kumar is among the most bankable actors in Bollywood. It's quite an achievement for an actor who was on the verge of being written off with 16 flops on his report card. We wonder if coming this far on his own steam gives the action star a kick. Bring this up and he says, "What gives me a kick is that I have survived for 25 years on my terms and conditions, and without big names backing me. I've struggled hard, and my journey wasn't easy. To enter the industry is easier than surviving here. Every 10 years, there's a bus that drives into the next decade, and it's important to get on to that bus. To survive, you have to work in a way that you can hop onto that bus and be there for the next decade." As the actor points out that he didn't have big banners backing him on his road to success and survival, we're only drawn to ask him why he calls himself a 'producer's actor'. Akshay says, "Yes, and I survived because of that. Or else, I would have been thrown out of the industry long ago. Earlier, when some producers would say, 'Usko hi le lete hain' there would be others telling him, 'Lekin uski film chali nahi'. But the filmmaker would say, 'Lekin woh time pe toh aa jata hai, yaar. Teen hero ki film hai, ek hero usko le lete hain. Action bhi kar lega'. The industry never gave up on me. Even when I had 16 flops, I had four films in hand. One of those worked and a new journey began. You have to understand the psychology of the producers. They don't mind if you are a lesser actor, but they would like their films to get completed on time. It is the biggest success tip I can give other actors. Producers are only interested in what kind of a person you are at work. Don't be manipulative, don't order them and they will come around. In this industry, you know people manipulate their releases. If you are a producer, you can manipulate because it's your money. You can't do that if the money belongs to someone else." Being a producer has added to the insight the actor has, thanks to his mentor Pramod Chakravorty, who gave him the big Bollywood break. "I had the insight right from the beginning. Pramod Chakravorty, the man who gave me my break, taught me a few things, one of which is to be a producer's hero. Back then, there were no mobiles and we would make calls from five-star hotels' landlines or the PCO. He told me, 'Beta, always remember to pay your own phone bills'. The producers generally didn't mind footing bills for food and drinks, but what would chew them up is the fact that actors would talk to their girlfriends for hours, and not pay their bills. I always pay my own phone bills, and I don't drink; so, I don't add to their alcohol expenses either. Punctuality is the other thing I'm particular about. These are some simple rules of life. For an actor, his way of life is important," ends Akshay.(TOI)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line184
__label__cc	0.614655	0.385345	Faces of the Trade: Jared Miller “Discipline and being punctual.” These positive traits were gained by Jared Miller during his military service, and he feels they translate seamlessly to future success in the electrical field. After serving in the U.S. Army, including nine months in Kandahar, Afghanistan with the 2nd Infantry Division, Miller came home and joined the National Guard. He then got into the construction field, but was looking for a career that offered more. He found his home as an electrician apprentice. “It’s a pretty promising career,” Miller said. “It’s challenging but also rewarding and exciting.” As he wraps up his second year as a commercial electrician apprentice, he reflected on some of the valuable lessons he’s taken in. “You can never stop learning,” he said. “There’s always something to learn in this trade. If you get complacent, you can get hurt or somebody else hurt. Safety is very important.” Miller also feels a sense of accomplishment about the job skills he’s cultivated since the start of his apprenticeship. “Going from terminating an outlet to running pipe by myself, I’ve learned so much.” Along with these opportunities for growth, Miller believes there are some challenges in the field that you must overcome. “You’re constantly thinking on the job. There’s a lot of math involved, and you take a lot of measurement, bend pipe and work on circuitry. It’s challenging mentally and physically.” As with many apprentices, Miller vividly remembers his first project – the FedEx Freight Center in North Jackson. “I was out there from day one when we broke ground,” Miller said. “We were putting pipes in as ditches were being dug. I got to see that come together from the ground up.” When he’s not on the job site, Miller spends his free time as a volunteer firefighter with the Beaver Township Fire Department, a passion he’s had since he was a child. “It’s nice to give back to your community and be able to help,” he said. “People call you on their worst days and look up to you to help them the best you can. It’s a huge responsibility but also rewarding at the end of the day.” To those interested in joining the field, Miller believes having the right attitude is one of the keys to success. “You should be self-motivated and ready to work. It’s a growing field with a lot of potential.” As he looks ahead to his third year in the program, Miller has his eyes set on his future in the trade. “I’m going to strive to be the best that I can every day. One day, I’d like to be a foreman and have people trust me to go out there with a set of blueprints and complete the job.” This entry was posted in News on May 24, 2018 by necaibew. ← Faces of the Trade: Tina Long-Baldwin Faces of the Trade: Dave McGoogan →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line186
__label__cc	0.531924	0.468076	UW-Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus presents the Lakeshore Wind Ensemble’s ‘Festival of Christmas’ Manitowoc, Wis. — The traditional start to so many Lakeshore families’ holiday celebrations, “Festival of Christmas” will be presented by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus Lakeshore Wind Ensemble (LWE) on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. at the Capitol Civic Centre (CCC). Conducted by Prof. Marc Sackman (Music) and special guest conductor Michael J. Arendt, the wind ensemble will be joined by vocalists Kim Hofmann, Barbara Whitcomb and the Festival of Christmas Children’s Choir under the direction of David Bourgeois. WFRV newscaster Tom Zalaski, returns to help the wind ensemble to celebrate its 35th season and narrate the concert. Sackman has planned a fantastic holiday including traditional holiday tunes, a few sacred favorites and selections that will transport you back to Christmases of yesteryear. Join LWE as it prepares you for the season of giving with “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Minor Alterations 2,” “Carols from the Dark Side” and much more. Members of the Lakeshore Wind Ensemble are delighted to have founder Michael J. Arendt join them for this Christmas celebration. “I’m thrilled to be back to conduct a few pieces this season,” says Arendt. He will be on the podium for two selections for the “Festival of Christmas” concert. His first piece, “Fantasia for Christmas,” is a contemporary work by Elliot del Borgo which is based on “The Ukrainian Bell Carol,” also known as “Carol of the Bells.” Arendt’s second selection, “Christmas Declaration” by Robert W. Smith is based on traditional carols. “It indeed makes our 35th anniversary special for me as well,” Arendt said. The excitement and enthusiasm children bring to the stage has enchanted audiences for years. The Lakeshore Wind Ensemble’s Festival of Christmas Children’s Choir is made up of children, grandchildren and relatives of LWE members. David Bourgeois has 22 eager and energetic children in the choir this year that have been busy practicing since late October. This year the choir will be performing: “Christmas is Coming,” “Merry Christmas to You,” “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” and “Silver Bells Downtown.” The annual audience sing-along will conclude the concert, as the audience is invited to join the Lakeshore Wind Ensemble for a medley of traditional carols. Sing-a-long selections include “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” Following the concert, the audience is invited to a reception in the Mertens Family Lobby/Kadow Movie Museum to meet the conductor, narrator, musicians and choir members. Tickets for “Festival of Christmas” are available at the Capitol Civic Centre Box Office and are $16 for adult seating, and $9 for students and all balcony seating. The quoted ticket prices do not include the CCC Ticket Fee or sales tax. For additional ticket information, you may call the CCC Box Office at 920-683-2184. This entry was posted in News Releases and tagged CAHSS, concert, holiday, Manitowoc Campus, Music on November 19, 2018 by Editorial Student. ← Moxie: One Woman’s Version \| Kelly Ellis \| TEDxUWGreenBay Faculty note: Assistant Prof. Mandeep Singh Bakshi publishes article →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line192
__label__cc	0.532467	0.467533	NNPC Partners Osun On Renewable Energy Devt From States Oil/Gas Slider April 26, 2018 April 26, 2018 Goddy Friday The effort of Governor Rauf Aegbesola of Osun State to genuinely diversify the economy for productivity ‎has attracted support from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to partner the state on renewable energy development. The Corporation said the partnership was necessary to efficiently and productively explore the agricultural potentials of the state in order to drive the corporation’s diversification dream from oil and gas to renewable energy development in Nigeria. Speaking at a meeting with the Governor Aregbesola in Osogbo, the state capital, the General Manager Joint Venture of Renewable Energy Division of NNPC, Mrs Clara Eminike who led the corporation’s team said NNPC was ready to collaborate with the state government on the mass production of cassava for industrial purpose of bio-fuel programme of the Corporation. Eminike said the partnership is also aimed at linking the energy sector with the agriculture sector through the commercial production of bio-fuel from selected energy crops like cassava, sugar cane and oil palm. She assured that the collaboration would help to create wealth, diversifying energy source and also create jobs for the teeming citizens of the state. She said the visit of the NNPC team to the state has exposed them to the need to key into some major cash crops needed for the production of bio-fuel and industrial production for the benefit of the citizenry. Eminike said the Corporation has found out that Osun is suitable for cassava production due to agro-climatic condition, hence the need to set up an ultra-modern cassava processing industry in the state. According to her, “The bio-fuel programme was initiated by the management of NNPC in line with our policy of developing alternative sources of energy. Basically, the programme is aimed at linking the energy sector with the agriculture sector through the commercial production of bio-fuel from selected energy crops and the energy crops that we are presently looking at are cassava, sugar-cane and oil palm. “And usually when we go into any location, we use the cash crops that we know that are predominant in that area; that is why we are looking at cassava for this state. “We are about to look at other cash crops and some other things like sugar-cane and oil palm and basically what we want to do for this programme is to be able to create wealth, diversifying energy source and also create jobs. “We know that oil and gas is not renewable and internationally a lot of people are diversifying from oil and gas into other sources of energy and it might interest you that the NNPC is not left out as we have diversified from being an oil and gas company to be an energy company and that is how this comes into play too”, she added. ‎Eminike noted that the programme is mainly private sector driven with NNPC, the state governments and co-investors who will take the majority equities and operate the venture as the state government provides land and the equities, hence the need for land requirement from the state government. “We have found out that Osun state is suitable for cassava production due to agro-climatic condition. Basically the project will involve the development of 15,000 hectares of cassava plantation while other by-products will include animal feeds, yeast and carbondioxide” Eminike stressed. In his remarks, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola commended the management of the Corporation for displaying high sense of dexterity towards the diversification of the nation’s economy. He described the partnership as a necessity to attract investors, create wealth and generate employment opportunities for the citizenry. Aregbesola noted that the move would support the farmers, particularly the cassava outgrowers who hitherto faced challenges in marketing their agriculture produce. He assured the Corporation of his administration commitment to meet the targeted goal, saying Osun has over 30000 hectares cassava farms across the state. Governor told the NNPC team that his administration had recorded success in various segments of the agriculture sector since inception of his administration. ‎He said his administration had partnered with IITA and successfully launched 5,000 hectares of land in the state in a bid to meet the need of best international practice on cassava seedling and modern hybrid cassava seeds. “Your corporation is gradually becoming a modern resource-oriented, goal-getting and patriotic Nigerian company through this diversification “We must thank the management of NNPC for their high sense of ‎duty. And we commend the team. They are goal-getting, result-seeking and purposeful employees of the corporation”, he added. Aregbesola urged the Corporation not to limit the scope of its diversification to bio-fuel alone but rather expand it to solar energy which he described as the most economical renewable source of energy. “I personally appreciate what your corporation is doing and I commend your vision and foresight. That is how it should be, but don’t limit it to bio-fuel alone because there are several other sources of renewable energy. ‎”It is unfortunate that most people really don’t know that 60 percent of the requirement for solar panel is sand that is abundant in Nigeria. “So, if sand is 60 percent of the material needed to make the panel for solar, please do not dismiss the solar energy because solar energy is the most economical renewable source of energy though it is expensive today because of the fact that the production of the panel is not yet liberalized”, he added. Senator Tinubu’s Empowerment, Skills Acquisition Scheme Begins Apo 8: FG Presents N135m Compensation To Families Of Victims	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line193
__label__wiki	0.701352	0.701352	The New Strands of Power Mar 08 2017 By Peter Frankopan Aamir Qureshi—AFP Silk Road countries, like Pakistan, are the crucible where tolerance, creativity, and excellence can be at their finest—if and when the political climate allows. “A week is a long time in politics,” Harold Wilson is once purported to have said. The world is holding its breath to see what the next four years bring. Every day brings new drama to those who are interested in global affairs. Astonishingly, since November last year, the camera lens has been focused on one building and on one man. We still worry about Syria and Iraq; we still think about Kashmir; we still ponder change in North and Sub-Saharan Africa; we still listen out for developments in China. But wherever you live in the world, it is the White House and Donald Trump that dominate the newswires from morning till night. Keeping up is exhausting. Fact-checkers have to dash for their sources each time the President of the United States mentions an attack in Sweden (that turns out not to have happened), or one of his senior aides talks of a massacre at Bowling Green (that also turns out not to have happened). Those who listened to Trump talk of “draining the swamp” and returning the U.S. from the hands of the elite to the hands of its citizens, look on as policy decisions get made at the Mar-a-Lago estate, where joining fees have doubled to $200,000 since the election. One member not only took photos of the ‘nuclear football,’ the briefcase that travels with the President at all times, but posted them on Facebook, along with a picture of himself with the officer-in-charge, whom he happily identified in an obvious threat to national security. As one wag put it, the waiters at Trump’s club in Florida likely know more about the U.S. response to North Korea than the Joint Chiefs of Staff—thanks to news being delivered “in a crowded dining room” where the President was having supper with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, rather being considered in private. Then there is the chaos and confusion around the President’s picks for senior positions, not least Gen. Mike Flynn, who turned out to be the shortest-serving National Security Adviser in history when he stood down after just 24 days in office. One could be forgiven for thinking that we are witnessing one of the greatest confidence tricks in history: an election of a maverick property developer turned reality TV star to the most powerful position on the planet. If this is correct, then only a fool would laugh. It is in no one’s interests that Trump turns out to be as bad as some are predicting and many fear. Just consider the report last summer that the-then Republican candidate and now-President asked no fewer than three times in one hour why the United States did not use nuclear weapons to impose its views on the world. Or the public statements he has made calling the country’s huge nuclear arsenal “old and tired,” compared with the “tippy top” weapons held by Russia. Make no mistake, these are dangerous times. And yet in the gloom and fear there is light and there is hope. For one thing, it is important to both understand why tens of millions of voters (nearly 63 million, in fact) voted for Trump. It is important, too, to recognize that there is a fundamental difference between rhetoric and words on the one hand, and action on the other. Politicians get voted into office because they are able to articulate to the electorate what the problems are, and offer a solution of how to solve them. There is something in what Trump was saying on the campaign trail that resonated with the American people. Assessing what that was, and giving him credit for being more persuasive, more convincing, and more robust than any of his challengers involves recognizing that however cartoon-like things seem from a non-U.S. perspective, there may be method to the madness. Trump was correct both politically and economically, for example, to focus on the impact of globalization on the American workforce. The move of industry away from the U.S. to other parts of the world has been one of the themes of the last three decades—even though the flipside is that what has been bad for the blue-collar worker has been a joy for the rich and poor consumer alike, who have enjoyed goods and products that have been cheaper than if they had been made closer to home. Trump was right also to remind voters that U.S. foreign policy has been at best ineffective and at worst counterproductive in many parts of the world. That is something few need reminding in Pakistan or in the neighboring region. The United States did not get Afghanistan wrong on purpose after 9/11. The huge resources expended, the failure of the intervention and the bloodied nose at the expense of the Taliban were bad enough. But so, too, was the loss of face as the world’s richest economy and mightiest military were unable to impose peace from above. Aims, methods, and tactics were all wrong, said President Hamid Karzai in an interview two years ago. The Americans “did not fight against terrorism where it was, where it still is,” he said. Instead, “they continued damaging Afghanistan and its people.” There was no other way to put it, he went on: “This is a betrayal.” It is a sentiment shared by many across the spine of Asia, where, for decades, U.S. policy has proved shambolic and divisive. For the historian, it perhaps comes as no surprise to note that the countries that lie along the Silk Roads that connect the Pacific coast of China with the Mediterranean are what matter in global affairs. Empires were won and lost in the countries that sit in the heart of the world, the crossroads between East and West. The countries are no ‘graveyards,’ as is often thought and taught in the West, but rather the opposite: the crucible where good ideas rise and where tolerance, creativity and excellence can be at their finest—if and when the political climate allows them to flourish. And ironically, the U.S. has paid a huge amount of attention to the countries of the Silk Roads since the American Century began—and especially after the end of World War II, when America found itself propelled into a global role that was new, unfamiliar, and daunting. As those who remember the classroom will recall, tricky subjects were the hardest ones to learn lessons from. And as recent decades have shown, this proved to be the case. On the one hand, the U.S. spoke of self-determination, democracy, and good governance; but on the other, it propped up leaders with distinctly undemocratic instincts—because they offered stability and support against the Soviet Union, or in the 1980s against Iran. In Pakistan, Gen. Ayub Khan was kept fully stocked with the latest military hardware—that, in turn, fueled the rise of the Army as political kingmakers—because of U.S. ideological and strategic interests that had much to do with the Cold War, and little to do with the social and economic development of Pakistan. But even after the Cold War ended, lessons were not learned. Rather than shaping a new world order in the Silk Roads and beyond, the U.S. shied away from a role that might have reshaped the heart of Asia and ushered in a new era. Many would have welcomed American leadership, despite the many mistakes of previous decades. What makes the missed opportunity worse is the fact that the baton was spotted and picked up by others. In business, there is nothing worse that spotting an opening, not doing anything about it, and then having to watch it being exploited and taken advantage of by a third party. The most dramatic example of this comes from the New Silk Roads rising today. The One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, and its various offshoots—like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—are part of a fundamental reorientation of a new world order. It would not be going too far to see OBOR not only as China’s signature economic and foreign policy, but as the most important financial stimulus program in the modern era. The real, proposed and forecast transport corridors, pipelines, digital networks, and communication nodes promise to link land and sea routes across Asia and beyond in a way that may change fundamentals about everything from the distribution of global populations to that of energy resources; from the availability and prices of ‘hard’ commodities like metals and fossil fuels to those of ‘soft’ commodities like wheat, food, and water. The initiative may change the way we live, may impact global climate patterns, and will likely shape the future of cooperation, collaboration, and rivalry between neighbors in the coming years. One only needs to look at Gwadar, which will become China’s Shanghai in the west to see what the impact and effect will be of OBOR in years to come—and this at a point when we are at the dawn of the ambitious program that may well spur an acceleration in economic development that will surpass that of the U.S. and of Russia in the late 19th century, when the laying down of rail tracks, energy expansion, population mobility, and increased connectivity led to the birth of two powerhouses that became global superpowers. This could all have been done under U.S. leadership and guidance. In September 2011, then-Secretary of State Hilary Clinton gave a keynote speech that talked about the prospect of creating a New Silk Road across Asia’s spine. The vision that Clinton set out was both idealistic and even simplistic: “Turkmen gas fields could help meet both Pakistan’s and India’s growing energy needs,” she said, “and provide significant transit revenues for both Afghanistan and Pakistan.” She went on to say that, “Tajik cotton could be turned into Indian linens. Furniture and fruit from Afghanistan could find its way to the markets of Astana or Mumbai and beyond.” It was a vision that was not set out on the spur of the moment, but had its roots with S. Frederick Starr, Chair of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and one that had been pored over by officers at U.S. Central Command. The U.S. could have taken the lead across the region, making connections, spurring development, supporting new projects, and shaping the future. Instead, the idea died a slow and silent death, overwhelmed by problems with the rise of the Islamic State militant group, the killing of Gaddafi and state failure in Libya, the failed dawn of the Arab Spring, civil war in Syria, the confrontation with Iran, Russian involvement in Ukraine, and a host of petty squabbles behind the scenes in Washington about the direction of U.S. foreign policy. And there lies the problem behind being a superpower: with fires burning in all directions, it was not surprising that focus should have been lost on what matters. The opportunity that had been spotted disappeared back into thin air in the U.S.; but it was grasped with both hands in Beijing. In September 2013, President Xi Jinping announced a major new initiative to build ties across Asia during a visit to Kazakhstan. Just a few weeks later, an order of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China showed that considerable thought had gone into what galvanizing the old Silk Roads meant. “We will set up a development-oriented financial institution, accelerate the construction of infrastructure connecting China with neighboring countries and regions and work hard,” noted Article 26, Section VII of the Declaration on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening the Reform, “to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a Maritime Silk Road to form a new pattern of all-round opportunities.” This was no kneejerk reaction. Rather it was a reflection of joined-up thinking on the part of Beijing, part of a rational and deliberate plan to take the lead across Asia. The aim was, and is, threefold. First, to secure China’s long-term economic and strategic future through access to energy, raw materials, and energy; second, to play a role in reconfiguring the countries lying to its west (but also to the south, in South East Asia) where the prospects for growth are strong, but where there are also significant fragilities that might not only have negative impact but potentially prove contagious; and third, to fill a void that is being left by the retraction and withdrawal of the United States and by the countries of the West. Nowhere is that more evident and obvious than with the collapse of U.S. aid money to Pakistan in the last decade. As recently as 2011, Pakistan was the recipient of around $3.5 billion from Washington, split between funds related to military activities in Afghanistan and regionally, security linked expenditure, and economic development. That sum has dropped by nearly 75 percent according to Reuters in 2017—partly as a result of the global U.S. recoil, but also because of the disengagement from Central and South Asia, generally. The key question for the next four years—which will, of course, have implications that run a long way into the future—is: What does the Trump presidency mean for the countries along the Silk Roads? A new future is being offered by Beijing, one that is problematic, complicated, and sometimes even suffocating for countries at low starting points, controlled by small elites that see China’s interests with OBOR as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get rich quick (or get even richer, quicker). As the U.S. pulls back and thinks about “America first” and the rest of the world second, countries like Pakistan, the Central Asia Republics, Iran and the states in the Middle East are likely to come under unprecedented pressure from new suitors—and not only from state actors in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, Islamabad, Delhi and elsewhere. As we have already seen in Iraq and Syria, independent groups with no affinity to national boundaries, and/or charismatic leaders claiming to have religious, spiritual or political authority over their followers may well prove destabilizing and challenge both the integrity of national boundaries and the sovereignty of states themselves. It is too early to tell just how Trump’s promise to “Make America Great Again” will play out, and just what the impact will be on other parts of the world if his presidency results in a turning-in of the U.S. to focus on domestic affairs alone. Some cynics might say that this will offer a golden age for Asia in particular to take charge of its own destiny and forge a path that sees neighbor having to engage with neighbor in the absence of a familiar influence whose role over the last six or seven decades has led to mixed results. But a new dawn is breaking. This is the moment for a new start. And like all new starts, there is the duality of outcomes: the birth of a golden age; or disaster. The world of 2017 is one that is going through a phase of profound transition. That in itself is not unusual, for history shows that dramatic shifts have happened often in the past. As a historian, it is difficult, dangerous and even foolhardy to try to predict the future. It does not take much to change the course of what happens next. A butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world can have an impact on what takes place thousands of miles away. For history teaches respect of how fragile the world is that we all live in. Those in positions of authority, influence, and power should always reflect on what can be learned from studying the past. But that moral has never been more important to pay heed to than it is today. Dr. Frankopan, a historian at Oxford University, is the author of the bestselling The Silk Roads: A New History of the World. He has written for The New York Times, Financial Times, and The Guardian. From our Feb. 25 – March 11, 2017, issue.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line194
__label__cc	0.540648	0.459352	Alibay Barkley Alibay Barkley, Coach Early in Alibay’s career, he led his Harlem Little League team to the 2002 Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Alibay hit 5 homers over a two day span and hit eight for the tournament where the team finished sixth. At George Washington High School, Barkley paced the offense in 2008 leading the Trojans to the PSAL title at Shea Stadium. He represented New York in the 2009 National Power Showcase at Tropicana Field. After being drafted by the Angels, Barkley batted .389 in the AZL. The New York Nine was very important in my life because they showed an enormous amount of commitment to me. They dedicated so much time to me which made me work harder and realize the talent that I really had. They showed me how the game was played in the “real world” of professional baseball and what I needed to do to get there. They then got me the opportunity to do that when no one drafted me. The experience and advice I got from the Nine opened my eyes and got me where I am today, playing with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Carlos De La Cruz	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line195
__label__wiki	0.800312	0.800312	Fellow ACC point guards give advice to NC State freshman Dennis Smith Jr. Some of the top players in the conference offer advice to freshman phenom ahead of the season RALEIGH In the era of one-and-dones in college basketball, very few point guards have made the immediate jump to the NBA. While players like Kyrie Irving, John Wall and Derrick Rose have made the transition look seamless, not all floor generals have made it look quite as easy.This year, NC State is putting it’s faith in Dennis Smith Jr. to lead the charge for a team expected to make waves in the ACC. While the supporting cast is there with Abdul-Malik Abu, Maverick Rowan, a healthy Terry Henderson and eventually fellow freshman Omer Yurtseven, becoming a star as a freshman is easier said than done.”It’s not high school anymore,” Florida State junior point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes said. “You’re going against high-profile scouting reports. I know the in-depth scouting reports we have on certain players allow us to know their tendencies, where you like to score, how many times you’re going to go a certain way and we’re going to force all your weaknesses.”Don’t think that you know everything.”Jaron Blossomgame has a slightly better scouting report on Smith than other players in the ACC after playing with him at Adidas Nations in late July. Both players were on Team Wizards along with local products like Maverick Rowan, Abdul-Malik Abu, Justin Jackson and Chase Jeter.Getting a chance to play with Smith frequently both are projected first-round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft Blossomgame said he constantly offered advice to him about what to expect at this level. As for what NC State fans should expect, Blossomgame didn’t hold back when referring to the incoming freshman.”He’s a very, very good player, just a special kid,” Blossomgame said. “He’s very talented. He affects the game in so many ways. He’s not only a scorer or a driver. He can defend, get steals and he’s always active. I love him. He’s a really good player and was really fun to play with this summer.”London Perrantes, a rising senior point guard for Virginia, has gone from averaging 5.5 points and 3.8 assists as a freshman to 11 points and 4.4 assists last season. Perrantes was only a 3-star prospect coming out of high school, but has clearly learned how to assert his will in the ACC.When asked for his advice, Perrantes was initially reluctant before spitting some truths about leading as a young player.”I don’t know if I want to give that dude any advice,” Perrantes said before bursting out in laughter. “But seriously, every night out you’re playing against the best of the best. Just being mentally prepared as well as physically prepared is huge. … You’ve also got to have your team right there along with you that same mentality.”Perrantes joked about it, but Joel Berry actually didn’t want to discuss Smith in length. Having Smith on the other side along with Grayson Allen and Frank Jackson at Duke to defend, Berry admitted this year will be different in the Triangle.”It’s going to very exciting,” Berry said of playing Smith. “Now that we have Seventh [Woods], I think that it’s going to be pretty exciting. … I’ve seen the highlight plays that he’s had, so I know he’s very athletic. I’m excited to see what he does.”As for his own personal expectations, Smith didn’t want to delve too much into that discussion. Mock drafts from NBADraft.net and DraftExpress already have him listed as high as No. 2 for next year while the media voted him Preseason All-ACC First Team and Freshman of the Year.Instead, he opted to talk about what NC State fans should expect from the team. And while he might just be a freshman, he believes his leadership and play on the court should have the Wolfpack in the thick of the ACC discussion when the season gets underway.”It’s been done before at State dating back to ’74 and ’83 or even two years ago when they went to the Sweet 16,” Smith said. “It’s about winning. You didn’t see a lot of that last year. Winning was scarce last year, but I think you’re going to see a lot of that with the basketball we’re trying to play. I think we’re going to have a lot of wins this season.” After campaign rancor, Obama and Trump to meet at White House Five things to watch: ECU looking to finish with a flourish Deacons one win away from bowl eligibility October 29, 2016 Brett Friedlander Sports With a win against Army at BB&T Field on Saturday, Wake Forest would reach the six-win mark that would qualify it for the postseason. That might now seem like such a big deal at most […] Batum goes the dynamite October 9, 2016 Brian Geisinger Sports In the early hours of NBA free agency, back on July 1, the Charlotte Hornets made the marquee signing of the offseason’s first day: inking small forward Nicolas Batum to a five-year, $120 million deal. […] Campbell beats UT Martin, advances to CIT quarterfinals March 21, 2017 Brett Friedlander Sports North Carolina isn’t the only state college basketball team still playing. While Duke, Wake Forest, UNC Wilmington and others are all on the sidelines after suffering postseason losses, Campbell is still alive and kicking in […]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line201
__label__wiki	0.570924	0.570924	Protecting Your Company’s IP Through Non-Compete and Other Restrictive Covenants Download pdf of this article Prepared and Presented by: Jeffrey B. Oberman I. INTRODUCTION. More employers (“OLDCO”) than ever are using non-competition, confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements to prevent unfair competition and solicitations by their employees, and to protect their trade secrets and confidential information. This article summarizes the legal issues relating to such agreements, and provides strategies and practical suggestions to help employers accomplish their business protection goals, and minimize their risks of expensive litigation. II. OLDCO’S POTENTIAL CLAIMS. OLDCO can assert several claims directly against their former employees, which can also directly or indirectly impact their new employers (“NEWCO”). A. Breach of Contract; Tortious Interference with Contract. In addition to a direct claim against the former employee for breach of contract, tortious interference claims can be asserted against the former employee and NEWCO. OLDCO may assert an interference claim where the employee and NEWCO interfered with a contractual relationship with OLDCO’s customers. See, e.g., National Recruiters, Inc. v. Cashman, 323 N.W.2d 736, 741 (Minn. 1982); United Wild Rice, Inc. v. Nelson, 313 N.W.2d 628, 632 (Minn. 1982); Bennett v. Storz Broadcasting Co., 134 N.W.2d 892, 897 (Minn. 1965). If NEWCO hires an employee who is subject to a non-compete agreement, NEWCO may be liable to OLDCO for tortious interference with contract. Kallok v. Medtronic, Inc., 573 N.W.2d 356 (Minn. 1998). NEWCO may also be required to indemnify OLDCO for attorneys’ fees incurred by OLDCO in litigation to enforce the valid non-compete agreement. Id. The employee may have several contracts with which he or she could be accused of breaching and with which NEWCO could be accused of interfering. 1. Non-Compete Agreement. In Minnesota[1] a non-compete agreement can be enforced to the extent it is necessary to safeguard OLDCO’s protectable interests and reasonable as between the parties. See Bennett v. Storz Broad. Co., 134 N.W.2d 892 (Minn. 1965); Lemon v. Gressman, 2001 WL 290512 at 1 (Minn. App. Mar. 27, 2001); Medtronic, Inc. v. Sun, 1997 WL 729168, at 3 (Minn. App., Nov. 25, 1997). 2. Agreement not to Solicit Customers. Restrictions on solicitation of customers have been deemed enforceable as protecting the good will of OLDCO’s business. See Dynamic Air, Inc. v. Bloch, 502 N.W.2d 796, 800 (Minn. App. 1993). 3. Agreement not to Solicit Employees. In Frank B. Hall & Co., Inc. v. Alexander & Alexander, Inc., 974 F.2d 1020 (8th Cir. 1992), the court was not asked to rule on the validity of the employee non-solicitation agreement, but its decision assumed its enforceability. 4. Confidentiality Agreements. Even employees without non-compete agreements may have confidentiality agreements that protect OLDCO’s confidential information and trade secrets. See, e.g., Electro-Craft Corp. v. Controlled Motion, Inc., 332 N.W.2d 890 (Minn. 1983). B. Violation of Trade Secret/Confidentiality Laws. Regardless of the existence of agreements, the former employee and/or NEWCO may also have direct or indirect liability to OLDCO for violations of trade secret and/or confidentiality laws. The employee has a duty to protect the secrecy of OLDCO’s confidential information, and NEWCO cannot benefit from a violation of that duty. 1. Employees’ Common Law Duties to Maintain Confidentiality. Regardless of the existence of a contractual agreement, Minnesota common law provides protection to employers from employees that misuse an employer’s confidential information, or attempt to compete with the employer while still employed. See Eaton v. Giere, 971 F.2d 136, 141 (8th Cir. 1992) cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1034 (1992) (finding employee violated fiduciary duties of confidentiality and loyalty when he courted employer’s customers with product that combined both employee’s invention and employer’s confidential information). But the employer-employee relationship creates a common law duty of confidentiality only as to information that the employer treats as secret.[2] Electro-Craft Corp. v. Controlled Motion, 332 N.W.2d 890, 903 (Minn.1983) (finding no misappropriation where employer never treated information as secret, despite existence of agreement prohibiting the taking of secrets). Further, a common law claim of misappropriation of confidential information requires an affirmative showing that the employee intended to misappropriate the employer’s confidential information. Conus Communications Co. Ltd. P’ship v. Hubbell, No. C5-99-2131, 2000 WL 979133, at * 3 (Minn. Ct. App. Jul. 18, 2000) (refusing to find intent where employer did not provide notice that information was confidential, had no agreement with employee to that effect, and failed to implement adequate safety measures to protect confidential information). 2. Employee’s Statutory Obligation Not to Misuse Trade Secrets. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”) became effective in Minnesota on August 1, 1980, M.S.A. §§ 325C.01 to 325C.08; the UTSA displaces all conflicting tort law and serves to preempt the common law tort of misappropriation. See Befort and Schanfield, 17 Minnesota Practice § 13.23. Misappropriation is an action that allows for protection of certain types of information and is defined as “improper acquisition, disclosure, or use of a ‘trade secret.’” Electro-Craft Corp., 332 N.W.2d at 897 (quoting Minn. Stat. § 325 C.01, subd. 3). The existence of a proven trade secret and proof of a confidential relationship are prerequisites to an action for misappropriation. Id. Under the Minnesota Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MUTSA), the burden is on the party asserting misappropriation to establish each factor considered in determining whether information is a trade secret. New Leaf Designs, LLC v. BestBins Corp., 168 F.Supp.2d 1039 (8th Cir. Ct.App. (2001).[3] (Manufacturer of plastic storage bins failed to show improper acquisition, disclosure, or use of design sketches and design innovations it considered trade secrets, as would show likelihood of success on merits of claim under MUTSA required to support manufactures motion for preliminary injunction to prevent competitor from using trade secrets, where manufacturer offered no proof that any of competitor’s employees viewed or possessed its design sketches.) Id. at 1039. 3. Action for Trade Secret Protection: The OLDCO’s Prima Facie Case. To make out a claim for trade secret protection a plaintiff must prove the following elements: plaintiff is the owner of a trade secret; plaintiff disclosed the trade secret to defendant; or defendant wrongfully took the trade secret from plaintiff without plaintiff’s authorization; defendant was in a relationship with plaintiff as a result of which defendant’s use or disclosure of trade secrets to plaintiff’s detriment is wrongful; and defendant has used or disclosed (or will disclose) the trade secret to plaintiff’s detriment; or, defendant who knew or should have known of plaintiff’s rights in the trade secret, used such secret to plaintiff’s detriment. Surgidev, 648 F. Supp. at 680. The fourth and final factor requires “proof that there is an intention on the part of the defendants to use or disclose the putative trade secrets, or alternatively, that under the circumstances of the case, there is a high degree of probability of inevitable disclosure.” Id. at 695. In Surgidev the court noted that other courts had under certain circumstances presumed that wrongful disclosure would take place. The court, however, went on to note that it did not need to rely on a presumption of wrongful intent because the defendants had admitted their intent to use some of plaintiff’s customer information. Id. at 695see also Electro-Craft Corp. v. Controlled Motion, Inc., 332 N.W.2d 890 (1983) (holding it is “well settled that detailed manufacturing drawings and tolerance data are prima facie trade secrets”); Henry Hope X- Ray Products, Inc. v. Marron Carrel, 674 F.2d 1336, 1340-41 (9th Cir.1982) (configuration of gear system and tolerances was secret). 4. Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine. The doctrine by which some courts presume, that, regardless of the intention to disclose, wrongful disclosure will take place is known as the “inevitable disclosure” doctrine. See PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, 54 F.3d 1262, 1269 (7th Cir.1995) (based on findings of inevitability of disclosure and defendant’s lack of good faith, enjoining the defendant from working for competitor for six months). Id. at 1270-71; cf. Lumex, Inc. v. Highsmith, 919 F. Supp. 624, (E.D.N.Y.1996) (finding that, despite good intentions, defendant working for competitor would inevitably divulge former employer’s trade secrets); but see Hoskins Mfg. Co. v. PMC Corp., 47 F. Supp. 2d 852 (E.D. Mich. 1999) (granting summary judgment for defendant on inevitable disclosure claim where significant differences between companies’ manufacturing processes meant information from former employer would not be useful in new position); Schlage Lock Co. v. Whyte, 101 Cal.App.4th 1443, 125 Cal.Rptr.2d 277 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002) (covenants not to compete are generally prohibited in California and that the inevitable disclosure doctrine would create a “de facto covenant not to compete,” in violation of California’s public policy favoring employee mobility. Id.) In Minnesota, generally a court may issue an injunction only where there is misappropriation or threatened misappropriation of trade secrets. Seagate, 941 F. Supp. at 101; Minn. Stat. § 325C.02(a); see also NewLeaf Designs, 168 F. Supp. 2d at 1044-45 (holding that to obtain injunctive relief under UTSA, the moving party must show there is a high degree of probability of inevitable disclosure).[4] C. Violation of Patent Rights. In the absence of an express contractual agreement defining ownership rights in inventions, the employer’s right to claim ownership in discoveries made by an employee depends on both the nature of the discovery and the nature of the employment relationship. An employer can require an employee to assign ownership rights in past and future inventions, and should do so in writing.[5] The general rule is that “an individual owns the patent rights to the subject matter of which he is an inventor, even though he conceived it or reduced it to practice in the course of his employment.” See, e.g., Banks v. Unisys Corp., 228 F.3d 1357, 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2000). There are two widely recognized exceptions to the general rule: “First, an employer owns an employee’s invention if the employee is a party to an express contract to that effect; second, when an employee is hired to invent something or solve a particular problem, the property of the invention related to this effort may belong to the employer.” Banks, 228 F.3d at 1359. D. Interference with Business Relations or Prospective Business Relations. Minnesota courts have recognized causes of action for wrongful interference with present and prospective contractual and business relationships. See, e.g., United Wild Rice, 313 N.W.2d. 628 (Minn. 1982). If the employee and/or NEWCO intentionally and improperly interfere with OLDCO’s current or prospective contractual relations, they may be liable for this tort. Id. at 632-33. E. Respondeat Superior. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is “vicariously liable for the wrongful acts of its employees committed within the scope of their employment.” Oelschlager v. Magnuson, 528 N.W.2d 895, 902 (Minn. App. 1995). To establish that an employee’s acts occurred within his or her scope of employment, “it must be shown that the conduct was, to some degree, in furtherance of the interests of the employer.” Hentges v. Thomford, 569 N.W.2d 424, 427 (Minn. App. 1997). In an unpublished opinion, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that a new employer may be held vicariously liable for an employee’s misappropriation of trade secrets. See Hagen v. Burmeister & Assoc., 1999 WL 31130 at 3-4 (Minn. App. Jan. 26, 1999). This theory could lead NEWCO to any number of other claims against it, which are typically asserted just against the employee. Regardless, claims asserted against the employee will affect NEWCO, even if NEWCO is not legally liable for the claims. F. Breach of Duty of Loyalty. All employees owe a duty of loyalty to their employers. See, e.g., Eaton Corp., 971 F.2d 136 (8th Cir. 1992); Sanitary Farm Dairies, Inc. v. Wolf, 112 N.W.2d 42 (Minn. 1961). Among other things, the duty of loyalty prohibits an employee “from soliciting the employer’s customers for herself, or from otherwise competing with her employer, while she is employed.” Rehabilitation Specialists, Inc. v. Koering, 404 N.W.2d 301, 304 (Minn. App. 1987). G. Breach of Fiduciary Duty. Partners in partnerships, and officers, directors and shareholders in close corporations owe even higher fiduciary duties to OLDCO. See, e.g. Triple Five of Minnesota, Inc. v. Simon, 404 F.3d 1088, 1095 (8th Cir. 2005); Gunderson v. Alliance of Computer Professionals, 628 N.W.2d 173, 186 (Minn. App. 2001). 1. Corporate Opportunities. The fiduciary duty includes a duty not to take a corporate opportunity. See, e.g., Diedrick v. Helm, 14 N.W.2d 913, 919 (1944). Under this doctrine, when a business opportunity related to OLDCO’s business is presented to an employee, he or she may not take it for personal benefit, or direct it to another person without first making the opportunity available to OLDCO. See, e.g., Matter of Villa Maria, Inc., 312 N.W.2d 921, 922 (Minn. 1981). 2. Soliciting Employees. The fiduciary duty may also include a duty not to recruit other employees to leave OLDCO. See, e.g., U. S. Anchor Mfg., Inc. v. Rule Industries, Inc., 717 F.Supp. 1565 (N.D. Ga. 1989); Duane Jones Co. v. Burke, 177 N.E.2d 237 (N.Y. 1954); Lowndes Prods., Inc. v. Brower, 191 S.E.2d 761 (S.C. 1972). But see Headquarters Buick–Nissan, Inc. v. Michael Oldsmobile, 149 A.D.2d 302 (1989). H. Remedies. 1. Injunctive Relief. OLDCO may seek injunctive relief. See, e.g., Ticor Title Ins. Co. v. Cohen, 173 F.3d 63, 68-69 (holding acknowledgement of irreparable harm in the agreement could arguably be viewed as an admission by the employee that his former employer would indeed suffer irreparable harm should he breach the non-compete provisions). a. Standards for Injunction. Under Minnesota law, the five Dahlberg Brothers factors are considered in determining whether injunctive relief should be granted: (1) the nature and background of the relationship between the parties preexisting the dispute giving rise to the request for relief; (2) the harm to be suffered by plaintiff if the temporary restraint is denied as compared to that inflicted on defendant if the injunction issues pending trial; (3) the likelihood that one party or the other will prevail on the merits when the fact situation is viewed in light of established precedents fixing the limits of equitable relief; (4) the aspects of the fact situation, if any, which permit or require consideration of public policy expressed in the federal and state statutes; and (5) the administrative burdens involved in judicial supervision and enforcement of the temporary decree. See Webb Publishing Co. v. Fosshage, 426 N.W.2d 445, 448 (Minn. App. 1988) (citing Dahlberg Brothers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., N.W.2d 314, 321?22 (Minn. 1965)). In a standard employment case involving the enforcement of a valid restrictive covenant, there are generally no statutory policies, administrative burdens, fiduciary or other significant relationships between the parties to consider; thus, the focus is on the balance of harms and the likelihood of success on the merits. See Webb Publishing Co., 426 N.W.2d at 448. The federal courts in Minnesota generally refer to the Dataphase factors identified by the Eighth Circuit in evaluating whether to issue injunctive relief: (1) the threat of irreparable harm to the movant; (2) the balance of the harms between the parties; (3) the probability that the movant will succeed on the merits; and (4) the public interest. See Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. C.L. Sys., Inc., 640 F.2d 109, 113 (8th Cir. 1981). The party seeking the injunction bears the “complete burden” of proving all of the Dataphase factors. Gelco Corp. v. Coniston Parthers, 811 F.2d 414, 418 (8th Cir. 1987). b. Irreparable Harm. A court may infer irreparable harm where it can be shown that an employee breached an enforceable restrictive covenant. Overholt Crop Ins. Service Co., Inc. v. Bredeson, 437 N.W.2d 698 (Minn. App. 1989). The inference is rebuttable, however, if the former employee can show he/she did not come into contact with any of the former employer’s customers in a way that allowed him/her to obtain a personal hold on the goodwill of the business. Webb Publishing Co., 426 N.W.2d 445; see also Midwest Systems, Inc. v. Faulkner, No. C9-97-2029, 1998 WL 252366, at 3-4 (Minn. App. May 19, 1998) (holding the inference of irreparable harm was rebutted where employee was employed by employer for only five months and was not very successful). 2. Monetary Damages. OLDCO might choose to sue for damages rather than injunctive relief. OLDCO may also seek both. Monetary damages can be recovered in an action seeking injunctive relief as a remedy ancillary to equitable relief granted. See, e.g., B & Y Metal Painting, Inc. v. Ball, 279 N.W.2d 813, 817 (Minn. 1979). The damages caused by a former employee’s breach of a non-compete agreement are measured by the business loss actually suffered as a consequence of the breach. See Lemon, 2001 WL 290512 at 3 (citing Faust v. Parrott, 270 N.W.2d 117, 120 (Minn. 1978)). a. Lost Business. To establish damages, OLDCO must show by a preponderance of evidence that (a) profits were lost, (b) the loss was directly caused by the breach of the covenant not to compete, and (c) the amount of such causally related loss is capable of calculation with reasonable certainty rather than benevolent speculation. Although the law does not require mathematical certainty in the proof and calculation of lost profits, it requires evidence of definite profits grounded on a reasonable factual basis. See Cardinal Consulting Co. v. Circo Resorts, Inc., 297 N.W.2d 260, 267 (Minn. 1980). Damages that are remote, speculative, or conjectural are not recoverable as a matter of law. Busch v. Busch Constr. Co., 262 N.W.2d 377, 379 (Minn. 1977). b. Lost Prospective Business. The method of proving lost prospective profits depends on the circumstances of a particular case. Cardinal Consulting, 297 N.W.2d at 267. The court may consider the departed employee’s wrongfully-gained profits at his new job as a way to measure damages. See, e.g., Cherne Indus, Inc. v. Grounds & Assoc., Inc., 278 N.W.2d 81 (Minn. 1979). In such a circumstance, the employer must show that the departed employee’s gross income, or some of it, was specifically derived from former or prospective clients or customers who had a relationship with the employer protected by the covenant not to compete. Id. 3. Contractual Remedies. Employers can, and often do, contractually enhance their potential remedies. This might include, for example, requiring full accountings, liquidated damages, recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, setting damages based on a pre-determined formula, extending prohibited periods to match periods of breaches and/or providing that injunction bonds will be waived. III. POTENTIAL DEFENSES TO OLDCO’S CLAIMS. Non-compete agreements in the employment context are generally disfavored.[6] Freeman v. Duluth Clinic, Inc., 334 N.W.2d 626 (Minn. 1983). They are partial restraints of trade and, therefore, are disfavored by courts and will be narrowly construed. Bennett, 134 N.W.2d 892; Lemon, 2001 WL 290512 at 1. A. The Agreement is not necessary or Reasonable.[7] 1. Not Necessary. In Minnesota an enforceable non-compete agreement must be both necessary to safeguard the employer’s protectable interests and reasonable as between the parties. See Bennett, 134 N.W.2d at 898; Medtronic, Inc. v. Sun, 1997 WL 729168, at 3 (Minn. App. Nov. 25, 1997). The agreement must not impose any greater restriction on the employee than is necessary to protect the employer’s business. Bennett, 134 N.W.2d at 899. a. Courts consider a variety of factors in determining whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable from a temporal standpoint, including the following: (1) nature of the work; (2) time necessary to train new employees to replace exiting employees; (3) time necessary to allow customers to become familiar with new employees; and (4) time necessary to obliterate the identification between the employer and the employee in the minds of the employer’s customers. Dean Van Horn Consulting Associates v. Wold, 395 N.W.2d 405 (Minn. App. 1986); Klick v. Crosstown State Bank of Ham Lake, Inc., 372 N.W.2d 85 (Minn. App. 1985). b. Generally, agreements longer than a year are suspect. See West Publishing Corporation v. Stanley, 2004 WL 73590 (D. Minn. Jan. 7, 2004) (granting a preliminary injunction where non-compete agreement was limited to one year, employee had intimate knowledge of employer’s systems and products, did not significantly limit employee’s ability to earn a living, and was reasonable); Head, DVM v. Morris Vet. Center, Inc., 2005 WL 1620328 (Minn. App. July 12, 2005) (validating district court’s temporal modification of a non-compete clause from three years to one year where a few of vet’s clients followed her to her new clinic, but many stayed with clinic). Even one-year restrictions may be suspect in some circumstances. See Earthweb v. Schlack, 71 F.Supp.2d 299 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (invalidating one-year non-compete because “[w]hen measured against the information technology industry in the Internet environment, a one-year hiatus from the work force is several generations, if not an eternity.”). 2. Time Too Long. Employment-related non-compete agreements must be reasonable in their temporal scope, or they will not be enforced. See, e.g., Webb Publishing Co. v. Fosshage, 426 N.W.2d 445, 448 (Minn. App. 1988) (citing Dahlberg Brothers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., N.W.2d 314, 321?22 (Minn. 1965)). Courts consider a variety of factors in determining whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable from a temporal standpoint, including the following: (1) nature of the work; (2) time necessary to train new employees to replace exiting employees; (3) time necessary to allow customers to become familiar with new employees; and (4) time necessary to obliterate the identification between the employer and the employee in the minds of the employer’s customers. Dean Van Horn Consulting Associates v. Wold, 395 N.W.2d 405 (Minn. App. 1986); Klick v. Crosstown State Bank of Ham Lake, Inc., 372 N.W.2d 85 (Minn. App. 1985). 3. Territory Too Large. Employment-related covenants restricting competition must be reasonable from a geographic standpoint as well, or they will not be enforced. See, e.g., Ring Computer Sys. v. Paradata Computer Networks, 1990 WL 132615 (Minn. App. 1990). Courts consider a variety of factors in determining whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable from a geographic standpoint, including the following: (1) a “reasonable” trade area; (2) area where employee actually performed duties; (3) employer’s actual business area; and (4) location of employer’s customers. Overholt Crop Ins. Service Co., Inc. v. Bredeson, 437 N.W.2d 698 (Minn. App. 1989). a. Factors. Courts have historically considered a variety of factors in determining whether a restrictive covenant is reasonable from a geographic standpoint, including the following: (1) a “reasonable” trade area; (2) area where employee actually performed duties; (3) employer’s actual business area; and (4) location of employer’s customers. Overholt, 437 N.W.2d 698; Satellite Indus. Inc. v. Keeling, 396 N.W.2d 635 (Minn. App. 1986); Metro Networks Comm. v. Zavodnick, 2004 WL 73591 (D. Minn. Jan. 15, 2004) (denying defendant’s motion to stay injunction where noncompete agreement restricting defendant from doing several “restricted activities” in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area for one year was reasonable in terms of time, geography, and scope); Universal Hosp. Serv., Inc. v. Hennessy, 2002 WL 192564, (D. Minn. Jan. 23, 2002) (granting TRO because non-compete was supported by consideration and reasonable: period of 12 months, radius of 100 miles). b. Customer Restrictions. Customer restrictions may substitute for, or complement, a geographic restriction. See IDS Life Ins. Co. v. SunAmerica, Inc., 958 F. Supp. 1258, 1273 (N.D. Ill. 1997) rev’d on other grounds, 136 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 1998) (applying Minnesota law); see also Madsen v. Spectro Alloys Corp., 1998 WL 373067, at 3 (Minn. App. Jul. 7, 1998) (prohibition against competing “in any market” in which employer does business was not ambiguous and not limited to employer’s territory when employee signed agreement); Farm Credit Services v. Wysocki, 627 N.W.2d 444 (Wis. 2001) (restricting employee from list of customers the employee consulted or served in the year prior to separation is not per se invalid); Commodities Specialists, Co. v. Brummet, 2002 WL 31898166 (D. Minn. Dec. 27, 2002) (granting preliminary injunction where defendant was primary contact with customers, non-compete provisions were supported by adequate consideration, one year was a reasonable temporal restriction, no geographical restriction was necessary in light of plaintiff’s international business, and plaintiff had a legitimate business interest in preventing loss of customers). B. Lack of Consideration. Signing a non-compete agreement at the inception of the employment relationship provides sufficient consideration to support the covenant. See, e.g., Overholt, 437 N.W.2d at 702. However, ongoing employment is not valid consideration. 1. “Midstream Agreements” Must Be Supported By Separate, Independent Consideration. Where a non-compete agreement is executed after an employee has commenced employment, the agreement must be supported by “independent consideration” to be enforceable. National Recruiters, 323 N.W.2d 736. Even if an employee has not physically begun to work, but has already accepted an offer of employment, a non-compete agreement following the original offer of employment cannot be enforced absent independent consideration. Sanborn Mfg. Co. v. Currie, 500 N.W.2d 161 (Minn. App. 1993); see also TestQuest, Inc. v. La France, 2002 WL 196287 (Minn. App. 2002) (affirming injunction against former sales executive because mid-stream agreement allowing the employee to continue working and obtain additional vested stock options constituted sufficient consideration); Midwest Sports Mktg., Inc. v. Hillerich & Bradsby of Can., Ltd., 552 N.W.2d 254, 265 (Minn. App. 1996); review denied (Sep. 20, 1998) (holding non-competition covenant invalid where employee knew before he began working that he would have to sign the covenant, but did not know its terms and conditions until two weeks after his employment began); See also Tonna Heating Cooling, Inc., v. Waraxa, 2002 WL 31687601 (Minn. App. Dec. 3, 2002) (holding non-compete agreement signed after employment commences is presumed unenforceable unless clearly ancillary to the employment agreement or supported by adequate consideration); FSI Int’l, Inc. v. Shumway, 2002 WL 334409, (D. Minn. Feb. 26, 2002) (denying motion for preliminary injunction or TRO on the basis that the mid-stream non-compete agreement was not supported by sufficient independent consideration and there was no evidence of a competing product); J. K. Harris & Co., LLC v. Dye and ABC Co., 2001 WL 1464728, (D. Minn. Nov. 16, 2001) (denying TRO because Court found that covenant not to compete was entered into after employment began and was not supported by adequate consideration). However, where the employee signed a non-compete after starting working, but knew of the implementation of the non-compete agreement, continued working, and continued to receive monthly “draws” (or advance payments on unearned commissions), the Court held that this constituted sufficient consideration. See Progressive Tech. Inc., v. Shupe, 2005 WL 832059 (Minn. App. April 12, 2005) (upholding non-compete agreement signed contingent with ‘draw’ agreement after employee had already begun working). 2. The Consideration Must Be Real. Independent consideration consists of real benefits, which are bargained for between the employee and the employer. “Real benefits” include benefits beyond those to which the employee is already entitled to by virtue of employee status or a separate contract. Sanborn, 500 N.W.2d at 161. To satisfy the independent consideration requirement, there must be a distinction between employees who sign non-compete agreements and those who do not sign such agreements. Otherwise, the alleged “independent consideration” is illusory and insufficient to allow enforcement of a restrictive covenant. Freeman, 334 N.W.2d at 626; BFI-Portable Services. Inc. v. Kemple, 1989 WL 138978 (Minn. App. Nov. 21, 1989). C. The Agreement is no Longer Binding. Non-compete obligations should expressly survive termination of employee’s employment or expiration of the employment agreement. If the non-compete clause is part of a larger agreement – for example, an employment agreement – which contemplates and allows for termination “of the agreement,” it may not be clear that the non-compete obligations survive termination of the underlying agreement. See Burke v. Fine, 608 N.W.2d 909, (Minn. App. 2000) review denied (June 13, 2000). Also, the language in particular contracts may require the employee’s consent to an assignment, in order for the restrictive covenant to be enforceable by an assignee of the former employer. See, e.g., Inter-Tel, Inc. v. CA Communications, Inc., 2003 WL 23119384 (D. Minn. Dec. 29, 2003). In addition, employers often draft merger clauses in subsequent agreements – for example, a separation agreement or release of claims – that by their terms supersede and, thus, render unenforceable, an employee’s continuing non-competition obligations. D. OLDCO Breached. If OLDCO materially breached an employment contract with the employee, the non-compete agreement may be defeated. See, e.g., Marso v. Makato Clinic, Ltd., 153 N.W.2d 281, 290 (Minn. 1967); Prow v. Medtronic, Inc., 770 F.2d 117, 121 (8th Cir. 1985). E. OLDCO Waived. If OLDCO failed to enforce non-compete agreements against other similarly positioned employees, OLDCO may have waived its right to future enforcement of the agreement. See Minn. Mining and Mfg. Comp. v. Kirkevold¸ 87 F.R.D. 324, 336 (D. Minn. 1980). F. Other Contract Defenses. Legal contract defenses, such as fraudulent inducement and misrepresentation, can be asserted as defenses to non-compete agreements. See Empiregas, Inc. of Ardmore v. Vernon Hardy, 487 So.2d 244, 249 (Ala. 1985), cert denied, 476 U.S, 1116 (1986); Richardson v. Permacel Tape Corp., 244 F.2d 80, 83-4 (5th Cir. 1957). G. Equitable Defenses. Since employers are usually seeking an equitable remedy from the courts (injunction, etc), equitable defenses may apply, such as the equitable defense of “unclean hands.” See H & R Block v. Majkowski, 410 F. Supp. 2d 1, 3 (D.D.C. 2006); Medtronic, Inc. v. Advanced Bionics Corporation, 630 N.W.2d 438 (Minn. App. 2001); Edin v. Jostens, Inc., 343 N.W.2d 691 (Minn. App. 1984). H. OLDCO did not Keep its Secrets Secret. The entity seeking protection of the trade secret must make a “reasonable effort under the circumstances” to maintain secrecy. See Electro-Craft, 332 N.W.2d at 901 (quoting Minn. Stat. § 325C.01, subd. 5(ii)). One example of measures that signal that an employer intends to keep information confidential is to require every employee to sign non-disclosure agreements. Surgidev Corp. v. Eye Tech., Inc., 648 F. Supp. 661, 693-94 (D. Minn. 1986). If OLDCO failed to make efforts to keep its alleged secrets private, they likely will not be protected. IV. OLDCO’S GOALS IN DRAFTING AND USING AGREEMENTS. A. Deterrence. OLDCO’s goal is not to litigate these problems; but rather to avoid them. OLDCO wants to deter violations in the first place, if possible; and learn about its risks before – not after – they occur. B. Damage Control. If OLDCO learns of potential violations, it wants to enhance its negotiation positions – again in hopes that it can resolve the problems short of litigation. If litigation is needed, OLDCO wants to enhance its odds of getting a temporary restraining order and/or an injunction, in hopes that it can quickly put a stop to ongoing violations. C. Damage Recovery. If extensive litigation is needed, OLDCO wants to enhance its potential damage recovery from the former employee and from NEWCO. V. OLDCO’S AGREEMENT STRATEGIES. A. Anticipate Enhanced Leverage (Potential Harm). Given the nature of their responsibilities, access to information and access to and influence over other people (employees, customers, suppliers, etc), employees have many unique legal issues, as well as business and public relations leverage. OLDCO should anticipate all of this – up front. B. Use Protective Employment Agreements. Protective employment agreements – up front – can avoid or minimize violations, reduce antagonistic negotiations and provide OLDCO with post-termination business protections that may never again become available. For example, this is a perfect time to bargain for the following post-termination protections (which should expressly survive the termination of employment, and should apply regardless of the reason for and timing of termination): non-competition; confidentiality; non-solicitation; inventions; patents; developments; full disclosure of future business plans upon departure; return of property upon departure; non-disparagement; cooperation with litigation; and/or buy-sell agreements for shareholders. C. Require Reasonable and Necessary Business Protections. OLDCO should not overuse non-competes or make them unreasonably long or broad. That can weaken OLDCO’s ability to accomplish its goals. On the other hand, OLDCO does not want to make it so limited that it misses the mark in the event of a later dispute. OLDCO wants to make sure that it protects – at a minimum – its intellectual and other property, confidential information, workforce, existing customers (wherever they are) and targeted prospective customers (wherever they are). D. Make Benefit Packages Contingent on Compliance with Business Protections. Commission, bonus or other incentive plans, benefit plans, stock grant plans, stock option plans, phantom stock plans, and any number of other benefit packages are desired by key employees. OLDCO can make any of these conditioned upon compliance with business protections; and can even provide “forfeiture” provisions in the event of breach – all part of a “carrot and stick” approach. E. Make any Post-Termination Compensation Packages Contingent on Compliance with Business Protections. Employees often bargain for post-termination severance or other settlement agreements. OLDCO should make any such payments contingent on complete compliance with business protection obligations (as well as a release of claims). F. Avoid Common Drafting and Implementation Mistakes. Given the changes in the job market and increased numbers of protective business agreements, there is a heightened judicial scrutiny; and there are many traps for the unwary, which OLDCO needs to avoid. 1. Avoid Inadequate Consideration for Non-competes. a. New Employees. New employees, including executives, should be given a conditional offer of employments, with a copy of agreement that they are expected to sign – before they begin employment; and should be required to sign the agreement – before they are put on the payroll. b. Current Employees. If OLDCO is trying to implement a non-compete agreement for existing employees, including executives, it needs to provide separate and independent consideration, which must be real and bargained for; and it needs to assure that only those that sign the non-compete receive the stated separate and independent consideration. There are many opportunities to do this, such as those listed in V.D. above 2. Avoid Nullifying the Non-compete Agreement. a. Post-Employment Obligations. Post-termination obligations must expressly survive termination of employment. Do not allow the parties to “terminate the Agreement” unless that is what you intend to provide. b. Assignments. The agreement must preserve OLDCO’s right to assign, in the event of later changes in business circumstances (mergers, acquisitions, etc.) c. Merger. Merger clauses in subsequent agreements, such as separation agreements, must not supersede the non-compete agreement. 3. Strengthen potential remedies. Include remedies with “teeth”, such as requiring full accountings, recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, setting damages based on a pre-determined formula, extending prohibited periods to match periods of breaches and/or providing that injunction bonds will be waived. 4. Require/authorize disclosures. OLDCO should require the employee to disclose full and material information to it about potential violations; and should also require the employee to provide the agreement to NEWCO. Best case: OLDCO learns of potential problems and can deal with them. Worst case: the employee and/or NEWCO are on notice of the obligation and breached it. Either way, it helps OLDCO accomplish its goals. 5. Anticipate multi-state issues. There are many conflicts among state laws pertaining to non-compete agreements. OLDCO needs to anticipate these issues, and vary its agreements as needed. Further, it is critical to include a choice of law provision and a forum selection clause, to best protect OLDCO in the event of multi-state issues. VI. OLDCO’S POST-TERMINATION STRATEGIES. A. Follow Up with Departing Employee and NEWCO. 1. As part of the exit process, OLDCO should remind (orally and in writing) the departing employee of the obligations under the agreement, provide a copy of the agreement (and document that it did so), and ask specific questions and for specific assurances as allowed under the agreement. 2. If OLDCO suspects violations, immediately put the employee and NEWCO on notice of the suspected violation and send needed cease and desist letters. 3. Follow through and do it quickly. Delays will likely expose OLDCO to greater damages, and will make it far more difficult to get a TRO or injunctive relief later. B. Consider Early Good Faith Negotiations for a “Win-Win”. 1. Consider fast, creative, multifaceted business solutions to try to get all parties what they really need and avoid litigation risks and expenses. (OLDCO may want a freeze and a stand-still agreement while the parties are negotiating). 2. Consider face-to-face meetings, with all knowledgeable people and decision makers present. 3. Consider pre-litigation mediation or arbitration. 4. Document any resolutions in an enforceable way. This may include an extensive three-way agreement; perhaps even a stipulated court order. 5. Make sure that the employee and NEWCO are both on full, written notice of their prospective obligations. C. Prepare for Expedited Litigation. OLDCO may need to move quickly to protect its interests. It needs to anticipate all possibilities. Quick complaints and TRO motions are common. Even where TROs are not sought, expedited discovery and preliminary injunction hearings are common. Even if OLDCO is only suing for damages, non-compete/confidentiality litigation is usually viewed and treated as “urgent.” Even if OLDCO thinks it may settle, it needs to prepare for possible litigation. 1. Send a cease and desist letter, and also put the former employee and NEWCO on notice of their obligations to preserve evidence. 2. Gather existing documentary evidence. 3. Gather existing electronic evidence. 4. Know what key witnesses will say, and consider whether statements are needed. 5. Anticipate and plan to address potential defenses. 6. Consider your internal and external communications plans, before and during the litigation. VII. CONCLUSION. In conclusion, employers, as OLDCO, should carefully and systematically implement reasonable policies, practices, and agreements to protect themselves from unfair competition and solicitation of their employees, and to protect their trade secrets and other confidential information. If they do, they will go a long way toward deterring problems, enhancing their odds of successful damage control, and, as a last resort, damage recovery. If at all possible, the best time for OLDCO to get comprehensive business protections is at the beginning of the employment relationship (after making a contingent offer of employment, subject to the business protections). Failing that, OLDCO has many other opportunities to obtain business protections, as a condition to giving generous enhanced benefits to existing employees. Finally, if OLDCO still does not have them in place as of the end of the employment relationship, business protections (as well as a release of claims) can be a condition of any post-termination packages. [1]Non-compete laws are different in virtually every state, and individual agreements may or may not have choice of law and forum selection clause provisions. It is critical to know what law applies and which Court will apply it. [2] An entity seeking protection of a trade secret must specifically define the trade secrets that it wants protected. Eaton; see also I.B.M. Corp. v. Seagate Tech., Inc., 941 F. Supp. 98, 100 (D.Minn.1992) (finding general knowledge within an industry does not constitute trade secrets and that employer must identify specific trade secrets which are subject to protection); NewLeaf Designs, LLC v. BestBins Corp., 168 F. Supp.2d 1039, 1044-45 (D. Minn. 2001) (finding moving party proffered only general information containing too little detail to show why its “customer lists, market intelligence, business plans, supplier information and operating information” should constitute trade secrets). The test used to determine whether information constitutes a trade secret is embodied in Minn. Stat. § 325C.01, subd. 5 (1982): “Trade secret” means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process, that: (i) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use, and (ii) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.” Electro-Craft, 332 N.W.2d at 899 (emphasis in the original); Widmark v. Northrup King Co., 530 N.W.2d 588 (Minn. Ct. App. 1995). [3] Misappropriation involves the acquisition, disclosure, or use of a trade secret through improper means. Electro-Craft, 332 N.W.2d at 903; Minn. Stat. § 325C.01, subd. 3. The UTSA defines “improper means” as: “theft, bribery, misrepresentation, breach or inducement of breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, or espionage through electronic or other means.” Minn. Stat. § 325C.01, subd. 2. To prove misappropriation, the plaintiff “must establish that defendants acquired the trade secret as a result of a confidential relationship, and that defendants have used or disclosed the trade secrets.” Surgidev, 648 F. Supp. at 694 n.16 (citing Jostens v. National Computer Sys, Inc., 318 N.W.2d 691, 701 (Minn.1982)). See Fox Sports Net North, L.L.C., v. Minnesota Twins Partnership, 319 F.3d 329 (8th Cir. Ct. App. (2003) (sports television network could not show that either major league baseball team or its chief operating officer (COO) were privy to any of networks confidential information, as required to prove misappropriation of trade secrets claim under MUTSA, because he did not have access to any information related to the network, and prior telecast agreements were not protected as trade secrets, as predecessor did not mark them as confidential); Luigino’s Inc., v. Peterson, 317 F.3d 909 (8th Cir. Ct. App. 2002) (corporation’s research and development information, financial information, income statements and volume and sales margins were merely general categories of information, insufficiently specific to qualify as trade secrets, for purposes of misappropriation of trade secrets claim, under Minnesota law). [4] Generally, “[i]n the absence of a covenant not to compete or a finding of actual or an intent to disclose trade secrets, employees ‘may pursue their chosen field of endeavor in direct competition’ with their employer.” Seagate, 941 F. Supp. at 101 (citing Surgidev, 648 F. Supp. at 695). The fact that an employee has knowledge of his or her former employer’s trade secrets and currently holds a comparable position with a competitor is insufficient to justify injunction; “a claim of trade secret misappropriation should not act as an ex post facto covenant not to compete.” Id. (citing E.W. Bliss Co. v. Struthers-Dunn, Inc., 408 F.2d 1108, 1112-13 (8th Cir.1969); see also Lexis-Nexis 41 F. Supp. at 959 (following Seagate and refusing to grant injunction allowing employer to “obtain, through the back door of trade secret law, the kind of unreasonable restriction it could not obtain via its original non-compete agreement”). [5] At the time such an agreement is made, the employer must provide the employee with written notice that the agreement “does not apply to an invention for which no equipment, supplies, facility or trade secret information of the employer was used and which was developed entirely on the employee’s own time, and (1) which does not relate (a) directly to the business of the employer or (b) to the employer’s actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, or (2) which does not result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.” Minn. Stat. § 181.76. Existing employees should be provided independent consideration to support such agreements. See Eaton Corp. v. Giere, 971 F.2d 136, 139-40 (8th Cir. 1992). [6] Minnesota law recognizes a distinction between non-compete agreements associated with employment contracts and those arising as part of the sale of a business. Kunin v. Kunin, 1999 WL 486814, at *3 (Minn. App. July 13, 1999), citing Bennet, 134 N.W.2d at 899. The reasonableness of a non-compete agreement in the sale of a business context is determined by a three-step test: “(1) whether the restriction exceeds the protection necessary to secure the goodwill purchased; (2) whether the restriction places an undue hardship on the covenantor; and (3) whether the restriction has a deleterious effect on the interests of the general public.” Id., citing Bess v. Botham, 257 N.W.2d 791, 795 (Minn. 1977) (prohibition preventing former salon owner from having “any interest in any hair salon anywhere in the United States for 11 years” was upheld as reasonable). [7] The reasonableness inquiry is on a case-by-case, fact-specific basis. Davies & Davies Agency, Inc. v. Davies, 298 N.W.2d 127 (Minn. 1980). Different jurisdictions use various methods of addressing overly-broad and unreasonable covenants. Some courts hold restrictive covenants totally unenforceable if they are unreasonable in scope or duration. See, e.g., Fields Found Ltd. v. Christiansen, 309 N.W.2d 125 (Wis. App. 1981). Such courts may take this approach in order to encourage employers to write more narrowly-tailored covenants. See Telxon Corp. v. Hoffman, 720 F. Supp. 657 (N.D. Ill. 1989). In other jurisdictions, the courts will “blue pencil” invalid portions of the agreement, and enforce the rest as written. See BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg, 93 NY.2d 382, 394 (N.Y. 1999). Minnesota courts utilize a modified “blue pencil” doctrine and will rewrite portions to make them reasonable. Dean Van Horn Consulting Assoc. v. Wold,, 395 N.W.2d 405 (Minn. App. 1986); Ikon Office Solutions, Inc. v. Dale, 2001 WL 1269994 (8th Cir. Oct. 24, 2001). Tags: Jeff Oberman's Articles	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line202
__label__cc	0.503523	0.496477	Stock Symbol: PGOL 0.061 Receive Email Updates: About Patriot Moss Mine Royalty Bruner Gold Royalty Vernal Gold Project Windy Peak Gold Project Rainbow Mountain Gold Project › Our Team › Receive Updates › SEC Filings › Moss Mine Royalty › Bruner Gold Royalty › Vernal Gold Project › Windy Peak Project › Rainbow Mountain Company Articles The Current State of Gold Production in the US The top 5 gold producing countries in the world are China, Australia, Russia, the United States and Canada. The US was the fourth largest producer of gold in 2017, with approximately 7.88 ounces (245 Mt) of gold produced. Switzerland, China, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and India are the top five gold importing countries in the world, Switzerland being the largest importer. Exhibit 1: Gold Production - Major Gold Producing Countries Source: Statista 2018 Exhibit 2: Gold Production - United States of America Of 2017 US production, Nevada alone accounted for over 75%. US gold production in 2017 increased 10% over 2016. The increase was largely attributed to the increase in gold production from the Cortez Mine in Nevada and the Cresson Mine in Colorado due to higher ore grades and better gold recoveries; and due to two new mines - the Haile Mine in South Carolina and the Long Canyon Mine in Nevada. Most of the gold produced today in the US comes from large open-pit heap leach mines in Nevada. Gold is also produced from 40 lode mines, several large placer mines in Alaska, and numerous smaller placer mines (mainly in Alaska and in the Western States). About 6% of domestic gold was recovered as a by-product of processing domestic base metals ores - mainly from copper ores. The top 26 operations yielded more than 99% of the mined gold produced in the United States. Commercial grade gold was produced at about 15 refineries. In the United States, jewelry manufacturing was heavily concentrated in New York and Providence areas with lesser concentrations in California, Florida and Texas. The domestic uses of gold (excluding gold bullion bar) were jewellery - 38%, electrical and electronics - 34%, official coins - 22% and other uses 6%. Three of the world's top ten producing gold mines are in the US and all of them are in Nevada: Carlin, Cortez and Goldstrike. Goldstrike - owned and operated by Barrick Gold. The operation produces approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold at an all in sustaining costs per ounce of $714. Cortez Mine - owned and operated by Barrick Gold. Cortez Mine is an open pit operation and produces approximately 1.06 million ounces of gold at an all in sustaining costs per ounce of $517. Carlin Mine - Newmont Gold is the owner and operator of the Carlin Mine. The Carlin operations produce approximately 944,000 oz of gold from the three open pits and four underground mines. Regarding US reserves, it is estimated that over 261.5 M ozs of gold are contained in vaults administered and housed by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department in New York City, Fort Knox and other locations. Top Gold Producing Mines in the United States The top 10 gold mines in the US together account for 6 Moz of gold production - over 75% of the annual gold production in the country. Among the top 10 gold producing mines, 7 of them are in Nevada. Exhibit 3: Top 10 Gold Producing Mines - United States The US is also one of the largest gold exporters The US is also the largest gold exporter in the world. The total value of the gold exported by the US in 2017 was approximately $17.7 Billion (480 Mt of gold). The United States continues to export more gold than it mines and imports. Gold Exploration Budgets are on the rise According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, there has been a rise in exploration budgets of more than 14% year over year to US$7.95 billion in 2017 - the first increase in the annual global nonferrous exploration budgets since 2012. The budget data indicates that, among all company types, the surviving junior companies made a comeback in 2017, increasing their aggregate exploration budget by 23% year over year. As was the case 15 years ago, when the industry began recovering from its previous extended downturn, an increase in gold exploration spending in 2017 is leading the industry out of the current slump. Benefiting from firmer metal prices since early 2016, junior gold exploration companies increased their aggregate budget by 22% year over year to US$4.05 billion in 2017. Gold Production Estimate 2018 In 2018 the US is expected to maintain its domestic gold production at the same level as 2017. The first new gold mine of 2018 in the United States is the Moss Mine in Arizona which is expected to produce 45,000 of Gold Equivalent oz per annum. Gold Production in other countries Large gold deposits are getting more and more difficult to find and produce, due to lower grades being mined and increasing operating costs for older mines. South Africa was once the world's biggest gold producer, with more than 75 % of all global reserves in 1970. The South African gold industry generated enormous wealth, paid for the construction of roads and railroads and made South Africa's economy the largest on the continent. Significant discoveries in South Africa pale in comparison to many other countries, reflecting the fact that most of the country's mines are very old and very deep. But look at how dramatically South Africa's production has fallen in recent decades. Meanwhile, Chinese gold production has been skyrocketing, as has Russia's. Even though the US maintains a strong position in world gold production, it has been eclipsed by China and could soon be surpassed by Russia too. The United States is capable of finding and producing more gold than any other country in the world, but in order to achieve this the American people and the US government need to decide to make increased gold reserves a top priority. © 2019 Patriot Gold Corp. All Rights Reserved. \| Terms of Use Sign-up to receive email updates...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line209
__label__wiki	0.699821	0.699821	Episode 420 — Max Porter 0 Max Porter is the guest. His debut novel, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, is the official June pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize, it is available now from Graywolf Press. Max and I spoke by telephone. He was at home in London. It was nighttime for him. I was here in Los Angeles, mid-morning. His publication story is a good one. He wrote a book that isn't easily classifiable. Usually such books have a hard road to publication. But Grief found a way, and thank goodness. It's short, poetic, and wonderfully surprising novel. There's a talking bird in it. It takes chances. Packs a punch. The fact that it has gone on to do so well is a testament to Max's vision and skill. Wise, witty, and very deeply felt. A real gift to the reader. In today's monologue, I talk about compression in literature, compression of schedule, the podcast's logistical crossroads, Kickstarter, and my need to podcast in a cloistered environment. Episode 419 — Viet Thanh Nguyen 0 Viet Thanh Nguyen is the guest. His debut novel, The Sympathizer, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016. It is available now from Grove Press. I want to say that Viet is the first Pulitzer winner ever to appear on the program. I could be wrong. (Am I forgetting someone?) I read The Sympathizer earlier this year when I was a judge for the Tournament of Books at The Morning News. (You can read my judgment here.) This was before the Pulitzer. Fortunately I had the good sense to pick it as the winner and advance it to the next round; otherwise this conversation might never have happened. Kidding aside, Viet was great. He showed up ready to talk and was everything one might expect after reading the novel: sharp, funny, opinionated, and full of stories. In today's monologue, I talk about moving. Again. I promise this will end soon.�� Episode 418 — Stephen Elliott 0 Stephen Elliott is the guest. He is the founding editor of The Rumpus, the author of seven books, and the director of three films. His latest film, After Adderall, will be premiering at the Rumpus Lo-Fi Los Angeles Film Festival on July 30th. I can't believe it's taken me this long to meet Stephen Elliott. He just moved out to Los Angeles for the summer and he came over and we sat down and talked. I admire Stephen. He does things. He gets things done. He's able to mobilize people. Build communities. He takes risks. He makes stuff. He's a writer. He's the editor of an online literary magazine. And now he's making films. He just keeps going. Great to have had the chance to meet him in person and talk to him for an hour. In today's monologue, I discuss my brief (very brief) history with adderall. Episode 417 — Claire Hoffman 0 Claire Hoffman is the guest. Her new memoir, Greetings from Utopia Park, is available now from Harper Books. Claire is a friend of mine here in Los Angeles. She grew up in Fairfield, Iowa in an intentional community founded by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Maharishi, for the uninitiated, was a spiritual guru and the progenitor of transcendental meditation, or TM. Claire's memoir deals in family history, her experiences growing up in Fairfield, and her struggle to come to terms with what it means to lead a spiritual life. In today's monologue, I talk about my friendship with Claire, and about interruptions, and (again) about my impending move. Episode 416 — Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney 0 Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is the guest. Her debut novel, The Nest, is available now from Ecco Books. Cynthia is living the dream. Or at least one kind of dream. It's a common dream: write novel, sell novel for big advance, watch as novel becomes New York Times bestseller, do media tour for novel, feel somewhat weird and even at times guilty that novel is doing so well. And so on. Really good time talking with Cynthia. Very candid conversation. And one of the best conversations I've ever had about what it really takes to make a book a bestseller. In today's monologue, I talk about moving, and customer service representatives, and spiritual depletion at the hands of customer service representatives. And also my dog's bleeding anus.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line213
__label__wiki	0.592657	0.592657	REVIEW: TWENTY POEMS THAT COULD SAVE AMERICA \| TONY HOAGLAND Graywolf Press \| November 2014 \| $16.00 \| Purchase online Review by Colin Morton Don’t be misled by the title. Author Tony Hoagland doesn’t make unrealistic claims for the power of poetry to save, nor is it exclusively for or about Americans. Among the poems unpacked in these entertaining essays are ones by Yehuda Amicha, Ann Carson, Tomas Tranströmer, Jean Follain, Eavan Boland. While the title essay appeared on Harper’s online and others were published in journals like Poetry, Kenyon Review and American Poetry Review, they combine to give a coherent overview of current writing practice. The book could even serve as a textbook for an advanced poetry course. Hoagland celebrates the eclectic idiomatic exuberance of the English language, explores modernist and post-modern strategies for poetic form and structure, and revisits the appeal and pitfalls of populist poetics from Ferlinghetti to Dean Young. His critical insights are especially instructive when considering the contemporary “composite” poem, whose disjunctive lines risk randomness and lack of focus: Concise dramatic shape is important, even in “loose” associative poems, because poems are pressurized containers. A poem must contain energy, that is, hold it in … Let us liken a poem to an internal combustion engine. It is mounted, or housed, inside a sturdy frame. The structure must be sturdy because the contents of the poem are combustive; the vibrations are fierce. He goes on to show the sturdy “housing” of disjunctive poems by Carson, Tranströmer and others, and contrasts these with less successful, because random, poems that seem outwardly similar. And while directing attention especially to such radical strategies, Hoagland shuns the prescriptive: The idea that there is some historical aesthetic march of “progress” in literary forms is silly. A contemporary poem can as brilliantly succeed in a narrative mode, a confessional mode, or as a villanelle … Nonetheless, as artists, we are seekers, seekers of technical discovery as well as of vision … thus we are never really indifferent about the possibility of new poetic structural forms, because we are always on a quest for greater expressive power. Hoagland’s sympathies, though, are most often with the writers he calls “wisdom poets” such as Lucille Clifton, Jane Kenyon, Sharon Olds, William Stafford, Galway Kinnell, Linda Gregg – poets who “aren’t taught in many MFA programs; such poems aren’t, perhaps, viewed as difficult enough to need smart people to explain them. Against a post-modern background, the sincerity of such poets must seem, well, simplistic.” The title essay addresses the failure of American schools to bring contemporary poetry into the classroom and thus into the broader cultural conversation. It’s a failure that, despite some exceptional teachers and the League’s Poets-in-the-Schools program, can no doubt be seen in Canadian classrooms too. There’s nothing wrong with teaching old chestnuts like “The Road Not Taken” and “Do Not Go Gentle,” but to stop there is leave students with the impression that poetry is dead and unengaged with today’s cultural issues. Worse, it is to leave the field to a celebrity culture that cheapens and trivializes. Hoagland’s twenty recommended poems do tend to be the “improving” kind, and they include ones we might consider “chestnuts” like “Traveling through the Dark” and “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” but his selection makes room for play and irreverence. It emphasizes poetry’s “populist brilliance and range. It can be high and low, entertaining, erudite, provocative, rude, brainy, and mysterious.” Overall, these essays combat the general public’s prejudice or impression that poetry is stodgy and elitist. The saving of America is a tall order, even for Walt Whitman, but the light Tony Hoagland casts on our generation’s poetry illuminates some key features of the landscape for readers and writers alike. COLIN MORTON is a writer who lives in Ottawa, Canada. He has published ten books of poetry (four of them award-winners) and a novel, as well as editing and collaborating on a handful of other books and an award-winning animated film. Also an essayist and reviewer, he helps direct the Tree Reading Series in Ottawa. TONY HOAGLAND is the author of four poetry collections, including What Narcissism Means to Me, and a previous collection of essays, Real Sofistikashun: Essays on Poetry and Craft. He teaches at the University of Houston. Being Laureate—guest post from Renee Saklikar, Surrey’s new Poet Laureate To travel the city, listening—	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line217
__label__wiki	0.735286	0.735286	# Arts See how Polish designers and architects are changing the world around them. Discover their most interesting works, which often set global trends. Like a King! Visit for free the Royal residences in Warsaw and Kraków! The Royal Castle, the Royal Łazienki Museum and the Museum of King Jan III Palace at Wilanów in Warsaw, as well as and Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow have opened their doors for visitors. Admission-free November at Royal Residences campaign will last to November 30! This year's edition is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Poland's regaining independence in the context of lost and recovered cultural heritage. Moda Polska - the 60th anniversary of the brand that “reinvented the Polish woman” Moda Polska used to be more than just the clothing brand we know today. Navigating the complex reality of the “centrally planned economy”, thanks to its charismatic designers, it introduced female Poles to the world of sophisticated and practical fashion. The exhibition “Jerzy Antkowiak - Moda Polska” will open at The Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz on17 March 2019. Poland The Honourary Guest At Vienna Design Week 2018 Poland is the guest country at the 12th edition of Vienna Design Week, Austria’s biggest design event. Poland will introduce visitors to the ABCs of Polish design, Tadeusz Kantor’s work in virtual reality, the best Polish logos and more. Warsaw murals Warsaw street art can be founded in almost each district of Polish capital, but usually it is a bit hidden from most common tourist routes. However, it is worth a try to look for it. Unique knife of an early medieval scribe discovered in Pasym Unique knife used by early medieval scribe has been discovered in the Pasym castle (Warmia and Mazury). The VIII-IX century knife is the only such object known from Poland. The closest similar objects come from Great Britain, Frisia or Norway. The Kraków Nativity Scene Contest Exhibition in Celestat The first edition of the contest was organized in 1937 by the Municipal Art Propaganda Office of the Kraków Municipal Board, and was initiated by Jerzy Dobrzycki, the then director of the Office. Poland’s creative industry promoted in Copenhagen Thanks to the efforts of the Polish Embassy in Copenhagen, Danes were given the opportunity to become acquainted with the most interesting Polish industrial design projects. A quiet place in the Polish "House of Cards" Houses of paper? The idea is as original, as it is viable. Polish architects have an idea for houses built of paper cards, intended for refugees or people whose houses have been destroyed by natural disasters. Polish architects awarded in European garden design competition Polish architects have received second prize in the 2018 European Garden Award competition's "innovative contemporary concept or design of a park or garden" category. Winners of the Cursed Soldiers Museum project announced The MOC architectural studio of Katowice has been announced as the winner of a competition to design and build Warsaw’s Museum of Cursed Soldiers & Political Prisoners in the Polish People’s Republic. The results of the competition were announced in Warsaw. Polish museum named World Building of the Year The National Museum and Dialogue Centre in Szczecin, in Poland's northwest, has been named World Building of the Year 2016. Legendary Syrena to hit Polish roads again After a 30-year break, the Syrena, a legendary Polish car manufactured between 1957 and 1983, will appear on Polish roads again. And, with a little bit of luck, it will come in two versions. Polish student designs luxury yachts A student of architecture at the Gdańsk University of Technology is one of the world’s best luxury yacht designers. Marlena Ratajska is one of the six finalists of the ShowBoats Design Awards in the Young Designer of the Year 2016 category. Warsaw Jewish museum declared 'European Museum of the Year' The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw has received the European Museum of the Year Award. - thenews.pl Bollywood’s Polish film city Three students of architecture at the Poznan University of Technology have won the opportunity to design a film city in Mumbai as part of the “Film City Tower \| Mumbai: Bollywood Re-Imagined” competition. Poland carves out place on world’s architectural map The Szczecin Philharmonic, the Silesian Museum in Katowice and Warsaw’s POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews are deemed to be among the most distinguished works of modern architecture. While Polish architect studios continue to collect coveted projects, Poland also attracts the world’s most famous architects, who are taking on ambitious assignments across the country. Oskar Zięta’s furniture of the future The work of famous Polish architect and designer Oskar Zięta has been on display at internationally acclaimed exhibitions all over the world, including the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Now, his creative gems are part of a Polish plan for a space centre on Mars. Poland’s Passion for Patterns Propelled by a newfound passion for pattern, a new generation of Polish designers is making a name for itself internationally. Museum at coal mine site Pieces of Tadeusz Kantor’s stage sets, graphics by Leon Tarasiewicz and paintings by Nikifor, the famous primitivist, will be on display at the new, ultra-modern building of the Silesian Museum in Katowice, which opens to the public on 26 June. The luxury Aston Martin DBS and the Ferrari California, the economical Alfa Romeo Giuglietta and the Tata Indica Vista—it is not widely known that the world’s most popular cars have been designed by Poles. “In order to be a successful car designer, you need to dedicate your entire life to the process. I had decided on my future career at the age of five”, Janusz Kaniewski, the most famous Polish car designer, who also worked with Ferrari, told Polska.pl in an interview shortly before his sudden death on 9 May. Hansens’ House in Szumin It is the only Polish building listed in the international index of modernist family houses – Iconic Houses Network. Renowned personalities from the world of fashion are expected at the April Fashion Week Poland in Łódź. A shared history of all Poles Today, the 80-year-old building of the Maritime Station at 1 Polska Street in Gdynia houses an Emigration Museum, the first of its kind in Poland. A musical symbol of Szczecin Szczecin Filharmonic Hall named Greatest Contemporary Architecture Piece in Europe! It received the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award 2015. Modernity in the Silesian brick The new home of the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra in Katowice is located in one of the most modern philharmonic buildings in the world. Shakespeare Theatre back in Gdansk The Gdansk Shakespeare is the first seat of a dramatic theatre constructed from scratch in Poland after the Second World War. Green houses made in Poland It uses rainwater to flush toilets and has filters on window air conditioning units that do not let exhaust fumes inside. Designed by Polish engineers, the Multi-dwelling Urban Building 2030 sets construction standards that will become binding in the EU in 16 years. Neon Muzeum They used to shine on the buildings in Polish cities; now they have their own museum. Museum of Life Warsaw Museum of the History of Polish Jews shows Poland as a meeting point of different cultures, languages and religions. European Solidarity Centre Heroes of the Solidarity movement will be giving guided tours to the first visitors of the European Solidarity Centre, which opened in Gdansk on 30 August. Polish designers set global trends American politicians wear their jewellery while critics put Polish designs on the covers of coffee-table books about art. Revival of design from behind the Iron Curtain Furniture, clothes and everyday objects reflecting the best design made during Communist times are now iconic. Hay-like bedlinen Tasteful and ingenious projects by Polish industrial designers decorate interiors all over the world and win prestigious awards. Baltic Sea Art Park Polish architects from the Warsaw WXCA architectural firm won an international competition for a design of a floating art gallery of the Baltic Sea states that will be built in the city of Pärnu, Estonia.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line218
__label__cc	0.63316	0.36684	Displaying: Tuesday, Jun 25 All times in CDT Skip To: January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2018 2019 2020 Displaying: Tuesday, Jun 25 All times in CDT Skip To: January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2018 2019 2020 12:00 am 12:30 am 01:00 am 01:30 am 02:00 am 02:30 am 03:00 am 03:30 am 04:00 am 04:30 am 05:00 am 05:30 am 06:00 am 06:30 am 07:00 am 07:30 am 08:00 am 08:30 am 09:00 am 09:30 am 10:00 am 10:30 am 11:00 am 11:30 am 12:00 pm 12:30 pm 01:00 pm 01:30 pm 02:00 pm 02:30 pm 03:00 pm 03:30 pm 04:00 pm 04:30 pm 05:00 pm 05:30 pm 06:00 pm 06:30 pm 07:00 pm 07:30 pm 08:00 pm 08:30 pm 09:00 pm 09:30 pm 10:00 pm 10:30 pm 11:00 pm 11:30 pm The End of the Ocean/Antarctic Ranger The Reeftown Rangers wonder where the end of the ocean is, or if the ocean even has an end. They venture out to find the end of the ocean and discover a rainbow salmon, Sal, who teaches them about the difference between fresh water and seawater, and about where all the water goes beyond the ocean. / Splash, Bubbles, Dunk and Ripple travel to the Antarctic and meet a new friend, Dive, a gentoo penguin who can live in and out of the water. Dive wants to be a Reeftown Ranger, but needs to learn that he is not just like a fish! Pteranodon Family World Tour/Gilbert The Junior Conductor Pteranodon Family World Tour - The entire Pteranodon family embarks on a roaring, exploring, World Tour adventure! They meet the Conductor's nephew, Gilbert, who takes them on a tour to meet Martin Amargasaurus, a spine spangled quadruped with an intimidating sail. Gilbert the Junior Conductor - The Pteranodon family is on a World Tour and get to sleep in a special Sleeping Car on the Dinosaur Train. During their first full day on the Train, the kids are super excited to play with Gilbert, the Conductor's nephew. Don gets jealous and finally admit his feelings, leading to a reaffirmation of his friendship with Buddy. Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! Cause and Effect/Good Vibrations When Nick's water glass suddenly falls over without anyone touching it, Cat comes to help them solve the mystery. They go to The Great Causeway and discover the world of cause and effect. Nick and Sally are playing musical instruments and notice that Fish's water is rippling. Why? Cat takes them to the Jingly Jungle for a concert by the great Vibrato. They discover that sound and vibration go together. Sounds and Music! When Caillou visits Clementine, he is impressed to see Billy practicing on a Tuba. Soon, Billy's marching band mates arrive to practice. Clementine and Caillou wish they could join in too. They make their own pretend horns with cardboard tubes. Also, on a winter evening, a strange sound grabs Caillou's attention. He follows the sound to find out its source. Caillou continues his search and discovers Gilbert in his room, having a great time playing with a baby toy. Later, Caillou goes up to the attic with Mom and finds a box containing a teddy bear and a music box. Caillou and Rosie find a way to share these treasures. Caillou gets a special invitation to go to Andre's gym class. A little intimidated at first, Caillou tries his best and ends up having great fun. Caillou finds the leap-frog exercise difficult but he keeps trying and finally succeeds. Caillou learns to deal with a change in plans, when Daddy has to use the car and Mommy and Caillou have to take the subway. Caillou has fun checking out the map, getting tickets and listening to the musicians! In fact he has so much fun, he and Mom decide to take the subway home! Sleep? Who Needs It?! Sid is ready to stay up all night so he and his stuffed animals can pretend to fly into space on a rocket ship! When his Mom insists that he can't stay up, Sid ventures to school to investigate more. He and friends explore how the body needs sleep to properly function, and most important, we need sleep to grow and stay healthy! Understanding that sometimes we feel too excited to sleep (like before an adventure into space), Susie presents a special Super Fab Lab where the kids practice calming down, and preparing their bodies for sleep. Susie lowers the lights, turns off all the sounds in the room, and teaches the kids how to breathe slowly to relax...and sleep! Play Ball/M Is for Map Play Ball! - The WordFriends play an exciting game of baseball, but Robot has never played before. With some practice, and a lot of encouragement from his WordFriends, Robot learns the game and turns into a slugging machine! M is for Map - After a fun day of adventuring through the jungle, Sheep and Bear discover they are lost - and it's almost dark! In their haste to get home before sunset, the WordFriends lose the letters to their map. They have to sound out and hunt down the letters in "map" - but with Adventure Sheep leading the way, nothing is ever easy! Peep and the Big Wide World Spring Thing/Springy Thingy Baby Makes 3 Katherine and Bryan left their hearts in Kentucky when they moved away and are looking for ways to share their Bluegrass roots with their new baby. Best of Sewing with Nancy The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew, Part 2 Nancy takes the most requested sewing techniques and simplifies them. Nancy minimizes sewing effort and makes it easy and fun to sew clothing and home dec accessories using nontraditional methods. Learn the "hands-down easiest way" to sew collars, corners, and sleeves. Best of the Joy of Painting Autumn Distinction Summer fades into colors of golds, reds and yellows as Bob Ross paints a walking path through the trees leading down to a peaceful lake.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line222
__label__wiki	0.836602	0.836602	Premier League 2014/15 predicted finishes Rob Gallagher August 8, 2014 0 With the new season fast approaching it’s time assess each Premier League club in terms of their transfer business and chance of success this season. So whether you want to beat the drop or win the league, give it a read. Last season saw Arsene Wenger finally open his cheque book and sign Mesut Ozil. This season he has followed that up with the purchase of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona. The Arsenal squad is laced with quality throughout the team, but still seems to be lacking in the defensive and goalkeeping areas. Arsenal fans will be hoping their season isn’t plagued by injuries, such as the ones suffered by Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott last time out. Buoyed by their FA Cup victory, this year does appear to be the season where their title challenge will last past Christmas, but they will face serious competition. Another top four finish is a definite – it’s Wenger speciality – but the top stop may just elude them. The lack of investment in this Villa squad must surely be exposed soon. After flirting with relegation over the last two seasons, they will hope they will not be dragged into another relegation battle this time round. The fitness of Christian Benteke will be make-or-break; if he can rediscover his form of 2012/13 then Villa should be fine, otherwise they will be looking over their shoulders once again. Anything above 15th place must surely be considered a good season for this Villa side. Turf Moor will be rocking with the return of Premier League football and they will be hoping to beat the drop this time round. Sean Dyche will have his work cut out to keep Burnley up, but he has a squad that plays with desire and passion, which may just be enough to keep them in the top league. Dyche has said that he is working on more deals and more experience will surely help their squad. Last season Danny Ings, who scored 26 goals, and Sam Vokes, who scored 21 goals, helped fire Burnley to promotion and they will need to rediscover this form if they are to avoid relegation. It will be a long season in East Lancashire and it will probably go to the wire. Chelsea have completed their transfer business early and have addressed the imbalances in their squad. Last season their lack of a world class striker probably cost them the league, but this season Diego Costa will spearhead their attack, supported by Torres and the returning Didier Drogba. Cesc Fabregas adds another option to their attacking midfield and Filipe Luis replaces the departed Ashely Cole. David Luiz has also left for a sizeable fee which has helped fund other improvements in the squad – and he won’t be missed much in defence. Jose will have felt unlucky last season and I expect Chelsea to come back fighting. They will be prepared to push their rivals all the way for the Premier League title and this season they may just have enough to see them over the line. Tony Pulis preformed miracles at Selhurst Park last season. They were relegation certainties until Pulis took over, guiding them from rock bottom to 11th place. This season he will hope to maintain the defensive discipline which his teams are famed for and again aim to beat the drop to survive in mid-table. A mass clear out has seen 20 players leave the club, as he rebalances the team and brings in his own players. Martinez promised Champions League football to the Goodison faithful when he took over as boss and he almost delivered at the first time of asking. They have smashed their transfer record to keep hold of Lukaku, whose goals proved vital last season. Despite their substantial outlay they remain almost identical to Everton squad of last season. The development of Ross Barkley could be critical to their success this season. A top four finish may again prove a step too far, but they will be in the mix for a Europa League place. A recruitment drive has been underway at the KC stadium all summer, as Steve Bruce aims to add strength in depth, which was sometimes lacking last season. Robert Snodgrass, Tom Ince, Jake Livermore, Harry Maguire and Andrew Robertson are some of the player that have already signed. A surprise package last season – Hull finished 16th after a promising start and made the FA cup final. In Steve Bruce they have an experienced manager and he will relish the chance to play European football next season. Despite their European commitments, survival in the Premier League will remain a priority and their new signings should help them achieve this. The Championship’s run-away leaders were making loud noises at the start of the summer, with some reports claiming the Chairman was willing to sanction £100 million on transfers. Up to now, they do not appear to have delivered in the transfer market. Leonardo Ulloa has arrived from Brighton, as well as a number of players on free transfers, such as Marc Albrighton and Matthew Upson. Nigel Pearson has already stated he wants to make new signings and the coming weeks could be busy at the King Power Stadium. It is difficult to see Leicester not being dragged into a relegation battle, but they might have enough to survive if they bring in a few new faces with Premier League experience. It is difficult to see Liverpool doing one better and winning the Premier League next season. They have bought seven players already this summer and Brendan Rodgers has already stated that he expects to make more signings. They have addressed their lack of depth in the squad, which they will need in order to succeed with the added pressure of mid-week European matches. However, they are still yet to sign a truly world class player and this is why I cannot see them as genuine title contenders. The loss of Luis Suarez will hit them hard, but they will cope and Daniel Sturridge proved last season, during Suarez’s ban, that he can shoulder the goal scoring duties. Sterling is pushing on with his development and they will try to blitz teams away like last season, but will it be enough? Another top four finish is a possibility, but it will be more difficult than last season; mid-week Champions League football may take its toll. Last season saw City’s second title win in the past three season and they will be desperate to retain their crown this year. As well as aiming for the title, City will be hoping they can make more of an impact in the Champions League. With a super star squad already existing at the Etihad, this summer has been a quiet one on the transfer front. Fernando has arrived to add even more quality in midfield, Frank Lampard will add experience during his loan spell and the arrival of Eliaquim Mangala will shore up a slightly suspect defence. Other players such as Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott and Jack Rodwell have been cleared off the books, while others are expected to follow. All-in-all, another good season is on the cards for the blue half of Manchester. Louis Van Gaal arrives at Old Trafford on the back of an impressive pre-season. This will mean nothing though if he does not achieve a top four finish. He already looks more at home than David Moyes ever did and he seems to be getting more out the current squad. Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata have looked impressive, and alongside Robin van Persie they should propel United back into the top four. Herrara and Shaw have already joined but more new signings are a must, with new, experienced defenders and more steel and creativity in midfield top of the list. A clear out appears to be on the cards with Anderson, Nani, Javier Hernandez and Wilfred Zaha just some of those who will be shown the door, if reports are to be believed. A return to the top four is a possibility but winning the title may be a step to far this season. Newcastle have gone some way to spend some of the money they have acquired from the sale of their star assets over the past few seasons. Remy Cabella, Siem de Jong, Daryl Janmaat and Jack Colback are just some of their purchases. A top half finish is again on the cards for Newcastle, but the European places may just be out of their reach. Goal scoring was a problem as last season wore on and if the new signs fail to solve the problem then it could be another long season at St James’ Park. The long suffering Newcastle fans will be happy with a top half finish if it is combined with a decent cup run, but it remains to be seen if cup competitions will be prioritised by the club’s hierarchy. A last gasp play-off victory has seen QPR bounce straight back to the Premier League and they appear to have learnt from their last stint in the top flight. The cash has not been flashed as much as the last time they secured promotion. Even though Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker have arrived, as well Jordan Mutch and Mauricio Isla, the squad appears to be lacking forwards. Charlie Austin and Bobby Zamora have shared the responsibility in pre-season, but it remains to be seen whether Loic Remy is still at the club at the start of the season. At any rate QPR need more strikers if they are to make an impact this season. They should be alright come May, as they have plenty of Premier League experience in the squad, but it is going to be a long season for QPR fans if more striking options aren’t acquired. The exodus which has occurred at St Mary’s over the summer shows no signs of letting up. With six first team players already exiting the club and more reported to follow, Ronald Koeman has a massive rebuilding job on his hands, with only a couple of weeks left to carry it out. With £100 million in the bank, it shouldn’t be hard for the Saints to recruit new players, but it will take time for them to gel. New players are already arriving in the shape of midfielder Dušan Tadić, striker Graziano Pellè and midfielder Saphir Taider. However, the coming weeks will no doubt see a frenzy of activity at the South Coast club. It may be a nervy season at times, but the Saints should not get into too much trouble. Sliding down the table from 8th to a more mid-table position seems the most likely situation. After an impressive top-half finish (9th place) in Mark Hughes’s first season at the Britannia, this year they will want to push on and as well attempt a decent cup run. The signing of Bojan could be inspire the side if he able to get his career back on track and fulfil the potential he once showed at Barcelona. More reinforcements may be needed to push further up the table, but another top 10 finish and cementing their place as the current top Midlands club will keep Stoke fans happy. Gus Poyet has had a mixed time in the transfer market over the summer. Jack Colback has moved to arch rivals Newcastle, Connor Wickham has yet to sign a new deal and the transfer of Fabio Borini appears to have stalled. On a positive note, Jack Rodwell has arrived from Manchester City and he will hope to rediscover the form he showed earlier in his career. The spirit inspired by Poyet saw Sunderland mastermind a great escape last season and took them from almost certain relegation to a 14th place finish. If they can bring in Borini and Rodwell stays injury free, then they should secure a more secure finish this season without too many problems. Swansea’s chances of maintaining a decent finish must rest on them keeping hold of Wilfried Bony. The striker found the net 25 times in all competitions last season and has drawn a few admiring glances over the summer. With Bony spearheading their attack and without the distraction of Europa League football on a Thursday night, Gary Monk will look to elevate the Welsh club higher than their 12th place finish last season. The sale Gareth Bale weighed heavy on Spurs throughout last season. The masses brought in with the money the Bale sale generated failed to make much of an impact, as the club finished 6th. A top four finish will once again be Tottenham’s aim, but again it may prove to be a step too far. Mauricio Pochettino will hope to replicate his success at Southampton, but after a poor display last season, Spurs have yet to invest this summer. If the best can be brought out of record signing, Érik Lamela as well as Roberto Soldado, coupled with the impressive Christian Eriksen in midfield, then Spurs could prove people wrong. Otherwise they will be settling for Europa League football again next season. Last season was a bit of a reality check for the Baggies’ fans, after their finish of 8th the previous season, they slumped to 17th the next time round. This season they will be hoping not to get dragged into a relegation battle, and despite the difficulties of last season and they should have enough to finish around the mid-table mark. Plenty of players have arrived – 8 in total – as they look to reinvigorate their squad. Joleon Lescott will add experience at the back and Brown Ideye could be an exciting addition. Few Baggies would complain about a mid-table finish as long as it provides them with a platform to climb back up the table over the next few seasons. The injury to Andy Carroll has thrown Big Sam’s pre-season plans into chaos. They appear to be desperately diving back into the transfer market in attempt to fill the void left up front. Enner Valencia played well in Brazil and may be a revelation up front, but the Hammers are still short in the striking department. Due to his style of football Big Sam is still not universally loved at Upton Park, despite overseeing a 13th place finish last season. A higher finish would be welcomed, along with a more entertaining style of play – it could be the more of the same at West Ham though. Tags Premier League Esports will be as big as football by 2020, new study finds Josh Nicholls April 26, 2018 Michy Batshuayi is seriously underrated — he does more for Chelsea than he’s given credit for Luke Christou October 25, 2017 Premier League puts an end to overseas broadcasting rights debate	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line227
__label__cc	0.61992	0.38008	Sage Sohier Witness to Beauty Americans Seen Immersed & Submerged At Home With Themselves Almost Grown Perfectible Worlds Americans Seen 2017 Witness to Beauty 2016 At Home With Themselves 2014 About Face 2012 Perfectible Worlds 2007 From the included essay by Marvin Heifferman: “The photographs Sohier made of and with her mother...acknowledge the toll of time, shifting generational values, glitches in family dynamics, and the insecurities and confrontations that beauty can trigger.... Given the two women’s artfulness and willingness to experiment, the photographs are exquisitely controlled, yet sometimes uncomfortably revealing, and delightful, although every once in a while some get uncomfortably raw. Morgan, in a sustained performance extending over dozens of years and images, reveals herself as a force to be reckoned with. Sohier, in photographs different from those she has made before, proves herself to be as shrewd and accomplished an instigator of images as she is the recorder of them." Sage Sohier's Witness to Beauty, published by Kehrer Verlag, is available in bookstores in Europe and the US, as well as online retailers. This work has been featured on the NY Times Lens blog, Lenscratch, and Harper's Bazaar, and has appeared in the pages of PDN and GUP. An exhibition of the photographs at Carroll and Sons, Boston, was reviewed by Elin Spring. The show has traveled to Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, Oregon, and will be on view November 29 - January 7 at Foley Gallery in New York. Witness to Beauty has been recognized as one of the best photo books of 2016 in Photo District News' Photo Annual 2017. All Images © 2016 Sage Sohier. All Rights Reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line232
__label__cc	0.638927	0.361073	The Psychotherapist's Role in Holding Open the Possibility for the Client's Transformation Aside from creating a holding environment where the client feels safe and comfortable with the therapist and the therapeutic process, an experiential therapist also holds open the possibility for the client's transformation. What Does It Mean For the Therapist to Hold Open the Possibility for the Client's Transformation? Many clients come to therapy feeling doubtful and pessimistic about making positive changes. There is obviously a part of them that hopes they can change, but there is often a bigger part of them that fears they won't change and they'll be exactly where they started before they began therapy. A skilled experiential therapist creates a space first in her own mind and then intersubjectively between the client and the therapist for the possibility of positive change--and not just any change but a transformation that makes a significant difference for the client (see my article: Psychotherapy: An Intersubjective Experience Between the Client and the Psychotherapist and A Psychotherapist's Beliefs About Psychotherapy Affects How the Therapist Works With You). The therapist can often see possibilities even when the client cannot. This isn't a Pollyanna notion or something that is "woo-woo." This is based on the therapist assessing the client's personal strengths and history as well the signs of resilience in the client (see my article: Discovering Your Personal Strengths in Psychotherapy, How Experiential Psychotherapy Can Help You to Develop Your Personal Strengths and A Strengths-Based Perspective in Psychotherapy). Fictional Clinical Vignette: The Psychotherapist's Role in Holding Open the Possibility For the Client's Transformation The following fictional vignette, which is based on many different cases with no identifying information, illustrates this particular aspect of the psychotherapist's role: After he relapsed on alcohol after five years of sobriety, Sam began psychotherapy. During his first session, Sam expressed the despair about achieving sobriety again. He talked about his relapse, which occurred while he was on a recent company retreat, "I allowed my colleagues to persuade me to drink after our meeting, even though I knew it was a mistake. I convinced myself that I could control it and have just one beer. Then, I was off to the races and one drink turned into five and then I drank the whole weekend. When I got back from the company retreat, I spoke with my A.A. sponsor and he recommended that I get into therapy. So, here I am, but I feel like a total failure and I don't think I can get back to where I was in terms of my sobriety." Listening to his history of struggling with alcoholism from the time he was a teenager, his long family history of drinking, childhood emotional abuse, and Sam's five year history of recovery, his therapist could tell that Sam had a lot of personal strengths (see my article: Why Is It That It's Often the Healthiest Person in a Dysfunctional Family Who Seeks Help in Therapy?). Not only did Sam begin attending Alcoholics Anonymous on his own in his mid-20s, even though his family tried to dissuade him from going, he also successfully worked the 12 Steps with his sponsor and felt he benefited from doing it. He was also an active participant on his A.A. meetings in terms of providing service for the meetings and he welcomed newcomers who were struggling with alcoholism. As a teenager, despite his drinking, Sam achieved above average grades and got a college scholarship, even though his family placed little value in education and tried to persuade him not to go because they thought it was a waste of time. When his therapist asked Sam if he had emotional support from anyone else in his family or from a mentor or coach, Sam said he had no one. But he said he was determined to move out of a dysfunctional family environment where his father and older brothers drank heavily and he knew that a college education was necessary for him to realize his independence. After he graduated college with honors, despite heavy drinking, he went onto law school and landed a good job in a top law firm. Right around the time that Sam began his new job, he realized that he couldn't continue to drink heavily if he wanted to succeed, and he sought help in Alcoholics Anonymous. He explained to his therapist that it was especially challenging for him to get sober because, similar to his family, many of the attorneys at his company, including the partners, drank heavily. In fact, drinking was part of the culture in his company, and the attorneys were expected to take out their clients for drinks. Sam said he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance of achieving sobriety without the support of a sponsor, so he jumped at the chance to talk to an A.A. member with many years of sobriety who was among the members who stood up at the beginners meeting and offered to be an interim sponsor. His sponsor, who was also an attorney, helped Sam to work the 12 steps and become aware of his triggers to drinking. He also helped him to navigate the tricky situations at work where there would be heavy drinking with partners and clients. Sam explained to his therapist that, looking back on it, he realized that his alcohol relapse began even before he picked up his first drink. He said it began when he cut back on the number of A.A. meetings he was attending and stopped talking as frequently to his sponsor. Then, it culminated in not using the tools that his sponsor helped him to develop and in believing that he could have just one drink to be "one of the guys" at the company retreat. When she heard about his family history, his psychotherapist could see that much of Sam's self doubt and fear were rooted in his history with a father who constantly criticized and belittled Sam. Even though Sam struggled against his father's emotional abuse, there was a part of him that internalized and believed what his father said about him. During the initial stage of therapy, his therapist sensed that Sam wasn't ready to hear her assessment that he had a lot of strengths and that if she said it at that point, he would deny it and might even leave therapy. So, instead, she asked him if he was willing to work hard in therapy to see if he could become sober again. When he told her that he was willing, they set up a treatment plan, which included increasing his A.A. meetings and talking to his sponsor daily as well as once a week therapy. As his therapist formed a therapeutic alliance with Sam and felt that he was comfortable with her, she began to point out and praise him for the positive steps that he was taking. She also pointed out his positive qualities that helped him to begin making changes. Since his therapist was an experiential therapist, she was actively engaged in the therapy and expressed her genuine delight as he got back on track with his sobriety because she knew that this corrective emotional experience was necessary, especially given the history of emotional abuse in his family (see my articles: With Experiential Psychotherapy, There Are No Blank-Slate Psychotherapists - Part 1 and Part 2). At that point in therapy, Sam was able to take in his therapist's emotional support and her view of him as someone who had the personal strengths to achieve an emotional transformation. After Sam had a few months of sobriety, his therapist introduced the idea of EMDR therapy to work on the underlying trauma that was a factor in his relapse (see my articles:How Does EMDR Therapy Work: EMDR and the Brain and Experiential Therapy, Like EMDR Therapy, Helps to Achieve Emotional Breakthroughs). Over time, Sam's confidence increased and he was able to acknowledge that he had many personal strengths that he could use to cope and maintain his sobriety in addition to therapy and his sober support system. By the time Sam completed therapy, he realized that his therapist had believed in him all along and that this was a big part of his being able to sustain his sobriety and transform his life. A skilled psychotherapist is able to hold open the possibility for clients' transformation even when clients are at a low point in therapy. Being able to assess clients' personal strengths, as well as their challenges, and keeping in mind that with help most people's inclination is to move towards health and well-being, an experienced psychotherapist can hold open a space for positive change--especially when clients cannot see it for themselves. Even when this holding open of a space for transformation isn't articulated by the psychotherapist, I believe that it is transmitted unconsciously in the intersubjective space between clients and their therapists. Many clients recognize in hindsight that the therapist's role of holding onto the possibility of positive change was instrumental in helping them to achieve these changes. Experiential psychotherapists tend to be more present and actively involved in therapy. They have seen clients' transformation against all odds and recognize the signs and signals that clients have the personal strengths necessary to make positive changes (see my article: Why Experiential Therapy is More Effective Than Regular Talk Therapy). If you're struggling with problems that you have been unable to overcome on your own, you could benefit from working with an experiential psychotherapist who can help you to achieve a transformational experience in your life. I am a licensed NYC experiential psychotherapist who uses contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, clinical hypnosis, and emotionally focused therapy (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy). I have helped many clients to overcome their history of trauma as well as their own self doubts to achieve transformational experiences in their lives. Labels: alcoholism, Changes, EMDR therapy, experiential therapy, New York City, personal strengths, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, recovery, relapse, resilience, sobriety, therapist, therapy, transformation, trauma Emotional Vulnerability as a Pathway to Greater Emotional Intimacy in a Relationship Being in an emotionally intimate and loving relationship is a desire that most people have. But achieving emotional intimacy in a relationship can be scary for many people because it involves being emotionally vulnerable (see my article: The Emotional Vulnerability of Being in a Relationship). The wish to remain "safe" and avoid danger, rather than being vulnerable, is something that many people struggle with, especially if their emotional needs weren't met as children. These people often experienced criticism, emotional neglect and shame when they sought love as children, so it's understandable that they fear getting close to someone in a relationship--even though closeness is what they really desire (see my article: An Emotional Dilemma: Wanting and Dreading Love). When children are emotionally neglected, they hide the more emotionally vulnerable parts of themselves in order to protect themselves. This was an adaptive thing to do as a child because to continue to allow themselves to yearn for what they weren't getting as children would only bring more emotional pain. Allowing Yourself to Be Emotionally Vulnerable in a Romantic Relationship If you were emotionally neglected as a child or if you had bad experiences in prior relationships, you don't suddenly become comfortable with emotional vulnerability (see my article: What is Childhood Emotional Neglect?). That self protective part of you that took care of you as a child or in a prior emotionally abusive relationship continues to operate in the same way--until you take steps to make room for emotional vulnerability. Sometimes the pain of being alone and lonely is greater than the fear of being emotionally vulnerable, and this creates the impetus for opening up to a romantic partner (see my article: Overcoming Loneliness and Social Isolation). But allowing yourself to be emotionally vulnerable can still be daunting. The truth is, whether you realize it or not, to be human is to be emotionally vulnerable. You can try to protect yourself and avoid emotional intimacy in a romantic relationship, but you're still vulnerable in other relationships with loved ones. It's just a part of life. The first step in overcoming your fear of emotional vulnerability is to become aware of your fear. Noticing the physical and emotional cues to your avoidance can take practice because, when your fear has been longstanding, your avoidance is so automatic that you don't notice it. As I have mentioned in a prior article, becoming aware of your emotions usually starts with noticing what's going on in your body. Being present and aware of your body takes practice. A "body scan," where you have quiet time and privacy to sense into your body to see where you're holding onto tension, is a good start. Start from the crown of your head and slowly descend from the crown to your face, throat, chest and down to your gut. Along the way, notice if you're holding onto tension in any particular area and then try to identify the emotion that goes with the tension. The book, The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self Healing, by Ann Weiser Cornell is a simple how-to book on developing a "felt sense" of what's going on for you physically and emotionally. She has practically exercises to help you develop your ability to become aware of your emotions. Using these exercises, you can check in with yourself periodically during the day to sense what's going on for you. Once you become more experienced with sensing your emotions, you'll discover when your fear of emotional vulnerability is operating and getting in your way. Then, it's a matter of consciously making room for emotional vulnerability in romantic relationships with a person you can trust. How do you know if you can trust someone enough to be emotionally vulnerable? You need to get to know them over time and, if s/he feels safe enough, you can begin to take a risk of opening up emotionally to this person. Past trauma, including emotional neglect or abuse as a child as well as traumatic experiences in prior relationships, can make it difficult for you to achieve an emotionally intimate relationship because it feels too frightening to you. A skilled trauma therapist can help you to work through the earlier traumatic experiences so you can gradually learn to be emotionally vulnerable to have the love and emotional intimacy that you long for in your life. Rather than vacillating between hope and dread, you can get help in trauma therapy to feel hopeful and secure enough to take the emotional risks to achieve emotional intimacy. I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, Somatic Experiencing and Emotionally Focused Therapist (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy). One of my specialties is helping clients to overcome their traumatic experiences so they can live more fulfilling lives. Labels: childhood emotional neglect, dread, emotional intimacy, fear, hope, loneliness, New York City, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, relationships, therapist, therapy, trauma, trauma therapist, vulnerability How Experiential Therapy Can Help You to Discover Your Personal Strengths In my prior article, Discovering Your Personal Strengths in Therapy: You're Much More Than Your Traumatic History, I began a discussion about seeing beyond your traumatic history to discover your personal strengths (see my article: You're Not Defined By Your Diagnosis and Discovering Your Personal Strengths in Psychotherapy). As a trauma therapist in New York City, many clients come to see me to overcome their history of trauma. As I'm helping them to overcome their trauma, I'm also assisting them to discover their personal strengths (see my article: A Strengths-Based Perspective in Psychotherapy). As I mentioned in my prior article, it's important to be able to appreciate the personal strengths that got you through difficult times as well as that you can use these same strengths to cope with whatever challenges you're dealing with now. Fictionalized Clinical Vignette: How Experiential Therapy Can Help You to Discover and Use Your Personal Strengths: The following fictionalized clinical vignette, which is representative of many cases in therapy, illustrates how an experiential therapist can help a client to explore and use his personal strengths: Before Ed began experiential therapy, he had been in conventional talk therapy for several years trying to overcome the effects of the childhood trauma he experienced as a young child. Ed explained to his new therapist that he was grateful for the work he did with his prior therapist in talk therapy, but he felt no relief from the traumatic effects of childhood emotional neglect and abuse. This is why, at the suggestion of a friend, he was willing to try experiential therapy. From the very first session in experiential therapy, Ed noticed the difference in the way his new psychotherapist interacted with him. Whereas his former therapist, who practiced conventional talk therapy, said very little in his sessions, his new therapist, who was interactive and dynamic. She also talked about working in a collaborative way so that the therapy would be meaningful and effective for Ed. In addition, she explained the different types of experiential therapy that she did with individuals, which included EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy, AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), Somatic Experiencing, and clinical hypnosis. She also explained that her original training was in depth psychotherapy so she had an ability to work deep and do brief therapy at the same time. Ed could tell from his new therapist's facial expressions, gestures and demeanor that she already seemed to care about him, even though they were just having their initial consultation. This surprised him because he never experienced this before in therapy. His therapist emphasized that, in addition to helping him to resolve the effects of his traumatic history, she thought it was equally important to help Ed to explore and experience his personal strengths on an emotional level. When Ed thought about it, he realized that he never really thought about his personal strengths. He knew, on an intellectual level, that he had somehow survived the effects of his parents' abuse and neglect, but he never explored how he was able to do this in his prior therapy. As he thought about it more, he told his new therapist that friends and other relatives who knew him often commented to him that, considering his family history, he accomplished a lot in terms of his success at college and in his career. But Ed only experienced their praise as mere words. He knew they were sincere, but he didn't know how to relate to what they were telling him. He didn't think he had done anything out of the ordinary with regard to surviving his childhood history and being successful. After his therapist heard his traumatic history, she said she was amazed that he had accomplished so much, and she asked him how he did it. Ed seemed confused at first, and he said that he didn't know what he did to succeed at college and in his career, "I just did it. I didn't think it was such a big deal." Even though, at that point in therapy, Ed couldn't identify his personal strengths, he began to get curious. In order to help Ed to appreciate that he had personal strengths that helped him, his therapist recommended that he think of his early history and his subsequent successes as if they were about someone else. After thinking about it for a few minutes, Ed said that he had a close friend, who had a similar family history and similar accomplishments. Ed told his therapist that when he thought about his friend, he admired his friend for being able to overcome his early challenges so that he could succeed in his career. But when he thought about his own history and accomplishments, he wasn't able to appreciate them as much as he appreciated his friend's, which made him curious as to why he couldn't appreciate his efforts. Over time, Ed talked about how both of his parents, who were physically abusive, also told him repeatedly from a young age that he would never amount to anything. Although on some level, he believed them, he said, he was also determined to be independent of them. As a result, even though he had low self esteem, he persevered in his studies as if his life depended on it. And, in many ways, he felt that his life did, in fact, depend on being able to get a good job so he could move out of his parents home. Since he did well in high school, despite the ongoing abuse and neglect, he was able to get a scholarship to an out of state college where he excelled. From the time he moved out to go to college, he never moved back home. He only went for brief visits. His therapist helped Ed to see that two of his personal strengths were his determination and perseverence despite the challenges at home. She helped him to appreciate these personal strengths as well as his other strengths, on a visceral emotional level by having him identify the emotions that he felt when he was able to feel good about these strengths and where he felt these emotions in his body. Initially, this was difficult for Ed because he was so accustomed to minimizing his strengths and accomplishments as being "no big deal." But one of the things that made it easier for him to eventually appreciate his personal strengths was how his therapist reflected back to him, on a emotional level, how delighted she was that he had these strengths to help him to excel. He was able to see in her eyes and in her face the genuine caring and delight--something he never experienced with his own parents. Over time, Ed had what is called a "corrective emotional experience" with his experiential therapist (see my article: What is the Corrective Emotional Experience in Therapy?). In contrast to his early experience with his parents, who were angry, abusive and neglectful, Ed experienced his therapist as being genuinely caring, warm and empathetic. Compared to his prior therapist, his new therapist was emotionally accessible and enthusiastic about his well-being. In addition, rather than just having an intellectual understanding of his problems and his personal strengths, Ed was able to develop an ability to actually feel these experiences on a core emotional level. He learned that, in order to make positive changes, being able to experience his innermost, primary emotions was essential for transformation. These experiences in therapy were new and exciting for Ed, and he looked forward to his therapy sessions with his experiential therapist as he continued to make progress in therapy. Many clients, who have a history of trauma, are almost exclusively focused on the effects of their trauma and their emotional problems. While, ultimately, the goal of therapy is to help clients to overcome their trauma, along the way, as part of experiential therapy, it's important for clients to also recognize their personal strengths that allowed them to survive and, in many cases, to thrive despite the obstacles. Not only does it help clients to appreciate how their strengths helped them in the past, it also helps them to recognize that they have these internal resources to call on in the present. An experiential therapist is focused on helping to undo the aloneness that clients experienced during their traumatic history by being emotionally accessible to clients as they work through their trauma. She also helps clients to access their personal strengths. In addition, she strives to help clients to have a new corrective emotional experience in therapy that is healing to clients. All of this helps clients to overcome trauma and make positive changes in their lives. Getting Help in Experiential Therapy If you have been unable to resolve your problems on your own or you feel frustrated by intellectual insight that doesn't lead to a healing experience, you owe it to yourself to get help in from a licensed psychotherapist who practices experiential therapy (see my article: How to Choose a Psychotherapist). Experiential therapy, like AEDP, is an evidence-based therapy that is effective and can lead to a transformation in your life. Labels: AEDP, coping skills, corrective emotional experience, experiential therapy, New York City, personal strengths, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, strengths, therapist, therapy, trauma Discovering Your Personal Strengths in Therapy: You're Much More Than Your Traumatic History In a prior article, You're Not Defined By Your Diagnosis, I discussed how clients, who have been in prior therapy, often think of themselves as defined by their diagnosis ("I'm depressed" or "I'm anxious") rather than seeing the totality of who they are, including their strengths. Similarly, when clients come to therapy to deal with a traumatic history, their self concept is often defined by their trauma--rather than also seeing their resilience and personal strengths (see my article: A Strengths Based Perspective in Psychotherapy). This is especially true of clients who have been in conventional talk therapy. As I mentioned in the prior article, it's not a matter of being in denial about the client's negative experiences. It's more about seeing their problems as well as seeing beyond those problems to include everything that's positive about them. As a psychotherapist in New York City, who specializes in working with trauma, I take a holistic view of clients and want to help them build on their strengths as well as helping them to overcome unresolved trauma. Clients, who have been in prior therapy, are often accustomed to being pathologized to the point where all they see about themselves are the "negative" parts that they want to overcome. While I understand a client's need to focus on the trauma and trauma therapy is one of my specialties, I also want the client to appreciate the parts of that helped him or her to get through the traumatic experiences and excel in other areas of life. As part of AEDP therapy (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), which is an experiential therapy, I help clients to take the time to really internalize their experiences of their strengths at the same time that I help them to overcome their traumatic experiences (see my article: Why Experiential Therapy is More Effective Than Talk Therapy). Part of AEDP therapy is helping clients to have a deep sense of their personal strengths, which can feel unusual, at first, for clients who are so focused on their problems. This might mean slowing things down experientially when a client talks about an obstacle s/he overcame or a courageous stance that s/he took. Interestingly, slowing things down experientially actually helps to speed the work up in the long run. By slowing down the work at that point, I'm helping the client to have more than just an intellectual understanding of their strengths. Instead, in addition to their intellectual understanding, I'm helping the client to have an embodied experience of his or her strengths. In doing so, I'm helping the client to have a more integrated mind-body experience. You might ask, "Why is this important?" Well, it's an important part of helping a client to have a transformative experience in which s/he recognizes that the trauma history is only one part of who s/he is and there is so much more than the trauma. It also helps the client to see that they have internal resources and coping skills that s/he can call upon when faced with adversity. This is a crucial part of the way I work with clients who have been traumatized. Anyone who has survived a traumatic history has personal strengths that got him or her through. Being able to recognize and value those strengths is a part of AEDP work in therapy and in all experiential modalities that I use, including EMDR therapy, Somatic Experiencing and clinical hypnosis. In my next article, I'll provide a clinical vignette that illustrates how I work with clients' strengths while helping them to overcome trauma. Being pathologized in therapy by psychotherapists who only focus on diagnosis or "the problem" makes overcoming trauma more difficult and can diminish your sense of self. If you have been struggling with unresolved problems, you owe it to yourself to seek help from a skilled licensed psychotherapist who has a strengths-based perspective. Freeing yourself from your traumatic history and, at the same time, recognizing that you have strengths can help you to lead a more fulfilling life. Labels: AEDP, experiential therapy, mind-body connection, New York City, personal strengths, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, strengths, strengths-based therapy, therapist, therapy, trauma, trauma therapy With Experiential Therapy, There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists - Part 2 In my prior article, I began a discussion about how experiential psychotherapy is different from conventional psychotherapy. I discussed that some therapists in conventional therapy still work with their clients from a stance of neutrality with little to no self disclosure. This is in contrast to experiential therapy where the psychotherapist is a dynamic, empathic, emotionally accessible, and a collaborative presence in the therapy session with the client (see my article: Why Experiential Psychotherapy is More Effective Than Conventional Talk Therapy). With Experiential Therapy, There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists Fictional Clinical Vignette: With Experiential Therapy, There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists The following fictional clinical vignette, which is representative of the issues being discussed in this article, illustrates the difference between experiential psychotherapy and conventional psychotherapy where the therapist takes a neutral stance with the client: Attending therapy twice a week, Alan endured long silences in his therapy sessions with his conventional talk therapy psychotherapist. Alan dreaded these silences because it reminded him of the times when he was a young child and he and his parents sat in stony silence at the dinner table. During those days, when he attempted to talk at the dinner table about things that went on at school, his father would reprimand him, "Be quiet and eat your food" (see my article: Growing Up Feeling Invisible and Emotionally Invalidated). Afterwards, his mother would oversee his nightly ritual of washing up and putting on his pajamas before he went to bed. He often wished that his mother would read him a bedtime story, which is what his friend, Tom's mom would do when Tom went to bed. But having asked his mother for a bedtime story in the past, Alan knew that his mother would reject his request and just tell him to go to sleep. As he lay on the couch in his therapist's office for his second session of the week, he stared at the ceiling as he became increasingly uncomfortable. From behind him, Alan could hear his therapist shift slightly in his chair, but that was the only sound that Alan heard. He knew from his prior sessions that his therapist could go nearly an entire session without saying anything if Alan didn't know what to say. Alan dreaded those long silences and he hoped this wouldn't be one of those sessions. Clearing his throat to speak, Alan said in a low voice, "I'm not sure what else to talk about. We have discussed so many times before how I feel like I'm an unlovable person and how lonely that is for me. I don't know what else to say about it" (see my article: Overcoming the Emotional Pain of Feeling Unlovable). From behind him, Alan heard his therapist writing, but his therapist didn't respond to Alan's remark. Alan thought about how he had been coming to therapy with Dr. Walsh for three years, and he felt he wasn't making any progress. In the past, when he mentioned this to Dr. Walsh, he told Alan that it would take many years of therapy for Alan to see progress (see my article: Common Myths About Psychotherapy: Therapy Takes a Long Time). Alan, who was about to turn 35, didn't feel like he could endure his emotional pain without relief for several more years. Whenever he told his therapist this in the past and asked his therapist what he thought was getting in the way of his progress, his therapist turned the question back on Alan and asked Alan what he thought. But Alan didn't know what he thought, and this was frustrating to him. After enduring another session where they were mostly silent, Alan left feeling worse than before the session. As he walked to meet his friend, Ed, for coffee, Alan thought about how he knew nothing about Dr. Walsh even though he had been attending twice-a-week sessions with him for three years. At one point in an earlier session, he asked Dr. Walsh if he had ever experienced feeling as insecure in his life as Alan was feeling, but Alan didn't get an answer. Dr. Walsh, once again, turned the question back on Alan and wanted to explore the question rather than answer it. This left Alan feeling like he had done something wrong by asking the question, and he felt ashamed. On the rare occasions when Alan looked back to see Dr. Walsh, he saw a very serious, authoritarian look at Dr. Walsh's face similar to the look that his father used to give him. During those times, Alan wondered if Dr. Walsh even liked him or thought about him when they weren't in session. In the coffee shop, Alan shared his frustration with Ed about his therapy sessions, "I just feel like I'm getting nowhere in my therapy, and I worry sometimes that my therapist might not even like me. He's kind of distant and impersonal in the sessions so it's hard to tell." Ed looked surprised. He said his therapist was completely different--she was emotionally engaged, supportive and dynamic in their therapy sessions. He told Alan that she was active in helping him to get to the underlying emotions (also called primary emotions) that were at the core of his problems, and this helped him to start making changes. In addition, Ed explained, she occasionally shared stories that let Ed know that she understood his problems. There were also times, he said, when they laughed in session, and Ed felt how this helped to release tension and open him up to the therapeutic process (see my article: Humor Can Be Effective in Therapy). Alan was shocked to hear that Ed's experience in psychotherapy was so different from his own, and he asked Ed, "What type of therapy are you doing?" Ed responded, "My therapist is an experiential therapist who does all kinds of therapy, including AEDP, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing and clinical hypnosis. Maybe you should have a consultation with an experiential therapist." Alan thought about it for a minute and then asked Ed to get a referral from his therapist to another experiential therapist. By the following week, Alan was sitting in an experiential therapist's office having a consultation. He noticed the big difference in how he felt with this therapist immediately. Not only was she warm and emotionally accessible, she sat facing him (rather than behind him) and he could see that she was emotionally attuned to what he said (see my article: The Therapist's Empathic Attunement Can Be Emotionally Reparative For the Client). Rather than coming across as a blank screen, Ed realized, this therapist allowed Ed to see that she was intensely engaged in their session. She also shared with Ed how she experienced him in the session which felt heartfelt and genuine. In addition, she explained how experiential therapy was different from conventional talk therapy (see my article: What's the Difference Between "Top Down" and "Bottom Up" Approaches to Therapy?). During his next session with Dr. Walsh, Alan revealed that he had gone for a consultation with another psychotherapist who did experiential therapy. Hoping that Dr. Walsh would respond, Alan waited in vain. After several minutes had passed, Alan told Dr. Walsh that he felt the other therapist was more attuned to him, but Dr. Walsh said nothing, which brought back more memories of his silent childhood dinners with his parents. Alan knew from his prior therapy that there was a termination phase before ending therapy, so he told Dr. Walsh that he would like to have a few more sessions to end therapy and then he wanted to move on to work with an experiential therapist. During the next three sessions, things remained basically the same in Alan's sessions with Dr. Walsh. He encouraged Alan to talk about what he felt he had gained from their therapy together, and Alan told him that he felt he had gained some insight into his problems. But what Alan didn't tell him was that, even though he had gained intellectual insight, he felt nothing had changed or shifted in his life. He felt his problems remained the same (see my article: Healing From the Inside Out: Why Understanding Your Problems Isn't Enough). At the end of the last session with Dr. Walsh, Alan wasn't sure what to do, so he offered to shake Dr. Walsh's hand as he was about to leave. He noticed how reluctant Dr. Walsh was to extend his hand, which hurt Alan's feelings. But Dr. Walsh did, reluctantly, extend his hand, shook Alan's hand and told him that he could return to therapy with him in the future. His words sounded pro forma to Alan, as if Dr. Walsh had said these words many times before. Then, it was over, and Alan walked out feeling empty. During the initial stage of experiential therapy, Alan was surprised that his new therapist was so dynamic. She was so engaged in their conversation that, for the first time in his experience with psychotherapy, Alan didn't feel alone with his problems, which was such a relief to him. He felt like his new therapist actually cared about him and his well-being. Not only that. When he was ready, she helped him to access the underlying emotions involved with his feeling like an unlovable person. They talked about his relationship with his parents, but the difference, compared to his prior therapy, was that she explained the importance of the mind-body connection and she helped him to connect to his emotions in his body about those experiences (see my article: Experiential Psychotherapy: Learning to Sense Emotions in the Body). After a while, Alan began to understand that "talking about" his problems only provided him with intellectual insight. But since experiential therapy used the mind-body connection, in addition to insight, he also had a deep sense of something shifting for him at a core level. Even more important, he felt a sense of hope that he could change. Over time, he realized that for him to make the kind of changes that he wanted, he had to make those changes based on his primary emotions, which his new therapist was helping him to access. Gradually, Alan began to sense a shift in how he felt based on his shifting emotions and the positive regard he felt from his therapist (see my article: What is the Corrective Emotional Experience in Therapy?). As illustrated in the clinical vignette above, rather than taking a neutral, impersonal stance, the experiential therapist is attuned to the client and emotionally engaged. Along with her clinical training and expertise, the experiential therapist uses her own emotional experience to attune to the client and help the client to access the primary emotions that lead to change. The experiential psychotherapist is aware of the brain's neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change based on learning and experience. There are many problems with the neutral stance in conventional psychotherapy, including the triggering of earlier emotional experiences of emotional neglect. This, of course, isn't the intention of the neutral stance, but if often occurs. In addition, experiential therapy, which uses the mind-body connection, tends to be faster than conventional talk therapy (see my article: Experiential Psychotherapy and the Mind-Body Connection: The Body Offers a Window Into the Unconscious Mind). If you have been struggling with unresolved problems, you could benefit from working with an experiential therapist. Experiential therapy tends to be more effective and work faster than conventional therapy. Rather than struggling on your own, you could begin to get a sense of emotional relief as you work towards freeing yourself from problems that keep you stuck. I am a licensed NYC experiential therapist, who works with individual adults and couples. I work in an dynamic, interactive and collaborate way using cutting edge modalities, including EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), clinical hypnosis, AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), Somatic Experiencing, contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy, and Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy). Labels: AEDP, clinical hypnosis, EFT couple therapy, EMDR therapy, experiential therapy, mind-body connection, neuroplasticity, New York City, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, therapist, therapy With Experiential Psychotherapy, There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists When I was training to be a psychotherapist in postgraduate training, we were taught that the ideal stance for a therapist was neutrality. From the neutral perspective, the therapist should not convey what is going on internally, make any unnecessary gestures and, in general, remain as a blank slate (see my article: What's the Difference Between "Top Down" and "Bottom Up" Psychotherapy?). Experiential Psychotherapy: There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists Because of my background and temperament, this was especially hard for me. I was raised in a family that was warm, gregarious and effusive. There were no blank slates. I also found that it was better for my patients for me to be an accessible human being in the therapy session, and the less my supervisors knew about my human response to clients, the better. Of course, I was always careful not to cross any ethical boundaries or provide more information about myself than was necessary or warranted. The focus was still very much on the client. Since that time, we now know how emotionally depriving it is for psychotherapists to try to be a blank slate. I say "try" because no one is ever a blank slate. We are all always reading and picking up on what's going on with each other all the time. So, the notion of a "blank slate" is a fallacy. I'm not sure where the idea of being so impersonal came from. It certainly wasn't part of Freud's practice. He regularly walked clients around his garden at his home and had them over to his house. From everything that I have read, he was rather engaging. It seems like it was more of an overreaction by American psychiatrists, who were the psychoanalysts of their day, during the early days of psychoanalysis when there were few rules and some analysts were acting out with their clients. The one thing that Freud didn't like was to be looked at directly by the client when he was with them in his therapy room--even though they looked directly at him when they were in his garden or in his home. So, he came up with the idea that the therapist should sit behind the client out of the client's sight so he could listen with "evenly hovering attention," ostensibly, without the distraction of looking at the client. Over time, most therapists discovered that there is a lot that is missed when a therapist isn't looking at the client directly or when the client isn't looking at the therapist. The therapist isn't picking up on body language, facial cues, gestures and, in general, the intersubjective experience of being with a client. This is certainly a lot to miss. There have been certain times when I have had a client who preferred for me to sit behind him so the client couldn't see me and I could only see only the back of his head. While I honor this request, I also explore the meaning of it with the client. For some clients, it's easier for them to talk if they don't watch the therapist's face or gestures. I get that, and I want my clients to be comfortable, so I will arrange to sit behind that particular client. But the vast majority of clients want the therapist to be human, collaborative, interactive and dynamic rather than a therapist who is trying to be a blank slate. This suits me fine since it feels most natural to me to work in that way. There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists With Experiential Psychotherapy Experiential therapy, including EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), AEDP (Advanced Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), Somatic Experiencing, clinical hypnosis, Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples and other types of experiential therapies emphasize the importance of the therapist being relatively open and emotionally accessible. How did this change from the blank slate therapist? Through research and clinical experience, researchers and clinicians discovered that change occurs when psychotherapists and clients are emotionally engaged with each other in therapy. Some of the research is extrapolated from Ed Tronick's still face experiments between mothers and babies. Other research from AEDP and Emotionally Focused Therapy also reveals that the therapist and client need to be emotionally engaged for change to take place. Having a cognitive understanding of their problems is an important part of therapy but, in terms of change, it's limited (see my article: Healing From the Inside Out: Why Understanding Your Problems Isn't Enough). In order to make changes, clients need to be able to get to their underlying emotions (also called primary emotions), and this is difficult to do with a therapist who is sitting there like a mannequin. In the next article, I'll provide a clinical vignette to illustrate how experiential therapy is different from older forms of conventional psychotherapy and psychoanalysis (see my article: With Experiential Therapy, There Are No Blank-Slate Therapists - Part 2). Of course, much has also changed in psychoanalysis, especially Relational Psychoanalysis and other contemporary forms of psychoanalysis so there is more of a collaborative approach and more self disclosure on the part of the therapist. However, unfortunately, there are still some therapists who try to be blank slates. Getting Help in Psychotherapy As previously mentioned, these days most clients want a collaborative, interactive and dynamic psychotherapist. Experiential therapists provide this experience to clients in a supportive and empathic environment. Experiential therapists also help clients to connect with the mind-body experience. This is different from conventional talk therapy, which provides more limited insight-oriented experiences. We now know, based on research and clinical experience, that getting to the core of emotions is what brings about transformation (see my article: Experiential Psychotherapy Helps to Achieve Emotional Breakthroughs). If you have been struggling with unresolved problems and conventional talk therapy hasn't helped you to resolve these issues, you owe it to yourself to contact an experiential psychotherapist. Experiential therapy can help to free you from unresolved problems so you can live a more satisfying life. I am a licensed NYC experiential psychotherapist who uses clinical hypnosis, EMDR therapy, AEDP therapy, Somatic Experiencing and Emotionally Focused couple therapy (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy). Labels: AEDP, clinical hypnosis, EFT couple therapy, EMDR therapy, experiential therapy, mind-body psychotherapy, New York City, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, therapist, therapy Relationships: You're In Love But Not Compatible With Your Partner It's so easy to get caught up in the passion of a relationship, especially when you're in love and things are new and exciting. But, as many couples find out, being in love and being compatible aren't the same things. They discover that the relationship isn't going to work out--despite the fact that you're both in love with each other (see my article: All You Need is More Than Love). Of course, when we're talking about compatibility, it matters whether we're referring to relatively minor issues where there can be negotiation and compromise or if we're discussing core values that are non-negotiable with each person. When the incompatibility involves core values, many couples, who love each other, keep hoping for the best because they don't want to lose each other. But if they remain together, get married and have children, it can be even more heartbreaking to have ongoing conflict, tension in the home and, possibly, an eventual breakup. Fictional Clinical Vignette: In Love But Not Compatible The following fictional vignette, which is representative of many actual cases, illustrates the problems involved when two people in a relationship are in love but not compatible: Alan and Jennifer Alan and Jennifer met at a local dance club in Manhattan when they were both in their 20s. Instantly attracted to one another, they began dating regularly and, after several months, they were both in love with each other, sex was amazing, and they decided to remain monogamous. After dating for a couple of years, they talked about the possibility of moving in together and eventually getting married. Neither of them had ever felt so in love and committed to a relationship before. The problem was that when they talked about getting married, Jennifer said she wanted to have at least two children, and Alan said he didn't want to have children at all. Although Jennifer was concerned about this, she didn't want to breakup with Alan. So, she decided to move in with him and wait to see if he changed his mind. Two years after they moved in together, each of them was even more committed to the relationship than before. But the question about children remained an issue. Alan still maintained that he didn't want children, and Jennifer wanted children more than ever. At the same time, Jennifer was concerned about her "biological clock" and, if she was going to have children, she wanted to start trying to get pregnant within the next year or two. They talked about this issue many times, but they couldn't come to an agreement, and they were both feeling increasingly anxious about what this meant for their relationship. Soon after that, they decided to come for couple therapy to see if they could work out this issue. As Jennifer explained it, she felt like she was caught in a dilemma: She didn't want to be with anyone else, except Alan, but she didn't want to regret not having children later or feel resentful towards Alan about it. Alan explained to the couple therapist that he also felt like he was in a dilemma: He loved Jennifer and he wanted to marry her, but he felt he would be unhappy having children. He said he thought about going along with Jennifer about having children, but he was also afraid that he would resent her eventually if he acquiesced to her and he was unhappy later on. Jennifer expressed her deep sorrow and frustration. She had been raised to believe that if two people love each other, they could work anything out. She thought "love conquers all," but their problem seemed intractable. Furthermore, from a practical point of view, she feared that, even if she was willing to leave Alan, which she didn't want to do, there was no guarantee that she would meet someone else that she would fall in love with and who wanted children. She didn't want to give Alan up, and Alan also didn't want to break up. Fortunately for this couple, they began to spend a lot more time with Jennifer's sister, Ann, who just had a baby. Jennifer adored her niece, and Alan was very surprised that he also loved being with the baby. He said he began to enjoy imagining himself being a father and raising a child. After that, Alan told Jennifer that he changed his mind--he would like to have at least one child, and this allowed them to take the next step to get engaged. They remained in couple therapy until after their first child was one years old. In their couple therapy sessions, they talked about how challenging it was to have a new baby and how tired they often were. Having a child turned out to be a lot more work than either of them had imagined. But both Alan and Jennifer were happy that they decided to have a child. Since everything else in their marriage was going fairly well, they ended couple therapy at that time. Occasionally, over the years, they returned to couple therapy whenever issues came up. But, overall, they were getting along very well and their child was thriving. In this particular scenario, the problem worked out because circumstances changed and they both ended up on the same page about having children. Unfortunately, for many couples, whether the issue is having children or some other core issue, things don't always work out so well. If Alan and Jennifer had not come to an agreement about children, like many couples, they would have had to decide whether to stay together or not. This is a big dilemma to have to face and, obviously, there's no right or wrong answer. In addition, so many of us were raised with the idea that "love conquers all." It can be so disappointing and disillusioning when you and your partner are in love, but you disagree about important issues, and it seems like your relationship isn't going to work out, despite how much you love each other. Being in conflict about a core value can put a very big strain on your relationship, especially if you're both procrastinating about dealing with it--whether it's about having children or any other important issues. Sometimes, couples can come to an agreement--whether it's to stay together or break up--with the help of couple therapy. It can be a relief to make a decision even if it's a very difficult one (see my article: What is Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT)? Your problems probably won't go away on their own, so it's better to face them together with the help of a couple therapist. If you've been putting off dealing with core issues in your relationship, whatever they might be, you could benefit from working with an experienced couple therapist. I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, Somatic Experiencing and EFT couple therapist (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy). Labels: couple therapist, couple therapy, EFT couple therapy, incompatibility, love, marriage counseling, New York City, psychotherapist, psychotherapy, relationships, therapist, therapy The Psychotherapist's Role in Holding Open the Pos... Emotional Vulnerability as a Pathway to Greater Em... How Experiential Therapy Can Help You to Discover ... Discovering Your Personal Strengths in Therapy: Yo... With Experiential Therapy, There Are No Blank-Slat... With Experiential Psychotherapy, There Are No Blan... Relationships: You're In Love But Not Compatible W...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line236
__label__cc	0.731721	0.268279	History of the Campaign Email: right2edu@birzeit.edu \| Phone: 0097(0)2-298-2059 Posts tagged with Closure of Educational Institutions Home » Posts Tagged "Closure of Educational Institutions" Strike cripples education in occupied West Bank The Palestinian Teachers’ Union has gone on strike in protest at the delay in the payment of salaries. Classes in all public... Eroding liberties: The ‘witch-hunt’ against Israeli academia The Israeli Council for Higher Education (CHE), a government-appointed body charged with the supervision and financing of universities... Palestinian School at Risk of Demolition A primary school for Palestinian Bedouin children in the Jerusalem area is to be destroyed after Israeli settlers pushed the military... Campaign to save a West Bank school from demolition Alarming developments in the West Bank community of Khan al Ahmar. Settlers from Kfar Adumim have filed a petition against the school,... PCHR Denounces Israel’s Systematic Violation of Palestinian Children’s Right to Education A new report by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has denounced Israel’s Systematic Violation of Palestinian... Israel’s textbooks in Arabic are full of mistakes, study finds A new study has found more than 16,000 mistakes in Israeli textbooks used by Arab children. For example, the word for traffic light is... Israel issues demolition orders for Jerusalem school A one-room school building in the Palestinian village of al-Nabi Samwil, near Jerusalem, is under threat as Israel issues demolition... Flyers threaten eviction, raise awareness Members of the group Students for Justice and Peace in Palestine to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinians by distributing... Shortage of classrooms lead to a sharp increase in dropout rate among Palestinian students in Jerusalem After after exhausting all other options to persuade the Jerusalem Municipality to provide school seats for 19 students Al-Maqdese... Shortage of classrooms lead to a sharp increase in dropout rate among Palestinian students in JerusalemShortage of classrooms lead to a sharp increase in dropout rate among Palestinian students in Jerusalem After the intensive and daily work by Al-Maqdese Legal Clinic lawyers for more than 4 months to oblige Jerusalem Municipality carries... 123›»Page 1 of 6 Story of The Day Education Denied413 Activism291 Voice of the Student84 Academic voices59 Urgent Appeals58 Press Releases42 Boycott Israel33 Complicity of Israeli Academia32 Students In Detention29 Archives Select Month April 2019 (2) March 2019 (3) November 2018 (1) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (1) January 2018 (1) December 2016 (1) September 2016 (1) January 2016 (5) December 2015 (1) October 2015 (3) August 2015 (1) July 2015 (1) May 2015 (2) April 2015 (1) March 2015 (2) February 2015 (2) January 2015 (1) April 2014 (1) March 2014 (2) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (3) December 2013 (1) November 2013 (6) October 2013 (1) September 2013 (2) August 2013 (2) July 2013 (2) June 2013 (4) May 2013 (4) April 2013 (1) March 2013 (6) February 2013 (2) January 2013 (2) December 2012 (2) November 2012 (29) October 2012 (39) September 2012 (15) August 2012 (7) July 2012 (10) June 2012 (4) April 2012 (1) February 2012 (1) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (13) October 2011 (3) September 2011 (9) August 2011 (14) July 2011 (6) June 2011 (6) May 2011 (1) April 2011 (7) March 2011 (11) February 2011 (10) January 2011 (12) December 2010 (6) November 2010 (12) October 2010 (16) September 2010 (26) August 2010 (15) July 2010 (10) June 2010 (4) May 2010 (28) April 2010 (10) March 2010 (16) February 2010 (16) January 2010 (9) December 2009 (11) November 2009 (6) October 2009 (22) September 2009 (15) August 2009 (11) July 2009 (9) June 2009 (10) May 2009 (14) April 2009 (21) March 2009 (11) February 2009 (17) January 2009 (48) December 2008 (16) November 2008 (15) October 2008 (13) September 2008 (14) August 2008 (9) July 2008 (15) June 2008 (13) May 2008 (13) April 2008 (2) March 2008 (7) February 2008 (1) December 2007 (2) November 2007 (4) October 2007 (1) September 2007 (1) August 2007 (4) June 2007 (2) May 2007 (1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (3) February 2007 (1) January 2007 (6) December 2006 (4) October 2006 (4) September 2006 (2) August 2006 (2) July 2006 (3) June 2006 (10) May 2006 (6) April 2006 (5) March 2006 (4) December 2005 (2) November 2005 (3) October 2005 (8) September 2005 (2) August 2005 (1) July 2005 (2) June 2005 (4) May 2005 (2) March 2005 (9) February 2005 (7) January 2005 (5) December 2004 (6) November 2004 (4) October 2004 (5) September 2004 (3) August 2004 (1) July 2004 (5) June 2004 (2) May 2004 (2) April 2004 (4) March 2004 (1) February 2004 (1) December 2003 (1) September 2003 (1) August 2003 (2) June 2003 (1) March 2003 (4) December 2002 (2) October 2002 (1) September 2002 (2) August 2002 (1) July 2002 (3) June 2002 (1) April 2002 (2) October 2001 (1) September 2001 (2) June 2001 (2) March 2001 (1) Tweets by @Right2Edu © 2019 Right to Education. Birzeit University	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line238
__label__wiki	0.844236	0.844236	Look: Beijing prepares to host 2022 Winter Olympics by Shanghaiist “Confident” that China will win the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing’s planning committee is well prepared as far as mapping out venues for the games. Oslo dropped out of the running for the 2022 Winter Olympics back in October, leaving only two contenders: Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan. A joint bid was made by Beijing and the city of Zhangjiakou in smog-ridden Hebei province nearly a year ago, and the capital has apparently learned from hosting the Summer Olympic Games back in 2008 that a little air pollution never hurt anybody…at least when the only competition is Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bidding Committee ‘is confident China will win’ and has already announced three zones that will host the games. The Beijing Zone will host ice sports competitions in five different venues, including the National Indoor Stadium, the Wukesong Sports Center, the Capital Indoor Stadium, the National Aquatics Center and the National Speed Skating Oval. The Bird’s Nest will hold the opening and closing ceremonies, CRI reports. The Yanqing Zone, located in the Xiaohaituo Mountain area, will include the Alpine Ski Resort, the Olympic Village, the Mountain Media Center and the National Sliding Center. This is also the zone where the most development is needed. The Zhangjiakou Zone will have five venues where most of the skiing and snowboarding events will take place. This includes the Nordic Center, Biathlon Center and Genting Snow Park. A high-speed rail between Zhangjiakou and Beijing is expected to be completed in 2017 and will cut the travel time between the two areas to around 50 minutes. While Beijing seems to think it’s got this thing in the bag (it probably does), the International Olympic Committee will still need to travel to the two cities in March for an inspection. The final decision will be announced at the IOC assembly in Kuala Lumpur on July 31. [Images via CRI]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line240
__label__wiki	0.867341	0.867341	2017 USCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Team Announced for National Championships The United Sates Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) has announced the groups and seeds for the 2017 USCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer National Championship. 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams will be making the trip to Virginia Beach, VA for USCAA Fall Championship Week. The second year event hosted by the City of Virginia Beach combines the USCAA National Championships of Soccer, Volleyball and Cross Country. The group stage of the USCAA Soccer National Championships will take place at the Princess Anne Athletic Complex (PAAC). The semifinals and finals will move to the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The multi-purpose athletic facility features artificial turf fields for playing in under any conditions. The USCAA Soccer National Championship will use the same group-play round robin style that was adopted before last year’s championships. The Men’s Soccer National Championship features one of the most competitive fields in the association’s history. The #1 seed goes to Bryant and Stratton College – Syracuse who finished their campaign with perfect 10-0 record, and will be slotted into Pool A. The Bobcats only conceded two goals all season and defeated the defending national champions, University of Maine Fort Kent (UMFK). The UMFK Bengals are the second overall seed in the field and will be the top team in Pool C. Fort Kent comes to Virginia Beach with a record of 14-1 and looking for a third straight National Championship. The third seed and top team in Pool B is the Florida National University Conquistadors. Florida National is making their second straight trip to the Men’s Soccer National Championship and featured one of the toughest schedules in the association. The fourth seed and top team in Pool D is the Florida College Falcons who finished the season with a perfect 12-0 record. The Falcons have allowed just three goals all season behind junior goalkeeper Austin McDaniel. Completing Pool A will be the 8th seeded Cleary University Cougars and the 12th seeded NHTI. The Cougars are riding a seven-game winning streak coming into the championship and are 12-4 on the season. The Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) Men’s Soccer Tournament Champion, NHTI, defeated College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont in the YSCC conference championship game 2-0 to earn the automatic bid to Virginia Beach. Florida National is the top team in Pool B and will play both the 6th seed Johnson & Wales University- Charlotte and the Penn State University Conference Champion, which will be decided later this evening between Penn State Brandywine and Penn State Hazleton. The Wildcats from Johnson & Wales-Charlotte are the third team in the field to enter the tournament with an undefeated record (16-0-2). Pool C features the second seeded UMFK as well the Scarlet Hawks from Illinois Tech as the seven seed and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences as the 11th seed. The Scarlet Hawks have won three straight games return to the tournament after a three-year hiatus. The Panthers of ACPHS round out Pool C with a record of 11-4-1 and a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. The final group in the men’s field is Pool D, which features Florida College as the fourth seed, Dean College as the fifth seed, and SUNY ESF as the ninth seed. All three teams were featured in last years Men’s Soccer National Championship and will use their experience to fight for the right to advance out of group play into the semifinals. The 2017 USCAA Women’s Soccer National Championship field is led by four-time defending National Champion, the University of Maine Fort Kent Bengals. The Bengals are 12-1-3 and 9-0 against USCAA opponents. The second seed goes to the SUNY ESF Mighty Oaks, who will look to play a way out of Pool C. SUNY ESF was the runner-up in last years National Championship and are led by Kiki Hilmer who has the fourth best save percentage in the country. Making their first appearance, as a program and earning the third seed and top spot in Pool B will be the Florida National University Conquistadors. Florida National finished the season 6-4-2 with four wins over USCAA opponents. The last team to headline a group will be fourth seeded Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Pool D. ACPHS bowed out in the semifinals last year but return All-American Katie Benson, who put away 28 goals during the regular season. Fighting to get out of Pool A with the top seeded University of Maine Fort Kent will be the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) Women’s Soccer Tournament Champion, NHTI. The Lynx from NHTI finished the season with a perfect record 14-0-1. Rounding out the pool will be 12th seeded University of Cincinnati Clermont. The Cougars will head to Virginia Beach having won six of their last seven games. Pool B has the Conquistadors from Florida National, sixth seeded Bryant & Stratton College Syracuse, and 10th seeded SUNY Canton. Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse was 3-1 against USCAA opponents in the month of October with their lone loss coming to the two seed, SUNY ESF. The SUNY Canton Roos complete Pool B and have experience against several of the team in the tournament. The Mighty Oaks from SUNY ESF earned the two seed in the field and top positon in Pool C, and will be looking to advance back to bracket play in a group that includes #7 Florida College and #11 Cleary University. Florida College makes their second straight appearance in the tournament after finishing the season at 7-2-1. The Falcons have allowed just five goals on the season. Cleary University, having lost their opening seven games of the season, completed a remarkable turnaround – having won seven straight – to earn a spot in the field. Pool D may prove to be the toughest group in the field. Headlining the pool is #4 seed ACPHS, followed by #5 Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte, and #9 Penn State Brandywine. Johnson & Wales Charlotte is led by Danielle Doyle who found the back of the net 19 times this season while dishing out 9 assists. Penn State Brandywine suffered only has one loss this season, to NCAA DII Misericordia while having a perfect 6-0 record in conference play. You can follow all the action by visiting the USCAA Fall Championship Week website. Statistics will be available for each games of the tournament. With streaming of games to begin in the semi-finals and finals.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line243
__label__wiki	0.594632	0.594632	Kansas High Court Rules Injured Worker Is Employer of Personal Care Attendants Thread: Kansas High Court Rules Injured Worker Is Employer of Personal Care Attendants A severely injured worker receiving workers' compensation benefits, including help from personal care attendants, is the employer of the attendants and therefore responsible for paying unemployment insurance taxes on their behalf, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Oct. 19, addressing an issue of first impression (Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Kansas Dep't of Human Resources, Kan., No. 86,268, 10/19/01). The Supreme Court rejected quadriplegic Rick Meier's arguments that he merely is a consumer of home health care services and that his personal care attendants are independent contractors paid for by Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. Justice Tyler C. Lockett acknowledged that Meier presented "a compelling public policy argument," but the judge agreed with the Kansas Department of Human Resources that the attendants are employees because Meier controls the means and manner of their performance of the work. One of Meier's former personal care attendants filed a claim for unemployment compensation and named Meier as her former employer. He contested the claim. A KDHR field officer found that Meier was the employer and subject to the Kansas Employment Security Law. Meier lost successive appeals before a KDHR hearing officer and the Secretary of KDHR. However, the Barton County District Court ruled that the attendant was an independent contractor not entitled to unemployment benefits. Workers' Comp Judge Ordered Nursing Services Meier, who has some use of both arms but no fine motor coordination of his hands and no use of his legs, needs assistance with personal care and daily activities. A workers' compensation administrative law judge ordered that Meier's former employer and its workers' compensation insurance carrier, Hartford,provide Meier with nursing services. Hartford pays for the advertising to locate personal care attendants for Meier and dictates the amount they are paid and the number of hours they work. Attendants in the past all signed forms stating they were independent contractors. Meier interviews and selects attendants, prepares a job description and list of job duties, and directs the manner in which attendants perform services for him. He schedules when they arrive and depart. The district court found that the attendants "are nothing more than health care providers" giving services required to be paid for by Hartford. The district court acknowledged that Meier exercises control over the attendants in how they help him with his daily activities, but the court emphasized that Meier has no choice as to whether to use attendants. "This Court cannot believe it was the intent or it should be the interpretation" that Meier is the employer of the attendants, the district court said. Employee Versus Independent Contractor The Kansas Employment Security Law defines "employment" to include service performed by an individual who is an employee under common law rules. The statute also provides: Services performed by an individual for wages or under any contract of hire shall be deemed to be employment subject to this act unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the secretary that: (i) Such individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of such services, both under the individual's contract of hire and in fact; and (ii)such service is either outside the usual course of the business for which such service is performed or that such service is performed outside all of the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed. "[T]here is no absolute rule for determining whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee," Lockett said, explaining that the determination turns on the facts and circumstances of each case. "[A]n independent contractor is defined as one who, in exercising independent employment, contracts to do certain work according to his or her own methods, without being subject to the control of the employer, except as to the results or products of his or her work," the judge said. In contrast, "[t]he primary test used by the courts in determining whether the employer-employee relationship exists is whether the employer has the right of control and supervision over the work of the alleged employee and the right to direct the manner in which the work is to be performed, as well as the result which is to be accomplished." Meier argued that if the court decided he was the attendants' employer, Hartford would want to obtain that status by assuming complete control over the attendants, thereby taking away much of his autonomy over his personal care. "We agree with the district court that Meier states a compelling public policy argument in urging this court to find that the personal care attendants are independent contractors of Hartford, rather than his employees," Lockett said. He found that under the independent-living model developed by disability advocates, the disabled person is in charge of deciding what services to receive. Finding that the Kansas Supreme Court had never addressed the issue of the employment status of personal care assistants paid by third parties, Lockett looked to other state courts' rulings. In Latimer v. Administrator, 579 A.2d 497 (Conn. 1990), the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that a stroke patient owed unemployment tax contributions on behalf of personal care assistants who provided services in his home. The Minnesota Court of Appeals decided in Lewis v. Commissioner of Jobs and Training, 425 N.W.2d 309 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988), that health care assistants were employees for unemployment compensation purposes of a person who received home services. In Locke v. Lonacre, 772 P.2d 685 (Colo. Ct. App. 1989), the Colorado Court of Appeals decided that a home health care worker who was injured in a patient's home was an employee covered by workers' compensation, despite a written agreement purporting to create an independent contractor relationship. However, a New Jersey Superior Court in Swillings v. Mahendroo, 620 A.2d 452 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1993), decided that a nurse providing in-home care was an independent contractor not entitled to workers' compensation benefits. "The error in the district court's analysis is that the court examined Meier's control over the circumstances that require him to have assistants, not Meier's control over the means and manner the attendants perform their jobs," Lockett said. He found that Meier hired, trained, and supervised the attendants, set their work hours, controlled the order and sequence of their work, furnished the necessary equipment and supplies, and retained the right to terminate them. For purposes of the Kansas Employment Security Law, Meier is the employer of the attendants, Lockett decided. KDHR attorney Dan Doesken represented the agency. M. John Carpenter of Great Bend, Kan., represented Meier. Thomas R. Hill of Hill, Beam-Ward & Kruse in Overland Park, Kan., represented Hartford. Quick Navigation Caregiving Top	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line245
__label__cc	0.577356	0.422644	Home » Advocacy » Policy Wins Recent Policy Wins We have made significant policy breakthroughs over the years though much remains to be done. Through Budget 2017, the federal government committed to investing an additional $25 million over 5 years, with $5 million per year ongoing, to the Athlete Assistance Program (AAP). A federal government investment increase of $20 million dollar ($5 million per year) in high performance sport over the four (4) year period beginning in 2016-17 The creation on a full ministry of Sport and Physical Activity, achieved in part with the recent appointment of Carla Qualtrough as Minister of Sport and Persons with a Disability. The creation of new, dedicated funding to provinces, territories, and municipalities for social infrastructure, including recreation infrastructure Contributed to the creation of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit (2006) and the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RINC) Program. Our goal is to build upon these successes and work toward making Canada the healthy, leading sport nation we know it can be. Policy Work at SMG SMG is committed to advancing public policy related to sport and physical activity. Our approach is to consult broadly and work collaboratively with interested members of the sport sector in order to advance a common position. Together, we help raise awareness of the important benefits of Canadian sport and physical activity among key decision and policy-makers, and advocate for continued governmental support and investment in this area. SMG is a forum within which member organizations work together to ensure that all Canadians have access to meaningful opportunities to participate in sport & physical activity, from the playground to podium. Policy Challenges Other policy issues facing the sport sector and Canada more generally going forward include: strengthening community sport, supporting high performance sport, building sport & recreation infrastructure, improving sport governance, and combating the obesity and the physical inactivity crisis. Click here for more on Key Policy Issues.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line250
__label__cc	0.591048	0.408952	Home / Pom Klementieff Busy to Have Boyfriend. Single and Focused on Career Pom Klementieff Busy to Have Boyfriend. Single and Focused on Career Published Date 25th May. 2018, 15:25 pm French-Korean actor Pom Klementieff is on top of the world right now. With the success of Guardians of Galaxy Vol.2 and Avengers: Infinity War, the latter earning $1.8 billion and counting, and critical praise for her portrayal of Mantis in those movies, her career as at an all-time high. With all her success, people are curious to know about her love life and who her boyfriend is. Pom Klementieff is currently single and doesn’t have a boyfriend. She is ultra focused on her career and doesn’t have time to be in a relationship. She did however, had a boyfriend named Nicolas Bedos in the past. Having started her acting career in 2007, the 32-year-old Pom has been seen in the big screen in several hit movies but her personal life has been away from the spotlight. She has kept her personal life to herself and we have very few (almost none!) information about her boyfriend and love life. @avengers #InfinityWar A post shared by Pom Klementieff (@pom.klementieff) on Apr 24, 2018 at 11:55pm PDT Boyfriend and Dating To our knowledge, Pom is single and doesn’t have a boyfriend. Even if she does have a boyfriend, we are unknown about it since she hasn’t let the cat out of the bag. There are no traces of Pom with a person that we could speculate as to her boyfriend, neither are there any rumors about it. We can also confirm that Pom hasn’t married yet. Also, she doesn’t have any kids as of now. She hasn’t experienced child love, so to speak. Pom Klementieff and her ex-boyfriend Nicolas Bedos attend Cesar 2010, Image source: Albane Cleret Although Pom doesn’t have a boyfriend right now, she did have a boyfriend in the past. She was in a relationship with Nicolas Bedos. Nicolas is a French actor, director, screenwriter and author who recently directed Mr. and Ms. Anderson. Pom and Nicolas started dating each other in late 200os. They were seen together in multiple events like the Cesar 2010 and GQ Man of the Year 2010. The exact date when their relationship ended is unknown. The reason behind the breakup is unknown too. Too Focused on Career One of the major reasons Pom doesn’t have a boyfriend (we think so) is because she is too focused on her career. Her career is at a peak at the moment. Her recent movies have been massive box office successes. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and Avengers: Infinity War made $863 million and $1.8 billion respectively at the box office. As of now, Infinity War is the 4th highest grossing movie of all time, as per Box Office Mojo. A post shared by Pom Klementieff (@pom.klementieff) on Apr 17, 2018 at 7:04am PDT These movie ventures have made her extremely busy. In addition, she also has endorsement deals, most notably with Violet Japan. These commitments have rendered her too busy and as a result, she doesn’t have time to hang out with guys and have a boyfriend. For more news, biography and entertainment, visit Superbhub. Tags: Avengers: Infinity war, Celebrity romance, Nicolas Bedos	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line251
__label__wiki	0.788743	0.788743	SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL-BUILT SATELLITE FOR INTELSAT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED, BEGINS POST-LAUNCH MANEUVERS Palo Alto, Calif. – August 6, 2012 – Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the world’s leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the Intelsat 20 satellite, designed and built for Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, was launched on Thursday, August 2, and is successfully performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan. The satellite deployed its solar arrays on schedule following its launch aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle provided by Arianespace from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and has begun firing its main thruster to complete its travel to geostationary orbit. Intelsat 20 is the 47th spacecraft that SS/L has provided to Intelsat and it is the most powerful satellite in the Intelsat fleet. From its orbital slot at 68.5 degrees East longitude, it will provide high-power distribution of video, voice, and data network services in C- and Ku-bands across four continents. “The launch of Intelsat 20 is one more testament to the success of our longstanding relationship with Intelsat and our ability to work together as a team,” said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral. “It is always an honor for us to help support Intelsat’s efforts to provide a critical layer to the global communications infrastructure.” The Intelsat 20 video neighborhood provides premium content that is carried by India’s leading cable MSOs and DTH operators, reaching more than an estimated 90 million Pay-TV subscribers across India. Intelsat 20 also hosts the largest DTH platform in Africa. The satellite is based on the 1300 platform which has the flexibility to provide a broad range of high performance applications. It will replace Intelsat 10 and Intelsat 7, and is expected to have a service life of more than 18 years. About Intelsat Intelsat is the leading provider of satellite services worldwide. For over 45 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far. Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (NASDAQ: LORL), has a long history of delivering reliable satellites and spacecraft systems for commercial and government customers around the world. As the world’s leading provider of commercial satellites, the company works closely with satellite operators to provide spacecraft for a broad range of services including television and radio distribution, digital audio radio, broadband Internet, and mobile communications. Billions of people around the world depend on SS/L satellites every day. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com. About Loral Space & Communications Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary, the company is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring, and air traffic management. Loral also owns 64 percent of Telesat, one of the world’s largest providers of satellite services. Telesat operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, distribute direct-to-home video and broadband data services, and other value-added communications services. On June 26, 2012, Loral announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell Space Systems/Loral to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA). The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary closing conditions. For more information, visit Loral’s Web site at www.loral.com. LORL-G This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “project,” “intend” or “outlook” or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. In addition, Loral Space & Communications Inc., Space Systems/Loral, Inc. or their representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and press releases or oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results as a result of certain risks and uncertainties which are described as “Risk Factors” and in the “Commitments and Contingencies” note to the financial statements in Loral’s 2011 annual report on Form 10-K filed February 29, 2012. The reader is specifically referred to this document, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to (1) risks associated with financial factors, including swings in the global financial markets, financial covenants in SS/L's credit agreement, increases in interest rates and access to capital; (2) risks associated with satellite manufacturing, including competition, cyclicality of SS/L's end-user markets, contractual risks, creditworthiness of customers, performance of suppliers and management of our factory and personnel; (3) regulatory risks, such as the effect of U.S. export control and economic sanction laws; (4) risks related to the proposed sale of SS/L, including the effect on the business of SS/L prior to the consummation of the sale and the ability to satisfy the contractual conditions to closing the sale, including the receipt of regulatory approval; and (5) other risks, including litigation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Furthermore, Loral and SS/L operate in an industry sector where securities values may be volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the control of Loral and SS/L. Space Systems/Loral	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line257
__label__wiki	0.83218	0.83218	Jets45 Histories de Havilland DH 106 "Comet" Transport The very first DH 106 "Comet" at it's roll out in 1949 Specification For Mk I "Comet" Engine: 4x de Havilland "Ghost" 50 Mk 1 turbojets making 5,000 lb of thrust each Wing Span: 114' 7'' Length: 93' 9'' Height: 28' 6'' Weight: Empty 12,480 lb / Loaded 104,985 lb Cruising Speed: 450 mph Ceiling: 42,000' Range: 1,500 miles Crew: 4 & up to 36 Passengers Armament: none The design of the Comet dates from 1942, when the Brabazon committee was set up on the 23/12/1942 to determine what type of civil aircraft would be needed after the war. In 1943 they issued a requirement for a jet-powered mailplane for the North American route, the Type IV it was to carry a ton of cargo at a cruising speed of 400 mph. In 1945 the specifications were revised, to two or more jet engines, the capacity to carry 14 plus passengers over a range of 700 to 800 miles, at an altitude of 30,000' with a speed of 450 mph, the "Comet" was born. A contract was issued to the de Havilland company by the British Ministry of Supply in mid 1946 for the construction of two prototypes. The DH 106 was in advance of any other aircraft then flying, with a fully pressured fuselage, swept wings at 20°, high-pressure refueling and the "Redux" metal-to-metal bonding process, this was used because of the very thin nature of the aluminum alloy skin employed to keep the aircraft's over all weigh down, this was necessary because of de Havilland's insistence on the uses of it's own engines the "Ghost" 50 Mk-I, these were thought by some to be woefully underpowered for an aircraft of such a size. A design study for the "Type IV " Mail Plane from 1944 The "Comet" production line The first "Comet" made it's first flight on the 27/7/1949 and in testing all went well, some reservations was voiced over the aircraft's thin "skin" and the fitting and design of the windows, how ever de Havilland's chief designer R.E.Bishop would hear none of it, being more concerned with the aircraft's production schedule, 14 Comet Mk-I's having already been ordered by BOAC. The maiden flight of the first production "Comet" took place on the 9/1/1951 and entered service on the 2/5/1952 flying from London to Johannesburg, the worlds first commercial jet passenger service and years ahead of the Americans. The orders for the Mk-I came in with 50 being ordered by various airlines by the end of 1952. Work on the Mk-2 (fitted with more powerful Rolls-Royce Avon engine) was started and the Mk-3 was announced with a lengthened fuselage it could carry 76 passengers. All seemed well..... Between October 1952 and January 1954 a number of disastrous accidents took place with the death of 89 people, an attempt was made to blame the accidents on the pilots, but after another "Comet" broke-up in midair all the aircraft then flying were grounded, after a five month investigation by the RAE, the cause of the crashes were pined down to structural weaknesses in the alloy skin around the windows were reinforcing plates were riveted to strengthen the skin around the windows. De Havilland lost all the orders then placed and undertook a major redesign with the square windows being replaced by an oval design, the fuselage was reinforced and the alloy used for the skin being replaced, all this work resulted in the Mk 4, which took to the air on the 27/4/1958 and can be seen as the definitive version of the "Comet" as all the problems relating to the earlier aircraft were resolved. However the damage was done and the "Comet" never recovered it's reputation, only a small number of "Comet MK-4's were sold (around 57) to civilian operators, with the last commercial flight being on the 9/11/1980 by Dan Air. The first Mk-1 in service 1952 with B.O.A.C Despite the "Comets" failure as a civilian airliner, it would prove to be a very successful aircraft in the hands of the RAF. The last two unsold airframes were competed as prototypes for a Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MR) the HS 801, built by Hawker Siddley before its acquisition by BAe, the modified Comet 4C airframes were completed with a shorter fuselage, enlarged underfuselage, stronger landing gear, and other structural improvements. the first flight was on the 27/4/1967 , with the MR-1 entering service in 1969, all together 51 were built, the Nimrod still serves with RAF and in a much upgraded from (MR-4) will continue to do so well into the 21st Century	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line260
__label__cc	0.701435	0.298565	TeachNuclear » All Things Nuclear » Atomic Theory » Periodic Table of Elements » Periodic Table » Praseodymium Atomic Symbol: Pr Melting Point: 931 °C Atomic Mass: 140.9 Boiling Point: 3520 °C [Xe] 6s2 4f3 Oxidation States: 3 Carl F. Auer von Welsbach discovered praseodymium in 1885. (Gr. prasios, green, and didymos, twin) In 1841 Mosander extracted the rare earth didymia from lanthana; in 1879, Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolated a new earth, samaria, from didymia obtained from the mineral samarskite. Six years later, in 1885, von Welsbach separated didymia into two others, praseodymia and neodymia, which gave salts of different colors. As with other rare earths, compounds of these elements in solution have distinctive sharp spectral absorption bands or lines, some of which are only a few Angstroms wide. The element occurs along with other rare-earth elements in a variety of minerals. Monazite and bastnasite are the two principal commercial sources of the rare-earth metals. It was prepared in relatively pure form in 1931. Salts of praseodymium are used to color glasses and enamels. Ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques have led to much easier isolation of the rare earths and the cost has dropped greatly in the past few years. Praseodymium can be prepared by several methods, such as by calcium reduction of the anhydrous chloride of fluoride. Cigarette lighters contains about 5% praseodymium metal. Misch metal, used in making cigarette lighters, contains about 5% praseodymium metal. The rare-earth oxides, including Pr2O3 are among the most refractory substances known. Along with other rare earths, it is widely used as a core material for carbon arcs used by the motion picture industry for studio lighting and projection. Salts of praseodymium are used to color glasses and enamels; when mixed with certain other materials, praseodymium produces an intense and unusually clean yellow color in glass. Didymium glass, of which praseodymium is a component, is a colorant for welders goggles. Praseodymium. Praseodymium is soft, silvery, malleable, and ductile. It is somewhat more resistant to corrosion in air than europium, lanthanum, cerium, or neodymium, but it does develop a green oxide coating that falls off when exposed to air. As with other rare-earth metals, it should be kept under a light mineral oil or sealed in plastic.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line261
__label__wiki	0.86353	0.86353	Baseball Making Inroads Into Myanmar No member of the Myanmar national baseball team is quitting their day job any time soon. Made up of players in their 20s, 30s and 40s, the club includes maintenance workers, a teacher, as well as a cook. The coach, Toru Iwasaki, is the founder of a private primary school in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. He is originally from Japan and started the baseball program 18 years ago. “Of course in Myanmar, football [soccer] is the most popular sport,” Iwasaki said. “My passion is to introduce baseball, which is my most favorite sport.” The team gets very little financial support from the national sports ministry and depends upon money from Iwasaki’s own pocket to stay afloat. You won’t find baseball bats, balls and gloves on the shelves of sporting good stores in this country. Most of the team’s equipment has been donated by the Japan High School Baseball Federation. Many of the players Iwasaki recruited had experience playing in softball games organized by the American Embassy. So while they understood some basic rules, Iwasaki had to explain to them a lot of the mechanics and necessary skills. He also taught them about strategy and field positioning. Iwasaki knows a little Burmese and his players have picked up some English as well as Japanese. Between the mix of languages and Iwasaki’s hand gestures he gets his messages across. “Sometimes all it takes is the happy or angry tone of voice to make my point,” he said with a grin. Kyaw Thuya Tun, 33, is the team’s first baseman. He drives a taxi to support his wife and two daughters. “I drive the car to work for my family and I play baseball because I love it,” he said. The team plays on the site of an old horse race track. The field is a combination of weeds, overgrown grass and hardened dirt, or mud depending upon the weather. The scoreboard is changed by hand. On a cloudy afternoon with intermittent rain, the Myanmar national team narrowly beat a rag-tag squad of expatriates from the U.S. and Japan by a score of 7 to 6. It’s one of several games the Myanmar team played this year against teams made up of local expatriates. “I like coming out with the guys and the camaraderie that comes out of it,” said Mick Amundson-Geisel, who played first base for the expatriate team. He’s 46 years old and played high school baseball in Colorado. Amundson-Geisel now works as a guidance counselor at an international school in Yangon. On this day, he’s competing against the Myanmar team. On other days he practices with them. “It’s definitely an American game, but it certainly has Asian aspects here like the language that they use and the cheers that they do,” Amundson-Geisel said. But you get a sense of how little is known about baseball in Myanmar when you notice there are only about 25 people in the stands during the game. The team prepared a printout in the local Burmese language with some of the basics of the sport to help fans follow along. Few people understand baseball in this country where football/soccer is king. “People don’t even know what this uniform is for,” said Kyaw Thuya Tun pointing to the clothes he was wearing. “In other countries people know this is a baseball uniform. But here it’s hard to explain what baseball is about.” The Myanmar national team couldn’t beat most American high school baseball teams. But watching the squad in practice and compete in a game, it’s clear there’s no shortage of enthusiasm. The players say they love the sport and will keep swinging away.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line262
__label__wiki	0.971224	0.971224	The eighth edition Khurram Mahmood April 12, 2015 Leave a comment The Indian Premier League (IPL)-8 has begun — Photo by Deepak Malik / SPORTZPICS / IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL)-8 has begun. Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending champions who won IPL-7 by beating Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in the final. In the 2015 IPL Player Auction, out of 349 players, only 67 were hired, 24 of them from other countries. Yuvraj Singh was the most expensive cricketer, whose services were acquired for 16 crore Indian rupees ($2.57 million) by Delhi Daredevils. The second most costly player was Dinesh Karthik who was bought for Rs10.50 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore. But surprisingly some of the world’s leading cricketers failed to attract buyers. Sri Lankan veterans Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, South Africa’s Hashim Amla and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor remained unsold. Pakistan’s players remain deprived of the chance to show their talent in the IPL. That has been BCCI’s policy since after the first IPL in 2008, in which 11 Pakistani cricketers played for different franchises. In 2010, despite being included in the IPL auction, no Pakistani player was hired. Interestingly, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is the coach of KKR. Notwithstanding the glamour, money and a lot of cricket, the IPL has been hit by several controversies since its launch. Before the beginning of the 7th edition in 2014, the Indian Supreme Court removed BCCI President N Srinivasan for alleged corruption in the IPL. In November 2014, the Supreme Court ordered that Chennai Super Kings — owned by Indian Cements — should be disqualified with immediate effect and without any further enquiry. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan has been found guilty by the Mudgal panel of being actively involved in betting during the 2013 edition. Indian pacer Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested for spot-fixing in IPL matches for payments of up to Rs6 million for giving away a certain number of runs in an over. BCCI suspended the three players from the IPL and referred the matter to its Disciplinary Committee for further action. But the question is: what did the International Cricket Council (ICC) do? It didn’t take the matter as seriously as it should have. The international cricket body was very vigorous in taking action against Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt when they were found guilty of spot-fixing in England in 2010. But in this case, the ICC not only avoided taking any immediate action but instead backed the Indian board, assuring it of “full support”, and welcomed the steps announced by BCCI. Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf became another victim of ICC’s bias when he was stopped from officiating in the Champions Trophy in England following media reports that indicated he was under investigation by Mumbai police. Before confirmation of anything, ICC removed him from the Champions Trophy on the basis of Indian media’s reports. The ICC did not mention what the Mumbai police were investigating Rauf for and said it had no further comment to make. It was not the first case in IPL. The IPL-5 remained in the headlines more due to off-the-ground activities than on-field performances. In the fifth season, five Indian domestic players were suspended for spot-fixing. Two IPL players, an actress and around 100 other persons were also arrested at a hotel for using drugs. First, a TV channel caught five players — Shalabh Srivatava, TP Sudhindra, Abhinav Bali, Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav — taking bribes for spot-fixing. BCCI only suspended the involved players and formed an inquiry committee, but no more action was taken. Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad started a hunger strike with several other people against the way the IPL was being managed — without any transparency and accountability. On April 25, 2010, BCCI suspended Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, who conceived the idea of this tournament and made it a huge success for alleged misappropriation of funds. A case was filed against him and he was officially banned from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL and any other committee of the BCCI. In September 2011, BCCI’s governing body announced that the IPL franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala was terminated due to the failure to submit its yearly bank guarantee of Rs156 crores. Ravindra Jadeja was the biggest buy of 2012 season with $2 million. But he was banned from playing in the IPL 2010 for trying to negotiate a contract with another franchise and in turn delaying the signing of his contract with Rajasthan Royals. India IPL Khurram Mahmood 2015-04-12 Khurram Mahmood Treat the cause of disease, not symptoms An entertaining autobiography Why target players	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line263
__label__cc	0.536003	0.463997	People's Alliance Announces Carleton By-election Candidate A provincial by-election has been called for the riding of Carleton. The People's Alliance of New Brunswick has just announced their candidate. The following is a copy of the press release: The People's Alliance of New Brunswick announces Deputy Leader Randall Leavitt as candidate for the upcoming Carleton By-election. Leavitt's background is in business management and sales, with several years experience spent within the NB school system working with special needs students and those with learning challenges. With the current state of the province, Randall sees this as an excellent opportunity for the people of Carleton to elect an MLA who will take their concerns to the Legislature, free of partisan politics. “The people of Carleton need an MLA who can freely bring forward issues on their behalf, “ says Leavitt, “ rather than electing a red or blue who just gets lost in the shuffle of big party politics. People come first, I would be honored to work extremely hard for the population of the region.” People's Alliance leader Kris Austin says Leavitt is the change the area needs, and the change it deserves. “Randall puts people first,” says Austin, “whether at work or in volunteer endeavors. There is no other candidate that would work as hard for the people, and we are extremely proud of the dedication he has shown by putting himself forward to serve the riding ” The by-election is scheduled for October 5th. Wes Gullison wesgullison@peoplesalliancenb.com For those unfamiliar with the People's Alliance here is their About page, as well as a link to their 2014 Provincial Election Platform. Best of luck to the new candidate! Education Reform In New Brunswick: What Japan Can Teach Us (Part 1) As a graduate of New Brunswick's education system I sometimes reflect on the quality of the schooling I received. I also have a longstanding interest in Japanese culture. It is natural then that I would eventually get to looking at how Japan does education. What I found was a school system that better instills the values of leadership, sense of community, and respect than anything I've seen in New Brunswick. I figured I may as well detail some of the highlights of their system and make the argument that New Brunswick would do well to adopt at least some of these policies. The policies are in no particular order of importance. This is my third time trying to write on this topic and I've struggled with how to cover it. This is mostly because the ideas I am advocating for are interconnected to a large degree. So doing one topic left a lot unsaid and doing the entire article created an unreadable master's thesis. I settled on covering two topics in each article. Expect this series of articles to link back to older articles and forward to newer ones (linear existence being more a suggestion than a rule). Soji No Jikan It seems appropriate when the government is cutting teaching positions to discuss how we might cut janitorial positions instead. In Japan it is common practice to have students do most of the cleaning in the school. This cleaning is usually scheduled after school each day. Usually the soji no jikan (the cleaning time) takes up 15 minutes to an hour. It has been tried out in some charter schools in the United States to great effect as well. Some might balk at the idea of even a minute of potential class time going towards school cleaning. They may well argue that such cleaning has no educational value. I'd argue they are wrong. Being able to work together in a shared endeavor is an important skill to learn. Understanding that you have a responsibilities towards your community is a fundamental aspect of citizenship. It might even instill a bit of respect for people who clean as a profession. Students might even welcome the change since, as long as the work was getting done, there would be an opportunity to socialize. Interestingly, having students clean produces a result that is perfectly logical in hindsight. Students tend not to write on school property with pens or markers since they may well be assigned that section to clean later. While there would still be a need for a few janitors for dangerous and difficult tasks the number needed would be much reduced. From a savings and educational stance this policy has a great deal of appeal. This kind of thing has precedence in New Brunswick. My mother recalls that her school was cleaned once a week by the janitor and the students were expected to clean up after themselves during the week. It is time we revived this expectation. The Role Of Teachers Probably the biggest difference between teachers in New Brunswick and Japan is that in Japan the position has a certain level of prestige. Teachers are among the most highly paid civil servants in Japan and the hiring process is very selective. Most importantly teachers are able to teach in the subject they were trained in. Due to the number of teaching graduates the field is highly competitive and schools can afford to be picky. While Canada has a very sharp division between moral and academic education, Japan does not. Teachers are expected to be a stand-in for the child's parents at school and to instill moral values and help develop a child's character. Indeed, a teacher's influence often extends into the surrounding community. Teachers in Japan often work unpaid overtime and patrol local events with a eye out for misbehaving students. In class an observer might be surprised by how little direct discipline there is. An example I read about in Thunder From The East detailed how after a student started playing 'bombs away' with a carrot in the fish tank the teacher stated simply that the fish might get hurt. After a couple half-hearted attempts she gave up. However, after recess she brought up her concerns about dropping carrots into the fish tank with the class. This wasn't the lectures myself and many others have had to sit through. In fact the teacher said very little. Instead she asked the class what they should do about the situation. Some students noted the game was fun while others worried it might hurt the fish and they should stop. The teacher acknowledged the first group but encouraged and praised the second group. She then got the class as a whole to agree with the majority opinion; that 'bombs away' was harmful to the fish and they should stop. This type of discipline has the advantage of being self-enforcing. Students police each other and remind those who stray of the social contract they all agreed to. Hundreds of little pushes like this throughout a student's career lead to high school students who, should the need arise due to a teacher's absence, can be left alone to study quietly for a day and not have them descend into (loud) anarchy. We often hear about the evils of peer pressure but this is largely because it has been ignored how it might be used in a positive manner to enforce positive behavior. Next time I delve into student leadership and responsibility. On Buses, Rural Schools, And Language Riverside Consolidated School Recently the leader of the New Brunswick NDP, Dominic Cardy, proposed busing French and English kids to their respective school on the same buses. This being the kind of thing that gets a politician into trouble in New Brunswick he was quickly shouted down. However, one of Cardy's opponents raised an interesting point. Attorney General Serge Rousselle cited a decision in 2000 regarding whether French students in Summerside PEI could be bused to the nearest French school roughly an hour away or whether a school had to be built closer. The court ruled that busing students that far was unacceptable as "school size, facilities, transportation and assembly of students... all have an effect on language and culture...". Now, what this has to do with having French and English kids share a bus I don't know but it does provoke an interesting question about another schooling question that is currently angering a lot of people. The province of New Brunswick is currently considering closing the Dorchester and Riverside schools. Both are under- utilized due to the slow death of rural New Brunswick and the government is looking to cut costs. In the case of the Riverside school this means that elementary students from Alma will endure marathon 90 minute bus ride both ways (high school students already do). Now, if the previously-mentioned court ruling is applicable it would seem that forcing students, especially at the elementary level, to be bused such a distance is not allowed. Even if the Riverside school remains open rural New Brunswick needs a long-term education plan that takes into account the fact that its population is not growing and infrastructure becoming more expensive to maintain. On the issue of duality I think the province is headed in an ugly direction. English-speakers largely see duality as unfair, wasteful and separate from the issue of official bilingualism. French-speakers see duality as a necessary protection of their culture and inseparable from official bilingualism. Such disagreements are fine as long as both sides can engage with their opponents and understand their points of view. This doesn't appear to be possible in New Brunswick at this time as raising the issue is more likely to result in the following scenario: Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside tweeted "Bilingualism I understand, duality makes no sense. This should be on the table Mr Premier as we look to save money. You asked." The response from Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre was that the comments were ignorant and regrettable. He further called for a boycott of a meetings of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (of which Brad Woodside, is also president) unless he recanted. Woodside also endured an editorial by Alec Bruce of the Times & Transcript which more resembled the inarticulate ramblings of a Republican Party hack than any sort of reasoned response. Where does this complete failure of dialogue put New Brunswick in the future? Your guess is as good as mine but I'd wager on the eventual result being unpleasant. The Bennett Method: How the 2014 New Brunswick Election Results Would be Different Image taken from Wikipedia I wrote an article a number of months back about a modified first-past-the-post (FPTP) system I called the Bennett Method. The results of the 2014 New Brunswick Election provides a good opportunity to revisit whether this method is a viable improvement to our electoral democracy. First, a quick review. The Bennett method differs from other electoral systems in that it doesn't mess with ridings, voting method, or even how those votes are counted. Instead it changes what those votes mean in the resulting legislature by changing the relative strength of the elected official's vote. For example, an MLA who won their riding with a large majority and belonged to a party that had high support would have a stronger vote in the resulting legislature than an MLA who barely got elected and who's party ended up not having much support. The end result being that while seat counts would remain the same as if we were using FPTP the actual party strength would closer to being proportional to their popular vote. So. Let's get started. The first thing to do is to consider each riding as being 'worth' 100 points (ie. 100 percent). These 'points' are awarded to MLAs based on the percentage of the vote they won in their riding. For instance Brian Keirstead won 40.61% of the vote in his riding of Albert. His point total would be 40.61. The remaining points don't go away and I will return to them momentarily. There are 49 ridings in New Brunswick so therefore the maximum number of points in play is 4900. Results for New Brunswick: PARTY RIDING TOTALS (NDP & PANB not included due to not winning seats) Progressive Conservative Party: 47.45, 42.00, 38.65, 52.53, 40.61, 44.27, 49.86, 38.74, 51.35, 45.24, 48.90, 39.18, 35.66, 41.97, 28.79, 40.95, 35.42, 35.21, 46.53, 56.77, 48.16 Liberal Party: 57.54, 61.86, 53.54, 62.53, 61.28, 56.51, 45.71, 64.40, 49.04, 49.70, 49.78, 48.55, 64.39, 59.85, 45.43, 65.77, 44.90, 52.75, 44.83, 37.01, 32.19, 62.47, 41.72, 33.60, 40.83, 49.62, 56.39 Green Party: TOTAL: 2331.11 2331.11 is the total number of points awarded to the all winning candidates in New Brunswick. It is somewhat less than half of the point total due to some very close races and a strong third-party vote. The remaining 2568.89 points are now to be dealt with. These points are divided equally among the candidates of each party based on that party's share of the popular vote. Progressive Conservative Party: 889.86 (34.64%) Liberal Party: 1097.42 (42.72%) Green Party: 169.80 ( 6.61%) Divided between the candidates this results in each Progressive Conservative MLA receiving an additional 42.37 points. The Liberal MLAs each receive 40.64 additional points. The Green MLA takes his full total of 169.80 additional points. Riding totals after unused points were distributed: Progressive Conservative Party: Liberal Party: 98.18, 102.05, 94.18, 103.17, 101.92, 97.15, 86.35, 105.04, 89.68, 90.34, 90.42, 89.19, 105.03, 100.49, 86.07, 106.41, 85.54, 93.39, 85.47, 77.65, 72.83, 103.11, 82.36, 74.24, 81.47, 90.26, 97.03 Green Party: The total strength of the Progressive Conservative vote is 1798.01, Liberals 2489.02, and Greens 200.48. Total of all three parties is 4487.51 (you may notice the total is short by roughly 412. This is likely due to the number of people who voted for either the NDP or PANB). Voting power of MLAs as a percentage of 4487.51: PC: 40.06% LIB: 55.46% GRN: 4.46% Distortion between voting power and percentage of the popular vote received in FPTP and Bennett Method: FPTP Bennett Method The Liberal voting power was actually 0.36 points more distorted but this is off-set by the overall results being 4.85 closer in terms of voting power vs. popular vote. This is a known error that last occured when I looked at Nova Scotia's results. I don't currently have a good explanation as to why it sometimes occures. It could be that large numbers of votes for parties that don't win seats is the cause of the distortion (in the Nova Scotia test the Greens did pretty well). If, so it could be fixed by giving a seat to party leaders whose party gets X% of the vote. So what if they were included? If the leaders of the NDP and People's Alliance were each given a seat and a vote share based on their popular vote the numbers would look like this (using the 412.49 points that we are short and adjusting to be out of the full 4900): PC: 1798.01 (36.69%) LIB: 2489.02 (50.79%) GRN: 200.48 ( 4.09%) PA: 67.97 ( 1.38%) NDP: 344.51 ( 7.03%) In this case all parties moved towards proportionality. While the Liberals still have a slim majority in this case (which their popular vote doesn't support) it drops to a minority once they pick a speaker. -Nothing changes for voters or Elections New Brunswick staff. Everyone still has one vote to cast and, as a result, they can be counted the same way they always have been. -It doesn't require extra ridings be created and only requires a few new seats if the optional method is used. -It is, if not perfectly proportional, at least closer than what we have now. -It eliminates most wasted votes by having votes for candidates not only weaken the winner of that riding but also increase the strength of the party elsewheres. -There is some basic math involved but it doesn't inconvenience either the voters or those counting the votes. -It weakens independent MLAs somewhat since they will never benefit from a party's popular vote share. I'll close with my standard disclaimer: I don't claim this is a great system. I don't even claim it is a good system. I only claim it is an interesting system. Thoughts? Suggestions? PANB Banned From Debates For those unaware, New Brunswick is in the midst of an election campaign. The political parties are out and about trying to sell their message to all who will listen. Part of these efforts is participating in debates organized by media and community organizations. I'd like to take a second to focus on some controversial decisions made by the media establishment in New Brunswick. Specifically, the exclusion of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick from several debates. CTV & Rogers have confirmed they will each hold a debate with only the Progressive Conservatives, Liberals, and New Democrats participating. The parties excluded will be the People's Alliance and the Green Party. Neither gave reasons for excluding the latter two parties (although I will present my own theory below). It is not like five people on stage is unmanageable. Federally, we have been having debates between 4-5 participants for years without difficulty. Radio Canada is also excluding the People's Alliance and Green Party from the French debate. Unlike CTV & Rogers they at least gave a rationale for excluding these parties: they felt neither of the leaders were fluent enough in French. The Reasons Why Also hit by the Banhammer It is clear that CTV & Rogers caved to political pressure from the Progressive Conservatives. The evidence for this view can be found in the PC's reaction to the CBC deciding to include all of New Brunswick's parties in their debate. Their reaction was to storm out of the meeting and refuse to participate unless the People's Alliance and Green Party were banned from the planned debate. It is not hard to imagine this threat coming up in regards to the other debates too. This seems to be the standard operating procedure for incumbents who want a debate on their terms. When I was in Sackville for the 2011 Federal Election a debate was cancelled due to the incumbent Liberal candidate refusing to come. I do have some small sympathy for the media when presented with this kind of ultimatum. It is an impossible choice between presenting all options and having a debate without the incumbent there defending their record. That doesn't make it right and New Brunswickers would be better served by a media establishment with some backbone. Premier Alward has reason to prefer a three-way debate: as the only party of the three on the right of the political spectrum the PCs can hope that vote-splitting with help them more than it hurts. Including the People's Alliance and Green Party throws a wrench in these plans. The People's Alliance for their part were formed by former PC members. While they have made excellent efforts towards being an inclusive 'big tent' party their origins may be a concern for a party used to having the political right all to itself. This may explain why the PCs have on more than one occasion tried to tar the People's Alliance as socialists. The Green Party for its part has shown that it can cut into Conservative support in unexpected ways (most recently in Calgary Centre). Both parties represent an unknown to the PCs which they would rather not deal with. Summary: Premier Alward, you are a coward. Although, to be fair, the Liberals and NDP don't seem to be in any hurry to ensure the people are presented with all their options either. The most immediate goal is to get CTV & Rogers to change their minds and have an inclusive debate. Rogers can be contacted at 506 462 3659 (Terri Willis), 1-888-307-8862 (TV Viewer Response Line), or online at this link.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line265
__label__wiki	0.562089	0.562089	KHADI DAY Miscellaneous,Uncategorized \| A report of the stalls set up by the students of the Department of Apparel and Fashion Designing at Brookefields on October 2. By Rahul Anand (M.Sc. Theoretical Computer Science, 2017-2022) Photographs by Varsha Prada S (B.E Robotics and Automation, 2017-2021) They say that you never forget your first love. For us Coimbatorians, Brookefields is the first mall we fell in love with. Even though there are two other malls in the city now, the popularity and the enthusiastic crowd Brookefields garners can never be equalled by those. On the 2nd of October, Brookefields was teeming with more people than the normal, thanks to the long weekend. Amidst the sea of people, our MSc Fashion Design and Merchandising students set up stalls in the atrium to promote and sell Khadi goods. The initiative was a part of the efforts taken by the Department of Apparel and Fashion Designing of PSG College of Technology to revive the extensive use of Khadi by the people, as a part of Khadi Day celebrations – a tribute to the Mahatma. To make the event happen, around 30 students from the AFD department worked relentlessly for about a fortnight, with the assistance of the faculty members. From sourcing raw Khadi from shops in Gandhipuram, Town Hall, Ukkadam and even Tiruppur, to coordinating the team and handling the publicity and marketing in the mall on the D-day, they did everything with utmost enthusiasm and made it a memorable experience for everyone involved. The products on sale and display were household furnishing items like Cushions, Covers, Table-mats, Coasters and accessories like Tote Bags, Purses, Pouches, Earrings, Bangles, Dolls. In addition to to all these items, there were also beautiful paintings for sale. The price of the articles ranged from Rs 5 to Rs 600, whose profits went to the students who put in the effort to make them. A dress on display For the fashionistas out there, here is some technical perspective. The materials used were Silk Khadi, Cotton Khadi and Khadi yarn. For embellishments Aari, Zardosi techniques were employed and fabric paintings inspired by Madhubani, Warli and Kalamkari were also used. Our ‘craftspeople’ painted on products using natural dyes and also used tucks, pleats, pompoms, tazzles, applique work etc., to pulchritude them. All the techniques and methods used seamlessly blends with the curriculum of their programme. Handmade accessories A brief look at the history of Khadi tells us that the art of manufacturing hand-spun clothes has been known to Indians for thousands of years. The hand woven cotton started its journey from India to Europe via the remote parts of Asia when Alexander invaded India. When his troops moved from here, Khadi did as well. Around the 1700s, the Western countries introduced cheaper garments and textile mills to India and Khadi saw a steep dip in usage.Seeking the timeline ahead to almost two centuries later, there came MK Gandhi, who not only promoted the use of Khadi, but also made it the symbol of the Swadeshi movement, the traditional robes being his signature dress-code. It was a form of revolt against the British to wear hand spun Khadi as opposed to the garments imported from England. At Ground Zero On fabric Inquisitive audience Khadi also owes its popularity to the facts that it is hand spun and that it is a versatile material, meaning that it is cold during summer and warm during winter. Coming back to Brookefields and PSG College Of Technology, we had Ms. Sujatha, Marketing Manager of Brookefields, who incidentally, is an alumna of the department, talking to us. When asked about the impact that the stalls would have, she said that not many shops inside the mall itself sell Khadi products and added that this initiative by the students may motivate them to have more Khadi products. Further, she expressed her satisfaction about the success of the event, with many people flocking the stalls to buy products and also felt happy that the efforts to promote Khadi were appreciated. Interacting with the stars of the day, the students, we found that they had learnt a lot about Khadi in the fortnight they worked for this event. They also expressed interest in continuing to produce and use Khadi products. A common remark from the students was that people had a misconception that Khadi is to be used only for dresses, while it is not so. They also added that their products were standing testimonies to how Khadi can be used in all forms for many articles. The elite team To sum up, the event provided the students an opportunity to put their knowledge and talent to good use. Hopefully, it also inspired a few other people to take up Khadi and to revive its unparalleled recognition. RAHUL ANAND R (M.Sc. THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE, 2017-2022) is an amateur writer trying to get the best out of himself. He loves watching movies and TV shows, reading books, and listening to music. He is a big fan of AR Rahman. VARSHA PRADA S (B.E. ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION, 2017-2021) is an exuberant photographer and artist who loves travel and lifestyle vlogs. She wants to travel for the rest of her life. For comments/feedback/suggestions, please write to thebridgepsg@gmail.com Global Outreach Programmes – I IAS SRFP: A Research Opportunity for the Summer	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line269
__label__wiki	0.717875	0.717875	Murfreesboro Room In The Inn federal money jeopardized due to Title VI concerns By: Andrew Wigdor The Murfreesboro location of Room In The Inn recently closed its doors due to the city ending its lease agreement with the homeless shelter. Despite city officials claiming that the lease agreement was ended because of issues with non-compliance, Room In The Inn Executive Director Bobby Copeland stated that he was never aware of said issues. The current lease agreement expires June 30, and the shelter officially closed its doors to new residents on June 17 after leasing the property on West Main Street for about 21 years. The choice from the city to not renew the lease came after City Community Development Director John Callow and representatives from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency investigated the shelter. The investigation was brought on by complaints that were filed with the City Comptroller’s Office in November. After the investigation, the THDA decided to suspend Emergency Solutions Grant funding for Room In The Inn. Employees and volunteers at the shelter are currently working to transition to a new location, according to Copeland. “That’s what we are doing now is getting ready – as much as we can – to go, but we don’t have a spot yet,” Copeland said. After the THDA suspended the funding, Callow asked the shelter to provide documentation, which the shelter failed to provide. Callow stated that Room In The Inn continuously failed to provide documentation throughout the investigation and that their response to the complaints was “not sufficient.” Despite this, Copeland said that he was not aware of any kind of non-compliance within the shelter. “They haven’t notified me of any kind of non-compliance,” Copeland said. “There was no such thing, I don’t think. … If we have a complaint, we address it immediately.” According to Callow, however, Copeland’s assessment that there were no issues of non-compliance is untrue. “If Bobby Copeland is saying that he was not aware of these issues, that’s just not right,” Callow said. “For him to say, ‘We weren’t aware of this,’ that’s just disingenuous.” Callow stated that when the THDA representatives requested documents from Room In The Inn, they were not provided with the answers they required. “The folks at THDA said, ‘This isn’t going to work,’” Callow said. “‘And even though the agreement is between the city and Room In The Inn, we recommend you terminate the agreement, and, whether you terminate the agreement or not, we are not going to pay for anything anymore.’” Due to the non-satisfactory response given to the THDA by Room In The Inn, the city wanted answers. “We still haven’t seen responses to most of those things that we asked for in December,” Callow said. “When you call the City Comptroller’s Office, that means the agency better do something quick.” One of the key issues that concerned the city throughout the investigation was Title VI Civil Rights violations. According to Callow, one of the issues raised in the complaints was that the shelter was not properly explaining why they stopped providing services to certain clients. The city required the shelter to hold records on why the decisions were made, which Room In The Inn failed to provide. The failure to provide the documentation could be construed as a violation of Title VI, according to Callow. Title VI is a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs that receive federal funding. “If you take one penny of federal money, you are bound by Title VI,” Callow said. “If you are not willing to satisfy that complaint, which could be construed as a Title VI violation, you are jeopardizing the city of Murfreesboro. Every single penny of federal money that comes into the city of Murfreesboro is jeopardized.” Callow stated that his staff is still willing to assist Room In The Inn in finding a new building, but Copeland said that he does not wish to pursue the help of the city. “We aren't telling them that they can’t do business,” Callow said. “We are just telling them that they can’t do business in a building that is owned by the city of Murfreesboro.” According to Copeland, the shelter will survive without the assistance of the city and the THDA. He acknowledged the loss of ESG funding but said that it would not hurt Room In The Inn in any serious capacity. “People are making a big deal of those grants, but you were given some money to spend, and they told you how to spend it,” Copeland said. “And I gave part of it back. We didn’t need it, simple as that. … There was a limited amount of things that you could spend (the funding) on.”	cc/2019-30/en_head_0002.json.gz/line270

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