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__label__cc	0.568664	0.431336	ActOfDefianceMetal.com Shows \| Tours Act of Defiance signs with Metal Blade Records Published February 26, 2015 \| By Ms. A New band featuring Chris Broderick, Shawn Drover, Henry Derek, and Matt Bachand Upon exiting the ranks of Megadeth, the world eagerly awaited news as to what was next for Chris Broderick (guitars) and Shawn Drover (drums). The duo are now excited to announce their worldwide signing to Metal Blade Records for their new group ACT OF DEFIANCE, which is rounded out by Henry Derek (ex-Scar The Martyr) on vocals and Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall) on bass. They are currently recording their debut offering with world renowned producer Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall). Look for this album to be released sometime this summer. However, in the meantime, click of the link below for a sneak peek into a rough demo snippet of the track “Throwback.” “Throwback” Song Snippet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8uFI7cYN3I Broderick states: “I am so excited to finally be able to announce ACT OF DEFIANCE to the world. Shawn just finished tracking drums the first week of February and his performance and tones are simply incredible. I have started tracking rhythms and leads, as well as working with Henry to get final vocal takes while Matt will record bass at his studio. The final mix and mastering will also be handled by Chris Harris. “I am also very honored to announce that we have signed with Metal Blade Records. There is not a better label to be on than one where the employees (and owner) still understand and listen to METAL! They have shown a loyalty, backing and drive for their artists that few other labels have. As for our music, I am really enjoying the ability to create what is a killer mix of thrash and modern metal. It has a unique combination ranging from thrash to classical influences. I am very proud of what we have written and hope that you all dig it.“ Drover adds: “Having our new band, ACT OF DEFIANCE, sign with Metal Blade Records is a real thrill for me. I started my musical career with Brian Slagel and the Metal Blade family many years ago, so to come full circle at this point is a real musical home-coming, of sorts. I couldn’t be happier about that. “What thrills me the most is the fact that myself, Chris Broderick, Henry Derek and Matt Bachand all have in common is that from the get-go, we wanted this band to be 100% PURE Heavy Metal! No compromises, no ulterior motives other than making the best HEAVY METAL music we can. Metal Blade shares this vision, which really puts us all on the same page, musically.“ Bachand states: “I couldn’t be more excited to begin this new adventure with ACT OF DEFIANCE. The positive energy that has collected between the four of us in such a little amount of time has been nothing short of incredible. Writing bass lines is something new for me as well, and I am looking forward to the challenge. All the songs are coming together great and I can’t wait for the world to hear this.“ Derek comments: “I’m extremely honored and excited to be a part of AOD. Everyone has been super cool and supportive, which is always a huge plus. I know this is going to be an awesome musical experience and the fact that I’m embarking on this journey with good people means everything. Cheers.“ Brian Slagel further comments: “I am super excited to welcome ACT OF DEFIANCE to the Metal Blade family. I have known Chris and Shawn over the years and really admired their work. I am honored to be able to work with these two legendary musicians. Really excited to work with all the guys on this exciting new band!“ Posted in Music \| Tagged metal blade, song Chris Broderick Tweets by @ActOfDefiance1 allegaeon billboard birth and the burial metal blade song stream u.s.a. website Act Of Defiance © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Site Design by Ms. A.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line1
__label__wiki	0.619873	0.619873	A deadly pathogen is unleashed and unknowingly carried to Dana Overbeck’s 30th birthday party, where her estranged father, Rufus, is coming to make amends. Best in Sex: 2019 AVN Awards Graphic Language, Adult Content, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content Shadow Fighter A homeless ex-boxer and an inner-city kid’s unlikely bond, helps them face their future, while fighting the tragedy from their past! Jamario, Jaquan, Jailen, and Teague are teammates on the J.O. Johnson High School wrestling team in Huntsville, Alabama. Led by their passionate coach, they are trying to qualify for the… Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating… A hermit farmer discovers his late father’s secret journal containing plans to a magnetic powered machine that could change the world, while unexpectedly becoming custodian of his gifted 6 year… Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction Regrets of the Past The short film project “Regrets of the Past” was realized by a team of local filmmakers whose goal it was to create a high-quality sci-fi movie in Austria, based within… Enter The Wild On a trek to find the world’s rarest tree, Dylan and his friends descend into harsh ravines and canyons. As the wilderness closes in on them they come face to… A conservative professor at a Christian college finds himself in a gay support group to stop their launch of an LGBT homeless youth shelter in their small town. Pocketman and Cargoboy Teenage secret agents must travel to the past and stop an evil doctor from creating a virus that wipes out all life in the future. Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction The lives of a Hollywood actress battling drug addiction, a teen with a violent past, a teacher fighting to keep a dream alive, and a cop caught in a love… Diane is a devoted friend and caretaker, particularly to her drug-addicted son. But as those around her begin to drift away in the last quarter of her life, she is… In order to save her father’s ailing bus company, competent but perennially overlooked Adaeze must find a way to work alongside feckless uncle Godswill. Earth is peaceful following the Tournament of Power. Realizing that the universes still hold many more strong people yet to see, Goku spends all his days training to reach even… Kelly’s Hollywood Kelly is a sassy young woman who loves performing and dreams of becoming a Hollywood star. Her devoted brother Brian, an actor himself, sets out to do everything he can… Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his… Paskal The Movie The true events of Lieutenant Commander Arman Anwar of PASKAL, an elite unit in the Royal Malaysian Navy, and his team’s mission to rescue the MV Bunga Laurel, a tanker… American Circumcision Circumcision is the most common surgery in America, yet America is the only industrialized country in the world to routinely practice non-religious infant circumcision. Why does America continue to cut… A man fakes his death. At his funeral he discovers he has a son and attempts to find him. Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown Since the early days, Jerry Lewis – in the line of Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel – had the masses laughing with his visual gags, pantomime sketches and signature slapstick humor…. A gay couple are going through marital troubles made worse when a previously unknown grandson shows up. You Can’t Watch This Seemingly overnight a collection of prominent & controversial political commentators were more or less stripped of their online existence by social media giants. These commentators speak about what it is… Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal The Ghost crew and their allies face Darth Vader for the first time and Ahsoka Tano discovers the true identity of Darth Vader. Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation, Science Fiction In 20 years’ time, there will be nearly 1.6 billion smokers around the world. Approximately 70% of smokers want to quit. The United Nations’ World Health Organisation expects a billion… Country: Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Turkey, UK, USA Wretch In an attempt to piece together fractured memories of a drug-fueled night in the woods, three friends confront guilt, jealousy, and a supernatural presence that threatens to expose their true… Young, up-and-coming photographer, Lana, begrudgingly attends the party of a pretentious and cool gallery owner in the hopes of meeting a respected dealer who may hold the key to her… Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations… Students attending a Christmas party at a sorority house with a sinister past are stalked by a bloodthirsty killer disguised as Mrs. Claus. A series of mysterious events changes the life of a blind pianist who now must report a crime that was actually never witnessed by him. Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller A mythical account of the life of Buddy Bolden, the first Cornet King of New Orleans. In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand… Michael Inside An 18 year old man, living in a Dublin housing estate with his grandfather, is caught holding drugs for his friend’s older brother and sentenced to 3 months in prison. Springsteen on Broadway is a solo acoustic performance written and performed by Tony Award, Academy Award, and 20-time Grammy Award winner Bruce Springsteen. Based on his worldwide best-selling autobiography ‘Born… Genre: Documentary, Music Jeff Lynne’s ELO: Wembley or Bust A thrilling concert film that documents Jeff Lynne’s ELO playing their triumphant concert for a massive audience at Wembley Stadium on June 24, 2017. We see Lynne and his remarkable musical ensemble… Genre: Music As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic… A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster’s moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously… A notorious gangster Vedha surrenders himself to encounter specialist Vikram whom he challenges every step of the way by narrating his life events in the form of riddles that needs… Genre: Action, Romance, Thriller Bonehill Road A young couple become stranded in the woods where they encounter a werewolf and a house of horrors. Fighting Belle When a sassy Southern belle is jilted at the altar by her fighter fiance, she puts on the boxing gloves to get revenge. K.G.F: Chapter 1 A period drama set in the 1970s, KGF follows the story of a fierce rebel who rises against the brutal oppression in Kolar Gold Fields and becomes the symbol of…	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line3
__label__wiki	0.642569	0.642569	Mix-and-match from the AroVideo archives! Robert Powell Asylum (House of Crazies) (1972) Dir. Roy Ward Baker Feat. Peter Cushing, Britt Ekland, Herbert Lom… A compendium of four tales by Robert Bloch (writer of PSYCHO) set around the quest by a young psychiatrist to interview inmates of a madhouse and… Edwardians, The (1972) Dir. John Howard Davies, James Cellan Jones, Alan Clarke Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Timothy West, Robert Powell… Superb examination of eight famous Edwardians who helped shape the early 20th century. Impeccably presented and directed by some of the BBC's finest… Asphyx, The (Horror of Death) (1973) Dir. Peter Newbrook Feat. Robert Stephens, Robert Powell Promising 'Victorian' horror set around experiments by a scientist (Stephens) into capturing the 'asphyx' (soul) of a dying person and gaining a… Mahler (1974) Dir. Ken Russell Feat. Robert Powell, Lee Montague, Georgina Hale… Ken Russell's biopic on the life of the Jewish composer. As one critic observed – 'Whether the title of the opus is Mahler, Strauss or Elgar,… Jesus of Nazareth (Mini Series) (1977) Dir. Franco Zeffirelli Feat. Robert Powell, Laurence Olivier, Anne Bancroft… Touched by the hand of Franco Zeffirelli and a who's–who of famous thesps, this is the most respectfully detailed and complete retelling of the… 39 Steps, The (Thirty-Nine Steps, The) (1978) Dir. Don Sharp Feat. Robert Powell, David Warner, Eric Porter… Perhaps the most literally faithful of the various adaptations of John Buchan's classic suspense novel. Powell plays the man on the run in… Four Feathers, The (1978) Feat. Jane Seymour, Beau Bridges, Robert Powell Fine costume drama, based on A E W Mason's classic tale of a British officer charged with cowardice, who regains his honour and his love, during an… Harlequin (1980) Dir. Simon Wincer Feat. David Hemmings, Robert Powell, Broderick Crawford A modern–day version of the Rasputin story, in which a senator and his wife fall prey to the spellbinding powers of a manipulative Harlequin… Shaka Zulu (TV Mini-series) (1984) Dir. William C Faure Feat. Robert Powell, Edward Fox, Henry Cele Set in 19th century South Africa, this recounts the epic land wars between the Zulu tribes and European immigrants, with true TV mini–series… Results Page \| 1 \| 2 \| Next Show All	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line7
__label__wiki	0.898462	0.898462	Home » Biography » Kristen Bell Published Date: 23rd March, 2014 @09:03 AM Working for Movies, TV Shows Dax Shepard (husband) Married on Children(s) Lincoln Shepard Net Worth(s) $16 million dollars Name on Birth Kristen Anne Bell @IMKristenBell Charming and beautiful American actress Kristen Bell is best known for playing the title character in cable TV's Veronica Mars for three seasons (2004-07). She made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 2001. Bell landed various television guest appearances and small film parts before appearing in a lead role in the David Mamet film Spartan, after moving to Los Angeles. She worked as the title character on the television series Veronica Mars from September 2004 to May 2007 and gained fame and critical praise. She will also reprise the role in the 2014 film based on the series. Born on 18 July 1980 in Huntington Woods, Michigan, USA, she was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan in the suburb of Detroit. Her mother, Lorelei is a registered nurse. Her father Tom Bell works as the television news director for CBS Television in Sacramento. When she was two years old, her parents divorced. She has two half sisters- Sara and Jody from her father's second marriage. Bell's parents decided to pull her from the public school system just before her freshman year of high school. After that she attended Shrine Catholic High School in nearby Royal Oak, where she took part in the drama and music club. She won the starring role in the school's 1997 production of The Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy Gale during her time at the school and she also appeared in productions of Fiddler on the Roof (1995), Lady Be Good (1996), and Li'l Abner (1998). In the year she graduated, Bell was named the yearbook's "Best Looking Girl" by senior class vote. It was in 1998. She was asked to reprise the role in the film version, Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005), after playing Mary Lane in the "Reefer Madness" stage musical. This actress had much better luck with her subsequent projects although she made her film debut in the little-seen project Pootie Tang. She quickly found stage work after studying at NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, including a leading role in the campy off-Broadway musical Reefer Madness. It was eventually turned into a TV-movie also starring Bell. The small screen ended up being her primary medium, and when she landed the title role of a teen-outcast-turned-investigator on Veronica Mars, she had a number of guest appearances and TV-movies under her belt. The show developed a cult following and ran for three seasons on UPN and the CW although Mars didn't fare too well in the ratings, and Bell's portrayal of a high-school gumshoe who's wise beyond her years earned her a great deal of critical respect. With a recurring role on the NBC show Heroes, she followed up that series. She also returned to film with parts in the raunchy comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the romantic fantasy When in Rome. Talking about her personal life, Bell ended a five-year relationship with former fiancé Kevin Mann in 2007. Bell began dating actor Dax Shepard in late 2007. The couple announced their engagement in January 2010. They decided to delay marriage until the state of California passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. They co-starred in the 2012 film Hit and Run. Bell asked Shepard to marry her through Twitter after section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act fell on June 26, 2013, which he accepted. Bell and Shepard were married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk's Office on October 17, 2013. They have one daughter born in March 2013, Lincoln Bell Shepard. She is charming and has beautiful legs and feet. Standing five feet and one inch tall and a figure measuring 32-24-35 inches, she is hot and people search for her pictures frequently. She has a nice personality and cheerfulness. Lena Headey Suzy Shuster Age, Photos, Hot, Net worth and career Naga Munchetty Married, Age, Weight Loss and Career Cindy Preszler Weather, Annual Salary, Age, Twitter and Fact	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line8
__label__cc	0.680932	0.319068	B1A4 - What's Happening? What's Happening? That's exactly what I would like to know . . . The colors are great, the song is downright wonderful, the styling . . . is acceptable (I approve of Baro's tattoo, and that's about it). But honestly, this MV is quirky beyond reason. It's fabulous and it's incredibly well done. The boy-girl dolls color inverses are subtle compared to their body language, but still clear and elegant, especially how the members get sucked into color markers after they break down the doors. This MV took me a few views to understand, but it's actually quite deep. The fact that the doll couple are DOLLS, the plastic every-person of society, and that she in particular is washed out color-wise, ties in with the lyrics, they're shallow and ingenuine, and she's a straight up liar. When they're in the rain-y scene room for the bridge, the room's theme is orange, which is as far as you can get from blue, chromatically speaking, just like they are as emotionally distant as they can possibly get from their little blue liar doll. When they break and burst into the room, they're all initially in white, the color of innocence and good intentions. And then they start fighting each other for the girl they shouldn't even want to end up with, so by the end they turn up in blue and pink, right alongside the dolls, since they've given into the shallow, angry, lying ways of the world, and all. Like I said, it's beautifully done. And it connects perfectly to the song. The transition to the dubstep-ish pre-choruses are beautiful, you literally drop into them. Every movement is timed perfectly, even down to eyeflicks and breaths. The scene cuts are positioned exactly on the melodic arcs of the song. The choreography is brilliant, quirky and narrative, and the boys really make it look effortless. It's a nearly flawless music video, it fits exactly to B1A4's style, and it alludes to many deeper concepts than one would expect upon a single view. i love it! 9/10: Blissful	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line11
__label__wiki	0.715496	0.715496	Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier In this companion book to Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, the greatest thief in the world returns with one hand (the other having been replaced by a sword), two eyes (albeit covered by a blindfold, to keep his senses sharp), and his faithful cat/horse/human friend Sir Tode. Peter offers protection to a girl who doesn't think she needs it, as she is about to be swept up in an adventure that will determine the fate of her entire world. Sophie Quire is a talented bookmender and the daughter of a bookseller in the hinterlands city of Bustleburgh, where a grand inquisitor named Prigg is waging war against "nonsense" - magical creatures and artifacts, and especially stories. As Pyre Day approaches, when all the city's storybooks are due to be burned, Sophie comes in possession of a marvelous book that comes to life to answer any question beginning with "Who." The Book of Who is part of a quartet of books, called the Four Questions, that had something to do with the death of her mother when Sophie was a tiny child. As the last Storyguard, it is up to Sophie to reunite the four books before Prigg puts an end to all the magic in her world - which, according to Peter's friend Professor Cake, would spell the end. But while the girl and her (at first) unwelcome guardians search for the books of What, Where, and When, others are on the scent after them: a brutish mercenary named Torvald Knucklemeat; an unnaturally well-preserved woman named Madame Eldritch, who deals in drugs, poisons, and other oddities; a tuberous man called Taro, grown from a mandrake root; a silver tigress who has sworn to murder the Storyguard who betrayed her mistress; and various other strange and often menacing characters. Sophie's quest comes to a climax as full of danger, death, and large-scale property damage as anything in young adult literature. The bowstring of suspense is stretched to an unbelievable degree of tension. And the charms of the characters, often endearingly humorous even amid very serious events, makes one care about what will happen. In particular, the clash between the juvenile cuteness of, say, the chivalrous but silly Sir Tode, and the maturity of the material surrounding them (like a description of a towerful of wild beasts "eating and defecating wherever they pleased"), raises up feelings of protectiveness toward the hero characters. And the solution to their problems is elusive; it comes any way but easily, and demands that they grow as characters. Canadian-American author Auxier is also the author of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award-nominated The Night Gardener and of The Burning Tide, one of the books in the "Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts" series. A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer In this third installment in the "Land of Stories" series (after The Wishing Spell and The Enchantress Returns), twins Alex and Conner are separated by a barrier that should be sealed forever - the portal between this world and the Land of Stories which their grandma, the Fairy Godmother, sealed between them at the end of their previous adventure. But now there's a chance that barrier may come open again; and although the twins miss each other a lot, that's not good news. As Alex comes into her full power as the Fairy Godmother's heir and experiences her first stirrings of romantic love, Conner and his sixth-grade crush Bree run away from a class trip to Europe in a race to find out whether a warning, hidden in a never-before-read Grimm fairy tale unearthed after 200 years in a time capsule, means grave danger is imminent for the fairy-tale world. You see, thanks to some quick thinking by Mother Goose, an army of thousands is caught in the middle of a portal to the Land of Stories, thinking they're going to conquer it in the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. What Mother Goose didn't count on, 200 years ago, was that the twins' grandma would begin to die - or, in fairy terms, return to magic - right at the expiration date of the Grand Armee's interdimensional exile. With her dies the magic that keeps the portal closed. And once the French soldiers arrive, they immediately threaten all the kingdoms of the fairy-tale world, including the fairies themselves. Worse yet, they have allied themselves with the most villainous villains in the land, including a certain masked man who claims to wield a weapon guaranteeing the fall of the Happily Ever After Assembly. Back together again, Conner and Alex must dare much, including trying to make alliances with creatures who have never been friends of the fairies before. Among them are elves whose awesome tree kingdom is seen all to briefly, and the "troblin" queen Trollbella, who tends to carry on one-sided love affairs (hint: she still calls Conner her "Butterboy"). The tale builds up to a climax that threatens to tear the Land of Stories apart. I continue to enjoy this series by one of the former stars of the TV series "Glee." It's a wholesome, thrilling entertainment that honors the tradition of fairy tales, with the added twist that they are based on true events in an alternate dimension. The dialogue is perky, the characters are well-developed, and the writing bears evidence of an a very intelligent young writer with a rich sense of humor. I particularly enjoyed Conner and Bree's adventure across Europe. The one thing I found disappointing was the way Bree's character seems to be pushed to one side after they land in the Land of Stories; I sensed potential in her, and her relationship with Conner, that went somewhat unfulfilled in the latter part of the book. Nevertheless, the book as a whole takes one on a delightful and well-paced journey; a few bumps in the road, style-wise, may be taken as a sign an ambitious and fearless author is at work. And the ending is a definite hook to draw readers into the remaining books in the series, Beyond the Kingdoms and An Author's Odyssey. Colfer's other work include several companion books to this series: The Mother Goose Diaries, Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty, Trollbella Throws a Party, The Curvy Tree, a picture-book based on a fictitious Grimm fairy tale, and A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales, in which Colfer retells 35 of his favorite stories. His standalone novels include Struck by Lightning and Stranger Than Fanfiction. Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization by Stuart Isacoff The spine of this book has been staring me out of countenance about a decade from the "books about my favorite subject (music) that I've been meaning to read" shelf. The guilt finally became too much for me to bear, so I finally fitted it in between a couple of books borrowed from the public library, which I was going to have to renew anyway. Astoundingly fast, I found myself caught up in the book's compelling historical argument, and in spite of a busy week of long work-days and evening engagements, I knocked it off in about two nights of staying up later than I should have. The "temperament" of which Stuart Isacoff writes is a system of tuning the strings (or pipes) of a keyboard instrument so that music sounds pleasant and in-tune. If you thought this would be a simple matter of making sure notes a fifth apart are perfectly in tune, rinse and repeat around the whole circle of fifths, you might be a follower of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, whose followers considered the concept of irrational numbers a thought-crime worthy of death. The practical reality, however, is that tuning perfect fifths all the way around the circle results in an out-of-tune octave, and that a tuning system that keeps octaves, fifths, and fourths perfectly in tune excludes music featuring the popular intervals of thirds and sixths. It would be a much shorter and happier history if it had been ruled by the practical necessity of allowing keyboard players to stay in tune with singers and other instruments without constantly having tuning problems, or by the artistic imperative of composers to explore more complex harmonies and far-flung tonal areas. But for centuries, during the middle ages and straight through the Renaissance, western art music was plagued by conflicts - conflicts between notes that produced "wolf sounds" (ugly intervals), and conflicts between philosophers, scientists, theologians, and music theorists. Some wanted to hold music to sacred ratios that bore witness to divine order in the universe, and that produced perfect consonances, albeit in music of a limited range. Others foresaw that nothing short of equal temperament - with the octave divided into 12 evenly-spaced half-steps, and the small acoustic compromises that entailed - would allow a smooth transition between any two keys, a necessary condition for keyboard instruments to come into their own. The battle was ideological as well as technological. The mathematics of an equal 12-note tuning were a long time in the finding, not only as a theoretical ratio of powers of the twelfth-root of two, but also as a practical matter of how to produce that tuning on an actual instrument. But as Isacoff shows, the battle was fought on the plane of theory, between intellectual hosts including some of history's greatest minds - many of whom were not known for their ear for music. Sharp words were thrown. Even deadlier weapons, at times, were drawn. Discoveries in other areas were called into evidence, bearing witness to the truth or falsehood of ideas long cherished. Isacoff relates the battle over temperament to other developments in religion, philosophy, politics, and especially art, drawing a remarkable parallel between the rediscovery of realistic perspective in painting and the slow advance toward equal temperament in music. And while he finally draws an ambiguous conclusion, he makes a pretty convincing case that much of the great art music you and I love could not have been without some approximation of equal temperament. This review is based on the 2003 revised paperback edition of a book originally published in 2001. Among the changes in the 2003 edition is an added afterword, responding to criticism of the first edition which makes it sound as though the temperament tempest has not yet passed from the teapot. Isacoff is a pianist, composer, lecturer, and writer whose other work includes the 2011 book A Natural History of the Piano. BBC Radio's Lord of the Rings During a recent vacation, I beguiled parts of my drive to South Dakota, northern Minnesota, and back to Missouri by listening to the 1981 BBC Radio full-cast dramatization of The Lord of the Rings - the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien that I have read several times in book form (and reviewed here), and once in a 1979 full-cast recording produced by U.S. National Public Radio (reviewed here), besides viewing not one but two film adaptations. The story needs no more reviewing, but I just wanted to comment on the BBC Radio version a bit, for the record. BBC Radio's production features Ian Holm, who played hobbit Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, as Frodo Baggins. The character actor who played Bilbo in the BBC version was John Le Mesurier, whose voice sounded remarkably like the one Holm gave Bilbo in the films. My local public library furnished me with the "U.K. version," with Gerard Murphy as the narrator. Also in the cast was Bill Nighy, who played Rufus Scrimgeour in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I, in a spot-on performance as Sam Gamgee. A beautiful musical score was provided by film and opera composer Stephen Oliver, the late uncle of comedian John Oliver, and an entire disk of the set I borrowed was devoted to his music. Of course, it was a condensed version of the trilogy, with many details left out and some of them changed to fit the format. But of all the adaptations I have seen and heard (after Tolkien's original), I strongly feel this was by far the best. It kept the most beautiful lines of dialogue and passages of description; it conveyed the dramatic power of the whole book; it included favorite things that no other adaptation has ever bothered with, such as the Houses of Healing scenes, and the palantir factor in Denethor's motives. It was definitely better, by a long road, than the NPR version, which (unlike this one) preserved the Tom Bombadil passage, but did so badly. And it devotes more time than any of the other versions to the part of the story that happens after Frodo and his companions return to the Shire. In spite of cheesy sound effects and battle scenes that didn't quite gel, I recommend the BBC Radio version of LOTR before all other adaptations - including, I'm sorry to say, Peter Jackson's film trilogy. It's surprising at times to hear certain words put back into the mouths that originally spoke them, according to Tolkien's canonical text - like Glorfindel the elf, whose part was usurped by Arwen in Jackson's recension of The Fellowship of the Ring, and Treebeard the ent, who actually said the words Jackson has Galadriel say in the opening narration of the trilogy. The fact that the story allows you to forget who Arwen is until she shows up to wed Aragorn is another typical Tolkien touch, for better or worse. It delivers the delicious "Voice of Saruman" scene that was the reason Christopher Lee agreed to be in the films, though it ended up being deleted from the script. The BBC Radio dramatization, produced and co-directed by Jane Morgan, structures the break between The Two Towers and The Return of the King so that Sam's realization that Frodo is still alive comes closer to being, as it should be, the cliff-hanger ending of the middle volume. And it features Peter Woodthorpe as Gollum, recreating his role from the 1978 animated movie by Ralph Bakshi, which is one of the few but significant counts on which Bakshi's film adaptation was better than Jackson's. Woodthorpe's Gollum is feral, crafty, and psychologically tormented all at the same time, to a degree that leaves Andy Serkis' latter-day portrayal far behind. The Bakshi and BBC Radio versions also share the casting of Michael Graham Cox as Boromir. Though the actors are not the same, I appreciate both the Bakshi and BBC Radio versions' casting of Aragorn (because he sounded more mature, and could be more credibly described as one who "looks foul but feels fair" than the altogether beautiful Viggo Mortensen in Jackson's trilogy). I might also note that somehow or other, Michael Hordern's voice portrayal of Gandalf for BBC Radio could almost be dubbed over Ian McKellen's latter-day film portrayal without many people noticing. I thought Bernard Mayes was OK in the role in the NPR version, though his Tom Bombadil stank to high heaven (I might add, James Arrington was awful as Frodo in that version, which really killed it for me). So, once again, BBC set the bar considerably higher than NPR's roughly contemporary radio play. As a complete adaptation of the trilogy, it achieves what Bakshi's blend of live action and animation could not (in case you missed it, Bakshi's film ends at the climax of the Battle for Helm's Deep in a cliff-hanger that was never followed up by the expected conclusion); and its cheap sound effects are easier for a present-day audience to forgive than Bakshi's primitive visual effects. As for Jackson's film trilogy, I maintain this audiobook version compares favorably, on the simple grounds that it does less violence to the source material, and is less patronizing to the audience. And finally, dammit, it had Ian Holm as Frodo. Born too soon to play him in Jackson's film, though not too late to channel Le Mesurier's portrayal of Bilbo (and though it might be argued Elijah Wood was born too late), Holm would have been perfect for the part in any format - as he proved in this production. Labels: books, movies In the follow-up to his debut novel Ready Player One, video-game maven and 1980s pop-culture fanatic Ernest Cline delivers a story that fulfills the deepest, darkest wish of every kid who ever made it onto the "Top Scores" screen of an alien-invader-blasting arcade game. It also fulfills the deepest, darkest wish of Zach Lightman, a high school senior from the Portland suburb of Beaverton, Oregon, whose father died at age 19 in an explosion at the local wastewater treatment plant. Among the relics he inherited from the father he never knew are an obsession with movies, books, and games about space invaders, and a secretly embarrassing journal of conspiracy theories suggesting all these films and games are part of a top-secret plan to prepare the world for real close encounters of the nerd kind. His feelings about his dad's last notebook begin to change, however, when Zach looks out the window of his math classroom one day and sees an alien spacecraft, straight out of his favorite E.T.-slaying computer game, zoom past. At first, he thinks he must be going insane. It is isn't long, though, before he realizes there have been similar sightings around the world. In one incredible day, Zach learns that much of what he has been told all his life was a lie, and the aliens are real, as is their threat to wipe out the human race. And now, most improbable of all, he is among the very few top-scoring players of the companion games Terra Firma and Armada on whom the hopes of mankind depend. Both games, made by a company called Chaos Terrain, feature realistic graphics and fighting tactics for an alien-invasion scenario in which both sides of the conflict are fought by remote-controlled, unmanned drones. Terra Firma, as the name suggests, spotlights the ground war between humanoid robots and drones shaped like spiders, centipedes, and insects. Armada focuses on the aerospace war, where pilots control their craft from virtual cockpits inside shielded bunkers deep underground. This allows ace pilots like Zach to take control of fresh drones as their previous mounts are shot out from under them. But when Zach and several of his fellow Top 10 Armada players are assembled on the far side of the moon to face the first wave of a massive, and probably unstoppable, tide of mechanized death, he must come to terms with finding his long-lost father, only to lose him again; falling in love with a girl with whom he may never have a chance to kiss a second time; and, most challenging of all, the realization that he must fight against both sides of the war to ensure the survival of the human race. This is a thrilling, funny, suspenseful, emotionally satisfying romp through the pop culture of the last generation or two, with plenty of explosions and other surprises to keep it lively. When I checked it out of the library before a long road trip, one of the local librarians saw what I was borrowing and enthused about how much fun she had reading it. It didn't hurt that the audiobook edition was read by Wil Wheaton, of "Shut up, Wesley!" fame. Although the main character's narrating voice often did sound a lot like Star Trek's Wesley Crusher, the big surprise was how many of the other characters had convincingly distinctive voices and accents. It became evident Wheaton has more voice-acting talent than I would have expected. This was the perfect book for him to read, and he was the perfect reader for it. Cline is also a poet, the screenwriter of the film Fanboys, and the author of a non-fiction book titled The Importance of Being Ernest. If the four-year gap between Ready Player One and this book is anything to go by, we should expect something new from him by about 2019. I wonder, though. Will he really keep us waiting that long? by Jeanne Birdsall In this second sequel to the National Book Award-winning tale of four sisters The Penderwicks, second-eldest Penderwick girl Skye uneasily assumes the role of S.A.P. (senior available Penderwick) when their father and new stepmother go to England for a honeymoon and eldest sister Rosalind is invited to the Jersey shore. Meantime, Skye, Jane, Batty, their dog, and their musically gifted friend Jeffrey share a two-week getaway along the coast of Maine, where the responsibility of keeping Batty from drowning or blowing up weighs heavily on Skye, especially after their aunt-chaperone badly sprains her ankle. During their beach vacation, Jane obsesses over how to inject some romance into her series of novels about a life-saving sleuth. As part of her research, she gives her heart to an outwardly beautiful local boy, who turns out to be not so beautiful on he inside. Meantime Batty befriends the boy's little sister, and Jeffrey strikes up a friendship with the musician in the next bungalow over. But things take a serious turn when Jane observes an unsuspected family resemblance between Jeffrey and their neighbor. Their summer getaway develops into an emotionally wrenching, funny, touching, surprising mess. Surprises there were, even after I spotted the answers to some riddles way ahead of the Penderwick girls. Their family group is growing up. Their relationship dynamics are changing. And some of them are handling this reality better than others. But it's all part of growing up Penderwick, which has so far never failed to be satisfying and entertaining to behold. This is the third book in what is now a four-book series. Among the other titles are book 2, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, and book 4, The Penderwicks in Spring. Massachusetts-based author Jeanne Birdsall is also an art photographer and the author of several children's picture books. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright The four Melendy children - stage-struck Mona, 13; piano prodigy Rush, 12; aspiring artist Miranda ("Randy"), 10 and a half; and easy-going Oliver, 6 - are New York city-dwellers circa 1939. One boring Saturday, they decide to form a club called I.S.A.A.C. (read the book to learn what that stands for), based on pooling their allowances every Saturday - a total of $1.60 - and letting one of them spend it all on him- or herself, turn and turn about. During a succession of Saturdays, each of the children has an adventure that results, sometimes, in a touch of trouble for one and all. Randy goes to a museum to look at pictures, and ends up learning about the fascinating childhood of a deceptively crusty old lady. Rush goes to an opera, and brings home a new member of the family. Mona and Oliver have outings that give the family fits. Together and separately, the kids find new friends, experience wonderful sights and sounds, hear unforgettable stories, and brave perils that threaten their rickety old house. The Saturdays is a book full of period charm, gentle humor, and friendly characters who seem to take you quickly into their confidence. A richly textured snapshot of early 20th-century urban culture, it has dashes of domestic lyricism and an occasional splash of striking description. It is a pleasant piece of nostalgia that does not get too lost in historical obscurities to speak appealingly to the young readers of today. And it advertises experiences children from places other than New York might like to imagine having even now. The world has changed a lot since the time in which this book is set, but the story has a winsome timelessness, with enough danger and emotional turmoil to avoid coming across as too light and easy. Basically, it's the perfect book for a kid spending a dull, rainy Saturday alone. The is the first book in the Melendy Quartet, written between 1941 and 1951 by Elizabeth Enright (1909-1968), the author of the Newbery Medal winner Thimble Summer, the Newbery Honor book Gone-Away Lake, and its sequel Return to Gone-Away. Besides this book's sequels The Four-Story Mistake, And Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze, she was also celebrated as a writer of short stories. The Jewel of the Kalderash by Marie Rutkoski In the finale of the Kronos Chronicles trilogy, young thief Neel of the magic fingers becomes king of all the Roma - don't call them gypsies! But little in his experience has prepared him to survive repeated assassination attempts, heal the rivalries between the four Roma clans, and resolve the controversy over what to do with the twin Terrestrial and Celestial Globes, which control safe travel through a worldwide network of wormhole-like rifts. Meanwhile Bohemia's king, Prince Rodolfo - youngest son of the Hapsburg Emperor Karl - plots to put himself on the throne of much of Europe, even if it means murdering his father and two older brothers. John Dee, a magician and spy in the service of Queen Elizabeth I of England, maneuvers himself into a position of great advantage. And our strong-willed heroine Petra, who most unusually has two magical gifts (metal-magic and mind-magic), travels to a country where there is a price on her head, pursuing one desperate hope: that she can persuade the evil sorceress Fiala Broshek to restore her father, whom she has turned into one of Rodolfo's monstrous Gray Men. These ingredients gel nicely into an adventure that buzzes with intrigue, chills with horror, squeezes the heart with grief, and sizzles with excitement. Author Rutkoski finally makes a virtue of the sometimes annoying aspects of Petra's character, as she knowingly puts herself in a danger that makes one's breath stand still, commits herself to an irrevocable sacrifice, and finds herself carried helplessly into a scene of astounding violence. This is a story featuring youthful characters - several of them about 14 or 15 years old - but the danger, the carnage, and the truly sickening evil they must face, call for readers of a rather mature fiber. This book will be most successful, also, with thoughtful young readers, who might take an interest in whimsically re-mixed details of authentic 16th-century European history, with the most bizarre, quasi-magical threads in the storyline picked out in brilliant colors. Mystery, humor, espionage, warfare, political rebellion, the do's and don'ts of ruling a kingdom, and the charm of a talking mechanical spider have all their rich possibilities shaken out of them. But there are also some nasty shocks, which the reader will feel right alongside the characters who survive them. Rutkoski is also the author of the "Winner's" trilogy and The Shadow Society. Judging by the publication dates of her books, she seems to have more teen-friendly fantasy adventures in her. Look out for them. Bacon-of-the-Sea Melts Today I made something for dinner entirely using ingredients and utensils that I had acquired for other purposes. The skillet, sized to allow one to cook up a batch of Hamburger Helper, I mostly bought so I could fry eggs or make pancakes. I intended the spatula mostly for turning eggs or hamburgers. The bowl usually serves the purposes of eating breakfast cereal. Even the fork, usually employed as an eating utensil, did unusual service as a masher and puller-apart of a tinful of smoked herring fillets, like the one pictured here. As for the ingredients, there were, of course, the kippers, which I meant to serve on crackers as a late-night snack. There was also a tin of tuna, purchased either to make tuna salad sandwiches or to add a bit of protein to a saucepan of macaroni and cheese. I sacrificed two eggs that had been bought with the promise of a morning omelette or a fried egg sandwich; some bread crumbs and powdered tomato bouillon, both bought with the intention of making a crust for fried chicken or pork chops; and the bread, mayo, and sliced kosher dill pickle that had come home from the store as companions to a package of bologna. Even the puddle of vegetable oil I started preheating in the skillet, before doing anything else, was acquired with other things in mind - such as that fried chicken again. All right, so I started preheating the skillet with some vegetable oil on it. Meanwhile, I spread the mayo on the bread, and arranged a couple pickle slices and half a slice of sharp cheddar on one side of each sandwich-to-be. Next, I mixed some of the bread crumbs and a little of the tomato bouillon in the bowl, beat in two eggs, and added the canful of tuna, drained. (The cat enjoyed the tuna water in a saucer on the floor.) I started to think two eggs might have been one too many, because the tuna mixture was very thin; so I opened and drained the herring filets, then mangled them with the fork while stirring them into the mixture. I added a bit more of the bread crumbs to get closer to the consistency I wanted - basically, an oily, sticky mush. I formed the mush into six balls, flattened them into disks a little smaller than my palm, and dropped them onto the hot, oily skillet. As they started to sizzle, it occurred to me that smoked herring should be called the bacon of the sea. It smelled that good. I turned the patties after a while. When they were nicely brown on both sides, I took them off the heat. I wrapped up three patties for later and made sandwiches out of the other three. I recognized it would have been a good idea to melt the cheese right on the patties while they cooked, but it all ended up in the same place regardless. At a certain point the thought crossed my mind, while I was scarfing down the second of my three sandwiches, "I'm not sure I'm going to have room for the third sandwich." Then I looked down at my plate and realized it was bare. I was already finishing my third sandwich. So I can verify that not only were they filling, but they were so absorbingly delicious that I lost a bit of time somewhere between the second and third sandwich. So, there you have it. Bacon of the sea. Sandwiches. With cheese. Labels: comfort food 204. Hymn on 1 Timothy 2:9-15 This hymn has been more or less commissioned by a local Lutheran pastor who is planning an Advent midweek sermon series based on 1 Timothy 2:9-15, broken up into four segments, each cross-referenced with an appropriate lesson from the Old Testament and another from the New. The varying emphases of the four weeks' messages sum up to the overall idea that we can learn a lot about being Christians from the Biblical portrait of womanhood. The structure I'm trying for is an all-purpose opening stanza, an additional stanza for each installment of the four-week series, and an all-purpose concluding stanza. It's a draft in progress, taking feedback from the pastor in question. The tune is the familiar MUNICH, from the Meiningen Gesangbuch of 1693; to the anglophone ear, it is best known as the tune to W.W. How's 1867 hymn "O Word of God incarnate." Give heed, all saints, comprising The Lord's accepted Bride, To Him who, shame despising, For Her sake bled and died! By means of His devising He knit Her to His side And now, from death arising, Presents Her justified. 1 Timothy 2:9-10; Ruth 3:1-13; Ephesians 5:25-27 Behold, what the believing From womankind can learn! As Ruth, her need perceiving, Told Boaz her concern, Redemption thus receiving, So we to Christ shall turn: Washed, clothed, anointed, cleaving To Him who will not spurn. 1 Timothy 2:11-12; Luke 1:26-28; Lamentations 3:25-26 Behold, the bliss afforded To them who meekly wait! While precedents are thwarted And subtle minds debate, Her simple "Yes" accorded To Mary's virgin state The right to be recorded Our Bridegroom's fleshly gate! 1 Timothy 2:13-15a; Genesis 4:1-15; Galatians 4:4-5 Behold, how in childbearing Believing Eve felt mirth; And God, through childbirth swearing To ransom all the earth, His only Son not sparing, Brought life and light to birth, With ev'ry mother sharing A sign of priceless worth! 1 Timothy 2:15; Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Corinthians 11:7-12 Behold, what gifts amazing The Author of all good Bestowed, while angels, gazing, But partly understood! And now, Her station raising As but the Bridegroom could, He comes, already praising Her faithful womanhood! O Christ, who have impressed us With Your redemptive mark— In holy splendor dressed us, Saved through baptism's ark— Cast all that e'er distressed us, Our sins, into the dark— As known and loved confessed us— Your Bride salutes You! Hark!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line12
__label__cc	0.676996	0.323004	Stan Robinson Is Wicked Smart And a writer I admire, which makes interviews with him -- like this one at BLDGBLOG -- a real pleasure to read. Posted by Unknown 2 comments: Links to this post Latest Supernatural Interviews Talked a few days ago with Jim Beaver (aka Bobby Singer) and visual FX supervisor Ivan Hayden. Look for the results in issue #3, I think. Or maybe #4. Also, we note in passing the 10,000th hit on this blog. Thanks, everybody! The Nightshift Code From PlayFirst Games, purveyors of such popular titles as Diner Dash and Mystery Case Files, comes The Nightshift Code, "a mysterious and sometimes dangerous journey from an ancient history museum in Chicago all the way to a secret location in the Greek Isles." This is my first foray into casual gaming, and it comes thanks to Matt Schlanger and the fine folks at Black Hammer Productions. If you've done a lot of casual gaming, however, TNC will play differently because we tried to build in more story to go along with the puzzles. It's part comic book, part puzzle game, and lots of fun. You can play the Mac demo here and the PC demo here. Edit: I think this is probably the first thing I ever wrote that has a Forbes press release associated with it... If you happen to be in or near Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday, January 22 at 6:30pm, stop by the Bangor Public Library. I'll be giving a talk about Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair as part of the Library's Penobscot Reads series of programs. Hope to see you all there... Logorrhea Podcast and Promotion John Klima, esteemed editor of this swell anthology, has cooked up a most ingenious and engaging bit of publicity. The way it works is that each writer in the book reprints the bit of Jeff VanderMeer's story that deals with his or her word (Jeff having written a story, "Appogiatura," that uses all of the words in VanderFashion). Ideally, this piques your interest enough to go check out a podcast of the whole book, broken out into twenty parts, one for each story. That podcast is here, and well worth checking out (as Mediabistro notes). Also I'm supposed to say a little bit about how I decided which word to use, which I will do forthwith. I was originally going to use two words for my Logorrhea story, sacrilegious and semaphore. Those were the two words that bracketed the four-year hiatus the national spelling bee went on during World War II. As I worked on the story, the sacrilegious bits didn't seem to work as well, so I pared it down to semaphore. I stuck with the war theme, though, and although I never really meant to, I got sort of self-reflexive in writing a story about the spelling bee hiatus and its effect on a particular family. And here's Jeff's own VanderSemaphore: When Truewill Mashburn turned eighteen, he left the US with forged documents and passed himself off as a thirty-something ESE teacher at a Costa Rican university. He’d always looked older than his age and at six-four with sandy blond hair and a Viking’s eyes and chin, people usually believed what he said. By the time he left Latin America at the age of twenty-two and headed for Europe, he’d hitchhiked through twelve countries, been a missionary, a doctor’s aide, and a bank teller. Now twenty-five, Mashburn found himself living in an abandoned semaphore tower on the banks of a Central Asian river that eventually wound its way down to the ruins of old Smaragdine and the tired modern city that surrounded it. He’d read about the semaphore towers while hanging out in a Tashkent library. They’d once been vital in Smaragdine’s epic battles against the dreaded Turk. Now they were just free apartments ripe for the taking, in Mashburn’s eyes. Mashburn took the book—The Myth of the Green Tablet—and headed south. By the time he found the towers, he was ready to settle down awhile anyway, having been hassled at half a dozen borders. He could fish in the river, exchange some of his limited cash for food in the nearby village, read the book he’d stolen, or just hang out with the locals smoking dope. A few times a week, the village women walked past, giggling and talking about him. He couldn’t understand them, but he knew what they were saying. It should have been perfect, but an odd sense of responsibility began to grow inside him with each day he lived there. He felt it in his chest every time he walked up the three stories of crumbling stone steps to stare at the tower a half-mile downriver that doubled his own. The book was to blame, even though the author seemed contemptuous of the subject. On some level, the more Mashburn read about the fascinating history of Smaragdine, the more he couldn’t help but feel an obligation to continue its ancient fight against the Turk. It didn’t make sense, and yet it did. Mashburn decided to become the true keeper of the tower. He removed the weeds inside and along the circular fringe. He did his best with his limited knowledge of drywall to repair the worst areas. He began to wear his tattered army surplus jacket all the time. He bought a pair of old binoculars from a villager. He even assigned himself guard duty, more often at dusk than during the day. At night, the tower looked less ruined and it was easier to imagine he was back in Time and that he might need to use the tower’s windmill-like semaphore spokes to warn of some danger. Then, too, Mashburn saw many strange things the longer he stood watch at night. Fish that bellowed at him from the water. Debris and bodies from some battle that had taken place many countries upriver. A man in a motorboat who looked vaguely American in a leather jacket and dark shades, a gun holster on his exposed ankle. Something was happening, Mashburn was certain. He just didn’t know what. One moonlit night just before dawn, he saw the most curious thing of all: a river cruise ship with several smaller boats pursuing it. When they caught up, what looked like a band of circus performers jumped on board: a couple of women dressed like caliphs, a snake charmer, a mime, and a fire-eater, among others. The battle raged as Mashburn looked on with mouth open. By the time the conflict had subsided, far to the south of his position, he couldn’t tell who had won, only that the boats remained empty and most of the river cruise crew was walking around on deck again. Sometimes Mashburn felt prematurely old from all of his travels, but in that moment, he felt both dumbfounded and oddly blessed. By midmorning, he had the semaphore spokes turning for the first time in two centuries and he was sending his message out across the water. He didn’t care if the next station was manned or not. That wasn’t the point.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line14
__label__cc	0.623498	0.376502	254 posts and columns on SEC HP Is Negotiating to Settle Bribery Charges The allegations stem from a deal with a Russian government agency. When Twitter Bought MoPub, It Bought Itself an Advertising Safety Net Peter Kafka in Media on December 20, 2013 at 4:31 am PT Even if growth on Twitter’s own properties stalls out, it now has a fast-growing mobile business that works everywhere else SEC Charges Former Microsoft Manager, Friend With Insider Trading Anna Prior, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 19, 2013 at 2:25 pm PT The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged a former senior portfolio manager at Microsoft Corp., along with his friend and business partner, with insider trading. Justice Department Investigating Dell Sales to Syria Shira Ovide, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 10, 2013 at 5:30 am PT The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating possible sales of Dell computers to the Syrian government, the company said in documents released Monday. Unpacking Twitter’s Secret IPO Memos With the SEC Yoree Koh, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 7, 2013 at 8:00 pm PT Twitter has released secret correspondence with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the months leading up to its initial public offering. These memos were kept out of view until today. T-Mobile Shares Drop After Company Details Plan for Follow-On Offering Ina Fried in Mobile on November 11, 2013 at 2:12 pm PT The No. 4 U.S. phone carrier says it plans to sell 66 million shares in a stock offering. IBM Hits Twitter With Patent Infringement Claims Ahead of IPO Mike Isaac in News on November 4, 2013 at 6:34 am PT The first of many, of course. Lockerz, Though Not Quite Dead, Raises $9 Million to Shift Focus to New Shopping Site Ador Jason Del Rey in Commerce on October 31, 2013 at 3:04 pm PT A new beginning for the heavily funded Seattle startup. IPO-Bound Zulily Surpasses $400 Million in 2013 Revenue, New Filing Shows Zulily, the IPO-bound discount e-commerce site targeted at moms, recorded revenue of $439 million in the first nine months of this year for 116 percent growth year over year, an amended S-1 filing shows. But its net income dropped from $2.4 million in the first six months of the year to just $200,000 through the first nine months. Zulily also signed a letter of intent on a new $50 million revolving credit line, according to the document. SEC Gets Closer to Opening Up Crowdfunding; Here’s the Proposal Liz Gannes in News on October 23, 2013 at 9:43 am PT The full proposal isn’t online yet, but here are the basics. Twitter Takes Out $1 Billion Credit Line Unaccredited Investors May Finally Get the Go-Ahead to Fund Startups This Week Liz Gannes in News, October 21, 2013 at 4:03 pm PT Mark Cuban Unplugged (As Usual) About Victory in SEC Insider Trading Case Kara Swisher in News, October 18, 2013 at 10:11 am PT Before Zulily’s IPO, One VC Firm Has Already Cashed In on Startup’s Success Jason Del Rey in Commerce, October 8, 2013 at 1:32 pm PT SEC Clears Apple’s Tax Disclosures John Paczkowski in News, October 7, 2013 at 3:03 am PT At 215 Million Monthly Active Users, Twitter Has a Growth Problem Mike Isaac in Social, October 3, 2013 at 2:12 pm PT Cuban Insider-Trading Trial Gets Under Way Nathan Koppel, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News, October 1, 2013 at 3:35 pm PT Ahead of July Filing, Twitter IPO Designed as “Less Anti-Facebook Than Anti-Old-Twitter” Kara Swisher in News, September 24, 2013 at 4:43 pm PT Starting Monday, Startups Can Broadcast Their Fundraising From the Rooftops — If They Heed the Fine Print Liz Gannes in News, September 20, 2013 at 6:15 am PT Twitter Files for IPO Mike Isaac in News, September 12, 2013 at 2:04 pm PT Microsoft Bribe Probe Reaches Into Pakistan, Russia Deals Christopher M. Matthews and Shira Ovide, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal in News, August 22, 2013 at 4:13 pm PT Carl Icahn Makes a Large Investment in Apple Arik Hesseldahl in News, August 13, 2013 at 11:43 am PT What Happened to Adap.TV’s IPO? Peter Kafka in Media, August 7, 2013 at 7:13 am PT Jeff Bezos Beat Other Bidders for the Washington Post Peter Kafka in News, August 5, 2013 at 1:54 pm PT AllThingsD’s Week in Review: The Chromecast’s Enemies and AT&T’s Record Android Sales Eric Johnson in General, July 28, 2013 at 11:45 am PT BlaBlaCar Makes Ride-Sharing Work at Large Scale	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line15
__label__cc	0.683533	0.316467	Are You A Closet Confederate? You're Confederate ... But Don't Know It? by Charley Reese Most of the political problems in this country won't be settled until more folks realize the South was right. I know that goes against the P.C. edicts, but the fact is that on the subject of the constitutional republic, the Confederate leaders were right and the Northern Republicans were wrong. Many people today even argue the Confederate positions without realizing it. For example, if you argue for strict construction of the Constitution, you are arguing the Confederate position; when you oppose pork-barrel spending, you are arguing the Confederate position; and when you oppose protective tariffs, you are arguing the Confederate position. But that's not all. When you argue for the Bill of Rights, you are arguing the Confederate position, and when you argue that the Constitution limits the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, you are arguing the Confederate position. One of the things that gets lost when you adopt the politically correct oversimplification that the War Between the States was a Civil War all about slavery is a whole treasure load of American political history. It was not a civil war. A civil war is when two or more factions contend for control of one government. At no time did the South intend or attempt to overthrow the government of the United States. The Southern states simply withdrew from what they correctly viewed as a voluntary union. They formed their own union and adopted their own constitution. The U.S. government remained intact. There were just fewer states, but everything else remained as exactly as it was. You can be sure that, with as much bitterness and hatred of the South that there was in the North, the Northerners would have tried Confederates for treason if there had been any grounds. There weren't, and the South's worst enemy knew that. Abraham Lincoln's invasion of the South was entirely without any constitutional authority. And it's as plain as an elephant in a tea party that Lincoln did not seek to preserve the Union to end slavery. All you have to do is read his first inaugural address. What Lincoln didn't want to lose was tax revenue generated by the South. As Northern states gained a majority in both houses, they began to use the South as a cash cow. Here's how it worked: Most Southerners who exported cotton bartered the cotton in Europe for goods. When the protective tariffs were imposed, that meant Southerners had to pay them. To make matters worse, the North would then use the revenue for pork-barrel projects in its states. The South was faced with either paying high tariffs and receiving no benefits from the revenue or buying artificially high-priced Northern goods. Southerners opposed pork-barrel spending. Their correct view was that, because the federal government was merely the agent of all the states, whatever money it spent should be of equal benefit. Their position on public lands was that they belonged to all the people and the federal government had no authority to give the lands away to private interests. Northerners had announced they would not be bound by the Constitution. What you had was the rise of modern nationalism fighting the original republic founded by the American Revolution. So, regardless of where you were born, you may be a Southerner philosophically. Email: americas_laststand08@yahoo.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line18
__label__wiki	0.786972	0.786972	Freedom fighter Safiya Bukhari and a voice for political prisoners Herb Boyd \| 9/18/2015, 1:12 p.m. Safiya Bukhari She was in the store shopping when two of her comrades entered the store and what next happened was clouded in gunfire that led to a death and a wounding of her two comrades by the storeowners. Bukhari was arrested and soon the FBI was on the scene. “My bail was set at $1 million for each of the five counts against me,” she wrote. Her trial lasted one day and she was sentenced to 40 years for armed robbery. “Long before her arrest,” Whitehorn explained, “Safiya had developed massive fibroid tumors. In prison, her condition worsening, she received frighteningly little medical care. In late 1976, Safiya escaped.” Two months later she was recaptured and returned to the prison in Goochland, Va. By then her condition was so severe that she had to have a hysterectomy. In 1983, after eight years and eight months in prison—the last four in which she deliberately tamped down her political voice so not to alienate “the Left”—she was granted parole and released. She rejoined her mother and daughter and secured employment in the Bronx office of the Legal Aid Society. Between 1984 and 1998, Whitehorn recalled, Bukhari was unstinting in her involvement in the plight of political prisoners. She visited prisoners, “wrote to them, and always accepted their collect phone calls. She communicated their needs and ideas to the outside world, and she wrote and spoke on their behalf.” Through these efforts, eventually, with the help of other activists, including the late Herman Ferguson and the still incarcerated Jalil Muntaqim, she created the Jericho Movement. “The name Jericho was used to conjure up the image of massive resistance that would succeed in bringing down the walls of prisoners, freeing the more than 100 political prisoners behind bars at that time,” Whitehorn observed. Her work on behalf of political prisoners was wide-ranging, through forums, pamphlets, books, lectures and even a weekly radio show she conducted on WBAI with Sally O’Brien. Associated with this endeavor was her role in establishing the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition. “In the early years of this century, Safiya’s health deteriorated,” Whitehorn wrote. “Not many of us knew how badly she suffered from a variety of ailments connected with hypertension. A week after the death of her mother in 2003, Safiya died of pulmonary embolism to the lungs. Her death at the age of 53 was mourned by leftists and progressives across the globe.” The power of Bukhari’s legacy resonates from “The War Before,” and testimonies by Bukhari’s daughter, Wonda Jones, Angela Davis and Mumia Abu-Jamal bracket Whitehorn’s superb editing of the essays, articles and speeches by Bukhari. At the close of one of the many documents included in the book, Bukhari stated, “The issue of political prisoners is part of that movement that we are building, and in building that movement we must understand that this is not a separate issue. It is an integral part of that movement. It can’t be put in front of the movement and it can’t be an afterthought. It must be woven into the very fiber.” Woven into the fiber in the same way, Bukhari was an inextricable part of that tapestry for total liberation of the world’s political prisoners. Black freedom fighter tribute points to restorative justice Brother Shep: Protecting the community through the ages Black Panther Cubs commemorate 51 years of struggle Once a Panther, always a Panther: Brother Shep NY activists respond to Beyonce tribute to the Panthers	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line19
__label__cc	0.660437	0.339563	T-levels and the Skills Plan: how the NEU will fight for the education of all young people 27 March 2017 by Janet Clark Last July, the government announced the Skills Plan, a radical overhaul of technical (previously known as vocational) education. In the Spring Budget, Phillip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced £500m to fully implement the Skills Plan by 2022. Whether this will be enough money is the subject of another blog. For now, I want to explain more about what is in store for further education over the next six years, and how this will impact the choices made by young people. With the Skills Plan, the government accepted all the recommendations made by the Independent Panel on Technical Education which, Chaired by Lord Sainsbury, concluded a review of the sector last year. Upon implementation of the Skills Plan, young people will choose between two distinct pathways at the age of 16: academic or technical. The technical education route will be college- and employment- (ie apprenticeship) based and will prepare individuals for skilled employment which requires technical knowledge and practical skills. Young people choosing the technical education pathway will need to select one of the following 15 routes: Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care Business and Administrative Creative and Design Legal, Finance and Accounting Protective Services* Sales, Marketing and Procurement* Social Care* Transport and Logistics* * Routes primarily delivered through apprenticeships The full programme for each route will consist of a technical qualification, English and maths, digital skills and a significant work placement. Branded ‘T-levels’ over the past few days, the government envisages that this new system will raise the status of technical education, giving it long-awaited parity of esteem with academic A-levels. Bridging courses will also be available to make it possible to move between the two pathways. So far so good. Read a little deeper into the government’s plans however, and there is reason to be a little wary of the Skills Plan. As with the apprenticeship reforms, employers will be at the heart of the system. The Institute for Apprenticeships (to be up and running in April this year) will have its remit expanded to become the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education from 2018. This organisation will be responsible for designing new level 2 and level 3 qualifications for the 15 technical education routes, and is currently convening employer-led panels to oversee this process. ATL has long argued that employers should not be the primary consideration when developing skills (or indeed any) education programmes or qualifications. While employers’ skills requirements are an important factor, the needs of learners must be central. Furthermore, it is vital that the expertise of the FE workforce feeds into developing any new skills education systems. I recently wrote a blog on ATL’s successes in securing workforce representation at each level of the Area Review process, as well as greater transparency around decision-making. The National Education Union, with its huge membership and greater resources, will be able to build on this success and be even more influential in ensuring that, with the Skills Plan, the pendulum for designing technical education does not swing too far in favour of employers. Similarly, the National Education Union will have a crucial role to play in ensuring that learners have a genuine choice to make at the age of 16. The Skills Plan emphasises the government’s commitment to the EBacc as the curriculum to be taken by most (the target is 90 percent) students at Key Stage 4. With seven academic subjects forming the core of the EBacc, this means that the vast majority of young people will have limited, if any, opportunity to experience technical education in secondary school. How will this support young people in making an informed choice about whether their future lies in an academic or a technical route? As a union that represents all education sectors, ATL is uniquely able to understand the opportunities and challenges faced by children and young people throughout their educational lives. The NEU will have an even greater presence at the Department for Education - that is now responsible for schools, colleges and universities. This will give us a much better chance of persuading government of the steps it needs to take to ensure that all young people have the information they need to make genuine choices when it comes to decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line20
__label__cc	0.547536	0.452464	CS Lewis Experience CS Lewis Tour & Festival C.S. Lewis Experience Come and see the birth place of one of the most famous writers – C.S Lewis, creator of Narnia, who was born in Belfast. Ireland both north and south had a profound influence on his life and work. Discover with us how the landscapes, traditions and heritage of Northern Ireland help to shape some of the most all inspiring stories ever written. What was the story that happened in Belfast about which he said ‘The rest of my life is about nothing else.' What was the story that unfolded at his boyhood home that so dramatically affected the rest of Lewis’s life? What are the images that find their way into Lewis’s Narnia? Where did those images come from? What does he say about them? And how does he use them in his writing? Join us and walk in the footsteps of Lewis. Participate in an unforgettable journey to discover the places, stories and inspirations for many of his greatest works. The C.S Lewis Experience is a series of coach tours designed specifically to cover the life and works of C.S Lewis and answer those intriguing questions about his life and writing. The live commentary throughout the tour highlights the locations and their significance in Lewis’s published work. Authentic Ulster can provide tours that are entirely suited to your group. The tour locations visited in Belfast will cover all those that are of particular significance to Lewis and his writing. For groups wishing to devote a bit more time, the additional locations in County Antrim and County Down will be included. Tour Itineraries > Short Tour A half-day tour (approximately 3 hours) that will take you on a stimulating journey around Belfast to the locations in which Lewis grew up. A coffee stop and lunch option can be included. This tour is scheduled across a morning and afternoon and will introduce you to the influences which shaped Lewis’s early life. A light lunch and/or an evening meal at the 400 year old Crawfordsburn Inn which has a historical link with C.S. Lewis is an option on this tour. After a pleasant meal, while remaining at the Inn, a short presentation can be provided on the significance of Crawfordsburn in the life of C.S. Lewis. A short walk after the visit will provide an opportunity to stop at Silverhill, the home of Lewis’s lifelong friend Arthur Greeves. University Group Study Tours University or other study group tours can be arranged to cover a much wider range of visits. These are typically arranged over a number of days depending on the group, its specific interests and the time available. A sample itinerary might include: Introduction to Lewis, his family and associated locations in central Belfast. East Belfast. The North Antrim Coast and the holiday letters of Lewis’s mother, Flora. County Down including Crawfordsburn, Bangor, Killyleagh and the Kingdom of Mourne. This itinerary can be expanded to include a 3 day visit to Oxford forming a very comprehensive C.S Lewis study tour. Customised Tours Authentic Ulster can work with and advise any group that has specific interests and assist with the design of an itinerary to suit needs, interests, time available and budget. Your Tour Guide > Sandy Smith is a director with Heritage Experience. Prior to the company being established, Sandy enjoyed several other fascinating posts since graduating from Queen’s University, Belfast in 1973. After joining Goodyear International he took a lecturing post at the University of Ulster until 1988 when he moved to the Department for Education as an inspector of schools and colleges. In 2002 he became joint Director General with the International Fund for Ireland and in 2010 he joined the Board of Enterprise Northern Ireland which he chaired from 2011 until 2013. Across his career Sandy has sustained a passionate interest in the life and work of Belfast-born author C S Lewis. In 2005, in conjunction with Belfast City Council, he developed and led the highly successful lecture tour “In the Footsteps of Lewis”. This has proved to be a successful tour and participants from all over the world have been enthralled as Sandy conducts the tour of locations in central and east Belfast that have a link to C S Lewis and his family. The tours have been extended to meet the needs and interests of University groups mainly from the US to include the North Antrim coast and also County Down for which Lewis had a particular affection. Get in touch with Sandy at sandy.smith@authenticulster.com to begin your C.S Lewis Experience. Watch our short C.S.Lewis film >	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line23
__label__cc	0.702346	0.297654	UN Women HQ The Beijing Platform for Action Turns 20 Top social picks In case you missed it! Comic & Cartoon Competition Women and Health Education and Training of Women Voices & profiles In the words of ... Jordan steps it up The Jordanian Government pledges to align its national legislation with international commitments and expand economic, social, cultural, political and legal support to women and girls. Learn more In Focus: Education and training of women This month we highlight how educating women and girls is a lifeline to a better future for all and the key to empowered societies and flourishing economies. Learn more Think you know about the education and training of women? Test your knowledge by taking our five-question quiz! Learn more 27 September 2015: Committing to action for gender equality and women’s empowerment UN Women and the People’s Republic of China are co-hosting a “Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Commitment to Action”, on 27 September 2015, at UN Headquarters in New York. Held in conjunction with the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, Member States’ Heads of State or Government are invited to make concrete commitments to accelerate implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women no later than 2030. More Media advisory - Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: A Commitment to Action Member State commitments Women and the Sustainable Development Goals With the new global 2030 roadmap and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set to be approved by UN Member States, we take a look at how women are affected by each of the 17 proposed goals, as well as how women and girls can – and will – be key to achieving them. More » View infographic » In the words of... Raised in Nigeria, Nnenna Agba gained popularity when she went on the widely watched television show America’s Next Top Model. Nnenna is supporting the education of her four sisters in Nigeria, and is the face of Kechie’s Project, an NGO that provides scholarships to girls from Nigerian schools. Read her column » Nicola Grinstead is Chair of the World Board of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, a global movement of 10 million girls and young women in 146 countries, dedicated to supporting girls and young women to reach their full potential. In this op-ed, she emphasizes the importance of life-long learning, non-formal and self-directed education and engaging girls and boys to eradicate gender-based violence. Read more opinions » Asnaini Mirzan chose to create space for women in local politics after watching her father live a life of public service. The first and only female head of the village council in Aceh province, she shows her constituents that women can be leaders, farmers and mothers simultaneously. Read more profiles » Donate a tweet Empowering Women – Empowering Humanity: Picture It! Almost 20 years ago, 189 countries adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary roadmap for women's rights and empowerment. Much has been achieved since, but much more needs to be done and can be done. A world in which gender equality is a reality: Picture it! Copyright © UN Women	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line26
__label__wiki	0.705336	0.705336	HomeUncategorizedWhat specifically is naked news What specifically is naked news News channels have undergone plenty of change during the last number of years. Some news programs have gone onto changing their formats, look and have brought in more appealing, intelligent and witty news presenters to acheive more viewership and garner more revenues. The conventional weather girl of the news channels has always created the image of a very beautiful, attractive and sensual woman delivering the weather report. Naked News has gotten this element of sensuality one step further and has naked women dishing out the weather report! Naked News calls itself a program which has “nothing to hide”. This web subscription program carries a complete and full television newscast. This program is arranged in Toronto and it is aired daily each episode being of twenty five minutes. The highlight in this show is that the female or male anchors either read the news completely naked or they strip while they read their specified segments, such as weather, sports, entertainment, current affairs etc. It has been noted that regardless of the news presenters gender, the viewership of Naked News remains predominantly male. Naked News made its debut in 2000 as a subscription based web news service that boasted of an all female cast. The very first anchor of Naked News was Victoria Sinclair who, at that time was the sole anchor for the show and presented all the segments including weather, sports, entertainment etc. Since the show became popular, the numbers of anchors increased and presently includes eight female presenters and additionally have guest anchors featuring at the same time. Devoid of marketing gimmick or strategy, this website became popular only through word of mouth marketing, soon becoming a frequented web destination. This website received almost six million hits within a month during its initial days. An enormous contributor to its popularity was its free viewership as the site was supported entirely by advertising. Post 2002, only one of the news segments could be seen totally free and after 2004, the site became a paid one. Again in 2008 two segments on the show could be viewed free of charge. Naked News launched Naked New Japan in 2006, in colaboration with eGalaxy and Sunrise Corp. eGalaxy was the owner of Naked News and Sunrise Corp was a seller of services and goods over the web. Naked News Japans presenters do not strip completely, because of the stringent broadcasting norms of the nation. However, the producers hope that they will have the ability to show more down the road. The Naked News expansion mode continued together with the launch of Naked News Italia in 2008. Naked news presenters happen to be extremely popular and have been featured in a number of television shows such as The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, and The View etc. They have also made several appearances on Entertainment Tonight and ET Insider. These presenters have also been featured in several newspapers and magazines such as Playboy and TV Guide. To become a member of Naked News one has to be above eighteen years of age and gain access to a daily feed of features, news and reports which are gathered all around the globe. Earning with Sports Betting On the web Bet on big returns with free hadicaping football picks What is naked news News channels have undergone a huge amount of change during the last number of years. Some news programs have gone on to changing their formats, look and also have brought in more appealing, intelligent and […]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line28
__label__cc	0.605694	0.394306	Natural line enhancement We've been over this already: lines and extensions are not the same thing. Once again, the USAC News Brief instructs applicants: "Provide the number of lines, including the number of extensions." The explanation following that instruction make things a little clearer, but not much. What USAC wants to say is: "Include all the incoming lines on a bill, not just the billed telephone number." I've never heard a phone company call an incoming line of any sort an "extension." In telecomese, "extension" means an internal line connected to a phone system, not an external line. In the case of Centrex, it's not confusing, but otherwise it's going to be the wrong number. It brings up an interesting question, though. In the traditional world, you either had a bunch of phone lines (POTS or Centrex) or a PRI. (What's a PRI, you ask? It's an Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) Primary Rate Interface, a T-1 channelized into 24 channels, meaning up to 24 simultaneous calls. You can associate as many phone numbers as you wanted to that trunk by buying blocks of DID (Direct Inward Dialing) numbers. You have to have your own PBX to distribute the calls coming in over the PRI.) Determining the number of lines was straightforward. In the case of POTS or Centrex, you put down the total number of lines on the bill. (Tip for figuring out the total number: Most bills have a dizzying array of different types of lines, but there is frequently only one line for "SLC" or "Subscriber Line Charge", sometimes called "FCC SLC" or "FCC line charge" or some other misleading name to make you think it's some kind of tax, when in fact the FCC's involvement is to set the maximum amount that can charged; the phone company is keeping 100% of that money. So if you find that line on the bill, it will typically show you how many lines there are total.) In the case of PRI, you put down the number of channels you're using (almost always 24). Don't put down the number of DIDs. Along comes VoIP. There is an architecture analogous to the PRI, called SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunks. You need a PBX to use SIP trunks, and you buy a certain number of trunks (simultaneous calls), so it's easy to determine the number of "lines" (though in reality it's only one line with a bunch of conversations crammed into it, but that's kind of true for PRIs, too). And vendors offer another service that looks just like regular Centrex: you get as many phone jacks as you want, and you can connect them to regular phone lines; the provider installs a router in your building converting those phone calls to VoIP. If you want, you can have IP phones in your building, in which case the provider router doesn't have to convert calls, it just routes the IP packets from your phone. Like with Centrex, you pay a certain amount per phone each month. And like with Centrex, all call processing takes place on service provider equipment. In all of those scenarios, it's clear how many "lines" you have. Either the number of SIP trunks if you have a PBX or the number of phones if you are using the Centrex-like setup. But there is a new option on the scene that makes the number of lines fuzzy. It's just like the scenario above, where you have VoIP phones connected to a service provider who handles all the calls. The difference is that the service provider charges you for simultaneous calls. This can be an attractive option for schools, since they typically have hundreds of phones in classrooms which get used very rarely. So a school with 200 phones can probably get by with 12 simultaneous calls, which is a lot cheaper. But how many lines do you have? I mean, each and every phone, when you pick up the handset, interacts directly with the service provider to set up the call. So our hypothetical school has 200 lines. But if 12 people are on the phone, the 13th person can't make a call. So is that 12 lines? Adding to the confusion is that the limit of 12 calls is a setting in the service provider's software. In reality, the 13th call does reach the service provider's switch, which makes the decision that the school is over it's limit, and gives back a busy signal. So you'd think 12 lines, but the only difference between a school paying $30/month for each phone set and the school paying $600/month for 12 simultaneous calls is a software setting and maybe once or twice a month someone is the unlucky 13th caller and gets a busy signal. I guess the right answer in that case really is 200 lines, even though they can't all make calls at the same time. So now the USAC guidance is right. I've got your Item 21 right here Much as I like to grumble, I also like to herald improvements, and yesterday I learned of one. While I was knee-deep in last-minute Form 470 nonsense, a colleague in the office said she tested the online Item 21 Attachment tool, and she is able to create the attachments before the Form 471 is submitted. To normal humans, this is completely unimportant, but as I've said before, I found it frustrating that we couldn't even start the attachments before the 471 was done. Perhaps my protestations did not fall on deaf ears. Why is it important? Convenience aside, I have always considered it best practice to complete the Item 21 Attachments before submitting the Form 471, because every now and then you catch an error while doing the attachment, and you can fix the 471 before submitting. It's been a while since I went on a linguistic rant, and I've got a curmudgeonly persona to maintain here, so I need to whine about something. To wit: The term "Item 21 Attachment" is just ungainly. It is not an attachment to Item 21 exactly, although Item 21 is the place on the form where you identify the number of the attachment. I think it should be a "Block 5 Attachment" or a "Form 471 attachment." (OK, really I think it should be part of the Form 471, not an attachment: the forms should be as complicated as they have to be to make clear the complexity of the program, and it just seems a little sleazy that somehow they're getting away with information collection without creating a form and going through OMB and all by calling it an attachment. But back to my original rant.) But the real nettle in my shoe is that since "Item 21 Attachments" takes too long to say, people who spend too much time with this program commonly call them "Item 21s." OK, first off, that's like deciding "CD players" is too wordy, and calling them "CDs"; the meaning is lost. If you want to drop part of "Item 21 Attachment," drop "Item 21" and just call them "Attachments." It's not like there are any other attachments in the E-Rate program. I mean, it's like not wanting to say "flat-screen TV" and just calling it a "flat-screen." What's that? People do? Oh, our society is just falling apart. (I was going to use "trash collector" and "trash," but decided that was too disrespectful to our sanitation engineers, and in NJ, you do not want to cross those guys.) In addition, it should be "Items 21" not "Item 21s." It's like people talking about Form 470s; it should be Forms 470. (And don't get me started on people who put apostrophes and make it Form 470's, unless you're making a possessive like "this Form 471's Item 21 Attachments.") Maybe it's just because of all the Downton Abbey I'm watching, but if we're going to misabbreviate, let's at least do it in a way that sounds proper. Of course, it's not really any more proper, since it is neither the "Item" nor the "21" that is being made plural, it's the "attachment," but we dropped that part of the name, so we're screwed. But "Items 21" still sounds more like something the Dowager Countess would say. Not timely, but getting there So Wednesday the FCC denied 23 appeals because they were filed late. I'm not saying that any of the appeals should be granted, and I agree the FCC has to put its foot down at some point. I just find it amusing that only 2 of the 23 appeals was decided within 90 days, as required by FCC regulation. Let's make a new rule: the FCC cannot deny appeals for being filed late if the decision is filed too late. Snarkiness aside, these appeals actually follow the trend of more timely appeal decisions from the FCC. The vast majority of the appeals were from 2011, which is much quicker turnaround than I'm used to. Confirmed: 2-in-5 Rule Fails Again Just a little tidbit from the latest USAC Board meeting in DC (courtesy of Funds for Learning): "The SLD reported to the Board that they anticipate the final FY2011 P2 threshold to be 87%...." Given the FCC's willingness to upend the funding landscape willy-nilly, I'm surprised the SLD is even making estimates any more. As you might expect, I find this to be cause for griping: First, the obligatory "can the 2-in-5 Rule" rant. Once again, Priority Two funding will not reach 80-90% of applicants. And it's the same 80-90% each year. That's 7 straight years of failure. Absent bizarre rollover gymnastics, the 2-in-5 Rule is totally ineffective in spreading the P2 wealth. Worse, the 2-in-5 Rule is harmful. The second half of the sentence I quoted in the opening: SLD "did not make an official recommendation to drop the threshold below its current 90% level.." So here we are, more than halfway through the year, and we still haven't even moved the denial threshold below 90%. So far from my dream of setting the P2 threshold before the start of the funding year. So what should the FCC do right now? Well, it's a little late, but they should set the denial threshold for FY 2011 at 90%. That would allow applicants with discounts less than 90% to fling up repeat P2 requests for 2012. Then set the denial threshold for 2012 right now. Be conservative, set it at 88%. See how that goes, and gradually the FCC will be able to set the denial threshold when they release the Eligible Services List. Imagine.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line33
__label__cc	0.730181	0.269819	Camp Dreamcatcher Year-Round Programs for Children Whose Lives Have Been Touched by HIV / AIDS Staff and Interns Camp Dreamcatcher Photo Albums Camp Dreamcatcher 5K Sponsor a Camper Counselor Challenge Dreamcatcher Gear KidCents Charity Lesley Darman Equine Therapy Program Introducing Charlotte’s Circle Patty Hillkirk has worked with at-risk youth for over 30 years. An alumna of Penn State University, Patty also has three years of therapeutic training with the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center. She established a private psychotherapy practice in 1990, specializing in work with trauma survivors and people with special needs. Patty’s work in the HIV/AIDS community started in 1986 as a volunteer with the Red Cross and then as a therapist with adults living with HIV/AIDS. Patty and campers Patty is the founder of Camp Dreamcatcher, a fun, safe, and therapeutic escape for children and teens infected by and coping with HIV/AIDS. Inspired to create Camp Dreamcatcher after watching a “60 Minutes” segment about a summer camp for children coping with HIV/AIDS in New York, Patty’s dream was to create a therapeutic and loving community to embrace children impacted by the disease. Due to her leadership and dedication, what started as a one-week camp in 1996 now serves more than 400 HIV/AIDS impacted youth each year and delivers HIV/AIDS outreach and education to over 6,000 students and community members. Programs include an educational camp session, weekend Retreats, Camper Reunion Events, a Mentoring Program, a holiday Adopt-a-Family program and a Teen Speaker’s Bureau. The community she has built was featured in the film “Tiny Tears,” which was screened at both the United Nations and The Cannes Film Festival. Patty’s work makes all services provided by Camp Dreamcatcher free to participants. Hundreds of counselors, medical personnel, professionals, and community members volunteer throughout the year with Camp Dreamcatcher, and over the past 18 years, the volunteers have provided 157,000 hours of service to children coping with HIV/AIDS. All of the services provided by the organization are free and children benefiting from the programs come from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. Patty is married and resides in Kennett Square. She serves as a member of the Kennett Lions Club Morning Branch and volunteers with the YMCA as a coach for her son’s basketball team. 2013 Pennsylvania State University College of Health and Human Development Alumni Recognition Award Received the College of Health and Human Development Alumni Award for professional excellence and exemplary voluntary community involvement in a health and human development field. Presented a speech titled “Catching a Dream: My Journey Helping HIV/AIDS-Impacted Youth,” as part of the Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series, which was established by the Board of Directors of the College of Health and Human Development Alumni Society. 2011 West Chester University’s Woman of the Year Award Recipient of the first Woman of the Year Award which recognizes a woman who displays leadership and service qualities worthy of special recognition. It is awarded for distinguished and exceptional achievements in her profession and/or volunteer activities that have positively impacted women and/or girls. 2010 Beacon of Hope Award Awarded by Lions Club International for “Being a beacon of hope to those in need around the world”. Camp Dreamcatcher Camp Session Camp Dreamcatcher Catching Dreams for Kids Event Free Screening of the Documentary “Tiny Tears” Camp Dreamcatcher Has Received Thanks For Giving Holiday Program Grant from The Rite Aid Foundation In Memoriam – Henley Gabeau 2018 Camp Dreamcatcher Photo Album 2019 Counselor Challenge The 2019 Counselor Challenge has started! Help us reach our goal of $15,000 to sponsor 46 campers/counselors! Make a Counselor Challenge Donation today! Easy Ways to Help Our Kids Give to Camp Dreamcatcher Every Time You Shop Amazon Crowdrise is Helping Camp Dreamcatcher Make Kids' Dreams Come True! Donate Today! Camp Dreamcatcher 148 West State Street, Suite 104 info@campdreamcatcher.org Keep up with Camp Dreamcatcher Sign up to receive our semiannual newsletter and updates on progress helping to make children's dreams come true! Web Design by DG Design © 2019 Camp Dreamcatcher. All Rights Reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line34
__label__wiki	0.86392	0.86392	Vic Chesnutt, "At the Cut" Sunday, 08 November 2009 05:20 Lucas Schleicher Reviews - Albums and Singles Spilling over with trembling strings and thunderous crescendos, "Coward" foreshadows the electric energy that is to be found throughout Vic Chesnutt's newest record. With members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Silver Mt. Zion, and Fugazi once again contributing, At the Cut is populated by giant melodies, quiet meditations, and intense studies on mortality and memory. But, for all its bombast, At the Cut is probably most notable for Chesnutt's unwavering honesty and cathartic power. Because of these qualities it has quickly become one of my favorite and most played records this year. Reviews and presss releases of At the Cut like to concentrate on the various references Chesnutt makes throughout the record. There are, admittedly, a lot of them and on the cover of the album Vic himself appears resigned among numerous paintings, as though he were an exhibit at a museum. Some writers have been quick to point out that he references no less than W.H. Auden, Frank Norris, Philip Guston, Victor Hugo, Franz Kafka, and William Shakespeare, and that's in just one or two songs. Impressive as that may be, Vic's literary and artistic interests aren't what make his record great. In fact, with the exception of Auden, his songwriting and lyrics are unlike anything produced by any one of those artists. If the album cover suggests anything about the music at all, it's that Chesnutt's personal life is the subject of this record, not the influences that might've helped foster it. The places where At the Cut is most unadorned are the places where it is most powerful and affecting. Whether blithely describing his history with death ("Flirted With You All My Life") or an encounter with his grandmother in the kitchen ("Granny"), Chesnutt impresses the most when he lets mundane images and ideas into his music. Those are the images that have stuck with me the most and they remind me how talented someone must be to sing about them without sounding either trite or banal. The final lines of the album could've been delivered in so many shrill and unappealing ways, but when Vic sings, "She said / 'You are the light of my life / and the beat of my heart,'" there isn't a doubt in my mind that he feels those words as deeply as anyone can. And he wants his listeners to feel them, too, without cringing or second-guessing the motives. But, Chesnutt writes in myriad ways, so for every mention of dentures and friendship there are at least one or two psycho-analytic lines of poetry and an equal number of vague symbols or potentially mystifying scenes. In response, Vic's band dances their way through various styles of music, matching his twists and turns with jazz-like funeral dirges, the kind of rock 'n' roll expected from Bob Dylan in the mid '60s, and orchestrated blues. On first listen, Chesnutt's electric songs are the real show-stealers. Both "Chinaberry Tree" and "Philip Guston," along with the opening "Coward," put the electric guitar in the spotlight. In "Chinaberry Tree" the guitar rips across Chesnutt’s vocals like a lightning strike, and in "Philip Guston" it chugs and totters like it belongs in an Einstürzende Neubauten song. But, the more quietly intense songs like "Chain" and "We Hovered with Short Wings" have their own gravity, which is concocted with a combination of atmosphere and patient development. Although not as immediate, repeat listens reveal them to be of equal potency. Vic and company weave their way through these approaches with an even hand, favoring neither, but obviously seeking to inject every one of them with intensity and cathartic energy. That cathartic energy plays a role equal with to Chesnutt's narrative and lyrical honesty. I cannot listen to At the Cut and passively digest it; the record forces us to feel the record along with Vic, so that when he sings about his mother dying or about deseperation and rejecting empty ritual, associated memories, emotions, and ideas simultaneously emerge without anyone having to mention them. There are a few musicians that aim for and achieve this effect. It is among the greatest and highest accomplishments any songwriter and lyricist can achieve in popular music. Vic Chesnutt reaches such heights on At the Cut and he does it almost effortlessly, as if that was what he was born to do. This is easily one of Vic Chesnutt's best records, and a standout album in a year filled with superb music. Last Updated on Sunday, 28 December 2014 20:07	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line37
__label__wiki	0.820381	0.820381	REGIONS & TOWNS FacebookFlickrTwitterYouTubeInstagramPinterestTumblr Maps of British Columbia Attractions in BC Fishing & Guides Golf & Golf Vacations Hot Springs in BC Recreation by Activity Recreation by Region Skiing & Ski Resorts Whale Watching in BC Wildlife Viewing in BC Parks & Trails in BC Real Estate & Agents Spas & Health Facts & Information First Nations in BC Weather in BC YaleDonald Lovegrove2014-05-31T16:14:53-07:00 Located at the southern entrance to the spectacular Fraser Canyon, the town of Yale is one of southwestern British Columbia’s oldest and most historic communities, having been the bustling steamship navigation capital during the Gold Rush. Founded as a Hudson’s Bay fort in 1848, Yale rose to prominence as the inland terminus of the Fraser River sternwheelers and a waystation for those travelling up and down the Fraser River. Explorer Simon Fraser himself camped here in the summer of 1808, after his horrendous trip down the river that now bears his name. Like many towns in British Columbia, Yale’s fortunes followed that of the Gold Rush. In 1858 gold was discovered on a gravel bar just 2 miles south of Yale on the Fraser River. This place was soon known as Hill’s Bar named after the prospector who found gold there. The discovery of gold caused a massive influx of people to pour into the region from all over the world, the majority of which came from the California Gold Rush of 1849. At the height of Gold Fever in 1858, this town boasted 20,000 residents. In 1862 the government paid for a road that started in Yale and went for 400 miles to gold mining town called Barkerville. The narrow, steep, rocky road was called the Cariboo Wagon Road – today’s modern highway follows much of the old road. During the period of railway construction in the 1880’s Yale became the main supply centre for all the work in the Cascade Division of British Columbia. The railway that now passes right through the middle of Yale in front of the museum and church is the Canadian Pacific Railway. Today the residents of Yale number only 200. Though the gold ran out, Yale continued prospering, as it still does today as a forestry and service centre. Historic Yale is only a 15-minute drive north from Hope on the Trans-Canada Highway 1. The site is right beside the highway as it goes through Yale. Even if you’re going east via Highway 3, it’s a convenient side trip. Location: Yale is located on the Trans-Canada Highway 1, on the bank of the Fraser River, 16 miles (26 km) north of Hope. To the north of Yale are the communities of Spuzzum and Boston Bar. An historic 1868 heritage home houses the Yale Museum, with exhibits and archives dating back to the times of the gold rush, the Cariboo Wagon Road and the railway construction. Step into the past when you visit the Church of St. John the Divine, the oldest church in British Columbia, built in 1863 to serve the fortune seekers of the Gold Rush community. Walking Tour: A guided walking tour of the historic town explores one of the west’s largest and most colourful Gold Rush towns. The original Fort Yale, founded in 1847, was located on Front Street, where monuments and plaques commemorating the Cariboo Wagon Road and Barnard’s Express are located. Down on the waterfront, look for the old rings embedded in the rocks to moor the old sternwheelers at the riverboat landing situated here between 1858 and 1885. Yale Pioneer Cemetery: Meet the earliest residents and pioneers of Yale at the historic graveyard, located off Highway 1 south of town overlooking the banks of the Fraser River. Headstones at the pioneer cemetery date back to 1862. Hiking: Hikers can head out on the 5-km Spirit Caves Trail for a three-hour hike with rewarding views of the Fraser River Canyon entrance and the Cascade Mountains. The Spirit Caves produce an eerie whistling sound when strong winds blow through the caves. The trailhead is located opposite the old Pioneer Cemetery on Highway 1. East of Yale, also on Highway 1, is the trailhead for the strenuous 5-km Mount Lincoln Trail, a steep trail leading to the summit of Mount Lincoln. Hill’s Bar: Just south of Yale is Hill’s Bar, the site of the first gold discovery in British Columbia in 1858. Have a go at Gold Panning – there could still be gold in the area! Hill’s Bar is renowned for the rebellion triggered by a squabble between two local magistrates, over contempt of their respective official dignities, after an inebriated Hill’s Bar prospector assualted the local black barber. The conflict escalated and posed a threat to the newly-minted British authority on the British Columbia mainland. Governor Douglas mobilized his troops, backed up by Marines stationed at Fort Langley. Accompanying the Royal Engineers to Yale was Justice Matthew Baillie Begbie, who convened court, determined that the whole matter was overblown, and fined McGowan for assault. Both magistrates were dismissed from their posts, and the bloodless war became known as Ned McGowan’s War. Between Yale and Boston Bar, to the north on the Trans Canada Highway, is one of the most spectacular sights in British Columbia: Hell’s Gate, a narrowing of the Fraser River where the water churns through in a tremendous maelstrom. It’s an awesome sight to behold, and certainly a “hellish” experience for the more than 2 million spawning salmon that must pass through this part of the Fraser River every year. For a closer look at the fury of Hell’s Gate, ride the Hell’s Gate Airtram across to the other side of the river. Restaurants, gift shops and an interpretive centre await those daring enough to make the trip. Golf: Golfers must head south to Hope for thee Hope Golf & Country Club, a semi-private, 9-hole golf course on Golf Course Road offering superb mountain views in all directions. 18 holes, par 72, 6,317 yards. Golf Vacations in British Columbia. Historic Emory Creek Provincial Park has a small campground situated at the former townsite of Emory City, which was a tiny but bustling trading settlement in the mid-1800s. When the Canadian Pacific Railway decided that nearby Yale would be its major centre, Emory was left to ‘sigh and die.’ Conveniently located beside Hwy 1 and the Fraser River, 12 kilometres south of Yale, this park fills up quickly in summer. As with most B.C. provincial parks, this is an excellent area for hiking, mountain biking and camping. Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park, about 22km north of Yale, provides an interesting place to stop in the Fraser Canyon. An interpretative display gives visitors an idea of the canyon’s history. Circle Tours: See the best of the area on a driving Circle Tour. Head north out of Vancouver for the scenic Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island Circle Tour, or stay on the intensely scenic Sea to Sky Highway, passing through the magical winter resort town of Whistler and Coast Mountains Circle Tour. To explore the rural farmlands and forests of the fertile Fraser Valley, take the Fraser Valley Circle Tour, travelling outbound on the scenic route north of the historic Fraser River, returning westwards along the Trans Canada Highway 1 to Vancouver. Circle Tours in British Columbia. Donald Lovegrove2019-01-15T14:26:14-07:00 Fall Salmon and Sturgeon Fishing in Vancouver, British Columbia So far this season we have been experiencing some great salmon and sturgeon fishing. Last week we spent considerable time bar fishing for Harrison River and Fraser River run Chinook, [...] Clarke Wright2019-01-15T16:07:32-07:00 EMR Vacation Rentals: Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria… EMR Vacation Rentals is a fully-licensed Travel Agency offering fully-furnished BC vacation homes, condos, suites, and estate rentals in Victoria, Vancouver, Tofino, Whistler, the Okanagan, and on Vancouver Island in [...] BRITISH COLUMBIA ON INSTAGRAM See more photos on Instagram BRITISH COLUMBIA ON FLICKR See more photos on Flickr Firemaker 2019 The Flow Wilderness Retreat: An off the Grid Glamping Adventure Mossome Grove of Sitka Spruce and Bigleaf Maples located near Port Renfrew JOIN BRITISH COLUMBIA'S MAILING LIST Enter your email address to receive updates to your British Columbia Blog by email. British Columbia on Pinterest See more photos on Pinterest ©1998-2019 Shangaan Webservices Inc. All Rights Reserved. Copyright & Disclaimer. Terms & Conditions. 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__label__cc	0.682603	0.317397	Markus Breitschmid’s Book Included in Swiss National Archive Professor of Architecture Markus Breitschmid’s German-language book Der Bauende Geist. Friedrich Nietzsche und die Architektur has been included in the permanent collection of the National Archive of Switzerland. Published as a book by Quart Verlag in the year 2001 and originally submitted as a doctoral dissertation at the Technische Universitat Berlin in December 1999, Der Bauende Geist. Friedrich Nietzsche und die Architektur, was the first book that studied systematically the “turn” of Nietzschean aesthetics towards the architectonic. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is arguably the world’s most influential philosopher of the past 150 years, and his influence on modernity and postmodernity cannot be overestimated. Breitschmid’s book has been the basis for subsequent books and dissertations in various countries and languages dealing with Nietzsche’s ideas on architecture and his influence on architects. It has become a reference text and is also used as a textbook in various academic disciplines. The book had already been listed as a seminal text by the Institute of Philosophy in Karlsruhe (Germany) in 2005. The Swiss National Archive, officially named the Swiss Federal Archives, located in the capital city of Berne, is the Swiss Confederation’s institution for lasting information preservation. The archive appraises, secures, describes and provides access to archive-worthy records of the Swiss Confederation. The National Archive establishes independently the legal, political, social and historical importance of documents. Founded in 1798, the archive holds records dating back to the 14th century.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line44
__label__wiki	0.536682	0.536682	Christian US Soccer Star Jaelene Hinkle Withdraws from Team after 'Gay Pride' Jerseys Introduced By Edwin Kee ( [email protected] ) Jun 16, 2017 08:24 AM EDT Comment 24-year old Jaelene Hinkle stood up for her Christian faith by skipping matches in the month of June that will see the US soccer team wear Gay Pride jerseys. The New American Is being a Christian in this day and age a whole lot more challenging compared to the times of the early church? That really depends, but it does seem as though persecution in the early church was a whole lot more compared to simple heckles or being socially ostracized today. Jaelene Hinkle is a Christian, and she decided to put her foot down to defend the values of her Christian faith by withdrawing herself from the US soccer team. The reason behind this? It is not political, but basically, both men’s and women’s national teams are said to feature rainbow-colored jerseys for the entire month of June in order to support the homosexual “Gay Pride” month. Jaelene Hinkle did not personally specify the reasons behind her action, which would result in her sitting out of a couple of “friendly” competitions this month against Scandinavian countries Sweden and Norway. “Personal reasons” are all that we are able to work with, but Hinkle has exhibited a tendency to be outspoken about her faith in the past, as well as sharing her biblical views where same-sex marriage is concerned. Hinkle also did tweet the scripture verse Colossians 3:23, where it mentioned that “whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” Apart from that, her Twitter tagline continued to underline her viewpoint, which reads, “If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection.” She has certainly shared her views about same-sex marriage in the past. In fact, it was in 2015 that Hinkle used Instagram to showcase a “gay pride” logo which has been transformed to showcase a cross. She commented on that modified logo, “Jesus didn't come to save those who already believed in Him. He came so that the lost, rejected, and abandoned men and women would find Him and believe.” That was the day that the US Supreme Court announced a favorable ruling when it comes to same-sex marriage. Hinkle is definitely going to trust in the Word of God 100 per cent, saying, “I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true. It's not a fictional book. It's not a pick and choose what you want to believe. You either believe it, or you don't. This world may change, but Christ and His Word NEVER will.” Hinkle's outspoken behavior, as well as the way she expresses her faith, would certainly put her to be at odds with the rest of the US soccer team, which has teamed up with the pro-homosexual group You Can Play. The latter group’s mission is “to ensure the safety and inclusion of all in sports — its homosexual activist bent is revealed in the prominent tagline on the website: “LGBTQ athletes. Allies. Teaming up for respect.” As Christians, we all know that we are to love the sinner but hate the sin. Homosexuality as a lifestyle is a very difficult topic to navigate, but we all know what God’s Word says about this lifestyle. While those who advocate or support such a lifestyle champion their rights to be heard, they trample on the rights to be objected to, throwing words such as “bigots” and “homophobic” freely. Where is all of the love that is supposedly being championed? Assuming the table is turned, where the US soccer team wears a jersey that proclaims the only definition of marriage is that between a man and a woman, would pro-LGBT advocates pull out from the team as well in a dignified manner, or would they froth at their mouth and act otherwise? Tags : jaelene hinkle, Homosexuality, Christian view on homosexuality	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line45
__label__cc	0.625695	0.374305	No Affidavit of Merit Needed for Malicious Use of Process Claim Against Attorney Posted by Bruce D. Greenberg on Jan 13, 2016 in Appellate Division, Judges \| 0 comments Perez v. Zagami, LLC, 443 N.J. Super. 359 (App. Div. 2016). Plaintiff Perez and defendant Zagami have a lengthy history of litigation against each other, including one case that went to the Supreme Court, as discussed here. This latest case involved a claim of malicious use of process regarding an underlying defamation case. In response to Perez’s complaint, Zagami sought dismissal on the grounds that the defamatory statements were privileged as based on advice of counsel. Perez then amended his complaint to name Zagami’s lawyers in the prior action, the Nash Law Firm, LLC and two attorneys at that firm (together, “Nash”). After the case had gone to the Appellate Division once, and was thereafter returned to the Law Division, Nash moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that Perez had failed to provide an affidavit of merit, which Nash contended was required by the Affidavit of Merit statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-27. Nash argued that this was in fact a “disguised” professional negligence or malpractice case, and that Perez had to establish the applicable standard of care and deviations from that standard via expert testimony, thus mandating an affidavit of merit. The Law Division denied the motion. On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed in an opinion by Judge Currier. After analyzing the elements of malicious use of process, Judge Currier observed that the key to the claim lay in its requirement that malice be shown. The claim “is not the alleged negligence of the attorney in doing his work; rather, it goes to the attorney’s intentions and motive in doing the work.” A determination as to what Nash’s purpose was did not require an affidavit of merit, but rather would be “discovered through interrogatories and depositions.” Since the issues here did not depend on proof of a deviation from a standard of care, the claim “lies beyond the purview of the affidavit of merit statute.” Accordingly, the Law Division’s decision was affirmed. The Appellate Division’s decision appears correct. The Affidavit of Merit statute applies where there is a negligence or professional malpractice case that entails a standard of care. That was not so here.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line46
__label__wiki	0.872286	0.872286	Ireland among best for attracting top workers – and losing its own Ireland ranks 12th in the world for its ability to attract, retain, train and educate skilled workers, according to a new survey ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ireland features ahead of Germany, Canada and France, but falls behind the UK, the US, and most of the Nordic countries, according to the Adecco group’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI). The presence of large tech companies with a global reach such as Apple, Facebook and LinkedIn in basing their European headquarters here led to Dublin being ranked 10th out of 46 capital cities for global talent competitiveness, ahead of cities including London, New York and Berlin. The report says Ireland’s status as a European tech hub bodes well for its ability to reap the benefits of technology. However, the report, carried out by HR firm Adecco, business school INSEAD and the Human Capital Leadership Institute, warns that while Ireland is a magnet for foreign talent, it lags behind in formal education and in “preventing the brain drain of its own top workers”. “This year’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index demonstrates Ireland’s success in building a robust talent infrastructure, capable of both attracting and retaining highly skilled talent from across the world,” said John L Marshall, CEO of Adecco Group UK & Ireland. “This is greatly facilitated by Ireland’s phenomenal success in positioning itself as a European tech hub and securing a steady stream of foreign direct investment. The first ever global ranking of cities shows that Dublin, ranked 10th ahead of London and New York, has the potential to further boost Ireland’s attractiveness to highly skilled workers. “That said, the report also demonstrates the need to continue to invest in home-grown talent, to ensure the next generation of Irish professionals are equipped to compete in the global marketplace and face challenges of the future.” Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Finance Minister Michael Noonan are leading the Irish delegation to Davos this year where the IDA is hosting a series of bilateral meetings with investors. The world leaders meet as the World Economic Forum has warned rising income inequality and the polarisation of societies pose a risk to the global economy and could result in the rolling back of globalisation. In a report launched today, Oxfam says eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorer half of the world’s population. “A fundamental change in the way we manage our economies is required so they benefit everyone, not just a fortunate few,” said Oxfam Ireland chief Jim Clarken. “We need a global economy for the 99pc not just the 1pc.” The most talked about Davos guest is Chinese President Xi Jinping who is attending for the first time. Mr Jinping will lead an 80-strong delegation of business executives and billionaires to the annual gathering where he is expected to speak out against the protectionist policies espoused by Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States. Many world leaders are not attending this year’s forum. French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have all cancelled. ← Mind pension plan gap before time runs out Sterling falls in Asia over hard Brexit fears →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line52
__label__cc	0.608265	0.391735	AFTER ACCUSATIONS OF BACKROOM DEALS HRC FINALLY JOINS ACTIVISTS AGAINST DADT On May 10th I posted a blog article chastising President Obama for not taking any visible action to end the DADT policy despite overwhelming public support to repeal it and his numerous and clearly stated intentions to do just that when he was elected. Two days later, on May 12th, I posted another story about the new study published by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, that said the President does, indeed, have the authority to end DADT on his own authority. The study said that the Commander-In-Chief already has the statutory authority to halt military separations under 10 U.S.C. § 12305, a law which Congress titled, “Authority of President to suspend certain laws relating to promotion, retirement, and separation.” More importantly, the study also said that the provisions of the "stop-loss" law, which are granted by Congress, give the President authority to "suspend laws relating to separation when a national emergency has strained personnel requirements.” This is something that can be done immediately by the President alone. So, given the fact that it has been almost a full month since this new information was made public, why hasn't Obama issued that order? Well, according to a video piece (see below) posted at The Daily Beast by award winning gay journalist Jason Bellini, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and other "mainstream" gay rights organizations had reached an agreement with the White House to support delaying action on the DADT repeal until some of the other pressing GLBT rights legislation has been passed. To lend credence to this has been the HRC's somewhat milquetoast efforts to hold the administration's feet to the fire to get this repeal accomplished as promised. Of course HRC immediately issued a statement denying that any deal was made. But despite that denial, many people in the gay community, especially the newest and youngest activists and activist organizations felt that there might be some truth to the accusation because blogs and websites burned up the internet with condemnations and accusations against HRC for not truly representing the goals of the now more fervent, in-the-street, activist movement. In response to this growing maelstrom, HRC President Joe Solmonese finally came out and publicly called on President Obama to at least suspend DADT to stop the unwarranted and unwise discharges of sorely needed military personnel. Gay News Net reported yesterday that when Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball last night asked Solmonese whether he believes Obama has the authority to sign such an order and whether he should do so, Solmonese said, "Yes he can and yes I do." Matthews repeated the question, asking "Do you think he should?" Salmonese confirmed, "Yes I do." Solmonese also said that Obama should sign the executive order immediately to halt further firings like that of Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate who speaks Arabic. "The president has the opportunity to stop that from happening," Solmonese said. "We've asked him to do that and pressed him to do that and hope that he will." If, in fact, the HRC did reach some kind of agreement to delay an all-out push for the repeal of DADT, I'm absolutely positive that there were no sinister, underlying motivations. I'm sure that they thought that strategy would be the most effective in securing all of the rights we're seeking. It's possible that they didn't even know about the recently revealed Presidential powers that Obama has to effect this change completely on his own authority. Whatever reasons were behind HRC's past inaction, I'm glad to see them now using their substantial political capital to pressure Obama to suspend the firings. They're a good organization that has done a whole lot in advancing our causes in towns, cities, states and municipalities throughout the country. So let's not, as the saying goes, "throw the baby out with the bath water." One thing for sure at this point - it is now almost impossible for the President and his administration to ignore the importance of immediate action on DADT. We're all watching Mr. President. Below is Jason Bellini's video piece referred to above: Posted by Steve Krotz at 12:23 PM 3 comments Labels: DADT, gays in military, HRC, lgbt rights, military discharges, palm center, President Barack Obama, stop loss, white house PRESIDENT PROCLAIMS JUNE GAY PRIDE MONTH I'm a couple of days late with this but I didn't want to let it go by without a comment. Lately, many in the GLBT community have been expressing growing dissatisfaction with President Obama's seeming non-action on many of the issues we consider to be of paramount importance to our community. I myself have expressed my own frustrations over this in several of my more recent posts. Although these feelings certainly do seem to be justified considering the high expectations for action that were fueled by Obama's many strong and positive statements about ending DOMA, DADT, anti-gay discrimination in the workplace and housing, passing hate crimes legislation, etc., etc.. Let's not forget that in just six short months, he has appointed more openly gay professionals to high level, high profile management and advisory positions throughout the government and his own administration than any president before him. He is also the first president to endorse and speakout for an end to anti-gay discrimination throughout the world. Yes, he hasn't moved as fast as we wanted him to but I think it's important to recognize the impact that the words a President speaks to us and to the rest of the world have not just on policies but on the thoughts and beliefs of tens and hundreds of millions of people. It's easy to dismiss what someone says by loudly protesting that they're "just words." But what makes a difference is what the specific words are and who says them. Entire armies have been moved to against-all-odds victories and whole civilizations have been built on nothing more than words. The reality is that, like it or not, words are what change everything. On Monday, President Obama issued the following proclamation declaring June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Obama Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic. Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism. The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect. My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States. These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. Obama is the first President to ever even acknowledge our transgender brothers and sisters in a national/international speech. That's important. Thanks to Towelroad.com for the text of the proclamation. Labels: Barack Obama, DADT, DOMA, GLBT RIGHTS, proclamation EXCELLENT ARGUMENTS AGAINST BIGOTED LIES & DISTORTIONS I ran across the following video, titled "Talking Equality," at the Feast Of Fools website. It was posted by FOF member Wesley from California and it's an excellent repudiation of the lies and gross distortions that the fanatic right-wing keeps trying to ram down people's throats. Take a few minutes and watch this. It's definitely worth your time and it will give you some excellent talking points whenever someone tries to use those idiotic arguments around you. BTW - I had some trouble getting this mounted so if the video doesn't play, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSTv7Xao93I Labels: bestiality, bill o'reilly, gay marriage, GLBT, hardball, HRC, Maggie Gallagher, pedophilia, polygamy, religious right, right wing, Same-sex Marriage COLLEGE PRESIDENT CLAIMS GLBT PROTECTION AN "ACCIDENT" This has to be one of the most bizarre and disgusting attempts by a college president to take back a GLBT student non-discrimination protection - ever. It all started when Andrew Doherty, a gay employee of Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, PA who was legally married in Massachusetts, was denied health insurance for his spouse. His union filed a grievance on his behalf referring to the schools own non-discrimination policy that has been published on the school's website as well as in its catalog and student handbook. The statements published in all of the school's materials clearly say that the school will not discriminate against individuals based on their “sexual orientation” and “union membership.” Well, in response to that grievance, newly appointed President Daniel J. Obara (pictured above) decided that the only way to handle the situation was to declare that the policy was an "accident" and shouldn't have included sexual orientation as a protected class. The only problem with this absurd claim is that the policy has been used as a recruitment tool and touted as an incentive to join the college staff since it was adopted in 2000 - NINE YEARS AGO! Obara at first tried to claim that the original policy wasn't supposed to include "sexual orientation" and then accused "the one who is not here anymore" of slipping it in without his "informed approval." But, of course, there's a real problem with those claims as well. LezGetReal.com has reported that "the one who is not here anymore," who turned out to be the schools now-retired affirmative action officer, Mary Stubbs said that she was not happy about being rolled under the bus and has publicly stated that any revisions to the catalog and website she proposed would have been forwarded for review to the public relations staff and others, including the then vice president for academic affairs and student services - the one, the only - Dr. Daniel Obara. “I would never take it upon myself to change a statement in the college, and anyone who told you that ought to know better,” Ms Stubbs said. “Of course not — not without having it approved.” Asked about Stubbs' statement, Obara was forced to admit that the proposed wording change might have crossed his desk and that he may have signed off on it without noticing it. Give me a break! He's either grossly incompetent or a pathological liar. Doherty, who has been an employee for nearly five years, said it doesn’t make sense, “why now after nine years? How many institutions do you know that are taking people out of a non-discrimination policy?” None of this seems to bother Obara though. He's clearly a member of the infamous Reagan/Bush/Cheney/Rove cabal - if history doesn't suit your purposes, well then - just ignore it or rewrite it. Obara chose to rewrite it and has ordered the IT Department to remove all references to sexual orientation from the college's non-discrimination language, including the college’s Web site and all printed materials. No small undertaking - not a cheap one either. When all is said and done and court costs and legal fees are paid (because he WILL LOSE his case) and all of the materials are rounded up and disposed of and then reprinted and redistributed, it will probably cost the college in the neighborhood of tens of thousands of dollars - at least. This at a time when virtually all educational institutions are already desperately strapped for cash. Obviously Obara believes that personal ideology is far more important than sound, intelligent and compassionate academic leadership. I totally agree with Zemanta of LGR: "You know if I were Mr. Doherty or any other gay facility member or student at Westmoreland County Community College, I’d be telling my attorney... to look into suing the school for false representation… because the original non-discrimination policy was the only reason I came to WCCC in the first place." This joker has to be one of the biggest bozos in the entire country! Posted by Steve Krotz at 4:29 PM 0 comments Labels: Andrew Doherty, Daniel J. Obara, discrimination, employee benefits, nondiscrimination policy, Westmoreland County Community College AFTER ACCUSATIONS OF BACKROOM DEALS HRC FINALLY JO... EXCELLENT ARGUMENTS AGAINST BIGOTED LIES & DISTORT... COLLEGE PRESIDENT CLAIMS GLBT PROTECTION AN "ACCID...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line54
__label__wiki	0.500914	0.500914	Not logged in \| Login \| Create Account BillWatch View, vote, and comment on bills in the U.S. Congress Important: This site is not functioning properly. In particular, anything that requires logging on (e.g., voting, commenting, etc) does not work at the moment. There are other problems too. Rep. Gerald Weller http://www.house.gov/weller Sponsored Bills Bills 1 to 10 of 25 H3188: To eliminate the separate work participation rate requirements for 2-parent families under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families [0 comments] Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to eliminate the separate work participation rate requirements for two-parent families. I am for this bill \| I am against this bill Community assessment: 0 Nudge importance higher \| Nudge importance lower H2557: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase and extend the alternative motor vehicle credit for certain flexible fuel hybrid vehicles [0 comments] Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify new flexible fuel hybrid motor vehicles for the alternative motor vehicle tax credit through December 31, 2016, subject to a phaseout for vehicles sold after 2011. Defines "new flexible fuel hybrid motor vehicle" as a qualified hybrid motor vehicle which is capable of operating on an alternative fuel, on gasoline, and on any blend thereof, and which is certified by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to have achieved a certain level of city fuel economy using E-85 ethanol fuel. H834: To provide permanent relief from the marriage penalty under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [0 comments] Makes provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 that eliminate the marriage penalty in the standard deduction, the 15-percent tax bracket, and the earned income tax credit, permanent. H824: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify ethanol and biodiesel refining property as 7-year property for purposes of the accelerated cost recovery system [0 comments] Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow accelerated cost recovery (i.e., a seven-year recovery period) for ethanol or biodiesel refining property. Defines "ethanol or biodiesel refining property" as property used to produce biodiesel and property used to produce ethanol other than from petroleum, natural gas, or coal (including lignite). H793: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the renewable electricity production credit [0 comments] Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credit for producing electricity from certain renewable resources; and (2) redefine "Indian coal production facility" for purposes of the credit as a facility that produces Indian coal (thus eliminating certain requirements for and limits on the tax credit for electricity produced by such facility). H244: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income for certain education and training expenses, and for other purposes [0 comments] Technology Retraining and Investment Now Act for the 21st Century - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 50 percent of the information and communications technology education and training program expenses of individuals and employees, up to $4,000 in a taxable year. Increases the allowable amount of such credit to $5,000 for expenses for a program operated: (1) in an empowerment zone, enterprise community, or renewal community; (2) in a school district in which at least 50 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches; (3) in an federally-declared disaster area; (4) in certain rural areas receiving federal assistance; (5) in an Indian tribal jurisdiction; (6) by an employer with 200 or fewer employees during a specified period; or (7) for a disabled individual. Defines "information technology education and training program expenses" to include: (1) course work; (2) certification testing; (3) apprenticeship programs registered by the Department of Labor; and (4) other expenses essential to assessing skill acquisition. Redefines "eligible educational institution" to include a commercial information and communications technology training provider. [View bill for full summary] H2825: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 326 South Main Street in Princeton, Illinois, as the "Owen Lovejoy Princeton Post Office Building" [0 comments] Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 326 South Main Street in Princeton, Illinois, as the "Owen Lovejoy Princeton Post Office Building." HR57: Congratulating Illinois State University as it celebrates its sesquicentennial [0 comments] Congratulates Illinois State University as it celebrates its sesquicentennial. H243: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the payment of Combat-Related Special Compensation to members of the Armed Forces retired for disability with less than 20 years of active military service who were awarded the Purple Heart [0 comments] Authorizes the payment of special compensation to members of the Armed Forces retired due to disability with less than 20 years of active service who were awarded the Purple Heart. States that such payments shall be made without regard to special rules applicable to other disability retirees which require offsetting reductions. H5688: To provide for a program of targeted extended unemployment compensation, and for other purposes [0 comments] Provides for federal-state agreements under which a state will make targeted extended unemployment compensation payments, for any week of unemployment beginning in the individual's eligibility period, to individuals who: (1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under such state law; (2) have no rights to compensation (including both regular and extended compensation) with respect to a week under such law or any other state or federal unemployment compensation law (and are not paid or entitled to be paid such additional compensation); and (3) are not receiving compensation for such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada. Declares that such period of eligibility shall consist of any week which begins between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. Denies eligibility to an individual unless his or her benefit year ends on or after July 1, 2007. Specifies criteria for Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 periods of increasing unemployment in a state for purposes of calculating payments under this Act. Prescribes formulas for crediting amounts to recipient accounts for each period. BillWatch is not affiliated with the United States Government All comments/arguments © their author 12182 bills in database About BillWatch	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line55
__label__cc	0.74088	0.25912	ENGBiovalley Investments S.p.A., founded in 2014, on the basis of the consolidated industrial experience of the founder and majority shareholder, focuses the management of its investments on the following long-term objective: support for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises operating in BioHighTech in the Alpe Adria area and in particular in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The same Region has, in fact, identified the Smart Health sector as one of the five regional strategies of intelligent specialization (S3-Smart Specialization Strategy). Biovalley Investments S.p.A. has been actively involved since its establishment in the development of this project on behalf of CBM, which has been delegated by the FVG Region to manage the regional cluster in the health sector. In more detail, Biovalley Investments S.p.A. operates through: minority participation in the risk capital of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Each individual investment is decided by the administrative body on the basis of the specific characteristics of the target company and its market. The decision is the result of an overall judgement matured after a careful analysis of the credentials of the company and/or of the entrepreneurs and/or of the management, of the approved budgets, of business plans and/or industrial plans, prospects of the market of the goods/services offered by the company. The cumulative investment of Biovalley Investments S.p.A. in the capital of each individual company is minority even considering the co-investment with other financial partners and / or industrial. The indicative duration of each investment will be 5-7 years; the potential interlocutors for the disposals may be industrial and/or financial subjects, Italian and/or foreign; stable minority shareholding (0.5%) in the risk capital of TBS Group, even after the takeover bid of the Pantheon Group launched in June 2017 through the vehicle Double 2 Spa. In fact, the Trieste office is expected to become a centre of excellence for the research and development activities of the new integrated group, not only in current biomedical technologies, but also for the new frontier of confluence with IT and ICT. TBS is the largest of the companies belonging to BioHighTech.net. The aim of this network is, in fact, above all to accelerate the growth of businesses by implementing industrial synergies between micro and small businesses (which represent the majority of businesses in the network) and the few medium and / or large regional companies (such as TBS Group); analysis and structuring of business plans and research projects through the provision of highly professional consulting services and experience in the field of biomedical, bioICT, biotech, or in the biohightech sector; identification and enhancement of possible synergies with innovative business realities in ICT and in particular in the Internet of Things, also related to traditional industrial sectors operating in health and wellness (well being). The development plans 2018-2021 of BioValley Investments Spa and BioValley Investments Partner Srl provide for the expansion of partnerships, accompanied by investments that are being defined, including, by way of example, with companies located in: Business Innovation Center (BIC), known as BIC incubators FVG, which currently houses the headquarters of BioValley Investments, and since 1989 has contributed to the creation of more than 220 high-tech companies that now employ over 2,500 workers. The TBS Group itself took its first steps here more than 30 years ago. Area Science Park, the science park of Trieste, developed on an area of 23,000 square meters of highly specialized laboratories, which places the interaction between research and industry as a driving factor to ensure development and growth. Many of the economic activities born or developed within this scientific institution have entered into the interests and support of BioValley Investments (Tbs Group, O3, Bilimetrix). Urban Center, which will be built by the City of Trieste with funds POR-FESR 2014-2020 in corso Cavour 2/2 and intended to accomodate micro, small and medium companies of the BioHighTech sector. A project of 4.5 mln € of which 3 mln € for the establishment of 50 companies involved in the development of IoHT (Internet of health things) in the areas of health, welfare and the environment. Other science and technology parks in the Alps-Adriatic Area. Business network: BioHighTech-Net Biovalley Investments S.p.A. is the lead company of the network of companies called BioHighTech-NET and established in Trieste pursuant to and for the purposes of Article 3, paragraphs 4-ter and following of Law April 9, 2009, no. 33, as amended by art. 42 of Decree Law May 31, 2010, no. 78, converted by Law July 30, 2010, no. 122. The network of companies is a collaboration agreement between companies that allows, while maintaining its independence, autonomy and speciality, to implement projects and shared objectives with a view to increasing the capacity for innovation and competitiveness in international markets. The network has already been joined by 37 companies from the FVG and Veneto regions that operate in the BioHighTech sector and/or in the services supporting them. 1SUN S.r.l. A.P.E. RESEARCH S.r.l. AB ANALITICA S.r.l. ALIFAX S.p.A. ASOLTECH S.r.l. BILIMETRIX S.r.l. BIOVALLEY INVESTMENTS S.p.A. BIOVALLEY INVESTMENTS PARTNER S.r.l. CONTENTO TRADE S.r.l. ENERGETICA & CO S.r.l.s. ESTECO S.r.l. EXACT LAB S.r.l. FACAU S.r.l. FEATURE JAM S.r.l. GLANCE VISION TECHNOLOGIES S.r.l. IGA TECHNOLOGY SERVICES S.r.l. INCIPIT S.r.l. INDUSVI S.r.l. INSIEL MERCATO S.p.A. ITAL TBS TELEMATIC &BIOMEDICAL SERVICES S.p.A. LOGIC S.r.l. MATHITECH ENGINEERING GROUP S.r.l. MEDISHARE S.r.l. METLAB S.r.l. O3 ENTERPRISE S.r.l. PLAN 1 HEALTH S.r.l. PROMEDITEC SERVERNET S.r.l. STUDIO SANDRINELLI SWISSTECH S.r.l. T&B e Associati TELEVITA S.p.A. THUNDERNIL S.r.l. TINTI S.n.c. TRANSACTIVA S.r.l. VIVABIOCELL S.p.A. ZETA RESEARCH S.r.l. Connected with the network portal © 2016 \| Theme Luxe Questo sito utilizza i cookie. Continuando a navigare il sito accetti i termini e le condizioni previste per l'utilizzo dei cookie. OkLeggi di più	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line57
__label__cc	0.553121	0.446879	Media Underreport Major New Threat to Right to Organize By David Swanson, ILCA Media Coordinator Part of the Media Blackout series on underreported labor stories While illegal violations of the right to organize a union — such as the firing of employees who express support for a union — are routinely underreported by the corporate media, the past 60 days have witnessed the underreporting of a serious new threat to the right to organize, a threat raised by the National Labor Relations Board. Nexis searching finds no mention of this story in broadcast media and only a handful of print articles, most of them misleading. On June 7, the NLRB ruled, 3-2 along party lines, that it would review the legitimacy of the procedure known as card check. Card check is a procedure under which an employer recognizes a union when presented with signed cards in favor of joining a union from over 50 percent of employees. The main alternative to card check is an election, a process overseen by the NLRB which often drags on for years as the company’s lawyers throw up roadblocks and workers lose interest. Companies hold mandatory anti-union meetings and harass workers during many election campaigns. A survey of 400 NLRB election campaigns in the late 1990s found that 36 percent of workers who vote against union representation credit employer pressure with determining their vote. http://www.ustdrc.gov/research/bronfenbrenner.pdf Card check has been legal since 1935, and the NLRB has repeatedly ruled it so. Card check was once the standard procedure for forming a union and has been relied on increasingly in recent years as the election process that worked fairly well in the 1950s and 1960s has become less of a real alternative, and as formal complaints of discrimination against workers who favor a union have risen to over 10,000 per year. Surveys have found that 42 million employees who are not represented by a union would like to have representation at work. Were the NLRB to rule card check illegal, the right to organize would effectively cease to exist for millions more in America. http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020624&s=rogers&c=1 That the right to organize has come under a major new threat ought, in and of itself, to be a major story in the media. But this story is also closely connected to the current presidential campaign, itself the biggest media story at the moment. If the NLRB does not rule on this question before the next presidential term, the outcome of the election could determine the ruling. Senator John Kerry, if elected, would appoint new members to the NLRB. Kerry, during the past 60 days, has visited worksites and written to CEOs in support of card check. On July 16, the day after various parties filed briefs with the NLRB on this matter, hearings were held by a U.S. Senate subcommittee on a bill cosponsored by Kerry called the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would require recognition of a union following submission of cards from over 50 percent of workers. Currently recognition of a union through card check is at the employer’s discretion. Senate subcommittee testimony: http://ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=311 The EFCA was introduced last November by Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative George Miller. It would also provide that either an employer or a union could refer a first-contract negotiation to mediation by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. It would also impose stronger penalties for discrimination against an employee in response to the employee’s organizing efforts. A Republican bill has also been introduced, one that would eliminate the use of card check. None of this activity is receiving significant media coverage. While a Nexis search for “Catherine Zeta-Jones” turns up 957 articles during the past 30 days, a search for NLRB and “card check” turns up 55 articles during the past 60 days. Of these, many address particular union organizing drives rather than the NLRB’s general review of card check, several are letters to editors, and several more are repeats of the same articles. The unique articles squarely addressing the issue are few and generally very short in length. This search found no articles at all from most major newspapers, and short articles on inside pages of business sections from a handful of others. While this search found nothing from the New York Times, the Times on July 4 did mention Kerry’s support for card check (without mentioning the NLRB) deep in an article claiming that the U.S. economy is doing well and that Kerry’s health care plan is expensive. The good news is that both the Associated Press and Reuters produced articles on the NLRB’s decision. The AP article in particular left much to be desired. The lead referred to this as a “case that could force unions to abandon recruiting strategies that allow them to bypass elections in the workplace.” The third sentence read: “The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is representing the dissatisfied workers who complained they were unionized despite their opposition.” A couple of sentences down, the union viewpoint was included in the form of a quote from “David Bonior, chairman of American Rights at Work, a new union-supported advocacy group.” No mention was ever made, in this or any other articles found by Nexis, of who supports the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. A search at MediaTransparency.org shows that the NRTWLDF has received $1,785,000 from the John M. Olin Foundation Inc., a foundation that grew out of a family business manufacturing chemicals and munitions. NRTWLDF has also received $155,000 from the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation, $35,000 from the Castle Rock Foundation (itself funded by the Adolph Coors Foundation), $25,000 from the Jacqueline Hume Foundation, and $9,500 from the Roe Foundation. One has to wonder why a group that sells itself as fighting for the little guy needs all this money from very big guys. Bonior’s quote in the AP article was immediately followed by this: “Critics say that the voluntary recognition method allows union organizers to bully workers into signing union authorization cards because companies often grant unlimited access to the workplace.” The critics weren’t identified, but the next and final sentence in the article gives a clue: “‘Employees should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to unionize free of union and employer coercion,’ said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation.” This claim was included despite extensive documentation of employer coercion in the NLRB election process, documentation easily available from the website of Bonior’s group at http://www.americanrightsatwork.org That companies during election drives often do not grant union organizers access to the workplace was not mentioned in the article. The Reuters article showed up in Nexis as only four sentences, but can be found at CommonDreams.org in a version three times as long. CommonDreams used the headline “Labor Board Ruling Threatens Union Recruiting,” but the Houston Chronicle used “Federal Labor Board Looks Askance at Union Technique,” and stuck the article inside the Business section. The lead read: “A recent decision by federal labor relations overseers jeopardizes a recruiting strategy that unions have used with increasing success to try to stem their declining memberships.” The article presented the issue succinctly and included two quotes from the AFL-CIO. Of course, readers of the Houston Chronicle missed most of that. The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press provided perhaps the most extensive coverage of any papers, each running an article on the NLRB decision and mentioning it in other articles. The Detroit News ran an article that addressed the issue as if it applied only to the UAW, the union involved in one of the cases under review. The first opinion expressed in the article was: “Critics say workers often are coerced into signing cards and secret ballot elections are a fairer way to determine whether union representation is desired.” The article later quoted the President of the UAW, but referred to him as “lashing out at the decision.” The same article contained quotes from several named sources opposing card check, but only that one in support of it. To its credit, the News later ran a column by the UAW President. But it also ran an editorial — also carried by Copley News service — that began: “Workers should have the right to union representation. But they should also have the right to an election with a secret ballot to make that decision.” The Free Press began an article with admirable clarity: “The National Labor Relations Board sent a strong signal this week what a second term for President George W. Bush in the White House might look like. In what could be a blow to the United Auto Workers and other unions, the Republican-majority NLRB said it would decide whether to curtail a union’s ability to organize workers though a simplified process known as neutrality and card-check agreements.” But this article presented anti-card check opinions before any in favor. This makes a difference: the version of this article printed by the Richmond Times Dispatch did not include the pro-card check opinion. The Chicago Tribune was the largest newspaper to report the story, and it began its explanation of card check this way: “The so-called card-check process has become popular among unions as they have sought ways to avoid the regular secret ballot system carried out by the NLRB.” The Tribune included opinions from the AFL-CIO and the two dissenting NLRB members. The Toledo Blade and the Cleveland Plain Dealer also ran articles. And the Fort Wayne News Sentinel published a paragraph. A column by Robert Novak addressed this topic, and it showed up in Nexis from the Augusta Chronicle, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Novak turned reality upside-down and claimed that “Both Kerry and Edwards have joined Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in urging the National Labor Relations Board to adopt card check instead of secret ballots.” The reader would never guess that what is under consideration by the NLRB is the elimination of card check, a procedure that has been legal for almost 70 years. Novak described card check by making use of the same unnamed “critics” the Associated Press and the Detroit News had used: “Critics say that method results in coercion of workers by union organizers.” The Chattanooga Times Free Press added an editorial for good measure that began: “Workers at a given company are entitled to form or not to form a union. But it is common sense that if they vote on unionizing, it should be by secret ballot. That would reduce undue pressure either by management or by union backers to vote one way or the other. Sadly, what is obviously the right method is not always used.” Nexis found no editorials in support of keeping card check legal. Remarkably, Nexis does include 563 articles from the past 60 days mentioning the “liberal media.” The only in depth reporting found by Nexis, the only articles long enough and clear enough to give a newcomer a good understanding of the card check issue, were from Business Week, which ran one article on the NLRB’s decision and another on the UAW’s use of card check. To claim that the media’s treatment of the card check story is inadequate and unfair only makes sense if we are talking about the corporate media. The Nexis search also found an article from In These Times magazine that discussed the NLRB decision, the Employee Free Choice Act, and the positions of Kerry and Bush toward union organizing. And the independent media outlets not carried by Nexis have done a fine job. Stories can be found in a Google search from Workday Minnesota, the New Standard, Workers World, Oped News, People’s Weekly World, and many others, including the view from the right in Insight on the News, which ran a column by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Press Associates Incorporated (a news service used by many labor papers) published an article on the ILCA website: http://ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=76 and the ILCA also posted a column from the Center for American Progress: http://ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=100 David Swanson is Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA) at http://ILCAonline.org 4 × = twenty eight	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line60
__label__wiki	0.770992	0.770992	Lynne Abbes Alias: Mrs M.G.Rolley She grew up in Orinda and started to play tennis at the age of 9 at Orinda Country Club. Lynne remembers playing in national tournaments since she was 10, and ranked in the top ten as a junior player in the USTA. Lynne is a certified PTR and USPTA Elite Pro 1, member of the ITF International Coaches Commission. In August 1970, she was named to coach the all-male tennis team at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. This was the first time a woman was named to coach a men’s NCAA team. She was also hired as coach of the Oakland Aces, a World Team Tennis franchise owned by the Oakland A’s. She also served as Director of Women’s Tennis for the USTA for 16 years. An aggressive player known for her powerful serve, Abbes retired young in 1968 before the pro tennis era, gaining more renown as a coach. With over 40 years of teaching and coaching expertise at every level, Lynne has been Director of Tennis at Berkeley Tennis Club, Sleepy Hollow Tennis Club and Moraga Country Club; Director of Women’s Tennis for the United States; coached the Fed Cup, Pan Am Games and National Teams; and was named PTR National Coach of the year. Most recently, she served as the Director of Tennis at La Quinta Resort and PGA WEST, consistently ranked one of the top tennis resorts in the United States. Currently she is serving as the new director of tennis (since June 1, 2018) for Meadow Swim and Tennis Club. She is a renowned speaker and writer for Tennis magazine as well as many other publications; Lynne also appeared on the Tennis Channel with her own academy show. Lynne is a Lamorinda native and looks forward to moving back to our community.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line61
__label__wiki	0.738809	0.738809	Roy Herburger City of Elk Grove » City Hall » City Government » City Council » Key to the City » Recipients » Roy Herburger Roy Herburger has played an integral role in Elk Grove’s political landscape for fifty-six years. Born in Cambridge, Nebraska and raised in Stratton, Colorado, Roy inherited an interest in the newspaper business by working with his mom and dad – owners of the Stratton Press. A graduate from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Roy’s reporting career was put on hold to serve as a navigator, First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force during the late Korean era. In March 1959, he purchased the Elk Grove Citizen and Galt Herald and settled in the south county area. A resident of Elk Grove for over 58 years, Roy has four children, Elizabeth, David, Leah and Vanessa. As Owner, President and Publisher of Herburger Publications, Inc., Roy has reported the comings and goings in the Elk Grove area for five decades – at times being as much a part of the news as being the news reporter. His commitment to many community issues including education, incorporation, and the environment have earned him the respect and recognition of local, regional, and statewide organizations including a park and school named in his honor. His awards are too many to list here, but they are numerous including the California State Fair Star from the Future Farmers of America, and Citizen of the Year for both the cities of Galt and Elk Grove. His commitment to local business is well known. He is a former President of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce and the founder of the local Think, Shop, Live Elk Grove campaign. Roy remains closely connected with the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce and he was nominated for this honor by its Executive Director, Angela Perry. Please join me in extending a most sincere congratulations to our friend, Roy Herburger.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line64
__label__wiki	0.605655	0.605655	Downtown Eye Care \| The Contact Lens Department Downtown Eye Care & The Contact Lens Department We are an ocular health-centred office that has been servicing patients for over 40 years. We offer routine and emergency eye care, and contact lens fittings. Our office is situated adjacent to Downtown Ophthalmologists, which offers our patients an efficient and streamlined connection between professions. Our goal is to provide you with quality, personalized eye care to maximize your vision and protect your ocular health throughout all stages of life. As your advocate, we will be an active member of your healthcare team to ensure continuity of care. We strive to communicate effectively and develop a shared understanding of your eye care needs and treatment goals. Your visual welfare is at the core of our practice, and you can expect our guidance during your time with us. Historically, the Contact Lens Department has successfully managed a wide range of visual challenges such as keratoconus and high prescriptions with both conventional and complex specialty contact lenses. Gordon Taylor and Dr. Neil Haney have merged the Contact Lens Department with Downtown Eye Care to expand its scope of eye care. We are privileged to receive referrals from Montreal, Kingston, Ottawa, and beyond. Both Dr. Haney and Mr. Taylor enjoy fitting complex, custom contact lenses, which include specialty soft contact lenses, rigid gas permeable lenses, hybrid lenses (Duette®, SynergEyes®, UltraHealth®), and scleral lenses (Onefit 2.0®, Onefit MED®, Zenlens®, ZenRC®). Dr. Neil Haney Dr. Neil Haney spent his early years in Le Pas and Morden, Manitoba before attending high school in Winnipeg. He received his degrees in Biochemistry and Honours Biology from the University of Winnipeg in 2001. Dr. Haney then studied and worked at CancerCare Manitoba and the Institute of Cell Biology, where his research included the study of genetic malformations of the eye during early development. Dr. Haney received his Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of Waterloo in 2008. He completed his Ocular Therapeutics externship at the Parkland State Hospital in Dallas, Texas and gained clinical experience working at full-scope private practices in Calgary and Victoria prior to graduation. Since then, Dr. Haney has worked with both Ophthalmologists and Opticians to expand his clinical experience with the full scope of patient-centred eye care. He is an active member of the Canadian and Ontario Associations of Optometrists, as well as the Ottawa Society of Optometrists. Dr. Haney has a particular interest in specialty contact lenses. He loves to travel, and spent a year teaching English in Hiroshima, Japan. Dr. Haney plays recreational soccer throughout the year, so if you run into him at a Footy-Sevens game, be sure to say hi! Gordon Taylor Gordon Taylor grew up in Pembroke, the son of an optometrist and a public school music teacher. He attended the University of Waterloo, and then completed his Opticians course. Gord returned to Ottawa and worked for Derouin Opticians for six years, where he developed a keen interest in the new and emerging contact lens technology of the 1970’s. He caught the attention of Bausch + Lomb, who invited him to join them as the Eastern Ontario sales representative. This allowed Gord to develop lasting relationships with ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians in Ottawa, east to Cornwall, west to Lindsay and north to Pembroke. Gord has had the privilege of speaking at many conventions during his career, slotted between fishing trips and the occasional world adventure (Greece, Brazil, Italy, and best of all, the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia). Gord also took his private pilot’s license, and belongs to a members-only fish camp in Quebec. (Ask him where, he’ll tell you!) Gord is slowing down now, but still skis regularly at Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks and summers at L’Isle-aux-Allumettes with his wife Rosemary, the kids, and now the grandkids. Gord can still be seen in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays - come say hi if you’re in the area! Dr. Connie Chen Originally from Montreal, Dr. Connie Chen grew up in Whitby, Ontario and moved to the beautiful Ottawa area in 2008. She received her degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Optometry from the University of Waterloo in 2008, graduating on the Dean’s Honours List. During her summers, Dr. Chen had the privilege of working in the research labs of Dr. Joan Wither at Toronto Western Hospital and Dr. Sean Egan at The Hospital for Sick Children. In 2007, she completed her Ocular Therapeutics externship at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma. At graduation, Dr. Chen was awarded an Alcon Continuing Professional Education Award, the A.W. Cole Award for Clinical Excellence, and Second Prize of the Advanced Medical Optics General Proficiency Awards. She is an active member of the Canadian and Ontario Associations of Optometrists, as well as the Ottawa Society of Optometrists. Dr. Chen has a musical background in piano and violin, and holds an ARCT Performers diploma. She has one young son, whose song requests have challenged her to recall her once-impressive repertoire of Disney and musical theatre numbers. During her spare time, she is an avid reader with triple-stacked bookshelves. (The book was better.) 350 Sparks Street, Suite 216 K1R 7S8 Email: info@downtowneyecare.ca Copyright 2018 RQZDesigns - All rights reserved. RQZDESIGNS.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line67
__label__cc	0.71247	0.28753	Home Board of Trustees Minutes Board of Trustees minutes, 2002 Nov. 22 (Executive Session) Board of Trustees minutes, 2002 Nov. 22 (Executive Session) C-l-a (pm) (BT 12/14/02) EXECUTIVE SESSION, BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUSTEES OF Purdue Memorial Union November 22, 2002 The Board of Trustees of The Trustees of Purdue University convened in Executive Session in Room 306, Purdue Memorial Union Building, West Lafayette campus, at 12:45 p.m., Friday, November 22, 2002, pursuant to the following notice mailed to each member of the Board by the Secretary on October 28, 2002. Pursuant to call of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, there will be an executive session of the Board of Trustees of The Trustees of Purdue University convening at 12:30 p.m., Friday, November 22, 2002, Room 306, Purdue Memorial Union Building, West Lafayette campus, for discussion of pending or threatened litigation, to receive information concerning, and to discuss, the status of employees or other persons within the Board's jurisdiction, to discuss evaluation of individual employees and other matters as specified in and permitted by Section 6(a) of Public Law No. 57 of the 1977 Acts of the Indiana General Assembly (IC5-14-1.5-6[b]). Vice Chairman Townsend called the meeting to order. The following members of the Board were present as follows: J. Timothy McGinley, chairman, Michael J. Birck, Anna C. Dilger, Barbara H. Edmondson, John A. Edwardson, Lewis W. Essex, John D. Hardin, Jr., Mamon M. Powers, Jr. and W. Wayne Townsend. The absence of Trustee Moreau was approved by consent of the Board. The Trustees discussed a variety of personnel items. Pursuant to IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b), it is hereby certified that the Board discussed no subject matter in the Executive Session other than the subjects set forth above and deferred formal action to the public session of the Board. Purdue Identification Number BOTM20021122ES Title Board of Trustees minutes, 2002 Nov. 22 (Executive Session) Title on Piece Executive session, Board of Trustees of the trustees of Purdue University URI ark:/34231/c6r49pnw Purdue Identification Number BOTM20021122ES_page 1 Transcript C-l-a (pm) (BT 12/14/02) EXECUTIVE SESSION, BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY Room 306 Purdue Memorial Union November 22, 2002 The Board of Trustees of The Trustees of Purdue University convened in Executive Session in Room 306, Purdue Memorial Union Building, West Lafayette campus, at 12:45 p.m., Friday, November 22, 2002, pursuant to the following notice mailed to each member of the Board by the Secretary on October 28, 2002. Pursuant to call of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, there will be an executive session of the Board of Trustees of The Trustees of Purdue University convening at 12:30 p.m., Friday, November 22, 2002, Room 306, Purdue Memorial Union Building, West Lafayette campus, for discussion of pending or threatened litigation, to receive information concerning, and to discuss, the status of employees or other persons within the Board's jurisdiction, to discuss evaluation of individual employees and other matters as specified in and permitted by Section 6(a) of Public Law No. 57 of the 1977 Acts of the Indiana General Assembly (IC5-14-1.5-6[b]). Vice Chairman Townsend called the meeting to order. The following members of the Board were present as follows: J. Timothy McGinley, chairman, Michael J. Birck, Anna C. Dilger, Barbara H. Edmondson, John A. Edwardson, Lewis W. Essex, John D. Hardin, Jr., Mamon M. Powers, Jr. and W. Wayne Townsend. The absence of Trustee Moreau was approved by consent of the Board. The Trustees discussed a variety of personnel items. Pursuant to IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b), it is hereby certified that the Board discussed no subject matter in the Executive Session other than the subjects set forth above and deferred formal action to the public session of the Board. Add tags for Board of Trustees minutes, 2002 Nov. 22 (Executive Session) Post a Comment for Board of Trustees minutes, 2002 Nov. 22 (Executive Session)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line71
__label__cc	0.725253	0.274747	About M.E./M.Tech Program A Master of Engineering or Master of Technology or Master of Science in Engineering, can be either an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering. In some countries, the degree is awarded following completion of a curriculum which is career oriented, emphasizing practice as opposed to theory. Course details in different countries M.Tech Program in India M.Tech Program in Australia M.Tech Program in Canada M.Tech Program in United Kingdom M.Tech Program in United States M.Tech Program in France M.Tech Program in Germany Need more information? Ask us directly M.Tech in India In India, a Master of Engineering or Master of Technology or Master of Science in Engineering degree is a postgraduate program in engineering or technology field. This is generally a 2-year (2.5years for MSc Engg ) specialization program in a specific branch of engineering or a technical field. Students typically enter the ME/MTech/MSc Engg/Msc.(Tech) programs after completing a 4-year undergraduate program in engineering resulting in the award of a Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Technology degree, or a 5-year program in Science or Applied Sciences resulting in the award of a Master of Science degree. The ME/MTech/MSc Engg programs in India are usually structured as an Engineering Research degree, lesser than Ph.D and considered to be parallel to M.Phil. and M.S. degrees in Humanities and Science respectively. MTech and MSc Engg programs in India were started by some well known institutions with the aim of producing Research Engineers who can also get the position of "Technologist" in the Industries and Research Institutes. In electrical engineering, for example, areas of specialization might include: power systems, energy engineering, electrical machines, instrumentation and control, high voltage or power electronics, telecommunications, communication networks, signal processing, microelectronics. [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in India] M.Tech in Australia In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research degree requiring completion of a thesis. Like the Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), it is considered a lesser degree than Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). It is not to be confused with Master of Engineering Science or Master of Engineering Studies which are coursework master's degrees. Exceptions are Monash University which awards a Master of Engineering Science by either research or coursework, the University of Melbourne which offers a Master of Engineering by coursework, and the University of Tasmania which offer a Master of Engineering Science by research. The University of Melbourne accepted the first intake of Master of Engineering students in February 2010. The coursework Master of Engineering is offered in 11 specializations, and accepts graduates with three-year degrees in Science and Maths. The entry requirement is completion of a Bachelor's Degree at or above the second class honours level. Some universities do not offer direct enrollment into Doctor of Philosophy and students must first enroll in a lesser research degree before "upgrading". [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in Australia] M.Tech in Canada In Canada, the Master of Engineering degree is a graduate degree of typically two years length that involves coursework and a thesis or research paper of significant depth. Entrance to a MEng degree is a 4 year bachelor engineering degree. Some Canadian universities offer a Master of Engineering, or either a Master of Science or Master of Applied Science in engineering, or both. Master of Engineering degrees usually require more coursework and examination and less research, whereas Master of Applied Science degrees require less coursework and more research. However, this is not absolute since some universities only offer a Master of Engineering and some only offer a Master of Science or Master of Applied Science. Some universities differentiate only by the requirement to be resident and therefore assist in teaching/tutoring for a Master of Science Degree. [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in Canada] M.Tech in United Kingdom In the United Kingdom the MEng degree is the normative university-level qualification taken by people wishing to become chartered engineers registered with ECUK. The MEng degree represents the minimum educational standard required to become a chartered engineer, but there are other equally satisfactory ways to demonstrate this standard such as the completion of a BEng Honours and a subsequent postgraduate diploma or MSc, or by completion of the Engineering Council Postgraduate Diploma. ECUK's minimum requirement for entry to a recognised MEng course is BBB at A-level, compared to CCC for a BEng Honours course. Universities are free to set higher entry requirements if they wish. Some universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial only admit students to study for the MEng degree. (Their courses usually allow a student to leave with a Bachelor's degree after three years, but these shortened degrees are not ECUK-recognised and therefore do not count towards the educational requirements for becoming a chartered engineer.) Other universities, such as the University of Greenwich, University of Surrey and Brunel University, admit students to read for BEng Honours and MEng courses and allow students to change between the two during the early years of the course. The Open University offers the MEng degree as a postgraduate qualification but requires students to complete its course within four years of completing a BEng Honours degree. The Master of Engineering (MEng) is the highest award for undergraduate studies in engineering. In England, Northern Ireland and Wales this is a four-year course or a 'sandwich' five-year course (with one year spent working in industry). In Scotland, it is a five-year course. The Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) is usually a three-year course (four in Scotland), or can also include a year in industry. Many universities offer the BEng, and may then allow a transfer onto the MEng. The Engineering Council Graduate Diploma is set at the same level as the final year of a British BEng and its Postgraduate Diploma is set at the same level as the final year of a British MEng. The Graduateship in engineering, awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute (Institution Established in 1878 recognized by Royal Charter n.117 year 1900), is mapped to a British Bachelor of Engineering(Honours) -BEng(Honours)-degree. The Post Graduate Diploma is mapped to a British Master of Engineering (MEng) degree. The Membership in Engineering (MCGI)(NQF at Level 7) is a strategic Management/Chartered professional level and a Post Graduate Diploma, mapped to a British Master's degree, awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute. This will be supported by a minimum of ten years of seasoned experience (peer reviewed) in areas as the Engineering + a British Bachelor/Graduateship (or by CEng). Engineers who have been awarded a BEng(Ordinary) or BEng(Honours) and have appropriate training and experience in the work place are able to apply to become an Incorporated Engineer(IEng). If an engineer has studied beyond the BEng for an MSc or has an MEng, they may apply to become a Chartered Engineer (CEng), once they have completed the required amount of post graduate work-based competency training and experience. Competency and training requirements are met over a period of 4–8 years in practice for a total of 8–12 years education, training and professional responsibility. Formal structured post graduate training schemes such as the monitored professional development IMechE enable the Engineer in training to satisfy the requirements for Chartered Engineer faster. Chartered Engineer and Incorporated Engineer titles awarded by the Engineering Council UK, are broadly equivalent to North American Professional Engineer (PEng / PE) and Professional Technologist (PTech) designations, but with often a far greater geographical recognition. [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in UK] M.Tech in United States In the United States, the Master of Engineering degree is generally a professional degree offered as a coursework-based alternative to the traditional research-based Master of Science. It is typically a two-year program, entered after the completion of a 4 year Bachelor degree and many universities allow students to choose between the Master of Engineering and the Master of Science. The Master of Engineering degree is offered at many leading universities in the United States and is considered a terminal degree in the field of engineering. Some M.Eng. degree programs require a scholarly project in addition to coursework. Some Master of Engineering programs require additional courses beyond those required for Master of Science students in order to better prepare students for professional careers. These courses may include topics such as business fundamentals, management and leadership. [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in US] M.Tech in France In France, two diploma exist for 5 years of study in the field of engineering: the "Master's diploma in Engineering" (diplôme de master en sciences de l'ingénieur) which is usually delivered by Universities, and the Engineer's degree ("diplôme d'ingénieur") which can only be delivered by some Engineering schools, very selective schools which are generally smaller than universities. Both diplomas are at master's degree level. The "diplome d'ingénieur" usually prepare students for professional careers. Courses always include management, economy or more generally transverse courses. Training periods in industry or in laboratories are also required. The master in Engineering offers a more focused approach on a field of engineering. A PhD program can be joined by acquiring a master in Engineering or a "Diplôme d'Ingénieur". [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in France] M.Tech in Germany In Germany, the local engineer's degree (Diplomingenieur (Dipl.-Ing.), a first degree after 5 years of study) was abolished in 2010, and be replaced by postgraduate master's degrees (M.Sc. and M.Eng.). The first Master of Engineering courses were introduced in Germany in 2000 as result of the Bologna process. This type of master's degree is offered by German Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Sciences) universities and is typically a two-year program with application-oriented coursework and an applied research thesis. The entry requirement is the successful completion of aBachelor's Degree, or an equivalent from before the Bologna process, with good marks. [See the list of all available M.E/M.Tech courses in Germany]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line73
__label__cc	0.531435	0.468565	General Douglas H. Cooper General Cooper was appointed as the U.S. agent to the Choctaws in 1853 and to the Chickasaws in 1856. He consolidated the two agencies and moved them to Fort Washita. When the Civil War began, Cooper's friend, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, appointed him Choctaw-Chickasaw agent for the Confederacy. As commander of the Choctaw-Chickasaw Confederate mounted riflemen, he saw much action. He later was promoted to commander of the Indian Territory Military District, C.S.A., and was named Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President Davis. He died at Fort Washita in 1879 and is buried in an unmarked grave. Located on OK-199, 13 miles east of Madill in Fort Washita Cemetery ** Information and directions from Oklahoma Historical Society Other places listed in Bryan County BloomfieldChahta TamahaColbert FamilyColbert's FerryDurantFisher's StationFort McCullochFort WashitaGeneral Douglas H. CooperGeneral Douglas Hancock CooperNail's Crossing	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line76
__label__wiki	0.695976	0.695976	Thoughts on the body politic, the human soul, Billie Holiday songs (and other people's) -- with a lot more questions than answers Name: jeanne I have moved Body and Soul to a new site in a much... I don't think my brain has really shifted back to ... Communing with the redwoods I'll be gone all this... Colonialist mentality watch The natives are unbel... I just discovered a new factor in the California r... Speaking of potential California gubernatorial can... Anytime I say anything positive about Bush and Com... I have mixed feelings about the prospect of Ariann... George Soros has been reading Billmon. He will be ... I find it very hard to make sense of what Bush is ... "Mother was really left of center; women's suffrage was her great cause, and I remember appearing at all the local fairs carrying huge flocks of balloons that said 'Votes for Women.' I almost went up with them." -- Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) This will sound strange, I'm sure, but I don't feel the least bit sad about Hepburn's death. She did exactly what she wanted to do in life, did it with grace, made the world better for her presence, and lived nearly a century. And she seems to have had a pretty interesting mother as well. Could anyone ask for more? posted by jeanne \| 6:23 AM Cheerful news for Monday The president doesn't even know who's in charge of looking for WMDs in Iraq. Warren Rudman: We are all less safe because Bush hasn't put real money into preparing for terrorist attacks. Trish Wilson has an intriguing post up about a new study of how children are effected by a parent -- either the parent the child lives with, or the non-custodial parent -- moving away after a divorce. Among the surprising findings: Children who lived with their mothers, and whose fathers moved away, were marginally better off than children whose fathers continued to live nearby. Children who were in the custody of their fathers were much worse off than children in the custody of their mothers. There was very little difference in mental health between children who moved away with their mothers and children who continued to live near both parents. It's a very limited study, with a lot of flaws (discussed at length by divorce and custody researcher Judith Wallerstein), but it's interesting not so much for what it demonstrates as for the use its author is attempting to make of it -- supporting an upcoming California Supreme Court case that could make it harder for mothers to move away with their children. The LA Times reports that the Bush Administration is considering setting up a standing global peacekeeping force, led and trained by the U.S., and operating outside the auspices of the U.N. Trained by the U.S.? I guess that makes sense, now that we've so clearly proven ourselves masters of nation building. Okay, sarcasm aside, is it a good idea? Some of the words sound nice, but I still doubt it. There's probably a need for a permanent, well-trained, truly international peacekeeping force. It's obviously needed not only where the U.S. is fumbling -- in Afghanistan and Iraq -- but also in places where we've turned a blind eye, like the Congo and, increasingly, Liberia. The hesitant "probably" in the last paragraph stumbles over my not knowing exactly what such a peacekeeping force would do. Are we talking about keeping civilians from being slaughtered, as the UN did, at least somewhat successfully, in East Timor and Sierra Leone (with American help, although Republican opposition to peacekeeping is nothing new)? The UN is weak, underfunded, and far from perfect, but its presence has helped in many instances. Or are we talking about an entirely different order of peacekeeping: keeping the natives pacified so we can steal their resources? Donald Rumsfeld's sketchy plan looks suspiciously like the latter -- a colonial police force with a lot of the bodies provided by our client states. The giveaway is that the idea seems to grow primarily out of problems in governing Iraq. Nobody is considering working with the UN because the UN isn't interested in helping Bush and Company police the Empire. So Rumsfeld is looking for an alternative. In other words, some of us are looking at the situation in the Congo and Liberia and wondering why there isn't some sort of force that can stop thugs from killing people, and Rumsfeld is watching American soldiers tired and stressed to the limit, still dying in Iraq, and wondering if he can get some other nation's soldiers to do the dying. Both of us might use the term "peacekeeping force" to describe what's in our heads, but we're not in any way thinking of the same thing. As I was reading the article, a recent move the administration made suddenly seemed to make more sense. Why are we standing in the way of sending a UN force large enough to actually accomplish something to the Congo? Lots of people have asked why we aren't sending troops, but the barrier we're setting up goes a lot farther than that -- we're stopping other countries from beefing up the UN force. Why? I don't have a well-thought out answer, but I do have a concern tugging at me: If we plan to set ourselves up as the world's "peacekeepers," do we really have any interest in helping the UN succeed in its current attempt at peacekeeping? So the democracy in Iraq thing didn't work out too well, did it? Something I heard Tom Friedman say before the war came to mind this morning. He said -- casually, the horrible thing about Friedman is the nonchalance he summons while saying things like this -- that we might discover after the war that Iraq could only be governed by a thug, and that we might have to be "the new Saddam Hussein." From this morning's Washington Post: U.S. military commanders have ordered a halt to local elections and self-rule in provincial cities and towns across Iraq, choosing instead to install their own handpicked mayors and administrators, many of whom are former Iraqi military leaders. Now I really do understand the dilemma here. A popular election that brings a bunch of clerics with no respect for freedom or human rights to power is no accomplishment and not much (if any) of an improvement on the last thug's reign. I don't want to see a phony democracy rushed in. But, just out of curiosity, what exactly have we changed in Iraq? Ten weeks into the occupation, the cities and towns outside of Baghdad are largely administered by former Iraqi military and police officers and people who had close ties to the Baath Party. Iraqi generals and police colonels, for example, are now mayors of a dozen cities, including Samarra, Najaf, Tikrit, Balad and Baqubah. The U.S. military contends that these people have been vetted and were not in leadership positions under the old government or associated with crimes it committed. Sorry, but I find that last part pretty difficult to believe. We're purging Baath Party members from universities and the oil industry (hmmmmmmm...) -- two places where you'd expect to find plenty of people who just went along to keep their jobs -- but we continue to get along just fine with the Baathist police and military, and even install them in power. Pardon my ignorance, but in a police state, aren't the police likely to be the people you most have to worry about? If a country is a military monster -- Iraq was a dangerous military monster, right? A threat to the entire world? -- are generals likely to be uncompromised? Something stinks here. posted by jeanne \| 10:18 AM In the current issue of Art News, there's a fascinating article on what happened to Iraq's national museum, based on interviews with residents of the museum's neighborhood, museum officials, U.S. troops, and Americans involved in investigating the looting. Suffice it to say, the difficulty of protecting the museum from looting was greater than I appreciated, but plenty of opportunities to protect it were ignored. One intriguing detail: The looting apparently slowed down when looters discovered something nearby that they were far more interested in than art -- weapons. The chaos in Iraq still makes it impossible to assess the extent of the damage and loss of antiquities. Probably nobody's numbers should be taken too seriously yet, but Nawalla Al-Mutawalli, the museum's director, recently told a conference in Vienna that approximately 10,000 items are missing, including 47 masterpieces. The looting in Baghdad is over. The more important issue now is the continuing looting of archaeological sites throughout the country. The American military is guarding some of the sites (and some have Iraqi guards, but they haven't been paid recently), but protection has been spotty. After helicopter surveys, a National Geographic team concluded that 33 of 41 archaeological sites showed signs of looting. Some sites had been so thoroughly picked over, a member of the National Geographic team compared them to waffles and Swiss cheese. Guarding the sites is important. The National Geographic team has called for increased patrols and 24-hour guards by U.S. forces at the most important sites. But the fundamental problem is that the looting is being driven by collectors in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The looting would stop if there were no buyers. There are bills in both the House and Senate that attempt to decrease the market by banning the import of undocumented archaeological materials from Iraq, although the Archaeological Institute of America is endorsing only the House bill. The Senate bill, the AIA concludes, offers "no disincentive to looting." If you want to do a good deed today, you can contact your representative expressing support for the Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act (H.R. 2009). Meanwhile, the Bushies are living up to their well-deserved reputation for ignoring real problems, while never letting a tacky public relations opportunity pass by. One of the few undeniably happy moments in this archaeological fiasco came with the rediscovery of the unharmed Treasures of Nimrud. Obviously trying to counter a lot of the bad news coming out of Iraq, the U.S. announced that Iraq will have its first post-war art exhibition on the Fourth of July (no significance to the date, I'm sure). No invitations have been sent yet, but it's planned "for an audience of international media." The pictures will be breathtaking and I'm sure most of us will be so dazzled and so grateful to Bush and Company for protecting these precious objects that we'll forget about the unfound and destroyed ones, and the ones that continue to disappear. The MoveOn Primary results are up. Nobody got 50%, which I think is probably a good thing at this point. By the way, I had trouble voting and I heard that some people couldn't get in at all. Did anyone else have that experience? posted by jeanne \| 4:04 PM Don't try to convince Kevin about the evils of socialized medicine. He's having one of those something's wrong here moments. I had the same feeling eight years ago, when I was sent home from the hospital less than two days after a Caesarian, while I was still unable to turn over in bed without help. I was back in the emergency room three times the next night (with a newborn baby in my arms, and a 10 year old, thank God, settled at a friend's house for the night). I reached the point where I was begging the nurse not to send me home again. I could not stand any more pain that bad in one night. She sent me home. And don't get me started on my Italian brother-in-law's reaction to his experience with our wonderful American health care system when he was foolish enough to get sick while visiting his family over here. No matter what we told him about how things worked, he refused to believe us, because he was utterly convinced Americans could not be that stupid. Americans set the standard, right? Surely our health care system had to be better than Italy's? He learned better. (He did, however, admit that our waiting rooms were nicer.) I apologize for the lack of posts, but Blogger switched me over to its "new" version yesterday, at which point it stopped working completely. (The post below was posted this morning, but it wouldn't publish until now.) It seems to be working now, but unfortunately, I'm not. I'll be back with more later. posted by jeanne \| 12:21 PM Sam Heldman finds a bright side to Scalia's temper. Emma (responding to a fascinating post by Dave Pollard) expands on a previous post on corporations and morality. Why is it that corporations have all the rights of individuals (and then some), but none of the responsibilities? Speaking of the inordinate power of corporations, Paul Krugman's column today offers a frightening example of how unethical Republican pressure, mingled with corporate benefits, are creating a one-party political machine. The Washington Post has more details on the Republican arm twisting, and in the current Washington Monthly, Nicholas Confessore tells the whole scary story. Still on the subject of abdicating responsibilities, who do American citizens think they are -- corporations? A Rational Animal pulls together just a sample of recent articles on what life is like for Iraqis today, and what is being done in our name. Cholera. Radiation sickness. Mental patients without food. Painful reading, but it's our mess, and we're morally obligated to face it. One of these days I'm going to get around to writing a big fat post about children's literature, which is one of my deepest loves, despite the fact that I missed out on most of the best kiddie lit when I really was a kiddie. (Or maybe I love it now because I missed it then. There is something a bit odd about reading Charlotte's Web for the first time at 30, but it has its advantages.) Let me get through the new Harry Potter first. I'm going slower than the rest of you, because I have an eight-year-old, and the book is a tad beyond her reading level, so I have to read it aloud. That takes longer. On the other hand, it gives you a good indication of how much better Rowling's writing is getting. I hated reading the first book aloud. The prose was awkward and my tongue kept stumbling over it. Each book has gotten easier and more fun to read, and this one is heaven. (A hint to parents: Never let a kid talk you into reading any of the Doctor Doolittle books. The writing is awful. My son was addicted to them when he was four or five, and I felt like I was being tortured.) Anyway, apparently Eve Tushnet shares my love because she has an inspiring post with lots of great recommendations of children's books. Since we have a lot of the same favorites -- Dianna Wynne Jones, Madeleine L'Engle, E.L. Konigsberg, Beverly Cleary, Jean Merrill, E. Nesbit (although the previously mentioned 8-year-old recently broke my heart when she told me Five Children and It was boring) (It is not!) -- I'm going to have to check out several of Eve's suggestions that I wasn't aware of. But I'm not getting through even this short and feeble post on children's books without mentioning Natalie Babbitt, Jane Yolen, Avi, Elizabeth George Speare, Susan Cooper, Scott O'Dell, Lois Lowry, Robin McKinley, and my son's all-time favorite, Lloyd Alexander. The summer is short. Go find a kid (or the kid in yourself) and read. War and Peace and Then Another War Yesterday I read a heartbreaking article in the New York Times on the toll that war in the Congo has taken on children. The warlords have killed even childhood here. As militia groups battle for control of this provincial town in Congo's northeast, Bunia's young are paying a high price. The war has shuttered their schools, left them lame and hungry, killed their parents before their eyes. It has turned children into merciless killers and haunted them with memories of mayhem unfitting for the most hard-bitten grown-ups. Girls have been raped, toddlers have been butchered, babies left crying among dead bodies. A sickening irony hit me. I read the story on my computer. My computer would not run if it weren't for coltan. To a large extent, the war in the Congo is fueled by hunger for coltan. Ethnic hatred is certainly part of it, but ethnic tensions are constant. The massive killings happen because people have something valuable to fight over, something the West is willing to pay for, without much concern about who it's paying and what they're doing with the money. There were always diamonds and gold, but the technology boom of the 90s created an enormous need for coltan, which is used in computers, cell phones, play stations, DVD players, jet engines, and -- if you can stand another ironic note -- weapons systems. The DRC holds more than 80% of the world's coltan reserves. Did I mention Bechtel was there? More irony: If you live in the Congo, and can afford one, a cell phone might save your life. Which is pretty sad and strange, considering that it's at least part of what's part of what's putting your life in danger in the first place. Feeling guilty yet? Don't bother. Guilt won't help. The question is, what will? Victoria Brittain argued in The Guardian last week that no amount of intervention in the Congo would help. These complex African wars are wars of under-development. The countries' economic systems have collapsed. Education has broken down from decades without funding. Guns are readily available. Violence, often linked to drugs, has replaced tolerance. Respect for women and community has been eroded by the terror practices of the warlords. Repairing the social fabric in Ituri and elsewhere will be a long slow process taking generations, and it will be done by Congolese. The local Ituri pacification commission has created an interim assembly and is trying to get dialogue going. Congo's civil society has many associations doing peace work, despite almost no resources. Local leaders, especially women, need the basic means to work in 21st-century conditions -- a computer, a bicycle, or a radio. Ocha, the UN's humanitarian organisation, has played an important role in helping local initiatives. It should be given a bigger budget and a higher status than the military. That strikes me as a basically sound insight (and a necessary antidote to the more condescending mainstream attitude: Westerners must save the poor Africans from themselves), but an insight stretched beyond all reason. Long term, there's no doubt that local initiatives are the only things that will ward off future wars. But short term, somebody's got to get the weapons out of the hands of drugged children. The French-led UN peacekeeping force that's currently there isn't accomplishing much. Nobody, not even the French, thought it would. For the life of me, I've been unable to come up with any reason why the UN would send such a feeble force, a force everyone knows can't stop the killing. But one possible reason recently poked its head out from under its slimy rock. Kofi Annan has called for a larger force with a "more robust mandate," and France, several African countries, and all the members of the Security Council but one agree. Unfortunately, the one balking country has a bigger voice than any of the others. The United States has "not come to a decision yet" about expanding the force, but the US ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte, says that "no amount of peacekeeping forces are going to be able to resolve this situation if there isn't the political will both in the Congo and in the neighboring countries." Mr. Negroponte, meet Ms. Brittain. At least from the left there's an understanding of the need to give people tools to solve their own problems (although she missed one of the most important ones: give people the tools they need to protect themselves from our greed, as much as from each other.) The attitude drifting out of the White House seems to be: If the savages want to kill each other, there's nothing we can do about it. There's nothing we can do. Bull. There's a lot we can do, and ought to do. Adam Hochschild, who knows as much as anyone about the history of violence and exploitation in the Congo, has written about the need for three things, all of which seem reasonable to me: First, intervention. Whether or not the US should contribute troops is debatable. Our history in the Congo isn't exactly inspiring, and if Dick Cheney developed a sudden interest in saving the Congolese, I'd check to see what kind of investment Halliburton had in coltan. But certainly we shouldn't be the only country standing in the way of a larger UN force. That's despicable (but, unfortunately, not unprecedented). Second, outlawing "conflict minerals" -- not just diamonds, but coltan as well. Finally, stop arming Africa. According to Hochschild, during the 1990s, the United States gave more than $200 million worth of equipment and military training to African armies, including six of the seven that have troops involved in Congo's civil war. So what's stopping us? Mike Martinez has a theory, and given the history of this administration, it's not all that hard to believe: "It is in the economic interest of corporate America not only to ignore the bloodshed, but to prolong the misery." It's a theory Adam Hochschild agrees with: The Balkanization and war suit the amazing variety of corporations -- large and small, American, African and European -- that profit from the river of mineral wealth without having to worry about high taxes, and that prefer a cash-in-suitcases economy to a highly regulated one. An exhaustive report to the United Nations Security Council last year detailed the dozens of companies now making money from Congo's conflict, based everywhere from Ohio to Johannesburg to Antwerp to Kazakhstan. As a result, neither the United States nor any other nation now seems to have much interest in seeing a strong Congolese central government keep profits from the country's patrimony -- the word the White House uses about Iraq's oil -- mostly at home. I did mention that Bechtel was there, right? Cowboy Kahlil has a moving reminder of the simple goodness Americans are capable of. Everything you always wanted to know about WMDs in Iraq but were afraid to ask... They lied. Want to hear my Claude Rains imitation? I'm shocked. Shocked! U.S. Aid Plan Comes Up Short For months, President Bush has basked in praise from champions of the world's poor, such as the Irish rock star Bono, who have extolled the White House for ambitious proposals to boost foreign aid and provide treatment for African AIDS victims. But now, congressional appropriators appear poised to approve hundreds of millions of dollars less than the president requested for foreign assistance next year. And as Bush prepares to travel to Africa next month, aid advocates are starting to question whether the president has gotten credit for programs that aren't going to be funded at the levels the initial headlines suggested. I really am shocked. Just not surprised. Soldier Says U.S. Army Turns Away Burned Iraqi Children in Need of Help On a scorching afternoon, while on duty at an Army airfield, Sgt. David J. Borell was approached by an Iraqi who pleaded for help for his three children, burned when they set fire to a bag containing explosive powder left over from war in Iraq. Borell immediately called for assistance. But the two Army doctors who arrived about an hour later refused to help the children because their injuries were not life-threatening and had not been inflicted by U.S. troops. Now the two girls and a boy are covered with scabs and the boy cannot use his right leg. And Borell is shattered. "I have never seen in almost 14 years of Army experience anything that callous," said Borell, who recounted the June 13 incident to The Associated Press. A U.S. military spokesman said the children's condition did not fall into a category that requires Army physicians to treat them and that there was no inappropriate response on the part of the doctors. The incident comes at a time when U.S. troops are trying to win the confidence of Iraqis, an undertaking that has been overwhelmed by the need to protect themselves against attacks. Boosting security has led to suspicion in encounters between Iraqis and Americans. There are increased pat-downs, raids on homes and arrests in which U.S. troops force people to the ground at gunpoint measures the Iraqis believe are meant to humiliate them. In addition, Iraqis maintain the Americans have not lived up to their promises to improve security and living conditions, and incidents like the turning away of the children only reinforce the belief that Americans are in Iraq only for their own interests. For Borell, who has been in Iraq since April 17, what happened with the injured children has made him question what it means to be an American soldier. "What would it have cost us to treat these children? A few dollars perhaps. Some investment of time and resources," said Borell, 30, of Toledo, Ohio. "I cannot imagine the heartlessness required to look into the eyes of a child in horrid pain and suffering and, with medical resources only a brief trip up the road, ignore their plight as though they are insignificant," he added. Maj. David Accetta, public affairs officer with the 3rd Corps Support Command, said the children's condition did not fall into a category that requires Army doctors to care for them. Only patients with conditions threatening life, limb or eyesight and not resulting from a chronic illness are considered for treatment. "Our goal is for the Iraqis to use their own existing infrastructure and become self-sufficient, not dependent on U.S. forces for medical care," Accetta said in an e-mail to AP. The incident came to light after an AP photographer took a picture of Borell being comforted by a colleague after the doctors refused to care for the children. When Borell's wife, Rachelle Douglas-Borell, saw the photo, she contacted AP with a copy of a letter he sent her describing what happened. There are very good people in our military. And what they are being asked to do is shameful. Just go read the whole story. We are a better country than this. UPDATE: When I told my husband about this story, he had exactly the same reaction as Deb, and now I'm wondering about it. If you're a doctor in the military, are you first and foremost a soldier or a doctor? For Kevin: Sausage Sauce 1/2 lb. Italian sausage 1 can (16 oz.) tomatoes, chopped (or 5-6 medium, ripe tomatoes) 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste 3/4 tsp. basil 1/4 tsp. red pepper Remove casings from sausage. Cook meat slowly in a medium-sized pan, breaking up with a spoon, until no pink remains. Remove meat with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Remove all but 1 Tbl. drippings from pan. Saute onion and garlic in drippings until tender, about 5 minutes. Return sausage to saucepan; add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Bring to boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes, or until thickened. Having spent my entire voting life hanging on to the atrophying left wing of the Democratic Party, I normally take very little interest in who the party's presidential candidate will be, figuring that my preferences don't mean a hell of a lot. In the end, I will hold my nose and vote for a Democrat who is far to my right only because he's infinitely preferable to anything the Republicans have to offer. I'll probably end up doing the same thing next time, but considering the stakes in 2004, I'm taking a lot more interest in the candidates a lot earlier than I ordinarily would. Start here: If you aren't already on MoveOn's mailing list, please register here to vote in their PAC Primary next week. If one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, MoveOn will make an endorsement, which could be a boost to a progressive Democratic candidate. I'm not endorsing anybody (although leaning toward Dean), but I'm counting on the fact that few people reading this will head on over to vote for Lieberman (although, yes, I would hold my nose and vote for Lieberman over Bush -- I'm really that desperate to be rid of the worst president ever.) UPDATE There may be some serious problems with the MoveOn vote. Nathan Newman has the whole story. A BUNCH OF INTRIGUING STUFF I WOULD HAVE LINKED TO LAST WEEK IF I'D BEEN HERE, BUT I WASN'T, SO NOW I'M CATCHING UP Tim Dunlop on why blogging needs amateurs. Halley on how blogging could allow women to change the face of business. Emma, demonstrating the truth of Tim's argument about blogging amateurs, is an "economically challenged" non-economist who asks essential questions about corporate morality, or more precisely, what can be done about corporate immorality. And speaking of corporate immorality, while I was gone, the go-where-no-other-mainstream-paper-is-willing-to-go Los Angeles Times ran a good two part series on unkept promises about the economic and social benefits an oil pipeline running from Chad to Cameroon was supposed to have. I found the story interesting for several reasons (beyond the fact that this is the first time I've seen so much about the issue in the mainstream press), but the main reason is that the corporate misconduct here is not involvement with huge violations of human rights (as in the case of Unocal in Burma.) It's a far more typical example of people not benefiting from globalization in the way proponents -- and corporate beneficiaries -- claim. That's significant to me because, although this blog probably leaves a lot of people with the impression that I'm resolutely anti-globalization, I'm not. I'm still open to the conservative argument that corporate investment can aid development and respect for human rights, I just see far too many examples of corporations benefiting from, and encouraging the continuation of, gross human rights violations. And even when investment by multinationals doesn't help dictators, it's clear that its benefits don't remotely live up to the promises made. Like Emma, I wouldn't deny anyone's characterization of me as "economically challenged," but the more I learn about how these investments actually effect people's lives, the more anti-globalization I become. It's an issue that will become increasingly important as the US gets more and more involved in oil-rich West Africa. Two related articles: John B. Judis & Spencer Ackerman on the pre-war hyping of intelligence about Iraq's alleged WMDs, and Matthew Yglesias, writing at Tech Central Station, on why the failure to find WMDs is important. Ampersand's two posts (and cartoon) on Israel's wall. (And, as usual at Alas, the comments are as interesting as the original post.) Dennis Kucinich has a blog. Eleanor Robson, writing in The Guardian with more on Iraq's museum losses. According to a UNESCO report, most of the objects that have been returned since the looting were reproductions and forgeries, and among the losses were "some 2,000 finds from last season's excavations at sites in central Iraq." In a related vein, John Malcolm Russell, a member of the UNESCO team, wrote in the Washington Post about what is still missing, and Newsday reported on looting of archaeological sites in southern Iraq. And while I'm on the subject, the Washington Post ran an article awhile back on the return of the Warka Vase, one of the most important artifacts looted from the museum. But it turns out that the picture they ran of the vase does not resemble its current condition. I haven't looked at a newspaper since Monday morning, but as far as I can tell, nothing earth-shattering happened while I was gone. The headlines are dispiritingly similar to last week's. Soldiers are still dying in Iraq, and they still want to go home. They still haven't found any banned weapons in Iraq, but nobody cares (except John Kerry, who is displaying sudden outbursts of Rainsian -- or should that be Claudian? -- shock). Aung San Suu Kyi is still imprisoned in Burma (although, speaking of political prisoners, there's better news from Zimbabwe). Donald Rumsfeld still has foot-in-mouth disease. John Ashcroft is still a dangerous fool. The Brooklyn Bridge is still hanging in there. My only source of news for the past few days has been a half hour or so of morning television in the hotel lobby, consumed with coffee and bagel. I know that's how most people consume news, but it leaves you with a very odd sense of the world. On Tuesday, they had Fox on, and I learned that Jessica Lynch had been rescued (I know that's old news, but in the space of a half hour, Fox reminded me of it at least three times), a bishop was arrested for a hit and run accident that killed a man in Arizona, and Norma McCorvey (otherwise known as Jane Roe) now wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. That's old news, too, but Fox played it as the biggest story of the morning. Repeatedly. On Wednesday, they switched the television over to NBC, where Dolly Parton broke my heart. Being a Dolly Parton fan has always necessitated an ability to overlook kitsch in order to hear that glorious voice, but Dolly has now gone way beyond kitsch. Picture Dolly in a white miniminimini dress with star-spangled sleeves and red and white stripes covering a small portion of her breasts. She's singing an entirely forgettable "patriotic" song. I'm already cringing, when suddenly cowboys on white horses ride out in front of her, carrying American flags so enormous you expect them to topple over. I'm also wondering when the jousts begin. The lights are flashing stars on the ground. If Leni Riefenstahl ever decides to do a remake of "Nashville," this is what it will look like. You really don't want to see this before you've finished your first cup of coffee. On Thursday, the t.v. was back to Fox, and that bishop was still standing in front of a judge -- in exactly the same place, with exactly the same hangdog expression on his face as he had on Tuesday. Fox apparently has a limited supply of film clips, so Fox viewers inhabit a world in which newsmakers endlessly repeat the same action. After seeing the bishop over and over on Fox, all I know is that he had a broken windshield and no chin. I've watched enough old movies to know a guy with no chin is always guilty. I have a feeling I could watch this story forever and never go any deeper than what I "know" from that visual. Fortunately, I'm home now and I've got the remote control, and the t.v.'s not going anywhere near Fox. I'll be in San Diego for most of this week and I assume blogging from Sea World and the zoo would be a little tough. See you on Friday. I know I'm going to sound like a broken record, but humanitarian relief is not a public relations stunt -- not when it's done right. Today's New York Times and Washington Post have interesting articles about the military's mixed mission in Iraq -- hunting down stray Baathists and carrying out "high-visibility relief projects for Iraqi civilians." I'm afraid that adjective may be far too telling. The important thing is not effectiveness, but visibility. The military is patting itself on the back for re-building a school (out where everyone can see and admire their work) and giving away soccer balls, but local people seem pretty clear that law and order is their greatest need at the moment. That, along with the need to deal with sewage and acces to clean water, are priorities in most parts of Iraq. But clearing weapons dumps and collecting garbage don't give you pictures of handsome soldiers putting up a blackboard. And "the soldiers built a school" sounds a lot better than "the soldiers picked up the garbage" -- although the latter is, in most places, far more urgent. This is not what the military is good at, and their attempt to do the NGOs' job is hurting people. The head of Care International UK argued in the Telegraph today that the UN-led civil administration needs to take over quickly, because the humanitarian needs of Iraqis simply cannot be met under current conditions. Do you feel safer now? One of George Bush's top counterterrorism experts -- and the man who replaced Oliver North on Reagan's NSC -- quit shortly before the war in Iraq started because, in his words, "The administration wasn't matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They're making us less secure, not more secure. As an insider, I saw the things that weren't being done. And the longer I sat and watched, the more concerned I became, until I got up and walked out." He now works for John Kerry, and is trying to make this country safer by getting his former boss out of office. UPDATE: Tristero has more on members of the Bush Administration who have left because of the boss's incompetence. One of the reasons I like the Los Angeles Times better than the New York Times is that they have the courage to put articles like this one on the front page: A two-part look at Unocal's involvement with the Burmese junta's brutal treatment of people who lived in the path of the Yadana pipeline, which was built by Unocal, Total, and the Burmese government's Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. Oddly enough, the NYT also ran a piece on the Unocal case today, but it was in the Business section, and was written to reflect the concerns of businesses and the Bush administration. The NYT article, unlike the one in the LAT tells you almost nothing about why people are bringing these suits. It's almost a parody of the different focuses of the two newspapers: The LAT deals with the human rights involved, while trying to be fair in its assessment of how much responsibility Unocal bears. The NYT worries about the problems of stockholders, while tossing in a few quotes from human rights advocates. Same story, with very different points of view. There is a really important issue at stake here: To what extent is a company responsible for grotesque human rights violations committed by its partners and with its knowledge? And how much knowledge does the company need to have about the crimes before it can be considered complicit? Unocal isn't unique and that's why the case is so important. In a sidebar in the print edition, the LAT cites seven other current cases (others have been dismissed), in which foreign citizens have invoked the Alien Tort Claims Act against corporations that they accuse of human rights violations: In Guatemala, banana workers charge that Del Monte conspired with local vigilantes to have them kidnapped and tortured in order to stop a labor demonstration. In Colombia, relatives of three union leaders killed by paramilitary death squads are accusing Drummond Co. of complicity in the murders. In Ecuador, Oriente Indians accuse Texaco of dumping toxic petroleum wastes into their bathing, fishing, and drinking water, causing injuries and illnesses. In Nigeria, Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. is accused of conspiring with Nigerian authorities in abuses of ethnic Orgonis. In South Africa, more than 100 corporations (in several different suits) are accused of aiding apartheid. The companies include Ford, IBM and Bank of America. In Sudan, Christians accuse Talisman Energy of aiding military forces in an ethnic cleansing campaign. People in the Indonesian province of Aceh accuse ExxonMobil of complicity in kidnappings, tortures, rapes, and murders committed by the Indonesian military, which was protecting an ExxonMobil plant. It's not an issue that's going away, and the LA Times deserves a lot of credit for devoting space and attention to it. UPDATE: Part Two I'm rushed today, and won't have time to post much, if anything, but there are some fascinating posts up about the museum and archaelogical site looting in Iraq. Go read Hesiod, Trish Wilson, and Sean Malloy. The most important point about this story, I think, is this: The looting has not stopped. UPDATE: Teresa Nielsen Hayden explains it all for you. I've been writing a lot lately about human rights, which can be extremely draining. It's a subject I've cared about for most of my life, but I understand why most people don't share my fanatic interest. There is only so much you can learn about the horrors human beings are capable of inflicting on each other before you scream, "Stop! I don't want to hear any more." Sometimes just carrying the names and deeds of despots and thugs around in your head makes you feel corrupted. I want to mention a book that's been an oasis for me to return to each day. Blogger Brooke Biggs recently published Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits, a series of portraits of faith-based activists -- Buddhists and Catholics, Hindus and Muslims, Baha'is, Jews and Quakers. Some of the activists -- like Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, and Cesar Chavez -- are well known. Others, like Hindu anti-globalization activist Vandana Shiva, I had never heard of. But after a few hours of doing research on human rights issues, it's been literally a God-send to have these positive stories of people putting their faith into action to return to, and an inspiration to see how much the different faiths have in common. And as if that weren't enough, the book is a treasure trove of resources for spiritual activists -- web pages and addresses of organizations, and books for further reading. It's really an inspiring and sanity-saving book. Several weeks ago, Steve Bates linked to some articles about plans to turn Guantanamo into a combination prison, courtroom, and execution chamber. Speedy justice. To be honest, I wasn't sure how trustworthy the sources were, and the "plans" sounded pretty tentative, so I hoped the story was just a bit of paranoia from the left. Uh-uh. Via Beautiful Horizons, which does a great job of covering human rights issues, I discovered that there's opposition on the right to John Ashcroft's attempt to protect Unocal from a suit by Burmese citizens. Bravo! Go read Instapundit and Winds of Change on the issue. "Even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man." -- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom From Fear Burma seems to have gotten the blogosphere's attention lately -- and the press's -- which is entirely a good thing. When it comes to human rights, publicity is one of the most important tools, and the detention (and possible injury) of Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (as well as other missing, detained and injured supporters) has, fortunately, gotten plenty of publicity. Significantly less than Laci Peterson, of course, but if you pay much attention to human rights stories, you have to be grateful for the times when they get as much attention as Burma is currently getting. The world is watching. So to speak. Taking into frustrating account the fact that the world has always had a short attention span when it comes to human rights. There are, God help us, human rights violations the world is not watching at all. I certainly wouldn't say I'm not worried about the situation in Burma, and about the safety of Suu Kyi. But the Burmese crackdown has many qualities that make it relatively easy to deal with. ("Relatively" being the operative word -- what's going on is undeniably frightening.) The first positive is Suu Kyi herself. If you're trying to gain the world's attention about a human rights violation, it always helps to have a charismatic, English-speaking, Western-educated, pro-democracy leader. (Photogenic doesn't hurt either.) It is easy for the world to care about someone as heroic and inspiring as Suu Kyi (or, similarly, Saad Eddin Ibrahim in Egypt -- not that we necessarily listen to such people, but we at least care about their safety). Publicity is a lot harder to get when the victims are poor, uneducated, anonymous, and have no articulate spokesperson. Equally important, Burma has few powerful friends. There are advantages (or disadvantages, from the point of view of the junta) to having little strategic or economic value. Although the Bush administration has never shown much interest in the atrocities committed by the military government there, the outcry over Suu Kyi's arrest has been universal. It's not a liberal cause or a conservative cause, but a human one. All human rights cases ought to be like that, but unfortunately they're not. George Bush, to his credit, called for Suu Kyi's release within days of her detainment. There have been calls for new sanctions by both the European Union and the United States, and support for the sanctions in Congress crosses party lines. (Just a word about sanctions and boycotts: They can, of course, and often do, backfire, hurting the very people they're intended to help. But in this case, the Burmese opposition has been unwavering in its support for economic action against the junta. Bishop Tutu recently compared the campaign to South Africa, where opposition leaders also called for sanctions, and where they aided the struggle to bring down apartheid. As in the case of South Africa, Western supporters aren't simply acting on their own, protecting their own delicate sensibilities by not doing business with a "bad" company or country -- admittedly, an occasional liberal failing. Unless someone can convince me they're wrong, I'll assume Suu Kyi and her supporters have the best understanding of what will help them the most. ) I expect whatever can be done to support Suu Kyi and the Burmese opposition will be done. That may not be much, but it's a lot more than can be achieved in the case of many human rights violations. (That does not, needless to say, release anyone reading this from the responsibility to contribute to the cause.) The closest thing to support for Burma you'll find in powerful circles is in the Justice Department, where John Ashcroft has filed a brief to protect companies like Unocal from the legal consequences of aiding Burmese atrocities. It's a horrible message to be sending right now, and I hope that while the world's attention is focused on Burma, Ashcroft's move will be more publicized and so widely and loudly condemned that he's forced to back down. This is the time to stand up for human rights, not corporate rights. And as Jimm, over at Project for a New Century of Freedom demonstrates, Ashcroft may not be the only junta enabler in the Bush Administration. Unocal wasn't the only American company involved in the infamous Yadana pipeline case that Ashcroft is trying to cut off. Halliburton was there, too. But that kind of "support" is limited and roundabout in comparison to the kind of support other human rights violators get. The situation in Burma is horrible, but it could be even worse. Take Indonesia. (To be continued.) I just discovered a wonderful idea for a human rights campaign. Last year, George Bush not only unsigned the International Criminal Court treaty, he conducted a childish campaign to destroy it. He didn't destroy it. The court came into existence -- without U.S. participation -- in July of last year, although American opposition is certainly a drawback. Now here's the campaign: The ICC has set up a Victims Trust Fund to provide reparations for victims of atrocities in order to help them rebuild communities and continue with their lives. In and of itself, it's a good cause to donate to, but USA for ICC had an idea to make the donation even more effective. They're asking people who donate to make a copy of the check and mail it, along with a letter supporting the ICC and a foreign policy that takes human rights into consideration, to their senators. In doing so, you'll let your representative know that you care about human rights. Today's Los Angeles Times has an editorial and two op-eds that are essential reading for anyone interested in human rights. The first deals with the Bush Administration's attempt to eviscerate the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreigners to bring suit in American courts for violations of international law, including human rights abuses. It's one of the few tools victims have, but it's being used to go after corporations that benefit from crimes against humanity -- in this case Unocal in Burma -- and holding businesses accountable is not popular in this administration: By trumpeting the importance of human rights in public while quietly taking actions that shield the most egregious rights abusers from legal accountability, President Bush comes across as strong on human rights, without bearing the burden of sacrificing something for the cause. If this administration truly cared about human rights values, it would praise the law for its ability to make abusers pay. It would abandon its line that human rights lawsuits ruffle too many diplomatic feathers, instead adopting a clear policy that U.S. courts must be tough on rights abusers and the governments that sponsor them. It would hold corporations to the ethical standards it has purported to support with rigor since a string of accounting scandals moved Bush to declare last July that "there is no capitalism without conscience." The second piece, also focusing on the Justice Department's attack on the Alien Tort Claims Act, is by Ka Hsaw Wa, a Burmese immigrant, and co-founder and co-director of Earth Rights International, which is co-counsel in the Unocal case. He states eloquently the simple moral issues involved here: In Burma, under the military dictatorship, stories of rape, summary execution, torture and forced labor are common. But in the Tenasserim region, where the population is largely ethnic Karen, those stories often involve a natural-gas pipeline run by the French company Total and California-based Unocal. These companies brought the military in to help clear the pipeline corridor and to provide security. The military made the lives of villagers miserable, even unlivable. Villagers were forced to carry heavy loads for hours and to grow food for soldiers even though they hardly had enough for their own families. Young women were raped. Families and entire villages were relocated for the sake of the pipeline. When one villager fled from forced labor on the project, soldiers went to his home and kicked his wife so hard she dropped their infant daughter into a cooking fire. The baby later died. The villagers I interviewed in the area consistently connected these abuses to the presence of Westerners and work on the pipeline. The Burmese soldiers committed these atrocities on behalf of their pipeline partners. ..........edit................ For our clients — the villagers I met while I was hiding from the Burmese regime — this law is the only hope for a modicum of justice. Burma, after all, does not have a functioning legal system. Crime and punishment is determined by the military alone. Is it consistent with U.S. ethical sensibilities to allow an American company to aid and abet human rights crimes? If not, then the Unocal trial now scheduled to start in July in California should be allowed to go forward without interference from business or from the administration. The op-ed piece raises important issues not only in its reminder of the American corporate connection to the current human rights problems in Burma, but also in its reminder that the human rights issues in that country don't center entirely around the saftety of Suu Kyi. She's the most visable symbol of the military government's repression. But even if she is released, the repression remains. Finally, the LAT editorializes on the "shame" of Indonesia's brutal crackdown in the province of Aceh. The LAT gives the Bush Administration credit for trying to put pressure on Megawati Sukarnoputri, however, in the spirit of its two forceful op-eds today, it might also have mentioned that the same sort of suit that was brought against Unocal over its conduct in Burma, was also brought against ExxonMobil for human rights violations in Aceh. Bush and Company stepped in to protect the abusers in that case as well. (More later on Burma and Aceh) The Los Angeles Times picks up on a topic I mentioned on Saturday: the destruction of both public and private sectors in Iraq, which creates a world beneficial for foreign businesses, not for Iraqis. Some experts express concern that free-market capitalism, while efficient at channeling money to its most productive use, may be too much, too soon for a country struggling to emerge from decades of failed central planning. Nearly 500,000 Iraqis are losing government paychecks as the coalition dismisses Hussein's military forces, dissolves his Information Ministry and removes Baath Party loyalists from other agencies. Thousands more may join them as inefficient state-operated industries fall by the wayside. Iraq's emaciated private sector will suffer casualties too. Some experts predict that home-grown merchants, traders, builders and service providers will be squeezed out by foreigners with more experience, deeper pockets and closer ties to the United States and its allies. One industrious Iraqi, who tried to install a cellular telephone network and launch a commercial airline, was told by the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance that such activities were "subject to high-level approval, and remain off limits to upstarts for now." That sounds a lot like the Pentagon choosing who gets to compete. For the time being, at least, no Iraqis need apply. But the news for hard-working and ambitious Iraqis is not all bad. The LAT reports that there's plenty of money to be made hustling Pepsi. Hesiod found a really inspiring story: Abdel Mohsen Hammouda is an Egyptian political activist who's been suing the Egyptian repeatedly for decades, over various human rights issues. With each small victory, he expands the rights available in an extremely repressive country. UPDATE: Jonathan Edelstein sees Abdel Mohsen Hammouda as part of an encouraging trend: I noticed the article about the Egyptian civil rights lawyer a few days ago, and linked to it as part of a larger post about judicial reform in Egypt. There's definitely something happening there - the ruling party has agreed to abolish the state security courts, and the Court of Cassation (constitutional court) has handed down several landmark civil rights and electoral rulings. The most recently appointed CC judge, Tahani el-Gebali, is not only Egypt's first woman judge but a vocal member of the opposition who has made a career out of suing the government. (No, I can't imagine Bush appointing someone like that either.) I've followed Egyptian politics with a sometimes-morbid fascination for several years, and there's a great deal more to Egyptian civil society and rule of law than most people realize. The lower courts are subject to a great deal of governmental interference, but the appellate courts -- particularly the Court of Cassation -- are famously independent. In this, the CC sometimes reminds me of the Israeli Supreme Court - both live up to their own ideals more nearly than any other governmental institution in their respective countries. Egypt is still a repressive society, but the signs these days are pointing in the right direction. Someone explain the ethics of this to me: The Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center was left unguarded for several days, and was looted. There are two concerns growing out of that little catastrophe. One is the fear that terrorists could have gotten their hands on radioactive materials to produce dirty bombs. The second is concern about the health and safety of people in the surrounding area, who are showing symptoms of radiation poisoning. Both, in my view, are pretty damn important. It took awhile, but finally the Bushies have let inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency back into Iraq to inspect the damage. But under restrictions imposed by the British and American authorities, they won't be allowed to survey levels of contamination in surrounding villages. Other than petulance or contempt for the health of Iraqis, is there an explanation for that restriction? Leah, subbing at Eschaton, looks at the opening the war has created for privatizing Iraq's water supply. In addition to all of Leah's interesting links on water privatization, you might want to look at this article on Bechtel -- which currently has the contract to repair Iraq's utilities -- and its history of "water woes." The soft bigotry of low expectations Maybe my expectations of my country are too high. No surprise there. I have high standards. God knows, my kids would surely tell you that I expect far too much from them (although most of the time they rise to the occasion). But I refuse to apologize for the fact that I expect hard work, a sense of responsibility, decent conduct, honesty, kindness, and fairness from my brilliant and wonderful children. They deserve not to be sold short. And, with the same kind of love, I expect my brilliant and wonderful country to uphold democratic values, and, yes, to be responsible, honest, kind, decent, and fair. I wouldn't accept, "Hey, at least I'm not in jail," from my children, and I won't accept "Hey, at least America's better than the Baathists" from my country. My kids are capable of more than that, and so is my country. Ha! I wish I had written this. And this, too: Sex Tips From Donald Rumsfeld Here's a pleasantly surprising stereotype buster: religious pluralism in Syria. UPDATE: Jonathan Edelstein notes that Syria's "religious pluralism" doesn't extend to Jews. God, no. You can't have Greg Boyle. We need him. Just asking... Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense? "In the three decades since Watergate, this is the first potential scandal I have seen that could make Watergate pale by comparison. If the Bush Administration intentionally manipulated or misrepresented intelligence to get Congress to authorize, and the public to support, military action to take control of Iraq, then that would be a monstrous misdeed. " -- John Dean Ex-Official: Evidence Distorted for War The Bush administration distorted intelligence and presented conjecture as evidence to justify a U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a retired intelligence official who served during the months before the war. "What disturbs me deeply is what I think are the disingenuous statements made from the very top about what the intelligence did say," said Greg Thielmann, who retired last September. "The area of distortion was greatest in the nuclear field." Thielmann was director of the strategic, proliferation and military issues office in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. His office was privy to classified intelligence gathered by the CIA and other agencies about Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear programs. In Thielmann's view, Iraq could have presented an immediate threat to U.S. security in two areas: Either it was about to make a nuclear weapon, or it was forming close operational ties with al-Qaida terrorists. Evidence was lacking for both, despite claims by President Bush and others, Thielmann said in an interview this week. Suspicions were presented as fact, contrary arguments ignored, he said. Intelligence Historian Says CIA 'Buckled' on Iraq The CIA bowed to Bush administration pressure to hype the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs ahead of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, a leading national security historian concluded in a detailed study of the spy agency's public pronouncements. "What is clear from intelligence reporting is that until about 1998 the CIA was fairly comfortable with its assessments on Iraq," John Prados wrote in the current issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "But from that time on the agency gradually buckled under the weight of pressure to adopt alarmist views," he said. "After mid-2001, the rush to judgment on Iraq became a stampede." Bush Certainty On Iraq Arms Went Beyond Analysts' Views During the weeks last fall before critical votes in Congress and the United Nations on going to war in Iraq, senior administration officials, including President Bush, expressed certainty in public that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, even though U.S. intelligence agencies were reporting they had no direct evidence that such weapons existed. In an example of the tenor of the administration's statements at the time, the president said in the Rose Garden on Sept. 26 that "the Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons. The Iraqi regime is building the facilities necessary to make more biological and chemical weapons." But a Defense Intelligence Agency report on chemical weapons, widely distributed to administration policymakers around the time of the president's speech, stated there was "no reliable information on whether Iraq is producing or stockpiling chemical weapons or whether Iraq has or will establish its chemical agent production facilities." The disparities between the conviction with which administration officials portrayed the threat posed by Iraq in their public statements and documents, and the more qualified reporting on the issue by intelligence agencies in classified reports, are at the heart of a burgeoning controversy in Congress and within the intelligence community over the U.S. rationale for going to war. The failure of the United States to uncover any proscribed weapons eight weeks after the end of the war is fueling sentiment among some Democrats on Capitol Hill and some intelligence analysts that the administration may have exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq. Some Iraq Analysts Felt Pressure From Cheney Visits Vice President Cheney and his most senior aide made multiple trips to the CIA over the past year to question analysts studying Iraq's weapons programs and alleged links to al Qaeda, creating an environment in which some analysts felt they were being pressured to make their assessments fit with the Bush administration's policy objectives, according to senior intelligence officials. With Cheney taking the lead in the administration last August in advocating military action against Iraq by claiming it had weapons of mass destruction, the visits by the vice president and his chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, "sent signals, intended or otherwise, that a certain output was desired from here," one senior agency official said yesterday. Amazing. Has all the bashing Judith Miller got for shoddy reporting from Iraq actually had an effect? Today she manages to say pretty definitively that the evidence that the two trailers found in Iraq were "mobile labs" is fanciful: American and British intelligence analysts with direct access to the evidence are disputing claims that the mysterious trailers found in Iraq were for making deadly germs. In interviews over the last week, they said the mobile units were more likely intended for other purposes and charged that the evaluation process had been damaged by a rush to judgment. "Everyone has wanted to find the 'smoking gun' so much that they may have wanted to have reached this conclusion," said one intelligence expert who has seen the trailers and, like some others, spoke on condition that he not be identified. He added, "I am very upset with the process." The Bush administration has said the two trailers, which allied forces found in Iraq in April and May, are evidence that Saddam Hussein was hiding a program for biological warfare. In a white paper last week, it publicly detailed its case, even while conceding discrepancies in the evidence and a lack of hard proof. Now, intelligence analysts stationed in the Middle East, as well as in the United States and Britain, are disclosing serious doubts about the administration's conclusions in what appears to be a bitter debate within the intelligence community. Skeptics said their initial judgments of a weapon application for the trailers had faltered as new evidence came to light. It must have been really painful for Judith Miller, of all people, to call the president a liar. UPDATE: Gabriel, A Berkeley Economist Against Empire, doesn't think Judith Miller deserves the credit for a change of heart that I gave her. John Ashcroft must be the meanest and most clueless man in America. Meanest: The Justice Department barred gay and lesbian DOJ employees from holding a ceremony to celebrate Gay Pride Month because of a new policy prohibiting events not recognized by White House proclamation. A White House spokesman said this administration "does not believe we should be politicizing people's sexual orientation" and the president, unlike his predecessor, has not recognized Gay Pride Month. He has, however, recognized National Prayer Day. Sexual orientation is a personal matter, but prayer, as every good Republican knows, is entirely political. Most Clueless: How out of it do you have to be to believe that when you're dealing with suicidal terrorists, the best weapon you have is increasing the number of crimes subject to the death penalty? Yeah, the prospect of death -- that will deter them. A week ago, the New York Times published an article I found fascinating on the current economy of Iraq. I didn't post it because, having no understanding whatsoever of economics and business, I had nothing remotely intelligent to say about it. And yet something about the article bothered me. It focused on what a great time this was for any Iraqis with money, because the country is being flooded with consumer goods from all over the world that weren't available under Saddam Hussein. Televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and satellite phones were pouring in so fast that the prices were rapidly dropping. Hoping to get even more stuff coming in, and " improve business and investment in Iraq," American officials planned a six-month tariff moratorium on imports. The problem is that Iraqi manufacturers can't begin to compete with the imports. Their equipment is outdated. In some cases, factories were destroyed during the war. The NYT doesn't mention it, but the fact that electricity is still sporadic can't help either. The NYT presented this situation as a "challenge" for the occupying power: "American officials are desperate to get people back to work. That goal will be badly frustrated, though, if Iraq's manufacturing enterprises crumble in the face of new competition." But a little voice in the back of my head was wondering how much of a problem this administration saw in an Iraq unable to rebuild its own economy, unable even to feed itself, an Iraq dependent on foreign imports and investment. Naomi Klein had the same thought, and takes it a lot farther: As the Bush Administration becomes increasingly open about its plans to privatize Iraq's state industries and parts of the government, Bremer's de-Baathification takes on new meaning. Is he working only to get rid of Baath Party members, or is he also working to shrink the public sector as a whole so that hospitals, schools and even the army are primed for privatization by US firms? Just as reconstruction is the guise for privatization, de-Baathification looks a lot like disguised downsizing. Similar questions arise from Bremer's chainsaw job on Iraqi companies, already pummeled by almost thirteen years of sanctions and two months of looting. Bremer didn't even wait to get the lights back on in Baghdad, for the dinar to stabilize or for the spare parts to arrive for Iraq's hobbled factories before he declared on May 26 that Iraq was "open for business." Duty-free imported TVs and packaged food flooded across the border, pushing many stressed Iraqi businesses, unable to compete, into bankruptcy. This is how Iraq joined the global "free market": in the dark. Paul Bremer is, according to Bush, a "can-do" type of person. Indeed he is. In less than a month he has readied large swaths of state activity for corporate takeover, primed the Iraqi market for foreign importers to make a killing by eliminating much of the local competition and made sure there won't be any unpleasant Iraqi government interference -- in fact, he's made sure there will be no Iraqi government at all while key economic decisions are made. Bremer is Iraq's one-man IMF. And Iraq is going to be Disneyland for the greedy. "Beans for the obedient; bullets for the rest." -- Efrain Rios Montt Yesterday, while looking for some explanatory links for Donald Johnson's letter, I came across a snippet of somewhat old and not terribly important news that is, nevertheless, ironic and revealing. It cuts to the heart of what's been wrong with American foreign policy for a long, long time. Donald mentioned Ronald Reagan's support for Jose Efrain Rios Montt, the Bible-thumping Guatemalan dictator (and School of the Americas graduate) whose "scorched earth" campaign in the early '80s tortured and killed political opponents and razed Mayan villages, forcing people to live in the jungle, where many died of starvation, disease and hypothermia. During the terms of Rios Montt (1982-83) and his predecessor, Romeo Lucas Garcia (1978-82), tens of thousands of indigenous people were murdered, and over one million were displaced. The paired dictators represented the brutal peak of a 36-year civil war that killed 200,000 civilians, with the assistance of the United States: Often referred to as the "Silent Holocaust", the campaign left 200,000 civilians dead at the hands of the military death squads, and 440 Mayan villages wiped from the map. Extreme torture became commonplace as a method of coercion and intimidation. The union movement in the capital was crushed, and the literacy and rural health movements were destroyed as well. Repression against leaders of the Catholic Church was so intense that nuns and priests were finally evacuated from the Mayan highlands, their abandoned Churches used as barracks and often torture centers by the military. Thousands of catechistas were "disappeared". Hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans either fled the country or fled inwards into the jungles, forming the CPRs, or civilian resistance populations. Many others chose to pick up weapons and leave for the mountains to join the U.R.N.G. forces. The United States role throughout this time period was hardly illustrious. Despite the extreme and obvious repression, the U.S. continued to send massive military aid throughout most of the war. Even when such aid was temporarily suspended, arms and equipment supplies continued. The School of the Americas continued to train and graduate Guatemalan officers who became notorious for their human rights violations. Training manuals used clearly indicate practices which would violate human rights. Meanwhile, CIA officials worked closely with Guatemalan intelligence officers linked to death squad activities. Many such officers were on CIA payroll as "assets" or paid informants, despite their well known record for serious human right violations. The CIA, moreover, knowingly paid "assets" for information obtained through the use of kidnapping, torture and extrajudicial execution. Worse yet, it was not unusual for North Americans to enter areas where prisoners were being secretly detained and tortured, ask some questions, then leave the victims to their fates. The Red Cross, United Nations, police and family members were never notified. Think of it as an "American Rwanda." In 1999, Guatemala's UN-backed Truth Commission issued a report stating that 83% of identifiable victims of massacres and serious human rights violations during the civil war were Mayans and that the atrocities were a deliberate policy of the Guatemalan government. Only 3% of human rights violations were attributable to guerillas. Ninety-three percent were carried out by the state. It's very clear: General Efrain Rios Montt was responsible for genocide. The Truth Commission also found that the United States knowingly gave Guatemala aid that supported the genocide. That's the old news. Times have changed -- although far less so than one might wish. Two weeks ago, Guatemala's ruling party chose Rios Montt as its candidate in the November presidential elections. But this time, the U.S. is not pleased. Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman said that if Rios Montt were returned to the presidency, "Realistically, in light of Mr. Rios Montt's background, it would be difficult to have the kinds of relationship that we would prefer." Well, golly, why should there be a problem? Ronald Reagan praised Rios Montt as "a man of great personal integrity" who was "totally dedicated to democracy." Ronald Reagan's endorsement is not good enough for the Bush administration? I would love not to be cynical here, and simply accept the good news that the current president does not support the same Christian terrorist some of his predecessors did. The problem is that in order for that to be a real step forward something hypocrisy-shattering would have to happen. We'd need to acknowledge our own complicity in the Guatemalan genocide and take steps to bring those responsible to justice, no matter how embarrassing to us that was. As Andrew Reding pointed out at the time of the Truth Commission report: [The] embarrassing American connection is one reason the butchers of Guatemala remain untouchable while U.N.-supervised genocide trials are underway for similar atrocities in Rwanda and Bosnia. None of the officials who made the policies and gave the orders has yet been tried and convicted for the genocide in Guatemala. On the contrary, it is their accusers who remain at risk. Bill Clinton "damn near" apologized for America's role in the atrocities, although he had to pretend that it was all in the past and should be forgotten. At least he gave the necessary historical records to the truth commission. George W. Bush has added records of that period to the long list of things he's covering up. In order to move forward, George Bush, or someone speaking for him, would have to say, "You know what -- Reagan was wrong. Horribly wrong. But we are not going to continue doing what he did." To suggest, as Richard Boucher did, that we just couldn't bring ourselves to deal with a criminal like Rios Montt, that somehow we are far too noble to do so, without acknowledging that we did in fact have genocidal relations with that man, is morally obtuse. It's an attempt to claim credit for high human rights standards without admitting past sins and resolving to abstain from committing the same sins in the future. But we can't do that, because the truth is, we keep committing the same sin. Contrition is noticeably absent. All that has happened with Rios Montt is that he has become far less useful than he was in the '80s. We're casting aside an embarrassing "friend" who can no longer help us. It takes astonishing gall to try to pass that off as virtue. Worse, the hypocrisy, the attempt to claim moral credit without contrition, insures that nothing will change. And that brings me back to something Donald said yesterday: "We should never apologize for our democratic values. We should apologize for being hypocritical about them and for invoking them as a kind of shield against legitimate criticism of our actual behavior." When we don't, the consequences come back to haunt us. The past doesn't go away just because you refuse to face it. The horrors continue. And victims don't forget.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line80
__label__wiki	0.577899	0.577899	Stephen King’s universe... Stephen King’s universe will be performed at the Fimucité XI Closing Gala Richard Bellis, composer of the tv-miniseries 'IT', will be a guest of honor in the concert 'Stephen King’s Night Gallery', which will take place on Saturday, September 30th. The Tenerife International Film Music Festival will include two original concerts devoted to the music of the filmography of two of the most recognised contemporary filmmakers: Quentin Tarantino y Pedro Almodóvar. The Tenerife International Film Music Festival (FIMUCITÉ) will include this year a magnificent finale that will thrill film music, fantastic cinema and literature fans. The 'Stephen King’s Night Gallery' concert will offer a selection of the scores from the best Stephen King’s novels adapted to the screen. It will take place on Saturday, September 30th at the Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín. Performed by Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and conducted by the director of FIMUCITÉ, Diego Navarro, this repertoire will include themes from scores by Pino Donaggio 'Carrie', Thomas Newman 'Shawshank Redemption', which obtained an Academy Award Nomination, and 'The Green Mile', or Richard Bellis, composer of the tv-miniseries 'IT', who will attend to present a world premiere of his work. Other absolute premieres for this concert will be Mychael Danna’s 'Hearts in Atlantis', Elliot Goldenthal’s 'Pet Sematary' and Phillip Glass’ 'Secret Window', among others. Also the highly anticipated summer film premieres 'IT' and 'The Dark Tower' will also be performed in the concert. FIMUCITÉ XI, which will be held from September 22nd to 30th, 2017, thanks to the sponsorship of Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, the Canary Islands Government, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Arona City Councils, will include two original proposals for filmgoers and music lovers. One will be devoted to the songs from Quentin Tarantino’s movies, and the other to Pedro Almodovar’s filmography, which will be held at Guimerá Theatre in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Leal Theatre in La Laguna on September 23rd and 24th, respectively. Music plays a decisive role in the works of these two filmmakers, both Academy Award Winners, and their selection of songs define their acclaimed film hallmarks. The 'Tarantino Unchained' concert will be performed by the Pop Culture Band, responsible for FIMUCITÉ’s previous successful concerts 'Back to the 80s', 'Back to the 90s' and 'That '70s Show'. The Canary Islands band led by Gonzalo de Araoz (guitar) is preparing a repertoire with themes from the films 'Pulp Fiction', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Jackie Brown', 'Kill Bill Vol.1', 'Kill Bill Vol.2" and 'The Hateful Eight', among others. The two sessions programmed for this concert will take place on Saturday, September 23rd, at 19:00 and 22:00. Tickets will be available from next week at the theater’s box office and on www.tomaticket.es for €15. The Pop Culture Band’s line-up includes the Canary Islands musicians Francis Díaz (guitar), Julio Moreno (bass), Javier Guerrero (drums), Jeremías Martín (teclados), Julián Díaz (trompeta), Norberto Arteaga (saxo) and Cristo Delgado (trombone). The amazing Canary Island artist Esther Ovejero will delight us with a collection of songs from the manchego filmmaker’s movies in the concert 'All about Almodóvar', which will take the audience to his particular universe. This selection includes Carlos Gardel’s Tango “Volver”, performed by Estrella Morente in the film by the same name, the bolero 'Un Año de Amor' sang by Luz Casal in 'High Heels', Sara Montiel’s version of 'Quizás, Quizás, Quizás' featured in 'The Bad Education' or 'La Bien Pagá' song that Almodovar himself sang in 'What Have I Done to Deserve This?', among others. Esther Ovejero will be accompanied on stage by Francis Hernández (keyboards and piano), Roberto Amor (drums and percussion), Pancho Delgado (guitar and strings) and Carlos Perdomo (double bass and electric bass). The 'All about Almodóvar' concert will take place on Sunday, September 24th, at 19:00, at the venue Teatro Leal in La Laguna. Tickets will be available from next week at the box office for €10. SUPPORT OF YOUNG MUSICIANS IN THE CANARY ISLANDS Once again, this year FIMUCITÉ renovates its alliance with The Advanced Conservatory of Music of the Canary Islands (ACM) and Professional Conservatory of Music of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (PCM), an agreement that will put together two exciting concerts performed by young musicians in the Canary Islands at the Guimerá Theatre. The Symphonic Band from the Conservatory of Music of Santa Cruz de Tenerife will be conducted by both José Toledo and Ramón García i Soler, guest conductor invited for the occasion. The repertoire is dedicated to some of the music created for Spanish films, such as 'Welcome Mr. Marshall', 'Captain Thunder and the Holy Grail' or 'Capture the flag'. The concert will take place on September 27th at 20 pm, a special show for scholars will be held in the morning. FIMUCITÉ’s Young Orchestra, formed by students from both conservatories, will offer on September 28th a concert focusing on Hollywood's best epic cinema music. This time there will also be a show available for students in the morning, as well as the general public one that will take place at 20 pm. Tickets for these concerts at the Guimerá Theater will be €10. FIMUCITÉ FILM SCORING ACADEMY The second year of FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy (FIMUCITÉ Academy for Audiovisual Composers), aimed at students and professionals interested in specialized training, is worth mentioning among the wide range of parallel activities in the festival. This year’s program includes a workshop focused on musical creation for video games by Craig Stuart Garfinkle and Eimear Noone; a Sound Engineering workshop for recording sessions by James Fitzpatrick; and master classes by Richard Bellis (Temp Tracks: Resist or Surrender) and Matthijs Kieboom (Creating Soundtracks with Small Budgets). All lessons are free of charge and will take place along the week of the Festival at the Professional Conservatory of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In addition, this year, the Professional Conservatory is more involved in the certification, providing the Film Scoring Academy’s diplomas. Concerts for scholars at the Guimerá Theater are included within the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy. The FIMUCITÉ XI program will also host the fifth year of FIMUCINEMA, the Festival's competitive section which awards the musical section of audiovisual works. The call for feature films and shortfilms is open until July 31st. To date, more than 600 works, 74 feature films, 90 documentaries and 440 short films have been submitted to the competition, mainly from the United States, Spain, Iran, India, Italy, Brazil, United Kingdom and France. The program of FIMUCITÉ XI includes other concerts already announced as the tribute to the Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci, to be held at the Infanta Leonor Auditorium in Los Cristianos on September 22nd. The show includes the screening of 'The Beyond' while the live performance of the original score takes place. Moreover, on Friday, September 29 the symphonic concert 'Sword & Sorcery: Symphonic Chronicles of a Legendary Era' will take place at the Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín featuring the award-winning Irish composer and director Eimear Noone conducting the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. Further information of the program will soon be announced. Tickets for both symphonic concerts to be held at the venue Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín are already on sale by telephone (902 317 327), at the box office of the Auditorium, and at ww.auditoriodetenerife.com. It is also possible to purchase a season ticket to enjoy both events with €5 off the total price.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line82
__label__wiki	0.594919	0.594919	Even Better Than the Real Thing: Augmented and Virtual Reality It seems like AR and VR have been hot topics for a while, and for good reason. Oldsters like me tend to point to the young whippersnappers who grew up as digital natives and assume that they want a screen in every exhibition. The thing is, with a good interpretive plan and a digital/media team (in-house or an outside partner) AR and VR can become amazing enhancements that—get this—actually helps the visitors understand the content. When AR and VR are used in conjunction with the exhibition’s design and content development, it’s a bit like an author working with an illustrator: the author tells the story, and the illustrator brings it to life in a different, complementary way. In other words, while it is fun to watch (and play with) all this wonderful technology, it’s important to consider how to best utilize it. Tech for tech’s sake can be lots fun, but tech as a way to enhance a thoughtful experience can have a real impact. AR and VR can also extend the exhibition experience. Visitors inspired by the exhibition can look for additional resources after they leave the museum, and people unable to visit in person can still use online VR to gain an understanding of the subject. Want to know how harrowing early flight could be? You can gain a better understanding of the bumpy, rickety, and low altitude start of aviation through interactive experiences. So, what exactly are reality, AR, and VR? The terms get thrown around a lot, and if you were watching TV and movies in the 1990s you might remember some particularly misleading (and occasionally outright terrible) fictional versions of these technologies. You probably got this one right (or this has just started a HUGE philosophical debate for you and your friends), but for the sake of this post, reality means the world as it is without anything between you and it. AR or Augmented Reality Augmented Reality puts a new imaginary layer on top of real life. The Skin and Bones app used at the National Museum of Natural History is AR. It puts an overlay of “skin” on the skeletons. VR or Virtual Reality Virtual Reality invents its own world. The aviation interactive pictured and linked to above is VR. Most visitors aren’t going to get to fly a real 1903 plane anytime soon, and this gives visitors a chance to experience some of the thrill and/or terror the Wright brothers might have felt. Some VR technologies are fully immersive and make use of goggles or specially designed spaces to fully place the visitor within the invented experience. Who’s Using This Technology at the Smithsonian? There are a number of people in museums who use this technology as an interpretive tool, but don’t actually make the technology themselves. When Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors was open at the Hirshhorn, the museum had a VR version of the mirror rooms developed for visitors who had mobility issues and were unable to walk into the small mirrored rooms. In this case, the technology was driven by visitor services and a desire to make the art accessible to everyone. At the Renwick Gallery, the upcoming exhibition Reforestation of the Imagination at the Renwick Gallery will use AR technology as an artistic media. This is an example of an artist integrating an AR experience into their artwork. One example from Smithsonian Exhibits is the bank robbery interactive in The FBI Experience. It uses AR to allow visitors to search for evidence at a crime scene. We developed the story, which explains how the FBI investigates a bank robbery, and designed the exhibition to match the crime scene. We worked with our media partner to make sure that the AR told the same story. This interactive required coordination between exhibition development, design, and media. So, in short, incorporating AR and VR isn’t necessarily an easy process, but if a project builds in the time to do it right, it can be a fantastic tool within an exhibition Visitors to The FBI Experience learn how to search a crime scene for evidence in a mock up of a bank that has been robbed. As visitors scan the bank for evidence, they can collect it on screen. The AR triggers additional screens that explain how the evidence is processed and what information can be learned from analyzing it. Want to see the examples for yourself? If you want to see the original Wright Flyer that inspired the VR experience, visit The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age on the second floor of the National Air and Space Museum. You can use the Skin and Bones app in the Bone Hall on the second floor the National Museum of Natural History. Reforestation of the Imagination at the Renwick Gallery will open June 28 and run through January 5, 2020. Information on touring The FBI Experience is available on their website. Want to learn more about the projects? Smithsonian Exhibits designer Maddie Wan organized an Open Talk about VR/AR and her panelists agreed to let us link to their work. Check out our resources page to learn more about projects by: Cody Coltharp, Digital Interactive Designer, Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access Diana Marques, Visual Science Communicator Sara Snyder, Chief of Media and Technology at the Smithsonian American Art Museum by Brigid Laurie An Exhibition Without Walls Most of the exhibitions Smithsonian Exhibits (SIE) works on have walls, not to mention a roof. But recently, SIE collaborated with Smithsonian Gardens on an exhibition without either. Last year, we blogged about an interpretive master plan we did with Smithsonian Gardens for their new Smithsonian-wide exhibition series. Now, the first of those exhibitions—Habitat—is open to visitors (as well as the elements!) Habitat features 14 exhibits displayed throughout the Smithsonian campus, including exterior and interior garden spaces. Follow the map here to explore them all. A map showing the locations of the 14 Habitat exhibits. Image courtesy of Smithsonian Gardens. The exhibits tell diverse stories about habitats and the plants, animals, and humans that call them home. But they all share one big idea: Protecting habitats protects life. The Homes exhibit in the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden offers tips on how you can transform your garden into a habitat for creatures great and small. Monarchs on the Move, outside the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, provides a pit stop for migrating monarch butterflies. Image courtesy of Smithsonian Gardens. SIE assisted Smithsonian Gardens with developing and editing the content, which was designed and produced out of house. Large-scale sculptures by artist Foon Sham draw visitors into several of the exhibits. Image courtesy of Smithsonian Gardens. Ducks enjoy their habitat in the Sign of the Dragonfly exhibit in the Enid A. Haupt Garden. The content team worked closely with Smithsonian curators and other experts to connect each exhibit to its neighboring museum. The result gives visitors a taste of the Smithsonian’s incredible range and diversity before they even set foot inside a museum. Sheltering Branches, outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture, explores the important roles live oaks play both as a habitat and as a symbol of strength and resilience. Image courtesy of Smithsonian Gardens. Several of the exhibits highlight the important work of Smithsonian scientists and conservationists and how you can help protect habitats. So this summer, enjoy the great outdoors while taking in this great exhibition. Just remember to bring the sunscreen! Collaborating with Colleagues, International Edition Last week, Smithsonian Exhibits had a wonderful day hosting a delegation of Argentinian museum professionals for a lively conversation about exhibition development. We’re always happy to talk about exhibitions and learn from our colleagues, and this day was no exception. Our guests are part of a cooperative program—Capacity Building for Argentinian Museum and Cultural Heritage Professionals—organized by the Smithsonian, the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, and Argentina’s Dirección Nacional de Museos (DNM). Their year-long program included a visit to Washington to meet with a variety of Smithsonian offices. The eleven participants represent five museums and DNM. The Smithsonian’s Office of International Relations and Global Programs organized the group’s stay in Washington and joined in on their visit to Smithsonian Exhibits. Our international colleagues came from across Argentina, representing various disciplines within the museum field. Our conversation ran the gamut, from organizing exhibition teams to the best ways to create models. We continued our conversations as we toured our facility in Landover. We met with each of our units, allowing us to get multiple perspectives on a topic. For example, one of our conversations concerned how to best select materials that are cost effective and meet conservation needs for the objects. We were able to start the conversation with design, ask about how those decisions would affect graphic production, and then follow that up with questions about constructing the mounts and the cases. The one common denominator of our conversations? Collaborate! The more the team works together and keeps communicating throughout exhibit development, design, and fabrication, the better the end results. Since there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating an exhibition, many conversations will be had along the way to determine the best options. This applies to how to best engage visitors, meet conservation needs, and well, pretty much every aspect of the exhibition process. There’s a lot of technology and research out there to make all of the steps happen, but those solutions only work if you talk to your team along the way. That’s a plan that makes sense no matter where your museum calls home. Of course, as our day came to a close we exchanged business cards and contact information so that we could keep the conversation going. We look forward to many fruitful discussions about best practices and innovative approaches to museum exhibitions with our international colleagues. Designer Emily Sloat Shaw shows sample prints and discusses material selection as a part of exhibition design. Chief of Exhibit Planning Todd Kinser demonstrates a prototype of an interactive SIE made for the National Zoo. Graphic specialist Evan Keeling explains the various printing techniques used in our graphics shop. Model maker Carolyn Thome talks about 3D printing while showing the group a model skull. Model maker Chris Hollshwander discusses computer-aided milling. Exhibits for Monks and Nuns When most people hear the word “Smithsonian,” they think of the museums lining the National Mall or maybe the National Zoo. But the Smithsonian is also a global institution working on projects around the world, from saving endangered species to safeguarding priceless artifacts. For nearly a decade, one project in particular has been taking Smithsonian Exhibits’ graphics supervisor, Scott Schmidt, more than 7,000 miles away from Washington, D.C., to monasteries in India. It’s called Science for Monks and Nuns. This unique program began in 2001 as a way of creating a dialogue between Western science and Tibetan Buddhism—something the Dalai Lama (the spiritual leader of Tibet) has long encouraged. Every year, Science for Monks and Nuns brings Western scientists to India to engage monks and nuns (known collectively as monastics) in hands-on workshops on a variety of topics, including biology, neurology, cosmology, math, and physics. After the workshops, the monastics return to their communities to share what they have learned and continue their studies. In 2009, the group began creating exhibits as another way of sharing what they have learned with others. Scott leads Monks in an exhibit design workshop in Bir, India. Scott got involved in the project in 2010 through a request from the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access. Since then, he has used his exhibit skills to provide training and assist the group with planning and developing exhibits. In addition to the Smithsonian Institution, Science for Monks and Nuns partners with the Exploratorium in San Francisco and several universities in the United States. Over the years, Scott and his colleagues have helped create two major science exhibits that have traveled throughout India, Nepal, and Bhutan; facilitated workshops and training sessions; and consulted on the creation of permanent science centers and “tinker spaces” at monasteries. A tinker space is a space with tools to build structures and prototypes demonstrating scientific phenomena, which are used in the workshops and exhibits. Scott leads a training session in tool use and exhibit assembly at the science center in Dharamsala, India. Students work on science exhibition prototypes in the tinker space Scott helped set up in Dharamsala, India. Photo by Scott Schmidt The first exhibit Scott worked on, The World of Your Senses, explored parallel Western and Buddhist perspectives on the five senses. Scott speaks to colleagues during the production of The World of Your Senses exhibit. The exhibits are truly cross-cultural, combining elements of both Western and Tibetan philosophy and design. For The World of Your Senses, the monks decided that the panels should be painted like thangkas, a traditional Tibetan style of religious paintings. Scott and his colleagues discuss a tailoring detail for The World of Your Senses exhibit. The master tailor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Phuntsok Tsering, led the framing and sewing of the completed paintings. The intro panel for The World of Your Senses exhibit A monk leads a tour of The World of Your Senses exhibit. Monastics visit The World of Your Senses exhibit in Nepal. The second exhibit Scott worked on, My Earth, My Responsibility, focused on climate change. Scott and his colleagues examine mock-ups of the My Earth, My Responsibility exhibit. Photo by Tracie Spinale A panel from the My Earth, My Responsibility exhibit The Dalai Lama attends the opening of the My Earth, My Responsibility exhibit at the Sera Jey Science Center in India. Pictured on the right is Ven. Geshe Lhakdor, Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, the organization that facilitates the Science for Monks and Nuns program. Scott (right) meets the Dalai Lama at the opening of the My Earth, My Responsibility exhibit at the Sera Jey Science Center in India. The work that goes into these exhibits is intense. Scott and his colleagues spend weeks at a time in India, working with the participants to plan, develop, and fabricate the exhibits. One of the biggest challenges is translating complex scientific and metaphysical concepts into a few paragraphs of English and Tibetan text. “It can difficult to communicate concepts and words for which there may be no Tibetan equivalents,” says Scott. However, with the help of monastics and a great team of interpreters at the Library for Tibetan Works and Archives, this challenge has not been a roadblock. Another challenge Scott enjoys is scouring the local markets for the materials and tools needed to build the exhibits. (You can’t just pop into the local Home Depot.) Throughout the six visits Scott has made to India so far to work with the program, he has come away inspired, renewed, and with new insights to bring back to his everyday life. “Collaborating with colleagues Tracie Spinale, Stephanie Norby, and Darren Milligan at the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access has been wonderful,” says Scott, “and watching the program and monastic students develop since that first exhibit in 2010 has been a joy. Scott looks forward to continuing his partnership with the program. “It’s amazing to have the opportunity to experience different cultures and traditions firsthand,” says Scott. “It reminds you that the Smithsonian is a global institution. Our mission, ‘the increase and diffusion of knowledge,’ reaches far beyond the Mall to cultures isolated by politics, religion, distance, and education. And it is certainly a two-way street. I have often returned wondering if I did not learn more than teach.” All photos by Bryce Johnson unless otherwise noted. “Seeing Science through a spiritual lens, with the Smithsonian’s help,” The Washington Post Beyond the Robe by Bobby Sager, the primary funder of the Science for Monks and Nuns program Humble Before the Void by Chris Impey, one of the many Science for Monks and Nuns teachers The Universe in a Single Atom by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, great for understanding his love of science and its positive effect on Buddhism. Thanks to former SIE intern Elizabeth Polvere for her help in developing this blog post. It’s hard to believe that Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History is ten years old. It’s somewhat shocking that it hasn’t just always been there—it’s such a prominent and memorable part of the museum—but it also has a fresh feel to it so it feels like it just opened. The secret? Updates! (As well as all that amazing content, objects, etc. that makes people want to come back.) Updating the Sant Ocean Hall with new models, like this giant Caribbean sea anemone sculpted by SIE, keeps the exhibitions feeling fresh. The completed 3D print is on the left. On the right, is a screenshot of the digital sculpture used to create it. A few years ago, Carolyn Thome from our 3D Studio made a signature model for the Ocean Hall’s Life in One Cubic Foot. More recently, the 3D Studio created a number of fish models to enliven the exhibition space. Carolyn used reference photos to sculpt the digital files to be sent to our 3D printers. This time, however, Carolyn had the opportunity to mentor an intern while she created the Ocean Hall models. Carole Baldwin, NMNH Curator of Fishes and Chair of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology, and scientists Allen Collins and Michael Vecchione, served as the 3D Studio’s subject matter experts, ensuring the accuracy of the models. The installation of the new fish models at the Sant Ocean Hall went—wait for it—swimmingly! This model of a scaleless dragonfish shows off its fearsome teeth and bioluminescence. This project also coincided with the 3D Studio getting a new printer. Our new SLA resin printer can produce very high resolution prints in a variety of resin types. Carolyn and our intern, Willow Collins, familiarized themselves with the new equipment. Willow also learned a new 3D modeling program—by the end of the project she was pretty much an expert in all things fish model. In fact, we were so impressed, that at the end of her internship, Willow was hired on as staff. Juvenile grey snappers appear to dart in and out of the tree roots in a mangrove forest. The image on the left shows the final installation. The image on the right shows the tiny fish in better detail. Exhibit specialist and 3D model maker Willow Collins installs one of her creations, a translucent Lamarck’s Carinaria sea snail. The position of the model on the mount, which nearly disappears once the installation is complete, shows how this type of sea snail floats through the water. A Tale of Two Exhibits This year, Smithsonian Libraries celebrated its 50th anniversary as a unified library system by opening not one, but two exhibits: Game Change: Elephants from Prey to Preservation and Magnificent Obsessions: Why We Collect. Smithsonian Exhibits (SIE) was thrilled to be asked to design, edit, and produce the exhibits. Here’s our tale . . . (It was the best of times!) Both exhibits feature books from Smithsonian Libraries’ collections, but they deal with very different subjects. Game Change traces the shift in public attitudes about elephants from the late 19th century, an era when big game hunting was popular, to the critical conservation concerns of today. Game Change: Elephants from Prey to Preservation was curated by Cheryl Braunstein, Manager of Exhibit Planning and Development at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. It’s on display on the Ground Floor of the National Museum of Natural History through February 1, 2020. Magnificent Obsessions focuses on the pioneering collectors who shaped Smithsonian Libraries’ diverse collections in the areas of science, technology, history, art, and culture. Magnificent Obsessions: Why We Collect was curated by Stephen Van Dyk, Head of the Art Division at Smithsonian Libraries and Mary Augusta Thomas, Deputy Director of Smithsonian Libraries. It’s on display on the 1st Floor, West of the National Museum of American History through July 1, 2020. One of the biggest challenges in developing any exhibit is deciding what to include. This was particularly true of these exhibits. Smithsonian Libraries has a collection of more than two million volumes, including 50,000 rare books and manuscripts. Space constrains required curators to make difficult choices about what to cut. A hidden blessing for these exhibits was light. Because of paper’s sensitivity to light, pages must be turned and books must be rotated in and out of the exhibits over time, allowing additional content to be displayed. (Come back soon to see what’s new!) The books and artifacts featured in the exhibits show the incredible diversity of the Smithsonian’s collections. The smallest artifact displayed in Magnificent Obsessions is the “Nano Bible,” a microscopic version of the Hebrew Bible engraved on a microchip the size of a grain of sugar. The largest artifact displayed in Game Change is a radio collar used to track elephants in the wild. The oldest artifact displayed in Magnificent Obsessions is a handwritten forerunner of the encyclopedia (at top center) created in the 13th century, before the advent of the printing press. The newest—and perhaps most unusual—artifact in Game Change is a dung sample (center) collected from an elephant at the National Zoo. (You never know what you’re going to find in a Smithsonian exhibit!) Of course, these exhibits are about more than just objects. The exhibit development team (including yours truly) wanted to go beyond the books to highlight the human stories they tell. Game Change uses books and artifacts to show how humans’ attitudes about elephants have changed over time. Contrasting books and artifacts, including children’s books and playthings, demonstrate the shift in attitudes about elephants from the early 20th century (top) to today (bottom). Magnificent Obsessions reveals the extraordinary passion collectors have for their subjects and explores what motivates them to collect. Profiles of curious collectors explain what drove them to collect. We also wanted to open the conversation up to visitors by asking what they collect and why. Share your “magnificent obsession” using #ICollectBecause SIE’s design team included Elena Saxton on Game Change and Elena and Madeline Wan on Magnificent Obsessions. Elena and Madeline helped bring the stories to life with engaging designs and eye-catching graphics. The graphic design for Game Change features illustrations taken from the books displayed. The designers used vibrant colors in Magnificent Obsessions to make the exhibit pop and help visitors navigate the different sections. At the entrance to Magnificent Obsessions, the team created lenticular graphics, which change as you walk past them. These add movement and reveal the faces of the collectors behind the collections. Look out for a future blog post explaining how these were made. The lenticular graphics at the entrance to Magnificent Obsessions help draw visitors into the space. SIE’s graphics team, including Evan Keeling, Mike Reed, and Scott Schmidt, printed and installed the graphics for both exhibits. Scott inspects graphics for Magnificent Obsessions. SIE’s graphics team installs a panel in Game Change. SIE’s 3D studio team members Chris Hollshwander and Danny Fielding worked with Vanessa Haight Smith, Head of Smithsonian Libraries Preservation Services, to make and install the mounts for the books and artifacts displayed in the exhibits. Chris installs a cradle mount to support one of the many books in Magnificent Obsessions. Throughout it all, Smithsonian Libraries Exhibitions Program Coordinator Kirsten van der Veen and SIE Project Manager Betsy Robinson kept the team on track and on schedule—no easy feat, since the exhibits opened within weeks of each other! Both exhibits are on display now. Please stop by and let us know what you think. In the meantime, we look forward to the next chapter of our collaboration with Smithsonian Libraries! DECLASSIFIED!! Mission: DIA Here’s a tricky one: How do you write exhibit text for a new museum when your content experts have top security clearances and can only share a fraction of their content with you? Mission: DIA offered many tricky and interesting questions. For example: will they tell me about REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED if I ask really, really nicely? * Working on a museum about an agency that produces, analyzes, and disseminates military intelligence information creates some interesting workflow protocols. When SIE began working with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on Mission: DIA, we knew that we’d have to build a museum from scratch because their atrium didn’t have an existing museum space. We knew that we’d work with their historians and other experts to create a museum script that told complicated stories. We knew that the graphics would have to convey complex information. And we knew that there was a lot we didn’t know, weren’t allowed to know, and probably won’t ever get to know. Our unconventional workflow more or less went as follows. First topics were brainstormed, then discussion would follow. As ideas were suggested and settled on, the DIA historians would determine the exact story they wanted to use, and then go off to confirm that the details needed to tell the story well were cleared for use or could be cleared quickly. And lest you think that SIE got to go through all the super-secret stuff, everything had to be declassified before it came to our office, too. Reading redacted documents became just another part of my day. Eventually, I started to wonder, is this where they blacked out the REDACTED about REDACTED? Despite my strong desire to find out REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED and read up on the REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED the historians I worked with at DIA made sure everything was properly declassed before it reached me and my low (so very, very low) security clearance. (NOTE: I know nothing. I’m not worth kidnapping. Not. At. All.) Mission: DIA opened its first phase in the summer, and more phases are underway. After vetting, scrubbing, redacting, and whatever else might be required, the photos from the first phase’s opening were released to us. So now, unlike the exhibition’s source material, I can talk about the first phase of the project. The Mission: DIA project posed a number of challenges, not unlike REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED. One challenge was that there was no existing museum and the exhibition was to be built inside a large open space. This meant the designer had to create a “room within a room” in order for there to even be an exhibition. This overhead view shows off the design, SIE’s fabrication, and the cast figures made by SIE’s 3D Studio. The two people in the foreground are actual people. The “people” in the back corner behind the reader rail are cast figures. The first section to open, Exposing the Truth, explores DIA’s role in bringing unseen threats to light. The exhibition delves into the escalation of Soviet weapons programs during the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, catching a spy within the agency, and the H1N1 flu pandemic. DIA’s publication, Soviet Military Power, was an unclassified document meant for the general public. It showed readers specific threats from the Soviet Union. Here, some of the weapons the publication highlighted are displayed with copies of Soviet Military Power’s ten editions. The mission of DIA’s National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI) is to predict medical threats and prevent potential infectious outbreaks from impacting the U.S. military and its global allies. As excited as we are to have the first section open, we look forward to continuing our work on the rest of the museum. The museum REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED is REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED open REDACTEDREDACTED. It REDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTED went REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED well REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED! *No. No, they won’t. In 1955, businesswoman, philanthropist, and collector Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973) purchased the Hillwood Estate in Northwest Washington, D.C. Post directed her architects and designers to refurbish the 1920s neo-Georgian mansion into a nobler residence that would function as a fully staffed home as well as a showcase for her sophisticated collections of late eighteenth-century French and Imperial Russian décor. Today, visitors from around the world can experience the Hillwood Estate and explore the awe-inspiring mansion, museum, and thirteen acres of formal gardens that continue to display Marjorie Merriweather Post’s charming array of collections: a tasteful and true legacy that she left behind. The Hillwood mansion Hillwood’s formal gardens When the Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens approached Smithsonian Exhibits (SIE) to recreate a number of decorative elements for a newly constructed display case, we jumped at the challenge. The sign of a good replica is that you can’t tell the difference from the original. At Smithsonian Exhibits, that is exactly what the sculptors and model makers aim to achieve. Project Manager Seth Waite and Exhibits Specialists Danny Fielding, Chris Hollshwander, and Carolyn Thome worked on the project for SIE. After doing some research, Seth discovered that the hardware company and metal foundry that made the original decorative elements—P.E. Guerin, established in New York in 1857—was still in business. Hillwood considered working with the company to recreate the elements using their traditional metal casting techniques, but ultimately decided to go with SIE’s traditional approach using more modern materials. On any project, the first step is to determine the client’s needs and decide which methods and approaches will work best to meet them. When recreating the decorative elements for Hillwood, SIE carefully considered a variety of manufacturing methods, eventually deciding that Danny would mold and cast the pieces himself. Once this decision was made, the next step was to select the best materials to use to create the most faithful and durable replicas for Hillwood. After testing the compatibility of several materials and carefully preparing the molds, SIE’s experts then proceeded with production. Mold preparation in process Production molds for each original piece Resin is poured into one of the molds to create a cast. Raw resin casts ready for finishing Finally, Carolyn created a finish that closely matched the originals. SIE’s finished replicas Can you tell the difference between the original and the replica? (The answer is at the end of the post.) The historic display case with its original decorative elements The new display cases with the replica decorative elements created by SIE While this only skims the surface, hopefully it gives you a better idea of the multifaceted steps that go into replicating artifacts. The next time that you’re admiring a work of art—original or a replica—take a moment to study the craftsmanship of the piece. The artistry and attention to detail that go into the process is truly awe-inspiring. So, were you able to tell the difference between the original and the replica in the photo above? (The replica is on the left and the original is on the right.) Modelmaking Gone Viral An interconnected world allows for the easy transmission of ideas, commerce, scientific discoveries, and so many other things … like communicable diseases. The National Museum of Natural History’s new exhibition, Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World, explores how microscopic pathogens can cause widespread disease outbreaks. When outbreaks occur, epidemiologists, veterinarians, public health workers, and others all work to identify and contain the infection. These pathogens wreak havoc in communities—not just affecting health, but also leaving huge social and emotional impacts. Worst class picture ever. Back row: Malaria, e. Coli, Lyme Disease. Front row: Ebola, Zika, HIV, and influenza. And therein lies the tricky part for the exhibition: the impacts are huge, but the pathogens are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Exhibitions are by definition a three-dimensional, visual experience. In order to give the pathogens more prominence, the National Museum of Natural History opted for 3D prints of the microbes at scales that, well, honestly are kind of terrifying when you consider what these pathogens do. Our model maker Carolyn Thome and National Museum of Natural History designer Julia Louie used 3D pathogen files downloaded from the National Institute of Health’s 3D print exchange. (The downloads are free and are handy tools for educators, medical professionals, scientists, and others.) Carolyn manipulated the files to digitally cut the models in half and place them on bases she created using CAD software. Color prints of e. Coli and influenza coming out the 3D printer. She printed her models in color, rather than painting them. It wasn’t necessary to have a true-to-life paint job because the pathogens’ colors aren’t based on their innate colors, but rather are applied to make it easier for visitors to understand their shapes. Ebola gets a resin bath. The finished models needed an epoxy infiltration to give them stability and an even sheen. The heat and resin work together to create a chemical reaction that makes a sturdy finished product, but because of the viscosity and quick setting time, Carolyn only had approximately twenty minutes to finish each resin coating. Ebola goes back into the vacuum chamber. If a model needed a second coat of resin, Carolyn needed to place it in a vacuum chamber and then repeat the speedy process. And one more coat of resin for Ebola. Outbreak will be featured on the second floor of the National Museum of Natural History for roughly three years before it’s contained in 2021.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line83
__label__cc	0.632302	0.367698	60 Years of Imagineering to be apart of an “Open House” at 2013 D23 Expo More information about presentations at the 2013 D23 Expo has just been announced. The following is a press release about an “open house” honoring the 60th Anniversary of Walt Disney Imagineering. BURBANK, Calif. – June 28, 2013 – In honor of the 60th anniversary of Walt Disney Imagineering and the origins of Disney Parks and Resorts, Imagineering is hosting an “open house” at the D23 Expo, August 9-11, opening the doors of its unique facilities and offering an unprecedented look at its creative processes—all on the floor of the Anaheim Convention Center. In addition, Imagineers past and present will host an entire day of panel discussions on Sunday, August 11, celebrating their 60 magical years of “dreaming and doing.” Within the “open house” pavilion, D23 Expo guests will get an up close look at an eclectic array of Imagineering’s creative minds—ride engineers, model builders, pre-visualization artists, special effects designers, inventors, and show animators—as they share the skills and talents behind Imagineering’s creative process. In addition, guests will have the chance to glimpse at the “workspaces” of several project teams from around Disney’s global portfolio of parks and resorts, perhaps spotting a few clues into coming attractions along the way. For the first time at the D23 Expo, Walt Disney Imagineering will be showcasing some of its most historical and revered concept art from its Art Library, including Herb Ryman’s original drawing of Disneyland. Also in the Disney Parks pavilion, D23 Expo guests will again have the chance to explore Mickey’s of Glendale , an outlet of Walt Disney Imagineering’s employee-only store, to shop for unique souvenirs and collectibles and Walt Disney Imagineering merchandise not available anywhere else. In addition to the Imagineering Open House, D23 Expo attendees will be able to attend 12 unique presentations and panel discussions that will take fans on the incredible journey behind the latest Disney resorts, attractions, and entertainment including: ·The Art and Artistry of Aulani – Imagineers Joe Rohde and Jeanette Lomboy will share the authentic tapestry of art and stories found at Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa. ·Mayhem, Mischief, and Monkeys: The Magic of Mystic Manor – Join Imagineers Joe Lanzisero and others for the strange stories behind Hong Kong Disneyland’s Mystic Manor, the newest and one of the most sophisticated attractions ever built. ·Undiscovered Disneyland – Legendary Imagineer Tony Baxter shares rare and never-before-seen footage of the early days of Disneyland , from design and construction through opening day. ·Broadcasts from Buena Vista Street – Enjoy the latest ‘soundtrack’ from Disney California Adventure’s Buena Vista Street , featuring a live performance of Scary Symphonyfrom radio station KBVS and a panel discussion led by Imagineers. ·Disney Ambassadors – Join current Disney Parks Ambassadors from around the world as they discuss this renowned program and share insights about its rich heritage, current outreach efforts, and the importance of sharing Disney goodwill. ·Voices of the Disney Parks – Back by popular demand, this panel of famous Disney voices will gather for an encore panel discussion, including recreations of some unforgettable Disney Parks sayings. ·Charles Phoenix Presents – Noted humorist and self-proclaimed “retro daddy” Charles Phoenix shares some of his favorite images from around Disney, featuring classic kitsch, clashing colors schemes, and hairdos that truly defy gravity. The panels continue on Sunday August 11, with a full day dedicated to the celebration of Walt Disney Imagineering’s 60th anniversary. The presentations in the 2,000-seat Stage 23 with current and former Imagineers will explore a wide range of topics, from working with Walt Disney himself and the exploration of creativity, innovation, and humor in the parks, to a lively discussion of what it’s like to lead one of the world’s most creative organizations. More details on these exciting panels and presenters will be revealed soon. D23, Disney, Disneyland, Special Events, Travel, Uncategorized Anaheim Convention Center, D23, D23 Expo, Disney's D23, expo, Imagineering, Mickey's of Glendale, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts elantrice ESPN Films to present a sneak preview of The ’99ers from the Nine For IX Series at the D23 Expo Snapshot Saturday	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line84
__label__wiki	0.802191	0.802191	NBA and Take-Two Name Brendan Donohue Managing Director of New NBA 2K eSports League NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick have selected Brendan Donohue, NBA Senior Vice President, Team Marketing and Business Operations (TMBO), as Managing Director of their new, jointly formed NBA 2K eSports league, effective immediately. NBA teams participating in the inaugural season will be announced in the coming weeks, with the new league set to launch in 2018. Donohue, a sports industry veteran with more than two decades of experience in team and league operations, will be responsible for managing the new league. Since joining the NBA in 2009, he has been instrumental in the success of TMBO, the league’s industry-renowned consulting group. There, he led strategic planning and management for all 64 teams across the NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League, helping them innovate in sales, marketing, digital and analytical areas of their business. “We’re thrilled that we already have in place a seasoned sports executive to lead this new league,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “The fact that Brendan knows the NBA inside and out is a huge bonus and will enable us to ramp up this venture in record time.” “We are very pleased to have Brendan join our team and lend his extensive professional basketball acumen to the NBA 2K esports league,” said Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick. “The league will have all of the structure and polish of the NBA, coupled with the thrills and engagement of our industry-leading NBA 2K franchise to provide an exciting new entry into the world of competitive gaming.” More than half of the NBA team organizations are expected to participate in the NBA 2K esports league’s inaugural season. The new, professional competitive gaming league will bring together the best basketball gamers in the world and follow a professional sports league format. Five competitors will face off in head-to-head competition throughout a regular season, participating in a bracketed playoff system, and concluding with a championship matchup. This marks the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league. Donohue graduated from Boston College with a degree in English and a concentration in Business. He lives in Fairfield, Conn., with his wife Patty and their two children. About the NBA The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2016-17 season featured a record 113 international players from 41 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com and the NBA App, which achieved record viewership and traffic during the 2015-16 season. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 1.3 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes. About Take-Two Interactive Software Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Our products are designed for console systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at http://www.take2games.com. About 2K Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment. The 2K label has some of the most talented development studios in the world today, including Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, Hangar 13, and Cat Daddy Games. 2K’s stable of high quality titles includes the critically acclaimed BioShock®, Borderlands™, Mafia, and XCOM® franchises, the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization series, Evolve™, Battleborn®, the popular WWE 2K franchise and NBA 2K, the highest rated* annual sports title of this console generation. 5 reasons to advertise in eSports Twitch to Acquire Curse Major League Gaming Announces a Multi-Day eSports and Digital Culture Festival in Las Vegas PSG eSports Signs One-Year Partnership with Monster Energy GG.Bet Becomes New Main Sponsor of Esports Club North Overwatch League Unveils Brand Sponsors Ahead of 2019 Season: Coca-Cola, Toyota, T-Mobile, HP and Intel KFC Announces Esports Championship in Dota 2, Partners with ESforce HyperX and Allied Esports Announce HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas PUMA Is the Newest Partner of American Esports Club Cloud9 HyperX Signs Professional Basketball Player Jonas Jerebko and eSports Team Detroit Renegades Fathead Teams Up With Golden Guardians To Launch New Line of Esports Merchandise Razer Partners with Williams Esports eSports IQ week 9: ‘Cineplex takes a shot at eSports market’ and more insights ELEAGUE Partners with GEICO to Launch GEICO ELEAGUE Amateur Series ChallengeMe eSports Secures $4.9M Investment and Aquires eSports Hero to Create Global eSports Platform eSports IQ week 2: ‘Deloitte joins the eSports numbers debate’ and more insights Intel® Challenge Katowice 2017 highlights world’s best women’s Counter-Strike:Global Offensive teams on the global stage State Farm Sponsors Its First Esports Athlete, Top Fortnite Streamer DrLupo DOJO Madness Raises $6 Million Series A II Round Led by Raine Ventures ESL and Intel Announce $1 Million Intel® Grand Slam Unicorns of Love Cooperate with mobilcom-debitel Nighthawk Pro Gaming Announces Sponsorship of NRG Esports 21st Century Fox Invests $100M in Social Broadcasting Platform Caffeine; Funds Creation of Caffeine Studios Focused on Esports, Video Gaming, Sports, and Entertainment Content	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line87
__label__cc	0.744327	0.255673	FAQs about 9/11 The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. The Archive contains more than 150,000 digital items, a tally that includes more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications, more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images. In September 2003, the Library of Congress accepted the Archive into its collections, an event that both ensured the Archive's long-term preservation and marked the library's first major digital acquisition. Browse: Explore the collection for stories, images, emails, documents, sounds, and videos of September 11 Research: Search, sort, and examine the entire collection Contribute: Tell your story, add your email, and upload images, documents, and other digital files to the Archive Voices of 9.11 Voices of 9.11 is a unique collection of personal video testimonies recorded in 2002 and 2003. At a time when language to describe the experience was… Here Is New York Photos In response to the World Trade Center tragedy, and to the unprecedented flood of images that have resulted from it, a unique exhibition and sale of… FDNY Incident Action Plans The Fire Department of New York published a daily report, called the FDNY Incident Action Plan or IAP, that was a coordinating communication devise… Copyright © 2002, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line88
__label__cc	0.529837	0.470163	Social Issues is a blog maintained by the John Dewey Society's Commission on Social Issues. A massive lobbyist-driven smartboard purchase gets erased In a surprise victory for the technoskeptics of the world, the Québec government announced today that it is scrapping the previous government's plans to buy 40,000 smartboards for Québec public schools. Speaking to La Presse, Education Minister Marie Malavoy commented, "It was a comprehensive program that, after examining the evidence, didn't seem to be the best option." Malavoy further noted that school boards didn't actually want the smartboards--"The problem was that the smartboards didn't really line up with the needs of the school boards and the schools. They didn't ask for them. It wasn't a choice they made." Interestingly, this development comes a few months after La Presse revealed that the company that makes smartboards (Smart Technologies) had, in 2011, hired Martin Daraiche, a lobbyist who had previously worked as an advisor to both former Liberal Premier Jean Charest and former Deputy Premier Nathalie Normandeau. The mandate that M. Daraiche was given was to ensure that "a directive was established following the [government] budget which would confirm the mandate to furnish every classroom with an interactive blackboard in order to improve student success." Evidently, given the level of success that smartboards had under the Liberals, M. Daraiche's lobbying efforts met with some measure of success. In Science in Action (1987), Bruno Latour talks about a popular (but, in his view, false) conception of technological progress that he calls the "diffusion model." In this model, worthy ideas and technologies seem to spread and multiply under their own steam, without human intervention. Latour comments at some length: ...it seems that as people so easily agree to transmit the object, it is the object itself that forces them to assent. It then seems that the behavior of people is caused by the diffusion of facts and machines. It is forgotten that the obedient behaviour of people is what turns the claims into facts and machines; the careful strategies that give the object the contours that will provide assent are also forgotten...the model of diffusion invents a technical determinism, paralleled by a scientific determinism. Diesel's engine leaps with its own strength at the consumer's throat, irresistibly forcing itself into trucks and submarines, and as to the Curies' polonium, it freely pollinates the open minds of the academic world. (p. 33) As Latour explains, people work very hard on behalf of both ideas and technologies to construct strategies that will make them "just catch on." If these strategies work well, no one will ever notice them--the machine will simply have been "built right" and will have "really caught on." Smart Technologies tried hard to do this in Québec classrooms and failed. But it is instructive to realize that it is the failures that we notice and not the successes, which are all around us. Cellphones are a great example of a technology where we have bought into the diffusion model wholeheartedly; we have forgotten all of the strategies that were pursued in order to make cellphones appear necessary. Are some of you out there reading this teachers and professors that are struggling with technologies that are trying to inevitably diffuse their way into your classroom? Is a smartboard or clicker system that will revolutionize student success just around the corner for your little nook of the educational realm. Tell us about it in the comments. David I. Waddington at 1:10 PM Captain November 19, 2012 at 7:23 PM I am not sad to see that we aren't spending fistfulls of dollars on smart boards. What were they going to be used for? Who was going to maintain them and replace them as they broke down? We sometimes need to know whether we need the technology and what it entails before buying in. Would the smart boards be placed in the A.V. of the school with the apple Newtons and the Palm Pilots that were going to revolutionise learning if we just provided schools with batches of them in the 1990s? It's preposterous for someone who knows nothing about SMART Boards to compare them to Apple Newtons and Palm Pilots. We're hearing from the same contrarians who, early on, railed against the push for computers in schools. Computers, as SMART Boards, cannot be linked to improved grades for students, but would anybody argue today that computers should be banished to the ash heap of history because they failed to increase student performance in core subjects? The biggest challenge with computers AND SMART Boards (distinguished from generic IWBs) is end-user competence. Many people (teachers among them) do little more than use computers for e-mail. That is hardly justification for depriving others from the dynamic benefits of computer technology in schools. In the not-too-distant future teachers without a grasp of SMART Boards will not be employable, just as today it would be ludicrous to hire a teacher with no computer experience. Just because Captain doesn't know who is going to maintain them doesn't mean SMART Boards need the level of maintenance he/she asserts. They're nearly indestructible, which is not something that can be said about most electronic devices. They've experienced bullet holes in the L.A. USD and continued to operate. Too bad for Quebec that someone went the cheap route, but sooner or later they will need to catch up.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line89
__label__cc	0.700747	0.299253	an enormous bear called the short-faced bear With many buildings still dressed in black crepe, this joyous procession could not help but remind spectators of that unhappy occasion. Marconi at delancey place and at LoC: The unknown possibilities... pioneer's own set historic "S" re-enacted Marconi link fixed Diarmuid went out early the next day again to the hill, and it was not long till he saw the three strangers coming towards him, and he asked them would they like to see any more tricks. They said they would sooner get news of the grandson of Duibhne. "I saw a man that saw him yesterday," said Diarmuid. And with that he put off his arms and his clothes, all but the shirt that was next his skin, and he struck the Crann Buidhe, the spear of Manannan, into the earth with the point upwards. And then he rose with a leap and lit on the point of the spear as light as a bird, and came down off it again without a wound on him. Then a young man of the Green Champions said: "It is a man has never seen feats that would call that a feat"; and he put off his clothing and made a leap, and if he did he came down heavily on the point of the spear, and it went through his heart, and he fell to the ground. The next day Diarmuid came again, and he brought two forked poles out of the wood and put them standing upright on the hill, and he put the sword of Angus Og, the Mor-alltach, the Big-fierce one, between the two forks on its edge. Then he raised himself lightly over it, and walked on the sword three times from the hilt to the point, and he came down and asked was there a man of them could do that feat. "That is a foolish question," said a man of them then, "for there was never any feat done in Ireland but a man of our own would do it." And with that he rose up to walk on the sword; but it is what happened, he came down heavily on it the way he was cut in two halves. The rest of the champions bade him take away his sword then, before any more of their people would fall by it; and they asked him had he any word of the grandson of Duibhne. "I saw a man that saw him to-day," said Diarmuid, "and I will go ask news of him to-night." Part II Book VII: The Green Champions Gods and Fighting Men [1904] Lady Augusta Gregory Celtic Folklore The wikipedia entry on The Green Knight has been parasitized by religious lunatics, and in an effort to wash the foul taste of that nonsense out of my head, turning to the Green Man entry, and from thence to Lady Gregory's scholarly valor, happily for me. With many buildings still dressed in black crepe, ... Marconi at delancey place and at LoC: The unknown ... Diarmuid went out early the next day again to the ...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line90
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Kara no kyoukai (volume 2) Gosick (book 1) Baccano: The Rolling Bootlegs. That was in the package, but on the way home from work I saw some good books on sale in the bookstore...so I bought MOAR books. "The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare. "Jojonium" (volume 1) by Hirohiko Araki. Have you seriously not read this? fucking unforgivable!!11! Uh, no. Why else would I have bought it? You can read something without owning a copy. This'll teach you to show an interest in something Skull Peanut-007 Actually something I'm going to read after I finish Lovecraft's stuff. It's not like I haven't read Shakespeare before, just not that one. It's okay, I also never read Julius Caesar. But I also don't plan to. the reason people hate shakespeare is because they get forced to read it don't read shit you don't want to also don't read bad shit but that's a separate fight I've only read the part where one of Julius' friends rallies the citizens of Rome against his assassins. dont actually read plays in general Petrikow watch Let's Plays (don't) If there were any within a reasonable distance of where I live. They're all pretty cut and paste so yeah. Or do, as many are good YouTube tho just pirate the movie with marlon brando i watch petrikows lets plays theyre my favorite and ever since i havent been able to watch other ones Would it be better with Dio Brando instead? Y/N The only Shakespeare books I've read in school were Romeo & Juliet (naturally) and Othello, the latter being more entertaining because of a certain money-grubbing slimy character. "Put money in thy purse!" "it is an absolute travesty for anyone to graduate from this department without having read at least one of shakespeare's plays," they said well, if it's a department of english literature, hardly an objection there i didn't say they were wrong I've read Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, a crapload of sonnets, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Nights Dream, and Hamlet. Hamlet is good. All this talk of ham makes me hungry! If only I could have some good pork schnitzel... Hmm, I don't really like Blackstar at all. Unlucky. pork schnitzel... http://i.imgur.com/mfW9c2e.png Yes, you damn Wiener, I do love me some veal schnitzel as well. But pork schnitzel is delicious, too, and has that nice haram flavour. I really don't eat enough pork these days, sadly. It's clear to me now... Ultraman X is the best Tokusatsu show of 2015 by a wide margin. This show is great! How do I make dinner with my eyesight all woozy? What's wrong with your eyes? The microwave is the solution to all cooking problems. I don't know, they sometimes get all fucked and out of focus in the evenings. But the doctors say perfect eyesight so I'm confused. Microwave is for popcorn! If you're worried about messing up due to vision then microwave seems like an okay idea. Even if it is the last option in regards to dinner. For some reason I decided to start dark souls. While it doesn't help that I kept pressing square to attack (I just finished shadow of the colossus okay!) the class I chose has reasonably heavy armour which means shitty roll. oh it's videogames again cook food get exp That's just one skill I can't level up. People in general find my cooking bland tasting. You can take the armor off you know. Class is just your starting kit. Everyone knows chicken is whee it's at. Kelnish How many continents and oceans are there? Depends on how you define continent. How do you define a continent? There are many arguments over how to define it. Landmass divides and cultural divisions as perceived by the people who get to decide these things. Apparently, if you live in some places in the world you get taught that there are six and in other places seven. (According to this article: http://www.universetoday.com/72611/what-is-a-continent/) Youre dodging. Can anyone suggest some music to me? If there's a separate thread for this, I can ask there. But I'm looking for writing music, maybe that gives a person the idea that it's ancient. I like movie scores a lot but I'm kind of exhausting my mental collection. I think the French learn it as six, but I don't know for certain. I would define them as six due to lack of any ocean separating Europe and Asia, but then the Panama and Suez canals are artificial so I've seen some counts go lower. A better question is how many tectonic plates are there. What are some movie scores that you like for reference? Although just in general I'd recommend anything done by Yoko Kanno. Seeed. I like a lot of them. I listen to the Doctor Who score a lot and I listen to almost every score from anything I like at any given point in time. I like the Fate scores, too. I just like background music for writing. I don't know if this is an answer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6WnwlALOw Yoko Kanno is fantastic with every soundtrack. I am about a minute in and I really like it. It's something I haven't heard before and I think fits what I was looking for. Thank you. I will try to see what I can find, thanks! Listen to Bowie during this, the week of Bowie MZeroX amazing. when the circlejerk got banned, raise the flags of revolution in major threads. lvl asks about opinions about a banned member? fuckin' thread lock. god, i love you all of you guys. who is circlejerk? not a user, a bunch of different users. they're pretty recognizable as mostly currently active members, but i'm too lazy to grab the ban gun gif to get the exact list. lmao, xd The pedo clique is tied by the unbreakable bonds of irc It was obvious that he was doing it because Break was asking him to do it and possibly get unbanned. The spoiler thread he made too for that matter. Also goddamn the heating in my house hasn't worked for weeks and it's fucking cold eh, for that to be obvious requires paying attention to his moves. i literally just pay attention to the P&D thread and occasionally skim the seventh out of nearly broken habit. not really obvious for me. and still don't see what's wrong with it in general given the track record of our current admin/mod team. Coming from someone who didn't join in Unban Leo the Revolution (though I did join Remove the Staff Revolution later), LVL is basically just posting for Break at this point. The Unban Leo guys were actually doing the opposite of what Leo wanted. I vividly recall him telling everyone it was ok and to stop. What purpose is a ban if you just have someone else post what you want to say for you. What if we also removed the mouthpiece How about I give warnings to everyone that has an opinion I disagree with It's what I would do what if I'm in favour of banning Leo and Break, what then We need Leo's bad opinions Make a ban Leo poll most of the forum would be banned I would erase the kill la kill fans Do we have people you would call KlK fans rather than people that just liked it. She's saying you, too, are a deplorable German lolicon cool? if he really was against it, he'd have just asked the admins to lock his account again after getting it back? yeah, it's some level of circumvention, but the act of posting from someone else's account with their consent is pretty common for some users at other points in time and didn't warrant ban and lockdown. Sei was a pretty active two person account. KENTA was actually lilith half of the time. heck, i was literally posting for anamesis after he closed his account but did more of his FE LP just recently. and of course different times, different rules, yeah. but the point of the ban anyways is to remove actions from the forum that is against the spirit of the forum or what have you. i personally don't see what the problem is here given that condition. still, i do want to make it clear that i'm not advocating for the removal or opposite of break's ban. i'm just finding this occurrence humorous and making observations, and replying to people that are replying to my, at least to me, humorous observation. after all, this thread is random thoughts, and i thought it to be kinda funny so posted about it. <------- im doing you a favour i3 would get a week's break Bassg would be guillotined ?,? For just the KlK thing, or..? This is a good idea Difference is Sei Kenta and Lilith weren't banned and using another person posting for them to circumvent it. Anyway I didn't lock the thread and I wasn't going to either. Idk why I'm responding. Probably because I'm still sour isn't this what you wanted Let the fire consume all. Ban leo ban kelnish mostly ban kelnish I don't like Bassg for a list of reasons. Like he's not just a fountain of shit taste, he's legit gross. I am unaware of him. In what ways is he awful? The problem here is that not doing anything to LVL just means Break will keep pestering LVL to post for him. Granted, even if you do something, Break will keep pestering LVL to post for him, but with some sort of punishment already been given LVL may ignore Break. bass? Don't get him started on anything that could remind him about Demonbane. Or homosexuality. Okay yeah that was him too. My first memory of bassg is him posting this giant rant about how he didn't understand or want to see gay people, after which Leo and I bounced him back and forth like a soccer ball. There was also that lovely bit where he laughed at a Lesbian Gets Gangraped scene and talked about how hard rape scenes get him. I do not like the bassg My first memory of bassg is him posting this giant rant about how he didn't understand or want to see gay people is he fucking 13 What the fuck was he even watching? I only remember "Evangaylion" Oh that dumb show by the Senran Kagura people but that's not really the point Ok time to leave twitter. Always hug Yukari. If you were more familiar with Break, I doubt you'd be saying this. There's not much humorous about Break, just... sad. Hey Five, how do you feel about Bowie? I feel that he's a fantastic musician who died perhaps too early - but I guess you can say that about almost anyone who dies, really. While he's not my favourite musician, I do love a lot of his music, and I'm happy that he was able to go out on his own terms, as it seems. He lived a good, full life, and owing to his music and his unforgettable character, he will always be remembered. lvl didnt get punished Nobody says he did Granted, even if you do something, Break will keep pestering LVL to post for him, but with some sort of punishment already been given LVL may ignore Break. http://images.sanctuary-inc.net/hereisthequote.gif My habit of not reading the whole thread and clicking go to last post gets me Perhaps today... the stupid one... is me... http://i.imgur.com/w8ptnOR.jpg Let's talk about happier things. I'm in the process of cooking potatoes. while reading more gahkthun I'm baking and cleaning my house The most relaxing combination of activities short of jerking it and drinking coffee How would that work during h-scenes? Potatoes don't require much vigilance in most of the popular methods of cooking them so I'm sure I3uster gets plenty of time away from the kitchen to take care of the h-scene responsibilities. http://i.imgur.com/w8ptnOR.jpgit happens every time i dont quote something im in bed wide awake ayyyy now i'm sorry I asked Lmao go to sleep mAc you knew what you were getting into JetKinen imo the worst part of bassg is that he is super defensive about literally anything. You just watch the first episode of some anime, and you write that you didn't think of much and then its suddenly "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT JUST DON'T WATCH IT! THE DIRECTOR OR THE ANIMATOR OR THE WRITER OR SOMETHING IS BASICALLY KNOWN FOR THIS TYPE OF SHOW AND YADDA YADDA". Besides that i don't have much problem with bassg This, but with a period at the end of the sentence so it looks more serious. If you're going to talk shit about somebody and gossip and whatever you people do, please try to do it over PMs, or Skype, or whatever method of communication you prefer. Been playing Darkest Dungeon for a while now. I really wish one of my heroes would resist their inner masochist and stop themselves from committing suicide after being reduced to death's door. imo the worst part controversial opinion, homophobia and creepery are worse than bad anime taste Oh fine Mods once again prevent 7th grade from happening. Thank you, mods! I never said LVL was punished. I was saying that if LVL were to be punished for posting for Break then maybe he'd stop posting stuff for Break. I had to go for a short appointment this morning which meant I had to be up and dressed like a normal adult for about half an hour. I'm home now and would like to remove the decorative lines from around my eyes but it seems like wasting. That would be excessive unless it was a constant problem. it soon will be But you agree that a punishment may discourage LVL from posting for Break, correct? Cause that's all I've been saying. Apartment hunting is hard. @Trubo: Yeah sure. lol I just realized the guy pushing the dog laughs when the dog grabs the ball. is it break don't run be stronk I'm not sociable enough to have Twitter. It's just that I really really don't know what to say to that guy. I mean why should he care for my opinion I was here for only like a month before he got banned. Can you block him? What did he share with you? Neither am I, but I still have it just to see what mAc's doing. There's this great feature that blocks you from having to see people's tweets. Godlike tbh. I think it even stops them from seeing yours. I guess I could but he's not incessantly bugging me. It does If he's a bother you should tell him. If he continues block him. He's not. Yet. http://i.imgur.com/lYsJfAI.gif the lightning should be coming from his hands if trump is vader who is sidious? I meant that he is Sidious. Tump/Vader 2016 We will kill the rebellion and take their hyperdrives. Athough tbh if Vader was running I'd vote for him over most of the other options. So is the White House the Death Star? yes but I'm furthering this exercise Well he hasn't picked a vice presidential candidate so presumably there is still a troubled and confused Anakin going around and not yet a Vader. Does the Anakin have to be from the light(Liberal)? The analogy is falling apart why Snow whyyyy http://i.imgur.com/ZodABLT.jpg?1 me being woken up on christmas morning Then surely the question is "who is Darth Plagueis?" Frederick Trump wallace? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RySHDUU2juM My skell in xenoblade is gradually getting more and more badass. Which one do you have? Doing the level 60 verus atm (my ava) and I'm getting his evasion really high. Also got a gravity superweapon and the g-buster so I'm going to make some augs to get my grav damage up. You know that massive flying thing flying above the landbridge between primordia and syvalum? Well I killed it! :D After getting the verus really good, I'm gonna move onto the lailah for that amazing overdrive. I'm still grinding for a level 50 skell. You mean slowly waiting while doing other things XD. Assuming you've laid out your research probes in an optimal fashion right? As many as I could get, yeah. The lailah is the best I reckon. Well it's quite simple, just put the probes on rank A revenue sites and place booster probes near as many sites/the best probes. I am aware. I only have 130K atm but that's because you have to do lots of min maxing to get 100K miranium storage (you need this for the ares 90 and miranium is actually more important than money late game). Although 130K is the highest you ever need to get (for a side mission). I doubt I'll get the Ares 90. Having lots of miranium is still helpful, mainly for refuelling skells. I'm going to get the ares 90 but probably not for quite a while. Seems kinda boring. Making the transition to the farmy endgame is hard but I'm used to it now and I've invested so much that I can't stop. I would say that you should try do all the affinity missions though and a good amount of the normal missions because they often have good stories and characters, often better than the main story... I would say that you should try do all the affinity missions though and a good amount of the normal missions because they often have good stories and characters, often better than the main story... I'm at the last chapter. I know this already. Cool then. Good luck with the last mission. Have you done professor B's missions yet? He's probably my fav character. My fav race is probably the orphe or the zaruboggan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C03n4AAiL9w how did this get into my yt recommends wow it's not too bad Dunno, a video of "The Boob Song" appeared in my recommendations this morning. I think YouTube might be trying to tell me something... "You like tits so here's tits!" Sadly, there were none to be seen. Just an amazing singer, a guitar and a kazoo. wow I like this song actually If anyone was interested in what I was talking about... Totally safe for work btw. https://youtu.be/1mS7jtBgHNg Hhhhnnnggg...I could listen to her voice all day. Wow, that was great. I was bored so I searched online for a Am I Bi survey question thing for funsies. Apparently I am too mainstream to be bisexual. I laughed so hard. Think I've found all the sight seeing point in xenoblade now. Huh, never thought I'd see Rugby in a Japanese television show. And have an entire episode feature it...played by aliens no less. :D Also just killed the highest level tyrant (not the strongest mind you but 2nd) in obvlivia. So awesome. Died the first time but then all it took was a little bit of overdrive and bam. What level was it? 91 Harmut the calamity. I've killed the giant worm in oblivia too. I haven't killed the one in syvalum yet. It's level 75 and when it gets down the third health, it summons another level 76 tyrant of the same nature...Their names are dune references too I think. Now got 424 evasion on my current skell which is crazy. http://i.imgur.com/Dl2lciC.jpg Cool pic I decided to take while I was flying to take up harmut. So many fucking updates Also, that isn't even one of the better looking views you can get while flying. Yeah I know not great but I don't often see the sunset XD. One thing I would criticise about X compared to the first game is that scenic viewpoint are redundant compared to the first xenoblade's secret areas because you can generate any scenic view you want in your skell. Have you gone inside the noctilent sphere in syvalum yet bemmu? That's like complaining that a game looks too pretty. Don't think so. Well it's more of a nick pick thingy. The secret areas basically felt more significant in the first xenoblade. I guess it also feels that way because you could always fast travel to the locations in xenoblade where as in X you find a sightseeing spot then never go back... It's hard to make so many particularly memorable secret areas in a world this large and open and with as many memorable landscapes as it has. Yeah it's a small sacrifice for an amazing world. The noctilent sphere is that massive glowing sphere if you didn't guess...it's the home of the 2nd highest level monster in the game- phraxis the everqueen. i could guess that the noctilent sphere in Sylvalum was the giant unmissable glowing sphere yes Dr Fun save RT from Xenoblade/gears/whatever So, how 'bout them abridged series? Nah jk just talk about whatever you want. im pretty sure jrpgs are only fun if you have basically unlimited time and patience you do? at least they dont make you pay for stuff like new grindy games do Like you can criticise that xenoblade is a single player mmo and they may be right but at least I don't have to pay a fucking subscription fee. Also it's not as long as most mmos which is good. Probably going to put about 300 hours in overall. So I have unlimited time and patience works right? Probably going to put about 300 hours in overall. restraaaaaaaint What I really like it.... I also like it. You go beyond liking it and climb atop mountains to shout its praises to the heavens as you decree it to be te gr8tst gam evr guys rly You can only gush so much. waiting for busues in the freezing cold somebody kill me I apologize for your misfortune. Dance??? bus came but feel free to still kill me old man is singing in front of me as I type this lol Suggestion remains. Dance. Dance the night away. Haha, the powerball is up to 1.5 billion USD last I checked. Wonder how high it will get tomorrow. if one of you americans win it promise me you'll pay for a trip to japan for me okay thanks I'd rather drop 2-3 million into getting official english translations for the various TM properties. I mean you could do both. You could start a trust fund. Do you know how much a billion dollars is. Yeah, it's more than you'll actually get post-taxes for both the lump cash and annuity options. I finally got around to watching Rebellion today. True, but I think money makes no sense. Still going to be quite a lot. I really enjoyed Rebellion, but I felt that the ending felt tacked on. I feel like it's a good sequel hook if there is ever to be more, but I kind of don't like it as an overall ending. So I reserve the right to ignore it in the future. I think they already announced a new Madoka. Not sure though. Phearo I can't seem to get myself motivated to do anything. Sometimes it helps me to work on a project or task that is at least a little productive that isn't the one I actively want or need to work on. It gets a little bit done on something else and it sometimes helps the itch and motivation to do what I had originally planned come back. Also if it's creative, sometimes either instrumental music or very absolute silence helps me. OK thread, tell me what area of study I should do my History doctorate in beasts lair This is an extreme amount of faith. it's about average for a Mar 2011 user, actually I recommend a pre-literate society so we can wean you off textual over-analysis. The Turkish Neolithics. isn't that literally one dig site I mean I guess you could Jaynes it up and try to put forward an argument that prehistoric architecture proves something about the development of consciousness but why would you though Obscene graffiti Scenario: You are someday a parent of identical twins. You name the twins while they are infants (before leaving the hospital or during the first month or whatever they do in your locale). ... How do you know if you're calling the right baby the correct name? How many times have you unwittingly switched the babies' names without ever realizing it before one child ends up stuck with one name? When the children become cognizant of their surroundings and begin to acquire language and stuff, I imagine that it would soon become pretty easy to tell Baby #1 from Baby #2, but it has occurred to me that unless you, like, color-coded the babies even during bathtime from the very first moments of their lives that it would soon be impossible to tell the difference until it was arbitrarily assigned later on. Like, "First born's name is [Name 1]" and "Second born's name is [Name 2]" would be completely meaningless and if they're identical there is no way to figure this out even with a doctor's help unless they took DNA samples at birth for this specific, arbitrary purpose. Conclusion: identical twins do not have their own names. Edit: And wait, that was a dumb. It occurs to me (belatedly sorry) that actually identical twins have the same DNA? So seriously it's impossible. What if you, like, mark one of them with a permanent marker or something Göbekli Tepe, Gürcütepe, Nevalı Çori, Çatalhöyük, Çayönü, &c. There are plenty of sites. Also, if you do anything about the development of consciousness, I will stab you. No 'everyone before 500BCE had schizophrenia', please. E: Oh, hey, that is Jaynes. Seriously, I will stab you. Permanent marker goes away when you shed skin cells. This occurred to me, too, and even if there were nontoxic permanent ink it would only last for a single skin-shedding cycle. And any alternative on a similar train of thought seems like child abuse. Just put a different sticker on each of their foreheads. You have to remove the stickers to wash them and then how do you know you're putting the right new sticker on which baby? What then? I'm telling you it's impossible. Why wash them at different times. They are genetically identical and shall henceforth both be named Bob. Regardless of gender. Bob 1 and 2 shall be distiguished via a stamp on their foreheads. It's not like they have a cognizant understanding of their identity as tied to their name at that point. It'll take a lot of time for them to start identifying that sound pattern as a label for themselves in most cases, so to them, it really doesn't matter. And in the case of the few with exceptional cognizant abilities that early, they'll react to their name when called in some way. But then how do you know which baby to take to their bath first? I'm telling you at some point you would slip up. Put Baby #1 in Baby #2's bed and vice versa. One night, when they were sick or both needed changing at similar intervals. Then they would have stolen one another's identities without so much as a thought. ... Until it happened again. Let the skin beneath the sticker be the one unwashed area. Also, even with the same DNA, slight differences will still show up because growth is a statistical spread rather than a perfect copy, so there might be slight visual differences, too. I mean I know that. I know that developmentally it doesn't matter. It just trips me out for the parents more than anything. That if you have identical twins, until they start developing personality and stuff that you literally have no idea which baby is which. By this logic it's also entirely possible that after mixing them up once you might mix them up again and solve the problem without even realizing there was one. Yes. This is why I'm freaking out about this (for no reason since it has zero relevance to my life). Bob #1 and Bob #2 are actually Bob #1-2 and Bob #2-1 until they learn to talk and stuff. This is so weird that I can't get my brain to calm down about it. Edit: Also stamp idea won't work as addressed before. I mean, think about club stamps. (I've been to a club like exactly four times, but.) They come off even though you can't wash them off with soap and water without an extreme amount of painful scrubbing. (Germ-X.) I've seen about 7 different pairs of identical twins throughout my life at different points in development and there are visual differences between them if you pay close enough attention. There really shouldn't be anyone other than the mother under the influence of literal fucktons of hormones telling her to care for these meatsacks more than her own life, able to identify just what those slight differences are anyways from that young an age. She will definitely be paying that close attention including at a subconscious level, if conscious observation isn't sufficient for you. The dad is likely fucked, though. Parents might pick up on things they normally wouldn't on a subconscious level. pssshhhhh implying I've ever had a club stamp I have lost my faith in humanity. Also don't go. It hurts and it's intensely boring. The last time I was convinced to go to one my ears were ringing at 8am the following morning. Good. Less disappointment that way. I know. There's a reason I don't go to them.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line93
__label__wiki	0.691649	0.691649	The Levy Draft Claims Manual Virtual Binder Outreach Initiatives Anne Legars and Mark Gauthier have been cross-appointed respectively Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund (www.sopf.gc.ca) for the same term as their FRAIDG appointment. Anne Legars Anne Legars, who has served as Administrator of the Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods (FRAIDG) since August of 2016, has been reappointed Administrator for a five-year term, beginning March 26, 2018. Over the past 25 years, she has worked extensively on maritime, transportation, environment and trade files, issues and policies as a lawyer, a trade association representative, and head of organizations. Anne Legars is a member of the Quebec Bar. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Institut d’Études Politiques de Grenoble, France. She also holds a Bachelor, a Master and a Post-graduate Degree in Law from Université de Grenoble II, France, as well as a Bachelor in Law equivalency and a LL.M. from Université de Montréal. She is also a Certified Association Executive (CAE). Mark Gauthier received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law in 1972 and was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1974. He was engaged in the general practice of law from his call to the Bar until he joined Justice Canada in 1982. He practiced law in the Legal Services Unit of Transport Canada as Counsel and Senior Counsel until 2005 and thereafter as the General Counsel of the Maritime Law Secretariat until he retired from the public service in 2011. In March 2012, he was appointed to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada where he served as a member until April 2018 when he was appointed Deputy Administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund (SOPF) and the Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods (FRAIDG), for a five-year term. During his career in the public service he provided legal services to the marine sector of Transport Canada particularly in the development of Canadian and international maritime law. He acted as legal advisor on a number of legislative projects such as the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and the Marine Liability Act. He acted for several years as a member and subsequently as Head of the Canadian Delegation to the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization. He also served as Alternate Head of Delegation to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds. While in those positions he was involved in the negotiation of several international conventions and in their subsequent adoption by Canada and implementation into Canadian law. He is an Honorary Life Member of the Canadian Maritime Law Association and a titulary member of the Comite Maritime International.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line94
__label__wiki	0.513281	0.513281	The Lions Be a Lion Fixtures & League So here we are again with the kick off of the 2019 cycle speedway season imminent at Lower Dicker Recreation Ground, home of the Hellingly Lions. The Lions once again have entered the East South Eastern league, albeit at a slightly lower level of Division 2 for reasons I shall explain. Even though we are far and away the longest surviving cycle speedway club in the ‘World’ (70+yrs continuously), year after year we find it challenging to entice new members away from their phones, laptops, Ipads, xboxes etc., to come and give cycle speedway a try. On that note, we are desperately trying to make contact with a Wealden Council officer regarding permission to erect a sign at either end of the Hellingly recreation ground to make it known to all exactly what goes on at the ground. All too often when club members mention the ‘Hellingly Lions’ in conversation, the response is continually the same “who” or “where is it?”, after explanation, the then response is “Oh, I wondered what went on there”. Our Hellingly council have no objection whatsoever but have suggested we contact Wealden Council as complete authorisation - not easy! And has been intimated it could take several weeks, we need signs up NOW! We have no hope of attracting new riders and supporters if the public is unaware that we are there! Unfortunately for the club, one or two of the junior brigade have decided to call it a day due to ongoing injuries sustained in racing last season, a couple of seniors also. As with all sports, it great to participate, but it’s also important to have the team strength to be competitive and win matches. With the Lions team now composed of predominately junior riders, it was agreed that they would benefit more by racing against opposition of a similar level in Division 2. On the team front, the club is looking to Steven Archer, George Morley and last season's young sensation Harry Sexton to improve their skills dramatically and hopefully be backed by the shared experience of Jim Cox, Jamie Morley and the evergreen Eddie Ridley. Opportunities are also available for Eddie's eldest son Harry to grow and improve as he will be included in the 2019 team at this level. We at the club are starting to reap the benefits of our website (possibly the best in the sport of cycle speedway) as some local lads who have found it are showing interest and keenly awaiting the commencement of our Thursday evening/Sunday training sessions. On the subject of training, we have been blessed with an uncommonly mild winter giving us a track racing surface in near perfect condition some 4-5 weeks earlier than usual. The grassed outfield area of the recreation ground is still a little wet and sticky underfoot, but full-on training sessions will be commencing the 24th March (1:00 pm). Regarding the ‘Arena’ as Lions prefer to call it, we are frequently praised by visiting teams on how picturesque and superbly presented the raceway is. At one time there were over a hundred teams in London and the surrounding boroughs alone and as previously stated the sport of cycle speedway is sadly somewhat in decline, now counting just 3o+ teams nationwide. However, the Lions at Lower Dicker are fortunate to have had continuous racing at the circuit for more than 50yrs, primarily due to the dedication and support of George Hollebon who has always appreciated and been aware that it is not only a raceway but also a local village recreation area and has needed to be maintained as such. With this in mind it is pleasing to see that the local council has saw fit to replace the entrance gates, which is so much more secure and presentable. As previously reported our racing season is fast approaching and as continuously seeking new recruits. All the relevant information can be sourced from our website (hellinglylions.org) including the link to contact us, to which a guaranteed response will be made within 24hrs. Five members of the Lions club made the trip to Kesgrave Sat 27thApril to take part in the 2nd round of the South East Grand Prix. Neil Hollebon rode in the senior category and comfortably made the ‘A’ final and finished 3rd behind the two Hill brothers from Ipswich. This being Neil's second only competitive meeting, to finish third was acceptable. George Morley also made the trip competing in the Under 18's category finishing 2nd in the B final, a section that is one of the most competitive with an abundance of talent with all chasing honours. As with Neil, this again was only George's second meeting and it was noticeable that both were lacking sharpness from the tapes but nevertheless an opportunity to blow the cobwebs away. Next up was the younger brigade with Harry Ridley stepping up a grade this season to race in the Under 10's. He managed to get to the C final which he won ending the afternoon with a creditable 13pts. Younger brother Sam, alongside Lions new recruit, Alfie Stephens both raced in the Under 8's, both reaching the B final with Sam third, Alfie fourth. All good news and great to see at least some of the lions getting in racing mode with the first league match just a week away. It is a little disconcerting that some of the Lions appear to be lacking total commitment to training with Thursday evening club nights now in full flow from 6.30pm. In an attempt to attract new talent as it were, arrangements are being made with invitations to two scout groups to visit the Lions circuit for a Cycle Speedway ‘taster’. One is our very local Hellingly group who I believe will be on the track on a Tuesday evening (date to be confirmed) and the other from Bexhill, a little further afield, who have elected to visit on a Friday, again date to be confirmed. Regarding the track itself, the racing surface is in perfect condition, probably the best it has been for quite a few seasons. Undoubtedly the best addition to the arena is the addition of the four flag poles, intended to draw attention to where we are and what we do. They certainly appear to be doing the job, so much so that a local citizen found our contact email address on our website and sent a message saying how pleased they were to see them. Unfortunately, there was also a reference that both union jacks either ends were upside down (not pointing the finger at anyone)! So I made the short trip to rectify the situation. I then emailed the gentleman apologizing and informing him all was now as it should be. He returned a message saying he had seen them, now the right way up. New! Flagpoles and Flags New! Entrance Sign On Tuesday 21st May, the Lower Dicker recreation ground was the place to be, or perhaps not, depending whether or not you like to witness 25 & 30 youngsters having a fabulous time. The recreation ground, the home of Hellingly Lions, was 'invaded' by a local cub scout troop after being invited to come along and give the sport of Cycle Speedway a go. As it was to be a controlled experiment, the kids were allowed to bring their own bikes to ride even though most were fitted with brakes which under normal racing safety rules wouldn't be allowed, but as this was purely a 'taster' concessions were the order of the day. All other safety issues were compulsory, crash helmets and gloves must be worn and all limbs covered. Due to the high attendance, the youngsters were split into two groups with group leaders. The Lions gazebo was erected at trackside with tables displaying information, photo's, leaflets, a race-ready cycle speedway bike and copious amounts of bottled water. Several Lions club members were on hand to mentor answer questions and demonstrate. Commencing the evening, one of the divided groups was given various details and information about the Lions Club and the sport of cycle speedway at the Gazebo by Natalie Ridley, the other group being given some of the finer points of the actual riding of cycle speedway under the instruction of a Senior and current Lions rider Eddie Ridley. Of course, all the kids were 'chomping at the bit' to get on their bikes and race following a short demonstration by Ed's two sons Harry & Sam and Alfie Stephens (who are very familiar to cycle speedway bikes and attend the Lions regular Thursday evening training sessions). After 20-30 minutes of controlled pandemonium with Ed, the two groups swapped track time and tuition by Ed and Natalie. Nearing the end of the session it was suggested that the cub scouts team leaders should give it a go. After considerable coaxing, three of the four adults did eventually get on a bike but a place in the Lions team was not deemed to be forthcoming from the Lions talent scout! By now, most of the kid's confidence had grown sufficiently and were offered a chance to ride a full-blown cycle speedway bike, (one with NO BRAKES or gears). As the taster session was drawing to a close, it was increasingly difficult to keep the youngsters off the track and the chatter, smiles, and laughter said it all. There were one or two crashes and one or two tears, but they were very short lived with everyone just wanting to ride their bikes. The overall assessment of the whole event was a massive success with 25-30 kids all going home tired and happy with most wanting to come back for more. Without a doubt, the event would not have taken place without the time and effort submitted by Eddie and Natalie, thankyou both. We welcome visits from both individuals and associations, for more information and contact can be made via the 'Contact' link above. Two New Signs for the track made by Chris at The Sign Shop Hailsham and generously donated by Tom Killick, a very long standing rider, member and mentor for the Lions. A big thankyou to both. Shown here by two 'ex'-lion riders who demonstrate the importance and benefits of maintaining fitness levels by being a current rider! With the season roughly midway through regarding league racing, the Lions are having their best season by far for quite a few years. At this moment in time, we are currently holding second spot behind the Eagles from Ipswich with the advantage of having 3 matches in hand. Without a doubt, the highlight of the season so far was inflicting the only defeat to Ipswich on their visit to the Lower Dicker Rec on Sunday 30th July. We have four league matches remaining, one of which is the longest trip to Norwich Stars and is probably going to be the toughest of meetings to come away with a victory, but spirits are definitely high and a very close and keenly contested match is on the cards. The remaining 3 meetings are Kesgrave and Great Blakenham (both in the Ipswich area) and are both away fixtures with the final league match at home to Hethersett (Norwich) on Sunday, Sept 15th. Now with Ipswich having just one match left (Kesgrave away), it looks very much like they will finish their League program with just one defeat (by the Lions) as one cannot foresee them losing at Kesgrave. As for the Lions, nothing less than four wins from four meetings will be required to share the top spot of the league table with Ipswich as we also have lost one match at the hands of the Eagles with a comprehensive thrashing at Whitton Lane back on 19th May. Apart from the world championships fast approaching, which this year is being held in Poland, there is not a great deal of cycle speedway action going on. To date, we have two matches left on the program at the Lower Dicker, the return challenge match with East London on Sun Sept 8th and the final league match against Hethersett on Sun Sept 15th. With the somewhat lack of competitive racing, don't be thinking there is nothing happening at the raceway, far from it! Those driving past cannot miss the fact that flag poles have appeared along with the new entrance gate. There is also a multitude of signs advertising the fact that local taxi firm Edwards is now sponsoring the Lions, of which we are very grateful. There have also been additional boards fixed to the fence on the exit of the notorious first bend for safety reasons. On to the bikes on the track, as this is the purpose of the raceway. At the start of the season, training/practice sessions were predominately held on Thursday evenings and open to all comers to come and sample the sport. Unfortunately, most sessions were not too well attended so something had to be done to attract attention that we were there and what we do? An open invitation was sent out to the local scout groups to come and try Cycle Speedway for the first time. No less than three separate groups took up the offer, two from the local village of Hellingly and one from Bexhill. Three separate dates were arranged, one for each group and it has to be said this was a phenomenal success. On each occasion, there was in excess 20 youngsters all wanting to get on a bike and tear around the track. So successful was the campaign that we have had to change the training session days as there is now 20 -30 kids turning up every Thursday wanting to race each other. I'm sure everyone can appreciate that to keep 20-30 kids under control, safe and happy is no easy task. Credit must go to senior rider Ed Ridley and his wife Natalie whom both have taken on board this task with their two sons Harry and Sam also taking part in the actual racing. After what now has become a regular thing every Thursday the progression from raw novices to more confident riders can clearly be seen as nearly all of them are now racing on purpose built cycle speedway bikes. For those unaware, these are lightweight single speed bikes with a low gearing and "NO BRAKES". There is no gender division in cycle speedway as boys and girls are racing each other equally with skill levels improving week by week. By far the youngest participant doing a few laps is Ruby who has no qualms about having a go, albeit at her pace. It is not all about being competitive but the sheer enjoyment of being involved as the picture shows with that smile. To accommodate the Lions senior riders training day has been switched to Tuesday evenings, but for whatever reason, not all are prepared to turn up. At this point, it has to be said that the Lower Dicker Recreation ground, is as the title suggests, a public recreation ground and is free to all who wish to use it, but all maintenance and general upkeep is carried out by club members. On a positive note, due to the interest that has been generated, an ex-Lion from the past has been tempted back on a bike to give it another go. Barrie Geer has been bitten by the bug again, along with his son Dillon who has also become a regular. A picture says a thousand words as they say, but not quite, as the picture of Barrie's bike does not relate to the actual very high cost of building it, but it does demonstrate serious intention is there? You've got the bike Barrie, what's needed now is to tune the engine (not the bike – the body!). Concentrated serious training sessions are the order of the day as a first-team slot beckons. Whilst on the subject of the first team, a word regarding as to why we are racing only Div2 this season. It was agreed by most senior riders and officials (not all) that after the 2018 season of racing Div1 & 2 it would be more beneficial in the long run to race Div 2 only. The main reasons being, was that we were drastically short of riders willing to commit themselves week in week out, and the few that were, would have to race in both divisions, meaning that most would have a minimum 9 rides. Now as half of the team were deemed as being juniors, by competing in Division 1, in virtually all of the away meetings losing was a foregone conclusion before getting on a bike. The past season results speak for themselves as an away win never happened, and in fact, even a couple of embarrassing home defeats were suffered. So, the decision to compete in Div 2 only has given the younger riders a chance to blossom by winning races and bringing victory for the Lions along the way. It was a calculated and proved to be the correct decision to make, as results show, we have been competitive in all our league encounters barring the one at Ipswich, but take great delight in being (in all probability) the only team to beat a team that intended to be unbeatable! Elliot -Ruby - Alicia Dillon Geer - Harry Sefton Barry Geer's new machine	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line104
__label__cc	0.708392	0.291608	Pathways of Pioneers home Big Hill Clover Creek Fort Hall Massacre Rocks Rock Creek Stage Station Three Island Crossing Bonneville Point Fort Boise Old Fort Boise Trail Historians Larry Jones F. Ross Peterson Laura Woodworth-Ney Don Shannon Modern Wagon Trains Dell Mangum train Joe Adams train Outdoor Idaho home Fort Boise was originally built by Thomas McKay of the British Hudson’s Bay Company in the fall of 1834 near the confluence of the Boise and Snake River. The post was a response to Fort Hall, the trading post built by American Nathaniel Wyeth a couple hundred miles upriver on the Snake near what is now Pocatello, Idaho. The Hudson’s Bay Company would soon own both forts but with the decline of the fur trade the posts served became primarily used as rest and resupply stops along the Oregon Trail for the thousands of American emigrants who were heading west. "We reached Fort Boise. This is a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, established upon the northern side of Snake or Lewis River, and about one mile below the mouth of the Boise River. This fort was erected for the purpose of recruiting, or as an intermediate post, more than as a trading point. It is built of the same materials, and modeled after Fort Hall, but is of a smaller compass. Portions of the bottoms around it afford grazing; but in a general view, the surrounding country is barren... At this fort they have a quantity of flour in store, brought from Oregon City, for which they demanded twenty dollars per cut, in cash... At this place the road crosses the river, the ford is about four hundred yards below the fort, and strikes across to the head of an island, then bears to the left to the southern bank; the water is quite deep, but not rapid..." -- Joel Palmer, September 2, 1845 Fort Boise was particularly susceptible to flooding and was actually moved several times in the generally vicinity of the confluence. Both Fort Boise and Fort Hall were shut down after the Ward massacre in 1854 escalated tensions between the emigrants and the Native Americans. Boise River floods destroyed all remnants of the fort by the 1860s and today all that left is a small historical marker. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is found inside the Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area. Though the fort is no longer there visitors can get good views of the Snake River from the river banks where the post used to stand. In Parma, just up the road from the original fort site, there is a replica of Fort Boise and additional historical information.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line108
__label__cc	0.619548	0.380452	The Humanities and Ethics Center at Drury University The Humanities House 2018-2019 Resident-Scholars Making a Donation to the Humanities Faculty Posts Student Posts Humanities in the news HEC: Fall 2018-Spring 2019 Film Series at the Moxie: Spring 2019 Reading Discussion Series: Winter Break Read Speaker Series: Humanities & Democracy HEC: Past Events Past Events: Spring 2018 Symposium: Humanities and the Future, on March 22 Humanities Society Events: Spring 2018 Past Events: Fall 2017 Reading Discussion Series Employment in the Humanities Test Scores in the Humanities Career Paths in the Humanities Salaries in the Humanities HumCasts Home Faculty Bloggers “Gender-Bending” Chemicals, Science-for-Hire, and Philosophy “Gender-Bending” Chemicals, Science-for-Hire, and Philosophy Jack Powers September 28, 2016 September 28, 2016 Northern Green Frog In 2011, I was a first-year philosophy graduate student at the University of Minnesota. I was taking a philosophy of biology course focused on the topic of evolutionary developmental biology, or evo-devo. As I was trying to think of a good term paper topic, I came across the story of Tyrone Hayes, a UC Berkeley biologist. In the late 1990s, Hayes was looking at the effects of the herbicide, atrazine, on frog development in partnership with the herbicide’s manufacturer, Syngenta. After Hayes’ early research suggested that atrazine might affect frog development at very low levels, Syngenta allegedly tried to bury the study, and began a very long smear campaign. As an aspiring philosopher of science, I thought the case was perfect for a dissertation. I spent the next four years slumped over a laptop working on the philosophy of endocrine disruption. Endocrines, or hormones, are molecules that act as messengers between the tissues and organs of living things. Hormones have roles to play in key life processes including development, metabolism, and reproduction. Although scientists have recognized since the early twentieth century that substances from outside the body can negatively impact the function of endocrine systems, modern endocrine disruption research began in the early 1990s with the work of Theo Colborn and her colleagues. Image from Time Magazine’s profile of Colborn, October 2007 In the 1980s and 1990s, a wide range of reproductive, behavioral, and developmental abnormalities in wildlife were cropping up in the scientific literature and in the reports of amateur naturalists. These phenomena, which included unusually large salmon thyroids and unusually small alligator penises, did not seem to be explained by the presence of any then-recognized toxins. Colburn hypothesized that manmade chemicals that were not known to be toxic at the time might have been interfering with the endocrine systems of wildlife. Colburn thought that these same chemicals were also likely to be acting on humans. She claimed that traditional toxicological tests were missing a large class of chemicals that posed serious health risks to humans and the environment. The publication of Colburn’s book, Our Stole Future, sparked 25 years of intense research and controversy. Although governments and NGOs have implemented endocrine disruptor screening and testing programs, and issued reports on the impacts of endocrine disruptors, the goals and standards of these programs and the findings of these reports have been contested at every turn. Many traditional toxicologists have been resistant to making the methodological revisions recommended by Colburn and her allies. Emerging endocrinological approaches to toxicology have suggested that even the revised test methods may fail to detect a wide range of endocrine disruption effects. For every report that concludes that endocrine disrupting chemicals pose significant health risks, chemical manufacturers have commissioned scientists to craft rebuttals. Meta-analysis of endocrine disruption literature has found that funding source can be a strong predictor of study outcome; chemical safety research funded by chemical manufacturers is generally less likely to find evidence of endocrine disrupting effects. Adding to the controversies, feminists (including myself) have highlighted the ways in which endocrine disruption researchers often characterize the harmful effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals by using gendered language like “feminization” and “demasculinization.” Endocrine disruption political rhetoric and media coverage often displays ethically problematic and scientifically suspect attitudes about sex and gender. Here, a person who does not conform to heteronormative social standards is represented as a harbinger of a toxic environment. When these research findings are presented to the public through popular media and political rhetoric, they are often framed in terms of heteronormative views of sexuality and gender. According to these views, human and animal members of clearly defined binary sexual groups have unique and non-overlapping sexual morphologies, behaviors, and reproductive roles. Deviations from these heteronorms are often characterized as worrisome or undesirable. In this way, language used by endocrine disruption researchers may be contributing to the reinforcement of scientifically suspect ideas about sex and gender and the maintenance of ethically problematic societal gender norms. One view of science, prominent among mid-twentieth century philosophers of science, holds that scientific reasoning ought to be free from the influence of social, moral, and political values. Science is in the business of describing the way that the world is, while social, moral, and political values are about the way the world ought to be. Thus, according to “the value-free ideal,” any influence of these values on scientific reasoning and practice represents a distortion of science. Most philosophers of science no longer accept the value-free ideal. As early as 1953, Richard Rudner argued that ethical values are necessary for setting standards of evidence for accepting or rejecting a scientific hypothesis. In the late twentieth century, feminist scientists and science studies scholars articulated the ways in which sexist assumptions shaped research in biology and social sciences and recommended interventions based on feminist values. In Science as Social Knowledge, Helen Longino argued that social beliefs and values are an indispensable part of scientific reasoning, since these beliefs and values help to provide the background assumptions necessary to conduct research. The endocrine disruption case highlights some of the questions that philosophers are beginning to address in the new era of “value-laden” philosophy of science. What are appropriate and inappropriate roles for values in science? How can we recognize when financial conflicts of interest are biasing scientific reasoning and practice? How can we recognize when social beliefs are causing science to be misinterpreted? Should scientists consider the social implications of their language choices? What are the social responsibilities of scientists? It is an exciting time to be a philosopher of science. If this blog post piqued your interest, you might consider signing up for a philosophy of science course. Also, keep your ears open, because there is a rumor that a certain philosopher of science might be coming to Drury soon to talk about clones. Colborn, T., Dumanoski, D., & Myers, J. P. (1996). Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival?–a Scientific Detective Story. Longino, H. E. (1990). Science as social knowledge: Values and objectivity in scientific inquiry. Princeton University Press. Rudner, R. (1953). The scientist qua scientist makes value judgments. Philosophy of science, 20(1), 1-6. Digital Humanities and the Future of Political History Finding a Family on Campus PETER MEIDLINGER Wow! Exhilarating piece, Jack! You compel me to rethink, among other things, what I thought we meant by saying that science should be value neutral. Walking in Alabama: Enclosure and In-Betweenness Misinformed: How a 1918 Narrative Shapes Our Discussion of Slavery and Race Today Fascist Control of Theatre in the 1930s & 40s Archives Select Month June 2019 February 2019 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 Subscribe to Humanities Blog Follow @druryhumanities Drury University Copyright 2015	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line112
__label__wiki	0.669372	0.669372	Interstate 275 Widening in Tampa Interstate 275 and the two feeders in St. Petersbu... Interstate 275 and the two feeders in St. Petersburg: To set the record straight Recently I received an email through the Interstate275Florida.com feedback page from someone claiming to be a professional highway engineer. Why I say the word "claiming" is that sometimes there are people out there who say they are when in fact they are not. Here is the text of the email I received (I edited it to clean up the language): Hi, I'm a professional highway engineer. I don't know how you can get so excited about a ... joke of an interstate highway, which is what I-275 is, and pathetically it is the only freeway in Pinellas County! (I-175 and I-375 are simply glorified feeder ramps and do not deserve to have their own route number). I am going to set the record straight as to why Interstate 275 was pushed through southern Pinellas County and the two feeder highways, Interstate 375 and Interstate 175. First, when the interstate system was being constructed in the Tampa Bay area in the 1960's and 1970's Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg as we know it today was not going to be Interstate 275 in the first place. The highway was initially supposed to be a continuation of Interstate 4 which was planned to end around St. Pete Beach (and it was not intended to be routed over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to begin with, as it was a two-lane cantilever span back then). The only reminder of what it was yesterday can be found on a mileage sign as you drive northbound on Interstate 275 as you pass the 4 St N (Exit 32) exit: Tampa International Airport 7 miles, Tampa 11 miles and Lakeland 45 miles. Now we know that Lakeland is not on Interstate 275 - it's on Interstate 4. Second, when the Florida DOT decided to push Interstate 75 through Tampa southward to Miami, Interstate 4 was truncated at what we Tampa Bay area residents know as "malfunction junction", which is Interstate 275's Exit 45B in Tampa. Interstate 75 was simply extended over the Howard Frankland Bridge into St. Petersburg. Third, a Tampa bypass was in the works as Interstate 75 was being pushed through St. Petersburg and it was initially going to be Interstate 75E. But the organization responsible for the numbering of our nation's interstate highways, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (or AASHTO for short), put an end to the practice of letter-suffixing interstate highway numbers. So, the Florida DOT decided on routing Interstate 75 over the bypass route and renumbering Interstate 75 as it was being constructed through St. Petersburg as Interstate 275. Fourth, what about our two feeder interstate highways in downtown St. Petersburg, Interstates 375 and 175? I believe these highways are not "glorified feeder ramps" as referred to in the email I received; instead these two short highways are spur routes of Interstate 275 that serve the downtown St. Petersburg area. Remember, as these interstate highways are spur routes (meaning they end with no interstate highway connection at the other end) the first digit in the three digit number will be odd. Back when Interstate 4 was planned the feeder routes were only shown on planning documents as Interstates 304 and 104. By the way, a ramp is a short one- or two-lane low speed road that connects a street or highway to or from an interstate highway in a safe manner. Interstates 375 and 175 have their own exit and entrance ramps just like Interstate 275: Interstate 375 at Martin Luther King St N, 8 St N (entrance only), 4 Av N and 5 Av N just before 5 St N (eastern terminus) and Interstate 175 at Martin Luther King St S and 6 St S (westbound entrance and eastbound exit only) as well as 5 Av S (eastbound terminus exit only) and 4 St S (westbound entrance). But the mainline of both Interstates 375 and 175 are identical to the mainline of Interstate 275 for the two feeders' entire length. And fifth, southern Pinellas was the only part of Pinellas County to have the totally controlled access freeway, which we know today as Interstate 275. Back in the 1960's and early to mid-1970's Clearwater and northern Pinellas County was not as developed as it is today. In other words, interstate highway service into Clearwater back then was not justified. But contrast this to the Clearwater and northern Pinellas County as we know today: That was a big mistake. However, with the conversion of US 19 in Clearwater and northern Pinellas County to an interstate-like highway I would advocate a connection to Interstate 275, starting south on US 19 around Palm Harbor and routing it all the way to just north of Park/Gandy Blvd. (FL 694). Then have the new highway turn east and follow an upgraded version of Gandy Blvd. passing Interstate 275 (which would have a reconfigured interchange) to Tampa, connecting it at the Crosstown Expressway. Besides, an upgraded Gandy would be a beneficial hurricane evacuation route. We could call this highway Interstate 875 and I have an idea for a Gandy makeover and Interstate 875 here at Interstate275Florida.com simply by clicking here. While we are on the subject of route numbers, posting a route number is not as easy as you think. For a route newly constructed or upgraded to interstate standards to get an interstate route number this is what has to be done. First, an application has to be submitted to AASHTO from the Florida DOT (or any other states' DOT for that matter) that details the justification and need. Second, AASHTO reviews the request and makes a decision: If the request is denied the application is sent back to the requestor; however, if the application is approved there is one more step. Third, an application approved by AASHTO to establish and/or change an interstate route number has to be sent to the Federal Highway Administration within the United States DOT for their review and concurrence. Now you see? Let's backtrack for a moment on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and its role as an interstate highway. When the original cantilever spans were built in 1954 and 1971, these spans were not up to interstate standards. When the decision was made to push Interstate 75 southward to Miami the twin cantilever bridges of the Sunshine Skyway were proposed to be brought up to interstate standards. However, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster on 9 May 1980 turned things around a bit: For a while the Sunshine Skyway was being considered as not being part of Interstate 275. In 1981 Interstate 275's future insofar as the Sunshine Skyway was concerned had a bright outlook as a new cable stayed bridge as we know it today would replace the two incompatible cantilever spans. Hopefully I should set the record straight as to why Interstate 275 was pushed through St. Petersburg and southern Pinellas County and the reasoning behind the two feeder interstates in downtown St. Petersburg, Interstates 375 and 175. As always, I welcome your comments!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line113
__label__wiki	0.909262	0.909262	Saudi Arabia: The World’s Greatest Hypocrite - Raymond Ibrahim by Raymond Ibrahim The human-rights-abusing kingdom calls on the West “to confront ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance.” Saudi Arabia recently preached to the international community about the need to confront “intolerance, extremism and human rights violations.” If this sounds surreal, consider the following excerpts from a July 26 report in the Saudi Gazette (emphasis added): Saudi Arabia has reiterated its call on the international community to criminalize any act vilifying religious beliefs and symbols of faith as well as all kinds of discrimination based on religion. Saudi Arabia wants Western cartoonists, comedians, and others—people who represent only their individual selves—to stop mocking the religious beliefs and symbols of Islam, even as the Arabian kingdom’s own institutionalized policy is to vilify and discriminate against the religious beliefs and symbols of all other faiths. Not a single non-Muslim worship building is allowed there; the highest Islamic authority decreed that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.” Whenever Christians are suspected of meeting in a house for worship—or as one Saudi official once complained, “plotting to celebrate Christmas”—they are arrested and punished. Any cross or other non-Muslim symbol found is confiscated and destroyed. Anyone caught trying to smuggle Bibles or any other “publications that have prejudice to any other religious belief other than Islam” can be executed. In 2011, a Colombian soccer-player “was arrested by the Saudi moral police after customers in a Riyadh shopping mall expressed outrage over the sports player’s religious tattoos, which included the face of Jesus of Nazareth on his arm.” In 2010 a Romanian player kissed the tattoo of a cross he had on his arm after scoring a goal, causing public outrage. And yet, Saudi Arabia has the unmitigated gall to ask the West—where Islam is freely practiced, where mosques and Korans proliferate, and where Muslims are granted full equality—to cease “discrimination based on religion.” Continues the Saudi Gazette: Addressing an international symposium on media coverage of religious symbols based on international law, which started in this French city on Saturday, a senior Saudi official said the Kingdom emphasized years ago that the international community must act urgently to confront ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance, which has become widespread in all communities and peoples of the world. Meanwhile, back in the real world, few countries exhibit as much “ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance” as does the Arabian kingdom. Along with the aforementioned discrimination and intolerance against all other religions, Saudi Arabia is notoriously clannish and racist. Ten percent of the population is denied equal rights because of their race; back men are barred from holding many government positions; black women are often put on trial for “witchcraft”; castrated African slaves are sold on Facebook in the birthplace of Islam and its princes are known to beat their black slaves to death. Human Rights Watch has described conditions for foreign workers in Saudi Arabia as resembling slavery. Worse of all is if you’re black and Christian. After 35 Christian Ethiopians were arrested and abused in prison for almost a year, simply for holding a private house prayer, one of them said after being released: “They [Saudis] are full of hatred towards non-Muslims.” This is unsurprising considering that the Saudi education system makes it a point to indoctrinate Muslim children with hatred, teaching that “the Apes are the people of the Sabbath, the Jews; and the Swine are the infidels of the communion of Jesus, the Christians.” According to Saudi novelist Hani Naqshabandi, “Our religious institutions do not give us room to exercise free thought…. They [Saudi institutions] said that the Christian is an infidel, a denizen of hell, an enemy to Allah and Islam. So we said, ‘Allah’s curse on them.’” Again, bear in mind that all this is official Saudi policy—not the “free expressions” of individuals, which the Saudis are condemning as creating “ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance” around the world. The Saudi Gazette goes on to quote one Abdulmajeed Al-Omari, “a senior Saudi official.” Speaking at a recent international symposium in France which hosted representatives from 16 European nations, he said that Western “freedom of expression without limits or restrictions” are “abuses [that] bred intolerance, extremism and human rights violations…” Again, it bears reemphasizing that in the West individuals are free to express themselves. And it’s just that—expression, not action (as in murder, terrorism, rape, enslavement, church bombings, or the slaughter of “apostates”). As for Western governments, thanks to political correctness, not only do they discourage freedom of expression but honest, objective talk concerning Islam is suppressed (hence every Western leader maintains that ISIS “has nothing to do with Islam,” AKA, “the religion of peace”). Meanwhile, it is precisely Islamic teachings that breed “intolerance, extremism and human rights violations,” and not just in Saudi Arabia but all throughout the Muslim world. And it is precisely these teachings that prompt Western peoples to criticize Islam, including through cartoons. None of this is enough to embarrass the Saudis from their farce: Al-Omari said the Saudi participation in the symposium falls in line with its efforts to support the principles of justice, humanity, promotion of values and the principles of tolerance in the world as well as to emphasize the importance of respecting religions and religious symbols. Actually, because of Saudi Arabia’s absolute lack of “justice, humanity, promotion of values and the principles of tolerance,” even the U.S. State Department lists the home of Islam and Muhammad as one of eight “Countries of Particular Concern.” Thus in ultra-hypocritical manner, Saudi Arabia asks the international community to stop exercising freedom of expression—even as it openly and unapologetically persecutes, discriminates, and violates the most basic human rights of non-Muslims and non-Saudis on a daily basis. It still remains to determine which is more surreal, more unbelievable: that Saudi Arabia, which tops the charts of state-enforced religious intolerance and ethnic discrimination, is calling on the West “to confront ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance,” or that the West deigns to participate in such disgracefully hypocritical forums. Raymond Ibrahim Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/259829/saudi-arabia-worlds-greatest-hypocrite-raymond-ibrahim	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line116
__label__wiki	0.624836	0.624836	Transcript - #2019041, 2019 Doorstop interview, Launceston, Tasmania Subjects: Tasmania’s economy; cutting red tape for Tasmania’s small businesses; Australia-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement; women in the Liberal Party; and domestic violence support. BRIDGET ARCHER: It’s wonderful to be here this morning with Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg and acting Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, as well as Senator-designate Wendy Askew and Claire Chandler. It’s an exciting announcement today, $6.4 million for small business investment in Tasmania. JOSH FRYDENBERG: Well, thanks Bridget. Terrific to be here with you and Claire and Wendy, and of course the acting Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, terrific that you could make it here. It’s terrific to be back here in Tasmania, here in Launceston. Tasmania is such a success story for the Australian economy. To think that when we came to Government, unemployment in Tasmania was 7.5 per cent and now it’s down to 6.2 per cent, and under the leadership of Will Hodgman, we’ve seen international tourism numbers up around 15 per cent in the last year. We’ve seen exports up very strongly across the state by about a similar number. Economic growth is running in the state of Tasmania at 3.3 per cent, the fastest in a decade. And, that is a real credit, Jeremy, to you and to Will and to your team and the leadership that you’ve shown, but also the work that we have undertaken at a federal level to support the Tasmanian economy and the Tasmanian community. And, a key part of the success of Tasmania has been the small business sector; more than 36,000 small businesses across the state are benefitting from the Federal Government, the Coalition Government, moves to cut taxes, moves to put in place an instant asset write off which has been taken up by thousands of businesses across the state. And, we are extending it and increasing it to $25,000. The work that we’re doing to increase access to finance for small business, with a $2 billion securitisation fund because access to finance for small business is critical if they’re going to employ more people and grow their businesses. And, today is another step in the right direction for small business; $6.4 million is part of the federal Government’s $300 million small business regulatory reform package, which will ensure that the red tape that is currently there is there no longer. So, for example, if you’re a small business and you’re applying for a building approval, you won’t need to go through separate applications or environment approvals, food safety approvals, heritage approvals, you will be able to do it all on one portal. We’re going to increase access for small businesses who may be at risk of bush fires in their areas by providing them with special data that allows them to mitigate against those risks. And, a whole series of other things that are going to help on construction sites with accreditation reducing the red tape. So, this is a very important announcement. $6.4 million, the spin offs for the economy will be significantly greater than that. It’s a real pleasure to be working with the State Government. The other thing I will say about today and its importance to the Tasmanian economy, is the fact that the Australia-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement is being signed by my colleague, Simon Birmingham, in Indonesia. This is a very significant agreement, because not only do Australia and Indonesia enjoy a close working relationship in the trade area, but we are important strategic partners and we work so closely together. Back in 1991, Australia only had one Free Trade Agreement and that was with New Zealand. And, now we have eleven, and it covers more than 70 per cent of our two-way trade with partners, particularly those in the region. This has been a Coalition achievement in agreeing to new FTA’s and that has created jobs in every state and territory, particularly here in Tasmania. So, Jeremy, thanks for the opportunity to be here. JEREMY ROCKLIFF: Well, thank you very much, Josh, and to Richard, thanks for having us once again in your patch. And, Josh, thank you for being in Northern Tasmania once again, the Bass electorate, of course of which Bridget and Claire and Wendy know so much about. Look, we welcome this announcement. This is a great announcement for small business. So, there is 36,000 small businesses in Tasmania that will be celebrating today’s announcement, but also, more importantly, the 110,000 employees. And, it’s the Government’s job to support and recognise the value of businesses right across Tasmania, which Josh has said, the key part of Tasmania’s success in terms of our economy is up to the hard-working men, women and families and employees in small business, that every day get up and service the Tasmanian community and work very, very hard. We have much to celebrate in Tasmania. On a per capita basis, we are the fastest growing state in Australia, nearly double the national average. That is through hard work and cooperation and collaboration, not only between Federal and State Government, but of course, with small businesses as well. So, thanks very much, Josh. This is a $6.4 million investment, reducing the complexity when it comes to running a small business. I pay tribute to all the people involved in small business in Tasmania and this is a very, very welcome announcement for them, and indeed, our state. Treasurer, how concerned are you about the Indonesia-Australia Trade deal being amended or scrapped before passing both Parliaments, given concerns in Indonesia and within Labor? Well, the Labor Party, unfortunately, are very sceptical of Free Trade Agreements. That means they are turning their backs on small businesses across the community and it’s going to lead to less jobs being created. One in five Australian jobs are related to trade today. And, as I said, the work that we have done as a Coalition Government, whether it’s the Free Trade Agreement with China or with the United States prior to that, Japan and Korea, the Trans-Pacific Partnership involving eleven countries. These are agreements that create jobs. So, we will be putting the case before the Parliament to take the next step with this Australia-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement. But, the fact that it was the Coalition Government that has presided over its signing is very significant. It’s good news for the people of Tasmania, its good news for the people of Australia. If this $6.4 million is being added to a suite of initiatives already funded at the national level, how is it going to directly help Tasmanians? Well, it’s going to help them in a very practical way. So, small businesses will have less red tape to navigate when they are getting a building approval. Small businesses will have less red tape to navigate when they’re looking to water infrastructure on their properties. Small businesses will have less red tape to navigate when they’re mitigating against bush fire risks, and construction companies will have less red tape to navigate when they’re accrediting contractors and others who are working on their properties. So, working with the State Government, we’ve come up with this suite of initiatives. The Federal Government is investing and ultimately, that means more jobs and less paperwork for small businesses across Tasmania. But, to be clear, this is part of a national funding… It’s not, $6.4 million isn’t just for Tasmania? No, the $6.4 is just for Tasmania. There is a $300 million pool that will obviously be going towards small business regulatory reform initiatives around the rest of the country. Treasurer, there will be seven women in Cabinet if you win the election. Will the Party ever consider quotas or do you think this goes far enough? Look, my preference has always been for targets. And we have a target in the Federal Liberal Party to increase the representation of women. But, the fact that Linda Reynolds is now the seventh female in the Australian Cabinet and that this is a record number of women since Federation in the Australian Cabinet, I think this is a real positive development. And, Linda has been an outstanding Member of Parliament, she has written on a whole host of areas and she has shown real leadership in terms of dealing with the floods that we have recently seen in Queensland. She brings to the table experience in the military, the rank of brigadier, and I think her elevation is a reflection of her dedication and her professionalism. The fact that we are standing here with Claire and Bridget and Wendy, women who are bringing to the table real experiences in other walks of life. Bridget has been involved in the farming community and Local Government and will make a fantastic candidate here. The other thing that I will point out is that, you know, the Liberal Party is attracting women to run in marginal seats like the seat of Macnamara and yesterday I launched Kate Ashmor’s campaign, she runs a local law firm, she’s been head of the local community bank, a long association, and she is putting her hand up to win a seat from the Labor Party in Macnamara. And, then, in the seat of Higgins, I was very pleased to see Katie Allen win the nomination there. Katie Allen is a Professor of Paediatrics at the Royal Children’s and the University of Melbourne, a fellow at the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. It says something not only about Katie Allen being prepared to put her hand up for public life, but it says something about the Liberal Party that we can attract women of the calibre of Katie Allen and Kate Ashmor and the women who are here today to run for our seats. Treasurer, how concerned are you about the impact of the minor parties and independents in the upcoming election? Well, minor parties and independents always play a role in every election, some states more so than others. But it is important for Australia that we have the stability of government. And that is why we will be saying to the people of Australia; vote one for the Coalition, whether it’s your Liberal candidate or your National Party candidate. Should the minimum number of women in Cabinet or a Shadow Cabinet be the new norm for the Coalition from here on? Well, I think the numbers will increase overtime, just as they have. And the women, who are side by side with the Prime Minister in Cabinet, are women who are making an outstanding contribution and they are making outstanding contributions as Liberals, as Nationals, as members of the Liberal Party. Do you think Linda Reynolds was appointed on merit after an extraordinary career? Why is she being appointed to Cabinet weeks out from the election? Well, as you know, Steve Ciobo, has retired from that portfolio and people on both sides of politics have made their announcements about their own careers and for different reasons. And no one should begrudge that. So, an opportunity came available with Steve Ciobo’s announcement and the Prime Minister saw fitting to put Linda Reynolds in that role and she is already acquitting herself. Julie Bishop said she would have beaten Bill Shorten at the next election. Do you agree? Scott Morrison will beat Bill Shorten at the next election. Scott Morrison is showing real leadership across the country, whether it is here in Tasmania with the response to the recent bushfires or in Queensland with the floods, or the announcement that was made here the other day about a second interconnector between Tasmania and the mainland, or ensuring Tasmania becomes the battery of the nation providing renewable power across to the mainland as well as providing for Tasmanians energy needs. These are policies, these are announcements that are going to make real differences to people’s lives, they’re going to continue with the strong jobs growth that we have seen across country. Bill Shorten has an economic plan, which will lead to fewer jobs, higher unemployment, lower growth and $200 billion worth of new taxes, and taxes on the people of Bass, including those who are currently getting the benefits of their franking credit. Taxes on the people of Bass who either rent their house, or own their house, they will see it worth less under the Labor Party and will end up paying more for their rents. This is the Labor’s Party way, higher taxes, which will mean lower growth and less jobs. What about Julie Bishop though, do you agree with her? Well, I believe that Scott Morrison is going to lead us to victory at the next election. He has shown great leadership and strength in that role. Treasurer, is the government planning to match Labor’s $60 million support package for victims fleeing from domestic violence? Well, the Labor Party is playing catch-up in this very important area. We have already announced more than $300 million of new initiatives in additional funding to support victims of domestic violence, whether it is security upgrades, emergency accommodation, support for the helpline, we have announced a series of initiatives and we will continue to roll more.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line118
__label__wiki	0.574951	0.574951	Published on Jamaica Gleaner (http://jamaica-gleaner.com) Home > Foreign affairs must be principled! Published:Friday \| May 18, 2018 \| 12:00 AM THE EDITOR, Sir: Our foreign affairs ministry must be encouraged to choose its position based on principle and stand firmly behind it. The Jamaican Government now says that it is deeply troubled by violence in the Gaza Strip arising from the United States' controversial decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, recognising the city as Israel's capital. It wasn't long ago that many countries, including US allies, voted overwhelmingly at the UN Assembly to denounce the US decision with 128 voting against, nine in favour, 35 voted to abstain, and another 21 countries did not participate. Jamaica chose to abstain, even as it was widely known that the US move would result in violence and instability in the region. The ongoing violence in the region since the embassy was opened has been described as horrific, the worst in years, with dozens killed to date. The UN has always argued for peaceful, negotiated resolution and mediation in these conflicts. It is the very essence of why the UN Assembly was formed. While it is admirable to see the Government taking a firmer position now, it would've been more meaningful had they not voted to abstain after the US threatened to take names of those countries that did not support the controversial decision. Some of the largest recipients of US aid still voted against; it was a matter of principle. Foreign affairs should not be developed based on fear; it ought to be principled, diplomatic and consistent. P. CHIN chin_p@yahoo.com [1] Source URL: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/letters/20180518/foreign-affairs-must-be-principled [1] mailto:chin_p@yahoo.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line119
__label__wiki	0.584915	0.584915	Home > News > Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary > February 2017 > February 10, 2017 (AM) February 10, 2017 (AM) I would like to provide a summary of the Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet approved 13 general measures as well as bills, Cabinet decisions, and personnel decisions. With regard to statements by ministers, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a statement concerning his views on the fiscal 2017 budget, business plan, and funding plan for Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). I made statements on the schedule for the visit to Viet Nam of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan and on ad interim posts for officials absent during overseas trips. I will also comment on a personnel decision for a Supreme Court Justice approved at today's Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet approved the appointment of Mr. Saburo Tokura, head of Tokyo High Court, as a Supreme Court Justice to succeed Mr. Takehiko Otani upon his scheduled retirement. REPORTER: I have a question about the Japan-U.S. summit meeting beginning early tomorrow. A top U.S. government official shared an expectation that at the summit meeting, President Trump will reaffirm that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands of Okinawa Prefecture. Are the two governments currently working on such coordination? CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, Japan and the United States are presently coordinating the details of the Japan-U.S. summit, and nothing has been finalized. REPORTER: U.S. Secretary of Defense Mattis recently stated during his visit to Japan that Article V of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty does apply to the Senkaku Islands. Would the Japanese government like President Trump to reiterate this message? CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I have received reports that this is among the matters currently under coordination. REPORTER: With regard to President Trump's executive order on the prohibition of entry to the United States, a court has indicated that it will dismiss the Trump administration's appeal. This story is a domestic matter of the United States, but can I ask for a comment from the Government concerning its passage? CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: This is indeed a domestic matter of the United States. A country's policies for managing immigration and its judicial decisions are internal administrative matters of that country, so the Government would like to refrain from commenting. However, the Government generally recognizes refugees and countermeasures against terrorism as being global issues, and will continue closely following the status of implementation of the executive order relating to immigration policy. REPORTER: This is a related question. You could say the U.S. executive and judicial branches are at odds over the executive order. What is the Government's view on the current situation? CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: It is natural for such things to happen in any democratic system.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line121
__label__cc	0.696931	0.303069	Home > News > Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary > March 2017 > March 23, 2017 (PM) March 23, 2017 (PM) REPORTER: If I may switch topics, I would like to ask a question regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) led by China. AIIB announced that it approved new membership applications from 13 countries and regions, including Canada and Hong Kong. This brings the total membership to 70 countries and regions, exceeding the 67 regions of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) led by Japan and the United States. Can you please share your comments? CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan would like to refrain from commenting on the changes in the membership of the AIIB, an organization of another country. You noted that the membership of the AIIB exceeds that of ADB. However, it is also true that ADB, as a comprehensive development institution in the region, has built up a track record in providing many supports. In any case, Japan will continue to closely follow the activities of the AIIB, including whether it will become an organization that contributes to sustainable development in the Asian region and the AIIB's actual operations.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line122
__label__wiki	0.920787	0.920787	Flight crew breaks record for circumnavigating globe via both poles Posted July 11, 2019 Syndication (CNN) — An international flight crew has broken the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe via the North and South Poles, with an impressive margin of almost six hours. The 25,000-mile mission, dubbed “One More Orbit” and counting a former International Space Station commander among its leaders, was launched in honor of the Apollo 11 moon landings, the 50th anniversary of which is later this month. The previous record, set in 2008, took 52 hours, 31 minutes and four seconds, at an average speed of 822.8km/h (511.26 mph). Led by Action Aviation Chairman Hamish Harding and former International Space Station Commander Colonel Terry Virts, the crew took off on July 9 at 9:32 a.m. from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, heading directly to the North Pole. The crew pose in front of the craft. One More Orbit/Facebook The aircraft later refueled in Kazakhstan before flying to Mauritius to begin the South Pole leg of the trip. It made another fuel stop in Punta Areas, Chile, before returning to Florida. The jet, part of the Qatar Executive fleet, was powered by two Rolls-Royce BR725 A1-12 Turbofans. The first pole-to-pole circumnavigation flight took place in 1965 in a modified Flying Tiger Line Boeing 707-349C carrying 40 scientists, guests and crew. To make the trip possible, the plane — nicknamed Pole Cat — had to be modified with two additional fuel tanks installed in the main cabin. The trip took 62 hours and 27 minutes. In 1968, a Modern Air Transport Convair 990 airliner with 78 passengers and crew flew over both poles. This plane didn’t set a speed record, but by landing for fuel at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station, it was the first aircraft to touch all seven continents. Pan Am Flight 50’s speed record stood for 31 years until 2008, when a Bombardier Global Express business jet broke it, thanks to perfect planning and shorter fuel stops. “Our mission pays homage to the Apollo 11 moon landing, by highlighting how humans push the boundaries of aeronautics,” Harding said in a statement. “It is our way of paying tribute to the past, the present, and the future of space exploration.” CNN’s Thom Patterson contributed to this report. This article originally appeared here ⟵Getting Cheap Car Insurance for New Drivers Manhattanhenge 2019: Where to watch New York’s sunset show in July⟶	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line123
__label__cc	0.578319	0.421681	The growing demand for food, feed and fuels along with the strong promotion of biomass-based energy in Thailand and plans for the future has led to increased concerns on aspects related to land and water resources, food versus fuel issues, energy security and implications related to the use of biomass and the sustainability of agriculture. Due to his long experience and distinguished research record, Prof. Dr. Shabbir H. Gheewala of the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) has been awarded the prestigious Research Chair Grant 2016 of 20 million Thai Baht from the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand. This grant will be for the project “Network for Research and Innovation for Trade and Production of Sustainable Food and Bioenergy (Research Chair Grant; 2017-2022)” with the following objectives: Development of the capacity of 9 researchers from 6 universities for policy research (KMUTT, Kasetsart University, Mahidol University, Prince of Songkla University, Mahasarakham University, University of Phayao) Conduct R&D for supporting government policy decision making of food and energy Adopt sustainability assessment tools to support industrial production and trade Develop research collaboration and network for scientific information exchange among researchers, government and private sectors related to food, fuel and climate change This project will provide scientific information under international standards for sustainable food and bioenergy production in Thailand which could be used for dissemination, promotion, and international trade negotiations. @by AIT.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line124
__label__cc	0.749875	0.250125	← The forgotten war – Chinese resistance to Japan. Michael Thorn. The Australian cricket captain says its about the brand and not alcohol. → Edmund Campion. Homily for the funeral service of Brian Johns. Posted on 8 January 2016 Family, friends, colleagues of Brian Johns. The other morning, after Brian had died, it came to me, so this is the end of a conversation that endured for more than sixty years. Then I recalled that one name had dominated our earliest talks together, all those years ago, the name of Dorothy Day. Dorothy Day? Who was she? She was an American Catholic radical who, when she died in 1980, was given lengthy obituaries in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books and all the other leading papers. A significant figure in American culture. I can tell you her life in one sentence: she believed literally in those words of the Lord Jesus I have just read from the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel: feed the hungry; give a drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; give the poor a home; visit them when they’re in hospital or prison. It’s Christianity in its purest form. So during the Great Depression she did just that; set up houses of hospitality (as she called them) where the poor could find a home and food and drink, houses of hospitality that spread across the United States; she started a monthly paper, The Catholic Worker and a movement around it. She did jail time for protesting against American militarism and promoted an ethic that said everyone was worthwhile. Dorothy Day. When we were young, Brian and I came across a long article about her that ran across two issues of The New Yorker. It began: ‘Many people believe that Dorothy Day is a saint, and that one day she will be canonised.’ She said: ‘You can’t dismiss me as easily as that.’ But for Brian she became a seminal influence, his idea of a Catholic saint, someone who took the Lord’s words seriously and followed them until they hurt. Did you notice something about those words of his? Jesus was a Jew, of course, and he’s quoting from one of the great books of the Hebrew scriptures, the Book of Isaiah (read for us by Ben Patfield). You must have noticed how Jesus takes Isaiah’s words and transforms them into a mystical identification between himself and the poor: ‘I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, I needed clothes…. As often as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ That identification between Jesus and the poor gives a religious energy to the corporal works of mercy (as we call these activities). Here’s something else about the corporal works of mercy: they are not only individualistic – here’s a piece of bread, here’s a cup of cold water, here’s a pair of trousers… oh yes, we must do those things – but we must also work hard to change our society: Give bread to the hungry? Yes, but also create social and political structures that reduce poverty and give the marginalised respect; Drink to the thirsty? Yes, but also take the decisions together that ensure clean, unpolluted water, particularly in the Third World, and act to restore a balance to the world’s ecology; I was naked? Yes, clothes are needed, but think also of those stripped psychologically bare in our society or prone to be addled in our drug culture; I was in prison? Notice that Christ doesn’t say, ‘I was in prison unjustly,’ he says, ‘I was in prison’ – justly or unjustly. Think too of those oppressed by other forms of imprisonment: domestic violence, sexism, racism, class distinctions… We need to change societal attitudes on those fronts too. The homeless: ah, refugees, asylum seekers, the unwanted, those different from us… So Christ’s summons to the corporal works of mercy is a call not only for individual responses, it is also a call for radical changes in our society and our world, to make them fairer and more just. It is a call for social justice. Brian learned this, years ago, from Dorothy Day and he based his life on it. She gave him his compass points to steer towards what he became – the champion of a better Australia. Which is why we salute him today. This was the homily that Fr Edmund Campion delivered at the funeral service of Brian Johns at St Canice’s Church at Elizabeth Bay on 7 January 2016. This entry was posted in Politics, Religion and Faith, Tributes and tagged Brian Johns, Dorothy Day, Edmund Campion. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Responses to Edmund Campion. Homily for the funeral service of Brian Johns. Jennifer Herrick says: Pierces to the heart of Johns’ drive and motivation. Thanks Ed. John Challis says: Congratulations Ed – a masterpiece of succinct exegesis, expertly delivered from the heart in a church with difficult acoustics : “cor ad cor loquitur”. Frank Brennan says: Thanks Ed. A top homily for a top bloke. Graham English says: 9 January 2016 at 10:07 AM Thanks Ed. Well done!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line125
__label__wiki	0.516734	0.516734	The Journal of World Issues The Syrian army’s recovery of Aleppo and defeat in Palmyra: A mixed report of victory and defeat side-by-side On the 12th of December 2016 the Syrian Arab Army has advanced into the bulk of the former areas held by rebels and several offspring groups of the Al Nusra Front in the Eastern part of the city. Up to the last reports, there is a remaining enclave South-east of Aleppo. Still the smell of the final recovery of Syria’s second city and economic hub was being felt since yesterday, when local residents celebrated the retake of the city from the rebel forces. Only weeks ago the Syrian regime controlled around 85% of the urban area. An ever advancing movement enabled the army to take district by district off the insurrectionists. Joined by allies such as the Syrian Kurds, the Hezbollah, and the Russians along them, the regime has recovered the whole metropolitan area, except of one remaining enclave of armed branches that did not follow the general withdrawal of their brothers in arms, all willing to draw back to the Idlib province under their control still. The all so long awaited victory might have fallen short in the media, as simultaneously to that, the ancient city of Palmyra, fortress of the desert retaken last year, fell back to the Islamic State along some airbases in the area that had been secured in the past and taken in a very costly manner and with a lot of Russian military support. Now back under their control, the frontline has again shifted in the central area of the country. Firstly there are generally speaking improvements in the city of Damascus, and its outskirts, which have been retaking some enclaves either by force or by an agreement of withdrawal. As such the major East Ghouta area has lost some territory to the government. It looks as if the security has seen important improvements in those regards. A defeat and a victory, or the other way around sure gives a mixed result at the end of the day. Still the psychological impact of the surrender of the main city under insurgent control has had its share. The Idlib province and the areas close to the Syrian-Turkish border taken from the IS are there to stay, unless the army and its allies undertake a military enterprise starting east from Aleppo. The further they could approach the governmental held enclave of Fouad, the sooner the remaining northern bulk of rebel held territory could see heavy losses coming soon. Nevertheless the battle is far from over, especially if you consider how a gain can be undone in matter of days or hours. Whence the IS continues its retreat in part of its Iraqi held territory in and around Mosul, many fighters are being shifted to the areas around Palmyra in a fashion, which evidently took the Syrians by surprise. Thus the retake might give more headlines for Damascus and Moscow, which now have been overshadowed by its recent fall. While the UN Security Council overall seems to be quite unhappy for the success of Bashar Al-Assad, as it could be read by the numerous times that Russia and China have vetoed the resolutions in recent days and weeks, unsuccessfully urging for a truce in the Syrian city. Otherwise they always emphasized the humanitarian crisis, etc. in order to call into question the liberation itself. It looks as if a defeat of a “moderate rebel” always will be put into that light, while the battle of Mosul clearly is put forward without the slightest concern for the civilian or armed population among them. As the veto power of the Security Council today favours the Russian and Syrian side, the Western media have saturated the web with the view of the people trapped inside the war. There were allegations about massacres made by the Syrian Army, lacking any proof attached, and even the alleged executions of civilians. All these punchlines are solely there to distract of the obvious superiority of the Syrian army over the Western puppets eager to topple the evil dictator of Bashar Al-Assad. Their failure comes short to the expectations made by their sponsors, one of which are the US-Americans. The new president-elect has clearly stated his wish to cease the supplies to these rebels despite that the Congress has been pushing a bill contemplating the further arms supplies and money to the insurgents on behalf of the US. This outgoing Democratic administration will do what remains within their reach to help those trapped inside this war. Let’s see how Trump and his Secretary of State nominee will think about this and other issues pending in January 2017. The current conditions, in favour of the Moscow-Damascus axis are in the verge of reversing the trend and give the government the advantage it had been looking for. Then also the Russian ally has been pushing to maintain their presence in the Mediterranean Sea and with airbases in the coastal area. If the Western powers manage to rearm and the local forces regroup again in their frontlines, it could be again a long time before anyone can call any advance, may it be with the Islamic State or the motley-crew-like groups operating on the ground. For now the major victory of Syria has been accomplished: the retake of the city of Aleppo and its outskirts. Now comes to see if the remaining areas are likely to fall too, or how long will it take to the Syrian forces to completely regain the sovereignty and territorial integrity that any country wishes to have. Publicadas por Unknown a la/s 18:35 No hay comentarios.: Etiquetas: Aleppo, civil war, Government, proxy., Rebels, Russia, Syria, Syrian Arab Army, Trump, UN, USA The last tour of Obama to Europe before the new era of Trump Now that the world has slowly got accustomed by the fact that Donald J. Trump is the president-elect of the United States of America, it seems reasonable to think that the international has shifted , or will so, beginning on the 21st of January 2017, when he will make his oath as the 45th president. Until then the outgoing lame duck Barack Obama will be making his last moves as a Democratic leader in the White House. One of them being his last trip to Europe, which started in Greece, where he met Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras, surrounded by a massive rally protesting against his visit. His trip which started in Hellenic soil, will lead him further to Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. For his farewell tour, Obama comes with a lot of assuring messages for his European counterparts, within a very delicate timeframe. The electoral promises held by the republican president-elect have raised some eyebrows in several capitals, and also at the NATO, led by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who seems particularly concerned about the future of the organization he represents. If the new policies of Washington, under this new administration was to severe the expenditures into the organization, as being its main contributor, it could call seriously into question its permanence as such, and its viability militarily speaking. Thus the worries which Barack has to try to appease somehow in this last tour. The Trade Agreements between the US and the European Union also went sour lately, again putting the feasibility into doubt, if ever the biggest consumer market, made up by both of them, were to be merged. This seems more remote than ever, considering the new ideas of protectionism rising in the Northern American nation. Hence the new uncertainty remains whole, as of the state of affairs worldwide and in the US in late January of next year. Will there be the massive expelling of illegal aliens back to Mexico and Central America? Will the border be effectively be sealed off by a gigantic Wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico? Who will be paying for its expenses? And furthermore, who will be in charge of what on the Hill? Obama meanwhile takes advantage of the time remaining as a head of state, and will try to reach whatever intermediary result he can achieve, whether it may be in Syria, Yemen or elsewhere, before the new team will take over the controls. It seems as if the nominee for the post of Secretary of State has been between the former US Ambassador John R. Bolton, having served shortly before the United Nations under the administration of Georg W. Bush, or Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York. Both of the have had hard stances regarding international affairs, but certainly the one more embedded into this is Bolton. He not only withdrew the signature of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on behalf of the US, but he also claimed several times his personal considerations about the UN, which he despises as a whole. He dismisses the international law as such, seeing before anything else, the sole interests of the United States. As much as this can be of help to that purpose the UN is welcome to coexist in the world affairs. But beyond that it is as insignificant as can be. Combining the viewpoints of Trump himself, added to the likely Secretary of State Bolton, things might get sour in years to come. Whomever shall step into these shoes, the new era has started worldwide. The former establishment, warrantied by the continuity of Clinton dynasty, has since decades set the rules to follow. It may be risky to try speculating about the contours of this new age to come. What is sure is that nothing is the way it used to be anymore, or will be. This is a time of shifts and turns, which could take by surprise everyone. While waiting for the dust to settle, when everything will be clear to see, changes are being made as we speak within the team in the making of president-elect Donald J. Trump. Wait and see. Etiquetas: Bolton, Europe, Germany, Giuliani., Greece, Italy, Last Tour, New era, Obama, Secretary of State, Trump, Tsipras, United Kingdom, USA The land sliding victory of Donald Trump in the midst of the fall of Hillary Clinton The ballots in the US elections have spoken and since today the winner is known: Donald J. Trump. As it looks, the people of the USA, -or rather its biased electoral system-have resolved to make the republican nominee the 45th President of the United States.The now president-elect has stood tall all the way up to the White House, despite all the resistance coming from within the Republican Party, and from the Democratic campaign of Hillary Clinton, among other dissident voices from smaller formations. The media as a whole were frankly speaking if not with the former Secretary of State, but certainly against Donald Trump. This included the circle of artists, singers, the mainstream media, the academics, etc., who were mostly united against a common foe. Notwithstanding the storm, on the past 8th of November the voters, the US-Americans showed off, at key states such as Florida or Ohio, which all of a sudden fell –at times by very slim margins- in favour of Trump. Seemingly the voting polls were either totally wrong, or they never reflected the whole horizon of how society was at. The persistence of an establishment, blended together among politicians, businessmen, members of Congress or Senate, and on top of this network the dynasty of the Clintons. Those two privileged members of the Hill, which since the election of Bill Clinton back in 1993 lasting over two mandates. Since then Hillary Rodham Clinton had taken the lead, being nominated under the first mandate of Barack Obama Secretary of State. Henceforth the presence and influence, let it via the Clinton Foundation, the US diplomacy, or by connections within society, has grown at least until the incident of the US Consulate of Benghazi, Libya, and Clinton leaving her office. The political breach that Trump opened on his unusual campaign using a selection of the finest of his personality: misogynist, sexist and/or xenophobic comments, incitation towards violence, political intransigence and attacks ad hominem to anyone who happened to be in the way of the tycoon in the rise. His most concrete political ideas, which came quite late in the run, defined him as someone willing to break the seal of the current state of affairs. Renegotiation of Free Trade Agreements, i.e. NAFTA; TTIP, etc., ceasing to be the NATO main actor and material supplier, closing the borders, thus introducing trade barriers, which have been eliminated by the two-decades-old NAFTA Treaty, amongst other actions. Also there is a different view upon the foreign relations, as it seems, where the Russian president is treated in a totally new light, away from the sanctions and containment policy upheld by the current Secretary of State John Kerry. In general the business world has woken up in shock by the news of the president-elect Donald Trump. When the economy today relies heavily on the fluctuations provoked by political events, here it has not been any different. As Wall Street saw a phase of recovery in the last days of campaign, now what is to be seen is the total opposite. Elsewhere in the world, especially in areas under its economic hegemony such as Mexico, it has provoked not only a lot of shock on behalf of most Mexicans, but also an historical low in the exchange rate of the Mexican currency since 1995. Hence it is only natural that for instance the Mexican government has stated measures to be taken, if the economic ties should weaken or break between Washington and Mexico City, as it offers an historic opportunity to have trade with some Asian emerging economies, for real. Not only on a written paper, whereupon Mexico should and could have trade with around forty nations worldwide. Yet it depends still in over 80% of its international trade on the US, let it be in its exports as well as the imports. Now we have the chance to see elsewhere, maybe even into South America, a long time unseen area for the Mexican economy, despite being part politically of Latin America. We are facing a new age, most probably having witnessed the last democratic president, now with a country in which the Senate and the Congress are under the control of the Republicans. Such conditions will give the presidency of Donald Trump margins for governing, unless the very own Republican Party becomes his adversary when passing his policies, whichever they may be. The president-elect Donald Trumo will be sworn January 2017, leaving Obama the time to make way in the White House until then. Etiquetas: Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Elections 2016, Hillary Clinton, Latin America., Mexican Peso, Mexico, Republican Party, USA, Wall Street Venezuela: The failed coup d’état and the return in extremis of Nicolas Maduro from the Middle East President Nicolas Maduro has narrowly escaped a coup d'état today, operated by the parliamentary opposition along with mass rallies on the streets. The president had been travelling to OPEP and Non-OPEC such as Azerbaijan, Iran, Saudia Arabia, Qatar, amongst other capitals. He started his Middle East Tour on the 23rd of October 2016 and added a leg, by meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican on his way back to Caracas. His presence here was of great importance, as the recent activities of the self-proclaimed Coalition for Democratic Unity (Mesa de Unidad Democrática, MUD), and its member and current Chairman of the National Assembly (Parlament, NA), Henry Ramos Allup, was promoting not less than a political impeachment process, alike the one that hit his former Brazilian counterpart Dilma Roussef. The title of the document could be understood in the following terms: The NA agrees to start a proceeding aiming at declaring the political responsibility in the major breach of the constitutional order. Meant was the statement made by the CNE, the Venezuelan electoral tribunal, which determined that the second phase for gathering of signatures for the revoking referendum was to be cancelled. The reason being that there were irregularities among the first 1% analysed by the latter. Henceforth the revoking referendum could not possibly be held before February 2017. With the president on his way back from Europe and Middle East, possibly aware of the activities happening at the NA, Maduro landed in Caracas and met with a massive pro-government rally receiving him at the Miraflores Palace. There he held a speech, where he emphasized that the opposition shall never accomplish their goals, of turning Venezuela into the next chain of successful coups in the region, in which centre-left oriented governments were toppled among other strategies, through parliamentary ways; namely Honduras, Brazil and Paraguay. His country would resist and overcome any attempt to destabilize his socialist government. While the political hit is underway, it has not had any real chance on the side of the Armed Forces. The Commanders have reiterated their loyalty in regard with the constitution and the president. Still the streets are filled either by pro- or anti-government rallies, which have filled the avenues of the capital today. This shows just how polarised the society stands today. Maduro finds himself in a quite complicated situation. He finds himself with several fronts at the time. First is the internal opposition, which clearly have pushed more and more aggressive moves to force him to leave office. Then again the petrol prices are not being the most helpful in his fainting economic situation. With an astronomic inflation affecting the economy and falling revenues from oil, he could soon be short of funds for his vast social expenditure. This could also be the reason of his trip to other oil-exporting countries. The membership of Venezuela in the Southern Common Market (Mercado Común del Sur, Mercosur) has been called into question lately by most of its members. The most keen have been Paraguay and Brazil, who by now are leading the bid to expel the South-American nation out of the economic block. Also Argentina, now run by Mauricio Macri has blended into the side of the foes of Venezuela. The recent visit of Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez to his Argentine counterpart at his residency at Buenos Aires, shows that even the strongest ally of Caracas has been drifting away from their original position. As it seems the recent events in the nation have raised concern, even to the leftist president Vázquez. Thus all members of Mercosur, except Venezuela herself, are agreeing on invoking the democratic charter of the organization. Formally speaking Maduro is the pro-tempore president of Mercosur. Despite that all other Foreign Ministries of the group have largely ignored any statement made by Caracas, Uruguay “handed over” the presidency to Venezuela. Notwithstanding the efforts made by Foreign Secretary Delcy Rodríguez, to maintain the fiction of that, reality shows that far more than that is at stake. More than the pro-tempore turn, their full membership seems to be called into question. The stakes are high for the Venezuelan government, confronted with falling approval rates and a bad economy. Back then the revenues of oil could balance the lack of any activity not linked with petrol. It seems as if oil is the only business in town, or at least the major one. After more than a decade under the rule of socialists, the economic structures of the country remain poor, as the dependence upon oil money for the government budget is overwhelming (above 90%). So when this pillar collapses, the whole system gets out of balance at once. The arrival of the Pope’s Envoy Monseigneur Emil Paul Tscherrig to Caracas on the 22nd of October comes on behalf of the Pope in order to foster the dialogue between the MUD and the government. Not only has the private interview at the Vatican between Maduro and Francis shown the good spirits on both sides in achieving a climate of dialogue among the Venezuelans. Time will tell whether the opposition will rather orchestrate a coup d’état via the parliament or the Army, or sit at the negotiating table with the government, under the mediation of the Vatican and the presence of former heads of states within a Unasur-Committee. The question remains also on how long this status quo could possibly last, before bursting into some form of chaos. Could this be the major and definite push of the inner and outer enemies of the Bolivarian Revolution, perfectly aligned in their final hit, to reconquer Venezuela back to the Washington Consensus, and put an end to this socialist regime? There are many reasons this regime could crumble as fast as a house of cards, but some mistakes are definitely accountable to some sort of mismanagement on behalf of late president Chavez, and later on Maduro. Others are clearly signs of foreign intervention, such as the pressure groups, non-existent in the past, or the recent shift of the NA into the hands of a majority of the MUD. These cases would have not been considered even possible under the administration of late Hugo Chávez. Until then the normality seems to be restored while the ever going negotiating rounds and confrontations between government and opposition continue. This analysis will have to be continued, as soon as new events come to rock this South-American nation. Etiquetas: Coup d’état, Henry Ramos Allup, Iran, Macri, Mercosur, Oil, Paraguay, Pope Francis, Saudi Arabia, Unasur, Uruguay, Vatican, Venezuela The Russian proposal that might open the deadlock over the Syrian intervention or the rhetorical statement of John Kerry going against his own hidden agenda Nobody expected this turning after the joint press conference of the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry the past 9th of September 2013 in London. As it appears while answering to a journalist question about which options did the government of Syria have, to avoid the confrontation, Kerry said that if all chemical weapons were handed over to international control, and eventually destroyed, an attack may be reconsidered. As it seems Kerry never thought that such an idea could become the springing board for the Russian Foreign Secretary Serguei Lavrov, to make this very offer to his Syrian counterpart Wallid Mouallem. He also added to the demand the need of subscribing the international Convention about Chemical Weapons Prohibition. Only a few hours later the Syrian government acceded fully to it, to the surprise of some of the current players, still looking how to promote an intervention in the country. As Ban Ki-Moon openly acknowledged the Russian plan, that in fact will need a great amount of effort of the UN, as a key player, suddenly the US State Department said first that the demand was being said in a rhetorical way by the US Secretary. Then Obama himself took himself some time for this subject in one of his numerous interviews given that same day on US television, that this same offer was “potentially positive”, but needed to be absolutely authentic. In any case what does seem self-evident is that far from reaching a general consensus over the intervention in his last international tour through Western Europe, John Kerry, with or without the intention, gave the magic words to avoid it, giving way to a political solution. As it seemed there was none in the opinion of the Obama administration. The fact that Russia took over the argument, could weaken the argument of the inevitability of the intervention. The relative concession that Obama had to give to the proposal is only degraded by this powerful doubt, that anything coming from the Syrian Government isn´t trustworthy. Furthermore the new events should not interfere with the upcoming quest for the bill in the Congress concerning the limited intervention in Syria, to be duly approved by enough Congressmen. This battle is the beginning of the war the president is looking for, and having dropped the appearance neutrality this could only go through a tough marketing of the war, which isn´t a normal one, just a limited one, they say in the Hill. While the general ambiance in Washington is mainly around the Syrian issue and as the next session in the Congress scheduled for this Wednesday, this has been postponed again, only making the happening of the event more uncertain and less immediate than expected. And again the French government has shown their likeliness to follow the US path to war, still doesn´t see yet the positive signs for doing this openly. Nor the British Prime Minister Cameron, after the big blow of the Parliament, having lost in his seek for a bill to be passed, allowing military intervention in Syria. Due to this limitation, he should be out of the club of this new potential Coalition of the willing, still under the Bush II administration. If Bashar was to show any collaboration in this new political draft, his position would improve by far, as he will be having a whole new UN presence working for the recollection of all Syrian chemical arsenal as a shield preventing any hits from the sea. As for the starting consideration, that bombing military infrastructure, specially containing Chemical Weapons, is far from being helpful in order to insure the safeguard and control of those. If Damascus allows the complete destruction of the existing material an important argument would have been neutralized by Bashar Al-Assad, until the results of the other UN team in Rotterdam, Netherlands gives finally its results of the analysis of the alleged chemical attack of the past 21 August in the outskirts of Damascus. These should either way give a reason to resolve the enigma around the authorship and accountability that some countries have determined in advance, as being the government forces of Assad. Despite the proven responsibility of the rebels in the other alleged chemical attacks of Aleppo in march 2013 showed the link to the rebel forces, still doesn´t dismantle in the eyes of the logical and self-evident impossibility of the oppositional forces to handle these kind of devices. Once the premise should be granted by the Syrians, it would be quite difficult for Obama to promote his limited war, as the main objectives would have been destroyed beforehand. Then again in the midst of harsh political times for the president, when critics inside are growing on the left of the Democrats as of the extreme right of the Republicans, it seems quite obvious his approach to take over international leadership. This will eventually require the back up of a certain majority in both chambers, nevertheless it looks as if even his own party is not really willing to go into another conflict, and not getting very much convinced of the arguments given to the Congressmen and Representatives. As a matter of fact his first front line seems to be inside the US, wining the approval for his military quest. Then would come the real thing, if until then, any surprise effect will be second to none. Even more, if there weren´t any chemical weapons to hunt, isn´t this getting an obsession of the hawk side of Obama, who after giving his smoothest side, even getting the Peace Nobel Price, now shows us his Rambo side of his government. The true leadership of the new coalition might fall apart if the evil Syrian were to be disarming for true. The statements on this of the Obama himself, were that his offensive approach was the only way of getting a consensus for a political solution. Once again war is just an extension of politics to the governing class. If this had been his original inclination, why then doesn´t he aborts his quest for the forsaken bill for intervention against any international law? Still all of his statements show a poker face of someone who in the past had shown people the new hope, the new leadership of the US. To the deception of many his real intention are by far quite similar to the ones of his predecessor, only the skin colour does make a certain difference to the eye. Finally if the planned attack was to occur, as soon as possible, the latter conclusion would be that this new humanitarian interventionism isn´t open to any autonomous and proactive enemies. They obey to an image, a mold of the evil, but never give in to anything, as they are tyrants. Still this particular tyrant shows quite a resistance, and is close to put the Us strategy at stake with its own arguments. If the US are naturally world players, used to these games, then how can someone understand how they are having such a hard time to actually persuade even their closest partners to join them. Or are they running out of arguments by now? Etiquetas: arms, Ban Ki-Moon, international control, intervention, Kerry, Lavrov, Obama, Russia, Syria, UN, US, Wallid Mouallem, Washington, William Hague The failure of the Geneva II Agreements or the hidden agenda of Western Democracies towards another failed state in Syria The Syrian issue has become once again the topic of the major players of the so called International community. From the war of statements to the plain war, as it seems lies a gap, which is lesser and lesser. The alleged attack of Chemical weapons on civilian population occurred on the past 21 August in the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus has been put as a burden by both parties of this clash on the other one. It is said by the Rebel´s side that the attack was undertaken by government forces, producing around a 1300 death toll. On the other side, the government itself held the opposition responsible for it, as it denied having used, nor even possessing such weapons at all. The fact is that the tunnels which were apparently discovered by Syrian regular soldiers showed evidence of used shells and related material, of a toxic gas, that as a matter of fact affected the troops who were present at the time, proving that at least for the time being, there is presence of such poisonous armament. Despite the undergoing investigations held by a UN group on Syrian soil, still in process, some players are going ahead of time, accusing without any proof the undeniable responsibility of the regime, therefore considering all options on the table, including the intervention by the USA. The US-army has deployed two warships to the Eastern Mediterranean, close by the desired target, before even any conclusions were drawn by the UN. The Geneva II Peace Talks are now officially outdated as it appears, as the Rebels have disclosed any possibility of them happening, by openly refusing to sit at the negotiating table. The UK government has also shown its confidence that as the Rebels couldn´t possibly uphold such weaponry; it must have been done by the regime itself, still leaving a small doubt in case. Anyhow Prime Minister David Cameron not only showed support to Obama´s intentions to intervene on a limited scale in Syria by Thursday. He also called the Parliament to gather together, to bring up a very much needed position in case this week there should be any attacks on Syrian targets by the Us-army. As well the French government has given its approval of these possible measures that are said to punish the Syrian president for its behavior before its own people. It certainly also is one of the major supporters of the idea of arming on an official basis the rebels, who seem to be losing the war on the ground. The allies of the regime of Assad, mainly Russia and China show no will to change sides. The Saudis having tried to bribe the Russian government , this proved to be a big blow, as Moscow doesn´t seem to change its mind before an offer of 15 billion dollars on the table. The recent attempts to bring both sides on an agreement has once again failed, as for some reason the SNC is unwilling to any concession which wouldn´t include the downfall of Bashar Al-Assad as a precondition. Their most radical wing, the Al-Nusra Front openly defied the regime, having intentions to establish even a separate state within Syria under Sharia law. Some reports have even given a non-official statement that Al-Nusra is in fact in possession of such weapons, and would have been behind the events, that the UN is desperate to reveal. It looks as if some in this game are really not interested in having the naked truth seen at daylight. The US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has said that all the options are within reach, until the President made a choice, which would inevitably mean that by Thursday the US-army could be effectively intervening in the scene, hitting strategic points within the country for 48 hours. These operations that obviously don´t count on the granting of a UN resolution in its support, would only be followed by some NATO-countries, including Turkey which neighbors Syria in its Northern border. So again we see the Humanitarian war, the Clinton doctrine used in the case of Kosovo back in 1998-1999. The reasons are moral and ethical but certainly lack any real ground or justification, beyond these considerations said before. Secretary of State John Kerry also said that these undeniable atrocities were only held accountable to the government, actions which it will have to stand up to in front of the International Community. Some other NATO members such as Germany or Italy have been more reserved on this issue, as they say that without any official UN mandate there would be no possibility of them being involved in such actions. In facts the Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said in a press conference, that lacking such support, neither would they take part, nor would they allow anyone to use their military facilities for this purpose. Germany instead, with its past war experience, and considering that General elections are coming up soon, no one really is eager to support that kind of venture, fearful of losing popular support, hence the possibility to be in charge of taking part of the next German government. Russia on its side has shown its full allegiance to the government of Damascus, as its president Vladimir Putin said that there is a hidden agenda behind these accusations, and that Bashar Al-Assad isn´t behind this, but the rebels. Its alliance is strong, as well as their presence in the port of Tartus will remain as such, despite the growing military tensions in the neighboring waters. In any case Russia will not give in to any pressure to topple Assad, nor will it provide the legitimacy to the venture underway. As things appear to be, the UN Security Council will not be in a position to give any ground the intentions of Paris, London or Washington. An against any odds, this will not hinder them in acting in their interest, with or without the UN mandate, as long as the so-called International Community, themselves, are backing them up. Nevertheless the results of the investigations are being slow, and were furthermore delayed by snipers which shot on the UN official vehicles under way to the places of evidence, which happened to be in a region controlled by the armed opposition, this hasn´t frightened them to go on in their crucial work to get the truth, as they postponed the next ride until the damaged vehicle was to be replaced. If they achieve their goal is uncertain, as the security in the rebel held zone is not granted by any means. Unless the government recovered this area, then only there is a common ground on which to work. This could be the beginning of the REAL war, after the war of words. Neither the veto powers in the UN nor international law will further avoid the confrontation, some players are eager to push forward. No negotiations had any success, as for some reasons the SNC wasn´t able to make the slightest concession to the government, instead they were looking to accomplish their ultimate goal by all means, but never give in to anything. That is why probably the Geneva II Agreement, as well as The Hague Summit which was to be held in order to prepare the ground for the Geneva tables, between Russia and the US will never become reality. The hawks in Washington will have prevailed for now, until Obama takes the step that they are waiting for so long, the intervention on the ground. They call this Nation-building, democratization of any society, one size fits all. The history give us the proof that nor in Kosovo, nor in Libya, nor Iraq, nor in the former Yugoslavia in general terms this has proven to be possible. In the best of the results, there appears a failed state instead, with a chronic need of foreign help on a long term basis. If this was to be the future of Syria under the SNR, may the reader consider all sides, and see, if this is really such a bright horizon for the Syrians, who have already withstood two years of continuous wars and human and material losses. If this doesn´t touch the ones who want to overthrow the Bashar regime, it is questionable just how far their deep feelings of humanity are real, and how honest they are being towards letting the Syrians be free within their own state to choose their faith and government. Etiquetas: Bashar, chemical weapons, Emma Bonino, failed state, France, Geneva II, intervention, Obama, Putin, Syria, Syrian National Council, UN, USA The quest for the Geneva II Agreement or the Syrian deadlock put in evidence The war in Syria also is within words in the medias, as the diplomatic activity in search for the possible Geneva II agreement is still in sight, according at least to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as for the US Secretary of State, John Kerry at the last meeting in Washington last 9th of August. Nonetheless neither of the parts could actually agree on a fixed time and place, in which to organize the summit. As for John Kerry, who said that the commitment of the Syrian Opposition to attend the Swiss summit was clear, there was this condition, that a transitional government was established, with no place for the current Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. On his side, Lavrov stated that the Syrian government was determined to attend the summit without preconditions. Still there were statements of the Prime Minister, in which it was said, that no sovereignty was given into consideration, in response to one of the demands of the opposition asking a transitional government. In the next week a bilateral meeting will take place at The Hague, Netherlands, where the Russian Foreign Deputy Vice minister Guennadi Gatilov and Wendy Sherman, the US Undersecretary of State will be treating the technical aspects of the Summit, as for ratifying the reached agreement. The actual relations of both Foreign Ministers are by far more productive, than those on the presidential level, as Barack Obama has had a mixed result in his last meeting in Northern Ireland for the past G8 meeting. Meanwhile the Saudi monarchy has been deploying its influence in the region, reaching to open a corridor for weapons and money supply through Jordan, an action to which the government of Amman was openly was opposed to. Still the transit through the common borderline is more than active, maintaining thus a vital and essential supply line to the Syrian opposition, after the town of Quassyr was taken back by the regular forces of Syria, interrupting directly the transit to Lebanon. Also stands the fact that outskirts of Aleppo are being taken back by the Syrian government in recent weeks. The main obstacle, as it seems in this major split inside the Syrian society, is due to the fact, that probably the length of time has radicalized the positions to a point of no return. In this way the government will not cease to face the terrorist organizations with all means in his power, to recover the unity and peace in his country, as the opposition refuses to deal with the Assad regime, and looks forward for a totally new government. The question which remains, above any certainty expressed by the Arab League representative, Lahdar Brahimi, and many other spokesmen in this chain of events, if the two factions opposed, could ever consider to implement a cease-fire. This has been tried in the past, with poor success, even if it appeared, as if the regime of Damascus was being at bay, and calm ruled for few hours, not even days. Still, the war dynamic was back into its former confrontation very soon. The Syrian Opposition has shown little unity on some specific terms, as if they could negotiate face to face with Assad´s government. When in a strong moment, they seem very willing to go to the negotiating table, but in times of drawback, they claim their goal is to liberate the country, therefore, they won´t agree anymore. The government has repeatedly shown its good will to go, always under the assumption, that they are seen as an executive power, and being respected as such. It is quite uncertain, how both aspirations and needs will be attended by Brahimi and generally by the big powers in charge of the main round, Russia and the USA. The back bone of the support of each side has evidently a superpower and geostrategic reasons for its existence. The USA and the Western European countries, at least most of them, are eager to establish a new order on Syrian soil. Their main reason to do such, resembling once again to the old cold war style, being to conquer power, driven by the People´s will, or at least on their behalf, but with a hidden agenda, of splitting once again the former Ottoman Empire nearly 100 years after its collapse and fragmentation. The all so celebrated new freedom waves of the Arab Revolution have somehow lost a bit of their freshness. The troops are being attended in increasing number by foreign fighters, coming from al the Arab world, and furthermore from European nations, but by belief Muslims. This brings into the debate, the Syrian national compound of the Free Syrian Army, which at the most is composed by a minority of Syrians. Their dependency on foreign help makes them quite helpless, when the supply lines fail. Still their unity seems to rely on the non-definition of the future Syria to be built, solely on the will of tumbling Assad from power. Therefore their statements rarely are definitive or reliable on the long run, as they have changed opinions several times, or simply failed to reach an agreement from within. The president Bashar Al-Assad has then again shown a good will of resistance, as worse times than today have been in his two years struggle to recover the integrity of his nation. Despite the relative isolation, his position has been kept, and furthermore has recovered some places lost in the past to the opposition. Still the economy has passed entirely to a war modus, as business as usual gets more and more difficult to be done. He has had to ask for a credit to Russia, as well as orders of weapons, as the turmoil is being stretched in time. The deadlock remains as it was, while the hope on the Geneva II Agreement dwells away the longer it is postponed. Until then, every party in this civil war will stay on his position, waiting for the other to make a move. This chess game could last very long, only time will tell. Etiquetas: Arab League, Assad, Brahimi, Geneva II, Jordan, Kerry, Lavrov, Russia, Syria, Syrian opposition, USA The Syrian army’s recovery of Aleppo and defeat in... If interesested look also here: Mentira la verdad Los ataques militares de EE.UU. sobre Ar Raqqah y Abou Kemal o el inicio de la guerra caliente en Medio Oriente Al Sisi (1) Al-Nahda (1) Aleppo (1) Assad (1) Bashar (1) Brahimi (1) Coup d’état (1) crackdown (1) El-Beblawi (1) Emma Bonino (1) failed state (1) Giuliani. (1) Henry Ramos Allup (1) Hollande (1) IBK (1) Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (1) international control (1) Last Tour (1) Latin America. (1) Lavrov (2) Macri (1) Mercosur (1) Mexican Peso (1) MNLA (1) Moslem Brotherhood (1) Ouagadougou (1) proxy. (1) Soumaïla Cissé (1) Syrian Arab Army (1) Syrian National Council (1) Syrian opposition (1) Unasur (1) Wallid Mouallem (1)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line126
__label__cc	0.705884	0.294116	Amway's product line grew from LOC, with the laundry detergent SA8 added in 1960, and later the hair care product Satinique (1965) and the cosmetics line Artistry (1968). Today Amway manufactures over 450 products, with manufacturing facilities in China, India and the United States, as well as Nutrilite organic farms in Brazil, Mexico and the United States (California and Washington State). Amway brands include Artistry, Atmosphere, Body Blends, Bodykey, Body Works, Clear Now, eSpring, Glister, iCook, Legacy of Clean, Nutrilite, Peter Island, Perfect Empowered Drinking Water, Personal Accents, Ribbon, Satinique, Artistry Men and XS. There was a silver lining for the DeVoses, albeit one not immediately apparent. They had established a purity test for fellow Republicans: Had they supported Prop 1? And in unintentionally contributing to Senator Abraham’s loss, they had created a scenario in which, once Engler was term-limited in January 2003, the state GOP would be without any marquee statewide officeholders. No governor. Neither U.S. senator. An attorney general and secretary of state without any previous statewide experience. Methodology: Source Euromonitor International Limited. Claim verification based on Euromonitor research and methodology for Amway Corporation conducted from October to November 2012. This claim is verified in the 13 leading markets that account for 80% of the global energy drink market sold through retail channels as supported by Euromonitor International's Soft Drinks research and definitions. Global is defined as having distribution and in at least three global regions. To the extent permissible, Euromonitor does not accept or assume responsibility to any third party in respect of this claim. Further information is available upon request. Its funny that you should say that because, in my opinion I don't think MLM is going anywhere and the Amway Corporation definitely isn't going anywhere. since the depression in 2008 amway has increased its annual revenue by 1 billion dollars a year, and today stands at 11.8 billion dollars. Now your entitled to your opinion but there are some little facts that all people should be informed of. such as the fact that if your between the ages of 18 and 32, by the time you reach retirement (working a job) you have an 80% chance of being dead, disabled, broke, or financially dependent upon the government to subsidize your income. also by that time statistically you will have changed jobs 32 times. how much do you really think your 401k is really going to worth then. Im just a messenger her but I think a company like Amway is really the best shot any average Joe has of creating financial independence. I love when people say its a pyramid scheme. lets look at the typical job. (trading time for money) who works harder, stock boy at A&P or the CEO at A&P who's probably sitting in his hot tub right now? Obviously the stock boy but no matter how hard the stock boy works he will never out earn the CEO. that in my mind is a pyramid scheme. at least in Amway if you do more work you get more money. But the fact still remains it is not a get rich quick scheme. Its going to take hard works. Lots of hard work. but take it from someone who has worked his way through this system. it is well worth the effort. the ends justify the means because once you make to the top of that system Amway provides you with a life that is unparalleled by any other lifestyle. Its not easy but it does work. How do they sell those products? Not in retail stores – Amway distributors can only sell their products directly to the public, or to other Amway distributors. This may not seem so bad until one considers that the price point for many Amway products has been reported to be about twice that of similar products found in retail stores. Or that in blind tests, Amway products often score poorly. The embarrassing jerk was my parents’ upline, Vincent, who had Emerald status. I don’t remember this man. My dad says, ‘He was a creepy guy, just an incredibly creepy guy. I don’t know how else to describe him . . . You actually felt, after being around the guy, that you needed to take a shower. Nobody wanted to be around him. He was a jerk, he was a liar. Just a despicable person.’ Amway combines direct selling with a multi-level marketing strategy. Amway distributors, referred to as "independent business owners" (IBOs), may market products directly to potential customers and may also sponsor and mentor other people to become IBOs. IBOs may earn income both from the retail markup on any products they sell personally, plus a performance bonus based on the sales volume they and their downline (IBOs they have sponsored) have generated.[3] People may also register as IBOs to buy products at discounted prices. Harvard Business School, which described Amway as "one of the most profitable direct selling companies in the world", noted that Amway founders Van Andel and DeVos "accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution system in which independent distributors of Amway products received a percentage of the merchandise they sold and also a percentage of the merchandise sold by recruited distributors".[68] The DeVoses supported an amendment to the US House of Representatives' omnibus Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018 by US Representative John Moolenaar that would have limited the ability of the FTC to investigate whether MLMs are pyramid schemes.[136] The amendment would have disbarred the Treasury Department, the Judiciary Department, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FTC, or any other agencies from using any monies to take enforcement actions against pyramid operations for the fiscal year.[137] It also adopted provisions from H.R. 3409, the so-called “Anti-Pyramid Scheme Promotion Act of 2016,”[138] which would blur the lines between legitimate MLM activity and pyramid schemes established under the original 1979 FTC case by deeming sales made to people inside the company as sales to an “ultimate user,” thus erasing the key distinction made in the ruling between sales to actual consumers of a product and sales made to members of the MLM network as part of recruitment of members or to qualify for commissions.[137][138][139] The amendment was opposed by a coalition of consumer interest groups including Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine), Consumer Watchdog, the National Consumers League, and the United States Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG),[138] as well as Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) in its original incarnation.[139] I shopped with Amway about 20 years ago when a neighbor in my apartment building became a sales rep for them. I really liked the cleaning products which were pure and did a great job of cleaning everything! I had a terrific rep who sold the various products that interested me. I was always very impressed by Amway. To my knowledge, Amway has always had an impeccable reputation and the highest quality products. I didn't find any reason to dislike the company back then and certainly have no reason to dislike it now! While that is true (and I know nothing about Amway, so I won’t offer an opinion on the company), it doesn’t mean much, because a tax write off isn’t worth anything unless it’s enough of a write off to put you in a lower tax bracket. Say you have $1000 in business expenses – that $1000 is tax deductible. That doesn’t mean you pay $1000 less in taxes. It means you don’t have to pay taxes on $1000 of your income. Oct 20, 2018; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers safety Kyle Cote (32), linebacker Chad Smith (43), linebacker Shaq Smith (5), and safety Denzel Johnson (14) celebrate during the second half of the game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Tigers won 41-7. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-382469 ORIG FILE ID: 20181020_pjc_ak7_603.JPG To understand the choices, you have to understand the business. He explained that the products developed to be sold for the direct sales model need to be different from any others on the market. “We develop products with specific deliverables that are unique. These products, what they are and how they work, needs to be explained by someone who knows the product. A good product for the store shelf is not necessarily a good direct sale product.” People are so quick to jump to conclusions about things they have no understanding or experience of. I love seeing all the positive feedback tho. With anything good in this world there will always be ignorant people (like the person who wrote this article) who will try and bad mouth things. I’m not here to pick a fight, but do your own research before trusting a single article like this. So what? What’s your point? Today you can also order condoms online from stores that offer them! You sound just like the people you say business owners involved with Amway call jealous. Your review is just pathetic but then if Amway was not for you, you just got to move on in life and focus on something you have passion for. Spending time to rant against Amway will not make you money, you will only lose your time and what better you could have done instead! Amway has historically gotten much more criticism for its business practices than its products. As middle men, distributors often falsely claim that they cut out that very middle man. This supposedly results in more competitive, “wholesale” prices. On the contrary, Amway’s prices are typically higher than their closest competitors. The prices only become more appealing when employees have a significant downline beneath them. Actually the company pays us directly not the wealth from those on our team. What the team makes is their money and none of it goes to other team members. The govt collects money through taxes and pays its bills and helps those that are less fortunate. Not this company; you eat what you kill basically. Just my thoughts. And as far the education of the members on my team, I posted that below. Just my thoughts. Amway is a multibillion dollar company that uses “multilevel marketing techniques” to sell cosmetics and household products. They have really aggressive recruitment techniques and cult-like practices. They’re super shady and sued on a pretty regular basis, but still manage to trick new people into the fold! You can read more about the company here. If you want to hear more creepy personal stories about other people, like my friend’s roommate, who has been tricked into Amway, there are some good ones here and you can always Google “Amway is a cult”. I like Amway's clothes, electronics, gadgets, pants, watches, shirts, sweaters, shorts, games, and many others things that comes in that way. Not really good prices, but the quality is pretty good, has many variety of products, but more brands be good! I like Champion brand and they should put it there. I like that Amway are very flexible and can take care of you real quick if you have questions and concerns. The experience was good and everything went ok, with my purchases and I find a good place to buy things! Good money spend every time. Amway aims to help people become independent business owners by selling their products. Even with a small capital, anyone can start a business through the company. However, Amway is a multi-level marketing company wherein members will need to recruit others and teach them how to recruit more people in order to make more money. Of course, there is a wide array of products that can be sold to people as well. In March 2004, TV personality Phil McGraw (a.k.a. Dr. Phil) pulled his "Shape Up" line of supplements off the market in the face of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The supplements were manufactured by CSA Nutraceuticals, a subsidiary of Alticor's Access Business Group.[160] The FTC later dropped the probe, but in October 2005 a class-action lawsuit was filed against McGraw by several people who used the products and claimed that the supplements, which cost $120 per month, did not stimulate weight loss.[161] In September 2006, a $10.5 million settlement was reached, in which Alticor agreed to provide $4.5 million in cash and $6 million in Nutrilite products to disgruntled users of Shape Up.[162][163][164][165] Rich and Jay go into business together selling Nutrilite vitamins, an early multilevel marketing scheme for which Jay’s second cousin and his parents are already distributors. When Nutrilite goes kaput in 1948 after an FDA crackdown on their ‘excessive claims’ regarding the products’ nutritional values (about which Rich only says, ‘Until then, there had been no official government position on what type of claims could be made about dietary supplements’), he and Jay strike out on their own – the American way. They can do it! We know they can! Because of this, the vast majority of IBOs who join Amway end up making very little (if any) money. For example: Taking a look at page 11 of the company’s online brochure, they claim that only 46% of IBOs were active during 2010, and of those, the average monthly income was only $202. Furthermore, out of 300,000 active IBOs during the 2010 calendar year, only 0.25% achieved Platinum status, 0.08% achieved Founders Emerald, and 0.02% achieved Founders Diamond or higher. Nike and Apple have been partnered for 3 years. They don’t need to market and advertise that to create volume. That’s what we do. Also, amway is designed initially to be part time,no full time. I worked a full time job, while putting in time to build a business online. I don’t need to explain what we make now but it’s enough to make a living. Look up the BBB if you want to do “research”. I had a very good experience with Amway. They have very nice people on website to help you, the employees know about all of the products that they sell. This probably one of the reasons they have been in business for so long. Also, they are a very good company that has top quality products. Amway probably has a large amount of orders to handle every day. However, the prices are very high on most products. They can probably keep the prices this high because all of the people that buy their products are used to paying the higher prices for wonderful products. Enter Jay Van Andel, Amway’s other cofounder. Jay had a 1929 Model A, which Rich had noticed both driving down his street and also parked outside his high school. ‘I thought a ride in this car would surely beat the bus, a streetcar, or walking,’ says Rich. The rest is as saccharine as you would expect: good American boys working hard to make their dreams come true – an adventure full of family values and sturdy bootstraps with which one can pull himself up. It begins with the heartwarming story of their first joint business venture, running a pilot school, then segues into a comedy-of-errors trip on a sailboat – a typical masculine coming-of-age experience rooted in good old-fashioned American values like cooperation, perseverance, and leadership. Amway has been in business for more than fifty years, and they seem to pay to their IBOs according to their compensation plan. Besides, they appear to have a positive online reputation. The customers are amazed with their customer service that involves pleasant and polite people who are always there to resolve any problem you might have. It is extremely easy to sign up and make an order. This professional and big American company offers a huge selection of useful products and a lot of benefits. The purchases usually arrive very fast and feature high quality. These include products from nutrition to bath, beauty and home. The Amwayers who had brought me to Dream Night were flying high on the drive home, whooping occasionally just to vent their exhilaration. I felt as though I had just sat through a year’s worth of infomercials, with some high school pep rallies and a few Tony Robbins lectures thrown in. But to see all this as an exercise in mass hypnosis, according to Amway’s literature, would be to “misunderstand” what is, simply, “the best business opportunity in the world”—an assessment, strangely enough, with which the rest of world is starting to agree. After the speech I told the guy that this isn't for me, I'm sure it works for you, but it wouldn't for me, and he tried to slow me down from walking out and managed to get one of his buddies to talk to me as to why I should reconsider. I asked him some questions, but he really didn't have a script and he got shot down and walked away. I said, "it was great meeting you, thanks for the opportunity, I hope I didn't waste your time and have a good life." It’s not because we’re better or entitled to more money; we have been entrusted with it, and therefore need to be especially responsible. We just make sure personal spending doesn’t become a priority over the giving side. Once you learn the budgeting process of setting aside for giving first, then what you have left you can allocate elsewhere – including a home or an airplane or a boat. One could always argue that these things aren’t necessary and that you could give away more, and that’s always true. But if you look at it that way, you’d never do anything more than take the bus. Lol very funny, I have been wondering what I am doing for the past year, working my ass off for min wage, hurting my scoliosis back, cleaning, waiting tables and standing on my feet, while other people are sitting on their ass ggetting paid more (even if its telemarketing...same concept kinda...you people are making big boys more money so they pay you more) but I slave and get payed less....amway totally makes sense to me and I think this is a great opportunity I ran into...not many people in omaha ne know about it and im going to be part of the walking billboard..I work at ozark bbq a little bbq shack open for 30 years from word of mouth, basically and ive been around the business my whole life so i really just understand this. ..I want to use the products...why not..I get paid..I dont have to waste time or gas (money) going to store they are delivered to you..eco friendly, organic, and kinda compareable prices...if everyone just switched bathroom n laundry room they could make their self money..why not and I switch someone else, I make ,they switch someone, they make and I make...I like the pyramid. ..its the citizen pyramid instead of a govt...corp making all the money...why does this not make sense to some people....why not get a little bit of cash for buying a new I pad or just toilet paper lol ill take getting paid to wipe my ass any day thankyou lol I am doin it...you can see your potential before you ever pay a start up fee(I have not started up yet) and my sponsor makes over 500/month...your sponsor from my understanding sponsors time to help you they are investing their time bec if u make money they make money in turn you teach and sponsor others to make you money and they make more money I love it lol In July 1996, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos was honored at a $3 million fundraiser for the Republican Party, and a week later, it was reported that Amway had tried to donate $1.3 million to pay for Republican "infomercials" and televising of the GOP convention on Pat Robertson's Family Channel, but backed off when Democrats criticized the donation as a ploy to avoid campaign-finance restrictions.[73][76] Betsy’s campaigning earned the attention of the Ford team, which tapped her to attend that year's Republican National Convention in Kansas City as a participant in the “Presidentials” program for young Republicans. The budding politicos attended training on campaign strategy and political techniques, and were divided into groups based on geography so that they could get acquainted with potential allies from their home states. There were also more practical desires for a squadron of young volunteers at a contested convention: “Anywhere there needed to be noise, there were always kids,” Betsy Prince told a reporter for the Holland Sentinel in 1976 (“Betsy Helps Cheer Ford Through in Kansas City,” read the headline, beside a photo of a T-shirt-clad Betsy sporting a feathered, Farrah Fawcett-lite hairdo). Amway is based out of Ada, MI, and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, with only 11 closed complaints over the past three years. It appears that Amway has a generally negative reputation among IBOs, and the most common complaints we encountered during our research cited difficulty making money, high prices, and dishonest recruiting tactics. Fittingly, my encounter with Amway began during a long-term temp assignment at Andersen Consulting’s ENTERPRISE 2020 project, an ongoing exhibit to which consultants would bring potential clients to scare them about the future. The main attraction was a battery of “industry experts” who produced customized nightmare scenarios to help manufacturing executives from across the globe see the Third Wave coming at them. The experts would discourse gravely about globalization, accelerating technology, managed chaos, self-organizing supply chains, flex-this, flex-that, and nano-everything, eventually arriving at the message of this elaborate sideshow: The future is not to be faced without an Andersen consultant on retainer. They're very honest. Their products are clean and not full of things that will poison you. You always have a partner to help you. You would not believe how people respond to you, when they first realize the product really is that good. Sometimes I forget that in the long run ''it's cheaper to by in bulk'' but it seems at the time ''like a lot of money" and I hate the confusion in my mind. Also, the pyramid took a long time to get into my brain. That's where having someone I could call and not be too far from me to help when I just did not understand. Amway is so simple to sell but my interest was for woman everywhere with or without kids to have clean, clothes and not breathe in their homes with chemicals. From an early age, Betsy was pushed to compete. In 1965, she was one of two second-graders to make entries in Holland’s annual tulip festival (a citywide valentine to the area’s Dutch heritage). In middle school, she entered a poster and essay contest about crime prevention. In her teenage years, she was a member of the Holland City Recreation Swim Team. Betsy excelled at the breaststroke. In August 1972, she won the Mid-Michigan Conference Championship, a contest in which younger siblings Emilie and Eileen Prince placed third and fifth, respectively). Your a straight bitch and you just want to knock down this guy for putting his two cents down, well you should do some legitamate research before you just tell this guy that hes full of shit and give him LOL’s. Besides, what the fuck are you doing just sitting on your computer commenting negatively on blogs that you know nothing about. Your a hypnotized bitch and I believe that this guy makes 2.2k a month, at least, in this thing. I guarantee you wouldnt be such a bitch if you understood how to do the same thing, but some people just cant believe something and have faith, so they knock it down and shatter other peoples dreams around them. Well I hope someone shattered your dreams when you were a kid, because isnt that what everyone wants? To be around negative lethargic fucks who spend their days finding stuff that doesnt make sense to their peanut sized minds and calling it out because they dont understand it? Well LOL to you too. Your whole life is probably a big LOL. Oooh whatchu gonna do read my internet code or whatever and come set me straight? Bitch I am straight, I aint crooked like you so consider waking the fuck up before your short insignifigant life is over in the blink of an eye As part of our service, we attempt to partner with all the companies that we review, and may get compensated when you click or call them from our site; however, regardless of any current, past, or future financial arrangements, companies listed on Best Company cannot buy their position, nor do we manipulate or inflate a company's ranking for financial gain. A company’s ranking is based on and calculated by an objective set of ranking criteria, as well as user reviews. For more information on how we rank companies, click here. People think in terms of excellence, including success, wealth achievements, and gracious living. We feel uncomfortable about things at the lower end of the scale. We become anxious about peoples and nations in the grip of poverty. It makes us uneasy and often guilty to think of starving children and realize what bounties we have in America. Yet we should always bear in mind that poor people cannot help poor people. What we can do, however, is to condition ourselves to speak out and stand up for those things in which we believe. To do this effectively, we must first have faith – faith in self, faith in God, faith in our convictions. Once these conditions are met, you will be amazed at how easy it is to speak out. It is rare to see poverty mentioned in Amway’s literature. When it is, it’s usually in the context of an Amway distributor having escaped it. Success is equated with wealth. With wealth is promised an enhanced way of life, one crafted of your own dreams – and Amway gives you The Plan to achieve that life. To let your attention stray from The Plan is to invite doubt and negative thinking, which can only result in failure. ‘As successful distributors tell people they are recruiting, the pursuit of excellence can be achieved only when they discipline themselves to tune in the positive dialogues and tune out the negative ones,’ says Cross. Poverty makes us feel bad. Feeling bad is negative. Negativity causes failure. It makes poverty feel contagious. So don’t think about it. So, after hearing the Amway rhetoric on an endless loop, recruits start to make disastrous decisions, and each one is applauded by their peers. In Kyritsis' case, his "friends" at Amway even encouraged him to give up on his education. "They would actually compare having an Amway business with getting royalties, like from a book or a song. That you build a network once, and it pays you forever, even if you stop working. So, why go to college when I can make a successful Amway business without any degrees? For me, as a 21-year-old idiot who never had a full-time job and lived with his parents, that was reason enough to drop out of college, and I never got my degree." Do you want instant access to the #1 Attraction Marketing System in the world today for all network marketers/home business owners? If you want to start generating 10-20 + leads everyday, sign up more IBO’s, build a strong Amway Global team/organization, as you’ll learn how to become a 6 figure earner in the direct sales/network marketing industry… You need to Watch Video Below! Recently purchased hair care products from amway.com/rotondo. Very satisfied with the quality. The nice thing about Amway is that they use their own nutritionists, chemical engineers, etc. The stuff you get "off the shelf" is largely produced overseas using packaging from many different companies. Who knows what really goes into those products? Made in the USA in Grand Rapids, Michigan! In 2014, Founders Crown Ambassadors Barry Chi and Holly Chen, who run the biggest Amway distributorship in the world based in Taiwan, were sued by nine Chinese immigrants in the Southern California region who claimed that, although Chi and Chen promised they could potentially make millions in commissions, Amway business owners make closer to $200 a month. The Products are Expensive; well personally, I think they are a bit overpriced, which obviously is understandable because they have to pay you and your down line. However, it is a struggle to sell a bottle of $80 vitamin pills when there are other products with the same quality for a lot less. We are not exactly living in the old days anymore and people are cautious now when it comes to spending, meaning you will have to work double time to sell products at a higher price. “Across the United States, the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and thriving, from coast to coast,” said Dr. David B. Audretsch, professor and director of the Institute for Development Strategies at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “This year’s AGER confirms Americans continue to view entrepreneurship in a positive light and are open to the idea of starting their own business. Compared to the global average, attitudes towards entrepreneurship in America are sustaining momentum from previous years and are on track to experience continued growth.” I only learned the extent to which he and Jean had convinced themselves of this when I worked up the courage to visit their bathroom. It was a strange spectacle indeed. The wall opposite the toilet was decorated with Post-Its, each with a biblical proverb or chestnuts like “A drowning man doesn’t complain about the size of the life preserver” and “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything!” I was startled when a reggae song about “winners” suddenly filled the air; I located the speakers in the medicine cabinet. Most impressive, however, was a wish list taped above the toilet. Scrawled in pencil, it was presumably lengthened whenever Josh or Jean had a flash of covetousness in the shower. It included, among other items, The official ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication took place on September 29, 2010 at 10:01 AM. The general public was invited to enter the building where Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer gave his annual State of Downtown address. The first ticketed event was a Vicente Fernández concert on October 8. The Orlando Magic hosted their first preseason game at Amway Center on October 10 against the New Orleans Hornets when they won by a historic margin of 54 points, while the 2010–11 regular season home opener took place on October 28 against the Washington Wizards. She showed me how all the dilution bottles worked (Amway liquid cleaners come in “superconcentrated” form, which makes them superinconvenient to use), and took me on a tour of eight or so catalogues, pointing out all the products I would want to make an effort to learn about. Finally, she did the best she could with the Amway paperwork, but, math teacher though she was, she got lost in its byzantine intricacies. “I’m still learning,” she explained with an embarrassed smile. “But it’s O.K., because once I get it all down, it’s all I’ll ever need to know, whether our business is a hundred dollars a month or a million!” Unfortunately, it was what I needed to know just to buy a roll of toilet paper. Yes! MLM is not the same as “pyramid scheme” . In every business the people at the top make more. In an MLM anyone can work up to the top, unlike in a pyramid scheme. Some of what is described in the article is very cult-like if it’s true, but I would imagine it is like with any business: it depends on who your upline is. If your upline is a creep, the whole team is going to be creepy. If you have a good upline, the whole team will reflect that. Any business, MLM or otherwise, can isolate people from friends and family. It’s called being a workaholic. While this marketing strategies are great, and yes that does work at times, but the conversion rates are very low. And lets face it…is it working for you? No. Do you like chasing around or harrasing your friends, family, and even strangers to join your business or buy you Amway’s products? People who call your business an Amway Scam? No. Is it fun? HECK NO lol The people who join Amway do so for many different reasons, including working part time to make a little extra money to help support their families or to achieve a specific financial goal. They come from a variety of circumstances and have just as many motivations. While the specifics of the IBO stories may vary, hard work, determination and a devotion to giving back to the community are common themes. Methodology: Source Euromonitor International Limited. Claim verification based on Euromonitor research and methodology for Amway Corporation conducted from May through June 2018. Euromonitor determined the highest possible total historical sales of the leading global and/or regional Amway competitors and eliminated those whose total sales are less than double that of Amway's own stated historical total bonuses paid out to distributors historically. Of the remaining companies, Euromonitor eliminated companies whose average share of bonuses and cash incentives paid out totals were less than 70% of Amway's stated historical total of bonuses. No companies remained after this stage. To the extent permissible, Euromonitor does not accept or assume responsibility to any third party in respect of this claim. Though dressed in a blue skirt-suit, the uniform of a first ladyship that was not to be, Betsy DeVos was never a political accessory. Anyone who understood Michigan politics knew she had long been the more political animal of the pair. It was Betsy, not Dick, who had chaired the Michigan Republican Party; Betsy, who had served as a member of the Republican National Committee; Betsy, whose name was once floated to succeed Haley Barbour as head of the RNC; Betsy, who had directed a statewide ballot campaign to legalize public funding of religious schools; Betsy, who, as a college freshman, traveled to Ohio and Indiana to volunteer for Gerald Ford’s presidential campaign. She was a skilled and seasoned operator, but as her husband conceded in an overwhelming defeat, she was utterly helpless. ‘You can see we’re getting the screens fixed,’ the Realtor says, pointing to the men working beyond the glass. She has piercing blue eyes. Processed blonde hair. She has French-tipped nails, diamond rings on all fingers, and a gold-and-diamond necklace. She wears a white semi sheer shirt, black-and-white-printed leisure pants, black eyeliner and heavy mascara. ‘We’re just putting some finishing touches on the place.’ While the DeVoses campaigned on expanding educational choices for parents and students, their opponents reframed the issue. “When you really looked at it, the parents weren’t the ones with the choices; the parochial schools were the ones with the choices,” Matuzak remembers. “If all you do is transfer the money, you don't transfer any of the other requirements that are put on public schools. Public schools are required to take everyone who comes through the door. But private schools, parochial schools, get to pick and choose. … It’s not really the parents who have the choice, it’s the schools. And people ultimately understood that.” Scott confidently reprised decades’ worth of conservative alarmism, invoking inflation and national debt and other flat-earth bugbears in a doomsday routine as charmingly archaic as it was fatuous. An accurate narrative of the last few decades—growing productivity, GDP, and per-capita income, accompanied by a massive upward redistribution of wealth—would hardly have packed the millennial portent Scott was looking for. The Second Wave, like Communism, like all the works of man, was destined to decay and collapse, making way for the coming entrepreneurial kingdom—which, for those who lacked faith or zeal, would bring a day of reckoning. Were we ready? To prove he “wasn’t making this crazy stuff up,” he littered the floor with copies of Fortune, Money, and Forbes, citing the relevant disaster stories. I felt like I was back at ENTERPRISE 2020.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line129
__label__cc	0.646007	0.353993	The family is also heavily invested in right-wing politics, earning comparisons to the Kochs for the enthusiasm with which they back Republican candidates like Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Marco Rubio, and their sizable donations to ultraconservative organizations like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, both of which promote Christian value-based public policy such as anti-abortion legislation and bans on same-sex marriage. In 2014, the DeVoses donated in the six figures to Michigan-based conservative think tanks including the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, which promotes free market economics within a Christian framework, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, also a supporter of free market economics. Elsewhere, conservative organizations that received DeVos funding of over a million dollars each include the American Enterprise Institute, another free market think tank; the Alliance Defending Freedom, the right’s preeminent legal defense fund; and the Heritage Foundation, which promotes free market economics and ‘traditional American values.’ Is Amway A Scam? Amway is not a scam. Amway is a legit company and its business model is around referral based marketing (mlm/direct sales industry) instead of paying for advertising, billboards, tv commercials, etc. They pay their IBO’s or distributors a small commissions for helping them get the word out and when someone buys product from that IBO. Josh also showed signs of breakdown. After the presentation he took his customary position near the speaker, a hand-held recorder jutting provocatively from his hip; but because he wasn’t in Dave’s downline, he wouldn’t be able to accompany him to dinner. Josh claimed that it was at such dinners that speakers, unfettered by FTC restrictions, could reveal “the good stuff.” He proposed tailing Dave to the restaurant: “They couldn’t stop us, could they?” When Jean talked him out of this, he became desperate to simply “go somewhere and meet people.” Jean reminded him it was a school night for her. “Well, maybe we should talk to the hotel staff,” he suggested. Amway has been around for 50+ years which has actually resulted in market saturation in most of North America. Throughout this duration it obtained a negative reputation that lasted the lion's share of 2 decades. This resulted in the need to rebrand Amway as Quixtar (throughout the 90s). The baby boomer generation is very familiar with this and several will be fast to discourage their more youthful relative from doing Amway. If you are considering signing up with Amway as well as think this could be imprecise, simply ask an individual in your household in their 50s, 60s, or 70s whether or not they think you will certainly generate cash with Amway, and also why. i am a pediatrician from pune, India & i personally know so many poor people ( ex.- a riksha driver – santosh gaikwad, a tyre puncture shop person- bhumkar, a truck driver- vilas ghule , javeri- student & so many ) have changed their life through amway business…. all earning more than Rs. 70000 per month income… so many from other higher professionals also ( Rakshit Bhardwaj sir- vice president-IT company ).. i have no. of examples ( can’t write in detail) After graduating from high school in 1975, Betsy enrolled at Calvin College, her mother’s alma mater. Calvin’s mission, as stated in the 1975–1976 course catalog, was “to prepare students to live productive lives of faith to the glory of God in contemporary society—not merely lives that have a place for religion … but lives which in every part, in every manifestation, in their very essence, are Christian.” I notice only one person has indicated any sort of income ($500/week – WOW!!) – but without stating their expenses. My sister (in Australia) has been involved in this for decades and has made nothing, despite co-opting several others into the fold. I had to quickly learn to ask what she was inviting me to before I accepted any invitations and eventually had to tell her not to ask me to any more Amway things. Then she started on my fiance. Since opening in 2010, Amway Center has become both the gem of the NBA and a breath of fresh air for a once-dormant corner of downtown Orlando. The arena’s response to technology, premium amenities and fan comforts have contributed to its reputation as one of the finest multipurpose venues in the country. Serving as a catalyst for the ongoing revitalization of the city’s urban core, it welcomed 20 new businesses to the neighborhood just six months after its opening. Everyone was dressed to impress, I mean, I'm talking fancy suits. Besides a couple of old farts in there that I'm sure were running the show, everyone else was in their early 20s. I mean, makes sense, I was targeted, haha, get it? Because it was at "Target." Sorry, lame joke. Anyway, he introduced me to some of these guys and asked questions to them, like "what has been your biggest take away from this?" and "what do you think about it?" Stuff like that so I could see that hey, maybe this is a thing for me (it wasn't, in case you're wondering). They were all brain-washed, I mean, just from the speech I heard that night all that was said was a bunch of BS. And all I could see around the room was all these young kids just eating this up like free candy. The guy did no real math up there, just threw up some really good sounding money number and that we should build trust. Honestly, that was my takeaway from that whole one-hour speech he gave. I'll admit that the guy was an excellent speaker. He had the crowd. I just wasn't buying it. I loved the days when we’d go to the Bayou Club as a family. We began going immediately after joining Amway, when I was in second grade. The development was new, still under construction. There was space between the houses and the far stretch of the golf course undulating luxuriously around them. Model homes rose from the landscape like castles, bigger than any houses I’d ever seen – and vacant. Never occupied. Empty dreams, waiting to be filled. if people are simply looking to become rich quickly by signing up as many people as they can, yeah, it can be a sh*t program to get into. but if people are actually looking to help each other out and create a supportive atmosphere, then its a good thing to be around. the things i’ve learned at the meetings and conferences have helped me immensely in all areas of my life because i’m way more confident now to pursue my own dreams outside of amway. Amway is unethical way of making money. Their representative lure you to this smartly designed plan. Amway’s representatives misguide and misinform like any other business or a product’s sale representatives. which is attractive to listen for the first time with the ‘Entrepreneur” motto. But it is another way of making money leaving you frustrated in the end. I advise every one not to join this unethical product promotion. Parent company is becoming richer,leaving you as ”partner” (as it’s trained representatives claim) in total despair in the end. It is your hard earned money,think smartly before lending it to someone’s hand. I can promise you will lose friends and lovers. If that's worth it to you then go forth, but be aware that for the participant (or victim) in this, your loss of friendships will sometimes be invisible, and occasionally worth much more than you ever thought. It's an honest decision - you shouldn't be friends with someone who treats you this way. Every single person who has fallen into this trap I have seen lose friends in the long run, even if we tried to see past it. It's a black mark of a terrible person. When someone tells you who they are, you should listen to them. Hi Christene! Former Amway IBO here. Why didn't you talk about the Amway training companies such as LTD in your review? New IBO's will be encouraged (required) to buy their products/services by their uplines. Why don't you talk about the IBO contract? It has both non compete and arbitration clauses in it. That means you can't sue, if you have a dispute you have to go to an arbitration company that favors Amway. Also, Amway can end your IBO at any time for any reason. Again, your only recourse is the arbitration company that depends on Amway for its business. The average IBO income is only about $200. That's the average, I think the median is a lot lower. I was told that IBO's only need to put in 10 hours a week to be successful. Given the average income, that means that the average Amway IBO makes less than minimum wage for his/her time. My conclusion is that you would be better off getting a paper route than becoming an IBO. Ponder..."selling overpriced product and appointing people to sell over priced product when equally good and cheap products are available in market" both difficult and unethical...why a good human being for money would like to suck people to buy something and recruit people to buy the amway product because he and his uplines will earn and businesss will grow.rest everbody is entitled to his or her opinion.. There is no one-size-fits-all way to make a living, and never has been. The result is a need and corresponding demand among today’s workforce for diverse options. Direct selling organizations like Amway offer a low-cost, low-risk option for individuals to supplement their income. Amway Independent Business Owners use and sell high-quality nutrition, beauty and home products to consumers. Amway is haunted by the specter of saturation, the success that spells disaster. The 6-4-2 scenario tells it all: To keep one promise of $2,000-a-month, seventy-eight more need to be made whose fulfillment is still pending. The problem is that growth doesn’t improve this ratio: Were Amway to conquer the known universe, fewer than 2 percent of its distributors would be (or mathematically could be) Directs or higher. Of the rest, about 90 percent would be actively losing money—and without a pool of prospects to give them hopes for the future, they would surely quit. Amway would collapse from the bottom up. A thought to ponder: what if you invested tens of thousands into a dream, either from your pocket or loan, spend 4-6 years building your dream, only to realize you can't make a decent income from it or even make money at all. Would you still invest into that dream? Well, that is the exact scenario for thousands of college students,nowadays. The difference between college and most MLMs is that you don't have to drop thousands into an MLM to become successful, and if you gave it everything you got for 4-6 years and you build it right, chances are you'll have at decent income. But you got to do it right. On the way out, we pass a frame on the wall bearing a quote by Robert Dedman Sr., founder of ClubCorp. My husband stops to read it: ‘‘A club is a haven of refuge and accord in a world torn by strife and discord. A club is a place where kindred spirits gather to have fun and make friends. A club is a place of courtesy, good breeding, and good manners. A club is a place expressly for camaraderie, merriment, goodwill, and good cheer. A club humbles the mighty, draws out the timid, and casts out the sorehead. A club is one of the noblest inventions of mankind.’’ An iconic sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Orlando, the Amway Center is home to the NBA’s Orlando Magic, and the NHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. The center opened in 2010, and the Orlando Magic played its first preseason game at the center against the New Orleans Hornets on October 10. Since then, Amway Center has hosted a number of events including NCAA basketball tournaments, Olympic ice and track trials, professional bull riding and rodeos, ultimate fighting and professional wrestling matches, indoor soccer tournaments, extreme sports and motorsports exhibitions, family events, ice shows, and live concerts by legends in the music world. Amway is an $8.6 billion direct selling business based in Ada, Michigan, USA. Top-selling brands for Amway are Nutrilite™ vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, Artistry™ skincare and color cosmetics, eSpring™ water treatment systems and XS™ energy drinks – all sold exclusively by Amway Business Owners. Global sales in 2016 made Amway the No. 1 direct selling business in the world, according to the 2017 Direct Selling News Global 100. The company’s annual sales figure includes revenue from direct selling operations and other business holdings. I was invited by a gentlemen from eastern Suffolk area, NY and had told him I was busy in other things. What I didn't realize was how I had went to see this same presentation in someone's house about 20 years prior to 2015. So it was May 2015 and people want to return to the American dream and here comes these floating characters straight out of a horror video game. So they smiled their way and have their game plans down to a science. There's no way I'm going to sit through a presentation that makes me feel I am chained down in my seat 24/7. I'm sure that the success stories I heard were all true. The problem is that they build an unrealistic expectation of what is possible. People hear these rags to riches tales and think 'hey that could be me'. Unfortunately very few of them will ever make any money at all. Even fewer will achieve financial freedom from Amway Joining Amway is extremely easy, making a profit in Amway is extremely difficult. In April 1997 Richard DeVos and his wife, Helen, gave $1 million to the Republican National Committee (RNC),[74][76] which at the time was the second-largest soft-money donation ever, behind Amway's 1994 gift of $2.5 million to the RNC.[74] In July 1997, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Newt Gingrich slipped a last-minute provision into a hotly contested compromise tax bill that granted Amway and four other companies a tax break on their Asian branches that totaled $19 million.[74] i’ve been to events, i attend meetings, i buy and use the products (but only the ones i actually like, like some of the kid vitamins cuz my kid actually really likes ’em, and their makeup/skincare i really like because it works for my skin)….there has never been one mention about “ditching your family or friends”, there has never been any pressure to buy nothing but Amway…. Edit: Thanks for the answers everyone! Unfortunately, we had a long debate today about it and he is definitely set. Even after I talked about the pyramid scheme esque facts and everything else you guys said. I'm still going to be his friend but I'm definitely not bought. He is very stubborn and wants me to read a book by KIYOSAKI... he also mentioned that they sell products at a price lower than retail price, contrary to what other posters said. Can anyone confirm? The details of the agreement were finalized on December 22, 2006. In the agreement, the City of Orlando will take ownership of the new arena, while the Magic will control the planning and construction of the facility so long as contracting procedures are done in the same public manner as governments advertise contracts. In addition, the City will be paid a part of naming rights and corporate suite sales, a share estimated to be worth $1.75 million the first year of the arena's opening. The Magic will receive all proceeds from ticket sales for Magic games, while the City will receive all proceeds from ticket sales to all other events.[12] The Orlando Magic will contribute at least $50 million in cash up-front, pick up any cost overruns, and pay rent of $1 million per year for 30 years. The City of Orlando will pay for the land and infrastructure. The remaining money will come from bonds which will be paid off by part of the Orange County, Florida, Tourist Development Tax, collected as a surcharge on hotel stays, which was raised to 6% in 2006. The Magic will guarantee $100 million of these bonds. This is not the man who brought my dad in but a man somewhere above him. He was what The Business calls a ‘phony Emerald.’ To meet the criteria for the pin level, he’d force the people in his organization to order extra product in order to grow his volume and push him across the finish line each month – not that he turned much of a profit doing so, as he had to pass it all on to his own upline. ‘Well, the Emerald pin doesn’t mean anything unless your organization is solid,’ said my dad. ‘So you got a pin – you’re not making the money.’ Eventually, my dad says, Vincent was stripped of the Emerald pin because he couldn’t maintain the sales by force alone.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line130
__label__wiki	0.670683	0.670683	Remembering Bella: Namesake sign raised over Bella's Place Family and friends of Isabella "Bella" Grogan-Cannella gather at Bella's Place near Williams to raise a sign in her honor. (Erin Ford/WGCN) Story by Erin Ford Originally published Tuesday, September 11, 2018 at 12:37p.m. Remembering Bella Namesake Sign Raised Over Bella's Place WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Four years ago, the world handed the family of eight year old Isabella “Bella” Grogan-Cannella a tragedy after she was murdered in September 2014. On Sept. 2, the same family, surrounded by friends in both Bullhead City and Williams celebrated the life of the bubbly little blonde with a milestone. Isabella’s grandmother, Sue Winchester, gathered family, friends and community members to raise a namesake sign over Bella’s Place, a safe, loving environment for foster children. At the same time, the Bullhead City community released balloons in her honor. Wearing a shirt that said “Keep calm and find justice for Bella,” Winchester, flanked by her six other foster children, thanked everyone who contributed to her dream of Bella’s Place. “It means so much to me and the kids ... that we can have a place that kids can come to and feel safe and be loved,” she said. Grogan-Cannella disappeared from her home after being left in the care of a family friend, Justin Rector, who was later charged with her murder. Bella’s mother, Tania Grogan, who married Winchester’s adopted son, was later arrested for selling methamphetamine. In the four years since, Winchester has kept the family together — the day after Isabella was found murdered, she took Kaylee, Bella’s older sister, home with her. A short time later, she was granted custody of Alexus, Bella’s half-sister, and Gunner, who was born while Grogan was in prison on drug charges. She also has custody of Jessica, the daughter of one of her other foster daughters who passed away and twin boys Gary and Matthew, the sons of her adopted son. Though the much sought-after justice for Bella has been slow, the wheels are in motion, with a judge setting Rector’s trial for April 2019. Rector is set to be tried on first-degree murder, kidnapping, child abuse and abandonment of a body. ©2019 Western News&Info, Inc.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line132
__label__cc	0.541965	0.458035	Lewis W. Dickey Jr If the financial markets no longer trust big radio, can you? Dean Technology A Survival Guide for Radio Broadcasters, Cumulus Media, Cumulus Radio, DASH – Radio and The Connected Car: A Survival Guide for Radio Broadcasters, IHeart Radio CEO Robert Pittman, Lewis W. Dickey Jr, Robert Pittman 0 Comments Cumulus Media owns many of the most prestigious broadcast properties in radio: KLOS and KABC in Los Angeles, WLUP and WGN in Chicago, WJR in Detroit, WABC and WPLJ in New York. All told, Cumulus owns and operates 460 different radio stations in 90 markets. On September 29th, the stock of Cumulus Media bottomed out at 68 cents a share. This closing price for the number two radio ownership group in the US represented an 83% drop in the stock’s value since the beginning of 2015. As a result, Cumulus has since then languished in the low to mid 70 cent range and is now considered a penny stock. Compare this to its debt load of $2.5 billion and it’s net operating income of only $11.8 million, and you can see a significant problem. The market cap itself — about equal in value to that of 10 major market FM stations — has Cumulus worth more if it was broken up than from keeping it together. On the 29th, Cumulus’s board then announced that Lewis W. Dickey Jr., the founder of the company, would be stepping down as its President and CEO. The number one station group owner, IHeartRadio, is also in depressed shape. IHeartRadio operates over 850 radio stations nationwide. The stock recently closed at 4.15, which is just shy of 4.01; the lowest overall share price in the last 52 weeks. While the stock rebounded to 8.50 in the late spring, news of what happened at Cumulus has driven IHeartRadio share prices down once again this year to near dangerous record lows. For communicators and marketers, this lack of confidence from the financial markets is an urgent SOS. Confidence that radio is the direct medium to demographics who actively buy, make choices between products and are seeking new information seems nonexistent. The shift to personal digital technology has changed in how music, news, and information are all packaged, reported and consumed. This single fact has this once venerable industry now on its knees and begging for mercy. Don’t think the broadcast industry is turning a blind eye to this. Every radio property has its own digital footprint, with website offerings and whole communities dedicated to music formats and lifestyles. Cumulus is betting heavy on Nash; the Modern Country outpost it created. Even in your vehicles, (more…)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line139
__label__wiki	0.941127	0.941127	Dickinson’s $165m warning on Caroline Bay Sarah Lagan, Jonathan Bell Published Jun 14, 2019 at 8:00 am (Updated Jun 14, 2019 at 8:03 am) Caroline Bay Strong statement: Curtis Dickinson, the Minister of Finance on Caroline Bay (File photograph) Scott scores against Villa Car bursts into flames outside Cabinet Office Keeping her late husband’s business alive ‘Landmark’ charter sets out seniors’ rights Two hurt in bus crash at Barnes Corner Taxpayers could be left with a multimillion-dollar bill for the Caroline Bay residential development at Morgan’s Point, whose financing has reportedly ground to a standstill. “Should the project go unfunded, we will be on the hook for $165 million,” said finance minister Curtis Dickinson, who reminded at a hastily called press conference yesterday that the Government had signed on as a guarantor under the One Bermuda Alliance administration. “Genuine efforts by the developers have been made to secure financing and these efforts are ongoing. In the interim, the principals of the company have continued to fund their obligations mindful of the importance of keeping some work going on at the site. “This funding appears to now be at a standstill. As such, this accounts for the sums owed to contractors and subcontractors who have, in good faith, done the work required. Understandably, some have now lost their patience. “However, in addition to the issues surrounding non-payment to contractors and subcontractors, I have a wider concern based on my responsibility to safeguard the public purse, and to avert the risk to which the Bermudian taxpayer has been exposed, first, by the former government, and now, by delays in the project.” Craig Cannonier, the Leader of the Opposition, warned against “pointing fingers”. Mr Cannonier said: “Let’s get everyone working again on this project.” He added that the guarantee had been provided “if all else failed”. Mr Cannonier said: “That does not mean that at every hiccup the project has that Government needs to pay out. “An agreement was made. However, Caroline Bay must do all it can to secure financing. “Had a guarantee not been provided, it may not have received the support it has been given up until now.” He added: “Both the OBA and [Progressive Labour Party] have shown tremendous support for the project and what is needed now is to ensure we all work together to get things moving again.” One of the contractors for the West End development said that he was still owed “not insignificant” sums. “We did grow impatient,” said the man, who spoke to The Royal Gazette on condition of anonymity. “We also recognise that the best hope for it ending well is that a new deal gets done so that the project can continue.” The contractor added that potential new investors had given “some assurance” that funding for the development could be revived. He pointed to similar scenarios at Tucker’s Point and at Newstead Belmont Hills, where the developments were unable to meet financing targets, causing investors to step in and put the projects into liquidation. He said: “A lot of debtors were left holding the bag. The difference with this project is that the Government has guaranteed this sum. That is why financing needs, really badly, to come off.” He added: “The potential investor’s feedback on dealings with the Government were that they had been professional and extremely diligent.” Construction was downscaled at Caroline Bay last year when costs overtook financing. Mr Dickinson said the Ministry of Finance was taking advice, and had met with Caroline Bay Development principals last Friday to discuss the “advanced” stage of negotiations for project funding. “We are doing everything prudent to protect the Government’s position,” he said. “There is much more to be done, however, to first secure financing to complete the project and to ensure a successful conclusion of the construction phase of the project.” Asked by The Royal Gazette whether a scaled-down version of the development was under consideration, Mr Dickinson said: “The developers are looking at a number of potential alternatives — looking at the project as originally contemplated and also the potential of revising it.” Mr Dickinson also said he wished to deal with “speculation” that the Government was preventing the deal from being finalised. A ZBM News report on Wednesday suggested that Cabinet was sitting on approval for licences in relation to financing and immigration. The finance minister said: “I am not allowed to discuss Cabinet deliberations, so I won’t. I am not aware of any delays on any applications with respect to licences that have been delayed or even submitted.” A series of crunch talks with developers took place in February 2018 based on a forecast that work on the site was likely to stop, workers could be laid off and contractors not get paid. Mr Dickinson said: “The persistent demands of the Government was that this could not be allowed to happen, as this country could not then, and cannot now, afford to see more Bermudians out of work. “As part of the process to shore up the management of the project and other aspects of the operation of control of the development, the Government mandated changes to the corporate governance of the development company, and the marketing of the preconstruction unit was made the responsibility of a strengthened, more experienced team of realtors. “While work continued at the site, the pace and scope consistently reduced to the point where it is now stopped altogether.”	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line141
__label__wiki	0.922879	0.922879	The Platters Founder Herb Reed Dies At 83 “The Great Pretender,” “My Prayer,” “Twilight Time” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” As I am often asked about The Drifters, The Coasters, The Marvelettes, The Persuasions, or The Platters, “Are they the original?” I must report that Herb Reed, the last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like “Only You” and “The Great Pretender,” has died. He was 83. Reed was a Kansas City, Mo., native who founded the Platters in Los Angeles in 1953. Then a quartet, the group won amateur talent shows, and performed nights and weekends up and down the California coast while the members worked days at a car wash and at other odd jobs. Reed came up with the group’s name, inspired by `50s disc jockeys who called their records platters. The group underwent several lineup changes, even adding a woman singer to become a quintet, before signing their first major recording contract in 1955. Reed sang bass on the group’s four No. 1 hits, including “The Great Pretender,” “My Prayer,” “Twilight Time” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Their recordings are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The group’s popularity reached across racial lines and genres, “achieving success in a crooning, middle-of-the-road style that put a soulful coat of uptown polish on pop-oriented, harmony-rich material,” according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website. Today, started by Herb, The Platters music still lives on.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line142
__label__wiki	0.935983	0.935983	Memorable Manitobans: Alexander Nugent McPherson (1857-1938) Alexander Nugent McPherson Lawyer, judge. Born at Kingussie, Invernesshire, Scotland on 19 December 1857, son of Ewen McPherson and Margaret Scott, he came to Canada when a boy, was educated at Kincardine, Ontario, at Brantford High School, the University of Toronto, and the University of Manitoba (First Medalist and Scholarship). He taught school in Ontario and came to Winnipeg in 1881. He was called to Manitoba Bar in 1889. He practised law for many years with H. H. Saunderson and was a director in many financial companies. In 1923, he was appointed as Judge of the Eastern Judicial District of Manitoba, retiring from the position in 1933. He served as a Senior Examiner with the Law Society of Manitoba, a Senior Examiner in Law at the University of Manitoba, and a Right of Way Solicitor for Attorney-General, Red River Valley Railway. He served on a Royal Commission appointed by the Dominion Government to inquire into the participation in politics of Customs Officers. He was Solicitor for the Winnipeg School Board, formerly Chairman of the School Management Committee. In 1889, he married Minnie Tait Morgan (1866-1946). They had four children: Mary Winona McPherson (1890-?), David Ewen McPherson (1891-?), Margaret McPherson (1892-?), and Alexander Reddick Morgan McPherson (1908-?). He was a member of the AF & AM (Past Worshipful Master, Member, Scottish Rite), and Clan Stewart of the Order of Scottish Clans. He had a summer home “Cluny Lodge” on Lake Winnipeg. He was a member of the Manitoba College Board. He died at his Winnipeg residence, 36 Balmoral Place, on 9 November 1938 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery. 1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy. Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911. Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925. “Former judge dies, aged 81,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 November 1938, page 20. “Retired judge is dead,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 November 1938. “Mrs. A. N. McPherson dies in 81st year,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 May 1946. Page revised: 1 April 2017	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line144
__label__cc	0.720927	0.279073	Bishops Respond to House Speaker From the USCCB, Pro-Life Activities: All persons, not just Catholics, can know from the scientific and medical evidence that what grows in a mother's womb is a new, distinct human being. All persons can understand that each human being -- without discrimination -- merits respect. At the very least, respecting human life excludes the deliberate and direct destruction of life -- and that is exactly what abortion is. Catholics are also pro-life because our Christian tradition is pro-life. As Pope John Paul II says, Christians believe that "all human life is sacred, for it is created in the image and likeness of God." Aborting an unborn child destroys a unique creation which God has called specially into existence. Christian teaching also obliges us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, who spoke and acted strongly and compassionately in favor of the most despised and vulnerable persons in society. Jesus touched lepers, spoke with prostitutes, and showed special mercy and tenderness to the sick, the poor, and children. Our society today has many vulnerable persons --- including women in crisis pregnancies as well as unborn children whose lives may be legally ended at any time during pregnancy and for any reason. In the tradition of Jesus Christ, Catholics have a responsibility to speak and act in defense of these persons. This is part of our "preferential option" for the poor and powerless. The Church's mission to defend human life applies over the entire course of life, from conception to natural death. And so the Catholic Church has been a strong supporter of the civil rights movement and a leader in international relief and development efforts. Catholic hospitals and other health-care facilities form the largest network of private, not-for-profit health care providers in the United States. Catholic Charities USA --- one of a number of Catholic charitable groups --- is currently the single largest provider of social services to all Americans, regardless of race, creed or national origin. The Catholic Church strives to be a prophetic voice, speaking out to protest injustices and indignities against the human person. Catholics will continue in this work, whether our words are popular or unpopular. Since its beginnings, Christianity has maintained a firm and clear teaching on the sacredness of human life. Jesus Christ emphasized this in his teaching and ministry. Abortion was rejected in the earliest known Christian manual of discipline, the Didache. Early Church fathers likewise condemned abortion as the killing of innocent human life. A third century Father of the Church, Tertullian, called it "accelerated homicide." Early Church councils considered it one of the most serious crimes. Even during periods when Aristotle's theory of "delayed ensoulment" led Church law to assign different penalties to earlier and later abortions, abortion at any stage was still considered a grave evil. When biologists in the 19th century learned more about the process of conception, the Church altered its legal distinction between early and late abortions out of respect for reason and biology. Since that time, science has only further confirmed the humanity of the child growing in the womb. Official Church teaching insists, to the present day, that a just society protects life before as well as after birth. The reasons are not difficult to understand. One official Church document on the subject puts it this way: "The first right of the human person is his life . . . It does not belong to society, nor does it belong to public authority in any form to recognize this right for some and not for others; all discrimination is evil. . . Any discrimination based on the various stages of life is no more justified any other discrimination. . . . In reality, respect for human life is called for from the time that the process of generation begins. From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth."Declaration on Procured Abortion, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1974), paragraphs 11-12. Email us at prolife@usccb.org Pro-Life Activities 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved. Labels: Dubruiel, Joseph Dubruiel, Michael Dubruiel What Did Saint Augustine Really Say? Pope Benedict Continues Catechesis on Saint Paul Bishop Baker on Reading Saint Paul St. Paul's Simple Guide to Daily Living Pope Benedict on Today's Gospel Parents of St. Therese to be Beatified Porter Wagoner Pope: Set the Example When You Drive No More "Yahweh" Songs Lunch with the Pope Pope Prays for Those who ask Pope's Question and Answers What Makes Shopping on Amazon Reasonable Pope Benedict on Vacation	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line145
__label__wiki	0.877764	0.877764	Rep. Tom Suozzi rejects Trump’s deal on border wall Posted Thursday, January 24, 2019 12:00 am Nelson Melgar, a “Dreamer,” with U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi at a news conference last year, when Suozzi invited Melgar to the State of the Union address. Laurs Lane/Herald Gazette Suozzi said that fees paid by DACA and TPS recipients could pay for security. Herald file photo By Laura Lane Three days after meeting with 13 members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, President Trump took to the airwaves last Saturday to offer a deal for undocumented immigrants who are protected by former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order and Temporary Protected Status recipients. In exchange for $5.6 billion to fund border security that would include a wall, Trump proposed an additional three years of protection for 700,000 of the 1.8 million so-called “Dreamers” — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children — and for TPS holders, those who came to this country to escape natural disasters or war. Trump has promised to end the partial government shutdown, the longest in the country’s history, if he receives the funding. It was the first time that members of the Problem Solvers Caucus — 24 Democratic and 24 Republican members of the House of Representatives — met with the president in an effort to persuade him to reopen the government. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove, is the group’s vice chairman. During the meeting, Suozzi said, Democrats aligned themselves with their party’s leadership, arguing that the government needed to be open before any negotiations could move forward on border security. Trump spoke for 15 to 20 minutes, Suozzi said, repeating what he has said publicly about the necessity of a border wall. Asked if he thought Trump’s weekend announcement was influenced by the meeting with the Problem Solvers’ seven Democrats and six Republicans, Suozzi paused. “It may have had an impact, but we didn’t discuss [DACA and TPS] specifically,” he said. “The government employees are going to get paid anyway — why not put them back to work? This is nonsensical.” The government can’t be shut down any time the president is upset with Congress, Suozzi said, adding, “This is not a banana republic.” He was adamant that he would not accept the deal that Trump offered. Suozzi instead wants a permanent solution for DACA and TPS recipients. “It is so unfair to them that they were safe until the president undid their protection,” he said. “We need to solve this once and for all.” Nelson Melgar, of Glen Cove, the leader of the North Shore Hispanic Civic Association, agreed. “I am a DACA recipient, and I don’t want more DACA,” Melgar said, noting that he works full time, serves his community and has a family in the U.S. Melgar, 28, was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child. The son of a coffee bean farmer and a cleaning woman, he was born in Honduras. When he arrived in Glen Cove at age 13, he spoke no English. He eventually mastered the language, graduated with honors from Glen Cove High School and earned a degree from Hunter College. He now works in the compliance department of a heating and cooling company in Manhattan. Suozzi invited him to the State of the Union address in Washington in 2018. “I want a permanent solution,” Melgar said. “Trading my status for a symbol of division is dehumanizing, and this is unbecoming of a president of the United States of America.” He said that Trump’s “ludicrous” offer didn’t surprise him. “The president is like a thief who steals something valuable from you and wants to trade it for something else you have,” he said. Suozzi said that speaking for himself, and not the Democratic Party, he supports adding 200 miles of a physical structure on the border. “But that has to be married to improvements in technology, radar, better ports of entry and more custom border officials,” he said. “We need to spend as much money on immigration judges, humanitarian aid, radar and drones as the money for the wall.” And, Suozzi said, all TPS and DACA recipients must be protected. Many have been here a long time, worked hard and never engaged in criminal activities, he reasoned. He has an idea that he believes would help support the cost of border security improvements and protection for TPS and DACA recipients — fees to be paid by them. As for ending the shutdown, Suozzi said that elected leaders want it to end. “I think the president, Nancy [Pelosi], Chuck [Schumer] are all ready to negotiate,” Suozzi said. “But the president is using simplistic language — wall, wall, wall — and Pelosi is saying, ‘Not one penny,’ the cancellation of the trip to Afghanistan and the talk of canceling the State of the Union. It’s all just gotten too personal.” Suozzi said he worries that some federal employees who continue to work might cause dangerous conditions. He cited air traffic controllers as an example. “They’re dealing with very intense security issues while they’re worrying about how they’re going to pay their bills, or what they’ll do if their car breaks down — how they’ll pay to have it fixed,” he said. “I know of someone who had to sell his car to pay his bills. The president is a big businessman. This just doesn’t make sense.” Melgar doesn’t know any federal workers, he said, but he has many friends who were working on obtaining their citizenship before the shutdown. “Their citizenship is stalled,” he said. “One woman’s residency card expired, and she was supposed to have her provisional card by the beginning of the year, but now she’s in limbo.” “These are people’s lives we’re talking about,” Melgar said. “It’s high time Trump realizes the importance of his office.” Off to the races at Glen Head Elementary School 9/11 responder from Glen Head is seeking pension parity Adam Pascal revisits his career 'So Far' Reacting to Green Light Bill A Memoir of the '60s with Peter Asher	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line147
__label__cc	0.69164	0.30836	German Architecture Students Build A Beautiful Timber Community Center For The Refugees - 23rd February 2017 - in Architecture While some countries are still selfishly trying to keep the distraught and homeless refugees out; other regions are more welcoming as evident from this heartwarming example of Germany. Via ArchDaily Via Arch Daily Recently, 18 architecture students from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany couldn’t bear the plight of refugees at the camp, so they teamed up with 25 refugees and built this amazing timber community center in Mannheim, Germany. The project is a part of the “Building Together—Learning Together” initiative and the 550-squaremeter artistic structure has given new life to the brazen and bare surroundings of the area. The design not only provides adequate shelter to the refugees in the area but also takes the ecological effects and cost into consideration without compromising on the construction quality. The area once hosted a desolated refugee camp located on the former American Spinelli Barracks, but the timber community center has now given it a more presentable outlook. The 18 students who worked on the project lived at the refugee camp where they worked intensively for six weeks to finish the project. The construction began from mid-August and continued to the end of October, aimed at building a shelter. They also taught basic building skills and German language to their new co-workers. The community center is constructed entirely out of lightweight untreated timber, with the larger pieces prefabricated in a former military facility and later, assembled. The main walls of the structure are made out of Douglas fir, and the walls bear symmetric meshes to allow structural support, natural ventilation, and lighting for creating a play of light and shadow. The building covers a small garden courtyard along with a large outdoor events space. The shelter entails a built-in seating arrangement which is shielded from the unfriendly weather by a two-meter wall canopy and partitions. It also contains a pair of storerooms that can be used for multiple purposes in the future. Keep up the good work, young Germans! Hopefully, the rest of the world can take a leaf out of your book! Previous article An Emerging Wind Energy Giant Next article Elon Musk’s New Boring Company Starts Digging A Giant Underground Tunnel In Los Angeles	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line150
__label__cc	0.711907	0.288093	Speak The Word Pt25 (Elijah Pt6) James 5:17-18 (Part of the Speak The Word series). Preached by Brother Nathan Bryant on December 28, 2016 (Midweek Meeting). The Word Made Flesh John 1:14 (Part of the Sunday Morning Services series). Preached by Brother Nathan Bryant on December 25, 2016 (Sunday Morning). Speak The Word Pt24 (Elisha Pt2) 2 Kings 4:25-26 (Part of the Speak The Word series). The Impersonation Of Christianity (57-0120M) Pt2 Ezekiel 36:26-27 (Part of the The Message series). Preached by Brother Branham on December 18, 2016 (Sunday Evening). Preached by Brother Branham on December 18, 2016 (Sunday Morning). 2 Kings 4:2 (Part of the Speak The Word series). The Architect Of Our Bodies Genesis 2:7 (Part of the Sunday Morning Services series). 2 Kings 2:9-10 (Part of the Speak The Word series). Preached by Brother Nathan Bryant on December 7, 2016 (Midweek Meeting). From Disciple To Denial Philippians 4:11-13 (Part of the Sunday Morning Services series). Preached by Brother Nathan Bryant on December 4, 2016 (Sunday Morning). 1 Kings 21:17-19 (Part of the Speak The Word series). Preached by Brother Nathan Bryant on November 30, 2016 (Midweek Meeting). Preacher: Brother Nathan Bryant (91), Brother Branham (40), Brother Wes Willis (4), Brother Jack Duff (3), Brother Donny Reagan (3), Brother Trevor Emond (3), Brother Bill Layton (3), Brother David Siler (2), Brother David Hoover (2), Brother Gordon Tutani (1), Film (1). … (5 more) Book: Genesis (16), Exodus (9), Leviticus (1), Numbers (3), Deuteronomy (1), Joshua (3), Judges (2), 1 Samuel (2), 2 Samuel (2), 1 Kings (9), 2 Kings (5), 1 Chronicles (2), 2 Chronicles (1), Nehemiah (1), Esther (10), Psalm (3), Proverbs (1), Ecclesiastes (1), Song of Solomon (1), Isaiah (4), Ezekiel (2), Jonah (1), Malachi (1), Matthew (6), Mark (2), Luke (10), John (4), Romans (2), Ephesians (1), Philippians (1), Colossians (1), 2 Timothy (1), Hebrews (6), James (2), 1 Peter (1), 2 Peter (1), 2 John (1), Revelation (2). … (29 more) Series: Funerals (1), Speak The Word (25), Evangelistic (2), For Such A Time As This (11), Wednesday Night Bible Studies (3), Special Services (16), Sunday Evening Services (10), The Message (40), Dealing With Contradictions (4), Flawed Characters (9), Sunday Morning Services (32). … (2 more) Service: Midweek Meeting (52), Sunday Morning (51), Sunday Evening (39), Special (11). Date: January (14), February (11), March (12), April (13), May (14), June (12), July (16), August (12), September (14), October (14), November (12), December (9)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line153
__label__wiki	0.855375	0.855375	Developing a new path to an HIV vaccine by Jackie Sojico, NET News (From left to right) Professor of virology Qingsheng Li and professors of chemistry, Wei Niu and Jiantao Guo, are working on a new method that could result in a safe, HIV vaccine. (Photo courtesy Troy Fedderson, University Communications) Listen to this story: Jackie Sojico, NET News July 1, 2014 - 6:30am Scientists fighting AIDS have changed the disease from a death sentence to a livable condition thanks to treatments and medicines developed over the past 30 years. But so far, no one has been able to develop an effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. NET News looks at how researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are trying to develop a new path towards an HIV vaccine. First, let’s review what a vaccine is. It isn’t a cure. Vaccines teach your immune system to recognize and fight off a disease. “They generate some memory protective immune response so they can recognize the pathogen or viruses in here. And they kill the virus during the initial invasion,” Qingsheng Li, professor of Virology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said. UNL researchers modified the HIV genome so that it needs an amino acid it doesn't normally need to produce the protein it needs to replicate and infect cells. (Figure courtesy Jiantao Guo, University of Nebraska-Lincoln) For instance, when you get injected with the chicken pox vaccine, your immune system reacts to it like a real virus. Then, when you’re exposed to the regular chicken pox, your immune system already has the tools called immunogens to fight against it. The chicken pox vaccine contains a live, but weakened version of the actual virus in it. Other vaccines, like polio, contain a dead version of virus. Live virus vaccines are generally more effective because they generate a stronger reaction from your immune system, and results in longer lasting immunity. But it’s tricky to develop a vaccine for HIV. “With many live virus vaccines people can get actual disease from the vaccine. And so for some diseases, where you get a mild case of mumps or something, that’s really not so terrible. But if people get infected with HIV from the vaccine, that’s a big deal,” Susan Swindells, professor of medicine and director of the HIV clinic at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, said. This is a risk with any kind of live virus vaccine. With HIV, it’s riskier only because HIV itself is more dangerous. As Swindells said, “It doesn’t go away.” To make a live virus vaccine for HIV, researchers have to stop the virus from being able to infect cells. But it’s hard to change how HIV behaves. HIV replicates incredibly quickly which means it can respond rapidly to anything that makes it harder for it to infect cells. To make it more complicated, there are a lot of different strains of HIV all over the world, and there can be multiple strains of HIV found in a single person, depending on what treatments they’ve received. How does HIV work? A virus, at its simplest, is a strain of RNA or DNA that copies itself over and over again.HIV, like all viruses, replicates by altering its hosts' cells to create more copies of itself. Here's how a virus infects: A virus inserts a bit of its genome into a host cells' DNA. That cell begins to produce copies of virus instead of what it normally does. Eventually, the cell will fill up with copies of virus and burst, spreading viruses further throughout your body. These new viruses repeat the process on more of its hosts' cells. HIV is special in a couple ways. It's very effective at infecting white blood cells – the main defenders in your immune system. Once white blood cells are infected, they no longer recognize HIV as a threat, making it even easier for HIV to infect more cells. HIV is also a retrovirus. Its genetic material is in RNA,but its host organisms have DNA. HIV is able to insert its RNA into a host cell's DNA and then have that cell produce RNA instead of DNA. “HIV is just a challenge. People used all the conventional way to try to make vaccine, it doesn’t work. So you have to think outside the normal approach,” Li said. Li is one of three researchers at UNL working on a method to weaken HIV so it can be used safely in a live virus vaccine. Li workd with chemistry professors Jiantao Guo and Wei Niu. According to Niu, she and her colleagues are trying something new to weaken HIV. “Basically we use synthetic biology approach to control the virus replication,” Niu said. That means that Niu and her fellow researchers are going in and changing the virus’s genetic material – its genome. In humans, that’s what’s encoded in your DNA. Viruses, like HIV, have something similar called RNA. Niu, Guo, and Li changed HIV’s genome so that it needs what they call an unnatural amino acid ¬– one the virus doesn’t normally need and isn’t found in humans – to make the proteins it needs to replicate and infect its host. Niu remembers when they started trying to find a way to modify HIV’s genome. “So, at the beginning, we generate a couple of mutants.Like mute-1, mute-2, of the HIV virus. However, they didn’t really work. Eventually we have to generate mute-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. 10. Totally 10 different mutants,” Niu said. It wasn’t until the second Christmas that they finally saw their research working: their virus couldn’t replicate without the extra amino acid. This is a big first step in developing a vaccine. Remember how HIV is able to respond to anything stopping it from infecting cells by replicating really quickly? That’s one of the big risks in making a live virus vaccine for HIV. Niu, Guo, and Li are trying to build a switch to stop HIV from replicating period so that it can’t adapt and become infectious again. According to Li, this research could make it safer to use live viruses in vaccines in general. “So this kind of engineering, potentially, we can dramatically reduce the risk,” Li said. Why does a vaccine matter? Building an effective HIV vaccine would be huge. While HIV IS treatable today, it’s also still a problem. HIV hasn’t stopped spreading. Nebraska has seen roughly 60-90 new diagnoses of HIV every year for the past decade. Swindells estimates about 20 percent of HIV-positive people in the United States don’t know they have HIV. “There’s a lot of people who are not on treatment, not in care, or unaware of their diagnosis that still fuel the spread of new cases. So we haven’t made any impact in the number of new cases every year for several years now. It’s about 50,000 new patients every year in the US,” Swindells said. This is still a really early part of vaccine development. This research so far has already taken two years. Niu, Guo, and Li just got a major four-year grant from the National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which they’ll use to move from testing the modified virus on cells to animals. It could be at least 15 years before a vaccine comes out of this research. Most vaccines turn out to be ineffective before even reaching human trials. There are a lot of obstacles left. HIV in Nebraska New HIV diagnoses in 2012: 83 Data courtesy Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services Li says that’s partly why he enjoys this research so much. “I think it’s a challenge, but fun. It’s always a challenge because science always in essence is new, novelty. And we generally feel very excited by the new and the unknown,” Li said. Right now, there aren’t any HIV vaccines on the market. According to the International HIV Vaccine Initiative database, there are 35 clinical trials for an HIV vaccine currently ongoing in the whole world. Most of them are in the first stage of clinical testing on humans. UNL researcher: Yogurt bacteria could one day prevent HIV HIV Wiped Out? Nebraska Researchers Say They've Taken a Big Step Nebraska researcher finds AIDS in Africa is a medical and cultural challenge UNMC Researchers Make HIV Breakthrough Nebraska Researcher's New Zika Vaccine Could Have Wide-Ranging Impact	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line156
__label__wiki	0.758573	0.758573	KKB Got to Get Back The name of this group is a combination of the last initial of each member of the group. The first “K” is for Bruce Kulick of Kiss fame. The other “K” represents Mike Katz, the bass player. The “B” is for drummer Guy Bois. The origins of this release date back to 1974 when these guys actually recording the core music. Over time, this music sat untouched. When the master tapes recently emerged, Kulick felt that the songs deserved to be more fully realized and in the process they wound up adding a new track, too. This CD is the result of that project. It’s great music, too. If you like Kulick’s work (or just strong hard rock in general) you really should get this. You won’t be disappointed. The sound here is kind of a glam rock thing. Yet, there are elements that make think of things like King’s X. The guitar soloing is awesome, but I love the bass work on this, too. The song is catchy and just plain cool. I'll Never Take You Back I love the fuzzed up bass sound on this. It calls to mind early Grand Funk. In fact, I think this whole tune has a bit of that vibe, but with a lot more intensity. The guitar is exceptional, too. The opening section here almost seems to combine that GFR sound with King Crimson. After that hard edged movement, it drops to a balladic section. It has a lot of psychedelia in the mix. Yet, somehow it reminds me a bit of some of the Greg Lake stuff from KC or even ELP, but with a more straight hard rock texture. Sure, Grand Funk is also a reference here, too. This song is unusual and especially effective. The hard rocking jam later takes it more in the direction of GFR and has some great wah guitar soloing. String sounds are a big part of the texture of this mellow cut. It has a bit of a Beatles vibe for sure. In some ways, that brings the King’s X reference back into play. Although this isn’t my favorite piece here, the variety it provides is good. Trying to Find a Way The opening section and some later ones really makes me think of modern King Crimson quite a bit. The vocal movements are more mainstream, but still tastefully left of center. I love the guitar work on this, but the whole song is just great. If the whole set were like this, it would land under progressive rock. The jam later in the track reinforces that for sure. This is my favorite song here. You Won't Be There This really runs along the common ground that a lot of this music does, between Grand Funk styled hard rock and modern King Crimson. The instrumental sections are amazing. You've Got a Hold on Me In a lot of ways this really does sound like a more modern take on early GFR. Still, there is a bit of that hard rocking prog edge to it all. Then, after the two and a half minute mark, this gets taken into some seriously proggy territory in a killer jam. Around the four minute mark it seems to end. Then a weird, sort of freeform jam emerges. Then we get a short section that makes me think of Cream a little right at the end.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line159
__label__wiki	0.590977	0.590977	The NM Political Report (http://nmpoliticalreport.com/nasa-june-2018/) NASA-June-2018 Published August 1, 2018 at 1514 × 989 in NASA-June-2018 About Laura Paskus Laura Paskus has been writing about New Mexico’s natural resources and communities since 2002, as an assistant editor of High Country News, a radio producer at KUNM-FM, managing editor of Tribal College Journal and a freelancer for a variety of publications including the Santa Fe Reporter, New Mexico In Depth and Indian Country Today. Her work has also appeared in Al Jazeera America, Ms. Magazine, National Geographic Online, The Nature Conservancy Magazine, The Progressive, Columbia Journalism Review, The Mountain Gazette, Audubon and Orion. She's a correspondent for New Mexico In Focus and a graduate student in the University of New Mexico’s Geography and Environmental Studies Department. Follow @LauraPaskus More by Laura	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line164
__label__cc	0.721939	0.278061	About Keepers of the North Head Lighthouse North Head Lighthouse © Richard Dawson In 1994 Friends of the Columbia River Gateway was formed to provide volunteer and financial assistance to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in maintaining and enhancing the historical areas. One of the historic holdings is North Head Lighthouse in Cape Disappointment State Park. We currently generate funds through the merchandise sales of our two retail outlets. One is located in the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Ilwaco, Washington. The other is in the historic carriage house at North Head Lighthouse, which is open summer only. The funds are used to support the Long Beach Peninsula State Parks with interpretive signage, Waikiki Beach concerts and some interpretive programs. During the summer of 2008 graduate students in the University of Oregon Historic Preservation program did a condition assessment of North Head Light House as part of a practical experience in investigation, planning, and research necessary to produce a condition assessment. This report made it clearly evident that something must be done in order to accomplish the restoration and preservation of this historic structure. Hence, in 2009 the formation of the Keepers of the North Head Lighthouse as group dedicated to the sole purpose of saving the structure thus preserving history for future generations. The Keepers of the North Head Lighthouse are headquartered in Ilwaco, Washington with members from all over the United States. Our annual meetings are held in October to coincide with the Graveyard of the Pacific events. Monthly Board meetings are open to the public and are held at the Port of Ilwaco. Our members volunteer at various park functions such as the North Head annual birthday party. Some have even dedicated their time as tour guides in the North Head Lighthouse Friends of the Columbia River Gateway is an IRS-registered 501(c)3 organization. You can read more at Guidestar, where you can get IRS data, plus more up-to-date information from nonprofits for free.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line165
__label__wiki	0.752726	0.752726	90th Anniversary of the Visit of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to Siam Posted on 15 Oct 2017 30 Oct 2017 Author Oraya W.Categories News & Events On 16 October 2017, the Royal Thai Embassy and Sahitya Akademi commemorated the 90th anniversary of the visit of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to Siam at the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. The Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi presented to Sahitya Akademi the two poems about Thailand by Tagore, as well as the replica of the postcard Tagore had written, in his own handwriting and bearing his signature, to Their Majesties the King and Queen of Siam. The postcard was sent from Shantiniketan, on the 22 December 1929, two years after his visit to Bangkok. On 17 October 2017, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata also presented the same set of gifts to Jorasanko Thakur Bari Museum at Rabindra Bharati University, the Gurudev’s birthplace and ancestral home, where he also departed from this world. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was a Poet of the World. He had travelled far and wide in his lifetime, and on his ninth foreign tour, he visited Siam during 8 – 16 October 1927 as part of his visit to Southeast Asia. Siam had impressed the great poet with its history, culture, and its close ties with Indian civilisations of yore, especially its embrace of Buddhism, to the point that he had composed two poems dedicated to Siam. One is titled “To Siam”, and the other “Farewell to Siam”. To Siam When the great prayer of the Three Refuges rang from sky to sky across deserts and hills and distant shores, the awakened countries poured their rejoicings in great deeds, and noble temples, in the rapture of self-dedication in mighty words, in the breaking of the bond of self. At an unheeded, unconscious moment, that prayer, wafted by some wandering breeze, touched thy heart, O Siam, lived in thy life and shaded it with a branching wealth of well-being. A centre to thy revolving centuries, an end to thy endeavours, which is Freedom of Spirit – it helped to bind thy people in a common bond of hope, to strengthen them with the power of a single-pointed devotion to one Dharma, one Sangha and one immortal Teacher. Let these words, potent with an inexhaustible creative urge, ever direct thee to the adventures of new ages, light up new truths with their own radiant meaning, and in one single garland string all the gems of knowledge newly gathered. I come today to the living temple that is one with thee, to the altar of united hearts in which is seated on His lotus seat Lord Buddha, whose silence is peace, whose voice consolation. I come from a land where the Master’s words lie dumb, in desultory ruins, in the desolate dust, where oblivious ages of the pillared stones, the records of a triumphant devotion. I come, a pilgrim, at thy gate, O Siam, to offer my verse to the endless glory of India sheltered in thy home, away from her own deserted shrine, to bathe in the living stream that flows in thy heart, whose water descends from the snowy height of a sacred time on which arose, from the deep of my country’s being, the Sun of Love and Righteousness. Historians do not know exactly when this poem “To Siam” was composed, but we can surmise that it was written upon his arrival in Siam on 8 October 1927, about ninety years and a week ago today. We do know for certain, however, that when His Majesty King Prajadhipok, or Rama VII of Siam, graciously granted Tagore an audience on the night of 13 October 1927 at Dusit Palace in Bangkok, this poem was read in the royal presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Siam, before the gathering of princes and ministers of the Siamese court. First it was read out in the original Bengali version, and then in the English version as translated by Tagore himself. He also presented to the King this poem in his own manuscript, printed on blue satin encased in Varanasi brocade. Then, on 16 October 1927, exactly ninety years ago today, Rabindranath Tagore and his party departed Bangkok by train for Penang, Malaya. On this occasion, the Gurudev wrote another poem to offer his message of farewell. Farewell to Siam The signet ring of a primaeval friendship had secretly sealed thy name, O Siam, on my mind, in its unconscious depth. This is why I felt I had ever known thee, the moment I stood at thy presence, and why my traveller’s hasty hours were constantly filled with the golden memory of an ancient love, and centuries’ silent music overflowed the brink of the seven short days that surprised me with the touch of an immemorial kinship in thy words, worship and aspiration, in thy numberless offerings to Beauty’s shrine fashioned by thy own hands, in thy fragrant altars with their candles lighted and incense breathing peace. Today at this sad time of parting I stand at thy courtyard, gaze at thy kind eyes, and leave thee crowned with a garland from me whose ever fresh flowers had blossomed ages ago. That was how, almost a century ago, Thailand was given an everlasting accolade by the Gurudev of India, for which we are most grateful. A few observations on these poems. First, it is clear that Tagore must have felt that Buddhism had sadly been all but forgotten in the land of its origin, so he was delighted and impressed to find the presence of Indian civilizational heritages, especially Buddhism, still well preserved and cherished across the Indian Ocean, in Siam. This was of course the time before the earnest revival of Buddhism in India such as the movement led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Father of the Indian Constitution, in the 1950s, and the establishment of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee under the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, which stipulates that ambassadors from eight Buddhist countries, including Thailand, be members of the Committee’s Advisory Board. Tagore would probably be pleased if he knew that in 1956 the independent Republic of India hosted a grand celebration of Buddha Jayanti to mark 2,500 years of Buddhism, and on this occasion India invited various foreign governments and international Buddhist community to build their temples in Bodh Gaya. The Royal Thai Government was the first government to respond to such invitation, and a Thai temple, modelled after Wat Benchamabopitr or the Marble Temple in Bangkok where Tagore had also visited, still stands in Bodh Gaya unto this day. Tagore would probably be pleased too to note that, ninety years after his visit to Siam, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the current President of India himself, made a reference to Lord Buddha in his speech when he was sworn in as President last July, and also in his first Independence Day speech last August. No longer would “the Master’s words lie dumb, in desultory ruins, in the desolate dust…” in modern day India. Secondly, Tagore understood well that the word “Thai”, the name of the Thai nation, which later became the official name of the Kingdom of Thailand, actually means “free”. The Thai people are proud of their freedom and independence, and Tagore actually mentioned this free spirit in his poem, “To Siam”, and suggested that this quest for freedom of our people has been guided over the centuries by the liberating tenets of Lord Buddha. It is also remarkable that, twenty years before the Independence of India, the poet whose poem was to become the national anthem of the new republic, would mention both the spirit behind the name of Thailand and the “…pillared stones: the records of a triumphant devotion…” – that is, Emperor Ashoka’s Lion Capital of Sarnath, later to be adopted as State Emblem of India, in the same poem! Thirdly, in his farewell message, Tagore again stressed the common cultural heritage Thailand shared with India from thousands of years ago. He spoke of “a primaeval friendship”, “the golden memory of an ancient love”, and “immemorial kinship” between us, which had touched and moved him. In his letter to Prince Dhani Niwat, then Minister of Education of Siam and one of his main hosts in Thailand, Tagore said, “I shall always cherish the memory of my most pleasant stay… I must say I have been greatly impressed by the warm hospitality accorded me by the Thai people as a whole.” Apart from marking the 90th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore to Thailand, this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and India. After India gained Independence, Thailand was among the first group of friendly nations which recognised the new Republic and formalised our intergovernmental relationship. But as Tagore himself had so eloquently pointed out, the historical ties between us, especially at the people-to-people level, can actually be traced back more than a millennium, and it is indeed the relationship between peoples which is the true foundation of state-to-state diplomatic relations. This year is the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations as well. Tagore himself was not a stranger to Southeast Asia. Apart from Thailand, he also visited Batavia, Java and Bali in Indonesia, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Penang in Malaya, Rangoon in Burma, and Saigon in Vietnam during his lifetime. His visits reinforced his awareness of the common heritage and civilizational influences that India had with Southeast Asia. Previous Previous post: Ambassador of Thailand visits CPF India Pvt Ltd in Chittoor Next Next post: Programme for the Memorial Service for the Royal Cremation of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line169
__label__wiki	0.843023	0.843023	New from The Dial Press: A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out: A Novel by Sally Franson. A brilliant young woman navigates a tricky twenty-first-century career—and the trickier question of who she wants to be—in this savagely wise debut novel for fans of Younger, The Bold Type, and The Devil Wears Prada. Casey Pendergast is losing her way. Once a book-loving English major, Casey lands a job at a top ad agency that highly values her ability to tell a good story. Her best friend thinks she’s a sellout, but Casey tells herself that she’s just paying the bills—and she can’t help that she has champagne taste. When her hard-to-please boss assigns her to a top-secret campaign that pairs literary authors with corporations hungry for upmarket cachet, Casey is both excited and skeptical. But as she crisscrosses America, wooing her former idols, she’s shocked at how quickly they compromise their integrity: A short-story writer leaves academia to craft campaigns for a plus-size clothing chain, a reclusive nature writer signs away her life’s work to a manufacturer of granola bars. When she falls in love with one of her authors, Casey can no longer ignore her own nagging doubts about the human cost of her success. By the time the year’s biggest book festival rolls around in Las Vegas, it will take every ounce of Casey’s moxie to undo the damage—and, hopefully, save her own soul. Told in an unforgettable voice, with razor-sharp observations about everything from feminism to pop culture to social media, A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out is the story of a young woman untangling the contradictions of our era and trying to escape the rat race—by any means necessary. Visit Sally Franson's website.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line170
__label__wiki	0.989785	0.989785	Page last updated at 23:17 GMT, Friday, 4 April 2008 00:17 UK US crowds mark King anniversary Dr King is credited with ending racial segregation in the US Assassination scene Crowds have gathered in the US city of Memphis, Tennessee, to mark 40 years since the assassination of legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King. The commemorations focused on the former Lorraine Motel, now a civil rights museum, where he was shot dead. Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton marked the milestone in Memphis, while the latter's Democratic rival Barack Obama spoke in Indiana. King's campaign for equal rights by non-violent means inspired millions. His "I have a dream" speech in Washington in 1963 is considered among the greatest ever made. Candle-lit vigil Under rainy skies, a "recommitment march" was held through Memphis to highlight King's ideals of social justice. Wreaths were laid at the site of his assassination. He understood that love and compassion will always triumph over bitterness and hatred President George W Bush Seeking answers on King's killer Demons of race remain Tears and hopes on anniversary His son, Martin Luther King III, and civil rights campaigner the Rev Al Sharpton led the march, which was followed by an evening candle-lit vigil. Earlier, US President George W Bush paid tribute to the anti-segregation icon's legacy from Zagreb, Croatia. Mr Bush said had been a "man of courage and vision" who understood that "love and compassion will always triumph over bitterness and hatred". 'Equality and justice' John McCain, who will be the Republican Party's presidential candidate in November's general election, spoke in front of the balcony where King was shot. Marchers made their way in the rain to the motel where Dr King died Addressing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King once headed, Mr McCain said changing times had only helped to make him seem a "bigger man". "The quality of his character is only more apparent," he said. "His good name will be honoured as long as the creed of America is honoured." Mr McCain said he had made a mistake years ago when he initially opposed the creation of a federal holiday in Mr King's memory. Mrs Clinton, who is competing with Mr Obama to be the Democratic Party's choice to run for president, spoke at the church where King gave a sermon the day before he died. She described meeting him when she was 14 and, with tears in her eyes, recalled her despair a few years later on hearing the news of his murder. The "journey is far from over", she said, but added that King would always carry Americans forward, so long as they remembered his inspirational legacy. We are our brother's keeper, we are our sister's keeper, and either we go up together, or we go down together "Because of him, after 219 years and 43 presidents who have all been white men, this generation will grow up taking for granted that a woman or an African-American could be president of the United States," she said. Mr Obama, in Indiana, spoke not only of King but also of then Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, who was himself assassinated two months after the civil rights leader. Mr Obama told a campaign rally that King had "preached the gospel of brotherhood, of equality and justice". He said King had recognised that beyond people's colour, faith or class, "we all have a stake in one another, we are our brother's keeper, we are our sister's keeper, and either we go up together, or we go down together". 'Walls pulled down' King was killed by a rifle round as he helped organise a strike by sanitation workers. James Earl Ray, who admitted firing the fatal shot, died in prison in 1998. Dr King's crusade for social justice still resonates today The BBC's Andy Gallacher says that while conspiracy theories abound about King's death, it is his legacy that will be celebrated. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination. The Lorraine Motel was turned into a National Civil Rights Museum in 1991. Other US events being held to commemorate King's death include an appearance in Indianapolis by Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy. A special exhibition on King's final days and funeral is due to open in his birthplace, Atlanta. Members of the US Congress paid tribute to him in speeches on Thursday. Harlem tributes to Martin Luther King In pictures: King anniversary 04 Apr 08 \| In Pictures Congress marks King anniversary 03 Apr 08 \| Americas Struggle for the African-American vote 23 Jan 08 \| Americas Huge rally in small-town Louisiana 21 Sep 07 \| Americas 'I have a dream' 21 Aug 03 \| Americas 1968: Martin Luther King shot dead 13 Nov 02 \| 4 National Civil Rights Museum TOP AMERICAS STORIES US lifts lid on WikiLeaks probe Iran scientist heads home Argentina legalises gay marriage	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line171
__label__wiki	0.961388	0.961388	This section is sponsored by the Deutsche Bank enterprise programme for social good. From stage to shoe shines: the homeless actor helping others in London by Lee Mannion \| @leemannion \| Thomson Reuters Foundation Thursday, 26 October 2017 14:40 GMT Drew Goodall, founder of Sunshine Shoeshine, photographed in London, February 2017. Courtesy of Sunshine Shoeshine About our Social Innovation coverage "I didn't want to face my parents. When I left home I was the big hope. I couldn't face the ignominy of having to go back with my tail between my legs" By Lee Mannion LONDON, Oct 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As an actor in London, Drew Goodall was living his dream appearing alongside Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant in films and on stage until he suffered a severe loss of confidence and lost all work, his home and ended up living on the streets. For about six months in 2001, Goodall was homeless, begging for food and fending off attacks by drunks. But Goodall, now 43, said he came across a way to turn his life around when a commuter who spoke to him regularly suggested he try shining shoes to earn a living. Using some of the money accrued from begging, he bought a brush and a tin of polish and headed into London's financial district to shine shoes. Without a licence to trade on the street, he initially had to keep an eye out for the authorities who would move him on. But after six months, one of his regulars suggested he come and offer shoe shines inside the office where he worked. His business grew as he moved his services into more banks and financial institutions and in 2012 he set up Sunshine Shoeshine as a social enterprise to help other people who were disadvantaged or found themselves on the street like he had. For the numbers of homeless are rising, according to the homelessness charity Crisis, which said 4,134 people slept rough across England on any given night in 2016 - a 16 percent increase on 2015 and more than double the amount in 2010. Goodall now employs eight people - some formerly homeless and some disadvantaged - as shoe shiners who work in more than 50 businesses a week and he gives a proportion of the company's annual turnover of about 250,000 pounds ($330,000) to charity. "It came organically. I didn't set up to, in my own way, try to change the world," Goodall, dressed in smart three piece suit, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Drew Goodall, the founder of social enterprise Sunshine Shoeshine with employee Alan Walton, London, May 2017. Courtesy of Sunshine Shoeshine "There is no magic button for homelessness. It's something that will always be there ... (but) just giving someone some time, talking to them, that goes a long way to finding a solution to homelessness." Goodall said he has helped about 40 people to turn around their lives since 2012 as well as letting the companies where his shiners work choose a charity for five percent of profits. "To date we have given in excess of 20,000 pounds ($26,000)," said Goodall, who took a degree in acting before appearing in London's West End theatres as well as in the 2000 crime thriller "Snatch" and the 2002 comedy drama "About a Boy". He said scathing theatre reviews destroyed his confidence and that stopped his acting career. "I didn't want to face my parents. When I left home I was the big hope. I couldn't face the ignominy of having to go back with my tail between my legs," said Goodall. He said this unwillingness to ask for help because of a feeling of failure is common among the homeless. Goodall said he was pleased to find his clients appreciated being able to help people with their purchase of a shoeshine - and this could also be a major boost to his workers' confidence. "Often it's transformative. It gives people a sense of purpose, something to get up for in the morning," Goodall said. ($1 = 0.7565 pounds) (Reporting by Lee Mannion @leemannion, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org) Photo of Sunshine Shoeshine founder Drew Goodall taken when he was homeless in London, April 2001. Courtesy of Sunshine Shoeshine Social enterprise and innovation EXPLORE MORE Social Innovation NEWS Social businesses take tourists off beaten path to 'spread the wealth' Israel social impact bond to help Bedouins in maths studies Charity begins at the pub: London bar seeks 'most ethical' title INTERVIEW-Social businesses led by women can fix 'any problem': Nobel winner	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line172
__label__wiki	0.98457	0.98457	Trump to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador -source Friday, 7 December 2018 02:56 GMT (Adds State Department declines to comment) By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a source familiar with his decision said on Thursday, tapping someone with no prior policy or political experience to deal with some of the world's thorniest issues. The decision could be announced as early as Friday, the source said, requesting anonymity. Nauert, whose nomination would require Senate confirmation, is a former Fox News Channel correspondent and anchor. She became the State Department's spokeswoman in April 2017 and was named earlier this year as the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. If confirmed, Nauert, 48, would succeed Nikki Haley, who said in October she would be leaving the U.N. post at the end of the year. The State Department declined to comment and Nauert did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nauert, who earlier this year had been considered a possible successor to White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, gained experience on diplomacy by working at the State Department, but she lacks the political and policy credentials of Haley, a former South Carolina governor. Having the direct support of the president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could buttress her image, however, among global diplomats at the United Nations, who have bristled at Trump's "America First" foreign policy. She will face a variety of challenges if confirmed for the job, including championing U.S. efforts to contain Iran's influence in the Middle East and ensuring the global body maintains tough sanctions on North Korea as Washington tries to negotiate an end to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. Trump has been critical of the United Nations, complaining about its cost to Washington and criticizing it for focusing on bureaucracy and process rather than results. He pulled the United States out of the U.N. human rights body in September, citing bias toward Israel, and his administration has cut funding for the U.N. refugee agency and last year proposed U.S. funding cuts for aid and diplomacy that could curb the work of the global body. But Trump has also used the United Nations to try to advance his foreign policy agenda on Iran and North Korea. The administration has also worked through the United Nations to try to find a political solution to the wars in Syria and Yemen, two issues that will confront Nauert. Trump's decision to nominate Nauert was first reported by Bloomberg News. The president is weighing a number of other end-of-year staff changes, including replacing Chief of Staff John Kelly, two of Trump's advisers said on Thursday. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Makini Brice, David Alexander and Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Makini Brice and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney) Britain tells Canada and France to pull their weight on Ebola Egypt revamps law curbing NGOs, critics unimpressed Ex-UN aid worker jailed in Nepal for sexually abusing boys Festival or refugee camp? Music events test emergency aid	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line173
__label__cc	0.738128	0.261872	Roberta Anne McDonnell - 90 Roberta Anne McDonnell, age 90 of Clinton, passed away Tuesday June 20, 2017 in Clinton. Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 AM Friday June 23rd at Prince of Peace Parish, Clinton. Visitation will be held Thursday 5 – 7 PM, with a rosary recited at 7:00 PM at the Pape Funeral Home, Clinton. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Clinton. Memorials may be directed to the St. Paul Center in Steubenville, OH. Online condolences may be left at www.papefh.com Roberta was born on May 11, 1927 in Omaha, NE, the daughter of William and Anna (Abel) Reilly. She graduated from Bethlehem Academy in Faribault, MN. She received her registered nursing degree in Jamestown, North Dakota. On May 17, 1950, Roberta married Donal J. McDonnell in Clinton and they were married 36 years until Don passed away in 1986. Roberta worked at Jane Lamb Hospital (Clinton) in obstetrics for a number of years before raising their son and daughter and returned to work for more than 10 years after her son went off to college. Roberta is survived by her son, Stephen McDonnell of Colleyville, TX; her grandson Mark McDonnell of Austin, TX and his wife Sang and their children (her great grandchildren) Benjamin, Katherine, Charlotte and Josephine; and granddaughter Suzanne McDonnell of New Orleans, LA. She was preceded in death by her husband Donal McDonnell, her daughter Marcia McDonnell and her parents William and Anna Reilly. Memorials may be directed to the St. Paul Center in Steubenville, OH. Visitation will be held Thursday 5 – 7 PM, with a rosary recited at 7:00 PM at the Pape Funeral Home, Clinton. Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 AM Friday, June 23rd at Prince of Peace Parish, Clinton. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Clinton. Maureen Stolley Rest in peace, Aunt Bertie. Love and prayers to you, Steve, Suzanne, Mark, Sang and family. Fill out the above security question to submit your form.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line177
__label__wiki	0.580703	0.580703	HomeTag "Mortal Kombat 11" Mortal Kombat 11 Official Launch Trailer Ushers in a New Era for the Iconic Franchise Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios today released the official Mortal Kombat 11 Launch Trailer set to a remix created by international DJ, Dimitri Vegas and 2WEI, of the song “Techno Syndrome,” an iconic, cultural staple of the Mortal Kombat franchise since 1995. In the trailer, Kronika, the Keeper of Time, has signaled for a new era to […] Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios today released a new Mortal Kombat™ 11 television spot revealing Kitana as the latest playable character. The TV spot is driven by the universal concept that each of us has a fighter within that pushes us to fight for what we believe in. To bring the concept to life, WBIE tapped Create Advertising […] Past Meets Present for the Ultimate Generational Clash in New Mortal Kombat 11 Trailer Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios today revealed the new Mortal Kombat 11 Old Skool vs. New Skool Trailer, showcasing a variety of past and present characters from the rich Mortal Kombat history who meet up as part of the time-bending new narrative. Through the immersive story mode, players take on the role of numerous fighters from different […] New Mortal Kombat 11 Story Trailer Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios today released the new Mortal Kombat 11 Story Trailer, introducing an original, time-bending narrative that continues the franchise’s epic saga. In Mortal Kombat 11,Raiden’s defeat of the evil Elder God, Shinnok, has drawn the ire of Kronika and upset her desired balance between good and evil. To restore stability in the […] WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT REVEALS FIRST LOOK AT MORTAL KOMBAT 11 Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today revealed the first look at Mortal Kombat 11 with a showcase of crushing new gameplay, original and returning fighters, immersive story elements and innovative features that offer a more personalized experience than ever before. Livestreamed to a global audience, the experiential, community celebration featured multiple reveals, including an appearance by UFC champion, […]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line184
__label__cc	0.669427	0.330573	Social & Education Policy Publications Xie M, Heimer K, Lauritsen JL. Violence Against Women in U.S. Metropolitan Area: Changes in Women's Status and Risk, 1980-2004. 2012;50(1):105 - 143. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00245.x. Heimer K, Johnson KR, Lang JB, Rengifo AF, Stemen D. Race and Women’s Imprisonment: Poverty, African American Presence, and Social Welfare. 2012;28(2):219-244. doi:10.1007/s10940-011-9144-8. Nguyen-Hoang P. Cost Function and its Use for Intergovernmental Educational Transfers in Vietnam. 2012;20(1):69 - 91. doi:10.1080/09645290903313087. Anthony J. Home Burdens: The High Cost of Homeownership. In: Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class. Stanford University Press; 2012. Available at: http://www.sup.org/broke/. Southworth A, Paik A, Heinz JP. Lawyers in National Policymaking. In: The Paradox of Professionalism: Lawyers and the Possibility of Justice. Cambridge University Press; 2011:220-242. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Paradox-Professionalism-Lawyers-Possibility/dp/0521145996. O’Connor N, Gordon C, Fisher PS. The State of Working Iowa, 2011.; 2011. O’Connor N, Cannon A, Fisher PS, Gordon C. Fending for Themselves: Nonstandard Workers, Health Insurance Coverage and the Labor Market.; 2011. Gordon C. Lost in Space, or Confessions of an Accidental Geographer. 2011;5(1):1 - 22. doi:10.3366/ijhac.2011.0018. Paik A, Navarre-Jackson L. Social Networks, Recruitment, and Volunteering: Are Social Capital Effects Conditional on Recruitment?. 2011;40(3):476 - 496. doi:10.1177/0899764009354647. Paik A. Adolescent Sexuality and the Risk of Marital Dissolution. 2011;73(2):472 - 485. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00819.x.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line195
__label__cc	0.571708	0.428292	In a violent post-apocalyptic society, a drifter, Eli, has been wandering westward across North America for the last thirty years. He finds solace in a ... Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller, Adventure Actors: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Evan Jones, Joe Pingue, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Chris Browning, Richard Cetrone, Lateef Crowder, Keith Davis, Don Thai Theerathada In Pasadena, Mrs. Davis sends her daughter Aubrey Davis to Tokyo to bring her sister Karen Davis, who is interned in a hospital after surviving ... Genres: Thriller, Horror Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Takako Fuji, Edison Chen, Sarah Roemer, Matthew Knight, Misako Uno, Teresa Palmer, Ohga Tanaka, Yuya Ozeki, Jennifer Beals, Christopher Cousins, Zen Kajihara, Takashi Matsuyama This movie features the collaborative directorial efforts of four new filmmakers, each of whom directs a segment of this comedy. It's New Year's Eve at ... Genres: Comedy, Fantasy Actors: Sammi Davis, Amanda De Cadenet, Valeria Golino, Madonna, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Alicia Witt, Jennifer Beals, David Proval, Antonio Banderas, Lana McKissack, Patricia Vonne, Tamlyn Tomita, Danny Verduzco, Salma Hayek Roger Dodger Set against the bright lights of Manhattan, a tale which takes a comic, urbane look at the modern male ego at war in the singles ... Genres: Drama, Comedy Actors: Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals, Mina Badie, Ben Shenkman, Chris Stack, Morena Baccarin, Lisa Emery, Flora Diaz, Stephanie Gatschet, Colin Fickes, Tommy Savas, Gabriel Millman Devil in a Blue Dress It is 1948 in LA and Ezikeal "Easy" Rawlins, an African-American World War II veteran, is looking for work. At his friend's bar, he is ... Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Mystery Actors: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jernard Burks, David Fonteno, John Roselius, Beau Starr, Steven Randazzo, Scott Lincoln Manhattan Night Based on Colin Harrison's acclaimed novel Manhattan Nocturne (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year), MANHATTAN NIGHT tells the story of Porter Wren ... Actors: Yvonne Strahovski, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Beals, Steven Berkoff, Campbell Scott, Linda Lavin, Kevin Breznahan, Amelie McKendry, Will Beinbrink, Thomas Bair, Freia M. Titland, George Peck, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Chinasa Ogbuagu, Frank Deal The Night Before the Night Before Christmas When Santa sets off on his Christmas duties a day early, crashes into the Fox family's house, ends up with amnesia and loses his magic ... Genres: Family, Fantasy Actors: Jennifer Beals, Rick Roberts, R.D. Reid, Jordan Prentice, Gage Munroe, Rebecca Williams, Marcia Bennett, ClÃ© Bennett, Kim Roberts, Sam Malkin, Brad Borbridge, Billy Otis, Karl Campbell Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel-mill welder by day, and bar dancer by night, wants to get into ballet school. Genres: Musical, Drama, Romance Actors: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala After an encounter with a neck-biter, a mentally-ill publishing executive thinks that he's turning into a vampire. Therefore, he goes out and buys a set ... Genres: Comedy, Horror Actors: Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals The Prophecy 2 The movie follows the guerrilla angel Gabriel on his way to destroy humanity and all good angels. But in order to make sure it happens smoothly, he needs to prevent ... Genres: Thriller, Horror, Fantasy Actors: Christopher Walken, Russell Wong, Jennifer Beals The L Word - S01 The film goes inside the life of a group of lesbians in Los Angeles. It is about their career, families, friends and other complex relationships ... Genres: Romance, Drama Actors: Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman Catch That Kid Athletic 12-year-old Maddy shares an enthusiasm for mountain climbing with her father, Tom. But when her father needs an experimental operation costing $250,000, Maddy has to ... Genres: Comedy, Crime Actors: Kristen Stewart, Sam Robards, Jennifer Beals In the second season, they continue to go through fire and water in their life. Tina uncovers a secret, Jenny confronts Shane's ex-lover and ... In the third season of The L Word, there are many important events. Helena has a good new major , Bette is stuck in bad ... This season of the L Word starts with Bette gets some serious problems with her daughter after an consequence in Canada. However, Joyce Wischnia's ... The fifth season begins with Shane decides to move in with Paige in order to help her raise her son because of Paige's old habits. ... The series continues featuring the lives of a group of lesbian, especially how they deal with their family, their friends, their lovers, and their careers. ... Proof - S01 A brilliant yet troubled surgeon seeks evidence that death is not the end by studying cases of reincarnation, near-death experiences and hauntings. Following the death ... Genres: Costume, Drama Actors: Joe Morton, Jennifer Beals, Edi Gathegi Full Out The movie tells the story of a young gymnast's Olympic whose dreams are crushed when she suffers a debilitating injury. However, she then can come ... Genres: Family, Drama, Biography Actors: Ana Golja, Jennifer Beals, Sarah Fisher When a boxer is killed because he wouldn't take a dive, his brother tries to find a way to avenge him even if only symbolically. Genres: Action, Drama Actors: Craig Sheffer, Jeff Fahey, Gene Hackman, John McLiam, Jennifer Beals, Eddie Velez, Carmine Caridi, James Tolkan, David Labiosa, Harry Van Dyke, Anthony Trujillo, Victor Campos, Tom Bower, Julius Harris, John Thomas The Prophecy II Gabriel returns to Earth to prevent the birth of a child conceived by one of his kind (the Angel Danyael) and one of God's "monkeys" ... Actors: Christopher Walken, Russell Wong, Jennifer Beals, Brittany Murphy, Eric Roberts, Glenn Danzig, Steve Hytner, Bruce Abbott, William Prael, Renee Victor, Elizabeth Dennehy, J.G. Hertzler, Nicki Micheaux, Tom Towles, Danny Strong A publishing executive is visited and bitten by a woman and starts exhibiting erratic behavior. He pushes his secretary to extremes as he tries to ... Actors: Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, Elizabeth Ashley, Kasi Lemmons, Robert Lujan, Jessica Lundy, Johnny Walker, Boris Leskin, Michael Knowles, John Michael Higgins, Jodie Markell, Marc Coppola, David Hyde Pierce, Amy Stiller Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted ... Actors: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Campbell Scott, Matthew Broderick, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, Andrew McCarthy, Wallace Shawn, Martha Plimpton, Sam Robards, Lili Taylor, James Le Gros, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nick Cassavetes, David Thornton, Heather Graham Taken - S02 The series follows a former Green Beret, Bryan Mills, as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome ... Country: USA, France Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller Actors: Clive Standen, Jennifer Beals, Gaius Charles, Brooklyn Sudano, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Irby, Jose Pablo Cantillo, James Landry Hébert, Jennifer Marsala, Simu Liu, Matthew Bennett The Last Tycoon - S01 Centers on Hollywood's first wunderkind studio executive in the 1930s, Monroe Stahr, and the power struggle between him and his mentor and current head of ... Actors: Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer, Lily Collins, Dominique McElligott, Enzo Cilenti, Koen De Bouw, Mark O'Brien, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bailey Noble, Whitney Rice, Kerry O'Malley, Saul Rubinek, Danielle Rose Russell, Jennifer Marsala, Iddo Goldberg, Annika Marks, John Hartmann, Jack Michael Doke, Melia Kreiling, Don Harvey, Chloe Guidry, Laura Dickinson, Jennifer Beals, Eion Bailey, Michael Siberry, Elise Eberle, Dan Donohue, Taylor Nichols, Michael Bunin, Nicole DuPort, Albie Selznick, Lou George, Sharon Lawrence, Eric Bradley, Reid Bruton, Sally Dworsky, William Kenneth Goldman, Levi Gunn, Kelci Hahn, Ramone Hamilton, Sarah Lynch, Derek Manson, Hadley Belle Miller, Bobbi Page, Jasper Randall, Jenna Lea Rosen, Fletcher Sheridan, Sally Stevens, Jacquez Swanigan, Claira Nicole Titman, Greg Whipple, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Jessica De Gouw, Bruce Davison, Brian Howe, L. Scott Caldwell, Enuka Okuma, Vince Nappo, Charlie Bodin, Kristin Slaysman, Saundra McClain, Daniel Robbins, Dale Richard Howard, Ericka Kreutz, Ross Marquand, Brad Hunt, Patti Troisi, Jenna Davis The Twilight of the Golds When Suzanne Stein has a genetic analysis done on her unborn child, she discovers that although she has a healthy baby, the child will most ... Genres: Drama, Romance Actors: Garry Marshall, Faye Dunaway, Jill Bernstein, Mark Shunkey, Jennifer Beals, Brendan Fraser, Jon Tenney, Sean O'Bryan, John Schlesinger, Rosie O'Donnell, Patrick Bristow, Rose Marks, Jill Lover, Robert Barry Fleming, Lucas Richman The Search for One-eye Jimmy While working on a documentary on his old neighborhood, a young film school graduate shifts the focus of his production onto the disappearance of a ... Actors: Holt McCallany, Michael Badalucco, Nicholas Turturro, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini, Steve Buscemi, Anne Meara, Samuel L. Jackson, John Turturro, Tony Sirico, Jennifer Beals, Wayne Maugans, Adam LeFevre, Lodge Kerrigan, Aida Turturro, Joseph Siravo White Orchid White Orchid is a movie starring Olivia Thirlby, Jennifer Beals, and John Carroll Lynch. A shy investigator assumes the identity of a small town murder ... Actors: Olivia Thirlby, Jennifer Beals, John Carroll Lynch, Janina Gavankar The Bride is a movie starring Sting, Jennifer Beals, and Anthony Higgins. After years of research, the doctor finally succeeds in creating the perfect woman, ... Genres: Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy Actors: Sting, Jennifer Beals, Anthony Higgins, Clancy Brown After is a movie starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Selma Blair, and Josephine Langford. A young woman falls for a guy with a dark secret and ... Actors: Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Selma Blair, Josephine Langford, Jennifer Beals	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line198
__label__wiki	0.674741	0.674741	What: All Issues : Aid to Less Advantaged People, at Home & Abroad : (H.R. 1) On an amendment prohibiting federal funds from being used to implement a new Environmental Protection Agency decision to allow the sale of gasoline with a higher proportion of ethanol. (2011 house Roll Call 134) Who: All Members To find out how your Members of Congress voted on this bill, use the form on the right. (H.R. 1) On an amendment prohibiting federal funds from being used to implement a new Environmental Protection Agency decision to allow the sale of gasoline with a higher proportion of ethanol. house Roll Call 134 Feb 18, 2011 Progressive Position: Progressive Result: This was a vote on an amendment by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) prohibiting federal funds from being used to implement a new Environmental Protection Agency decision to allow the sale of gasoline with a higher proportion of ethanol. This amendment was offered to a continuing resolution funding the federal government through September 2011, and cutting $61 billion in federal funding for many government programs. Sullivan urged support for his amendment: “Despite alarming consumer, environmental and economic concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] has approved a 50 percent increase in the amount of corn-based ethanol allowed in gasoline used by cars and light trucks manufactured in the 2001 model year and newer. This is simply another attempt by the EPA to engineer ethanol mandates and drive ethanol subsidies forward….Quik Trip, a major gasoline retailer across the Midwest, which is headquartered in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, offers an unconditional guarantee on every drop of gasoline they sell. Because of the lack of liability protection, they will be left on the hook if someone puts the wrong blend of gas in the wrong kind of car. That will open up a litigation nightmare.” Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) opposed the amendment: “Raising the limit will accelerate the use of renewable fuels made in the U.S. We are not importing this oil…As importantly, raising the limit will grow our economy here in the U.S., create about 136,000 jobs in the United states. This is oil that we are not importing from oversees and spending billions and billions of dollars with our military to defend the oil coming into this country. These are good-paying jobs; they are very excellent as far as jobs in rural America. They cannot be outsourced overseas….This is part of all of the above of energy independence for the United States. It's good for continuing investment in the renewable fuels, energy and for the rural parts of this country that need an awful lot of help these days.” The House agreed to this amendment by a vote of 285-136. Voting “yea” were 206 Republicans and 79 Democrats. 105 Democrats—including a majority or progressives—and 31 Republicans—voted “nay.” As a result, the House agreed to an amendment prohibiting funds provided by a continuing resolution from being used to implement a new Environmental Protection Agency decision to allow the sale of gasoline with a higher proportion of ethanol. Issue Areas: AID TO LESS ADVANTAGED PEOPLE, AT HOME & ABROAD — Farmers ENVIRONMENT — Air Pollution ENVIRONMENT — Global Warming Find your Member of Congress' votes Select by Name Abraham, Ralph (R-LA) Adams, Alma (D-NC) Aderholt, Robert (R-AL) Aguilar, Pete (D-CA) Allen, Rick (R-GA) Allred, Colin (D-TX) Amash, Justin (I-MI) Amodei, Mark (R-NV) Armstrong, Kelly (R-ND) Arrington , Jodey (R-TX) Axne, Cindy (D-IA) Babin, Brian (R-TX) Bacon, Don (R-NE) Baird, Jim (R-IN) Balderson, Troy (R-OH) Banks, Jim (R-IN) Barr, Andy (R-KY) Barragán, Nanette (D-CA) Bass, Karen (D-CA) Beatty, Joyce (D-OH) Bera, Ami (D-CA) Bergman, Jack (R-MI) Beyer, Don (D-VA) Biggs, Andy (R-AZ) Bilirakis, Gus (R-FL) Bishop, Rob (R-UT) Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) Blumenauer, Earl (D-OR) Blunt Rochester, Lisa (D-DE) Bonamici, Suzanne (D-OR) Bost, Mike (R-IL) Boyle, Brendan (D-PA) Brady, Kevin (R-TX) Brindisi, Anthony (D-NY) Brooks, Mo (R-AL) Brooks, Susan (R-IN) Brown, Anthony (D-MD) Brownley, Julia (D-CA) Buchanan, Vern (R-FL) Buck, Ken (R-CO) Bucshon, Larry (R-IN) Budd, Ted (R-NC) Burchett, Tim (R-TN) Burgess, Mike (R-TX) Bustos, Cheri (D-IL) Butler Demings, Val (D-FL) Butterfield, G.K. (D-NC) Byrne, Bradley (R-AL) Calvert, Ken (R-CA) Carbajal, Salud (D-CA) Cardenas, Tony (D-CA) Carson, André (D-IN) Carter, Buddy (R-GA) Carter, John (R-TX) Cartwright, Matt (D-PA) Case, Ed (D-HI) Casten, Sean (D-IL) Castor, Kathy (D-FL) Castro, Joaquin (D-TX) Chabot, Steve (R-OH) Cheney, Liz (R-WY) Chu, Judy (D-CA) Cicilline, David (D-RI) Cisneros, Gil (D-CA) Clark, Katherine (D-MA) Clarke, Yvette (D-NY) Clay, William (D-MO) Cleaver, Emanuel (D-MO) Cline, Ben (R-VA) Cloud, Michael (R-TX) Clyburn, Jim (D-SC) Cohen, Steve (D-TN) Cole, Tom (R-OK) Collins, Chris (R-NY) Collins, Doug (R-GA) Comer, James (R-KY) Conaway, Mike (R-TX) Connolly, Gerry (D-VA) Cook, Paul (R-CA) Cooper, Jim (D-TN) Correa, Lou (D-CA) Costa, Jim (D-CA) Courtney, Joe (D-CT) Cox, T. J. (D-CA) Craig, Angie (D-MN) Crawford, Rick (R-AR) Crenshaw, Dan (R-TX) Crist, Charlie (D-FL) Crow, Jason (D-CO) Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) Cummings, Elijah (D-MD) Cunningham, Joe (D-SC) Curtis, John (R-UT) Davids, Sharice (D-KS) Davidson, Warren (R-OH) Davis, Danny (D-IL) Davis, Rodney (R-IL) Davis, Susan (D-CA) Dean, Madeleine (D-PA) DeFazio, Peter (D-OR) DeGette, Diana (D-CO) DeLauro, Rosa (D-CT) DelBene, Suzan (D-WA) Delgado, Antonio (D-NY) DeSaulnier, Mark (D-CA) DesJarlais, Scott (R-TN) Deutch, Ted (D-FL) Diaz-Balart, Mario (R-FL) Dingell, Debbie (D-MI) Doggett, Lloyd (D-TX) Doyle, Mike (D-PA) Duffy, Sean (R-WI) Duncan, Jeff (R-SC) Dunn, Neal (R-FL) Emmer, Tom (R-MN) Engel, Eliot (D-NY) Escobar, Veronica (D-TX) Eshoo, Anna (D-CA) Espaillat, Adriano (D-NY) Estes, Ron (R-KS) Evans, Dwight (D-PA) Ferguson, Drew (R-GA) Finkenauer, Abby (D-IA) Fitzpatrick, Brian (R-PA) Fleischmann, Chuck (R-TN) Fletcher , Lizzie (D-TX) Flores, Bill (R-TX) Fortenberry, Jeff (R-NE) Foster, Bill (D-IL) Foxx, Virginia (R-NC) Frankel, Lois (D-FL) Fudge, Marcia (D-OH) Fulcher, Russ (R-ID) Gabbard, Tulsi (D-HI) Gaetz, Matt (R-FL) Gallagher, Mike (R-WI) Gallego, Ruben (D-AZ) Garamendi, John (D-CA) Garcia, Jesús (D-IL) Garcia, Sylvia (D-TX) Gianforte, Greg (R-MT) Gibbs, Bob (R-OH) Gohmert, Louie (R-TX) Golden, Jared (D-ME) Gomez, Jimmy (D-CA) Gonzalez, Anthony (R-OH) González, Vicente (D-TX) Gooden, Lance (R-TX) Gosar, Paul (R-AZ) Gottheimer, Josh (D-NJ) Granger, Kay (R-TX) Graves, Garret (R-LA) Graves, Sam (R-MO) Graves, Tom (R-GA) Green, Al (D-TX) Green, Mark (R-TN) Griffith, Morgan (R-VA) Grijalva, Raul (D-AZ) Grothman, Glenn (R-WI) Guest, Michael (R-MS) Guthrie, Brett (R-KY) Haaland, Debra (D-NM) Hagedorn, Jim (R-MN) Harder, Josh (D-CA) Harris, Andy (R-MD) Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) Hastings, Alcee (D-FL) Hayes, Jahana (D-CT) Heck, Denny (D-WA) Hern, Kevin (R-OK) Herrera Beutler, Jaime (R-WA) Hice, Jody (R-GA) Higgins, Brian (D-NY) Higgins, Clay (R-LA) Hill, French (R-AR) Hill, Katie (D-CA) Himes, Jim (D-CT) Holding, George (R-NC) Hollingsworth, Trey (R-IN) Horn, Kendra (D-OK) Horsford, Steven (D-NV) Houlahan, Chrissy (D-PA) Hoyer, Steny (D-MD) Hudson, Richard (R-NC) Huffman, Jared (D-CA) Huizenga, Bill (R-MI) Hunter, Duncan (R-CA) Hurd, Will (R-TX) Jackson-Lee, Sheila (D-TX) Jayapal, Pramila (D-WA) Jeffries, Hakeem (D-NY) Johnson, Bill (R-OH) Johnson, Dusty (R-SD) Johnson, Eddie (D-TX) Johnson, Hank (D-GA) Johnson, Mike (R-LA) Jordan, Jim (R-OH) Joyce, David (R-OH) Joyce, John (R-PA) Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH) Katko, John (R-NY) Keating, Bill (D-MA) Keller, Fred (R-PA) Kelly, Mike (R-PA) Kelly, Robin (D-IL) Kelly, Trent (R-MS) Kennedy, Joe (D-MA) Khanna, Ro (D-CA) Kildee, Dan (D-MI) Kilmer, Derek (D-WA) Kim, Andy (D-NJ) Kind, Ron (D-WI) King, Pete (R-NY) King, Steve (R-IA) Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) Kirkpatrick, Ann (D-AZ) Krishnamoorthi, Raja (D-IL) Kuster, Annie (D-NH) Kustoff, David (R-TN) LaHood, Darin (R-IL) LaMalfa, Doug (R-CA) Lamb, Conor (D-PA) Lamborn, Doug (R-CO) Langevin, Jim (D-RI) Larsen, Rick (D-WA) Larson, John (D-CT) Latta, Bob (R-OH) Lawrence, Brenda (D-MI) Lawson, Al (D-FL) Lee, Barbara (D-CA) Lee, Susie (D-NV) Lesko, Debbie (R-AZ) Levin, Andy (D-MI) Levin, Mike (D-CA) Lewis, John (D-GA) Lieu, Ted (D-CA) Lipinski, Daniel (D-IL) Loebsack, Dave (D-IA) Lofgren, Zoe (D-CA) Long, Billy (R-MO) Loudermilk, Barry (R-GA) Lowenthal, Alan (D-CA) Lowey, Nita (D-NY) Lucas, Frank (R-OK) Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO) Lujan, Ben (D-NM) Luria, Elaine (D-VA) Lynch, Stephen (D-MA) Malinowski, Tom (D-NJ) Maloney, Carolyn (D-NY) Maloney, Sean (D-NY) Marchant, Kenny (R-TX) Marshall, Roger (R-KS) Massie, Thomas (R-KY) Mast, Brian (R-FL) Matsui, Doris (D-CA) McAdams, Ben (D-UT) McBath, Lucy (D-GA) McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) McCaul, Michael (R-TX) McClintock, Tom (R-CA) McCollum, Betty (D-MN) McEachin, Donald (D-VA) McGovern, Jim (D-MA) McHenry, Patrick (R-NC) McKinley, David (R-WV) McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (R-WA) McNerney, Jerry (D-CA) Meadows, Mark (R-NC) Meeks, Gregory (D-NY) Meng, Grace (D-NY) Meuser, Dan (R-PA) Miller, Carol (R-WV) Mitchell, Paul (R-MI) Moolenaar, John (R-MI) Mooney, Alex (R-WV) Moore, Gwen (D-WI) Morelle, Joseph (D-NY) Moulton, Seth (D-MA) Mucarsel-Powell, Debbie (D-FL) Mullin, Markwayne (R-OK) Murphy, Stephanie (D-FL) Nadler, Jerry (D-NY) Napolitano, Grace (D-CA) Neal, Richard (D-MA) Neguse, Joe (D-CO) Newhouse, Dan (R-WA) Norcross, Donald (D-NJ) Norman, Ralph (R-SC) Nunes, Devin (R-CA) O'Halleran, Tom (D-AZ) Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria (D-NY) Olson, Pete (R-TX) Omar, Ilhan (D-MN) Palazzo, Steven (R-MS) Pallone, Frank (D-NJ) Palmer, Gary (R-AL) Panetta, Jimmy (D-CA) Pappas, Chris (D-NH) Pascrell, Bill (D-NJ) Payne, Donald (D-NJ) Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) Pence, Greg (R-IN) Perlmutter, Ed (D-CO) Perry, Scott (R-PA) Peters, Scott (D-CA) Peterson, Collin (D-MN) Phillips, Dean (D-MN) Pingree, Chellie (D-ME) Pocan, Mark (D-WI) Porter, Katie (D-CA) Posey, Bill (R-FL) Pressley, Ayanna (D-MA) Price, David (D-NC) Quigley, Mike (D-IL) Raskin, Jamie (D-MD) Ratcliffe, John (R-TX) Reed, Tom (R-NY) Reschenthaler, Guy (R-PA) Rice, Tom (R-SC) Rice, Kathleen (D-NY) Richmond, Cedric (D-LA) Riggleman, Denver (R-VA) Roby, Martha (R-AL) Roe, Phil (R-TN) Rogers, Hal (R-KY) Rogers, Mike (R-AL) Rooney, Francis (R-FL) Rose, John (R-TN) Rose, Max (D-NY) Rouda, Harley (D-CA) Rouzer, David (R-NC) Roy, Chip (R-TX) Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA) Ruiz, Raul (D-CA) Ruppersberger, Dutch (D-MD) Rush, Bobby (D-IL) Rutherford, John (R-FL) Ryan, Tim (D-OH) Sanchez, Linda (D-CA) Sarbanes, John (D-MD) Scalise, Steve (R-LA) Scanlon, Mary Gay (D-PA) Schakowsky, Jan (D-IL) Schiff, Adam (D-CA) Schneider, Brad (D-IL) Schrader, Kurt (D-OR) Schrier, Kim (D-WA) Schweikert, Dave (R-AZ) Scott, Austin (R-GA) Scott, David (D-GA) Scott, Bobby (D-VA) Sensenbrenner, Jim (R-WI) Serrano, José (D-NY) Sewell, Terri (D-AL) Shalala, Donna (D-FL) Sherman, Brad (D-CA) Sherrill, Mikie (D-NJ) Shimkus, John (R-IL) Simpson, Mike (R-ID) Sires, Albio (D-NJ) Slotkin, Elissa (D-MI) Smith, Adam (D-WA) Smith, Adrian (R-NE) Smith, Chris (R-NJ) Smith, Jason (R-MO) Smucker, Lloyd (R-PA) Soto, Darren (D-FL) Spanberger, Abigail (D-VA) Spano, Ross (R-FL) Speier, Jackie (D-CA) Stanton, Greg (D-AZ) Stauber, Pete (R-MN) Stefanik, Elise (R-NY) Steil, Bryan (R-WI) Steube, Greg (R-FL) Stevens, Haley (D-MI) Stewart, Chris (R-UT) Stivers, Steve (R-OH) Suozzi, Thomas (D-NY) Swalwell, Eric (D-CA) Takano, Mark (D-CA) Taylor, Van (R-TX) Thompson, Bennie (D-MS) Thompson, Glenn (R-PA) Thompson, Mike (D-CA) Thornberry, Mac (R-TX) Timmons, William (R-SC) Tipton, Scott (R-CO) Titus, Dina (D-NV) Tlaib, Rashida (D-MI) Tonko, Paul (D-NY) Torres, Norma (D-CA) Torres Small, Xochitl (D-NM) Trahan, Lori (D-MA) Trone, David (D-MD) Turner, Mike (R-OH) Underwood, Lauren (D-IL) Upton, Fred (R-MI) Van Drew, Jeff (D-NJ) Vargas, Juan (D-CA) Veasey, Mark (D-TX) Vela, Filemon (D-TX) Velazquez, Nydia (D-NY) Visclosky, Peter (D-IN) Wagner, Ann (R-MO) Walberg, Timothy (R-MI) Walden, Greg (R-OR) Walker, Mark (R-NC) Walorski, Jackie (R-IN) Waltz, Michael (R-FL) Wasserman Schultz, Debbie (D-FL) Waters, Maxine (D-CA) Watkins, Steve (R-KS) Watson Coleman, Bonnie (D-NJ) Weber, Randy (R-TX) Webster, Dan (R-FL) Welch, Peter (D-VT) Wenstrup, Brad (R-OH) Westerman, Bruce (R-AR) Wexton, Jennifer (D-VA) Wild, Susan (D-PA) Williams, Roger (R-TX) Wilson, Joe (R-SC) Wilson, Frederica (D-FL) Wittman, Rob (R-VA) Womack, Steve (R-AR) Woodall, Rob (R-GA) Wright, Ron (R-TX) Yarmuth, John (D-KY) Yoho, Ted (R-FL) Young, Don (R-AK) Zeldin, Lee (R-NY) What is a Progressive score? \| Getting started \| About us \| Keep in touch Copyright © 2003 — 2017 ProgressivePunch, All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line199
__label__wiki	0.59263	0.59263	National Shooting Sports Foundation to Manage $50 Million Project ChildSafe Grant NEWTOWN, Conn. - The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has been selected to administer a $50 million grant for Project ChildSafe, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive firearm safety education program. An expansion of NSSF’s Project HomeSafe, Project ChildSafe will provide approximately 20 million free gun locks and firearm safety education materials to families in all 50 states, the five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. “President Bush learned about Project ChildSafe while governor of Texas, launched it there and pledged to expand the program’s scope and support if he was elected president. He’s delivering on that pledge now, and NSSF is honored to be selected to administer this valuable safety program,” said Bill Brassard, Jr., NSSF managing director, communications, safety and education. Project ChildSafe is a component of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a gun-violence prevention initiative of the Bush Administration. “Because of NSSF’s experience and expertise in the area of firearms safety, we are able to couple our lock giveaway efforts with firearm safety education so that parents can understand the importance of keeping guns secure in the home,” said Richard R. Nedelkoff, former director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the DOJ division overseeing the $50 million grant in support of Project ChildSafe. Project ChildSafe will partner with governors and lieutenant governors, U.S. Attorneys, mayors and local law enforcement to raise awareness about safe and responsible firearms ownership and storage. Project ChildSafe safety tours will utilize 15 education vehicles to visit thousands of communities across America to distribute the free gun locks and safety education materials. Tours are scheduled to begin touring the country in late summer of 2003. For information about Project ChildSafe, firearm safety and state tour information, visit www.projectchildsafe.org. About NSSF: The National Shooting Sports Foundation, with over 2,500 firearm industry members, was founded in 1961. The NSSF manages a variety of outreach programs with special emphasis on safety initiatives. About Project Safe Neighborhoods: Project ChildSafe is a component of President Bush’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative to reduce gun-related crime and violence in America. PSN is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information go to www.psn.gov. Partner_resource_type:	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line200
__label__wiki	0.543898	0.543898	Home » News & Blogs » 2001: A Space Odyssey – 50 Years Later Centauri Dreams 2001: A Space Odyssey – 50 Years Later 2 Apr 2018, 14:36 UTC Fifty years ago today, 2001: A Space Odyssey was all the buzz, and I was preparing to see it within days on a spectacular screen at the Loew’s State Theater in St. Louis. The memory of that first viewing will always be bright, but now we have seasoned perspective from Centauri Dreams regular Al Jackson, working with Bob Mahoney and Jon Rogers, to put the film in perspective. The author of numerous scientific papers, Al’s service to the space program included his time on the Lunar Module Simulator for Apollo, described below, and his many years at Johnson Space Center, mostly for Lockheed working the Shuttle and ISS programs. But let me get to Al’s foreword — I’ll introduce Bob Mahoney and Jon Rogers within the text in the caption to their photos. Interest in 2001 is as robust as ever — be aware that a new 513-page book about the film is about to be published. It’s Michael Benson’s Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece. Let’s now return to the magic of Kubrick’s great film. By Al Jackson, Bob Mahoney and Jon Rogers By the 1st of April, 1968 I had ...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line205
__label__wiki	0.559567	0.559567	Maritime Lawyer Charges New CRFFN Board On Training And Retraining Of Freight Forwarders A maritime lawyer; Emmanuel Nwagbara has charged the newly-inaugurated governing board members of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to work more on training and retraining of freight forwarders. Nwgbara , gave this charge in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week. He maintained that practitioners in the sector are expected to be very knowledgeable in the business if trade facilitation. "It is very heart-warming to note that the CRFFN governing board has finally been inaugurated. Freight forwarding is a very important aspect of maritime business and therefore practitioners are expected to be very knowledgeable in the business of trade facilitation. They are also expected to be capable, that is to say that they should have capacity to discharge their expectations in the maritime value chain. Therefore the task before the new CRFFN governing board is to give priority to training and retraining of freight forwarders" "They should also focus on equipping the freight forwarders with knowledge of the development at the international frontier in the maritime trade facilitation" He reiterated that it is only freight forwarders who are knowledgeable to play in the movement of cargo within and across frontiers that will participate in the new convention on combine transport. "We expect that no long after the new convention on combine transport will come into effect and it will require that only freight forwarders who are capable, knowledgeable and ready to play in the movement of cargo within and across frontiers. Therefore they should also focus on building capacity for freight forwarders to be able to play their role in the coming dispensation. They should focus on possibility of mergers and acquisitions, that is they should have a programme that would encourage freight forwarders to come together to develop capacity to transport cargoes. So that when the new dispensation comes into play, the Nigerian freight forwarder will not be pushed out of business", he advised. The lawyer also urged the new governing board to train the freight forwarders to ensure that they attain the international standard. "We need that the regulatory body like CRFFN should regulate the freight forwarding industry in such a way that licensed freight forwarders attain capacity which will be in line of the requirement of the new International Convention that will involve, door-to-door carriage of goods across international frontiers with particular emphasis on Nigerian maritime space. So practitioners should be made to know and assisted to know that they need to merge and join resources together and acquire equipment that will enable them perform so that the international shipping companies which will necessarily require their services will not be justified in throwing them out of the market. But will find that they are ready and capable to be hired and perform the national leg of maritime transportation", he concluded.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line214
__label__cc	0.577269	0.422731	SCREENER is the voice for the ultimate TV fanatic. Shelby Whitfield dies at age 77 Andrea Reiher February 9, 2013 Shelby Whitfield, a longtime sports broadcaster, has passed away at the age of 77. Whitfield died Tuesday (Feb. 5) at a rehabilitation center in Jackson, N.J., reports the AP. Whitfield called Washington Senators games in 1969 and 1979 and later hosted a local radio show. He went on to become the first sports director of AP Radio in 1974 and moved over to ABC Radio in 1981, overseeing coverage of everything from the Olympics to horse racing. He retired in 1997. Whitfield served in the U.S. Army, working for what would become known as the Armed Forces Network. He also authored the book “Kiss It Good-bye,” recounting the year the Washington Senators were sold and became the Texas Rangers. Whitfield also co-authored “What’s Wrong With Sports” with legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell. Category: News & Features Posted by:Andrea Reiher TV critic by way of law school, Andrea Reiher enjoys everything from highbrow drama to clever comedy to the best reality TV has to offer. Her TV heroes include CJ Cregg, Spencer Hastings, Diane Lockhart, Juliet O'Hara and Buffy Summers. TV words to live by: "I'm a slayer, ask me how." Previous articleNews & FeaturesLil Wayne sued for alleged skateboard assault by entourage member Next articleNews & FeaturesYouTube blocked in Egypt over 'Innocence of Muslims' video	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line218
__label__wiki	0.936741	0.936741	Booking your visit The Education Team Teaching and Classroom Resources Charity Kids in Museums awards the prize annually to one museum, gallery, historic home or heritage site in the UK that goes the extra mile to provide a great experience for families. It is the only museum award to be judged by families. Throughout April and May, families across the country voted for their favourite heritage attraction on the Kids in Museums website. A panel of museum experts then whittled down over 800 nominations to a shortlist. Liz Hide, Director of the Sedgwick Museum said: “I'm absolutely delighted that Cambridge's own 'Dinosaur Museum' has been shortlisted for Family Friendly Museum of the year. It is a fantastic acknowledgement of our efforts to create a warm welcome for all our visitors, especially families of all shapes and sizes, knowing that some might expect a university museum to be dry and intimidating. We look forward to welcoming many more families over the summer, and are always keen to hear visitors' suggestions for how we can keep improving.” The Sedgwick Museum and Museum of Zoology, both of which offer free admission to visitors, are vying against four other museums in the Medium Museums Category, and against 15 other museums for the overall Family Friendly Museum Award. Jack Ashby, Manager of the Museum of Zoology said: “We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this award. Before re-opening last year we consulted extensively with family groups, ensuring that we created a Museum which is welcoming and accessible with displays that are interesting and informative for all ages. Our events programme offers many family friendly events, such as our Zoology Live! festival this weekend. To be shortlisted is a great achievement and shows how hard our staff and volunteers work to ensure all visitors receive a warm welcome.” There will be plenty of opportunity for families in the region to take part in the Museums’ events, with both present at the popular Big Weekend event in Cambridge (5 – 7 July), and as part of the University of Cambridge Museums Summer at the Museums programme, which offers over 140 low-cost or free events for families during the school summer holidays. Emmajane Avery, Chair of Kids in Museums, said: “It’s great to see two Cambridge museums in our Family Friendly Museum Award shortlist – it was impossible to pick just one! To make it to the shortlist in our most competitive year yet is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the hard work staff at the University of Cambridge have put in to create an enjoyable experience for families. We were pleased to see both museums doing work to engage families from outside the city, who might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit. “We felt Sedgwick Museum did a brilliant job of making its subject matter accessible to children and providing activities for all ages, even collaborating with a local teenage fossil collector. “Families have clearly been a focus for the Museum of Zoology’s redevelopment and they are obviously delighted with the results. We received a lot of positive family feedback, particularly about the popular Zoology Clubs. “We wish both museums the best of luck in the next stage of the competition.” The museums will now be visited by undercover family judges who will assess the museums against the Kids in Museums Manifesto. Their experiences will decide a winner for each award category and an overall winner, our Family Friendly Museum of the Year 2019. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London in October. Follow the Family Friendly Museum Award on Twitter by following @kidsinmuseums and #FamilyFriendlyMuseum. The Family Friendly Museum Award has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England and is kindly supported by Edwardian Hotels London.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line219
__label__cc	0.556688	0.443312	Topics include ramblings about History, Art, Music, Literature, Religion, and Philosophy. Marriage and Society The institution of marriage is a constant in human civilization. Separated by several centuries and thousands of miles, both Confucius and Aristotle identified it as one of the fundamental relationships which is a necessary component part of society. Confucius was born around 551 BC, while Aristotle was born around 384 BC. Both produced a short list of relationships which combine to form complex institutions. Aristotle enumerated three, and Confucius five, such basic connection. For Aristotle, the list was husband and wife, employer and employee, and parent and child. Confucius varies the list slightly: parent and child, sibling to sibling, husband and wife, friend to friend, ruler to subject. Aristotle’s employer relationship approximates Confucius’s ruler relationship. While a civilization usually includes many more relationships than three or five, Confucius and Aristotle seem to imply that those other relationships are produced by analogy or by mixtures of analogies to the elemental relationships. Homer’s Odyssey arguably contains within its epic structure a dramatic subplot about marriage. The driving tension is whether or not Odysseus will be able to return to his wife. The narrative shows a series of decisions to be variously wise or foolish - decisions made by Odysseus and Penelope, decisions which harm or strengthen their marriage. It is the reunion of husband and wife which signals to listener or reader that the plot is largely resolved. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a drama about marriage. Nora and Torvald make a series of disastrous decisions which reveal that they are both quite worldly, and that their devotion to personal acquisition is greater than their devotion to each other. Torvald’s selfishness and greed are obvious; Nora’s flaws are more subtle. The action is the unfolding collapse of the marriage and the character flaws which cause that collapse. In any case, marriage is seen as an essential part of society. Only in a postmodern, or late modern, worldview is marriage construed as a right. Marriage is one way, among several, in which an individual can fulfill duties and obligations. Marriage is more often construed as a contract, albeit an usual one. When a person marries, it is the voluntary assumption of responsibilities. To marry is to make one’s self liable, either legally or ethically. A married person has an obligation to live for the other - for the spouse, and perhaps eventually for the children. Likewise, an unmarried person has that same obligation - to live for the other - but fulfills those duties in a different social structure. To construe, therefore, marriage as a ‘right’ - analogous to the “right to free speech” or the “right freely to assemble” - is, at the very least, to stretch that analogy beyond any intuitive sense. Marriage is a necessary precondition for society. Donald Sensing points out that civilization is contingent upon marriage: Society's stake in marriage as an institution is nothing less than the perpetuation of the society itself, a matter of much greater than merely private concern. Yet society cannot compel men and women to bring forth their replacements. Marriage as conventionally defined is still the ordinary practice in Europe, yet the birthrate in most of Europe is now less than the replacement rate, which will have all sorts of dire consequences for its future. A civilization needs children, and marriage is the most reliable and efficient way of producing them. While it may sound callous and impersonal to speak of a society’s need for children, and to speak of marriages producing them, it is nonetheless the case that low birth rates will destroy a culture and an economy. Yet marriage provides other necessary factors to civilization beyond children: stability and clarity. The legal system is clogged with civil procedural suits in the absence of a healthy marriage structure. Society lacks an element of trust and reliability in the absence of a sound marriage culture. Civilization needs not only marriage, but sound and healthy marriage. It will be an important task to define exactly what is sound and healthy marriage. For ‘sound’ and ‘healthy,’ a variety of adjectives could be supplied. An intuitive rough draft might include something like this: a mutually supportive and affectionate relationship in which each sacrifices willingly for the other, and willingly binds herself or himself to the other unconditionally, giving positive regard. Much more remains to be articulated about which type of marriage edifies civilization the best and most. In any case, however, a lack of marriage is as destabilizing and weakening as a low birth rate. It is biologically possible to generate a high birth rate despite a low marriage rate, but there is little benefit to society, and in fact some cost to society, as large numbers of children may be born illegitimately. Donald Sensing continues: Nationwide, the marriage rate has plunged 43% since 1960. Instead of getting married, men and women are just living together, cohabitation having increased tenfold in the same period. According to a University of Chicago study, cohabitation has become the norm. More than half the men and women who do get married have already lived together. Economically and societally, then, the United States has been preparing its own downfall for several decades. Not only are we suffering from a low marriage rate, but those marriages which do take place lose significance in the current environment. Weddings became basically symbolic rather than substantive, and have come for most couples the shortcut way to make the legal compact regarding property rights, inheritance and certain other regulatory benefits. In the popular press, much discussion of marriage has been framed in terms of religious interpretations. Whatever one may understand by the word ‘religious,’ marriage is certainly a notion which can be conceived apart from organized religious institutions and apart from religious conceptual frameworks and traditions. Notably, both Aristotle and Confucius were relatively non-religious in their analysis of society, yet both considered marriage necessary for society. Whether or not marriage is a right, it is much more a requisite component of society. It is, at most, tertiarily a right. Marriage exists across demographic and national groups. Marriage is primarily a social institution, not a religious one. That is, marriage is a universal phenomenon of human cultures in all times and places, regardless of the religion of the people concerned, and has taken the same basic form in all those cultures. Marriage existed long before Abraham, Jesus or any other religious figure. The institution of marriage is literally prehistoric. The institution of marriage supports and strengthens civilization in more than one way. It is part of a larger social structure. A late modern, or postmodern, misunderstanding of marriage is the ‘romantic’ understanding, which sees marriage as based solely on emotion, and sees marriage solely as an expression of passion. But, as Peter J. Leithart writes, This isn't what marriage has been through most of human history. Instead, marriage has taken the particular shape it has because it is part of a larger network, the kinship system. Against the romantic understanding of marriage stands a more objective concept, perhaps somewhat similar to a Kantian concept of duty. Affection is a powerful emotion, and certainly has a proper place within marriage. But marriage is an objective commitment. The contractual nature of marriage - the word ‘covenant’ is often used - is essential, even if the term ‘contract’ is here used in a most unusual way, quite foreign to the usage of bankers, lawyers, and businessmen. Quantifiably, a measured decrease in marriage rates is observed to correlate to empirically documented societal destabilization and the declines of civilizations. Marriage is often viewed as an institution of two people. But such a view ignores the wider range of stakeholders. Society as a whole benefits from, and has an interest in, the success of relatively large numbers of healthy and sound marriages. Posted by Mr. Smith at 9:29 AM Mr. Smith Living at the intersection of printed text and the human mind	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line220
__label__cc	0.564418	0.435582	Park & Garden Tree Planting Project Form for 2016 Fall Planting West End Blogger Preserving the Legacy: Reforestation of the Rose Garden Neighborhood " The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now." — A Chinese Proverb In 1915 General Harry Trexler and a group of Allentown civic leaders envisioned a new development on the west side of Allentown. The plan included a "green infrastructure" of hundreds of trees that would line the newly paved streets in the development. These majestic trees are treasured by homeowners and admired by those who walk or drive through the West End neighborhood. But trees have a life span, and trees that were planted 80 to 100 years ago cannot withstand early snow storms and strong hurricanes. Hundreds of trees have been lost in the past year-and-a-half. What were once beautiful tree-lined streets are being reduced to a few old trees and empty spots where majestic trees once stood. After listening to the continuous buzz of saws marking the death of beautiful old trees in the spring of 2012, a group of neighbors decided to take action. The result is the Rose Garden Neighborhood Association's (RGNA) Tree Project whose goal is to plant trees to restore those lost over the years and to work to preserve the remaining trees. At the same time RGNA hopes to recreate the vision of the early planners and preserve their legacy for future homeowners. More than 100 new trees have been planted since October 2012. To celebrate that achievement, each new tree planted through the RGNA Tree Project will be marked with a tag to create further awareness of the effort to replant trees. The tags will provide a link to the RGNA web page where neighbors may obtain further information and sign up to plant trees this fall. Partnering to Preserve our Green Canopy The RGNA Tree Project is the result of a partnership among RGNA, the Allentown Parks and Recreation Department, and Walker's Tree Farm. The first point of contact was the Allentown Parks and Recreation Department, from whom the group has received unwavering support. City arborists Rick Howells and Rick Holtzman guided neighbors through the requirements for planting trees in the verge (grassy area between the sidewalk and curb), made recommendations about what species to plant, visited the Walker Tree Farm to assess the overall quality and health of the trees, issued a group permit, and coordinated the PA1 calls for each property involved in the effort. They also worked with many neighbors to assess the health of trees and to recommend appropriate steps to remove hazardous trees. "The results have been amazing," states Rick Holtzman, Parks Superintendent. "I wish we could duplicate this project throughout the city. I am impressed with how the neighbors have embraced this initiative and how well the collaboration has worked. The new trees that have been planted are already having a significant impact in the area. I hope to continue to support this project as long as neighbors are interested in planting trees." The Walker Tree Farm, a 100 year-old tree farm in Lehighton, PA, planted trees at a very reasonable price. David Walker met with home owners to determine needs and preferences and to help place trees along the verge or in the yard. Later he would return to plant the trees. Many neighbors made a quick trip up to Lehighton to select trees. Welcoming RGNA neighbors to the Walker Tree Farm in Lehighton and helping reforest the neighborhood has been a pleasure for David Walker. When asked to comment about the RGNA project , he says: " It's great to see neighborhoods work together to achieve a goal. We can achieve more, do it in less time and at a lower cost for all. I am glad we were able to help out with this project." Tree Inspector Rick Howells has worked closely with the group. "Working with this project has been very rewarding," according to Rick. "I feel good that we developed an easy and convenient process for RGNA neighbors. I am looking forward to next fall when we'll see new color from the leaves of all the new trees, but I especially look forward to restoring the beauty of the tree-lined streets that define this area." Volunteers Make the Difference One of the benefits of planting trees in general is building community, and this project not only succeeded in planting trees, but has helped bring neighbors together around a common goal. The project was the result of neighbors working together to gather information, develop a process, identify resources, and encourage others to participate. For every cluster of new trees along a street or at an intersection, there is a neighbor who coordinated the effort. Another group of volunteers worked on a tree survey to determine how many trees needed to be replanted and to increase homeowner awareness of the project. A third group, the RGNA Park and Garden Committee, coordinated the overall project. Many others have helped with communications, graphic design, hosting meetings, distributing flyers and sharing information with neighbors. Committed and Enthusiastic Neighbors Overall, 54 households have participated in the two initiatives, planting more than 100 trees. Several varieties of trees were planted, including maples (Legacy Sugar, October Glory, Autumn Radiance, Red Sunset, and Sun Valley); oaks (Pin Oaks and Red Oaks); Serviceberries (Autumn Brilliance); Locusts; and Hawthorns. Several other varieties, including Dogwoods and a Norway Firs, were planted in yards. Participants have been enthusiastic. One barrier to replacing trees is having the time to do all the research and go through the steps necessary to plant a tree. The Tree Project simplifies this process. "Planting trees through the RGNA and Walker partnership was seamless. Once we expressed interest in planting two new trees in the verge, a meeting was established to discuss type and placement. We were put on a schedule and our trees were planted quickly and professionally. It was completely turnkey, very reasonably priced and the trees are doing beautifully. It was so easy, we are looking forward to repeating the process again this fall," reports Amy Douglass, a working mother who leads a busy life. Carl Andrews and Bret Hauber moved to into the neighborhood recently. Once they learned about the Tree Project, they got involved. "We were delighted to learn of the RGNA group sponsoring the Tree Project. I think what really resonated with us was viewing the aerial photo of the West End from the 1930s. We couldn't believe how lush and full of trees the West End used to be. It got us thinking about what had happened over the last 80 or 90 years? Had people just forgotten about planting trees? Of course there was last year's hurricane, which seemed to bring down trees on each and every block. After hearing about the RGNA initiative we were definitely up for the challenge. " Like other neighbors, Carl and Bret had some research to do. They received assistance from several sources. "We knew there would be any number of considerations and questions but we didn't know how much fun it would be to find out the answers," states Carl. "Fortunately, we were put in touch with Rick Howells from Allentown Parks Department. He was crucial in helping us determine which trees would suit our verge. One of our biggest concern was ensuring that the trees didn't interfere with the power lines. We were also concerned about the long term possibility of having the tree roots disrupt the sidewalk. Fortunately, we were in good hands. We decided that the Serviceberry (tree - not shrub) was the best option for our stretch of 30th Street." Working with their neighbors who were also interested in planting trees, they made a group decision "... to take our stretch of 30th street from starved barren strips of land to lush green belts that provide foliage, shade, and habitat for birds. We are thrilled to be a part of greening up Allentown." Take Steps Now to Preserve the Beauty of Your Neighborhood Lynn Yonally, a strong supporter of the Tree Project, states that "...several neighbors have mentioned that we are renewing the pledge the original owners of this beautiful neighborhood made when they planted the original trees. They may not have had the joy of seeing the trees reach maturity during their lifetime, but they knew that the next generation would. We want to give back to future generations as the past generation did for us. " She also feels good about planting trees to combat global warming and to create a healthier environment. "We also are being proactive in the fight to create more green canopy to combat global warming. More blacktop and roads will heat the air and tree canopy can help shelter the streets from the sun and heat. When you drive down a road with shade it is significantly cooler than a roadway without trees." The members of the RGNA Park and Garden Committee are excited about the results of the project. "By buying trees in quantity directly from a city-approved tree farm, we have saved our RGNA neighbors approximately 50% off the regular price of a planted tree. We hope that other RGNA neighbors will join us in this worthwhile cause by going to www.rosegarden-na.org for further information," says Ellie Laubner, one of the organizers of the project. Given the success of this first initiative, RGNA will continue to promote the Tree Project as long as there is enough interest in planting trees and volunteers to help make it happen. There are already more than 10 trees on the list for fall 2013. Join the RGNA Park and Garden Committee to "reforest" the West End! Click here to sign up for the Fall planting project. © Rose Garden Neighborhood Association	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line221
__label__wiki	0.813808	0.813808	United StatesBrazilChinaItalyFranceIrelandUnited KingdomGermanyIndiaCanadaRussiaPortugalMexicoSpainPhilippinesArgentinaJapanHong KongColombiaEcuadorIndonesiaChileGreeceIsraelAustraliaMalaysiaDenmarkPeruVenezuelaAustriaRomaniaThailandAngolaNetherlandsTaiwanPolandSwedenParaguaySouth AfricaSloveniaSaudi ArabiaAlbaniaUnited Arab EmiratesSouth KoreaCzechiaPakistanMozambiqueAlgeriaTurkeySingaporeSri LankaReunionUruguayBulgariaNorwayDominican RepublicBelgiumSerbiaNepalUkraineCroatiaPanamaCyprusSwitzerlandMauritiusLuxembourgKazakhstanOmanFinlandArubaCosta RicaMaltaLithuaniaNew ZealandJamaicaBangladeshBelarusBurmaHondurasCambodiaIranGeorgiaUgandaBermudaHungaryPapua New GuineaArmeniaSenegalBoliviaPuerto RicoCabo VerdeLatviaEl SalvadorNorth MacedoniaJordanGuamBurkina FasoGuyanaAntigua and BarbudaZambiaEstoniaTunisiaVietnamMongoliaGuatemalaKenyaYemenIraq Syria Population: 17,185,170 NO VISITORS FROM HERE YET! Back to Flag Counter Overview Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional, albeit unsuccessful, peace talks over its return. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. Following the death of President Hafiz al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In May 2007, Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was approved by popular referendum. Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, and compounded by additional social and economic factors, antigovernment protests broke out first in the southern province of Dar'a in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. Demonstrations and violent unrest spread across Syria with the size and intensity of protests fluctuating. The government responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law, new laws permitting new political parties, and liberalizing local and national elections - and military force. However, the government's response has failed to meet opposition demands for ASAD's resignation, and the government's ongoing violence to quell unrest and widespread armed opposition activity has led to extended clashes between government forces and oppositionists. International pressure on the ASAD regime has intensified since late 2011, as the Arab League, EU, Turkey, and the US expanded economic sanctions against the regime. In December 2012, the Syrian National Coalition, was recognized by more than 130 countries as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Peace talks between the Coalition and Syrian regime at the UN-sponsored Geneva II conference in 2014 and the UN-sponsored Geneva III talks in 2016 failed to produce a resolution of the conflict. Unrest continues in Syria, and according to an April 2016 UN estimate, the death toll among Syrian Government forces, opposition forces, and civilians had reached 400,000. As of December 2016, approximately 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, with 6.3 million people displaced internally, and an additional 4.8 million Syrian refugees, making the Syrian situation the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide. The capital of Damascus - located at an oasis fed by the Barada River - is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (2014 est.) Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory Size comparison: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania Land Boundaries: total: 2,363 km border countries (5): Iraq 599 km, Israel 83 km, Jordan 379 km, Lebanon 403 km, Turkey 899 km Coastline: 193 km contiguous zone: 24 nm Climate: mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower Land use: agricultural land: 75.8% arable land 25.4%; permanent crops 5.8%; permanent pasture 44.6% forest: 2.7% Irrigated land: 14,280 sq km (2012) Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms volcanism: Syria's two historically active volcanoes, Es Safa and an unnamed volcano near the Turkish border have not erupted in centuries Current Environment Issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water International Environment Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification Nationality: noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurdish, Armenian, and other 9.7% Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English Religions: Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%, Jewish (few remaining in Damascus and Aleppo) Population: 17,185,170 (July 2016 est.) note: approximately 20,500 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2014) 65 years and over: 4.11% (male 318,691/female 388,112) (2016 est.) Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 70% elderly dependency ratio: 6.9% potential support ratio: 14.5% (2015 est.) Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) Major urban areas - population: Aleppo 3.562 million; DAMASCUS (capital) 2.566 million; Hims (Homs) 1.641 million; Hamah 1.237 million; Lattakia 781,000 (2015) Maternal mortality rate: 68 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 15.2 deaths/1,000 live births male: 17.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) Contraceptive prevalence rate: 53.9% (2009/10) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 900 (2014 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2014 est.) Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 10.1% (2009) female: 81% (2015 est.) School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 9 years male: 9 years female: 9 years (2013) Country name: conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) etymology: name ultimately derived from the ancient Assyrians who dominated northern Mesopotamia, but whose reach also extended westward to the Levant; over time, the name came to be associated more with the western area Government type: presidential republic; highly authoritarian regime Capital: name: Damascus daylight saving time: +1hr, begins midnight on the last Friday in March; ends at midnight on the first Friday in November Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq (Damascus), Halab, Hamah, Hims (Homs), Idlib, Rif Dimashq (Damascus Countryside), Tartus Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) National holiday: Independence Day, 17 April (1946) Constitution: several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum 26 February 2012 (2016) Legal system: mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law (for family courts) Executive branch: chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Imad Muhammad Dib KHAMIS (since 22 June 2016); Walid al-MUALEM (since 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Fahd Jasim al-FURAYJ, Lt. Gen. (since 2012) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 3 June 2014 (next to be held in June 2021); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8% Legislative branch: description: unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 13 April 2016 (next to be held in 2020) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 80%, other 20%; seats by party - NPF 200, other 50 Judicial branch: highest court(s): Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC, a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges appointed for 4-year renewable terms subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court Political parties and leaders: legal parties/alliances: Arab Socialist Union of Syria or ASU [Safwan al-QUDSI] National Progressive Front or NPF [Bashar al-ASAD, Suleiman QADDAH] (alliance includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr al-DIN] Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL] Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [As'ad HARDAN] Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]) Kurdish parties (considered illegal): Kurdish Azadi Party Kurdish Democratic Accord Party (al Wifaq) Kurdish Democratic Party (al Parti-Ibrahim wing) Kurdish Democratic Party (al Parti-Mustafa wing) Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria or KDP-S Kurdish Democratic Patriotic/National Party Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party or KDPP-Darwish Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party or KDPP-Muhammad Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Salih Muslim MOHAMMAD] Kurdish Democratic Unity Party Kurdish Democratic Yekiti Party Kurdish Future Party [Rezan HASSAN] Kurdish Left Party Kurdish Yekiti (Union) Party Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party other: Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI] Political pressure groups and leaders: Free Syrian Army Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Muhammad Riyad al-SHAQFAH] (operates in exile in London) Syrian Opposition Coalition or National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces [Anas al-ABDAH] note: there are also hundreds of local and provincial political and armed opposition groups that organize protests, provide civilian services, and stage armed attacks International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) National symbol(s): hawk; national colors: red, white, black, green National anthem: name: "Humat ad-Diyar" (Guardians of the Homeland) lyrics/music: Khalil Mardam BEY/Mohammad Salim FLAYFEL and Ahmad Salim FLAYFEL note: adopted 1936, restored 1961; between 1958 and 1961, while Syria was a member of the United Arab Republic with Egypt, the country had a different anthem Diplomatic representation in the US: note: Embassy ceased operation and closed on 18 March 2014 chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mounir KOUDMANI (since 1 June 2012) chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); US Special Envoy for Syria Michael RATNEY (since 27 July 2015); note - on 6 February 2012, the US closed its embassy in Damascus embassy: Abou Roumaneh, 2 Al Mansour Street, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444 FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999 Syria's economy continues to deteriorate amid the ongoing conflict that began in 2011, declining by 62% from 2010 to 2014. The government has struggled to address the effects of international sanctions, widespread infrastructure damage, diminished domestic consumption and production, reduced subsidies, and high inflation, which have caused dwindling foreign exchange reserves, rising budget and trade deficits, a decreasing value of the Syrian pound, and falling household purchasing power. During 2014, the ongoing conflict and continued unrest and economic decline worsened the humanitarian crisis and elicited a greater need for international assistance, as the number of people in need inside Syria increased from 9.3 million to 12.2 million, and the number of Syrian refugees increased from 2.2 million to more than 3.3 million. Prior to the turmoil, Damascus had begun liberalizing economic policies, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange, but the economy remains highly regulated. Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade barriers, declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, water pollution, and widespread infrastructure damage. GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (purchasing power parity): $55.8 billion (2015 est.) $61.9 billion (2013 est.) $97.5 billion (2012 est.) note: data are in 2015 US dollars the war-driven deterioration of the economy resulted in a disappearance of quality national level statistics in the 2012-13 period GDP (official exchange rate): GDP (official exchange rate): $24.6 billion (2014 est.) GDP - real growth rate: -9.9% (2015 est.) -36.5% (2014 est.) -30.9% (2013 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,900 (2015 est.) NA (2013 est.) NA (2010 est.) note: data are in 2015 US dollars Gross national saving: 20% of GDP (2015 est.) 18.5% of GDP (2014 est.) 14.9% of GDP (2013 est.) investment in inventories: 11.1% Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk Industries: petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing, automobile assembly Industrial production growth rate: -2.4% (2016 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 17% industry: 16% services: 67% (2008 est.) Unemployment rate: 50% (2016 est.) 50% (2015 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA% Budget: revenues: $494.5 million expenditures: $2.665 billion note: government projections for FY2016 Taxes and other revenues: 2% of GDP (2016 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices): 47.7% (2016 est.) 38.1% (2015 est.) Current account balance: -$3.148 billion (2015 est.) -$3.667 billion (2014 est.) Exports: $2.304 billion (2016 est.) $2.14 billion (2015 est.) Exports - commodities: crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat Exports - partners: Iraq 64.7%, Saudi Arabia 11.2%, Kuwait 7.1%, UAE 6.1%, Libya 4.6% (2015) Imports: $5.965 billion (2016 est.) $6.663 billion (2015 est.) Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper Imports - partners: Saudi Arabia 28%, UAE 13.7%, Iran 10.1%, Turkey 9%, Iraq 8.3%, China 6.1% (2015) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $504.6 million (31 December 2016 est.) $772.9 million (31 December 2015 est.) Debt - external: $5.918 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $5.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA Exchange rates: Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar - 497.8 (2016 est.) 236.41 (2015 est.) 236.41 (2014 est.) 153.695 (2013 est.) 64.39 (2012 est.) Electricity - exports: 100 million kWh (2014 est.) Electricity - imports: 1.2 billion kWh (2012 est.) Electricity - from nuclear fuels: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) Refined petroleum products - production: 111,600 bbl/day (2013 est.) Natural gas - imports: 249.2 million cu m (2011 est.) Cellular Phones in use: total: 13.904 million subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 81 (July 2015 est.) Telephone system: general assessment: the armed insurgency that began in 2011 has led to major disruptions to the network and has caused telephone and Internet outages throughout the country domestic: the number of fixed-line connections increased markedly prior to the civil war in 2011; mobile-cellular service stands at about 80 per 100 persons international: country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Egypt, Lebanon, and Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; pa (2015) Broadcast media: state-run TV and radio broadcast networks; state operates 2 TV networks and a satellite channel; roughly two-thirds of Syrian homes have a satellite dish providing access to foreign TV broadcasts; 3 state-run radio channels; first private radio station la (2007) Internet country code: .sy under 914 m: 5 (2013) Pipelines: gas 3,170 km; oil 2,029 km (2013) standard gauge: 1,801 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2014) paved: 63,060 km unpaved: 6,813 km (2010) Waterways: 900 km (navigable but not economically significant) (2011) by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 14, carrier 1 registered in other countries: 166 (Barbados 1, Belize 4, Bolivia 4, Cambodia 22, Comoros 5, Dominica 4, Georgia 24, Lebanon 2, Liberia 1, Malta 4, Moldova 5, North Korea 4, Panama 34, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9, Sierra Leone 13, Tanzania 23, Togo 6, unknown 1) (2010) Ports and terminals: major seaport(s): Baniyas, Latakia, Tartus Military branches: Syrian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces (includes Air Defense Forces) (2013) Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve; re-enlistment obligation 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45 (NCOs) (2012) Disputes - International: Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation would settle border dispute with Jordan Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 528,616 (Palestinian Refugees); undetermined (Iraq) (2015) note: the ongoing civil war has created more than 4.8 million Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of January 2017 IDPs: 6.3 million (ongoing civil war since 2011) (2016) stateless persons: 160,000 (2015); note - Syria's stateless population consists of Kurds and Palestinians; stateless persons are prevented from voting, owning land, holding certain jobs, receiving food subsidies or public healthcare, enrolling in public schools, or being legally married to Syrian citizens; in 1962, some 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their Syrian citizenship, rendering them and their descendants stateless; in 2011, the Syrian Government granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds as a means of appeasement; however, resolving the question of statelessness is not a priority given Syria's ongoing civil war Illicit drugs: a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line225
__label__cc	0.719637	0.280363	Achmed the Dead Terrorist I found this at Pam Geller's site. Labels: Terrorists; Humor Happy Hillary Halloween! Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week A Big Success In spite of a determined and fanatical Leftist counterattack, campus Conservatives stood their ground last week and delivered their terrorism-awareness message to universities all across America. They were quite successful in making many students and faculty aware of the vicious aspects of radical Islam, including its oppression of women. David Horowitz tells the story. Indoctrinate U The YouTube trailer for a film about Leftist indoctrination on college campuses is a useful illustration of my last post. Labels: Indoctrination; Universities Time to Eject All Marxists From the Universities Nonie Darwish, a former Muslim, spoke at U.C. Berkeley this week on the subject of Islamo-Fascism. At least she tried to speak, but was badly harrassed by the Communist Left who reign at America's top Center of Subversion. Do see Zombie's picture essay of the event at this link. It is enough to make your blood boil. Personally, I am for taking over all universities, firing all Marxist professors and expelling all Marxist students. "Academic Freedom" be damned. There is no "academic freedom" on campus now, only a monopoly on thought and free expression by the Far Left. Once we boot them out, this Leftist scum will stop undermining our society and our country and Academics will start supporting them, as any university should. Why we continue to tolerate this enemy presence in our midst is beyond me. They add nothing of value to American democracy, pluralism or society. They are a rotten tooth in the jaw of America. It's time to pull them out by the roots. Labels: Marxism; Universities; Academic Freedom Calif Lt. Governor Makes Ass of Himself on Neil Cavuto Neil Cavuto interviewed the Lt. Governor of California, John Garamandi, on television yesterday. Incredibly, Garamandi blamed the California fires on the War in Iraq (and by inference, George Bush), stating that with the California National Guard in Iraq, their resources were not available to fight the fires. Neil Cavuto wouldn't let Garamandi get away with this misrepresentation, however. Cavuto pointed out that about 1,600 of the California National Guard were in Iraq out of about 17,000 total. Garamandi tried to keep talking to prevent Cavuto from asking embarrassing questions, but it didn't work. Cavuto interrupted him and insisted that he respond to his question of "how can this be true"? Garamandi couldn't answer, but he tried. He said 50% of the California National Guard resources were in Iraq. Really? It seems less than 10% are in Iraq. Must be that new math we're always hearing about. Garamandi was such a typical Democrat office holder on the show. He lied and exaggerated like hell, refused to answer questions, and wallowed in demogoguery. Garamandi and his ilk have convinced the rest of the country that California is the land of Moonbats, irresponsible with facts and money, ready to embrace every silly fad that comes down the pike and totally divorced from common sense. Why do so many non-Californians believe this? Because it's true. Labels: California Fires, John Garamandi, Machiavellian Democrats Are Nutty Democrats Caused by Global Warming? There are now about 17 fires burning in Southern California. Nutball Democrats, like Harry Reid, are saying that the fires were caused by "global warming." Wow, that's some warming. The sun must have focused through a giant magnifying glass in the sky to ignite all those fires. Well that seems unlikely. However, as one Democrat pointed out, Global Warming has increased temperatures in Southern California by one degree, and that's what caused the fires. Holy Moley, one degree! I'm surprised the whole state didn't go up like a tinderbox. Who could survive such a radical temperature change without a fire suit? The truth is that fires of this type are common in Southern California and have been for years. Mudslides are common in other parts of California during the rainy season, and periodically a neighborhood will slide downhill or be engulfed in a tsunami of mud. This must be a result of Global Raining. We should all take our cue from these mudslides and start building an ark. The only known cause of Global Warming that can be predicted with any accuracy is the nuttiness of the Left and the Democrats. Every normal weather pattern or natural disaster, whether it be floods, fires, tsunamis, mudslides or hurricanes, is immediately cited as proof of Global Warming. Then we hear theories described as indisputable fact. Nothing doing, Dems. You have your religion and I have mine. Labels: California Fires, Global Warming Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week Begins Islam-Fascism Awareness Week began today. Various speakers on the subject will be speaking at various universities and other forums on the subject. Frontpagemag.com selected this photograph as the symbol of Islamo-Fascism Awareness. It depicts a young Iranian woman being prepared for death by stoning, a barbaric practice common in Islam. The woman was convicted of adultery and, per the express orders of Muhammad, must be stoned to death. See the UK article that ran this picture to learn more about death by stoning. It reads, Under Islamic law a male convict is buried up to the waist with his hands tied behind his back, while a female is usually buried up to her neck. Spectators and officials then carry out the execution by hurling rocks and stones. The stones are deliberately chosen to be large enough to cause pain, but not big enough to kill the person in just one or two strikes. Not surprisingly, the Left opposes Islamo-Fascism Awareness week, presumably because they always support Evil in all its forms and expressions. In all fairness to Islam, not all adulteresses are stoned to death. Some are hanged. A rope is put around the neck and the victim hoisted into the air by a crane. At least with hanging, death comes swiftly. Gays are often hanged too. Women who are raped are often imprisoned, beaten or murdered in so-called "honor killings." More graphic pictures can be seen at the links below. To learn more about Islamo-Fascism, do check out the following links: Frontpagemag.com Islam is the world's most evil religion. Just because Evil disguises itself as religion is no reason to tolerate it. Get informed. Labels: Islam, Islamic Violence Hillary Clinton's New Career Zombie has opened a new gallery of unflattering photos of Hillary Clinton. If you find any unflattering photos, do contribute them to Zombie's new photo file. I love these photos because they are great fodder for cartoons. I have used some of Zombie's photos to create some cartoons. Here are some of them. First photo: Because Hillary will need a new job following the 2008 presidential elections. Second photo: Remember Mrs. Olsen who once hawked Folgers Coffee with a Swedish accent? Hillary would be a great new Mrs. Olsen as she looks just like the original. All she has to do is fake a Swedish accent. However, if she can fake a Southern accent, a Swedish accent is a snap. Labels: Cartoons, Hillary Clinton, Zombie The Harry Reid Smear Letter and Aftermath I have often emphasized on this blog just how Machiavellian, dishonest and dirty are the Democrats in their pursuit of power. None personifies this dishonesty better than Senator Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada. Reid was a leader in the transparent attempt to smear Rush Limbaugh by falsely claiming that Limbaugh called American soldiers "phony soldiers." The truth, well documented in the archives and transcripts of the Rush Limbaugh show, clearly show Rush was referring to leftwing posers like Jesse MacBeth. These are the phonies who dress up like soldiers and fake their military service and pretend to be either veterans or active duty soldiers who "oppose the war" - however, they never were soldiers, never served and never were in Iraq. They are part of the expansive fraud known as the Democratic Party. Harry Reid was particularly evil in his efforts. He stood on the floor of the Senate and denounced Limbaugh for impugning actual soldiers fighting in Iraq "for his freedom of speech, blah, blah, blah." Reid's entire speech was based on a false premise and a huge lie about the real facts. It would be very difficult to believe that Reid did not know the truth while he was smearing a private citizen. Harry Reid then wrote a letter to Rush Limbaugh's employer attempting to get Rush fired or forced to publicly apologize for a wrong he never committed. Forty-one of his fellow Democrats signed the letter. Rush put the smear letter up for auction on eBay and it sold for $2.1 million. Rush donated the proceeds to a Marine Corps charity and matched the bid, bringing the full contribution to $4.2 million. Meanwhile, the Democrats' fraud was made known to millions of Americans who listen to the Rush radio show or read conservative blogs. Proving that he is an unadulterated slimeball, Harry Reid and the mainstream media attempted to spin the auction by insinuating that it was a joint effort between Rush and Harry Reid, or that it was Rush's way of "apologizing" for his "insult" to American troops. The mainstream media, dependable shills for the Democrats and the Left, continue to misreport the facts, stating that Rush "called soldiers who oppose the war 'phony soldiers.' " The media joined Harry Reid's efforts to steal the credit for the charitable contribution. Unless the Dems lie like hell, they have no chance to win the public debate. For those of you who vote for these evil people, reconsider. These people do not deserve your support or your vote. Labels: "Phony Soldiers", Harry Reid, Rush Limbaugh Melanie Morgan Links to Saber Point The lovely Melanie Morgan (see picture, at right) linked to my post called "Code Pink Crushed In Berkeley." She linked to various blogs that covered the counter protest in Berkeley last Wednesday, and my post was one of the articles listed. Thanks Melanie. I listen to you every morning on the way to work. It's great to know that KSFO radio (560 AM) exists in the belly of the beast, liberal San Francisco. Brian Sussman, Officer Vic and of course, the great Lee Rodgers, impart a welcome alternative to the constant leftist drumbeat of Bay Area media outlets. I've never called into the show, but I'm out there, along with many thousands of other supporters. In fact, the show is listened to as far away as London, using the streaming internet connection at the KSFO website. Anyone can listen by connecting there. God bless you guys and all you do for America. Someday I'd love to meet you all and shake your hands. Labels: Melanie Morgan, Move America Forward; Code Pink Pete Stark Is Stark Raving Mad Representative Pete Stark of the East Bay (Democrat, California) is a moonbat of the worst order and has often made outrageous comments during his long career as a horse's ass. Today on the floor of Congress he again proved again that "he's still got it." Practically foaming at the mouth when Democrats failed to override the President's veto of SCHIP, Stark delivered a pained soliloquy accusing the President of being a liar and carrying on an "illegal" war in Iraq. Building to a crescendo and hoping to retain his reputation as the biggest ass in Congress, Stark raved: "You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement." Stark later refused to apologize for his remarks. Labels: Machiavellian Democrats, Pete Stark Code Pink Crushed In Berkeley Move America Forward's counter demonstration against Code Pink on Wednesday, October 17, was a smashing success. View the pictures of the big confrontation here. Local media reporters seemed downhearted that their "peace" allies were so outnumbered and outvoiced. American flags were everywhere, along with signs and t shirts, to get the message out that Code Pink does not speak for the majority of Americans. Ah Berkeley! Long a festering wound on the ass of America. Maybe it's time to cauterize it. Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward writes: The pro-troop movement took back the streets of Berkeley for our troops on Wednesday! The pro-troop/pro-military demonstration was an incredible success and you've got to see the pictures and read the reports to fully grasp what an oustanding event took place. The media was dumbfounded, they could not believe so many people turned out - we've had 3 sources give crowd estimates of just our pro-troop side ranging from 250 to 325 to 500. They also were stunned that we outnumbered Code Pink in countering THEIR rally in THEIR base, the heart of the anti-military movement, Berkeley, California. Check out the photographs and all the details at the MAF website: http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org Labels: Move America Forward; Code Pink Lame Lies of Libelous Liberals I have often said that the Democrats are very Machiavellian, i.e. they are utterly ruthless in pushing their agendas and goals while attacking Republicans. The past couple of weeks have really demonstrated how dishonest the Left really is. You can believe nothing they say. Rush Limbaugh nailed it when he said "Liberals lie. They just flat-out, freaking lie." Big Fat Democrat Lies now making the scene: 1. Rush Limbaugh was accused of calling soldiers who criticize the war "phony soldiers." 41 Democrats signed a letter by Harry Reid to Rush's employer. The letter asked that Rush be made to apologize for the "slur" against these "soldiers." However, the Democrats were grossly misrepresenting what happened. Rush was criticizing Leftists who masquerade as soldiers for the purpose of anti-war propaganda, like Jesse MacBeth, a Leftist who posed as a soldier protesting the war. However, MacBeth never served and was never in Iraq. MacBeth was literally and truthfully a "phony soldier." The Dems disingenuously sought to undermine Rush's credibility and popularity by passing off his remark as a slur against actual soldiers who oppose the war (neither of whom could be reached for comment). Liberals nationwide joined in pushing the massive lie, on the Senate floor, on Chris Matthews show, even on the MSNBC website home page. (I sent email to the latter excoriating them for propagating a brazen lie.) Meanwhile, Rush has the Harry Reid letter up for auction on e-Bay and the current bid is $65,100. Rush plans to donate the proceeds to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to children whose parents die in the line of duty. 2. Randi Rhodes (see picture above right), a liberal radio host on Air America, is largely unknown outside of her tiny circle of radio show listeners. I had never even heard of her before this week. However, she apparently was walking her dog one night and fell on her face, breaking teeth and giving herself a black eye. Leftist commentators on Air America and moonbat websites like Daily KOS and Moveon.org immediately announced that Rhodes had been mugged by a right wing fanatic and beaten up because the Right just can't stand to have competing opinions on the air. One commentator at Air America was crying like a little sissy-girl as he regurgitated accusations against us on the "hate-filled" right. Within a day or so, it was revealed that Randi Rhodes beat up herself by slipping and falling on her face, in perhaps an unconscious parody of her radio show's ratings. The incident again reveals how dishonest, irrational and paranoid are the wailing sissy-girls of the Left. Before any facts about the incident were known, masses of liberal nutroots had jumped to conclusions without any evidence whatsoever. 3. State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - This is a medical aid program that was authored by Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator Hillary Clinton. It is supposed to provide federal dollars to states to assist families who make too much money to qualify for medicare, but still can't afford private health insurance. In other words, it's socialism. Currently the act provides $5 billion annually to states for this purpose. Recently, Congress passed a bill to expand the funding from $5 billion to $35 billion annually. President Bush vetoed the bill because he believed the bill would federalize health care, expanding the scope of SCHIP much farther than its original intent. Bush said “I don’t like plans that encourage people to move from private plans to the public. And that’s what that bill would do.” Democrats and their house organs in the mainstream media are now slurring Bush and non-socialist members of Congress as being anti-children. One Scott Thill at Alternet asked "Does Bush hate kids?" Nancy Pelosi blamed the veto on "Hate Radio," Paul Simon, the singer, called the veto "a heartless act." One of the most extreme examples of Leftist slander came from Newsweek who described Michelle Malkin this way: "Heartless right-wing blogger attacks 12 year old brain injury victim over insurance. Sick." The only thing sick about it is the gross misrepresentation by Newsweak. Slander is their byword. The boy's family had been used by Democrats as an example of why funding should be increased sevenfold. Malkin did not attack anyone. She merely pointed out that the family of this boy was already on SCHIP coverage and the Democrats' desired increase would have no effect on his coverage. How is that "attacking" the boy? Newsweek grossly misrepresented the facts. The Democrats are going to try and override the SCHIP veto on October 18. They hope to persuade some of our squishy soft Republicans to support them in this regard, and all of the slanderous publicity is geared in that direction. Vote with the Dems or be slandered as "anti-child." Labels: Liberalism's Lies, Randi Rhodes, Rush Limbaugh Code Pinko Broads Battle in Berkeley - UPDATED UPDATE 10/17/2007: Move America Forward members and supporters showed up at the Code Pink anti-Marines rally in Berkeley today and greatly outnumbered the Code Pinkos. The latter were surrounded by normal-looking people and a sea of red, white and blue American flags. Way to go, Melanie Morgan! Zombie has pictures of Code Pink, a bunch of fat and homely leftists of the female variety, protesting the Marines recruiting office in Berkeley, California. Code Pink is obvious by the pink clothes they wear, their open mouths and closed minds, and the fact that most of them are fat and homely. Really girls, isn't all this protesting REALLY about the fact that you can't get laid? Code Pink is returning to the Marine recruiting office on Wednesday, October 17, to continue making asses of themselves. Melanie Morgan has organized a counter demonstration so the Code Pinkos will have someone in their face for a change. Below is one of Zombie's photos of the October 7th Code Pink protest in Berkeley. I Photoshopped it so it reads the way it should. See original at Zombie's site. Labels: Berkeley, Code Pink, Zombie A Fact Finding Mission to Belgium I love that poem "In Flander's Fields" and reposted it last Memorial Day. Until recently I didn't really know what "Flanders" was. We never covered it in any of my high school or college courses. However, when in Amsterdam, we took a day tour of Brussels, Belgium and there I learned what it is. Flanders is the region of Northern Belgium; the Ardennes is the Southern region. Canadian troops fought in Flanders during World War I, and that's the origin of the famous poem "In Flanders Fields" by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D. The Ardennes is where the Battle of the Bulge was fought in Word War II. Brussells was lovely. They are very proud of their statue of "Mannequin Piss," a young boy urinating in the center of town. After hoisting a few excellent Belgian beers in the local Brasserie, I could appreciate the feeling. We enjoyed local brews at the Brasserie and the stoic young bartender, Jerome, warmed to us slowly. We eventually won him over with sincere appreciation of his beer and by including him in our conversation. I told him he spoke excellent English. He proudly replied that he had perfected his English by watching the O.J. Simpson trial on television every day. I told him, "You must have learned a lot of bad words" and we both laughed. He then grabbed a beer glass with the bar's logo and gave it to me as a memento. "Quick, put it in your pocket!" he whispered. I did. It survived the trip home and now serves as a Badge of Beer and Brotherhood and Brussels and Belgium and Brasseries. (Burp.) Labels: Beer, Belgium, Brussels, Flanders In Paris: Are the French Rude to Americans? I have been as critical of France as the next guy, especially over the past five years. However, going to France and seeing and meeting French people somewhat softened my attitude. France was and is a great civilization, albeit one that is in decline. I would love to see it saved, to resume its once prominent position as a center of Western Civilization. My attitude was softened by the courtesy shown to me by my French hosts. I went there expecting coldness and rudeness from the French, but did not get what I expected. I had been told that they would be rude to anyone who did not speak French or spoke it poorly. They weren't. My first encounter with a French person was the lovely young woman taxi driver who transported us from the train station (where we had traveled from Amsterdam) to our hotel. I gave her a preprinted card showing the name of our hotel and the address. "Nous allons ici," said I. "Okay," she replied. I hopped in front with her and let my son and nephew occupy the rear seat. In the car she asked me in stumbling English to wear my seat belt. I said, "D'accord!" and put it on. She said, "Thank you." I replied, "Pas de quoi!" Finally I realized she could understand English so I told her what a good driver she was. She smiled. She had nice legs too, but I didn't mention that. Many of the French do speak English and are willing to do so. Later, when we were exploring the Champs d'Elysee, I noted that most of the storefronts were in French, but had an English translation below. The French were clearly marketing to their English-speaking customers. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted it all in French. My wife, however, was annoyed that it wasn't all in English. She's a hard woman. In the restaurants where we ate, the waiters all spoke fluent English and catered to us and tried to please us. The only time I had to speak French was the one time we went to McDonald's. The little French girl behind the counter didn't speak English. However, all I really had to do was point at the order board on the wall and hold up two fingers to indicate a double order. The Parisian McDonald's was packed. So much for the cultural purists. Most restaurant menus were in French, but also had English subtitles. This didn't always work out. Creme Brulee was described as "Broiled Cream." It is actually a delicate custard. My experience indicates the Parisians are not rude to Americans and if you don't speak French, go anyway. I have no second thoughts about returning to France. Next stop: Normandy. Labels: Paris; France; the French Cindy Sheehan Flying High Considering the scary things we see these days, this Halloween may be the most frightening yet. Picture of the cackling Cindy was borrowed from Zombie's site. Go here to see Zombie's latest batch of pics. Thanks Zombie, you know how we love scary stuff this time of year. Labels: Cindy Sheehan, Halloween Nobel Peace Prize: A Leftist Farce Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at desseminating a massive lie, that global warming is man made and caused by CO2 emissions. In recent years, critics have been saying that the Nobel Peace Prize is most often awarded to leftists and anti-American extremists, and 2007 proves once again that it's true. Prior winners of the Nobel Peacenik Prize include Nelson Mandela (1993), Yasser Arafat (1994), Kofi Annan (2001), and Jimmy Carter (2002). Earlier this year Al Gore also won an Oscar for his propaganda film, An Inconvenient Truth. This, in spite of its errors and false premises. But then, the Academy of Motion Pictures gave an Oscar to Michael Moore for the same thing, "best documentary," for his highly biased and deliberately slanted film, "Bowling for Columbine" in 2003. For the Left, there is no such thing as objective truth, there is only the collectivist cause and any and all means to advance it. The Left creates its own fake causes and awards fake prizes to the fakers who advance them. It's enough to gag a maggot. Labels: Al Gore, Global Warming, Nobel Peace Prize The Dutch and Their Tolerance of Evil My visit last week to Holland (the Netherlands) was interesting. It was fun to see ancient places, other kinds of architecture, use a different currency (Euros) and eat different kinds of food. All in all, I like Holland. I saw ancient cathedrals with families buried in the floor of the church, their epitaphs chiseled into the stone, their dates of death in the 1680's. I saw some of the famous windmills that were used to pump water out of Holland, since much of it is below sea level. That old tale of the boy with his finger in the dike is based on fact. As we drove along the seacoast, we noticed that the sea to our right was higher than the land to our left, the two separated by the earthen mound which supported the road. The Dutch largely struck me as people who keep to themselves and are very laid-back. They do not get easily upset. I saw no one on the streets raising his voice. In the morning hustle to work and school, people avoid eye contact with each other. They were neither overly friendly nor hostile. We felt safe walking along the streets, though I might not have felt that way if my last name was Van Gogh or Fortuyn. Theo Van Gogh was murdered in 2004 on the streets of Amsterdam by a Muslim fanatic after making a film critical of Islam's treatment of women; Pim Fortuyn, an elected official, was murdered on the street by an animal rights kook in 2002. Rod Dreher of National Review Online wrote this about Pim Fortuyn's murder: Fortuyn's legion of enemies denounced him as a fascist and a racist, partly for his tough-on-crime policies, but mostly for his belief that immigration should stop, and that immigrants — particularly Muslims, whose views on women and gays he considered barbaric — should be pressed harder to assimilate into Dutch life. While in Amsterdam, I read an English language pamphlet about the region, written for tourists. It was openly and unabashedly political, stating that after the last elections, the Dutch had voted for the Labor Party in droves, "turning Pim Fortuyn's party out of power." "Holland is tolerant again" it bragged. Obviously the writer had never read the observation of Thomas Mann, a German social critic whom the Nazis opposed, that "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." Some Dutch have long been tolerant of evil. They were tolerant of the Nazis who occupied Holland during World War II; some of them turned in the Franks, which resulted in the deaths of three family members in a concentration camp. No doubt some Dutch citizen wanted to curry favor with the tyrants in the hope they would kill him last. Today some Dutch citizens want to curry favor with Muslim fanatics through appeasement and looking the other way when the innocent are murdered. In a third example of Holland's rubber backbone, there is the story of Aayan Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim who fled Islam to become a member of the Dutch Parliament. She collaborated with Theo Van Gogh on his film and became the object of a Muslim death threat. The brave Dutch didn't exactly rally to her side: they tried to get her kicked out of the country in a brazen act of appeasement to intolerant barbarians. Slate tells the story: To give a brief back story, it will be remembered that Hirsi Ali, a refugee from genital mutilation, forced marriage, and civil war in her native Somalia, was a member of the Dutch parliament. She collaborated with Theo van Gogh on a film—Submission—that highlighted the maltreatment of Muslim immigrant women living in Holland. Van Gogh was murdered on an Amsterdam street in November 2004; a note pinned to his body with a knife proved to be a threat to make Hirsi Ali the next victim. Placed inside a protective bubble by the authorities, she was later evicted from her home after neighbors complained that she was endangering their safety and then subjected to a crude attempt to deprive her of her citizenship. Islamic appeasement by the Dutch is now in full bloom. When I visited Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, there were various rooms set up in the annex next door with films to educate the public about the Nazi pogroms and what happened to Anne Frank. However, I wandered into one room where a rapt audience stood watching a film about the Islamic cartoon flap of two years ago. The narrator of the film sounded outraged at the "disrespect" shown to Islam, noting that "depictions of the 'Prophet' are forbidden," while the scene on the screen showed angry Muslims burning a Danish flag. I was outraged that Anne Frank House would be showing a pro-Muslim propaganda film. I said out loud, "What has this got to do with Anne Frank? Islam sucks!" and walked out. No one even looked at me. The Dutch have learned nothing from the lessons of history. They repeat the same errors over and over. Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil. That should be the new motto of Holland and replace windmills and wooden shoes as its most oft depicted logos. UPDATE: Aayan Hirsi Ali warns the West: we must defeat Islam. Photo: A canal in Holland Labels: Euroweenies; Pim Fortuyn; Islamic Intolerance A Visit to Anne Frank's House Before visiting Paris, we visited Amsterdam (in the Netherlands, or Holland). While there I was determined to visit Anne Frank's hideout, the building in which she and her family lived while hiding out from the Nazis in the 1940's. We arrived at the building a half an hour before closing time, but paid the entrance price anyway. I figured a brief glimpse would be better than nothing, as I do not know when or if I will return to Amsterdam. The building is devoid of all furniture, which was carted away by the Nazis after the Franks were arrested. The building is a four story affair where a Dutch businessman hid the Franks and another family, the van Pels, for two years during the Nazi pogroms of World War II. The upper floors of the building were allegedly closed off and unused due to the war. In actuality, the upper floors housed the Franks and the van Pels. We walked down a hall to where a bookcase stood ajar from the wall. Behind the bookcase was a well worn door leading to the living quarters. The bookcase had been used to hide the door. The living quarters were quite small. There were four bedrooms, one for Peter, the son of the van Pels, one for Peter's mother and father, another for Anne's parents, Otto and Edith Frank, and finally, one for Anne Frank and her sister Margot. For all, there was a single toilet with no bath or shower, and a kitchen where meals were prepared and eaten. I saw all of these rooms in the deepening gloom of late day, including the room belonging to Anne and Margot. Anne Frank had cut pictures of people and scenes from magazines and had pasted them with tape onto the walls of her bedroom. The pictures are still there, now covered with large sheets of glass or plastic to preserve them. Anne was in that room for two years; I was there for a minute or less. Anne Frank was a pretty, intelligent young girl, who was taken to Bergen-Belsen, a slave labor camp, where Anne and her sister Margot died from disease. Her father Otto was the only family member to survive. After the war someone found Anne's diary still in the building and gave it to Otto. The diary was later published as a book and has been widely read and translated from the Dutch to many other languages. I read Anne's diary, published as Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl, in high school. I have read it at least twice more since then. I was always moved by it and could identify with Anne, having kept journals myself since I was 10 years old. The picture at the top right is a picture of the building hiding-place (it is the second building from the right, with the white flagpole). The other pictures include Anne Frank's bedroom with the pictures she affixed to the walls; the kitchen; and the toilet where Peter van Pel often hid out from Anne. I took all of these photos. It was a sobering experience to stand in these same spaces where Anne Frank lived and wrote over sixty years ago. She has always been an inspiration to me. This is Anne Frank Labels: Anne Frank; Amsterdam My Encounter With a Young French Woman I took French in high school more than forty years ago. It was my favorite subject. At first I was getting my usual grade of C in the class, until my teacher asked me if I wanted to have a French pen pal. I started writing to a French high school student in Lyon who was studying English. We wrote to each other, half in French and half in English. We would correct each other's mistakes. The fact that I was actually communicating with a real Frenchman in his own language really inspired me. I could see a practical reason for learning French, and my grade subsequently went to an A and remained there throughout high school. But could I speak French today and be understood? Could I understand someone French in an everyday conversation? I would soon get to find out. My wife and I visited a drugstore (called a "Pharmacie" in French) as I had a cold sore on my lip and needed some ointment. We went into the Pharmacie and the shelves were loaded with French products, nothing in English. I looked around but didn't see any lip ointments. I avoided the eyes of the French girl behind the counter so I wouldn't have to embarrass myself by talking to her. But finally I looked up and she was staring me straight in the eyes with a sweet smile. She said, "Bon Jour!" I smiled back and replied "Bon Jour!" Then I thought, ah what the hell, and I let her have it with my 40 year old high school French. "Avez-vous quelquechose pour les levres?" (Do you have something for lips?) She replied, "Mais oui, pour les levres dessechees et fissurees?" (Yes, for dry or cracked lips?) I said, "Oui, mais aussi j'ai une blessure sous ma levre." (Yes, but I also have a sore under my lip.) She said, in French though I can't repeat it, "Follow me, I have something over here." I followed her to another counter where she produced a small box containing a dispenser of a French ointment. She showed me the tube inside and explained how the nozzle worked, all in French. I understood everything. However, I was afraid the stuff wouldn't be strong enough - I wanted something more than ointment for chapped lips. So I said, "Oui, mais j'ai une blessure et j'ai besoin de quelquechose tres fort." (Yes, but I have a sore and I need something strong.) She replied, "Mais oui, il marche bien pour ca." (Of course, it works well for that). I nodded affirmatively to indicate I would buy it and followed her to the cash register where she rang up the sale. I smiled and said, "Merci beaucoup." She smiled and replied that she hoped she would see me again soon. I felt shy. I think she thought I was cute, in a grandfatherly sort of way, with my incompetent French. I felt very proud of myself for the rest of the day. I had carried on a conversation, all in French, with a French citizen (a beautiful young woman). Amazingly, she had understood me and I had understood her. However imperfectly, we had communicated. My old French teacher would have been proud. I came to a great realization: if you are forced to use a language, you will learn it. I feel that if I spent two years in France I would become quite fluent in the language. I decided then that I would renew my study of French when I returned home. Since this is an American computer, I couldn't put all the proper French accents into the text above, but you get the idea. Labels: France; Speaking French Stogie Returns from France We got in from our trip to Europe last night. Nineteen hours of traveling from our Paris hotel to our front door - it was rough. I did love Paris and most of the French people I met were quite nice, but it's great to be home. Paris is mostly a museum of past epochs. Many, if not most, of its buildings are 18th or 19th century, with many chimneys on the roofs, one for each office or apartment. They aren't used anymore but their presence confirms the age of the building. See this impressionist painting from 1877 of this type of building - they look the same today and they are all over Paris. Then there are the historic churches and buildings dating back to the 12th century or even before. The Tuileries is a castle-like building of bricks and turrets, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned for the two years before she was guillotined in La Place de la Revolution, now called Place de la Concord. I also visited the spot where she and others lost their heads. Talk about class envy, the Democrats could learn something from those French revolutionaries. No wonder the Dems love them so much. I was impressed with Notre Dame Cathedral, finished in the 12th century after 200 years of building. The acoustics were remarkable and we heard the ancient organ at full throttle, during the ordination of some new priests. This is the place in Victor Hugo's famous story about the Hunchback of Notre Dame, who hopped around the gargoyles on the sides of the building shouting "Sanctuary, Sanctuary!" We received copies of the ordination service in written form, and I found I could read and understand about 80% of it - my high school French still serves me well after 40 years. I could only understand about 10% of the spoken French, however - it is too fast for me. I really enjoyed the Louvre and D'Orsay museums. I saw the Mona Lisa, took several pictures of it (they allow photographs without the flash), and saw many other famous paintings and sculptures. I decided that Monet is my favorite French artist. Seeing much of his work up close and in real life convinced me of this. His work blows away the others - Renoir, Gaugan, etc. I thought Vincent Van Gogh's works were mostly junk. My five year old grandson could do as well. In the Musee D'Orsay I found Van Gogh's "Starry Night" (Nuit Etoilee) painting, the one that inspired Don Mcclean's famous song, "Vincent (Starry Night)." Watch and listen at the link provided. Okay, I will give Van Gogh credit for his use of color. Even his amateurish "Sunflowers" (which we saw in Amsterdam) is pretty for its colors. His primitive creations do have some charm, but I wonder how famous he might be today if he hadn't had the marketing inspiration of shooting himself. Just my opinion. On one day we visited the Palace of Versailles. It was one plush place, the pad of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette before some cockaded Parisian rabblerouser with ruined teeth announced "Serf's Up." The working masses took his cue and showed up at Versaille one day to inform Louie and Marie that they were sacked. I can see why they might have been so pissed off. If you are having trouble making ends meet, a couple of 18th century yuppies living in incredible splendor simply as an accidental result of their birth would tend to be annoying. Still, I think the head-chopping thing was a bit too much. Pink slips would have been quite sufficient. And all that nonsense about "let them eat cake" was never actually uttered by Marie Antoinette. No doubt the rumor was started by Karl Rove's great, great grandfather. Leonardo DaVinci's work was interesting - I found the painting "Virgin of the Rocks" that is discussed in "The DaVinci Code," a weird painting to be sure. Took a couple of photos of it. I have more adventures to relate, but I will do that later. Labels: Amsterdam, France Watch the countdown to Apollo 11's liftoff Calif Lt. Governor Makes Ass of Himself on Neil Ca...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line227
__label__cc	0.670838	0.329162	Tag: SB 276 Latest Stoller and SB 276 Update Posted July 11, 2019 Richard Jaffe Comments 3 comments https://gogetfunding.com/blog-single-update/?blogpre=6112639&single=39194 A Very Short Response to the 11 Reasons Thing Circulating on FB Vaccine Aware Pages July 3, 2019 Richard Jaffe Comments 9 comments Many people have asked me to comment on a post raising 11 reasons (I think that’s the number) why SB 276 is illegal. I glanced at it quickly. Although I acknowledge and appreciate the effort, most or all of the points and discussion is recyled from arguments raised and rejected in prior court cases. There were at least four challenges to SB 277 in state and federal courts, all of which were rejected. The lawyers who challenged SB 277 were smart, articulate, wrote very good papers and raised every conceivable issue, and they all lost. Here are three of the SB 277 decisions. Whitlow v. California, 203 F.Supp.3d 1079 (S.D. Cal., 2016) Love v. State Dep’t of Educ., 29 Cal.App.5th 980, 240 Cal.Rptr.3d 861 (Cal. App., 2018) philipscase Here is a family law case in which the religious right to oppose mandatory vaccination was rejected. Price v. Price (In re Marriage of Price) (Cal. App., 2019) Here is a West Virginia federal case which you should read because it involves a physician written medical exemption rejected by school authorities. https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Unpublished/092352.U.pdf (Spoiler alert: The court of appeals upheld the rejection, and rejected the religious argument as well). This case will be cited and discussed in detail by the Attorney General’s Office in every forthcoming SB 276 legal challenge. If you read these decisions, you will get a better understanding of the law and how judges think (primarily relying on the limbic parts of their brains). Caution, it will depress and/or anger you. I have addressed the discrimination argument against mandatory vaccination in a prior post. Here it is: http://rickjaffeesq.com/2019/05/24/sorry-cali-vaccine-concerned-but-i-dont-think-medical-discrimination-is-a-valid-basis-to-challenge-sb-276/ The short of it is that it’s a non-starter. Neither HIPAA nor FERPA provide a private right of action for a state government agencies violation of these federal statutorily created rights. While it is true that appellate courts sometimes change the law, for reasons which I stated many times, in the vaccine context, it is really an uphill battle. That being said, SB 276 involves medical exemptions, not personal belief and religious exemptions. To me that means that a successful challenge cannot focus on the usual suspects, i.e., claims like substantive due process, education rights, religious choice, medical freedom, but something different. So, keep up the thinking and interacting about these issues, and maybe one of you will come up with something that might work. Fast Take on the July 1, 2019, SB 276 Amendment Because of the press of other business, this is going to be short and quick. The new amendment is at least as bad as the prior version, because it does not change the two main operative provisions, 1. All Exemptions are still reviewable and revocable by the health department if they do not comply with the established guidelines, and 2. Physicians who write exemptions beyond these guidelines will be reported to the Medical Board for prosecution. here is the link to the current marked up bill. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB276 Here are the key takeaway points: All Exemptions (meaning exemptions under the new law and those given under SB 277) are still reviewable by the state and/or local department of health, but now they are reviewed by physicians or nurses. That is obviously intended to resolve the criticism that the bill did not specifically require physicians to make these important medical decisions. Including nurses, still doesn’t resolve the problem, in my opinion. Physicians who write exemptions which do not comply with CDC, ACIP, or AAP guidelines will be contacted for additional support. (My view is that the health department will find insufficient support for any exemption inconsistent with the above guidelines) The health department can revoke a medical exemption that does not meet the above guidelines, but as in the previous version, “family history” can be considered, in the department’s discretion. But as before, don’t expect that to mean anything other than what is in the guidelines. There is now a more flushed-out appeal process involving a panel of medical doctors. But don’t expect any reversals of revocations of exemptions, because they are all reading from the same hymn book (the Pediatric Infectious Disease Red Book). There are provisions about what happens to the child with a revoked exemption during the appeals process. There is a grace period, which is about the only good news in this version. It is too early to tell how long that grace period will last, but it ends when the appeal is denied, or possibly 30 days thereafter. In short and obviously, this version does not resolve the concerns raised by the vaccine aware. Update on Dr. Stoller’s Lawsuit against the San Francisco City Attorney June 28, 2019 Richard Jaffe Comments 7 comments The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office has not yet filed an answer to Dr. Stoller’s lawsuit. (It will do so in the next week or two.) And still no separate lawsuit to compel compliance with his administrative subpoena, which is what I was expecting, but I think it may still be coming. The discovery phase of most civil cases does not start until after the defendant answers the complaint. However, there is a way to start discovery sooner, and that is what I have done. Specifically, I have requested that the City Attorney’s Office provide all communications between his office and Senator’s Pan’s office, the Medical Board, and a certain law professor who seems to think that nuisance lawsuits against the families of unvaccinated children is a good idea. The City Attorney has 30 days to submit a response to our request. Sometimes civil litigation is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Sometimes it’s not. On the SB 276 Front Yesterday, a slightly revised version of the bill was dropped. I haven’t had the chance to look it over, but at this point, I wouldn’t expect any major concessions. If there is anything significant, I will follow-up. This is shaping-up to be a party-line issue, which is disappointing. I keep hearing how much Senator Dr. Pan profits from his vaccine giving, and how he is in the pocket of pharma, but it seems like it is all just unsupported speculation, extrapolation and/or generalization. Now if there was actual evidence of his personal connection to pharma, and I mean a document which shows that he is doing what he’s doing in order to advance Pharma’s interest, at the expense of his patients or children in general, or a document with his name on it which shows some unsavory action, that would be entirely different. So, if there is a smoking gun out there, now would be a good time for it to surface. If not, then all the unsupported or generalized chatter about Senator’s Pan’s conflict of interest because he makes money from administering vaccines (as all pediatricians do) is really just feel-good preaching to the choir and will not change the mind of democrats toeing the party line. It also furthers the narrative about vaccine misinformation being spread by opponents of SB 276 and the vaccine concerned community in general. This is fueling social media and commerce sites efforts to limit your access to the internet. Regrettably, that puts you between a rock and a hard place. So it is something to consider. Some Perspective on Today’s SB 276 Health Committee Hearing, and the need for a rethink about exemptions (and think humanitarian exemption) Today will no doubt be gut-wrenching for you, as you watch the hearing and merely state your name and opposition to the latest iteration of SB 276. Regrettably the nature of the hearing does not afford you the opportunity to relate your stories of prior vaccine injuries to your child There will be opportunities to do so, in different contexts, after the bill passes through the Health Committee and the Appropriations Committee (and let’s be realistic, that’s most likely going to happen). Because this is essentially a new bill (in form anyway), I am told it has to go back to the Senate for reconsideration. So theoretically, there is another opportunity to make the case in opposition to the Senate. But let’s be realistic. SB 276 passed the Senate under the version which removed the physician’s ability to make medical vaccine exemption decisions. The new version, in form at least purports to give the decision back to them. But as I’ve shown in my last post, it really doesn’t. It seems obvious that the national context right now is against exemptions of any kind, at least in states which have experienced measles outbreaks. Any state which has some kind of PBE or religious exemption is just one outbreak away from legislation removing the exemption, and that’s assuming there is no national movement (some might call it a conspiracy) to remove these exemptions everywhere. Because of this, and the extremely limited scope of CDC based medical exemptions, I think the whole exemption issue needs to be rethought. In California, it needs an immediate rethink, because it could positively impact the SB 276 debate. What I have learned from talking to the families of Ken Stoller’s patients (and the families of other broad exemption writing physicians) is that most of you vaccinated one of your children, and that child was seriously and, in many cases, permanently injured. As I pointed out in many prior posts, Congress recognized that vaccines would cause such severe and permanent injury is a small group of children. You are the families of those children, and something needs to be done to protect these kids and your other children. One of the reasons why people like you are so vilified by the press and the authorities is because they think you are selfishly endangering other people. There are two asserted bases of this belief. First, herd immunity. Second, the children who cannot be vaccinated under CDC guidelines because of age, or being temporarily immunocompromised, most often from cancer chemotherapy. In other words, the greater good and need to sacrifice argument. That got me thinking. Isn’t one child sacrificed to the greater good enough? Why shouldn’t that be reason enough to get an exemption, one based on humanitarian considerations. Think “Saving Private Ryan” In WWII, because so many families were losing multiple sons, the Army developed a rule protecting a family’s other children. Maybe there should be a humanitarian exemption added to SB 276, for the vaccine injured families. The natural question would be how does a family prove that the injury was caused by vaccines? Well I have an answer for that which is grounded in current vaccine law. They don’t have to. There should be a presumption that the injury was caused by the vaccine if the symptoms or injury occurred in a close temporal proximity. The state would have the burden of proving to an administrative law judge that there was some other specific cause of the injury, based on published studies. That is the way it works currently in the majority of vaccine court cases. So there shouldn’t be a problem with the burden shifting approach. Congress and the he vaccine court and immunity act recognized, that it’s impossible to show a causal connection in any one case. An injury in some circumstances and some proximity is proof enough for the vaccine court, in some illnesses. There is no reason why it should not be the case in an exemption context. The humanitarian exemption would not protect all children who might suffer an adverse event from a vaccine. Protecting them is going to require defeating SB 276. But if there was a humanitarian exemption added to SB 276, it would protect the most vulnerable families and from what I can tell, these are most of the families who are receiving medical exemptions from the few physicians still writing them. So how do we get there? First, a bill has to be drafted. I’ve reached out a bit and I think that can happen. Second, potential sponsors have to be approached. It would be nice if sponsors could come from both parties in both houses. And then comes the stories, and that will be your chance to make yourself heard. If any of you read this in line to speak today, maybe tell the Members that you support a humanitarian exemption for the vaccine injured, and let them know what’s coming. My First Take on Senator Pan’s June 17th SB 276 Revision June 18, 2019 Richard Jaffe Comments 11 comments I have to give the guy credit. He’s very good at Legislative tactics, meaning throwing curveballs to the opposition and giving them little time to react. It’s two days before the hearing and he’s introduced what appears to be a substantially revised bill, which is more complicated and apt to confuse his colleagues in the legislature all the while seeming to address the main points of criticism, thereby taking the wind out the sails of his opposition. I’ve looked over the new bill carefully and I think I’ve figured out the main points anyway. I’ll go into details and quoting the statute later, but I wanted to get out the big picture quick and dirty: For current medically exempt: Not much difference from prior versions. Exemptions still have be be submitted and are subject to review and revocation, with some small differences which I’ll discuss later. The big, at least nominal changes are for new exemptions after the proposed exemption process takes effect on January 1, 2021. Under prior versions: docs write medical exemptions applications, which are approved or rejected by state public health officials. Under the new version, docs write “medical exemptions certifications” which seemingly are actual medical exemptions, like under the current law. exemptions. But here is the rub: The exemptions are reviewable and revocable by a public health official or process, basically anytime a public health official wants to review any exemption. And since the health officials have all the exemptions, I have to believe they will simply target the known few exemption writing physicians which remain. So practically speaking, the physician writes, let’s call it a conditional exemption, but it seems certain that any exemption which is broader than CDC contraindications, precautions and CDC family history indications (if there is even such a thing) will be rejected. The practical result will be the same as under prior iterations of the bill, no broad based complete, non temporary medical exemptions. This version really goes after the exemption writing physicians hard, and especially the exemption writing physician’s who are not the child’s PCP. The bill requires the exemption writing physician to notify the child’s PCP about the exemption. What do you think a conventional PCP will do after he/she gets that notification? File a complaint with the medical board for fraudulent medical exemption writing. The new version also provides that once there is an accusation against a physician involving an immunization issue, that physician will no longer be able to right exemptions unless and until he’s cleard of the charges. There are two other targets painted on the backs of exemption writing physicians. First, special treatment/negative consideration if the physician writes more than 5 medical exemptions. Second, each medical exemption certification has to be signed under penalty of perjury. This last requirment will either be meaningless or could end medical exemptions for good, depending on the wording of the certification. I may discuss the differences in a later post. So to recap: We’ve gone from doctors submitting applications for public health officials’ approval, to physicians writing exemption certifications which are immediately reviewable by public health officals, and will be approved or rejected under basically the same of CDC, APA ACIP guidelines, and heven help the physician who continues to write exemptions, because they will be in a whole world of hurt if they do. Bottom line: same result, nominally different method to achieve it, and alot nastier for the exemption writing physicians. You really get a sense from this version how much Senator Pan and his allies hate these doctors. Thanks for the Support at the Stoller San Francisco Rally on Friday! And some updates Last Friday we held a rally to support Dr. Ken Stoller’s attempt to stop the San Francisco City Attorney’s subpoena for his medical vaccine exempt patient medical records. We started at the San Francisco Chronicle’s office and walked to City Hall. NBC covered the walk by helicopter, but not the event. ABC did tape my press conference (which was more of an informal chat to the crowd). I didn’t see the piece, if it aired. The event was also taped by Frontline USA and is available on its website. Scoll down to June 14th on the website. (Sorry for moving in and out of the picture frame, but I’m a pacer unless my hands are glued to a lectern). Thanks to Heidi Light, Denise and a few others who helped with the event. It literally wouldn’t have happened without you folks. Update on the Stoller Case and Media No response from the City Attorney yet on the case. I’m sure it’s coming and it will be good. You’ll hear about it because no doubt there will be another press release, and all the media will cover it, and further vilify Ken Stoller, with a couple lines from his attorney. Speaking of press vilifying him, expect a negative story from the San Jose Mercury soon, digital maybe tonight and in the paper tomorrow. They apparently got all or a good portion the San Francisco medical exemptions, deidentified, and the reporter had some questions. We’ll see how much of my answers make it into the story, but it’s a safe assumption that it will be highly critical of him, with the aforedescribed few lines from his attorney. Update on the SB 276 Assembly Health Committee hearing It’s still on for Thursday, so be there if you can make it. I’ve heard some concern voiced that it’s not getting enough public dissemination in social media circles. I hope that changes. I know some of the groups are diligently working on arranging for speakers and physicians to be present. Go there and make your voice heard! What’s Next, and Stay On-Message at the Cali. Assembly Health Committee SB 276 Hearing Next Week Yesterday, it was announced that the Assembly Health Committee would hold its hearing on SB 276 on June 20th. I have two pieces of advice, the first of which is in part self-serving. I once asked a very busy and successful Hollywood personality/author/entrepreneur how she managed to juggle so many different ventures and activities. She told me that she had a simple rule: She just focuses on “what’s next”, and once the current thing is done, she moves on again to what’s next. Easy for her since she has multiple assistants who lined-up the series of what’s next tasks. Still, I think it applies to the movement to defeat SB 276. What’s next in the battle is Friday’s action against the San Francisco City Attorney’s effort to subpoena Ken Stoller’s medical records of his vaccine exempt patients. Here is the link to the event page. https://www.facebook.com/events/1580569842074414/ The physical event starts at the San Francisco Chronicle’s Office. The message is that the media does not give fair or adequate coverage to the vaccine debate, and particularly the serious and permanent injuries caused by vaccines, a fact which is accepted by the federal judiciary and the Congress that granted the vaccine manufacturers absolute immunity from suit. The event then moves by-foot to the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office with the message that the City Attorney withdraw the subpoena, and that physicians have (and should continue to have) the discretion to issue medical vaccine exemptions based on factors broader than CDC contraindications, which is exactly what Ken Stoller is doing, and he is following the law (SB 277) exactly. We are trying to make this an international event, with people from around the world contacting the City Attorney, by fax, email and phone, expressing their opinions, and sharing stories to help the City Attorney understand that he was given bad information. It’s hard to predict how large this international communications effort will be, but my feeling is that if it’s big enough, the message will be heard all the way to the Assembly in Sacramento next week, sort of like a stone’s throw rippling in the water. After Friday’s event, ride the wave to Sacramento, for what’s next, after Friday. And, Stay On-Message The hearing next week concerns a bill which will remove a physician’s ability to make an important medical decision, and place it in the hands of government employees who have never met or spoken to the patient for whom they are making the decision, and whose records these officials have not reviewed. That should be an affront to all physicians, but especially to the state administrative agency that protects the public, in part by making sure that only physicians with a doctor/patient relationship make such decisions. Sadly, it isn’t, not yet anyway. Your job is to convince the members of the Health Committee that physicians with a doctor/patient relationship not government employees with no contact with the patients should make these decisions. Short, succinct stories showing the limitations and harm caused by an overly narrow focus on contraindications would be an excellent way to show that for non-health care people who testify. I’ll repeat what I’ve said before the Senate Health Committee hearing: it’s not about your constitutional right to make personal decisions for your children and exercise those rights to decline all vaccines because of your personal, philosophical or religious beliefs. There used to be a statutory right to do so, but then came SB 277, and that statutory right was eliminated. Efforts to establish a constitutional or other statutory right have all failed. It’s over! If you try to relitigate that rescinded and currently non-existent right, you are undercutting your efforts to defeat SB 276. Specifically, if this is perceived to be just about your attempt to protect the power of physicians to indirectly effectuate parents’ personal belief exemptions, then your efforts will fail, as they should. So, my advice is to focus on what this is actually about rather than relitigate a prior battle. That’s the way I see it anyway. Call and fax the City Attorney on Friday! And if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and show your support. CALL TO ACTION: To the Vaccine and Medical Privacy Concerned Communities June 7, 2019 Richard Jaffe Comments 2 comments On Friday June 14, 2019, at 12:00 PM PDT, there will be a showing of international support: 1. Demanding that the San Francisco City Attorney, Dennis Herrera, withdraw the Subpoena he issued against Dr. Ken Stoller to turn over the medical records and sensitive genetic information of his vaccine medical exemption patients. The City Attorney’s actions are an afront to the rights of all patients and must be stopped, or you can expect other government entities to follow in his steps! 2. To stand UNITED in defeating SB 276, which eliminates physician decision making authority to issue medical vaccine exemptions, and places this critical medical decision in the hands of government bureaucrats who have NEVER met or spoken to the child or family. SB 276 passed the California Senate and will soon be before the California Assembly. The local event will start at the San Francisco Chronicle building, 901 Mission Street, and then proceed to the City Attorney’s Office at 1390 Market Street, (about a mile walk). During this critical time, we are asking everyone across the world who is concerned by the City Attorney’s actions and bills like SB 276 to voice your opposition to the City Attorney by contacting the City Attorney’s office on June 14th by phone 415-554-3944, fax 415-437-4644, and email cityattorney@sfcityatty.org. Please be polite and respectful in your communications. The message can be as short as “Doctors, Not Bureaucrats”, Withdraw the Subpoena”, “Health, Not Politics”, “Protect my medical privacy rights”, “Do Not Open the Door to Medical Privacy Abuse”, “Don’t Target Fragile Children and Families” or anything else (polite and respectful) which strikes your fancy. You could try to educate the City Attorney with personal stories, or say, and point out that twenty eight out of thirty-eight cases of measles in the Bay Area were adults (Latest state numbers: 40 out of 51 cases are in adults.) Or emphasize the fact that 38% of the measles cases in the 2015 Disneyland outbreak were from the vaccine. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01879-16. Or state that Governor Brown made it a point to specifically allow broadly written medical exemptions with SB 277. Maybe with enough feedback, the San Francisco City Attorney will realize that he was the recipient of bad information about the measles problem in the Bay Area, and other misinformation, which I’ve discussed in the Stoller v. Dennis Herrera, Complaint. (The Complaint is attached to this post http://rickjaffeesq.com/2019/06/04/dr-kenneth-stoller-files-lawsuit-against-the-san-francisco-city-attorneys-subpoena-for-his-patients-medical-records-and-genetic-information/.) This event is global! It is being supported by many California state organizations, other states’ organizations, and national and international organizations and groups. Here is the link to the Facebook event page. https://www.facebook.com/events/1580569842074414/ Ladies and Gentleman, it is time to go big or go home! Make your voices heard. GET INVOLVED and spread the word to your communities and leaders to join in! #myrecordsnopolitics #myrecordsnosb276 #standforstoller Rickjaffeesquire.com Kenneth Stoller MD v. SF City Attorney et al, pending in the San Francisco Superior Court: The Short Version Here is a brief summary of Ken Stoller’s lawsuit against the San Francisco City Attorney (SFCA): The SFCA held a press conference announcing that he had issued an administrative subpoena on Dr. Ken Stoller for his medical records all his patients throughout the state for whom he has written a vaccine medical exemption. The basis of the subpoena is an alleged investigation about whether Dr. Stoller’s exemption writing practices is a public nuisance, presumably in light of the uptick in measles cases in the Bay Area and throughout California. We think this is a bogus investigation and therefore, we filed a lawsuit to quash the subpoena and asked for other relief. There are several critical and incontrovertible facts which show the bad faith behind the SFCA’s so-called investigation. Fact 1: The primary vector or cause of the Bay Area measles outbreak is not medically exempt unvaccinated school children. Rather, it is adults who traveled abroad. Here is the news article which reports that 28 of the 38 Bay Area measles cases were in adults traveling abroad. https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Measles-cases-jump-to-38-in-California-amid-13795838.php. There is no published data about the 10 children yet. However, extrapolating from the genetic test results of the 2015 Disneyland outbreak which established that almost forty percent of the 194 measles cases were from the vaccine. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01879-16, and, adding the most conservative numbers of the MMR primary vaccine failure rate of 10% https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15176719, it is likely that almost half of the 10 measles cases were in children who got it either from the vaccine, or because the vaccine didn’t work on them. Conclusion: Since the overwhelming majority of the San Franciso Bay Area measles cases are not from the medically vaccine exempt school children, to target them as a potential public nuisance is irrational and suggests that it is just a pretext. On April 24, 2019, Senator Pan related to his Senate Health Committee the Medical Board’s concern that it was having difficulty obtaining the patient medical records from exemption writing physicians, and complained about the possibility of fake exemption writing going on. 14 days later, on May 8th, the SFCA issued a subpoena for all of Dr. Stoller’s records and other information concerning the medical exemptions he has written throughout the state. (There would be nothing stopping the SFCA from sharing these records with other government agencies.) The SFCA’s public nuisance investigation is based on the same false “fake exemption” narrative Senator Pan has been using as his justification for SB 276. Fact: 4: The SFCA’s attempt to use the public nuisance laws as a basis of investigating a physician’s medical practice and seeking medical records and genetic test information is unprecedented in California or anywhere else in this country. The fact that the initial request is for deidentified records does not mitigate the intrusion into the patients’ rights to control their personal medical information. The SFCA’s office, unlike the Medical Board, is not obligated to protect and not disseminate the information to other government agencies, which given its resources, it can easily reidentify the patients’ identity, and then target the families, which has been suggested by a possible SFCA ally. The original version of SB 277 proposed by Senator Pan limited vaccine medical exemptions to CDC contraindications. Because of push-back, he was forced to broaden exemptions far beyond the few CDC contraindications. The law which was passed allows for considerations, including without limitation, “family history.” According to Senator Pan, even a “genetic association, with a sibling, cousin, [or] some other relative [could justifiy a finding that] it’s not safe for a vaccine . . .” and “even if that child has not yet suffered harm, then they [the physicians] an exercise their professional judgment to provide an exemption” (Senator Pan’s recorded testimony explaining SB 277 to his fellow Senators) In SB 276, Senator Pan has changed his mind and now seeks to limit vaccine medical exemptions to the same limited CDC contraindications which he tried and failed to have included in SB 277. His main PR tactic is to promote the false “fake exemption” narrative by relying on the fact that Dr. Stoller and others like him are writing medical exemptions based on these broader factors referenced in SB 277, which Senator Pan himself blessed in order to pass SB 277. These facts and circumstances suggest that the SFCA’s unprecedented subpoena and public nuisance investigation of Dr. Stoller’s medical practice is part of a campaign to pass SB 276 by advancing the false narrative that there are a few doctors writing false or fake exemptions. The reality is that these doctors are following the law as interpreted by Senator Pan himself. Unhappy that these physicians have taken his words literally and seriously, Senator Pan is now vilifying these physicians to pass what he could not get passed in SB 277. He is now going even further with SB 276 by having state government employees who have never met or spoken to the patient and family make a critical and potentially life-altering medical decision. The Legislature should reject SB 276, and we hope that the courts will stop the SFCA’s attempt to misuse the public nuisance laws to violate the privacy and autonomy rights of Dr. Stoller’s patients.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line230
__label__cc	0.681553	0.318447	view Woodruff's match-by-match record Bobby WOODRUFF One of the many players who came up through the youth ranks under the guidance of Bert Head, Woodruff was a goalscoring wing-half, who scored twenty goals in his 180 league appearances for the club during the early sixties. Woodruff was a long-throw specialist - and asset which brought the Town 12 goals in their first ever promotion season in 1962/1963. He was the first of "Bert's Babes" to leave the club, signing for First Division Wolves in March 1964. His move triggered a mass exodus, and Swindon were relegated back to Division Three in 1965. '63/'64 32 2 3 - 4 - - - 39 2 '60/'61 44 13 3 - 3 - - - 50 13 '59/'60 22 2 1 - - - - - 23 2 180 20 13 - 12 - - - 24 JUL 1958 IN (signed professional contract) 6 MAR 1964 OUT Wolverhampton Wanderers �35,000 Robert William Woodruff left half back inside right Wolverhampton W. Gloucester City Everwarm	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line231
__label__wiki	0.741128	0.741128	We at SBPDL are walking on egg shells as we wish you all a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! By mentioning the saint’s very name, do we incur the wrath of his progeny bent on squeezing every scintilla of profit from their fathers name?: “For a man who preached unity and brotherhood, and so eloquently spoke about a dream that his children might grow up to be judged by the "content of their character", Martin Luther King appears to have enjoyed remarkably little success teaching those noble virtues to his own nearest and dearest. The offspring of the late civil rights leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the struggle against racial segregation, are embroiled in an ugly dispute over plans for a Steven Spielberg film celebrating his life, times and legacy as a modern American icon. In the 1990s, they successfully sued USA Today and CBS for publishing and broadcasting the "I Have a Dream" speech without paying for it, in what became a test case. In 1997, the estate signed a multimedia publishing deal with Time Warner, which was reportedly worth between $30m (£19m) and $50m. Scholars have since accused King's family of denying them access to important research materials. Yet the estate nonetheless recently saw fit to sell rights to use the "I Have a Dream" speech in television advertisements, and have attempted to sell King memorabilia to private bidders via auction. Last year, a further scandal erupted after it emerged that Dexter King had insisted on a payment of more than $800,000 being made for the use of his father's image and writings on a planned national memorial to Martin Luther King in Washington.” Thus, we at SBPDL are fearful of any illegal intrusion into the copy-right protected pabulum of one Martin Luther King (MLK) and the wrath we could invite by daring offend the caretakers of the incredibly lucrative brand of MLK: “The family is protective of how King is depicted, and Farris said any items that are inconsistent with his uncle's message and image would not be approved. Any proceeds from King-Obama merchandise would also go to the King Center, said Farris, a member of the estate management team that reviews intellectual property issues. The family, which refuses to divulge details of its licensing deals, is also discussing how to go after violators. King's estate sued CBS over its sale of a video documentary that used excerpts of his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. An appeals court ruled in 1999 that the speech was covered by copyright and was not public domain, but the estate ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. "They are probably one of the most careful, concerned and on-top-of-it groups of image protectors I've ever met," said Philippa Loengard, assistant director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia University.” The Brand of MLK is one dependent on keeping positive images of the Martin Luther King alive and resonating with the general public. The enduring myth of MLK is perpetuated by a chorus of Disingenuous white liberal’s and Crusading White Pedagogues who see in him the embodiment of hope manifested in shroud of sainthood. By invoking his word from the “I have a Dream” speech, these white people believe themselves honorary Black people in the struggle to defeat racism once and for all with the powerful weapons of morality and merit. Black people, sadly, have no use for either of these white groups, except for the enabling of the “This is a Black world” that we all live. None of this would be possible without MLK’s “I have a Dream” speech, one which can’t be distributed without paying tribute to the King Family, for MLK copyrighted the speech. Indeed, the King Family has sued USA Today for daring to publish this famous address. The speech doesn’t belong to the public, for how else would the King Family make a living without the MLK Brand perpetually bringing in royalties for them to live off of like the Hugh Grant character from “About a Boy”? The MLK Brand is proof that the dream of “money growing on trees” has come true, for the in the case of the King Family they see this reality daily. Take for instance the $32 million the city of Atlanta paid for the entire MLK Papers collection from Morehouse College. The King Family found a way to profit handsomely off of one –sell instead of an auction for all the goods that would have proven much less profitable for them: Organizers of a civil and human rights museum planned for Atlanta said Wednesday that they are poised to pay $11.5 million left on a loan so they can acquire the rights to 10,000 documents belonging to Martin Luther King Jr. “In June 2006, Atlanta's mayor led an 11th-hour coup to buy the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection for $32 million only days before its planned public auction at Sotheby's in New York. Organizers had pledged to pay off the loan in two years but had struggled in the economic downturn to raise donations.” These papers were valued at half the amount the city of Atlanta paid for them, yet the MLK Brand continues to provoke a mythology that oozes green. Bertrand Russell has something interesting to tell us regarding myths, though: “There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.” White people who cling to the myth of the MLK Brand do so for reasons that they deem honorable, as they yearn to be exonerated from the perceived historical stain of racism. By wearing the MLK Brand like the Nike Swoosh, these white people strive to show they truly believe in the halcyon words of the “I have a Dream” speech, never stopping to consider that Black people will never consider concession made by white people worthy of a full-pardon from their racist past. Not even the election of Mein Obama fulfilled the MLK Brand and finally brought to life “The Dream”, for it must constantly be an unreachable and unfulfilled dream to ensure the King Family profits handsomely: “The Dream is a continuing vision. It is not just a dream for black people but for all people who want to live in a society with peace, justice and equality. A dream that was started by Chrispus Attucks, a dream set in stone in the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, a dream that many before King, like WEB DuBois, John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and Langston Hughes fought for before him and one that many others fought after his death. Obama not only is keeping that dream alive but he is inspiring millions more to do the same.” Like the Nike Swoosh, the MLK Brand hides some uncomfortable truths behind its shiny edifice. Though 3rd world children don’t sow its clothes, the MLK Brand does mask uncomfortable veracity about Black people in 2010 that some would deem hate facts. Given the state of black America, it is hard to quarrel with that analysis. Blacks are 13 percent of the population, yet black men account for 49 percent of America’s murder victims and 41 percent of the prison population. The teen birth rate for blacks is 63 per 1,000, more than double the rate for whites. In 2005, black families had the lowest median income of any ethnic group measured by the Census, making only 61 percent of the median income of white families. Most troubling is a recent study released by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which concluded that the rate at which blacks born into the middle class in the 1960s backslid into poverty or near-poverty (45 percent) was three times that of whites—suggesting that the advances of even some of the most successful cohorts of black America remain tenuous at best. Another Pew survey, released last November, found that blacks were “less upbeat about the state of black progress now than at any time since 1983.” Or, consult the CDC for more information about Black people in 2010. Well, just read through our archives... It has been more than 42 years since MLK was killed in Memphis, and yet one wonders what MLK would say about Black people in 2010? Thankfully, Aaron McGruder showed us: "WILL YOU IGNORANT NIGGAS PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP?!" The crowd is shocked. King then goes on to ask: "Is this it? This is what I got all those ass-whoopings for?" He continues to refer to the audience repeatedly as "niggas" out of apparent frustration that the current generation of black people have willfully assumed the negative racial stereotypes associated with them. He goes on a tirade, attacking specific elements of black popular culture such as Black Entertainment Television, Michael Jackson, and Soul Plane. King concludes his speech by saying, "I've seen what's around the corner, I've seen what's over the horizon, and I promise you, you niggas have nothing to celebrate! And no, I won't get there with you. I'm going to Canada." Stuff Black People Don’t Like includes the Martin Luther King Jr. Brand, for the myth behind MLK might be a cash cow for his family, but it hides a sad reality of the purported saint that can’t be kept quiet forever. In the end, those who can see will realize, like Russell, that the comfortable myths behind the MLK Brand were promulgated by feeble beings and absorbed by contemptible minds. When that day comes is still a mystery, but it will come. Though lucrative for his family, the MLK Brand is built upon a foundation of lies. No amount of dreams and wishful thinking can deny this. Black people know this fact about the MLK Brand, just like those who wear Nike clothing do so with knowledge it was knit by 3rd world laborers earning 10 cents an hour. Pre-Obama America was supplanted thanks in large part to the MLK Brand's Universalist principles and appeal, though, which tells you a lot about the gullibility of people. Labels: black people, boondocks, dreams, Martin Luther King, Mein Obama, White liberals SBPDL, I'm not a big fan of Dr. King. He was nothing more than a figure head for the white "liberal" elite class. Despite all of the revisionist history expressed in schools and this site most educated people know that this man was despised by a majority of whites in this country. Their hatred reached its apex once he dared speak out against the war in Vietnam and poverty on a national level, primarily the extreme poverty faced by southern whites. A government created ghetto in New York is no different than government created system of Jim Crow. The two videos were great! The Boondocks is a splendid show; I own both seasons and am eager for the third. MLK is the anti-Columbus. I suspect their pedestalization is a zero-sum affair. I agree with you 100%. The Boondocks is a great show. I really like how Aaron McCruder is part of growing legion of black Americans that didn't drink the Barry Kool-aid(no pun intended). He like many of us knew all along that Barry is not a black man. He is nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing. Black guy, Your analogy would work better as a sheep in wolf's clothing. Regarding your growing legion, I consulted the polls and found black approval of Obama still above the 90% threshold - more than double that of whites.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line244
__label__wiki	0.735411	0.735411	New Hepatitis Meds Are Saving Lives: Study The news came as little surprise to one U.S. liver expert. The advent of this class of drugs "has led to almost universal cure of chronic hepatitis C infection," said Dr. David Bernstein, chief of hepatology at Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y. Bernstein believes "this large study provides the best evidence to date to support the recommendations that all patients with chronic hepatitis C infection be treated with [these drugs]." According to background data in the study, about 71 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C infection, which can cause debilitating or fatal illnesses such as cirrhosis, liver disease and liver cancer. Over the last 15 years, these complications have tripled and it's predicted that they'll peak between 2030 and 2035, the researchers said. The new research was funded by drugmakers and included nearly 9,900 patients in France. About three-quarters of the patients were treated with the newer class of drugs, called "direct-acting antivirals," while the other one-quarter were not. Direct-acting antivirals work quickly -- over a course of about three months -- to push liver-damaging hepatitis C virus to undetectable levels in patients' blood. In the study, over a median follow-up of nearly three years, 218 patients died and 258 were diagnosed with liver cancer. Compared to untreated patients, those treated with direct-acting antivirals were 52 percent less likely to die prematurely (84 deaths per 10,000 in untreated patients versus 40 per 10,000 in treated patients). In addition, patients who were treated were 33 percent less likely to be diagnosed with liver cancer within a year (129 cases per 10,000 in untreated patients versus 86 per 10,000 in treated patients), the researchers reported. In a subgroup of more than 3,000 patients with cirrhosis of the liver at the start of the study, the same reductions in risk were seen in patients who received the new medicines, providing they achieved an undetectable level of hepatitis C virus in their blood. The study, published Feb. 11 in The Lancet, received funding from the drug companies MSD, Janssen, Gilead (maker of direct-acting antivirals Harvoni, Sovaldi, Vosevi and Epclusa), AbbVie (maker of Mavyret), Bristol-Myers Squibb (maker of Daklinza), and Roche. According to the researchers, this is the first study to show the effectiveness of direct-acting antivirals in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. The study authors said that they believe the findings make a strong argument for expanded use of the drugs. "We saw a reduction of risk for complications related to the disease, and to mortality, and believe this treatment should be considered for all patients with chronic hepatitis C infection," lead researcher Fabrice Carrat of Sorbonne University, Paris, said in a journal news release. In an accompanying journal commentary, Dr. Raymond Chung, director of the Liver Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, pointed out that the findings "provide the best evidence to date to support guidance documents that recommend direct-acting antiviral treatment for all patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection." One remaining issue has been the cost of direct-acting antivirals, which were originally priced at about $90,000 for the required three-month course. Bernstein said those concerns have eased somewhat, but not completely. "While prices of hepatitis C therapies have decreased significantly in the U.S. over the past four years, making them affordable to most patients, access to these life-changing and -saving medications remains difficult amongst certain patient groups," he said. "Certain states have imposed restrictions on their availability based upon extent of liver damage, presence of sobriety, and restrictions on which providers can prescribe these therapies," Bernstein noted. The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more on hepatitis C. Source: https://www.drugs.com/news/new-hepatitis-meds-saving-lives-study-80386.html?utm_source=ddc&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=New+Hepatitis+Meds+Are+Saving+Lives%3A+Study New Zealanders with hepatitis C benefit from life-saving cure In a classic case of unintended consequences, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma reformulated its powerful and popular drug OxyContin for the right reasons. Hepatitis, c with a negative stigma. Hepatitis C is a contagious virus head, Neck Cancers Up Among 9-11 Responders: Study that causes nearly half of the cases of liver cancer in the United States. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced a recommendation that all baby boomers get tested for. 29, 2019 Millions of hepatitis. Treatment for... Ask a Question Type many Paramedics Ignore Hand Hygiene Rules, Study Finds your Question Further Information Related Drug Support Groups Harvoni, Epclusa, Mavyret, Sovaldi. Hepatitis C can is Brexit a Health Hazard? be contracted via dirty needles used by opioid addicts. Related terms: Hepatitis, c, Chronic, Chronic, hepatitis, c, Hep C, posted 2 days ago. "Research into how to improve this in all settings, as well as increased funding, will be needed if we are to reach these targets.". By spreading this information, the origins of Hepatitis C become clearer and any negative stigma associated with this virus will transform into compassion for those afflicted. Essex baby’s spine ’repaired’ in the womb Fear wrong metal plates used to fix fractures Morning Break: Juul on the Carpet Supplement Crackdown NASH Drug Flop Opioids Overprescribed for Common Children’s Fracture, Study Says Food or Heart Meds? Many Americans Must Make a Choice Birmingham family’s ’nightmare’ over 200k medical bill Health Highlights: Feb. 4, 2019 Health Tip: Exfoliate at Home Health Tip: Prevent the Spread of Head Lice Health Screenings Every Woman Needs Unraveling the Mystery of Hiccups	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line248
__label__cc	0.566463	0.433537	BANKING ON HIS FUTURE: BENSON’S JOURNEY TO AN INTERNSHIP AT TMT DEVELOPMENT by Amelia Cheshire \| Mar 31, 2016 The story wasn’t supposed to go this way. Benson’s parents were cattle raisers in DR Congo — proud herdsmen who assumed their son would follow in their footsteps, to someday wear the rounded felt hat – the sign of a successful rancher. But things changed in 1996, when an ongoing civil war forced Benson and his family to flee their home in DR Congo. Ever since, they have lived in the Gihembe Refugee Camp in Northern Rwanda — a collection of mud huts housing 20,000 Congolese refugees. Benson’s parents lost their cattle when they fled DR Congo. With their refugee status, and living on an isolated hilltop, purchasing cows and starting anew looked virtually impossible. Their hope for their son was crushed. Benson, however, was determined to go to University to study finance — to acquire skills that would allow him to help others invest in their future. Life in Gihembe presents several challenges, one of which is finances. Refugees receive 24 cents per day for food. That’s it. In America, that would buy you a gum ball. With pennies to their name, the concept of saving for education as a refugee is often an afterthought, or non-existent. While it seemed implausible for Benson to go to University, he kept his dream alive. When These Numbers Have Faces opened Leadership Loan applications in the Gihembe Refugee Camp in 2014, Benson was accepted into the first class of scholars from the camp. A few weeks later he was enrolled at The National University of Rwanda’s School of Banking & Finance. From what he’s learned at University and These Numbers Have Faces trainings, Benson has gone on to teach financial literacy to 300 students at his former high school, and even 100 youth in Gihembe Refugee Camp. But the story came full circle when Benson shared the importance of saving to his parents. As a result, he helped them start their own online savings account. Benson’s vision is to start his own business and continue to teach others, especially young people, about the importance of saving. His hope is to one day see his people not living from emergency to emergency, but prepared with reserves so they can send their children to school, become entrepreneurs, and live out their dreams. When Vanessa Sturgeon, President & CEO of TMT Development in Portland, Oregon, heard Benson’s story, she wanted him to work for their team as a 2016 summer intern. During the internship announcement at a recent These Numbers Have Faces leadership training, Benson’s eyes went wide. “It was beyond my understanding, because I didn’t think I could have this amazing opportunity,” Benson said. “When I heard that I will be an intern this summer, the first thing I thought is that my dreams are going to be true, because I am going to gain an incredible experience in business.” Benson is a firm believer that who you surround yourself with determines your character and success. He said working at TMT will not only provide him with business skills, but help him lean into his potential. Before Benson steps on his first airplane and arrives to Portland this summer, he has this message for the team at TMT, and all those who’ve supported him! “Thank you for believing in me. You are having a great influence in the life of a young leader. All young leaders need influence from successful people and I am lucky to have this opportunity. I hope I will walk in your shoes someday by encouraging others like you have encouraged me.” The Kykers • California Monthly Investor \| Given Over 115 times “We believe These Numbers Have Faces is doing some of the best work on the continent.”	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line253
__label__wiki	0.61218	0.61218	“So, Who’s Our New Coach?”: NCAA Student Athletes’ Perceptions After a Head Coaching Change Authors: Emily A. Heller, Todd A. Gilson, Amanda Paule-Koba Emily A. Heller 347 S. Gladstone eheller@aurora.edu Coaches play an important role in athlete’s collegiate experience, yet with the frequency of head coaching changes, athletes may find themselves at a university without the coach who recruited them. The purpose of this study was to examine athlete’s perceptions regarding the NCAA transfer rules in light of current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations. Forty-seven current NCAA Division I athletes (from 20 institutions) were interviewed about their experiences regarding a coaching change. Overall, most athletes thought there was a discrepancy between NCAA regulations regarding transfers: the regulations are lenient for coaches, whereas athletes’ ability to transfer is restricted. Athletes offered suggestions improving NCAA governance, such as implementing penalties for coaches who leave or allowing athletes to transfer if it would benefit their academic career. U.S. Sports Academy2016-11-29T08:06:39-05:00November 29th, 2016\|Sports Management\|Comments Off on “So, Who’s Our New Coach?”: NCAA Student Athletes’ Perceptions After a Head Coaching Change Male Athletes Perception of Coaches Behavior in University Interscholastic Middle School Athletic Programs Authors: Raymond Tucker Raymond Tucker, D.S.M, CSCS, FMSL1, USATFL1, USAWLP-1 Assistant Professor of Kinesiology University of Houston at Victoria 3007 N. Ben Wilson Raymond Tucker is an assistant professor of Kinesiology at the University of Houston at Victoria. He is a graduate of the United States Sports Academy with a Doctorate in Sports Management, and he is a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is also a certified coach by the United States Track and Field Association, United States Weightlifting Federation, and Functional Movement Systems. He is certified by the state board of educator certification in Texas in health grades (EC-12) and secondary physical education (6-12). The purpose of this study was to determine male athlete’s perception of the behavior style of leadership used by their coaches in the treatment and daily interactions with their male athletes. The study compares male athletes at three different middle schools to determine if the perceived behavior styles of leadership are similar amongst male coaches at the respective middle schools for this study. Results of this study detected a statistically significant difference in the behavior styles of leadership perceived by male athletes at the respective middle schools in this study in the following dimensions. 1) democratic and training and instruction, (2) autocratic and training and instruction, (3) social support and training instruction, (4) positive feedback and democratic behavior, (5) positive feedback and autocratic behavior, and (6) positive feedback and social support. This study did not reveal a statistically significant difference between middle schools in the dimensions of (1) positive feedback and training and instruction, (2) autocratic and democratic behavior, (3) social support and democratic behavior, (4) social support and autocratic behavior. Results of this study clearly indicate male coaches at the three respective middle schools in this study place more emphasis on the democratic behavior style of leadership with a mean score of 3.93, and the autocratic behavior style of leadership with a mean score of 3.65, the data shows an emphasis is also placed on the social support behavior style of leadership with a mean score of 3.59 (see Table 1). This study does not conclude which behavior styles of leadership perceived by male athletes is superior for the overall success of a middle school athletic program. What follows is the basis for this study, procedures used to conduct the research, an analysis of the data, conclusions, application in sport, and finally, recommendations for further research on this topic. U.S. Sports Academy2016-11-02T14:24:35-05:00November 24th, 2016\|Sports Coaching\|Comments Off on Male Athletes Perception of Coaches Behavior in University Interscholastic Middle School Athletic Programs Taking Concussion Vital Signs Neurocognitive Test Under Varied Conditions Authors: Scott L. Bruce, EdD, AT, ATC Sarah Stauffer, AT, ATC Andrew Chaney, AT, ATC Kelsey Garrison, AT, ATC Scott L. Bruce, EdD, AT, ATC Assistant Professor/Director of Research 3680 Colonel Glenn Hwy scott.bruce@wright.edu Scott Bruce is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Research for the Athletic Training Program at Wright State University. Neurocognitive test batteries are commonly used tools for concussion assessments in the medical professions. Administered at baseline and post-injury these tests provide information on a patient’s neurocognitive ability during the recovery and return-to-activity phases. In athletics, student-athletes usually take the baseline exam as a group in a computer lab prior to the season beginning. If a medical professional believes an individual has sustained a possible concussion, they will retest them and compare their post-injury and baseline results. A deficit in one of more areas of the neurocognitive test may be indicative of a possible concussion. The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not there was a difference in neurocognitive test scores from Concussion Vital Signs when tested under two different conditions: “lights out” and with distractions. Our study was a randomized control trial performed at a Midwestern NCAA, “mid-major” Division I Institution. The subjects were 15 college-aged students with an overall mean age of 19 years (1.2). There were seven females (mean age was 19 ± 0.77) and eight males (mean age was 20 ± 1.2). A paired t-test was used to determine if a difference in the neurocognitive test section scores between the conditions existed. On three of the ten test sections, there was a statistically significant difference between the baseline and distraction condition. On four of the ten test sections between baseline and the lights out condition for males, but not for females. Testing should be done in a quiet room, with distractions minimized, as distraction hinders focus and performance. The results of this study indicate males may have a more difficult time concentrating while taking neurocognitive tests than females. Administering neurocognitive testing in a quiet, well-lit room is the best condition for the patient to take these concussion-related tests. U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-31T10:36:51-05:00November 17th, 2016\|Sports Medicine\|Comments Off on Taking Concussion Vital Signs Neurocognitive Test Under Varied Conditions “I Think It’s Going To Save Lives” Sport Administrator Perspectives on Youth Development Through Sport Authors: Deb Agnew & Shane Pill Deb Agnew, PhD Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5001 deb.agnew@flinders.edu.au Deb Agnew is a lecturer in the School of Education at Flinders University in South Australia. Her research interests include Australian football, masculinity, sports retirement and men’s health. She is a member of the Flinders SHAPE (Sport, Health and Physical Education) Research Centre and teaches in the Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Activity. Shane Pill lectures in curriculum studies, physical education and sport studies and he is a member of the Sport, Health and Physical Activity (SHAPE) research centre at Flinders University. His research interests include curriculum design and enactment, pedagogy and instructional strategies for games and sport teaching, sport coaching, leadership and management. Shane is the author of four books on game sense teaching and coaching, and he was a major contributing writer to the Cricket Australia S’Cool Cricket resource, the Tennis Australia Hot Shots Tennis resource and the revised AFL Sport Education program. This was a qualitative evaluation of a youth development program that was piloted in four South Australian Southern Football League clubs. It aimed to understand how the youth development program was conducted; to investigate the effects of the program on the health behaviour choices of junior footballers in South Australia and; to provide recommendations on how to improve the delivery of the program. Interviews were conducted with the club administrators of three of the four clubs involved in the program and were analysed through an inductive thematic approach. This research found that there is value in implementing youth development programs. However, in order for youth development programs to be effective in changing club culture a driver for the program is needed. Given sports clubs are often under-staffed and under-resourced developing partnerships with community organisations who have the skills to deliver the appropriate sessions is also a crucial factor in the program’s success. Keywords: sport development, young men, Australian football U.S. Sports Academy2016-09-20T11:43:02-05:00November 10th, 2016\|Contemporary Sports Issues\|Comments Off on “I Think It’s Going To Save Lives” Sport Administrator Perspectives on Youth Development Through Sport 21st Century Sport: Microsystem or Macrosystem? Authors: Dean Culpepper & Lorraine Killion Dean Culpepper, Ph.D. Commerce, TX 75429 dean.culpepper@tamuc.edu Dean Culpepper is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the Health and Human Performance Department and Lorraine Killion is an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in the Health and Physical Education Department. Both are active as Sport Psychology Consultants working with elite athletes and teams to increase human performance. The culture of sport is well defined, and its impact on individuals and cultures can be studied by using an Ecological Systems Theory (ES) approach. ES was developed by Uri Bronfenbrenner to name how particular contexts and their processes overlap, influence, and are influenced by individual members (3, 4, 5). Sport has traditionally been viewed as a microsystem in ES. Sport and the structure of sport have taken on a new character with self-perpetuating motivations and thus may no longer be set apart (16) for individuals live in Sport all the time. The purpose of this research was to examine moral reasoning across groups and settings to support the shift from sport as set aside to an all-pervasive environment. 315 subjects completed a demographic form, the Hahm-Beller Values Choice Inventory, and the DIT-2. Qualitative follow-up interviews were then conducted among groups to determine themes. A MANOVA (Wilks’ Lambda=.430, p< .005) was carried out with Scheffé post hoc tests to determine differences. Athletes scored lowest (p<.001) and when athletes were removed from the evaluation, Sport Science majors scored equivalently (p<.001) to athletes regarding lower moral reasoning scores. Qualitative interviews revealed that athletes and Sport Science majors spent similar amounts of time thinking, watching, reading, exercising, and discussing sport. These findings may suggest that those involved in sport (whether participating or studying) are operating in a milieu differently from those who are not. They are functioning in an all-pervasive structure or meaning-making system that does shape and has formed how they reason morally. Thus separating oneself from the structure of sport may be difficult. (more…) U.S. Sports Academy2016-09-20T10:25:01-05:00November 3rd, 2016\|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology\|Comments Off on 21st Century Sport: Microsystem or Macrosystem?	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line254
__label__wiki	0.85919	0.85919	Why big companies squander brilliant ideas J F C Fuller did not invent the tank. That distinction should probably fall to E L de Mole, an Australian who approached the British war office in 1912 with a design that was — in the words of historians Kenneth Macksey and John Batchelor — “so convincingly similar to those which finally went into service that one wonders why it was never adopted from the outset”. But when the British army eventually introduced the tank, it was J F C Fuller, chief staff officer of what would later become the tank corps, who understood what to do with it. At 39 years old, Fuller was a small man with a neatly trimmed moustache and a hairline that had retreated over his crown and was beginning to march down the back of his head. He could have passed for a butler in a costume drama, but his appearance belied an inner radicalism. (He had been friends — and then enemies — with the occultist Aleister Crowley.) Late in 1917, after almost 400 British tanks had, with modest success, lumbered across the German lines at the battle of Cambrai, Fuller applied his radical streak to the problem of using the tank effectively. A new and much faster tank, the Medium D, could travel 200 miles at a speed of 20 miles per hour. Fuller proposed that these tanks would attack the German army’s brain — the string of German headquarters miles behind the front line. A Medium D could roll across the trenches and be on the German command posts in an hour; Fuller’s attack would come from nowhere. Air support would disrupt German road and rail travel. “Bad news confuses, confusion stimulates panic,” wrote Fuller. His idea was dubbed Plan 1919. By striking suddenly at the German command, Plan 1919 would cause the German army to disintegrate. It would, Fuller declared, be “the winning of the war in a single battle”. His astonishing idea became “the most famous unused plan in military history”, according to his biographer Brian Holden Reid. But, of course, that is not entirely true. It was used to great effect, in 1940 — by the Germans. J F C Fuller had invented blitzkrieg. The story might be a historical curiosity, had echoes of it not been repeated so frequently since the British army stuffed Fuller’s plans for blitzkrieg into a desk drawer. Organisations from newspapers to oil majors to computing giants have persistently struggled to embrace new technological opportunities, or recognise new technological threats, even when the threats are mortal or the opportunities are golden. Why do some ideas slip out of the grasp of incumbents, then thrive in the hands of upstarts? In 1970, the photocopying giant Xerox established the Palo Alto Research Center, or Parc. Xerox Parc then developed the world’s first personal computer, with a graphical user interface, windows, icons and a mouse. Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple observed developments at Xerox Parc with great interest. Xerox still makes photocopiers. In 1975, a 24-year-old engineer named Steven Sasson built the world’s first digital camera — a patched-together device scavenging a lens from a Super-8 camera, magnetic tape in a portable cassette recorder and a TV screen. Sasson worked for Eastman Kodak, where in 1989 he and his colleagues also constructed the first modern digital SLR camera. Kodak built a sizeable line of business in digital photography, and earned a small fortune from the patents. Yet Kodak could not adjust to a world in which every phone contained a camera. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012. In 1999, Sony launched the “Memory Stick Walkman”, one of the world’s first digital music players. Sony was armed with the iconic Walkman brand, some of the world’s best consumer electronics engineers and the talent-soaked Sony-BMG music label. The Memory Stick Walkman went nowhere and, two years later, it was eclipsed by a product that transformed the fortunes of a struggling Apple: the iPod. And in 1918, Britain had the best tanks in the world, a clear vision of how to use them and, in Fuller, one of the best military strategists to emerge from the British army. The German army was forbidden to use tanks at all; it was scarcely more than a collection of officers, a head without a body. Heinz Guderian, later one of the leading Panzer commanders, had not even seen the inside of a tank until he managed to go on manoeuvres with the Swedish army in 1929. Yet by the late 1930s, the British had conceded technical and tactical superiority to Hitler’s new army. There is an obvious explanation for all of these failures and missed opportunities: people are idiots. “Now we can get back to some real soldiering,” remarked one senior officer to Fuller at the end of the first world war — as though defending Britain in an existential struggle had been a frivolous distraction from tending to noble horses, bright buckles and shiny boots. The army blocked publication of Fuller’s books for several years; they were seen as insubordinate. When Steve Jobs visited Xerox Parc in 1979, and saw a windows-and-mouse interface for the first time, he couldn’t contain himself, according to Malcolm Gladwell. “Why aren’t you doing anything with this?” he yelled. “This is the greatest thing. This is revolutionary!” If Jobs had been teleported into the British war office in the 1920s, he might well have said the same thing. Idiocy is a tempting explanation and not without merit. The top man in the British army, Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, responded to the threat of Nazi militarisation by increasing the amount spent on forage for horses by a factor of 10. Cavalry officers would be provided with a second horse; tank officers would get a horse too. As I say: people are idiots. But there is something about the “idiot” theory that feels too glib. Consider Xerox Parc: how is it that a corporation could be smart enough to establish such a superb research centre, but then fail to take advantage? Was Sony really run by idiots in the 1990s? Even Montgomery-Massingberd is too casually caricatured. These organisations stumbled for a reason. Management theorists have a word for it: disruption. “Disruption describes what happens when firms fail because they keep making the kinds of choices that made them successful,” says Joshua Gans, an economist at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto and author of The Disruption Dilemma. (US) (UK) Successful organisations stick to their once-triumphant strategies, even as the world changes around them. More horses! More forage! Why does this happen? Easily the most famous explanation comes from Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School. Christensen’s 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, (US) (UK) told a compelling story about how new technologies creep up from below: they are flawed or under-developed at first, so do not appeal to existing customers. Holiday snappers do not want to buy digital cameras the size of a shoebox and the price of a car. However, Christensen explains, these technologies do find customers: people with unusual needs previously unserved by the incumbent players. The new technology gets better and, one day, the incumbent wakes up to discover that an upstart challenger has several years’ head start — and once-loyal customers have jumped ship. Christensen’s story is an elegant one and fits some cases brilliantly. But there are many examples that do not fit — such as the failure of Xerox to exploit the cutting-edge research at Parc. The mouse and the graphic user interface aren’t a low-end competitor to the photocopier. They’re from a completely different universe. The iPod didn’t sneak up on Sony from below: the company had seen the potential of a digital music player and moved quickly. Dominant organisations often see the disruptive technologies coming. “Kodak and Blockbuster weren’t caught by surprise,” Joshua Gans tells me. “They knew what the future looked like. They didn’t know later than everybody else, they knew ahead of everybody else.” They knew; but they were unable to put together the right response. There is also a striking counter-example to Christensen’s idea that disruptive technologies begin as flawed or low-quality options. The iPhone was priced as a premium product with never-before-seen capabilities. It devastated Nokia and Research In Motion — now simply named BlackBerry Ltd in an echo of its once-iconic offering. Christensen has tried to fit the iPhone into his theories. At first he predicted that incumbents would easily respond, and later he recast it as a disruption in a different industry altogether: “It was intended to disrupt the laptop. And that’s the way it happened.” The laptop? Tell that to Nokia and BlackBerry. Anyway, is the tank a low-end competitor to the horse? That’s a stretch. When a theory needs to be made this elastic, it may be time to look for another theory. In 1990, a young economist named Rebecca Henderson published an article with her supervisor Kim Clark that presented a different view of why it is hard to do new things in old organisations. The relevant word is “organisations”. Dominant organisations are prone to stumble when the new technology requires a new organisational structure. An innovation might be radical but, if it fits the structure that already existed, an incumbent firm has a good chance of carrying its lead from the old world to the new. Consider, for example, IBM — the giant of mainframe computing. IBM is a survivor. It predates the digital computer by more than three decades. While the performance of computers was being revolutionised by the semiconductor, the integrated circuit, the hard drive and the compiler, IBM maintained a dominant position without breaking stride. This was because the organisational challenge of making and selling a sophisticated mainframe computer to a bank in the 1970s was not greatly different from the organisational challenge of making and selling a mechanical tabulating machine to a bank in the 1930s. Change was constant but manageable. When computers started to be bought by small businesses, hobbyists and even parents, IBM faced a very different challenge. It did build a successful business in PCs, but was unable to maintain its old dominance, or bring to bear its historical strengths. In fact, the PC division prospered only as long as it was able to snub the rest of the organisation, often partnering with component suppliers and distributors that directly competed with IBM divisions. Internal politics soon asserted itself. A case study co-authored by Henderson describes the PC division as “smothered by support from the parent company”. Eventually, the IBM PC business was sold off to a Chinese company, Lenovo. What had flummoxed IBM was not the pace of technological change — it had long coped with that — but the fact that its old organisational structures had ceased to be an advantage. Rather than talk of radical or disruptive innovations, Henderson and Clark used the term “architectural innovation”. “An architectural innovation is an innovation that changes the relationship between the pieces of the problem,” Henderson tells me. “It can be hard to perceive, because many of the pieces remain the same. But they fit together differently.” An architectural innovation challenges an old organisation because it demands that the organisation remake itself. And who wants to do that? The armies of the late 19th century were organised — as armies had long been — around cavalry and infantry. Cavalry units offered mobility. Infantry offered strength in numbers and the ability to dig in defensively. Three technologies emerged to define the first world war: artillery, barbed wire and the machine gun. They profoundly shaped the battlefield, but also slipped easily into the existing decision-making structures. Barbed wire and machine guns were used to reinforce infantry positions. Artillery could support either cavalry or infantry from a distance. Tanks, however, were different. In some ways they were like cavalry, since their strength lay partly in their ability to move quickly. In other ways, they fitted with the infantry, fighting alongside foot soldiers. Or perhaps tanks were a new kind of military capability entirely; this was the view taken by J F C Fuller. These discussions might seem philosophical — but in the light of Henderson’s ideas, they are intensely practical. “You have to find an organisation that will accept the new bit of technology,” says Andrew Mackay. Mackay runs an advisory firm, Complexas, but was also the commander of British and coalition forces in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2008. “The organisational question is deeply unsexy, but it’s fundamental.” A more recent example: is the helicopter basically a kind of aeroplane, and therefore an asset of the Royal Air Force? Or something quite different? Who should be in charge of drones today? So it was with the tank. If it was to prosper, it needed an organisational home. Someone would have to argue for it, someone would have to pay for it, and someone would have to make it all work, technologically and tactically. Perhaps the two most obvious places to put the tank were as a standalone unit (since it offered quite new capabilities) or in cavalry regiments (since it was highly mobile and the horse was becoming obsolete). There were traps along either route: the established regiments would resist a standalone structure for tanks, which would compete for resources while the postwar army was shrinking. A new tank regiment would lack both allies and the heft of historical tradition. After various twists and turns, it was the cavalry that ended up as the organisational home of the tank. And cavalry officers certainly understand a highly mobile strike capability. But they were never really organised around the concept of “mobility”. They were organised around horses. The cavalry officer loved his horse and rode it with skill. His regiment was devoted to feeding and caring for the horses. Would he not resist the usurper tank with every fibre of his being? Xerox Parc developed or assembled most of the features of a user-friendly personal computer, but Xerox itself did not have the organisational architecture to manufacture and market it. Xerox Parc did develop the laser printer, a product that matched the company’s expertise nicely. As Gladwell pointed out, this easily paid for the entire Parc project. The laser printer was like artillery or the machine gun for Xerox: it was an exciting new technology, but it was not a challenge to the organisation’s architecture. The personal computer was like the tank. The same is true for Sony and the Memory Stick Walkman. As Sony expanded, it produced radios and televisions, video recorders and camcorders, computers, game consoles and even acquired a film and music empire. But to keep this sprawl manageable, Sony’s leaders divided it into silos. As Gillian Tett explains in The Silo Effect, (US) (UK) the silo that produced the PlayStation had almost nothing to do with the silo that produced portable CD players. The Memory Stick Walkman was like the tank: it didn’t fit neatly into any category. To be a success, the silos that had been designed to work separately would have to work together. That required an architectural change that Sony tried but failed to achieve. And for IBM, the shift from a mechanical tabulator to a mainframe digital computer was like the shift from rifles to the machine gun: an awesome step up in firepower, but a modest adjustment to organisational capacity. The tank was like the personal computer: it may have been a logical step forward given the technology available, but it required a different organisational architecture — one that bypassed and threatened the existing power centres of Big Blue. That was the problem. The politics of organisational change are never easy. In the case of the tank, they were brutal. The British public never wanted to fight another war in mainland Europe, and the tank represented an admission that they might have to. The armed forces were starved of cash in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1932, the British army ordered just nine tanks — delicate four-tonners. The total weight of this entire force was less than a single German Tiger tank. But at a time of declining budgets, who could justify buying more? It did not help that the tank enthusiasts were often politically naive. Since an architectural innovation requires an organisational overhaul, it is a task requiring skilful diplomacy. Fuller was no diplomat. His essays and books were dotted with spiky critiques of senior military officers. After a while, even the junior officers who admired his wit began to tire of his “needlessly offensive” lecturing. D espite alienating the army top brass, Fuller was handed a unique opportunity to advance the cause of tanks in the British army: he was offered the command of a new experimental mechanised force in December 1926. There was just one problem: he would have to step away from his single-minded focus on the tank, also taking command of an infantry brigade and a garrison. In short, Fuller would have to get into the organisational headaches that surround any architectural innovation. He baulked, and wrote to the head of the army demanding that these other duties be carried out by someone else, eventually threatening to resign. The position was awarded to another officer, and Fuller’s career never recovered. His petulance cost him — and the British army — dearly. Architectural innovations can seem too much like hard work, even for those most committed to seeing them succeed. Within academia, Rebecca Henderson’s ideas about architectural innovation are widely cited, and she is one of only two academics at Harvard Business School to hold the rank of university professor. The casual observer of business theories, however, is far more likely to have heard of Clayton Christensen, one of the most famous management gurus on the planet. That may be because Christensen has a single clear theory of how disruption happens — and a solution, too: disrupt yourself before you are disrupted by someone else. That elegance is something we tend to find appealing. The reality of disruption is less elegant — and harder to solve. Kodak’s position may well have been impossible, no matter what managers had done. If so, the most profitable response would have been to vanish gracefully. “There are multiple points of failure,” says Henderson. “There’s the problem of reorganisation. There’s the question of whether the new idea will be profitable. There are cognitive filters. There is more than one kind of denial. To navigate successfully through, an incumbent organisation has to overcome every one of these obstacles.” In an email, she added that the innovators — like Fuller — are often difficult people. “The people who bug large organisations to do new things are socially awkward, slightly fanatical and politically often hopelessly naive.” Another point of failure. The message of Henderson’s work with Kim Clark and others is that when companies or institutions are faced with an organisationally disruptive innovation, there is no simple solution. There may be no solution at all. “I’m sorry it’s not more management guru-ish,” she tells me, laughing. “But anybody who’s really any good at this will tell you that this is hard.” Almost a decade after resigning from a senior position in the British army, Andrew Mackay agrees: “I’d love to think that there could be a solution, but I don’t think there is.” If I had to bet on the most significant disruption occurring today, I would point to the energy industry. Chris Goodall is a longtime observer of the renewable energy scene and author of The Switch, a book about breakthroughs in solar panel technology. Goodall points out that solar photovoltaics have enjoyed a dramatic fall in costs, one that shows no sign of abating. Solar PV electricity is now cheaper than electricity generated by gas or coal in the sunny climes where most of the planet’s population live. A few more years and that advantage will seem overwhelming, which is great news for the planet and terrible news for incumbents. Consider General Electric, which this year disappeared from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In little more than a year, the old industrial titan’s share price had halved. One of the key culprits for its woes was a precipitous collapse in the demand for large gas turbines, that, in turn, was the result of a fall in the cost of solar power cells that had been relentless, predictable and ignored. This possibility has been clear to the fossil fuel industry for a while. I know: I used to work in long-range scenario planning for Shell International. Back in 2001, my Shell colleagues and I were discussing thin solar films that could be printed cheaply and applied to windows or hung as wallpaper. We could see the threat of exponentially cheaper solar power — but recall what Joshua Gans said about Kodak and Blockbuster: “They knew what the future looked like. They didn’t know later than everybody else, they knew ahead of everybody else.” They knew. But they could not act. Because what is an oil company to do in a world of abundant, cheap solar energy? Offshore wind farms play to some oil-company strengths; they know a lot about large metal structures in the North Sea. But solar energy is an architectural innovation. The pieces just don’t fit together like an oil rig or a refinery. As a mass-market, manufactured product it is closer to the skill set of Ikea than Exxon. The implication of Christensen’s theory is that oil companies should have set up solar subsidiaries decades ago. Many of them did, without much success. The implication of Henderson’s theory is that the oil companies are in big trouble. Chris Goodall thinks the oil companies should rescue what they can — for example, by developing synthetic hydrocarbons derived from water, atmospheric carbon dioxide and solar energy. Such products would play to oil-company strengths. But for most of their business lines, Goodall says, “The best strategy for the oil companies is almost certainly gradual self-liquidation.” Or as BP’s chief executive Bob Dudley candidly admitted to the Washington Post recently, “If someone said, ‘Here’s $10bn to invest in renewables,’ we wouldn’t know how to do it.” Despite all the obstacles, the British army continued to develop both tanks and tank tactics throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Yet the internal politics proved toxic. The Germans, meanwhile, watched and learnt. If the British were hamstrung by their inability to reorganise what was, after all, a victorious army in the first world war, the Germans had the opposite problem: they had barely any army, and no status quo to defend. There was no organisational architecture to get in the way. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 and began to expand the German army and invest in tanks, he encountered a German military that had been watching, thinking and experimenting for 14 years. On his 50th birthday in 1939, Hitler celebrated with a parade of Germany’s newly reconstructed army through Berlin. “For three hours,” wrote one witness, “a completely mechanised and motorised army roared past the Führer.” This witness was a guest of honour at the celebrations. His name: J F C Fuller. After quitting the British army in frustration, he had thrown his lot in with the British fascists of Oswald Mosley. He wrote vitriolic attacks on Jews. Some observers wondered whether this was simply an attempt to win favour with the world’s tank superpower, Nazi Germany. One of Fuller’s biographers, Mark Urban, doubts this: “The facility with which Fuller made anti-Jewish jibes in letters and books suggests pleasure rather than duty.” Nobody doubts, however, that Fuller was obsessed by German tanks. After all, there was one army that had really understood and embraced his ideas: that of Adolf Hitler. After the parade, Major General Fuller met Hitler himself in a receiving line at the Chancellery. The Führer grasped Fuller’s hand and asked, “I hope you were pleased with your children?” “Your excellency,” Fuller replied, “They have grown up so quickly that I no longer recognise them.” This article was first published as a cover story in the FT Magazine on 8/9 September 2018. My book “Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy” (UK) / “Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy” (US) is out now in paperback – feel free to order online or through your local bookshop. (You can unsubscribe at any time) 6th of October, 2018 • Highlights • Other Writing • Comments off	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line257
__label__cc	0.660658	0.339342	China condemns Indian PM Modi’s visit to disputed region February 9, 2019 by admin 0 Comments FILE PHOTO: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives to attend the Beating the Retreat ceremony in New Delhi, India, January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry on Saturday condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the northeastern border state of Arunachal Pradesh, also claimed by China, saying it “resolutely opposes” activities of Indian leaders in the region. Modi’s visit was part of a series of public meetings in the region aimed at garnering support for his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party ahead on Indian elections that are due to be held by May. Despite recent efforts to improve bilateral ties in both countries, disputes over the mountainous Indo-China border – which triggered a war in 1962 – and the region that China claims as southern Tibet have remained a sensitive issue. “China urges the Indian side to proceed from the overall situation of bilateral relations, respect China’s interests and concerns, cherish the momentum of improving relations between the two countries, and refrain from any actions that intensify disputes and complicate the border issue,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement. On Saturday, India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both India and China have sought to rebuild trust after an armed standoff over a stretch of the Himalayan border in 2017. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met a number of times last year to give impetus to the trade discussions. But progress, according to Indian government officials and representatives of various Indian trade bodies, has been very slow. Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell Storm Barry moves inland from New Orleans, leaves rain and flooding in its wake Rain, flooding follow Storm Barry as it spins north from New Orleans Ex-Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein gets approval for new lawyers in rape case	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line258
__label__wiki	0.684694	0.684694	Billy Strayhorn: An American in Paris Best known as ‘Duke’ Ellington’s composition partner, Billy Strayhorn, (1915-1967) contributed over three hundred songs to the Ellington songbook, including the band’s theme song, “Take The ‘A’ Train.” He was also an accomplished classical pianist, an openly gay man, a civil rights activist, and a part-time Francophile. Nicknamed ‘Sweet Pea’ for his joyous disposition, Strayhorn’s rough childhood stood in dark contrast to his bright future. He grew up in an impoverished black Pittsburgh neighborhood, raised by a loving mother, but an abusive, alcoholic father. To escape the wrath of his father, the young Strayhorn spent the summers with his grandmother, who taught him to play piano. From an early age, Strayhorn was drawn to French impressionistic composers such as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Strayhorn’s love of French Impressionism can be heard in many of his early compositions, such as “Valse” and “Chelsea Bridge.” The iconic composition “Lush Life,” written by the aspiring composer at an impressively young age of sixteen, speaks to his love of French music and culture in multiple ways. The lyrics capture the young composer’s yearning to experience France, as the second verse opens with the line, “A week in Paris will ease the bite of it.” The ballad also incorporates rubato, chromaticism, and dense non-diatonic harmonies, techniques commonly used by French composers. His solo recording, later released on the Red Baron label, captures his skill as an accompanist and overall sensitivity as a performing artist. While Strayhorn’s voice may not carry the virtuosity of Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition, his delivery is tender and unassuming, a perfect match for the melancholic lyrics and impressionistic harmonies. Outside of piano lessons, the young musician studied French culture and language at Westbrook High. As one of the only African-American students in French Club, Strayhorn took his extracurricular activity and French coursework very seriously, becoming fluent in French as a young adult. Upon high school graduation, Strayhorn was primarily focused on pursuing a career as a classical pianist and composer. Unfortunately, there were few opportunities for African-Americans in classical music, so Strayhorn turned to jazz composition in his early twenties, and was ultimately hired as co-composer and arranger by Ellington in 1938. While he struggled to find his place as a Black classical musician and openly gay man in America, he found much of the acceptance and freedom he was looking for during his frequent trips to Paris. Strayhorn especially enjoyed traveling to Europe with his long-term boyfriend and fellow musician, Aaron Bridgers. According to Bridgers, the two men initially bonded over their love of French culture and music. Nine years into their relationship, Bridgers left for France to pursue a fulltime career as a jazz pianist, and became the house pianist at The Living Room. This decision was made in part because of Bridgers’s fascination with French culture, but also because there was a higher demand for jazz musicians in Europe; Black male jazz musicians, in particular, found the atmosphere more congenial than in America. The two men remained both friends and lovers, with Strayhorn making frequent trips for Paris for both business and pleasure. One of their must fruitful musical partnerships was the movie Paris Blues, in which Bridgers makes appearances as a jazz pianist, while Strayhorn co-wrote the score (with Duke Ellington). Released to American audiences in 1961, and shot in location in France, Paris Blues stars Sidney Portier and Paul Newman, as two American jazz musicians enjoying the freedom, success, and celebrity of living and performing in Paris. The opening scene captures many elements that attracted so many Americans to Paris in the 1950s- large appreciative audiences, racially integrated clubs, and a more sexually open society. Writer and director Sam Shaw recalls that Strayhorn was drawn to the script on a personal level, as he related to the romantic appeal of French travels, the dynamics of interracial relationships, and the struggles of a composer to get his work produced. Shaw recalls, “The film appealed to Billy, too, metaphorically for a gay relationship. Billy was also interested in the artistic struggle. One of the guys wanted to compose concert music but wasn’t accepted by the classical establishment. This issue was of great importance to Billy.” As a gay man and an African-American musician, Strayhorn was drawn to French culture on many levels. But perhaps Aaron Bridgers best expressed ‘Sweet Pea’s’ lifelong attraction of French culture when he said, “Nobody cared who you were or what you were. There was no judgment. That’s one of the reasons Billy and I loved it here.” by Gabrielle Tee Hajdu, David. Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn. North Point Press. 1996. Henriques, Kevin. “Aaron Bridgers.” The Guardian. December 2003. Accessed March 19, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/dec/22/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Sid Banks April 28, 2017 at 4:20 pm Something that stood out to me was the fact he turned to jazz due to the challenges of making it as an African American classical composer. It makes me wonder the intentionality of France and far their “acceptance” goes. Despite being incredibly welcome as a jazz performer, would he have gotten the same treatment as a classical performer? Exotifying black musicians was obvious in France, but I can’t help thinking about how many performers recognized they were being pigeonholed. Annie Jo Buchanan April 28, 2017 at 4:20 pm This is a great article! You included just the right amount of background information on Strayhorn (childhood life, his role in jazz history, his experience in Europe). Anyone browsing the internet could read this article and understand the content, yet it assumes an appropriate amount of knowledge in the reader (isn’t written in an elementary style). I appreciate that you chose to write about someone with many intersecting identities; so much of jazz’s publicized narrative centers on heterosexual men, creating hyper-masculinized stereotypes that don’t reflect the diversity of jazz musicians, and this was a refreshing snapshot of a prominent musician that defied those tropes and created his own niche within the jazz culture of his era. Loved it! Previous post: Hungarian Bebop: an African-American and European Cultural Exchange Next post: Transcending the Transatlantic: Lo-Fi in Nu-jazz and What It Could Mean	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line259
__label__wiki	0.865168	0.865168	Friday 8 June 2018 (other days) The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus The heart of Jesus was wounded for love of us: come, let us adore him. Liturgical Colour: White. Devotion to the Sacred Heart, encouraged by mediaeval mystics and promoted by St Gertrude, St Margaret Mary Alacoque, St John Eudes and others, represents a devotion to Jesus in his human nature, in particular referring to the heart as the seat of the emotions. Other saints: Saint James Berthieu (1838 - 1896) James Berthieu was born in 1838 in France. He was ordained a priest in 1864. At the age of 35 he joined the Society of Jesus and in 1875 left for Madagascar where he spent the rest of his life. The local people started fighting in order to chase away the French Colonialists and to destroy the Christian faith. The colonial authority managed to suppress the rebellion. But, in 1896, during another rebellion, Fr Berthieu was taken prisoner, beaten and put into prison. He was asked to reject his faith in order to save his life, but he said he preferred death to apostasy. On the night of 8 June 1896, while he was praying, he was shot dead and his body thrown in the river Mananara. He was canonized on 21 October 2012. Other saints: St William of York (-1154) Hallam, Hexham & Newcastle, Leeds, Middlesbrough William Fitzherbert was born at the end of the eleventh century into a position of favour and wealth, and was a nephew of the future King Stephen. In his early days he received a good education and when he took holy orders, he became the treasurer of the cathedral church of York. Even if he received this office through patronage, it was generally agreed that he carried it out with wisdom and charity. This was the time of the accession of King Stephen and the civil war with Queen Maud, with all the disastrous effects that it was bound to have on the government of the Church in England. When William was elected to the archbishopric of York in 1140, his election was challenged by supporters of the Queen because of his family relationship with the King. So began a dispute over his position as archbishop that was to continue almost until the time of William’s own death. Some accounts would suggest that he was ill-served by his advisers and suffered the disadvantages of having too many politically minded relatives in positions of authority. But he himself would seem to have lived an exemplary life and was even careless of his own interests. Although Pope Innocent II upheld the appointment, the next Pope Eugenius III suspended him from his duties on the advice of no less than St Bernard of Clairvaux and another candidate was appointed to the See of York. William retired for seven years to Winchester where his uncle was bishop and papal legate and lived there quietly without complaint. It was only when his successor at York died and he was again elected to the archbishopric that he travelled to Rome and received the pallium from Pope Anastasius IV. On his return to England, William was mild and conciliatory towards his former enemies and well-liked by his flock. But he had hardly begun work in the city of York when he was taken ill and died in 1154. He was buried in his cathedral and the solemn translation of his relics took place in 1283. Middlesbrough Ordo Second Reading: St Bonaventure (1218 - 1274) Bonaventure was born at Bagnoregio in Etruria in about 1218. He became a Franciscan in 1243 and studied philosophy and theology at the University of Paris. He became a famous teacher and philosopher, part of the extraordinary intellectual flowering of the 13th century. He was a friend and colleague of St Thomas Aquinas. At this time the friars were still a new and revolutionary force in the Church, and their radical embracing of poverty and rejection of institutional structures raised suspicion and opposition from many quarters. Bonaventure defended the Franciscan Order and, after he was elected general of the order in 1255, he ruled it with wisdom and prudence. He is regarded as the second founder of the Order. He declined the archbishopric of York in 1265 but was made cardinal bishop of Albano in 1273, dying a year later in 1274 at the Council of Lyons, at which the Greek and Latin churches were (briefly) reconciled. Bonaventure wrote extensively on philosophy and theology, making a permanent mark on intellectual history; but he always insisted that the simple and uneducated could have a clearer knowledge of God than the wise. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. Jeremiah 31:2-4 © The Lord says this: They have found pardon in the wilderness, those who have survived the sword. Israel is marching to his rest. The Lord has appeared to him from afar: I have loved you with an everlasting love, so I am constant in my affection for you. I build you once more; you shall be rebuilt, virgin of Israel. Adorned once more, and with your tambourines, you will go out dancing gaily. Jeremiah 32:40 © I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will not cease in my efforts for their good, and I will put respect for me into their hearts, so that they turn from me no more. Romans 5:8-9 © What proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger?	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line263
__label__wiki	0.672463	0.672463	Sunday 16 September 2018 (other days) In other years: Pope St Cornelius ( - 253) Cornelius was made bishop of the church in Rome in the year 251. He fought against the Novatian schismatics, and established his authority with the aid of Cyprian. The emperor Gallus sent him into exile, and he died at Civitavecchia in June 253. He is buried in Rome. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia. In other years: St Cyprian (210 - 258) He was born in Carthage and spent most of his life in the practice of the law. He was converted to Christianity, and was made bishop of Carthage in 249. He steered the church through troubled times, including the persecution of the emperor Decius, when he went into hiding so as to be able to continue looking after the church. In 258 the persecution of the emperor Valerian began. Cyprian was first exiled and then, on the 14th of September, executed, after a trial notable for the calm and courtesy shown by both sides. Cyprian’s many letters and treatises shed much light on a formative period in the Church’s history, and are valuable both for their doctrine and for the picture they paint of a group of people in constant peril of their lives but still determined to keep the faith. Other saints: St Ninian (c.360 - 432) Scotland: 16 Sep Hexham & Newcastle: 26 Aug He was born in Cumbria and was ordained bishop in Rome in 394. He landed at Whithorn in Galloway in 397 and built a white-painted stone church there which was called Candida Casa, “White House.” From this centre he preached the Gospel in Scotland. Second Reading: St Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430) Augustine was born in Thagaste in Africa of a Berber family. He was brought up a Christian but left the Church early and spent a great deal of time seriously seeking the truth, first in the Manichaean heresy, which he abandoned on seeing how nonsensical it was, and then in Neoplatonism, until at length, through the prayers of his mother and the teaching of St Ambrose of Milan, he was converted back to Christianity and baptized in 387, shortly before his mother’s death. Augustine had a brilliant legal and academic career, but after his conversion he returned home to Africa and led an ascetic life. He was elected Bishop of Hippo and spent 34 years looking after his flock, teaching them, strengthening them in the faith and protecting them strenuously against the errors of the time. He wrote an enormous amount and left a permanent mark on both philosophy and theology. His Confessions, as dazzling in style as they are deep in content, are a landmark of world literature. The Second Readings in the Office of Readings contain extracts from many of his sermons and commentaries and also from the Confessions. Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God. You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of God. Deuteronomy 10:12 © And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? Only this: to fear the Lord your God, to follow all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. Song of Songs 8:6-7 © Love is strong as death, jealousy as relentless as Sheol. The flash of it is a flash of fire, a flame of the Lord himself. Love no floods can quench, no torrents drown.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0004.json.gz/line264

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